What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

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johnny_ultimate wrote: »

At Berkeley - Remarkable. An extended masterclass in documentary filmmaking. Over 244 minutes (and not a wasted moment) Frederick Wiseman brings us on an intimate and epic journey around Berkeley University. We sit in on lectures, sporting events, pep rallies, musical performances, tutorials, board meetings, protests, plays, campus construction work, poetry readings, social group gatherings and more besides. With each sequence given plenty of time to play out, it's an engrossing and varied selection of moments that captures the diversity of this huge campus and its staff, students, administration and faculty.

If it was just that it would be well worth the time investment. But Wiseman has carefully chosen to have a lot of rich thematic strands running throughout. It doesn't take long to realise that the filmmaker is endlessly curious about the economic and social conflicts, dynamics and hypocrisies of the school. The film might be set entirely in one campus, but it serves as an in-depth look at post-downturn America and how that's represented in this one university. While the act of filming and editing itself is an intervention of sorts, Wiseman miraculously manages to resist applying explicit editorial commentary here - there's no-one talking directly to camera, or any cheap music cues, but instead just a huge range of perspectives, talking points and contrasts. Everyone is given equal screentime, and the various conflicts that form the film's dramatic core are shown to be ones with no simple solutions.

There's only a handful of screenings in the IFI this week, but if you can make it do so - this is a documentary to completely immerse yourself in for four fascinating hours.

Watched this today, superb. You know a movie's worked on you when after 4 hours you still want to see more.

krudler

The Drop- James Gandolfini's last screen role and Tom Hardy on fine form again. Noomi Rapace is solid in a supporting role.
Isn't what I expected from the trailer, it's more of a slow burning character piece than a thriller or gangster film. I'd suggest not watching the trailer at all tbh it gives away a bunch of plot points.
I'd only seen a short clip and having two of my favourite actors and a script be the same guy who wrote Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island and Myster River was enough to sell me on it. I enjoyed it, not amazing or anything but a perfectly solid few hours in a cinema to be had.

charlie_says

The Arrival 1996

A sweaty (everyone is sweaty in this) Charlie Sheen hams it up big time as a paranoid scientist who has discovered a signal whilst working in a radio astronomy lab from outer space but also finds another one, for extra spookiness, replying from earth back to the same place. This was surprisingly well reviewed when it came out, yet is seems really badly dated now. Very mediocre in general.
Whilst the plot is an interesting concept in fairness, the cheesiness and truly atrocious sets and acting really let it down. Also makes for some laugh out loud moments with awful montages and the kid actor making a complete tit out himself. Might be worth seeing for the lulz factor only.

edit: Teri Polo who plays the supporting female character is a serious hollywood MILF though.

Tae Guk Gi: Brotherhood of War
2004

Korean War film. Fairly brutal and very violent story following two brothers in the South Korean army from the breakout of the Korean War after WWII. Has some excellent battle sequences in it that are visceral, exciting but truly antiwar in their delivery.

Maybe it was the subtitles that I got, or just the cultural and possibly generational difference but I felt that the characters development through the war - the main plot basically - was just all a little disjointed. The main acts in the film are fine in themselves, they just didn't seem to gel well together into a brilliant war movie. It's decent and has some pretty hard hitting scenes, especially towards the end. I really wish I could say that I loved it.

ButtersSuki

Greg Lemond: Slaying the Badger Absolutely fascinating insight into one of the world's greatest cyclists, his rivalry with team-mate Bernard Hinault, cycling when it was a much purer and innocent sport, and pro cycling pre-Armstrong; recorded from ITV4 recently. Made by the always excellent ESPN documentary crew (though not a 30 for 30 production) it's an excellent watch and a must watch for anyone into cycling or actually sport in general. Lemond remains a fascinating and articulate character - anyone who's heard him speak publicly or his many interviews that were broadcast on this side of the planet (via Newstalk's Off The Ball etc) should give this a watch. An easy 8/10.

Dempsey

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Greg Lemond: Slaying the Badger Absolutely fascinating insight into one of the world's greatest cyclists, his rivalry with team-mate Bernard Hinault, cycling when it was a much purer and innocent sport, and pro cycling pre-Armstrong; recorded from ITV4 recently. Made by the always excellent ESPN documentary crew (though not a 30 for 30 production) it's an excellent watch and a must watch for anyone into cycling or actually sport in general. Lemond remains a fascinating and articulate character - anyone who's heard him speak publicly or his many interviews that were broadcast on this side of the planet (via Newstalk's Off The Ball etc) should give this a watch. An easy 8/10.

LOL LOL LOL

Drugs didnt start and finish with Lance Armstrong. Dont be so naive. Drugs were rife in the era of Lemond and before him aswell.

ButtersSuki

Dempsey wrote: »

LOL LOL LOL

Drugs didnt start and finish with Lance Armstrong. Dont be so naive. Drugs were rife in the era of Lemond and before him aswell.

I'm far from naive on this subject matter I assure you. Did I mention drugs? No. I said pro-cycling pre-Armstrong. And my purer and innocent comments relate to the commerciality of the sport - from Bernard Tapie (him of Marseille FC) creating the La Vie Claire team of Superstars and the PR machine he generated to Hinault starting his own team etc.

johnny_ultimate

The Only Son - beautiful cinema. Ozu's first talkie, and up there with his best. Many of his familiar themes are there, but it's more than a rough draft - it's a moving, bittersweet and subtle tale of personal disappointments, modernisation, the generation gap, and more besides. The soundtrack on the existing print is in a bit of a rough state at points, but it detracts little from a master entering the world of sound with aplomb.

Cafe Lumiere - an interesting contrast with the above, Hou Hsiao-Hsien making a film identified as a homage to Yasujiro Ozu. In many ways, it updates many of the themes and styles of Ozu's work and updates them to contemporary Japan - there are trains, complex family dynamics, elegantly naturalistic cinematography etc... It's not simply an empty homage though, and there's as much of Hsiao-Hsien in the direction as there is Ozu, which makes for quite the dynamic between modern and classical sensibilities. Throughout there are some extremely powerful and affecting moments, and the themes are explored in a quietly intriguing manner throughout. But there were also times when I felt it was almost too unhurried and minimalistic - it is contemplative to both an admirable degree and to a fault.

Manuscripts Don't Burn - a film that is worthy of praise for its sheer bravery. Surreptitiously made by Mohammad Rasoulof (the film's most disquieting moment comes during the end credits when the names of the cast and crew are redacted for their safety) this is a film that doesn't tackle Iranian's censorship through careful metaphors or subtle subtext - it goes full-on with a narrative that explores the shocking and violent censorship campaign against a small group of Iranian writers and a manuscript some of them are in possession of. The film's sheer audacity is worthy of much applause and attention. But it's also a solid thriller and character study, with deeply moody and unsettling performances and camerwork. A tighter edit could have sharpened up some of the sequences, and there's a few odd chronological leaps that are ill-fitting, but it's also an engaging thriller and one of the better examples of an initially puzzling narrative slowly coming together. The third act particularly offers some very intense moments. Not as formally challenging as This is Not a Film, but shares its boldness.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Kisses

Two kids run away from their Dublin housing estate and their grim lives and go to Dublin City to escape.

I've been wanting to see this for years. No idea why I never got around to it but I picked it up for a fiver the other day and watched it tonight.

I thought it was brilliant, to be honest. I'm no expert but I loved it. The black and white slowly moving to colour then back again, the simple but effective story, the dialogue, the performances from the 2 kids especially the young girl playing Kylie. I laughed so much at some of her lines. It almost had a fairy tale feel to it, albeit a grubby inner city Dublin fairy tale.

Cokeistan

The raid 2 - brilliantly stylish action movie. Surprised at its relatively low budget, shows Hollywood up

Bipolar Joe

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Kisses

Two kids run away from their Dublin housing estate and their grim lives and go to Dublin City to escape.

I've been wanting to see this for years. No idea why I never got around to it but I picked it up for a fiver the other day and watched it tonight.

I thought it was brilliant, to be honest. I'm no expert but I loved it. The black and white slowly moving to colour then back again, the simple but effective story, the dialogue, the performances from the 2 kids especially the young girl playing Kylie. I laughed so much at some of her lines. It almost had a fairy tale feel to it, albeit a grubby inner city Dublin fairy tale.

I picked this up randomly about eight or so years ago, and loved it, too. Really well shot, and the subtle colouring is fantastic.

MJ23

Watched Riddick last night. Good movie.
Watching Surviving the Game here now (1994). Saw it when it came out. its a fairly decent movie. Ice T, Rutger Hauer and Gary Busey are in it. A good action movie about a homeless dude being hunted by a group of idiots with too much money and no sense.

krudler

Saw E.T. at a classic movies showing yesterday. Thankfully it was the original not the godawful 2002 special addition. It only dawned on me going in it might be the guns-free one but it was the nicely unaltered original, yay.

Arghus

Grand Piano- I watched this a couple of hours ago and I'm still deeply confused about whether this is a work of mad demented genius or complete claptrap.

The premise is so unbelievable that suspension of disbelief is impossible. That's better served for more realistic fare like The Expendables or Transformers. The question was not whether I was going to be able to buy it, but how would it approach things so that I didn't mind being dragged along with the flood of nonsense. The more traditional way to dish up something in this ball park would be to go all out- geysers of blood and orchestral instruments put to use in homicide. Instead, whilst you prime yourself for a grand guignol type of affair, the film goes down an unexpected path.
I'd nearly call it cerebral if wasn't, ultimately, totally stupid.

Instead of being goofily gory it tries instead to be formally daring. The central dilemma is so silly that to compensate we have a whole kitchen sink of visual trickery thrown at us throughout. It's debatable whether the film succeeds. It walks a fine line between winking at it's own preposterousness and then veering madly into overwrought seriousness. But I still have to give it a guarded thumbs up for it's originality. In other hands this could have been turned into a mere B movie bloodbath. Instead we get a odd, slightly cold film that's just off in a way that's hard to pin down.

Sugarlumps

The Canyons - With that wreck Lohan, probably watched 10 - 20 minutes, f/f the rest. No wonder no one will hire her, she really can't act.

ButtersSuki

Went for opposite ends of the artistic spectrum over the last few days.

At Berkeley, got to the penultimate screening last Thursday evening/night. I enjoyed it, but about half the audiences left before it ended. Now half is a relative term here as I'd say there were maybe 12-15 people in total at the screening. It was interesting to me as someone who works in academia (albeit on a part-time basis) but equally, I could understand how a movie like this could bore some people to tears. It is a bit self-indulgent with the run time, but if you're into documentaries, it is most definitely worth a look. Last screening is tomorrow night (Tuesday) if anyone else wants to go. 7/10

Goon with Seann William Scott Stiffler, Jay Baruchel and Live Schrieber (who btw I'm loving in Ray Donovan). Based on a true story of an ice hockey enforcer it's better than I expected, but nothing to go out of your way to see. Again, using a relative term here (!) it's probably Stiffler's best performance as far as "acting" goes. 6/10

Bipolar Joe

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Goon with Seann William Scott Stiffler, Jay Baruchel and Live Schrieber (who btw I'm loving in Ray Donovan). Based on a true story of an ice hockey enforcer it's better than I expected, but nothing to go out of your way to see. Again, using a relative term here (!) it's probably Stiffler's best performance as far as "acting" goes. 6/10

Watch Trainwreck: My Life As An Idoit. Scott's pretty good in front of the camera. I think he's just had some crappy roles in his youth.

ButtersSuki

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Watch Trainwreck: My Life As An Idoit. Scott's pretty good in front of the camera. I think he's just had some crappy roles in his youth.

I was at Conan O'Brien a few years ago in NY. SWS was one of the guests. He was very funny, and very self-deprecating and humble. He says everywhere he goes people always shout "Stiffler" at him from across the street and fist pump and stuff, as well as saying "I banged your mom" etc. He talked about the Stiffler role and said at one point that he realizes pretty much no matter what he does for the rest of his acting career he'll always be Stiffler. He said he could win 2 Best Actor Awards and he'll still be Stiffler. He seems to have accepted it anyway!

tunguska

The descendants

I saw this when it came out(2011) and thought it was good. It was the type of film that stayed with me though and a few weeks after I'd actually seen it I started to think it was a lot better than I had originally thought.......
So I decided to give it another whirl last night and I have to say this is a great movie. I dont know what it is exactly, it could be the great acting by everybody, it could be the music, the photography(Hawaii looks amazing) or it could be the tight dialogue.......or it could be the the whole thing. All I know is I think is a top class movie, the kind that gets better with repeated viewings.

johnny_ultimate

ButtersSuki wrote: »

At Berkeley, got to the penultimate screening last Thursday evening/night. I enjoyed it, but about half the audiences left before it ended. Now half is a relative term here as I'd say there were maybe 12-15 people in total at the screening. It was interesting to me as someone who works in academia (albeit on a part-time basis) but equally, I could understand how a movie like this could bore some people to tears. It is a bit self-indulgent with the run time, but if you're into documentaries, it is most definitely worth a look. Last screening is tomorrow night (Tuesday) if anyone else wants to go. 7/10

Couple of walkouts at the screening I was at too - would have thought people would know what they're letting themselves in for with a four hour long documentary about a university and prepare accordingly :pac: Nothing compared to the walkouts at A Spell To Ward off the Darkness though, and most of them were professional (or at least enthusiastic amateur) critics

Anyway...

Human Capital - a nice surprise from Italy. The story is relatively conventional and its structure has been done before (a story told from three different perspectives, with more info revealed each time). But thanks to sharp writing / editing / direction and in particular the stellar efforts of its cast this is a thoroughly engrossing tale of the human repercussions of financial risk-taking and economic collapse. The characterisation is excellent, and all the protagonists (and support) are interesting without necessarily being wholly likeable - which is a good thing, as it allows for more three-dimensional characters to emerge. Compelling throughout.

Touchy Feely - I'm not going to say this has been misunderstood, because that's condescending to the people who disliked it and no-one is going to be mistaking it for a great film. But Lynn Shelton's film has enough going for it to be worth a gander. Like Human Capital, the cast helps - Scoot McNairy, Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ellen Page and Josh Pais. But there's a nicely melancholic, subdued twang to proceedings as Shelton explores her characters all facing various crises of intimacy. The none-too-subtle fantastical metaphor at the centre - one sibling gains a 'magic touch' that seems to heal people, while another becomes repulsed by human contact - is kept unexplained and relatively sparingly employed to push the characters where they need to go. Sadly, an all-too-neat coda is ill-fitting, considering many of the third act sequences are much more powerful, poetic and ambiguous. A total happy ending seems surplus to requirements in a film that had previously committed to a more nuanced and subtle study of relationships.

Museum Hours - Beautiful ruminations on life and art from Jem Cohen, set largely in the hallways of Vienna art museum. A museum guard meets a Canadian woman over to keep an ill relative company, and the two spend some time together. But it's more complex than a Lost in Translation romance, and 'friendship' would even be a push. Instead, it's an opportunity for Cohen to follow many delightful tangents, ones that look inquisitively at the paintings lining the gallery walls and wonder what they do and do not articulate. It's a film about both the limitations and brilliance of art, and it's all explored via a dreamily sedate mood and pace.

Harry Palmr

Troll Hunter (2010) Norwegian POV/found footage drama as a trio of media students hook up with a hunter of Trolls. Drily amusing but also gripping fun with some well handled special effects and one or two dodgy one thrown in (esp the bridge/bucket head armour scene).

Super (2010) bleak comedy/drama about a down beat loser who decides to become a DIY superhero to take back the streets, fight scum, queue jumpers and to get his girl back from villainous scum bag Kevin Bacon. The tone is fine up to the climax and ending when it sort of loses its bearings, the writer seems to be having it both ways.

Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page (as his sidekick) are excellent esp the later who takes to her new guilt free life with a rare abandon.

Fysh

In Order Of Disappearance - a pretty good black comedy/revenge film. It's a joint Norwegian/Danish/Swedish production and is similar in tone to Headhunters. Nils, the protagonist, discovers that his son's death was not the result of a drug overdose but instead down to Foul Play and sets out to track down the men responsible. So far, so familiar and predictable - but instead of po-faced seriousness the tone is darkly farce, and it works very well.

pixelburp

Boxtrolls (2014)
I'm somewhat surprised there wasn't a proper thread for this, given Laika studios' output tends to attract as many grown-ups as it does children, what with their imaginative, often dark tales; it also continues their love of crafting stories about outcasts and the different, those who mightn't be considered traditional heroes.

Sure, it eventually dovetailed into a borderline heavy-handed message about how everyone can be heroes and we shouldn't judge on external appearances, etc. etc., but unlike something dripping with commercial shallowness behind that kinda of message - I'm looking at you, Shrek - Boxtrolls had a grimy heart that made the lesson a little more earned and genuine.

It's also a very funny movies in places, with some great little asides that only he adults will get If you liked Coraline and Paranorman (and if you've seen neither, then rectify this please) you should like this.

Tony EH

'A Boy and His Dog'

Harlan Ellison's short story brought to life on film, sees a pre-80's pastel suited, Don Johnson star as Vic (Albert) who is accompanied by his faithful and somewhat grumpy telepathic (and former 'Brady Bunch') dog Blood, as he helps procure females for Vic to rape in return for food. Eventually Vic comes across a female that leads him to "Downunder", a bizarre place that has some surprises in store for him.

Set in a (now alternative timeline) post-apocalyptic "future" (actually only 10 years from now), L.Q. Jones' take on Ellison's story is quite faithful and doesn't pull any punches in it's portrayal of an unforgiving landscape populated by appalling characters, including the lead. There are no heroes here.

The central characters of Vic and Blood are unsavory, yet interesting portals through which the viewer looks at a grim life, in which people exist by being uncompromising and vile.

'A Boy and His Dog' is now highly regarded in many places, but was pretty much panned on its release. It's easy to see why. Although the idea of an anti-hero certainly wasn't new by 1975, Vic is an anti-hero the viewer can't even root for, leaving Blood as the only connective option, which he fulfills to some degree. But, a film doesn't have to have a hero to admire in order to be entertaining, which 'A Boy and His Dog' is.

The story is fast paced, straightforward, doesn't outlive its running time and leads to an ending which may surprise a few. It is, however, let down a bit by budget constraints and a certain 70's look, especially in the "Downunder" sequences which, in fairness, don't really work all that well. The film is clearly at its best when focusing in Vic and Blood operating in the post apocalyptic Mojave.

Any fans of the 'Fallout' video game series should check it out, to see where the inspiration came from.


6/10

A seriously WTF trailer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu9fESAlGc4

Harry Palmr

If I'd been chewing popcorn during the coming attractions in 1975 I'd have gone to see that!

johnny_ultimate

The Gang's All Here - a film of two halves.

The first is a rambling, ramshackle Hollywood romance. With a mixed bag of performances, injections of screwball humour, and a near complete lack of dramatic tension, it's mildly enjoyable it rarely any more than 'mildly'. Released in 1943, there's also a propaganda element - if the mechanisms of the plot don't remind you to invest in war bonds, then the ad on 'the end' title sure will.

But then there's the other half. Director / choreographer / lunatic Busby Berekely indulges his wildest Technicolour impulses, resulting in several of the most audaciously vibrant and jaw-dropping musical sequences, or in fact sequences of any kind, in cinema history. It starts off innocently enough, with some relatively grounded but still giddily indulgent performances from the likes of Benny Goodman. Things take a turn for the transcendent with a mid-film setpiece that has dozens of chorus girls wield giant bananas while a lead sings a song about her Tutti Frutti hat that's as absurd as it sounds, and totally knows it. The camera swoops and dives during disquietingly extravagant crane shots, that at times seem near impossible. The editing starts to loop and subvert itself, resulting in a rythym that dynamically displaces the viewer. The visuals, full of incredibly clever angle choices and immensely satisfying cinematography, meanwhile reach a delightful fever pitch, and the final image of the sequence is unforgettable.

But then there's the ending - a ten minute cluster**** of studio-backed indulgence that keeps expanding on itself in ever more surreal ways. Berkeley has at this point abandoned all pretenses of trying to wrap up the dull narrative (it disappears into an ether of nothingness), and instead opts to conclude with a delirious dance almost totally divorced from reality and story. At one point, he predates Tron's neon signature by several decades with a luminous setpiece built around glowing hula hoops. Again, the camera elaborately ducks and dives with childlike enthusiasm. By the end, Berekely has conceded to total abstraction. The films collapses into a two or three minute assault of kaleidoscopic visuals and disembodied heads, more comparable to Kubrick than Singin' in the Rain. It's as terrifying in its earnestness as it is wonderful, and it's one hell of a sight to behold. Now I know what Stephin Merritt meant about those Busby Berekely Dreams.

Charlie19

Angriest man in Brooklyn

It was good story but I couldn't stop thinking how the story kind of related to Williams life and what he was going through at the time of filming.

One of his last lines was "My tombstone will read 1951 - 2014"

While it did have a few laughs, I'll remember it to being a very sad movie.

Liam McPoyle

The Guest

Read alot of positive reviews of this one aswell as some not so positive ones, I fall somewhere in the middle, thought it was good but not great.

I enjoyed the story and will be massively surprised if we dont see a sequel or prequel within the next 2 years. The lead I thought was excellent, David's icy cold stare when you didnt quite know what was going to happen next

like the scene in the school corridor with Luke after the meeting with the principal.

or the way

he made decisions like killing yer wan in the diner

really amused me. Some darkly funny moments in it.

Its not a movie I would ever buy on dvd but Id watch it again if it was on tv.

6.5/10

End of Watch

Saw it in the cinema and enjoyed it, watched it again last night and enjoyed it more. A relatively straight forward buddy cop movie elevated by the on screen chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Pena, a snappy script, cool sound track and a part documentary feel to it. Felt it was very reminiscent of The Shield. Very enjoyable and at times moving film.

8/10

ButtersSuki

Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger Very interesting documentary on the infamous James "Whitey Bulger, the man who ran a criminal empire from South Boston and then went on the run for 18 years prior to his capture and trial. The documentary makers have incredible access to the defense team in particular, but the most interesting scrutiny is perhaps that which they place on the prosecutors and the the obvious wholesale corruption that clearly existed at one time in the New England Police Dept. and the local FBI branch. If you like documentaries and/or crime stories, this is definitely worth watching. Also interesting to see regular Newstalk contributor Kevin Cullen being interviewed and putting a face to the name. 7/10.

22 Jump Street Didn't go to see this at the cinema for some reason - probably because I feared it would be a let down - and glad now in hindsight that I didn't. The funniest part was the end credits.It's just too forced and too cliched. And yes I know it's poking fun at itself and the characters a lot but it's clearly just and exercise in milking the fan base of their cash. 3/10


My copy of Nymphomaniac I and II arrived yesterday from amazon. I hope to watch it this week, should be "interesting". lol.

Judgement Day

During my recent enforced absence from Boards I caught up with my movie watching - many strange offerings on YouTube including the singularly unscary "Day of the Triffids" (2009 BBC mini-series) - so bad that I won't even purchase a copy for my almost complete Triffid collection. 3/10

Last night I returned to my real interest - Irish movies - and to a hard found VHS copy of "High Boot Benny" (1994)

When a police informer is found murdered on the property of a small school dedicated to desegregated education on the southern side of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, the school’s directors – a Protestant matron (Frances Tomelty) and an ex-priest (Alan Devlin) – become suspects. Also implicated is Benny (Marc O’Shea), a seventeen year-old delinquent who has found refuge at the school only to get caught up in the maze of conflict created by the mix of politics and religion.

It's all here in this very strange film set in Donegal against the background of the Troubles - terrorism, collusion, murder, tar and feathering, religion and sex. Sadly, after buying a new VHS player for the occasion I was badly let down by the film. Quite bizarre is the best way of describing it and I won't be adding it to my collection - watch out for it on Adverts.ie but it won't be cheap!

2/10 and that's for the weird location in which the movie takes place.

High boot Benny stung me about 15 years ago too. All I can remember is a tar and feathering at some point!