Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2017

#120 - Midnight on the Orient Express (1974) ~ December 3



Highly enjoyable detective entertainment with one of the most insane casts ever.

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

#121 - Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962) ~ December 3



My first Varda film. Beautiful, elegant and playful piece of cinema with a somber undertone.

considering its been on my watch list forever and im doing a month of watching french new wave I think I have to watch it soon

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So glad you liked Cleo That was actually my least favourite of the three i watched, would have Vagabond first then Happiness then Cleo, they were all pretty close though.

I'm especially a fan of the film's form. The cinematography is fantastic and there are a few very cool scenes where the filmmaking is just splendid.
There were a few moments, most notably the car scenes, where the dialogue wasn't always interesting enough to keep the flow of the film completely going, but those were mostly followed by moments that immediately drew me back into the film.

The short film is probably my favorite scene, followed by the scene with Michel Legrand, the jukebox scene (or basically the whole trip until she meets her nude modeling friend) and of course the ending.

I'm very interested to see more of her work. I'll try to watch some of her other films for the upcoming countdown. I should probably make a separate watchlist for it.

Think that's the first time I've seen that movie mentioned on the forum and it's actually pretty decent.

#122 - A Prairie Home Companion (2006) ~ December 5



Lovely piece of cinema that perfectly transfers the charm of the artform it portrays.

#123 - King of New York (1990) ~ December 5



Badass and smart gangster picture by Ferrara about power and morality at its roughest. I liked it a lot!
Walker is unbelievably magnetic. I always forget how unique an actor he is. He's one of those true living legends. A true movie star!

Very unrated movie.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

#124 - The Dead (1987) ~ December 6



This is the perfect swan song and a beautiful film adaptation of a deeply human short story. The final words may poetically muse about the snow, but they couldn't have made me feel warmer inside.
Highly recommended to those who are not afraid of a flake of melancholy during these Christmas days...

#125 - Exotica (1994) ~ December 8



Darkly hypnotizing and highly unique film. I was under its spell during the entire running time. I have a feeling this film will stay with me for quite a while. It has an incredible soundtrack as well!

Haven't seen any of your last four. I told you where i'm at with Altman, and i've actually never seen an Abel Ferrara film . Watched Fat City from Huston the other day, thought that was very good have you seen it?

I haven't seen it yet. I'm planning on seeing Huston's Under the Volcano soon, but Fat CIty has also been on my radar for a while. Should be interesting as Huston used to be a professional boxer himself!
I think I've seen 10 Huston-directed films so far, but there's still a whole bunch of other films of his to explore.

I've seen seven and a bit: he directed part of Casino Royale (1967). Not a fan of that or Annie (couldn't believe it when i found out he made that), but the rest are good to great. Here he is ranked for me so far - https://letterboxd.com/camarel/list/john-huston-ranked/

For me it's probably something like this (very quickly put together):

1. The Man Who Would Be King
2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
3. The Maltese Falcon
4. The Dead
5. Let There Be Light
6. Beat the Devil
7. The African Queen
8. Key Largo
9. Prizzi's Honor
10. Annie

Could be totally different after some rewatches or when I'm in another mood, though, especially the numbers between 4 and 9. It's been a very long time since I've seen 7 and 8, for instance!

#126 - Spotlight (2015) ~ December 8



This is a very decent film that portrays the procedure of developping a good story excellently. At the same time, this film is also a bit of a missed chance, in my opinion. With this highly controversial subject matter, there was also the option of telling this important story more passionately, more shockingly and more head-on. I'm all for subtlety, but even in a film that focuses on the storytellers instead of the victims, there should at least be one scene where the audience truly gets disturbed. There are a couple of moments that almost get close (at least for me), but we never quite get that scene. Both the enemy and the consequences ultimately didn't get their appropriate and necessary place in this film.
Besides all that, this does remain a very smart film about journalism. I just wished they'd also offered a more human perspective on the problematic news that's being reported.

I love King of New York. As great as Walken is in The Deer Hunter, that is my favorite performance from him. It's because it is his movie.

Have had Exotica on my watchlist for awhile now.

My guess is you'll love it.

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Two great films coming up!

I quite like Spotlight and i agree with everything you said about it. Think it's telling that one of the most mentioned moments is one where Mark Ruffalo snaps, it was definitely too understated.

#127 - A Christmas Story (1983) ~ December 9



This is one of the most entertaining Christmas films I've ever seen, if not THE most entertaining! It's full of great little moments and is able to pack a huge amount of great material in one hour and a half without any of it feeling rushed. It's one of those perfectly paced rich movie experiences. I loved it!

P.S. It's probably weird to Americans that I hadn't seen this film yet, but it's really not that well known here in continental Europe, so I didn't come across it on TV as a child or anything like that. That's about right, though. It's a true piece of Americana.