Comments for The Filmcake

Comment on I’ll Eat You Up, I Love You So by Dwight

Dwight — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:49:43 +0000

Summer is perhaps no dream girl in that movie, but I think she fits the trope by being a blank slate of sorts that almost solely exists in order to push him towards his dreams. And I don’t think she is so much bad in character as bad for Tom (in that she doesn’t love him back).

But, I don’t see the awful behavior. Summer seems to be up front about the relationship. She says at the beginning that she doesn’t want anything serious. No matter how much you love someone else, you can’t demand that they love you in return. I can’t blame her for that. And is she to blame for, in the end, actually falling in love with somebody else? I don’t think so. Is it heartbreaking? Sure. But, it doesn’t maker her bad (in my book). That’s not to say that I liked Summer. She is quirky. She is physically attractive (she is Zooey Deschanel). But, she is distant.

Comment on I’ll Eat You Up, I Love You So by Ian

Ian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:08:16 +0000

So I totally agree with you on Where the Wild Things Are – it’s absolutely what it feels like to be a nine-year-old boy.

But I really hated 500 Days of Summer. Summer isn’t an MPDG in that movie – she’s a horrendous she-devil hellbent on having everything she wants no matter how badly she hurts the people around her. It seemed like we spent the whole movie putting up with her awful behavior, culminating in the knife-twisting ending and were expected to leave the theater thinking, “aw, shucks, wasn’t she cute?”

I get angry even thinking about that movie. Trust me, in real life, the way she acts isn’t cute. Should I mention at this point that I may have dated someone who acted similarly?

Comment on Waking Up Begins With Saying Am and Now by Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:35:20 +0000

Colin Firth never did much for me, but after A Single Man, I’m smitten. Maybe it was the impeccably-tailored suits. Maybe it was the pre-pre-pre-pre hipster glasses. Maybe it was the brilliant performance. I definitely want to poke around his filmography…even the Mr. Darcy stuff.

Comment on Accept The Mystery by Dwight

Dwight — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:43:41 +0000

Yeah, I like that. I like the three different spheres that the story can encompass. In Job’s sphere–God is most certainly present. In Larry Gopnik’s sphere–God may or may not be present, but the religious culture and tradition surely are. In my (as one viewer) sphere–God is not present. All three spheres approach differently the question of why bad things happen. The Coens’ allow the viewer to interpret. “Accept the mystery” can mean many different things–one thing to Job, another thing to Larry, and something else to me (…and something different for you).

Comment on Accept The Mystery by GraceKathryn

GraceKathryn — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:27:31 +0000

I LOVED A Serious Man. It was a brilliant re-telling of the book of Job (as A.O. Scott points out), even down to the cyclone at the end.

Comment on Would You Like the Cancer? by Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:39:24 +0000

Our holiday cards next year are going to be done ransom note style. Period.

Comment on Would You Like the Cancer? by Jessika

Jessika — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:06:17 +0000

We were late to Arrested Development also, but also really loved it. The entire series continues with quality episodes until the end. I also liked that the attention to detail. Many times you’ll notice something in a later episode that ties into an earlier one. If the movie gets made, I’ll have some high standards for it.

Comment on Preliminary Top 10 of 2009 by Sunrise

Sunrise — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:38:25 +0000

I’m glad to see Summer Hours on a list of the year, it goes over looked, and has often been a thought of revision in my own list. Assayas has such an ability to manifest some of the most vulnerable emotions out of situations that seem to take on more than just relationships with people, but with concepts of identity, culture, and the responsibilities we have for all of them. Amazing piece of work, especially in a time when our artistic culture in in such a vibrant transition, that the question remains not of it’s worth, but of it’s practical value in terms of modernism. Fascinating!

Comment on This Conversation Can Serve No Purpose Anymore by GraceKathryn

GraceKathryn — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:32:08 +0000

Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying the exact same thing I thought about “New World Order.” Frustratingly evenhanded, indeed. Did you notice how nearly every single person in the entire film, almost without exception, had Ron Paul paraphernalia plastered all over the place? The scene at the end where the guy at the rally gives a speech about how everyone should stockpile as much ammo and guns now as possible because (paraphrase) “of course we don’t want this to come to violence, but if it does, we all need to be ready” is why Ron Paul’s supporters/followers and all these conspiracy theorists (frequently one and the same) scare the hell out of me. I actually think his followers are dangerous… and I mean dangerous literally, in a violent way. Not just dangerous in that their political ideas would result in disastrous ends if ever actualized (although I believe that, too).

Yes, I do grasp the irony of being paranoid of conspiracy theorists who are uber-paranoid themselves

Comment on This Conversation Can Serve No Purpose Anymore by Phil

Phil — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:15:34 +0000

Just had to say you’re absolutely right about “New World Order.” There’s fairness and then there’s just absurd even-handedness. Letting people go unchallenged doesn’t make for a “fair-minded” documentary.