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Daveski posted:Just watched: I watched Interiors the other night but never got around to making a post about it. I thought it was dull and uninteresting. "Serious family drama" is pretty much my least favorite genre, so I'll admit that I went into it with low expectations, but the fact that the dialogue seemed unbelievable and the characters were unlikable certainly didn't help either. Basically everything I like about Woody Allen films (wit, charm, great music) is absent here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=O6MHhjQd5ic#t=338s
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May 9, 2012 06:33
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Starting Edward Burns this weekend. I should have my review up Sunday night. EDIT: Managed to find a copy of Ash Wednesday and a friend of mine is going to lend me his screener of Newlyweds (he works for a distributor so he got a copy early) so I'm throwing them into the mix. The Brothers McMullen|She's The One|No Looking Back|Sidewalks of New York|Ash Wednesday|Looking for Kitty|The Groomsmen|Purple Violets|Nice Guy Johnny|Newlyweds screenwritersblues fucked around with this message at 04:53 on May 11, 2012 |
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May 11, 2012 04:26
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So, because I'm able to get a jump on it sooner rather than later, and I've decided I really want to begin watching all his films, I'm going to do Alfred Hitchcock (I'll finish up the Coens by the end of the summer if not the end of June). However, I'd rather do Hitchcock as he's such an important part of film history, and I've only seen a handful of his films. Some only once a few years ago and I'd need a refresher. I've seen most of the big ones like Psycho, Vertigo, North By Northwest and Rear Window, but I'd like to go through and watch everything in order. Hopefully I can learn more about him and his approach to filmmaking in the process. Plus, it'll be interesting to watch a director like him evolve from starting in the silent era to ending in the mid 1970s when a whole new renaissance of film came around. Current Director: Alfred Hitchcock Films Completed: 0/52 Next Up: The Pleasure Garden The Pleasure Garden | The Lodger: A Story of The London Fog | The Ring | Downhill | The Farmer's Wife | Easy Virtue | Champagne | The Manxman | Blackmail | Juno and the Paycock | Murder! | The Skin Game | Rich and Strange | Number 17 | Waltzes From Vienna | The Man Who Knew Too Much | The 39 Steps | Secret Agent | Sabotage | Young and Innocent | The Lady Vanishes | Jamaica Inn | Rebecca | Foreign Correspondent | Mr. and Mrs. Smith | Suspicion | Saboteur | Shadow of a Doubt | Lifeboat | Spellbound | Notorious | The Paradine Case | Rope | Under Capricorn | Stage Fright | Strangers On A Train | I Confess | Dial M For Murder | Rear Window | To Catch A Thief | The Trouble With Harry | The Man Who Knew Too Much | The Wrong Man | Vertigo | North By Northwest | Psycho | The Birds | Marnie | Torn Curtain | Topaz | Frenzy | Family Plot
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May 12, 2012 04:30
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TrixRabbi posted:The Ring | Downhill | The Farmer's Wife | Easy Virtue | Champagne | The Manxman This is gonna be a really rough patch, man.
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May 12, 2012 05:01
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penismightier posted:This is gonna be a really rough patch, man. Well, here goes nothing. I'm also skipping two films. Elstree Calling which apparently isn't available on video and he only directed scenes from anyway, and Mary which is the German version of Murder! Although, if you think I should go to the effort to track those down, I might as well. Two more can't hurt. Current Director: Alfred Hitchcock Films Completed: 1/52 Next Up: The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog Surprisingly, most of the reviews for The Pleasure Garden on Criticker are overwhelmingly negative. It's nowhere near a great film, but it was certainly enjoyable. The last 15 minutes in particular was some really well done suspense. Perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise, but it is his first feature. In fact, I constantly noticed some of his signature themes showing up - Voyeurism, backstabbing, and yeah, even murder. The plot is neither complex nor original. Patsy Brand is a young woman who manages to get a job at The Pleasure Garden theater as a chorus girl. She soon meets and marries a man named Levet, who only a month later leaves for the tropics and immediately begins cheating on her. After putting off writing to her as long as possible, he lies and tells her he's ill - which prompts her to spend all her parents money in order to travel across the world to be with him. Of course everybody's cheating on everybody here. Hitchcock's interest in voyeurism also peaks it's head several times. There is an early scene where Patsy and her roommate Jill are undressing. Nothing is shown, but it's enough to be tantalizing to a 1925 audience. We also see Levet watching over Patsy as she sleeps, among other small moments of men watching women. It drags at some points, but most of the time the story keeps moving. It feels at times like we're getting Patsy's entire life story with the speed the plot develops at. She goes from getting a job to getting married in less than 15 minutes, and this really helps keep the film together. It's short too, only about 60 minutes, which is always a plus. It's clear Hitchcock is still finding his feet here. Technically, it is his third film as a director. His first, Number 13, fell through in production and was never finished. His second is a half-lost short. So for his first complete feature, The Pleasure Garden is a pretty nice portfolio piece. Maybe if it weren't for it's director it'd be completely forgettable, but as it stands it's a pretty fun way to spend an hour.
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May 12, 2012 05:59
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I just got a full Netflix subscription since I graduated from college and I have a real job now - let's give this a shot. I'm starting with the two I can stream (Kagemusha and Ran) and watching the rest in chronological order. Netflix is missing a few, but I'll try to track them down regardless. Current Director: Akira Kurosawa Progress: 0/31 Sanshiro Sugata | The Most Beautiful | Sanshiro Sugata Part II | The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail | Those Who Make Tomorrow | No Regrets for Our Youth | One Wonderful Sunday | Drunken Angel | The Quiet Duel | Stray Dog | Scandal | Rashomon | The Idiot | Ikiru | Seven Samurai | I Live in Fear | Throne of Blood | The Lower Depths | The Hidden Fortress | The Bad Sleep Well | Yojimbo | Sanjurō | High and Low | Red Beard | Dodesukaden | Dersu Uzala | Kagemusha | Ran | Dreams | Rhapsody in August | Madadayo Next up: Kagemusha
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May 14, 2012 00:41
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Director currently working on: Martin Scorsese Progress 34/35 [ Just watched: First things first, I had no idea that the song New York, New York came from this film, and was convinced that the title was an allusion to the Sinatra song and Liza Minnelli the cover version. Boy did I feel confused half way through when they start composing the song. Shame shame shame shame. New York, New York is not a very good film, Happy Endings on the other hand I quite enjoyed it. I got really sick of the loser misogynist character of De Niro by the 10 minute mark, which bode badly for the rest of the film. He has played some really nasty and despicable characters in his career and in Scorsese films, but there was just something completely infuriating and non-engaging in Jimmy Doyle. So when he finally leaves the picture, and you just get Liza Minelli for a long stretch and her musical inside a musical inside a musical section, it's almost like a breath of fresh air, and started to actually care for what's was going on in her life if only for a brief time. It's an experiment by Scorsese, even if a major trainwreck, but the musical aspect combined with the noir cinematography, makes up for an interesting premise and there's some few good things about it. The fight in car scene was genuinely emotional and scary, the Happy Endings I liked though it seems I'm alone thinking that, but there is a lot wrong with it, maybe too wrong. I ended up giving a slightly generous rating(66/100) just on the base of those high moments alone. Next Up: The Last Temptation of Christ Only one left to wrap up. Not sure who to follow up with, was thinking either Sam Peckinpah or Werner Herzog.
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May 14, 2012 00:43
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Electronico6 posted:Only one left to wrap up. Not sure who to follow up with, was thinking either Sam Peckinpah or Werner Herzog. I suggest Peckinpah. Why? Because I'm considering doing Herzog myself soon and the rate at which you finish movies will make me look bad. 
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May 14, 2012 02:50
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Current Director: Akira Kurosawa Progress: 1/30 [Sanshiro Sugata | The Most Beautiful | Sanshiro Sugata Part II | The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail | No Regrets for Our Youth | One Wonderful Sunday | Drunken Angel | The Quiet Duel | Stray Dog | Scandal | Rashomon | The Idiot | Ikiru | Seven Samurai | I Live in Fear | Throne of Blood | The Lower Depths | The Hidden Fortress | The Bad Sleep Well | Yojimbo | Sanjurō | High and Low | Red Beard | Dodesukaden | Dersu Uzala | Just watched: The thing that really stands out about Kagemusha is the cinematography. It is an absolutely gorgeous film. The colors are vibrant and many of the long cuts look like live-action paintings rather than scenes from a film, and the recurring light/shadow motif makes for some really awesome shots throughout. The story, on the other hand, was pretty meh. It wasn't bad, are there are some very entertaining moments (the opening scene, for example), but the pacing is a bit slow, there isn't a lot of character development, and there are a few bits of plot that are poorly-explained or forgotten. The premise was solid, but the execution was lacking. So yeah, beautiful but boring. I wouldn't watch it again, but I'd buy prints of some of the film stills to hang in my apartment. Next up is Ran, the only other Kurosawa movie they have up for streaming. Also, I'm removing Those Who Make Tomorrow from the list because apparently Kurosawa had his name struck from the credits for some reason. Next up: Ran
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May 14, 2012 03:46
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Current Director: Edward Burns Progress: 1/10 Just Watched: The Brothers McMullen I wasn’t really crazy about this one, mainly because it’s your typical first film. Burns throws too much stuff at you at once and with three story lines going on at once about three brothers, one married, one almost married, and one not involved at all, makes it confusing to follow what was going on. There’s also a lot of talk of religion in this film, because of the fact that the brothers are devote Irish Catholics and take pride in their religion so much to the pot where it ends one relationship. While this bothered me some what, the love story lines worked out a lot better and allowed me to see how each character uses love in different ways in order to tell each one the stories. Granted, it may seem like it isn’t important, but the way that it’s used to help tell the story, which a first time viewer would not pick up on. While it may not seem like it this helps the story line. The story line was great however and almost all the stories about the brothers intertwine at the end of the movie. While it may not seem like a family film, not for families, but about families, at first, in the end because of the fact that brother are involved in each other loves, shows that family bonds run deep. Granted, the acting is pretty terrible at times, the actors make up for it by seeming really like brothers. In the end, it turns out that it’s really a perfect example of how an indie should be done. Do it simple, hire your friends, and beg Robert Redford to watch your film in order to get into Sundance. Watch this film and you’ll see how to do a low budget film perfectly. Up Next: She's the One. I hope that this one is a little better than the first one and not as confusing. While I did enjoy the first one, there was just too much going on.
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May 14, 2012 04:06
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Director currently working on: David Cronenberg Progress: 17/22 (I'm having a hell of a time tracking down Transfer, so until I do I'm listing 22.) Just watched: M. Butterfly - Despite Cronenberg's economic storytelling, this one drags a bit. Thankfully though, the film's relatively short running time makes it tolerable. Irons' performance is great and Lone's is even better. Cronenberg's themes of subconscience desire and identity confusion are in full force. I can't say I didn't see the twist coming, but that didn't hamper its effectiveness. This isn't top tier Cronenberg, but it's psychologically intriguing enough to fit in nicely with his other work. 79/100 Next up: From the Drain From the Drain, Stereo, Crimes of the Future,
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May 14, 2012 17:46
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Director currently working on: David Cronenberg Progress: 18/22 Just watched: From the Drain - A 12 minute short film about two guys sitting in a bathtub. Ridiculous acting, stupid music, and really boring. This is a student film that would have remained in total obscurity if not for the eventual fame of its director. I can definitely sense the seeds of Cronenberg's skill buried here, but it's too uninteresting to be any good. Unfortunately, this should have probably stayed in obscurity. 45/100 Next up: Stereo
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May 14, 2012 18:26
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Director currently working on: Martin Scorsese Progress 35/35 [ Just watched: Strange going from the very expensive and opulent New York, New York to the very scrappy and low budget The Last Temptation of Christ, and what is mainly a film about two horrible people, to the story of a man seeking to do good and being conflicted and tempted otherwise. A very different mindset for Scorsese. Considering I never really payed attention to religion, nor was I raised in a particular religious home, the portrayal of Jesus as a flawed human being, with worries about his destiny and his commitment to God(and appearing nude and having sex), doesn't send me into fits of Blasphemy rage and the likes, it's quite interesting and moving spin to the tale of Jesus. Loved the little debate he has with Paul at the end, and the whole notion of the mythical symbol being more powerful than the actual fact, Organized Religion in a nutshell. It has a couple of issues, some of pacing is a bit off, and there are quite the dull valleys, I also don't particular agree with the soundtrack, but it's a great film nonetheless. Though there was no need to torch cinema houses. And that's that. There was a bunch of shorts that I missed, but I couldn't find them, so I guess it's not very important. My final rankings from Criticker of all 35 features:  80's Scorsese is the best Scorsese, at least in terms of average quality(not counting documentaries), it's also where his most confident work in terms of film technique is. Leaving the rookie and the more experimental 70's, the guy was just a true pro, and it was all building into Goodfellas which is just a perfect film.  Next year Scorsese returns with another Leonardo DiCaprio collaboration into the crime world, of the Wall Street type(the worst kind of criminals) with The Wolf of Wall Street, should be fun. But for now, and till next year it's goodbye Martin Scorsese. Next on the list is Sam Peckinpah, I only watched 2 films from him so far, and I found both interesting even with all it's problems. Also my neighbour owns these films, and he has been bothering me for quite some time to watch them. No uncredited work nor the stuff he did for TV. Director currently working on: Sam Peckinpah  Progress: 2/14 [The Deadly Companions; Ride the High Country; Major Dundee; Next Up: The Deadly Companions(Going chronological with this one.) Directors completed: Martin Scorsese(35/35)
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May 14, 2012 23:00
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Electronico6 posted:it was all building into Goodfellas which is just a perfect film. Your score of 99 would suggest otherwise.
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May 14, 2012 23:42
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Noxville posted:Your score of 99 would suggest otherwise. You can read that 99 as perfect score. (actually I been meaning to change all those ranks, but I'm lazy.) Electronico6 fucked around with this message at 00:08 on May 15, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 00:06
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Director currently working on: David Cronenberg Progress: 19/22 Just watched: Stereo - Ugh, I didn't like this. It's Cronenberg's first feature and is mostly just a curiousity for hardcore fans or those, like myself, seeking to see everything he's made. There are no sound effects, dialog, or music. Just scattered voiceover over 60 minutes of people doing really boring things. The film's pretty drat dull. I was annoyed by the seemingly complete disconnect between the narration and what was on screen at any given time. The psuedo-scientific ESP psycho babble only made me less engaged with what I was seeing. I have to say though that the movie is quite well-shot, with lots of dramatic lighting and interesting lines, shapes and spaces. It's funny that a movie like this where "not much happens" and is only 60 minutes can bore me to tears, where as a movie like Bela Tarr's Satantango, another "not much happens" movie that's 7 HOURS long can engage and stimulate me the whole way through. Cronenberg is a great director, but "not much happens" movies are NOT where he shines. 35/100 Next up: Crimes of the Future
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May 15, 2012 02:48
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Director currently working on: The Coen Brothers Progress: 8/15 Just watched: The only Coen Brothers movie I've seen so far that I wouldn't call an unmitigated success. I still liked The Hudsucker Proxy but there was something a little off about it and I think that has a lot to do with the casting of the main character. Don't get me wrong Tim Robbins does a fine job but he just doesn't seem quite right in the role to me. I was also a little put off by the out of nowhere supernatural sequence at the end of the film. Again, I did enjoy the film, especially Paul Newman's performance but it just didn't hit the heights that I've come to expect from the Coens. Next up: I'm rewatching Fargo
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May 15, 2012 06:37
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Director currently working on: Spike Lee Progress: 8/17 She's Gotta Have It (1986) | Just Watched: Crooklyn - one of my favorites so far. Crooklyn is a partially autobiographical tale of growing up in 1970s Brooklyn and Lee really puts a lot of heart into the film. There isn't much of a plot to speak of, it feels much more like a slice of the central family's life and very little of importance happens until an abrupt third act - it feels like Lee and his co-writers (his sister and brother) got carried away in portraying day-to-day life and felt compelled to create plot threads to tie up. It's not a huge flaw - the third act is perhaps a bit jarring and the plot really picks up pace at this point, but all the material is treated with a lot of warmth. I found it to be a very funny work, even at points where some fairly dramatic moments happen Lee's use of music and his work with the cast (especially David Patrick Kelly) make the film lighter in tone - like a nostalgic reflection on adolescence. As the film focuses on the everyday life of this family and their wider community I don't have as much to say about this film. There's a fair amount of political commentary but it's never overt and nor is it the main focus of the film. The performances are excellent throughout - I found it especially interesting to see Delroy Lindo play a naive and kind father after seeing his rather threatening performances in other Lee films. He has a lot of range and it's put to good use here. Lee's use of music is very good, using period-accurate music which fits the emotions of the scene. The entire film does a very good job of recreating a time and place but without making it very obvious - there's never any jokes about the style and feel of the era. A lot of period-set stuff feels the need to directly point out how different modern times are to the past and it's refreshing to see a 70s period piece played entirely straight. Of particular note is Lee's camerawork - it's always quite stylish but it seems at this period in his career, from Malcolm X through to Clockers, his style goes into overdrive. There are so many striking bits of camerawork, from his use of dolly shots, long and intricate shots which weave through the family house and give a real sense of space, to scenes where characters appear to be walking upside down on thin air. The camera tricks always serve the emotions of the scene. His dolly shots are a bit of a trademark but they're not used as a shorthand to explain how a character feels - each one is tied to a specific context and adds weight to emotions already present in a scene. Lee even puts certain scenes into a different aspect ratio that makes them look stretched out - it's very clever and creates a feeling of alienation but I was more concerned that something had went wrong with the playback (a feeling apparently shared by a few reviewers when the film was released). Overall I was very impressed despite the poor pacing of the plot. It's got a lot of heart, humor, and some very impressive performances and camerawork. I really love Lee's style and it seems when he collaborates with other writers it gets the best out of him, as a writer and director. Next up: I'm hoping Lee's work just before Malcolm X also features the same amount of stylish tricks - I can't get enough. I've also wanted to see how he worked with Wesley Snipes, so next on my list is Jungle Fever.
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May 15, 2012 21:54
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Director currently working on: David Cronenberg Progress: 20/22 Just watched: Crimes of the Future - This is like a companion piece to Cronenberg's previous film, Stereo. Like that film, this one is silent save for some dull monotone narration and obnoxious sound effects. Also like that one, this one is about 60 minutes and is incredibly dull. The only interesting thing about these two movies is seeing a small glimpse of how Cronenberg's mind works. But without an interesting narrative that we would see later starting with Shivers, these early films are under-cooked and boring as dirt. I'm rating this a couple points lower than Stereo because it wasn't as well-shot. 33/100 Next up: Fast Company
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May 16, 2012 02:55
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What the heck, I have plenty of free time now. Director currently working on: Alex Proyas Progress: I've seen all of his mainstream films (The Crow, Dark City, I Robot, Knowing) but most of them I haven't seen since I was a teenager, so I figure I'm due for a complete re-watch. Dark City was one of the first movies to really draw me into cinema, much like Roger Ebert I was smitten by the film and Ebert's writings about the film and its inspirations drew me into the cinema community in my teenage years. I was also one of the people who admired Knowing. Just watched: Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1989)  Apparently this thing was never released on DVD but it's been uploaded to YouTube (among other places) so with a little poking I was able to get ahold of Proyas' first full-length film. Considering that his later films have such huge scopes and fleshed-out worlds his first movie is surprisingly small in scale: Set in and around a farmhouse in the post-apocalyptic Australian outback with only 3 characters.    One thing that I always loved about Proyas' films is their physicality, how his sets and costumes and props always seem to work together to create a sort of a world of their own; Dark City's nightmare of disparate time periods and huge, looming sets, The Crow's comic book darkness, and I Robot's sleek futurism. Despite the small scale and budget Spirits manages to create a weird, otherworldly, and convincing apocalyptic wasteland with just a few opening shots of the desert and the wastes of civilization. The actual plot is pretty straightforward and simple: a stranger roaming the wasteland stumbles upon a brother and sister living in their old family home and agrees to stay and help the brother build a flying machine despite the manic protests of his unstable sister. Most of the film is composed of vignettes of their day-to-day life with the brother and stranger working on the machine and training while the sister descends in a religious frenzy to stop them.   You can see some of the ideas of Proyas' future films being tested out in Spirits. The wheelchair-bound inventor brings to mind the similarly disabled uncle from Dark City, the stranger's clothes seem to be cut from the same cloth as The Crow, and the sister's religious ramblings remind me of Knowing's religious allusions. The desert setting and religious overtones as well as the general weirdness reminded me a little of Jodorowski's westerns, actual issues of survival like finding food and water are barely touched on and instead the film focuses on people struggling to deal with themselves and each other. Considering that his work of the past decade has drawn comparisons to Michael Bay its a wonderfully slow, meandering film.   Spirits wasn't the best or most inventive work of post-apocalyptic fiction I've seen, but it was a wonderful showcase of the skills that would make Proyas' future films so good and was quite a memorable experience. Next up: The Crow
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May 16, 2012 05:21
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Farbtoner posted:What the heck, I have plenty of free time now. Are you going to watch the Director's Cut of Dark City as well as the theatrical cut? It would be worth watching the DC first, so you can compare it to the TC and explain what the studio did wrong. At length. With many, many swearwords.
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May 16, 2012 08:19
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After months of unemployment, I'm grasping at nearly anything to pass the time between interviews. I have not seen a single Coen brothers movie that I didn't deeply enjoy, so this should be an easy challenge. Director currently working on: Coen brothers Progress: 8/15 Blood Simple, Next up: Blood Simple
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May 16, 2012 09:07
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Jedit posted:Are you going to watch the Director's Cut of Dark City as well as the theatrical cut? It would be worth watching the DC first, so you can compare it to the TC and explain what the studio did wrong. At length. With many, many swearwords. I've never actually seen the director's cut (yet), but I assume it removes the opening narration? It was pretty awful and unnecessary but the first time I saw Dark City I had already had the central conceit spoiled so it didn't really hinder my enjoyment as much as it might have v  vI still tell people to mute the opening whenever I lend them my old DVD, just to be safe.
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May 16, 2012 14:09
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Director currently working on: John Cassavetes Progress: 8/12 Just watched: Too Late Blues (1961). Cassavetes' second feature shows some promise of what he would achieve in his later masterpieces, but overall he was still finding his footing. Bobby Darin plays a Jazz musician who can't decide whether he wants to sell out to gain fame, or if he wants to remain true and play the music he thinks is most pure. In the process he alienates his band mates and his girl (Stella Stevens). Cassavetes is introducing themes here he would use again in most of his films, of a man torn between two different goals, both of which he wants desperately to achieve, and the effect his wavering has on his relationships. Unfortunately, Darin isn't up to the task of playing both sides (compared to Gazzara, Falk or Rowlands, who can show three different thoughts on their faces a few seconds). The music in the film is quite good, especially the song Darin writes for Stevens (who is stunningly beautiful in this). I couldn't tell if it was actually Stevens singing the song, but if so she also has a wonderful voice. Next Up: A Child is Waiting
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May 16, 2012 15:47
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Farbtoner posted:I've never actually seen the director's cut (yet), but I assume it removes the opening narration? It was pretty awful and unnecessary but the first time I saw Dark City I had already had the central conceit spoiled so it didn't really hinder my enjoyment as much as it might have v It has visual images, too. When I showed it to a bunch of friends, I told them all to leave the room at the start and didn't let them back in until I got to the bit where Murdoch wakes up in the bath. The DC does indeed remove that opening segment. It also adds in a subplot where Bumstead finds the young daughter of the whore murdered by Mr Hand, and extends the Really Good Bit At The End.
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May 16, 2012 19:20
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Director currently working on: Spike Lee Progress: 9/17 She's Gotta Have It (1986) | Just Watched: Jungle Fever - This wasn't really what I was hoping for. A film exploring the social issues around an interracial romance sounds like excellent Spike Lee material but the characters fall by the wayside as the film is used to create political points first and foremost - something which from my experience Lee usually balances well. The main plot follows Wesley Snipes as a successful architect as he engages in an affair with his Italian-American secretary. Their relationship is said to be based on each other's preconceptions about each other's race but this is not shown on screen. At best, they seem like friends - to get the point across Lee has Snipes explain exactly why they were attracted to each other. It's too blatant and it goes against much of what we (don't) see on screen. The main plot suffers from this lack of good characterization - characters go through the motions as is to be expected but we never quite understand why - the dialogue explains the political messages of the film well but never the character's motivations (and when it does, it is used in lieu of actually showing us rather than telling us). Several side-plots explore the home lives of the characters and the lives of other peripheral characters who have their own issues with interracial relationships. Almost all of these plots add nothing to the main story and feel more like plots suited to their own short films that have been pushed into this one - they may help explore the political themes but it limits the development of the main characters. The subplot with Snipe's on-screen brother, Gator, played excellently by Samuel L. Jackson, is very good. Gator is a crack addict who uses his family to get by and is at points comedic, tragic and menacing. The plot has almost nothing to do with the driving force of the film but it was compelling enough to get me through the muddled main plot. The film tries to put too many ideas into too little screen time. The plot lacks focus, the characterization is uneven and tonally I'm unsure if the film is supposed to be a satirical comedy or a full-blown tragedy - Snipes' performance, especially early on, seems to be aiming for something comedic (either that or he wasn't very good). A lot of little details which I find in Lee's films can bring a sub par script up are missing - the film is shot fairly conservatively, the soundtrack is acceptable but does not add much to the film, the opening credits sequence is really awful and doesn't set much of a tone or a feeling of time, place and theme, as many of Lee's credit sequences do. This is another of Lee's films he wrote entirely by himself and this seems to be his weakest point - he desperately needs a co-writer or source material to bring out his best work. Next up: As critical consensus on Jungle Fever rated the film fairly positively and I was disappointed, I'm trying reverse psychology. Pick a film which is generally considered to be terrible and I might enjoy it - She Hate Me seems like a good fit.
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May 16, 2012 20:06
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Current Director: Akira Kurosawa Progress: 2/30 [Sanshiro Sugata | The Most Beautiful | Sanshiro Sugata Part II | The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail | No Regrets for Our Youth | One Wonderful Sunday | Drunken Angel | The Quiet Duel | Stray Dog | Scandal | Rashomon | The Idiot | Ikiru | Seven Samurai | I Live in Fear | Throne of Blood | The Lower Depths | The Hidden Fortress | The Bad Sleep Well | Yojimbo | Sanjurō | High and Low | Red Beard | Dodesukaden | Dersu Uzala | Just watched: Ran is Kurosawa's version of King Lear. Having never seen King Lear, I don't know how true it is to the original, but it stands on its own as an enjoyable film. Lord Hidetora, having reached the age of 70, decides to abdicate his position of power and pass authority to his three sons: Taro, Jiro, and Saburo. Taro, the eldest, is to be in charge and take up seat in the First Castle and serve as the new lord. Jiro and Saburo are to take control of the Second and Third castles and assist him in his duties. Saburo tells his father that the plan is foolish and will only lead to treachery and betrayal. Furious, Hidetora banishes Saburo from the kingdom. And that's when things start to get interesting. The film is filled with betrayal, seduction, and violence. Kurosawa again demonstrates his keen eye for color and his love of long takes, however it feels more polished and well-executed in this movie than in Kagemusha. The editing is tight and the film only drags in a few places (mainly the opening exposition), and even though it clocks in at 2 hours and 42 minutes it doesn't feel too long. My favorite thing about this film is the way Kurosawa shoots the battle scenes. The blood is bright and vibrant, and the ambient sounds are removed in favor of a brutal symphonic soundtrack - terrible and beautiful at the same time. The film doesn't use this to try to make some moral anti-war statement, though - overall, it is a nihilistic film with no real heroes, no happy ending, and a bleak outlook for the future. Ran is a better film than Kagemusha in almost every way. Kurosawa is known for being a really great editor, so I was confused as to why Kagemusha's pacing felt so off - I found out after a little research that there were some financial problems during the production of the film, as well as fallout between Kurosawa and the lead actor that led to him being replaced after the first day of filming. Anyway, those are the only two of his films available for streaming, and Sanshiro Sugata is already on its way in the mail. Hopefully, it will be less of a downer (although so far the two Kurosawa films I've watched have ended on less-than-happy terms, so maybe that's one of his hallmarks). Next up: Sanshiro Sugata
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May 16, 2012 20:11
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Current Director: Paul Verhoeven There are some directors you hear so much about, but never get around to watching any films from. In my case, living in the Netherlands, I'm talking about probably the most famous Dutch director out there, Paul Verhoeven.  Progress: 1/14 Paul Verhoeven had a great career in Dutch cinema before eventually moving on to Hollywood, and is still today the driving force behind several Dutch film projects. Yet I had never seen any of his films to completion. So I'm sitting down to watch all his feature length films (meaning no shorts or documentaries) in chronological order. Luckily, I just saw Verhoeven's first feature-length film, Any Special Way. Just watched: Any Special Way (Dutch Title: Wat Zien Ik)  Any Special Way (whose Dutch title literally translated means "What am I Seeing") is probably one of those films that got the Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, the reputation it is now known for. Any Special Way tells the story of two prostitutes who make their living in the Red-Light District of Amsterdam. One of them, a girl called Greet, falls in love with a married man, while the other, Nel, tries to get out of the lifestyle after suffering much abuse from her pimp. They both discover that trying to get out of the life is harder than they think...  The main characters of the film, Greet and Nell. The film is a kind of cross between a comedy and a drama. The main plot lines are broken up by scenes of the two girls being visited by various men. They mostly serve as comic relief. However, it might be simply because the film has not aged well, but not many jokes worked and many scenes felt very forced because of it. The main story often takes a backseat to the jokes as well, and because of it, it becomes hard to stay invested. In fact, because the film relies so much on jokes (which mostly fall flat), it becomes a rather cringe-worthy ordeal to sit through.  This man is one of the many, many comic-relief clients who visit the two ladies. However, the film has 2 redeeming factors. First of all, the acting is not half-bad from most actors, and the actress who plays main character Greet, Ronnie Berman, gives a great performance. Secondly, the cinematography and editing is really clever in some parts. Some shots are very interesting from a technical standpoint, and the lighting is used to great effect as well (the cinematographer for this film, Jan de Bont, would later become one of the most succesfull Dutch cinematographers working in Hollywood and would work together with Verhoeven on many projects). The editing consists of fast cuts, which helps in making a slow film feel quicker. Alas, in the end, the film is not very good. Verhoeven himself called it his worst film in an interview, and I hope he's right. Most of all, the film is just plain boring in most parts. Good cinematography and decent acting do not make a film, and it is not worth sitting through many painful jokes. My advice: Skip this one. If I had to give a grade, it would be a 3.0/10. Next up: One of the most famous Dutch films ever made, and often considered one of the best as well: Turkish Delight. Looking forward to it, heard only great things about it...
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May 16, 2012 23:49
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Director: Edward Burns Progress: 2/10 Just Watched: She's the One: She’s the One, Burns’ second film, seems to be a departure from his traditional style. This time around it seems that he got a bigger budget and also got studio backing, including some money from Robert Redford, who must have been impressed by his first film, which he admitted personally into Sundance. Long gone is the small unknown cast and in comes big Hollywood names, like Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, John Mahoney, and even a young unknown Amanda Peete makes an appearance in this film. Hell, even Phil Leotardo of The Sopranos makes an appearance as Aniston’s father in this on. This film, which is only his second, is so different from his first that he some how managed to get Tom Petty to do the soundtrack. Could this be a good thing or bad thing? Let’s watch and find out. The first thing that was better than his last film was that the cast was a lot better and had much better chemistry than The Brothers. The Brothers’ cast felt like it was just thrown together at the last minute and they didn’t even have time to learn their lines so that they could get a feel how the cast was going to be. Early on in the film, you can tell that this is a studio film, everything right down to the casting of Cameron Diaz as the Burns’ ex and his brother’s mistress. Everything about the cast seems different from the first film because of the fact that the studio had everything to do with it. Even though it’s shot in a similar style as Burns’ first film, the film has a independent feel to it, but in reality there’s a lot of control from the studio in it. Second, the story line of the film has a more polished feel to it. Instead of a “let me write this and then shoot it” feel to it, this one feels like the studio had made him rewrite it a few times to get what they wanted. Burns had admitted that this isn’t his favorite film, because of the fact that it had too much of a studio influence in it. The storyline itself, which very similar to The Brothers, involves three different stories, Burns’s character, his brother and them together. It’s basically the same format that is better executed than it was the first time. This is a good thing because of the fact that the first time it was just bland and uninteresting. This time around however, it seems more polished and more perfected than the latter, which is why it is one of his more successful films. The one thing that I like about this was the fact that it had a happy ending, which is unlike Burns’ first film, it made it have more of a broad appeal, instead of just an art house feel, like the Brothers had. This might be my favorite film of his. Up Next: No Looking Back.
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May 17, 2012 03:00
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 Director currently working on: Edgar G. Ulmer Progress 30/48 Next up: The Light Ahead When that PRC logo popped up on My Son, The Hero, I smiled. It's nice to be home in the land of 60 minute 6-day quickies. It's about a down-on-his-luck boxing manager (I wish boxing movies would come back...) whose war hero son comes to visit. This is a problem because our glib hero has been lying for years and built himself up to the kid as a rich celebrity, so he puts on a show. It's a pretty fun little comedy of manners. Roscoe Karns, who specialized in playing the Other Guy, does a drat good show as a knockoff Red Buttons; Patsy Kelly - who was very interesting! she was de facto blacklisted for a time because she was a lesbian - is a lot of fun as a hilarious but charming drunken slob trying to play nice. She's a great example of one thing I love about Poverty Row, seeing leading parts from actors who wouldn't get to shine anywhere else. The whole thing just works. It moves fast and is cute. It's light but still retains Ulmer's fascination with downtrodden characters - aside from the protagonists, he spends a lot of time with the black servants witnessing this ridiculous farce. There's a pretty daring sexual tension throughout as one character tries to lay his (not really) step sister. Some of it falls flat, like everything with the cook which slips into broad cartoon comey, but overall it's a fast and fun bill-filler. There's a fourth wall break which made me beam, it was really unexpected. Felt like they had fun making it. I guess it's nothing to seek out, but it's a pretty good way to kill an hour on a rainy afternoon. I also saw Turbosupercharger, but it's not even worth mentioning. Just an industrial film about an engine. penismightier fucked around with this message at 04:29 on May 17, 2012 |
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May 17, 2012 04:24
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Director currently working on: The Coen Brothers Progress: 8/15 Just watched: One of my favorite things about the films of the Coen Brothers is the way they handle setting. Few directors are able to make a place or time into a character the way the Coens do and I think Fargo (as well as their next two films) is pretty much the pinnacle of that aspect of their film making. Frances McDormand delivers a great and memorable performance, as do William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare, but the real star of the film is the rural upper midwest, both physically and culturally. It's a film about friendly, naive people confronting something dark and ominous and that's brought across through the characters and the plot but also through what most people I've talked to about it remember most about the film, the accents and the weather. The accents of pretty much everyone in the film except for Buscemi and Stormare are high pitched, nasal, quintessentially upper midwestern and regardless of what they're being used to say they communicate a naive, wide-eyed optimism that contrasts sharply with ominous, potentially deadly force of nature that is the Minnesota winter as well as with the manipulative Carl Showalter (Buscemi) and the frankly evil Gaear Grimsrud (Stormare). Next up: I'm rewatching The Big Lebowski.
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May 17, 2012 05:12
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Poop Delicatessen posted:- overall, it is a nihilistic film with no real heroes, no happy ending, and a bleak outlook for the future. I think 'nihilistic' is a bit of a dangerous term to throw on it; I don't think I would love it as much as I do if that were the case. It is indeed a bleak, chaotic, and horrible world where nothing goes right for pretty much the majority of the picture, but to be nihilistic I think the tone would have to be far more apathetic to the characters' constant plight. They suffer, but the music and the imagery, both startlingly beautiful, are contributing to that suffering having meaning. And at the very least, before his unfortunate death, Hidetora does achieve reconciliation with the one son that loves him. Gah, now I want to watch it. It's my favorite Kurosawa.
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May 17, 2012 17:13
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Kull the Conqueror posted:I think 'nihilistic' is a bit of a dangerous term to throw on it; I don't think I would love it as much as I do if that were the case. It is indeed a bleak, chaotic, and horrible world where nothing goes right for pretty much the majority of the picture, but to be nihilistic I think the tone would have to be far more apathetic to the characters' constant plight. They suffer, but the music and the imagery, both startlingly beautiful, are contributing to that suffering having meaning. And at the very least, before his unfortunate death, Hidetora does achieve reconciliation with the one son that loves him. Gah, now I want to watch it. It's my favorite Kurosawa. Yes, but immediately afterwards that son is shot to death while just leisurely riding across the plains - he isn't even in battle when it happens and it's just some random rifleman who kills him. And in the end it doesn't really change anything, so his death is meaningless. I agree that the audience is meant to feel sympathy for some of the characters who are suffering, but ultimately nothing anyone does can change the inevitable, meaningless wars that they've been caught up in. Plus, I felt the ending was symbolic of a world that has been abandoned by God, which is a very nihilistic idea. Ultimately, it's just the opinion of some dude on the Internet, though. I could be very, very wrong. Also, you should definitely watch it again anyway because it is a great film regardless.
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May 17, 2012 18:01
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Director currently working on: Woody Allen Progress: 24/41 Just watched: A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy. Basically a remake of Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, this is a pretty good comedy about three couples who go to the country for the weekend, where all kinds of romantic shenanigans occur. It's a bizarre sort of period movie, because the characters speak and act like characters from any modern Woody Allen movie would even though the film is set in the early 20th century. Woody himself seems like the biggest anachronism, but this isn't really a fault - the film works just fine as it is. Next up: Scoop
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May 17, 2012 19:31
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Director currently working on: Sam Peckinpah Progress: 3/14 [ Just Watched: The Deadly Companions is a distinctly boring western. With the half decent cast assembled there really isn't any spark to the formula, white hat, black hats, redhead in a green dress, shootout, ride into the sunset, it's all very average and feels very been there done that. At some points it looks like the film is going to set up some interesting dynamics between the travelling group, but the other two dudes leave pretty early on and only come back at the end, and you're left alone with the girl and the John Wayne wannabe. Story goes that Sam Peckingpah had no kind of creative control over this picture, and after this he vowed to never again make a film, where he couldn't rewrite the script. It kinda shows too, there's nothing here that shows what Peckinpah would be famous for, unless a woman getting slapped in the face counts. A boring western, and I'm already starting to forget most of it. Next Up: Ride the High Country Directors completed: Martin Scorsese(35/35)
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May 17, 2012 20:31
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Director completed: David Cronenberg Progress: 21/21 I'm going to call Cronenberg complete for now because I don't want to sit around waiting for Cosmopolis to be released (have they even set a US release date?). I'd like to move on to my next director, but I'll see Cosmopolis soon after it's released and report back here. Just watched: Fast Company - The most atypical Cronenberg movie. This is a race car movie, plain and simple. The story is formulaic, with characters in place mostly just to progress the plot. Where the film succeeds is how it appeals to the senses. Cronenberg's skill with showing tactility and texture, both visual and audible, is firmly in place. Only here rather than dealing with gory body transformations, he's dealing with engines, gearshifts and smoking tires. He showcases the cars and races well, giving us a sense of the speed, noise and mechanics involved. And I'm no racing expert, but all of the details seemed quite authentic. This is minor Cronenberg, but it's worth a look if you're curious to see his range as a director. 67/100 So yeah, that's it for Cronenberg. On to the next one... and it's a doozy: Director currently working on: Werner Herzog  Progress: 20/58 Next Up: Into the Abyss Herakles, Game in the Sand, The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz, Last Word, Signs of Life, The Flying Doctors of East Africa, Measures Against Fanatics, Spatulater bro! fucked around with this message at 22:58 on May 17, 2012 |
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May 17, 2012 22:51
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Current Director: Akira Kurosawa Progress: 3/30 [ Just watched: After watching two of his later films, it was interesting to go back and watch Kurosawa's debut - Sanshiro Sugata. It's a straightforward martial arts movie and love story about the titular Sanshiro Sugata as he learns the ways of judo while trying to overcome his own violent tendencies. All in all, the film is pretty rough. A lot of the footage was lost due to wartime restrictions by the Japanese government (it was released in 1943), so there are some scenes that have been replaced entirely by text (somewhat like title cards). There are a few shots that look rather unpolished (and one cartoonish "special effect" shot that makes what is supposed to be a powerful death scene kind of funny) and there are some very jarring cuts. The action shots and fight scenes aren't too great either. You can tell Kurosawa was still experimenting with various techniques and there are all manner of interesting dissolves, wipes, and transition shots. One particular excellent sequence is a series of scenes of a sandal that has been discarded by the main character in order to show the passage of time. There's also several of his characteristic long cuts and still shots. This film also brought to my attention something that I hadn't noticed as much in the first two films I watched: Kurosawa absolutely loves shots that involve doors. There are an incredible amount of shots of characters opening and closing sliding doors or going through gates, doors, etc. I'm going to be on the lookout for this in the rest of his movies. Another thing I noticed is how often Kurosawa uses shots with one or two characters in the foreground and another in the background (often framed by the foreground characters). I think it's this use of perspective that givs so many of his shots a painting-like quality. Sanshiro Sugata was good for a debut film, but not great. The lost footage (about 17 minutes, according to Wikipedia) and the strange editing in places keeps it from being truly enjoyable. Still, it was fun to compare the film to his later works and see how much he polished his style over the years. Next up: The Most Beautiful
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May 18, 2012 03:48
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Director currently working on: Sergio Leone (including uncredited films) Hello there. Progress: 7/10 Just Watched: Duck, You Sucker - Sergio Leone does it again. This film seems to have three common titles Duck, You Sucker!, A Fistful of Dynamite and Once Upon a Time... the Revolution. Personally, I think the last title fits the best. "Duck, You Sucker" overemphasizes the comedic aspect and "A Fistful of Dynamite" seems to be trying to make the Dollars Trilogy a quadrilogy. The film opens with a bunch of racist elitists conversing with a drifter (Rod Steiger) who's just been forced onto their stagecoach. He has a surprise for them however. Later he meets up with John (James Coburn) and they eventually team up to rob a bank but things don't transpire as one would expect. There's lot of surprises along the way and it's hard to explain much of it without spoiling things. The two leads have some chemistry: Juan Miranda: I know what I am talking about when I am talking about the revolutions. The people who read the books go to the people who can't read the books, the poor people, and say, "We have to have a change." So, the poor people make the change, ah? And then, the people who read the books, they all sit around the big polished tables, and they talk and talk and talk and eat and eat and eat, eh? But what has happened to the poor people? They're dead! That's your revolution. Shhh... So, please, don't tell me about revolutions! And what happens afterwards? The same loving thing starts all over again! John H. Mallory: [exhales] Whew. Hmmm. [throws a book he was reading into the mud: Mikhael A. Bakunin, The Patriotism] Also, there's 3-4 flashback segments (going back to John's time in Ireland) that I really liked. I don't think there was one bit of dialogue in any of these scenes but the ideas came across clearly. side notes: -I saw a little of The Wild Bunch in this film. -The score isn't as iconic as those in earlier Leone westerns but it's still adequate. also watched: My Name Is Nobody - The film has an intense and familiarly styled opening for the genre. The music throughout puts a strangely upbeat tone onto the film at times. Terrence Hill plays a peculiar form of comedian/anti-gunfighter. Henry Fonda plays an old tired gunfighter himself. It's interesting at times but then at other times it feels off. The character of "Nobody" is like putting Jim Carrey into the middle of a serious western or maybe putting Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder's characters from Blazing Saddles into a real western setting. Anyway the two gunfighters are so extremely talented (exemplified by playing pool by shooting the balls) that they're kind of tired of the life. They are self-aware of their legacies and the cliches found in the genre (both in their discussions and through narration). It also makes a lot of references to The Wild Bunch/Sam Peckinpah (even has a fake grave). Overall it was somewhat interesting because I didn't know a film like this existed. Next up: The Colossus of Rhodes -the last official Leone directed film I haven't seen. Seen: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, Duck, You Sucker!, My Name is Nobody, Once Upon a Time in America Unseen: The Last Days of Pompeii, The Colossus of Rhodes, A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
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May 18, 2012 05:35
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Zogo posted:-The score isn't as iconic as those in earlier Leone westerns but it's still adequate. Thoughts on whether that's affected its status in the Leone canon?
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May 18, 2012 05:39
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Current Director: Alfred Hitchcock Films Completed: 2/52 Next Up: The Ring The Lodger is a huge step up from The Pleasure Garden. First off, it actually feels like a Hitchcock film. It has a more traditional suspense/murder mystery style plot that Hitchcock is so famously associated with. Ivor Novello does an excellent job as the titular lodger, who may be a serial killer known as the Avenger. To be fair, I called the ending of it fairly early on. It's not the most original storyline. Hell, it even has the phrase "Tell that to the judge" being used earnestly. But Novello manages to be effectively creepy on screen, and Hitchcock frames and lights him in a way that evokes distrust. It's a slow film. I found myself dazing off at times only for my attention to come back to the film and find I hadn't missed a whole lot. It kind of felt like it was being padded in order to bring it up to feature length. It probably would have benefited from being a tad shorter and cutting out the fluff. Visually it's a very cool film. The intertitles are fantastic. The early repetition of "To-Night Golden Curls" is chilling and the artistic designs of the later titles is pretty cool. There's some amazing close ups too, and some interesting lighting. I enjoyed it, and it seems like an early taste of what Hitchcock will grow into.
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May 18, 2012 06:08
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