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estefanos

Member since 5/16/2007, last signed in awhile ago.
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Re:The Coen Brothers argument
By estefanos in FilmCouch
"I just listened to the Coen Bros section of #48 again. It's worth mentioning that the "nihilistic" philosophy which seems to be the ground from which the Coen"s art springs is probably the key element in my conflicted feelings about their films. I tend to be more of a shiny-happy optimist, which may be reflected in my fondness for many movie musicals. But again the need for some darkness and/or pop culture relevance to round out or make "whole" the filmic experience draws me more to modern representatives of the genre such as All That Jazz and Moulin Rouge. Across the Universe was a disappointment with it's tenuous stretching of story to fit lyrics and vice versa, though there were some great visuals and some  musical sequences, especially the "i've Just Seen a Face" number in the bowling alley, that worked. The other standout was Eddie Izzard's performance-he cracks me up! Allow me to digress a little further and say who else is foaming at the mouth to see the Tim ... " [More]

Re:The Coen Brothers argument
By estefanos in FilmCouch
"I have loved Coen bros films ever since seeing Blood Simple for the first time. However, despite my love for the intelligence and tehnique of their films, I have always had a near revulsion for the senseless brutality that appears suddenly in most of their films. I realise that our culture has largely become either ironic or desensitized vis a vis human on human violence, but this is my personal problem. Given that, I also feel that these random acts of violence are a big factor in the Coen's "edge", and their pics would be less awesome, or whole, without them. So I am torn between my moral/physical retch over heedless mayhem and a feeling that I should lighten up a bit, you know, for the sake of Art. I haven't yet seen No Country, but am supposing that the juxtaposition of gravity and cartoonishness that you hint at is a familiar Coen Brothers trope.I feel kind of like a little kid watching a scary movie through his fingers, bracing for an expected shock when I watch a new ... " [More]

Re:FilmCouch #44 - Spirituality ...
By estefanos in FilmCouch
"While spiritual experience is hard to pin down with words, my sense is that it has to do with an inner feeling or emotion of certainty that there is more to existence than meets the physical "eye", ( by which "eye" I mean the reductive stance that believes all reality can ultimately be explained through emperical experiments).The films that impart this sense of inner or "mystical" knowing to me best are those that intentionally deal with this sense of mystery leading to truth. This is necessarily a slippery subject, as inward truth can be invoked by but always transcends physical images and intellectual constructs. That said,some films that come immediately to mind are The Virgin Spring, All That Jazz, The Passion of Joan of Arc,  The Straight Story, Aparajito,  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep. These and many other films deal with characters struggling to come to grips with their sense of reality and the moral choices this struggle imposes. In that sense ... " [More]
Tommy
Tommy
Re: Welcome to this Group and M ...
By estefanos in Count Zero
"Hey, Sidepocket, I agree with Risselada's comment here; there is potential in this group but we need some focus. I for one would love to weigh in on spirtiual themes, especially since the last three movies I saw were Diary of a Country Priest, Ordet and Breaking the Waves, and not because I was trying to watch spiritually themed movies! Synchronicity eh? " [More]

Re: FilmCouch #29
By estefanos in FilmCouch
"Oh well, it's Summer, right? Everyone's on vacation. So I'll respond to myself- Sounds a bit naieve and idealistic (Typical). Not to mention self-serving. You "oh I hate politics" types think you have a convenient escape clause, but its just because you've grown up priveleged, American middle-class and don't have to come face to face with the Realities of deprivation starvation war genocide drive-by shootings constant fear for your life that the majority of living humans must face. Your "ooh how can poor little pampered me possibly make a difference " stance sickens me! Get off your passive high horse and get your hands dirty. WORK for justice and stop wringing your callous-free hands!!!By the bye, I haven't seen the movie yet and I don't have health insurance and I'm a registered nurse. " [More]

Re: FilmCouch #29
By estefanos in FilmCouch
"Hey - I'm actually surprised there isn't a discussion going on this topic. You guys brought up a number of salient points which are close to the bone for me. I also have a difficult time deciding how to enter the political process. It is something I've been struggling with for years. For many years I have hidden behind the idea that I am "apolitical". And it is a rational position if you consider thde Sisyphian difficuty of making your voice heard. Why wouldn't one one just throw up their hands? However, I have seen a glimmer of hope in the concept of "acting locally and thinking globally". Also, if you are able, ala Michael Moore and Al Gore, to project your message in an effective (if imperfect) way, it's like, Seize the day!, Strike while the iron is Hot! It doesn't really matter if you are misunderstood by even a majority of the people- you are at least being a catalyst for change and who knows how far it will reach in the long run. So power to the true ... " [More]

Re: FilmCouch #25
By estefanos in FilmCouch
"I agree that it is better for celebrities to attempt to use their social currency to "make a difference" than to simply bask in their fame and go clubbing. We all have to decide to what degree we are going to be socially or politically involved and celebrities are no different, (except that they're under the microscope). I believe that the quality of an artist's work should be considered apart from its socio-political intent or effectiveness for purposes of reviewing the work. Then if you want to banter about the artist's saavy or naivete, have a conversation by all means. I think much of the carping at celebrities who take stands stems from understandable human jealousy and the desire to prove that they are no better  and indeed often inferior to "us". It's helpful to stand back from the media -driven phenomenae and see them as normal humans who have to deal with both the glory and the backwash of their fame. Anyway, the "objective" view from most critics that I ... " [More]

The Jolie distraction factor
By estefanos in Filmspotting
"It's very interesting that a significant portion of the review of A Mighty Heart revolved around whether it's possible to consider Angelina Jolies' performance apart from her current cultural notoriety. But that is as it should be, given the power of mass media. It would be dumb (or tragically hip) to ignore the elephant in the room. I think we should forgive Angelina for being so much more hated and adored than we all are and try to appreciate what may be good or honestly observe what doesn't ring true in her performance. I think Adam and Sam did a good job of being as fair  and dispassionate as they could manage to be. Since Angelina's celebrity will fade before this film will, it's best to consider whether the film and performances will stand the test of time. The impression I took from the review is that this is a really good, possibly great movie and I am looking forward to seeing it and finding out for myself. " [More]

Re: Netflix Bad business practices
By estefanos in Spout Feedback
"I'm rethinking the anti-netflix thing based upon the seemingly base practice of throttling. Now I'm thinking that they mostly provide a worthy service but , much as "they" would like to,they are so big that they can't offer truly personal service nor a sense of community, yet they dominate the market.  The smaller initiatives such as Greencine  have some good ideas even though they may be less efficient but they could use a break, so I'm going to continue to investigate alternatives and see what rises to the top. " [More]

Re: Netflix Bad business practices
By estefanos in Spout Feedback
"I see a lot of love here for Netflix, which is understandable, given their very deep catalogue, cool site features and ease of use. However, what about the issue of "throttling"? I noticed a marked slowdown on turnaround after a few months of great service, then after many months of frustration over slow turnarounds (I was returning DVD's asap in order to get maximum value), I chanced to learn about throttling and found this site- http://www.manuelsweb.co m/netflix.htm - which appears to be very thorough and objective in its overview of the subject. Anyway, in my opinion, such a deceptive and greedy practice by a huge profitable company is unacceptable, so I  recently downgraded my Netflix account to the el-cheapo $5/2-a month plan and started a 2-out unlimited plan with Greencine, which, by the way, seems more personal and cinephile oriented, which I value even though GC's site isn't as convenient for reviews and rentals as NF. My hope is that through this combined pla ... " [More]

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