What have you watched recently?

johnny_ultimate

Night of the Hunter - long been on my to watch list, and it didn't disappoint! Really taken aback how unusual it was for a film from the 50s. It's surreal, creepy and downright demented on occasion. Robert Mitchum crafts one of the most sinister villains in cinema - a disturbed preacher who torments a family in order to find their father's stash of stolen cash. What's most impressive is the cinematography - stylised lighting and backgrounds make the deep South setting stand out as something very special: hazy, surreal, dangerous. The use of creepy old religious hymns - including Leaning on Everlasting Arms which was the foundation for the awesome True Grit soundtrack this year - adds to the menace. Strangely beautiful all in all, and while the last act goes one notch weirder again - the focus and tone switch quite dramatically - it's a one of a kind achievement.

tim_holsters

Any Given Sunday.

The appeal of American football has always puzzled me so I thought this might help and it did. A bit.

krudler

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Night of the Hunter - long been on my to watch list, and it didn't disappoint! Really taken aback how unusual it was for a film from the 50s. It's surreal, creepy and downright demented on occasion. Robert Mitchum crafts one of the most sinister villains in cinema - a disturbed preacher who torments a family in order to find their father's stash of stolen cash. What's most impressive is the cinematography - stylised lighting and backgrounds make the deep South setting stand out as something very special: hazy, surreal, dangerous. The use of creepy old religious hymns - including Leaning on Everlasting Arms which was the foundation for the awesome True Grit soundtrack this year - adds to the menace. Strangely beautiful all in all, and while the last act goes one notch weirder again - the focus and tone switch quite dramatically - it's a one of a kind achievement.

Crazy that it was the one and only movie that Charles Laughton directed, surely the most defining one hit wonder director in cinema?

Nolanger

He got bad press for it and never directed again.

Dogdaysareover

Stone

I thought I was onto a good thing as it had Edward Norton and Robert DeNiro in it....

I wasn't !!!

Nolanger

Q the winged serpent - great movie about a flying monster in NY and the hunt to find its nest! Michael Moriarty is one of the most underrated film actors. Writer Frank McCourt's brother also appears.

irishh_bob

KungPao wrote: »

Finally got around to watching The Hangover last night. Seemed like a cross between Very Bad Things and the Simpsons episode where Flanders and Homer got wasted and hooked up with a couple of Vegas ladies.

Overall it was quite good, very watchable but for a comedy it lacked any real out loud laughs.

considering all i had heard , i thought the hangover was a real let down , much perfered hot tub time machine which i saw about a week afterwards

Busi_Girl08

Just finished watching The Big Lebowski. I watched most of it at my uncle's on Sunday, only caught the last 20 minutes a minute ago.

I enjoyed it for the most part, though the ending was a little abrupt though. But it kind of worked

sara_q

Watched Hysterically Blind last night, excellent!

Paddy Samurai

Angela A

From the director of The Professional and The Fifth Element comes a stunning, sexy tribute to the healing power of love. When André, a down-on-his-luck gambler, dives into the icy Seine to end it all, he winds up instead rescuing Angela, a gorgeous, mysterious blonde. Filled with renewed passion for life, they set out to settle André's scores as they wander the City of Lights. Along the way, André finds himself, but he still has some questions about his leggy, lovely companion -can she really be as heavenly as she seems? Filled with wit, warmth and eye-popping visuals, Angel-A shows just how high you can soar when passion takes flight.

I loved this film .Its beautifully filmed in black and white with a great soundtrack. Some beautiful shots of Paris.Jamel Debbouze is top notch as Andre and Rie Rasmussen is stunning.If you get a chance try and see this one.

UCD2010

Swimming With Sharks with Kevin Spacey.. one of his best IMHO!

mikhail

take everything wrote: »

Watched Fargo again. Love the dynamic between the characters.
McDormand's performance as the good-hearted, folksy but canny small-town cop was great. Loved the contrast between the life of her and her husband and the rest of the characters...

I like that too, and similarly how in The Big Lebowski that The Dude is this incongruously amiable character in a world of selfish, greedy people. (Donny too, but he hardly counts.)

Predator_

The Kings Speech. Good film enjoyed it.

irishh_bob

wasnt out last night so tried to watch heavens gate on TG4 , always heard it was one of the worst movies ever made and having watched the half of it , i cant say i disagree

crazygeryy

primal fear (again)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117381/

its just brilliant and ed norton your a genius actor.

ps watch the movie dont bother with the trailer.it looks run of the mill judging by the trailer.

The Black Oil

The Sentinel. Have seen bits of it before, it's OK...kinda ticks a few boxes, but the script is fairly ropey. Maybe Clark Johnson could have done more with it if the script was half decent. Did Kiefer Sutherland make any good films when he wasn't shooting 24?

Stinicker

Bangkok Dangerous on BluRay, good film I enjoyed it especially as I was recently in Bangkok during March, Nicolas Cage as usual played it well, one of my preferred Actors in any movie that features guns and shooting.

filmbuffboy

Went ot see Water for Elephants today & was pleasently surprised. I thought it was gonna be this slushy romantic film that we have all seen before a thousand times, and it turned out to be an entertaining, and sometimes moving film about circus life in prohibition america in the 1930's. Dont let the fact that Pattinson is in this put you off from seeing it. Its worth a watch!

Magic Eight Ball

Once Were Warriors

First time I've rewatched it in about 10 years. I'll be quoting Jake "the Muss" for weeks to come.

Cook the man some ****ing eggs!

In case you wanna know it's Jake. Jake The Muss

johnny_ultimate

Dogtooth for the second time. Oh, what a glorious film! Twisted, hilarious, shocking, perverse and scathing. Kept the economic satire side of the film in mind this time and it took on a whole other layer - and one which is extremely apt for Ireland at the moment too, economic isolation themes abound! Have nothing bad to say about it - it's a film that can have you laughing while also shocked at bizarre acts of violence. Proof that cinematic originality is far from dead.

godspal

I watched Dogtooth last night too.
Now to say it an economic undertone maybe there. I couldn't agree with any argument I have seen on the subject.
The reason I couldn't agree with this interpretation is the nature of the father's income and how much the mother is implicated in the controlling of the kids.

1. The father's income is quite vast or quite mediocre. His car is similar to those of the German business men in 70s, and the grand run up to the factory would almost suggest that he is the owner. He also forks over €400 to Christiana for her out of work services.
However Giorgos Lanthimos flips this grandeur on its head, as we see in the factory that there is no real air of respect for him, more fear. The factory "colleague/worker" speaks to him a similar tone as his kids do, which is completely stilted. However the arbitrariness of the conversation would suggest he has no real power, he just seems to be someone who is mid-management or a senior worker.
Also the idea that he has a lot of money is made slightly defunct when you consider the austere lifestyle he has constructed for the kids. He clearly spent a lot of money sometime in the 80s; the Walkman, the TV, the architecture of the house. However he used this money construct an idyllic life for him, his wife and his kids.

2. Any economic reading I feel also falls apart when we consider that the mother is either completely involved in the lie, has completely consumed the lie or has chosen to believe the lie as to not face the problems of postpartum depression.
Let's consider the ending:

When the father, the 2 remaining kids and the mother sprint to the gate (like the dogs which they have become), she is just as involved in the barking, she does not seem to question or correct the father for standing outside the gate. She plays along or she actually has become so isolated that the lie seems true to her.

And if we compare that to another aspect of the film:

After they have killed the "invading cat". She rings the father, she tells him of the problem, she is informed about the solution. She is also aware that she does not give birth to dogs and she is also aware that allowing the son to choose a daughter for sex will possibly make her pregnant too.

Her part therefore means either the lie continues or end at her whim.

These ambiguities mean that while the economy of the house revolves around the father, and his fallacy, there is no help from the kids, they merely compete amongst themselves to keep themselves occupied. The Hot Water endurance race would suggest that the father is not the instigator of all competition, but merely uses competition to direct kids in the direction he wants. Unlike capitalism which tries to allow people to become whatever they are most suited at.

johnny_ultimate

TBH, I didn't read that far into the economic subtext :pac: I'd consider it a much more basic allegory about Greece's situation. For me, it came across as an impassioned argument against complete economic independence - it instead suggests that outside assistance is to be encouraged, and cutting yourself off will only lead to self-mutilation. Events are misinterpreted as threats (the cat, for example). Leaders control the situation, able to twist the minds of the ignorant. Whether you agree with it or not is another thing though, it's certainly a confrontational message. Just IMO a curious idea that's thrown out by the director. It's simply a base, though, and the rest of the film is obviously a surreal black comedy.

It's a film there's many readings for. Intentional or not, there's a definite satire of crappy reality TV shows in there too!

ronoc 1

saw thor last night,was looking forward to it put came away dissapointed.the cgi was terrible,ive seen better on an x box.the lead actor was very good and there was some laughs but the action scenes were poor.why is it that in most modern movies when they show fight scenes the camera is so close to the actors faces that you cant see whats going on.

ReacherCreature

I watched Goal!. I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised, it's a fun and enjoyable film.

toodleytoo

Beastly. Awful! I couldn't even finish watching it. The acting was wooden, the storyline was full of gaping plot holes. An hour of my life I'm never getting back!

tim_holsters

We are what we are.

The Mexican cannibal film. Very good film and superbly acted. Recommended.

Cookie33

The Kings Speech

Didn't believe that a film was as good as critics said but superb! I'm a fan of the royals and this gave me a fascinating insight during those times. Great performances by all actors!

dr gonzo

Got a craving for it as i hadnt seen it in years and just finished watching it. The Chronicles of Riddick.

Im not Vin Diesels biggest fan and i know its a silly film that got panned but for some reason i still thoroughly enjoy it. Good story, great bad guys, some good set pieces and scenes, acting isnt terrible despite Diesel winning a razzie for it and just an all round decent Sci Fi film.

Interestingly any time i hear people talking about it they all say the same thing, seems to be one of those films where critics and public completely diverge, although a shame the box office figures didnt reflect this.

Nolanger

Prisoner of Shark Island - the original Shawshak redemption and much better!

Paddy Samurai

About the French resistance and their daily lives ,no action heroes in this one.
Pretty bleak movie ,but well worth watching.

Who would've guessed that the best film of 2006 would be a 37-year-old thriller about the French Resistance during World War II? Hailed as a masterpiece by an overwhelming majority of reputable critics, Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows wasn't officially released in America until 2006 (hence its appearance on many of that year's top-ten lists), but its reputation as a French classic was already well-established throughout Europe. Fully restored in 2004 and released in the U.S. by Rialto Pictures, it represents the gold standard of films about the French Resistance, based upon Joseph Kessel's 1943 novel and imbued with personal touches by Melville, an Alsatian Jew whose own involvement in the Resistance qualifies Army of Shadows as a semi-autobiographical exercise in somber nostalgia, as indicated by an opening quote echoing Melville's ironic belief that memories of Nazi occupation needn't always be traumatic.

I'm going through a "world cinema " phase at the moment,thanks to the special offers on play at the moment.Some good films available.
Seven samurai for €6.25(2 films for €12.49)..............bargain.

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/3-/642965/2-/Promo.html