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Nolanar, you get to watch one of my favorite movies, The Big Lebowski. I finally found the time to watch Spartacus and I have a fair bit to say about it. This is the earliest Kubrick film I've seen and it doesn't really feel like Kubrick at all. It amazes me that the director of this film went on to do films like A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. That's not to say that this movie wasn't good, because it absolutely was. I especially enjoyed the scenes with Antoninus, specifically his conversation with Crassus early on and his performance in Spartacus's camp. Laurence Olivier made a fantastic Crassus. He was able to portray a man who was simultaneously menacing, smart but not as smart as he thinks, insecure, and bordering on unhinged at times. This was the first Olivier film I've seen, and also the first starring Kirk Douglas, who oozed charisma as Spartacus. Jean Simmons was excellent in her role and absolutely gorgeous to boot. The pacing was the real issue with this film. It definitely drags at times, especially the time between the final battle and Crassus's meeting with Spartacus and it feels every bit of its 3+ hour runtime. Overall it's an excellent film with a few minor flaws that I got a fair amount of enjoyment from. Side note: The portrayal of Batiatus in the film could not possibly be more different from the Batiatus of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. The List: 1. Oklahoma!: I am not big on musicals at all but I live in Oklahoma and have been told that it is some kind of crime against humanity that I haven't seen this. 2. Seven Samurai: This was shown in my World History class in high school during our unit on feudal Japan, but I don't remember a drat thing about it aside from the basic premise. 3. Double Indemnity: I guess I should see a proper noir at some point. 4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Westerns, westerns, need more westerns. 5. Shane: Another essential western. 6. Badlands: I watched The Tree of Life recently and I gotta get me some more Malick. 7. North Dallas Forty: I've been told that this is the best football movie ever made. I like football and movies. 8. The King's Speech: I borrowed this from the library a few weeks ago but the DVD was scratched and gave out halfway through. I liked what I did see, though. 9. Miller's Crossing: There's still a few Coen brothers movies I haven't gotten to yet. NEW 10. Planet of the Apes: This came up in a Mad Men episode recently. Watched (28): 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
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May 9, 2013 09:32
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Been waiting to jump in on this, and now's a good time. Alfred P. Pseudonym, watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. If you want to get in more westerns, you can't pick a better addition. Here's my starting list (ordered by release): 1. Intolerance (1916). I've tried to watch all of the earliest films possible, but I have never gotten to this one because I'm put off by how utterly long it is. 2. La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928). I hate French film, so I've never given this a fair chance. 3. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Always wanted to see this. 4. Andrei Rublev (1969). 5. Get Carter (1971). 6. The Exorcist (1973). My wife is big into horror, and can't believe I've never seen this. I don't find horror entertaining in the least unless it's Cronenberg but she assures me this one's "incredible." 7. Scarface (1983). The original, sure. This one? Eh. I equate this film with the people who look up to it and emulate it, and it gives me a sour taste in my mouth when I think about it. 8. Raise The Red Lantern (1991). Not for a lack of wanting to, I've just never found a good copy to watch. If this gets picked I'll probably actually have to go purchase a copy or go library hunting. 9. Heat (1995). This looks so awesome, I can't believe I've never watched it. 10. Pan's Labrynth (2006). Supposedly this is good I guess? It never really made me want to watch it, but everyone tells me I'm crazy for skipping this one.
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May 9, 2013 12:49
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Slim Killington, watch The Exorcist. It's really not your typical horror film. Late Spring - Having seen Tokyo Story, I went into this one a bit more prepared for Ozu's style. I found myself much more in concert with it this time. His simple blocking, stagnate camera, and conversational dialog create a feeling of calm. In fact, "calm" is a great way to describe the movie as a whole. It's gentle, innocent, and relaxed. Yet at the same time it has a subtle undercurrent of sadness. The characters deal with each other in loving ways, usually smiling, and always doing what they feel is right even if it hurts themselves in the end. Despite its simplicity, this is a profound story about love, marriage, aging, conformity, and sacrifice. Fabulous. 90/100 My list: Les enfants du paradis - I don't particularly care for mimes but I'll give this a shot. Ordet - I love Dreyer. Viridiana - Time to see what all the controversy is about. Amarcord - Can't have too much Fellini. The Mirror - Sounds heavy and introspective. I'm game. Bringing Up Baby - This is my mom's favorite movie, which is perhaps a reason I haven't seen it yet... L'Age d'Or - Time for some more Bunuel. Brief Encounter - A simple premise that sounds very intriguing. Lean has never let me down. Nashville - I'm still on the fence about Altman. Maybe this will sway me? Greed - One of the most famous silents I haven't seen. Whoever picks this will need to recommend which cut to watch.
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May 10, 2013 01:38
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caiman posted:Bringing Up Baby - This is my mom's favorite movie, which is perhaps a reason I haven't seen it yet... Mother's Day is coming up, I'm giving you an easy present option. Go watch it with her or at least watch it and talk about it with her on Mother's Day. I've actually watched a lot of movies on my list with my mom and it's been really nice.  Finished Aguirre. Yet another "drifting down the river" story. A good one though. What I liked is that you knew from the beginning that this wasn't going to go well. The moment you hear the words El Dorado, you basically know that everyone is gonna get hosed. So it wasn't a surprise of course when everyone gets hosed, but it's how they get hosed that really brings out the pain. It's all done so nonchalantly, and yet it's totally believable. The two biggest scenes that really got me were the scene with the horse and the scene when they are invading that Indian camp and choose a specific member of their group to lead the charge. Now, it's an impressive film, to be sure. I give it that. But, I have hard time with movies like this. I don't know why I'm watching it, or anyone would for that matter. There are films that excel due to the joy or struggle of their own creation, but those films can successfully trade intrigue for passion. I didn't get passion here, perhaps because the story itself was just so drat heartless. I don't know what motivates a man to make this movie, I suppose it can be boiled down to "it's a story that Herzog wanted to tell", but honestly it's a not a story I'm interested in hearing. It was just a bummer, and for awhile it started to feel like being a bummer for the sake of it. Meh, it was still impressive, and I'm glad I saw it. 8/10 New List 1. Tombstone - It's been too long since I've seen a western. 2. *NEW* Tokyo Story *NEW* - Another classic I need to see. Don't know much about it. 3. When Harry Met Sally - I'll have what she's having, right? 4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans - Nicolas Cage 5. The Fall - Heard it's good from a friend, trailer looks pretty. 6. Chop Shop - With his passing, which really bummed me out, I think I'm going to dedicate slot number 6 now to Roger Ebert and his list of great movies. This one looks pretty good, though I know next to nothing about it. 7. Love Actually - Certainly not a film in my genre of choice, but I've heard enough good things about it (and I want my mom to stop bugging me about seeing it). 8. Barton Fink - #8 on my list will remain a Coen film until I see all of them, I'll go in chronological order. I've only got a handful left. 9. Following - Nolan Completion once I see it. Hooray! 10. The General I have no Buster Keaton exposure, and I could use some levity. 59 Total De-Shamed Yojimbo 7.5/10, Aliens 6.5/10, Brazil 8/10, Cool Hand Luke 9.5/10, 28 Days Later 6/10, Predator 8/10, Blade Runner 7.5/10,Crimes and Misdemeanors 9/10, Vertigo 7/10, Being There 7.5/10, Psycho 10/10, Apocalypse Now 7.5/10, Citizen Kane 8.5/10, Dr. Strangelove 7/10, Close Encounters of the Third Kind 8.5/10, The Bicycle Thief 7/10, Raging Bull 8/10, Ikiru 10/10, Terminator 2: Judgement Day 7/10, The Night of the Hunter 8.5/10 How to Train Your Dragon 6.5/10 There Will Be Blood 8/10, Manhattan 7/10, Rashomon 8.5/10, Unforgiven 8.5/10 The Third Man 9.5/10 Requiem For A Dream 4/10, Charade 5.5/10 Sunset Blvd. 8/10 , Badlands 6.5/10, Dead Man 8.5/10, On The Waterfront 9/10, Mad Max 6/10, Singing' In The Rain 9.5/10, Sleeper 7.5/10, Enter The Dragon 6.5/10, The Hustler 8/10 , The Town 9/10, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 5.5/10, Boogie Nights 7.5/10. Hanna 8.5/10, The Conversation 7.5/10, Serpico 8/10, Hoop Dreams 9/10, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 8/10, Blood Simple 7.5/10, Roman Holiday 8.5/10, Miller's Crossing 8/10, M 7.5/10, Moonrise Kingdom 6.5/10, Rope 7/10 Tiny Furniture 1/10, On The Town 5.5/10, Gosford Park 5.5/10, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, 8.5/10, City Lights 8.5/10, The Exorcist 6.5/10, California Split 7/10, Aguirre, The Wrath Of God 8/10
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May 10, 2013 06:21
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Chili posted:Now, it's an impressive film, to be sure. I give it that. But, I have hard time with movies like this. I don't know why I'm watching it, or anyone would for that matter. Chili posted:There are films that excel due to the joy or struggle of their own creation, but those films can successfully trade intrigue for passion. I didn't get passion here, perhaps because the story itself was just so drat heartless.
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May 10, 2013 06:37
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Aguirre may just be one of the most passionate characters ever committed to film. He's also pure evil.
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May 10, 2013 06:52
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TychoCelchuuu posted:Why watch it? To see it, surely! For the same reason people look at other things that grab their eye, and keep looking, and become fascinated. Aguirre is a nearly unending series of indelible images and scenes. The way Kinski stalks and storms around, the jungle, everything FitForDanga talks about in this review, and so on. I knew I'd catch some flak for my review. I didn't do a good job stating it. I'm better talking about it. So let's talk. I have come to understand that I am, for the most part, a person who enjoys movies that celebrate, in some way, the human condition. If there's one thing Aguirre doesn't celebrate... well it's certainly the human condition. This probably makes me a lovely viewer, if we're talking about objectively qualifying a movie as "good". I can say that a movie like this, that is so downtrodden and defeatist will have to do something incredibly special to get full marks from me. When I said that I didn't get passion from Aguirre, I qualified that with the notion that the story felt heartless. I do totally agree with TrixRabbi. The character of Aguirre himself is clearly riddled with ambition and passion. But without some force for good, something that I can latch on to, my mind just relegates Aguirre into the big bin of dicks. Anyway, I totally recognize that these are biases within myself that cloud my judgement. I'm OK with that. I did mention in my review that I found the film impressive. That was really an understatement. I can't begin to fathom the challenges inherent to the production of the film. The spontaneity of a living setting is, unto itself, a massive undertaking. Throw that in with a confined stage, some very convincing acting, utterly haunting music, etc... Yeah, it's a great movie. But it made me feel like poo poo. To some, that would be considered an achievement. A benchmark, perhaps, that the director has clearly surpassed the mundane. I don't watch movies for that reason though. If I want to feel like poo poo I can make that happen no problem, I'm an amateur stand up comic for gently caress's sake. I get enough brutal, soul crushing punishment as it is.
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May 10, 2013 07:03
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Chili, you get Following - you'll see where Nolan began, and there's a few connections to his other films as well. Network was well scripted, performed and directed. It was a solid satire and it is still totally relevant. However, I felt like it was hammering the point in a bit thick at times so I didn't like it as much as I could have. 1. A Fistful of Dollars I want to see more Westerns and I like the Good Bad and the Ugly 2. Rear Window I haven't seen that much Hitchcock other than Psycho and this has a cool premise. 3. The Sting I once told someone I enjoyed Inside Man and they more or less scoffed and told me the Sting is the best possible heist film. I'm still intrigued. 4. Saving Private Ryan I'm simply not a fan of war films, and the WWII story has been told over and over. 5. *NEW* The 400 Blows I should see more French New Wave. 6. Rocky Similarly to Saving Private Ryan, I don't normally like sports films much either. 7. Modern Times I know this is meant to be a masterpiece. 8. Stand by Me Some Cracked article I read spoiled the ending and how it was different from the book for me, discouraging me from seeing it. 9. Seven Samurai Haven't seen anything by Kurosawa, is this his best? 10. American History X I find racism very uncomfortable to watch, and while I know that's the point, it's still prevented me from ever sitting down to watch this. Unshamed: Star Wars, Jaws, The Godfather Part II, Network
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May 10, 2013 08:45
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Was going to go to sleep, then I saw that Following was only 70 minutes and I really wanted to get in on Boat Showboat's list, cause god drat. Go with Rear Window. It's not my favorite Hitchcock, but it is rather good. The Following: I liked it, but it certainly had some problems. I thought the twists and turns were neat, as well as the non-linear storytelling that Nolan would go on to become a master of. I read that the film was made on the shoe-stringiest of budgets. Nolan did a good job of not making it feel that way, it really just felt gritty and organic. I had two big problems with the movie. The first of which is that it got me super excited in the first ten minutes for what I thought would be a neurotic introspective tale. The way it was being told made me expect that the leading man was going to be doing a lot of things, mostly on his own. I wasn’t expecting a twisty-turny plot so much. It was fine, but it the movie set me up for something else. The other problem is with the plot itself and how much of it is contingent on Cobb duping a guy who just happened to randomly choose him to follow. Definitely a tad on the contrived/convenient side, but whatever, not that big of a deal. I respect the ambition that Nolan had, especially with his very first film to try and keep his audience guessing, even if it meant taking a shortcut here or there. Good film, and now I’ve seen everything by Nolan! Pretty sweet. 8/10 New List 1. Tombstone - It's been too long since I've seen a western. 2. Tokyo Story - Another classic I need to see. Don't know much about it. 3. When Harry Met Sally - I'll have what she's having, right? 4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans - Nicolas Cage 5. The Fall - Heard it's good from a friend, trailer looks pretty. 6. Chop Shop - With his passing, which really bummed me out, I think I'm going to dedicate slot number 6 now to Roger Ebert and his list of great movies. This one looks pretty good, though I know next to nothing about it. 7. Love Actually - Certainly not a film in my genre of choice, but I've heard enough good things about it (and I want my mom to stop bugging me about seeing it). 8. Barton Fink - #8 on my list will remain a Coen film until I see all of them, I'll go in chronological order. I've only got a handful left. 9. *NEW* La Dolce Vita *NEW* - It's probably super shameful that I've gone 60 movies in already and never bothered to put Fellini on here. 10. The General I have no Buster Keaton exposure, and I could use some levity. 60 Total De-Shamed Yojimbo 7.5/10, Aliens 6.5/10, Brazil 8/10, Cool Hand Luke 9.5/10, 28 Days Later 6/10, Predator 8/10, Blade Runner 7.5/10,Crimes and Misdemeanors 9/10, Vertigo 7/10, Being There 7.5/10, Psycho 10/10, Apocalypse Now 7.5/10, Citizen Kane 8.5/10, Dr. Strangelove 7/10, Close Encounters of the Third Kind 8.5/10, The Bicycle Thief 7/10, Raging Bull 8/10, Ikiru 10/10, Terminator 2: Judgement Day 7/10, The Night of the Hunter 8.5/10 How to Train Your Dragon 6.5/10 There Will Be Blood 8/10, Manhattan 7/10, Rashomon 8.5/10, Unforgiven 8.5/10 The Third Man 9.5/10 Requiem For A Dream 4/10, Charade 5.5/10 Sunset Blvd. 8/10 , Badlands 6.5/10, Dead Man 8.5/10, On The Waterfront 9/10, Mad Max 6/10, Singing' In The Rain 9.5/10, Sleeper 7.5/10, Enter The Dragon 6.5/10, The Hustler 8/10 , The Town 9/10, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 5.5/10, Boogie Nights 7.5/10. Hanna 8.5/10, The Conversation 7.5/10, Serpico 8/10, Hoop Dreams 9/10, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 8/10, Blood Simple 7.5/10, Roman Holiday 8.5/10, Miller's Crossing 8/10, M 7.5/10, Moonrise Kingdom 6.5/10, Rope 7/10 Tiny Furniture 1/10, On The Town 5.5/10, Gosford Park 5.5/10, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, 8.5/10, City Lights 8.5/10, The Exorcist 6.5/10, California Split 7/10, Aguirre, The Wrath Of God 8/10, Following 8/10
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May 10, 2013 10:32
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Chili posted:10. The General I have no Buster Keaton exposure, and I could use some levity. Try this one next. All the President's Men - I liked the story and the acting throughout the film. The prominence of antiquities like typewriters, card catalogs and notepads reminded me how much things have changed over the last forty years. I've seen some of the Frost/Nixon interviews and heard the Nixon debacle recounted from a variety of sources over the years but this all took place a good decade before I was born so I could watch it not knowing where the twists and turns were coming from. If I knew nothing of the story except it being true there might've been a little more suspense (would Woodward/Bernstein survive)? The two reporters (if close to showing their actual actions) are extremely persistent. Are there methods of reporting completely ethical? The film is heavy on the phone conversations but there's a certain gravity to the situation that makes it exciting. It was a no-brainer to move the story along by using newspaper headlines in this instance. All movies based on a true story should end with a typewriter hammering out the epilogue because a computer screen just doesn't suffice. Also watched: Django Unchained - QT films are usually stylized. The things he borrows from other films are obvious and he then injects them with steroids. It's very derivative and I feel like he's the most self-indulgent filmmaker around (derivative and self-indulgent can be taken as insults but I'm not using them in that way because I usually enjoy his films). A prime example would be having a showdown and target practice with a snowman. That sounds like a joke someone would insert into a QT parody film. Some of the film was gross (the mandingo fight and the dog attack scene) and disturbing but ultimately I appreciated that it went into a lot of areas I haven't seen before. The unexpected and entertaining turns in the film were a bonus. Samuel L. Jackson playing the incredulous Uncle Tom was the highlight of the film for me. At times he's menacing and intimidating and other times humorous. I didn't fully buy Calvin Candie for some reason. Too young and dopey? Leo is nearing 40 but still looks very youthful. Funnily the final two IMDb films are sandwiched together. IMDb (248/250 completed): #194 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Looking back the trilogy was kind of bloated and overbearing at times. I liked The Two Towers the most. The immense struggle to complete this list moves forward! 4/27/13 #195 Life of Pi - Looks visually interesting. 4/24/13 Academy Award for Best Picture (77/85 completed): 1937 The Life of Emile Zola - A boring title for a biopic. 3/22/13 1936 The Great Ziegfeld - A slightly less boring title for a biopic. 3/22/13 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty - I remember seeing some clips from this on an AFI program. 4/6/13 1933 Cavalcade - Some call this the worst Best Picture winner. A 6.2 rating on IMDb kind of backs that up. 5/4/13 new 1932 Grand Hotel - This is a comedy I think. 5/10/13 new 1931 Cimarron - It has the lowest IMDb rating (6.0) of any Best Picture winner. 5/10/13 Procrastination (49 completed): #46 Any Steven Seagal film - I've never seen one of these and I'm not sure where to start. 4/6/13 #51 JFK - Supposedly a good film but I never felt like watching it. I've seen a lot of documentaries on the Kennedy's. I'm actually kind of tired of the "Kennedy Mystique" and Camelot and all that junk. I guess I never got into the infatuation and cultish behavior people have toward them. 5/3/13
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May 10, 2013 23:49
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Zogo, go with Life of Pi, you are too drat close to hitting 250. I didn’t see The General coming at all. It murdered me. It was so perfect. Keaton was understated, daring, and a wonderful hero. Though it was made nearly 90 years ago I can’t ever recall feeling more attached to a protagonist, let alone a soldier in the confederacy. When I settle down to watch movies that were made this long ago, I tend to do so with a mindset of appreciating their significance in a historical context, but not much else. Keaton didn’t waste any time winning me over though. His character is one that makes sense, even today. And though we know that his side will lose, and that we don’t likely agree with his side, it doesn’t matter. This is a film about Keaton’s love. The love for his train, and the love for his lady, both of which are used to tell a compelling story. Nevermind the crazy god drat antics that Keaton pulled off in this film. There’s something to be said for organic terror, I wasn’t scared for Keaton’s character, I was scared for Keaton! A bold, important film that was truly magnificent to watch. This is the first of Keaton’s films that I have seen, I am already in love with the man. 10/10 Also, I should mention that I've only given 3 films a 10/10 so far and Zogo picked 2 of em. Well done! New List 1. Tombstone - It's been too long since I've seen a western. 2. Tokyo Story - Another classic I need to see. Don't know much about it. 3. When Harry Met Sally - I'll have what she's having, right? 4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans - Nicolas Cage 5. The Fall - Heard it's good from a friend, trailer looks pretty. 6. Chop Shop - With his passing, which really bummed me out, I think I'm going to dedicate slot number 6 now to Roger Ebert and his list of great movies. This one looks pretty good, though I know next to nothing about it. 7. Love Actually - Certainly not a film in my genre of choice, but I've heard enough good things about it (and I want my mom to stop bugging me about seeing it). 8. Barton Fink - #8 on my list will remain a Coen film until I see all of them, I'll go in chronological order. I've only got a handful left. 9. La Dolce Vita - It's probably super shameful that I've gone 60 movies in already and never bothered to put Fellini on here. 10. *NEW* Rebecca *NEW* - Time for more Hitchcock! 61 Total De-Shamed Yojimbo 7.5/10, Aliens 6.5/10, Brazil 8/10, Cool Hand Luke 9.5/10, 28 Days Later 6/10, Predator 8/10, Blade Runner 7.5/10,Crimes and Misdemeanors 9/10, Vertigo 7/10, Being There 7.5/10, Psycho 10/10, Apocalypse Now 7.5/10, Citizen Kane 8.5/10, Dr. Strangelove 7/10, Close Encounters of the Third Kind 8.5/10, The Bicycle Thief 7/10, Raging Bull 8/10, Ikiru 10/10, Terminator 2: Judgement Day 7/10, The Night of the Hunter 8.5/10 How to Train Your Dragon 6.5/10 There Will Be Blood 8/10, Manhattan 7/10, Rashomon 8.5/10, Unforgiven 8.5/10 The Third Man 9.5/10 Requiem For A Dream 4/10, Charade 5.5/10 Sunset Blvd. 8/10 , Badlands 6.5/10, Dead Man 8.5/10, On The Waterfront 9/10, Mad Max 6/10, Singing' In The Rain 9.5/10, Sleeper 7.5/10, Enter The Dragon 6.5/10, The Hustler 8/10 , The Town 9/10, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 5.5/10, Boogie Nights 7.5/10. Hanna 8.5/10, The Conversation 7.5/10, Serpico 8/10, Hoop Dreams 9/10, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 8/10, Blood Simple 7.5/10, Roman Holiday 8.5/10, Miller's Crossing 8/10, M 7.5/10, Moonrise Kingdom 6.5/10, Rope 7/10 Tiny Furniture 1/10, On The Town 5.5/10, Gosford Park 5.5/10, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, 8.5/10, City Lights 8.5/10, The Exorcist 6.5/10, California Split 7/10, Aguirre, The Wrath Of God 8/10, Following 8/10, The General 10/10
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May 11, 2013 06:45
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Keaton has been my favorite discovery through this thread and I am avidly trying to watch all of his work. Currently working on his short films box set and everything he does brings a smile to my face. I think it's impossible to not love the guy.
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May 11, 2013 07:59
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Chili go find some of that Coen feeling with Barton Fink. Branded to Kill(1967) dir. Seijun Suzuki With Jo Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Anne Mari, Koji Nambara  The film's story centres on Hanada(Jo Shishido), a.k.a. "No. 3 Killer," the third-best hit man in Japanese organized crime... One of the funniest, and most tragic, films about the sickly obsession of cinema with crime and murderers. And it's not condescending about it! Just absurd. Much like Tokyo Drifter the story is quite simple, our charming protagonist is the third best assassin in all of Japan, and because no true winner settles for sloppy bronze, it eventually becomes a race to the top with a showdown with the mysterious "Number 1". And much like it's predecessor, what actually happens is celluloid madness, bordering on the incomprehensible. Disregard for proper continuity, and boundaries of time and space, abound. Scenes just flow into each other often ignoring what is established previously. The world surrounding the characters is a strange collage of eerily empty urban centres, beach bunkers, and senseless apartments. It's an incredible odd experience, and quite entertaining in it's own way. As the film goes on, it turns out that the third best assassin in all of Japan, isn't as charming and cool as he thinks. He is in fact, a sad pathetic freak, who needs to sniff the vapours from cooked rice to get himself going, and like other assassins through out the film, just one step away from a complete mental breakdown. The last 30 minutes turn out to be a living hell for him, as he comes face to face with his obsession and bloody past. It's genuinely disconcerting at some points, and also funny, cause all of it has a slight touch of the ridiculous. What does it take to be the best murderer around? Who exactly wants to be the best murderer around? And why do we want to find out, and even root for it? It's all a bit silly at times, but great and stylish fun. 89(Great) SHAME Part III: To be or Not to Be Ernst Lubitsch comedy about them nazis. The Great Silence A Western of the spaghetti variety. Delicious. Winchester '73 James Stewart and the Old Wild West. Romeo + Juliet(1996) Oh dear The Magician Been awhile since I had a Bergman film in this list. I Vitelloni More Italian films that Scorsese has spoiled for me. The White Diamond Herzog goes on an airship to South America and to discover a lost world. Bronson Masculine violence and anxiety by Nicolas Winding Refn In Bruges Irish on the loose in Belgium, or something I dunno. Black Swan Horror ballet Have watched so far 56 movies: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Fallen Angels, The Shop Around the Corner, La Strada, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Rescue Dawn, All About My Mother, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, The Long Goodbye, Vampyr, Mon Oncle, The Exterminating Angel, Jules et Jim, Sorcerer, The Darjeeling Limited, Close-up, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Host, Zelig, Koyaanisqatsi, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Last Picture Show, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, The Killer, Anatomy of a Murder, The Trouble with Harry, Don't Look Now, L'Atalante, Cache, The Leopard, Steamboat Bill, Jr., Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Dancer in the Dark, How Green Was My Valley, Vivre sa Vie, Harvey, The Earrings of Madame de..., The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Tokyo Drifter, The Player, Intolerable Cruelty, The Insider, Late Spring, Munich, Juliet of the Spirits, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, La Chienne, Le Cercle Rouge, The Lady Eve, Primer, Roma città aperta, Black Narcissus, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Simon of the Desert, A Foreign Affair, Branded to Kill.
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May 11, 2013 19:51
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Electronico6 posted:
Electronico6, this one was a fun time. Enjoy! Through the Glass Darkly With this being the second Bergman film I've now watched, I've come to realize that they're not something you can just sit down, watch, and immediately dissect. The themes are deep, intimate, and so personal that it affects you at your core. It's one that will sit with me for a while - for one, it's beautifully shot in black & white using plenty of close-ups, shadows and natural sunlight to further display its ideas of madness, faith, and love. I've learned this is called a "chamber" film, having a very limited cast shown only on one location. It allows for great depth from each character, and the real standout here is the stunning Hariett Andersson as Korin. She is battling herself from within as this mental illness is only going to get worse. Set on a beach resort, Korin is on a family trip with her husband Martin (Max Von Sydow), her brother Minus (Lars Passgard) and her father David (Gunnar Bjornstrand). How this family is affected by Korin, as well as each other, is both positive and negative - building up to this powerful climax sequence that, while slightly predictable, worked to great effect. A fantastic movie where a heavy spotlight was on all 4 performances, and all were fabulous. Combine that with it's beautiful messages and themes, this becomes a re-watchable film many times over. I hope the rest of his 'faith' trilogy is this good. LIST The Aviator (2013.04.11) - getting back on track with the Scorsese 'director-completion' thread. Not sure how I missed this when it came out. Duck Soup (2013.03.09) - Marx Brothers. I hear good things. The Leopard (2012.09.18) - blind purchase during a B&N sale & haven't had any strong desire to see it (probably the runtime). The Magnificient Ambersons (2013.05.04) - I claim to be a big Welles fan yet have not watched his follow up to Citizen Kane. The Music Room (2013.01.29) - I have to yet see anything from Satyajit Ray. The Sting (2013.02.19) - I get told often to watch this. I want to get told once more. The Sweet Hereafter (2013.05.05) - I loved Egoyan's "Exotica" which is the only other film of his I've seen. I hear this is pretty good. The Taste of Cherry (2013.05.04) - I've loved Close-up & Certified Copy. I want more! The Wages of Fear **new** (2013.05.11) - I loved Diabolique and my friend won't stop bugging me that I have yet to see this. He means well. Werckmeister Harmonies (2013.03.28) - I apparently started off on the wrong foot with Bela Tarr, seeing The Turin Horse first. I'm giving Tarr another try. De-shamed: Aliens (4.5/5), The Bridge on the River Kwai (5/5), La Dolce Vita (4/5), The Hustler (5/5), Blue Velvet (4.5/5), Close-Up (4.5/5), The Lady Vanishes (4.5/5), Grave of the Fireflies (5/5), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (3.5/5), Oldboy (4.5/5), Gattaca (3.5/5), Children of Men (5/5), The Great Dictator (4.5/5), Diabolique (4.5/5), Aguirre, the Wrath of God (3.5/5), Rashomon (4.5/5), Singin' in the Rain (5/5), Le Samourai (5/5), Hiroshima, Mon Amour (5/5), Battleship Potemkin (4/5), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (3.5/5), Network (5/5), Once Upon A Time In The West (5/5), Sleeper (2.5/5), Y Tu Mama Tambien (4.5/5), Lawrence of Arabia (3.5/5), Amadeus (4/5), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (4.5/5), The Postman Always Rings Twice (3.5/5), Ben-Hur (4.5/5), Bug (4/5), All The President's Men (4.5/5), Through a Glass Darkly (4/5), [Total:33] friendo55 fucked around with this message at 03:14 on May 12, 2013 |
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May 12, 2013 03:06
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friendo55 posted:The Leopard (2012.09.18) - blind purchase during a B&N sale & haven't had any strong desire to see it (probably the runtime). Been on your list the longest. I just got this in the mail from Netflix so this was a good one to pick. Life of Pi - At first the story was moving along quickly with only glimpses into Pi's life and how he got his name. Pi collects aspects from every religion he encounters and is kind of a universalist in this regard. As the story continues I was reminded a little of Cast Away (2000). It's mostly a sad story but it tries to end on a few happy notes. After the disaster things come to a grinding halt as we spend nearly an hour with Pi and a few animals on the raft. Pi has a prolonged and extended battle with the tiger known as "Richard Parker." The tiger then eats all of Pi's animal friends (and enemies). I read some interesting things in the Life of Pi thread on here that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. The shot of the island where we meet 1,000,000 meerkats is shaped like a body. I'm not sure I would've noticed that. It's a requirement to mention the CGI/effects as well. There was only one scene with the raft during the storm that seemed to stick out as being fake but it was only because I knew it'd be impossible to shoot something like it so seamlessly. IMDb (249/250 completed): #194 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Looking back the trilogy was kind of bloated and overbearing at times. I liked The Two Towers the most. The immense struggle to complete this list moves forward! 4/27/13 Academy Award for Best Picture (77/85 completed): 1937 The Life of Emile Zola - A boring title for a biopic. 3/22/13 1936 The Great Ziegfeld - A slightly less boring title for a biopic. 3/22/13 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty - I remember seeing some clips from this on an AFI program. 4/6/13 1933 Cavalcade - Some call this the worst Best Picture winner. A 6.2 rating on IMDb kind of backs that up. 5/4/13 1932 Grand Hotel - This is a comedy I think. 5/10/13 1931 Cimarron - It has the lowest IMDb rating (6.0) of any Best Picture winner. 5/10/13 Procrastination (49 completed): #46 Any Steven Seagal film - I've never seen one of these and I'm not sure where to start. 4/6/13 #51 JFK - Supposedly a good film but I never felt like watching it. I've seen a lot of documentaries on the Kennedy's. I'm actually kind of tired of the "Kennedy Mystique" and Camelot and all that junk. I guess I never got into the infatuation and cultish behavior people have toward them. 5/3/13 new #52 Ghost in the Shell - I remember wanting to see this one way back when it came out but had no way of seeing it. I was recently reminded of it. 5/11/13 Chili posted:Also, I should mention that I've only given 3 films a 10/10 so far and Zogo picked 2 of em. Well done! 
Zogo fucked around with this message at 05:49 on May 12, 2013 |
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May 12, 2013 05:36
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Zogo, go finish that drat IMDB challenge before another stupid new release creeps its way on to it. After your done with the challenge, I want your autograph. I probably care more about that stupid challenge than you do, but maybe you are equally list obsessed. Barton Fink was very interesting. It certainly was somewhat solipsistic in that the Coen’s wrote it while they were struggling with the creation of Miller’s Crossing. Normally, a story about a struggling writer is going to lead down a lovely path. But in some cases, like this and things like Adaptation, you get something special. I would say that, chronologically this was the first true Coen Brothers movie. It had their touch all over it. From drawing some of the most impressive character pieces out of their actors, subtle dark humor, and a riveting story. This was truly a Coen Brothers movie. The film started stronger than it ended. The story of Barton Fink trying to string words together was interesting enough in its own right. I suspect, but I can’t be sure, that the Coens were a tad insecure that the story would drag or not retain interest. It is possible, and maybe even likely that if this were a more modern release, we would have still seen some spectacle but perhaps with a lighter hand, ala A Serious Man. Anyway, Jon Goodman is probably the most consistent show stealer alive today. The man is just such a character in everything he’s done. He’s a lobster, but the Coens are the butter sauce that make him truly out of this world. He’s always impeccable in their films. This got me super excited for Llewyn Davis, which will be coming out later this year. Anyway, this was certainly a solid offering from the Coen Brothers, stylistically I would say this was where they hit their stride. Barring a somewhat heavy hand with some of the set pieces in the end, this whole film was fantastic. 9/10 New List 1. Tombstone - It's been too long since I've seen a western. 2. Tokyo Story - Another classic I need to see. Don't know much about it. 3. When Harry Met Sally - I'll have what she's having, right? 4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans - Nicolas Cage 5. The Fall - Heard it's good from a friend, trailer looks pretty. 6. Chop Shop - With his passing, which really bummed me out, I think I'm going to dedicate slot number 6 now to Roger Ebert and his list of great movies. This one looks pretty good, though I know next to nothing about it. 7. Love Actually - Certainly not a film in my genre of choice, but I've heard enough good things about it (and I want my mom to stop bugging me about seeing it). 8. *NEW* The Hudsucker Proxy *NEW* - #8 on my list will remain a Coen film until I see all of them, I'll go in chronological order. I've only got a handful left. 9. La Dolce Vita - It's probably super shameful that I've gone 60 movies in already and never bothered to put Fellini on here. 10. Rebecca - Time for more Hitchcock! 62 Total De-Shamed Yojimbo 7.5/10, Aliens 6.5/10, Brazil 8/10, Cool Hand Luke 9.5/10, 28 Days Later 6/10, Predator 8/10, Blade Runner 7.5/10,Crimes and Misdemeanors 9/10, Vertigo 7/10, Being There 7.5/10, Psycho 10/10, Apocalypse Now 7.5/10, Citizen Kane 8.5/10, Dr. Strangelove 7/10, Close Encounters of the Third Kind 8.5/10, The Bicycle Thief 7/10, Raging Bull 8/10, Ikiru 10/10, Terminator 2: Judgement Day 7/10, The Night of the Hunter 8.5/10 How to Train Your Dragon 6.5/10 There Will Be Blood 8/10, Manhattan 7/10, Rashomon 8.5/10, Unforgiven 8.5/10 The Third Man 9.5/10 Requiem For A Dream 4/10, Charade 5.5/10 Sunset Blvd. 8/10 , Badlands 6.5/10, Dead Man 8.5/10, On The Waterfront 9/10, Mad Max 6/10, Singing' In The Rain 9.5/10, Sleeper 7.5/10, Enter The Dragon 6.5/10, The Hustler 8/10 , The Town 9/10, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 5.5/10, Boogie Nights 7.5/10. Hanna 8.5/10, The Conversation 7.5/10, Serpico 8/10, Hoop Dreams 9/10, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 8/10, Blood Simple 7.5/10, Roman Holiday 8.5/10, Miller's Crossing 8/10, M 7.5/10, Moonrise Kingdom 6.5/10, Rope 7/10 Tiny Furniture 1/10, On The Town 5.5/10, Gosford Park 5.5/10, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, 8.5/10, City Lights 8.5/10, The Exorcist 6.5/10, California Split 7/10, Aguirre, The Wrath Of God 8/10, Following 8/10, The General 10/10 , Barton Fink 9/10 Chili fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Sep 11, 2013 |
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May 12, 2013 09:59
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Chili you get Tombstone. Strangely enough, I don`t think I've ever watched it from start to finish. It's been on tv so often that I'm fairly sure I've seen it all though. ____________________________________________________ When TychoCelchuuu recommended me True Lies he said that a book could be written about it. And ho-lee poo poo he was not kidding. I remember there was a fairly divisive reaction when this film came out. Some people did not like it because I think they were expecting something similar to the previous Cameron/Arnold collaboration of T2. Instead, we got a satirical film with some of the most batshit insane action I've seen. It starts out by establishing that Arnold is a spy. He's not quite a parody of Bond, but more like a parody of Bond imitating Arnold, if that makes sense. Everything about this film is extremely over the top, and it culminates in a scene involving a crane and a jet, and Arnie even has a great one-liner. The comedy in this film is quite good, and the supporting actors like Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton are really good. Also, in the first 20 minutes of this film, Arnold Schwarzenegger rides an elevator while on horseback. Arnold Schwarzenegger rides an elevator while on horseback. I could type that all day and still not fully comprehend the implications of this. The plot itself was pretty weak. Every plot point could be seen from miles away, and it almost felt by the numbers. The marital strife was barely touched on, and it was resolved almost instantly. I didn't think the daughter was necessary either. They started a plot point where she was stealing money from her dad, but never followed up with her. As crazy as the jet scene was at the end, it could have just as easily been done with Jamie lee Curtis instead. Overall it's not the best Arnold film, but it's still part of his peak period and definitely worth a watch. This would be a good double feature with Last Action Hero. ____________________________________________________ The List of Shame 1. Witness for the Prosecution: More courtroom drama 2. Lolita: I've seen almost all of Kubrick's offerings, but I have not yet seen this teen sex romp. 3. Gaslight: This is one of the more famous noirs, so I feel I need to see it. 4. Ocean's Eleven (1960): I've seen the remake a bunch of times - let's see how the original one is. 5. The Magnificent Ambersons: I enjoyed Citizen Kane, so I should see more works from Welles. 6. Life is Beautiful: 90's movie about a guy who brightens his son's day with comedy. Sounds great. 7. Amelie: I recall seeing this one in the video stores (back when those existed) but despite it's eye catching cover I never had the desire to rent it. 8. Cinema Paradiso: I should probably see the movie the forums are named after. 9. The Seventh Seal: I've watched a few Bergman films lately, but I haven't seen what is arguably his most well known film yet 10. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang: I don't know much about this one aside from the fact that the protagonist is a fugitive. From a chain gang. Un-shamed in 2013: The Grapes of Wrath, Yojimbo, The Sixth Sense, Forbidden Planet, Cool Hand Luke, Easy Rider, It Happened one Night, Donnie Brasco, Fargo, Enter the Dragon, The Big Sleep, Adam's Rib, Animal House, Quiz Show, The Man with the Golden Arm, Strangers on a Train, Singin' in the Rain, The Philadelphia Story, The Time Machine, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, The Seven Year Itch, The Deer Hunter, City Lights, The Prestige, Five Easy Pieces, Some Like it Hot, Snatch, True Lies
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May 13, 2013 04:09
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Watch as next week Star Trek Into Darkness rockets up to #50. I'm kind of surprised Iron Man 3 didn't sneak in there already.
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May 13, 2013 04:14
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Chili posted:Zogo, go finish that drat IMDB challenge before another stupid new release creeps its way on to it. After your done with the challenge, I want your autograph. I probably care more about that stupid challenge than you do, but maybe you are equally list obsessed. I've had the inkling to watch all of them ever since the site was out. Of course a ton of films have been on the list never to return but it'd be nice to say at one point in time I had defeated the list. TrixRabbi posted:Watch as next week Star Trek Into Darkness rockets up to #50. I'm kind of surprised Iron Man 3 didn't sneak in there already. You're right. It has an 8.4 rating and nearly 15,000 votes already  (needs 25K to reach the official list). I saw the 2009 film in theaters and did not like it very much. I wonder how it has so many votes already.
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May 13, 2013 05:38
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Zogo posted:You're right. It has an 8.4 rating and nearly 15,000 votes already I think it's been out overseas for a few weeks now.
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May 13, 2013 05:40
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I think a lot of it is people just going in and voting their favorite franchise a 9 or 10 just because they can. Of course if the film doesn't meet up to nerd expectations it instantly drops to a 1 or 2.
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May 13, 2013 18:51
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CopywrightMMXI posted:I think a lot of it is people just going in and voting their favorite franchise a 9 or 10 just because they can. Of course if the film doesn't meet up to nerd expectations it instantly drops to a 1 or 2. It's also the initial sensationalism. After The Dark Knight everybody went wild and voted it a 10 because they were feeling the high of the movie. Once the high dies down their votes are still there being counted by the IMDb system.
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May 13, 2013 19:35
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CopywrightMMXI posted:
Yeah, you probably should. Nosferatu's overbearingly goofy first act is quickly forgotten as the film descends on the audience as a nightmarish cloud. Like Orlok's creeping shadow, Nosferatu washes over us like a crazed fever. Murnau didn't need flashy camera movements. The still nature of the film makes it even more unsettling because it lingers. While it may not be the most crisp narrative, it makes up for it with atmosphere. Hutter is almost unbearable in the early going, though. While this over the top performance was something of the norm, I haven't chuckled or rolled my eyes at a performance as much as I have here for quite some time. Unless it was intentionally funny, of course. The character design for Orlok is phenomenal, even by today's standards. Maybe especially by today's standards. Walk around a corner and see that thing waiting for you...not a good time. The music was excellent. Intense, brooding and whimsical. It helped maintain that surrealistic atmosphere the visuals established so well. Also watched: The Naked Kiss, which was melodramatic to a fault with flashes of interesting ideas that help elevate the material. There are genuinely shocking parts that are effective. It's well done because we should expect the worst but the way the story is framed, it feels like when things are going well for Kelly it seems like it will last. At the very least it doesn't seem like the rails will be thrown how they are. The performances are hard boiled in places, tender in others. It's an odd mix. The opening is incredible in how jarring it is to be thrust into this bald woman beating the living hell out of a drunk guy on the floor of some apartment. It's the most intriguing part of the movie, save for maybe the reveal that the man she's going to marry is a pedophile. This was mad. I'm not sure how I feel about it. He's a broken person, maybe he always was, and he believes that molesting children is on the same level as being a prostitute. Needless to say, our heroine doesn't react well to this. Not a bad introduction to Sam Fuller, but I wasn't overly taken by it. LIST O SHAME: 1920s - Pandora's Box (1928) - Know next to nothing about it except a former co-worker was enamored by it. 1930s - A Night at the Opera (1935) - I really didn't like Duck Soup all that much so I've been wary of the Marx Brothers. Figured I should give them a second go. 1940s - Monsieur Verdoux (1947) - Later Chaplin, I've heard mixed things. 1950s - Mon Oncle (1958) - I liked M. Hulot's Holiday more in hindsight and I want to see more of Tati's work. 1960s - Jules et Jim (1961) - I've seen some Truffaut, but not this. 1970s - The Passenger (1975) - Antonioni is one of those auteurs I've been meaning to catch up with. I've seen Blow Up and...nothing else. 1980s - The Natural (1984) - It's baseball season! I've seen many of the big baseball movies but not this one. 1990s - Europa (1991) - Lars von Trier is a fascinating filmmaker and I would like to see more of his earlier work. I've caught Anti-Christ, Melancholia and Dogville but his only pre-2000 work I've seen is The Kingdom. 2000 and up - Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - I love Miyazaki and I've been told this is pretty good. Bonus/Random - The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) - This just oozes cool from what I've read. I keep meaning to see it. 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 (TOTAL: 133) Ratedargh fucked around with this message at 01:25 on May 14, 2013 |
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May 14, 2013 01:15
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Ratedargh posted:
I haven't watched any of your films listed. I picked this because I've been meaning to see it myself - plus being your 'bonus' pick it seems like the most personal choice. The Leopard I think this is the last straw in terms of period-piece films for me - especially a 3+ hour period epic like Visconti's The Leopard. This is a film about a dying aristocracy of Sicily in the 1860s - something I know nothing about going in. Many names are dropped, very little character depth is given, and outside of the impending marriage of Tancredi (Alain Delon) and the stunning Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), I was confused throughout. Seems like I should've done some research beforehand! The film is led by the Prince of Salina, played by Burt Lancaster in a dubbed performance, who is caught in the middle of preserving the old ways and joining the new. Very little actually goes on, and the slow pace to this story did not do any favours to my already feeling detached. There's a fantastic scene of war and uprising. There's a beautifully elegant and incredibly structured ballroom scene. The landscapes both interior and exterior are breathtaking - this looked amazing on bluray. And how can you go wrong with a couple of Delon and Cardinale? Yet with all this going for it, I was counting down the minutes for this thing to end. LIST The Aviator (2013.04.11) - getting back on track with the Scorsese 'director-completion' thread. Not sure how I missed this when it came out. Duck Soup (2013.03.09) - Marx Brothers. I hear good things. The Magnificient Ambersons (2013.05.04) - I claim to be a big Welles fan yet have not watched his follow up to Citizen Kane. The Music Room (2013.01.29) - I have to yet see anything from Satyajit Ray. The Sting (2013.02.19) - I get told often to watch this. I want to get told once more. The Sweet Hereafter (2013.05.05) - I loved Egoyan's "Exotica" which is the only other film of his I've seen. I hear this is pretty good. The Taste of Cherry (2013.05.04) - I've loved Close-up & Certified Copy. I want more! The Wages of Fear (2013.05.11) - I loved Diabolique and my friend won't stop bugging me that I have yet to see this. He means well. Werckmeister Harmonies (2013.03.28) - I apparently started off on the wrong foot with Bela Tarr, seeing The Turin Horse first. I'm giving Tarr another try. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? **new** (2013.05.14) - I just realized I've yet to see a Mike Nichols film...? Should've added this one long ago - it's always caught my eye. De-shamed: Aliens (4.5/5), The Bridge on the River Kwai (5/5), La Dolce Vita (4/5), The Hustler (5/5), Blue Velvet (4.5/5), Close-Up (4.5/5), The Lady Vanishes (4.5/5), Grave of the Fireflies (5/5), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (3.5/5), Oldboy (4.5/5), Gattaca (3.5/5), Children of Men (5/5), The Great Dictator (4.5/5), Diabolique (4.5/5), Aguirre, the Wrath of God (3.5/5), Rashomon (4.5/5), Singin' in the Rain (5/5), Le Samourai (5/5), Hiroshima, Mon Amour (5/5), Battleship Potemkin (4/5), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (3.5/5), Network (5/5), Once Upon A Time In The West (5/5), Sleeper (2.5/5), Y Tu Mama Tambien (4.5/5), Lawrence of Arabia (3.5/5), Amadeus (4/5), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (4.5/5), The Postman Always Rings Twice (3.5/5), Ben-Hur (4.5/5), Bug (4/5), All The President's Men (4.5/5), Through a Glass Darkly (4/5), The Leopard (2/5), [Total:34]
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May 15, 2013 06:48
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friendo55 posted:The Aviator (2013.04.11) - getting back on track with the Scorsese 'director-completion' thread. Not sure how I missed this when it came out. I'm not much of a fan of The Leopard either. Try this next. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - I guess I just don't like hobbits or dwarves or their cultures. Maybe I'm biased because I haven't read any of the related books except for "The Sword of Shannara" which fans see as a loving homage or a cheap bastardization (or something in between). Hobbits are annoying and dwarves are consistently repulsive. It's typically not a good sign when I'm cheering and rooting for most of the so-called villains over the "good guys." The prime example being Thorin Oakenshield who comes across like a dull, bitter and suspicious whiner for most of the story. Then you have his nemesis Azog the Defiler who looks much more cool and appealing. In the LOTR world it seems like the cool characters are always the villains and the villains always lose. There are approximately twenty cliffhanger moments and after ~10 I knew that none of the characters were going to die so it became tedious. Gandalf chucking flaming pine cones at Azog the Defiler while hanging onto a large pine tree over a cliff is one example of this silliness. It also felt bloated. The extended scene of Gollum and Bilbo exchanging riddles comes to mind. With all that said, the CGI is flawless and impressive but I'm sure it's diminished by being on the smaller screen. The troll scene sticks out in this regard. Side questions: Why doesn't Gandalf use his magic more? Half the time he watches in horror as some character is nearly killed. What happened to the "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Gandalf from FOTR? Why are some dwarves human-sized and others much shorter? That's it. I've completed the IMDb 250 (for at least one day) and can move onto something else. Coincidentally this was the 250th I've seen through the thread as well. I like this thread because it has a synergistic quality to it. Most of the films on the list are important but one just needs that extra push to see some of them. Academy Award for Best Picture (77/85 completed): 1937 The Life of Emile Zola - A boring title for a biopic. 3/22/13 1936 The Great Ziegfeld - A slightly less boring title for a biopic. 3/22/13 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty - I remember seeing some clips from this on an AFI program. 4/6/13 1933 Cavalcade - Some call this the worst Best Picture winner. A 6.2 rating on IMDb kind of backs that up. 5/4/13 1932 Grand Hotel - This is a comedy I think. 5/10/13 1931 Cimarron - It has the lowest IMDb rating (6.0) of any Best Picture winner. 5/10/13 Procrastination (49 completed): #46 Any Steven Seagal film - I've never seen one of these and I'm not sure where to start. 4/6/13 #51 JFK - Supposedly a good film but I never felt like watching it. I've seen a lot of documentaries on the Kennedy's. I'm actually kind of tired of the "Kennedy Mystique" and Camelot and all that junk. I guess I never got into the infatuation and cultish behavior people have toward them. 5/3/13 #52 Ghost in the Shell - I remember wanting to see this one way back when it came out but had no way of seeing it. I was recently reminded of it. 5/11/13 new #53 The Cabin in the Woods - Something newer. 5/15/13
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May 15, 2013 23:27
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Zogo posted:That's it. I've completed the IMDb 250 (for at least one day) and can move onto something else. Coincidentally this was the 250th I've seen through the thread as well.   Congratulations!
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May 16, 2013 08:51
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Zogo posted:1937 The Life of Emile Zola - A boring title for a biopic. 3/22/13 Congrats on finally beating the Top 250! Might as well try to finish up the Oscar winners. So I don't know if I'd say A Woman Under the Influence was revelatory but it was undoubtedly fantastic. One of the most real and harrowing films I've seen in a long, long time. I found Cassavetes' direction interesting. The framing of the shots and the blocking often feel claustrophobic, and like something is being left out of frame that we should be seeing but aren't. The party in the backyard comes to mind for this. It adds to the film's feelings of desperation and entrapment. Of course the performances are also all outstanding as well. It almost feels like a horrifying and tragic home movie. And that ending is haunting in its implications. Also, I'm curious about the title. "Under the influence." She does drink and admit to taking pills (if she's to be believed during that scene) but it's not a huge part of the film. Does the influence refer to Nick or something else in her life? Also, I was unsure of what she meant at the end when she asks her father to stand up and then sit down and stand up again. Her mother says "don't you see what she's doing?" What was she doing? Was it just to get them to leave? My List: Rio Bravo - John Wayne's not my favorite but I've heard only good things so I'll give it a shot. (Added 7/7/2012) Jules et Jim - Started to watch this about a year ago but I was really tired so I took a nap instead. Never got back to it. (Added 10/5/2012) L'Age D'or - Some early Bunuel. I think Dali was involved with this too so I'm on board. (Added 3/11/2013) The Grapes of Wrath - I should probably go for a classic western given the discussion, but I'm gonna go with a different John Ford film. (Added 3/15/2013) Strike - I've loved the Eisenstein I've seen so far. (Added 3/19/2013) Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Rewatching Jurassic Park made me remember I still haven't seen this. Need some more Spielberg in my life. (Added 4/21/2013) Tokyo Story - Highest on the TSPDT Top 1000 that I haven't seen. Make me cry, Ozu! (Added 4/24/2013) Stroszek - Dedicating a spot to all the films that I own on DVD but still haven't seen. Picked up the Anchor Bay Herzog sets awhile ago and I still haven't watched all of them. (Added 5/1/2013) Triumph of the Will - I find propaganda fascinating and I've never seen anything by Riefenstahl. So about time I see the most notorious propaganda film ever made. (Added 5/1/2013) Once Upon a Time in Anatolia - I use Criticker's "remembered films" tool and my list has grown to over 200 movies. Going to try and start chipping into it from the ones that have been there the longest. I have no idea what this is about but I've heard great things. (Added 5/17/13) Watched: Harold and Maude; The Third Man; Inland Empire; Godzilla; Big Trouble In Little China; Y Tu Mamá También; Marathon Man; Hunger; A Woman Is A Woman; Black Narcissus; A Hard Day's Night; Scarface; Le Doulos; On The Waterfront; Rocky; 3 Women; Airplane!; Duck Soup; Clash of the Titans; Singin' In The Rain; The Cow; Straw Dogs; Stop Making Sense; Bad Timing; Once Upon A Time In America; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Robocop; Shane; WALL·E; The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin; The Man Who Fell To Earth; Mr. Smith Goes To Washington; Divorce Italian Style; Some Like It Hot; To Kill A Mockingbird; An American Werewolf In London; Buffalo '66; Lawrence Of Arabia; Manhattan; Cul-De-Sac; The Birth of a Nation; Braveheart; Sex, Lies, and Videotape; Malcolm X; Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai; The Passion of Joan of Arc; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Le Samouraï; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; Marat/Sade; His Girl Friday; A Woman Under the Influence (TOTAL: 52) TrixRabbi fucked around with this message at 18:17 on May 17, 2013 |
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May 17, 2013 18:07
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TrixRabbi posted:Congrats on finally beating the Top 250! Chili posted:
Thanks, it's good I did because that new Star Trek did make it in. TrixRabbi posted:Also, I'm curious about the title. "Under the influence." She does drink and admit to taking pills (if she's to be believed during that scene) but it's not a huge part of the film. Does the influence refer to Nick or something else in her life? I just took that at face value and thought it was about the substances.
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May 18, 2013 00:05
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I've always assumed, though without putting much thought into it, that she was under the influence of society, given that the film is all about these two people desperately trying to fit into these prescribed roles even though they're both obviously over the edge.
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May 18, 2013 00:10
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TrixRabbi posted:Does the influence refer to Nick or something else in her life? Cassavetes in the audio commentary describes that after many years of married life a woman falls under the influence of her husband. (Paraphrasing a quote from the film) "How do you want me to act like." There is nothing actually wrong with Mabel, just with the role she has been led to believe she must play, a role which through out the years eroded her independence and social life. On the other hand, Nick is also a victim of his societal role. He is the man of the house, the provider, the one that has a 9 to 5 job. He puts food on the table, and that was all that was (supposedly) expected from him. When he is alone with his kids he doesn't know what to do with them, and he also struggles to understand his wife. So the influence is not so much alcohol and drugs, but society and it's notions/workings of traditional family.
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May 18, 2013 00:20
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TrixRabbi, you get Close Encounters of the Third Kind next. The Big Lebowski: This might be one of my favorite comedies now. The whole thing was like a noir if the intrepid PI was some poor schmuck who just wanted to get his rug back and go bowling. A lot of the characters seem to have wandered in from other genre movies, especially Walter and the Stranger. Combined with the ridiculous repetitive dialog, the whole thing goes off the rails fantastically. The ending really feels like the movie just sort of stops without resolving anything, but all the plot threads are actually pretty neatly wrapped up. I thought that was a fitting way to end it, though it drove one of my friends crazy. The cast was generally hilarious all around, with special mention going to Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt and Sam Elliott _________________________ My Shame List, in order of length of time on the list: 1) The Exorcist: Catching up on classic horror. 2) Stagecoach: I've never seen a "classic" western. The Man who Shot Liberty Valance doesn't count. 3) Unbreakable: A few of my friends have called this the best superhero movie ever made. Let's see if they're right! 4) Triumph of the Will: Super influential Nazi propaganda? Seems like I should watch this just to keep an eye out for people using its techniques. 5) Oldboy: Pretty much going into this blind, aside from knowing 6) Nosferatu (1922): More German Expressionism! 7) Forbidden Planet: A Sci-fi adaptation of Shakespeare? Sounds fun. 8) Drive: A new member of the Goon Canon. 9) 12 Angry Men: The classic courtroom drama, apparently. 10) Ed Wood: (new) I love Plan 9 from Outer Space, so let's see how a movie about the director is. De-Shamed (22) [Top 5 in bold]: The Thing, Casino Royale, Blue Velvet, Metropolis, Unforgiven, The Rock, Jurassic Park, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Shining, Videodrome, Inglourious Basterds, Battleship Potemkin, Con Air, Mulholland Dr., The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Taxi Driver, Prometheus, Pan's Labyrinth, 8 1/2, Casino, Starship Troopers, The Big Lebowski Goon Danton fucked around with this message at 22:43 on May 18, 2013 |
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May 18, 2013 22:34
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A lot of people don't quite know what to make of Lebowski after the first viewing but you nailed it. Have you seen The Big Sleep? Because it's closely modeled after that.
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May 19, 2013 00:59
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Nolanar posted:
I just watched this not long ago because of this thread. "Life's hard, man! It's even harder when you're stupid." When I was younger, it was enough for a movie to just be cool. I enjoyed movies like Boondock Saints and Snatch because of this cool factor. Now, I still like Snatch a lot but I've slowly grown to loathe Boondock. There's no depth; no purpose beyond stylistic violence. The Friends of Eddie Coyle, while imperfect, provides a bit of the best of both worlds. It's solid. Mitchum showcases the desperate nature of a career hood who has very few choices left. He's clever but bound by an odd sense of duty to people who wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. It's convoluted but the twisty nature of it allows the audience to focus on facial expressions and mannerisms. Trust is a hard thing to come by. Great soundtrack and a fine sense of disquiet punctuated with effective bursts of noise and violence. The title is the ultimate worn out sarcastic descriptor of the movie. The word 'friends' should probably be in italics, but you get the idea pretty quickly that friendship isn't something Coyle is fully capable of having. He's nothing but something that sticks to their shoes and no one really bats an eye when his demise is forced. In fact, the scenes at the hockey game were excellent. The dread built as we know he's eating a bullet sooner or later, and part of him probably knows this too as it is the nature of things. But, there's something unsettling about the camaraderie from fellow desperate snitch Dillon (Peter Boyle). It's style and while the message isn't deep it doesn't have to be. Coyle has made his life what it is and even though he's scrambling to find a way out, he seems to understand he's done it to himself. Some subplots are half-cooked (the gun dealer's wannabe bank robber clients) but it doesn't hurt the overall flow. It's really well photographed and is understated in many aspects. It doesn't offer much that hasn't been seen before, but it's a good way to spend a couple hours. LIST O SHAME: 1920s - Pandora's Box (1928) - Know next to nothing about it except a former co-worker was enamored by it. 1930s - A Night at the Opera (1935) - I really didn't like Duck Soup all that much so I've been wary of the Marx Brothers. Figured I should give them a second go. 1940s - Monsieur Verdoux (1947) - Later Chaplin, I've heard mixed things. 1950s - Mon Oncle (1958) - I liked M. Hulot's Holiday more in hindsight and I want to see more of Tati's work. 1960s - Jules et Jim (1961) - I've seen some Truffaut, but not this. 1970s - The Passenger (1975) - Antonioni is one of those auteurs I've been meaning to catch up with. I've seen Blow Up and...nothing else. 1980s - The Natural (1984) - It's baseball season! I've seen many of the big baseball movies but not this one. 1990s - Europa (1991) - Lars von Trier is a fascinating filmmaker and I would like to see more of his earlier work. I've caught Anti-Christ, Melancholia and Dogville but his only pre-2000 work I've seen is The Kingdom. 2000 and up - Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - I love Miyazaki and I've been told this is pretty good. Bonus/Random - Dersu Uzala (1975) - Kurosawa film with a story I've been fascinated by but never watched. 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 (TOTAL: 134)
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May 19, 2013 16:44
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Ratedargh posted:
Have not watched this but have heard great things. The Aviator Cate Blanchette is incredible as Katharine Hepburn. Just incredible. Somehow I missed this back when it came out and it took this long to see it. Leonardo DiCaprio has one of his best performances as the eccentric aviator / film director Howard Hughes, as this film goes through many of his life events. His instantly charismatic charm and appeal was as fun to watch as his obsessive-compulsive disorder was disturbing. It put me on edge watching Hughes become more and more reclusive - a testament to DiCaprio as well as Scorsese. The director has some astounding and memorable moments in this film, from a beautifully shot plane sequence in the sky filming "Hell's Angels", to a plane crash colliding with the earth. The entire film, set in the 1940s, was completely convincing, stylish, and gorgeous throughout. As with Scorsese's 3D family film Hugo, this is also a movie about the movies, and the appreciation of the past. It's interesting hearing Hepburn discuss the media having no decency and that 'they always find a way in', when nowadays the actors of the past are put on such high pedestals due to their grandeur and mystique. With technology and instantaneous news we are able to access today, it is rare for celebrities this day and age to attain that status and stay out of the spotlight (first one coming to mind is Daniel Day-Lewis?). Scorsese again knocks one out of the park and I strongly recommend for the few like me who haven't watched this. LIST Duck Soup (2013.03.09) - Marx Brothers. I hear good things. The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly **new** (2013.05.19) - I'm pretty sure I've seen bits & pieces but never from start to finish. Time to change that. The Magnificient Ambersons (2013.05.04) - I claim to be a big Welles fan yet have not watched his follow up to Citizen Kane. The Music Room (2013.01.29) - I have to yet see anything from Satyajit Ray. The Sting (2013.02.19) - I get told often to watch this. I want to get told once more. The Sweet Hereafter (2013.05.05) - I loved Egoyan's "Exotica" which is the only other film of his I've seen. I hear this is pretty good. The Taste of Cherry (2013.05.04) - I've loved Close-up & Certified Copy. I want more! The Wages of Fear (2013.05.11) - I loved Diabolique and my friend won't stop bugging me that I have yet to see this. He means well. Werckmeister Harmonies (2013.03.28) - I apparently started off on the wrong foot with Bela Tarr, seeing The Turin Horse first. I'm giving Tarr another try. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2013.05.14) - I just realized I've yet to see a Mike Nichols film...? Should've added this one long ago - it's always caught my eye. De-shamed: Aliens (4.5/5), The Bridge on the River Kwai (5/5), La Dolce Vita (4/5), The Hustler (5/5), Blue Velvet (4.5/5), Close-Up (4.5/5), The Lady Vanishes (4.5/5), Grave of the Fireflies (5/5), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (3.5/5), Oldboy (4.5/5), Gattaca (3.5/5), Children of Men (5/5), The Great Dictator (4.5/5), Diabolique (4.5/5), Aguirre, the Wrath of God (3.5/5), Rashomon (4.5/5), Singin' in the Rain (5/5), Le Samourai (5/5), Hiroshima, Mon Amour (5/5), Battleship Potemkin (4/5), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (3.5/5), Network (5/5), Once Upon A Time In The West (5/5), Sleeper (2.5/5), Y Tu Mama Tambien (4.5/5), Lawrence of Arabia (3.5/5), Amadeus (4/5), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (4.5/5), The Postman Always Rings Twice (3.5/5), Ben-Hur (4.5/5), Bug (4/5), All The President's Men (4.5/5), Through a Glass Darkly (4/5), The Leopard (2/5), The Aviator (4.5/5) [Total:35]
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May 20, 2013 05:30
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Go with duck soup. I just watched tombstone but am stuck phone posting for the night. I'll make a proper post when I wake up. For now,if the next poster can just scroll up, and pick from those nine, with the addition of The Buddy Holly Story, that would be great. I just like waking up to a pick.
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May 20, 2013 08:20
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Tombstone: I enjoyed it. I think a lot of that was due to Val Kilmer (though I'm guessing most people would say that). It definitely started stronger than it finished. The ending felt a little sloppy and confusing and I didn't quite get the catharsis that I'm sure they were going for. It just sorta felt like a giant clean up. Pretty entertaining, but nothing terribly substantive. 8/10 New List 1. *NEW* The Buddy Holly Story *NEW* - Apparently, Gary Busey believes that the spirit of Buddy Holly possessed him during the filming of this. I'm interested. 2. Tokyo Story - Another classic I need to see. Don't know much about it. 3. When Harry Met Sally - I'll have what she's having, right? 4. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans - Nicolas Cage 5. The Fall - Heard it's good from a friend, trailer looks pretty. 6. Chop Shop - With his passing, which really bummed me out, I think I'm going to dedicate slot number 6 now to Roger Ebert and his list of great movies. This one looks pretty good, though I know next to nothing about it. 7. Love Actually - Certainly not a film in my genre of choice, but I've heard enough good things about it (and I want my mom to stop bugging me about seeing it). 8. The Hudsucker Proxy - #8 on my list will remain a Coen film until I see all of them, I'll go in chronological order. I've only got a handful left. 9. La Dolce Vita - It's probably super shameful that I've gone 60 movies in already and never bothered to put Fellini on here. 10. Rebecca - Time for more Hitchcock! 63 Total De-Shamed Yojimbo 7.5/10, Aliens 6.5/10, Brazil 8/10, Cool Hand Luke 9.5/10, 28 Days Later 6/10, Predator 8/10, Blade Runner 7.5/10,Crimes and Misdemeanors 9/10, Vertigo 7/10, Being There 7.5/10, Psycho 10/10, Apocalypse Now 7.5/10, Citizen Kane 8.5/10, Dr. Strangelove 7/10, Close Encounters of the Third Kind 8.5/10, The Bicycle Thief 7/10, Raging Bull 8/10, Ikiru 10/10, Terminator 2: Judgement Day 7/10, The Night of the Hunter 8.5/10 How to Train Your Dragon 6.5/10 There Will Be Blood 8/10, Manhattan 7/10, Rashomon 8.5/10, Unforgiven 8.5/10 The Third Man 9.5/10 Requiem For A Dream 4/10, Charade 5.5/10 Sunset Blvd. 8/10 , Badlands 6.5/10, Dead Man 8.5/10, On The Waterfront 9/10, Mad Max 6/10, Singing' In The Rain 9.5/10, Sleeper 7.5/10, Enter The Dragon 6.5/10, The Hustler 8/10 , The Town 9/10, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 5.5/10, Boogie Nights 7.5/10. Hanna 8.5/10, The Conversation 7.5/10, Serpico 8/10, Hoop Dreams 9/10, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 8/10, Blood Simple 7.5/10, Roman Holiday 8.5/10, Miller's Crossing 8/10, M 7.5/10, Moonrise Kingdom 6.5/10, Rope 7/10 Tiny Furniture 1/10, On The Town 5.5/10, Gosford Park 5.5/10, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, 8.5/10, City Lights 8.5/10, The Exorcist 6.5/10, California Split 7/10, Aguirre, The Wrath Of God 8/10, Following 8/10, The General 10/10 , Barton Fink 8.5/10, Tombstone 8/10
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May 20, 2013 14:30
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Chili posted:8. The Hudsucker Proxy - #8 on my list will remain a Coen film until I see all of them, I'll go in chronological order. I've only got a handful left. Watch this. I'm pretty sure it was the first Coen bros movie I saw. Criminal Minded posted:Oh, and Seaniqua - go ahead and watch...Magnolia. I finally did! What a flick. A couple close friends of mine are big Paul Thomas Anderson fans and I told them I'd be watching Magnolia soon. They both insisted on waiting to watch it until I could watch it with both of them. Luckily this past Saturday worked for all of us and we watched it. I loved this movie. Paul Thomas Anderson's directing style is just about my favorite. His long shots and creative movement of the camera just totally suck me in. Like most (all?) of his other movies, parent/child relationships played a huge part in this movie and it was interesting to see those relationships paralleled between all the characters. We ended up sitting and talking about this movie for an hour so afterward, and honestly I think I might watch it again sooner than later. I could type a lot more but I don't think I can organize my thoughts well enough to avoid rambling. I really loved the movie. 1.) The Color Purple. Keeping Spielberg on the list. 2.) Rocky. I've seen Rocky IV and Rocky V (blech) all the way through, but no other Rocky movie. 3.) Spartacus. Running out of Kubrick movies to watch. I was really blown away by Full Metal Jacket, so I wanted to keep him on the list. 4.) Gone With the Wind. For some reason I had equated this movie to Casablanca, but the wife and I watched that a couple weeks ago. For some reason I thought the dude with the big ears was in Casablanca. He is not. 5.) Psycho(1960). Keeping Hitchcock on the list. Saw the shower scene when I was a kid and scared the pants off me. Time to face that childhood fear. 6.) The Wizard of Oz. Going through AFI's top 100, Oz sits at 6. I'm 100% positive that I've seen every part of this movie, but I've never sat down and watched it all the way through. No better time than now. 7.) The Godfather Part III. Now, I don't expect this movie to be great, just because of all the poo poo people have talked about it. That being said, I put it on the list anyway, because I've been meaning to watch it for so long. The first two Godfather movies are two of my favorite movies of all time, so I figure I need to bite the bullet and go through with this. 8.) Sunset Blvd. Another from AFI's top 100. I know nothing about this movie - I know it's old. Maybe it has a blonde in it? 9.) To Kill a Mockingbird. I read the book in middle school, and we might have even watched the movie but I don't remember it so I'm putting it on the list. I'm familiar with the story, and AFI lists this as their #1 courtroom drama. 10.) MASH. Friends told me that Paul Thomas Anderson is influenced by Robert Altman. Not really sure where to start with Altman, but this seems as good as any. Pretty sure it's set in the Korean war. 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
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May 20, 2013 15:00
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Edit: Nevermind, can't read.
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May 20, 2013 17:45
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Seaniqua posted:
One of my all time favourites! This was an easy choice to make. Duck Soup This was my first Marx Brothers film, and I'm sure this inspired both The Great Dictator & any Rodney Dangerfield movie. Groucho stars as Rufus T. Firefly who is given control of Freedonia in order for the country to receive financial backing from Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont). Two spies from Sylvania, Chicolini (Chico Marx) & Pinky (Harpo Marx), are sent by ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern) to find out any information they can. There's a great back-and-forth involving a week of baseball games that shows just how great these two spies are. It was Groucho Marx doing a standup routine as opposed to a real acting performance, and while it was one great one-liner after another, it got tiring as the quick 68-minute runtime went on. Maybe it's because some of the material is so familiar at this point? All in all, I did enjoy this comedy/musical and it was simply a fun, wacky feel-good time. The mirror scene was particularly impressive, and Pinky's slapstick antics with his scissors & horn were hilarious. If this is what to expect from other Marx Brothers films, I say bring it on. LIST The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly (2013.05.19) - I've seen bits & pieces but never from start to finish. Time to change that. The Magnificient Ambersons (2013.05.04) - I claim to be a big Welles fan yet have not watched his follow up to Citizen Kane. The Music Room (2013.01.29) - my Satyajit Ray cherry is still intact. The Passion of Joan of Arc **new** (2013.05.20) - one of those must-see classics I just haven't got around to. The Sting (2013.02.19) - I get told often to watch this. I want to get told once more. The Sweet Hereafter (2013.05.05) - have only watched Exotica from Egoyan. I hear this is pretty good. The Taste of Cherry (2013.05.04) - loved Close-up & Certified Copy. I want more! The Wages of Fear (2013.05.11) - my friend won't stop bugging me that I have yet to see this. He means well. Werckmeister Harmonies (2013.03.28) - apparently I started off on the wrong foot with Bela Tarr, seeing The Turin Horse first. I'm giving Tarr another try. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2013.05.14) - just realized I've yet to see a Mike Nichols film...? Should've added this one long ago - it's always caught my eye. De-shamed: Aliens (4.5/5), The Bridge on the River Kwai (5/5), La Dolce Vita (4/5), The Hustler (5/5), Blue Velvet (4.5/5), Close-Up (4.5/5), The Lady Vanishes (4.5/5), Grave of the Fireflies (5/5), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (3.5/5), Oldboy (4.5/5), Gattaca (3.5/5), Children of Men (5/5), The Great Dictator (4.5/5), Diabolique (4.5/5), Aguirre, the Wrath of God (3.5/5), Rashomon (4.5/5), Singin' in the Rain (5/5), Le Samourai (5/5), Hiroshima, Mon Amour (5/5), Battleship Potemkin (4/5), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (3.5/5), Network (5/5), Once Upon A Time In The West (5/5), Sleeper (2.5/5), Y Tu Mama Tambien (4.5/5), Lawrence of Arabia (3.5/5), Amadeus (4/5), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (4.5/5), The Postman Always Rings Twice (3.5/5), Ben-Hur (4.5/5), Bug (4/5), All The President's Men (4.5/5), Through a Glass Darkly (4/5), The Leopard (2/5), The Aviator (4.5/5), Duck Soup (4/5), [Total:36] friendo55 fucked around with this message at 20:04 on May 20, 2013 |
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May 20, 2013 20:02
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| # ? Jun 11, 2024 20:52 |
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friendo55, you need to watch The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It's my favorite of the No Name trilogy. _________________________________________________ The Seventh Seal was excellent. It has a wonderfully artistic style throughout. The film wastes no time establishing it's framing device of a crusader, played by a young (!) Max von Sydow plays a game of chess with Death. Their chess match doesn't really dominate the screen time, but it does seem that Death is always nearby. The plot isn't really important in this one. There's a cohesive story to be sure, but this movie is more of an examination of the inevitability of death. A lot of this film is quite iconic. It's been referenced and parodied many times. The appearance of Death has been in at least two other movies I've seen (Bogus Journey and Last Action hero), and it really was a pleasure to see the original portrayal. I also liked the way this movie looked. A quick check of Wiki shows that this was adapted from a stage play. It certainly does show throughout. The small sets and close interactions of everyone helps create an intimate atmosphere, which is appropriate for a film that shows the effects of a larger world (the crusades and the plague) on a small group of people. Also, I just need to add that Bibi Andersson is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. I actually might have liked her more in this than Persona. _________________________________________________ The List of Shame 1. Witness for the Prosecution: More courtroom drama 2. Lolita: I've seen almost all of Kubrick's offerings, but I have not yet seen this teen sex romp. 3. Gaslight: This is one of the more famous noirs, so I feel I need to see it. 4. Ocean's Eleven (1960): I've seen the remake a bunch of times - let's see how the original one is. 5. The Magnificent Ambersons: I enjoyed Citizen Kane, so I should see more works from Welles. 6. Life is Beautiful: 90's movie about a guy who brightens his son's day with comedy. Sounds great. 7. Amelie: I recall seeing this one in the video stores (back when those existed) but despite it's eye catching cover I never had the desire to rent it. 8. Cinema Paradiso: I should probably see the movie the forums are named after. 9. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang: I don't know much about this one aside from the fact that the protagonist is a fugitive. From a chain gang. 10. Escape from New York: I have zero excuse for not having watched this yet. Un-shamed in 2013: The Grapes of Wrath, Yojimbo, The Sixth Sense, Forbidden Planet, Cool Hand Luke, Easy Rider, It Happened one Night, Donnie Brasco, Fargo, Enter the Dragon, The Big Sleep, Adam's Rib, Animal House, Quiz Show, The Man with the Golden Arm, Strangers on a Train, Singin' in the Rain, The Philadelphia Story, The Time Machine, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, The Seven Year Itch, The Deer Hunter, City Lights, The Prestige, Five Easy Pieces, Some Like it Hot, Snatch, True Lies, The Seventh Seal
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May 21, 2013 00:23
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