movies What's the last film you watched? And rate it!
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Filth, 5/5!
Good Men, Good Women directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien - 10/10
Now this is my kind of Hou! The film just has so much going on with at least three plot lines, set in two different time periods, and yet one of those time periods has flashbacks within that time period, and then there's the "film within the film" that isn't presented in an obvious manner like 8 1/2 does. I don't even know, watching this movie I just had so many emotions and I loved every second of it, but I'll admit that I didn't fully get it, I didn't fully understand the story but it's so good anyway that I think it's a masterpiece and I'll definitely want to watch it again. This may be the second best Hou film I've seen, just behind Flowers Of Shanghai, but I'll still say A Summer At Grandpa's is my second favorite for now, since I definitely feel I got that one, unlike this film.
Now this is my kind of Hou! The film just has so much going on with at least three plot lines, set in two different time periods, and yet one of those time periods has flashbacks within that time period, and then there's the "film within the film" that isn't presented in an obvious manner like 8 1/2 does. I don't even know, watching this movie I just had so many emotions and I loved every second of it, but I'll admit that I didn't fully get it, I didn't fully understand the story but it's so good anyway that I think it's a masterpiece and I'll definitely want to watch it again. This may be the second best Hou film I've seen, just behind Flowers Of Shanghai, but I'll still say A Summer At Grandpa's is my second favorite for now, since I definitely feel I got that one, unlike this film.
The Maze Runner: 2/10, Deep fried shit covered in shit, with bad acting on top.
Taipei Story directed by Edward Yang - 10/10
Okay, so Edward Yang has blown me away again. First I saw his debut feature That Day, On The Beach, an underseen masterpiece that seems to only exist in poor video quality on online copies, since watching that film I promised myself to wait for better quality versions of his films. Then I saw the anthology film that kicked off the Taiwanese New Wave, In Our Time, which was an extremely fine film overall and had an incredible Edward Yang short in it. Now I have waited patiently and have finally been given the opportunity to watch his second feature film Taipei Story on a 35mm print! Well I think this is one of the best films I have ever seen, it just does a really good job at showing how disconnected people can be, and how lives can really have their meaning stuck to the past. The film also is just a great portrait of 80's Taipei, everything from the pop music to the commercial symbols to the city lights (and even more importantly, the darkness of the city) is just perfect. Hou Hsiao-hsien also does a surprisingly great job as a leading actor. The theme of the film and the way it was presented just hit me in a very direct manner, I was deeply disturbed by this film, I am just stunned by how keen Edward Yang's observations of life are. As with most of these Taiwanese New Wave films, I feel like i just have to re-watch this later in my life, hopefully this one will get better distribution soon!
Okay, so Edward Yang has blown me away again. First I saw his debut feature That Day, On The Beach, an underseen masterpiece that seems to only exist in poor video quality on online copies, since watching that film I promised myself to wait for better quality versions of his films. Then I saw the anthology film that kicked off the Taiwanese New Wave, In Our Time, which was an extremely fine film overall and had an incredible Edward Yang short in it. Now I have waited patiently and have finally been given the opportunity to watch his second feature film Taipei Story on a 35mm print! Well I think this is one of the best films I have ever seen, it just does a really good job at showing how disconnected people can be, and how lives can really have their meaning stuck to the past. The film also is just a great portrait of 80's Taipei, everything from the pop music to the commercial symbols to the city lights (and even more importantly, the darkness of the city) is just perfect. Hou Hsiao-hsien also does a surprisingly great job as a leading actor. The theme of the film and the way it was presented just hit me in a very direct manner, I was deeply disturbed by this film, I am just stunned by how keen Edward Yang's observations of life are. As with most of these Taiwanese New Wave films, I feel like i just have to re-watch this later in my life, hopefully this one will get better distribution soon!
Finally got around to watching Brick Mansions. As remakes go, it's not bad (having David Belle reprise his role certainly helped). Pretty straight forward; Luc Besson did the script for both, so not a lot of surprises if you've seen the original (District B-13). Well, one surprise and it's not really a good one.
The reason the original was such a fun movie (though not really a great movie) was watching David Belle's insane parkour chase scenes. And the opening 5 minutes is exactly that (in both films it's the highlight). But in Brick Mansions, that's about it. Sure, there are a lot of stunts and some fun fight scenes, but the rest of the chase scenes (and a few fight scenes) are all car chases. Why? Paul Walker co-stars (his character is really more the main character), and that's what he does. So the movie goes out of its way to make him shine. But does so at the cost of Belle, which is the strongest aspect of the movie. The movie even draws attention to the fact that Walker can't keep up with Belle, so they're not letting Belle do what he does best (a couple groan worthy scenes near the end).
What remains is a middle-of-the-road dystopian/class warfare movie. Not terrible, but not really exceptional. In a 90 minute movie, Belle should be running away (or towards) things for at least 30 of them, not 5. Hell, you don't even really need a plot, just having a high quality parkour film, rather than youtube videos of variable quality, and it would be engaging.
So for me, 5/10. If you liked the Fast and the Furious movies, you could probably add a couple points to it, and the first 5 minutes is fantastic. RZA is pretty good as the drug kingpin, nice to see him getting more screentime. And if I spent more time talking about this movie than the movie deserves, it's because I wanted to love it. And for the first 5 minutes, I did.
The reason the original was such a fun movie (though not really a great movie) was watching David Belle's insane parkour chase scenes. And the opening 5 minutes is exactly that (in both films it's the highlight). But in Brick Mansions, that's about it. Sure, there are a lot of stunts and some fun fight scenes, but the rest of the chase scenes (and a few fight scenes) are all car chases. Why? Paul Walker co-stars (his character is really more the main character), and that's what he does. So the movie goes out of its way to make him shine. But does so at the cost of Belle, which is the strongest aspect of the movie. The movie even draws attention to the fact that Walker can't keep up with Belle, so they're not letting Belle do what he does best (a couple groan worthy scenes near the end).
What remains is a middle-of-the-road dystopian/class warfare movie. Not terrible, but not really exceptional. In a 90 minute movie, Belle should be running away (or towards) things for at least 30 of them, not 5. Hell, you don't even really need a plot, just having a high quality parkour film, rather than youtube videos of variable quality, and it would be engaging.
So for me, 5/10. If you liked the Fast and the Furious movies, you could probably add a couple points to it, and the first 5 minutes is fantastic. RZA is pretty good as the drug kingpin, nice to see him getting more screentime. And if I spent more time talking about this movie than the movie deserves, it's because I wanted to love it. And for the first 5 minutes, I did.
Do The Right Thing directed by Spike Lee - 10/10
Oh yes, this is what I was hoping for! After seeing School Daze and absolutely loving it, I was excited to watch this film. What makes this film so great for me is that it does a great job at drawing out its world, I really felt like a part of this Bed-Stuy neighborhood. Also, I liked how it was almost a hang out kind of movie with a lot of diverse interesting characters with a drama just simmering underneath. The great color cinematography really does a good job at capturing the literal and metaphorical heat (I've actually never seen a film so concerned with hot temperature since Tokyo Story). Also, there are great performances by just about everyone in the film. Overall, this is a film that makes me laugh, cry, and think while making me feel like I'm in a great but flawed world, and I don't quite know that the problems raised in the film will ever be solved, but it makes me certainly feel like contributing to the solution.
Oh yes, this is what I was hoping for! After seeing School Daze and absolutely loving it, I was excited to watch this film. What makes this film so great for me is that it does a great job at drawing out its world, I really felt like a part of this Bed-Stuy neighborhood. Also, I liked how it was almost a hang out kind of movie with a lot of diverse interesting characters with a drama just simmering underneath. The great color cinematography really does a good job at capturing the literal and metaphorical heat (I've actually never seen a film so concerned with hot temperature since Tokyo Story). Also, there are great performances by just about everyone in the film. Overall, this is a film that makes me laugh, cry, and think while making me feel like I'm in a great but flawed world, and I don't quite know that the problems raised in the film will ever be solved, but it makes me certainly feel like contributing to the solution.
One of my favorite films! Glad you enjoyed it. I had a similar reaction upon first-viewing as well. The ambiguity and complex/difficult presentation of the issues the film concerns make it truly timeless.
I was very impressed that this film wasn't really preachy or didactic, nor was it simplistic in its depiction of racism. Almost everyone's anger is justified if it were simply anger, but the racism that was behind the anger is intolerable. At the same time, can we blame anyone on that scorching day? I was especially impressed with the character of Sal, a character who clearly isn't just this awful racist, but a human being with flaws just like anyone else in the film. The more I think of it, the more I am impressed with this film, and I can't wait to watch it again.
MiniJamesW will be pleased to hear that we finally got around to watching Spirited Away recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. 8/10
The plot was reasonably coherent and flowing (unlike a lot of anime), which was nice, and the animation and characters were superb - totally fantastic in every sense.
If you can get over the usual 'work harder' story on the surface, then I highly recommend Spirited Away to anyone that hasn't seen it yet.
The plot was reasonably coherent and flowing (unlike a lot of anime), which was nice, and the animation and characters were superb - totally fantastic in every sense.
If you can get over the usual 'work harder' story on the surface, then I highly recommend Spirited Away to anyone that hasn't seen it yet.
The Grey - B+
the signal 7/10 ( laurence fishburn 10/10 tough...)
MiniJamesW will be pleased to hear that we finally got around to watching Spirited Away recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. 8/10
The plot was reasonably coherent and flowing (unlike a lot of anime), which was nice, and the animation and characters were superb - totally fantastic in every sense.
If you can get over the usual 'work harder' story on the surface, then I highly recommend Spirited Away to anyone that hasn't seen it yet.
Oh yes haha, Spirited Away is actually one of my top ten favorite movies! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I would like to point out that I think there is a lot more going on than the 'work harder' story, or even the coming of age story in the film, but these are elements that Miyazaki uses to draw the viewer in initially in order to bring us into his incredible imagination (which actually is also highly personal as his characters are based on people he knows). I'd also like to point out that the music in this film is amazing, that final song especially really got to me (this film's credits made me start watching credits all the way to the end in case I hear gems like this).
Also, although I'm no anime expert, I do believe that there are a few incredible filmmakers that should be seen as great filmmakers in general (not just great animators). Hayao Miyazaki is definitely one of them, he probably has the most consistently great large filmography I have seen so far. Isao Takahata can be equally good as Miyazaki (he's actually Miyazaki's most prominent partner), but I don't think he's as consistent. I'm in the camp that believes that Akira is a masterpiece, it is very convoluted but it also presents an incredibly drawn world which in my opinion makes the plot irrelevant, I think it's aiming for something other than plot. Satoshi Kon was also a master, he did more adult oriented animes (which are actually quite convoluted, but not in the bad way IMO) that have influenced a lot of contemporary American films (Darren Aronofsky and probably Christopher Nolan too) but he has a small filmography unfortunately. I've heard great things about Mamoru Oshii but I haven't been able to watch his stuff yet. Makoto Shinkai is also interesting, he seems to be one of the newer great anime directors (he's a great example of the self-made filmmaker as his early films were just done by him on his Mac). Mamoru Hosoda seems to be another one of the newer greats, I have to watch more of his stuff but what I've seen so far is great. A very Miyazaki-esque film that stood out to me is the incredibly underrated A Letter To Momo which has a great girl protagonist like many Miyazaki films. Regarding Miyazaki, I think all of his films are worth watching and all of them are great, another of my personal favorites is Kiki's Delivery Service. And as I of course am always a bit of an 'obscurist' I do have to recommend his incredibly underseen debut film (by most American audiences anyway), Lupin III: The Castle Of Cagliostro an incredibly funny adventure story, not quite as 'deep' as his other work but definitely a lot of fun.
Oh yes, Spirited away is definitely up there with Akira and Perfect Blue etc imo. We haven't seen Kiki's Delivery Service yet (If I'm honest, I didn't know it was one of his films. 
), so we have to watch it now!
It seems cute enough... a prerequisite for my GF's enjoyment of anime it seems.
), so we have to watch it now!It seems cute enough... a prerequisite for my GF's enjoyment of anime it seems.
Oh yes, Spirited away is definitely up there with Akira and Perfect Blue etc imo. We haven't seen Kiki's Delivery Service yet (If I'm honest, I didn't know it was one of his films.
It seems cute enough... a prerequisite for my GF's enjoyment of anime it seems.
Haha that's good, I hope you both enjoy it!
The Unbelievers directed by Gus Holwerda - 5/10
OK not a bad film, but certainly not a very interesting one. It's just one of those atheistic/secularist propaganda documentaries that will basically only preach to the crowd. I wasn't bored by the film, but I did feel like I would much rather watch a full length debate about this stuff on YouTube. I guess some people, particularly people that strongly agree with the views presented can enjoy the film, but either way it's not a particularly great documentary.
OK not a bad film, but certainly not a very interesting one. It's just one of those atheistic/secularist propaganda documentaries that will basically only preach to the crowd. I wasn't bored by the film, but I did feel like I would much rather watch a full length debate about this stuff on YouTube. I guess some people, particularly people that strongly agree with the views presented can enjoy the film, but either way it's not a particularly great documentary.
Oblivion. Second screening. I like it. Underrated film. A-
I was really looking forward to The Rover. This is one I really didn't need to purchase. It is decent. I'm ever more a Pearce fan. But at this time, I think I would have been better off just renting it. Anyway, it's pretty decent. I guess a B.
Finally saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Wow, don't think it deserves only a 35% Tomato Rating. I think it's much better than that. Looks great, really. The war is perhaps not treated with the greatest competence? It's impressionistic, almost art house. But fine. Overall it's not much different than Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. If I judged it by looks only, I suppose I'd give it an A. But overall, I suppose a B-.
I was really looking forward to The Rover. This is one I really didn't need to purchase. It is decent. I'm ever more a Pearce fan. But at this time, I think I would have been better off just renting it. Anyway, it's pretty decent. I guess a B.
Finally saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Wow, don't think it deserves only a 35% Tomato Rating. I think it's much better than that. Looks great, really. The war is perhaps not treated with the greatest competence? It's impressionistic, almost art house. But fine. Overall it's not much different than Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. If I judged it by looks only, I suppose I'd give it an A. But overall, I suppose a B-.
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King Kong 1933
3/5
I was surprised how similar the 2005 version was to this original. Made it feel like a 2/5 because I already knew the story.
Unfortunately peter jackson's version surpassed the original in every way imaginable.
Also this original had some absurdly stupid stuff in it… such as this moment below, where a man hits kong with a chair and then somehow loses consciousness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWknF6Ktbro
3/5
I was surprised how similar the 2005 version was to this original. Made it feel like a 2/5 because I already knew the story.
Unfortunately peter jackson's version surpassed the original in every way imaginable.
Also this original had some absurdly stupid stuff in it… such as this moment below, where a man hits kong with a chair and then somehow loses consciousness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWknF6Ktbro
LOL you always seem to not really like some of my favorite movies. As far as I'm concerned this is a masterpiece! I actually saw this version first and haven't seen Peter Jackson's version, and I'm not compelled to because I don't why I would ever want to sit for three hours to watch such a simple story. This version is perfect because it's such a tight film with memorable scenes, revolutionary special effects, and an amazing score (not to mention some of the best sound design of the era). I will give Jackson's version a try some day, but I really don't see why such a simple story needs to be three hours long!