The Official Movie Thread

[SentinelSlain]

Wag the Dog was great fun. It's far better then The West Wing, put it that way, haha.

Kieslowski's Red wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be, I actually think I like White the most, because the story was more continuous, but I suspect a lot more will be absorbed with these films the second time round. Cool trilogy anyway, great film making. It's a shame his style isn't mimicked in other genres of film.

 

[CiG]

Any of the other Japanese film fans on here fans of or aware of Takashi Ishii? In the west he's probably best know for his crime masterpiece Gonin (1995) and its 1996 sequel but his name will surly be familiar to fans of Japanese exploitation or "pink" films ("pinku eiga") being the man the Angel Guts series, one of the most infamous series of films in the genre based on the manga he wrote and illustrated. He also wrote the screenplay for the lunacy that is Evil Dead Trap (1988).

His films are bizarre, fetishistic and highly stylized often bathed in bright neon colors. He doesn't paint the prettiest picture of humanity yet his films all have a ton of heart. The epitome of a divisive director, his approach to sexuality and violence, often intertwined in his films, have led many, mostly western critics to use to tired "misogynist" tag which is hilarious seeing as in Japan many feminists praise his work.

He's one of those filmmakers who's work beautifully blurs that line between art and exploitation, the "grind" and "art" houses meeting the middle if you will which only makes him all the more polarizing. Personally I feel he's one of the most consistently and audacious, interesting and exciting directors still working today. My thoughts on his directorial debut here.

Huge fan myself.

 

[Anom@nder Rake]

watched some shit modern horror on netflix

Hold Your Breath (2012) - Katrina Bowden's legs are the only watchable aspect of this film

Nurse (2013) - had that chick Nucky was banging at the start of Boardwalk Empire as the lead. stupid movie that is someone watchable toward the end as the body count rises

Texas Chainsaw (2013) - seemed like a masterpiece compared to the first two movies i mentioned. Alexandra Daddario is ridiculous

Faults (2014) - not horror but a shit movie. i'm currently reading a book about Jonestown so the cult plotline drew me in. weak plot twist

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

Huge fan myself.

Right on! He's definitely my favorite Japanese filmmaker and judging from what I've seen on certain message boards he seems to get more and more alienating with each new film. There really should be more directors like that.

 

[SentinelSlain]

Scanners II was kickass.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

Sometimes life is good: http://www.criterion.com/films/28050-mulholland-dr

 

[Jimmy... Dead.]

That movie blows my mind every time. But once the old people come out of the brown bag im done, all my evens are exhausted

 

[tagradh]

Finally saw Hurt Locker.

Meh.

 

[SentinelSlain]

I prefer Zero Dark Thirty

 

[rms]

The only worthwhile Iraq/Afghan film from a U.S. perspective, that i've heard of, is Restrepo. Tis a documentary though.

 

[tagradh]

Not seen Zero Dark Thirty either. Hurt Locker was about what I expected (nowhere near as suspenseful as people made out, nowhere near as realistic as it seemed to have aimed to be) so I wasn't really disappointed with it.

The only Iraq war film I've seen and really enjoyed is Jarhead.

 

[no country for old wainds]

i'm not that big of a fan mainly 'cause the writing's so on the nose but i found THE HURT LOCKER's lack of grim realism refreshing (and intentional). bigelow is really good, it's mark boal who kinda sucks.

 

[SentinelSlain]

I don't really think I'd enjoy a documentary about the Afghan war. The only way I'd find it interesting is if it included the kind of information likely to be censored and classified, just seeing sweaty men talk about how "fucked up" it all is, with modern camera techniques and a few lens flares doesn't sound that great.

 

[CF87]

I use to play the video games when a kid and picked up Mortal Kombat on Blu-ray. It was the first time have seen the movie in years. It's still a cool as fuck movie.

 

[Matt]

Fav war movie at the moment is Act of Valor, though it isn't a good movie at all. Zero Dark was enjoyable but it seems like 2 hours pass before any cool shit happens.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

Bigelow has done much better films, namely:

The Loveless (1982)
Near Dark (1987)
Blue Steel (1989)
The Weight of Water (2000)

 

[no country for old wainds]

i think you know you missed something important out of that list

 

[no country for old wainds]

I don't really think I'd enjoy a documentary about the Afghan war. The only way I'd find it interesting is if it included the kind of information likely to be censored and classified, just seeing sweaty men talk about how "fucked up" it all is, with modern camera techniques and a few lens flares doesn't sound that great.

i follow the mike d'angelo line of thought when it comes to documentaries: if it doesn't justify being a film rather than a textbook, it ain't a good documentary. a more formally experimental afghan doc could be excellent but most war docs tend to settle for boring info dumps and talking head interviews.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

i think you know you missed something important out of that list

Nutsack! How in the fuck did I forget Strange Days?!

 

[no country for old wainds]

lol

i've been wanting to check out most of these for years, they seem like my kinda thing