Oct 11, 2015

Whoo, 3 matches. Not bad. And I'm glad about Sansho, cause I put all you n----s on it. The only one's here I don't have as masterpieces are Woman and Master. The rest are all like 96-100s for me...

 

Oct 11, 2015

@Twan With you on Forbidden Room, and I think my extra pleasure might have been due to festival audience. Though I suppose you saw it at NYFF? I haven't seen My Winnipeg in a while, but that's a d--- excellent film too.
Glad that you, and other critic friends here, were down on Victoria cause I missed it..

 

Oct 11, 2015

I saw Steve Jobs on Friday.

I kept thinking the entire time that this was a missed opportunity. I don't think this script is the right script for a Steve Jobs film. The structure limits itself and while we learn a great deal about the man in between these moments rather than significant life events, there is still potential for so much more. In the hands of someone like David Fincher, this would have had such energy, but in the hands of Danny Boyle, it's a one-note film for the most part (except for one masterful sequence which read amazing and looks amazing with the direction/performances/editing.

Michael Fassbender is good but I couldn't help but think this was Michael Fassbender playing Steve Jobs. I don't need an actor to look like the people they're playing (like Jesse Eisenberg with Mark Zuckerberg), but it's distracting in this case because he just doesn't become Steve Jobs. I'm also still wondering why Kate Winslet's accent appears in the second and third acts but is non-existent in the first act.

…now with all of this said, since Steve Jobs is such a fascinating figure, this is such a watchable film and I could have sat there for another two hours.

 

Oct 12, 2015

• 
  Invention 2015
  ★★★★★ Watched 04 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 90/100 - Invention (Mark Lewis, UK/Canada)
  
  With a great attention to light movement, space, and time, Invention provokes feelings of introspection and reflection in its viewers.
  
  Read full review:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/10/viff-invention-provokes-feelings-introspection-reflection/
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Chevalier 2015
  ★★★ Watched 04 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 69 - Chevalier (Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece)
  
  A comedy relying on a game between six men vying for the title “the best in general”, Tsangari’s Chevalier is a laudable comedic experiment which unfortunately doesn’t surmount anything particularly resonant beyond its novel entertainment.
  
  Read full review:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/10/viff-chevalier-laudable-comedic-experiment/
  

 

Oct 12, 2015

Pretty happy to get a new post from @Woody

I'll probably check out Steve Jobs this week.

 

Oct 12, 2015

Anyone watching Fargo?

 

Oct 12, 2015

I've heard good things, but I still struggle to start TV shows...

 

Oct 12, 2015

film FAM only you hear

 

Oct 13, 2015

 

Oct 13, 2015

@Woody

There's a blueprint of the mall in Dawn of the Dead (1978) if you're still interested. I have the screenshot saved somewhere.

 

Oct 13, 2015

Anybody got any movies to recommend with neon/technicolor cinematography?

 

Oct 14, 2015

^Cemetary of Splendour

As for technicolor, I'm working my way through what I haven't seen of TIFF's Dreaming in Technicolor series. http://nextprojection.com/?s=technicolor

 

Oct 14, 2015

• 
  [REVIEW] 30/100 - Hurricane (Andy Byatt, Cyril Barbancon, UK/France)
  
  Unfortunately, the film doesn’t even work as a satisfying rush of emotions and grand imagery, as the entire film is rather unimpressive and poorly put together.
  
  Read full review:

• http://nextprojection.com/2015/10/13/viff-hurricane-rather-unimpressive/
  
  My Golden Days 2015
  ★★★½ Watched 04 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 76/100 - My Golden Days (Arnaud Desplechin, France)
  
  As My Golden Days carries forwards with its love story, which becomes somewhat repetitive at times, what emerges is a colourful history of the joys and agonies of young love. Leading to a sorrowful end, the film addresses the strength of love when faced with distance, angst, and ennui.
  
  Read full review:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/13/viff-golden-days-colourful-history-joys-agonies-young-love/
  
  No likes

• 
  Junun 2015
  ★★★★ Watched 12 Oct, 2015
  
  Anderson's direction is singular and subtly thematic in what seems to be a significant moment in contemporary music and culture. At times, the dynamic hand-camera makes one feel present; at other times, it loses perspective and displays amateur control, ridding the continuity of presence. 5 Stars for the bird feeding sequence and all but one song (guess which).
  
  80/100 - Great.
  
  1 like

• 
  Entourage 2015
  ★★ Watched 11 Oct, 2015
  
  Hot chicks in tight short skirts discretely enter and exit the frames of tatami shots. Fancy cars, helicopters, and houses superficially dazzle the audience through extravagant cranes. All the men end up with girls, money, and fame. It's a boy's wet dream. It's not bad.
  
  50/100 - Mediocre.

 

Oct 14, 2015

I think I dug Steve Jobs a little more than @Woody. It's no The Social Network for sure, but it's fast-paced and really entertaining, though admittedly thin as a character study. Sorkin's script is sharp and exceedingly clever, and there's a certain pleasure to be had in watching talented actors like Fassbender, Winslet and co. go back and forth with his rapid-fire verbal volleys. I felt Boyle's hyperactive direction was actually well suited to Sorkin's walk-and-talk style, as his crisp editing and flowing camerawork matched the rhythms of the machine-gun dialogue.

With that said, the film does feel lacking somewhat as a character study, as its psychological profile comes across as rather linear and basic. Additionally, its attempts at emotional resonance can at times feel strained, especially in the overwrought third act. It's definitely not as rewatchable or as memorable as Fincher's film, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

 

Oct 15, 2015

I ain't trynna watch Steve jobs

 

Oct 15, 2015

• MASTERPIECE ALERT: favourite film of the year...
• 
  [REVIEW] 98/100 - Innocence of Memories
  
  Seeing Innocence of Memories provided one of the few times that I’ve left a theater in awe, as if life’s essence had shifted in those past 90 minutes of pure cinema.
  
  Read full review:
• http://nextprojection.com/2015/10/1...-extraordinarily-moving-poetic-philosophical/

• 
  
• 
  Borealis 2015
  ★★★ Watched 11 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 66/100 - Borealis (Sean Garrity, Canada)
  
  Stronger in theory than in execution, Garrity’s Borealis boasts a dense script and meaningful direction which is somewhat undermined by flawed character motivation, contrived plot developments, and a slogging comedy-crime arc.
  
  Read More:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/14/viff-borealis-stronger-theory-execution/
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  The Lobster 2015
  ★★★ Watched 04 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 65/100 - The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, UK
  
  The Lobster stands out amongst other experimental comedies. Yet this is not enough. It is easy to walk away from The Lobster with nothing to provoke one’s thoughts beyond the banality of relationships and the absurdity of structure.
  
  Read More:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/14/viff-lobster-exceptionally-novel-cinematic-experiment/
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  In the Shadow of Women 2015
  ★★★½ Watched 05 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 76/100 - In The Shadow of Women (Phillipe Garrel, France)
  
  The hard-to-digest ending does little to stultify one’s experience of the film, which is undoubtedly well put together.
  
  Read full review:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/14/viff-shadow-women-aesthetically-pure/

 

Oct 16, 2015

anyone watch Beasts of No Nation?

 

Oct 16, 2015

 

Oct 16, 2015

Was thinking of checking it out tonight!

 

Oct 17, 2015

So I watched it...and I'm really struggling with it. It's undeniably well crafted and performed (Elba is superb, as is newcomer Attah), but I'm finding it difficult to pinpoint why I exactly I felt so little in the end. Though it at times calls to mind Malick's The Thin Red Line with its flowing camera movements amidst the chaos of war, something about Fukunaga's aesthetic felt superficial and kept me at a distance from the proceedings.

It's important subject matter for sure and very well should be made accessible to wide audiences, but while acknowledging the horror of what's depicted, I can't say I was every truly immersed, despite the considerable talent on display.

Maybe it's just me and I'm dead inside.