That was so sad.
Last Film You Watched? VI
Watched Chazelle's new film and as expected, his own work is astonishingly good here. Only if there was a better writer around.£
Posts: 9
Joined:
January 2019
Rewatched Zodiak on Netflix the other night, with Jake Gyllenhaal and RDjr. Such a great movie!
Are there any good crime mystery thrillers done recently? I'm really getting into the genre again.
Are there any good crime mystery thrillers done recently? I'm really getting into the genre again.
Posts: 1230
Joined:
January 2019
The scientific cardplayer, by Luigi Comencini
It's a very intelligent, moving and terrifying metaphor of human relations affected by the inequality of wealth, jealousy, avarice. The four leads (Sordi, Mangano, Davis, Cotten) are stunning.
The relations and events of the film are incredibly violent despite the fact that it's just the story of people playing cards.
Also, I thought First man's script was great and I don't understand why separate the quality of the directing and the quality of the script. The script has a dual structure with violent tonal shifts, but Chazelle's directing insisted upon it instead of trying to reduce it. I think he pushed one step further the radicalism of the screenplay with his directing (which is unbelievably good, even from the guy who did La La Land)
It's a very intelligent, moving and terrifying metaphor of human relations affected by the inequality of wealth, jealousy, avarice. The four leads (Sordi, Mangano, Davis, Cotten) are stunning.
The relations and events of the film are incredibly violent despite the fact that it's just the story of people playing cards.
Also, I thought First man's script was great and I don't understand why separate the quality of the directing and the quality of the script. The script has a dual structure with violent tonal shifts, but Chazelle's directing insisted upon it instead of trying to reduce it. I think he pushed one step further the radicalism of the screenplay with his directing (which is unbelievably good, even from the guy who did La La Land)
No Country For Old Men
Second viewing may be needed
Second viewing may be needed
Couple of films I've watched since the last time I posted, my short reviews here:
First Man: One of the best films of 2018. I love Chazelle's telling of Armstrong's story. We follow him close at home, when the worst that could happen to a parent happens and he shows us how Armstrong ticks, coping with this tragedy while also embarking on an incredibly frightening but at the same time wondrous mission. It's also fantastically made, from production design to cinematography, score, VFX, it fires on all cilinders. A deeply moving journey. Gosling and Foy ace it.
AvP2: Requiem: So, I had to watch this one too because I'm rewatching all the Alien/Predator films so even those considered not canon, are being rewatched lol. This is easily the worst of them all. There's no joy to be found, perhaps only in the ridiculousness of the story, the flat characters and the horror for the sake of grossness. A turd that's not even blowing in the wind.
Shoplifters: I absolutely loved this heart warming film. It's such an odd premise at first but still immediately captivating. It's got a slow pace but it never feels like it's dragging. There are some wonderful performances in here, especially from Andô, Kiki, Franky and the two little kids of course.
Mission Impossible Fallout: some words on it here
Speed: It's been a very long time since I last saw this. It's still a very fun ride. Reeves is a perfect fit as the lead. While it's very entertaining, it does go on for a bit too long and this isn't the kind of film to expect a whole lot of depth to the characters. I think overall, it holds up pretty well.
Valmont: After having recently rewatched Dangerous Liaisons, I suddenly found out about this films existence, so I just had to see it. While I think Forman is, just like Frears, a wonderful director, this adaptation was much less grasping than Frears'. There's no tightness to it, it's far less focused which results in making this adaptation of the story much more of a bore rather than infusing it with scandal and tenacious characters trying to best the other. Which I think is so vital to the story. Bening and Firth clearly are not the experienced actors they'd both end up becoming and I must say it shows. I wouldn't say it's a poor adaptation or a bad film at all. I definitely prefer Frears' film which I find much more richer in its storytelling. All in all, an interesting watch.
Trois Couleurs Blanc: Just like the first film, I loved this. Kieślowski was a master and this film shows that once more. Compared to Bleu, I must say I had a tougher time to get into this story. It does take a while before it becomes sort of clear what Karol is planning on but when it gets going, it's rather immersive. There is a sophistication to the storytelling and a depth found as you get closer to the story's climax that is both tragic and soothing at the same time. Zamachowski and Delphy's performances are great.
Looking forward to Trois Couleurs Rouge, I heard some people say its even better than Bleu so my anticipation is quite high. Don't know when I'll watch it, but I'm not going to wait as long as I did with Blanc.
Prometheus: This film has such an interesting premise. To make contact with our creators, whoever they may be. The first act of this film flows tremendously well, it's grand in scale, you're hopeful because of the premise and hope for something both spectacular, horrific and maybe some answers. But when it goes awry in the pyramid, Scott turns it into something akin to Alien just because... I mean sure, the film is beautifully made, very well directed and there's nothing wrong with the performances either. The latter half of the film is just a whole of a lot less engaging and interesting than it's start and it drags the film down.
Déjà Vu: hadn't seen this in ages and I must admit, it's quite fun. Tony Scott always made energetic films and that shows.
Waterworld (Ulysses Cut): some words on it here
Eastern Promises: I love this film. My second viewing after some years and it still hits. The drama feels intense and the way the plot enfolds itself is still engaging. It's raw and harsh but doesn't go too far astray of the humanity of some of the lead characters. Also really love the warm look of the film, mostly due to using 35mm. It's beautifully shot and got some great performances of Watkins, Mortensen and Mueller-Stahl.
Alien: Covenant: Where Prometheus was set up in a grand way, Covenant plays it down. Make no mistake, I still think it's beautifully made, albeit there are quite some really dimly lit scenes that don't make it a feast for the eyes, but Covenant lacks the enriching story Prometheus as least set out to tell (although it did fail in that regard, nevertheless).
Anyway, for the most part this is still entertaining and the whole arc of David is the strength of these modern Scott Alien films. However, Scott once again falls back on the tropes that made the original Alien so successful, he just doesn't manage to capture the same magic and having seen all the Alien films relatively quick after each other, it becomes a bore when you go on full repeat. I would've loved it if Scott went further and not kept harking back to the same story beats of the old films.
Nevertheless, I do want to see a sequel to this and please let that one be the one to seal the deal and finish the Alien prequel trilogy. Go full steam ahead with David's god complex and finish the motherfucker
And yeah, I would love to see a new Alien 3, just retconning all that came after Aliens and finish the original Alien trilogy, too.
First Man: One of the best films of 2018. I love Chazelle's telling of Armstrong's story. We follow him close at home, when the worst that could happen to a parent happens and he shows us how Armstrong ticks, coping with this tragedy while also embarking on an incredibly frightening but at the same time wondrous mission. It's also fantastically made, from production design to cinematography, score, VFX, it fires on all cilinders. A deeply moving journey. Gosling and Foy ace it.
AvP2: Requiem: So, I had to watch this one too because I'm rewatching all the Alien/Predator films so even those considered not canon, are being rewatched lol. This is easily the worst of them all. There's no joy to be found, perhaps only in the ridiculousness of the story, the flat characters and the horror for the sake of grossness. A turd that's not even blowing in the wind.
Shoplifters: I absolutely loved this heart warming film. It's such an odd premise at first but still immediately captivating. It's got a slow pace but it never feels like it's dragging. There are some wonderful performances in here, especially from Andô, Kiki, Franky and the two little kids of course.
Mission Impossible Fallout: some words on it here
Speed: It's been a very long time since I last saw this. It's still a very fun ride. Reeves is a perfect fit as the lead. While it's very entertaining, it does go on for a bit too long and this isn't the kind of film to expect a whole lot of depth to the characters. I think overall, it holds up pretty well.
Valmont: After having recently rewatched Dangerous Liaisons, I suddenly found out about this films existence, so I just had to see it. While I think Forman is, just like Frears, a wonderful director, this adaptation was much less grasping than Frears'. There's no tightness to it, it's far less focused which results in making this adaptation of the story much more of a bore rather than infusing it with scandal and tenacious characters trying to best the other. Which I think is so vital to the story. Bening and Firth clearly are not the experienced actors they'd both end up becoming and I must say it shows. I wouldn't say it's a poor adaptation or a bad film at all. I definitely prefer Frears' film which I find much more richer in its storytelling. All in all, an interesting watch.
Trois Couleurs Blanc: Just like the first film, I loved this. Kieślowski was a master and this film shows that once more. Compared to Bleu, I must say I had a tougher time to get into this story. It does take a while before it becomes sort of clear what Karol is planning on but when it gets going, it's rather immersive. There is a sophistication to the storytelling and a depth found as you get closer to the story's climax that is both tragic and soothing at the same time. Zamachowski and Delphy's performances are great.
Looking forward to Trois Couleurs Rouge, I heard some people say its even better than Bleu so my anticipation is quite high. Don't know when I'll watch it, but I'm not going to wait as long as I did with Blanc.
Prometheus: This film has such an interesting premise. To make contact with our creators, whoever they may be. The first act of this film flows tremendously well, it's grand in scale, you're hopeful because of the premise and hope for something both spectacular, horrific and maybe some answers. But when it goes awry in the pyramid, Scott turns it into something akin to Alien just because... I mean sure, the film is beautifully made, very well directed and there's nothing wrong with the performances either. The latter half of the film is just a whole of a lot less engaging and interesting than it's start and it drags the film down.
Déjà Vu: hadn't seen this in ages and I must admit, it's quite fun. Tony Scott always made energetic films and that shows.
Waterworld (Ulysses Cut): some words on it here
Eastern Promises: I love this film. My second viewing after some years and it still hits. The drama feels intense and the way the plot enfolds itself is still engaging. It's raw and harsh but doesn't go too far astray of the humanity of some of the lead characters. Also really love the warm look of the film, mostly due to using 35mm. It's beautifully shot and got some great performances of Watkins, Mortensen and Mueller-Stahl.
Alien: Covenant: Where Prometheus was set up in a grand way, Covenant plays it down. Make no mistake, I still think it's beautifully made, albeit there are quite some really dimly lit scenes that don't make it a feast for the eyes, but Covenant lacks the enriching story Prometheus as least set out to tell (although it did fail in that regard, nevertheless).
Anyway, for the most part this is still entertaining and the whole arc of David is the strength of these modern Scott Alien films. However, Scott once again falls back on the tropes that made the original Alien so successful, he just doesn't manage to capture the same magic and having seen all the Alien films relatively quick after each other, it becomes a bore when you go on full repeat. I would've loved it if Scott went further and not kept harking back to the same story beats of the old films.
Nevertheless, I do want to see a sequel to this and please let that one be the one to seal the deal and finish the Alien prequel trilogy. Go full steam ahead with David's god complex and finish the motherfucker
And yeah, I would love to see a new Alien 3, just retconning all that came after Aliens and finish the original Alien trilogy, too.
except Alien 3 is like one of the better films in the seriess
#sorrynotsorry
1. Alien
2. Alien 3
3. everything else I guess
#sorrynotsorry
1. Alien
2. Alien 3
3. everything else I guess
How so? It's basically Alien again, just on a prison planet.
I liked that, but also liked the theme of religion, even if it was sorta superficial.
The sense of despair in Alien Cubed was also a lot more palpable than even Alienz. The second is more of a fun action romp to me. It's a vibe thing I guess. I find the mood and tone more engaging too.
The sense of despair in Alien Cubed was also a lot more palpable than even Alienz. The second is more of a fun action romp to me. It's a vibe thing I guess. I find the mood and tone more engaging too.
