Based on the extreme goodwill I'd seen in multiple reviews for Barantini's 2020 film Villain, I was hoping it would be something above and beyond the typical UK gangster flick. It's not.
It is provisionally not bad "rough and tumble proper geezer" stuff but the direction is disjointedly confusing (dream sequences and flashbacks are filmed in the same way), vaguely grindhouse in its visuals but lofty in its goals. It's filmed well enough and the lumpen ultraviolent protagonist Fairbrass, who I've never seen before, is convincingly sympathetic and makes the most of an underwritten part. Unfortunately the script needs about fifteen minutes worth of cuts and some heavy reworking to join various untied ends... and oh lord do they ever botch the ending terribly. Likely worth skipping unless you're a genre aficionado.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 17:09 (three years ago) link
Motherless Brooklyn enjoyed this , foun dit quit emoving i places.MIght be a bit gimmicky to some.& i think I heard taht the main plot points have changed a lot from the book which I have somewhere and still mean to read. Saw a good documentary on the guy the Alec Baldwin character is based on and the woman opposin him.Did mean to see this at the cinema and then missed it so glad I've seen it now.
― Stevolende, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 18:13 (three years ago) link
(since I'm not doing ratings anymore, I'll just say that the Sirk, Fuller, Lang and Ashby (!!) were the ones I liked the best)
I've fallen out of updating this thread, but I watched The Out-Of-Towners at some point during lockdown, and very nearly gave up fifteen minutes from the end after being stoney-faced up until that point. Nothing improved.
― Bleeqwot (sic), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 21:27 (three years ago) link
I thought the most recent "Emma" was quite enjoyable, and always looked great. Given that it and "Invisible Man" were more or less the last two mainstream movies released in theatres this year, I say Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress (and I suppose the rest of the awards) are a toss-up between the pair. "Emma" is probably a lock for Best Costume Design, though, because I couldn't even tell what the Invisible Man was wearing.
Anyway, I look forward to more from Autumn de Wilde, and of course Anya Taylor-Joy.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 29 May 2020 03:17 (three years ago) link
Emma was the last film I saw in a theater this year, I enjoyed it
― Dan S, Friday, 29 May 2020 03:20 (three years ago) link
Mad to Be Normal the film with David Tennant as RD Laing. It seems to have way too much stuff happening at the same time ie coinciding. I assume that was narrative structure rather than documentary level accuracy. But may be a bit contrived.Quite enjoyed it though.Just got turned onto it by somebody sharing an image of a shirt Laing wears to a chat list elsewhere,
― Stevolende, Friday, 29 May 2020 06:47 (three years ago) link
Cactus Flower (1969, Saks) 4/10You Were Never Lovelier (1942, Seiter, 6/10)Anna Christie (1930, Brown) 7/10True History of the Kelly Gang (2019, Kurzel) 5/10I Will Buy You (1956, Kobayashi) 6/10A Married Couple (1969, King) 7/10 Heimat Is a Space in Time (2019, Heise)*The Saddest Music in the World (2003, Maddin) 9/10At 3:25 aka Paris qui dort (1924, Clair) (59m) 6/10 *Horse Feathers (1932, McLeod) 9/10
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Friday, 29 May 2020 14:31 (three years ago) link
A Quiet PlaceDidn't see this til now. Pretty well done. Interesting concept so may need to see the sequel now..
Followed on my memory stick by, so next thing I watched.CoonskinRalph Bakshi blacplotation from 1974 1/2 live action 1/2 cartoon. Very non PC features a lot of stereotypes in the animation. But really cool.Think this has been sitting on the memory stick since before Xmas with me meaning to get to it. Glad I have now.Think I listened to a podcast on animations based on Tolkien last year and heard about this through that since he did one.
― Stevolende, Sunday, 31 May 2020 00:34 (three years ago) link
Blaxploitation getting autocorrected there.
― Stevolende, Sunday, 31 May 2020 00:35 (three years ago) link
for anyone interested I've started a screening series for group viewings anyone can schedule/program. details in this ILF thread
Quarantine cinema club
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 1 June 2020 03:29 (three years ago) link
Good idea!
In the meantime, we watched (as a family) the first "Paradise Lost" doc, and it had just the effect I hoped it would have on the kids. "Wait a minute, how could they be convinced with no evidence!?!?" Etc. I hope they'll be into and sit still for the sequel(s).
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 1 June 2020 03:32 (three years ago) link
oh god paradise lost
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 1 June 2020 03:44 (three years ago) link
Very nice!
― flappy bird, Monday, 1 June 2020 04:32 (three years ago) link
May:
Lisa and the Devil (Bava, 1973) 7/10Frightmare (Walker, 1974) 7/10The Nude Vampire (Rollin, 1970) 7/10The Black Cat (Fulci, 1981) 7/10Blood for Dracula (Morrissey, 1974) 7/10Make Way for Tomorrow (McCarey, 1937) 8/10House of Mortal Sin (Walker, 1976) 6/10Mad Love (Freund, 1935) 7/10Werewolf of London (Walker, 1935) 6/10Opus 5 (Williams, 1961) 8/10The House of Fear (Neill 1945) 7/10Cat Girl (Shaughnessy, 1957) 5/10The Last Sunset (Aldrich, 1961) 7/10Hello Down There (Arnold, 1969) 4/10Eye of the Devil (Thompson, 1967) 7/10The Mummy's Tomb (Young, 1942) 4/10The Whip and the Body (Bava, 1963) 8/10Lips of Blood (Rollin, 1975) 7/10Village of the Damned (Rilla, 1960) 8/10A Special Cop in Action (Girolami, 1976) 7/10Planet of the Vampires (Bava, 1965) 8/10Bob le Flambeur (Melville, 1956) 8/10Dream Work (Tscherkassky, 2001) 10/10Motion Picture (‘La sortie des ouvriers de l’usine Lumière à Lyon’) (Tscherkassky, 1984) 6/10Two Way Stretch (Day, 1960) 8/10Demons of the Mind (Sykes, 1972) 6/10Wagon Master (Ford, 1950) 8/10The Cynic, The Rat & The Fist (Lenzi, 1977) 6/10The Camp on Blood Island (Guest, 1958) 7/10Colt 38 Special Squad (Dallamano, 1976) 6/10Tower of Evil (O'Connolly, 1972) 6/10Cry of the Banshee (Hessler, 1970) 6/10The Legend of Hell House (Hough, 1973) 6/10Antigone (Straub-Huillet, 1992) 8/10The Undying Monster (Brahm, 1942) 6/10Allures (Belson, 1961) 9/10
― Ward Fowler, Monday, 1 June 2020 08:14 (three years ago) link
Missing LinkAnimation about egocentric explorer and monster hunter finding the sasquatch and subsequent adventures.All star cast etc.Quite fun. Missed it at the flicks so just catching up now.
Heavy TrafficRalph Bakshi animwtion/live film about a would be underground artist and the people he meets.Gross humour which I assume was considered underground. Not sure how sympathetic any of the characters are. Listened to a black podcast about Coonskin earlier and see a lot of the same problems they identified there as present here.they pointed out negativity of black portrayal in that here it extends to gays.
WizardsWatched this before Heavy Traffic. Another later Bakshi from 4 years later. He's incorporating the rotoscope techniques he uses notably on Lord Of The Rings.This is about a war a milennium after a nuclear war wipes out civilisation and magic has reemerged. The wizards of the title are 2 enemy brothers.This was quite enjoyable though really not sure about portrayal of Eleanor the would be fairy companion of the good wizard Avatar. Verges on the misogynist. Soundtrack had some good fusion which nearly verged on the krautrock.
― Stevolende, Monday, 1 June 2020 08:17 (three years ago) link
Was Wizards the big fantasy thing before Star Wars. Mark Hamilton even gets a cameo.Just thinking is this what fantasy fans would be creaming their jeans over massively at the time.Can see some cult appeal.
― Stevolende, Monday, 1 June 2020 08:21 (three years ago) link
God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance (Blank, 1968) - 7/10*Le Beau Serge (Chabrol, 1958) - 8/10A Well-Spent Life (Blank, 1971) - 8/10Cisco Pike (Norton, 1972) - 9/10Smithereens (Seidelman, 1982) - 8/10*Chinese Roulette (Fassbinder, 1976) - 9/10Orphée (Cocteau, 1950) - 8/10Fracture (Hoblit, 2007) - 4/10The Paradine Case (Hitchcock, 1947) - 5/10The Clinton Chronicles (Matrisciana, 1994) - 9/10Dry Wood (Blank, 1973) - 6/10Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Hittman, 2020) - 9/10The Hustler (Rossen, 1961) - 7/10*The Third Generation (Fassbinder, 1979) - 10/10The Cremator (Herz, 1969) - 9/10Foxy Brown (Hill, 1974) - 7/10*Pioneers in Ingolstadt (Fassbinder, 1971) - 8/10*The Bakery Girl of Monceau (Rohmer, 1963) - 6/10*Suzanne’s Career (Rohmer, 1963) - 8/10Humpday (Shelton, 2009) - 3/10Guest Wife (Wood, 1945) - 4/10Ornamental Hairpin (Shimizu, 1941) - 8/10*California Split (Altman, 1974) - 10/10This Gun for Hire (Tuttle, 1942) - 6/10*Les Cousins (Chabrol, 1959) - 9/10Spaceship Earth (Wolf, 2020) - 9/10*The Master (Anderson, 2012) - 10/10*High Noon (Zinnemann, 1952) - 5/10Destry Rides Again (Marshall, 1939) - 8/10*La Chinoise (Godard, 1967) - 9/10The Petrified Forest (Mayo, 1936) - 8/10Rounders (Dahl, 1998) - 6/10Daisy Kenyon (Preminger, 1947) - 7/10MacGruber (Taccone, 2010) - 5/10*Fox and His Friends (Fassbinder, 1975) - 9/10Unrelated (Hogg, 2007) - 5/10*Blow Out (DePalma, 1981) - 10/10*Good Morning (Ozu, 1959) - 9/10
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 06:07 (three years ago) link
two weeks:
Great 2020 Movies:The Painter and The Thief (Ree, 2020)
Great (non-2020): Safety Last (1932, Newmeyer/Taylor)
Consistently Pretty Good to Very Very Good:Fourteen (2020, Sallitt)
Consistently Pretty Good to Very Very Good (non-2020):Moon (2009, Jones)A Kid From Coney Island (Ozah, 2019)
Almost Okay to Occasionally Pretty Good:Hannah Gadsby - Douglas (2020)Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything (2020)
Deeply Flawed to Barely Watchable:Hellraiser (Barker, 1987)Genius Party (Multiple Directors, 2007)Buzzard (Potrykus, 2014)DC Showcase: Adam Strange (Lukic, 2020)Hala (Baig, 2019)Villain (Barantini, 2020)
No:Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020, Hittman)The Last Right (2019,Crehan)Your Name (2016, Shinkai)
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 06:17 (three years ago) link
American Pop.Bakshi from 1981 telling the story of American popular music over the course of the 20th century from Russian Jewish immigrants fleeing rotoscoped pogroms to a punk era band that turns out to be Bob Seger.Gets a bit confusing over timelines especially the beatnik hobo guy who turns into a songwriter.Was thinking this might just be the most coherent of his films I'd seen so far. But even there it isn't 100%.There's a torrent of all of his films around so I'm working through them. Listened to the How Did This Get Made? Podcast on Cool World a few weeks ago so may watch that soon.
― Stevolende, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 06:35 (three years ago) link
I like Bakshi, but Cool World definitely ain't good.
― A White, White Gay (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 17:05 (three years ago) link
Watched "The Social Network" with my older one today. It's remarkable how young people so quickly turned their back on something as seemingly pervasive as Facebook. She barely knows anything about the site, let alone Zuckerberg.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 3 June 2020 03:54 (three years ago) link
Safety Last cx = 1923
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 3 June 2020 11:29 (three years ago) link
I really enjoyed "The Vast of Night." Refreshingly simple and sometimes ingenious, it plays like a great Ray Bradbury story or, more high concept, like a student film prequel to "Close Encounters." And it's got a tracking shot for the ages.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 6 June 2020 03:32 (three years ago) link
OK, just looked it up and sure, there was some cheating with the tracking shot, but I loved all the rest of the long, mostly still, mostly unbroken shots in the movie. I've seen some criticism that the movie itself is too slow, but it totally held my teen's attention, which is saying something!
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 6 June 2020 03:40 (three years ago) link
Looking forward to new Hong Sang-Soo and Abel Ferrara movies out this week in "virtual cinemas."
― flappy bird, Saturday, 6 June 2020 04:21 (three years ago) link
I saw Yourself and Yours tonight, which was my first exposure to Sang-Soo. Remarkably clever and muted piece of work; I might need to rewatch it to get some of the greater nuances. Worth the time for sure.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Saturday, 6 June 2020 04:44 (three years ago) link
Terminator Dark Fate - not good folks not good
― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 6 June 2020 04:58 (three years ago) link
*Son of Paleface (1952, Tashlin) 9/10The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018, Cousins) 6/10As Long as You’ve Got Your Health (1966, Etaix) 7/10Death in the Garden (1956, Bunuel) 6/10The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997, Rappaport) 5/10Six of a Kind (1934, McCarey) 7/10River of Grass (1994, Reichardt) 7/10The Canterbury Tales (1972, Pasolini) 6/10The Decameron (1971, Pasolini) 7/10The Italian Job (1969, Collinson) 6/10The Forest for the Trees (2003, Ade) 7/10
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 01:07 (three years ago) link
not sure about its greatness, but I felt a lot of empathy for the main character in Maren Ade's The Forest for the Trees and thought the story was surprising. It was memorable and is one of my favorite first films
― Dan S, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 01:24 (three years ago) link
River of Grass was also an amazing first film and Kelly Reichardt has become one of my favorite directors
― Dan S, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 01:28 (three years ago) link
Agreed on Reichardt in general and River of Grass in particular. I need to see First Cow, tho Morbs panned it here.
At Almodovar's suggestion from his Sight and Sound COVID lockdown diary, I gave Howard Hawks' Monkey Business a shot and found it dead-on funny and impossibly problematic. Beyond the overt sexism and the immensely dated jokes, there's no way this is ever going to get a full critical reassessment with Cary Grant playing a fifth of the movie in redface. That said, the dialogue is crisp, the direction is expert and the cast is dynamite. Ginger Rogers is charming and endlessly fun, Charles Coburn is at his monocled best, Marilyn is at her it-girl apex and Cary Grant (redface aside) is an energetic live wire. There's a blu-ray out!
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 01:30 (three years ago) link
River of Grass bears zero resemblance to any of KR's other films, is the thing.
Son of Paleface doesn't bother me with all its Native gags cuz UH IT'S FROM 1952. It's also significantly funnier than, say, Blazing Saddles, though they certainly share some DNA.
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 01:40 (three years ago) link
not too similar too but wouldn't say it bears zero resemblance
don't remember that many final scenes, but the final scene of The Forest for the Trees really got to me
― Dan S, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 01:43 (three years ago) link
a thing can be from 1952 and still be offensive! Monkey Business is from 1952 and is offensive!
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 02:32 (three years ago) link
Coincidentally, I finally watched "Wendy and Lucy," which is so deceptively simple and heartbreaking, thanks largely to Michelle Williams (and lost dog sentiment), but also Reichardt, who does so much with so little. Though I can suppose see someone saying she does so little with so little, too.
Watched "Cast Away" as a family tonight. Kind of remarkable it's only 2 hours 15 minutes. I feel if it was released today it'd have at least 30 minutes extra minutes in there, given it covers 4 years on a deserted island. Anyway, Hanks is good in it, but those bookends remain if not problematic than certainly pretty boring ways to frame the movie.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 02:53 (three years ago) link
lol i remember loving the bulk of castaway watching it in theaters and then being utterly furious that they didn't just end the damn thing when he loses wilson. i should prob rewatch some day.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 03:04 (three years ago) link
does Monkey Business need a critical reevaluation? it's a great concept stretched thin, not enough good jokes, not enough MM. (but of course Ginger & Cary are great)the 15 minutes where Cary Grant is playing cowboys and Indians with some kids is not what's keeping it from being looked over again.
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 05:34 (three years ago) link
it ain't helping. I'd argue it's a pretty great showcase for all involved that has not aged particularly well but likely deserves more revival love than it gets.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 05:37 (three years ago) link
It would definitely still hit better in a virally-exposed non-distanced audience than at home on youtube.
― an, uh, razor of love (sic), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 06:34 (three years ago) link
Just saw a lovely documentary called "Hear and Now" about a pair of 65-year old deaf-from-birth grandparents (with hearing children, one the filmmaker) who decide to get cochlear implants together. At the very least it offers a fascinating glimpse into their life story, but I guess the meat of the movie is how they react (as individuals and as a couple) to getting the implants. What (if anything) changes between them, what (if anything) changes in their life, the difference between hearing and communication, that sort of thing. Quietly profound about what we take for granted in life, what is or is not important, and how we are able (or unable) as humans to change and adapt to challenging situations.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 11 June 2020 12:58 (three years ago) link
be offended all the time by a culture that's dead and gone
that kinda bores my socks off
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 11 June 2020 14:02 (three years ago) link
Yeah, we absolutely solved racism long ago, a--
Axing of Little Britain, Chris Lilley shows from streaming services prompts outrage
― an, uh, razor of love (sic), Thursday, 11 June 2020 15:57 (three years ago) link
This was hilarious, award-winning comedy up until (checks notes) yesterday, when it suddenly became slightly racist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8R8k7q4_Q
okay, this 2011 song about an Aboriginal child being run over by a truck, performed by a middle-aged white Australian man in blackface, playing an African-American rapper attempting to sing for pathos, was also briefly racist when the writer/actor re-promoted it in connection to an Aboriginal child being murdered in WA by being run over by a truck, but that was July 2017. A very different time.
― an, uh, razor of love (sic), Thursday, 11 June 2020 16:10 (three years ago) link
also for the recordhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MQEjg7N4y8George Winslow and Cary are both great in this scene but it couldn't be much more racist
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, 11 June 2020 16:26 (three years ago) link
westerns were big in the '50s; kiddies played along
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 11 June 2020 17:03 (three years ago) link
it could be a lot more racist
― flappy bird, Thursday, 11 June 2020 17:06 (three years ago) link
It likely WAS a lot more racist.
― Dirty Epic H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 11 June 2020 17:11 (three years ago) link
directors cut
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, 11 June 2020 17:18 (three years ago) link
Le Jeu (Cavayé, 2018) 5/10Knives Out (Johnson, 2019) 7/10White Material (Denis, 2009) 7/10The Highwaymen (Hancock, 2019) 1/10Matilda (DeVito, 1996) 5/10Let The Sunshine In (Denis, 2017) 7/10Le Passé (Farhadi, 2013) 9/10Le Havre (Kaurismaki, 2011) 8/1035 Rhums (Denis, 2008) 9/10Clouds of Sils Maria (Assayas, 2014) 9/10
― NAthaniel (cajunsunday), Thursday, 11 June 2020 20:20 (three years ago) link
not been watching a _lot_ of film over the past week but it's mostly been high quality.
Great:8:46 – Dave Chapelle (2020, Netflix)Monkey Business (1952, Hawks)
Consistently Pretty Good to Very Very Good:You Don’t Nomi (2020, McHale)Yourself and Yours (Hong Sang-Soo, 2020)Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo (Higuchi / Ghibi, 2012)80 Blocks from Tiffany’s (1979, Weis)
No:Miwa: Looking for Black Lizard (2010)Days of the Bagnold Summer (2020)
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:59 (three years ago) link