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A few reviews

Jrzag42

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Die Nibelungen, from your description, sounds amazing, and I want to watch it.
 

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The Keeping Hours (2018)

Out the gate I will tell you that this movie is produced by Blumhouse films and billed as a drama/horror/love story. It is a deeply moving drama centered around love, loss, forgiveness and redemption.

The movie causes me to consider the tortured healing process that everyone goes through after suffering a tragic loss. The main characters portray believable, very human people; more importantly this film invokes my total empathy for this couple as they come to terms with the loss of their son.

The final scenes are the best

I appreciated the haunting score, the pathos, the acceptance of what is and what has happened.

I was deeply moved and appreciate the depth of this film and the final redemption of the souls of the characters.

Highly recommended!
 

TM2YC

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Denizen said:
How do you do it?

I didn't watch it one 5-hour go, that's for sure :D . Silent films can be so good.

jrWHAG42 said:
Die Nibelungen, from your description, sounds amazing, and I want to watch it.

I hope somebody here does and does a fanedit. Trim it right down and rescore it with GoT or LoTR music, change the names and the story in the intertitles etc. How about it @"ssj" ?




The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
This got rented so many times when it came out and I’ve seen it over the years but not for a long stretch. So I wasn’t going to pass up a 25th Anniversary Screening (has it really been a quarter century?). Seeing it for the first time on the big screen, I thought the cinematography was gorgeous, who knew there so many rich shades of brown, blue and grey. I’d never noticed that the colour green is almost totally absent (symbolising being locked away from nature). This isn’t achieved the modern way, by getting a computer to simply adjust the grade in post (making the film look dreadful). It's done by designing the look of the world from the ground up to not allow that colour. 142-minutes slips by without you noticing, as Andy says “The easiest time I ever did”... in a cinema ;) . The use of foreshadowing is clever and constant. I'd never realised before that when Andy first mentions his thoughts of getting out to Red, Red replies "This is just sh*tty pipedreams" which is exactly what it turns out to be. A film that rewards you every time you rewatch it.

 

Jrzag42

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I will most certainly watch it at some point. Can't say I'll edit it though, I still don't have much experience, and everytime I tell myself I want to edit something, I can't bring myself to actually do it. But if someone else did edit it, I think it would be really cool to see a modernized edit if an old film, and would surely watch it, though of course not until after an initial viewing of the source. 

This film interests me now that I know about it, almost as much as Metropolis. I had no idea that the concept of a fantasy story had been put into film so early on.
 

Hymie

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A Trip to the Moon, about a man that organizes a trip and encounters aliens came out in 1903.  The early years were extremely experimental, especially consideringly they started with watching a train come into station about 10 years earlier.
 

TM2YC

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Son of Saul (2015)
My second viewing of this unforgettable Hungarian film about a Sonderkommando at Auschwitz, his desperate search for a sliver of dignity and the horrifying logistics of mass extermination. Framed in tight human-face-shaped 4:3 with the camera never moving more than a couple of feet from Saul. We only see out-of-focus glimpses of the atrocities, or just hear the stomach churning sounds of what we know is happening of screen, simulating Saul's attempts to block it all out.


The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
Dario Argento's follow up to his smash debut Horror film 'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage' features another great Ennio Morricone score. 'The Cat o' Nine Tails' is a stylish and violent mystery that keeps you guessing 'til the last scene with skillful mis-direction. Karl Malden is thoroughly likeable as a blind ex-reporter, forming one half of an amateur Holmes & Watson team.


They're a Weird Mob (1966)
One of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's last films made during Powell's Aussie "exile" is a warm-hearted fish-out-of-water Comedy about the peculiarities of Australian life and the eccentricities of it's people. Our window on this world is Nino, a new Italian immigrant finding work, trying to fit in, to make friends and perhaps fall in love. Nino can speak a little English but that doesn't really help when everybody speaks Australian!  ;) The general tone is sun and fun but Powell finds time for many an artistic Directorial flourish. 'They're a Wierd Mob' is rarely mentioned in The Archers' acclaimed oeuvre, so I wasn't expecting much but it was a delightful watch, with many a laugh out loud moment.

 

TM2YC

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Schindler's List (1993)
A 25th Anniversary Cinema screening on Holocaust Memorial Day with a little spoken intro by Steven Spielberg. I've seen 'Schindler's List' so many times but not for years, it might be the first time since I visited Krakow and Auschwitz. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that lasted until well after the credits had rolled and I could hear that I was not the only one in the cinema sniffing back tears at the end. It's rare that a film can elicit such a physical and emotional reaction.

Making a Holocaust film about the depths to which humanity can sink would've been relatively simple but Spielberg manages to also show us the heights to which individual people can rise too. I'd forgotten how many moments of subtle humour he works in there too. John William's score and in particular Itzhak Perlman's violin could move the stoniest of hearts. Of course the high contrast black and white photography looks incredible in 4K. Comparing Spielberg's popcorn blockbusters and 'Schindler's List' is like comparing apples and oranges but those aside this is his best movie and one of the greatest ever made.

It's sad to think that many of the survivors and real people from the story we see processing past Schinder's grave in the epilogue are probably no longer with us in 2019.

 

ssj

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TM2YC said:
I hope somebody here does and does a fanedit. Trim it right down and rescore it with GoT or LoTR music, change the names and the story in the intertitles etc. How about it @"ssj" ?

sounds like a fun edit; alas, i won't be the one to tackle it.
but i'll happily watch once someone else pulls it off. :D
 

TM2YC

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^ Worth a shot :D.

Inferno (1980)
Dario Argento's follow up to 'Suspiria' continues in the same spirit of bizarre supernatural weirdness, unsettling violence, big ProgRock sounds (this time by ELP's Keith Emerson) and extreme coloured lighting. A rambling plot strings together a series of extended murder set pieces of a number of astonishingly beautiful women. The use of rumbling bass sounds, stylised lighting and inventive camerawork is really quite unsettling in these sequences. Not a film for the creature-phobic as there are ants crawling on hands, angry cats going berserk and an old man being eaten alive by hundreds of writhing rats. I don't think any cats were "harmed in the making of this film" but I'm sure quite a few were scared and upset. One briefly alive mouse was very definitely harmed by one of the cats. Hmm, dodgy. I couldn't tell you what the story was about but 'Inferno' had enough chills to be worth the watch.

Emerson's score isn't quite up there with Goblin's best but it has it's moments:

 

TM2YC

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Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
An interview and career overview of cinematographer (and cameraman, painter and Director) Jack Cardiff, concentrating mainly on his years as Technicolor's 3-strip colour rep in the UK. Famous Director's and stars like Michael Powell, Martin Scorsese, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston and Lauren Bacall are effusive in their praise of the man and his technical mastery. Lot's of amusing anecdotes from Cardiff like shooting a bath scene with a stark naked Marlene Dietrich, or coming up with a dream-like way to transition a scene for Michael Powell by simply fogging up the lense with his breath.


Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
I hadn't seen this Neo-Noir since the 90s, mainly because (apart from a limited Twlight-Time blu-ray) it's never had a wide HD release, then it turned up on Amazon Prime, yay! It's not quite in the same league as the other classy 90s Noir revival 1997's 'L.A. Confidential' but Denzel Washington is predictably wonderful and the sexy atmosphere is just right. The racial politics of late 40s Los Angeles is cleverly woven into every strand of the mystery, which gives this a whole different perspective from the original Genre films.


Phenomena (1985)
A return to a more straight-up Giallo slasher mystery but still retaining some of the 'Suspiria' style supernatural elements (a schoolgirl can telepathically  control insects). The trademark hyper stylised coloured lighting is replaced with cold neutral white light and long moving shadows. Fair play to the then 13-14 year old star Jennifer Connelly with all the flies, bees and maggots she has crawling on her and looking totally happy with it (as her character should). The finale features one of the grossest things I've seen in a Horror... bravo Mr Argento! Critical opinion on 'Phenomena' seems to be low but I thought it was one of Argento's best, so maybe critics have only seen the US Theatrical cut which apparently had a whopping 32-minutes hacked out? I watched the uncut Italian version with the English Language hybrid track (some lines are in Italian but they are few and far between).

 

thecuddlyninja

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Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)

Great documentary. This was the first thing that opened my eyes to Scientology and how it operates. In the years since, I've read some books by ex-Scientologists and watched all of Leah Remini's show. Revisiting this doc, it does a great job of covering a lot of parts of Scientology as concisely as possible. The pacing is a bit odd as a result but it doesn't suffer. At this point, if you know about Scientology this probably won't tell you anything new but it's a great way in for the unaware. If the topic interests you, the A&E show covers every aspect in greater detail, and is currently in its third season.
 

TM2YC

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The official BFI 94th Best British film ever made...

My Name Is Joe (1998)
Very much in the same grim social-realist spirit as Ken Loach's last film, 'I, Daniel Blake' from 2016. Peter Mullan is so believable, real and endearing as recovering Glasgow alcoholic Joe. Watching him find some fragile happiness was almost painful to watch because you know it can't last. Sometimes life is a "Kobayashi Maru" and all you can do is your best. Those not familiar with the strong Glaswegian accents will probably require subtitles (and do according to Wikipedia). Apparently the word "f*ck" is used 230 times, not to mention other swear words :D . Tragic and heart-warming in equal measure.


I'm looking forward to Loach's forthcoming film:

 

Gaith

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You Season One (2018; now on Netflix, which will produce the show going forward)

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What if Norman Bates (the charming Anthony Perkins/Hitchcock version, not the unattractive schlub from the novel) lived in today's Ok Cupid-era Manhattan? And what if that scene of the car in the bog lasted ten whole episodes? If those questions pique thy interest, ye might want to give You a try.

A very entertaining, crisply acted show. (Star Penn Badgley looks like he could be Henry Cavill's younger brother.) Sure, it strains plausibility here and there, and there's at least one big loose end/plot hole, but I enjoyed the ride regardless, and look forward to S2. B+
 

thecuddlyninja

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Her (2013)

A beautiful film, spearheaded by two wonderful lead performances. Joaquin Phoenix gives a brilliant, subtle performance. The conceit of the film means it's a lot of him talking to his phone. But when you have an actor that good, just go medium, and close up anytime you need the emotion to land. Even when the script stretches credulity, I always buy it. Scarlett Johansson gives my favorite performance of hers. I have liked her in a lot of things but nothing comes close to the feelings she's able to convey with her voice. Playing an OS learning to become more human and beyond seems incredibly difficult but she's always exactly what the scene needs. Any conversation between Phoenix and Johansson in the last half of the movie shows how great they both are. Spike Jonze's composition is of course interesting and stylish while not being overly so (and still serving the story). The only thing that didn't totally work for me was the Amy character. I fully understand the contrast of human-human relationship to human-AI but I just didn't understand how her relationship fit in thematically. I would have preferred if that part was gone. Though Theodore needs a human friend, and that poignant, stirring, simple ending wouldn't work without it. I also rolled my eyes at him composing the email to his ex-wife. I have two ex-wives and, to avoid spoilers I'll just say it doesn't work like that. Other than those quibbles though, this is pretty much a masterpiece for me. Oh, and the music! It was spot on.
 

TM2YC

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^ I always mean to make time for that one.





Threads (1984)
Directed by Mick Jackson (who went on to make hits like 'The Bodyguard') and penned by regular Ken Loach collaborator Barry Hines (writer of 'Kes'). 'Threads' is a horribly believable and infamous 1984 BBC Drama/Documentary TV Horror movie imagining a Nuclear holocaust in Sheffield, England. I knew it had a reputation as a broadcast that traumatised viewers at the time but I assumed it would look dated and naive after 34-years. It was not and even removed from the real nuclear threat of the mid 80s, it's still a shocking experience. You see adults p*ssing themselves in terror, hospital floors running with bodily fluids, old ladies sh*tting themselves, very realistic looking charred corpses, characters gnawing on raw irradiated sheep carcasses and rats, dreadfully burned parents discovering their children's bodies crushed under rubble and oh so much vomiting. Just so you know there is absolutely no hope, the film ends with a freeze-frame of a feral post-apocalypse teen screaming at the sight of her blood-drenched still-born mutant baby. Thanks 'Threads', I may never sleep again!


The new 2K scan of the 16mm film looks nice on the 2-disc SimplyMedia blu-ray set. I watched the 4:3 broadcast original but a 16:9 recut is available as a bonus.
 

TM2YC

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The Five Days (1973)
'Le Cinque Giornate' is a rare Dario Argento movie that is not a "Giallo", it's a satirical historical film about the 1848 Milan rebellion. The wild mixture of chaotic violence, nonsensical politics and bizarre humour is probably closest in style to Terry Gilliam. Two cheeky rogues wonder the streets of Milan trying to stay out of trouble but inevitably get mixed up in almost everything and ultimately must decide where they stand. There are several memorable comedy scenes and the last act was pretty powerful but it meandered around too much to be wholly effective as a cynical political statement. The score sounded like Wendy Carlos which I also liked.


I don't think it's ever been released outside of Italy, so I imagine hardly anybody has been able to see it. I was taking a chance ordering an Italian DVD and hoping the fan-made English subtitles I found on the internet would be compatible. Thankfully, they were 100% in sync and seemed very well translated. Nice work "Talpaleone & Lord Retsudo", whoever you are?
 

TM2YC

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Get Me Roger Stone (2017)
Netflix career overview of the self-styled "bad boy" Political strategist that probably just serves to fan his ego. It's impossible to know what the man really thinks (if he sincerely has ideals) because anything true he might say is surrounded by such a hurricane of trolling bullsh*t. Credit to Stone that he was able to see that this could be an effective campaign strategy for Trump because nobody can pin you down but will spend all their resources trying to. Still, it's a subject and history which is relevant and fascinating.


Primary Colors (1998)
A powerful political campaign thriller from a more innocent time when a Presidential candidate could be politically truthful, inspirational and likeable, have a sense of honour and yet still fear a sex scandal would preclude them from The White House. I'd watched this film many times in the past but the pace of the editing, efficiency of the visual storytelling and rapid plotting still makes 143-minutes zip by. Great performances all round but Kathy Bates outshines everyone.

 

TM2YC

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Roma (2018)
Four short powerful and/or memorable scenes (kung-fu/protest/birth/swimming) in a sea of slow and overly pretentious tedium. That the lead has never acted before was obvious, the few times the camera moves in for a closeup and you have no idea what emotion she is supposed to be conveying (especially frustrating for the final inscrutable car ride closeup). Do the two main characters even share a single meaningful conversation? I wasn't even that bowled over by the Cinematography, too much like grey-scale, rather than lovely Nitrate-esque black & white.


On a side note: Weirdly the Netflix interface kept coming up with a product placement warning, which really drew attention to the shots of Coke bottles and scenes arranged just to show the drinking of said beverage (Mmmm, I could go for an ice cold Coke right now for some reason). A lot of traditionally funded movies have product placement but since Netflix is supposed to be an advert-free subscription model, maybe they are legally obligated to declare this in one of their own films.

Cold War (2018)
Polish film about the obsessive and volatile love between two musicians in Iron-Curtain post-war Europe. The music sequences are so beautiful that they have an almost hymn like quality. One of the best looking black & white films I've yet seen (In contrast to the average looking 'Roma'). 4:3 images expertly composed for fragile human faces, crumbling cold interiors and expansive windswept landscapes. I could almost have spent the whole 85-minutes paused on any random frame, just taking it all in e.g.

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Wonderfully romantic and yet unbearably melancholy. It might be my film of the year? but I'd have to think.

 

Masirimso17

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@"TM2YC" I completely agree with you on Cold War but I can’t disagree more about Roma. That film was beautiful, yo.
 

thecuddlyninja

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You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Spellbinding lead performance and some interesting thoughts on PTSD. However, the narrative (or lack thereof) was too obtuse for me to fully engage emotionally. There are parts that will stay with me but I found watching it that I was vacillating between intellectually trying to figure out what was going on/what it means and viscerally reacting to certain moments. I did come up with what I think happened 

Joe was molested by his mother and his whole job is a fabrication so that he can feel like he's saving abused kids. He kills his mother and that's why the plot goes off the rails with wild conspiracy after. There's not a lot in the text but I think what little there is supports this. That's why in his job he has a good father figure, and I think the main girl represents how Joe viewed his mother when he was a kid. I was working this out when the director literally had a quick shot showing Joe's mother at the governor's house. I guess if the rest is right then he really kills himself in the diner and the rest of the ending is the conclusion of his suppressed fantasy.

Anyway, it's definitely interesting and worth a watch but not for everybody. I've heard a lot of praise for this film but for me this didn't come close to the heights of 'We Need to Talk About Kevin.'
 
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