Last Movie Seen

[prodigalgodson]

Thrilled to watch my first Rohmer in a while, A Winter's Tale. I must've gotten in the spirit of it, pardon the verbose take:

Made me smile to be back in Rohmer's world; all those little ironies, nuances, mischaracterizations paint such a genuine, relatable, and across the course of his career, encompassing portrait of humanity. His exacting dialogue illuminates the inner essences of the characters and constructs consistent, philosophically sound exchanges, mostly focused on the complications of human passions, affording us a glance into a realm of effortless insight. Most of his films have such a warm palate its refreshing to see one cast shadowless by a wintry sky; the interiors maintain the vibe with gainy low lighting. It's also one of his tightest films, with a lovely musical editing rhythm; shit just flows. It ultimately hones in on a theme of faith, harking back to the Pascal preoccupation of the Moral Tales with the payoff of The Green Ray. I'm not crazy about the tidiness of the ending, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to be -- the lack of some final irony is certainly unexpected. There's also a dig at Godardian politics that made me laugh:

"I just know it's in America."
"North?"
*rolls eyes* "I assume."

[prodigalgodson]

New Hong too! Right Now, Wrong Then:

Another fascinating reflection on how we construct truth and reality, and the various possibilities arising from divergent behaviors, from the master. It uses Hong's signature doubled story to present different subjective perspectives of similar events, the second variation being more awkward (a recurring word in the dialogue), generally less flattering to Hong's philandering proxy, and, it's hinted in Kim Min-hee's dialogue, a more honest interpretation of events (her doubled performance particularly stands out). I love seeing the evolution of his protagonists as Hong's stature grows as a director, and especially appreciate his timely grappling with me-too-related themes given that he's largely built his career on a lecherous reputation (ironically, the filming of this led to an affair between Kim and Hong that formed the basis for one of his wisest and most fully realized meditations a couple years later, On the Beach at Night Alone). There are some classic Hong set pieces: the usual temple and sake bar scenes, a drunken shindig in a claustrophobic apartment walled in by bookshelves and plastered posters of the likes of Magritte and Carax, and a film festival Q&A with about five people in an otherwise empty auditorium. Overall it didn't blow me away, but it's a worthy piece of one of cinema's great tapestries, and damn it made me crave a cigarette.

[joachimt]

I watched Coffy last night and I really don't understand all the decent ratings I'm seeing from my kumpels on Criticker (meaning you guys). The acting is horrible, the fighting scenes are ridiculous, the story hardly makes sense and the director is just thinking of pathetic ways to show boobies. On the other hand it's not in the so-bad-it's-good-league, so what are you guys seeing in this? Maybe if you like soul music? Or is it a lame attempt to make fun of this criminal part of society? If so, it falls flat.

[equanimitty]

The Seventh Seal -1957- I.Bergman.
I have decided to watch those three films MARKARETA LAZAROVA-ANDREI RUBLEV-THE SEVENTH SEAL

For me its like I am watching history of EUROPE from those black and white images with 400 and 500 years back life settings..Which appeals to me nice ...

[prodigalgodson]

Sounds like a great triple feature.

[joachimt]

Tony Manero
He's an asshole, but we have no idea why.
He can grab any tit he likes and every woman lets him fuck her, but we have no idea why.
He's obsessed with John Travolta, but he looks pathetic.
He randomly kills people, but we have no idea why.
Oh right, he's a psychopath. That was clear from the beginning. No change in character. End of movie.
4/10

[funkybusiness]

more poetry reviews please

[mightysparks]

I watched Coffy last night and I really don't understand all the decent ratings I'm seeing from my kumpels on Criticker (meaning you guys). The acting is horrible, the fighting scenes are ridiculous, the story hardly makes sense and the director is just thinking of pathetic ways to show boobies. On the other hand it's not in the so-bad-it's-good-league, so what are you guys seeing in this? Maybe if you like soul music? Or is it a lame attempt to make fun of this criminal part of society? If so, it falls flat.

Haven’t seen it in a long time, and I’m not a fan of boobies or soul, but I remembered it being pretty fun. All the stuff you thought was horrible and ridiculous I found charming and entertaining.

[Ebbywebby]

Speaking of boobies. I'm only the second to check this?

[equanimitty]

River of Fundament is a 2014 operatic experimental film written and directed by American artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney, and co-directed by longtime collaborator Jonathan Bepler. It was produced by Barney and the Laurenz Foundation and is loosely based on the 1983 novel Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer.

FIRST PART I HAVE SEEN ...

BOOM BOOM I can say now just...

[cinewest]

River of Fundament is a 2014 operatic experimental film written and directed by American artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney, and co-directed by longtime collaborator Jonathan Bepler. It was produced by Barney and the Laurenz Foundation and is loosely based on the 1983 novel Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer.

FIRST PART I HAVE SEEN ...

BOOM BOOM I can say now just...

Just saw the trailer to that... looks wild. I remember reading Ancient Evenings during my college years. About 1000 pages, and pretty x-rated.

How did your triple feature of medieval Europe / Russia go? Can't imagine watching more than one of those at a sitting, with plenty of time in-between...

[equanimitty]

Ancient Evenings is a 1983 historical novel by American author Norman Mailer. Set in ancient Egypt and dealing with the lives of the characters Menenhetet One and Meni, the novel received mixed reviews. Reviewers noted the historical research that went into writing it and considered Mailer successful at conveying the nature of ancient Egyptian life. However, they also criticized the novel's narration and questioned its literary merit. Ancient Evenings has been compared to the work of the poet James Merrill and the novelist Thomas Pynchon, as well as to Mailer's novel Harlot's Ghost (1991). Some have suggested that its opening passage is its strongest part. Ancient Evenings served as an inspiration for the artist Matthew Barney's operatic film River of Fundament (2014).

Wow Thanks to reply. its in my reading list.

Today I ll watch Second part of the movie - River of Fundament (2014).

[prodigalgodson]

I haven't read any Mailer but Ancient Evenings sounds right up my alley. I dig some of Barney's stuff a lot, though I haven't seen anything recent.

[cinewest]

I haven't read any Mailer but Ancient Evenings sounds right up my alley. I dig some of Barney's stuff a lot, though I haven't seen anything recent.

Mailer was an interesting writer, but he tended towards over-writing, or bloating his subject matter, if only because he was in love with his own voice and ability to play with language.

One of my favorite books by him was his journalistic / novel Executioner's Song. A collection of shorter pieces called Advertisements for Myself is also a pretty interesting foray into his work.

[prodigalgodson]

I haven't read any Mailer but Ancient Evenings sounds right up my alley. I dig some of Barney's stuff a lot, though I haven't seen anything recent.

Mailer was an interesting writer, but he tended towards over-writing, or bloating his subject matter, if only because he was in love with his own voice and ability to play with language.

One of my favorite books by him was his journalistic / novel Executioner's Song. A collection of shorter pieces called Advertisements for Myself is also a pretty interesting foray into his work.

Nice, thanks for the recommendations. Never heard of Advertisements for Myself, I tend to like short stories.

[blocho]

Mailer was an interesting writer, but he tended towards over-writing, or bloating his subject matter, if only because he was in love with his own voice and ability to play with language.

Wow, that encapsulates my feelings on Mailer better than anything I could write myself. I read three of his books and they were OK, occasionally good. But his enormous self-regard in his non-fiction work is annoying.

[cinewest]

Mailer was an interesting writer, but he tended towards over-writing, or bloating his subject matter, if only because he was in love with his own voice and ability to play with language.

Wow, that encapsulates my feelings on Mailer better than anything I could write myself. I read three of his books and they were OK, occasionally good. But his enormous self-regard in his non-fiction work is annoying.

He comes from that school of journalism where the journalist is at least as important as his subject matter. This was a popular style, particularly in the 60's and early 70's. Ever read Hunter Thompson?

As for his verbose but playful style, it worked well in his "fiction for hire" crime drama, Tough Guys Don't Dance, and since he was doing it quickly, and purely for the money, it's only about 300 pages

[blocho]

I read only The Rum Diary, which was a lark. But I would put Thompson and Mailer in slightly different categories because Thompson started out as a journalist while Mailer started as a novelist and then took non-fiction work later in his career. I find Mailer much more interesting for having gotten away with the attempted murder of his wife and for later running for mayor of New York on a secessionist platform.

[cinewest]

I read only The Rum Diary, which was a lark. But I would put Thompson and Mailer in slightly different categories because Thompson started out as a journalist while Mailer started as a novelist and then took non-fiction work later in his career. I find Mailer much more interesting for having gotten away with the attempted murder of his wife and for later running for mayor of New York on a secessionist platform.

Yes, he was an interesting figure, something of a celebrity author and social commentator (his verbal battles with Gore Vidal are pretty entertaining).

He was such a strange combination of the traditional and cutting edge, the liberal and conservative, all wrapped into a very opinionated entertaining package.

He started out following somewhat in the footsteps of Hemingway: joined the army and wrote the great american war novel based on his experiences, and always wrote journalistic pieces until his career as a novelist really took hold. Advertisements For Myself includes some of those, and Executioner's Song, one of his most famous books, is based on his relationship with David Gilmore, a convicted murderer waiting on death row (I guess he was copying Truman Capote, there).

[Ebbywebby]

I would put Thompson and Mailer in slightly different categories because Thompson started out as a journalist while Mailer started as a novelist and then took non-fiction work later in his career. I find Mailer much more interesting for having gotten away with the attempted murder of his wife

But Burroughs essentially got away with the SUCCESSFUL murder of his wife.

[funkybusiness]

I would put Thompson and Mailer in slightly different categories because Thompson started out as a journalist while Mailer started as a novelist and then took non-fiction work later in his career. I find Mailer much more interesting for having gotten away with the attempted murder of his wife

But Burroughs essentially got away with the SUCCESSFUL murder of his wife.

I was thinking the same thing.

[blocho]

Wow, I never knew that about Burroughs. Althusser also killed his wife and got off with three years in a psych ward.

[OldAle1]

Very rich and very famous people (usually white men, in America at least) get away with murder every day - Burroughs being not so rich and not so famous at the time, and being a heroin addict to boot...pretty strange. The fact that it happened in another country, and there were no witnesses, and doubtless Mexican forensics and criminal investigative methods in general were less thorough than we would hope for today (maybe even in the 50s)... it's still a little weird but sadly probably not all that remarkable. When you're part of the dominant race/gender/etc, your living word is worth more than a dead woman's evidence.

[matthewscott8]

I haven't read any Mailer but Ancient Evenings sounds right up my alley. I dig some of Barney's stuff a lot, though I haven't seen anything recent.

Ancient Evenings is mental, highly recommended.

[funkybusiness]

Wow, I never knew that about Burroughs.

Strange as it may seem, Cronenberg's Naked Lunch is based on a true story.

[Ebbywebby]

Executioner's Song, one of his most famous books, is based on his relationship with David Gilmore, a convicted murderer waiting on death row

GARY Gilmore. I think you got your signals crossed with Pink Floyd.

[cinewest]

Executioner's Song, one of his most famous books, is based on his relationship with David Gilmore, a convicted murderer waiting on death row

GARY Gilmore. I think you got your signals crossed with Pink Floyd.

Right you are. That kind of thing is happening more and more as I get older

[funkybusiness]

coincidentally, I've got a David Gilmour book here on the table next to me, and it's not either of those Gilmours/mores.

[cinewest]

coincidentally, I've got a David Gilmour book here on the table next to me, and it's not either of those Gilmours/mores.

I recognize that spelling. Which one is that?

[funkybusiness]

coincidentally, I've got a David Gilmour book here on the table next to me, and it's not either of those Gilmours/mores.

I recognize that spelling. Which one is that?

this guy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_David ... th_Baronet

[kongs_speech]

Hellboy (2019, Neil Marshall).

Blecch. Without a doubt, one of the worst films I have ever seen. Morbid curiosity got the best of me, and it managed to disappoint even my extremely low expectations. It's the most edgelord 12-year-old boy movie ever, which could have even been a fun concept if handled properly. But it's filled with preposterous, incomprehensible plot (so many flashbacks, and some bullshit about King Arthur) and a comical excess of gore and profanity. Even some eating of children, just for fun! Again, it's not the subject matter I object to, it's how incredibly poorly it was handled. I don't have a remotely nice thing to say about it other than that David Harbour at least tried.

[Onderhond]

Out of Africa. 11 official lists

WTFICM. Bland, cheesy, sentimental, boring, terribly acted. But highlighted in 11 lists? Can we make it an extra rule that explicitly stated every newly adapted list cannot contain Out of Africa and any update that will introduce said film to a list should immediately invalidate it?

[OldAle1]

Out of Africa. 11 official lists

WTFICM. Bland, cheesy, sentimental, boring, terribly acted. But highlighted in 11 lists? Can we make it an extra rule that explicitly stated every newly adapted list cannot contain Out of Africa and any update that will introduce said film to a list should immediately invalidate it?

Hehe. I don't remember it too well - saw it when new, maybe saw it once since then. Mostly remember the music. And remember it winning all the Oscars and my favorite of the nominees, The Color Purple (remember, I was a teen-age Spielberg fanboy) not winning any. Haven't seen that one in decades either. My mom liked it a lot, exactly the perfect kind of movie for someone like her, and it's one we talked about a few times over the last few years, something to see again; I wish I had gotten around to seeing it with her actually. It'd be hard to bear watching it now, alone.

Judging from all the films you call boring and badly acted, I have a hard time imagining what your idea of good acting and not boring are; I think most of the very films we both like are probably animated. Sentimental goes without saying, calling a film sentimental is the film buff equivalent of calling a black person a n-----. I guess I'm a racist.

[Onderhond]

We both liked Asura I & II, sadly you don't watch much contemporary Asian films, otherwise it would probably be easier to find some kind of middle ground!

But Streep's accent is not good acting, it's closer to something like Allo Allo. As for "boring", when a 160 minute character drama/romance has you feeling nothing at all for the characters, that is pretty boring.

And I'll gladly change sentimental for something like "sappy" if that makes it clearer it's the bad kind. Could "sappy" be the equivalent of "person of color"?

[OldAle1]

We both liked Asura I & II, sadly you don't watch much contemporary Asian films, otherwise it would probably be easier to find some kind of middle ground!

But Streep's accent is not good acting, it's closer to something like Allo Allo. As for "boring", when a 160 minute character drama/romance has you feeling nothing at all for the characters, that is pretty boring.

And I'll gladly change sentimental for something like "sappy" if that makes it clearer it's the bad kind. Could "sappy" be the equivalent of "person of color"?

Yeah sappy is a better word. Or maudlin, or mawkish. "Sentimental" just seems used a lot (and certainly not by just you) as a negative, which strikes me badly. I mean, I think most of us get sentimental at times and appreciate genuine sentiment in art at least occasionally. Or maybe not, I dunno. But at any rate there are better words to my mind that communicate a false or overdone sort of sentiment.

I'm quite interested in modern Asian cinema actually, it's just that I'm no more interested in it than I am in several dozen other areas, geographical or eras. I'm fairly sure I'll put some effort into the Chinese challenge next month, though I may focus mostly on Shaw Brothers stuff, dunno yet - I have quite a few more recent films that I do want to see. But I think there is a decent chance that I will start a mammoth Japanese genre project fairly soon, and while I'll be starting it in the 50s it will continue at least to the late 80s and possibly later. Just waiting on the new Gamera box set and then I can get started...

My biggest problem is in narrowing things down. I often wish I had a more specific focus like you, cinewest, or some others, but it's just not me.

[Onderhond]

I often wish I had a more specific focus like you, cinewest, or some others, but it's just not me.

Whatever suits you best man. In the end that's the only thing that matters

[Ebbywebby]

I started watching "Out of Africa" a long time ago and bailed out. Maybe I'd react to it differently today....or maybe not.

[blocho]

But Streep's accent is not good acting

Alas, thousands of film critics are convinced that an accent is exactly what makes for good acting.

[cinewest]

We both liked Asura I & II, sadly you don't watch much contemporary Asian films, otherwise it would probably be easier to find some kind of middle ground!

But Streep's accent is not good acting, it's closer to something like Allo Allo. As for "boring", when a 160 minute character drama/romance has you feeling nothing at all for the characters, that is pretty boring.

And I'll gladly change sentimental for something like "sappy" if that makes it clearer it's the bad kind. Could "sappy" be the equivalent of "person of color"?

Yeah sappy is a better word. Or maudlin, or mawkish. "Sentimental" just seems used a lot (and certainly not by just you) as a negative, which strikes me badly. I mean, I think most of us get sentimental at times and appreciate genuine sentiment in art at least occasionally. Or maybe not, I dunno. But at any rate there are better words to my mind that communicate a false or overdone sort of sentiment.

I'm quite interested in modern Asian cinema actually, it's just that I'm no more interested in it than I am in several dozen other areas, geographical or eras. I'm fairly sure I'll put some effort into the Chinese challenge next month, though I may focus mostly on Shaw Brothers stuff, dunno yet - I have quite a few more recent films that I do want to see. But I think there is a decent chance that I will start a mammoth Japanese genre project fairly soon, and while I'll be starting it in the 50s it will continue at least to the late 80s and possibly later. Just waiting on the new Gamera box set and then I can get started...

My biggest problem is in narrowing things down. I often wish I had a more specific focus like you, cinewest, or some others, but it's just not me.

What do you see as my specific focus in terms of my film watching interests?

While it's true that there is quite a lot that I am not interested in (either not to my taste to begin with, or because of overexposure and my own evolution), I continue developing my knowledge of film history (at least in terms of the highlights), and also continue to venture into interesting areas, or filmmakers I am as yet not very familiar with (and some of the more adventurous here have certainly helped me out in that regard).
I don't see nearly as many movies as a lot of people on this blog (don't think there is one movie year where I have more than 90 checks, and most have considerably less), but feel satiated enough by the amount that I do see, which is also part of what makes me choosy. Even so, I end up seeing plenty that I wouldn't normally opt for (usually the more mainstream, critically popular titles) because of who I might be sharing the experience with (a very diverse group of people, including friends, family relatives of all ages, and students of mine- also different ages). .

One of my pleasures is making new discoveries, whether contemporary or formerly obscure to me, though I also like being at the forefront of what is happing now around the world (which at times involves a rediscovery of something). So, while in one sense my taste has narrowed over the years, it has simultaneously expanded via new experiences

As someone interested in the creative aspect of filmmaking, I like to keep an open mind, especially to the various approaches of working with the medium, though in the process (and in my study of the arts and creative expression over a life time) I have, of course, cultivated my own sensibilities and ideas about them. One topic I might suggest to St.Gloede for his podcast is a conversation that explores the criteria that informs our taste in movies, and think that Paul Schrader's article in search of a canon forms the basis for a good discussion about the art form, though one of the things that is interesting is that even if there were an agreed upon philosophy of what makes for good cinema, just like our nation's own constitution and set of laws, there would be ample room for completely different interpretations or applications of its meaning.

Coming back to our personal tastes in film, your own is something of a mystery to me, at least in terms of understanding what you value or like about movies since you seem to like so many different kinds (one of my close friends who I used to make movies with is a lot like this, as well), and your favorites seem to have nothing to do with one another.
I imagine this has something to do with your own history as a film watcher that I have gleaned something about over the years (what you liked about movies growing up, how Rosenbaum interested you as a young adult, etc). And this personal history, as you suggested in a comment recently, is an interesting part of who we are and how we experience and think about movies.

[Onderhond]

But Streep's accent is not good acting

Alas, thousands of film critics are convinced that an accent is exactly what makes for good acting.

Myes?