wow really? I didn't find the accents to be very thick at all.
you should check out peaky blinders now that's some serious hard to understand English.

My 13th round pick is The Tree of Life, and why this one is still here is beyond me. I also think if follows nicely from My Architect since it's about an architect remembering his father and mother and growing up in small town Texas.

How do I begin to explain my love for Malick's films--not all of them--but the great ones, Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, and The Tree of Life? Perhaps it's that Malick's films don't quite make sense. They seem to be small, personal films but done on a grand scale. The voice over narration is a trademark as is the always beautiful cinematography and editing. He coaxes superb performances out of his actors despite a reputation for leaving performances in the cutting room.

In The Tree of Life Malick deals with what he always deals with in his films: a sense of what it feels like to live in the world, a world of nature and a world of grace, as he makes clear in this film. The Tree of Life traces the history of the world--quite literally. We get an empathetic dinosaur, a sometimes cruel, domineering father, a mother who is almost literally an angel.

I don't want to pretend to quite get Malick. I don't. I don't get Malick in the way I don't get Heidegger. Both want to describe what it feels like to be present, the conditions that got us to where we are this moment in time. There is nothing quite like a Malick film.

I realize I'm really struggling to deal with The Tree of Life. That's okay. It's why I've gone to the movies since I was growing up, like Malick, in the 50s and why I still go to movies. An old friend and teacher once told me that some people really don't care for movies. I think he was right. Most people don't care for Malick's films. That's fine. I love them.

Anyway, great performances from Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, and Sean Penn.

I need to revisit Tree Of Life....saw it in the theater, loved it, but haven't seen it since

I've got every film I wanted, too, except for Punch-Drunk Love.

If it's British and I'm watching it on TV, I have closed captioning turned on.

I would be shocked if you watched children of men and needed subtitles.

Maybe it was just one character I couldn't understand at all.

Xander biscuits is skipped; Zeno is on the clock!

Nice writeups, Phat Mack. I guess The Big Short really is a black comedy.

Somebody done messed with the spreadsheet: "A.I. dumb Peter Pan movie."


My Picks:

In The Mood For Love
Certified Copy
Lost In Translation
Mad Detective
Toni Erdmann
Arrival
Tangerine
Lars And The Real Girl
Let The Sunshine In
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Happy-Go-Lucky
My Architect
The Tree Of Life

For #13 pick; There Will be Blood

I'll do write ups for #12 and #13 tonight. God is on my ass.


[diabolical PM'ed]

We’re not done yet, John.

Pick #12 Write Up:

Crazy Heart was written and directed by Scott Cooper, and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. The film centers around a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter (Jeff Bridges) who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Supporting roles are played by Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall. Bridges, Farrell, and Duvall sing in the film. So says Wiki.

Bridges does a superb job portraying an alcoholic rascal that thinks he possibly can change. Supporting roles are well done and the songs are excellent. Some feel good moments in the film (see spoiler clip) but overall this is an exploration of someone that is his own worst enemy. By not being preachy; that helps elevate this film into something realistic and ultimately moving. However you wish to interpret this movie and its ending; it is very well done and worthy of inclusion in this draft.

13 Picks:

The Dark Knight
No Country for Old Men
In Bruges
Pan’s Labyrinth
Kung Fu Hustle
Amélie
Open Range
Shoot’em Up
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
How High
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Crazy Heart
There will be Blood



[First: A Thank You to Dominic for running one of the Lounge’s best film drafts; with more to come!!!]



Pick # 13

Musical Prelude:





Write Up:

There Will Be Blood. Thucydides was correct – Plato was wrong.






There will be Blood - Final Scene – For everyone









Musical Afterword:

Except for DDL’s amazing John Huston impression, There Will Be Blood leaves me with a “meh.”

I almost picked There Will be Blood early, but I only wanted one DDL movie and eventually decided on Lincoln.

DDL gave one of the greatest performances of all time in TWBB.

btw was that the movie ppl were talking about earlier that they were shocked had t been taken yet?

Diabolical on the clock

The Dawn Wall

I know most people would probably select [undrafted] over this, but this is just a better documentary on almost every level. Sure, you don't have the life or death aspect, but when you take that away, you are left with a much more rewarding experience.

When Tommy Caldwell lost his index finger, his climbing career was over...or at least that's what everybody told him. You just can't climb at the highest level when that finger is so crucial. Did that stop him? Hell no! Then his marriage fell apart. So what do you do? Well, you dedicate years of your life into doing the hardest rock climb anybody has ever attempted, of course. Oh, and did I mention that he was kidnapped by rebels years earlier, and had to kill one of them in order to save the group? To say this guy has had a rough time of it would be an understatement.

With the help of a fellow climber, these two guys commit to a climb that most people thought was impossible. This is a story of survival, dedication, loss, hope, love, perseverance, failure and success. If you aren't tearing up by the end of this, then you just aren't human. I don't think I've ever rooted for two guys to succeed at something so hard in my life.

Oh, and stay tuned in the credits for a twist ending that you won't see coming!

When I saw this the first time, I watched it again the very next day. That's something I never do with documentaries.

That's what I was referring to, yeah.

ya I assumed as much.

man can't believe I slept on the dawn wall and undrafted what a great pick.

btw Caldwell's book is fantastic as well, his kidnapping adventure is just unreal.

Ooh yeah, I do really want to read that book.

Round 13
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
Malik Bendjelloul



It was time for a documentary and this is one of my all-time favorites. I feel like we could do a whole draft on documentaries alone. This one is great. Back in the 70's there was an obscure singer/songwriter named Rodriguez (aka Sugar Man). He was talented enough to record 2 albums but they were very poorly received and he pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. But his music gained a huge cult following in South Africa. So 2 South African DJs tried to find him and this is a tale of that journey. I won't spoil anything but if you haven't seen this movie you probably should.

so far:
United 93
Catch Me if You Can
Almost Famous
Seabiscuit
Jersey Boys
Love & Mercy
Cell 211
Pitch Perfect
A Mighty Wind
Road Trip
61*
School of Rock
Searching for Sugar Man

Round 14
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (2010)
Eli Craig



This one is great! I am not really a fan of horror or slasher movies and this is a comedic take on that genre. Tucker and Dale played by Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk are a couple of hillbillies who buy an old delapidated cabin in the woods as their dream vacation spot. Labine and Tudyk are both fantastic and criminally under rated actors who are always great. The plot contains a lot of misunderstanding and a cascading comedy of errors as the dead bodies start to pile up. This is a fun movie to watch and a good spinoff of the horror/slasher style flicks.

so far:
United 93
Catch Me if You Can
Almost Famous
Seabiscuit
Jersey Boys
Love & Mercy
Cell 211
Pitch Perfect
A Mighty Wind
Road Trip
61*
School of Rock
Searching for Sugar Man
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil