What Non-New Films Have You Seen? (2018 Edition)

[greenman]

The Long Good Friday

Tremendous fun and with some satisfying explosion/mystery elements that elevate it leagues above most British gangster fare. Hoskins amazing (especially the face acting in his final scene). I think on balance I prefer Mona Lisa because it suits my noir detective novel sensibility better, but this was close behind, and I loved the harrowing, downbeat ending.

His character was likeable in a way I feel like most movies in the vein could never manage. As a side-note, it's heartening that he's massively pro-Europe and excited about the prospects it brings. Heartening and, now, kind of sad.

Although you could also argue perhaps an early prediction of a biggy viewpoint? I mean Hoskins character is basically having a go at the Thatcher era go getter and how he moves in that direction from overt criminal so readily.

I always felt Sexy Beast had more than a little of Long Good Friday in it helping to elevate it beyond your typical mockney gangster piece.

[Johnny Textface]

Dog Day Afternoon.
Had never seen it before but always heard it was pretty great and it is. Much lighter and funnier than I was expecting. Great Pacino performance without all the ho ha! John Cazale was a terrific actor wasn't he?

Maybe a little long and not enough score. 4.5/5 ho ha's!

[Sebastian Cobb]

Dog Day Afternoon.
Had never seen it before but always heard it was pretty great and it is. Much lighter and funnier than I was expecting. Great Pacino performance without all the ho ha! John Cazale was a terrific actor wasn't he?

Maybe a little long and not enough score. 4.5/5 ho ha's!

I saw this last year at a film festival and thought it was brilliant. I thought it was quite sympathetic for a 70's film as well.

[the science eel]

It's amazeballs.

But Pacino and Cazale didn't do anything subpar through the whole decade (well, until 1978 in JC's case)

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah I keep meaning to pick up The Panic in Needle Park

Pacino's a strange one. I don't think I really like any of his 'big' films all that much.

[the science eel]

Yeah I keep meaning to pick up The Panic in Needle Park

Pacino's a strange one. I don't think I really like any of his 'big' films all that much.

I've never been fond of Scarface, Scent of a Woman or - and I almost hate to say it - The Godfather.

But Panic in Needle Park, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarecrow, Serpico, Sea of Love, Glengarry Glen Ross, Donnie Brasco, Heat... fuck, man.

[greenman]

Pacino personally is much better in Godfather 2 I'd say, a lot of gravitas but without any of the woo ha.

[the science eel]

Yes, I'd agree (I like the film more than the first anyway)

[Custard]

Creed (2015)

Lots of déjà vu from that last Rocky film, erm, Rocky, but I still ended up really liking it. Tessa Thompson is ooh yeah lady love. Michael B Jordan was good. Stallone was Stallone. He looks more like Jackie Stallone with each passing year.

A neat way to carry on the franchise, I suppose. Him fighting Dolph's son in the second one seems a bit convenient and on the nose, mind

4 baaaags

[zomgmouse]

Dog Day Afternoon.

not enough score.

Interesting, I love the lack of music in this. Really keeps you in the tension.

[greenman]

Yes, I'd agree (I like the film more than the first anyway)

The CaB thing to say I spose is that the first Godfather becomes a bit less enjoyable when you've seen how much it takes from The Conformist.

[the science eel]

I nearly picked up the blu-ray of that one the other day - six quid in Fopp....

[greenman]

Not really in terms of plot but there do seem to be quite a few scenes similar to the first two Godfathers and a similar kind of atmosphere(although still with some elements of Godardishness here) generally, Coppola hired the same cinematographer for Apoc Now as well.

[Dr Syntax Head]

The Similars. Fucking loved it. Like a Twilight Zone episode or something

[hedgehog90]

I've been continuing my journey through European (mainly German) cinema lately:

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul [1974, Rainer Werner Fassbinder]
Middling to OK. Felt a bit like a TV movie. I was expecting something a bit more risqué than that from my first Fassbinder film.
Pretty unconvincing at times, but for the most part was quite acceptable.
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. If someone could recommend me some more Fassbinder though I'd appreciate it.

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser [1974, Werner Herzog]
Standard Herzog but had a lack of powerful imagery. That said, I loved the opening - a field of wheat blowing in the wind while Palchabel's Canon in D Major plays, some text appears: "Don't you hear that horrible screaming all around you, that screaming men call silence?" - it sounds a bit naff in retrospect but made for an excellent beginning.
Wonderful cast, Bruno S. especially. It loses steam for me towards the end though. I'd love to read more about the real Kaspar Hauser, although his supposed upbringing in a dungeon and extreme deprivation seems a tad fanciful.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God [1972, Werner Herzog]
An ever-present sense of danger, the unfriendliness of nature and a nefarious rabble's hopeless quest for El Dorado, all mixes together wonderfully with Herzog's sensibilities.
The scene with the raft getting stuck in an eddy is perhaps the most memorable. Watching a group of men hopelessly struggle into the night to try and get out to no avail. It seemed so benign at first, but by the following morning has proven fatal. Aguirre fires a cannon at the raft, scattering their bodies. Emblematic of the entire film in a way.
I can't for the life of me think why I avoided this film until now. Really enjoyed it.

Wild Strawberries [1957, Ingmar Bergman]
Really beautifully told, concise little story. An absolute pearl of a film.
The true-to-life portrayal of the characters seems ground-breaking for it's time, I can't think of another film from the period that creates such a convincing set of people. It totally lacks the bombastic feel of any contemporary films that I'm aware of.
There is such a calmness about this film that I found very appealing.
Victor Sjöström is so good he deserves a special mention. During the first dream sequence (which gives 8½'s opening a run for its money), the look of horror on his face when he confronts the open coffin is absolutely breathtaking.
I've got The Seventh Seal and Persona to watch next, and thoroughly looking forward to them.

The American Friend [1977, Wim Wenders]
After the relative disappointment of Wings of Desire, I wasn't expecting too much from this, but it turned out to be a great watch, if slightly flawed towards the end.
I don't want to go into any details, going into it without knowing any of the premise made for a better journey.
All I'll say is, the first train/station scene, holy shit, that is tense as fuck, and when it finally happens, it's shocking. Some excellent film-making to make that as effective as it was.
It felt like it went a little off the rails towards the end, which is ironic considering the lack of trains at that point. And I'm not sure what to think about Dennis Hopper's character.
Unusual premise and protagonists, but very engaging and mostly flawless execution..... ;)

[chveik]

If someone could recommend me some more Fassbinder though I'd appreciate it.

The Marriage of Maria Braun
Lili Marleen
Despair

[hedgehog90]

^ Thanks!

[hedgehog90]

Suspiria [1977, Dario Argento]
Would anyone care to explain why I should've enjoyed this? I found it consistently shite from start to finish.
I'm sure to offend a few here with the following, but my biggest problem was probably the music. Maybe I had a bad mix but that shit seemed WAY TOO LOUD and repetitive. There's a scene then they're sleeping in the hall and Suzy's friend says to her 'Do you hear that weird sound?' We're supposed to hear the sound of the directress snoring, but it's completely drowned out by a goblin yelling 'LA LA LA LA LA LA LA'. They overplayed that track to fuck, did my head in.

If I don't connect with a film I tend to say 'I don't get it', but with this I think what's not to get? Was I supposed to be taken in by the garish colour scheme & lighting? The overplayed music? The nothing characters? Was I supposed to be frightened or worry for their safety even?
Despite the somewhat authentic setting, I didn't feel any sense of being rooted in it, it felt fake and superficial, just actors acting in a thing, like a videogame. I know it was trying to go for a dream-like vibe, but it just didn't work.
So much of it came off as comical. I don't suppose these scenes were supposed to be funny, but every death was amusing to me, the one with the giant slinky in particular properly made me chuckle.
And the shit with the footsteps... *groan*
There's no getting around it, it was a load of bollocks, definitively. It just was.

That said, I'm looking forward to Thom Yorke's rendition of the LA LA LA LA theme for the remake. I hope he's got a few strepsils to hand.

[Small Man Big Horse]

The Similars. Fucking loved it. Like a Twilight Zone episode or something

I watched that today due to your recommendation and loved it too, it's a fucking absurd and bizarre premise but they pull it off beautifully, so thanks for that.

[Fabian Thomsett]

Morons From Outer Space is better than its reputation but still essentially bad. Best thing about it is Mel Smith's reaction shots. But that's also the problem: his 'character' basically is just reaction shots. Some very choppy editing suggests there's a longer version out there - but I'm in no rush to see it.

[Z]

Suspiria [1977, Dario Argento]
Would anyone care to explain why I should've enjoyed this? I found it consistently shite from start to finish.

I liked it a lot but tbh it had a lot to do with it being an utterly gorgeous 35mm print with a crowd that lapped it up.
Soundtrack is great and I eventually got swept up in it all.

On the whole preferred Profondo Rosso (is that what it's called?), possibly because I had some idea of what to expect. Don't think I'd've liked either if I watched them in an environment where my attention could wane though.

[greenman]

I kind of went though that process when first watching it when confronted with the overt cheesiness but really I'd agree its mostly the visuals and the atmosphere that are the draw.

[Shit Good Nose]

Dunkirk - liked it a lot.  Nice to see a film now with so much practical effects work.  I understand why he went with the last shot he went with, but I think I'd have just finished it on the spitfire.

The Witch - not at all what the trailer suggested (yet another shit 15 rated horror), instead an art-house spooker more in the realms of Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Beguiled with touches of Herzog.  Totally took me by surprise.

Little Murders - I last saw this on (I think) Bravo in the mid 90s and remembered the scrap in the church.  Somehow I'd remembered that the whole film was like that and a bit of screwball comedy, but what it actually is is a hard-going play-on-film with LOTS OF SHOUTING.  I know it's highly regarded, and I do love Alan Arkin, but I found it very very hard going and it seemed to run a LOT longer than it did.

Modern Romance - another one I'd not seen for a long long time, and only remembered dubbing George Kennedy with the Incredible Hulk and the once-around-the-block date.  Trails behind Real Life and Lost In America for me.

David Brent Life on the Road - switched it off after 17 minutes.  Abysmal.

Blue Collar - still a pretty powerful watch now.  Poor old Smokey.

Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run 2 - in tribute to Burt.  I don't care what anyone says, I still love 2.

Cop Land - still great 20 years later.  Stallone is brilliant in it, and that final sequence is one of the greats of modern cinema.

Oh, and I just got done with The Big Short.  I KNOW it's a good film, but I'd be lying if I said I understood even a small part of the last third, even with the fourth wall breaking explanations.  Doesn't help that I don't understand gambling odds.

[hedgehog90]

^ Ooh, thanks for reminding me to see The Witch.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yesterday I saw the 70mm screening of 2001 which was of course wonderful and then later, I watched John Carpenter's The Thing. All in all a good day.

[Sebastian Cobb]

This evening I watched Christine. It was daft as fuck. Enjoyed Harry Dean Stanton scenes and the Rock and Roll though.

[amputeeporn]

All That Jazz - astonished this isn't mentioned more alongside the great auteur visions from 70s Hollywood. So fun and inventive, so caustic and funny and furious and sad. Mainly, so enjoyable. I'm glad I hadn't quite twigged their were musical elements to it beforehand or it might have stopped me watching (small minded and stupid, I know). But it blew me away.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Rewatched Lucky. Harry Dean Stanton was so fucking cool.

[Dex Sawash]

Discovered I clicked on wrong thumbnail in amazon app after 10 minutes, fuckitletitplay Allied (2016) Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard.  Ludicrous pile of WW2 romance/thriller wank. Will have to watch conveniently true climate-change denial doc Al Lied another day.

[the science eel]

Rewatched Lucky. Harry Dean Stanton was so fucking cool.

That scene where he sings 'Volver Volver'? oh, man....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77rJ8OSjhdM