text:
A list of films I have watched in 2014
What Maisie Knew
can i join this thread?
Uncle Buck - classic
Big - surprisingly I'd never seen it before. it was enjoyable, would watch again.
The World's End - ok, not as terrible as everyone makes out, but not as good as Hot Fuzz / Shaun of the Dead.
The Hunt
Well late to the party I know, but what an incredible film.
fantastic film
Festen is top too
2. Harry Potter Deathly Hallows pt 2 - 7/10
3. American Hustle - 8/10
4. Zodiac - 7/10
All films I've seen before:
Predators - pretty enjoyable
Man on fire - pretty enjoyable
The kings speech - very good, Geoffrey rush as always, masterful!
The Final Destination
Ridiculous(ly compulsive) viewing.
Going to number them this year
And mark ones I haven't seen before with a *.
1. True Grit
2. Prince Avalanche*
its films youve seen this year
not new filmsPickledOeuf this'd this
1. Holy Motors
What's that like then?
I'm pretty interested in seeing it, but have a feeling it might be horrible.
second viewing
loved it the first time in the cinema, felt it's effect was slightly lost the second time round but I still enjoyed it. It's very funny, mad and fun if you're up on your cinema/filmmaking references. Kinda worth it just to see Denis Lavant play 9 different characters. Also, Kylie Minogue and Eva Mendes.
So aye, worth a go.
2. Frances Ha
loved it just as much as the first time
3. Computer Chess
If this was really clever or pretentious or bothrm
4. Punch Drunk Love
Not what I expected, then I remembered it was PTA
5. American Hustle
going to extend this to a review later but initial reaction is: very stylish and funny but lacking in substance
it was ok
a lot of the humour was exactly what diabolo cody is criticised for
"i'm a fat nerd! of course i know what zombies are!" which is basically The Big Bang Theory, but it was well paced and patton oswalt was good.
think charlize theron's character was supposed to have aspergers?
2. The Princess Bride
(first time ive seen all of it)
fucking wonderful film
3. Paris Is Burning
amazing documentary about gay scene balls in late 80s New York. just amazing characters being amazing
4. Nebraska
fucking loved it, laughed like a drain for most of it, then cried a load at the end. Stacey Keach is amazing. Very little i didnt love about itLo-Pan and Severed799 this'd this
5. Rock Of Ages
obviously was never going to be actually good, but a film having paul giamatti, bryan cranston and alec baldwin is generally going to be watchable. pretty horrible all in all, but i just had it on in the background really
6. Catch 22
enjoyed it cos i love arkin and the book so much, and orson welles was fucking perfect too
7. All Is Lost
fell asleep cos there's not too much talking huh
8. Wolf of Wall Street
fun, not much more
9. Dallas Buyers Club
very good, well done. surprised that it wasnt made by a more established director
10. Inside Llewyn Davis
pretty ok. quite moving in parts, funny in others but really very unsatisfying
11. The Heat
some good laughs, but mainly shit and annoying
12. Magnolia
havent seen this for about 10 years so rewatched last night after hearing about PSH. it's very long and a bit cheesy, but enough g reat stuff going on
13. The Talented Mr Ripley
part of my PSH rewatching series
pretty decent really. going to watch a bunch of the other ripley adaptations, starting with Wim Wenders' The American Friend
14. American Hustle
dunno why David O Russel went and made this after silver linings and the fighter. very average. funny that christian bale spends the whole thing doing a mid career de niro impression and then de niro turns up. renner is really good in it, in the sense that he's never seemed to have any range whatsoever and plays a very likeable character well
15. Before Midnight
this is a film that's written in an incredibly stagey way, with monologues sounding more like newspaper articles than real speech BUT it made me laugh a bunch and the acting is good and it's nice seeing the characters rounded off, even if i thought the previous two films were pretty shite
16. The Kings Of Summer
enjoyable film about three kids running off into the woods. a bit like The Inbetweeners in tone, a bit, and American and with Ron Swanson as a dad. not bad
17. Enough Said
very nice, but still like all romantic comedies with an awkward situation caused by someone not being honest about a situation, ruined by the fact that you'd have to be a total idiot not to be honest about the situation
18. Mud
pretty shit, mcconnerhay is good and all but, really, just a load of shit. cant believe it has 98% on RTfurio this'd this
19. 12 Years A Slave
pretty good
wasnt even really understating
it didnt move me at all really, think i was missing something. probably should have seen it in the cinema but it's gone now. probably will be back after it wins every oscar
think it's still on in a couple places?
Yeah, maybe it does have a bigger impact in the Cinema
20. Her
liked it a lot, thanks. phoenix was great, cinematography was great, some great laughs, some great sad. think this film will age very well and be regarded very well in the future.
DP's name is Hoyte van Hoytema, which is a great name, and he did tinker tailor and let the right one in, which makes sense
21. Fishtank
pretty good huh. not much to say tbf
22. Stranger by the lake
good, liked how it was all set in the same place, but a big place, so you felt like you really knew it. very well shot. just dont get why the main character liked that other guy so much, so it all felt a bit ridiculous
23. The World's End
fairly good i guess? no big deal. tried to watch Ted, only got 15 minutes in before the bear being peter griffin got completely unbearable. and also all the jokes being shite
24. The Savages
ok i guess. obviously psh is great in it, but it doesnt seem to do or say much
25. Dirty Harry
somehow never seen this. holy fuck it's so good. problematic as hell, but the photography and soundtrack are so good and eastwood's pretty alrigt and the baddie is so gross. recommended a+
26. This Is The End
pretty funny i guess. still weirded out by the similarities with The World's End tho.
1) all star comedian casts who famously work together a lot, plus many many comedy actors cameoing
2) go out drinking
3) people start shooting blue light out of their eyes
4) the word End in the title
5) released pretty much simultaenously
27. Batman: Year One
animated version of the graphic novel. pretty great. bryan cranston as gordon and ryan from the OC as batman. just read that there's going to be a tv series, Gotham, dealing with a similar period of batman stuff, with ryan from the OC as gordon
28. Everything Must Go
Will Ferrel starring adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story. Really liked this a lot, cried a bit. nothing all that special, but i l iked it a lot, as mentioned.
7. All is lost
Finished it now but still didnt really pay enough attention. photography at the end is really great tho
28. Pootie Tang
weird quasiblaxploitation film made by louis ck. hard to judge really
29. Christiane F
not really very good tbh. great live/faux live performance of one of my favourite songs in the middle of it though:
30. Anchorman II
really poor, basically
31. Grand Budapest Hotel
load of fucking bobbins. nicely paced but so empty
32. Bottle Rocket
complete piece of shit
33. Under The Skin
same opinions as everyone in the main thread - great score, loved the feel of it, slowed down a bit much at the end
34. Nymph()maniac (Part 1)
very, very funny in parts. went to a screening where part 2 was playing immediately after. only bought a ticket for part 1 and thought i'd buy a ticket for part 2 if it seemed necessary.
it did not seem necessary
35. The Double
fucking so funny and so good. photography looked a tiny bit tv at times which took me out of it just a little bit, but just such a great film
36. It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
have heard a few comedians recently talk this up as an all time classic. didnt think much of it
37. Shampoo
Quite good, not really what i was expecting, bit directionless but the ending really comes together well
38. An American Werewolf in London
Very good, great seeing olde timee london. some good scares, good laffs, fun special effects
39. Don't Look Now
Seen before at ATP, even better second viewing, knowing what's coming. so amazingly creepy and beautifully edited and i want to go to venice
40. Noah
pretty bad. some nice aronofsky editty sequences, but just really pretty bad. final scenes are shot in a cave that i got drunk in once though so that was nice
41. The Act Of Killing
Actually watched this a few weeks ago but forgot. obviously very good and distressing and sad and weird, but seriously over long
42. The Ghost And Mr Chicken
vintage don knotts. well worth watching
43. Paris, Texas
made me cry really loud and painfully. v good tho probably
44. Repulsion
liked how it looked and it was nice seeing kensington and the hoop and toy pub (if they actually used the real interior - not sure they did) in the 60s. didn't really like the story or the portrayal of the main character though
45. Angel Heart
came recommended from a trusted source so gave it the benefit of the doubt throughout, despite it having a slightly shit look to it. come the rather brash ending i decided it was fucking shit, but over the next few days resolved that it was pretty moody and overall good
46. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?
fucking terrifying
47. Breadcrumb Trail
fucking brilliant. has made me so interested in Slint
48. Sexy Beast
stylish and funny but bobbins really
49. Silence of the Lambs
rewatched this with friend. fucking brilliant isnt it
50. Nymph()maniac (Part 2)
no good
I've warmed to Stranger by the Lake a lot
Particularly now I've got over the awkwardness of sitting in a cinema and having to watch it with other people. I don't think you really need to know why Franck finds Michel so attractive, only that he does and that the plot kind of follows on from that. Having thought about it I think that Michel is supposed to be "the stranger", and that a lot of his appeal comes from the fact he's something different and unknown in what (for Franck at least) is a very familiar world, as evidenced by the same few cars being in the car park every day.
Ace, 63 films I hadn't already seen last year according to the thread
Might aim for triple figures this time around...
I got 40 odd minutes into the Japanese remake of Ghost.
The first 20 minutes is pottery and then they start saying ditto too repeatedly for the next ten. The woman dies in this version though. That's as far as i got.
The Blood on Satans Claw. Enjoyable.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Utter gash obvs.
The Sorcerers Apprentice. Not up there with National Treasure but is alright,
I thought the woman died in the original as well
Isn't that why she's a ghost?
what up 2014, back with a new year and a new list
#1 Zoolander (2001) $
#2 Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive (2013)
#3 The Purge (2013)
Zoolander was my #1 of last year as well. might make it my official New Year's Day film for the rest of my life
Can you include stand up films? I DON'T SEE WHY NOT. He's pretty funny.
The Purge was ok. I know it got terrible reviews but my friends who are really into horror movies seemed to like it. Not quite enough as a piece of a satire, definitely not enough as a home invasion film.
According to last year's list I watched 185 films, the majority of which were new to me, probably 60/40. Gonna try and beat that this year!
I thought The Purge was a lot better than it should've been
everyone seemed to praise the premise, but I thought it was an awful premise which actually worked well.
It's nothing groundbreaking but I'd take that over the Conjuring etc any day
Enjoyed this last year, might tot up my total at some point, prob won't
This year Indiana Jones, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade
Drive is on RIGHT NOW
Coming to the end actually but yeah, watching
Robin Hood
Robin Shit more like. Just starting Taking Lives
Starship Troopers
I'm doing it this way instead
Die Hard With A Vengeance
The Evil Dead
old one
Dr No
Batman Begins
SWIFTLY FOLLOWED by The Dark Knight
Missed the dark knight rises
Of course I watched that too
The Princess Bride
Probably one of the funniest films I've ever seen, fucking brilliant
The Mighty Ducks
is on right now
The Italian Job
The proper one
Watched Zombieland last night, brilliant
Watching End of Watch right now. Might be going to see Gravity tonight
I'm watching Franklyn
It's pretty shit
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dead good
The Great Escape
The second hobbit film
Genghis Kahn
About to watch Interview With A Vampire
Pacific Rim
Original Japanese Godzilla
That's the good shit. Also, Shut Up And Play The Hits
The hunger games catching fire
Much better second time round. Also the beach
Troll Hunter
Recently recorded to be watched;
Berberian Sound Studio
both great
A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune. Every formation a parade! I LOVE the Corps!
All in-flight:
Rush - Excellent. Sorry I missed it on the big screen. Daniel Bruhl is superb, Ron Hill gets F1 far better than I expected for someone who knew little about it before this film.
Prisoners - Better than I expected from the trailer. Enjoyed.
Jobs - Kutcher and Gad are pretty decent as the only vaguely rounded characters, but the script's a bit uninspiring. Can't help but think this could have been about ten times better with a better screenwriter. Surprised that Kutcher can do drama passably, even if it's a clunky one.
The Butler - Difficult to believe that all this happened to one guy, probably a bit of Hollywood licence. A little long, but very well told. Enjoyed.
We're the Millers - Standard American comedy film. Just about passable I guess, despite a lot of stereotypes and standard tropes being rolled out. Not really my thing though.
The Apparition - Not very good. Watching it now and I'm posting on DiS, which says it all really.
No. 7) The Last Exorcism:
Ok for what it is. Not really my kind of film, but fairly well done.
No. 8) The Kings Speech: Seen before. Nice film, although perhaps a little overhyped at the time. Colin Firth does a good job and good to see Helena BC doing something that doesn't involve painting her face white.
Also, Ron Hill. *sigh* I've been looking at too many running shops lately. Apologies Ron Howard.
3. Seven Psychopaths*
Who was it on here that said it was a less good Adaptation done in the style of In Bruges? You were right, whoever you are.
dunno if i said that
but i agree with it too
1. American Hustle - 7/10
2. Don Jon - 6/10
Watched True Lies last night
I award it Jamie Lee Curtis' boobs/10
oh and
It's A Wonderful Life - heartwarming/10
Hot Fuzz - jumpedshark/10
I liked Hot Fuzz
It was The World's End where they lost it, for me.
Anchorman 2
disappointing. Starts off well but it's far too long, and there was a noticeable 30min section where there were no laughs and went a bit serious for some reason. Not great or good, not terrible either. Brick the best thing in it by a mile.
Only God Forgives - what an absolute mess. Just people touching each other in various different ways for 100 minutes. All over the place. Really disappointing.
The Raid - still fucking great. And I still go 'OOF' at certain scenes. Can't wait for the sequel.
That's it i think. Watched a load between crimbo and new year but they don't qualify.
yeah I could have done without the whole lighthouse/blind bit
thought it was alright otherwise
Aye, just fell flat when it got to the lighthouse I thought
And it took SO FUCKING LONG to introduce everyone in the fight scene
that I didn't mind
because the joke is that there's a ridiculous amount of "News" now (incl. MTV, Sport, Entertainment) and they keep getting piled on to exaggerate it further as well as being like "is that.. oh shi!"
just remembered.
Brick - I've grown old and rewatching this film confirmed it. Loved it when it first came out. Still really enjoyed it, but some the whole high school/film noir/gangster shtick jarred more this time. I, boring? Yes. Still good, not great like i thought it was.
Recently reactivated my Netlifx Account
21 Jump Street - Way better than it had any right to be, the end third or so was quite a bit weaker than the first 2 thrids but the first hour of so was full of feel good moments with a pretty heartfelt story and some of the greatest comedic scenes I've seen recently (the drug scene in particular).
Safety Not Garanteed - Simple movie with good amounts of ambition, fairly funny and a feel good movie but nothing special.
Uncle Buck - rewatch. any film that ends with a still of john candy smiling is a winner in my eyes
Shadow of a Doubt - brilliant.
Scarecrow - very good. always nice to see al pacino in a role before he became the NUMBER ONE SHOUTING MAN.
Don Jon - has its moments but not quite the satirical take on romcoms it wants to be. also a waste of brie larson.
according to my pretty decently kept list
I watched about 290 films last year
that doesn't even average out to one a day. patheticWooly31 this'd this
though that includes a few films I'd seen before
probably somewhere between 15 - 30, and also watching Con Air twice
1. Anchorman 2
Utter, utter, utter shite. Pretty racist too.
2. Harry Brown
Unexpectedly bleak. Plan B is a terrible actor. Okay though I guess, 6.5 on 10 maybe.
3. Alpha Papa
First time seeing it since it was in the cinema. Still great. Keep thinking about Partridge saying 'Who's this chap then?' and giggling to myself.
quite liked it
isn't racist really is it
It's one joke that they drag over about 20 minutes
It works fine at first but by the time you get to the dinner party it's a bit 'oh FFS we get it'
1. The Hunger Games : Catching Fire
7/10 Much better than the first one. J Lawrence is very watchable and the plot was more interesting. I've just seen that they they are making 2 films out of the last book. (rolls eyes to ceiling...)
you're unbelievably wrong
catching fire is a massive pile of hamfisted talky exposition, and literally doesnt have a third act. embarrassingly bad film. first one was a decent film, worked.andyvine this'd this
Too harsh.
It it is quite talky but it's based on a teenage dystropian novel. Goes with the territory. It doesn't have much of a third act because it's is the middle of a trilogy. I couldn't watch the first one without thinking "This is just a tame Battle Royale."
this one even brings in the battle royale plot point
of the different zones being lethal at different times of day. AND there's fuck all action. also, a film's source is never, ever an excuse for it being a shite, clumsy, money grabbing (it's not a film, it's a just filler) waste of timeSevered799 and chuff this'd this
2. The Red Shoes
8/10 Powell/Pressburger classic as they say. Beautiful camerawork and colour. (1948 wow) Great dance scenes..- Love the 15 min ballet in the middle.. A touch over-melodramatic for me.
3. Nebraska
8.5/10 Bittersweet, funny, touching melancholic Americana in beautiful B&W. Great performances. Loved it. Wife thought it was boring.
7/10 An urgent,angry,grim film with great performances from Fassbender and Milligan. Well shot but strangely unloveable.
5. Holy Motors
6/10 Mad as a box of frogs. (yeah, bit racist...) Bit too random for me though I probably didn't get all the references. Nice cock. Left unmoved.
Seven Psychopaths
7/10 Quite shambolic and probably too clever for its own good. I rather liked it.
7. 12 Years a Slave
9.5/10 An awesome piece of cinema. Moved me to tears. Great performances though I don't want to see it again. Minor gripe. Hans Zimmer (who I do like...) His "theme" of 3 descending notes seems to used in every film he scores....
8. Inside Llewyn Davis
8/10 Lovely mood piece. Funny, beautiful scenes, great soundtrack. Yeah its a bit lacking in a middle but a good watch....
9. American Hustle.
8/10. Looks great. Good soundtrack. Tight ensemble cast. A bit superficial but hey so what...Loved Amy Adams in many ways...
10. Dallas Buyers Club
7.5/10 Lovely film. Great performances from McConaughy and Leto. I thought the last third dragged a bit but it was all done with great style.
11. The Terminal
6/10 Recorded off the TV at Christmas.... I like Spielberg but I lose patience through his movies...The first half is nearly always better than the 2nd.... Saving P Ryan and AI are great examples.... Here the same... Love the premise of the Hanks character being encaptured politically within the airport but then it turns into a rom-com and has a sugary end....(sigh)
12. Project Nim
8.5/10 Documentary about a scientific project to teach a chimp (Nim) linguistics in the 1970's. Initially (despite Nim) being taken from the mother it is cute as it grows up as a baby in a hippyish family and starts to learn signing but as time goes on it is passed from "teacher" to teacher and eventually abandoned to medical science and then a cage on a farm. Very few of the humans come out looking good except Bob. Became quite upsetting but not manipulative.
13. Only Lovers Left Alive
7/10 Jarmuschs take on the vampire genre with Hiddestone and Swinton. I love the two leads and they are both great. Looks fantastic. Ace soundtrack which I'll probably buy... So far so good....wait a minute... Where's the fucking plot. Jesus over 2 hours and nothing happens! Ah well...
14. Oranges and Sunshine
7/10 Slightly soapy drama about the transport of orphan children from the UK to Australia in the 60s/70s. Starring the always wonderful Emily Watson. Directed by Ken Loachs son. Workmanlike though slightly dull.
15. My Week with Marilyn
6/10 Bit lightweight really. Lots of stars. All a bit insubstantial. Michelle Williams was good....
16. Grand Budapest Hotel
7/10 Funny, enjoyable but well down my list of Wes Anderson films. Fiennes however was brilliant.
17. Alpha Papa
5.5/10 Rather disappointed. Maybe I was expecting too much. Not many laughs...
18. Under the Skin
8/10 Liked a great deal. Lovely style.. Ace soundtrack. Preferred the first half.
19. The Double
7/10 Lots of Eraserhead/Brazil influences. Enjoyable but unmemorable. Nice cameos.
20. The Grey
7/10 Recorded off Film4. Better than I expected it to be as I'm not a great Liam Neeson fan.
21. The Raid 2
8/10 Great action movie. Fighting and some plot.
22. Locke
7/10 85mins all set in a car with just Tom Hardy. It kept my attention though and more....
23. We are the Best
6/10. This has been over sold by some critics. 3 Swedish 12 yr olds form a punk band. Cute but the last third gets a bit tiresome. Tack.
24, Calvary
8.5/10 Lovely film. Quirky, moving, funny, lovely camerawork, well judged soundtrack.......v impressed....
25. Tracks
7/10 A woman, her dog and some camels walk across Australia. Nothing much happens except the dog dies. Bit boring. Nice camera work and soundtrack. Very understated and a bit dull.
26. X-Men First Class
7/10. I've largely given up on superhero movies but quite liked this. Saw on Film4. I liked the injection of youth into the cast. More energy and Fassbender is always watchable. Might go see the new one.
27. Edge of Tomorrow
6/10. Overrated by critics...so felt a bit conned. Tom Cruise is shit.
28. Belle
7/10 Quite enjoyable. Good performances. Tom Wilkinson is great. So is Emily Watson but I kinda worship her anyway. British and intelligent though maybe a little slow....
29. Before the Winter Chill
5.5/10 Mmmm. French film with Kristen Scott Thomas. (Horribly underused) The director has obviously seen a couple of Haneke films and thought I can do that. He cant. Unmoved.
30. Boyhood
9.5/10. Quite wonderful..... Maybe 30 mins too long.
31. Joe
7/10 Decent. Do love Nick Cage. Bit predictable...
32. The Rover
7.5/10 Enjoyable outback hokum. Robert Pattinson was ace. Good Saturday night fare.
33. A Most Wanted Man
6/10 Bit dull. Reminded me of Tinker Tailor etc. which I also didn't like. PSH was ace and will be missed. RIP.
34, Only God Forgives
3/10 Urgh. Rubbish. KS Thomas is awfully miscast. Nasty violence. Thinks its meaningful but it fails. Terrible waste of time. Glad I only watched it on Netflix. And I loved Drive so much......I think I like it less now, (Yes that sounds like bollocks but I dont care)
35. Pride
7/10 Umm.... Not as good as I expected. Flagged in the last 30 mins. Some awful (original) soundtrack and a little bit too cutsey. Good idea for a story/film though.
36. Metropolis
7/10 Bit tricky to rate something that is this old. Some of the scenes were pretty amazing considering the tech at that time. Apparently the Nazis liked it too. I watched it with a live soundtrack by a Pink Floyd tribute band. This was a mistake. The first 40 mins was the whole of Wish You Were Here so they were hardly picking tracks to go with the plot.
37. The Crazies
7.5/10 Whoa. Bit unexpected. Sat to watch a bit of this on Film4 with a beer before bed but soon hooked. Plotting it falls somewhere between 28 Weeks Later and Zac Snyders zombie movie. Good performances and engaging twists.... Good stuff.
38. Effie Gray
7/10 Period piece about John Ruskin's loveless marriage. Looked pretty. Well acted. A bit ernest... Probably should have been a 2 parter on Sunday night on Bbc1. I do adore Emma Thompson.
39. Nightcrawler
9/10 One of my films of the year. A stunning wired performance from Jake G. Horrific, funny, gripping. Like classic De Niro/Pacing films from the 70s.
40. Mr Turner
7/10 Yeah alright.
41. The Drop
8.5/10 Unexpectedly good. The trailer doesnt do it justice.... Love Tom Hardy.
42. Chonicle
6/10 (on Film4) I was was initially put of by the "found footage" conceptual it was OK....Got a bit tiresome towards the end but I was tired!
43. Interstellar.
7.5/10 Looked fantastic. Dialogue awful.. Slightly hokey plotting. Would mixing was really bad. (though that could have been the cinema) Really overwrought soundtrack to. Way better than Prometheous
44. The Hobbit (part 3)
7/10 OK Team Tokien books are finished. Jackson never dropped the batton. BUT. It shiuld have been 2 films. This one wasn't overlong but I really hated the Alfred character used fir comic relief. Not enough Bilbo as well.
45. Mr Poppers Penguins.
5/10 Shite.
46. Paddington
8/10 Very lovely.
Last one of 2014
The Imitation Game. 7/10.
Well acted. A bit dull tbh.
home alone 2 (think that was this year) probably one of the best films of all time
melancholia - think this is a great film but I dont really enjoy great films
Toy Story 3 - find the toy story universe a little bleak, everything works out for woody and the gang (temporarily), but you know they are the just lucky ones, and all of those cursed immortal creatures end up on the scrap heap eventually like millions before them. think that would have really bothered me as a kid
seems like a good place to ask
is drive worth watching? think it's on tonight
its become trendy to hate it but it really is a good piece of work
will watch
then post about it here
just watched, fucking excellent
love Carey Mulligan
It is a really good film, I kinda fell in love with mulligan
Where the fuck is Oh_Shangri-La with his critique?!
can't watch anything else just now cause it's still rattling around my head
Guess Oh_Shangri-La is struggling to top my critique of "just watched, fucking excellent"
- didyousayhand this'd this
hey, yeah sorry forgot about this
i'm not very good with describing films. i really enjoyed this, i liked that it was straightforward and easy to follow, didn't try to do too much. it also looked really good, like a slick 80s vice city kind of vibe. i think the soundtrack sounds 80s too.
actually everyone can fuck off
drive is an a bsolutely class film. so harrowingDanielKelly, badmanreturns, and LordLuciusBanter this'd this
anyone who thinks differently is trying too hard to have an opinion
It IS possible to dislike it, y'know...
I thought it was great myself. A stylish and interesting take on superhero films. Acting excellent throughout.
yeah I know, its just when people really oppose it i'm a bit skeptical
harrowing might be overstating it a bit
but yeah it's good.
Uncle Buck
Some of Mary Poppins
The last Harry Potter
Mission Impossible 2
Currently watching Get Him to the Greek.
This is already a vintage year.
Bad Teacher -5/10
Casablanca (for the first time!)- Stunning, obvs.
Happy, Happy - Pretty engaging and short Norwegian drama about 2 troubled couples. Recorded off Channel 4 months ago but only got round to it, really glad I did.
4. The Best Worst Movie*
Documentary about Troll 2, long time no. 1 in the IMDb Bottom 100 (although it has since been usurped by Final Justice) and the cult following it has gained. Really heartwarming in places, sad in others (the Italian director not really being able to accept that people are laughing at his film is heartbreaking). Couple of bits they filmed really shouldn't have been included, but otherwise it's a really nice film.
9. Mission Impossible III - Standard
10. Get Him to the Greek - Flicked between utterly abysmal and actually fairly reasonable, which is a fair achievement for this kind of comedy.
11. Requiem for a Dream - Decent. Now I've seen it, understand why it's become a cult classic.
12. Die Hard with a Vengeance - It's a classic action film. Should have stopped the franchise here.
#4 Black Sheep (2006)
why had i never seen this before? reminded me a lot of Bad Taste, which I would guess was the intention. and the sheep puppets :'D
#5 Child's Play (1988)
man, I never would've let that doll in my house in the first place, creepy fucking thing.
wait, I mean Braindead
I've still never seen Bad Taste :'(
agree with you on Black Sheep.
You have to see Bad Taste...
here;s some films I watched in 2013
that are out in 2014: http://heff88.tumblr.com/post/72203390963/highlights-of-the-london-film-festival-2014
12 Years a Slave
My Fathers, My Mother and Me
Mistaken for Strangers
Mistaken for Strangers looks intriguing...
Will it get a proper (art house) release. ?
I'd have thought so
The National are so popular now I'd be amazed if it didn't
2 Your Sisters Sister
very talky
Saw this at the cinema
Really didn't like it, there's something profoundly dislikeable about the three main characters and I couldn't work out why Emily Blunt was English but her sister was American.
5. Waltz With Bashir. Just brilliant, probably one of the best war films ever made.
Continuing my Netflix free trial rampage I stumbled across this and thought it was fantastic, lots of heart, quite funny and incredibly emotional. Very well done movie that had my attention the whole way.
4 - Frozen: lovely stuff, nice to have a more of a 'twist' than in usual Disney fodder.
American Hustle - Don't get the love for this. Bloated, too long, some nice acting but just didn't care at all. A caper film doesn't need to be over 2 hours either.
Drive - re-watch for the first time since it was in the cinema, still awesome.
Saw Frances Ha the other night.
A mediocre film about terrible people, as seen through the struggles of a character unworthy of being brought to the screen.
Disliked it.Antpocalypsenow this'd this
Yeah it did make me quite grumpy actually.
It's REALLY hard dealing with the standard ups and downs of life whilst being young, well off and free spirited in these days huh.
I think I just need to accept Baumbach isn't a director I'm ever going to embrace. I've tried. Believe me I've tried.
I mean, she isn't well off
or at least doesn't depend on her parents, that's pretty much the point of the film, but I can see why it would annoy some and charm others I guess
Yeah that was what rankled.
And she did depend on her parents for a brief passage of the film. Just not in terms of cold hard cash. Not everyone has that safety net.
The film played out as the bland struggles of a young lady whose problems seemed to me to be entirely unsubstantial or interesting. The self-pitying whine of the comparatively affluent, contemporary urban middle classes. But that's just my reading. I found her character largely very charming! Although not interesting enough to be the foundation of a character study...
fair enough
I think the point is that she is a very fallible character which is where the basic humour comes from (much like Girls before it got a bit up itself) and that's pretty much it. It's not trying to make any grand statements.
Also she goes home for Christmas (to a suburban home) because she's clearly not a good enough dancer, that may be a comfort as such but it's hardly DEPENDING on them, and eventually she learns she's a much better choreographer.
Basically if you're going to over-think a pretty simple, dry comedy into some great class struggle drama by Ibsen then of course you won't enjoy it.
Don't think I'm over-thinking it.
But, of course, our interpretations of films are always shot through with our own values and prejudices. That's what makes talking about them interesting.
Although it is a film that is making a number of statements about New York and those who reside in it. Gerwig and Baumbach made careful editorial decisions to represent the supporting characters in the way that it did. And they're all obnoxious rich kids aren't they? And that in itself is a COMMENT, not me overthinking it...
But sure, you enjoyed it - I didn't. All fair enough :)
yeah, and I would say they kinda make a joke about that privilege!
ayyyye s'all shabs and bants
lets go
Home Alone - great stuff, think we actually have watched this 3 times over Christmas
Mary Poppins - great as always
Haunted House - stupid comedy horror, still pretty funny in part
Tower Block - fairly depressing, gritty sniper packed British action with Sheridan Smith.
Grabbers - Irish alien monsters, locals have to drink to survive. Made me want to go to the Irish coast
Boy Wonder - vigilante fun
5 - Serenity
Still love this bastard to the bottom of my heart.
3 Made in USA
Godard film from the 60s. bit useless really. I dont like Godard
essentially I've just been going through films I missed last year
Carrie - The 2013 remake, thought it was alright preferred the original film though
The Heat - surprisingly enjoyable, although it is essentially just a female version of the other guys.
Elysium - alright, I couldn't help but think it could have been much better though
Sharlto Copley was the best thing about it
every time he wasn't on screen it was a bit dull.
I'm weirdly tempted
Harry when he's great is awesome but the trailer looked so bad.
watched timecrimes last night. was alright / good.
I gone and watched films this weekend
Much Ado About Nothing - Whedon version; really enjoyable stuff and great performances by the Firefly/Dollhouse/Buffy/Angel crew. Had to keep rewinding the bit where Amy Acker falls down the stairs. Castle looking fat/10
Die Hard With Avengeance - (watched from the point where they put 4 litres of water in 5 litres) still good isn't it? Bruce is like, covered in blood at one point. Jeremys Iron/10
Silver Linings Playbook - Can see why Jennifer Lawrence won that award - awesome. Bradley Cooper is great, in fact, everyone is great in this, the humour is pretty dark and compliments the jarring parts well. Ride The Lightning/10Jeremys_Iron this'd this
- colinzealuk and shimmetry this'd this
For some weird reason I can see wearing a grey hoodie and jogging bottoms with a bin bag
and EAGLES written in green on a face being a Halloween costume.
Watched If... over the weekend
My verdict: brilliant
Girlfriend's verdict: pointless and shit
Only one of us can be right.
1. End of Watch - 8/10
Been meaning to watch this for ages. Despite some questionable style choices (weird nightvision exposition bit) and a found footage angle that i subsequently abandons, I thought it was tops. Gylly and Pena are awesome, great chemistry. Also weird seeing Ugly Betty playing a hard nosed cop
2. Anchorman 2 - 7/10 was pleasantly surprised, made me laugh a lot, despite being waaaaaaaaaay too long. Best cameos too.
3. Starship Troopers - 10/10. Classic. COME ON YOU APES, YOU WANNA LIVE FOREVER
4. 12 Years A Slave -10/10
I wrote a massive piece extolling the virtues of this incredible and guttural piece of cinema, but DiS ate it, and I don't have it in me to rewrite.
Also does anyone use letterboxd?
Great for this, surprised it hasn't really taken off yet.
- roastthemonaspit this'd this
I'm now going to spend this afternoon writing an essay on how bad Only God Forgives is.
no, but I use icheckmovies.com
I'm not sure I could be super bothered to write a review of everything but maybe I should try...
primer - 7/10. understood it really easily the whole way through, no question.
match point - 5/10. boring love story and awful lead actor until the action hots up towards the end. not that good but OK.
a dangerous method - 5/10. over the top sex scenes and crapish acting from keira knightly, but not that bad on the whole.
think it's interesting enough as an idea
to warrant that score, even if in practice it's pretty poor for the most part. it's basically Allen's attempt at Chabrol
4 Stoker
excellently shot, very good little filmSevered799 and eltham this'd this
1. American Hustle - 8
2. Nebraska - 9
3. La Belle et le Bete - 7
4. About Time - 3
5. Iron Man 3 - 6
6. Gladiator - 9
7. Kind Hearts and Coronets - 9
8. The Red Shoes - 9
home alone 2
love actually
mary poppins
beverley hills chihuaua
beverley hills chihuahua 2
can i have a plot synopsis and a star rating for the last two
colour me interested
(spoiled chihuahua from bh and played by drew Barrymore) gets dog napped. Scary times, but she gets help from Delgado the gemam shepherd? They get themselves into all sorts of hot water and LoLs. Not going to tell you the ending for fear of spoilers, but you can probably guess from the fact there is a BH2 and 3 that it might turn out ok in the end. 5/5
BH2- Chloe has puppies. MAYHEM ENSUES. The puppies then rescue their human parents from a scrape. 4/5. I marked it up because there are SO MANY PUPPIES but Delgado don't feature so much in this one and he is totally fierce.
Need to watch the 3rd one soon.
Short Term 12
What a wonderful, moving experience. Watch it, you won't regret it! 9/10
Going to the picture tonight so I'm gunna join in this
Couldn't really decide what to see, don't often get the chance to go to the cinema except for kids flicks, but we have babysitters tonight, yay, so don't really want to see anything to depressing but also not really in the mood for a hollywood blockbuster. When it's Mrs M's choice she always chooses the blockbuster. Anyway I think we'll see the one with Harry Potter as Allan Ginsberg that looks alright.
And from memory I have seen one film to date in 2014:
1. Now You See Me - surprisingly good crime caper flick with magicians pulling off heists as their tricks. Could see the ending coming a mile off, but that didn't really matter or spoil the enjoyment. 3.5 stars
6. Magnolia*
Rather a lot to take in. Enjoyed it but not as much as Boogie Nights.
LOVE Magnolia
but yeah really rewards repeat viewings, at first it's just a matter of letting it wash over you. Next time you watch it play the fun game of looking out for Number 82. I mean you could read up about it instead, but it's quite fun when you start looking out for it on your own terms
A few already as it goes
Already seen:
Die Hard: Live free or die hard - Really like this film, it's a good way to bring the franchise up to date. Some bits are silly, (like fighting the jet) but still fun. Shame they took out the Yippe ki-ya MF (As well, at least it's miles better than Die Hard 5)
Tron:Legacy - Great film, this looks amazing and would be a film I would want to watch again at the big screen. Jeff Bridges is great, man. I love his lit-up coat, I want it
Despicable Me 2 - Funniest animation I've seen in a long time. The Minions are superb. Just totally go and see it
1st time viewings
Frozen - Didn't really get into this, it's not that funny, until the snowman comes along. The ending is a bit abrupt. It is a problem watching a film dubbed in another language though
Grudge Match - Loved this film, really funny. You might think Stallone doing another Rocky again, but calling it something else and you might be right, but it's with a comedy twist. De Niro is excellent in this and super funny. Kevin Hart has some good quips and Alan Arkin is surprising funny as well, recommended
1. 8 1/2
2. American Hustle
3. The Hunt
4. The Prestige
7. Indie Game: The Movie*
Quite interesting.
I thought it was mostly rubbish
I liked the team meat segments but other than that I found it boring and I didn't really connect to any of the developers asides from the married guy in Team Meat who was awesome.
1. American Hustle.
Really *really* liked it.
2. Wadjda.
Really *really* liked it.
3. 12 Years A Slave
4. The Act of Killing
(some of you watch LOADS of films)
5. Nebraska.
Amazing, wonderful, delightful film. 10/10.Severed799 and incandenza_ this'd this
glad you went
it's termendous stuff, and surely a much needed pick-me-up after the 1-2 sucker punch of Slave and Killing
5. american hustle - i enjoyed it, thought it was top fun, but i don't remember what i enjoyed about it specifically... didn't stick with me in the way the kind of movies it was aping usually do.
6. the squid and the whale - well observed, honest portrayal of divorce. also has harry dunne being a pretentious jebend for 80 minutes.
7. manhattan - can somebody book me a plane ticket to new york right away?
8. love and death - funniest film i've watched in quite a while, the constant barrage of great one liners actually gets a bit exhausting after a while. unfortunately it does go off the boil a bit towards the end.
9. the ipcress file - was expecting so much more from this one. went in assuming it'd be something along the lines of the long goodbye but it wasn't. starts off as a super cool and witty thriller but just runs out of steam and goes a bit bond halfway through. the scene in the supermarket is fucking great though.
10. the purple rose of cairo - really liked this. bloody love a bit of mia farrow. lulls you into thinking it's a light hearted fantasy caper until you realise there's an inevitably cruel ending just around the corner.
11. modern times - probably about to sound like an uncultured twit but... alright innit. slapstick annoys the shit out of me and the political stuff was super heavy-handed, but i suppose it's extremely impressive given the time period it was released in. maybe i need to rewatch it in a better mood.
12. sabrina - affable romantic comedy full of flawed characters all with a ludicrous sense of entitlement. enjoyed it.
8. Safety Not Guaranteed*
Sort of alright I suppose. Quite an achievement when Mark Duplass is the least annoying lead character in a film.
5- Manchurian Candidate
excellent, cant believe ive not seen it before. real mindfuck at times
I think I'll join in
1. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
2. Chinatown
3. Blood Simple
Alpha Papa is really funny and that's all I really wanted from the film tbh. I'd never seen Chinatown and Blood Simple before and felt both start a little slow. Absolutely brilliant after the first 30 minutes though.
I will watch a film right now.
I've forgotten a few I've seen already, but here goes:
1. Gravity- visually stunning- best use of 3D I've seen. Doubt I'll watch it outside of he cinema though. 8.5/10
2. Undefeated- documentary about a Tennessee High school American football team. Absolutely incredible. Welled up a couple of times and I've not cried at a film since 'The Fox and the Hound' when I was 7. Honestly- watch this! 9.5/10
3.American Hustle- it was good but could have been a lot better. Some great acting (from Bale and Renner especially- I found Adams a little annoying) but the script was all over the place at points. 6/10
6 - Inception
fuck da haters. Absolutely balls-out brilliant. Better than anything Nolan did in the batman franchise, arguably, though i'd need to rewatch them too to be sure.Wooly31 this'd this
Like Someone in Love
pretty sure that Kiarostami is the greatest living filmmaker.
4. End Of Watch
Don't care if it's all super gung-ho American, the performance by the lead two characters is so, so good. Loved it. Even if the storyline is also completely preposterous. Jake Gyllenhaal <3
5. Drive
Still amazing.
Just watched Trance
Thoroughly enjoyable if a little OTT.
McAvoy was his usual reliable self, like the idea of Vincent Cassel getting smashed in the chops with a fire extinguisher :)
Rosario Dawson... woah...
6 Rachel Getting Married
thought when she actually got married it turned p[retty dull
I thought the wedding was by far the least interesting thing about the film
also it seems to go on for like 30 minutes
(anything with a $ I've seen before)
#6 Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
could've been an interesting film, largely ruined by constant HEY GUYS TORTURE REALLY WORKS guff
#7 The Hitcher (1986)
jfc. Rutger Hauer is terrifying in this. it's a little muddled and the whole bit with the police chasing them felt like an import from another film but the cat-and-mouse game was most effective.
#8 Vanishing Point (1971) $
i love this film so much. so much beautiful scenery, sometimes it feels like the film was just an excuse to shoot it. also, FUCK THE PO-LICE.
#9 Demolition Man (1993) $
"what's your boggle?" <3
#12 Some Guy Who Kills People (2012)
Just a random thing on my Netflix recommendations, but I really liked it. A slasher film with a lot of heart?!?!
- iquitelikeradiohead this'd this
see, my gut reaction was that those scenes were pretty horrible, and the characters definitely seem repulsed by it.
but it's also shown several times to produce reliable information, something that's (apparently) historically incorrect with the subject of the film. torture didn't lead to bin laden, it actually provided bad information (http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/12/18/sen-mccain-rejects-torture-scene-in-zero-dark-thirty/)
it's obviously better that they didn't whitewash over it, but at the same time there wasn't really any ethical context placed on it either.
Demolition Man!
Awesome film. Snipes at his absolute height. Can't wait to see him in Expendables 3 on a big film again. He did a kind of vampire film when he got out, haven't seen it yet, didn't look awesome from the trailer.
I must've seen Demolition Man 20+ times
and I still love it so so much. Snipes is utterly manic, the script is razor funny, and even Rob Schneider doesn't spoil it.
Ah no, I know Blade
and all three films were filmed and released before he went to prison. Just had a look and it was called Gallowwalkers. Actually, it wasn't vampires in it apparently, but zombies http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829176/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_3
To add
I love Blade 2, but the absolute abomination that was Blade Trinity, I still find it hard to forgive David Goyer for that. When Dracula, the main vampire, is not that scary, you know you're doing something wrong, among many other things.
Troll Hunter
Suprisingly good, but weirdly felt like a missed opportunity. 6/10
9. Zombieland*
Had the B*** M***** cameo ruined long in advance, but otherwise really liked this.
7 - 50/50
second time seeing it, brilliant. the bit where JGL just says mom before he goes into surgery is utterly heartbreaking, i still feel a bit put out there by it.
really fancy Anna Kendrick too and think Seth Rogen is actually great
5. Throne Of Blood
Kurosawa adaptation of Macbeth. not bad
6. Sightseers
good, but found the tone quite jarring and the killings totally random and senseless. I know that's the point but it didn't sit well with me somehow. couldn't care less what happened to the characters
7. Berberian Sound Studio
nice little thinker that. would love to have seen it in the cinema
8. 12 Years A Slave
a modern masterpiece. the only film that's ever moved me to tears
throne of blood not bad :D
that's interesting about Sightseers, I think given they're obviously and comedically deluded you're hardly supposed to side with them
hmm I know
I was wrestling in mind afterwards over whether I actually liked it or not. it's beautifully shot and the two leads are fantastic. I interpreted it as a darkly comic satire on british tourism and 21st century boredom and social isolation, with two characters quite clearly living dull, unfulfilling lives who are taking out their internalised frustrations on a trip of violent hedonism. there are plenty of film/tv antiheroes that you can side with to some extent (Walter White, Don Draper, Michael Corleone etc), but the murders just made me feel uncomfortable. maybe my sense of humour isn't dark enough
they're supposed to be uncomfortable though, they're ordinary people doing horrible murders!
that is the central joke in a horror-comedy, you're not supposed to side with them particularly as it's not a very serious film. Also I loved the ending.
What you're describing incidentally is how I feel how American Hustle.
I thought sightseers was great
really funny. thought they were surprisingly likeable as well considering how cringe-inducingly horrible they werePickledOeuf and Severed799 this'd this
10. 12 Years a Slave*
Not really much to add to what's been said elsewhere, it is exactly as good as every hyperbolic review makes it out to be. It's going to make it rain Oscars, would assume Best Picture, Director and Actor are nailed on, plus Fassbender would thoroughly deserve best supporting.
Waynes World
I like to play
and Rushmore
Was really disappointed by this one and the only reason why I could think of this being the case is because Max was such an unlikable character and impossible to route for and his character arc felt rushed by the end. But luckily the supporting cast of characters are easy to route for and it saved the film from poor but with a better written lead character I think it could've been a great deal better.
6. 12 Years A Slave
second viewing, still incredible. If McQueen doesn't make another film/as good as this it won't matter.
4. American Hustle
This was really good. Brilliant performances all round but especially from Christian Bale who I think many people forget is actually a good actor after playing Batman for so long. A fun, stylish movie albeit a bit lacking in substance with regard to the plot. That, however, is cancelled out by really great, interesting character development.
5. Senna
I've never seen this before. I have very little interest in F1 so despite all the praise it got when it came out, I always resisted watching it. Watched it last night and oh my, it's incredible. Stand out bit for me was the footage of all the crashes after they started to place restrictions on the cars. Just totally harrowing going from crashes, to Senna's reaction, back to more crashes. Totally nightmarish. It's incredible to believe it actually happened. Despite this, they did seem to portray Prost as this incredibly evil rival which I thought was a bit odd. Like I said, I know nothing about F1 but it seemed to me like it was a very healthy rivalry. Their careers so bound together that they motivated each other by both being so good. Hugely enjoyable/heartbreaking film overall though.
by character development in AH
you mean, everything ends up the way it started right
I guess I don't really mean character development
But the whole reactions from each character to the emerging love triangle and Jennifer Lawrence's explosive yet depressed character, etc.
Read your review earlier actually, and evidently we don't agree fully but I really liked it!
I really liked some of it
but I don't think it excuses the rest.
13. dallas buyers club - i'm so glad matthew mcconaughey has decided to be brilliant.
14. a streetcar named desire - did marlon brando become the most respected actor of all time because people were simply too polite to admit when they couldn't understand what he was saying? top film.
15. super 8 - starts off as a really warm pastiche of family movies from the 80s before going absolutely mental with overblown army stuff. also the ending wasn't very good.
16. iron man 2 - enjoyable popcorn guff innit. rourke and jackson are way underused though, and the final stand off was poo.
17. the bridge on the river kwai - probably now in the top 5 war films i've ever seen. just brilliant.
11. The Bridge*
Quite conflicted about this. While I think the film itself is a pretty interesting discussion of the causes and collateral effects of suicide the idea that a film crew was employed for the sole reason of watching people jump off the Golden Gate bridge and making a documentary about it seems tactless and crass to me.
12. Sex, Lies and Videotape*
Does your film feature less than 6 characters, less than 3 locations and no real action? If so then it shouldn't be a film, it should be a play.
12 years a slave - Cant add anything to what has already been said really, stunning.
All is Lost - BRILLIANT. A 'Gravity' for people who are bored of talking about Gravity. Redford is stunning. Know some people were annoyed at the ending but I loved it.
Neighbouring Sounds - Brilliant piece of paranoia from Brazil - cracking ending too.
Gloria - Chilean drama about a recently divorced woman going back on the dating game. Brilliant played and really moving. Shame the cinema audience I was in laughed at every scene of missing because MIDDLE AGED PEOPLE BEING INTIMATE IS FUCKING HILARIOUS.
Sixteen Candles - Never seen it before, had no idea how racist and date rapey it was. Ew.
9. Manhattan
Really want to go back to New York now
8 12 years a slave
i like paul dano a lot
aw not in For Ellen
actually, a bit mentally yeah
haven't seen that
but heard great things
haven't seen that
but heard great things
12. Mandela: Long walk to freedom
Yeah, not great. Skims over much of the political issues, apartheid happens and then ends in the space of about 20 mins, Elba is fine but a fleshed out mini series could only ever really do it justice.
13. Child's Pose - Fantastic Romanian drama about the lengths one will go to in order to protect the ones they love. Really loved this.
7 - Drive
a rewatch. Still good though.
10. Catch 22
Not a patch on the book
Gonna see a theatrical version of this in April (Birmingham Rep)
Bit intrigued on how it is going to work...
looking forward to watching this soon
obviously it cant be as good as the book, or remotely reflect what the book doesn, but i like alan arkin and think some of the scenes could play well idk
it's worth watching
it doesn't spread itself TOO thin, and pretty much focuses on Yossarian, and Alan Arkin is superb in it. but naturally the book's episodic/non-linear nature doesn't really translate well onto the screen
6. Romeo + Juliet
A 'guilty pleasure' so to speak. A film I enjoyed when I was younger so I'll always have a certain amount of affection for it but I do also genuinely think it's a great film/adaptation. DiCaprio's performance is brilliant and looks well hot in it.
7. Frances Ha
Thought this was really nice. Not seen any of Noah Baumbach's films but always thought they looked a bit twee and shit from trailers. This was just rather lovely though and felt a lot like a really great episode of GIRLS, without as many laughs. I think this film could have evoked a totally different reaction from me if it wasn't for Greta Gerwig. Frances was so incredibly charming whereas she could have been characterised in a quirkier, Zooey Deschanel-esque fashion which would have been at an absolute detriment to the film.
14) Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
The question here is why the hell I watched this pile of shite instead of any of the many, many other good films that are on tomorrow. No excuse for that.
8 ma mere
14. Oasis
Has Chang-dong Lee made a poor film ever?
only seen Poetry and Green Fish in addition to Oasis
I love the flights of fancy in Oasis
Poetry is gut wrenching
9 -in a world
different to how i expected, enjoyable though
8: As if I am not there
Absolutely harrowing film based on a novel about the experiences of a young woman captured by soldiers in the Bosnian war. Some things seemed out of place, but at its most powerful it is gut wrenching and, meant in a good way, deeply uncomfortable. Great central performance, too.
- Verbal this'd this
If you want to watch it
It's on netflix. Not perfect by any means, and bloody tough, but very memorable
7. The Wolf of Wall Street
Are being afraid of criticising Scorsese?
13. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid*
Enjoyed this a lot, it's quite a clumsy film in a lot of ways (the characters don't really have an arc to speak of and at least 20 minutes could be cut with no ill-effect) but the two main characters are very easy to like and the dialogue is terrific.
15) The Cabin in the Woods
Seen before. Don't understand why some people have quite such a downer on this. Not even close to a perfect movie, but at least does something different from the dozens of identikit horror films that come out each year now. It's a solid 7/10.
- 83746725 this'd this
I've seen the light.
I hadn't realised until you explained it so lucidly :)
14. Jesus of Montreal*
Great film.
11. King of Comedy
fantastic. one of my favourite ever De Niro performances
12. Spring Breakers
loved it. like a 90 minute long fever dream
1) Home Alone 2 - classic
2) American Hustle - same opinion as anyone else, good perfomances, shaky plot, probably watch again one hungover Sunday
3)The Hurt Locker - just ok, not bad, not good
4)La Belle et le bête - pretty badly dated, not sure why it's considered such a classic, a few funny moments however
5)Nairobi Half Life - good performance from the lead, but lots of things that happened in the plot were just too convenient
6)Miller's Crossing - was falling in and out of sleepiness whilst watching this, seemed pretty good, but definitely need to rewatch.
9 - A royal affair
Bloody wonderful. Look at Denmark now with all it's cinema, eh?
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Strong sequel - fairly violent as well; the bit where Lisbeth takes on the bikers from pretty impressive and a good little cliffhanger/sudden ending. Got the Hornet's Nest to watch next.
Haywire - a complete mess. All-star cast (Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas and that fighter woman, Gina Carano as the lead??!) but it was just...eh....fight scenes were solid and good stunts, but the plot was dull and muddled and just...it went on forever and it was kinda boring.
Aw. I recorded Haywire...
Maybe I shouldn't have bothered...
give it a watch by all means!
i just found it a bit...meh to be honest. Gina Carano is stunning though.
Watched Point Blank last night on BBC 4.
8/10. very beautiful to watch.
I LOVE Point Blank
saw the restored version in the GFT last year, incredible experience
16) The Dark Knight
Probably the strongest Dark Knight film overall as far as I'm concerned. Bit long, and all that, but I generally enojoy it.
17) The Raid - Didn't realise quite how similar to Dredd this would be despite everyone saying it when Dredd came out. Enjoyable - nicely shot action.
18) Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - Would have gone for the bleak ending myself. It's a bit all over the place really.
10 jeremy
lovely bit of work
i heard him banging on about it ages ago, its on youtube in full
i wouldnt go as overboard as he does for it but its nice enough
13. The Wolf of Wall Street
entertaining, but slightly wearying. Di Caprio is fantastic as always
10 - A History of Violence
see the dang thread.
shit spoilery title mate
think we established this in the threadVerbal this'd this
8. 12 Years A Slave
It was really really really good, obviously.
9. Downfall
Also incredible. Bruno Ganz is jaw-droppingly amazing.
11 small apartments
matt lucas!
jonny knoxville!
james caan!
juno temple!
rebel wilson!
champ from anchorman!
james marsden!
billy crystal!
11 - the Arbor
Simply stunning. Docu drama thingy about Andrea Dunbar, her life, death and the aftermath for her kids. Actors lip syncing to real interviews. Works so well. Really engrossing and poignant
15. Kiss The Water*
16. Bernie*
Saw this for £3 in Fopp and thought "yeah, I'm going to trust what rich78 thinks today". Enjoyed this a lot, very fine work from Jack Black.
ehhh no not really
its virtually the same as all the other films of that ilk. its stylistically nice, and its only about 80 minutes so I would check it out but its not too great
12 - Blue Velvet
1. 12 years a slave
2. Coming Home 6/10
Coming home was decent with a good payoff at the end. Seemed like a made for TV film drama in parts. Bruce Dern was the main reason for watching it. I'm checking out the films he was in since seeing Nebraska
Actually reconsidering Coming Home as a 4/10
that ending was a bit brutal
gonna post in here just to try and remember the films i have watched
sticking with a simple binary rating system
(all first time viewings)
wayne's world
withnail & i
before sunset
annie hall
celeste and jesse forever
mulholland drive
seven psychopaths
12 years a slave
bad teacher
17. Fargo
Was reminded by yesterday's thread that I haven't actually seen it in ages. Still utterly brilliant, obviously. Also realised I don't actually know why Jerry needs the money and that it doesn't really matter either.
8. The Act Of Killing
I think I had slightly different expectations of what this was, it's obviously an incredible story but I was slightly distracted by what I thought it was going to be
18. The Third Man*
Yeah, good, but I struggle to appreciate films like this as the ground breaking pieces of cinema they are simply because I never see them in context. This is one of the very few films I'm ever going to see from the late 40s/early 50s so I'm never going to properly understand how ahead of its time it was and how different it was to its contemporaries.
why is it one of thew few youl see from that period?
love the third man, youl be missing out on so much if you take that stance
It's not really a stance
I can easily watch things like The Third Man, The Bicycle Thieves, Citizen Kane, Sunset Boulevard, Kind Hearts and Coronets etc because they're recognised as classics and preserved as such, but the standard fare of the era isn't preserved in the same way because it's not as important to do so. Even if it was, I'd be unlikely to actively seek out mediocre films just so I could understand why something like The Third Man was such a gamechanger.
I can enjoy the Third Man as a film (plot's good, acting's good, music's really good), but I can't ever really get a perspective of just why it was so much better than everything else at the time.
do you need that perspective?
I think you can tell if a film was groundreaking at the time by asking whether it still feels fresh now- those films you mentioned all still feel pretty fresh.
Dunno why I'm saying fresh so much, but that's the key word.
12 Lonesome Jim
nice little picture, some funny bits. lost a bit of direction but decent2
13 - 12 years a slave
When the end credits started rolling nobody in the cinema moved for five minutes.
Gonna lie down now.
4. Last Tango in Paris
Not sure what to make of that
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Absolutely mesmerising. It's kind of hard to believe such people could exist in America, but Hush Puppy's performance (I'm not going to google her name) was outstanding and the end was very moving.
it's a fairly fantastical view of the deep south, but yeah
9. Bernie
2nd viewing, still really fun film. Jack Black is really terrific
film nerds, i need a recommendation
want something in the same realm as takashi miike/kiyoshi kurosawa, audition, cure, i.e. something oddball, existential and probably japanese.
do like that guy's stuff though. thinking more horror thriller drama something.
How about any David lynch movie ever
Not Japanese but might fit the bill
Have you seen the original Japanese version of Dark Water?
It has a long Japanese name I can't remember but it's pretty good.
i think it was called The Water That Wouldn't Slow Down
yeah seen it.
Just realised I have a shinki aoyama boxset I haven't worked through yet.
Not really that familiar with either of those two
but have you seen Eureka?
Definitely oddball, kinda existential and I think it's Japanese.
yeah that film is stunning
his next film sad vacation was bizarre but a bit shit really all told, so i've gone back to check out some of his older stuff which is really lofi tv movie kinda stuff but still pretty cool
I'll have to look into him a bit more
it was definitely quite a singular film
speaking of Miike
I recently watched Visitor Q. pretty odd film right there. was thinking of writing about it for Verbal's film blog, but haven't got round to it.
cementimental was always banging on about Tetsuo, the Iron Fist, which sounds like it might be what you're after? really want to see it. some of Shion Sono's films like they may fit the bill, I've not seen any as yet, reallly want to though. Love Exposure sounds amazing if you have a spare 237 minutes
maybe Uzumaki or Hausu? both odd films they are. might not be disturbing enough? maybe like some Kitano stuff if you want something slightly straighter -- Hana Bi is well good, definitely quite existentialist.
or maybe some Korean stuff? like Hansel and Gretel, or I dunno what else, I haven't seen a huge number of Korean things. Oldboy (too obvious?).... Dumplings (not that good) ....
oooh yeah been meaning to check out Love Exposure, good shout
I'm not big on Korean film tbh. Haven't seen loads beyond the bigger exports of recent years but i hated oldboy, and stuff like memories of murder and mother could have been great but were near misses for me.
oh yeah and tetsuo is legendary
brilliant film
I really enjoyed Love Exposure. Watched it in four parts & it actually lent itself quite well to that - it's an episodic sort of film.
A very good existential Japanese one is Eureka: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_%282000_film%29
Another pretty long one.
Watched these films so far
14. Inside Llewyn Davis
one of my favourite Coen bro films. need to watch the handful I've missed asap
15. Empire Of The Sun
OK. didn't feel much of a connection between the characters. lacked a strong narrative drive
gonna try and do this over february >>
only seen seven of the 30...
Seen 14 of them
At some point I'm going to have to watch Gone With the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia, but probably won't do so in the same month.
19. A Late Quartet*
20. Bug*
Utterly batshit. Reminded me a lot of Kill List in that it's more about atmosphere than any specifically horrible things happening (although some very horrible things do happen). Michael Shannon and Ashley Judd are both brilliant.
14 Rififi
Loved it
14 - Chinatown
Yeah that's really good. Pacing superb. Jack Nicholson great. Creepy guy was proper creepy. Brilliant.
- Lo-Pan this'd this
do Point Blank next!
read about that after! looked like it proper hurt that, too.
didn't realise he and the screenwriter were that divergent on the ending. heh.
shame he did a shitty thing really
Polanski is (well was) brilliant
ended up watching:
EM Embalming -
Started out as a nice little film about suicide and the embalming process but got way too convoluted with corrupt politicians and dodgy medical trials and black market organ transplants. Had no idea what was going on by the end.
Suicide Circle -
Hadn't seen this since it came out, and remember not thinking much of it but wanted to revisit. Held up much better than I remembered and the satire was well observed, though obviously quite dated. Still good though, hilarious in places.
God bless Japan.
Bumper film weekend owing to saving money
Beyond the Hills - Amazing acting and so so upsetting, really shouldn't have watched this at 2am alone.
Celine and Juline go boating - finally got round to this 3 hour batshit-fest. I want to go into those women's world immediately.
Black Power Mixtape - pretty good if only scratching the surface on the black power movement. Some cool footage.
Blackfish - get the feeling the version BBC4 showed, which is the one I watched, isn't the full version but this was infuriating.
Wreckers - Slight if overdramatic drama with Cumberbatch's accent all over the shop.
Interior Leather Bar - Awful
Nashville - Yes I've never seen it before and yes that was a huge mistake. Would love to see it on the big screen.
celine and julie is amazing
might rewatch at some point soonish.
also really want to see interior leather bar. i can believe it's awful, but that doesn't make me less interested
15 Fargo
this was rubbish
what the FUCK
u trollinPickledOeuf this'd this
nah i thought it was so dull
i really really dont like coens
Really? That's a such a shame, I love that film.
I've heard it called smug and irritating several times but seldom boring.
it's an odd one on Fargo
definitely not as good on repeat viewings imo
- Severed799 and badmanreturns this'd this
maybe I've overdone it
It's a film I studied at uni. I just don't think it stands up that well in the long run to some of their others. The last time I watched it I couldn't help but think how incredibly fast it is. I know it's not a massively long film as it is but it flies by to the point of distraction at times
stop being wrong
you're being wrong
10. Inside Llwelyn Davis
15 - Inside Llewyn Davis
Lingering/10. Will post a review in THAT thread when I wake up.
- alcxxk this'd this
5. The Selfish Giant
10/10 so good
My favourite film of last year
So so amazing.
16 we are what we are
quite good really
just watched it
really liked it, was pretty excellent
apparently there's an american remake? and sequel and prequel have been announced for that.....
think the remake came out last year
to no fanfare haha
21. Supporting Characters*
Film about two blokes editing a film. Quite good, apparently it only cost about $50,000. The main bloke is like a more annoying David Schwimmer but otherwise it's OK.
Inside Llewyn Davis
Feels like the Coen's missed a trick here. It looked great and made decent use of their cinematic quirks but... literally nothing about it was of any real interest.
Either needed to have more sense of narrative purpose or emotional bite to be genuinely engaging. It lacked both and ended up as a meandering glimpse into a meandering presence. Fair enough if you're like `but that's the point!!!111!` but... not really my bag.
Haven't updated in a while now. Talked about some in their individual thread.
10. Spiderman 2
Wasn't this really quite well received when it came out? It's probably the best out of the three but still not very interestingly done when you compare it to that of The Dark Knight trilogy.
11. The Wolf On Wall Street
Thought it was ok. I think the length was its main blemish. It's effectively a film of just stuff happening so it inevitably becomes a bit boring after 3 hours. Music was good and there was some genuinely great scenes. DiCaprio was brilliant too.
12. Inside Llewyn Davis
Loved it. It just thoroughly charmed me. Beautifully shot and understated.
13. Lost In Translation
Up there with my favourite films.
back home so got Sky Movies
nothing good was on so watched
Mine Games - awful pun, good film. Basically just Timecrimes but with Australian teens who find a mine. It had loads of plot holes (if you get told you're in a mine, don't then go down there) but it was quite fun
The Watch - nowhere near as bad as I thought it'd be. I think I'm the only person who likes Vince Vaughn
7)A Serious Man - forgot I'd seen this, good film, love the bits with the neighbour mowing his lown
8)12 Years a Slave - hmm not as good as the media have been making out, maybe I ruined it a bit by reading the book straight before.
The Monkees film, utterly mental. They play themselves trying to exercise their free will and not be constrained by their writers and producers telling them what to do. It starts with them killing themselves. Written by Jack Nicholson.
The Poseidon Adventure - Daft fun
I really love Head!
really, really strange film. I really love the soundtrack as well. some of their best songs on there I think
22. Drag Me to Hell*
Dozy fun. Like the Exorcist and Eraserhead nods and the general not taking itself particularly seriously.
Yesterday I watched
Johnny English 1
Johnny English 2
Toy Story 3
Robin Hood (disney version).
Johnny English may be the greatest pair of movies ever made.
The Signal
again. Still one of my favourite things. All time top 10 prolly.
23. Boogie Nights
Think I've watched this about 6 times in the last year. Great film, probably my favourite PTA. Some of the tracking shots in it are brilliant.
24. Moonrise Kingdom
Still great, probably my favourite Wes Anderson film.
#30 - Man of Steel (2013)
two out of five at best, but it was a pretty brave move to base a new Superman film on all those covers from the 1960s where he acts like a petulant dick.
16: Dallas buyers club
Very good. Wouldn't say great, think a few things in it jarred with me. Won't criticise it for trying to be 'mainstream' though because it's an important story designed to reach a Wide audience and that's a good thing.
MM and Leto were incredible, the latter in particular. Garner did well in a pretty nothing role I thought. The humour was pitched really well, too. Would recommend
17: berberian sound studio
Wow. Wowwowowowowowowowowowowow.
A film that goes mental in the best possible way. As the narrative started to fall apart I felt really unnerved by it but in a way that I was transfixed to the screen. Had no idea where it would go which added to its impact. When the girl was practising her lines I was genuinely unsettled bŷ it.
Toby jones was great, everything was great. I want to watch it again ASAP because I know there is so much more in that film to be explored.
Busy few days
25. The Damned United.
Seen this a few times, it's a shame it'll always be seen as a film for football fans when it's really about obsession and the relationship between Jackson and Clough.
26. Lost Highway*
If there's such thing as a typical David Lynch film this is it. Watched this on a train so kept having to fast-forward the gratuitous sex scenes. No idea what's supposed to have happened at the end, but really inventive and enjoyable nonetheless.
27. Inside Llewyn Davis*
I watched this in a forgiving mood as I'd heard this was the Coens at their more obtuse. I'm not sure whether it was that or the film itself but I thought this was brilliant. I think it's a lot more about grief than I've heard any other reviews mention and I'm also intrigued by how many references to the Coens other films there are in it. Going to have to watch this again soon as I think it might be something truly great but I don't really understand it just yet.
28. Dallas Buyers Club*
Ended up watching this yesterday because it was raining a lot and we couldn't be bothered to leave the cinema after Inside Llewyn Davis. Very good, easy to be cynical about these very worthy films that appear in Janurary and February every year but McConaughey and Leto really are that good.
29. Dealin' With Idiots*
Fairly throwaway Jeff Garlin vehicle about the parents of a kids baseball team. Not awful but felt more like an extended pilot for a TV show than an actual film.
30. The Exorcist*
Was reminded by Drag Me to Hell that I've never actually seen this all the way through. Really good, obviously. Somewhat amazed that Max von Sydow doesn't seem to have aged since 1973.
lost highway has so many elements that he did better in other films. fun tho
Vernon, Florida
After reading about the guys behind horse_ebooks, I watched this.
Woke up to my GF telling me how shit it was even though she didn't watch it.
brooklyn's finest
not bad. quite liked how the 3 main characters remained unconnected really andf they didnt slip into the intertwining narratives which never live up to it. horrible ending though
watched that yesterday
liked it quite a lot. was about as good as it gets for modern american police drama.
could've done without the freeze-frame finish, but what can you do.
well I've hit 50 films so far
seems pretty ridiculous? idk.
best 5 things that I've not mentioned elsewhere (therefore excludes Visitor Q, Wolf of Wall Street, 12 Years a Slave, etc)
- the Cremator - really great 60s Czech new wave thing (kind of a black comedy) set in the run up to World War II, about a sleazy cremator. still quite an amazingly creepy disturbing performance. pretty excellent
- Heathers - I found this really funny. quite possibly one of the best films set in high school ever made. one of the few good Winona Ryder performances?
- Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.... and Spring - not entirely sure what I was expecting, but I really liked this. my only (very minor) complaint would be that the final spring section was way too short. it should either have been extended so something actually happened or been cut since the cyclicle theme had already been established pretty obviously?
- They Shoot Horses, don't they? - nice depressing film. downbeat from the word go. I liked the book and this definitely lives up to it.
- The White Elephant - Argentine drama with Ricardo Darin (the Secrets in their Eyes, 9 Queens, etc), about two priests living in a slum. good performances, great cinematography, good plot, really good all round.
- the Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - the first one is ok, the 5 is great, but fucking hell this was bad. just terrible.
- Step Up 3 - this was really bad but really entertaining. while the first stuck mostly to a relatively realistic plot/structure, with the dancing largely having some kind of logic, this one just throws it completely out the window. creates a quite baffling, almost surreal film where dancing is the cause of and cure to all of life's problems.
- Fright - terrible horror thing with Susan George (Staw Dogs) screaming in terror almost the entire way through. first half is boring, second half almost unbearable. some good photography though.
- the Phantom - a very early 1930s horror/thriller thing. I don't think I've ever seen a sound film as incompentently made. it was so completely primitive from a technical persepecitve that it was quite fascinating.
- Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead - had a lot of potential. there's a great cast, it starts off well. but I found it just so fucking dull. and then a bit too sentimental. could have been really good if it was edited slightly, maybe? or maybe had a better director. maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it
Heathers is brilliant
pretty subversive for a teen comedy, with a really palpable sense of doom about it. love it.Richard_Harrow and noise_ramones this'd this
16. Intolerable Cruelty
17. Dogtown and Z-Boys
18. X-Games The Movie
19. Dallas Buyers Club
20. Punch Drunk Love
21. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
22. Barton Fink
What's x-games the movie
is it done well, or should I go back and watch some of the early skateboarding documentaries?
No it's pants, don't bother
More like a promotional video than a documentary. They just cobble together footage from the 2008 X-Games, no history or real insight. Dogtown is fantastic though, do watch that.
Ah shame
I've already watched the Dogtown documentary, I agree it's great. Excellent explanation of how skateboarding kicked off.
If you want another good
documentary on BMX, watch the ESPN 30 for 30 about Mat Hoffman. You can find it on youtube, it's fantastic and it's amazing the guy lasted as long as he did
Here Comes the Devil
Mexican horror. Really enjoyed it.
11. Dallas Buyers Club
really impressive, expected to stop enjoying it at any moment but it never happened.
Not perfect, there are a couple holes here and there, but really well put together (the use of editing and lack of hitting you over the head with PLOT was refreshing), consistently funny and touching and some obviously great performances from McConaughey & Leto. Also, Bradford Cox!
who was he?
the police guy who McConaughey gives the drugs to
to help his dad with dementia, obvs
enough said
great performances, very believable and proper chemistry but in a real-life way. lovely lovely
yeah loved that film
nothing amazing just really nice
6. 47 Ronin
Oh dear, oh dear, this was actually boring. I got bored during it and it's basically Hollywood trying to do a eastern style film. Surprisingly, Keanu Reeves is not the worst or most wooden actor in it. The action scenes are all shot close up, they go to sites just for an action scene, not for any real reason. The villains are really hammy and I feel like they should be in a panto. I don't care about any of the characters, when they die, I don't care.
After reading about the real 47 Ronin, I will have to go and watch some of the other eastern versions.
Nights of Cabiria
not normally a fellini fan but enjoyed it a lot
nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, quite enjoyed it 7/10 but then after thinking about it for a couple of days 5/10.
things they messed up:
-ED209 not being menacing
-All the robo stuff being introduced early on, no mystery
-Not really showing how messed up detroit is
-All the stuff in china
-Not really developing the bad guy
-Robocop snaping out of his drone like state almost instantly
-Made it too easy to think the robo police would be a good thing so the bad guys didnt seem that evil.
Anyone know why it is that 18's used to be financially viable in the 80's but now everything has to be a 12, is it that inflated budgets need a big audiences or did at some point they just realise there is more money to be made
12. Only Lovers Left Alive
half baked/ten
First time watch. Loved the camera work. One of the strangest films I've seen. It was kind of like watching a noise record on screen- this relentless hysteria. The way the actors delivered their lines as if they were on lots of drugs.
Intriguing film, it's funny how the protagonist leaves halfway through- reminds me a bit of how Chabrol 'deadens' any suspense leaving only contemplation. You can tell its Pasolini by the long, lingering shots of cherubic males.
Wolf of Wall Street
Paradise: Love
First Seidl film. Can see the comparisons with Haneke, although he's not quite as cutting. I thought it was mostly unpleasant to begin with, just a woman exploiting and being exploited herself. But as the film went on you began to empathise with her plight and it actually became humanistic.
White Mane
French mini film about a boy trying to tame a horse. It was nice but not brilliant.
Where/how do people watch films? I have a US netflix account but almost exhausted the interesting looking films. Have a lovefilm subscription as well but I'm a bit slack on sending the discs off. Basically I want an accessible place for interesting films.
that mubi site might be more your bag
I think they are mostly meant to have arthousey stuff
I love Possession. so much hysteria. it's unlike anything else really. also I quite want to see Theorem, but after seeing a few Pasolini things I'm not entirely convinced he's a particularly great director. Porcile was good but disconnected and wasn't entirely successful and Oedipus Rex was just shit
oh yeah I had mubi for a little while
I'm just too technologically inept to download films
13. Her
absolutely beautiful exploration of the human condition
watched it again
not gonna bother counting it though
31. Winter's Bone*
Really, really good. Probably going to watch the Hunger Games as a result of this because Jennifer Lawrence is that good (and I really like Josh Hutcherson too). There's a scene at the end which is really horrible,
32. When Harry Met Sally*
Really good. Much like a lot of comedy it's a shame that romantic comedies are usually pitched so low because when done well they can be really, really good.
33. The Tin Drum*
Had this from Lovefilm for ages, didn't want to watch it because the kid in it looks really creepy* and I knew that a lot of the film was him whacking a drum and screaming. It was adapted from a novel and it reminded me of Perfume in that it probably worked better that way, just because whacking a drum and screaming is probably a lot less irritating in text form. There's also a horrible bit with some eels and a horse's head which I didn't like at all.
*Seriously, look how creepy he is. http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m879hgi3zr1qmemvwo1_500.jpg
34. Hard Candy*
Take My Eyes
Luis Tosar is a proper good actor
18 - My Dinner with Andre
surprisingly affecting
Dallas Buyers Club
guy from Deerhunter is in it
35. The Great Beauty*
I liked this, considering it's essentially 2 hours and 20 minutes of navel-gazing it manages to look and sound nice enough in order that it doesn't drag.
36. The Lego Movie*
Free Samples - really liked this, little indie thing w/ jesse eisenberg and others. it's fun, but then again I am a sucker for 'indie' comedy dramas where people trade barbed witticisms and manage to have a fully developed character arc over the course of just one day.
Bernie - I really liked this, even though I it was occasionally a little dull, and I'm not sure it was entirely great. Jack Black is brilliant though. nice to see him in a good role, I think he's actually got quite a lot of charm that he rarely bothers showing
A Dirty Shame - I'm not sure if this was terrible or great. a combination of the two maybe. hmmm. definitely John Waters' strangest since the 70s, and mostly pretty funny, even if there were quite a few sections where it's difficult to know what the fuck he was thinking.
Hitchhike to Hell - 70s movie about a guy who kills hitchhikers. very little actually happens, almost no gore, and the script doesn't feel quite fully developed (there's loads of elements that seem like they're going somewhere but don't really). but I still really liked it. the main character is actually pretty good, and there's a weird charm to it that is impossible to capture outside the 70s
the Notorious Bettie Page - it's good and I mostly enjoyed it, but it feels as though there's some element missing that I can't quite put my finger on. similar to something like Howl, where it feels worthwhile and interesting just for reminding you of how different attitudes towards 'obscenity' where in the 50s.
36. Serpico*
File under "somehow managed to never see this before". Think I liked it, the first hour drags and is vaguely repetitive but it's an interesting story that's told well enough.
37. Despicable Me 2*
Sequel by committee. Seems like a load of people have sat down and said "hmm, what did people like about the first one? The Minions? Right, let's have loads more of them and less of the girls, yeah, that'll work". Not nearly as good as the first one.
38. The Limits of Control*
It's always dangerous to call a film pretentious, but I can comfortably call this pretentious without rebuke. 10 minutes of story dragged out for 2 of the longest hours imaginable without a single believable conversation in the entire thing. If I wasn't going to see Only Lovers Left Alive before I'm certainly not going to bother now, Jarmusch. Probably features an even odder Bill Murray cameo than Z********d.
39. Killing Them Softly*
Quite good, not as good as TAJJBTCRF but still very interesting. I don't think it needs to be quite as obviously allegorical to the financial crisis as I think the audience are smart enough to figure that out by themselves. Ben Mendelsohn was really good.
40. Stranger by the Lake*
Had a couple of hours to kill in town this afternoon so watched this as I didn't really feel like sitting through a whole bunch of sex or another Jim Jarmusch film. Turns out I ended up sitting through LOADS of really explicit gay sex anyway (there are probably only about 3 scenes that feature conversations and no wangs), but that's always the risk when you watch a film you know nothing about. Cinematically there's a lot to like about it, including a really amazing long shot in the middle and a strong choice not to use any incidental music at all, but crikey there's a lot of sex.
Nymphomaniac -
hmmm, no sir, i didn't like it
L'Humanite -
Bruno Dumont is a strange, strange man but I'll check out a couple more of his
he's just an oddball
some of his choices are bizarre. i liked L'humanite but quite why it was so highly regarded is a bit of a mystery to me.
14. The Queen of Versailles
interesting enough documentary about staggering wealth during the economic collapse
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Mel Gibson trying to relive his 80s, early 90s action stuff - AND IT WORKS!! Enjoyable, silly and lots of action. Peter Stormare is in it for like 3 minutes and is great as well.
I watched Threads for the first time at the weekend
Somebody hold me.
The Headless Woman
didn't really like this. a lot of faffing around
La Samourai
REALLY liked this. so good
it's good
never seen anything else by Melville. I like the title Bob le Flambeur though.
15. The Past
quite heavy-to-the-point-of-distraction family drama but really expertly told
16. Gravity
actually pretty fantastic
the David Schwimmer paedo one.
Actually really good. It was a different take on it - you only see the paedophile for about 5 minutes at the start and the film focuses on the damage done to the family.
6. The Wolf of Wall Street - 3/10
7. Following Sean - 7/10 Made me think about life and passing of time and that
8. Stonewall -
9. Eraserhead -
10. Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies
23. Hard Eight - 6/10
24. Hoop Dreams - 10/10
25. Frances Ha - 7/10
26. Following - 6/10
27. Lost In Translation - 9/10
28. Upstream Colour - no idea/10
29. Her - 8/10
30. Neighbouring Sounds - 7/10
more i think of upstream colour
more i think it was the worst film of last yearSevered799 and kram this'd this
this weekend
saw Murder on the Orient Express- bit dull really isnt it?
and In Fear - it's been hyped up too much. It's an above average Brit thriller, but it's got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes which is odd as it's nothing groundbreaking
The Punk Singer
Re: Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre fame.
And very good it was, too. I wanna be Carrie Brownstein when I grow up.
did you go to the GFF screening
with Lauren Mayberry introducing?
Then to post-film drinks at the CCA, where the promised riot grrrl dj-ing didn't really transpire, though. had a lovely chat with a guy who was at the same new year thing as me - an indie karaoke thing where he did electrix six' gay bar.
Tokyo Decadance
much better than I remembered, think i was a bit too wrapped up in the sOoOoOo cOnTrOvErSiAl hype the first time round. the ending is pyar what the fuck.
Love and Pop
dunno if it was just the rip I had but the whole thing is shot on mobile phones/mini cameras and every shot is in a different aspect ratio and has interlacing issues and aaaarrrrrrrgh. pretty good film otherwise though.
big fan of Ryu Murakami, eh?
what's best of his? book or film
i'm becoming one
mainly based on audition being one of the best things ever, but that's a perfect marriage of him and miike takashi. it's a shame his adaptation of coin locker babies never came to fruition. i really liked in the miso soup as well.
i've never actually seen audition
probably should, i guess
31. Blue Is The Warmest Colour
film-making at it's most immersive and heart rending, really didn't feel like its 3 hour running time. the girl who played Adele should have gotten every award under the sun.
32. Computer Chess
felt pretty disjointed and narratively idiosyncratic, but it really captured the time period and there were so many hilarious characters - Papageorge, the 'cia' guy, the guy running that cult who kept getting in the way of the tournament...
41. The Selfish Giant*
Great. Why I didn't see this when it came out I'll never know, ended up watching the DVD on a train. There are some really obvious comparisons to be drawn with This is England and the work of people like Mike Leigh and Ken Loach but this is still a really original, special film.
42. Nebraska*
Watched this when I got off the train. So wonderful, Bruce Dern and June Squibb are brilliant.
43. Her*
Disappointing because I have such high expectations of Spike Jonze, but still a perfectly good film. The ending seems a bit...by committee as the film seems to be building towards something but ends up somewhere completely different.
44. Where the Wild Things Are
Every time I watch this I'm expecting it to be worse than I remember it, and every time it's better. Like Inside Llewyn Davis I think I secretly know it's not as good as I think it is, but like Inside Llewyn Davis it's gradually sneaking into the higher echelons of my favourite films. I'm a pretty cold emotionless drone most of the time but I counted 5 different places in this film where I had to take a moment to compose myself.
45. Tim's Vermeer*
A man called Tim makes a machine that allows him to recreate (at painstaking length) the work of Johan Vermeer. Directed by Teller from Penn and Teller. Features David Hockney and the actor who plays Gene Parmesan. File under "oddly compelling".
watching Rambo: First Blood right now
might go to bed before the end though
The Book Thief
wonderful film - they got the casting spot on, especially Geoffrey Rush as Hans. They managed to condense it down just right, although I would have liked them to include bits about Max being the Standover Man.
Took me ages to recognise Peter Manion's voice as the narrator.
The Book Thief looks across the board all kinds of awful from what I've seen of it
Colin Firth film.
Really weird and creepy. Very good
7. Riddick
The third film in the series and there was absolutely no point to this, apart from to make money. It's basically Pitch Black again, without the tension. I hope they leave this character alone in film, but look at him in anime form. Could be some good stories to come from it.
8. The Lego film
The start didn't amaze me, but once it got going, it was excellent and I loved Batman. The final 20-30 minutes was excellent and I won't spoil it for anyone, but it was really heartwarming and quite unexpected.
33. The Conversation
thin plot and anti-climactic ending, but Gene Hackman is terrific as a morally ambivalent surveillance expert.
34. Fish Tank
great film, manages to avoid falling into a cliched portrayal of working class London
46. Rush*
Alright, not brilliant, not terrible. About an hour and a half of setup and for the last half hour. Chris Hemsworth just isn't charismatic enough to play the James Hunt character though, and the CGI for the crashes looked incredibly ropey. Daniel Bruhl was very good though.
I liked it, but its a bit forgettable.
haven't really kept this up thanks to letterboxd but ah well
this week:
captain phillips - does it make you a racist if you had a little weep at this and not 12 years a slave? asking for a friend
ray harryhausen: special effects titan - an absolute hero but the strict adherence to his career timeline makes this an incredibly samey watch when the guy essentially ends up explaining an incredibly similar process about 10 times. could've done with more about the man himself and his influence rather than the unending explorations of his obvious technical abilities.
philomena - judi dench was excellent but I've forgotten pretty much everything else about it already. oh, the irish countryside looks nice. so that's two things. was expecting a bit more dramatic heft but it's a surprisingly light, uninvolving watch for the most part.
come and see - I HAVE SEEN HELL
Watched Sideways this week for the first time.
47. Melancholia*
One of Von Trier's better efforts despite everyone in it being ferociously annoying (except Alexander Skarsgard and Jack Bauer). All the wedding stuff was really boring though, and I couldn't work out why Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kirsten Dunst were supposedly sisters despite looking and sounding completely different.
48. The Grand Budapest Hotel*
Damnit, Wes.
49. The Kings of Summer*
Coming of age stories are my Achilles heel, so unsurprisingly I absolutely loved this. Really good Tony Hale cameo.
I thought Melancholia pretty average to be fair.
Overly hammed up central point, seen through the eyes of 2 intensely dislikable characters.
Deeply compassionate film though. I wonder if anyone who's experienced depression found more worth in it than I did.
Royal Tenenbaums
your second film
sounds like you're describing/reviewing the first one there
I did think it fizzled out
apparently I haven't watched a film since the 26th of Feb?! Suppose I've been in Leeds since then...
anyway, this was a bit rubs and disappointing. It has nothing to do with Frank Sidebottom the comic, which is fine, but they still use his paper-mache head. It's not even really about "Frank" (Fassbender) as he's incredibly boring for a supposed "great artist" and is more about Jon, who is essentially the writer (Jon Ronson) writing himself all over the film and apparently apologising to the real Frank Sidebottom (whom he was in a band with) and getting his character (Domhall Gleeson) to be the most irritating cuntbag I've experienced on film for some time. Also Maggie Gyllenhaal does a Karen O impression.
ugh and the soundtrack is really irritating
and the music Frank's band makes isn't anywhere as interesting as the film wants it to be, AND THE SUPER-IMPOSED TWEETING
Wake in Fright.
A quite compelling and bizarre film which is menacing all the way through but ultimately really all about pissed Australians wanting to buy you lots of pints. Kangeroo killing scenes not for the faint hearted. Good to see Donald Pleasance again.
Wake in Fright is great
its really claustrophobic even though its in the outback
An interesting idea wrapped up in a profoundly irritating film. The whole 'letter writing' stuff was Grade A thunderbollox.
The Killing Fields
not that good. 6/10. bit oscar-y.
The Conversation
What in fuck. Gene Hackman loses his rag, slowly, moodily and paranoid-ly in a slow, moody, paranoid quintessential 70s flick. Warning: may contain amateur saxophone playing.
I did enjoy it though. 7/10
18. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Loved it, up there with one of his best.
50. The Hunger Games*
Liked this, despite its many flaws. Can't imagine any film with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson not being at least watchable, and they're both really good in this (as are the very creepy pair of Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks). Very impressed by how well done the action was as well, didn't distract from how horrible what was happening was but never seemed gratuitous. It seems to tread around making some of the bigger, more interesting points though and despite there being loads of Basil Exposition I still thought some bits weren't explained well enough (namely the sponsors and why a riot happened). Won't go out of my way to watch the second one but a perfectly enjoyable 2 hours.
51. Frances Ha*
52. The Rocket*
Lovely little film from Laos, about a family who get moved to build a hydroelectric dam and end up entering a rocket building contest. Very good.
53. Killer Joe*
Darker than dark adaptation of the Tracy Letts play. Pretty horrible all told, think it's the first time people sat up and took notice of the Mcconnaissance. Features the most horrible family dinner scene since Eraserhead.
54. United 93*
Perfect. So incredibly well done, manages to be incredibly touching without ever seeming jingoistic.
Frances mostly
The problem is that Noah Baumbach clearly thinks she's wonderful and quirky and zany and a load of other stuff, so just wants everyone to see how great she is. I found her immensely irritating, so having to spend 82 minutes (the best thing about it is that it's mercifully short) watching her and her awful friends dick about without consequence was a real chore. The only bit where she seemed to exhibit any human qualities was the bit in Sacramento, which was hastily glossed over so she could go back to being wacky and horrendous in New York. Oh, and she does absolutely nothing to deserve any of the good things that happen to her and seems so aloof when the bad stuff happens that I just didn't care in the slightest.
Never seen it
If it's anything like this I'm not going to bother. Was very surprised by how much I didn't like it.
the girls comparison
If I may, is because both Frances and Hannah from Girls are meant to be taken with a pretty big dose of salt. They're both pretty fallible in their inherent middle class behaviour, that is the joke, but they also have a charm that keeps you interestedlospolloshermanos this'd this
But like I said, that's the problem
For the film to work you need to find Frances charming and I didn't in the slightest. For most of it I just wished she'd go away.
but I don't think you're right about Baumbach thinking she's wonderful
and that's what makes the film, I think the whole point is that she's massively flawed and privileged (like in Girls) and there's an inherent humour to that
It's the impression I very strongly got
Oooh look, she's playing a ukelele! Now she's dancing! Now she's spinning round and round and round for no reason at all! Oh Frances, what are you like?
If I'm wrong and she is supposed to be flawed and annoying then on that level the film has succeeded, but that doesn't make her any less of an horrible character to watch.
ha fair!
all I mean is, you may, not that I expect you to, but if you ever watched again looking at it that way round, you may enjoy it more
Went into this thinking it was going to be a hollow pile of old cack. Came out of it thinking it was really quite moving. Some of the interactions are a bit clunky, but I was surprised at both the emotional pull and the lack of cynicism in it. I really enjoyed it.
Under the Skin
Zero Theorem
35. 300: Rise Of An Empire
absolutely pants. has one of the most bizarre sex scenes I've ever seen in a film.
plus loads of ESPN 30 for 30 docs, and half of the Ken Burns baseball documentaries.
55. Cosmopolis*
56. Under the Skin*
A lot of sensible people seem to
The main problems I had were Robert Pattinson (think this is actually the first thing I've seen him in since Goblet of Fire and he's awful) and the way the film only expressed its ideas by having the characters say them at one another in a series of what ended up feeling like mini lectures. Apparently it's VERY faithful to the source text, but I didn't think it worked at all as a film.
it is pretty faithful
yet the film just didn't really work for me
19. Under the Skin
fuckin aye min
i haven't updated in ages
14. Midnight Cowboy
15. Her
16. Amelie
17. The Grand Budapest Hotel
18. Three Colors: Blue
i liked them all.
Last Year in Marienbad
Nick and Norahs Infinite Playlist which was much less annoying than anticipated
End of Watch
Absolutely brilliant and brutal. Was on the edge of my seat through most of it - thought Gyllenhaal and Pena were superb, great chemistry and it felt so natural as well. Awesome film.
i watched Song for Marion last night
57. Festen*
Liked this, although I think it works despite rather than because of the Dogme limitations. Need to watch more Thomas Vinterberg.
58. A Prairie Home Companion*
Last film Robert Altman made, really good but I'm not entirely sure why. Amazing cast (Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, John C Reilly, Tommy Lee Jones, Lindsay Lohan and a great Kevin Kline performance as a PI called Guy Noir).
59. Bridge to Terabithia
Didn't have the same impact second time round, but still very good.
60. Magic Mike*
Meh. Pretty well worn story with some decent performances (most surprisingly from Channing Tatum). Alex Pettyfer is pretty rubbish though, and suffers the indignity of being outperformed by Kevin Nash (Kevin Nash is in this! As a stripper!).
61. All That Jazz*
Enjoyed this a lot. Apparently Roy Scheider lost out to Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs Kramer for Best Actor for this, which seems fairly unjust. Features an actress called Leland Palmer.
Sweet Smell of Success
loved it. Tony Christie is so slimy in it
62. Evil Dead*
Trying to make a bit more of an effort with horror, so watched this because it was free on Lovefilmazonprime. The unnecessary tree rape scene aside it was a right laugh. Big fan of the terrible performances, gooey splatter and general cost about a tenner to make vibe.
63. Detention*
Baffling hyperactive college slasher thing that looks like a Douglas Coupland book made in the style of Scott Pilgrim. Inventive but quite annoying.
64. Annie Hall
Second time I've watched this. Didn't notice Jeff Goldblum the first time round.
65. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire*
Fine, I actively went out of my way to watch this. What of it. It was alright, a lot more functional than the first one. Performances still the best thing about it, Jeffery Wright and Philip Seymour Hoffman are strong additions to an already strong cast. The plot's nonsense though and I assume Liam Hemsworth (the less charismatic Hemsworth, what an honour) and Toby Jones do something later because at the moment they're just hovering awkwardly in the background.
This is The End
i started watching detention ages ago but fell asleep, is it worth it?
If you got through at least some of hit without wanting to smash up whatever device you watch films on then you'd probably be alright watching all of it.
thought it was incredible
the belgian thing?
I've got it recorded, will watch soon
yeahh, it's really really good
there's a few stories going on but it never once feels bogged down or anything. the lead actor is really good too
It's him off of Rust and Bone isn't it?
He's really, really good in that.
yeah just watched it
was great, pretty powerful
I've watched 103(!) films so far!
ones of note:
- Mother Joan of the Angels - I am a total sucker for this kind of thing (polish middle ages historical thing about witches), and it was great. based on the Loudun incident which the Devils is also based on, amongst others. great stuff.
- Upstream Colour - had a load of things to say about this, in general it was pretty good. interesting to compare it to Primer, which was dialogue driven and visually pretty bad, but this was really heavy on teh Malick inspired visuals, and with v little dialogue. was almost like the Tree of Life, like one massive montage. although it was much better than the Tree of Life. bit confusing though, and I wasn't sure what it was trying to say (something about nature (all those Walden references have to mean something)? something about fracturing identity in the modern age). hmm. yeah a lot of questions arise. good though
- Seeds of Sin - are becoming a big thing. definitely a thing these days.
might write about some of the stupid horror films in the horror thread. it needs to be kept alive.
fucks sake
it cut out my Seeds of Sin 'write-up' and combined it with Another Earth.
Seeds of Sin is great, <3 Andy Milligan, so much hatred, pain and misanthropy.
I hated everything about Upstream Colour.
Absolutely everything.
36. Pi
Brilliantly taut and claustrophobic. Can't believe Aronofsky can gone from that to making 'epics' like Noah
37. Under The Skin
Great film, don't think it's as superlative as others consider it to be. Thought it lost its way in the third act.
38. Silence Of The Lambs
Underwhelmed considering its classic status
39. Submarine
Really liked it, was charming without being too twee and earnest. Thought the two kids were great. Really looking forward to The Double now
40. Captain America 2
Surprisingly good, and surprisingly political for a marvel superhero film
Watched The Woman in Black
last night.
Wasn't as good as the play but Daniel Radcliffe is good in it. And bits are scary. Kinda.
I liked the Woman in Black
for a 12A it's got some pretty creepy stuff in there. Radcliffe himself is pretty good, although there's no chance he looks like a widowed single father. Not seen the play to compare but the film was good
66. Amadeus*
Technically I haven't seen this before but I've seen the first half about 7 times because the music teacher always used to put it on when he couldn't be arsed any more at the end of term. I did enjoy it but can't help thinking 1984 must have been a bit of a lean year at the Oscars.
67. There Will Be Blood
No summary necessary.
68. Il Divo*
Made the error of watching this on a Sunday morning. Italian politics are really confusing and there are five minutes of pure, unbroken exposition in the middle but Sorrentino has a really strong visual sense and there are some amazing shots in this.
69. 20 Feet From Stardom*
Think this has got a bad rap because it isn't as good as The Act of Killing (which I haven't seen, but based on summary alone I assume it's more substantial than this). It's a really nice documentary though, there's a lot to like about it. Phil Spector comes across very badly indeed.
70. The Men Who Stare at Goats
Throwaway nonsense.
71. A Hijacking*
Brilliant Danish film about, erm, a hijacking. Still not seen Captain Phillips which I suppose is the obvious touchstone but would be surprised if it's better than this.
The Past
Beautiful film. Gets a bit metaphorically heavy-handed towards the end (still not completely sold on the ending) but it's a very moving piece of work. Works both as a simple emotional melodrama and a more complex gig about the depths of human interaction/decision making etc. etc.
Notably strong performances - especially from all of the kids in it.
20. Breadcrumb Trail
21. LockeStaceySailplane this'd this
Arlington Road
quite liked this really. dont live next door to Tim Robbins
72. Alpha Papa*
Good this, bit forced in places but consistently funny enough to make it worthwhile.
73. The Muppets*
Lovely, Jason Segel is wasted on How I Met Your Mother.
74. The Death of Mr Lazarescu*
Seemed to go on for a very long time, didn't help that everything was in that grey sepia tone that makes me drowsy to look at. Interesting though.
75. Citizen Kane*
Bit of cinematic box-ticking, enjoyed the cinematography a lot but found the plot a little difficult to engage with. At no stage did I particularly care why his last word was Rosebud (possibly because I already knew why).
76. Saving Mr. Banks*
Emma Thompson is fantastic in this, which slightly makes up for casting Colin Farrell as miscellaneous charming Irish drunk man. Seems a bit TV movie in places (although less so than the Blind Side) and very sentimental, but criticising this for being sentimental would be like criticising Die Hard for having too many explosions.
it was his sled
there I saved you from three long boobless hours
- Puds this'd this
well, paraphrasing
I clearly can't remember the exact quote
I watched Forrest Gump for the first time yesterdy
Enjoyed it but far too long. Should've lost that whole shrimp bit, that was dull. And Jenny was horrible to him
The Box on Iplayer
Started off well but turned ridiculously stupid
The one with Frank Langella and Cameron Diaz?
Remember thinking it was a really good idea and then it all went a bit mental with the massive bubbles. The 3rd act isn't so much an ending as it is Richard Kelly reminding everyone that he directed Donnie Darko.
yeah thats the one
exactly what I thought. when it started out and it was the couple having the moral dilemma, and even a bit of the aftermath when things get a bit odd its interesting
but yeah when they go to that library it just turns terrible. i didnt mind the ending though, that seems to have got a lot of flak
77. Captain Phillips*
Less good than A Hijacking and overall not one of Paul Greengrass' better films. Thought Tom Hanks was a very lazy bit of casting until I saw how much he actually looked like Richard Phillips.
78. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Thought I'd give this another go after coming round to GBH on the second watch, but actually ended up liking it less than the first time. Think the main problem is that it's just not very funny.
79. Inland Empire*
Think I might have, sort of, kind of understood what was going on for bits of this but overall it's a real headscratcher. From what I could make out the Grace Zabriskie character is actually the older version of the Julia Ormond character who Laura Dern plays in the remake and it's all sort of a paradox. No idea about the rabbits and the dancing prostitutes though. I think David Lynch is at his worst when he's being this willfully obtuse and he nailed the whole alternate realities thing better than he's done before or since in Mulholland Drive. It's hard not to be impressed by the scope and breadth of his vision but overall this was too much dancing midget and not enough Agent Cooper.
80. What's Up Doc?
All-time top fiver this, should be thought of in the same regard as Airplane and Some Like it Hot. Features probably the best comedic chase scene of any film ever.
81. The Adjustment Bureau*
Total nonsense, such a ridiculous premise that I found it pretty much impossible to suspend disbelief. Never quite sure if Emily Blunt just doesn't do accents or does do them but really badly.
82. Calvary*
Astounding film, Brendan Gleeson is brilliant. Think you could compare it to a lot of other films (there's a very striking Seventh Seal reference) but for me it seemed like an Irish equivalent of the Great Beauty in that it was actually kind of a metaphor for the current state of Ireland and, to an extent, the Catholic church. Think it's better than the Great Beauty in that its central character is much more interesting.
I really enjoyed The Adjustment Bureau!
also seen Calvary today
I think if it was paced a little better it might have worked
But it gets too ridiculous too quickly and none of it makes any sense. What's going on with the doors? Why can they do magic? How come their powers don't work in water? How come someone gets hit by a car and then gets up seconds later unscathed? How did they manage to pause that entire building full of people, and if they can do that why don't they ever think of doing it to Matt Damon? And if they can chuck him in that warehouse whenever they want why don't they just keep him there until she gets married? Why does Emily Blunt supposedly remember someone she met for a combined total of 4 minutes when she meets him 3 years later?
There's too much daftness.
i watched High Noon last night
bit dull
Wedding Crashers - very dull
Return From The Ashes - really underseen. very good
83. Ballast*
Very good this, very sparse drama set in Mississippi. Only four characters, only one of whom is a professional actor. Plays like a cross between Cormac McCarthy and the Dardenne Brothers.
84. The Fighter*
Interesting real story turned into Boxing Film (misc) by the bewilderingly overrated David O Russell. Nice to see Mark Wahlberg in something that isn't completely terrible, but it's all a bit nothing really. The actual boxing scenes look very good.
85. The Straight Story*
Forrest Gump on a tractor indeed. Great performance from Robert Farnsworth and generally very good. Very un-Lynch.
86. Stand By Me
Never noticed John Cusack was in this before.
87. Network*
Very good, amazingly prescient satire from 1976. The Faye Dunaway/William Holden romance was a bit unnecessary but otherwise it's pretty incredible.
the house of the devil - nah.
pretty boring isn't it
ti west - an overrated hack fraud?
quite looking forward to his new film, even though i won't like it particularly
this is the first i've seen of his work
i'll give the innkeepers a go but i don't have high hopes after this. 70 minutes of ponderous (attempted) mood-setting then a jarring, clumsy wet fart of a finale. lethargic guff. by the time the conclusion came my enthusiasm and patience had just completely dissolved.
the dancing scene was good though.
Innkeepers i good
let me know when you see it because there apparently something in the end shot and I want to discuss it with someone (its better than house too)
yep, I liked that
felt like a masterpiece in comparison to house of the devil. definitely shared some of its major flaws though (the ending was a weak point yet again). the pacing was pretty languid here too but thanks to paxton's charming performance i was happy to just watch two slackers mooch around cracking wise with some recording gear for the majority of the film. and suspense! there was suspense! finally!
one thing that perplexed me a bit: who is this film actually for? the tone of it reminded me of a 90s family horror movie at times. something like the frighteners only minus the action and laughs. when the finale came it did jar a bit. just me?
I must've rewatched the final shot about three times but I couldn't spot owt. am i blind? is it something to do with the portrait?
you can see a ghost in the window/wall (ages since ive seen it). i couldnt find it either
Slow weekend
saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid on Thursday which, for a kids film, is pretty funny. unashamedly enjoyed it
saw Cashback last night which was odd. dont know if I quietly enjoyed it or hated it
love wimpy kid
its great isnt it
the bit with the video encouraging kids to be themselves where it was that fat guy breakdancing badly cut with a stunt double was genuinely hilarious
88. Child's Pose*
Outstanding Romanian drama, very no-frills. Seems to be common of Romanian films (it is of the three I've seen anyway).
89. Martyrs*
Hmm. Think the film's greatest strength is also its biggest weakness in that the (incredibly grim) violence never seems gratuitous and never seems to cover a lack of story. The problem is that the story collapses into crock philosophy about half an hour before the end, so when it's revealed why all the horrible things are happening it seemed a bit farcical rather than shocking.
90. Miller's Crossing
Heard the theme somewhere else (an advert maybe?) and realised I haven't watched it for ages.
91. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring*
Lovely film. Seems pretty clear where it's all going by about Autumn but it looks amazing and I like films with very little dialogue. As mentioned above the second Spring segment is very short but I think it doesn't need to be any longer just because the message is clear by that stage.
92. Argo
Think it's the third or fourth time I've seen this, never rated it as highly as some but it stands up to multiple re-watches and still seems tense, which can only be a good thing.
Martyrs is an incredible film
but can understand why it won't be universally loved
starring Jason Statham, I'll be honest it was pretty poor but amusing. shooting and cussing and all that
Frozen - pretty good film, makes you want to sing Do you wanna build a snowman over and over.
I love Frozen
this makes me well up a bit and I don't even know why
The Wall
Gloriously shot. Dont really think it deliver on its premise and I really did not enjoy how it was told by her recounting her story
A Moment of Innocence
bit of an Iranian feast
also saw Close Up. Off to bed so will give thoughts tomorrow but these have both stunned me
okay youv all been waiting for this
A Moment of Innocence is by Makhmalbaf. 20 years ago he stabbed a policeman and this film is the chronicle of them recreating the events using younger actors. Both Makhmalbaf and the policeman play themselves and we see both characters coaching their younger selves about what happened and their thoughts, as well as the dramatization of the events. Of course, thoughts change, we get insights into their viewpoints, the younger actors develop their own beliefs to the event Absolutely stunning work.
Close-up. This is the story of a man who convinced a family he was Makhmalbaf and worked his way into their home. Another director Kiarostami, finds about this story and actually films the fraudsters real trial, as well as renacting what happened with all the parties involved playing themselves. The ending genuinely reaches to you. Both incredible
Not as good as Dogtooth but still an interesting watch, felt like they didn't quite do enough with a good idea though.
93. Pelle the Conqueror*
I liked this but it feels more like an overlong Sunday night ITV drama than a film. I had the same complaint about The Nest Intentions but that was actually a condensed TV miniseries.
94. Persepolis*
I liked the animation a lot but struggled to stay interested when she left Iran the first time round.
95. Behind the Candleabra
Think this actually worked better on a smaller screen. Michael Douglas is great in it.
96. We Are the Best!*
Saw this last night and have been trying to work out why I didn't like it more since then. I think my main problem is that there's nearly an hour in which very little actually happens, so I got quite fidgety and bored by the time some actual plot rolled around. Also thought the bit with the religious mother was very cringeworthy (and not in a good way).
Saw We are the Best last night.
Had similar feelings...I rode with the novelty for about an hour then started to get a bit bored due to the lack of pace and plot.
Post Tenebras Lux
what did other people make of this? I thought it was interesting and had some great scenes (the opening scene was possibly the best thing I've seen in ages, and the bath sex scene was pretty great as well), but overall, I dunno. I found the filter on every exterior scene to grow annoying, and I'm not sure if it held together that well. also the rugby made me laugh. I watched an interview with him and his explanation of it's meaning was pretty funny
wrote something about it a little while ago
I think it makes more sense if you think of it as an autobiographical piece of work, where he's trying to make sense of his own life by drawing on a variety of events.
Saw these recently
The Past
Early Summer
Tokyo Story
Late Spring
Camille Claudel, 1915
Not sure what to make of Ozu yet. His films seem strangely hurried compared to their reputation. People talk about universal themes but they feel more relevant to specific Japanese domestic etiquette/era.
Camille Claudel, 1915 feels like a religious film for atheists. I don't know how Bruno Dumont does it but all his films are utterly magnetic.
I watched my first Atom Egoyan film in a barn in deepest rural Suffolk last night with a bunch of pensioners. They have screenings every so often of world cinema. It's pretty odd.
The film was really good, don't know why you never hear of it anymore. It revolves around a strip club and its patrons- kind of like a mix of Cronenberg and Lynch.
Short Term 12
absolutely fantasticDeanhenderson this'd this
97 & 98. Upstream Colour* and Primer*
Shane Carruth then. Got Upstream Colour from Lovefilm and was expecting to hate it but actually quite enjoyed it. There were bits that annoyed me (the field recording bloke and the Tree of Life type stuff) but the story was inventive and I really liked the music. It all roughly made sense but I'm sure there are things I missed.
Watched Primer the next night as it was on Netflix and short. Again, inventive and it looked very good considering how little it cost. Think I didn't really engage with it, so when all the time travel stuff happened I just went along with it rather than trying to piece it together.
He may be a good writer, director and composer but his acting is pretty ropey.
99. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me*
Rubbish. Everyone involved seemed to be going through the motions in the worst possible way.
100. Videodrome*
I read on wikipedia that this cost $6m to make. Quite where that money went is anyone's guess as it looks dirt cheap for the most part, but it's really good. Even though the video nasties were about 30 years ago the message has endured.
101. Blue Ruin*
Brilliant film, one of the year's best so far. Very taut, comes in at about 90 minutes with very little extraneous stuff. Macon Blair's performance is wonderful.
102. For Your Consideration*
I really like Christopher Guest's films. Obviously he'll never hit the heights of This is Spinal Tap again and I think people are quite snippy about his films as a result. This isn't as good as Best In Show and particularly not as good as the hugely underrated A Mighty Wind but it's still perfectly watchable. I could happily watch his staple cast (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Harry Shearer, Ed Begley, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean etc) read the phone book.
103. Last House in the Left*
Inadvertently ended up watching a lot of stuff about violence this weekend (Videodrome and to an extent Blue Ruin), so I was in the mood to look past all of the bad things about this film (the awful performances, the incongruous music, the terrible editing and direction)
at what I assume to be the central message about the ultimate futility of violent revenge. In delivering that message the film is very potent, but at the same time it is really shoddily made and the whole thing with the two policemen is in the wrong film.
Im back at home
so watched a couple of on demand stuff
also saw Locke
I watched Oblivion on Friday. It was fine, but really forgettable and dull. completely unoriginal too
Dredd as well. That was suprisingly decent. It's brutal. I'm a sucker for things set in a tower block though, but it worked well
i watched Click today on one of those other Five channels
a lot better than i thought it was going to be and a lot sadder and emotional than I ever could have imagined, the ending pissed me off though he should have just died and not been given a chance of redemption.
In the middle of watching Withnail & I
I wish all films were like it.
yeah, about that good
so good it makes me wanna rip it off and make the same film one day.
The Magus (1968)
Woody Allen said that if he could live over again he'd do everything the same except not see this film. Guess that was before all the scandal though.
A pretty good novel adapted by the author for the screen that was an absolute butchery of the source material and Michael Caine was at his cringeworthy worst.
An evening well spent, then.
104. Shutter Island*
Pretty daft but enjoyable. I prefer it when Martin Scorsese makes films with beginnings, middles and ends and not 3 hour music videos about dreadful people. The HONK HONK HONK SERIOUS BAD HONK soundtrack makes this pretty laughable though.
105. Locke*
Very good.
106. Spirit of the Beehive*
Felt rather a long way over my head. Looks lovely but very, very ponderous and uneven.
107. Wayne's World
"If he was a flavour of ice cream he'd be pralines and dick".
Wolf Creek 2
truely awful film, i loved the original wolf creek but this was just silly and full of inexcusable plot holes
Nuri Bilge Wotsit's new film sounds amazing
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Was really surprised at how funny this film actually was. They're all really great in their roles. Definitely worth watching. Only thing against it was the ending. Not spoiling it for anyone who watched, but I would have preferred a different way
10. Horrible Bosses
I thought this would actually be funnier than it was, but it wasn't. In fact, I didn't get into this as much as I thought I would. Maybe it's me. I would have liked to have seen more of Colin Farrell's character.
11. Get him to the Greek
The first 30 minutes were quite funny, but my God it got on my nerves and just descended into farce and stupidity. They tried to do a storyarc, but it was just thrown in, Jonah Hill's character is just a punching bag and is just as annoying as Russell Brand's.
11. Transcendence
Really, really different film. I really felt like I was watching something original. It's a really interesting film and it does raise some good questions. I liked it. It does go a bit stupid near the end, but it's well worth seeing.
12. Winter's Tale
Oh man, what a film. Totally loved it. Little bit rushed at the end. I will definitely watch this again very soon. It's a bit sad near the end, but I really got gripped on the characters and the message.
13. Captain America: Winter Soldier
Well, well, well, Marvel went down the serious route with one of their films and for me, it was a very smart decision. Apart from Iron Man 1, Incredible Hulk and Avengers, the films have been good, but just not all there. The story is great, the characters get developed and, for me, makes Cap the most interesting for future stories. Falcon felt like he'd been there from the start and was a good character "On the left!"
Long Good Friday
i saw Bad Neighbours last night
it wasnt very good. Seth Rogen's let me down
Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness
(very) short reviews of recent viewings
The Lone Ranger - Awful
The other woman - Sexist garbage.
Bad neighbours - Mildly funny but still felt too long. James Franco's brother is fit.
Blue Ruin - Superb, going to see it again at the weekend.
Tracks - Beautifully shot if somewhat slight in its storytelling. Adam from Girls is distracting.
The flower of my secret - An Almodovar I hadn't got round to seeing. Amazing, obviously.
Transcendence - Not as bad as reviews suggested but still pretty silly. Feels like Ben Hur compared to the Lone Ranger.
Next goal wins - Wonderful.
Totally agree about Transcendence
All the reviews said it was awful. I thought it was pretty good and couldn't see what they were all going on about. Morgan Freeman is a little underutilised, but it's worth seeing
quite want to see transcendence
the trailer was pretty hilarious, looks quite stupid, though with some potentially interesting things
108. Morvern Callar*
Good this, not as good as We Need to Talk About Kevin but still quite a good watch.
109. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island*
Good way to pass a hangover. CGI's rubbish and there's barely any threat or conflict but the Rock plays a ukelele and Luis Guzman rides a giant bee.
110. Before Sunrise*
First one of these I've seen, liked it a lot except the "look at EUROPE with its CULTURE and OLD BUILDINGS and PUBLIC TRANSPORT" overtones.
The Raid 2
Best film ever/10
the brood
oliver reed and creepy wax-faced kid bastards. 7/10.
aaron taylor-shitbollocks. 4/10
111. The Leopard*
Very, very good, zips by in 3 hours. The ballroom scene has that same Festen vibe (although obviously Festen is like this rather than vice versa) of everything remaining glossy whilst under the surface it's all falling to bits. Burt Lancaster's dubbing is vaguely offputting though.
112. Braindead*
113. Midnight Cowboy*
Surprisingly out there and grimy for both a best picture winner and a film made in 1969. Rambles a bit in places and plays up to the "anyone who coughs" trope but otherwise enjoyed it a lot. Features a very young Bob Balaban.
114. Frank*
There's a good film in here trying to escape from what's essentially The Men Who Stare at Theremins. Didn't like it much until the bit in the motel where it all sort of came together and started doing what it should have started doing much earlier. The Twitter stuff is ill-judged and unnecessary and the main character is ghastly, but the bit in the motel makes the whole exercise just about worthwhile.
Been watching loads of stupid 80s movies on Netflix
UHF has been the best so far. Stupid Weird Al parodies (the Money for Nothing bit!!!!) and Kramer flailing around like only he can do - excellent stuff
watching Ace Ventura on channel 5.
it has not aged well, kind of embarrassing actually. IMDBed Jim Carry and seen there's a going to be a PROPER sequel to Dumb and Dumber with JC and Jeff Daniels at the end of the year. seriously one of my favourite ever films. well excited.
14. Godzilla
Was really looking forward to this and went on opening weekend and in the IMAX here. Disappointed.
Where was Godzilla? He's underwater, he's on the TV screen, he's now outside, but I'm gonna close the gates so you can't see him. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Most frustrating film I've watched in sometime.
Bryan Cranston was awesome in this, the son was awful. Was there something wrong with Ken Watanabe during the shooting of the film? All he does is look gormless the whole time.
Has anyone seen Bachelorette?
It's really fucking weird, Kirsten Dunst seems actually pissed irl through the whole thing and it's just a collection of jokes nicked from other films. The only good thing about it is Isla Fisher who is really cute.
Yeah I saw it a while back
Was pretty mean spirited and horrible I thoughtElaina_Casoolare this'd this
yeah it really was
(that was meant to say pissed off, Dunst looked pissed off)
Collector (1965)
didnt grab me as I thought it would
gonna read the novel at some point.
isnt it told from diary entries from both their point of view
also, Terrence Stamp, I love him but he wasnt that great in it
not sure tbh
but i read fowles recently and enjoyed it, so seems worth checking out, the premise was interesting.
one of my favourite books
the magus might be even better...
had a film marathon with DiSlads last night, watched
Lancelot du Lac
second view of this for me. Really modern retelling of the eventual falling out of the knights of the round table. Typical Bresson emotionless delivery of everything. Love it.
El Sur
It's one of those biopic typecoming of age tjomgs that are often too saccharine for my tastes but this was really well done and with some really poignant moments. Shot really nicely too. Should check out Spirit of the Beehive at some point.
Uzumaki (Spirals)
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............................................ yeah. Any fans of this movie care to share any thoughts on what it is or why it is? Couldn't begin to imagine.
here's what I said somewhere
El Sur: [you and a mystery third party] liked it a lot. both agreed that the scene in the hotel dining room near the end was the clear apex, which it probably is in terms of the emotional arc of the piece (and a tear came to my own eye), but the whole thing is a ridiculously brilliant visual progression from the warm, supernaturally beautiful tones of early youth into the sharper clarity of adulthood - the quasi-mythical 'south' we all possess as an idealised location (geographical or psychological) moving from a wistful and faraway quantity to a potentially terrible (or wonderful!) reality. one of my favourite films
LDL: was also great - medieval existentialism, knights bereft, all searching in vain for their Guinevere, all striving to be too many things at once, having too many conflicting codes of honour. clearly set in 1970s France. Lancelot trying to keep up with his own mythology, but in the end, finding his own text overwhelming. Guinevere as the only character who speaks any practical sense at any point, but finding herself trapped in a sea of vacillating incompetence, has no recourse but to surrender to her various fates
Uzumaki: To tell the truth, and even accounting for (nay, desiring!) the differing rhythms of Japanese storytelling, I found it inexplicable and deeply self-sabotaging, even as surrealism - the tone was either too zany or too moody - wildly inconsistent. It *was* maniacally devoted to its central conceit in a way that I can only really applaud, but I'm just not sure about why it exists, or whether it contained any sense of allegory at all. I am defeated. The Vortex shall prevail.
well, here's some rambling
Uzumaki: I'd seen it before, but could remember very little about it apart from it being quite strange. I'm pretty sure I really like it, though I'm convinced it's actually good. it's completely baffling on a number of levels, and I keep thinking about it. does it have any meaning at all? definitely a curiosity in any case
El Sur: not really much too add to the above, was pretty excellent, very beautifully shot, quite touching. would say that the ending's a bit abrupt but it kinda works thematically (as loui articulates better than I could), though it makes some sense that he was planning to film a second half but never got to it
Lancelot Du Lac: Never seen any Bresson before, was quite impressed, will check some others out. I liked the completely matter of fact style and the committment to showing almost no action. ... some guy started a thread on imdb claiming that all he could remember was the amount of shots of the backs of people's legs, which made me laugh. there's a lot of them, that's for sure.
next time should watch double the amount. needs be more gruelling
yeah definitely
were a bit short on time this time but if we do again we should definitely expand it
will have a free sunday soon, mebbe in two weeks
yall come to mine, we'll have a no-length-restrictions* summit meeting
*within reason. Is Out 1 even on DVD?
mind if i sit in on the next one lads?
i've got a blu ray copy of entrapment just waiting to be christened
Uzumaki is interesting
but as a concept on a whole didnt really work (for me)
went to watch Lincoln Lawyer but FilmFour kept cutting out
so watched Mesrine Part 1
Saying it's about 4 hours with both parts, the first bit seemed really rushed. It wasnt the best, kinda forgettable
115. Holes*
Strange Even Stevens-era Shia LaBeouf thing. Looked fairly innocuous from the little picture on Netflix but had a couple of suicides and what appeared to be a lynching. Very strong cast (Patricia Arquette, Sigourney Weaver, John Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, Henry Winkler, Dule Hill).
116. Taste of Cherry*
My first Kiarostami, disarmingly minimal affair that I really enjoyed. Outstanding performance from Homayon Ershadi. Anyone got any idea what the last scene is all about?
Rachel getting married
Watched this last night when I was all insomniacy. You'd think fomr tyhe title it's a chick flic, right?
Fucking harrowing stuff in parts. Liked it though.
It was bugging me when I was watching it, trying to work out who he was, so I paused it and googled <3
51. Stalker
watched this ages ago, just realised i hadn't listed it.
fucking beautiful and amazing and you should watch it
52. Robocop
the original. good innit
53. Mistaken For Strangers
meta documentary (the film is its own making of) about The National, but really about the singer's fuck up brother. pretty good and genuinely not a film that you need to be a fan of the national to enjoy
seeing this again on Thursday
for free!
54. Pee Wee's Big Adventure
fucking hateful
55. se7en
free showing to promote a completely unrelated computer game, the name of which i cannot remember. good to see it on a big screen finally. think it's maybe a bit shallow of a film, but it's very tight and engaging and gets visually pretty interesting towards the end. paltrow's acting is pretty bad tbh, freeman in retrospect is just the same in every film ever. pitt's quite good though, ish
56. The Thing
so cool
57. The Big Heat
good Fritz Lang noir. nice little manipulative sad bit at the end
58. Night of the Living Dead
unwatchable shite
59. Halloween
Fucking great. such tension. such frustration that no one just cuts his head off
60. Dawn of the Dead
much better than Night, but still very boring and not at all scary
Night of hte Living Dead is unwatchable shite?
you've successfully irked me
61. True Grit (2010)
boring load of auld shite
62. Filth
starts off pretty funny and stylish then just turns into the most terribly heavy handed stupid bullshit. terrible
63. Solaris (1972)
couldnt really connect with this. didnt find it visually interesting enough to reward my full concentration like stalker, with it being so incredibly slow and overly long. absolutely not claiming it's bad, just didnt get much out of it
64. Touch of Evil (1998 edit)
very good, some amazing camerawork, enjoyable but not that special a film, and, yes, charlton heston as a mexican
65. Stand By Me
watched cos it was jizzed over in another thread. not much good at all. not diabolical, but very little to recommend it at all
66. Escape From New York
fucking ace
67. Bachelorette
unfuckingbelievably shite
avoid like plague and destroy with fire
68. I Am Love
remembered really wanting to see this when it came out, as it had been descibed as essentially a John Adams opera with gorgeous visuals
whilst john adams' score is fucking good, it's not in it THAT much, and most of it is pretty drab looking, but there are scenes where it's basically balletic camera work, food porn and amazing music which are great. swinton's good but overall it's a pretty pointless melodrama
69. Festen
fucking brilliant. so well paced and raw and amazing
70. Lego Movie
very tight, funny, entertaining and visually very satisfying, if a little bit annoying gender-wise and mawkish in parts
71. Night of the Demon
good olde timey horror. really enjoyed the fx and it wasnt boring. some good jumps, a nice bit of dread
72. Tokyo Story
too slow for me to watch at home. very pretty and when i managed to not be distracted it was quite beautiful
73. Kind Hearts and Coronets
very good isn't it. very dry, oscar wildey comedy about a remorseless psychopath, with alec guiness playing a whole family, eddie murphy style, if you dont know it.
features a scene in which the main character does "eenie meenie minie mo" but with that racial epithet in it and it was surprisingly shocking
74. Wings Of Desire
really, really great. watched it at a cinema, which helped. i might have struggled with some of the longer scenes at home
75. The Guard
jolly good laff
76. Faraway, So Close!
sequel to wings of desire, with cameos by lou reed and Mikhail Gorbachev of all people. is basically a mix of the WOD and a crime caper (??) that really doesn't work very well, but is still worth seeing if you like WOD a lot
77. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
good, if very anticlimactic. probably the least good of my john carpenter splurge, but worth seeing
78. The 400 Blows
pretty great
79. Midnight Run
lot of laughs, lot of fun, great action, good relationship, bitta pathos, nicely concluded. jolly good
80. They Came Together
spoof rom com from the Stella guys. feels even more like an extended stella episode than their other films, and is pretty good for it
81. Stoker
enjoyed this. some great editing and visuals. little bit teeny feeling but very interesting seeing yer man make a western film
82. Bunny Lake Is Missing
nice 60s london film, fucking freaky as shit at the end
83. Blue Collar
amazing and heartbreaking film about some guys working at a car factory in detroit and being poor
84. Windy City Heat
fucking shite
85. Nil By Mouth
really powerful. surprisingly visual. also very cute puppy
86. Snowpiercer
good fight scenes and what seems like a good scenario, but turns into an embarrassingly nonsensical jumble of arse
87. The Odd Couple
just remembered i saw this vaguely recently. bit shite
88. Hammett
not good
89. The Deer Hunter
amazing and moving and tragic and all but god it's long
90. Pitch Perfect
some good laughs, load of nonsense really tho and a bit weirdly homophobic. too much autotune used as well
91. Inception
watched for the third time, last time was a few years ago.
not as exciting or good as i remember it being, and a little straight faced, and when you step back from it a bit you can't really just take it for granted that it all "works", but still think it's good
92. Boyhood
gets off to a terrible start, with Coldplay quickly followed up with The Hives on the soundtrack, and general John Lewis advert mawkishness, but almost imperceptibly there's a plot, and it feels like a sort of special film, albeit one that i doubt i'll ever want to watch again
93. Jurassic Park
watched with some friends, hadnt seen in at least 10 years.
don't get why people act like it's an actual good film, but the raptor scenes are great. most of the visuals hold up pretty well, but looking at it critically there are some pretty shonky bits. no more shonky bits than you'd encounter in a present day film though
94. Terms of Endearment
cheesy manipulative schmaltz, but pretty high quality manipulative schmaltz. kind of a very good script and definitely great acting, but no real power to it, although i did sleep a bit at the beginning and didnt even know john lithgow was in it until the credits
95. 10 Things I Hate About You
really great. super good pacing and good jokes and cuteness
96. Donnie Darko (director's cut)
used to watch the normal version a lot when i was like 17, but hadnt seen it in ages and wondered if it held up. never saw the director's cut before, but had heard it was shit. well, the extra bits are shit, but the normal stuff is pretty great - funny, quite moving, bit dreamy
97. Hamlet (1948)
really great, surprisingly visual, well done olivier
98. Hamlet (2000)
likeable and stylish and good sountrack and well re-set in modern times, but it's so abridged that it ends up more like "Scenes from Hamel", bit disjointed. Still, Bill Murray and Agent Cooper, eh
99. Beyond Clueless
film about teen films by the guy who does the Ultraculture blog. Saw it with the soundtrack done live by it's writers, Summer Camp. normally live sountracks are fucking shite, but this was the best-executed one i've seen by a mile - synched perfectly with the film with some great bits like the rap battle from She's All That with a live backing. Film itself is a bit odd tho - basically mini essays (with insane amounts of spoilers) on a dozen or so teen films, read by one of the girls from The Craft, over clips from about 100 films, roughly divided into themes and tropes from teen films (mainly american 90s highschool films)
100. In The Heat Of The Night
just fucking brilliant and great looking and cool and horrifying
this seems to be in no way true
it's unquestionably not even in the top three Rob Reiner films
Reign of Fire
fuck me it was dull.
wanted to watch something silly and fun
118. Martha Marcy May Marlene*
(NB: did a quick audit and realised I've got two number 36s, hence skipping number 117).
Very good, got that same creepy American Gothic vibe as the (admittedly far superior) Winter's Bone. Was put off for ages by the silly name.
119. The Wind Rises*
If this really is Miyazaki's last film it'll be a fitting sign-off. There are clear parallels between Jiro and Miyazaki dedicating themselves to something that's for a clear and pure purpose. It's very good but not top-tier Ghibli.
120. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia*
Coincidentally this arrived from Lovefilm the same weekend as Nuri Bilge Ceylan picked up the Palme D'Or for Winter Sleep. Enjoyed it a lot, takes its time but never (to me anyway) felt dull or slow.
121. Heli*
Very rough Mexican drama about a family who live in and get drawn into the drug culture of modern Mexico. Very strong performances from what's apparently a mostly amateur cast, but the storytelling is very ill-disciplined in places and the resolution (if you can call it that) is unsatisfying. There's one scene that'll earn this film a lot of notoriety but overall its flaws outweigh its positives.
122. Vertigo*
Icheckmovies informs me I've only ever seen 2 Hitchcock films (Rebecca and North By Northwest, since you asked) so going to try and see a few more. This was excellent, can't really think of anything wrong with it (although if it was made today the portrayal of the female characters would be rightly criticised).
genuinely surprised you've only seen 2 Hitchcock's bro
Vertigo is my favourite film ever. The whole point of the film is critiquing the male gaze (which Hitchcock openly admitted he was just as privvy to) though so it's reasons are pretty founded
They're all on the list
The problem is it's a very long list.
I've not seen many Hitchcock's either
dunno, Psycho's pretty good (although nowhere near as good as others say), just not got around to watching many
Psycho's OK
I think most of the tricks he does in it are already done better in Vertigo, with more subtlety, and the ending is really annoying but I guess that's more showing its age than anything
pretty much finishes after the shower scene tbh
... yes that was a shock at the time but I don't think it makes for a particularly interesting film afterwards. and yea the very end is pretty poor
very tempting to compare it to Peeping Tom, which holds up much much better overall I think
yeah that's why I think Vertigo is much better
it too has a pretty seismic moment halfway through but there's a reason for it which you only realise when it's "too late"
yeah psycho is really brilliant for like an hour
the marriage of the images and music is too good
#84 X-Men: Days of Future Past
Yeah, it was ok I guess? Pretty fun, although not in ANY WAY the cross-time team up of different casts that it's been put forward as. it's basically just a sequel to First Class, the original trilogy characters that turn up have minimal screen time and could've been cut entirely with no real negligible effect, which is a shame because they essentially waste Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. Absolutely nothing ties it in to that post-credits scene in The Wolverine, either. And the ending is completely mad given they're already making more films in the franchise.
#85 Night of the Creeps (1986)
I've been watching loads of 80s borderline trash on Netflix recently thanks to a bunch of the cult movie lists on icheckmovies. This was pretty fun. Wish it'd had more of the rubber suit aliens though.
#86 Road House (1989)
I USED TO FUCK GUYS LIKE YOU IN PRISON. my favourite bit was when Flashdance roundhouse kicked a guy through a window.
I didn't think the ending was mad at all
basically hits the reset button and lets them potenially have a First Class series and a main older X-Men series (cos I can't see them abandoning Wolverine/Jackman and to have him pop up in subsequent First Class films would mess with continuity even more). The scene with Logan walking through the school was yay! and yay! even though it was obvious what would happen.
I liked the post credits teaser and the next film is supposed to be the younger lot (McAvoy/Fassbinder).
I don't know, really
"doing a Star Trek" on the franchise feels like such a cop out. i could understand it if they were leaving there, but if everyone is now alive and happy (as that appeared to imply), where does the danger come in?
the only film they seem to have planned with the original lot is another Wolverine solo film, which i guess would be minimally affected. but then the last one was entirely based on his previous actions, and, uh, dunno what any of those are now.
Watched Halle Barry film 'The Call' the other night
pretty good first two-thirds of the film and then the last third is just a bit silly, the characters completely change and it all just gets a bit preposterous, sad really as up to that point was quite enjoying it.
I agree
Found the bits where Berry is on the phone to Breslin to be really gripping in parts, and it was a simple idea executed brilliantly. But yeah, the final third was completely unbelievable.
its still a lot better than it should be though
tried watching Room 237
but nope
what, how no?
it's amazing!brainfeedr this'd this
it was so annoying
loads of twats being given a platform to talk absolute shite. couldn't understand why i was watching it so i stopped.
but that is the film?
like how incredible it is that (somewhat deluded, obsessive) people could become so fascinated over a piece of fiction about delusion and obsession and have wildly differing opinions on it (one of which is more or less correct IMO)
also did you get as far as the forwards-backwards simultaneously bit? Makes it all worth it I think
i know that's the point
i didn't not get it, i just hated it. it's not exactly an original point either, and most of the examples just weren't interesting.
there are a few sections where they explain things which are already painfully obvious from the film (the hotel was built ON AN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND, this was a metaphor about the slaughter of native americans!), but the vast majority of it is just absolute mouthbreathing youtube conspiracy idiots doing serious voiceover over creepy music, and for some reason someone thought it was interesting enough to make into a feature film.
haha okay then
I think you've been irked by taking it a bit too seriously than required, just a bit of bants at the end of it all
"tbf film is just some bants imo"
~ Stanley Kubrick
he was a renowned troll
just look at Room 237
that's the point though?
I quite enjoyed it
I've lost count now
but saw Calvary yesterday and it was properly brilliant
Watched Nymphomaniac pt. 1 last night with my ex-girlfriend
Neither of us thought it was very good. As per usual or von Trier it was pretty faultlessly put-together etc. but was basically just kind of boring (even with all the 'provocative' sex), unpleasant and a bit dour. Stellan Skarsgard's character was pretty great though actually.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Really enjoyed it. Surprised at how violent bits of it were. Jennifer Lawrence is now at uber-hotness.
Stranger at the Lake: Really good until it just runs out of steam in the final third.
Frozen: Great songs. Enjoyed it. Not as good as Tangled, but very fine.
le regle de jeu
bit overrated. no one was likeable
just read the catcher in the rye
was okay but the main character seemed like a bit of a twat
how dare you compare one of the greatest films ever made
to some trite book for 13 year-olds I've never even read
fucking banned
the character played by renoir himself is likeable you prick
I tend to find most of these canonical foreign films overrated...
...but Le Regle De Jeu is fucking awesome. Quite simply one of the funniest films ever made. Deserves its status firmly in my view.
And it's a cutting French farce - the characters are mostly going to be unlikeable as a matter of course.
The Last Horror Movie
quite good. almost an English Man Bites Dog but gore tongue in cheek
123. Inception
Shut up, it's really good.
124. Computer Chess*
Liked the mockumentary elements of this which reminded me of things like Best in Show (Henderson and Papageorge could have come straight from a Christopher Guest film). Disliked the forced weirdness. Think I fell asleep and woke up for the last scene, so I was a bit "yeah, whatever" rather than impressed or confused.
125. Blue Jasmine*
Considering they're rich people having rich people problems richly Woody Allen films shouldn't be any good, but like most of them this one is. Bobby Cannavale seems immune to aging.
126. Godzilla*
Had a couple of hours to kill in town before getting my hair cut, so watched this in a screening with 1(!) other person. Really liked it, glad I saw it on a massive, loud screen. The human actors aren't great (it's understandable from Aaron Taylor-Johnson but David Strathairn and Juliette Binoche really phone it in) and Ken Watanabe's only in it to say Godzilla in a Japanese accent, but otherwise it's a lot of fun.
127. The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists!*
Aardman thing that passed me by in about 2012. Good hungover fare.
I wanted to watch Wages of Fear but it was too long so I saw this instead. Only half watched it really, it was pretty good. Is Wages of Fear better?
Oh I watched Thor the other night
Dead weird film.
1) her
I've watched a few more movies actually, but I can't remember. This was quite good but pale fire was in the apartment when virtually no other references were there and it's a great book but I can't see any relation to it or point to it which seems unlikely.
any ideas?
the movie is set in the not too distant future
and there are no books/movies/bands/cultural references in there apart for Pale Fire (by Nabokov) and I'm guessing there is a message there but I don't know what it is
maybe it made sense to people who have read the book
if i were to try and make a connection
it'd be that the "writer" character in pale fire is a little bit like joaquin phoenix's character and maybe his relationship with the AI is a bit like pale fire in that it's constantly meta and double thinky?
spike jonze might be saying "look at what I'm inspired by"
I can only think of loose connections, Joaquin's character wrote other peoples letters and the whole thing about Pale Fire is that the poem might have been written Kinbote or the analysis could have been written by Shade.
But the most famous line is "I was the shadow of the waxwing slain/ by the false azure in the window pain" which does feel a little bit like the relationship between Joaquin and the OS. It's there but not fully realised/present. but it's still is a loose connection.
just tried watching Oldboy (the original)
turned it off halfway through, didn't like it whatsoever
2 Headed Shark Attack
what hell was that? saw some boobs though.
The Raid 2
watched it last night wanted it to be amazing as I loved The Raid Redemption but sadly for the most part it was pretty rubbish.
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
Not great, some good PSH moments though.
Synecdoche, NY
Second watch. Pretty great and has a decent crack at trying to express some things which are basically inexpressible but does kinda tail off a bit as it goes on. Love the first hour or so.
they're filming Tom McCarthy's incredible novel Remainder
if they pull it off they'll have a film that succeeds where SNY fails
actually read Remainder as someone recommended it after reading one of my scripts
great idea, obviously, but I thought it suffered for being just that- a great idea without any development. I thought it also suffered because the writer is so dreadfully English, writing in that really self conscious, dry, mundane manner that drains the novel of any inspiration or invention. If i was being generous I would say that the writer intentionally made all the characters empty, lifeless husks on purpose, but I have the feeling he couldn't write emotion if he tried.
obviously "that's the fucken point" but here's what I wrote about it elsewhere
the first part of the book, it comes across as a more ideas-heavy take on Chris Morris' Blue Jam monologues (eloquent-yet-mentally-defective narrator enters absurd scenario and is able to view it with detachment while participating)
then the dream-home reenactment gave me a terrifying loathing of all that lay around me, even as I luxuriated in its discovery, its oh-so-nearly perfect discovery of the authentic, the repeatable. a fever-dream of disappointment in the mutability of life. at this stage I wasn't even sure I liked the book, even though I was aware of its brilliance
and then the spell was broken in the last third. from the moment he reenacts the tyre-change, he emerges as not the dismal by-product of an atomised age whose attempts to find integrity are characterised by the impossible demand of stasis, but as the will to truth, the one who will conquer the imperfections, the one who will transcend, who will leave the mark that cannot be erased, who will repeat forever
of course, once the short councillor figure appears (as if to confirm this by mirroring its doubts back and thus allowing them to be dismissed), the novel enters a new pitch of brilliance. the final 3 chapters are astonishing, just astonishing. mccarthy's writing reaches this zone of perfection that it hadn't even attempted to manifest earlier on. it climaxes, soars and leaves me...well, numb and tingling, mostly
the ultimate failure of naz's logistics - the scarab's death - is beautifully-drawn and necessary too - the narrator's triumph is not that of logistics - it is the opposite of logistics - the unplanned state of authenticity - whose being is unmade, quite unmade, by logistics (and vice versa)
I'll add that the writing is 'dreadfully English' on the surface-level, yet contains a multitude of suppressed emotion between the lines that we the reader must supply, and is written with the perfect amount of terse obliquity to enable this. it's a masterpiece IMO
rolling thunder - yes
onibaba - massive yes
wanderlust - massive no
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
the remake wit Sutherland. enjoyed it a lot. it flew by too
128. Howl's Moving Castle*
Enjoyed a lot, bit darker than a lot of Miyazaki's stuff but still has that innocent Ghibli charm. Watched the dubbed rather than the subtitled so got the aaded treat of Billy Crystal chewing the animated scenery.
129. Wadjda*
Lovely film, enjoyed that despite the inequalities it didn't just present Saudi Arabia as a dictatorial cesspit.
130. Fruitvale Station*
Really good. Having digested it a bit I don't think it's as great as I did when I left the cinema but it's still very good.
131. Monsieur Lazhar*
If you can ignore the idea that a man got a job as a teacher by walking into a school with nothing but a CV this is a lovely film. Amazing performances from the child cast.
132. The Elephant Man*
David Lynch's only experience of England appears to be from Dickensian adaptations but otherwise this was great.
Good run of good films, there.
15. Gran Torino
Downloaded this some time ago and only just got to watch. What an awesome film, Eastwood is superb and I was surprised the direction of the plot went to the boy. The ending was fantastic and was not played out as I thought. Absolutely loved Eastwood's character, even though in reality he's a bit of a dick.
Forgot this 16. Maleficient
I enjoyed this film, it's not perfect, but worth seeing. Jolie is perfectly cast for this. Little predictable ending, but it's still nice.
My memory is terrible today
17. 50/50
I thought Levitt was brilliant in this and I really liked the way a lot of what happens is shown. Seth Rogan is not well cast for this, he's just playing Seth Rogan, not much extra.
Right at the end when he's about to go in for the operation and he holds onto his Mum had me tears, that part was really powerful, finally showing how scared he really was.
The King of Kong (2007)
Bunch of grown adults crying about who is better at video games.
Brilliant. 10/10
I loved this film as well
They manage to make a film have intrigue and conspiracy theories, when it's purely about 2 guys wanting to be the best at a video game.
Billy Mitchell did seem like a complete dick though.
i think billy mitchell might actually be one of my all-time favourite movie villains
the amount of times I found myself thinking "fucking hell, these are GROWN MEN" was staggering. in the mood for a rewatch now. :Dethricdouble and AcceptanceIII this'd this
yeah, i don't usually enjoy that falsely ramped up drama thing
but it was so absurdly applied here that i just found it hilarious
watched Enough Said yesterday
it was as good as its been made out to be
133. Blue is the Warmest Colour*
Had to watch this in two halves (another winner of a choice to watch on a train, well done Steved) but overall liked it. The feel is very strong even if the storytelling can feel a bit thin at times (considering it's 3 hours long it the last half an hour covers an awful lot in not much detail).
134. Requiem for a Dream*
Dreck (albeit dreck with a good soundtrack).
Martha Marcy May Marlene
or whatever it is. Good performance by what'shername which made it worth watching but was let down by very 2D supporting cast and characters. Nicely shot on film, though.
Jimmy's Hall
Not one of Loach's finest but still a nice yarn. Suffers from having so much content and context to cram in that in the end it feels a touch unclear and rushed but, ultimately, a warm and human film which isn't as politically didactic as the critics have suggested.
In A Lonely Place
the main character is called Dix Steele
135. Of Horses and Men*
Utterly beguiling Icelandic thing about these odd little horses they have over there and the people who ride them. Reminded me a lot of Le Quattro Volte in that it was very natural (only one of the actors is a professional apparently) and there's a sort of hint of reincarnation. Features one very awkward scene of horses doing it.
Had to slow the pace due to the World Cup taking up my evening film slot.
I really want to watch this but I keep missing it like a fucking idiot
read an amazing account of horses doing it in McCarthy's 'Cities of the Plain' lately -
The mare bucked and kicked one leg. On the third try the stallion mounted her, clambering, stamping his hind legs, the great thighs quivering and the veins standing. John Grady stood holding all of this before him on a twisted tether like a child holding by a string some struggling and gasping chimera invoked by sorcery out of the void into the astonished day-world.
went to see Edge of Tomorrow yesterday
the ending is totally awful in the worst kind of "A WIZARD DID IT!" way. which a shame, because up to then much better than anything that's basically Groundhog Day x Starship Troopers should be.
Belle De Jour
it's really good, not my favourite Bunuel but still magnificent
Trance which really is shit isnt it
World War Z
pretty good, zips along
it's really hard to understate how everyone involved in that film really dropped the ball
in what way?
I've not read the book so be interesting to see if what I think was missing is missing from the novel too
awful film
how can you have a film about flesh eating zombies but with no blood in it?
well aside from the book having some pretty substantial political/satirical content
it has a totally different narrative structure - it's told as a serious of after-the-event interviews with both 'key players' in the war but also normal people caught up in it.
the film is just a lot of stupid running around and a few ideas cribbed from the books but often poorly implemented. i don't think it's even a very good zombie movie.
I'm actually going to agree with you here
I read the book afterward and it is different, but I still enjoyed it. There were some stupid things happening, but it was fun.
When I was reading the book, I was wondering how they could turn it into a film and it would be quite difficult, because of the structure. I would recommend reading the book though, it's great.
136. Five Centimetres Per Second*
This was one of the first things on my Lovefilm list, and three and a half years and 161 DVDs later they finally sent it! Good job it's very good, the attention to detail in the animation is brilliant. File under: bittersweet.
The Hidden Face
really good actually, very enjoyable. probably first Colombian film ive seen
oops also saw Aftershock the Eli Roth thing
it was rubbish
The Hidden Face is proper good
the twist is brilliantly done and very clever.
yep agreed
enjoyed how when you find out what happned relatively early on the focus shifts in an effective way. really did like it
It's not perfect (for many reasons), but it's good fun.
I saw this yesterday
Really liked it, especially how it managed to be quite warm and human but not in a cynical or cloying way. Kinda wish they'd focused more on the road-movie aspect of it, but apart from that it was a nice movie for a rainy afternoon.
fyi everyone
I've still been watching films but this thread is too big cheers
Watched In The Mouth Of Madness last night
John Carpenter mid-90s film starring Sam Neill pretty good for the most part trails off a bit at the end, i'd say a comfortable 6.73/10
137. Cold in July*
Not great, it goes in a really strange direction when Don Johnson appears and ends up being quite unsatisfying.
saw Frozen River the other day
it's pretty good isnt it.
pretty good a solid 6.23/10
138. The Golden Dream*
Another brutal Mexican film, this time about a group of teenagers migrating north to the United States from Guatemala. Reminded me a lot of something like City of God in its portrayal of a world in which young people are forced to grow up fast and generally treated with no regard by adults. The story is really well told and incredibly involving (think I tensed every muscle I have during the bit with Vitamina), although there's a bit about 5 minutes before the end which seems a little incongruous and a bit one bad thing too many but otherwise it's a very good if not necessarily particularly enjoyable film.
Drinking Buddies
thought it was lovely. I enjoyed how it all ended up. felt very real
not as good as I remember, but still pretty good. Cute monkey.
Gonna watch that Outbreak remake with Matt Damon soon.
Recent viewing
Werckmeister Harmonies - My first dip in the water with Bella Tarr, so good. Where do I go next, anyone?
Tammy - Absolutely terrible.
Touchy Feely - Had its moments and I really like Lynn Shelton so wanted to like this a lot more than I did but it was just pointless.
Killer of sheep - Superb
Chef - Fine for what it was, the constant Twitter / Vine advertising grated
Depends if you wanna go deeper or not.
Damnation is great but a bit less good/heavy than Werckmeister. The Turin Horse is brilliant but soul-destroying. Satantango is Satantango.
Yeah I think I might have to break my 'films should never be watched in parts' rule for Satantango. SEVEN HOURS.
best thing I've seen this year by a country mile. brilliant director - host, memories of murder - adapts a french sci fi manga to live action film. Big train, distopian civilization, class warfare, captain america, kang ho-song, tilda swinton, ed harris, billy elliot, great fight scenes, action film. Like a mish mash of the raid, fortress, the hunger games and soylent green or alternatively like that bit in old boy where he's fighting in the corridor stretched out for an entire film.
really good actually, quite affecting and really nicely made. Jude Law is a fucking goon though, dunno why anyone casts him.
139. The Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared*
Fairly harmless, enjoyed the actual story more than all the Forrest Gump stuff. The (presumably) Swedish bloke who plays Ronald Reagan is a very questionable piece of casting.
140. Slacker*
Watching a bit more of Richard Linklater's stuff before Boyhood (which I won't get a chance to see until a week on Monday). This seemed like a foundation for some of his later stuff (lots of it seemed like a non-animated Waking Life), and overall it didn't make an awful lot of sense but it's still quite fun to watch.
About Time
ARGH it was SO cringeworthy. I fucked hated the hippy dippy sister. i didn't like the main male protaganist at all, too drippy. Hippy dippy and drippy.
the mum was exquisite and the other Mary, the american was ok i suppose.
occasional lovely touches spoiled by clunky self consciosuly funny script and annoying characterisation.
Oddly, the fact that the time travl aspect was holier than the pope didn't bother me as it meant I dind't have to think too hard- just accepted it for the imperfect device that it was.
I was getting really annoyed with it and then i broke my herat sobbing at the last 15 minutes, completely out of the blue and I'm a bit annoyed at my self as I feel like I was emotionally mugged against my will.
Jack Goes Boating
Norweigan Wood
141. Bullhead*
Shows how good I am at actually watching something that I read about and think sounds interesting, took nearly 4 months to watch this after TKC's glowing report up there. It is really good, incredibly tough in places spliced with some jet black humour (the Walloons could have come straight out of Fargo). Saw that Michael R Roskam has a couple of English language films coming out soon which will be interesting to see. Matthias Schoenaerts has Bond villain of the future written all over him as well.
142. The Act of Killing*
Very interesting and unusual piece of work. I only watched the shorter cut (I bought the DVD so do have the 2 and a half hour one as well) but I thought the balance was skewed a little more towards an exposé of the Indonesian regime rather than the people involved in that regime, which made me question the veracity of some of what it was saying. That said the stuff with the one utterly remorseless, untroubled killer (the one with the moustache) is extremely chilling.
I forgot how much I praised Bullhead
it is dead good isn't it, glad you enjoyed it
Saw Under the Skin last night
Genuinely haunting. Should have seen it on t'big screen really.
wonder if evil sean's ads made me watch it?
should have resisted :(
what? the film?
or evil sean?
Edge of Tomorrow
I loved it
lone survivor
ridiculously 'how tough and great are the navy seals' film, tbh I went to bed halfway through but even Mr S said it was daft, and the title gives away the ending
143. I Am Divine*
Really nice and warm-hearted documentary. Adheres very strongly to the talking heads/archive footage documentary format but Divine is an interesting enough subject that it doesn't matter. Still don't particularly want to see Pink Flamingos though.
144. Boyhood*
Wonderful achievement, that it even exists is one thing but that it is as accomplished and impressive a film as it is is just incredible. Apparently it was initially planned to be 12 short films but it seems so coherent as a whole that if he didn't have 12 different haircuts you genuinely wouldn't notice the incremental way it was filmed. I think only the bit with the gardener/waiter didn't work and the fitting the music to the years thing grated slightly, but otherwise this is phenomenal.
actually managed to watch Made in Dagenham
the other night
Great film
Deeply cynical about the upcoming musical though.
The Mechanic
it was on FilmFour. It was exactly what you'd expect
'I'm going to put a price on your head that's so big
when you look in the mirror, your own reflection is going to want to shoot you in the face'
The Mechanic is a great film.
145. Before Sunset*
Really good, liked the real time aspect a lot more. Also done that thing that Julie Delpy does where she wiggles her fingers then stops on her middle finger to two different people with hilarious consequences.
146. Uzak*
Building up slowly with Nuri Bilge Ceylan so I'm fully prepared for Winter Sleep when it comes out. Great this, looks so beautiful.
147. Reservoir Dogs*
If I'd seen this when I was 15 I'd think it was the best thing ever, but as it is I just found it juvenile and crass. Buscemi and Roth are good, but it falls into all the normal Tarantino traps (casting himself, everyone talking like him, tasteless stylised violence and gratuitous use of the N-bomb). Not great.
Hey i'm been hammering The Films of late
Cycling With Moliere - Enjoyable/funny film feat a George Clooney type actor playing a Dr on TV who tries to get a reclusive actor 'back in the game'. Not as much cycling as you'd expect but there's a lot of falling off bikes into water so that makes up for it
Nomi Song - The story of Klaus Nomi who sung operatic falsetto over New Wave music while dressed as a space alien in 80s New York. ROCK DOC/10
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie - John Cassavettes fillum. Have been piling them up on lovefilm to try and get what everyone is on about. This was the best one yet (of two). A strip club owner gets into masseev debt and has to bump off the aformentioned Chinese Bookie. One of those Dark Side of the American Dream things.
Friends Forever - ROCK DOC 2 feat the band Friends Forever who used to go on tour and play in their camper van outside venues. They have a full lights show and pyro! Film itself is a bit boring which does a disservice to how exciting the music and performance is. Might as well just watch some clips on youtube really
Visioneers - black comedy feat Zach Galifianakis who spends most of film looking miserable and depressed trying to search for answers in his mundane boring life. BUT everything is hyperreal (the depressed people actually explode) and there's a lot of satire of CORPOERATE CULUTRE which is just on the right side of HEAVY HANDED. Fans of the hangover will be pleased to know he does comically fall over once in the film.
The Princess & The Warrior - from the director of RUN LOLA RUN comes this action thrilla. It's alright. Getting bored of summing up films now sorry.
Jodorowsky's Dune - BRILLIANT DOCO ABOUT THE GREATEST FILM NEVER MADE. What a nice man Jodo seems to be great stuff
HER - Fine. I dunno. Looked nice. Felt nowt. Couldn't not see his forehead as its own face having seen that video. Thus couldn't take seriously
Onibaba - FANTASTIC. DEMON HAG
White House Down
Awesome awesome CRAP for about half an hour (President of the USA throwing a grenade and gunning someone down) but then too ridiculous by the end. Misery compounded by James Woods actually being that 'blow up all of the arab world' prick IN REAL LIFE!
Still thinking Her was a letdown BUT now every time I see someone using handsfree I assume it's cos they're in love with their phone and that brightens my day a bit
Insidious 2 - I knew what to expect. It was obviously fucking awful. As stupid as the first one. Almost at least. The time travelling ghost bit was a bit odd. That main actor in it is fucking awful all the time as well. Or just in so much shit.
Wicker Man (2006) - Read 'Ritual' the other day so trying to find some plus points for this film. Maybe it was loosely based on the book just like the original was. But no, the names and what not are nods towards the film. Although the protagonist in the book does hit women. Still, this film is much more enjoyable than The Wicker Tree. I can't imagine what the final part of the trilogy is going to be like.
148. True Lies
Not seen this in years, it's still great. The perfect middle ground between Kindergarten Cop/Junior/Twins Arnie and Commando Arnie.
149. Dogville*
Very interesting, probably the best Nicole Kidman's ever been. The soundstage thing feels a bit gimmicky towards the end, but it's quite clever and makes its point better than other Lars von Trier films. Still very troubled by his attitude to women.
150. The Past*
Starting to catch up with the (admittedly few) things I wanted to see this year at the cinema but didn't now they're trickling out on DVD. Thought this was brilliant, first Farhadi I've seen. Very real, believable human drama. Berenice Bejo and Ali Mosaffa are both great.
You must see A Seperation and About Elly
So so good.
Haven't posted any films for 3 months, in which time I've been to Cannes
Films I saw at Cannes:
Catch Me Daddy
It Follows
Darker than midnight
Amour Fou
The Selfish Giant
Stranger by the lake
Time to leave
Show me love
In the shadow of the moon
Cria Cuervos
Blue is the warmest colour
The kid with the bike
Taste of Cherry
The passion of Anna
Nobody Knows
Days of being wild
Profound desires of the gods
The Swimming Pool (La piscina)
La Pointe Courte
I think Taste of cherry, Blue is..., Show me love and Stranger by the lake were my favourites of these
Rio Das Mortes
yeah was good
the Second Movie Snob Summit occurred at mine last night
I blasted everyone's face off with some prime Internet-age art film (Ryan Trecartin's 'A Family Finds Entertainment'; you will be deconstructed or else), then n_r changed it up slightly with the gorgeous chaos of 'Shadows Of Our Forgotten Ancestors', a strident, horn-and-choir-riddled signifier of folk destiny in a changing (and often slightly surreal) Carpathian landscape. It was, of course, terribly good fun, and at times on a freakishly similar wavelength to the Trecartin (I thought). Then, ethers brought us all to a state of rapt contemplation with Crimson Gold, a paean to class tension and pizza in Iran, with a couple of genuinely riveting scenes (both when the haute bourgeoisie and the working classes were juxtaposed in unusual and morally ambiguous ways, with takeaway food the conduit). Another successful evening, then - the majority of my cheesed courgettes were eaten too, which has to count as a bonus. Ethers, next time get yr ladyfriend to 'movie in' plz, we want four! we want four!
^ this
as i told n_r, my film was my second choice coz K had vetoed my original, so she did sort of have a say.
oh, what was it?
she'd seen it, i trust
that seems potentially quite interesting
depending on how it's done
a few of his have been sublime
becoming quite a fan, this one does sound like it could be dodgy though
he says that he hates cinema, heh.
oh so he's an enfant terrible
or is he too old for that now
aye his last was quite subdued
and quite beautiful in a bleak sorta way
yeah crimson gold was the highlight i think
parajanov's film immediately following shadows is meant to be told entirely in kinda tableaux with no cameria movement whatsoever, which would make a complete change of pace I imagine
thanx for the food as well btw
I've been reading about Rya Trecartin a bit, some peices of criticism and interviews and so on. he comes off reasonably well I'd say. he seems to be taken pretty seriously in the art world? interesting.... still not ENTIRELY convinced by a family finds entertainment, but there ya go.
seen any of his other stuff, loui?
i've seen some of his 7-part monolith, Any Ever
it's awesome stuff, maybe even better than AFFE. the opening segment, K-CoreaINC.K, is probably the best place to start, but it's all on ubuweb:
let me know when the next one is
i'll bring along my well-worn copy of Judgement Night
he's done us good
i'll never be able to show my face round here again
151. Joe*
Bit of a let down this, Nicolas Cage and Ty Sheridan are both very good but the story feels very hackneyed (it borrows heavily from Mud and Gran Torino in particular) and I'm not sure David Gordon Green was the best choice to direct it. Feels like he shot it in the exact same way as Prince Avalanche, which is an altogether lighter film.
152. Rashomon*
That's not how I remember it, Marge.
153. Songs from the Second Floor*
If anyone's seen this and has the remotest idea what's supposed to be going on please let me know.
154. Before Midnight*
Good this, bit too much of the other people at the start and it still falls into the trap of looking like a tourist video for Europe (misc), but still really watchable.
155. If...*
Starts as a pretty standard British public school thing and turns pretty dark/strange in the end. Couple of bits that really don't make any sense at all and it kept going from black and white to colour, but content wise it was quite ahead of its time for 1968.
Men on The Bridge
It's good but not a lot goes on
Sorry, Wrong Number
all builds to a great ending
156. Filth*
Good this, Trainspotting meets Bad Lieutenant. James McAvoy is really good, which was a pleasant surprise as I've always thought he was a bit of a wet fart.
157. 8½*
My first Fellini, watched it on a train so wasn't able to give it the full attention it deserved but it was really good. Cinematography was lightyears ahead of anything else I've seen from the era. Will watch it again properly before it goes back to Lovefilm.
Also watched There Will Be Blood with the live orchestra yesterday, which was amazing but TWBB is already on the list.
i really didnt like either of those films hah
dont like Fellini me
on a train......
......i need a coffee
the only fellini i've seen is casanova
I liked it but it would have been much better if I'd seen it on some form of public transport
heh heh
aye not his finest work by any means, but then again, i've only seen it on a TV
Nights of Cabiria is my favourite
really dont like Amarcord
The Counselor
not bad, but... i'm not really sure what it was. can't quite understand why it was detested so much though.
158. Moebius*
90 minutes of dialogue free penis chopping fun from Korea.
101. This Is Forty
just completely fucking shite, tho the little daughter is pretty funny and it has lots of great people in it. just fucking shit tho
Crapatow more like
seriously though he's crap isn't he
think he's done some pretty good stuff
this is just the absolute worst though, and he's got no one but himself to blame. what a fucking shit
he needs to take a good long look at himself
but then STOP THERE
at the moment he's looking at himself and using himself as material for SHIT FILMS
the big chill
something of a let down considering all the good things i'd heard about it. was hoping for a nice meaty rumination on fading friendships and death an' that but instead it all felt a bit... insubstantial i suppose
saw Lady From Shanghai last night
Orson Welles was the best
102. Good Will Hunting
really not very good. skaarsgaaard is fucking terrible in it. damon's good and robin williams is pretty good
The Thirteenth Floor
159. In the Mood for Love*
This might be the first Chinese film I've seen, I'm not really sure. It's very good, Mad Men seems to have ripped off its entire aesthetic (the way it's shot and the use of music more than the 60s stuff) fairly wholesale.
160. All This Mayhem*
Documentary about two skateboarding brothers from Australia. I don't know enough about skateboarding to understand why they were so much better than everyone else and the story would be considered fairly standard issue if it was about musicians or actors or something but it's a very sad story that's told with a lot of compassion.
11. Grand Budapest Hotel 8/10
12. Jules et Jim 7.5
13. The Wind Rises 10
14. X Men Days of Future Past 6/ 10
15. Before sunrise 0.1/10
16. Boyhood 8/10
Being generous with X Men perhaps
103. Chef
complete load of auld fucking tripe. cant believe some of the praise i've read for it. just top down fucking stupid
17. Inside Llewyn Davis 6.5
Some laughs in it - "Where's his scrotom!?" but overall it flopped a little. I know the main character is supposed to be an asshole but it didn't work for me. I didn't like any of the singing either.
18. Jimmy's house 7/10
Irish cliches throughout - told an interesting story though.
This Is The End
I laughed lots, solid bit of stupid comedy hijinks. Danny McBride stole every scene.
104. Psycho (1960)
some great photography and soudtrack obviously, and the iconic bits are great, but the rest of it is pretty fucking boring and the explanation of everything at the end is both pointless and stupid
105. Shakespeare In Love
some good dick jokes. not terrible
161. God's Pocket*
Had very low expectations for this but actually it wasn't terrible. The cast carries a ropey script (although all Christina Hendricks does is look vaguely surprised) but it's nice to see John Turturro in something that isn't dreadful for once.
162. Girl Most Likely*
Starting to scrape the Netflix barrel, unlike God's Pocket a good cast (Annette Bening! Matt Dillon! Kristen Wiig!) couldn't save this.
163. Dune*
Spectacularly awful. So bad it's actually vaguely hypnotic, I tried to turn it off a couple of times but was too interested in the new ways it would find to be terrible. Amazing that even with the laziest exposition I've seen in ages it still makes barely any sense. No wonder David Lynch disowned it.
164. The Congress*
Could be the best or worst thing I've seen this year, think it'll ultimately end up in the Synecdoche, New York file of massively ambitious failures though. A couple of bits are genuinely stunning and the animation is brilliantly strange, but the plot collapses under the slightest scrutiny. Apparently it's bombed at the box office so I hope it doesn't kill Ari Folman's career the way Synecdoche killed Charlie Kaufman's.
which cut of Dune was it?
I remember the 'extended edition' being a bit better. Reading the book at the mo so may give it a rewatch soon.
The short (130 minute) one
I don't think I could do the 3 hour one.
it's better just coz it makes more sense
and actually has proper pacing. still, they made some criminal mistakes.
very good, bit weird and uncomfortable though
Catch up edition
Under the skin - knew nothing about this film and as such would now like to watch it again, pretty compelling viewing although I was v distracted trying to decide if I should get me hair cut like Scarlett johansson
Human race, entertaining daft thriller.
Jess and celeste forever, not very good really.
bad neighbours
so devoid of laughs it's actually pretty impressive tbh
Watched Network last night.
Not very good.furio this'd this
INbetweeners 2
its decent, not as funny as the original bar the water park
why did they turn simons gf into a massive psycho
106. The American Friend
Wim Wenders adaptation of Ripley's Game with Bruno "Hitler" Ganz and Dennis Hopper. good looking film, and watching ganz reminds me of Wings of Desire, which is nice, but seemed a bit incoherent
I Am Divine
docu about Divine. dead good. sad too. but funny. highly recommended even for non-John Waters fans.
Boyhood. mm yeah. TWO separate drunk 'dad' characters?? wtf.. an 'achievement' definitely and we talked/argued about it all the way home which counts for something i guess.
Some Like It Hot. haven't seen that for a good couple of decades. better than even i remember. people saying The Apartment/ Ace In The Hole is better are just show-offs.
107. Planet of the Apes (1968)
very good innit. little heavy handed on the ol' message but very good
Liberal Arts
thought it was a bit shit
165. Swingers*
Quite funny how Vince Vaughn has gradually turned into the person he's parodying in this.
166. Suspiria*
Veers between really good and scary (the maggots D:) and really crap and a bit funny (the bat :D), averages out at pretty good. Great soundtrack.
What If
It's basically all I want from a film. Adam Driver is all kinds of excellent. (And Daniel Radcliffe is just my favourite.)
I like short romantic leads. It gives me hope.
108. The Fisher King
some really really funny scenes and an overall good feeling
Dune (Theatrical Cut) -
just the absolute worst. Much, much worse than I'd remembered. I liked the book but I think this film made me hate it. Fucking hell.
Mirage Men -
Could've been good, subject was interesting. The film wasn't. Made by people who have absolute no clue about filmmaking or storytelling or interviewing or being interesting.
109. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
really great , well paced, generally made sense, cool set pieces, well done everyone
110. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
really good, maybe better than the last one. bloody well done everyone, except the cinema i saw it at, who fucked up the soundtrack somehow. basically the dialogue and sound effects were at normal volume, but the music was mainly silent, and occasionally audible, but even then almost drowned out by footsteps. complained a couple of times but they couldnt fix it, but gave us free tickets to see something else, which is nice, and the film wasnt completely ruined. anyone know exactly what happened? i guess the projectionist either loaded it with the wrong format soundtrack, or the soundsystem wasnt turned on properly. was quite interesting anyway
111. Best Worst Movie
documentary about Troll 2 and the weird people who made it. good characters, adequate story telling
The Mill and the Cross (Lech Majewski)
Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda)
Nenette and Boni (Claire Denis)
Like Someone in love (Abbas Kiarostami)
Dancer in the dark (Lars Von Trier)
The Hole (Tsai Ming Liang)
Few of us (Sharunas Bartas)
I don't want to sleep alone (Tsai Ming Liang)
Seven invisible men (Sharunas Bartas)
The face of another (Hiroshi Teshigahara)
Next of Kin (Atom Egoyan)
Nebraska- really good
The Heat - it was watchable but too long and I didnt laugh once
Grosse Point Blank - easily forgettable
167. Enchanted
Had a rough day Friday, so went with the most inoffensive thing I could find on Netflix (even thought
168. Post Tenebras Lux*
Mostly agree with n_r up there (although I thought the sex scene was pretty bad tbh). Lots of nice bits but a fairly incoherent whole. Felt like a less satisfying Weearsethakul film.
169. 2 Days, 1 Night*
Good, probably one of the better Dardenne Brothers films I've seen. Not without its problems (agree with other people's sentiments about the suicide scene, also seems to suggest that 2 days of knocking on doors is a pretty quick fix for depression) but fairly good.
112. Ruby Sparks
actually really solid. didnt like the last scene tho
Watched this because my dad lent it to me and kept saying "see if you can guess the twist!!!11!!"
I didn't guess it, but got increasingly annoyed at the sheer stupidity of everyone in it and the fact it fell into horror by numbers dumbness. Just a bit boring, did like the twist though.
i actually enjoyed orphan
its COMPLETELY ridiculous but its enjoyable enough
Great film based on graphic novel Le Transperceneige, right blend of action and poignancy, completely nutty villains (Tilda Swinton) totally recommend
18. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Good film, enjoyed, but I think I got spoiled by the first one, so I was comparing it a lot. I should watch it again and I think I would enjoy it more
19. Silent Hill: Revelation
Finally gotten around to watching this, as the first one put me off so much. It's actually better than I thought it would be, but still really average and some of it is stupid and just go WTF?! The final fight was just so silly, I can't forgive that.
20. Lucy
Oh my word, this film jumped the shark. It's stupid, silly and just is poorly done. Half way through, I started watching it as a comedy and if you do that, you will enjoy it more.
Forgot one more 21. Hellboy 2
It's only the second or third time of watching and I still feel the same about it. The visuals are awesome. Del Toro is quite possibly the best person for monsters and visuals. Unfortunately, it still doesn't quite click with me, as much as I want it to. It's just kinda average, I want to like it more, but I just don't
which I didnt rate as highly as others but sitll good
Au Hasard Balthazer- thought this was incredible. Basically the journey of a donkey (and his former owner) through their lives
Session 9 - it was okay, a lot of holes in it though. Has anyone else seen it? there's one thing im still unsure on
170. Caesar Must Die*
Has anyone seen this? Documentary-ish (pretty much every scene looks scripted) film about these Italian prisoners putting on a production of Julius Caesar in jail. Ends up showing the entire play as a mix of rehearsals and scenes from the final performance. Some of the performances are really brilliant.
171. The Rover*
Quite enjoyed this, great performances from Guy Pearce (actually playing an Australian for once) and R-Patz (bug-eyed yokel appears to be his level). Quality soundtrack and cinematography but the ending is all sorts of awful.
172. Russian Ark*
Unbelievable film, logistically baffling and a thoroughly audacious feat of cinematography (it's filmed in one 90 minute take if you didn't already know). Think the highest praise you can give it is that the content is good enough to make you forget the technical premise and just be swept along by it. Obviously it's not perfect (loads of extras look straight at the camera) but it's still really something.
173. Guardians of the Galaxy*
Actually quite surprised at how dull I found this. I must admit I don't get the appeal of Marvel films in general but had heard from people I trust that this was different. It wasn't. The humour is forced and trite and it seems desperate to prove just how unseriously it's taking itself. Beyond that it's guilty of some of the worst action film clichés (including Kung-Fu Girl, a real pet hate of mine) and could be about half an hour shorter if people stopped explaining the story to one another. Gains some points back for Peter Serafinowicz and Finchy as fighter pilots and Benico Del Toro getting cast as what's essentially Old Zoolander, but otherwise there's very little to recommend this. Oh, and if you don't guess what the present is within 10 minutes of the film starting you're just not trying.
174. The Double*
Really liked this, Jesse Eisenberg is great in it. Love the visual brown and beige dystopia and the creaking, howling Eraserhead soundtrack. Liked that the entire Submarine cast seemed to appear in various places as well (and J Mascis as the janitor!).
175. The Family Friend*
Really good, Sorrentino walks such a fine line between style and substance but he does it so deftly that's it's no accident his films work as well as they do. Giacomo Rizzo is wonderfully slimy as Geremia, the music's brilliant too.
113. LA Story
rom com starring steve martin. load of really sketch-show-y jokes, but works really well
114. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
good cast, good characters, good looking, ok score, some poignant bits but shitty pacing/plot
just realised that the director of this directed Chopper
feel oddly like i would have enjoyed this more if i'd known beforehand
I've still not seen Chopper, is it good?
Killing them Softly (his other film) was very good, albeit a bit heavy-handed.
Havent seen it in a long time but i used to watch it quite a lot
bana is amazing in it and it has some amazing lines, enjoyable cinematography. like Assassination... it's about how criminals are a part of celebrity culture and how that's weird and troubling but also kind of inescapble and sort of maybe even good
- Lo-Pan this'd this
Scott Pilgrim Vs the world - really enjoyed, far more than i was expecting to
American Hustle - aye it was alright, nothing special
it starts off well but when the horror starts, just gets a bit tedious
The Pretty One - actually really good. Zoe Kazan plays identical twins of contrasting popularity. One of them dies in a car crash and the other assumes her identity when the hospital make a mistake
176. Chopper*
Good, not great (I don't know why but stuff set in prisons just sends me to sleep, so I was glad when he got out). I think Andrew Dominik really does crime and criminals well though; unlike someone like Scorsese he mostly portrays them inept egotists rather than suave geniuses.
177. Night Moves*
Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning blow up a dam then live with the consequences. Really good, ends very abruptly and ambiguously but having thought about it I actually really like the ending. Maeby from Arrested Development is in it as a massive hippy.
I didn't really feel anything towards Night Moves
I didn't dislike but didn't particularly like it either, guess it's always a fine line when you're using intentionally unlike-able characters, might be worth a re-watch
115. My Left Foot
good for a tv movie, pretty cheesey otherwise. dont really understand why it's so famous
116. Cloud Atlas
astonishingly terrible. just shocking. could have worked pretty well as a miniseries and all
the series was LOST wasn't it?
anyway, good to see people haven't forgotten how atrocious that thing is
good but I was expecting better after all the hype. 6.5/10
The Dark Knight (again): great film. 8/10.
Jason statham wears a cap and there is a lot of punching. Standard Statham
Locke. Loved this film, compelling and brilliant acting. Still curious how the concrete pour went.
Sin City 2
actually quite enjoyed it. It drags on but looks fantastic and it passes the time
178. Terms of Endearment*
Quite good, nice and funny in places but ultimately felt very made for TV.
179. One Man Up*
More Sorrentino, about a footballer and a singer who share a name and two oddly parallel stories. Great Toni Servillo performance.
180. Obvious Child*
Actually really great, had middling expectations but much, much funnier than I was expecting and quite thoughtful where it needed to be. Would probably see it again if the local cinema was showing it a more sociable time. Jenny Slate is wonderful in this.
181. So I Married an Axe Murderer*
WOMAN. Woooooah-man. Remember when Mike Myers could just be pointed at anything and be guaranteed to be funny? Halcyon days.
I v much enjoyed Obvious Child
v funny v goodbrainfeedr this'd this
117. The Hunt
best christmas film ever?
i thought it was very good. didnt find the whole way things developed very real, but very well shot and acted. will probably like it more as time passes
will dislike it, as the "message" of it does come across a bit
"ooh best not believe kids eh"
or at least "ooh these touchy feely liberals will be the end of society"
also, looking at winterberg's filmography, it seems he made festen, which is amazing and everyone says was amazing, The Hunt, generally considered very good, and then two of the most appalling films in history, which ive not seen. anyone seen any of his other films and can confirm or deny whether the critical consensus on them is at all justified? can It's All About Love really deserve 14% on RT?
Here's some MRA cubit praising the film
As a critique of feminism smdh http://www.avoiceformen.com/mens-rights/false-rape-culture/movie-review-the-hunt/
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
good that, in't it, pet?
118. The Green Hornet
unbelievably puerile and a bit of a mess generally, but quite fun
119. Deliverance
did not enjoy this at all. jon voight was pretty good tho
120. The Adjustmeny Bureau
fucking terrible. worst soundtrack
A Most Wanted Man
pretty much as expected. Decent le Carré fare, strong performance by PSH and some very poignant moments, yet slightly disappointed that Anton Corbijn hasn't next-leveled as a filmmaker yet. It's solid, but nothing that's gonna blow any minds imho.
182. American Hustle*
So boring. So very, very boring. Characters I don't care about acting out a plot I don't care about in a really derivative way (borrowing from Scorsese is one thing but David O Russell hasn't put a single original idea into this film).
183. Short Term 12*
This was OK, quite a nice story but it's done in that really trite US indie film way that all American films of a certain size seem legally required to be made in (acoustic guitars, soft focus shots, general reverence for the serendipity of everyday life).
Cemetery Junction (again)
still great
Think some of you have watched more films this year than I have ever
Where do you get your film recs from? Is there a RateYourFilms or something?
dunno bout everyone else
but just word of mouth really. might read a review somewhere, it might come up on IMDB lists. Rotten Tomatoes is good
121. The 'Burbs
very enjoyable throwback slapsticky comedy from the 80s that i didnt know about before seeing for free at Genesis cinema as part of Scalarama. tom hanks being very good and energetic, and bruce dern being good and yeah, just very decent. Henry Gibson at his wonderful creepy best as well
122. Mood Indigo
pretty odd. like, too much whimsy at first, then it justifies itself a bit. not that moving idk
184. Metro Manila*
Very good actually, starts off a bit standard issue country family moves to big city but picks up a bit when Ong appears. Very well shot and the ending makes narrative sense, which looked highly unlikely for a lot of the film.
185. In Order of Disappearance*
Seemed to be aiming for the In Bruges type ballpark but ended up being Stellan Skarsgård channeling his inner Liam Neeson with some very dark humour chucked in. Special mention to the main villain The Count, who deserves to be in a better film than this.
186. Only God Forgives*
Rubbish. Clearly thinks it's so deep and spiritual and significant but really, really, really, really isn't. Ryan Gosling looks half awake for most of it and Kristin Scott Thomas was a woeful bit of