[Messofanego]

Watched 2 animated movies due to recommendations on this board. Batman : Under the Red Hood Holy shit, best animated movie I've seen in quite some time, great story, and loved Wade Williams as Black Mask.

HELL YES! It's up there with Mask of Phantasm and Return of the Joker.

So I want to jump into a whole mess of John Woo/heroic bloodshed, bang bang, shoot em ups from 80's/90's in preparation for Max Payne 3. Some I've seen already, some are rewatches. Any recommendations? What I gots so far: A Better Tomorrow A Better Tomorrow II The Killer Hard Boiled Full Contact

Dude, Man on Fire. Max Payne 3 is practically an adaptation of that.

My top 5 of the year so far: 1. The Grey 2. Girl Walk: All Day Long 3. The Comedy 4. Crazy Horse 5. Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow Today will probably go see Sound of my Voice and Damsels in Distress because why not, right? Dana and I are reluctant to start the last 2 films of the Di Leo set only because Mario Adorf isn't in it but will probably plow through them this weekend. Looking forward to the 2nd set already.

This Crazy Horse?

Here is the trailer for EXCISION. It has some nudity and blood, so NSFW. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL68VTAkNFc This movie is pretty spectacular.

Oh my, that's on my radar. John Waters lol. Makes me think of Teeth, which I really liked, good dark comedy.

[brianjones]

worst gif ever

[Discotheque]

seriously, what is with that gif? It's looping way too fast and it makes no sense either.

[Messofanego]

lol, better?

[Dries]

Soooo, The Avengers was awesome. This is how Hollywood blockbusters should be made. Humour, some cool characters (IRON MAN!!) and jaw-dropping CGI. Really enjoyed this one.

[eravulgaris]

Soooo, The Avengers was awesome. This is how Hollywood blockbusters should be made. Humour, some cool characters (IRON MAN!!) and jaw-dropping CGI. Really enjoyed this one.

And 0 civilian deaths!

[Dries]

And 0 civilian deaths!

Haha lol.. Not true though. You don't see it on screen, but you can pretty much say for certain that there was a civilian body count during the final epic battle.

[Bootaaay]

Venus Wars (1989) - as one of the first anime films I watched, Venus Wars has somewhat of a nostalgic hold over me, but that isn't enough to cover the fact that this film has aged badly. Helped none by the awful US dub, the films ham-fisted attempts to convey its themes of war, oppression and rebellion largely fall flat as the story bounces from one event to the next, with little time given to provide characters or events with any real depth. That being said, the animation and soundtrack hold up well, while the world presented is still an intriguing one, but one marred by an ineffective story and dislikeable, clichéd characters. 4/10

The Dam Busters (1955) - rightly regarded as a classic war film, the story of the ingenuity and bravery of the men involved with 617 squadron is one that still compels today, but the subdued and low-key approach to presenting that story, while representative of attitudes towards the bombing of Germany at the time, leave the film feeling almost too clean beside it's gung-ho military adventure brethren. What we see here is, largely, a dramatisation of the facts, with little time spent emotionalising what was one of the most daring, yet costly, bombing campaigns of World War II. Nor does the film spend any time dwelling on the enemy, who are barely mentioned throughout, and it isn't until the films climactic scenes that we see the effects the two forces wrought upon each other. The film closes with wing commander Gibson apologetically shrugging off his success, as he and Dr. Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb, exchange awkward and sombre congratulations before Eric Coates' iconic Dambusters March plays and the credits scroll. 7/10

[TheKaeptain]

Soooo, The Avengers was awesome. This is how Hollywood blockbusters should be made. Humour, some cool characters (IRON MAN!!) and jaw-dropping CGI. Really enjoyed this one.

Hollywood blockbusters are made like the Avengers. Strictly by the numbers.

[Wilbur]

I haven't seen any films recently really apart from Avengers; Deadwood's been taking up a lot of viewing time.

I did watch On The Town again the other day, almost as awesome as Singing In The Rain. Doesn't get enough love

[HiResDes]

I haven't seen anything yet that has really moved me. However, I did randomly rewatch The Truman Show and found the writing to be just as impeccable as I had originally, maybe even more so. I think it just might be Weir's best work. It's timeless, still shockingly relevant, and its meta-communicative aspects are so well nuanced.

[HiResDes]

Disney's Taxi Driver

[big ander]

Last night I watched Bill Morrison's Decasia: The State of Decay. Intriguing avant-garde piece with some very cool imagery, but the statement is very easy to parse out within the first 30 minutes of 70.

I haven't seen anything yet that has really moved me. However, I did randomly rewatch The Truman Show and found the writing to be just as impeccable as I had originally, maybe even more so. I think it just might be Weir's best work. It's timeless, still shockingly relevant, and its meta-communicative aspects are so well nuanced.

Mhm. It's all in the Niccol script. Too bad he's fallen to writing poorly articulated recession metaphors and Stephanie Meyer adaptions.

[Dries]

Hollywood blockbusters are made like the Avengers. Strictly by the numbers.

Of course, but, imho, not this good.

[Accoun]

Český Sen(Czech Dream)
Damn, I liked this one.

[-Stranger-]

On The Waterfront - Brilliant film, a true classic. 4.5/5

[nskinnear]

La Chinoise
In 2 or 3 Things and, to a lesser extent, Week End, Godard had already begun his transition from a period of playful romanticism shown in his earlier work to a period of more abstract politically charged essay films, with little focus on traditional narrative structure. La Chinoise is one of these more poltically charged films, though I like to look at it more as an examination of the naivety of youth looking to grasp onto a political cause than an expression of Godard's actual political views. At times, it almost seems to fall under the category of parody. Godard seems to be mocking the futility of his characters' uncompromising political loyalty while simultaneously embracing their passion. La Chinoise is a gorgeous film, like one long moving painting, utilizing bright colors to decorate apartment walls with this sort of Pop Art-inspired style, similar to that of Pierrot le Fou. I liked it quite a bit, though I suspect Godard detractors would hate it.

[sefskillz]

thought my 'lay and slay their way through the most tainted bits of rome' was a pulitzer worthy line. tough crowd

[AlternativeUlster]

This Crazy Horse? .

Yeah, that one.

[Count Dookkake]

When will Todd Haynes make another movie as awesome as VELVET GOLDMINE?

Seriously one of the 10 best of the 90s.

[HiResDes]

Saw The Avengers, and thought Capt. was mostly right.

[Count Dookkake]

Saw The Avengers, and thought Capt. was mostly right.

Yup.

[C4Lukins]

Go see Bernie you ass holes :) Well if you are in one of the 8 places that is showing it.

[Discotheque]

When will Todd Haynes make another movie as awesome as VELVET GOLDMINE? Seriously one of the 10 best of the 90s.

Yeah this movie was pretty damn great. Wouldn't put it in my top 10 of the 90s though

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)

Amazing. Fucking AMAZING.

I wasn't quite sure what to think going into this one. Most of the voices that I know and trust had told me that the movie was great, but a few naysayers (jarosh, nskinnear, AU) had put a bit of doubt into my mind. What I didn't realize, however, was that those people suck because this is not only not a bad or "disingenuous" movie or whatever adjectives they were using to describe it - it's a GREAT movie and one of the best filmic portrayals of loneliness that I've ever seen.

Brandon is a modern man. We all know a Brandon, whether we know it or not. Hell, in a sense, I'm sort of the anti-Brandon, in terms of my sex life and its significance with regard to my personality and the way that I engage with the world. Granted, I'm not NEARLY as unhappy as Brandon appears to be, but then, I'm not in my 30s yet, not in the position to be staring down a middle age where all I have is meaningless sex and nothing more. Still, despite his strangeness, there is an everyman quality to Brandon, a universality to the specific way in which he's chosen to disconnect from the world (and the film is pretty clear about the fact that it was, indeed, a choice on some level).

Everything about the movie is nearly flawless, really. The interactions between Brandon and Sissy are spot-on in capturing the nuances of sibling relationships, though it has the added weirdness of the comfort they seem to have around one another's nakedness and give it that extra little boost from generic to specific (in the first part of the movie, I mean). Even just the little things, like the fact that he knows what drink to get her without even asking, show the ways in which the two are intimately connected, which makes his refusal to engage with her and her refusal to take his advice and anchor herself all the more wrenching. Both actors do a great job, but Fassbender in particular really shines in this role. It's been said already, but it's an outright crime that Fassbender did not get nominated for an Oscar for this role; it's a travesty that he didn't win, really, since it's one of the best performances that I've probably ever seen, but at the very least, he deserved to have this work recognized and spread to a larger audience. But, we see his pee-pee, so we can't have that, can we? Only in America.

As well, the other interactions are great, as well. The way that Brandon's boss bullshits around and just generally acts douchey is, well, exactly how guys like that are, at least in my experience, which heightens the irony of the fact that the only girl he can get is the fucked-up sister of his fucked-up employee/friend (but which will no doubt be a proud notch on his figurative bed post, nevertheless). The way in which Brandon and Marianne interact is also some of the best "first date" dialogue that I've ever heard, and contrary to the negative opinions surrounding it, I thought the awkward waiter was a nice way of both underscoring the first date awkwardness while also providing something just strange enough to help break the ice; well, that and the fact that it's just realistic, since things like that happen in life all the time. I'm reminded of a creepy, possibly drunk waiter who made my mom feel very uncomfortable at a local restaurant a year or so ago.

I won't say anymore about the story, since I encourage you to see and experience the film itself. But I will say that the film both looks and sounds great. McQueen continues to have some of the most striking coloring and composition work in modern film, and his alternation of silence and sound is both refreshing and a great way to invest both poetry and character into moments where "nothing is happening."

However, I'll take my praise one possibly hyperbolic step further - not only is Shame a great, great movie, but it might just be THE very best movie of the 21st Century that I've seen, for it truly has it all. Hell, McQueen could make terrible films from now on, but this movie could cement his legacy unto itself. Pair it with the greatness of Hunger, and you have the makings of one of the most exciting filmmakers in the contemporary era.

also, holy SHIT is Fassbender hung.

[AlternativeUlster]

Haha, you used the word "everyman."

[TheKaeptain]

I seriously expected Snowy to shit all over Shame.

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Haha, you used the word "everyman."

Yes. Because he is. He's a middle- to upper-middle-class white guy in NYC who comes from a possibly somewhat rougher, maybe blue collar background I definitely inferred the possibility of sexual abuse in Brandon and Sissy's past, working at an office job, struggling with loneliness. Minus the sex addiction and good looks, he really couldn't BE more of an everyman for the modern era. Granted, such a term has limitations, since of course no person can possibly stand in for everybody in such a diverse world, but in terms of being a seemingly normal, relatable guy on both external and internal levels, I'd say that he does the job quite well.

Also, I can't imagine a world where you guys think that I would shit on this movie. After so many years, you'd think you guys would have at least somewhat of a handle on how I generally think by now!

[Meliorism]

Yes. Because he is. He's a middle- to upper-middle-class white guy in NYC who comes from a possibly somewhat rougher, maybe blue collar background I definitely inferred the possibility of sexual abuse in Brandon and Sissy's past, working at an office job, struggling with loneliness. Minus the sex addiction and good looks, he really couldn't BE more of an everyman for the modern era. Granted, such a term has limitations, since of course no person can possibly stand in for everybody in such a diverse world, but in terms of being a seemingly normal, relatable guy on both external and internal levels, I'd say that he does the job quite well. Also, I can't imagine a world where you guys think that I would shit on this movie. After so many years, you'd think you guys would have at least somewhat of a handle on how I generally think by now!

That last sentence is exactly why he and probably many others, including myself, thought you would dislike the movie. Even with Hunger, which you adore, I still wasn't sure. I'm glad you enjoyed it, though.

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

But I mean that I don't understand how this film clashes in any way with things that I've said were good in the past, qualitatively speaking. Like, what in the movie was I going to think was so terrible?

Also, to say that I "enjoyed" the movie is both a gross understatement as well as a complete lie, since it's not exactly a "pleasant" movie to watch, emotionally speaking.

Edit: Also, the movie is not in any way, shape, nor form about sex addiction. That'd be kinda like saying Taxi Driver is about marksmanship.

[Meliorism]

I said enjoyed because I believe that verb fits better than...idk liked? Weird connotations, I guess.

Oh, how did you read the scene near the end in the gay bar?

[Sliver]

Anyone have a list of great DVD commentaries, or could post some of their favorites? I've realized with the more and more I stream and watch things on my computer I don't really watch commentaries anymore and would like to. I've looked through my Blurays and plan on checking out The Thing with Carpenter/Russell, already started The Godfather with Coppola, and plan to go through the Alien flicks.

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

A Dangerous Method - 6/10

Fassbender, great. Mortensen, great. Fantastic scenes together when they'd discussing their philosophies and methods. Knightly, comical from the get go. Keira was seriously in a different movie. I'm supposed to feel sad about her illness, instead it comes across as a joke from a completely separate movie. Even when she tones things down, it's a lost cause because of how bad the first impression is. Two good performances, one I couldn't buy into and a story that never really comes together.

Haywire - 8/10

Gina Carano's performance is completely acceptable her. She doesn't embarrass herself when matched up against a slew of quality actors in thankless roles. The action is cleanly shot and that 60's vibe is in full effect here due to the look and the underlying score. The script is lean and pretty direct. One element in particular that's definitely welcome is the relationship she has with Bill Paxton. He plays her father who's fully aware of what she does and who she associates with. Somehow I have to believe that Steven had part in making sure that element was in the script. He just has a different outlook on things.

[DukeTogo1300]

Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011) Amazing. Fucking AMAZING. ...

This was an exciting write-up, and had me thinking of Vagabond for some reason.

I will be watching this.

Anyone have a list of great DVD commentaries, or could post some of their favorites? I've realized with the more and more I stream and watch things on my computer I don't really watch commentaries anymore and would like to. I've looked through my Blurays and plan on checking out The Thing with Carpenter/Russell, already started The Godfather with Coppola, and plan to go through the Alien flicks.

It doesn't get much more entertaining than the Hunter S. Thompson com on the Fear and Loathing Criterion. It is far more a supplement to the spirit of the actual film than anything really constructive. One hell of a trip.

[big ander]

Heh, did a spanish-language double-feature on accident.
[rec] - perfectly paced with an interesting plot and an actual good justification for the continued filming (unlike most found footage films). few of the scares were hugely telegraphed huh, we just locked a viral man in this grated hallway, I will stand right up next to it, hope he doesn't reach through... but on the whole it had me thrilled.
The Secret in Their Eyes - wonderful acting, editing worked well to drive the mystery narrative.

Edit: Also, the movie is not in any way, shape, nor form about sex addiction. That'd be kinda like saying Taxi Driver is about marksmanship.

mhm.

Unlike others, I knew you'd approve of Shame. And I'm a thread newbie, relatively!

[Borgnine]

The Public Enemy: 5/10.
Fitzcarraldo: 7/10. Better than Aguirre. Maybe because it's thematically the exact opposite, instead of going downstream to doom they're going upstream to hope.
Pickpocket: 6/10. Found it difficult to connect to the robot playing the lead but the pickpocketing scenes were thrilling.
Take Shelter: 8/10. I wasn't a very big fan of Shotgun Stories, but now we're getting somewhere. Seems like saying anything about gives too much away, but I thought all the different elements were well balanced. Jessica Chastain is a distractingly beautiful woman. Maybe because I've only seen her in wife/motherly kinds of roles she seems to emanate love and affection, like my mother, except that I want to have sex with my mother.
Shoah: Fun for the whole family! Not really a movie and barely even a documentary, but I watched all 9 1/2 hours of it so I think I deserve a prize. Some truly moving and horrifying moments presented without the assistance of music or editing. My biggest complaint is just kind of a technical thing during some of the interviews on the street the interviewer would ask something in French with English subtitles, then the translator would repeat it in Polish, then the Polish guy would answer in Polish, then the translator would translate in French with English subtitles. This seriously must have added an hour on to the whole thing, but I guess they wanted to present everything as real as possible. Either way, a vital and important work.

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Aguirre >= Nosferatu > Fitzcarraldo > Woyzeck

Haven't seen Cobra Verde, for whatever reason.

[big ander]

Review of Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly has me even more excited for his Jesse James follow-up.

[Net_Wrecker]

Review of Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly has me even more excited for his Jesse James follow-up.

I still can't get used to the new title. It'll always be Cogan's Trade in my heart.

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Damn, I'm just so pumped! I haven't been as impressed by a movie as I was by Shame in a LONG time, and it's given me a lot of energy to get stuff done in the next few days.

[sefskillz]

I still can't get used to the new title. It'll always be Cogan's Trade in my heart.

I'm having the same issue with Wettest County... now being Lawless

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Also, between Shame and Still Walking, I'm seeing a larger and larger rift develop between jarosh and myself. What OTHER things has he disliked recently, my top 10 list is looking a little bare.

[HiResDes]

Taking into consideration the current vastness of the separation of wealth and the dwindling state of higher class employnent opportunities, Brandon is far from an everyman. He's about as relatable to me as Bateman in American Psycho.

[olore]

Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011) Amazing. Fucking AMAZING. also, holy SHIT is Fassbender hung.

It was alright, not the second coming of sliced bread

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Taking into consideration the current vastness of the separation of wealth and the dwindling state of higher class employnent opportunities, Brandon is far from an everyman. He's about as relatable to me as Bateman in American Psycho.

Yes, he is wealthier than the mean, which cuts down on the relatability factor a bit, but he's not quite at the level of INSANE wealth of somebody like Bateman and his buddies. He's well-off enough that money's not a huge concern for him, but that only throws the drama of his fucked-up internal life into sharper focus and actually magnifies the relatability of his problem (though his way of dealing with it is, of course, quite idiosyncratic).

Edit: I realized after the previous post that I haven't seen jarosh in a while. Search tells me he hasn't posted on GAF for a month, nor has he posted on Twitter (don't have one anymore, but looked him up). Anybody know where he went? Did I miss something?

[muntersaur]

Also on the poliziotteschi front is a Blue Underground re-issue, Midnight Movies Vol. 3: Action Triple Feature, with three Enzo Castellari flicks: The Big Racket, Street Law, and Heroin Busters. I doubt these will be up to the level of the Di Leo set, but they look like a fun way to pass the time.

The Big Racket and Heroin Busters are OK, but Street Law is a classic and certainly ranks up there with Di Leo.

[lazybones18]

Disney's Taxi Driver

hilarious. That Mickey cartoon.....o_O

[ToLateToLove]

Guys, recommend me some melodrama. Something to cry to. Some asian cheese perhaps? Usually does the trick..

[HiResDes]

Guys, recommend me some melodrama. Something to cry to. Some asian cheese perhaps? Usually does the trick..

Dancer in the Dark, or any Von Trier really. Closer, Submarine, Sideways, The Virgin Suicides, Control, Punch Drunk Love, Magnolia, Senso, Days of Being Wild, Nights of Cabiria, Elevator to the Gallows, Revanche, Jules and Jim, Blue Valentine, Broken Embraces, Don't Move, Head-On, any of these really.

[ToLateToLove]

Dancer in the Dark I watched for the first time a couple of months ago and loved. Cried lika a baby. I haven't watched Punch Drunk Love but I really love P.T.A so I will check it out. Thanks!