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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,863 ✭✭✭mikhail


    fisgon wrote: »
    The Fountain – Aronofsky – 2006
    Visually striking, an exploration of obsession and grief. Two parallel stories, one a mirror of the other gives the film a clever, imaginative beginning, but it loses its way a little as it goes on. Towards the end it gets repetitive and even pretty silly; the tree of life turns out to be a sperm-tree! Also, the monk – what was that about? Two and a half.
    
    I love its score, especially this piece:

    fisgon wrote: »
    Audition – Miike – 1999
    It all kicks off in the last 20. Up to then it is an intriguing watch with elements of thriller, romance, family drama. To me, the ending ruins it a little; not enough is explained and it goes for shock over subtlety. Still, a unique, troubling experience. If she seems too good to be true, she probably is :-)
    
    That's one messed up movie. Worth a look if you're not too squeamish though.

    BTW, am I the only one who sees broken icons on all of fisgon's posts?


  • Registered Users Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bozo Skeleton


    Personally, I thought Audition was marvellous when I saw it. It's not for the faint hearted! I loved that for the first, I dunno, 40, 45 minutes, maybe more? It plays out like some kind of dumb rom com, but boy does it pivot.


  • Registered Users Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bozo Skeleton


    mikhail wrote: »
    I love its score, especially this piece:



    Ahh. Haven't seen The Fountain yet. Didn't know Clint Mansell did the music for it. He also scored Requiem For A Dream, as yiz probably know, and was in Pop Will Eat Itself, a band I liked back in the day :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,875 ✭✭✭Irish Aris


    +1 on The Fountain soundtrack: Clint Mansell, Kronos Quartet and Mogwai. One of my favourite film soundtracks of all time


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    mikhail wrote: »

    BTW, am I the only one who sees broken icons on all of fisgon's posts?

    I am trying to put stars with each review, but they just come out as boxes - is that what you mean? It is supposed to be an out-of-five star system. Maybe I'll just start putting smiley faces..:):):)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,863 ✭✭✭mikhail


    fisgon wrote: »
    I am trying to put stars with each review, but they just come out as boxes - is that what you mean? It is supposed to be an out-of-five star system. Maybe I'll just start putting smiley faces..:):):)
    That'll work.

    Or you could use something like emojipedia: https://emojipedia.org/star/ (Just hit the copy button and you'll have something in unicode you can paste here.)
    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 16,090 Mod ✭✭✭✭adrian522


    Tie me Up! Tie me Down!

    For some reason the Spanish translation is ¡Átame!, which just means Tie me!.

    Anyway, Pedro Almodóvar movie from 1989 starring Antonio Banderas.
    Very engaging story about the kidnaping of an actress, in the hopes she'll fall in love with him.
    It's very much European cinema, but I think it works well.

    Banderas is good in it and it moves along fairly quickly, overall its worth a watch, it's available in the library section I think.

    3.5/5


  • Registered Users Posts: 369 ✭✭arcticmonkeys


    Noticed long Weekend is on Mubi now, ozploitation cinema at its finest. A yuppie couple spend a weekend in the Aussie outback to rekindle their marriage showing showing reckless disrespect for there surrounding natural Wildlife ect

    A kind of nature fights back horror from Everett D Roach a unsung hero of Aussie exploitation cinema.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    adrian522 wrote: »
    Tie me Up! Tie me Down!

    For some reason the Spanish translation is ¡Átame!, which just means Tie me!.

    Anyway, Pedro Almodóvar movie from 1989 starring Antonio Banderas.
    Very engaging story about the kidnaping of an actress, in the hopes she'll fall in love with him.
    It's very much European cinema, but I think it works well.

    Banderas is good in it and it moves along fairly quickly, overall its worth a watch, it's available in the library section I think.

    3.5/5

    Yeah, that was on the 30-day offering a few months back during the Almodóvar season - one of the rare occasions where the translation is actually better than the original title :)

    Not one of Pedro's best, but wacky, colourful and entertaining as always, though the sexual politics and the ending are pretty dubious -
    Victoria Abril's character ends up falling for the guy who kidnapped and assaulted her
    . Still, anything by Almodóvar for me is worth watching.


  • Registered Users Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bozo Skeleton


    Rendezvous Of A Deja Vu

    Don't really know what to make of this. A madcap absurdist rollercoaster. Felt like a young cast and crew just went for it.
    To paraphrase Magnus Magnusson, I started it, so I finished it. Charming in it's own way, a refreshing dose of youthful exuberance.
    Having finished it, it's now on to Pusher, a film I've been meaning to watch for ages.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    Reviews in 2 parts this week as the system will not allow more than 15 images per post - who knew?
    One of my best weeks on MUBI, 4 stars all around....:)

    The Girl – Mészarós – 1968
    Liked this a lot more than I expected. Kati Kóvacs, who plays Erzsi, the main character, carries this film. She is resolute, takes no **** despite being followed by guys from the beginning to the end of the film, and knows what she wants. The family stuff is treated subtly and carefully yet still works, despite the fact that the people talk so little. The country/city divide is an old theme but fits well. Charming and intriguing, though it doesn’t so much end as stop.
    :):):):)

    Edvard Munch – Watkins – 1974
    An epic that is in truth too long and a bit repetitive, but which is also an eye-opening, impressive achievement. It is a deep portrait of a painter who is rejected by critics and the public for most of his working life, but who keeps painting and creates these disturbing portraits of human suffering and angst that are now iconic. Illness, insanity and death permeate the film and Munch’s life and work. A troubled, innovative artist, a profound film.
    :):):):)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    Plan 9 from Outer Space – Ed Wood – 1959
    Hard to believe Ed Wood didn’t have some idea how laughable his film was – some of the terribleness seems deliberate; at times the dialogue appears to be a parody – the short exchange about “modern women” around 55 mins is truly beyond belief. The dodgy science is hilarious. The ‘aliens’ take the biscuit; they are basically Americans with slightly funny clothes; super-advanced yet their spaceship controls are a collection of junk on a table. Fantastically, accidentally entertaining.
    :):):):)

    Pusher – Refn – 1998
    Betrayals, drug deals gone wrong, multiple drug debts, a rapid, slick journey through the Copenhagen underworld. Frank is a truly terrible person so it is hard to have sympathy for him or for anyone in the film, but it doesn´t give you time to judge or moralize; the narrative moves at such a pace that you are drawn in. A real blast of cinematic energy.
    :):):):)


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,875 ✭✭✭Irish Aris


    Trying to catch up with films before their 30 days expire, I saw 2 films that we haven't discussed here in the thread.

    Song of Granite (2017)
    This is a biopic of Irish traditional singer Joe Heaney. At times it felt like a documentary. Director Pat Collins very wisely shot the film in beautiful black and white - some of the shots are like photographs or paintings capturing the amazing Irish landscape. There isn't much narration but it is easy to follow the Heaney's journey from Connemara to UK to US. A kind of a niche film, but if you have even a passing interest in the traditional seannos Irish music there is enough here to keep you interested until the end.

    Oleg (2019)
    This was one of the bleakest films I have seen in a while. I felt really sorry for the protagonist and what he goes through - and there isn't really a resolution in the end. A very difficult film to watch, but a good film nevertheless, with 2 great performances from Valentin Novopolskij in the title role and Dawid Ogrodnik in the role of the sociopathic Andrzej.


  • Registered Users Posts: 461 ✭✭padjocollins


    will look at Song of Granite sounds interesting Irish Aris.
    I watched Oleg during the week and agree with your view. It's a bleak but very good film. very bleak


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,977 ✭✭✭✭Rjd2


    Songs My Brother taught me arrived the other day, its Zhao's first film as director (according to wiki) its worth watching for sure.

    Its not as good as nomadland where she is expected to win an oscar , but you can see the talent that she has. Those on the fringes she is able to capture perfectly without putting on a pedestal or sneering.



    Her best film The Rider also on mubi but you have to pay for it, however if for some reason you have not seen it splash the 3 euro. :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    Rjd2 wrote: »
    Songs My Brother taught me arrived the other day, its Zhao's first film as director (according to wiki) its worth watching for sure.

    Its not as good as nomadland where she is expected to win an oscar , but you can see the talent that she has. Those on the fringes she is able to capture perfectly without putting on a pedestal or sneering.



    Her best film The Rider also on mubi but you have to pay for it, however if for some reason you have not seen it splash the 3 euro. :pac:

    Yeah, just saw it, really beautiful film. Non professional actors which adds to authenticity, though it is obvious at times that they have never been on screen before. :) The little girl steals the movie.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,977 ✭✭✭✭Rjd2


    fisgon wrote: »
    Yeah, just saw it, really beautiful film. Non professional actors which adds to authenticity, though it is obvious at times that they have never been on screen before. :) The little girl steals the movie.

    Somewhat similar the Rider which is her best film.

    I have mixed emotions about her doing Marvel , obviously from her POV I totally understand she will get huge exposure, make loads of money etc, but I do hope she can still make stuff like The Rider and Songs My Brother taught me. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 461 ✭✭padjocollins


    saw songs my brother taught me . very good but i'm watching a lot of bleak films lately. Far bleaker is nomadland which i'm halfway through, would never say i'm enjoying it but as a film it's very well made and makes us look outside of our comfort zones


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 16,090 Mod ✭✭✭✭adrian522


    Has anyone seen any of the pusher trilogy? And if so are they good?

    I watched the Wes Anderson Fantastic Mr Fox during the week, I loved it. Really liked the animation etc. Its Wes Anderson interpreting Roald Dahl whats not to love?

    I read all those books as a kid but the movie was a really interesting take.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,875 ✭✭✭Irish Aris


    adrian522 wrote: »
    Has anyone seen any of the pusher trilogy? And if so are they good?

    Figson commented on the first one in this post:
    https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=116848071&postcount=223

    Not a fan of Refn's cinema in general - have seen 4 films of his and wasn't crazy about any of them (Drive was the one I like the best and I found it only OK) so I will give the Pusher films a miss.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 11,977 ✭✭✭✭Rjd2


    Irish Aris wrote: »
    Figson commented on the first one in this post:
    https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=116848071&postcount=223

    Not a fan of Refn's cinema in general - have seen 4 films of his and wasn't crazy about any of them (Drive was the one I like the best and I found it only OK) so I will give the Pusher films a miss.

    Refn is hit and miss for me.

    I adored Drive but since then its been dwindling returns. His Amazon show was abysmal, no idea what he was trying to achieve and last few films equally poor.

    The Pusher series is genuinely enjoyable though.

    Bronson is also quite good tbf


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,875 ✭✭✭Irish Aris


    Rjd2 wrote: »
    Refn is hit and miss for me.

    I adored Drive but since then its been dwindling returns. His Amazon show was abysmal, no idea what he was trying to achieve and last few films equally poor.

    The Pusher series is genuinely enjoyable though.

    Bronson is also quite good tbf

    Yes, agree on the hit and miss part. His style is interesting but the stories it supports don't often go far.
    Drive was solid, all elements (direction, cinematography, music) working great together.
    I thought Fear X was promising in the beginning but got lost on the way.
    Not sure if you have seen Bleeder - I understand it is a kind of a spin off of the first Pusher film, so you might enjoy it :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,977 ✭✭✭✭Rjd2


    Irish Aris wrote: »
    Yes, agree on the hit and miss part. His style is interesting but the stories it supports don't often go far.
    Drive was solid, all elements (direction, cinematography, music) working great together.
    I thought Fear X was promising in the beginning but got lost on the way.
    Not sure if you have seen Bleeder - I understand it is a kind of a spin off of the first Pusher film, so you might enjoy it :)

    Thanks Aris, somehow I missed Bleeder.

    I also can't understate how bad his Amazon show was, genuinely unforgivably boring and pretentious.

    Hope whatever does next is good, because Drive was 10 years ago and everything since then has been very bland.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    adrian522 wrote: »
    Has anyone seen any of the pusher trilogy? And if so are they good?

    I watched the Wes Anderson Fantastic Mr Fox during the week, I loved it. Really liked the animation etc. Its Wes Anderson interpreting Roald Dahl whats not to love?

    I read all those books as a kid but the movie was a really interesting take.

    Just saw the second one; really excellent, I thought, much deeper that the first, which I also liked. Would recommend.

    Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the best films I have seen in the last year on MUBI; just a smart, funny joy from start to finish. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    Malmkrog - Puiu – 2020
    The film seems designed as a test of the viewer’s patience; just how much empty, pseudo-philosophical pomposity can you take from a random bunch of Euro aristocrats in the late 1800s who discuss in depth things that haven’t been relevant for a century? It also gives you no context; who are the characters? Are they all Russian? Why do some speak French and some German? There is beauty in this film too, the composition of the shots and sets are gorgeous, it is hypnotic at times, but in the end I have sympathy for those who pulled the trigger.
    :):)

    Rules don’t apply – Beatty – 2018
    Written by, directed by and starring Warren Beatty, it seems like a passion project for him. It is charming, but it is also a very Hollywood-ised version of the Howard Hughes story, glossy, glamorous, the film itself set in and around Hollywood in the sixties, complete with happy ending and a certain degree of sentimentality. Fun, warm and attractive, but slight and a little formulaic.
    :):):)

    Songs my brothers taught me – Zhao – 2015
    A really beautiful film. The scenery is spectacular; the harshness and barrenness fitting with the air of melancholy that permeates the story. It is a story of home and belonging, of duty, identity and a desire to escape. 11 year old Jushaun is the centre of this film; smart, independent, vulnerable. A native American population battling against alcohol and marginalization, attempting to hold on to what is theirs. Non-professional actors add authenticity.
    :):):):)

    Blood on my hands (Pusher 2) – Refn – 2004
    Poor Tonny. Abused and played by everyone he meets, rejected by his father, he does bad things but we also have sympathy for him; even though he is a mess. Driven to desperate actions because of Daddy issues, a product of neglect, he is also a kind of hero in the end; practically the only character who does anything brave or good in the whole film. More profound than the first Pusher film, a lot more than just another gangster flick.
    :):):):):)


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,875 ✭✭✭Irish Aris


    3 films I saw last weekend.

    That Cold Day In The Park (1969)
    Is this a drama? a thriller? or a study in psychology? I don't know and I didn't find it interesting enough to care. Nothing is really explained and certain things didn't make much sense, for example
    why the boy doesn't talk in Frances' presence?
    . At some point I started considering that everything is in Frances' head but I wasn't invested enough to consider it further. One of the less important films of the late, great Robert Altman

    The Fountain (2006)
    I am a big fan of Darren Aronofsky and this is my second favorite of his films (behind the absolute masterpiece Black Swan). I think this one is better suited for a big screen of a cinema - or if you have a very good sound system at home, as I think the music and sound design are one of the best attributes of the film. The screenplay has a philosophical, spiritual aspect around life and death - this is a topic that seems to interest Aronofsky who touched on later films - namely Mother - though from a different angle. Of the three storylines I found the present day one the most interesting: it is the one that feels real and where the 2 leads (especially the sublime Rachel Weisz) can develop their characters - it also felt the one that was feeding in the other 2 storylines. The 3 stories intertwined well for the most part (though not always) and the editing helps them flow naturally. Not a film for everyone, for sure, but there is a lot to admire here.

    Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)
    This has been on my list for decades now, practically ever since the great Tim Burton biopic on Ed Wood. What can I say about the film that has been hailed as the worst film ever made? And is it really that bad? Well, it is very poorly made: there is a sequence of scenes where
    Paula, one of the characters runs in the graveyard to escape the ghoul man and it's the middle of the night. Cut to the next scene to the ghoul chasing her and it is dawn at best, if not broad daylight. I think this might be due to the fact that Bela Lugosi died before the completion of the film, but still it's funny to watch
    . I think the key here is to not take the film too seriously - I did that and actually enjoyed it, a nice light entertaining film and at 80 minutes it didn't bore me at all


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    Irish Aris wrote: »
    3 films I saw last weekend.

    That Cold Day In The Park (1969)
    Is this a drama? a thriller? or a study in psychology? I don't know and I didn't find it interesting enough to care.

    The Fountain (2006)
    I am a big fan of Darren Aronofsky and this is my second favorite of his films (behind the absolute masterpiece Black Swan). I think this one is better suited for a big screen of a cinema - or if you have a very good sound system at home, as I think the music and sound design are one of the best attributes of the filw naturally. Not a film for everyone, for sure, but there is a lot to admire here.

    Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)
    . I think the key here is to not take the film too seriously - I did that and actually enjoyed it, a nice light entertaining film and at 80 minutes it didn't bore me at all

    Agree about Plan 9, the only way to approach it is as if it was a spoof, even though apparently Ed Wood was dead serious! I would love to watch it again with a bunch of friends and lots of beer :)

    I preferred the Altman film to the Fountain, actually. I thought it was curious and intriguing, just mysterious enough to hold my interest. The Fountain looks great, but I felt it disappears up itself at times. Couldn't take the monk seriously at all...


  • Registered Users Posts: 981 ✭✭✭Lionbacker


    Going through a few movies from the "Made in Italy" limited edition and came across "Fortuna - The girl and the giants" & its quite a surprising gem.
    It's hard to describe it without giving away much of plot, but suffice it to say it really had me gripped throughout. Everything about it has a strange, eclictic, odd feel, from the score to the cinematopraphy whch gives a bit of a chilling atmosphere.
    Had no idea how it was going to ultimately end, but when it did, it stayed with me long after the credits rolled. Great film. 9/10


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,747 ✭✭✭fisgon


    Death in the Garden – Buñuel – 1956
    This starts off as one film and becomes a completely different one. The change is not smooth, and what begins as a story about government oppression of working people morphs into a tale of a battle for survival. The characters are a little two dimensional, but there is also a lot to like in this film; action, energy, drama, with the backdrop of the merciless Amazon rainforest.
    :):):)

    Daughter of the Nile – Hsiao Hsien – 1986
    There is some kind of attempt to draw a connection between ancient Egypt and 1980s Taiwan, but it really doesn’t work. In fact, not much in this film does; just when it seems to be getting going, we get a longueur of two or three minutes where nothing happens or no one says anything. An air of melancholy is permanently present, and any momentum that builds is quickly stopped. A disappointing family drama.
    :):)

    I am the angel of death (Pusher 3) – Refn – 2005
    Great idea to have Milo, a major drug dealer in Copenhagen, be in Narcotics Anonymous, trying to deal with a cocaine addiction. Like Tonny in film two, the pressure builds and builds on Milo until you know something has to happen. You need a strong stomach for the last 30 minutes. (Would still like to know what happened to Frank and Tonny).
    :):):):)

    Compliance - Zobel - 2012
    This is so stoopid, says Becky, and you cannot argue with this. You just want to scream at Sandra – “it’s a voice on a phone Sandra, JUST A VOICE ON A PHONE!” Stressful and excruciating to watch for most of the movie, the tension and dread builds and builds until you just want to look away. Nauseating and compelling. Hard to evaluate, maybe three and a half?
    :):):)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 11,977 ✭✭✭✭Rjd2


    Touchez pas au grisbi I watched a few months ago on my "mubi travels" has been added to the Irish version of Mubi.

    Its a brilliant crime thriller from the 50s which flies by and has a great lead performance.

    Pops up on lists when people talk about best French gangster films. :)


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