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penismightier posted:Thoughts on whether that's affected its status in the Leone canon? It wouldn't surprise me. It's been a few years since I've seen his four more prominent westerns but from what I can recall this film had the most disturbing content (the main protagonist essentially rapes a woman in the first ten minutes of the film). I read that because of this it was cut heavily (nearly 40 minutes shorter in the original US release). That probably made some things stilted. Probably not cut to the degree that Once Upon a Time in America was however. Leone said the film wasn't supposed to be political or ideological but it does cross into that territory more than any of the others I remember. The story and characters make it inevitable. e.g. IRA member thrown into the Mexican revolution. I particularly liked what it had to say in these areas but I'm sure some would find it subversive (banned in Mexico for a time).
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May 18, 2012 06:12
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I'm game, although I'll be taking my time with this. Director currently working on: Guy Maddin Progress: 2/10 Next up: Twilight of the Ice Nymphs Maddin was one of my favorites from film school. I'll try to alternate between his sound and silent films. Have seen: Careful, My Winnipeg Still need to see: Tales from the Gimli Hospital, Archangel, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, Dracula, Pages From a Virgin's Diary, Cowards Bend the Knee, The Saddest Music in the World, Brand Upon the Brain!, Keyhole Rush_shirt fucked around with this message at 06:52 on May 18, 2012 |
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May 18, 2012 06:46
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It's probably terrible that I can only think of two directors whose full catalogue I've seen (Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson as of watching Bottle Rocket like two weeks ago) and before committing to anything ambitious, I want to expand that list somewhat. For starters, I've been delaying completion of this one for a super long time, like since before his last movie came out, and if I post about it here I'll be motivated to actually go through with it. Jean-Pierre Jeunet  Have Seen: Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, Amélie, A Very Long Engagement, Micmacs Have Not Seen: Alien: Resurrection After this, I'm thinking of either turning to the Coen Brothers (10/15 seen) or Paul Thomas Anderson (only missing Boogie Nights, although I'd like to revisit There Will Be Blood). Forgot about it when I was writing this, but 6/7 on Christopher Nolan. Power of Pecota fucked around with this message at 10:30 on May 18, 2012 |
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May 18, 2012 10:27
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Director currently working on: The Coen Brothers Progress: 8/15 Just watched: The Big Lebowski was my favorite movie in college. I watched it all the time, I had practically all the dialogue memorized, but it's been years since I last saw it and frankly I wasn't sure how well it would hold up. To my great relief it's just as great now as I thought it was back then, though it's no longer my favorite from the Coens (I'd rank Raising Arizona, Fargo and O Brother higher). What makes it great to me is that it's not just about being quotable and clever, though many of the characters are somewhat one dimensional the Dude and Walter at least strike me as very sympathetic, if flawed, figures. They're both sort of broken in different ways but they're just so well intentioned you can't help but pull for them even when what they're doing is ridiculously stupid. The only flaw I would note is the aforementioned lack of complexity for the minor supporting characters but honestly even that serves its purpose by focusing attention on the heroes and acting as foils for various aspects of the personalities. Next up: I'm rewatching O Brother, Where Art Thou?
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May 18, 2012 10:56
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Director currently working on: Werner Herzog Progress: 21/57 (I've marked off Game in the Sand because apparently it was never released and is impossible to see.) Just Watched: Herakles (I know I said I'd watch Into the Abyss next but I had only a small amount of time to watch something tonight so I chose a short one). - Werner Herzog's first movie is, in Herzog's own words, "stupid and pointless." Maybe it is. It's really nothing more than footage of male body builders juxtaposed with footage of various atrocities, with intertitles that refer to the 12 labours of Heracles. Maybe there's some sort of message there, I'm not sure. Not entirely uninteresting, but I'm quite glad it's only 9 minutes long. 50/100 Next Up: Another one of his early short ones probably.
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May 19, 2012 02:42
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Director currently working on: The Coen Brothers Progress: 8/15 Just watched: O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a personal favorite of mine for a lot of reasons, for one I think it's almost as funny and quotable as The Big Lebowski, but primarily it's the music and the visual aspects of the film that make me love it so much. Frankly I've always been more of a music person than a movie person so it should come as no surprise that I really appreciated both the quality and the depth of the soundtrack as well as the way the music is interwoven into the film itself. The Coens and T. Bone Burnett really went above and beyond in that aspect of the film and it's primarily because of this movie that I'm really looking forward to Inside Llewyn Davis, which I've heard is going to be a similarly music centered film about the pre-Dylan folk scene in New York. Visually the color-corrected sepia toned look really highlights the beautiful cinematography and creates a sense of the mythic, which naturally lines up with the frankly overhyped references to the Odyssey as well as to various references both obvious (Tommy as the bluesman who sells his soul to the devil) and less obvious (a bottle tree in the background as they walk to Pete's cousin's house) references to Southern culture and superstitions. Next up: The Man Who Wasn't There.
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May 19, 2012 06:52
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The Man Who Wasn't There is incredible. You're in for a treat.
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May 19, 2012 11:31
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Director currently working on: Sam Peckinpah Progress: 4/14 [ Just Watched: As Ride the High Country opens we see an old Marshall in black riding into town, to his surprise the people have put up a parade, but not for him, but for the Old West Carnival that is going on. One of the police officers that is trying to keep the town in order, then tells him to leave the road, and the Old Timer and his horse almost get run over by a car. All the visual imagery of an old man out of time and out of place, makes out this film quite heavy on the revisionism and deconstruction of the Western genre, and a sort of precursor to Peckinpah's own The Wild Bunch. All it's missing is the high body count and bloody carnage, but the bleak and sort of nihilistic tone is already in full display in Ride the High Country. Overall a pretty good western, with two great performances by Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott and a terrific ending, shame about the soundtrack. Though the best part is Warren Oates and his raven pet.  Magical. Next Up: Major Dundee Directors completed: Martin Scorsese(35/35)
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May 19, 2012 14:58
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Electronico6 posted:Just Watched: As Ride the High Country opens we see an old Marshall in black riding into town, to his surprise the people have put up a parade, but not for him, but for the Old West Carnival that is going on. One of the police officers that is trying to keep the town in order, then tells him to leave the road, and the Old Timer and his horse almost get run over by a car. Interesting. I've never seen Ride the High Country, but John Wayne's last movie, The Shootist has a similar opening sequence, or at least, hits a lot of the same beats.
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May 19, 2012 16:28
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Director currently working on: Werner Herzog EDIT: Progress: 22/59 I've decided to include three more films that I was initially not going to include. Two are from a TV series and one is a segment. I've been thinking about it and I'm finding it hard to differentiate between made-for-TV films and films that are a part of a TV series. The bottom line is that they're all Herzog films, so I'm going to include them. Just Watched: The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz - Even with its short running, this film gave me the sense of an odd, albeit subtle, detachment from reality. That's what Herzog does best. Here he uses footage of mischievous young men trespassing in an abandoned castle, dressing up in old military garb and acting like soldiers, and it's overlaid with narration that seems to suggest these men are living out some necessary need for war. This is a sparse, slight film, but it's Herzog-y enough to be watchable. 60/100 Next Up: Last Word Spatulater bro! fucked around with this message at 17:34 on May 21, 2012 |
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May 21, 2012 01:46
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I didn't get my hands on Wages of Fear, but screw it. This is Friedkin's show. Sorcerer dir. William Friedkin First off, I love Tangerine Dream. I love William Friedkin (and am growing to appreciate his sensibility more fully). But I can totally see why people would hate Tangerine Dream. There are moments in this film that are very oddly punctuated by music that sounds like it's from an early 90's job safety video. This movie is excellent. Its characters are drawn from a well of rootless blue collar journeymen in a banana republic where civic authority is deferred to whichever company or corporation has paid off the military. The film deals with that tension between individualist machismo and dependence on a (corrupt) social structure, which a lot of reviewers conflate with Friedkin's "cold" style. In some ways it is very alienating not to be made to sympathize with these pathetic, craven characters, but I feel like that naked machismo IS very sympathetic. It's very Peckinpah, in the sense that Friedkin definitely does not present his heroes as idealized but finds humanity in their desperation, stubbornness and mortality. Not one of these men knows he's a dupe for pinning his life on a longshot. These are sketches of characters - Popeye Doyle is a sketch of a character too. Part of what makes him fascinating is that we can't really predict what he'll do next. This is an aspect I love about Friedkin's poo poo, where he's not pretending to put you in the head of his protagonists. The discomfort with a lot of his work, which is so technically proficient it can border on boring, is because there is clearly some pleasure taken in watching these people squirm. This is probably most evident in The Boys In The Band, which ruthlessly puts its main characters under a magnifying glass. When watching the French Connection, I felt like it was almost cheating to use the "set" of 70's New York City to such great effect, but it and this torrential jungle absolutely are an emotional landscape. It's not a cheat to use that grit and grime because these characters are all emotionally grimy, disconnected, shell shocked, etc. These mercenaries are drenched in every way. You wouldn't want to know what goes on in their heads. And how about the titular "Sorcerer" scene? Not only in the sense that it is literal movie magic, but in the way The Frenchman is perched on the bridge, willing the truck to right itself in the pouring rain. It's haunting. It's one of the most striking images I've ever seen on film. I was ensorcelled by it. Completely fantastic movie. Next up: The Brinks Job. I already have like a thousand words on Cruising, which I also love. HUNDU THE BEAST GOD fucked around with this message at 16:05 on May 21, 2012 |
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May 21, 2012 03:04
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Director currently working on: The Coen Brothers Progress: 9/15 Just watched: Well that was a pretty substantial change of pace after the last few movies. Everything in The Man Who Wasn't There is muted, affectless, empty. From the simple black & white imagery to the performance of Billy Bob Thornton to the superficiality of the relationships of just about every character in the film. It just seems like the entire point of the movie is emptiness, pointlessness. All of which sounds like a criticism now that I look back over what I've written but certainly isn't meant as such, to a substantial degree you could say the same thing about a lot of film noir and for that matter about a lot of great art, film, literature, etc. in a number of styles and genres. And this is a really interesting movie, I'm not going to call it great because I don't think it is, it's definitely flawed but nevertheless it's interesting. I think the best thing about the film is Thornton's performance. He's completely, sociopathically, unfazed but absolutely anything and it's fascinating to watch not only how none of the horrible things that happen in the movie have any visible impact but also how awkward this makes interactions with other people for him. Next up: Intolerable Cruelty.
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May 22, 2012 01:20
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Director currently working on: Alex Proyas Progress: Just watched: The Crow & Dark City The Crow...well, to be honest I can't really work up much to say about it either way. It's hard to separate the movie from the goth subculture imagery that it inspired to tell whether or not Brandon Lee always looked ridiculous or only does now because his look in the film has been run into the ground back in the day. But even outside the dated  face paint and  rooftop guitar solos it's a pretty straightforward revenge flick with a largely-unexplained supernatural gimmick. It felt a lot like an overtly commercial film, with the conspicuous resemblance to that era's Batman films and the simplistic crime story, but even though the film is overall pretty forgettable it does have a handful of flourishes and creative touches.Dark City, on the other hand, is just as great a movie as I remembered. In its original form the film's central mystery is explained in studio-mandated voice-over at the very beginning (The Crow also had an unnecessary voice-over explaining the film's central conceit, come to think of it), the Director's Cut which I saw eliminated this and added a bunch of other little touches. Being more aware of the film's influences and knowing the "twist" doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the film at all, the design and the twists and turns of the plot are still just as good. Also worth nothing is that Dark City is one of the few films Roger Ebert did a commentary track for. It's worth a listen, he talks almost constantly throughout the film and never lets up, dissecting camera movements and extrapolating on acting decisions. Oh and penismightier, dunno if this is close enough but:  The Crow  Dark City Next up: Garage Days
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May 22, 2012 01:59
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Director currently working on: The Coen Brothers Progress: 11/15 Just watched: Probably the least distinctively "Coen" of the Coen Brothers movies, Intolerable Cruelty is definitely not among their best but I still enjoyed it quite a bit, due largely to the performance of George Clooney (and to a lesser extent because he was sadly given only one scene to steal, Billy Bob Thornton). Catherine Zeta Jones is pretty watchable too but honestly it's her chemistry with Clooney more than her actual performance that makes her so. The film itself comes across less as a typical modern romantic comedy and more as a modernization of the screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s, which makes it a bit more interesting than the standard romcom I was kind of expecting based on the negative comments I've heard about the movie. Not bad, but certainly near the bottom of the list of Coen films. I also wound up watching The Ladykillers today and, while it does have more of the Coen Brothers feel to it than Intolerable Cruelty I have to say that it's quite a bit worse. All the pieces are there, the characters are distinctive and quirky, the performances are decent, even the script isn't too bad but it just doesn't come together. I have to say though that I was surprised by how strong Marlon Wayans performance here was, although I liked him in Requiem for a Dream I'm not normally much of a fan but he probably turned in the best acting job in the movie on this one. I was also surprised, though not in a good way, at Tom Hanks. Normally he's at least likeable even in roles and films that aren't particularly good but I felt he was quite off putting in this movie, outshined by just about all of the rest of the cast and in marked contrast to the charm of the original film with Alec Guinness. Next up: No Country for Old Men. stereobreadsticks fucked around with this message at 01:53 on May 23, 2012 |
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May 22, 2012 17:01
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I haven't had a chance to go through the whole thread yet, but I'm going to throw my hat in for the films of *drum roll* CURRENT DIRECTOR JEAN-LUC GODARD  I'll start at 0 progress cause while I've seen a few of his films, I haven't' given them the attention they deserve. I'll do only the theatrical films otherwise I'd be at it for hundreds of years. This is going to be a mighty challenge because I've always been THEORETICALLY interested in the techniques he uses, but bored out of my skull by the very little interest he's had at engaging his audience. Will he wear me out? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT. I may cave and go with the more friendly and loving Francois Truffaut if Godard beats me to a bloody pulp. PROGRESS I wont' be doing it in chronological order (because it would PROBABLY drive me crazy) so first up is LA CHINOISE! I found a wikipedia page (that lists 55 of them, but some of those are documentary features/shorts, so I'm a little iffy on that, but for now I'll leave it at 0/55
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May 23, 2012 03:32
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Director currently working on: Woody Allen Progress: 25/41 Just watched: Scoop - I believe this is the last film of his that he actually appears in, but maybe not. Either way, he looks really old here, and seems to kind of fumble through some of the scenes. He's still funny, but I'm glad that he hasn't starred in anything else since. Anyway, this is a fun murder mystery film, and while it didn't blow me away, it was enjoyable enough and I liked it better than Manhattan Murder Mystery (mostly because cute and quirky Scarlett Johansson > shrieking Diane Keaton). I may be biased though because I think Scarlett Johansson is freaking gorgeous. 16 films left now... this will take a while, because I'm going to have to wait for each one to come from Netflix. Also, I'll have to space them out so I don't get sick of 90's romantic comedies. By the time I'll probably be able to include To Rome With Love, too. Next up: September (from what I've heard this is not going to be fun, but I may as well get it out of the way)
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May 23, 2012 04:46
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I've been really busy lately but I am going to get back on this Thursday. Sorry for being lame 
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May 23, 2012 05:29
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The Brinks Job dir. William Friedkin Peter Falk is so loving good. Unfortunately, he's so good he steals the movie right from under itself, which is a sort of comedy, sort of heist movie. I do love the chumminess of these rough Boston guys, reminiscent of a much better film, The Friends of Eddie Coyle. The rest of the cast is brilliant as well, with the great Warren Oates, Peter Boyle, Paul Sorvino and an extended cameo by Sheldon Leonard as J. Edgar Hoover. Interestingly, this is yet another "thematic double" that comprises the rest of Friedkin's work so far, as this scenario is instantly familiar from The Night They Raided Minsky's and similar to how The Birthday Party and The Boys In The Band trod a lot of the same themes, Sorcerer is a remake, etc. However, there's something quite dour about the comedy that robs this film of tension. I just can't get with it, despite some really spirited performances. The drab, Technicolor slapstick reminds me too much of Johnny Dangerously, another lighthearted One From The Heart style Hollywood homage that falls flat. I think this is a great example of having expectations that aren't met, which is just not fair to this movie! I really wanted to like it more because there are a few comedic moments that do work and they're served by the tone and the characters in the more tense parts of the film. One thing is for sure, this makes me realize how much I actually really loved The Boys In The Band and The Birthday Party, so there's that. And Peter Falk is really, really amazing and charming.
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May 23, 2012 18:26
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Cruising dir. William Friedkin I wrote about this when I went to see it at a midnight showing. quote:all of the flack friedkin gets for this brilliant american giallo is basically undeserved. I also love how lurid and blue this film is. It's a sharp contrast to the rest of his films, which are typically grimy and mundane. This practically looks like Bava compared to the earlier stuff.
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May 23, 2012 18:31
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:The Brinks Job Have you seen Mikey and Nicky?
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May 23, 2012 18:32
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Mikey and Nicky is a fantastic movie. I remember it vividly for having the ultimate stereotypical M. Emmett Walsh role.
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May 23, 2012 18:34
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Mikey and Nicky is a fantastic movie. I remember it vividly for having the ultimate stereotypical M. Emmett Walsh role. Falk is just... oh my god. That watch scene, man. How the gently caress do you GET that GOOD?
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May 23, 2012 18:35
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I honestly think he had some kind of Napoleon complex and just had to be the best at something. I appreciate a lot of acting styles and think there's room for everything from very theatrical to very naturalistic but the best to me are the guys who make it look easy.
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May 23, 2012 18:37
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You can tell he gives a lot to the other actors, too, ya know? He seems to engage them at a level a lot of great actors fail to.
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May 23, 2012 18:39
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In some ways, what Falk does is the definition of what a character actor does, but he's so drat charismatic that you can't really pin him with that. His interplay with Gina Rowlands, especially when he invites the agents in the cops in at the end for a home-cooked meal is perfect. If the rest of the film had that kind of sensibility with the humor, it would have been pitch perfect. I like that kind of resigned, world-weary wit. But you mix it with the dumb slapstick and it's just unpleasant.
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May 23, 2012 18:41
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:In some ways, what Falk does is the definition of what a character actor does, but he's so drat charismatic that you can't really pin him with that. His interplay with Gina Rowlands, especially when he invites the agents in the cops in at the end for a home-cooked meal is perfect. If the rest of the film had that kind of sensibility with the humor, it would have been pitch perfect. I like that kind of resigned, world-weary wit. But you mix it with the dumb slapstick and it's just unpleasant. Friedkin's Rampage has similar tonal problems. There's some great character beats with Michael Biehn but it's muddled because it never quite knows what it wants to be.
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May 23, 2012 18:48
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I admire Friedkin for riding the line with tone, because when it hits, it hits, see: Cruising and To Live and Die In L.A. I hated the tone of The Boys In The Band when I first watched it and now I'm like "geez, that movie progresses incredibly well". I think it's largely a script thing.
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May 23, 2012 18:51
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I'm glad you like Cruising, I think it's really underrated.
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May 23, 2012 18:52
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It's tremendously underrated. It's the slasher film/American giallo De Palma wishes he could make.
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May 23, 2012 18:57
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Director currently working on: Werner Herzog Progress: 23/59 Just Watched: The Last Words - Filled with lots of trademark Herzog touches. Odd characters act awkwardly in front of the camera and peculiar musical numbers resonate in our minds long after the movie ends. What's the movie about? I don't really know. What's important is that it exists in that wonderful Herzog world that I simply can't get enough of. 70/100 Next Up: Signs of Life
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May 24, 2012 01:56
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Director currently working on: John Cassavetes Progress: 9/12 Just watched: A Child is Waiting (1963). I'm not sure if "Oscar Bait" was a term used in the 60s, but if A Child is Waiting was remade today, that's what it would be. Burt Lancaster is the head of a school for mentally challenged children, and he has "unorthodox" methods of dealing with them (ie, he treats them as normal people). Judy Garland is a new teacher, and they clash over methods. This doesn't feel like a Cassavetes film. It definitely has a Hollywood mark on it, and it's no surprise to me that Cassavetes was fired by producer Stanley Kramer during the editing phase. His next film would be Faces five years later, which is really where his style came into focus. It also marks the start of a long string of great pictures, all the way through Opening Night. I hope the next one I watch continues the streak. Next Up: Gloria
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May 24, 2012 16:32
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Progress 1/59 (rough estimate) Director currently working on : Jean-Luc Godard Just watched : LA CHINOISE (1967) I foolishly jumped into the Godard fray in the tail end of his 'theatrical' period (which many say ended with his film WEEKEND) and at the start of his underground political work. LA CHINOISE is a straight up political manifesto, a collection of sketches and scenes, with a message, that to be honest, mostly flew right above my head. I'm a fan of Jean-Pierre Léaud so its always nice to see him on screen, but without the proper context going to enjoy the overall work I felt like I simply couldn't get enough out of its discourses to properly enjoy it. From now on I'll be be reading an autobiography on Godard I skimmed in the past EVERYTHING IS CINEMA as I go through his work to give a little more context to the films. Next Up: Godard's second 'produced' film LE PETIT SOLDAT Breathless (1959) | Le Petit Soldat (1963) | Pineapple Skeleton fucked around with this message at 22:04 on May 29, 2012 |
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May 25, 2012 19:38
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Pineapple Skeleton posted:Progress 1/59 (rough estimate) I have no clue why you wouldn't start with Breathless or A Woman is a Woman or something like that. I remember watching La Chinoise and being confused on whether or not it was supposed to turn me on to Marxism, or Maoism (or whatever they were talking about), or not. The characters seem utterly stupid and childish, full of a misguided "revolutionary" spirit. Is this what adopting Maoism does to you? Is that what I'm supposed to walk away thinking? But it's kind of easy to look past that and just see it as Godard documenting that sort of culture - it comes off as a weird 60's precursor to The Real World or something like that, with characters frequently confessing to the camera and complaining about other characters (or actors). The cinematography is wonderful, and I still remember all the dominant shades of red and the scene where the camera pans from one outside window to another. I sometimes wonder how much Godard really cared about politics in the 60s, or if he was simply fascinated with "youth culture", if you want to call it that.
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May 25, 2012 21:07
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Jack Does Jihad posted:I have no clue why you wouldn't start with Breathless or A Woman is a Woman or something like that. I believe he's watching them chronologically.
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May 25, 2012 22:42
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quote:I believe he's watching them chronologically. I had seen (in passing) BREATHLESS, 2 OR 3 THINGS, BAND A PART and a few others, so I decided to grab one fresh that I hadn't seen a frame of. Well, yea, it was about what I expected. Time to go back to the beginning of the man's career when things were more riffs on Hollywood films then just trying to beat up the audience.
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May 26, 2012 00:13
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caiman posted:I believe he's watching them chronologically. Breathless was his first feature-length film, so I don't see that either. Starting with La Chinoise seems weird to me, since it seems to mark the shift from Godard's "cinema-as-criticism" to his more political films.
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May 26, 2012 00:38
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I remember Masculin Féminin and watching as people were asked political questions and getting these very naive, confused answers. It was kind of aggravating and I found it as riveting as asking a five year old some elaborate scientific questions.HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Cruising I found this review interesting. Makes me want to go out and watch it. I see that it's on Netflix instant.
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May 26, 2012 00:51
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Since I haven't started yet, I'd like to change my director, if that's all right. While I do like Guy Maddin, I really should keep working on the director that I originally set out to watch for 2012: Kurosawa. Director currently working on: Akira Kurosawa Next up: Scandal I had fun with the Sanshiro Sugata films. Kurosawa was hardly at his peak, but I could feel the depth of his later works behind those simple tales of revenge and honor. I couldn't see past the bland jingoism of The Most Beautiful; none of the characters were real to me. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail was a real treat of just the right length (sort of like a one act play). No Regrets for Our Youth didn't do too much for me. I had a hard time following the characters or remembering why I cared. In fact, it's probably the least memorable Kurosawa film I've seen so far. I was pretty enamored with One Wonderful Sunday. Some people think it's saccharine but I say lay on the sweetness! The whole scene with the "silent symphony" was spell-binding, a perfect catharsis. Out of the Quiet Duel, Stray Dog, and Drunken Angel, I liked Drunken Angel the most. There was something so genuinely tragic about Mifune's character that I didn't get with the others. However, for my money, Senkichi Taniguchi's Snow Trail, which Kurosawa wrote, is the best of the early Mifune movies, even though Mifune was evenly-matched against Takashi Shimura (which would be rare in the future). I think there's something about having a formidable rival to Mifune's typical fatalist anti-hero that makes his performance all the more palpable. And next up is Scandal! I stopped my Kurosawa marathon prematurely because I couldn't find a copy, but as luck would have it, I managed to place one on hold at the library. Looking forward to continuing the journey! Progress (17/30): Sanshiro Sugata, The Most Beautiful, Sanshiro Sugata Part II, The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, No Regrets for Our Youth, One Wonderful Sunday, Drunken Angel, The Quiet Duel, Stray Dog, Scandal, Rashomon, The Idiot, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, I Live in Fear, Throne of Blood, The Lower Depths, The Hidden Fortress, The Bad Sleep Well, Yojimbo, Sanjurō, High and Low, Red Beard, Dodesukaden, Dersu Uzala, Kagemusha, Ran, Dreams, Rhapsody in August, Madadayo
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May 26, 2012 06:51
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Director currently working on: Spike Lee Progress: 10/17 She's Gotta Have It (1986) | Just Watched: She Hate Me - one of Spike Lee's most critically panned films and it's easy to see why. An overly long bore of a film with a ton of dead weight and what is essentially two films shoved into the running time of one. The film is book-ended with some interesting but heavy-handed scenes about corporate culture, healthcare as a business and widespread corruption. However, the majority of the film is a ludicrous plot about a man impregnating lesbians for large amounts of money - something so far-fetched it feels farcical - but the whole film feels like a intimate drama. It feels written like a comedy but tries too hard to create a strong message, the performances don't feel comedic and on the rare occasion the film openly aims for 'funny' it's so tonally off it falls flat. The film goes on for far too long, with scenes which establish and then re-establish plot points rather than developing them further. It's not funny, the performances and characterisation are mostly one-dimensional and similarly to Jungle Fever, it tries to say far too much and stretches out the plot to fit a broad range of subjects. I don't have much to say about it - I didn't enjoy much of it, though it had a few funny lines and the corporate corruption plot was much more interesting than the main plot that it feels again like wasted potential. It also felt very voyeuristic at points with a lot of needless sex scenes - I wasn't sure what Lee was trying to say about LGBT issues or if he was trying to say anything at all. Disappointing, not even a spectacular but well-meaning failure like Bamboozled. Poorly paced, too little happens and the dialogue doesn't make up for a lack of plot or character development. Next up: I'll jump back and do She's Gotta Have It - sounds like a more focused look on sexual politics and I'm sure it'll be better than this. People actually liked She's Gotta Have It.
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May 27, 2012 02:49
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| # ? Jun 8, 2024 02:56 |
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Director currently working on: Werner Herzog Progress: 24/59 Just Watched: Signs of Life - Herzog's first feature film is an exceptionally strong debut. This movie really proves what an uncompromising and self-assured director he is and always has been. Even at 25 years old, Herzog's film making style was formed. Beautifully detailed shots focus on little oddities of life that Herzog finds so fascinating, and so do we. The lengthy pan over the vast landscape of windmills, for example, is stunningly hypnotic. His ability to choose the perfect music is at work too. Here he explores a theme that he would revisit again: one man going mad and lashing out at the world around him. Only here, unlike, say, Woyzeck, the focus is less on the character and more on the character within the context of his surroundings. We get many long shots of the fortress with the frantic and maniacal Stroszek being a small detail in the otherwise calm environment. It's a poetic contrast and something you wouldn't expect to see from a 25 year old shooting a debut feature with a stolen camera. But then again, this is Herzog. 84/100 Next Up: The Flying Doctors of East Africa
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May 27, 2012 18:32
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