Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5997985 times)

Clovis8

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38690 on: November 29, 2010, 07:58:37 PM »
127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010)

You tell me, but I think I am with Clovis on this one.

Yep I think we pretty much agree. It was a pretty good film but not great. I just wish Boyle would have left it alone a little more.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2010, 08:26:12 PM by Clovis8 »

filmincarnate

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38691 on: November 29, 2010, 08:24:35 PM »


Kuroneko (1968)
I have been a big fan of Kaneto Shindo ever since I first saw Onibaba (1964) when I was in high school. Now, when I say I've been a big fan of Shindo, what I'm really saying is that I'm a big fan of Onibaba as none of his other films had ever been released in the United States, until now.

Janus Films, who were responsible for bringing House (Hausu) to these shores recently, are debuting new 35mm prints of Kuroneko this year, allowing for yet another eerie, erotic chapter of Shindo's career to be seen properly by an American audience. However, it is worth noting that for the purposes of this review, I viewed the Masters of Cinema DVD of the film put out by Eureka! in the UK.

Kuroneko is a very easy film to spoil for those who have not seen it, and I'm going to attempt to avoid doing so here. First off, though Janus Films brought House here (and they're clearly marketing this to the crowd that flat out consumed that film) these films could not be more different. Yes, they're both Japanese ghost stories and feature some whacked out imagery, but that is where the similarities end. House is a fun, over the top, pop-culture infused mind trip and Kuroneko, well, it isn't any of those things. This is serious stuff, even more so than the Janus Films released trailer would lead you to believe.

Without diving into the intricacies of the plot, it primarily concerns a mother and daughter who are raped and murdered only to return as ghost cats. Not quite the "rape and revenge" fare we Americans are used to by a long shot. The film really deviates from the path most taken by films of a similar nature. There are scenes of revenge but they are not necessarily violent, rather, they are more surreal in nature much like what would have resulted if Luis Bunuel helmed a remake of I Spit On Your Grave, only with goddamn feline spirits instead of castration prone woman.

What really stands out here is the imagery in the film. It is very typical of Japanese cinema from the 1960s, which is far from a criticism. In short, it is beautiful. It was shot on 35mm black and white stock and the entire thing has a certain haze quality to it, almost as if the cinematographer was chain smoking the entire time he was shooting. It ends up having an almost eerie similarity to the aesthetic quality of Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. There are some shots in here, that just as still frames, are flat out terrifying. This is easily one of the more honestly creepy films I've seen in some time, and it does not even need dialogue or sound effects to pull this off (though it has plenty of both) but it is a testament to Shindo's craft as a visual storyteller that he can evoke this type of reaction solely on imagery.

Would I recommend this film? Absolutely. However, I must do so with reservations. Japanese horror has had a tendency to get labeled as being "extreme" and "weird" a lot lately and this could have been considered the former upon its time of release and certainly still manages to be the latter, but this is not House and it is certainly not Tokyo Gore Police. This is a very quiet, cerebral, yet equally eerie and bizzare, film. It does feature evil cat ghosts, samurai fighting and severed limbs though and if that is enough to get it the audience it deserves than I can live with that.

Kuroneko (Black Cat) - Original Japanese Trailer (Kaneto Shindo, 1968)

Tim

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38692 on: November 29, 2010, 09:04:40 PM »

Summer Wars (Mamoru Hosoda, 2009)
The thing about Hosoda is that he gets female characters, and imbues them with a life and character that is compelling and real. None of the internalised misogyny of Satoshi Kon here, with all that pinned-down butterfly rape and whatnot, not even a hint of upskirty, school-uniform fetishism or lewdness. Just women who cajole and dominate and listen and feel, and are warm and true. So good, and it pleases me to see that the loveable energy and life that he gave to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is present in this film.
I loved the vision of mass society and hive existence, the seemingly incomprehensible numbers in the swarm of avatars, and the contrast with the reality of biological and fraternal ties. The paths of the network and the areas affected coming off as eerily reminiscent of the graphics of nuclear annihilation. The flight of the missiles and the points of impact, spreading over the globe, much like War Games. The similarities are there, but whereas the fate of the world in that film relied on the actions of a boy, the fate of connectivity relies on the actions of the family, all holding their wired-in appliances, and yelling out "Koi Koi!" A little sentimental to be sure, but it's better than incomprehensibility and nihilism. The spheres of existence are separate, people! Eat together, and die surrounded by family, screaming at you not to go, not yet.


I found it far too sentimental by the end. There's nothing wrong with a little incomprehensibility and nihilism, nor a little fetishism for that matter  ;)   
"Only cinema narrows its concern down to its content, that is to its story. It should, instead, concern itself with its form, its structure." Peter Greenaway

Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38693 on: November 29, 2010, 09:38:36 PM »
You Don't Know Jack

As I've mentioned in a few other reviews with films that touch upon the topic of suicide, I am somewhat radically, some might say, supportive of the notion that suicide can be a logical decision, not just a symptom of mental illness, and should be well within one's rights. As such, this film, providing a pretty thoroughly sympathetic portrait of Jack Kevorkian's assisted suicide movement, had my ethical support from the start. If someone is looking for a film that debates the ethics, this isn't it.

The film provides a little background and insight into Kevorkian's advocacy, though it isn't particularly deep in this. Instead it seems content to set him up as a rather nebbishy man. These background interactions can often be a little less enjoyable. They may well represent Kevorkian (seeing him in an appearance on Bill Maher's show is probably not sufficient insight to say otherwise) but it just feels like an opportunity for Pacino to ACT. Although by his standards he is actually toned down here and is often overshadowed by the grandstanding of the actress who plays his sister as well as the great Danny Huston, playing Kevorkian's slightly sleazy lawyer keen to stay in the public eye. You also get Susan Surandon and John Goodman rounding out a strong cast.

In a film that feels like it goes on a bit, especially when focused on Kevorkian's press image and antics, the scenes of him with his patients is the real emotional payoff. More than any amount of Kevorkian's rants about rights, the strongest argument is seeing someone feeling tortured by being forced to continue to suffer something that could be cured, in a manner of speaking. These scenes and a few of the smaller moments from Kevorkian make this film easily worth watching, even if some of the larger moments keep it from greatness.

MartinTeller

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38694 on: November 29, 2010, 10:57:19 PM »
Kuroneko (1968)
I have been a big fan of Kaneto Shindo ever since I first saw Onibaba (1964) when I was in high school. Now, when I say I've been a big fan of Shindo, what I'm really saying is that I'm a big fan of Onibaba as none of his other films had ever been released in the United States, until now.

Get your hands on Naked Island if you can.  It's astonishing.

maņana

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38695 on: November 29, 2010, 11:12:21 PM »
Oh, roujin. Thank you for that Easy A rating. I'm beginning to feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

Then again, I should take some Scharpling advice and understand that it's not for me. Not for me. Not for me.
We turned it off, which is disappointing 'cause I was kinda looking forward to it.
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1SO

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38696 on: November 29, 2010, 11:36:11 PM »
The Bridge on the River Kwai < Gunga Din


Now I'm worried about rewatching Lawrence of Arabia.

Melvil

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38697 on: November 29, 2010, 11:53:05 PM »
Now I'm worried about rewatching Lawrence of Arabia.

Don't be. :)

Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38698 on: November 29, 2010, 11:57:27 PM »
Now I'm worried about rewatching Lawrence of Arabia.

Don't be. :)

I don't think I'd say you should be worried either. Relative to the realm of epics, I found Lawrence fairly painless when I rewatched it earlier this year.

pixote

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #38699 on: November 30, 2010, 01:43:03 AM »
Syndromes and a Century - I liked it more before I started reading about it. So I stopped reading about it.

pixote
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