Movies you've just watched

[xxx1993]

Code 8: Part II on Netflix. Sequel to Code 8, with the Amell cousins reprising their roles, and it digs more into police brutality.

[GaijinPunch]

It definitely leans a little further towards the "style" side of the scale, so it's maybe better to watch it on the big screen if ever have the opportunity;

I just missed it actually. I have a chance for In the Mood for Love. Also, Nostalghia (Tarkovsky). Only 2 hours and 5 minutes. Hmm... I may have to go see that.

[Lord British]

It definitely leans a little further towards the "style" side of the scale, so it's maybe better to watch it on the big screen if ever have the opportunity;

I just missed it actually. I have a chance for In the Mood for Love. Also, Nostalghia (Tarkovsky). Only 2 hours and 5 minutes. Hmm... I may have to go see that.

Right, I think I need ritilan for Tarkovsky. I probably watched Andrei Rublev in six parts while falling asleep like three times, and then I reflect on what I watched and I'm like "Wow, good movie!".

[GaijinPunch]

His stuff is a slow burn, but I look at photography books and don't read anything about the photos regularly, so, kind of up my alley.

[Herr Schatten]

I went to see Dune Part 2 yesterday. If you’ve seen the first one, you know what to expect. It’s a very good-looking adaptation quite close to the book. Actors don’t disappoint.

There’s a lot of ground to cover, story-wise, so the movie feels a little disjointed at times, and some characters, like Feyd-Rautha, don’t really get the exposition they deserve before they become important, but then the movie is over two and a half hours already, and there’s only so much you can cram in.

If there’s going to be a third part, it will probably cover the events of Dune Messiah, and I’m looking forward to that. I just hope they stop after that, as the books went downhill fast from the second half of the third one on.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

You know they won't stop...

[TransatlanticFoe]

I went to see Dune Part 2 yesterday. If you’ve seen the first one, you know what to expect. It’s a very good-looking adaptation quite close to the book. Actors don’t disappoint.

There’s a lot of ground to cover, story-wise, so the movie feels a little disjointed at times, and some characters, like Feyd-Rautha, don’t really get the exposition they deserve before they become important, but then the movie is over two and a half hours already, and there’s only so much you can cram in.

If there’s going to be a third part, it will probably cover the events of Dune Messiah, and I’m looking forward to that. I just hope they stop after that, as the books went downhill fast from the second half of the third one on.

I'm sure Villeneuve said he wants to do Messiah and that's it - to be honest, even if it stops with "Part 2" I'd be happy. Didn't see Part 1 at the cinema because it was unclear at the time if Part 2 was even going ahead, so I'll get to it at some point. Whether Part 2 does enough to give Messiah the green light, we'll see. Anything further is just too insane for a mainstream audience!

One area I preferred Lynch's was the Emperor/Spacing Guild segment at the beginning, which sets the background much better than Villeneuve's more stringent adherence to the novel. Otherwise I thought Part 1 handled necessary exposition quite well, there's a subtle nod to Feyd in there which is more than Lynch did with the character (Sting appears in metal underpants and later fights Paul for some reason) - so seems a shame if he's rushed in this one too. And it surely can't be as disjointed as Lynch's timeskip and oh look Gurney's here for some reason let's goooo!

[Lord British]

Have we all seen Jodorowsky's Dune?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0cJNR8HEw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_95K7-3KLY

Fun watch

[Herr Schatten]

I'm sure Villeneuve said he wants to do Messiah and that's it - to be honest, even if it stops with "Part 2" I'd be happy. Didn't see Part 1 at the cinema because it was unclear at the time if Part 2 was even going ahead, so I'll get to it at some point. Whether Part 2 does enough to give Messiah the green light, we'll see. Anything further is just too insane for a mainstream audience!

One area I preferred Lynch's was the Emperor/Spacing Guild segment at the beginning, which sets the background much better than Villeneuve's more stringent adherence to the novel. Otherwise I thought Part 1 handled necessary exposition quite well, there's a subtle nod to Feyd in there which is more than Lynch did with the character (Sting appears in metal underpants and later fights Paul for some reason) - so seems a shame if he's rushed in this one too. And it surely can't be as disjointed as Lynch's timeskip and oh look Gurney's here for some reason let's goooo!

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the movie. A lot. I think Villeneuve is the right director to do the novel justice, and he really does a stellar job. The cast is mostly great, too, and it's hard to imagine a better movie adaptation of the source material. Still, part two (much more than part one) makes me wonder if a series wouldn't have been a better format due to the elaborate and twisted story, but then I wouldn't want to miss out on seeing those majestic shots of the barren and hostile planet on the big screen either. Overall, part two left me wondering if I could really have followed everything without prior knowledge from the novel. Part one handled that better.

Regarding character exposition, thinking back, Feyd actually does have plenty of screen time, but his significance only becomes clear relatively late, through the plotting of the Bene-Gesserit. Until then he appears to be just another psycho Harkonnen. My only other complaint is that Stilgar almost comes across as a bit of a superstitious simpleton, because most of his scenes are used as a vehicle for fleshing out the prophecy shenanigans. A few more scenes with regular Fremen leader duty to counteract that and show more of the character's real nature would have been nice.

Have we all seen Jodorowsky's Dune?

I have. It really is a fun watch.

[Lord British]

The Life Of Oharu - 1952 - Kenji Mizoguchi



Slightly disappointed by this one; i liked KM's Ugetsu and Sansho The Bailiff much better. First off, I didn't really find the lead performance to be very impressive, and part of that is due to the writing and directing. Visually its not as good as the two that proceeded it either. Anywho, this one is about a noblewoman who is caught committing the sin of being in a relationship with a common man (played by Toshiro Mifune - he's only in there a few minutes), and therefore is cast out into prostitution. Here, we see the nuances of the different tiers of prostitution; Lady Oharu kees winding up in different status-level situations yet doing the same thing. It's really new and heavy for its time, but again, not as good as Ugetsu or Sansho The Bailiff. Watched on Criterion

[GaijinPunch]

being in a relationship with a common man (played by Toshiro Mifune - he's only in there a few minutes), and therefore is cast out into prostitution.

Fucking rough times back then.

[NYN]

The originator, from 1933, by James Whale. With the stock of Universal monster movies, one can lurch to cinematic history and oversee many original movies by only "know of them" or the many, many derivative knock-offs. The Universal bunch fell victim to this as hard as I can recognize in any creative form. So. To dig this one up, and to mainly dig it, it's easy enough with the choices that makes this still a subversive experience. The booming voice of the masked man. To have no hero, only a deranged creep. To show in part high camp, though also hammy performances, that are hard to smooth over as a viewer now (a mark of that age). And, Oh, the visual effects! Some very easy to figure out, others things to behold and for the better enjoyment not to comprehend. To ackowledge the creative defiance: after the studio exec tacked a sappy happy ending to Whale's Frankenstein, he and cronies made sure they would not betrayed again, by breaking up the love triangle with one sap send quite literally over the cliff. Roaring laughter, please! Thank you. Maybe the most funny idea is that whenever the content aspires to the given title, it can "show it" only in the nude on screen! Running stark naked through town, singing a song, and catching a cold in the process. One is hard-pressed to un-see it! Endlessly comedic by way of being horror, too. NOW YOU SEE IT!

[vol.2]

Dune Part 2

I liked it, didn't love it. The second half of the first Dune film completes a transformation into an action film. When it does action, it does it well and it is exciting and fast paced.

What's more, the story doesn't really stray all too far from the source material in a bid for acceptance from the core Dune fanbase. Unfortunately, the action-film format goes against the complex nature of the stories, and much detail is omitted in plain sight (shown but not really pulled into the universe though dialog or storytelling), and much of the pertinent details of the plot are force-fed through *extremely* on-the-nose comments from the main characters

One such thing really stood out to me

Spoiler

at the end of the movie, Paul tells the emperor that he will take his daughter's hand in marriage. It's implied in the dialog that it's for political reason, but it isn't said or explained why this is happening, it's simply told to the audience in a short line during the denouement. In the book, there's plenty of reasons for it and it occurs in course

Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the movie; it was a lot of fun and they could have done a lot worse. But I'm not a hardcore Dune-head so YMMV

[NYN]

In a broken girl's feeble voice: "Because he IS the Kwizarch Hadarach!"

(After that, the girl returns to the battle fields to finish off the merly wounded enemies with a crysknife flourish...)

Psyched to watch it. My mouth fell open when I read that Chris Walken would be you-know-who. The thought of it alone...close to pleasure.

[Lord British]

High And Low - 1963 - Akira Kurosawa



Whatever I thought I knew this movie was going to be, I was way off; I thought it was a courtroom drama or something. Nope. It's a kidnapping/ransom movie; probably AK's take on a Hitchcock film, and boy is it something. The ebb and flow, or the pacing of it might not be as air-tight as it could be, but fuck it, this could be AK's best film. Toshiro Mifune plays the shoe company chairman who is told by the kidnapper (via phone) that he has his son, but moments later he discovers that it's not his son that was kidnapped but his chauffer's rather. That makes the dilemma of giving up his wealth and power for the ransom even more of a quandary. There are some scene's in this film that rival the best that I've seen in a mystery thriller, right up there with the best of Hitchcock. If you've only seen one or two AK films, make this your next. Watched on Max.

[Lord British]

Eyes Without A Face - 1960 - Georges Franju (France)



This one is a trip. It's a fairly straightforward plot, but its aim is the creep the pants off you. A renowned surgeon is responsible for the car crash that disfigures the face of his daughter, and needs a fresh beautiful face from an unsuspecting innocent woman off the street to replace hers. This kidnapping job is given to the surgeon's assistant, played by the great Alida Valli. This film is all about the visuals; Franju had a great eye for...um...eyes. Definitely a must see if you want to see an early creeper. Watched on Max

What a year for horror films btw:

Psycho
Peeping Tom
Black Sunday
Eyes Without a Face
Village of the Damned

Probably some others too

[Lord British]

Diabolique (aka Les Diaboliques/The Devils)- 1955 - Henri-Georges Clouzot (France)



Fantastic thriller about a woman who plots to kill her evil husband with her husband's mistress as her accomplice. The great plot structure makes it really stand out; and I won't spoil it. Clouzot also did Wages Of Fear just prior to this, which I also recommend, and this is the first film that I've seen French star Simone Signoret in, who's pretty great in this. Watched on Max

[Lord British]

The Lady Vanishes - 1938 - Alfred Hitchcock (UK)



Surprised I had never seen a minute of this one over the years, and in my opinion it holds up pretty damn well. A young woman boards a train shorty after a flower pot (accidentally) falls on her head, feeling in a woozy state. An old woman helps and befriends her, but after falling asleep for an hour, she finds that the old woman is no longer on the train. Everyone that she's seen the old woman interact with up to that point denies ever seeing her. The movie is funny at times and near the end it kind of goes a little too bananas, but it's a very fun movie and ranks high on my Hitchcock list so far. Watched on Max

[Lord British]

The Crowd - 1928 - King Vidor (Silent - US)



I'd put this in my Top 5 silent movies. This one tells the story of man's journey into adulthood, trying to make it in the Big Apple (hence "The Crowd"). At one moment on a blind date (on top of a sight-seeing bus), his date points to a juggling clown on the street wearing and advertisement sign and says to him "And I bet his parents thought he would grow up to be president". Little does he know that... OOOHH SPOILERZ!!! I gave this a perfect rating, it just felt right. Very tight film with some beautiful scenes and also some horrifying ones. Watched on TCM

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Some of those silent films with actor Buster Keaton shown on TCM crack me up. In one silent film with Keaton, he says the f--- you phrase to some rude folks "plain as day" (as he was quite pissed off) but the next frame of what was spoken really isn't what he actually said. Most of the time, what he says in a silent film does reflect what's printed out for the audience to read which is true. I don't know how it was with censorship with silent films of the era, I'm sure was a big issue with "Big Brother" and the movie studios at that particular point in time to keep it "family-friendly".

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Lord British]

Brazil - 1985 - Terry Gilliam



So, I liked it, but it seems that other people love or hate it. Glad I finally finished it though. I started the movie on a first date with someone a long time ago (her pick actually) and 10 minutes in we got distracted. I think I tried watching it again some other time by myself and I just wasn't feeling it (and probably was still watching it on VHS). But this time, yeah, it was fun. The sets are completely bonkers, it's got a great look (even though Gilliam loves his ugly), and has plenty of laughs. I still feel it needs another watch though, but at least I'm looking forward to that. Couldn't figure out where I recognized the main dude from and later discovered it's the guy who played the High Sparrow in GOT. You'll also see Robert DeNiro here plus the always amazing Bob Hoskins. Rented with real money on Amazon Prime.

[Lord British]

Some of those silent films with actor Buster Keaton shown on TCM crack me up. In one silent film with Keaton, he says the f--- you phrase to some rude folks "plain as day" (as he was quite pissed off) but the next frame of what was spoken really isn't what he actually said. Most of the time, what he says in a silent film does reflect what's printed out for the audience to read which is true. I don't know how it was with censorship with silent films of the era, I'm sure was a big issue with "Big Brother" and the movie studios at that particular point in time to keep it "family-friendly".

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I love the Buster Keaton flicks for sure. Also, the pre-Hays code talkies have some pretty risqué stuff in them too here and there; sexually liberated women.

[vol.2]

You'll also see Robert DeNiro here plus the always amazing Bob Hoskins. Rented with real money on Amazon Prime.

The best role of DeNiro's career. Taxi Driver is a close second.

Honestly, I really admire what Gillian was able to do with film in the 80s. At a time when everyone was focused on making neatly packed action blockbusters, he was out there pushing boundaries and putting out films that played in regular theaters. Time Bandits is probably my favorite from the era, and I guess 12 Monkey's is still my all time for him.

[Lord British]

You'll also see Robert DeNiro here plus the always amazing Bob Hoskins. Rented with real money on Amazon Prime.

The best role of DeNiro's career. Taxi Driver is a close second.

Honestly, I really admire what Gillian was able to do with film in the 80s. At a time when everyone was focused on making neatly packed action blockbusters, he was out there pushing boundaries and putting out films that played in regular theaters. Time Bandits is probably my favorite from the era, and I guess 12 Monkey's is still my all time for him.

I remember when my family got cable in the early 80's, Time Bandits was on like almost every day. Completely warped by my brain, especially since i was too young to process anything in regards to socio-political satire. Still love it now, but God, he has to make everything look so gross.

[GaijinPunch]

High And Low - 1963 - Akira Kurosawa

How about all that dope ass mid century furniture? I really liked High and Low. (Fun Fact: Japanese title 天国と地獄 / Heaven and Hell) which I admit is rather bland. All those GI's partying at the end was quite a sight to see.

You've been on a tear lately. I've got a big flight coming up so hoping to knock a few out.

[Lord British]

Holy Motors - 2012 - Leos Carax (France)



You want art-house? This movie is as bonkers as it gets. A bit too pretentious for me to give it the highest rating, but it's very well done and Denis Lavant puts on a performance so bizarre that it would make even a Willem Dafoe envious. You have a guy being carted around in a big limousine tasked to do various assignments while adopting different identities. If any of these make sense to you I'd be happy to hear from you cuz, pffft, idunnowtf. Not recommended for a first date, but probably great to watch with a group of people who are into this sort of movie type. Watched on Prime after doing a free trial thingy, but I just noticed that it's free on Pluto TV if you wanna take a dive.

[emphatic]

Damsel - 3/5

This turned out to be a good choice to watch with the family on the International Women's Day. A young woman uses her wits and instincts when faced with an opponent that brute force alone can't overcome. It's quite stunning to look at in 4K, production value seem high and the FX are well done. A bit on the the predictable side, but at least you don't hate the protagonists. Clearly not a Disney production. It's just arrived on Netflix, at least here in Sweden.

[GaijinPunch]

Nostalghia [1983]

4k restoration making the rounds, and I caught this at The Roxie here in San Francsico. A mostly Italian language film.. It was 1983, and I'm guessing he had already defected to said country by this time. If you don't like Tarkovsky, you won't like this. Long takes, very slow zooms (both in and out) on things such as water puddles, amazing pans, next level lighting and all around fucking absolutely beautiful. However, it is definitely abstract. I'm not high brow enough to get most of the stuff, but I know photography, and I could stare at this for quite some time. In fact, a few of the shots (definitely the end one) I scratched my head on how they pulled it off. Anyway, Solaris is still my favorite as it has a much more straight forward story and isn't hours of the main character self-reflecting, but nonetheless, I'm glad I saw this.

[Vexorg]

Wonka: **1/2

It's hard to really judge this one. Rather than rehash Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for a third time, they turned this one into something of a Willy Wonka origin story (Somewhat similar to what Disney did with Oz the Great and Powerful to much less success) where a fresh-off-the-boat Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) uses vaguely magical plot abilities to basically make chocolate appear out of thin air and tries to open a shop against the opposition of the cartoonishly corrupt Chocolate Cartel of Slugworth, Prodnose and Fickelgruber, and at the same time ends up in indentured servitude to standard issue Roald Dahl secondary antagonists Ms. Scrubbitt and Mr. Bleacher, who imprison a conveniently diverse cast of supporting characters in their laundry to help Mr. Wonka carry out his various schemes.

On one hand, it almost has the feel of a knockoff Wizarding World/Fantastic Beasts movie (and I imagine a decent amount of WB staff who previously worked on those films probably ended up here after that particular series fizzled out.) I didn't really pay much attention to this one before seeing it, and didn't even know it was a musical before it started. Beyond that it doesn't feel like it quite figured out what it was supposed to be. The plot jumps all over the place, leaving half a dozen plot holes along the way (to the point that they filled all of them in with an Oompa-Loompa song over the closing credits) but should be relatively inoffensive PG-rated entertainment for a couple of hours, although I'd probably watch the Gene Wilder version ten more times before watching this one again. The best part of the film was probably Rowan Atkinson's relatively brief appearance as the chocolate addicted priest under whose cathedral the Chocolate Cartel operates their nefarious schemes. My wife also heavily criticized Timothee Chalamet's singing voice, saying he should have been dubbed over. I thought it was adequate bit not spectacular.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Holy Motors - 2012 - Leos Carax (France)



You want art-house? This movie is as bonkers as it gets. A bit too pretentious for me to give it the highest rating, but it's very well done and Denis Lavant puts on a performance so bizarre that it would make even a Willem Dafoe envious. You have a guy being carted around in a big limousine tasked to do various assignments while adopting different identities. If any of these make sense to you I'd be happy to hear from you cuz, pffft, idunnowtf. Not recommended for a first date, but probably great to watch with a group of people who are into this sort of movie type. Watched on Prime after doing a free trial thingy, but I just noticed that it's free on Pluto TV if you wanna take a dive.

Yes, i've seen this Holy Motors flick. The particular scene with the motion-capture suits back in 2011-2012 was period correct. Nowadays, the actors and actresses don't need to don such mo-cap suits anymore like when filming the mo-cap scenes for (Battle Angel) Alita live action scenes. The Holy Motors film is quite a riot indeed. So the main character is driven to different places and interact with different people -- I'd have to assume that he's being paid to do the various "tasks" as they are quite different from each other and never the same task twice either. It's been awhile since I've last seen it though. Will have to view it again. I think it's been shown on TCM in the past as they regard it as an "art house cinema film".

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~