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[MidnightCowboy]

The Village was a solid forty or so minutes sandwiched by a pretty weak opening act and a wtf-am-I-watching ending. Shyamalan has some decent tension building chops, he should have stuck to that and not gone down the twist rabbit hole.

 

[big ander]

My bottom 5 Scorsese: Bringing Out the Dead, Alice, Boxcar Bertha, Kundun...maybe The Aviator though I haven't seen it in ages. More likely it'd be The Color of Money, I think. Gangs is the only fiction feature I haven't seen yet.

the Cape Fear remake is awesome. Original is only slightly better. New York, New York is rough and I'm not sure i'd jump to rewatch it, but it definitely tries something bold

 

[ViewtifulJC]

My bottom 5 Scorsese: Alice

You have made a mortal enemy this day, friend ander

 

[brianjones]

marty! kundun, i liked it!!

haven't seen it or alice or new york or bertha

 

[karasu]

The Science of Sleep: It probably should have been a short.

Synecdoche New York: It was my third time watching it and I still can't find a flaw.

Solaris(2002): Interesting but not as good as the original.

 

[Window]

marty! kundun, i liked it!!

haven't seen it or alice or new york or bertha

I liked Kundun as well!

Synecdoche New York: It was my third time watching it and I still can't find a flaw.

I can't separate this film and AlternativeUlster's massive write up about it. So ridiculous.

 

[UberTag]

So fucking jealous; I've always wanted to go to TIFF. But have fun!!

TIFF sunk its claw into me big time a couple years ago.

Missed out on getting tickets to, what was at the time, only the second ever public screening of 12 Years a Slave outside of Telluride. Was the first person in the rush line on Saturday morning and waited through a steady downpour for upwards of 5 hours to ensure I was able to land one of the rush tickets that opened up.

Sat through the spectacle that was the eventual Best Picture winner and was then surprised by Steve McQueen trotting out just about the entire cast with him (as we were told to only expect him for the post-screening Q&A). Was able to join in with the audience in giving Ejiofor, Nyong'o, Fassbender and the rest of the gang a standing ovation and listen to them chat about their experience working on the film for the next half hour or so.

Definitely made a lasting impression.

 

[Woorloog]

Watched John Wick.
Very good overall.
Good action scenes.
Perhaps a tad predictable but thrilling anyway.

 

[strafer]

So I didn't know much about the event going into this movie. But got damn was this movie powerful.

Michael B Jordan was terrific.

 

[karasu]

I liked Kundun as well!


I can't separate this film and AlternativeUlster's massive write up about it. So ridiculous.

Did he dislike it?

 

[Window]

Did he dislike it?

To put it lightly.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

I always think back to David Edelstein's review.

This epic dream play with its leaps through time and space, its characters and shadow characters, poses a momentous question: Uh … well … I’m not sure what question the movie is posing? The answer, though, is definitely “Death.”

 

[Moppeh]

I have to say I really dug the color version of A Trip to the Moon quite a bit. It lends the film a very different but ultimately pleasing texture, and it certainly adds another layer to the craftsmanship that Georges Méliès was able to figure out back when nobody really knew how a film should be made. For as short as it is, it's so packed with incident and fantastic stage working that you really never notice the length. It's as magical now as it was back in 1902.

Is that the latest color restoration with the soundtrack by Air? I really enjoyed it when I first saw it. If I recall correctly, there were even additional scenes that weren't available in other prints. The French electropop soundtrack by Air was nifty too. Not sure if it really fit, but it sure was different.

Synecdoche New York: It was my third time watching it and I still can't find a flaw.

One of the greatest film of all time IMO, and probably in my top 3 for the decade.

Watched No Country for Old Men for the fourth time. Still great but I'm still bummed that it robbed There Will Be Blood for Best Picture. Plan on rewatching TWBB either tonight or tomorrow in hopes I can get a nice compare/contrast between the two in my skull.

 

[User 479360]

I knew I was missing something. Yeah, I definitely need to see this film.
Will need to rush the line on Friday at the Ryerson, though.

Wasn't planning on heading back into Toronto until Saturday... but I should probably make an exception here. And it'll afford me a more realistic window to catch Sicario that same night as well.

Thanks for the heads up!

You're welcome. Hopefully it's great. I want to see it myself, but I don't feel like commuting to Toronto or spending money.

So fucking jealous; I've always wanted to go to TIFF. But have fun!!

I went once, when my friend got us tickets for Diary of the Dead from someone at Rue Morgue. It was fun.

 

[Blader]

Wolf of Wall Street will be ranked among Marty's best some day.

Gangs really was awful though. The editing in that opening fight sequence is especially bad, no attempt is made at hiding how none of the characters are actually hitting each other.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Wolf of Wall Street is to The Departed what that was to Casino what that was to Goodfellas. Very little substance, way too bloated.

 

[User 479360]

Wolf of Wall Street was really good, as was The Departed. Casino was pretty good, but overly long, and Goodfellas was phenomenal.

Gangs was decent, but overly long and I'm not crazy about period pieces.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

I don't like The Departed :/

Can't say I hate it, but to me it feels like someone trying to make a Scorsese film. Kind of like a parody. I don't like Nicholson in it :/

 

[Currygan]

The Departed is weird, yeah. It feels incomplete and stitched together, like Aviator or Wolf. Marty probably made them for money and to rake in some Academy cred, since the imbeciles thought a movie like Casino was worth shit in favour of fucking Forrest Gump

and Wolf was most perplexing to me. like, what is it trying to say? it's just rich idiots having fun for what seems like an eternity

 

[Window]

I don't understand why people have problems with the humour in The Departed. It highlights macho posturing like his other films. Where it's all funny till it's not (like that Goodfellas scene). A bit overdone? Maybe.

and Wolf was most perplexing to me. like, what is it trying to say? it's just rich idiots having fun

What it's trying to say is not so different than what Goodfellas and Casino are trying to say. It's just more abrasive in some ways.

 

[big ander]

I'd agree to Wolfeparted::Casino:Goodfellas with the caveat that Casino is pretty damn good, retread or no. bet I'd adjust Wolf down from my raving reaction if I turned it on today, but I'd still have a good time
Actually I wonder if The Departed would still hit me as hard, it was my first Scorsese (and like, second or third R-rated movie, lol) and I've really only seen it in pieces on cable since.

marty! kundun, i liked it!!

haven't seen it or alice or new york or bertha

Haha, didn't know he did that cameo.

You have made a mortal enemy this day, friend ander

hah, I'll dig deeper: even in those bottom five I would say I like 2 or 3; Alice is one of the only Scorsese movies I do not like. Scorsese's better at discussing femininity by portraying inflated masculinity, I think. Plus I found it stylistically a big step back from Mean Streets and Who's That Knocking at My Door--he uses the same tools but in unsatisfying ways

and Wolf was most perplexing to me. like, what is it trying to say?

"try ludes"

 

[Secret Fawful]

Wolf of Wall Street made me exhausted. I didn't want to have sex or think about sex or talk about sex for days after that movie. Sensory overload.

 

[User 479360]

The Aviator and Gangs of New York didn't blow me away. I liked them, but they're not movies I'd care to watch much.

I really like After Hours, though.

 

[MidnightCowboy]

I should probably watch Raging Bull one day, but I'll be surprised if it's good enough to knock Mean Streets off as my favorite of his. Taxi Driver is a strong number 2.

 

[User 479360]

I should probably watch Raging Bull one day, but I'll be surprised if it's good enough to knock Mean Streets off as my favorite of his. Taxi Driver is a strong number 2.

Ah, I forgot about those. I need to watch Taxi Driver again, but remember liking it quite a bit when I was younger. I bought it on DVD, but still haven't watched it.

Raging Bull was really solid. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore was good, too.

There are almost zero films that best Goodfellas, though. Casino lacks in comparison.

 

[Window]

Actually I wonder if The Departed would still hit me as hard, it was my first Scorsese (and like, second or third R-rated movie, lol) and I've really only seen it in pieces on cable since.

Huh, same here.

 

[Akahige]

Valhalla Rising (2009) - Like most Nicolas Winding Refn films after the immediate viewing I'm not sure if I like it, it certainly was unique. Visually and sonically it is a captivating experience to behold, it has this beautiful visceral quality to it even in the less interesting shots of the movie. The language in the film is almost completely visual but even then I'm not sure there is any substance to it beyond looking great, I don't find some hidden meaning to it, the messages the film tell are right there in the little dialogue there is in it. It seems to be a film I could think to much of or not enough of.

 

[Currygan]

Wolf of Wall Street made me exhausted. I didn't want to have sex or think about sex or talk about sex for days after that movie. Sensory overload.

I felt the same after watching it. You gotta commend Marty's energy, he made a three hour non-stop audiovisual massacre at 70+

 

[Rhomega Beta]

Metropolis: This is the third feature-length silent film I've seen, and oddly enough, all 3 are German, the other 2 being The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu. I'm surprised at how visually impressive this movie is. The sets are huge, and there's a lot of them. The first shots of Metropolis, with the buildings, moving cars, trains, and planes is impressive. You have the iconic Machine-Man transformation sequence, and the faces and eyes staring at Machine Maria's bizarre dance. The acting is also impressive, but I guess without sound, you have to express yourself with your face and body language. That's why Rotwang became my favorite character, a mad scientist who reminds me of Torgo from Manos: The Hands of Fate. There's also the aforementioned Machine Maria dance, and she's completely maniacal, compared to the real Maria's more calm, peaceful, loving personality. However, the plot isn't all that captivating (workers want to rise up against their rich, better-off oppressors, while Maria and Freder want a more peaceful solution). This is also one of the earliest concepts of a video phone.

It's not the greatest movie in the world, but it's worth watching, especially if you're interested in early film.

 

[plasmawave]

I was able to see Goodnight Mommy early, and I'm left a bit disappointed. It's not that it's a bad movie, because it definitely isn't -- it's creepy, has good atmosphere and always has you thinking -- but its third act left me wanting. I'd also called the

Spoiler

twist

part-way into the movie.

I figured out

Spoiler

the twist

5 minutes into the movie. I'm totally not joking. I'm really surprised some critics didn't see it.

 

[SuperBanana]

Godzilla (2014). Blue balls/10.

Why was Godzilla in this for about 5 minutes? The few moments he was in it was great but almost every time he showed up, Muto flew into attack him and it cut to a scene of people talking. Why? It's like if Star Wars had the Death Star battle but it quickly cut to people talking in the control room then someone says the station blew up and everyone is saved. When you're 80% into a movie and have had about 15 seconds tops of actual Godzilla you fucked up. Saying that, the actual movie wasn't BAD it just seriously needed a pacing fix. The first half be humans, talking, and the build up then the next hour should be all about monster battles. Also, Bryan Cranston should have been the main character without a doubt.

 

[Currygan]

watched Con Air and it was just hilariously bad. I hope those treating it as dumb fun are just being ironic because yesh, it was like a overlong, worse written Walker Texas Ranger episode without Corvette or whatever the black guy was kicking some ass. Also took a pic of Cage being Cage

 

[Fancy Clown]

New World. Very mediocre Korean crime drama. It shares all the traits of this current crop of South Korean crime drama including an overlong runtime, lots of blood and violence, and is absurdly stylishly shot. The characters nor plot were interesting or fleshed out enough to support a pretty standard plot of an undocover cop who goes too deep.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Just watched Fury Road again, this time on Blu-Ray, 4th viewing

I think I love it even more now, crazy as that sounds. All hail.

 

[peakish]

Godzilla (2014). Blue balls/10.

Why was Godzilla in this for about 5 minutes? The few moments he was in it was great but almost every time he showed up, Muto flew into attack him and it cut to a scene of people talking. Why? It's like if Star Wars had the Death Star battle but it quickly cut to people talking in the control room then someone says the station blew up and everyone is saved. When you're 80% into a movie and have had about 15 seconds tops of actual Godzilla you fucked up. Saying that, the actual movie wasn't BAD it just seriously needed a pacing fix. The first half be humans, talking, and the build up then the next hour should be all about monster battles. Also, Bryan Cranston should have been the main character without a doubt.

Killing off the only character with some charisma in the movie sure was a great idea. I agree that the movie wasn't that bad, and the teasing could have been well pulled off if they had some more characters to care about. By the end we only had Watanabe with his mouth open, always staring into the distance. Waste of a good opening.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

Just watched Fury Road again, this time on Blu-Ray, 4th viewing

I think I love it even more now, crazy as that sounds. All hail.

I know, man. It just holds up. It wasn't just the immediate hype

 

[guek]

and Wolf was most perplexing to me. like, what is it trying to say? it's just rich idiots having fun for what seems like an eternity

It was one of those movies that's like a massive wreck on the side of the road. It's a kind of depraved spectacle that keeps your attention like a train wreck spread out over 3hrs. But man...it's so long and exhausting to watch in its entirety. Your description is pretty spot on.

 

[Infernostew]

Breathless - I've seen a lot of clips and scenes of Godard's work in film classes I took in college but never just sat down and watched one before until just a few days ago. Breathless tells the story of a man who murdered a policeman and is attempting to get his american girlfriend to leave with him to Italy. The dialog in this film is absolutely superb. The final scene (which is actually the only scene I've previously watched) is griping and so iconic at this point. Turner Classic Movies has a ton of Godard coming up so I had to Tivo everything so I've really looking forward to catching Pierrot Le Fou and Alphaville in particular. 8/10

THX-1138 - This is a film that has always interested me since I loved Star Wars as a kid and wanted to catch Lucas' earlier work. Well, good thing I didn't watch it as a kid because I would've hated it. The story of nameless and, for the most part, featureless individual(s) trying to find some sort of identity or escape from totalitarianism is an interesting subject but I found the story to be quite dull. The film looks incredibly beautiful and although I can't really put my finger on it, it feels like Star Wars. Lucas definitely put a lot of work into the aesthetics of the film. Ultimately, I liked it but would find it hard to recommend to people even though it's worth a look. (That made no sense). 6/10

Autumn Sonata - My first foray into Bergman in color. I have to say that my relationship with Bergman is a bit up and down although I have really disliked anything I've seen from him but sometimes I come out a bit disappointed. Well, not with this one. Autumn Sonata shows the relationship between a woman, Eva, and her famous(?) former pianist mother, Charlotte, who comes to live with her and her husband in a somewhat isolated home. Things get rocky immediately when her mother learns that her other daughter who is mentally handicapped is living in the house as well. This is a wonderful story of parental neglect and the affects even adults feels when it happens as they're children. The long conversation at the end between Eva and Charlotte is gripping. Ingrid Bergman is a legend and just kills it in this film. 7/10

 

[UberTag]

Caught Demolition this afternoon. Gyllenhaal brought his 'A' game like always but the rest of the film was rather contrived and it's hard to connect emotionally with just about anyone. There are some yuks to be had and it's worth a rent to see Jake go all Office Space to his worldly possessions. (5/10)

Likely going to pass on rushing The Martian as the early reviews make it sound like 'John Cena in Space'. They'll tell you he's defying the odds countless times but you'll never feel Matt Damon is in any sort of danger.

Plan to rush Sicario instead. Up next... Son of Saul.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

I'd totally see John Cena in space

no spaceship, no helmet, no nothing. Just the odds, and him defying that with Hustle, Loyality, and Respect

 

[SuperInuit]

I'd totally see John Cena in space

no spaceship, no helmet, no nothing. Just the odds, and him defying that with Hustle, Loyality, and Respect

How much money would we need to make this happen.

Not watched much due to packing and stuff, but I also saw Fury Road for the 4th time this week. Fuckin George Miller, man. That storm scene is legitimately one of the best I've ever scene in cinema. Still get chills when the strings kick in. Can't wait for the blu ray anthology to hurry up and release in the UK.

 

[Currygan]

It was one of those movies that's like a massive wreck on the side of the road. It's a kind of depraved spectacle that keeps your attention like a train wreck spread out over 3hrs. But man...it's so long and exhausting to watch in its entirety. Your description is pretty spot on.

oh boy, yours is tons better. A massive wreck on the side of the road is perfect

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

I'd totally see John Cena in space

no spaceship, no helmet, no nothing. Just the odds, and him defying that with Hustle, Loyality, and Respect

I just proposed the idea in the Wrassle thread that if WWE is going to make shitty movies, they should actually star the wrestling characters instead of having the wrestlers play generic action movie characters. I'd totally watch a heist-type flick about Randy Orton plotting to RKO the president, or Dean Ambrose getting arrested at the Mexican border and having to escape and get to the arena on-time for Raw, or Daniel Bryan luring a cat that's chasing him into his own elaborate traps (yes i said small). If they're gonna be bad, have'em be Fun n Playful, at the very least. John Cena AAing a Darth Vader ripoff would be beautiful.

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

Legend - awesome as fuck, Tom Hardy is great. 8.5/10.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

I just proposed the idea in the Wrassle thread that if WWE is going to make shitty movies, they should actually star the wrestling characters instead of having the wrestlers play generic action movie characters. I'd totally watch a heist-type flick about Randy Orton plotting to RKO the president, or Dean Ambrose getting arrested at the Mexican border and having to escape and get to the arena on-time for Raw, or Daniel Bryan luring a cat that's chasing him into his own elaborate traps (yes i said small). If they're gonna be bad, have'em be Fun n Playful, at the very least. John Cena AAing a Darth Vader ripoff would be beautiful.

Like No Holds Barred, but in the modern world of #NoKayfabe. John Cena fulfills one last job for dyin Timmy and his 1,000th Make a Wish contribution: destroy Cancer! It ends with Cena overcoming the odds and AAing the cancer out of small children.

 

[Currygan]

Legend - awesome as fuck, Tom Hardy is great. 8.5/10.

 

[True Savior]

The Departed is weird, yeah. It feels incomplete and stitched together, like Aviator or Wolf.

The Departed is a weird as fuck movie. I think that's one of the reasons i like it so much. The entire editing of the thing is completely bizarre. The soundscape , how he cuts it , etc. It style is so bizarrely unorthodox. There's also a bunch of shots which dont seem to make any sense. One in particular i never really understood a huge zoom before Damon enters HQ..what the hell was he thinking ? I dont really know how , but the film builds a huge momentum with those choices. The acting is so hammy but feels so appropriate in that craziness. It's such a cool contrast with the form of the Lau/Mak.

 

[UberTag]

Son of Saul is a film I won't soon forget. And so you don't outright dismiss it as "yet another holocaust flick" and ignore it, let me pitch it as what it actually is.

It's a Greek tragedy with a central and prevailing focus on a man named Saul Auslander (Geza Rohrig) and his desperate effort to see through a single human act while surrounded by the most dehumanizing scenery imaginable.

The film revolves around him entirely in much the same way that Birdman revolves around Michael Keaton's Riggan. Employs a similar method of framing the film as well (albeit with more obvious cuts between its 80-odd takes). It just happens to take place at Auschwitz instead of in New York's theater district. (8/10)

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Bolt (2008): Yay! okay, okay, I expected to hate this (Disney, after all), but I found myself enjoying it, and the charms of the animation worked really well in this. The scene where Bolt has to learn something new is a good example of that.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970): ugh, nay. It's not all unserviceable, but it basically has only an ending and has to drag out getting to it.

 

[karasu]

The House of the Devil:Awesome! The measured pacing, the score, the retro 80's vibe, I loved it all. Might be my favorite horror movie I've seen yet.(I'm new to the genre)