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Before Midnight |OT| The Best Film of 2013

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Squirrel Killer

Squirrel Killer

Member
Expendable. said:
What city are you in? Surprised it comes nowhere near you. If it does well, I'd bet it will expand to even more.
Click to expand...
Quad Cities, IA/IL (Davenport, IA specifically.) Closest showings are Chicago and Des Moines, both ~2.5 hours away. We didn't get Melancholia, Moon, or Source Code either (although Dubuque, IA (#362, 1 hr) got Moon.)
 
E

Expendable.

Member
Kad5 said:
I wanna watch this but do I HAVE to see the previous two to enjoy this?
Click to expand...

I talked to a few people at Sundance who hadn't and they enjoyed it but for the best experience possible, I'd really recommend watching the first two. They don't take up much time at all.
 
B

Blader

Member
Expendable. said:
I talked to a few people at Sundance who hadn't and they enjoyed it but for the best experience possible, I'd really recommend watching the first two. They don't take up much time at all.
Click to expand...

And why wouldn't you anyway? Sunrise is a good movie and I think Sunset is one of the best romance/relationship movies ever.
 
Z

Zaph

Member
Holy shit, currently sitting at a 99 Metacritic.

Can't wait to see it, the first two are beautiful, beautiful films. Linklater knowns how to write drama/romance for everyone.
 
M

Mr. E. Yis

Banned
So I watched this today in a PACKED theater. Did not expect that at all for afternoon.

Background- I loved both of the previous movies. I saw Before Sunrise a few times a long time ago, and the last time I watched Before Sunset was in the movies when it came out, so I was pretty fresh without any rewatches of the previous movies before seeing this one. Oh, I did see the trailer for this a month or two ago, and read that it had good ratings, but not much else about the story.

The movie had some special moments, some surprises, some good laughs. Great dialogue - It's amazing how the trio can write such good dialogue for 3 movies, and it's one of the best aspects of the film.
If my rating for both previous movies were 5 stars each one, this one I would give a 4.4. I was amazed it was good since it had such a good rep to live up to, but some things didn't make me like it as much as the other two.

Oh, Ethan Hawke got kind of old and rough looking/sounding (which they acknowledged), and Julie Delpy still nice.... :O

Read on for my SPOILER review/random thoughts...
Ok, the movie started off good. Good banter, though the cursing in front of the sleeping kids made me cringe. It looked like it was getting pretentious around the time it was showing random scenery shots and Jesse was talking about his book ideas (which the other guy told Jesse it sounded pretentious, which got a laugh out of me and some others in the theater). But then there was a great dinner scene (when is one not?), and a nice walk. The sunset part was cute and somber.

The hotel, well.... ummm...Just when I thought that the movie was too light and happy, huge contrast - Celine turns psycho. Jesse acknowledges this a few times in the movie, but I don't know how it happened. She was quirky, independent, and liberating in the first two movies, and in this one she subtracted some from each of those groups, and added a lot of crazy. Well I guess there wouldn't have been a story/point to the movie if there was no drama and they were hunky-dory happy together, but I think it was a bit much on her part. I don't know how Jesse stayed with her for so many years, because he made it seem that she does this all the time. Jesse seemed rational, Celine did not. She did have her points, but she was going about them the total wrong way.

By the end, Celine was SO close to ruining their relationship and the lives of their children because of her neurosis and complexes. Jesse had to put his foot down - "Take your meds, honey, or I'll be gone for good, and no one else has as much patience as me to tolerate your bitchiness." But I guess from her crying and the talk at the end, it was her acknowledging that she will change, and hopefully it ended up well for them two.

I think the hotel scene, (the main point of the movie) if done differently, could have been much better. Too much lows. What made Before Sunset great was the crescendo leading from all of the highs and lows. And also it's anticipation. This one had no anticipation (they obviously were together already), but also no build-up, and all lows in the second half compared to the few highs in the first (and no mixing of the two). Also, I wish there were more different scenes, and change of pace, as the first one. But I still enjoyed it, and it ended off on a high note. But I really don't think there will be (or should be) a 4th film. What would be different from now in 9 years? I don't want them to do a pale imitation of Saraband or something.

Oh, How can I forget - Julie Delpy's TITS. For 15 fucking minutes. While nice, it's distracting when you're trying to listen to her talk while Jesse is munching on them like an animal. Haha I wasn't expecting that, and I think that most in the theater gasped when he dropped her dress, and felt uncomfortable until it went back on. It was a bit much, since the reason she had her top off for 15 minutes (or more?) walking around, talking on the phone, etc. was to desensitize the audience, and not much for a story point or reason. A little more class should have been done for the last film of a trilogy that should be a cinematic piece of movie history. This is making me sound prudish, but I'm not. lol


Even though a few things here and there could have been better IMO, I still think everyone who enjoyed the first two movies will enjoy this one also. The movie's still on my mind.

Hopefully when these three come on a special edition or Criterion trilogy, I can rewatch them again back to back to back. That will be awesome.

And Julie Delpy's self-titled CD made 7-8 years ago is kind of catchy. I got it back then and I still put on a song off of it once in a while.
 
beat

beat

Member
InaudibleWhispa said:
Can't wait. I don't think I've ever avoided a trailer before, but I want to know nothing about this before going in.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I'm not that much of a spoiler-phobe, but I did watch the trailer a while ago and saw the movie tonight and still loved it. Recognized a few moments from the trailer, I guess.

Anyways, I saw it tonight and loved it. It'll take a while to really sink in. I mean, I ended up watching Sunset about nine times, whereas I'm still processing Midnight.

Near the end of the credits, there's (it's not a scene, just text)
a dedication to Amy Lehrhaupt's memory, and I think I remember Linklater saying around the time he was doing press for Sunset that Sunrise had been inspired by a real-life night he'd had with an Amy, so I immediately looked her name up on my phone. (It was the credits, everyone was already leaving.) Which is how I found this story. It explains this a bit more, but it's kinda sad. It's on the second page, but somehow direct links are blocked by a paywall. http://www.chicagotribune.com/enter...-linklater-borrelli-20130524,0,3111284.column
 
P

Prologue

Member
Mr. E. Yis said:
So I watched this today in a PACKED theater. Did not expect that at all for afternoon.

Background- I loved both of the previous movies. I saw Before Sunrise a few times a long time ago, and the last time I watched Before Sunset was in the movies when it came out, so I was pretty fresh without any rewatches of the previous movies before seeing this one. Oh, I did see the trailer for this a month or two ago, and read that it had good ratings, but not much else about the story.

The movie had some special moments, some surprises, some good laughs. Great dialogue - It's amazing how the trio can write such good dialogue for 3 movies, and it's one of the best aspects of the film.
If my rating for both previous movies were 5 stars each one, this one I would give a 4.4. I was amazed it was good since it had such a good rep to live up to, but some things didn't make me like it as much as the other two.

Oh, Ethan Hawke got kind of old and rough looking/sounding (which they acknowledged), and Julie Delpy still nice.... :O

Read on for my SPOILER review/random thoughts...
Ok, the movie started off good. Good banter, though the cursing in front of the sleeping kids made me cringe. It looked like it was getting pretentious around the time it was showing random scenery shots and Jesse was talking about his book ideas (which the other guy told Jesse it sounded pretentious, which got a laugh out of me and some others in the theater). But then there was a great dinner scene (when is one not?), and a nice walk. The sunset part was cute and somber.

The hotel, well.... ummm...Just when I thought that the movie was too light and happy, huge contrast - Celine turns psycho. Jesse acknowledges this a few times in the movie, but I don't know how it happened. She was quirky, independent, and liberating in the first two movies, and in this one she subtracted some from each of those groups, and added a lot of crazy. Well I guess there wouldn't have been a story/point to the movie if there was no drama and they were hunky-dory happy together, but I think it was a bit much on her part. I don't know how Jesse stayed with her for so many years, because he made it seem that she does this all the time. Jesse seemed rational, Celine did not. She did have her points, but she was going about them the total wrong way.

By the end, Celine was SO close to ruining their relationship and the lives of their children because of her neurosis and complexes. Jesse had to put his foot down - "Take your meds, honey, or I'll be gone for good, and no one else has as much patience as me to tolerate your bitchiness." But I guess from her crying and the talk at the end, it was her acknowledging that she will change, and hopefully it ended up well for them two.

I think the hotel scene, (the main point of the movie) if done differently, could have been much better. Too much lows. What made Before Sunset great was the crescendo leading from all of the highs and lows. And also it's anticipation. This one had no anticipation (they obviously were together already), but also no build-up, and all lows in the second half compared to the few highs in the first (and no mixing of the two). Also, I wish there were more different scenes, and change of pace, as the first one. But I still enjoyed it, and it ended off on a high note. But I really don't think there will be (or should be) a 4th film. What would be different from now in 9 years? I don't want them to do a pale imitation of Saraband or something.

Oh, How can I forget - Julie Delpy's TITS. For 15 fucking minutes. While nice, it's distracting when you're trying to listen to her talk while Jesse is munching on them like an animal. Haha I wasn't expecting that, and I think that most in the theater gasped when he dropped her dress, and felt uncomfortable until it went back on. It was a bit much, since the reason she had her top off for 15 minutes (or more?) walking around, talking on the phone, etc. was to desensitize the audience, and not much for a story point or reason. A little more class should have been done for the last film of a trilogy that should be a cinematic piece of movie history. This is making me sound prudish, but I'm not. lol


Even though a few things here and there could have been better IMO, I still think everyone who enjoyed the first two movies will enjoy this one also. The movie's still on my mind.

Hopefully when these three come on a special edition or Criterion trilogy, I can rewatch them again back to back to back. That will be awesome.

And Julie Delpy's self-titled CD made 7-8 years ago is kind of catchy. I got it back then and I still put on a song off of it once in a while.
Click to expand...

I agree with pretty much everything. I'm still processing the movie. For now, I almost prefer the two pervious films because of the reasons you mentioned. It was a necessary step they had to take but it was also a bit draining.

Major spoilers.
I'm guessing he did cheat on her right?
 
O

overcast

Member
Seeing it in the Pasadena Arclight on June 4th! My GF and I adore these movies.

Really hoping for a blu ray release of the trilogy.
 
S

SnakeXs

about the same metal capacity as a cucumber
Saw it earlier tonight.

As someone who really liked the first two, it nailed what I love about those and showed some new angles as one would expect.

I don't want to put into words how perfectly it wrapped things up for me, as a whole series of film. It's all I wanted and expected done perfectly.

Also as a sucker for long shots and no cuts it expectedly delivers in spades.

Also being Greek doesn't hurt the experience either.
 
T

TJ Bennett

TJ Hooker
Before Midnight is an excellent finish to the trilogy, yet my least favorite of the three films. The film drags a bit in the middle. There are two scenes that go on way too long and feature ancillary characters I'm not invested in. I really appreciate the brevity of Before Sunset and Midnight could have easily lost 10 minutes. The scenes that focus on Jesse and Celine really shine and make the movie a nice companion to the first two entries in the franchise.
 
beat

beat

Member
TJ Bennett said:
There are two scenes that go on way too long and feature ancillary characters I'm not invested in.
Click to expand...
There's only two scenes that really feature non-Jesse & Celine characters! And they're both integral to the story. I actually felt one
with Jesse's son
went on too long. The other,
at the dinner party... OK, I guess I'm including all the prep time and such right before the dinner party as part of it
was a lot of fun.
... OK, now that I think about it, the one where Jesse's talking to the other men at the vacation house about his books feels a little self-indulgent. It was obviously meta in the second movie too, but it didn't feel as unpleasantly self-congratulatory as it did this time

But the dinner party itself was fantastic. A lot of the characters felt kinda like younger/older variations on Jesse and Celine anyways.
 
OfWhiteSkinOnRedLeather

OfWhiteSkinOnRedLeather

Member
Sub_Level said:
The first one is about a French weaboo who goes to France and hooks up with a girl on a train.

It was pretty good. I thought it was fairly realistic while still being an extraordinary story.
Click to expand...

Spoiler:
He went to Madrid, Spain to visit his girlfriend, broke up with her, then took a train to Vienna, Austria, where he met the girl.
:p
 
P

Prologue

Member
2>1=3

I think I might have to watch 3 again but I just enjoyed the 2nd and the 1st film more. They just seem more uplifting for me. The 3rd is very realistic and emotional and maybe thats why I'm turning way from it a bit. Its still a must see though.

Funny thing is, I watched the 2nd one a few years ago thinking it was a stand alone movie. Even then, their chemistry was off the charts and I was able to relate to them.
 
E

ErasureAcer

Banned
Saw it today with my gf. I think i'd put it in 3rd place right now. It was good. The
arguing
for so long was a bit too much for me. Great addition to the series though. Sunset it still my favorite movie ever.
 
T

Talon

Member
Saw it this week. I liked it a lot, but my girlfriend was really upset by the whole ordeal. Had an interesting conversation about it on the way home. It says something about the material and writing that it can have that sort of impact without any hint of sarcasm.
 
B

Berto

Member
Just came from the theatre and I loved it! Their chemistry is incredible. It's different from the other two movies and that is way it works so well. Loved the dinner and the hotel room scenes.
 
E

Expendable.

Member
Scullibundo said:
Absolutely loved it.

Not sure Ex and I have ever been so in tune on a film.

Now time for bed.
Click to expand...

tumblr_mo1gwrLCe21sra4pto1_500.gif
 
G

gdt

Member
So all this hype got me to watch the previous two films. Man oh man I loved them. Don't see this coming near me on that list up there :(. I guess I'll have to wait for the BRD to hit.
 
S

soul creator

Member
Oh shit, looks like it'll be in LA during E3 week, so ill be able to catch it

Edit: oh shit it's playing here in Dallas right now, ahhhhh where are my sedatives
 
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