Last (x) movies you saw

Turn Me On, Dammit! (4/5)
The Horse Thief (drifted...sorry, Marty)
The Squid and the Whale (5/5)
The Social Network (5/5--initial misgivings are gone; I completely love this now)
The Andromeda Strain (remake--3/5)
Alien (3.5/5)
Oblivion (3/5)
The Goddess (Ruan Lingyu, mentioned in The Story of Film; slept through half, not the film's fault)
Farewell My Concubine (3.5/5)
Valley Girl (3.5/5)

Project AII (1987, Chan) 8/10
Project A (1983, Chan) 7/10
Armor of God II: Operation Condor (1991, Chan) 7/10
Stage Struck (1925, Dwan) 7/10
Fruitvale Station (2013, Coogler) 6/10
Of Human Bondage (1934, Cromwell) 6/10
Manhandled (1924, Dwan) 8/10
The Master (2012, Anderson) 7/10
Nostalghia (1983, Tarkovsky) 7/10
Blackfish (2013, Cowperthwaite) 6/10
The Only Son (1936, Ozu) 8/10
An Inn in Tokyo (1935, Ozu) 9/10

Anyone seen No, the Chilean film about the '88 plebiscite? It's pretty good, although Gael Garcia Bernal doesn't smile often enough.

yes

I like dour GGB better

oh i dug it. i think i am a sucker for the whole modified u-video mania in general, but i thought it was very interesting; something kinda powerful in its idea of community or allegiance, like the last shot & the distance between the guy & the crowd. sorta wishing i could remember this movie better rn but i really dug it, found it v rich.

No smiles, its not a comedy.

Much Ado About Nothing (Joss Whedon, 2012) - best Shakespeare at the pictures ever! Or maybe the language is finally registering around my ear. Anyway I laughed along, wasn't expecting to at all.

Like Someone in Love (Kiarostami, 2012) - so I hear people might get annoyed at the abrupt ending? Get over it! Loved the main character listening to her messages as she rode around in a taxi.

Thérèse Desqueyroux (Miller, 2012) - wonder how it compares with the Franju adap?

so I hear people might get annoyed at the abrupt ending? Get over it! Loved the main character listening to her messages as she rode around in a taxi.

kiarostami movies have very pleasing, circular ways of ending &, remembering this criticism a week after seeing it, i was pretty bemused; i didn't think it abrupt or premature at all. like do people need some kind of grizzly onscreen denouement?

Or some bits of dialogue to neatly wrap up. Really must see Certified Copy sometime.

Also saw:

Szindbad (Zoltán Huszárik, 1971) - a screen adap of Gyula Krudy's short stories (which I re-read a couple of weeks ago, love the bk!). Gorgeous looking film, manages to captures the mixture of play, utter doom and chaos in the relations between men and woman as described.

Repo Man (Cox '84)
They Were Expendable (Ford '45)
Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers (Les Blank 1980)
The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson 2001)
(nostalgia) - (Hollis Frampton 1971)
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Anderson 2004)

Neil Jordan's Byzantium is well filmed with some nice acting but right around the time lil vampire Saoirse Ronan started telling the kid she just met who she was falling in love with "have you ever had a secret you could never ever share but wanted to more than anything else" i realized i was not a fourteen year old girl and bailed

Love in the Afternoon (Rohmer 1972) 4/5
Black Christmas (Clark 1974) 3/5
Paris Nous Appartient (Rivette 1961) 4/5
Man of Steel (Snyder 2013) 2/5
You, The Living (Andersson 2007) 3/5
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Yates 1973) 4/5
Scarlet Street (Lang 1945) 4/5
World War Z (Forster 2013) 1/5
The London Nobody Knows (Cohen 1967) 3/5
Histoire(s) Du Cinema (Godard 1988-1998) 4/5
The Silent Partner (Duke 1978) 3/5
Heaven Can Wait (Lubitsch 1943) 3/5

in the last month:

Bottle Rocket 4/5
Dog Day Afternoon 5/5
Blue Velvet 4/5

all seen before. In happier news, the terrible local theater chain monopoly has been sold! Good riddance Empire! Soon I'll be able to see movies on a big screen again.

watched Stranger Things a bit ago in a short super-indie NY run. Saw it because someone I know from college cowrote and directed it. Don't watch indie-ish films that often, but was very impressed. Subtle, careful, on the right side of almost going wrong, very well shot. Didn't remember to post about it at the time but now I really should because you can get it digitally in a variety of ways http://www.strangerthingsfilm.com/watchnow/

Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961, Dwan) 6/10
Premium Rush (2012, Koepp) 6/10
Frances Ha (2012, Baumbach) 7/10
Force of Evil (1948, Polonsky) 10/10
The Pleasure Garden (1926, Hitchcock) 6/10
Out of the Past (1947, Tourneur) 10/10
Downhill (1927, Hitchcock) 6/10
The Lodger (1926, Hitchcock) 8/10
The Ring (1927, Hitchcock) 7/10
Mud (2012, Nichols) 7/10
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012, DeNicola, Mori) 7/10
Monte Carlo (1930, Lubitsch) 7/10

Morbs how many of Premium Rush's points are for JoGo in bike shorts

Michael Shannon has a lot of fun in that movie

from up on poppy hill (gorō miyazaki, 2011) 8/10
pom poko (isao takahata, 1994) 6/10
we steal secrets: the story of wikileaks (alex gibney, 2013) 7/10
mr. smith goes to washington (frank capra, 1939) 9/10

A Field in England (Ben Wheatley, 2013) - The bit where a roped and brain-scrambled Reece Shearsmith emerges from a tent and bumbles across the field is one of the oddest, darkest, funniest, most unsettling scenes of any film this year. An hallucinatory nightmare set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, like a 17th Century Apocalypse Now. 8/10

Paprika (Satoshi Kon, 2006) - I enjoyed just its sense of wild abandon and colourful down-the-rabbithole weirdness. Great music, too, and it was nice to see a homage to Monkey (Saiyūki) in there also. Story-wise, it fell kind of short, but that didn't matter too much. 8/10

Man of Steel (Zack Snyder, 2013) - Worthless, really. 0/10

Behind the Candelabra (Soderbergh, 2013) - Amusing, enjoyable performances, and a great look to it, I thought. Obvious Boogie Nights parallels, but the story here is soured by a snide, bitchy undertone. 7/10

Fight Club (Fincher, 1999) - Every film has this 'piss-filter' look nowadays. Despite a
strong '90s movie vibe, it hasn't dated anywhere near as badly as I had assumed it would have done. A well made slab of nonsense. Oh, and Helena Bonham-Carter is really, really good in this. 8/10

Blood on Satan's Claw (Piers Haggard, 1971 ) - Uneven but wonderfully atmospheric British occult horror that should, by rights, be ranked alongside The Devil Rides Out and Witchfinder General. The gorgeous photography of the early springtime countryside is finally given justice on the Blu-ray restoration. 9/10

Billy Liar (John Schlesinger, 1963) - Another film that's scrubbed up well on Blu. Poignant and funny as ever - the ending still kills - but I forgot just how good Leonard Rossiter is in this. And, of course, Julie Christie, as a symbol of the fast-approaching, free-spirited sixties, swishing through. 9/10

Europa Report (Sebastián Cordero, 2013) - Like a more serious, found-footage Dark Star. Impressive, though. It captures the mystery and awe, as well as the mundanity, of what you would imagine deep space travel would be like. Creepy and haunting, this is a real star trek into darkness. 8/10

Trance (Danny Boyle, 2013) - Flashy editing and a ton of twists and revelations are dumped on the viewer to try and force the film into being exciting, as opposed to relying on story and performances. Messy. 4/10

The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 1977) - A rather thin story swallowed up in stunning visuals with atmosphere to spare. It's no Barry Lyndon, that's for sure, but has its fair share of memorable scenes and images. Ridley Scott starting as he means to go, basically. 7/10

World War Z (Marc Forster, 2013) - The new thing here is that the zombie hoards move through cities en masse like a tsunami of bodies. Otherwise, it's 28 Days/Weeks Later but far less inventive and interesting, and tailored for a PG-13 audience. The we-are-the-world ending is also blah. Still, it has its moments - if your expectations are low. 5/10

Dark Skies (Scott Charles Stewart, 2013) - A movie where visiting aliens sneak around an anxiety-ridden American suburb, which at least manages to channel '80s Spielberg better than JJ Abrams has managed so far. Aside from a couple of surprisingly bleak moments (including the ending), it's pedestrian stuff. Keri Russell, as the mom, is good. 6/10

Passion (Brian De Palma, 2013) - A weird, unwanted throwback to Joe Eszterhas' twisty '90s erotic thrillers like Sliver. Rachel McAdams, at least, seems fully aware she's appearing in utter trash; a dazed Noomi Rapace, on the other hand, doesn't have a clue what planet she's on any more. Embarrassing. 2/10

the world (jia zhangke)

oh how is that one

been time since last i posted, sampling:

Man of Steel - It's almost done in by a criminally dull central performance, but I was entertained more often than not, and the kryptonian production design is gorgeous. 6/10

Spring Breakers - Starts out tawdry as hell and winds up preaching a heavy-handed sermon to "the youth of today", but it's far better than the opening act suggests. 8/10

The ABC's of Death - 26 short & often grisly little films about unhappy endings. Requires a very strong stomach but it presents an interesting overview of contemporary indie horror, and the good segments outweigh the bad. 7/10

Une Femme est Une Femme - Wonderful. No idea why I waited so long, given my affection for 60's Goddard. Funny, playful & smart. 9/10

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow - A gorgeous, glacial and process-focused documentary about Anselm Kiefer's working methods & his incredible studio/ruin/installation in Barjac, France. Most interesting in its depiction of art as manual labor. 8/10

Keyhole - A loose adaptation of the Odyssey, Guy Maddin's latest and far from his best. The deliberately dopey tone makes this one something of a chore, especially at the outset, but it becomes more interesting as it goes along. For fans only. 6/10

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child - A wonderful portrait of the artist in his place & time, delivered mostly by those who lived and worked alongside him. Not a great film from a cinematic standpoint, but I quite enjoyed it. 8/10

House of Voices (aka Saint Ange): A patient and atmospheric ghost story from Pascal Laugier, best known for the horrid Martyrs. This is much better, spooky, old-fashioned and bleak. 8/10

The Awakening: Similar to the above, though it ups the gothic elements and is set in post-WWI England rather than modern day France. Just as good, maybe better. 8/10

The Red Balloon: Hdn't seen it since I was a kid, still an all-time favorite. 10/10

Upstream Color: Not sure I understood it completely but am generally down with the spirit pigs. 9/10

The Lords of Salem: Every bit as dumb & trashy as you might expect, but still the best film Rob Zombie's made since House of 1,000 Corpses. The hallucinatory Satanic imagery is great, wish there were more of it. 6/10

Paranorman: It seems to have a fair number of fans on this board, but I thought this kinda sucked. Way too cutesy & smug. 4/10

Berberian Sound Studio: Finally saw this ILE cult favorite after months of desperate anticipation. Walked out entirely satisfied. The whole film rests on Toby Jones' shoulders, and he carries it beautifully. 8/10

justin timberlake movie about time being money. cool idea director.

could have been much better.

the constant gardener
about half of kitano's "dolls" (bf couldn't handle it)
vicky cristina barcelona
the others

i never get to choose the movies nowadays.

i couldn't even remember that i'd watched the others. i had to look at the "recently watched" on netflix to remind me. this is depressing.

The Watermelon Man
Framed
Les Idoles

I've been mostly watching through Twin Peaks as lovefilm has it streaming. But these are the films I've watched in the last 3 weeks.

Irma Vep
Before Sunset
To The Wonder
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
M
Man of Steel
Letter From an Unknown Women

World War Z (Forster, 2013) 6/10
West Side Story (Wise and Robbins, 1961) 9/10
The Purge (DeMonaco, 2013) 4/10
The Big Sleep (Hawks, 1946) 6/10
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Spielberg, 1982) 9/10
Meatballs (Reitman, 1979) 4/10
My Bodyguard (Bill, 1980) 8/10

Everything non-theatrical a re-watch, though E.T. was the first time since childhood, and Meatballs and My Bodyguard the first time since my early-adolescent crush on Chris Makepeace.

Eye on the Prize (1987) 10/10

Did you know about this, cryptosicko?

http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffbelllightbox/2013/2550009086

Ages ago, before a Mean Streets screening at the Cinema Lumiere on College St., I went up to Kate Lynch in the lobby and quoted one of Murray's mock-stupid lines to her (forget which one). Don't remember her reaction--smiled and backed away slowly would be my guess.

Kinda wish I could justify going to this...

- 56 Up (Apted, 2012)
- The Darjeeling Limited (Anderson, 2007)
- Fårö Document 1979 (Bergman, 1979)
- The Incredible Shrinking Man (Arnold, 1957) - it took me a week to remember where I knew that opening theme from (sampled by Gastr del Sol)
- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell/Pressburger, 1943) - rescreen. The 2011 restoration is spectacular, and the beauty and sadness in the script have had me on the edge of tears twice now.
- Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (Oshima, 1968)

Dog Day Afternoon *
Blue Velvet (1986, Lynch) *
Upstream Color (2012, Carruth) very good
A Fistful of Dollars (Leone) how many dollars are in a fistful? it does not sound like very many. /pedant
Master, the (2012, Paul T. Anderson)
Silver Linings Playbook (2012, Russell) no

*repeat viewing

WilliamC, what's the Gastr Del Sol track?

"Our Exquisite Replica of Eternity," on Upgrade & Afterlife

Fårö Document 1979 (Bergman, 1979)

how is this

i watched 56 up just recently also. i want neil to get a gf/wife!

also some french filums

masculine feminine (godard, 66)
le combat dans l'ile (cavalier, 62)
merci pour le chocolot (chabrol, 2000)

Fårö Document 1979 (Bergman, 1979)

how is this

― johnny crunch, Friday, July 19, 2013 11:23 AM (6 minutes ago)

It wasn't astonishing in any way, but it was good, and gave a good sense of place for anyone wanting to understand Bergman's Sweden better. I haven't seen Fårö Document (1970), but this is a follow up to that one. The first one was alarm bells, apparently -- "our young people are leaving this important place" -- but this return look 10 years later is more hopeful. There's one old farmer Bergman returns to in several almost wordless segments that are very striking -- the guy working like a dog all day, every day, just to get by. Even cleaning fish and frying them for his dinner is an extended grind. No time for pleasure.

Lets see here, I average about one flick a week thanks to living 5-10 minutes walking distance away from the best beer & pizza cheapie theater in Portland.

Marathon Man, '76 (last night). [wow]
Pacific Rim, '13 [fuck yeah]
Berberian Sound Studio, '13 [pretty good tho I'm not a giallo fan]
Bullitt, '68 [had completely forgotten the entire airport scene which is so hilariously anachronistic. Pan Am!]
Spring Breakers, '13 [Kids + Drive + digital video]
Jason & the Argonauts, '67 [shot and lit more like an ep of Star Trek than I would have anticipated]
Oblivion, '13 [yknow what's a great movie? Moon. Moon was a helluva great movie]
Fast & Furious 6, '13 [stuPENdous. The Rock needs to be in everything]
Star Trek Into Darkness, '13 [bleah. Star Trek for Star Trek haters. a Star Wars movie in a Starfleet uniform]

This Is the End (3/5)
His Girl Friday (4/5)
The Front Page (1931--3/5)
Red Road (4/5--Scottish, baffling for a while, really liked it in the end)
Stranger Than Paradise (4.5/5)
My Life As a Dog (5/5)
Bitter/Sweet(2/5--don't watch DVDs because of the actress on the cover)
Watching the Detectives (2/5--don't watch DVDs because of the actress on the cover)
The Bling Ring (3/5)
The Ice Storm (5/5)

Hadn't seen His Girl Friday in ages. The best parts are really great (Billy Gilbert!), but I saw it on the back end of a double-bill with the stagy original, and the carryover interfered a bit.

the conformist (bertolucci, 1970) rewatch 5/5
down terrace (wheatley, 2009) 4/5
kill list (wheatley, 2011) 4/5
a field in england (wheatley, 2013) 3/5
match point (allen, 2005) rewatch 3/5

scott pilgrim vs. the world (distracting non-chin: 5/5)
prometheus (fun and good looking but so stupid: 2/5)
skyfall (done with this spy superhero bullshit: 0/5)

Pillow Talk 8/10

fantastic cast chemistry only slightly marred by an ending that's just one step too far down the path of unbelievable (which, considering the rest of the movie, is a feat)

Before Midnight (2013) 4/5
A Band Called Death (2013) 3.5/5
The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (1970) 4/5
Le Pont du Nord (1981) 3.5/5
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012) 3.5/5
Days and Clouds (2007) 4/5
Spring Breakers (2013) 3/5

Computer Chess (2013, Bujalski) 7/10
Dirty Wars (2013, Rowley) 7/10
*Babette's Feast (1987, Axel) 8/10
Rosalinda (2011, Pineiro) 6/10
Viola (2012, Pineiro) 7/10
*Doctor Zhivago (1965, Lean) 8/10
Laurence Anyways (2012, Dolan) 6/10
*Life Is Sweet (1990, Leigh) 9/10
A Hijacking (2012, Lindholm) 7/10
Museum Hours (2012, Cohen) 8/10
Big Wednesday (1978, Milius) 6/10

*rewatches

Computer Chess had me puzzled at the end,

Let me finish that thought sometime in the next five minutes.

Ginger and Rose 4/10
I'm So Excited 7/10
The Mirror 6/10

(xpost)...so there's something there; puzzlement is good. But I really didn't enjoy it. Didn't like the look, even though I understand what they were after. I would have preferred something less austere and more grounded in the moment--some attempt to get at the excitement and momentousness of what was unfolding. That, or a documentary. I recognized the Henderson character but couldn't place him: Gerald Peary, who I saw speak about a year ago.

I thought it was triumphant on its own terms, and enjoyed it. Don't quite get the over-the-moon raves, unless these critics are code monkeys.

I laughed at the WTF moment near the end.

On its own term, yeah, it succeeded, but they seemed like such limited terms to me. "Austere" was the wrong word--makes it sound like Bresson or Bergman. "Flat" is more like it.

You mean the last shot of the film, before the singer? I had a few WTF moments.