Movies You've Seen Recently: Return of the Revenge of the Curse of the...

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One of my NY resolutions is to kill out my backlog influx. I am currently at 68 movies owned that I have not seen. This past weekend I have watched 7 films:

Certified Copy - This one was actually on Netflix and I've been meaning to check it out. I really loved this film. I think it's good to go in knowing absolutely nothing about the movie. The subtle change in the film is really extraordinary and it had me wondering what exactly was going on the entire time. Definitely one of my favorites of last year.

I Saw the Devil - I actually stayed in on New Year's Eve and decided to watch this. At first I was wondering where the film was going with it's almost 2.5 hour run-time and the killer being found fairly quickly, but once the revenge kicked in it was a great thrill ride. Some of the shots in this film are absolutely brutal. I don't love it as much as Oldboy, but it was a good movie.

The Rules of the Game - Another film I knew really nothing about going in, I enjoyed this subtle comedy. I can definitely see why the French upper class turned their noses up at this when it was originally released. It's a fine film and worth it's tag of one of the best films ever made.

Playtime - The closest I had come to Tati before this was The Illusionist earlier last year. While I felt that the film was a tad too long (2 hours), it was definitely funny. I don't think I could say it was laugh out loud funny as there seemed to be a lot of more quiet, subtle moments, but this is a film I feel I could watch again and notice things I never did before.

12 Angry Men - I was not prepared for this. It's amazing what you can do with just 12 actors in a single room for an entire film. I really genuinely loved this film, and was captivated to see how things played out.

North by Northwest- My 2nd Hitchcock outing (after The Lady Vanishes), this was a fun ride. I was expecting more of a twist, but it turned out to just be a really good thriller. There's a lot of fun to be had, and good lord Eva Marie Saint was a fox! I'm not kidding. If you don't know what she looks like, google her now!

Robinson Crusoe on Mars - I'll admit I bought this film partly based on the gorgeous artwork, and it turned out better than I thought it would. It started off slow with some of the scenes feeling a little hokey, and the immediate killing off of Adam West annoyed me, but the film was interesting. It had the feeling of an early Star Trek episode, but it's an early 60's sci-fi film, so that's to be expected.

On my plate tonight is Breakfast at Tiffany's and Night Train to Munich.
 
Saw Robin and Marian. Knew nothing going in except that it has Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn and that I like them so should be entertaining. Holy shit, did not see that ending coming. Good stuff overall.
 
Certified Copy - Really fascinating, not only the dialogue, but the performances, the cinematography and the direction were really good, you're left with many questions and I think it's going to stick in my head for a couple of days. Good stuff. Any chances for Binoche to get an Oscar nod? I hope so. - 8/10
 
BCNY_POSTER_WIKI.jpg


Heard a lot of good things about this one and although I found it interesting enough it didn't really play to me as well as it seems to have had for others. A decent study on a quirky individual but I was almost more interested in the weirdness that surrounded him. The documentary plays out and shows Bill as not really fitting in with the fashion circle, even though they clearly love him and consider him an instiution, I was really more interested in the bizarre world that Bill was himself documenting.
The dude with the hats, Patrick McDonald was brilliant

I think I'm more drawn to documentaries about ideas rather than biographies.
 
Max Armstrong said:
Certified Copy - Really fascinating, not only the dialogue, but the performances, the cinematography and the direction were really good, you're left with many questions and I think it's going to stick in my head for a couple of days. Good stuff. Any chances for Binoche to get an Oscar nod? I hope so. - 8/10
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was pretty underwhelmed by this after waiting a while to see it

juliette binoche's cleavage was my favorite thing about it

all the discussion about are they married or is it a game i just found pointlessly vague.
 
omgkitty said:
Playtime - The closest I had come to Tati before this was The Illusionist earlier last year. While I felt that the film was a tad too long (2 hours), it was definitely funny. I don't think I could say it was laugh out loud funny as there seemed to be a lot of more quiet, subtle moments, but this is a film I feel I could watch again and notice things I never did before.
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You will. I had the good fortune of seeing this screened in 70mm recently, and what really struck me was that, unlike in any other comedy, people were laughing throughout the movie at completely different times, and I could tell that I was missing so much in every scene. And that was my third time watching it.
 
A Life Less Ordinary
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I had heard average things about this movie, but given it was the only Boyle film I hadn't seen, I thought I'd give it a shot since I adore the man's films.

And adore this film I did. I was laughing throughout the whole film. Its warped, its funny and it is propelled by the same kinetic energy that attracts me to Boyle's films. I had a stupid smile on my face throughout a lot of the movie and actually found myself giggling, which is something I never do. McGregor was hilarious and Diaz actually really impressed me, which is something she rarely does. Not to mention this was Diaz in her prime. Yowza. Its easy for one to forget that once upon a time she could have given Charlize a run for her money. Those eyes.

Anyway, highly enjoyable. Recommended.
 
I watched Night Train to Munich for the first time last night. While I enjoyed it, the film just dragged a little too much. Going from Austria, to Germany, to England, back to Germany, and then to a different city in Germany and then finally to Switzerland all in the span of an hour and a half was a little tiring, especially considering most of it was standing around talking. It also didn't help that two of the main characters looked fairly similar, both being tall and skinny. Overall though I did enjoy it, and the return of Charters and Caldicott was one of my favorite parts of the film (wish they had the time to complain about Cricket some more).

I do have to say though, this film is not The Third Man. Ever since seeing it early last year I have loved The Third Man, and I haven't really found any other films like it. I was hoping Night Train to Munich would have been close considering it was directed by Carol Reed, but it just doesn't have the same feeling. Does anyone have any recommendations for films closer to the feeling of The Third Man?
 
Scullibundo said:
A Life Less Ordinary
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Diaz actually really impressed me, which is something she rarely does. Not to mention this was Diaz in her prime. Yowza. Its easy for one to forget that once upon a time she could have given Charlize a run for her money. Those eyes.
.
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Litrally the only reason I youtubed the trailer....god she used to be insanley hot. Got a friend that looks really similar to her actually ;o
 
bud said:
diaz was in her prime in '94 with the mask. she was so fucking hot back then.
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Something about Mary! :)

Watched Moneyball last night.

It was alittle hard to follow seeing as I know nothing about baseball but it was still entertaining enough.

Might try and make time to watch the blu copy of 2001 that arrived today.
 
So I finally saw Primal Fear. I've heard about this movie before and have been meaning to check it out for the longest time.

Very good performance by Edward Norton, but other than that everything else about the movie left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it was the hype was built up too much for me.
 
Tree of Life- Yeah this was really really good. The family stuff in it is just amazingly familiar from so many experiences. I've seen brothers act hostile towards each other in that way and it was so well done. The space stuff was cool and very beautiful but I'm not sure if I can watch an entire movie of it, which is what Voyage of Time is supposed to be? Now my favorite Malick movie, I think. Still need to catch New World and Days of Heaven though.

Going By the Book- A Korean comedy that I also liked a lot. Very funny and charming, it's on Netflix and I recommend it to anyone. Not as good as Castaway on the Moon but still really good.
 
mysticwhip said:
So I have DVDs of Jane Eyre,Blue valentine and Michael Clayton.

What would be the best order to watch them?
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I can't speak for the other two films, but Blue Valentine will likely leave you depressed for the reminder of the day, so keep that in mind. One hell of a movie though.
 
omgkitty said:
I watched Night Train to Munich for the first time last night. While I enjoyed it, the film just dragged a little too much. Going from Austria, to Germany, to England, back to Germany, and then to a different city in Germany and then finally to Switzerland all in the span of an hour and a half was a little tiring, especially considering most of it was standing around talking. It also didn't help that two of the main characters looked fairly similar, both being tall and skinny. Overall though I did enjoy it, and the return of Charters and Caldicott was one of my favorite parts of the film (wish they had the time to complain about Cricket some more).

I do have to say though, this film is not The Third Man. Ever since seeing it early last year I have loved The Third Man, and I haven't really found any other films like it. I was hoping Night Train to Munich would have been close considering it was directed by Carol Reed, but it just doesn't have the same feeling. Does anyone have any recommendations for films closer to the feeling of The Third Man?
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Touch of Evil - It has Orson Welles, it's a dark movie and the camera work in the final 10-15 minutes will definitely put you in mind of The Third Man. The camera work in the whole movie is incredible, bus especially the opening scene; one long, single take with the camera moving around the block, into the air and then back to the ground without a single pause. I can't believe they did that in 1958. The recent Blu-Ray release on the Masters of Cinema label is tremendous, since it has no less than five versions of this film (differences are not only content but also aspect ratio). It's the definite edition of this film.

I can also recommend Carol Reed's 1948 movie The Fallen Idol. It's nothing like The Third Man, but might be even better.
 
Touch of Evil is so good. And with Señor Carlos Hestantonio in it, I don't see how it can be beat.

charlton%20heston.jpg
 
Enter The Dragon - was not a fan of this. I thought this would get me into martial arts films with all of the praise heaped on it, but was dull and silly. Definitely a product of its time.
 
The Fountain
This movie contains lots of annoying things (plus that terrible golden tint) but it somehow managed to tickle my fancy. Against my better judgement I feel. I wished I'd seen it in a theater though. Also, great soundtrack.

I haven't read the dozens of threads dedicated to the movie and this surely has been discussed already but
anyone else felt the Queen lied to the Conquistador when she sent him to find the tree ? i.e. she knows she's gonna die at the hand of the inquisitor despite her claim to the contrary
 
Solo said:
Dragon Tattoo. Not even close.
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Agreed. Unless you like the slapsticky adventures of Tom Cruise and a shitty script, then by all means MI:GP. Although Dragon Tattoo has some script issues(although Im going to assume it is more because of the source material, and has about 3 different endings.
 
Wages of Fear - A kind of dark comedy that somehow remains both humorous and slightly tense throughout its duration and up until the very last second. Its subject seems a bit trivial, but after overall examination of the moral or lack of moral contained within the plot, the plot definitely seems to be deceptively deep. It just contains a natural,organic grit much like that of the earth. It's a movie about labor, sure, but it's also contains a rather bleak existentialist outlook as well. 8/10
 
ymmv said:
Touch of Evil - It has Orson Welles, it's a dark movie and the camera work in the final 10-15 minutes will definitely put you in mind of The Third Man. The camera work in the whole movie is incredible, bus especially the opening scene; one long, single take with the camera moving around the block, into the air and then back to the ground without a single pause. I can't believe they did that in 1958. The recent Blu-Ray release on the Masters of Cinema label is tremendous, since it has no less than five versions of this film (differences are not only content but also aspect ratio). It's the definite edition of this film.

I can also recommend Carol Reed's 1948 movie The Fallen Idol. It's nothing like The Third Man, but might be even better.
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I've really wanted to see Touch of Evil ever since the MoC version was announced. The packaging for it is gorgeous. Criterion needs to get that shit out this year for sure. Also I was going to pick up The Fallen Idol, but it's currently OOP.
 
HiResDes said:
Wages of Fear - A kind of dark comedy that somehow remains both humorous and slightly tense throughout its duration and up until the very last second. Its subject seems a bit trivial, but after overall examination of the moral or lack of moral contained within the plot, the plot definitely seems to be deceptively deep. It just contains a natural,organic grit much like that of the earth. It's a movie about labor, sure, but it's also contains a rather bleak existentialist outlook as well. 8/10
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Great movie, every bit the equal of the best Hitchcock films.
 
HiResDes said:
Wages of Fear - A kind of dark comedy that somehow remains both humorous and slightly tense throughout its duration and up until the very last second. Its subject seems a bit trivial, but after overall examination of the moral or lack of moral contained within the plot, the plot definitely seems to be deceptively deep. It just contains a natural,organic grit much like that of the earth. It's a movie about labor, sure, but it's also contains a rather bleak existentialist outlook as well. 8/10
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What are your thoughts on the abrupt and rather controversial ending?
 
creativity said:
What are your thoughts on the abrupt and rather controversial ending?
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I think it's more powerful that it ended the way it did. I think the filmmaker had a sort of Marxist view on labor and its plunder of man, existentially speaking. Many times there isn't any glory to be had for the hard worker. Wages of Fear is not a feel good story or a coming of age story. It's basically an economical tragedy.
 
Watched Grizzly Man for the first time tonight. I loved it, but had an argument with my roommate. He hates the film because he thinks Herzog is doing no more than displaying footage from someone that can easily be made fun. Said it was like mean people laughing at retards and he despises it.

I personally disagree and imagine I'd act somewhat like Timothy Treadwell myself if I was out there for 13 years by myself. You can see his clear love for his environment and he knows the danger around him. What say you GAF?
 
You're both right. Timothy is a delusional freakshow. Timothy is also a brave and interesting tragic hero. Herzog definitely accentuates his eccentricities to a degree, and yet if he hadn't the film would be a borefest.
 
If you put that shit on film, the expectation is that it will be watched at some point. Considering that Treadwell got his ass eaten, my feeling is that the good done by pointing out the foolishness of his endeavor to the world outweighs whatever compunctions a person might feel in screening the footage.

Treadwell wasn't a hero; he was a delusional man who, if anything, harmed the very bears that he wished to help, even if he hadn't died.
 
Super 8

Not sure what I expected really after all the mixed reviews and impressions. But it was a slightly less than decent popcorn flick that seemed like it should/wanted to be more. Kyle Chandler felt wasted and the only character name I remember is Alice, and thats because its my gfs name.

2.5/5 stars.

Real Steel

Much better than I expected. The kid was one annoying brat but other than that it was pretty entertaining and the end was actually touching. It was a fun ride if you take it lightly. Almost reminded me of Speed Racer (one of my favorite movies) in a way, though obviously nowhere near as good.

3.5/5 stars
 
Ashhong said:
Super 8

Not sure what I expected really after all the mixed reviews and impressions. But it was a slightly less than decent popcorn flick that seemed like it should/wanted to be more. Kyle Chandler felt wasted and the only character name I remember is Alice, and thats because its my gfs name.

2.5/5 stars.
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No pay-off to the nostalgia and Spielberg references. Pointless title, too.
 
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