origami_mustache your review of Southland Tales makes it sound like an interesting and entertaining failure. I may end up just renting it, although I must confess I'm still intriegue enough to go see it in the theater, provided it gets a wide release.
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They call your name out loud and clear
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i'll throw in another recommendation for Survive Style 5+, i don't think it has a region 1 release though.Quoting Daniel Davis (view post)
No, it doesn't. I got a bootleg off of eBay. The back of the DVD includes a user submitted review taken from imdb.
Oh, good. I've got a copy of this that, for some reason, I just haven't gotten to yet.
Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl is supreme popcorn entertainment, slick filmmaking to the max, while not being a wholly empty experience. It's smart and it's sexy.
However, don't expect anything nearly as sublime and transcendental as The Taste of Tea.
Why does it feel like all of the characters in Lawrence Kasdan films are slightly brain damaged?
Yes, an interesting and entertaining failure is a good description. I suppose it's worth watching just for the sake of curiosity.
In Front of Your Face (Hong Sang-soo, 2021) - 6
Introduction (Hong Sang-soo, 2021) - 6
True Mothers (Naomi Kawase, 2020) - 8
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy - (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2021) - 7
Wife of a Spy (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2020) - 7
The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021) - 9
Don't Look Up - (Adam McKay, 2021) - 4
The Matrix Resurrections (Lana Wachowski, 2021) - 4.5
Benedetta (Paul Verhoeven, 2021) - 7
mubi
I hear slitting one's wrists can also be quite fun the first go around.
That means its still worth watching to some extent. Due to be lazy I'll probably end up renting it in the end. As I said earlier, a theater viewing isn't out of the question though.
That's some rather strong hyperbole there man
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And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
My penchant for extreme hyperbole is my one saving grace... wait I mean... aw crap.That's some rather strong hyperbole there man
Heh. I tend to favor extreme statements myself. That reminds me of the hilarious Extreme guys from Harold and Kumar. EXTREME!
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And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
haha my sound design teacher was the sound designer for Harold and Kumar. If you have a chance watch the special feature on sound designing the scene in the girl's restroom; it's hilarious.Heh. I tend to favor extreme statements myself. That reminds me of the hilarious Extreme guys from Harold and Kumar. EXTREME!
In Front of Your Face (Hong Sang-soo, 2021) - 6
Introduction (Hong Sang-soo, 2021) - 6
True Mothers (Naomi Kawase, 2020) - 8
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy - (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2021) - 7
Wife of a Spy (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2020) - 7
The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021) - 9
Don't Look Up - (Adam McKay, 2021) - 4
The Matrix Resurrections (Lana Wachowski, 2021) - 4.5
Benedetta (Paul Verhoeven, 2021) - 7
mubi
Watched Decalogue 6 for the first time and Decalogue 5 for the second, in class today. It's nice to finally walk out of class and hear positive comments about the film we've watched, for once (Out of the Past, Lessons of Darkness and Breathless got eviscerated). Warms my soul.
Man, all of you need to stop whatever useless activity you're engaged in and go watch Profundo CarmesÃ* [Deep Crimson] by Arturo Ripstein. It's the best movie I've seen recently. Shot entirely in long takes, always keeping a prudent distance from the players, it tells the story of the Honeymoon Killers (Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck) adapted to Mexican soil. The movie maintains a dirty, unhealthy atmosphere that makes its unbalanced characters feel right at home. The movie it reminded me of the most is Fargo, from the same year, because of its cold attitude and the feeling of desperation it invokes. I really think it's a remarkable experience. 500/500 Grouchies for this.
Now I need to see Hollywood's Hayek/Travolta version of the same story. And there's also a '70s movie about the same case.
I called the ridiculous ending of The Brave One a half hour into the movie- and boy, I have seen some ridiculous shit in my time, but that is just about the most ri-god-damn-diculous shit of them all. I was literally sneering at the stupidity unfolding before my very eyes and its not like the movie deserved to end weakly- the rest of the film was as dumb. The comparison of the "good cop" Terrence Howard, refusing to break the law even to bring justice and the vigilante killer Jodie Foster. Its like it was scrambling almost trying to find validity, with its ideals all over the map. Ethics aside, the quality of the film is poor. The music is annoying and the acting is terrible. Bluntly, one of the worst of the year.
Thanks Rowland for helping me with a new and improved Taste of Tea avatar.
Yeah, The Taste of Tea is pretty durned splendid. Just a joyous experience, shapeshifting across genres seamlessly. What's amazing is how simple the whole film is, yet it feels full of life and energy in every frame.
I'm showing Vertigo to one of my classes (the other class opted out of Hitchcock and picked Pulse, to my dismay), and I'm falling in love with it all over again. I'd missed the shot of Madeleine eyeing Scottie judgmentally in the dream sequence courtroom the first few viewings, and was shocked by how powerful that was. And of course, Midge leaving Scottie in the hospital is just as breathtaking as it was the first time...
The Boat People - 9
The Power of the Dog - 7.5
The King of Pigs - 7
Yay for correct opinions. Though I'm confused why a class selecting Pulse would be to your dismay.
Recently Viewed:
Thor: The Dark World (2013) **½
The Counselor (2013) *½
Walden (1969) ***
A Hijacking (2012) ***½
Before Midnight (2013) ***
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It's Hitchcock. I understand their desire to watch something more recent, but it just seems unnatural to react negatively toward it and opt instead for Kiyoshi Kurosawa's film, which is a harder film to dissect for 5 pages. I don't think showing the students the two trailers did Hitch's film justice, however, as the Vertigo trailer has a very melodramatic feel, whereas Pulse's trailer hits you with image after image...
The Boat People - 9
The Power of the Dog - 7.5
The King of Pigs - 7
Well, what's the work the students have to do? How will they analyze each movie in 5 pages?
Vertigo's dream sequence is one of the best things ever. The image that's most haunted me since my most recent viewing a few months ago is when Scotty and what's-his-slime are standing by the window in the courtroom, a callback to an earlier scene, but now Carlotta's wrapped around the other guy and gazing up at Scotty.
You've probably mentioned it before, dreamdead, but what level of students do you teach?
Especially if they're more on the beginner's side, I can see why you'd prefer them to go Vertigo. It's more classical, there's more material available on it, and it's not nearly as ambiguous as Pulse.
But yay for Pulse anyway.
One of my cinematic goals is to watch all of Audrey Hepburn's films. I just find her so incredibly charismatic and wonderful that even mediocre films are somehow worth seeing for her presence. I came one step further when I watched the stylistically exuberant Funny Face (Donen, 1957). Where the film lacks in plot, and romance (Hepburn makes it bearable, as much as I admire Astaire as a dancer I cannot buy him as a romantic lead), it makes up in it's energy and colour. The good to great musical sequences are enough to keep the film floating and interesting, as is Hepburn who lights up every frame. Best scenes are probably the photography shooting in Paris, that incorporates some interesting still work, as well as Hepburn's iconic "expression" dance.
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It's just an average 5 page analysis essay, really. Pick a theme and study it thoroughly, anything from Scottie's narcissism, his desire to reconstruct Judy, Judy and whether or not she possesses any agency in the relationship, to Midge's failure as a romantic partner because of her availability. As long as students use Hitchcock's film and cite from it directly, plus use one of Robin Wood's essays on the film, I'll be pleased. Bonus points if they tackle a point I've yet to see any scholarly work on.
Pulse is a bit different, since it's more limited in its thematic focus. For example, my writing-prompt questions are more along the lines of whether or not there's anything on the screen beyond disconnection, exhaustion, alienation, and isolation? What does this suggest about the nature of technology?; How are familial relationships developed in the film?; How do these characters deal with a traumatic experience? What does that reaction reveal about society?
Another option, and the one I expect most students to follow, is an intertextual analysis (a side-by-side comparison of Kurosawa’s film together with the American remake of Pulse (2006), directed by Jim Sonzero). What changes between the two films? How do these changes influence our understanding of the texts? For example, the biggest difference between the two films is how the American film literalizes most of the thematic points that Kurosawa left ambiguous. Another difference between the two that begs for analysis is the shift from a quietly nihilistic ending in Kurosawa’s film to a more uplifting ending in Sonzero’s film—pragmatically, why might Sonzero utilize this ending?
I work with college freshmen in some introductory English classes. We're focused on composition and getting students to consider how visual analysis goes beyond some facile "Two thumbs up" method and into a sustained argument.
I like forcing difficult material on students, especially whenever they make some B.S. claim that they cannot read subtitles and follow a foreign film at the same time, but Vertigo does seem remarkably easier...
The Boat People - 9
The Power of the Dog - 7.5
The King of Pigs - 7
how familiar are you with astaire's movie? because funny face is perhaps my least favorite. indeed he doesn't sell himself very well as a romantic lead. supporting cast are swell, and yes, audrey is a crush. the dances, i find, very lacking. i strongly recommend the gay divorcee and shall we dance?. (ever wonder where let's call the whole thing off came from?) if you've never seen them, you're in for a hell of a ride.
I've seen The Gay Divorcee and Shall we Dance, both leave me cold excluding one or two numbers (among others Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, and if I remember correctly in Shall we Dance there is also You Can't Take that Away from me?...). I think I've seen one other Ginger/Astaire collaboration but in my mind they seem to melt into one film. They are light and a bit fun, but in my mind forgettable and very difficult to distinguish from each other. I'm still open to seeing more of his films, especially some of his Rita Hayworth collabs. but he himself has yet to win me over.
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