mercurial

Member since 2/12/2008, last signed in awhile ago.

"Be afraid. Be very afraid. Or not."

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Personal statement:

Hmm, let me stew on it.

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Interested in: No particular genre

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The Wizard of Oz

Weekly Theme for October 26: Fa ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"We're getting a little burned out here at Weekly Theme so I thought it only fitting that this week's theme should focus on famous last words. Be it those from a character before their untimely end or the final lines delivered in the film itself, which one's have resonated the most with you all? Here's a little inspiration if you're drawing a blank: http://www.filmsite.org/greatl astlines.html On the more mushy side, there is of course, "there's no place like home!" from The WIzard of Oz. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." from Love Story always bring a little tear to my generally hard veneer. And my personal favorite, "Let's not ask for the moon. We have the stars." uttered by Bette Davis in the overly melodramatic (but that's what makes it good) Now, Voyager. After finally seeing Sunset Boulevard a few months ago, the final line delivered by Gloria Swanson has become a staple in my quote book: "All right Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up!" And lastly, one of my ... " [More]

Weekly Theme for September 28: ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"Sorry for the delay but I've been in a Six Feet Under k-hole for the past week and haven't been doing much of else. The final episode of the series had me crying like almost never before and it got me thinking about how much I enjoy a good cry. The raw emotion, the circling thoughts of this or that that keep the tears streaming down your face, the feeling of suffocating in your throat: not too much in this life compares to it. With that said, I'd like to spend this week talking about those films that either showcase this emotion or make the viewer experience it. The first film that comes to my mind is Requiem for a Dream. Without ruining anything for those that have not seen it, the final few minutes of the film features the main characters curling into the fetal position and it's just such an amazing moment of sadness that I couldn't help but let the tears fall. Another one that gets me all the time is the closing moments of Little Miss Sunshine where that awesome song comes on as ... " [More]

Re:Which of these movies direct ...
By mercurial in Movie Polls
"So hard since I've seen all but two. I think I'm going with Eyes Wide Shut. It is the only Kubrick I have seen in a movie theater and it was such an incredible experience that profoundly affected me when I saw it. I could probably say the same about all the others I have seen but being able to see EWS on the big screen in the manner in which it was meant to be seen puts its ahead of the others. " [More]

Twister

Weekly Theme for September 14: ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"The inclement weather where I currently am reminded me how quickly the weather can change and the sheer chaos Mother Nature can inflict upon us. For most of us, the worst we see is extreme heat, heavy downpours or blankets of snow; those unfortunate others that must endure hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other outrageous meteorological conditions are a sorry bunch indeed. And it is these events that have been the focus of many a summer blockbuster as well as this week's theme. The first film that comes to mind for me is Twister. This was another film like Independence Day that garnered much attention for the budget it required to make and the phenomenal (at that time and surprisingly still today) visual effects that filled it. Despite a good amount of cheese from the soapy love triangle between Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt and Jamie Gertz, the film succeeds in the growing tension of the impending twisters and the sense of dread the audience endures as this crazy group of tornado chase ... " [More]

American Beauty

Re:Weekly Theme for September 7 ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"Awesome topic. Probably my favorite film about cheating / having an affair is Dressed to Kill. The first twenty, thirty minutes of the film is so insane, so mind blowingly intense - a woman in an unhappy marriage is hooked into a quickie with a stranger and . . . I can't say anymore because it's just so awesome you have to watch for yourself. True Lies had fun with the typical affair plot with Jamie Lee Curtis wanting more from her marriage and toying with the idea of having an affair with sleazy Bill Paxton. Of course there is Fatal Attraction which made every man think twice before committing adultery. Dave is a great film about the president of the United States having an affair and his staff having to cover it up in an absurd yet amusing way. Monsoon Wedding dealt with a woman dealing with an arranged marriage and the other man she is madly in love with. American Beauty was another film about a bored suburban marriage falling apart. Rushmore had that great little love triangle ... " [More]

Beetlejuice

Weekly Theme for August 31: Mak ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"Taking inspiration from this recent quiz over at Sporcle (http://www.sporcle.com/games/ actorsindisguise.php), this week’s theme is about all those incredible transformations through makeup or CGI that some actors undertake in order to become the absolute visual representation of a character in a film. The recent explosion of films utilizing CGI over labor intensive makeup and body suits has made the once impossible, possible. Casting slightly similar looking actors to portray younger versions of a character is no longer necessary when Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen can be made to look twenty years younger, such as the case in X-Men: The Last Stand, and Brad Pitt can depict the various stages of life from birth to senility in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Nevertheless, CGI hasn’t completely superseded the art of movie makeup as evidenced by Heath Ledger’s metamorphosis in the maniacal Joker and Ron Perlman’s larger than life Hellboy. My favorites te ... " [More]

Re:Weekly Theme for March 9: Ti ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"Here's a fun little timeline made about time travel in movies: http://www.informationisbeauti ful.net/visualizations/timelin es/ " [More]

Re:Movies available for review
By mercurial in Spout Mavens
"Is there a revised list of movies available? I emailed my review of Terminal City a while ago and am ready to review something else. Let me know when you get a chance. Thanks! " [More]

Dumplings

Re:Weekly Theme for August 24: ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"Thanks for covering for me Emery. Well, one of my favorite directors primarily makes short films. All of Kenneth Anger's experimental films are amazing, but my favorites have to beRabbit's Moon and Scorpio Rising. They were finally released in two collections on DVD this past year and I've watched them numerous times. http://video.google.com/google player.swf?docid=-585508891793 7778770&hl=en&fs=true http://video.google.com/google player.swf?docid=-470474888428 4449320&hl=en&fs=true The Brothers Quay are also masters of the short film, my favorite beingAnamorphosis. http://www.dailymotion.com/vid eo/xd8d9_anamorphosis_shortfil ms In the anthology 3 Extremes, Dumplings was probably the most disturbing. http://www.youtube.com/v/EY9_D MYKoDk&hl=en&fs=1& That's enough for now. " [More]

Re:Which of these movies writte ...
By mercurial in Movie Polls
"I live about 45 minutes from where they filmed The Great Outdoors and always watch the film before and after I visit the lake. So yeah, it gets my vote. " [More]

Sin City

Re:Weekly Theme for August 17: ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"The Night of the Hunter - Not really about an execution, but the film centers around some money that the cellmate of a death row inmate overhears and takes upon himself to find upon his release. Sin City - The film that brought back Mickey Rourke from mediocrity. Not to give anything away but his character Marv was one fucking badass that just wouldn't die peacefully. Capote & Infamous - Both good films about the murders that took place in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and the subsequent executions of the murderers. Elizabeth - The first act of the film centers on whether Elizabeth is going to be executed or become queen. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - I believe the latter part of the film centered around an execution but all I remember is the bizarre orgy. Need to watch it again. Marie Antoinette - The one thing that got a lot of people mad about this film was the lack of any depiction of her execution. The Messenger - Again, doesn't get to the actual act, but nonetheless. ... " [More]

Cloverfield

Weekly Theme for August 10: Hap ...
By mercurial in Weekly Theme
"Seeing as how it was my birthday this past weekend I thought this week's theme should be about films featuring characters that are enjoying or hating their own days of birth. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Amazing film that takes place during a family's matriarchs birthday party on a magnificent antebellum plantation estate. Good Will Hunting - The end of the film in which the main characters birthday leads to a final decision about which direction to take in his life. Boy A - A troubled boy is released from juvenile prison on his 18th birthday and forced to come to terms with the real world that he has been closed off from for so long. The Boys in the Band - A group of men get together to celebrate their friends birthday and it turns into an all out war of words. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - The whole magical world is revealed to young Harry Potter on his birthday and a generation of kids wishing like hell that when their birthdays rolled around that a flying letter from Hogwa ... " [More]