What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

Looper007

Decuc500 wrote: »

Prisoners

I thought this was a gripping movie. The cinematography was beautiful and gave it an ominous feel and the performances were intense. It wasn’t afraid to go to some dark places.
Reminded me of David Fincher’s Zodiac or Gone Girl.

A very underrated movie for me, although a tad overlong. Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant as the cop on the hunt, Jackman is great as the father of the missing child and some great supporting cast. It's a pretty bleak film in places but for me its Gyllenhaal who steals the show. You would have thought it was directed by Fincher, its very much a Fincher influenced film. I loved that

The kidnapper was the old Aunt or mother of Paul Dano's character, that scene when Jackman goes to her house in the end is really gripping

shazzerman

Gone Girl. I thought it was really poor, perhaps because of a mediocre screenplay (such boring dialogue and lame characterisations). Fincher didn't seem to connect with this material at all, regardless of his interviews suggesting the whole thing should be taken as a black comedy. Fail to see anything special in Pike's performance - Carrie Coon was better as the sister. Affleck just reads his lines.

Goldstein

Taken 3
It was terrible - as in, one of the worst movies I've watched in the last two years. Sharknado bad only without any of the humour. Anyone reading this could have made a better film. Hell, that last sentence is already a better film. I can only surmise that when they were trying to edit it into something coherent the editor suffered a number of epileptic fits at the computer which explains the cutcutcutcutcutcut-shakeycam-cutcutcutcutcutcut noobatography. It was so hard to watch at times I had to look away from the screen as it was annoying my eyes. How anyone in their right mind signed off on that screenplay is a testament to how little sequels have to do these days living purely off the name of the original. I wasn't even cross after watching such a poor film, instead I was in awe of just how atrocious it was. Out of 5 stars I'd give it about 3.5 supermassive black holes.

Del.Monte

"Route Irish" (2010) on Netflix. Directed by Ken Loach.



Story of two childhood friends, ex.British army squaddies, who work for a private security contractor in Iraq. When one of them is killed in suspicious circumstances the other is determined to find out what really happened. Atmospheric thriller but the Route Irish referred to is a road and there's no Irish connection with the movie. 7/10

Arghus

Del.Monte wrote: »

"The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973) on Netflix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WtR-mi6VtU

Robert Mitchum cuts a sad figure as a small time crook facing a prison sentence who tries to play both sides of the fence. Making money by selling small arms to other gangsters while informing on them at the same time in an attempt to stay out of jail. Superb, as you would expect with anything involving Robert Mitchum. 10/10

Fantastic movie, one of the best of that gritty and tough era. The atmosphere alone of it has always stuck in my mind. Amazingly little seen or even heard about, it's always a distant echo in those conversations about the great crime movies.

Pierce_1991

Chinatown(1974)

Really good performances from Nicholson and Dunaway in a very intriguing crime drama from Roman Polanski. I generally really like Polanski's films and this was no different although it could have been maybe 15 minutes shorter. Very interesting ending, I have a feeling I'll be thinking about it a lot over the coming days. 8/10

Arghus

Black Sea- Character actors chewing rivets and spluttering salt water in cramped confines.

I thought I'd have a bit of that action. I'd seen the trailer which made it look like it had the makings of a murky blast.Sadly, I found it a disappointment. If you're a submarine movie completeist and can't take another viewing of The Life Aquatic or Das Boot without feeling like you yourself have a case of the bends, then by all means give this a watch. You may find yourself getting more out of it then I did. For everyone else I can't recommend it, it isn't a particularly thrilling thriller. Even though the characters are risking life and limb and death is always fairly close by, the stakes never feel too real and the peril never becomes intensely real. Even at the bottom of an ocean trench there's the feeling we've been here before. And with more atmospheric pressure.

The plot holes are strong with this one too, too many implausible events and the whole plot has a written on the back of an envelope quality about it. I'm about as commited a landlubber as they come but even I was questioning the wisdom of some of the decisions made by these supposed men of the sea.

Maybe money troubles were at the cause of some of the films ailments. The sub feels less like a hulking mass of machine, more just like a really wet set. There's a feeling that there was a lot of script that never saw the light of day. That would perhaps explain some the haphazard and lazy quality of the plotting at the later stages of the movie.

The bottom line is when Jude Laws distractingly dodgy Scottish accent isn't the thing that puts you off the most about a film, well then you've got some fundamental issues here.

Harry Palmr

Nice to see Eddie Coyle get a nod. Another of that generation of films that TV has forgotten about. Want to see Pelham 1-2-3 you can if the remake is what you crave, fancy Fright Night? Well watch the remake and so on.

Anyway just watched the story of Terri Hooley in Good Vibrations, nicely done, its probably no nearer the truth than any artful fairy tale but it got good "vibe" and funny hair. Seriously, Adrian Dunbar no one bought in to that wig!

Turtyturd

The Skeleton Twins:. Two twins unknowingly attempt suicide on the same day which leads to them reconnecting.

Really enjoyed this, although I have a soft spot for the whole alienated individual leaves home - has to come back home - faces reasons they left - either find a reason to stay or remember why they left arc, and of films where not a lot actually happens and the relationships are the focal point.

Also really good performance from Bill Hader.

MagicMarker

I watched "All This Mayhem" after reading about it here. Man, what a couple of

scumbags

.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Lore
Interesting film from Germany (and Australia, technically) about a young German girl, daughter of a high ranking officer, and her attempts to get her siblings safely to their Grandmother's house in the days after Hitler's death and the end of the war. Raised entirely in the Nazi belief system the children believe the Americans are the bad guys and are unaware the war is over and Hitler is dead. Lore knows this but struggles to accept this and the news of the concentration camps filtering through to the German public. They meet another refugee on the road who tries to help them and it brings Lore's entire belief system crashing down around her.

It's on okay film, it's a different point of view for a war film. German children brought up that way and why would they question it? Particularly the children of officers and the likes who would have been living pretty comfortable lives all through the war. One of the little boys is confused as to why a roof would be camouflaged oblivious to the fact Germany has been getting bombed to bits. Some of it's a little "on the nose" if that's the right expression? Maybe that's the translation for the subtitles losing some subtlety or maybe the script could have done with a polish before shooting? It's a nice looking film but it does sometimes waver towards being a bit too arty at times.

Has anyone else seen this because I have a question.

I know the papers Thomas had weren't his but was he still really a Jew? There was the brief shot of the number on his arm and he seemed to know a lot about the camps and what was going on, a lot more than the rest of the Germans we saw seemed to know?

Tony EH

I haven't seen the film, but Jews weren't the only ones in concentration camps. He could have been a German?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Tony EH wrote: »

I haven't seen the film, but Jews weren't the only ones in concentration camps. He could have been a German?

I hadn't thought of that.

He did know what the Polish refugees in the woods were saying so it's possible he was Polish...

Sad Professor

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Lore
Has anyone else seen this because I have a question.

I know the papers Thomas had weren't his but was he still really a Jew? There was the brief shot of the number on his arm and he seemed to know a lot about the camps and what was going on, a lot more than the rest of the Germans we saw seemed to know?

The tattoo suggests he was in a concentration camp though that doesn’t necessarily make him a Jew, the Nazi definition of which was pretty flexible anyway. He also could have been an SS soldier who worked in the camps and faked the tattoo along with the papers in order to survive the invading armies. Who knows.

I think the ambiguity about him is the point. In the end Lore isn’t sure about him either. She initially hates him because she believes he's a Jew. Then as she learns the truth about her father’s work, she starts to question that prejudice while finding herself drawn to him. Then she learns he was lying as well. The film is all about moral dislocation.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Sad Professor wrote: »

The tattoo suggests he was in a concentration camp though that doesn’t necessarily make him a Jew, the Nazi definition of which was pretty flexible anyway. He also could have been an SS soldier who worked in the camps and faked the tattoo along with the papers in order to survive the invading armies. Who knows.

I think the ambiguity about him is the point. In the end Lore isn’t sure about him either. She initially hates him because she believes he's a Jew. Then as she learns the truth about her father’s work, she starts to question that prejudice while finding herself drawn to him. Then she learns he was lying as well. The film is all about moral dislocation.

Ahhhhhh.... I see.

I suppose the question I should have asked was if he really had been in one of the camps, although, as you say, he may have been at a camp but in what capacity? He didn't seem overly keen to face the soldiers without any papers too which makes you wonder.

Oh, the other question I had was what was with the black stuff in the water at that old ladies house? Was she dying all her clothes.... wait...

it's just occurred to me she was mourning Hitler?

briany

The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

A documentary film crew is invited to the home of an early stage Alzheimer's sufferer to document the progression of the disease. Strange events begin to occur.

A found footage film that hits a lot of cliches. A decent atmosphere is established to begin with but it gets a bit ridiculous towards the end, and pretty much every jump scare can be predicted.

Del.Monte

I'm not a connoisseur of foreign films, but since taking out a Netflix subscription that's beginning to change. Of course I've watched and enjoyed the occasional TV series or movie such as "Das Boot" but not a lot else. During the last week I've watched two excellent crime movies from Sweden both with Rolf Lassgård in the lead role and I can't recommend them strongly enough.



The first was "The Hunters" (1996) in which Lassgard plays the big city policeman returning to his hometown. The unlikely subject of Reindeer poaching forms the backdrop to the film but this is no wildlife movie and murder is afoot in the peaceful community. 10/10



The second was "False Trail" (2011) with Lassgard reprising his role of the Stockholm policeman who returns to his rural roots to solve a murder case. 10/10

Both films have English subtitles - barely necessary - as the plots are easy to follow and there's something very soothing about the Swedish language.

jester77

A girl walks home alone at night

Really enjoyed this, shooting it in black and white really added to the mood, and the soundtrack, wow. One of the most enjoyable I've heard in a very long time.

skankles

Man Bites Dog. Watched it 20 years ago blew my mind...watched it again recently still stands the test of time IMO.

Del.Monte

Del.Monte wrote: »

I'm not a connoisseur of foreign films, but since taking out a Netflix subscription that's beginning to change. Of course I've watched and enjoyed the occasional TV series or movie such as "Das Boot" but not a lot else. During the last week I've watched two excellent crime movies from Sweden both with Rolf Lassgård in the lead role and I can't recommend them strongly enough.



The first was "The Hunters" (1996) in which Lassgard plays the big city policeman returning to his hometown. The unlikely subject of Reindeer poaching forms the backdrop to the film but this is no wildlife movie and murder is afoot in the peaceful community. 10/10



The second was "False Trail" (2011) with Lassgard reprising his role of the Stockholm policeman who returns to his rural roots to solve a murder case. 10/10

Both films have English subtitles - barely necessary - as the plots are easy to follow and there's something very soothing about the Swedish language.

"From the distributor of" lol, never heard that one before. I guess they laud their distributors in Sweden :pac:

Schadenfreudia

Winchester '73 (1950)

I remember seeing this as a child and thinking it was wonderful bang-bang- stuff; there is a scene where the "heroes" are being attacked by (American) Indians - from a 2015 viewpoint it is truly terrible!

Looks more like a few kids playing cowboys and indians than a real battle scenic. Indians dropping with a bloodless soft flop and walking whooping straight into the guns.

(If only modern ISIS used those tactics!)

An interesting storyline - but I guess it's one of those films that created those Western clichés that now seem so....clichéd.

James Stuart plays...eh....Jimmy Stewart.

FaulknersFav

Watched a Spanish movie last night called La isla mínima (Marshland) 2014. It's about two cops hunting a serial killer. Same kind of vibe as True Detectives, two very different people working together. It's a good movie, even if the ending was a little lacking.

FaulknersFav

And Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) over the weekend too. This was fantastic. It's an Argentinian movie made up of 6 short stories all full of violence and revenge. If the short stories sounds a little pretentious or off putting they shouldn't. I found it to be like a combination of Woody Allen and Tarantino, which is about as crazy a mix as this movie is. It's hilarious and outrageous but also carries a punch in terms of it's message regarding the human condition.

The Black Oil

Still Alice

Generally, this is a very well-observed film. It wastes no time in bringing you straight into Alice's (Julianne Moore) world. At first, she forgets a word here and there. She looses sense of where she is whilst running. You feel her catching her breath and her spatial confusion. The initial part of the medical appointments are strictly told from her side of the desk. Over time, things deteriorate. Her work performance (professor) declines, as does her capacity for ordinary tasks such as remembering where the bathroom is. At times it's a very tactile film, it has to be. The use of blurred imagery is important. Her husband is ambitious, yet it's the relationship with the youngest daughter that's key. Moore's performance is excellent, as the Alzheimer's escalates, so does Alice's disconnect from what's happening. Kirsten Stewart deserves some praise too. The only real part that didn't work for me was when she and her husband who disclosed to her adult children. However, I thought it recovered from this with the computer recording scene. The film is for the most part unsentimental (one or two exceptions) and doesn't push your emotional buttons the way Hollywood often tends to.

Sad Professor

Still Alice just didn’t work for me. What should have been an ensemble plays like a vehicle for Moore. I think a more Tokyo Story-esque narrative would have worked better. A drama about familial obligation and loss of identity that wasn’t afraid to deal with some of the uncomfortable issues the film only touches on. Instead it’s a big issue film about Alzheimer's with emotional speeches, etc. It’s undeniably well-intentioned and powerful in places, but as a film it's terribly undercooked.

The Black Oil

It's awards friendly, for sure. On watching, I felt it didn't work on all levels, the disclosure scene I found a bit distracting, tbh.

Perhaps more The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would have made it stronger.

massy086

rich hill
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2548738/
very sad doc. but i have to say i really enjoyed it m.makes you think
https://youtu.be/VjinPRE0bxw

Sad Professor

The Black Oil wrote: »

It's awards friendly, for sure. On watching, I felt it didn't work on all levels, the disclosure scene I found a bit distracting, tbh.

Perhaps more The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would have made it stronger.

I think trying to take the audience inside the character’s world is a flawed approach with an identity-destroying disorder like Alzheimer’s. How do bring an audience inside the head of somebody who can’t recognise their own daughter anymore? There’s a reason why Alzheimer’s is generally the domain of sappy romances. It’s a difficult thing to really depict except from a loved one's perspective. Hence why I think the film should have been an ensemble about the effects of the illness on the whole family, not just her. As it stands, with Moore in almost every scene and the film’s attempts to capture her feelings of embarrassment at her condition and fear of being a burden, we don’t get much sense of the rest of the family.

Looper007

The Black Oil wrote: »

It's awards friendly, for sure. On watching, I felt it didn't work on all levels, the disclosure scene I found a bit distracting, tbh.

Perhaps more The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would have made it stronger.

That's a film that slipped under the radar a little hasn't It over the past few years, very honest and doesn't hold back from the illness and isn't afraid to show a more human side to the lead character (he comes off very selfish especially towards his wife). Great performance from Mathieu Amalric (to think Johnny Depp was touted as favourite for the role, thank god that didn't happen) and the scenes with his father (played by max von sydow) are very touching. Some stunning photography especially the scenes of Jean-Dominique Bauby's dreams. Still the best thing Julian Schnabel done.

I loved Julian Schnabel bio pic on his friend Jean-Michel Basquiat called Basquiat (1996), with a great central performance from Jeffrey Wright with a cast to die for Gary Oldman (playing Schnabel himself), David Bowie as Andy Warhol with Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, William Dafoe, Sam Rockwell and Benicio Del Toro. Not a film without faults but still a very underrated film in my view.

Another great one he did was Before Night Falls with top notch performance from Javier Bardem (its really the film that broke him in Hollywood as he got a Oscar nod for best actor) as the life and writings of brilliant Cuban author and exile Reinaldo Arenas. It spans the whole of Arenas' life, from his rural childhood and his early embrace of the Revolution to the persecution he would later experience as a writer and homosexual in Castro's Cuba. Bardem looks totally different as he lost of ton of weight but he gives probably his best performance as Arenas. You get the big cameos from Johnny Depp and Sean Penn. But this is Bardems film.

johnny_ultimate

Certainly wouldn't say Diving Bell slipped under the radar! Was a major breakthrough hit at release. Hasn't the IFI said it was the single biggest box office success there ever?

Was refreshing to see such a bold, experimental film achieve that level of success: an accessible story but a formally adventurous one. Such crossover hits sadly remain a rarity, and 'true stories' that tackle their subject matter with such visual ingenuity are infinitely preferable to bog standard prestige fare and 'actors' films'. Great performances need to be served by equally great direction.