General Discussion : MOM January 2011

[Hopscotch]

Well you're right, that certainly does simplify it; I was way off. And I agree about the song in "Enchanted Square" . Actually, now that I think of it that Raggedy Ann short wasn't all that great; and I think I've been a tad bias towards some of the MOM .

[TheDenizen]

I've been trying to rate the MOMs as objectively as possible...but please don't take a negative review of one of the selections as disappointment in the film choices I have a lot of fun with the MOM idea even when I don't always enjoy the movies.

With that being said, I REALLY disliked Apel.

[TheDenizen]

Haha just saw War in Space. Pretty funny crap, kinda like a Japanese mix of Flash Gordon and Plan 9, with a horned Yeti.

[snallygaster]

So far I've watched the shorts & War in Space:

Pegasus -- Definitely my favourite of this month's shorts. For me, it tells the story of the life cycle of technology: Devised as a solution to a problem, it is first worshiped as a savior. Once introduced, adoption spreads and it begins to dominate the landscape. Eventually the original problem is largely forgotten, but now life must be organized around the now-ubiquitous technology. Actually, although I've written "technology" here, I think the film tries to blur the distinction between art & technology and the parable works equally well for either. If that's the intended theme, I think the film is a bit lacking in showing how this happens, but maybe that's the point -- technology, once introduced, has a life of its own and we can't anticipate how it will act on the world. I gave it 77 (T8)

Apel -- I really like the visual style, although I don't think I could watch it for much longer than the 7-minute running time. Unfortunately I can't find anything to justify calling this any more than an animator's study of student film-level "anti-fascist" tropes. I can't really call it a failure, because there's nothing to fail. But I can call it a 38 (T2).

Enchanted Square -- I have to say it takes chutzpah to make a cartoon about a branded, mass-produced toy having the power to bring sight to the blind. And the idea that a blind kid has to be told to use her touch & hearing to imagine the world makes about as much sense as telling her she can pull her hand away if she touches a hot stove. Raggedy Ann reveals herself as a monstrous nightmare when she starts singing, sending Billie into a hallucinatory delirium, culminating in her apparently *running across the street* to her mother in the real world. Raggedy Ann is one twisted doll. However, much like Raggedy Ann herself, I enjoyed watching Billie dance around in her delusional fantasy world, so I'll give this a 53 (T4).

Wakusei Daisenso / War in Space -- Well, I enjoyed it. This is like a live-action anime -- the Roman-themed enemies, the goofy weapons, the scantily-clad 17-year old (!)... I got some laughs out of the scenes when the aliens are revealed -- when they storm the base, and also when the Emperor of the Galaxy appears on-screen with his yeti friend. I'll happily give it a 58 (T5).

[Gregzilla]

Rewatched War in Space. I liked it, of course. It fits in well with what I call the extended Godzilla series of movies. 70 (T9) which is a downgrade, But I consider that a fine tuning of my ratings over the last couple of years, More than anything else.

I was into Desert of the Tartars, But the last 30 minutes seemed kind of rushed, Kind of. It seemed that just a little bit more here or there (just a little) and I would have given it a higher rating. A little more insight to the main character, a little more (or better) indication of the passage of time. Looking into reading the book. 60 (T7).

[TheDenizen]

I like snallygaster's "Life cycle of Technology" analysis of Pegasus. Very nice.

[snallygaster]

I just finished Desert of the Tartars; unfortunately I had some distractions & interruptions to deal with while watching it, so I'm not sure I can pin down any definitive thoughts on it right now, but I know I'll be rewatching it (properly) in short order because I thought it was extraordinary. I'm pretty sure this is an easy T9, so for now I'll give it an 85 just as a placeholder.

[TheDenizen]

*weeps a tear for the MOM*

[Gregzilla]

I was worried about our MC, Hopscoth, But he's been busy rating movies. So hopefully all is well.


And Thank you for running the MOMs, It was a good way to see stuff I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise and to rewatch some old favorites as well.

[Hopscotch]

Figured it was about time I got back to this, and thanks Denizen for reminding me how much I liked doing it. However, I'm a bit busier than I was a year ago (the reason I stopped) so there will be a slight change in the number of nominations. Instead of ten nominees, from now on there will be just five in each category, and the maximum number of votes for each section is two; but that's not so bad is it. Anyways, this was the best list I could come up with in a days time, but it seems promising. Hoping to see all the old participants return, maybe some new users, and here's hoping everyone who decides to take part has a good time watching and discussing these elect obscurities of Criticker's vast Film Database.

http://www.criticker.com/?fl&filter=e20786

Art/Acclaimed Nominations:
Au Bonheus Des Dames (1930)
The Rains Came (1939)
Monsieur Vincent (1947) 1
Village of Dreams (1996) 1
I Love Beijing (2000)

B-Movie/Niche Genre Nominations:
She (1935) 1
Morning Departure (1950)
Alenkiy tsvetochek (1977)
Legend of the Mountain (1979) 1
Big Meat Eater (1982)

Short Film Nominations:
A.W.O.L. (1918)
Poor Little Butterfly (1938)
Maly Western (1961) 1
The Snow Goose (1971) 1
L'Avant Dernier (1981)