The Card Counter: First Reformed was a fluke. Overrated but still quite good and Schrader's best in years. This is mediocrity as usual since the release of Autofocus, with 1 or 2 exceptions. Only dye-in-the-wool autuerists need apply. 4.5/10.

All scores out of 10. *=rewatches. Intervista* (Fellini) - 7 Bad Channels (who cares) - 4.5 The Watermelon Man (Van Peebles) - 7 Film Adventurer: Karel Zeman (no idea) - 5.5 On the Comet (Zeman) - 6 Sea of Love* (Becker) - 5.5 Krabatz: The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Zeman) - 6.5 A Thousand and One Night...

Question: What's your opinion on the state of cultural saturation for music today compared to previous eras? It's obvious certain pop music has a wide cultural reach in terms of it being hard to miss at least in some sense of awareness of its existence, say Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Cardi B, or Li'l N...

^^Don't get technical with me punk! I'm aware of the story, but the Donner cut is Donner bro.

It's interesting to compare Superman to contemporary comic book films, especially in terms of mise en scène or the lack thereof.

Maverick is fun but kind of anonymous studio fare from memory. I've been meaning to revisit it. Surprised to see it at the top of some lists here. And I am surprised that some people seem to actually enjoy the Goonies... :D 'All grown-ups were once children' It also has tons of personality and is q...

Maverick is fun but kind of anonymous studio fare from memory. I've been meaning to revisit it. Surprised to see it at the top of some lists here.

Seen 16.

1.Superman
2.The Goonies
3.The Omen
4.Superman II
5.Ladyhawke

Malignant: Wan's latest horror mishmash. The giallo references have been overstated although they are there. It mixes cheesy 80s horror like Basket Case with the slickness of 00s horror with a strong Raimi influence. The 3rd act makes up for the pedestrian 1st and 2nd acts and boring detective story...

Herz: 8

flip wrote: ↑Sat Sep 11, 2021 5:43 pm assuming joks has seen 7+, we just need one more person with 7+ zeman films seen to make a poll work

I've seen 9

Seen 18. Stone was a good rookie cinephile favourite back in the day. Most of his films have not aged well imo. Natural Born Killers, to me, is his best work, mostly for its energy and singular style. Natural Born Killers JFK U Turn Platoon Nixon The Doors isn't very good imo, mostly because it conf...

Anvil is about the people, not the film making. I'm also a big metal fan.

The Arrival with Sheen is bad imo. It was praised at the time for being more 'grounded' and 'realistic' than films like ID4, but any film that casts Sheen as an astrophysicist that works for SETI is not particularly concerned with being intelligent or plausible. Shoddy fillm making too. Twohy is a h...

^^Most of those reasons are why I won't lower my score. I did not like it, but I developed a begrudging respect for it, especially as it became more ridiculous as it went along. It isn't a lazy film by any means, just extremely misguided.

Annette: Is Carax for real, or is this his idea of a pretentious joke? Either way, I'm not laughing, and the style did not impress much. I much preferred Holy Motors, which was also overrated, but at least that had Levant rather than dorky Driver. The songs are terrible and so is the dialogue. I'm a...

All scores out of 10. * = rewatches. Good Times (Friedkin) - 4.5 The Hands of Orlac* (Wiene) - 7.5 To Have and Have Not (Hawks) - 5 Siberia (Ferrara) - 5 The Way of the Gaucho (Tourneur) - 5 Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (Brownley) - 6 To Live and Die in LA* (Friedkin) - 6 The Penalty (Worsley) - 6 A...

Are we betting that there won't be a single great film at that festival this year? If so, I will gladly accept.

The Hands of Orlac: anyone who feels that this film is too long at 110 minutes, which appears to be the most commonly found version online until now, should check out the 93 min version released by Eureka. It is much better at a more compact length as both a genre piece and as a psychological thrill...

All scores out of 10. * = rewatches. Exposed (Toback) - 3.5 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (Chaves) - 5 The Hunted (1995) - 4.5 The Flame and the Arrow (Tourneur) - 6 Fast Workers (Browning) - 6 Bucktown (no idea) - 6 Bull Durham* (Shelton) - 5 The Mack (no idea) - 6 Easy Living (Tourneur) -...

The 'twist' in The Black Bird, which I just watched yesterday, is perhaps a raw distillation of that perspective presented in a grimly humourous form.

Regarding the comparisons made earlier to Whale, it's definitely true that Browning does appear to be somewhat short changed comparatively. It's probably because he wasn't a technician like Whale, or Leni, so it's easier to overlook his more subtle command of mise-en-scene. I also think he was more ...

All scores out of 10. * = rewatches. Stars In My Crown (Tourneur) - 7.5 Love and Death* (Allen) - 7.5 Buffalo Bill and the Indians* (Altman) - 6.5 Bad Medicine (who cares) - 4 Sleeper* (Allen) - 7 Let it Ride* (no idea) - 6.5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* (1990) - 5.5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II...

SFTW was pretty generic.

I'd rather watch Oscar (with Stallone) or Brain Donors over that and Noises off!

Seen 10.

Freaks
West Of Zanzibar
Dracula
The Unknown
The Unholy Three

But did he really "fuck up" his career? As a director, at least, he's regularly directed films from 1968 till 1993 and since then two theatrical feature films (as well as two documentaries). And he directed over half a dozen Television movies between 1995 and 2004 after his last two theat...

Seen 18. He peaked early and went downhill after the mid 70's before falling off a cliff. Paper Moon is his best and most rewatchable for me. The cast and look are pretty much perfect, and the balance of drama and comedy is just right. 1.Paper Moon 2.The Last Picture Show 3.What's Up Doc 4.Targets 5...

Silga: Assassins would have been better if Banderas and Sly switched roles, and if the writer or director hadn't made the tactical error of focusing on 'silencer' driven gun play. It is an odd film in some ways. Strikes me as a smaller scale film that was blown up when stars signed on. All scores ou...

The biggest problem with Criterion isn't the hardcore fans. Who cares if they object to The Breakfast Club or Fast Times At Ridgemont High? Gates gotta gate. The real issue is the declining quality of their product, especially transfers. MoC run the silent game, and Arrow and Shout/Scream have horro...

Satantango: that final scene. Damn! 9/10. Hey Joks, I was a bit worried about your absence a few days ago when you hadn't posted for nearly a month. Glad to know you're ok, mate! Thanks mate! :D Just been extremely busy at work and with other personal matters. I will be posting more often now! Sata...

ABOUT ENDLESSNESS -- Roy Andersson's latest little collection of oddities, and I'm going to need to take another look, hopefully on a bigger screen when Film Forum runs it later this month. It feels harder and sadder than his other works, on first glance. Definitely sadder. I thought it held togeth...