Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 20, 2007 1:31:03 GMT
Tsigoineruwaizen Zigeunerweisen(1980/Seijun Suzuki)  [First Viewing] A professor reunites with a mentally unbalanced colleague, and their friendship grows stranger over the years.Very different from Suzuki's earlier films, in that it is very slow paced and episodic, but never does it fall into convention. On the contrary, it might be Suzuki's most experimental film. He perfectly captures a rich and extremely nightmarish and haunting atmosphere, where blind perverted singers roam the land, and ghosts inhabit our dreams. In some sequences, Suzuki manages to not only channel, but even out do Bunuel in surrealism. I know I keep repeating myself when it comes to Suzuki's work, but this is one of the strangest films I've ever seen, and one of the very best.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 20, 2007 2:05:04 GMT
I've been reading all of your Proviews on Suzuki, Omar, and I must say, it sounds very much like I would like them.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 20, 2007 5:45:44 GMT
I've been reading all of your Proviews on Suzuki, Omar, and I must say, it sounds very much like I would like them. I think you would. I really think you would. I can't recommend him enough. |
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Post by Vercetti on Jan 22, 2007 2:44:08 GMT
Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut) - (Ridley Scott;2005;UK/Spain/USA/Germany) During Christian occupation of Jerusalem, a Knight returns to France to bring his son with him to the Holy land.Seeing the director's cut is a completely different experience then the theatrical cut. Character motivations have the missing puzzles put it and some things are now noticed as a result of showing all the missing pieces that were cut "for time." At the same time it returns to the power of old Hollywood epics while retaining modern gritty realism. Superior to Gladiator and one of the best epics of the last half century and possibly further. While Orlando Bloom isn't the best choice as the protagonist, he works. It could've been better with someone else but it doesn't tear the movie apart. The story, acting, cast, direction, music, everything is top notch. Crank - (Mark Neveldine/Brian Taylor;2006;UK/USA) A hitman is drugged by his rival with an anti-adrenaline poison and must keep it up to live longer.While some aspects of the style I liked, at times it quickly turns annoying at many times in that Man of Fire type of way. It does entertain though, mostly due to Jason Staham's presence. The main problem is the action is like Sin City only without the comic book atmosphere.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 22, 2007 20:00:43 GMT
Kageroza Heat-Haze Theater(1981/Seijun Suzuki)  [First Viewing] A playwright falls in love with a mysterious and potentially dangerous woman in 1926 Japan.Surrealism abounds in Suzuki's erotic fantasy. Much like his previous film "Tsigoineruwaizen" in it's pacing, style, and visual scope, this film however begins to linger too long in it's third act, pushing against the line of tedium. Still, it's an interesting ride nevertheless. Letters from Iwo Jima(2006/Clint Eastwood) [First Viewing] The Japanese perspective of the infamous World War Two battle.Leave it to Eastwood to make a film with many individual moments of greatness, surrounded by a bleak canvas of uninspired direction and grey cinematography. Ken Watanabe is excellent as the weary General brought in on an underdeveloped operation that he knows will be his last. Tsuyoshi Ihara is also very good as an ex-Olympic star who meets his doom on the desolate battlefield.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jan 22, 2007 22:04:59 GMT
Brazil  Terry Gilliam 1985[/color] 1st time; 2 sittings[/size][/color] >>>>
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 23, 2007 5:19:13 GMT
I Heart Huckabees(2004/David O. Russell) [Second Viewing] A poet/activist seeks the help of two existential detectives to solve a recurring coincidence in his life.A rare film; a quirky philosophical screwball comedy. When I first saw this film upon it's initial theatrical release, I had no idea what to make of it, but at this time in my life, I really connected with it. The cast is excellent, and Russell's freedom and energy behind the camera add to the fun and games of the script and the performances. The scene where Schwartzman and Whalberg eat dinner with a suburban family is priceless.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jan 23, 2007 7:52:28 GMT
Wow, I was definitely under the impression for at least a couple years now that that was a Wes Anderson movie.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 23, 2007 8:18:31 GMT
I can't even remember anything from I Heart Huckabees other than opening "fuck" rant.
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Post by Vercetti on Jan 24, 2007 2:59:16 GMT
Buffalo '66 - (Vincent Gallo;1998;USA) After a 5-year prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit, a man kidnaps a girl to pose as his wife to impress his parents.One of the best films to come out in recent times. Gallo brilliantly shows a grotesque autobiographical character, only making him fascinating him with the layers of his troubled upbringing. Gallo's talent shines from his acting, direction, and musical compositions. It also manages to feel completely real. There's a scene where he runs to a bathroom to straighten his hair only to break down in tears with self-pity. While similar scenes have been used to rape emotion in other films, this scene is an example of one that rings true and some might even relate too. The focus of the film is mainly on Billy Brown's frustrated self-pity, which he covers with despicable manners that define him early on. One of my all-time favorites.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 24, 2007 16:26:04 GMT
You should see The Brown Bunny, Vercetti. It's fantastic.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jan 26, 2007 1:38:15 GMT
Reservoir Dogs  Quentin Tarantino 1992 US Nth time, 1 sitting >>>>
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jan 26, 2007 20:47:51 GMT
L'Argent MoneyRobert Bresson 1983 France 1st time, 2 sttings >>>>Pickpocket  Robert Bresson 1959 France 1st time, 1 stting >>>>
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Jan 27, 2007 6:40:52 GMT
Epic Movie(2007/Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer) ZERO[First Viewing] A spoof of recent films and events in the past couple of years.If I had a gun to my head, I might say that Darrell Hammond was slightly amusing spoofing Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow.....or I could take the bullet. Magnolia(1999/Paul Thomas Anderson) [Nth Viewing] Several people living in Los Angeles are connected by a game show, and their shared sadness.An epic opus of misery, played out like a grand opera, cutting back and forth between various characters and their baggage, and revealing how it is all connected and how they are all the same in their depression and in their biblical forgiveness. Anderson's direction starts quickly, and remains at breakneck speed throughout, making this the fastest three hour plus movie that I think I've seen. And every performance in the film is beyond words. John C. Reilly's faith driven but equally desperate police officer, to Melora Walters' sexually abused drug addict, both possessing love, but both too afraid and too unsure of themselves to do anything about it, much like everyone in the film. A long time ago I watched a special feature on the DVD with Anderson explaining that the film was just one story, and now I think I know what he means. I'm glad I re-watched this at this time in my life.
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Post by The Ghost of LLC on Jan 27, 2007 15:48:57 GMT
Brazil Terry Gilliam 1985 [/color] 1st time; 2 sittings[/size][/color] >>>>[/quote] Why only two stars, if you don't mind me asking? |
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jan 27, 2007 21:13:56 GMT
I don't mind at all son. It's not everyday you get to discuss movies with the elusive P-Giorgio.
I mean, hopefully if you clicked on the link, you got at least some idea of why I ranked it as 2 stars. All of Gilliam's work I've seen thus far I've enjoyed, but there always seems to be something underlying that just bothers me. Gilliam clearly knows what he's doing behind the camera, but his somewhat odd sense of humor always kinda sends the films in different directions than I expected.
Brazil specifically, like I said in the review, was hurt by the fact that the once the love interest story was fleshed out at about the half-way point of the film, I felt it was really weak and uninteresting. I know that this sense of something so tangible and human, namely love, is what kind of is supposed to anchor Sam in reality amongst all of the machines of his industrial wasteland, but I think that Gilliam had the right idea when he didn't allow the studio to recut and rename his film as Love Conquers All, because it's the weird science fiction stuff that works best here.
Also I felt the plot got a little meandering at the end, which is all made up for when we realize it was a hallucination in the mind of a tortured Harry, but it still hurt the film.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jan 27, 2007 21:57:35 GMT
Smokin' Aces Joe Carnahan 2007 US[/color] 1st time, 1 sitting[/size] >>>>
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Post by The Ghost of LLC on Jan 27, 2007 22:44:41 GMT
I mean, hopefully if you clicked on the link, you got at least some idea of why I ranked it as 2 stars. Ah, sorry, I didn't notice the linkage. I'm going to read the whole thing now. |
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