Capo
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Post by Capo on Aug 23, 2006 17:58:35 GMT
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Tobe Hooper 1974 US 4th time; DVD A group of travelling friends are killed one-by-one by a masked maniac, and the final victim-to-be is terrorised by his cannibal relatives. Despite the reductive opening voice-over, this is effectively realised throughout, to be, firstly, a surreal build-up to something not quite right, secondly, a series of deaths as shock treatment, and thirdly, a repelling sequence of bizarre, cannibalistic horror. The effect the sound has on the whole feel is incredible, with, when things are quiet, a radio announcer telling constantly bad news, and, during the final torture sequence, expressionistic use of non-diegetic ambience, such as, among other things, a drill on a worksite. Fantastic stuff.The Kid Charles Chaplin 1921 US 1st time; DVD A tramp happens upon an abandoned baby, and brings it up as his son. "A film with a laugh - and perhaps, a tear", so the opening title claims. Chaplin was often guilty of applying his pathos on thickly and sweetly, but there remains something irresistible about this, not least due to Jackie Coogan's performance as the title character, who compliments Chaplin's bumbling, carefree but loving tramp with a charm rarely matched by a young actor since. Two sequences stand out: that in which Chaplin finds himself fighting the tough neighbourhood bully, and the climactic dream sequence, which is at once an insightful dissection of the human condition and a wonderfully realised idea.
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Post by bobbyreed on Aug 23, 2006 20:23:08 GMT
Crumb Terry Zwigoff, 1994, US 1st time; DVD A documentary about the life of comic book artist Robert Crumb. Fantastic film. Crumb tells us about his early life with his brothers, high school experiences, and feelings towards women, and we see how it is all expressed in his art. We see Crumb talk with his brothers Maxon and Charles and it's truly tragic seeing the similarities between the three brothers - any one of them could have turned out to be "successful" and it only seems like chance that it was Robert. Charles lives at home with his mother on lots of medication re-reading a giant stack of books, never leaving the house, while Maxon paints and goes out on the streets of San Francisco to beg for money. There are many great moments, but I'll single out three: Crumb drawing pictures of the homeless in his sketchbook as he walks around San Francisco; the Leg Show magazine photo shoot; and Maxon sitting cross-legged on a bandanna covering a bed of nails, eating a cloth to "gratify" his intestines, and explaining that this is part of his meditation very calmly to Robert.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Aug 23, 2006 20:29:44 GMT
You should write Proviews more often, Bobby. Insightful review for a film I'd like to see.
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Post by bobbyreed on Aug 23, 2006 20:35:36 GMT
You should write Proviews more often, Bobby. Insightful review for a film I'd like to see. Thanks. I've been meaning to write some but I never seem to get around to it.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Aug 24, 2006 18:44:25 GMT
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me David Lynch 1992 France/US 1st time; DVD Two FBI agents investigate the murder of Teresa Banks in Fargo; a year later, in Twin Peaks, agent Dale Cooper predicts the killer is about to strike again… Frustratingly imbalanced return to Lynch's own TV series, a prequel which, if considered in solitude, reaches highs comparable to other work, but feels as if it has been cut down drastically; as a result, the opening twenty minutes are humorous and bizarre, but hardly relevant to the narrative. The scene in the flashing, erotic nightclub is awesome, and the final half-hour or so is increasingly gripping as it spirals into a deeply psychological nightmare - the credits come as a relief, which must say something of Sheryl Lee's central performance, undeservedly panned by all at the time of release.The Gold Rush Charles Chaplin 1925 US 1st time; DVD During the 1898 Alaskan Gold Rush, a lone prospector (the little tramp) arrives in a mining town and falls in love. Tedious, though it generally gets better as it goes on - the scene near the end, in which Chaplin and a burly man from earlier in the film struggle to escape a cabin on the verge of falling off the edge of a cliff is wonderful. For the most part, it offers little that his other work doesn't, though the change in location is welcome.
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Post by Michael on Aug 24, 2006 20:54:30 GMT
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me David Lynch 1992 France/US 1st time; DVD Two FBI agents investigate the murder of Teresa Banks in Fargo; a year later, in Twin Peaks, agent Dale Cooper predicts the killer is about to strike again… Frustratingly imbalanced return to Lynch's own TV series, a prequel which, if considered in solitude, reaches highs comparable to other work, but feels as if it has been cut down drastically; as a result, the opening twenty minutes are humorous and bizarre, but hardly relevant to the narrative. The scene in the flashing, erotic nightclub is awesome, and the final half-hour or so is increasingly gripping as it spirals into a deeply psychological nightmare - the credits come as a relief, which must say something of Sheryl Lee's central performance, undeservedly panned by all at the time of release. I agree 100% with this proview...you pretty much summed up my thoughts exactly. I really wish we could've seen more of Kyle MacLachlan's character. I feel MacLachlan is a great on-screen presence, and has a real eery quality about him, much like Crispin Glover. I loved the scene where MacLachlan keeps trying to instill his image into the surveillance screen, until he finally succeeds, followed by a bizarre slur of images including David Bowie and the midget that was in your previous avatar. Amazing. One of the best things I've ever seen.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Aug 24, 2006 23:09:30 GMT
Zoku Sugata Sanshiro ( Judo Story II) (1945/Akira Kurosawa) [First Viewing] A highly regarded Judo master is given the challenge to fight an American boxer.Some of the propaganda moments are so ridiculous, it's laughable. But by this time Kurosawa was beginning to understand the medium in which he was working. The film is very well made, and very ambitious for it's time. There are some great set pieces and the use of light is great, and the climax on a snow covered mountain top is excellent. Though I must admit that I was a little lost at times, having never seen the first film. And although this was good, it's miles away from Kurosawa's later masterpieces.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Aug 25, 2006 12:37:37 GMT
Spider David Cronenberg 2002 Canada/UK 2nd time; DVD A mentally disturbed man arrives at a half-way house, and is left free to roam the local streets, where he pieces together his childhood memories. A multi-layered character study of interweaving fictions and Cronenberg's most visually impressive work; a slow, carefully constructed film with a sparse, grim mise-en-scene, and an intimate, introverted psychology - the title character, through whom we see all of the events, has nowhere to go, and so the narrative is a kind of strained web of present horror, with no future, and an imagined past.Monsieur VerdouxCharles Chaplin 1946 US 1st time; DVD A suave gent in Depression-era Paris puts money on the table by marrying rich women and murdering them. "A comedy of murders", so the first title says, only without the laughs and few deaths. Agonisingly long and with an unconvincing moral at the end; of vague interest is the script, based on an idea by Welles, but ultimately missable.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Aug 25, 2006 21:12:31 GMT
That's more like it.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Aug 26, 2006 19:03:43 GMT
Waga seishun ni kuinashi ( No Regrets for Our Youth) (1946/Akira Kurosawa) [First Viewing] The military take over of Japan as seen through the eyes of a young woman.I was really impressed with this film. Kurosawa told an ambitious saga that went on through the years, and did a great job establishing the passing of time and the changing society. The cinematography was wonderful, and the musical score was even better. The difference that I can tell so far between this film compared to Kurosawa's other early films, is that with this one, he is more capable at drawing the viewer in.
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Post by bobbyreed on Aug 27, 2006 0:01:56 GMT
Begotten E. Elias Merhige, 1989, US 1st time; download (Synopsis stolen from IMDB!) God disembowels himself with a straight razor. The spirit-like Mother Earth emerges, venturing into a bleak, barren landscape. Twitching and cowering, the Son Of Earth is set upon by faceless cannibals. Not sure what to say about this. It's definitely unique. The look of it is fantastic; the film is in black-and-white with a very... washed-out feel. I'm not sure how to describe this look; it's like a very old silent film where the film flickers occasionally and you may be unsure at points as to what exactly you're watching. It's incredibly atmospheric, no dialogue, with the sound of chirping crickets accompanying most of the film. I can't begin to offer any kind of "interpretation" for what happens in the film, but the images are strong enough to carry the film completely. I imagine it would make a perfect late-night movie, perhaps in accompaniment with Eraserhead. All Lynch fans should definitely see this.
Day of the Fight Stanley Kubrick, 1951, US 1st time; download A short documentary about boxer Walter Cartier's preparation for an upcoming fight, ending with the fight itself. Of interest only because of what Kubrick would later direct. Skippable.
Pink Flamingos John Waters, 1972, US 1st time; DVD Raymond and Connie Marble attempt to win the title of Filthiest People Alive away from Divine. Hilarious film. It doesn't seem to have lost any of its shock-factor since its original release. The only part I couldn't watch was the "Singing Asshole" sequence. The soundtrack, which is made up of 50s rock-and-roll, is excellent as well.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Aug 27, 2006 0:09:46 GMT
BegottenE. Elias Merhige, 1989, US 1st time; download(Synopsis stolen from IMDB!) God disembowels himself with a straight razor. The spirit-like Mother Earth emerges, venturing into a bleak, barren landscape. Twitching and cowering, the Son Of Earth is set upon by faceless cannibals.Not sure what to say about this. It's definitely unique. The look of it is fantastic; the film is in black-and-white with a very... washed-out feel. I'm not sure how to describe this look; it's like a very old silent film where the film flickers occasionally and you may be unsure at points as to what exactly you're watching. It's incredibly atmospheric, no dialogue, with the sound of chirping crickets accompanying most of the film. I can't begin to offer any kind of "interpretation" for what happens in the film, but the images are strong enough to carry the film completely. I imagine it would make a perfect late-night movie, perhaps in accompaniment with Eraserhead. All Lynch fans should definitely see this. Great movie. I need to rewatch it.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Aug 27, 2006 0:12:35 GMT
Subarashiki nichiyobi ( One Wonderful Sunday) (1947/Akira Kurosawa) [First Viewing] A young couple try to spend a Sunday together on a limited budget.Kurosawa takes a rare venture into Capra territory, and it doesn't always seem to work. For the most part, the film's best moments are the side vignettes, but occasionally Kurosawa gets too carried away with melodrama and corniness. The climax is almost laughable. Still, there are plenty of inspired and enjoyable moments.
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Post by Michael on Aug 27, 2006 23:39:36 GMT
Le Temps du loupBeautifully shot, wonderfully complex and ambiguous portrayal of Hell on Earth. Phenomenal film that I believe will reward upon rewatches.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Aug 28, 2006 3:49:25 GMT
Nora inu ( Stray Dog) (1949/Akira Kurosawa) [Second Viewing] After his pistol is lifted, a rookie cop tries desperately to capture the criminal who obtained it.Stylish, suspenseful, tense, and not to mention extremely influential film noir. Kurosawa creates an unnerving atmosphere of post-war Tokyo during a heat wave, setting the standard for nearly every police procedural film to follow, and also providing a little social commentary. Toshiro Mifune is great in the role of the rookie cop, but Takashi Shimura is even better as the world weary seen-it-all detective, a role Morgan Freeman would eventually be type-cast as.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Aug 28, 2006 19:45:54 GMT
Spellbound Alfred Hitchcock 1945 US 1st time; DVD The new head of a psychiatry asylum turns out to be an amnesiac imposter. Amusing in the wrong ways now: the jargon is meant to impress, and it may have done at the time, but today it's an obvious attempt to sound serious and grown-up. What may have had potential as a clever, visual film is marred by the talky narrative, which acts as a kind of running commentary to Dalí's dream sequence, which forms the basis of Peck's character arc.Scratch Doug Pray 2001 US 2nd time; DVD More or less, the history of the DJ and his/her role in hip hop music. A comprehensive list of notable hip-hop DJs - Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike, Jazzy Jay, Z-Trip, Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark and Shadow, among many others - discuss their influences and approaches to their art, and what emerges is a celebration of turntablism as a kind of celebration in itself, a dedication to music in general.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Aug 29, 2006 1:52:18 GMT
Rashômon (1950/Akira Kurosawa) [Second Viewing] A rape and murder as seen through the eyes of four different people.Once again, Kurosawa directs another masterpiece that would become very influential in the future of cinema. Through the help of the wonderful cinematography and limited settings, Kurosawa builds a haunting atmosphere that questions the ethics of truth and perception. The testimony of the dead man is extremely eerie.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Aug 29, 2006 17:33:07 GMT
Zoo (1962/Haanstra)Today was my 1st day of my college introduction to film class, and this was the first film we viewed. A short documentary with no narration or dialogue, simply a jazz score. Black and white photography showcasing a zoo; its people, its animals, and their similarities. It really effectively draws up parallels between humans and animals, and perhaps even brings humans off of our high horse and reminds us that in the end, we're all fundamentally the same. Haanstra, utilizing some great rapid editing cuts, shows humans and animals acting very similar, making similar facial expressions, making similar body motions. He shows mothers holding their children, families eating with one another, couples sleeping next to one another, all for both humans and animals. And yet sometimes, we see differences. Haanstra non-verbally draws up an interesting point as we watch a group of people standing outside of a monkey's cage making faces and jumping around and shouting trying to get his attention, and yet he just sits and stares blankly back at them. It makes you think who's really the more civilized one. At one point we even see a little boy strap a gorilla mask to a little girl, presenting perhaps the most direct image in relation to the overall theme. The jazz score is the real highlight here though, with Haanstra accompanying certain crescendos and fluctuations in the music with images of wildly moving animals, which works with great effectiveness. I haven't seen that many short films, but this is one of the best ones I've seen.
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Post by bobbyreed on Aug 30, 2006 0:46:13 GMT
Man for a second there I thought you meant A Zed and Two Noughts. Where do you go to college, Mistamista?
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Boz
Published writer
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Post by Boz on Aug 30, 2006 1:43:06 GMT
University of Pittsburgh
What's a Zed and Two Noughts?
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