Last (x) movies you saw

Bought Blu-Rays of two of my favorite Walter Hill movies, Hard Times and Southern Comfort, so watched those this week. Hard Times is so minimal it barely exists as a story—guy comes to town, makes some money punching people in the head, gets his patron out of trouble, leaves town. Southern Comfort is almost as stripped-down. A bunch of National Guard buffoons head into the Louisiana swamps to play Army, get into some shit with the locals and are hunted and killed for 90 minutes. But Hill's ability to understand male group dynamics in all their fucked-upness without romanticizing or condemning them is both underappreciated and rare. Plus, his efficient, minimalist style perfectly serves his material; he never over-stylizes a shot when he can just show you what's happening and have that be more than enough. The Southern Comfort Blu-Ray actually has an interview with Hill, which is extremely uncommon—he supposedly hates talking about his past work. I'm definitely gonna check that out.

The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (Zucker)- The very last decent Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker film, and even then a pretty big step down. The one where Leslie Nielsen starts pulling exaggerated reaction shots and mugging for the camera.

Prometheus (Scott)- This movie has an unbelievably poor script for such a high-profile release (fuck you, Damon Lindelof) and the otherwise magnificent visuals are let down by some really heavy-handed color correction (though at least blue and gold is slightly more tolerable than orange and teal; still an appallingly lazy way to construct a color palette) but I can't help but like it a little anyway despite almost everything about it. Mostly Fassbender, I think; that opening section where he's the only one awake on the spaceship is easily the best part of the film. I could go talk about this movie's woes for ages, but there are two things I have to say: Charlize Theron's character is almost comically pointless, and Guy Pearce is terrible at playing old (not that he's helped by a terrible makeup job). For fuck's sake, why not just hire an older actor? Young Weyland doesn't even appear in the movie proper, just in a promotional video, and even then they could (should!) have just hired a different, younger actor and accomplished the illusion of them being the same person with fucking acting. Argh.

*Planete Sauvage (Laloux)- One of the best science fiction films of the seventies, and one of my favorite animated movies ever. It's a real shame Roland Topor didn't work more in animation, because his designs are so striking and so wonderfully executed here. And Alain Goraguer's soundtrack is one of my favorite film scores of all time.

Flesh for Frankenstein (Morrissey)- On the one hand, it's a lumpy script, the locations (or at least how Morrissey used them) look undeniably cheap, the tone wanders all over the place, and while it's not really fair to judge them in the context of a home DVD screening, almost all of the obvious 3D effects shots are pointless even for 3D effects. On the other hand, Udo Kier. Screaming tantrums, YOU FILTHY THING!, the infamous gall bladder line, the way he pronounces "zumbie," everything. And since it was produced in Italy, there's Nicoletta Elmi as a creepy child.

Fast Company (Cronenberg)- The earliest of all "I wish he'd go back to horror" Cronenberg movies, though it's a much bigger outlier than his later films. His enthusiasm for motorsports really shows, which helps draw in viewers like me who couldn't possibly give less of a shit, there are some interesting close-up shots of engines and drivers in goggles and filter masks, and an early mildly kinky sex scene with two hitchhikers and a can of motor oil, but it's thoroughly minor Cronenberg. If this wasn't so very Canadian I would expect to see Roger Corman's name in the credits somewhere.

*Scanners (Cronenberg)- This is more like it yes. There's a good deal of complaining online about the new color timing on Criterion's release (some people are going the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg hyperbole route, though I think the most accurate comparison would be what William Friedkin did to the original blu-ray of The French Connection) but it looks wonderful, and barring a comparison to the original prints, which I'm probably never going to see (who revives Scanners in 35mm anymore?) the best it's ever going to look.

I very near picked up Scanners when I was browsing at the B&N 50% off sale the other day. Might still get it.

Just to clarify: I don't think the Scanners situation is like the French Connection debacle at all (that film was legit ruined), I just meant it was the right kind of comparison, not the Star Wars special edition/ET rerelease hyperventilating I've read.

on preview: You should totally do it! The lack of a commentary is disappointing, since Cronenberg does it so well and he's been game on previous Criterion releases, but the other extras are really well-produced, especially the documentary about the practical effects.

I just got Scanners in the mail, along with Alex Cox's Walker and Revenger's Tragedy. Gonna watch one of those tonight for sure.

flesh for frankenstein is incred

Spring Breakers (Korine 2012)
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (Juran 1958)
Last Year at Marienbad (Resnais 1961)
*A Hard Day's Night (Lester 1964) - the one I did pick up at B&N
Good Morning (Ozu 1959)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp8IU1PcThQ

I haven't seen this talked about yet. Roughly 10min Cronenberg film on youtube (fully authorized) for a limited time. Body horror in the form of one conversation about getting a breast removed for an odd reason. Cronenberg plays the doctor.

I think it's fine. Not much to say about it.

I haven't watched it yet (probably will tonight, thanks for the reminder) but it's worth remembering that it's not really a complete thing in and of itself- it's a prequel/teaser for his debut novel out in a few months.

Guy Pearce is terrible at playing old (not that he's helped by a terrible makeup job). For fuck's sake, why not just hire an older actor? Young Weyland doesn't even appear in the movie proper, just in a promotional video, and even then they could (should!) have just hired a different, younger actor and accomplished the illusion of them being the same person with fucking acting. Argh.

The script had scenes with young Weyland that got removed after production began.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Rupert Wyatt, 2011) - on tv last night. Meant to enjoy the 'NOOO!'. There should've been a commie salute inserted somewhere too as I detected a revolutionary situ coming along...come on apes, arms held straight and out, fists closed..lets have a sense of humour about it all.

Maybe that Cronenberg novel is the Fly sequel that was being talked about?

Caught (Ophuls) - 8/10
Trance (Boyle) - 2/10
La vie est un roman (Resnais) - 7/10

Camille Claudel 1915 (8/10)

Spring breakers (Korine, '13) 8/10
Bedevilled (chul-soo jang, '10) 8/10
Where Adam stood (Gibson, '76) 6/10
The Armstrong lie (Gibney, '13) 6/10
*Dazed and confused (Linklater, '93) 9/10
*American graffiti (Lucas, '73) 8/10
The cook the thief his wife and her lover (Greenaway, '89) 8/10
Wake in fright (Koetcheff, '71) 9/10
Meeting people is easy (Gee, '98) 6/10
Avenge but one of my two eyes (Mograbi, '05) 8/10

*rewatch

Supermench - the legend of Shep Gordon. There were only 3 people in the audience including me.

*Dazed and confused (Linklater, '93) 9/10
*American graffiti (Lucas, '73) 8/10

Back-to-back? They make for a great comparison...throw in Fast Times at Ridgemont High for a triple-bill.

Actually, as much as I didn't like it myself, you could probably add Spring Breakers from your list too. That'd cover the '50s, '70, '80, and '10s; need the '60s, '90s, and '00s for 70 years of teenagers.

*Dazed and confused (Linklater, '93) 9/10
*American graffiti (Lucas, '73) 8/10

Back-to-back? They make for a great comparison...throw in Fast Times at Ridgemont High for a triple-bill.

― clemenza, Monday, 21 July 2014 00:35 (39 minutes ago) Permalink

Film 4 showed both movies back to back late one night. So similar in many ways besides the obvious high school nostalgia. One thing that struck me was that while the kids in American Graffiti are living in more conservative times; their rebellion is quite out there. I mean they destroy cop cars and have life threatening drag car races whereas the 70s kids smash a few postboxes and smoke weed.

Thief (Mann, 1981)
Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)
In Order of Dissapearance (Molland, 2014)
Mon Oncle d'Amerique (Resnais, 1980)
*Sherlock Jr (Keaton, 1924)
A Sunday in Hell (Leth, 1976)
Play (Östlund, 2011)

A Sunday in Hell is a famous Danish documentary on the Paris-Roubaix race. It is absolutely awesome. Play is also an amazing film, filmed a bit like Stray Dogs. Can't wait to see Force Majeure, Östlund's latest.

Norte, The End of History (Lav Diaz, 2013) - lot to say, for me it was nice seeing it in a sold out screening (the small room at the ICA, very stuffy due to heat that we took a break in between, but still) and going off home at 11.30 and perceiving the world to be just that little different than it was before you went in.

Might need to follow this up w/the Transformers movie to regain a bit of balance.

La Pointe Courte (Varda)- Easier to admire than to like- it's a clever structure and there are some beautiful, breathtaking compositions in the "actorly" half, even if it feels like some of them were a little tongue in cheek, like the scene inside the boat hull. Most of this just comes down to me having little to no enthusiasm for neorealism or the non-Italian films the neorealists influenced.

Carrie (De Palma)- Instant favorite. I was wondering just how much De Palma there would really be in this (not to mention how it would play out knowing basically everything about the film from the plot outline down to certain famous phrases, gestures and shots) but it's flawlessly put together and full of De Palma flourishes, from one of my favorite uses of split-screen so far in his work to that amazing long take where Carrie and Tommy are dancing while the low-angled camera circles them faster and faster in the opposite direction. And it works both as camp (Piper Laurie's St. Sebastian/Jesus death pose, most of her performance really, the after-school detention scenes with Nancy Allen's queen bitch character) and as a deeply empathetic film about a miserable, abused outcast kid. De Palma's first work with Pino Donaggio, too, which is worth noting, especially that weirdly triumphal theme when the Whites' house collapses at the end.

*The Whip and the Body (Bava) (Tim Lucas commentary)

*Goldfinger (Hamilton)- A step down not just from From Russia With Love but from Dr. No as well. Ken Adam makes it visually interesting (that Fort Knox set with the grille in the floor and those angular shadows from the bars is something else, as is Goldfinger's Kentucky ranch house) and Gert Frobe and Harold Sakata are wonderful but it's hard to really enjoy a plot that hinges on what basically amounts to Bond's magic penis, and if you follow the obvious reading (or going on what I remember from the more clumsily explicit book, 15+ years ago) corrective rape of a lesbian character. Really, really icky even for the Bond franchise. The pervasive misogyny in this one is really something else- the Mastersons' subplot just drops off the face of the earth, for one, and more importantly, this is the first Bond film where every single woman on screen is cast and framed to be ogled at or for Sean Connery to casually swat her on the ass. I'm glad that the series goes back to Terence Young for Thunderball, which I've never actually seen in its entirety.

Oh man, and speaking of the visuals in Goldfinger- the costumes for Goldfinger's army of, let's face it, yellow peril are fucking ridiculous, both from a story perspective (why aren't they disguised at the end?) and from a design standpoint. It's obvious the costume department couldn't think of any way for them to read as Chinese other than slippers and giant yellow sashes and it's just insulting and borderline racist caricature.

And while I'm piling on, sure, the title song is one of the best Bond themes, but "Diamonds Are Forever" is a million times better. Not saying that about the movie, you understand (the homophobia in Goldfinger is at least just implicit) but the song is just fantastic.

Thunderball is the most boring of the early Bonds

Jesus, I need to edit these before I post. Strike one "something else" of your choice, I guess.

Re: Thunderball, that's a shame, but at least there's a couple of minutes of lung-busting Tom Jones at the top. Full confession: I tried to use one of those Youtube dubbing sites to combine the opening sequence from "Die Another Day" with "Sex Bomb" to see if there was a notable improvement but was stopped not by a sudden attack of taste, or shame, but by the site refusing to work.

yeah Thunderball is suuuper boring

From Russia With Love is so great, Goldfinger is visually cool but so hard to watch for so many reasons

yeah 'from russia' is the best one all around. kind of like 'dr no' a lot too, something so charmingly laidback and silly about it compared to the others.

hv never found Goldfinger hard to watch. all those other elements are in the first two, pick yr poison.

'from russia' rips off North by Northwest a tad much for my taste

fight scene on the train is all-time

xp agreed; they're both tedious

do you ever bother to explain why you find things tedious

Hard to name a Bond film apart from Casino Royale that isn't tedious.

man with the golden gun- super untedious!

There are a thousand things wrong with it but A View to a Kill is never "tedious."

The man with the golden gun was my fave bond when I was a kid. It's been so long since I've seen old Bond movies now I wouldn't be able to say what's my fave.

glad we can go over the top Amazon sellers yet again

Drying Up the Streets (5.5)
Only Lovers Left Alive (7.0)
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (6.0)
Fed Up (6.0)
The Truth about Charlie (5.0)
The Zodiac (5.0)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (8.5)
India Song (--)
W. (6.0)
Permanent Vacation (5.5)

*Fast Company (Cronenberg) (David Cronenberg commentary)

*Seven (Fincher)- Reeeally doesn't hold up. I mean, it's okay; it's visually interesting, but I have a lot less patience for Andrew Kevin Walker than I did as a teenager. Just didn't find a lot to hold onto for this viewing, which makes me a little worried for my rewatch of The Game

Maitres du Temps (Laloux)- This ruled, though. The budget limitations (which I'm guessing coincide with the move of production from France to Hungary) really show with some of the stiff adult human characters, but the little space gnomes are really fluid and beautifully designed. The plot is all over the place in the "one goddamn thing after another" style of so many SF movies (Barbarella, etc) and had me wondering why the hell it was called "The Time Masters" until the last ten minutes, when that question was answered with all the subtlety of a ton of bricks, but it's so good-natured and fast-paced that I couldn't really have any serious problems with it. Not a patch on Planete Sauvage, but that wasn't really going to happen without Topor and Goraguer, and I can't fault it for that.

The Fury (De Palma)- I'm going to have to give this one another couple of spins before I really know what to think. It's so technically brilliant (split diopters everyfuckinwhere, that rotating rear-projection shot of Amy Irving on the stairwell, the slow-mo escape sequence) and funny ("I KILLED IT. WITH A MACHINE GUN") that it's hard for me to really process as a film and not a collection of (awesome) setpieces on first watch. I do have to pick a fight with Edgar Wright, who in his Trailers From Hell commentary repeated the scurrilous claim that it contains a better exploding head than Scanners. First of all, everything but the head explodes here; and second, while an exploding Cassavetes is nothing to sneeze at, especially one filmed from like 20 different angles and shown again and again in a positively Cormanesque reuse of film (like he splurged all his House of Usher burning-mansion footage on a single movie), it's honestly not that great an effect, with the visible pyrotechnic charge and unconvincing dummy. Fiona Lewis' death stuck with me much more, partly for being really disturbing and upsetting but mostly for just being a more imaginative effect.

*After Hours (Scorsese)- BEST SCORSESE. I WILL TOLERATE NO DISSENT. I mean if you want to be wrong, that's okay. I only recently learned of the plagiarism scandal around the screenplay, which is a shame (and explains why Joseph Minion's career didn't really go anywhere after this and the almost as glorious Vampire's Kiss, and the fascinatingly bonkers-looking Motorama) but even that cannot diminish my love for this movie.

Charlotte et son Jules (Godard)- Cute. I mean, it's Belmondo, and a super rough draft of the Godard gamine with none of the darkness and uncertainty of Jean Seberg, but it's fun and everybody looks great and the punchline is good.

*Breathless (Godard)- Speaking of which. Really makes me want to seek out the Preminger films with Jean Seberg and Rappaport's Seberg film (which was on Youtube the last time I checked).

*After Hours (Scorsese, Schoonmaker, Ballhaus, Dunne, Robinson commentary)- Fun fact: not only was this almost Tim Burton's live-action debut instead of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (Robinson and Dunne approached him on the strength of Vincent after Scorsese couldn't commit to the project, and graciously backed down after funding for Last Temptation fell through and Scorsese wanted to pick it up), it was recommended to Robinson in the first place by none other than Dusan Makavejev.

The Nest (Cronenberg)

Burton backed down, that is. Bad sentence! BAD!

You and the Night (2013, Gonzalez) 5/10
Up the River (1930, Ford) 6/10
Susana (1951, Bunuel) 7/10
Closed Curtain (2013, Panahi, Partovi) 7/10
*Tristana (1970, Bunuel) 10/10
Cousin Jules (1972, Benicheti) 8/10
The Sniper (1952, Dmytryk) 8/10
El Bruto (1953, Bunuel) 8/10
*A Summer's Tale (1996, Rohmer) 9/10
The Burglar (1957, Wendkos) 7/10
Passion (2013, de Palma) 5/10
*The Killing (1956, Kubrick) 9/10
I Am Happiness on Earth (2014, Hernandez) 4/10
Boyhood (2014, Linklater) 7/10
Él (1953, Bunuel) 9/10

Coo, might watch Tristana tonight

Spring in a Small Town (Fei, 1948) 6/10
Boyhood (Linklater, 2014) 6/10

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (Fisher, 1973) 6/10
The Long Good Friday (MacKenzie, 1979) 7/10
Classe Tous Risques (Sautet, 1960) 8/10
The Uninvited (Allen, 1944) 6/10
White of the Eye (Cammell, 1986) 7/10
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Wyatt, 2011) 7/10
Wake in Fright (Kotcheff, 1971) 8/10
Horizons West (Boetticher, 1952) 6/10
Crimson Gold (Panahi, 2003) 7/10
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai, 2006) 8/10

Boyhood (2014, Linklater) 8/10
On the Run (2014) 5/10
Under the Skin (Glazer, 2014) 6/10
Stage Door (La Cava, 1937) 8/10

The Steel Helmet (Fuller, 1951) 8/10
Klute (Pakula, 1971) 8/10 rewatch
Boyhood (Linklater, 2014) 8/10
Fruitvale Station ( Coogler, 2013) 6/10

xp Let's honeymoon in Stage Door.

one of those backstage dramedies where the sass is great and the drama is pretty awful

oh I've seen it about seven times and I'm in awe at how well La Cava gives Ball, Arden, Patrick, et al. get great bits and Andrea Leeds gets her shitty I'm-an-actress chunk of the movie (and got Oscar-nominated).

Stage Door is a better send-up of received notions about Katherine Hepburn's arrogance and "difficulty" than The Philadelphia Story.

Ahead of its time in that regard.