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I was looking to post a review or POV about films I have seen. The search of jwsound turned up zero. Didn't we have a section once? Do we want one? I'm not against hearing others views about films out there.

"The Artist" Mostly devoid of sound I found it to be as entertaining a movie as I can remember. Not the most original story idea ever written, but it is a very original way to tell that story and its time in a way modern films don't and I don't mean just the lack of sound. The actors are A + even working without one of their main tools. The emotional quotient is surprisingly high for such a fun film about silent film making and the end of that era. The look of the era with the art/sets and camera and costume are outstanding. I wouldn't be surprised if it walked with a number of Oscars.

Curious what others thought.

"We Bought a Zoo" for me was a very well made feel good film. Not Mr Crowe's best work but fun and touching in a Hollywood style. It seemed like a lot of story condensed into a films timeframe. The acting n cast were 1st rate. The sound n look of 'Zoo' were top notch. Well worth the price of admission but not an award winner IMO.

CrewC

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I think I started a thread last year around this time. Caught on briefly.

I liked "The Descendants", although a bit Coen Brothers at times. I also liked "Young Adult". Great performances. "Dragon Tattoo" was also cool. And "MI4" was a surprisingly good time.

Oh. "The Artist" was pretty great too. Amazing how clear things are without words. A line on the show I'm doing (we have deaf characters and hearing people who sign or are learning), "The more I learn to sign, the more I realize hearing people use too many words."

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With 4 small kids we never get to the theaters, so we wait until things are out on rental, and we recently watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and I was pleasantly surprised. I was really expecting it to be bad, but I really enjoyed it. I though they did a really good job of giving Cesar feeling, and of course, having Andy Serkis do your mocap definitely helps.

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I think I started a thread last year around this time. Caught on briefly.

I liked "The Descendants", although a bit Coen Brothers at times. I also liked "Young Adult". Great performances. "Dragon Tattoo" was also cool. And "MI4" was a surprisingly good time.

Oh. "The Artist" was pretty great too. Amazing how clear things are without words. A line on the show I'm doing (we have deaf characters and hearing people who sign or are learning), "The more I learn to sign, the more I realize hearing people use too many words."

I thought someone started one awhile back. What was it called?

I liked "The Descendants" . Great ensemble acting by all. I hear what you say about a little Coen Bro's in it. Just enough of it for my tastes. Alexander Payne is a talented director. I've enjoyed many of his works. One or two scenes had less than optimal sound I thought but who knows what the mixer was up against. All n all I will see it again at home someday.

CrewC

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My two favorite movies of the year (by far) were Hugo and The Artist. Beautiful movies that totally drew me in and made me forget everything except the story for a couple of hours. Not many movies can do that these days. (Not surprisingly, both were nominated for Best Cinematography by the ASC. I'd be very hard pressed to choose between them.)

I also really enjoyed Captain America as a big action picture. For this kind of movie, I thought it worked better than all the other summer blockbusters. I was glad to see director Joe Johnston get a big hit.

All three had terrific mixes and excellent visuals, and were thoroughly entertaining. Who could ask for anything more?

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i sent a message to the host, december 8 2011, suggesting a new forum of this sort, but it's marked as not read yet. hint hint.

"hi jeff, how about a hosting a forum on the site about 'montage, mise en scene, dialogue, sound design'?

we have great resources for tech issues here

on the site, but nothing specifically directed to the overall craft and results of combing sound and image to tell a story or communicate a message.

a lot of members on this site have eyes that are just as good as their ears and equipment, and have a lot to say about the craft of film and video.

i think this is also a good way to alert non-sound guests to the site that they might want to register and slowly filter our mumbo jumbo into their heads little by little--in plain language that discusses, generally, the final edited product, regardless of it's type or genre or intended venue.

best wishes for the holidays and beyond,

gerard, inwood, upper manhattan"

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Hey RVD, I am a fan of Rango as well. Really well made animation w many a film homage to Sergio Leone and John Ford as well as Chinatown. Real fun to watch. I saw the Fantastic Mr Fox and I thought it was wonderful on many levels. I thought the recording technique was a success. Next on my list "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Then "Hugo". BTW, I'm seeing these films in a theater if it matters these days.

CrewC

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quoted Gerard: "a lot of members on this site have eyes that are just as good as their ears and equipment, and have a lot to say about the craft of film and video."

I do not believe by NOT having a special section we have denied anyone expressing their feelings regarding ANY issue in their lives, or discussions of the overall creative craft of movie-making. This forum is about as open as any I have seen --- how many sites could so easily contain topics ranging from soldering techniques for Lemo connectors to what beer are you drinking and how cute is my dog-cat-parakeet?

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Just got back from seeing the Iranian film "A Separation"; some of the most mindful, masterful and brilliant storytelling I've seen in a very long time... absolutely wonderful. Every character realistically flawed AND sympathetic, the critiques subtly and deftly arrayed, compelling performances, frames crowded to within an inch of their life, great vérité handheld and long-lens camera work.

Although, the soundscape seemed a bit "restricted" for a film that credited not only the production sound mixer, but the sound designer AND the sound editor BEFORE the DP in the OPENING titles!!!

An antidote for the lazy, black and white morality rants that both the left and right-wing media slop-slingers peddle here in the "Land O' Plenty".

Best,

Steven

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My two favorites for this year would be Shame and The Artist. I thought Shame was a rather unique character study of some very interesting people living in New York. I thought it was well-shot and the acting was superb. I have been growing into a bigger and bigger fan of Michael Fassbender recently (I enjoyed his performances in Inglorious Bastards and X-Men: First Class thoroughly), and I'm eager to see his other movie out: A Dangerous Method.

The Artist was super entertaining, and really did a great job of getting the audience connected with the characters, even without sound! The story was well-told and engaging, the production design did a great job of capturing 1930s Hollywood (to my knowlege), and I loved the characters. I thought the dream sequence where they start using a few basic sound effects and Jean Dujardin freaks out was a good laugh. I ultimately think a big silent film like this has done a lot among my film-buff friends to get them to notice what kind of a role sound plays in films.

The Descendents was an overall great movie, although not one of Clooney's best acting-wise. He's a solid actor and his performance was consistant, but not outstanding, I thought. Pretty good acting across the board otherwise.

Carnage is also worth mentioning for this year. I thought they did a decent job of adapting this play for screen, but I could see how it would play a lot better on a stage (might feel more in-the-moment). Overall, it was worth the money to go see it.

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  • 1 year later...

I saw "The Wrecking Crew" last night. I loved it as did my wife and another couple we took. I wasn't sure they would like the film as it is a bit esoteric and a documentary. It was a labor of love for the film maker who's father was a member of The Wrecking Crew, a tight knit group of LA based session players who played on more songs than you can imagine. Check it out if you can. A must see for musicians and music lovers of a certain age.

CrewC

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We recently rented Cloud Atlas. I absolutely LOVED this film. 

 

Another surprise for me was Oblivion. It wasn't just 2 hours of Tom Cruise running. It had a good story, great visuals, very good sound design, and a great message. The thought the vehicle design in this movie was superb. 

 

When I was on the plane coming back from IBC, I saw they had The Last Stand with the governator. Since it was free, I started to watch it. I got about 20 minutes in and turned it off. 

 

If you like horror, then the Evil Dead remake and Cabin in the Woods are for you. 

 

One of my favs over the past year was The Woman in Black. 

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Another surprise for me was Oblivion. It wasn't just 2 hours of Tom Cruise running. It had a good story, great visuals, very good sound design, and a great message. The thought the vehicle design in this movie was superb.

Have you seen 'Moon'? I think Duncan Jones did a better telling of a VERY similar plot, albeit less prettily.

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Have you seen 'Moon'? I think Duncan Jones did a better telling of a VERY similar plot, albeit less prettily.

I loved Moon. Yeah, pretty much same plot, but less action-y, which is fine. It was more of a character study. Sam Rockwell was excellent in that movie and I found the fact that he didn't get nominated for an oscar pretty sad. It's one of the best film performances I've seen. They actually used miniatures on that movie, which was nice. 

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Hi Rich,

Good article in Road and Track ("Rod and Truck" to some of the older crew) about "Rush" as a Ron Howard interview. I was just reading it early this morning. The effort put in to recreating the time and the cars was extreme. Though most of the film was shot with recreations, some of the old racing cars were loaned to the film makers at little or no charge. Just avid collectors that wanted to see the film and their cars done up right. In spite of having to be multi-millionaires to own the cars, on the set they were just car guys. Definitely on my list of films to see. Ron Howard definitely marches to a different drummer.

Best,
Larry F
Lectro

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We watched Star Trek Into Darkness this past weekend. It was entertaining, but my god....THE LENS FLARES. Does anyone have the guts to tell him they are distracting? Hey Peter Devlin...next time you work with J.J., tell him I told him to knock it off with those lens flares. 

 

Knowing that J.J. Abrams will be directing the next star wars has me a little nervous. any light saber dual will just be awash in lens flares. 

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