Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It

[kihei]

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017) Directed by Noah Baumbach 7A

From Sidney Lumet to John Cassavettes to Woody Allen to Spike Lee to Noah Baumbach, since the 50's there has been a long, talented string of New York directors, "New York" in the sense that their movies are usually set in New York and about New York people, who one could indeed argue are somehow different than any other people in the world, never mind just the States. New York directors are different, too, and unlike most of their US counterparts in that their focus is more on people than on situations, more about the "feel" of life in one particular city. Baumbach is the direct(or) descendant of Woody Allen and his films explore similar terrain though with a style that owes more to the French New Wave than Allen's does. His latest installment of family life in the Big Apple is a fine one. The movie focuses on a family in which the lasting damage has already been done years ago, and we are just looking at the troubling afteremath. Harold Meyerowitz (Dustin Hoffmann) is the patriarch of the clan, now on his third or fourth marriage depending on how you are counting, and he is as self-absorbed and tone deaf as it is possible to imagine, a semi-successful artist who envies and belittles those around him. Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler play his sons, though each from a different marriage, while Emma Thompson plays his latest wife. The principal actors are supported by a rich cast of minor characters. Stiller is successful but deeply unhappy; Sandler is a neer-do-well who is a great dad but never amounted to much of anything else. Another daughter is as adrift and confused about where she fits in as her siblings. Baumbach just lets these characters interact in an attempt to sort out what remains of the rest of their lives. The end result is fascinating.

Note: available on Netflix


Top Twenty of '17 so far

Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia
The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Ireland/US
The Third Murder, Kore-eda, Japan
Faces Places. Varda, France
On Body and Soul, Enyedi, Hungary
A Fantastic Woman, Leilo, Chile
Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve, US
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), Baumbach, US
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway

 

[Puck]

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017) Directed by Noah Baumbach 7A

From Sidney Lumet to John Cassavettes to Woody Allen to Spike Lee to Noah Baumbach, since the 50's there has been a long, talented string of New York directors, "New York" in the sense that their movies are usually set in New York and about New York people, who one could indeed argue are somehow different than any other people in the world, never mind just the States. New York directors are different, too, and unlike most of their US counterparts in that their focus is more on people than on situations, more about the "feel" of life in one particular city. Baumbach is the direct(or) descendant of Woody Allen and his films explore similar terrain though with a style that owes more to the French New Wave than Allen's does. His latest installment of family life in the Big Apple is a fine one. The movie focuses on a family in which the lasting damage has already been done years ago, and we are just looking at the troubling afteremath. Harold Meyerowitz (Dustin Hoffmann) is the patriarch of the clan, now on his third or fourth marriage depending on how you are counting, and he is as self-absorbed and tone deaf as it is possible to imagine, a semi-successful artist who envies and belittles those around him. Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler play his sons, though each from a different marriage, while Emma Thompson plays his latest wife. The principal actors are supported by a rich cast of minor characters. Stiller is successful but deeply unhappy; Sandler is a neer-do-well who is a great dad but never amounted to much of anything else. Another daughter is as adrift and confused about where she fits in as her siblings. Baumbach just lets these characters interact in an attempt to sort out what remains of the rest of their lives. The end result is fascinating.

I just watched it on Netflix, thanks to kihei for the tip. The acting is superb, who'da guessed Adam Sandler was that good at drama. No weak spots anywhere with this cast. But the storyline made me uncomfortable, I can't help but think a lighter touch would have made this more viable but that was the point I suppose. It's kind of like The Royal Tenenbaums without the lulz. Great film but I still believe artsie NY liberals have a greater capacity to laugh at themselves than this film projects. A few more Woody Allen/Wes Anderson lighter moments would have helped this film with me personally but prolly not what the Director was looking for. I'm obviously not a true art house cinephile.

p.s. just noticed that Baumbach also directed and wrote Frances Ha which I really liked. But that's another film with many situations that make you feel 'uncomfortable'. I wonder if that is a thing with him?

 

[kihei]

The Outlaws (2017) Directed by Yoon-seong Kang 7A

With two rival Chinese-Korean gangs in the process of going to war in Seoul's Chinatown, a burly, no nonsense police inspector (Dong-seouk Ma), as tough as the thugs, tries to outsmart them. Although one tiny gang of three hoods is wreaking the most havoc, they are harder than hell to bring down. Eventually things come to a very violent head. This basic plot has been done a million times but seldom with as much verve and mayhem as are on display here. What sets The Outlaws apart from similar genre works is the grittiness of the seedy underworld of Seoul's Chinatown and the conflict between a very violent but appealing anti-hero and a very lethal bad guy who looks like he would be a real handful to deal with. Although the movie has few quiet scenes, they are effective ones. But it is the frequent jolts of brutal violence that keeps the adrenaline flowing. Lots of action, interesting characters and attention to detail make The Outlaws well worth seeking out if you like this kind of thing.

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[Tasty Biscuits]

Godard can go **** himself.

What's the context behind this?

 

[nameless1]

I do not get the comment on Godard either. He did not direct Hiroshima Mon Armour. Rather, it was by Alain Resnais, who I am torn on.

 

[kihei]

I think the guy was trying to ever so subtly suggest that he has an axe to grind with Godard. Many do, god bless 'em. Nobody I know, but I'm sure they're out there.

 

[nameless1]

I think the guy was trying to subtly suggest that he didn't like Godard.

Ahh. That is a weird place to bring it up, because Godard is nothing like Resnais, but Oga does Oga.

 

[kihei]

Ahh. That is a weird place to bring it up, because Godard is nothing like Resnais, but Oga does Oga.

I see you quoted my initial, less snide response. Don't know what I would do in life if I couldn't revise.

Anyway I have some questions about VFF. Does it have the equivalent of a "People's Choice Award"? And if so, what movie won? Also are Canadian films promoted and screened at VFF as a general rule?

 

[Diddy]

Fantastic Mr Fox: 9.2/10

Really good movie. Love the art style and soundtrack. Voice acting was good too. Neat little story and it was funny. Gotta be one of my fav animated films.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I like Breathless but everything else....is meh or just up its own ass like Pierrot Le Fou. I was talking also about how Godard is credited with the start of New Wave with Breathless but to me, this film from the year before should get the credit.

Also, anyone see Flirting With Disaster (1996) with Ben Stiller? I feel a forgotten 90s binge.

 

[nameless1]

I see you quoted my initial, less snide response. Don't know what I would do in life if I couldn't revise.

Anyway I have some questions about VFF. Does it have the equivalent of a "People's Choice Award"? And if so, what movie won? Also are Canadian films promoted and screened at VFF as a general rule?

VIFF does have a awards ceremony, and it usually happens at the closing gala.

Here is the link, but I have also copied and pasted it below.

BC Spotlight Awards
Sea to Sky Award - $20,000

Presented by TELUS
Recognizes the outstanding work of a female key creative on a BC-produced feature or short.

Winner: Kathleen Hepburn, Never Steady, Never Still
Best BC Film Award

Presented by Harold Greenberg Fund and Encore by Deluxe
$10,000 development bursary sponsored by the Harold Greenberg Fund & $15,000 post-production services credit supplied by encore by Deluxe.

Winner: Luk'Luk'I (dir. Wayne Wapeemukwa)
BC Emerging Filmmaker Award

Presented by UBCP/ACTRA, AFBS & William F. White
$7,500 cash prize sponsored by UBCP/ACTRA and ACTRA Fraternal Benefits Society, plus a $10,000 equipment credit supplied by William F. White.

Winner: Kathleen Hepburn, Never Steady, Never Still

Canadian Awards

Best Canadian Film - $10,000

Winner: Black Cop, (dir. Cory Bowles)

Emerging Canadian Director - $2,000

Winner: Kathleen Hepburn, Never Steady, Never Still

Best Canadian Documentary - $15,000

Winner: Unarmed Verses (dir. Charles Office)

Best BC Short Film - $5,000

Winner: Rupture (dir. Yassmina Karajah)

Best Canadian Short Film - $2,500

Winner: Shadow Nettes (dir. Phillip Barker)

Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film - $2,000

Winner: Vincent Toi, The Crying Conch

Impact Awards

VIFF Impact Award - $5,000

Winner: BLUE (dir. Karina Holden)

Audience Awards

Super Channel People’s Choice Award

Winner: Indian Horse (dir. Stephen Campanelli)

VIFF Most Popular International Feature

Winner: Loving Vincent (dir. Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman, Poland/UK, 2017)

VIFF Most Popular International Documentary

Winner: Faces Places (dir. Agnes Varda, JR, France, 2017)

VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary

Winner: Shut Up and Say Something (dir. Melanie Wood)

Personally, I find that the festival barely promotes Canadian films. I both volunteer and attend the festival, but I hardly hear any recommendations for Canadian films from the festival organisers. That is certainly something the festival really need to work on.

 

[kihei]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

 

[kihei]

Cold Hell (2017) Directed by Stephen Ruzowitzky 7A

Ozge (Violetta Schurawlow), a young Turkish/Austrian woman is stalked by a serial killer because she witnessed him disposing of one of his victim. The police are skeptical. As she seems violent and unstable herself, it's hard to blame them. But eventually Christian (Tobias Moretti), a doubting but nonetheless good-hearted police inspector, decides against his better judgement to shelter her. But he can only do so much. After some near misses by the serial killer who is hellbent on eliminating her, Ozge decides to take matters into her own hands. Cold Hell is a very pleasing update of 1970's giallo films, Itallian genre films that combined stylized, gory violence, lots of action, and a good, if not always credible, mystery. Director Stephen Ruzowitzky, who won an Academy Award a decade ago for The Counterfeiters, provides a sure hand at the wheel and creates a darker than noir mise en scene involving Vienna. I would go so far as to say that not since The Third Man has Vienna been used so effectively. He cuts down on the gore typical of the genre to just the right level and emphasizes character development instead, ending up with an unexpectedly interesting triangle consisting of Ozge, Christian and Christian's Alzheimer-afflicted father. Because the characters take on such human qualities, I became more emotionally involved in their fate than I normally get when watching genre works. That gives the violence a greater impact, as well. One of the delights of movie-going is to have a film turn out to be way better than one's initial expectations. Cold Hell accomplished that with plenty of room to spare.

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[REALTALK81]

I did not even know about this forum on HF but am glad that I have found it.

This is really my favorite time of year for watching film. I have loved the horror genre for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory at a theatre was watching The Gate with my mother so I look forward to this time.

Tonight, in that spirit, I felt like watching something that is as odd as it is fun.

HAUSU!

It is based around a schoolgirl who wants to leave her father (and his new girlfriend) for a little summer vacation with her six besties. They decide the protagonist's aunt's country home would be a perfect little getaway. It's a decision that could see melons fly.

I really dig the set and the experimental feel of this movie. Add in some characters that are hilariously true to their monikers and VOILA.. you will feel like a kid again! My advice.... Turn off the mind, pop some kernels and ENJOY.

 

[Savi]

This past 10 days was the annual Gent International Film Festival, which is the biggest film festival in Belgium. Since I had to work and everything I didn't get to see as many films as I wanted to but still managed to schedule some of my most anticipated titles.
Eventually I was able to see 12 films;

Great
Thelma (Joachim Trier, Norway)

Very good
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos, UK)
The Square (Ruben Östlund, Sweden)
Columbus (Kogonada, US)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh, US)

Good
Ava (Lea Mysius, France)
Two Irenes (Fabio Meira, Brazil)
Closeness (Kantemir Balagov, Russia)
Hostages (Rezo Gigineishvili, Georgia)

Disappointing
Façades (Kaat Beels, Belgium)
Pericle (Stefano Mordini, Italy)
You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, US)

There was a bit of a controversy with the movie Closeness though. The director used some real life footage of a snuff film (is that even allowed, legally?), shot during the Russian war in 1998 when a group of Russian soldiers were captured by separatist rebels in Chechnya/Dagestan and subsequently beheaded while being filmed. This footage was later sold and one of the videos got leaked, I guess. Anyway, a large number of people walked out of the movie during these scenes.

 

[nameless1]

Savi, can you elaborate on Thelma? Sans the opening sequence, I thought it was one of the weaker ones I have seen this festival. The whole thing just does not make sense to me.

 

[OzzyFan]

It
3 out of 4stars

AKA kids dealing with stuff/AKA it's a hard knock life. Seriously, a pretty good coming of age movie about the stuff some children face as they grow up, both literally and metaphorically, and how important friendship is in life. Some terrific acting turns too.

Happy Death Day
2.25 out of 4stars

Works best as a showcase for lead actress Jessica Rothe's surprising range, albeit nothing oscar worthy. The movie grows on you as it moves along. The first 30 minutes or so of the set-up is tedious and predictable, but after that it picks up and brings elements of fun, mystery/suspense, comedy, and "character growth". If I had to rate the 2nd half of the movie alone, I'd give it 2.5stars and am a bit discouraged I can't because the set-up. I say that because it's very rare these days to get a commercial movie in this genre ride a high note all the way to the end of the movie like it does, incorporate a decent couple twists, and contain the mixture of elements it has.

 

[REALTALK81]

It
3 out of 4stars

AKA kids dealing with stuff/AKA it's a hard knock life. Seriously, a pretty good coming of age movie about the stuff some children face as they grow up, both literally and metaphorically, and how important friendship is in life. Some terrific acting turns too.

Happy Death Day
2.25 out of 4stars

Works best as a showcase for lead actress Jessica Rothe's surprising range, albeit nothing oscar worthy. The movie grows on you as it moves along. The first 30 minutes or so of the set-up is tedious and predictable, but after that it picks up and brings elements of fun, mystery/suspense, comedy, and "character growth". If I had to rate the 2nd half of the movie alone, I'd give it 2.5stars and am a bit discouraged I can't because the set-up. I say that because it's very rare these days to get a commercial movie in this genre ride a high note all the way to the end of the movie like it does, incorporate a decent couple twists, and contain the mixture of elements it has.

I enjoyed IT as well. I was a fan of the original (still holds up pretty well) and it improved by leaps and bounds effects wise. Throw in the fact that I have lived in some of the places that it was shot (Oshawa and Port Hope) and visited one of the sets (the creepy house) and it added even more nostalgia for me. I still think Tim Curry was a better Pennywise though. Thanks for the solid review Ozzy Fan!

 

[Desdichado93]

The Kings speech (2010) starring, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
It was was a really great movie with a excellent performance by Colin Firth as "Bertie" who later became king George VI.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1504320/combined

Eye in the sky (2015) starring Dame Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman (in one of his lasts movies).
The movie plot is about the legal and moral aspects of sacrificing a few innocents civilians in a preemptive drone
attack against terrorists in an attempt to save thousands of other civilians. Sort of like trigger happy military vs. more cautious politicians/advisers.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2057392/combined

The Nice Guys starring Russel Crowe, Ryan Gosling and a small "guest appearance" by Kim Basinger.
The movies is about two P.I.:s who sort of gets involved in a "conspiracy" and have to investigate it to save themselves.
Not that good and not really a memorable movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3799694/combined

 

[kihei]

The Snowman (2017) Directed by Tomas Alfredson 3B

Police Inspector Harry Hole (yup, no kidding) (Michael Fassbender, an alcoholic cop now but once supposedly a legend, is working on a case that involves a serial killer who leaves various creepy snowmen behind as his calling card (easy enough to do in wintry Norway). Various things happen, some of them even vaguely related to the plot, and then the movie ends on a wildly fortunate note that left me shaking my head. It pains me to think that something so gorgeous to look at could be such an awful movie, but there is no getting around that fact. Despite the atmospheric Nordic cinematography, the plot is meandering and nonsensical. One of the key minor characters, the most useless red herring in the history of red herrings, shouldn't even be in the movie as he is incompetently introduced and serves no discernible purpose whatsoever throughout the entire movie. On top of everything else, Fassbender tosses in his most lackluster performance ever. A script this disjointed suggests the screenwriters either didn't understand the original source material by best selling mystery writer Joe Nesbo or the makers of the film had to make deep cuts for budgetary reasons. The Snowman is the virtual antithesis of what a thriller should be.

Later: Even the director, Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), is slagging the film, calling it rushed and underdeveloped. Under pressure from producers, the movie started shooting without a complete script and never did get the missing scenes. That explains a lot.

 

[REALTALK81]

The Snowman (2017) Directed by Tomas Alfredson 3B

Police Inspector Harry Hole (yup, no kidding) (Michael Fassbender, an alcoholic cop now but once supposedly a legend, is working on a case that involves a serial killer who leaves various creepy snowmen behind as his calling card (easy enough to do in wintry Norway). Various things happen, some of them even vaguely related to the plot, and then the movie ends on a wildly fortunate note that left me shaking my head. It pains me to think that something so gorgeous to look at could be such an awful movie, but there is no getting around that fact. Despite the atmospheric Nordic cinematography, the plot is meandering and nonsensical. One of the key minor characters, the most useless red herring in the history of red herrings, shouldn't even be in the movie as he is incompetently introduced and serves no discernible purpose whatsoever throughout the entire movie. On top of everything else, Fassbender tosses in his most lackluster performance ever. A script this disjointed suggests the screenwriters either didn't understand the original source material by best selling mystery writer Joe Nesbo or the makers of the film had to make deep cuts for budgetary reasons. The Snowman is the virtual antithesis of what a thriller should be.

Val Kilmer. That is all.

 

[NyQuil]

The Nice Guys starring Russel Crowe, Ryan Gosling and a small "guest appearance" by Kim Basinger.
The movies is about two P.I.:s who sort of gets involved in a "conspiracy" and have to investigate it to save themselves.
Not that good and not really a memorable movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3799694/combined

I kind of liked this movie. It was sort of irreverent and didn't take itself too seriously.

 

[Led Zappa]

I kind of liked this movie. It was sort of irreverent and didn't take itself too seriously.

Yeah, it was a fun ride.

 

[Puck]

Wheelman by Jeremy Rush srarring Frank Grillo. You might say who? Yeah I never heard of them either. This a more of a B-movie but a high quality well executed one. It's a generic car driver movie along the lines of the Transporter series, Baby Driver or a Vin Diesel project but the budget wasn't large enough to nab Diesel, or any other star for that matter.

IMDb says 'A getaway driver for a bank robbery realizes he has been double crossed and races to find out who betrayed him.' That's pretty much it in a nutshell. But this new Director takes you on a decent sort of neo-noir journey. The entire film is set in Boston (?) in one evening and you often get to sit in the back seat for a claustrophic ride. I was hoping for a great twist or high climax ending but unfortunately it ends normally with no huge surprises. The conversation or dialogue between actors is somewhat underwhelming. I'm still wondering why a bank would be open late at night but that might be a thing in the larger cities, I don't know. I would still give this a 4 out of 5 for a B budget film (I'd downgrade that if the budget was higher). I don't think this ever hit cinema screens, it went straight to Netflix but it's still pretty good. Prepare to be a bit surprised for a Directors first full-length film project (not much of a list on IMDb) and without a star cast or the budget.

 

[Savi]

Savi, can you elaborate on Thelma? Sans the opening sequence, I thought it was one of the weaker ones I have seen this festival. The whole thing just does not make sense to me.

Not sure I can give you a definitive answer that will be satisfying to you. I know, plotwise, it wasn't the most original film. But I loved it, stylistically. When I was talking to my buddy afterwards I compared it to a Mike Cahill or Shane Carruth film. Both of whom I'm a big fan of. But I always have a hard time putting into words why exactly. It's the fact that they make these dramas with a very realistic scifi edge to them. I think Trier did a great job of creating an ominous atmosphere and for me it was captivating till the very end. Also thought Eili Harboe was brilliant in her role.