ScarletLion's Movie Log

→ in
Tools    





'The Eyes of my Mother' (2016)



Beautiful Film. Absolutely nuts. Strong debut from Nicolas Pesce. It's an art house gore horror. Very disturbing, really not usually my thing but I enjoyed it because it was so damn minimalistic. It totally worked. It's not groundbreaking. But it made me sit up and take note. 810



Lilya 4-Ever is very much my kind of movie. I loved much of it but the fantasy aspect towards the end blemished my overall feelings.

You see Head-On? That seems like something you might like.



Lilya 4-Ever is very much my kind of movie. I loved much of it but the fantasy aspect towards the end blemished my overall feelings.

You see Head-On? That seems like something you might like.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out if i can locate a copy.

I see your point about Lilya's 3rd act. But it didn't detract for me.



I agree with Chyp about Lilya. I really loved the first half but the second wasn't for me. You should try ******* Amal (a.k.a Show Me Love) from Moodyson. It's more like the first half of Lilya throughout. It is full of angsty teenagers though so i could see anyone hating it for that, i'm amazed it didn't bother me as it usually does.

The Eyes of My Mother was very good.



the samoan lawyer's Avatar
Unregistered User
'The Eyes of my Mother' (2016)



Beautiful Film. Absolutely nuts. Strong debut from Nicolas Pesce. It's an art house gore horror. Very disturbing, really not usually my thing but I enjoyed it because it was so damn minimalistic. It totally worked. It's not groundbreaking. But it made me sit up and take note. 7/10

Glad you enjoyed. Watched it recently myself and loved it.
__________________
Too weird to live, and too rare to die.



'Nocturnal Animals' (2016)


Tom Ford's latest film deals with rejection, life choices and closure. It's a very nice film to look at, with several scenes lasting long in the memory, mainly due to the aesthetic of the shot. It's well made in terms of plot too with a 'book inside a film' technique - and the mechanics of how to get Jake Gyllenhall's character inside both the book and the film plot is nicely manufactured. Amy Adams is enigmatic as the lead, who is querying choices made in previous times, Gyllenhall is his usual very solid self but Michael Shannon more or less steals every scene he's in. He really is one of the most terrific actors on the planet.

The film has flaws. I'm not sure I really believed that some of Gyllenhall's and Adams' backstory was totally without problems

WARNING: "a few" spoilers below
Does he just turn up at the abortion clinic unannounced? Ok maybe it could happen but it was contrived.

And I know the novel was a complete work of fiction but inviting a victim's family along to stake out the potential suspect was a bit much. There's nothing wrong with a novel that suspends belief, but when that novel becomes half of a 2 hour film - it takes over and therefore you find yourself questioning it somewhat.


That said, this is a very watchable film with gripping thriller elements, some psychological drama, some romance, and plenty of nice photography.

It's well worth a watch........ 7/10



'Infinitely Polar Bear; (2014)


I enjoyed the novel way that the manic depression / bipolar disorder is depicted and the way it comes very early in the plot. It's a nicely filmed piece but at the end of the day there just wasn't enough to make me laugh enough, cry enough, be inspired enough or feel any other emotion to make me recommend this movie. It just plodded on and made me nod my head. That's about it. 5/10



'Old Joy' (2006)



Continuing on my Kelly Reichardt crusade, I stumbled upon Old Joy. With a short running time it felt like I'd eavesdropped on a conversation in a nature reserve. Beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted it is a tiny slice of life style film about 2 friends who have drifted apart, and the film centres around them realising just how far they have drifted apart.

We learn that these 2 friends once had a bond that was a bit stronger than friendship. They were soul mates and nothing could touch that. But life moves on. People move on. And this resonated with me. I think probably nearly every adult can find similarities with this in their life. Ever lost touch with a friend? Ever grown apart due to changes in taste? This film deals with it perfectly. There are large parts with no dialogue, typical of Reichardt, but it seems to perfectly fit the awkwardness of the 2 friends journey.

And Lucy the dog! wow, I had no idea she featured in more than 1 Reichardt film, I even noticed that there was a bit of graffiti on the hot springs that mentioned 'Wendy'. I love connections like this. Reichardt has conjured up her own little world in Oregon. This has made me wonder about how Lucy gets to Wendy now, as Old Joy was released 2 years before 'Wendy and Lucy'.

It's a tiny glimpse into an everyday subject, made very personal by one of the greatest female Directors of this generation.

7/10



'Next Floor' [short]

Denis Villeneuve

Villeneuve flexes his muscles in this 10 minute short. I took it to be a repulsion of the throwaway manner on which everything is consumed in modern life and mass produced for a materialistic greedy consumer . Although it could equally have connotations around the way corporations treat humans.

An enjoyable way to spend 10 minutes and a glimpse into the talent, artistry and brilliant mind of Denis Villeneuve. Some of the shots are almost Gilliamesque in look and atmosphere.




'Land of Mine' [Under Sandet] (2015)


Martin Zandvliet's World War II movie is not an original piece, but it is compelling, emotionally powerful and one of the most gorgeously shot war movies I have ever seen. The end of the war arrives in Denmark and the Danish army have a need to clear thousands of live land mines, laid by the Nazis from their beaches.There are very tense scenes,a s you'd expect from the subject content, but also very touching ones.

WARNING: "Land of Mine" spoilers below
It's a' Schindler's List LITE' feature. But that shouldn't put any one off


The young cast of boys in it are truly superb (most of them had never acted in a feature before) as is Roland Moller as the Danish seargent. The script is also just fantastic, it is minimal and doesn't overdo the horrors of war. This film is about love, hate, patriotism, sufferring and forgiveness. Yes the Nazis aren't always the bad guys. The winner though is the photography. It is just stunning.

Strongly recommended. I'd give it at least 8/10.



Yeah, i haven't seen any either, or heard of quite a few. How are you choosing these SL, are they recs are what? Just curious coz as i said i haven't heard of some of them and they look interesting.



Yeah, i haven't seen any either, or heard of quite a few. How are you choosing these SL, are they recs are what? Just curious coz as i said i haven't heard of some of them and they look interesting.
Mostly recommendations from Movie Forums.Some from friends. Some that I've been meaning to watch for a while. Some I have on Blu Ray some of the less easy to find I try and borrow from friends or have to download. I try and keep track of what I watch and what I need to watch by Letterboxd .



'Tangerine' (2015)


A proper indie film, shot on a mobile phone. I wasn't sure if the hype would match the movie, but it did. It's funny, touching and was an entertaining glimpse into 2 hours of street life in LA. It also has a killer soundtrack. The 2 leads are superb.

Oh and Chester from the Wire is also Chester in this. Weird coincidence.

7.5/10



Tell No One (2006)


A solid French thriller from Guillaume Canet. There are moments of real tense drama here and intriguing mystery. Beautifully shot and very well acted. The problem is that there are gaping plot holes and a very fantastical twisty turny ending. That said, there would be no movie (and no novel it's based on) without them, so you tend to forgive the flaws and take it for what it is - which is an entertaining popcorn flick which melds 'The Fugitive' with 'Cache'.

7 out of 10



Wiener Dog (2016)


Well I liked it, To me it was a typical Solondz black as night comedy that dealt with the unavoidable situation of dealing the hand we're dealt with. You can try and shape yourself, behave differently or pretend your something else, but at the end of the day, we are the person we are born. We don't really have a choice to change our personalities. Just like a dog doesn't have the choice which home it goes to. We can take different paths and try out new things but the only thing we're sure of is that this is who we are at this moment and one day we're going to die.

It was laugh out loud funny in places (Muhammed the dog), par for the course with Solondz.

7.5 out of 10.



I only found out about a month ago that features Dawn from Welcome To The Dollhouse. Got to see it.

I felt about the same as you about Tangerine too.
Yeah it has. Let me know what you think.



Kikujiro (1999)


Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro is a strange one. In all senses. It has absolutely beautiful moments. And some completely off the wall segments. The trouble is the character Kitano plays is an idiot. If he was just a loser tryng to connect with a young boy who's trying to find his mother, then I think I would have liked it more. It's still a solid 7/10 but I just didn't identify with some of Kikujiro's actions in the film. I get that he becomes increasingly self aware due to the nature of the similarities between the boy and him, but it falls a little short as it blurs the lines between comedy and drama.