Oct 23, 2015

Rec some experimental shorts

 

Oct 23, 2015

No.

 

Oct 23, 2015

 

Oct 23, 2015

https://vimeo.com/mrmichaelrobinson/videos

 

Oct 25, 2015

Ashes (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

 

Oct 26, 2015

Drive is definitely a lot better than The Driver, I'll give you that. @Vahn

 

Oct 26, 2015

• 
  Our Little Sister 2015
  ★★★★ Watched 08 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 84/100 - Our Little Sister (Hirozaku Koreeda, Japan)
  
  Simply put, Our Little Sister is a highly pleasant film with cinematic and emotional resonance.
  
  Read More:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/22/viff-our-little-sister/
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Francofonia 2015
  ★★★★ Watched 08 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] Francofonia (Aleksandr Sokurov, Russia)
  
  Edited in his poetic style, the film crosses between beatific images and a resonant soundtrack which is frustratingly undercut by his overly encyclopedic display of knowledge. While every scene feels spirited and authentic, even though depicting history, Sokurov’s signature poetry is undermined by his constant exposition. Though impassioned, the history lesson is much less interesting than the unquestionably brilliant cinematography besides it. For this reason, while underwhelming as a whole, Francofonia is merely lesser work by a masterful director; in other words, it is still great.
  
  Read More:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/22/viff-francofonia-merely-lesser-work-masterful-director/
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Mountains May Depart 2015
  ★★★ Watched 08 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 67/100 - Mountains May Depart (Jia Zhang-ke, China)
  
  Mountains May Depart fails to produce an authentic family portrait or expression of love, change, and passing.
  
  Read More:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/22/viff-mountains-may-depart-unexceptional-rather-tedious/
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Remember 2015
  ★★★★ Watched 25 Oct, 2015
  
  A fascinating exploration of memory and identity bolstered by a riveting performance from Christopher Plummer.
  
  80/100 - Great.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Bridge of Spies 2015
  ★★★½ Watched 22 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 75/100 - Bridge of Spies
  
  Its greatest success is that it perfectly executes all the technical fortuitousness of Hollywood conventions and American filmmaking.
  
  Its greatest setback is that it perfectly executes all the technical fortuitousness of Hollywood conventions and American filmmaking.
  
  Read more:
  aestheticsofthemind.com/2015/10/23/bridge-of-spies-spielberg-2015/
  
  
  
  

 

Oct 26, 2015

The use of blue in The Conformist

 

Oct 26, 2015

forgot to mention I saw Room at coolidge over the weekend, was great. really great. even better than great. (@Charlie Strangelove )

nah but for real, the kid was fantastic imo and the direction handled with enough nuance that you were in the kids head even w/o the need for the voiceovers (which wasn't abused, so im grateful for that as well). movie made me feel things and s--- u digg

 

Oct 26, 2015

And the orange, conveying those emotional states.

Dat depth of field.

 

Oct 26, 2015

The Assassin was exceptionally beautiful. I mean, there are beautiful movies and then there's The Assassin. In addition to its stunning imagery, Hsiao-Hsien's characteristic pacing and the measured movement of his actors, including the sudden yet graceful sequences of violence, convey an alluring, dreamlike quality and his attention to detail vividly brings the past to life. However, as transporting as I found the film to be overall, if I have any hesitation, I don't know if it packed the same thematic or emotional heft as some of HHH's other work. Still a major work regardless. Would play an Assassin's Creed video game as Shu Qi.

 

Oct 27, 2015

@Rowjay Stan COMMENT ON MY FRANCOFONIA REVIEW FAM

 

Oct 27, 2015

The Assassin is one of HHH's weakest films.

 

Oct 27, 2015

Does anybody else think this has been a very weak year for film?

I'm going off home release dates and I still haven't seen a few films (The Look of Silence, Taxi. Blackhat, Queen of Earth). The only film I really enjoyed was It Follows. It's end of October and I can literally do without everything else I've seen.

 

Oct 27, 2015

Just saw Bride of Frankenstein 35mm - I was so giddy and happy seeing it!

 

Oct 27, 2015

@Narsh glad you liked Room. People keep describing Brie's performance as illuminating, but I really think it's jake tremblay who's harnessing the film (obviously) -- another actress might've played Ma and the film mightve been as nearly successful. Not sure about Jack though. kt just finished the book and was not especially impressed. Also, special shout out to tom mccamus as Leo... again, the awards are going to go to Brie, but i think tom's understated work rly binds the second half of the movie. (not for nothing, he also appeared in one of my favorite films Sweet Hereafter, which i detected a few tonal similarities b/w that and Room)

Interesting, Altman isn't quite as cold as Kubrick, I'd say. I think his best work is actually defined by its humanism -- Nashville, even something like Prairie Home Companion. That said, he has a range of styles, and indeed the reason I mentioned him was his 80s output it essentially filmed stage productions. A bit of a cheeky reference on my part -- that said, I enjoyed a few of them and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is notable for launching Cher's film career. So we can be grateful for that :p

 

Oct 27, 2015

For sure man, I was honestly way more in tune with Jacobs performance than Brie. She played the role well, especially in the house, but Jake was there to match her in every single way, and when they got out I felt her performance to be a bit wanting while the kid just continued to get better. He was most definitely taped into the true essence of the film. I already want to rewatch just for him.

Also, my friend and I were immediately fans of Leo haha -- loved the cereal scene. Definitely a lowkey highlight

 

Oct 27, 2015

And Mad Max

 

Oct 27, 2015

What 2015 movies would you guys recommend that are available for home viewing? I've only watched Turbo Kid, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, Terminator Genisys, Ex Machina, and Blackhat so far lol. Anything that that did well last festival season is fine too.

 

Oct 27, 2015

I think this year has been fairly flat for mainstream releases, but if you include festival pictures I think its the best year of recent history, and there have been some strong years. I have declared more masterpieces this year than pretty much any other year. Soon I will conflate my 60ish VIFF films with my 35ish mainstream films to create a list of 2015 to show this.

Here is a link to my letterboxd VIFF list with all the reviews and scores shown: http://letterboxd.com/kamahmed/list/viff-2015/

Some heavy hitters include: Innocence of Memories, The Assassin, Cemetery of Splendour, The Forbidden Room, Right Now Wrong Then, Room, Invention (7 masterpieces) + Mad Max.

and: Embrace of the Serpeant, Ville Marie, Murmurs of the Heart, The Sleeping Giant, Louder Than Bombs, Rams, Taxi (85+)

• 
  Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words 2015
  ★★★½ Watched 09 Oct, 2015
  
  [REVIEW] 78/100 - Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (Stig Björkman, Sweden)
  
  Generating a remarkably intimate portrayal of her life, the use of her own words and her own video is a stunning accomplishment, allowing the documentary to find grounding in a more poetic documentary mode than usually found of biographies.
  
  Read More:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/26/viff-ingrid-bergman-words-stig-bjorkman/
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Eadweard 2015
  ★★★ Watched 24 Oct, 2015
  
  [Review] 73/100 - Eadweard (Kyle Rideout, Canada)
  
  Remarkable as Eadweard Muybridge is Michael Eklund, whose charisma carries the film to superior heights. If not for his authentic performance and believability, the film may not have worked.
  
  Read More:
  nextprojection.com/2015/10/26/viff-eadweard-michael-eklund-carries-film-superior-heights/