The Bling Ring

bnt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTv87k3wbH8

Only a teaser trailer so far, but Sofia Coppola's next has been some time in coming, and is expected to land in June. Starring Emma Watson as the ringleader of a gang of girls, who went around LA burgling celebrities' houses. Based on a true story, just as Marie Antoinette was, and we saw how that turned out ..!

johnny_ultimate

General subject matter does seem to be dabbling in the same arena as Marie Antoinette... But visually and tonally Coppola is one of my favourite contemporary American directors so here's hoping it is closer to her three good films rather than her one bad one!

WoollyRedHat

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

General subject matter does seem to be dabbling in the same arena as Marie Antoinette... But visually and tonally Coppola is one of my favourite contemporary American directors so here's hoping it is closer to her three good films rather than her one bad one!

The Virgin Suicides is a Tour de force in that regard.

Duggy747

Phwoar!

Mickeroo

I actually preferred Marie Antoinette to Somewhere though neither were great. I like Copolla's style though so will look forward to this anyway.

Sad Professor

At least Coppola wrote a full script for this. The script for Somewhere was like 30 pages long.

Mickeroo

Sad Professor wrote: »

At least Coppola wrote a full script for this. The script for Somewhere was like 30 pages long.

Well that certainly explains a lot.

bnt

Trailer #2 has a bit more story to it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6NiyVdRbxs

Paris Hilton? The irony ...

"You can't take her dog."
"But he likes me!"

Looper007

Sad Professor wrote: »

At least Coppola wrote a full script for this. The script for Somewhere was like 30 pages long.

She's a director for me in need of a scriptwriter or a co scriptwriter. Visually she's brilliant but her films come off very cold and lack heart. I taught Somewhere was awful, LIT is one of the most overrated films ever. Marie Antionette is a flawed film but far more enjoyable. The Virgin Suicides is her masterpiece. I expect the cool indie soundtrack, a few nice shots, lack of any real substance and yer one from Harry Potter pouting a lot.

Sad Professor

Lost in Translation is one of my favourite films. One of the things I love about it (and to a lesser extent Somewhere) is the comfortable silences that exist between the characters. They don't have a lot to say to each other, nor is there anything that really needs to be said. The warmth and deep feeling that exists between them is palpable in their every interaction.

Somewhere was obviously an experiment in minimalist scripting and improvisation, but I don't agree that she needs a writer. A scriptwriter would probably just dilute the personal element thing that makes her work so unique. Like Claire Denis and Wong Kar-wai, Coppola's films are observational dramas about human interaction. In such films, the substance is the style.

bnt

Well, based on the trailers so far, I think I'm going to enjoy this in a Clueless / Valley Girl fashion. The girls are so pretty, oh so pretty ... vacant!

Looper007

Sad Professor wrote: »

Lost in Translation is one of my favourite films. One of the things I love about it (and to a lesser extent Somewhere) is the comfortable silences that exist between the characters. They don't have a lot to say to each other, nor is there anything that really needs to be said. The warmth and deep feeling that exists between them is palpable in their every interaction.

Somewhere was obviously an experiment in minimalist scripting and improvisation, but I don't agree that she needs a writer. A scriptwriter would probably just dilute the personal element thing that makes her work so unique. Like Claire Denis and Wong Kar-wai, Coppola's films are observational dramas about human interaction. In such films, the substance is the style.

I think she is badly in need of one myself she needs reining in at times. Kar wai has more heart in his films cause they ain't trying to be so hip it hurts maybe Coppola needs to spend a bit of time with the Master if she wants to make dreamy tought provoking heartfelt cinema. I think she's the coldest filmmaker around. Her films are nice to look at but there's nothing in them.

Don't get me started on Lost in Translation, apart from Bill Murray and the soundtrack I think the film is hughly overrated. It's a film that splits a lot of people some think its the best films of 00's other's think its one of worse. I taught Somewhere was self indulgent to the max. But she has a fanbase and good luck to her, i'm sure she will get a lot of press for this cause Emma Waston and her Potter fanbase will certainly bring in a lot of money.

Until she makes a film anywhere near the greatness of Beau Travail or Happy together. She has a long way to go to reach Denis or Kar Wai's level.

pookiesboo

Best quote in LIT when Giovanni Ribisi says to Anna Faris "You're so skinny, you look ill" and she replies "Oh my God, thank you!"

johnny_ultimate

The best quote in LiT is an inaudible whisper :cool:

I'd rather a director be true to their own artistic stylings and bravely divide an audience than aim to please everyone. I can see why people don't like her films (heck, I don't like Marie Antoinette), but to me Sofia Coppolla is a wonderful cinematic talent. Her slick surface style is matched with a powerful emotional undercurrent - I found both Somewhere and Lost in Translation very involving experiences in terms of mood and character (and the characters' initial emotional distance in both films is vital to setup everything that follows). Personally, I find her style appeals to me even more than even her father's great films.

pookiesboo

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The best quote in LiT is an inaudible whisper :cool:

I'd rather a director be true to their own artistic stylings and bravely divide an audience than aim to please everyone. I can see why people don't like her films (heck, I don't like Marie Antoinette), but to me Sofia Coppolla is a wonderful cinematic talent. Her slick surface style is matched with a powerful emotional undercurrent - I found both Somewhere and Lost in Translation very involving experiences in terms of mood and character (and the characters' initial emotional distance in both films is vital to setup everything that follows). Personally, I find her style appeals to me even more than even her father's great films.

Yeah I'm sure if you asked anybody they'd rather sit down and watch Somewhere than Godfather 1 and 2. Thanks for the laugh!

johnny_ultimate

pookiesboo wrote: »

Yeah I'm sure if you asked anybody they'd rather sit down and watch Somewhere than Godfather 1 and 2. Thanks for the laugh!

Well I never said anybody, did I? I was referring entirely to myself, and wouldn't for a second suggest it was in line with consensus. But yes, to provide you with another laugh, if my only viewing options tonight were Lost in Translation (or even Somewhere) or Godfather, then I'd easily go with the former - and that's no slight on The Godfather. Because as much as I can endlessly admire The Godfather 1 and 2, Sofia's best films offer a rhythm I find more appealing and immediately rewatchable. Because we all have our own favourite directors (Id call them guilty pleasures, but I don't feel remotely guilty so...), and I'd happily sit down and watch Lost in Translation for the tenth time than The Godfather for the third or fourth, as deeply amusing as that may be!

Somewhere vs The Conversation, on the other hand...

Tigger

Looper007 wrote: »

S LIT is one of the most overrated films ever.

i thought it was just me

afatbollix

I was going to go see it but after hearing who is directing no chance. For what she did to Marie Antoinette.

johnny_ultimate

Saw this earlier and quite liked it - certainly not top-drawer Sofia, but no Marie Antoinette either. There were a few distracting elements - the fact the characters & dialogue constantly was hopping back and forth between credible and parodies, the digital cinematography that was sometimes evocative other times barely perfunctory (several scenes seemed overexposed, even for a film that revels the Californian sunshine). There's generally a sense that it's all too easy sometimes - taking cheap potshots at an incredibly easy to mock culture.

That said, I was mostly drawn into it. I found the tone and mood engrossing, particularly as it become more jittery and intense as the Ring's habits become more compulsive and risky. There was a nice interplay between music and editing, even if there are far more Frank Ocean and Kanye numbers than some will have requested (only a brief snippet of a Phoenix song, too!). While it's as broad as can be at times - as said, the characters dangling really close to farcical stereotypes - there's a more analytical subtext about celebrity & youth culture there too, and the film from time to time does probe the motivations and psychology behind the actions without interrupting the flow or pace.

Many will hate it, and worth pointing out that Spring Breakers tackled similar thematic territory in a much bolder, more provocative manner. But while I'd consider this a lesser work of a talented director (IMO, of course, just need to look back through this thread to see how contentious that observation is) there was also a lot about it I found moderately interesting.

LuckyLloyd

Thought it was interesting eventhough the ending could have been a little neater and more dynamic. Dialogue is very sharp - really punches away repeatedly at the vapid nature of the spoiled teenage characters and the wider general context of celebrity image obsessed culture. Good soundtrack and well shot as you'd expect from a Sofia Coppolla joint while Emma Watson and the surrounding cast play their roles well.

There's lots of smart little touches in how the characters can't quite get away from their phones and are really only engaged when they themselves are the subject of discussion. My guess is that the general audience might find the movie too repetitive through the middle section and the tone change at the end a little offputting (and to be fair I don't think it was carried off particularly well).

In comparison to Spring Breakers it's a different way of saying similar things, but I found this far more focussed and palatable on the whole.

Just watched this and thought it was absolutely awful

Don't think there was anything redeeming about the entire movie

opr

Visually this kept my interest while struggling to explore the topics on show to any great degree of depth. I'm a fan of Sofia Coppola and I think clearly you can see watching this it's made by a very talented director on some levels, telling a limited story.

The film feels like someone getting much more than they should from a story that really doesn't warrant this much attention and certainly not the time Coppola has clearly spent trying to make lemonade from lemons. Spring Breakers was on a completely different level I thought. The scope was much wider within which the director could play, while this story felt confined, linear without much freedom for expression beyond putting her own beautiful tone and visual stamp on the film with the odd moments of clever story telling.

Whether this is the height of her own story telling ability or the constraints of narrative which needed to be told left her hamstrung I'm unsure but with each passing film her light seems to be fading a little each time.

Opr