Recently Watched Films

[MRS]

Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov, 2002)

I've probably liked other Sokurov films more, but this was pretty great.

Off topic: Where did all of Dan's posts go???

My thoughts on this film have gone from A+ to F and all the way in between but I must interject this is the PERFECT image as far as encapsualting Dreiden's performance. The only thing that would've added is if you could've somehow attached a .wav file of him groaning.

[eraritjaritjaka]

Keep Cool - Zhang Yimou
Exiled - Johnny To
The Terrorizer - Edward Yang
Spell - Alberto Cavallone
Storytime - Terry Gilliam
Intoxication - Gaspar Noé
From The Drain - David Cronenberg
Camera - David Cronenberg
The Italian Machine - David Cronenberg

documentaries:
So Wrong They're Right - Russ Forster
ChickenHawk - Adi Sideman
Stevie - Steve James
The Archive - Sean Dunne

keep cool, the terrorizer, spell, and camera were the highlights here.


some screens:

the terrorizer


exiled


keep cool


spell

[surfer]

Masculin Feminin (Godard, 1966) - I liked this, quite a bit, but its not as good as Vivre Sa Vie. The protagonists' youth had a bit to do with it, its hard to take their trials and tribulations and conversations and ruminations too seriously when you're dealing with 21 yr olds. Very charming though, and everyone is gorgeous. The characters are a little older and uglier and more cynical in Vivre Sa Vie. This is definitely the type of Godard I like though, great sense of style, a smattering of agit-prop, deft use of music, sustantial character protraits. Only the ending was out of place, rushed and not believable imo. Thumbs up though.

[michael]

quantum of solace

pretty pointless plot & the action scenes kind of werent even that good. but the bond girl was hot as hell

[adjustment]

Masculin Feminin (Godard, 1966) - I liked this, quite a bit, but its not as good as Vivre Sa Vie. The protagonists' youth had a bit to do with it, its hard to take their trials and tribulations and conversations and ruminations too seriously when you're dealing with 21 yr olds. Very charming though, and everyone is gorgeous. The characters are a little older and uglier and more cynical in Vivre Sa Vie. This is definitely the type of Godard I like though, great sense of style, a smattering of agit-prop, deft use of music, sustantial character protraits. Only the ending was out of place, rushed and not believable imo. Thumbs up though.

This is probably my favorite Godard film based on style of narrative alone. I find Godard so damn pretentious but who else took on the narrative form and redefined it so consistently like Godard? In the 60s, film after film after film he did so many different things that still influence most of the narrative cinema of today. The history of narrative cinema is easy, you have Griffith and then Godard. Everything else falls under one or the other. Oh, and for cheesy avant garde-esque mysterious narratives, toss in a little Deren.

[surfer]

Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle, 2008) - The first half of this movie wasnt awful, it had some nice moments, but the second half just gets worse and worse, and the ending (from the moment Salim hands Latika - who is awful btw - the cell phone) is just putrid. Not to mention so obviously predictable that it loses any sense of suspense. The entire romance between Jamal and Latika was pre-teen stuff, candyland. Also the entire structure of the flashbacks, basing them on the escalating questions of the game show, I thought was completely unnecessary and distracting. The gameshow host was awful and unneeded, so over-the-top in his douchbaggery. I thought the young Jamal was good, very good, as was the young Salim. Basically this is the same story as City of God which is a much much better movie on every level. While this movie wasnt awful, I'm having a hard time recommending it even as a date rental.

[surfer]

Synecdoche, New York

This was actually the movie I wanted to see, but it was only playing in Berkeley. I dont understand why it hasnt gotten better distribution. The movie choices in my area were downright awful.

[surfer]

George Washington (Green, 2000)

and I though I had posted this one, but I guess I havent. Saw this one about a week and a half ago, liked it, didnt love it, but its growing on me. I think I would benefit from seeing it again. Had some thoughts about it but cant remember now, except that I really didnt like the laconic voice over.

[adjustment]

I could not stand 'George Washington' and it seems to get worse the more I think about it. I was glad to see him graduate to schlock like 'Pineapple Express.' I mean that in a bad way.

I am itching to see 'Syncedoche, NY.' It is amazing that Kaufman's name isn't enough to get this film going. Maybe it isn't great, maybe it is, but at least it is something.

[tarfumes]

I re-watched a couple of old faves the other night. Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep has what has now become my favorite use of a song in a film, anywhere, ever, of all time (Armstrong's "West End Blues"). And I reacquainted myself with Jerry Lewis' The Errand Boy. The staging in it is pretty remarkable, and the set pieces flow together much more organically than in, say, The Bellboy.

[howsthatsound]

Andrey Tarkovsky - Solaris

first time. i thought it was fantastic in many ways. the sounds, the cinematography. he does so many poetic things with simple pans and framing. pretty great. the end tho, was like a punchline. not sure how to feel about it.

[surfer]

I am itching to see 'Syncedoche, NY.' It is amazing that Kaufman's name isn't enough to get this film going. Maybe it isn't great, maybe it is, but at least it is something.

I'm actually itching to see Wendy and Lucy which I think opens today. Again, not sure of its distribution, or whether I can get free and see it in a theater, but I watched the trailer three times, and it looks better than Old Joy which I loved.

[surfer]

I am itching to see 'Syncedoche, NY.' It is amazing that Kaufman's name isn't enough to get this film going. Maybe it isn't great, maybe it is, but at least it is something.

I'm actually itching to see Wendy and Lucy which I think opens today. Again, not sure of its distribution, or whether I can get free and see it in a theater, but I watched the trailer three times, and it looks better than Old Joy which I loved.

Not showing anywhere in the Bay Area in the next week, it appears.

[Dan Warburton]

Richard Fleischer Armored Car Robbery 1950

[surfer]

Has anyone seen Ballast? Played for exactly one week here in the Bay Area.

[sound plague]

Has anyone seen Ballast? Played for exactly one week here in the Bay Area.

I managed to catch it at the Melbourne Film Fest earlier in the year. It's quite a powerful film and one well worth hunting down. Shame it was only a blip on the big screen radar. The estimated DVD/Blue Ray release is April 2009.

[nebulabore]

general question: how expensive is blue ray and is it worth it?

just watched roads to koktebel

liked it quite a bit though I fell asleep at towards the end (oops) so I don't know how it ends other than the boy runs off on his own. Was there really a koktebel? where were the father and boy going then if there wasn't one? these questions will be unanswered until my next viewing of the film I suppose...what i did like about it was that it wasn't intentionally made to wow you with its cinematography as if it were some kind of foreign showcase like memoiris of a geisha (which imo was a horrible film) I guess this might be the same for other "film movement" dvds? anyone know of that company and enjoy other titles?

[sound plague]

general question: how expensive is blue ray and is it worth it?

Blue Ray players are nearing a sub $200 price point. I don't know how these uber cheap players will handle multi-region and divx though.

The real issue regarding blue ray is the television you'll be playing it on. What's the point in having a player with 1080p capability if your television can't handle it? Playing blue ray on a standard television wouldn't give you results that would warrant the purchase but you'd have to assume most people will upgrade their televisions at some point in the future.

On the other side of the coin, dvd players are coming out now that upscale to 1080p. Clearly you can't draw too much blood from a stone and there's only so much you can do with 8gb of data but the results are rather good. The level of clarity that blue ray affords isn't there but there is a noticeable improvement over standard dvd.

So yeah, I don't know if I even slightly answered your question but blue ray players are going to be cheap enough to warrant buying one.

[al jones]

BluRay will be fantastic once the price of the media drops. Until then, traditional DVDs will do perfectly fine.

[surfer]

Children of Paradise (Carne, 1945) - Interminable. I wept with relief when it was over.


Dog Day Afternoon (Lumet, 1975) - Other than The Godfather, I'm not a fan of Pacino. This wasnt bad, except I kept wondering why Michael and Fredo were robbing a bank. By the way, Sal (not Abe Vigoda, John Cazale) had practically no lines whatsoever. Curious.


Burden of Dreams (Blank, 1982) - Probably more interesting than the movie Fitzcarraldo itself.