[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Does anyone else still cry at movies theyve seen a million times? In 8th grade my ninja ass got caught tearing up at Forrest Gump "I buried you under our tree".. Flowers for Algernon, and the ending of Shawshank Redemption when Red finds the box of money from Andy. All in that same year and I still tear up at those damned scenes

[tw2113]

@ !@#$%! It's a movie I found on late night satellite tv years ago, and I caught it about halfway through at the time. Needless to say, I went looking for it for a little bit and found it at Barnes N Noble sometime. Not one I recommend watching on repeat, but the DVD does have a special feature of the documentary it was based on. "Sex in a Cold Climate".

[tw2113]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

Does anyone else still cry at movies theyve seen a million times? In 8th grade my ninja ass got caught tearing up at Forrest Gump "I buried you under our tree".. Flowers for Algernon, and the ending of Shawshank Redemption when Red finds the box of money from Andy. All in that same year and I still tear up at those damned scenes

I tear up at movies/scenes I don't want to sometimes, other times I'm all like "whatevers".

Now if only I was watching with a special someone...that's a different topic.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I watched Hitman randomly tonight after a long day at work then class.. I dont particularly knkw why,but I LOVE this movie. I love everything about it and of all the video game movies I think this ties the first silent hill as best and definitely resident evil in second

[tw2113]

 

The Descent

[!@#$%!]

other day i forgot to mention

almodovar's "i'm so excited". terrible translation for "los amantes pasajeros" which is a pun that both means "fleeting lovers" and "lovers & passengers" (as in, airplane passengers who fuck).

well, shit, movie got poor reviews because people expect too much of the man, but the movie is fucking hysterical and hilarious. yes, like with the title, much is lost in translation, .e.g. people who don't get what "la movida" was might miss out on a big context, but hey, eye speeky dee langwich, and i fucking loved it, not as a genius masterpiece but as a great time (goes well with drinks, ha ha ha).

[Rob Instigator]

 

[HenryHill51]

recently seen a mixture of new and old:

1. The Sacrament (2014)- I really like Ti West. His low-fi horror film "House of the Devil" will probably become annual Halloween viewing. This one is a found footage experiment concerning a Jonestown-like cult investigated by three journalists. It's decent. The "found footage" wall is continually broken as it winds down (who exactly is supposed to be shooting this footage now?) and it ends predictably. I couldn't help but think back to Gareth Evans' strong entry in "V/H/S 2" for the best cult-horror-found-footage film in years... if such a genre exists. Amy Seimetz as the sister of one of the journalists who leads them to the cult is very solid as usual.

2. God's Pocket (2014)- One of the last Philip Seymour Hoffman flicks also displays him on virtual auto-pilot as a down and out Philly hustler dealing with the shit of urban Philadelphia.... which means local hoods, stolen meat packaging trucks, a dead son-in-law and getting to screw Christina Hendricks. Based on a book by Pete Dexter (whose work is so rich for further films), "God's Pocket" is just too much of the same urban malaise.

3. The Drop (2014)- Urban malaise is done more acutely in Michael Roskam's "The Drop", namely because, unlike "God's Pocket", the secondary characters (especially Matthias Schoenaerts) feel alive and three dimensional. There's also novelist Denis Lehane's strict adherence to forgiveness and Catholic guilt that propels the basic moral complexity of the film. As the low-mannered and quiet barkeep caught up in the middle of underworld robberies and spent lifestyles, Tom Hardy scores again in a role that could have become rote. He makes it work. The relationship with equally damaged woman Noomi Rapace is sensitive and genuine as well. A very good, low-key atmospheric crime film.

4. Falling Point (1970)- Robert Hossein directs and minimally stars in this thriller about a group of men who kidnap a rich man's daughter and extort him for money. What's unique about this film is that it jettisons the usual action and focuses on the psychological attachment that develops between captor (Johnny Halladay) and captive (beautiful Pascale Rivault) as they wait in a lonely beach cabin. Basically a chamber piece, "Falling Point" is great for the way Hossein (as usual) exerts so much through little dialogue. The eyes of Hallyday say everything about his doubts and reservations when the time comes and the shootout on the sandy dunes harks back to Hossein's love for the western. Hard to find, but well worth the hunt.

5. The Green Berets (1968)- It would be easy to dismiss John Wayne's Vietnam film was gung-ho Americana, but that's too easy. It's much better than that. Dealing with the war at the height of its volcanic temperament both here and abroad, "The Green Berets" satisfies its anti-war clique by addressing their concerns in the beginning and then embedding a liberal reporter with Wayne's group as they try and defend an outpost in the Vietnam jungle, questioning many of the film's attitudes towards the event. The war scenes are admirably filmed (except for a few model/dummy explosion scenes that are straight B-movie stuff) and even my lackluster admiration for Wayne as an actor is subdued by the rich characterizations and easy sentimentality.

6. This Is Not A Film (2012)- Jafar Panahi's self exploration documentary shows what's best about Iranian film making- the ability to turn 'meta' at any moment and transform fiction into stunning reality. The first hour of the film documents Panahi's secluded lifestyle in his apartment- forbidden to make films and awaiting his final appeal decision from an Iranian court where he's facing 20 years for anti political film making. He acts out scenes from an unfinished script.... talks to his lawyers... deconstructs his own films he shows on TV... and then a casual meeting between the building custodian outside his door turns into an opportunity for Panahi to invest his time in someone else.

7. The Tit and the Moon (1994)- Bigas Luna's childhood fantasy film about a young boy's obsession with the breasts of a traveling circus woman (Mathilde May) after he becomes jealous of his newborn sibling. Like Luna's other 90's films (especially "Jamon, Jamon"), "The Tit and the Moon" is an elaborate soap opera where lust, fantasy, childhood and adulthood swirl around in high style. It's entertaining, but ultimately forgettable.

8. Johnny YesNo (1983)- Short film about a man (Jack Elliot) searching the neon streets for the woman of his dreams. Filmed in grainy black and white and featuring a weird soundtrack by the cult band Cabaret Voltaire, "Johnny YesNo" is like a Sex Pistols inspired film noir.

9. Play Dirty (1969)- Andre deToth's hard nosed, nihilistic war film stars Michael Caine and Nigel Davenport as renegades sent into the African desert to destroy a German oil depot. The scene where the men drag their military vehicles over a mountain and especially the ending are top notch sequences in a genre full of top notch sequences.

10. Lucy (2014)- Luc Besson's grrrrl power update of "La Femme Nikita" stars Scarlett Johansson as a woman infused with a drug that allows her to utilize 100% of her brain potential. Naturally she becomes the Terminator. As goofy and ludicrous as it is, I still found myself hugely entertained and even moved by "Lucy". There are a few scenes- namely Johansson's phone call to her mother and the downright weird ending- that linger in my mind.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by HenryHill51

5. The Green Berets (1968)- It would be easy to dismiss John Wayne's Vietnam film was gung-ho Americana, but that's too easy. It's much better than that. Dealing with the war at the height of its volcanic temperament both here and abroad, "The Green Berets" satisfies its anti-war clique by addressing their concerns in the beginning and then embedding a liberal reporter with Wayne's group as they try and defend an outpost in the Vietnam jungle, questioning many of the film's attitudes towards the event. The war scenes are admirably filmed (except for a few model/dummy explosion scenes that are straight B-movie stuff) and even my lackluster admiration for Wayne as an actor is subdued by the rich characterizations and easy sentimentality.

I have a soft spot for it too but it just feels hopelessly out of step with its age: playing like something made twenty years earlier.

The director Ray Kellog started out as a sfx guy on b movies which probably explains some of the wonky model set ups.

I'd say it's better than its reputation suggests but, given how bad its reputation is, it could hardly be anything else.

[OzGem]

The Raid. Was pretty entertaining. Lots of action.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by HenryHill51

7. The Tit and the Moon (1994)- Bigas Luna's childhood fantasy film about a young boy's obsession with the breasts of a traveling circus woman (Mathilde May) after he becomes jealous of his newborn sibling. Like Luna's other 90's films (especially "Jamon, Jamon"), "The Tit and the Moon" is an elaborate soap opera where lust, fantasy, childhood and adulthood swirl around in high style. It's entertaining, but ultimately forgettable.

noo… i loved this one! yes, upon rewatch it wasn't such a great quality film, but it has something unforgettable for me actually-- not sure if the story or the characters or the kid's theory of the milk cycle or that "al primer rayo de la luuuuuuuna…" or everything combined, but i've found myself thinking about that movie regularly over the years. i suppose it's that i find it has some fundamental truths about things that other films are afraid to show.

 

[HenryHill51]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

noo… i loved this one! yes, upon rewatch it wasn't such a great quality film, but it has something unforgettable for me actually-- not sure if the story or the characters or the kid's theory of the milk cycle or that "al primer rayo de la luuuuuuuna…" or everything combined, but i've found myself thinking about that movie regularly over the years. i suppose it's that i find it has some fundamental truths about things that other films are afraid to show.

 

I've been on a Bigas Luna kick lately after finding a ton of his films on torrents, and I think my main reason I called "The Tit and the Moon" forgettable is because so many of his other films are just incredible. "The Ages of Lulu", "Anguish" and "Caniche" especially. Also, "The Tit and the Moon" reminded me sooo much of Julio Medem's films of the 90's, which get at the roots of childhood, fantasy and unrequited love in much more touching ways. By the way, if you like Luna, I highly suggest Medem's films such as "Earth", "Vacas", "The Red Squirrel" and especially "Lovers of the Arctic Circle", which is one of the most under appreciated films ever and one of the best of the 90's!

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I just watch The Last Samurai for the first time.. I had a gut feeling I would like it back in 2003 when it came out but it got shitted on in reviews so I didnt bother. Whoa, this was one of the most visually beautiful movies ive ever seen and the storyline and dialogue was superb! Fuck the bullshit, I loved this movie

[Diesel]

Dune. Complete garbage.

Off to watch Demons.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Cloud atlas which blew my mind. Original Nightmare On Elm Street which was so much better than I.remembered. Silent Hill which was si much worse than I remembered but that game was stunningly terrifying

[Diesel]

Awesome review time.
I watched Demons. Duh.

Sort of awesome, sort of shit. Pretty much any superior awesomeness is undermined by 80's hair metal shite soudtrack.

Grave Encounters. Nowt but rip-off/illogical/cliche bullshit. FUCK OFF.

[Torn Curtain]

 

I found it disappointing.

As someone said on IMDB Joaquin Phoenix just seems "to be channeling nerdy Johnny Galecki from The Big Bang Theory".

The strong retrofuturistic aspect ended up annoying me too.

I really liked Amy Adams and Rooney Mara's acting though (very convincing and touching).

[_slavo_]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Grave Encounters. Nowt but rip-off/illogical/cliche bullshit. FUCK OFF.

that movie is my guilty pleasure!

entertaining and terrifying too

[Genteel Death]

Originally Posted by _slavo_

that movie is my guilty pleasure!

entertaining and terrifying too

lol.so gay.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Maps to the Stars 9/10
Nightcrawler 9/10

Both gripping and fucked up thrillers