Recently Watched Films 2014

[jon abbey]

the early Almodovar I remember thinking was awesome was Matador when I saw it in the theater back in my big film fan days, but I've never revisited it.

[Dan Warburton]

That's next on the list.. once I've got through some of these KGFTs.. doubt I'll be visiting either of these again, though -



Konstantin Yershov & Georgi Kropachyov, Viy ("Spirit of Evil"), 1967

There aren't too many Mosfilm horror movies, so I suppose we should treasure it. The Gogol story it's based on might be worth a read, but those moustachioed vodka-swilling peasants look like something from the 30s. Special effects aren't too bad (for the time), but the contrast between the location footage and the painted backdrops is somewhat alarming. Still, it's about a billion times better than




Herschell Gordon Lewis, Color Me Blood Red, 1965

The idea of a painter using human blood on his canvases has potential - wouldn't be surprised if someone (had already?) remade it - but everything about this film is so unredeemably bloody awful that you don't care after a while. I usually struggle through to the end of a film regardless, but I nearly pulled the plug on this one several times. Terrible script, dreadful acting (daren't call it acting at all, really), truly bizarre editing (odd pans off the side for no reason whatsoever which totally disrupt what little rhythm the film has) and hilariously bad gore. Lead "actor" Gordon Oas-Heim's next film was called Bad, and I'll take his word for it. Oh yeah, the paintings are atrocious daubs too. Christ, what a fuckin' train wreck, avoid like ebola.

To save the day - and the week - finished off with a truly great film




Jon Jost, Last Chants for a Slow Dance, 1977

Heard about this because it was one of Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 100 (heh, maybe those Best Of lists serve some purpose after all..), and it might well make it to mine. Pretty goddamn bleak, though - this tale of Tom Bates ("a debased modern cowboy" as the director describes him) who ends up as a killer makes Wanda look about as cheerful as The Sound of Music in comparison. Shot for a budget of barely $2000, but it's so damn beautiful. Exquisite long takes - the shot above (I think it's Johnny Carson interviewing Ava Gardner on The Tonight Show, not sure) is awesome. So is the soundtrack, truly suicidal country'n'western penned and sun by Jost himself. If you dig Jandek, you've got to check this out. (Idem if you like Cassavetes, Herzog, Akerman..) Alas this isn't a featured torrent over at KG, but forget yr ratio for once and treat yourself to a bona fide masterpiece.

[Piano Mouth]

that one looks cool, can't find it on amazon tho

[MRS]

I'm a fan of the 1997 Norwegian Insomnia and never had much interest in the 2002 American remake with Pacino and Robin Williams. but in the wake of Williams' suicide, I saw a bunch of people saying this was one of Williams' best roles, and since I skipped most of his serious films for one reason or another, I decided to give it a shot.

well, it sucked. I dislike every Christopher Nolan film I've ever seen (haven't seen the recent ones), there is always a disturbing lack of substance underneath the attempted glitz. we even turned off his first Batman film halfway, we never do that. this one sucked at explaining essential plot points and basically had no reason to exist given the superior original. if I tell you I plan to watch Inception or Interstellar in the future, please remind me of this post. thanks.

I didn't hate it, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a greater casting mistake than Robin Williams here. Not over-the-top and not dripping maudlin, just laughably out of place.

Anyway, seeing this movie mentioned always makes me smile because of the way it was recommended. One of my most trusted film friends crowns this the lone high point of "late Pacino" because the eponymous physical condition forces him to just get quieter and quieter throughout the movie.

[Dan Warburton]

Eric Rohmer, Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon, 2007

Gorgeous swansong to end a great career - if, of course, you like Rohmer in courtly love mode. Lovingly adapted from a six-volume (gasp) novel by Honoré d'Urfé (1567-1625), and shot after an exhaustive search for authentic venues in deciduous forest (talk about attention to detail..), this delightful tale of jilted shepherdesses and druids might sound like a big turn-off, but the last half hour, which features our heroine falling in love with Céladon in drag (and if he wasn't it'd be a pretty heavy duty lesbian love scene), is as good as any Shakespearean comedy of errors you care to name. Needless to say, the script, acting and cinematography are all impeccable.




Chantal Akerman, A Couch in New York, 1996

If your idea of Chantal Akerman is those wonderfully slow early experimental films, this decidedly upbeat, chattery comédie dramatique might not be for you. But it's worth remembering that Akerman, as well producing austere masterpieces like Je, tu, il, elle, D'Est, and the incomparable Jeanne Dielman, has often ventured into the world of romantic comedy - Toute Une Nuit, Golden Eighties and Nuit et jour.. Hell, if Woody Allen can come over to Europe every year and make a romantic comedy, Chantal can go back to her beloved NYC and do the same. It's a screwball comedy, basically (William Hurt, whom I'm not normally a big fan of, is clearly going for Cary Grant in a big way), which is fine by me until the scene at the end where Juliette Binoche takes a taxi back to JFK and the loveable shaggy dog she's trying to ditch follows her all the way. Shit, the mutt would have been run over and killed on 5th Avenue within blocks. A rather mawkish Disney touch that rather spoils what's otherwise a well-crafted, if light (deliberately) affair

[Piano Mouth]

Watched recently:

The Grand Budapest Hotel

I

This was awesome, possibly my favorite film of his. The humor is well rounded, and the story is very touching.

and

Synecdoche, NY

[Dan Warburton]

Paul Verhoeven, Turks Fruit ("Turkish Delight"), 1973

Wikipedia informs us that this was, amazingly, "the most successful film of the Dutch cinema. The film was a massive success at the Dutch box office, 3,328,804 people saw the film, corresponding to about 27% of the population of the Netherlands at the time." With its explicit content (in addition to plenty of nudity, there's blood, vomit and shite galore - both human and animal), I wonder how many people hurried to the exit after the first 15 minutes - big mistake: as Verhoeven is playing maliciously with audience reactions with those flashbacks (Hitchcock would not have approved), and Rutger Hauer turns out to be a much nicer guy than the opening of the film would have you believe. It's also very funny, a biting satire on Dutch mores. Great performances from Hauer and Monique van de Ven, splendid cinematography by Jan de Bont (yes, the guy who went on to direct Speed.. but, hey, nobody's perfect).




Claude d'Anna, L'ordre et la sécurité du monde, 1978

A terribly pretentious title, and a rather convoluted plot (I'm not quite so sure whose side anyone was on in this Strangers On A Train-like tale of industrial esponiage, to be honest), but worth a look (if your French is up to it - no English subtitles anywhere to be found onine, as far as I can tell, but there seems to be a DVD), if only for Dennis Hopper, whose vicious Vick-sniffing hitman seems to be a clear precursor of Frank Booth. Cast also includes Laure Dechasnel, Michel Bouquet, Bruno Cremer, Donald Pleasence and Joseph Cotten.

[Lao Tsu Ben]

and Rutger Hauer turns out to be a much nicer guy than the opening of the film would have you believe.

That is, a nice psychopath? He kills somebody I think in the opening.



My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, Werner Herzog, 2009.

Second vision, and it holds up quite well (well, that's an understatement). That is one of the reasons why I prefer Herzog's latest films to the more famous ones, they assert themselves as minor, sometimes sleazy genre films which offer a lot more than they seem to do. It is Michael Shannon's best impression of a madman or a schizophrenic yet, and he's made a specialty of playing such roles, thanks to an amazing script (and a spot-on direction by Herzog): his character builds some sort of personal mythology, or mystique by picking up everything that he comes accross, a Greek play, an Asian sword, a river in Peru, ostriches, a blues song ("this is it! he tells his girlfriend, this is the voice of God!"), a can of oatmeal which he thinks is God (I'm not spoiling too much), everything makes wondrous sense to him and suddenly the world seems to become decipherable in a way one couldn't have imagined. By way of those associations, the film is hilarious, distressing and, yes, poetic in a way few films (about madness) are.

[Dan Warburton]

and Rutger Hauer turns out to be a much nicer guy than the opening of the film would have you believe.

That is, a nice psychopath? He kills somebody I think in the opening.

Yes, he shoots his wife Olga through the head after smashing her lover's head in with a bottle (he also strangles another couple), but as we see her die of cancer later in the movie, it's clear it's just wishful thinking on Rutger's part. That's why I said Hitch would have hated it - he was never happy with the false flashback in Stage Fright, you may recall, telling Truffaut he shouldn't have deceived his audience. Meanwhile, looks like I'd better check out that Herzog. Meanwhile..



Marco Ferreri, I Love You, 1986

Christophe Lambert falls in love with.. a talking key ring. No shit. Damn, I've followed Ferreri to some crazy and disturbing places in the past few years, from the gluttony and whoring of La Grande Bouffe to the post-apocalyptic coastline of Il seme dell'uomo via self-mutilation (L'ultima donna), wife murder (Dillinger e morto) and even cannibalism (La carne), but this one really tries the patience. Totophe and his rather pathetic teddy bear of a buddy Eddy Mitchell live, it seems, in a kind of squat warehouse (though Lambert's pad is as well-equipped as an IKEA store) somewhere in the villes nouvelles west of Paris, spend most of their time watching TV commercials (I guess MF is making some kind of statement here.. yep, 1986 was pretty terrible, as I recall) and seem to have access to all kinds of available and attractive women. But for some reason he prefers his key ring, which says "I love you" if you whistle at it. Oh, it also responds to toy pianos too (I'm not making this up, honest). Have yet to find anything sensible written on the movie, but suffice it to say William Lubtchansky's filming is ravishing. Wonder if it was his idea or Ferreri's to stick those sickly orange filters on the seashore ending. Yet another Ferreri film that ends by - well, in - the sea. What's it all about?

[Piano Mouth]

Double Indemnity



This was great on the big screen, will definitely be watching this one again. Can't really believe it was made so long ago, 1944.

[jon abbey]

really impressed with Certified Copy afer also being impressed (differently) with Like Someone In Love, I think it's time to watch a lot more Kiarostomi (I have seen some of the Iranian ones but need to rewatch those also).

[Dan Warburton]

Jacques Rivette, Duelle (une quarantaine), 1976

Second time round - excellent. It's relatively short, at just under two hours long, and quite fast moving for Rivette, with great performances from the leading ladies (Bulle Ogier, Juliet Berto and Hermine Karagheuz). Typical of the director though it is, I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen a Rivette before (start with Paris nous appartient, like he did). I see someone has stuck it on YouTube (subtitled too!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-xjDYcyrI4 - just as well, as the DVD is long OOP, I think

[Dan Warburton]

Takeshi Kitano, Violent Cop, 1989

I've been meaning to get back to Kitano for a while, so might as well start at the beginning. What a debut - imagine Dirty Harry directed by Ozu (well, sort of..). Instead of the wham bam montage of normal action films, Kitano goes for long takes, which, along with the quirky choice of music (Erik Satie and cheesy, slinky lounge funk accompanying brutal baseball bat beating..) makes for a uniquely compelling experience. And often very funny too - it was originally meant to be a comedy before Kitano took over the direction - but the ending is spectacularly bleak. Absolutely terrific from beginning to end, check it out

[lao]

.

[Dan Warburton]

I will do, for sure. Meanwhile, last night's double bill -



Giorgio Ferroni, La notte dei diavoli, 1972

Stylish and remarkably well-made retreading of the old Wurdalak tale ("Russian vampire that must consume the blood of its loved ones and convert its whole family"), set on the Italian / Slovenian border (I'm assuming - at one point we see our hero consulting a road map of Yugoslavia). Special effects are, for the most part, quite good (Carlo Rimbaldi, who went on to work on Close Encounters, Dune and Possession), and Giorgio Gaslini's score is as good as any of Morricone's. Not quite as snazzy as the Wurdulak episode in Bava's Black Sabbath, but well worth a look nonetheless.




Dario Argento, The Stendhal Syndrome, 1995

Yes, Argento actually received permission to shoot inside the Uffizi in Florence, lucky bastard. In addition to Piero della Francesca's Dukes of Urbino (above), we see Caravaggio's Medusa and of course the famous pair of Botticellis. The eponymous syndrome exists, and refers to a state where people are physically affected (seriously, that is - of course we all are to some extent) by works of art. On two occasions our heroine - Asia Argento, only 21 at the time and a bit young to be a hotshot detective, but never mind - actually does step / fall into the paintings she's looking at. Shades of Sherlock Jr... no coincidence that her police bodyguard likes watching Buster Keaton videos. Funnily enough, the first of these isn't in the Uffizi at all (Brueghel's Landscape with the The Fall of Icarus is in Brussels). Anyway, Asia has in fact been lured to the museum by the serial rapist she's on the trail of.. won't spoil the story for you, but it's gets pretty bloody. Of course, there are plot holes galore, the acting isn't exactly topnotch (except Asia herself, who's present in almost every scene), the Morricone soundtrack gets under your skin (that's what was intended, I guess) and the whole affair is about 20' too long, but worth a look if you're an Argento (père ou fille) fan

[Piano Mouth]

Birdman



This one was Ok. It kind of combined Synechdoche NY and David Lynch in a way that seemed like it was ripping them off. I used to like Edward Norton but he seems irritating to me now. I haven't seen a film with Michael Keaton in it for a pretty long time. It all seemed a bit too contrived for me, the interweaving narrative gets kind of old, like it was interesting and kind of new in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but to me it's just been overdone in recent movies.

[schiksalgemeinschaft]

Andrzej Żuławski, Possession, 1981

As the bloke who wrote the blog I swiped the pic from sez, these people are fucking insane! Goodness knows what it's all about - what on earth is that Giger-like monster in Isabelle Adjani's bedroom? Is Sam Neill a spy, or what? What has the Berlin Wall got to do with it all? As soon as I saw that electric carving knife, I knew we were in trouble (last time I spotted one of those babies in a movie it was in Gérard Depardieu's hands and we all know what he did with it at the end of Ferreri's La derniere femme..). Anyway, the scene where Adjani goes apeshit in the deserted subway corridor is totally awesome. A real trip, this, I can tell you

I guess you'll like this in that case. I do anyhow

[walto]

I saw Experiment in Terror which I liked because of the absence of throat clearing. Starts right in with Lee Remick getting grabbed from behind (and the perp --known better as Artemus Gordon on the Wild Wild West--estimating her measurements, um...somehow). Also caught Birdman, which reminded me of Synecdoch, NY, though Birdman is easier to follow (and maybe not quite as deep). Quite enjoyable, though, and Emma Stone in particular is terrific. I admit, though, that I love movies about plays, generally.

[Dan Warburton]

David Fincher, Gone Girl, 2014

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospect ... ie-review/ sums up quite nicely my thoughts on this one, especially the references to Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction. Spoilers ahoy, so if you haven't seen it or read Gillian Flynn's book, skip to the next post. Damn, I wish there were still some kind of old-school studio moguls to get behind directors and kick them hard if they can't bring a film in at under two hours. I'll let Fincher off on his super-condensed reading of Millennium, but there are stretches of Gone Girl that are decidedly flabby compared to his earlier work. It starts to lose pace when Amy gets robbed in the motel, and slows dreadfully once she returns to Nick spattered in blood (one of many implausible elements of the story - I can live with implausibility with The Game or Se7en, but not here). Seems DF has, like Soderbergh and Scorsese before him, settled into a comfortable middle age as Major League Hollywood Director. What else is there to say? Well, it's very well acted, well filmed (as in Major League Hollywood Box Office Success), and, I suppose, well-written - but I don't subscribe to the ending. Someone told me the book ends differently, but as George Bernard Shaw once replied to someone who had sent him a book he didn't really want, "I shall waste no time reading it"

[jon abbey]

Seems DF has, like Soderbergh and Scorsese before him, settled into a comfortable middle age as Major League Hollywood Director.

actually he and Gillian Flynn are going to remake the incredible 'Utopia' for HBO, Fincher will direct every episode and Flynn will write every one. assuming they are making the horrendous decision to set this in the US (not totally positive), this has about as much chance at being good as someone remaking Twin Peaks and setting it in the UK.