Last Orders is supposed to be pretty decent as well I think.Quoting soitgoes... (view post)
Last Orders is supposed to be pretty decent as well I think.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Schepisi's debut - The Devil's Playground - is actually in a lot of ways, quite superb. Easily the best thing he's ever done.
I also quite like The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, but, naturally, I prefer the novel.
Skolimowski's Deep End is on that list.
#692 The Golden Coach (Jean Renoir 1952)
It's nice to know that a director of Jean Renoir's caliber knew enough to just let Anna Magnani shine as the lead in his The Golden Coach. Sure the film is gorgeous to look at, Technicolor and Renoir's deep focus combined, oh my! But Magnani is the reason to watch this. You can still see where Renoir was trying to make socio-political statements in his films, but with the light airy feel (coupled with the Vivaldi score) this one isn't as hard-hitting as his 30's work. The ending was intriguing. I'm not sure I fully grasped his intent, but it seemed like he was trying to reach a bit too far. Real-life inside a play bundled in a film?
Noted for future viewing, but nothing much from him has me eager to rush out and see more of his work. Thanks though.
I'm looking forward to this one.Skolimowski's Deep End is on that list.
Polo?Schepisi's debut - The Devil's Playground - is actually in a lot of ways, quite superb. Easily the best thing he's ever done.
I also quite like The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, but, naturally, I prefer the novel.
Skolimowski's Deep End is on that list.
Last 5 Viewed
Riddick (David Twohy | 2013 | USA/UK)
Night Across the Street (Raoul Ruiz | 2012 | Chile/France)*
Pain & Gain (Michael Bay | 2013 | USA)*
You're Next (Adam Wingard | 2011 | USA)
Little Odessa (James Gray | 1994 | USA)*
*recommended *highly recommended
“It isn't easy to accept that suffering can also be beautiful... it's difficult. It's something you can only understand if you dig deeply into yourself.” -- Rainer Werner Fassbinder
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#693 Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse 1973)
Yeah, I'd have an issue if this was included on a Top 1001 list. I can somewhat understand that the pick is for its place among martial arts films, though there are better choices. Actually, I suppose it's more for the opening of Western doors to martial arts films. Yes Bruce Lee is über-fast. Yes the hall of mirrors finale is cool to look at. But is there much else here? Two random Americans that really have no reason to be in the film except to help Western audiences relate to someone like them. Their roles could've been left out, and the film wouldn't be any weaker. All in all I suppose any review of this film should be limited to only one word:
BOLO!
Yeah, Enter the Dragon isn't very good, though Lee's charisma and the mirror scene save it to some extent. Based on your first three reviews, it seems like you're going to be watching a lot of films you don't like.
I am impatient of all misery in others that is not mad. Thou should'st go mad, blacksmith; say, why dost thou not go mad? How can'st thou endure without being mad? Do the heavens yet hate thee, that thou can'st not go mad?
lists and reviews
I have 217 films to see from the "before you die" list. Mostly a lot of really obscure shit.
I liked The Golden Coach, but yeah the other two fall on the negative side. My next entry is a film everyone needs to check out.Yeah, Enter the Dragon isn't very good, though Lee's charisma and the mirror scene save it to some extent. Based on your first three reviews, it seems like you're going to be watching a lot of films you don't like.
Thankfully I've "saved" myself some films I've been meaning to see for awhile. I figure if I can use some control and intersperse those films with the more obscure stuff I should be okay.
#694 An Actor's Revenge (Kon Ichikawa 1963)
The story of a theater actor, an onnagata (a man who plays female roles in the Kabuki), who plots revenge on those who drove his parents to death years before. What to say about this one? It completely took me by surprise. I figured it would be good (I like everything I've seen by Ichikawa), I just didn't think it would be this good. There is so much going on with the film that many directors wouldn't be able to pull it all together into something special. There's the score - part traditional Japanese Kabuki music, part jazz and part traditional Hollywood style score - each playing over specific scenes absolutely brilliantly. There's also Ichikawa's framing, pushing characters to the edge of the frame, creating negative space, very much like Yoshishige Yoshida (who I thought was the man at the forefront of such techniques) would do later in the 60's. The acting is superb all around, especially by Kazuo Hasegawa who plays a duel role, that of the lead and the thief/sometimes narrator. The film is so playful, having Hasegawa the thief comment on the reasons why Hasegawa the theater actor (or is it Hasegawa the film actor?) has accepted a certain role. The art direction, perhaps the best part of the film, is stunning. Blend Kabuki and film and this is the result. I could go on and on about this film. See it.
Hmmm there aren't very many films on the list that I'd label as obscure (maybe 25 or so?). Which films do you guys have in mind when you say that?
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Yeah, I was disappointed by Enter the Dragon. If Lee's skills were as impressive as his legendary status suggests, Robert Clouse didn't capture them very well. Truth be told, I prefer the schlockier modern iterations of the formula Mortal Kombat and DOA: Dead or Alive.
Letterboxd rating scale:
The Long Riders (Hill) ***
Furious 7 (Wan) **½
Hard Times (Hill) ****½
Another 48 Hrs. (Hill) ***
/48 Hrs./ (Hill) ***½
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (Besson) ***
/Unknown/ (Collet-Serra) ***½
Animal (Simmons) **
#695 How Green Was My Valley (John Ford 1941)
I've seen over 30 John Ford films, and this one is on par with most of the rest. Ford consistently falls in the mediocre to very good range. Occasionally he would rise above and make something great, rarely he would make a dud. Pretty to look at, good acting (especially by Pidgeon), and a nice story, about 19th century Welsh coal miners, is rung through the Hollywood ringer. Instead of being gritty and dark, the film comes out somewhat sanitized.
What are your favorite Ford's and/or those you consider great?
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
I guess obscure isn't right. Perhaps according to one's taste, questionable is a better word. There are a number of films I don't really look forward to seeing, but who knows? I've been surprised before. Those moments are more satisfying than when an expected great turns out to be just that.
The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance would all be first tier (great). The Iron Horse, The Hurricane, Stagecoach and The Fugitive would all be second tier with this film being just below that.
Ahh k yeah that makes sense to me. There are quite a few I'm not looking forward to either... Top Gun/Pretty Woman topping the list.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Why do you feel like you have to watch stuff like Pretty Woman?
Ah k, I quite like How Green was My Valley, but I agree that it's not excellent. Your criticisms are apt. My favorite part is the lighting in the shot when they bring the guy up from the mine shaft. It's probably a top five Ford for me but I'm not that big a fan. I really like Valance, Wrath, and Stagecoach also. Frankly I have major problems with The Searchers. but it's still pretty good.
I'll check out Horse, Hurricane and The Fugitive.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Because it's on the list and the goal of our race is to complete the list?
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
In order to finish the list you have to be willing to watch some things you might otherwise avoid. I just look at it as inevitably I'm going to see bad films anyways. I had the foresight to see Pretty Woman and Top Gun already.
It's definitely a good film. I just think it would be a better film if it was made in the 70's (which I guess there was a remake of it) or the 80's, freed from Hollywood and the Hayes Code. Some films can rise above that, this one didn't.
Mmmmyeah, but I mean aren't there a few on the list you guys could mutually agree to take a mulligan on? I understand that kinda undercuts the whole deal here, but honestly, seeking out and sitting down to watch Pretty Woman or whatnot is just a completely pointless exercise you will get nothing out of
Bizarre entries like that are what makes the They Shoot Pictures list superior to the one you're working with. I guess they're included for their cultural impact, but they're just really crappy movies.
I am impatient of all misery in others that is not mad. Thou should'st go mad, blacksmith; say, why dost thou not go mad? How can'st thou endure without being mad? Do the heavens yet hate thee, that thou can'st not go mad?
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