Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2017

#48 - Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) ~ April 3



For some reason, this was the first Peckinpah film I've ever watched. I watched the 2005 Special Edition Cut and I absolutely LOVED it.
This is a really special film. It offers a revisionist view on the western genre in the best way possible. James Coburn's Pat Garret is probably the character that I've felt closest to from any new film I've watched this year so far. This is what happens when you have a really strong script and some powerhouse performances that are put on the screen in a beautiful manner. On top of that, a large part of the film's atmosphere is created by the tunes of a recent Nobel Prize winner called Bob Dylan, who's also in the film. What more can a cinephile ask for?

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

I own that on DVD but still haven't watched it. Gonna be a while because my movies are all packed away, but I am looking forward to it!

#49 - Elle (2016) ~ April 5



I really liked this dark and extremely provocative film. This Verhoeven film portrays human interactions at their rawest and most unusual. Don't expect to find any normal characters in this story. Everyone can be perceived as (somewhat) crazy in their own dark way.
I think this is the first major performance I've seen from Isabelle Huppert and I thought she was absolutely fabulous! It's incredible how she's able to play such a cold and basically sociopathic character in such an engaging and interesting way. Perhaps the great script helps her a little bit at times, but I can't imagine anyone else acting it out so elegantly.

Dude, if you liked Huppert watch The Piano Teacher. She's fantastic in that. I want to call her a favorite actress now, but I haven't seen many of her films.

#50 - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) ~ April 5



WHAT A FILM!
The greatest gift that some of the best New Hollywood Era directors had, was that they were able to make films that felt extremely realistic and raw while also delivering some highly stylized cinema at the same time. They could offer the two things that most cinephiles are looking for: "beauty" and "truth". These directors did something very special with the medium and are therefore still rightly recognized as some of the most interesting and unique filmmakers who ever lived.
After only having seen two films of his during the last three days, I already feel safe enough to claim that Sam Peckinpah had that extraordinary gift. It's been a long time since I've seen such truthful and stylish films. I can't wait to see the rest of his filmography.

I agree. Re-watched this recently and was a bit underwhelmed on an emotional level, though it did entertain me (probably for nostalgic reasons mostly)

#51 - Single White Female (1992) ~ April 7



This was on TV and I randomly kept watching it until the end. The two leading actresses both give good performances, but except for that, this is pretty much a formulaic throwaway psychosexual thriller, in my opinion. Nothing special.

#52 - Secrets and Lies (1996) ~ April 7



Mike Leigh is a great artist. His writing is absolutely phenomenal and also as a filmmaker he deserves a lot of credit. The acting performances in this film are also of an extremely high level. This is one of the best family dramas I've ever seen and I won't easily forget the highly moral purpose of it.
This is only the second of Mike Leigh's films that I've watched (I'd already seen Naked last year) and I must say that I find his work to be truly special so far. He gets everything exactly right. I'll give two examples from this film that prove Mike Leigh's greatness. They may contain some spoilers.
For instance, there's a clear analogy between the whole story about how people need to lie against eachother because they want to uphold their reputation and Timothy Spall's character's job as a photographer, often taking pictures of people when they're at their seemingly best and happiest, even when they're not. This is a great analogy and it's clearly intentional, but Mike Leigh treats it in a very subtle manner. The analogy is made very clear, but at the same time he doesn't want to knock himself on the chest for inventing it. It's used purely in service of the story and it's beautiful.
Another great moment is near the end. All the characters are basically crying after a very emotional and revealing fight at a family lunch and after everything is put on the table, three of the four female characters are comforting eachother. Only the youngest daughter is still in the sofa, not having forgiven her mother yet officially for what has just been revealed. Her mother screams "please, please, please" and the camera then stays on the daugher's face. A normal filmmaker would've continued the scene and made the daughter forgive her mother and give her a hug, but Mike Leigh simply cuts away to a moment in the future of two other characters in bed, effectively ending the grand family lunch sequence. He then returns to the daughter and the mother's relationship a little later while showing them being fine with eachother in the future. A beautifully unsentimental solution.
GREAT FILM!

Still looking forward to those College, Three Ages, and King of New York thoughts @Cobpyth

Elle is the only film i've seen on this page. Wish i disagreed with you for once coz this is a really boring post but yeah.. uh i agree.

#53 - The Wild Bunch (1969) ~ April 8



Peckinpah keeps scoring points with me. This is a fantastic revisionist western epic! I love the characters and what they stand for, the Mexican environment and the war background. The film is undoubtedly wild, but it does not make its entertainment value stand in the way of its intelligence and emotions. On the contrary, together it all forms one cohesive and profound piece of cinema.

It's three out of three for Bloody Sam so far!

#54 - In the Realm of the Senses (1976) ~ April 14



This is a film, based on an actual event, about two deeply troubled people trying to find the ultimate happiness through their sexuality and the psychological games that go with it. It's directed by the revered Japanese director, Nagisa Ôshima. This is generally considered as his most (in)famous film, especially in the West, and it was also the first film I've watched of his.
I did not expect this film to be as radical as it was in its expressiveness, but putting that issue aside, I think it's a fairly good portrayal of obsessiveness and the reaching for a certain kind of pleasure that can never truly be found. The extreme explicitness is probably necessary in order to truly make the viewer experience the state of mind of these characters.
This is certainly not a film for everyone, but I personally found there to be a certain value to it. Nagisa Ôshima's philosophy about art is fascinating: "Nothing that is expressed is obscene. What is obscene is what is hidden." He certainly took that sentiment to heart.

#55 - My Night at Maud's (1969) ~ April 15



This was my first Rohmer film and I loved it! Great light-footed and intelligent filmmaking. Rohmer's restraint really works beautifully here.

I enjoyed My Night at Maud's, Claire's Knee, and La Collectionneuse.

I've only seen Claire's Knee, and i don't remember it that well. I liked it tho. I remember reading something from someone who really hated My Night At Maud's, don't remember where though it could have been here somewhere.

Seems like a pretty weird film to hate.

Seemed pretty intense and if i remember right from a fan of similar films. I really can't remember the criticisms, if i find it i'll post it here and you can see what you think.

#56 - Youth of the Beast (1963) ~ April 15



This was my third Suzuki film. His film Tokyo Drifter was one of my favorite first watches in 2016 and this film was almost on the same level for me. There aren't many directors that can entertain me as much as Seijun Suzuki can. He must be one of the most self-confident and daring filmmakers who ever worked in cinema. I can't wait to see the rest of his work!

Is that the dude who was completely ignored because he had something in one of his films that was offensive then?

Suzuki was fired in 1967 after directing Branded to Kill, because his films, according to the studio, "made no money and no sense". Now he's considered to be somewhat of a cult director.
I don't think Japan cared that much about their films being sexually or violently offensive during the 60s.