What Non-New Films Have You Seen? (2021 Edition)

[Gulftastic]

The lad out off of Rollerball must lie in bed and think about how he was in one genuinely great film, and it was petty much his first, and it's been unrelenting shit since.

[zomgmouse]

I watched Dead Ringers over the weekend, a bit 'straighter' than some of Cronenberg's 80's efforts, both through a lack of body horror and no real supernatural stuff. Irons smashes it. It's grim and creepy as fuck.

One of my fav Cronenbergs. Scales to a deeply existentially tragic point in a way some of his other films steer clear of.

Love North By Northwest, seem to recall liking Strangers too. Haven't seen those other two, I'll check them out at some point. There's quite a few of his earlier ones that I haven't seen, I've got Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt (his personal favourite) and The Lady Vanishes lined up for the rest of the week.

Ooh yes not seen TLV but the other two you mention are spiffing, if I may use that word. Spiffing.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Watched The Lady Vanishes, it's a very good little British pre-war mystery romp. Apparently Orson Welles liked it so much that he watched it 11 times (and he reportedly never rewatched films usually). Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood have great chemistry, he's a typical English cad and she's a sassy spunky type who doesn't stand for any nonsense, and Dame May Whitty is great as well. Obviously some concessions have to be made for some of the 30s dialogue/model effects, although there's an FX shot with a person hanging off a train which is extremely well done for the time.

[Artie Fufkin]

Shadow of a Doubt (his personal favourite)

I watched this last night.
Hmmmm. Not my favourite.

Spoiler alert

I found it a little contrived?
Niece Charlie comes to correct conclusions very quickly and easily, I thought.

[close]

However, it was quite enjoyable overall.
A couple of really nice location shots.
And it was nice to see an appearance by Clarence from It's A Wonderful Life.

[zomgmouse]

Spoiler alert

I found it a little contrived?
Niece Charlie comes to correct conclusions very quickly and easily, I thought.

[close]

Spoiler alert

I thought the point here was that she realises very early on but that nobody around her believes her.

[close]

[chveik]

kind hearts and coronets ****

pretty funny, reminded me strongly of guitry's story of a cheat (the disguises, the voice-over etc.).

[Blumf]

Couple of Talking Pictures entries:

No Sex Please, We're British (1973) - Just wish it was better. Such a waste of a classic title on a rather dull film. How can Ronnie Corbett, Beryl Reid, and Arthur Lowe fail to work? I hear the stage productions are better.

The Medusa Touch (1978) - I think this works better than it has a right to. The central idea is quiet fun, Richard Burton is very Richard Burton, and the finale delivers, with

Spoiler alert

a cathedral full of establishment figures crushed to death (although the Queen manages to avoid it)

[close]

. If you're into 70's supernatural thrillers, then you've already seen it, everyone else, give it a punt next time it turns up.

[zomgmouse]

Of Freaks and Men. Set at the beginning of the 20th century in Russia where two men make pornography. Shot in the style of cinema at the time. It's quiet and subdued which juxtaposes very well with the subject matter. At times seems a little on the nose about its "freaks" but on the whole much to reflect on and take in.

Lynne Ramsay short, "Gasman". Excellent as usual. Intimate and evocative.

Bullet Ballet. First and foremost, what a great title. Secondly - this is a wacky crime by Shinya Tsukamoto, of Tetsuo fame. Hyper and violent, not as surreal as Tetsuo but lots of distinctive filmmaking. A man's girlfriend kills herself so he becomes obsessed with a gun and gets involved with an underworld gang. Exceedingly striking though sometimes overloaded to the point of losing me. A few outstanding pieces of kinetic editing in this.

[phantom_power]

Le Mans '66 or Ford V Ferrari - fun by-the-numbers underdog pic. Bale demonstrating a up-to-now-hidden ability for light comedy. He is really good in it and should do more roles in that vein

[Sebastian Cobb]

I know that's how the story's told but it's a bit of a reach to paint one of the biggest car manufacturers with a team of engineers going after a small Italian car company as the owner refused to sell it as an underdog.

[phantom_power]

The underdog in my view were the engineers and drivers having to overcome the suits and wankers at Ford, rather than Ford themselves

[Artie Fufkin]

Spoiler alert

I thought the point here was that she realises very early on but that nobody around her believes her.

[close]

Oh. Ok. Well I totally missed that, then. *awkwardgrin*

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Hellboy (2019)

Another one I've had bookmarked for a while, but only got around to because it's leaving Netflix shortly.

I quite liked the Guillermo Del Toro Hellboy films at the the time, but (having subsequently got into Mike Mignola's comics) they were clearly more Del Toro's vision than Mignola's. Thus, I was quite anticipating this reboot film - not only was it talked up as being more faithful to the comics, but it also marked a return to cinema for Neil Marshall, director of one of my favourite horror flicks, The Descent, plus a bunch of other films with the right blend of horror and fun, pulpy action. Alas, after a troubled (occasionally bizarre sounding) production history, it was released to a critical drubbing and box office indifference. Considering all of that, it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. That is not to say that it was particularly good, however.

You can tell that it was pretty heavily chopped and changed in the editing room, resulting in a film that feels both overegged and undercooked. Case in point being Hellboy's whole mankind/monster dilemma - he throws a few tantrums about killing his own kind, but there's little sense that he might really turn against humanity, or even why he would. There's also his psychic sidekick, Annie, whom the film treats like someone we're supposed to recognise, despite the flashback scene that sets up her connection to Hellboy coming a long time after they reunite.

Also, while the film attempts to differentiate itself from the Del Toro ones (and - unsuccessfully - earn some of that sweet Deadpool money) by laying on lashings of blood, guts and swearing, it still feels more like them than it does the comics. David Harbour, in the title role, is like a metaphor for the whole thing: Almost indistinguishable from Ron Perlman's version, but more abrasive and over the top.

The rest of the cast are alright. As Professor Bruttenholm[nb]Pronounced "Broom", although it seems no one told Harbour[/nb] Ian McShane is basically Ian McShane. It's the role he was born to play, baby, but it's a strange reinterpretation of the the gentle, scholarly figure from the comics and earlier films. Sasha Lane brings a playfulness to Annie (and does a flawless English accent - I had no idea she's really American). After all the controversy that ended with his casting, Daniel Dae Kim's role, as a hardass army type, is almost hilariously inconsequential - and sounds like he hastily redubbed all his lines to make the character English. Stephen Graham plays a (literally) pig-headed, violent scouse monster. Not exactly a stretch for him, but lends the role some real humanity (pigity). The same can't really be said of Milla Jovovich as the the big baddie. She does what she can, but it's a pretty one-dimensionally evil role.

Despite some dodgy effects, there are a few decent action scenes. The opening one, with Hellboy taking on a vampire Mexican wrestler, and a scrap against a trio of giants do successfully capture the feel of the comics.

Overall, it's not an experience that I can see catching on, but neither is it one which I regret. Netflix also has Del Toro's Hellboy 2, which I can easily recommend over this.

[El Unicornio, mang]

En liberté! (2018) - moderately funny/entertaining and very light film about a police lieutenant (my fave Adèle Haenel) who discovers her dead husband sent an innocent man to jail, and sets about trying to protect him after he's released. Some quite amusing S&M-related gags.

[joaquin closet]

En liberté! (2018) - moderately funny/entertaining and very light film about a police lieutenant (my fave Adèle Haenel) who discovers her dead husband sent an innocent man to jail, and sets about trying to protect him after he's released. Some quite amusing S&M-related gags.

If I could make a film it would star Adele Haenel and Steven Yeun and probably the reanimated corpse of Robert Mitchum

[Neomod]

Comfort food distractions whilst installing a new hard disk and operating system. They aint Kubrick but they are entertaining.

The Negotiator (1998) and The Hunt For Red October (1990)

Love the Negotiator. Great performances and full of 'oh that guy' character actors. Entertaining guff.

THFRO from John 'Die Hard' McTiernan is as full of clichés as the Negotiator but still a fun diversion nevertheless.

[dissolute ocelot]

Bamako (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2006) is a didactic but interesting film about how debt is crippling Malian society. The main thrust is a trial to determine if the World Bank and IMF are responsible for Mali's poverty, disease, and lack of public services, but the trial is held in an open courtyard outside the court building, and daily life goes on all around. There's a night club chanteuse about to leave her husband, a woman running a dyeing works (colourful), and a subplot involving a guard losing his gun (hmm). The cast includes various real lawyers, including hunky French human rights dude William Bourdon and Senegalese politician Aïssata Tall Sall. But there's also a bizarre, wonderful Danny Glover cameo as a cowboy. Aside from details about the privatisation of Malian state railways, this is stuff we've all heard many times before, but it's a brave attempt to liven up the issues.

Over Her Dead Body (Jeff Lowell, 2008). Paul Rudd and Lake Bell are not only very short names, but reliable comedy names. Sadly this isn't either of their best work. Rudd is about to marry bridezilla Eva Longoria who's killed by an ice sculpture on her wedding day, and she returns as a ghost to stop him hooking up with anyone else. Coincidentally, Bell plays a sexy spirit medium. As with every Hollywood romcom, there is a lot that's problematic here: exploitative mediumship, betrayal of secrets, entering a relationship through deception, occasional misogyny, and a gay character

Spoiler alert

who's pretending to be gay to get close to a woman

[close]

. Some bits are funny: Rudd is always good at low-effort snark, here playing a vet who makes frequent jokes against cat-owners. But there are many better Rudd films; and if you want Lake Bell romcom, Simon Pegg's name is nearly as short opposite her in Man Up, or she's good in the only slightly romcom In A World; I'm doing a bit of a Lake Bell season. This is on Amazon Prime for 4 more days. Don't rush.

[Fambo Number Mive]

The Jigsaw Man

Somewhat dull and confusing Cold War thriller in which Michael Caine plays a former head of M16 (I think, might have been M15) who defected from the UK to then USSR and gets his face altered to go back to the UK pretending to be a defector from the KGB (I didn't understand why). Too many scenes of people in expensive suits talking in wood panelled rooms, and I didn't like the bit where they filmed at Woburn Safari Park and animals were running about while people fired guns, I hope it didn't scare the animals in real life). I thought the bits with Caine's character

Spoiler alert

and his daughter

[close]

trying to avoid the KGB were ok, but it wasn't a very memorable or logical film. Still, it was free on Amazon Prime and I'm running out of films to watch.

44 Inch Chest

Also free on Prime. Wasn't what I expected. I liked Ray Winston's character and his group of friends, but the

Spoiler alert

hallucinations

[close]

were confusing and I couldn't get into it. Lots of uses of the word "cunt" and really, a somewhat boring film in my view. I thought it would have been more violent and a lot of it

Spoiler alert

seemed to take place in the main character's mind

[close]

.

[peanutbutter]

Busy weekend!

Double Impact
Starting to really enjoy these JCVD films on weekend afternoons. There's a goofy kinda amateur charm that seems to endure into the 90s ones but with less of the usual Canon films frustrations I have.
Think I'm just gonna watch ALL of them at this stage


The Hunger
Well... suffers a little by starting so fucking strong that it feels a bit disappointing that it can't sustain it, but on the whole I loved this. Fairly surprised its reception is so mixed.


Any Given Sunday
Is there a shitter director than Oliver Stone whose films still manage to be quite watchable yet never ever approaching the territory of "good"? Be checking out Nixon next, might revisit JFK too cos I remember thinking it was good when I was 14.


Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
eh... it was good but his later stuff is so much better.


North
Dreadful, can picture Rob Reiner being the kind of person who thinks kids find him super charming but he's really got zero clue how to engage with them at all.
Dunno how we're supposed to think North himself is likeable at any point in this thing.

[Inspector Norse]

The Handmaiden Park Chan-Wook's twisty tale of deceit and sex in 1930s Korea with a pickpocket taking a job as handmaiden to a woman who - I never quite figured out what the deal was here - is basically a shut-in, engaged to marry an extravagantly eyebrowed gent who had already been married to her mother and her aunt at various points, though they are both dead now, in order to con said woman into eloping and marrying her (the pickpocket's) boss, who would then have her sectioned and waltz off with her inheritance. It gets sillier from there, especially the acting, particularly from the male leads who spent the film's 150 minutes gurning and posing all over the place.

It's pretty entertaining for all that: the ridiculous plot and faintly laughable sex are fun and it is very handsomely and stylishly mounted. Held back, though, by a feeling of undeserved smugness, like it wants to be a serious, meaningful epic rather than the preposterous, empty-headed romp it really is.

[St_Eddie]

North
Dreadful, can picture Rob Reiner being the kind of person who thinks kids find him super charming but he's really got zero clue how to engage with them at all.

You say that and yet North was one of my favourite films as a kid.

[zomgmouse]

License to Live. Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed this a year after the inimitable Cure. It's fairly quiet and tender - follows a young man who wakes up after a ten-year coma and tries to make his life. Reminds me a bit of Kore-eda.

[phantom_power]

Watched The Lady Vanishes, it's a very good little British pre-war mystery romp. Apparently Orson Welles liked it so much that he watched it 11 times (and he reportedly never rewatched films usually). Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood have great chemistry, he's a typical English cad and she's a sassy spunky type who doesn't stand for any nonsense, and Dame May Whitty is great as well. Obviously some concessions have to be made for some of the 30s dialogue/model effects, although there's an FX shot with a person hanging off a train which is extremely well done for the time.

I watched this last night as it is free on Amazon Prime at the moment and really enjoyed it. A lot funnier than I was expecting. I loved the droll stereotypical English duo, who apparently went on to appear in loads of other films. Redgrave is very good as the cad with a heart and the way the mystery plays out with the different reason for the passengers' answers is well done. It all goes off the rails (ho ho) at the end though. I loved the model work as well

Did you spot the Hitchcock cameo?

[Artie Fufkin]

The Foreigner - 2017

Jackie Chan IS John Rambo vs The IRA.
Fucking bizarre little film, but, y'know what? I really enjoyed it. I thought Chan was really good with this Sallone-style character. Pierce Brosnan was pretty bloody good too. Not the usual part he plays (I don't think).
Chan is bloody mental with the stunts he's still doing. He really should be taking it easy at his time of life.

Young Frankenstein (Fronkensteen) - 1974
Absolute classic. My favourite Brooks film, I think. Top class performances throughout. Particularly Kenneth Mars as Inspector Kemp and Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth.

[Gulftastic]

Busy weekend!

Double Impact
Starting to really enjoy these JCVD films on weekend afternoons. There's a goofy kinda amateur charm that seems to endure into the 90s ones but with less of the usual Canon films frustrations I have.
Think I'm just gonna watch ALL of them at this stage

I love how JCVD's acting range extends to slicking his hair back to play the bad boy twin.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I watched this last night as it is free on Amazon Prime at the moment and really enjoyed it. A lot funnier than I was expecting. I loved the droll stereotypical English duo, who apparently went on to appear in loads of other films. Redgrave is very good as the cad with a heart and the way the mystery plays out with the different reason for the passengers' answers is well done. It all goes off the rails (ho ho) at the end though. I loved the model work as well

Did you spot the Hitchcock cameo?

I didn't! Just looked it up on Google images, not sure how that one got past me.

[phantom_power]

I think I saw it right near the end at the train station. He does a very strange movement as he walks across the frame

[Artie Fufkin]

I didn't! Just looked it up on Google images, not sure how that one got past me.

I completely missed the one in Shadow Of Doubt I watched the other day. And that was an obvious one when I looked it up after.

[phantom_power]

There are more "classic" films on Prime than Netflix so I am working through some of those. There are some Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes and things like Dick Barton and Dick Tracy that look quite interesting, as well as stuff like The Old Dark House

I watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance today as well, another great film. James Stewart has been in so many of my favourite old films like this, Harvey, It's a Wonderful Life and his Hitchcock films

[Crabwalk]

Any Given Sunday
Is there a shitter director than Oliver Stone whose films still manage to be quite watchable yet never ever approaching the territory of "good"? Be checking out Nixon next, might revisit JFK too cos I remember thinking it was good when I was 14.

I've been watching his 80s films recently and have been surprised to find that they're almost all fucking brilliant, given I've disliked almost everything I've seen from him since. Salvador and Talk Radio are especially great.