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

[Chedney Honks]

I remember being massively underwhelmed by Cape Feare. My main memory of it is laughing when the maid turns around and it's De Niro in drag.

I felt that whole last twenty minutes was like from a different film. RDN goes full ham and the action and fighting was silly. Lange and Lewis basically vanished as meaningful characters.

[phantom_power]

The Climb (2019) - Not what I was expecting at all. I thought this would be about two blokes climbing a mountain by bicycle or something but it is actually about the friendship between two men over the course of many years, ups and downs, marriage, death etc. It was pretty funny and had some great long takes, the first one is particularly good. The performances were good and the characters interesting.

[Small Man Big Horse]

August In The Water (1995) - A moody Japanese film that has a slight fantastical / spiritual edge, where schoolgirl Izumi is involved in a strange accident during a diving competition and is very different when she recovers. This starts well and the atmosphere and tone kept me interested for the first hour, but then it slows down and little happens, and when it does it doesn't make an awful lot of sense, or not to me at the very least. Due to the strong start I wanted to like it more than I did, but the second hour really tested my patience and by the end the whole thing felt pointless, maybe I'm missing something, and it received some rave reviews, but for me it had little to say and took a painful amount of time to say it. 4.1/10

[Sebastian Cobb]

Just watched that Dogville, liked it and the minimalist black-box theatre thing, but would've liked it a lot if they'd whittled it down to an hour and a half or something.

[Inspector Norse]

Mystic River Clint Eastwood directs this ambitious tale of lost innocence and trauma set amongst the Oirish families of Boston. They love their whiskey do those Oirish! And most of them are criminals! But anyway there's these three lads in the 70s and one of them gets abducted by some peodos (Rawls from The Wire and a friendly-looking priest, because all American peodos are friendly-looking priests), then when they grow up one of them (Sean Penn) is a crook gone straight, one (Kevin Bacon) is a cop and the other one (Tim Robbins), the one who got abducted, is a basket case except he's got a pretty normal healthy family life but he's a basket case OK because the film keeps telling us he is.
It's one of those films that could be really good, and does have plenty of strengths: real clarity and weight in its themes, great location work and splendid performances, with (perhaps surprisingly for Clint?) strong roles for the women, though I struggled as always with Penn (you know what you're getting with Sean Penn, and while I don't care for his gurning and twitching and strutting and habit of playing SEAN PENN in every role, there are certainly those who do, so more power to them. There are a couple of moments when he just stays fairly still and the intensity really works, but it's not long before he starts wiggling his face again). But it suffers from corny dialogue, a too-predictable plot, and some cheesy moments of attempted grandeur from its director (orchestra swells as camera raises to the sky, kind of thing).
So in summary it was alright, could have been better but could have been a whole lot worse too.

[Dusty Substance]

Mystic River But it suffers from corny dialogue, a too-predictable plot, and some cheesy moments of attempted grandeur from its director (orchestra swells as camera raises to the sky, kind of thing).
So in summary it was alright, could have been better but could have been a whole lot worse too.

I've not seen Mystic River since it was at the cinema in late 2003 and remember it being good but no more than just good. Kind of a TV movie of the week vibe. So it was surprising to see it get nominated for all those Oscars (picture, director, screenplay) plus wins for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins a few months later (although with Penn's win, it seemed to smack of "he's missed out three time before, it's time he won one").

[zomgmouse]

The Night Overtakes Me. Epic Holocaust drama from Juraj Herz (allegedly stolen from in part by Spielberg for Schindler's List, including red flowers amidst a muted palette as well as a shower/water/gas scene - although ironically one of the main musical themes in this seems entirely lifted from Once Upon a Time in America). Though it's less a Holocaust drama and more a biopic about a journalist who ends up in a concentration camp. It's very harrowing and though it edges on the cloyingly overdramatic in some ways, I think it stays on the side of earnest heartfelt tragedy.

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Intoxicating madness from Werner Herzog starring Nicolas Cage (alongside Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Coolidge, Fairuza Balk and Michael Shannon) as the titular paltry policeman - Herzog denies ever having seen the Ferrara original/classic but did anyone ask the screenwriter? I guess there wasn't that much except a superficial similarity anyway. The first one's better but this still banged. Particularly liked the camerawork on this.

Fish Story. Sono-esque tale of chaos and coincidence including a punk band, hostage situation, impending meteor collision, all taking place over several decades and

Spoiler alert

interconnecting beautifully

[close]

at the end.

[zomgmouse]

Running on Empty. Lumet light drama of a family on the run, particularly focussing on the eldest child played by River Phoenix. It's really quite affecting although the stakes seem misplaced/imbalanced so it doesn't fully land.

El Norte. Story of a Guatemalan brother and sister escaping their home village and journeying to America. Looks amazing but a lot of the content was incredibly hammy (acting, narrative, etc). Don't see why all the reviews are so glowing.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Fish Story. Sono-esque tale of chaos and coincidence including a punk band, hostage situation, impending meteor collision, all taking place over several decades and

Spoiler alert

interconnecting beautifully

[close]

at the end.

I liked that a lot too, and only saw it after it was mentioned in this thread: https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=42793.0 which I really need to check out more of the recommendations from.

Shirkers (2018) - Documentary about the film Sandi Tan made in Singapore as a teenager with friends, family and her former teacher Georges Cardona,

Spoiler alert

who after directing the movie and promising to edit it together disappeared from her life and it wasn't until after his death twenty years later that she finally recovered the footage, though strangely despite being kept in pristine condition he'd disposed of the soundtrack.

[close]

An investigation in to the extremely strange man that Cardona undoubtedly was, it's also a very honest look at Tan's youth, the friendships she made back then, and those she encountered who also had unusual relationships with Georges. Often when I watch a documentary I think it was really interesting but could have been half the length but for once this isn't the case here, and I was fascinated by this unusual tale from start to finish. 8.3/10

[rjd2]

I've not seen Mystic River since it was at the cinema in late 2003 and remember it being good but no more than just good. Kind of a TV movie of the week vibe. So it was surprising to see it get nominated for all those Oscars (picture, director, screenplay) plus wins for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins a few months later (although with Penn's win, it seemed to smack of "he's missed out three time before, it's time he won one").

I went down the most boring rabbit hole (10 mins tbf) earlier and checked what nominated and ignored for the oscars that year and sadly it was  drab year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/76th_Academy_Awards

It should not have done as well as it did, but looking at those acting nominees, nothing their bar maybe Murray who was that much better.

Although obviously have not seen 21 grams or In America for a long time so that take above is not a hill I shall die on.

[Dusty Substance]

I went down the most boring rabbit hole (10 mins tbf) earlier and checked what nominated and ignored for the oscars that year and sadly it was  drab year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/76th_Academy_Awards

It should not have done as well as it did, but looking at those acting nominees, nothing their bar maybe Murray who was that much better.

Although obviously have not seen 21 grams or In America for a long time so that take above is not a hill I shall die on.

Yeah, a bit of an underwhelming year. Return Of The King was always going to sweep the boards having missed out on picture and director the previous year.

Agreed that Murray probably should have won. Surprised to see Depp was nominated for Best Actor, I could have sworn he was in the Supporting category. Would like to have seen  Paul Giamatti nominated for American Splendour.

Charlize Theron deserved to win. She was amazing and unrecognisable in Monster. Insane that Uma Thurman didn't get a nod for Kill Bill (neither KB film got a single nomination between them).

Looking at my list of best films from 2003, they're all titles like Memories Of Murder, Oldboy, Dogville, Good Bye Lenin, A Tale Of Two Sisters - Back when World Cinema only got nominated in Foreign Language categories.

Out of the films nominated that year, I'd have given Best Picture to Master And Commander.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Addams Family Values (1993) - I liked the first film a fair amount, visually it was pretty stunning and the casting was superb, but I felt a bit frustrated by the uneven plotting and pacing. The sequel rectifies those issues with far more fun storylines as Fester falls for the rather murderous Debbie (Joan Cusack, superb) while Wednesday and Pugsley are sent off to summer camp, and the former especially is given a lot to do and does it in a very funny manner. It's a real tragedy that Raul Julia died just a year later, due to being a completist I am going to watch the third in the series even though it has an almost completely different cast and is reportedly fairly awful, and only hope that Tim Curry in the lead role can make it watchable. Anyhow, back to this, and yeah, it's great, packed with lots of strong gags and a supporting cast (including Peter MacNicol, Christine Baranski and a young David Krumholtz and Mercedes McNab) who are also on top form. 7.8/10

[Chedney Honks]

I'm going to need to gather my thoughts on this and start a proper thread but I just have to say that I watched Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc this evening and I was blown away, floods of tears, crushed. I understand that this is a cliché but I don't think I've ever seen a performance quite like Falconetti in this. Ecstatic, transcendent and agonising. Jesus H. Christ.

[zomgmouse]

I'm going to need to gather my thoughts on this and start a proper thread but I just have to say that I watched Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc this evening and I was blown away, floods of tears, crushed. I understand that this is a cliché but I don't think I've ever seen a performance quite like Falconetti in this. Ecstatic, transcendent and agonising. Jesus H. Christ.

1000/10. Incredible film

[rjd2]

I'm going to need to gather my thoughts on this and start a proper thread but I just have to say that I watched Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc this evening and I was blown away, floods of tears, crushed. I understand that this is a cliché but I don't think I've ever seen a performance quite like Falconetti in this. Ecstatic, transcendent and agonising. Jesus H. Christ.

Thanks have kept meaning to watch that.

I watched the abysmally named Johnny Guitar the other day. It got sneered at by critics back in the day, but its much more interesting than the numerous generic Westerns churned out in the 50s and one of the very few that to this day can be called a feminist classic.

The plot isn't that groundbreaking, but the casting of ladies as the two main Protagonists for the time was.

Top cast and with the excellent Nicholas Ray in charge it looks fantastic and everyone has a ball when it comes to playing with the macho Western cliches of that era.

Godard and Truffaut loved it as they unlike the American punter loved how subversive it was.

4/5

[Chedney Honks]

I watched the abysmally named Johnny Guitar the other day.

I just watched it myself the night before, also really enjoyed it a lot. Letting my thoughts settle but will start a thread at some point soon. Very entertaining performances and musical dialogue. Great film.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Addams Family Reunion (1998) - The third in the series but this was straight to video and apart from Carel Struycken and Christopher Hart it features an all new cast, and well, Tim Curry isn't too bad as Gomez but everyone else is pretty awful, with the guy playing Fester turning in one of the worst performances in cinema history. The plot's thin, and though there's the occasionally funny line the majority are really dodgy, and it also wastes a fairly decent supporting cast which includes Kevin McCarthy, Ed Begley Jr and Ray Walston. Still, despite the above it's better than 2019 animated version which is, um, something? 4.4/10

[Dr Rock]

I watched Casino Royale again, hoping to see more good in it, but no, it's just a steaming pile of shit.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I watched Casino Royale again, hoping to see more good in it, but no, it's just a steaming pile of shit.

2006 or 1967? Or both?

[Blumf]

Crimewave (1985, Dir: Sam Raimi[nb]As opposed to Crime Wave (1985 Dir: John Paizs) which is also pretty good, wacky but much more gentle than Raimi's film[/nb])
Off the back of Evil Dead's success Embassy Pictures made a pretty big mistake in trusting Sam Raimi and co with control of their first big film production without supervision. It was a mess,

The film itself, if you like Evil Dead, Darkman, etc. you'll find lots to enjoy in this. The frenetic slapstick humour is there, and there are some amazing set-pieces (the

Spoiler alert

carpet pull, and the corridor of doors

[close]

being particular highlights). But it sadly fails to make a cohesive and engaging story, thanks to the troubled production, things had to be cut together a bit too abruptly.

The production manages to be even more crazy than the film. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did, except, amazingly, the stunts which, considering how dangerous they were, was a major miracle that no one was seriously hurt or killed (BB guns being fired towards people's eyes, live unshielded electricity used for effects, someone getting crushed by a mistimed stunt, etc. etc....). Issues with union labour, police support, damage to public property, and never ending problems with a rapidly ballooning budget leading to executive interference. A real learning experience for all involved.

So, it was not the film the creators wanted it to be, but you can still see what they were aiming for. Undoubtedly an interesting film to see and learn about. 6/10 for the film, 9/10 when you include the background details. There are much better Sam Raimi films, but if you're even slightly into his work, you need to see this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimewave

[Dr Rock]

2006 or 1967? Or both?

2006. I'e never seen the 1967 one. Does anyone have a defibrillator as a car gadget that wouldn't have been useful in any other James Bond movie but just so happened to be vital on this mission?

[Small Man Big Horse]

Crimewave (1985, Dir: Sam Raimi[nb]As opposed to Crime Wave (1985 Dir: John Paizs) which is also pretty good, wacky but much more gentle than Raimi's film[/nb])
Off the back of Evil Dead's success Embassy Pictures made a pretty big mistake in trusting Sam Raimi and co with control of their first big film production without supervision. It was a mess,

The film itself, if you like Evil Dead, Darkman, etc. you'll find lots to enjoy in this. The frenetic slapstick humour is there, and there are some amazing set-pieces (the

Spoiler alert

carpet pull, and the corridor of doors

[close]

being particular highlights). But it sadly fails to make a cohesive and engaging story, thanks to the troubled production, things had to be cut together a bit too abruptly.

The production manages to be even more crazy than the film. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did, except, amazingly, the stunts which, considering how dangerous they were, was a major miracle that no one was seriously hurt or killed (BB guns being fired towards people's eyes, live unshielded electricity used for effects, someone getting crushed by a mistimed stunt, etc. etc....). Issues with union labour, police support, damage to public property, and never ending problems with a rapidly ballooning budget leading to executive interference. A real learning experience for all involved.

So, it was not the film the creators wanted it to be, but you can still see what they were aiming for. Undoubtedly an interesting film to see and learn about. 6/10 for the film, 9/10 when you include the background details. There are much better Sam Raimi films, but if you're even slightly into his work, you need to see this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimewave

I love Crimewave and saw it long before any of the Evil Dead movies, or when I knew who Sam Raimi was or that the Coen Brothers co-wrote it. It was just one of those films I saw as a young, innocent teenager and would rent time and again and never get bored of (which is oddly the opposite of how I am now with 99% of movies) and though it definitely has its faults I'm incredibly forgiving of them and just love the manic stupidity of it all.

By the way, I don't know if you've seen the Strawberry Mansion thread (https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,89152.0.html), but I only originally watched it as Reed Birney has a role in it, and then discovered it's directed by his son Albert Birney who has so far made four films, all of which I've watched over the past couple of weeks and loved a great deal.

2006. I'e never seen the 1967 one. Does anyone have a defibrillator as a car gadget that wouldn't have been useful in any other James Bond movie but just so happened to be vital on this mission?

I can't remember much about it to be honest, other than that it was pretty poor despite boasting an impressive cast.

[zomgmouse]

Games (Curtis Harrington, 1967). Katharine Ross and James Caan are wealthy leisure people whose lives get interrupted by a mysterious Simone Signoret. The sets and ambience was very good but the narrative seemed incredibly lacklustre, just no sense of menace or stakes.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I watched The Killing of a Sacred Deer the other night, which was incredible. Not sure how I missed the original release as I loved The Lobster and managed to see and really enjoy The Favourite when it came out. Looks like Yorgos' next piece is going to be a period one as well, I hope he hasn't jacked in the stilted weird stuff entirely.

[Blumf]

By the way, I don't know if you've seen the Strawberry Mansion thread (https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,89152.0.html), but I only originally watched it as Reed Birney has a role in it, and then discovered it's directed by his son Albert Birney who has so far made four films, all of which I've watched over the past couple of weeks and loved a great deal.

Yeah, seen that thread and am interested. Trying to find it in a reasonably legit form.

[SteveDave]

The Abyss

Somehow despite seeing the trailer for this a million times on Sky in the early 90s, I'd never actually seen the film.

I was amazed at how much "Armageddon" had ripped off it and loved it right up until the last 15 minutes. The ending fucked it.

[phantom_power]

Which ending did you see?

[SteveDave]

Which ending did you see?

Spoiler alert

Magic alien fish lifts them up out of the water

[close]

[El Unicornio, mang]

I watched Casino Royale again, hoping to see more good in it, but no, it's just a steaming pile of shit.

Seriously? It's an incredible film. Only thing I'm not that keen on is the theme song.

[samadriel]

Yeah, Casino Royale is great, and the best Bond film.