movies What's the last film you watched? And rate it!

Ocean Waves directed by Tomomi Mochizuki - 7.5/10 (a strong 8.5/10 if I judge it by TV movie standards)
This is a very nice TV film made by the (then) younger talent of Studio Ghibli. The animation and story were very good and effective but simple. Although the story is simple, I've never seen this kind of characterization of a female love interest in a high school romance anime. The girl in the film is just very interesting, and not too much is revealed about her. However, a weakness in the film is that the friendship between the main character and his best friend doesn't get much focus (even though it should!). Also, the nostalgic elements could have been stronger if there had been a better sense of high school community throughout the film (this is only hinted at a few times). There are some great visual moments, but this film doesn't compare with Studio Ghibli's other offerings where there are great visuals in literally every frame. Even the music here is good but not quite Studio Ghibli great. This film feels very Studio Ghibli lite, but I guess that's okay since it is a TV film made by the studio's younger talent. The film has a lot of heart and it has some pretty amazing scenes. I'll never forget the mix of emotions that the scenes in Hawaii, the trip to Tokyo, and the ending gave me. Fans of Studio Ghibli should definitely check this film out, fans of anime may also enjoy it, and I'd suggest that others start elsewhere. I should mention that this is one of the only two films by Studio Ghibli that will probably never get an official U.S. release. This film and Isao Takahata's Ozu-esque masterpiece Only Yesterday (one of my favorite films of all-time, not just in animated form) will likely not get released by Disney.
 
MiniJamesW said:
The Heroic Trio directed by Johnnie To - 8/10
Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, and Anita Mui starring in an action film directed by Johnnie To! That seems like a real dream come true! Unfortunately, the film isn't the masterpiece that all this talent suggests but its still a lot of fun. It's an entertaining movie from beginning to end, but I feel that the third act is really just amazing. If the whole film was as entertaining as the third act then it would be at least a near masterpiece of Hong Kong action! The lighting, cinematography, stars, costumes, and the fun make this film worth watching. If you want a good story or even good action choreography then you can skip this film, but if the charms of Hong Kong action cinema is enough for you then definitely give it a watch. I'd say the overall quality of the film should be 7/10 but the ending plus the overall quality filmmaking make this an 8/10 for me. It's one of the few films that make me want to watch the sequel immediately, I may even watch the sequel right now lol.
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and you gave it 8/10 :lol:
 
sfoster said:
and you gave it 8/10 :lol:
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Yes :)
For me, if a film is memorable or has charms I'll give it a good score. Action choreography and story are only two elements of cinema, I loved the lighting, cinematography, stars, the film's world, the feeling I got after it finished, the absurdity of the film, the awesome moments (such as Maggie Cheung's motorcycle introduction!), etc. of this film. For me, it's still an 8 because I'd like to re-watch it, although it's a very weak 8. :P
When it comes down to it, I had a lot of fun with this film and it was always engaging (much more than some films with 'good' stories). I don't come into this kind of movie looking for a good story so that is irrelevant for me, but the choreography did disappoint me lol.
 
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sfoster said:
Yes I watched it just for a choreography. Big disappointment there :)
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I agree! It's a shame since there was so much talent in the film in both stars and the director.

Fortunately there are tons of Hong Kong action films out there that give us great action choreography!
 
Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon directed by Roy William Neill - 5/10
A decent mystery/propaganda Sherlock Holmes film. There's not much to say about it except that the film has mostly solid directing in the early half, but even at 68 minutes the film overwelcomes its stay. Aside from Holmes and Watson, only the antagonist is a somewhat interesting character. Some scenes are pretty good and its always fun to see Holmes' deductions and dialogue, but I would much rather read the short story this is loosely based on. I don't mind the propaganda elements of the film (I don't care if a film is propaganda as long as it is good!) but that end speech by Holmes was unnecessary.
 
La Grande Bellezza - The movie screams continental Europe. The first scene was a modern bacchanal that was, I swear, 15 minutes long. However, I did really like it. It was slow, thoughtful, pretentious, unapologetic, and beautiful. Especially the cinematography.

Not the greatest film ever, but I'd watch it again in a couple years.
 
Hunger directed by Steve McQueen - 7/10
Eh, for some reason this one disappointed me and didn't quite do it for me. Steve McQueen is a very talented director, I particularly love his visual style and his use of visual abstractions. However, I don't feel like this unique style is used to serve the film's story for the most part. Long takes are also common in McQueen's cinema, however, I don't see their purpose for the most part. I like long takes because they allow elaborate staging and visual composition to take the spotlight for a while (as opposed to editing), but here McQueen uses it during a dialogue scene with a simple composition and not much motion. I can't imagine that an approach with more cuts would've enhanced or detracted from the scene, but long takes were not necessary IMO. The biggest problem for me is that I felt too detached from the film, especially its characters. The film hints at some character depth through anecdotes shared and short flashback scenes, but I didn't feel like I cared enough about the character to care about these scenes.

Why did I give it a 7 then? The story is good, if a little underdeveloped. The filmmaking is mostly great as well. I like how there was very little dialogue in most of the film. The overall film maintained an uncompromisingly oppressive tone and the violent scenes were very visceral. I think the film attempts to do something great but it just falls flat for me. To me it ultimately seems like this was the first attempt to make a conventional narrative film by a video artist/experimental filmmaker so we end up getting a film with nice visual abstractions that seem out of place, and not very much skill at cinematic storytelling. I've seen 12 Years A Slave though, and I'd say that McQueen is improving at finding the right balance between his skills in video art/experimental film and cinematic narrative film. Furthermore, he has always been an uncompromisingly honest filmmaker, so with these two elements he is one of the most interesting contemporary directors for me, and I look forward to watching anything he makes. I've still got to see Shame and some of his early experimental work, I'll try to watch them soon!
 
"The Shining" by Stanley Kubrick

I liked certain bits and bobs from the film both technical and aesthetical,but overall I was not really impressed. Didn't get the hype
 
The Song Of Home directed by Kenji Mizoguchi - 6/10
This is the earliest surviving film by master Japanese director, Kenji Mizoguchi. The film isn't very strong, it doesn't show his mature style, and its story isn't the greatest. Its still impressive to see how Mizoguchi made a mediocre story into a decent film though. I like some of the visual compositions and I like it as a good document on country life in Japan during the 20's. While the film isn't great, it shows some of Mizoguchi's talent as a storyteller, and every master had to start somewhere.
 
The Morning Sun Shines directed by Kenji Mizoguchi - 6/10
Wow, this is an impressive fragment of a lost film by Japanese master, Kenji Mizoguchi. The film is apparently a mix of documentary and fiction, and it is very experimental. The cutting reminds me a lot of the Soviet editing experiments in silent cinema. I love this film's visuals and editing, however I don't want to give it a very strong score because I didn't quite get the film. Of course, this is only short existing fragment and there was no subtitles in the version I watched. So I think that if the full film was ever found and was translated I think it may just be an early gem, if not an early masterpiece in Mizoguchi's filmography!
 
Just Heroes directed by John Woo & Wu Ma - 6/10
John Woo and Tsui Hark's tribute to legendary Shaw Brothers director Chang Cheh, is not nearly on par with their best Hong Kong work. The film essentially re-works the main themes of Woo's work without adding anything fresh. Even the action sequences and melodrama that Woo is a master at is very weak in comparison to his other work. The parody of A Better Tomorrow in the ending is a lot of fun though, and although the action sequences aren't as good as Woo's best work, Woo on a bad day is better than most action directors! I feel like the film is a bit sloppy (which makes sense because it was rushed) and it's unfortunate to see a great director during his prime making such mediocre work. Fortunately I have to see one more of Woo's classic heroic bloodshed films, Hard Boiled.
 
Ugetsu directed by Kenji Mizoguchi - 10/10
Easily the best film I've seen this year so far, and it is definitely in my top 5 (dethroning even Citizen Kane on my list!). I don't even know what to say since I think this film is an obvious masterpiece. Wonderful visual compositions, four of the greatest characters in cinema, wonderful storytelling, wonderful music score, wonderful camera movement, amazing elaborate staging, great sets, great lighting, great acting, all in one of the most poetic films of all-time. Kenji Mizoguchi is truly a master of cinema in the way that he communicates profound truths through the cinematic language. This was an engaging film from beginning to end with so many amazing scenes, I can't even choose my favorite. But the one that has stuck with me most for now is the scene when the protagonist first meets the ghost and falls in love with her. This is one of those movies that is on the screen and goes straight from my eyes to my mind, heart, and soul. What an accomplishment!
 
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Un Chien Andalou directed by Luis Buñuel - 10/10
This wonderful surrealist masterpiece is still my favorite short film! There are just so many memorable moments in this film. The directing is superb and I was surprised by how much this film got away with in 1929!

Batman: Strange Days directed by Bruce Timm - 7/10
This is a very fine short film that brings the Batman animated series to mind with its storytelling. The animation style is really cool. However, this short film just really seems like a good scene from a longer animated film or TV series, hopefully they make something like that since this looks really promising!

L'Age d'Or directed by Luis Buñuel - 10/10
Another amazing surrealist masterpiece! Luis Buñuel is just a master at making films that utilize dream logic. The music, the images, and the ideas just go perfectly together in this film. The film is also surprisingly very erotic. I don't even know how to describe how awesome this film is since it is so absurd, but its pure surrealist cinema at its finest.
 
The Thing john carpenter 3/5 but I do get frustrated watching a film full of stupid people. It's like I'm a damn genius or something compared to all these movie characters. So lets see.. we've got this alien that was burned alive.. but it's cells are still living. A blatant difference between humans and the alien. Yet it takes an HOUR for someone to devise a test about who is an alien or not. Give me a break.
 
The Prince Of Egypt directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells - 7/10
I wanted to like this movie more than I did because it actually seems pretty artistically motivated. The film is a good telling of the Moses story and it has very good animation. I especially like the relationship with Moses and his brother, it adds a lot of depth to the story. Overall though, I feel like something was missing from this film. It's a good film but not a great one.

The Front directed by Martin Ritt; starring Woody Allen - 7/10
This is a fine drama-comedy about the blacklists that occured in the 1950's. The movie manages to be funny yet also serious about a topic that is personal to many of the filmmakers that made the film. I love Woody Allen and Zero Mostel in the film. They just handle the comedy very well without ever making it inappropriate to the film's more serious tone. I love seeing how this film's plot is carried out mostly due to Woody Allen's awesome wit. For some reason though, this is one of those films I liked more while watching it but upon reflection feels a little empty. I can't quite explain this feeling, but the film needed something more.
 
Nomad directed by Patrick Tam - 8/10
Uh, this is one of those near masterpieces that is just so strange. The beginning of the film plays out like a Hong Kong version of Fast Times At Ridgemont High except not set in a high school setting and much superior. The youthful spirit captured in these scenes is just incredible, I really felt as though I were in the movie during these parts. The film also captures the aimlessness the characters really well! I also loved the absurd teenage actions and reactions demonstrated by the characters, as a teenager I can relate to this a lot! There is so much melodrama and humor in these sequences. I also love how the characters do have genuine emotions, but they have a tough time expressing them. In the end they can only express themselves through fights, flirts, grumbles, and lovemaking. I think the characters have more depth to them but it's awesome how Patrick Tam decides to restrain them from expressing themselves fully, because the reality is that most youthful people aren't able to express themselves that well. I also love how Patrick Tam decides to extend his scenes in various ways. Often times a character says "goodbye" to the other but there are so many interruptions that bring the characters back into the scene. This has often happened to me in real life social situations, in fact it happened to me last night at a party lol. I think this is the most realistic portrayal of those amazing moments teenagers have. The characters are all awesome, and I love the way that the first third of the film essentially splits into two stories involving four characters. They are two couples that eventually fall in love. Leslie Cheung is awesome as usual, he is really young in this film! I love his style, his melancholic look, everything.

Now, the first two thirds of this film is masterful New Wave Hong Kong cinema at its finest. However, the last third of the film introduces a deserting Japanese Red Army soldier that happens to be an old boyfriend of one of the main characters. I am not too sure of how much I like this part. The scenes with all of the teenagers are good, they have a more distinctive artistic style to them. However, this whole plotline just kind of annoys me. The film becomes too serious and unrealistic as this soldier tries to avoid being captured. The ending scene is just really violent and completely different from the rest of the film. It is so disorienting and so shocking. The ending in itself may be awesome or horrible in itself, but I feel that the build-up towards it is just weak so the ending loses some power. I think anyone interested in Hong Kong cinema should check out this film, it's very underrated and it's very interesting. Hopefully this film will get a proper restoration and DVD release, I may like it even more if I see it in better quality!
 
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