AbelTim
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If anyone on here ever watches this, make sure it is 1988 Turner Preview version. This was the version Sam Peckinpah intended everyone to see before the studio butchers got their hands on it.
The Official Movie Thread
- Thread starter Manic Ferocity
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AbelTim
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challenge_everything
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Took me far too long to see this. And a travesty that only one person (Krow) mentioned it in the 1977 thread. Great movie, masterfully shot and up there with Night of the Living Dead in Romero's catalogue imo.
Also watched this for the second time. I always thought it was under-rated, which it is, although I didn't enjoy it as much the second time around. Maybe the creepy toddlers weren't quite as scary. Oliver Reed is still great though.
AbelTim
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Good views dude. I'm ashamed that I didn't put Martin in my 1977 list
The Brood is one of Cronenberg's best imo. Oliver Reed is as good as usual and the dwarf-children creeped me the hell out
The Brood is one of Cronenberg's best imo. Oliver Reed is as good as usual and the dwarf-children creeped me the hell out
Took me far too long to see this. And a travesty that only one person (Krow) mentioned it in the 1977 thread. Great movie, masterfully shot and up there with Night of the Living Dead in Romero's catalogue imo.
Also watched this for the second time. I always thought it was under-rated, which it is, although I didn't enjoy it as much the second time around. Maybe the creepy toddlers weren't quite as scary. Oliver Reed is still great though.
Oblivious Maximus
I am the worm
https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...vVVDaCb2ZplVa0VjKtZaSlr8TO429KbLCVeYKeKX4M2v0
What a weird list. Love that Broken Embraces made the top ten and The Skin I Live In and Live Flesh the top five but Kika, Tie Me Up and Matador are way too far back.
What a weird list. Love that Broken Embraces made the top ten and The Skin I Live In and Live Flesh the top five but Kika, Tie Me Up and Matador are way too far back.
no country for old wainds
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Oblivious Maximus
I am the worm
That one might be ever weirder. They have Kika and Broken Embraces way to low but Tie Me Up in the top ten. Dig Matador and Bad Education ranking so high on Slant's though, so there's that.
no country for old wainds
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CiG
Harbinger of Metal
Last few days I watched a bunch of stuff (rewatched The Walker, Breaker Morant and Good Manners) but these are the ones I'd seen for the first time ever:
Blue Collar (1978) Schrader's debut. Not quite what I was expecting, I thought I'd seen it before but I must have been thinking of something else. Thematically it's definitely all Schrader, but I don't think I've ever seen him do a comedy before, not that this is a straight up comedy or anything but with Pryor involved you know it can't be avoided. Certain elements like the heist scene are comical but he makes it fit within the overall tone of the film which I thought was impressive. Yaphet Kotto for me is the MVP of the whole thing though.
Funny factoid from Wiki:
The three main actors did not get along and were continually fighting throughout the shoot. The tension became so great that at one point Richard Pryor (supposedly in a drug-fuelled rage) pointed a gun at Schrader and told him that there was "no way" he would ever do more than three takes for a scene; an incident that may have triggered Schrader's nervous breakdown.
Schrader states that during the filming of one take, Harvey Keitel became so irritated by Pryor's lengthy improvisations that he flung the contents of an ashtray into the camera lens, ruining the take. Pryor and his bodyguard responded by pinning Keitel to the floor and pummelling him with their fists.
High Flying Bird (2019) I can't remember the last time I saw a depiction of someone playing 4D chess so convincingly as André Holland does in this one. That ending was gold. I personally love Soderbergh's "sterile, transactional and defiantly digital" style (reference!) and I wish I'd seen this sooner. Even though I'm a casual basketball fan I avoided it because blah blah sports movies blah blah. Dumb move. Oh and the running gag of references to slavery having to be followed by a prayer to God as per Bill Duke's demands was hilarious.
Bubble (2006) Another one by Soderbergh and perhaps one of his most interesting films I've seen so far, not just because it dips into mumblecore/slice-of-life territory which feels much more personal and human than the typical Soderbergh project, but also because (apparently) the whole cast are non-professional actors. They're all locals and even the composer was found locally. The central figure Debbie Doebereiner who plays Martha was discovered working the drive-through window of a KFC. I can't recommend this one enough to people who enjoy mumblecore-esque films, and this one has the added benefit of socio-economic subtext and a sudden turn halfway through into a police procedural.
The Getaway (1972) Amazing cast with Steve McQueen doing what he does best, a young slutty Sally Struthers in a side role, Al Lettieri being an absolute bastard (most know him from The Godfather but I grew up on Charles Bronson's classic Mr. Majestyk. "THE KEYS! THE KEYS!") and a shitload of gun violence, car chases, bright red paint squirting from bullet wounds, everything that made the New Hollywood movement so cool.
My only beef was that the running time felt a bit bloated and unnecessary. The way the story is structured makes it feel like it drags at times, but since Sam Peckinpah's films are notoriously meddled with by the studios before being released (he claims only one of his films was ever released the way he intended it to be) I can hardly lay the blame on the director. Definitely recommend it to anybody who loves gritty 70's action, in particular this movie really delivers some good shotgun violence.
Blue Collar (1978) Schrader's debut. Not quite what I was expecting, I thought I'd seen it before but I must have been thinking of something else. Thematically it's definitely all Schrader, but I don't think I've ever seen him do a comedy before, not that this is a straight up comedy or anything but with Pryor involved you know it can't be avoided. Certain elements like the heist scene are comical but he makes it fit within the overall tone of the film which I thought was impressive. Yaphet Kotto for me is the MVP of the whole thing though.
Funny factoid from Wiki:
The three main actors did not get along and were continually fighting throughout the shoot. The tension became so great that at one point Richard Pryor (supposedly in a drug-fuelled rage) pointed a gun at Schrader and told him that there was "no way" he would ever do more than three takes for a scene; an incident that may have triggered Schrader's nervous breakdown.
Schrader states that during the filming of one take, Harvey Keitel became so irritated by Pryor's lengthy improvisations that he flung the contents of an ashtray into the camera lens, ruining the take. Pryor and his bodyguard responded by pinning Keitel to the floor and pummelling him with their fists.
High Flying Bird (2019) I can't remember the last time I saw a depiction of someone playing 4D chess so convincingly as André Holland does in this one. That ending was gold. I personally love Soderbergh's "sterile, transactional and defiantly digital" style (reference!) and I wish I'd seen this sooner. Even though I'm a casual basketball fan I avoided it because blah blah sports movies blah blah. Dumb move. Oh and the running gag of references to slavery having to be followed by a prayer to God as per Bill Duke's demands was hilarious.
Bubble (2006) Another one by Soderbergh and perhaps one of his most interesting films I've seen so far, not just because it dips into mumblecore/slice-of-life territory which feels much more personal and human than the typical Soderbergh project, but also because (apparently) the whole cast are non-professional actors. They're all locals and even the composer was found locally. The central figure Debbie Doebereiner who plays Martha was discovered working the drive-through window of a KFC. I can't recommend this one enough to people who enjoy mumblecore-esque films, and this one has the added benefit of socio-economic subtext and a sudden turn halfway through into a police procedural.
The Getaway (1972) Amazing cast with Steve McQueen doing what he does best, a young slutty Sally Struthers in a side role, Al Lettieri being an absolute bastard (most know him from The Godfather but I grew up on Charles Bronson's classic Mr. Majestyk. "THE KEYS! THE KEYS!") and a shitload of gun violence, car chases, bright red paint squirting from bullet wounds, everything that made the New Hollywood movement so cool.
My only beef was that the running time felt a bit bloated and unnecessary. The way the story is structured makes it feel like it drags at times, but since Sam Peckinpah's films are notoriously meddled with by the studios before being released (he claims only one of his films was ever released the way he intended it to be) I can hardly lay the blame on the director. Definitely recommend it to anybody who loves gritty 70's action, in particular this movie really delivers some good shotgun violence.
no country for old wainds
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you’ve gotta love soderbergh, that dude gives less than zero fucks.
holy motors rules but it’s like carax’s possession or in the mood for love or w/e in that it’s the only one that broke into the relative mainstream but isn’t really his most popular with fans, yall should watch some of the earlier stuff!
holy motors rules but it’s like carax’s possession or in the mood for love or w/e in that it’s the only one that broke into the relative mainstream but isn’t really his most popular with fans, yall should watch some of the earlier stuff!
CiG
Harbinger of Metal
The only other film of his I've seen is The Lovers on the Bridge, which is great.
Vegard Pompey
ALLY TO GOOD, NIGHTMARE TO YOU
Hey @CiG have you seen this movie? I haven't seen it myself, but it was brought up on a movie podcast I was listening to and the way they described it, it sounded like the most CiG thing ever.
CiG
Harbinger of Metal
J. Lee Thompson's last movie!
I haven't seen it in at least a decade back when I had it on VHS. It's a sleazy rape-and-revenge cop movie about sex trafficking with shitloads of xenophobia against Asians. I don't think you'd like it much, for die-hards only.
I haven't seen it in at least a decade back when I had it on VHS. It's a sleazy rape-and-revenge cop movie about sex trafficking with shitloads of xenophobia against Asians. I don't think you'd like it much, for die-hards only.
Vegard Pompey
ALLY TO GOOD, NIGHTMARE TO YOU
That'd be the one. I still kinda wanna watch it, haha. It came up on an episode of the Pure Cinema podcast where the hosts and guest Quentin Tarantino were discussing the final films of directors and each picked five favorite final films. QT picked Kinjite and his description of it made it sound rather artfully perverse.
CiG
Harbinger of Metal
Damn Tarantino namedropped it? Interesting. Well like I said, it's been a long time. It's a killer movie but it's very cheesy and it's old man era Bronson so his punches look hilariously fake etc. I might watch it again soon, haha.
I will say, as far as final films go, Thompson did go out on a high note. Pretty rare for directors doing his kind of stuff.
This dude was either smoking crack, really hates Asians or just has the lowest opinion of Charles Bronson ever.
AbelTim
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So yesterday I went to the cinema in London and watched Thomas Vinterberg's "Another Round" and Prano Bailey-Bond's full length directorial debut "Censor".
"Another Round" was fantastic! The concept of four middle-aged men trying a social experiment with alcohol and to see how far they can take it to try and improve their lives is really original and interesting. Mads Mikkelsen puts in a great performance as "Martin", the stereotypical teacher at an impasse in his life. Bored and indifferent to his students and family, Martin sees the experiment as his last chance with life.
Production wise the film is solid. Beautifully shot and edited, with a formidable climax of booze and dancing, "Another Round", is a clear warning and celebration of alcohol, intertwined with the banality of everyday life.
"Censor", is totally different kettle of fish. Prano Bailey-Bond's full length debut, I felt that this film had real potential and had some great moments, but ultimately was laughable in places. I don't know whether that was Bailey-Bond's intention or whether that's what it evolved into. Niamh Algar is a solid actress in her previous performances but as "Enid", she was over the top and quite artificially stereotypical as the 1980's dutiful female worker under the thumb of all her male colleagues. All the male characters were either leches or indifferent to her. The only male character who shows her compassion was "Perkins" and she completely rebuffs him.
The concept of "Censor" is original and clever. A censor who discovers a link between a film she is reviewing and the past disappearance of her younger sister. Bailey-Bond did extensive research of the 1980s Video Nasties panic. The opening credit sequence is littered with some of these gory classics. There are though some over the top gore scenes (non-CGI) in the film, but again quite laughable.
Overall, I would recommend "Censor" to any horror fan looking for something a little bit different, but be wary.
"Another Round" was fantastic! The concept of four middle-aged men trying a social experiment with alcohol and to see how far they can take it to try and improve their lives is really original and interesting. Mads Mikkelsen puts in a great performance as "Martin", the stereotypical teacher at an impasse in his life. Bored and indifferent to his students and family, Martin sees the experiment as his last chance with life.
Production wise the film is solid. Beautifully shot and edited, with a formidable climax of booze and dancing, "Another Round", is a clear warning and celebration of alcohol, intertwined with the banality of everyday life.
"Censor", is totally different kettle of fish. Prano Bailey-Bond's full length debut, I felt that this film had real potential and had some great moments, but ultimately was laughable in places. I don't know whether that was Bailey-Bond's intention or whether that's what it evolved into. Niamh Algar is a solid actress in her previous performances but as "Enid", she was over the top and quite artificially stereotypical as the 1980's dutiful female worker under the thumb of all her male colleagues. All the male characters were either leches or indifferent to her. The only male character who shows her compassion was "Perkins" and she completely rebuffs him.
The concept of "Censor" is original and clever. A censor who discovers a link between a film she is reviewing and the past disappearance of her younger sister. Bailey-Bond did extensive research of the 1980s Video Nasties panic. The opening credit sequence is littered with some of these gory classics. There are though some over the top gore scenes (non-CGI) in the film, but again quite laughable.
Overall, I would recommend "Censor" to any horror fan looking for something a little bit different, but be wary.
AbelTim
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CiG
Harbinger of Metal
Toxic Avenger reboot has wrapped filming: http://twitter.com/AlsoBlair/status/1426275206285385731
