There already is a Last movie thread, but that one consist mostly of people posting an title and nothing more. That is boring.
So here is a new thread; post the latest movie you've seen, and put a little review with it. No synopsis or anything like that, just what you thought about it.

The 400 Blows.
It's black and white, and it's French. If you have a problem with either of those, just skip ahead.
Since it's part of the French new wave (which was influenced by Italian neorealism) it is a "real" movie. I don't usually go for those types of movies, especially not the newer ones, but this was interesting. When it comes to French cinema I still prefer Tati, but this is good too, just a different kind of good.
One thing I liked about it was that all the slaps appeared to be real. There needs to more slapping in movies. Which leads me to...

L.A. Confidential.
I've read two novels by James Ellroy (The Black Dahlia, and White Jazz), and I've enjoyed them both.
I have my doubts that Brian de Palma will be able to get such a convincing period look in his version of The Black Dahlia.
It sort of lost its raw energy towards the end but it is still very good.

I agree Booth, which is why I always do the "little more in-depth" last movie at the other thread. Changing places to this thread!

After tonight's feature -- 1939 Greta Garbo "Ninotchka" -- I will post a li'l review comment.

Leaving a little space to return to----

 ---the review.  I see that TIME magazine ranked this film as one of the Top 100 Film Ever Made list.  Stunning!  I hadn't been expecting a romantic comedy.  I thought it would be a good 1930-style film noir with a Russian agent slinking around Paris.  Greta looked grim.  Her clothes and hair were awful -- two mistakes Meg Ryan would never make in a romantic comedy.  I'm giving it a "2" on my Netflix rating.  Barely amusing.  A real disappointment.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

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"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Hoh boy, my irony is obviously just a bit too oblique, lately. Time to break out my old pal, Winkie McOne-Eye.

Well, the Winkie McOne-Eye that doesn't get me arrested, that is.
 

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Last night, after The Short Films of David Lynch, I watched (for the first time) The Cat's Meow, by Peter Bogdanovich. I thought the tone of the film was very evocative, and the performances were a grab bag of styles that ended up being totally cohesive and fun to watch.

It's an ensemble piece, but the real featured actors were Edward Herrmann as William Hearst, Kirsten Dunst as his gal Marion Davies, and Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin (who spends the picture trying to get into Marion's pants -- the core of the story).

Maybe the most striking thing about the film for me was how sympathetically Bogdanovich -- an old buddy of Orson Welles -- presents the Hearst character. Herrmann gives the role enough depth and complexity for Hearst to stand as a real lead character instead of just the wedge between Charlie and Marion, and the film gives him full room to do so. Dunst's (try to pronounce "Dunst's") Marion is charming and frustrating, as she should be, and she gives the surest performance of the three main actors. Eddie Izzard looks nothing like Charlie Chaplin, but his manner in the role is so Big, and his screen presence so strong, that it doesn't really matter; even though Izzard's own persona seeps through the cracks from time to time, he inhabits the Chaplin role so comfortably that he lives up to the demands placed on him by the centrality of his character and the performances of the other two leads.

Cary Elwes as Tom Ince... his accent bugged me right off the bat, and his character is written to be grating, but since he's the villain of the piece (emotionally, if not on paper), this actually worked out just fine, especially given the way Tom is the ostensible engine of the story -- he's the reason for all these people to be there together in the first place. The love (?) triangle between Hearst, Davies, and Chaplin is the heart of the film, but Tom's place in it is the reason the overall story is compelling at a very different level. (That's the best way I can put it without spoilers.)

Jennifer Tilly is more comic relief than anything else, nearly slapstick, and she does a great job with the most stylized role in the film (plus she gets a neat little twist in at the end). Claudia Harrison veers between comic scenes and dramatic ones as Margaret, looking tired and lost in most of them, which sets her slightly wallflowerish character apart from the revelry going on around her. Joanna Lumley's Elinor Glyn takes us into and out of the film itself; her narration grounds the story, and while she's not written as much more than a cloud of jaded witticisms, she -- like most of the film's other characters -- is very memorable and (despite herself) likable.

The direction and story are very polished. The pacing is effortless, especially the way the love-and-betrayal thread and the Ince-and-Hearst thread close toward each other in the violent knot that has been gradually building up since the first scenes. The music is great (and Kirsten Dunst even sings "After You've Gone" over the closing credits, and nails it perfectly). The camerawork is unobtrusive and appropriately claustrophobic, as the majority of the film takes place on Hearst's boat.

I'm surprised this film didn't get more attention, given the Dark Side of Hollywood hook -- though maybe that's exactly why. The drama works, the romance works, the comedy works... As a couple of hours of mildly naughty escapism for grown-up film buffs, I recommend it highly.

Nightwatch - A Russian horror fantasy film that apparently part of a trilogy with the second film (not yet released in the states?) called Day Watch...not sure what the 3rd film is/will be called. The best way to describe this film is that it is part Lord of The Rings part Fight Club...it has a definite mythology that is quickly and concisely explained...basic good vs evil...you have vampires, shapeshifters and all kinds of narly Others to entertain you...it wasn't the best or most original idea I have seen but it is entertaining and has nifty camera moves and special effects...worth checking out

Rope - Hitchcock's first color film...the concept of this film is that it is a play but it is also a motion picture and it was also filmed in eight 10 minute segments with out stopping with close up of backs and what not in between reels. The film starts off with 2 freinds (the film deals with homosexuality very subtely, well that was the intention , which was not something one would see in films of that era)that murder a friend of their just to see if they could get away with it. The screenplay was inspired by real events. The two friends hold a dinner party with the dead body lying in a chest the whole time. Great flick with an even greater screenplay.          

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Oh so very funny, that Safari is!  Gives you just a long dash -------------- but no words.

So as I was saying, I'm glad you got around to one of my all time faves, Smokey!  ROPE! The murderers, with their superiority complexes, have much in common with Zero Day and the novel Crime and Punishment.  I love those sort of fictional killers! 

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Oh Susan, dearie...I own Rope and I've always loved it even though this is like the 3rd....maybe 4th time I have seen it. It is including in that big ass Hitchcock set I bought. If you don't have it, you should pick it up...even though I know you didn't think too much of Family Plot ;) 

http://www.amazon.com/Alfred-Hitchcock-Masterpiece-Collection/dp/B000A1INJE/sr=1-1/qid=1157041252/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-2442450-2194520?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Had a bit of John Carpenter double-feature, the last two nights:

The Thing - Carpenter's stunning re-make of the Howard Hawk's-produced original. Noteworthy for having an all male cast (a rare thing at the time of the film's release in 1984, and now), but above all, for it's impressive and meticulously rendered latex effects. It's easily strongest in the first 60 minutes, when Carpenter subtly plays with the audience's paranoia over the titular creature's abilities, and where it might strike next. While it does threaten to very slightly derail when Kurt Russell's character goes all out for action man heroics against the monster in the film's literally explosive climax, it concludes with an admirably downbeat and uncertain ending.

Halloween - The film that set the standard for all such considerably lesser works in the slasher sub-genre that followed it, (even though it's not as good as earlier efforts like Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre or possibly Wes Craven's Last House On The Left). Though not entirely perfect, (indeed, it's arguable it's effect has diminished somewhat by later self-aware films in the genre, particularly the post-modern Scream), it's a highly accomplished and technically masterful horror film. Much has been said of Carpenter occassionaly showing the action from the POV of Michael Myers - the film's silent serial killer - and rightfully so, it creates a highly disconcerting tone. There's also some brilliant visual trickery throughout the film, particularly as Myers goes about stalking his victims, such as the shot where he is framed for a second in the doorway as one of his victims walks around the kitchen, whilst talking on the phone. (Props to the late producer Debra Hill, who is said to have wrote the realistic and over-stated dialogue of the teen girls in Carpenter's screenplay). There is a very smooth and confident direction over proceedings as evidenced by the camera work, and Carpenter and team are given top marks for giving the sense of a very real danger in quiet American suberbia. Also, the film score is used very well, subtly adding to the increasing tension as the danger of Michael becomes more paramount to the film's protaganist, played by a young Jamie Lee Curtis.       

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

TinyURL : It's the webposter's best friend!

Donnie Darko - you all know about this one.

In America - Quite simply a movie you must see. A beautiful and very moving film with fantastic acting from Samantha Morton, Djimon Honsou and Paddy C (can't remember how to spell his last name. The two young girls are incredible too...Losely based on director Jim Sheridan's experiences and when he came here with his wife and kids and inspired by the loss of his brother when he was a kid. His two daughters co-wrote the screenplay with him. Samantha and Djimon were nominated for Oscars and the Sheridans were nominated for best original screenplay. 

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

 I didn't like darko like others did so much, I think it stands out only because of how little other much greater films are not seen by a large audiences. I think that could change soon though. If I compare darko to most shit released in last five years or so, it does standout and is sometimes intresting, but mostly not.

The film I just watched was Entr'acte by Rene Clair, a 20 min. short.  A fun and beautiful, ride of delightful pace and energy. A moving surrealist painting where it starts in floaty crawl and becomes a dash, gestured in scope to dada image of life, love and death. If you have enough patience to sit through donnie, try this one too. 

And oh yeah, I loved it.... I could consider this to play at my own wake, in a ongoing loop, but with my own selection of sound. 

twitter/ josephallenart 

josephallenart.com 

Dead Heat

Zombies. That's what the movie is about. Treat Williams as a zombie cop. It's not very good, but it actually manages to move along nicely enough that you're almost entertained through the whole movie.
Oh, the 80s, what a marvellous decade. Joe Piscopo actually got lead parts.

Boogeyman
Or was it Darkness Falls... or They? I can't tell them apart.
Next to funny horror, boring horror is my least favorite.

Gozu - Bizzare fun and twisted images - if you don't like this film, you are not the first, I bet. If you loved it than you can be my friend.

A Zed & Two Noughts - Very wonderful film about decaying animals, missing limbs, and siamese twins. Put this at the top of your queue, new friends.

twitter/ josephallenart 

josephallenart.com 

Match point - rewatched this one as I just bought the dvd. It's not a typical Woody Allen film for many reasons: he's not in it, there isn't his double in it and the story is set for the first time in his filmography in London (he went there because his contract with Dreamworks expired and no americanx except a jewish like Spielberg want to produce his uncommerciable stuff). The film aesthetically is not that satisfying, it's more plot-guided and particularly dense especially in the end - it's a noir about lust, money, selfishness, crime (unpunished) but above all, luck (and unluck of course). The main theme is chance and fate. Has some similarities with the novels of Patricia Highsmith dealing with the Tom Ripley character, who is a social climber too but is in some ways more likeable. Although each actor is quite excellent, every character here is almost hateable (they only way it should be in a movie like this). The standout performers are of course Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The film is to compare with other serious masterpieces of Allen like Interiors, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Sweet and Lowdown, Hannah and her sisters, Shadows and Fog etc. but at the same time it does not resemble any of them. I give it a B.

Full frontal - maybe the best movie by Soderbergh since Sex, Lies and Videotapes - but I liked Erin Brockovich too, with Bubble still have to see that. It's a mosaic of characters moving restless in L.A., they are all involved with a party that takes place in the evening for Gus Delario's birthday. Gus (David Duchovny) is an unhappy New York-born film producer who will commit suicide and most of the other characters  are his co-workers. We have Julia Roberts and Blair Underwood who are mainly displayed inside a movie-within the movie-within the movie called "Rendezvous" where the second plays an african-american actor who entwines a love relationship with his interviewer Francesca. The scenes of Renderzvous are high-def film, while the rest of FULL FRONTAL is shot on video, mirroring reality. It's not fair to say what happens to all the other characters. I'll just say there are some good names: Catherine Keener and Mary McCormack play two sisters, Linda and Lee, who are dealing with some existential problems. David Hyde Pierce plays Lee's husband, he works for a magazine and sometimes writes screenplays. He's experiencing family crisis with Lee and, to complete the disaster, his dog eats an hashish cake he prepared for Gus' birthday and collapses. Rewatchable. I give it a C+.

The Ring Two - Watched it for the fourth time and still like it.

"Did they scoff the whole damn Smörgåsbord?" (Audrey) 

"Gimme a donut!" (Coop)

Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oh, I don't expect that any of you have heard of it, it wasn't a terribly big hit. Really, it was just a little Indy film (oh, ouch). 

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You two should have your own show. And by "have your own show" what I mean is "fall in a well and die".

- - - - -

I rented Silence of the Lambs last night, which, surprisingly (given how much I love the film), I don't own yet. However, though the movie place had the letterbox case out on display, the actual disc was the fullscreen version. Purist that I am, I threw a grump and refused to watch it, at first. Finally I relented, and enjoyed it anyway.

Observations:

- Ted Levine did an awesome job in staying right on the edge of cartoonish with a really difficult character. (Jame Gumb)

- Hitchcock couldn't have made this film better.

- The costuming is brilliant -- if it weren't for the phones and the cars, I wouldn't really be too aware that I was watching a 16 year old movie.

- The Click-Bang climax doesn't really work for me. Also, I wonder if Jodie Foster had to train to be able to pant heavily for so long, or if they just looped her.

- Howard Shore is just a fricking genius.

Anyway, still one of my top-ten films, even in fullscreen.

I'm sorry, guys, here's a hug.  For the two extra people, let's throw in Raymond, who I was picking on elsewhere, and Amanda, who liked my Oregon joke (and who will help prevent the whole group hug thing from being a total sausage fest).

Great idea, in fact we've got a deal going with Adult Swim right now for a new show. Basically, it's about these two anthropomorphized food containers talking about how great the 1980's were. Here is some sample dialogue:

Happy Meal: Hey, remember when Corey Feldman did the voice for one of the Ninja Turtles?

Straw: Haha, yeah, that's right, he DID do that! Man oh man.

Happy Meal: Memories, huh? haha

Straw: That is just TOO funny.

Seven and a half minutes of the two characters blinking. Then robots. 

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