The 00s Draft: Discussion Thread

How is Enter the Void not eligible exactly?

I can see the US release date being a cause for some fury, looking at one now that came out in 2008 but wasn't released in the US until well into 2010.

You're right though - rules is rules.

Ok... So we're going by official US release date? I can deal with that. But can someone please post the exact time frame? From when to when? Just to avoid mishaps. I'm pretty set in my ways about my first pick, for example, and it might not be eligible.

Jan 1, 2000 - Dec 31, 2009

God dammit, Fat Elvis! I thought I had free reign with Dre out of the mix.

Shit, I knew Eternal wouldn't last but it still hurts. Also Paul, you don't have to wait for the person in front of you to go. Anyone in the time slot can go once your time starts.

I had a lot of films on my list, but went with the one that wowed me the most. An exciting film. The unusual narrative srtucture really works. Still Nolan's best.

I like where this is going. Three great films. One of which (Memento) would have been on my list had I not decided on something very specific.

Given my placement in the groups, I've already decided to scale my choices back. To avoid aggravation.

But I'm still pretty sure blood will be spilled before this is through.

Last time Memento lasted until the second day, I think (or the end of the first, can't exactly remember where I picked))... which floored and pleased me in equal measure.  Since I am not redrafting anything this time around, I am glad it went so early.  Great pick, sivlE.

Three films in and I already hate all of you bastards, especially you Justin Clark.

Seriously though, great picks, this does bode well.

I knew Justin would grab The Fountain. He was one of its most fervent advocates. I never connected with it emotionally the way a story of that epic nature should make me feel. Still, it is a visual delight.

I need Whiteboy Jones to play so I can go. Was hoping to get my pick in before my long ass commute to work.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE is a perfect movie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diva 

Shit, I knew Eternal wouldn't last but it still hurts. Also Paul, you don't have to wait for the person in front of you to go. Anyone in the time slot can go once your time starts.

Ah, thanks for the info Diva. Glad I got one of my two top picks in without having to start a rumble.

Smashing pick with THE FOUNTAIN Justin, probably the Aronofsky film which speaks to me most personally

I was flip-flopping between Eternal Sunshine and The Fountain all morning. Glad Paul made the decision easier.

The Fountain is just pure unbridled ambition on film, and the most powerful meditation on death the decade has to offer. And goddammit, that score.

One other thing for those new to this whole thing, please keep discussion out of the actual draft thread and keep it here.  We don't want the draft thread to get bogged down with crosstalk.

Arjen, you also might want to whip up a list thread so people can post their drafts in one place.

Sophie's Choice is ineligible, yet somehow I can't stop thinking about it right now.

Damn you Whiteboy Jones. Damn you to hell.

Oh well, I had to do it.  I had a different film all set up, and a nice theme... but then I got in the second group, and damn if No Country isn't the best film of the decade in my opinion (Memento being a close second.)

The bad thing about being on Day 2 is watching all the great films getting taken.

The good thing is that collectively, there will be a film that slips. And I'll be waiting. There are no steals early on Day 1.

Cannot argue with any of these picks yet.  Sunshine and No Country were both in my sights, alas. 

I didn't expect Once to last till Thursday, and yet I still find myself filled with hatred right now.

Originally Posted by EvilTwin Damn you Whiteboy Jones. Damn you to hell.

Mwa ha ha!

Love Once. Debating point: best soundtrack of the decade? I say yes.

"Once" is one of my all-time favorites, but it's a serious reach as far as top five in the draft. I honestly did not expect it to be the first 2007 release to go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whiteboy Jones 

Mwa ha ha!

 

Love Once. Debating point: best soundtrack of the decade? I say yes.

Nope. That contest was over and decided years and years before.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas Booth 

Really thought ONCE would last. Damn.

That's what hurts. Is ONCE one of the top 5 movies of the decade? Probably not. Is it a movie I love that I had a chance in grabbing? Hell yes.

ONCE going this early fills me with dread for my first pick.  Gulp.  Anything goes, folks.  

BASTERDS is like everything I love about movies rolled up in one (in)glorious package. It doesn't get more audacious than gunning down Hitler.

And for my money, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is the Coens' greatest.

Damn, I thought I had a good shot at getting Eternal Sunshine or Memento

It's difficult for me to criticize a movie that is so beloved, which I saw one time years ago, but am I alone in finding The Fountain a little overwrought, and underbaked?  I'm not saying I'm right, mind you, but did it strike anyone else that way when they first saw it?

It was probably too much to hope for that Once would last.

Oh well.

Goddamn, Primer was a good pick.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey 

It's difficult for me to criticize a movie that is so beloved, which I saw one time years ago, but am I alone in finding The Fountain a little overwrought, and underbaked?  I'm not saying I'm right, mind you, but did it strike anyone else that way when they first saw it?

Nah, you aren't alone. It's an absolutely beautiful film, and there are parts of it that work wonderfully, so I understand why it's so loved, but it didn't work for me like it seems to for so many people here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabe T 

"Once" is one of my all-time favorites, but it's a serious reach as far as top five in the draft. I honestly did not expect it to be the first 2007 release to go.

 

 

Very wrong.  It's a movie that is endlesly rewatchable and the sountrack is still in heavy rotation on my ipod.  It's a perfect movie that should have lasted to me though.  Seriously-fuck you for taking it.

also knew I wouldn't get my Tarentino.  Don't know why I even bothered putting it on my list.  Same w/ most of the ones that will be taken today.
 

I used to be more critical about when a film was chosen.  It was fun in the sense of sports drafts, to blast somebody for reaching for "a player" they could have waited to pick.  But everyone here has seen hundreds upon hundreds of films this decade, and nobody should run out of quality films to pick.  I don't feel like there's a rush on the premium titles, the way there might have been in a decade draft drawing from an era before most of us were born.

Anyway, it its own way, Once is a perfect thing.  Primer, too.  Small movies, but great picks in any round.

I waffled on Primer for a while because I thought there was the slightest chance it would last to the second round, but I decided that I'd be really mad at myself if I'd had the chance to take it and then missed out on it.

No movie has ever blown me away quite like that one did on first viewing, and it's probably my most rewatched movie of the decade.

As an example of the many ways I suck, I have yet to see PRIMER.   Need to NFlix that shit soon.  

BASTERDS was such a first round given that I didn't even put it on my list.  Easily one of my top five movies of the entire decade.  

Fantastic movies chosen so far. And I agree with what Bailey said in the above post. Inglorious Basterds is such a wonderful film for cinephiles... And after this weekend I feel it needs a double feature with Hugo. What a perfect pairing of films that describe how: 1) Film will save the world (Basters) and 2) Film can save an individual (Hugo).

There was no way I wasn't taking Basterds if I had the chance. Sunshine, Memento, and Primer were all ranked high on my list but I knew they wouldn't last. While I can't argue with No Country for Old Men getting drafted so early, there are other Coen Bros. films that I personally connect with more. Once is a great snag, though wasn't on my radar. But as Bailey said, there are so many legitimately great picks left folks shouldn't be worried. I dread the two day wait until my next turn though.

I must say, I enjoy watching the "Currently Viewing" box in this forum. It's like watching hawks circle their prey. 

Caw!  CAW!!!

Looks like any hope of grabbing something prestigious is going to be out the window come my spot tomorrow.  Time to be Capt. Populist once again.

Basterds reminds me of the Welles quote about if film could change the world. "Yes, and it might be a very bad film."

I don't want to say that Tarantino was making the point that film couldn't "save the world", but I do think it makes the point that those who would want to use the impact of cinema on political realities -would inevitably twist the meaning of art to something it is ill suited for, perhaps even something sinister.  Basterds brazenly rewrites history to show us what art can do, (offer emotional catharsis, illuminate big ideas) and what it can't do (make right the world's wrongs.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey 

Basterds brazenly rewrites history to show us what art can do, (offer emotional catharsis, illuminate big ideas) and what it can't do (make right the world's wrongs.)

I would say, then, that Basterds shows how film (or art) can change the world. Yes, it will not right the world's wrongs politically, but it can and will offer catharsis and illuminate big ideas and in so doing will offer its own brand of salvation. Yes, it can and will be perverted and manipulated (he shows the flip side of the coin) but it will nevertheless be a possible catalyst for change, even if for the worse. But offering catharsis can be just as effective as altering politics, at least on an individual level.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Cellophane 

I would say, then, that Basterds shows how film (or art) can change the world. Yes, it will not right the world's wrongs politically, but it can and will offer catharsis and illuminate big ideas and in so doing will offer its own brand of salvation. Yes, it can and will be perverted and manipulated (he shows the flip side of the coin) but it will nevertheless be a possible catalyst for change, even if for the worse. But offering catharsis can be just as effective as altering politics, at least on an individual level.

 

Right, I was just pointing out that things like cinema's limitations, its inherent artificiality, the ways it can be misinterpreted and misused were as much a part of the fabric of the movie as cinema's power and majesty, (which is what people seem to focus on.)

It's a good point, but I feel that anything that has power and majesty can be misinterpreted and misused (both intentionally and unintentionally).  It wouldn't be art if that wasn't the case.

In this case, people are so jazzed by the film that it speaks more to the positive end for them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey 

Right, I was just pointing out that things like cinema's limitations, its inherent artificiality, the ways it can be misinterpreted and misused were as much a part of the fabric of the movie as cinema's power and majesty, (which is what people seem to focus on.)

Got it. Nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diva 

While I can't argue with No Country for Old Men getting drafted so early, there are other Coen Bros. films that I personally connect with more. 

Yes. I love No Country, but if we are talking 2007 Nooj's great pick There Will be Blood tops it for me (I think TWBB is one of the best movies of the past 30 years, if not more). If we're talking straight Coens, the aughts for them are, in my opinion, a really good time. Yes, they had films that were universally panned (one of them doesn't deserve all its hate, by the way) but they also had 4 straight-up masterpieces of their respective genres.