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Post by Martin Stett on Mar 30, 2020 12:25:50 GMT
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) -- Okay, I just watched this for the first time and all, but I feel confident in calling this the most achingly romantic film ever made. 9/10
First Love (2019) -- It is very confusing at first and does a poor job of setting up its various characters, but once this gets going, it is a very fun Coen/Tarantino riff of violent, screwball insanity. Walter White dreams that he could make meth so pure. 7/10
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005 rewatch) -- Much more than a safe ode to mothers, this is a scathing critique of the patriarchal society's limiting and systematic beating down of women's independence, and how that damages both men and women. Evelyn can't co-sign the contract for her house. She can't drive a car. She can't do anything that threatens her husband's position as "head of the household." On the flipside, Evelyn is the one who keeps the family functioning emotionally and economically, while Kelly (a spectacularly nuanced Woody Harrelson) finds himself useless because he can't provide in the way that society expects of him. Both are trapped by the expectations put upon them. And so Kelly's bitterness drives him to alcoholism and abuse, while Evelyn's drives her to cutting remarks and asides that always find a way to strike at the inadequacies that haunt Kelly so much, making him pity himself even more and thus drive him further into his only escapes. The movie *does* feel a bit sugarcoated in how Evelyn's treatment of her kids is always too good to be true, but even then that factors into the kids always taking their mother's side and spitting against dad's position as "leader" even more. It is fascinating stuff, and with a little bit of reworking this could have been a classic. 8/10
Uptight (1968) -- Few films feel so *of the now* as this one. Uptight must have been shot mere months (or less) after MLK's murder, and it dramatizes the period with urgency and anger. It's on Youtube. Give it a watch. 8/10
The Conversation (1974) -- The loneliest movie ever made? Coppola's daughter is the only one who gives him competition in that regard. 10/10
Shivers (1981) -- I honestly don't understand any of the historical context that I'm supposed to be familiar with, but this is still a really good movie. Intriguing look at how indoctrination works. 7/10
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Post by mhynson27 on Mar 30, 2020 12:47:31 GMT
Inception (re-watch)
Se7en (re-watch)
Uncut Gems
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Post by notacrook on Mar 30, 2020 12:56:54 GMT
Been watching a silly amount of films recently. Quarantine, am I right?
First Viewings
Don't Look Now (1973) - 8
The Night of the Hunter (1955) - 4
M (1931) - 10
The Deer Hunter (1978) - 7
Tess (1980) - 7
GoldenEye (1995) - 4.5
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - 8.5
Re-watches
Joker (2019) - 7.5
The Invisible Man (2020) - 8
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) - 9
Stand by Me (1986) - 8.5
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Post by themoviesinner on Mar 30, 2020 13:07:57 GMT
Watership Down (1978) (Rewatch) - 8.5/10
Who We Are Now (2017) - 8/10
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Beginnings (2012) - 8/10
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Eternal (2012) - 8.5/10
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion (2013) - 8.5/10
Bad Boys For Life (2020) - 6.5/10
Your Name (2016) - 5/10
The Plague Dogs (1982) - 8.5/10
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Post by Martin Stett on Mar 30, 2020 13:12:05 GMT
Watership Down (1978) (Rewatch) - 8.5/10 Who We Are Now (2017) - 8/10 Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Beginnings (2012) - 8/10 Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Eternal (2012) - 8.5/10 Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion (2013) - 8.5/10 Bad Boys For Life (2020) - 6.5/10 Your Name (2016) - 5/10 The Plague Dogs (1982) - 8.5/10 With those Rosen and Madoka movies, you know that my ears are perking up. |
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Mar 30, 2020 13:36:38 GMT
In The Line of Fire
Widows
Bone Tomahawk
Bloodshot
Frozen 2 (for about the dozenth time since it dropped on Disney Plus, ugh)
Also watched all of Ozark S3 and Tiger King
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Post by themoviesinner on Mar 30, 2020 15:09:57 GMT
With those Rosen and Madoka movies, you know that my ears are perking up. I was a big fan of Watership Down, and the rewatch I gave it solidified it as one of the best animated films I've ever seen. It has a sense of melancholy that I haven't encountered in any other animated film. So I decided to give The Plague Dogs a go and that film was just devastating. Both equally fantastic films and it's a shame that Martin Rosen hasn't done anything else. As for the Madoka film series, I had it on my watchlist for months, after a friend of mine claimed it was among the best animes ever made, but I never got down to it until last week, because it looked quite childish. I obviously was completely wrong. It's a great film series that takes a lot of unexpected turns, without losing focus of it's main themes and it manages to be entertaining, emotionally resonant and thought-provoking at the same time. It is probably my favourite anime right now, up there with Angel's Egg. |
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Post by TerryMontana on Mar 30, 2020 15:29:13 GMT
The Gentlemen
Re-watches:
Ronin
Lucy
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Mar 30, 2020 16:15:47 GMT
Darby O'Gill & The Little People - 8 / 10
Once Upon a Time in The West - 10 / 10
Knives Out - 8.5 / 10
That Darn Cat (1965) - 7 / 10
The Apple Dumpling Gang - 5 / 10
Honey Boy - 7.5 / 10
The Founder - 7.5 / 10
Pushover - 7 / 10
John Wick Chapter 3 - 7.5 / 10
Blinded By The Light - 7 / 10
This is The End - 8.5 / 10
Forget Paris - 5 / 10
Little - 6 / 10
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Nikan
Based
Posts: 3,138 
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Post by Nikan on Mar 30, 2020 16:15:52 GMT
The Howling (1981) - werewolves aren't generally my thing, but this was entertaining.
Gremlins (1984) - Started very 'meh', but once those little devils take control it was a blast to watch. Sad that it happened so late.
My Fair Lady (1964) - irrelevant, overlong and boring.
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Post by Martin Stett on Mar 30, 2020 16:16:54 GMT
With those Rosen and Madoka movies, you know that my ears are perking up. I was a big fan of Watership Down, and the rewatch I gave it solidified it as one of the best animated films I've ever seen. It has a sense of melancholy that I haven't encountered in any other animated film. So I decided to give The Plague Dogs a go and that film was just devastating. Both equally fantastic films and it's a shame that Martin Rosen hasn't done anything else. As for the Madoka film series, I had it on my watchlist for months, after a friend of mine claimed it was among the best animes ever made, but I never got down to it until last week, because it looked quite childish. I obviously was completely wrong. It's a great film series that takes a lot of unexpected turns, without losing focus of it's main themes and it manages to be entertaining, emotionally resonant and thought-provoking at the same time. It is probably my favourite anime right now, up there with Angel's Egg. When I saw you logging Madoka on Letterboxd, I was squealing.  I grew up reading Watership Down (I remember reading the first chapter, going to bed, waking up with a nightmare and vomiting from fright!) and when I got to the movie, I was sorely disappointed. I don't think the film is bad, but it feels very, very rushed, moving through its plot points so fast with little character development. This is likely because I know the novel by heart, but I don't think that's the entire reason. I've seen the film twice now and I still have the same issue. The Plague Dogs is another case of me reading the novel first, but unlike WD, the film adaptation was striking. It kept the brutality and hopelessness of the book while cutting it down to the core essentials, managing to make it even scarier. I just learned that it is on Prime video, so I'm gonna rewatch it today. I think I last watched the film when I was fifteen or so. Madoka is arguably my single favorite piece of fiction -- it's certainly the one I spend the most time mulling over and analyzing. It's a horror story of the human soul, in which the monster is your own conscience, guilt and self-loathing. As someone raised in church philosophy of "man is inherently vile and depraved and cannot ever be free from his guilt," this story shook me to the core. And then Rebellion came along, with its vaguely Paradise Lost inspired story as written by an angry, searching C.S. Lewis (if you haven't read it, check out his novel Till We Have Faces* which is so similar to Rebellion that I sometimes consider the movie to be an adaptation). Urobuchi and Shinbo took the story to a new level by challenging the original show, asking to look at the same events through a different lens. I can't quite say that Rebellion is my favorite movie ever (I have too many problems with the narrative mechanics, like Nagisa's only functions as "decoy antagonist" and "offscreen exposition device to get supporting characters caught up" being something that could and should have been filled by Sayaka), but it may very well be the most intriguing. *Oh, and Till We Have Faces may be by favorite novel -- like Madoka, it's certainly the book I spend the most time mulling over and analyzing. |
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Mar 30, 2020 16:58:37 GMT
first-timers
The Bleeding Edge (2018) - 8/10
Museum Hours (2013) - 8/10
Avalon (1990) - 8/10
Natural Born Killers (1994) - 3/10
Blind (2014) - 7.5/10
The Bourne Legacy (2012) - 6/10
Byzantium (2013) - 5/10
Babe (1995) - 7.5/10
Beautiful Girls (1996) - 3/10
rewatches
The Great Escape (1963 rewatch) - 8/10
Blue Jasmine (2013 rewatch) - 8/10
Mr. Turner (2014 rewatch) - Still think this is one of the best biographical movies ever, let alone the most honest depiction of the creative method. My favorite Leigh film hands down. 9/10
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Post by themoviesinner on Mar 30, 2020 17:05:27 GMT
Martin Stett having read the book myself as well, I understand your criticisms of Watership Down and I probably agree with them, but I think the movie does a really great job delivering the main theme of the book on screen (which is the most important aspect of an adaptation for me), that of the importance of community and reciprocal assistance over the needs of the individual, that I overlooked any flaws on character development. I also find it's melancholic tone incredibly absorbing. So, for me, it is a great adaptation. By the way, have you watched the 2018 version with the cgi rabbits? As for the Madoka film series, I'll definitely give it a rewatch some time in the near future, because it has so much going on, that you can't possibly comprehend it all with one viewing. It was a mindblowing experience and I'm still thinking about it even now, days after I watched it. Also, I haven't read the novel you are reffering to, but I'm intrigued to do so. 
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cherry68
Based
Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. It's only that.
Posts: 3,679 
Likes: 2,114
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Post by cherry68 on Mar 30, 2020 18:47:07 GMT
I'll name only one, because it felt so intriguing.
THE PLACE (2017, directed by Paolo Genovese).
It's perfect for a stage, and makes you ask yourself what you are ready to do to get what you want.
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Post by Martin Stett on Mar 30, 2020 20:32:33 GMT
Martin Stett having read the book myself as well, I understand your criticisms of Watership Down and I probably agree with them, but I think the movie does a really great job delivering the main theme of the book on screen (which is the most important aspect of an adaptation for me), that of the importance of community and reciprocal assistance over the needs of the individual, that I overlooked any flaws on character development. I also find it's melancholic tone incredibly absorbing. So, for me, it is a great adaptation. By the way, have you watched the 2018 version with the cgi rabbits? As for the Madoka film series, I'll definitely give it a rewatch some time in the near future, because it has so much going on, that you can't possibly comprehend it all with one viewing. It was a mindblowing experience and I'm still thinking about it even now, days after I watched it. Also, I haven't read the novel you are reffering to, but I'm intrigued to do so. See, I think the movie version of WD does a good job of showing the theme, but that doesn't mean anything if you don't have convincing characters who can convincingly demonstrate that theme. I can write a movie showing that Nazis are bad because they kill Jews, but it is another matter to write a movie with Nazi characters that make the audience understand (and condemn) why they kill Jews. Okay, so Watership Down is more of an adventure story and less of a message-packed screed, but (as you pointed out) it does have themes that run through it. Unfortunately, every member of the community is pretty bland (save for Bigwig, IIRC), and it's hard to believe that a real community of people would behave that way. I could be remembering wrong, but that is the impression I have. Honestly, save for Woundwort and the prologue, I've practically forgotten the movie. I haven't seen the CGI version, but it looks terrible. The awful CGI is a turnoff. Which is too bad, as a longer miniseries seems like it would work very well. By all accounts, the CGI version is well written, well acted, and hideously animated. I may try it sometime. An interesting thing about Madoka is its intertextuality. The story works without any knowledge of its influences, but the story uses visual motifs to evoke other pieces of literature as their sole source of symbolism. An obvious example would be Sayaka's parallel to The Little Mermaid being made explicit towards the end when she is portrayed as a literal mermaid. Rebellion takes this idea and pushes it to a new level: We have explicit references to Hoffman, Freud, Nietzsche, even the Chinese myth of Manju and Saka. Each one has a purpose: it tells you something about Homura and her thought processes every time a player in her psychodrama yells "fort! da!" or "God is dead!" By quoting greats of literature and philosophy, Urobuchi and Shinbo evoke the ideas that those writers were wrestling with, and frame their story as characters wrestling with the same struggles. Using these intertextual references to such an extent is something I haven't seen elsewhere. |
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coop032
Full Member
Choose life.
Posts: 657
Likes: 222
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Post by coop032 on Mar 31, 2020 0:52:00 GMT
Remember (2015) - 7/10
We're No Angels (1989) - 6/10
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) - 7/10
Emma. (2020) - 7.5/10
The Best of Times (1986) - 5.5/10
Dangerous Liaisons (1988) - 9/10
Blow the Man Down (2019) - 6.5/10
21 Bridges (2019) - 6.5/10
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Post by themoviesinner on Mar 31, 2020 8:31:01 GMT
Martin Stett I get what you are saying about Watership Down, but I generally don't see it that way. Well fleshed-out characters can definitely enhance the main themes of a film, but there's also a chance of losing focus of them and derailing the film (don't forget that a film doesn't work the same way as a book does). I think the more simplistic approach to the character's of Watership Down, works in the film's favour. So let's just agree that we disagree on this matter.  Yeah, and the visuals of the 2018 adaptation look horrible. It may be incredibly well-written, but that animation is extremely off-putting, so I doubt I'll ever watch it. And I definitely agree with you on Madoka. The films have a lot of influences, but they don't just present them in a one-dimentional manner, but they analyze them, deconstruct them and use them to enhance their main themes and develop their characters' traits. They are also among of the few films I can think of whose characters and themes are so fundamentally bonded.
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Post by JangoB on Mar 31, 2020 22:05:01 GMT
An Officer and a Spy - Excellent stuff although it's a bit of a shame that Polanski had to be the one to make it because the movie is very relevant in these days of social media cancelling people left and right with due process being thrown out the window. But because of its director the film won't reach audiences which I think it should be reaching. A weird situation. Well, anyway, the movie is wonderful except for the randomly abrupt ending.
The Hunt - Thoroughly mediocre and definitely not delivering on its intriguing concept. But I kinda appreciate how it doesn't take sides politically. If anything, it feels more sympathetic to the conservative side which is somewhat bold for a Hollywood production. And Betty Gilpin's performance is weird but more memorable for it. Oh well, too bad the movie isn't really worth it.
Sin - Andrei Konchalovsky's excellent portrayal of Michelangelo's daily life and struggles. The movie is not really about the artistic process - the two hours are truly devoted to depicting his way of life, financial situation and his allegiances. I thought it did a terrific job of putting me back in time and really giving me a sense of what it must've been like to live in Italy of those days. I felt like I was indeed witnessing a period of Michelangelo's life and I found it pretty fascinating although not everybody will appreciate the experience since it doesn't really have a firm narrative thread.
Sunflower - Vittorio De Sica was very simple and unfussy as a filmmaker but I think this simplicity kinda works because it amplifies the relatability of his stories. On the surface this is a very typical story about war-torn lovers but its emotional core just works. Plus the Russian connection makes the film a bit more interesting to me than perhaps to some other viewers. Mastroianni and Loren are just a joyful duo to watch.
The Client - Pretty middle-of-the-road but somewhat enjoyable as most of these lawyer thrillers are. Susan Sarandon's Oscar nomination isn't particularly warranted but she's still pretty compelling as Reggie Love (lol) and Tommy Lee Jones is always fun as a smarmy dude. The plot wasn't always too satisfying though.
Onward - Definitely not among Pixar's best but fine nonetheless. Especially when you learn that the director basically made it as a dedication piece for his brother. This fantasy game aesthetic is not really my thing but this was a breezy experience with a good bundle of emotions in its fabric.
Birds of Prey - A piece of shit. Well, if someone's idea of entertainment is dried-out visual bubblegum with boring pointless fight sequences, tons of stupid slo-mo and a black hole instead of a soul, then this one's for you! Oh, and yay feminism! Which in this movie equals 'all men are horrid and girls should be allowed to be assholes too!'. Which I find stupid.
The Beginning - A 1970 Soviet film by Gleb Panfilov who initially wanted to make a film about Joan of Arc but wasn't given the green light so he decided to combine the Joan of Arc story with a modern narrative about an amateur actress who gets to play Joan of Arc in a film within a film. It's a pretty awesome film, fascinatingly structured, playful and absolutely marvelously acted by Inna Churikova. Give it a shot if you can find it.
10 - More like a 5. This Blake Edwards movie was a big hit back in its day but I found it pretty unfunny and even a little bit dull. Not to mention that it reeks of an older-type filmmaker trying to get hip by being naughty with the movie ending up feeling a bit creepy as a result. I must say, these 'older guy has a sex crisis and obsesses over a younger girl' movies aren't my cup of tea at all.
Surviving Picasso - It's not awful but there's a reason this James Ivory flick is all but forgotten these days. After a streak of hits the Merchant Ivory team has endured pretty much nothing but flops and although I'm still interested in seeing some of those, this movie was not some hidden gem. The package sounds good: Hopkins playing Picasso in an Ivory film. But the movie itself is two hours of the same unchanging thing: Picasso being an asshole and McElhone's character pulling through no matter what. It all seems a bit pointless at the end of the day. So she kinda kept her dignity after being with him for several years. Good for her! Not too good for the audience though.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - I kinda love Tommy Lee Jones as a director and I wish he did this more often. I love that he tells these weird stories which exist in the western realm but still go their own separate ways, I love his love for weird cowboys and their lands and their laws. This is a wonderful strange little movie with peculiar time shenanigans (courtesy of Guillermo Arriaga), great visuals and awesome performances. And its macabre dark humor was just kinda great. Although I'm sure that many people won't find those same moments to be humorous at all. Which is a virtue of the film, in my opinion.
The Dawns Here Are Quiet - This is a stone-cold Soviet classic which I somehow haven't seen before. It was absolutely brilliant and genuinely powerful. The thing I cherish about many Soviet films is how important the characters' souls were for the filmmakers, often more important than plots and narratives. This film is a great example of how all these things can coexist with the result hitting you straight in the heart. A powerful tribute to real war heroes.
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden - Seeing Roger Corman's name in the opening credits may suggest to some viewers that they'll be witnessing an exploitation film about a mental hospital but in fact it's anything but. Corman actually helped get a number of terrific films made and/or released and this is one of them. Its depiction of mental health issues seems unflinchingly honest to me and in particular the main character's struggle with her mental issues is presented brutally but genuinely. Kathleen Quinlan is incredible in the main role and the whole ensemble is pretty wonderful. This film needs to be brought back in people's consciousness, it sure deserves to be.
A Prophet - I'm not sure that it's a masterpiece that it's often been described as, but it's definitely a rock solid prison drama about the way a man's fate can go based on the choices he either makes or is made to make. I think the movie spends a bit too much time on the intricacies of criminal relationships we don't know much about, but as long as it stays with the main character, it works very well. Thankfully we indeed spend most of the running time alongside him. I love that the character doesn't always go in the right direction, that he learns by stumbling and that even if he doesn't end up a good man, he at least works tirelessly towards the goal that his friend and teacher establishes for him: to become smarter. The way he interprets that is engrossing.
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Post by Martin Stett on Mar 31, 2020 23:32:26 GMT
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden - Seeing Roger Corman's name in the opening credits may suggest to some viewers that they'll be witnessing an exploitation film about a mental hospital but in fact it's anything but. Corman actually halped get a number of terrific films made and/or released and this is one of them. Its depiction of mental health issues seems unflinchingly honest to me and in particular the main character's struggle with her mental issues is presented brutally but genuinely. Kathleen Quinlan is incredible in the main role and the whole ensemble is pretty wonderful. This film needs to be brought back in people's consciousness, it sure deserves to be. I really liked the book back in high school. It's semi-autobiographical, and it feels much more knowledgeable about life with (what at the time was considered) schizophrenia than most fiction about the subject. |
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Mar 31, 2020 23:52:55 GMT
10 - More like a 5. This Blake Edwards movie was a big hit back in its day but I found it pretty unfunny and even a little bit dull. Not to mention that it reeks of an older-type filmmaker trying to get hip by being naughty with the movie ending up feeling a bit creepy as a result. I must say, these 'older guy has a sex crisis and obsesses over a younger girl' movies aren't my cup of tea at all. yeah the only thing I remember about this was Bo Derek's awful cornrows. |
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Post by JangoB on Mar 31, 2020 23:56:47 GMT
10 - More like a 5. This Blake Edwards movie was a big hit back in its day but I found it pretty unfunny and even a little bit dull. Not to mention that it reeks of an older-type filmmaker trying to get hip by being naughty with the movie ending up feeling a bit creepy as a result. I must say, these 'older guy has a sex crisis and obsesses over a younger girl' movies aren't my cup of tea at all. yeah the only thing I remember about this was Bo Derek's awful cornrows. Them cornrows alone are enough not to consider her a 10. |
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