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Post by Viced on Jan 11, 2021 5:18:47 GMT
Rocco and His Brothers (1960)Now that's a fucked up family epic. Kind of hard to put its brilliance into words... so I'll just copy and paste some Roger Ebert: But yeah, brilliant film that'll be on my mind for a while. A family changing and being torn apart by... a better life and more opportunity in a new city. Sounds weird, but makes sense. The Rocco character is pretty fascinating... fervently and inexplicably going against his better judgment to keep his family together. And he's just one interesting character in a film (family) full of them. The tragic Annie Girardot character (and her excellent performance) elevates the film into something greater as well. And Simone did not get his ass beat nearly enough overall.
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Post by stabcaesar on Jan 11, 2021 5:39:16 GMT
Oh honey, I just love Belle de Jour! What do you think was in the box? My first thought was it was some kind of bug.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jan 11, 2021 17:43:31 GMT
Oh honeys, another Pre-code gem, Back Street (1932) is the story of a woman who ends up as the paid mistress of a wealthy man, as seen through the loneliness, sacrifice and the price she ultimately pays. It's a Fanny Hurst melodrama like Stella Dallas and the last 30 minutes had me in tears. Irene Dunne is superb as the lead. John Boles, who was quite the hottie, certainly knows which buttons to push. Today he'd probably be seen as controlling and a manipulator who feels it's his right to have his cake and eat it and I can't imagine any woman putting up with this today. 8/10
On the Criterion Channel:- www.criterionchannel.com/back-street
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Post by urbanpatrician on Jan 12, 2021 0:26:51 GMT
Goodfellas..... for like the 7th time. I'm only barely through 1/5 of it..... right at the Copa scene, but I feel like coming here and dropping this already.
This scene turns me on like a horny bastard. Puts me right there with Henry, Karen, and Jimmy and the guys.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Jan 12, 2021 1:09:27 GMT
Ammonite is atrocious. Didn't follow the discussion but was anyone else really bothered by the sound mix? Everything was SO LOUD. Most blaring mix this side of Tenet. The waves, the chiseling/scraping, the creaking houses, footfalls, everything is just constantly pounding you over the head. It makes for such a bizarre viewing experience. This is supposed to be a love story but every one of Lee's choices seems intent on making you miserable. Ronan was the best thing about it. Winslet had nothing to do but frown for two hours.
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Post by Pavan on Jan 12, 2021 13:48:16 GMT
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)-
Innovative and entertaining to the point of exhaustion but definitely a worthy trip to Toontown- 8/10
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Jan 12, 2021 15:20:31 GMT
Like a Boss. Jesus H this was terrible.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jan 12, 2021 15:38:43 GMT
Blow The Man Down (2019) - 7+/10I kinda loved this even though it's very slight and doesn't add up to much except when you think back on it. It's so slight you'll think you're smarter than it is.......but that's not really true. The lead actress Sophie Lowe is disarmingly sweet and conflicted, the cop with a crush on her Will Brittain is aces in an absolutely nothing part and Margo Martindale is close to nodworthy here. There's a whole world of rueful sorrow when Brittain says "I don't like her anymore" that even he doesn't know when he says it................and the whole movie is like that. Lowe was in a small but pivotal role in the pacinoyes underrated af Southern Gothic noir Above Suspicion - here transferred to the Northeast - and Brittain was the scumbag in this years Let Him Go. They play a kind of Coens-lite noir game that appears to lack much tension but that is actually incrementing on them in many subtle ways (including what kind of old women the two young girls think they WON'T be). Very idiosyncratic.....very subtle.......surprisingly good.......and deceivingly feminist ........and a wtf 98% on RT (?)........on Amazon. Worth a watch...
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Post by stephen on Jan 12, 2021 15:41:16 GMT
Blow The Man Down (2019) - 7+/10I kinda loved this even though it's very slight and doesn't add up to much except when you think back on it. It's so slight you'll think you're smarter than it is.......but that's not really true. The lead actress Sophie Lowe is disarmingly sweet and conflicted, the cop with a crush on her Will Brittain is aces in an absolutely nothing part and Margo Martindale is close to nodworthy here. There's a whole world of rueful sorrow when Brittain says "I don't like her anymore" that even he doesn't know when he says it..and the whole movie is like that. Lowe was in a small but pivotal role in the pacinoyes underrated af Southern Gothic noir Above Suspicion - here transferred to the Northeast - and Brittain was the scumbag in this years Let Him Go. They play a kind of Coens-lite noir game that appears to lack much tension but that is actually incrementing on them in many subtle ways (including what kind of old women the two young girls think they WON'T be). Very idiosyncratic.....very subtle.......surprisingly good.......and deceivingly feminist ........and a wtf 98% on RT (?)........on Amazon. Worth a watch... I wrote on this film a short while ago, and I gotta say, while I think Martindale gives the best performance in the film just because of what she's given, it's Gayle Rankin's performance that really sticks with me. The film should've been about her.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jan 12, 2021 16:29:28 GMT
Blow The Man Down (2019) - 7+/10I kinda loved this even though it's very slight and doesn't add up to much except when you think back on it. It's so slight you'll think you're smarter than it is.......but that's not really true. The lead actress Sophie Lowe is disarmingly sweet and conflicted, the cop with a crush on her Will Brittain is aces in an absolutely nothing part and Margo Martindale is close to nodworthy here. There's a whole world of rueful sorrow when Brittain says "I don't like her anymore" that even he doesn't know when he says it..and the whole movie is like that. Lowe was in a small but pivotal role in the pacinoyes underrated af Southern Gothic noir Above Suspicion - here transferred to the Northeast - and Brittain was the scumbag in this years Let Him Go. They play a kind of Coens-lite noir game that appears to lack much tension but that is actually incrementing on them in many subtle ways (including what kind of old women the two young girls think they WON'T be). Very idiosyncratic.....very subtle.......surprisingly good.......and deceivingly feminist ........and a wtf 98% on RT (?)........on Amazon. Worth a watch... I wrote on this film a short while ago, and I gotta say, while I think Martindale gives the best performance in the film just because of what she's given, it's Gayle Rankin's performance that really sticks with me. The film should've been about her.I could see that - the movie is not just "slight" but it also plays as a "sleight of hand" too - where you think/expect the film will switch to the more interesting character (Rankin is that to me too, who overtly and explicitly acts - and with thought) but it doesn't switch...........and it's because I think that's the connection it's drawing between the old women who did nothing (overtly) for years and the sisters who are more similar to them than Rankin's character is. So it's less dramatically satisfying and more unclear unless you're specifically thinking back on it....... This movie violates several dramatic screenplay rules in its own way like that........
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Post by TerryMontana on Jan 12, 2021 18:13:02 GMT
Red Dragon - rewatch.
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Post by Pavan on Jan 12, 2021 19:58:44 GMT
Au revoir les enfants (1987)-
Children at a boarding school during WW2 learning the hard truth about the evil of men. Those final minutes really hits hard- 8/10
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 12, 2021 20:38:23 GMT
The Last Supper (1995) - I actually watched this last month but the director just passed away (Stacy Title, 56y/o from ALS) and I didn't know where else to post. I'd rate up to 7/10 maybe... it's on ok.ru for anyone interested. Rarely mentioned movie, even tho it costars Cameron Diaz and Courtney B Vance, with some broadly fun cameos from Bill Paxton, Jason Alexander, Charles Durning, Ron Perlman, etc. It's about liberal grad students who invite suspiciously right wing people over for dinner and decide whether they deserve to live or not. It'd be on the nose if it was made now, I think... as it takes on cancel culture with one extra surprising twist too. Some might hate this immediately, I was entertained and laughing ("He was only illiterate, I think we're getting outta hand"). Some pull quotes from Ebert - "It's a mistake to see The Last Supper as being against either political wing: It's against all those who believe their opinions are so correct that those who disagree should be silenced." He also says it's "a brave effort in a timid time, a Swiftian attempt to slap us all in the face."
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Post by stephen on Jan 12, 2021 20:41:00 GMT
The Last Supper (1995) - I actually watched this last month but the director just passed away (Stacy Title, 56y/o from ALS) and I didn't know where else to post. I'd rate up to 7/10 maybe... it's on ok.ru for anyone interested. Rarely mentioned movie, even tho it costars Cameron Diaz and Courtney B Vance, with some broadly fun cameos from Bill Paxton, Jason Alexander, Charles Durning, Ron Perlman, etc. It's about liberal grad students who invite suspiciously right wing people over for dinner and decide whether they deserve to live or not. It'd be on the nose if it was made now, I think... as it takes on cancel culture with one extra surprising twist too. Some might hate this immediately, I was entertained and laughing ("He was only illiterate, I think we're getting outta hand"). Some pull quotes from Ebert - "It's a mistake to see The Last Supper as being against either political wing: It's against all those who believe their opinions are so correct that those who disagree should be silenced." He also says it's "a brave effort in a timid time, a Swiftian attempt to slap us all in the face." As a die-hard Survivor fan, I was well aware of Stacy's debilitating illness and how it was taking its toll on both herself and her husband, Jonathan Penner (who co-wrote and co-starred in this film). The Last Supper really is an awful lot of fun and definitely holds up. Also, fun fact: Penner and Title were Oscar nominees for Best Short Film.
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 12, 2021 20:54:31 GMT
The Last Supper (1995) - I actually watched this last month but the director just passed away (Stacy Title, 56y/o from ALS) and I didn't know where else to post. I'd rate up to 7/10 maybe... it's on ok.ru for anyone interested. Rarely mentioned movie, even tho it costars Cameron Diaz and Courtney B Vance, with some broadly fun cameos from Bill Paxton, Jason Alexander, Charles Durning, Ron Perlman, etc. It's about liberal grad students who invite suspiciously right wing people over for dinner and decide whether they deserve to live or not. It'd be on the nose if it was made now, I think... as it takes on cancel culture with one extra surprising twist too. Some might hate this immediately, I was entertained and laughing ("He was only illiterate, I think we're getting outta hand"). Some pull quotes from Ebert - "It's a mistake to see The Last Supper as being against either political wing: It's against all those who believe their opinions are so correct that those who disagree should be silenced." He also says it's "a brave effort in a timid time, a Swiftian attempt to slap us all in the face." As a die-hard Survivor fan, I was well aware of Stacy's debilitating illness and how it was taking its toll on both herself and her husband, Jonathan Penner (who co-wrote and co-starred in this film). The Last Supper really is an awful lot of fun and definitely holds up. Also, fun fact: Penner and Title were Oscar nominees for Best Short Film. I didn't know about his connection with Survivor - hope it drove people to this movie! Very good satire with a wicked ending and several standout scenes before that. There's the tomato-growing montage where you slowly and then suddenly realize they've become blood-hungry, literally, which is a fun, quite telling twist. I probably should've picked up on it earlier but it hit me at the perfect moment during a push-in shot to the empty jars of sauce.
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Post by jakesully on Jan 12, 2021 21:44:06 GMT
Godzilla King of the Monsters Seriously glad I didn't waste any of my money to see this crap in theaters lol. Just god awful all around. At least Godzilla 2014 had Bryan Cranston 's awesome performance and that halo jump scene which was jaw dropping.
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Post by JangoB on Jan 12, 2021 21:45:39 GMT
Had a big VFX Monday marathon:
First I rewatched Tron: Legacy which I found to be really good. I didn't like it much when I first saw it back in 2010 but that's mainly because of the theatre experience - the screen was really dim which is a dealbreaker for a movie like this. It's excellent fun. I applaud the folks behind it for creating an almost purely aesthetic-based entertainment feature. There is a plot here, of course, but it's so perfunctory and is so not the focus of the filmmakers that you can easily watch the movie without concerning yourself with it at all. And I mean that as a compliment! Because it's just such a rich aesthetic experience. The visuals of this are SO right up my alley, the sounds of it are terrific, the Daft Punk score is pure amazement. It's not a masterpiece but as a purely sensory experience it works like gangbusters. And I have nothing but respect for their de-aging effects too, even though they don't always look perfect. They swung for the fences big time. Fuck AMPAS for not even nominating the effects. Even if you don't like young Bridges here, the rest of them are beyond reproach.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side was a classic example of an unnecessary sequel that kinda sucks ass but also features a couple of fun sequences. Jerry Goldsmith did not phone it in here, neither did the SFX guys for the most part, but the rest is just lame nonsense.
And I finished the day off with Roger Corman produced Battle Beyond the Stars which was quite silly but which is proof that a lower-budget B-movie doesn't have to be completely undignified visually. The interiors and the makeup effects do look cheap but the space battle effects and the spaceship shots are legitimately terrific and Oscar-nod-worthy for 1980. James Cameron worked as both a special effects guy and an art director here and you can feel some of his creativity, and James Horner provides the film with a pretty rousing score. It's very silly and fairly boring but those effects are worth watching. It's also worth taking a look for Sybil Danning. She won the Saturn Award for outstanding achievement for this movie...I concur. Those who've seen it will know what I mean.
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 12, 2021 22:19:11 GMT
And I finished the day off with Roger Corman produced Battle Beyond the Stars which was quite silly but which is proof that a lower-budget B-movie doesn't have to be completely undignified visually. The interiors and the makeup effects do look cheap but the space battle effects and the spaceship shots are legitimately terrific and Oscar-nod-worthy for 1980. James Cameron worked as both a special effects guy and an art director here and you can feel some of his creativity, and James Horner provides the film with a pretty rousing score. It's very silly and fairly boring but those effects are worth watching. It's also worth taking a look for Sybil Danning. She won the Saturn Award for outstanding achievement for this movie...I concur. Those who've seen it will know what I mean. Shamelessly love this movie. Written by John Sayles!!! And yes, Sybil Danning is amazing here.... "I could tingle dingle dangle prangle his transistors!"
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 12, 2021 22:27:34 GMT
River of Grass (1994) Generously go up to 7/10 -- Sort of a post-Badlands home movie or lint-budgeted Pulp Fiction, subverting genre and unthrilling the criminal as hebetudinous. Floridian ennui and detail by absence is quite Reichardt, but its goofy-deadpan tone and its creative editing came as a surprise. Reminded me of Jarmusch, Hal Hartley, Bottle Rocket. Shot on 16mm from DP who did other fem-helmed indies of the 90s - Sudden Manhattan, Clockwatchers, Boys Don’t Cry.
Wendy and Lucy (2008) 7.5/10 -- Rewatch. I kept thinking about the B&W photocopy of missing Lucy - idk when xerox machines more regularly included a color option, but I know it cost extra, and how even if Wendy had that option she couldn’t. Very affecting movie, more than I'd remembered bc I forgot just how great Michelle Williams is - active yet stuck, angry yet scared and always thinking - the perf and the whole movie really puts the scrubbed, hopeless Nomadland to shame.
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Post by JangoB on Jan 12, 2021 23:46:45 GMT
And I finished the day off with Roger Corman produced Battle Beyond the Stars which was quite silly but which is proof that a lower-budget B-movie doesn't have to be completely undignified visually. The interiors and the makeup effects do look cheap but the space battle effects and the spaceship shots are legitimately terrific and Oscar-nod-worthy for 1980. James Cameron worked as both a special effects guy and an art director here and you can feel some of his creativity, and James Horner provides the film with a pretty rousing score. It's very silly and fairly boring but those effects are worth watching. It's also worth taking a look for Sybil Danning. She won the Saturn Award for outstanding achievement for this movie...I concur. Those who've seen it will know what I mean. Shamelessly love this movie. Written by John Sayles!!! And yes, Sybil Danning is amazing here.... "I could tingle dingle dangle prangle his transistors!" It's kind of amazing just how many people started off working for Corman. Just in this film we have Sayles who had his start by writing movies for Corman, we have Cameron doing the effects/design, Horner doing the score, Gale Anne Hurd doing production management and even Bill Paxton doing carpentry!
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Post by pacinoyes on Jan 13, 2021 1:31:19 GMT
Make Up (2019/2020) ~6/10Overrated (100% on RT, yeah ok) mumbo jumbo that's a slow burn at a mere 85 minutes and in a completely unsatisfying way too. One third set up, one third complication, one third spectacular fizzle/flop.......... a bunch of good ideas that are then wrongly put in service of a young woman finding herself and having the bravery to find the strength to um ..... I don't even really know tbh..............neither does the movie.......
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Post by DaleCooper on Jan 13, 2021 8:18:05 GMT
Café Society (re-watch)
It's nowhere near one of Allen's stronger outings, but there's something about his films that just makes them so watchable for me. pretty standard Allen stuff really, but it lacks a bit of focus at times although always entertaining and just gorgeous to look at. The fact that it is so watchable is in part due to the cast which generally is very good. Espcially Stewart, I think, who was just luminous and had an effortless charm in the role (can't remember her registering this much the first time I watchd this). 6.5/10
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Post by Pavan on Jan 13, 2021 19:05:39 GMT
Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)-
The film juggles between its characters with so much dialogue thrown in but it's the videotape portions where it taps into that honesty it was looking for and those moments were beautifully realized making the film a notch above the usual fare- 8/10
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 13, 2021 19:48:42 GMT
Captives (1994) - Two very good perfs, catching-on attraction and deeper doubts, keep this humming.....especially Tim Roth in an underrated turn. But it tracks off into thriller mode around the last act and loses the interesting, close tension of it. Miramax coproduction, they delayed the release by almost two years...
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jan 13, 2021 20:01:32 GMT
Oh honeys, if you like old French things, like I do (which is why I'm friends with Maria Helena) and enjoy watching French people running around non stop and singing then this movie is for you. Le Million (1931) by Rene Clair is a lot of fun. It's a kind of slapstick musical with a lot of Oooo la la. 7/10From the Criterion site:- An impoverished artist discovers he has purchased a winning lottery ticket at the very moment his creditors come to collect. The only problem is, the ticket is in the pocket of his coat. . . which he left at his girlfriend’s apartment. . . who gave the coat to a man hiding from the police. . . who sells the coat to an opera singer who uses it during a performance. By turns charming and inventive, René Clair’s lyrical masterpiece had a profound impact on not only the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin, but on the American musical as a whole.
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