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Charles Foster Kane · Apr 30, 2015

Wall of shame:

Remember:

DO NOT just post the title of the movie you watched. It isn't conducive at all to the kind of discussion & communication we want to engender here, because it tells us nothing of you, the movie, the impact of the latter on the former. Post scores, descriptions, essays, poems, gifs, hashtags, whatever provides you the best outlet for personal expression, you unique little digital snowflake. Also, Marvel movies are mostly shit. - icarus-daedelus

Interesting movie listing/rating sites:

Letterboxd
iCheckMovies

Our ICM group: http://www.icheckmovies.com/groups/neogaf/

Regs on such sites:

- Post your top 5 of April

- Are you new to the Movies You've Seen Recently threads? Let us know a bit about yourself:

1. What's your favorite Movie?
2. Who's your favorite director?
3. Who are your favorite actors/actresses?
4. Favorite Genre(s)?
5. What's your favorite performance in film?

- Unsure of what to watch?

ICM has a compilation of many official movie lists with lots of interesting recommendations. Or you could ask members in the thread; we don't bite. Participate!

If you want to be added to the OP, let me know.

Expendable. · Apr 30, 2015

Top 5 first-views in April:

5) A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
4) The Look of Silence
3) You, the Living
2) Heaven's Gate
1) Aparajito

Although I see Apur Sansar tonight, so it could change.

Serpentine · Apr 30, 2015

top 5 for April!

5. The Hunger
4. Furious 7
3. The Babadook
2. Ex Machina
1. Fast and the Furious 6

other good shit - Fast Five, The Hit (the ending alone almost put it on the 5), A Most Violent Year, It Follows. Some disappointments in Laura, Passion of Joan of Arc, and The Marine 4.
-Rewatched Breathless, which is actually way better the second time, but maybe because i was really taken aback by it the first time i saw it.
-Tak3n was a lot more watchable than i expected, but still mad mediocre. any action scene that isn't a hand-to-hand looks like total shit. and those aren't even great.

I'm thinking about watching Out for Justice tonight though, which could potentially shake up everything

Charles Foster Kane · Apr 30, 2015

Top 2 April for me:

1- I Confess
2- The Hit (1984)

I need to watch movies again.

Divius · Apr 30, 2015

Watched 14 movies in April, a personal low. wtf is happening to me?

Obligatory top 5 first viewings for April

1. American Splendor
2. Mommy
3. The Duke of Burgundy
4. Barbarella
5. Ride the Pink Horse

What 'The Hit' are you guys talking about? The 1984 one?

Charles Foster Kane · Apr 30, 2015

Divius said:
What 'The Hit' are you guys talking about? The 1984 one?

I am.

Serpentine · Apr 30, 2015

Divius said:
What 'The Hit' are you guys talking about? The 1984 one?

Yup

Blader · Apr 30, 2015

A short month for me, and the only new watches I'd bother ranking would be:

1. Short Cuts
2. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
3. While We're Young

lordxar · Apr 30, 2015

Damn...months already over, where the hell did it go?

overcast · Apr 30, 2015

Just missed the wall of shame

Last month was a great one for me. Top 5:

1) Persona
2) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
3) Beginners
4) It Follows
5) Paddington

Pretty tough to rank those, but I actually loved them all.

Infernostew · Apr 30, 2015

Top 5 for April:

1. The King of Comedy
2. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
3. Street Trash
4. Clouds of Sils Maria
5. The Man From Nowhere

The month started out with a bunch of films but the last 2 weeks have been consumed by traveling to see bands play on weekends and NHL playoffs. Gonna see a few films play Montclair Film Featival over the next weekend so I'm looking forward to that.

BaronLundi · Apr 30, 2015

4 films watched in April :/

Still going through the Sopranos.

Best
Crime and misdemeanors: 4,5/5

Not too bad
Gangs of Wasseypur:2,5/5

Really bad
Ted 1/5

Ridley327 · Apr 30, 2015

What a GIF!

Top five for April (in no particular order):
-Escape from New York
-Wing Chun
-Police Story
-Drug War
-Ex Machina

Most valuable rewatch: The Legend of Drunken Master

The award for the most surprisingly not bad film: King Kong (1976)

The award for being a film so bad that it makes reconsider my choice of hobby: tie, Hercules in New York and Nurse

How great is Jackie Chan: so great

Ridley327 · May 1, 2015

I'd also like to mention that after tonight's film (whatever it may be), I will have completed four straight months of watching at least one film a day, meaning that I'm a third of the way through my New Year's resolution. I don't think I've ever done a New Year's resolution for anything before, but I am so pleased with myself for not only sticking with it, but for actually exposing myself to how fucking great films can be. Granted, I'm helped out by the fact that video games have suddenly gotten really stupid in 2015, but hey, I'll take any kind of assistance I can get!

Ridley327 · May 1, 2015

And because I'm in a chatty mood, a more serious matter: Nathan Rabin is leaving The Dissolve. He's not abandoning The Dissolve entirely, but it sounds like he's getting hit really hard financially right now and needs all the dough he can get. A sad state of affairs for one of the best writers on film.

overcast · May 1, 2015

I'm gonna repost this from Film Stage, because I feel it's a nice way to keep track of movies coming out in the near future.

50 Films to See This Summer

Discotheque · May 1, 2015

Top 2

Lady Vanishes
Ex machina

overcast · May 1, 2015

I'm watching Ex Machina this Sunday hopefully. Gonna convince my friends to watch that instead of Avengers 2.

Currygan · May 1, 2015

four first watchings in April

Birdman
Interstellar
Age of Ultron
Fast 7

top four in this order. Honestly disappointed in all of them. Furious 7 made me realize I am not the target audience for such...things

MikeMyers · May 1, 2015

Hotel Transylvania (Genndy Tartakovsky, 2012)

Nothing deep, but it was a cute film. Enjoyed it.

Ventilaator · May 1, 2015

I saw 4 new-to-me movies in April. Two of them I rated 1/5 and two 2/5. Didn't have the best month, I guess.

But at least this month I'll get to see the guaranteed 5/5, Pitch Perfect 2.

TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared · May 1, 2015

This weekend I'll be seeing far from the madding crowd, unfriended, and hopefully the falling and get up and go.

lazybones18 · May 1, 2015

Blood Simple

Worst private dick ever

Krev · May 1, 2015

Top 5 first viewings for April

1. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
2. All that Heaven Allows (1955)
3. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
4. Funny Face (1957)
5. Contempt (1963)

Honourable mention to It Follows (2014).

Worst: Paranormal Activity (2007/9)
EDIT: No wait, it was The Producers (2005)

Goodsprings · May 1, 2015

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401097/

Tracers 6/10

I expected this to be a mediocre action movie with flaws, and I got exactly what I expected. Parkour scenes are not that great. David Belle movies are far better. I'd give it a 6 because I still like to watch low-budget action movies without CGI.

Fancy Clown · May 1, 2015

April was too good of a month for me to do a top 5...so here's a top 10 instead.

1. Repulsion
2. Ikiru
3. The Third Man
4. Thief
5. Memories of Murder
6. Sanjuro
7. Possession
8. Suspiria
9. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
10. It Follows

Divius · May 1, 2015

Wow, that's quite the list.

Blader · May 1, 2015

Blader said:
A short month for me, and the only new watches I'd bother ranking would be:

1. Short Cuts
2. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
3. While We're Young

Now I'll add Avengers: Age of Ultron to the top of that list. Dug it a lot.

lordxar · May 1, 2015

Damn I started a post before lunch and must not have finished it in time because its lost to the ether now...oh well. My top movies:

1. Wolfcop
2. Nightcrawler
3. Predestination

The rest were all about equally good. Now for biggest shitfest: Noah. Total waste of a movie I didn't bother to finish.

Currygan · May 1, 2015

lordxar said:
Damn I started a post before lunch and must not have finished it in time because its lost to the ether now...oh well. My top movies:

1. Wolfcop
2. Nightcrawler
3. Predestination

The rest were all about equally good. Now for biggest shitfest: Noah. Total waste of a movie I didn't bother to finish.

I was actually thinking about giving Noah a try since it's on sky...guess I'll pass, I heard nothing but bad things about it

Expendable. · May 1, 2015

May preview thread is up:

10 Films to See In May (what are you watching?)

Getting ready for incoming hate over the lack of a certain (poor) superhero film.

lordxar · May 1, 2015

Currygan said:
I was actually thinking about giving Noah a try since it's on sky...guess I'll pass, I heard nothing but bad things about it

Its a weird movie from what I stuck around to see. Take the tree things from LotR and mix in the Left Behind movies with a big budget but mediocre effects (could be my 4k TV having soap opera effect though). Either way it was some weird amalgamation of awful. Definitely see why its on Netflix practically the day after it left theaters.

Borgnine · May 1, 2015

1984 (1984): 5/10. Did a book reread so I figured I'd watch the film adaptations. This one was pretty faithful, though probably incomprehensible if you haven't read the book. I wonder if Julia's bush got scale.
1984 (1956): 4/10. Less faithful though probably more comprehensible, but it is a sci-fi movie from the 50s. I half expected the thought police to descend in pie tins. Weird chubby Orson Welles-esque Winston and platinum blonde bombshell Julia.
The Verdict: 8/10. Sidney Lumet courtroom drama, what the hell else do you want.
The Driver: 6/10. I like stuff.
Jupiter Ascending: 2/10. Poopiter descending (from a butt). Some neat ideas here, why don't they just publish a story bible instead of paying 200 million dollars to have actors read it to us.

big ander · May 1, 2015

Huh, I didn't feel like I watched a ton in April, yet apparently reached 31 features/17 shorts (calling my cutoff at a 40ish minutes). and only two of the features were rewatches. Looking back over it this was a fantastic month!

Top 10 new-to-me features:
1) Exotica
2) Sonatine
3) The Freshman (1925)
4) Fantastic Planet
5) Citizen Ruth
6) My Winnipeg
7) Bluebeard (1944)
8) The Puppetmaster
9) Ned Rifle
10) El Vampiro Negro
with honorable mentions to Ex Machina, Margot at the Wedding, Happy End, Wendy and Lucy, Bloodsport.

Which reminds me, I didn't put words here on the last couple days at least.
I don't know that I'd call Roar a must-watch. Watching Drafthouse's trailer might be all you need to think about how goddamn crazy and stupid this movie and lifestyle are. The film itself offers breadth of stupidity, not depth. 20 minutes of slow, clunky set up with Noel Marshall being a terrible actor followed by 70 of the Hedren/Marshall clan running around a house as rooms are torn apart by lions. That's...it. It's not as if the way the lions get into trouble is inventive or fun to watch, though Jan De Bont is adept at capturing everything. But they just amble into a room, Melanie Griffith runs away or a Marshall kid hides in a locker, then the lions knock some stuff over and generally act like big cats until the person can escape up/down a ramp/ladder in this donkey kong goddamn swamp home, repeat. It's all VERY convincing evidence that we should move the fuck out of wildlife territory-- which is somehow not the intended point of this movie? If the Marshall clan thought this would justify their choice to let lions and tigers and panthers and elephants roam free in their personal space they were wrong.
Bloodsport's my first JCVD experience. Maybe the man's line readings are a bit shoddy, but he's a genuinely excellent physical actor. Not just in the martial arts sense (though he's impressive as hell); his facial work here is expressive, thoughtful, endearing. His face, the Miami Vice new wave interludes, the unexpected inversion of the male gaze in a post-sex scene as the clothed female lead ogles a near-nude JCVD from behind-- all this together sells you hard on all the parts that aren't fighting. Which isn't too much. Bloodsport isn't interested in twists or narrative complication, though it does rely on flashbacks (sometimes overusing them, like when we quickly flashback to one scene prior) to flesh out the story. That information doesn't create new subplots or ancillary goals however. narratively the film is as simple as "he wants to win this tournament very badly." Veering away from complication through, say, snuffing out the conflict between Frank Dux and the US Military, is precisely what clarifies the film's perspective on honor, tradition/ancestry and appropriation. Dux proves melding cultures is tenable.
After holding on to the netflix blu for a full month I tried to watch Collateral last night only to find the disc has been damaged the entire time. Nothing on my list looked good and I leapt for the first title that interested me. I missed a Sonatine screening recently and thought I'd rectify the error. Ended up blindsided-- knowing basically nothing of Takeshi Kitano except his status alongside Miike as a Japanese genre picture director who rose to international acclaim in the 90s, I had no reason to expect anything but a well-done gangster drama. Sonatine turned out to be a crime comedy with sandpaper-dry gallows humor that renders any coolness of Yakuza movies inert, diving into enduring mundanity in a wonderful way. For the first act there are some familiar gang picture building blocks, but the boringness of Murakawa's life as Yakuza middle management is palpable and the shootouts are pointedly flattened and dulled (in contrast to the depth and color of the images when "nothing's happening"). Then Murakawa and his crew are forced on vacation, and the movie stays there. They drink, imitate lounge dancers, make cutout action figures, build traps in the sand for each other, toss a frisbee around. It's beautifully aimless, motioning back to their lives as Yakuza. There gunfights and gang diplomacy were equally as draining and dull, not cool as promised. If neither work nor vacation are enjoyable, where do you go?

I also watched a lot of excellent shorts this month. Goddamn "World of Tomorrow". Also watched Hertzfeldt's "Meaning of Life" for the first time, pretty great. Peter Tscherkassky's "Dream Work" is stellar, as is "Outer Space" (both made from a film print of The Entity, which is being remade). "Remedial Reading Comprehension" by Owen Land/George Landlow. Hal Hartley's Bunuel exercise "Ambition".

movies are pretty great, guys

Ridley327 said:
And because I'm in a chatty mood, a more serious matter: Nathan Rabin is leaving The Dissolve. He's not abandoning The Dissolve entirely, but it sounds like he's getting hit really hard financially right now and needs all the dough he can get. A sad state of affairs for one of the best writers on film.

I like the guy a lot and have enjoyed his writing in the past, but I'll be perfectly honest-- his columns in the past year have been shit. Everything from glaring errors in news, to remedially written running column entries, to drifting further and further afield from anything resembling actual film criticism (in that most of his writing recently fails to discuss any stylistic or technical aspects in any interesting way, in my mind, only parsing out plot like a high school paper review) while professing narrower and narrower tastes that don't seem to make sense. I'd love for something to come together for him, maybe another book cause the Phish/ICP one was fun, or a column through freelancing that fits his style better.

Borgnine said:
The Driver: 6/10. I like stuff.

how do you feel about the stuff

TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared · May 1, 2015

Far from the madding crowd was excellent. Carey Mulligan has some singing voice.

MidnightCowboy · May 2, 2015

The Triplets of Belleville - Funny, charming, pretty much everything I was hoping for. The art is beautiful. Not quite on the level of The Illusionist for me because it lacks the emotional impact that had, but I really don't have any complaints.

8BitsAtATime · May 2, 2015

Since Im kind of new to the group I guess I'll do this.

1. What's your favorite Movie? - Apocalypse Now
2. Who's your favorite director? - John Carpenter
3. Who are your favorite actors/actresses? - Pam Grier
4. Favorite Genre(s)? - Horror
5. What's your favorite performance in film? idk this is kind of hard ..Jake Gyllenhaal in Zodiac

Nuke Soda · May 2, 2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron- It was okay. Didn't live up to the first for me. It has its moments, but there is so much generic stuff to sit through while waiting for the good bits.

Hulk/Iron Man fist bump was pretty epic.

Nuke Soda · May 2, 2015

TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared said:
Far from the madding crowd was excellent. Carey Mulligan has some singing voice.

If you can stomach graphic sex scenes she sings in Shame.

Currygan · May 2, 2015

welcome!

I really can't help but consider Game of Shadows a little classic at the very least. Like Hot Fuzz or Predator, no matter how many times I rewatch it, it's still a tremendous ride with a very scarce number of flaws. Many people have criticized these SH movies saying they're just popcorn manufactured bombast, and I strongly disagree. While the first one was hugely disappointing despite featuring a villain named Lord Blackwood played by the great Mark Strong, it felt tepid, with a very predictable mystery, which is death penalty for a Sherlock Holmes tale. Ritchie managed to iron out all the flaws of the first one with GOS, and setting a precedent that will be hard to top with the incoming third installment
First of all, the plot: the inventiveness and set up of the many twists are of paramount importance in a movie about these iconic characters, even moreso with a main villain named James Moriarty, the greatest criminal mind, and Kieran and Michele Mulroney treat him with much respect by concocting a multi-layered, overarching nefarious master plan worthy of the man behind it
next, the players: RDJ returns as Holmes with a very convincing accent and energetic physical performance, Law is pretty much the perfect Watson, Stephen Fry, Noomi Rapace, Paul Anderson are all good, but Jared Harris, oh my. He walks on the set like a giant among flies: subtlety (hear his voice slightly cracking with pure hatred during they first meeting at Oxford...he doesn't just want to kill Holmes, he wants to vivisect him alive), aplomb, class, body language...top rated performance here. I was expecting nothing less (although I was slightly disappointed at first to hear Daniel Day-Lewis was rumoured to play Moriarty..can you just imagine??) and it delivered
third, and last: Guy Ritchie. I feel like he evolved in a way he might have become not only a great action director, but a great director all around. Attention to detail is superb; his camera work has become less bombastic and more classic, although still with his trademark - incredible - slow-mo action prowess; actors are well directed and guided; pacing is just perfect; Ritchie has matured enough to finally reach Hollywood's upper echelon, and his next works might confirm it

one last thing: a lot of people said it these movies betrayed Conan Doyle's books, but that's completely false; Game of Shadows is a great adaptation fron any angle: why is so unbelievable to realize that a man like Holmes, whose brain skills approach clairvoyance, can fight the way he does (by seeing all the moves in his mind before they happen, and react accordingly?). Makes perfect sense; the thrilling explosions, gunshots and shiny new weapons in the movie are all plausible; they were indeed being developed at the time, and bombings were the trending topic of the week back then. All characters behave as they do in the book, with small departures, but these are justifiable because you need a little bit of spectacle, damn it. In short, they all give their best, which considering the talents involved is a pure joy to watch, and with great respect to the source material. 9/10

lazybones18 · May 2, 2015

Interiors

I guess mental illness runs in the family. As for the movie itself, it was alright

8BitsAtATime · May 2, 2015

Avengers The last time I watched it was in theaters and I enjoyed it. I didnt care much for it this time.

Paris, Texas I wish I had seen this earlier in my life. I was glued to the screen the whole time. There's something about Harry Dean Stanton that I love.

Mean Girls - After watching Heather's .i was just so fucking bored with it. It has its funny moments but god damn do I hate every single person in this movie.

The Phone Call This is one of the most heartbreaking things ive seen in a while.

Aya I actually dont know how to feel about this short. I will say that the can you play the piano on my hand scene was hot.

My rentals for the weekend. The last time i saw the Warriors was like a good 15 years ago. Same for The Dirty Dozen. Everything else is new to me

Charles Foster Kane · May 2, 2015

8BitsAtATime said:
Paris, Texas [/B]– I wish I had seen this earlier in my life. I was glued to the screen the whole time. There's something about Harry Dean Stanton that I love.

It's never late to watch a great movie (unless you die, of course

).

I actually kind of like that I got to see it later than sooner because I don't think I would have appreciated it as much when I was younger (as well as other films).

Nuke Soda · May 2, 2015

8BitsAtATime said:
Mean Girls - After watching Heather's .i was just so fucking bored with it. It has its funny moments but god damn do I hate every single person in this movie.

Heather's has that effect on a lot of high school movies. what a weird, funny and a little disturbing movie.

Charles Foster Kane · May 2, 2015

But, man, Mean Girls is awesome.

Love Regina.

Currygan · May 2, 2015

8BitsAtATime said:
Avengers The last time I watched it was in theaters and I enjoyed it. I didnt care much for it this time.

Paris, Texas I wish I had seen this earlier in my life. I was glued to the screen the whole time. There's something about Harry Dean Stanton that I love.

Mean Girls - After watching Heather's .i was just so fucking bored with it. It has its funny moments but god damn do I hate every single person in this movie.

The Phone Call This is one of the most heartbreaking things ive seen in a while.

Aya I actually dont know how to feel about this short. I will say that the can you play the piano on my hand scene was hot.

My rentals for the weekend. The last time i saw the Warriors was like a good 15 years ago. Same for The Dirty Dozen. Everything else is new to me

I watched The Warriors DC just recently, let us know if you liked the changes. I found them a bit jarring, tbh

overcast · May 2, 2015

MidnightCowboy said:
The Triplets of Belleville - Funny, charming, pretty much everything I was hoping for. The art is beautiful. Not quite on the level of The Illusionist for me because it lacks the emotional impact that had, but I really don't have any complaints.

Need to rewatch this one, loved it when I was a kid. Illusionist is really impactful, fucked me up for a good day after.

Krev · May 2, 2015

Avengers 2 is just fucking all over the place. Two many heroes for any of them to have worthwhile characterisation, no clear narrative through line, interminable action scenes that blur into one another after a while.

Nuke Soda · May 2, 2015

Charles Foster Kane said:
But, man, Mean Girls is awesome.

Love Regina.

Kind of sad, but when I was watching it the DVD was busted. Got halfway through and then it started getting weird. Will Netflix it someday.

lazybones18 · May 2, 2015

Roar

Noooooooooooooooooooooooope. But the last 10 minutes were pretty nice. As well as the preservation message during the end credits.

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