Dec 6, 2015

Assuming you've watched Herzog's 70's work (I haven't), would love to hear how similar you find Gummo to be. @FilmAndWhisky

 

Dec 6, 2015

A follow up to my post on the Film Cut and Mental Anxiety, The Long Take and Mindfulness: http://bit.ly/1TuG6ae

 

Dec 6, 2015

I'm not very familiar with Herzog, tbh. but of the few 70s ones I've seen (Aguirre, Kaspar, Nosferatu), I don't see much resemblance beyond that Herzog often has rather dark sensibilities and at times celebrates the grotesque.

 

Dec 6, 2015

Tangerine (2015) is on Netflix. Queen of Earth (2015) is coming on the 22nd.

You list Bresson twice in the first paragraph.

 

Dec 6, 2015

nice catch! thanks. lol

Gotta watch Tangerine

 

Dec 7, 2015

Tangerine (2015) ★★★★★


"Los Angeles is a beautiful lie."

Shot with the iPhone 5S using an anamorphic lens, Sean Baker's Los Anglian odyssey retains the grit of urban life while also suggesting tropical paradise. Tangerine's characters are just as vibrant as its color temperature, and just as charmingly flawed as footage from consumer grade equipment.

While the term "indie" boarders on pejorative, Baker eschews menial white people problems without turning his picture into a self-congratulatory picket sign. I can't recall the last time I saw a movie populated by minorities and transgender people that wasn't solely about them being minorities and transgender people. It's almost revelatory that Baker treats then like actual, morally and emotionally complex, human beings.

Oh, and it's hilarious.

http://boxd.it/7G39x

 

Dec 7, 2015

 

Dec 7, 2015

Awesome video and cool list...I've seen 15 of his 25. The Look of Silence, Phoenix and Carol are my three favorites so I'm with him at the top.

 

Dec 7, 2015

Speaking of Phoenix, 2015 buzz movies on or coming to Netflix this month:

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Beasts of No Nation
The Duke of Burgundy
Girlhood
Hard To Be A God
Manuscripts Don't Burn
Phoenix (Dec. 8)
Tangerine
Queen of Earth (Dec. 22)
White God

 

Dec 8, 2015

wish these came to netflix canada very few of the lot.

 

Dec 8, 2015

You should look into getting a VPN, or find some free American DNS servers. Makes Netflix a whole lot more valuable with minimal effort.

 

Dec 8, 2015

Since you guys seem interested, here is a more complete list which includes some stuff from last year as well:

About Elly
Amour Fou
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Beasts of No Nation
The Duke of Burgundy
Force Majeure
Girlhood
Gueros
Hard To Be A God
Manuscripts Don't Burn
Miele
Norte, the End of History
Phoenix (Dec. 8)
The Retrieval
Seymour: An Introduction
Stations of the Cross
Stray Dogs
Tangerine
Tu Dors Nicole
Two Days, One Night
Queen of Earth (Dec. 22)
White God

 

Dec 8, 2015

Gueros looks flames

 

Dec 8, 2015

I did this on a playstation 3 before, but I had trouble getting it to work with my router. I'll try again though there must be an easy way

 

Dec 9, 2015

https://www.unblock-us.com/

 

Dec 9, 2015

I feel like I should have loved Boy Meets Girl, but I didn't. What's wrong with me?

Also, all of Carax's pictures besides Pola X are on Netflix. The documentary about him, Mr. X, is on there as well.

 

Dec 9, 2015

 

Dec 9, 2015

We knew that.

Mauvais Sang in my top 10 oat.

 

Dec 9, 2015

 

Dec 10, 2015

wasn't so keen on Tangerine

• 
  Tangerine 2015
  ★★½ Watched 09 Dec, 2015
  
  I don't really understand the unwavering critical praise. Along with Son of Saul, this is the biggest disappointment of the year vis-a-vis acclaimed cinema. I was a bit skeptical when I heard that it was shot with an I-Phone, but after regularly reading notes on its professional look and technical fortitude, I put aside my qualms. I hit the power button and viewed it as I would any other film, with no expectations and no reservations.
  
  The first thing I noticed is, of course, the saturated colour palette of oranges and yellows, and the high energy jump-cut design of the film editing. At first, I felt that this simply lent the film a degree of energy or vibrancy, a kind of flamboyance or vivaciousness suitable to the characters on screen. To some extent, the energy of the film works in evoking the character's personalities, especially that of Sin-dee.
  
  But before long the rhythm began to irritate me. Diagonals, canted angles, and reflections are one thing, but when the camera's depth of focus is distorted from one shot to the next, you don't inter-cut these shots. I almost had vertigo. It begins with the first scene in the donut shop, but becomes much more obnoxious later in the film, as whip crane or whip pan type movements are used. I have no real idea what equipment allowed these movements, for all I know it was hand operated. But, in any event, these movements are jarring and create a lot of unnecessary digital noise (think lines of colour escaping from light sources). that I suppose was never touched up in post because of the raw look they were going for. There is some speeding up of the image and the frantic design screams immature rather than raw. Frankly, it looks electrified and shrill, especially during the night scenes (ISO sensitivity is up), such as the scene wherein Razmik's mother-in-law is in the cab with Karo. Frankly the film is aesthetically and rhythmically offensive, with fish eye distortion, overexposure, noise, and scattershot editing. The colour correction is good.
  
  Now if one overlook the film's aesthetic or if one perceive the film in such a manner that the raw unfiltered nature of the shots and the hyper-edited rhythm/fast motion is engaging, what we have is a rather good story with a genuine tenderness towards the characters. A touching evocation of friendship, the greatest feature of the film is the relationship between Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez). Alexandra turns around when Sin-dee is in trouble, not once but twice, the second time rushing to support her after some a------ throws piss at her. They support each other. On the other end, Sin-dee races to attend Alexandra's show upon learning that she is late, in spite of her current indisposition. Their friendship is touchingly realized by visual means in the final shot where their hands connect.
  
  Besides this great story of friendship, however, is a rather banal story of a cheating p----/boyfriend and a somewhat forced merging of the "normal" and "abnormal" in a married Armenian cab driver's life. Powerful in how it puts to perspective the supposed mainstream way of life (married, children, work, etc) with the alternative lifestyle (prostitution, transgender sexuality, working the streets), the ideas manifest and Baker's non-judgemental view of the characters are much more affecting than the actual performances or cinematic realization of these ideas. The frantically shot scenes with language shifts and dramatic flair are lacking in a deeper resolve. The feel rather inauthentic and contrived for the purposes of making a point, one which is better in theory and on script than in the film.
  
  63/100 - Decent.
  
  Touching char. and friendship. 63
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Girlhood 2014
  ★★★★ Watched 08 Dec, 2015
  
  Big girls don't cry, so s--- it up and walk back into the frame looking hard.. Deakins-like photography saturates each moment with deep reflection. A genuine and contemplative look at young life.
  
  84/100 - Great
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  The Sixth Man 1997
  ★★★ Watched 08 Dec, 2015
  
  An emotive family drama with a lot of heart and a great soundtrack to make up for certain cinematic flaws.
  
  70/100 - Good.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Elegy of a Voyage 2001
  ★★★★★ Rewatched 06 Dec, 2015
  
  Published at Aesthetics of the Mind: aestheticsofthemind.wordpress.com/2015/09/20/elegy-of-a-voyage-sokurov-2001/
  
  As with Russian Ark, Sokurov creates an all encompassing atmosphere through narration and open form montage, yielding a sense of presence throughout the film. Open montage, the use of nondescript (yet no less arresting nor beautiful), non representational images, which resonate both forwards and backwards throughout a film, like refrains in the use of a tonic/key note in music, leaves the film’s sense of time unbroken. Even with cuts and scene changes, the… more
  
  1 like
  
  
• 
  Fanny & Alexander 1982
  ★★★★★ Watched 06 Dec, 2015
  
  A masterfully scripted and interwoven series of events, brilliantly captured by the inimitable Sven Nykvist.
  
  94/100 - Amazing.