Talk About Movies: Part 4
Somehow threads merged, so here's part 4 of our ongoing movie discussion.
I can't count how many times I've watched Fury Road but this sequence brings tears to my eyes every time. Although Immortan Joe is evil incarnate, I empathize with the War Boys. Their loyalty and honor in seeking a meaningful death during war is badass. Watching the storm grow with intensity, the rising score, the explosions, body flying all over the place? CINEMA AT ITS FINEST. The existence of this sequence melts my brain and pushes the format to its limit. I'm in awe of this film.
I think I've only seen 2 genuine masterpieces in the last, say, 12 years. Fury Road and Mandy.
Pearl is close to being a masterpiece too, but not quite there.
Had never heard of this Denzel movie Roman Israel. Bombed at box office and sounds unbearable (Denzel playing a socially awkward man has to be I Am Sam level, or Matt Damon handling poker chips & golf clubs level) but I guess he got an Oscar nom for it.
Tried this as well a couple of months ago and made it almost to the halfway point, and then read the wiki on it instead of finishing it. I thought it was a courtroom drama but nope…
Saw the 4k restoration of Touch of Evil last night. The print was so good you could make out the lines where the prosthetic nose and chin were applied.
Welles was 42 at the time.
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Two revisitsMidnight Express (1978)Hadn't seen this one since I was a teen and it popped up on youtube so decided to revisit. It still holds up as a gritty prison drama and genre film veteran Paul L Smith is still terrifying as sadistic prison guard Hamidou, but I doubt it would get made today with the same tone and can understand how Turkish people would be ever so slightly m
It was amazing, thx for the recommendation!!! Top 2 revenge movies of all time, me thinks...
edit : let's make it a top 20 revenge movie, now that I think about it...
I think I've only seen 2 genuine masterpieces in the last, say, 12 years. Fury Road and Mandy.
♥♥♥
DB is my Limey brother from another mother
Showed my girlfriend the Last of Sheila tonight. Herbert Ross's great, delicious, snarky whodunit, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins. And starring James Mason, Dyan Cannon, Joan Hackett, Richard Benjamin, Raquel Welch, Ian McShane, and James Coburn. So damn 70s and so damn good. Weird to think only two of that cast is still alive - Benjamin and McShane.
I think I've only seen 2 genuine masterpieces in the last, say, 12 years. Fury Road and Mandy.
Pearl is close to being a masterpiece too, but not quite there.
Have you seen The Wailing (2016)?
Seems a bit of a marmite film but I personally found it pretty damn close to being a masterpiece. Past the 12 year limit but I'd consider I Saw The Devil (2010) a masterpiece also. Korea have really given us some amazing films the past 20 odd years.
Showed my girlfriend the Last of Sheila tonight. Herbert Ross's great, delicious, snarky whodunit, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins. And starring James Mason, Dyan Cannon, Joan Hackett, Richard Benjamin, Raquel Welch, Ian McShane, and James Coburn. So damn 70s and so damn good. Weird to think only two of that cast is still alive - Benjamin and McShane.
I first saw as a kid and revisited about 10 years ago, it's really good and I was surprised when I learned Perkins co-wrote it.
Have you seen The Wailing (2016)?
Seems a bit of a marmite film but I personally found it pretty damn close to being a masterpiece. Past the 12 year limit but I'd consider I Saw The Devil (2010) a masterpiece also. Korea have really given us some amazing films the past 20 odd years.
Yes, I have seen The Wailing. Not a masterpiece for me, but a very good movie nonetheless. 4/5 for me. I liked how unpredictable it was once the main story got going. The plot kept snaking in different directions, without ruining the effectiveness of the movie.
And agree, South Korean cinema and TV (eg Kingdom and Squid Game) has been pretty great for a while now.
The Handmaiden
Watched Die My Love last night and I really would like that time back. Pretty awful, other than a little JLaw nudity, of course.
If you haven't seen I Saw the Devil yet, I really can't recommend it enough, amazing film
It was well done, but pretty damn gruesome. I really have no desire to see it again.
More 70s film...
Tonight it was The Parallax View.
I have the same feeling after watching this that I did when I saw it back in the day. Frustration. Interestingly shot, with some good performances, but really just a waste of time. Doesn't make a lick of sense, narratively.
I think I've only seen 2 genuine masterpieces in the last, say, 12 years. Fury Road and Mandy.
Pearl is close to being a masterpiece too, but not quite there.
Arrival (2016)
The last Mission Impossible movie came on last night.
Didn't work for me. I was a little tired, but it seemed convoluted, contrived, and dragged on--even by MI standards--to me.
Kind of ironic it premiered the night before the SB pregame shows.
Only two more nominees to go, Marty Supreme and Hamnet.
Not really sure why The Secret Agent has been so lauded. Feels like just international film agenda or something. It kept simmering with a nice bit of tension but ultimately ends up being a let down. I'm Still Here was better.
Favorite films of the last few years:
About Dry Grasses by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (his films take some getting used to)
An Elephant Sitting Still by Ho Bo
Toni Erdman by Maren Ade
Perfect Days by Wim Wenders (the ending is sublime and demonstrates the range of the human face)
Arrival (made me cry at the end, and that's not my response to most anything)
A Ghost Story by David Lowery. Intensely moving. That pie eating scene.
Personal Shopper by Olivier Assayas is another kind of ghost story.
I'm not sure what I would call a masterpiece, but these come close. And lest I be labeled a film snob, I declare Paddington 2 a masterpiece.
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It’s only one red sock! Don’t worry, I know where to get ketchup stains out!
