DLaurent

Well-known member
Good Morning I remember I liked at the time, quite funny and shows a generation gap in the emergence of Modern Japan, but I don't think I'd be up for watching it now. I watched more stuff like that during my formative years of film watching when I wanted to learn a bit about film history and foreign films. Maybe I'll come back to it.
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
Been a long time since I've seen Ugetsu so not sure if I'd still love it now. I remember being blown away by the pacing of it though, and was a bit into the oriental ghost story element to it. The last Japanese film I watched was a noir called Pale Flower and I found it to be good but slightly style over substance compared to a good hard boiled American noir, the kind that's really captured my imagination recently. I even tried to rewatch an old favourite, Woman in the Dunes, and did not get as absorbed into it as the first time round but still appreciate it. First time round I was really into the landscape as a character style to it, the existential angst, and screechy music score.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Kuroneko was good for that spooky japanese ghost film vibe...
The director of WITD did a film called Man Without A Map that I found quite interesting.
 

WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
Calm With Horses

A quiet blast. Zero fat with a superb cast. Never over reaches. Paudi is a prime cunt and his actor has the face for it. Wish the director had let the scenery bleed into more scenes to add heft to the Arm’s claustrophobic world and limited choices a bit more (the red shed snaking through valleys). Minor quibbles
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I really loved Shoplifters when I saw it although I don't think I liked the ending either. Whether that was cos it was depressing or because it felt like it was laying the misery on thick I can't remember now. I barely remember anything about it, in truth, except that I thought it evoked the lovely warmth and comfort belonging to a family can create in life, even in the direst circumstances. (Not that I've experienced the direst circumstances, but you catch my drift.)
 

luka

Well-known member
yes i did like it a lot until the sad ending i really could of done without that. i specifically chose the film cos i imagined it was a feel-good sentimental film then it just done a massive karate kick to my balls
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
You could try The Farewell.

That film kind of kicks you in the balls but then rubs them at the same time so they get all warm inside.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
It's an American film by a Chinese-American writer-director, but it's mostly set in China.


It's a sort of darkly comic farce but it's again really good at evoking how families are (at best) both infuriating and an absolutely essential source of comfort and love.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Watched a modernist animation called Chronopolis, music by Luc Ferrari... cool and intriguing but I probably should have watched the original version with the narration that was stripped out of the official release.
Then took @DLaurent's advice and watched Criss Cross... decent but preferred The Killers I think.
Now watching Cafe Society - dunno if there is a plot but I'm just gawping at the 30s hollywood mansions and deco porn. Love to see this era - especially hollywood - depicted so lovingly.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yesterday they were showing Starship Troopers 3 on telly so I watched it. It's strange cos I loved the first one and I've seen it several times but somehow I never checked out the - straight to video - follow ups, which on the evidence of this is a bit of a shame. This third film is far from perfect and the fx are disappointingly cheap looking, but I once again enjoyed the mixture of alien bug war action and heavy-handed political satire - although it does create a curious mixture in which they seem to want you to root for the humans battling the aliens but at the same time to despise the fascist human society which they represent which is busy executing peacenik "terrorists" and spewing out laughably see-through propaganda that - well actually after Trump seems totally plausible in fact. Oh and they also chuck in this weird subplot about how religion is anti-human but then when they pray and it (sort of) works, it is re-introduced. So loads of mixed messages and I'm not even sure that they know what they are trying to say, but yeah, it's worth seeing in a low-budget fun kind of way.
 

nochexxx

harco pronting
watched Whisky Mountain (1977) last night via the Arrow Video player. bonkers in the best possible way, I suggest going in cold as I would hate to know too much beforehand. It sits well next to Rituals and other Deliverance rip-offs

 

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Corpsey

bandz ahoy
On a similar tip, I watched Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle last night with my parents. It's the third time I've seen it and I would recommend it unreservedly for big dumb (but not dumb dumb) fun.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I'm watching a film called Nine which happened to be on. It slowly dawned on me that it's a kind of (musical) remake of 8 1/2 (the clue was in the name I guess). A strange idea in that you have Daniel Day-Lewis impersonating Marcello in his roll as an avatar for Fellini... and you have Nicole Kidman in the fountain like in Dulce Vita... it's a big old mess to be honest. I like the mise enjoy scene: the vespas, the cars, suits, the buildings and streets... but too much is shot inside in tight, dark close-up so even that can't save it.
 
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