Return Of The Film Corner Thread

[duaneiac]

On 5/12/2017 at 1:34 PM, kinuta said:

Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All - Alex Gibney (2015)

Engrossing, highly watchable.

I just checked this out from the library.  I'm looking forward to watching it.

Recently watched

It still holds up well as a suspenseful caper picture -- probably better than many movies made in that genre today.  It takes a strong & confident filmmaker to film a huge chunk of a movie (maybe half an hour, I'd guess) without any dialog at all and without any musical score to tell the audience how it is supposed to be feeling.  That whole sequence succeeds brilliantly because Jules Dassin had confidence that the audience could follow along, a confidence Hollywood nowadays completely lacks in its audiences (although perhaps there is some justification for their lack of faith in the intelligence of the present day film audience.)

[kinuta]

2 hours ago, duaneiac said:

I just checked this out from the library.  I'm looking forward to watching it.

Some of the live on stage footage is pretty amazing. Check out the prison gig with the Basie men. 

 

[kinuta]

The Jane Austen Book Club - Robin Swicord (2007)

Small Time Crooks - Woody Allen (2000)

 

[paul secor]

15 hours ago, kinuta said:

The Jane Austen Book Club - Robin Swicord (2007)

Small Time Crooks - Woody Allen (2000)

 

I enjoyed Small Time Crooks. The Jane Austin Book Club was more or less (a lot more than less) a chick-lit film, but ok for what it was.

[BillF]

Certainly worth seeing.

[kinuta]

Hollywood Ending - Woody Allen (2002)

20 minutes too long. Woody's most manic performance starts to wear after a while.

The current intense news cycle is making me watch more comedy and lightweight fare these days.

[paul secor]

1 hour ago, kinuta said:

Hollywood Ending - Woody Allen (2002)

20 minutes too long. Woody's most manic performance starts to wear after a while.

The current intense news cycle is making me watch more comedy and lightweight fare these days.

I can understand (and agree with) your feelings completely.

[kinuta]

Melinda And Melinda - Woody Allen (2002)

[jlhoots]

A Quiet Passion - pretty good, don't go if you're depressed.

[kinuta]

Anything Else - Woody Allen (2003)

[paul secor]

1 hour ago, kinuta said:

Anything Else - Woody Allen (2003)

I'm a Woody Allen fan, but I have no memory of this one. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

[kinuta]

1 hour ago, paul secor said:

I'm a Woody Allen fan, but I have no memory of this one. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

It's one of five films he made after Sweet & Lowdown and just prior to his , for me, problematic excursion into overseas productions, starting with Match Point.

They were Small Time Crooks, The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion, Hollywood Ending, Anything Else in 2003 and Melinda & Melinda.

It has a typical set up of two NYC gag writers, Woody as the older mentor to Jason Biggs, clearly playing a younger version of himself

Centres on the love life of the kid and WA's oracle like advice and adages. Danny DeVito appears as the kid's manager.

I thought the girlfriend was badly cast but apart from that it's an interesting and entertaining ' minor work'.

 

[paul secor]

1 hour ago, kinuta said:

It's one of five films he made after Sweet & Lowdown and just prior to his , for me, problematic excursion into overseas productions, starting with Match Point.

They were Small Time Crooks, The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion, Hollywood Ending, Anything Else in 2003 and Melinda & Melinda.

It has a typical set up of two NYC gag writers, Woody as the older mentor to Jason Biggs, clearly playing a younger version of himself

Centres on the love life of the kid and WA's oracle like advice and adages. Danny DeVito appears as the kid's manager.

I thought the girlfriend was badly cast but apart from that it's an interesting and entertaining ' minor work'.

 

I'll have to watch it. Even if I have seen it before, it will still by like seeing it for the first time. Even minor Woody Allen is worth seeing for me.

Edited May 19, 2017 by paul secor

[kinuta]

2 hours ago, paul secor said:

I'll have to watch it. Even if I have seen it before, it will still by like seeing it for the first time. Even minor Woody Allen is worth seeing for me.

I think so too. The forgotten films are well worth rewatching.

I wasn't especially fond of the ones he made in UK and Europe. I'll bet he did them with an ulterior motive of a grand holiday, like Hitchcock with To Catch A Thief.

With the exception of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I prefer his films set in home territory.

 

[paul secor]

2 hours ago, kinuta said:

I think so too. The forgotten films are well worth rewatching.

I wasn't especially fond of the ones he made in UK and Europe. I'll bet he did them with an ulterior motive of a grand holiday, like Hitchcock with To Catch A Thief.

With the exception of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I prefer his films set in home territory.

 

I never thought of the holiday aspect. You're probably right. I just figured that his films are better loved in Europe than they are in the U.S. and he wanted to take advantage of that. But the "grand holiday" makes sense.

[jlhoots]

Norman - Richard Gere - better than I thought it would be.

[kinuta]

4 hours ago, paul secor said:

I never thought of the holiday aspect. You're probably right. I just figured that his films are better loved in Europe than they are in the U.S. and he wanted to take advantage of that. But the "grand holiday" makes sense.

I think the real reason was probably financial.  I read he was finding it difficult to find backers after a string of money losers like the little films we like.

I recall his fortunes changing after Match Point, and the later Midnight In Paris.

The French have always had a soft spot for him, like Hitchcock they were calling him an auteur before anyone else.

[kinuta]

The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion - Woody Allen (2002)

Some very funny, rapid fire, gag a second dialogue between a Groucho Marx channeling WA and Charlize Theron, who is a perfect foil as Laura ' Sophisticated Lady' Kensington. Made me laugh, which is not common.

[kinuta]

Celebrity - Woody Allen (1998)

 

Better than I remember it. Especially good b&w cinematograhy.

Main flaw is Kenneth Branagh as the WA stand in.

Mighty Aphrodite - Woody Allen (1995)

Stands up well but the Greek chorus quickly outstays it's welcome.

Trainspotting 2 - Danny Boyle (2017)

Badly misjudged and disappointing.

Weakly written, teeters on the edge of incoherence.

 

[kinuta]

On 2017年4月19日 at 11:29 PM, BillF said:

Rampling must be in. Just seen her in this. Very good:

Just watched this. Thought it was excellent, beautifully done with one of the best screenplays I've seen for a while. The Missus was enthralled too.

Edited May 24, 2017 by kinuta

[kinuta]

R.I.P.　Powers Boothe, a memorable villian.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/may/16/powers-boothe-obituary

[jlhoots]

Wakefield - Cranston is great.

[kinuta]

Whatever Works - Woody Allen ( 2009)

Park Avenue: Money, Power And The American Dream - Alex Gibney (2012)

[jlhoots]

Glory - Bulgarian film, bureaucracy exists everywhere!!

[kinuta]

What Is Cinema ? - Chuck Workman (2013)

Collage of clips with some eminent directors adding comments.

Doesn't amount to much but interesting to see how many of the clips you can name or have seen.