Aug 4, 2015

Double Indemnity (1944)

The only classic noirs that I'd seen previously were In a Lonely Place and Touch of Evil. Both left me feeling like I needed to watch the more conventional noirs to really appreciate what they were doing with the genre. For instance, I could tell that In a Lonely Place was focusing more on the realistic romantic side of things and was less about "cracking the case" and "unraveling the mystery" as I presumed most noirs were. Similarly, Touch of Evil was playing on the handsome protagonist in his prime quality and appeared to serve as an analogy of sorts for where Orwell was at in his life when he made it. I could be wrong, but both films left me feeling like they weren't the best starters for the genre. Double Indeminity did everything to justify these suspcions as I hoped it would.

From the jump, I loved how Walter Neff was a savvy insurance salesman instead of a hardened detective. He doesn't stand for absolute good and actually plans and carries out the murder at the heart of the film's conflict. We kind of forgive him for doing it out of love, increasingly so as Phyllis' true nature comes to light. The murder isn't a mystery but drives the character archs forward, Neff towards redemption and Phyllis towards destruction.

Nola as the definition of innocence. Keyes as the definition of justice, yet somehow the antagonist for a good part of the film. All great characters with purpose. I did, however, find the supporting cast to be a little too shallow to support any kind of doubt as to how it would all play out. Zachetti becomes an obvious tool even when the film is still trying to shroud its conclusion.

I'd heard so much praise for Billy Wilder and I can finally see why. It's so easy to love a director who takes part in his own screenwriting. The classic noir lighting, the classic noir dialogue, the opening elevator shot, the apartment door scene pictured above, the tension in both murders, the tension in the phone call with Keyes in the room, the anklet shot of Phyllis coming down the steps. setting up the car not starting with an offscreen engine misfire earlier on, one of the best uses of narration that I've seen, etc. Not to mention using two top billing actors to their fullest extent in roles out of their comfort zones.

Loved it. I can't decide if I want to watch more noir or more Billy Wilder next. Sunset Boulevard it is.

 

Jul 29, 2015

I raised It Follows to 84/100 - Great. It's def a film that lingers... prob tons of rewatch potential too, which is uncommon for a horror flick.

 

Jul 10, 2015

• 
  The Red Shoes 1948
  ★★★★½ Watched 09 Jul, 2015
  
  Published by www.nextprojection.com:
  
  Read full: nextprojection.com/2015/07/10/dreaming-technicolor-red-shoes/
  
  Excerpt:An expressionistic fairy tale, The Red Shoes (1948) takes filming theater to new heights by using cinematic techniques in its rendering of performed fantasy. By doing so, the uncanny, somewhat haunting qualities of Hans Christian Andersen’s tragic fairy tale are made more deeply palpable and affective. An experiment in cinematic techniques, the film shows how through film, and the manipulation of recorded time, one can transform the performing arts.
  
  89/100 - The Red Shoes (1948) takes filming theater to new heights by using cinematic techniques in its rendering of performed fantasy.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  D2: The Mighty Ducks 1994
  ★★★½ Rewatched 09 Jul, 2015
  
  Great entertainment wrapped within a self-serving but amicable script. A childhood fav that never ceases to please.
  
  75/100
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  PK 2014
  ★★★ Watched 08 Jul, 2015
  
  Not without the usual Bollywood theatrics, a film that gives me hope about mankind's progress and India's emerging self-awareness.
  
  70/100
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Spellbound 1945
  ★★★★ Watched 08 Jul, 2015
  
  A highly literary script rife with symbolism only partially made cinematic by Hitchcock's vision. an amazing shot at the end.
  
  79/100 - Very Good
  
  No likes
  

 

Jul 8, 2015

Timeless. my favorite film of all time (next to Midnight in Paris) Grace Kelly is so wonderful and Immaculate.. 10/10

 

Jul 3, 2015

John Wick. I wasn't expecting much, but I was blown away. Your standard action/revenge movie really, but the subtle underworld they had, with the hotel, and the gold coins, and "dinner reservations", was f---ing cool. William Dafoe was excellent in there, even as a minor character, as always.
The fights were f---ing insane, they didn't look cheap like in a lot of movies, it really helps Keanu knows his s--- when it comes to MA.
The thing that impressed me the most though, was the music, the way they used it to just totally drive the action.
For example when Iosif is running through the club, in a towel, stumbling and looking behind him in fear, the club music is very disorienting. Then you see John coming down the hallway, and the dubstep is starting to build up, and then as soon as he steps around the corner, the music just kicks in full throttle as John starts taking on 20 guys.
d---, I could talk about this one for ages.

 

Jun 25, 2015

• 
  The Turin Horse 2011
  ★★★★★ Watched 24 Jun, 2015
  
  Posted at my personal blog, Aesthetics of the Mind:
  
  aestheticsofthemind.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/the-turin-horse-tarr-2012/
  
  For six days, man and woman each eat a potato, and then dark silence overcomes them. Ritual figures deeply in Tarr’s observation of the death of God. Metonyms of the Lord, the horse will not eat, the wind will not blow, the water will not rise, the fire will not burn. Life stands still. God Is Dead.
  
  99/100 – Masterful
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  The Seven Year Itch 1955
  ★★★ Watched 24 Jun, 2015
  
  A comedy-drama from Billy Wilder featuring Marilyn Monroe. Theatrical, amicable, entertaining.
  
  70/100 - Good
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Cyrus 2010
  ★★★½ Watched 23 Jun, 2015
  
  A character study utilizing whip zooms as superficial but effective technique for empathy. The stellar cast makes it work.
  
  75/100 - Very Good.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Beerfest 2006
  ★★★ Watched 23 Jun, 2015
  
  Silly self-aware humour with colourful characters and mind escaping events and dialogue. Good for what it is.
  
  70/100 - Good.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Jurassic Park 1993
  ★★★★ Rewatched 22 Jun, 2015
  
  A brazen, game-changing blockbuster with much entertainment woven into a taut story of creation and life-giving.
  
  83/100 -Great
  
  1 like
  

 

Jun 21, 2015

 

Jun 20, 2015

Spy

Drags quite a bit in the early going, but finds its footing when Melissa McCarthy is allowed to let loose and let the insults fly. The over-the-top violence actually undercuts some of the humor, but it's still mostly amicable overall. And Rose Byrne is a f---ing legend.

 

Jun 17, 2015

Similiar, imo. psychological indie horror. Where the monster is a metaphor. Good, but flirts with pretension.

**

NIGHTCRAWLER: Good, but felt familiar. DRIVE + TAXI DRIVER + NETWORK. Great acting, plot, of course
THE COBBLER: You know, I heard awful things... and it wasn't good, but I was expecting something atrocious. Just kind of middling, better than your average Sandler gimmicky film, which naturally isn't saying much.

 

Jun 17, 2015

Better.

The Brood (1979, David Cronenberg) - 7.5/10
Post Tenebras Lux (2013, Carlos Reygadas) - 9/10
Killer's Kiss (1955, Stanley Kubrick) - 6.5/10
5 Centimeters Per Second (2007, Makoto Shinkai) - 10/10

 

Jun 15, 2015

SPY - solid laughs, kind of a mess in the third act. Best thing 50 Cent has done since Curtis.
LOVE & MERCY - exceptional acting, flawed direction. Concept doesn't really pay off.
THE SPECTACULAR NOW - can't believe I slept on this for so long. Strong character film, sensitive storytelling.
THE BLUES BROTHERS - classic. So iconic it's hard to think critically about it.
HIGH FIDELITY - second viewing. Good stuff.

 

May 17, 2015

Nightcrawler

this is a thriller type movie. it has a very strong performance by the lead character and it isn't too predictable either. pretty good movie that sorta flew under the radar

 

Apr 30, 2015

The Babadook, it was pretty good

 

Apr 30, 2015

• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 2014
  ★★★½ Watched 29 Apr, 2015
  
  A step backwards for the franchise as political and philosophical depth are given way to sensationalized podcasting.
  
  73/100 - Good
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 2013
  ★★★★ Watched 29 Apr, 2015
  
  Cool tones soften this inspiring tale of a man whose eyes are opened by the beauty and wonders of the world.
  
  80/100 - Great.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Two Night Stand 2014
  ★★½ Watched 27 Apr, 2015
  
  By gleaning over major points of development, the film uses an original plot to repeat all the same notes hit by previous romantic comedies. Nothing new or interesting here.
  
  53/100 - Mediocre
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Walker 2012
  ★★★★½ Rewatched 26 Apr, 2015
  
  An elegant but incomplete companion piece to the transcendent masterpiece that is Journey to the West.
  
  85/100
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  The Puppetmaster 1993
  ★★★★★ Watched 24 Apr, 2015
  
  Hou's sense of framing and deframing never more perfectly realized than here.
  
  94/100
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Yi Yi: A One and a Two 2000
  ★★★★★ Watched 20 Apr, 2015
  
  Semi reflective windows allow Yang to show the unseen, to show the truth: half what's in front and half what's behind.
  
  Masterful: 96/100
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Hot Tub Time Machine 2 2015
  ★★½ Watched 17 Apr, 2015
  
  It gave a few laughs I guess.
  
  50/100
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Last Year at Marienbad 1961
  ★★★★★ Watched 17 Apr, 2015
  
  Exquisite compositions and formal symmetry replete the film with a great sense of wonder, intrigue, and a sense of life within life, repetition with variation, the magnificence of emptiness or the emptiness of magnificence.
  
  93/100 - Amazing.
  
  1 like
  

 

Apr 18, 2015

• 
  Hot Tub Time Machine 2 2015
  ★★½ Watched 17 Apr, 2015
  
  It gave a few laughs I guess.
  
  50/100
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Last Year at Marienbad 1961
  ★★★★★ Watched 17 Apr, 2015
  
  Exquisite compositions and formal symmetry replete the film with a great sense of wonder, intrigue, and a sense of life within life, repetition with variation, the magnificence of emptiness or the emptiness of magnificence.
  
  93/100 - Amazing.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  50/50 2011
  ★★★ Watched 16 Apr, 2015
  
  average film with above average entertainers.
  
  70/100 - Good
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  The Hunt 2012
  ★★★★ Watched 15 Apr, 2015
  
  Those soft zooms! and Madds!
  
  83/100
  
  No likes
  

 

Apr 16, 2015

Clouds of Sils Maria

Still pondering this one over...At times, it can feel somewhat listless and it has a tendency to lapse into academic discussions that make it feel as if one's joined a really good book club. With that said, the stellar turns from Juliette Binoche and Kristin Stewart give these interactions a considerable spark and Assayas' nuanced work has plenty of meta-textual layers that I'll be sifting through for some time.

#TeamKStew4Ever

 

Apr 12, 2015

Watched these earlier today..



My second time watching this, but my first time..actually paying attention. The film picks up right where the first one left off, and it's basically wall to wall gore from start to finish. It's a blend of comedy and horror..I prefer this one over the first one, by leaps and bounds...I don't know, I think this may be a cult classic down the road in later years.. it has that appeal about it. I highly recommend it, and it's definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it.... 8.4/10



I'm finally getting around to watching my criterion release of this... I've had it for a few weeks. Another spectacular package by the always reliable Criterion with plenty of extras, the film itself is brilliantly acted and directed. The atmosphere is great, the cinematography is superb. The score is great (obviously) A part of me believes that this isn't a Film-Noir, but then as you go deeper into the film.. you see that it basically is.. which makes me love it even more. I'm glad I bought this, I'm really glad more and more Noirs are being released on bluray, specifically on Criterion. If you have a chance to pick it up, please do.. the film is amazing.. ( I need to read the novel) 10/10

 

Mar 31, 2015

Haywire (2011, Steven Soderbergh) - 4/10
Valhalla Rising (2009, Nicolas Winding Refn) - 8/10
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2015, Ana Lily Amirpour) - 8/10
Escape from New York (1981, John Carpenter) - 7/10

 

Mar 17, 2015

It's one of the three remaining horror films of 2014 I'm actively planning on watching along with What We Do In the Shadows and Housebound. Will check out soon.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, James Foley) - 8.5/10
Mission: Impossible (1996, Brian De Palma) - 7/10
Miller's Crossing (1990, Joel & Ethan Coen) - 9/10

 

Mar 17, 2015

See this trailer yet? @Pinhead
For how ridiculous the premise is, it's not bad. Definitely flawed, but the transition is well done visually and it's pretty well shot. Crazy Klowns from Outer Space is undoubtedly superior though.