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[Borgnine]

Eyes Wide Shut starring Leelee Sobieski is great.

Out Of The Past: 7/10. I think I mostly understood what was happening, still great fun to watch, but mostly to listen to. But what does swoon think of it?

Lawrence Of Arabia: 8/10. Really really great, but not the greatest. I felt that the second half didn't really live up to the promise of the first, whatever that means. Absolutely gorgeous photography, and I only got slightly sick of the overused little Lawrence music motif.

Also rewatched Sunset Blvd so my girlfriend could see it. She loved it except that she kept making Norma Desmond faces for the rest of the day. I moved it up in to 10/10 territory, it's in my personal top ten somewhere too now.

 

[HiResDes]

Hundstage (Dog Days) - This is a hard one to review, it's one of the movies with separate story lines and characters that weave in and out sporadically. The overarching theme is very subtle if one can even make one. Basically the movie seems to be more composed around the scalding temperature/setting and its affect on each pair of relationships, which all seem to be rising to a boiling point in some fashion. When I first began one watching the film I spent too much time trying to decipher the message or significance of everything. However, I think Dog Days is at its best when the viewer is focusing more on what is happening immediately onscreen and less about what it will all mean in the end. It's sleazy, sweltering, and unabashedly blunt just like a hot summer day in Vienna or so I'd imagine. 8/10



Borgnine I like that movie too

 

[big ander]

Bridesmaids - It's a Kristen Wiig one-woman-show, so you have to like her mumbling kind of humor to appreciate this film because the movie itself is basically The Hangover with (and for?) women. While it did get a couple of laughs out of me, I thought the movie was a mess. 5.0

No it's not.

 

[AgentChris]

Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift: Directed by Justin Lin. This was the 1st time I saw this from beginning to end and I was entertained. The overall movie felt ok but outside of Han, the characters sucked. Bow Wow was lulz and Lucas Black's accent was a joke. Fast Five is the best Fast & Furious movie. My favorite part was the drift around the crowd of people in Tokyo and the end. Universal should have tried harder to get Paul Walker to star. Question about Han

Spoiler

I don't remember but in Fast & Furious did they explain how he is still alive? Or is Tokyo Drift chronologically after Fast Five? I know they mentioned Han going to Tokyo at the end of Fast Five.

 

[swoon]

Eyes Wide Shut starring Leelee Sobieski is great.

Out Of The Past: 7/10. I think I mostly understood what was happening, still great fun to watch, but mostly to listen to. But what does swoon think of it?

one of my favorite films ever. i think the plot takes an extra viewing to get down and it kind makes you want to smoke a pack of cigarettes, but it is pretty much everything i love about film - visually and thematically.

 

[Tucah]

Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift: Directed by Justin Lin. This was the 1st time I saw this from beginning to end and I was entertained. The overall movie felt ok but outside of Han, the characters sucked. Bow Wow was lulz and Lucas Black's accent was a joke. Fast Five is the best Fast & Furious movie. My favorite part was the drift around the crowd of people in Tokyo and the end. Universal should have tried harder to get Paul Walker to star. Question about Han

Spoiler

I don't remember but in Fast & Furious did they explain how he is still alive? Or is Tokyo Drift chronologically after Fast Five? I know they mentioned Han going to Tokyo at the end of Fast Five.

Tokyo Drift takes place after all the other movies.

 

[Veidt]

Flash Gordon.

So good. It was a lot more mature than what I had expected it to be. The fucking cartoon must have tainted my perception of it, and filled it with some prejudices. Ending was amazing!

Aura. Oh my..

I cannot honestly recall witnessing a female this sexy in film, in a long time. I audibly went ' Gat dayuuuum' several times. The figure, the mannerisms, the voice. . HHHHHHHHHNGGGGGG-I mean, holy living fuck.

Count Dookake, Now i understand your advice on the previous page. Now I understand.

 

[big ander]

one of my favorite films ever. i think the plot takes an extra viewing to get down and it kind makes you want to smoke a pack of cigarettes, but it is pretty much everything i love about film - visually and thematically.

This is how I feel about all the film noir I've seen up to now.

 

[A Human Becoming]

Midnight in Paris - I've never seen a movie before that my impression of it jumped around while watching. I went from almost walking out to liking it. Now, I didn't see it under the best conditions. The theatre got a damaged copy so the audio crackled and my popcorn sucked. Audio crackling wasn't bad enough to distract from the film luckily. They offered a refund if you couldn't take it after watching for twenty minutes and I think only two people left out of a couple dozen. One thing I found interesting about my experience was the inconsistency of the audience laughter, whereas in most movies the funny moments are clear and usually unanimous. There were parts I heard people laughing I had no idea why.

While the film can easily be described as romantic, I don't see it as much with how the term is used today. There are romance elements but the film is more whimsical and relaxing than romantic. It dwells deeper than simply love. Owen Wilson plays the nice, sort of dorky guy as he has in other films so while he doesn't detract from it he has nothing to do with the appeal.

Welp, there's one movie down released this year I want to see before the year ends:

13 Assassins
Win Win
The Guard
Point Blank
Midnight in Paris
Soure Code
Bridesmaids
Attack the Block
Winnie the Pooh
Jane Eyre
The Trip
Rango
Terri
The Tree of Life
Cedar Rapids

 

[water_wendi]

Can gaf recommend me a good horror film? Something that is more unsettling than it is shocking. Kind of like Mulholland Drive. That may not fit the typical definition of a horror film but it's what I'm in the mood for. And while I'm at it, is Inland Empire a solid movie?

Yellow Brick Road fits that bill, imo. Dont read up on it.

Trailer on Youtube.

 

[UrbanRats]

Quick:

Black Swan: i've liked it, some solid performances and an interesting directing with very good visuals/editing.
Though i think they went one step too far with the theme exposition, making it redundant.. i also have a problem with some visual effects, that felt in poor taste, ending up more hilarious than anything (

Spoiler

her legs bending backwards

, for example).
But it had a unique oppressive mood, and it made

Spoiler

the infamous sex scene more disturbing than sexy

, which wasn't an easy task, so kudos there.

The Silent House: Very nice horror, it lost me at the end, though, because

Spoiler

the twist is probably the oldest in the book and overall it felt anticlimactic

.
Another problem i had is the way

Spoiler

Laura kept examining the furniture upclose, like she was looking for a rat or somethin'

, but no big deal there, even because

Spoiler

it make some sense knowing the twist, she's revisiting her subconscious

.
The film is very tense and the handcamera thing is not obnoxious.

 

[swoon]

This is how I feel about all the film noir I've seen up to now.

they got paid per word

the author of out of past also wrote some great screenplays - invasion of the body snatchers, phenix city story, hitch-hiker and i think the big steal.

 

[big ander]

they got paid per word

the author of out of past also wrote some great screenplays - invasion of the body snatchers, phenix city story, hitch-hiker and i think the big steal.

Heh yeah I know. Just started a class on sexual politics and film noir so hopefully by December I'll love the genre more and understand it better. I mean, I get what noir is all about but I haven't clicked with a film yet

 

[HiResDes]

one of my favorite films ever. i think the plot takes an extra viewing to get down and it kind makes you want to smoke a pack of cigarettes, but it is pretty much everything i love about film - visually and thematically.

Thanks once again, you very rarely lead me astray.

Out of the Past - My first viewing, the protagonist is a slick talking, clever acting sort of anti-hero whose intentions seem a little misguided yet in the end prove to be of the utmost noble. His character reminded me a bit of the protagonist from Miller's Crossing, yet Jeff Bailey (from Out of the Past) is much more likable and much more charismatic. Pretty much the epitome of cool, or the old idealistic view of the man's man. He always seems to be in control. He effortlessly tosses out witty one-liners. He pauses to smoke a cigarette at the most inopportune times. He has a romantic disposition, but he never loses sight of the difference between reality and artifice. This is noir at it's finest, a romantic, titillating, piece of blissful gloom. 10/10

 

[Ridley327]

Netflix recently put up a fairly sizable number of giallo films, and since my exposure to the genre has been rather director-limited, I decided it was a good time to start expanding my horizons. Tonight's film:

Derivative, but I felt it was not so derivative to fault the film much for. While it lacks the imagination of the genre's best examples, it makes up for it with a remarkable sense of craft and, at least by the standards of a genre well known for its contrived plots, a fairly logical and involving mystery regarding the identity of the killer and his/her motives. It's also one of the few examples of the genre that I can think of that improves the more you stay with it, as the sluggish pacing of the early parts of the film gives way to a much more focused and determined pacing by film's end, culminating in a rather well conceived and executed finale. Terrific soundtrack, too; the bass guitar-driven score was certainly up my alley.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Flash Gordon.

So good. It was a lot more mature than what I had expected it to be. The fucking cartoon must have tainted my perception of it, and filled it with some prejudices. Ending was amazing!

Aura. Oh my..

I cannot honestly recall witnessing a female this sexy in film, in a long time. I audibly went ' Gat dayuuuum' several times. The figure, the mannerisms, the voice. . HHHHHHHHHNGGGGGG-I mean, holy living fuck.

Count Dookake, Now i understand your advice on the previous page. Now I understand.

Ha. The bolded killed me. I wish there was video. She is one of the all time hottest women on the planet. Russian-Italian hybrid.

But seriously, isn't the movie better than its camp reputation suggests? Nice costumes and sets, a couple of great performances, a rockin' soundtrack and a refreshingly crude mix of sci-fi and sexuality. I can only imagine a world that got a FLASH GORDON trilogy.

 

[Veidt]

Flash Gordon should have gotten the money and that was tech invested in Avatar.
Also, it felt as if someone genuinely tried to turn one of those 80's fantasy film posters/covers into a full feature film. Amazing vision.

 

[Represent.]

A Serbian Film - The most fucked up movie I have ever seen, not sure if theres anything else on its level. Very disturbing but it was actually pretty.. good. Great acting, lighting and all around cinemetography. I'd say its worth a watch (only if you can handle EXTREME shock value).

 

[A Human Becoming]

The Basketball Diaries - Not as good as I expected. I thought Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg both performed well, but the other actors, the directing and the soundtrack felt amateurish.

 

[TheKaeptain]

Flash Gordon should have gotten the money and that was tech invested in Avatar.
Also, it felt as if someone genuinely tried to turn one of those 80's fantasy film posters/covers into a full feature film. Amazing vision.

I fucking love Flash. Life long dream is to make an update of the series (that doesn't suck) or a new movie.

 

[Mike Works]

I just watched Munich for the second time. I don't know why I did, because now I'm fucking depressed.

 

[Buckethead]

Everything Must Go

It was alright. Some good moments mixed with "meh".

My main gripe is

Spoiler

there wasn't really much conflict resolution.

Will Ferrell makes minor progress and does some nice things but has no support system and no resources.
He is going to relapse eventually.

I like the Buddhist sentiment of letting go of your possessions but the ending was crappy for me.
Nothing about his father or anything. It was sappy and a copout for anything meaningful. Woulda been less cliche to have him hook up with Sam.

Also Mirror Man was funny as hell.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

I just watched Munich for the second time. I don't know why I did, because now I'm fucking depressed.

Because its one of the best movies of the past decade.

 

[Night_Trekker]

I just finished The Machinist.

I can't believe Christian Bale lost all that weight for that script. I mean, it's well-directed for the most part. The acting is good, the dialogue is alright, the soundtrack is pretty nifty, there are lots of nice little touches you might or might not catch during your first or second watch (ha, good luck!), and I even sort of like the concept and believe certain scenes were well done. But... really?

I kept telling myself, "There's no way that's going to be where the movie goes. That's too predictable." And then yeah, it does. And it has the audacity to behave as if it just blew the audience's mind. Did this movie's plot really take anyone by surprise? (That's not a rhetorical question. Anyone?)

Well, it's not the worst movie I own, but it completely disappointed me. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was definitely something more clever than that. Probably wouldn't recommend, but I wouldn't go out of my way to "warn" people or anything. I just had to vent somewhere. Ugh...

EDIT: I knew there was some reason I kept thinking of Session 9: same director! And I had similar problems with that film (even though I like it more): it's a movie that treats the audience like they're a bit slow and which has a soundtrack that, while not "bad," just has to cartoonishly highlight and underline EVERYTHING that happens instead of just letting the damn scene play out (which in itself is insulting to the audience's intelligence). And like Session 9, I want to like this movie more than I do, and admit to admiring it in many ways in a clinical, detached fashion, but I just can't get past certain things about the film. (Even though, again, I do like Session 9 a lot more and would recommend it, despite it's flaws.)

I guess I can't blame The Machinist's script on Anderson, though. So there's that.

 

[EliCash]

So I have this Pedro Almodovar collection, the films in it being: Volver, Bad Education, Talk to Her and All About My Mother, what's the best place to start? I've been wanting to watch All About My Mother for a while so I was going to go with that.

If I like what I see I might try to catch The Skin I Live In at the weekend. Anyway, recently I've watched:

Vertigo *****
Harvey *****
Rope ****
Once Upon a Time in the West ****
Mr Smith Goes to Washington***1/2
Four Lions ***1/2
Source Code ***1/2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes **

I also watched Inception again, I really like Inception - I think the criticism it gets here at times is harsh. I'm looking forward to Nolan getting back to non-batman films, as solid as his trilogy has been thus far. Although I suppose The Prestige and Inception came out in-between instalments in the trilogy, which is quite impressive actually.

 

[Divius]

No it's not.

Well, maybe I was exaggerating, but you can't deny there's multiple similarities.

Just bought tickets to see The Help, The Ides of March, We Need to Talk about Kevin, The Skin I live in and Drive on a single day (1 day film festival), I'm pretty excited. (not so much for The Help, but oh well)

edit: we get all those films way later then you guys in the US so I'm catching them 'early' :s

 

[swoon]

So I have this Pedro Almodovar collection, the films in it being: Volver, Bad Education, Talk to Her and All About My Mother, what's the best place to start? I've been wanting to watch All About My Mother for a while so I was going to go with that.

If I like what I see I might try to catch The Skin I Live In at the weekend. Anyway, recently I've watched:

I'd start with All About My Mother, though The Skin I Live In is more like Volver or Bad Education (i don't like this one as much though) in tone from what I gather.

 

[HiResDes]

So I have this Pedro Almodovar collection, the films in it being: Volver, Bad Education, Talk to Her and All About My Mother, what's the best place to start? I've been wanting to watch All About My Mother for a while so I was going to go with that.

If I like what I see I might try to catch The Skin I Live In at the weekend. Anyway, recently I've watched:

Vertigo *****
Harvey *****
Rope ****
Once Upon a Time in the West ****
Mr Smith Goes to Washington***1/2
Four Lions ***1/2
Source Code ***1/2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes **

I also watched Inception again, I really like Inception - I think the criticism it gets here at times is harsh. I'm looking forward to Nolan getting back to non-batman films, as solid as his trilogy has been thus far. Although I suppose The Prestige and Inception came out in-between instalments in the trilogy, which is quite impressive actually.

Talk to Her is probably his best film, though it's a shame you don't have Broken Embraces, which seems like a great entry point.

 

[HiResDes]

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl - Enchantingly melancholic. 8/10

 

[Count Dookkake]

Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl was... pretty sweet. It's kind of a monster movie/splatter/romcom hybrid. Definitely the best of these shocky Japanese splatter movies.

And that credits song was catchy as hell.

How about the song that plays during the "shower" and the kiss?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efzjl9ArKps

 

[big ander]

Well, maybe I was exaggerating, but you can't deny there's multiple similarities.

Just bought tickets to see The Help, The Ides of March, We Need to Talk about Kevin, The Skin I live in and Drive on a single day (1 day film festival), I'm pretty excited. (not so much for The Help, but oh well)

edit: we get all those films way later then you guys in the US so I'm catching them 'early' :s

I'd argue there are only as many similarities as there are between any two screwball comedies.
That's a pretty sweet idea with that festival, I'd love to do that and just watch a bunch of new films in a day. Have fun

 

[Meliorism]

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl - Enchantingly melancholic. 8/10

Out of curiosity, are you a fan of the artist that took their name from this film?

 

[UrbanRats]

Saw Uncle Boonmee.
It was a strange criptic (and wonderful) day-dream experience, and another view is mandatory, but for now, the only real problem i had with it was the ending, that i can't possibly make sense of.
I read the jungle/country house as a metaphoric space near afterlife, or rather, a place between life(rebirth) AND death.
So the strange ending in the city kinda threw me off.
What do you guys made of it?

 

[Triple Oceans]

Michael Clayton.

Didn't make much sense to start with but it got better as it progressed and the ending was brilliant. More movies need this type of ending. Very good film although some points near the start drag on a bit.

Blasphemy!

 

[HiResDes]

Out of curiosity, are you a fan of the artist that took their name from this film?

No, although I do enjoy Former Ghosts

 

[swoon]

Thanks once again, you very rarely lead me astray.

Out of the Past - My first viewing, the protagonist is a slick talking, clever acting sort of anti-hero whose intentions seem a little misguided yet in the end prove to be of the utmost noble. His character reminded me a bit of the protagonist from Miller's Crossing, yet Jeff Bailey (from Out of the Past) is much more likable and much more charismatic. Pretty much the epitome of cool, or the old idealistic view of the man's man. He always seems to be in control. He effortlessly tosses out witty one-liners. He pauses to smoke a cigarette at the most inopportune times. He has a romantic disposition, but he never loses sight of the difference between reality and artifice. This is noir at it's finest, a romantic, titillating, piece of blissful gloom. 10/10

oh i missed this post this morning. wonderful write up.

 

[swoon]

No, although I do enjoy Former Ghosts

xiuxiu4lyfe.

fmr ghost are alright, though i never liked freddie on anything.

 

[petethepanda]

Contagion. Pretty good, very compelling, but has pretty much zero humanity / emotional weight to it, and has a TON of unintentional laughs from high cheese content. (I bet you can predict the answer to a worried lab person asking "Who should I call?")

Warrior. Definitely emotionally manipulative, but it makes it work. People who are turned off to sports movies will hate it but I loved it.

 

[AgentChris]

Tokyo Drift takes place after all the other movies.

Well that sucks.

Spoiler

Han is awesome

 

[GhostRidah]

Well that sucks.

Spoiler

Han is awesome

Han is in the last two films released so far, he plays a smaller role though.

 

[UrbanRats]

Wakewood:
meh, a nice concept but very poorly executed.
Loved the fucked up ending though.

Time Crimes:
Better than Triangle, but still a lot of logical fallacies in the character's reasoning.
It was very enjoyable though, because

Spoiler

the main character gets more and more beat up, with each time-jump.. and it's still far more believable than Triangle.

Straw Dogs:
Better of the bunch by far.
The

Spoiler

rape scene

was weird, but it was very gripping and intense.
I loved Dustin Hoffman's and Susan George's performances.

 

[TheKaeptain]

Straw Dogs[/B]:
Better of the bunch by far.
The

Spoiler

rape scene

was weird, but it was very gripping and intense.
I loved Dustin Hoffman's and Susan George's performances.

I didn't remember it being that weird. Then I re-watched it a few days ago.

 

[Amagon]

Babel - The movie was well directed with all the interconnecting plots but storywise, I thought it just felt a little plain. Maybe I'm wrong and need a second viewing but I felt this movie was a little over hyped when it came out and just watching it now, it didn't move me as much. Learn that this is the director, Alejandro González, final film of his "Death Trilogy" so I'm gonna look for his other two movies, 21 Grams & Amores Perros. Though, I heard his film with Javier Bardem, Biutiful, is pretty damn good so gonna check this out as well.

 

[Discotheque]

Biutiful is alright, it's Javier Bardem that elevates that one. Really good performance.

21 Grams is the director's best imo. 3 amazing performances and just a really good (albeit depressing as hell) story.

 

[harSon]

Biutiful is depressing a fuck

 

[Hausmeister]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - First I was entertained, then it all became really cheesy...

 

[big ander]

The Maltese Falcon - Didn't like this as much as I hope I would, but I was expecting it to be a classic. It's not there for me yet, but it's close. Having just read the book, I knew going in that the writing would be fantastic. Bogart and Lorre are icons. Need to watch again and really take in the film's stance on honor and love. 9/10
Hanna - Surprisingly great. Completely nails the whole fairy tale aesthetic it's aiming for. Saoirse Ronan's acting is great. She's a blast of a cross between Jason Bourne and a Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Action is very well done too, the scenes on

Spoiler

the subway platform and in the container park

are both excellent. All of that was enough for me to largely overlook pieces like the annoying teen friend. 8/10
Le Cercle Rouge - Careful, deliberate and thrilling. Delon and Bourvil are phenomenal. Great all around, but it'd be nothing without the awe-inspiring mise-en-scène. I want to watch the heist sequence over and over. 9/10
The Third Man - Loved everything about this. Holly Martins is the ideal protagonist. He's simple-minded but he's quick with a comeback and he's compassionate, just, and direct. Wells is believably devilish. So much of that can be credited to the screenplay. Greene's work is masterful. Krasker's camera work is spectacular. Lighting is perfect. I had heard the score was different and good but I was still not anticipating it. That score works so well. Can't wait to watch it again. 10/10

 

[Night_Trekker]

I just finished The American.

This looked like the most dull, generic spy thriller ever based on the trailers, but thanks to some positive reviews, I decided to give it a chance.

If this isn't a "great" film, it's pretty close to one. The lean script explains very little to the audience. The characters are presented (the film focuses almost exclusively on Clooney's character), and the viewer is expected to observe behavior and to fill in the blanks with what the characters are thinking and feeling. I did not expect a subtle character study from this type of movie, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the majority of the film is quiet with very few (and always very short) action sequences. The violence is not the point, of course. Neither is the plot, which is simple, fairly standard spy-ish stuff but does its job by creating a space for the characters to inhabit and by establishing a series of situations which the characters adapt and react to. The people creating the violence are of interest here.

I can see why some audiences and critics didn't like it. I was warned away from the film by a friend who said the only "cool" part of the movie was the scene where Clooney's character assembles a rifle. I've known for a long time we have differing tastes in film.

Highly recommended. The American might not blow you away, but it isn't really trying to.

 

[OrangeGrayBlue]

Just got back from a midnight showing of Contagion... the acting was very straight-forward all around, I really only felt serious tension in a few moments although the film clearly wanted you to be tense the whole time, and the screenplay really held the audience's hand too much. Every 10 minutes some character gave some horrible exposition about the status of the virus: how far it had spread, what they know about it, how people would react to certain info going public, etc. Many things that could have been deduced just from watching the film were needlessly explained to the viewer step by step. On top of that, the ending was heavily diluted because oh, ya know, they explain nearly all of it halfway through the film. What I did like, though, was how it started (a black screen and we hear someone cough a couple times) as well as the prom night moment. Outside of that... horrible.

Oh, and Demetri Martin as a researcher? I just... no.

2/5

Oh, and I cringed every time a character was stating some obscure fact to another character when it's painfully obvious that they're really talking directly to the audience. "We touch our face over 3,000 times a day. That's 3-5 times every waking minute." Thank you, Kate Winslet, let me run out and buy some Purel. *rolls eyes*

 

[lazybones18]

Quartet and Savages: Both first time views

Nice to see some Merchant Ivory movies before the main ones most are familiar with. I was more intrigued by Savages based on the movie's plot alone. Interesting idea, and like how the sound and overall look of the movie were applied to provide contrast between transformations. I really did the hate the fact that my channel guide labeled the movie as a drama when it clearly it was a comedy (even TCM has it listed as a comedy). Damn shame I was pretty much out of it by the time the movie started cause I'm sure I would have been laughing at some of the scenes

Spoiler

(especially when Sam Waterson's character just falls into the pool and is just left there to die)