I'd like to forget almost all the posts I made on RT when I was 13-15.
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I'd like to forget almost all the posts I made on RT when I was 13-15.
Ballad of a Soldier (1959) - 67
One of those films that drifts along, seemingly satisfied with being a gentle humanist observation of human behaviour in trying conditions. As such, it can be a little clunky at times - such as the initial meeting between the young soldier on his way home on leave and the girl on her way to see her fiance, which is awkwardly staged and rather broadly performed by the otherwise winning actors - and lacking in a genuinely cohesive artistic vision.
But the there are little moments that make the journey worthwhile - the soldiers in the train car sharing cigarettes and joking about our heroes exploits, and the galvanizing effect that has on an injured, self-pitying soldier along for the ride; the hardening of a the expression when it becomes obvious a wife left at home hasn't been just waiting around for her husband to return - and the destination is remarkably affecting, casting the previous 80 minutes in a more positive light.
Relatively certain that film will be the only Georgian film most people ever see.
Okay, I normally don't pause a movie in the middle to post about it, but what the FUCK is with the constant pop music running in the background of every scene in Clockers? It's incredibly distracting, and is killing any enjoyment I'm getting out of the film. What the hell was Spike Lee thinking? Does anyone have an explanation for this?
Wolfgang Petersen's Shattered is a great film for people who like crappy De Palma thrillers.
I'm slowly working my way chronologically through Woody Allen's films, rewatching most of them. I watched Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* last night, and with the exception of the last segment I thought it to be one of the worst things of his I've seen. But oh man, that last bit was brilliant, making the film as whole worth watching.
Is the last bit the Gene Wilder bit? Because that is by far the best. I agree with your overall assessment, I remember nothing else about the film.
Here's what I have left to see from him.
Midnight in Paris (2011)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
Whatever Works (2009)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Scoop (2006)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Anything Else (2003)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Celebrity (1998)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
September (1987)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV)
I only plan on watching the bolded ones unless someone has great things to say about the others.
I've seen parts of Hollywood Ending, Melinda and Melinda and Small Time Crooks I think.
A lot of those are the ones I have left to see. As trans said, Everyone Says I Love You is probably the essential one, but I wasn't so hot on it. Mighty Aphrodite is good. Shadows and Fog is good to watch to see how a film with such a strong, deep cast can pull off a truly mediocre movie. I think there's something for everybody in his last six of seven films. You probably won't like them all, but I'd bet one or two of them will work for you.
FWIW what I have left to see:
Scoop
Anything Else
Hollywood Ending
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
Small Time Crooks
Celebrity
New York Stories
September
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
I thought Midnight in Paris, Whatever Works, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Scoop were all very good. But they all have a vaguely tossed-together, couldn't-be-bothered-with-multiple-takes-or-rewrites quality that would likely earn them the horrible-piece-of-shit designation.