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Take Shelter/A Dangerous Method (no spoilers on either)
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nick
Feb 16, 2012, 8:51:35 AM2/16/12
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No connection between the two either, other than they're the two most
recent films I've seen. But maybe there are connections. Take
Shelter co-stars Jessica Chastain and A Dangerous Method stars Michael
Fassbender. Between the two of them they were in every single film
released last year. Take Shelter deals with a man struggling with the
possibility of having severe mental problems, and A Dangerous Method
deals with two men who made their careers trying to diagnose, help
and understand people struggling with severe mental problems.
Michael Shannon should have gotten an Oscar nomination for his
performance in Take Shelter but if there's any movie released last
year that most any self-respecting "older Academy member" wouldn't be
able to stand as they watched it on academy screener on their
treadmills and stationary bikes, it'd have to be Take Shelter, which
is as grim and uncompromised as it needs to be. I have one or two
minor questions about plot points but those can be addressed later.
A Dangerous Method is a light romantic comedy in comparison and while
Take Shelter is elevated by Shannon's performance, Keira Knightley's
mannered jut-jawed performance as Sabina Spielrein screams Oscar
bait. It screams, "if you thought Natalie Portman was fantastic in
Black Swan . . ." I thought she was doing a German accent but the
character is Russian. Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as Freud
do much better in lower-keyed performances. There's one great scene
with the two of them that reminded me of Nosferatu. It's a good film
but minor Cronenberg and suffers from the coldness of most of his
later work--I miss the febrile creepiness of the drive-in era David.
But if you like films where smart people sit around talking, then
definitely check it out, even if the film's "money shots" are silly
and obnoxious and no doubt downloadable from nude celebrity websites
anyway.
recent films I've seen. But maybe there are connections. Take
Shelter co-stars Jessica Chastain and A Dangerous Method stars Michael
Fassbender. Between the two of them they were in every single film
released last year. Take Shelter deals with a man struggling with the
possibility of having severe mental problems, and A Dangerous Method
deals with two men who made their careers trying to diagnose, help
and understand people struggling with severe mental problems.
Michael Shannon should have gotten an Oscar nomination for his
performance in Take Shelter but if there's any movie released last
year that most any self-respecting "older Academy member" wouldn't be
able to stand as they watched it on academy screener on their
treadmills and stationary bikes, it'd have to be Take Shelter, which
is as grim and uncompromised as it needs to be. I have one or two
minor questions about plot points but those can be addressed later.
A Dangerous Method is a light romantic comedy in comparison and while
Take Shelter is elevated by Shannon's performance, Keira Knightley's
mannered jut-jawed performance as Sabina Spielrein screams Oscar
bait. It screams, "if you thought Natalie Portman was fantastic in
Black Swan . . ." I thought she was doing a German accent but the
character is Russian. Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as Freud
do much better in lower-keyed performances. There's one great scene
with the two of them that reminded me of Nosferatu. It's a good film
but minor Cronenberg and suffers from the coldness of most of his
later work--I miss the febrile creepiness of the drive-in era David.
But if you like films where smart people sit around talking, then
definitely check it out, even if the film's "money shots" are silly
and obnoxious and no doubt downloadable from nude celebrity websites
anyway.
Alls Quiet
Feb 23, 2012, 7:52:35 PM2/23/12
to
well as overly long. M. Night Shyamalan at least gave us aliens and
tin foil hats.
Message has been deleted
rms
Feb 23, 2012, 9:12:34 PM2/23/12
to
I saw this recently...it didn't thrill me either. For a movie that's
over two hours, not a lot happens. It's just "more of the same" until
maybe 20 minutes to go. And I preferred Melancholia.
Watched it last night, loved it as giving an insight into mental
illness, though I did put the dvd player into 1.2x FF for most of it. The
ending gave me a WTF copout moment, until, as a imdb forum poster put it, I
interpreted it as showing him and his family finally 'being on the same
page'.
rms
over two hours, not a lot happens. It's just "more of the same" until
maybe 20 minutes to go. And I preferred Melancholia.
Watched it last night, loved it as giving an insight into mental
illness, though I did put the dvd player into 1.2x FF for most of it. The
ending gave me a WTF copout moment, until, as a imdb forum poster put it, I
interpreted it as showing him and his family finally 'being on the same
page'.
rms
nick
Feb 23, 2012, 11:01:21 PM2/23/12
to
someone I went to school with spending half his income (literally) on
survivalist things like a bomb shelter for his family and wound up
having criminal charges pressed against him after botching his wife's
childbirth and killing their newborn; he was a lot like Michael
Shannon, even physically, in Take Shelter, with, if possible, an even
grimmer resolution to his story.
I don't know what to make of the ending but my overall sense is that
as much as I liked Take Shelter, it's basically, like M. Night
Shyamalan's movies (but a lot better than them), an extended Twilight
Zone episode with an ironic twist ending, though in this case, it
never would have gotten past the network censor. But as a portrait of
someone who may or may not be following his mother down a path towards
paranoid schizophrenia, Shannon deserved more attention than he got. I
liked how his character was pro-active in getting help. Usually in
these things, it's always the wife who forces the issue. But maybe
Shannon's screen persona too creepy and offbeat to ever make it into
the big time.
Alls Quiet
Feb 24, 2012, 5:53:33 AM2/24/12
to
On Feb 23, 11:01 pm, nick <nickmacpherso...@AOL.com> wrote:
> I don't know what to make of the ending but my overall sense is that
> as much as I liked Take Shelter, it's basically, like M. Night
> Shyamalan's movies (but a lot better than them), an extended Twilight
> Zone episode with an ironic twist ending, though in this case, it
> never would have gotten past the network censor.
I don't think Shannon's persona is creepy *enough* (if that would have
> I don't know what to make of the ending but my overall sense is that
> as much as I liked Take Shelter, it's basically, like M. Night
> Shyamalan's movies (but a lot better than them), an extended Twilight
> Zone episode with an ironic twist ending, though in this case, it
> never would have gotten past the network censor.
helped this prodigiously overpraised non-starter). I liked what rms
says--and IMBD boards are getting MUCH better, if you're lucky enough
to find at least two posters willing to overact with each other, such
as here. The ending did indeed show the family on the same page--but
by that point, enough already with the boring repetitive CGI storms!
Good God, this was...nothing. It wasn't about mental illness (as nick
agrees). It wasn't about "Signs" (what signs? where?). It wasn't about
the (yawn) apocalypse. It wasn't about a damn thing--EXCEPT a
"Revolutionary Road" style, boring, "life in the suburbs will drive
even good men mad" message. In fact, I spent most of the film
recalling a guy from grad school I had a crush on who looked an awful
lot like Shannon, whose father blew his brains out, and who acted as
if he someday would too. Whoa-a-a, the fun never stopped.
I also knew bomb-shelter makers. They were only doing fad stuff from
the 60's. Maybe they were nuts too. RIP.
I am off now to The Story of the Weeping Camel, and then comes As Far
As My Feet Will Carry Me, and then Genghis Blues. I am permanently
done with American film except for my dose of Disney.
Alls Quiet
Feb 25, 2012, 6:35:17 AM2/25/12
to
On Feb 23, 9:12 pm, "rms" <rsquires...@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
> Watched it last night, loved it as giving an insight into mental
> illness, though I did put the dvd player into 1.2x FF for most of it. The
> ending gave me a WTF copout moment, until, as a imdb forum poster put it, I
> interpreted it as showing him and his family finally 'being on the same
> page'.
It would be interesting for people here on ramcf to rank IMDB boards,
> illness, though I did put the dvd player into 1.2x FF for most of it. The
> ending gave me a WTF copout moment, until, as a imdb forum poster put it, I
> interpreted it as showing him and his family finally 'being on the same
> page'.
to let us know if the particular board if full of idiots or savants.
nick
Feb 25, 2012, 8:36:00 AM2/25/12
to
all I know.
moviePig
Feb 25, 2012, 9:24:09 AM2/25/12
to
you must wade through his thoughts on pruning shears and tea candles.
--
- - - - - - - -
YOUR taste at work...
http://www.moviepig.com
nick
Feb 25, 2012, 8:33:31 PM2/25/12
to
as I am (and you as well) since you'll get 9 or 10 reviews of any
given low/no budget horror calling it the worst piece of shit ever--
with no consideration at all for budget limitations or experience of
the filmmakers-- and then you'll get the one or two good reviews
obviously written by someone with some professional or familial
connection to the production.
But with Amazon, I tend to trust their book reviews. Like last year
when Jonathan Franzen's Freedom got all those "best writer in
America!" reviews but then it got middling Amazon reader reviews.
That kind of thing sets alarms going.
moviePig
Feb 25, 2012, 11:30:07 PM2/25/12
to
talking about books. And, at least when trying to avoid spoilers I
find its reviews damned hard to penetrate. E.g., I just finished the
highly rated thriller 'Still Missing' (because it was fast reading),
and the damned thing turned out to be a f**king 'R'-rated Lifetime-TV
treatment. Yet, it gets a high 4.5 Amazon consensus ...whereas Robt.
B. Parker's novels seldom score(d) above 3.5 or so. Although I read
IMDb results pretty usefully, I have yet to do better than hit-or-miss
on Amazon's books ...which, as investments of days rather than hours,
are where heads-ups are really needed...
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