What Non-New Films Have You Seen? (2019 Edition)

[hedgehog90]

I saw Ingmar Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly last night, it left me feeling cold and empty, with it's sudden ending (not even a 'slut'). All his films have left me with a similar feeling, except Wild Strawberries.
After Winter Light, and now this, I'm going to struggle to find the motivation to continue through his filmography.
They're just so downbeat and cold, not to mention intimidating - they always seem a bit too intellectually advanced for the likes of me, a secret dunce, to meaningfully engage with.
The feeling I'm left with is akin to whenever I tried to play Slayer's Raining Blood in Guitar Hero on expert mode. I might hit half the notes, which is something I guess, but it all just feels a bit futile in the end.

[Shit Good Nose]

I saw Ingmar Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly last night, it left me feeling cold and empty, with it's sudden ending (not even a 'slut.') All his films have left me with a similar feeling, except Wild Strawberries.
After Winter Light, and now this, I'm going to struggle to find the motivation to continue through his filmography.
They're just so downbeat and cold, not to mention intimidating - they always seem a bit too intellectually advanced for the likes of me, a secret dunce, to meaningfully engage with.
The feeling I'm left with is akin to whenever I tried to play Slayer's Raining Blood in Guitar Hero on expert mode. I might hit half the notes, which is something I guess, but it all just feels a bit futile in the end.

There are always going to be films generally considered as masterpieces and directors generally considered as geniuses that will never click with (the royal) you, though.  For example Withnail and I and Blue Velvet are two films that I've NEVER connected with, despite trying so hard and forcing myself to sit through them more than half a dozen times a piece.  And Jean Luc Godard's name flashing up on screen always fills me with dread and eye rolls.

And my complete dislike of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons (despite being a fan of Welles) is well documented.

Just proves how subjective it all is.

[hedgehog90]

Sure, there are plenty of films which I do not get, I didn't get The Shining when I first saw it, I don't think I'll ever get Chinatown, but that's different.
I engage with all of Bergman's films (the 6 or 7 that I've seen now) and I get something out of them, but at the end I don't feel any better for having seen it. I'm bereft of any meaningful afterthought.
I guess I get them on an emotional level but not on an intellectual level, if I may be so wanky.
They're difficult, expert mode films. I feel like I'm not capable of tackling them on any meaningful level.
I mean, I couldn't tell you what I thought of Through a Glass Darkly, besides what I've already said.

[greenman]

There are always going to be films generally considered as masterpieces and directors generally considered as geniuses that will never click with (the royal) you, though.  For example Withnail and I and Blue Velvet are two films that I've NEVER connected with, despite trying so hard and forcing myself to sit through them more than half a dozen times a piece.  And Jean Luc Godard's name flashing up on screen always fills me with dread and eye rolls.

Blue Velvet I always thought was a collection of good scenes/characters that didn't quite add up to a film effective as the following Lynch in a similar style(at least as far as Mullholland) and I do tend to view Godard as more interesting than great after Contempt, I'v never gone beyond Pierrot Le Fou.

[zomgmouse]

Sure, there are plenty of films which I do not get, I didn't get The Shining when I first saw it, I don't think I'll ever get Chinatown, but that's different.
I engage with all of Bergman's films (the 6 or 7 that I've seen now) and I get something out of them, but at the end I don't feel any better for having seen it. I'm bereft of any meaningful afterthought.
I guess I get them on an emotional level but not on an intellectual level, if I may be so wanky.
They're difficult, expert mode films. I feel like I'm not capable of tackling them on any meaningful level.
I mean, I couldn't tell you what I thought of Through a Glass Darkly, besides what I've already said.

There's a lot of Bergman films that left me unsure until ages later when perhaps my mind or emotions caught up with them and finally got bowled over. I think The Silence was like that for example. On the other hand some just struck me like a bolt from the beginning. Who knows, essentially.

[Cuellar]

For some reason I'm watching as many superhero films as I can. Can't stand them. But I was watching Iron Man last night and burst out laughing at a scene where Jeff Bridges, in full suit and tie, smoking a massive cigar Segway's into a scene. Fucking mental and hilarious.

[zomgmouse]

The Balanda and the Bark Canoes. Interesting documentary chronicling the making of Ten Canoes, itself a very worthwhile great film.

O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization. Superb Polish post-apocalyptic film, tackling life and survival and myths of salvation.

Thirst. Rather inventive Australian vampire film that portrays vampirism as an elite cult and delves into psychological experimentation. Not the greatest but surprisingly fresh and creepy in certain respects - including a very good dream sequence.

[greenman]

O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization. Superb Polish post-apocalyptic film, tackling life and survival and myths of salvation.

...life goes on ah la la life goes on?

[phantom_power]

Tyranosaur. <stares blankly out the window> Fuuuuuuck

A pretty grim piece overall with some fantastic performances, particularly from Mullan. I wasn't too sure about the time jump bit but apart from that it was pretty gripping

[zomgmouse]

A Report on the Party and the Guests. Surreal, sly Czechoslovakian political commentary/satire. Very clever while being seemingly very whimsical and flippant, and never really explicitly saying what it is really about.

[zomgmouse]

...life goes on ah la la life goes on?

Quite the opposite I'd expect

[greenman]

Quite the opposite I'd expect

In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home?

[Small Man Big Horse]

Future 38 (2017) - Supposedly a lost film made in 1938 but only recently found this sees a guy travel to "the future" so that he can prevent world war II from ever taking place. It's a screwball comedy with a lot of innuendo and they stretch the "hey, this is what people in the past thought the present would be like" joke a bit thin but there are a fair few pretty funny moments, Glow star Betty Gilpin's great as the female lead, at 75 minutes (including credits) it doesn't outstay it's welcome and it's very amiable stuff overall, if not anything amazing. 7.4/10

[sevendaughters]

A Report on the Party and the Guests. Surreal, sly Czechoslovakian political commentary/satire. Very clever while being seemingly very whimsical and flippant, and never really explicitly saying what it is really about.

been caning the Czech new wave myself, they really nail that mordant/funny/inscrutable vibe VERY well, Closely-Watched Trains is good in this regard too.

[shh]

Royal Flash - a disappointingly forgettable adaptation. Malcolm McDowell has the glint in his eye, but lacks the physicality. The tone of the thing is off somehow.

[zomgmouse]

been caning the Czech new wave myself, they really nail that mordant/funny/inscrutable vibe VERY well, Closely-Watched Trains is good in this regard too.

So many of them pull of the seemingly facetious and whimsical vibe that's really seething with utter fury so so well.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, quite good, for what started out as a fairly daft neighbourhood life time thing it ends up pretty bleak with no real winners.

[zomgmouse]

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, quite good, for what started out as a fairly daft neighbourhood life time thing it ends up pretty bleak with no real winners.

One of my faves. Pinnacle stuff. I bought a book with the annotated script plus anecdotes from behind the scenes. Lee's commentary track on the film itself is really interesting and engaging.

[Sebastian Cobb]

One of my faves. Pinnacle stuff. I bought a book with the annotated script plus anecdotes from behind the scenes. Lee's commentary track on the film itself is really interesting and engaging.

It's part of a double bill on Mubi; Inside Man is the other one. Tempted to go through most of his directorial/written stuff at some point.

[zomgmouse]

Cargo, the Martin Freeman Australian outback zombie survival film. It was very repetitive and drawn out and not really worth what was actually a pretty decent ending.

[St_Eddie]

Congo, the talking good gorilla African jungle ugly gorilla survival film. It was very repetitive and drawn out and not really worth what was actually a pretty decent line reading of "STOP EATING MY SESAME CAKE!".

[DukeDeMondo]

The Night Comes For Us

Fucking hell, this was something, alright. Indonesian action picture pitched somewhere between The Raid, Crank, and Braindead, I would say.

An elite Triad sort and a few of his beezer buds attempt to protect a wee girl that a whole bunch of other elite Triad sorts are trying to kill.

Absolutely fucking relentless. Epic brawl after brawl after brawl. Waves upon waves of folk getting battered senseless and broken into bits and stabbed through the face and cracked up the skulls with snooker balls and meat cleavers and Jesus only knows what not else. Some of the fights take place in huge, open environments with baddies clattering into the frame from all directions. Some take place in really tight, enclosed spaces, and those rumbles might be more impressive still. The carnage that goes on in the back of a police van, for example, is nothing normal. 

The choreography is utterly fucking stunning throughout. Proper fucking "Holy fucking shit" sort of stuff, but really witty with it. Kind of carrying on that has you laughing even as you're gripping at the back of your neck hard enough to cause a nosebleed. Kind of action set pieces that leave you wondering how the fuck any of the actors or stunt artists ever got out of the thing alive. Definitely the most impressive and the most exhilarating action film I've seen since the aforementioned Gareth Evans marvel. Never lets up for a second.

It's on Netflix, if you have that. I can't recommend it enough.

[Shit Good Nose]

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, quite good, for what started out as a fairly daft neighbourhood life time thing it ends up pretty bleak with no real winners.

As zomgmouse perfectly put it - pinnacle stuff. 

Cobby - your capsule review of one of the main and major tentpoles of black cinema (and still Lee's best film) is Desolation...

The Night Comes For Us

Fucking hell, this was something, alright. Indonesian action picture pitched somewhere between The Raid, Crank, and Braindead, I would say.

An elite Triad sort and a few of his beezer buds attempt to protect a wee girl that a whole bunch of other elite Triad sorts are trying to kill.

Absolutely fucking relentless. Epic brawl after brawl after brawl. Waves upon waves of folk getting battered senseless and broken into bits and stabbed through the face and cracked up the skulls with snooker balls and meat cleavers and Jesus only knows what not else. Some of the fights take place in huge, open environments with baddies clattering into the frame from all directions. Some take place in really tight, enclosed spaces, and those rumbles might be more impressive still. The carnage that goes on in the back of a police van, for example, is nothing normal. 

The choreography is utterly fucking stunning throughout. Proper fucking "Holy fucking shit" sort of stuff, but really witty with it. Kind of carrying on that has you laughing even as you're gripping at the back of your neck hard enough to cause a nosebleed. Kind of action set pieces that leave you wondering how the fuck any of the actors or stunt artists ever got out of the thing alive. Definitely the most impressive and the most exhilarating action film I've seen since the aforementioned Gareth Evans marvel. Never lets up for a second.

It's on Netflix, if you have that. I can't recommend it enough.

Encouraging words, thanks.  I added it to the list when it first turned up, but haven't watched it yet.  My only reservation is that Tjahjanto's films are a bit samey but, from your descriptions, this sounds like it might be something a tad different.

[zomgmouse]

Dr. Plonk. Rolf de Heer's neo-silent comedy about a time-travelling scientist from 1907. Technically very brilliant (filmed with a hand-cranked camera and all!) though the contents are not always as outstanding. Still delightful and entertaining.

Chicken with vinegar aka Poulet au vinaigre aka Cop au Vin. Chabrol not entirely in his finest form with this provincial police investigation. Wry and twisty and some good moments but overall slightly standard fare. Much preferred something like The Butcher or This Man Must Die for a similar setting/subject matter. There's a sequel to this which I'll be watching in a few months at the Cinémathèque's upcoming Chabrol season so I thought I'd watch this first.

[Shit Good Nose]

La La Land.  Except I switched it off after four minutes.

I'm sure it's great and everything, but I just can't stand musicals.  I felt I should give LLL a go as I thought Whiplash was fucking brilliant and, whilst I haven't seen it yet, I'm sure First Man will be right up my alley.

But nah - couldn't stick it at all.

[Small Man Big Horse]

La La Land.  Except I switched it off after four minutes.

I'm sure it's great and everything, but I just can't stand musicals.  I felt I should give LLL a go as I thought Whiplash was fucking brilliant and, whilst I haven't seen it yet, I'm sure First Man will be right up my alley.

But nah - couldn't stick it at all.

I love musicals but thought it was pretty average. It's hard to like the characters, there's only about four songs, and one dance sequence goes on for an age and was fairly boring. It's not horrendous by any means and it looks gorgeous, but I don't quite know why some people love it so.

[Shit Good Nose]

I love musicals but thought it was pretty average. It's hard to like the characters, there's only about four songs, and one dance sequence goes on for an age and was fairly boring. It's not horrendous by any means and it looks gorgeous, but I don't quite know why some people love it so.

I've mentioned several times before I just don't like musicals (and can count on one hand the ones that I do like, and two of those are Trey Parker and Matt Stone films) - I'm one of those people that can't get my head around the random strangers all knowing the lyrics and dance moves.  I can suspend my disbelief in most cases, but I can't detach myself THAT much from reality.

[DukeDeMondo]

One of its more fantastical musical sequences is also a blatant rip-off of a similar scene in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You.

I didn't care for it very much either, as it happens. La La Land, I mean. Not Everyone Says I Love You. Everyone Says I Love You is wonderful. I think. I haven't seen it in maybe 15 years.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I've mentioned several times before I just don't like musicals (and can count on one hand the ones that I do like, and two of those are Trey Parker and Matt Stone films) - I'm one of those people that can't get my head around the random strangers all knowing the lyrics and dance moves.  I can suspend my disbelief in most cases, but I can't detach myself THAT much from reality.

Mrs SMBH is exactly the same, and absolutely perplexed by my love of them.

One of its more fantastical musical sequences is also a blatant rip-off of a similar scene in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You.

I didn't care for it very much either, as it happens. La La Land, I mean. Not Everyone Says I Love You. Everyone Says I Love You is wonderful. I think. I haven't seen it in maybe 15 years.

I thought it was all kinds of lovely too but I haven't seen it since it's cinema release, might have to give it another, go though given her dislike for the genre and her hatred for Woody Allen I'll have to do it in secret when the missus isn't around.

[greenman]

La La Land.  Except I switched it off after four minutes.

I'm sure it's great and everything, but I just can't stand musicals.  I felt I should give LLL a go as I thought Whiplash was fucking brilliant and, whilst I haven't seen it yet, I'm sure First Man will be right up my alley.

But nah - couldn't stick it at all.

If you don't have a problem with the Kodachrome nostalgia look of a lot of it definitely worth watching, less focused than Whiplash but better than a lot of the talk at the time made it for me, probably because its a typical Drive style subtle Gosling performance rather than the Hanks type one people expect in this kind of film.