Reply to Topic
Agree with this. 
Have you seen Spielberg's film, The Post? What did you think of that as a companion piece to ATPM?
Have you seen Spielberg's film, The Post? What did you think of that as a companion piece to ATPM?
Rate The Last Movie You Saw
Whisper of the Heart (1995) - Rewatch on Blu-ray
It's such a shame Yoshifumi Kondo didn't get a chance to direct more films. At only 48 years old, we lost him way too soon. With that said, at least we got this one. Kondo's first and only foray into directing, which is also notable for being the first Ghibli film not directed by Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, excels on every level. Of course, a screenplay by Miyazaki himself, based on Aoi Hiiragi's manga from back in the '80s, only helps things. Miyazaki's masterful understanding of the human condition shines through at every turn. He perfectly captures the mind of a 14-year-old here, fleshing out the young cast of characters like nobody's business. I remember so very clearly when I was that age and most everyone was, to borrow a quote from the film, "Stupid jerk!" in my mind. The animation is also amazing——hard to believe it's turning 25 later this year, huh? And there's the music. It's pretty much impossible to talk about Whisper of the Heart without mentioning the music. Yuji Nomi's musical score is excellent. And how many anime open with the Olivia Newton-John version of Take Me Home, Country Roads? Disney's English dub is also excellent, rounding up a cast of live-action stars as they always did when they owned the rights to most of Ghibli's library. Brittany Snow is excellent as Shizuku Tsukishima, a 14-year-old who is constantly reading books——sounds like me at that age when I wasn't being as cocky as Shotaro Kaneda and Asuka Langley——who finds that someone named Seiji Amasawa has previously checked out all the books she has and ultimately ends up in search of herself. David Gallagher, who many will remember for 7th Heaven, is equally impressive as Seiji who turns out to be an aspiring violin maker. The late great Harold Gould is marvelous as Mr. Nishi, Seiji's grandfather who gives Shizuku many words of wisdom throughout his appearances. Courtney Thorne-Smith is appropriately nagging as Shiho, Shizuku's older sister who is always on her case. Shooo... I know what it's like to have an aggravating older sister (who I've actually called my little sister for as long as I can remember) all too well, though mine can be very immature and dense (What kind of dummkopf smokes cigarettes with a tumor on their pituitary gland and keeps begging people for cigarettes when soliciting is a crime punishable by jail time?) to the point that I can't even watch a movie in peace when she's around——the only reason I could this time is that we had to have her admitted——and when I was Shizuku's age, my sister and I often fought about her complete abandonment of hygiene. Apparently, Thorne-Smith gets it, too, since she based her portrayal of the character on her own older sister. Jean Smart is also great as Asako, Shizuku and Shiho's mother, fulfilling a longtime dream of dubbing an anime. James Sikking is also very good as Seiya, Shizuku and Shiho's father who is Asako's husband. It's funny watching the scene where he briefly smokes a cigarette in 2020 and knowing the film would never get a G rating in today's world for that scene alone since smoking automatically nets a PG rating nowadays. Snow's real-life best friend Ashley Tisdale is also solid as Shizuku's best friend Yuko. There's also the ever-reliable Cary Elwes (though even he couldn't save the dreck that was Saw) as the Baron, an anthropomorphic cat who appears in a few brief scenes and the dub script is completely natural. Everything together makes Whisper of the Heart an emotionally rewarding experience for the ages and I've only come to appreciate it even more with repeated viewings. Later, guys.
Last edited by Steve Freeling; 04-21-20 at 01:20 AM.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Jojo Rabbit 7/10 Pretty good movie,not the years best but enjoyable with a really great and likable cast
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Bliss (2019)
I guess the best way to describe Bliss is a tribute to Abel Ferrara's The Addiction with drug-induced imagery of Mandy or Requiem for a Dream. Dezzy is a painter searching for a way out of her creative block. Booze, sex, and drugs soon escalate to blood and violence. A short and quite intensive film with a nice soundtrack. The lead actress is pretty good too.
I guess the best way to describe Bliss is a tribute to Abel Ferrara's The Addiction with drug-induced imagery of Mandy or Requiem for a Dream. Dezzy is a painter searching for a way out of her creative block. Booze, sex, and drugs soon escalate to blood and violence. A short and quite intensive film with a nice soundtrack. The lead actress is pretty good too.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
So good. Loved this movie. Danish w/subtitles.
__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.
The Guilty is great. One of the most intense thrillers I've ever seen.
__________________
Bird Bod
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
An insult to the original. A really mediocre, by the numbers, movie that fails to bring anything interesting to the table.
4.5/10
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Uncut Gems (2019)
This movie was pretty much what I expected given the subject matter. It captures the rush of sports betting well, and the pace of the movie is perfect. It's just nothing exceptional to me. I also still can't take Sandler seriously outside of a comedic role.
This movie was pretty much what I expected given the subject matter. It captures the rush of sports betting well, and the pace of the movie is perfect. It's just nothing exceptional to me. I also still can't take Sandler seriously outside of a comedic role.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) - First Time on Blu-ray
Let's make one thing clear right off the bat: I grew up with Dragon Ball, one of the most popular anime and manga franchises of all time, so I'd been excited about this movie ever since it made its way Stateside. I just wasn't able to get a copy until fairly recently. I finally got a chance to watch this bastard and let me be clear: Broly delivers. The story is right to the point, showing some exposition on Broly, Goku's father sending him to Earth, and what happens to Planet Vegeta shortly after before getting right to the main storyline where much of it is wall to wall action. The animation is stunning, as you'd expect from Dragon Ball, especially its latest incarnation at that. Norihito Sumitomo's musical score is pretty incredible, too. Funimation also provides one of the latest in a long line of excellent English dubs. Sean Schemmel is excellent as Goku, originally named Kakarot, the laid-back martial artist who came to Earth as a baby and has a battle power of "Over 9,000!" Chris Sabat is equally impressive as Vegeta, a more uptight martial artist who was once the prince of Planet Vegeta whose father was a ruthless king also named Vegeta. I must confess that the interactions between these two often leave this Dragon Ball fan watching with a dopey grin. Tamaki Suoh (and Folken and Kurz Weber) himself Vic Mignogna is also rock-solid as the Broly of the title who grew up on Vampa, a wild planet populated with giant insects and giant dragon-like creatures after being exiled there by King Vegeta. Here, we see how Broly is manipulated by his father Paragus and later Frieza. It's a shame this will probably be the last time we get to hear Mignogna voice Broly because of all the controversy surrounding him——Funimation mercilessly ripped all extras featuring Mignogna from the disc before release, but at least he got to dub this one and he has a good replacement in Johnny Yong Bosch. Chris Ayres is the perfect mixture of sniveling and "Eeeevil!" as Frieza, a manipulative little bastard straight from the pits of Hell who wants Goku and Vegeta dead, is responsible for Planet Vegeta's destruction, and is arguably the most iconic villain in Dragon Ball lore. Vegeta hilariously calls Goku an idiot, even throwing a "dumbass" in there, for resurrecting this bastard in one scene. Monica Rial is ever-solid, as always, as Bulma——though I can't help wondering why Funimation didn't give Wendee Lee another shot at the title, Vegeta's wife and Goku's lifelong friend, even in the character's limited screentime. Erica Lindbeck is better here as Cheelai who quickly takes a liking to Broly than she was as Dr. Ritsuko Akagi in the Netflix dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion. So is everyone else and the dub script is completely natural. All told, Broly is a frickin' blast and any fan of Dragon Ball should see it for sure. Later, guys.
Last edited by Steve Freeling; 04-09-20 at 05:51 PM.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Ford Vs Ferrari (2019) - 7.5/10. Thoroughly enjoyable, thrill ride. Bale again shows his class here. Only thing missing was James May narrating from the background. If it wasn't for him doing the story in the Grand Tour or Top Gear, I would have enjoyed it even more I guess. But a Ferrari is still a Ferrari! Also misses the fact Ferrari's British driver was replaced at the last moment, who was miles better. The word was it was political, like Italian for an Italian car or something on those lines. Can't remember the exact fact! AND:
__________________
My Favorite Films
My Favorite Films
Shazam (2019)
Great fun!
__________________
"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)
"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Le Trou (1960, Jacques Becker)
No unnecessary BS, no moralising, no melodrama - just a perfect story told to perfection.
One of the best prison break movies I've seen.
Last edited by this_is_the_ girl; 01-15-20 at 01:06 PM.
Didn't think it was all that funny, except for the Eiffel Tower scene, but it was a good movie.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Dolemite Is My Name -
Cool, now we no longer have any use for The Disaster Artist.
Cool, now we no longer have any use for The Disaster Artist.
__________________
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
X
Favorite Movies
The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016)
Extremely immersive film dripping with style that pulls you into its story of twists and turns. Once again Chan-wook matches style and content to deliver an exciting, suspenseful story. Tempted to knock it down half a rating for some of the quite frankly ridiculous sex scenes that are way too over gratuitous and borderline parody.
Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)
This won't be for everyone, but like The Image Book which was one of my favourite films of 2018, I absolutely loved this and found it fascinating. I feel like I just repeat a lot of what I say when talking about Godard, but whether its a narrative film or a more reflective essay film like this, his playfulness with images, sounds, text, performance etc. always keep me immensely entertained. For a film that's quite radical and unordinary in its narrative, its quite clear, well to a degree, through Godard's recent output, what he's trying to say. A commentary on cinema and language, our failure to communicate as humans and our destructive nature, the failure to use the medium for the benefit of humanity. Godard to me has a very bleak pessimistic worldview and I think on certain issues this is something I relate heavily to.
Judge Preist (John Ford, 1934)
Up until the final act, where we see the combination of Ford's normal striking imagery and editing to deliver powerfully moving storytelling, this is a very very "light" film missing some of the usual ingredients that make Ford's films so rich. Nonetheless it was still mildly entertaining with a good performance from Will Rogers. Ford would later expand on a lot of the character's and themes for one of his best films for me, The Sun Shines Bright.
Le Petit Soldat (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
Almost a remake of Breathless but this time introducing a lot of political themes, with commentary on the France-Algeria war. Another thing I love about Godard is his penchant for humorous dialogue, a lot of it observational or philosophical. The characters in this film are very interesting and watchable, presenting a complex insight into the lives of ordinary people caught in conflicts bigger than themselves.
Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, 2002)
I've seen and like The Departed so I have always been interested in this film... and it's basically the same film minus the first hour and the romantic subplot. Probably one of the fastest pace films I have ever seen, just non-stop, chucks you right in the middle of things and the pace never lets up. The frenzied style works at times and there are some really nice sequences that make the film entertaining.
Green Book (Peter Farrelly, 2018)
Didn't have massive expectations for this and whilst I agree with some of the assessments that its portrayal of race relations is overly simplistic and the plot has a lot of cheesy/cliche moments, overall I enjoyed the film and had a good time. The two main performances are great and they have strong chemistry, it's a very funny road movie with lots of humour that kept me entertained. I think if it didn't win Best Picture then people wouldn't be so bothered about it, I think it's meant to be an enjoyable road movie and it worked on that level for me.
Ford v Ferrari (James Mangold, 2019)
James Mangold is a competent storyteller as evident by both 3:10 to Yuma and Logan which I recently enjoyed, and whilst there are some nicely directed sequences (mainly the race scenes) here, the screenplay is really, really poor. The first two acts basically tell the same story with a little bit of variation, every scene with Ken's wife and son is awful for me and the emotional subplots don't work, I also laughed at how they attempted to depict Ken Miles as British with these small cliches. Too many cringey scenes, like the fighting one... you can tell this was written by three people other than the director.
Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019)
I didn't think I would enjoy this but it was more disappointing than I thought, and the biggest frustration is that I was watching it thinking that the film could have been good. Everything about it was over done, oversaturated colours, non-existent mise-en-scene, an annoying overacting performance. I thought the film was going to show a descent into evil behaviour, or make us sympathise with the Joker (seeing as most who love this film seem to praise it as a portrayal of isolated individuals or people struggling with mental health) but it did not do either of those things for me. He was crazy and unsympathetic from the start, the violent scenes seem to want make statements but I'm not sure what. It seemed like it was trying so hard to be something, but in the end was nothing. When I was watching this in my head I just kept thinking about the film M and what a masterpiece of cinema that is, and how I should rewatch it again.
Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019)
I had two major issues with this, a film that was a real struggle to get through for me. The first is one that's being talked about quite a lot and that's the film's depiction of the Nazis. Okay I get that it's meant to be a satire, but it just made me feel uneasy, maybe this didn't work because of the second issue (that the film is not funny) but seeing Waikiti prancing around as Hitler just annoyed me beyond belief. Again this film seemed like it wanted to say so much, and make a defiant statement against Nazism, but its execution was extremely lacking, simplistic and didn't really do anything interesting or radical in the presentation of its ideas. It forgoes most of the horrors and its anti-hate message could fit on a pin top. But yeah, the second issue for me was the humour. I didn't laugh at all in the film, its sense of humour really really isn't for me. As soon as I saw Rebel Wilson in the opening credits I knew the film's humour wasn't going to be for me. Some credit should go to the young actors who put on really good performances, especially the lead.
Extremely immersive film dripping with style that pulls you into its story of twists and turns. Once again Chan-wook matches style and content to deliver an exciting, suspenseful story. Tempted to knock it down half a rating for some of the quite frankly ridiculous sex scenes that are way too over gratuitous and borderline parody.
Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)
This won't be for everyone, but like The Image Book which was one of my favourite films of 2018, I absolutely loved this and found it fascinating. I feel like I just repeat a lot of what I say when talking about Godard, but whether its a narrative film or a more reflective essay film like this, his playfulness with images, sounds, text, performance etc. always keep me immensely entertained. For a film that's quite radical and unordinary in its narrative, its quite clear, well to a degree, through Godard's recent output, what he's trying to say. A commentary on cinema and language, our failure to communicate as humans and our destructive nature, the failure to use the medium for the benefit of humanity. Godard to me has a very bleak pessimistic worldview and I think on certain issues this is something I relate heavily to.
Judge Preist (John Ford, 1934)
Up until the final act, where we see the combination of Ford's normal striking imagery and editing to deliver powerfully moving storytelling, this is a very very "light" film missing some of the usual ingredients that make Ford's films so rich. Nonetheless it was still mildly entertaining with a good performance from Will Rogers. Ford would later expand on a lot of the character's and themes for one of his best films for me, The Sun Shines Bright.
Le Petit Soldat (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
Almost a remake of Breathless but this time introducing a lot of political themes, with commentary on the France-Algeria war. Another thing I love about Godard is his penchant for humorous dialogue, a lot of it observational or philosophical. The characters in this film are very interesting and watchable, presenting a complex insight into the lives of ordinary people caught in conflicts bigger than themselves.
Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, 2002)
I've seen and like The Departed so I have always been interested in this film... and it's basically the same film minus the first hour and the romantic subplot. Probably one of the fastest pace films I have ever seen, just non-stop, chucks you right in the middle of things and the pace never lets up. The frenzied style works at times and there are some really nice sequences that make the film entertaining.
Green Book (Peter Farrelly, 2018)
Didn't have massive expectations for this and whilst I agree with some of the assessments that its portrayal of race relations is overly simplistic and the plot has a lot of cheesy/cliche moments, overall I enjoyed the film and had a good time. The two main performances are great and they have strong chemistry, it's a very funny road movie with lots of humour that kept me entertained. I think if it didn't win Best Picture then people wouldn't be so bothered about it, I think it's meant to be an enjoyable road movie and it worked on that level for me.
Ford v Ferrari (James Mangold, 2019)
James Mangold is a competent storyteller as evident by both 3:10 to Yuma and Logan which I recently enjoyed, and whilst there are some nicely directed sequences (mainly the race scenes) here, the screenplay is really, really poor. The first two acts basically tell the same story with a little bit of variation, every scene with Ken's wife and son is awful for me and the emotional subplots don't work, I also laughed at how they attempted to depict Ken Miles as British with these small cliches. Too many cringey scenes, like the fighting one... you can tell this was written by three people other than the director.
Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019)
I didn't think I would enjoy this but it was more disappointing than I thought, and the biggest frustration is that I was watching it thinking that the film could have been good. Everything about it was over done, oversaturated colours, non-existent mise-en-scene, an annoying overacting performance. I thought the film was going to show a descent into evil behaviour, or make us sympathise with the Joker (seeing as most who love this film seem to praise it as a portrayal of isolated individuals or people struggling with mental health) but it did not do either of those things for me. He was crazy and unsympathetic from the start, the violent scenes seem to want make statements but I'm not sure what. It seemed like it was trying so hard to be something, but in the end was nothing. When I was watching this in my head I just kept thinking about the film M and what a masterpiece of cinema that is, and how I should rewatch it again.
Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019)
I had two major issues with this, a film that was a real struggle to get through for me. The first is one that's being talked about quite a lot and that's the film's depiction of the Nazis. Okay I get that it's meant to be a satire, but it just made me feel uneasy, maybe this didn't work because of the second issue (that the film is not funny) but seeing Waikiti prancing around as Hitler just annoyed me beyond belief. Again this film seemed like it wanted to say so much, and make a defiant statement against Nazism, but its execution was extremely lacking, simplistic and didn't really do anything interesting or radical in the presentation of its ideas. It forgoes most of the horrors and its anti-hate message could fit on a pin top. But yeah, the second issue for me was the humour. I didn't laugh at all in the film, its sense of humour really really isn't for me. As soon as I saw Rebel Wilson in the opening credits I knew the film's humour wasn't going to be for me. Some credit should go to the young actors who put on really good performances, especially the lead.
X
Favorite Movies
Sean Penn, 2007
Oh man!... this movie hit me so hard when I first saw it, I was 14 years-old and I was in the middle of one of those existential crises. Now, years later without having seen it again, I'm 24 years-old, the age Christopher McCandless had when he died in the "magic bus" and I think so much differently, something I didn't though I would possibly be able to do. This is one of those I don't want to watch often, afraid it might lose it's magic. Amazing film.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
An insult to the original. A really mediocre, by the numbers, movie that fails to bring anything interesting to the table.
4.5/10Can't say I was ever particularly enamoured with the original, but what was most disappointing is how much of a missed opportunity this was. The first act was pretty solid, however it lost it completely from there.
How much better would it have been had it tied more in with the realms of Burton's Big Fish... I mean what better tie in could there be as a tall tale than a yarn about a flying elephant?
Instead it was delivered very much by the numbers with only the faintest hint of it being subversive to Disney, which left it all very unsatisfying and a whole lot of 'meh'.
X
User Lists
The Last Sunset (1961)
Blind watch from the current westerns list that turned out to have a good cast. Joseph Cotten was wasted and almost unrecognizable but Dorothy Malone was hot as always. Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson did what they do. I thought it felt a bit melodramatic for a western and sure enough there was an unusual turn towards the end. It was pretty good.
X
Favorite Movies
X