Rate the Latest Movie You've Seen V: The Revenge of Cinema Discusso

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Rate the Latest Movie You've Seen V: The Revenge of Cinema Discusso

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

I've seen a lot of pretty good movies lately...

Grace (2009) 78/100

A smarter, more developed, layered, and exploratory version of � l'int�rieur [Inside]. What that film did for wince-inducing violence/gore and advancing parallels of the home and womb, this film does for metaphors of the act of mothering, giving/sustaining life, and dealing with loss. Every character in this is quite creepy, dealing with loss in their own flawed way, yet they all think they strive for what's best for everyone. Great for a debut film.

District 9 (2009) 88/100

A really effective and affective sci-fi piece and blunt social commentary... sometimes too blunt. The film's three acts seem pretty disjointed from each other, like each a different genre, but you are intrigued and enjoying almost every minute of it. The CGI is excellent, and the violence/gore surprisingly refreshing. Not perfect, but really, really good. (The plot and action in the third act is really formulaic, but fun to see unfold.)

Do The Right Thing (1989) 92/100

Very nuanced and balanced handling of race relations and community. So many real viewpoints are presented by a wide cast of fun and flawed characters. There's so much blatant AND subtle racial commentary going on; it's really impressive. Spike Lee never was the best actor... Luckily, even though he's the "main character" he doesn't exactly dominate screen time. Da Mayor is the best, hands down.

Thirst (2009) 95/100

Park is still in amazing form. I loved almost everything about this film. His visual composition, music, and sound design are all superb yet again. The main characters are existentially tortured and desperate in their own ways. Religious and moral bargaining, faith, vengeance, redemption, humanity, and sacrifice are all explored with alternating humor, repulsion, and indulgence. Funny, beautiful, suspenseful, deep, violent, and fulfilling. See it.

Moon (2009) 86/100

Superb acting. After the first act gets the reveal out of the way, the film gets much more engrossing watching the personal interactions and introspection. To quote theficionado "existential paranoia and Cartesian horror... sanctity of memory" are issues you will be faced with, and not bored by, in Moon. Some really cool shots and GERTY is way too compelling. Very impressive for a debut film.

Samurai Fiction (1998) 78/100

Nakano succeeds well with a very basic, done-to-death plot by taking it to fun, quirky new places with the over the top characters, comedic indulgences, selective coloring, and compellingly different music. The narration and ambiguous framing story could definitely go... I want to say this has some Seijun Suzuki influences, in the looseness of it.

The Hurt Locker (2009) 89/100

Excellent directing and acting. The tension and suspense in several scenes are thick as hell. Does really well to show how this type of combat situation wears on soldiers' minds. Best Iraq War film hands down, and probably the best war film, period, I've seen in quite a while.

This is actually shaping up to be a pretty interesting year, movie-wise.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2009 09:34

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 5, 2024 12:18

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

FitFortDanga posted:

Play Time (rewatch, Blu-Ray) - This has got to be one of the best looking discs I've ever seen. The image is crystal-clear and wholly lifelike, what a pleasure to behold. And the movie grows on me more and more each time I see it, always discovering new things (also, this was the first time I noticed that some of the background extras are dummies or cardboard cut-outs). I've even warmed up to Barbara... I used to think of her as a bland counterpart to Hulot, but now I affectionately look forward to seeing her. What a great film. Rating: 10

Would you recommend this as an introduction to Tati/Hulot? An introduction worth the price of the Blu-ray?

I can probably rent the DVD, but to watch it in HD, the Blu-ray will cost me like $40.

Now that I think about it and type that out, I won't buy it on Blu-Ray since I haven't seen any of Tati's stuff yet. So never mind that, but my original question stands!

# ¿ Aug 23, 2009 00:11

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

Mind Game - 90/100
Mind Game will paralyze you with possibility, then give you the antidote. A fun, uber-expressionist ride through an incredibly life-affirming narrative. The themes are universal and handled with a lot of earnestness. This is why animated films exist. And it would be a great primer on expressionism for budding artists. Watch to the end. It's as thematically consistent and coherent as Irreversible.

Strange Days - 78/100
This film hits a lot of 90's action-y clich�s, but you kinda gotta forgive that. Because in-between them all are fun characters, surprisingly good cinematography, and a great performance by Fiennes. It's definitely got a gimmick, but it realizes it fully and effectively without allowing it to unfold tritely. The degenerating city was also a really well-done backdrop.

Halloween - 84/100
The quintessential slasher. With expert direction and scoring, Carpenter elicits a whole lot of tension and menace for such a calm, yet brash killer who just does a lot of standing and staring in the daytime. Michael's near-omnipresence is handled well, very suspensefully. Definitely has several clich�s in it, but that's mostly because this film started them. The intro scene is fantastic for a '78 horror film too.

Egbert Souse posted:

Der Letzte Mann (The Last Man/The Last Laugh)

I really need to get around to this...

# ¿ Aug 24, 2009 04:38

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

FitFortDanga posted:

Last Laugh has some amazing, ahead-of-their-time techniques, but it's kinda slow and I find Jannings' performance a bit broad. Mind Game, goddamn I need to watch that again. Is there finally a DVD out for it?

Region 2
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=REDV-73

You'd think with the success of Tekkonkinkreet it'd get a wider DVD release.

FitFortDanga posted:

Like 6ixtynin9, there's a Tarantino-esque quality...

You have any recommendations for more East Asian films in this vein? It's been quite awhile since I've seen it, but I remember really liking 6ixtynin9.

Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time - 84/100
A great art documentary, exploring a theme and medium both timeless and constantly changing. His ability to merge the natural world with the metaphors we ascribe to it is uncanny. Speaks a lot on context of an art piece or sculpture, and how that alters understanding and appreciation. Also good for a musing on natural found art. Could have ~15+ min. trimmed, though, and he sometimes gets a little loose and new age-y with his terminology.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2009 07:40

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

FitFortDanga posted:

I keep flirting with the idea of doing a Bergman Megathread, but the task is so daunting I don't think I can do it justice. Hell, Seventh Seal alone is too daunting. I thought about maybe doing a "Hidden Bergman Gems" thread focusing just on the ones that don't get much attention, but even that is a big undertaking.

Maybe you could do a sort of rolling Bergman thread. You start with a solid post analyzing one film, which is discussed for awhile, then another user could write another big post to start discussion on another Bergman film that could be copy/pasted into the OP and discussion could start on that one (and maybe continue from the first one). ... It could fail for a number of reasons, but it's an idea.

LtKenFrankenstein posted:

The hidden gems one could be fun, speaking as someone whose favorite Bergman film is Sawdust and Tinsel.

Or you could do a rolling thread on just his hidden gems, listing in the OP which films of his are too well-known and thoroughly discussed to be included.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2009 20:00

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

NeuroticErotica posted:

For a while Rolling Thunder films (his releasing company that ironically NEVER released the genius movie Rolling Thunder) would plaster his face and signature all over the case of the movie... Which gives you people telling you about the weird film he directed called Chungking Express...

Oh god. At the dvd store I work in, we've sold a copy of Quentin Tarantino's Chunking Express and Quentin Tarantino's Hard Core Logo recently.

A dvd cover should not look like that, drat it!

# ¿ Aug 26, 2009 10:36

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

Touch the Sound - 85/100
Inspired and inspiring. If rhythm or musical ingenuity are any interest to you, you'll find quite a bit to enjoy in this. Don't expect too conventional of a documentary, however. Evelyn Glennie is an artist very in-tune with her art. Speaking of which, this makes a wonderful companion piece to Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time (2001). I had no idea they were directed by the same guy until after I typed this up.

The Draughtsman's Contract - 71/100
A really solid murder mystery with a lot of rich allegory to mine. The dialog and strategical tit-for-tat is well written. There's a lot to dissect for the discerning observer. The Statue is the best character (period)

Gang Tapes - 67/100
A very solid cin�ma v�rit� film. We're given different, varied real perspectives on gang life through surprisingly natural dialog. Both the futility and necessity of this type of life are addressed with authenticity, and the inner hierarchies and moralities reveal themselves as characters do. The ending is far too dragged out and heavy-handed, though, unfortunately. This film is really underrated.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2009 19:29

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

Mike_V posted:

I don't think you understand what cinema verite is.

Well it's not traditional, documentary-style, staged set-up cinema verite, but it is a psuedo-documentary in that it's supposed to be "found footage," essentially. The presence of the camera and the "filmmaker" (the young lead character) are definitely used to provoke the "subjects" (all the other gang members and family members he records) into action at various times, and the conceit of the narrative is that it's supposed to be real footage from a vacationing family's stolen camera.

I think it fits in a slightly loose definition of the term.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2009 22:51

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

Well, here's my first batch from VIFF. They're short reviews because they're meant for Criticker.

Mother - 86
A very effective murder mystery that delves deep into character and carries a lot more emotion than you would expect. Typical of Joon-ho Bong: the cinematography is great, overt and subtle comedy is peppered throughout, and a lot of characters do strange or over-the-top things out of grief. The theme of ignorance, both willful and otherwise is looked at pretty closely. Hye-ja Kim does incredibly well.

Castaway on the Moon - 84
A much wider-reaching film than you would expect, given its sharp narrative focus. The parallels between the two Kim's lives are explored really well. Quite funny too. While one Kim struggles through humanity's past development towards the achievements of modern life (black bean noodles), the other wrestles with the tech and ease of modern fantasy she has completely replaced life with. The ending is too dragged out and cliched, unfortunately.

Night and Fog - 74
Gotta be honest: the reveal of the ending in the first scene kills any dramatic tension the final scene is meant to have. Everything else about this film comes together to make an effective, arduous battle showcasing the numerous impediments battered women can face in their struggle for safety and security. The Hong Kong/Mainland China setting is mostly incidental, as this story is relative to people all over the world. Really solid acting.

Tales from the Golden Age - 85
A wonderful rendering of (mostly) interesting tales. They all seem to be loaded with metaphors for various aspects of the contemporary failing communist regime. The first (... Official Visit) is easily the best: tightly directed and edited, with a lot of humor and fun character. ... Party Photographer and ... Greedy Policeman are almost as great in their own styles. The last two meander and are paced much slower, with less to keep your attention, but certainly aren't bad.

Bare Essence of Life - 62
This one really meanders, and has ample room for an editor's shears. It suffers from a little indie quirky-for-quirky's-sake-ness. There are some funny and touching moments, but they mostly just balance out the agitation you feel at regular Yojin's scenes. He's an ADHD-addled child of 25 and, while some of his antics are fun, most are at least a little grating. The unexplained occurrences in the 3rd act and the ambiguous ending don't wrap this up in a nice package.

I got 15 more films coming before the festival's over.

sicDaniel posted:

I have never heard of the original, but I wouldn�t refuse watching it. After all,the remake would have been much better if it had more of the characters and less of the stupid things I spoilered, and from what I�ve heard so far this does apply to the original movie.

The original is fantastic, loaded with tons of fun characters, tension, and Walter Matthau being fuckin' cool.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2009 08:33

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

Voodoofly posted:

I know it is a stupid reason to dismiss a movie I know nothing about, but having just learned about this movie, I have already dismissed it for sharing a name with arguably my favorite documentary ever. Did the movie even attempt to relate to Rensais' film, or was it just someone using the same title on coincidence?

99.9% sure it's just a coincidence, as this film has nothing to do with Nazis, Jews, or concentration camps. Maybe if you really stretched it you could make an argument for systematic perpetuation of violence being a common theme, but no. The Chinese title translates to "Tianshuiwei Night and Fog," and I have no idea what Tianshuiwei is. The festival title just has that part chopped off, I guess.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2009 03:28

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 5, 2024 12:18

JMBosch: May 28, 2006; You're dead.
That's your greatest weapon.

ClydeUmney posted:

Wasn't there a thread for Bronson at one point? I'd consider starting one, but it's such a niche film that I think it would wither and die. If it's come to Nashville, I would imagine that it's already hit everywhere else.

There was a Bronson thread for awhile, and I, personally, wouldn't mind it being revived because I loving loved the film. I started a thread for Refn's next film, Valhalla Rising that fell off the first couple pages pretty quick, probably because it won't come out for awhile.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2009 21:32

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Rate the Latest Movie You've Seen V: The Revenge of Cinema Discusso