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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 5, 2020 17:26:52 GMT
Careless (1962) - 7/10 I had never seen this and this film has an absolutely luminous performance/presence from Claudia Cardinale who oozes sex appeal, allure and movie star charisma. This is a romance (with Anthony Franciosa) - with dark elements - that actually rings true and makes you want to be part of the romance but without those increasingly dark complications. It doesn't outstay its welcome or try to ingratiate itself too much either - not great but certainly worth a watch....and a good example of how supporting characters can rise within a narrative too.
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Post by stephen on Jul 5, 2020 17:31:40 GMT
7500: Joseph Gordon-Levitt's best performance in almost fifteen years, but it's in service of a kinda half-baked movie. The first half of the film is strong and has potential but really squanders its potential after the big emotional turning point.
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Post by Miles Morales on Jul 5, 2020 19:05:25 GMT
The Fall (2006) - 10/10
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 5, 2020 19:09:22 GMT
Olivia (1951) 8/10 French finishing-school lesbian-drama, feels quite like Mädchen in Uniform meets Renoir and Ophuls - and the cinematographer worked before with those two filmmakers, a pro at beautifully fluid camerawork. This is also exceptionally well-written in terms of dialogue and suggestion - “I dislike your hairdo. You are shocked, perhaps? The English call it a personal remark. We pretend not to hear." With only 240 IMDb votes it's badly underseen. And directed-produced by Jacqueline Audry.... Idk how many really great female-helmed films there are before the 60s, even 70s, but this is one of them.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 5, 2020 20:43:08 GMT
Raw Meat aka Death Line (1972) - rewatch 6.0-6.5/10At times funny and at times effective modern cannibal horror that pre-dates The Descent and also weirdly evokes Night of The Living Dead, and hints towards Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hills Have Eyes. Unfortunately the story mechanics often don't make sense - even where you can forgive it - and some of it is played too cheesy. A lot of people love this but I think they're overrating it although Donald Pleasence in the lead is kind of a blast and in the broader sense it works and could be tightened up, remade I guess.....but what this is disappoints. Memorable last shot though.
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Post by DeepArcher on Jul 6, 2020 2:34:49 GMT
Spoorloos (1988): Very much my type of thing. Loved it.
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Post by mhynson27 on Jul 6, 2020 8:29:22 GMT
Hacksaw Ridge (re-watch)
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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 6, 2020 12:27:47 GMT
Escobar: Paradise Lost (2014)
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Post by Viced on Jul 6, 2020 14:58:23 GMT
Starts off great, but after 30 minutes or so the plot just goes in every awful, lame direction that it could've. Still might be one of Nolte's best performances though... and the CCR songs were nice. Also, Richard Masur and Ray Sharkey's characters in this might be an origin story for Harry and Marv in Home Alone.
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Post by JangoB on Jul 6, 2020 18:39:51 GMT
Novecento - A sprawling 5-hour saga of peasants and padrones directed by Bernardo Bertolucci at the moment of his immense international popularity due to the success of "Last Tango in Paris". I love that he used his carte blanche to do this hugely ambitious decade-encompassing leviathan of a movie which features both that Hollywood epic lyrical sensibility and some pretty out-there and very Bertolucci-like uniqueness. Some will probably think it a mess but I was enthralled. Those bursts of weirdness were very much welcome (Sutherland's crazy OTT performance alone makes the film stand out from the crowd) as they brought some real flavor that a lot of the sweeping epics from the US are missing. And I was just completely floored by Vittorio Storaro's work - he's an all-time great cinematographer but somehow I've never really seen this mentioned as one of his more remarkable accomplishments. This lead me to believe that the movie was a bit more low-key visually but that assumption was dead wrong. What an endless feast for the eyes - both in terms of the astonishing color palette/lighting techniques and the camera movements which really takes you on a cinematic journey. Bertolucci and Storato were truly a match made in heaven, both clearly appreciating each other's wild ideas and making the most of them. Really good music by the late maestro Morricone as well.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 6, 2020 18:51:55 GMT
Daddy's Little Girls (2007) - 3/10Emasculating bullsh it that I got forced to watch from my better half which she thought was sweet and cute and is making me rethink my level of emotional investment in that relationship and what film will be MY payback to her. Lunatic overrated wackjob Idris Elba may have lost his mind at this exact point - watching his pained expressions (exhibit A, below) suggests a mild stroke and/or a reaction to too much sweetness indicative of diabetic shock. Tyler Perry's "direction" is beyond ghastly and a notch below amateurish........ Louis Gossett (why?) maintains his dignity ........but at what cost Lou? At what cost?!?
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Post by Pavan on Jul 6, 2020 19:41:57 GMT
Twixt (2011)-
I get weird dreams occasionally and an urge to put them on paper but when i'm about to get to the ending a sudden noise wakes me up and when i try to go to sleep again to continue the dream, it fades away. It's a silly but real thing. Coppola has the money and he made a movie about it. Interesting idea and some dreamy visuals alone can't make up for a wholesome movie- 5.5/10
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 6, 2020 20:05:12 GMT
Six Degrees of Separation (1993) 7-7.5/10. Quick-witted satire of art, privilege, social gossip, liberalism. Drops into melodrama and self-reflection around the end and loses its freshness but still. The way Stockard shushes Sutherland like he’s interrupting ‘the show’ (Will Smith), how Smith ridiculously cites sources and pages numbers to prove what he's learned. Guare’s play is stuffed with allusions to movies, writers, artwork, and comments quite well on the gullible and ceaseless upper class lifestyle, the fickle sway, the attention. “Control, chaos, control chaos.”
Smith says “It gives me a thrill to be looked at” like he means it - and there’s the framing device(s) of these dry elites relaying their stories to each other, themselves eager to share and please and be heard. Smith is the weak link (should’ve stuck with Vance who originated the part on Broadway, Tony nodded too) - he’s arguably effective in his artificiality but doesn’t have the mystery or humor down. Stockard is very good though I kept picturing a what-if Judy Davis in the part. Sutherland is a riot, one of his best - during a moment of deep shame he starts mumbling sadly about Cezanne’s use of color. Surprised also that, for the most part, Fred Schepisi keeps it all up, even the slapstick (though the screeching kids (JJ Abrams of all people the worst offender) is a bit much).
Side note - amazing that Ian McKellen’s “And I want to be in the Cats movie!” line has, strangely, come true.
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Post by JangoB on Jul 6, 2020 22:50:59 GMT
Opera - I'm having an absolute blast getting acquainted with more Dario Argento movies. This might be the slickest film I've seen from him thus far - the symphony of violent setpieces is presented with the efficiency of a Swiss watch and every one of them on its own is executed perfectly. What Argento does with the camera here is extraordinary. It's as if he were hellbent on showing De Palma who's boss with lots of elaborate tricks, POV shots and all that. The movie is just pure cinematic joy, that is if you're able to derive joy from Argento's twistedness. His classic motifs get new forms of presentation (the idea of helpless observation of murders gets a particularly juicy treatment here), his world remains bizzare and in the final scene it all seems to morph into some sort of a fairytale spiritual sibling of "Phenomena" with the main character finding an unexpected love for the purity of nature and its creatures. A hell of a ride, a hell of a film.
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Post by Viced on Jul 6, 2020 22:56:07 GMT
Long overdue re-watch to honor the maestro. Can't believe I was underwhelmed by this years ago... perfect mix of majestic and badass. And Morricone's score elevates it to something... I dunno... cosmic.
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Post by DeepArcher on Jul 7, 2020 3:07:39 GMT
The Age of Innocence (1993): A Marty period piece with this cast, can't believe I hadn't seen this before! I love that Marty apparently described this as his "most violent" film -- a very poetic way to illustrate just how heartbreaking and full of yearning it is. Felt a bit long in the second half to me, but I was captivated overall and oh my god, just so luscious -- breathtaking cinematography, production design, costumes, music, everything!
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Post by mhynson27 on Jul 7, 2020 9:19:00 GMT
8 1/2
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Post by Pavan on Jul 7, 2020 11:56:35 GMT
Black Narcissus (1947)-
Tensions rise among nuns at a remote convent in the Himalayas. I like that it is very subtly erotic in nature. Powell & Pressburger used that to good effect to generate psychological drama. Technically it's kind of an achievement considering this was shot in studio using matte paintings and still managed to get that local flavor- 8/10
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Post by Pavan on Jul 7, 2020 20:11:30 GMT
Seconds (1966)-
A sci-fi take on Faust, i guess? A very uniquely shot film. The extreme close ups, odd angles and hard lighting really brought out the much desired uneasiness which Frankenheimer was really going for but i wish he held it back a bit for a tad more traditional storytelling coz there was scope to amplify the emotional quotient even more, which would've made this a truly memorable work. Great ending though. Has one of the most haunting final shots in all of film- 7.5/10
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Post by Pavan on Jul 8, 2020 19:52:46 GMT
Ashes of Time (1994)-
Such an evocative film. The gaudy color scheme would've looked ugly in the hands of a lesser mind but Wong made it a beautiful and dreamy looking one. It's just that it is not very engaging narrative wise, even confusing might i say. At a certain point of time i stopped following the narrative and allowed myself to get lost in the imagery- 7/10
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Lubezki
Based
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Posts: 4,332
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Post by Lubezki on Jul 8, 2020 21:05:13 GMT
Cloverfield (2008) - I guess I have soft spot for this film because seeing it in the cinema made for one of the most visceral experiences I’ve had. And other rewatch has always been on blu-ray which really showcases the impeccable and monstrous (no pun intended) sound design. Always an enjoyable one.
Kapoor & Sons (2016) - Such a genuinely sincere drama that handles the essence of dysfunctional family dilemmas so well. The comic relief is spot on too thanks to the excellent chemistry and performances from the cast.
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Post by Pavan on Jul 9, 2020 11:39:28 GMT
Far From Heaven (2002)-
For a seemingly simple melodrama the film deals with a variety of topics including racism, homosexuality and suburban life. Haynes dealt all these with so much finesse and even styled and presented it exactly like a 50s film with it's saturated colors, splendid costumes and editing. Julianne Moore looked lovely and given a graceful performance- 8/10
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Jul 9, 2020 14:16:15 GMT
Daybreakers - starts off interesting enough, but then it became a whole lot of "WAIT WHAT THE FUCK?!" as it went along. I mean, it had to be the dumbest vampire cure ever...
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Jul 9, 2020 14:54:15 GMT
Michael Clayton. Rewatch but I haven’t seen for a few years. Still very good.
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Post by Pavan on Jul 9, 2020 20:24:42 GMT
Cool Hand Luke (1967)-
An entertaining and hard hitting prison-road film centered on one of the most resilient characters in all of cinema. There's always more to him than that meets the eye. Aided well by Paul Newman's charm. It's easy to dismiss his performance as not special but he does a lot here that can't be singled out but in totality it's him that makes the movie special- 7.5/10
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