Last Movie You Watched? 7.0

I've been wanting to take another look at BABY JANE and SWEET CHARLOTTE. Once tried to watch WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? Never made it through the thing.

It's been a while since I've posted in here, but this evening I saw

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

I like the Boetticher movies and this one was fairly solid. Scott's kind of hapless in some ways in this, which is amusing. He's the hero of the story but he keeps screwing up and getting caught, etc.

From Russia With Love (1963)

Iconic or not, that helicopter sequence just doesn't seem to be needed IMHO. That last stretch just goes on too long.

Obsession (1976)

Looks and sounds amazing, but it doesn't engage me in the slightest. Maybe I'm missing it, but it feels totally empty to me. It's not like CARRIE, BLOW OUT, or CARLITO'S WAY, where De Palma's skills are in service to something that I really have a reaction to. This thing's like an iceberg. Stuff is happening and I couldn't give less of a crap. But I stress that I like all of the talent involved.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

From Russia With Love (1963)

Iconic or not, that helicopter sequence just doesn't seem to be needed IMHO. That last stretch just goes on too long.

For me it's the boat chase. I could have done without that.

Yeah for me it's the boat chase that's one too many, especially since it's practically right after the helicopter

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Yeah for me it's the boat chase that's one too many, especially since it's practically right after the helicopter

Worse is that it's repetitive, it's pretty much exactly the same as the helicopter sequence. Bond is on the move, gets ambushed by SPECTRE, blows them up, then gets away. I would cut away both sequences and jump straight from the Oriental Express to Klebb attacking Bond in the hotel like in the book, but I do like that the helicopter sequence reinforces SPECTRE as a genuine threat and that they won't make it easy for Bond to escape after killing Grant. Plus I think it's really cool to see an actual stuntman nearly getting hit by the helicopter, that's what should be seen on the big screen, it adds to the spectacle of Bond films and makes his adventures more thrilling.

The Hunger Games

Hopefully the last hurrah for shaky cam, certainly here the technique is pretty inept and distracting. There are some interesting concepts underpinning the story but the film doesn't make the best of them - no real connection is made to the years supply of food won and the basic premise behind the games just seems stupid. However the build up and execution of the games themselves is fairly well done.

Ultimately not bad but not great and not really enough to make me care if there is a part 2 or not.

6/10

Python wrote:

Plus I think it's really cool to see an actual stuntman nearly getting hit by the helicopter, that's what should be seen on the big screen, it adds to the spectacle of Bond films and makes his adventures more thrilling.

Not to mention that instead of merely copying North by Northwest, it actually ups the ante quite a bit.

Python wrote:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

From Russia With Love (1963)

Iconic or not, that helicopter sequence just doesn't seem to be needed IMHO. That last stretch just goes on too long.

For me it's the boat chase. I could have done without that.

But I would take out the helicopter bit and leave in the boat chase.

I love both sequences. The film is perfect.

FieldsMan wrote:

I love both sequences. The film is perfect.

I was going to say 'seconded,' but to be fair, the way the sound mix sends the Bond theme up & down & caroming off the walls of Bond's first Istanbul hotel room is inexcusably bad ... when I saw it repeatedly during a DN/FRWL/GF triple bill revival in 1976, the audiences always lost it in a bad way - and you could tell the difference, because they were laughing properly at 'she's had her kicks' and the like.

But 'damned near perfect' is still high praise.

Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972, dir. Werner Herzog)

[Aguirre, the Wrath of God]

It shows the expedition of ruthless Spanish Aguirre in search of El Dorado at the beginning of modern era. His obsession and self-love are well portrayed; it probably mirrors man's hubris in general. The hardships and obstacles of the trip at first seem to be easily overcome, but the fate of greedy and narcissistic human appears to be inevitable.
The film was produced with very low budget and feels like theater taken to the jungle. While some of the film has a bizarre and weird odor to it, it nonetheless offers a convincing and artful exploration of its themes and characters. Kinski is excellent and breathtakingly subtle and immersive in his role. The music is of a strange beauty and another important element of the film's artistic success.


The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, dir. John Ford)

A film that thankfully offers a well constructed story filled with a bunch of multi-dimensional characters I can care for. The acting is very good through all the roles, particularly Stewart and Wayne are impressive, and Marvin is great as the villain. The camera work is formidable once again, and Ford once more shows he is a dedicated director with a heart. Even the comic side kick characters you simply have to love (the Sheriff is hilarious). The film perfectly combines crime, character study, love story, and it deals very well with the issue of who shot Liberty Valance and the impact of that act on the main characters' lives. It's an emotionally rich, affecting, also entertaining and even suspenseful movie. I'm already in love with Ford.

That's the only John Wayne film I've ever really enjoyed. The reason is obvious enough to anyone who has seen it. :twisted:

Blow-Up (1966) directed by Michelangelo Antonioni

A groovy look at '60s mod London with the famous Varushka photo-shoot scene. I am really enjoying the commentary by Antonioni expert Peter Brunette as well. He deftly breaks down the film subtext and stylistic and thematic touches of the famous director. There is a lot going on this film.

First time I had watched this film. Being a huge fan of British Rock, I was blown away by the Yardbirds club riff scene. Not only is it the Yardbirds performing live to a bunch of zombified hipsters, but its the Yardbirds with both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck in the line-up. I nearly fell off my couch, at this vintage footage of two members of the holy trinity of English guitar Gods. The other being Eric Clapton, also a Yardbirds alum.

Brunette I guess isn't a rock fan. He just glosses over the presence of both Beck and Page on the same stage, and only mentions the band's name in passing, while he focuses on whatever the Director was trying to do here.

I watched the scene three times before I continued with the rest of the film.

What a treat that was to see the young guitar-masters Page and Beck in their very early hipster glory.

Sisters (1973)

A nice effort. Doesn't blow my socks off but it's pretty well made and the Hitchcock nods are more apparent than ever of course. I like 70s Margot Kidder, though I don't find her accent convincing. Great to hear Bernard Herrmann too.

Also, am I the only one that finds William Finley irritating?

Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain weekend. An imperfect film but does the job suitably considering the complexities of showing the three month campaign in a short span. The aerial sequences and the aircraft themselves are the real stars of the film. Production initially had trouble showing off the aircraft because of markings and thus filming had to be done against clouds, dark landscapes etc. The entire Spanish Air Force bomber wing was used for the German bombers in the film and pretty much all surviving Spitfires for the RAF. It's uneven therefore with only three Hurricanes.
Probably my first film I recall seeing Plummer in and thereby despite all the great work he's done since, it's a pleasure seeing him in the film. As indeed the likes of Nigel Patrick, Kenneth More, Olivier, Edward Fox, Trevor Howard and a few others.
Michael Caine on the other hand despite a couple of quotable lines just seems stiff and out of place. Maybe a favour to Harry Saltzman.

Kick Ass

1408

Dressed to Kill (1980, dir. Brian De Palma)

I am quite disappointed. It does the suspense bits fairly well, but I found out about the killer pretty early

Spoiler:

The first 30 minutes too bored me pretty much -

Spoiler:

but the suspense scenes, as said, were pretty good, as was Franz, who gives the best performance, weirdly enough. A turn on PSYCHO for the umpteenth time, and a dash of VERTIGO, too. It has the potential for a more interesting and exciting film, I believe, but all in all, it's okay.




CARRIE
BLOW OUT
OBSESSION
CARLITO'S WAY
MISSION TO MARS
PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE
THE FURY
THE BLACK DAHLIA
RAISING CAIN
SISTERS
DRESSED TO KILL
BODY DOUBLE
FEMME FATALE
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
THE UNTOUCHABLES
SCARFACE
CASUALTIES OF WAR

I am not happy with the ranking. SISTERS, DRESSED, and BODY DOUBLE should be ahead of CAIN, FURY perhaps too high, PHANTOM maybe better than CARLITO and MARS. But these are hard to rank.

The opening thirty minutes of DRESSED TO KILL are phenomenal. The way De Palma establishes subtext, develops his characters, and continually toys with audience expectations is masterful. In particular, that museum chase is a knockout, one of De Palma's finest directorial moments, if not his finest, period.

RE: the significance of it all, it's all about guilt. PSYCHO's opening section was powered by guilt over theft; in DRESSED TO KILL, the guilt is sexual in nature. The STD reveal highlights that.

Yeah, the first 30 minutes are amazing. I'll be seeing it again soon on my slow De Palmathon. CARRIE's up next.

I forgot to watch GOLDFINGER tonight. Been watching a Bond every three nights.

The Sweeney - apart from the jarring age gap between Ray Winstone's Jack Regan and his love interest (Hayley Atwell) and the seeming inability of either hardened criminals or the highly-trained titular police department to shoot particularly straight during one chase/shootout sequence, an entertaining big-screen update of the 70s cop show.

Harper

a film that feels effortlessly cool, or perhaps that's just Paul Newman the couldn't-give-a-damn PI working in swinging LA. The music is something else, the women swinging and moving in all kinds of ways and watchout, Shelley Winters. Pamela Tiffin does some sort of Racquel Welch dance move whilst Robert Wagner is...well...Anyway, Arthur Hill was quite good. Quite. Good movie.

Harmsway wrote:

The opening thirty minutes of DRESSED TO KILL are phenomenal. The way De Palma establishes subtext, develops his characters, and continually toys with audience expectations is masterful. In particular, that museum chase is a knockout, one of De Palma's finest directorial moments, if not his finest, period.

RE: the significance of it all, it's all about guilt. PSYCHO's opening section was powered by guilt over theft; in DRESSED TO KILL, the guilt is sexual in nature. The STD reveal highlights that.

A second viewing will cast a different light on it, as usual. I didn't get the idea of her feeling guilt over her sexual escapades, because she was only shattered after finding out about the possibility of having clap; just before that, she looks very self-confident and smug. I can't see any sign of moral qualms.
I also found her sexual daydream part in the beginning, just as the end of the film, as described, rather cheap. And I probably had different expectations than what De Palma anticipated people to have. The whole rest of the film works pretty well, but next time I'll see it, the one or the other thing may sit better with me.

Manhunter wrote:

I didn't get the idea of her feeling guilt over her sexual escapades, because she was only shattered after finding out about the possibility of having clap; just before that, she looks very self-confident and smug.

Of course she doesn't feel guilt until after she's gone through with the act; she's pursuing her own fantasy with abandon, and at first, it seems that it's everything she could want it to be. But the reveal of the test changes things; she suddenly sees the repercussions of realizing her fantasies and heavy guilt and panic sets in.

WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? (1972, dir. Curtis Harrington)

Not so good.

Fear Over The City
Jean Paul Belmondo does Dirty Harry
Best rooftop chase shoot out scene ever filmed (or at least the best this side of Bourne)
Extra points as Belmondo does all his own stunts

Harmsway wrote:

Manhunter wrote:

I didn't get the idea of her feeling guilt over her sexual escapades, because she was only shattered after finding out about the possibility of having clap; just before that, she looks very self-confident and smug.

Of course she doesn't feel guilt until after she's gone through with the act; she's pursuing her own fantasy with abandon, and at first, it seems that it's everything she could want it to be. But the reveal of the test changes things; she suddenly sees the repercussions of realizing her fantasies and heavy guilt and panic sets in.

The panic is obvious. I may be nit-picking, but my understanding of 'guilt' makes it necessary to be strongly ashamed of one's own behaviour because of a real insight into the moral failure of said behaviour. She just panics at the prospect of having an STD. But maybe next time I'll see the profound character study of a remorseful woman. ;)

Lola (1981, dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

It didn't impress me nearly as much as ALI, DIE BITTEREN TRÄNEN..., or LILI MARLEEN. But to be fair, I was really tired through most of the film, which is a shame. It's a rather clever story about an amoral capitalist using a troubled prostitute to demoralize a strongly virtuous civil servant. There's the Fassbinder humour in it that worked so well in LILI MARLEEN, which is decent here, but all in all, the film didn't fully convince me. It's good, but I was probably too tired to do it justice.