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Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
I'm back. It's been so much time since I posted here the last time, so I apparently watched hundreds of films since then, but of course I'm not going to revise them all. Let me gust give you a glimpse into my movie watching of today and yesterday. As always with my descriptions of films, they're not reviews, but loose observations, descriptions of my emotional and psychological reactions to them.


Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält [Mark of the Devil] (1970) -
(An exploitation film that depicts the witch trials very vividly. It bluntly shows various tortures the alleged witches and sorcerers had to endure if they didn't want to admit their connections with the devil. I never was against exploitation films, but in this case one could say that the graphic images are justified by the sheer fact that these things really took place. The violence hits strong even by today's standards. It's also the ruthlessness and hypocrisy of the witch hunter that certainly hits the nerve of the viewer and even though all of this may seem manipulative, it never crosses the line. Of course, the movie has a plot involving handsomely young Udo Kier falling in love with a woman accused of witchcraft and some other meandering subplots. All in all, a great watch for anybody not afraid of exploitation take on history. If you don't like this kind of films, you better stick with Dreyer's Day of Wrath.)

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) -
(An amazing late film noir with an unusual threesome (foursome?!) and just as unusual femme fatale. Burt Lancaster plays a honcho not afraid to tell the truth to some of the most important people, but at the same time has a certain weakness. That leads to a certain plot that shall be performed with the help of Tony Curtis. Being as spoilerfree as possible, let me only tell you that the movie is striking thematically just as it is striking visually. There's also that jazzy soundtrack. What I noticed with this movie is a certain freedom. Of acting. Of shooting the movie. May have been a huge influence on Cassavetes when he was directing his Shadows in 1959.)

The Last of England (1987) -
I've only seen Derek Jarman's Caravaggio before and thought of it extremely highly, so I approached this experimental feature with very high expectations and it's sufficient to say that they were met if not surpassed. I don't think that the movie really follows any coherent plotline throughout its duration time, but it's still packed with symbolism and separate scenes with a lot of meaning (or just industrial no wave dance with pulsating music and colours, it has this, too). I'm still not sure if some scenes were talking about then contemporary sociopolitical situation in the UK, or were supposed to be haunting prophecies of the future, with a group of people in balaclavas with guns apparently causing some mayhem in town and even shooting a man to death in what seemed like a military platoon execution only that the man didn't look like a military, but like a civil. Then we have a cult of fire, reminescent of Nazi party rallies of the 30's and at some point we even have some German talking and the name "Hitler" mentioned repeatedly. The movie is practically wordless, the narrator speaks in a beautiful poetic way maybe twice or three times through the whole 90 minutes long film. There's also a scene of Tilda Swinton in a wedding dress and two gays having sex on British flag. The editing is daring, harsh, fast. The movie's colours were saturized or tinted to a hauntingly beautiful effect that compared with the grainy quality of the reel resulted in some of the most visually striking moments I've seen in cinema lately.)
You really expect me to post a screen from Blue? Besides, how do I know whether it's a screencap from the movie or just a Paint-coloured canvas?
Blue (1993) -
(Now that is the last will of a dying filmmaker left on celluloid. Derek Jarman has always been an experimental filmmaker and this time he reaches cinema's limits by entirely stripping it off its visual flare. Even more a controversial decision as he always was a master of vision. A sensible step since his own vision has been taken away by the illness and trying to relate his art to himself, he also made the film lack in seeing. Since we literally have a static blue image for the whole movie, the sound plays the most important part. The beautiful, poem-like descriptions of the blueness of the universe, as one might call it, are juxtaposed to incredibly rough, down-to-earth, punch-in-the-face descriptions of his suffering with heart-wrenching details. A very sublime work that even if you hate filmmaking-wise you are still forced to respect as it is essentially the artistic testament of an artist. I like to imagine Jarman laying on his deadbed just like Caravaggio is in his movie, although I know the reality might've been way less beautiful. A terribly depressing movie.)

In Cold Blood (1967) -
(The black'n'white cinematography is so lavish, polished and outstandingly good that it wasn't so apparent whether or not the other aspects of the film will match it. Thankfully, they do. One thing that immediately caught my attention was the flawless editing. The action oftenly goes on even though a cut has been made. This way the movie seems continuous even though it jumps between scenes in different place or even time. The movie is realised in cold blood just like the protagonists commit their crime. The finale is free of moral plays, but not really rid of subjectivity. A terrific last scene.)

雁 [Wild Geese] (1953) -
(Okay, so let's get it straight. It is a melodrama/romance movie, but made in Japanese spirit and with Japanese heart. Japanese melodramas compared to their counterparts of the time from America are fairly superior. Let's take a movie like All That Heaven Allows. Sure, the colours are beautiful and the deer is adorable, but the harlquinesque plot is almost unbearable. Wild Geese just like all Japanese melodramas of the time I've seen are different. It's poignant, but never maudlin. It never feels artificial or pretentious. It has Hideko Takamine and that gigantic close-up on her face in the scene when she meets the student for the first time. A moment to remember. I never witnessed a moment of this kind in All That Heaven Allows (but the deer in the snow scene makes it up a little bit). Maybe I'm overrating it due to my Japanophilia, due to my love for the actress Hideko Takamine, due to the Japanese approach that I find way more effective and close to my heart than the Hollywood approach of All That Heaven Allows. But does it matter? After all movie-watching is subjective. )

PS: Never again. It took me like 2 hours.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

Trouble in Sundown (David Howard, 1939)
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The Youngest Profession (Edward Buzzell, 1943)
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Soldiers Three (Tay Garnett, 1951)

Hitchcock/Truffaut (Kent Jones, 2015)


Truffaut interviewed Hitchcock about every single one of his films for his iconic book, but they still had time to smoke their cigars.
Yellowstone Park: Nature's Playground (James H. Smith, 1936)
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Fall Time (Paul Warner, 1995)

Thousands Cheer (George Sidney, 1943)
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The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2016)


Strange occurrences are happening in the barn to the kids (Anya Taylor-Joy, Harvey Scrimshaw & Ellie Grainger) of a cast-out Puritan family, and don't forget their goat, Black William.
Roberta (William A. Seiter, 1935)
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Destination Gobi (Robert Wise, 1953)

The Park Is Mine (Steven Hilliard Stern, 1985)

Eisenstein in Guanajuito (Peter Greenaway, 2015)


Soviet film wunderkind Sergei Eisenstein (Elmer Bäck) comes to Mexico to make a series of Pro-Communist films and begins an affair with his guide (Luis Alberti).
Scenic Grandeur (James A. FitzPatrick, 1941)

I'll Be Home for Christmas (Arlene Sanford, 1998)

After Dark, My Sweet (James Foley, 1990)

Millenium Mambo (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 2001)


Beautiful opening scene introduces the lead character, played by Shu Qi, who wanders around Taiwan and Japan in a perpetual state of ennui.
Bon Voyage! (James Neilson, 1962)

The Last Fall (Matthew A. Cherry, 2012)

Hollywood Canteen (Delmer Daves, 1943)
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River of Grass (Kelly Reichardt, 1994)


Bum Larry Fessenden and housewife Lisa Bowman are the “two loneliest people” in Florida and are connected by a gunshot.
__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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La strada (1954)

Separate Tables (1958)

Senso (1954)

Donatella (1956)

The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
__________________
A normal man? For me, a normal man is one who turns his head to see a beautiful woman's bottom. The point is not just to turn your head. There are five or six reasons. And he is glad to find people who are like him, his equals. That's why he likes crowded beaches, football, the bar downtown...



There are five in total (I'm down to only the football one that I haven't seen, but we just got it in the mail). That's not including the Air Buddies spin-off series, which is even longer.

The baseball iteration is probably the most fun and strikes me as having some knowing camp. And oddly enough, the first one has pretty good cinematography (particularly the lighting). What's weird is the same cinematographer also did 'Spikes Back', which is pretty average looking. I guess they didn't have as much time and budget to spend on setups and filming everything at twilight for the straight-to-video sequels. Other than that, I don't know what to say for myself -- the dogs are cute but nothing you can't find by a google image/video search (which has the added benefit of maybe being less exploitative). I guess I just like to watch crap sometimes*.

*a lot of the time, actually.



The Incident (1967)

Thriller about two maniacal scumbags tormenting passengers on a train. I feel like this movie isn’t really meant to entertain as much as it’s meant to aggravate the viewer (imagining themselves in the same situation). So, I guess if you like things that frustrate you, this is bueno.

The dark and gritty urban setting reminds me of the no wave exploitation films that Richard Kern would later make in the 80s, which is cool. I just kind of wish it was utilized on a different story.

Clockwise (1986)

A pretty funny film about a man going through great lengths to arrive on time. The plot isn’t really important though. The reason to watch is to see John Cleese dealing with arbitrary shenanigans, which is always fun. Cleese is so long though, he always makes me think there’s something wrong with my aspect ratio.

Razorback (1984)

Re-watch of an old favorite. A giant razorback boar roams the outback, chomping on a few people along the way. It’s a campy monster movie at heart, but the gorgeous outback cinematography is no joke.



matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
The Incident (1967)

Thriller about two maniacal scumbags tormenting passengers on a train. I feel like this movie isn’t really meant to entertain as much as it’s meant to aggravate the viewer (imagining themselves in the same situation). So, I guess if you like things that frustrate you, this is bueno.

The dark and gritty urban setting reminds me of the no wave exploitation films that Richard Kern would later make in the 80s, which is cool. I just kind of wish it was utilized on a different story.

Clockwise (1986)

A pretty funny film about a man going through great lengths to arrive on time. The plot isn’t really important though. The reason to watch is to see John Cleese dealing with arbitrary shenanigans, which is always fun. Cleese is so long though, he always makes me think there’s something wrong with my aspect ratio.

Razorback (1984)

Re-watch of an old favorite. A giant razorback boar roams the outback, chomping on a few people along the way. It’s a campy monster movie at heart, but the gorgeous outback cinematography is no joke.
The Incident was a great movie! I love how they have their personal problems away from the train, but when they get in, how they handle it. Notice the black couple (the man) who were humiliated earlier by someone else - well the man relishes in it on the train, and wants revenge vicariously..

Instead of each "group" working together and getting rid of 2 hoodlums, some insist "It's none of my business" - that is, until it affects them, like life.



The Incident was a great movie! I love how they have their personal problems away from the train, but when they get in, how they handle it. Notice the black couple (the man) who were humiliated earlier by someone else - well the man relishes in it on the train, and wants revenge vicariously..

Instead of each "group" working together and getting rid of 2 hoodlums, some insist "It's none of my business" - that is, until it affects them, like life.
I can appreciate that it gave all of the characters some development, but none of them really interested me much apart from the black couple. It is a scenario that makes you think about human nature in the face of dangerous confrontation, but I guess the end result just didn't click with me.



I haven't seen The Incident (1967)
But I do know what you mean by this:
Thriller about two maniacal scumbags tormenting passengers on a train. I feel like this movie isn’t really meant to entertain as much as it’s meant to aggravate the viewer (imagining themselves in the same situation).
I don't know if people enjoy experiencing the emotions of: helplessness, fear, injustices and anger that a movie like this can evoke.

But I don't like feeling that way for two hours, regardless if the movie is a masterpiece or not...The feelings such a film can dredge up in me, is not what I wish to experience for the evening.

Do other people enjoy having these emotions? Or do they not experience them?



Amadeus (1984)



Alien3 (1992)


Captain America: Civil War (2016)



The Killing (1956)


The Squid And The Whale (2005)


Eyes Wide Shut (1999)



Che: Part One (2008)


Welcome To Leith (2015)


Money Monster (2016)



The Big Country (1958)


In A Lonely Place (1950)




I haven't seen The Incident (1967)
But I do know what you mean by this:
I don't know if people enjoy experiencing the emotions of: helplessness, fear, injustices and anger that a movie like this can evoke.

But I don't like feeling that way for two hours, regardless if the movie is a masterpiece or not...The feelings such a film can dredge up in me, is not what I wish to experience for the evening.

Do other people enjoy having these emotions? Or do they not experience them?
For me, I suppose it depends on the movie, as well as what mood I'm in. The Incident may not have hit home with me, but there are films dominated by negative emotions that I've thought were great. Come and See comes to mind. When I’m in the mood for it, I can really appreciate films that focus on the dark side of life, particularly depression.

One thing that The Incident uniquely instilled in me was frustration. I didn’t mind it, but it didn’t make me like the film any more either. I feel like I should have refrained from rating it now. I can admire its merits, and my mediocre score wasn’t from a lack of taste. I just… didn’t really like it that much.



matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
CR, the first time I saw it, it was toward the end, and I hated that feeling. It is very dark, but this time I was so interested in how everything started, my interest was more than general.

There's the two soldiers. The guy who is from the area says to the apologizes to Beau Bridges' character. Beau replies, "Doesn't bother me none, it's not my town." - but isn't his job to protect as a member of the U.S. military.

The older couple, the somewhat attractive middle-aged woman chastises her husband for not making more money, constantly. In the second scene, the camera shows his face, and only her legs. Seemed like she married him for his money, but times are tough, and in their social circle (the dinner) they are surrounded by more "successful".. When the hoodlums start on her, verbally and sexually the husband very slowly walks toward the action.. Finally, she yells at her husband saying "Are you gonna let them talk to me like that?" He says "You started this" and then suggests that she wants them sexually.. She slaps her husband a few times, and the husband slaps her back.. They all start fighting each other, but not the perpetrators.

McMahon and his wife have their problems; he thinks he's losing his job, and notice he has a very little girl, so her future is in jeopardy without income.

You have the young homosexual who is cruising, but on the train, is harassed. When he's trying to run, he's "outed".

Some resistance is met by the Jewish man (whose wife is Thelma Ritter, or Mrs. Beckerman in the movie) said he'll call the police, and he gets angry, even though his wife is scared. But still, he yells out the hot shot trying to have sex with the blonde. "You are his age, do something.. "Self, self, you only think like animals" then it goes back to them, the new distraction. The main hoodlum (not Martin Sheen) asks the guy "Is that your girlfriend?" - he doesn't answer. Then he asks her if that's her boyfriend, she doesn't answer, and you see them trying to expose the situation.. "How is she like in the sack?"

I didn't mention that the black couple didn't agree; the woman wants to leave at the stop, but the man (who was humiliated) says "I want to watch" - before that line, you could see when he smiled, taking out his frustration from others before, and having sadistic pleasure simply because the oppressed where white.

Remember the people; each one could have been interpreted as a group of people, their personality was very well-defined... You had one guy who was trying to shame a girl until she gave in to his advances, almost to the point of abuse. But when faced with someone more powerful, his personality changed immediately.

You have the drunk man whose being bothered by the two guys, and

Didn't you find it interesting the only one to stand up was a guy with only one arm (his other arm was broken)....

I would type more, but I think I wanna watch this movie again



Yankee Doodle Dandy (Michael Curtiz, 1942)

A Chinese Ghost Story II (Siu-Tung Ching, 1990)
+
Air Bud: Golden Receiver (Richard Martin, 1998)



A system of cells interlinked
Krampus

(Dougherty, 2015)





Fairy decent flick in the spirit of Gremlins. The cast elevates this one a bit, but it wasn't as fun as the Dante classic.


You're Next

(WIngard, 2011)





Final girl thriller with one of the best final girls in the sub-genre. I enjoyed this one.


Crimson Peak

(Del Toro, 2015)





Del Toro is hit and miss for me, but Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, and some cool Gothic production design made this one a hit.


Deadpool
(Miller, 2016)





My second viewing. Lots of fun with plenty of great comedy and some bad ass action scenes.
__________________
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

Beat (Gary Walkow, 2000)
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Intolerable Cruelty (Coen Bros., 2003)
+
Secret World (Robert Freeman & Paul Feyder, 1969)

The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940)


In the film’s prologue, we see why C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) and Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) got divorced.
The Las Vegas Story (Robert Stevenson, 1952)

Hunger (Steven Hentges, 2009)

Waterloo (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1970)

Don Quixote (Grigori Kozintsev, 1957)


Squire Sancho Panza (Yuriy Tolubeev) tries to guide an old man (Nikolay Cherkasov) who believes himself to be the knight Don Quixote.
Under the Gun (Stephanie Soechtig, 2016)
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Gambling House (Ted Tetzlaff, 1950)
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American Ultra (Nima Nourizadeh, 2015)

The Lovers on the Bridge (Leos Carax, 1991)



Two homeless people living on Paris’s Point Neuf Bridge – a young woman (Juliette Binoche) going blind and a young male addict (Denis Levant) see their miserable lives as something spectacularly beautiful.
Battle Stations (Lewis Seiler, 1956)

Michael Ian Black: Noted Expert (Ryan Polito, 2016)

Fighting Mad aka Death Force (Cirio H. Santiago, 1978)

All in a Nutshell (Jack Hannah, 1949)


Donald Duck sells nut butter from his giant walnut store, but Chip and Dale [the latter shown] break in and run amok.
Clay Pigeon (Tom Stern & Lane Slate, 1971)

Fatty's Tintype Tangle (Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, 1915)
+
R.F.D. Greenwich Village (No Director Listed, 1969)

High-Rise (Ben Wheatley, 2016)


Doctor Tim Hiddleston is invited to a party at his new high-rise apartment but is embarrassed to find it a costume party thrown by the snobby wife of architect Jeremy Irons.