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Post by Mattsby on Mar 21, 2020 19:57:49 GMT
Anthony Mann double-feature........ Strangers in the Night (1944) - 5.5-6/10. Only 56min, a small and overly convenient but decent Gothic melodrama about a crippled matriarch who imagines, consumes, or destroys those around her. Loots off Hitchcock but also looks ahead to the psycho-biddy subgenre. With three solid female perfs - Virginia Grey as a doctor (her job and gender is a repeated point), Helene Thimig as the deluded matriarch, and Edith Barrett as her withering assistant. Winchester '73 (1950) - 7.5-8/10. Cleverly written, from the concept, to dialogue, to structure, though it starts to feel a little episodic around the middle, it comes together by the end with great help from a snappy, sizzling Dan Duryea perf ("Lady, why limit me?" - my fave line). Jimmy Stewart delivers as a good man carved by a stored resentment finally let go, and I liked Millard Mitchell too as his coffee-appreciating buddy. All of this waste-no-time pace, dropping into spots about to be ambushed, and the bulletless Winchester object of desire - it's the senseless Old West with nothing else to do, one contest after another, and rarely are there winners.
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Post by Viced on Mar 21, 2020 20:34:20 GMT
The Defiant Ones (1958)One of the most beautiful, fucked up bromances ever. Poitier and Curtis are perfect together... and Poitier especially was pretty amazing. The guy exudes charisma by just standing there with a cigarette in his mouth! The film was almost great... some hard-hitting moments but let down a bit by all the time spent on the lame police side of the chase. 7.5/10
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Lubezki
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Post by Lubezki on Mar 22, 2020 1:00:27 GMT
Match Point - 8.5Was really surprised how much I liked this, as I'm usually not a big Woody Allen fan. Takes a while to get going, but the second half is wonderfully taut and suspenseful, and the performances are roundly excellent. Have you seen Crimes & Misdemeanors? I always liken Match Point to that.
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Post by Viced on Mar 22, 2020 4:14:06 GMT
White Dog (1982) - initially thought 6ish but I'm going 7/10 due to the Fuller usual - his films offer so much to review and unpack. So bear with (uh oh, the animal puns are asking for it). Like a lot of Sam Fuller’s work, this isn’t tip-top but quick and daring with pointed themes and some great stylized instances. Ennio Morricone’s score tags the spread with a sadness, I don’t know why but the main theme of the score made me think of empty streets. There’s some narrative abruptness and a flat protagonist — but its flaws kind of go away when thinking back on it. What stands out immediately is Paul Winfield’s strong, soulful perf - those extreme close ups - those slo mo sequences that recall De Palma who incidentally is a big fan of this pic. All those people crowded around the animal rescue trucks, looking for their lost pets; we see a lot of dogless leashes. Fuller has a sort of specialty of knuckling into divides - territorial (Run of the Arrow, Verboten), psychological (Shock Corridor), gender (Forty Guns, Naked Kiss), and of course… racial (Crimson Kimono, but really all of them). White Dog’s racism is conditioned impulse, an extension of vicious, senseless hatred. Fuller has literalized the discussion of violence and animalism and habituation in human behavior, with clear alarm: like eye-floaters the target only shifts. Figure I might as well quote this instead of just repeating half of what you said... lol. I was leaning towards a 7ish at first, but on quick reflection am going with an 8/10. This is a hard movie not to get at least a little bit knocked on your ass by. The ending, but especially the penultimate scene with the dog's original owner and his granddaughters hit me pretty damn hard. If it was any longer than 89 minutes it'd probably get repetitive and exhausting, but the short runtime keeps the thin plot gripping enough. I got major De Palma vibes mainly in the first 20 minutes or so with the unique '80s-LA neighborhood and the maestro's score blasting, but this is the first time in forever that I've compared something to De Palma and not said that he should've been the one to direct it. The lead actress seemed like the discount version of Jamie Lee Curtis (while kind of looking like Carrie Fisher)... but yeah, Paul Winfield was pretty remarkable here. Such a committed, tense performance while never overdoing it. Didn't even know Burl Ives was still alive in the '80s btw... but I liked him here too. "This hand helped win Duke his Oscar." Sad that this was buried and caused Fuller to move to France, but I guess all that bullshit just helped increase the man's legend.
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 22, 2020 7:29:46 GMT
Cul De Sac (1966) - 8+/10 rewatch
Director : Roman PolanskiHis 3rd feature after 2 big deal international successes and re-teaming with Gerard Brach, Polanski shows how willfully uncommercial he can be and still maintain his artistic vision - incorporating Pinter, Beckett and Ionesco in what is ostensibly a crime picture - the two men layer their mind games on a sly and humorous (mostly to themselves) movie. A "comedy" without many laughs, his third black and white film where almost nothing is that clear at all, an expressionistic design and framing worthy of Fritz Lang and strangely if you see it enough times you start to think it's far more than just an "8+"....and if you see it right now as a movie about encroaching doom (is it though?) and isolation........well you may wonder why this was ever labeled a "comedy" to begin with. No man is an island ..........so to speak.
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LaraQ
Badass
English Rose
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Post by LaraQ on Mar 22, 2020 14:06:54 GMT
Emma(2020)rewatch.I think I loved this even more the second time around.If you're looking for something light and fluffy to take your mind off things during this dark time,this is perfect.It's beautifully directed and acted and the costumes,oh the costumes!!.8.5/10.
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Post by notacrook on Mar 22, 2020 14:59:19 GMT
Ordinary People - 9.5
I can't believe how good this was, and how emotionally powerful. I watched this almost back-to-back with Terms of Endearment, a reasonably decent film. However, this blew it out the fucking water, and shows that these family dramas that get a lot of flack for being melodramatic or 'basic' can be so much more. Impeccable performances, beautiful writing and wonderfully understated direction from Redford. Honestly, I like it more than Raging Bull - one of the best BP winners I've seen.
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Post by Sharbs on Mar 22, 2020 16:23:22 GMT
Judy and Punch (Mirrah Foulkes, 2019) I've been looking forward to this one for quite some time and was waiting until it's April release to watch this in a proper theater, but since that won't happen I figured I'll give it a go. It's downfall sadly is in how it writes Punch. Similar issues with this character as the Sam Claflin character in The Nightingale, a little too cartoonishly evil. Herriman does his best to add a bit of a pathetic twinge to it, but it really only is him and not in the story. Other than that, Mirrah Foulkes does a wonderful job at letting the actors breathe without getting into a boring slowburn predicament. And the techs are just wonderful, those Costumes . Wasikowska is of course splendid, anything other than that is counterproductive to the natural order. I usually don't muster much of a reaction to revenge dramas, but the last couple of years have provided great entries that have me wondering on that position. - 8/10
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Mar 22, 2020 16:47:58 GMT
The Intruder (2019)
I love a good trashy thriller, and this was not that.
Dennis Quaid went full ham, and kudos to him for that. Some of his facial expressions are just unforgettable in this, and while it was all surface level villainy, it worked well. 4/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 22, 2020 19:23:37 GMT
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1966) ~7.0-7.5/10 Re-watch Director: Roman PolanskiThe 4th Polanski film - shot in glorious and vibrant colors for the first time and teaming again with Gerard Brach delivers his most baffling project yet - the first that could be called a "miss". A comedy that this time is bordering on farce played at times as slapstick mixed with horror - sort of a Hammer spoof - with a fascinating odd troupe of players including himself and his future wife Sharon Tate. A lot of this is very silly and dated and weirdly charming yet at times spectacularly serious in craft - the stunning Vampires dance sequence and everything in the snow - and you end up really appreciating how hard Polanski worked on something this aggressively minor. There's a lot of Roman Polanski here in his playfulness and yet you may also say none of what people liked about him in his first 2 movies is here too - where's the menace? If only he concentrated on comedy OR horror just think what he could do.......hmmmmmm.
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Post by notacrook on Mar 22, 2020 19:26:16 GMT
Match Point - 8.5Was really surprised how much I liked this, as I'm usually not a big Woody Allen fan. Takes a while to get going, but the second half is wonderfully taut and suspenseful, and the performances are roundly excellent. Have you seen Crimes & Misdemeanors? I always liken Match Point to that. It's now high on my watchlist. Never thought I'd be excited for an Allen movie, but here we are!
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Post by Viced on Mar 22, 2020 20:40:58 GMT
Dreadful title and one of the most unglamorous posters ever (for an even more unglamorous film)... but this is probably one of the best WWII films I've seen. I watched it for Lee Marvin (who is excellent, but pretty much only in three extended scenes) but Jack Palance gives one of the most brutally bad ass performances of all time! Jesus, that guy was tough as nails. The film shows both the crookedness of man and the relentless son of a bitch that is war... and is a real knockout in the end. 8/10(expires from Prime on March 31st for anyone who's interested)
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Post by Viced on Mar 23, 2020 3:24:11 GMT
Death of a Cyclist (1955)The main characters and their lives were kind of lame tbh, but the dilemma surrounding the central event was mostly great. The art critic was a savage (until he turned into a little bitch) and the ending was absolutely perfect. Some old bag of bones in the IMDb reviews compared this to both Hitchcock and neorealism... which is a bizarre combo but they weren't that far off. Also thought this had some brilliant editing. Well done, Javier Bardem's uncle! 7.5/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 23, 2020 16:32:08 GMT
The Omen (1976) ~7/10 RewatchWhat works about this movie is what it shows you (great, memorable deaths) and doesn't - the kid essentially a spectator to his evil dominion. What doesn't work is......well let's skip that because enough does work but it ain't Rosemary's Baby or The Exorcist - but a reasonable facsimile. Also how serious this movie takes itself is great - it's the Anti-Christ for Godsakes (no pun) - what would be funny about it? Also, casting is crucial because walking piece of furniture Gregory Peck is quite moving here - they should do this now btw, cast walking piece of furniture Kevin Costner in a straight up horror. MAHGA - make American horror great again..... Grade A tech level big budget - an Oscar winning score! - horror that is kind of shaky at the script stage (wait, evil nuns? nuns in the service of Old Scratch?) by a big studio for a general audience - people's Mom and Dad went to see The Omen......what a time the 70s were......
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Mar 23, 2020 20:42:13 GMT
Le Mans '66
A visually stunning film. A masterclass of sound and editing. A terrific ensemble. It was so, so close to being a truly brilliant film, but it was let down just enough by a corny script and a few stock cliche characters. 9/10
So, now that I've seen all the 2019 Best Picture nominees, I can honestly say that the Academy for once did a bloody fantastic job.
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Post by Viced on Mar 24, 2020 2:28:59 GMT
Pretty goofy but very charming... and definitely elevated by Poitier's magnetic performance and somewhat enigmatic character. But I wish it explored his character more in place of some of the cheesier stuff with the nuns. He's clearly a skilled guy and very charming person... so why's he drifting around the country and living out of his car? Is he just a free spirit? Who the hell knows! Outside of all that, I still enjoyed it and Poitier's Oscar win was definitely well-deserved. 7.5/10
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hilderic
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Post by hilderic on Mar 24, 2020 3:06:14 GMT
Death of a Cyclist (1955)The main characters and their lives were kind of lame tbh, but the dilemma surrounding the central event was mostly great. The art critic was a savage (until he turned into a little bitch) and the ending was absolutely perfect. Some old bag of bones in the IMDb reviews compared this to both Hitchcock and neorealism... which is a bizarre combo but they weren't that far off. Also thought this had some brilliant editing. Well done, Javier Bardem's uncle! 7.5/10 So you watched this just a few hours before Lucia Bosè's death was announced?
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Post by Viced on Mar 24, 2020 4:06:47 GMT
Death of a Cyclist (1955)The main characters and their lives were kind of lame tbh, but the dilemma surrounding the central event was mostly great. The art critic was a savage (until he turned into a little bitch) and the ending was absolutely perfect. Some old bag of bones in the IMDb reviews compared this to both Hitchcock and neorealism... which is a bizarre combo but they weren't that far off. Also thought this had some brilliant editing. Well done, Javier Bardem's uncle! 7.5/10 So you watched this just a few hours before Lucia Bosè's death was announced? Wow... that's wild. I was gonna comment that she was one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen after watching it, but decided to stick to the merits of the film. Also, shortly after I finished watching it last night (on The Criterion Channel) I looked at the TCM schedule and saw that they were playing it later that night at 2 am... bizarre. RIP.
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 24, 2020 9:24:22 GMT
Tess (1979) - 9+/10 rewatch Director: Roman PolanskiNever before had Polanski - the most misinterpreted of modern major filmmakers courted confusion in his work as he did with Tess - his first post-arrest film and the last of his undeniable great period (he did great work after this but less consistently). An overtly feminist movie this time that some criticized for not being feminist enough it also appeals to people who didn't get his work before and people who detest period films in general. Certainly it doesn't look like many period films - it's gorgeous (a contender as best cinematography ever) yet earthy - for a film where "blood" plays such a key role its very look suggests blood in the soil itself. A tour de force female character without a tour de force performance at its center - Nastassja Kinski gives a performance that rather seems marvelously orchestrated - but she is Tess - Polanski's Tess at least. Dazzling, dense and perplexing with keen insights into fate, hypocrisy - notably religious hypocrisy - grace and the moment where everything can be gone in an instant. "I would rather take it from my own hand......":
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Lubezki
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Post by Lubezki on Mar 24, 2020 14:33:18 GMT
Ratcatcher (1999) - Still one of the most gut wrenching and hypnotic debut features I’ve seen. Murky and filmed in the backdrop of immeasurable grime, yet there’s always an underlying melancholic tenderness...and a glimmer of hope. Just a beautiful, haunting film. 9/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 24, 2020 18:19:43 GMT
Frantic (1988) - ~7/10 re-watch Director: Roman PolanskiAn episodic piece of commercial product that ties into many things the director does well. Polanski was coming of a spectacular failure (Pirates - after a long break after Tess) - the set-up and talent (Gerard Brach AND Robert Towne!), a musical score by Morricone (!) and a big star (Harrison Ford) are impressive. Less impressive is the resolution which screams Hollywood compromise as well as the illogical twists prior to the end. Still the first hour is terrific and as an efficient piece of movie making this showed Polanski had juice and wit in his veins and that he wasn't done (in any way) yet. Several sequences dazzle in the Hitchcock set-ups and he has great fun putting Ford through the ringer along the way.
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Post by Viced on Mar 24, 2020 21:33:11 GMT
Damn... now I want to go work at a newspaper. This was hilarious, batshit, and beautiful in a way that only a Fuller movie can be. And 1886 Park Row would make an amazing Deadwood-esque series. From IMDb trivia: What a god! 8/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 25, 2020 8:01:25 GMT
Frankie and Johnny (1991) - 7/10 rewatchA #metoo romance in many ways - Terrence McNally (who just passed away from coronavirus, RIP) fashioned his play into a slick romantic comedy and it is quite funny compared to the play .........but its best parts remain from the play - achingly romantic and uncomfortably dark and real. Michelle Pfeiffer is flat out gorgeous here which makes her character even sadder in a way, Al Pacino is very sweet (against type) and yet coming on so strong he's almost a stalker (that's a compliment here and on type) - they are a lovely screen duo. Nathan Lane and Kate Nelligan almost steal the show in support.......but it's Pfeiffer's movie and the roses go to her.
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Post by notacrook on Mar 25, 2020 16:04:52 GMT
The Night of the Hunter (1955) - 4
One of the biggest letdowns...maybe ever? The premise of this film is so full of dark potential, and of course its acclaim and status as a cinematic high point is known. Positives are some very nice moments of direction (the shot of Powell's silhouette riding over the hill, singing 'Leaning on the Everlasting Arms', is just perfect and terrifying), the first 20 minutes or so are promising, and Mitchum's performance is very effective.
However, the pacing for this thing is truly all over the place - incredibly rushed in the first half, slow as molasses in the second. It felt like it should be coming to an end around the halfway point, and after that it seemed to morph into an entirely different film, more akin to It's a Wonderful Life than the noir thriller it had previously established itself as. Of course, I get that Laughton was exploring the contrast of good and evil, as well as different interpretations of religion, and these are interesting ideas. However, his execution lacked any subtlety or cohesion, and the result is awkward and tonally confused. The character of Powell also completely unravelled from being a genuinely unsettling villain to a Sideshow-Bob type joke.
Was very excited for this, and it's never fun when a film lets you down, but here we are.
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Archie
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Post by Archie on Mar 25, 2020 16:15:29 GMT
The character of Powell also completely unravelled from being a genuinely unsettling villain to a Sideshow-Bob type joke. That's my only real problem with the film. Mitchum's last few scenes genuinely pissed me off.
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