Movies you've just watched

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:04 am

The Desert Rats via Officer and a Movie. Stars Richard Burton. OK film.

xbl0x180 · Post by **xbl0x180** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:15 am

Just finished watching Seijun Suzuki's "Branded To Kill." Man, what a weird movie that was. SEIJUN-SENSEI, YOU ARE NO FASSBINDER! Hahah. It was, like, French New Wave after getting smashed on sake. I don't know whether I liked it a lot or felt so-so about it. The edits were just so... far out. It gave me a weird, disorienting feeling and I couldn't tell what just happened in some instances. I actually had to rewind and freeze-frame a few things just so I could tell. In other instances, the pacing seemed slow and weird - there was just some flat-out nonsense there. Hahaha. It looked more like some Art Film project than a boner fide yakuza film (great sequence with the split-screen prints and the montages). I can see why Nikkatsu fired this dude because he made a movie that made no sense and made no money. One thing for sure, I thought the girls in this were cute as hell, so I'll probably watch it one more time in one sitting before shelving it

drauch · Post by **drauch** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:25 am

Hell yeah. Branded to Kill is easily my favorite Suzuki film that I've seen. It's so friggin' bizarre. Gotta love Joe's cheek implants!

xbl0x180 · Post by **xbl0x180** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:36 am

drauch wrote:Hell yeah. Branded to Kill is easily my favorite Suzuki film that I've seen. It's so friggin' bizarre. Gotta love Joe's cheek implants!

Shishido Joe was weird-looking, as well!

My Seijun fave is still Kenka Erejii/"Fighting Elegy." It works a little as the precursor to Fight Club, minus the Ingmar Bergman Persona-inspired stuff

LONG LIVE THE FASCIST FIGHTERS! (great worker music).

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:59 am

xbl0x180 wrote:Just finished watching Seijun Suzuki's "Branded To Kill." Man, what a weird movie that was. SEIJUN-SENSEI, YOU ARE NO FASSBINDER! Hahah. It was, like, French New Wave after getting smashed on sake. I don't know whether I liked it a lot or felt so-so about it. The edits were just so... far out. It gave me a weird, disorienting feeling and I couldn't tell what just happened in some instances. I actually had to rewind and freeze-frame a few things just so I could tell. In other instances, the pacing seemed slow and weird - there was just some flat-out nonsense there. Hahaha. It looked more like some Art Film project than a boner fide yakuza film (great sequence with the split-screen prints and the montages). I can see why Nikkatsu fired this dude because he made a movie that made no sense and made no money. One thing for sure, I thought the girls in this were cute as hell, so I'll probably watch it one more time in one sitting before shelving it

If you liked Branded To Kill, I wholeheartedly recommend Suzuki's earlier film Tokyo Drifter, which presents a similar level of gangster based absurdity in glorious Eastmancolor. After that, check out Pistol Opera, which is essentially a 2001 remake of Branded, but even more insane, and the principal roles being filled by gorgeous models rather than cologen cheeked rice fetishists.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:35 pm

Not familiar with Seijun's stuff, but that Tokyo Drifter looks really cool.

http://www.criterion.com/films/577-tokyo-drifter

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:48 am

Skykid wrote:Not familiar with Seijun's stuff, but that Tokyo Drifter looks really cool.

http://www.criterion.com/films/577-tokyo-drifter

I've seen three of his films. I'd recommend them to the right person, but for others he's very difficult watching. Tokyo Drifter is probably one of the more accessible ones.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 1:49 pm

CMoon wrote: I've seen three of his films. I'd recommend them to the right person, but for others he's very difficult watching. Tokyo Drifter is probably one of the more accessible ones.

Did some researching and found some pleasant user coverage of Pistol Opera on IMDB:

"Beautiful but Incomprehensible"

"No Style Over Less Substance"

"like a painting that's pleasant to look at and makes frustratingly no sense at all"

I would have been able to write this off as Lynchian style art film, which I can most certainly hang with, until I snatched this synopsis:

"Without a doubt, the worst movie I have ever seen. Undoubtedly, some "cultured" person will call it brilliant and years ahead of its time. I can only hope I will dead if this type of movie ever becomes the norm. .... People teleport, stab themselves, and die sitting up.

Spoiler

Almost worth it for the ending though- random guy #312 yelling "Idiot!" "I'm an IDIOT!", followed by an extreme close up shot of his face while he screams and the film ends."

Fucking Japanese cinema man.

There's a good synopsis of 85% of it right there: drivel thinking it's art.

I might give Tokyo Drifter a spin if someone can assure me it doesn't fall into the kind of retardmania described above.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:53 pm

xbl0x180 wrote:Just finished watching Seijun Suzuki's "Branded To Kill."

Awesome. Love that movie.

drauch · Post by **drauch** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:14 pm

Skykid: Yeah, skip Pisol Opera and go for his 60s stuff. I'm sure in the 40 year gap between films he lost a bit of what made him so great. Tokyo Drifter was the first film I saw of his, but it was Branded to Kill that turned me into a big fan. Regardless, most of his stuff is pretty bizarre.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:26 pm

drauch wrote:Skykid: Yeah, skip Pisol Opera and go for his 60s stuff. I'm sure in the 40 year gap between films he lost a bit of what made him so great. Tokyo Drifter was the first film I saw of his, but it was Branded to Kill that turned me into a big fan. Regardless, most of his stuff is pretty bizarre.

Getting my hands on Tokyo Drifter for tonight. It has a beautiful style, as does Branded to Kill, which I snatched some clips of. I have no issues with art cinema, or even Japanese art cinema when it's done well (Tsukamoto).
I just hope there's just some coherency and substance beneath the style, even if it's done with abstraction and symbolism. Anyway, looks promising so far.

I did watch some clips of Pistol Opera and it looks absolutely horrific: exactly the kind of Japanese film I vowed never to waste another second of my life on.

Necronopticous · Post by **Necronopticous** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:45 pm

You guys are crazy. Pistol Opera is great. Hanae Kan rocking the nude scene at 11 years old.

Mortificator · Post by **Mortificator** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:22 pm

I remain resolved to never watch Terminator 3, but caved recently to allowing Salvation to cross my corneas. It's goofy as a Saturday morning cartoon. I can only conclude that the people into whose hands this series has passed found implacable murder machines too threatening. The future war has been so stripped of its sense of dread that even The Matrix Revolutions did it better, and the people in that movie were fighting robo-squid.

Don't be scared, John, they can't even kill an eight-year-old girl.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 6:49 pm

Salvation is barely worth criticising, it's that pathetic. Terminator 3 is trash compared to the Cameron movies, but it doesn't shit PG-13 Skittles all over their iconic nightmare future, and at least provides big violent setpieces for dumb fun. So it's not quite as offensive.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:44 am

Just got back from Hunger Games:

I give it a 4/5, which is a really strong rating for me. Flawed but enjoyable from beginning to end. I didn't feel guilty watching a dumb hollywood film. Most of the directorial decisions felt well informed--not just in a technical kind of way but also historically. For instance, early in the film, some shots definitely emulate late 60's/early 70's sci fi. Jerky camera was awkward at parts, but elsewhere the cinematography felt really strong (good composition, manipulation of color and focus, etc.)

Despite being 2.5 hours, the editing felt very solid. A lot has been done here to cram a whole book into a movie with little loss of content, and for the most part it is successful. Also keeps the pacing rock steady. Marginal hiccups seem to mostly come from some awkward moments in the original material that may work well on the printed page, but are difficult on the screen.

I can live with the actors, but all of the malnourished teens look like pretty boys/girls to me. Just the idea of whatever the hell twilight is makes me want teen boys and girls (especially impoverished ones) to look like normal human beings, but I suppose you'll never convince hollywood of this. The actress playing Katniss turns in a splendid performance though, and everything rides on that. Wish she was a bit more dislikable like she was in the book

Adults (you old fuckers) should feel safe watching it without having to make excuses. If you bump into some of your friends, you can just say you like seeing teens kill each other or thought it was a remake of battle royale. It's not like you're gonna be caught in the theatre watching the goddamn owl movie.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:52 pm

Glengarry Glen Ross. You cunt. You fucking child. Searingly profane and morbidly hilarious window into rat race hell. Superb ensemble effort from Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, Jonathan Pryce and especially Jack Lemmon. One of those movies I can reliably watch over and over and still feel like I've seen something new... every little exchange and interaction from the banal to the outright sadistic bristles with swaggering, sycophantic, mendacious or just pathetic character. Seeing the play it's adapted from live with a good cast must be electrifying.

Obiwanshinobi · Post by **Obiwanshinobi** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:06 am

The French Connection. Somewhat shallow, even for what it is. I mean, say, Kiss Me Deadly, or some Hitchcock flicks have aged better. That said, it's pretty iconic in a good way.
Made me realise once more that the cops are not cool in my book, same way American wrestlers, super heroes and the Star Trek spaceship crewmen aren't.
What was the Hong Kong gangsta flick, possibly with the words "city" and "rush" or "heat" in the name, where the final mobsters vs the police shootout was filmed kind of like The French Connection final scenes? It was a lot like a classic Western movie too. Them bad boys sieged in a house, tossing their pagers on the table before the ultimate assault.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:30 am

Have been having a lot of drunken film nights at the moment. Last night was Escape From New York, Story of Ricky (always good to watch with people who have never seen it before) and Deep Throat. Good mix.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 2:23 pm

Obiwanshinobi wrote:The French Connection.

Man, people talking shit about classic Wizardry games in the RPG thread, people talking shit about classic Friedkin films in this thread. What's wrong with kids today?

xbl0x180 · Post by **xbl0x180** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 2:35 pm

CMoon wrote:
Obiwanshinobi wrote:The French Connection.
Man, people talking shit about classic Wizardry games in the RPG thread, people talking shit about classic Friedkin films in this thread. What's wrong with kids today?

Warn't this the same member who was talkin' trash on Akira and Honneamise, and comparing PatLabor to s*** titles

I'm not surprised

Obiwanshinobi · Post by **Obiwanshinobi** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:53 pm

CMoon wrote:Man, people talking shit about classic Wizardry games in the RPG thread, people talking shit about classic Friedkin films in this thread. What's wrong with kids today?

I liked it on the balance (would be probably worse if done today), but in hindsight, I have a beef with buddy cop movies where the police isn't villianised at the slightest. The film's like "aren't they cool?" and I'm like "no, they aren't".
It is remarkable that the arguably best scene - the car and train thing - is delightfully retarded and sporting a major plot hole (usually I'm not very picky about that sort of stuff). Hollywood must have been collectively aware of my issues with it and later on they'd either crank the retarded up to 11 in Lethal Weapon and Die Hard, or make "dirty" cops an essential constituent.

xbl0x180 · Post by **xbl0x180** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:19 pm

The director The French Connection depicted rogue/anti-hero types, which the audiences can choose to root for or not - we see the cops playing dirty to meet their ends of solving the case - but they are not put in the simplistic terms you stated of "good" and "evil." How is a car chase scene construed as a "plot hole"? It's been a while since I've seen this movie

Obiwanshinobi · Post by **Obiwanshinobi** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:44 pm

The Piglet's getting outta car, goes upstairs and sees the train NOT stopping by, then we see what's going on inside of the train, then we see the Piglet driving the car as if he was there all the time. Not a biggie, but it spoils the flow if you ask me.

ancestral-knowledge · Post by **ancestral-knowledge** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:26 pm

The Descendants - very good drama and performance.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:27 pm

Hunger games (in the UK)

The UK gave this a 12A rating which is just pathetic. Its actually not right for the adult who can handle it and doesn't see it, it also screws up kids that get to watch it with an adult. So its hurt the movie in both directions.

I'd give the movie 3/5. Too much emphasis on the lead character, the ending was expected and the movie doesn't explain why they pick random kids to kill each other or why its entertaining to the masses. It does have some good scenes and keeps you interested, but for me it definitely needs a bit more juice.

When Battle Royale already exists, you have to recommend it over hunger games.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:03 pm

neorichieb1971 wrote: I'd give the movie 3/5. Too much emphasis on the lead character, the ending was expected and the movie doesn't explain why they pick random kids to kill each other or why its entertaining to the masses. It does have some good scenes and keeps you interested, but for me it definitely needs a bit more juice.

When Battle Royale already exists, you have to recommend it over hunger games.

Actually why they pick random kids IS explained. The emphasis on the main character isn't just important, it is CENTRAL to the plot.

HG is superficially like battle royale (similar plot devices), but there are huge thematic differences. Consider The Beast from 20 thousand fathoms and the original Godzilla; Godzilla was considered such a rip off of Beast at the time, yet thematically they are hugely different--even though they contain similar scenes and events. One is a popcorn flick, the other is an emotionally charged allegory.

I'm not saying either HG or BR pure popcorn films, but I don't remember much that stood out with BR beyond the plot device itself--like Running Man or Death Race 2000. HG on the other hand (if they make it through the three books) becomes a larger piece on war that is thematically closer to Grave of Fireflies.

So yeah, I think I disagree with about all your points. I'm just very curious why so many recall BR as such a great movie. Was it?

Obiwanshinobi · Post by **Obiwanshinobi** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 12:30 am

Kornblumenblau again, this time with my mom. Watch it, folks, and just don't worry about the subtitles.

xbl0x180 · Post by **xbl0x180** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:18 am

Obiwanshinobi wrote:The Piglet's getting outta car, goes upstairs and sees the train NOT stopping by, then we see what's going on inside of the train, then we see the Piglet driving the car as if he was there all the time. Not a biggie, but it spoils the flow if you ask me.

Ah, continuity is a bitch. It totally went over me, though. I love Friedkin's car chase scenes. His redux of it on the freeway in To Live And Die In LA rocked our faces off (even the Wang Chung soundtrack managed to sound cool). Michael Mann only wishes he could dish out this stuff

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:03 pm

Big catch up for me.

The Gingerdead Man: Crap and it knows it, but somehow still really crap even though it knows it.

King of Fighters duh moovee: The worst game to film ever. I didn't think that was possible to top, but this takes it. So bad Gordon Chan and his cast deserve to be murdered. Beyond an insult, it's an affront to gamers everywhere.

Ichi the Killer: So after several years of ignoring this movie I finally sat down with it. I can't figure out why everyone finds its violence so extreme, I found Hostel more disturbing. On the whole it was actually fairly watchable. It's obvious Miike is talented, even though he's been more miss than hit for me based on the small number of films I've seen (I switched HOT Katakuris off). Even with all the general OTT Japaneseness/insanity, I did like the characterisations of the cast and thought they were all well-rounded in their unusualness. The film is the equivalent of watching a bunch of mental patients outside of the confines of their institution, but it was well-handled for what it was (even though I wouldn't watch it again.)
If you can stand Japanese live action movies in general, that's some kind of a recommendation.

Fear: Some hollywood thriller bullshit with Mark Wahlberg from the 90's. Vegetative tripe, and only amusing when he gets thrown out of a window.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior: All kinds of awesome. Seems the only Mad Max I missed as a kid is probably the best one. This is Fist of The North Star live action, it's amazing to see just how much the Manga plagiarised the movie. But this film just rules: dystopian apocalyptic wastelands, mad biker gangs, Mel Gibson when he was cool, tons of violence and some superb action sequences.

Mad Max 3: Beyond The Thunderdome: Not as good as the others, but has an interesting feel to it. It's a bit too soft, losing some of its violence and grit. Feels a little bit George Lucas and a little bit Terry Gilliam. Was still fun and had some nice set-pieces tho.

Fist of The North Star: I've obviously been desensitised to anime violence since childhood, but it was still nice to revisit this in all its ridiculous Seinen excess. Tons of mutilation, gore, and one of the most awesome 80's-style music sequences when Rei fights Raoh. Still the best-burly-men-smashing-each-other-into-pulp-films ever... but the TV series is probably better on the whole since it expands more on the world and characters.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:37 pm

Skykid wrote:Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior: All kinds of awesome. Seems the only Mad Max I missed as a kid is probably the best one. This is Fist of The North Star live action, it's amazing to see just how much the Manga plagiarised the movie. But this film just rules: dystopian apocalyptic wastelands, mad biker gangs, Mel Gibson when he was cool, tons of violence and some superb action sequences.

Mad Max 3: Beyond The Thunderdome: Not as good as the others, but has an interesting feel to it. It's a bit too soft, losing some of its violence and grit. Feels a little bit George Lucas and a little bit Terry Gilliam. Was still fun and had some nice set-pieces tho.

A couple of my favorite flicks ever. I like the first one a lot too, even though it has quite a different feel. Totally agree with you about Thunderdome, but I still have a soft spot for it sometimes. Nothing beats Road Warrior.

Speaking of Terry Gilliam, I watched Time Bandits for the first time two nights ago. Wow!

It's no Baron Munchausen but it doesn't have to be. It's a movie about a band of time travelling midget thieves and there's no sex and yet somehow Hollywood handed over Sean Connery for a role. You would NEVER see a movie like it get made today. It's amazing how much work went into his films back then.

I also watched Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow last night, a movie which I feel is very underrated. There's just no good reason for it to have such a bad name.

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