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DCU levels of movie quality here.
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Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)


Only my second Sirk which I need to change considering how much I love Written on the Wind which previously (pardon the pun) blew me away. This is another great film tackling interesting social themes. I love how Sirk blocks his films which really works in reinforcing the power of each scene.

Burning (Lee Chang-dong, 2018)


Incredible atmosphere from the off, a masterclass in creating an uneasy, unsettling mood through sound and vision. Felt like a horror movie and I had no idea where it was going in terms of plot which was great for such a highly regarded recent film. Been thinking about it ever since and want to show my brother it as I think he'll love it too.

It's Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt, 2012)


Finally got round to watching the feature-length version of this and I feel similar to the rest of the stuff I had already seen. Enjoyable enough.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)


I can see why this has a lot of fans, it doesn't try to hide what it is but does everything in a really well-crafted way. Entertaining with interesting performances and when the action comes I was really into it and rooting for the characters.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016)


Very good, the third act is especially well crafted. I think I've heard some people moan that the story is "inconsequential" or however you want to describe it as we kind of know what happens in the end, but I felt this got me more invested in the heroes of the story. It felt like a film celebrating revolution, rebellion, it got me invested in the "cause" more strongly that some of the other films have.
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matt72582's Avatar
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Oslo, August 31st - 6.5/10
I liked the first half very much. The movie was only about 90 minutes long, and I felt there could have been things cut, especially irrelevant characters. I mean if there's a great line the writer has had, ok, find a way to add some of your talent in the movie... The whole bar, rave (and to the end) was exactly like I thought it would be. Slow-motion, horrible noise, the same old angles, and it took up the last 30 minutes of the movie.




matt72582's Avatar
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I loved this film, and have seen it 8-10 times. "Rebel", along with The Wild One (1953) were the two chief films of the earlier '50s that spoke to the new rebelliousness of youth. Nobody was cooler than James Dean and Marlon Brando, and the teen crowds went nuts over the two movies.

I recall my mother taking me out of the theater when we attended The Wild One, because the crowds were too loud and unruly. She complained to the manager, who refunded her the ticket prices. I saw it all later by myself..

My high school band was invited to the '59 Rose Bowl Parade. We got a bus tour to the Griffith Park Observatory where much of "Rebel's" action took place. I couldn't believe I was at the actual place where Dean et al starred in the picture! It looked just like it did in the movie. OTOH we all wanted to see 77 Sunset Strip (after the series), but there was no such place...

This is retroactive, I was born in the 80s, my uncle has these plaques of James Dean (and Elvis, who I thought was cool) but James Dean was a bad Brando copycat. Copied everything he did (even off the camera), and only did a few movies. Great directors, but not their best movies by a long-shot. I didn't even think he was great actor.



Brando got screwed over "Mutiny" (monsoons, three different scripts, no finished ending, problems with the locals) but because he was the biggest star, who are you going to sue? The biggest star, or a guy making $50/week? And the movies he made for the next ten years were so awful. "Candy" - parody, mockery, satire, still stupid. Or the others. Until 1972, where given the opportunity, could give you "The Godfather" and "Last Tango In Paris"



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Loved this very strange movie, which I’ve never seen before. Always thought it had steamy sex scenes, but it doesn’t at all.

The physicality of the rôle that the male lead had to endure is amazing.
WARNING: spoilers below
Did his woman & their baby return to him? Haven’t a clue which way that would go.

I can't answer the spoiler, as it has been a few years and I don't remember that... I just loved the setting. I almost want to watch a few minutes of this. Anything to distract my imagination.


If you liked this movie, I highly urge to check out "The Face of Another" which I think is even a little better.



This is retroactive, I was born in the 80s, my uncle has these plaques of James Dean (and Elvis, who I thought was cool) but James Dean was a bad Brando copycat. Copied everything he did (even off the camera), and only did a few movies. Great directors, but not their best movies by a long-shot. I didn't even think he was great actor.

Brando got screwed over "Mutiny" (monsoons, three different scripts, no finished ending, problems with the locals) but because he was the biggest star, who are you going to sue? The biggest star, or a guy making $50/week? And the movies he made for the next ten years were so awful. "Candy" - parody, mockery, satire, still stupid. Or the others. Until 1972, where given the opportunity, could give you "The Godfather" and "Last Tango In Paris"
I don't know if James Dean was a great actor. He didn't have the range that Brando had (few did). And the 3 movies he made were done within 2 years ('55-'56). He had been slated to play the lead in Somebody Up Their Likes Me (1956), but his shocking untimely death at aged 24 ended all that. It's hard to say if he would have morphed into a truly great actor had he lived.

But what Dean had was the ability to capture the teen angst of the era like no one had done in that way before, or possibly since. He instantly became wildly popular. As Elvis Presley was to rock 'n roll, James Dean was to films.

His scenery chewing in East of Eden seems over the top today, but at the time it was ground breaking for that type of role. Of course it was Rebel Without A Cause that made him a super star. I think the film still has appeal today. But I think he really showed his talent in Giant, where he played a wild ranch hand who gradually aged into an oil man nouveau riche.

IMO a better comparison to Dean would be Paul Newman.



Shutter Island 8/10 even thought i found the twist kinda predicable it was still a wild ride

Bend of the River 6/10 not James stewarts best film but he's still great in it

Cocaine Bear 7/10 i enjoyed this a lot, it's stupid but really fun

The Five Heartbeats 7/10 great acting by all involved,great music too



The Silent Partner (1978). A mild-mannered teller gets involved in a plot to rob the bank he works at. This. Movie. Is. HORNY. A lot of the attempts at humor derive from this fact. It’s watchable but there’s some baffling choices on the part of the filmmakers and characters alike. And John Candy is in it. (Yes he’s horny too).



I forgot the opening line.

By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44326920

Selma - (2014)

I thought this was a decent dramatization of real life events, managing to construct a conflict/resolution framework to have historical figures fit in and play the roles they did during the Selma to Montgomery protest marches. For example, the filmmakers give a good illustration right at the start of the problem - Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey) tries to enroll to vote, as was her civil right, but is obstructed by the clerk who accepts the enrollment forms. A Federal Law needed enacting at a time when it wasn't expedient, and reactions to the civil rights movement such as the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama church, killing four black children, underlined how high the stakes were. British actor David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. really surprises, and fellow Brit Tom Wilkinson adds to the surreal nature of this film's casting as Lyndon B. Johnson*. A great story - those marches - and this film, while it does blend into the plethora of staid historical dramas we get these days, is important, as it acts as a reminder of the fact that the civil rights era was bloody and hard fought for African Americans. Movies like this, Detroit and Judas and the Black Messiah are opening a window into a significant era which we hear about, but haven't yet experienced in such a visceral way - the cinematic adaptation of events is a necessary step, I believe.

8/10

*Edit - I forgot, Tim Roth too as George Wallace


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The Innocent - (2022)

A crime film, a romance film and a comedy all mixed into one, The Innocent is cute, but it so often misses golden opportunities to go for the comedic jugular that I have to reason that the dramatic aspects of what was going on were more important for director/star Louis Garrel and co. So many times I thought, "Oh, this will be good" only for the moment to be missed. Still, there were some absolute gems in this all the same. Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg) falls in love with prisoner Michel (Roschdy Zem) while teaching theater to convicts, and she goes on to marry him - much to the horror of son Abel (Louis Garrel) who will stop at nothing to find something wrong with this interloper. Aiding him is the 'always in the mood for fun' Clémence (Noémie Merlant) and the four actors/characters really gel - the dynamics are at times adorable, and at others really funny. While I admit to having a huge soft spot for this one, I thought it could have been more than good, and that missed opportunity is a shame. This is the kind of movie though, that I really want to see again just to bask in it's warm glow - so perhaps there's more to it than I'm giving it credit for.

6/10
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016)


Very good, the third act is especially well crafted
You mean the only bit that is actually like a Star Wars movie? I'd agree. It's the only part worth watching, IMO.
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Raven73's Avatar
Boldly going.
Three Thousand Years of Longing
6.5/10.
I liked the premise of a djinn confronted by a woman who thinks she doesn't want anything. I also enjoyed the first act, but the rest of it didn't grant my wishes.
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Deception (1946)

This film starring Bette Davis, Claude Rains and Paul Henreid (Casablanca) is a mixture of melodrama, romance, mystery and noir, with the emphasis on melodrama.

Davis’ character (a pianist) discovers that a former lover (a concert cellist played by Henreid) thought to be killed in Europe turns up as the soloist at a symphonic concert. She rushes to the concert hall, and after the concert surprises him in his dressing room where they have an emotional reuniting. She takes him back to her apartment which is surprisingly well appointed. Henreid is surprised and suspicious at the apartment and Davis’ expensive wardrobe. She states that she has made good money teaching piano to wealthy students.


They marry, but at the reception, conductor/composer Alexander Hollenius (Rains) shows up, soon making it obvious that it was he who was keeping Davis in high style while using her as his muse and lover. Hollenius leaves in a huff, and Henreid instantly becomes jealous, yet later swallows his pride when Hollenius shows Henreid his cello concerto, and offers him the opportunity to premier it with Hollenius conducting the orchestra. Davis suspects Hollenius will pull the rug out from under Henreid by replacing him at the last minute with another cellist, thereby worsening Henreid’s fragile mental state.

The tension keeps building between Davis and Hollenius, as she learns that he in fact is out to sabotage Henreid. That knowledge steels her resolve which leads to an inevitable noirish climax.

The Davis role was initially intended to be for Barbara Stanwyck, but Davis dove into the part with her trademark histrionic approach. But surprisingly it was Claude Rains who stole the show as the egomaniacal Hollenius. He let out all the stops in his portrayal of the treacherous and deceitful conductor.

The other memorable facet of this picture was the cello concerto itself written by Erich W. Korngold, a highly regarded composer in Europe who was convinced to write music for Hollywood films. Other incidental music throughout is From Beethoven, Schubert and Haydn. There was very convincing impersonating performing by both Henreid at the cello, and Davis at the piano. The both seemed as if they were really performing their respective pieces.

Because of the very high budget, the film became the first movie Davis did for Warner Brothers that lost money. This one should be watched for its acting, especially by Rains, and also for the fine music. It’s available on the Internet Archive.

Doc’s rating: 6/10



Three Thousand Years of Longing
6.5/10.
I liked the premise of a djinn confronted by a woman who thinks she doesn't want anything. I also enjoyed the first act, but the rest of it didn't grant my wishes.
I started watching this but it didn't hold my interest. It could be because they did a flashback to the djinn's life and I often give up during a change of the story in a book or a movie.



I forgot the opening line.

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The Tiger and the Snow - (2005)

Roberto Benigni can be a little too manic for me, and annoying - something like a hyperactive child. Watching yet another film he's made with wife Nicoletta Braschi was pretty chancy, but it's a risk that somewhat paid off - The Tiger in the Snow isn't too bad. At times the comedy really works, and the idea of a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale set in Baghdad during the Iraq War is just crazy enough to be interesting. Benigni's character, poetry professor Attilio de Giovanni, is the same old Benigni we always see - rapid-fire jokes, clumsiness and silly mistakes. He has the aura of an old silent film comedian such as Buster Keaton or Chaplin, and like them he basically plays the same character in every film he appears in. Giovanni dreams of marrying the woman he loves every night, Vittoria (Braschi) - replete with Tom Waits singing the excellent "You Can Never Hold Back Spring" - but this woman doesn't want him. Regardless, when Giovanni hears that Vittoria has been badly hurt while reporting in Iraq during the war, he rushes to be with her. He'll have to face the many dangers occurring at the worst of times, and try to save the love of his life any way he can. The cast includes Jean Reno as Giovanni's friend Fuad, but he isn't given nearly enough to do in this. I have to admit that The Tiger and the Snow made me laugh from time to time, and the only off-putting aspect to Benigni's writing is that he makes himself a sex-magnet who everyone loves, and his college students all laugh their head off at his somewhat middling improvised jokes - it's that manic "20% of these quick-fire jokes work" energy that needs to be toned down, but otherwise this was a kind of sweet, funny and charming movie.

7/10


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Diary of the Dead - (2007)

I really wanted to like Diary of the Dead, but I couldn't. George A. Romero was going for the found-footage version of his usual zombie films, but he wasn't willing to sacrifice what you have to sacrifice to get that done - cheating enough to make the whole enterprise kind of pointless. Therefore he ends up giving us overloaded exposition to explain away different shots, points of view, score, effects and editing - but little matter, because this doesn't feel in any way like a found footage film regardless. When a dear friend is getting attacked by a zombie, two of our characters just stand there recording it while she fights for her life - and this has it's own explanatory exposition, with characters mentioning how addictive and all-consuming filming these events are. Romero wants everything in each shot - everything - so it never feels improvised or real at all, and the whole process is ruined. It probably doesn't matter, because Diary of the Dead has a turgid screenplay, is dumb, and has sub-par performances. The plot holes and lack of nous ate away at me, and I tried hitting a mental reset button numerous times - to no avail, it never gets any better and when you add bad CGI effects to the list of offenses this film commits, you have to conclude that this chapter of the Dead franchise will never rise from the grave. Hated it.

3/10





Earth Girls Are Easy (1989)

This movie suffers from some technical difficulties, mainly the sound, but it isnt that bad. I remember it playing constantly on cable TV in the mid to late 90s but I didnt really see the whole thing back then. You cant help but think it needed one more notch of quality in there to up the score. Everything about this movie is pure 80s if you wanna check out what that looks like.

60/100



'Falcon Lake' (2022)




Sweet little Canadien film portraying the first love and coming of age of a 14 year old. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this film initially as it does rather sexualize a young teen – but how else is the Director Charlotte Le Bon supposed to make a film about the desires of those at that age. In the end it is done very tenderly and sensitively.

The film is rather beautiful in that respect as we see Bastien who is on a family holiday, lust after Chloe who has several other, older male admirers. The film captures a lot of the excitement, adventure, awkwardness and aloofness of first encounters with love and lust at that age, as well as the stomach sickening nervousness and horror of it all.

It does though have a tiny choreographed and obvious climax but - the third act is impossible to write about without spoilers, so I won’t try.

A convincing debut from Charlotte Le Bon.

7.8/10