Return of the RECENT VIEWING

[driftin]

Well worth two hours of your time.

It was phenomenal. It filled me with joy as much as it shocked and devastated me.

[Matt Wilson]

True Stories

David Byrne's musical comedy about a small town in Texas gets a spit and polish from Criterion. New 4K transfer, an extra CD with the complete soundtrack (the actors singing the songs, in other words), and plenty of extras. Byrne isn't really satirizing these people, which you think he would be doing before you watch the film. It's more like he's fascinated by their quirkiness which he probably finds exotic. I hadn't seen it since it came out, and it holds up surprisingly well.

[BARON CORNY DOG]

Yeah, I haven't seen that in 30 years. I'd like to return to it.

[driftin]

I did not like this. There's probably a good dark tale under all of this but I can not stand the faces of these animals. It would've been far better as a traditional animation.

[Darkness_Fish]

I haven't seen this in ages. It's a strange little film, obviously never going to live up to the original, but not as bad as you'd expect for a belated cash-in. Meg Tilly and Anthony Perkins are both excellent in their roles, and help to carry the film beyond its slightly silly and very unlikely plot. They're very convincing together, despite the apparent off-screen difficulties. It just seems that in the end, it doesn't have an awful lot to say for itself, it's a bit slight for a return to such a cinematic landmark.

[Matt Wilson]

The Magnificent Ambersons

Criterion has been knocking it out of the park with their Welles releases. This is the best-looking transfer I've seen of this title. But then the same could be said for the other ones: F is for Fake, Chimes at Midnight, Othello, The Third Man, and The Immortal Story. It's been widely documented how the studio cut most of the second half out of this film, knocking it down from over two hours to less than an hour and a half, with the footage apparently lost forever. One can only imagine how good this movie would have been in Orson's original cut. As it stands, I still love it more than Kane.

[sloopjohnc]

Last night. I enjoyed it. Like most Spike Lee movies, it's both inspired and flawed.

[Geezee]

I haven't seen this in ages. It's a strange little film, obviously never going to live up to the original, but not as bad as you'd expect for a belated cash-in. Meg Tilly and Anthony Perkins are both excellent in their roles, and help to carry the film beyond its slightly silly and very unlikely plot. They're very convincing together, despite the apparent off-screen difficulties. It just seems that in the end, it doesn't have an awful lot to say for itself, it's a bit slight for a return to such a cinematic landmark.

I saw this movie before I ever saw Psycho, and I always have affection for it - in fact it is one of the first horror movies I ever saw. I'm glad you found it worthwhile - although I agree that the plot does go a bit crazy after a while. Didn't realise Tilly and Perkins had off-screen difficulties (although I guess going by reputation I'm not surprised to hear it) - as you say, they work very well together.

For me it does have a lot to say about the Bates character, whether or not he is redemptive, and it does so very successfully, irrespective of the slightly whirlwind nature of the plot. The movie also works as a great companion piece to Franklin's previous movie Roadgames.

[driftin]

Really nice visuals and I liked the allusions to the occult but the storytelling is muddled as anything and in the end it just becomes a bunch of particle effects flashing on the screen.




Now this is more like it. Not only does it absolutely embrace its silliness, it’s told well by a proper filmmaker who understands visual storytelling. I also like the fact there’s lots of off-beat New Zealand humour and 80s aesthetics. This is one of the best superhero films I’ve seen in recent years and I say that as someone who is quite agnostic towards them. I’ve not really liked any of the other Marvel movies before, in fact I’ve flat out disliked most of them, but this one will be enough to urge me to actually watch… I dunno, a couple of others.



Extremely Long & Incredibly Depressing. After 4 hours of downbeat nihilism and despair in the middle of the night It’s hard to say much. This one will take a while to process but it’s good.

[Darkness_Fish]

Now this is more like it. Not only does it absolutely embrace its silliness, it’s told well by a proper filmmaker who understands visual storytelling. I also like the fact there’s lots of off-beat New Zealand humour and 80s aesthetics. This is one of the best superhero films I’ve seen in recent years and I say that as someone who is quite agnostic towards them. I’ve not really liked any of the other Marvel movies before, in fact I’ve flat out disliked most of them, but this one will be enough to urge me to actually watch… I dunno, a couple of others.

I really disliked that one. It just feels like a culmination of all the smugness and apathy of superhero films rolled into one big bag of blah. It's all *smugly ironic voice* "oh, look, I appear to be in peril. I shall fight, make a witty quip, and move on." They've entirely lost the sense of adventure, excitement or purpose. Five hours of my life wasted, because I've seen it twice. Not that I was going to do anything useful with that time, but I could've been asleep or something.

[$P.Muff$]

Pre-code William "Wild Bill" Wellman with Mackaill as a New Orleans hooker on the lam after the apparent accidental murder of her pimp.

Her loverboy sailor takes her away to an island in the Caribbean full of fugitive men and things go a bit nutty from there.

Not a great film by any means but a must-see for fans of Wellman & pre-code Hollywood.

[driftin]

I really disliked that one. It just feels like a culmination of all the smugness and apathy of superhero films rolled into one big bag of blah. It's all *smugly ironic voice* "oh, look, I appear to be in peril. I shall fight, make a witty quip, and move on." They've entirely lost the sense of adventure, excitement or purpose. Five hours of my life wasted, because I've seen it twice. Not that I was going to do anything useful with that time, but I could've been asleep or something.

I never thought any of that. Perhaps some of the comedy and quips were overdone but I think that's refreshing to see in a sea of superhero films that are far too self-serious.

Something's definitely wrong with me. Two superhero movies in less than a week and now I'm about to pay some money to watch this at the cinema:

[driftin]

I think I’ve seen this about a dozen times now and it never fails to impress. Kaneda forwardly courting Kei and the small sequence where the clowns sexually assault Kaori are a bit on the nose in the #MeToo age but its weirdness, beauty, affection and sheer ambition are almost unmatched in animated feature films, even 30 years after it was released. That finale in particularly is still one of the most spectacular moments in all of cinema, with the blob-Tetsuo crying out in pain for Kaneda as his emotions manifest into the near-apocalypse, the esper children desperately trying to summon Akira, Yamashirogumi’s “Requiem“ quietly humming as the white light consumes the city. Mind-blowing.


Oh, Spider-Verse is also a good animated film. Scratch what I said about Thor Ragnarok being the best superhero film I’ve seen in recent times, this one tops that.

[Minnie the Minx]

We saw "Of Time and the City" the gorgeous "you can't go home again" love story to Liverpool.Wonderful.

[$P.Muff$]

Of all the '80s hip hop / b-boy flicks this has to be the worst, but it's still a lot of fun at 3 AM.

Peebles as John "Rappin'" Hood recently released from prison helps his community from being destroyed by gentrification - which is a rather progressive message for 1985. If only the breaking and rapping weren't so awful, though that does lend to its charm in a way.

Edit: ah shit, Mario, sorry for calling you Pebbles.

[Matt Wilson]

Robin and Marian

I hadn't seen this one since I was a kid. Still enjoyable, with Connery in fine form as an aged Robin Hood and fellow Scott Nicol Williamson as Little John. Richard Harris steals every scene he's in and there's even a From Russia With Love reunion with Robert Shaw. Hepburn is incandescent, as always. There's a scene where Sean has to knock her out by hitting her which is played for laughs of course, as it's the '70s, but which would rankle today's audiences - especially in light of Connery's subsequent comments about hitting women when they deserve it. Otherwise, I liked it almost as much as The Man Who Would be King.

[Snarfyguy]

Old guys rob a bank.

About as corny as you think it's going to be, and pretty stingy with the laughs, but as long as Alan Arkin is alive and making movies I'm going to see them.

[$P.Muff$]

Brilliant. How the hell haven't I seen this before? I need to see it again. Soon. One of the most unique, truly hilarious films I can recall watching in ages.

[Neige]

I can not gush over this enough. Absolutely wonderful in every way.

Great disappointment, all in all.

Nice black and white cinematography and great 1971 sets, but otherwise unnecessarily loud, often overlong and - save Cleo and the youngest son - full of clichéd, one-dimensional or pale characters.

I expected much more... depth.

[naughty boy]

Yeah, I agree. I enjoyed it but it was clear he'd put more into the superficial aspects than anything else.