Return Of The Film Corner Thread

[jlhoots]

Moka

[BillF]

9 hours ago, kinuta said:

Arbitrage - Nicholas Jarecki (2012)

Stands up well to repeat viewing. Richard Gere is perfectly cast.

Yes, that was a good one!

[kinuta]

My Cousin Rachel - Roger Michell (2017)

Continuing a string of strong, female based period dramas.

Rachel Weitz predictably good as the Olivia De Havilland replacement.

I liked it but didn't think it was as compelling as A Quiet Passion or Lady Macbeth. 

 

[BillF]

11 hours ago, kinuta said:

My Cousin Rachel - Roger Michell (2017)

Continuing a string of strong, female based period dramas.

Rachel Weitz predictably good as the Olivia De Havilland replacement.

I liked it but didn't think it was as compelling as A Quiet Passion or Lady Macbeth. 

 

Had intended to see that after my recent reading of the novel, but by the time I finished the book, the movie had got away!

[BillF]

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/14/lovefilm-postal-dvd-service-closing-amazon-netflix

I owe an incalculable educational debt to Lovefilm and now they're gone. Very sad - and unlike the music scene, it's often disc or nothing with these movies.

Edited August 14, 2017 by BillF

[kinuta]

On 2017/8/14 at 2:56 AM, BillF said:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/14/lovefilm-postal-dvd-service-closing-amazon-netflix

I owe an incalculable educational debt to Lovefilm and now they're gone. Very sad - and unlike the music scene, it's often disc or nothing with these movies.

Sorry to hear that.

What are your remaining options for renting (non blockbuster type) films on dvd ?

My Cousin Rachel - Henry Coster (1952)

Had to watch this as a comparison. Burton clearly much stronger in the lead role. De Havilland excellent as always.

Feels a bit stiff, the studio influence evident with the sound stage interiors and the slightly stagy, florid tone.

Maybe it would be better to watch this version first as the remake benefits from improved technology, natural looking interiors and a wider feel than the original. All that should be pretty obvious. What I did realize was how good Rachel Weitz is to even compare with DeHavilland.

Sometimes we can't see greatness when it's under our noses but need some historical space to let the comparisons become more evident.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by kinuta

[jlhoots]

Wind River

[duaneiac]

It's been at least 20 years since I last watched this and I gotta say this is as close to perfect as a film can get.  Everything about it is spot on -- the writing, the direction, the performances, the set & costume designs, the cinematography.  Something like this could easily have crossed the line into camp melodrama, but it successfully holds its own as a comedy-suspense-horror-romance movie.  I've only seen it once on the big screen and I recall the kind of uneasy, spooky feeling I got towards the end of the film when Norma Desmond refers to and gestures towards "all those wonderful people out there in the dark".  She (and Billy Wilder) implicated each of us in the audience as having played a part in her psycho-dramatic downfall with our craving for putting performers on a pedestal and then tearing them down when we tire of them or they have the slightest hint of scandal about them.

After this, I unfortunately watched La La Land, a glossy, vapid, hollow piece of eye candy.  Are there any adults making major studio motion pictures any more?  Where is Billy Wilder now that we need him more than ever?

[kinuta]

1 hour ago, duaneiac said:

It's been at least 20 years since I last watched this and I gotta say this is as close to perfect as a film can get.  Everything about it is spot on -- the writing, the direction, the performances, the set & costume designs, the cinematography.  Something like this could easily have crossed the line into camp melodrama, but it successfully holds its own as a comedy-suspense-horror-romance movie.  I've only seen it once on the big screen and I recall the kind of uneasy, spooky feeling I got towards the end of the film when Norma Desmond refers to and gestures towards "all those wonderful people out there in the dark".  She (and Billy Wilder) implicated each of us in the audience as having played a part in her psycho-dramatic downfall with our craving for putting performers on a pedestal and then tearing them down when we tire of them or they have the slightest hint of scandal about them.

After this, I unfortunately watched La La Land, a glossy, vapid, hollow piece of eye candy.  Are there any adults making major studio motion pictures any more?  Where is Billy Wilder now that we need him more than ever?

Right on.

I positively hated La La Land.

[jlhoots]

Step

[Dave Garrett]

21 hours ago, duaneiac said:

Where is Billy Wilder now that we need him more than ever?

[jlhoots]

Rumble

[kinuta]

The Loved One - Tony Richardson (1965)

I was surprised to come across a 1960's Tony Richardson film that I hadn't seen.

Young Brit arrives in LA and finds work in the funeral director business for humans and pets.

Quirky attempt at a black comedy with script by Terry Southern has it's moments but never catches fire and ends up a disjointed string of incidents.

Big name stars galore, mainly in small parts.

Nice B&W photography and an interesting appearance by Liberace, which was the nearest the film came to being funny.

 

[kinuta]

The Big Heat - Fritz Lang (1953)

Kiss Me Deadly - Robert Aldrich (1953)

[BillF]

5 hours ago, kinuta said:

The Loved One - Tony Richardson (1965)

I was surprised to come across a 1960's Tony Richardson film that I hadn't seen.

Young Brit arrives in LA and finds work in the funeral director business for humans and pets.

Quirky attempt at a black comedy with script by Terry Southern has it's moments but never catches fire and ends up a disjointed string of incidents.

Big name stars galore, mainly in small parts.

Nice B&W photography and an interesting appearance by Liberace, which was the nearest the film came to being funny.

 

5 hours ago, kinuta said:

The Loved One - Tony Richardson (1965)

I was surprised to come across a 1960's Tony Richardson film that I hadn't seen.

Young Brit arrives in LA and finds work in the funeral director business for humans and pets.

Quirky attempt at a black comedy with script by Terry Southern has it's moments but never catches fire and ends up a disjointed string of incidents.

Big name stars galore, mainly in small parts.

Nice B&W photography and an interesting appearance by Liberace, which was the nearest the film came to being funny.

 

The original novel by Evelyn Waugh is great.  Haven't seen the movie.

[jlhoots]

Logan Lucky

Edited August 19, 2017 by jlhoots

[kinuta]

Viceroy's House - Gurinder Chadha (2017)

 

Not bad. Watchable account of the final Viceroy's days as he oversees Indian independence and partition.

The inside house part is ok but involves the inevitable romance as a metaphor before getting onto the weightier subject of partition. Here it doesn't have the budget or gravitas to do justice to such an epochal event.

[jlhoots]

Good Time

[BillF]

Recent Mexican film. Family life with a dash of science fiction. Intriguing!

Edited August 26, 2017 by BillF

[kinuta]

A Woman, A Part - Elisabeth Subrin (2017)

Self absorbed actress in an unspecified existential meltdown.

Absorbing and watchable although not much really happens.

[jlhoots]

I Am The Blues

[jlhoots]

The Women's Balcony

Seems like only 3 (or 4) of us go to movies.

[BillF]

7 hours ago, jlhoots said:

The Women's Balcony

Seems like only 3 (or 4) of us go to movies.

Many more watch at home.

[jlhoots]

Ingrid Goes West

[kinuta]

Smashed - James Ponsoldt (2012)

Great film merits a relook. Mary Elizabeth Winstead  is terrific.

On 27/08/2017 at 10:55 AM, jlhoots said:

The Women's Balcony

Seems like only 3 (or 4) of us go to movies.

It wouldn't surprise me if Santa Fe enjoyed a much better film selection than Tokyo.

One thing overlooked is that all non Japanese films are shown with Japanese subtitles, not English, thus making them either wholly or partially incomprehensible.

Others are delayed for several months; the latest Planet Of The Apes opens at year end.

As an interesting experiment, go to IMDB and check the release dates in Japan of all the films currently showing in Santa Fe.

You'll probably find over half aren't even scheduled for release. If the selection of films showing was even half decent, I'd be at the cinema twice a week using my free bus and subway passes and old folks cheap ticket system.

 

Edited August 28, 2017 by kinuta