Last Watched

[liquidnature]

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

No reservations in saying that early Spielberg was amazing, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the experience of watching all of these films for the first time (I had a sheltered childhood). He's one of the most scorned directors among cinephiles - maybe for good reason - but he wasn't always a hack.

[Lencho of the Apes]

[b[Soak The Rich[/b] - Been Hecht, Charles McArthur, 1936

Plutocrat gets all in a kerfuffle over FDR's proposal to implement really high marginal-tax rates. Subject matter couldn't be more timely, but the execution is terribly weak; compared to Spectre Of The Rose or even Angels Over Broadway, Hecht seems to be phoning it in. He was capable of so much better...

[kanafani]

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Wanted to watch that with my son a few weeks ago, but the picture of the alien spooked him so much he hid the DVD and now I can't find it and he won't say where it is.

[kanafani]

Le Garcu - Pialat Calling this minor Pialat seems kind of harsh, but he's made more potent movies. The highlight is an absolutely magical dance scene that only makes sense on an emotional level and features Corona's Rhythm of the Night, 4 years before Beau Travail.

[greennui]

Drift (Helena Wittmann, 2017) - Put me to sleep last night, in a good way! A soothing, elliptical film that evoked the works of Michael Snow at times. The alien quality of the rocking sea footage felt kinda reminiscent of La Région centrale.

[rischka]

i watched lala land on the plane. do people like this?? why?

[Roscoe]

Yes. People like LA LA LAND. Because it is easy goop that makes no demands in any way on the non-discriminating moviegoer.

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

So many things to hate about La La Land, the white guy saves black music plot is probably the most objectively problematic, but personally the aspect that irks me most is the way it's positioned by journalists/fans as this tribute to love of classic cinema. As if! Emma Stone's character is supposed to be this big old movie buff, but it's telling that she has no investment in some by-gone golden age of cinema, as Gosling does with music. Worst of all: the male character Gosling is actually positioned as the one who knows more about old movies than she does (surprise, surprise) as he's the one who's introducing her to Rebel without a Cause — even though the movie is ostensibly setting things up to have a parity of partners educating each other in their interests, with Gosling introducing jazz and Stone introducing old hollywood movies! We learn so little about Stone's interests, far too much about Gosling's, and Chazelle's male chauvinism is showing.

[Senor Arkadin]

Finishing out my week at the Berlinale. Yesterday I saw the Andre Techine L'Adieu A la Nuit. My first time at the Berlinale and it's the type of film festival where there is so much utter garbage, that a middling film that is genuinely self assured feels like a breath of fresh air. So things like this and Ozon's new Grace a Dieu both felt a lot better than they probably are. I have a lot qualms with the Techine though. The story of a young french man who gets recruited into Isis keeps too much of a distance from the specifics of the radicalization, the result of which is that it looks a lot more like a simple conversion to islam on screen than a real radicalization. So for about 2/3rds I found myself questioning why I was watching islamaphobic fear mongering. I think it turns out to be more nuanced and interesting that that, but not enough to really claim it's a good film. Still, one of the better films I saw at the festival this year.

Also, saw the new Varda. She was there to accept an award and watch the film with us. It's always great to see her and a new film by her, but of her late period documentaries, this is the weakest. It's essentially a self retrospective of her own films, largely in the format of a lecture in front of an audience, and a series of clips of her work. Not a lot that's particularly revelatory, but it's Varda, and it's enjoyable, so I can't complain.

[DT.]

Watched two new releases on the weekend, one I expected to hate and the other I expected to love. The opposite happened on both counts.

Went into Capernaum expecting to hate it, based on reviews saying it was manipulative poverty porn, and certain champs calling Labaki's previous films 'inane'. And I did kinda hate it at the start, with its showy overhead drone shots of a tyre-strewn Beirut ghetto fitting neatly into those reviewers' descriptions. But as the film went on, I became more and more invested, and by the time it got to its blatantly sentimental ending, I was completely swept up. Credit mostly goes to the incredible cast of non-professionals, with one of the best child performances I've seen (best actor of the year for me). Labaki's direction is mostly heavy-handed, but still effective in raising the story beats in a blunt way. From what I’ve read, this is a big step up from her previous work (which I never saw).

Went into Ash is Purest White expecting to love it, based on the reviews and Jia's previous films. And I did kinda love it at the start, as Jia delves into the crime genre and Zhao Tao gives a towering performance as a gang matriarch (best actress of the year for me). But as the film went on, I became less and less impressed, and by the time it got to its completely incoherent ending, I pretty much hated it. Jia tries to paint this epic tapestry of 21st century China in the background, while building a long romantic history between Zhao and her partner in the foreground, but neither narrative thread sticks - the first just feels like Jia re-treading old ground and introducing historical events (like the Three Gorges Dam) without any of them sticking, while the second doesn't have any chemistry after the couple are emotionally torn apart after the first act. One of his worst films, and one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

Go figure!

[liquidnature]

Das Hofkonzert / The Court Concert (1936)

Whimsical, floating romcom presented with the always splendid Sirkian touch. A few shots reminded me of Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach. The type of film I feel like I could watch endlessly - beautifully shot and staged lighthearted '30s musical romance. Mártha Eggerth is the worthy star of the show with her charm and lilting soprano vocals. Film lacks something though - perhaps genuine passion. Watched this with the spanish subtitles as there are currently no english subs available; understood mostly everything, but will def rewatch whenever english subs are made available.

Spoiler!

[liquidnature]

Fjols til fjells / Fools in the Mountains (1957)

Utterly delighted, charmed, tickled, goofed. Discovered via this twodeadmagpies list, so special thanks to you. Everything I wanted Sun Valley Serenade to be, and so much more. The perfect film to watch on a cold, sunny, winter weekend morning with fresh snow on the ground. The influences from Tati seem obvious, but only in inspiration; there are no cheap copies, the Carlmar's created a unique world in the mountains and birthed the perfect characters to inhabit it. Leif Juster is fantastic, but Unni Bernhoft stole my heart - I couldn't help but smile any time she was on screen. A true personal favorite film for me, an undeniably singular work worthy of its lauding as a classic in Norway, and one which I imagine I will return to for many winters to come.

[rischka]

finally watched horse money: absolutely gorgeous

[wigwam]

Minding the Gap | Bing Liu | 2018

felt like a real Mid90s, realer Boyhood, and realist Wiseman/Teen Moms mashup (a good thing to me!)

on tap:
Hale County
The Ancient Woods
Grass
Ismael's Ghosts
Ash is the Purest White
Let the Sunshine In
Wild Pear Tree
High Flying Bird
Piercing
Nancy
John McEnroe in Realms of Perfection
Bjorg & McEnroe
late period Alex Cox
King of Comedy rewatch w/ extras

[rischka]

green book. argh. i'm sure my mother and her friends will love it

[Roscoe]

GREEN BOOK is one of the "Wait For Cable If At All" movies -- usually Oscar-winning Oscar bait. The last one of those I saw in a theater was the unspeakable IMITATION GAME, after which I swore off the entire genre of British Bio-pics.

[pabs]

If I see it, it'll be because my wheelchair's been parked in front of a screen in an aged-care centre, and that's what's playing on it.

[greennui]

Eight Hours Don't Make a Day (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972) - A recently unearthed and restored Fassbinder television series. Commissioned as a mainstream family series, it was strongly political but at the same time probably Fassbinder's most unabashedly upbeat work. It took a while before I got into it's groove but after the watching the five episodes I wanted 15 more. There was a lot of familiar faces from the Fassbinder ensemble in various roles but the standout performers were probably Luise Ullrich and Werner Finck as the spunky grandma and her new boyfriend (both of whom coincidentally had Ophüls' Liebelei as one of their first screen appearances and this as one of their last). It's a shame it got cancelled with three episodes yet to be produced as the political gloves were starting to come off a bit, but it still stands as Fassbinder's finest television work along with World on a Wire for me.

Also, I couldn't help but screenshotting Renate Roland. She kinda reminded me of Audrey Hepburn in Charade combined with the bob-haired sexiness of Diane Baker in Marnie. Or a girl that I used to have a thing for. Or maybe nothing like them at all. All I know is that I found her transfixing.

[pabs]

.
This is only the second film I've seen by Garrone, but so far no-one shows Italian slum dwellers and low life in as authentic a fashion as he does, barring maybe Pasolini. Feels so real (and sad, repulsive, awful and horribly brutal).

Dogman (Garrone, 2018) 7/10

.

[Joks Trois]

^^His scripts frequently let him down imo. I liked Dogman, but I was a bit disappointed. Seemed more generic than his last few films and never really got out of second gear. I get the impression it was merely a stop gap film that he made after financing for Pinocchio fell thru.

RISCHKA: re Horse Money. About time! Better late than never though of course!

Green Book looks terrible.

The Battle of Mohacs: This Jancso comedy is almost like an extended Monty Python skit. Very anachronistic. Strange film. Has a good premise, but for some reason he takes far too long to firmly establish it, then the film just ends suddenly. I'll give him credit for trying something different though. 5/10

[pabs]

.
Todos lo saben/Everybody Knows (Farhadi, 2018).

Disappointing. Overlong, overdone and much too soapy, though not a complete waste of time.

6/10
.

[Lencho of the Apes]

Sorry to hear that, I was hoping it might amount to something.

[pabs]

Sorry to hear that, I was hoping it might amount to something.

The actors did well. The plot, not so much. It's a weak effort from the normally excellent Farhadi.
.

[thoxans]

lost horizon (capracorn) wish i watched this for the mini-poll. def woulda topped my list as the dir's best (tho i still need to see the bitter tea)

[thoxans]

It's a weak effort from the normally excellent Farhadi.

i thought the same thing about his last film, the salesman...

[pabs]

.
I've seen 4 very good to excellent Farhadis (Fireworks, Separation, Past and Elly) and one mediocre one (Everyone...). I haven't seen Salesman.
.

[Roscoe]

THE MAGIC FLUTE -- Branagh's film of Mozart's opera. Bergman's film of this material was designed to approximate the look and feel of a theatrical production. Branagh's film has the look and feel of a blue-light special video game. Set during WWI for some reason, the overture takes place in the trenches, culminating in an attack by the Germans where poor Tamino is left for dead in No Man's Land with approaching cheap CGI mustard gas, and his rescue by three angelic nun/nurses was the point where I just had to turn it the fuck off. The overture sequence is, of course, done to look like one continuous shot ("Look ma, I'm filming!") and Branagh manages to squeeze in moments lifted directly from Milestone's ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT and Weir's GALLIPOLI, because Branagh's just gotta do that kind of shit. I can only imagine that Mozart and a bunch of WWI veterans are waiting for little Kenny in the hereafter in order to have a little chat with him....

[liquidnature]

Marketa Lazarová

everything

[thoxans]

everything

my only quibble: the lack of a market called lazarova

[kanafani]

Sergei/Sir Gay (Mark Rappaport, 2017) - Rappaport mines Eisenstein movies for gay motifs. Numerous forays into scenes from other directors along the way (Visconti! Cocteau! Bunuel!). The whole thing is mock-narrated by Eisenstein in a heavy Russian accent, which I found very amusing because I'm immature and that's the sort of humor I go for. Great fun. There's a brief musical clip from Hail, Caesar! Holy shit, that movie looks so awful.