soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
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Post by soggy on Dec 7, 2022 18:50:53 GMT
 Killing (Shin'ya Tsukamoto, 2018) "You'll soon bleed to death, so reflect on your life." I usually love Tsukamoto's films… I can't really say that about this one, though I liked and respected it. This is absolutely devastating deconstruction of the typical Samurai film. It plays so many of the tropes those who watch these films expect and it does so cleverly. It's a film about the act of killing, how it destroys and how it can be so easy for some. Despite the title, there is only one real action scene in it. It's mostly a chamber piece, so small in scale that it honestly comes off almost as a play at times… which is fascinating given how nature is shown throughout. It's quite possibly the most depressing of Tsukamoto's films as well, leaving me not only uncomfortable as it ended, but needing something light hearted to escape it. 7/10 |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Dec 8, 2022 2:19:37 GMT
Talk to Her (2002) Incredible, I thought.
One of my favorite Almodovar films
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Dec 8, 2022 2:25:06 GMT
Killing (Shin'ya Tsukamoto, 2018) "You'll soon bleed to death, so reflect on your life." I usually love Tsukamoto's films… I can't really say that about this one, though I liked and respected it. This is absolutely devastating deconstruction of the typical Samurai film. It plays so many of the tropes those who watch these films expect and it does so cleverly. It's a film about the act of killing, how it destroys and how it can be so easy for some. Despite the title, there is only one real action scene in it. It's mostly a chamber piece, so small in scale that it honestly comes off almost as a play at times… which is fascinating given how nature is shown throughout. It's quite possibly the most depressing of Tsukamoto's films as well, leaving me not only uncomfortable as it ended, but needing something light hearted to escape it. 7/10 I loved this, possibly my favorite Tsukamoto film I wrote the following, not long after it came out:
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 618
Likes: 1,021
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Post by soggy on Dec 8, 2022 13:45:47 GMT
I agree with pretty much everything you said, the film just doesn't quite work for me on the level of some of Tsukamoto's other films... or perhaps that's not the right phrase. It does work on every level that it's supposed it, it just made me so melancholic after finishing that I didn't appreciate as much as I should have. This is interesting as Kotoko is my favorite of Tsukamoto's films and it's honestly the most uncomfortable of all of them for me (full disclosure, as a mom I find it an extremely dark and distorted mirror to a lot of post-pregnancy feelings many women go through). Still glad you loved that one! I find Tsukamoto a fascinating filmmaker.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Dec 9, 2022 2:25:03 GMT
I agree with pretty much everything you said, the film just doesn't quite work for me on the level of some of Tsukamoto's other films... or perhaps that's not the right phrase. It does work on every level that it's supposed it, it just made me so melancholic after finishing that I didn't appreciate as much as I should have. This is interesting as Kotoko is my favorite of Tsukamoto's films and it's honestly the most uncomfortable of all of them for me (full disclosure, as a mom I find it an extremely dark and distorted mirror to a lot of post-pregnancy feelings many women go through). Still glad you loved that one! I find Tsukamoto a fascinating filmmaker. is an amazing film, but a tough watch. Tsukamoto is great, a total independent maverick. Tetsuo: The Iron Man is still one of the most daring, original films I've seen. I pretty much love all his films, except maybe Tetsuo III: The Bullet Man and I've not yet seen Nightmare Detective 2.
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Selgovae
Sophomore
@arejaygee
Posts: 698
Likes: 507
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Post by Selgovae on Jan 12, 2023 11:05:03 GMT
 Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica, 1951)
The only one of De Sica's films I've seen prior to this one was Bicycle Thieves. I know he's know as one of the greatest from the Italian Neo-Realism movement, so this film may surprise people as it's very much a comedic fantasy. Yes, early on it has the feel of his other movies, but that takes a very different spin as it moves on. It's not as good of a film as Bicycle Thieves, but it is a far more enjoyable one filled with a good natured sense of humor and charm. 8/10 It got a bit too magical realist for my taste in the last half hour or so, but I did enjoy it for the most part. |
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Selgovae
Sophomore
@arejaygee
Posts: 698
Likes: 507
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Post by Selgovae on Jan 12, 2023 11:07:24 GMT
Demonstrating that not all world cinema is about gay Latvian cowboys eating pudding in black and white -  For the sixth or seventh time. |
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Post by nostromo on Jan 12, 2023 14:39:26 GMT
Au Hasard Balthazar. 9.5/10 - Essential heart-breaking Bresson.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 618
Likes: 1,021
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Post by soggy on Jan 24, 2023 23:23:39 GMT
 Burning Paradise (Ringo Lam, 1994) This is a remarkable little martial arts movie in how it breaks down what is expected from such a movie. Usually, they are full of comedy and light hearted moments and while there is violence, it is heroic or cartoonish. Usually even when a character dies, it is heroic... Not so here. There’s some humor in it, but the character at the start who seems like he’s going to be comedic relief is killed quickly. Here the violence is graphic and brutal. The passage of time is shown with a decaying body. Characters die and rather than being heroic, it is sad and abrupt. It’s a deconstruction of everything the genre typically offers while playing with a traditional story. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I can see how many would not (apparently it was a huge bomb in Hong Kong when released). 8/10 |
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Post by Cat on Jan 25, 2023 2:00:57 GMT
Burning Paradise (Ringo Lam, 1994) This is a remarkable little martial arts movie in how it breaks down what is expected from such a movie. Usually, they are full of comedy and light hearted moments and while there is violence, it is heroic or cartoonish. Usually even when a character dies, it is heroic... Not so here. There’s some humor in it, but the character at the start who seems like he’s going to be comedic relief is killed quickly. Here the violence is graphic and brutal. The passage of time is shown with a decaying body. Characters die and rather than being heroic, it is sad and abrupt. It’s a deconstruction of everything the genre typically offers while playing with a traditional story. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I can see how many would not (apparently it was a huge bomb in Hong Kong when released). 8/10 Sounds fun! |
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Post by Cat on Jan 25, 2023 2:05:43 GMT
The World of Apu (1959)
It doesn't get much better than this. This is a human condition trilogy, not to be confused with The Human Condition Trilogy from Masaki Kobayashi. Just a heart-wrenching story, the whole lot of them. They're gold on their own but together, they're a diamond.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 618
Likes: 1,021
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Post by soggy on Jan 25, 2023 16:05:14 GMT
The World of Apu (1959)
It doesn't get much better than this. This is a human condition trilogy, not to be confused with The Human Condition Trilogy from Masaki Kobayashi. Just a heart-wrenching story, the whole lot of them. They're gold on their own but together, they're a diamond.
I got two of Ray's films for Christmas, though unfortunately not this set (I got Devi and Charulata), so I'll be giving him a watch again soon.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 618
Likes: 1,021
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Post by soggy on Jan 25, 2023 16:05:41 GMT
 100 Monsters (Kimiyoshi Yasuda, 1968) An interesting Japanese horror/samurai picture. At times it seems cartoonish, almost flat out childish, then it has some genuinely disturbing moments. It may be tonally inconsistent, but it’s always interesting. The yokai have some fantastic designs, coming off as very puppet like at times, but in a delightfully eerie way. It’s not a great film, but it’s certainly unique enough. 6/10 |
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Post by Cat on Jan 26, 2023 18:41:10 GMT
The World of Apu (1959)
It doesn't get much better than this. This is a human condition trilogy, not to be confused with The Human Condition Trilogy from Masaki Kobayashi. Just a heart-wrenching story, the whole lot of them. They're gold on their own but together, they're a diamond.
I got two of Ray's films for Christmas, though unfortunately not this set (I got Devi and Charulata), so I'll be giving him a watch again soon.
Neat! I liked Charulata a lot. I haven't seen Devi but it's on the shelf at my nearest library so it's only a 15 minute walk away. 30 minutes if it's through the snow that got dumped here last night.
That other movie you posted blew looks wild and fun. Well-selected photo!
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 618
Likes: 1,021
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Post by soggy on Jan 27, 2023 0:36:22 GMT
I got two of Ray's films for Christmas, though unfortunately not this set (I got Devi and Charulata), so I'll be giving him a watch again soon.
Neat! I liked Charulata a lot. I haven't seen Devi but it's on the shelf at my nearest library so it's only a 15 minute walk away. 30 minutes if it's through the snow that got dumped here last night.
That other movie you posted blew looks wild and fun. Well-selected photo!
Thank you! It was a lot of fun and there's two more movies in the series so I'll likely be posting more interesting visuals. |
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 618
Likes: 1,021
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Post by soggy on Jan 27, 2023 0:47:06 GMT
 Epidemic (Lars von Trier, 1987) Second of Lars von Trier's Europe trilogy. I'd previously seen the other two (Elements of Crime and Europa) and liked them both very much. This one though... is different. It's a very meta-narrative in which von Trier and his screenwriter (playing themselves) lose the script for the movie they were supposed to work on. They decide to quickly write a film about an epidemic, while unbeknownst to them an actual plague is spreading. It's shot in an almost documentary style (with moments of the movie they intend to film). I don't exactly get what he was aiming for with this one (such as why he decided to have the title complete with trademark on the top left of the screen the entire film) and I honestly didn't care for it enough to try to revisit it and learn more. The ending scenes are surprisingly good though which saves it from a much lower score. 4/10. |
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Jan 29, 2023 5:45:18 GMT
Eric Rohmer’s “Rendez-Vous in Paris” (1995). Three 30-minute independent stories of couples in Paris. Very talkative movie, which is par for the course with the director - not that there is anything wrong with that! I am a fan of Rohmer, so that was right up my alley. Maybe not up to the same level as his best-known movies, but I found it enjoyable enough.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Jan 29, 2023 11:42:20 GMT
Eric Rohmer’s “Rendez-Vous in Paris” (1995). Three 30-minute independent stories of couples in Paris. Very talkative movie, which is par for the course with the director - not that there is anything wrong with that! I am a fan of Rohmer, so that was right up my alley. Maybe not up to the same level as his best-known movies, but I found it enjoyable enough. It is one of his weaker efforts, but yes, enjoyable for fans of his style. |
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 618
Likes: 1,021
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Post by soggy on Jan 30, 2023 20:04:23 GMT
 Il Bidone (Federico Fellini, 1955) The least Fellini-like Fellini movie the director ever made. Even his earliest films have more of his quirks and traits than this one does. Here Fellini is making a crime film about a group that swindles poor people (frequently disguising themselves as members of the catholic church or representatives building homes in order to get down-payments). It feels much more in line with the Italian neo-realisim movement and it's honestly a deeply depressing film trying to hide it's nature under some fairly comedic moments. It makes you think it's going one direction hinting at a redemption arc for our lead, only for him to really try to take all the money for himself and die for it. It's a brutal ending that just hurts to watch. While it may not fit with the rest of his filmography, it's an interesting change of pace from Fellini and a movie that I quite enjoyed. 8/10 |
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Post by politicidal on Feb 1, 2023 15:04:59 GMT
Caught half of The Burglars (1971) with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Omar Sharif. Excellent car chase in the middle act.
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