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RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 1/5/2011 1:18:24 PM   
rick_7


Posts: 5758
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The internet
quote:

ORIGINAL: elab49

Possibly The Return - absolutely superb.

Yep, that's it - brilliant, thanks.


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Post #: 3751
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 1/5/2011 1:23:47 PM   
matty_b


Posts: 13121
Joined: 19/10/2005
From: Outpost 31 calling McMurtle.
quote:

ORIGINAL: rick_7

quote:

ORIGINAL: matty_b

Junebug (Phil Morrison)
 
I may have mentioned elsewhere on the forums that I'm pretty much in love with Amy Adams. I  her and if my wife ever leaves me, that's no problem because I'll just follow Amy around and love her and she will love me and I will play with her hair and build her a basement to live in and then we will...where was I? Oh yeah, happily she's a pretty good actress too, and her role in Junebug, Morrison's comedy drama about an English art gallery manager Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) meeting her husband's (Alessandro Nivola) working class North Carolina family is one she should have won the Oscar for. She plays Ashley, the heavily pregnant wife of Nivola's brother, and is a bubbly ray of sunshine in the film. Everyone else is slightly suspicious of Madeleine apart from Ashley, who is an open book. Her conversation style is a naive stream-of-consciousness babble, flitting from topic to topic, greeting everything with wide-eyed astonishment and sincere joy to be around other people. She really should be an irritant, but Adams makes her the endearing centre of the film - happy, sad, funny and dim all at the same time. The film itself is also fine, with nicely drawn relationships that makes everyone flawed instead of painting the family as hicks or Madeleine as a snob that would make them easy villains of the piece. (4)

Just saw this, whilst trying to find the name of some Russian film from about 2005 that everyone was raving about the other week (can anyone help, please?).

Have you seen the deleted scenes for Junebug? They're all really good and the extended ending - which resolves numerous story threads in a clever, unsentimental manner - is vastly superior to the one that was used. Very strange. I like the film, particularly Adams' performance.



I haven't, and as I've returned the DVD to Lovefilm, I doubt I ever will now.

What are they? I did think the relationship between Ashley and her husband was left a little up in the air. Is the extended ending about them?


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Post #: 3752
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 1/5/2011 1:45:36 PM   
rick_7


Posts: 5758
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The internet
 The main one is that extra five or six minute scene at the end, with Eugene and Peg talking and affecting a kissy reaffirmation of their marriage (hot stuff), and then Madeleine and Johnny having a bit of a chat about his course and him giving her a prezzie (I can't remember what it was). He also talks quite fondly about your pretend wife, Amy Adams, if memory serves, which would give a bit of closure on that score. Mostly I just remember it fleshing out the characterisation and providing a better sign-off than the weirdly abrupt finish they went with.

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Post #: 3753
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 1/5/2011 2:58:39 PM   
matty_b


Posts: 13121
Joined: 19/10/2005
From: Outpost 31 calling McMurtle.
 Ah, OK, that's pretty interesting. Cheers. 

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quote:

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Post #: 3754
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 1/5/2011 4:54:26 PM   
rick_7


Posts: 5758
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The internet
quote:

ORIGINAL: matty_b

Ah, OK, that's pretty interesting. Cheers. 

Yeah, it would be more interesting if I could remember any of it, but thanks.


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RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 1/5/2011 8:29:08 PM   
elab49


Posts: 52022
Joined: 1/10/2005
Plein Soleil (CLement, 1960)

Superior French adaptation of Highsmith's "Talented Mr Ripley" Starring Alain Delon as Ripley and proving again, I think, that he excelled most in these kind of withdrawn amoral killer type roles. Broadly faithful to the book apart from an odd ending, it tells the story of a young man named Ripley who's been sent to Italy by Greenleaf snr to bring his itinerant son home. Although Ripley is actually lying about knowing him, Philippe goes along with it, playing with him in a rather unpleasant manner which Ripley simply accepts until he realises Greenleaf is lying about going home and his chance of a payday has gone.

Clement and Delon give Ripley the appropriate casual approach to actually committing crime, although he does the work hard to commit the less fatal ones like forgery. There are some nice scenes with Ripley enjoying the fruits of his crimes, enjoying the simple life, wandering round markets (and some very memorable shots of the fish market – I've no idea what it is as I don't eat fish but the camera lingers over one type (skate? triangular, white) in a very memorable way, as they all have sad wee, dead, faces.

I don't know why they decided to mess with the ending – the French rarely require the moral resolution of American films. It's a pity they did.

Ripley's Game (Cavani, 2002)

Malkovich's Ripley, while not a match to either Delon or Hopper, is still an interesting take, focussing more on the love of beauty in all forms (with elements of Lector). Here the story is broadly similar to the book – living in France, Ripley is insulted by a local British picture framer. Using Trevanney's illness against him, he ties him up in an assassination plot but when a connection is formed between the two men and a killing goes wrong, violence follows them back home.

Malkovich handles the off-hand approach to violence reasonably well (although I don't entirely buy his watch line) and Dougray Scott is adequate, although I prefer the less lovely dovey relationship presented between him and his wife in the Wenders' film (although Headey is also decent).

It is a pretty good thriller but suffers in comparison to the earlier adaptation.

Prince of Persia Sands Of Time (Newell, 2010)

Will not become one of those crap films that you actually have a guilty enjoyment of and watch whenever it's one. It's just crap.

Katalin Varga (Strickland, 2009)

Debut of a British director, set in Romania. After her husband discovers that their son is not his, Katalin heads off with the boy on a mysterious journey.

Highly praised, Strickland seems to be one of those directors who go on about never being able to be funded to work in the UK and how everywhere else is better (I may have picked that up wrong, but it was the clear, IMO, subtext to an interview I read ages ago). So does this deserve the praise?

Personally I don't think it stands out from the crowd, unless you're giving it points for being a UK director working in another culture. That might be why it never really feels authentic and the often lovely shots of the scenery feel like just that – nice shots, but just pretty landscape stuff added. The story isn't particularly original either and the motivation behind the sudden decision to go isn't given much substance, so it all feels just a bit choppy. At the end connections need to be made very quickly but they aren't believable either. Hilda Peter is very good though and there is one excellent scene when the two main characters and one other are rather randomly out on a boat and Katalin decides to tell a story, very well indeed.  

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Post #: 3756
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 1/5/2011 10:43:19 PM   
matty_b


Posts: 13121
Joined: 19/10/2005
From: Outpost 31 calling McMurtle.
 Rain Man (Barry Levinson)

One of the more aggressively bland winners of Best Picture and Best Director, this road trip of one young selfish and bitter brother, Charlie Babbit (Tom Cruise) discovering an elder severly autistic sibling, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), the heir to their late father's fortune, is merely extremely pleasant for its duration with the odd stab at profound tenderness along the way - though these stabs aren't exactly profound as it turns out. Although the word inoffensive does come to mind about it, I do wonder if I should be laughing at Raymond as the film seems to suggest. And I'm also in two minds about Hoffman's performance - brilliant chamelonic disappearance into mental illness, or a calculated and very actorly series of tics and mannerims? Probably both. Mind you, having said all that, the (improvised by Hoffman) head touch in the final ten minutes absolutely gets me. (3.5)

< Message edited by matty_b -- 1/5/2011 10:44:12 PM >

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Post #: 3757
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 7:28:12 AM   
Gimli The Dwarf


Posts: 73572
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Central Park Zoo
 May list.


=1. Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (8th view, 2003, Gore Verbinski) - 5/5
=1. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (5th view, 2006, Gore Verbinski) - 5/5
=1. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (3rd view, 2003, Gore Verbinski) - 5/5
2. Sons Of The Desert (10th= view, 1933, William A. Seiter) - 5/5
3. Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (1st view, 2011, Rob Marshall - 4/5*
4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2nd view, 2009, Niels Arden Oplev) - 4/5
5. The Girl Who Played With Fire (2nd view, 2009, Daniel Alfredson) - 4/5
6. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (1st view, 2009, Daniel Alfredson) - 4/5*
7. The Happening (3rd view, 2008, M- Night Shyamalan) - 4/5
8. Apocalypse Now Redux (2nd view, 1979, Francis Ford Coppola) - 4/5
9. The Double Life of Véronique (1st view, 1991, Krzysztof Kieślowski) - 4/5*
10. The Loved Ones (1st view, 2009, Sean Byrne) - 4/5*

11. Attack The Block (1st view, 2011, Joe Cornish) - 4/5*
12. Iron Man 2 (2nd view, 2010, Jon Favreau) - 4/5
13. Get Low (1st view, 2009, Aaron Schneider) - 4/5*
14. Hanna (1st view, 2011, Joe Wright) - 4/5*
15. The Hide (1st view, 2008, Marek Losey) - 4/5*
16. Monsters vs Aliens (2nd view, 2009, Rob Letterman/Conrad Vernon.) - 4/5
17. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (1st view, 2008, Peter Sollett) - 4/5*
18. The Social Network (1st view, 2010, David Fincher) - 4/5*
19. Winter's Bone (1st view, 2010, Debra Granik) - 4/5*
20. The Tourist (1st view, 2010, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) - 4/5

21. Targets (1st view, 1968, Peter Bogdanovich) - 4/5*
22. The Incredible Hulk (3rd view, 2008, Louis Leterrier) - 4/5
23. Bad Boys II (4th view, 2003, Michael Bay) 4/5
24. The House of the Spirits (1st view, 1993, Bille August) - 4/5*
25. The Vault Of Horror (1st view, 1973, Roy Ward Baker) - 4/5*
26. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (3rd view, 2005, Doug Liman) - 4/5
27. Invincible (1st view, 2003, Ericson Core) - 3/5*
28. Just My Luck (1st view, 2006, Donald Petrie) - 3/5*
29. The Last Exorcism (1st view, 2010, Daniel Stamm) - 3/5*
30. The Last Airbender (1st view, 2010, M. Night Shyamalan) - 3/5*

31. Baby Mama (1st view, 2008, Michael McCullers) - 3/5*
32. DOA: Dead or Alive (1st view, 2006, Corey Yuen) 3/5*
33. TMNT (1st view, 2007, Kevin Munroe) - 3/5*
34. Gulliver's Travels (1st view, 2010, Rob Lettermen) - 3/5*
35. The Green Hornet (1st view, 2011, Michel Gondry) - 2/5*


Shorts

1. Lucky (2005, Nash Edgerton)
2. Spider (2007, Nash Edgerton)
3. Netherland Dwarf (2008, David Michôd)
4. Miracle Fish (2009, Luke Doolan)
5. Crossbow (2007, David Michôd)



23. Iron Man 2 (2nd view, 2010, Jon Favreau) - 4/5
Not quite as good as the first one I don't think. Then again I don't like Rourke or Johansson, so their presence doesn't help. But it was, for me anyway, good fun.


75. The Last Airbender (1st view, 2010, M. Night Shyamalan) - 3/5*



< Message edited by Gimli The Dwarf -- 1/6/2011 6:01:39 AM >

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Fellow scientists, poindexters, geeks.

Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, science!

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Post #: 3758
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 12:21:42 PM   
impqueen


Posts: 6920
Joined: 24/7/2006
April  

01.   Bigger Than Life (Ray, 1956) USA (Tenth + View) 9.8
02.   The Shop Around the Corner (Lubitsch, 1940) USA (Fifth View) 9.5 
03.   A Serious Man (Coen, 2009) USA (Third View) 9.5
04.   Witchfinder General (Reeves, 1968) USA (Tenth + View) 9.2
05.   Blood on Satan's Claw (Haggard, 1971) UK (First View) 8.0

06.   Source Code (Jones, 2011) USA/FR (First View) 8.0
07.   The Wicker Man (Hardy, 1973) UK (Fifth View) 7.8
08.   Banshun / Late Spring (Ozu, 1949) JPN (Fifth View) 7.8
09.   Sons of the Desert (Seiter, 1933) USA (First View) 7.8
10.   Thor (Branagh, 2011) USA (First View) 7.5

11.   Whip It! (Barrymore, 2009) USA (Second View) 6.0
12.   Limitless (Burger, 2011) USA (First View) 6.0
13.   Rango (Verbinski, 2011) USA (First View) 6.0
14.   Monsters (Edwards, 2010) UK (Second View) 6.0
15.   Heaven's Gate (Cimino, 1980) USA (First View) 5.0

16.   Burke and Hare (Landis, 2010) UK (First View) 5.0
17.   Scre4m (Craven, 2011) USA (First View) 2.0


Trends:  Folklore Horror , Cinema Release

Actors of the Month: James Mason, James Stewart, Vincent Price, Edward Woodward, Michael Stuhlbarg
Actresses of the Month: Margaret Sullavan, Barbara Rush, Lynda Hayden, Setsuko Hara  

Surprises: THOR!!!!
Moments of the Month: Endings (See #1-5, 7 & 14), Sif and the Warriors Three waving through a window. 

Decade:

1930: 01
1940: 02
1950: 01
1960: 01
1970: 02
1980: 01
2000: 02
2010: 07

First View: 09 

< Message edited by impqueen -- 2/5/2011 12:22:43 PM >

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Post #: 3759
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 1:44:56 PM   
TheDudeAbides


Posts: 783
Joined: 15/1/2006
From: In the neighbourhood, feeling a bit daffy.
 Blackboard Jungle (1955)

Must be the fourth or fifth time I've seen this now, and it still holds up. Glen Ford gives a fantastic, intense performance as war vet Richard Dadier, who arrives in a rundown inner city school to teach a rabble of boys who would rather be anywhere else. The rest of the faculty are jaded and cynical about their students - many are illiterate, some immigrants with a poor grasp of English, all of them poor and angry. At first, Dadier thinks he can slowly win them over with his tough-love approach, but as things start to get dangerous, it becomes apparent that ending a day unscathed is about the best a teacher can hope for in this hellhole. He develops a complex relationship with Miller (a young and devastatingly handsome Sidney Poitier), a student who has all the qualities the others lack - intelligence, initiative, leadership - but won't let himself use them for fear of being seen to 'co-operate' with authority.

Some people criticise the movie as outdated, but that just makes me wonder where the hell they went to school. Okay, the 1950s greaser outfits and the 'daddy-o' jive is firmly rooted in its time. But how many people went to a school where a female teacher is attacked and narrowly saved from being raped, where teachers are beaten senseless in the streets by their pupils and where a pencilcase is as likely to contain a switchblade as a pen? The frustration and humiliation of trying to remain in control in such an environment is really hammered home; but thankfully, so are the brief, ecstatic moments of success (the Jack and the Beanstalk scene is delightfully well played-out). Ford is superb, simmering between wary chumminess and savage anger in the face of his apathetic and aggressive charges, trying to stop himself crossing the line under near-constant provocation. One of the first black and white films I ever saw and for me still essential viewing.

9/10


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Post #: 3760
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 4:25:05 PM   
MOTH

 

Posts: 3194
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Sittin' on the dock of the bay
 Through A Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman, 1961)
Well, I suppose it has a cool title. (3/10)

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Post #: 3761
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 5:20:01 PM   
Rinc


Posts: 12566
Joined: 2/10/2005
From: A park bench, with a newspaper quilt
 7. Scream (Wes Craven, 1996) - 7 Apr
Inspired by Hughes' thread (long time reader, no time poster) I watched all four films. The first is still by far the best with that incredible opening, an inventive plot, snappy dialogue and good turns by all the cast.

13. The Life of Emile Zola (William Deterle, 1937) - 7* Apr
Interesting drama with a star turn by Paul Muni and a courtroom scene that will get your blood boiling.

19. Source Code (Duncan Jones, 2011) - 7* May
Really good thriller with Gyllenhall always being good value. Those last few minutes let it down though.

27. Scream 2 (Wes Craven, 1997) - 6 Apr
Not as good as the first but has several scenes that really stick in the memory.

34. Scream 4 (Wes Craven, 2011) - 6* May
Anyone else think Sydney has turned into a bit of a Ripley? Ridiculous but fun with a nice contemporary take on motive.

37. You Can’t Take It With You (Frank Capra, 1938) - 6* Apr
This suffers anytime Stewart, Barrymore or Arnold aren't on screen.

50. Scream 3 (Wes Craven, 2000) - 5 Apr
Totally silly and over the top. Has lost the post-modern take on horror that the previous two had although at times it's fun.

51. Going My Way (Leo McCarey, 1944) - 5* Apr
Meh, I wondered at times what the point of this was. Crosby and McHugh are alright though.

< Message edited by Rinc -- 2/5/2011 7:48:39 PM >

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No spoilers please:

Invisiotext:
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Post #: 3762
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 7:18:38 PM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2176
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
 The Changeling (Peter Medak, 1980)

I got this because of Jean Marsh.  She was wiped out in the first minute and a half.  So that was good.
2/5

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Post #: 3763
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 9:10:00 PM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2176
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
 April

*****
1. Modern Times  (Charles Chaplin, 1936)
2. Lost Weekend  (Billy Wilder, 1945)
3. All the President's Men  (Alan J Pakula, 1976)
4. Penda's Fen  (Alan Clarke, 1973)
5. Fear Eats the Soul  (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)

****
6. M   (Fritz Lang, 1931)
7. How I Ended This Summer  (Aleksei Popogrebski, 2010)
8. The Night Porter  (Liliana Cavani, 1974)
9. Stake Land  (Jim Mickle, 2010)
10. The Man Who Fell to Earth  (Nicholas Roeg, 1976)
11. The Kid  (Charlie Chaplin, 1921)
12. Gaslight  (George Cukor, 1944)
13. Les Diabolique  (Henri Georges Cluzot, 1955)
14. Persepolis  (Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi, 2007)

***
15. Thor  (Kenneth Branagh, 2011)
16. Black Dynamite  (Scott Sanders, 2009)
17. The Princess of Montpensier  (Bertrand Tavernier, 2010)
18. Team America World Police  (Trey Parker, 2004)
19. The Marriage of Maria Braun  (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1979)
20. Chinese Roulette  (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1976)

**
21. 13 Assassins  (Takashi Miike, 2010)
22. The Changeling  (Peter Medak, 1980)
23. Viridiana  (Luis Bunuel, 1961)
24. YellowBrickRoad  (Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton, 2010)
25. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari  (Robert Wiene, 1920)

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Post #: 3764
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 9:23:53 PM   
Rinc


Posts: 12566
Joined: 2/10/2005
From: A park bench, with a newspaper quilt
 April:

5. Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branagh, 1993) - 7
7. Scream (Wes Craven, 1996) - 7
13. The Life of Emile Zola (William Deterle, 1937) - 7*
17. Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaughn, 2010) - 7
21. In the Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009) - 7

25. Gentlemen’s Agreement (Elia Kazan, 1947) - 6*
27. Scream 2 (Wes Craven, 1997) - 6
36. All the King’s Men (Robert Rossen, 1949) - 6*
37. You Can’t Take It With You (Frank Capra, 1938) - 6*
41. Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927) - 6*

50. Scream 3 (Wes Craven, 2000) - 5
51. Going My Way (Leo McCarey, 1944) - 5*

_____________________________

No spoilers please:

Invisiotext:
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Post #: 3765
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 9:24:13 PM   
Beetlejuice!


Posts: 6292
Joined: 24/11/2005
2. Reservoir Dogs - 10/10
Never get bored of these characters, a career best from all involved. Well Pulp Fiction might be better but it's close

79. The Twilight Samurai - 8/10
Not as impressive as Zatoichi, but this quietly effective and lyrical samurai drama plays out at a leisurely pace. A likeable lead character and actor and a sweet romance alongside some impressive sword fights. A bit slow but a very good film indeed.

80. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days - 8/10
A grim, powerful film that definitely provides some food for thought. Not a film you will enjoy but certainly one you won't forget in a hurry. The lengthy shots are impressively filmed.

91. La Regle du Jeu - 8/10
I got quite involved in this film (sometimes I find very old films a bit of a struggle to get through despite their 'worth'). It's very well directed and I can only assume that the directing style was an influence on Robert Altman as I saw some similarities to some of his films, especially of course Gosford Park.


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Post #: 3766
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 2/5/2011 11:44:17 PM   
swordsandsandals


Posts: 12569
Joined: 6/1/2006
From: A magical forest
quote:

ORIGINAL: Gimli The Dwarf

23. Iron Man 2 (2nd view, 2010, Jon Favreau) - 4/5
Not quite as good as the first one I don't think. Then again I don't like Rourke or Johansson, so their presence doesn't help. But it was, for me anyway, good fun.

Iron Man 2 was rubbish.

quote:


75. The Last Airbender (1st view, 2010, M. Night Shyamalan) - 3/5*




Amazing chart. Gimli, you are a very special forumite.

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Post #: 3767
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 12:15:32 AM   
Deviation


Posts: 26923
Joined: 2/6/2006
From: Enemies of Film HQ
 Black Rain (Shohei Imamura, 1989, JPN)- 5/5

It's not like Ridley Scott's film. Released in the same year. Also based in Japan. With the same name. Not similar in any way. Filmed like a 50-60s Japanese drama with all the beauty and subtlety that can be found in the greatest of Japanese dramas, it focuses on the aftereffects the bombs of Hiroshima left on the survivors long after it has fallen. It's heartbreaking to say the least, the scenes of Hiroshima being suitably harrowing (a scene with a severely burned child trying to get his older brother to recognize him is both shocking and extremely sad) and watching the characters who survived slowly dying and awaiting the chance for the radiation to start affecting makes for sad viewing. To relieve the sorrow a bit, there is a light, tender sense of humor running throughout and it is a rewarding watch. It's subtle and technically superb on every level, with not one single performance below excellent.

Japanese Story (Sue Brooks, 2003, ATR)- 5/5

At first I was dubious about this. The story felt like nothing fascinating and could have lead to a rather contrived tale about cultural clash and ignorance. Tsunashima's Japanese' businessman almost confirmed that as his character almost comes close of being a stereotype in the first few minutes, but then the relationship develops, it becomes more heartfelt and takes a great twist in the second half. Collette's character can feel dumber than she's supposed to be in some scenes (Japanese women culture what?) but it all leads to a great finale, which further proves my theory that Sakamoto's music makes everything better.

A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 1996, IRA/FRA)- 4/5

There are some, horrific, egregious sound editing mistakes in the opening 15 minutes which are impossible to ignore, and are mistakes of the sort that only an amateur would make (or the director of Birdemic) and not an acclaimed filmmaker like Makhmalbaf would do. The rest though, is pure poetry and subtlety. Makhmalbaf is a director who chooses to film an event from his youth and uses this scene to experiment with was in real and fake and passes a political point, elevating a film with a simple premise and simpler (yet complicated to actually execute) technique to the level of brilliance. Just a shame for the terrible editing.

The Young One (Luis Bunuel, 1960, USA/MEX)- 4/5

The first film I've seen by Bunuel with no surrealism in it. Watching it however was a surreal experience. IT'S IN ENGLISH. THE FILM SIDES WITH A REVEREND. A RELIGIOUS MAN. A CHRISTIAN. HE IS RIGHT. IN A BUNUEL FILM. Though really, when the other characters of the film are either complete racists or a racist and a pedophile, then its hard not to side with the religious guy (no jokes about Catholics you) who knows that racism and pedophilia. The lead character is not the young child herself nor the black jazz singer convicted of rape but Zachary Scott's unlikeable pedophile bigot who actually redeems himself throughout the film. Well directed and well acted, however not one of Bunuel's finest.

The Phantom of Liberty (Luis Bunuel, 1974, ITA/FRA)- 4/5

You did it Bunuel, you've made the most baffling film of all time. Not even INLAND EMPIRE can compete with this. It's purely surrealist, free of form, plot or structure and very little to connect one set piece with another, with an opening and ending united only by the words "Down with Liberty". It's actually quite funny in moments and the nonsensical wit is brilliant. It's like Monty Python (who I'm sure have more than a little bit of influence from Bunuel). A particularly memorable moment involves a couple who look for their missing daughter. They see her, talk to her, still consider her missing and report to the police about her disappearance all in her presence. The problem is that whatever it wants to say is so obscure and the meaning of it all is so obtuse that whenever the film falls into a duller sketch, it completely looses all interest and becomes nothing but self-indulgence. In that way, it is also like Monty Python The Meaning of Life. Thank God that it mostly works greatly right?

Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945, USA)- 4/5

I really warmed to Haynes adaptation of the book. I loved Winslet, I loved the slow pacing, I loved the set and design, I loved the music and I was able to overlook things like Veda learning to sing opera like Renee Fleming in a few months. It also had a better ending, as I see no point in turning this story into a murder mystery told in the most contrived of ways. For all the steely exterior Crawford's Mildred shows, she is portrayed as fairly weak and sometimes it is hard to care for her, even in her most emotional moments. She makes ALL her life choices just for Veda, this almost castrating her strength, even worse than shown in the miniseries. Aside from that, it is mostly compelling, the performances are mostly great (that Zachary Scott is amazing), the music is good, it looks great and Curtiz knew how to get a great shot. I still have no idea on why they turned it into a murder mystery. WHY IS IT A MURDER MYSTERY?!

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962, UK)- 4/5

Stylish and hectically edited, well directed, at times absolutely compelling and that final race is surprisingly thrilling. Just a shame that the transitions from flashback to the boy's reformatory can be confusing and the protagonist is more unlikeable than interesting. Pretty good film though, just wished I cared more about it.

Assembly (Xiaogang Feng, 2007, CHN)- 4/5

A solid war film really, with some of the most visceral battles I've ever seen which mostly just appear in the first hour (seriously, it probably beats Brotherhood). It can seem to glorify unquestionable loyalty is dubious, but its focus seems more on the appreciation on those who sacrificed themselves for a cause rather than just acclaiming one, ie, THAT BEING OF THE GLORIOUS PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. DOWN WITH THE CAPITALISTIC WESTERN PIGS. Actually it's much less flag-waving then I'd thought it would be. Compare it to something like Saving Private Ryan, Rambo Part 2, Black Hawk Down or other such films and it comes down as a dignified epitaph to all those who die in the battle, communist or American (pigs).

_____________________________

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dpp1978
There are certainly times where calling a person a cunt is not only reasonable, it is a gross understatement.

quote:


ORIGINAL: elab49
I really wish I could go down to see Privates

(in reply to swordsandsandals)
Post #: 3768
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 10:12:33 AM   
Gimli The Dwarf


Posts: 73572
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Central Park Zoo
 28. The Hide (1st view, 2008, Marek Losey) - 4/5*
A well-spoken birdwatcher, Roy, sets up his equipment with clinical precision in preparation for his day seeking out the Sociable Plover, after which he will have spotted every native British bird. It isn't long before he's interrupted by David, an uncouth, tattooed younger man seeking shelter from the weather. The pair share sandwiches and talk about everything from birds to power tools. To say much else would be giving stuff away, but the cast of two and the claustrophobic setting help make this film an absorbing drama.

_____________________________

So, sir, we let him have it right up! And I have to report, sir, he did not like it, sir.

Fellow scientists, poindexters, geeks.

Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, science!

Much more better!

(in reply to Deviation)
Post #: 3769
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 10:16:09 AM   
Professor Moriarty

 

Posts: 8798
Joined: 6/10/2005
From: the waters of Casablanca
quote:

ORIGINAL: demoncleaner

2. Lost Weekend  (Billy Wilder, 1945)



Things I learned from this month's Empire magazine. Wilder put together Lost Weekend after working with Chandler on Double Indemnity to give Chandler an insight into himself.

quote:

ORIGINAL: elab
Prince of Persia Sands Of Time (Newell, 2010)

Will not become one of those crap films that you actually have a guilty enjoyment of and watch whenever it's one. It's just crap.

Now I know how Gimli feels so often I really enjoyed the film

< Message edited by Professor Moriarty -- 3/5/2011 10:23:23 AM >

(in reply to demoncleaner)
Post #: 3770
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 10:34:12 AM   
elab49


Posts: 52022
Joined: 1/10/2005
Things I wrote in my review of the Wilder/Chandler radio play a couple of months ago - the link to the following film Lost Weekend after Wilder worked with Chandler. Which was also one of the final lines of the radio play.

Although I'm sure it was all completely different research

PS If you didn't catch it I'd recommend it - it was wonderfully done.

_____________________________

Lips Together and Blow - blogtasticness and Glasgow Film Festival GFF13!

Films watched 2012

Annual Poll 2012 Countdown Started.

(in reply to Professor Moriarty)
Post #: 3771
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 10:38:40 AM   
rawlinson


Posts: 40612
Joined: 13/6/2008
From: Timbuktu. Chinese or Fictional.
quote:

ORIGINAL: Gimli The Dwarf

28. The Hide (1st view, 2008, Marek Losey) - 4/5*
A well-spoken birdwatcher, Roy, sets up his equipment with clinical precision in preparation for his day seeking out the Sociable Plover, after which he will have spotted every native British bird. It isn't long before he's interrupted by David, an uncouth, tattooed younger man seeking shelter from the weather. The pair share sandwiches and talk about everything from birds to power tools. To say much else would be giving stuff away, but the cast of two and the claustrophobic setting help make this film an absorbing drama.


I really hope more people see this film. Alex MacQueen is one of my favourite actors of the moment, he appears to have been in every modern British sitcom or radio comedy, so it's great to see him do something really dramatic like this and show his range.


_____________________________

quote:

ORIGINAL: matty_b

I would plough my way through MonsterCat



quote:

ORIGINAL: matty_b

I desire MonsterCat to go down on me.

(in reply to Gimli The Dwarf)
Post #: 3772
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 10:55:14 AM   
matty_b


Posts: 13121
Joined: 19/10/2005
From: Outpost 31 calling McMurtle.
 Winter's Bone (Debra Granik)
 
The Ozarks are made to look like a different world in Granik's drama of a young girl (Jennifer Lawrence) searching for her missing father to save the family home from bail agents with only her unpredictable uncle (John Hawkes) for help. Grim, desolate and with their own code towards violence, secrecy and the law; the outbreak of unrest and death is never far from hand and it's a sobering, quietly enthralling journey that Lawrence undertakes. The plot is paper thin, but the performances of Lawrence and Hawkes and the sheer atmosphere of the film makes up for that. (4)

_____________________________

quote:

ORIGINAL: Cool Breeze
Mattyb is a shining example of what the perfect Empire Forum member is.


(in reply to rawlinson)
Post #: 3773
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 11:00:31 AM   
Professor Moriarty

 

Posts: 8798
Joined: 6/10/2005
From: the waters of Casablanca
quote:

ORIGINAL: elab49

Things I wrote in my review of the Wilder/Chandler radio play a couple of months ago - the link to the following film Lost Weekend after Wilder worked with Chandler. Which was also one of the final lines of the radio play.

Although I'm sure it was all completely different research

PS If you didn't catch it I'd recommend it - it was wonderfully done.


I missed both your earlier observation of the link and also the play. I'm sure they were both wonderfully done.

I'm expecting the Empire review of Cars 2 to definitely contain the line "Glossy and souless, Disney does Pixar" now

(in reply to elab49)
Post #: 3774
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 11:02:23 AM   
Gimli The Dwarf


Posts: 73572
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Central Park Zoo
quote:

ORIGINAL: rawlinson


I really hope more people see this film. Alex MacQueen is one of my favourite actors of the moment, he appears to have been in every modern British sitcom or radio comedy, so it's great to see him do something really dramatic like this and show his range.




I don't think I've seen him in anything besides this, but he was very good.

_____________________________

So, sir, we let him have it right up! And I have to report, sir, he did not like it, sir.

Fellow scientists, poindexters, geeks.

Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, science!

Much more better!

(in reply to rawlinson)
Post #: 3775
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 11:08:42 AM   
Gimli The Dwarf


Posts: 73572
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Central Park Zoo
 Bugger it. I was about to settle down and watch Mothra on youtube and it's not available in the UK. It was the other week!

_____________________________

So, sir, we let him have it right up! And I have to report, sir, he did not like it, sir.

Fellow scientists, poindexters, geeks.

Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, science!

Much more better!

(in reply to Gimli The Dwarf)
Post #: 3776
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 11:09:21 AM   
impqueen


Posts: 6920
Joined: 24/7/2006
Boldemort!

_____________________________

Yes, always.

Mr Clever!

You were expecting someone else?

(in reply to Gimli The Dwarf)
Post #: 3777
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 11:10:27 AM   
elab49


Posts: 52022
Joined: 1/10/2005
Patrick Stewart played Chandler - fab stuff. Cars 2 is, unsurprisingly, not on my 'to see' radar

quote:

  Winter's Bone (Debra Granik)



I've finally picked up the DVD to rewatch and I'm really looking forward to it. I suppose the events are kind of slight but it was such a brilliant evocation of a, for us, fairly alien community.

_____________________________

Lips Together and Blow - blogtasticness and Glasgow Film Festival GFF13!

Films watched 2012

Annual Poll 2012 Countdown Started.

(in reply to Professor Moriarty)
Post #: 3778
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 11:12:45 AM   
elab49


Posts: 52022
Joined: 1/10/2005
quote:

ORIGINAL: impqueen

Boldemort!


My husband forgets who that is within seconds of me using the word. McQueen was playing a character also called Julius, by coincidence, in the last set of Lewis's and we'd to go through it all again.

_____________________________

Lips Together and Blow - blogtasticness and Glasgow Film Festival GFF13!

Films watched 2012

Annual Poll 2012 Countdown Started.

(in reply to impqueen)
Post #: 3779
RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2011 - 3/5/2011 11:36:10 AM   
Pigeon Army


Posts: 14611
Joined: 29/1/2006
From: Pixar HQ, George Lucas' Office.
 So, if there's anything you need, just give me a whistle. You know how to do that, don't you? What do you do? Hm? That's right. You put your lips together and you blow.

_____________________________

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rinc
She's supposed to be 13! I'd want her to be very attractive though


quote:

ORIGINAL: MonsterCat
quote:

ORIGINAL: Pigeon Army
Stop being mean to Deviation

No.

(in reply to elab49)
Post #: 3780
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