28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[transmogrifier]

Rank them.

1. Harakiri
2. The rest

[Dukefrukem]

Rank them.

All of them are great, but if I had to go with a favorite, it would go to Yokimbo.

First, never knew a Fist Full of Dollars was a remake of this. I immediately saw similarities from Bruce Willis's film, Last Man Standing. And so much inspiration from Stephen Chow with Kung Fu Hustle.
It's the fastest paced out of the bunch which made it the most enjoyable viewing for me.

Harakiri was great. Very slow paced. Excellent payoff.


1. Yokimbo ★★★★★ (Tatsuya Nakadai wins as most cocky somabitch ever?)
2. Harakiri ★★★★½ (Tatsuya Nakadai wins as most badass performance ever?)
3. Ran ★★★★(Tatsuya Nakadai wins as most powerful performance ever?)
4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ★★★★ (Jimmy Stewart being Jimmy Stewart)
5. White Heat ★★★½ (Would have been better without the )
6. Sherlock, Jr. ★★★½(Hilarious at times. Finally got to see those famous perspective special effects shots)

[Idioteque Stalker]

1. Harakiri
2. Sherlock, Jr.
3. Ran
4. Yojimbo

I'll put Liberty Valance on my list. Side note, Norm McDonald said it was his favorite movie. And I've never Cagney in anything...

[Dead & Messed Up]

Continuing the fantasy kick,

Beowulf and Grendel - B-

Not really defensible if you want a good time, but I found its visuals of Daneland evocative and earthy, Gerard Butler plays with some sense of subtlety, and the theme of recurrent cyclical violence gives it an element of texture and novelty. Also liked how the Christian religion starts at the edge of the story and slowly creeps in; similar to Zemeckis' film. In a way, all three Beowulf adaptations I've seen have to survive by offering post-modern deconstructionist takes on the original legend, with Beowulf as a sort of screed on hypermasculinity, The 13th Warrior as real-world revisionism, and now this film that makes Beowulf pity Grendel and regret having to take part in his demise. The accents are at times impenetrable (which makes Sarah Polley's mid-American accent doubly absurd), and I wasn't sure...

the film requires Polley's witch to get raped by Grendel and pop out his boy. It could've been another sea hag or something; the point of there being a child is that Beowulf risks perpetuating the cycle of blind violence in a way that recalls how it all started. Either way, the scene where Grendel rapes Selma is sort of silly. There's little sense of terror or dread. He walks in, sniffs her womanhood, pumps three times, and leaves. I couldn't stop myself saying, "Uh, was it good for you?" and "I'm just really busy lately."

Broadly, the final act compresses a lot of story into too short of a space. I think Zemeckis' film made the wiser move of making the three-act structure out of three monsters. This film limits its story to Beowulf for three-quarters of the film and then chucks in Grendel's mother like some sort of late-entry WWE wrestler. The editing at the end feels pretty loose too, like they cut around her because they didn't trust her as an on-screen monster or a story element - "Let's get through this as quickly as possible."

Even then, I think the flick is worth checking out if you like these kinds of movies, although its tone is more suggestive of the looking-backward gloom of Black Death than the more rambunctious adaptations I mentioned above.

Regardless, here's an excuse once again to post my favorite Beowulfy thing, "Lo There."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKBqqlzEfSU

[Skitch]

I really like Beowulf & Grendel. Deep core take on the mythological tale. Earthy is a great word to describe its feel.

[Yxklyx]

Been deeeeeeeeeeestroying my backlog lately.

In the last week, watched Harakiri (Kobayashi), Sherlock, Jr., White Heat (Raoul Walsh), Yokimbo and Ran (Kurosawa) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford).

OK, so why do you guys like this Ford film? I love/like all the above except for that one. The entire film seems like it's shot in a one-room set. Not a huge Ford fan though I love The Searchers, Stagecoach and Grapes of Wrath.

[Dukefrukem]

OK, so why do you guys like this Ford film? I love/like all the above except for that one. The entire film seems like it's shot in a one-room set. Not a huge Ford fan though I love The Searchers, Stagecoach and Grapes of Wrath.

Jimmy Stewart, the twist, and bookeends are all great. Not a big Wayne fan. In fact, I don't think I've seen many films outside of this one in it's entirety.

[Irish]

OK, so why do you guys like this Ford film? I love/like all the above except for that one.

I like it because it has a good story, with a little bit of moral ambiguity, and a sorta unhappy ending (the traditional hero doesn't get the girl). It's a treat to see Lee Marvin in all his early cruelty playing against Stewart with his aw-shucks charm.

My only problem is that the ending is a bore. The movie grinds to a halt to talk about century-old midwestern politics for close to a half an hour. The only part of it that's interesting is the way the script bends over backwards to keep Stewart's character virtuous. Until the deal is done and his political career is absolutely set, he remains ignorant of who really shot Liberty. (If he had known, and run for office anyway, it would have made the movie much more cynical.) But all this makes the structure of the film interesting too. Glance at a few other big examples from the genre, or most of Ford's other films, and they end on big action beats. "Valance" doesn't. Liberty's death is the second act climax. The end of the movie is simple people talking and arguing. There is no violence or action in the film once Lee Marvin leaves the scene.

Anyway, I think "Valance" is notable beyond its runtime, too. There's a real arc to the Western genre--and Ford's career--if we start with "Stagecoach" (1939), which was about the opening of the West, and end with "Liberty Valance" (1961), which is about civilizing the frontier. These films roughly bookend both Ford and Wayne's career over a 20 year period, with their Calvary trilogy smack dab in the middle (1948-50). (Both of them made Westerns beforehand and afterwards but I always thought "Valance" was a nice capper to their association.)

Today, it feels like "Valance" was one of the last major films in the genre before it changed permanently. There were more classic Westerns to come, but mostly on TV (eg: "Bonanza"). At the movies, we started to see stuff like Leone's anti-hero Man with No Name, George Siegel's pop-art Butch and Sundance, and Peckinpah's nihilist Wild Bunch. Looking past that, everything is more or less dominated by Eastwood and all of his Westerns quietly subvert the genre. (This is also why I think a lot of fans prefer Leone and Eastwood to Ford and Wayne. Gritty antiheroes and hard violence feel more modern, while a lot of Ford's stuff can feel hoaky in its earnestness. Also, it's important to note that Eastwood intentionally upended the genre's implicit racism every time he sat in the director's chair, which could be interpreted as a direct answer to a lot of Ford's choices.)


The entire film seems like it's shot in a one-room set.

That's because it was! The entire movie was shot on a soundstage.

Bear in mind that by the early 60s, there was already a ton of popular Westerns on television that audiences could see every week and for free (eg Gunsmoke; Wagon Train; Have Gun, Will Travel; The Lone Ranger). Paramount didn't want to pump a ton of money into "Liberty Valance," which is also why the film is in black and white. (Total aside, but I expect that the same thing that happened to Westerns and pure action films will also happen to superhero movies: Oversaturation at the box office bleeds into TV, which ends up with less people going to the theater to see these stories.)

ETA another total aside: American International Pictures got its start in the late 50s and early 60s by churning out cheapy drive-in fare. Originally, the execs thought that they'd make Westerns--until one of them pointed out that it would cost too much money to make theatrical Westerns that could compete with the stuff on television. So instead, they made road movies, biker movies, horror films, and monster stuff aimed at teenagers and young adults. In other words, pure trash. They were one of the first production companies to use focus groups, audience reaction cards, and marketing tailored to specific demographic. A lot of what they pioneered during this period -- about the time "Valance" was released -- is business as usual today.

Bits of trivia, for fun:

- Woody Strode, who played Pompey, Tom Doniphon's man-Friday and all around helper, also appeared in "Stagecoach." A few years after "Valance," he'd reunite with Lee Marvin for "The Professionals" (1966), another Western but one that's much darker and more cynical.

- Jimmy Stewart was in a half-dozenish Westerns throughout his career and he always wore the same hat and rode the same horse (this is most noticeable in the movies he made with Anthony Mann in the 1950s). Ford refused to let him wear his traditional hat, and if you watch "Valance" closely you'll notice that Stewart's character doesn't wear a hat at all. Meanwhile, John Wayne's character wears the biggest, most ostentatious 10 gallon hat imaginable. (I would think this wasn't an accident because, yes, John Ford was that petty.)

- Fifteen years after "Valance," Wayne and Stewart appeared opposite one another in "The Shootist," which was to be Wayne's final film. Stewart had long since retired from acting due to hearing problems, and only took a role because Wayne asked him to. In one scene early in the film they have a dialogue scene together and both of them kept flubbing their lines. Director Don Siegel complained that they weren't trying hard enough. Wayne looked at him and quipped, "If you wanted the scene done better, you should have hired better actors."

[Yxklyx]

Thanks for responses!

Now, I'm still doing DVDs from Netflix because I thought it had a bigger library than streaming but now I'm not so sure. I"m re-watching a lot of films and I find that a lot of them are no longer available from Netflix DVD. So, is there a web site where I can see what Netflix streaming has? Just some random titles that they don't offer on DVD anymore:

Exorcist 3
Beware of the Holy Whore
The Man Who Changed His Mind
The Ballad of Narayama

Seems like older movies are getting harder and harder to find today - and I find that to be very disheartening.

[Ivan Drago]

I'm really thinking about seeing this when it comes to my arthouse theater near me soon as a repertory film. However, I saw the trailer for it before Battle Royale, and my friends who saw it with me chuckled over how cheesy it looked. Is this not the case?


It's amazing. In my top 10 (see my av). It's so unhinged and portentous that you might find it cheesy, but it seems like something you'd like.

EDIT: also, it seems like something you could enjoy for its ridiculousness even if you didn't think it was great.


Lots of people were laughing at my screening, but some of it may have been uncomfortable nervous laughter. There's a karate chopping metrosexual German guy in the movie who is hilarious though.


Also, you're clearly a fan of outre cult movies, so Possession would be right up your alley Ivan.

Five years after all this, I finally saw Possession in a theater, and I'm still trying to process what I just saw. It starts out so grounded in reality and then progresses into gonzo horror WTFery so well that my feelings for the characters went from sad to intrusive to unsettled to weirded out to horrified to having no idea what I was watching, in that order. There's something surreal about the art direction of Mark's apartment; it's so sparse and framed to the point where it looks like a doll's house. The cinematography made the film look like a haunted home movie and Isabelle Adjani's performance as Anna might be one of my all-time favorite performances. It's nightmare cinema to a T.

[Irish]

To coincide with the republication by Anthology Film Archives and Light Industry of Stan Brakhage’s Metaphors on Vision, out of print for nearly forty years, BOMB Daily presents the following excerpt—a letter from Brakhage to the poet Robert Kelly describing his work on the groundbreaking film Mothlight, which Brakhage made without a camera, instead affixing bits of material directly to film strips. The notes at the end are provided by avant-garde film scholar P. Adams Sitney as part of this new, definitive edition of Metaphors on Vision.

http://bombmagazine.org/article/9841920/metaphors-on-vision

[Dukefrukem]

I still have a DVD sub with my netflix for that reason alone. If I want to watch a bunch of old westerns, there's not many places to go where those are available. There's also a lot of movies from the 20s and 30s I still need to see.

[Skitch]

So, is there a web site where I can see what Netflix streaming has?

www.instantwatcher.com

[baby doll]

Five years after all this, I finally saw Possession in a theater, and I'm still trying to process what I just saw. It starts out so grounded in reality and then progresses into gonzo horror WTFery so well that my feelings for the characters went from sad to intrusive to unsettled to weirded out to horrified to having no idea what I was watching, in that order.Maybe the film looks different on the big screen, but watching it on TCM, it seemed to me that it started out batshit crazy and then got progressively more over-the-top from there with gradually diminishing results.

[Grouchy]

Maybe the film looks different on the big screen, but watching it on TCM, it seemed to me that it started out batshit crazy and then got progressively more over-the-top from there with gradually diminishing results.
It starts up with drama and acting pumped up to eleven, but no hint that it's going to turn to the supernatural - at least I think that was what Drago was trying to express.

Love that film. Adjani's performance should be studied by every actress.

[Ivan Drago]

It starts up with drama and acting pumped up to eleven, but no hint that it's going to turn to the supernatural - at least I think that was what Drago was trying to express.

Precisely. :D

[Yxklyx]

www.instantwatcher.com

I found this one as well:

https://www.justwatch.com

Wow, didn't know the situation was so dire. Hitchcock's The 39 Steps is only on Netflix DVD and Filmstruck streaming. Does anyone have experience with Filmstruck?

[transmogrifier]

. Does anyone have experience with Filmstruck?

Buffering was way too slow using a VPN out of Korea, so I ditched it after the free trial. Shame, because the library was decent.

[Irish]

Does anyone have experience with Filmstruck?

I tried it twice, once at launch and once ~6 months later. Long story short: Movies buffered even during off-peak hours. Subtitles are hardcoded and their display cannot be customized. Search/discovery is mediocre. Both times I cancelled there were issues with the website and I had to go through some customer service hoops.

I love the catalog, but I wouldn't recommend this service.

[Mysterious Dude]

I got Filmstruck in July. I had some lag issues in the beginning, but I haven't had any lately. It's not a huge collection, but so many of the movies they have are unrivaled classics. I got a year-long subscription, so I'm stuck with it until next July, but I think I'm getting my money's worth. The movies I've watched so far:

Breathless
Yojimbo
A Day's Pleasure
The Phantom Carriage
Pandora's Box
An Inn in Tokyo
Things to Come
Caesar and Cleopatra
Hans Christian Anderson
Tokyo Story
La Strada
L'Avventura
Wild Strawberries
The Seventh Seal
A Taste of Honey
Kill!
Jules and Jim
Double Suicide
Dancer in the Dark
Shoeshine
Silence (1971)
Princess from the Moon
Au Revoir Les Enfants

Some of them (Dancer in the Dark, Shoeshine) aren't available anymore. Like Netflix, they lose a few movies every month.

I have to admit, I liked it better when the Criterion movies were on Hulu, because Hulu also had TV shows (Filmstruck doesn't), so there was something to keep me using the service almost every day, but having access to the Criterion collection is more important to me.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I want to see some movies at the New York Film Festival (Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name, The Square, Wonder Wheel, The Florida Project) but all the screenings are sold out. I know some of you have experience with film festivals. They say more tickets should become available, stand-by or otherwise: should I just stick to my phone and snatch them up if they become available, or would it be worthwhile to just go there and hop from venue to venue hoping to get lucky? There's a ticket to Call Me By Your Name on stubhub for $325--yeesh.

Any tips would be appreciated. Never been to a fest before.

[baby doll]

I want to see some movies at the New York Film Festival (Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name, The Square, Wonder Wheel, The Florida Project) but all the screenings are sold out. I know some of you have experience with film festivals. They say more tickets should become available, stand-by or otherwise: should I just stick to my phone and snatch them up if they become available, or would it be worthwhile to just go there and hop from venue to venue hoping to get lucky? There's a ticket to Call Me By Your Name on stubhub for $325--yeesh.

Any tips would be appreciated. Never been to a fest before.I've never been to NYFF, but if its anything like TIFF, you're never going to get into any those screenings no matter how long you wait in line (and most of them will be in regular release in a couple of weeks anyway). Your best bet is to find some obscure avant-garde from Kazakhstan that no one has heard of and try to get tickets for that.

[D_Davis]

I quit going to SIFF a few years ago when I started having to wait in line for ~4 hours per movie, just to get a ticket and a good seat. Just not worth it.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I've never been to NYFF, but if its anything like TIFF, you're never going to get into any those screenings no matter how long you wait in line (and most of them will be in regular release in a couple of weeks anyway). Your best bet is to find some obscure avant-garde from Kazakhstan that no one has heard of and try to get tickets for that.

This is not what I wanted to hear, but it was very helpful to know what to expect.

That being said, today they announced additional screenings for Lady Bird and Call Me By Your Name and I was super quick on the draw. Scored two tickets to both on the 15th for a total of $60. So pumped.

[Yxklyx]

Don't know how many of you can see this but I just re-watched Pepe le Moko (1937) [Netflix DVD]. Awesome film! Jean Gabin is like the French Bogart. Very affecting film. How many films were done in Algiers? I just love these films shot on location.

Edit: NOT the first film noir - that still goes to Asphalt (May, 1929) unless someone can prove otherwise.

[Skitch]

I watched Guns of Navarone for the first time this week (on VHS). I loved it. That scene about the beginning of the third act where Peck and Niven argue is probably top ten scene in classic cinema for me. Incredible to watch.

[Skitch]

In other [insomnia] news, Alien Arrival (now on Netflix!!!!1!) is somewhere between Leviathon and The Room. Yes, that Room. I don't know what is happening. It's like eating acid, but it's 5am. Save me, I don't know what's going on

[Skitch]

Guys...seriously...you have to watch this. It's making me insane. This third act is Jodorowsky's Dune crossed with a bad Troma voicemail?

[Irish]

In other [insomnia] news, Alien Arrival (now on Netflix!!!!1!) is somewhere between Leviathon and The Room. Yes, that Room. I don't know what is happening. It's like eating acid, but it's 5am. Save me, I don't know what's going on

I kinda wish you had started a thread and live-posted your reaction as you watched it :D

PS: See Damu's friend's movie. Maybe a pick for MovieFreaks?

[Dukefrukem]

Don't know how many of you can see this but I just re-watched Pepe le Moko (1937) [Netflix DVD]. Awesome film! Jean Gabin is like the French Bogart. Very affecting film. How many films were done in Algiers? I just love these films shot on location.

Edit: NOT the first film noir - that still goes to Asphalt (May, 1929) unless someone can prove otherwise.

Im' putting this at the top of my queue.

[Skitch]

Yeah I got drunk this morning. Sorry about that. Hooray for my 3 hours of sleep though.

[Skitch]

I kinda wish you had started a thread and live-posted your reaction as you watched it :D

PS: See Damu's friend's movie. Maybe a pick for MovieFreaks?

If I had known it would be how it was, I would have.

I will def try to do that this month!

[baby doll]

Don't know how many of you can see this but I just re-watched Pepe le Moko (1937) [Netflix DVD]. Awesome film! Jean Gabin is like the French Bogart. Very affecting film. How many films were done in Algiers? I just love these films shot on location.Almost the entire film was shot on a soundstage in Paris.


Edit: NOT the first film noir - that still goes to Asphalt (May, 1929) unless someone can prove otherwise.First of all, I've never heard anybody describe Asphalt--an UFA melodrama Ã* la Pabst--as film noir. But, then again, film noir such an ahistorical term that I can't imagine anyone proving (or disproving) that any film qualifies as noir, since the term was only ever applied retroactively (beginning, if I'm not mistaken, in France in 1946).

[Ivan Drago]

In other [insomnia] news, Alien Arrival (now on Netflix!!!!1!) is somewhere between Leviathon and The Room. Yes, that Room. I don't know what is happening. It's like eating acid, but it's 5am. Save me, I don't know what's going on

Netflix recommended that to me based on how much I like The Bad Batch.

That sounds like it doesn't bode well for your Roulette pick this week, but I swear, it's just Netflix's algorithms being crazy. Plus, I actually really like The Bad Batch, sooooooo.....there's that?

[Skitch]

Plus, I actually really like The Bad Batch, sooooooo.....there's that?

Spoiler alert...I liked the bad batch too.

Edit: there couldn't be a further separation between the bad batch and alien arrival. It's the sun and pluto.

[Ivan Drago]

Spoiler alert...I liked the bad batch too.

Edit: there couldn't be a further separation between the bad batch and alien arrival. It's the sun and pluto.

YES!!!! The more I think about that movie, the more I like it. The soundtrack and cinematography are awesome, and while its subtext is very much visible on the surface, the tone is so hypnotic and the universe is so bizarre in its uniqueness that there's no way I can't enjoy it. I know how much you and our mutual friend dislike A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, but after seeing The Bad Batch, I really want to see it.

As for Alien Arrival, I'll more than likely watch it when I've come back from a party with more than a few beers in me.

[Morris Schæffer]

I watched Guns of Navarone for the first time this week (on VHS). I loved it. That scene about the beginning of the third act where Peck and Niven argue is probably top ten scene in classic cinema for me. Incredible to watch.

This is an all-time favorite, they don't make'em like this anymore. They should, we don't get a lot of fun WW2 men-on-a-mission flicks anymore.
For me it's up there with Bridge on the River Kwai, The Great Escape and Where Eagles Dare. If you like Navarone, check out Where Eagles Dare, you'll know where my username comes from. Give Force 10 From Navarone a wide berth!

I have Guns of... on Blu-ray, perhaps it's time I actually rewatch it.

[Skitch]

I'll check out Where Eagles Dare for sure. I'll be upgrading Navarone at some point. I picked up that, Bridge on River Kwai, and Fahrenheit 451 on vhs, just because why not.

[Irish]

I thought this was interesting, but it's causing something of a stink, too:

This Future Looks Familiar: Watching Blade Runner in 2017 (https://www.tor.com/2017/10/03/this-future-looks-familiar-watching-blade-runner-in-2017/)

The author is novelist Sarah Gailey (https://twitter.com/gaileyfrey).

More longish discussion here: http://www.metafilter.com/169771/Its-not-so-very-strange-to-me

[Skitch]

I thought this was interesting, but it's causing something of a stink, too:

This Future Looks Familiar: Watching Blade Runner in 2017 (https://www.tor.com/2017/10/03/this-future-looks-familiar-watching-blade-runner-in-2017/)

The author is novelist Sarah Gailey (https://twitter.com/gaileyfrey).

More longish discussion here: http://www.metafilter.com/169771/Its-not-so-very-strange-to-me

Its not an odd opinion/viewpoint to take imo. The only bit where she loses me (and admittedly its a nitpick) is when she says "Nobody tells you about...". Well of course not. If we said "Hey want to watch a movie where a slave is gunned down in the streets for trying to be part of society and nobody cares?" Who would answer "Yes!"? Duh.

Edit: Also, from the discussion...
If the writer finds this to be unexpected or astonishing, I can only conclude that the self-described cave they were living in for long enough to have missed Blade Runner contained no Philip K. Dick whatsoever.

Yeah, this.

[Izzy Black]

But, then again, film noir such an ahistorical term that I can't imagine anyone proving (or disproving) that any film qualifies as noir, since the term was only ever applied retroactively (beginning, if I'm not mistaken, in France in 1946).

Not sure why that should matter. If the term is well defined enough (which it arguably isn't, which is the real problem), that's enough to go back and look at see which movies fit the criteria. And it's not so ahistorical, when the term comes at a time when canonical noirs were at least still being made, and well before a long tradition of blatantly self-reflexive neo-noir.

[Izzy Black]

First of all, I've never heard anybody describe Asphalt--an UFA melodrama Ã* la Pabst--as film noir.

Should say I'm also skeptical of this, especially given its conclusion. And it's worth noting M came out in '31, just a couple of years later, and is plainly a canonical case.

[baby doll]

Not sure why that should matter. If the term is well defined enough (which it arguably isn't, which is the real problem), that's enough to go back and look at see which movies fit the criteria. And it's not so ahistorical, when the term comes at a time when canonical noirs were at least still being made, and well before a long tradition of blatantly self-reflexive neo-noir.The term may have been used in France as early as 1946, but probably not that many Hollywood directors were aware of this at the time--especially since, as Richard Brody points out (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/film-noir-elusive-genre-2), it doesn't seem to have been commonly used in France either. The only major counter-example of which I'm aware is the photo of Robert Aldrich holding a copy of the Borde-Chaumeton book on film noir in the '50s.

[Izzy Black]

The term may have been used in France as early as 1946, but probably not that many Hollywood directors were aware of this at the time--especially since, as Richard Brody points out (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/film-noir-elusive-genre-2), it doesn't seem to have been commonly used in France either. The only major counter-example of which I'm aware is the photo of Robert Aldrich holding a copy of the Borde-Chaumeton book on film noir in the '50s.

The classic noir directors almost certainly hadn't heard the term. It's famously a retroactive term as far as widespread use is concerned. I wasn't denying that point. It didn't really kick off in America until the late 60s and early 70s, which is around the time the film noir directors first heard it used to describe their films, and even then they still rejected the notion they had any conscious style in mind. They were nonetheless in effect perfecting formulas and conventions, and my point was that the term was coined at this time to pick up on these conventions. I think even the (more expansive) modern sense of the term invokes these same conventions and has influenced neo-noir. For instance, the target of Nino Frank's original '46 article was Laura, The Maltease Falcon, Double Idemnity, and Murder, My Sweet. Three of these were based on novels by American hardboiled detective novelists (Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, and Raymond Chandler). The joint influence of these writers on noir and other factors like the aesthetics of German Expressionism and Citizen Kane on the visual style is hard to deny, especially at RKO in the 40s. But like I said, it wouldn't matter if Frank said it then or if we just coined the term today. If the criteria is well-defined, then we can determine whether a movie fits the bill or not. Many movements, genres, and styles in art are coined retroactively. I'm obviously not as skeptical as others about the term's application and use.

[Grouchy]

I thought film noir was supposed to be one of the most well defined genres ever - it opens with The Maltese Falcon in 1941 and it closes with Touch of Evil in 1958.

Most German films of the 1920s and 30s are predecessors in the style of cinematography, since many noir directors and DPs were German expatriates. I don't think M is noir simply because it has a dark subject matter. It lacks most of the trademarks of the genre.

[Dukefrukem]

The Maltese Falcon is incredible. Just wanted to post that.

[megladon8]

Yes it is. One of the best.

Just got back from the library with some Truffaut movie. "The 400 Pounds of Blow" or something.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yes it is. One of the best.

Just got back from the library with some Truffaut movie. "The 400 Pounds of Blow" or something.

Noice.

[baby doll]

The classic noir directors almost certainly hadn't heard the term. It's famously a retroactive term as far as widespread use is concerned. I wasn't denying that point. It didn't really kick off in America until the late 60s and early 70s, which is around the time the film noir directors first heard it used to describe their films, and even then they still rejected the notion they had any conscious style in mind. They were nonetheless in effect perfecting formulas and conventions, and my point was that the term was coined at this time to pick up on these conventions. I think even the (more expansive) modern sense of the term invokes these same conventions and has influenced neo-noir. For instance, the target of Nino Frank's original '46 article was Laura, The Maltease Falcon, Double Idemnity, and Murder, My Sweet. Three of these were based on novels by American hardboiled detective novelists (Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, and Raymond Chandler). The joint influence of these writers on noir and other factors like the aesthetics of German Expressionism and Citizen Kane on the visual style is hard to deny, especially at RKO in the 40s. But like I said, it wouldn't matter if Frank said it then or if we just coined the term today. If the criteria is well-defined, then we can determine whether a movie fits the bill or not. Many movements, genres, and styles in art are coined retroactively. I'm obviously not as skeptical as others about the term's application and use.I think it's pretty debatable whether the criteria for film noir is well defined. Or to put it another way, since the term was only applied retroactively, like melodrama, it's open to a wide range of possibly irreconcilable definitions. (Do Mildred Pierce and Leave Her to Heaven qualify as noirs? Why should we assume that the noir period ended with Touch of Evil? Just because Paul Schrader said so?)

[Peng]

Blade Runner (1982)

Second watch of the film (and second of the Final Cut as well), and I’d really thought I would like it more this time (I first watched it more than three years ago and gave it 7.5/10 then). But there’s a huge vacantness to its storytelling, odd rhythms, and characters that seem to detract from, rather than add to, its immense world-building and gorgeous style (one example is Deckard’s chase of Zhora; a sequence that should have been at least a bit horrific instead comes off stylishly, almost distractingly beautiful to me, apart from a tiny note of tear at the end). Two major exceptions where that vacantness manages to match its thematic/story elements and come off so haunting: Rachael’s two crushingly soul-searching visits to Deckard’s apartment, and Rutger Hauer’s still-magnificent and achingly sad performance. 6.5/10

[Watashi]

I randomly watched True Lies which I don't think I've ever seen from beginning to end. Maybe this was enjoyable fluff in the 90's, but jesus, this was a sexist piece of shit. This film would never get made today.

Also, remember when Tom Arnold was big? The 90's were weird.

[Dukefrukem]

True Lies is still enjoyable and it's probably Arnold's third best movie.

[Grouchy]

This film would never get made today.
Yeah, I know, and I find that depressing.

[Ezee E]

I randomly watched True Lies which I don't think I've ever seen from beginning to end. Maybe this was enjoyable fluff in the 90's, but jesus, this was a sexist piece of shit. This film would never get made today.

Also, remember when Tom Arnold was big? The 90's were weird.

Great action sequences though.

[Yxklyx]

I always mix that one up with True Romance. That one's still good isn't it?

[Skitch]

I always mix that one up with True Romance. That one's still good isn't it?

Hell yes it is.

[Spinal]

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/corki_dancingu_ver2_zpsulwlvix v.jpg

This is a public service announcement that this Polish mermaid horror-musical (and my favorite film of the year) gets a Criterion release today. Hopefully more of you get a chance to check it out.

[Irish]

Scorsese on Rotten Tomatoes, "mother!", & the current climate. Love this.


When I was young, box office reports were confined to industry journals like The Hollywood Reporter. Now, I'm afraid that they've become…everything. Box office is the undercurrent in almost all discussions of cinema, and frequently it’s more than just an undercurrent. The brutal judgmentalism that has made opening-weekend grosses into a bloodthirsty spectator sport seems to have encouraged an even more brutal approach to film reviewing. I’m talking about market research firms like Cinemascore, which started in the late '70s, and online “aggregators” like Rotten Tomatoes, which have absolutely nothing to do with real film criticism. They rate a picture the way you'd rate a horse at the racetrack, a restaurant in a Zagat's guide, or a household appliance in Consumer Reports. They have everything to do with the movie business and absolutely nothing to do with either the creation or the intelligent viewing of film. The filmmaker is reduced to a content manufacturer and the viewer to an unadventurous consumer.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/martin-scorsese-rotten-tomatoes-box-office-obsession-why-mother-was-misjudged-guest-column-1047286

[Spinal]

This actually became a news story — mother! had been “slapped” with the “dreaded” Cinemascore F rating, a terrible distinction that it shares with pictures directed by Robert Altman, Jane Campion, William Friedkin and Steven Soderbergh.

Boom! Great article.

[baby doll]

To be fair, all of those directors have made some pretty dreadful movies.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I liked Bug and The Box and don't think Feardotcom deserves to be the punchline it is (it's bad, don't get me wrong).

[Spinal]

I really like In the Cut as well. Now if it had been Portrait of a Lady, that would be a different story.

[Dukefrukem]

Loved Bug.

[Mr. McGibblets]

Is the Altman movie Quintet? I remember that being really bad.

[Spinal]

Is the Altman movie Quintet? I remember that being really bad.

Dr T and the Women

[Grouchy]

Bug has an F on Metacritic? That film is fucking great.

[baby doll]

Dr T and the WomenI actually like this film a lot, but then, how can anyone not like a movie where Richard Gere drives directly into a tornado?

My least favourite Altman is A Wedding, but there are still a whole lot I haven't seen that might be even worse. And yes, Quintet is really bad.

[Spinal]

how can anyone not like a movie where Richard Gere drives directly into a tornado?


This is a really good question. You got me sold.

[Idioteque Stalker]

True Romance I watched this year and it is horrible. True Lies I watched in middle school and it is good.

[Peng]

I feel like it's weird to lump Cinemascore in with RT. The former actually reflects how the audience feels about the film, and used more to measure the degree to which a film pleases, disappoints, or matches up with expectation with the general public. Like, it's much more an "after the fact" thing than RT, and I don't think I ever see anyone uses it as a quality measure (it's used more as expecting how strong word-of-mouth or how much leg it will have, etc). So the F isn't indicative of the film's quality as much as how the general audience feels about the film.

[Spinal]

I think Scorsese's basic point is that a film's value shouldn't lie in how a general audience responds to it within minutes of leaving the theater, or how easily it's appeal can be reduced to a marketing campaign. Even the Tomatometer these days is filled with people who have significantly less insight and experience than the typical poster on this very site. And yet they are a part of that dreaded percentage that carries so much weight. (I realize the irony in me saying this, as a frequent movie 'rater' and someone who plays a 'guess the box office returns' game.)

Scorsese's right to say that a film (made by a capable artist) is made to be experienced, absorbed and discussed. And he's probably right in insinuating that this grading/box-office obsessed mentality has a lot to do with safe crowd-pleasers like Marvel, Pixar and Disney dominating the landscape.

Like mother! or don't, but regardless, I think it's pathetic that this is a film that many are characterizing as incomprehensible, and suggests that the majority of the film-going audience is functionally illiterate when it comes to being able to read metaphor and allegory.

[Ezee E]

Yeah, I've always wondered what people did when they left the theater for a movie like Last Year in Marienbad back in the day.

[Irish]

Like mother! or don't, but regardless, I think it's pathetic that this is a film that many are characterizing as incomprehensible, and suggests that the majority of the film-going audience is functionally illiterate when it comes to being able to read metaphor and allegory.

On one hand, I agree totally.

On the other, I can't blame a general audience weaned on shitty blockbusters and junk TV when they freak out over that film. The industry spent the last 25 years lowering expectations and teaching people to be dumber. Almost everything nowadays plays on the surface, every moment contains a single idea, and every line is meant to be taken literally.

The critics got dumber too, because you can't write and interpret a work when there's nothing to write about and nothing to interpret. The only thing you can do is talk about movie stars and special effects. Do that month after month, year over year and you'll get hacky.

The only thing that's really surprised me is how much the language of marketers --- Cinemascore, Rotten Tomatoes, box office reports, toy sales --- has permeated fan culture. (I'm at the point where I actively resent that I know what "Cinemascore" is, and I have a background in marketing.)

Anyway, releasing a non-commercial film, like "mother!", that's the antithesis of that --- into 2,000 theaters simultaneously --- seems outright insane.

[baby doll]

Yeah, I've always wondered what people did when they left the theater for a movie like Last Year in Marienbad back in the day.It was pretty controversial, both in France and the United States, but the debates tended to be framed in terms of how accessible the film was rather than how profitable.

[Grouchy]

mother! has 68% on RT. That's not so bad for a divisive film.

[Ezee E]

mother! has 68% on RT. That's not so bad for a divisive film.

Pretty sure there isn't a movie in 2017 that may have as many **** reviews as there are 0 star reviews.

[Grouchy]

Pretty sure there isn't a movie in 2017 that may have as many **** reviews as there are 0 star reviews.
Dammit, now I need to see it.

It always happens to me that months go by without a single interesting movie on commercial theaters and suddenly there's everything - this, Blade Runner, Zama...

[Skitch]

Even the Tomatometer these days is filled with people who have significantly less insight and experience than the typical poster on this very site.



So fucking true. (I'm not including myself in that, but I trust MC way more than the fruit.)

[Dukefrukem]

So fucking true. (I'm not including myself in that, but I trust MC way more than the fruit.)

Unless it's about Malick or Spring Breakers... this is true.

[Skitch]

Unless it's about Malick or Spring Breakers... this is true.

Yeah but, I can still read those reviews, and know the reviewer well enough to understand its probably not for me from their glowing review.

[transmogrifier]

So fucking true. (I'm not including myself in that, but I trust MC way more than the fruit.)

Have you seen our yearly consensus results? I don't trust any of you bastards!

[megladon8]

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/corki_dancingu_ver2_zpsulwlvix v.jpg

This is a public service announcement that this Polish mermaid horror-musical (and my favorite film of the year) gets a Criterion release today. Hopefully more of you get a chance to check it out.

I've had my eye on this one for a while. Will definitely be picking it up.

[Dukefrukem]

Fandango buys Movietickets.com. Finally.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Friend backed out for tomorrow's 9pm screening of Call Me By Your Name at NYFF if anyone in the area would like a free ticket.

[Irish]

Nicholas Winding Refn is launching his own streaming service:

http://lwlies.com/articles/nicolas-winding-refn-streaming-platform-bynwr/

Not a joke. Not quite what I expected.


For the princely sum of zero dollars / pounds, this site will showcase a range of movies from around the globe, all newly restored and many plucked from Refn’s private collection.

And if that wasn’t enough, each quarter will be guest curated by a hand-picked cultural partner. Volume 1, entitled ‘Regional Renegades: exploitation gems from the Southern US’ arrives care of the author and journalist Jimmy McDonough. He will be providing vital context and off-shoot editorial around titles such as Bert Williams’ 1965 film Nest of the Cuckoo Birds, about S&M moonshiners, 1967’s Shanty Tramp, and Dale Barry’s Hot Thrills and Warm Chills from the same year.

[Neclord]

So this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-VnDcs3pnU) is kind of weird (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHLeuVUzQIk).

[Sycophant]

Nicholas Winding Refn is launching his own streaming service:

http://lwlies.com/articles/nicolas-winding-refn-streaming-platform-bynwr/

Not a joke. Not quite what I expected.

I don't think I like Refn very much, but I will very happily use his free streaming platform full of interesting and underseen movies.

[Sycophant]

The only thing that's really surprised me is how much the language of marketers --- Cinemascore, Rotten Tomatoes, box office reports, toy sales --- has permeated fan culture. (I'm at the point where I actively resent that I know what "Cinemascore" is, and I have a background in marketing.)

Well said. This is the thing about the culture around cinema (rather than the state of cinema itself) that makes me despair the most.

[Irish]

This is the thing about the culture around cinema (rather than the state of cinema itself) that makes me despair the most.

!!!

Trying not to spaz out and write a 600+ word response because oh my God, dude, I am right there with you.

(My personal antidote is wandering away from the multiplex, finding good online sources, and exploring weird, under represented, singular movies outside the American mainstream. The only thing that pisses me off is that doing such requires too much effort, when it really shouldn't---especially when English-language bloggers and #filmtwitter are full of self-proclaimed "cinephiles.")

[Sycophant]

Word, word.

It's become harder to find interesting things on the Internet. Things have centralized to social media sites and the like and at the same time search engines routinely give you the same, immensely popular results, rounded down to the common interest.

It occurs to me now that I'm ultimately more disturbed by prevailing sexism and racism that pervades all things, including film culture. But still, in the more narrow concerns of discourse surrounding the texts themselves and aesthetic concerns, the fact that 50% of all statements about film seem to revolve around the word "franchise" bums me out pretty durned hard.

[transmogrifier]

Made the mistake of seeing some of the behind the scene photos for The Irishman on IMDB. They are all so OLD. Shit’s depressing, yo.

[Irish]

https://i.imgur.com/camZNb9.jpg?1

HOO-HA!

[Grouchy]

exploring weird, under represented, singular movies outside the American mainstream
And how often do you do this, exactly?

My question isn't only a jab. If you search the highest rated movies of any year on IMDb, there's always some Greek or Eastern European film that's apparently fucking excellent. Hell, if you look for genre, sometimes the first six results are all Hindi. I just don't watch that shit on the off chance it's a Bollywood musical.

Also, fuck you, trans. Those old timers will kick your ass on... on your living room, when it's shown on Netflix. It's the Jimmy Hoffa story directed by Martin Scorsese. Come on.

[Irish]

And how often do you do this, exactly?

Often enough that it's tiring. Like Syco said, we might have access to more media than ever before but discovery is a problem. Even if it weren't, distribution in the U.S. sucks. American studios book the multiplexes solid and festival films might get a limited releases 6 months or more after the fact. And then only if you're in a major market like New York on L.A.

I'd love to track foreign releases more closely and have a better idea of what's playing when but doing so means keeping tabs on a dozen different sources.

[transmogrifier]

.

Also, fuck you, trans. Those old timers will kick your ass on... on your living room, when it's shown on Netflix. It's the Jimmy Hoffa story directed by Martin Scorsese. Come on.

Now, now I was just commenting on the relentless passage of time that will see all of us wither and turn to dust, never to be again. You know, light hearted stuff.

[Grouchy]

Heh, I was very drunk when I posted that night. Sorry, trans.

I know this is the longest shot in the history of long shots, but does anyone know a good community for sharing B movies? I'm trying to download an Umberto Lenzi picture called Almost Human and although it says there are seeders, none of them seems to be sharing.

[Dukefrukem]

Dunno about that but if you wanted to watch this version of Almost Human (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2325517/reference), I dated the news reporter in the opening scene.

[transmogrifier]

Heh, I was very drunk when I posted that night. Sorry, trans.

No worries. I’ve been guilty of that countless times.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Gaslight - 1944 - Surprisingly intense and prescient; Ingrid Bergman gives one of her most impressive performances (though her peak is still Notorious), and Charles Boyer creates one of the all-time creeps in Gregory Anton. I appreciated how the film never tried to play ambiguity and instead told you straightforward and early that Anton's manipulating Paula, trusting enough in the characters and story that the dramatic irony would function. The cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg (a gun-for-hire who apparently lensed everything from Marx Brothers comedies to Mrs. Miniver) creates oppressive atmosphere in the night exteriors, which (very intentionally) evoke the iconography of Victorian/Edwardian Jack the Ripper London. Very fine stuff.

Originally checked it out due to the accusations that Trump was gaslighting America, but now it feels horribly evocative of all the men-in-power currently being unseated by their manipulation of women.

Mirror Mirror - 2012 - Damn charming up to a point. A very specific late-second-act point when the film arbitrarily makes the dwarves and Snow White fight two enormous wooden puppets so it can contrive of an unconvincing low where Snow White tries to abandon the dwarves and leave the kingdom to almost certain ruin. Didn't buy any of that, which made the climax a tough sell. But even then, because this is Tarsem Singh, Mirror Mirror deserves a watch just for the imagination, the costumes and sets especially. And sometimes the dialogue really comes in at borderline Princess Bride angles, like when Prince Alcott insists on joining the final fight because it's been tested and focus-grouped.

Sidebar: given the new trend of dubbing literally everything a gay icon (e.g. the Babadook, Ariana Grande, Pennywise), I'm shocked that Julia Roberts' fabulous Evil Queen didn't become a gay icon.

[Yxklyx]

Is this what movies have come down to?

http://yxklyx.com/images/catvideo.png

Cat People/ Videodrome double feature :)

[Skitch]

Who the hell decided on that combo?

[Grouchy]

I'm assuming it's the remake... early '80s Horror?

[Yxklyx]

Who the hell decided on that combo?

Someone who likes 80s horror featuring leading sex symbols from that era?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Is this what movies have come down to?

http://yxklyx.com/images/catvideo.png

Cat People/ Videodrome double feature :)

Probably the same sort of person who enjoys abbreviating "assistant" to "ass."

Y'know, me. People like me.

[Yxklyx]

Someone made an impressive movie map:

https://i.redd.it/jmqqav1dmuuz.jpg

[baby doll]

So I saw a very promising rough cut of Lav Diaz's Evolution of a Filipino Family. Whenever Diaz gets enough money together to finish editing it and do a proper sound mix, he may have a very good film on his hands. Let's just hope the digital elements don't completely deteriorate before that happens.

[D_Davis]

Watched Blade Runner the Final Cut this past weekend. First time I had watched it since it first came out on DVD.

It's a good movie. It still looks incredible. The sets are simply magnificent. It's a smaller movie than I remember it being. I think that's why it works so well. The filmmakers were able to focus on the details of just a few locations, and so each location/set has real gravitas. The movie feels anchored in its time and place, but I would have liked to see more connecting shots establishing a better geography of where the locations were in relation to one another.

It's small film in terms of plot and exposition. A lot of the fat is trimmed away. It's very much like Road Warrior in this aspect. It's weird though. In my mind, I remember there being more to it. The film leaves a bigger impression than what is revealed on screen. Not quite sure how to put it. I think perhaps it is the atmosphere and mood that carries most of the weight.

I do think that I prefer the film with the VO, and want to watch one of the other version of the movie to see if this is true.

Also. the Final Cut really doesn't leave much mystery as to whether Deckard is an android or not. I don't remember it being so blunt about this.

[Winston*]

Wait...The Man Who Killed Don Quixote actually got made?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Killed_Don_Quixote

[Grouchy]

Hahah yeah, I couldn't believe it either when I first heard it. I only found out because I follow Gilliam on Facebook.

[baby doll]

Suck on that, Orson Welles.

[Yxklyx]

As for Gaslight I watched the earlier film first and preferred that one. I thought Ingrid was overacting too much.

Rewatched Days of Being Wild for about the third time - such a sublime film.

[Peng]

After the Thin Man (1936)

A drop from the first, but thankfully only a slight one at that. Not as infectiously fresh as the first time around, and Nick acts just a littleee bit too callous in some dangerous/sensitive situations or towards Nora a few times (not so much that I get too worried, but hoping that this doesn't signal him calcifying into shtick). Otherwise as lively and funny as we've come to expect from this couple, especially in their down times between investigating or at their most deliciously alcohol-fueled ("Yes dear, I'm putting away this liquor"). And the plot is quite good for a detective sequel, maybe even better than the original, with some unexpected twists and turns and a surprisingly intense performance at the reveal, which I should have expected more in retrospect. 7.5/10

[D_Davis]

With Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, Zahler is proving himself to be one of the most vital directors working today.

He makes real grindhouse cinema. There is no irony, no winks, no nudges in his films. They're free of anachronistic flourishes, and are not grindhouse pastiche.

He makes serious, character-driven grindhouse cinema, exactly like they made it in the 1970s.

Zahler treats grindhouse cinema seriously, and he demands his audience do as well.

In 30 years, people will talk about Brawl in the same breath as films like Rolling Thunder. It is absolutely brilliant. One of the best films I've seen in ages. If it were a mainstream crime-drama, Vince Vaughn would be walking away with a best actor Oscar. Never in any other movie has his size and presence been used so effectively. Vaughn conveys a ton of emotion through subtle facial expressions and body language.

I absolutely cannot wait for Dragged Across Concrete.

[Irish]

I dunno about Zahler. His films contain obvious mistakes and I can't tell if he's making them intentionally or not. If he is, it's a useless affectation. If he isn't, he's signaling his inexperience.

Anyway, "Cell Block 99" has prisoners wearing shock belts and a character named The Abortionist. It's less fun if taken seriously. (I also think the movie is misnamed. It should have been called "Pretty Good Ass-Kicking in the Last Cell on the Left.")

[Dukefrukem]

I'm not sure Davis is using that "Grindhouse" term correctly.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Weekend watching:

Got 10 minutes into the original The Hobbit telefilm and turned that puppy off.

Got 20 minutes into the 1933 Alice in Wonderland and turned that puppy off.

Got 40 minutes into Sucker Punch and turned that puppy off.

Watched all of Midnight Run and had a good time.

[Grouchy]

I tried to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them the other day and after being bored by the first twenty minutes I realized I had two hours left and turned that puppy off. I hadn't done that with a movie in a long, long time.

[Skitch]

Weekend watching:

Got 10 minutes into the original The Hobbit telefilm and turned that puppy off.

Got 40 minutes into Sucker Punch


Explain yourself.

[Dukefrukem]

I tried to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them the other day and after being bored by the first twenty minutes I realized I had two hours left and turned that puppy off. I hadn't done that with a movie in a long, long time.

Yeh that movie is bad.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Explain yourself.

They bored me.

[Skitch]

They bored me.

But giving Sucker Punch so much more time than The Hobbit...sad face...

[transmogrifier]

Brawl in Cell Block 99 is an hour of slow burning, compelling turmoil coupled with a grimy, silly, annoying, kind of boring third act.

[TGM]

But giving Sucker Punch so much more time than The Hobbit...sad face...

It's so much more better, though. ;)

[Peng]

Whatever else, I enjoy how Zahler titles his works. Three examples for each branch:

Films:
Bone Tomahawk
Brawl in Cell Block 99
Dragged Across Concrete

Novels:
A Congregation of Jackals
Wraiths of the Broken Land
Mean Business on North Ganson Street

Music:
Summon the Stone Throwers
Blue Flame Cavalry
Crawl Into the Narrow Caves

[Grouchy]

That is indeed some mighty fine titling.

[D_Davis]

I'm going to have to check out his novels.

[Irish]

Variety cover story on Christopher Nolan

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/christopher-nolan-dunkirk-oscars-movies-tv-spielberg-1202607836/

[Dukefrukem]

Variety cover story on Christopher Nolan

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/christopher-nolan-dunkirk-oscars-movies-tv-spielberg-1202607836/

Inception 2 confirmed!??!@?

[Yxklyx]

Out of the loop! What's the banner from? You know, the bird..

[transmogrifier]

Out of the loop! What's the banner from? You know, the bird..

Don't ask.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Just rewatched E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in full for the first time since I was a kid.

Gang.

Why don't we talk about everything this movie is doing right, like, every day? There's so much that's goodness in the film, from the beat-by-beat storytelling to the use of light and fog to what's maybe Williams' best score ever. We don't even talk about how the spaceship shows up in, like, the second shot of the film. There's not even a token moment of suspense like what you'd find in Close Encounters. It's just there, nonchalant, matter-of-fact. And between the appearance of the spaceship (it looks more like a miniature palace than a ship) and the interior exotic garden of the ship (there is a tree with a vaguely human face, why aren't we talking about this, there is basically an Ent in this movie), the film is telling you very quickly and holistically to treat it on a fable/fairy tale level (which comes back with the more obvious Peter Pan nods).

So much of the story is communicated on a holistic level, and despite the word "empathy" never being used once, that is the dominant idea of the story. Empathy made both figurative and literal, as a way to "heal" and as observable biological bonds. You do get a pinch of verbalization when Michael says Elliott "feels what he's feeling." But otherwise, the film trusts you will understand.

What a spectacular movie.

[Peng]

I did a whole chronological Spielberg filmography watch-through last year, probably the first proper rewatch of E.T. since I was a kid as well, and I was really struck by the messy, almost harrowing emotions evoked by the father's absence, especially before E.T. comes. And watching Spielberg directing the kids with such warmth and compassion is one of the highlights in this year's Spielberg doc.

[Mysterious Dude]

Out of the loop! What's the banner from? You know, the bird..

It's a "porg" from the new Star Wars.

[Irish]

Just rewatched E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in full for the first time since I was a kid.

It's an incredible film. Great writing. Terrific performances from the kids.

I re-watched it earlier this year, because of the Siskel & Ebert, and was surprised how absolutely effective it is. I think it's somewhere on my half-assed list of the best sci-fi movies ever made.


Why don't we talk about everything this movie is doing right, like, every day?

To hijack your thought --- with all the hype and nostalgia around the 80s and genre films, there's a lot of great movies from the period that nobody talks about and I don't understand why. (Meanwhile, I see an article about John Carpenter's "The Thing" about once a month.)

[origami_mustache]

I saw Agnes Varda today and it was a delight.

[baby doll]

I saw Agnes Varda today and it was a delight.I was sexually assaulted by Agnès Varda.

[Ivan Drago]

I'm probably going to be in the minority on this given it's critical reception, but Tank Girl fucking rules, guys.

[Skitch]

I'm with ya.

[baby doll]

I'm probably going to be in the minority on this given it's critical reception, but Tank Girl fucking rules, guys.Any movie where Ice Cube plays a half-man half-kangaroo who says things like, "Ain't gonna be no crumpets and tea," is alright with me.

[Watashi]

i'm rewatching War of the Worlds for the first time in a decade and holy shit is this movie frightening. I remember people snickering over the son surviving, but there is so much unsettling imagery in this movie, I do not understand how someone can call Spielberg soft.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The front half is loaded with excellent, coherent action/suspense. The first tripod attack and capsizing ferry stick out in my mind.

[D_Davis]

i'm rewatching War of the Worlds for the first time in a decade and holy shit is this movie frightening. I remember people snickering over the son surviving, but there is so much unsettling imagery in this movie, I do not understand how someone can call Spielberg soft.

One of his best movies. Perfectly paced.

[D_Davis]

Just rewatched E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in full for the first time since I was a kid.

Gang.

Why don't we talk about everything this movie is doing right, like, every day? There's so much that's goodness in the film, from the beat-by-beat storytelling to the use of light and fog to what's maybe Williams' best score ever. We don't even talk about how the spaceship shows up in, like, the second shot of the film. There's not even a token moment of suspense like what you'd find in Close Encounters. It's just there, nonchalant, matter-of-fact. And between the appearance of the spaceship (it looks more like a miniature palace than a ship) and the interior exotic garden of the ship (there is a tree with a vaguely human face, why aren't we talking about this, there is basically an Ent in this movie), the film is telling you very quickly and holistically to treat it on a fable/fairy tale level (which comes back with the more obvious Peter Pan nods).

So much of the story is communicated on a holistic level, and despite the word "empathy" never being used once, that is the dominant idea of the story. Empathy made both figurative and literal, as a way to "heal" and as observable biological bonds. You do get a pinch of verbalization when Michael says Elliott "feels what he's feeling." But otherwise, the film trusts you will understand.

What a spectacular movie.

I haven't seen this since it was originally in the theaters. Been wanting to watch it.

[Skitch]

I haven't seen this since it was originally in the theaters. Been wanting to watch it.

It has aged extremely poorly in my opinion.

I also really dig his War of the Worlds.

[Dead & Messed Up]

It has aged extremely poorly in my opinion.

You monster.

[Skitch]

You monster.

Hey, I quietly chewed my tongue while you guys were slobbering over it. Enjoy what you want. :)

[Dukefrukem]

The front half is loaded with excellent, coherent action/suspense. The first tripod attack and capsizing ferry stick out in my mind.

Agreed here.

I also found it frightening when they first leave the house after the attack at the Mom's house.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Hey, I quietly chewed my tongue while you guys were slobbering over it. Enjoy what you want. :)

I won't be satisfied until everybody in this forum is an agreeable DaMU Clone. Only then will this forum finally have peace.

[Skitch]

I won't be satisfied until everybody in this forum is an agreeable DaMU Clone. Only then will this forum finally have peace.

https://i.imgur.com/4BbOpY1.jpg?1

[Grouchy]

Well, it looks like I'm going to the Mar del Plata film festival!

I need to check out less obvious films I haven't heard of, but so far I'm pretty sure I'll watch:

The Shape of Water
Lucky
Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri
Brawl in Cell Block 99

[Grouchy]

I want to watch some Korean films - any recommendations among these?

http://www.mardelplatafilmfest.com/es/programacion

[Skitch]

Well, it looks like I'm going to the Mar del Plata film festival!

I need to check out less obvious films I haven't heard of, but so far I'm pretty sure I'll watch:

The Shape of Water
Lucky
Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri
Brawl in Cell Block 99

I watched Brawl last night. Crazy flick.

[transmogrifier]

I want to watch some Korean films - any recommendations among these?

http://www.mardelplatafilmfest.com/es/programacion

Definitely Die Bad.

Of the others I have seen, A Taxi Driver is rather conventional, but depicts an interesting moment in the country's history, and The Villainess has some inventive fight work, though the storytelling is needlessly convoluted with all the flashbacks. Both are worth a look, but I make no claims to greatness for them.

Haven't seen any of the others.

[Grouchy]

Thanks, man!

A Villainess was the most appealing to me, but I'll make sure to watch Die Bad now.

[Ezee E]

War of the Worlds just ends terribly is all.

[Yxklyx]

I haven't seen this since it was originally in the theaters. ...

Same here and I'm pretty sure that's because there was SO much marketing for it that I didn't want to hear the word again.

[Peng]

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

Breakneck one-thing-after-another adventure, in and out at just one hour. Creakily bombastic, thus very charming. All the set designs and special effects have a tangible quality that is highlighted by the swooping direction, which isn't afraid to go as grandiose and unsubtle as possible, making the whole thing full of pulpy atmosphere and fun action sequences. The big, stiff acting just adds to the charm. 7.5/10

Greetings (1968)

Curious to know what prompts De Palma to go from this early New Wave phase to the Hitchcock-inspired films that he'll forever be associated with. This has all the same loving cinephilia, sexual provocation, and (sometimes cringey) political frustration bundled in exhilarating pent-up energy of his next Hi, Mom!, but much, much rougher and too wandering. Still worth it for bits like De Niro curiously and seriously reading a book on voyeurism out loud. 5.5/10

[Russ]

De zee die denkt / The Sea That Thinks (Gert de Graaff, 2000) ****/****

Normally, a philosophical film about philosophy is definitely not my cup of tea. But, the context in which it's presented, about a screenwriter writing a screenplay about a screenwriter writing a screenplay for a film in which the screenwriter in question is the main actor, is brilliantly crafted by director Gert de Graaf (originally for Dutch television). The film integrates the themes of Eastern philosophies (mainly a school of Hindu philosophy, Advaita, and the teachings of nonduality) along with the heavy use of cinematic trickery in the form of optical illusions -- it's as it someone commissioned M.C. Escher to make a film about the creative process of a writer who is burdened by questions of purpose, perspective, and meaning.

It's truly a fascinating film that I can't recommend highly enough. I quote the following passage from a review because it contains the exact sentiment that I was telling myself while watching this visual feast for the senses:


One quick warning: anyone confused by mildly-clever pics like ADAPTATION or BEING JOHN MALKOVICH will suffer a cerebral hemorrhage during this delirious mindblower. As for myself, I was mesmerized from beginning to end.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EpbEMKW6Us

[Dead & Messed Up]

Really fun moment tonight while watching Brigadoon for the first time. Gene Kelly starts singing "Almost Like Being in Love," and I'm like wait just a goddamn minute. That's the song that plays at the end of Groundhog Day. And then the whole idea of having one perfect day with someone thanks to a magical spell of some kind, well, now it makes twice as much sense that Groundhog Day ends on that song.

I'd always thought it ended that way due to the sort of quiet irony of ending a rom-com with a lyric about "almost" like being in love, similar to the way Murray adds "Let's rent to start" to his decision to move to Punxsutawney. But it also carries this extra connection to another fantasy romance.

Anyway, the flick's not bad, some fun dancing if a little arch, even for its day. Kelly convinces mostly, but when Brigadoon disappears behind him, his face doesn't stretch to a meaningful emotion beyond lemon-sucking. Mostly the production design stands out, with sumptuous matte paintings and larger-than-life costuming for the natives of the 'doon. It's hard to imagine a musical by Vincente Minelli that's better than Meet Me in St. Louis, and this one doesn't begin to match that one.

I think a much more melancholic conclusion would've improved the film, especially since the film demystifies the peace and joy of Brigadoon by introducing a character so despondent to leave that his frustration escalates into a death by the end of the film. That seems too important a story/thematic point to skip over for the feel-goodery (though it might also be a shameless pull from Jud in Oklahoma!). And the whole idea of Brigadoon feels like a big fat metaphor for the way we romanticize our pasts and give in to the tempting power of nostalgia. So maybe if it would've been framed as just that, as memories, the film would've been able to say a bit more or generate more emotion.

Sure, it's all upbeat wish fulfillment for the most part about gettin' hitched and happy and singing and dancing your way through those first few moments of falling in love (or something similar).

I just like bittersweet endings, and the film could've maybe pulled off one of the all-timers, with Kelly returning to the spot where Brigadoon was, and it's not there anymore. It's all gone, even with him wishing for it. And maybe on the walk back, he meets a new girl, one who looks strikingly similar to the girl he loved, but it's just a woman, and she asks why he's visiting this part of Scotland. He says he fell in love here once, but only for a day. She says that's luckier than most. Some people live a hundred years without knowing a day of love. Fanfare against starlight on the waters. Credits.

[Mysterious Dude]

Watching Outlander reminded me of Brigadoon. It's like the anti-Brigadoon. It's also about a modern (1940's) person transported to an 18th century Scottish town, but unlike Brigadoon, the town is a cruel and barbaric place.

I actually find the whole premise of Brigadoon slightly offensive. It was conceived by New Yorkers with a foolish, idealized view of old Scotland. A minister asks God to protect the town by having it appear for one day every 100 years, and no one is ever allowed to leave, or the town will disappear forever. I actually felt a lot of sympathy for the guy who wanted to leave the town. Why shouldn't he be allowed to?

[Dead & Messed Up]

I actually felt a lot of sympathy for the guy who wanted to leave the town. Why shouldn't he be allowed to?

Same! I thought this was going to lead to a more nuanced view of what Brigadoon is and what it means, and why it would've been better that Kelly doesn't return. It seems more prison than miracle by the end, since the people in the town have no say in the matter. Those poor people are doomed to frivolity and innocence for the rest of their lives. I haven't seen Outlander, but another film response might be something like Pleasantville, where the complexity of real life knocks the idyllic off its pedestal.

[Peng]

Really took too long for me to realize you guys weren't talking about the Ron Moore show.

[Neclord]

To call back to the previous page, I've been watching the different cuts of E.T. for a podcast and just wanted to pop in and say that War of the Worlds is the perfect nightmare antithesis. Spielberg is a good artist god damn it

[Lazlo]

One of only three theaters in my city (Charlotte) that shows indie and foreign films is closing this Sunday. It's a six-screener that's been open since 1964 and currently operated by Regal. Closing apparently due to rising rent in the shopping center it's a part of, which is going through a renewal. The theater's nothing fancy but it's very reliable in terms of variety of movies and quality of presentation. It's really going to put a dent in the number of choices in town. Such a damn shame. I've gone twice since Friday when the closing was announced and am going again tonight, likely for the final time. Closing it out with The Disaster Artist.

[transmogrifier]

Rewatched three films on Saturday while hungover and all three fell in my estimation: Forrest Gump (68 --> 63), SW: The Force Awakens (59 --> 55) and Walk Hard (70 --> 66). I think I'm getting crankier in my old age.

[Skitch]

I think I'm getting crankier in my old age.

It happens. Own it.

[Ezee E]

Rewatched three films on Saturday while hungover and all three fell in my estimation: Forrest Gump (68 --> 63), SW: The Force Awakens (59 --> 55) and Walk Hard (70 --> 66). I think I'm getting crankier in my old age.

Hangovers get worse too.

[transmogrifier]

It happens. Own it.

The Last Jedi thread is proof that maybe I already am doing just that.

[Dukefrukem]

That Force Awakens score is too high.

[MadMan]

Paprika is goddamn amazing, and yes Inception borrowed, stole from it, etc. Both own a bit to Dreamscape, however, and I love all three movies. Each brings something different to cinema.

[Skitch]

Yep, agreed.

[Yxklyx]

Love this movie poster I'm seeing everywhere here in Chicago

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/931262022070628352/Vo1TObV5.jpg

[Grouchy]

That's awesome. I don't think anyone had had that visual idea before.

[Ezee E]

That's awesome. I don't think anyone had had that visual idea before.

Can't tell if sarcastic or not, but it still works.

[Grouchy]

No, no, I was serious. I tried to think back if I had ever seen an afro made of stuff from the movie and I couldn't recall anything.

[Yxklyx]

No, no, I was serious. I tried to think back if I had ever seen an afro made of stuff from the movie and I couldn't recall anything.

I believe you though I do think something like this must have been done back in the early 70s. I don't think it's as original as you think but seeing something like this in the age of all those generic posters that are so prevalent is so refreshing.

[Dillard]

Everyone has to see Downsizing! It’s a big sappy preachy mess of a movie but it’s got a big heart and I LOVED it! Don’t listen to the critics. Can we have a dedicated thread? Thank you to whoever does that!

[TGM]

Everyone has to see Downsizing! It’s a big sappy preachy mess of a movie but it’s got a big heart and I LOVED it! Don’t listen to the critics. Can we have a dedicated thread? Thank you to whoever does that!

Ask and you shall receive: http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?7036-Downsizing-(Alexander-Payne)

[MadMan]

Downsizing is new Alexander Payne. I am there. Also Proud Mary is going to be badass.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Started watching Gremlins for the first time in a long time tonight, because Christmas, and was enjoying it some, but then I realized I could be watching Gremlins 2 instead, so here I am now, giggling once again at Joe Dante joyfully middle-fingering his way through an enormous studio sequel.

[Thirdmango]

For a bunch of the year I was on par to watching 365 movies this year. I'm currently at 327 so I won't quite make it even if I watch four movies each day the rest of the year, but I do feel pretty cool that I got that close.

[Dukefrukem]

I think the two best Christmas movies ever have to be Christmas Vacation and Die Hard.

[Dukefrukem]

For a bunch of the year I was on par to watching 365 movies this year. I'm currently at 327 so I won't quite make it even if I watch four movies each day the rest of the year, but I do feel pretty cool that I got that close.

I'm at 212 right now, which is 11 more than my all-time record of 201 back in 2015. (thanks Letterboxd)

Can you tell when I started playing Mass Effect Andromeda, Summer vacation and Engagement was this year?

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[Skitch]

I'm at 313.

[Grouchy]

I haven't seen the original, but judging from the trailer, I can't help thinking that Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again has a pretty good concept for making an unnecessary sequel seem warranted.

[Lazlo]

I'll post mine when the year's fully out, but I'm on target to hit 350 this year. What. A. Nerd.

[Thirdmango]

I'm not pro so I can't get the cool graphics but I already know if I did a directors thing my number one director would be Gerald Thomas since I watched all of the "Carry On" films this year. And then there would be other graphics for James Bond stuff since I watched all of those movies this year most for the first time.

[Skitch]

If I had to guess my most watched director would most likely be Sam Liu as well.

[Ivan Drago]

Love this movie poster I'm seeing everywhere here in Chicago

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/931262022070628352/Vo1TObV5.jpg

That's a fantastic poster but the January release date has me apprehensive.

And I've seen 154 films for the first time this year. I won't be catching up to you guys in 2017, but it's a personal best for me.

That being said, next year I'll be posting links to a Letterboxd list when I make updates on this site just because it takes a lot of time.

[Skitch]

...just because it takes a lot of time.

I'm so far behind in my reviewing that I just started on October. :/ Planning to be fully caught up by end of year.

[Ezee E]

Is that letterboxed? Maybe I'll give that a try in 2018.

Fairly sure Tarantino would be most watched Director, therefor SLJ as actor.

[Morris Schæffer]

I think the two best Christmas movies ever have to be Christmas Vacation and Die Hard.

What about Bad Santa? Home Alone?

[Ezee E]

Should've done a tourney of
Christmas Movies VS. Movies That Take Place During Christmas

[Skitch]

Eyes Wide Shut? Silent Night, Deadly Night?

[baby doll]

I think the two best Christmas movies ever have to be Christmas Vacation and Die Hard.I don't know about whole films, but my two favourite Christmas scenes--and in my experience, the most realistic--are those in Ma saison préférée and the Todd Haynes remake of Mildred Pierce.

God, I hate Christmas.

[Grouchy]

Duke, where do you pull those Letterboxed stats?

[Dukefrukem]

Duke, where do you pull those Letterboxed stats?

IIRC, Letterboxd will give you a year in review after the new year, but if you pay for Pro status, you can look at your stats any time you want per the Stats button bottom right under your profile ribbon.

https://d1ro8r1rbfn3jf.cloudfront.net/ms_124812/6su7485zqOIrSseGQLnPMz0l67qm6J/%25E2%2580%258EDukefrukem%25E2 %2580%2599s%2Bprofile%2B%25E2% 2580%25A2%2BLetterboxd%2B-%2BGoogle%2BChrome%2B2017-12-26%2B12.31.15.png?Expires=1514 395884&Signature=JQA9kYjExnbmdjrqO6md sHMS56nty1qid~9KE-bEfA-7KQ6JBonKGpYqw8hGkJ4v6YPHo6Z~0 mjE2rb1BUnm9ezZCVKuESSIH6UgBp6 jEb7lvRkYrfbCvsqWxc-feGAsDKTqh0HGZLBo8Xa~kzcZKG0eT ~u8hMKqVM8O-HwrVx5sRAbPKzfwBl~pFEDT7sU3MAS V5muDn-oTS-1HdIm~6rtBbnFWJPfMbrSmz4GcoN1T y6zZOJFcYB0CiN5EAymlpFC4dlPmrt SusBXpB2SllYa7gnKSO3jIYp7dg32Y e5O4pdSjVr80D76EqKgTf~bZlWfyQC ~WVs2ZPCJGIXnjeg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJHEJJBIZWFB73RSA

[Grouchy]

Eeeeeh ok. I'm not gonna pay just for percentages of my sometimes arbitrary ranking of films. I'm sticking with Criticker.

[Ezee E]

Eeeeeh ok. I'm not gonna pay just for percentages of my sometimes arbitrary ranking of films. I'm sticking with Criticker.

I wish I could reset my rankings and restart.

[Thirdmango]

Even without pro I love letterboxd. It's gotten me much more into movies than ever before.

[MadMan]

I have watched 120 some movies this year. Watching a movie every day seems like work. No thanks.

[Irish]

Help me out, MC.

I'm trying to remember a film that came out in the last half decade. Korean director, I think, with American-ish actors. Made in English. It was sorta a hyper-stylized, thin re-telling of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt." Tells the story of a teenage girl whose stepdad? mother's boyfriend? keeps making overtures to her. We're led to believe the man is dangerous and possibly murderous, but by the end of the film it's apparent the girl is more than a little off. Half plays as a coming-of-age movie. There's a charged scene of the girl putting away her saddle shoes and opening a box with stilletos in them, which the stepdad/boyfriend left on her bed.

I can picture the faces of the actors but I can't remember the name of the film! It had a one-word title. Something like "Sliver" or "Shocker" or the like.

[baby doll]

Help me out, MC.

I'm trying to remember a film that came out in the last half decade. Korean director, I think, with American-ish actors. Made in English. It was sorta a hyper-stylized, thin re-telling of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt." Tells the story of a teenage girl whose stepdad? mother's boyfriend? keeps making overtures to her. We're led to believe the man is dangerous and possibly murderous, but by the end of the film it's apparent the girl is more than a little off. Half plays as a coming-of-age movie. There's a charged scene of the girl putting away her saddle shoes and opening a box with stilletos in them, which the stepdad/boyfriend left on her bed.

I can picture the faces of the actors but I can't remember the name of the film! It had a one-word title. Something like "Sliver" or "Shocker" or the like.Stoker?

[Grouchy]

Yeah, that's Stoker. Park Chan Wook of Oldboy fame directed.

By the way, his last The Handmaiden is excellent. Might be his best so far.

[Irish]

AHA! STOKER!

Thanks, gents!

[Lazlo]

2017 Stats:

357 viewings (352 individual movies with a few rewatches; the most ever in one year I believe)
29.8 per month
6.9 per week

Crossed over 3,000 movies seen in my lifetime.

First Film: Hook
Last Film: Sleeping Beauty

Actors (Slanted due to a Denzel Washington career run-through and a complete Star Wars series re-watch):
Denzel Washington - 14 films
Anthony Daniels - 10
Frank Oz - 9
Samuel L. Jackson - 9
John Goodman - 9
Warren Beatty - 8
Keanu Reeves - 7
Ewan McGregor - 7
Carrie Fisher - 7
Kenny Baker - 7
James Earl Jones - 7
Warwick Davis - 7
Laurence Fishburne - 6
Sigourney Weaver - 6
Harrison Ford - 6
Ian McDiarmid - 6
Alan Tudyk - 6
Peter Mayhew - 6
Adam Driver - 6
Terri Douglas - 6

Directors (Slanted due to a De Palma career run-through and a Disney Animated Canon re-watch):
Brian De Palma - 9
Clyde Geronimi - 7
Hamilton Luske - 5
Rian Johnson - 4
James Cameron - 4
Denis Villeneuve - 4
Edgar Wright - 4
Wilfred Jackson - 4
Ridley Scott - 4
George Lucas - 4
Pablo LarraÃ*n - 3
Chris Columbus - 3
Warren Beatty - 3
Lana Wachowski - 3
Lilly Wachowski - 3
Tony Scott - 3
Jack Kinney - 3
Shane Black - 3
Christopher Nolan - 3
Ben Wheatley - 3

[Russ]

While the following film review is over 10 years old, I've only just stumbled upon it, and I'm smitten with it.

Who can correctly identify the film that is being reviewed? (I have redacted the "dead giveaway" parts of this review).


Paris, 1973. Wakey Wakey (5, 5). Mantic / ludic. Frustration / Exhilaration. Self-referentialism / dark flippancy. "Naïve larks." Insignificance / tall stories. Wordplay / puns. Freewheeling originality. Doubles / doublings. Bagginess / convoluted. Hermetic / precious. Liberation / constriction. Watching > acting. Semiotics: signs, wonders and meanings. Surreal farce / self-indulgent artifice. "7bis, rue Nadir aux Pommes." M.Proust / H.James / L.Carroll (1, 7, 5, 3.) Joycean-playful, densely allusive text – yes, catnip for critics (9, 4). Hallucinations / nightmare. Circularity (of Circular Ruins.) On-the-hoof airiness / clodhopping-galumphing. Jeux sans frontieres. Dense webs of allusion (and illusion, elusion) in which we, they, and redacted become helplessly entangled. Familiars: cats (great, stupid last shot). Familiar: the solitary black fish, endlessly circling in a too-small bowl (Harold, like Madlyn, in constant peril… What's his perspective?). "Spectators" emerging groggy, shaken, from the "dark" (3, 5, 2, 6). Repetitiveness / poetic. "Cosmic twilight pimps." I C real drabness (anag., 6, 8.) Playful / daftness. Sinister / surreal. Childhood innocence / sinister Suspiria faux-childishness. Obfuscation / silliness. Galumphing, overextended improvisations. Anything-goes kaftan-wafty looseness inspires cult following (6, 5). Magic / performance. Hollywood, the Haunted House (Barbet Schroeder: Single White Female, Reversal of Fortune, Murder By Numbers). Hermetic / hermeneutic. Layers / obfuscations (6, 11). Theatricality / hallucinations. Oneiric / newly vague. The Naïve Lark ("ooh… nasty!"). Circularity / repetitions (5, 4, 6). Endlessness: A way a lone a last a loved a long the* * PARIS* * 1922-1939. Paris, 1973. [But, with Renault, it's already 1974.]
I know at least a couple of people here will pick up on the references. And please tell me, in 2018, why the HELL this film has yet to be released by Criterion.

Also, I love the phrase, "catnip for critics"

[baby doll]

While the following film review is over 10 years old, I've only just stumbled upon it, and I'm smitten with it.

Who can correctly identify the film that is being reviewed? (I have redacted the "dead giveaway" parts of this review).


I know at least a couple of people here will pick up on the references. And please tell me, in 2018, why the HELL this film has yet to be released by Criterion.

Also, I love the phrase, "catnip for critics"Jacques Rivette's Céline et Julie vont en bateau.

[Russ]

Correct!

[TGM]

Watched Before I Wake last night on Netflix. And yeah, it's a rare misstep for Mike Flanagan. I've loved all the rest of his work that I've seen thus far. He's usually a pretty inventive director, and has seriously become one of my favorite horror directors, someone who I always highly anticipate a new project of his. And this is a movie that's been teased for release for years. I've gotten trailers for it so many times over the past several years before movies, and always thought it looked interesting, yet it never actually released in theaters. But finally this week Netflix released it. So needless to say, I had high hopes, yet this one really didn't deliver, and really wasn't worth the wait.

It's honestly really cheesy, and the main monster just looks goofy as hell and way too well lit whenever he appears, so it's never actually scary or even creepy. And Flanagan is usually great with the creep-factor in his films, so to see that aspect just seemingly disappear here is a bit of a head scratcher. It almost feels like his movie was taken away from him in post-production, and someone else went in and really poorly and cheaply inserted all of the CGI effects without him, never taking into account how those effects should actually look to be their most effective, only worrying that they were literally present. Now, I don't know if that's actually the case here, but taking the rest of his filmography into account, it certainly feels that way at least.

If looked at as more of a fantasy drama than a horror film, it starts to work a little better I suppose. Yet there's still elements that really don't sit well with me, particularly at the end of the film the mother apparently thinks very little about the sudden death/disappearance of her husband. So yeah, a bit disappointing.

[Morris Schæffer]

Paddington 2 is getting some crazy ass positive reviews.

140 / 0 on RT, 8.6 avg rating.

[Ezee E]

Paddington 2 is getting some crazy ass positive reviews.

140 / 0 on RT, 8.6 avg rating.

Hopefully that one guy that gave a negative review of Lady Bird comes through once again to ensure nothing's perfect.

[Morris Schæffer]

Hopefully that one guy that gave a negative review of Lady Bird comes through once again to ensure nothing's perfect.

Let's pray for One Guy's return!

[Spinal]

The first Paddington was awfully damn good.

[Morris Schæffer]

The first Paddington was awfully damn good.

Part 2 kinda flopped, 10 mill from 3700 venues. I'm not a major fan of the original, but I regret this since part 2 really seems to be the kind of movie that would, deservedly, go on to untold riches.

[D_Davis]

Streaming services are fucking with aspect ratios. Not sure if this has been posted here or not.

Can't believe this is still an issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xy6kHQsErE

[Skitch]

Who is that guy? Is he a poster here or something?

[Grouchy]

He's great. His videos where he recommends underrated movies to his parents while getting drunk are hilarious.

[D_Davis]

Who is that guy? Is he a poster here or something?

Don't know. Just thought the topic was interesting.

[Skitch]

Don't know. Just thought the topic was interesting.

The topic is interesting. I think he misunderstands one thing though...I bet money HBO and Starz do that because if they dont, they get complaints that it doesn't fill the screen. And I bet those complaints are 100 to 1 asking for the proper aspect ratio. I agree it shouldn't be that way (dur), but most people don't know or care.

Can we discuss this fella's piranha teeth? Whats going on there?

[Dukefrukem]

Can we discuss this fella's piranha teeth? Whats going on there?

Totally!

[Irish]

Duke! Cleanup on aisle 3! Calling Duke to aisle 3!

http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?5573-Video-Essays-Every-Frame-a-Painting/page7&p=585398&viewfull=1#post585398

Anyway---I've never quite understood the ratio fetishists. I grew up watching pan-and-scan VHS and saw hundreds of films that way. It doesn't bother me all that much. I'm not gonna throw a fit between about the difference between 1.66 and 1.85.

But streaming services chopping up movies is another indication that they don't really care film as a medium or an art, which grates on my nerves because they often pretend otherwise.

[Dukefrukem]

Duke! Cleanup on aisle 3! Calling Duke to aisle 3!

http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?5573-Video-Essays-Every-Frame-a-Painting/page7&p=585398&viewfull=1#post585398

Anyway---I've never quite understood the ratio fetishists. I grew up watching pan-and-scan VHS and saw hundreds of films that way. It doesn't bother me all that much. I'm not gonna throw a fit between about the difference between 1.66 and 1.85.

But streaming services chopping up movies is another indication that they don't really care film as a medium or an art, which grates on my nerves because they often pretend otherwise.

What am I missing here?

[Ezee E]

.19 difference is hardly enough to RUIN a movie. It certainly won't sway an opinion.

[D_Davis]

I grew up with pan and scan too, and hated it. Bought the widescreen VHS whenever I could. Loved DVDS when they embraced proper aspect ratio. Will always prefer to see the entire composition. Watching a film without proper aspect ratio is like listening to music with certain frequencies notched out. Not ideal and can ruin the work.

[Irish]

I liken it to getting a bootleg in the parking lot of a show you're not attending, taking it home, and listening to it enough that the tape wears out---pretty much because it's your only option.

[Grouchy]

We all grew up with pan and scan. Doesn't mean it's not a crime against humanity. I remember when I became aware of the difference, I used to go to the theater and constantly picture how every shot would look with missing information. For some reason I remember this very vividly watching The Sixth Sense for the first time.

[Dukefrukem]

What was that place at the mall that was the only place on the planet where you could buy letterboxed VHS movies? (before Best Buy, before Circuit City)

[D_Davis]

Suncoast. They had the best Asian and Kung Fu sections as well.

[Skitch]

Suncoast. They had the best Asian and Kung Fu sections as well.

And anime.

[D_Davis]

For years my ritual was to hit up Suncoast every Sunday on my way home from church and I'd buy two kung fu DVDs to watch that afternoon. I always bought two at a time in case one of them sucked.

[D_Davis]

And anime.

Yep.

[Dukefrukem]

Suncoast. They had the best Asian and Kung Fu sections as well.

YES!

[D_Davis]

We had the first dedicated letterboxed VHS section in my city at the Tower Records I worked out. Kept them by the laserdiscs.

[Lazlo]

Media Play had them here. Man I miss going to that store as a kid.

[MadMan]

I mostly rented as a kid. I did not buy my first movie until I was in high school, and it was from Best Buy. I still have my DVD copy of Once Upon A Time In The West.

[Dukefrukem]

Remember when DVD players would give you like 12 DVDs for free when you bought a player?

Or remember columbia house? I must have conned them out of so many free movies.

[Skitch]

My first dvd player came with a movie, randomly selected from 5 or 6.

I got Batman & Robin. :/

[Morris Schæffer]

Or remember columbia house? I must have conned them out of so many free movies.

Yeah, I never conned them, but it seemed so unreal that I could get free movies from them. VHS tapes they were. So long ago.

[Ezee E]

I think it was agreeing to a plan to buy one cd a month, and you got started with 10. Something like that. But you could just claim fraud or quit, and all was fine.

[Irish]

Doesn't mean it's not a crime against humanity.

Christ, it really isn't. Get some (ahem) perspective.

Pan and scan would never be my first choice but I still take it when there's no other option. For years, certain obscure movies never made the jump from VHS to widescreen DVD. Since they were not well known enough to play the arthouse circuit, pan and scan was the only way to see them. I can't claim watching them that way really hurt the experience. (But this also depends on the movie.)


I used to go to the theater and constantly picture how every shot would look with missing information.

I'd call that obsessive, like you're a hair's breadth from complaining about the presentation of "Star Wars" on HBO.

[Irish]

On the bright side, I just found out one of those obscure movies---a favorite of mine from 1993---is streaming on Amazon, and in widescreen, no less! I couldn't find this movie for fucking ages and now it's a one-click rental for $3.99.

So, uh, thanks, Davis!

[Grouchy]

Pan and scan would never be my first choice but I take it when there's no other option. For years, certain obscure movies never made the jump from VHS to widescreen DVD. Since they were not well known enough to play the arthouse circuit, pan and scan was the only way to see them. I can't claim watching them that way really hurt the experience. (But this also depends on the movie.)
Well, yeah, not all directors use all the frame and when pan and scan was given for granted, most commercial movies framed with that in mind. Kubrick shot Eyes Wide Shut so that it could be shown in 16:9 on theaters and in 4:3 pan and scan with added stuff above and below. But come on, you can't tell me cutting chunks of the framing is acceptable. If that's the only way you can get to watch the movie, well, sure, have at it. But try watching Touch of Evil or Brazil that way.


I'd call that obsessive, like you're a hair's breadth from complaining about the presentation of "Star Wars" on HBO.
You don't know the half of it.

[Skitch]

On the bright side, I just found out one of those obscure movies---a favorite of mine from 1993---is streaming on Amazon, and in widescreen, no less! I couldn't find this movie for fucking ages and now it's a one-click rental for $3.99.

So, uh, thanks, Davis!

Airborne isn't that rare bro.

[Irish]

But come on, you can't tell me cutting chunks of the framing is acceptable. If that's the only way you can get to watch the movie, well, sure, have at it. But try watching Touch of Evil or Brazil that way.

How do you think I saw "Brazil" and "Touch of Evil" for the first time? Or "Blade Runner"? Or "2001"? It was pan and scan. I owned them all on VHS. Loved them. Watched them many times. When Criterion released a four-disc special edition of "Brazil" on widescreen DVD, I bought it immediately. But I still can't say that watching any film in a cropped format irreparably harmed my experience, or kept me from enjoying the film. Because it didn't. I've seen so many films in bad formats, with the wrong aspect ratio, that I simply do not care because, for me, the image isn't core to the experience all of the time.

PS: "Touch of Evil" was originally released at 1.37:1, which is dangerously close to TV's 1.33:1. A widescreen version exists because of the DVD restoration, which didn't take place until a half century after the film left theaters. So one could say that the restored version is actually a bastardized form of the movie Welles' originally made.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I've seen enough movies.

My need to watch a new one is not sufficiently urgent to justify frame-cropping.

[Neclord]

Watching a cropped film is like hearing nails on a chalkboard for me.

[Mysterious Dude]

Frankly, I'm amazed that anyone prefers the widescreen version of Touch of Evil, and that it is the only version available.

http://www.the-frame.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/687uvb.jpg

http://www.the-frame.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/xpwzt.jpg

[Dead & Messed Up]

Look, all I know is, I don't want anyone giving me some sorta 4:3 nonsense for On the Waterfront.

::shifty-eyes::

[Neclord]

Certainly there should be an open matte version of Touch of Evil made available in hi-def.