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[UrbanRats]

The only thing i hated about the OGF hate bandwagon, was how so many were suddenly concerned with the blight of "style over substance", after loving Mad Max, and however many other movies making "style over substance" their core value.
Beyond that, i understand (and agree) with many of the critiques, self-indulgent, pretentious, what have you.
Although apparently i happen to like most of these movies, since i also liked Beyond the Black Rainbow, and even Enter the Void, which i find to be a masterpiece, had received a lot of the same critiques.

That said, i agree with Disco, in that i never really got to love a Refn movie after the fantastic Pusher trilogy, i go from dislike (Valhalla Rising) to like a lot (Drive) but never really loved any of 'em.
Still have to see Neon Demon, but i know i'll at least find it worth while though.

Finally opened my TWF copy of Kikujiro and watched it with a group of friends.

I noticed they also have Dolls, what other Kitano movie do they have? If they have Scene at the Sea or Kids Return, i might have to re-buy them.
I only have the old crusty dvd.

 

[swoon]

His style is more borrowed and a lot slower than the typical stylish films loved here. Also he takes his films so damn seriously, Like neon demon is really dumb and obvious but it feels like he thinks he just invented the Gothic mansion.

 

[thenexus6]

I noticed they also have Dolls, what other Kitano movie do they have? If they have Scene at the Sea or Kids Return, i might have to re-buy them.
I only have the old crusty dvd.

At the moment, Hana-Bi, Kikujiro and Dolls.

In September - A Scene at the Sea
October - Kids Return

Scene and Kids are the only Kitano films I don't own / ever seen. They are a little hard to come by Region 2 DVD, plus like you said the quality is pretty poor. The worst is Violent Cop. The picture sucks and the sub tiles just flat out stop numerous times during the film.

 

[UrbanRats]

His style is more borrowed and a lot slower than the typical stylish films loved here. Also he takes his films so damn seriously, Like neon demon is really dumb and obvious but it feels like he thinks he just invented the Gothic mansion.

Nevertheless, style over substance itself, isn't exactly the problem.
It's the style not being to people's taste, which i think it's a different issue.

At the moment, Hana-Bi, Kikujiro and Dolls.

In September - A Scene at the Sea
October - Kids Return

Scene and Kids are the only Kitano films I don't own / ever seen. They are a little hard to come by Region 2 DVD, plus like you said the quality is pretty poor. The worst is Violent Cop. The picture sucks and the sub tiles just flat out stop numerous times during the film.

Yeah, i ordered Hana-Bi and Kikujiro for now, I'll get Kids and Sea as soon as they come out.
I assume Sonatine will be out later on, too.

Those two (Kids Return & Scene at the Sea) are probably my favorite Kitano movies, you should give them a shot, infact, Scene at the Sea is probably one of my favorite movies in general, his humor and sentimentality come together in a really charming way.

 

[thenexus6]

Nevertheless, style over substance itself, isn't exactly the problem.
It's the style not being to people's taste, which i think it's a different issue.


Yeah, i ordered Hana-Bi and Kikujiro for now, I'll get Kids and Sea as soon as they come out.
I assume Sonatine will be out later on, too.

Those two (Kids Return & Scene at the Sea) are probably my favorite Kitano movies, you should give them a shot, infact, Scene at the Sea is probably one of my favorite movies in general, his humor and sentimentality come together in a really charming way.

I was on the blu-ray.com forums and I think the Sonatine rights are owned by someone else, same with Violent Cop and maybe Boiling Point so not sure if they'll ever come to this collection.

I've toyed with buying both Scene and Kids on DVD for years but now knowing blu rays are coming i'll just wait for those.

 

[lordxar]

Seven Samurai. Where to even begin on this. I wasn't expecting the length which isn't a bad thing but this is a very long movie and every minute is good. Every movie needs a crazy guy and Mifune was perfect for this one. I really liked how each of the seven got their screen time. A couple maybe not as much as the others but they definitely didn't feel like wasted characters at all. They each had their role and each played it well. The townsfolk was pretty much another character. Sure there were some individuals in there but they largely moved as one. All I can say is great movie!

 

[meppi]

I adore Seven Samurai, even though the first time I saw it was nearly 15 years ago, I've already seen it 5 times.
I usually don't rewatch films that much, especially 4 hour long ones, but it's just so good.

One Kurosawa film that I feel gets overlooked way too much and is a personal favourite is Red Beard or Akahige. It's quite a slow movie but just fantastic.

After all these years of owning the DVD, I finally watched New Dragon Gate Inn.
I'd still rate Iron Monkey higher, but this one comes damn close.
If that isn't praise, I don't know what is.

 

[SeanC]

Jules and Jim - Haven't seen it since college, forgot most of it, especially forgot how much I hate Catherine and never understood her appeal for Jules or Jim. Sure we can say it's a movie about loving someone with a mental disorder (numerous ones from what I can tell), but after a while you're just kind of saying "dude...just go. Get away." It's a test for the audience maybe to ask themselves "at which point would enough be enough?"

Still, it's a beautifully shot and acted film with an amazing score to it.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I can see where To The Moon got its inspiration. The cinematography is what makes this movie great, having different locations flow into one another, or having Joel as a young kid.

 

[lordxar]

The Invitation. Loved this. It builds. And builds. And builds. Then goes off the fucking rails and has a pretty cool ending.

 

[Toothless]

Jurassic Park is yet another great Spielberg blockbuster. There's nothing truly groundbreaking here besides the effects, probably because at this point in his career Spielberg had nothing to prove. Still, it's wildly entertaining thanks to perfect casting and strong direction. Goldblum steals the show but everyone fits their role well, and Spielberg has plenty of fun with the audience, playing with their expectations and lightly teasing them among the scares. John Williams' score is also just beautiful, but that's no surprise. Jurassic Park might not reinvent the wheel, but it still is one of the strongest blockbusters ever made.

 

[darkwing-buck]

Just saw Purge Election Year. It was awful in a so bad it was almost good way. I liked the first one and thought the second one was decent but you could just tell the budget in this was super low. Street shots were empty (probably the universal backdrop set) and there's a lot of off screen deaths which were obviously done to save money. Also the sounds (i.e gun sounds) sounded like they were made with windows movie maker.

The dialogue was boring and uninteresting yet the character, "joe", was unintentionally and intentionally hilarious with the dumb as hell one liners and facial expressions. Me and my friends couldn't stop laughing. Probably the worst movie I've seen in a theater but it was at least entertaining in some spots.

P.S I still have a crush on Elizabeth Mitchell who played Juliet in LOST.

 

[Auctopus]

Saw Warcraft the other night.

For background, I'm familiar with the Warcraft games but have never played them. Very familiar with World of Warcraft and played the game from WOTLK through Cata.

- I thought it was pretty good. Both the 1st and 3rd acts were entertaining and engaging but the 2nd act was sort of dull, too much talking with not incredibly engaging characters.
- I liked the setup for a potential trilogy. The power struggle at the end is an interesting note to leave things on.
- Visuals were incredible. The scene where Durotan's wife is laying the baby in the river is so convincing.

It's not the best film around, obviously but I feel like a lot of the negativity was blown out of proportion. Maybe people expected the perfect Warcraft film? Maybe people actually wanted a region-hopping World of Warcraft film?

 

[Window]

Jules and Jim - Haven't seen it since college, forgot most of it, especially forgot how much I hate Catherine and never understood her appeal for Jules or Jim. Sure we can say it's a movie about loving someone with a mental disorder (numerous ones from what I can tell), but after a while you're just kind of saying "dude...just go. Get away." It's a test for the audience maybe to ask themselves "at which point would enough be enough?"

Still, it's a beautifully shot and acted film with an amazing score to it.

Probably my favourite score in all of film. Love the movie too (though its has been many years since I last saw it).

 

[Net_Wrecker]

FInally saw 2 of the more divisive (among audiences) horror movies of the last few years: The Babadook and The WItch

The Babadook.....ehh, it's ok. I like what the movie was going for, but ultimately that line straddling ambiguity didn't fully work for me. It's almost as if it the movie doesn't want to commit to being either a

Spoiler

full on supernatural movie or psycho-thriller

which kind of just throws both styles out the window and provides none of the payoff of either. More importantly, there are few things more annoying in film than annoying children so I was really put off to a large chunk of this. And WAT @ those stock sound effects, man. Get that out of there. I wish I was more invested than I was.

Tbh though, I have a strange reaction to psychological thrillers, where the whole broken and trembling protagonist + shrieky sound design annoy me more than terrify me, so The Babadook was fighting an uphill battle.


The Witch, on the other hand, is really great. Strong atmosphere and 1st act scripting lay the foundation for some fantastic subdued intensity, which eventually boils over into one the best final acts to a horror movie I've seen in a long, long time. Like omg, I actually cared for an entire family in a horror movie in 2016. WOW. Great dialogue, great performances from young and old alike, great cinematography, great sound design. Felt like being dropped into the final stretch of a dark period drama-fairytale, with all of its history and baggage, where the hopelessness is suddenly ratcheted up to 11.

The only thing that could've made The Witch better is if dah gawd Geralt of Rivia popped up at some point attempting to figure out WTF was happening.


Also finallyyyyyyyyyy watched Louis Malle's Elevator To The Gallows (1958) which has been on my watchlist since forever. It features Jeanne Moreau's incredible icy stare and a top notch MIles Davis soundtrack. That's all I should have to say to get anyone to watch this if you haven't already. A+++

 

[Divius]

P.S I still have a crush on Elizabeth Mitchell who played Juliet in LOST.

It's that smirk! Always that smirk!

 

[darkwing-buck]

It's that smirk! Always that smirk!

Jack should've ended up with her!

 

[Monocle]

The only thing i hated about the OGF hate bandwagon, was how so many were suddenly concerned with the blight of "style over substance", after loving Mad Max, and however many other movies making "style over substance" their core value.
Beyond that, i understand (and agree) with many of the critiques, self-indulgent, pretentious, what have you.
Although apparently i happen to like most of these movies, since i also liked Beyond the Black Rainbow, and even Enter the Void, which i find to be a masterpiece, had received a lot of the same critiques.

That said, i agree with Disco, in that i never really got to love a Refn movie after the fantastic Pusher trilogy, i go from dislike (Valhalla Rising) to like a lot (Drive) but never really loved any of 'em.
Still have to see Neon Demon, but i know i'll at least find it worth while though.


I noticed they also have Dolls, what other Kitano movie do they have? If they have Scene at the Sea or Kids Return, i might have to re-buy them.
I only have the old crusty dvd.

Mad Max is a pretty bad example of style over substance considering how much substance is built in at every level. The choreography serves as exposition about the characters—sometimes rather nuanced, with all the shifting allegiances and unspoken motivations at play. The props and sets are deliberately designed to hint at a history that Miller & co. worked out in great detail behind the scenes. Each and every element was placed with purpose, and has significance in the greater scheme of the movie's world.

Mad Max is emphatically not a "fuck it, just add more explosions" kind of picture. It's spectacle with a heart. And a brain.

 

[Discotheque]

The only thing that could've made The Witch better is if dah gawd Geralt of Rivia popped up at some point attempting to figure out WTF was happening.


Also finallyyyyyyyyyy watched Louis Malle's Elevator To The Gallows (1958) which has been on my watchlist since forever. It features Jeanne Moreau's incredible icy stare and a top notch MIles Davis soundtrack. That's all I should have to say to get anyone to watch this if you haven't already. A+++

lmao. it did remind me of the witcher at times but that thought never crossed my mind. I would have loved that honestly. Geralt comes through on the clutch and takes out the contract haha. incredible atmosphere in the movie btw, that guy is going places if he keeps his style up.

and yeah I still haven't seen Elevator to the Gallows. Got that and Birth on my to watch list very soon.

edit: eh Mad Max is a GOAT-tier action movie but I think it could be fairly called style over substance. i think that should stop being looked at as an insult, there's nothing wrong with it. particularly in a genre (action blockbuster) that has been sadly lacking in any sort of deft craft in the last century for the most part. i wouldn't call it a dumb movie, i don't think that's what style over substance necessarily means. but at the heart of this it's just meant to be a very simple linear chase film. with much of the fat trimmed.

 

[UrbanRats]

The fact that style over substance isn't, inherently, an insult, is exactly the point i'm making.
Mad Max is a very clever, and incredibly crafted action movie, it knows how to deliver exposition (both the world's and the characters') without arresting the movie in its tracks, like many other action movies tend to do, but beyond that, it's not like it goes incredibly deep into any department.
I think this is most noticeable when the movie does decide to stop to have more direct character moments, be it between the war-boy and one of the girls, or later, with the old women, or even Max and his flashbacks, many of those dialogues make you go "eeeh, alright...".
I don't think what the movies has to say is particularly revelatory, deep or even that interesting, but the way it does say it, is incredibly well crafted and entertaining: To me that says style over substance, but again, it's not meant as a pejorative, and that's my whole point.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

"style over substance" is inherently pejorative

 

[UrbanRats]

"style over substance" is inherently pejorative

Not in art it isn't.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

at best, its a back-handed compliment towards works that contain little substance. "Sure it signified nothing, but what sound and fury!"

 

[UrbanRats]

at best, its a back-handed compliment towards works that contain little substance. "Sure it signified nothing, but what sound and fury!"

I don't see a problem with that, a large portion of art doesn't have a particularly striking significance, but strikes you deeper than a research paper would, simply because its style can drag you a long way, emotionally.

Then you have the argument of "the style is the substance", so it seems to me like people parse style & substance however it is more convenient.

 

[old manatee]

watched a gang of movies on Netflix in the last couple days

We Are Still Here Good retro horror. Less dreary and more fun than most modern haunted house films. Surprisingly cool FX.

The Pact Another haunted house film, it doesn't hold together as well as We Are Still Here, but there are some great scenes early in the movie, and it's cool to see Caity Lotz star in something.

The Pact II This is probably about as well made as the first one, but it's not as fun to watch because it is constantly checking in with characters and plot details from the first one that don't go anywhere. Patrick Fischler is always weird and awesome.

James White A man's father died and his mom is dying of cancer, and he goes on a self-destructive bender. The performances are great, but I didn't think the script was very interesting for how much of a bummer the movie is to watch.

Liebe Mich! A German romantic? comedy about a girl who is a total shit to everyone around her, and about how they are all shitty to her. Everyone seemed shitty and I thought the ending was dumb.

Wetlands A young German woman displays a flagrant, and frankly shocking disregard for personal hygiene. One of the grossest gross-out comedies I've ever seen. There are many bodily fluids and medical procedures and squidgy sound effects.

 

[Blader]

Zootopia
I've been pretty meh on the alleged Disney animation renaissance of the last few years. I thought Bolt and the Princess and the Frog were okay but, outside of the latter's animation, kind of forgettable; I liked Wreck-It Ralph but the source material probably played a big part in that; haven't seen Tangled or Big Hero 6 yet; and did not get at all what the big fucking deal about Frozen was. So I was a little skeptical of all the praise around this one, but I ended up liking it. The two leads are likable, the voice acting is pretty on point, the dialogue can be pretty witty. More than any of that, I give Rich Moore and Disney a lot of credit for packing such a timely, socially conscious message into this -- and pulling it off actually rather well.
3.5/5

 

[True Savior]

Total Recall - Verhoven

I love the brutality of it. The headshots, the piercing bullets, the punches Arnold inflicts in the gut of some random dude. The old lady saying Fuck you asshole. The body horror. All wrapped under a nice narrative, one where the director is clearly having a lot of fun by never really breaking the fine line between reality and dream.

One of my infant memories about cinema was watching behind the sofa, scared, the scene where the fat lady transforms into Arnold. It shook me. There's something unique as a child experiencing certain movies and the sensations we go through. It never leaves us. And everytime I watch Total Recall I can't forget how magical it was for me to dive completely on this adventure. A bit like Quaid himself. My own recall.

 

[thequestion]

watched a gang of movies on Netflix in the last couple days

We Are Still Here Good retro horror. Less dreary and more fun than most modern haunted house films. Surprisingly cool FX.

The Pact Another haunted house film, it doesn't hold together as well as We Are Still Here, but there are some great scenes early in the movie, and it's cool to see Caity Lotz star in something.

The Pact II This is probably about as well made as the first one, but it's not as fun to watch because it is constantly checking in with characters and plot details from the first one that don't go anywhere. Patrick Fischler is always weird and awesome.

James White A man's father died and his mom is dying of cancer, and he goes on a self-destructive bender. The performances are great, but I didn't think the script was very interesting for how much of a bummer the movie is to watch.

Liebe Mich! A German romantic? comedy about a girl who is a total shit to everyone around her, and about how they are all shitty to her. Everyone seemed shitty and I thought the ending was dumb.

Wetlands A young German woman displays a flagrant, and frankly shocking disregard for personal hygiene. One of the grossest gross-out comedies I've ever seen. There are many bodily fluids and medical procedures and squidgy sound effects.

We are still here. Had a great time watching this one. I could feel the intensity of some of those scenes. It jump off my tv and straight to my bones. Wonderful retro horror.

The Invitation is next on my list to watch..

 

[Messofanego]

Who wants sour milk when you can have fresh meat?

Neon Demon
Loved it. NWR stares at the abyss of the fashion market in this seductive and cut-throat modern Grimm fairytale horror. It's not exactly new subject material, from The Red Shoes, Suspiria, Perfect Blue, to Black Swan, all have covered this from various angles about jealousy and the dangers of industries focused on appearances but it's never been as satirically artificial and grotesque as here. No one talks normally, which adds to the fantasy vibe. Everyone seems like an animal out to get something. Possibly the best (very Kubrickian and Argento-esque) cinematography/lighting/music in a film I've seen this year that delivers an intoxicating experience that is much more of an enjoyable watch than the previous Only God Forgives. Personally, this is the best Cliff Martinez (my favourite composer right now) score I've heard which mixes the thumping synths of this dark world with the glittery presence of the princess-like Jessie (Elle Fanning). Half of the film's enjoyment for me was the score. Most of the film is shot in the dark to give an otherworldly atmosphere (helped by the visual motifs of the moon, mirrors, blood, and triangles) where a photo shoot looks like an ancient ritual, contrasted with the sickeningly bright and picturesque LA daylight. One shot even reminded me of Zulawski's most famous scene in Possession. Appreciated the narrative twist where the film goes against your expectations considering of what Jessie has become from innocent deer to cold big cat yet she's not as in command, and has the balls to continue for a dozen minutes after such a climatic sequence. Memorable from the very first frame to the last, this is one of my favourite films of the year, which I didn't expect from such a critically divided reception.

My sister loved it, even when she was apprehensive of what looked like a horror film to her. There was nervous laughter and shock at the climax with people uttering "what the fuck", "jeez that was weird", which made for a fun exit out of the cinema. Would love to see it again.

 

[duckroll]

The Handmaiden

Park Chan Wook is fucking back and he's on fire. I loved this from beginning to end, and feel it's probably his strongest work since Oldboy. Maybe his mastery of the craft excels when he is working with strong thematic source material that he can manipulate to his taste. Like how Oldboy was originally a Japanese manga, Handmaiden was originally the English novel FIngersmith, set in Victorian England. Park moves the setting to Japanese occupied South Korea, with characters effortlessly switching between Korean and Japanese in dialogue. The subtitles highlighted this stylistic narrative choice by capturing Korean dialogue with regular white subtitles, and Japanese dialogue with yellow subtitles. It worked really well.

Handmaiden retains the 3 part structure of the original story, but with some deviations in the final act. Still, it maintains the themes and overall narrative pretty closely, but the new setting gives the entire film a different dimension. Top notch set design, and breathtaking cinematography elevates this far beyond the typical erotic thriller, but without necessarily making it feel like it is trying to be more high brow than what the story really is. Park has a ton of fun with the genre, and there's quite a bit of his trademark dark humor. There's a lot of wit in the dialogue, and how the character dynamics play off each other. Loved the music score too. What probably seals the deal for the entire film is how effective it was in selling the eroticism in the oral narration sessions. When those worked, everything else, especially the actual sex scenes, just worked so much better. Mmmm.

 

[JeTmAn81]

Been watching Thunderball, borrowed it from the library. I think it's one of the few Bonds I've never sat down and watched beginning to end. I always used to catch snatches of the various films during Bond marathons. I like this one. The underwater stuff is fun, and the villain's not half bad. The women are beautiful as usual, but does James really always have to sleep with the bad girl before he kills her? That's creepy.

This one is notable for seeming to have an unusual number of things that ended up being parodied in Austin Powers (the no. 2 guy having an eyepatch, a pool of sharks, the bad guys in their chairs around their conference table before one gets executed by the leader, etc.).

Apparently it's the highest grossing Bond film, adjusted for inflation. I think that counts domestic grosses only. $600m+ in today's bucks.

 

[SeanC]

Love the movie too (though its has been many years since I last saw it).

Yeah, I totally forgot about the ending myself. Can't believe I did.

 

[UrbanRats]

The Handmaiden

The trailer is something else.
Reminded me of Duke of Burgundy, in how i was going "wait, the fuck was that?" every other flashing visual absurdity.
I'm intrigued.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

The Enemy Below: It's like the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror" on the ocean. If you're into naval warfare, this will be great for you. It's a good tense fight, making you wonder what the next move is going to be, and the ending is rather surprising.

 

[Divius]

I wanna see Neon Demon pretty bad, but it only plays on shitty times for me.

 

[Ridley327]

I wanna see Neon Demon pretty bad, but it only plays on shitty times for me.

Yeah, it's already in exit mode. Then again, going to a late night showing and having a theater all to yourself seems like a really ideal way to watch the film.

 

[Divius]

Yeah, it's already in exit mode.

Hasn't even opened yet here. Coming thursday.

 

[More_Badass]

Just saw Purge: Election Year. Basically a chase movie/action thriller in a horror universe. It was one of those "so ridiculous, you have to have fun with it" kind of movies. The acting was so bad and hammy outside of Grillo and Mitchell, that my brother and I were laughing in our seats

(We were the only ones in the theater btw)

It was entertaining though. Some cool imagery and enough action to be a good time.

 

[darkwing-buck]

Just saw Purge: Election Year. Basically a chase movie/action thriller in a horror universe. It was one of those "so ridiculous, you have to have fun with it" kind of movies. The acting was so bad and hammy outside of Grillo and Mitchell, that my brother and I were laughing in our seats

(We were the only ones in the theater btw)

It was entertaining though. Some cool imagery and enough action to be a good time.

"Waffles and Pussy"

 

[meppi]

The Handmaiden

Park Chan Wook is fucking back and he's on fire. I loved this from beginning to end, and feel it's probably his strongest work since Oldboy. Maybe his mastery of the craft excels when he is working with strong thematic source material that he can manipulate to his taste. Like how Oldboy was originally a Japanese manga, Handmaiden was originally the English novel FIngersmith, set in Victorian England. Park moves the setting to Japanese occupied South Korea, with characters effortlessly switching between Korean and Japanese in dialogue. The subtitles highlighted this stylistic narrative choice by capturing Korean dialogue with regular white subtitles, and Japanese dialogue with yellow subtitles. It worked really well.

Handmaiden retains the 3 part structure of the original story, but with some deviations in the final act. Still, it maintains the themes and overall narrative pretty closely, but the new setting gives the entire film a different dimension. Top notch set design, and breathtaking cinematography elevates this far beyond the typical erotic thriller, but without necessarily making it feel like it is trying to be more high brow than what the story really is. Park has a ton of fun with the genre, and there's quite a bit of his trademark dark humor. There's a lot of wit in the dialogue, and how the character dynamics play off each other. Loved the music score too. What probably seals the deal for the entire film is how effective it was in selling the eroticism in the oral narration sessions. When those worked, everything else, especially the actual sex scenes, just worked so much better. Mmmm.

So glad to read this.
I've bought all his film since JSA and love each one of them in their own right, even I'm a Cyborg, which seems to get a lot of hate.
But Stoker did very little for me. Heck, I can't even remember what it was about besides that it had Nicole Kidman. :-/
So glad to see him turn away from Hollywood and return to his former glory.

Can't wait to be able to watch this film whenever that turns out to be.
At least Cinéart has picked it up for distribution in the Benelux, so let's hope we get more than just a shitty DVD release this time.

 

[darkwing-buck]

Goodfellas (Rewatch)

While I think Taxi Driver is Scorcese's magnum opus, that doesn't stop Goodfellas from being a masterpiece. From top down to acting, cinematography, soundtrack, etc.. it's still a tour de force of film making and acting.

 

[User 479360]

Uncle Buck (Rewatch)

Somehow, I never saw this or Planes, Trains and Automobiles while growing up. I lived on 80s and 90s movies then, so it's very odd. I kept wanting to see them, but just didn't.

I caught Uncle Buck on TV a couple of years ago and liked it. It was on again two nights ago, so I watched it again. It's a good, fun, classic movie that doesn't get old.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is now one of my all-time, top 5-10 favourites.

Goodfellas (Rewatch)

While I think Taxi Driver is Scorcese's magnum opus, that doesn't stop Goodfellas from being a masterpiece. From top down to acting, cinematography, soundtrack, etc.. it's still a tour de force of film making and acting.

Nothing is better than Goodfellas, man. NOTHING!

To each their own, I just love that movie.

 

[old manatee]

King Jack A kid has to babysit his cousin while they are being chased around by bullies. It's pretty charming and funny. I wish it had a more appropriate soundtrack, instead of the twee music that is the plague of indie films these days.

A Country Called Home I watched this because Mackenzie Davis plays a transgendered country singer, and it turns out that is about all this inert drama has going for it.

 

[Messofanego]

The Handmaiden

Park Chan Wook is fucking back and he's on fire. I loved this from beginning to end, and feel it's probably his strongest work since Oldboy. Maybe his mastery of the craft excels when he is working with strong thematic source material that he can manipulate to his taste. Like how Oldboy was originally a Japanese manga, Handmaiden was originally the English novel FIngersmith, set in Victorian England. Park moves the setting to Japanese occupied South Korea, with characters effortlessly switching between Korean and Japanese in dialogue. The subtitles highlighted this stylistic narrative choice by capturing Korean dialogue with regular white subtitles, and Japanese dialogue with yellow subtitles. It worked really well.

Handmaiden retains the 3 part structure of the original story, but with some deviations in the final act. Still, it maintains the themes and overall narrative pretty closely, but the new setting gives the entire film a different dimension. Top notch set design, and breathtaking cinematography elevates this far beyond the typical erotic thriller, but without necessarily making it feel like it is trying to be more high brow than what the story really is. Park has a ton of fun with the genre, and there's quite a bit of his trademark dark humor. There's a lot of wit in the dialogue, and how the character dynamics play off each other. Loved the music score too. What probably seals the deal for the entire film is how effective it was in selling the eroticism in the oral narration sessions. When those worked, everything else, especially the actual sex scenes, just worked so much better. Mmmm.

Apparently UK is getting this in Feb 2017. Welp.

 

[UrbanRats]

So glad to read this.
I've bought all his film since JSA and love each one of them in their own right, even I'm a Cyborg, which seems to get a lot of hate.
But Stoker did very little for me. Heck, I can't even remember what it was about besides that it had Nicole Kidman. :-/
So glad to see him turn away from Hollywood and return to his former glory.

Can't wait to be able to watch this film whenever that turns out to be.
At least Cinéart has picked it up for distribution in the Benelux, so let's hope we get more than just a shitty DVD release this time.

Stoker was miles better than Cyborg, tho.
I liked it, wasn't a masterpiece, but had good ideas.

 

[duckroll]

I feel that for Park Chan Wook's original stories, they tend to be hit or miss, and often the characterization is lacking somewhat. He always delivers in the direction and cinematography. Mr Vengeance is needlessly cruel, Lady Vengeance is stylish but felt somewhat hollow to me, Cyborg is just whimsical, Thirst was a bit too weird.

Oldboy, and Handmaiden are both relatively faithful adaptations in the spirit of the narrative and characterizations, with a lot of the window dressing changed to fit a more elaborate or unique vision. I'm not familiar with the source of JSA, but I assume it is the same way. This makes me wonder if Park Chan Wook is at his best when he finds source material which is compatible with his brand of humor, with enough wiggle room for him to put his visual mark on it, but without having to do the heavy lifting on the narrative structure. Thoughts? We could even throw Stoker into this, for better or for worse, given that it was a hot Wentworth Miller script before he was attached to it.

 

[iuxion]

I feel that for Park Chan Wook's original stories, they tend to be hit or miss, and often the characterization is lacking somewhat. He always delivers in the direction and cinematography. Mr Vengeance is needlessly cruel, Lady Vengeance is stylish but felt somewhat hollow to me, Cyborg is just whimsical, Thirst was a bit too weird.

Oldboy, and Handmaiden are both relatively faithful adaptations in the spirit of the narrative and characterizations, with a lot of the window dressing changed to fit a more elaborate or unique vision. I'm not familiar with the source of JSA, but I assume it is the same way. This makes me wonder if Park Chan Wook is at his best when he finds source material which is compatible with his brand of humor, with enough wiggle room for him to put his visual mark on it, but without having to do the heavy lifting on the narrative structure. Thoughts? We could even throw Stoker into this, for better or for worse, given that it was a hot Wentworth Miller script before he was attached to it.

Well, Thirst was also a loose literary adaptation. Personally, I feel like Park has lapsed as a director since Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. His films continue to have striking images, but he lacks the rigor and consistency of his earlier years. Instead, he has delivered a series of long, overwrought films. I do think The Handmaiden is his best film in a while, and although I am not familiar with the source material, would not surprised if a lot of what I liked about it came from the novel rather than from Park himself.

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

I have a huge crush on Greta Gerwig, I admit it. I can't remember the last thing I've seen her in I didn't love and I didn't love her in.


And I absolutely loved Maggie's Plan! I liked everything about it. I liked Ethan Hawke playing a different role to what I usually picture him as, I liked Julianne Moore playing a weird Danish academic. And I loved Gerwig doing what she does best, oddball, charming, eccentric, but so loveable. Not unlike this movie. I like Bill Balder not phoning it in for his role.

I love the way it looks, New York isn't a hard city to make look attractive I grant, but they do it very well, I love the script, I love the much more tender not comedic or romantic moments. Gosh, I just loved it. And you will too.

 

[Rei_Toei]

Michael Dudok de Wit's Red Turtle (IMDb) was amazing. Anyone see it yet? 80 minutes of his awesome art, expertly animated, co-produced by Studio Ghibli, fantastic soundtrack.. Feast for the ears and eyes. Dudok de Wit teaming up with Ghibli is like the dream team of Toriyama, Sakeguchi, Uematsu, Horii and Aoki for Chrono Trigger - a once in a lifetime moment. Unless they're going to do more projects, of course.

 

[UrbanRats]

Michael Dudok de Wit's Red Turtle (IMDb) was amazing. Anyone see it yet? 80 minutes of his awesome art, expertly animated, co-produced by Studio Ghibli, fantastic soundtrack.. Feast for the ears and eyes. Dudok de Wit teaming up with Ghibli is like the dream team of Toriyama, Sakeguchi, Uematsu, Horii and Aoki for Chrono Trigger - a once in a lifetime moment. Unless they're going to do more projects, of course.

Looks really great.