What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

Undo

jesus, shunji iwai had a dark side when he was starting out. I was expecting something light hearted and romantic from the minute or two of the start i'd already seen..jesus christ.

yukio brings home some pet turtles for his girlfriend moemi since their building does not allow cats or dogs. he drills a hole in the shell of one turtle to fit a chain through so she can take it for walks. Moemi then has her braces removed and yukio no longer enjoys kissing her as a result. moemi reacts to this by tying things up with string, turtles, apples, books, scissors and yukio has to figure out a way of dealing with this.


if this sounds like a heartwarming romantic comedy to you, you're wrong.
so wrong.

mike65

Japs are weird

e_e

mike65 wrote: »

Japs are weird

Your flippant stereotype aside, it still makes for better cinema than most "normal" movies as well as a really wonderfully varied cultural output. Watch Love Exposure or Hausu and then compare it to the like of Tokyo Story or Still Walking. Kinda hate the way Japan's artistic output is reduced to "lol so random!!!!" so often.

Irish Aris

I watched Antiviral last night on Netflix. This is the first full length film of Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg.
I could see similarities between father and son in both the storyline (ordinary people buying infectious viruses that celebrities sell) and the filming style (camera focusing on the characters and a liking for obscure/grotesque).

But overall I found it very cold, it barely hold my attention for the whole duration.

ShoulderChip

I just watched Tree of life with my parents, and it reminded me what a good movie it is, everyone needs to watch it at some point!

ButtersSuki

Bad Neighbours as a favour to the OH who wanted to see it (i had my fears). Now some context before I diss it: I do like most of the Seth Rogen comedies, I have a MAJOR crush on Rose Byrne ever since I saw her in Damages and I tend to like goofball/gross out comedies when they're smart or funny or even just crass. This however was just awful. I laughed once

the airbag scene

in 90+ minutes. The whole thing is just lazy and criminally for a (so called) gross out comedy - safe. Byrne and Rogen are simply not credible as a couple, whilst Zac Efron (despite being good in Parkland) is wooden and completely one dimensional in this. That said, he's better than James Franco's little brother who I actually want to punch in the face he's so annoying (and I say this as someone who's never been in a fight). It's just lame and unfunny. And I discovered how much Rose Byrne's native Australian accent grates on me - if we're ever to get together Rose, you'll have to speak in an American accent - sorry. A very poor and very disappointing 3/10.

johnny_ultimate

Caught a handful of films at the Edinburgh Film Festival over the last week or so:

Still Life - classic Iranian film that's easy to admire but difficult to love. It's a deeply controlled, probing and stylistically accomplished film documenting the (still) lives of an elderly Russian level crossing controller and those around him. Academically, it's about as intensely social realist as one gets. But it's also incredibly slow by design and militantly mundane (some stunning shots aside), meaning it's not by any stretch a film you 'enjoy'.

Anatomy of a Paperclip - don't expect this in cinemas any time soon. Chanelling Lynch and Kurismaki, this is the surreal story of a Japanese paper clip bender (yup) whose dulling routine is interrupted by a series of unexpected events. The overall theme of escaping a dreary routine is interestingly articulated. There's some moments of enjoyable oddness and some very funny flights of fancy. Alas, they are but moments, and the film is ultimately hampered by the sense that the weirdness is all too manufactured and forced. Amateurish production values don't help. Different, but only rarely in a good way.

Life May Be - rich and beautiful 'correspondence' or epistolary film between Mark Cousins and exiled Iranian director Mania Akbari. Exchanging short films to and fro, the two reflect on all manner of subjects in a poetic and dynamic way: everything from the power of a long take to the shopping malls of Dubai to the power of good old nudity. Playing with form throughout, this is engaging and thought provoking cinema that, while in many ways dense, is also incredibly playful.

Intruders - solid South Korean thriller that takes a familiar set up (writer spending time in a remote cabin, encounters creepy locals) and has a bit of fun with it. Audience expectations are built up, but then twisted, all culminating in some slightly forced but entertaining third act revelations. Nothing particularly special, but ticks along nicely with enough twists to formula to keep everyone on their toes.

Au revoir l'ete - director Koji Fukada's follow up to the excellent and sadly barely known Hospitalite is a witty, subtle and consistently involving film about one girl's week at a seaside town with her aunt. Reminiscent of Eric Rohmer - especially Pauline on the Beach - the film is far more than just an imitation, benefiting from an impressively naturalistic script that successfully expands the story's perspectives, and is full of fascinating character moments and very funny moments. Grounding it all is another winning performance from Himizu's Fumi Nikaido: one of cinema's best young actresses, and surely due a stronger international reputation than she currently has. Ditto for director Fukada, who is one of the brightest hopes for a Japanese cinema scene crying out for more distinctive auteurs and voices. Given his fondness for more culturally diverse stories and characters fascinated by life outside Japan, he's in a better position than most to break out of the Japanese independent scene.

SVG

Drug War

So good. Maybe the best put-together film I've seen since Tinker Tailor. Complicated set-pieces just done so well. And Timmy is such a great character. There will be some competition for that role in the inevitable US remake.

PandyAndy

SVG wrote: »

Drug War

So good. Maybe the best put-together film I've seen since Tinker Tailor. Complicated set-pieces just done so well. And Timmy is such a great character. There will be some competition for that role in the inevitable US remake.

Just watched it after reading your post. Absolutely superb.

Snake Plisken

Under The Skin Wow finally caught this last night, having watched Birth and enjoying it (particularly the opening scene which looked wonderful), I had high hopes for this from the same director, Jonathan Glazer, and wow I wasn't disappointed!
Now if your coming to this thinking it's your standard Alien film say like species then your going to be disappointed, having watched it I could closely Nicolas Roeg and Stanley Kubrick to a lesser extent!
There is one sequence that freaked me out and couldn't get it out of my head when trying to sleep and most of today and that is

The beach scene, where the mother runs in to the stormy sea to save the dog and gets in trouble and then the father tries to save the mother, while leaving the baby on its own, a guy that Scarlett's alien wants to capture tries to save the husband but he runs back in to try to save the mother and drowns, the alien knocks the young guy out and drags him back to the van, the poor baby is now crying for his parents, but the alien just leaves him there, a couple of scenes later one of the male alien's comes back to the beach to collect the young guys belongings, its dark and he walks past the baby who has crawled down to near the waterfront and is crying and frightened and the alien just ignores him and leaves him there in the dark with the tide coming in, sorry for typing all this out but that scene has freaked me out!

So it's not a film for everybody, and it has divided audiences but it has made an impact on me and I'll probably pick it up on Blu-ray when it comes out next month! Kudos to Scarlett Johansson for what must have been a tough risky role for an A-List actress!
Creepy but effective soundtrack as well!

Harry Palmr

The International (2009) Dir Tom Tykwer with Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, plus some people I've not heard of.

Basically a feature length episode of Spooks with high finance rather than national security as the backdrop. Clive Owen does his hang-dog thing as well as he usually does, it's got no thematic heft with lots of standard issue observations about the nature of modern finance, "movie movie" dialogue and people doing things that that in real life they'd never do like walk towards a dodgy car that's clearly about to flee the scene. The shoot out in the "Guggenheim" art museum is well staged though you can see the CGI where deployed, which is a pity cos as the whole scene was filmed in a full scale replica you'd have thought they could have let rip.

oh yes first post, hi

Liam McPoyle

The Upper Footage

Another entry in the found footage stable. I will admit, I have a love hate relationship with the genre. There is the excellent like The Poughkeepsie Tapes, the decent like VHS and the downright bad like Megan is Missing, The Upper Footage falls somewhere between the latter two.

It starts with an intro about how the film came about which instantly grabbed me but unfortunately it didnt deliver on the early promise. It centres around the death of a young girl and the subsequent cover up attempt by the people she was with. Thats basically it. The first question I asked myself when watching it was "how the hell did all of this manage to get on tape" but in the movies defense, it does a pretty good job of making us accept it.

The acting I found quite good despite the obvious low budget, the stars are a thoroughly unlikable bunch of people and it does make one ask the question of what would you do in a similar situation.

I wont say anything more about it other than if you are expecting a bloody movie or Paranormal Activity type scares then dont bother. Its a passable character study with some good performances.

ButtersSuki

Bit late to the party on this one, but finally got to see Calvary. The best thing(s) I can say about it is Gleeson's performance is once again nothing short of brilliant and that the film reminded me of the natural beauty of the Sligo countryside. Like most of the films I watch I (as much as possible) avoided all reviews/write-ups but had heard this was both "amazing" and "utter ****e". I'd disagree with both extremes as it is better than average, and better than most Irish films IMO. The main problem I found is it's a bit al over the place and unsure of what it wants to be, it's not a comedy (not even a dark comedy) though I think a lot of people had been set up to believe it to be thus. The rest of the cast are hit and miss - I thought Dylan Moran (in particular), Chris O'Dowd and Kelly Reilly were good; but the rest served little purpose (the rent boy?) or were what I can only assume was acting the maggot (Aiden Gillen and whatever accent he was trying to pull off).

And of course the public pay phone on the side of the cliff was more than a little bizarre

.It just seems to want to do too much and tackle too many (relatively) taboo Irish themes at once; whereas a tightening of the script and a deeper focus on less subjects would have yielded a much better result.

Overall I enjoyed it and I'd give it a 6.5/10, but mostly for Gleeson's performance. I watched it with the other half (Nordie and CoI so a lot of the material would be alien to her) and she thought it was terrible for context! I'm sure the Sligo Tourist Board were happy with it though!

Bad Words. Jason Bateman vehicle about a 40 year old man who finds a loophole to enter children's spelling bee competition. Starts out like a gross out comedy, then goes a bit sickly sweet towards the end. Bateman does a good job as the a$$hole (with a few good lines) until it the movie turns, but just didn't push the envelope enough for me. Had potential, but overall is just average. 5/10.

nicklauski

20 Feet From Stardom
Finally got around to watching this documentary last night. I loved it. I actually got goosebumps at one point when Merry Clayton was talking about singing on The Rolling Stones "Gimmie Shelter"
She arrives to the studio, middle of the night, silk pyjamas, hair in rollers and says "They want someone to sing. I'm gonna sing"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqXyjbgs5rU

Well worth a watch for all music fans out there. Appearences from The Boss, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder and others.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Stories We Tell

Sarah Polley gets her family and a bunch of other people to recount the story of her mother's relationship with her father and her life, and death, in general.

I heard a lot about this documentary when it was doing the rounds last year but I have to say I was very disappointed. It was kind of pointless? She even kind of admits it towards the end that she has no idea what she was going to do with all the footage when she was done.

If you haven't seen it, I won't give away the "big secret" but it's hardly a huge reveal as they pretty much spell it out from the start.

The one interesting thing raised is how so many different people involved in the same thing can remember it completely differently and their memories are influenced by their relationship to the people involved, their own personal situations and their own feelings on the matter. Although this was an interesting idea it kind of negated the whole film because you're left with the realization that you've just been given 6 or 7 different people's versions of their own truth and are still non the wiser as to what actually happened. Not that the "real truth" would have been that interesting anyway.

The reviews and blurbs will have you believe that this is what the film is about but it's made fairly clear that this is something she stumbled on completely by accident while filming it so I'm not sure she deserves credit for it. Or maybe that's being harsh.

johnny_ultimate

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

The one interesting thing raised is how so many different people involved in the same thing can remember it completely differently and their memories are influenced by their relationship to the people involved, their own personal situations and their own feelings on the matter. Although this was an interesting idea it kind of negated the whole film because you're left with the realization that you've just been given 6 or 7 different people's versions of their own truth and are still non the wiser as to what actually happened. Not that the "real truth" would have been that interesting anyway.

The reviews and blurbs will have you believe that this is what the film is about but it's made fairly clear that this is something she stumbled on completely by accident while filming it so I'm not sure she deserves credit for it. Or maybe that's being harsh.

I think the point of the film is the uncertainty and the alternative perspectives It's about how we tell stories, and how any factual 'truth' can easily get lost and distorted in the process. It's kind of like a polite interrogation, trying to find some answers through some very different testimonies. Polley is quite playful too, inserting 'fake' Super 8 footage alongside the genuine stuff. I think ultimately she wants us to remind us that all stories and images should be engaged with with a critical eye - that they'll always be loaded with manipulations, biases, the very fragile nature of memory. But it's not a cynical film, it's also one that celebrates these personal perspectives and the way they can keep a story or memories of a person 'alive' in a vivid and interesting way. It is, basically, a film all about the unique joys and eccentricities of storytelling!

And sure most documentary makers have no idea what they'll end up with when they start. A general idea perhaps, but countless great documentaries have ended up in a significantly different place than the filmmaker could have ever intended. That sort of organic and dynamic emergence of themes and ideas should only be encouraged, as getting hung up on some preconceived idea of what you want will mean you could well miss the better stuff.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^ I guess I just found the story they were telling quite boring? The idea of truth and all that is fine but I wasn't that interested in their truth, if that makes sense.

johnny_ultimate

Spring in a Small Town - superb mid-century Chinese film from director Fei Mu. A simple story about one family and an old friend who shows up to rock their world, but told in a rich and rewarding way. There's a sense of melancholy and regret running through that really gives many of the minor and major events a really powerful punch. Although sometimes melodramatic, there's plenty of surprises, with the director choosing more modest, grounded revelations over Earth-shattering ones. There's even a smartly handled voiceover that adds immensely to the generally elegiac feel. It all ends on a poetic whisper rather than the big dramatic turning point it teases, and that's true of the film as a whole: these are down-to-earth characters and age-old story, but here there's true elegance in simplicity.

Crimson Gold - both artfully removed and emotionally potent, this is a very intriguing and engaging film from director Jafar Panahi and writer Abbas Kiarostami (what a team!). Kicking off with a stunning one take shot showing a badly fumbled jewelery story robbery, we're then shown the events leading up to the incident from the perspective of the perpetrator Hussein (Hossain Emadeddin). Hussein is an enigmatic yet credible figure - his frustrations are pent up, and his motivations clear despite his reserved, even frigid demeanor. But as one might expect given the two filmmakers involved, the character study is an excuse to explore bigger themes, particularly the class division of contemporary Iran. There's no clear villains or even heroes here - this is a nuanced film where the viewer is held in high esteem and there's little force feeding of themes or commentary. It's very matter-of-fact, but the events - almost a series of interconnected short films - have a lot to say about the reality of day-to-day living in Iran, and the unusual forms of oppression and prejudice facing different characters. Well worth your time.

Camille Claudel 1915 - Glacially paced and self-consciously mannered and serious, this is a difficult, sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding film from director Bruno Dumont. A superb Juliette Binoche captures the distress and troubled emotional state of the artist Claudel who is confined to a mental institution in WW1 France. The film is at its best when allowing Binoche's expressions alone tell the story, as she articulates Claudel's frustrations in a remarkable way. Ultimately it's a quietly angry film - angry about the cruel, unfair imprisonment of a truly creative spirit. Usually, the 'what happened next' text at the end of a film 'based on a true story' is little more than a curious explanatory note, rounding 'all the rest' up in a decidedly non-cinematic way. But here it's actually one of the film's most powerful moments - with Binoche's teary yet smiling face in the background, it's a startling punctuation mark. The film takes its time, sometimes to a fault, and Camille's brother feels less like a person and more a way to communicate some of Dumont's thematic concerns. But when Dumont focuses back on Binoche, those are the moments when the film really hits its marks.

ButtersSuki

Was on hols but took some stuff with me to catch up on/kill time. First up was Lone Survivor on Blu Ray which I liked way more than I thought I would. It's based on true events, but I'm not sure how closely they stick to the true story of a US Navy SEAL team stuck in Afghanistan and in need of extraction. That aside, it's quite enjoyable - if enjoyable is the right word. A surprisingly good Marky Mark Wahlberg film, with support from Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana (briefly) and Emile Hirsch. I'd give it a 7.5/10. There's some footage at the opening credits of the training the guys go through to become SEALs that is brutally tough, but gives a nice little snapshot into another world.

Killed some time in the cinema on the rainy days by watching A Million Ways To Die in the West and The Other Woman - neither were my choice btw! First up AMWTDitW - Now I like crude humour and thought I'd enjoy this, but I had 2 (small) laughs in 2 hours. It's just not that funny. McFarlane is really a one trick pony when it comes to his humour and maybe I'm just getting tired of it, but I was very disappointed with this effort. The only redeeming thing about the movie is Charlize Theron looking "mighty purdy". Overall though, a very poor 3/10.

The Other Woman was surprisingly good, Leslie Mann in particular delivers in this chick-flick comedy. I was pretty much dragged kicking and screaming into it but for my money anyway it was far more enjoyable and funnier than AMWTDitW. For what it is, a 6/10.

mikemac1

A Belfast Story

A ceasefire exists and the Republican bombers and gunmen have retired. However someone is killing them one by one and giving them a taste of their medicine, such as a nail bomber gets strapped to a nail bomb

You can guess the charecthers here, the politician with a shady past who wants to leave it behind and portray himself as a statesman, the minister who had an even more bloody past and admits it and then smuggler on the border, I suppose that's Slab Murphy

Colm Meaney is a detective near retirement and brought in to solve it. But then you have the law of the jungle and do the top brass even want this solved? They seem happy to sit back and watch.

The film got savaged by reviewers, a few 1/5 ratings out there. I thought it was decent if forgettable. Give it a watch, it's on Netflix

Harry Palmr

Earthquake (1974) and Johnny English Reborn (2011), what can say? Sorry?!

Shiraz 4.99

ButtersSuki wrote: »

The Other Woman was surprisingly good, Leslie Mann in particular delivers in this chick-flick comedy. I was pretty much dragged kicking and screaming into it but for my money anyway it was far more enjoyable and funnier than AMWTDitW. For what it is, a 6/10.

This was the wife's choice last night, I cringed as we put it on.
I don't think I stopped cringing the whole way through.

If you like Leslie Mann & her comedic overacting well this is for you.
Cameron Diaz has gotten very old looking.
Many of the Kate Upton scenes are slow motion montages overdubbed in music rather than us having to listen to her acting.

Jamie Lannister is just there as eye candy.

Overall, 3/10

Glebee

Sat down to watch Only God Forgives last night.
Sweet baby Jesus can any body tell me what that was all about.
It looked lovely but boy was it crap... 3/10 for me.

ButtersSuki

Shiraz 4.99 wrote: »

This was the wife's choice last night, I cringed as we put it on.
I don't think I stopped cringing the whole way through.

If you like Leslie Mann & her comedic overacting well this is for you.
Cameron Diaz has gotten very old looking.
Many of the Kate Upton scenes are slow motion montages overdubbed in music rather than us having to listen to her acting.

Jamie Lannister is just there as eye candy.

Overall, 3/10

I did say "for what it was" i.e. Chick flick rom com type thing (!) and trust me, after A Million Ways To Die in the West, it felt funny and fresh - if you can believe that?! Low benchmark I know but it's all relative and about context I guess when you're watching stuff like that.

I did comment on watching The Counsellor that Diaz is looking old and the same goes for this as you rightly point out but the missus suggested it's cosmetic work and perhaps some overuse of you know what that is leading to her looking as she does. She doesn't even look healthy anymore.

e_e

Glebee wrote: »

Sat down to watch Only God Forgives last night.
Sweet baby Jesus can any body tell me what that was all about.

What's not to get? Julian runs a boxing gym, his brother goes on a violent rampage triggering a war of attrition between the cops and the shady characters he deals with. Julian's mother then enters the picture which brings to light Julian's inner conflict of running away from his own violent past but now having to confront it head on.

Julian then offers to fight the head cop and as his mother is killed too realizes his powerlessness and the futility of his violent urges. The film ends with Julian realizing the damage he's done and so offers his hands as sacrifice (the clue's in the title here as to who the cop represents too).

I do think it's a much more straightforward film than some give credit for, even the surrealism is very light and reveals aspects of the characters motivations and backgrounds. Nothing here is weirdness for weirdness sake.

Bipolar Joe

Was Julian's relationship with his Mom a little bit incesty to any one else?

e_e

Yeah those scenes with his mother as well as his awkward behavior with Mei allude to him being abused as a kid.

Tony EH

e_e wrote: »

What's not to get? Julian runs a boxing gym, his brother goes on a violent rampage triggering a war of attrition between the cops and the shady characters he deals with. Julian's mother then enters the picture which brings to light Julian's inner conflict of running away from his own violent past but now having to confront it head on.

Julian then offers to fight the head cop and as his mother is killed too realizes his powerlessness and the futility of his violent urges. The film ends with Julian realizing the damage he's done and so offers his hands as sacrifice (the clue's in the title here as to who the cop represents too).

I do think it's a much more straightforward film than some give credit for, even the surrealism is very light and reveals aspects of the characters motivations and backgrounds. Nothing here is weirdness for weirdness sake.

It's a very straightforward film as far as I'm concerned. I don't understand the problems some people have with it.

If I'm honest, I probably prefer it to 'Drive'.

johnny_ultimate

Picnic at Hanging Rock - Some films leave room for interpretation, but few to the same degree as Peter Weir's eerie mystery about the disappearance of a group of Australian schoolgirls. There are few definite answers in a film that is so open-ended that every outlandish theory could probably be if not supported than at least difficult to contest - murder, alien abduction, supernatural happenings, colonial revenge, plain old kidnapping, everything in between. Weir (adapting Joan Lindsay's novel) cheekily creates a mood so uneasy and troubling that there's not really any single answer that could provide suitable closure - so thankfully none are provided.

Themes too are constantly suggested but rarely elaborated on. This could be cause for concern in a lesser work, but again the film's carefully crafted ambiguity makes it a unique experience that is likely to suggest very different things for every individual viewer. You could call it a portrait of repressed sexuality. A companion piece to Walkabout, another film fascinated by the natural, social and cultural conflicts that came to shape modern Australia. A biting satire of private education? Feminist commentary and subversion of the 'male gaze'? It's really a film that is frankly whatever you make it, and is constantly heading off in new directions and teasing fresh meanings.

If there's a problem with the film, it's that the film takes on a different tone after the incredible first forty minutes or so. Now the rest of the film is fascinating, with lots and lots to ponder and engage with. But there's something about the hypnotically strange atmosphere conjured up in the extended opening act. Maybe it's the ominous music or the hyperreal manner in which the girls communicate with each other. But maybe it's just the terror and wonder of the first encounter with the Hanging Rock itself - maybe it's just me, but the way it is framed suggests a landmark that is alive, angry 'faces' staring out from the rocks. It's part of the reason why I got the impression that no explanation for what happens would be too fantastical - Hanging Rock seems like another world entirely.

Bipolar Joe

e_e wrote: »

Yeah those scenes with his mother as well as his awkward behavior with Mei allude to him being abused as a kid.

Right, so, glad it's not just my imagination, because I was feeling dirty in a bad way.

Got a four movie set of action movies to add to my growing library of cheap buys.

Expect No Mercy (1995)
Special police man (Played by Billy Blanks) is hired to spy on a shady martial arts school, where the leader is teaching his students using high-tech virtual reality.

The special effects here are really of their time. You can tell they were really stretching the limits of their budget on some of the renders, which is why some things didn't really pan out too well, for example, having to hire Jalal Merhi. Where Blanks can clearly hold his own in an action sequence, Merhi's shots are filled with quick edits and dodgy angles. Blanks isn't the greatest actor in the world, but next to Merhi, Billy dude is Steve Buscemi. I can't stress enough how much I wish literally any one had been in the role instead.

The action wavers in quality a lot, depending on who the focus is on, but there is one amazing stand out shot during an explosion, with Merhi or his stunt-double escaping the blast, a real "WOAH!" moment.

The antagonist, Wolf Larson, is kind of neither here nor there. Badly scripted, but one scene of his in particular really steals the show, is quite intense, and you really believe he feels what he's saying.

Overall, an entertaining watch, if mostly for Blanks, who is really good at the cocky protagonist, and also a small part for Lazar Rockwood. Unfortunate casting for Merhi, but I was mostly happy with watching it. 5 / 10.