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

[Egyptian Feast]

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.

They're his two best for me, though Talk Radio isn't on the same level as Salvador. James Woods is so good in the latter it's a shame he's such a mahoosive cunt.

The last watchable film he made was U-Turn. The last one I bothered watching was the last 30 minutes of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps while flicking around. It was absolute shit.

[peanutbutter]

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

You'd've been like 12 when it came out? When I say as a kid I generally mean "firmly before most people would've started puberty", and the age of the lead is usually representative of the higher end of the target age group. There's a lot of shit jokes in it a 12 year might get that I can't picture many 9 year olds getting.

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.

Ah yeah Salvador is good iirc, and I'm sure Platoon is at least alright too? Not a fan of Talk Radio but that's more that I'm not a fan of Bogosian

Got a wildly bad output in recent years for someone who presumably doesn't do great numbers relative to the budgets he must need.

[zomgmouse]

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

Stewart had an interesting career, started off as the cute shy guy (Mr Deeds Goes to Town) then had a reinvention post-war as a grisly jaded man (e.g. Winchester '73). Pulled both off very well.

[zomgmouse]

Traps. Vera Chytilová dark comedy about a woman who is raped by two men and then castrates them and the consequences of all that. Plays extremely lightly but the humour is pitch black.

[El Unicornio, mang]

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.

I watched it last night and would have to agree. Even taking into account when it was made, it was a tad silly, and that little girl's voice is still ringing in my ears. But, always nice to see the Hitchcock trademark artistic flourishes, and I was on the lookout for his cameo this time and spotted him, although I had to check as his face isn't shown.

[rjd2]

On Stewart I watched Anatomy Of A Murder the other week a court room drama which was very good, slightly dated but nonetheless Stewart and the supporting cast which includes George C Scott excellent.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

FUN FILM FAX: Anatomy of a Murder, which is great, was the first Hollywood film to mention sperm and contraceptives. In 1959! Shocking.

Stewart had an interesting career, started off as the cute shy guy (Mr Deeds Goes to Town) then had a reinvention post-war as a grisly jaded man (e.g. Winchester '73). Pulled both off very well.

I hate to be that guy, but Gary Cooper starred in Mr Deeds Goes to Town. I take it you're thinking of Mr Smith Goes to Washington? Both films were directed by Frank Capra and co-starred Jean Arthur, plus they have very similar titles, so it's an easy mistake to make (he says patronisingly).

Genuinely sorry, but I can't help myself. Pedantry is a curse.

[zomgmouse]

I hate to be that guy, but Gary Cooper starred in Mr Deeds Goes to Town. I take it you're thinking of Mr Smith Goes to Washington? Both films were directed by Frank Capra and co-starred Jean Arthur, plus they have very similar titles, so it's an easy mistake to make (he says patronisingly).

Genuinely sorry, but I can't help myself. Pedantry is a curse.

Ah yes! That's the one!

[amputeeporn]

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.

Really enjoyed Talk Radio - a great little film.

[SteveDave]

Play Misty For Me

He was sending out mixed messages.

The last 20 minutes was ace though with the "Oh I've got a new housemate" thing being peppered in throughout the film and then BOOM! Lucille is Annabelle.

[phantom_power]

Cape Fear - Watched after seeing a documentary on J Lee Thompson, itself watched after he was discussed by Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarrantino on a recent Empire podcast on great British films. A really good film, obviously, and made me want to investigate his work more. Think I will try Ice Cold in Alex next. It also made me realise that Robert Mitchum is one of my favourite actors, after seeing this and Night of the Hunter

The Asphyx - another film mentioned in the Wright/Tarrantino podcast. Unfortunately named but pretty fun 70s horror film

[Custard]

I've not seen Robert Mitchum be less than stellar in anything I've seen him in. He's also great in The Friends Of Eddie Coyle

[rjd2]

I've not seen Robert Mitchum be less than stellar in anything I've seen him in. He's also great in The Friends Of Eddie Coyle

Ha was going to post this also.

Out Of The Past is also a banger of a Noir.

The  American Friend was on film 4 the other night where Hopper plays Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz plays a dude who has a terminal illness.

It's actually a pretty reserved performance from Hopper which from all accounts shocked a few people but even still he is good as a nervous ball of energy and he just can't  not do menace can he? Ganz also very good.  Not a bad neo -noir at all.

Nicholas Ray plays the villain who works with both leads , for those unfamiliar he directed They Live By The Night and In A Lonely Place two absolute Noir classics.


https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-american-friend/on-demand/8687-001

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

More stuff was leaving (and has now left) Netflix, so I finally got around to watching:

Flawless (1999)
Joel Schumacher, hot off the turkeytronic antics of Batman and Robin, seemed to make an attempt at regaining some critical kudos with this fairly low key comedy drama. Robert De Niro and Philip Seymour Hoffman star respectively as Walter - a homophobic New York police officer - and Rusty - an out and proud singer, to whom Walter turns for help with speech therapy, after suffering a stroke. Will this classic odd couple clash but eventually become friends? Well obviously.

Hoffman is unsurprisingly excellent, inspiring pathos, without making the character into some one dimensional saint - it's not Driving Miss Daisy, but with homophobia instead of racism. It would be tempting to describe the film as passing the torch to him from DeNiro, but this is no meeting of equals. Bobby (on the cusp of his full on shite years) is no match for Hoffman here. I vaguely recall Mark Kermode at the time describing DeNiro's mumbling performance as a bad impression of himself and, for once, he was right.

Also, having said it was fairly low key, the film still feels the need to include a melodramatic subplot about drug dealers menacing the building after one of the residents steals their money. Despite there only being three of them, no one (including Walter or his frequently visiting police buddies) does anything about them, until things boil over in a ridiculous action finale. It feels like a particularly clumsy point that Walter suffers his stroke while attempting to intervene in their first rampage, but just by coincidence.

You can't watch it on Netflix now anyway, but I wouldn't particularly bother, even if you could. Maybe watch it if you're a Hoffman completist, but he was in much better films than this. So was DeNiro, once.

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Ryan Coogler's debut feature and also his with Michael B. Jordan, in the role of Oscar Grant, who was shot dead by transport police at the titular station, on New Year's Day 2009.

Coogler opens with a real video of the shooting, before flashing back to the beginning of the previous day. This gives the whole film a horrible, ticking clock sense of doom, made all the worse by how mundane Grant's final day was. Filmed documentary style, we follow him around as he argues and makes up with his girlfriend, drops his daughter off at school, helps a grateful young woman at the supermarket, puts his own money worries aside to help his sister with her rent, celebrates their mother's birthday and, finally, enjoys the New Year's celebrations in San Francisco. While the film doesn't shy away from showing that Grant had spent time in prison, the overall portrait of him we are given is that of a perfectly normal young man, no more, no less.

Performances are excellent across the board. Jordan, already a veteran of dying tragically young onscreen, carries the film effortlessly, with an understated charisma that makes you hope for the best, even though you know full well that's not on the cards. Melonie Diaz does similarly strong work as Grant's girlfriend, as does Octavia Spencer as his tough but fair mother.

This one I do recommend seeking out. Despite being set on a specific date it is, sadly, timeless.

[zomgmouse]

Whenever Mitchum comes up I always recommend The Big Steal, a very early Don Siegel noir: super short, slick and takes place in the hot Mexican sun. Some great car chases. And Mitchum is incredible.

[zomgmouse]

Rewatched The Red Shoes last night. Really cements it as one of my favourites, if not my absolute favourite. Just extraordinary filmmaking.

Gia. TV movie about the model Gia Carangi, played by Angelina Jolie. It's pretty standard biopic fare, quite well done but nothing particularly amazing.

The Quiet Family. Korean dark comedy about a family who owns a mountain inn and lots of

Spoiler alert

murders

[close]

end up happening. Thought I'd really enjoy this but it kind of fell flat for me.

[Ferris]

The 2020 Andy Samberg joint, Palm Springs.

It were alright.

[Artie Fufkin]

Apollo 13 - 1995
I didn't think I'd seen this before.
I had.
Anyhow, great stuff. Tom Hanks is excellent as always.
Loved the hubbub of Houston.
Brilliant.
Isn't space brilliant!

[Inspector Norse]

Lethal Weapon One of those from the "famous films you've never seen" pile. It was enjoyable but quite peculiarly dated: thinking about films like this, people notice the '80s fashions and designs[nb]which I actually rather like, it's quite comforting seeing those colours and styles on screen[/nb] but forget the shouty acting - seriously, there's something wrong when Gary Busey is the most restrained of the lead actors - and odd pacing. And speaking of odd, the climax is just bizarre, Gibson putting his arrest of Busey on hold in order to, um, mudwrestle him in front of a captive audience instead. What?
Some classic Hollywood psychology too as Danny Glover's daughter is kidnapped by gangsters, possibly raped, tortured, witnesses the murder of her boyfriend and at least two bloody gunfights in which men are shot in the face literally a foot or two away from her, and in the next scene is redecorating the family home and enjoying Christmas dinner with one of the men responsible for those killings.
Nice location work. Weird to see a Hollywood blockbuster nicking jokes from Dad's Army.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me – Teresa Banks, and the Last Days of Laura Palmer - Fan edit of the 1992 film which inserts the "missing pieces" scenes to bump it up to 3.5 hours. It really didn't feel that long to me (although the Pink Room scene seems to go on forever), seamlessly edited and I can imagine this being the version I watch more than the original cut from now on. Definitely deviates from the main story a bit more, with appearances from many of the show's secondary characters. Still amazes me that the film was dismissed on initial release as just trashy nonsense when it's actually a very profound exploration of abuse/incest, focusing on the victim's life and feelings which is a rare thing in stories of this nature. Quentin Tarantino declaring after seeing it at Cannes that Lynch had gone "so far up his own ass" which is a bit rich. Sheryl Lee should have won every award going.

[zomgmouse]

Blade. Went in expecting a pretty silly and dated vampire superhero film but this is surprisingly really good. Hasn't dated that much, action sequences are superb. It is very cool.

Tokyo Eyes. Quirky French-Japanese production about a man who puts on glasses and goes around shooting at people and the police detective's little sister who falls in love with him.

Blues Harp. Takashi Miike I hadn't seen (one of hundreds I suppose). Quiet and reflective, which is not something you can say for a lot of Miikes - though still involving some degree of (mob) violence. Fun live music moments too.

[zomgmouse]

Forgot the other day I also watched Bullet in the Head. Probably my favourite John Woo of the handful I've seen now. Surprisingly epic and sensitive - was not expecting a Vietnam War film. It's a little over 2 hours but feels like it packs a lot more in.

April Story. My first Shunji Iwai. Pretty blown away. Simple but incredibly touching.

Khrustalyov, My Car!. Absolutely mad and poetic portrait of life during Stalin's final years. Really must get around to Hard to Be a God.

Bulworth. Another kind of political satire, much more broad and straightforward of course, perhaps no use comparing. But a strong script, very fun.

[greenman]

Khrustalyov, My Car!. Absolutely mad and poetic portrait of life during Stalin's final years. Really must get around to Hard to Be a God.

Only seen those two but Germans style is almost apart from any other cinema I'v seen, the kind of circus like atmosphere with everyone performing almost knowingly to the camera building up a sense of madness. Hard To Be a God is actually quite a similar story just shifted from Stalinism to medieval sci fi that arguably has heavy doses of it is as well, perhaps easier to follow as you don't need to know specifics of history as much as Khrustalyov that offers you very little explanation for say the plot to try and connect the lead character to a foreign influence or him discovering a double of himself.

They are both two of the best looking films ever made for me and it is quite amazing how consistently they come up with great looking images given the long roving takes.

[Dr Rock]

I've watched everything on YouTube so I'm having a movie marathon of stuff I haven't seen.

Greed
The Steve Coogan thing. I found it enjoyable enough. I liked it when

Spoiler alert

the lion bit his head off.

[close]

6/10

Gran Torino
Liked it. Clint's face is a work of art. 7/10

Parasite
Brilliant stuff. 10/10

I'm Thinking Of Ending Things
Super-loved it. Suspenseful, puzzling, I got that it was dream-logic to some extent, loved the ending though couldn't work out exactly what it meant. Reading here that it was

Spoiler alert

the janitor's fantasy

[close]

made a lot of sense and I guess means

Spoiler alert

the girl was never in that creepy situation

[close]

, cos I was worried. 10/10

Nomadland.
Couldn't get into it. Got bored and turned it off before the end. 5/10

[The Ombudsman]

Apollo 13 - 1995
I didn't think I'd seen this before.
I had.
Anyhow, great stuff. Tom Hanks is excellent as always.
Loved the hubbub of Houston.
Brilliant.
Isn't space brilliant!

Watched this yesterday and enjoyed it again. Been watching some older films with the daughter of late, one of which was The Mask. Definitely a film that wouldn't be made today. The ending was a re-surprise.

Also been going through the Tom Hanks and John Candy back catalogue. Candy was such a treat to watch.

[phantom_power]

The Third Man - Classic. Lots of zither

The Godfather -  I know it is the Cineaste 101 film of choice but it is fucking amazing. The acting, the cinematography, the attention to detail. A film you can live in for a few hours, however disreputable the company. And there are the little fun bits like James Caan's ridiculously short punch when he is beating up Connie's husband

[Artie Fufkin]

Rope - 1948
Classic Hitchcock, here. So well done, with a small ensemble cast. James Stewart, John Dall & Joan Chandler to name a few.
Chandler was great, particularly.
Based on a play, and I want to see that play!
One of my top 3 Hitchcock's, this.

Page Eight - 2011
The first in the 'Johnny Worricker Trilogy'.
Really slick 'government shenanigans' type of film.
Bill Nighy, Michael Gambon, Rachel Weiss & Ralph Fiennes head the cast.
Will definitely be watching the other 2 films.

[El Unicornio, mang]

The Godfather -  I know it is the Cineaste 101 film of choice but it is fucking amazing. The acting, the cinematography, the attention to detail. A film you can live in for a few hours, however disreputable the company. And there are the little fun bits like James Caan's ridiculously short punch when he is beating up Connie's husband

I recently re-watched the 7.5 hour Godfather Epic, which basically is the first 2 films in chronological order. Might sound a bit pointless but there's an additional hour of footage not in the theatrical cuts which really flesh out the story, particularly lots more of Vito/De Niro in the 1900s.

I'd still opt for the original versions but it's worth watching.

[dissolute ocelot]

Harvey (1950) - closest I got to an easter movie with its giant rabbit. More James Stewart, who gives a brilliant performance, underplaying nicely as the town alcoholic. Everything is fast moving, charming, funny. It's dated, and I guess even in 1950 it would be a bit dated with its small town setting and grand middle-aged women, but it's still very entertaining. It's easy to imagine someone like Jerry Lewis or Jim Carrey completely ruining the film, and it's to Stewart's huge credit that it all seems quite natural, and it's never mean or cruel.

The Secret of NIHM (1982) - well-made and thoughtful animated adventure with a mix of the lighthearted (zany crow) and more serious; it is similar to the Borrowers movies in that way, despite being famously non-Disney. It has a reputation as being very scary, which I think is largely down to some bizarre character design moreso than the plot, which is fairly standard as a small mouse goes on a quest to save her home, albeit with a female protagonist and a slightly more portentous tone than Disney. I don't like the massive deus ex machina (

Spoiler alert

a magic gemstone that can just rescue everybody

[close]

), but maybe small children wouldn't mind (because they were too busy cowering at the icky rat hands.) Also not sure what the actual NIMH would make of it.

[peanutbutter]

I've not seen Robert Mitchum be less than stellar in anything I've seen him in. He's also great in The Friends Of Eddie Coyle

Pretty fucking great in Ryan's Daughter, injects far more life into a character I suspect was a  bit of a dud from the script alone. Kinda think it's the best of the Lean epics tbh and it's largely due to him saving some of the weaker points.