ViewtifulJC
Banned
put Ran at #5 and you'd be good, fam
edit: out of context top of the page hours, smack that mothafuckin like button
edit: out of context top of the page hours, smack that mothafuckin like button
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Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| September 2016
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
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Fancy Clown
Member
I wanna see Ran so bad but I feel like I should see it proper on a nice bluray. Fuckin new 4k scan gotta be region b locked.
I'll probs just cave and watch the one that's up for streaming on Hulu.
I'll probs just cave and watch the one that's up for streaming on Hulu.
1. Seven Samurai
2. Ikiru
3. The Men Who Tread on the Tigers Tail
4. Rashomon
5. Scandal
6. Stray Dog
7. The Idiot
8. One Wonderful Sunday
9. Sanshiro Sugata parts 1 and 2 combined
10. No Regrets For Our Youth
I've watched the first 13 of 14 he made. One isn't on Hulu. So my list is missing a lot of the cool later stuff. Which I need to pick him back up after October.
2. Ikiru
3. The Men Who Tread on the Tigers Tail
4. Rashomon
5. Scandal
6. Stray Dog
7. The Idiot
8. One Wonderful Sunday
9. Sanshiro Sugata parts 1 and 2 combined
10. No Regrets For Our Youth
I've watched the first 13 of 14 he made. One isn't on Hulu. So my list is missing a lot of the cool later stuff. Which I need to pick him back up after October.
Check out The Bad Sleep Well. Top-tier Kurosawa imo and his second-best noir after High and Low.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
Seven Samurai is great, but his films set in then-contemporary Japan were deeper and richer. I actually think both of the Kobayashi samurai films I've seen were the superior samurai period pieces, in that the acting was more naturalistic and the writing and ideas more cogent and subversive.
I've seen 22. Stopped right before Red Beard. Need to get back to it :\
1. High and Low
2. Seven Samurai
3. Throne of Blood
4. Ikiru
5. Rashomon
6. The Hidden Fortress
7. Yojimbo
8. Sanjuro
9. The Idiot
10. The Bad Sleep Well
11. One Wonderful Sunday
12. Scandal
13. Drunken Angel
14. The Lower Depths
15. Stray Dog
16. I Live in Fear
17. The Quiet Duel
18. No Regrets of Our Youth
19. The Men Who Tread on Tiger's Tail
20. Sanshiro Sugata
21. Sanshiro Sugata Part 2
22. The Most Beautiful
1. High and Low
2. Seven Samurai
3. Throne of Blood
4. Ikiru
5. Rashomon
6. The Hidden Fortress
7. Yojimbo
8. Sanjuro
9. The Idiot
10. The Bad Sleep Well
11. One Wonderful Sunday
12. Scandal
13. Drunken Angel
14. The Lower Depths
15. Stray Dog
16. I Live in Fear
17. The Quiet Duel
18. No Regrets of Our Youth
19. The Men Who Tread on Tiger's Tail
20. Sanshiro Sugata
21. Sanshiro Sugata Part 2
22. The Most Beautiful
ViewtifulJC
Banned
wow he made a movie worse than Sanshiro Sugata Part 2? hard to believe
Some people might honestly disagree with me on that, but man I just found The Most Beautiful to be drawn out and pandering. It's essentially a war propaganda film.
It was all that but your seeing a Japanese factory filmed in WW2. Just from a history point of view I thought that was awesome. The movie was definitely propaganda but growing up with the US equivalents I thought it was cool as hell to see that it wasn't just a US thing.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Personally, I don't view "propaganda" as inherently negative, just descriptive. There are damn good films you could put in the WW2 propaganda bucket if you wanted, like Sergeant York and the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
Huh, that's interesting, since Kurosawa wanted Japan to lose the war. :lol
Count Dookkake
Member
BAD BLACK: Ugandan action insanity in the form of crime epic detailing the rise of a vicious woman gangster. Hilarious, energetic, and heartfelt.
After the screening, I acted in a scene for one of their upcoming movies.
This is probably my big break, so you can say you knew me when I was a nobody.
After the screening, I acted in a scene for one of their upcoming movies.
Armed with a machine gun, I run down the aisle of a movie theater and kill until I am killed.
Fancy Clown
Member
Just got back from Blair Witch. Adam Wingard fucked up. I should have heeded the negative reviews but I wanted to see it both because of him, and because I quite like the original. Pretty much all of the negative points you've probably heard are spot on--it's overly reliant on loud noises and tensionless jump scares, it builds up no dread or mystery, there are over the top characters and a plethora of artifices that tear it away from the creepy authenticity the original had, there's little ambiguity, and he turns it into a fucking monster movie of all things, and it ends up ripping of [REC]. I'm still a sucker for some of the atmosphere this one carries over from the original just because it's impossible not to make grainy video footage of woods add a little something to a horror picture, but that's hardly a selling point here. I should have seen Don't Breathe instead I think.
Yeah that's another top priority along with Ran
High and Low I think is certainly as good as Seven Samurai, and I would agree that it's both deeper and richer, but maaan every time I watch Seven Samurai, or even a clip from it it just works for me. It's an incredibly intimate and human epic, and I find it to be deeply affecting and incredibly well structured. It sort of covers the gamut of what Kurosawa films are good at in a 4 hour masterpiece that never drags.
Harakiri is right up there with it, but I don't think Samurai Rebellion is quite as good.
Yeah that's another top priority along with Ran
High and Low I think is certainly as good as Seven Samurai, and I would agree that it's both deeper and richer, but maaan every time I watch Seven Samurai, or even a clip from it it just works for me. It's an incredibly intimate and human epic, and I find it to be deeply affecting and incredibly well structured. It sort of covers the gamut of what Kurosawa films are good at in a 4 hour masterpiece that never drags.
Harakiri is right up there with it, but I don't think Samurai Rebellion is quite as good.
Messofanego
Banned
Our parents are involved in a business matter and they're taking it out on us.
Little Men (trailer)
Emotionally devastating film about the excitement and breakdown of friendship due to outside forces, set in Brooklyn. Hit a bit close to home as someone who's lived around, made friends, and lost them from no fault of ourselves due to drama or distance. The two main boys might seem to have the generic complimentary archetype of an introvert (Jake played by Theo Taplitz) and extrovert (Tony played by Michael Barbieri) but Tony isn't some macho stereotype. He's into acting and compliments Jake on his drawings, while also standing up for him in school when he's abused with homophobic remarks. One scene reminded me how excited I also would be when a sleepover with my best friend was approved by our parents. They both want to get into the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. However, Tony and his family are being evicted from the house (which is Jake's dad's childhood home) that doubles as a failing clothing shop downstairs because Jake's family need the money. Tearing up by the end, especially when
. It's another tale of money ruining bonds.
The theme music is heart-rending and bittersweet, fitting with the tone of the film which doesn't conlclude how you'd expect.
was soul-crushing.
Little Men (trailer)
Emotionally devastating film about the excitement and breakdown of friendship due to outside forces, set in Brooklyn. Hit a bit close to home as someone who's lived around, made friends, and lost them from no fault of ourselves due to drama or distance. The two main boys might seem to have the generic complimentary archetype of an introvert (Jake played by Theo Taplitz) and extrovert (Tony played by Michael Barbieri) but Tony isn't some macho stereotype. He's into acting and compliments Jake on his drawings, while also standing up for him in school when he's abused with homophobic remarks. One scene reminded me how excited I also would be when a sleepover with my best friend was approved by our parents. They both want to get into the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. However, Tony and his family are being evicted from the house (which is Jake's dad's childhood home) that doubles as a failing clothing shop downstairs because Jake's family need the money. Tearing up by the end, especially when
Jake breaks his vow of silence when he finds out Tony's being evicted
The theme music is heart-rending and bittersweet, fitting with the tone of the film which doesn't conlclude how you'd expect.
Seeing Jake get into the school while Tony is still with the catholic school
CTRL+F "Ishtar". Good, good.
A Face in the Crowd (1957): Andy Griffith is a long way from Mayberry (or Matlock) here as a drifter turned charismatic entertainer turned demagogue (or perhaps, advisor to a politician about how to be a demagogue; it's interesting how older films like this or The Manchurian Candidate avoided having the actual candidate be the main problem). Griffith gives a superb performance, totally dominating the picture, despite a very strong turn by Patricia Neal as the woman who discovers him, and is the first person he screws over. It's not a subtle film, by any means, but it's effective (though in retrospect, rather naive in terms of what it would take to break a demagogue's hold on the public, as we've learned this year). There's some really gorgeous black-and-white photography in this, particularly some of the shots of Neal toward the end.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016): This was...surprisingly enjoyable, particularly for late-period Burton. The effects are generally well-integrated and non-intrusive, and while his style is undeniably present, it doesn't feel like it's smothering the material. The cast's all good, and the main characters are fleshed out reasonably effectively for this sort of story. The film loses a bit of steam in the final third, as a consequence of, first,
But overall, I still liked it.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016): This was...surprisingly enjoyable, particularly for late-period Burton. The effects are generally well-integrated and non-intrusive, and while his style is undeniably present, it doesn't feel like it's smothering the material. The cast's all good, and the main characters are fleshed out reasonably effectively for this sort of story. The film loses a bit of steam in the final third, as a consequence of, first,
Burton's mediocre handling of the action sequences, which, while imaginative in many respects, aren't well-paced; and second, because the nature and effect of the collapsing time loops is utterly incomprehensible (as far as I can figure out, the end of a loop effectively rewrites the whole main timeline, but none of the characters really suggest this, and when Jake returns home his grandfather's life appears to have been basically the same), which makes the stakes rather confusing.
Snowden completely undermines itself in its final minutes. First, it reveals Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance was actually average at best rather than good to great like the audience might think up to that point. Secondly, it relegates the biggest subplot of the movie's conclusion to a post-script slide. It's actively insulting. The rest of the movie isn't that bad, but it's also not good. At times, it's riveting, particularly in the first act, but after a while, it just gets mind-numbing and dull. It just feels like a bloated waste of time. The best aspect of the movie is surprisingly Nicolas Cage, who subtly elevates a very small role that show the great character actor he could be if he wasn't forced to take every role. Snowden has moments of fun, but ultimately is just an average biopic that tries to do too much, and thus, does too little.
Also, Quinto's supporting role also sadly revealed for this viewer he has fallen in the same trap as the late Leonard Nimoy: all I saw was Spock, and I'll admit that's entirely my fault. However, the writing in this for him was really generic, so I hope he gets a major role soon that completely takes him out that zone for me. I know he can do it.
Free Birds is a glorious mess. It could be argued it's one of the worst mainstream animated releases of all time. However, it's so delightfully weird and a failure that it's a joy to watch. Featuring the most Owen Wilson screams ever in a film, the esoteric jokes of an extremely mediocre CGI animated film will be remembered for years to come after watching it. The only thing that prevents it from being a real masterpiece of schlocky cinema is the second half of the second act, which just kinda is mediocre and dull. Free Birds is an awful film, no question about it, but it's a special brand of awful that makes it one of the most memorable animated films of the 2010s so far.
Teddy Bears are for Lovers has great visual effects, a funny premise, and is overall well-executed. Very good short.
My professor paused Ace in the Hole a bit too much to actually assess it, but I could still tell it's a very good film. A meditation on desperate people and the depravity they can accomplish, Ace in the Hole works thanks to a strong lead performance and a very tight script (besides the last two minutes - yikes). It also brilliantly highlights everybody's attraction to the macabre in a way rarely displayed in cinema. Very strong work. Btw, Kirk Douglas looks a lot like Michael Douglas. I know it should be obvious, but I'd never seen a Kirk Douglas film before so yeah.
The Master: A Lego Ninjago Short shows that any worry about The LEGO Movie being a fluke is a mistake. Wonderfully witty and a whole lot of fun.
Storks is really quite something. The perfect agglomeration of Saturday morning cartoons, Looney Tunes, and the average CGI film, it's funnier than most others in its medium. The influence of Lord/Miller as producers is quite obvious in its love of anarchy and "anything goes" attitude for the jokes. Almost every joke hits too, and thus, it's constantly hilarious and not afraid to go for the bizarre.
The voice cast is stellar, led by Andy Samberg and Katie Crown, both voice vets in film and television respectively. It's really quite lovely to see Crown, always a welcome presence in current cartoons, to get a showcase role on such a big film. Sweetland and Stoller prove to be a great mix, the former clearly influencing the animation style (his former short, Presto, comes to mind a lot when looking at the physical comedy in it). Stoller's trademark mix of wackiness with some poignancy is here too, leading to a really great climax.
Warner Animation Group burst on the scene last year with The LEGO Movie. Storks proves that they're worth more than just LEGO. Through slapstick comedy and cartoony animation, WAG seems to be content with filling a gap that no other studio wants to touch: the pure comedy animation. Some might insult the "generic" aspects, but that would be ignoring the subversive elements. Others might not be a fan of the hyperactivity of the animation. One of the unsung joys of CGI is that it can give us just as much squashing, stretching, and other wacky visuals as traditional animation used too. And for those who want more emotional depth to their animated films? Well, there is more than enough room for multiple styles of animation to succeed, and Storks - well, to steal from its own tagline - delivers.
Also, Quinto's supporting role also sadly revealed for this viewer he has fallen in the same trap as the late Leonard Nimoy: all I saw was Spock, and I'll admit that's entirely my fault. However, the writing in this for him was really generic, so I hope he gets a major role soon that completely takes him out that zone for me. I know he can do it.
Free Birds is a glorious mess. It could be argued it's one of the worst mainstream animated releases of all time. However, it's so delightfully weird and a failure that it's a joy to watch. Featuring the most Owen Wilson screams ever in a film, the esoteric jokes of an extremely mediocre CGI animated film will be remembered for years to come after watching it. The only thing that prevents it from being a real masterpiece of schlocky cinema is the second half of the second act, which just kinda is mediocre and dull. Free Birds is an awful film, no question about it, but it's a special brand of awful that makes it one of the most memorable animated films of the 2010s so far.
Teddy Bears are for Lovers has great visual effects, a funny premise, and is overall well-executed. Very good short.
My professor paused Ace in the Hole a bit too much to actually assess it, but I could still tell it's a very good film. A meditation on desperate people and the depravity they can accomplish, Ace in the Hole works thanks to a strong lead performance and a very tight script (besides the last two minutes - yikes). It also brilliantly highlights everybody's attraction to the macabre in a way rarely displayed in cinema. Very strong work. Btw, Kirk Douglas looks a lot like Michael Douglas. I know it should be obvious, but I'd never seen a Kirk Douglas film before so yeah.
The Master: A Lego Ninjago Short shows that any worry about The LEGO Movie being a fluke is a mistake. Wonderfully witty and a whole lot of fun.
Storks is really quite something. The perfect agglomeration of Saturday morning cartoons, Looney Tunes, and the average CGI film, it's funnier than most others in its medium. The influence of Lord/Miller as producers is quite obvious in its love of anarchy and "anything goes" attitude for the jokes. Almost every joke hits too, and thus, it's constantly hilarious and not afraid to go for the bizarre.
The voice cast is stellar, led by Andy Samberg and Katie Crown, both voice vets in film and television respectively. It's really quite lovely to see Crown, always a welcome presence in current cartoons, to get a showcase role on such a big film. Sweetland and Stoller prove to be a great mix, the former clearly influencing the animation style (his former short, Presto, comes to mind a lot when looking at the physical comedy in it). Stoller's trademark mix of wackiness with some poignancy is here too, leading to a really great climax.
Warner Animation Group burst on the scene last year with The LEGO Movie. Storks proves that they're worth more than just LEGO. Through slapstick comedy and cartoony animation, WAG seems to be content with filling a gap that no other studio wants to touch: the pure comedy animation. Some might insult the "generic" aspects, but that would be ignoring the subversive elements. Others might not be a fan of the hyperactivity of the animation. One of the unsung joys of CGI is that it can give us just as much squashing, stretching, and other wacky visuals as traditional animation used too. And for those who want more emotional depth to their animated films? Well, there is more than enough room for multiple styles of animation to succeed, and Storks - well, to steal from its own tagline - delivers.
Thelma and Louise, fucking dying here.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
"and don't anyone dare try to tell me otherwise." in the notes at the end killed me
Baron von Loathsome
Member
Been almost a week since I've posted in here.
The Night of the Hunter (1955): Good god, Robert Mitchum just nails that mixture of charisma and malice. That is a goddamn performance. That journey down the river is also gorgeous as hell, and when you hear Mitchum's voice in the distance, oooh, fucking chills.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): I had to watch one of several romantic comedies for a genre class this weekend, and I have no idea why I was talked in watching this one over any of several classics, one of which I'm watching tomorrow night. As for this one, I just didn't find much to enjoy. The characters aren't really that interesting, and the one interesting thing about the male lead, his trigger, abruptly disappears after the female lead tells him to stop worrying about it. I know it's a Hollywood cliche, but that's not how triggers fucking work. Anyway, it wasn't really funny, plot was predictable, nothing else to write home about.
Post Tenebras Lux (2012): At risk of overusing this GIF:
It was pretty to look at, especially the opening sunset scene, but I found it hard to follow
, and when I was able to follow it, it was either uninteresting (at least to me, having not grown attached to these characters) or uncomfortable (although that's clearly intentional). It's not something I'd care to watch again.
The Truman Show (1998): The first time I've seen this movie since, what, elementary school, and yeah, it very much holds up. In hindsight, I'm not surprised that this script came from the writer and director of Gattaca, it does have some of those vibes. Anyway, I don't have much to say, it just comes together so well.
The Night of the Hunter (1955): Good god, Robert Mitchum just nails that mixture of charisma and malice. That is a goddamn performance. That journey down the river is also gorgeous as hell, and when you hear Mitchum's voice in the distance, oooh, fucking chills.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): I had to watch one of several romantic comedies for a genre class this weekend, and I have no idea why I was talked in watching this one over any of several classics, one of which I'm watching tomorrow night. As for this one, I just didn't find much to enjoy. The characters aren't really that interesting, and the one interesting thing about the male lead, his trigger, abruptly disappears after the female lead tells him to stop worrying about it. I know it's a Hollywood cliche, but that's not how triggers fucking work. Anyway, it wasn't really funny, plot was predictable, nothing else to write home about.
Post Tenebras Lux (2012): At risk of overusing this GIF:
It was pretty to look at, especially the opening sunset scene, but I found it hard to follow
I didn't even realize the father was dead until his kids said so
The Truman Show (1998): The first time I've seen this movie since, what, elementary school, and yeah, it very much holds up. In hindsight, I'm not surprised that this script came from the writer and director of Gattaca, it does have some of those vibes. Anyway, I don't have much to say, it just comes together so well.
User 479360
Banned
I've only seen Seven Samurai -- which I blind-bought on Criterion DVD when it became available -- but I loved it.
A friend wanted to watch it with me, but he didn't get off work until midnight. I had class at 8am. We watched it, starting around 12:30-1, he fell asleep and I finished it all, then went home and went to class.
A friend wanted to watch it with me, but he didn't get off work until midnight. I had class at 8am. We watched it, starting around 12:30-1, he fell asleep and I finished it all, then went home and went to class.
Blood and Black Lace. Not bad but after watching Rabid Dogs I don't remember much of it.
Rabid Dogs. Holy shit! What a movie. This is probably one of if not the best Bava I've watched. What a great cast and what an ending. Black Sabbath and Black Sunday were great but this was a whole other level.
Rabid Dogs. Holy shit! What a movie. This is probably one of if not the best Bava I've watched. What a great cast and what an ending. Black Sabbath and Black Sunday were great but this was a whole other level.
Conan the Barbarian with commentary John Millus and Arnold.
I have been meaning to watch this for ages.
It made the film fly by, they were just joking around and probably drunk at the start. I recommend it. I need to watch more commentaries, think I am going to see if my Total Recall blu ray edition has one because apparently its hilarious.
I have been meaning to watch this for ages.
It made the film fly by, they were just joking around and probably drunk at the start. I recommend it. I need to watch more commentaries, think I am going to see if my Total Recall blu ray edition has one because apparently its hilarious.
it's not that funny tbh, sure they joke a bit but they mostly narrate what's going on on screen without putting in much enthusiasm, at least it's what I thought
ps I have the Mind-Bending Edition
Conan? Yeah I don't know it was just cool listening even though Arnie was just spoiling the next scene coming. Made the movie pass by very quickly too. My Total Recall doesn't have a commentary so that sucks.
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