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Man Bites Dog
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Man Bites Dog is a Belgian faux-documentary and high-concept satire of media violence which follows the lethal exploits of Benoit Benoit Poelvoorde, an affable, and very talkative, serial killer. He kills for money, and he kills for pleasure, and he talks all the while about philosophy and the proper technique for weighing a corpse down underwater. He is followed through his slaughter-fest by the filmmakers, Rémy and André (the actual filmmakers, Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel), and the line between reporter and subject becomes blurred pretty quickly. The filmmakers become more and more involved in Benoit's actions, starting with the relatively innocent act of holding a flashlight for him. Eventually, when their funding runs out, Benoit hires them to continue making the film, and soon they are accomplices in a gang rape. While this film has the subtlety of a sledgehammer, its message rings true: the media tend to become part of the stories they report upon as surely as a physicist changes a wave by looking at it. ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide
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elmonstro1982elmonstro1982 Re:What's the best horror mocum ...
by elmonstro1982 in HORROR MOVIES 101
hasn't rated it.
"I saw in another discussion, someone said that Cloverfield is a horror movie....maybe it is? [quote user="mercurial"] [quote user="elmonstro1982"] Im talking about films where you feel like your in the movie, like Blair Witch (which wasn't too good), American Zombie, Behind the Mask, and Cannibal Holocaust...films where the movie is from the view of the cameraman. A good example, (though it isn't horror) is Cloverfield, which I thought was directed geniously. [/quote] My favorite has to be Man Bites Dog followed by The Blair Witch Project (apparently I'm the only one that loves it). So what is Cloverfield if it's not horror? I thought it was pretty horrific. [/quote] " [More]
mercurialmercurial Re:What's the best horror mocum ...
by mercurial in HORROR MOVIES 101
loved it.
"[quote user="elmonstro1982"] Im talking about films where you feel like your in the movie, like Blair Witch (which wasn't too good), American Zombie, Behind the Mask, and Cannibal Holocaust...films where the movie is from the view of the cameraman. A good example, (though it isn't horror) is Cloverfield, which I thought was directed geniously. [/quote] My favorite has to be Man Bites Dog followed by The Blair Witch Project (apparently I'm the only one that loves it). So what is Cloverfield if it's not horror? I thought it was pretty horrific. " [More]
mercurialmercurial Re:Top 5 black and white movies ...
by mercurial in Top 5
loved it.
"Entirely in B&W: 1.) Angel-A 2.) Ed Wood 3.) Clerks 4.) Man Bites Dog 5.) Swoon Runner-Ups: Paper Moon, Pi Partially B&W: 1.) American History X 2.) Sin City 3.) Zentropa, or Europa (depending on your country) 4.) Pleasantville 5.) Memento Runner-Up: Renaissance, The Blair Witch Project " [More]
leeroy711leeroy711 Re:Top 5 Antagonists
by leeroy711 in Top 5
liked it.
"Although he may be the opposite of your standard hero, I think by definition he would be the protagonist of this film rather than the antagonist.[/quote] Are you starting an argument with me again?!??!?! Allright so maybe you're right, he's the PROtagonist. But he is a real bad mamma jamma. I love the scene when he's explaining the proper dead body to rock weight ratio in order to assure the body doesn't float to the top of the water. " [More]
RisseladaRisselada Re:Top 5 Antagonists
by Risselada in Top 5
liked it.
"Although he may be the opposite of your standard hero, I think by definition he would be the protagonist of this film rather than the antagonist. " [More]
leeroy711leeroy711 Re:Top 5 Antagonists
by leeroy711 in Top 5
liked it.
"I'm quoting myself because I disagree with myself, "self, how could you come up with a list of Antagonists and not include the coin flipping Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men? I am very dissapointedin myself. That should probably #2 " [More]
mercurialmercurial Re:Top 5 Antagonists
by mercurial in Top 5
loved it.
"Top 5 Antagonists: Human1.) Dazed and Confused - O'Bannon - Ben Affleck's character takes the cake as the biggest a**hole and eventually gets what he deserves.2.) Mutiny on the Bounty - Captain Bligh - Sadistic and unflinchingly evil, Captain Bligh is undoubtedly one of cinemas most hated antagonists.3.) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? - Jane - Bette Davis oozes nastiness from her caked on makeup to her hoarse, smokers voice.4.) Se7en - John Doe - The unseen serial killer in this film intensifies the terror and dread the viewer feels throughout this film, even more so when he reveals himself and his final acts of brutality.5.) Groundhog Day - Phil "like the groundhog!" Connors - Bill Murray is incredibly noxious for most of the film as a jaded weather man forced to relive the same day over and over again.Runner's Up: Strangeland, Misery, All About Eve, Man Bites Dog, Lemony Snicket's, Dogville Top 5 Antagonists: Supernatural / Science Fiction1.) The Wizard of Oz ... " [More]
leeroy711leeroy711 Top 5 Antagonists
by leeroy711 in Top 5
liked it.
"1. Peter Lorre's character - M - Great performance, creepy character, whisteling that tune over and over in my dreams 2. The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse - Raising Arizona - satirical and scary as hell at the same time3. Benoit Benoit Poelvoorde - Man Bites Dog - how could you not love this guy?4. Hannible Lecter - Silence of the Lambs - when he puts that guy's face on as a mask was my favorite scene. 5. Kevin Spacey's character - Seven - very similar to his character in The Usual Suspects but add the psycotic murdering funtime. " [More]
BigJeffLebowskiBigJeffLebowski Re: Top 5 black and white movie ...
by BigJeffLebowski in Top 5
hasn't rated it.
"Manhattan's my favorite film, so that's obviously going to have to be my number one. Beyond that, though, the question must be raised: how much can the mere aesthetics of the film affect our selections? There are some black and white films which are beautifully shot, but are not as good as a Jarmusch or Clerks. Trying to focus on the film itself, I'm going to have to say:1. Manhattan (and also Stardust Memories and Broadway Danny Rose by Allen)2.The Last Picture Show3. Raging Bull4. Pi5. LennyThese are all films which I think are superb upon their own merits, but the fact that they are in black and white adds a new dimension.No one really brings this up when they mention the film, but I think the monetary restraints on the original Clerks (black and white, stationary camera) give the film a certain security-camera feel that really helps the juxtaposition of the mundane and the outlandish, and is part of the reason Clerks is able to assimilate the two so well.I really ... " [More]
RisseladaRisselada Re: Top 5 black and white movie ...
by Risselada in Top 5
liked it.
"Mand Bites Dog and Dark Days are ones I thought of as well. No, I wouldn't count Pleasantville because there is color in it. I'm actually surpised you guys mentioned that one. I've never sat down and watched it, but I put it in one time when I was working at a video store and caught a lot of it. It seemed pretty horrible to me. I also wouldn't count Sin City for the same reason. It has color in it. Even though I wished I could count it. I guess technically The Man Who Wasn't There was shot in color, but the final product is all in B&W, so I would count that. " [More]
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
liked it.
Kitted out with the shoestring realism of a black-and-white mockumentary and a lot of over-the-top media satire, C'est Arrive Pres de Chez Vous manages to invert serial-killer clichés by focusing on the banality of murder itself. Instead of the picturesque boogeymen of Silence of the Lambs or Seven, we get Benoit Poelvoorde's loquacious, charming, and workmanlike Ben, who treats killing like any other enjoyable, but difficult job and dispatches kids, grannies, and young lovers equally matter-of-factly. Poelvoorde and his fellow writer/director/actors, Remy Belvaux and Andre Bonzel, invest their film with a bleached-out squalor that's partially a function of camcorder cinema and partially the result of their wittily depraved script. With a face and demeanor that recalls James Woods at his cold-blooded best and a character so blasé about his chosen profession that he's almost likable in a sick, twisted way, Poelvoorde is the only one of the filmmaker/performers who really registers onscreen. Like the real-life media functionaries who daily chew up reality into tabloid gruel, the others exist on the periphery, omnipresent shadows flickering across the colorful depravities they serve up as entertainment. C'est Arrive Pres de Chez Vous is a distinctly unpleasant film to watch, but its quotidian monstrosity is eerily accurate. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
 



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