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

Started by zomgmouse, January 07, 2018, 12:20:15 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

sevendaughters

Notes on Blindness. Got praised to high heaven when it came out a few years ago. A profound meditation on blindness with experimental techniques, they said. It's really boring.

SteveDave

Quote from: surreal on September 22, 2018, 06:27:04 PM
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

Prisoners is a doozy. Wolverine vs Brian Wilson.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: sevendaughters on September 24, 2018, 10:48:29 AM
Notes on Blindness. Got praised to high heaven when it came out a few years ago. A profound meditation on blindness with experimental techniques, they said. It's really boring.

It's the docudrama thing again.  Always pisses me of - either make a film or a documentary.  Don't smash together both, cos it rarely works.


Quote from: SteveDave on September 24, 2018, 12:11:43 PM
Prisoners is a doozy. Wolverine vs Brian Wilson.

It is a doozy, but a warning - it's pretty hard going and no fun AT ALL.

monolith

Finally saw The Thing (1981). The first hour and a half were pretty much perfect but I felt like it was a bit of a rushed ending and I didn't understand how all of a sudden the plan went from methodically trying to find out who was real to just blowing everything up.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: monolith on September 24, 2018, 02:08:46 PM
Finally saw The Thing (1981). The first hour and a half were pretty much perfect but I felt like it was a bit of a rushed ending and I didn't understand how all of a sudden the plan went from methodically trying to find out who was real to just blowing everything up.

They realise that they are fucked and it can hibernate, so it wants to wait for them to die and be rediscovered to make it back to population. They decide to sacrifice themselves to stop that.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: sevendaughters on September 24, 2018, 10:48:29 AM
Notes on Blindness. Got praised to high heaven when it came out a few years ago. A profound meditation on blindness with experimental techniques, they said. It's really boring.

I think I wanted to see that but didn't. Around the same time there was a dialogue-less Ukrainian film about a deaf hospice all done in sign language. I keep meaning to watch it but not doing so.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on September 24, 2018, 03:18:16 PM
They realise that they are fucked and it can hibernate, so it wants to wait for them to die and be rediscovered to make it back to population. They decide to sacrifice themselves to stop that.

Indeed - it hibernates in the cold and has an aversion to heat and fire, which destroys it.  Twice the dialogue directly references the safety of fire.

Z

Quote from: amputeeporn on September 23, 2018, 10:26:50 PM
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.
If you haven't gotten to it, Housekeeping's an absolute peach and was pretty well received at the time too. Much more down to Christine Lahti than Forsyth, mind.

zomgmouse

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on September 24, 2018, 03:19:58 PM
I think I wanted to see that but didn't. Around the same time there was a dialogue-less Ukrainian film about a deaf hospice all done in sign language. I keep meaning to watch it but not doing so.

Oh yeah. The Tribe. Also haven't gotten round to watching it but it's meant to be wonderful.

amputeeporn

Quote from: Z on September 24, 2018, 07:47:48 PM
If you haven't gotten to it, Housekeeping's an absolute peach and was pretty well received at the time too. Much more down to Christine Lahti than Forsyth, mind.

I actually HAVE seen Housekeeping - I thought it was wonderful and, towards the end, very deeply sad. And that sadness is exponential because Mr Forsyth's work became spotty/tampered with/infrequent afterwards and it's a terrible loss.

But anyway - most directors don't have so many amazing films to their name so I don't know why I'm so hung up on it.

hedgehog90

#1360
In the last 2 weeks (ignoring Persona & Brazil because they've been covered):

Fitzcarraldo [1982, Werner Herzog]
This was a bit of a letdown. Having seen Burden of Dreams and already been wowed by the spectacle of the feat, watching the actual film just didn't deliver the goods. The whole film seemed like such a pointless and reckless exercise that it frustrated me, to the point where I couldn't appreciate it for concern over how it was filmed.

Ordet [1955, Carl Theodor Dreyer]
A film about faith. Surprisingly affecting.
Very subtle, seemingly dull at times. It could even be mistaken for something quaint, but under the surface it is anything but, which becomes brutally apparent in the final act.
I'm a little bit reluctant to watch CTD's final film, Gertrud, as I've heard it's rather stagnant, and while I did enjoy this film a lot, there was a creeping sense of stagnancy which could have turned me off if I wasn't in the right mood.

Yojimbo [1961, Akira Kurosawa]
My first Kurosawa film. A little bit more light and farcical than I was expecting. Enjoyable from start to finish, a great introduction.
Onto the next...

Seven Samurai [1954, Akira Kurosawa]
Great setup, great characters, what's not to love? I can't believe how swiftly and pleasantly this flew by, despite the enormous running time (3½ hrs).
It puts across a wonderful sense of mission, that you can't help but get swept along with.
Reminded me of a seriously good  JRPG in the simple but effective story structure.
Great score, especially that instantly recognizable theme, which until now I'd attributed to Kode9's Nine Samurai.
Also can't help but admit I've got a budding man-crush for Toshiro Mifune. He is just lovely to look at, especially his arse.

Belle de Jour [1967, Luis Bunuel]
Didn't connect with this like I was hoping to.
Didn't really get it. What was up with her? Daddy issues?

Ran [1985, Akira Kurosawa]
To be honest, I watched the first 2 Kurosawa films by way of preparing me for this, and I'm so glad I did.
I've been waiting to see this for months, ever since I saw a glimpse of the iconic scene when Hidetora's fort comes under siege - the flaming arrows whizzing past the most intense facial expression - this image alone made such an impression on me.

In a sense, I got from this what I was expecting from Fitzcarraldo - awe.
Not just from the epic battle scenes, the entire experience was one huge panoramic vista that demanded awe, from those beautiful opening shots of rolling hills and tumbling clouds to the eternal abyss of sadness expressed in Hidetora's face.
The plot is partially based on King Lear, of which I only know the the most basic premise, but assumed it would be easy to follow. However I had difficulty keeping up, struggled with names and faces, and maybe there was a lack of clarity in the dialogue, but none of this mattered. I think I could have watched it without subtitles and enjoyed it just as much.
Again, excellent score - flutes, drums, orchestra, THE LOT. And it goes without saying, Hidetora, the King Lear of the piece, is stunningly good, and totally convincing as someone much older. I was amazed to discover he also played Unosuke in Yojimbo.

Probably the most justifiably epic film that I've enjoyed yet.
And I fucking hate Lord of The Rings.
Loved this though.
Loved it to fuck.

Dex Sawash


monolith

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on September 24, 2018, 03:18:16 PM
They realise that they are fucked and it can hibernate, so it wants to wait for them to die and be rediscovered to make it back to population. They decide to sacrifice themselves to stop that.
Quote from: Shit Good Nose on September 24, 2018, 06:34:06 PM
Indeed - it hibernates in the cold and has an aversion to heat and fire, which destroys it.  Twice the dialogue directly references the safety of fire.
I perhaps didn't explain myself very well. I felt like it was a strange choice of plot direction as I was very much enjoying seeing their numbers dwindle one by one. I also didn't really buy that they would sacrifice themselves so quickly.

It's a fairly minor criticism as overall I thought it was incredible, can't remember being so tense when watching a film but once the explosion plan started then for me all of the tension was lost which was the element that I was enjoying the most.

sevendaughters

Mifune is great but imo the great actor for Kurosawa is Takashi Shimura. Ikiru is just so goddamn humane.

Ferris

Quote from: monolith on September 25, 2018, 08:48:00 AM
I perhaps didn't explain myself very well. I felt like it was a strange choice of plot direction as I was very much enjoying seeing their numbers dwindle one by one. I also didn't really buy that they would sacrifice themselves so quickly.

God The Thing is good. The dogs at the beginning, the bleakness of the end, the wacky hats. Terrific film. Saw a 70mm reel of it a few years back. Very cool.

monolith

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on September 25, 2018, 10:01:57 AM
God The Thing is good. The dogs at the beginning, the bleakness of the end, the wacky hats. Terrific film. Saw a 70mm reel of it a few years back. Very cool.
Aye. Early days but can already see it making it's way in to my top 10 favourite films.

I was surprised by the special effects too, I was expecting to enjoy the film but to find the dated effects to be laughable but they were terrifying in a way that you wouldn't get today.

Ferris

Quote from: monolith on September 25, 2018, 10:39:00 AM
Aye. Early days but can already see it making it's way in to my top 10 favourite films.

I was surprised by the special effects too, I was expecting to enjoy the film but to find the dated effects to be laughable but they were terrifying in a way that you wouldn't get today.

The SFX were fucking terrifying. I'd watch a bit now but it's 5:57am (hello insomnia my old friend) and still dark and it'd all be too scary. I have to get up in 3 minutes (literally) anyway so no time, alas.

sevendaughters

I saw Notes on Blindness again yesterday - I originally watched it because I had to introduce it at a screening and it was poor form to introduce it and run out on it - it was still fairly stodgy for me but I didn't initially credit the visuals highly enough, there's some lovely editing and transitioning and it switches modes between reconstruction and art film in pleasing ways. Just didn't quite grab me though.

hedgehog90

Quote from: sevendaughters on September 25, 2018, 09:02:07 AM
Mifune is great but imo the great actor for Kurosawa is Takashi Shimura. Ikiru is just so goddamn humane.

I feel bad for not mentioning him, yeah he was fantastic in Seven Samurai, he is the heart and soul of that film. Didn't realise either that he was also the sake brewer in Yojimbo.
I haven't seen Ikuru, Throne of Blood or Rashomon yet, these are all on my list though.

greenman

#1369
Depends a lot which side of classic Kurosawa your talking about I'd say, his more action/character focused stuff like Yojimbo, Sanjuro and the Hidden Fortress depends a lot on Mifune whilst Shimura is obviously the centre of films like Seven Samurai and Ikiru that are slower and more weighty.

Yojimbo I think you could argue is the most influential film ever made, not just in the plot being recycled so many times but the way it introduces the classic sardonic anti hero, not just a nod in that direction but pretty much fully formed.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on September 25, 2018, 10:56:53 AM
The SFX were fucking terrifying. I'd watch a bit now but it's 5:57am (hello insomnia my old friend) and still dark and it'd all be too scary. I have to get up in 3 minutes (literally) anyway so no time, alas.

They're still amazing and, as I say every single time the film gets mentioned, it's STILL the most alien alien ever to grace the silver screen.  I remember when I showed it to my dad who, like me, despite being a huge film buff was never really into horror, so he gave it a miss when it was released and never bothered renting it.  He ended up loving it, being particularly enamoured with the atmosphere and the science faction elements (i.e. the thing spreading like a disease).  Amazing film by any standards.


Quote from: hedgehog90 on September 24, 2018, 11:08:05 PM
Fitzcarraldo [1982, Werner Herzog]
This was a bit of a letdown. Having seen Burden of Dreams and already been wowed by the spectacle of the feat, watching the actual film just didn't deliver the goods. The whole film seemed like such a pointless and reckless exercise that it frustrated me, to the point where I couldn't appreciate it for concern over how it was filmed.

Yojimbo [1961, Akira Kurosawa]
My first Kurosawa film. A little bit more light and farcical than I was expecting. Enjoyable from start to finish, a great introduction.
Onto the next...

Seven Samurai [1954, Akira Kurosawa]
Great setup, great characters, what's not to love? I can't believe how swiftly and pleasantly this flew by, despite the enormous running time (3½ hrs).
It puts across a wonderful sense of mission, that you can't help but get swept along with.
Reminded me of a seriously good  JRPG in the simple but effective story structure.
Great score, especially that instantly recognizable theme, which until now I'd attributed to Kode9's Nine Samurai.
Also can't help but admit I've got a budding man-crush for Toshiro Mifune. He is just lovely to look at, especially his arse.

Ran [1985, Akira Kurosawa]
To be honest, I watched the first 2 Kurosawa films by way of preparing me for this, and I'm so glad I did.
I've been waiting to see this for months, ever since I saw a glimpse of the iconic scene when Hidetora's fort comes under siege - the flaming arrows whizzing past the most intense facial expression - this image alone made such an impression on me.

In a sense, I got from this what I was expecting from Fitzcarraldo - awe.
Not just from the epic battle scenes, the entire experience was one huge panoramic vista that demanded awe, from those beautiful opening shots of rolling hills and tumbling clouds to the eternal abyss of sadness expressed in Hidetora's face.
The plot is partially based on King Lear, of which I only know the the most basic premise, but assumed it would be easy to follow. However I had difficulty keeping up, struggled with names and faces, and maybe there was a lack of clarity in the dialogue, but none of this mattered. I think I could have watched it without subtitles and enjoyed it just as much.
Again, excellent score - flutes, drums, orchestra, THE LOT. And it goes without saying, Hidetora, the King Lear of the piece, is stunningly good, and totally convincing as someone much older. I was amazed to discover he also played Unosuke in Yojimbo.

Probably the most justifiably epic film that I've enjoyed yet.
And I fucking hate Lord of The Rings.
Loved this though.
Loved it to fuck.

Shame you didn't get on with Fitzcarraldo.  It remains my favourite Herzog film.

On the subject of Kurosawa - try and give Kagemusha a go.  The longer Japanese version is my favourite AK film, my favourite Japanese film, and in my top 10 of all time.  It's still crushingly little seen and under rated to this day.



Jobs - once I got over the disappointment that it wasn't about British poos, meh it was alright I guess.  A more traditional biopic than Danny Boyle's collection of arty music videos set to Aaron Sorkin's words and in some ways better because of that, but equally it uses just about every biopic trope going, and it's a fiercely American biopic with it.  Ashton Kutcher drops the ball a few times, but isn't as bad as you imagine he might be, and props to Josh Gad for playing it straight and low key.  He should've been given more screentime.

Jason Bourne - didn't dislike it as much as I thought I would given the absolute drubbing it got from mates and also on here, but it's definitely the weakest of the lot, including Legacy.  Not sure why they went with a plot about Bourne trying to prevent Tommy Lee Jones from performing his greatest hits in Vegas, but there you go.

The Monkey King - mega budget Chinese big screen adaptation of the same story that gave birth to the Japanese TV show we all watched in the 80s.  Amazingly, despite the huge money involved, it looks like a REALLY cheap computer game, with makeup effects that make the sequels to the 1976 King Kong look reasonably good.  I normally have a lot of time for Donnie Yen, but as the titular character you just want to smash his face in with a baseball bat.  Chow Yun-Fat sleeps through his role.  And they made another two of these fuckers as well.

Bronco Billy - (rewatch) I'd forgotten just how much comedy there is, and Clint DEFINITELY has half decent comedy chops, with his reactions and timing being spot on.  As with every other Clint film she's in, Sondra Locke completely ruins it.  Ho-hum. 

Life - (rewatch) I'd forgotten just how much comedy there ISN'T.  I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I saw it at the cinema (and I hadn't seen it since then), but it's a good reminder of how talented Eddie Murphy was/could be. 

Flesh and Bone - fucking brilliant brilliant film, but for some reason lost amongst all the other 90s neo-noirs.

Conduct Unbecoming - starts off a bit shaky, but soon evolves into a fairly decent military courtroom drama.  Susannah York terrible in it.  The rest of the cast fine.

The Experts - (rightly) forgotten John Travolta comedy from the very late 80s.  Abysmal.

Staying Alive - (rightly) forgotten sequel to Saturday Night Fever/dance remake of Rocky 1 and 2.  Abysmal.  Although credit where it is due to Stallone's familiar urban grot and conversation patterns which, even in this mess, still feel and sound earthy and authentic.  Maybe should have kept Tony struggling and failing.

zomgmouse

Re Kurosawa, make sure you watch High and Low as well. Terrific thriller.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: zomgmouse on September 26, 2018, 02:36:34 AM
Re Kurosawa, make sure you watch High and Low as well. Terrific thriller.

Yes.



The Trust - nice little off-beat black comedy thriller with Nic Cage (playing it fairly low key) and Elijah Wood (in another one of his attempts to leave LOTR far behind him).  Would probs have developed quite a cult had it come out in the late 90s, but these days it seems to have got lost in a sea of direct release stuff.  MUCH better than its IMDB rating suggests.

sevendaughters

Quote from: greenman on August 01, 2018, 11:32:23 AM

One - Certainly combated any fears I might have that the series would be below his latter work in terms of craft, indeed I think it might be the best looking Kieslowski I'v seen next to Veronique. In terms of the story I would confess I'm a little torn, I mean its certainly very effecting and I spose you could argue it exists purely as a tragedy but I can't totally get past the idea of it as some kind of judgement of the lead character which doesn't really seem justified on the evidence presented or really inline with Kieslowski's other work.

screened this yesterday. learned that in the original script was a side bit about the local power station letting out warm water into the river that renders the father's calculations pointless. it was the first time I saw it and I loved it, and felt that its ambiguity was powerful and non-judgmental. he does not explicitly create a god of science; he anticipates its eventual sophistication but still goes out to the ice to test it out. my take is that it just so happened that the rational skeptic was wrong, but he was doting and good and that he exists in a world where that commandment is so prominent and agnostic empiricist principles are failing so dramatically means he necessarily turns to all he has left; community and faith (the holy water/ice is foreshadowed a ton). "some people need to it make life easier to live", he says.

Sin Agog

Quote from: greenman on September 25, 2018, 12:59:43 PM
Depends a lot which side of classic Kurosawa your talking about I'd say, his more action/character focused stuff like Yojimbo, Sanjuro and the Hidden Fortress depends a lot on Mifune whilst Shimura is obviously the centre of films like Seven Samurai and Ikiru that are slower and more weighty.

Yojimbo I think you could argue is the most influential film ever made, not just in the plot being recycled so many times but the way it introduces the classic sardonic anti hero, not just a nod in that direction but pretty much fully formed.

Watched the first film Kurosawa ever shot with Shimura and Mifune a couple of months ago, Drunken Angel.  When it had been a few years since I'd seen anything Kurosawa, I had a memory of Shimura's characters all being rubber-faced peasant comedy relief who'd do anything for a crust of bread, but that movie snapped me right back to reality again.  He plays the most clear-headed character in the film, despite suffering from a touch of dipsomania (hence the title), and Mifune's the perfect example of a man (or Yakuza) so proud that any admission of fallibility is out of the question, which is why he refuses to get his illness seen to (prescient topic that still holds water  today). There was one scene where the benighted Yakuza lurches glassy-eyed through the marketplace as some chirpy waltz plays in the background that the person I was watching it with, who was undergoing chemo at the time, singled-out as particularly insightful- how the chirpy music only makes you feel even more isolated.  Great performances, and Kuro's first essential movie I think.

Large Noise

I keep thing about, then not, watching Fellini's 8 1/2.

Will I get round to it today? Stay tuned to find out.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on September 25, 2018, 02:17:05 PM
Staying Alive - (rightly) forgotten sequel to Saturday Night Fever/dance remake of Rocky 1 and 2.  Abysmal.  Although credit where it is due to Stallone's familiar urban grot and conversation patterns which, even in this mess, still feel and sound earthy and authentic.  Maybe should have kept Tony struggling and failing.

Terrible film, but I agree that the early Stallone grime and naturalistic line delivery are still present and correct. Staying Alive is the exact dividing line between Stallone in his brief, early "artist" phase and his puffed-up, cheese-fed, '80s blockbuster decline (in creative terms, I mean; becoming a superstar was the worst thing that ever happened to Sylvester Stallone, the credible writer, actor and director).


zomgmouse

Quote from: Large Noise on September 26, 2018, 02:49:42 PM
I keep thing about, then not, watching Fellini's 8 1/2.

Will I get round to it today? Stay tuned to find out.

Do ittttttttt

greenman

Indeed, I  was put off by its rep thinking it would be a difficult watch but its really not at all, actually very fun and breezey for all its intelligence.

Sebastian Cobb

Last night I watched The Lady Eve, starts out like a fairly standard noir where Barbara Stanwyck and her dad are trying to grift some rich guy on a boat, but her and the rich guy fall in love, then it descends into sheer daftness with Henry Fonda falling over and banging his head almost as much as Inspector Closeau.