[krastian]

 

[Ghostchase]

Originally Posted by krastian

 

Heavenly film.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Why the hell did people not go out and see this? Lacking promotion? Did Rodriguez and Miller wait to long between films and people didn't care? Makes me sad, such a good film, but of course not as good as the first but a solid outing. Superior to all this Marvel tripe that saturates the film industry. Eva Green's breast were lovely! Josh Borlin fills Clive Owens' spot well, and I'm a tough critic as he was one my favourites. Devon Aoki was a cooler Miho. Solid story line, and Mickey Rourke is just a fantastic again as Marv. His facial surgery works well with Marv's face.

[Rob Instigator]

No one saw Dame to Kill For because Hollywood "blacklisted" MIller and Rodriguez, because Rodriguez gave Frank Miller co-director credit even though he was not a member of the union.

They basically left it to rot.

[Ghostchase]

Thank you for the information! Fuck Hollywood. Good on Rodriguez. I agree with Jodorowsky's view... Fuck Unions too!

[!@#$%!]

 

MATADOR (ALMODOVAR, 1986) - i've been sorting out a retrospective of avaolable almodovar rentals (kika seems out of print-- maybe quietly censored?) and this is as fun as the first time i saw it only now funnier in retrospective (i took it somewhat more seriously the first time). banderas hilariously typecast as a crazy over & over & over. assumpta serna fantastic here-- a pity she didn't become a regular. good writing and some really great shots. im reminded of this quote by almodovar himself: being a filmmaker in spain is like being a bullfighter in china.

 

BOYHOOD (Linklater, 2014). I really liked this thing. Very well done, and very quiet-- almost like nothing happens, but of course it does. It's kinda like those 7-up documentaries but a lot more fun/ less "scientific." I love the ellipses in the narrative. It just works. Great job really. Not a movie to watch for thrills.

 

IRON SKY (someone, 2012). either just a terrible movie or a self-conscious farce, i can't make up my mind. all-around stupid, but i think they know it, and that makes it watchable, like a saturday morning cartoon with a couple of hot women in it. beer helps of course. 0/5, but not without merit. how can i explain?

[schizophrenicroom]

ex machina was a bit disappointing in a way (that and oscar isaac looked and sounded like an old ex and that just took me out of the zone totally) but overall was pretty thought provoking.

that almodovar sounds interesting.

the double with jesse eisenberg was okay, mia wasiwhatever is adorable, and it's very stylized/quirky but fell a bit flat.

short term 12 was enjoyable, gorgeous visuals and good acting from the kids (and brie larson is always good.)

uh, what else... i watched last year in marienbad again and could watch it endlessly

[LifeDistortion]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

No one saw Dame to Kill For because Hollywood "blacklisted" MIller and Rodriguez, because Rodriguez gave Frank Miller co-director credit even though he was not a member of the union.

They basically left it to rot.

I think Frank Miller has gotten some backlash, for one his portrayal of women, there's a lot of news now about making an effort in the comic book industry to appeal to more females, some say they just waited too long to make a sequel to Sin City. Rodriguez can care less about appealing to Hollywood, he's always been fine with making his movies with as little outside influence as possible.

[Ghostchase]

 

Last night I watched Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66 for the first time. I sat there in front of the screen throughout the whole film snapping screenshots in my media player. With every scene Gallo, Ricci, and the environment around them spoke to me. There was something there that the film embodied that left me awestruck. From Gallo's god-like looks, to Ricci's sultry flair, I was conveyed a message that was received on all fronts. Gallo knows how to take the medium known as film, and craft something so hypnotizing, enthralling, and distinct.

The first scene Ricci appears had me hooked, I was in love with her presence in the film. I'm no Christina Ricci fan from her heyday in the 90s, but everything about her in this film had me. Her outfit, her makeup, her blonde hair, and rounder figure had me transfixed.

Gallo's methods on how he crafts and displays his story all back up the ego that surrounds the man named, Vincent Gallo. The end of the film just puts the exclamation mark on the whole package (No Brown Bunny pun intended). I was left with this... "Wow. Vincent Gallo is really fucking amazing."

I champion this one of my favourite films.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Ghostchase

Last night I watched Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66 for the first time.

spanning time... spanning time... that movie is goddamn great. brown bunny... not so much. but yes, everything about buffalo 66 is great. i love especially the look of the film sort of like old home movies.

anyway, i saw this weekend:

 

WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (ALMODOVAR 1988). Almodóvars first masterpiece. Saw this after rewatching all of his previous 80's movies-- well, not all are easily available, but I've seen them all now. The others are fun and good and over the top and hilarious and also a little ratty production-wise. This one though-- amazing from start to end. The credits, then the Fellini-like sequence, then all those amazing shots in phone booths and... dammit he really reached his full form in this one. Lots of his usual motifs developed in earlier films ripen beautifully here. This is the one that made him famous internationally and for sure it was well deserved-- nobody else makes stuff like this and here he did it tremendously well. 5/5.

 

WHITE (KIESLOWSKI 1994) - this is a rewatch. a couple of months ago (or more) i rewatched "blue" which is probably my favorite of the 3. but decided to give the lot a 2nd whirl so this was even better this time around. funny and heartwrenching at the same time. weird too. beautifully done all-around. EQUALITY. ha ha ha ha. that man had a sense of humor. 5/5 - criterion disc comes with some really nice extras.

[!@#$%!]

 

ATAME (Almodóvar 1989). AKA "Tie me Up, Tie me Down". Dammit, so much fun, and Victoria Abril simply delicious here. Banderas for the last time as the crazy stalker weirdo boy has a tremendous performance. Brilliant visuals, and the story as sentimental and crazy as ever. A better production than Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown but less kooky and funny... more serious in a way. Plus, a great sex scene. The Criterion disk comes with some great extras, including a various interviews plus some other fun footage.

 

 

[Rob Instigator]

You have been watching what are likely the single most boring, dull, unnecessary films I have ever had the misfortune of being tricked into viewing.

Almodovar sucks.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

You have been watching what are likely the single most boring, dull, unnecessary films I have ever had the misfortune of being tricked into viewing.

Almodovar sucks.

thanks for letting us know how much you know about movies!

[Rob Instigator]

I know a LOT about movies, more than some, less than others.

Almodovar is among several filmmakers whose movies I LOATHE. I find what they are concerned with inimical to my life, thoughts, experiences, etc. More power to you for loving them. we are all different.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

I know a LOT about movies, more than some, less than others.

Almodovar is among several filmmakers whose movies I LOATHE. I find what they are concerned with inimical to my life, thoughts, experiences, etc. More power to you for loving them. we are all different.

sure we're all different. your favorite movie as i recall is the wrath of khan.

what you're saying says absolutely nothing about almodóvar though.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

 

ATAME (Almodóvar 1989). AKA "Tie me Up, Tie me Down". Dammit, so much fun, and Victoria Abril simply delicious here. Banderas for the last time as the crazy stalker weirdo boy has a tremendous performance. Brilliant visuals, and the story as sentimental and crazy as ever. A better production than Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown but less kooky and funny... more serious in a way. Plus, a great sex scene. The Criterion disk comes with some great extras, including a various interviews plus some other fun footage.

 

 

I love his mid-period stuff: Live Flesh, All About ..., Talk to Her, but could never really get into his comedies like Tie Me Up, and the later stuff seems a bit hit and miss too.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I love his mid-period stuff: Live Flesh, All About ..., Talk to Her, but could never really get into his comedies like Tie Me Up, and the later stuff seems a bit hit and miss too.

the submarine scene in átame is a forrunner of one of those movies i think... you remember which one? a little man and a huge female body. i think it was in talk to her. i love seeing how his themes are always returning.

the comedies are maybe too language-dependent. a lot of things are lost in translation-- this criterion version has new subtitles though, so maybe worth checking for you.

also i'm looking for kika everywhere but for some reason it's out of print in the US. probably because he made a funny rape scene and big big frowns-- but me & the girl i saw it with at the time couldn't stop laughing, and after the movie someone else said "a woman's rape is never funny". well sure, but that was only a movie not a real rape, and i recall it was funny. anyway, kika was recently released on bluray in the UK but here... nothing.

[demonrail666]

I think it is Talk to Her.

I saw Kika and it's one of the ones I never got into. Not cos of the rape scene. I just didn't get the humour. You may have a point about the subtitles, though.

[!@#$%!]

yes, like in kika the rapist's name is paul bazzo, which is a homonym for polvazo, which means "big fuck" (polvo = sex act). little things like that help put you in the right mindset. same character returns in the skin i live in, minus the humor, with a jaguar costume.

of the latest ones, yeah. the last one w/ the airplane passengers was considered too goofy by reviewers who expected "more" from almodóvar but i laughed from beginning to end and saw it as a sort of return to his roots.

maybe he follows the billy wilder scheme of alternating comedies with dramas. those two met btw, after átame came out-- wilder had him come straight from the airport.

===ps-

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1...irley-maclaine

[Ghostchase]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

spanning time... spanning time... that movie is goddamn great. brown bunny... not so much. but yes, everything about buffalo 66 is great. i love especially the look of the film sort of like old home movies

WE'RE SPANNING TIME! Don't touch me.

I love Brown Bunny.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Ghostchase

WE'RE SPANNING TIME! Don't touch me.

I love Brown Bunny.

ha ha ha

i need to rewatch buffao 66 now

re: brown bunny-- while i get that the movie is dealing with a partially deranged mind, just as in buffalo 66, the more poetic quality of this one vs the more narrative one in buffalo 66 doesn't completely work for me.

yes, there are some beautiful shots and scenes (not the blowjob, which was probably only added to get at harmony korine), but as a whole it doesn't work for me. i had to watch it 3 times because the first 2 i fell asleep (this is an approximate number)-- when i finally got into it okay, i appreciate some qualities of it, but i also tend to hate suprise endings of the "it was only a dream after all!" type. they're often a cheap device and a bit of a con job on the audience.

so while i'd keep a lot of the footage and scenes i'd look for a different structure to present that scenario. what she suffered, how he abandoned her, etc., is only a footnote to his solitary drivings.

then again of course if you show that at the beginning you can't really' justify the long rambling road sequences.

i think that he had a good idea, but given that the execution is by nature very difficult, the soufflé came out a bit flat in the end.

i have to see his movies after that. i completely missed the fact that "promises written in water" exists.