Hey, the actress in this indie film got an Oscar nomination so…they must be cheating? lol
Somehow I’d made it this far in life having never seen Ronin, not sure why because it’s really good and right up my alley ?
Perfectly crafted with not a minute wasted, excellent cast, not even that old of a film but still makes you realize they don’t make movies like this anymore…
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You never saw this before? Are you kidding me? What a masterpiece, I need to rewatch it, just the coolest movie of all time. What a cast. And the old-school car chase scene. What color is the boathouse at Hereford?
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How the fuck should I know?
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Mamet movies are very quotable and Ronin is no exception
You ever kill anybody?
I hurt somebody’s feelings once
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Practical effects are always better than digital effects. There is also a strong correlation making the effort to use practical effects and caring about the story too and vice versa.
As I’ve said before there is like a 0.98 correlation between amount of digital effects and how terrible a movie will be.
Yep…relatedly I just went to see Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr with my 5yo, and so on the way back I had to explain to him the concept of practical effects (he’s mostly used to cartoons so it’s a bit hard for him to understand, the film itself is pretty sophisticated with a film within a film which is also a dream, which doesn’t help).
So for instance he understands that the part where Keaton walks up to the cinema screen and enters the movie is not possible, so we discuss how they might have done it. And then
“- but what about the part where he jumps from the roof of the building and glides down into a moving car ?
-well…I think he just did that one for real”
What a legend this guy was, makes Tom Cruise look like an amateur
(perfect movie btw, instantly became my favorite silent film ever. It’s in the public domain so there are low res copies on youtube, but I saw a recently restored version which ime makes a huge difference for movies that old)
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I didn’t realize Mamet wrote Ronin. I recently rewatched The Verdict, and it’s still incredible.
So when I look back on the Mamet movies I’ve seen: The Verdict, Glengarry Glen Ross, Ronin, and Heist, I think they’re all great. Why the hell haven’t I seen all of his stuff?
Also, the family watched Everything Everywhere All At Once last night. Maybe a bad take, but I thought it was more weird than good.
Heist is another underrated gem if you’ve never seen it before.
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Yep, that’s one of the 4 I’ve seen.
You might need a second watch. Its 100% weird, you arent wrong about that. But its a much deeper movie than the surface weirdness
Bad take. Jk - we loved it and our 22 yr old daughter didn’t like it much. I think one has to be in the right mood or head space when watching it to fully appreciate it.
I watched Everything Everywhere All At Once on an airplane and recognize that was less than ideal. I liked it but it didn’t really hit me.
It’s good, it’s weird but I don’t understand the exuberant praise it’s getting. After reading about it I went into it thinking this must be one of the best movies ever made which didn’t help. It’s original and well done but you lose me with the sausage fingers and I don’t see as much profoundness in it as others seem to do.
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Don’t forget The Edge!!
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Highly recommend discussion on the film by Walter Chaw.
https://twitter.com/mangiotto/status/1516115931218399232?lang=en
Especially if you listen to his linked episode of the Filmcast where he, Dave Chen, and Devindra Hardawar get into the many subtle details that make this film resonate so powerfully with them. By subtle, I mean it’s stuff they understood was obvious to them but likely subtle or invisible to people without their backgrounds.
I might check it out but if I need a degree to properly enjoy a movie then that is not a point in its favor.
Apologies, that’s not the takeaway I hoped to express.
It’s not that you need a degree to appreciate the movie. It’s that you might not have the appropriate life or cultural touch points for the movie to resonate with you.
That happens to me a LOT. So when I find people like this, I relish the opportunity to immerse myself in their POV. Sometimes it empowers me to go back to the movie and finally “get” it with them. Other times the movie remains not to my taste, but I can at least finally grasp why so many people who aren’t me connected with the movie on a profound level.
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Yeah, I can appreciate that my own life experiences can enhance my appreciation of certain books or movies. So I don’t begrudge Chaw for how he viewed and enjoyed EEAAO. I just don’t share any of those experiences he talks about, and didn’t feel the same.
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