Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It: Part XXIX

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kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
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Good Time (2017) Directed by the Safdie brothers 7B

Responsible for the incarceration of his mentally challenged brother after a botched robbery, Connie (Robert Pattinson), a garden-variety low life, desperately seeks to come up with bail money by just about any means possible short of murder. Racing against a self-imposed clock, Connie bounces from one precarious predicament to another, casually leaving a mess behind him wherever he goes for others to cope with. Thanks to a flashy style involving a lot of ultra-close ups, wide angle lenses, hand held camera work and feverish editing, Good Time is an immersive experience, a bit like Victoria in that respect (minus the single take approach, though). As the desperate older brother, Pattinson is excellent. On one level, Connie seems to realize the havoc that he is wreaking, but he so focused on bailing out his brother he can't help but continue to careen dangerously from one desperate move to the next. The movie is aided immeasurably by an original electronic/ambient/progressive/fusion/rock score that loudly pumps even more adrenaline into an already supercharged atmosphere. Good Time is an exhilarating night at the movies to say the least.


Best of '17 so far

1) The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France
2) After the Storm, Koreeda, Japan
3) Get Out, Peel, US
4) Good Time, the Safdie brothers, US
5) Staying Vertical, Guiraudie, France
6) Dunkirk, Nolan, US
7) Graduation, Mungiu, Romania
8) Our Time Will Come, Hui, Hong Kong
9) Violet, Devos, Belgium
10) Frantz, Ozun, France
 
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snowden

Man is matter
Jul 5, 2011
3,766
37
Finally saw Captain Fantastic and I thought Viggo Mortensen is really, uh, fantastic! But seriously, really enjoyed that film very much and felt he really deserved that Best Actor nomination.
 

KingBran

Three Eyed Raven
Apr 24, 2014
6,436
2,284
Alien Covenant

Pretty good. There was about 1/2 an hour in the middle of the movie I thought was really dumb but overall pretty good flick for Alien fans.

7/10.
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
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Toronto
in_this_corner_of_the_world_anime_03-628x345.jpg


In This Corner of the World (2017) Directed by Sunau Katabuchi 6A

This animated film focuses on the life of Suzo, a timid woman from Hiroshima who moves to nearby Kure to be with her new husband's family a few months before the atomic bomb is dropped on her home town. For the most part, In This Corner of the World is a coming-of-age film with the twist that the heroine is coming of age during a seminal event in the history of the world, one that directly and deeply affects her life in several tragic ways. This is a brilliant idea for a film, but the movie does not always live up to its premise. Starting in the '30s the movie covers a lot of ground. I had a bit of trouble following the fates of some of the many characters. Speedy and sometimes confusing transitions left me wanting more information. Even the depiction of the central character wasn't wholly satisfying. After she is married, Suzo still seems more like a child than a young woman. Because of frequent reminders of the date, we all know where this is leading. The fate of Hiroshima is handled discretely, but the aftermath seems way too low key, given how much people's lives in Kure must have been affected. And at two hours and ten minutes the movie is way too long for maximum impact. Still, the animation, while falling well short of Hiyao Miyazaki's work, is effective, and the movie does a praiseworthy job of communicating the hell it must be to live through frequent bombing and strafing raids. It's an important story, but I wish it could have been made into a better movie.

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kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
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Hamlet (1948) Directed by Laurence Olivier 8A

Olivier's adaptation of perhaps Shakespeare's most revered play, an adaptation that won an Oscar for best picture in 1949, holds up exceptionally well even by "period piece" standards. This is true despite the fact that approaches to interpretations of the classics have changed significantly since this film's release (see David Tennant's recent version of Hamlet for a demonstration of a leaner, less romantized approach). There are many reasons, however, why this particular interpretation of the play remains a benchmark among films of Shakespeare's work. For starters there is Laurence Olivier. Love him or hate him, there is no getting around the fact that he was, among leading men, the greatest theatre actor of his time (John Gielgud may have surpassed him eventually, but that came later as they aged). Hamlet is a demonstration of how well-founded Olivier's reputation was. Olivier has the massive technique needed to bring out all the shades of Hamlet's manic uncertainty and unsettled ambivalence. Shakespeare's words flow easily, mellifluously off his tongue. Olivier's sense of rhythm and cadence is unsurpassed. His gestures are telling, economic and perfectly judged as when he walks slightly out of his way to brush his hands lightly against a curtain behind which he knows his adversaries hide. The theatricality of his declaiming is mixed with moments of naturalism, at the grave site, for instance, that help to soften Hamlet's character. Olivier also moves beautifully, the relaxation evident in his stride contrasting with the turmoil going on in Hamlet's mind. As well the supporting cast of great Shakespearean actors and the simple but effective sets and staging complement the production (though, rarely, Olivier's camerawork can court cheap effects). The play has been edited in some ways that I don't like. The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern scenes have been eliminated entirely and Hamlet's eventful sojourn to England by sailing ship is interrupted not by serious court intrigue but by the intervention of pirates whose brief appearance thankfully only lasts a few seconds. Despite the length of the play, I'm always amazed by how fast this movie goes by--it is genuinely entertaining, as are all of Shakespeare's greatest plays and many of his lesser works, too, when done properly.

Note: if you want to see a full version of the play with a bare minimum of edits, check out Kenneth Bragnagh's highly praised version of Hamlet (1996)).
 

snowden

Man is matter
Jul 5, 2011
3,766
37
Kihei, what do you consider the best Shakespeare adaptation on film? Is it that Hamlet or something else? Just curious what you think.
 

OzzyFan

Registered User
Sep 17, 2012
3,653
959
Birth of the Dragon
2 out of 4stars

The main character of the movie was a guy named Steve and a major plot of the movie was saving his girlfriend from a slave life, I kid you not. A number of the story/writing/creative decisions in this movie were mindboggling. The time "Lee and Wong" were on screen, the intrigue and charisma jumped ten fold, but that, especially in the 1st half of the movie, was surprisingly too infrequent. And also sadly, there was some good spiritual/moral/"personal" overtones and subject matter brought up, truthfully or not about Bruce Lee's life, that was almost all surface but could have brought this film to life and gave it a bigger message and not leave the audience nearly mindless from the Steve storyline which was also endlessly full of predictable cliches. You may ask, why would I berate the movie so much and give it a 2 out of 4stars? Because with all it's faults, I thought the actions sequences were good and mostly realistic, and the ending 20minutes or so was a lot of fun. Chop that out and I'm probably giving this a 1.5 or less.

Edit/PS, they also made Wong Jack Man more likable than Bruce Lee, not ideal if you are naming the film after him, and even more so, not naming the title Birth of Steve. :)
 
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kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
10,136
Toronto
Kihei, what do you consider the best Shakespeare adaptation on film? Is it that Hamlet or something else? Just curious what you think.
Peter Brook's 1971 production of King Lear with a hard-edged Paul Scofield would be at the top of my list. True to the play with superb black-and-white cinematography and with a cold, inhospitable setting that fits the themes of the play like a glove.
 

OzzyFan

Registered User
Sep 17, 2012
3,653
959
Resident Evil Vendetta
1.75 out of 4stars

Decent animated action; thanks in large part to the directorial/angle view choices, pacing, interesting choice of some zombie villains, and "choreography". Other then that? It's pretty bad and dry: characters feel stiff and emotionless a lot, the plot is franchise recycled dull, the 3 or 4 main characters are very weakly written, and the dialogue is awful (not cheesy awful either).
 

Arizonan God

Registered User
Jan 30, 2010
2,360
477
Toronto
Finally got around to seeing The Bridge on the River Kwai

First things first, this film is incredibly well made for being 60 years old. David Lean was a master at technical film making. Great performances by both Alec Guiness and Sessue Hayakawa. Hard to ignore the underlying western superiority complex, but somewhat expected considering the era in which it was made.

9/10
 

Tkachuk4MVP

32 Years of Fail
Apr 15, 2006
14,793
2,675
San Diego, CA
Good Time - 8/10


Difficult to sit through but also well-crafted, unpredictable, and full of energy and suspense. Also had no idea Pattinson had that type of performance in him, he was very good and held the whole thing together.
 
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OzzyFan

Registered User
Sep 17, 2012
3,653
959
Castle in the Sky
3.25 out of 4stars

Beautifully animated, entertaining, and imaginative fantasy adventure movie. I really enjoyed it and it kept my interest the whole time. The moral/nature/spiritual overtones and themes mixed in perfectly with the movie and didn't feel preachy. This is my 3rd Miyazaki film, after really liking Kiki's Deilvery Service and feeling confused by My Neighbor Totoro's purpose, and I honestly feel like this is the best movie of the 3 from him that I've seen. It may not have connected to me on the emotional level that Kiki's did, but the visuals and storytelling and creativity feel a step up from those two, from my pov/opinion. I know there is no need to compare them, but I felt like it. Now hopefully next week I can watch Princess Mononoke finally. lol
 
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kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
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Toronto
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Amnesia (2015) Directed by Barbet Schroeder 7B

Barbet Schroeder has been making movies since 1969. His first two otherwise inconsequential and overly artsy works, More and La Vallee, were only noteworthy for being scored by the early version of Pink Floyd. Much later he worked in Hollywood where, with the exception of the excellent Reversal of Fortune, he basically became a hack director. To say I walked into the theatre with low expectations is an understatement but Amnesia is a pleasant surprise. Set on the beautiful Spanish coast during the time of the fall of the Berlin wall, the movie starts out like it is going to be a November/June romance, starring veteran German movie actress Marthe Keller as Martha and up-and-comer Max Riemelt as Joe (kind of a baby Matthias Schoenaert). The first 45 minutes are pleasant but rather dull as the nearby neighbours get to know one another despite their great age difference. Jo falls in love with Martha a little, and she gently but firmly sidetracks the notion. Then the movie takes a really intriguing turn. Martha, who is not Jewish, is a German woman who never returned to her home after World War II. She no longer speaks German, drinks German wines or drives in Volkswagens. She is quite content leading a quiet life in the Ibiza countryside which is where she meets Jo. Jo is a very likable young German whose goal is to become a successful deejay. He begins indirectly to confront some of Martha's deeply felt beliefs about Germany. Eventually when his mother and grandfather visit, in other words three generations of Germans, things get very interesting and emotionally complex. There are some very meaty themes here and plenty to think about. As well, Martha and Jo's relationship is beautifully drawn. His first movie in eight years, Amnesia is easily one of Schroeder's finest works.

half English, half subtitles
 
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Nalens Oga

Registered User
Jan 5, 2010
16,780
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Canada
The Bad Sleep Well (1960) - 8/10
Withnail & I (1987) - 7/10
The Insider (1999) - 8.5/10
Lord of War (2005) - 6.5/10
The Thin Man (1934) - 7.5/10
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
10,136
Toronto
Further note on Paul Scofield's King Lear. Rewatched it tonight and I would still put it at the top of my Shakespeare list, but there are a few directorial touches that irritated me, especially during one speech early on when there are frequent unnecessary jumps in editing for no reason at all; as well, the storm sequence is annoyingly over directed, so much so that I wanted to strangle director Peter Brook. But everything else about the production remains absolutely first rate.
 

Jevo

Registered User
Oct 3, 2010
3,485
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Nalens Oga mentioned The Bad Sleep Well, and it reminded me of Kurosawa's Shakespeare adaptations. Throne of Blood (Macbeth), The Bad Sleep Well (Hamlet) and Ran (King Lear). They are perhaps not the best adaptations of Shakespeare, but they have to rank among some of the best movies based on Shakespeare. Especially Ran is simply just an amazing movie.
 

kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
10,136
Toronto
Nalens Oga mentioned The Bad Sleep Well, and it reminded me of Kurosawa's Shakespeare adaptations. Throne of Blood (Macbeth), The Bad Sleep Well (Hamlet) and Ran (King Lear). They are perhaps not the best adaptations of Shakespeare, but they have to rank among some of the best movies based on Shakespeare. Especially Ran is simply just an amazing movie.
Ranking Shakespeare movies gets complicated. When Snowden inquired concerning what I thought was the best Shakespeare adaptation, the first movie that leaped to mind was Ran. Then I thought, well, that can't count--what is a Shakespeare movie minus Shakespeare's dialogue? So I think there are three categories, actually:

Direct adaptations of the play: Scofield's King Lear; Branagh's Hamlet; Olivier's Hamlet, Fiennes' Coriolanus, and so on.

Imaginative reconstructions of Shakespeare, faithful to the themes and to parts of the story but not necessarily to the language of the play: Kurosawa's Ran, Throne of Blood, and The Bad Sleep Well; Bhardwaj's Haider, Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho; Junger's 10 Things I Hate about You; Mazursky's The Tempest, and on and on.

Non-English language adaptations that seemingly translate the plays faithfully: Kozintsev's King Lear and Hamlet (both largely based on translations by Nobel Prize winning poet Boris Pasternak, who also wrote Doctor Zhivago).

The two Russian films are really worth seeing. If it had been in English, Kozintsev's King Lear would have been an easy #1 overall for me. I would also strongly recommend the Indian version of Hamlet Haider, which made my top twenty list in 2014. It is very imaginative, beautifully executed and a lot of fun.
 
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dogbazinho

Registered User
May 24, 2006
9,272
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Saw Wind River, Logan Lucky last week, Death Note (Netflix Movie), and Nocturnal Animals.

Logan Lucky. Funny, at times, but full of the normal heist clichés. It's an average movie and I don't really understand the Rotten Tomatoes score. Maybe they just love southern accents or people acting red neck goofy. Being from the south I guess I'm just used to it.

Wind River. Maybe the best movie I've seen this year. Amazing cinematography and one of the few roles that Renner has taken where I think he was right for the part. Shane wasn't even his normal distracting self with his look away head role thing he does.

Death Note. I knew this would suck but my wife won't watch the anime so I forced her to watch this crap. They condensed the anime in an hour and a half and made it more of a highschool relationship drama.

Nocturnal Animals. I think it's a bit overrated. The story within the story is clearly more interesting but the rest is kind of boring. Maybe that's the point.
 
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kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,539
10,136
Toronto
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The Queen of Spain (2016) Directed by Fernando Trueba 3B

Sometimes a movie is so wrong-headed from beginning to end that I wonder how it could have ever seemed like a good idea to anybody to make the damn thing in the first place. The Queen of Spain is such a film. When a former movie director returns to Spain after a long absence during which he was thought to be dead, he lucks into a second director position in a big movie being directed by John Scott (a not even thinly disguised but thoroughly witless John Ford send up). All goes well until he is once again arrested. Worried for his life, actors and members of the film crew interrupt the movie that they are making to stage a rescue. Part thriller, part jaunty celebration of the art of making movies, The Queen of Spain approaches what you might get if you combined a really bad version of Bridge of Spies with a totally addled version of Day for Night, Francois Truffaut's homage to movie making. With one part of the film serious and the other part lightweight comedy, the movie never seems anything other than wretchedly implausible. To make matters worse, a homosexual rape is played as a jokey plot device. The movie certainly comes out strongly against Franco and his Fascist regime, but the dictator has been dead for over 40 years so the belated criticism just seems like so much grandstanding. Even Penelope Cruz can't make this ill-judged mess work.

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