Movie Tab II

I agree it's not as emotionally powerful as his other films, but it is without a doubt beautifully directed.







And the creation scene is just incredible:

Noah is one of Aronofsky's best imo. Would probably rank it just behind The Wrestler and Black Swan.

It seems a lot of people loathe it, or at least they used to, but I couldn't help but love it. Very different from the series but still a great companion piece nonetheless.

I know that was rhetorical but... I've never rated Playtime on the site before although I did give Mr. Hulot's Holiday the same rating here. I felt pretty much about La Haine this time as last time with the slight exception I cared for the characters a little more, so the ending had enough power to push it over to the higher rating.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Fair enough. I could have sworn I saw you rate Playtime once, or maybe it was another Tati film, something like 2+, and I thought I recalled an image from Playtime, although I've never seen it myself. Must have been this actually

From the 70s list:

Sleuth. B+ Superb performances and great dialogue, but like too many movies based on plays, it doesn't know when to cut to the chase. Scenes go on forever, and it all seems contrived like another game these two are playing with each other, and in the end I can't care about much of it, except it is a good time. I suppose that's enough.

F for Fake. Too pretentious and underdeveloped. It poses a few interesting ideas, but all in all, I couldn't care too much for any of it. It's not bad and it's worth seeing. As a big fan of the Tom Ripley novels, I consider the second in the series, Ripley Under Ground (1970), to have said far more interesting things about forgery, authenticity, and what is real and not real.

Autumn Sonata. I'm going to annoy someone I'm sure, but I really disliked this movie. I can't believe those who claim this is a masterpiece watched the same movie I did. The performances are fine, but what does that matter when I couldn't stand either character. They're both self-centered, whiny, nasty people, and for all their complexity, they come across as superficial creations. The dialogue is too precise, too literary, that it comes across as silly melodrama, and then in place of normal dialogue, they instead trade these vitriolic monologues with each other. What a dreadfully depressing movie. And then I hated the color scheme used, the reds, yellows, and oranges that make it look like 16mm print that was lost for the last thirty years. I get it, those are autumn colors, but it looks awful.

And yes, I do like Ingmar Bergman, but I'm not a fan of these melodramas of the female psyche that he loved making so much, though I suppose you could include Persona in that category, but that movie is in a whole other class as far as I'm concerned.

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Three pretty accurate opinions on movies in our '70s countdown.

The Man who Sleeps +
One of the best studies of alienation and loneliness that you'll ever find. This film is outright hypnotic and the imagery is strikingly beautiful.

Rio Bravo
Excellent,A very entertaining western with a stellar script and well-realized characters. A thoroughly enjoyable movie.

Shoulder Arms -
A decent Chaplin short although not memorable in the slightest. There's a few neat gags here and there, but its nothing truly special. Its ight.

White House Down -
Cliche storyline,slow-mo shots,one-liners,excessive explosions. Its a Roland Emmerich movie alright. At least its entertaining I guess.

In the line of Fire
Impressive high-budget thriller that is much,much better than I expected it to be. It follows a man trying to murder the U.S President, and the Secret Service agent trying to prevent that from happening. John Malkovich and Clint Eastwood give great performances here, elevating what could have been a very mediocre movie into something thats actually really good.

The Dark Knight -
I really wish I could take a contrarian stance here, but The Dark Knight really is a very impressive blockbuster. Thrilling action sequences,great performances and excellent pacing make this one entertaining flick. Its not the masterpiece naive Nolanities believe it is, but it is definitely a high-quality crime thriller.

As for my opinion on Nolan, I am about as indifferent as they come. I find some of his films gimmicky,cold and superficial. While others are actually pretty good. The next Kubrick my as*

My Cousin Vinny
Comedies don't usually do much for me, but I found this one hilarious. The script is wickedly clever,the jokes hit all the right marks and Joe Pesci kills it as the film's lead character. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed this.

In the Heat of the Night +
Damn good film.Damn good. Immaculate direction,engrossing storyline and extremely impressive acting. It even offers insight into themes such as prejudice and racism without it feeling ham-fisted or simple-minded. This is a must-watch 60's film.

More and more people watch obscure films I love! Can't be more happy!

Too bad they don't always love them as much as I do!

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

July, 2014 movies watched-37

My production was down this month, but I watched a lot of movies I loved, and I feel like I watched a good variety.

Bound for Glory (1976) Slow moving, but well made and likable film about a few years in the life of folk legend Woody Guthrie, played by David Carradine*

After Dark, My Sweet (1990) Very good, but not quite great noir with Jason Patric leading the way. From the Ebert list

Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) Great horror flick that gets the job done on every level


Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) (Repeat viewing) Scathing and funny with great acting and dialogue

Killer of Sheep (1979) Low budget and very natural, but I thought the film was less interesting than the story behind the making of it

That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) This movie did a fantastic job at keeping me wondering what was going to happen next

Monte Walsh (1970) Nothing to complain about, but nothing stood out for me either*

Joe (2013) Gripping and intense with three great performances, including by Nic Cage in the title role


Lone Survivor (2013) This surprised me with how good an action film it turned into

Jeremiah Johnson (1972) It's a good movie but my struggles with Westerns continue

Sleuth (1972) Very clever film featuring great performances from Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine

The Seven-Ups (1973) Decent cop/crime film with Roy Scheider and a great car chase

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) Not my kind of movie but, the director/actor combination made it an interesting watch

Three Days of the Condor (1975) I thought Max Von Sydow was the standout of a great cast in this above average thriller with good tension*

An Unmarried Woman (1978) A romantic comedy that gets it right; touching, funny, and real, with a great performance from Jill Clayburgh*

Joe (1970) I have upgraded my original ranking because this is a movie that has stayed with me


Tokyo Story (1953) That rare movie, like Cries and Whispers, that's way out of my comfort zone, but I got anyway

Inglourious Basterds (2009) Starts out great and is an entertaining movie.

Logan's Run (1976) Not crazy about this kind of Sci-Fi, but I liked it

Fitzcarraldo (1982) Extremely impressive movie that's another gem from the pair of Herzog and Kinski


Dinner at Eight (1933) Nothing wrong with it, but I couldn't get into it at all

Friendly Persuasion (1956) All around outstanding movie featuring a fantastic performance by a goose

The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2009) Pretty extreme Serbian film about a porno group that gets into snuff films. Don't watch with mommy and daddy

The Tenant (1976) I thought it started out pretty strong, but the last 45 minutes went downhill

Autumn Sonata (1978) I was totally uninterested after a half hour, but then it completely turned around for me

The Man Who Would Be King (1975) I didn't love it, but it's a very good movie. Connery and Caine made a great team

The Seven Samurai (1954) An instant top ten favorite

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Impressive movie in so many ways, but I was bored during most of it

War and Peace (1966) The single most impressive film I've ever seen.

Allegro Non Troppo (1976) Not my kind of movie but an easy watch with some good humor

Dead Man's Shoes (2004) Just the kind of movie I look for-raw and super intense


Gravity (2013) Some great moments, but I'm just not too keen on movies set in space

The Elephant Man (1980) Took me too long to see this; definitely an emotional movie and a very good one

La Haine (1995) Pretty much right up my alley, although to me, it's a little overrated

Dolores Claiborne (1995) Loved the story and the performances

The Italian Job (1969) I liked it but thought it turned out to be pretty average

The Gold Rush (1925) Easy to watch with plenty of laughs

Total for 2014
January-46
February-37
March-45
April-45
May-57
June-44
July-37
Ytd-311

Schlöndorff is a big Fassbinder fan, isn't he?

He was a contemporary (six years older) of Fassbinder.

Katharina Blum is great. I think you'd like it Minio.

Scorpion doesn't talk. She kills.
Hell in the Pacific (1968) -

女囚701号 さそり [Female Convict 701: Scorpion] (1972) -
女囚さそり 第41雑居房 [Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41] (1972) -
女囚さそり　けもの部屋 [Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable] (1973) -
女囚さそり 701号怨み節 [Female Prisoner Scorpion: Grudge Song] (1973) -

Les Vampires is a name of crime organisation. No blood-sucking creatures to be found here.
Korowód (1972) -
Spirala [Spiral] (1978) -
Les Vampires [The Vampires] (1915) -
Magia Russica (2004) -
L' enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot [Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno] (2009) -

Inferno would've been a visual masterpiece if it was finished.
Constans [The Constant Factor] (1980) -
Fata Morgana (1971) -
Они сражались за родину [They Fought for the Motherland] (1975) -
Traité de bave et d'éternité [Venom and Eternity] (1951) -
Some Like It Hot (1959) -

Irma Vep - a tribute to 1915 classic Les Vampires unexpectedly ends with Lettrist Cinema outbreak.
Irma Vep (1996) -
Bez znieczulenia [Rough Treatment] (1978) -
Tren de sombras: El espectro de Le Thuit (1997) -
L' immortelle [The Immortal] (1963) -
Tarr Béla, I Used to Be a Filmmaker (2013) -

You just have to watch Robbe-Grillet's The Immortal. If only for its striking visuals.
The Godfather (1972) -
The Godfather: Part II (1974) -
The Godfather: Part III (1990) -
Foxy Brown (1974) -
Praėjusios dienos atminimui [In Memory of the Day Passed By] (1990) -

One of them catchy quotes from The Godfather.
Наш век [Our Century] (1982) -
Water and Power (1989) -
0課の女 赤い手錠 [Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs] (1974) -
명령 027호 [Order No. 027] (1986) -
La vampire nue [The Naked Vampire] (1970) -








I took some screen-caps from La vampire nue. You can hate the movie, but can't say its visuals are bad.

Yay!

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Mubi

Celine and Julie Go Boating is a masterpiece.

The only I've seen from the director, though. Besides Les Vampires inspiration - seen on pic bluedeed posted, the movie heavily borrows from Czechoslovak surrealism masterpiece Sedmikrasky.

Mulholland Drive (Rewatch)
This is the reason I love cinema.No words of mine can do this film justice.

Guardians of the Galaxy +
The most fun I remember having at the movie theater in years and the definition of a crowd-pleasing blockbuster. Fun,thrilling,comedic and unbelievably clever romp with some extremely likable characters. I loved it.

Brubaker -
Robert Redford gives an incredible performance, its such a shame however that the film is unbelievably dull and tedious to watch. Not a bad movie, but calling it a chore is a colossal understatement.

Spider Baby or,the maddest story ever told
What an unexpected delight this little gem is. One of the oddest films I've seen in a long time, and I don't really think I can label it under one strict genre. Its a horror, a comedy, a family drama,etc. A morbid little delight.

Sharknado 2
Endlessly amusing piece of garbage.

Alien 3 -
Mediocre movie with a few great scenes spliced in here and there. But overall it just isn't very memorable.This makes me just want to go and watch the original 1979 masterpiece, it is after all the best of the series.

The Hypothesis of the stolen painting
Severely overlooked film about the dissection,analysis and interpretation of art. Some of the most beautiful,crisp black and white cinematography I've ever seen.

I have Spider Baby. Definitely an odd movie.