Rate the Last Film you Watched

[TheFox2000unit 226]

Red Heat. 

Pretty sh*t. 

5/10

Not a good as Predator. 

Edited May 9, 2021 by TheFox2000unit

[Squirrel 5,180]

Without Remorse

As a huge Tom Clancy fan I was looking forward to this. Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger all fantastic adaptations of his work. 
 

Even the more recent stuff like Sum of All Fears and the Jack Ryan films kept true to the source material even if they had an update to bring them relevant to the modern day. 
 

Then we have Without Remorse. Possibly one of Clancys finest books. It’s Clancy storytelling at it’s very best. 
 

I don’t think the writers of this film even read the book. Other than the name of the film and a couple of the character names the film has got nothing to do with the storyline of the original book. 
 

I can understand the timeline being changed to the modern era, I don’t even mind the ethnicity of the main character changing but the film has absolutely nothing connecting it to the source material. There’s a brief scene that references one moment in the book and there’s a scene near the end which gives the film character the same fate as the book character but other than that it isn’t the same story.

The producers of this film clearly wanted to make an adaptation of the Rainbow 6 series of games. In order for them to do that they have cobbled together this poorly executed origin story for the leader of Rainbow.  
 

Even if you forget the terrible adaptation of the source material, the film itself is a very generic action revenge film with very poor attention to realism that is bordering on fantasy at points. It has none of the tension or intelligence of a Clancy story. It’s predictable and dull. 
 

0/10

[zmurko 7,622]

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

LA from the 60's, cool cars, great scenes, great acting, some Tarantino sh*t, a bit long, but still ok. I still have no idea what the movie is all about though. 

 

Enrico Piaggo: Vespa

Pleasantly surprised, turned out to be a pretty decent RomCom. Felt like a cool, lighthearted, warm, positive movie, perfect for a nice evening on the couch. Some nice scenery, some cool old timer cars. Generally looks like they put some effort in.

It's Italian, available on Netflix, definitely recommend it for a nice evening with your better half.

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

Sometimes you don't have seven and a half hours to watch Satantango.  Here's a bunch of reviews for short films I've recently watched.

Vampir Cuadecuc

dir. Pere Portabella/1971/1h6m

Vampir Cuadecuc (Vampire Worm's Tail) is a Spanish experimental horror film/documentary that uses behind the scenes footage of the Jesus Franco film Count Dracula to tell the story of the legendary vampire in it's own unique way.  The film is shot in high contrast black and white and is silent, except for the last scene, so it really evokes early German horror cinema.  Seeing Christopher Lee like this is fantastic to see, his look and the physicality of his performance would have been perfect in the silent era.  But then we wouldn't ever hear his commanding, stentorian voice, which is the only voice heard in the film.  The film ends not with us seeing the death of Dracula, but by having Lee read the part of the novel that describes his demise.  

This film is a really interesting mis of styles.  For a few minutes you think you're watching an actual silent horror film, then Christopher Lee starts mugging and joking about for the camera, or we see the crew, or artificial cobwebs being sprayed onto Lee as he lies in the coffin and the entire artifice is broken down.  This is probably the most singular behind the scenes documentary ever made.  The pacing can be slow at times, but there is always something unexpected around the corner so you can forgive it every time.

If you're interested in the goings on behind the scenes of a film shoot then this is a definite.  You don't actually learn much about the process, but the glimpses you get, and the style of direction that Portabella utilises makes you feel like you're there on set with them.  8/10

 

A Hell of a Note

dir. Eagle Pennell/1977/28m

A Hell of a Note is a slice of life film from Eagle Pennell about three Texan construction workers who half get fired/half quit their jobs and decide to spend the rest of the day at the bar shooting the sh*t and drinking a few beers.  They get drunk, try to pick up some ladies, get into a fight and the night ends in tragedy.  

The best thing about this film is the dialogue and direction.  The dialogue sounds natural, it's crude and playful and includes the only unironic use of the term "h*ir pie" that I've ever heard.  The direction is like the dialogue, very natural and unobtrusive.  It's almost neorealist at times.  However, the acting is amateurish at best.  At times the delivery is unintentionally hilarious, which doesn't help in some of the more serious scenes.  That's not to say it's bad though, because this film, and the characters, all have a charm that makes you actually want to hang out and have a few beers with these guys.

This film feels like it was made by a group of friends who all had a blast making it, and that comes through in every scene.  I can't find a trailer, or any other video about this film, so you'll have to take my word that it exists, but if you can find it (I watched it on MUBI) then it's worth half an hour of your time.  7/10

Bronco's House

dir. Mark Jenkin/2015/45m

Bronco's House is an experimental kitchen sink drama about a young couple, expecting a baby, trying to find somewhere to live in their coastal British village where all of the houses are too expensive thanks to tourists buying up second holiday homes.  This is from the same director as the excellent Bait (2019), and this film almost acts like a blueprint for his feature length debut.  Not only does it explore the same themes in the same setting but it is also shot in the same way.  Jenkins used an old hand-cranked camera which is developed in coffee.  This camera doesn't record sound, so all of the dialogue and sound effects were added in afterwards, giving the film an almost dreamlike, disconnected feel.

This camera can also record about 30 seconds at a time, so the editing in this film is really pacey, almost montage-like at times.  This also adds to the dreamlike feel as Jenkin often cuts away during scenes to things that don't happen until later in the film.  Every single shot is full of grain and texture and imperfections, this is a film you can almost reach out and touch.  The performances are all excellent, and also add to this feeling of dreamy disconnection.  They are played very flat, like a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, so when emotions do get heated it feels even more intense.  

This is a fantastic film from a very promising British filmmaker with a unique and localised vision, his films being set in Cornwall where he comes from.  If you want a different view of life in modern Britain that is unique and startling and, at times, touching, then I highly recommend this and everything else Jenkin has made.  9/10

 

What Did Jack Do?

dir. David Lynch/2017/17m

What Did Jack Do? is a surreal noir film by one of my all time favourite filmmakers, David Lynch (so I may be a bit biased).  It stars Lynch as a detective interrogating a murder suspect in a train station cafe.  That suspect is Jack Cruz, a capuchin monkey, voiced by Lynch, and the man he is accused of murdering was his rival for the affections of a chicken called Toototabon.  If you're familiar with Lynch then that won't sound strange.  

The concept for this is so out there that you're either in or you're out right from the start.  If you're in, then what you'll find are the conventions of film noir, the black and white photography, dutch angles, use of shadow, and especially the wordplay back and forth between the detective and Cruz.  It's like Lynch channelling the spirit of Bogart through the lens of his Twin Peaks character, FBI Head Gordan Cole, the suit he wears in this perhaps a nod towards that.  

I loved this, then the monkey started singing and I loved it even more.  I don't know if Lynch has any deep meaning in this, or if he just had a dream he wanted to film.  Either way it's fantastic, and perhaps the most concentrated dose of Lynch you can get in under twenty minutes.  9.5/10

 

If Anything Happens I Love You

dir. Will McCormack, Michael Govier/2020/12m

A bit of a shift in tone here from David Lynch's monkey business.  If Anything Happens I Love You is an animated film from Will McCormack and Michael Govier.  It is about the grief of a mother and father after their daughter is killed in a school shooting.  Dialogue free, this film uses the shadows of the parents like ghosts, haunting them with grief.  It also uses details like one of her old shirts, or a crack on a wall to explore memories.  The more they explore these memories, the more the colour starts to come back to their lives.  

The scene of the shooting is brilliantly, and respectfully, done.  All we see is a still shot of the school hallway, the American flag hanging proudly, and then two shots.  That single image will stay with me for a while.  I don't have, nor are particularly fond of, children, but this film broke me pretty hard, especially during the scene where the title is used (I'll cry at anything though, so that may not mean much), so I can't imagine what someone with children would feel watching this.

The animation is pretty simple here, but it has a nice style that feels like it's from an illustrated children's book, it almost looks like it's drawn with pencils.  If you want to see if a twelve minute film can make you cry then this is on Netflix.  8.5/10

 

Two Distant Strangers

dir. Travon Free, Martin Desmond Roe/2020/32m

Two Distant Strangers is a drama/fantasy from Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe starring Joey Bada$$ as Carter, a young Black man who, after spending a night with a girl, wants to get back home to his dog.  However, outside on the street he is stopped by Officer Merk (Andrew Howard).  Their interaction escalates to the point where Merk is choking him out while he is struggling to gasp "I can't breathe".  Carter then wakes up in bed, thinking that it was a bad dream.  It wasn't.  It's Groundhog Day with police brutality.  And it's kinda f*cking awful.  

This film is clearly well intentioned.  And the violence against Black people by the police is a conversation that needs to be had.  But here, all the film says is "this happens".  It has nothing to add to the conversation.  It also feels kind of exploitative at times.  We see the police kill this innocent man several ways and it kind of becomes a joke when it shouldn't be.  The ending is also ridiculous.  First it seems like Carter just fixes this guys racism by talking to him for five minutes, then the guy turns into a super villain, with a big long speech in his awful Noo Yawk accent and it's the f*cking worst.  

I did like some things about this film.  Bada$$ is a charismatic lead, and when he wasn't being made to say some ridiculous sh*t I enjoyed watching him.  I like how his character facetimes his dog.  Like I said, this has good intentions, and some good ideas.  But those get drowned out in all the crap.  I also found it quite distasteful that a film this tonally off ran a list of innocent Black people killed by the police instead of credits.  3.5/10

 

I Flunked, But...

dir. Yasujirō Ozu/1930/1h2m

I Flunked, But... is a silent comedy from Japan's most famous director who isn't Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu.  It concerns a group of university students who want to pass their exams by any means that isn't actually studying.  One early scene shows them in the class, one boy with the answers written on the back of his shirt so the boy behind him can cheat, or an answer sheet taped to the teacher's back as he walks through the aisles of tables.  When all but one of the group pass he goes into a slump, even contemplating suicide.  But it's alright in the end because none of them can get a job due to the recession, so those degrees were worthless anyway.  The film ends with them as cheerleaders for some reason I don't understand.

When I think "silent comedy" what comes to mind is the absolute chaos of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.  This is my first silent Ozu film, and it is very different.  It's much more reserved, quaint almost.  That shouldn't have come as a surprise, as his films are known for being very still and contemplative, but at times I forgot this was a comedy.  It gets pretty heavy in the second half after the exam failure.  The biggest laugh from me was when the young cousin(?) is told that "dropout" means excellent by the failure's friends, so he won't think less of him.  He then later tells his older cousin "when I grow up I want to be like you.  A dropout".

This is a very slow moving film, but the characters are all engaging, and the main group of friends do synchronised dance moves and walk in unison which is awesome.  I knew this wouldn't be as good as a film like Tokyo Story, but I'm still glad to have seen a silent Ozu film, and am looking forward to seeing more after enjoying this.  7/10

Couldn't find a trailer for this, so here's the full movie.

A Month of Single Frames

dir. Lynne Sachs/2019/15m

A Month of Single Frames is an experimental documentary by Lynne Sachs made up from footage, sound recordings and journal entries made by the artist Barbara Hammer when she spent a month in a shack in Cape Cod without electricity or running water for a month in 1998.  Hammer narrates the film, reading from her own diaries, during which we can also hear Sachs, the two women discussing what part to read.  I like this pulling back of the curtain, seeing the process behind the film.

The footage is beautiful, a real feeling of solitude and a connection with nature, even though there is an airport nearby and planes take off and land, Hammer zooming in on one way up in the sky.  Like she's reaching out for a connection while also wanting to be alone.  

If this all sounds a bit pretentious and artsy then it is.  But it's also really good, almost like guided meditation.  The film ends with Hammer talking about how she's nearly the same age her mother was when she died, Sachs saying "I'm nearly sixty".  It's a quiet confrontation of the inevitable, something nobody can run or hide from, no matter how far from society they try to get.  7/10

 

*

[djw180 7,026]

The Brand New Testament (2015) dir Jaco Van Dormael

 

A dark, irreverent Belgian production. One that could easily have been a nomination for this month's film club, but I think it didn't get famous enough for those easily offended types who complain about anything that doesn't fit their specific religious views to kick up a fuss about. The basic plot is God lives with his wife, Goddess, and their young (8-ish I think) daughter, Ea, in a flat in modern day Brussels. God is not a nice deity. He spends his days inflicting accidents and disasters on humanity and inventing stupid laws for his own amusement, such as 'the phone will always ring just after you get into the bath'. We learn their son, J.C., used to live with them, but left sometime ago and ended up getting himself killed. One day Ea decides she has had enough and leaves to find 6 new apostles to help her write her Brand New Testament. None of the apostles are particularly religious, just picked at random, including Catherine Deneuve as a women who has finally decided to leave her husband and live instead with a gorilla.

I think people know how I don't usually like films with child actors in lead roles. But this was very good. Ea, played by Pili Groyne, is not like the over-cute or endearingly mischievousness children I hate in films and the way she is played her age is almost irrelevant. To me her age just helps convey her naivety and innocence as she begins to explore the world her father made but that she has never been allowed out into before.  It's well acted all round, very funny in places, quite touching in others and very nicely shot.

9/10

[TheFox2000unit 226]

Highlander.   1986

Awesome!

 

Pros:

Scottish hero! 

Sean Connery

80's

Queen soundtrack 

One scene was filmed 5 miles from my house

"There can be only one"

Cons:

Frenchman playing a Scot. A Scot playing an Egyptian. WTF?!😒

8/10

Not as good as Predator.

Edited May 20, 2021 by TheFox2000unit

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

1 hour ago, TheFox2000unit said:

Highlander.   1986

Awesome!

 

Pros:

Scottish hero! 

Sean Connery

80's

Queen soundtrack 

"There can be only one"

 

Cons:

Frenchman playing a Scot. A Scot playing an Egyptian. WTF?!😒

8/10

Not as good as Predator.

One of my favourite lines from any film is from Highlander, “I’m not Spanish...I’m Egyptian”. 😄 

[djw180 7,026]

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, (2020) dir Jason Woliner

 

 

A sequel to the first Borat film. The basic plot of this one is 14 years after Borat's first documentary film about the USA he returns to present his daughter, Tutar, as a gift to US vice president Mike Pence. It's not that original, but then how many sequels are? It's the same sort of thing as the original, and same as most of the creator's work, filming real people's reactions, some very polite and tolerant, to outrageous set ups from this bizarre foreigner in their midst and getting some truly stupid extremists to let themselves be filmed doing and saying highly offensive things. It is very funny even though in places I almost could not watch and was thinking, 'no, he/she can't do / say that surely!' The Rudy Guiliani scene alone is worth watching this for. Maria Bakalova who plays Tutar is very good. Sacha Baron Cohen, the writer and creator of Borat is, of course, very good as well.

 

8/10

Edited May 23, 2021 by djw180

[TheFox2000unit 226]

Time for my extremely in-depth film review. 

 

Army Of The Dead    2021

Sh*t!

Pros: Zombies

Cons: Everything else in this sh*t film.

Even the camera was out of focus.  I didn't know if I was pished or just going blind from the tripe I was watching. 

3/10

 

Not as good as Predator. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by TheFox2000unit

[Con 5,727]

On 5/9/2021 at 4:08 PM, djw180 said:

I Tonya (2017) dir. Craig Gillespie

So in summary a good low-budget film. No big names (that I am aware of)

This was my first exposure to the magnificent Margot Robbie ( I still havent seen Wolf of Wall Street) and she is just terrific as Tonya Harding. I enjoyed the biopic when I saw it because I learned just how stupid the people behind the plan really were. I think Harding's story is really inspiring because it was like her environment was not conducive to producing an olympic athlete but she had talent. I actually watched real footage from the competitions portrayed and Harding was special on those skates. It's a shame she got involved with such sh*t heads. She would be coaching someone to a gold medal for sure. 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

8 hours ago, Con said:

This was my first exposure to the magnificent Margot Robbie

You mean you weren't watching the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 2009?

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

dir. Liu Chia-Liang/1978/1h55m

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a Honk Kong kung fu film from the legendary Shaw Brothers Studio, and is the Wu-Tang Clan's favourite movie.  Directed by Liu Chia-Liang, it stars Gordon Liu as San Te, a young man involved in the rebellion against the Manchu government.  After the evil General Tien Ta trashes the village, killing many people, San Te goes to the Shaolin temple to learn kung fu in order to seek revenge.  

A majority of the film is spent in the temple as we watch him work his way through the 35 chambers, each one teaching a new aspect of kung fu.  After several years he has become a master, and goes back to the village to recruit some common folk to whom he can teach kung fu in order to start a new rebellion.  He defeats the evil General and returns to the temple where he is allowed to be the master of the new 36th chamber, which takes in common villagers to train them in the ways of kung fu in order that the knowledge spreads through the people, keeping them safe.  

This is a fantastic film, and rightly deserves its reputation as a titan of the genre.  There's something of the classic sports movie in the training sections here, like Rocky, that gives the second act a distinctly different tone to the first and third.  Liu is a brilliant lead who always has an endearing sincerity to everything he does.  The fight scenes are obviously amazing.  They're all shot clearly and from mid distance so we can take in every incredible move.  If you're looking for a kung fu film, an action film, a revenge film, or just a damn good film, then you should check this out.  9/10

 

Red Moon Tide

dir. Lois Patiño/2019/1h25m

Red Moon Tide is a Spanish experimental folk horror(?) film from Lois Patiño.  It is set in a small Spanish coastal town, and I don't mean the Costa Del Sol.  The people in the town are all frozen in place although we can still hear their thoughts, this narration being the only dialogue in the film.  As the camera slowly pans past them, or else traps them in a locked frame, they talk of ghosts and a monster who comes with the red moon tide and the fisherman Rubio who went to kill it.  As the film progresses three women, witches, walk wordlessly through the village draping white sheets over everyone, turning them into ghosts.  Are these victims of the beast?  When they are all covered in sheets Rubio returns, and with him brings the red moon tide, and the beast that follows.

 This is an incredibly unique and haunting film, feeling almost post apocalyptic at times.  It is very slow, despite it's short length, and reminded me of the "slow cinema" movies by Bela Tarr and Chantal Akerman.  Their deliberate pace becomes hypnotic and really draws you into the film.  The direction is great, the camera capturing natural light giving the bleakness an almost documentary realism.  When the red moon comes it comes in hard, making the last fifteen minutes or so of this film an hallucinatory trip of nautical myth.

This film isn't for everyone, and at times this feels like this started as a short film and maybe would have worked even better if it was an hour long, or even shorter, but it is unforgettable and maintains a foreboding, oppressive atmosphere throughout.  8.5/10

 

Wittgenstein

dir. Derek Jarman/1993/1h15m

Wittgenstein is a biopic of the philosopher of the same name directed by Derek Jarman. It stars Tilda Swinton and Michael Gough (Alfred from the 90s Batman films!) alongside Clancy Chassay and Karl Johnson as the child/adult Wittgenstein respectively.  His life is told in a series of sketches that cover his childhood, WW1 and his time at Cambridge under Bertrand Russell (Gough).  There are also sketches dedicated to covering his philosophy, which was concerned mainly with language, both as a child and an adult.  The adult giving lectures at Cambridge, the child discussing thought with a little green man from Mars.  

This film is presented in a modern theatrical style, that is all of the action takes place in front of a plain black background with minimal props.  This gives all focus to the performance and the writing and really gives an intimate feel to the piece.  The performances are all great, but I did prefer the younger Wittgenstein, he was more sympathetic.  The adult comes across as a bit of a pr*ck, but I guess that's just true to life.  He is a complicated character though, and that does come across in Johnson's performance.  Swinton is always a delight to watch, here playing the upper class sponsor of Wittgenstein, Lady Ottoline Morrell, and Gough has a warm yet stately presence as the older philosopher.  

This is another film that isn't for everyone, but I think it's worth a shot.  Don't expect a typical biopic, this is more like a portrait of a man rather than his life story.  The presentation and style may come across as pretentious, but it really suits the tone of the film, and the man himself.  My main negative is that Wittgenstein was a very smart man and I am not, and I couldn't really understand a lot of his theories, but despite that I really enjoyed this film.  8/10

No trailer for this one, so here's a scene about a pineapple.

The Great White Silence

dir. Herbert Ponting/1924/1h48m

The Great White Silence is a silent documentary film from Herbert Ponting which documented Captain Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole.  Shot between 1910 and 1913, the main of the film shows the journey to Ross Island, where the team set up base camp, and footage of the animals of the region.  This isn't like modern nature filmmaking, these guys got involved.  There's one scene where a group of killer whales are trying to hunt some seals, and they fire a harpoon at them to scare them away.  Other scenes have Ponting walking through a pack of penguins trying to pet them, and moving them off of their eggs so he can film them hatching. 

As the film progresses we see more preparations for the trek to the Pole, learning to ski, getting the ponies ready etc.  Finally, Scott and his group leave base camp for the Pole, and as they leave Ponting films them, Scott looking back to wave.  Knowing what happened to them, that gave me chills.  The rest of the film uses basic animation and title cards, as well as footage shot at base camp of them practicing how to survive alone in one tent, to tell the end of their story.  

This is a marvel of a film and one that had me gripped throughout.  Being able to actually witness maybe the last expedition of the great age of Victorian/Edwardian exploration is incredible.  I was also amazed at the quality of the picture.  The restoration I watched from the BFI could have been shot last week.  The new score is also fantastic, bringing even more atmosphere to the piece.  If you're in any way a fan of nature documentaries or survival stories then you have to watch this.  9.5/10

 

For Love's Sake

dir. Takashi Miike/2012/2h13m

From the director of Ichi the Killer and Audition, two of the most brutal torture films I've ever seen, comes a romantic high school musical.  It stars Satoshi Tsumabuki as Makoto and Emi Takei as Ai, two high schoolers whose paths cross when he saves her from a gang.  He then recognises her from when they were children and he saved he then, giving himself a pretty brutal scar on his forehead in the process.  She falls in love with him, despite his being from the wrong side of the tracks.  However, he has no interest in her, finding her annoying and the cause of all his troubles.  When he gets kicked out of the good school and is sent to the school full of delinquents she transfers herself there too to be with him.  

Complicating matters is the fact that the leader of the girl gang at the school has also fallen in love with him, and Iwashimizu, another student from the good school, has also transferred over because he's in love with Ai.  Also the Yakuza is involved but I can't remember why, but Makoto needs people to punch, because that's what he spends most of this film doing.  This is a mad film.  The music is cheesy and the choreography isn't that great but it's all done with such passion and intensity that it just works.  For me at least, but I do love a musical.  The performances are slightly over the top, but again that just works in this film.  It would be weird if anyone was acting naturally.  

It could do with being maybe 15-20 minutes shorter, but you don't really notice the run time when you are constantly thinking "what the f*ck is this"?  If you wondered what High School Musical would be like if Zac Efron spent half the film punching gangsters then this is the film for you.  8.5/10

 

Anima

dir. Paul Thomas Anderson/2019/15m

Anima is a short musical film from Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Thom Yorke of Radiohead.  The film is built around three tracks from Yorke's solo album of the same name.  The film sees Yorke trapped in a grey and oppressive Orwellian world from which he escapes through a quick and passionate love affair with a girl he meets on a train.  The film has no dialogue of its own, relying on the music.  All of the characters in the film express themselves through dance, which creates some incredible sequences.  This also brings a real unique intimacy to the scenes with Yorke and his lover where their perfectly synchronised movements say more than words ever could.

This is a brilliantly made, moving film with incredible music and a surprisingly good silent performance from Yorke who really channels some Keaton/Chaplin energy into his own unique physicality.  You have no excuses not to watch this.  It's on Netflix which everyone has and it's only 15 minutes long.  This is a better music video than Thriller, yeah, I said it!  10/10

 

*

[Squirrel 5,180]

Mortal Kombat (2021 not 1995!)

Think there’s finally a game to movie adaptation that actually succeeds in it’s mission to bring the source materal to film and do it well. 
 

Of course as a game adaptation you have to expect it to be far fetched and it doesn’t disappoint there. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s certainly worth a watch if you were a fan of the games and kung fu films in general. 
 

This film pays great attention to the source material and just the right level of cheesy moments at the right time. 

A lot of people will see the title and think it’s just another game to film movie and give it a wide berth. 
 

It’s definitely not a film for the faint of heart either. There is some extreme gore throughout. 
 

FINISH HIM!! 8/10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

Come and See

dir. Elem Klimov/1985/2h22m

Come and See is a Soviet anti-war film from director Elem Klimov.  It depicts the n*zi occupation of Belarus and the crimes against humanity committed there.  The story follows a young Belarusian teenager, Flyora (Aleksei Kravchenko) who joins the resistance against the n*zis but is left behind by his unit to spare him.  Undeterred, he makes to follow them, but is soon caught in a bombing raid.  He meets a young girl and they return to his village, which has been destroyed.  After several harrowing experiences he becomes a prisoner of the n*zis, and in the most harrowing scene in the film he is forced to watch as an entire village of people are forced into a barn which is then burned down.  He is then forced to pose for a photograph, on his knees and with a gun to his head.  The film ends with Flyora joining up with a group of resistance fighters who have captured some n*zis.  They are executed and Flyora shoots at a picture of Hitler as a montage of Hitler's life plays in reverse.  Flyora and the other resistance fighters march off into the woods.  

This is a brutal film from start to finish.  This makes the opening of Saving Private Ryan look like Grease.  The mixture of realist, almost documentary like filmmaking along with some really nightmarish surreal sequences perfectly represent the horrors of war unlike any film I've ever seen.  There are no heroes here.  No strong squad leader or heroic fighter pilots, just a terrified young boy who has no idea what's happening, nor why.  The image of Flyora pale and emaciated at the end of the film is haunting.  The transformation from the red cheeked boy exited to go and fight for his country to a broken and wasted human being is tragic.  

This is a film that everyone should watch, but it is not entertaining.  There are no victorious battles to cheer or any heroic exploits to marvel at.  All there is is death and destruction and pure inhumanity.  The film is very well made, and the lead performance is incredible and one you will never forget.  You won't enjoy this, but you should watch it.  10/10

 

======================================================

The Happiness of the Katakuris

dir. Takashi Miike/2001/1h53m

The Happiness of the Katakuris is another mad musical from Takashi Miike (I reviewed his For Love's Sake a few posts above).  It is about a family, the Katakuris of the title, who open up a bed and breakfast near the foot of Mount Fuji.  When their first guest kills himself they decide to just hide the body and avoid the bad publicity.  However, none of their guests seem to last the night and they soon find themselves struggling to hide all of the corpses.  To complicate things a man called Richard Sagawa, who claims to be in the CIA and MI6 and is a nephew of the Queen, falls in love with the daughter of the family and he starts to notice something strange.  

Full of full blown musical numbers, claymation sequences and a karaoke singalong this feels like a film full of ideas, some of which work better than others.  The direction is as varied as the film, with Miike throwing all kinds of impressionistic camera angles into the mix of classic musical inspired numbers.  (The Sound of Music being a huge visual reference here).  The performances are all very over the top, but in a film like this that just works, for me at least.  My favourite was Kiyoshiro Imawano as Richard Sagawa, he steals every single scene he's in. 

Your enjoyment of this film will depend on how you feel about musicals and full blown campy kitchness.  If you can go along with the madness you'll get a patchy, but very entertaining film full of moments that will actually make you say "what the hell am I watching", and I love stuff like that.  This would make a great double feature with Nobuhiko Obayashi's House.  9/10

 

======================================================

First Cow

dir. Kelly Reichardt/2019/2h1m

First Cow is a revisionist western drama from Kelly Reichardt.  Set in 1820s Oregon the film is about a chef, Cookie (John Magaro) and a Chinese immigrant King-Lu (Orion Lee).  After spending time together and becoming friends they learn of the first cow bought into the region, belonging to the rich English Chief Factor, who also owns the only house in the settlement.  The come up with a plan to steal milk from the cow and use it to make delicious treats to sell.  They do this and become a big hit, all thanks to the milk.  The Chief Factor himself becomes a fan, asking them to make a cake for his upcoming meeting with a Native American Chief.  

This is a very slow, quiet and considered film.  Everything you expect from a western, and all of the masculine stereotypes that go along with it, are subverted or ignored all together.  The leads, and their relationship, are very gentle and without ego or the need to prove themselves.  Unlike most westerns, their aim is creation, not destruction.  These dudes just want to make some cakes, they're not on some mission of vengeance.  When conflict does arise they just want to avoid it.  Again, they don't want to prove anything to anyone.  The performances in this film are great, especially the two leads, who have fantastic chemistry, and Toby Jones, who plays the Chief Factor, the non-antagonist of the piece.

Reichardt is another director who could belong in the school of slow cinema, which again isn't for everyone, but if you give this film a go you'll find a beautifully observed film about the American dream, one that is spoken quietly and with great care.  8.5/10

 

======================================================

The Last Temptation of Christ

dir. Martin Scorsese/1988/2h44m

The Last Temptation of Christ is a film from Martin Scorsese, based on the novel of the same name, which depicts the life of Christ in a controversial manner.  Willem Dafoe plays Christ, who at the start of the film is working with the Romans, making crucifixes for them to use on Jewish rebels.  Judas (Harvey Keitel) is his best friend.  Even though he was originally sent to kill Jesus for working with the Romans, he becomes convinced he is the Messiah and becomes his first follower.  He is baptised by John the Baptist and goes into the desert, where he is tempted by Satan.  The ending, the controversial part, sees Christ asking Judas to hand him in, knowing that he needs to be tested.  While he is dying on the cross a little girl comes to him and shows him the life he could have, a wife, children, and old age.  But that life is one without God and, realising that the little girl is again Satan, he lets himself die, proclaiming "It is accomplished".

Scorsese, who trained to be a priest before becoming a filmmaker, presents his most overtly religious film to date here, and perhaps one of his most personal.  The way Christ struggles with his faith is one that is very relatable to a lot of people, Scorsese included, and I think he projected a lot of his feelings onto the character of Christ here.  Dafoe's Jesus is the most conflicted, and because of that, most human portrayals that I've seen.  He is playing Christ the man, not Christ the God.  Keitel as Judas is almost the backbone of the film, his belief in Christ being one of the things that makes him persevere in the face of violent adversity.  Both leads are brilliant, as are the supporting cast.  Harry Dean Stanton as Paul and David Bowie as Pontius Pilate being my favourites.  

This is a gorgeous looking film with fantastic costume and set design but the best thing to me was Peter Gabriel's Middle Eastern influenced percussion heavy score.  I don't think you need to be a religious person to enjoy this film.  In fact, it probably helps if you weren't because a lot of Christians still have problems with his film.  I think this is a fantastic film about a man struggling with finding out who he is and what his purpose is, regardless of his divinity, and is definitely worth a watch if all you know of Scorsese is gangster films.  9/10

 

======================================================

Silence

dir. Martin Scorsese/2016/2h41m

Silence is another religious drama from Scorsese.  This film stars Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield as two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Garupe and Rodrigues, who are tasked with travelling to Japan to locate their mentor Ferreira, played by Liam Neeson, who has gone missing after renouncing his faith.  Set during the 17th century at a time when persecution against Catholics in Japan was violent this film doesn't shy away from showing the torture that they went through just to practice their faith.  When Rodrigues finds Ferreira his own faith is tested to the extremes. 

While this is still a very good film it feels less assured than Last Temptation.  I think that comes down to the performances mainly.  Driver is great, but I just don't buy Garfield's accent nor his really fake looking beard.  This is a shame because we spend most of the film with him.  I just don't think he's a very good actor and have no idea how he got the role here.  But that's really my only negative.  This is another gorgeous film with a very different look to Last Temptation, greens and blues dominate the colour palette, and Scorsese's direction is less kinetic and more steady, almost respectful in the way he shoots the film.  

While this is another slow film Scorsese knows when to throw in a brutal torture scene to get your blood pumping again.  It's much like Casino in that respect.  Between the occasional bursts of ultra violence that film is mostly just a guy trying to run a casino, lots of meetings lots of talking.  This is another film you should watch to expand your appreciation of Scorsese, but I wouldn't start with it.  This is one you gotta work up to first.  It would also help if you like Andrew Garfield more than me.  8/10

 

*

[Con 5,727]

@LimeGreenLegendi cannot wait to read your Come and See review....that is such a soul shattering film. It’s tremendous. I’ll have to look up my review of it I did a while back. 
Come and See broke me for like a week. 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

1 hour ago, Con said:

Come and See broke me for like a week. 

Yeah.  It's the only true anti-war film that I've ever seen.  I could still break down just thinking about it months later.

[Con 5,727]

3 hours ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

Yeah.  It's the only true anti-war film that I've ever seen.  I could still break down just thinking about it months later.

It is devastating to experience. So real. We are such a sad f*cking species. A pathetic addition to the universe as nothing changes as far as wars and conflicts go.

[Con 5,727]

@LimeGreenLegendi got to watch the Umbrella movie and started writing the review. All I can say for now is that I didn’t expect that ending. lmao.

[Con 5,727]

Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

First I have to thank @LimeGreenLegend for his amazing love of cinema as i don't think I would have ever watched this on my own. I can honestly say, I had never sat through a film like this one. I started watching it in the morning and by the time the main characters go see Carmen, I had the tv muted. And had figured, I would watch the rest of it through the subtitles because I had no idea that the entire dialogue was the thing they would be singing, this was not a musical and more an opera but to the extreme since what is being sung is the actual dialogue. The first impression to me was, "are these people supposed to be ghosts? is this going to be the twist at the end of the film? is this why they sing every line?"  Then, I was bailed out and had to run out to the store. But when I got back, I started watching it from the beginning again and this time the signing dialogue didn't bother me as much and am happy to say, I watched the entire thing the way it was intended, unmuted. 

Obviously this review has spoilers , I tried to keep them mild, so if you are brave enough to want to watch this...you might want to skip the review for now. 

The things I liked have to start with that color palette. The colors of every single object are like rock-candy for your eyes. The richness and tones of colors that probably should feel more like Willy Wonka than a romantic story but the palette works. That lime green wall that leads to Guy's (Nino Castelnuovo) home is a perfect example of how color is used superbly to add character and make the singing less irritable. I also really loved the camera work. The cinematography gets a ton of credit from me, thank you for your brilliance, Jean Rabier. The cinematography was one of the reasons I was able to tolerate this unconventional musical without muting it. I began focusing on the subtitles and the camera movements and suddenly the singing lines weren't so bad. I found a way to get used to them.  I also have to say I admired the story and when I began reading more and listening less, I became immersed in the storyline, especially in the second half where they beat you over the head with the theme of absence. Which actually does quite nicely in setting up the expectation I had in the last act. As a pluviophile, I loved the rainy weather element. When it wasn't raining, the roads were still wet and I also liked how when Guy and Genevieve (Catherine Denevue) were madly in love, the rain was prominent. But during Genevieve's heartache, it barely rained and I found it a subtle contrast that perhaps wasn't even intended but as a pluviophile, I noticed that stuff. I also liked the way I was surprised in some scenes, like when Genevieve grabs a cigarette, "I was like, whoa, what's that about all of the sudden?". Also the cool walking scene where the actors are on a dolly and I think it was only used that one time. I just didn't expect to see that. But the best surprise was when I believe the mother says, "Sun and Death travel together", wow, that was so profound. I had never heard that saying before and I literally sat there and thought about that for like five minutes straight as all manner of images and scenarios popped into my head under that phrase. I'm adopting that saying. One moment that made me laugh was when Guy goes to Jenny the hooker and we see they're naked in bed post-coital and she says to Guy, "You can call me Genevieve if you'd like...", Maaaan, I was like, "well there goes round 2! Thanks for nothing, Jenny."  How the man gonna get ready again if you reminding him about his heartbreak. Bad hooker.  I cannot leave without mentioning just how gorgeous Genevieve looks when she puts on the crown at dinner. 

Right, now the negatives. It's easy to place the singing dialogue in this category but honestly, that is cheap cause the film is made that way intentionally. This isn't a film I would suggest to a casual film fan, but from now on anyone that claims they love cinema, better tell me they have seen this piece of filmmaking. This is a cinema fans film in every sense of the word. One of the moments that made me scratch my head was the way the mother was handling the pregnancy. I mean, I listened to the mom cry about debt the entire first half of the film and all of the sudden the news of the baby doesn't make her think about the added financial responsibility of bringing a child into the world. I also disliked how Cassard (Marc Michel) has to romance Genevieve through her mother. Why can't he tell her himself how he feels? I get it once the baby thing happens, but I didn't like that "arranged relationship" theme all of the sudden. Oh and the mother's delusion of keeping the secret from Cassard was also kind of dumb. Credit to the writer for making Genevieve the voice of reason. I disliked how Guy comes back and he knows what has happened but I was like, "Hey bro, you are a dad. You have a legit reason to look for her, you don't have to be fully defeated."  I don't know, I guess I wanted more fight from Guy because he had a reason to be in Genevieve's life after all. Obviously, the moment in the last scene when Genevieve asks if he wants to see their creation, he denies it. That hit me like a ton of bricks. I get that you aren't excited to see Genevieve, but the kid?  I found that jarring and the only thing unrealistic about an otherwise amazing and sobering ending. The only time I felt the acting was poor was one minor scene involving some movers. They are seen carrying a huge box into the gas station but when they go put the box down, they forget it's supposed to be really heavy and I laughed at how they bumbled that scene. 

Final Verdicts....I'm having a tough time giving this a grade because honestly the singing dialogue gets tedious and thankfully we did get that scene where Guy is fired from his job and that exchange was probably the only one that was not "sung" in the same manner as the other dialogue lines throughout the film. 

With the singing dialogue....2/5....because, dude, it's just so overdone and is the one thing that would prevent me from watching it again. There were a few times I was wishing it was a regular musical cause at least there would have been a break from the singing. 

Without the singing dialogue....4/5....the opening scene with the overhead rainfall was brilliant. The cool color palette makes everything seem so perfect, you expect the story to be the same way. The camera work was exceptional here, so many great shots and angles. But the real reason I'd give this such a high mark (had it been a traditional film) is that the ending really shocked me. I was torn about what to f*cking feel about the situation because when you step back and analyze what went wrong, the answer is motherf*cking human conflict and war. That is what caused the separation and the film serves as a beautiful message for the lucky humans alive today who see their loved ones go off to conflicts around the world but thanks to technology, loved ones can receive almost daily emails or texts. Unlike, Genevieve who was at the mercy of an era where she had to rely on mail. And imagine how hard it must have been for Guy to find post offices while at the same time worry about being killed in combat. These films are not for the heartbroken. These films are for the people that have the love's of their lives with them everyday, they should watch stuff like this to remind them of how lucky they are to have their heart's desire. 

 

Well there you have it Lime. I have paid my debt in full. Thank you for the experience and enrichment since now I can impress from French women who love this film. lol

 I found the film on YT, so if anyone is interested in watching it., here is the link:

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

Brilliant review @Con! I'm glad you could at least appreciate it from a historical point of view as this is a very influential film in world cinema.

[Con 5,727]

10 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

Brilliant review @Con! I'm glad you could at least appreciate it from a historical point of view as this is a very influential film in world cinema.

Man, you know i'm hardcore. I'll punch love in the face. hahahha. Not gonna lie, I did not look up the historical significance of the film but YT has been suggesting to me a bunch of La La Land (2016) vids and from what I gather, it seems the La La Land director's fave film of all time is the Umbrella movie. So my guess is that La La has some elements borrowed from Umbrellas or something. But bro, please educate me about the film, I mean, I watched it, I might as well go all the way like Cassard. hahaha

Edited June 7, 2021 by Con

[Con 5,727]

@LimeGreenLegend you know what bothered me about the singing dialogue? It was that it reminded me of what Britney Spears sounds like in her music. Just a melody from her mouth. I just typed and sang this post at the same f*cking time like they did in the movie. You should try it. It's actually fun...more, if you're on drugs.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,303]

Well it was kind of a link between the French new wave and the Hollywood musicals of the 50s, acting as a bridge between the two cultures.  As well as La La Land and it's director, Damien Chazelle, it was also a huge influence on Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom), but also non musical directors like Wes Anderson, with the bright pastel colour palette.

[Con 5,727]

Just now, LimeGreenLegend said:

Well it was kind of a link between the French new wave and the Hollywood musicals of the 50s, acting as a bridge between the two cultures.  As well as La La Land and it's director, Damien Chazelle, it was also a huge influence on Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom), but also non musical directors like Wes Anderson, with the bright pastel colour palette.

The moment I saw that bright lime green wall, I knew why you wanted all of us to see it. lmao. No but those colors are amazing, That lime wall, I want. on my property. Those colors worked for me, I could feel my eyes smiling the entire time. Color is the best. No disrespect to fine B&W films of course. You know I meant to mention in my review just how incredibly hard it must have been for the actors in their character development. Think about how they had to break down the script more than usual since the singing forces facial movements that could affect your acting. You know, I guess that is why there isn't a lot of anger displayed in the film. In fact the only time I recall anger is when Guy is being fired and as I mentioned, it's the only time the lines didn't seem sung at all for me. I guess it's hard to sing, "I'm pretty pissed" and not sound hilarious. 

[djw180 7,026]

A couple of quick reviews

 

The Hateful Eight (2015) dir Quentin Tarantino

A western with a Tarantio make over, very violent in places. Two bounty hunters (Kurt Russell and Samuel L Jackson) and one live bounty, joined by various other characters, take refuge in a blizzard in late 19th century Wyoming. Of course there is a twist to the plot and 2nd part is very reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs. The score by Ennio Moricone won an Oscar and is to his usual high standard, but I don't think it is anywhere near his best (see some of my previous reviews).

7/10

 

 

No Country for Old men (2007) dir Joel and Ethan Cohen

A modern-ish (1980s) western from the great Cohen brothers. Javier Bardem plays one of the scariest film characters ever, outside of horror, for me as the relentless assassin Anton Chigurh on the trail the man who helped himself to 2 million dollars of drug money. Chigurh will stop at nothing and kill anyone, sometimes with some pretty unique weaponry, who gets in the way or has the misfortune to be related to someone who gets in the way. Close-to-retirement Sheriff ,Tommy Lee Jones, tries to warn people not to get involved but they don't listen.

9/10

 

 

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) dir Sergio Leone

Leone's epic, nearly 4 hour, gangster movie spanning 50 years or so, with, of course, another great Ennio Morricone score. It starts at the end of Prohibition in the 30s. Surviving a killing spree one night Noodles (Robert Di Nero) leaves New York. He returns over 30 years later and begins to reminisce. We see him and friends as teenagers getting into crime. Noodles gets jailed and when he gets out, in his 20s, his friends, led by Max (James Woods), are now very successful mobsters and very happy to welcome him back to the gang. The story then progresses to the starting point of the film and onwards as old man Noodles re-connects with old friends and learns what happened back in the 30s wasn't quite what it seemed at the time. It's well worth watching if you have 4 hours to spare; maybe split up if you haven't (it would make a great 3 or 4 part mini-series). There is a great ensemble cast with some quite famous actors before they were really famous. Joe Pesci took me by surprise, I did not recognise him at first. It is a bit dated though. It is, obviously, quite violent but the blood looks very, very fake. There are also a couple of disturbing r*pe scenes, one committed by Noodles, with no later reference to them by neither the victims nor the perpetrators, almost as they if they were no big deal. I don't think a modern day film would get away with that.

7/10

Edited June 14, 2021 by djw180