Movie Tab II

Not in the US so not a valid option unfortunately.


Just out of interest has anyone else seen Time after Time? I know it's not the most seen or popular of films and even people who have seen it may not think it's anything special but it's just the kind of quirky, cult film I like

I saw Time after Time not too long ago. Definately a fun film. Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen first met and fell in love during the shooting of the film, and later married. This could explain the chemistry between them.

I did a small write-up on Time After Time here. I've always enjoyed it since I first saw it at the theatre in 1979.

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Ah, I love Fantastic Planet, Mary and Max and Coffee and Cigarettes.

I've seen it as well. I liked it, though I wouldn't call it a cult film.

The 400 Blows (1959)
I don't relate to most coming of age films (even the ones that are often hailed as accurate depictions of childhood), but I found this uncannily similar to my own childhood, and that similarity made it very effective.

Lord of Illusions (1995)
The film would have been much better without the poorly computer generated monster scenes, but it still shines with Clive Barker's aberrant, twisted creativity.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
I enjoyed it before, but reading the book beforehand this time gave me a deeper appreciation of it.

Pickpocket (1959)
The bleak, almost robotic, characters annoyed me a little (if it were only the main character, it would've made him stand out more, but it seemed to be the same with every other person that popped up). Nonetheless, it's good overall, even if I don't think it's quite up to par with most of the praise it receives.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
The premise and inevitable comedy bits are fun to watch, and the visuals hold up pretty well for a mid 80's sci-fi film.

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This is one of my favourites just because it is funny

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Thanks for that Mark, really nice mini review. We pretty much seemed to enjoy and point out the same elements of the film, you just put it a lot more eloquently than I was able to.

Rififi (first viewing) – If I had to use just one word to describe this gritty French noir/heist film it would be classy. From the real Parisian locations to the beautiful photography it just oozes class.

It concerns the attempts by a group of four men to commit a daring robbery and the consequences that arise. There are 3 sections of the film really. First the planning of the robbery, then the heist itself and finally the fallout that happens as a rival gang learns of their act.

Even though I hadn't seen the film before I was aware of the famous silent stretch during the robbery itself. And it certainly lived up to the hype. It is 25 minutes or so of near silence as they conduct the heist. With no dialogue, no music and very few sounds at all it is an incredible accomplishment. Without dialogue to explain what they are doing it is a joy to work it all out for ourselves, all the little details and creative answers they come up with to defeat the security measures.

The other real strength of the film I would say is the characters and how fleshed out they all are. Each has their own individual quirks and qualities, provided by the script and cemented by some impressive performances, whether it be the old master who has been beaten down by his time in prison to the charismatic safe cracker with an eye for the ladies.

While I would definitely go back and watch those 25 minutes again I'm unsure if I'd be desperate to see the whole film again so for now will give it 8/10




Leon (repeat viewing) – As well as being just a great action film this also turns out to be an oddly touching and affecting story.

It tells the offbeat tale of a hitman, Leon, who takes pity on a young girl who lives next door when her family are killed. They each become all the other one has in their lives as Leon teaches Mathilda the profession of cleaning as she seeks revenge on those that killed her family.

In very different roles Jean Reno and Natalie Portman are both wonderful. And the relationship they generate is what lifts this film above normal action films to one of my favourites. Oh and Gary Oldman makes for one freaky ******!!!

While there are some wonderfully constructed action scenes showing Leon in action it truly is the relationship between the two characters that makes this a memorable film for me. The relationship being Reno's lonely assassin who possesses quite a simple mind, becoming a protector and mentor to Portman's young girl who has been forced to grow up too soon in an unforgiving world.

A great action flick and a touching friendship at the same time. 9/10

Water for Elephants (2011) Francis Lawrence



My biggest problem with the film was the lack of chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. I think Robert Pattinson gave a better effort than Reese and the lack of chemistry fell mostly on her part. This was a real treat though, I thought it was overall really good acting and a charming little story with some stunning cinematography. It's such a relief to see a REAL set and with minimal computer help. Most people have been critical of the script, but I rather enjoyed it. Must add this; Christopher Waltz can play evil, manical mother effer like no other.

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Hanna (2011) Joe Wright



Saoirse Ronan is going to do big things. She was incredible. Very well shot film!



The Yellow Handkerchief (2008) Udayan Prasad



William Hurt is phenomenal and Kristen Stewart is decent enough. A job well done to Eddie Redmayne, too. Great scenery and cinematography - an overall very good film.

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In case you're interested, it's a remake of a Japanese film from the seventies. Haven't seen it yet, but I heard it's good and it won a bunch of awards in Japan at the time.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076935/

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Just out of curiousity can people see the posters for Rififi and Leon in my previous post? Had lots of trouble just uploading and editing them at the time and even after I posted the pictures still weren't showing up.

Then they seemed to be sorted out but earlier on were missing again

No hope of actually updating my movie tab properly, but a lot quite recently:

• Harvey
• The Spanish Prisoner
• Days of Heaven
• The Final Cut
• Cronos
• Legend
• Your Highness
• The Foot Fist Way
• Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Touch of Satan

Works for me.

Yeah again it seems to be ok thanks. Obviously photobucket is just a little dodgy of late.

Just noticed though that only 2 people have plus repped me this time. Usually it's more.




By the way I love Harvey. Also used to love the Bill and Ted films but not seen them in years and years

This is a little low for my liking, but then you go and do something like this:

and totally redeem yourself!

Stayed away from the documentaries these last couple of weeks, actually didn't watch too much but hitting up some of the Taiwanese New Wave, two from our crazy friends in Japan, a couple from acclaimed directors that prove everyone has an off day/film, and one that I'm amazed hasn't been released on DVD yet...The Man probably doesn't want the truth to get out but we can thank good old "counterproductivity" (to use a word used by a fellow Mofo) and the file sharing community for making this intense film about the taking over of a nuclear missile silo available to regular people like you and me, transferring their old VHS tape and spreading the truth around the world. On top of that, if someone hadn't taken an old laser disc of A Brighter Summer Day and spread its brilliance throughout the world I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see this four hour masterpiece, which now has a spot on my top 100. Here's to Criterion getting a proper release together so I can borrow it from the library and make a copy for myself.


The Family Game (1983, Yoshimitsu Morita)

The Time to Live and the Time to Die (1986, Hsaio-Hsien Hou)

3 Godfathers (1948, John Ford)

The Major and the Minor (1942, Billy Wilder)

A Brighter Summer Day (1991, Edward Yang)

Love Exposure (2008, Sion Sono)

Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977, Robert Aldrich)

I'm a big Bill & Ted fan. The original's a bit better/funnier, but man...playing Death for your Soul, and choosing Battleship? That sequence is so, so brilliant. It's the kind of idea that can make you laugh just by hearing it.

Naturally, I'm giddy at the maybe-possibly-legitimate rumors of a third film. Though probably not as giddy as Alex Winter.

Wow Harry I've not even heard of most of them never mind seen them. I used to think I was a decent, rising movie buff until I got on here and saw what true movie buffs were

Thanks for giving me some movies to investigate anyway.

The only one I've seen from Harry's last tab is Family Game, which I like albeit a little more modestly than Harry. Been meaning to catch up on some of Hou, and Yang's films though. The only one I've seen by the former is Millennium Mambo (which is okay).

Army of Shadows (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1969)
Long and somber without ever really being dull (I watched it in one sitting, which seems to happen too infrequently lately).


The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)
Somewhat torn on this one, and for similar reasons as I was recently torn about my ratings for Hanna and Gangs of New York (both of which I probably like better than this, in retrospect). My first impression is that it combines a somewhat mundane story with a very watchable and cinematic production. All three of them are worth watching, which means I probably rated those too low (rather than this being too high).
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In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)
This marks the third (and by far most enjoyable) time that I've seen this movie, which I think is somewhat erroneously labeled a romance. It's very tenuous, seeming to say that love (maybe) exists in some sort of ambiguous nexus of collaborative fiction-writing and unconscious urges...? If you watch the extras on the criterion disc, you'll see that they filmed many romantic scenes that never made it into the movie. I'm down with the repetition (for the most part), and this time noticed some subtle humor. I think the main reason this film seems over-long to me is that in the last 20 minutes any sense of character or specific place (the biggest draw of the film for me) the story had all but disappears. The images of the Cambodian ruins are as consistently amazing as in the earlier parts in Hong Kong but the end left me really cold. Still well worth checking out. Between the first hour or so and Christopher Doyle's cinematography, I might consider raising my score a little eventually.


Kamikaze Girls (Tetsuya Nakashima, 2004)
Game 6 (Michael Hoffman, 2005)
The Cameraman (Edward Sedjwick, 1928) +
Star Trek: First Contact (Jonathan Frakes, 1996)
The Killer (John Woo, 1989)
Jurassic Park 3 (Joe Johnston, 2001)
Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994)
Salt (Philip Noyce, 2010)
La Soufrière (Werner Herzog, 1978)
Full Contact (Ringo Lam, 1992) +