Last (x) movies you saw

ha, i'm trying to write up a response to this but am struggling because i'd be trying to persuade you of stuff that you seem to already agree with. but the idea of excising neil's portions is crazy to me. they're obviously singular and particularly profound, but i think that's true of all of them, in different ways, without being proportionate to how distinctive or off-path their lives were. the thing that always made me saddest about the series was that a couple of the young public school kids dropped out - like i'm p sure one of them went on to be a documentarian for channel four; some of the participants seemed to have found the intrusion of the series really trying, but it's so incredibly valuable as a public resource - like how much it says by proxy about my family, me, britain today, etc, blows my mind - that it's surprising the guy would opt out.

I can understand why people would bow out at a certain point. Unwanted scrutiny and intrusion into their lives and whatnot. I read something about Neil's friend dropping out because he lost his job over having criticized Thatcher in one of the installments.

I should clarify: I was just hoping to find a YouTube-ish splicing of all the Neil scenes, not necessarily an official film. His last scene in the most recent film was really poignant and moving and I wanted to share it with some people who hadn't seen the films but then realized it was largely poignant because of his journey. And I thought it would be nice, rather than asking someone to make a 14-ish hour commitment to watching all of the films sight unseen, to present Neil's life in isolation. Not to diminish the lives of the other participants, but his story in particular is very inspiring in terms of pulling oneself back from the abyss.

That's exciting about 56 Up -- I hadn't realized it was already time for a new one.

you gotta just make the people make the 14 hour commitment. no i know. but i think i flinch at the idea of a reduced version of it; i don't know that i'm making a claim that the form is in some way critical to its success, more just that concision is only going to lose things. obv that's another debate if people are forgoing the whole thing, but there we are.

def excited about 56. iirc the bbc started a series in tandem, last time, like THE NEW CLASS, kinda. i just remember this sweet kid from salford in a manchester city shirt playing videogames. i'm struggling to believe this was seven years ago but i assume we'll re-up that, too.

really interesting note about neil's friend, wow. it's just unfortunate because the deal is sorta obviously that the project and its poignancy outweigh the effect on the individual participants. epitomised by how fascinating an insight it would have been to know the thatcher thing! the series is, in general, a pretty crucial document regarding her tenure i think.

mysterious object at noon (2000 weerasethakul)
the reckless moment (1949 ophuls)
caught (1949 ophuls)
the baby (1973 ted post)
compromising positions (1985 perry)
monsignor (1982 perry)
to kill a mockingbird (1962 mulligan)
fascination (1978 rollin)
silent running (1972 trumbull)
cyrus (2010 duplasses)

Both Ophüls are some of his best, curious about the Weerasethakul, and is Silent Running any good?

yea i liked the ophuls

like the concepts of 'mysterious object' & 'silent running' prob more than i was actually engaged by them; altho from the a.w., i def felt like i understand more what informs his other work better. i also watched the interview w/ him on the disc where he sez he doesnt consider that he 'directed' it, uses 'compiled' i think

Finally saw "If..." (1968 Anderson) last night. OMG.

The Artist - Saw Malcolm MacDowell in that, and everytime I do see him in anything that isn't If... I die a little as its almost always terrible. This was reasonable.

Woman in the Lake - film by appalingly neglected Japanese filmmaker Kiju Yoshida (maybe a bit strong, maybe its my fault I only got round to him last year). You can tell he loves Antonioni (and who didn't in '66) but his way of framing - 'architecturally painterly' (ugh sorry) like A but REALLY far away and still - is his own in this Kawabata story of an alienated, reluctant love - totally suits. Mariko Okada is a new old movie star crush.

Ordet

xps,

What did you think of Fascination?

not my fav of his (been maybe watching ~1/wk for a while now), tho the new blu looks wonderful, scene in the abattoir, scenes on the stone bridge; it does have a nice momentum/inevitability, which i think is also evident in many of his other stuff; also brigitte lahaie is gorg

Lahaie is amazing in that. I've been holding off on getting the blu-rays of his films in the hope that a good box set would come out but i might have to just pick up a few.

'the missing person', which is a michael shannon/amy ryan detective flick from a couple of years ago w/a typically weird and compelling shannon performance, a typically straightforward and compelling small role for ryan, and some ill-considered 9/11 stuff tacked on in the third act along with a child trafficking/child rescuing aspect of the mystery stuff that makes zero sense in the end.

http://www.ica.org.uk/31735/Film/Eye-of-the-Day.html

^anyone seen this? Thinking of going..

haven't read yet but just re: weerasethakul, christine smallwood's writing about him for n+1's generally p great film review:

http://nplusonemag.com/apichatpong-joe-weerasethakul

^ liked that a lot. i'm a fan of weerasethakul's work, but i've struggled really engaging with them in any typical critical way. i'm glad i'm not alone in finding them equally fascinating and sleep inducing.

Young Adult (2011)
Godzilla (1954)
Paris nous appartient (1961)
Ninotchka (1939)
Moneyball (2011)
Double Suicide (1969)
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
A Separation (2011)

Nice list Chris. Double Suicide is one of my very favourite movies from the last 3 months worth of watching.

Letter from Siberia + Description of a Struggle - Chris Marker should stop trying to suppress these, whatever his reasons, because from what I can tell they are really quite good. His 'style' was p much there from the beginning. 'Siberia' has some animation that jars against at times tho', but its fine really.

The Music - Yasuzo Masumara is one more for the Japanese films thread, and maybe the feminism(s) thread(s). Bit fucked-up tho', this is again produced by Art Theatre Guild collective. I need to read the Yukio Mishima story this is based on, about a woman who cannot 'hear music' (i.e. is frigid) because of various traumas with the oposite sex. She seeks the help of a psychoanalyst, who is becomes Sherlock Holmes to figure out her lies.

I think I've seen enough movies to constitute a short list, for the first time in awhile:

45365 - I was psyched prior to seeing, it was more generic than I expected, I think I just like the vicarious eye of watching documentaries, though. the filmmakers were funny, they kept pulling the FILM THE HANDS THEY'RE EXPRESSIVE move I guess they teach in documentary 101
we were here - good, v sad
bombay beach - this sucked, super condescending, weirdly misprioritised, reductive, one of those things I see & think that the world is going to hell because people are doing it wrong
a dangerous method - also blah
what's the matter with kansas - interesting. I loved the folk-artist sign-making guy. another staple of the weird-midwestern-christian-life-porn genre, cf Jesus Camp. I wanted to look up the PhD by the guy you see talking at the Creationist museum, for lols, to hear his 125000 word remix of the one sentence he spins about how science doesn't make sense without God & how we all just have different starting points. p distressing. kinda a weird companion piece to Citizen Ruth, which I watched & liked p recently.

i'm also rewatching Angels in America. loving Jeffrey Wright.

Castle in the Sky (Hayao Miyazaki, 1986) 4/5
Sisters of the Gion (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1936) 5/5
THX 1138 (George Lucas, 1971) 3/5
Suicide Club (Sion Sono, 2001) 2/5
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006) 3/5
Miss Julie (Alf Sjöberg, 1951) 4/5
The Only Son (Yasujiro Ozu, 1936) 5/5
Vivre sa vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962) 4/5
Babe: Pig in the City (George Miller, 1998) 4/5

50/50
Tiny Furniture

Tiny Furniture was okay, but it was basically just Me And You And Everyone We Know Redux with a more charming lead but similarly repellent supporting characters. I kinda can't think of faint praise that's more damning than a slightly favorable comparison to that execrable film. Sorry, Lena Dunham.

I'm beginning to lose all desire to see new or newish movies. Nobody seems to have a compelling reason for making a film anymore or a point of view that's in any way interesting. Ugh. Maybe I only ever see newish movies that aren't terribly good? I'm willing to accept that possibility.

Early Summer
Blank City
Marketa Lazarova
Three Lives And Only One Death
Treasure of The Sierra Madre (blu-ray)

In The Heat Of The Night
Ashes
Night of the Iguana
Under the Volcano
Far From The Madding Crowd with Julie Christie
Indiscretion of an American Wife

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992, David Lynch)
The Star Witness (1931, William Wellman)
Reaching for the Sun (1941, William Wellman)
Last Days Here (2011, Don Argott and Demian Fenton)
The Salt of Life (2011, Gianni Di Gregorio)
When the Bough Breaks (2011, Ji Dan)
My Own Private River (2011, James Franco)
The Forgotten Space (2008, Allan Sekula and Noël Burch)
My Own Private Idaho (1991, Gus Van Sant)
All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace (2011, Adam Curtis)

Yesterday: Vampire's Kiss and The Sentinel. The concept of "subtlety" has been scoured right out of my mind.

It seems like ilx has a low opinion of Miranda July that I've never understood. I loved the Future and enjoyed You and Me. What's the deal?

franco shouldve called that one 'my own own private idaho' what an idiot

it is kind of inconceivable that anyone could dislike Miranda July

I know! Maybe I'm wrong and have a misguided impression, but I remember a thread(s) where she was strong disliking towards her.

its inconceivable at least that anyone could dislike pooping back and forth, that bit killed

sorry about the mangled grammar

the Idaho remix is not at all idiotic, if neither fish nor fowl

Take Shelter
A Separation
Woman In Black
Manhunter
Book Of Eli

I'll be seeing Possession soon

What did you think of Forgotten Space, Morbius

I have a DVD of Robert Beavers films on the desk in front of me which I might watch when I finish working

Possession!!!! Brace yourself, admrl.

I have no real opinion of Miranda July per se. Because, frankly, I have zero interest in the rest of her work if it's anything like Me and You..., which was one of the most off-putting and charmless movies I've ever seen. Except for the pooping, a concept which she had the audacity to steal from my brother and me (although we referred to the imaginary practice as passing a turd back and forth, so we may still be able to sew up some IP rights there).

Uh oh...I'm inviting a friend I haven;t seen for a while to come and see Possession with me, bad idea?

It is beginning of Zulawski season, what else should I see?

http://www.cinefamily.org/films/the-unbelievable-genius-of-andrzej-zulawski/

Oh look, Jon Jost w/ Angel City, I hope to see that too!

The Third Part of the Night, On the Silver Globe, The Important Thing is to Love

blimey.

ok then

:)

I'm also hoping to see Bresson's "Four Nights of a Dreamer" this week.

I know, this thread is about movies you HAVE seen, but I started it so I can do what I want.

All I can say is that Possession is one of the most unnerving films I've ever seen. It's fantastic, but it's a rough journey.

OK that sounds fine.

Probably roughly equivalent to Inland Empire but with fewer placid moments and more bodily fluids.

OK that's a good rec, I think IE is one of the defining theater experiences of my life.

defining or definitive?

one of those

possession is so great! just be prepared to boggle your eyes a lot. same neil has never been more sam neil-y. and isabelle adjani, well, it just has to be seen. inland empire is a very good comparison point, btw (and "one of the defining theater experiences of my life", likewise).

recently:

cursed - wes craven/kevin williamson werewolf flick w christina ricci and the guy who invented facebook. starts out fun, then falls apart completely.

1409 - stupid stephen king adaptation w a perfectly good white boy. clever premise and a few effectively unnerving moments, but mostly awful. paranormal activity does a much better job w the same premise.

full metal yakuza - goofy miike flick about a reconstructed mobster on a revenge spree. some interesting psychosexual angles, but left a really bad taste in my mouth. fuck this guy and the rape/torture/murder of women as decoration. lol i'm getting old and sensitive...