High and Low and the eternally underrated Stray Dog often rest at the top of my Kurosawa rankings, which is funny considering his reputation for samurai films.
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High and Low and the eternally underrated Stray Dog often rest at the top of my Kurosawa rankings, which is funny considering his reputation for samurai films.
Ah, yes. Awkward film school discussions... I remember...
"I love Kurosawa! Seven Samurai is pretty much the greatest movie ever. No contest."
"Oh yeah... Eh, I dunno, I think Ran is better, man."
"No, Rashomon, dude. Rashomon is great. That's my favorite."
"You guys like Yojimbo? I think that's, like, purely? That's his best like, straight up samurai flick, you know?"
"Um... My favorite Kurosawa is Dreams..."
"..."
Okay, I guess you're right.
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Weekend:
Lightning Over Water (Wim Wenders, 1980)
A State of Mind (Daniel Gordon, 2004)
Home (Ursula Meier, 2008)
Vincere (Marco Bellocchio, 2009)
Plus I still have The Only Son for another week. Also, I'll probably take a second look at Exit Through the Gift Shop now that it's opening in Halifax, and maybe the Michael Cera flick depending on the reviews.
Scott Pilgrim
The Ghost Writer
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs and Flowing
Heartbeat Detector
At Close Range
WENDESDAY AFTERNOON?!
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Harakiri is so much better than Samurai Rebellion, and Samurai Rebellion is great in its own right.
EDIT: Or what Qrazy said.
Anyone seen his The Human Condition? I wanna watch it soon, I think, though 9.5 hours is gonna require a plan of attack.
I have 3 more episodes of Les Vampires to watch.
Stray Dog is one of my friend's favorites. I'm never that surprised, although always a little bit unsettled, by the number of people that consider High & Low his best. Don't get me wrong; it's fantastic, but it's probably his most Americanized film.
I knew Qrazy's not a fan, though he's not big on at least a few other Cahiers-celebrated Hollywood auteurs.
But Preminger is great - I honestly don't know how anyone can call Laura mediocre.
*roll tape*
Oh Svensos...I don't really know where to start.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is great. The prison break story isn't particularly fresh (although for all I know, it might've been in 1932), and the bluntly written first few minutes had me worried, but LeRoy's matter-of-fact direction strips the film from melodrama or hamfisted social commentary, letting tension and subtext rise naturally from the performances and material; by the time we get to the ending, we're as exhausted and broken as Allen, who slinks slowly to the shadows for a haunting final shot.
I completely agree with the well-reasoned. It's the sensible part that gets me. It's precisely because your intelligent and you put thought into watching and writing about films that I'm so conflicted when you praise something as thoroughly mediocre and forgettable as the Pelham remake, not to mention calling out what I found to be the weakest element, Travolta's performance.
Really? I found his character quite dynamic, a constant flux of fear, desperation, confidence, humor, and sympathy, approached from an alluring perspective of utility and self-pity.
And to be fair, my praise is quite tempered with the realities of the film's numerous inadequacies. It feels fundamentally wrong to conclude the film with []