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The Lego movie with my son. I do understand why it's so popular, it is probably the best 'kids' movie I have seen. I put kids in brackets cause I think I had more fun than my son. This is the best version of Batman I have seen, and I have seen most if not all of them. His song about depression and being an orphan was very funny.
Another part of the movie was how great it's beginning was showing cameras all over and directions about how to live your life, a small 1984 vibe.
Hi there Lokasenna, I'm looking forward to watching Inside Liewyn Davies myself so I'm pleased to read your recommendation. :smile5:Quote:
Originally Posted by Lokasenna
The last film I watched was The Wolf of Wall Street. One of the most morally bankrupt and misogynistic films I can remember watching. Cracking fun though, and a cool 9/10 rating from me. Leonardo DiCaprio is surely the new king of Hollywood. :cool:
I enjoyed The Wolf of Wall Street as well.
Last night I saw Last Vegas. Four friends go to Las Vegas for a wedding and bachelor party and have some adventures and get to know each other better even thought they have known each other for the past 60 years.
Score: 7/10
About Time
This was an "extraordinary ordinary" movie and the best one I've seen about time travel.
Here is the theme song written by Mike Scott: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSgU0gNL2Ac
Score: 10/10
Love Actually
After watching "About Time", I looked through the library for other work by Richard Curtis and found "Love Actually". What I liked about this movie and the other one was the way ordinary events and people presented initially in a humorous way get resolved as the movie progresses. One stops laughing at the characters and starts empathizing with them.
Score 10/10
Directed by Daniel Mann from the William Inge stage success, this won an academy award as best actress for Shirley Booth who had starred in the original play.
It’s the story of a frowzy middle-aged housewife whose husband failed in his ambition to become a doctor when very young due to his girl friend becoming pregnant. The baby didn’t survive and this put a strain on their marriage that drove the husband to alcoholism that he eventually overcame through Alcoholics Anonymous.
When they decide to let a room in their house to a girl college student, the sexual liaison she has with a young man brings back memories of the older couple’s loss and the husband is hospitalised after turning to drink and attacking his wife.
As a study in psychological repression it could hardly be bettered and Shirley Booth gives an outstanding performance as the doting wife desperately trying to hang on to the memories that her husband is trying to forget.
Burt Lancaster is also superb as the husband and gives of his best in a career that contained many outstanding performances.
10/10
To say that Stanley Kowalski is uncouth would be a euphemism but he is content living
a low-life existence with his wife Stella in a sleazy area of New Orleans.
Into this situation comes Stella's sister Blanche, a faded southern belle dispossessed of
the family home and with nowhere else to go, whose exaggerated gentility proves a volatile
counterpart to Stanley's brutal directness; but although disgusted by Stanley, she is nevertheless
physically attracted to him. Her genteel manner, however, conceals a cupboardful of skeletons that include suicide and nymphomania.
After a series of explosive altercations, Stanley rapes Blanche while Stella is in hospital having a baby.
Stanley's best friend Mitch is more of a gentleman and has become Blanche's suitor but Stanley has discovered
the unsavoury nature of Blanche's past and reveals it to Mitch who then rejects her.
Already bordering on insanity, this tips Blanche over the edge and she is confined to a mental institution.
This is familiar Tennessee Williams territory and the cast occupy it with bravura performances; especially Marlon
Brando who gives an outstanding display of acting that transforms him visibly into the character of Stanley.
http://youtu.be/YBJ_u2ExjmY
I watched We're the Millers with my cousins last week and enjoyed every minute of it. Jason Studeikis was hilarious and so was Jennifer Aniston. 7/10
Also saw a couple of Oscar nominated films this year, but I was really disappointed because they were both equally bad.
I enjoyed The Millers as well. It's at the 7/10 level.
Earlier this week I rented Machete Kills and Austenland. It was 2 for $1 rental at the library.
I wasn't expecting much from either one, but my first dilemma was which to watch first? I picked Machete Kills and with all the over-the-top violence after the first 10 minutes, I wondered if it should not have been Austenland. But the violence was so outrageous it was comical although still pretty gross. And it did have Lady Gaga in it.
The next night I saw Austenland. It was very romantic. The girl was chased to the airport not by one misunderstood lover but by two. One of them even chased her back to the US. I wished I hadn't returned Machete Kills to the library since I needed something to cut through the sentimentality, but then I sat back and thought. Both of these movies were light entertainment for people like me who have nothing better to do and I asked myself: did they deliver? Yes, they did. They were entertaining. I'm glad someone bothered to make them. What's more, I got my 50 cents worth for each of them.
So, keeping that in mind, the score for both: 7/10
I saw Hayao Miyasaki's "The Wind Rises" the other day. It's an animated film about an aeronautical engineer. Miyasaki has had a continuing fascination with aviation, and "The Wind Rises" represents his swan song (unless he comes out of retirement). It's beautiful, set in the pre WW2 Japan, and filled with soft, elegant colors. If it's still in a theater near you, go and see it. You won't be disappointed.
As with many animated films (and some live action films), it won't translate well to TV. It's probably not even worth renting or taking out of the library. Seeing it on TV would be comparable to taking "Art Treasures of the Prado" out of the library, instead of seeing the originals in Madrid.
The film details the life of Jiro, an aeronautical engineer who designed the Zero. It focuses on his obsession with flying -- an obsession that mirrors that of the director. Nonetheless, the flying scenes aren't as moving as the scenes of the Japaneses countryside, or the love story between our engineer and a dying girl.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you
But when the leaves are trembling
The wind is passing through. (The Rosetti poem is quoted in the film, and, I hope correctly, here).
I don't normally comment on LitNet film reviews, but sometimes one feels impelled to draw attention to the salient features of an unusual post.
In this case, I have boldened those that struck me as being the most significant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by YesNo
I saw The Wind Rises last week, Ecurb. I enjoyed it. I really liked the scenes with the young lady he fell in love with and the animated look at pre-war Japan.
I also watched Austenland a few weeks ago, YesNo. I liked it. A pretty average script. Yet another woman deluded by the idea of romantic love. Are there really so many of those around?
I've seen just two animated movies by Hayao Miyasaki - Howls Moving Castle and Spirited Away and they were very good specially Spirited Away. I look forward to watch The Wind Risestoo.
I saw The Gift last night with a big cast and it wasn't bad. 6/10
Glad the review prompted your response, Emil Miller. I figure if there weren't characters like those in Austenland, qimissung, we'd have to create them. I saw Spirited Away long ago, Snowqueen and Ecurb. It still sticks in my mind. I think I'll have to skip the comedy section in the library for a while and look at some anime movies.
I saw three movies last week:
Sightseers: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2023690/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Alice Lowe's performance is what makes this stand out. I liked the expression on her face when she (Tina) watches her new boyfriend kill a couple people he figures shouldn't continue to breathe anymore and how you can see the wheels turning in her brain as she makes sense out of it. If you find this gets a bit boring because all they are doing is pushing people over cliffs or running them over in their camper, hang on till the end. It is unusual. Tina was a quick learner.
Score: 6/10
The Angel's Share: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1924394/?ref_=nv_sr_1
This one has more realistic violence than what you find in Sightseers. I liked Paul Brannigan's portrayal of Robbie as well as the plot surrounding this character. Robbie is caught between physically harassive stalkers and he gets into situations where he thinks he is defending himself only to find he has harmed innocent people. He needs a job because he is a new father and his father-in-law just wants him out of the way. Robbie handled himself better than I would in the circumstances.
Score: 9/10 (maybe 10/10)
Afternoon Delight: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2312890/?ref_=nv_sr_1
This is about a wife, Rachel, who has multiple problems which makes for a delightful story. She takes in a stripper, McKenna, to try to help her out. Actually, McKenna doesn't really need any help, but she goes along for the ride helping Rachel. Rachel is also seeing a shrink, or counselor or whatever you call them. Toward the end of the movie, this shrink performs an hilarious routine on the couch with Rachel. Perhaps it is a brand new therapeutic technique? Whatever, it knocks some sense into Rachel and everyone lives happily ever after as they are supposed to.
Score: 8/10
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard this is a very French film and very much of its time.
The cast consists largely of the strikingly beautiful Macha Méril and her husband and lover.
She has a son but her husband is a pilot who is often away and that is when she has assignations
with her lover who is a stage actor. She is thinking of divorcing her husband but when she discovers
she is pregnant, she decides that an acting engagement that will take the lover away to Marseille gives
her a chance to break with him and return to her husband.
The story is told in random conversations and actions very much à la mode at the time but I doubt that
it would be acceptable today except to serious film buffs.
7/10
http://youtu.be/g3_Z3vsdjKk
Chess Fever.
A brilliant 1925 Russian silent film about chess. It is just a short, under 30 mins but well worth a watch. It is about a society addicted to chess and how one young man's obsession with it nearly ruins his love life. Features some rare real footage of some old great players from a 1925 tournament, such as Lasker and Capablanca. Very funny and well shot.
9/10.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLnn4K8g354
I love Godard, but that is not one of his better films. Godard never WAS acceptable to anyone besides film buffs (except maybe for his first 2 or 3 features) because his entire cinema was built around subverting cinema (and culture) itself in a very postmodern way. That said, there's been no filmmaker more influential in the last 50 years (which is why he's #5 on TSP's Top 250 list, along with tying the great John Ford for the most films on their Top 1000) and even filmmakers that work in completely different modes, like Tarantino, owe almost all of their freedom to Godard and the French New Wave. Trying to write about a Godard film with a plot summary is rarely worthwhile as his plots are usually just skeletons that his aesthetics and intellectual ideas hang on. A Married Woman is really one of his lighter works from that era, colorful and fun, but lacking the originality of his truly great 60s films (and he had a handful of them: Breathless, Contempt, Pierrot le fou, Weekend, Alphaville, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, Masculin/Feminin, Vivre sa vie).Quote:
Originally Posted by Emil Miller
An interesting film that satirises the Russian fascinaton with chess that was being actively encouraged by the soviet regime as a form of intellectual stimulation of the public following the revolution. V.I Pudovkin was one of the founders of soviet cinema who went on to make films of a somewhat more serious nature.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neely
I saw a couple Hayao Miyasaki anime movies last week:
1) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087544/
Nausicaä is a princess who turns into the hero whom the world has been waiting for for a thousand years. You sort of expect this from the beginning once you know that the community has given up on the hero ever appearing and you see how Nausicaä behaves.
Score: 9/10
2) Ponyo: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0876563/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Here's a fish who causes a lot of trouble just to become human. She is already quite nice the way she is. The most interesting character is her mother who is a goddess of some sort. She reminds me of the Hindu Lakshmi rising out of the churning ocean.
Score: 9/10
I saw The Grey Zone last weekend... where Schindler's List has moments of tender humanity, The Grey Zone only marches on to certain conclusion.
I can't remember watching a movie so devoid of hope, not even a pretense of hope. If you think you can take it, then I recommend the film.
I adore Miyazaki, but neither are favorites. Nausicaa is beautiful in its own way, but Ponyo seems a decidedly minor effort. I'd give the former an 8.5 and the latter a 7.5.Quote:
Originally Posted by YesNo
I agree Morpheus, both are lesser Miyazaki works. Nausicaa is Mononoke-light with Mononoke, I think, being a much more fleshed out and beautifully done version of the same kind of story. Ponyo I saw at the cinema and disliked, but it has since grown on me considerably. It is a nice rendering of the Little Mermaid story, Japanese style of course. Pretty, but not a master work.Quote:
Originally Posted by MorpheusSandman
My personal favourites are Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke. I also have a fondness for My Neighbour Totoro, which is such a heartwarming story. Oh, and Kiki's Delivery Service, that's sweet too. Haven't seen The Wind Rises yet as it's not out in UK until May, but I can't wait.
My three favorite Miyazakis are Mononoke, Totoro, and Spirited Away, with Castle in the Sky a close 4th. Most of Miyazaki's grow on you, I've found. I too liked Ponyo more the second time around, though, as we agree, it's still short of a master work. Nausicaa very much does seem to be a "tune up" for Monoke.
I'll probably pick up a couple more Miyazaki anime movies at the library this morning. I didn't expect the animation to be so realistic.
I don't think I'd call them realistic in the slightest, though definitely artistic. If you want "realistic" anime, try Grave of the Fireflies, which, IMO, is better than any single Miyazaki film.Quote:
Originally Posted by YesNo
I just watched Under the Skin at the cinema. I was the only one in the auditorium. Just as well, as it is uncomfortable viewing. I kept wanting to do some press-ups to relieve the tension.
Oh I agree, Grave of the Fireflies is in a class of its own. I've only been able to watch it once because cry, cry, sob, cry. It should come with a box of tissues and a hotline for counselling after you've watched it. My son, who watched it with me, also sobbed at the end. It is a very powerful piece of movie-making.Quote:
Originally Posted by MorpheusSandman
I still like Spirited Away better though :)
Last movie I watched was The Woman in Black. Best part was watching Ciaran Hinds' incredulous expression as he watched Daniel Radcliffe trying to act. More boring than the book. Full of cliches. Yawn. 3/10.
I loved Princess Mononoke, but only liked Spirited Away. I still haven't seen Nausicaa, but I have the manga, and that's excellent.
I liked The Woman in Black a lot, but I'm also a big fan of old-school ghost stories to begin with.
I just watched Howl's Moving Castle: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347149/
Score: 8/10
I just finished Grave of the Fireflies, and yes, it was oh so sad and beautiful.
It's in my Top 20 for a reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lykren
Since we're on anime...
It's not a movie, but those of you who like cyberpunk and unraveling symbolism should check out the 13-episode anime series Serial Experiments: Lain. All the reviews I read said the same thing: It's slow and weird, but has lots of good ideas and depth. I've watched it twice so far and enjoyed it a lot both times. The opening sequence gives a pretty good idea of the look and feel (nice song, too).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9CXmEUwvgM
Serial Experiments Lain is quite good, but I think it's a tad overrated. I think it hints towards more than it actually offers, and feel the strongest aspect is its expressionistic, surreal visuals. The other two Ueda/ABe series (Haibane Renmei and Texhnolyze) are far superior, IMO.
Bad Grandpa: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3063516/
Don't watch this movie.
Just kidding. I'm tempted to watch it again, now that I saw it on display in the library. The first time I saw it with my wife. I'm glad she picked it out and not me. It is a little gross and I didn't realize at first that not all the people in the movie knew they were part of a movie until it was over. There is a diner scene that I did not expect and another when the grandpa was sitting in the driver's seat, parked, waiting for something and pounding on the steering wheel as if it were a drum to the music on the radio.
I'm easily entertained.
Score: 10/10
Last weekend I watched the 1962 classic The Day of the Triffids (TDOTT)after stumbling upon it while searching for trailer to The Brain That Wouldn't Die (for the bad movie thread.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055894/
TDOTT was vaguely familiar to me, a movie I recall seeing during my formative years.
6/10 - any movie that starts with rogue meteorites instigating a bunch of trouble, automatically starts with at least a 5 on my scale.
it's spring time here, time to keep an eye on those those bloomin flowers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilliatt Gurgle
I ordered some clematis plants from a garden centre and the guy said they are putting on a foot a week now that the planting season is here. In reading about this film, I'm beginning to wonder if he actually meant real feet. At the moment they are standing in two buckets of water and I'm thinking it might be better to leave them there rather than plant them: especially as some varieties reach 40ft in height.
Deleted
This filmed version of Nigel Balchin's novel about an embittered civilian explosives' expert who has lost a foot defusing an explosive device and who is part of a small group of scientists assessing weapons for the British government during WWII, was directed by the eminent Powell & Pressburger team. It's a very good example of how Britain relied on brainpower as well as firepower in wartime. It's also a human drama that shows how, even in during a war, politicians seek to enhance their own status at the expense of the war effort. The Germans are dropping booby-trapped bombs that look perfectly innocuous but the main character in the film, who is strongly reliant on whiskey, decides to undertake the dismantling of one of the devices after an army officer colleague has been killed in a similar attempt. Forget storming the beaches while chewing a cigar, this is the other side of war and a lot more believable. 10/10
Just add some salt..hold on...SPOILER ALERT...to the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emil Miller
It turns out salt water was the triffids' Achilles heel so the speak.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilliatt Gurgle
Too late! They are already planted but I shall be keeping an eye on those long tendrils that are the hallmark of clematis.