Infernostew
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Yup! Top Kurosawa
Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| March 2017
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Fancy Clown
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Speaking of Kurosawa, finally watched The Bad Sleep Well in honor of his birthday yesterday:
This masterful and acerbic noir about the banality of evil feels doubly cutting in the Trump era. Lives aren't taken out of malice here, but simply out of uncaring selfishness to serve a corrupt system, which makes it all the more haunting. As is to be expected Mifune, Shimura, and the visual design are all impeccable. It's a tad on the nose and unwieldy in the third act, but getting there is a fantastic yarn, and it's all pulled back together for the devastating conclusion. It's not quite as biting or insightful as High and Low, but what is? This is a great film, plain and simple.
Also I can finally stop feeling like an idiot in regards to the title ("what the hell is a 'sleep well' and why is it bad??). Like, duh.
Peeping Tom: While it doesn't feel as finely tuned as Psycho from the same year, in part because Norman Bates feels more "normal" on the surface, making him both more believable and eerie than the obvious outcast that Peeping Tom's Mark Lewis is. But Peeping Tom largely excels in its disturbing voyeuristic implications, even if it feels a little creaky at times. What really sets this film apart from other horror films is its lush technicolor palette and impressive production design, giving the film an extra layer of creepiness because it looks more like a musical than a horror film at times (barring Mark's gothic dungeon of a film development lab).
Zatoichi's Cane Sword: It's becoming increasingly difficult to review these films as normal due to their unwavering adherence to the formula (though still remaining admirably quality films), so I'll just list a few notable impressions from this one:
-The lighting and framing is really nice in this one. It's not the most visually flashy Ichi film, but there's a nice, measured restraint here, and it uses shadows and rim lighting to great effect.
-The film is titled aptly this time, and it makes great use of the titular sword in an effective third act fake out.
-Snowfall always makes for an evocative setting for sword fights, and it added an extra layer of oomf to the climax here, which also made great use of props for Ichi to slice and dice to create a dynamic action scene.
-Loved the scene of Ichi drunkenly singing and generally shitting upon the sniveling gangsters trying to appease him.
This masterful and acerbic noir about the banality of evil feels doubly cutting in the Trump era. Lives aren't taken out of malice here, but simply out of uncaring selfishness to serve a corrupt system, which makes it all the more haunting. As is to be expected Mifune, Shimura, and the visual design are all impeccable. It's a tad on the nose and unwieldy in the third act, but getting there is a fantastic yarn, and it's all pulled back together for the devastating conclusion. It's not quite as biting or insightful as High and Low, but what is? This is a great film, plain and simple.
Also I can finally stop feeling like an idiot in regards to the title ("what the hell is a 'sleep well' and why is it bad??). Like, duh.
Peeping Tom: While it doesn't feel as finely tuned as Psycho from the same year, in part because Norman Bates feels more "normal" on the surface, making him both more believable and eerie than the obvious outcast that Peeping Tom's Mark Lewis is. But Peeping Tom largely excels in its disturbing voyeuristic implications, even if it feels a little creaky at times. What really sets this film apart from other horror films is its lush technicolor palette and impressive production design, giving the film an extra layer of creepiness because it looks more like a musical than a horror film at times (barring Mark's gothic dungeon of a film development lab).
Zatoichi's Cane Sword: It's becoming increasingly difficult to review these films as normal due to their unwavering adherence to the formula (though still remaining admirably quality films), so I'll just list a few notable impressions from this one:
-The lighting and framing is really nice in this one. It's not the most visually flashy Ichi film, but there's a nice, measured restraint here, and it uses shadows and rim lighting to great effect.
-The film is titled aptly this time, and it makes great use of the titular sword in an effective third act fake out.
-Snowfall always makes for an evocative setting for sword fights, and it added an extra layer of oomf to the climax here, which also made great use of props for Ichi to slice and dice to create a dynamic action scene.
-Loved the scene of Ichi drunkenly singing and generally shitting upon the sniveling gangsters trying to appease him.
Thanks for the impressions. I've been curious how this would turn out, and have been getting nostalgic after watching the Twitch marathon. Might have to check this out this weekend.
Thank you. You're literally the first one appreciating my impressions, or second one. So don't think I'll spend so much time doing write-ups anymore.
DeathoftheEndless
Crashing this plane... with no survivors!
The Handmaiden is a solid dramatic thriller from Chan-wook Park. There are a lot of twists and turns that keep it engaging. Once I learned where it was going, I realized why it was a GAF favorite 
.
.Fancy Clown
Member
Thank you. You're literally the first one appreciating my impressions, or second one. So don't think I'll spend so much time doing write-ups anymore.
I definitely enjoyed the impressions, keep them up! I'm seeing the new one on Wednesday, fun ahead!
Net_Wrecker
Member
Thank you. You're literally the first one appreciating my impressions, or second one. So don't think I'll spend so much time doing write-ups anymore.
Don't post for replies. I bet everyone in here reads pretty much everything, and viewing/conversation can be changed by posts, as we've seen with certain movies/directors shifting the tides of the thread for a few pages.
Just not sure power rangers is the hill to die on
Don't post for replies. I bet everyone in here reads pretty much everything, and viewing/conversation can be changed by posts, as we've seen with certain movies/directors shifting the tides of the thread for a few pages.
Just not sure power rangers is the hill to die on
Yeah, I read this thread a ton and post rarely. I only commented on the Power Ranger write up because it was so long and I haven't seen as many as I expected.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
Kurosawa's contemporaneously set movies are superior to his samurai movies, tbh. Beat samurai movies were made by Kobayashi.
Count Dookkake
Member
If we're going to cry about ignored posts, I refer you to the single greatest observation this thread has seen in many an incarnation: post 3.
Miss Sloane
Contrived nonsense. Jessica Chastin tackling gun control sounds hot, until it's clear that the movie is liberal wanking a la The Newsroom, where you just end up feeling embarrassed for sharing the same views. Not helping, guys! The script has a lot of other fundamental problems too, like dialogue, plotting, that kind of minor shit. This is also the first time where I've begun questioning Chastain's choices, because her performances are starting to border on feeling one-note to me.
4/10
Contrived nonsense. Jessica Chastin tackling gun control sounds hot, until it's clear that the movie is liberal wanking a la The Newsroom, where you just end up feeling embarrassed for sharing the same views. Not helping, guys! The script has a lot of other fundamental problems too, like dialogue, plotting, that kind of minor shit. This is also the first time where I've begun questioning Chastain's choices, because her performances are starting to border on feeling one-note to me.
4/10
Cripplegate
Member
Not entirely sure if I would agree, based on the strength of Seven Samurai alone.
Fully agree. Kobayashi is the GOAT.
Count Dookkake
Member
Don't post for replies. I bet everyone in here reads pretty much everything, and viewing/conversation can be changed by posts, as we've seen with certain movies/directors shifting the tides of the thread for a few pages.
Just not sure power rangers is the hill to die on
Oh yeah I'm definitely sure all impressions are getting read. My mistake for not being more clear in the first place. I was more referring to the Power Rangers threads more so than this one. It was fun writing the whole write up in the bus though so there's that.
Now that will be awesome!
Okay, I'm actually going to watch it tonight now. I love well done conversation in movies, so I'm sure I'm going to love it.
Watched Fast Five last night while cleaning my house. I still think 7 is the best one, but beating that final scene with the safe is a tough job. I love the unabashed "cheese" of these movies. They pull off going from goofy to serious pretty well, and I do actually like all these characters despite how ridiculous these films are. I've only seen 4-7, but I may fix that soon with Giant Bomb doing Films and 40s for them all.
MidnightCowboy
Member
I have the day off, trying to choose a matinee: Song to Song or The Salesman?
AngmarsKing701
Member
Don't post for replies. I bet everyone in here reads pretty much everything, and viewing/conversation can be changed by posts, as we've seen with certain movies/directors shifting the tides of the thread for a few pages.
Just not sure power rangers is the hill to die on
I pretty much read every post, or at least every post that talks about a movie the poster has seen. I enjoy the discussion when we can get into things we either liked/didn't like, etc. That's what this is, after all, a discussion forum.
Messofanego
Banned
Depends, is The Salesman only viewable in cinemas for you? The Salesman is available on VOD here so if I had the choice, I'd watch a Malick film at the cinema for the audiovisual experience and The Salesman at home for the great drama.
MidnightCowboy
Member
As far as I know it's not available yet, but I think I'm leaning Song to Song like you suggest. I'm down for a visual feast, plus I have gift card to the theater that's playing it. The only hesitation I have is that I'm pretty sure The Salesman is a better movie. I don't want to be burned.
True Savior
Member
I have a hard time going through Metropolis but the Moroder-version makes it watchable just cause of his catchy tunes.
I feel kinda dirty watching it though.
Rhomega Beta
Member
Power Rangers: I want to start by saying that I kept watching Power Rangers even after people dropped out during Season 2/3/Zeo. The only seasons I haven't watched are Jungle Fury and Dino Supercharge. I'm well versed in the Super Sentai. Even my avatar is from the 1984 series Chodenshi Bioman. I'm glad they set up origins for Zordon and Rita here, and even from the get go you can tell Saban wants to make this 6-movie arc. The trailers gave off a Breakfast Club vibe to the characters, and yeah, that's what we get here: teenagers with attitude. There's a lot of changes here, and the Saban team really used their imaginations here. It's like when Stan Lee got to write the DC superheroes as if he created them. Rita is great, and even though she doesn't have Squat, Baboo, and Finster by her side, she doesn't need to.
On the downside, I wish the morphed fight against the Putties was longer, but that just gives more time for the Zords (which is my favorite part of the show anyway). There's a bully at school, but it's not Bulk or Skull, and that's a wasted opportunity. Also the worst use of product placement I've ever seen.
On the downside, I wish the morphed fight against the Putties was longer, but that just gives more time for the Zords (which is my favorite part of the show anyway). There's a bully at school, but it's not Bulk or Skull, and that's a wasted opportunity. Also the worst use of product placement I've ever seen.
Black Swan is close behind, I'd say.
Yeah I loved that movie and her performance in it as well.
Messofanego
Banned
Do you think you've become a good person or something?
A Silent Voice
If I had seen this last year, it would've been a tough fight between it, The Red Turtle, and Your Name. What shines here is the feeling of being socially outcast. It might seem like a predictable redemption arc of a bully getting his comeuppance against a deaf girl. It's at once deserving but also an empathic view of him being shunned too visualised as people having an X over their face so they can't connect. The effect of time softening him up and wanting to atone for his emotional damage and guilt is heartbreaking at times. There's a girl bully who might be the most infuriating character as she doesn't change over time, but she also has a reason for her grudge against the deaf girl. This might be a weird comparison, but because of the cinematography constantly focusing on little details, I got reminded of the filmmaking of Lynne Ramsay or Bresson. While ultimately it's a simple tale about friendship, it's done with such emotional gusto thanks to the visual language that you might get sucked into the sentimentality. I've got Naoka Yamada on the radar now as an anime director to follow.
Personal Shopper
Going from one film that cares a lot about cinematography to one where it's pretty unspectacular, Olivier Assayas' Personal Shopper still has a lot of atmospheric weight as a contemporary ghost story. Unlike most movies with a paranormal presence, the main character, Maureen (Kristen Stewart) who is a medium is smart enough to high-tail it out of there when it's getting too spooky. It doesn't skimp on the spooky in a couple of scenes even though it's mostly a drama about desperately wanting to reconnect with a dead twin brother. There is a cool setup and payoff involving a film within a film about a seance by Victor Hugo and using banging as yes/no questions towards a spirit. The most interesting aspect is the ambiguity about the identity of the ghost. Is it actually the brother or a creepy stalker? As she starts receiving and replying to anonymous texts, she starts to discover unfulfilled desires like wanting to be someone else such as being in the shoes (literally) of her high-profile boss who she's a personal shopper for
while otherwise she's been quite sexless. The deep dive into the fashion world is interesting especially with her oscillating between femininity and masculinity, as someone who's not invested in that. To be honest, Kristen Stewart isn't stretching herself too much here out of her comfort zone that is well-accomplished by Manon Mathews' impression of her. She's stammering, she's constantly shaking her head, but at points she's assertive, will have a quiet cry on a train, and get angry at the ghost. There is an unsatisfying plot thread involving a murder that gets resolved a bit too quickly, but that doesn't distract too much from the overall uneasiness of Maureen's atypical bereavement which is nailed home by the final line.
Please don't watch the trailer as it gives way too much away.
A Silent Voice
If I had seen this last year, it would've been a tough fight between it, The Red Turtle, and Your Name. What shines here is the feeling of being socially outcast. It might seem like a predictable redemption arc of a bully getting his comeuppance against a deaf girl. It's at once deserving but also an empathic view of him being shunned too visualised as people having an X over their face so they can't connect. The effect of time softening him up and wanting to atone for his emotional damage and guilt is heartbreaking at times. There's a girl bully who might be the most infuriating character as she doesn't change over time, but she also has a reason for her grudge against the deaf girl. This might be a weird comparison, but because of the cinematography constantly focusing on little details, I got reminded of the filmmaking of Lynne Ramsay or Bresson. While ultimately it's a simple tale about friendship, it's done with such emotional gusto thanks to the visual language that you might get sucked into the sentimentality. I've got Naoka Yamada on the radar now as an anime director to follow.
Personal Shopper
Going from one film that cares a lot about cinematography to one where it's pretty unspectacular, Olivier Assayas' Personal Shopper still has a lot of atmospheric weight as a contemporary ghost story. Unlike most movies with a paranormal presence, the main character, Maureen (Kristen Stewart) who is a medium is smart enough to high-tail it out of there when it's getting too spooky. It doesn't skimp on the spooky in a couple of scenes even though it's mostly a drama about desperately wanting to reconnect with a dead twin brother. There is a cool setup and payoff involving a film within a film about a seance by Victor Hugo and using banging as yes/no questions towards a spirit. The most interesting aspect is the ambiguity about the identity of the ghost. Is it actually the brother or a creepy stalker? As she starts receiving and replying to anonymous texts, she starts to discover unfulfilled desires like wanting to be someone else such as being in the shoes (literally) of her high-profile boss who she's a personal shopper for
or masturbating in a sexy dress
Please don't watch the trailer as it gives way too much away.
MidnightCowboy
Member
Song to Song - Yo this was actually kind of tight. Only kind of though. It's filled with so many moments, just little happenstances or snapshots that are beautiful. There's so much gorgeous water in this movie, I just wanted to drink it all up. But damn, it feels a little too aimless. The movie shines when the characters actually get to speak to each other, which doesn't happen all that often. Rooney Mara is the star of the show, I loved her in this. Conversely, Natalie Portman's character is a complete flop. She does decent work, but wow she was pointless.
Anyway, this was better than I was expecting, but doesn't sniff his top tier stuff. Anecdotally, I've never seen so many people walk out of a movie before. There were at least 6 people who dipped at different moments.
At one point she dies, and it's like who fucking cares. Am I supposed to feel for her and Fassbender in that moment? You lost me Malick.
Fancy Clown
Member
Train to Busan: Basically a Top 40 pop song of the zombie film world. It's slick to a fault, highly predictable, over-wrought as hell, and pretty stupid, but you can't help but dance a long. It's fun enough as a crowd pleaser, but it's not nearly raw, inventive, or energetic enough to stick with me. Also, CG waves of zombies will never not look stupid.
Funny enough, that was my first exposure to the film.
Stronginthearm
Member
Just saw Divergent for the first time. It was alright, not as good as the Hunger Games though. I only watched it as it was cheap to rent from the play store and I was bored.
So what's the deal with Yasujiro Ozu and Setsuko Hara? Both never married, and Setsuko Hara voluntarily left the film business after Ozu passed away. Crazy to think that both artists who told strong stories about marriage and family in Japanese society, never found love for themselves.
Speaking of Kurosawa, I watched Yojimbo a few days ago.
Coming off of Seven Samurai, it almost felt jarring on how much the Samurai movie tropes were played straight in this one. But it had perfect execution. The characters weren't particularly deep, and it didn't have the depth of the social commentary that Seven Samurai had, but goddamn was it fun to watch.
I also watched Drive. It seemed to be a fairly polarizing film, but I didn't really get the divide surrounding this movie. It was a good film with great cinematography, sound direction and I really liked Gosling's acting, which seemed to be a point of derision fron the film's detractors.
It certainly wasn't a perfect movie that the fans seemed to think, but I thought it was prettt great. A solid 4 stars out of 5 movie
Coming off of Seven Samurai, it almost felt jarring on how much the Samurai movie tropes were played straight in this one. But it had perfect execution. The characters weren't particularly deep, and it didn't have the depth of the social commentary that Seven Samurai had, but goddamn was it fun to watch.
I also watched Drive. It seemed to be a fairly polarizing film, but I didn't really get the divide surrounding this movie. It was a good film with great cinematography, sound direction and I really liked Gosling's acting, which seemed to be a point of derision fron the film's detractors.
It certainly wasn't a perfect movie that the fans seemed to think, but I thought it was prettt great. A solid 4 stars out of 5 movie
Yeah do that. I watched Late Spring before TS and I think that order worked really well as a build up of sorts.
Fancy Clown
Member
I wouldn't say the samurai tropes were played straight or that it lacks social commentary. I would make the case that Yojimbo is a satire of western capitalism, and uses more tropes from the American Western rather than jidaigeki, which is the period drama that Samurai films fell under to that point. Yojimbo kind of kicked off the wandering Ronin "sword films" iirc, which are heavily steeped in the iconography of westerns.
darkwing-buck
Member
High and Low is so so good.
Big Eyes
Not awful, but I wasn't really into it. Felt rushed and hammy. An unusual choice for Tim Burton, not only because it's his first more conventional film since, I don't know, Big Fish? But also because it's such a throwback to 90s mid-budget dramas, right down to the same kind of music cues (naturally supplied here, as back then, by Danny Elfman). So it's kind of dopey in that regard, but at the same time, weirdly nostalgic.
5/10
20th Century Women
Unlike a lot of GAF, I was not that big a fan of Beginners; it felt like a very sedated movie and I had hard time drilling into it. This was better, if only because it felt more vibrant. This might be Greta Gerwig's best performance, that I've seen at least. I had some more things to say about this, but forgot. Oh well. I liked it.
7/10
Not awful, but I wasn't really into it. Felt rushed and hammy. An unusual choice for Tim Burton, not only because it's his first more conventional film since, I don't know, Big Fish? But also because it's such a throwback to 90s mid-budget dramas, right down to the same kind of music cues (naturally supplied here, as back then, by Danny Elfman). So it's kind of dopey in that regard, but at the same time, weirdly nostalgic.
5/10
20th Century Women
Unlike a lot of GAF, I was not that big a fan of Beginners; it felt like a very sedated movie and I had hard time drilling into it. This was better, if only because it felt more vibrant. This might be Greta Gerwig's best performance, that I've seen at least. I had some more things to say about this, but forgot. Oh well. I liked it.
7/10
Well, it seems like you know more about the subject. I guess it speaks about the massive influence that Yojimbo had on cinema, to the point that I thought it felt fairly cliche (again, I didn't feel bothered about this because the execution was perfect)
I did find some social commentary about rampant capitalism, as you mentioned, and the corruption in human decency, and futility of power,.I felt that wasn't as overt as it was in The Seven Samurai though.
That said, none of what I said was supposed to be an indictment against the film, it was fucking great.
I'm planning to watch Hara Kiri next - after I watch a few other films
Fancy Clown
Member
Ain't no thang, man. Any criticism is welcome here, positive or negative. Yeah, Yojimbo was hugely influential, since not only did it inspire a whole sub-genre of samurai film, it then fed back into Westerns after Sergio Leone made A Fistful of Dollars, which is an unofficial remake.
Harakiri is amazing, arguably the best samurai film of all time alongside Seven Samurai, and is also a lot more scathing in its social commentary than Kurosawa was with his samurai films.
Power Rangers (2017): My full review, and also discussed in the spoiler thread, but in brief, this turns out to be very entertaining and, of all things, character-driven.
Garmonbozia
Member
Oh shit, I thought I was the only one.
I ended up with two different tickets from those free ticket promos, for Wednesday and Thursday. Is it mentally possible to watch it two days in a row or should I bail out of one? haha
True Savior
Member
Peer-pressure will make others say otherwise, but Metropolis is a chore.
Long live the Moroder version.
Doctor Strange (2016) - ★★★★☆
I wasn't big on Doctor Strange when seeing it in cinemas and was a little disappointed, but I decided to rewatch it and it sat much better with me this time. Yeah it still has it's flaws but I liked the visuals, fighting and small tidbits more this time around which is funny, cause I saw it in 3D in the cinema and wasn't impressed by the visuals back then. It's also an easy movie for me to watch through.
I wasn't big on Doctor Strange when seeing it in cinemas and was a little disappointed, but I decided to rewatch it and it sat much better with me this time. Yeah it still has it's flaws but I liked the visuals, fighting and small tidbits more this time around which is funny, cause I saw it in 3D in the cinema and wasn't impressed by the visuals back then. It's also an easy movie for me to watch through.
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