movies What's the last film you watched? And rate it!

Happy Ghost V directed by Raymond Wong & Norman Chan Hok-yan - 4/10
The fifth installment of the Happy Ghost series is the first and only one which Raymond Wong actually directs, and unfortunately it is a huge let down. The first twenty minutes don't even seem like a Happy Ghost film at all, and then it hits us with an uninspired plot that is a rip-off of many American movies. Fortunately, some of the charm of the other films is still around and the film gets absurd enough to make me laugh at times, but I feel like the series would have had a better close if it didn't completely abandon our original character. In fact, it would've been much better to end the series with Raymond Wong's character meeting Maggie Cheung's character from the third film again as the ending of that film suggests. As it is, I can't recommend this film even to diehard Hong Kong cinema fans, the first three are great for this kind of corny film, the fourth is enjoyable if you liked the first three, and this one, well it isn't necessary viewing for people who don't have as much free time as me.

Precious Images directed by Chuck Workman - 8/10
This nice short film perfectly shows the magic of the movies (American movies that is) and makes for nice viewing. I saw this at the Museum of the Moving Image this weekend, and I loved noticing films I have seen and enjoying clips from films I haven't seen. Thanks to IMDb I can find all of the films featured in this short film, there is quite a lot. Someone needs to make one of these for international cinema as well (I can imagine individual ones made for France, Hong Kong, China, and Japan as well, those would be awesome!).

The Great Train Robbery directed by Edwin S. Porter - 9/10
I re-watched this film at the Museum of Moving Image as well. In historical terms, it is a masterpiece but otherwise it isn't very entertaining even if it features some nice early cinematic images. I love the ending though! My high rating is mostly due to historical purposes though I took off a point because I don't find it as enjoyable as other early films.

2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick - 10/10
Yes! I saw this on a 70mm print at the Museum of Moving Image, and it was such an incredible experience! I really felt like I was part of the movie as I saw this film on the big screen. The ending and many of the themes/ideas still elude me, but that's what I love about this film. I know I'll never tire of watching this film, but I'll try to spend more time before my next viewing so I can appreciate it even more!

Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema directed by Stanley Kwan - 8/10
This is a very fine documentary on gender and sexuality in Chinese cinema. I didn't like how it was clear that Kwan was trying to force his point of view on sexuality in many Chinese films even when the filmmakers of those films clearly disagreed. I also didn't like how Kwan chose to read Chinese cinema through a Western lens of sexuality which I think is annoying especially considering that Kwan is a Chinese filmmaker. However, the film introduced me to a lot of concepts and ideas that are very interesting about Chinese cinema. I knew a lot of the films, but I also discovered a lot of gems through this film. There are also some very touching moments such as Stanley Kwan coming out at the end of the film and the interviews with his mom and Leslie Cheung. When Kwan lets go if his bias and agenda a bit, the film really reaches the level of documentary masterpiece. Unfortunately, Kwan's biases get in the way of this film from becoming a masterpiece from beginning to end. I wish there were more films like this that explore an individual nation's cinema (although I wish the film would've been longer to expand on the differences between mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong cinematically)

The Big Boss directed by Lo Wei; starring Bruce Lee - 8/10
I actually liked this film more than I expected as I heard that Bruce Lee didn't star in great films. While this film is no masterpiece, it is still very enjoyable from beginning to end. I actually like this film's style more than a lot of the other similar types of martial arts films of the period. It's no Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, King Hu, or Chang Cheh masterpiece, but it's definitely a very good martial arts film!

Enemy - 8.5/10

Fantastic film. Enemy uses symbolism and misdirection to it's fullest potential. There's great attention to detail scattered throughout the surreal nightmare. The film has an amazing ending, and while I don't think it has the "most shocking ending ever!" as some critics rave, it's effective and jarring.

About Time - 7/10

A nice romantic comedy that's sharp and doesn't succumb to irritating cliches.

The Joy Luck Club directed by Wayne Wang - 8/10
I just had to give this an 8 even though I feel like it could have been so much better. Wayne Wang is a good filmmaker, but in the hands of Ang Lee, the emotions would have been more powerful or in the hands of master filmmaker Edward Yang, the film would have taken more advantage of its unconventional narrative structure to make the film more powerful (and not to mention Yang is as good at handling emotions as well as Lee). However, sometimes a good story in the hands of a great craftsman can create a beautiful film, even though I hate the air of conventionality I get from the film. I love the acting in this film, the ensemble cast is really great. I like the structure of the film and wish that Wang would've been bolder to make the digressive structure even looser. The story of the film is really good and most of the characters too, the main flaw I find in the story itself is the lack of strong round male characters and the tendency to paint some characters as purely good or purely evil. The themes in the film have been done better (due to more subtlety) by Ozu or even Ang Lee in his first three films but I have to say that this film does a great job at presenting it in a very traditional manner. It really feels like my parents are telling me stories here, and that's why I love this film and I give it an 8 instead of a 7 and place it on the lower end of my favorite films list. Everything else in the film is good but not great. The cinematography is good but obviously not in the ranks of Zhang Yimou or most art film directors. The pacing is good but not as perfect as an Ozu film or as many other directors. The only glaring exception is the music which is very predictable and boring, and unfortunately it does get in the way of great moments (unlike in Ozu films where the music is mediocre as well but it is not prominent enough to even matter).

Sunshine 3/5

I thought this was going to be a low budget sci-fi going into the film. Quickly I saw that it had a great ensemble cast.

Turned out to be a pretty entertaining sci-fi flick

"Premature", because I like Alan Tudyk. Even he couldn't save that film. 2 out of 10.

Raise The Red Lantern directed by Zhang Yimou - 10/10
I love being surprised by cinema! Although I've always loved Zhang Yimou's films, I didn't think they reached the level of the greatest cinema out there. This film pushes Yimou's strengths and becomes his greatest masterpiece. This film is Yimou's third (if we exclude Codename Cougar which he apparently hates and has disowned) and it finds a perfect balance between his two earlier films Red Sorghum, which was too ambiguous and Ju Dou which is a masterpiece with the one flaw that it introduces one very flat character near the end that makes the message too obvious. Here, Yimou includes ambiguity and subtlety along with his talent for creating obviously beautiful images and presenting a very strong narrative. What I love about this film is that it has a lot of levels. One can view it as simply one of the greatest dramas cinema has produced (with a lot of tension and twists and interesting elements), but it also has depth in its symbolic criticism of Chinese communism and in its formal mastery. As usual, Yimou is a genius at using color in his films and here he does even greater compositions than usual. Formally, the film is simply beautiful perfection with its great cinematography, amazing soundtrack, and perfect structure. What I love about the drama is that all of the characters are flawed beings, yet they are all victims and they are all complex. There are only two exceptions, the first mistress and the husband, and the reason is that they are less characters and serve more as the representatives of the system that is the backdrop of the entire film. I think I can watch this film over and over and analyze it in several different ways and always enjoy it. I hope that the other Fifth Generation Chinese filmmakers have films as good as this one or Yimou's other films. As great as this film is, I think one could appreciate it more if they look at Yimou's more simple film The Road Home first, then viewing another of his classic dramas with Gong Li (but not Red Sorghum since it's an outlier in his filmography IMO even though it is a very good film), and then watching this film to see how Yimou perfected his vision. I've still got a lot more of Yimou to see and especially his wuxia films since I haven't even seen one of those yet!

Meetin' WA directed by Jean-Luc Godard - 6/10
Okay I really don't know what Godard was trying to do here, but I now know that he's either crazy or an asshole. He experiments with a pretty darn interesting interview with Woody Allen and tries to joke about it all the time. I don't think this is a bad film but I think Godard just made this cause he was bored, I wish I could see the unedited interview as well.

The Godfather Part III directed by Francis Ford Coppola - 6/10
Not a bad film but it certainly is an unnecessary one and one that is very flawed. I hated Sofia Coppola's acting, same thing with Andy Garcia's acting at the beginning of the film. The plot gets pretty convoluted and uninteresting, and I was confused by the incest relationship in the film. There are still some really good performances and the directing as always is still great, it's great enough to make this film actually engaging even if it's kind of a waste of time. I have mixed feelings about the ending, I feel like it takes too much from the endings of the other Godfather films but at the same time it was pretty powerful, and I may have to look at this as an intentional thing that may have been successful, I don't know but the whole feeling I get with this film is that I am unsatisfied. I don't think this film should have been made.

M*A*S*H directed by Robert Altman - 9/10
I saw this on the big screen yesterday and at first I didn't know what to think. I didn't really like the style of visual directing much and I still don't think it's that special, this is my first Altman film so I hope his other films are different in their visual style. I also didn't know what to expect so I just felt weird at first. But then somewhere it clicked, it hit me that this was a great broad comedy like the Sammo Hung Lucky Stars films. But what makes this film even better is that it counterpoints that with serious images of the horrors of war. I didn't love all of the humor in this film, but I laughed a lot and even when I wasn't laughing I was enjoying all of the antics. I love how this film has such an episodic structure (no wonder it became a successful TV show) that never loses energy. There are so many great comedic performances here and comedic experimentation. I don't think it's really a masterpiece but it's a very very enjoyable film, and one of my favorite broad comedies.

Seven Years Itch directed by Johnnie To; produced and written by Raymond Wong - 4/10
This is probably the worst Johnnie To film I've seen so far (I rank The Big Heat lower, but a lot of people seem to like that film so I may be wrong about it) and it's just a very uninventive romantic comedy. It has some of the energy I love about Hong Kong films but it simply doesn't have good scenes and it isn't very funny. There is one great scene with inventive comedic staging and one great visual gag, and there is some interesting use of parallelism but overall this film is just very forgettable. It's such a shame because it's nice to see Raymond Wong, Sylvia Chang, Eric Tsang, and even Maggie Cheung in this film. The film is not bad but it doesn't do anything fresh and it doesn't compare even with Raymond Wong's Happy Ghost series, let alone the real masterpieces of Hong Kong cinema. However it is interesting to see how Johnnie To was learning a lot from different sources, from TV, from Raymond Wong films such as this one and Happy Ghost III, from Tsui Hark films, to start going on in his own direction later in his career.

Dark City - 7/10

It's preposterous scientifically, it's bloating with cheesy nonsense, it's filled with glaring plot inconsistencies, and the ending is ridiculous. Though the film has a great cast, some interesting cinematography, the VFX are decent, the sound design is strong, and the film is intelligently set up.

Brazil 1/5

I am genuinely pissed off that this is on time magazine's top 100
This is one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's wretchedly boring, way too long. And lists robert deniro as a title cast member when he is in it for like 4 minutes. Fuck you time magazine.

It's been a while since I've posted since I haven't had much internet access. I watched a lot of films since my last post and some on the big screen!

Lick The Star directed by Sofia Coppola - 6/10
A pretty well-made early short film by Coppola, not very special but not bad at all!

Leave Her To Heaven directed by John M. Stahl - 9/10
A very great Technicolor film noir/melodrama that I saw at the Film Forum. Those compositions are gorgeous and the storytelling is marvelous. This film has very few flaws, but sometimes the color is a bit too much in the end of the film and the court scenes weren't on par with the rest of the film. Aside from that, I think everyone should watch this film for the color alone let alone the brilliant storytelling and characters!

Out Of The Past directed by Jacques Tournier - 10/10
I can't believe that about two years ago I saw this in my Filmmaking class and fell asleep and didn't ever watch it again, this film has some of the best cinematography ever along with one of the greatest scripts ever with very memorable dialogue. The plot gets really complex but it always works, and the film has such a huge heart and an ambiguous ending that touched me a lot. I saw this at the Film Forum as well and watching it on the big screen was an amazing experience!

Life Itself directed by Steve James - 8/10
This was a very good if conventional documentary about the greatest populist critic, Roger Ebert. I cried a lot of times while watching this film.

Bad Boys directed by Michael Bay - 6/10
I always believe in reappraising underappreciated directors/films and I found Bay's debut to be pretty darn enjoyable. I like the warm colors used in the cinematography and it felt like a mild heroic bloodshed film. I also enjoyed following the plot and some of the humor. I wish Bay was better at developing characters, this film would actually be pretty damn great if it made me care about the characters more!

Ida directed by Pawel Pawlikowski - 4/10
This was one of the biggest disappointments I've had with a film. I saw this at a local movie theater and it looked gorgeous on the big screen, it had some of the best cinematography I've seen in recent films. But I found that it wasn't much else, I don't like using the word "boring" but let's just say I think films like this give arthouse/foreign cinema a bad name. There seemed to be no depth to this film at all, the ideas it presents are totally unoriginal, and only the ending is quite striking for me. I may have to re-watch this film since pretty much everyone disagrees, but I found this film to be very disappointing!

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik; written by John Hughes - 7/10
I saw this during "Christmas In July" at a camping site this weekend, and this was a very fun film. Not all of the humor works, but I think a lot of it does and it was pretty much always entertaining. I think this'll be a Christmas film I'll watch quite a few more times!

Boyhood directed by Richard Linklater - 10/10
Possibly the greatest American film of the decade so far IMO, and up there even if you consider all of world cinema. The film is more than a coming of age story, it is realist cinema at its finest, cinematic experimentation (using the same cast for 12 years and the elliptical episodic structure), a chronicle of an era, and a philosophical discussion that dialogues with today's youth as well. It also helps that I am literally the same age as the protagonist and am going to college soon! Time will tell if this is an enduring masterpiece, but I think it probably will be. For me the dialogue alone shows how Richard Linklater has an amazing talent that makes him be like the Yasujiro Ozu of his generation and culture (minus the formalism of course!). Since I want to make films with ordinary stories about ordinary people like Linklater and Ozu have, I have to keep analyzing these works since they are done so well! This is actually the first Linklater film I've seen, and I look forward to going through his entire filmography now that I have seen this film!

Fist Of Fury directed by Lo Wei; starring Bruce Lee - 6/10
Eh, I am very disappointed with Bruce Lee's films. They are not bad but they are very mediocre films that are only saved by the presence of Lee and his fighting style. I prefer The Big Boss because I actually thought the plot was pretty cool and I liked some of the characters, Fist Of Fury has better cinematography and editing tricks though. I'm not sure which had the better fighting scenes, but I feel like Fist Of Fury has more action. Still I prefer The Big Boss because the non-action scenes were somewhat enjoyable. Fist Of Fury has some brilliant action scenes and surprisingly a really good dramatic scene as well, but I find it to be very inconsistent and overall I think the theme of revenge is handled in a very shallow manner (this is the same way I feel about Kill Bill, perhaps Tarantino was influenced by the kind of martial arts cinema that I don't think is that special which made me dislike that series). The film is worth watching for martial arts cinema fans, but I think it's not nearly on par with the best work produced at Shaw Brothers (esp. King Hu and Chang Cheh films), Jackie Chan films, and Sammo Hung films. I hope that the next few of Lee's films are better. Oh and watching this film made me lower my score for The Big Boss from an 8 to a 7, now that I think of it, Lee's films aren't that special.

sfoster said:

Brazil 1/5

I am genuinely pissed off that this is on time magazine's top 100
This is one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's wretchedly boring, way too long. And lists robert deniro as a title cast member when he is in it for like 4 minutes. Fuck you time magazine.

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To each their own, but brazil is in my top ten films of all time.

Robert Deniro wasn't in very much, but that's not really a problem with the film, just the way it was marketed.
I didn't find it boring in the slightest, or too long. That's like saying 2001 is too slow -- it's not a fast paced sort of film. It's not an action movie.

That's part of why I love it. Very few films are willing is sit back and let you think about what's happening.

Perhaps it's not a movie that's aimed at you, but to say it's one of the worst movies you've ever seen? Absurd imo.

oh, and for me, the last movie was "Shoot the Piano Player"
It was pretty good, although not amazing.

DeadChannel said:

To each their own, but brazil is in my top ten films of all time.

Robert Deniro wasn't in very much, but that's not really a problem with the film, just the way it was marketed.
I didn't find it boring in the slightest, or too long. That's like saying 2001 is too slow -- it's not a fast paced sort of film. It's not an action movie.

That's part of why I love it. Very few films are willing is sit back and let you think about what's happening.

Perhaps it's not a movie that's aimed at you, but to say it's one of the worst movies you've ever seen? Absurd imo.

oh, and for me, the last movie was "Shoot the Piano Player"
It was pretty good, although not amazing.

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I really hated the movie. And I don't mind sitting back and thinking. I am definitely a thinker and I get accused of over thinking films on routine basis.

Just because you can think about it doesn't mean it has to be boring. A ton of thinking can go on for the first matrix

Comic Book Men. Loved it. I didn't guess how much I'd like it. I had just finished watching PBS's Superheroes documentary (now on Netflix and highly recommended), and was hungry for more. So I gave CBM a try. I'm hooked. I watched episode after episode until I ran out of episodes on Netflix. Now I'm like, in withdrawal. A+ for me.

Noah. Twisted. Well, not my cup of tea. Not that the subject matter isn't of interest to me generally. Hey, good effort. But the original story ain't my cup of tea either. Good cast though.

sfoster said:

I really hated the movie. And I don't mind sitting back and thinking. I am definitely a thinker and I get accused of over thinking films on routine basis.

Just because you can think about it doesn't mean it has to be boring. A ton of thinking can go on for the first matrix

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How was it boring, though? I mean, it wasn't... like... a Bela Tarr film or anything :/

Kids directed by Larry Clark; written by Harmony Korine - 7/10
This is one of those kind of films that's not my cup of tea, it's gritty, it's 'realistic' (although not really), it's raw, and it is controversial. I like how brave Korine and Clark were with this film and how they tried to show a part of the world that most people (including myself) don't want to see. They also did a good job at making the film engaging, I'm not going to lie, I was engaged in this film for the most part. There are some parts in the film that I just get lost with, and I really zone out in those parts. I liked the acting a lot and same goes for the overall style of the visuals and the writing (it fits the film's content well). I didn't like the ending, I mean the last line (well really more the context with which it was placed) precisely because it makes it too obvious as a "wake-up call" (I have similar problems with the ending of Spike Lee's School Daze, an otherwise terrific film IMO). I also don't think the film delved too deeply in the fact that society has contributed to this problem, and I also think that it places the kids as a "them" group, when really I think we all have a bit of them inside of us (this is what I liked about Requiem In A Dream, it didn't just show drug addicts, it showed another side of addiction that can happen to 'anyone'). For these reasons, I feel like this was potentially even a masterpiece but it was flawed cinematically and I think that it could have been stronger thematically speaking as well. Still, I think this is a film that should be shown to some teenagers and parents as a "wake-up call" (even though I think it should have been more subtle with this).

National Lampoon's Vacation directed by Harold Ramis; written by John Hughes - 7/10
This is a pretty good comedy, I think some of the humor is dated but it's a lot of fun. I don't think it is among John Hughes' best work, but it's good enough to put on my favorite 'guilty pleasures' list.

Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro directed by Mikio Naruse - 7/10
As usual, Naruse has this incredible gift of turning pretty mediocre scripts (although sometimes he wrote brilliant scripts, those films turn out to be masterpieces or near-masterpieces) into pretty darn good films! This film's script isn't really special, but Naruse does a great job with the visual composition, the editing, and his always strong portrayal of women. I think this could have been a greater if there was some more depth to the relationship shown, everything would have been more powerful that way (especially the already powerful ending). I'm surprised Naruse didn't focus more on the relationship as this film has a longer running time than his other films from the period. Still, this is an entertaining and engaging film from beginning to end, and it is really well directed.

The Ice Storm - 8.5/10 - A dark drama with hints of comedy, suspense, and romance throughout. The cinematography is beautiful and sometimes surreal, with sharp dialogue from the characters leading an almost cliché story.

Lucy - 3/10 - The cinematography, VFX, and sound design are top notch. Unfortunately, those are the only things that drive the film. Those involved took an interesting idea and obscured it in action sequences and unintentional comedy.

Life Itself - 6/10 - For those interested in the life of R. Ebert, it's fantastic. But it's an unfortunately conventional documentary lacking the emotion I wish it had. Perhaps more footage of Ebert himself might help.

In Bruges - 8/10 - Well done black comedy with interesting characters and stunning scenery. A great balance of suspense and humor, both of which intensify as the film progresses.

Citizen Ruth - 8/10 - An intelligent and well set up film. Subtle symbolism and attention to detail makes this film worth watching.

The Big Chill - 7/10 - Decent (slightly overrated) film. I thought the film had some interesting characters and a good set up, but there was never much tension, build up, or climax. The film kept on moving somewhere but didn't end up anywhere. Unsatisfying ending.

DeadChannel said:

How was it boring, though? I mean, it wasn't... like... a Bela Tarr film or anything :/

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Werkmeister harmonies got a terrible review from me too
Much easier to describe why that one was boring, it's difficult to pinpoint for brazil. I know my girlfriend made me turn it off and couldn't stand it after 15 minutes so I finished it the next day on my own. Despite not caring about any of the characters and never being drawn into the world.

Guys, I think it's just that not all films (or types of films) appeal to all people. sfoster also really hated Tokyo Story and Late Spring, and those two are my favorite films of all-time (with Ozu being my favorite director, and I never find his best works boring!). He also gave Ugetsu, a 3/5 which I completely disagree with since it's up there as one of my favorites as well. But I wouldn't blame it on the films or sfoster's "taste" (I don't believe in "good taste" or "bad taste" as a concept anyway). I just learned that sfoster doesn't care for these types of films, so if I want to recommend him a film, I won't recommend him some Ozu, Dreyer, Bresson, or Mizoguchi, or Tarr.

I also don't care for some types of films either. I hated Amelie (even though I think it's not a bad film), I didn't think Requiem For A Dream is as special as many people say, I hated Ida, I thought that the Kill Bill films were huge disappointments for several reasons, and although I could admire Kids, I would not consider it among my favorites at all. I don't think it's that I have "bad taste" or that the films themselves are necessarily bad, they just don't appeal to me strongly (and in the case of Amelie, the film just really irritates me!).

It's like I say to many of my friends, I use a food metaphor. "If you eat sushi at several restaurants, and every time you hate it, it doesn't necessarily mean that the people preparing the food are bad, it just means you don't like sushi." For some people, Bela Tarr does not suit their taste (this is different from the concept of "good taste" and "bad taste" btw), or Ozu, or Spielberg, or whatever filmmaker/genre/filmmaking mode/style/etc.

What I try to do is learn how to evaluate films according to my own tastes, and with a little more objectivity. For example, I think that Requiem For A Dream did a great job at what it was trying to do (although I also think it does have flaws) even though I don't really enjoy these kind of films. I think it's one thing to say that a film is bad, and another to say that it's good but doesn't suit one's personal taste.

I think to truly make a case for a film that is panned as being good, or a film that is praised as being bad, one needs to have a lot of convincing evidence. For example, I had a huge argument about The Searchers, and John Ford's work overall. I really disliked how some people were arrogant enough to state that Ford is a "horrible filmmaker" and that The Searchers is a "piece of shit." If one really wants to prove this, he/she should provide sufficient evidence through research and evidence, as well as comparison and contrast with different works of the genre/period. Also I think that to conclusively prove that The Searchers isn't great, we need to have qualified followers of this opinion. So far, there are countless filmmakers, critics, and cinephiles that adore John Ford's work, his films have stood the test of time, and he is probably the most influential filmmaker of the sound era, so it'll be very difficult to prove that his best films are "pieces of shit." Instead, I think people that dislike John Ford's work (or any acclaimed filmmaker for that matter), should just express their personal opinions of the film, and try to find a way to communicate their opinions to people with similar taste (again, not a matter of "good" or "bad" taste), and at the same time point out that people with different tastes may enjoy the film.

Haha, as usual, I'm starting to write a lot and digressing to different areas. But I just thought some of this was relevant to the discussion. I just felt the need to defend sfoster's opinion, and the film's merit (although I haven't seen the film, I think that what I said applies to pretty much every highly acclaimed film).

I gave the searchers 2/5

There is definitely no accounting for taste in film.
Has anyone ever met a person that had identical taste ? I highly doubt it.

Personally I like my films to be fast paced and engaging, but I can tolerate slower films if it has a huge emotional moment near the end. Like the 1953 titanic .. I was looking at my watch like .. okay when is the ice berg going to hit already ? ? Only hits in the last 10 minutes of the film, but those last 10 minutes blew me away.

This is in very stark contrast to "A night to remember" which features the titanic sinking in real time. More entertaining throughout but actually not as good of a movie because it doesn't raise such strong feelings.

Something like brazil.. I didn't even care that the main character . I never understood why he liked the girl other than the fact that he dreamed of her. And all that mysticism was never explained. Plus the faux future stuff.. the whole movie was nonsense to me