What's the last movie you've seen?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Late Autumn

A light-hearted and charming story - it was most interesting though from a sociological (given my dearth of knowledge regarding Japanese society of the era) and cinemagraphic perspective.

That seems a bit arty for you. Just sayin'. (Ah bless the IFI and its old-directors seasons).

Well spotted, sir! - it wasn't my pick.
The choice may have been in part a response to my choosing The Road last time.

Going from Cannibalism to Ozu is a bit... different, yes (as I know from experience).

[Tetro Kornbluth]

This weekend I saw:
A Prophet
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Invictus

[Tetro Kornbluth]

This weekend I saw:
The Last Picture Show (1971)

Makes you wish you lived there, doesn't it?

How so? Compared to a film on a similiar theme Diner (1982), it wasn't particularly nostalgic or made it particularly pleasant (though it was homely). Though it did portray that world very well.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

This weekend I saw:
The Last Picture Show (1971)

Makes you wish you lived there, doesn't it?

How so? Compared to a film on a similiar theme Diner (1982), it wasn't particularly nostalgic or made it particularly pleasant (though it was homely). Though it did portray that world very well.

Sarcasm doesn't come off very well online.

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Re: Whip It, really you guys? I really wanted to like it but I thought it was kind of boring. It does present a fascinating world, though.

Actually I realized the sarcasm soon after I posted that. As far as such things go, I have found worlds more depressing (would we rather live in the land of The Last Picture Show or that of, say, Goodfellas?)

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

Excellent, short and sweet. Why has the "romantic" genre been so bastardized?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Capitalism: A Love Story

I have a quite a few things to say on this film but I'm not in the mood on expanding upon it right now. I'll will add that I had one of those "it's end of civilization" moments when Moore talks about "Dead Peasants" insurance (there have been too many of those moments recently) and to note that this is a well put together piece of agitprop. Yes for intelligent knowledgable people the argument is flimsly and ridiculous but that's not the point - Moore is purely on the Olbermann-O'Reilly level of discourse. As fundamentally and ironically he knows the market too well, he knows what sells. And he is a decent salesman.

For example some of Moore's uses of stock footage are brilliant - I think me and Opebo can appreciate the scene where a dog constantly jumps up and down trying to get a piece of steak on the table and always failing to do so while Moore talks about the American dream.

Also check out the FDR speech at the end. One of those things I should have known before going into see the film.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Die Hard

I hadn't see this original before. I now understand why this one of Naso's favourites. And I don't mean that in a good way.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Alice in Wonderland

Dear lord Tim Burton what have you done to your career? Yes this will make alot of money but this is awful - turning one of the most imaginative works of fantasy ever into third-rate Tolkein-wannabe 'fantasy' cliches. Why, oh why?

Exit through the Gift Shop

Aka "The Bansky Film". A (pseudo?) documentary about the world of street art (to put it very, very simply). Just furthers my convinction that Bansky is merely a rather good wind-up merchant, not that there is anything wrong with that. After all this film is really rather good and not quite what "the Bansky film" suggests.  Alot of the stuff that he includes about the art world strikes a so-true-it-hurts feel.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

The King of Comedy

Excellent.

Rupert Pupkin (or is it Pimkin or Pumpkin?) or Howard Beale? My favourite Characters (I'm not sure favourite is the right word but whatever...)

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Last Five Films I've seen (I'm off college so I'm watching alot of movies... work just too frustrating to think about):

Shutter Island: Well Done B-Movie Stuff, very well directed - perhaps Scorsese's most visual film? Pity the plot is only slightly above M. Night Shalyman. But entertaining none the less and boy Ben Kingsley overacts hilariously.

Cache: An excellent piece of work all round. Anyone have a theory on who put up the tapes? Which reminds me I've been meaning to go back a check some of things out I think I missed.

Throne of Blood: Noh Shakespeare. Well done piece of work with some good scenes but I'm not sure how 'cinematic' Shakespeare really is for an adaptation (even a loose adaptation like this one).

Insomnia: Decent well done thriller with interesting artistic elements (the photography!) though not as memorable or as good as Memento. Al Capone completely muffles his lines though Robin Williams shows himself to be a good 'serious' actor. A mixed bag.

Paranoid Park: Teenagers in Gus Van Sant's movies are always better when they don't talk - their dialogue is the most fake thing about them (do then though again that might be accurate for teenagers). The piece to compare this to do is the excellent (except for one infuriating scene) Elephant and in terms of art direction, the ability to evoke 'teenager-ness' I think it falls down and does not really go anywhere. A mediorce effect.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Elephant was excellent? This is why I think Gully is a pretentious fool. That movie is basically watching people walk around.

Do you think I care BRTD?

And yes Elephant was excellent (okay perhaps not excellent but very, very good except for one thing which almost ruined the film for me. Almost.)

[Tetro Kornbluth]

This is England: More good TV drama than good cinema tbh (yes, I do think there is a difference). Also too pop-psychology for my tastes though some the scenes are nicely done.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Dead Ringers

Excellently queasy and coldly clinicly - probably misanthropic but in a good way. In short, one of Cronenberg's better works. Jeremy Irons is brilliant (he needs a better agent) as the two twins. OThe fact that Jmfsct hates this movie makes me like it more.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Naked Lunch

Yes I am a Cronenberg binge at the moment. I think this is not one of his stronger efforts (of the 'old' Cronenberg) perhaps I think because he plays it a little too straight so it doesn't come quite weird enough for me (or rather it was weird in the incorrect places). Cool typewriter effects though and Peter Weller and Joan Davis are really special here.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Over the past two days

Psycho (1960)
Lost in Translation
Samson & Delilah
Double Take
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

In short (I'm being lazy)... Psycho: A flawed classic though certainly a good film, the "explanation" at the end is a bit LOL. I got to see this on the big screen (it was second or third time I've seen it as a whole). The scene when Arbogast goes into the Mother's house is the highlight of the film.

Lost in Translation: I missed this when it came out and am only getting around to it. Slightly empheral clearly autobiographical romantic drama - one which almost explodes under its own hipness but one of the better examples of this kind of presently fashionable (not that is a bad thing) films. Sophia Coppola is clearly a talented director especially for scenes of "the comedy of banality" (to lack a decent phrase). Perhaps a little too lightweight in that but still quite good.

Samson & Delilah: Worthy but I think in the end a bit too interested in its own "Authenticity" issues (note: It is a nearly dialogue free love story between two Australian Aboriginial teenagers, it is a 'realist' film by an Aboriginal director). There isn't much more to say really - I didn't really enjoy tbh.

Double Take: Inspired but in the end vapid Avant-Garde madness. There is really no point in explaining this film, one of the most unique I've ever seen, except by watching it (or failing that look it up on imdb). But for all its documentary/stock footage madness, the 'mesage' (If I think I've 'got' it) was a bit silly and far too postmodern (in the worst way) for my liking.

Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas: Let me begin by noting - this was the most fun I have had watching a film in a long while. I don't know what that says about me so... anyway it is always good to listen to Thompson's brilliant prose even if the film is a bit too dependant on voiceover. An interesting comparsion is to Cronenberg's Naked Lunch which I saw a month go - F&LILV is alot more fun and funny and plays like a python sketch in parts (especially the scene in the bar with the lizards). Naked Lunch is probably the better film for as much as I enjoyed F&LILV, it did feel a bit pointless and even lightweight in parts. But hey I enjoyed myself (though I imagine those who don't know the book or even more so, don't like it, will be very, very confused). Best watched when drunk and/or on drugs.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Wall Street (1988)

Inane Morality Play is Inane. And Daryl Hannah srsly? This film hasn't aged well at all - it now looks restrained. It is shot in the old 'realist' hollywood style of the 70s and 80s which means the film is pretty much dialogue - therefore not a film really... perhaps a radio play. It isn't bad so much as really mediorce.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)

Excellent. What everyone says here is correct. The opening shot must be one of the greatest in the history of Cinema.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Dated and Dull Hitchcock. No longer really interesting in the Post-David Lynch world.

Kick-Ass

Meh. Another Geeky-Teenage Wish fulfillment fantasy on screen. Who Cares? The film was fun (though very predictable) in places but completely and utterly disposable, forgotten except for the theme tune after I left the cinema. For my money (cue a very long Argument with BRTD) Mystery Men was much better and more original. Though I'm viewing Mystery Men through the lens of my 12-13 year old self.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975)

First of all.... ummm... Wow. (Yes, that isn't the right word. But can you think of anything better?)

Secondly I'm shocked anyone (except the inanely literally-minded) thinks this is pornographic. If anything it is most anti-pornographic film ever. Parts of it were like being punched in the face for two hours (not in a bad way)

This an extremely interesting film intellectually, though I'm not sure artistically (no one would ever confuse it with a piece of entertainment) and I do think Pasolini does capture many things about the nature of fascism and its relation to liberalism, self-concious intellectualism (though I do wish this was explored a bit more) and notions of sexual liberation (which makes BRTD interest in the film very ironic, or perhaps it is an indication of Pasolini's artistic failure. I mean we can see such images regularly on the interwebs these days - The Libertines and thus Salo have won).

So many other things to say, it's remarkable (but also very frustrating) in it's own way.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

O Lucky Man! (1973)

Inane "satire" is inane and obvious (and ridiculously self-indulgent). As pure entertainment, it's a bit uneven it does have its moments but other bits are just too.... A pity because I really liked If....

Is it just me or have alot of the 'art films' of the 60s and 70s dated far worse than alot of more narrative films from that period and before?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Dogtooth (2009): Fascinating and quite good, if somewhat shallow work which for all its weirdness leaves you once you leave the cinema. Perhaps it was the errors of the newbie director plus the very low budget (no non-natural light for example). But I will watch out of his films in the future. 4 stars out of 5.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975)

Is it bad that I did not look away from the screen AT ALL?

Neither did I.

Last film: Jules et Jim (1962): All I have to say is... huh? I don't get it.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

The Road: I'd heard a lot of mixed things, but I basically only know idiots so I didn't have any real expectations going in, other than that it was based on the Cormac McCarthy book. It was really good though, I'd give it a solid B+, maybe an A-

That movie was actually just too bleak and depressing for me to enjoy it at all. It lacked the "cool" factor in most post-apocalyptic works. This world was just a depressing horrid place with no real redeeming features.

So exactly like a post-apoclayptic world should look like, no?

Anyway the last three films I saw...

Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1981): Decent horror film though shows how much Cronenberg had to develop by then (his next would be the unbelievable and brilliant Videodrome). Notable for featuring exploding heads and Cronenbergian-themes in embyro. Features quite possibly the worst lead male protagonist acting performance in the history of film.

The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1948): Totally destroys the myth that Orson Welles' career peaked at Citizen Kane and then went into decline and artistic sloppiness. While it verges (in both good and bad ways) on being totally over the top, flawed, depends on cliche, utterly baroque (and loses control of its self) and the plot does not particularly make alot of sense, it is an utterly brilliant film noir. The fact that I say this about a film in which Orson Welles puts on a stage Oirish accent (sometimes it's okay, but at other times I wanted to swear at the screen...) probably says alot of think at the film. Dialogue is Grade A and this must be one of the most visually 'borrowed' films ever... I'm looking at you Baz Luhrmann (The Music added in after the film by the studio is awful though and can lead to confusion)

The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (Werner Herzog, 1974): Sad, affecting 'realist' film set in 19th Century Germany. Has some excellent moments and is in many ways, the least Herzog Herzog film I've yet seen. Recommended though I think I admired it more than loved it. It perhaps engages too much in the idealization of the outsider (as being only an outsider) which is a trope I've grown to like less and less.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Bad Lieutenant (2009).

Meh. The iguanas/"soul dancing" scene were of course hilarious and inspired but the rest of the movie made me shrug my shoulders - perhaps I just wanted something alot weirder than what I got.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

The Killer Inside Me

I lost interest pretty quickly and basically took a mind rest for an hour and a half. Serial Killer films just don't interest me... especially if they are full of Freudian cliches and are pseudo-provocative like this. Pointless.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Vertigo (1958)

Certainly the best Alfred Hitchcock film I've seen but am I the only one who thinks his 'obsessions' and themes are not as interesting as commonly supposed? Or did I miss something on this first viewing?