What Non-New Films Have You Seen? (2018 Edition)

[Sebastian Cobb]

That scene where he sings 'Volver Volver'? oh, man....

I had to dab my eyes a bit. The bit where he speaks to the shop-lady's mum and you don't really have to understand Spanish (or is it Portuguese?) to understand the whole conversation.

Probably going to dig out the Paris, Texas soundtrack tonight.

[the science eel]

I had to dab my eyes a bit.

Oh, I was a wreck!

It's one hell of a film, isn't it? kind of got lost, I felt, in all the bigger budget stuff that came out last year.

[mothman]

The Secret Life Of Pets.

Now, this looked like a lot of fun, based on the trailer when we saw it during a family cinema trip a couple of years ago. My wife and kids didn't stop going on about it after, and indeed I think they did go see it when it came out. My elder daughter loves it and put it on via Netflix last week.

And... ugh. It's really nothing special. It's like Toy Story with dogs. Pets doing really implausible things (as opposed to the trailer, where they were merely slightly implausible, something you could pass off as a whimsical conceit given we all joke about what our pets get up to during the working day) like driving cars. There were some good vocal performances (at current rate of his undeserved reputational rehabilitation, they won't need to recast Louis CK with Patton Oswalt for the sequel) but the production design was a jarring mix of the mundane (building interiors) and surreal (the towering tightly-clustered exteriors of the NY skyscrapers).

[SteveDave]

Frozen

I put this on to entertain the child on Saturday and was gripped myself. The songs were few and quite short but catchy. My only gripe was that the four main human characters looked too similar. As in, both women looked alike and the fellows looked like each other too. Just with different coloured hair.

I've downloaded the soundtrack and am all in for Frozen 2: Freeze Harderer.

[Dex Sawash]

Beirut Don Draper goes on holiday to ME




Edit- should have said Med holiday. Has quite frenetic pace with some tension. Apparently called The Negotiator outside usa.

[zomgmouse]

Night Tide. A curious vibe of angst and sorrow while Dennis Hopper falls in love with someone who might or might not be a mermaid. Interesting lonely thriller.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I caught that on Mubi a while back; it reminded me of Carnival of the Souls for some reason.

[thecuriousorange]

Misery (1990) was an entertaining slice of ham on Sunday.

[SteveDave]

Misery (1990) was an entertaining slice of ham on Sunday.

I saw this for the first time the other week too. Lovely stuff. I came up with a better ending though.

[amputeeporn]

Beirut Don Draper goes on holiday to ME




Edit- should have said Med holiday. Has quite frenetic pace with some tension. Apparently called The Negotiator outside usa.

Rather liked this - interesting story of how it came about, as it's an old script Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, Bourne, etc) apparently spent loads of time on 25 years ago, sold and forgot. It floated to the surface in some old studio files after the original producer was liquidated, I think, and they decided to make it for very little money and shot in something like 25 days. I think, considering that, it was fairly solidly put together.

He said he essentially wanted to write it as one of those mid-budget action dramas you got in the 90s, and it did feel curiously out of time.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I watched Machete. It was daft as fuck but I quite enjoyed it.

[hedgehog90]

Persona - Shocking, overwhelming, confusing & utterly fascinating.
After seeing Wild Strawberries I was expecting something similarly light and breezy. I couldn't have been wider off the mark. This was a full-on assault from start to finish.
And again, like Wild Strawberries seems totally groundbreaking for its day (1966) albeit in a totally different way. So daring and sure of itself.
I can scarcely believe the 2 films were made by the same director.
And I can't forget to mention Bibi Andersson's incredible performance again. She is such a unique and brilliant talent. I feel like I must hunt down everything she's been in.
Absolutely stunning film.

[greenman]

Persona - Shocking, overwhelming, confusing & utterly fascinating.
After seeing Wild Strawberries I was expecting something similarly light and breezy. I couldn't have been wider off the mark. This was a full-on assault from start to finish.
And again, like Wild Strawberries seems totally groundbreaking for its day (1966) albeit in a totally different way. So daring and sure of itself.
I can scarcely believe the 2 films were made by the same director.
And I can't forget to mention Bibi Andersson's incredible performance again. She is such a unique and brilliant talent. I feel like I must hunt down everything she's been in.
Absolutely stunning film.

Guesses as to what it actually all ment? the two characters being two sides to a personality? the film does go to pains to point out its own artifice.

I would tend to suggest that contrary to the point in that Bergman thread that actually its influence has been increasing not decreasing with time, most obviously stuff like Mulholland Drive and Black Swan but having two female characters summing up empathic and individualistic viewpoints has been done several times, stuff like Unbearable Lightness of Being and more recently Blue is the Warmest Colour. The indivualist side being an artist in all of those as well.

[hedgehog90]

Guesses as to what it actually all ment? the two characters being two sides to a personality? the film does go to pains to point out its own artifice.

I don't understand the objective truth of what it all meant or what exactly it was trying to depict, but it really struck a chord with me so on some level I felt I understood it.
Particularly its depiction of depression. It put into words and expressed something which I'm all too familiar with and increasingly struggling to understand at the moment.
It certainly seems like the 2 characters are 2 sides of a single personality, as the film goes on there are hints of this, and as I remember there's a moment when it becomes apparent. Blurry details slowly come into focus. But then the film proceeds further beyond the bounds of expectation and closer towards abstraction.
What's really going on, or rather, what should I think?
I don't know.
All I know is that I was gripped and constantly thinking about how these 2 characters related to one another for the entire duration, though inconclusive.
Further discussion doesn't seem all that enticing right now, I certainly don't feel any need to go Googling for explanations.
I enjoy the sense of not knowing and preserving these ambiguities, for it is a film I will inevitably re-watch.

[the science eel]

I don't know of a film that's more timeless than Persona. It really is the most amazing work of art, and it still looks - and I guess will always look - like something made by someone operating outside of all trends.

Those early shots with the big cock are kind of disturbing, tho', don't you think? I wasn't happy seeing that.

[hedgehog90]

I know. First image is a big stiff cock, I honestly thought I'd put the wrong film on.
Again, the only other Bergman film I'd seen was Wild Strawberries. It was rather unexpected.

[zomgmouse]

I caught that on Mubi a while back; it reminded me of Carnival of the Souls for some reason.

Oh yeah! I got those vibes as well. I guess it's the wetness and misery and more importantly the carnival setting.

[greenman]

I don't understand the objective truth of what it all meant or what exactly it was trying to depict, but it really struck a chord with me so on some level I felt I understood it.
Particularly its depiction of depression. It put into words and expressed something which I'm all too familiar with and increasingly struggling to understand at the moment.
It certainly seems like the 2 characters are 2 sides of a single personality, as the film goes on there are hints of this, and as I remember there's a moment when it becomes apparent. Blurry details slowly come into focus. But then the film proceeds further beyond the bounds of expectation and closer towards abstraction.
What's really going on, or rather, what should I think?
I don't know.
All I know is that I was gripped and constantly thinking about how these 2 characters related to one another for the entire duration, though inconclusive.
Further discussion doesn't seem all that enticing right now, I certainly don't feel any need to go Googling for explanations.
I enjoy the sense of not knowing and preserving these ambiguities, for it is a film I will inevitably re-watch.

You have the shot of half of each of the actresses faces being merged into a single face which seems to make the strong suggestion that its two sides to a single personality for me. Seems to me to target the negative feelings coming from an empathic "good girl" side being ashamed of her sexual desire and then the individualistic side being ashamed of her lack of motherliness.

I'd agree it really does feel like a film out of time that could just as well have been made last week as 50+ years ago. Again I think its a film who's influence seems to be growing in recent years rather than declining.

I'v not seen masses of Bergman either but Though a Glass Darkly felt a lot closer to Persona than something like Wild Strawberrys, albeit in a more conventional drama format.

[hedgehog90]

I saw Brazil for the first time last night.
Did anyone else notice Jonathan Pryce slipping into an american accent whenever he was around the yank? It didn't seem deliberate.
I liked it overall, loved some of the design and aesthetic, often breathtaking visuals, often not so much... plot & character wise it was pretty mediocre.
I was most impressed by Palin though, against all expectations he fit that role perfectly.

[surreal]

Catching up with a couple of Denis Villeneuve movies I'd not seen, just watched "Enemy" today, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal (or however you spell it).

Knew a rough plot and was expecting something a bit odd and Fight-Club-y but... WTF was that ending???

Tits though, eh lads?

Moving on to Prisoners next

[Phil_A]

Saw the new Lenny Abrahamson, an adaptation of the Sarah Waters book "The Little Stranger".

Hmm, it was fine I guess? Felt a little bit slight, though, and lacking the emotional punch Abrahamson's work usually provides. Didn't feel as if he was as engaged with the material as he was in his other films.

I know it wasn't supposed to be a "proper" ghost story, but I felt like it could've actually done with little more in the way of spooky incident. The creepy moments were so few and far between that there wasn't a lot of tension in the latter half of the film, it was a bit too subtle in that sense. The best part was the awful party, but the sense of lingering sense of dread evaporates once Will Poulter's character is out of the picture.

The twist at the end made me go, "Hang on, what?" at first, but then I thought about it on the way home and I think it makes sense -

So it was Faraday's "essence" causing all the mischief, having imprinted himself on the house he was fixated on as a child? And that part of him was acting out all the emotions he is unable to express as an adult, hence the murder of Caroline?

I kept thinking they were going to reveal something shocking about the death of the younger daughter as well(like maybe Child Faraday was responsible somehow as it was pointed out he felt jealousy towards her), but it was left very oblique.

[Z]

Saw the new Lenny Abrahamson

Wow, didn't even know he had a new one.

How do you rate Garage? I'm pretty sure I'm just a bit biased towards it cos I grew up near the area so I'm always a bit wary to recommend it to people, it's by far my favourite of his though.

[Phil_A]

Wow, didn't even know he had a new one.

How do you rate Garage? I'm pretty sure I'm just a bit biased towards it cos I grew up near the area so I'm always a bit wary to recommend it to people, it's by far my favourite of his though.

Yeah, it seems like it's been buried a bit, just kind-of shoved out without much advance notice, which is weird given how much a massive success Room was for him. I literally only found about it today when I was idly browsing the local cinema listings.

I haven't seen Garage(I've seen a synopsis of the plot and it can imagine it being properly devastating). Really liked Adam and Paul, but oddly it was Frank, which I initially thought was going to be rubbish based on the premise, that really affected me in quite a profound way.

[Z]

Yeah, it seems like it's been buried a bit, just kind-of shoved out without much advance notice, which is weird given how much a massive success Room was for him. I literally only found about it today when I was idly browsing the local cinema listings.

Hmm, there's probably some story behind that. Either he or someone else involved has already ditched it to focus on something else being the film that utilises his Room goodwill.

Check out Garage!



Quite unrelated, but his wife must be nearly a foot taller than him

[amputeeporn]

Comfort and Joy

I saw Local Hero years ago and utterly loved it, but for some reason it's taken me a long time to properly revisit Bill Forsyth's work. Recently watched Gregory's Girl, which was glorious fun, and tonight Comfort and Joy, which I didn't know was a Christmas film.

We had a great time - charming and funny all the way through, with the comedy definitely building towards the end. Some beautiful, hazy shots of twilight Glasgow cityscapes. Nice to see a couple of familiar faces from GG in bit-parts.

EDIT: Looking at his wikipedia, it seems like such a shame that Forsyth felt compelled to make larger, Hollywood films, as it seems the process and reception stalled/ended a really promising career. Those early few films, made for nothing in such quick succession, are so charming and optimistic. It would have been lovely to see a new lo-fi Scottish film from him every couple of years in the same tone.

[Small Man Big Horse]

The Similars. Fucking loved it. Like a Twilight Zone episode or something

After watching and loving that I tracked down the director's first film, The Incident. It's a low budget affair but still well shot, and quite like The Similars in that it features characters trapped in a location, though here it's two sets, one in an infinitely recurring stairwell, and one in a road which repeats itself and they are forever trapped on. It's more repetitive than The Similars and I found it occasionally frustrating, but still enjoyed it a certain amount. 7.2/10

[sevendaughters]

Comfort and Joy

EDIT: Looking at his wikipedia, it seems like such a shame that Forsyth felt compelled to make larger, Hollywood films, as it seems the process and reception stalled/ended a really promising career. Those early few films, made for nothing in such quick succession, are so charming and optimistic. It would have been lovely to see a new lo-fi Scottish film from him every couple of years in the same tone.

It wasn't so much that he was compelled by ambition or greed. When David Puttnam got the job as Columbia head, he cherrypicked the directors that gave him his reputation for making quality British flicks such as Chariots of Fire and Local Hero. A lot of those films that came out under Puttnam seemed to suffer from some kind of injury in the process from script to manufacture because of how at-odds he was with the traditions of the Hollywood system.

[Sebastian Cobb]

After his fantastic Scottish films he made Housekeeping; you can't complain about that.

[Ferris]

Just sat through Harry Potter and the Veil of Nothing. Bad film, all over the place, even the action bits weren't very good. A generous 3/10.

[the science eel]

I wish this 'Harry Potter' would stick to writing books and not making films which we see every bloody time we turn on the telly or go down the street. At least with books they're sort of 'hidden' - every time you wait for a bus or overhear a conversation it's 'Harry Potter' every five minutes