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Movies You've Seen Recently III: The Third Chapter

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Thug Waffle said:
Who likes Andrei Tarkovsky? You do? Cool, here's a bunch of his films for free.
http://www.openculture.com/2010/07/tarkovksy.html

That site's legit. There's an audiobook series (.mp3's) of Isaac Asimov's groundbreaking Foundation trilogy... but we're talking about movies here, not books.
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There are a bunch of other Russian films on the Mosfilm page. The titles are all in Russian so you'll have to use google translate because I found many of the English titles to be wrong.

Battleship Potemkin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmUef84ybXk

Alexander Nevsky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnaj12zmBeQ

Kin-dza-dza!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I47CNxwlt9U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eti9Qn4bZDg

Bed and Sofa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrG3FA2lmiI

Ivan Vasilevich: Back to the Future
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuYu9VvvD4w

and so on. I made a list of films that interested me a while ago.
 
The Paperboy: Very fun and very sweaty southern noir-ish drama. I'm a sucker for the acting talent involved though, had no idea what the film was about before renting it. Definitely gothic in some aspects. I never thought I'd say this, but if Zac Efron continues acting, he will be great. He has serious talent, and it's very interesting to see.
 
Aurongel said:
Primer to me seemed like it functioned better as a cerebral exercise than an actual coherent film. Not that that's a bad thing necessarily, it just means that the film isn't very satisfying in the end after struggling to follow its internal logic and it ultimately trivializes itself.

Is the writer/director of that still working on his new project?
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Yes, it's done! I actually reviewed it. It comes out early April.
 
Saw Wreck it Ralph. While I wasn't bored, I didn't think it was anything special; it works mostly on nostalgia basis. I wasn't thrilled with the world the climax took place in or found the villain interesting at all either, side story was a bit pointless too. Aside from Ralph (who was fine) the characters weren't that interesting or funny. 6/10
 
Casino Royale and Skyfall, both for the first time: pretty great. CR had a good plot and some neat stunts, and Skyfall had breathtaking cinematography. Best action movie of 2012 (even despite the scene where
the bad guy sics a train on 007 using explosives he planted when?
).

The Incredible Hulk also for the first time. A solid film, though in retrospect it feels like a treadmill, no progress. Neat effects and setpieces consistently watered down a bit by poor angles and bad editing. Tim Roth is an excellent bad guy and I liked how it was basically based on the awesome Hulk game back on the PS2/GCN/Xbox. I disliked Tony Stark at the end, if only because it didn't fit with the other movies; he didn't care about the Avengers and wouldn't have gone headhunting for them.

Rewatched both Iron Man movies. Decent, and they work together quite well when you realize that the first movie barely explored the action that the second one really let loose with.
 
Watched Cloverfield today. Wasn't terrible, but not very good, either. Worst thing about it was the found footage nonsense. I don't hate it in all movies, but it was just terrible for this one. Really takes you out of the movie when more that happens, the more you wonder how long this wanker will keep filming. They even stop to wipe blood/dirt from the camera.
 
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Lawless

It didn't have much to say but it was very entertaining and well acted.

I wanted more focus on the rum-running and Gary Oldman's crew.
I was hoping Shia and Co. would hook up with them and start a giant gang or something.

Not sure why Jessica Chastain was in this movie other than to
take off her clothes
.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.

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Red State

Too bad Michael Parks was so good in this utter waste of time.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
That's a hell of a trailer. Dig the music especially.

What were your "fleeting frustrations," if you don't mind my asking? You do a good job of describing the film's style but I'm not sure I got any complaints out of that.
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It's a film that can confound while watching or immediately when it ends, but found that once one has some conversations about it or digs deeper there is a lot there. Hence, any immediate frustrations I had seemed to disappear by the time I wrote my review.
 
side effects - **** (an excellent final film for sodie to go out on as it constantly subverts expectations and eventually settles into a great de palma-esque thriller. on the drive home it became really apparent how much rooney's layered performance recalls another great performance that i hesitate to mention because spoilers spoilers spoilers, but i really liked her in this. it's still sad to see him retire, but i am glad sodie at least gets to end his career on this high note.)

oh yeah, also, this movie has the best use of shallow focus ever. really impressive stuff, visually.
 
I seriously doubt Soderbergh is actually going anywhere. Probably see him shift away from theatrical work for a bit, but he's one of the best (probably THE best) American filmmakers currently in the business and the dude knows it. Few rational people would just drop the mic at this point.

Sounds like he's nearing completion of the Kafka reedit, which is super exciting too.
 
Blue Valentine - Beautiful (and depressing) film - aside from the usual naturalistic flair that comes with a film like this. I really liked how the relationship was framed within the context of the flashbacks you know intimately their best moments together, which ultimately makes the whole outcome of their relationship depressing once the reality of their situation sinks in at the end of the film. My biggest problem with the film, is it doesn't really do a good job of indicating what is a flashback or not, which I fond a bit jarring at the start, but got used to it, it's interesting that the director intended to have those scenes be 7-years apart in filming, would have fixed my issue 100% even if it's a bit overambitious.:p

La Strada - Interestingly enough I found this to be more engaging than either 8 1/2 or La Dolce Vita (not that they are bad films) but I just found the lead character to be really endearing to watch, and the ending and theme song were just beautiful. Visually-speaking it feels fairly standard for fellini, but I really liked the imagery of the ending sequence and the small sequence with the sick cousin.. all in all, it was a really good film - excited about seeing nights of cabiria sometime in the future.

The Last Seduction - Despite having the look and feel of a made-for-tv movie. This was a damn entertaining neo-noir thriller with one of the most awesome female leads ever. Really liked the climatic scene of the movie (despite being really fucked up.;p) and some of the sex scenes were extremely well-shot / directed - It was definitely a nice little discovery at my video store, wouldn't have checked it out if it wasn't for nicholas roeg name on the cover.
 
Saw Django Unchained which was completely awesome. Tarantino's love and passion for films always shine through in his own films

Re-watched Somewhere by Sofia Coppola. While I'm so intrigued by the subject matter and the movie didn't bore me at all, it still felt "empty". Nothing really happened. On the other hand, I loved the acting and the chemistry. Really biased on this film.
 
Cosmic Bus said:
I seriously doubt Soderbergh is actually going anywhere. Probably see him shift away from theatrical work for a bit, but he's one of the best (probably THE best) American filmmakers currently in the business and the dude knows it. Few rational people would just drop the mic at this point.

Sounds like he's nearing completion of the Kafka reedit, which is super exciting too.
Click to expand...

This and that K-pop for lovers mix you linked last year is the reason I love you.
 
So I'm watching Aliens today for the millionth time... and I just noticed that after the first battle when they decide to evac and send for the first dropship... they were going to totally leave Bishop's ass behind LOL. I mean I know he's not a human but they didn't even give the poor guy a courtesy call.
 
Lafiel said:
The Last Seduction - Despite having the look and feel of a made-for-tv movie. This was a damn entertaining neo-noir thriller with one of the most awesome female leads ever.
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This has long since been my favorite of the (all too brief) early/mid '90s neo noir revival. Fiorentino is the ultimate stone-cold foxxxxx.

TheKaeptain said:
This and that K-pop for lovers mix you linked last year is the reason I love you.
Click to expand...

:)
 
(500) Days of Summer - It's fun, it's quirky, it hip, it's got attractive leads and therefore it works really well. The non-chronological narration is well implemented ****
Tangled - A very solid classic Disney Tale for modern audiences that looks amazing. All the ingredients are mixed together and it makes for a stellar animation feature. I was more attracted to Rapunzel then I probably should have been... ****
Tangled Ever After - Fun little short that accompanies Tangled ***
Annie Hall - ***½
The Master - Just a quick rewatch to pay more attention to all the underlying themes, metaphores and such after reading a bunch of reviews and articles on the movie ****½

Battleship - Yuck. It saddens me to see Peter Berg is the director of this turd, I thought he showed promise with The Kingdom. I understood him cashing in with Hancock, but I was hoping he would do a '1 for the studio 1 for myself' kind of thing. Guess not. Unless Battleship is a pet project of his, which I doubt. *
 
Cosmic Bus said:
I seriously doubt Soderbergh is actually going anywhere. Probably see him shift away from theatrical work for a bit, but he's one of the best (probably THE best) American filmmakers currently in the business and the dude knows it. Few rational people would just drop the mic at this point.

Sounds like he's nearing completion of the Kafka reedit, which is super exciting too.
Click to expand...
If a studio had bought into his upcoming Liberace biopic, Side Effects wouldn't even be his last release pre-hiatus. Think of the possibilites!
 
Man, I'm trying to write up a review of Side Effects for Letterboxd without veering into spoiler territory, but I don't think I can do it. One thing is for sure, though: do not let anyone spoil this great, exciting movie for you. I'd even go as far to say that the lousy trailer for it is the perfect trailer for this film.
 
I like hearing the positive impressions of Side Effects. I haven't seen a lot of Soderbergh's films, but he's reliable and talented. Might have to go see Side Effects next week sometime.

Super 8 - This movie is a lot of fun. The gang of filmmakers is frequently hilarious, and the sci-fi action is thrilling.
 
Lafiel said:
The Last Seduction - Despite having the look and feel of a made-for-tv movie. This was a damn entertaining neo-noir thriller with one of the most awesome female leads ever. Really liked the climatic scene of the movie (despite being really fucked up.;p) and some of the sex scenes were extremely well-shot / directed - It was definitely a nice little discovery at my video store, wouldn't have checked it out if it wasn't for nicholas roeg name on the cover.
Click to expand...
what's the roeg reference on The Last Seduction cover? never seen that cover before. my obsession with florentino's voice is ultimately what got me to watch this flick originally
 
Soderbergh's the American Malle: the two directors love variety, even though they stick to certain kinds of stories over time (coming-of-age tales vs. seedy noirs). I need to see more of his works (he's also sold me on Richard Lester).
 
All this Side Effects praise has me intrigued, but considering the premise I'm concerned it might come off as heavy-handed in it's portrayal of the use of pharmaceutical drugs.. then again contagion had a really awesome anti-anti-vaxxor message with it's jude law character. (even if he was a bit one-dimensional).
sefskillz said:
what's the roeg reference on The Last Seduction cover? never seen that cover before. my obsession with florentino's voice is ultimately what got me to watch this flick originally
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It's actually a huge typo on the cover we got here in australia Cover here: http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/reviews/reviews.asp?id=8225 on the frame of the back cover it says "Nicholas Roeg" film-maker collection.. when I'm pretty sure that's suppose to say what it says on the front.
 
Random question - do you guys know of any good books that have a bunch of behind the scenes pictures? Something similar to Bond on Set or Pictures by Jeff Bridges.
 
Saw Flight. Solid for the most part with a couple of low and artificial moments. The last section is unfortunately the worst. The look wasn't enticing, I wasn't a fan of the shaky cam during the plane scene. Some of the character felt generic. 6/10
 
I respectfully and emphatically disagree with all of you. Wes Anderson and Scorsese, okay... maybe. Otherwise, I'll buy it when I think Soderbergh's made something as good as Pulp Fiction, No Country for Old Men, or There Will Be Blood. I think each of the guys I listed have multiple films in their filmographies that surpass Soderbergh's best.

Magic Mike is okay.
 
Thug Waffle said:
I respectfully and emphatically disagree with all of you. Wes Anderson and Scorsese, okay... maybe. Otherwise, I'll buy it when I think Soderbergh's made something as good as Pulp Fiction, No Country for Old Men, or There Will Be Blood. I think each of the guys I listed have multiple films in their filmographies that surpass Soderbergh's best.

Magic Mike is okay.
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pssh

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Better than any of those movies. So is The Limey.
 
i like all of those guys to an extent, but let's all just watch underneath and king of the hill and revel in sodie's greatness for a while.
 
Better than any of those films... Yeah, I'm gonna drop a personal no to that as well. Great film, nonetheless.

No douchebag, but I'm honestly surprised how many of you agree with the "Soderbergh >" sentiment.
 
Thug Waffle said:
I respectfully and emphatically disagree with all of you. Wes Anderson and Scorsese, okay... maybe. Otherwise, I'll buy it when I think Soderbergh's made something as good as Pulp Fiction, No Country for Old Men, or There Will Be Blood. I think each of the guys I listed have multiple films in their filmographies that surpass Soderbergh's best.

Magic Mike is okay.
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Wait, are you saying Tarantino is better than Scorsese? The Coens and PTA too?
 
look at your guys, arguing about all these inferior directors to Jon M. Chu

Just wait for GI Joe 2 this year, ya'll! That Oscar is already lined up for him.
 
Anyone ever go back to the original movie thread to see their reactions to movies they first seen. Pretty interesting to see what I watched for the first ever 5 years ago.

Gozer the Gozerian said:
Thanks for posting this, I had never heard of this movie. Watched it today and really enjoyed it. Michael Caine and Connery make a great duo.
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They sure did :)
 
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is pretty solid. It's been over a year since I first saw it, but I don't remember considering it a masterpiece.
Also, reading last page's criticism of Beasts of the Southern Wild, a movie I absolutely adored, made me realize I don't particularly care or think about a film's message. The film is anti-FEMA? So what.
The man who keeps every single candy wrapper to remember the time he ate that particular piece
was enough alone to make me love the film.
Finally, I'm coming to the realization that I don't mind shakycam at all. It's how I look at things all the time, so I don't mind cinema trying to replicate that. I mean, there are some horrible uses of it, but it doesn't bother me like it once did.
 
jakncoke said:
Anyone ever go back to the original movie thread to see their reactions to movies they first seen. Pretty interesting to see what I watched for the first ever 5 years ago.



They sure did :)
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One time I went back to Movies Thread I and read my first posts. Fetal position for days. So bad.
 
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