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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 9, 2020 11:06:46 GMT
Ordinary Love (2019/2020 US) - ~ 6.5/10
Disease of the week drama with a superb Lesley Manville ........and Liam Neeson providing absolutely nothing as her tree trunk husband. It also ends abruptly and creates a rather unconvincing marriage dynamic too - though the intent is quite the opposite.
Here's an idea: if the husband role is that thinly written AND you have a stellar female lead well you better get an actor who can bring something not in the script .....just sayin' there's a lot of 65+ UK actors who might have liked taking a crack at this.
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Apr 9, 2020 16:45:03 GMT
Angels in America (rewatch) - IT’S A MOVIE!
Regardless of its medium, for such a butt punishing 6 hour runtime, it doesn’t FEEL IT. A phenomenal and rich script given life by some of the best direction and casting choices you’ll ever see on film, and I still want to watch it again.
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 9, 2020 16:58:14 GMT
The Sender (1982) - 6-6.5/10. Bad, half-baked script, not very scary or as deep as it thinks it is, but holds interest bc of the beautiful lead Kathryn Harrold (looking a little like Ingrid Bergman), its tensely eerie tone, great soft-focus visuals and use of color by Roger Pratt whose next two features were Brazil and Mona Lisa. Composer went on to do Last of the Mohicans...
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Post by stabcaesar on Apr 9, 2020 17:05:21 GMT
Ordinary Love - Lovely gem of a film. Manville and Neeson had incredible chemistry. I wouldn't be surprised if they announce they are dating irl tbh. Manville was pitch perfect as usual and Neeson was no slouch either.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 9, 2020 22:00:04 GMT
The Breaking Point (1950) 7.5/10 Director: Michael CurtizJohn Garfield here gives a performance that prefigures Brando in a way - there's very little movie cliche about him - in this remake of To Have And Have Not - and in some ways it's even better - or at least grittier and less romanticized. Garfield is straight up great here and in how he drew this character too and Patricia Neal doing her best to capture Bacall's allure (she doesn't ........but she's no pushover) and Casablanca director Michael Curtiz keeps this very tight and focused - it seems way shorter than the Bogart-Bacall but it's not. Hmmmmmmmm.
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Post by DeepArcher on Apr 10, 2020 3:42:25 GMT
Quarantine allowed me to finally get around to the TV version of Fanny and Alexander -- which definitely cemented this as one of my favorite movies of all-time. It appeals to practically all of my cinematic tastes and interests, and is so masterful on all levels of craft and storytelling, a legendary master at the top of his game. It's decadent, dense, and utterly haunting.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 10, 2020 19:10:15 GMT
Massacre At Central High (1976) - ~7/10 re-watch What if you had a great idea for a script but couldn't execute the mechanics of directing it? - Well it becomes a cult film and in this case a great one at the script level at least. Everybody thinks their high school is a Fascist prison state - it's only when they graduate and find out that's actually the internet and social media that the truth hits home kids, doesn't it? Um.....all jokes aside except for the widely inconsistent "acting" from "teenagers" - it has more serious problems like poorly handled transition scenes and sloppy editing that undercuts the authoritarian/weakling dynamic of the script. But people who don't even think deeply about movies at all will find a rather lot to think about here even though for a horror thriller there's not a lot of horror or thrills just "somber reflection" which can be horrifying, during a pandemic.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Apr 11, 2020 6:57:40 GMT
I watched Cats.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 11, 2020 8:57:59 GMT
The Conformist (1970) - 9+/10 re-watch Director : Bernardo BertolucciLike Knife in the Water its an all time must see I have small problem with in the middle - the pacing is off, the plot is actually thin and stretched and politically treading water maybe......but the best parts are always GOAT level scenes including those with astonishing cinematography, production design and scene construction. Then at a certain point it snaps into place and then it overwhelms in story and technique in every way. It also is horrifying in many different ways - not merely impending Death and culpability (a shrieking, yelping, pathetic and unforgettable Jean-Louis Trintignant) but in the central character's loss of any identity at all (literally the world passes him by), and the metaphorical use of light and shadow which is absolutely spectacular.
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 11, 2020 17:46:52 GMT
The Last Good Time (1994) 6.5/10 or a bit higher Written-produced-directed by Bob Balaban, far different in every way from his previous Parents. Well-received on release (Rosenbaum called it "a perfectly measured movie"), but has fallen into obscurity. Armin Mueller-Stahl, in a guarded, sensitive perf, stars as a lonely widower, a former violinist, who gets involved with a much younger woman in his tenement. The set-up reminded me of Monsieur Hire but the movie carries on in a slower, restrained way. Strong supp perfs from Maureen Stapleton as his fragile neighbor and Lionel Stander (his last perf, maybe his best?) as his bed-ridden old friend with a lot of wise cracks - “Can I afford to wash off more than I have to?”
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Apr 12, 2020 0:48:41 GMT
Trolls: World Tour - Curse my niece and nephew for being so freakin’ adorable!
Anyway, I actually enjoyed this more than the first film. Mainly this is by leaning a lot more into the songs and medleys, which are plentiful and really fun to watch, especially matched to the vivid - almost trippy - visuals. It also leans more into the surreal nature of the world, becoming borderline bizarre at some points, and so it’s also funnier than the first. It can become pretty grating, especially when it becomes progressively more hyperactive as it goes, but it’s genuinely fun if you’re in the right mood for it.
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Post by Miles Morales on Apr 12, 2020 16:27:01 GMT
The Elephant Man - 10/10
My first Lynch. It was both heartbreaking and beautiful.
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Post by Sharbs on Apr 13, 2020 0:08:47 GMT
Watched Le Notti Bianche on this snowy day. The best film ever made.
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Post by jimmalone on Apr 13, 2020 18:28:48 GMT
Rewatched Gone with the Wind. The only time I had seen it so far was about 20 years ago as a 13- or 14-year old. Back then I loved the first half, but disliked the second half and therefore found the movie overall just a bit above average. The notion that the first part is definitely the better one endured. Those two or two and half hours are just magnificent with the flight out of the burning Atlanta being a great climax. But the second half, while still a bit redundant and too long gained in my eyes as well. Overall the film has still some flaws in my eyes - as the trivialisation of slavery or some characters. But I'd now say that's a really well made film. And while I've always remembered the cinematography as very strong I now found it all-time worthy. Overall I'd give it around 8 to 8.5/10.
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Post by jakesully on Apr 13, 2020 22:58:12 GMT
Code 8 - 4.5/10 (started out as sort of an interesting concept but goes downhill very quickly )
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 13, 2020 23:19:32 GMT
The Fallen Idol (1948) - 8.5/10 re-watchDirector: Carol Reed It just goes to show you what you can learn watching a film after not seeing it for a while. First of all Michèle Morgan should have been in more things - she's very appealing and interesting (and modern) - I have to check her filmography .....Carol Reed may have been the best director in English when he made this and this is far more complex in how it portrays childhood than I really remembered. The kid is also a bit more annoying than I remembered Ralph Richardson is marvelous of course - he's great with how he acts with the kid, and hey there's Jack Hawkins who pops up in every British film I watch lately. Reed directs with no BS - under 100 minutes and not a minute wasted. I'd rate it even higher but the ending while not a fizzle isn't great - the sizzle is mostly in the setup of the premise.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 14, 2020 15:55:59 GMT
Odd Man Out (1948) 9/10 re-watch Director: Carol ReedExtremely exciting and tense picture from Reed that gains a lot of power from its simple premise and thrilling execution. Again he directs the hell out of it - all shadow, unusual perspective and marvelously gripping performances. Not merely the best performance James Mason ever gave but one of the best male performances of the 40s. Also, does anybody else cast such unusual odd actresses to winning effect? Here it's Kathleen Ryan who is tough, vulnerable and smart and looks tremendous in a sweater......what do you mean that's not a valid form of criticism - the hell it's not!
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Apr 14, 2020 19:43:06 GMT
The Social Network (rewatch) - I always think this movie is only halfway over by the end. And I mean that in the best possible way.
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Post by Viced on Apr 14, 2020 23:11:49 GMT
A lot of great story packed into only 85 minutes. Many great choices from Fritz Lang... and clearly an influence on tons of great film noirs. Good performances from the leads too. But I think I've seen too many similar-ish movies (even if they all came after this) to fully lose myself in it. 7.5/10
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Post by Viced on Apr 15, 2020 4:41:53 GMT
Bigtime yikes. Starts out kind of interesting in a unique/oddball way, but after like 20 minutes it just alternates between bad cringe and total dullness. I've seen some people compare this to Rushmore/Max Fischer... but Max is actually a drawn out and (somewhat) realistic character. This shit was like the scene in Rushmore where Max pretends he got hit by a car... except 100 times more creepy. And the ending just made it go from bad to worse. Lord_Buscemi 's letterboxd review does a great job of explaining my problems with the movie. 3/10The only good thing that came from watching this was that after it ended I checked my phone... and then looked up a few minutes later to see George C. Scott in front of the American flag on my TV. The shady streaming site I watched this on auto-played Patton afterwards.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 15, 2020 14:41:40 GMT
The Whistlers (2019) - ~6.5+
Sort of like the Coens if they were Romanian and less sharp - this neo-noir with comic overtones just needed tightening up in the middle to make the twists really work. Still, one of the better half-decent stabs at noir I've seen and it doesn't overstay its welcome.
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 16, 2020 0:09:26 GMT
We Think the World of You (1988) - 6.5/10. Sort of feels like 2/3 Stephen Frears, 1/3 Disney. Very modestly done, impressive production - the pastel visuals, the editing, etc. Alan Bates and Gary Oldman are dependably solid but not given much depth. The highlight is ole button-eyed Liz Smith as Oldman's mother - she's convincing, funny, kooky, guarded.
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Archie
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Eraserhead son or Inland Empire daughter?
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Post by Archie on Apr 16, 2020 0:21:30 GMT
Once Bitten - 2/10
Hate my fucking life.
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 16, 2020 0:34:42 GMT
pacinoyes got me looking up Carol Reed and I never heard of this one , though so many of his films could've had this title.... The Running Man (1963) 7+/10 - Not a plausible or unique plot, but a bright, appealing, well made movie starring a never-looked-better Lee Remick, a gangly Laurence Harvey as her scamming husband, and Alan Bates as an insurance man on their tail as they lam around Spain. At best reminded me of the Talented Mr Ripley and Hitchcock. Some fascinating elements - how Harvey says "We finally made them pay" suggesting just how hostile he's become against American systems; how he refers to himself in the third person, by his assumed identities, and absorbs them like alter egos. He becomes a changed man who courts risk to prove his cleverness. Remick sees this ultimate plan, and starts to pivot to a curious Bates who himself says at one point "Can't always go on pretending, can we?" Lotta good one-liners, actually..... “Nothing to worry about? First I have a husband, he disappears, and back comes a nervous little shoe salesman named Erskine.”
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Apr 16, 2020 2:16:37 GMT
Call Me By Your Name rewatch - still perfect. I like it more than I did two years ago.
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