so I saw Closer last night, I thought it was really good, I've been a fan of Clive Owen's since I saw Guy Ritchie's short film/advert or BMW and I think he really deserved the Golden Globe. My only real complaint is with Julia Roberts, I don't like her so much... I haven't seen much of hers but in what I have seen, she plays the same character except for in The Mexican, but then again, that was just the usual Julia with some eccentricity.

but yeah, enough of what I thought, i want to see what you lot think of it.

Discuss.

Discuss.

I have to say i found it quite a weak and poor film.
alot of people who liked it say that the dialogue was great. it was far from that - some scenes felt like they had been written by a bunch of sexually repressed babies. the plot was predictable. the characters - uninteresting. i think mike really let himself down with this one.
why did u like it?

i just found the characters likable, mainly because they weren't typically "good people" they were real in a sense, they did stupid things, they wronged each other, but they lived with their decisions. I liked that. The story was a little predictable but it's more of a character film than a story-based film, so I was watching it for the characters.

Also, the cinematography, it wasn't exactly award winning or anything but I liked it, it took what would usually be a back and forth conversation and made it a little more interesting to watch (which is important for a film with so much dialogue). Like Dan and Alice talking in the bathroom and you see Alice in the mirror and the back of Dan's head while he's shaving, I thought that made the scene a little more fun. And when Anna meets Larry with the papers for him to sign, it looked really good with each on opposite sides of the screen, her in white, him in black, it just gave it a nice symmetry.

It was a film that, when watching it, it made me want to just go out and make something, anything. I love films that make me feel like that. (Another film that does that is Coffee and Cigarettes, if you haven't yet, check that out :))

I really liked it.. I thought it was very real.. & full of humanity.. at it's best..& sometimes at it's worst, even if a little over-done at some points with all the emotion. Very well acted too. Natalie Portman was awesome.

I really liked it.. I thought it was very real.. & full of humanity.. at it's best..& sometimes at it's worst, even if a little over-done at some points with all the emotion. Very well acted too. Natalie Portman was awesome.

come now, go into more detail than that! lets hear your opinions on the technical side of the film, you know, more info!

blah.. I'm too tired right now.. but I'll come back tomorrow.

blah.. I'm too tired right now.. but I'll come back tomorrow.

yeah you'd better run!

The story was a little predictable but it's more of a character film than a story-based film, so I was watching it for the characters.

the characters were just as predictable as the story. More so. 'Real people' - are they really like that? I really hope not.

, the cinematography,- I liked it, it took what would usually be a back and forth conversation and made it a little more interesting to watch (which is important for a film with so much dialogue).

It was ok. Having one character in black, one in white - it would have been much more in keeping with the idea of the film if they were both in white.

it made me want to just go out and make something, anything. I love films that make me feel like that. (Another film that does that is Coffee and Cigarettes, if you haven't yet, check that out

It made me feel that way because I felt that I could do so much more and better. I also saw c + c - and same feeling. minus a couple of the conversations (coogan sticks out in my mind), it was just not good.

DP, mention some particular moments and lets try to develop this discourse. i am curious.

DP, mention some particular moments and lets try to develop this discourse. i am curious.

moments of what exactly?

moments of what exactly?

the film dp, the film.alas, there is nothing else between us :(

the film dp, the film.alas, there is nothing else between us :(

Ummm..

well i'm kinda tired right now Zool so i can't really go in depth, but i just liked the characters and how they are presented to us. They're fun to watch and the filmmakers bring it to us in an interesting way. that's all i can say now because i'm about to pass out

alas, there is nothing else between us :(

:huh::huh::huh:

Ummm..

except for you of course mr blonde

I have described Closer as a film with a couple of good performances (Owen and Natalie "Hoochie Mama" Portman), but overrated in every other way.

The dialogue, especially during the arguing scenes, was back and forth as far as good vs. bad, but in the scenes where they just sit around and talk I felt the dialogue was too snappy and too witty. Not even I (the Grand Master of Witastic Cleverosity) am that quick with my tongue.

Poke

a couple of good performances (Owen and Natalie "Hoochie Mama" Portman), but overrated in every other way.

The dialogue, especially during the arguing scenes, was back and forth as far as good vs. bad

that is no reason to credit the film is it. i mean, good v bad - a child could write that.

I felt the dialogue was too snappy and too witty.

it just felt wholly unrealistic, and that would be fine, but the characters themselves were quite 1-dimensional (if that) which meant it all felt way too contrived to be enjoyed greatly, or even at all.

I'm with you on this Poke - one of the most overrated slices of cinematic pie i have ever had the misfortune to put in my mouth.

Thoughts anyone? What in particular did y'all like?

I thought I told you to stop putting my DVDs in your mouth.

Poke

I thought I told you to stop putting my DVDs in your mouth.

but they are so full of cinematic goodness........

hmmmmm......spiceworld......hmmmm.....big boys do birmingham.......

but they are so full of cinematic goodness........

hmmmmm......spiceworld......hmmmm.....big boys do birmingham.......

spice world = cinematic goodness?? man, no wonder you didn't like Closer

hahahaha I kid, I kid

haha - oh you nearly conned me into thinking you had wit
(proud of that one, its got to be my first racial slur on these forums, and at 102 posts in thats quite a feat) :yes:
and did you see ginger spice's bosoms in that film?!? i am no fan of the larger ones (memories - bad), but those two deserved their own buddy buddy film, or at the very least credits as stunt-doubles.
why did you find the characters likeable?(closer)

haha - oh you nearly conned me into thinking you had wit
(proud of that one, its got to be my first racial slur on these forums, and at 102 posts in thats quite a feat) :yes:
and did you see ginger spice's bosoms in that film?!? i am no fan of the larger ones (memories - bad), but those two deserved their own buddy buddy film, or at the very least credits as stunt-doubles.
why did you find the characters likeable?(closer)

i don't take kindly to racial slurs zool

Back on topic now lads.

Something I noticed with closer.. is that none of the characters are very likeable really... they are all pretty messed up individuals. I guess I liked this film coz it does show the best & the worst parts of relationships.. beauty, love, irony, painful secrets, lust, infidelity & hurt. It has so much innocence in parts that it contrasts so well with all the lies & manipulation.. I liked it because it was full of contradictions, just like all of us..

Back on topic now lads.

Something I noticed with closer.. is that none of the characters are very likeable really... they are all pretty messed up individuals. I guess I liked this film coz it does show the best & the worst parts of relationships.. beauty, love, irony, painful secrets, lust, infidelity & hurt. It has so much innocence in parts that it contrasts so well with all the lies & manipulation.. I liked it because it was full of contradictions, just like all of us..
yeah, i liked it how the characters were unlikable, i've always liked unlikable characters, i dunno why, i guess just because they can get up to so much more than a likable, hero type character. They have more possibilities and can just be so much more fun

i guess just because they can get up to so much more than a likable

all they did was cheat on each other and share dialogue that was not even witty or clever or quick.
if you are right in that unlikeable characters can get up to more (not so sure about that, for they have to stay unlikeable to be unlikeable thus they are just as restricted)
then surely the fact that all they do is cheat, swear and talk poor dialogue -
doesn't that make its failure even more apparent?

i like the film, i found the characters interesting, isn't that enough? stop badgering me for more. And can't you just say you didn't like the film instead of saying its not clever and so on?

Nique Zoolio.. are you just taking key words from our posts & working from that? Coz it does seem that way. The characters are likeable simply because they're relatable.. & what makes us see the faults in ourselves does make them unlikeable at the same time. People do cheat on each other and share dialogue that isn't witty, clever or quick. If you don't like moves where people act like real people.. then maybe you have a problem with reality.

SNAP!

i like the film, i found the characters interesting, isn't that enough? And can't you just say you didn't like the film instead of saying its not clever and so on?


to be fair to me dp,
you began this thread by saying:

'discuss'

all i was trying to do was to understand why you liked it. a discussion is more than just two people saying completely autonomous POVs and leaving it at that. thats a pair of monologues. i was trying to appreciate your POV thats all. i was trying to make the conversation amount to something for me - to appreciate a POV that wasn't mine and further myself. thats all.

stop badgering me for more.

fair enough.

Nique Zoolio.. are you just taking key words from our posts & working from that? Coz it does seem that way.

yes. i was trying to understand what you meant by analysing it so that i could appreciate what you were saying on a higher basis than as a statement of opnion, and rather a statement of anaylsis.




The characters are likeable simply because they're relatable.. & what makes us see the faults in ourselves does make them unlikeable at the same time.

i see what your saying!!! thats what i was pressing for!! i just wanted to understand why you felt the way you did about the film, and now i do. i was just pressing for what was underneath your opinion in terms of anaylsis - and now that you have provided that, i feel enlightened towards this film. Thanks.


People do cheat on each other and share dialogue that isn't witty, clever or quick.

i realise that, however, previous reasons that people have given me for liking it has been the dialogue, and i didn't understand that as a reason.

If you don't like movies where people act like real people

i do actually, i just didn't find this realistic until your above analysis was put forward to me.



.. then maybe you have a problem with reality.

thats probably why people watch film for a start.
yet on a personal level, yes, i do have a problem with reality.
i want to make the world better. better by furthering myself, and concurrently furthering my understandings of different POVs. i'm very sorry if i have upset you by trying to do so.

i was just trying to bring us closer!!! ;)

(was that really bad?)

hahaha.. I'm glad.

My wife really enjoyed Closer. Last night after watching Sideways (which I think is a better example of real life than Closer) I asked her what exactly she liked about Closer. She said that it was interesting to her to see what some people thought about love and sex and the relationship between the two. So I asked her if she thought the movie was realistic. She replied that it comes off as the characters being too dramamtic to be real, but if you think about it, how many "drama queens" (or kings) do you know in real life?

POke

A few..teenagers are strangely dramatic about silly little flings.

I liked sideways alot, & I agree with you..it did seem more realistic.. I liked that everyone looked... normal..y'know?

how many "drama queens" (or kings) do you know in real life?

i'd say we all are. we all want to feel that whatever we fill our days with are in someway part of a larger picture than what they are in themselves. sometimes you grow out of it - i used to be very dramatic about this relationship I had, we started dating when we were 16, and I was definitely in love (and not afriad of really silly gestures to show it). However, she left me last week (20 yrs old now) - and i really think that she was the only person i would ever be with - and its strange. i'm almost in limbo. no drama, no tears, just getting on with stuff. suddenly i am 16 again, weak, honest, promise PROMISE.
but - my life has become more dramatic in others aspects. my academic work has become my gift to the world - which is just stupid, fooling myself into thinking it'll change anything in the world in the long run.
my point - we're all drama monarchs, part of the 'human condition' - i just added the stuff about my love life to test myself. sorry bout that. ignore it.
bottom line - we all want to be more than we are - and that often leads to dramatic feelings or the desire to aquire such emotions.
i am looking forward to Sideways. :)

In some ways i found the film/characters 'lifelike', and some moments i didn't, but i enjoyed the film, and that is what matters, if you enjoyed it or not. Cheers.

In some ways i found the film/characters 'lifelike', and some moments i didn't, but i enjoyed the film, and that is what matters, if you enjoyed it or not.

good for you


Cheers

thats ok. :yes:

^ haha, thanks. I thought the movie was 'filmed' in the same way Alfie was, to me it had that same look to it. Or it could just be that they were both about sex and had Jude Law in them.

I thought the movie was 'filmed' in the same way Alfie was, to me it had that same look to it.

i have not seen it, should i?

both about sex and had Jude Law in them
haha

are you talking about Alfie?

yeah :lol:
not sex and Jude Law.

yeah, well it was just Jude sleeping around, wasn't great, but at the same time there was something in there that i cant pinpoint why i kinda liked it too!

yeah, well it was just Jude sleeping around, wasn't great, but at the same time there was something in there that i cant pinpoint why i kinda liked it too!
it's Jude man, he's just great to watch on screen!

It maybe paddy?

Yep.. it was the jude. He can make anything watchable.. even those educational films about drug use & stuff.. he'd be the man to make them work.

He can make anything watchable.

if it wasn't for him, i'd hate to think what a.i would have been like. :no:

Seems like u all like 'Good ol Jude' in here!

yeah, i have to say its wierd that a conversation on closer has turned to a confession of appreciation for jude. but thats the excitiment of t'internet for you!rock on

lol ^^true^^