|
Crescent Wrench, see M It is a fascinating film, and Peter Lorre is great in it. Just saw The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a pretty solid western with John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart, which is more or less (story-wise) about the last days of the Old West and the coming of civilization. Stewart plays a young lawyer who goes west to establish a law practice. He is beaten and threatened by Liberty Valance, a vicious thug who has no use for the law at all. John Wayne plays a gunfighter, seemingly the only person in town who can stand up to Valance. The movie has wonderful scenery, and the side characters, like Peabody, Appleyard, Pompey and Valance henchmen are all memorable. The ending, when it is shown that Tom Doniphon killed Valance and not Rance Stoddard is somewhat of a downer, since it seems that Doniphon dies a broken man, losing his girl and his usefulness, while Stoddard seems ashamed that he built his career on the lie. Wonderful film and I highly reccommend it. My List: Rio Bravo - This will be my John Wayne spot for now. NEWEST The Greatest Showman - My daughter recommended this one. In the Heat of the Night - No, haven't seen this yet. The Cocoanuts - Working my way through the Marx Brothers movies. This is their first movie.OLDEST Battleship Potempkin - Don't know much about this one. Pelle the Conquerer - Big fan of Max Von Sydow. Need to see more of his work. The Road to El Dorado - Heard a lot about this movie, Looking forward to seeing it. White Christmas - Just saw Holiday Inn. Looking forward to seeing this film Star Trek: Nemesis - This is the only Star Trek movie I haven't seen. I haven't heard good things about it, but I'll give it a shot. Wild at Heart - Keeping the David Lynch fest going. Ocean's 11 - A slot here for Elvis, Sinatra, Beatles movies. This is the original with Frank Sinatra.
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2023 23:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 23:00 |
|
|
Dmitri Russkie posted:Star Trek: Nemesis - This is the only Star Trek movie I haven't seen. I haven't heard good things about it, but I'll give it a shot. I also haven't seen it or heard good things about it, but for the sake of completionism, go for it! Seaniqua posted:8.) The Searchers (1956) - I know nothing about this movie but I do like John Ford. 7/28/23 Crescent Wrench posted:I watched this one for the thread last fall, so I'd love to hear another first-time viewer's take on it. Alrighty, watched this two nights ago. Tried to keep this short and I failed. The movie is an impressive achievement. John Ford was a master. The scene where the posse is being surrounded by two groups of Comanche was particularly cool, and I imagine very challenging to film. I don't think I'm a huge John Wayne fan. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether he's deliberately making choices, or just being John Wayne on autopilot. I will say there were some scenes where he made choices that elevated the film and were really engaging, but a lot of it felt unnatural to me. The pacing of the film was weird. The passage of time wasn't effectively portrayed, and alternating between the search and the folks back at the farm was jarring and repetitive. The comic relief characters made the tone of this film inconsistent. I think the growing relationship between Ethan and Martin provided enough feelings of potential hope (and the best character building in the movie) to make up for how dark it usually was. I know this was a constraint of the time, but the scenes that were meant to look like they were outside, but were actually a sound stage, were pretty painful. The plot contrivance of Ethan and Martin showing up at the wedding was a lot to accept. Every thread was tied up in the last 15 mins of the movie. Killing the store owner was a cool twist and I wish the possible consequences of it were explored earlier in the film instead of right before the end, never to be mentioned again. Why did Ethan change his mind about killing Debbie? It all happened so fast, and all at the very end of the movie. Why did Debbie change her mind and decide to come home? They could have found Debbie 60% of the way through the movie and actually explored her motivation. I get that you can infer her motivation there - that she was sending them away in the first place to save them - but we never really got to hear anything from her about it. I know women's stories didn't really have a place in this kind of movie in the 50s. I don't have issues with movies about flawed characters, bad people. But too often, this movie didn't feel like it was just about a guy who hates native people, it felt like a movie that hated native people, or at least treated them as a novelty or boogeyman. The closest we get to humanizing them is Scar talking about losing his sons, and taking scalps for them. I certainly understand why it's considered such a landmark film. I might just be too much of a simpleton to have the context to truly enjoy it all the way through. I also watched Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and I loved it. Audacious. A little cringey in spots, but likely intentional in Tarantino ways. Once Sharon Tate and Charles Manson showed up, I had a strong feeling he was going to pull another alternate history trick like Inglourious Basterds. I think the ending would have been more affecting to me if i hadn't already seen Basterds. But it works really well in service of this movie, so whatever. Towards the beginning of the movie there's a scene where Rick Dalton literally appears behind an opening curtain and torches a ton of Nazis, which I thought was strangely self-referential. In hindsight I wonder if it was foreshadowing the fact that Tarantino knew that he was doing the same thing again with this movie. Anyway, great performances, beautifully shot, great music. I loved it. Updated list: 1.) Parasite (2019) - Looking through recent Oscar winners, I sorta can't believe I never got around to watching this. 7/28/23 2.) Gone With the Wind (1939) - Something about a fire and not giving a drat. 7/28/23 3.) The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) - My closest friend keeps telling me I "really need" to see this movie. 7/31/23 4.) The Wizard of Oz (1939) - I've probably seen this whole movie over the course of my life, but I've never sat and watched the whole thing. 7/28/23 5.) The Northman (2022) - Loved \/\/\/\/Itch and The Lighthouse. 7/28/23 6.) City Lights (1931) - Next up on the AFI list, honestly I haven't seen much Chaplin but I hear he's ok. 7/28/23 7.) Licorice Pizza (2021) - I love PTA but this is one of a couple I've yet to see. 7/28/23 8.) Chinatown (1974) - I know nothing about this movie. I've never seen a Roman Polanski movie. 7/31/23 9.) I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) - I love Charlie Kaufman and this movie just came and went without me even hearing about it. Thanks, Netflix! 7/28/23 10.) The General (1926) - This movie came out before I was born! 7/28/23 List of shameless: Seven Samurai, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, Yojimbo, Lawrence of Arabia, A Clockwork Orange, Raging Bull, Schindler's List, Citizen Kane, The Incredibles, The Sixth Sense, North by Northwest, Braveheart, Monsters, Inc, Full Metal Jacket, Magnolia, Sunset Blvd., Rocky, Psycho, The Godfather Part III, The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Seaniqua fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Jul 31, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 16:02
|
|
|
Seaniqua posted:I also haven't seen it or heard good things about it, but for the sake of completionism, go for it!  I tried to get to my film as quickly as I could because I wanted to assign Nemesis as well. You beat me by about 20 minutes, but you got the job done.Seaniqua, nice write-up of The Searchers, I think you picked up on a lot of things that struck me when I watched it, but caught some stuff I hadn't thought through as well. I'd be interested to hear your take on... Seaniqua posted:4.) The Wizard of Oz (1939) - I've probably seen this whole movie over the course of my life, but I've never sat and watched the whole thing. 7/28/23 I'm in the same "probably seen most of it in bits and pieces" camp here. I'm going to have to sit down and watch it at some point for my scratch-off movies poster, so go ahead and scout it out for me. Watched M (1931): A child murderer (Peter Lorre) is stalking the streets of Berlin, and the police investigation is getting nowhere as the body count rises. The endless patrols, raids and public hysteria are also putting a serious damper on the city's criminal underworld, so much so that the crooks start their own independent operation to track down the killer. The bulk of the film follows the parallel investigations as the net tightens around the killer. I found this compelling and surprisingly modern. Indeed, you can draw a straight line from M to today's police procedurals and serial killer films. It's a relatively early talkie--director Fritz Lang's first--but sound is used as effectively as silence. There's no score to speak of, which makes it even eerier when the killer compulsively whistles a tune as he stalks his victims. (You'll never hear "In the Hall of the Mountain King" the same way again.) The ambient noise is used well as the characters stalk the sparse night streets, but sometimes Lang lets the sound drop out to ramp up the tension, particularly when the search parties have got the killer cornered. It's visually compelling as well, with lots of harsh, overheard camera angles giving things a voyeuristic, claustrophobic quality. As you'd expect for a film about child murder from the '30s, it's not explicitly violent, but the restraint is all the more chilling. In the opening of the film, we see the killer lure in a young girl by offering her a balloon from a street vendor. Then they disappear together, and all we get is a shot of the balloon floating off into the sky towards the powerlines above. Lorre is a great villain, both baby-faced and bug-eyed. I imagine Michael Shannon taking notes on that latter aspect. This was a superb film, and takes me interested to revisit Metropolis, which deserves better than a viewing on a crappy VHS tape when I was in high school. LIST OF SHAME: 4. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) (added 06-03-22): I like war films, but when we get back to the fifties and earlier we are getting to the point where I have seen a handful of classics and things by directors I like but otherwise have a lot of blind spots. 10. Brokeback Mountain (2005) (added 06-03-22): I would have to consider myself a Jake Gyllenhaal fan, and of course we lost Heath too soon. I vaguely remember finding Ang Lee pretentious and annoying in the press cycle/Oscar buzz period for the movie, which may have contributed to missing out on it at the time. 15. Tokyo Story (1953) (added 07-29-22): I've never seen an Ozu film, and this is considered a masterpiece. 16. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) (added 08-08-22): Kazan and Brando's first collaboration, not to mention Brando's first Oscar nod. 18. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (added 08-31-22): The most iconic film directed by John Cassavetes, who I've thus far only seen on the other side of the camera. 19. True Stories (1986) (added 09-30-22): I've been a diehard Talking Heads fan for almost as long as I've followed pop music, but I've never seen this musical comedy, David Byrne's sole directorial credit for a feature film. 21. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (added 04-03-23): A big influence on my favorite film, The Royal Tenenbaums. 23. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) (added 06-11-23): Soderbergh's debut is a landmark indepedent film, not to mention a Palme d'Or winner. 24. Godzilla (1954) (added 07-29-23): Time to rectify having only seen the Roland Emmerich slop. (and introducing...) 25. Planet of the Apes (1968) (added 07-31-23): Another iconic film in the cultural osmosis/maybe seen bits and pieces in passing category. SHAME OVERCOME (15 and counting): Midnight Cowboy (1969); E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); The Prestige (2006); Singin' in the Rain (1952); Schindler's List (1993); Heat (1995); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); Tootsie (1982); The Searchers (1956); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Caddyshack (1980); Come and See (1985); Purple Rain (1984); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); M (1931)
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 16:25
|
|
|
Crescent Wrench posted:25. Planet of the Apes (1968) (added 07-31-23): Another iconic film in the cultural osmosis/maybe seen bits and pieces in passing category. "We finally really did it." Cabiria - This was originally released nearly 110 years ago (pre-WW1). One of the perks of holding off on watching older films is that very often more footage is found and restored. And a 2.5 hour cut has surfaced recently. It's steeped in mythology of old as the characters pledge allegiance to many forgotten gods. Cabiria is a young girl who goes missing after a destructive volcanic eruption. The showcase is probably the child sacrifice scene where many victims encounter the fearsome Moloch. Lots of young kids get tossed into a furnace that's within this large statue. Cabiria is saved from this fate but an angry mob forms. I won't cover the rest of the long story but there are tons of political alliances and plotting around war. Only historians remember the Numidians, Carthaginians and Phoenicians of antiquity. The names may change but war continues ad infinitum. James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (142 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #146 The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - Probably the biggest Hitchcock film I haven't seen. 7/17/23 #147 Bad Timing - I've heard this mentioned a few places recently. 7/27/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (97/100 completed): new Hoosiers - A basketball movie I keep putting off. 8/3/23 The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (44/50 completed): #37 A Bucket of Blood - I've seen A Bay of Blood but not this one. 7/27/23 #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23 #45 Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - Doesn't sound like the typical biopic. 7/17/23
|
|
#
?
Aug 4, 2023 05:36
|
|
|
Zogo posted:new Hoosiers - A basketball movie I keep putting off. 8/3/23 Picking this so you get one closer to finishing the AFI list. Seaniqua posted:4.) The Wizard of Oz (1939) - I've probably seen this whole movie over the course of my life, but I've never sat and watched the whole thing. 7/28/23 Crescent Wrench posted:I'm in the same "probably seen most of it in bits and pieces" camp here. I'm going to have to sit down and watch it at some point for my scratch-off movies poster, so go ahead and scout it out for me. Just finished this. Watched it with my six and eight-year-old, I think they really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it, too. All the main parts are played so well and in such a charming way. The sets are amazing. I think the only thing I would have changed was when the lion gets a song all to himself right before they meet the wizard. Sorta messed with the pacing. But really, it's a stone cold classic, fun for the whole fam. I can't imagine how parents felt bringing their kids to Return to Oz in the 80s. Updated list: 1.) Parasite (2019) - Looking through recent Oscar winners, I sorta can't believe I never got around to watching this. 7/28/23 2.) Gone With the Wind (1939) - Something about a fire and not giving a drat. 7/28/23 3.) The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) - My closest friend keeps telling me I "really need" to see this movie. 7/31/23 4.) Blade Runner (1982) - This movie is so absurdly up my alley, it's a crime I've never watched it. I've started it several times over the last 20 years or so, just never finished it. I'll let you pick which version I watch. 8/6/23 5.) The Northman (2022) - Loved \/\/\/\/Itch and The Lighthouse. 7/28/23 6.) City Lights (1931) - Next up on the AFI list, honestly I haven't seen much Chaplin but I hear he's ok. 7/28/23 7.) Licorice Pizza (2021) - I love PTA but this is one of a couple I've yet to see. 7/28/23 8.) Chinatown (1974) - I know nothing about this movie. I've never seen a Roman Polanski movie. 7/31/23 9.) I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) - I love Charlie Kaufman and this movie just came and went without me even hearing about it. Thanks, Netflix! 7/28/23 10.) The General (1926) - This movie came out before I was born! 7/28/23 List of shameless: Seven Samurai, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, Yojimbo, Lawrence of Arabia, A Clockwork Orange, Raging Bull, Schindler's List, Citizen Kane, The Incredibles, The Sixth Sense, North by Northwest, Braveheart, Monsters, Inc, Full Metal Jacket, Magnolia, Sunset Blvd., Rocky, Psycho, The Godfather Part III, The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Wizard of Oz Seaniqua fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Aug 7, 2023 |
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2023 02:27
|
|
|
Seaniqua, check out The Northman, a movie I liked very much that didn’t seem to get a whole lot of recognition. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: I liked this all right, but I didn’t love it. Wes Anderson has never fully clicked for me, though I really liked The Grand Budapest Hotel. Murray is good and I like the premise of a Cousteau-like figure who is not particularly competent. It flows well enough and gave me a few chuckles, but like most of Anderson’s oeuvre it’s a little too clever for its own good. The List: 1. Cleo from 5 to 7: Started cracking into the Agnes Varda Criterion box earlier this year but got distracted when I got to this one. 2. Andrei Rublev: More Tarkovsky. 3. Sanjuro: More Kurosawa 4. McCabe and Mrs. Miller: Just making this my Western slot. 5. The Great Dictator: I could probably stand to see more Chaplin NEW 6. Come and See: This movie gets memed a lot, and I hear it’s quite disturbing. 7. Pather Pachali: I’ve watched a shamefully small number of Indian films. 8. Jeanne Dielman: The newly crowned Greatest Movie of All Time. I didn’t feel like typing out the whole title. 9. 8 1/2: I've scrolled past this on Criterion Channel so many times. 10. Playtime: Never seen a Tati film Watched (75): Goodfellas, Rear Window, Rashomon, The Searchers, Lawrence of Arabia, American Psycho, The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, Unforgiven, Once Upon a Time in America, Blue Velvet, Schindler's List, Vertigo, First Blood, The Sting, Annie Hall, Twelve Monkeys, The Deer Hunter, Rain Man, Chinatown, Glengarry Glen Ross, Patton, Brazil, Casino, Scanners, Black Swan, Superman, Spartacus, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Seven Samurai, Double Indemnity, The Thing, Aguirre The Wrath of God, Badlands, Planet of the Apes, Shane, Léon: The Professional, Trainspotting, The Conversation, Miller's Crossing, A Fish Called Wanda, City of God, Psycho, Singin' in the Rain, Witness for the Prosecution, Se7en, The Wild Bunch, Oklahoma!, Cool Hand Luke, Paths of Glory, The Night of the Hunter, Blood Simple, Eyes Wide Shut, Memories of Murder, Sunset Boulevard, City Lights, The Artist, The Hudsucker Proxy, Stalker, Barry Lyndon, Stagecoach, Solaris, Reds, The King’s Speech, The Seventh Seal, The Man Who Wasn't There, Throne of Blood, Tokyo Story, Akira, North Dallas Forty, Touch of Evil, The Piano, Bullitt, Lolita, The General, Bicycle Thieves, The Life Aquatic
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2023 17:07
|
|
|
Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:NEW 6. Come and See: This movie gets memed a lot, and I hear it’s quite disturbing. "It must be the beavers howling." Hoosiers - A new coach (Gene Hackman) comes to town and implements his questionable system upon the local basketball team. The coach has a mysterious and checkered past. The dilemma early on is that his best player doesn't want to play basketball any longer. It's both sanguine and sentimental. Its strength is found in its realistic conversations but the weakness is the many predictable turns the story takes. But I suppose predictability is exactly what some viewers want. Another selling point would be that it's not just an inspirational sports film. It has some things to say about small-town dynamics and redemption. PS Dennis Hopper played a drunken assistant who kept falling off the wagon. He had a good year in 1986 as he was also in River's Edge, Blue Velvet and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.  James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (142 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #146 The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - Probably the biggest Hitchcock film I haven't seen. 7/17/23 #147 Bad Timing - I've heard this mentioned a few places recently. 7/27/23 new #148 The Guardian -  William Friedkin. 8/11/23AFI's 10 Top 10 (98/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (44/50 completed): #37 A Bucket of Blood - I've seen A Bay of Blood but not this one. 7/27/23 #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23 #45 Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - Doesn't sound like the typical biopic. 7/17/23
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2023 05:34
|
|
|
Zogo, see The Man Who Knew Too Much Saw Star Trek: Nemesis. It was OK, I guess. I liked it better than Insurrection, but it is still in the bottom tier of Star Trek movies. It seemed like it couldn't decide between a hard science fiction thought piece or an action-packed thrill fest, so it tried to do both, which really hurt the movie. The effects were good. The Star Trek regulars were OK, but it just seemed very rambling and disjointed. Also saw the original Ocean's 11 with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, etc. This movie was lots of fun. Nice camaraderie among the cast. I liked the scenes in Las Vegas, and the casting was very good. My List: Rio Bravo - This will be my John Wayne spot for now. The Greatest Showman - My daughter recommended this one. In the Heat of the Night - No, haven't seen this yet. The Cocoanuts - Working my way through the Marx Brothers movies. This is their first movie.OLDEST Battleship Potempkin - Don't know much about this one. Pelle the Conquerer - Big fan of Max Von Sydow. Need to see more of his work. The Road to El Dorado - Heard a lot about this movie, Looking forward to seeing it. White Christmas - Just saw Holiday Inn. Looking forward to seeing this film Interstellar - Trying to see some newer sci-fi. Wild at Heart - Keeping the David Lynch fest going. Guys and Dolls - A slot here for Elvis, Sinatra, Beatles movies. NEWEST Dmitri Russkie fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Aug 20, 2023 |
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2023 02:15
|
|
|
Dmitri, watch In the Heat of the Night and let me know how it is, I'll put it on my list after this round! Not surprised about how Nemesis made you feel, it's... not incredible. Excited to join in on this game, my "to watch" list is full of gems I never feel like I should take the leap on. 1. Joker - It's on the list because I'm sure I'll never watch it otherwise, but I don't want to cringe unknowingly about it forever. 2. Lady Bird - I've heard it mentioned anecdotally enough times that there's gotta be something to it, right? I'm otherwise going in blind. Coincidentally, my dog is named Ladybird! 3. Arrival - I loooooove good sci-fi, and I think the anticipation is what's kept me from watching this! I'm hopeful its more Solaris (good), and less Interstellar (I resent Interstellar) 4. Tokyo Story - Never seen an Ozu movie, but this sits on my watchlist and mocks me. Ready to make the jump. 5. Dead Poets Society - I was very bookish in high school and missed this movie, despite people always mentioning it. 6. Eraserhead - Never seen any Lynch besides Dune! I can be a baby about any scary thriller thing, but I'm basically going in blind here. 7. Videodrome - See above but Cronenberg. I was hung up about body horror for a long time and I don't know how over it I am. 8. Pink Flamingos - The only John Waters I think I've seen is Hairspray, and I don't know why. 9. Shawshank Redemption - Just another thing I missed growing up. Bet it'll hit the same way all those 80's & 90's movies with nostalgic narration hit. 10. Portrait of a Lady on Fire - I missed the hubub when this came out... I'm sorry, is this about lesbian longing?? My favorite emotion???
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2023 17:26
|
|
|
Big Mac, please watch Eraserhead, just because I think everyone should experience it at least once. My list is all stuff in my queue that I never seem to get around to watching, so help me clear some space: 1. Foxy Brown - 70s Pam Grier  2. Raise The Red Lantern - 90s Gong Li 3. The 400 Blows - honestly just to say I've seen a Truffaut. 4. El Topo - I thought The Holy Mountain was absolute bollocks (although very striking bollocks at times), but I want to give Jodorowsky another chance because his comics kick rear end. 5. Häxan - from the little I've heard, it sounds a bit like an ancestor of B&W mindfucks like Eraserhead, Tetsuo, and Carnival of Souls, so I'm curious
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2023 20:39
|
|
|
Clipperton, please watch Foxy Brown and if you get a chance please ask Ms. Grier to call me For Eraserhead: 100% couldn't tell you what I expected, but I would call myself surprised by this. It was by far a quieter experience than I expected, and though I'd see pics of the baby, etc, for years and years, the actual practical effect and how it's experienced in the film is much more gruesome than just a still can be. As to what the movie is about/means? I'll get back to you. 1. Joker - It's on the list because I'm sure I'll never watch it otherwise, but I don't want to cringe unknowingly about it forever. 2. Lady Bird - I've heard it mentioned anecdotally enough times that there's gotta be something to it, right? I'm otherwise going in blind. Coincidentally, my dog is named Ladybird! 3. Arrival - I loooooove good sci-fi, and I think the anticipation is what's kept me from watching this! I'm hopeful its more Solaris (good), and less Interstellar (I resent Interstellar) 4. Tokyo Story - Never seen an Ozu movie, but this sits on my watchlist and mocks me. Ready to make the jump. 5. Dead Poets Society - I was very bookish in high school and missed this movie, despite people always mentioning it. 6. In The Heat of The Night - inspired by this thread! 7. Videodrome - See above but Cronenberg. I was hung up about body horror for a long time and I don't know how over it I am. 8. Pink Flamingos - The only John Waters I think I've seen is Hairspray, and I don't know why. 9. Shawshank Redemption - Just another thing I missed growing up. Bet it'll hit the same way all those 80's & 90's movies with nostalgic narration hit. 10. Portrait of a Lady on Fire - I missed the hubub when this came out... I'm sorry, is this about lesbian longing?? My favorite emotion???
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2023 23:13
|
|
|
Welcome to the thread, Big Mac and Clipperton! Big Mac posted:7. Videodrome - See above but Cronenberg. I was hung up about body horror for a long time and I don't know how over it I am. I would also have given you Eraserhead, the ultimate film about fatherhood, as your first pick. I think I've seen it three times in the theater. Henry is still my Letterboxd avatar. That being said, I think Videodrome is just as strange, and my favorite Cronenberg film. Have fun. Watched Planet of the Apes (1968): Astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his crew take to space for an experiment: by hitting near-light speeds, they believe they can induce time dilation and jump centuries into the future while barely aging themselves. When they come out of cryogenic sleep, they find they're more than 2,000 years in the future and crash landing on a remote planet where humanity has regressed to a mute tribes ruled over by humanoid apes. If you know anything about this film, of course, you know the iconic ending where it's revealed this is actually the future of Earth. The science makes absolutely no sense, but it's more important as a pulpy sci-fi framework for some social commentary. Heston gives an appropriately larger-than-life performance as the avatar of humanity. There's even a solid chunk when he first gets captured by the apes where his throat has been injured and he's unable to speak. I liked watching Heston try to communicate his intelligence with only gestures and facial expressions. However, this segment does also have some problems with an "idiot plot" where it would be trivially easy for Heston to come up with better ways to communicate, and eventually act willfully obtuse. It makes a bit more sense with more context on the ape society, but there are still some shout at the screen moments. I thought the ape make-up/prosthetics held up reasonably well, accounting for the era and the inherent goofiness of the concept. The underlying performances by actors like Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, and Maurice Evans also go a long way to smooth over any technical limitations. The make-up was even given an honorary Oscar, as there was not yet a make-up category. The film also expertly shot in a way that negates the old cliche of an alien planet looking remarkably like the deserts of the American southwest. The opening act, in particular, has wonderful aerial shots, POV camerawork, and appropriately grand and strange cinematography. Really, there's a lot to enjoy here--Jerry Goldsmith's percussive, borderline avant-garde score; the practical effects and action set pieces; even a classic philosophical debate in the form of a courtroom scene. Planet of the Apes went on to be a successful franchise with four more movies in the early '70s, and I'd be curious to know how that played out, since this is a pretty self-contained tale. Historical fun fact--Planet of the Apes debuted in the U.S. the SAME DAY as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Pretty wild that two radically different approaches to cinematic sci-fi co-existed in such a big way. Isn't film wonderful? LIST OF SHAME: 4. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) (added 06-03-22): I like war films, but when we get back to the fifties and earlier we are getting to the point where I have seen a handful of classics and things by directors I like but otherwise have a lot of blind spots. 10. Brokeback Mountain (2005) (added 06-03-22): I would have to consider myself a Jake Gyllenhaal fan, and of course we lost Heath too soon. I vaguely remember finding Ang Lee pretentious and annoying in the press cycle/Oscar buzz period for the movie, which may have contributed to missing out on it at the time. 15. Tokyo Story (1953) (added 07-29-22): I've never seen an Ozu film, and this is considered a masterpiece. 16. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) (added 08-08-22): Kazan and Brando's first collaboration, not to mention Brando's first Oscar nod. 18. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (added 08-31-22): The most iconic film directed by John Cassavetes, who I've thus far only seen on the other side of the camera. 19. True Stories (1986) (added 09-30-22): I've been a diehard Talking Heads fan for almost as long as I've followed pop music, but I've never seen this musical comedy, David Byrne's sole directorial credit for a feature film. 21. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (added 04-03-23): A big influence on my favorite film, The Royal Tenenbaums. 23. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) (added 06-11-23): Soderbergh's debut is a landmark independent film, not to mention a Palme d'Or winner. 24. Godzilla (1954) (added 07-29-23): Time to rectify having only seen the Roland Emmerich slop. (and introducing...) 26. Night on Earth (1991) (added 08-20-23): The only Jarmusch I haven't seen (aside from the music docs). SHAME OVERCOME (16 and counting): Midnight Cowboy (1969); E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); The Prestige (2006); Singin' in the Rain (1952); Schindler's List (1993); Heat (1995); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); Tootsie (1982); The Searchers (1956); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Caddyshack (1980); Come and See (1985); Purple Rain (1984); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); M (1931); Planet of the Apes (1968)
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2023 13:48
|
|
|
Crescent Wrench posted:Planet of the Apes went on to be a successful franchise with four more movies in the early '70s, and I'd be curious to know how that played out, since this is a pretty self-contained tale. I haven't seen all of them either but here's a clip of Eddie Murphy talking about seeing all of them at the theater in a single day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtcOB9CGn5o Crescent Wrench posted:Historical fun fact--Planet of the Apes debuted in the U.S. the SAME DAY as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Pretty wild that two radically different approaches to cinematic sci-fi co-existed in such a big way. Isn't film wonderful? Yes, Barbarella was another one that was released a little later in 1968.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2023 23:47
|
|
|
Crescent Wrench posted:4. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) (added 06-03-22): I like war films, but when we get back to the fifties and earlier we are getting to the point where I have seen a handful of classics and things by directors I like but otherwise have a lot of blind spots. "What have I done?" The Man Who Knew Too Much - A down-to-earth couple is vacationing in Marrakesh and runs into a few cultural/language issues with the locals. It's kind of a cheerful travelogue but then ominous music starts to creep in. They then encounter a secretive man and things take a bad turn. Their son is abducted and they're stuck in the middle of an assassination plot. Hitchcock injects more misdirection and humor than usual here. I've seen twenty of his films now but still not a mediocre one. I know he was very prolific but it still surprises me. One of the better scores for him as well. Lots of tension but a very funny ending. Also watched: The Guardian - One perk of watching many films is that every so often you might come across something you've been trying to identify for many years. This was one of those times. I had misremembered the villain being a werewolf but she was actually a hamadryad. No wonder I was having trouble tracking this film down. Anyway, this woman (Jenny Seagrove) needs to sacrifice children in order to replenish her tree. She decides to prey upon affluent families living in spacious and opulent houses. In a word she's a nanny and a temptress. She's also guarded by a pack of hungry wolves. Maybe it's the animalism within her but I was reminded of Cat People (1982) and Species (1995). I was surprised to see this was very maligned and rated lowly. Part of the problem with success is that you're forevermore held to the same standard going forward. Some of the critics were basically complaining that this Friedkin offering didn't live up to The Exorcist. James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (144 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #147 Bad Timing - I've heard this mentioned a few places recently. 7/27/23 new #149 The Day of the Jackal - I've heard this is a well made one. 8/20/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (99/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (44/50 completed): new #28 The Wiz - I've seen bits and pieces of this but not the whole thing. 8/20/23 #37 A Bucket of Blood - I've seen A Bay of Blood but not this one. 7/27/23 #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23 #45 Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - Doesn't sound like the typical biopic. 7/17/23 Zogo fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Aug 20, 2023 |
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2023 23:55
|
|
quote:#45 Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - Doesn't sound like the typical biopic. 7/17/23 It isn't. Foxy Brown: definitely hits all the blaxploitation notes (gratuitous violence! even more gratuitous nudity! iffy framing and blocking! intrusive/kickass theme song! Sid Haig playing a sleazeball dipshit!) but not much beyond that. If it didn't have Pam Grier it'd be completely forgettable (except for the villain getting his dick cut off, that'll probably stay with me) - fortunately it does, and she's amazing. Whittling down my queue nicely now: 1. Raise The Red Lantern - 90s Gong Li 2. The 400 Blows - honestly just to say I've seen a Truffaut. 3. El Topo - I thought The Holy Mountain was absolute bollocks (although very striking bollocks at times), but I want to give Jodorowsky another chance because his comics kick rear end. 4. Häxan - from the little I've heard, it sounds a bit like an ancestor of B&W mindfucks like Eraserhead, Tetsuo, and Carnival of Souls, so I'm curious.
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 23, 2023 21:49
|
|
|
Clipperton posted:1. Raise The Red Lantern - 90s Gong Li "She has the face of Buddha and the heart of a scorpion." Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - A brisk and unconventional retelling of the Carpenter family circa 1966-1983. It's mainly focused on Karen's anorexia and her untimely death at the age of 32. The film is elevated by the use of so many of their hit songs. It's a strange cross between Histoire(s) du cinéma (1988-1998) and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000). And the use of Barbie dolls reminded me of Rabbits (2002). James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (144 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #147 Bad Timing - I've heard this mentioned a few places recently. 7/27/23 #149 The Day of the Jackal - I've heard this is a well made one. 8/20/23 new #150 Flesh + Blood - Medieval action from Paul Verhoeven. 8/25/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (99/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (45/50 completed): #28 The Wiz - I've seen bits and pieces of this but not the whole thing. 8/20/23 #37 A Bucket of Blood - I've seen A Bay of Blood but not this one. 7/27/23 #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2023 06:16
|
|
|
Zogo, I assign you THE WIZ! I'm pretty much always going to land on the side of Sidney Lumet, and The Wiz has always felt special to me. Hope you like musicals! Videodrome: Excellent build and I feel like it really earns the (surprisingly small amount of) body horror it uses. I went in basically blind, minus the reputation, and came out having seen something that will stick with me visually, as well as narratively. A lot like Network, but make it gross. 1. Joker - It's on the list because I'm sure I'll never watch it otherwise, but I don't want to cringe unknowingly about it forever. 2. Lady Bird - I've heard it mentioned anecdotally enough times that there's gotta be something to it, right? I'm otherwise going in blind. Coincidentally, my dog is named Ladybird! 3. Arrival - I loooooove good sci-fi, and I think the anticipation is what's kept me from watching this! I'm hopeful its more Solaris (good), and less Interstellar (I resent Interstellar) 4. Tokyo Story - Never seen an Ozu movie, but this sits on my watchlist and mocks me. Ready to make the jump. 5. Dead Poets Society - I was very bookish in high school and missed this movie, despite people always mentioning it. 8. Pink Flamingos - The only John Waters I think I've seen is Hairspray, and I don't know why. 9. Shawshank Redemption - Just another thing I missed growing up. Bet it'll hit the same way all those 80's & 90's movies with nostalgic narration hit. 10. Portrait of a Lady on Fire - I missed the hubub when this came out... I'm sorry, is this about lesbian longing?? My favorite emotion??? 11. In The Heat of The Night - inspired by this thread! 12. Come and See - this goes here because I very very much want to watch it, but unless someone assigns it or it shows up in the theater again I won't take the leap.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2023 07:36
|
|
|
Big Mac posted:9. Shawshank Redemption - Just another thing I missed growing up. Bet it'll hit the same way all those 80's & 90's movies with nostalgic narration hit. "I guess I just miss my friend." The Wiz - Some of the names have been changed and Dorothy (Diana Ross) is a little older but this followed the structure of the 1939 film for the most part. The big difference here is that the sets and characters reminded me much more of stuff found in All That Jazz (1979) and Xanadu (1980). It's much more modernized and balletic. Yet another unfairly maligned film. Also watched: Bad Timing - This one has a unique structure with many jarring nonlinear flashbacks. It primarily shows the relationships between a few highly jaded and dissastified people. Alex (Art Garfunkel) and Milena (Theresa Russell) make a miserable couple. When Milena overdoses on a cocktail of drugs a detective (Harvey Keitel) tries to piece together what happened. I'm sure some will find the vignettes to be too scatterbrained to follow. In the final analysis Alex is basically a vindictive and infatuated stalker. It's an experience to say the least and perhaps the sickest love story I've ever seen. And I've seen many of those. James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (145 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #149 The Day of the Jackal - I've heard this is a well made one. 8/20/23 #150 Flesh + Blood - Medieval action from Paul Verhoeven. 8/25/23 new #151 Troll 2 - Troll was okay but I've avoided this infamous sequel for many years. 8/29/23 new #152 Silkwood - Something about a nuclear plant. 8/29/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (99/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (46/50 completed): #37 A Bucket of Blood - I've seen A Bay of Blood but not this one. 7/27/23 #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2023 06:03
|
|
|
Zogo posted:new #151 Troll 2 - Troll was okay but I've avoided this infamous sequel for many years. 8/29/23 "You can't piss on hospitality!" Watched The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): Another afternoon off, another chance to sneak in a David Lean war epic. It's World War II, and our protagonists are prisoners of war in a Japanese camp. The POWs are being forced to construct the Burma Railway, in particular the titular bridge (a real historical event serving as a loose backdrop for this fictional story). William Holden has top billing as American Commander Shears, but this film is really about British Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) and Japanese Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa). When Nicholson arrives, his troops enter the camp marching in crisp formation, but quick shots of bruised legs and soles falling off boots tell a different story about the condition they're in. When Saito gives the order to work on the bridge, Nicholson tries to keep a stiff upper lip and maintain order in an impossible situation. He waves around a copy of the Geneva Convention even under the threat of the firing squad. Indeed, the first act of the film is a stand-still between the two men, each clinging to their own code of honor. After Nicholson remains steadfast even after days in a torture cell, Saito finds a halfway plausible excuse to relent and let the POW officers simply oversee the project while the enlisted men get their hands dirty. Then there's the unexpected wrinkle. Nicholson arrives at the river to find his men putting in the bare minimum effort and finding any opportunity to delay the project. But rather than trying to stymie his enemies, Nicholson decides any job doing is worth doing well. He comes to take pride in completing the bridge, both as a way to keep his unit together and a way to build a legacy to British ingenuity. This is at odds with Shears who--after escaping early on and largely loving off for half the movie--has returned on a mission to demolish the bridge. As I said, this movie really belongs to the other guys. Guinness won Best Actor at the Oscars, and Hayakawa got a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. They absolutely anchor the movie. It's a fine film, and engaging throughout, but it loses something once they come to a compromise and Saito is largely sidelined. And the Shears stuff often felt like a distraction to me. The interludes of his escape and recruitment into the new mission interrupted the battle of wills between the more compelling characters. This also threw off the pacing and made the movie feel it's length at times. Lawrence of Arabia, for all it's sprawl an languid pace, is in many ways a tighter story. Really, this is more of a war film/prison film hybrid that excels with the characterization and feud at the heart of the story. LIST OF SHAME: 10. Brokeback Mountain (2005) (added 06-03-22): I would have to consider myself a Jake Gyllenhaal fan, and of course we lost Heath too soon. I vaguely remember finding Ang Lee pretentious and annoying in the press cycle/Oscar buzz period for the movie, which may have contributed to missing out on it at the time. 15. Tokyo Story (1953) (added 07-29-22): I've never seen an Ozu film, and this is considered a masterpiece. 16. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) (added 08-08-22): Kazan and Brando's first collaboration, not to mention Brando's first Oscar nod. 18. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (added 08-31-22): The most iconic film directed by John Cassavetes, who I've thus far only seen on the other side of the camera. 19. True Stories (1986) (added 09-30-22): I've been a diehard Talking Heads fan for almost as long as I've followed pop music, but I've never seen this musical comedy, David Byrne's sole directorial credit for a feature film. 21. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (added 04-03-23): A big influence on my favorite film, The Royal Tenenbaums. 23. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) (added 06-11-23): Soderbergh's debut is a landmark independent film, not to mention a Palme d'Or winner. 24. Godzilla (1954) (added 07-29-23): Time to rectify having only seen the Roland Emmerich slop. 26. Night on Earth (1991) (added 08-20-23): The only Jarmusch I haven't seen (aside from the music docs). (and introducing...) 27. The New World (2005) (addded 09-01-23): The biggest gap in my Terrence Malick viewing. SHAME OVERCOME (17 and counting): Midnight Cowboy (1969); E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); The Prestige (2006); Singin' in the Rain (1952); Schindler's List (1993); Heat (1995); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); Tootsie (1982); The Searchers (1956); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Caddyshack (1980); Come and See (1985); Purple Rain (1984); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); M (1931); Planet of the Apes (1968); The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2023 01:59
|
|
|
Crescent Wrench posted:10. Brokeback Mountain (2005) (added 06-03-22): I would have to consider myself a Jake Gyllenhaal fan, and of course we lost Heath too soon. I vaguely remember finding Ang Lee pretentious and annoying in the press cycle/Oscar buzz period for the movie, which may have contributed to missing out on it at the time. "You didn't go up there to fish." Troll 2 - This was kind of a strange one as it opens with a guy being chased by a horde of goblins. There are no trolls in the film whatsoever  . Not that the semantics matter that much but it probably contributes to the bad reputation. Anyway, a family goes on vacation to Nilbog and the gist is that if they eat any of the poisoned food found therein then they'll turn into a tree or a vegetable etc. and be devoured by the aforementioned vegetarian goblins.Some elements of the story brought to mind things found in The Stuff (1985) and Children of the Corn (1984). The difference here is that the acting is all over the place. A really impressive smorgasbord of styles: rigid, hammy, soapy, overacting et al. And it's remarkable how many of the actors change their style at various points. It has a handful of humorous scenes but it probably straddles the line too much for most viewers. Too silly for adults and too scary and bleak for younger audiences. I did enjoy it though. James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (146 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #149 The Day of the Jackal - I've heard this is a well made one. 8/20/23 #150 Flesh + Blood - Medieval action from Paul Verhoeven. 8/25/23 #152 Silkwood - Something about a nuclear plant. 8/29/23 new #153 The Ascent - I've heard only good things about this one. 9/6/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (99/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (47/50 completed): #37 A Bucket of Blood - I've seen A Bay of Blood but not this one. 7/27/23 #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2023 21:20
|
|
|
I've watched another 100 films since my last ranked list. Here is the top 5% and bottom 5% of films I've watched in this thread in recent years: Head-On Blood Simple Demon Hag AKA Onibaba Toni Erdmann Demolition Man Claire's Knee Police Story There's Something About Mary Deep Red Black Christmas (1974) The Hitcher The Great Silence Last Tango in Paris Van Gogh (1991) Runaway Train The Fugitive What Have I Done to Deserve This? Terror of Mechagodzilla Hair Scarface (1932) Red Desert Inchon Under the Cherry Moon Captain Phillips My Night at Maud's The Mother and the Whore Beauty and the Beast (2017) Adam's Rib Tora! Tora! Tora! Celine and Julie Go Boating The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum The Joyless Street The Umbrellas of Cherbourg The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant Cemetery of Splendor The Monuments Men Cabiria Passages from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake Marketa Lazarova The Turin Horse
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2023 21:34
|
|
|
Some spicy picks in that bottom 5%
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2023 22:40
|
|
|
Who the gently caress listed "Under the Cherry Moon" as a shameful omission? I'm the biggest Prince fan I know and I'd never tell someone to watch that poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2023 23:33
|
|
|
DeimosRising posted:Some spicy picks in that bottom 5% actually you know what i'll just ask: why the HECK did you not like umbrellas of cherbourg?
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2023 23:41
|
|
|
BiggerBoat posted:Who the gently caress listed "Under the Cherry Moon" as a shameful omission? I'm the biggest Prince fan I know and I'd never tell someone to watch that poo poo. I went through a period where I watched everything in the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture category. It was the co-winner along with Howard the Duck in 1986. DeimosRising posted:actually you know what i'll just ask: why the HECK did you not like umbrellas of cherbourg? Mainly that 99.9% of the dialogue involved singing. When the second part of the film came along I was interested to see if they'd full commit and have the soldiers singing in Algeria while guns and grenades were going off but they never even showed Algeria.  I like the earlier Lola much more and plan to watch Donkey Skin at some point. Zogo fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Sep 7, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2023 00:07
|
|
|
BiggerBoat posted:Who the gently caress listed "Under the Cherry Moon" as a shameful omission? I'm the biggest Prince fan I know and I'd never tell someone to watch that poo poo. Parade's a pretty good album, though!
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2023 00:21
|
|
|
Those top picks are pretty rad! Also, I haven't been in this thread for a while, I'm gonna go for another mulligan. I'm putting my previous list on ice for a bit, intending to get back into the habit with another list. In other words, a lot of 80s and 90s movies etc.Zogo posted:#37 A Bucket of Blood - I've seen A Bay of Blood but not this one. 7/27/23 I really liked that, and of course, Dick Miller! Here's my list: The Outlaw Josey Wales - Western movies, to quote Motörhead. Atlantis (2001) - Still meaning to see some animated movies I missed. Malcolm - 1986 slot, Australia bonus. Patriot Games - Tom Clancy, Harrison Ford, Sean Bean. Maybe good. Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - A 90s remake with attitude. Tony Hawk approved? The Fabelmans - Somehow seems homework-esque, yet looks good. My Sassy Girl - burned a CD-R of this 20+ years ago. Also do people prefer the director's cut? Moonstruck - Nic Cage, Cher, it's a movie. Son in Law - Perhaps Pauly Shore's most acclaimed film? Also starring Carla Gugino. Working Girl (1988) - 80s movie, hear good things.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2023 00:58
|
|
|
it drove me loving insane that none of the lines in umbrellas of cherbourg actually rhymed
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2023 01:19
|
|
|
Zogo posted:Mainly that 99.9% of the dialogue involved singing. When the second part of the film came along I was interested to see if they'd full commit and have the soldiers singing in Algeria while guns and grenades were going off but they never even showed Algeria. A Room in Town kind of gives you this (not the Algerian war, but the violence at the edges of all the other Demy musicals finally plays out on screen)
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2023 05:36
|
|
|
Heavy Metal posted:Working Girl (1988) - 80s movie, hear good things. "I have a head for business and a bod for sin. Is there anything wrong with that?" High Warlord Zog posted:A Room in Town kind of gives you this (not the Algerian war, but the violence at the edges of all the other Demy musicals finally plays out on screen) I'll add that to my list. A Bucket of Blood - This one reminded me of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959–1963). It lampoons a few esoteric beatniks and their spoken word poetry. This happens right from the opening credits. Maxwell (Julian Burton) is one of the funnier characters I've seen lately. Anyway, a gullible busboy (Dick Miller) aspires to be a respected artist so that he'll be accepted by the locals. Through a stroke of luck he discovers a new method of sculpting by molding clay over dead bodies. And the beret-wearing owner of the cafe sees an opportunity to cash in by selling the artwork at exorbitant prices. The macabre can be funny and this memorable premise doesn't seem that dated 65 years later. James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (146 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #149 The Day of the Jackal - I've heard this is a well made one. 8/20/23 #150 Flesh + Blood - Medieval action from Paul Verhoeven. 8/25/23 #152 Silkwood - Something about a nuclear plant. 8/29/23 #153 The Ascent - I've heard only good things about this one. 9/6/23 new #154 Gummo - This one looks strange. 9/11/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (99/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (48/50 completed): #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2023 22:59
|
|
|
bucket of blood has a joke about beatniks eating health food that absolutely blew my mind a little when i saw it. "“soy and wheat germ pancakes, organic guava nectar, calcium lactate and tomato juice, and garbanzo omelettes sprinkled with smoked yeast.” in 1959
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2023 04:34
|
|
|
Zogo posted:#150 Flesh + Blood - Medieval action from Paul Verhoeven. 8/25/23 Very cool movie, it's like the original Berserk. Can't go wrong with Rutger. I watched Working Girl (1988). It was a pleasant enough watch, but not one that really grabbed me. The romcom part was the most engaging, but it's also kind of slight. The kind of generic make a deal going up in the business world thing to me was just kind of dull. I guess I'm more of a Broadcast News guy, or for totally zany Secret of My Success. But not without its charm, the main three are all really good in it. Though I felt the lead was a little underwritten at times, but I get what they were going for there. The business stuff just seemed so I dunno, vacuous? But too chill and just part of the plot etc to feel like it's a satire much. Also the going for poignant bit where she has the office job and it's zooming out to show all the office windows, to me that played more like an existential horror scene. But it's an 80s movie so it all goes by pretty fast. Joan Cusack is always great. Here's my list: The Outlaw Josey Wales - Western movies, to quote Motörhead. Atlantis (2001) - Still meaning to see some animated movies I missed. Malcolm - 1986 slot, Australia bonus. Patriot Games - Tom Clancy, Harrison Ford, Sean Bean. Maybe good. Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - A 90s remake with attitude. Tony Hawk approved? The Fabelmans - Somehow seems homework-esque, yet looks good. My Sassy Girl - burned a CD-R of this 20+ years ago. Also do people prefer the director's cut? Moonstruck - Nic Cage, Cher, it's a movie. Son in Law - Perhaps Pauly Shore's most acclaimed film? Also starring Carla Gugino. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - I hear this is one of the better movies in the wedding scene.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 22:50
|
|
|
Titanic never seen it and I feel I have absorbed the entire film through osmosis.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 03:18
|
|
|
Heavy Metal posted:The Outlaw Josey Wales - Western movies, to quote Motörhead. "I think I'll try to tell him the war is over." Flesh + Blood - The year is 1501 and we're dropped into a wild scene somewhere in Italy. The action is similar to stuff in Braveheart and Gladiator but more mean-spirited and lacking ideals. Religion is treated more like a fickle tool than anything else. And leadership sees the lower classes as nothing more than pawns. So it's not hard to see why many viewers didn't find this one appealing. But if the viewer isn't looking to have their ideologies affirmed and doesn't need to cheer for one side then it's mostly riveting. Life is rough with plagues, looting, raping and pillaging et al. Lots of brutalities. I won't go into the plot too much but there were some memorable castle attacks. I was reminded of The Road Warrior at those points. But again the ideals weren't there. The dichotomy was basically corrupt rulers vs. ruffian rapists. James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (147 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #149 The Day of the Jackal - I've heard this is a well made one. 8/20/23 #152 Silkwood - Something about a nuclear plant. 8/29/23 #153 The Ascent - I've heard only good things about this one. 9/6/23 #154 Gummo - This one looks strange. 9/11/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (99/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (48/50 completed): #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23 new #50 Faces of Death - Banned in 46 countries! This one will probably be very nasty. Just another roadblock to blast through to complete another list. 9/21/23
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 05:49
|
|
|
Zogo posted:#154 Gummo - This one looks strange. 9/11/23 “I knew a guy who was dyslexic, but he was also cross-eyed, so everything came out right.” (I just rewatched this a week or so before you put it on your list, so this is the way it's got to be.) Watched Brokeback Mountain (2005): It's Wyoming in 1963, and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Heath Ledger) have gotten work on our titular remote mountain herding a flock of sheep for the summer. The isolation allows the two men to grow closer and, by the time they declare they "ain't queer," they've already shared a night of passion together. The summer ends and, for a time, the men part. Ennis came onto the mountain with a fiancée, Alma (Michelle Williams), back home, and Jack later settles down with a rodeo queen, Lureen (Anne Hathaway). But Jack and Ennis reconnect four years later, and the film follows their lives over the next couple of decades as they continue to meet up for "fishing trips" as often as they can justify. This tragic romance is very much a slow burn, with a languid but engaging pace throughout. The first act in particular gives itself over to lush cinematography that shows off the bucolic mountainside as the two closely-guarded (read: repressed) men start to open up. I think the dual true strengths of this movie, however, are the subtlety of the script and the nuanced performances. All four of the main actors are excellent, and all but Hathaway got Oscar nods. The script itself actually took home the gold. The movie's got a peculiar approach to the editing, which threw me off and even felt awkward at a few points in the early going. But once it starts jumping through the years I fell in line with the rhythm of it all. The moments in time that are shown do effective highlight how Jack and Ennis hang over every aspect of each other's lives, even during long stretches apart. Understated and quite effective overall. LIST OF SHAME: 15. Tokyo Story (1953) (added 07-29-22): I've never seen an Ozu film, and this is considered a masterpiece. 16. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) (added 08-08-22): Kazan and Brando's first collaboration, not to mention Brando's first Oscar nod. 18. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (added 08-31-22): The most iconic film directed by John Cassavetes, who I've thus far only seen on the other side of the camera. 19. True Stories (1986) (added 09-30-22): I've been a diehard Talking Heads fan for almost as long as I've followed pop music, but I've never seen this musical comedy, David Byrne's sole directorial credit for a feature film. 21. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (added 04-03-23): A big influence on my favorite film, The Royal Tenenbaums. 23. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) (added 06-11-23): Soderbergh's debut is a landmark independent film, not to mention a Palme d'Or winner. 24. Godzilla (1954) (added 07-29-23): Time to rectify having only seen the Roland Emmerich slop. 26. Night on Earth (1991) (added 08-20-23): The only Jarmusch I haven't seen (aside from the music docs). 27. The New World (2005) (added 09-01-23): The biggest gap in my Terrence Malick viewing. (and introducing...) 28. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) (added 09-27-23): Universally considered one of silent film's greatest masterpieces. SHAME OVERCOME (18 and counting): Midnight Cowboy (1969); E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); The Prestige (2006); Singin' in the Rain (1952); Schindler's List (1993); Heat (1995); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); Tootsie (1982); The Searchers (1956); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Caddyshack (1980); Come and See (1985); Purple Rain (1984); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); M (1931); Planet of the Apes (1968); The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957); Brokeback Mountain (2005)
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2023 04:16
|
|
|
quote:#154 Gummo - This one looks strange. 9/11/23 Holy poo poo. I can't wait to read this review. This is the weirdest most hosed up movie I've ever seen Still slacking on my Nashville assignment
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2023 13:06
|
|
|
Gummo is one of my favourite movies. It kicks so much rear end I can’t even remember what I was given last but I’m pretty sure I watched it (maybe Ikiru?), maybe I should blurb it and make a new list just so I can pick True Stories for Wrench
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2023 14:29
|
|
|
Escobarbarian posted:
Zogo posted:
Ikiru 'twas.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2023 15:47
|
|
|
BiggerBoat posted:Holy poo poo. I can't wait to read this review. Escobarbarian posted:Gummo is one of my favourite movies. It kicks so much rear end The race is on!
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2023 18:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 23:00 |
|
|
Crescent Wrench posted:23. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) (added 06-11-23): Soderbergh's debut is a landmark independent film, not to mention a Palme d'Or winner. "Are you ready?" Gummo - This one is full of candidness so it feels like a home movie. At times it comes across like a documentary on the abject underbelly of Americana. And all the interior scenes look worthy of being featured in an episode of Hoarders (2009-). There's so much disarray and destitution. Its strong suit is found in its unpredictability e.g. one part of the story covers young scavengers looking to sell animal carcasses. The viewer is bombarded with so many unexpected scenes (too many to list). And the music selected for the film was all over the place as well. The whole thing feels very antiHollywood. James Bond versus Godzilla (51/64 completed): Hesitation (148 completed): #129 Time of the Gypsies - It's been on my radar for a long time but it's been hard to track down. 11/9/22 #142 The Tin Drum - Sounds like an odd one but it has a lot of fans. 6/14/23 #144 The Phantom of Liberty - Sounds kind of like The Meaning of Life. 6/22/23 #149 The Day of the Jackal - I've heard this is a well made one. 8/20/23 #152 Silkwood - Something about a nuclear plant. 8/29/23 #153 The Ascent - I've heard only good things about this one. 9/6/23 new #155 The Hidden - Sounds like a unique premise. 10/3/23 AFI's 10 Top 10 (99/100 completed): The Pride of the Yankees - This one has always looked really shmaltzy but you can't judge a film from only a few snippets. 9/8/22 The Ringer's 50 Best Cult Movies (48/50 completed): Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies (48/50 completed): #39 The Best of Everything - Going into this one completely blind. 7/17/23 #50 Faces of Death - Banned in 46 countries! This one will probably be very nasty. Just another roadblock to blast through to complete another list. 9/21/23
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2023 05:19
|
|