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Post by Martin Stett on May 20, 2024 12:40:36 GMT
Wings of Desire (1987 rewatch) - "Why am I me and not you? Why am I here and not there? When did time begin and where does space end?" Inane existential bullshit for over two hours. 2/10Oppenheimer (2023) - A three hour long montage that almost works. Propulsive editing is the film's curse and its strength: nothing ever stops long enough to be boring, but nothing ever hits with any force either, because we have to keep zipping along. Lots of straight exposition (especially in the Strauss storyline, which consists almost entirely of telling the audience exactly what to think) doesn't help matters, as it is hard to get attached or interested in moral dilemmas of exposition machines. Still, everything works pretty well aside from the script (Pugh's terrible performance aside, although I can forgive that because she's hot and naked for 80% of her screentime). If Nolan let somebody competent write for him, this could have been a classic. 5/10RRR (2022 rewatch) - Magnificently entertaining, while hitting every thematic and emotional beat perfectly. The sheer power of "Komuram Bheemudo" is unimaginable in any American film. 10/10Faraway, So Close! (1993) - What the hell was Wenders smoking, and can somebody please get him more of it? ![:laugh:](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/30ulL7PvEvGt97femFHx.gif) This is a wild departure from the meaningless nonsense of Wings of Desire, and that is a very good thing. Cassiel's desire to do good and coming up against his failure to live up to his own standards is really affecting stuff. Willem Dafoe's rather strange portrayal of "Emil Festi" ![:laugh:](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/30ulL7PvEvGt97femFHx.gif) and musings on how to function as a being in time less so, but it is damned entertaining anyway. The movie gets lost in the many, many things it jumps around with joyful abandon, but I'm okay with a movie trying too much instead of being austere and mopey gibberish. 7/10Adagio (2023) - A standard DTV thriller that somehow got into the Venice competition... but it is quite good at what it is doing. Nothing new here, but a solid enough potboiler. 6/10
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on May 20, 2024 13:28:27 GMT
One Shot (2021) One More Shot (2024) Baby Driver (2017) 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) Surviving the Game (1994) The Chase (1966) Speed (1994) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
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Post by mhynson27 on May 20, 2024 13:58:15 GMT
Wonder Woman 1984 The Pirates! Band of Misfits Lost in Translation (re-watch)
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Post by urbanpatrician on May 20, 2024 15:11:21 GMT
Last 3 weeks
Young Girls of Rochefort - I'm gonna disagree on this being a classic. I don't think it is. I think it's just minor and doesn't have enough legs of its own to stand out much. There really isnt much involvement. Gene Kelly was getting old, Deneuve was so pretty, but her sister even more here. Just a movie imo, more evident when you see it. 7/10
M - It's definitely a classic to most people. But it's just not that interesting to me. I have no real problems with it, even like the sort of town folks narrating the story style, but it just wouldnt be one of my go-to genre classics and it loses me somewhere in the middle. A lot of other early (and later) crime films are done with much more entertainment and grasp of the genre. 7.5/10
Avatar: Way of Water - I'm a big Cameron guy. In 2003, it looked like Cameron was one of the 10 most popular directors on earth. But he just didn't work much, released 2 undersea documentaries after feeling like he's accomplished his max with Titanic, and while I dig his fascination for deep sea diving...... it's about time he retired it and tried something new. It's not working anymore, shows here. I just don't care for this series, at all. 5/10
Dracula (1931) - Just mediocre. Nothing much to say. Anyone who read the book and saw this would come to this conclusion. Such a condescended adaptation. The Wizard of Oz was condensed, and I don't think it reaches the long epic journey of the book, but it definitely has points of interest this doesnt. 6/10
Ferrari - We all expected it to be minor Mann, and it is. But some of the sequences are well done. Like Cruz and Driver's final confrontation over their son's death, Ferrari walking out on her, and his continuing skipping over to the girl he was cheating on her with. And I love Mann's fascination with hi-tech automobiles or boats.... so I dug the end sequence too. Those alone lifts it above overrated crap like Poor Things and Barbie. This board is the only board that fellates 2023. On another erudite forum Im visiting, 2023 is rightfully not talked about and headed towards irrelevancy. 7/10
Little Caesar (1931) - Nothing special 6/10
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) - Good, but it isnt in the category of Them!, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or the Day the Earth Stood Still which are the stand outs and the ones people have on their minds when they narrow down this genre. 7/10
Bride of Frankenstein - I can totally see why this is a classic. The creation sequence is really good directing - for 1935 standards I'm guessing James Whale was the standout of his era for his reason. The double mad scientist thing was pretty great too, dispersed over some electric kite and lightning imagery. Only the middle I could live without, Frankenstein and that blind man was irrelevant to me, Frankenstein traversing the woods and him being met with screams every time wore out a little for me. Not my favorite Karloff performance. Would've liked Lugosi as Frankenstein. Surely they could've made that work, the lead actor does not stand out.
But overall..... it's definitely a classic and the stand out of a year nobody talks about. Besides the Hitchcock and Mad Love, 1935 doesn't get discussed in movie talks against years like '34, '31, '32, '36 for the Chaplin, '37 for the Renoir, and especially 1939. Is Mad Love even a classic, also? Feels like just the Hitchcock and the Whale most of the time. 8/10
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bigmilko
New Member
Posts: 213
Likes: 62
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Post by bigmilko on May 20, 2024 15:11:23 GMT
RW Minority Report (2002) - 9/10: Enjoyed it a lot more this time around, especially when I figured out this is the kinda thing that would happen to Ethan Hunt
Paprika (2006) - 10/10: A staggering work with some of the best animation I have seen in quite a while. I think the people saying Nolan stole from this movie are insane
Madame Web (2024) - 2/10: Better than Unfrosted. Its so bad, its fascinating. It fails on every basic movie level, in such a strange way and I cant hate it like I hate the other Sony-verse Spider-less movies
Scanners (1981) - 7/10: While the movie remains very cool throughout, and Michael Ironside is genuinely pretty awesome, its a shame the movies coolest moment is 10 minutes into the movie
Scanners II: The New Order (1991) - 7/10: It's got zero influence from Cronenberg, none of the style or tone, BUT it does kinda rock. With where they take the Scanners idea and how Videostore deepcut it feels, I can help but enjoy it
RW Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - 10/10: Kind of insane how much this movie has been gassed up for the past decade as "One of the Best Ever" and it still only seems to exceed on that expectation. Feels like we are lucky to have it
Scanners III: The Takeover (1991) - 4/10: Not good, but its ridiculous and funny enough for me to not just fully dismiss. Might pull this as a blindside pick for my film club group one day
The Fall Guy (2024) - 6/10: Its fun enough! Just as enjoyable as it could be and not bogged down by Leitch's awful Deadpool-isms he put into Bullet Train (even though I liked it more)
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Post by therealcomicman117 on May 20, 2024 19:24:03 GMT
Shrek - 7.5 / 10 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - 7.5 / 10 The Equalizer - 7 / 10 Tokyo Godfathers - 8 / 10 Thelma the Unicorn - 5 / 10
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hilderic
Junior Member
Posts: 329
Likes: 140
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Post by hilderic on May 20, 2024 21:01:08 GMT
Up to His Ears The Flying Sailor D'Est Undine
The Berliner Schloss has truly broken the brain of Germany's intelligentsia. It's sad that Petzold seems to be included.
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Post by Martin Stett on May 20, 2024 21:19:27 GMT
UndineThe Berliner Schloss has truly broken the brain of Germany's intelligentsia. It's sad that Petzold seems to be included. What do you mean by this? I think Petzold has fallen apart with his last couple of films, but I don't know anything about the context you're referring to
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Post by JangoB on May 21, 2024 2:14:24 GMT
Glengarry Glen Ross - REWATCH. Awesome movie, great ensemble. Used to think Lemmon was MVP but now? Pacino all the way, baby.
Mad Max: Fury Road - REWATCH. Yep, still a masterpiece.
Redacted - Oh, Brian. "Un film de Marc et François Clément"... such cringe. De Palma going back to his amateur beginnings in all the ways.
Whore - Ken Russell's John Waters movie? Kind of. Surprisingly amusing but not as good as it probably could've been.
Righteous Kill - Part of me expected it to be a little better than its reputation but HOLY FUCK it's horrendous. I was shocked by the ineptitude of the filmmaking, of the script, of everything! De Niro and Pacino do try to bring some life to it but at the end of the day sleepwalk through their roles anyway. The horror...
A Few Good Men - REWATCH. An excellent courtroom picture.
Sasquatch Sunset - A feature-length movie with the ideas/sensibility of a short. It's okay. Very good makeup, we don't get too many full prosthetics these days.
Godzilla × Kong: The New Empire - Fun schlock. Amazing opportunity for the sound designers to flex their muscles. Which they do.
Prom Dates - A few tweaks and it could've been good. Somewhat fun but a bit too aware of its "passable Hulu comedy" status.
S1m0ne - Coming from the writer of The Truman Show, this could've/should've been properly original and awesome... instead it's just mediocre because Niccol plays it way too safe, taking a good concept and developing it like it was a sitcom. I thought it'd gain some interest points because of where we are with AI and all that stuff now, but no - an alright movie is an alright movie no matter how it relates to the world. Pacino is excellent, though.
Vanishing Point - An unexpected gem. Loved its depiction of desolate American landscapes, loved the gradual revealing of the mysterious protagonist's backstory, loved the speed and energy of it, the counterculture spirit it has... Awesome flick. The one thing I'm conflicted on is the very ending.
Consumed - Wow, a bad horror movie, what else is new.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack - Very cool kaiju fighting but the rest is meh, especially the attempts to bring some spiritual/mystical stuff to the story.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on May 21, 2024 2:59:39 GMT
Redacted - Oh, Brian. "Un film de Marc et François Clément"... such cringe. De Palma going back to his amateur beginnings in all the ways. Shame you didn't like it. I find it formally very interesting and its commentary on the Iraq War very resonant even if the writing isn't always up to snuff (but writing has always been De Palma's weakness imo). That ending montage is some bravura stuff imo and part of me wishes De Palma had made the movie as more of an experimental work in montage mixing reality with fiction.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on May 21, 2024 19:31:29 GMT
Interrupted Melody (1955) - another musical biopic about a singer overcoming a physical disability, strikingly similar to Susan Hayward's With a Song in My Heart which I saw a few weeks ago and liked a lot more. I typically love Eleanor Parker but she borders on unintentional camp with overwrought gestures and theatrical line reads. I wish she'd been nominated in 1955 for Man with the Golden Arm instead. 5 David and Bathsheba (1951) - faith-based sword and sandals drama about David and Bathsheba's infamous Old Testament affair, starring a totally unconvincing Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward at her most blandly serene. 4 The Swan (1956) - Charles Vidor romantic comedy starring Grace Kelly as a shy princess caught in a love triangle. Alec Guinness enters the picture as her stuffy cousin and I guess they're supposed to get married (?!?) but sexy Louis Jourdan playing her lowborn tutor vies for her affections too. The ending is a huge drag. Agnes Moorehead steals the show and Helen Rose's gowns are stunning, but no thanks. 5 Decision Before Dawn (1951) - surely the most obscure of the 50s BP nominees? I hadn't even heard of this one a couple years ago, but it's a really good WWII drama filmed in Occupied Germany. Oskar Werner plays a disillusioned German turncoat who spies on the Nazis for the advancing Americans. His exploits are properly tense but more interesting is how the film explores the Third Reich on its last legs with the Allies closing in on Berlin. Despondency is in the air and around every corner, and Werner's internal struggle between pity for his people and the necessity of their defeat is ever-present. 8 Come Fill the Cup (1951) - by-the-numbers alcoholism drama starring James Cagney as a sober journalist and Gig Young as a sloshed acquaintance he tries to redeem. Young's Oscar-nominated performance is fine but nothing special, a mix of carefree nihilism and drunken messiness. Somehow the mob gets involved. 5.5 The Holly and the Ivy (1952) - British family drama set at Christmas, with disconnected family members reuniting at home to have it out and then come back together. Ralph Richardson plays the aloof local parson, and lonely Celia Johnson, a gorgeous young Denholm Elliott on leave from the army, and world-weary Margaret Leighton fill in as his unhappy kids, and all turn in great performances. A warm hug of a film 8.5 North West Frontier (1959) - J. Lee Thomspon's bizarre career continues with this Lean-esque crosscountry epic of the end of British colonialism in India. A nearly-forgotten hidden gem set in modern-day Pakistan. A ragtag group of brits under orders from the British government try to smuggle a 6 year-old Hindu prince to safety by train, evading Muslim rebels sweeping over the countryside. Politically the film is a head-scratcher, giving all its best anti-colonial lines to Herbert Lom's cynical mixed-race journalist who ends up being the villain, but Thompson's handle on the spectacle is flat-out incredible. There's a sequence with a damaged bridge over a deep ravine reminiscent of Wages of Fear, and there are action-packed raids and even a climactic scuffle on top of the moving carriage. Definitely worth seeing. 8 Summer Stock (1950) - shot of pure musical bliss. Full of colorful sets and idyllic matte paintings creating a whimsical country setting, Garland plays an enterprising farmer starring opposite Gene Kelly as the leader of a traveling acting troupe who by misunderstanding takes over her barn for a musical performance. When the leading lady abruptly departs and Garland has to replace her, the fun really begins and Garland kicks into overdrive. It's a classic Garland performance. Unguarded, occasionally abrasive, self-doubting, powerfully confident, an open book of expression and feeling, a consummate performer, and an absolute joy to behold. 9 The Moon Is Blue (1953) - positively dee-lightful. Maggie McNamara stars as a garrulous aspiring actor who ends up in a love triangle between William Holden and David Niven. A talky chamber-piece full of witty lines and jokes, this was already my cup of tea, but McNamara's charming screen presence and the script's frank & lighthearted discussions of sex make this one truly memorable. Holden and Niven are both trying to get into her pants but McNamara's self-possession and disorienting candor allows her to be their equal and see through their intentions while still maintaining her innocence. It's a remarkable balancing act and the resulting film is the better for it -- emancipated, curious, romantic and fun. 9 ![https://i.imgur.com/zouHCIN.gif](https://i.imgur.com/zouHCIN.gif) ![https://preview.redd.it/judy-garland-singing-get-happy-from-the-film-summer-stock-v0-cizdr26ctah81.gif?width=245&auto=webp&s=98e467f761c9d7fb0976e7c271e18876edd5dea5](https://preview.redd.it/judy-garland-singing-get-happy-from-the-film-summer-stock-v0-cizdr26ctah81.gif?width=245&auto=webp&s=98e467f761c9d7fb0976e7c271e18876edd5dea5)
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hilderic
Junior Member
Posts: 329
Likes: 140
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Post by hilderic on May 21, 2024 22:15:21 GMT
UndineThe Berliner Schloss has truly broken the brain of Germany's intelligentsia. It's sad that Petzold seems to be included. What do you mean by this? I think Petzold has fallen apart with his last couple of films, but I don't know anything about the context you're referring to The context is mostly given in the film itself, but here's my (biased) summary: Berlin's central palace (seat of the Hohenzollern dynasty until 1918) was severely damaged during World War II (like a lot of Berlin), though not beyond repair (unlike a lot of Berlin). However, the Communists (who were in charge, as the palace now lay in East Berlin) decided that it stood for "imperialism" and "Prussian militarism", so they blew it up to make way for the socialist future. The area actually remained empty for over 20 years, until a Honecker-era monstrosity filled the void. In 1990, that building was found to be full of asbestos, so it had to close. At that point, a campaign was launched to rebuild the palace, as part of a general "rebirth of Berlin" in the wake of Germany's reunification. The intellectual Left and East German loyalists strongly objected (they argued it would basically usher in the Fourth Reich), but the public broadly approved. Ultimately, it was decided that the palace would be partially rebuilt and house a museum of non-European art (the Humboldt Forum). After a million delays, it opened in 2020. I think the palace lies at the heart of Petzold's film. It can't be a coincidence that Undine's first lecture opens with a model of Berlin and that the camera sweeps across it, stops at the palace, zooms on it and lingers there. Or that her second lecture (the one she doesn't want to deliver and that Christoph is interested in) is wholly about the palace. Or even that the film was released in 2020, the year the reconstruction was completed. Some reviewers seem to imply that all the architectural information in the film is irrelevant to the main story, but I feel (or at least hope) that Petzold is making a point, not just venting against a building he hates. My impression is that he wants to draw a parallel between the palace and Undine, as much of the criticism against the palace can also be applied to the character of Undine. The palace is "a Baroque royal building in the middle of a modern republican capital" just like Undine is a mythical creature working in contemporary Berlin. The palace is "a pastiche, a mix of old and new", just like Undine is both a legendary being and a modern-day woman. The palace is "a fake, a replica", just like Undine is only an imitation of an "original" undine, etc. Even though I disagree with Petzold on the palace, I liked the film overall. It's worse than Transit, but better than Barbara (that's all I've seen from Petzold). It's certainly not as effective at creating a hybrid setting (between reality and fantasy here, between past and present in Transit), as Transit is. I also found Transit much easier to follow, but that's mostly my fault as I was not familiar with the undine-myth Petzold is working with here.
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Post by ingmarhepburn on May 22, 2024 10:01:02 GMT
Blue (1993). Definitely one of the most "out there" choices to make Sight and Sound's top 250 list. Yes, it's slightly pretentious, but it has some bits of good writing here and there, some good music, and it makes an interesting case to start a conversation on 'what is/defines art'. It also works well as a sensory experience.
Falling Down (1993). Sorry. I tried, but I couldn't take this movie seriously ![:laugh:](//storage.proboards.com/6692321/images/30ulL7PvEvGt97femFHx.gif) It's just too overcooked.
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