Bend it Like Beckham -- Film Review
Victoria Barrett
P.S.: Saw it last night, but I am literally out the door. Will do up a nice
review for you all upon my return.
Serious Tiger
Thank God you posted that. I was just thinking, "only 100 posts to read already today, what I
really need now is a post whose sole content is to trail another post".
If this is some sinister Barrett-marketing-machine ploy, I'd say you're getting enough exposure
already....
ST.
PS Looking forward to the review though. Please include full plot in order to enable me to talk
about it down the pub without going to the bother of seeing it. A couple of choice quotes would be
nice, too.
Grant Flowers
Victoria Barrett wrote in message ...
>Coming to a newsgroup near you.
>
>P.S.: Saw it last night, but I am literally out the door. Will do up a nice
>review for you all upon my return.
groovy. talk about my girl, will ya? i suspect she's not as good with the
ball at her feet as i would hope.
grant
Michael Cunningham
news:3e19cc36...@usenet.plus.net...
> On Mon, 6 Jan 2003 13:14:05 -0500, "Victoria Barrett" <vbar...@the-beach.net> wrote:
>
> >Coming to a newsgroup near you.
> >
> >P.S.: Saw it last night, but I am literally out the door. Will do up a nice
> >review for you all upon my return.
> >
> >
>
> Thank God you posted that. I was just thinking, "only 100 posts to read already today,
You don't have to read _all_ of them, you know.
My posts, for example, are well worth taking the time to skip. Poleson's, too.
--
Mike
Victoria Barrett
No, not a good film, but a _great_ modern film, one that British Asians have
been churning out with such amazing proficiency lately ("East is East", "My
son, the fanatic") that the future of British cinema looks to be headed
towards respectability again.
No more Ealing Studio comedies by the mindboggling talents of Alec Guinness;
or whodunits with a Covent Garden-Who's-Who trailmix like the recent
"Gosford Park". Not even the ragtag army of Cockney Mafiosos by Madge's old
man, Guy Ritchie.
"Bend it Like Beckham" is youthful, vibrant and offers a touch of realism
much overdue to cinema-goers around the world who think British society is
stuck in some 1930's country house party, which couldn't be further from the
truth.
The premise is quite straightforward:
Young female Londoner of Asian origin (note, non-UK'ers, this doesn't mean
"Japanese" or "Chinese" as it usually does in your countries, but someone
from Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan/Bangladeshi origin) faces a life dilemma:
she loves football, but her traditional Punjabi family want her to go into
University and thereto Law; her controlling mother _especially_, though
learning how to cook Aloo Ghobi is an absolute must too.
Whilst her licentious sister plans her wedding to a more socially prominent
man, Jess keeps to her room, plastered with David Beckham posters -- to whom
she confides her deepest secrets and recounts her days, as if she were an
Asian Ivy Teesdale from "You rang, Milord?".
Eventually, she finds a kindred spirit in Juliet (Jules to her mates), whose
own mother wishes nothing better for her daughter than better cleavage and a
nice boyfriend, though her dad is only too happy to wish his boyish daughter
every success in their mutual love, football.
Jules plays for the Hounslow Harriers, ladies football team, and scouts Jess
for the team, although the devilishly handsome young Irish manager, Joe, is
less sure. Can Jess make the leap to playing in the local park with the
lads, to the grit and discipline needed to be a professional footballer?
Eventually, we find out, but not with some of the tussles any person would
encounter, if his or her dreams stood in the way of reality, and not the
other way around.
This film hits every emotional "button" available in our collective
cotidian, such as:
- The Indian angle, or how a young girl can overcome (or not) her culture's
ideas of family obedience and lifestyle choices.
- The Love angle, or should I say triangle, since Jess and Jules fancy the
same man who, added to that heady melodrama, is their coach.
- The Friendship angle, with all the intricacies of female-female
friendship, always part-bonding, part-competition.
- The Immigrant angle, and all the hardships that entails, with rejection,
ridicule and racist abuse never far behind, as the be-turbaned father of the
family experiences every day.
- The Homosexual angle, equally of the kind of woman who would be attracted
to football, to an humourous misconception of lesbianism by one of the
mothers, and an outlying character who deals with his own sexuality in the
only manner available to him, or so he thinks.
- The "USA" angle, or the promise of a better, more exotic place, with
opportunities and fortunes not currently on offer in one's own country.
- The Parent-and-Child angle, with dollops of expectation, love, and
exasperation as you realise the outside world has more pull over your child
than you do.
...whilst others may grimace and say "clichéd", as the old Hollywood
trailers used to put it, "Yes, there's something for everybody in this film.
Go see it now!", and I echo that sentiment in full.
Outtakes from the Film:
- "Who'd want a girl who plays football all day but can't make chapatis?"
- Gary Lineker, surrounded by John Barnes and Alan Hansen: "You should very
proud of your daughter". "Not at all, and you three shouldn't be encouraging
her!"
- "Do you swear on Baba-Gi you weren't kissing a boy in the bus stop?" "I
swear it on Baba-Gi!" "Well, these English girls with their short short
haircuts all look like boys. Easy mistake to make."
- "She called me a bloody Paki! But then you wouldn't know what that feels
like, would you?" "Of course I would. I'm Irish."
- "Don't smile! Indian brides never smile on their wedding day, you'll ruin
the bloody video."
(2002) Director, Gurinder Chadha / Writers, Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda
Berges, Guljit Bindra / Stars, Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan
Rhys Meyers, Kulvinder Ghir, Shaznay Lewis, Juliet Stevenson / Length, 112
minutes / Distributor, Helkon SK / Cinema, 12th April 2002 (UK). Limited
Release date, USA: 12 March 2003.
Poster: http://www.snowmedia.net/story_image/962.jpg
Recommended follow-up viewing: "Jalla, Jalla" (Sweden), "The Wedding
Banquet" (China/USA), "The Jazz Singer", 1926 (USA).
* * * 1/2
~ V. Barrett
Markus
I saw this one a couple of years ago, a great film indeed. As opposed to
"Bend it like Beckham" it's not a film for the whole family but it raises
the same issues and the humour is abolutely spot on.
thachhnguyen
"Victoria Barrett" <vbar...@the-beach.net> wrote in message
news:avcrf4$ebquk$1...@ID-121719.news.dfncis.de...
> This is a great film.
I am surprised.
BILB to me is an average cheery feel-good watch-and-forget melodrama. The
theme of this film based around the main character's struggle to get what
she wants as a younger daughter of an immigrant Indian/Pakistani/Sikh (I
can't remember) family in modern Britain -- but the film-makers didn't
explore beyond the surface to really deliver it beside creating a few
awkward situations then someone always came to the rescue. Everything played
out so perfectly, so easily at the end like a "best case scenario". The
football bit was for the most part, irrelevant -- it could have been
basketball for all concerned.
Victoria Barrett
news:sznS9.23888$kY3.1...@twister.southeast.rr.com...
>
> I am surprised.
>
> BILB to me is an average cheery feel-good watch-and-forget melodrama. The
> theme of this film based around the main character's struggle to get what
> she wants as a younger daughter of an immigrant Indian/Pakistani/Sikh (I
> can't remember) family in modern Britain -- but the film-makers didn't
> explore beyond the surface to really deliver it beside creating a few
> awkward situations then someone always came to the rescue. Everything
played
> out so perfectly, so easily at the end like a "best case scenario". The
> football bit was for the most part, irrelevant -- it could have been
> basketball for all concerned.
As they say, one man's meat is another man's poison. But consider this:
- How many films are made where the central theme is a soccer one?
- How many films are made where the central character is an Asian ---- girl?
- How many films are made with modern realistic teenage patter that doesn't
seem contrived, condenscending or out of place? (The John Hughes 1980's film
and the recent "Kids" excepting)
- How many films feature cinematography that understands the difference
between linear shots and cinematic camera angles?
- How many films about women are there that are not exploitative, sexist, or
scandal-driven?
- How many family films which wouldn't be out-of-place for grandmama or the
10 year-old to watch are made nowawadays?
In fact, this film has a few flaws (it's caricaturishness of Indian
characters, and lack of depth in exploring more sensitive topics) but I am
quite the opposite of you Thach. I wish this film had been shorter not
longer or deeper. But the mistake is to consider it drama or comedy. It's
not either or. It's both, just like real life is.
It also was, as an IMBD (which I always read AFTER I compose my reviews, in
case I am even unconsciously influenced) reviewer put it, 10 minutes away
from being a truly wonderful film.
But I'll like BILB over any LOTR, because ultimately, it speaks to me more.
The A Train
>- How many films are made where the central theme is a soccer one?
Was anyone else really diappointed with "When Saturday Comes"? I
mean, fair enough, you have to stomach a couple of hours of Sean Bean,
but I was really let down by the ending. Thought they were gonna win
the cup or something.
---------
I don't get angry, I internalise. It's one of my problems.
I grow a tumour instead.
<youblunder = blueyonder>
Robert P
Cunningham says...
Especially this one.
--
rob at rjp.clara.net
"As usual, Poleson's right."
Michael Cunningham.
"Poleson, you're an absolute genius."
The A Train.
"Poleson's a genius, no doubt about it"
Joe Horowitz.
Victoria Barrett
news:0u2k1vsnjfb4fjepb...@4ax.com...
> "Victoria Barrett" <vbar...@the-beach.net> once famously said:
>
> >- How many films are made where the central theme is a soccer one?
>
> Was anyone else really diappointed with "When Saturday Comes"? I
> mean, fair enough, you have to stomach a couple of hours of Sean Bean,
> but I was really let down by the ending. Thought they were gonna win
> the cup or something.
I haven't seen that yet. :(
Tommo ł
just sold it to me. Great review.
Victoria Barrett
news:avd3i0$lnn$2...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
> When I saw the trailers I wasn't too interested in this film, but you've
> just sold it to me. Great review.
Gosh, the best possible compliment a reviewer could get. Thanks, Tommocubed.
The Doctor
The Indian movie??
5/5 !!!
--
Member - Liberal International On 11 Sept 2001 the WORLD was violated.
This is doc...@nl2k.ab.ca Ici doc...@nl2k.ab.ca
Society MUST be saved! Extremists must dissolve.
Birthdate: 29 Jan 1969 - Redhill, Surrey, England
The Doctor
It is a reflection of the Britain I know.
The Doctor
The Doctor
VB where you in England when the Brighton riots broke out??
There are shadows of that issue in this film.
The Doctor
Damn, this film remind me of what the UK and Canada went through in th 1960s
to the 1984
The Doctor
Good Victoria, this is an Indi film with an emphasis that
is their statment in UK society.
Benny
> Bend it Like Beckham -- Film Review
>This is a great film.
Haven't seen it and CBA. Looks like a run of the mill Brit film. The
best films I have seen over the holiday period were the Planet of the
Apes trilogy (the original not the garbage by that imbecile Tim Burton)
and three movies starring the utterly marvellous Seann William Scott.
'Part of being a genius is accepting you are one' - Brian Clough
Joe Horowitz
>
> >- How many films are made where the central theme is a soccer one?
>
> Was anyone else really diappointed with "When Saturday Comes"? I
> mean, fair enough, you have to stomach a couple of hours of Sean Bean,
> but I was really let down by the ending. Thought they were gonna win
> the cup or something.
I thought it was a great film. It's central premise, of a boy who tries to
write 360 paragraphs in the style of someone else, was truly original. A
little far-fetched, maybe, but that's Horowood movies for you. Trashy fun.
I give it a fluffy seven.
Joe
--
"Did you miss a digit off Joe's score?"
The Doctor
Benny <Be...@soccer-europe.com> wrote:
>> From : Victoria Barrett <vbar...@the-beach.net>
>> Bend it Like Beckham -- Film Review
>
>>This is a great film.
>
>Haven't seen it and CBA. Looks like a run of the mill Brit film. The
>best films I have seen over the holiday period were the Planet of the
>Apes trilogy (the original not the garbage by that imbecile Tim Burton)
>and three movies starring the utterly marvellous Seann William Scott.
>
Got it on NTCS VHS.
thachhnguyen
> As they say, one man's meat is another man's poison. But consider this:
>
> - How many films are made where the central theme is a soccer one?
>
> - How many films are made where the central character is an Asian ----
girl?
>
> - How many films are made with modern realistic teenage patter that
doesn't
> seem contrived, condenscending or out of place? (The John Hughes 1980's
film
> and the recent "Kids" excepting)
>
> - How many films feature cinematography that understands the difference
> between linear shots and cinematic camera angles?
>
> - How many films about women are there that are not exploitative, sexist,
or
> scandal-driven?
>
> - How many family films which wouldn't be out-of-place for grandmama or
the
> 10 year-old to watch are made nowawadays?
Not many. Lots more than you think (right out of my head: Xiuxiu, The road
home, The hidden half, tTemptress moon, Crouching tiger... ). I didn't quite
get what you meant. Quite a lot in these days(does it really matter?). Many
(Kissing Jessica Stein, The real blonde, Election ...). I don't get this
one-size-fit-all thing.
All the above are still just the surface. They aren't substance that make
great movies. The director never challenged the viewers. He even seemed
afraid and avoided to do so by providing convenient way-out for every
subplots. Every obstacles were overcame with ease and everybody got what
s/he wanted. Everybody was happy. It's harmless fun!
> In fact, this film has a few flaws (it's caricaturishness of Indian
> characters, and lack of depth in exploring more sensitive topics) but I am
> quite the opposite of you Thach. I wish this film had been shorter not
> longer or deeper. But the mistake is to consider it drama or comedy. It's
> not either or. It's both, just like real life is.
I wished ... ummm... nothing :-) Not because it was perfect and needed no
tweak. It was more of a "whatever".
> But I'll like BILB over any LOTR, because ultimately, it speaks to me
more.
Can't argue with you there. IMHO though, setting the bar with the likes of
LOTR or "Maid of New York" is a misake.
Dani Sdao
>
> P.S.: Saw it last night, but I am literally out the door. Will do up a nice
> review for you all upon my return.
I didn't think it was all that good. I watched because of the soccer
content, but I felt it was a movie made for "pre-teen" girls.
My favourite part is anytime Jules says "BOLLOCKS" in that great
accent. :)
d
Serious Tiger
>In article <QIlS9.1232$V6....@news.indigo.ie>, Michael
>Cunningham says...
>> "Serious Tiger" <seriou...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
>> news:3e19cc36...@usenet.plus.net...
>> > On Mon, 6 Jan 2003 13:14:05 -0500, "Victoria Barrett" <vbar...@the-beach.net> wrote:
>> >
>> > >Coming to a newsgroup near you.
>> > >
>> > >P.S.: Saw it last night, but I am literally out the door. Will do up a nice
>> > >review for you all upon my return.
>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>> > Thank God you posted that. I was just thinking, "only 100 posts to read already today,
>>
>> You don't have to read _all_ of them, you know.
>>
>> My posts, for example, are well worth taking the time to skip. Poleson's, too.
>>
>
>Especially this one.
>--
<sticks fingers in ears>
La la la la la la la la la la la la la.........
ST.
Serious Tiger
>"Serious Tiger" <seriou...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
>news:3e19cc36...@usenet.plus.net...
>> On Mon, 6 Jan 2003 13:14:05 -0500, "Victoria Barrett" <vbar...@the-beach.net> wrote:
>>
>> >Coming to a newsgroup near you.
>> >
>> >P.S.: Saw it last night, but I am literally out the door. Will do up a nice
>> >review for you all upon my return.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Thank God you posted that. I was just thinking, "only 100 posts to read already today,
>
>You don't have to read _all_ of them, you know.
>
I do. And though I can't promise to respond in person to every one, I do read them all.
Besides which, I have to, in case I miss one where someone says I'm a cunt or something.
>My posts, for example, are well worth taking the time to skip. Poleson's, too.
Oh, I couldn't be arsed to skip Poleson's.
ST.
®§åi¥å-jiñ Wîll®
--
<>+<>+<>+<>+<>
"States do not receive credit in any world for doing what is right;
they are only rewarded for being strong enough to do
what is necessary" Henry Kissinger.
Vicky Conlan
>My movie of the Year is Minority Report.
Not the movie of the year, but very nice use of Schubert's Unfinished.
--
http://comps.org/dayentry.html <**:.:**> http://comps.org/caption.html
Jason Maxwell
news:s0BS9.14342$1c.1...@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
> My movie of the Year is Minority Report.
>
> --
>
the situation and using logic...
SPOILERS AHEAD
So they want to expand the pre-cogs nationwide? But there's only the three
of them. The scientist Cruise goes and sees to find out about Minority
Reports says that they weren't able to reproduce their experiment that
created them. So how are the three of them going to be able to handle the
whol nation? Their range is obviously limited or they would be getting
readings from the whole nation anyway. So the idea of expanding the program
doesn't hold up, taking away the major motivation of the plot.
Then you have the idea that Tom Cruise is on the run, but the don't shut off
his security access?!?!? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
That's just the tip of the iceberg of the problems with the movie. It was
one of those I enjoyed while I was watching it and not thinking about ti
much, but tby the time I made it from my seat in the theatre to my car I was
going "Wait a second, that doesn't make any sense..."
Not to mention the obvious continuity error in the car chase scene...
Jason
Jason Maxwell
> > "Victoria Barrett" <vbar...@the-beach.net> once famously said:
> >
> > >- How many films are made where the central theme is a soccer one?
> >
movie, a bit unrealistic in places, but a good show. Plus it has Quuen of
the South!
Jason
The A Train
Or Mean Machine with Vinnie Jones,which was a good laugh. Just don't
show it your mates before you play 5-a-side or someone will go home
with a broken ankle.
---------
I have a tendency to internalise, I can't express anger.
It's one of the problems I have...I grow a tumour instead.
<youblunder = blueyonder>
Victoria Barrett
sexist,
> or
> > scandal-driven?
> >
> > - How many family films which wouldn't be out-of-place for grandmama or
> the
> > 10 year-old to watch are made nowawadays?
>
Correct. But not all which incorporated the angles which I delineated in my
review. It's this sum of all things, rather than one central theme which
"deeper" films pursue that I like about BILB.
> All the above are still just the surface. They aren't substance that make
> great movies. The director never challenged the viewers. He even seemed
> afraid and avoided to do so by providing convenient way-out for every
> subplots. Every obstacles were overcame with ease and everybody got what
> s/he wanted. Everybody was happy. It's harmless fun!
Not quite. This isn't the British equivalent of "Turner & Hootch". To
dismiss it as a pre-teen girlie flick like "Spiceworld" is to do it an
injustice, unless of course an interplay of a sub-culture within a wider
culture doesn't interest you, as I confess it does me.
You see, what I know of Indian families is very minimal indeed, though not
so much as observing them only at the curry take-a-way down the street.
Admittedly, I am not much of an Orientalist, and have always disliked
anything above low-tones and I positively dislike gaudy, loud colours -- one
reason why I have always shied away from Bollywood movies. But there is a
reserve about this film which stops it from being too-too just in time.
One important angle that I forgot to mention is this, and it's controversial
enough: at no point in this very Asian film does one get the sense that
"white" people are treated with anything approaching marginalisation. Often
in black American films there is a distance, both emotional and real, which
the larger society outside is treated. Although I realise it's supposed to
represent their very vivid frustration and alienation, BILB never treats its
characters of any background like that. Both Joe and Jules are as fully
thought-out as Tony, her Asian best friend.
It's all one cloth, not separate threads which make a pattern, and it shows
in this film.
> Can't argue with you there. IMHO though, setting the bar with the likes of
> LOTR or "Maid of New York" is a misake.
My own bar is extraordinarily high. When I see a film that duplicates "The
400 Blows" or "The Earrings of Madame de..." or "L'Atalante" then I'll be in
awe.
Suffice it to say that modern films (which I was at pains to mention this
film was) simply don't have the texture, vision and breadth of a film say by
Sergei Eisenstein at his peak. And certainly "Bend it Like Beckham" cannot
approach those heady levels.
But that doesn't make this film rubbish.
Spoof Man
beach.net> was aimlessly bullshitting on this NG but did utter this pearl
of wisdom ...........
> Coming to a newsgroup near you.
>
> P.S.: Saw it last night, but I am literally out the door. Will do up a nice
> review for you all upon my return.
>
>
>
Don't bother Victoria it's crap.
thachhnguyen
"®§åi¥å-jiñ Wîll®" <D...@toonami.Buusaga> wrote in message
news:s0BS9.14342$1c.1...@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
Spielberg ALWAYS cheapened his movies with his predictable sentimentality,
always settled for the happy ending rather than a more meaningful one --
frustrated to watch, considering he did quite a few incredible things.
Y tu mama tambien, The hours, and the first 2/3 of Adaptation are my
choices.
Gangs of New York and Igby goes down are pretty good too.
Ben Nunn
(vbar...@the-beach.net) who said:
>
> My own bar is extraordinarily high. When I see a film that duplicates
> "The 400 Blows" or "The Earrings of Madame de..." or "L'Atalante"
> then I'll be in awe.
So, if I get the DVD, will *I* be disappointed, bearing in mind that I don't
like most mainstream films.
Will it reach the heights of, say, Weekend at Bernies or Derek Jarman's
Blue, or Confessions from a Holidy Camp?
> Suffice it to say that modern films (which I was at pains to mention
> this film was) simply don't have the texture, vision and breadth of a
> film say by Sergei Eisenstein at his peak. And certainly "Bend it
> Like Beckham" cannot approach those heady levels.
>
> But that doesn't make this film rubbish.
I have to admit that I pretty much discounted this film when it was in the
cinema, and thought it was probably a remake of 'Cool Runnings'. Was I so
wrong?
BTN
Joe Horowitz
"thachhnguyen" <es...@darkside.moon> wrote in message
>
> "®§åi¥å-jiñ Wîll®" <D...@toonami.Buusaga> wrote in message
> news:s0BS9.14342$1c.1...@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
> > My movie of the Year is Minority Report.
>
> Spielberg ALWAYS cheapened his movies with his predictable sentimentality,
> always settled for the happy ending rather than a more meaningful one --
> frustrated to watch, considering he did quite a few incredible things.
Agree.
> Y tu mama tambien,
Very funny film. :-)
> The hours, and the first 2/3 of Adaptation are my
> choices.
Didn't see those.
> Gangs of New York and Igby goes down are pretty good too.
24 Hour Party People. Or was that last year?
Jerome Chiu
> So, if I get the DVD, will *I* be disappointed, bearing in mind that I don't
> like most mainstream films.
>
> Will it reach the heights of, say, Weekend at Bernies or Derek Jarman's
> Blue, or Confessions from a Holidy Camp?
Derek Jarman's Blue on DVD? I'd very much prefer a CD with the blue
card in it, much as it was broadcast in Radio 4. ;)
Cheers,
Jerome
Ben Nunn
(seriou...@bigfoot.com) who said:
> I do. And though I can't promise to respond in person to every one,
> I do read them all.
I just had a great idea.
100% Response day. Where one poster has to respond to every single post in
UKSF in a 24 hour period. In a meaningful way.
BTN
Joe Horowitz
"Ben Nunn" <ben...@depro.co.uk> wrote in message
news:avmfjd$h71v4$1...@ID-55895.news.dfncis.de...
Isn't that more or less what I do already?
Vicky Conlan
>> 100% Response day. Where one poster has to respond to every single post in
>> UKSF in a 24 hour period. In a meaningful way.
>Isn't that more or less what I do already?
"Meaningful".
Vicky Conlan
>100% Response day. Where one poster has to respond to every single post in
>UKSF in a 24 hour period. In a meaningful way.
What a stupid idea. Of course, uksf is built on stupid ideas.
Ben Nunn
(co...@riffraff.plig.net) who said:
> According to <ben...@depro.co.uk>:
>> 100% Response day. Where one poster has to respond to every single
>> post in UKSF in a 24 hour period. In a meaningful way.
>
> What a stupid idea. Of course, uksf is built on stupid ideas.
I'll do it then. Probably on Sunday when things are otherwise quiet.
BTN
Ben Nunn
Less, Joe. Very much less.
If you were doing this, then about 50% of all the posts dated yesterday
would've been from you - minus one or two from just before midnight that you
couldn't respond to until today.
As it is, you were responsible for a mere 7% of yesterdays postage, Joe,
meaning that you probably responded to about 1 in 16 posts.
I hope you're aware how inadequate you are, Joe. A small, inadequate,
big-cocked man.
BTN
Joe Horowitz
"Vicky Conlan" <co...@riffraff.plig.net> wrote in message
news:3e1ec9ee$0$867$afc3...@news.easynet.co.uk...
> According to <jh007c31...@blueyonder.co.uk>:
> >> 100% Response day. Where one poster has to respond to every single post
in
> >> UKSF in a 24 hour period. In a meaningful way.
> >Isn't that more or less what I do already?
>
> "Meaningful".
Ah, see, I got that bit, just the wrong way round. I thought Ben meant
respond to every single meaningful post in UKSF. Which I'm pretty sure I
have done over the last year or so.
Joe
Joe Horowitz
Wrong, Ben. Find me any post from yesterday, any post you like, and I'll
tell you how I responded to it. I was very meaningful in my responses as
well, often not actually posting a reply as such but none-the-less reacting
in a meaningful way. From spitting coffee all over my keyboard, to screaming
"oh, you fucking WANKER, Mikey!" at the top of my voice, to disconnecting in
disgust and going downstairs to make dinner instead. All good responses. Who
can match this?
> I hope you're aware how inadequate you are, Joe. A small, inadequate,
> big-cocked man.
You couldn't be more wrong. Um, I mean, aww, fuck it.
Vicky Conlan
>> >> UKSF in a 24 hour period. In a meaningful way.
>> >Isn't that more or less what I do already?
>>
>> "Meaningful".
>
>Ah, see, I got that bit, just the wrong way round. I thought Ben meant
>respond to every single meaningful post in UKSF. Which I'm pretty sure I
>have done over the last year or so.
That'll be why you don't post much.
Michael Cunningham
news:avmjkq$g27d1$1...@ID-146919.news.dfncis.de...
> Wrong, Ben. Find me any post from yesterday, any post you like, and I'll
> tell you how I responded to it. I was very meaningful in my responses as
> well, often not actually posting a reply as such but none-the-less reacting
> in a meaningful way. From spitting coffee all over my keyboard, to screaming
> "oh, you fucking WANKER, Mikey!" at the top of my voice, to disconnecting in
> disgust and going downstairs to make dinner instead. All good responses. Who
> can match this?
I can. Almost exactly. I couldn't believe the shite that fucking wanker, Mikey,
was coming up with yesterday. Shocking.
--
Mike
thachhnguyen
> Correct. But not all which incorporated the angles which I delineated in
my
> review. It's this sum of all things, rather than one central theme which
> "deeper" films pursue that I like about BILB.
My take is: the sum of all things that went nowhere = almost zero.
> Not quite. This isn't the British equivalent of "Turner & Hootch". To
> dismiss it as a pre-teen girlie flick like "Spiceworld" is to do it an
> injustice, unless of course an interplay of a sub-culture within a wider
> culture doesn't interest you, as I confess it does me.
Oh sure, I, an immigrant myself, must be very anti-subcultures because I
though BILB was crap.
> You see, what I know of Indian families is very minimal indeed, though not
> so much as observing them only at the curry take-a-way down the street.
> Admittedly, I am not much of an Orientalist, and have always disliked
> anything above low-tones and I positively dislike gaudy, loud colours --
one
> reason why I have always shied away from Bollywood movies. But there is a
> reserve about this film which stops it from being too-too just in time.
I hope you didn't actually suggest that you watched/not movies because of
the pallettes?
> One important angle that I forgot to mention is this, and it's
controversial
> enough: at no point in this very Asian film does one get the sense that
> "white" people are treated with anything approaching marginalisation.
Often
> in black American films there is a distance, both emotional and real,
which
> the larger society outside is treated. Although I realise it's supposed to
> represent their very vivid frustration and alienation, BILB never treats
its
> characters of any background like that. Both Joe and Jules are as fully
> thought-out as Tony, her Asian best friend.
In other words, lets pretend that everything is fine and paint it with pink
color rather than rudely expose some of the truths? I'm a little agnostic on
this matter and I definitely don't like saccharine.
> It's all one cloth, not separate threads which make a pattern, and it
shows
> in this film.
What about "characters"? Good movies are supposed to be about "characters".
Unfortunately, BILB had none. It promised to develop some, but it chickened
out and gave you cheap weeds.
> My own bar is extraordinarily high. When I see a film that duplicates "The
> 400 Blows" or "The Earrings of Madame de..." or "L'Atalante" then I'll be
> in awe.
Of courses, modern classics can't compete with far and away classical
classics -- some, if not most of those we can no longer connect with. People
wrote, directed, and acted better then, even though they didn't enjoy the
more laxed censorship that today films have to face.
I'd sometimes like to know why films such as "Trainspotting", "American
beauty", "Clockwork Orange" are so inferior the products in comparision.
> Suffice it to say that modern films (which I was at pains to mention this
> film was) simply don't have the texture, vision and breadth of a film say
> by Sergei Eisenstein at his peak.
I saw Ivan The Terrible -- the Ivan/Stalin subtext and Eisenstein's journey
to his eventual disappointment of humanity giving in so easily to tyranny
were very fascinating, and noble. I still don't think that was the greatest
film ever made. There is nothing exactly like it, yes, but mostly because
Eisenstein's experiences were not universal.
> And certainly "Bend it Like Beckham" cannot
> approach those heady levels.
BILB is not even favorable in comparision with "Ferver pitch"
Victoria Barrett
<snip>
> BILB is not even favorable in comparision with "Ferver pitch"
Yes, not too many tattoos.
*duck!*
Joe Horowitz
> According to <jh007c31...@blueyonder.co.uk>:
> >> >> UKSF in a 24 hour period. In a meaningful way.
> >> >Isn't that more or less what I do already?
> >>
> >> "Meaningful".
> >
> >Ah, see, I got that bit, just the wrong way round. I thought Ben meant
> >respond to every single meaningful post in UKSF. Which I'm pretty sure I
> >have done over the last year or so.
>
> That'll be why you don't post much.
I also respond to a lot of the bullshit ones as well.
Mikey's, for instance, or A Train's.
Tommo ł
excited about like Memento and you will find me in enthusiastic mood,
but in the meantime cop this piece of shite :
Mini Film Review > Domestic Disturbance
If you're in a hurry, just one word - avoid.
Right. That just leaves us sophisticated film buffs eh? Deary me, where do I
start with this linear, one dimensional, made for TV movie masquerading as
some type of cinematic experience? Lets just say the plot is thin, there are
no surprises (even the villain dies twice like in all good thrillers), and
I've seen more tension in an Iraqi vote counting.
John Travolta earns his money as usual, but for him this is surely just a
case of paying the bills before moving on to something more demanding and
serious. It has been interesting to see his career develop, and he is an
actor you can't help liking. But for his presence the video wouldn't have
made it past the half way mark in my house.
When my wife brought this home from the video library I was expecting the
worst, and I suppose on that level this film delivered. It stinks.
®§åi¥å-jiñ Wîll®
> > My movie of the Year is Minority Report.
>
> Spielberg ALWAYS cheapened his movies with his predictable sentimentality,
> always settled for the happy ending rather than a more meaningful one --
> frustrated to watch, considering he did quite a few incredible things.
I think it was good that it ended the way it did. I know it "cheapened it"
but IMO, the audience at least went home satisfied ( the popcorn casual
flick/date audience.)
I guess it ending when he shot the guy would've been fine, but if it'd ended
when he was in jail, that'd have been one of the most depressing endings
ever.
Anyone seen Arlington? Who is the villain and who is the hero? I got the
sense I was supporting the wrong person.
--
Now playing: Marilyn Manson - Coma Black
Composed by Mailer Signature (http://www.unusualworks.com)