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Post by Martin Stett on Sept 10, 2018 11:23:38 GMT
Things to Come (1936) -- Damn, something beat out Holy Motors already. A tedious slog of a time capsule, with an insulting tone of speaking down to the audience it wants to win. 1/10Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) -- A derivative but intermittently enjoyable female power fantasy. Nothing especially wrong with it, but I didn't like it either. I'm indifferent. 5/10Kino's Journey (2003 miniseries rewatch) -- One of my all time favorite works of fiction that I decided to drop twenty bucks on, and got transported all over again (shame on ADV for being too cheap to release this on Blu Ray). This is truly one of the funniest, most magical works I've ever encountered. I'm considering doing an episode by episode deep dive for my own indulgence later, but I won't bore y'all with that. Suffice it to say that I love everything about this show and what it stands for. 10/10 (Although on a side note, it is a little irksome that everyone and their mother wants to tell their life story to Kino. I understand that it's the point of the show, but sometimes people just tell their stories in odd situations. Like a shootout. Meh, most of the time it works, anyway.) Pickpocket (1959) -- Oh, this isn't a thriller? How condescending of you to tell us this right off, you emotionless piece of shit. Have you anything else to add about how art films are inherently better before proceeding to give us blank actors reading a blank script that illuminates nothing about the characters? I wouldn't be so pissed about your prologue if the movie following it wasn't so damn dull, but you shot yourself in the face with that one. 3/10Kino's Journey: Life Goes On (2005) -- A 30 minute prequel that gives Kino a bit more backstory, but ultimately says nothing. It's entertaining enough to see her spend some time with Master (having only gotten that brief scene in Her Journey between the two), but this really feels more like it's just filling in some blanks on a beloved character's history for extra cash, rather than artistic merit. I'll still eat up Kino any way I can get her, so I guess it works. 6/10Anna Karenina (2012) -- This is a little frustrating: I dig what Wright was going for with his experimental hook on the story: it does a great job of portraying the sharp, judgmental gossip of the society that tears Anna apart. It also makes the film move at a brisk pace, never getting boring. Unfortunately, there are three problems that really bring it down. 1. The aforementioned brisk pace means that there is never time to breathe as we  from one plot point to another. Not the biggest problem if the actors, can sell it, but... 2. Keira Knightley and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are so badly miscast in this that it's almost painful to watch them. Everyone else is more than excellent, but these are the stars and neither one can sell passion in the slightest, meaning that every scene of theirs together lacks any hotblooded urgency. When you're doing a story about passion that can be a deal breaker. And when Anna turns full bitch at the end it's hard to give a damn as Knightley doesn't give any reason to care about Anna. I just wanted someone to slap the hysterical woman senseless, which is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what I'm supposed to feel, I'm guessing. 3. I imagine that this is more the fault of the source novel than anything else, but anything that "resolves" its ending with suicide is a bit of a cop out, imo. People commit suicide, but ending a story that way means that you can't find any other way to resolve your story. If everything going before this was just a prelude to the protagonist deciding that there is no way out of the hole they're in, why did we have the story in the first place? To comment on society? Well, you've made plenty of comments on how awfully society treats Anna, I don't see why you need another. This is a personal problem I have with suicide endings in general, in that it makes the protagonist weak-willed and cheapens their struggle, instead of deepening it. I know that I'm being very negative, but that's because I liked or loved everything else about this movie. When you get so much right, it upsets me when you get so much wrong. 6/10
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Sept 10, 2018 11:50:55 GMT
Ghost Stories (2018) As this was written by Andy Nyman I expected a trick ending in the Derren Brown style from start to finish and or course I got one. I didn't quite work for me and dragged the film down, which is unfortunate as I mostly loved the opening hour. The Paul Whitehouse section was particularly well done, and a brilliant exercise in mood and tension. Whitehouse was his usually brilliant self, and I expect he'll be in my supporting actor lineup come the end of the year. The second story didn't quite play as well with me, and the third one got things back on track nicely. That end though  7.5/10
Funny Cow (2018) Nicely done drama all all regards, with the only really wow being the fantastic central performance from one of my favourite actresses Maxine Peake. This role was practically made for her, as she's a brilliant comic actress and a brilliant dramatic actress, and the film is a drama about an aspiring comedienne 70's Britain, which was an era when laughs came quickest via racism and homophobia. She is a force of nature in it, and I'm debating whether she is taking my actress win from another force of nature, Toni Collette. This year is shaping up to be an all-time great one for Lead Actress, whereas as Lead Actor is pretty depthless so far. This had some nice supporting work too from Paddy Considine, Lindsey Coulson (shes a great 'big' actress) and especially Alun Armstrong who'll break your heart and mayt also get into my supporting actor lineup 7.5/10Damo & Ivor: The Movie (2018) Film version of a fairly low brow (but funny) Irish sitcom I used to watch. It wasn't as terrible as I expected, so not a complete waste of time. 4.5/10
Rewatch
Iron Man and Friends 3 (2018) I liked this as much as I did the first time out, which was a 7/10. These films tend to fall to pieces on rewatch, so I'm pleased this didn't. Overall, it needed more Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Ebony Maw) who even with his limited screen time is now my MVP of the solid cast.
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Post by Martin Stett on Sept 10, 2018 12:38:48 GMT
Always interesting to read some of your takes.... lol Well that doesn't sound very flattering.  I have no regrets about my write ups, though. Sometimes I'm not clear and other times I accentuate certain elements far too much and sometimes I just stick my foot in my mouth, but I try to keep things honest about how I see the films. When I'm writing this up on the fly, sometimes things get lost along the way, but I do my best. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 14:15:35 GMT
Searching - very engaging film w/ plenty of thrills and emotion, despite its fair amount of flaws. Cho is easily the best thing about it. 7/10.
How to Talk to Girls a time Parties - weird ass movie. It was alright. 6/10.
Switchblade Sisters - excellent. Entertaining as hell, very memorable characters, engrossing story... an absolute blast. 8.5/10.
The Story of Adele H. - aside from Adjani’s superb performance, didn’t much care for this. 5/10.
Clouds of Sils Maria - similarly to Adele H., didn’t get that much out of this other than Binoche’s performance. Overall, it was a bit more interesting. 5.5/10.
Shoot the Piano Player - solid, fairly entertaining... nothing special. 6.5/10.
Coffy - brutal and fun. Grier is excellent. 8/10.
Foxy Brown - same as Coffy, but to a lesser extent. 7.5/10.
Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told - hilarious, atmospheric, and at times legit scary. Also surprisingly heartfelt, mostly from Lon Chaney Jr.’s phenomenal performance. Jack Hill is such a great filmmaker. 8.5/10.
The Last Metro - very good performances, writing, directing, etc. Not much to complain about. All around solid film. 7/10
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Post by notacrook on Sept 10, 2018 14:17:56 GMT
Have been doing a lot of re-watches lately. Always good to re-visit some great stuff, but I need some first-timers soon.
Re-watch:
Titanic - 9/10
Gone Girl - 10/10
La La Land - 9/10
First time:
American History X - 8/10
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Post by Pavan on Sept 10, 2018 17:15:10 GMT
Searching (2018)- 7.5/10
The Nun (2018)- 5/10
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Film Socialism
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Post by Film Socialism on Sept 10, 2018 17:44:20 GMT
some wack takes in here
rewatched Shatter Dead and Computer Chess and both grew in stature. SD goes up to a near masterpiece and CC goes to a bonafide one.
saw Halloween II which is some of the best stuff i've seen all year, wish we had more horrors at least on a similar wavelength
saw The Blackout which is also a masterpiece and one of ferrara's finest moments, there's some like very dark energy in this bitch
finally i saw The Glass Shield which is a surprisingly compelling flick by burnett, makes me want to see how much he blurs the line from arthouse and conventionality in his other pieces
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Post by mhynson27 on Sept 10, 2018 18:10:34 GMT
Monster's Inc. (re-watch)
Paths of Glory
The Beguiled (2017) (re-watch)
Halloween (1978)
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Sept 10, 2018 19:07:42 GMT
The Campaign (2012) - 6 / 10
Atomic Blonde - Very visually alluring film, I just didn't care for the story or characters as much as I wanted to, and some of the plot twists got downright stupid. Mixed bag unfortunately. - 5.5 / 10
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Post by Mattsby on Sept 10, 2018 20:10:19 GMT
Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told - hilarious, atmospheric, and a times legit scary. Also surprisingly heartfelt, mostly from Lon Chaney Jr.’s phenomenal performance. Jack Hill is such a great filmmaker. 8.5/10. I luv Spider Baby, one of the best b-horrors. Have you seen Pit Stop from Jack Hill? That's a great one too. It's on amazon prime! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 20:14:48 GMT
Switchblade Sisters - excellent. Entertaining as hell, very memorable characters, engrossing story... an absolute blast. 8.5/10. Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told - hilarious, atmospheric, and a times legit scary. Also surprisingly heartfelt, mostly from Lon Chaney Jr.’s phenomenal performance. Jack Hill is such a great filmmaker. 8.5/10. Interested in both of these, thanks for reminding me that Switchblade Sisters exists.  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 20:16:51 GMT
Always interesting to read some of your takes.... lol Well that doesn't sound very flattering. I have no regrets about my write ups, though. Sometimes I'm not clear and other times I accentuate certain elements far too much and sometimes I just stick my foot in my mouth, but I try to keep things honest about how I see the films. When I'm writing this up on the fly, sometimes things get lost along the way, but I do my best. I think all he meant was that rating a Bresson flick a 3/10 was an odd take, lol. You're perfectly clear in your writing, I just disagree with you a lot of the time  |
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Post by Mattsby on Sept 10, 2018 20:36:54 GMT
Dheepan (2016) — nearly 8/10
Excellent before the ending, not that it’s bad (the action sequence is actually very well executed) but it definitely disrupts the film—it's bold and challenging and jarring but how much does it diminish the film I wonder? If the film had a pared-down ending, and if it didn’t win Cannes (which caused backlash), would this be seen as some kinda masterpiece? I know that’s a big word to throw around, but it is startlingly, stupendously well-done for the most part. And I never knew much about the Sri Lankan civil war; this prompted me to do some research into it.
Damsel (2018) — 5/10
Mostly dull, awkward, one-note. Lacks wit, especially for a “quirky” Western. Pattinson’s perf is spiky though, he has some good scenes, and the switch-and-bait is interesting, but Mia’s character isn’t given a lot to do. Ending just tapers off…
Nancy (2018) — 7.5ish
Economic and impressive debut from the writer-director. It does feel a little pithy, like a short story adaptation of sorts, but it’s so well done—the acting, the subtle writing, the score, the camera framing. Worth seeing; it curiously and defiantly explores its themes of grief, identity, illusion, perfidy. Career-best work by Andrea Riseborough probably.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Sept 10, 2018 22:09:51 GMT
The Changeling (1980) — 7.5/10
Some great economical horror on display here. it's a thinking person's haunted house flick with a compelling and unique story bolstered by a strong central performance from George C. Scott.
Straight Time (1978) — 6/10
Why is this so loved again? It's two films in one and they're so disparate from each other that they don't cohere into something meaningful or contribute or strengthen each other. The first half (infinitely superior and more poignant) about the challenges an ex-convict faces in re-entering society from the bottom and with everything stacked against him, from low wage work to overly-restrictive parole conditions. M. Emmett Smith as the chummy parole officer is fantastic here, a villain of sorts that represents the skewed system. He's despicable even though he's "just doing his job," and Walsh makes him soooooo watchable. But then the movie throws all that out of the window in the second half and becomes a formulaic heist film. Goodbye, M. Emmett Walsh. Goodbye thought-provoking social drama. It's not that the second half is totally without merit (the heists are suspenseful, Harry Dean Stanton is great), but it isn't consistent with the first half. It undercuts the first half completely and morphs into a different film that I didn't expect or want in this context. What I wanted was more Walsh. The scene with Hoffman and Walsh on the freeway should have taken place toward the end of the story with Hoffman walking away into an uncertain criminal future after failing to re-enter society on unfair terms. Think about how much more powerful and "earned" that moment would have felt.
Deep End (1971) — 7/10
A semi-interesting depiction of heightening and all-consuming lust. Extra points for Jane Asher's captivating performance but the lead boy was a dead fish.
Isadora (1969) — 5/10
Filing this away as another overlong, overwrought, and overly-simplistic biopic that feels more like a cursory bullet list of events and dates than a glimpse into the mind and life of a complicated human being. The dancing is nice, Redgrave is serviceable, but I know even less about Isadora Duncan as a person that when I started. Between this and Sweet Dreams, I have a real problem with Karel Reisz's biopics.
Desperate Living (1977) — 6/10
Yeesh. I'm new to Waters and this probably was the wrong place to start. If I had to pick one word to describe this film, it'd be shrill. That said, Edith Massey is so fucking watchable. I loved every second of her trashy performance as Queen Carlotta. "Get out of my chambers, lesbians!"
The Guns of Navarone (1961) — 6/10
Long, stuffy, dry, boring, nominated for best picture, you get the idea. David Niven and Gregory Peck were great but very little else about this film kept me invested.
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) — 7.5/10
Solid spaghetti western. Nothing spectacular but it's very watchable.
Female Trouble (1974) — 7.5/10
Now this is a Waters project I can get behind. For starters this one has Divine, for another its humor is more droll and less shrill. Not every character is shouting their lines all the time. And Edith Massey once again is iconic, and delivers some of the film's best lines. "I worry that you'll work in an office, have children, celebrate wedding anniversaries. The world of the heterosexual is a sick and boring life."
The Fortune Cookie (1966) — 6/10
There's some interesting ideas at play here, but Billy Wilder's customarily sanitized cutesy comic delivery blunts all of them. The only thing about the film that's consistently enjoyable is Walter Matthau.
Downhill Racer (1969) — 8/10
It takes a while to settle into this one's groove. There isn't a whole lot to latch onto in the first portion of the film because Michael Ritchie's cold directing and loose documentary-style storytelling, though fascinating, keeps the viewer at an arm's length. Compounding this is the narrative. Downhill Racer is a character study about a narcissistic Olympic skier and Redford's performance is effectively icy. However, this is a film that rewards patience. Its best qualities reveal themselves in the last thirty minutes, from Gene Hackman's brilliantly understated performance that brings so much warmth and compassion to counterweigh Redford's nihilistic selfishness, to the thrilling climax that conveys so much emotional complexity with strategic close-ups and rapid cuts without hardly a word spoken. It feels like watching an incredible documentary.
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) — 8.5/10
Finally caught this. Definitely worth the wait.
The Night Porter (1974) — 6/10
Liliana Cavani's controversial 1974 drama doesn't go so easy on these 2018 eyes. The film feels dated in most respects and just subpar in others. I don't take issue with the central premise (the sadomasochistic relationship between a Holocaust survivor and a former Nazi which developed in the concentration camps). If anything the flashbacks to their complex history in the camps were the most disturbing and most fascinating scenes in the film. During this portion, you can sense the mixed feelings both these individuals experience upon running into each other randomly at a hotel. They don't share a single word but are haunted by the memories of each other in the camps and you can see the conflict in their faces. Once they resume their relationship however the film becomes much less interesting. The script doesn't give their scenes together enough depth to justify the controversial subject, making it all feel pretty cheap. The performances are just serviceable. Dirk Bogarde is solid even though his quasi-German accent comes and goes with the breeze. Rampling is actually one of the film's weakest aspects, which was surprising to me. Her dubbing is awful at times (what is it with this goddamn dubbing in Italian films by the way?) and she never feels quite palatable in this role. You'd expect a film about forbidden passion to have a little more, I don't know, passion? She's so dry and lethargic here, even during scenes where she's supposed to be passionate. Very little about her performance made sense or worked for me.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 23:06:20 GMT
Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told - hilarious, atmospheric, and a times legit scary. Also surprisingly heartfelt, mostly from Lon Chaney Jr.’s phenomenal performance. Jack Hill is such a great filmmaker. 8.5/10. I luv Spider Baby, one of the best b-horrors. Have you seen Pit Stop from Jack Hill? That's a great one too. It's on amazon prime! I was planning on watching more of his stuff soon - I'll definitely check it out. |
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Post by Martin Stett on Sept 10, 2018 23:29:40 GMT
Well that doesn't sound very flattering. I have no regrets about my write ups, though. Sometimes I'm not clear and other times I accentuate certain elements far too much and sometimes I just stick my foot in my mouth, but I try to keep things honest about how I see the films. When I'm writing this up on the fly, sometimes things get lost along the way, but I do my best. I think all he meant was that rating a Bresson flick a 3/10 was an odd take, lol. You're perfectly clear in your writing, I just disagree with you a lot of the time Hey, it's better than Au Hasard Balthazar.  |
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Sept 10, 2018 23:35:22 GMT
Pickpocket (1959) -- Oh, this isn't a thriller? How condescending of you to tell us this right off, you emotionless piece of shit. Have you anything else to add about how art films are inherently better before proceeding to give us blank actors reading a blank script that illuminates nothing about the characters? I wouldn't be so pissed about your prologue if the movie following it wasn't so damn dull, but you shot yourself in the face with that one. 3/10 Curiously enough I felt exactly the same way about Mouchette when I watched it a few years ago. I wasn't prepared for Bresson's completely unemotional approach and didn't know how to approach the characters or story and it really bothered me at the time. Since then I've always been afraid to watch another of his films. It seems like he purposely made his films to be inaccessible. |
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Post by Martin Stett on Sept 10, 2018 23:54:48 GMT
Pickpocket (1959) -- Oh, this isn't a thriller? How condescending of you to tell us this right off, you emotionless piece of shit. Have you anything else to add about how art films are inherently better before proceeding to give us blank actors reading a blank script that illuminates nothing about the characters? I wouldn't be so pissed about your prologue if the movie following it wasn't so damn dull, but you shot yourself in the face with that one. 3/10 Curiously enough I felt exactly the same way about Mouchette when I watched it a few years ago. I wasn't prepared for Bresson's completely unemotional approach and didn't know how to approach the characters or story and it really bothered me at the time. Since then I've always been afraid to watch another of his films. It seems like he purposely made his films to be inaccessible. I liked my first Bresson: A Man Escaped. That one feels much more plot driven than Pickpocket or Au Hasard Balthazar, and Bresson's style doesn't get in the way. Haven't seen Mouchette, but I think I'll sweat off of the man for a little while. He's not my cup of tea, methinks. |
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Post by Film Socialism on Sept 11, 2018 4:49:31 GMT
honestly bresson's grievances with the state of cinema are kind of obvious. he didn't hate mainstream films, he hated theatricality and limiting the cinema to what the other arts are capable of; he was a big fan of james bond films back in the day. taken in this way, his use of sound, models, unusual shots (more pronounced in some of his later films), etc. are an extension of that philosophy. he was pretty much the super conservative version of the new wave kiddos back when they were doing their thing; had a similar worldview on cinema anyways (from what i can gather from Notes on the Cinematographer anyways).
i binged the fuck out of him when i was like 17 and saw all of his films too fast, should rewatch them sometime
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Post by no on Sept 11, 2018 22:42:44 GMT
Exotica is great.
Kwaidan is great.
Deadpool 2 is surprisingly all right.
This week, I made a video on Shuji Terayama's Butterfly and another one on Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar.
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from one plot point to another. Not the biggest problem if the actors, can sell it, but... 2. Keira Knightley and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are so badly miscast in this that it's almost painful to watch them. Everyone else is more than excellent, but these are the stars and neither one can sell passion in the slightest, meaning that every scene of theirs together lacks any hotblooded urgency. When you're doing a story about passion that can be a deal breaker. And when Anna turns full bitch at the end it's hard to give a damn as Knightley doesn't give any reason to care about Anna. I just wanted someone to slap the hysterical woman senseless, which is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what I'm supposed to feel, I'm guessing. 3. I imagine that this is more the fault of the source novel than anything else, but anything that "resolves" its ending with 
7.5/10
I have no regrets about my write ups, though. Sometimes I'm not clear and other times I accentuate certain elements far too much and sometimes I just stick my foot in my mouth, but I try to keep things honest about how I see the films. When I'm writing this up on the fly, sometimes things get lost along the way, but I do my best.
