Movie Tab II

This week in movies:

Feature films:


Dark Skies (2013) by Scott Stewart +


Lore (2012) by Cate Shortland


Paradise: Love (2012) by Ulrich Seidle +


Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan


Hoop Dreams (1994) by Steve James


Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) by Benh Zeitlin


Rome, Open City (1945) by Roberto Rossellini


Umberto D. (1952) by Vittorio De Sica


The Imposter (2012) by Bart Layton


The Master (2012) by Paul Thomas Anderson


Like Someone in Love (2012) by Abbas Kiarostami


Oslo, August 31st (2011) by Joachim Trier +


Sinister (2012) by Scott Derrickson


Chained (2012) by Jennifer Lynch +


Short Films:

Visca el piano! (2006) by Pere Portabella

You've Got Beautiful Stairs, You Know (1986) by Agnès Varda +

Arrotino (2008) by Alex Healey

Carabosse (1980) by Larry Jordan +

The Def. Song (2004) by Doctor L and Xavier Reyé

Hackensack Motet (2006) by Gregg Biermann

Honeymoon in Reno (1983) by Dominic Angerame

Made For Television (1981) by William Farley

Masquerade (1981) by Larry Jordan

Numéro 1765 (2008) by Syrus Neshvad

OMR: The Way We Have Chosen (2004) by mAt&spoN

Premios nacionales (1969) by Pere Portabella

Spizzichino (2006) by Alex Healey

Adagio (1983) by Larry Jordan

Aidez l'Espagne (1969) by Pere Portabella

American International Pictures (1997) by Vivian Ostrovsky

The Bell Rang To An Empty Sky (1977) by William Farley

Electronic Performers (2004) by Arnaud Ganzerli, Laurent Bourdoiseau and Jérôme Blanquet

Hands (1995) by Adam Roberts

Longing For The Kill (2008) by Alex Healey

Moonlight Sonata (1979) by Larry Jordan +

Orb (1973) by Larry Jordan

Chateau/Poyet (2004) by Larry Jordan

Visions of a City (1978) by Larry Jordan

Duo Concertantes (1964) by Larry Jordan

Overall (2006) by Emmanuel Lefrant

Lets Play (1970) by Sally Potter

Sea Horses (2008) by Alex Healey

The Stories (2005) by William Farley

Tung (1966) by Bruce Baillie

Les fiancés du pont Mac Donald ou (Méfiez-vous des lunettes noires) (1961) by Agnès Varda

13/67: Sinus Beta (1967) by Kurt Kren +

16/67: September 20 (1967) by Kurt Kren

Anbafey (2008) by Dominique Duport

Blitz (2006) by Emmanuel Lefrant

D.I.Y. (2005) by Royston Tan

****buddies (2011) by Juanma Carrillo

The Glass Eye Maker (2005) by Tomas Leach

Gymnopedies (1965) by Larry Jordan +

Message Machine (2002) by Azazel Jacobs

Plaisir d'amour en Iran (1976) by Agnès Varda

Saraban (2002) by Emmanuel Lefrant +

Un 45 tours de Cheveu (ceci n'est pas un disque) (2009) by Frank Beauvais

La Tempesta (2003) by Pere Portabella

All Over (2001) by Emmanuel Lefrant +

Cornell, 1965 (1978) by Larry Jordan

Erè mèla mèla (2001) by Daniel Wiroth

In a Tight Corner (2001) by Bruno Collet +

Mammal (2006) by Astrid Rieger +

Mon coeur (2007) by Henri-Jean Debon

Tribute (1986) by William Farley

The Attack (1984) by Pia Frankenberg

Das Neue Monster (2001) by Kate McCabe

Play Back (1970) by Pere Portabella

Portraits (2001) by Kate McCabe

Postcard from San Miguel (1996) by Larry Jordan +

Sea Space (1973) by William Farley

Tack (1995) by Kate McCabe

Underground (2001) by Emmanuel Lefrant +

Women Reply: Our Bodies, Our Sex (1975) by Agnès Varda

Beyond Enchantment (2010) by Larry Jordan

Fone Fur Follies (2008) by Vivian Ostrovsky

The Heart of Amos Klein (2008) by Uri Kranot and Michal Pfeffer

Line of Fire (1997) by Dominic Angerame

Monkeylove (2005) by Royston Tan

The Title Was Shot (2009) by Vivian Ostrovsky

Copacabana beach (1983) by Vivian Ostrovsky

Winter Light (1983) by Larry Jordan

12/66: Cosinus Alpha (1966) by Kurt Kren

Alice in Wonderland (1903) by Cecil M. Hepworth and Percy Stow

Being (1975) by William Farley

Outer Space (1999) by Peter Tscherkassky +

Public Domain (1996) by Vivian Ostrovsky

Petites Planètes (volume 4): Temporary Valparaíso (2010) by Vincent Moon +

Petites Planètes (volume 5): Peret (2010) by Vincent Moon +

Yeah but I am still sad you did not like it as much as I did. I really dig the flick. But you liked it so that is good.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

Movies I have watched this week.


City Lights




Peeping Tom




Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead:




Two Minute Warning:




Surf Nazi’s must Die:




The Cinema Snob movie:




Harakiri:

I just watched the first position from my week-of-classics-and-highly-regarded-films list. It was Inland Empire. It was a masterpiece. Enough said, I guess you'd like to know why is it a masterpiece? I don't know whether my review will clear the things out for you, but I'll do my best. For the rest of films I've seen past week and thoughts (i.e. promised Caligula) about them you have to wait for a while...



Films like Inland Empire not only show how vast art can be and how many things you can put into one movie, but also that in the times that everything has been done, made and converted four thousand times, it's still possible to create a film unlike the others. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Inland Empire although set in typical Lynchian mood, is a movie that doesn't seem to belong to any wave of cinema (maybe besides Lynch's own) and it's impossible to compare it to anything else (besides Lynch other films, of course). It's very rare phenomenon in contemporary cinema to create something nobody's never done before. Had I to name another filmmaker like this, I'd go with Apichatpong Weerasethakul and probably nobody else. (?)

Inland Empire is unsettling and bizzare like other films of Lynch, but I found it a lot darker and grimmier. Lynch abandoned comedy elements seen in his previous films to a more murky and obscure atmosphere. We have bizzare things, which seem typical when it comes to the cinema of Lynch, but in this movie they look different. The plot is compelling and it had me 3 hours of gaping at the screen with my mouth open. Must have looked like idiot.



Asked how to create a mood for a horror movie I'd probably say music and cinematography. These two things affect the viewer the most I guess. In Inland Empire both are phenomenal. The camera work is tricky as sometimes it's steady and stagnant, the other time shaking and jerking all around, but not in an irritating manner like these Dogma 95 films. Hand-held camera takes give this creepy feel of being watched. The rich range of colours constantly changes from red to blue, black and white and then it all seems normal to attack again with all these hues. When something bizzare and scary happens the images shown at the screen are like Dark Ambient, frightening and uncanny, when it goes onto the street of Los Angeles it's like Shoegaze - blurry lights of cars blend together while the camera loses its sharpness. It only takes a moment to change this dreamy atmosphere to the horror again.

I was kind of surprised to hear Polish in the movie. The film had separate Polish crew starring inter alia veteran of cinema Leon Niemczyk and known from Euphoria and Oxygen (see my Movie Journey thread) Karolina Gruszka. They did a good job adding a lot of freshness and mystery into the flick. Turns out its genre is Experimental Psychological Mystery Horror Surrealism Thriller Drama and I'm pretty sure I missed something. Talking about the crew, Laura Dern's performance was outstanding. She is the kind of actress not afraid to show her emotions.



I'm not writing about the story, because firstly I don't want to spoil anything and secondly I have to say that similarly to Mulholland Drive I didn't understand the whole movie. In spite of that, the last scenes left me breathless and speechless at how well crafted they were made. This song and these images coming together and scenes that allegedly clear out what's going on, while in fact they add more mysteries.

If you want to know what happens when you combine the sinister dark mood of Blue Velvet with mind-tuggling story of Mulholland Drive then watch Inland Empire. If you don't then watch it anyway. You may like it, you may hate it, but I assure you, you will not remain indifferent.

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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.

Ah man, I love Lynch and Inland Empire I have not seen yet, been meaning to for a while just it's really long and I've heard some people complain it can be tough too watch at times. I think that like you, I'll love it.

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Django Unchained

Long, messy and pure Tarantino. The length and unnecessary scenes hurt an overall great film.


Life of Pi

Beautiful to look at and a wonderful performance from the unknown lead actor. Despite the animals being CGI, I was sad to see them go.

Beasts of the Souther Wild

Really great performances from two untrained actors. It brings a sense of realism to the film. I really loved the soundtrack as well, but the rest of the film kind bores me. Sad to see he got a director nod.

Hitchock

Very mediocre. Hopkins does a decent job as Hitchcock, but you can tell he is simply imitating him, rather than disappearing in the role and becoming him like DDL does with Lincoln. The film seems more interested in his relationship with his wife, than the making of Psycho.

Sinister

Creepy, but extremely repetitive. Watch scary film, reveal something scary in it. Watch scary film, reveal something scary in it. I kinda expected a bit more from it which is why I feel underwhelmed. Still positive review though.

Silent Night

Ever since my grade 5 religion teacher showed us a tv special about the real St. Nick, which featured a bit about parents protesting the release of Silent Night Deadly Night because it showed a killer Santa Clause, I've wanted to see it. I feel like I was the only kid in that room that wanted to see it. I still have not seen it, but decided to watch this remake....big mistake. A total mess of a film from start to finish. Uninteresting characters, story and deaths.

Total Recall

Visually splashy and I feel like I'm being unfair to this because I would have really liked to have seen the Extended Cut, which features Ethan Hawk. Great effects can't save this tepid remake. It feels hollow inside and doesn't even begin to try and confuse the viewer regarding dreams vs reality.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Re: Inland Empire

I'm in the hate camp, and I've watched it three times. I think it's a complete masturbatory fantasy, but that's big nowadays. Your description of the cinematography is true for 10% of the movie. The other 90% is unbelievably dark, grimy and ugly. The digital video was a bad idea. Nobody cares though, but there's a reason why some "films" have never been made before - they're not good ideas, and in some cases, they barely qualify as ideas. But I'm a fuddy-duddy.

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

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane - Andrew Dice Clay was famous for like, what, a few weeks back in the 90's, and he made this movie. It's actually pretty funny, it has a great supporting cast (Lauren Holly, Wayne Newton, Robert Englund, Morris Day), a pretty good storyline, and some fun quotable bits. Thumbs up from me.

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"You, me, everyone...we are all made of star stuff." - Neil Degrasse Tyson

https://shawnsmovienight.blogspot.com/

Hmmm...What's this? Sounds like my kind of movie.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Yeah, I get your point. Did you like other Lynch films?
I think it was a superb idea as it added some kind of mystery (Lost Highway feel).
Nope, just having your own opinion.

So you haven't seen Mulholland Drive or just think it's between best and worst?

i've seen them all. I'd put Mulholland Dr., Blue Velvet and Eraserhead in the middle.

Those are definitely my favorite Lynch movies, though i havent seen Inland Empire yet...

Kinda changed my plans. Watched City Lights as well and going to watch To The Wonder in the evening.

Movies I've seen in April that are worth watching:

Duck Soup (1933, Leo McCarey)
The Producers (1968, Mel Brooks)

Both are currently nominated in the Hall of Fame. They are also both very hilarious. Watch these and prepare to laugh your stockings off

Pulp Fiction (1994, Quentin Tarantino)
Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)

Rewatches. I don't know how many times I've seen these two movies, but they are always going to be favorites of mine. Pulp Fiction is the coolest movie ever made.

Seven Samurai (1954, Akira Kurosawa)

Some of the best action sequences ever filmed, which is even more impressive considering they are closing in on being 60 years old.

Schindler's List (1993, Steven Spielberg)

I had seen this before, but it hadn't been since I was a kid. It's a great movie, helped by great performances for the most part, but it's hurt by Liam Neeson trying to cry. Which is one of the worst things I've ever seen on film. Still, a very powerful movie.

North by Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)

Alfred Hitchcock. Thriller. Duh. Just see it.

A Town Called Panic (2009, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar)

Completely absurd French animation that feels like a stop-motion acid trip. You should definitely seek it out, because it's only around 70 minutes long. It won't take much away from you, but you can take a lot away from it.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012, Wes Anderson)

I've only seen The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic from Wes Anderson before this, and I enjoyed Tenenbaums and didn't care for TLA. I am always a little weary heading into Anderson movies because of his reputation amongst the "hipster" crowd. But, this quickly became my favorite of the three Anderson movies I've seen. It's funny, cute, and heartwarming all at the same time.

The White Ribbon (2009, Michael Haneke)

Fantastic popcorn movie. Fast-paced action. Chase sequences. A nice little murder-mystery. Definitely the type of movie where you can invite a group of friends over and you just have a kick-ass time. Solidified by the happy "guy-gets-the-girl" type ending. Pretty much your typical Haneke.

House (1977, Nobuhiko Ôbayashi)

If you are into surrealism, but haven't seen Hausu....you aren't into surrealism.

Hot Fuzz (2007, Edgar Wright)

More charming than it is funny, but still quite funny. Definitely an enjoyable experience.

Burn After Reading (2008, Coen Brothers)

Silly and twisted. It's pretty hilarious, even if it does feel like a B-side.

Alien (1979, Ridley Scott)

Rewatch. Very tense. Very claustrophobic. Way better than Aliens. Still, it's not quite as good as it's classic label. You should still watch it though, because it is pretty good.

Equus (1977, Sidney Lumet)

If you know anything about Sidney Lumet, and you saw the film without knowing the credits, he wouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list of guys you thought directed Equus. It's got quite the bizarre story, as you have a psychiatrist trying to figure out the mental state that drove a stable boy to blind 6 horses with a metal spike.

The Lives of Others (2006, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

At times it touches on being overly melodramatic, but it still packs an emotional punch other times. It's also really interesting to see the way the surveillance team works. It's actually quite terrifying in the regard.

Godzilla (1954, Ishirô Honda)

If you are Japanese, Gojira will hold much more meaning to you, and you should have already seen it. I'm not Japanese, but I still enjoyed what I saw. Godzilla being an allegory to the H-Bomb and why we should leave weapons of mass destruction alone.

Man Bites Dog (1992, Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde)

I've seen this labeled as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer with a sense of humor, and I can kind of see that. But it's not as powerful as Henry, and it's not all that funny. It does have it's moments though, but most of the time you feel uncomfortable. I think that is a good thing though. It's definitely worth a watch, if only because it is unconventional.

The Thin Red Line (1998, Terrence Malick)

I am still being broken in to the world of Malick, I've only seen Tree of Life and The New World. I feel like The Thin Red Line is the least of these works though, but even then you need to watch it. It's got the obvious trademarks of the reclusive director. Beautiful cinematography, voice overs, and a dream like quality about it.

Torso (1973, Sergio Martino)

Giallo is quickly becoming one of the genres that I feel deserves more credit. It's often criticized as being just an excuse to show filth on the screen. I don't now if I agree or disagree or if it even matters. I've always hated the arguments against style-over-substance movies, because sometimes I feel like style is more important than substance. Giallo falls in the category of style being more important than the substance. If you can handle that and some gore and sex, then giallo is for you. This is one of the better gialli I've seen.

Martin (1976, George Romero)

The most interesting vampire movie you will ever see. For that alone you should watch Martin. And it's directed by Romero in his prime so there.

RoboCop (1987, Paul Verhoeven)

Currently nominated in the Hall of Fame. I like it, but I don't love it. Sometimes the dialogue borders on annoying, but the action makes up for it. Plus it's really interesting sci-fi material.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012, John Hyams)

Tremendously underrated, probably because it comes from a terrible franchise. The action editing is top-notch, and it's very violent. You should check it out, I think it is on Netflix.

* One of the movies is not like I say it is, I did that to see if you are paying attention *

I was reading your whole post, got to The White Ribbon and thought what the hell? I mean I have never seen a Haneke film but I'm well aware of his reputation and sometimes controversial style. I even checked the IMDB page of the film to check the description and really couldn't work out what the hell you were talking about!

I was going to bring you up on it anyway, but noticed your note at the end All the films you listed that I have seen I think I love like Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and North by Northwest, then there's some that I really want to see too, I have had The Thin Red Line recorded for ages.

I was having a bit of fun with that one. The reason was a thought I had about people calling films popcorn films, and Haneke came to mind as popcorn balls infested with razor blades.

Haha, well I have Caché and Amour ready to watch so those two should be my first two Haneke films, I've been meaning to watch his stuff for a while but have kept delaying it/been busy, I'm expecting something strange, unique, but hopefully great, I think I'll like him.

Missing (Garvas, 1982)
Bigger Than Life (Ray, 1956)
The Idiots (von Trier, 1998)
*The Naked Gun (Zucker, 1988)
Sinister (Derrickson, 2012)
Pigs and Battleships (Imamura, 1961)
Harlan County U.S.A. (Kopple, 1976)
Season of the Witch (Sena, 2011) ------
Django (Corbucci, 1966)
Putney Swope (Downey Sr, 1969)

*rewatch