It's about a guy who works in a factory who is suffering from insomnia. It was directed by Brad Anderson, who I think is an interesting director. Something to look forward to...
Actually, no it's not. I read the script, and unless some major rewriting gets done, it's gonna have some problems. I'd tell you what the worst part of it is, but I'd hate to spoil the *twist*, though it's something that could be seen coming light years away.
i thought session 9 was a SACK of shit.
Quote from: cowboykurtisi thought session 9 was a SACK of shit.
Oh yeah, that movie's ass to the millionth power. I liked Next Stop Wonderland a lot, but I think that has to do more with Hope Davis than anything. Still haven't seen Happy Accidents.
But back to 'The Machinist,' Christian Bale is the lead, if that means anything to ya.
I can't comment on Session 9 because I haven't seen it. I thought Happy Accidents was cute, though. I'd be interested to see it again because I saw it under somewhat unusual circumstances the first time. I had been traveling around Europe and hadn't had the chance to see any movies for over a month. I was going through withdrawls. Then I stumble upon a theatre playing this movie. I thought it was great, though I'm a little suspicious about whether this is not dissimilar to, say, a man who has gone without food for several days proclaiming a piece of moldy cheese to be delicious -- know what I mean?
In regard to The Machinist, I hope they did some rewrites or something. I am a fan of Christian Bale, so I will probably be going to see this movie regardless. Where did you read the script, anyway? Is it online? You know what's funny is that Scott Kosar, the writer of this movie, got hired to write the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake based on his Machinist script. Were there any redeeming elements in it?
Quote from: Teen WolfYou know what's funny is that Scott Kosar, the writer of this movie, got hired to write the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake based on his Machinist script. Were there any redeeming elements in it?
Okay, so the Scott Kosar story (which I got from Fuller/Form at Platinum Dunes). The Machinist was a spec that Kosar wrote that got passed around town. It's kind of got a pre-Memento thing going on w/ insomnia (there a notes around his apt., things appear/reappear for no reason). For a while, things are generally creepy and strange, the story's kind of interesting b/c you know something really awful is going to happen sooner or later. There's hookers, machine mutilations, paranoia and other craziness... but when another mysterious character (with a deformed hand) shows up, it changes the direction of the story... and ultimately leads to a horrendous twist reveal (again, I can't say what, would ruin it). Kosar went in to pitch Chainsaw, apparently broke and disheveled. It was his idea for the opening of the remake that got everyone interested, everyone had been in and pitched nothing they were interested in. So now he's a successful screenwriter. The guys at Platinum Dunes told me this is an 'inspirational tale' for me to rewrite one of my scripts w/ them for free.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.filmaxinternational.com%2Fmmedia%2Fimg%2FMachinist9fi.jpg&hash=e94a7885ad8a5f5203349b5ce38175e560b8004c)
session 9 was great
Apparently, Christian Bale lost 65 pounds for this role. They say his performance is Oscar-worthy. We'll see...
Trailer/feature here :
http://www.filmax.com/trailers/galeria_trailers/1100_ENG_866_320_150_teaser1.mov
Bale looks like he's dying!! :shock:
The Machinist Operating at Paramount Classics
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Paramount Classics has snapped up distribution rights from Filmax International to Brad Anderson's Sundance Film Festival selection The Machinist, starring Christian Bale.
The speciality division has aquired rights to the film in North America, the UK, South Africa, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. It is planning a late-2004 release.
The film, which also recently screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, stars Bale as factory machinist Trevor Reznik, who has not slept in a year. His lack of sleep has led to a deterioration in his physical and mental health, and he struggles to come to terms with his breakdown.
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Ironside, Aitana Sanchez Gijon and John Sharian also star.
Bale looks awesome.
And I miss Teen Wolf.
That trailer seemed more like someone fast forwarding through the movie, stopping at what probably was the best bits.
You know when you look at a piece of paper from the side? Bale kinda looks like that. Even though I thought the movie (judging from the trailer) looked pretty bad, you've got to hand it to Bale for loosing all that weight. He saw some potential in it, that's for sure.
without watching the trailer/allowing myself to be sodomized by the devil, i just know this will be ALRIGHT.
Yeah, so the movie blows. It really should be called 'Session 9 Redux,' seeing as how Brad Anderson has gone out of his way to creep out and mislead his audience towards a climax that is hardly cohesive and barely satisfying.
The most interesting thing about the flick is Christian Bale's weight loss, which will induce gasps of shock from any audience. I mean, the dude seriously looks like he just stepped out of Auschwitz. One moment he extends his chest as a joke, and it's the creepiest thing I've seen in ages. It's a shame that he went to such drastic lengths to alter his appearance for such an unfulfilling movie.
The same gripes I had with the story are still there, only amplified. There's a fine line between mystery and confusion, and Anderson let things fall on the side of the Genesis video with puppets.
Technically, the movie is decently put together, the Hitchcock-ian score being the most effective element. And oddly enough, the movie was shot in Spain, which is doubled for Los Angeles. Not entirely sure why this was done. Even more oddly enough, there's nary a Spainard in sight (save for one prominent character-- who I now suspect was cast to fulfill a tax shelter qualification) which made me laugh because I can spit out my window and hit a hundred Spanish speaking people here. Yes, I know they're Mexican, but still...
And watch out for the unintentional Starship Troopers homage :wink:
Quote from: Slick ShoesApparently, Christian Bale lost 65 pounds for this role. They say his performance is Oscar-worthy. We'll see...
Drastic changes in physical appearance != Good acting. See also: Monster, The Hours, er, um, uh, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (:roll:). Yes. We will see. (I just realized that you wrote that like 9 months ago. Oh well. Still. Point stands.)
Raging Bull, Full Metal Jacket
Yes, but De Niro was a good actor before those changes. FMJ was D'onofrio's first really big role. Can't say the same about Theron (though I'll give you Kidman).
ok; i did not really see your point. i thought that you were suggesting those changes made them act badly. i understand.
Trailer here. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_classics/the_machinist.html)
Seeing it tonight, I'm very excited.
Is it me or has the last 4 months really SUCKED movie-wise?
Quote from: jonasSeeing it tonight, I'm very excited.
Is it me or has the last 9 months really SUCKED movie-wise?
its not just you. i really only love 2 movies this year so far.
whatever, this year is awesome.
u might get away with saying sumthing like "the last 4-months", but that's the norm for every year. the best stuff is sposed to be released at the end, to state the obvious.
this year is different cos there's already been some great ones released.
This year's friggin' great so far, considering this is the first year I've been following movies closely since the beginning. But seriously: Eternal Sunshine, KB 2, Before Sunset, The Dreamers, and for controversy points Fahrenheit 9/11 (and it's opponents) and Passion of the Christ. And to look forward to in the next couple of months I have Sideways, I Heart Huckabee's (just released here finally), Shaun of the Dead (released here last week and still need to see it), Team America (again, controversy points), Finding Neverland, Brown Bunny, etc. What I find cool is that as far as I know there isn't some movie that's bound to be nominated for every single Oscar this year. It seems like I haven't heard of any big features being made expressly for the purpose of raking in awards. But I don't know--few more months left.
Everything Chest said true. To paraphrase a line from Calvin and Hobbes, there's treasure everywhere.
The Machinist, on the other hand...well, I haven't seen the trailer yet, but I did just watch Session 9 and wasn't impressed. On the other hand, I liked Next Stop Wonderland way back when.
I'm going to jump in here and say that yes, this has been a truly great year so far. I really don't care if you only loved 2 movies this year.. as Mini-Gt, I'm forced to take what you say with a grain of salt. Always :)
As for this year, my Top 15 So Far This Year (http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?p=160119#160119) list is proof of the great stuff this year has seen.
I caught this this morning, and while it's not as bad as Session 9, nor did I think it as unsatisfying as Weak2ndAct did, it's still a real shame that Anderson and Kosar took it in the direction they did, because the atmosphere in general and Bale's performance in particular are incredibly strong. In fact, I thought everything about the movie would have been great, including the ending, if it hadn't been for that stupid mystery character Ivan. His purpose in the plot is evident from frame 1, and he's just annoying and stupid. If that had been cut out, we'd have been left with an eerie and unsettling character drama, sort of like Young Adam. I loved all the scenes where Bale was just talking to people, going about his business, etc. but as soon as the mystery guy would show up I'd lose patience.
But nonetheless, I enjoyed it enough to give it a mild recommendation. And the score really kicks ass -- between this and Bad Education, it's as if Bernard Hermann was still alive and well.
Did anyone catch Lisa Schwarzbaum's review in EW? She gave it a D, and the only reason she seemed to have was that Bale's physique was offensive to the memory of the Holocaust.
And in answer to Weak2ndAct's question about why it was made in Spain, the answer, according to my press kit, is that it was financed entirely by Spanish producers.
when this dvd coming to region 1? from the posts/reviews here, it seems like a mixed bag but from the look of the film, bale, and the plot it sounds good.
netflix says june 7th.
I agree with GhostBoy's comments regarding Ivan. The movie itself was very well done. The music was very good too. Its a shame that Bale had a very good performance, and the sacriface to prepare for the role, and it was ignored by almost everybody.
If anyone really wants to see this, I have a copy of this film that I got from the studio in Spain. One of the investors of this film is actually working with us in one of our films. So if anyone really wants it I can burn/send a copy, as I know its not out on DVD for a while here in the US.
I tought this was a lot like Lost Highway
Quote from: Pas RapportI tought this was a lot like Lost Highway
fight club as well.
both
this was the first movie in a long while to actually get me scared, and days later I still couldn't get it out of my head
:)
You scare too easy.
not quite heh.
I have very good memories of this film, because all the stupid parts faded from mind. If only it hadn't tried to be so 'twisty,' it would have been a really lovely piece of work. The last shot, which is what I remember the most, is beautiful.
i thought it was all really good except for the writing.
I thought it was good too. They did try to make it too twisty as Ghostboy said but the payoff made more sense to me than anything else would. Christian Bale is just a really good actor. I didn't think much of him as a kid like with Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" but now he's proven himself as a talented guy.
Not a bad flick... not great, but interesting all the way through. It pulled that great Kafka trick of seeming to exist outside of any real time or place, even with all the contemporary trappings. Like David Lynch directing a Kafka screenplay of "Fight Club".
And it seems like I was the only person on earth who actually enjoyed "Session 9". Yeah. So that's that, then. :oops:
agree with everyone else when i say it was okay, bale's appearance was extremely unsettling, the mood/atmosphere was great, the score was hermann/hitchcock-y and the twist was evident from the moment he closed his eyes to sleep. SPOILER the only thing i wasnt sure of was whether it was 'all a dream' or 'multiple personalities'. END SPOILER i knew this was from the dude who did Session 9 but i cant believe it was the same guy who did Next Stop Wonderland!?! weird.
QuoteAnd it seems like I was the only person on earth who actually enjoyed "Session 9". Yeah. So that's that, then.
No, I enjoyed Session 9 as well. So that makes two of us. :)
*sigh*
It seems like I have been waiting forever to see this movie.