Recently Watched Films 2010

[Dan Warburton]

Monte Hellman, Cockfighter, 1974

[kandu]

Filme Socialisme coming on my way.
Did anyone see it already?

[surfer]

Lorna's Silence (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2008) - Another great one to put beside "L'Enfant" and "Le Fils", maybe my favorite living directors. Shades of "Vivre Sa Vie" and "Nights of Cabiria". Brilliant.

[Dan Warburton]

Bertrand Tavernier, In The Electric Mist, 2009

Wish I could have seen the Director's Cut (117 minutes) instead of the 98 minute Producer's Cut on the DVD, because the complex plotlines could do with some elaboration, but there's much to recommend Tavernier's adaptation of James Lee Burke. TLJ is perfect as Dave Robicheaux, and the supporting cast do a good job too. Nice photography and soundtrack.. but somehow I suspect the longer version would be more coherent and easier to follow.

[leroysghost]

Tommy Lee Jones, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, 2005

Third time, even better. Great performances from Jones and Barry Pepper.

great performances by (the other) Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Melissa Leo and Levon Helm as well.

we must have been google-ing Tommy Lee at the same time Dan cause i almost watched In The Electric Mist last night as well. i decided against it on account of not having the director's cut (which apparently makes a world of difference) which seems to be available only on the french blu-ray. strange that it wasn't on the dvd...

[Dan Warburton]

I'm a cheapskate when it comes to DVDs (don't bother with Blu Rays either) - found my copy for three quid on Amazon. No subtitles either - and I can tell you it wasn't only the wife who had problems understanding some of the local dialects!

[Dan Warburton]

Todd Haynes, I'm Not There, 2007

Don't remember this particular shot in the film (the sequence is in black and white too), but included it here because a) Haynes' incorporation of Fellini's 8 1/2 (and Richard Lester's Hard Day's Night) into his grand scheme of things is a master stroke and b) Cate Blanchett's twitchy take on Don't Look Back-era Dylan is absolutely outstanding. Paging Jon Abbey here - as a great fan of both Dylan and the Fellini, would like to know what you made of this. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to spending more time with it to figure out how the six narratives are cunningly interleaved.

[jon abbey]

Paging Jon Abbey here - as a great fan of both Dylan and the Fellini, would like to know what you made of this.

I've avoided it/haven't seen it yet, as the concept sounds annoying to me and I haven't heard especially good things. I tend to avoid most biopics of artists I care about, though, the Hollywood Johnny Cash one and Fela! on Broadway come to mind, I'd prefer to stick to my memories of the actual artists. this one is obviously less straightforward, but still not something I've wanted to see.

[Dan Warburton]

Well, it's not a biopic in the way that Scorsese's film is (I enjoyed that too, as it happens), though I understand your reticence. Let's just say that if you see it in a bargain bin for five bucks and have a couple of hours free (ha!), I'd recommend it.

[leroysghost]

i tend to agree with Dan a lot when it comes to films, but in this case i'd keep avoiding I'm Not There. conceited juvenilia. extremely annoying.

it's odd how one man's master stroke is another's cringe inducing trite fest.

c'est la vie, i suppose.

[jon abbey]

in related news (probably should be a different thread), has any once-great director ever fallen off consistently like recent years Scorsese has? holy shit, what a hack that guy has turned into.

[billygomberg]

Paging Jon Abbey here - as a great fan of both Dylan and the Fellini, would like to know what you made of this.

I've avoided it/haven't seen it yet, as the concept sounds annoying to me and I haven't heard especially good things. I tend to avoid most biopics of artists I care about, though, the Hollywood Johnny Cash one and Fela! on Broadway come to mind, I'd prefer to stick to my memories of the actual artists. this one is obviously less straightforward, but still not something I've wanted to see.

I really enjoyed I'm Not There, but as I indicated on the previous page, I dig Todd Haynes. I felt the last section dragged a lot, as my understanding is that it speaks to a Dylan mythos that I am not at all familiar with (as I am not big on Dylan).

and re: Scorcese. Agreeing w/Jon on this. One of the reasons I think I haven't heard more of this is that he can still pull great talent in on a production, but I don't feel like seeing any recent Scorcese again, the way I can watch just about anything pre "Casino" over and over.

[surfer]

in related news (probably should be a different thread), has any once-great director ever fallen off consistently like recent years Scorsese has? holy shit, what a hack that guy has turned into.

That guy sure does love him some "Gimme Shelter".

[jon abbey]

I couldn't believe how bad The Departed was. and yeah, 'Gimme Shelter' is a great song, but give it a rest already.

[sevenarts]

I'm Not There is fantastic, and I say that as a very big fan of Dylan - but also, admittedly, a big fan of Haynes. It's such an inventive approach to the biopic. In fact, it's barely a biopic at all, more a rambling essay on Dylan, art and identity. Great stuff, though Haynes' real masterpiece is Safe.

As for Scorsese, his recent films have seemed like total victories of style over substance to me. Lots of fun, but really not very enduring or substantial in the way of his classic films.

[Dan Warburton]

Can one of our beloved moderators (F&P??) split off the last few comments into a separate Scorsese thread? (Or maybe there already is one somewhere..)
Meanwhile, waiting for someone to issue a fully restored version of this (if there is one out there tell me) - because I love it to death but am getting fed up of my cheapo duff DVD:



Vittorio de Sica, Ladri di biciclette, 1948

[99vadim]

Can one of our beloved moderators (F&P??) split off the last few comments into a separate Scorsese thread? (Or maybe there already is one somewhere..)
Meanwhile, waiting for someone to issue a fully restored version of this (if there is one out there tell me) - because I love it to death but am getting fed up of my cheapo duff DVD:



Vittorio de Sica, Ladri di biciclette, 1948

There's a Criterion - http://www.criterion.com/films/210-bicycle-thieves .. or isn't it good enough?

[Dan Warburton]

I thought that had gone out of print. Seems not - but how's the print? Just because it's on Criterion doesn't always mean it's a good transfer. Will have a surf around and see.

[99vadim]

this might help: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/reviews/bicycle_thief.htm

[leroysghost]

Haynes' real masterpiece is Safe.

i didn't care for this one either. the film tackles a very serious subject, but for me all it does is take shallow pot shots at easy targets. i don't get all the Haynes hype (though i haven't seen Heaven yet).