Films

[Iliam]

some movies i have watched recently and here are my stream of consciousness thoughts about them.

Boyhood: the story of a boy's life from 5 to leaving for that american utopia, college.
THOUGHTS: Pretty incredible conceit, to film someone every year of their life growing up, but I couldn't help but think that a lot of the praise for this film was because of the conceit and not because of the film itself, i.e. if Linklater had used advanced computer graphics to change actor's faces to achieve the same effect people won't find the film itself quite as good. I found a lot of dialog, especially in the second half of the film, to be clunky and very awkward (that diatribe against Facebook/ phones?) and the actor who plays Mason, in particular as he got older, couldn't quite pull it off (i thought). the ending of the film brought all these problems to a head, all that talk about "the future is always now", it was so corny.
my biggest problem with this movie, as with the before trilogy, is that linklater makes movies that pretend to be 'real'/ to reflect reality, like when her makes films where the actors age over time or in staging incredibly long shots, BUT his movies are so polished and clean and contrived that they don't really reflect the 'real' life he is trying to capture at all. he scrubs out the non- theatrical mundane and not in a good way.

The Ice Storm:
COLLARS!

THOUGHTS: good. really liked it.

The Immigrant: Marion Cotillard immigrates to New York from Poland in the 20's.
THOUGHTS: I was never really invested in the characters and so I didn't really care what happened to them, which is fatal for this kind of drama. as i was watching the film i could always feel a smart movie writer/director placing clear obstacles in the path of his characters in order to create a narrative (she losses her sister, has to work to get sister back, is betrayed, overcomes adversity) than these problems originating from the characters/ the world of the characters themselves, i think. Photography was lovely and great performances by the leads (Phoenix is so great to watch) made the movie much better than it otherwise would have been.

Half-Nelson: Ryan Gosling is zzz.
THOUGHTS: zzzzz.

Broken Flowers: Bill Murray is sad. wanders around trying to find out if he has a son or if life is meaningless.
THOUGHTS: Jim Jarmusch hates contemporary american culture. This movie is as much about finding a son as it is about finding individuality in the deadened commercial american wasteland. Representation of women is problematic? All the women are hyper sexualised, not sure if the movie legitimatises this by being from Bill murray's character's point of view because his character never seems that sexual aggressive -- we just have to take it on faith that these women flock to him? that said, i thought it was ok. pretty interesting narrative structure and it has Bill Murray as a deadpan depressive so u know... can't ask for much more can u? i like to discontented portraits of the upper middle class so i was pretty happy.

Ran: GREAT! NOTHING MORE TO SAY HERE. BEST MOVIE IN THIS LIST-THING.

A.K. by Chris Marker: A 'documentary' about kurosawa while he was making Ran.
THOUGHTS: Marker is one of my favourite, if not favourite, documentarians. this film has a floating, drifting feel to the editing that makes it a beautiful watching experience without the formalities and contrivances of conventional plotting BUT is never (for me at least) uninteresting. join my Chris Marker fan club@! we have badges. wouldn't start with this one if you want to know chris marker's films, instead watch "san soleil" or

Fog of War: documentary interview with former US sectary of defence Robert McNamara.
THOUGHTS: everyone thinks Errol Morris is the best thing since sliced bread in documentaries, why? This documentary was competently handled, not didactic or heavy handed, and Morris gets some great subjects to interview BUT BUT BUT he isn't very good at making beautiful images to watch, pushing the documentary form, doing something interesting within the format. The 'content' of this documentaries is v interesting but it isn't really conveyed in a cinematically interesting way. marker is a better documentary maker because, as we all know, engaging with art is actually about making somewhat arbitrary rankings!

[longjumps]

some thoughts on Big Trouble in Little China:

watching it from the standpoint I would normally take on films, I would see it as garbage. And in a way, it is - but lovingly constructed garbage. But looking past all the nuttiness and flukey acting, there's something really great about this movie. It thrusts you into a world of Chinese folklore, mysticism, and 'chopsocky' via way of Kurt Russell's semi-truck driving, John Wayne-drawling, macho man character: a premise so preposterous that you're inclined not to take anything seriously from that point on, which is probably the best way to approach this debacle. After a kidnapping and a lengthy fight scene within the first 15 minutes, I had already given up on trying to determine plot points. This was mostly because my friends and I were too distracted by our howls of laughter, which lasted throughout the whole movie.

so anyways, I think I'll be watching this again at some point or at least watching more John Carpenter flicks

[odradek]

Big Trouble in Little China is one of my favorite movies. I'm going to crib someone else's excellent point that one of the many points of genius in this is that Kurt Russel, though ostensibly the hero of the film, is actually the sidekick in the story, a separate thing. The gangs, lo-pan, the magic, the kidnapping: they're all features of a much grander, longer story (Chinese history being on a much longer timeline than American history) that we only get one small, quintessentially american piece of, and, in the end, that Americanized self-satisfaction is threatened by some ancient, unnameable beast that will surely attack when we, having confused the movie for the story, think everything's over. Wang is our hero here - he has the skills, he has the girl, he has the knowledge and the dedication, and he's forgotten as soon as Kurt Russel bails.

[oucho]

(Andrei Rublev) one of the best films I've ever seen, the cinematography is so good

also watched these:

it was good, the end was dumb

[qalandar]

[parastexis]

the art house nerds have taken over

[Iliam]

It's always seemed strange to me that people in english speaking countries seem to automatically apply the 'art house' label to films of a different country/ culture.
I often wonder what directors like Kurosawa or Ozu, who were mainstream film makers in their own countries, would think of the term.

[parastexis]

[oucho]

if you guys don't already know about it you should check out mubi.com, you pay £3 a month and they put a new film up each day, each film lasts 30 days, it's pretty nicely curated and a cool way to find new films, they have quite a lot of japanese/chinese films, right now they have metropolis, october 10 days that shook the world and michael clayton!

[CleanThug]

Only God Forgives does not deserve the bad reviews.



If you go into it looking for a great plot and emotional investment, this is not your movie. I don't think the director understands that fighting scenes with characters you care about are much more enjoyable than fights with characters you know virtually nothing about.With all that being said and with all this movie's flaws taken into account, I liked it. The cinematography is great and it really is a beautiful film. Give it a watch if not just for that.

[CleanThug]

[rublev]

whats your fave rohmer film

[Indieguy]

[JewTurk]

I had watched Antichrist and wasn't super into it at the time because anything slightly unnerving turned me off really quickly when I was younger but I really enjoyed Melancholia and now I'm eagerly waiting to get ahold of the second part to Nymphomaniac. Such a damn good 'trilogy', definitely enjoyed Antichrist watching it earlier this week, change in tastes I guess. The ad-campaign was really interesting for Nymphomaniac and I managed to get all of the posters from work for it, not sure what to do with them, definitely keeping them though.

Strongly recommend, hoping to watch the entirety of Nympho pretty soon here.

[Iliam]

I don't think that Lars Von Trier has never once laughed at himself and that makes his films a bit unbearable for me. I'll be interested to see/hear what you think of Nymphomanic.

[tomsfood]

Anyone here seen Electrick Children? If not it's on Netflix! Curious on peoples' thoughts of the movie. Mine are in the spoiler.

[freddy]

IDK how I should feel about the film - as I was definitely had a ":S" feeling all throughout watching. parts of it was cringeworthy. some self-conscious. and parts of it was somewhat provocative given our digitally-connected lives. it reminded a lot about online communities especially with more rogue underground ones and I suppose need-not-to-say fashion ones too.

it reminds me a bit of us care-tagers, albeit the dynamics are inverted, as far as using online mediums to interrelate with other on an alternate virtual dimension. it's to say that our relations and connections exists primarily online first with IRL meetups as a supporting supplement...at least I reckon for most folks. we cannot forgo "what happens online" because it makes up who we are as a community that encapsulates all our identities.



To which brings me to think about this documentary-film that I watched a while back. Essentially it describes how this dot-com guy illusively foreshadowed that because of the internet-age, privacy will be a thing of the past, for we will be able to live in our primitive human prime and urges at any given time, day, and to our heart's willfully unending desires. Given the security breaches with the celebrity nudity scandal and the endless stream of stimulus found on the internet, despite his perceived dystopian lunatic-like madman views, sans his egregious sending and personality, I don't think he was far off at all as he was way too early for the mainstream to digest what would be awe-shocking but undeniable realities today.

I'd watch both for the introspective sake given our radically shifting times that are assaulting into our intimate lives in a rapid way before we can actually sit down and reflect as to how and what is encroaching and infiltrating in all faucets of our ever-increasingly digitally-connected landscape of society at large and social relations that are constantly being uprooted and rewritten. And I think it goes hand in hand with the more noted movies of Her and Boyhood. Conversely I think there needs to be a complimentary "Girlhood" rendition for capturing the intimate life throughout a developmental stages of a female girl growing-up to a mature young-adult-lady akin to Boyhood.

On new realities of the internet-age today, there was this ted x berlin talk by a funky/quirky Finnish professor as an "internet sociologist" that lamented how online communities is the de facto current human technological revolution. As in, it is as revolutionary as the invention of the wheel and the therein innovations thereafter. Essentially, we respectively defy the space-time continuum given the potential limitations of our actual in-real-life localities has to offer. If we want to collaborate and foster new interests and friendships, we can quickly do so with the internet that wouldn't have existed opportunity wise before (obviously say if one were to explore an interest in fashion and none of your local surrounding environment could expose you to such breath and depth than what can be viewed and discussed online). Simply, the internet is here to stay and that for those who embrace it will be rewarded with richer and fuller lives than those who do not. Modern society is to become interweaved with the encroaching cyberspace dimension.

Nevertheless for me, it propelled me to embrace even more online connections and activities, but obviously, and I believe like with many others, I'm still at an in-between stump of uncertainty and adventuresome wonder about the internet and the resulting relationships that are forged through it. as much as we can be skeptics (and we rightfully should given the potential fallouts and mishaps), i think there's a lot to gain for being early-bird adoptees as we all are congregate here on care-tags.

A final note, I like to think a place here is a pinnacle representation/model for what a avante-garde online community lead into materializing in terms of actual real life gains... and I suppose comes with that losses too. It'll be interesting to see how the digital landscape will continue to impact and alter our what would be seemingly linearly envisioned lives, where only imagination could have existed to conjure of before. (hopefully I can find said talk)

[freddy]

IDK how I should feel about the film as I was definitely had a ":S" feeling all throughout watching. Parts of it was cringeworthy. Some invoked self-consciousness. And much of it was provocative given our digitally-connected lives. It reminded a lot about online communities especially with more rogue underground ones and I suppose need-not-to-say fashion ones too.

It also reminds me a bit of us care-tagers, albeit the dynamics are inverted, as far as using online mediums to interrelate with other on an alternate virtual dimension. It's to say that our relations and connections exists primarily online first with IRL meetups as a supporting supplement...at least I reckon for most folks. We cannot forgo "what happens online" because it makes up who we are fundamentally as a community that encapsulates all our identities - despite however much IRL-ness we make of it. (or so I am to believe right now) What's important to note is that the internet allow us to express our true feelings as vile, as repressed, and unfit elsewhere in real life as it can be.



To which brings me to think about this documentary-film that I watched a while back. Essentially it describes how this dot-com guy illusively foreshadowed that because of the internet-age, privacy will be a thing of the past, if it isn't already, for we will be able to live in our primitive human prime and urges at any given time, day, and to our heart's willfully unending desires. Given the recent security breaches with the celebrity nude scandal, nevertheless the endless stream of stimulus found on the internet, despite his perceived dystopian lunatic-like madman views, sans his egregious spending and personality, I don't think he was far off at all. He was early, too early, for the mainstream to digest at his time what would materialize into awe-shocking but undeniable realities today.

I'd watch both for the introspective sake given our radically shifting times that are assaulting into our intimate lives in a rapid way before we can actually sit down and reflect as to how and what is encroaching and infiltrating in all faucets of our ever-increasingly digitally-connected landscape of society at large and social relations that are constantly being uprooted and rewritten. And I think it goes hand in hand with the more noted movies of Her and Boyhood. For this, I think there needs to be a complimentary "Girlhood" rendition for capturing the intimate life throughout a developmental trajectory of a female girl growing-up into a mature young-adult-lady akin to Boyhood.

On new realities of the internet-age today, I recall this Ted x Berlin talk by a funky/quirky Finnish professor as an "internet sociologist" that lamented how online communities is the de facto current human technological revolution. As in, it is as revolutionary as the invention of the wheel and the therein innovations thereafter. Essentially, we respectively defy the space-time continuum given the potential limitations of our actual in-real-life localities has to offer. If we want to collaborate and foster new interests and friendships, we can quickly do so with the internet that wouldn't have existed opportunity wise before (obviously say if one were to explore an interest in fashion and none of your local surrounding environment could expose you to such breath and depth than what can be viewed and discussed online). Simply, the internet is here to stay and that for those who embrace it will be rewarded with richer and fuller lives than those who do not. Modern society is to become interweaved with the encroaching cyberspace dimension.

Nevertheless for me, since then, incorporating the wisdom from the talk has propelled me to embrace even more online connections and activities. But obviously, and I believe like with many others, I'm still at an in-between stump of uncertainty and adventuresome wonder about the internet and the resulting relationships that are forged through it. As much as we can be skeptics (and we rightfully should given the potentiality of fallouts and mishaps), I think there's a lot to gain for being early-bird adoptees as we all are congregate here on care-tags, and for many newfound and devised communities to come.

It'll be interesting to see how the digital landscape will continue to impact and alter our what would be seemingly linearly envisioned lives, where only imagination could have existed to conjure of dreaming such possibilities that lay in front us us and embedded into or mental apparatuses, and yet we may not all necessarily have something conventionally tangible tell and share with others in our preexisting day-to-day lives. I like to think a place here is a pinnacle representation/model for what a avante-garde online community would lead into materializing in terms of actual real life gains...and I suppose comes with that losses too. Perhaps this inseparable intersection for the underground nature of online communities and the typification of daily life is indeed the wave of the future as we find ourselves bringing more about with better technological means. As these aforementioned films attempts I believe to not so much conventionally entertain us as we would expect; but rather, it instead implores us to deeply reflect upon the unrealized deep-seated nature within ourselves, freed by ever-innovative technology and opportunistic creative minds shaping whatever can be visualize in cyberspace.

And the possibilities of the worlds that we can all can create, nevertheless attracting the questionable inhabitants that will come to discover such place.

[Syeknom]

Le conseguenze dell'amore is wonderful. Beautifully shot and composed and the stillness and silence of the main character is so enthralling.

[lee3jm]

Whiplash is amazing. Miles Teller and JK Simmons both put in really tense, believable performances. Miles Teller really looked like was putting in his last ounces of energy when drumming. There were so many times where the movie could have ended, but it kept going (although done past tastefully, no fluff). Can't wait to watch Birdman.

[BIGBEE]

deleted my lame joke in random thoughts, and placing this where it should be. :P


I'm pretty excited for this. I like thomas pynchon and inherent vice is a great book. hopefully this isn't too bad.

ALSO Thomas Pynchon is rumored to make a "cameo" in this movie. Pretty funny if you ask me

EDIT: too clarify thomas pynchon is like margiela/germinal ANONYMOUS

[Syeknom]

Der Himmel über Berlin - unbelievable. So mesmerising.

[absurdmind]

yes! wings of desire is in my top 10 i think. i watched what is sort of the slower antithesis the other night (by that i mean it was bleak as can be). the turin horse by bela tarr

a breathtaking film that left me feeling rather deflated after. this is material for those days where you cant decide if youre having an onset of SAD or nihilism. joking aside, the cinematography is incredible and i wish i had the education to pin down exactly what captivated me. it captures so much while doing so little, and the aesthetic tone just draws you in, letting your eyes wander on screen... im rambling now, but i recommend it for anyone who's ok with minimal narrative and dialogue.

[tomsfood]

The Usual Suspects (1995)



Upstream Color (2013)



Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)



The Virgin Suicides (1999)

[Syeknom]

I'm admittedly a big nick cave fanboy but 20,000 Days On Earth is really rather excellent

[IsaiahSchafer]

Everybody needs to get out to see Nightcrawler ASAP. Style was cool. Jake Gyllenhaal was absolutely insane. Totally perfect. I was sold on his character from the get-go. Completely sucked me in. Captures the voyeurism and mood so well.

Oh yeah, go see Fury too. Best war movie since Saving Private Ryan. Tank battles had me on the edge of my seat, completely floored with adrenaline and Brad Pitt takes his top off. A+++++ to both.

[INNIT]

[IsaiahSchafer]

Pffft. It's so obvious when someone doesn't stay after the credits^

[UnwashedMolasses]

John Wick delivers. Trailers/marketing hasn't been great but it's executed very well. Just the right balance of expected/desired action movie ridiculousness. Fight choreography doesn't cast Wick as a martial arts god, everything is as believable as it can be; Reeves takes a beating throughout the film. What character development and drama there are in the film are well done. Overall I'd say it's the best movie of this action-hero-ex-assassin subgenre that I've seen. Definite recommendation to any fans of action films or puppies.

[Ques]

watched 2 things recently, both on instant play sur le netflix



about a man who gets fired and pretends he's gay to keep his job. daniel auteuil is funny as ever, but the film starts to be one-dimensional after the first half, and as light-hearted as it was, brought up a lot of dormant thoughts on homophobia to the surface which i hadn't really thought about since high school. haven't seen the word fag appear in the subtitles that often in a long time, makes me want to look into different french homophobic slurs, i wonder if there's a site that explains which ones are more offensive than others

[/img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Pulp_Fiction_cover.jpg[/img]

also saw pulp fiction. tried watching this before but gave up 45 minutes in, started to lose myself in the plot and didn't see the point. stopped right as that was just a litttle much at the time, but i'm really glad i watched it again. her make-up and expression and just self on the car ride home after that scene haunted my dreams that night . overall the film reminded me a lot of the coen brothers stuff. definitely enjoyed it more the further i got