Camo's Movie Log

Thanks for posting MInio, i thought about mentioning you because i know you are pretty much the only person here that has seen what i've been watching.

Pulse: i've read some stuff about it after i watched it and i kinda want to see it again. Will try Cure thanks.

What did you think about what i said about What Time Is It There?(?)

Forgot The Brood there. Did you like the way the music was used? It really killed the film for me personally, the score was alright but it was basically never used at the right time, and when it was used at the right time it started before it was the right time and just drifted into it. That's the main thing i thought was awful, bad horror acting usually doesn't bother me at all if i'm enjoying other things but the music killed this for me.

Repulsion

Ugh.. this was awful. Wish i wasn't aware of directors or i could have looked at this differently, Polanski is problematic to say the least as a person so a sexual/rapey film like this from him kind of turns my stomach. I actually don't think i could watch Chinatown or Rosemary's Baby again after how i felt about this. I don't even want to post about it, the only reason i watched the whole thing was so i could cross it off the lists. Kinda feel like i watched one long rape scene and i basically did; big rape scene directed by a rapist.. awesome , doubt i'll ever watch anything from Polanski again.

I know there's a few Polanski fans here, that's cool i get it; this film just really turned me off him.

Think this has replaced Kazaam as my least favourite film ever. Kazaam is just stupid and dull, this actually made me feel bad and disgusted. I didn't post a pic because they all turn my stomach.

I actually really liked Repulsion, eventough it takes a whole new meaning when learning about the stuff Polanski did. When watching it, I really got an Eraserhead vibe from it, so I could definitely see Lynch borrowing some elements from it. Catherine Deneuve was great too.

Also as I already mentioned, the implication in the final shot, was one of the most unsettling film experiences for me.

Whoa, zero stars for Repulsion?

There is never much talking in his films and characters sometimes behave in a weird way. They do things like crying for 10 minutes in Vive l'amour. Also, if you feel like watching something kinky, watch Wayward Cloud. It's totally out there with gleeful musical numbers and explicit images!

Don't/can't remember the music in The Brood, or how it was used.

I double-checked if it's April Fools day today. It is not! I don't even...

__________________
Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Yeah, i could see how anyone could like it, wasn't saying it was a bad film. I just found it pretty sickening personally, obviously that's due to hindsight i probably would have loved it if i saw it when it was released. Can't change that tho, what i know about Polanski now made this pretty horrible for me.

Was actually going to watch Wayward Cloud first then i saw the poster and thought i should start somewhere lighter haha.

Repulsion was repulsive.

Yeah not it was so bad it deserved zero stars, more i felt horrible during every minute of it so it got zero stars.

I tend to separate art from artist, and I do a good job of it in my humble opinion, but anyway it is very important to do with someone like Polanski, who did something sh*tty but is a fantastic filmmaker. I get it if you had a negative gut reaction though, I'm all about gut reactions.

Yeah, i always try and do that myself but i just couldn't here. The whole thing was tough to sit through because of what i know, tried to put it to the back of my mind but i wasn't able to. There's plenty of horrible people whose films i love; Hitchcock for instance, and i usually love Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby but i doubt i'll ever watch them again now, would rather not ruin the positive memory i have of them coz i know myself and i know this won't leave my head now.

I haven't seen the film, but I have to wonder if maybe making the audience feel disgusted was the intent?

__________________

It was. Still doesn't change the fact that i really hated watching it.

It took me a while to get into this, i thought i was onto another negative Cronenberg experience (although i knew it wouldn't be as bad as my reaction to The Brood) i never thought it was bad but i found the first half hour pretty dull; couldn't really connect to anything and i didn't have a clue where it was going. It picked up for me when Claire found out they were identical twins, there was a few things about that while they didn't bother me were pretty weird. Firstly why would she have sex with him before bringing it up and why would she, clearly an intelligent woman not put things together and figure out that both of them had been seeing her. Just a few scenes earlier she noted the differences of who at the time she thought was just Beverly even wondering if he had schizophrenia. Thought that was pretty dumb until the dinner scene of course, that was when i got really into this, i got really into the brothers especially. The differences between them was pretty clear from the start but i didn't find it that interesting until that scene when Elliot was a complete a-hole. Great performance by Jeremy Irons, he really nailed the separate yet similar personalities. Of course the characters were written differently but Irons brought them to life, i could see another actor playing them too alike.

It got very creepy and weird; the stuff with Claire was very unnerving but the first thing that really got under my skin was Elliot asking the twin hookers to call him Elliot and Beverly. That and the threeway slow dance scene later on, the weird incestous angle, Elliott seemingly being more into his brother than anyone else creeped me right out. I found it weird that Elliot was the unlikable one yet he wasn't the dangerous unstable one, he was generally in control and Beverly was a complete mess. That was an odd way to go, i was also surprised how long it took to get into actual horror. Other than a few bits here and there and Beverly's decline it didn't seem to really kick in til the last 20-30 minutes. Great ending. Good film. I'd have it behind only The Fly and Videodrome for Cronenberg.

Coincidentally, Dead Ringers is next on my Cronenberg rewatch list. Glad you stuck with it after the slower start.

__________________

I have the same feelings. I love Chinatown, but when I think about this movie now and I see Jack Nicolson's face, I start to think about all rape issue. I haven't seen "Manchester..." because of Casey Affleck. The Oscar for him was controversial through his dubius opinion, not thespian skills.

To Be Or Not To Be

(Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)

This was my second Lubitsch film after The Shop Around The Corner which i loved. I didn't look this up before watching so it turned out as a bit of a surprise,from the title and poster i thought it would be a rom-com, possibly screwball; it basically was but i didn't expect it to have anything to do with the Nazi's. Not got much to say, i enjoyed it, it was well acted and written. Didn't find it that funny though or my rating would be higher. It's kind of amazing to me that this even exists; a film made in the middle of the war about this and not just any film but a comedy. Anyway enjoyable film just not a favourite as i thought it could have been funnier.

Not much of a Repulsion fan myself although I wouldn't say I dislike it.

"First it was Hess, now him!" is the best line ever.

Pixote
(Hector Babenco, 1981)

Jesus, this made City of God look like a rom-com. Exaggerating of course but not even by that much. City of God was highly stylized and one of its biggest goals was to entertain you; while trying to make a bigger point it showed the "upsides" to this sort of life along with the downsides for the few who were successful in the brief time they were, the money, being able to do what they want, etc. Just in presentation this was much worse, such a grim, grey documentary look; it gave it the feel that this world was completely horrible before anything happened. In content it was relentless, really tough to watch at times; within the first 10 minutes it let you know what you were in for with a disgusting, barbaric rape scene and not just that it showed you how these kids were thought of and how the adults were with the guy in charge of this hellish kids-jail annoyed that it happened under his roof rather than concerned for the kid in the slightest. That was pretty much it throughout, full of bleak scenes and brutality. There was some hope here and there like the teacher and journalist at the jail but for the most part it was depressing. One thing i could have done without was the child nudity, i get that they were going for realistic and that they were trying not to shy away from anything but i didn't feel it was necessary and it happened three or four times, and a certain scene near the end which i get the point of but it was just wrong. Tough film to rate, i think it was pretty great at what it was trying to do and i'm glad i watched it but i doubt i'd be able to sit through it again.