• ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️



    Film & Television

    Welcome Guest


    ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
  • ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    Forum Rules Film Chit-Chat
    Recently Watched Best Documentaries
    ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

Film What's the Last Film You Saw? v. Tell Us What You Thought!

Status
Not open for further replies.
drunken-angel-criterion.jpg


Drunken angel - An alcoholic doctor (Takashi Shimura) and a tubercular gangster (Toshiro Mifune) strike up a strange friendship in the slums of Tokyo.

Man, it's been a week since seeing my last Kurosawa film, and even after watching films from a variety of other very talented Japanese directors my esteem for his movies has never been higher. Drunken Angel is an amazing film. This is the first Kurosawa film to feature Toshiro Mifune (Mifune's 3rd film ever) and it's easy to see why Mifune became such a staple in Kuroswa's later works - he gives one hell of a complex performance. Everything about Drunken Angel, from the music to the cinematography to the lighting, is wonderful.

samurai-one-1-miyamoto-musashi-dvd.jpg


Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto - A wild peasant and his friend leave their homes and family to join the military in hopes of becoming famous samurai.

This is the first film in a trilogy of movies starring Toshiro Mifune as the titular samurai. I don't have much to say about this first film as I'm reserving judgement until I've seen the entire series, but it was entertaining enough to keep me focused and deep enough to keep me thinking. There are some annoying editing mistakes and the cinematography is simple, but I've heard the trilogy gets significantly better after the first film.

images


The Cabin in the Woods - This movie is Evil Dead meets The Truman Show meets that one episode of South Park with Britney Spears.

I had intended to watch the next part in the Samurai Trilogy, but my ISP decided it was time to do maintenance and shut off my internet connection, so I went with this instead. This is the first English-speaking film I've seen in over two weeks, which took some getting used to, especially considering how filled with pithy Whedon-isms it is. I guess I enjoyed it, which is high praise from someone who hates Joss Whedon's work, but it was still pretty dumb. It's an interesting concept, but I wish it was executed better.
 
Last night I finished off the Samurai Trilogy. Each film, on its own, doesn't do justice to the impact of the trilogy as a whole. The second film is by far the strongest (the third being the weakest), but all three films together create a very vivid, compelling epic. Definitely a case of the sum being greater than its parts. My biggest criticisms lay with the sometimes sloppy editing that pervades all three parts and the translations available on Hulu seemed awkward at times. Other than that, I really liked the Samurai trilogy. Very entertaining.

Today:

1-the-tale-of-zatoichi.jpg


The Tale of Zatoichi - A blind swordsman is hired by one of two feuding gangs in Edo-era Japan.

This is the first in the long-running series of Zatoichi films from Japan, and supposedly the best (although there's a film with Zatoichi and Mifune as his Yojimbo character that I intend to watch soon). The film is pure entertainment but has enough artistic insight to keep you mentally (as well as visually) engaged. There's not much to say about it other than I enjoyed it very much.

220px-La_Jetee_Poster.jpg


La Jetee - A man (or slave) living in post-WWIII Paris is sent back and forth through time to secure a future for humanity.

La Jetee is a 28-minute film presented as a series of still images with the guidance of a narrator. This is the film that inspired Terry Gilliam's popular '12 Monkeys' which is almost immediately evident to anyone whose ever seen it. It's a very artfully crafted short film which relies heavily on your ability to intellectually sift through the vague and complex themes presented to discern a coherent story. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but it probably won't be getting a repeat viewing.

600full-i-live-in-fear-poster.jpg


I Live in Fear - A man living in post-war Japan is so afraid of nuclear annihilation that he plans to move his family to South America which causes much strain and tension amongst family members.

By its own merits, I Live in Fear is a good film. Mifune, once again, is a brilliant lead, the camera work is great, and the themes discussed are universally relatable (and surprisingly relevant given the 2011 Fukushima disaster). However, given Kurosawa's ridiculous catalog of masterful films, this one falls short of such standards. I liked it, but probably won't watch it again.
 
Last edited:
111566-b-after-the-wedding.jpg


&

51ymwRX7vVL._SL500_SS500_.jpg


Both were pretty amazing in their own ways. Ex-drummer is to be taken a lot less seriously and was quite the amusing ride, with all it's dark-humour and disturbing content. After the Wedding was another example of the Danes totally nailing cinema. Apart from it being a little bit too much like another great Danish film - Festen (probably because the same guy scripted it) - I was mightily impressed. Acting all round was superb and the way the story unfolds is certainly unpredictable.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I don't remember the last time I saw a decent film that was genuinely funny all the way through. Do yourself a favour and watch this film. ☺



mental-poster02.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
^ "Mental is unavailable to stream" :(

...So I watched "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" instead. Kept me interested the entire way through despite it's relatively simple storyline. I nearly turned it off thinking it was going to be another pot-smoker's comedy but I'm glad I kept it on. Good story. :)

"Everything Must Go" wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be, mostly because it was only about half of what I expected... Wouldn't watch again.
 
Last edited:
Not yet. I've actually been kinda avoiding it because I have a close relative with stomach cancer and I'm not sure I'm emotionally prepared for all the feelings it will certainly stir up. It's definitely high up on my 'To-Watch' list.
 
Last edited:
addictivepersona said:
...So I watched "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" instead. Kept me interested the entire way through despite it's relatively simple storyline. I nearly turned it off thinking it was going to be another pot-smoker's comedy but I'm glad I kept it on. Good story. :)
Click to expand...

I really enjoyed that movie. I might actually watch it again. The characters reminded me of people I know and of myself. I found the whole "Kevin" portion to be entertaining.
 
231_box_348x490.jpg


The Testament of Dr. Mabuse - An ingenious psychologist and hypnotist, locked away for ten years in a mental hospital, is somehow organizing a series a crimes designed to bring chaos and disorder to 1930s Germany.

I have to think that Fritz Lang's experience working in silent cinema prepared him very well for the age of talkies. His beautifully detailed, expressionistic camera work help him create scenes with loads of depth and texture. The acting (especially Captain Lohmann) is brilliant and the story is fast-paced and exciting. The dialogue can be long-winded at times, but it helps to underline certain thematic elements which makes it a very minor complaint. Dr. Mabuse doesn't quite have the splendor and magnificent set design of Metropolis, but I imagine it was filmed on a tighter budget which, if anything, makes the film's visual style even more impressive (especially considering it was made in the 30s). Really really liked this one.

432939-ugetsu.jpg


Ugetsu - A man and his friend (with the ambition to become a samurai) make a small fortune selling pottery in a nearby city. When an enemy army passes through their town and begins kidnapping the residents, the two families flee and become separated. Tragedy ensues.

Ugetsu is considered to be Kenji Mizoguchi's masterpiece (to Western audiences, anyway) and one of the greatest Japanese films ever made. I loved it. Not much else to say. It's as good, if not better than Sansho The Bailiff.
 
i've also recently seen Jeff, Who lives at Home

it made more of an effort than i was expecting. but i don't remember liking it. or really much at all about it. waited too long before getting it down in this thread.


The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

featuring dresses and lingerie designed for the movie by jean-paul gaultier. to a lesser extent than some of the others like Salome's Last Dance, it's got the play thing going on. twisted as those movies usually are. the sets and lighting are amazing as they should be. i watched this with a girl over. the first real scene is a meat vendor being stripped, covered in dog shit, and then urinated on. wasn't the best pick for that night. i'd need to see it again to have a real opinion.
 
Some movies I've seen that I couldn't be arsed to give write-ups to:

- The Woman in the Dunes (Awesome, Terrifying, Beautiful)
- Battleship (Just as stupid as it sounds)
- M (Really good - Peter Lorre is a convincing pedophile)
- Onibaba (Visually beautiful, interesting story, based on an old Japanese folk tale)
- Branded to Kill (A strange, visually exciting film. I enjoyed it more in hindsight than while watching it)
- Jigoku (Visually stunning, but the story is downright retarded)
 
Carl Landrover said:
Any American nipslips?
Click to expand...
don't think so. there is a swimming in underwear scene, so maybe something's see through. what i think you'd really appreciate, Carl, is the adorable dress she wears in the movie's last few scenes.


The Perks of Being a Wallflower

my group of friends raved about and passed this book amongst each other for a month in high school. i get the impression we were not the only ones who knew about it. if the book has faded at all, now there is this movie to give it a push. convenient that the author also has a thing for film. too bad he was not able to create an adaptation that's anything more than a glossing over of the original, full narrative.

even having loved the book, i'd have skipped this one except for emma watson. not that i am her biggest fan, but other people are and i don't wanna miss out. she fits my profile, so i figure it's just a matter of seeing her in the right role and the hook will set. this wasn't it. should have been. her character is the despondent high schooler's fantasy--pretty, fun, but just as fucked up and as lonely as you. she's compressed in the role. an unfortunate combination of the lifetime channel shtick and that awkward obsession with "having problems" that is popular with adolescents. not just her character. the whole movie. maybe that's the way the book is; i haven't read it in since i too was in that phase. lots of specific references to music. [spoil]took us a long while to realize the single he gives emma isn't the song they heard in the tunnel but the gift his aunt went out to get[/spoil]. didn't like emma's wardrobe overall, but the star necklace was great.

brightest scene in the movie is when charlie plays the lead in the rocky horror picture show production. particularly his dance with emma.
 
Last edited:
The Pirate Bay: AFK

a bit more boring than I was expecting, more of a documentary then a movie I guess. Honestly, the three guys behind the site are a bit annoying. It seems like they think its all a big game and that thousands of big executives arent actively trying to put them either behind bars or very much in debt. Granted, the laws in Sweden are different but my god they are such punks when asked a question by anyone.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top