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

[peanutbutter]

Nostalghia
Pretty disappointing? Felt like trying to redo Mirror but with a clear narrative running through the middle. Felt like it'd've been better if it was just as wandering as Mirror was and 30 minutes less.
Looks amazing, obviously.


Clifford
This kind of rules?? Groden and Short both on absolute top form playing off each other. Genuinely my main negative after seeing it was that the core dynamic worked so well it easily could've been even funnier.
13% on Rotten Tomatoes...

Spike Lee's clearly a hugely talented director, extremely well versed in film, but I genuinely can't tell if I thought this scene was meant to be frightening or funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaWtWAvUb-4 - Dog voiced by Lee stalwart John Turturro.

On the basis of how forced into the film it felt I'd generally have to imagine it was just a visual Spike Lee found really funny about the details of the murderer.

With Spike Lee who knows though...

[zomgmouse]

Clifford
This kind of rules?? Groden and Short both on absolute top form playing off each other. Genuinely my main negative after seeing it was that the core dynamic worked so well it easily could've been even funnier.
13% on Rotten Tomatoes...

wait so Martin Short plays a ten-year-old?????

[sbahnhof]

Straub-Huillet double bill: Class Relations and The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach. Strict, austere, severe, and rigorous filmmaking with two different effects: CR takes Kafka's America and makes it more rigidly about alienation as exploitation amongst the classes on an Atlantic liner, while the Chronicle is a slyly beautiful and heartbreaking biography about Bach and his second wife dealing with death through his music. Absolutely not for everyone or indeed very few people at all, but I liked both.

You're the second person ever to talk about Straub/Huillet on this site, I think. :) By coincidence, I saw most of their films in order this month (city's in lockdown, so it felt appropriate). I had heard about them over 10 years ago, this duo of strange political filmmakers with the pan-European sensibility, whose work was so different to anything else I'd seen. From reading more now, I've learnt that their first films, adapted from Heinrich Böll, were the first movies in West Germany to address the survival of ex-Nazis in some positions of power - and that was in the mid-1960s.

Happily, the names of Huillet and Straub became a bit less obscure in the past decade; they even had career retrospectives in Britain and America, although they didn't make films there. I wouldn't say I love their movies, but I do love their commitment to 'simplicity', or as you put it better, rigour in their direction. Though I suppose, yes, a few people might find some of the longest pauses in cinema history to be a bit alienating. At the moment, Class Relations is on Youtube with subtitles – mad to say it, but that's probably their most conventional film! My favourite was one of their last together, Sicilia! (1998), an hour-long series of conversations, set just before WW2. I liked it because they mellowed with age and seemed to almost allow some overacting and at one point, I think there was a joke(?!), something that definitely wouldn't have flown in the old days.

[joaquin closet]

Can anyone recommend any good writing on Straub-Huillet? Seen and enjoyed Anna Magdalena Bach, but they feel like filmmakers with whom it'd be a good idea to have a pretty firm understanding of their theoretical underpinnings before properly diving in.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Hard Eight (1996) - P.T. Anderson's debut sees professional gambler Sydney take pity on John C. Reilly's John as he's unable to pay for his mother's funeral,

Spoiler alert

though there's another reason why the two bond that we don't learn for a long time. A couple of years down the line and John marries waitress / prostitute Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow) and on the day of their marriage she ends up fucking a client who refuses to pay her, who they then take hostage

[close]

. The first hour is a slow burn but also the best part of the movie, as Philip Baker Hall's so fucking great in the film, but once the plot finally kicks in it becomes far less interesting,

Spoiler alert

and when John hits Clementine I lost all sympathy for the cunt and he wasn't someone I ever really found that compelling

[close]

. I don't exactly regret watching it, it's a fine, decent enough diversion, but bar Hall's performance there's little that's great about the movie, and it doesn't offer up anything original or alluring in the way Anderson's later films do. 5.8/10

[Small Man Big Horse]

Phantom Boy (2015) - From the director A Cat In Paris comes another quite good (and in fact slightly better) French animation, this time following around the seriously ill child Leo who ever since his (unnamed, but presumably cancer related) diagnosis can suddenly leave his body and float about a bit.

Spoiler alert

When he meets a cop with a broken leg in the hospital they team up to stop a strangely disfigured man from taking over the city, and with the aid of journalist Mary they might just do it, that is unless the kid stays away from his body for too long as that will kill him.

[close]

It's a simple tale but one told in a stylish, playful manner, visually the 2d animation is nearly always a delight,

Spoiler alert

though right at the end it looks like the boy might die and naturally I'd have liked it more if he had, but because he lives it only gets

[close]

7.4/10

[Herbert Ashe]

Can anyone recommend any good writing on Straub-Huillet? Seen and enjoyed Anna Magdalena Bach, but they feel like filmmakers with whom it'd be a good idea to have a pretty firm understanding of their theoretical underpinnings before properly diving in.

I often find Senses of Cinema good for this sort of thing. Kino Slang has posted good stuff on S-H before, maybe the archives there have something.

To be honest though for more obscure film makers like S-H I find letterboxd good as an introduction as well, the quality of the reviews are higher than for more popular films and you don't have so many of the popular accounts with their 'witty' 1-liners to scroll past to get to the interesting stuff. And I find the diversity of opinions offer me more 'ins' than more academic writing like at senses above.

[Chedney Honks]

Just to say thanks for the SoC link, really appreciate it. Never come across that before.

[confettiinmyhair]

The latest Mortal Kombat film. Nostalgia trip to my youth but I absolutely loved it.

[Famous Mortimer]

Ricky 1

There are relatively few murkily-shot, poorly acted, ugly, cheap-looking successful comedies, and this does not add itself to their number. A parody of Rocky, in that it's a little bit about boxing and the main character dresses like him, just one of those parodies that thinks the mere fact of its existence is enough to carry the material. Every "joke" goes on for at least twice as long as it needs to.

Moron Movies

Remember Vine? Them six second skits? Imagine the very worst of those skits, but all done by a nervous looking middle-aged guy, to a static camera, against a largely plain background. And done in the late 70s / early 80s. How I'm not sure, but they gained popularity and Johnny Carson featured them fairly regularly on "The Tonight Show" from 1983-85. Creator Len Cella released a couple of VHS tapes of them, even.

I'm perhaps underselling how odd the comedy is. Imagine one of those middle-management brainstorming sessions, "no bad idea" style. The topic is "what would be a funny thing to do with X?" and at some point, someone comes up with something so clumsy and devoid of humour that everyone else in the meeting pauses in embarrassment. This is a movie made up entirely of those ideas.

I still don't think I've done a good job describing it. Check some out HERE, and...I think I love it now. I want everyone to see it.

[Shit Good Nose]

Ricky 1

Good christ, that's a blast from the past.  I bought the VHS for 50p (which I thought was a bit much for it then - some mentalist in the States would probs pay $1000s for it now) from a car boot sale about 20 years ago.  Watched it once, VHS went down the tip along with my entire collection (4000-odd videos) when we moved house in 2004/05 (and a few days later Blockbuster aired their TV ad offering cash or store credit for your old VHS collection - I coulda crushed a grape) and I've not seen it since.  In fact I'd completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it.  Remember nothing about it.

[Famous Mortimer]

Good christ, that's a blast from the past.  I bought the VHS for 50p (which I thought was a bit much for it then - some mentalist in the States would probs pay $1000s for it now) from a car boot sale about 20 years ago.  Watched it once, VHS went down the tip along with my entire collection (4000-odd videos) when we moved house in 2004/05 (and a few days later Blockbuster aired their TV ad offering cash or store credit for your old VHS collection - I coulda crushed a grape) and I've not seen it since.  In fact I'd completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it.  Remember nothing about it.

Should you have watched every other movie ever made and want to revisit it, it's viewable here.

[Shit Good Nose]

Should you have watched every other movie ever made and want to revisit it, it's viewable here.

Thanks for that.  Might watch it after Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead.

[Small Man Big Horse]

A Monster In Paris (2011) - Another French animation, though this time it's CGI so the character design is the same as every other bloody cgi film. At least the backdrops are a little more appealing, and for the first two thirds this is an entertaining enough romp where in Paris in 1910 Emile and Raoul are messing about in a mad gardener's greenhouse and are accidentally responsible for a flea becoming seven foot tall. The people of Paris are naturally terrified, but singer Lucille finds him one night and discovers that somewhat weirdly he can belt out a tune too, and so does everything she can to save him. The final act is a fairly bland chase sequence and then it outstays its welcome, with some annoyingly on the nose moralising from a supporting character, and it's a real shame the ending isn't more interesting as due to it I can't say I'd really recommend this. 6.3/10

[Shit Good Nose]

Nostalghia
Pretty disappointing? Felt like trying to redo Mirror but with a clear narrative running through the middle. Felt like it'd've been better if it was just as wandering as Mirror was and 30 minutes less.
Looks amazing, obviously.

Definitely Tark's weakest film by miles.  There is a theory that the only reason it was made was because he wanted a holiday in Italy.

[Dex Sawash]

Watched the Tom Hanks film on apple+ Finch

Omega Man + Chappie + some melodrama about a dog + Gran Torino
Hanks is one of last people on earth and he is dying so he builds a robot to take  care of the dog when he's dead.
The robot was a  Chappie/Borat mashup.
4.8/10

[Fambo Number Mive]

The Comedian's Guide to Survival

Really didn't enjoy this film but watched it all.  Fast-forwarded a lot of it. Just bleak and unfunny. Have to admit I only recognised Omid Djalili of the comedians the main character interviewed. I see Jimmy Carr was in it but I must have fast-forwarded through his bit.

[Artie Fufkin]

Watched the Tom Hanks film on apple+ Finch

Omega Man + Chappie + some melodrama about a dog + Gran Torino
Hanks is one of last people on earth and he is dying so he builds a robot to take  care of the dog when he's dead.
The robot was a  Chappie/Borat mashup.
4.8/10

Gah. That's disappointing. Been looking forward to watching this. It looked interesting from the trailer. I'm still going to watch it. Probably tonight.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior (1981) - Anyone who likes this film should probably look away now, as jesus I did not get on with it. I didn't particularly think the first film was anything that special but knew many thought the second was the best in the series so went in with an open mind, but just didn't enjoy much of it at all. It does at least start well and the world building is instantly improved upon with a quick guide as to what's happened to make this desolate world so miserable at the start, but after a couple of okay action sequences and Max being a dick to poor old Bruce Spence it suddenly becomes pretty tedious. Max's only plan to beat the villains is to drive through them, and each and every time it's proven to be a pretty fucking stupid idea, while the main villain trots out dodgy dialogue and looks like a Poundland Jason Voorhees but is far less frightening. Max is a really bloody tedious character in this, I get that he's not recovered from the events of the first film but he's so unlikeable that I wanted the shit villain to win, the leader of the good guys looks like Robin Askwith but is amazingly an even worse actor, while the feral kid is laughably poor too, though he's so bad I did at least enjoy it when he was on screen. As with the first film some of the editing is still patchy, a couple of the action scenes were clearly sped up but it just looks absurd,

Spoiler alert

Max's car flipping over because it was hit by a baseball bat is bizarre, and the dog was always going to be killed off but when it is it feels like an after thought and Max doesn't seem to care at all, the dirty turd. Oh yeah, and he would have died at the end if the villain hadn't been even stupider than he was and tried to drive head on in to him, while the remaining bad guys leave him and the kid inexplicably alive,

[close]

much to my great annoyance. 3.3/10

[Dex Sawash]

Gah. That's disappointing. Been looking forward to watching this. It looked interesting from the trailer. I'm still going to watch it. Probably tonight.

I did watch the whole thing, mostly for borat-bot though.

[Artie Fufkin]

I did watch the whole thing, mostly for borat-bot though.

I liked it! Thanks for the Borat reference. I annoyed Mrs Fufkin all the way through it, doing my hilarious Borat impression.

Spoiler alert

My eyes leaked at the end.

[close]

As you say, very I Am Legion / Chappie. It started out a little annoying, but then I got into it. Nice.

[Egyptian Feast]

Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior (1981)

It's OK but it's no Babe: Pig In The City.

[Small Man Big Horse]

It's OK but it's no Babe: Pig In The City.

You're not wrong, I love that movie to pieces, it's easily his best work for me. Though I haven't seen either Happy Feet movies, and can't make up my mind whether I should bother or not.

[NoSleep]

Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior (1981)

The whole film is the recollection of the Feral Kid, who is now the old geezer supplying the narrative so it's no wonder the whole thing is crazy and mythical.

Did you spot Zhaan from Farscape (Warrior Woman in Max II)? Bruce Spence and Max Phipps (Toecutter in Max I) made it to Farscape, too.

[Small Man Big Horse]

The whole film is the recollection of the Feral Kid, who is now the old geezer supplying the narrative so it's no wonder the whole thing is crazy and mythical.

I gathered that, but if it is the case that it's a distant memory he could at least have made Max a little less miserable and bland.

Did you spot Zhaan from Farscape (Warrior Woman in Max II)? Bruce Spence and Max Phipps (Toecutter in Max I) made it to Farscape, too.

I didn't, but having looked her up I recognise her now.

[NoSleep]

I forgot to correct "Max Phipps" (who was Toadie in Max II) to "Hugh Keays-Byrne" when I posted. Hugh Keays-Burns was also in Fury Road (as the pustulent leader of the bad guys).

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Hugh Keays-Burns was also in Fury Road (as the pustulent leader of the bad guys).

Shamelessly recycling an old joke (that I did come up with): Darth Stringfellow.

Mad Max 2 is vastly better than Fury Road and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

[Blumf]

Mad Max 2 is vastly better than Fury Road and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

This!

And it's not like Fury Road was crap either, one of the best action flicks in the past decade.

[NoSleep]

The other thing to remember about Max 2 is that it came out around the same as Raiders Of The Lost Ark and the chase sequence with the tanker gave Spielberg's much higher budget chase effort a run for its money. Give me a roaring B-movie every time.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Shamelessly recycling an old joke (that I did come up with): Darth Stringfellow.

Mad Max 2 is vastly better than Fury Road and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

Once this pandemic is over I shall meet you at dawn and we'll duel to the death.

The other thing to remember about Max 2 is that it came out around the same as Raiders Of The Lost Ark and the chase sequence with the tanker gave Spielberg's much higher budget chase effort a run for its money. Give me a roaring B-movie every time.

I'm a huge B movie fan normally, and the action sequences were great for their time I guess, but I just found the dialogue surrounding them really poor and there weren't as many as I'd hoped for.