re: Least Favorite Kubrick Film

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I fail to see your point. One line does not a second half of a movie make.

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No, but it sums up the second half (and, to a lesser extent the entire movie, as the basic training sequences are for extended prologue purposes only - I believe they ended up being so extended because Ermey and D'onofrio's performances were too good to cut).

The point of basic training was to prepare them for war. But did it prepare them for what happened?

No. Of course not and the the second half of the movie really points that out - the conflicted way we fought the war - and the individual Marines' various interpretations of that conflict. Joker is a writer - something he wants to do, but the Corps has made him into a killer. But, he also wants peace - it's enough to drive anyone a little crazy - look at all the f*cked up stuff on the battlefield? A girl sniper. Hookers, cameramen, insane senior officers - I wish he was making that stuff up - and, ultimately, just like Hoot said in Blackhawk Down - it's about the man next to you. 8 ball going down. Then they need to get revenge. THEN they find out it's a girl.

The second half of that movie is as good as it gets. The problem is that it follows the first half, which is mesmerizing because of how good Ermey and D'ofrio are. Kubrick made "too good" of a first half to follow -

From what I've read Kubrick made 2001 to show how we will destroy humanity with technology. Nikola Tesla said "progress and technology are not the same thing."I think 2001 does an excellent job of showing that.


My favourite is the Shining as I get closer to 30 A Clockwork Orange leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.


My least favourite is Full Metal Jacket, just brutal to watch Pyle get treated like that.

A11 work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

A11 not All just like in the movie.

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Also my favorite.

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I like Kubrick - he's probably second to Ridley Scott for me as favorite director - and his body of work is probably better, picture-for-picture.

I'm torn between Strangelove, 2001 and FMJ as my favorite of his - and the very different nature of the films shows his range. Really only the Coens are comparable to Kubrick in range - and Ridley, Kubrick and the Coens are my favorite directors.

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Kubrick is garbage. Most overrated filmmaker of all time. More than Malick.

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I agree, he's overrated, but how dare you compare him to Malick!? How dare you, sir!?

There is only one other filmmaker comparable to the terribleness that is Malick while simultaneously being lauded for his "vision" and that filmmaker is Paul Thomas Anderson.

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Malick

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Meh.

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Paul Thomas Anderson.

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Boogie Nights and Magnolia were better than I expected - and they were pretty hyped up when I watched them. Trying a little to hard too be an accessible David Lynch, but I guess there are worse things in life to which to aspire.

There Will Be Blood was good, but I think that DDL's performance overwhelms the movie.

I still haven't watched The Master

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The rest have been garbage bags.

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I've still never been more surprised in a film - in my life - than when it started raining frogs in Magnolia. I don't think it was a bad movie, by any stretch - a half dozen compelling performances - and I'll give him this - he is an "actor's" director - he really lets them explore the emotional spaces they all love.

What makes Boogie Nights somewhat more accessible than the others - in my opinion - is that he eschewed a lot of the weirdness (although he employed it in spots) and just told a straight, comprehensible story.

Heck, that was the first movie I thought, "Hey, Marky Mark can act if he wants to... huh. Who would have thought that?"

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To be fair to PTA, I have not seen Magnolia,

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It's weird (duh, right?) - but it feels like 3 different movies are going on at the same time.

Resolution is initially kind of sketchy, but, honestly, it's the most organic of his films I have seen. Cruise and PSH are brilliant - arguably Cruise's best performance. Macy was great, but that's redundant. Jason Robards was dying and this is his last performance. Philip Baker Hall (extremely underrated actor - you know, Bookman, the library cop from Seinfeld) was great, as was Julienne Moore and John C. Reilly (really a departure from what he usually does in this film).

I'd just watch it the first time for the performances - don't obsess about keeping up with the plot - I would just try to remember the connections between the various characters - to me, that's what is important.

Well, I wouldn't call any director mentioned in this thread a hack. Even Michael Bay knows how to make a movie (he has the aesthetics of a 12 year old though). I think we're criticizing accomplished directors here, but they are at least worth critiquing.

I've just tuned out on artists who only care about the visuals. The visual alone is not enough for me. It has to be in service to an idea.