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Masterful, a work of genius. Glad to see that it is in the spirit of Philip K. Dick, with the usual themes of identity and reality. He was really a philosopher more than anything else.
KD6-3.7? 6+3+7=16 (P) PKD.
It's worth it mostly because it's Lean. But if you didn't like it, don't force it. Try it again down the road sometime. If after seeing LAWRENCE OF ARABIA you're looking for another Lean, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI may be more interesting to you (presuming you've not seen it already).
And let us know how you like CITIZEN KANE. It deserves its reputation to some extent, but the reason it seems to come #1 on all those awful lists is, I think, mostly contextual to its time of release. It's hard if not impossible to see it now as it was then. Interestingly, it was recently overthrown on one of those lists by VERTIGO.
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Here was my week:
GRAND ILLUSION (1938) / Renoir - Still beyond great, but it made less an impact on me this viewing. (As opposed to my viewing of Renoir’s PICNIC ON THE GRASS last week, which was a a joy to discover.)
HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973) / Eastwood - A brilliant early Eastwood. An amalgamated inversion of HIGH NOON and A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, perhaps, and a kind of prototype for UNFORGIVEN (though this is far more entertaining).
IT (2017) / Muschietti - Works better as a John Hughes-inspired coming of age film than as a horror film. The metaphorical base is the best of it, though I feel that’s entirely of the novel (which I haven’t read, so can’t confirm). By this I’m talking about the idea that fear itself has been manifested in this supernatural being, and that this group of children, in order to defeat it, must essentially face their own fears of growing up. The stuff that feels wholly of the film (the attempts at jump scares, trying to compensate for a lack of atmosphere through generic music/sound cues) is what brings it down.
MOULIN ROUGE (2001)/ Luhrmann - The mad Baz’s best film, and the only one other than ROMEO + JULIET that I can say I truly like. I’m not sure postmodern pastiche can be executed better than this. Nicole Kidman is so, so lovely, and Ewan is oddly enchanting to watch.
ERASERHEAD (1977) & LOST HIGHWAY (1997) / Lynch - Continuing my Lynch kick. The great man spoke earlier this year about how important it was to him from time to time to go back and revisit his early work with an eye towards inspiring his future work. Watching ERASERHEAD now, on the other side of the third season of Twin Peaks, I can definitely the influences of the former on the latter—the lingering, pulled back shot composition, the extraordinary focus on sound design, the seeming glee with which Lynch molds his special effects. LOST HIGHWAY, meanwhile, seems definitely a trial run for the things he was aiming to do with MULHOLLAND DRIVE and INLAND EMPIRE. In the end I don't think it works quite as well as the other two, but the atmosphere Lynch creates is palpable (unlike IT) and the Mystery Man is among my favorite Lynch creations.
RUSHMORE (1998) / Anderson - The earliest Wes Anderson films I’ve seen. He seems still in search of the style he’s become known for, but this isn’t to the film’s detriment. In fact it’s quite refreshing, if you’ve only seen his more recent efforts.
LIMELIGHT (1952) / Chaplin - I’m really starting to dig Chaplin. Mark Cousins called him the Charles Dickens of film, and that totally clicked with me here. I’m glad to have discovered his later stuff. Thinking about LIMELIGHT afterwards, comparisons with VERDOUX came immediately to mind, and in fact that film replayed itself better in my mind as a result of this one. I’m looking forward to checking out A KING IN NEW YORK -- but first, this coming week, THE GREAT DICTATOR.
THE CAMERAMAN (1928) / Keaton - What can I say? Outstanding, as always. I just adore Keaton. Also, relating to what I wrote above, I’ve realized that any comparison between Chaplin and Keaton is wrong-footed. They may each have elevated the art of film through comedy, starting in their comic shorts, but beyond that they are interested in entirely different things. Believing otherwise blinded me somewhat to Chaplin’s directing, I feel. I no longer will be quite so dismissive.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017) / Villeneuve - Had some things to say over in the main BR2049 thread. Other than that, this one has kicked off the uptick in quality which always seems to accompany the end of year releases, as the Oscar campaigning begins. So much to look forward to over these next months. I would be surprised if by year's end this one remains unseated at the top of my highlights, but how much I liked it on this initial viewing surprised me, so…perhaps BR2049 is just full of them.
this film absolutely blew it out of the park. I went in with medium expectations and what I got was a masterpiece of perfection. The style, the acting, the characters, the cool history, the pace, everything was entertaining, and fun. I was locked in the whole time. Great performance from Cruise( though I cant stop looking at his weird middle tooth)
9/10
I must say, I didnt love the cinematography, it was fun but uneeded. The rest was great though
Glad you're enjoying Chaplin. And I should re-watch Moulin Rouge... I haven't watched a single movie in two days, and already feel like I'm falling behind and need to watch extra movies the following days, gaah... Not that I have a set schedule, but, you know, tons of movies... And you reminded me I should start watching that new Twin Peaks season.
And damn I wish I wasn't a bit ill, I'd have gone to see Blade Runner 2049 already.
The Retrun of Xander Cage - a third installment in the series and like the previous two very enjoyable in the amazing stunts they deliver. A funny early evening movie that does entertain. But the Diesel series I prefer best is the Riddick series I hope we get another installment soon.
Look, its fine. I thought the story idea was cool but there really isnt much to it. It was probably cool in the time it came out but a true good film can stand on its own as a timeless masterpiece, which this is not.
4/10
From the film King Kong. So you can see pterodactyls flying in the background. ;-)
Loved it best film of 2017 just blew me away.
5/5 10/10
What a simply mesmerizing experience that was. 2049 is a feat of cinematic perfection.
I need to see it again now, not because of how much I enjoyed it, but because 2049 requires a great deal of thinking. The plot, the story developments aren't conveyed via words, but rather mainly through visuals. I won't deny that there were several segments throughout the film where I felt about as intelligent as a can-opener, because as an audience member you're forced to sit back and think about what has happened and why. There were moments where I actually had to ask myself if I was an idiot for not understanding why something was happening upon initial viewing, or is this a film that asks you to think instead of explicitly displaying everything you need to know at the tip of your fingers? After some theorizing once the movie ended I realized that it was definately the latter. 2049 is one of very few sci-fi films that actually forces you to think, not because of plot convolution or narrative inconsistencies, but because of its complex nature.
Everything is on point here. The direction is superb, as is the writing. The cinematography is genuinely among the best I've seen from a mainstream film (as is the production design, I heavily misjudged Gassner). And every actor brings out some of their best performances (with Ford deserving special praise, he truly is a powerhouse here). Blade Runner 2049 represents a monumental achievement in modern-day filming that meets and supersedes the expectations set by Blade Runner (1982), thanks to the undeniable efforts of everyone involved.
Oh, and if Villeneuve doesn't end up directing a Bond film, I'll be astonishingly pissed.
And re: Twin Peaks, by any means watch it immediately. One of the reasons I'm going back through the Lynch catalog is so that when I come to rewatch this third season (releases in December on home video), I can definitively state for certain it is the best thing he's ever done (you'll notice I'm saying that now anyway ;) ).
Care to elaborate on your opinion on this moment, @Strog ?
I rewatched the original a couple of months back, figured it was time I popped this bad boy in, and as always, it definitely didn't disappoint. The intensity and scale of the action sequences somehow gets more and more impactful, impressive, and lengthy as the film goes on, followed up by that brilliant, never-ending finale. It's a shame that we're still likely another two years out from The Raid 3 at the absolute minimum, but when the time comes, I'll be ready.
In the case of THE RAID, the second film broke out of the contained thriller, explored its lead protagonist, and, what was once a simple (yet great) action film, turned into an almost SHakesperian family/drama gangster film.
However, it never ignores its roots, and I love THE RAID 2 and feel it deserves plenty of respect!
When I first saw this dystopian Ben Wheatley directed drama (based on a novel by J.G. Ballard) in the theatre last year it truly caught me by surprise. I had no idea what to expect and didn't realize how completely surreal and chaotic it would become towards the end. Thankfully it was much easier going this second time around, especially having viewed the similarly pandemonium inducing mother! a few weeks ago.
Tom Hiddleston stars as Dr. Robert Laing, a confident & successful physiologist. Laing purchases a unit in a high rise development circa 1970s designed by famous architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons), who happens to live on the top floor. Royal is a visionary who wants to create a new way of living. He wanted his building to be transformative, and therefore carefully crafted his cold looking concrete behemoth to be a self contained model for the future. To that aim it has a pool, gym, school & even supermarket within it. The building houses people from all income levels, with the less well to do (including rowdy Wilder, played by Luke Evans and his pregnant wife Helen, played by Elisabeth Moss) living on the lower floors. The 'high flyers' (such as Sienna Miller's sexually promiscuous Charlotte, James Purefoy's Pangbourne & Sienna Guillory's Jane) occupy higher floors. When Laing moves in, he notices an uncomfortable and underlying tension between rich and poor - a sort of unintended segregation. It's a delicate balance which feels unstable, and eventually it boils over due to a triggering event, and descends into complete disorder & mayhem with residents turning on one another in violent ways. The events that transpire change Laing forever. Royal's vision of a utopian future unintentionally becomes a dystopian nightmare.
The performances, as can be expected from this stellar cast, are excellent, particularly from the always reliable Hiddleston (who starts off very assured and then perfectly showcases a descent into madness) and Evans (who is brilliant as the boisterous lower class resident who sets sets off a chain of events leading to turmoil). It's a very slick and stylish affair, with colours gently evoking the gaudy and garish 70s. However, it's not an easy watch, given the disturbing subject matter and metaphorical approach (the increasingly claustrophobic building being a stand in for the world we live in today).
There's another narrative problem, somewhat related to the first: throughout HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER Eastwood's The Stranger is pitched as being no less traditionally likable than his former The Man With No Name. The Stranger should be less likable, much less. In this regard Eastwood fails The Stranger as he succeeds with his central character in UNFORGIVEN. In the latter film, we root for Munny but we do not necessarily like him. Both films attempt similar work, but DRIFTER falls short of UNFORGIVEN in large part because Eastwood tries to make us sympathetic with The Stranger when the film would work miles better if we were more cooly removed. The moment in the barn therefore comes across more subjectively than objectively, as though we're being asked to like what this likable character is doing as opposed to question it morally.
Within the context of the film I can see what he was going for, but it doesn't work, and he should've found a way to handle it better or simply excised it entirely. Regardless of its merit or fault, Eastwood does not take enough care with its existence.
You're welcome! So far we've only gotten the cast, synopsis, and a first official photo, but I'm more than intrigued already.
After directing a small-budget film called Footsteps, Evans was hired as a freelance director for a documentary about the Indonesian martial art pencak silat.[2][5] He became fascinated with it, and discovered Indonesian martial artist Iko Uwais, who was working as a deliveryman for a phone company.[5] Evans cast Uwais in his 2009 film Merantau, which became a cult hit.[5] He planned to produce a larger action film, but scaled the production budget down and created an action film called The Raid (2011). After the success of The Raid, the larger action film eventually became the basis for its sequel, The Raid 2: Berandal (2014).[6][7]
In late 2016 Evans started working on his next film, Apostle, which will star Dan Stevens. The director confirmed on his Instagram that filming will begin on April 3, 2017.[8]
The Parallax View is an excellent film one of my favourites in that genre, agree SP had very little tension or intrigue.
This Ridley Scott directed piece was on tv and so I decided to take a watch. Normally I'm not into these sort of romantic drama comedies, but this kept my attention throughout. It's the sort of film that Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren or Doris Day would have starred in during their heyday. Russell Crowe is Englishman Max Skinner, an orphan who spent his youth at his uncle's (Albert Finney) vineyard in Provence. While there he discovered an appreciation for the finer elements of life. These days however Skinner is a hard charging and very successful trader in London. When his uncle passes away, he inherits the property and travels back with an aim to sell it. Things don't go according to plan however, as his return to France results in an unanticipated rediscovery of what's truly important in life.
The film boasts an excellent cast, including Marion Cottilard, Didier Bourdon, Abbie Cornish, Tom Hollander & Freddie Highmore. It has a light, breezy good natured & charming feel throughout and isn't heavy going. Scott captures the beauty of the setting very well and all the actors are very good in their parts, particularly Cornish and Cottilard, who is just incredibly mesmerizing here (quite beautiful).
On the Crowe/Scott flip-side, I am coincidentally watching AMERICAN GANGSTER... and it’s full of bad-ass greatness from two of the best — Washington vs Crowe... Damn fine film...!
I quite enjoy that movie as well, and Cottilard is beautiful, Crowe does not mess the movie up which is his best quality in this movie.
@peter, I saw American Gangster a few years back. Intense film with some great performances from Washington & Crowe. I didn't even know that Scott directed that.