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Zogo watch Ghosts Can't Do It and report back on the capabilities of ghosts. Watched The Tree of Life. Yes. YES! What a mesmerizing, beautiful movie. I previously watched Solaris without enjoying it too much and wondered if a story like that was just not meant for movies. I was wrong. The Tree of Life is very much like Solaris in it's alternations between pure nature and humanity and humanity and nature together. However, modern technology makes this one work much better for me. The music and the stunning visuals really put me into the perfect state of mind to feel what's happenig in the movie. I really wish I could have seen this on a big screen for the first time, cause even on a laptop my jaw was dropping at a couple scenes. Is everything that I missed in Solaris, absolutely loved it. Older Artsy Slot:The Holy Mountain. El Topo was really good so I have high expectations. Previously: Solaris Thriller Slot: Basic Instinct I remember this being treated like a serious movie, but it's a Verhoeven Hollywood movie, so I have my doubts. Horror Slot: Suspiria: This looks so cool, and weird horror is the best. Action Slot: 300. Fascist propaganda or biting satire? How can I tell without having seen it? Western Slot: Pale Rider. Clint Eastwood, presumably pale, on a horse? Probably good??? War Movie Slot: Thin Red Line. Will it teach me that war is….bad? Comedy Slot: 22 Jump Street. The first one was hilarious, this probably is too. Classic Slot: Citizen Kane. I heard it’s the Citizen Kane of movies so it must be good. Sci-Fi Slot: Elysium: Loved District 9 and Chappie, and blunt but heartfelt political messages are endearing. Previously: Ex Machina NEW Contemporary Artsy Slot: Solaris(2002). I heard it's worse than the old Solaris, but I feel like I might like this one more. Previously: The Tree of Life
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Apr 16, 2016 07:17
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IM_DA_DECIDER, go with Citizen Kane, it's like the ultimate fodder for this thread  (P.S. I'm glad you loved TToL, it's my absolute favourite. Makes me feel like nothing else.)Chungking Express was pretty lovely. It feels beautifully weighted -- almost feather-light, which makes the potentially slow pacing a non-issue; it [i[never[/i] drags. Reminded me of Kieslowski in how it portrays connections we miss, those we make, and those we miss then make. Curious thought that this would come out the same year as Three Colours: Red (one of my absolute favourites); they feel strangely similar to me, a shared universe with the tiniest overlaps, yet they're contemporaries -- but it's purely coincidental. Some wonderful thoughts in the first section ("must everything come with an expiration date?"), it's witty (the overlapping meanings of May, with one leaving as the other arrives, felt particularly cute), some really straightforward yet beautiful cinematography... When I finished, I wasn't sure how to reconcile these two halves, but Criterion's essay provides some historical context. And it's since coalesced in my mind, too: first we get these total opposites who find some strange unspoken, inexplicable, almost functional bond, who come together for this changing of the guard before parting forever; then, these total opposites, full of whimsy and absurdity, who overlap and overlap and overlap without quite colliding but might, just might, ultimately come together. They're loosely similar situations, coming to inverse conclusions, yet both come to this beautifully optimistic view of the future. A difficult, but really well managed dramatic balance. Faye Wong's great as this proto-manic pixie dream girl, and Tony Leung's as wonderful as ever, although, if anything, he feels far too cool to be playing this lovable loser. But I think more than anything else, that soundtrack! Not just California Dreamin', but that cover of Dreams? (I didn't even realise it was Wong singing until afterwards -- god drat.) And the pinnacle for me, that recurring lo-fi reggae track from Dennis Brown? It's been stuck on my mind all day, as much as the film itself. "It's not every day we're gonna be the same way..." -- and sometimes it's the people we meet who begin that process. The more I've thought about this the more I've realised that, y'know what? I do kinda love it. And I can only see it going up from here on repeat viewings. 8/10 Tokyo Story - Seen a few Kurosawas and plenty of recent Japanese cinema, but no other pre-90s director Ordet - Very, very intrigued by what little I've heard La strada - 8˝ was pretty spectacular, but my only Fellini Raging Bull - Scorsese's yet another big blind spot Cries and Whispers - Been a while since I watched Bergman. Seen the big three The General - LOVED the two Keatons I've seen so far Nanook of the North - I love documentaries, and this is the highest one on Sight and Sound's list of the greatest ever that I've not seen (except for Shoah, which is too long to book in here, need to find a ton of time to dedicate to something like that) The Godfather Part III - Let's finish the trilogy up, eh? One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Uh, it's One Flew Over Schindler's List - Make me cry a bunch De-shamed: Spirited Away (8.5/10), Vertigo (7/10), A Fistful of Dollars (6/10), The Godfather Part II (7.5/10), The Shawshank Redemption (7.5/10), Chungking Express (8/10) | [Total: 6]
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Apr 18, 2016 01:12
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Allyn, watch Raging Bull. I watched The Phantom Carriage and was super underwhelmed. I hate hate hate stories that redeem worthless characters. The protagonist is an unrepentant rear end in a top hat for the entire film and then finds redemption in the last few minutes even though he has done nothing to change his ways. The use of different framing devices (flashback within flashbacks!) was cool, but the plot, characters and weird colored filters all turned me off. The idea of someone having to drive around a carriage picking up people's souls is what drew me to this film, but despite the title, the carriage plays a very small role in proceedings. I found myself wishing this one was over about halfway through. Judging by reviews on Letterboxd, I am in the minority in hating this, but oh well. 1) [2015 Slot] Beasts of No Nation (2015) - Idris Elba is one of my favorite actors and I've heard very good things about this film. 2) [Giallo Slot] All the Colors of the Dark (1972) - I really liked The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, also directed by Sergio Martino, and this one comes highly recommended by people on Letterboxd. 3) [Silent Slot] Napoleon (1927) - I've always wanted to see this. If you choose this, kindly point me in the direction of what cut to watch. 4) [Exploitation Slot] Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) - I've been reading up on "pinku" films and Japanese exploitation in general. I love exploitation and Asian cinema, so I'm sure I'll enjoy them when they cross paths. 5) [Sci-Fi Slot] The Thing from Another World (1951) - Carpenter's remake is one of my top 5 films of all time. 6) [Animation Slot] Castle in the Sky (1986) - The rare Miyazaki I've yet to see. Edit: I added an Animation slot. Jeff Wiiver fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Apr 18, 2016 |
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Apr 18, 2016 01:41
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Allyn posted:Chungking Express was pretty lovely. It feels beautifully weighted -- almost feather-light, which makes the potentially slow pacing a non-issue; it [i[never[/i] drags. Reminded me of Kieslowski in how it portrays connections we miss, those we make, and those we miss then make. This is a great connection, Chungking Express is almost like a photo-negative inversion of Double Life of Veronique.
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Apr 18, 2016 02:19
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Jeff Wiiver I give you Beasts of No Nation which is an amazing if rough watch. Fantastic performances and great work from Cary Fukinaga. Enjoy As for me, I was give The Double Life of Veronique from Allyn which he said is his second favorite Kieslowski. And holy poo poo I can't wait to see what would be his top favorite! This movie was an incredible experience and I am still working a lot of it out. I loved the entire color palette and how it would change drastically. The story turns and weaves but I was constantly engaged. The performance by the main actress is magnificent and there was so much emotion in some of the scenes. It will definitely take some unpacking to do but I loved the way this movie dealt with the loss of something dear, even if you are unaware of what that something is. All in all I am not too good with getting my thoughts out properly (half of why I wanted to join back in here, to get the practice) but I am so intrigued by Kieslowski and the control he has over cinema. Truly a unique experience. My List: 1.A Short Film About KIlling - Was blown away by Double Life of Veronique, so I need to get through all the Kieslowski I can 2.Rules of the Game - Always see this one come up in best film lists. Not to mention I own it and have yet to watch. 3.Akira - Seems to be universally regarded as one of the best anime movies which is a genre I am in the dark about. Would like to get into them though. 4.To Live And Die in LA - Love Friedkin and this one seems dark and gritty 5.Bone Tomahawk - Seems brutal and I dig Kurt Russel 6.The Lobster - Loved Dogtooth and this one seems interesting 7.Mirror - Really enjoy Tarkovsky but have never finished any of his films. Shame on me 8.Pather Panchali - Never seen any films by Ray. Figure i'd start here 9.The Trial - Surrealist Welles film staring Anthony Perkins? Sounds awesome 10.All The Presidents Men - Just saw Spotlight and loved it, was told I should catch this one too De-Shamed: Double Life of Veronique
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Apr 18, 2016 20:32
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Wyllt posted:
Not going to try to tell you what to do, but I'd recommend picking a different Tarkovsky as an entry point. If you never finished one of his movies, this one might not be the easiest to dive into. It doesn't really follow a traditional narrative structure and is heavy on imagery and is overall abstract. It's excellent, don't get me wrong, but Ivan's Childhood or Andrei Rublev - or Solaris or Stalker if you're a sci-fi fan - might be better crash courses. But if you're gung ho, I just want to make sure you're prepared.
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Apr 18, 2016 21:01
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Ratedargh posted:Not going to try to tell you what to do, but I'd recommend picking a different Tarkovsky as an entry point. If you never finished one of his movies, this one might not be the easiest to dive into. It doesn't really follow a traditional narrative structure and is heavy on imagery and is overall abstract. It's excellent, don't get me wrong, but Ivan's Childhood or Andrei Rublev - or Solaris or Stalker if you're a sci-fi fan - might be better crash courses. Awesome thank you for the suggestion and advice. I actually have finished Ivan's Childhood so u apologize for the forgetfulness. And I have seen a good amount of Andrei Rublev and Solaris. But now that I am no longer a drinking man or partaking in substance abuse I believe I have a much stronger shot at finishing them haha. So I'm going for it with this one and will report back when finished!
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Apr 18, 2016 22:02
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Wyllt posted:Awesome thank you for the suggestion and advice. I actually have finished Ivan's Childhood so u apologize for the forgetfulness. And I have seen a good amount of Andrei Rublev and Solaris. But now that I am no longer a drinking man or partaking in substance abuse I believe I have a much stronger shot at finishing them haha. So I'm going for it with this one and will report back when finished! Awesome. I'm pumped to hear your impressions on it.
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Apr 19, 2016 06:38
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Magic Hate Ball posted:This is a great connection, Chungking Express is almost like a photo-negative inversion of Double Life of Veronique. Man I hadn't thought of it like that. I'd made the connection to Three Colours: Red, but not to Double Life: as very similar people, but not necessarily as perfect reflections of themselves in one another, albeit here just tantalising out of reach. That's beautiful. Wyllt posted:As for me, I was give The Double Life of Veronique from Allyn which he said is his second favorite Kieslowski. And holy poo poo I can't wait to see what would be his top favorite! This movie was an incredible experience and I am still working a lot of it out. I loved the entire color palette and how it would change drastically. The story turns and weaves but I was constantly engaged. The performance by the main actress is magnificent and there was so much emotion in some of the scenes. It will definitely take some unpacking to do but I loved the way this movie dealt with the loss of something dear, even if you are unaware of what that something is. All in all I am not too good with getting my thoughts out properly (half of why I wanted to join back in here, to get the practice) but I am so intrigued by Kieslowski and the control he has over cinema. Truly a unique experience. I know what you mean, both about Double Life's strange, inexplicable metaphysicality, and the difficulty of writing about it (film generally and Double Life specifically). I do think this thread's helped me, in terms of refining my thoughts, and how better to write and express them. Hope it does do similar for you. (P.S. my favourite of his is Three Colours: Red, also starring Irčne Jacob. It leans very heavily on Double Life but manages to go slightly on a tangent from there... I really adore it. One of my favourite 5 films.)As for your next film, looks like you're geared yourself up for watching Mirror, so yeah go with that! First, a little on my Scorsese history: when I added Raging Bull to the list, I'd previously seen Taxi Driver many years ago, as a teenage dumbass (don't remember much, only that I didn't love it), Shutter Island (Lehane adaptations all leave me with the exact same response, regardless of who makes them: derivative, tedious ephemera, built so tightly around twists that I always see coming) and Wolf of Wall St (smug and exhausting, and not in a manner which enhanced the satire; instead, it felt utterly condescending and actually quite irritating). "Scorsese's yet another big blind spot," I wrote, but I had actually somewhat fixed that recently, with GoodFellas and The Departed in the past 6 weeks. Having felt so unimpressed with those other recent two, I went in hoping these would be the ones to work. So I went into GoodFellas, this pantheon of modern American cinema, expecting greatness... and came out incredibly cold. Yes, there is great filmmaking on show, and that final day of paranoia was wonderful, but so much of the rest did absolutely nothing for me. Worst of all, I can't even express why that is, it's just this strange emptiness. Then The Departed, and finally I had a film of his I liked -- hell, loved. This terrifically tight, tense piece, reworking that classic mole vs mole narrative, but so expertly threaded through a piece of American modern history that it resonated perfectly. And so we come to Raging Bull, and what a god drat frustration it is that I feel exactly the same as with GoodFellas. There are moments which do evoke this all-consuming, sadistic and masochistic, destructive power of anger, but not nearly enough. And as with GoodFellas, there are moments of great beauty (that montage at the end of the first act, holy poo poo! Probably the best one I've ever seen), and the fight scenes are incredibly well shot and edited, creating something genuinely still visceral. But as a whole package? I feel completely disconnected from it. And again, this complete inability to understand or express why: it's just this vacuum, this absence of reaction to it. How god drat frustrating that is. At least with Shutter Island and Wolf I could put my finger on exactly what it was I disliked; with these two, I've no idea. One of the greatest American directors in modern history and I just feel nothing while watching some of his seminal works. I'm either missing someting or missing out. Fuuuck. 5/10. Tokyo Story - Seen a few Kurosawas and plenty of recent Japanese cinema, but no other pre-90s director Ordet - Very, very intrigued by what little I've heard La strada - 8˝ was pretty spectacular, but my only Fellini Cries and Whispers - Been a while since I watched Bergman. Seen the big three The General - LOVED the two Keatons I've seen so far Nanook of the North - I love documentaries, and this is the highest one on Sight and Sound's list of the greatest ever that I've not seen (except for Shoah, which is too long to book in here, need to find a ton of time to dedicate to something like that) The Godfather Part III - Let's finish the trilogy up, eh? One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Uh, it's One Flew Over Schindler's List - Make me cry a bunch Nostalghia - One of the three Tarkovskys I've got left De-shamed: Spirited Away (8.5/10), Vertigo (7/10), A Fistful of Dollars (6/10), The Godfather Part II (7.5/10), The Shawshank Redemption (7.5/10), Chungking Express (8/10), Raging Bull (5/10) | [Total: 7]
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Apr 19, 2016 23:47
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Tokyo Story is an amazing film although it's not my favorite Yasujiro Ozu film that title would go to An Autumn Afternoon. So I watched Eraserhead and it took me a really long time to get around to writing this review because I wasn't sure whether or not I actually liked the movie. The experience of watching the movie was never enjoyable, most of the time it was either disconcerting or downright alienating. But then again I knew enough about the theme of the movie, the crippling fear accompanying fatherhood, to realize and appreciate the work and the thoughts that went into that movie. All in all I much prefer the "Twin Peaks" David Lynch than the "Eraserhead" David Lynch maybe the former was edulcorated by Mark Frost. At it's most "Lynchian" Twin Peaks was weird and esoteric, Eraserhead was disturbing. But then again that is the goal of the Author in that particular case, in that sense the movie really succeed in conveying the feelings of anguish and anxiety Lynch intended it to. My list: Tabu (2012) - I don't know much about this one, the New Yorker's film critic recommended it and it looked interesting. Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) - Kitsch looking sci fi from the 60s, interesting looking. Pickpocket (1959) - It's about an unrepentant pickpocket and how his habit ruins his life... I think? El Topo (1970) - A western made by Alejandro Jodorowsky. It looks insane. Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (1971) - Japanese experimental movie, from what I've seen I honestly can't describe what it's about but wikipedia says it's a "metaphor for Japan's descent into materialism". Le Silence de la Mer (1947) - Melville's first feature length movie, I love later Melville films Le Samourai is among my favorites. (Added 12/30/2015) Day for Night (La Nuit Américaine) (1973) - Francois Truffaut's loveletter to the chaotic process of film making. (Added 01/04/2016) Bigger Than Life (1956) - "The story of the handful of hope that became a fistful of hell!" (Added 01/10/2016) Thief (1981) - Replacing Heat with another Michael Mann movie (Added 01/23/2016) A Brighter Summer Day (1991) - This is supposed to be pretty good if I am to believe the Criterion Collection, haven't seen much asian cinema that's not Japanese (Added 04/21/2016) Watched: Eraserhead, The Conformist, Heat, Vertigo, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Youth of the Beast Decever fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Apr 21, 2016 |
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Apr 21, 2016 01:29
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Decever I have the joy of giving you Pickpocket to watch! An excellent film by Bresson that I need to give a rewatch to soon, enjoy! I was give Mirror and there was no way for me to be prepared for what I was about to watch. I just finished and am still in awe. Some of the most mesmerizing and beautifully haunting shots I have ever seen in film. It all feels like an attempt to capture a dream about youth. The nararator, if you can call him that, is some times recalling events while other times living in them and interacting with them. Changing from black and white to color creates some stunning images that will be burned in my brain for awhile. I can for certain say that I loved this film though. This will definitely need some rewatching to fully grasp what is going on because I am sure Tarkovsky has meaning behind a lot of this imagery. If any of you can point me in the direction of some analysis or thoughts on this it would be greatly appreciated. All in all I highly recommend this to everyone interested, and there is also a great version on Youtube of the film in its entirety! My List: 1.A Short Film About KIlling - Was blown away by Double Life of Veronique, so I need to get through all the Kieslowski I can 2.Rules of the Game - Always see this one come up in best film lists. Not to mention I own it and have yet to watch. 3.Akira - Seems to be universally regarded as one of the best anime movies which is a genre I am in the dark about. Would like to get into them though. 4.To Live And Die in LA - Love Friedkin and this one seems dark and gritty 5.Bone Tomahawk - Seems brutal and I dig Kurt Russel 6.The Lobster - Loved Dogtooth and this one seems interesting 7.Andrei Rublev - Lets keep this Tarkovsky train rollin 8.Pather Panchali - Never seen any films by Ray. Figure i'd start here 9.The Trial - Surrealist Welles film staring Anthony Perkins? Sounds awesome 10.All The Presidents Men - Just saw Spotlight and loved it, was told I should catch this one too De-Shamed: Double Life of Veronique, Mirror
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Apr 21, 2016 06:42
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Wyllt posted:4.To Live And Die in LA - Love Friedkin and this one seems dark and gritty Try this next. Allyn posted:Then The Departed, and finally I had a film of his I liked -- hell, loved. This terrifically tight, tense piece, reworking that classic mole vs mole narrative, but so expertly threaded through a piece of American modern history that it resonated perfectly. You might like something like Cape Fear (1991). Ghosts Can't Do It - Ghosts can't have sex. In order to have sex as a ghost you must possess the body of a recently deceased person. This folklore seems to fit with what's put forth in something like Being John Malkovich. Mortality/afterlife issues continue to confound the world at large. An old billionaire named Scott (Anthony Quinn) has heart issues and decides to shoot himself with a shotgun rather than wait for the impending doom of massive cardiac arrest. He returns as a ghost and haunts his trophy wife named Katie (Bo Derek). Bo Derek spends a lot of time walking around completely nude and is basically for most intents and purposes the Vitruvian Woman incarnate. Katie has to navigate the business world and also has a conflict over whether or not she should kill younger people so her old husband can return in physical form. Their relationship is really smarmy at times and she continually refers to her husband as "THE GREAT ONE." Billionaires aren't deities! The story shares some similarities with things like Heaven Can Wait (1978) and Chances Are (1989) BUT this one unfolds in such a disorienting fashion that at times it reaches levels of incompetence rivaling the infamous The Room (2003). There are so many scenes involving the crazy old man moaning and groaning in some kind of shimmering cellophane purgatory. It's really funny stuff but after ninety minutes of slipshod editing and storytelling it's worn out its welcome. PS one of the magical moments of the film is when Katie flies to Hong Kong to finish a business deal. She goes toe-to-toe with a billionaire businessman you may've heard about : https://youtu.be/Bu6eFedIKhg?t=25s Also watched: Desperately Seeking Susan - A decently funny farce over a case of mistaken identity. At times it plays a little like the The Prince and the Pauper. Rosanna Arquette plays a dissatisfied housewife who's turned into a personal ads stalker. Madonna plays the object of interest that's been enchanting Rosanna's character. If you're a fan of either of the leads it'll probably tickle your fancy. If not, it might not. This one is filled with familiar actors in early roles: Laurie Metcalf, Will Patton, John Turturro and Giancarlo Esposito to name a few. Procrastination (210 completed): #202 Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 - This one keeps jumping on and off the IMDb 250. 11/5/15 #204 Manila in the Claws of Light - Heard this was good. 12/8/15 #208 Queen - IMDb CCL. 1/14/16 #209 The Hour of the Furnaces AKA La hora de los hornos - There are around a dozen films I've recommended ITT to someone that I haven't seen. This is one of them. 2/4/16 #214 Woodstock - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9941BTzVg 4/3/16 #215 Flatliners - More of that procrastination. 4/3/16 new #217 Passages from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake - Amazed that this exists. 4/21/16 new #218 Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - It's been on my radar for a few years. 4/21/16 James Bond versus Godzilla: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep - Godzilla wants Red Lobster for dinner. 3/16/16 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (28/39 completed): 1992 Shining Through - Something about WWII. 11/30/15 Ghosts Can't Do It makes 500 movies unshamed. Or roughly one full Netflix queue. Here are some of the categories I've finished from the prodding of this thread: IMDb Top 250 250/250 (currently 245) Academy Award for Best Picture 89/89 Star Trek 12/12 Roger Ebert's Top Films 1967-2012 46/46 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 100/100 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies 100/100 Thank you to all participants here for the motivation in our shared quest to watch every film ever released in world history! Here's my rough top 5% and bottom 5% seen through here. Top 25: 1. Come and See 2. Johnny Got His Gun 3. Three Colors: Blue 4. Gandhi 5. Sunset Boulevard 6. Vertigo 7. Pink Floyd The Wall 8. The Wages of Fear 9. The Big Sleep 10. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 11. Wild Tales 12. Red Angel 13. The Last Picture Show 14. Embers AKA Sholay 15. Underground 16. Once Upon a Time in America 17. A.I. Artificial Intelligence 18. To Live and Die in L.A. 19. Solaris (1972) 20. Roman Holiday 21. Valley Girl 22. The Departed 23. House of Games 24. A Place in the Sun 25. Wild Strawberries Bottom 25: 476. Moon 477. Warrior 478. Hudson Hawk 479. Fifty Shades of Grey 480. The Social Network 481. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 482. Bamboozled 483. Last Year at Marienbad 484. A Hard Day's Night 485. The Artist 486. Shutter Island 487. The Great Dictator 488. Gigi 489. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem 490. The Magnificent Ambersons 491. Touch of Evil 492. Monkey Shines 493. The King's Speech 494. In Bruges 495. Oklahoma! 496. The Prowler 497. His Girl Friday 498. The Love Guru 499. The Postman 500. An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn I dare anyone to watch the The Love Guru, The Postman and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn trilogy of terror.
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Apr 21, 2016 22:55
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I like how both your top and bottom 25 have entries I would choose for a greatest-of-all-time list. Though now I'm really curious what caused you to put The Love Guru in your selection. At least The Postman had the potential to be good.
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Apr 22, 2016 01:35
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Zogo posted:I dare anyone to watch the The Love Guru, The Postman and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn trilogy of terror. Seriously, the first 30 minutes of BHB is amazing. Even still, I'm never touching The Love Guru.
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Apr 22, 2016 04:27
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Congrats Zogo. I somehow don't think I'll ever get to 500 and I'm OK with that, but I'm drat happy one of us has! That's gotta be the thread record right?
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Apr 22, 2016 04:46
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Everblight posted:I've seen Postman and BHB, they're acceptable. Postman is good, just so padded for length it bores you to tears, and BHB is possibly the biggest drop from "this seems good?" to "holy jesus I am watching a nightmare" from the first 30 to the last 60 minutes I've ever seen. The top/bottom list is based strictly on what I'd most and least want to revisit so the runtime does play a part. Samuel Clemens posted:I like how both your top and bottom 25 have entries I would choose for a greatest-of-all-time list. Though now I'm really curious what caused you to put The Love Guru in your selection. At least The Postman had the potential to be good. I didn't laugh at all and the jokes become more aggravating as time went on. My reaction at the time: The Love Guru - An unmitigated disaster. To make a good comedy simply do everything exactly the opposite as was done here. One of the cardinal rules in comedy is that actors shouldn't laugh at their own jokes on screen. Guru Pitka (Myers) did not get this memo as he delivers dozens of dull puns and laughs at every stupid, gross, repetitive thing he utters. We're given an uninspired cardboard sports story as we clunkily go from scene to scene. Myers has a few dozen more unfunny acronym/initialism jokes playing on guru humor. Even if this thing was uproariously funny I'd still be harping on the unbalanced, disjointed and hollow editing and the obnoxious ads. The less said about Justin Timberlake the better. It does have a few segments that paid homage to Bollywood but they're few and far between. Jerry Lewis refused to release The Day the Clown Cried but this might be the closest thing to it we get to see. Thank you Mike Myers & Paramount Pictures for not hiding it. Chili posted:Congrats Zogo. I somehow don't think I'll ever get to 500 and I'm OK with that, but I'm drat happy one of us has! Yea, I think Electronico6 is #2 at 271 Peaceful Anarchy ~250 TrixRabbi ~190 Ratedargh - 184 It looks like you're a quarter of the way there at 125.
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Apr 22, 2016 06:53
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I think his question was more of why did you even subject yourself to that. Not why was it one of the worst.
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Apr 22, 2016 16:19
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Pretty much, yeah. Nothing I've ever read or heard about The Love Guru made it sound the least bit appealing, not even in the sense of being an interesting trainwreck. So I wondered why you'd voluntarily want to watch it.
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Apr 22, 2016 16:27
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Zogo, watch Bad Lieutenant because it's the only one on your list I'm really familiar with. That and I recommend a Herzog film like every time I post, why stop now? I watched Beasts of No Nation and was blown away. It was a super-realistic look at what it's like to be a child soldier (or so it seemed to me, anyway). The actor who played Agu was unbelievable. It's never easy directing a child actor, never mind one who has to machete a guy in the head, witness the murder of his brother and father, etc. etc. The cinematography reminded me somewhat of a Malick film, while the brainwashing and blind devotion to Idris Elba's character had some similarities to The Master. Also, maybe I'm just desensitized to it, but it wasn't that tough of a watch, considering the material. The monologue by Agu at the very end was heart wrenching, but I liked that the movie end on a somewhat optimistic turn. Agu joins the rest of the children in the ocean after telling the counselor that he used to be a good boy, before the war. He'll never be the same because of what he did and what he saw, but all he can do is move on and hope to get as close to normalcy as possible. (screens taken straight from Netflix, so quality may be a little iffy)     1) [2015 Slot] The Invitation (2015) - Love the premise, and I've seen far too few films directed by a woman. 2) [Giallo Slot] All the Colors of the Dark (1972) - I really liked The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, also directed by Sergio Martino, and this one comes highly recommended by people on Letterboxd. 3) [Silent Slot] Napoleon (1927) - I've always wanted to see this. If you choose this, kindly point me in the direction of what cut to watch. 4) [Exploitation Slot] Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) - I've been reading up on "pinku" films and Japanese exploitation in general. I love exploitation and Asian cinema, so I'm sure I'll enjoy them when they cross paths. 5) [Sci-Fi Slot] The Thing from Another World (1951) - Carpenter's remake is one of my top 5 films of all time. 6) [Animation Slot] Castle in the Sky (1986) - The rare Miyazaki I've yet to see.
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Apr 22, 2016 19:08
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Jeff Wiiver, every fan of the Carpenter film deserves to watch The Thing From Another World I was given Nashville. I have to say, I'm really torn on this one. On the one hand, it's got fantastic music, some really interesting characters and fantastic acting, and one hell of an ending. On the other, it's really long, and Altman's overlapping dialogue is something I can't click with. I think the middle hour hits a serious lull where I was struggling to pay attention and clock watching, but after it ended, I wondered if I'd get more out of the middle of the film now that I know what happens at the end. I definitely want to revisit this one sometime down the road to see if I get more out of it, but for now, it just has a nugget of a great film. My list (sorted by time on my list, with longest at the top): 1) A Zed & Two Noughts - The only Greenaway I've seen is the excellent The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, and this one comes highly recommended 2) Under The Skin - ScarJo is something something sci-fi/horror? CineD raves about it, so I might as well watch it. 3) High Plains Drifter - More westerns, with the first Eastwood directed. Just jealous it's the Beastie Boys. 4) Serpico - How does Charlie Kelly compare to the Al Pacino/Sidney Lumet classic? 5) Frailty - Bill Paxton's directorial debut film, and it's apparently a wild one. NEW 6) Make Way for Tomorrow - apparently the saddest film ever. Make me cry. Unshamed: Royal Tenenbaums, 8 1/2, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Pan's Labyrinth, Schindler's List, The Holy Mountain, Boogie Nights, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Exorcist, Days of Heaven, Inland Empire, The Hidden Fortress, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Naked Lunch, The Seventh Seal, Manhunter, Lolita, The Last Temptation of Christ, Sunset Boulevard, Once Upon a Time in the West, Suspiria, North by Northwest, Alien3, Badlands, Stagecoach, The Manchurian Candidate, L.A. Confidential, My Darling Clementine, Bringing Out the Dead, Starman, The Rules of the Game, Frankenstein, Malcolm X, Zardoz, Antichrist, The Sound of Music, Thief, Prisoners, Paris Texas, The Descent, El Topo, Adaptation., The Game, Tremors, Near Dark, Nashville
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Apr 22, 2016 23:11
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Wyllt posted:I think his question was more of why did you even subject yourself to that. Not why was it one of the worst. Samuel Clemens posted:Pretty much, yeah. Nothing I've ever read or heard about The Love Guru made it sound the least bit appealing, not even in the sense of being an interesting trainwreck. So I wondered why you'd voluntarily want to watch it. It won the 2008 Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture so once I decided to tackle that list I had no choice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Raspberry_Award_for_Worst_Picture Now if you want to know why I decided to watch dozens of films deemed to be unappealing and mediocre. Well, I just wanted a change of pace at that time and thought it'd be a good place to start. I'd seen so many great ones that I wanted a counterbalance. To better understand and comprehend what makes a film great I think viewing a lot of films on the other end helps. Films can go wrong in so many different ways so I have a fuller appreciation for when things align perfectly. I think it was Hitchcock or Zizek or maybe both that said watching film is like staring into the toilet and not knowing what will emerge. The Golden Raspberry list has delivered mightily in this regard.
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Apr 23, 2016 00:05
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oh no i accidentally erased this post
married but discreet fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Apr 24, 2016 |
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Apr 23, 2016 06:38
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IM_DA_DECIDER posted:I was a bit puzzled at how everyone considered his second wife to be a bad singer, but I guess I'm not an opera expert. She had a voice of a lounge singer or a pop star, but not an opera singer. I think she was naturally an alto but was singing soprano parts, and she couldn't reach that level. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=548188 Jurgan fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Apr 23, 2016 |
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Apr 23, 2016 06:59
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Jeff Wiiver posted:I watched Beasts of No Nation and was blown away Hell yeah dude I thought you'd enjoy it! Really an incredible film and one of my favorites from last year. Also its worth noting that Fukinaga also did the cinematography himself. The dude really is a visionary in my mind and I can't wait to see what he'll do next regardless if he's a pain to work with.
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Apr 23, 2016 20:43
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IM_DA_DECIDER: Narrowing it down to what I've seen, I'll give you 300. A certain video game I’ve been playing says that war never changes. The Battle of Algiers is fifty years old and hasn’t aged a day. The characters are fairly stock, but that’s to make the ideas stand out more. Ali and Colonel Mathieu were both interesting, and you understand both their perspectives. This movie is a mess of violence and reprisals, and while I sympathize with the Algerians they also murder children and civilians. The whole thing is a feature-length treatise on the futility of violence and war. It was released while Vietnam was going strong, but its lessons apply just as much to Iraq or Afghanistan. The most direct scene was when Mathieu held a press conference and justifies torture as necessary to defeat the resistance, and also calls out the media for supporting the occupation but not owning the consequences of it. Immediately afterwards, we see waterboarding and various other types of torture. Eventually, the resistance is defeated and Ali is killed, and the movie seems to be over, but then we get a brief coda showing that resistance broke out a few years later and led to independence. This ending makes the entire movie up until then pointless, which is the point: All that violence was a complete waste. Let’s let Doctor Who summarize this movie: The Doctor posted:You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they're always going to have to do from the very beginning -- sit down and talk! Rating: 4/4 101. Spartacus- In the end, aren't we all Spartacus? Yeah, I know how this one ends, but that's basically it. Also, I think it's popular among labor organizers. 102. Enchanted- I love Disney movies, but I also know their problems. I think this must have come out during the period when I was too old to be in Disney's target audience and too young to admit I still liked these sorts of movies without being embarrassed. 103. Judgment at Nuremberg- I had never heard about this until Slacktivist mentioned it. Sounds interesting. 111. The Great Escape- There's some guys in a Nazi prison, and some of them escape. Spoilers! 112. The Bourne Ultimatum- I like this series- ready to finish it off (I doubt "Legacy" is worth my time). 116. Boogie Nights- Uh, porn is bad. You shouldn't watch porn, m'kay? 120. The Straight Story- Doug Walker described this as "a movie that seems really slow and tedious until you get to the end, and then you realize everything that happened was for a reason." So that interested me. Also, it's by David Lynch, who ranges from excellent (Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks Season One) to pretty good (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks Season Two). No, I've never seen Dune, why do you ask? 122. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang- Somewhere, someone made a list of best pre-Hays Code movies, and this was at the top. That's all I know about it. Oh, and I think there's a twist ending of some sort, but I've deliberately avoided reading anything about it. 124. The Rules of the Game- I opened the They Shoot Pictures list, and this is number five. I've never even heard of it. 125. Z- This is the Roger Ebert slot. Z was his favorite movie of 1969, and I've never heard of it. Okay, tell me what I'm watching! Shame relieved: The Godfather: 3.5/4, The Godfather Part II: 4/4, Taxi Driver: 4/4, Casablanca: 4/4, Duck Soup: 2/4, Pulp Fiction: 4/4, Barton Fink: 3.5/4, Annie Hall:3/4, Rashomon: 4/4, Blade Runner: 3.5/4, Chinatown: 4/4, Nashville: 3.5/4, Goodfellas: 4/4, The Seven Samurai: 4/4, Superman: 2/4, The Exorcist: 3/4, A Face in the Crowd: 3.5/4, The Seventh Seal: 2.5/4, Treasure of the Sierra Madre: 3.5/4, Apocalypse Now: 4/4, 2001: A Space Odyssey: 2.5/4, The Deer Hunter: 3/4, Schindler's List: 4/4, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: 3/4, Young Frankenstein: 3.5/4, Yojimbo: 3.5/4, Brazil: 3.5/4, Hamlet: 4/4, The Aviator: 4/4, Rocky: 3.5/4, Gandhi: 3.5/4, City Lights: 4/4, Battleship Potemkin: 3.5/4, Predator: 3/4, Easy Rider: 1.5/4, Platoon: 3.5/4, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: 4/4, Get Carter: 3.5/4, Full Metal Jacket: 4/4, My Dinner with Andre: 4/4, Lethal Weapon: 3/4, 3 Women: 4/4, Ikiru: 4/4, The Maltese Falcon: 2.5/4, Midnight Cowboy: 3/4, Gattaca: 4/4, Gone with the Wind: 3/4, Jaws: 4/4, The Bicycle Thief: 3/4, Sophie's Choice: 2/4, On the Waterfront: 4/4, North by Northwest: 3.5/4, Stagecoach: 3.5/4, E.T.: 2/4, Nosferatu: 4/4, Lawrence of Arabia: 4/4, Dirty Harry: 1/4, Vertigo: 3.5/4, Rebecca: 4/4, The Pink Panther: 3/4, Children of Men: 4/4, Wings of Desire: 3/4, Metropolis: 3.5/4, Born on the Fourth of July: 4/4, The Bridge on the River Kwai: 3.5/4, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: 4/4, Being John Malkovich: 3/4, Adaptation: 4/4, Bonnie and Clyde: 4/4, Goldfinger: 3/4, A Streetcar Named Desire: 4/4, Dog Day Afternoon: 3.5/4, Leon: The Professional: 4/4, 8 1/2: 3/4, Mulholland Drive: 4/4, 12 Angry Men: 4/4, Safety Last: 3.5/4, Dogville: 4/4, The Rapture: 2/4, Blue Velvet: 3/4, Irreversible: 4/4, Airplane!: 3.5/4, Tokyo Story: 2.5/4, Big Trouble in Little China: 3.5/4, American Psycho: 3.5/4, Dr. Zhivago: 3/4, Leaving Las Vegas:4/4, The Bourne Identity: 4/4, Out of Africa: 3/4, The Usual Suspects: 3/4, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: 4/4, Rain Man: 3.5/4, The Lost Weekend: 3.5/4, Ratatouille: 3/4, City of God: 4/4, Ed Wood: 4/4, Top Gun: 2.5/4, Trois Couleurs: Bleu: 3.5/4, The Hidden Fortess: 3/4, First Blood: 4/4, The Ten Commandments:3.5/4, Patton: 3.5/4, The Bourne Supremacy:3.5/4, King Lear (1983): 2.5/4, Repo Man: 2.5/4, King Kong: 3.5/4, Wall Street: 3/4, The Blues Brothers: 2/4, Trois Couleurs: Blanc: 2.5/4, Trois Couleurs: Rouge: 3.5/4, Animal House: 1.5/4, Ben-Hur: 3.5/4, Gojira: 4/4, Sunset Boulevard:3.5/4, Falling Down:4/4, The Night of the Hunter:3.5/4, Ran: 4/4, The Battle of Algiers: 4/4
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Apr 23, 2016 21:19
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Wyllt posted:Hell yeah dude I thought you'd enjoy it! Really an incredible film and one of my favorites from last year. Also its worth noting that Fukinaga also did the cinematography himself. The dude really is a visionary in my mind and I can't wait to see what he'll do next regardless if he's a pain to work with.
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Apr 23, 2016 21:51
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Jurgan, go with Z, a film which I thought was great but seems to get very little attention. Looking forward to seeing what you think. _____________________________ boom boom boom gave me John Carpenter's Starman. Which was very good. The story of an alien being that lands on earth and assumes the form of the recently deceased husband (Jeff Bridges) of Karen Allen's character, Jenny Hayden, who then insists that she help him on a road trip so he can go home. And of course they've the US government on their tail. The film is almost entirely the two leads driving and getting to know each other and they're both thankfully great as this film has little going on besides these two characters. Karen Allen is really genuine and draws you in as she becomes more comfortable with her new companion and Jeff Bridges is great as a strange and awkward creature with wierd mannerisms and speech. The titular role the Bridges plays could have went very badly but thankfully he pulls it off, being unsettling enough and carrying off various culture clash moments subtley enough that they don't veer into slapstick or outright comedy which wouldn't have sit well with the film. The relationship between the two characters is a little light in depth, without a huge amount of chat between the two about their respective backstories but it works with a quickly paced road movie formula. The special effects are excellent and hold up brilliantly for a 30 year old film with a single green screen shot being jarring and everything else working seemlessly - one early scene in particular (the being transforming and growing to adulthood in about a minute) is fantastic and really pulls you in to the film. The main story gets going immediately and the side story of the government agency tracking them picks up early and is visited in brief throughout, which is good and doesn't distract from the main point of the film, being the interactions of the main couple. I did enjoy the moments of strangers helping other people out to dodge jerk cops, always nice to see. Though the one thing I didn't like in the film - the couple of rather unnecessary Jesus nods (though obviously vital to the plot at one point) that pop up throughout - is a minor enough element and don't detract from another extremely solid and very enjoyable film from John Carpenter. List of Shame: 1 - Silence - Long intrigued by this film, now I need to catch it before the Scorsese version comes out 2 - In America - It was talked about a lot on its release but not heard much about this since, word was it was good. [Irish Film Slot] 3 - Dancer in the Dark - I started watching this years back but the rented DVD was broke, apparently a tough watch so haven't rushed back. 4 - Mad Max 2 - Assumed I'd watched this when young but its good reviews in this thread suggest it's worth seeing for definite. 5 - The Tale of Princess Kaguya - Again catching up with Studio Ghibli, this comes highly rated. 6 - Amy - A quite recent release but one I'm keen to catch. [Documentary Slot] 7 - The Wanderers - One of those films that gets mentioned often enough but don't know much about, something about a gang? 8 - Kotoko - Always interested in Shinya Tsukamoto's films, I've a few to catch up on, this seems interesting. 9 - Outrage - Takeshi Kitano back making Yakuza films. I can't wait. [Catching up with Kitano 3/5] 10- Ex Machina - new - Recent one that I've missed, apparently one of the best of last year - keen to find out if it is. Shame No More: [84] [top ten] Psycho | The Third Man | The Long Goodbye | Harakiri | The Silence of the Lambs | Pi | Jaws | Panic Room | Black Swan | Star Trek II | The Brothers Bloom | Hugo | Badlands | Shame | LA Confidential | The Right Stuff | The Evil Dead | Hanna | The Master | The Untouchables | Glengarry Glen Ross | The Seventh Seal | The Apartment | The Player | Ronin | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Glory to the Filmmaker! | Frank | Dreams | Paths of Glory | Assault on Precinct 13 | Haywire | Escape From New York | 13 Assassins | A Prophet | Stand By Me | Blackfish | Pumping Iron | The Thin Blue Line | It's A Wonderful Life | What Richard Did | The Bicycle Thieves | Youth of the Beast | Once Upon A Time In The West | The Raid: Redemption | The Babadook | Calvary | The Host | Samurai Rebellion | Poltergeist | Days of Heaven | The Room | Nightcrawler | Cars 2 | Enter the Dragon | Stalker | Casablanca | M | The Maltese Falcon | The Secret World of Arrietty | Bad Lieutenant | Blazing Saddles | Mad Max: Fury Road | From Up On Poppy Hill | In The Heat Of The Night | Noah | The Wind Rises | The Exorcist | An American Werewolf in London | The Fog | The Graduate | The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 | The Killing | La Dolce Vita | Scarface | Gone Girl | The Sting | Rope | Taken | Citizenfour | Annie Hall | The Great Yokai War | Achilles and the Tortoise | Starman
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Apr 24, 2016 00:24
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Watch Mad Max 2, it's fun and good. Watched 300, a movie loosely based on the historical Battle of Thermopylae where the US Marines of the Confederate States of Nazi Greece and their useless Italian allies were stabbed in the back by a rightfully shunned untermensch in their fight against the Uruk-Hai of Asia. Thankfully Solid Snake survives to tell the tale of their heoric last stand. For real, it's strange how the movie is so completely over the top yet at the same time completely serious, without the tell-tale signs of satire like Starship Troopers or Dredd. I can't tell if that makes it more or less subtle or if I'm overthinking the whole thing. It made me feel good like Ted Cruz probably feels when watching some hardcore buttfucking. There's some neat Baroque art shots too, although I'd say Immortals beats it in that regard at least. Older Artsy Slot:The Holy Mountain. El Topo was really good so I have high expectations. Previously: Solaris Thriller Slot: Basic Instinct I remember this being treated like a serious movie, but it's a Verhoeven Hollywood movie, so I have my doubts. Horror Slot: Suspiria: This looks so cool, and weird horror is the best. Western Slot: Pale Rider. Clint Eastwood, presumably pale, on a horse? Probably good??? War Movie Slot: Thin Red Line. Will it teach me that war is….bad? Comedy Slot: 22 Jump Street. The first one was hilarious, this probably is too. Sci-Fi Slot: Elysium: Loved District 9 and Chappie, and blunt but heartfelt political messages are endearing. Previously: Ex Machina Contemporary Artsy Slot: Solaris(2002). I heard it's worse than the old Solaris, but I feel like I might like this one more. Previously: The Tree of Life Classic Slot: The Seventh Seal. Another movie that I've probably already seen by cultural osmosis. Previously: Citizen Kane NEW Action Slot: The Hurt Locker. I started watching this a while ago and lost interest, but I kind of want to find out what a hurt locker is. Previously: 300
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Apr 24, 2016 02:45
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Jeff Wiiver posted:Thanks for recommending it! The first film by Fukunaga I've seen but he's certainly someone I've got my eye on now. How is Sin Nombre? I really enjoyed Sin Nombre. Have yet to see his adaptation of Jane Eyre but it has Michael Fassbender so I'll probably love it. Also if you haven't seen it definitely watch the first season of True Detective. He directed all the episodes and it in my top tier of favorite seasons of television. A must watch if you have yet to!!
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Apr 24, 2016 03:09
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IM_DA_DECIDER posted:
Enjoy some Malick! That Obscure Object of Desire What an absolutely phenomenal film! I was glued to the screen from beginning to end - the performances, the effective flashback structure, and of course the shockingly wet introduction to the dueling Conchita's played by Carole Bouquet & Angela Molina, which keeps you both mystified and enthralled with which you'll see next - and why the decision to do so at each particular time. Fernando Rey is fantastic as Mathieu who's longing for Conchita but can't obtain the one thing he desires most... This has instantly become one of my favourites. LIST American Hustle (2015.10.19) - I'll replace Fincher's 'Dragon Tattoo with another lengthy modern film I'll never watch... unless I'm forced to here. American Movie (2016.01.01) - I'll add a documentary to start the new year off, and it's one I've been meaning to see for years. Farewell My Concubine (2016.04.13) - replacing with another long, foreign film that I won't watch unless told to here. The Fountain **OLDEST** (2015.07.12) - I've noticed this come up way too many times, plus a good friend telling me to watch it for years now. Gilda (2015.11.27) - I'll replace an early Rita Hayworth film with her most iconic. Leaving Las Vegas (2015.10.18) - I claim to be a big Nic Cage supporter, yet his Oscar-winner remains a blindspot. How shameful, right? Mister Roberts (2015.10.24) - James Cagney, Henry Fonda, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon ..... Why I haven't watched this yet is beyond me. Nobody Knows **NEW** (2016.04.23) - a 2+hr Kore-eda film that would be my 3rd film of his. Long overdue. Rope (2016.04.13) - classic Hitchcock .... how have I not watched this yet? Warrior (2016.01.17) - another IMDB Top 250 entry I've yet to watch... I'm glad I've waited as a Hardy/Edgerton film means more now. De-shamed Pt2: True Romance (4/5), The Right Stuff (3/5), Syndromes And A Century (4/5), Still Life (3/5), My Cousin Vinny (2.5/5), Doctor Zhivago (3.5/5), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (4.5/5), Peeping Tom (4/5), Shadow of a Doubt (4.5/5), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (4.5/5), Only Angels Have Wings (4/5), Umberto D (4/5), Anatomy of a Murder (4.5/5), Only God Forgives (1.5/5), Missing (3.5/5), Howl's Moving Castle (4.5/5), Rio Bravo (4/5), Cloud Atlas (3.5/5), Children of Paradise (4/5), That Obscure Object of Desire (5/5), [Total:120]
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Apr 24, 2016 09:45
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friendo55, go watch The Fountain, for three reasons - so you can finally talk to you friend about it, because it's the film on your list the longest, and also, because it's great. _____________________________ IM_DA_DECIDER gave me Mad Max 2. Which was a great, solid action film. Really straightforward 96minutes and nothing wasted, from it's opening short narrated world building montage to the action packed climax, it's a fun, easy, enjoyable watch. The story of a post apocalyptic world and a man know as Mad Max or the Road Warrior who roams this wasteland in his fancy car with his cool dog and he soon encounters a gang of bad guys and a settlement of good guys. He fights the baddies and obviously comes to help out the goodies. The film is fun, the story is pretty barebones but there's no padding so the film flies by. The cast is all fine and do their jobs, bad guys are over the top, comic relief characters are brief and amusing, mel gibson as mad max is stoic and presumably still a massive racist piece of poo poo, and that one creepy kid is loving creepy. I had assumed I had seen this when I was young as it is so well known and iconic but I had in fact only seen bits of it, likely referenced in tv shows etc. so this was a great surprise and glad to have actually seen it. A thoroughly enjoyable action film, a perfect example of a film doing everything it has been designed to do. List of Shame: 1 - Silence - Long intrigued by this film, now I need to catch it before the Scorsese version comes out 2 - In America - It was talked about a lot on its release but not heard much about this since, word was it was good. [Irish Film Slot] 3 - Dancer in the Dark - I started watching this years back but the rented DVD was broke, apparently a tough watch so haven't rushed back. 4 - The Tale of Princess Kaguya - Again catching up with Studio Ghibli, this comes highly rated. 5 - Amy - A quite recent release but one I'm keen to catch. [Documentary Slot] 6 - The Wanderers - One of those films that gets mentioned often enough but don't know much about, something about a gang? 7 - Kotoko - Always interested in Shinya Tsukamoto's films, I've a few to catch up on, this seems interesting. 8 - Outrage - Takeshi Kitano back making Yakuza films. I can't wait. [Catching up with Kitano 3/5] 9 - Ex Machina - Recent one that I've missed, apparently one of the best of last year - keen to find out if it is. 10- Bad Day at Black Rock - new - One of those classics that I've just never sought out & know very little about, I should fix that Shame No More: [85] [top ten] Psycho | The Third Man | The Long Goodbye | Harakiri | The Silence of the Lambs | Pi | Jaws | Panic Room | Black Swan | Star Trek II | The Brothers Bloom | Hugo | Badlands | Shame | LA Confidential | The Right Stuff | The Evil Dead | Hanna | The Master | The Untouchables | Glengarry Glen Ross | The Seventh Seal | The Apartment | The Player | Ronin | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Glory to the Filmmaker! | Frank | Dreams | Paths of Glory | Assault on Precinct 13 | Haywire | Escape From New York | 13 Assassins | A Prophet | Stand By Me | Blackfish | Pumping Iron | The Thin Blue Line | It's A Wonderful Life | What Richard Did | The Bicycle Thieves | Youth of the Beast | Once Upon A Time In The West | The Raid: Redemption | The Babadook | Calvary | The Host | Samurai Rebellion | Poltergeist | Days of Heaven | The Room | Nightcrawler | Cars 2 | Enter the Dragon | Stalker | Casablanca | M | The Maltese Falcon | The Secret World of Arrietty | Bad Lieutenant | Blazing Saddles | Mad Max: Fury Road | From Up On Poppy Hill | In The Heat Of The Night | Noah | The Wind Rises | The Exorcist | An American Werewolf in London | The Fog | The Graduate | The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 | The Killing | La Dolce Vita | Scarface | Gone Girl | The Sting | Rope | Taken | Citizenfour | Annie Hall | The Great Yokai War | Achilles and the Tortoise | Starman | Mad Max 2
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Apr 27, 2016 00:23
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Chewy Bitems posted:
It was near the top of my list, I hope you enjoy it. I was given Costa Gavras' 1972 political thriller State of Siege. While it isn't quite as good or engrossing as Z, it is a very good film. In a sense, it reminded me of Network because its cultural relevance is somewhat more pronounced now, or at the very least many of the same problems have been ongoing for the past several years, decades, or just never stopped...which is more likely. This is a fiercely critical film about the United States' involvement in foreign countries and how it deals with terrorism. The issue of torture and it effectiveness - or ineffectiveness is a big part of it, which is still a thing in pop culture and the news cycle. And like Zero Dark Thirty, I think this film does a decent job of distancing the story away from a simple good vs. bad, though it's interesting coming from an outsider's point of view. I doubt an American would have made it this way. It's a little sloppy, and maybe a tad didactic in its execution and some of the sequences are a little dull in portrayal, but it's mostly a really strong, chilling and sad film. I do like that they never gave a name to the country. Gives it a feeling that it could happen anywhere. LIST O SHAME 1)Walkabout - Another from the outback. I know next to nothing about it, but cover art intrigued me. 2) Code Unknown - More Haneke. I love Juliette Binoche, too. Know nothing about it, but bought it blind when Criterion released it. 3) Children of Paradise - I've put it off because it's so long. I imagine it's fantastic, but it's been difficult to motivate myself to watch it. 4) Cobra Verde - This Herzog/Kinski box set won't watch itself! 5) Beauty and the Beast - The Cocteau version. I've only ever seen the Disney movie. This is supposed to be great, right? 6) Love Streams - When I first joined the thread, I watched Killing of a Chinese Bookie early on. Liked it a lot. Haven't seen a Cassavetes film since. 7) Song of the Sea - Irish animation I've wanted to see since it was released. Just got added to Netflix! 8) Tangerine - Been on a number of best of 2015 lists. 9) Dressed to Kill - De Palma thriller with Michael Caine. I haven't seen enough De Palma. 10) La Silence de La Mer - Jean Pierre Melville is excellent. I've liked everything I've seen. SHAME BE GONE:Wild Strawberries, Sunset Blvd., The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Our Man in Havana, Breathless, Phenomena, Withnail & I, 12 Angry Men, The Cranes Are Flying, Fitzcarraldo, Amadeus, Paths of Glory, Blow Out, Cronos, Hausu, City Lights, Easy Rider, The Lives of Others, Salo, In the Bedroom, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Cars, Brand Upon the Brain!, The Great Dictator, Double Indemnity, Point Blank, Cool Hand Luke, 127 Hours, Black Narcissus, Lawrence of Arabia, The Sting, A Woman is a Woman, Life of Brian, Last Picture Show, The Company of Wolves, Tree of Life, Life is Beautiful, Young Frankenstein, Cinema Paradiso, Some Like it Hot, Shotgun Stories, Singin' in the Rain, Precious, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Rules of the Game, Frost/Nixon, All About Eve, Bronson, The Searchers, Bicycle Thieves, American Graffiti, A Christmas Story, The Phantom Carriage, The Changeling, Repulsion, Kagemusha, Irreversible, The Virgin Spring, The Red Shoes, Deconstructing Harry, Metropolis, Che, The Island of Lost Souls, Revanche, Black Moon, Stalker, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Badlands, The Long Goodbye, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Apartment, All About My Mother, Tokyo Story, Chungking Express, This is Spinal Tap, On the Waterfront, Grave of the Fireflies, Rebecca, The Sweet Hereafter, Peeping Tom, Drunken Angel, Duck Soup, Key Largo, Witness for the Prosecution, The Lady From Shanghai, Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages, Safety Last!, King Kong, Anatomy of a Murder, In a Lonely Place, Safe, Bad Day at Black Rock, The General, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Easy Pieces, Porco Rosso, Mystery Train, Rififi, The King of Comedy, The Straight Story, The Kid, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carlos, Onibaba, It Happened One Night, Sherlock Jr., Lone Star, Foreign Correspondent, The Last Detail, Young Mr. Lincoln, Rope, Mr. Hulot's Holiday, The Man Who Laughs, Husbands and Wives, Reds, Sweet Smell of Success, Shadow of a Doubt, The Purple Rose of Cairo, The African Queen, The Lower Depths, Frankenstein, Broadcast News, La Strada, The Last Laugh, Stagecoach, Alexander Nevsky, Don't Look Now, Fish Tank, Steamboat Bill, Jr., Days of Heaven, The Killer, Nosferatu, The Naked Kiss, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Jules et Jim, Mon Oncle, Howl's Moving Castle, Y Tu Mama Tambien, A Night at the Opera, Berberian Sound Studio, The Natural, Kwaidan, The Color of Money, Fanny and Alexander, Repo Man, The Breakfast Club, The Passenger, The King of Marvin Gardens, The Goonies, Z, Ashes and Diamonds, L'Atalante, All Quiet on the Western Front, L'Age D'Or, The Earrings of Madame De..., La Notte, Europa, World on a Wire, Andrei Rublev, Dersu Uzala, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Brewster McCloud, Blast of Silence, Ordet, Bringing Up Baby, Pather Panchali, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, A Streetcar Named Desire, Bride of Frankenstein, Three Colors: White, Three Colors: Red, Kuroneko, A Hard Day's Night, Marketa Lazarova, Tootsie, George Washington, Marnie,Amour,Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Duke of Burgundy, Volver, Day for Night, The Verdict, State of Siege(TOTAL: 185)
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Apr 29, 2016 00:35
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Shamefully I have not seen any of these movies, so I will suggest Dressed to Kill, which is also on my extended watch list. Watched The Thin Red Line. This is a top notch war movie, but not quite as monumental as it could have been. Malick clearly likes making nature documentaries and knows how to shoot a normal movie too. Both parts come together in the film, where nature photography are juxtaposed with scenes of war, like when amid the carnage of people fighting over a hill, a small bird fallen out of its nest is shown inbetween pictures of dead and dying young men. The film is pretty long, and these scenes are few and far between, so even when they are used well they feel a bit out of the blue and unsystematic, if that makes sense. As a result, we have a fantastic "conventional" war movie with uneven flashes of brilliance, when it could have been this: wikipedia posted:"Malick's Guadalcanal would be a Paradise Lost, an Eden, raped by the green poison, as Terry used to call it, of war. Much of the violence was to be portrayed indirectly. A soldier is shot, but rather than showing a Spielbergian bloody face we see a tree explode, the shredded vegetation, and a gorgeous bird with a broken wing flying out of a tree" Alas, that's probably not something a financially minded studio would fund to such a degree. Older Artsy Slot:The Holy Mountain. El Topo was really good so I have high expectations. Previously: Solaris Thriller Slot: Basic Instinct I remember this being treated like a serious movie, but it's a Verhoeven Hollywood movie, so I have my doubts. Horror Slot: Suspiria: This looks so cool, and weird horror is the best. Western Slot: Pale Rider. Clint Eastwood, presumably pale, on a horse? Probably good??? Comedy Slot: 22 Jump Street. The first one was hilarious, this probably is too. Sci-Fi Slot: Elysium: Loved District 9 and Chappie, and blunt but heartfelt political messages are endearing. Previously: Ex Machina Contemporary Artsy Slot: Solaris(2002). I heard it's worse than the old Solaris, but I feel like I might like this one more. Previously: The Tree of Life Classic Slot: The Seventh Seal. Another movie that I've probably already seen by cultural osmosis. Previously: Citizen Kane Action Slot: The Hurt Locker. I started watching this a while ago and lost interest, but I kind of want to find out what a hurt locker is. Previously: 300 NEW War Movie Slot: Platoon. I think I saw this once in a Turkish hotel, in Turkish, but I'm not sure. Probably should watch in English. Previously: The Thin Red Line
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Apr 29, 2016 01:07
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IM_DA_DECIDER posted:Alas, that's probably not something a financially minded studio would fund to such a degree. quote:A great anecdote—true or not, I don't know—is recounted by Dominic Nolan in Simon Braund's book The Greatest Movies You'll Never See (2013). In 1963, famed Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis assembled a group of prestigious directors—Fellini, Bergman, Visconti, and Welles among them—to make films from various books in the Bible. The first, Genesis, was to be made by Robert Bresson.
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Apr 29, 2016 02:21
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Hahaha, I almost hope this wasn't a copy-paste error. I just thought it fit too well not to leave it as it was. IM_DA_DECIDER, you get The Seventh Seal. As a swede I can't pass up the chance to give someone more Bergman to watch. ----------------------------------------- Saw Battleship Potemkin. Didn't really click for me. The editing felt very modern and it's probably been very formative for coming cinema, but that made it seem kind of simplistic to me. It's also one of those few movies that doesn't really have any main characters and is more about an event than any one person. In that way it reminded me a bit of M which is another movie I had a hard time connecting to. It's an interesting concept by I can see why it's rarely done that way. I'll probably watch it again soon though and see if I get more out of it. Easy to slot in because of the short running time. List: The Wild Bunch - I'll keep this as a western slot. La Dolce Vita - Saw 8˝ and I can't say I really enjoyed it, but I should probably give Fellini another chance. 2046 - Might as well follow up In the Mood for Love with this one. Cries and Whispers - Haven't seen a bad Bergman yet. The Thin Red Line - A few posts up in this thread reminded me that I own this but haven't seen it. Contempt - Loved Breathless. The Conformist - Looks beautiful from what I've seen. Andrei Rublev - Maybe I should watch some Tarkovsky? Raging Bull - Saw Rocky, might as well keep going with the boxing. Tokyo Story - Only one in TSPDT top 10 I haven't seen.
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Apr 29, 2016 12:54
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Cakebaker posted:The Wild Bunch - I'll keep this as a western slot. Try this next. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - More offbeat and comedic than the 1992 film with a similar title. Nicolas Cage plays the unhinged/depraved cop on a perpetual power trip. He suffers many vices: Reckless sports gambling, drug use, theft, planting drugs and threats. It defies genre classification at times due to a handful of surrealistic moments involving breakdancing ghosts and random lizard appearances (perhaps it's the hallucinations from all the drugs Terence has been taking). The difference with the earlier film is that everything turns up as a bed of roses for our Bad Lieutenant. He should be called Lucky Lieutenant as he threatens and ticks off so many dangerous people and still walks away unscathed. Procrastination (211 completed): #202 Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 - This one keeps jumping on and off the IMDb 250. 11/5/15 #204 Manila in the Claws of Light - Heard this was good. 12/8/15 #208 Queen - IMDb CCL. 1/14/16 #209 The Hour of the Furnaces AKA La hora de los hornos - There are around a dozen films I've recommended ITT to someone that I haven't seen. This is one of them. 2/4/16 #214 Woodstock - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9941BTzVg 4/3/16 #215 Flatliners - More of that procrastination. 4/3/16 #217 Passages from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake - Amazed that this exists. 4/21/16 James Bond versus Godzilla: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep - Godzilla wants Red Lobster for dinner. 3/16/16 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (28/39 completed): 1992 Shining Through - Something about WWII. 11/30/15 new 1990 The Adventures of Ford Fairlane - Andrew Dice Clay stars in his own film. 4/29/16
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Apr 29, 2016 22:55
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Zogo, go with Woodstock The most striking thing about Tokyo Story is Ozu's mise-en-scene. These homes feel totally authentic and lived-in, beautiful in every scene. Ozu uses these spaces to great effect: whether it's the grandparents' relatively spacious home in the countryside vs. one of the cramped Tokyo houses amplfifying this quiet inter-generational frustration and disconnection, or Noriko and her mother-in-law bonding in this tight, intimate space, it's really beautiful. Setsuko Hara's face lights this film up in places, particularly towards the end, striking this beautiful balance between optimism-in-the-darkness and pathos. The story's really quite run-of-the-mill, but Ozu injects it with depth, working both as slice-of-life family drama and probably as allegory for the emerging tensions in post-war Japan -- I don't know enough about the era, but I'd imagine the ongoing economic miracle inflects many of their interactions. Indeed, I'd imagine many Japanese idiosyncracies underscore much of what's here and yet flew over my head, but nonetheless it still rings completely true: inter-generational angst, sibling frustration, hopes and dreams vs. the reality you end up with... all still very timely, especially in the light of every tedious millenial op-ed. I imagine there's far more to pick up from this, too. I imagine it looks and feels very different when you're closer to the grandparents' age than Kyoko's. 7/10 I also watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as it was burning a hole in my DVR, and it's like Shawshank for me: another American classic that just feels like a solid film with a few moments of magic trying to pull it up higher. It's functionally good -- in particular, it does a great job balancing the comedic tone against the darker side it's showing -- but only rarely hit me in some profound way. Chief was one of the lovelier characters I've seen on screen recently, though. 6.5/10 Ordet - Very, very intrigued by what little I've heard La strada - 8˝ was pretty spectacular, but my only Fellini Cries and Whispers - Been a while since I watched Bergman. Seen the big three The General - LOVED the two Keatons I've seen so far Nanook of the North - I love documentaries, and this is the highest one on Sight and Sound's list of the greatest ever that I've not seen (except for Shoah, which is too long to book in here, need to find a ton of time to dedicate to something like that) The Godfather Part III - Let's finish the trilogy up, eh? Schindler's List - Make me cry a bunch Nostalghia - One of the three Tarkovskys I've got left High and Low - Gimme some non-period drama Kurosawa Fight Club - I love Fincher but somehow have yet to see his most famous of all De-shamed: Spirited Away (8.5/10), Vertigo (7/10), A Fistful of Dollars (6/10), The Godfather Part II (7.5/10), The Shawshank Redemption (7.5/10), Chungking Express (8/10), Raging Bull (5/10), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (6.5/10), Tokyo Story (7/10) | [Total: 9]
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Apr 29, 2016 23:55
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Allyn posted:
Maybe my favourite Kurosawa. Enjoy. I've come to the conclusion that I just don't like Brian De Palma. Of all the movies of his I've seen, I've only loved two (Blow Out and The Untouchables). I've responded unfavorably to the bulk of the rest, though I mildly like a couple. Dressed to Kill didn't work for me as a narrative. It's stylish and photographed really well. Each scene builds its tension well with its askew angles. But wow, that story is ludicrous. It borrows heavily from Psycho only less constricted and less claustrophobic. Like Psycho, Dressed to Kill over-explains the psychology but does it in an even more hamfisted way. There are a pair of shower sequences wrought with peril. The expected protagonist gets killed early and the killer is a trans woman struggling with two sides of her gender identity. There is a workable idea here and it's certainly made in a way that effectively mixes the schlock with the elegant, but the dialog and plot beats never really cohere. Maybe it would have played better when it came out. LIST O SHAME 1)Walkabout - Another from the outback. I know next to nothing about it, but cover art intrigued me. 2) Code Unknown - More Haneke. I love Juliette Binoche, too. Know nothing about it, but bought it blind when Criterion released it. 3) Children of Paradise - I've put it off because it's so long. I imagine it's fantastic, but it's been difficult to motivate myself to watch it. 4) Cobra Verde - This Herzog/Kinski box set won't watch itself! 5) Beauty and the Beast - The Cocteau version. I've only ever seen the Disney movie. This is supposed to be great, right? 6) Love Streams - When I first joined the thread, I watched Killing of a Chinese Bookie early on. Liked it a lot. Haven't seen a Cassavetes film since. 7) Song of the Sea - Irish animation I've wanted to see since it was released. Just got added to Netflix! 8) Tangerine - Been on a number of best of 2015 lists. 9) Breaking the Waves - Will it be another entry in Lars von Trier's ongoing series of soul crushers? 10) La Silence de La Mer - Jean Pierre Melville is excellent. I've liked everything I've seen. SHAME BE GONE:Wild Strawberries, Sunset Blvd., The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Our Man in Havana, Breathless, Phenomena, Withnail & I, 12 Angry Men, The Cranes Are Flying, Fitzcarraldo, Amadeus, Paths of Glory, Blow Out, Cronos, Hausu, City Lights, Easy Rider, The Lives of Others, Salo, In the Bedroom, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Cars, Brand Upon the Brain!, The Great Dictator, Double Indemnity, Point Blank, Cool Hand Luke, 127 Hours, Black Narcissus, Lawrence of Arabia, The Sting, A Woman is a Woman, Life of Brian, Last Picture Show, The Company of Wolves, Tree of Life, Life is Beautiful, Young Frankenstein, Cinema Paradiso, Some Like it Hot, Shotgun Stories, Singin' in the Rain, Precious, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Rules of the Game, Frost/Nixon, All About Eve, Bronson, The Searchers, Bicycle Thieves, American Graffiti, A Christmas Story, The Phantom Carriage, The Changeling, Repulsion, Kagemusha, Irreversible, The Virgin Spring, The Red Shoes, Deconstructing Harry, Metropolis, Che, The Island of Lost Souls, Revanche, Black Moon, Stalker, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Badlands, The Long Goodbye, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Apartment, All About My Mother, Tokyo Story, Chungking Express, This is Spinal Tap, On the Waterfront, Grave of the Fireflies, Rebecca, The Sweet Hereafter, Peeping Tom, Drunken Angel, Duck Soup, Key Largo, Witness for the Prosecution, The Lady From Shanghai, Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages, Safety Last!, King Kong, Anatomy of a Murder, In a Lonely Place, Safe, Bad Day at Black Rock, The General, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Easy Pieces, Porco Rosso, Mystery Train, Rififi, The King of Comedy, The Straight Story, The Kid, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carlos, Onibaba, It Happened One Night, Sherlock Jr., Lone Star, Foreign Correspondent, The Last Detail, Young Mr. Lincoln, Rope, Mr. Hulot's Holiday, The Man Who Laughs, Husbands and Wives, Reds, Sweet Smell of Success, Shadow of a Doubt, The Purple Rose of Cairo, The African Queen, The Lower Depths, Frankenstein, Broadcast News, La Strada, The Last Laugh, Stagecoach, Alexander Nevsky, Don't Look Now, Fish Tank, Steamboat Bill, Jr., Days of Heaven, The Killer, Nosferatu, The Naked Kiss, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Jules et Jim, Mon Oncle, Howl's Moving Castle, Y Tu Mama Tambien, A Night at the Opera, Berberian Sound Studio, The Natural, Kwaidan, The Color of Money, Fanny and Alexander, Repo Man, The Breakfast Club, The Passenger, The King of Marvin Gardens, The Goonies, Z, Ashes and Diamonds, L'Atalante, All Quiet on the Western Front, L'Age D'Or, The Earrings of Madame De..., La Notte, Europa, World on a Wire, Andrei Rublev, Dersu Uzala, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Brewster McCloud, Blast of Silence, Ordet, Bringing Up Baby, Pather Panchali, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, A Streetcar Named Desire, Bride of Frankenstein, Three Colors: White, Three Colors: Red, Kuroneko, A Hard Day's Night, Marketa Lazarova, Tootsie, George Washington, Marnie,Amour,Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Duke of Burgundy, Volver, Day for Night, The Verdict, State of Siege, Dressed to Kill(TOTAL: 186)
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May 1, 2016 21:47
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Ratedargh posted:
A rare case where I've watched about 6-7 of the movies on your list - and all worth recommending! Because this is one I had listed for a long time here for the exact same reason, I'm returning the favour. Here's your motivation for Children of Paradise! The Fountain This is certainly a case of more style than substance, and it's the kind of film that I would've been awestruck & more appreciative at a younger age. I had a friend & fellow cinephile strongly recommend this years and years ago, and just never got around to it - I wonder if he'd have the same opinion today? It felt like Aronofsky was reaching for big heights, and wound up a misstep by the end. There's some great moments & beautiful visuals at times, but that's all I'll remember. LIST American Hustle (2015.10.19) - I'll replace Fincher's 'Dragon Tattoo with another lengthy modern film I'll never watch... unless I'm forced to here. American Movie (2016.01.01) - I'll add a documentary to start the new year off, and it's one I've been meaning to see for years. Farewell My Concubine (2016.04.13) - replacing with another long, foreign film that I won't watch unless told to here. Gilda (2015.11.27) - I'll replace an early Rita Hayworth film with her most iconic. Leaving Las Vegas **OLDEST** (2015.10.18) - I claim to be a big Nic Cage supporter, yet his Oscar-winner remains a blindspot. How shameful, right? Malcolm X **NEW** (2016.05.04) - I always hear this is one of Denzel's best performances. I should watch it. Mister Roberts (2015.10.24) - James Cagney, Henry Fonda, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon ..... Why I haven't watched this yet is beyond me. Nobody Knows (2016.04.23) - a 2+hr Kore-eda film that would be my 3rd film of his. Long overdue. Rope (2016.04.13) - classic Hitchcock .... how have I not watched this yet? Warrior (2016.01.17) - another IMDB Top 250 entry I've yet to watch... I'm glad I've waited as a Hardy/Edgerton film means more now. De-shamed Pt2: True Romance (4/5), The Right Stuff (3/5), Syndromes And A Century (4/5), Still Life (3/5), My Cousin Vinny (2.5/5), Doctor Zhivago (3.5/5), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (4.5/5), Peeping Tom (4/5), Shadow of a Doubt (4.5/5), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (4.5/5), Only Angels Have Wings (4/5), Umberto D (4/5), Anatomy of a Murder (4.5/5), Only God Forgives (1.5/5), Missing (3.5/5), Howl's Moving Castle (4.5/5), Rio Bravo (4/5), Cloud Atlas (3.5/5), Children of Paradise (4/5), That Obscure Object of Desire (5/5), The Fountain (3/5), [Total:121]
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May 4, 2016 22:32
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friendo55, I'm giving you the only one on your list I've seen, Malcolm X. I was given Frailty. A solid choice. Bill Paxton directs this one fairly well, and I can see how James Cameron could have helped Bill direct it. The kill scenes are especially effective, and they're heavy even though nothing's ever shown. The premise is legitimately interesting and raises a lot of questions when compared against other semi-religious films like The Boondock Saints or Take Shelter. Unfortunately, the script suffers the curse of the third act collapse, where it tries to fit in a few twists too many instead of telling a simpler story more effectively. The third act also makes another wonky decision that doesn't really follow the rest of the film up to that point. It's well-edited, with a laidback feel that still moves at a good pace. Recommended if you're a fan of film depictions of religion or Bill Paxton. My list (sorted by time on my list, with longest at the top): 1) A Zed & Two Noughts - The only Greenaway I've seen is the excellent The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, and this one comes highly recommended 2) Under The Skin - ScarJo is something something sci-fi/horror? CineD raves about it, so I might as well watch it. 3) High Plains Drifter - More westerns, with the first Eastwood directed. Just jealous it's the Beastie Boys. 4) Serpico - How does Charlie Kelly compare to the Al Pacino/Sidney Lumet classic? 5) Make Way for Tomorrow - apparently the saddest film ever. Make me cry. NEW 6) From Beyond - Combs/Gordon/Lovecraft worked well in Re-Animator, can the formula sustain itself? Unshamed: Royal Tenenbaums, 8 1/2, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Pan's Labyrinth, Schindler's List, The Holy Mountain, Boogie Nights, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Exorcist, Days of Heaven, Inland Empire, The Hidden Fortress, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Naked Lunch, The Seventh Seal, Manhunter, Lolita, The Last Temptation of Christ, Sunset Boulevard, Once Upon a Time in the West, Suspiria, North by Northwest, Alien3, Badlands, Stagecoach, The Manchurian Candidate, L.A. Confidential, My Darling Clementine, Bringing Out the Dead, Starman, The Rules of the Game, Frankenstein, Malcolm X, Zardoz, Antichrist, The Sound of Music, Thief, Prisoners, Paris Texas, The Descent, El Topo, Adaptation., The Game, Tremors, Near Dark, Nashville, Frailty
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May 4, 2016 22:52
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