Return of the RECENT VIEWING

[The Modernist]

That's what I always think, why happened or did he actually want to be (going by his earlier film choices)? Might be worth a thread on it's own.

he went after the money pure amd simple.

Probably. In his defence there was very little film industry in Britain to stay for in the 70s. If he'd stayed he'd have combined theatre with tv work, like most of his contemporaries.

Looking at his imdb and wiki entries, it appears this is what he largely did. He then did more work in The States in the 80s.

[Jimbly]

he went after the money pure amd simple.

Probably. In his defence there was very little film industry in Britain to stay for in the 70s. If he'd stayed he'd have combined theatre with tv work, like most of his contemporaries.

Looking at his imdb and wiki entries, it appears this is what he largely did. He then did more work in The States in the 80s.

there's not much qualty control there. which is a shame as he's a terrific screen actor

[Matt Wilson]

Death Rides a Horse

I'd love to start a thread on Spaghetti Westerns, but who would care? Anyway, many of the best ones feature people who worked on the Leone films, such as Lee Van Cleef in this one. Folks, for those who care, this is among the creme de la creme of Euro westerns.

[pcqgod]

Definitely one of the better sci-fi flicks of its time. Story by Ray Bradbury. The "alien vision" effect is effectively creepy.

[Matt Wilson]

The Fortune Cookie

Lesser Wilder, but still entertaining and the first pairing of Lemmon and Matthau, who is dynamite (he won the oscar for this performance).

[Jimbly]

Going to see two movies this weekend. Tonight its Justice League and on Sunday its Lawrence of Arabia 70mm.

wonder which will be best?

[Matt Wilson]

House of Bamboo
Another macho, Samuel Fuller flick from the mid '50s, with perhaps the most dazzling use of Cinemascope I can think of. The always interesting Robert Ryan and the usually wooden Robert Stack head a story of underground crime in Japan. None of that matters though because you can't take your eyes off of the visuals.

The Crimson Kimono
Its heart is in the right place, and with a few plot changes it could have been something special. The actors are fine (but need better direction), yet the film lacks something I can't quite place - something intangible. Lesser Fuller, to be sure. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't entertained.

[Tactful Cactus]

This was great. Definitely not your average Jazz bio. Quite a surprising story if you don't know it.

[Neige]

I like John Sayles, but that was a bit disappointing.

[Snarfyguy]

An odd one: circular, elliptical structure, minimal dialogue, annoying framing device (not a narrative one, but a literal one; it has rounded corners, as though you're watching a movie on one of those old GAF View Master toys).

It's not giving much away to inform you that the guy dies in the first 10 minutes of the movie, after which he appears to fail to take the proper course to the afterlife or whatever and instead hangs around his house being sad in a bed sheet (which is initially extremely distracting and ridiculous, but you gradually become accustomed to it). He seems to become unstuck in time, yet rooted to the same physical location. There are some really, really long, static shots, which I guess serve to underscore how the ghost has an eternity of time to fill and nothing to do except be sad about how he's not with his wife anymore and it's actually quite poignant in that regard.

So it's kind of a meditation on death and loss from a supernatural, but rarely-to-never traditionally "scary" perspective; a romantic, metaphysical exploration of separation with some gorgeous cinematography, but which requires no small amount of patience. It's nothing if not unique - I really can't think of anything to compare it to.

[Darkness_Fish]

Duel meets La Haine, with a sprinkling of Drive and a Kill Bill jus. Unfortunately, it's very lightweight and a bit silly, though the middle bit of two tossers being terrorised by a taxi as they wander through an empty late-night Paris is quite good fun.

[Goat Boy]

Videodrome

Watching this I was reminded of that urban legend I’d hear as a kid about snuff films and how if you went into your local store and asked for the “under the counter” stuff you might be able to get hold of some of this shit. Just the possibility that these films existed bothered me I recall. I was also reminded of the video nasties scare and the moral panic surrounding it and thought how videotapes were once seen as something dangerous, subversive and possibly hugely damaging to society. Videodrome is clearly a product of that era but one that that still manages to maintain relevance and its ability to shock and provoke because it’s a horror film with ideas and an intellect behind it that touches on various ideas: tv as reality, mass media control, censorship (the puritanical Barry Convex and the Spectacular Optical Corporation are the villains of course) and because Cronenbergs patented body horror and imagination is singular and disturbing still. It’s hard to describe the atmosphere of the movie but it has an ickiness that sticks to you and some genuinely memorable images including, of course, the vagina in the stomach that burn themselves onto your retina. When he was on this kind of form Cronenberg was one of the most radical and intelligent horror directors ever.

A great film

[The Modernist]

I saw that at the cinema. I thought it was shit.

[naughty boy]

[Goat Boy]

Twat!

[The Modernist]

Me or Coan?

[Matt Wilson]

Sayonara

Basically a Japanese travelogue with Brando's 'suthin' accent. Apparently, US military men weren't allowed to bring home Japanese brides in 1951 when this is supposed to take place (the film came out in '57), and the picture serves as a diatribe against that racist policy in occupied Japan after the war. Only that Japanese war bride law ended in '47, not '51, so the timeline doesn't make sense. Great looking transfer though, too bad the dialogue coming out of their mouths is off by a nano second.

[pcqgod]

Superb. Realism gives way to horror almost imperceptibly in this Iranian production set in Tehran in the 1980s Iran/Iraq war. I won't bother getting into the plot, but it gets points for keeping the audience off-guard, fantastic sound design & visual sensibility and the great sets. Most of it takes place in an apartment and it's reminiscent of Repulsion in the way the interiors reflect the state of mind of its inhabitants. Really effective, even/especially without the usual SFX CGI bunk.

I loved that one.

Even without the supernatural element I thought it was a very good and rather tense war-torn family drama.

Watched this over the weekend. Agree with all of the above.

[Snarfyguy]

Six year-old Clementine loved it and in truth it's pretty irresistible.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an aggregate "score" of 96%, if that's any indication.

[driftin]

Six year-old Clementine loved it and in truth it's pretty irresistible.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an aggregate "score" of 96%, if that's any indication.

Score is a bit of a stretch. It' simply means 96% of critics that are on that site gave it more than 75% or 7/10. If everyone gives a film 7/10, the film gets 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's why I don't particularly like Rotten Tomatoes as an aggregate score site. Metacritic has its own problems too (all 5/5s, 10/10s are 100%) but it actually gives an average score at least.

That being said I am somewhat interested in Coco. I like the whole Day of the Dead lore but I think it won't be quite as interesting as The Book of Life which was wonderful and a very high bar.