Reply to Topic
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (Karel Zeman, 1962) -
After having been so impressed by the visual novelty of Zeman's The Fabulous World of Jules Verne, I sought out his own adaptation of the adventures of the eponymous folk figure and found it more or less the same - it may expand its visual scope to include coloured tinting in a way that evokes silent adventures but it also sacrifices cohesive narrative for the sake of disjointed vignettes that really mess with the pacing.
Paris Belongs To Us (Jacques Rivette, 1961) -
The fact that this reads like my kind of movie on paper (French New Wave, moribund existentialism, self-deprecating leftism) only makes the end result even more disappointing (though in fairness I did watch this really late at night so I might not have been as into it as I would if I wasn't tired). Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime.
Biutiful (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2010) -
This is about what I've come to expect from Iñárritu and his particular brand of dramatics, which I'd liked well enough with Amores perros but liked less and less with each subsequent feature of his (up until Birdman saw him change things up, and even then...). As for Biutiful, it's buoyed a bit by focusing much more clearly on a single protagonist (who is played rather well by Javier Bardem) even though I remain skeptical that this story is strong enough to last a full two-and-a-half hours without eventually becoming an abject wallow in prolonged misery.
Hearts Beat Loud (Brett Haley, 2018) -
I want to call this the 2018 version of Sing Street with its simple but effective tale about a hipster dad's attempts to make music with a daughter who's more focused on heading off to college. Perfectly enjoyable for what it is and it has enough charm to elevate it over other films of its ilk.
Predators (Nimród Antal, 2010) -
Haven't seen this one since it hit theatres and I think it's held up about as well as could be expected, which is fortunately not bad. The concept's solid (group of random killers thrown together to fight Predators) and the casting's generally decent, plus the actual action and effects work around that familiar Troublemaker Studios sheen. Of course, the end result is still too slight for it to be genuinely great, but there's enough fun to be had here anyway.
Redacted (Brian DePalma, 2007) -
It figures that a filmmaker as interested in playing with cinematic form as DePalma would try his hand at the mockumentary sooner or later and seeing him do so through a loose War on Terror-era remake of Casualties of War certainly makes for an interesting and engaging (if not particularly great) piece of late-period work. At the very least, I figure I need to reassess Casualties of War as a result.
Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem (Colin Strause and Greg Strause, 2007) -
It'd be nice if there was something to be gained from a second viewing of this crossover sequel involving two iconic movie monsters coming together in a small American town, but there really, really isn't. Everything is bland at best and downright contemptuous of the audience at worst, resulting in one of my least favourite movies ever.
The Predator (Shane Black, 2018) -
All things considered, this serves as a pretty good reminder why I don't get too excited about new releases. While it's certainly got quite a few moments that harken back to the sort of over-the-top fun that the franchise (or at least the first film) has come to represent, far too often it's let down by technical flaws and tonal problems.
Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiastorami, 1997) -
This brief and minimal tale of a suicidal man trying to find someone to bury his corpse for him after he commits the deed is at once starkly down-to-earth yet strangely humanistic in its treatment of its unusual premise, all captured through Kiastorami's slow and unassuming but notably-constructed filmmaking. I definitely need to see more of his work.
The Trial of Joan of Arc (Robert Bresson, 1962) -
Out of the Bresson films I've seen so far, this may be my least favourite (but that only speaks to how strong his average is). It makes sense that he'd apply his distinctly minimalist (and fittingly fatalist) approach to recounting the final days of one of history's most famous martyrs and it works more often than not, though it does feel like it's wearing out its welcome even in its notably brief running time.
After having been so impressed by the visual novelty of Zeman's The Fabulous World of Jules Verne, I sought out his own adaptation of the adventures of the eponymous folk figure and found it more or less the same - it may expand its visual scope to include coloured tinting in a way that evokes silent adventures but it also sacrifices cohesive narrative for the sake of disjointed vignettes that really mess with the pacing.
Paris Belongs To Us (Jacques Rivette, 1961) -
The fact that this reads like my kind of movie on paper (French New Wave, moribund existentialism, self-deprecating leftism) only makes the end result even more disappointing (though in fairness I did watch this really late at night so I might not have been as into it as I would if I wasn't tired). Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime.
Biutiful (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2010) -
This is about what I've come to expect from Iñárritu and his particular brand of dramatics, which I'd liked well enough with Amores perros but liked less and less with each subsequent feature of his (up until Birdman saw him change things up, and even then...). As for Biutiful, it's buoyed a bit by focusing much more clearly on a single protagonist (who is played rather well by Javier Bardem) even though I remain skeptical that this story is strong enough to last a full two-and-a-half hours without eventually becoming an abject wallow in prolonged misery.
Hearts Beat Loud (Brett Haley, 2018) -
I want to call this the 2018 version of Sing Street with its simple but effective tale about a hipster dad's attempts to make music with a daughter who's more focused on heading off to college. Perfectly enjoyable for what it is and it has enough charm to elevate it over other films of its ilk.
Predators (Nimród Antal, 2010) -
Haven't seen this one since it hit theatres and I think it's held up about as well as could be expected, which is fortunately not bad. The concept's solid (group of random killers thrown together to fight Predators) and the casting's generally decent, plus the actual action and effects work around that familiar Troublemaker Studios sheen. Of course, the end result is still too slight for it to be genuinely great, but there's enough fun to be had here anyway.
Redacted (Brian DePalma, 2007) -
It figures that a filmmaker as interested in playing with cinematic form as DePalma would try his hand at the mockumentary sooner or later and seeing him do so through a loose War on Terror-era remake of Casualties of War certainly makes for an interesting and engaging (if not particularly great) piece of late-period work. At the very least, I figure I need to reassess Casualties of War as a result.
Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem (Colin Strause and Greg Strause, 2007) -
It'd be nice if there was something to be gained from a second viewing of this crossover sequel involving two iconic movie monsters coming together in a small American town, but there really, really isn't. Everything is bland at best and downright contemptuous of the audience at worst, resulting in one of my least favourite movies ever.
The Predator (Shane Black, 2018) -
All things considered, this serves as a pretty good reminder why I don't get too excited about new releases. While it's certainly got quite a few moments that harken back to the sort of over-the-top fun that the franchise (or at least the first film) has come to represent, far too often it's let down by technical flaws and tonal problems.
Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiastorami, 1997) -
This brief and minimal tale of a suicidal man trying to find someone to bury his corpse for him after he commits the deed is at once starkly down-to-earth yet strangely humanistic in its treatment of its unusual premise, all captured through Kiastorami's slow and unassuming but notably-constructed filmmaking. I definitely need to see more of his work.
The Trial of Joan of Arc (Robert Bresson, 1962) -
Out of the Bresson films I've seen so far, this may be my least favourite (but that only speaks to how strong his average is). It makes sense that he'd apply his distinctly minimalist (and fittingly fatalist) approach to recounting the final days of one of history's most famous martyrs and it works more often than not, though it does feel like it's wearing out its welcome even in its notably brief running time.
__________________
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
