Films you've seen recently and would unreservedly recommend:

B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I will try the Wire eventually, but it just so doesn't appeal...

Yes, The Conversation is definitely one of the best films ever made. Can't beat 70s Hollywood (well maybe 90s American indie, but).
 
M

matmustard

theta
Regardless (rather than because) of popular opion, The Wire should be watched.
Trust me on this, you will not have truer words spoken to you all day :)
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
OK, appreciate the endorsement - I like any opinion prefaced with 'regardless of popular opinion'.

Haven't got the time at the mo', but as soon as I have, will give it a go...
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
and on the topic of crime-drama gangster flicks, have just seen the single most original and well executed one in... oh shit can it be... for ever?

A Prophet by Jacques Audiard. highly recommended. comes out in the states Feb 26th, not sure about england...
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
zhao said:
and on the topic of crime-drama gangster flicks, have just seen the single most original and well executed one in... oh shit can it be... for ever?

A Prophet by Jacques Audiard. highly recommended. comes out in the states Feb 26th, not sure about england...
Click to expand...

already out here - see above
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
zhao said:
and on the topic of crime-drama gangster flicks, have just seen the single most original and well executed one in... oh shit can it be... for ever?

A Prophet by Jacques Audiard. highly recommended. comes out in the states Feb 26th, not sure about england...
Click to expand...

It's good, but i still didn't believe/buy all of it.
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
baboon2004 said:
It's good, but i still didn't believe/buy all of it.
Click to expand...

are you supposed to believe all of any crime fiction? raymond chandler? sherlock holmes? i thought this one did a damn fine job of suspending whatever fantastic elements it had that are a bit of a stretch, which were very few and subtle anyway. (by the way the Wire i think is completely 100% believable.)

but i was a bit tired toward the end of the film and am still a little confused about a few things:

SPOILERS AHEAD







Luciani sends him to kill the rat who is talking to the Italians (the racist guy with long hair), and also his own boss, Marcello or whatever, M something. but instead of killing M, he lets him live, to "take revenge" on the racist guy.

my questions are: why did Luciani want him to kill M? why is M angry with the racist guy? (because he is a rat? but M didn't know he was a rat did he?) and finally: this seemed to have been the last power move which secured dude's new position in the scene -- how?

also: how did he become the leader of the Muslims? by giving money to the Imam over time? that's it? anyone who donates to the Imam can become leader of the Muslim gangs?
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
zhao said:
are you supposed to believe all of any crime fiction? raymond chandler? sherlock holmes? i thought this one did a damn fine job of suspending whatever fantastic elements it had that are a bit of a stretch, which were very few and subtle anyway. (by the way the Wire i think is completely 100% believable.)

but i was a bit tired toward the end of the film and am still a little confused about a few things:

SPOILERS AHEAD

Luciani sends him to kill the rat who is talking to the Italians (the racist guy with long hair), and also his own boss, Marcello or whatever, M something. but instead of killing M, he lets him live, to "take revenge" on the racist guy.

my questions are: why did Luciani want him to kill M? why is M angry with the racist guy? (because he is a rat? but M didn't know he was a rat did he?) and finally: this seemed to have been the last power move which secured dude's new position in the scene -- how?

also: how did he become the leader of the Muslims? by giving money to the Imam over time? that's it? anyone who donates to the Imam can become leader of the Muslim gangs?
Click to expand...

I was hoping it would have a more interesting take than that of generic crime fiction though, and I felt it was very generic (though a perfectly watchable film). I know 'prison film' is a very diffuse category, but of recent such films, 'Hunger' was better in every way.

As to the questions, I really can't recall it in that much detail to be honest. I was flagging a bit towards the end too.
 
grizzleb

grizzleb

Well-known member
A Prophet is a very watchable prison film. I can't quite see why some people are lauding it as the finest example ever. It's not particularly intelligent, no more so than any number of 80's films with De Niro et al featuring anyway.
 
Leo

Leo

Well-known member
matmustard said:
Coppola / Gene Hackman's The Conversation is another great cop-not-cop film incidentally, believe this was already bought up in a Noir thread
Click to expand...

REALLY great film, what a cool opening shot (slowly zooms in on some characters in a park from high above, one continuous shot that runs what seems like about 10 minutes without a cut.) plus, gene hackman actually learned how to play sax for the role and is really playing in the film. and he has a wild freakout scene at the end, literally destroys his apartment.

the dvd has a pretty interesting director's comments section where they explained a lot of stuff about the film that i missed the first time around, worth getting.
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
''killer whale expert nancy black told wkmg television said that the killing could have been an accident, with the whale thinking it was playing a game.

"they are very intelligent creatures," black said. "they have emotions, and feelings. Maybe it was unhappy in the situation. Maybe it was bored."
Click to expand...

no willy, no!
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
^^ and on the topic of uncomfortable and tense, have just seen Das Weiss Band. brilliant i thought. that much more powerful with the unresolved end, and speaks volumes about, or so i think it does, pre-war german society.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"^^ and on the topic of uncomfortable and tense, have just seen Das Weiss Band. brilliant i thought. that much more powerful with the unresolved end, and speaks volumes about, or so i think it does, pre-war german society."
Click to expand...
Yeah, this was great, probably deserves its own thread. One thing my friend said though, why does Haneke so often feel the need to introduce some kind of pseudo-mystery that you know he's not going to resolve? Once you've realsed that there will be no solutio nit's not clear how much it adds, maybe it's just something to hang the tension on and around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top