View Full Version : Sane's Reviews & Lists
So I thought I might start my own thread to review movies. Sometimes I watch a movie which makes me want to write about it and it would be good to have one place to collect the posts.
Also, since I'm a big nerd I like making lists of stuff so this thread will be useful for that too.
My movie philosophy is that, in general, there are no "old" movies and no "foreign" movies - just movies I either have or haven't seen and ones in English or not. I'm not even sure what "foreign" movies are - I'm Australian so are American movies "foreign"? If it means not in English is Inglorious Basterds a "foreign" film? Point is, there are only "movies" and I'll watch them all.
Also, for anyone who is still reading at this point, I only started rating movies this year and only rate movies as I watch them - not from memory. So, these reviews are of movies watched recently and any lists are based on rating from this year forward - I use Criticker to rate movies and then get lists from there.
Anyway, hope something in this thread will be interesting and please give me recommendations or post your own lists - I joined this site to learn from others and expand my movie watching horizons.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Memories_of_Matsuko_poster.jpg
Memories of Matsuko (2006) - Tetsuya Nakashima
Nakashima is a Japanese director that I just discovered this year. This is the fourth movie of his that I've watched and he is already one of my favourite directors. Like many Asian directors he focuses heavily on style and characters - less so on plot (although my favourite movie of his, Confessions, did have a "story" but it wasn't a major part of the movie). That's not to say his films are hard to follow, which can be the case in movies without a clear story - they aren't. They are just more about people and relationships than about plot.
This film is about a young guy living a vacuous life in Tokyo who is asked to clean out his aunt's apartment following her murder. The aunt (Matsuko) has seldom been in touch with the family for the last 30 years. From there we learn about her from what he learns in her apartment and from people who knew her.
This is a heartbreaking film. It draws the picture of a beautiful caring young woman who lives a life that never goes right. Abusive boyfriends, family disowning her, time in jail and so on. To me it was quite an emotional movie and whilst she made some bad decisions I was always caring about her and hoping her moment of happiness (and redemption) would come ...
In keeping with Nakashima's other films, this was visually memorable from start to finish - every shot. What was interesting is that it was mostly brightly coloured and happy - whilst telling such a sad story. In some parts it was like watching a J-Pop video. I actually thought for the first half hour that it wasn't working for me but after that everything seemed to connect.
Nakashima creates beautiful movies with characters you can empathise with. I loved this movie and felt genuine compassion for Matsuko. I must say though, you need to have an open mind - visually Nakashima seems to really connect with modern Japanese culture and at times it can be odd. This is probably unlike any movie you have seen but even if you don't like the visuals it's worth continuing to learn Matsuko's story.
89/100
As I said, this was the fourth Nakashima movie I've watched and he is currently top of my directors list. That'll change I would imagine but at the moment I think he would be my favourite based on what I have watched this year.
Top 10
Tetsuya Nakashima 4 Movies @ 83.75 average
Quentin Tarantino 8 @ 81.88
Zhang Yimou 3 @ 80
Martin Scorsese 3 @ 78.67
The Coen Brothers 4 @ 77.75
James Cameron 3 @ 77.67
Ingmar Bergman 3 @ 77.33
Wong Kar Wai 9 @ 76.33
Krzysztof Kieslowski 4 @ 76
Charles Chaplin 3 @ 74
Some films I watched yesterday ...
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Shutter (2004) - Banjong Pisanthanakun & Parkpoom Wongpoom
Thai horror movie that follows in the tradition of Japanese horror - this uses photos rather than videos or cell phone messages. This is the second time I've seen it and it is one of my favourite horror movie - scares the crap out of me with the standard horror shock scenes but is also really creepy. Is helped by the fact that the girl who takes her revenge is actually quite scary looking naturally. And, as Asian horror has taught us, we all know that the scariest thing in the world is an Asian girl with wet hair ...
83/100
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The Sixth Sense (1999) - M Night Shyamalan
I thought this was a re-watch but turns out I'd never actually seen it. Surprisingly good even if you already know the twist. A lot of people don't like Shyamalan but they forget he has made some good films. I actually think that he is a pretty good writer - and often a pretty bad director. Lots of shots look like he is trying to be artistic but they aren't - he just doesn't seem to have an eye for the visual side of movie making. He also seems a bit lazy - just lots of parts of the film could have been done better. He took this to extremes with The Happening - a good idea turned into a horrible movie by bad directing (particularly allowing a cast of people who could actually act to put in such terrible performances). Anyway, he got the best out of the cast in this one.
75/100
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Carnage (2011) - Roman Polanski
Two sets of parents meet to discuss what to do about their children after they get into a fight. Adapted from a play - and obviously so as it is pretty much all set in one room. I don't mind this style of drama but they always seem to get pushed to extremes in order to make a compelling 90 minute movie. Starts off as quite realistic but inevitably goes a bit off track. Acting was great - particularly from Christoph Waltz. Jodie Foster and John C Reilly were good but felt Kate Winslett was a bit out of her depth - maybe unfair as critics have praised her performance. Definitely worth watching.
74/100
Shutter is in my top 10 Horror movies since I started ratings. Note that I just let Criticker decide what categories movies fall into - can't be bothered working it out myself :)
1. Cloverfield (2008) 88/100
2. Aliens (1986) 87/100
3. Psycho (1960) 86/100
4. Shutter (2004) 83/100
5. The Cabin in the Woods (2002) 82/100
6. I Saw the Devil (2010) 81/100
7. Audition (1999) 80/100
7. Excision (2012) 80/100
9. Alien (1979) 79/100
9. Let the Right One In (2008) 79/100
There are not many movies that I can imagine thinking you saw even if you didn't but Sixth Sense would def be one of them.
There are not many movies that I can imagine thinking you saw even if you didn't but Sixth Sense would def be one of them.
True. The Crying Game is also similar - feel like I've seen it but pretty sure I haven't. Having a twist really gets people taking ...
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The Isle (2000) - Kim Ki Duk
Kim Ki Duk is the only director that I have given the equivalent of 10/10 for more than one movie - for 3 Iron and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring. This is just as memorable as those two ... but for different reasons. Think of Spring, Summer ... crossed with Antichrist and you would have something close.
It's about a girl who runs a fishing resort - little floating cottages on a big river. She looks after everything - transport, food, fishing supplies, cleaning and prostitution (of others and her self).
A new visitor arrives with suicidal tendencies and the two of them start a relationship of sorts. Like 3 Iron, in this one of the stars (the girl) does not speak for the entire film, so the relationship grows in purely physical ways. The relationship is not as "nice" as it is in 3 Iron but it still has romantic elements.
The visuals are great - not as beautiful as Spring, Summer ... but still occasionally stunning.
As the movie goes on it gets more and more extreme with some scenes that are hard to watch even though they aren't all graphic - just thinking about what is going on is enough.
There are a few elements of the plot that are a bit silly but overall this is a very good movie. As I said, some scenes are hard to watch - including some involving fish and a frog, so not for everyone but worth watching with an open mind. BTW, Korean movies have a habit of making posters with images that don't appear in the movie - that is the case here.
82/100
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Gangster Squad (2013) - Ruben Fleischer
A great looking movie with a good cast but ultimately it all ends up a bit shallow and, in many ways, stupid. Thought Emma Stone was quite good but under-used. As an action film it's ok but should have been better.
54/100
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Papillon (1973) - Franklin J Schaffner
Classic prison escape movie with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Great performances from the leads and overall a very good movie. Depicts prison life in what appears to be a much more realistic manner than many modern movies.
82/100
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30 Days of Night (2007) - David Slade
I'd watched this before and thought it was very good. I was wrong. Another movie that looks good but is ultimately shallow and disappointing. I like the idea behind this film, a town in the far north that experiences a month without sunlight is invaded by vampires, and quite liked the way the vampires were more like monsters than in other films but the script and the characters were not engaging.
45/100
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (2003) - Kim Ki Duk
Probably the most beautiful movie I have ever seen. Set entirely on and around a floating Buddhist monastery in the middle of a lake. Follows the stages of life broken up into seasons. As always with Kim Ki Duk, very little dialogue but fascinating nonetheless. Personally I love movies that are heavy on dialogue if they are well written (like Tarantino movies) but I equally love quiet introspective movies where the characters don't need to constantly tell you how they feel. This is one of the best in the second category.
95/100
Guaporense
08-04-13, 07:32 PM
i need to watch Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring
honeykid
08-04-13, 11:45 PM
I'd watched this before and thought it was very good. I was wrong. Another movie that looks good but is ultimately shallow and disappointing. I like the idea behind this film, a town in the far north that experiences a month without sunlight is invaded by vampires, and quite liked the way the vampires were more like monsters than in other films but the script and the characters were not engaging.
I've only seen this once, but the vampires being more like zombies was very off-putting for me. It was only after about an hour that I worked out why I wasn't liking it, but, once I did that, I thought much better of it. Since then I've been wondering whether that's because the film got better or whether it was because I'd gotten my head around them not acting like vampires. I agree that it's a great premise for a film and should work a lot better than it does. There again, if it wasn't for Melissa George, I wouldn't have even known it existed, let alone seen it. ;)
i need to watch Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring
I'd definitely recommend it - worth it just for the cinematography even if you don't find the characters engaging.
I've only seen this once, but the vampires being more like zombies was very off-putting for me. It was only after about an hour that I worked out why I wasn't liking it, but, once I did that, I thought much better of it. Since then I've been wondering whether that's because the film got better or whether it was because I'd gotten my head around them not acting like vampires. I agree that it's a great premise for a film and should work a lot better than it does. There again, if it wasn't for Melissa George, I wouldn't have even known it existed, let alone seen it. ;)
Watched another Melissa George horror movie this week - Triangle. Australian movie pretending to be American (all actors used American accents) for no apparent reason. Still, is actually quite interesting and well done.
honeykid
08-05-13, 05:14 PM
Yes, I really liked Triangle. It's another film I was only aware of because of Melissa George. :D I still have WΔZ and A Lonely Place To Die to see for the same reason.
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A Woman Under the Influence (1974) - John Cassavetes
This is the first Cassavetes film I have seen. Simply brilliant. This movie contains what might be the best acting performance I have seen - Gena Rowlands playing the unusual/crazy wife of Peter Falk who gets committed for treatment after her behaviour becomes more and more concerning.
Both of the leads are amazing but Rowlands is just fantastic. Her ability to depict a character who is both insane (in some ways) and extremely vulnerable has to be seen to be believed. Falk making you wonder which one is actually crazy balances with Rowlands perfectly.
Something else notable about this movie is the quality of acting by those in the minor roles - particularly the children. In my opinion it is very noticeable as you go back through the history of movies that general acting standards have improved. By this I mean that a good movie these days will be filled with people who can act well enough. Go back and watch something like Ace in the Hole and you'll see a great performance by Kirk Douglas surrounded by many poor actors. That is unlikely to happen today. The flip side is that older movies had better stars. Kirk Douglas never put in a performance anywhere near as bad as most of James Franco's, for example ;)
Anyway, back to my point, in this the acting was great from all cast members and, combined with the style of the movie, they made it a very realistic experience.
A great movie. The only thing close to a weakness is it lost some momentum in the half hour or so that Rowlands wasn't on screen.
97/100
I don't agree that older movies are filled with lousy actors. There were some then, some in Cassavetes' movies and some now.
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Certified Copy (2010) - Abbas Kariostami
My first non-Iranian Kariostami movie. Not as engaging as his others but still pretty good. Essentially just two people getting to know each other over the course of a day - with some strange turns.
74/100
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Dancer in the Dark (2000) - Lars Von Trier
The first Von Trier film I watched was Antichrist. I think that was a mistake in retrospect. Not that it was a bad film - I liked it. But it scared me off watching more of his movies - didn't know what the hell my senses might be assaulted with ... Anyway, thankfully I finally decided to watch this brilliant film. It's all about Bjork's performance. Catherine Deneuve described it as "feeling" rather than acting - I can't describe it better. The last 15 minutes was a harrowing experience.
96/100
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Matrix Reloaded (2003) - The Wachowski Brothers
Very sneaky to package the blooper reel from the first film and call it a sequel ...
32/100
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Pom Poko (1994) - Isao Takahata
To me, the key to Ghibli films being good is that they are usually good stories with good characters - the animation just adds a level of beauty. So the ones I tend to love are those that would be great as live action films. The two other Takahata films I've seen fit well with this. Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday were stories about people that I cared about. Pom Poko is different. To me it doesn't work as well because there are no central characters that we focus on. The story is interesting enough and it looks great but there was no emotional attachment.
65/100
Time to update my directors list - watched third movies by a couple of directors who are now in my top 10.
1. Kim Ki Duk 3 Movies @ 92/100 average
2. Tetsuya Nakashima 4 @ 83.75
2. Abbas Kariostami 4 @ 83.75
4. Quentin Tarantino 8 @ 81.88
5. Zhang Yimou 3 @ 80
6. Isao Takahata 3 @ 78.67
6. Martin Scorsese 3 @ 78.67
8. The Coen Brothers 4 @ 77.75
9. James Cameron 3 @ 77.67
10. Ingmar Bergman 3 @ 77.33
Having just watched a couple of great performances by Gena Rowlands and Bjork I thought it would be interesting to look at my top 10 actors/actresses. This is based on the quality of movies rather than their specific performances. Minimum of 5 movies:
1. Tony Leung Chiu Wai 8 movies @ 82.75
2. Brad Pitt 5 @ 80.60
3. Bruce Willis 5 @ 78.80
4. Quentin Tarantino 6 @ 78.50
5. Takeshi Kaneshiro 5 @ 77.00
6. Kevin Spacey 6 @ 76.00
7. Robert De Niro 7 @ 75.71
8. Maggie Cheung 5 @ 75.60
9. Uma Thurman 5 @ 74.80
10. Harrison Ford 6 @ 74.50
Quentin Tarantino is obviously the odd one out here. He has obviously had cameo's in some great films. I actually think he needs to stop doing this - the performance in Django Unchained looked like pure ego rather than actually bringing anything to the film.
I don't agree that older movies are filled with lousy actors. There were some then, some in Cassavetes' movies and some now.
Me either :) That's a long way away from what I said but I'll expand.
Acting is like any other profession or sport - the more you do it the better you get. These days with the expansion of cable tv and the world getting smaller there are so many opportunities and roles for actors.
We now have actors from the UK, Australia, Europe and Asia taking big and small roles in film and tv - expanding the talent pool. We have more roles for actors with the number of great television series coming from a number of tv channels that didn't exist 30 years ago. It stands to reason that if you increase the talent pool and increase experience then the quality of the acting will increase.
This is a double edged sword because it leads to more people perhaps with less talent becoming competent. This allows casting people to give bigger roles to people based on factors other than talent. If someone is good looking enough they will get a big role because they can act well enough.
So, overall, the bottom end of acting has improved which is what I meant by general acting standards, but the top end has gone backwards.
You can now comfortably make a movie where the entire cast can do a decent job but with no-one outstanding. As you go back in history there were more outstanding performances ... and more bad ones.
IMO ;)
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Happy Times (2000) - Zhang Yimou
Very different to other Zhang films I have seen. About an old guy who takes a teenage blind girl under his wing. Often funny and always kind hearted. Great performances by the two leads - Dong in her debut. Some may find it overly sentimental but I didn't.
83/100
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Baran (2001) - Majid Majidi
This is my third Majidi film and whilst I wouldn't call any of them "great", he makes very good movies. This one is about Afghani refugees working in Iran. Majidi's films are about normal people trying to get by - they are all about the characters and this was another engaging film.
75/100
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Taxi Driver (1976) - Martin Scorsese
A favourite I hadn't seen for about 15 years. Was worried I may not like it as much but still love it. I'd actually never appreciated what a great movie it is visually - especially in the first hour.
98/100
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What Time is it There (2001) - Tsai Ming Liang
Perhaps the most accessible Tsai film I've seen. Still his trademark scenes with no dialogue but this actually had some very funny parts. Lee Kang Sheng plays a role that recurs in Tsai films. I don't really know whether it is always the same character but they have the same name and this one does actually have a sequel (The Skywalk is Gone). Anyway, this is kind of a love story between two people who meet while Lee is selling watches. The girl then goes to Paris leaving Lee to change every clock he comes across to Paris time ... sound like a Tsai film? I love the way he makes movies and enjoyed this a lot. BTW, lovers of French cinema will find something interesting in this :)
82/100
I find it interesting how some films stay with you whilst others fade almost immediately - sometimes irrespective of how good you thought they were at the time. I'm having that happen with Happy Times - my mind keeps returning to the two main characters and their relationship with each other. I tend to watch a lot of movies with dark themes so it's nice to occasionally watch something where people have a positive impact on each other.
Anyway, here is a list of my top 10 movies from the three Chinese movie industries:
1. In the Mood for Love (2000) - Wong Kar Wai 100/100
2. Hero (2002) - Zhang Yimou 94/100
3. Chungking Express (1994) - Wong Kar Wai 91/100
4. The Grandmaster (2013) - Wong Kar Wai 86/100
5. Happy Times (2000) - Zhang Yimou 83/100
6. What Time is it There? (2001) - Tsai Ming Liang 82/100
7. Fallen Angels (1995) - Wong Kar Wai 81/100
8. The Hole (1998) - Tsai Ming Liang 79/100
9. Happy Together (1997) - Wong Kar Wai 76/100
10. Red Cliff II (2009) - John Woo 75/100
10. Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004) - Lu Chuan 75/100
Looks like I really need to expand my list of directors from this part of the world. I have a couple of Edward Yang films to watch so I'll start there.
Have watched 22 movies since updating this thread and don't know which to write a long review about so here are some short ones ...
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Toy Story 3 (2010) - Lee Unkrich
I'm one of the few people who don't think too highly of this trilogy. The first two were ok but I found them ultimately a bit shallow. However, the third instalment is by far the best. The story had more depth and, importantly, visually it was excellent.
79/100
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Blackboards (2000) - Samira Makhmalbaf
First movie I've watched from the daughter of one of Iran's most famous directors (it was co-written with Mohsen). The title refers to a couple of travelling teachers who carry blackboards on their backs as they go looking for students. They split up and one meets up with a nomadic group (Kurds I think) making their way back to Irag and the other meets with children smuggling goods back and forth across the border. Stunning scenery and interesting from a cultural perspective but not as engaging as other Iranian movies due to not as much focus on likeable characters - the two main teachers were incredibly annoying. Still worth watching.
67/100
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The Godfather Part II (1974) - Francis Ford Coppola
I liked this a bit better than the first one. I think the reason can be explained quite simply - James Caan out, Robert De Niro in :) I felt Caan was the biggest weakness of the first movie whilst in this one the scenes involving De Niro were the highlight (not just because of him - they were brilliantly filmed). Also really enjoyed John Cazale's performance here - he was such a great actor and a huge loss to the industry.
94/100
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The Apartment (1960) - Billy Wilder
My favourite Wilder film thus far. Fantastic performances by the three leads - particularly MacLaine. Also worth mentioning MacMurray. I grew up watching My Three Sons re-runs and always thought of him as being a bit of a lightweight but whilst he doesn't exactly have a huge range, he does have the ability to make relatively subtle changes to his characters to take them from being likeable to not. I think he deserves a lot of credit for that.
86/100
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The Sweet Hereafter (1997) - Atom Egoyan
Have been trying to watch the movies from the 90s countdown that I haven's seen. All About My Mother (81/100) and The Straight Story (73/100) were both good but this was the highlight. It is just a brilliantly told story. It's about a lawyer trying to build a compensation case after a school bus plunges into a lake killing almost all the children in a small town. It's use of the Pied Piper as a plot device is fantastic.
91/100
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Vinyan (2008) - Fabrice du Welz
Belgian film (in English) about a couple who lose their child during the tsunami - but hope that he may still be alive. After they think they find out he has been kidnapped they journey into Burma to find him. Emmanuelle Beart is good but I've never been a fan of Sewell and he's not great here. This film is quite interesting but uses the whole descent into madness in SE Asia theme that we've seen before. In some places it's referred to as a horror movie but it really only becomes one in the last 10 minutes and that's part of the problem with the film - to me the ending seemed out of place. Anyway, it was OK but should have been better.
57/100
My 10 favourite animated movies:
1. Grave of the Fireflies - Isao Takahata 99/100
2. Whisper of the Heart - Yoshifumi Kondo 97/100
3. Ponyo - Hayao Miyazaki 86/100
4. Toy Story 3 - Lee Unkrich 79/100
5. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - Mamoru Hosada 72/100
5. Only Yesterday - Isao Takahata 72/100
7. Perfect Blue - Satoshi Kon 71/100
8. Princess Mononoke - Hayao Miyazaki 70/100
8. Spirited Away - Hayao Miyazaki 70/100
10. The Croods - Chris Sanders /Kirk De Micco 69/100
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Autumn Sonata (1978) - Ingmar Bergman
Let me start off by saying this movie was very good. Problem is it should have been so much better. Excellent performances by Ullman and, in particular, Bergman, great visuals and characters with depth. Unfortunately these characters would not shut up ... ever ... for even five seconds ... to let you think about them and draw conclusions for yourself. Every second was spent with them telling each other, the camera and themselves exactly how they felt.
It tells the story of a strained relationship between a mother and daughter. They get together after not seeing each other for seven years and a lifetime of emotion comes out. It's an interesting enough story and one that should create a platform for interesting character studies - which it does to an extent. Unfortunately those character studies are delivered with a sledgehammer.
As I said, Ingrid Bergman is great, as is Ullman. I think if they had been allowed to they could have put together a couple of the all-time great performances thanks to their chemistry together. If they had been allowed to portray emotion rather than constantly talk about it.
I guess it shows what a great director Bergman is that I have so many issues with this movie but still give it such a high rating. I just feel that in many of his movies he leaves so much up to the actors to portray and for us to decide for ourselves yet in this movie we are told exactly what is going on from the first minute.
With the quality of everything else here, apart from the script, I should be giving this 95/100+.
81/100
My top 10 Scandinavian films:
1. Dancer in the Dark - Lars Von Trier 96/100
2. A Hijacking - Tobias Lindholm 85/100
3. Autumn Sonata - Ingmar Bergman 81/100
3. The Virgin Spring - Ingmar Bergman 81/100
5. Let the Right One In - Tomas Alfredson 79/100
5. Wild Strawberries - Ingmar Bergman 79/100
7. Into the White - Peter Naess 73/100
8. The Seventh Seal - Ingmar Bergman 72/100
8. Through a Glass Darkly - Ingmar Bergman 72/100
10. Antichrist - Lars Von Trier 70/100
I really feel like this area is producing a lot of quality lately so I hope to see a lot of movies by more contemporary Scandinavian directors soon.
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2046 (2004) - Wong Kar Wai
I know I'm biased - I love WKW, Tony Leung, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Faye Wong and I loved this film's predecessor - In the Mood For Love. So chances are I would love this movie - and I did. Some may find it slow but I find Wong's style and the acting of Tony Leung, and Zhang Ziyi in this role, to be completely absorbing.
89/100
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The Song of Sparrows (2008) - Majid Majidi
Another very good film from Majidi. An ostrich farmer loses his job and starts working as a motorcycle taxi driver. It focuses on a loving family man who starts to lose his generosity and honesty as he becomes obsessed with money. He then suffers an accident which allows him to see the generosity of those around him. It felt like it should have been Majidi's masterpiece but fell short due to losing some focus through it's middle. When he gets everything right I feel as though he will produce a very high quality piece of art.
77/100
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Beauty and the Beast (1991) - Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise
Disney's ode to kidnapping and violence against women. It's weird how these old fairy tale's get turned into modern romances. They were generally very dark in nature but for some reason in movies like this the story is adapted to be a beautiful romance - depicting the scary elements as though they are just part of the courtship. Ignoring how terribly flawed the story is, so much of this is just a bad movie. At the point where the beast becomes romantic, the dude who has been chasing Belle suddenly goes from being an object of humour to being evil. And why is this set in France yet the main characters all have American accents - except the servants who have French and English accents? If this was a live action movie it would be laughable. As an animation it's not much better IMO.
22/100
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Calvaire (2004) - Fabrice du Welz
Second film by du Welz I have watched in the last week or so. This one is flawed as well but I think this director has a big future. This film was pretty creepy but still very beautiful at times. It's essentially a Belgian version of a hillbilly horror movie. None of it is particularly original, apart from it being in Belgium, but it's pretty well done. There is one particular scene, hillbillies dancing with each other in a bar, which makes the whole thing worthwhile on it's own ;)
71/100
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Jaws 3-D (1983) - Joe Alves
Yeah, I'm not sure why I watched it either.
27/100
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Babel (2006) - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
I've always like this style film - essentially a collection of shorts that are connected in some way. I think they combat my inability to concentrate for long periods. At times I wish all movies were a maximum of 90 minutes long so by having multiple stories a longer movie can keep my interest.
In regards to having a bunch of connected stories running together, this didn't actually work too well. It tells the story of a couple in Morocco (Pitt & Blanchett), their children and nanny back in the US and a deaf and mute Japanese girl in Tokyo. Blanchett is shot by a child playing with a gun and the idea is that all the stories are influenced by this one moment. Well, they aren't.
The Japanese story has a tenuous link at best but interestingly it is actually the most engaging of the stories. It felt like the writer probably envisioned this as a movie on it's own and just made it fit in with the other stories. Still, it is a very well told story - both in terms of plot and acting. The performance of Rinko Kikuchi being a real highlight.
Pitt and Blanchett are good as always and overall I really liked the movie. The only thing really stopping it from being a masterpiece is the stories themselves felt a bit forced in terms of their relationship with each other.
I think it's worth singling our Brad Pitt. I mentioned in another thread that you can almost always trust him to be in a good movie. I still wouldn't call him a great actor but again with his performance here he is getting closer and I really like the fact that I can go into a movie knowing that if he is in it, it will probably be good. Have to give him credit for being perhaps one of the only movie "superstars" who is happy not to be in the lead role in his movies. He seems to pick movies and roles based on quality - not many big stars seem to do that.
88/100
Watched Apocalypse Now this week so thought I would list my Top 10 war movies:
1. Grave of the Fireflies - Isao Takahata 99/100
2. Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola 87/100
2. The Deer Hunter - Michael Cimino 87/100
2. Hotel Rwanda - Terry George 87/100
5. Saving Private Ryan - Steven Spielberg 85/100
6. Schindler's List - Steven Spielberg 83/100
7. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino 82/100
8. Full Metal Jacket - Stanley Kubrick 81/100
9. Paths of Glory - Stanley Kubrick 78/100
10. Red Cliff II - John Woo 75/100
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American Psycho (2000) - Mary Harron
In the top 5 best American movies of the last 20 years IMO - and probably behind only Pulp Fiction in terms of writing. The first 80 minutes is brilliant - the scenes involving Bateman talking about 80s pop music before killing his victims are amongst the most memorable ever (particularly the Huey Lewis one). Unfortunately it loses it's way in the last 20 minutes but overall it's a great movie.
89/100
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Eros (2004) - Wong Kar Wai/Steven Soderbergh/Michelangelo Antonioni
A collection of short films about, you guess it, sex. I quite liked the Antonioni film (although if I'm honest with myself it was probably mainly due to all the nudity :)) - I know he is a widely loved director but I've not seen any of his films before. Planning to get hold of some now. The Soderbergh film, with Alan Arkin & Robert Downey Jr, didn't really work - it was interesting but not overly good. The WKW film was the highlight with Chang Chen and Gong Li doing their best Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung impersonations. It really looked like a part of the In The Mood For Love/2046 world and overall worked well.
70/100
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Crows Zero (2007) - Takashi Miike
A Japanese version of the high school gang movie. Very entertaining and for the first hour, very funny. Nothing too deep here but if you want 2 hours of fun then this is for you. There are a couple of things that stop me rating it too highly and both are really cultural issues - the use of some horrible J-pop songs doesn't work (including one in the middle of the big final battle) and because this is very much a modern movie with Japanese teenagers it all looks a bit like a Spandau Ballet & Duran Duran doing a West Side Story remake. Anyway, Miike is good with violence and his movies always look good so overall I enjoyed it.
70/100
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The Road Home (1999) - Zhang Yimou
The story of a guy returning home after the death of his father. His mother wants the coffin carried along the road back to their village so the father remembers his way home. It then tells the story of how his mother and father got together 40 years earlier. I'll be honest, this movie really affected me and I'm not ashamed to admit I just got tears in my eyes thinking about the story. Zhang Ziyi in her first major role plays the young version of the mother. She's an actress I'm gaining new respect for all the time. I'm not sure you would call this a great performance but she was able to depict one thing perfectly - love. You can't help but believe her performance.
I read a post by someone here that they never cried watching a movie until they had children. Where we are in our lives has a major effect on how we connect with movies. I have never been into romantic movies but I've noticed lately that many of my favourites are just that. This is in line with meeting someone myself and getting married. Now when I watch romantic movies I "get it".
So, if you want a romantic story that might make you cry, watch this film. If that doesn't sound like what you are after, don't watch it, you'll hate it :)
87/100
My top 10 American films of the last 20 years (1994 - 2013)
1. Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino 98/100
2. Avatar - James Cameron 93/100
3. Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino 91/100
4. Detachment - Tony Kaye 90/100
5. American Psycho - Mary Harron 89/100
6. Babel - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu 88/100
6. Memento - Christopher Nolan 88/100
6. Cloverfield - Matt Reeves 88/100
6. Seven - David Fincher 88/100
10. Fargo - Coen Brothers 87/100
10. Hotel Rwanda - Terry George 87/100
10. There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson 87/100
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Felicia's Journey (1999) - Atom Egoyan
After watching the brilliant Egoyan film The Sweet Hereafter I've been trying to watch more of his films. This week I watched Exotica and Felicia's Journey.
Egoyan is quickly becoming one of my favourite story tellers. The three films that I've seen are quite similar in terms of how the plot and the relationships between the characters come together. They build over the course of the movies with us gradually learning how the characters came to be the way they are and what their role is in the central theme of the movie.
Felicia's Journey is a flawed film in some ways but I found the first half to be as good as The Sweet Hereafter. It's about an Irish girl who travels to England to find her boyfriend after he leaves her to get work - without leaving a forwarding address. There she meets the manager of a catering company (Hoskins) who seems to be trying to help her ...
This is essentially a thriller because we gradually learn more about the dark side of Hoskins character - and this is where Egoyan excels by using memories, flashbacks and video recordings to tell us more about him.
Unfortunately we learn almost everything we need to know in the first half and the second half evolves into more of a basic thriller which is a touch disappointing. Hoskins character also seemed to become more of your basic crazy guy as things went on. His character started to remind me of Richard Attenborough's character in a movie called 10 Rillington Place towards the end.
Overall it was a good movie and I'll keep adding Egoyan films to my watchlist.
76/100
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The Conversation (1974) - Francis Ford Coppola
Not as good as a some other Coppola films that some may have heard of but still good. Can't help thinking, as I watch more American films from the seventies, how much "Hollywood" has changed. Would Gene Hackman be a star today? Would one of Hollywood's top directors of today put out a film with guys like Hackman and Cazale as the "stars"? I'm not 100% sure of the answer but I can't help but think that today the big roles go to the bankable stars and the quality actors are relegated to supporting roles.
78/100
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RIPD (2013) - Robert Schwentke
I'll be honest, I quite like Ryan Reynolds. I've always found him to be quite funny - so I found this movie to be slightly awkward. In almost every scene, if you look closely, you can see the realisation on his face that his movie career is almost over ... I'm really not sure what anyone was thinking here. Why does it rip off Ghostbusters and Men in Black so obviously, why (in a $130 million movie) are the special effects so bad, why does Jeff Bridges reprise his role from True Grit??? To be honest it's actually mostly watchable - just remarkably stupid.
36/100
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Last Train Home (2009) - Lixin Fan
This is a documentary that, on the surface, is about the huge migration of people in China around New Year's. 130 million people try to get home to see their families. I say on the surface because it's really about one family and their struggles in a changing China. Struggles between parents who leave their children behind to find work to give their kids the future they think is important, and the children who have no relationship with their parents. This is very difficult to watch in parts (particularly a fight between the father and his daughter) but it does a great job of portraying the issues that are affecting real people in a changing country. It is almost a drama rather than a documentary - there is a bit of narration but no real talking to the camera - and is mostly completely non-judgemental. Fascinating.
89/100
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Heavenly Creatures (1994) - Peter Jackson
I'm probably one of the few people who actually saw Jackson's first film, Bad Taste, in a movie theatre when it came out. Some friends and I accidently saw it late one night thinking it was something completely different - a stand up comedy movie from memory. I also saw Braindead at the movies - on my own because no-one wanted to see it with me. So I feel I've played a major role in Jackson's success ;) Anyway, decided to re-watch this after seeing it in the 90s countdown. Still a good movie and shows that Jackson has the talent to tell a good story as well as make blockbusters.
77/100
Time to update my favourite Directors and Actors lists. Going to do Top 20 directors - mainly because I'm disappointed that Wong Kar Wai has dropped out of the top 10 :)
Directors - 3 Movies min.
1. Francis Ford Coppola - 4 movies @ 87.25
2. Kim Ki Duk - 4 @ 84.50
3. Tetsuya Nakashima - 4 @ 83.75
3. Abbas Kiarostami - 4 @ 83.75
5. Martin Scorsese - 4 @ 83.50
6. Atom Egoyan - 3 @ 82.67
7. Quentin Tarantino - 8 @ 81.88
8. Zhang Yimou - 6 @ 79.50
9. Isao Takahata - 3 @ 78.67
10. Ingmar Bergman - 6 @ 78.50
11. The Coen Brothers - 4 @ 77.75
12. James Cameron - 3 @ 77.67
13. Wong Kar Wai - 11 @ 76.91
14. Majid Majidi - 4 @ 76.25
15. Krzysztof Kieslowski - 4 @ 76.00
16. Takashi Miike - 4 @ 75.25
17. Billy Wilder - 6 @ 75.17
18. John Woo - 3 @ 74.67
19. Charles Chaplin - 3 @ 74.00
20. Akira Kurosawa - 4 @ 73.75
Actors - 5 movies min.
1. Tony Leung Chiu Wai - 10 @ 82.60
2. Brad Pitt - 6 @ 81.83
3. Robert De Niro - 9 @ 80.22
4. Bruce Willis - 5 @ 78.80
5. Quentin Tarantino - 6 @ 78.50
6. Chang Chen - 8 @ 78.00
7. Takeshi Kaneshiro - 5 @ 77.00
8. Kevin Spacey - 7 @ 76.00
8. Robert Duvall - 6 @ 76.00
10. Matt Damon - 6 @ 75.67
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Wuthering Heights (1939) - William Wyler
I mentioned earlier in this thread that I'm not a fan of the more theatrical style of acting - which was perhaps quite prevalent prior to 1950. I also said that there were some exceptions to this and I watched two movies this week that would definitely qualify as that - both starring Laurence Olivier which is perhaps apt as he was an exponent of that style but also completely capable of being more realistic. I guess that's why he is considered great ...
I have always loved the Wuthering Heights story since reading the novel when I was at school. It is the dark side of the story that perhaps most appeals to my sensibilities. Combine that with my new found respect for romances (I've mellowed in my "middle" age) and in many ways it is, for me, the perfect story. I have actually always loved the Kate Bush song of the same name also and whenever I have heard it over the years it has reminded me of the story so I've never really forgotten it.
To be honest, I'm actually not sure if I've seen the movie before - if I have it would have been about 30 years ago and because it is, from memory, a reasonably accurate rendition of the book I wasn't really able to tell if I actually remembered it or it was just the memory of the book mixed with images from the movie that I'm sure everyone has come across over the years.
Anyway, I'm sure I'm over-rating this movie because of my love for the story but this is a great film. Oberon is fantastic as the extremely flawed Cathy and depicts her various "issues" very well. Olivier is great of course but is perhaps the only weakness in the movie - playing the pre-makeover Heathcliff doesn't quite work for me. Having one of the most "suave" actors ever playing a perpetually unwashed gypsy was a bit much of a stretch.
I should also mention David Niven as well. His character was someone who you weren't supposed to like - but weren't supposed to dislike either. He was kind of like the innocent bystander who got caught up in Cathy and Heathcliff's romance. Whilst there were elements of his character that were unpleasant you actually ended up empathising with him.
That perhaps sums up what is so great about this movie. There is depth to all of the characters - whilst you are obviously pushed towards wanting Cathy and Heathcliff to be together, they are depicted in such a way that you often find your self not liking them or disagreeing with their choices.
Just like real life ;)
Add to that a perfect ending and you have ...
97/100
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Rebecca (1940) - Alfred Hitchcock
I mentioned I had watched two Olivier films this week - this was the other one. In my opinion it's the best Hitchcock movie I have seen - marginally netter that Psycho and much better that Vertigo or North by Northwest. To be honest, I'm not completely sure why critics love Vertigo so much when a film like this is, to me, vastly superior. Don't get me wrong, Vertigo is a good film but when a romance is at the centre of a movie and it is portrayed by two actors with zero chemistry, the movie can't be considered great. IMO of course. Anyway, Olivier and Fontaine have a chemistry that Stewart and Novak could only dream of ;) Excellent movie.
88/100
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Dog Day Afternoon (1975) - Sidney Lumet
I have watched some great movies this week - including this. Fantastic performances by Pacino and Cazale as usual and brilliantly directed by Lumet. It's actually hard to point to specific reasons for why this is a great film - it's just a perfectly told story with great characters.
91/100
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Pather Panchali (1955) - Satyajit Ray
Wikipedia doesn't seem to have a poster for this movie so just used a screenshot. I've been meaning to get more into Indian cinema but have found it difficult due to I guess the cultural difference. I've quite liked most films I've seen but get a bit distracted by the "fairy tale" nature of some of them. So, decided to get a hold of Ray's Apu trilogy, of which this is the first and I'm certainly glad I did. In simple terms it's about a family in India struggling with poverty and focuses on the two children, Apu and his sister Durga. It's actually a bit hard to describe what is great about this movie without spoiling it so I'll just say it is a beautiful film.
91/100
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The Abyss (1989) - James Cameron
This movie sums up why I can't rate movies from memory. This was a bit of a favourite about 23 years ago. I would rate it around 85 based on my memories. Watching it this week, it is still pretty good to look at but that's about all. The script is just plain bad - it is a bit sad watching Ed Harris, who is a fine actor, struggling to deliver some of the lines. The acting in general isn't great from the supporting cast. But what really ruins it, and is perhaps the reason for a lot of the hate that Cameron gets, are the ridiculously sentimental scenes from which Cameron tries to generate misplaced emotion. When Mastrantonio's character dies, Harris tries to bring her back with CPR and lines like "you want to live!!!" but, as we all know, what really revives people is slapping them in the face and screaming "FIGHT!!!". Once Harris realises this, Mastrantonio immediately comes back to life ... followed by the entire cast hugging and crying Sigh ...
36/100
Here are my top 10 romance movies.
1. In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar Wai 100/100
2. 3-Iron - Kim Ki Duk 99/100
3. Whisper of the Heart - Yoshifumi Kondo 97/100
3. Wuthering Heights - William Wyler 97/100
5. Hero - Zhang Yimou 94/100
6. Chungking Express - Wong Kar Wai 91/100
7. 2046 - Wong Kar Wai 89/100
8. Breathless - Jean-Luc Godard 88/100
8. Rebecca - Alfred Hitchcock 88/100
10. The Apartment - Billy Wilder 86/100
Watched 23 movies since my last update. Will just talk about some of those I considered very good:
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The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - Carl Th. Dreyer
Obviously a very well known film - and for good reason. Acting by Falconetti is great but I just felt a little detached from the whole thing. It should have been emotional but I just didn't connect with it. Still, overall very good.
79/100
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Bicycle Thieves (1948) - Vittorio De Sica
This, on the other hand, did connect with me. I mentioned in another thread that you can see where Iranian cinema gets it's influences - and I love Iranian cinema. It's the realistic and honest portrayal of characters and their ups and downs that I really enjoy. This movie also built as it went along - for some of it I was thinking "yeah, it's not bad, but I don't get what all the fuss is about" but I gradually got hooked.
86/100
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Lust, Caution (2007) - Ang Lee
As far as I know, Ang Lee is one of the few Taiwanese directors to have made mainland Chinese movies. This is probably largely due to his fame and the fact he is perhaps more viewed as an American filmmaker. With this movie, apart from the entire cast being Asian, it does actually feel like an American film - just in terms of how it is made and what it focuses on. This was an extremely controversial film in China - as far as I know there has never been a Chinese film so sexually explicit. In fact, it was so controversial that the female lead, Tang Wei, didn't act again until 2010.
What is interesting is that the sex scenes actually detract from what is a very good war film - and I think the controversy has stopped people viewing it for what it is - just a really well told story.
82/100
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Downfall (2004) - Oliver Hirschbiegel
Depicts the final few days of Nazi Germany. Everyone has different things that they want to get out of a film. For me, I want to feel something and I want to think. For others, they want to be entertained and sometimes not have to think. When I see other people talking about a movie like, for example, Raiders of the Lost Ark and saying it's great, I can't agree. Sure, it's fun, but it doesn't make me feel anything and doesn't leave me thinking about the issues it raised for days after. But that's just me. Everyone is different. My wife doesn't watch movies with sad endings because they make her unhappy and that's not something she wants to feel. That's completely understandable. But that's not how I approach movies. I want to feel joy, anger, sadness, etc.
Downfall is a movie that made me feel and think. What I found most interesting is that for a lot of it what it made me feel was confusion - in regards to how I felt about the characters. It depicts the characters as human beings. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've ever seen Hitler portrayed as anything other than pure evil. However, it doesn't make you feel for him - the pure evil is still there - but it makes you think about him as a person and what was going through his head. There are other scenes where I was really conflicted, particularly those involving children. Is it OK to feel sad for a mother who feels driven towards having to make an unbelievably horrible decision in regards to her children - when her husband is in part responsible for the deaths of millions of people?
I will possibly rate this higher when I watch it again but that feeling of being conflicted actually, in the end, perhaps stopped me from completely loving this movie. I'm sure that was the director's goal ...
89/100
Daniel M
09-16-13, 07:37 PM
I have similar feelings to The Passion of Joan of Arc as you, Bicycle Thieves I liked too, but a little less, but two essential films and good watches definitely :) Not seen the others unfortunately.
Guaporense
09-16-13, 07:43 PM
Watched Apocalypse Now this week so thought I would list my Top 10 war movies:
1. Grave of the Fireflies - Isao Takahata 99/100
2. Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola 87/100
2. The Deer Hunter - Michael Cimino 87/100
2. Hotel Rwanda - Terry George 87/100
5. Saving Private Ryan - Steven Spielberg 85/100
6. Schindler's List - Steven Spielberg 83/100
7. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino 82/100
8. Full Metal Jacket - Stanley Kubrick 81/100
9. Paths of Glory - Stanley Kubrick 78/100
10. Red Cliff II - John Woo 75/100
My top war movies list is very similar to yours:
1. Apocalypse Now
2. Grave of the Fireflies
3. The Human Condition Trilogy
4. Paths of Glory
5. Schindler's List
6. Downfall
7. Full Metal Jacket
Inglourious Basterds and Saving Private Ryan are in my top 20 war movies.
My top 10 French films. This is a list based on very limited experience. I'm currently trying to add more European films onto my watchlist and have watched German, French, Italian and Turkish movies in the last week. I'm sure the following list will change a lot in the future.
1. Intouchables - Olivier Nakache/Eric Toledano 90/100
2. Breathless - Jean-Luc Godard 88/100
3. Three Colors: Red - Krzysztof Kieslowski 84/100
4. La Haine - Mathieu Kassovitz 83/100
5. Three Colors: Blue - Krzysztof Kieslowski 82/100
6. Amelie - Jean-Pierre Jeunet 81/100
7. Indigenes - Rachid Bouchareb 80/100
8. The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Th. Dreyer 79/100
9. Certified Copy - Abbas Kiarostami 74/100
10. The Double Life of Veronique - Krzysztof Kieslowski 70/100
My top war movies list is very similar to yours:
1. Apocalypse Now
2. Grave of the Fireflies
3. The Human Condition Trilogy
4. Paths of Glory
5. Schindler's List
6. Downfall
7. Full Metal Jacket
Inglourious Basterds and Saving Private Ryan are in my top 20 war movies.
That's something I need to watch. Watched a couple of Teshigahara movies this week - Kobayashi will probably be next.
Time to resurrect this thread and change the format a bit. I tend to watch movies in threes - focussing on a director, actor or even country. Why three? As good a number as any ...
So rather than talking about random movies I'll post shortish reviews based on a set of three movies I've just finished.
Director: Yam Laranas (Philippines)
Laranas is a horror director from the Philippines who I accidently stumbled across. I did a search on IMDB for "The Road" and saw there was a 2012 horror movie with that name, read a bit about it and decided to give it a go. His movies are by no means great but at this stage he is getting one thing right - they are extremely creepy.
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The Road (2012)
Often with horror movies the level of scariness depends on your own fears. For example, I didn't find Jaws scary at all because I'm not scared of sharks. Maybe it's an Australian thing - when there is a shark alert at the beach most people won't even get out of the water. Dark, deserted roads at night? Yeah, that scares me. So, the first half of this was very creepy. Unfortunately Laranas didn't seem to really know what he wanted the film to be about so it seemed to deviate a number of times before the end but overall it was pretty effective. If films about people going missing on roads in the middle of nowhere sounds like your thing, give it a go.
73/100
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Sigaw (2004)
This is the first of Laranas' films that seems to be reasonably widely available in the west. It's a relatively standard ghost story which doesn't reach any great heights but is worth seeing. A guy moves into an apartment block and gets caught up in his neighbour and her daughter being abused by her cop husband. Pretty creepy but quite flawed.
58/100
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The Echo (2008)
Laranas directed this American re-make of his own film - although whilst he wrote the original he did not write this. This is a slight upgrade on the earlier version thanks in part to it having better defined characters. The story is essentially the same except for some of the main character's backstory. Still, a pretty standard story and if you've watched many ghost movies you will be able to guess the ending but again quite creepy at times. Overall it's pretty slow to get going but I enjoyed it.
62/100
Been watching lots of horror movies lately so time to update that list:
1. The Thing (1982) - John Carpenter 89/100
1. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) - Werner Herzog 89/100
3. Cloverfield (2008) - Matt Reeves 88/100
4. Aliens (1986) - James Cameron 87/100
4. The Shining (1980) - Stanley Kubrick 87/100
6. Psycho (1960) - Alfred Hitchcock 86/100
7. Shutter (2004) - Banjong Pisanthanakun/Parkpoom Wongpoom 83/100
8. An American Werewolf in London (1981) - John Landis 82/100
8. The Cabin in the Woods (2012) - Drew Goddard 82/100
10. I Saw the Devil (2010) - Kim Ji Woon 81/100
10. Kill List (2011) - Ben Wheatley 81/100
Director: Lars Von Trier
When I did my Top 100 recently I mentioned that whilst Von Trier had two films in my top 20, I couldn't really call him one of my favourite directors because I hadn't seen enough of his work. Well, I've been trying to remedy that. Have watched another three of his films lately - two of them from the early part of his career which worked out nicely because I'm trying to watch more 80s movies to put together my top 25.
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Medea (1988)
Von Trier adapted a screenplay by Carl Theodor Dreyer that was never made into a movie. The screenplay was based on the ancient Greek play by Euripides. This movie is about revenge and whilst Von Trier has not exactly been known for his romantic comedies, this is seriously dark even by his standards. Medea is the wife of Jason - of the golden fleece fame. Upon finding out that Jason is to marry someone else she descends into insanity and plots to kill pretty much everyone involved. Apparently this was made as a TV movie in Denmark so I assume it was pretty low budget but visually it's fantastic - like most of Von Trier's films. I liked this a lot more than I thought I was going to.
87/100
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The Element of a Crime (1984)
Von Trier's first full length movie. I felt like I deserved some sort of prize for finishing this movie. Not that it was bad - it was just incredibly difficult to watch. It is essentially a detective recalling a case under hypnosis which means that everything is dreamlike - both visually and how the story is told. The visuals are quite amazing - as the poster shows, everything is pretty much yellow and red. At times it is beautiful whilst at others it is almost painful. The story is very hard to follow and at times I had no idea what was going on. Having said that, as I've watched more "weird" movies I've just learnt to accept that sometimes parts of movies aren't meant to make sense. Because this is dreamlike it doesn't follow any real structure ... and that's just the way it is so I dealt with it. Overall it's kind of hard to give this a rating because whilst I didn't "enjoy" it as such, I definitely appreciated it.
70/100
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Manderlay (2005)
A more modern and perhaps "mainstream" Von Trier. The follow up to Dogville with most of the same actors - although Nicole Kidman didn't return. Of those that did return, most (all?) were playing different characters. Like Dogville this is all done on a large set with areas defined by lines drawn on the ground. Dogville is a fantastic movie but this didn't work quite as well. It tells the story of a small town in Alabama in the 1930s that didn't get the memo about slavery being ended. Grace (the same character from Dogville but played by Bryce Dallas Howard this time) decides to stay in the town to ensure the slaves get their freedom. This is pretty well acted with a good script and a great idea for a story. Overall I enjoyed it but it was prevented from being great due to Von Trier making it feel a bit like a lecture. I've got no problem with directors being "anti-American" (or anti-anywhere for that matter) but it needs to be done with craft and subtlety. Not have it's message delivered with a sledgehammer. Anyway, I liked it but it could have been better.
71/100
Updated Directors list - based on average rating with a minimum of six movies:
1. Kim Ki Duk - 6 movies @ 84.17
2. Quentin Tarantino - 8 @ 81.88
3. Ingmar Bergman - 8 @ 81.75
4. Martin Scorsese - 7 @ 81.00
4. Lars Von Trier - 6 @ 81.00
6. Zhang Yimou - 6 @ 79.50
7. Wong Kar Wai - 11 @ 76.91
8. Francis Ford Coppola - 7 @ 76.29
9. Billy Wilder - 6 @ 75.17
10. Akira Kurosawa - 7 @ 73.71
How do you differentiate between a 71/100 movie and a 70/100 movie?
Is it a snap decision that you stick with or do you give it a lot of thought?
How do you differentiate between a 71/100 movie and a 70/100 movie?
Is it a snap decision that you stick with or do you give it a lot of thought?
I usually just know when a movie finishes. I watch a lot of movies so I guess I automatically compare then in my head.
On occasion I will think about it and go back to my ratings to try to place a movie - this is when I watch something really unusual or hard to rate. Funnily enough this happens a lot with Von Trier movies :) I did actually do this with The Element of a Crime & Manderlay and had to do it with Antichrist in the past.
I consider 70/100 to be the base rating for a "good" movie and couldn't think of any reason to rate Element higher or lower. I then thought Manderlay was only slightly better.
I rated Antichrist 70/100 also - mainly because I just thought "WTF?" at the end and didn't know what to rate it ... and I will never watch it again ;)
Actress: Julie Delpy
I first saw Delpy in about 1994 - in Killing Zoe. Haven't seen that movie since and from memory it wasn't great but she has been a bit of a favourite since then. The reason that I'm singling her out here is because I watched the three Before ... movies this week. It's a great series and she was the acting highlight.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/Before_Sunrise_poster.jpg
Before Sunrise (1995) - Richard Linklater
As I said, I've been a fan of Delpy for a number of years and around the time that this movie came out I quite liked Ethan Hawke as well but for some reason I never saw this - or any of its sequels. For me this film had a real low budget feel - the type of film that lives or dies purely by the quality of the script and the acting. Delpy was great, as she always is. Hawke was ... OK. I've watched a number of his early films lately and it turns out he was not a particularly good actor. Still, he does a decent job and his character was likeable enough. But the highlight here is the script. It creates two interesting characters and I really enjoyed their "story". For me it perfectly captured the moment where you meet someone new, get to know them, and wonder what might happen. Overall it's a very simple but very good film. A really enjoyable way to spend and hour and a half.
83/100
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/Before_Sunset_poster.jpg
Before Sunset (2004) - Richard Linklater
Nine years on we catch up with the characters again. I won't actually discuss the story because the circumstances the characters find themselves in is really the whole story and it's too much of a spoiler to discuss it. In regards to the quality of the movie, I actually think this is a better movie than the first in many ways - but I didn't like it quite as much. The direction is better - you can see that Linklater has developed over the previous nine years. Hawke's acting has improved - he's now a pretty good actor. The script is the equal of the original and the last 15 minutes of the movie are fantastic. The only issue I had with this is I just didn't connect with the story quite as well. It felt a bit forced at times and perhaps less realistic. Whilst the first movie felt real - a situation that many of us may have found ourselves in - this one didn't as much and the path it took was not something that most of us have probably experienced. So overall, I've rated this very slightly lower than the first one but still a very good way to spend an hour and a half.
82/100
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ad/Before_Midnight_poster.jpg
After Midnight (2013) - Richard Linklater
Nine years later ... It's fascinating watching a series like this with such a large gap between when they were made. Even though I watched them all at once it still feels like you are catching up with old friends and finding out what they have been up to - and you are catching up with a director and actors to see how they have changed. Well, Delpy might have put on a few kilos but she is still just as beautiful as she was 20 years ago. Hawke is now a very competent actor. I don't think he'll ever be considered "great" but at times he is very good. Then we have Linklater - perhaps the major reason why this is a great movie. His direction and writing now brilliantly combine with his cast to make a movie with great depth and emotion. I know it's a cliché but this is a "rollercoaster ride" ... I found myself understanding Hawke, not understanding Delpy, not liking Hawke, loving Delpy, disliking them both ... but always "caring". Whilst the last two were very good, this was great.
96/100
Love Sunrise and Midnight. I don't find Hawke as capable as Deply as an actor, he is good enough though.
I really like your reviews man. The reviews are descriptive and to the point, and the rating scale from 0-100 works really well. Props.
Love Sunrise and Midnight. I don't find Hawke as capable as Deply as an actor, he is good enough though.
There were a few moments that made me cringe in the first two movies but overall he was, as you said, good enough. By the third he had really developed and the cringe moments were gone ... but yeah, still not as good as Delpy :)
I really like your reviews man. The reviews are descriptive and to the point, and the rating scale from 0-100 works really well. Props.
Thanks, appreciate it. Hopefully people find something interesting ... and if not I'm going to keep writing anyway because otherwise I just bother my wife with my "thoughts" ...
Cobpyth
11-23-13, 11:56 PM
I know it's a cliché but this is a "rollercoaster ride" ... I found myself understanding Hawke, not understanding Delpy, not liking Hawke, loving Delpy, disliking them both ... but always "caring". Whilst the last two were very good, this was great.
I, unlike you, was more sympathizing with Hawke's character, although I completely understood Delpy's arguments. It shows what a great film it is when two people can have two totally different characters they're sympathizing with and still can have the same positive opinion about the movie quality-wise.
Gideon58
11-26-13, 10:44 AM
Nice to see some love for PAPILLION and A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE.
I, unlike you, was more sympathizing with Hawke's character, although I completely understood Delpy's arguments. It shows what a great film it is when two people can have two totally different characters they're sympathizing with and still can have the same positive opinion about the movie quality-wise.
My wife viewed it in a similar way to you. You are right - it's a sign of the quality that people can view it differently but still positively. Completely different type of movie but Life of Pi was like that - everyone I spoke to understood it differently but still liked it.
Nice to see some love for PAPILLION and A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE.
AWUTI in particular is brilliant. Watched another Cassavetes film the other day - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Not on the same level but still very good.
Frightened Inmate No. 2
11-27-13, 06:31 PM
I completely agree with your Before... reviews, although I thought Hawke and Delpy gave equally flawless performances. I couldn't decide who I preferred, and that's part of what makes it great. Both characters are equal, so you grow to love them equally, and it's as if you're in the relationship with them, and want them to succeed as if they're your close friends. Amazing movies.
I do agree that Hawke wasn't usually that great when he was younger. I didn't really like him in Dead Poets Society, even though he was the main reason I watched it.
And I agree that Gena Rowlands gave one of the greatest performances ever in A Woman Under the Influence, if not the greatest. Coincidentally, her and Julie Delpy are probably my two favorite actresses of all time.
PaulieG
11-30-13, 03:10 AM
Loved 30 days of night!
Been on a holiday in Malaysia for the past few weeks. Anyone who likes a wide range of movies should seriously consider moving there. Seriously. Costs less than $4 to go to the cinema - only $6 for "VIP" movies - and due to their multi-cultural society you get to see movies from all around the world on the big screen as they are released. Apart from all the main movies from the west there were also movies from Hong Kong, China, India and more being shown.
This is unrelated to what I want to write about this week but thought I would mention it :)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Watched another three Scorsese movies over the last week or so. Whilst they included the movie that I consider his worst, they still show what a great director he is and even though he is perhaps best known for gangster movies, one of his best attributes is his ability to bring a very different style to movies on other topics. He has an off-beat style when he makes films in different genres and they seem almost independent at times. After Hours was a good example of this - as was ...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Kingofcomedy.jpg
The King of Comedy (1983)
This is a fascinating look at celebrity obsession with great performances by the two leads. Jerry Lewis in particular was fantastic. He plays a talk show host who is effectively stalked by De Niro's character - a wannabe comedian trying to get his big break. Sandra Bernhard plays another celebrity stalker and she is also fantastic - both she and De Niro provide real tension to the film because they both play their characters with a realistic level of insanity - and I was always wondering when they were going to snap. Scorsese actually took this in an unexpected direction, IMO, at the end and this is one of the reasons why I said some of his films seem like they are indie movies - he is quite happy to occasionally avoid the big Hollywood movie clichés. This is probably one of his least well known movies, and I'd never watched it before, but it's one of his best.
87/100
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ae/Gangs_of_New_York_Poster.jpg
Gangs of New York (2002)
This is the weakest Scorsese film that I've seen. Overall it was OK but I was left disappointed because I expect more from his films. It's actually a bit hard to put my finger on what was wrong with this film - overall I think that just everything was a bit off. The casting was weird - having an Irish guy playing an American and an American playing an Irish guy was off putting because it meant both leads were faking their accents. The characters felt quite shallow and overall the story didn't feel like it was put together very well - seemed more like a collection of individual scenes rather than it all being tied together as a coherent story. The positive was that it looked fantastic. It's by no means a bad film - just wasn't particularly good.
55/100
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/The_Color_Of_Money.jpg
The Color of Money (1986)
Of all of the big "movie stars" of the past 30 years, Cruise is the one who regularly puts in the weakest performances and is in the worst movies. It's a shame in some ways because he can actually be quite a good actor when he plays a character - but his problem is he almost always wants to play himself. In the last 15 years or so that has manifested itself as him only really being in movies where he is the "hero". On the odd occasion where he plays something different - Tropic Thunder, Rock of Ages, etc, - he usually steals the show. Color of Money is largely him playing himself but back in the 80s he didn't need to be a "hero" so his performance was decent enough. Newman and Mastrantonio are the real highlights and whilst the movie itself never really reaches any great heights, they make it worthwhile. I actually really started to enjoy it when it became more focussed on Newman's character and his redemption. A long way from Scorsese's best but a good film.
71/100
So while we were staying in hotels I got to watch some movies that I wouldn't normally choose. For example, I watched my first Miley Cyrus movie :) It sucked, but not enough to make my bottom 10 list - the 10 movies that earned my lowest ratings. On the other hand I watched my first Twilight movie - yeah, that sucked enough ...
9. Friday the 13th Part III (1982) - Steve Milner 20/100
9. The Happening (2008) - M Night Shyamalan 20/100
8. Spies Like Us (1985) - John Landis 15/100
5. Hide and Creep (2004) - Chuck Hartsell/Chance Shirley 12/100
5. Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave to the Grave (2005) - Ellory Elkayem 12/100
5. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II (2012) - Bill Condon 12/100
4. Alex is Lovesick (1986) - Boaz Davidson 9/100
3. Jaws: The Revenge (1987) - Joseph Sargent 5/100
1. 200 MPH (2011) - Cole S McKay 2/100
1. The Postman (1997) - Kevin Costner 2/100
Notice I'm saving 1/100 for that moment when I watch the most unwatchable piece of crap ever made. What a great day that will be ;)
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