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

sfoster said:
The sequel Project A 2 is also great
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Yeah I was planning on watching it yesterday, but I was a bit tired. I'm going to watch it tonight! IMO, anything that's actually directed by Jackie is gold (same goes for Sammo Hung).

The Wizard of Oz directed by Victor Fleming, Norman Taurog, King Vidor, Mervyn LeRoy, and George Cukor - 8/10
So I'm one of the few living souls that didn't grow up with this film and I've gotta say I kind of wish I had seen it when I was younger. The film is good enough, but I thought it'd be a miracle of the Hollywood studio system on the level of Casablanca or even (to a lesser extent) Gone With The Wind. But it wasn't, it was just a good children's film with amazing color, set design, and one of the best pop songs ever. The story is nice to follow, but I can't help but feel like the film is overly redundant. Sure 99% of mainstream films in any era are redundant, especially Old Hollywood films, but this felt like the filmmakers tried to make it even more redundant in order to appeal to children in almost a fairy tale like manner. So what could have been subtle parallelism with the main characters reflecting earlier characters becomes directly stated to the audience, the primary message of the movie is directly stated to the audience through dialogue, the story also feels like it's told in a very structured manner that doesn't ring true to life. I think that last point isn't entirely valid though, because it might have been constructed to feel like a fairy tale (which it is successful in achieving) but it certainly made the film feel like it dragged on a bit for me. On some level, I feel like this is truly the ideal Hollywood film that those filmmakers were aiming for, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it that much. I suppose I think this is a very good film that's enjoyable, but it isn't really for me. I much prefer the other studio-driven films I mentioned, and as a live-action children's film I much prefer Mary Poppins which is obviously practically perfect in every way.
 
1. Edge of Tomorrow 3/5

Quite ok movie, nothing special expect the Groundhog Day plot idea.

2. Oblivion 4/5

A bit better than #1, still not a classic but quite clever movie anyway.

3. Snowpiercer 1/5

Awful in every way. Logic, where are you??

4. Mama 4/5

Stylish jump scare movie. Feels a bit dated for current time Horror genre.

5. The Cabin in the Woods 4/5

This was really good comedy and clever idea. Actually a nice surprise.

6. [Rec] 3: Genesis 3/5

Quite easy to see that zombies are abit overused in Horror genre. Time to think something else.
 
Cabin Fever: Patient Zero - 2/10
Pfft. Don't even...
Considering the budget, the original Eli Roth film was great, the bonus material extras ten times better.
This was maybe twice as good as the sequel - which was pure rubbish.



Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 6/10
Perfunctory action fantasy that just went on a wee too long about a story that had little to do with the eponymous character and more to do with the resurrection of Hydra just to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D.


Transformers Age Of Extinction - 6/10
Same as above: Perfunctory action fantasy that just went on a wee too long.
Michael Bay. Pfft.
 
I felt that having less to do with Captain America was the STRENGTH of that film! But I think Cap works best as a foil for other characters (I feel that way about the Hulk too).

I also have a contrasting opinion on Snowpiercer. I loved it; part Gilliam, part Jeunet and a little bit Miike. But yeah, if you approach it looking for logic or realistic films, it does fail miserably. Worth checking out, if you like that sort of thing. Also I love Alison Pill so very much!
 
A Girl At Dojo Temple directed by Kon Ichikawa - 8/10
Wow so this movie is actually pretty amazing. Kon Ichikawa's first film is a short film of traditional puppetry, and Ichikawa treats his puppets as if he were shooting anything else with really beautiful compositions, nice use of shadows and lighting, and having the puppets make human-like gestures. I don't think there is a story to this film, but it's just a really great visual and aural feast with great pace, it's good to see Japanese cinema be so expressive early on. At 20 minutes, I think the film could have been a few minutes shorter because it starts to lose momentum once the characters start singing, but overall this is a great short film.
 
Transformers, the newish one: My friends drag me to these movies every god damn time. Perhaps not the worst movie I've seen, but it ranks highly in regards to mind numbing pain. I'm sorry, but I resent giving Bay a single penny. I really don't like his movies, and this one was spectacularly bad, and painfully long (bloated)
Fuck off, Bay. 0.5/10
 
Noah 6/10
Goodness! Quite a fanciful elaboration on the biblical tale of Noah.
Even still it is quite lacking, narrow, and missable. Can't recommend watching it in good conscious.
Some visually interesting effects, though.


The Rover 7/10
Hmm... It's shot and told well, I just can't really call this dystopian wasteland drama "entertainment."
Watched the first half hour, turned it off, read the wikipedia synopsis, don't feel like I missed much.
 
Laborer's Love directed by Shichuan Zhang - 7/10
The earliest surviving Chinese film is actually a pretty fun silent comedy with one extremely memorable gag. The film runs on a bit too long for me, particularly the beginning which I didn't find to be as interesting, but the second half is pure genius. The final frame of the film is great too, it subverts a happy ending into a depressing ending by sympathizing with the female romantic interest rather than our lead (although I'm sure the original audience didn't think of it this way).

Window Water Baby Moving directed by Stan Brakhage - 10/10
So I had to study avant-garde film for a day and this is the first film we watched, and wow this is just such a visceral, personal experience. The images are obviously disturbing, but what really makes this film special is the editing which has a really beautiful pace. I don't even want to mention what this film is about so people can just watch it blindly like I did.

Kristallnacht directed by Chick Strand - 6/10
This has some beautiful images, and the last quarter of the film is incredibly soothing in the way the visuals and music combine to make an almost spiritual effect. But I didn't really see anything special about this film, I thought it would live up to its title and show us something really sad.

Wavelength directed by Michael Snow - 6/10
So I finally sat through this legendarily unwatchable film during class, and it was projected on 16mm which was pretty cool. Well for me this film is like The Birth Of A Nation in that I was surprised that I wasn't actually bored by the film at all, but at the same time I can't say I like it either. There are some beautiful images in this film, and conceptually it's kind of interesting but it really didn't do much for me. Some people think I'm really patient for watching this film, especially since most of my classmates fell asleep but I really didn't find it to be boring for the most part, I just don't find it to be a masterpiece (and maybe it is, if so then I just didn't 'get' it).

Sink Or Swim directed by Su Friedrich - 8/10
This was an interesting personal documentary-like avant-garde film with some interesting use of voiceover and storytelling. I love how the images counterpoint the story that is being told, and how personal the story is told, but parts of the story are told in such a bitter manner that is a bit off-putting for me. Also, I disagree with Friedrich, I like the father, the mother is the one we should be criticizing here! This reminds me of the documentary I saw by Stanley Kwan in which the filmmaker explicitly forces their point of view on us even if we disagree, and that's annoying. Feminism is cool, but this story she gives us undermines that whole thing for me even if it is well-told, she shouldn't have tried to make it political since it is a personal story that really doesn't work for that purpose in my opinion.

Pom Poko directed by Isao Takahata - 8/10
Okay so this is one of the crazier Studio Ghibli films, and it is just a ton of fun. Great animation, memorable characters, a plotline that actually has meaning, and a jarring ending that is actually pretty thought-provoking. Just like with the Princess Kaguya though, I felt like Takahata could have cut a bit of the film as this film felt like it had like three potential endings.

Tokyo Decadence directed by Ryu Murakami - 6/10
This is my first experience with the soft-core pornographic films of Japan known as pink films (pinku eiga) and it was such a strange experience. Right away the film thrusts us with images of disturbing sadomasochism that a woman really doesn't want to get into, and it gives us one of the most powerful close-ups I have ever seen. From then on we get several sequences that are perverted, funny, intense, sexual, and ultimately sad. Many of them are memorable such as a scene in which a masochistic man is strangled to death in order to have an orgasm, and the main characters are really concerned about this man that has died, as they call the cops and try to make their escape the man comes back to life and asks them happily if he came. Another scene features a drugged prostitute singing a Japanese standard with a sex toy as a microphone while our more 'innocent' protagonist cheers away. All of these sequences are connected into an extremely vague narrative that only comes to the forefront in the last quarter of the film and really ends ambiguously. The film doesn't have particularly strong direction aside from the opening scene, but these insane images, the music, and the quieter moments of the film give a strange atmosphere that I really loved. While we see a lot of graphic and sexual scenes in the film, the craziest part of the film for me is the absurd ending that piles up several absurdities and leaves us wondering what the hell is going to happen. While I don't think this film is a masterpiece, it's a nice underground film best enjoyed in late hours when you're in the mood for something really strange.
 
MiniJamesW said:
Titicut Follies directed by Frederick Wiseman - 10/10
Simply the best documentary film, and one of the best films I have ever seen. It's funny, it's entertaining, it's depressing, it's socially conscious, it's 'realistic' yet so constructed, and it's simply gorgeous to look at and feel the rhythm of the episodes Wiseman shows us. I'm so glad that at my university this was a free screening where Wiseman came in for a Q&A, which was by far the best Q&A session I have been a part of. I can't wait to watch more Wiseman films!
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Just noticed this. My favourite Wiseman film is High School, which came out only a year after Titicut. You should check it out :)
 
Maleficent 8/10
Good fantasy tale with a solid development of a classic villain's development into "why" she became so mean, and then there's a little twisty-turny near the end.
It's a good show to watch with your medium sized kids.


X-Men: Days of Future Past - 7.5/10
Fairly decent story especially if you're already invested into the franchise, if not you might wanna not start on this one as it kinda just provides a paycheck to everyone.
It is nice to see the writers/producers developing different characters as being pivotal, Raven/Mystique this time.


Earth to Echo - 6/10
Your upper elementary kids might enjoy it, but only if you're there to watch it with them, otherwise it's probably not a "self entertaining" sort of baby-sitter film.


The Last Days on Mars - 4/10
OMG. Zombie drama in outer space. ONLY if you must see EVERY zombie movie ever made should you watch this. Too much human drama, not enough zombies.
(Whomever preaches "Less is MORE!" should be kicked in the sack, IMHO.)

LOL!
Budget:
£7,000,000 (estimated) (about $10,900,000)
Total Lifetime Grosses Domestic: $24,084​
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lastdaysonmars.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1709143/
 
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Finally got around to seeing the sequel to one of my favorite movies of all time, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. It's a loving satire/homage to 50s sci-fi b-movies. If you love them, you will get the jokes and love the movie. The sequel, The Lost Skeleton Returns Again was more of the same, with some twists and some specific jokes about sequels. I find these movies to be a love-or-hate sort of thing. Me, I'd give it a 9/10 (didn't like it quite as much as the first, but I might just need to watch it another hundred times or so). My girlfriend couldn't stand it.

I also watched, by the same director, Dark and Stormy Night. More or less the same concept applied to trapped-in-a-mansion murder mysteries. A little less abrasive with the awkward pauses and intentionally terrible dialogue (though still in that style), again, a satire taking shots at every cliche and trope of the genre, but with a clear sense of love of the form. I think technically it's a better executed film than either of the Skeleton films, but I do love the Skeleton (I like old sci-fi better than old mysteries), so for me an 8/10 with a high possibility of more after obsessive re-watching. Definitely not a film to everyone's taste however.
 
cheeseandachallenge said:
Just noticed this. My favourite Wiseman film is High School, which came out only a year after Titicut. You should check it out :)
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Yeah I've read about Wiseman's other films and that's the one with the subject matter that interests me most. I'll give it a watch when I can!

I haven't posted in a while so I have seen a ton of films since my last post, I'll just basically give ratings with little to no writing on the films.

Imperial Japanese Dance directed by William Heise & William K.L. Dickson - 6/10

Aquatic directed by Koji Yamamura - 6/10

Perspektivenbox -Researcher’s Search- directed by Koji Yamamura - 7/10
Beautiful experimental Japanese animation, Koji Yamamura has been hit or miss for me but I really like the visuals, and the use of sound is actually pretty interesting.

John Cage Performs James Joyce directed by Takahiko Iimura - 1/10
One of the worst most pretentious things I have ever seen, and I don't hate John Cage or this experimental filmmaker, this particular film is just bad.

Japanese-English Pictionary directed by Koji Yamamura - 7/10
Very cute and funny.

Karo and Piyobupt: The Sandwiches directed by Koji Yamamura - 7/10

Karo and Piyobupt: A House directed by Koji Yamamura - 7/10

Karo and Piyobupt: Imagination directed by Koji Yamamura - 6/10

Rose Color Dance directed by Takahiko Iimura - 6/10

Electrocuting An Elephant directed by Thomas A. Edison - 0.5/10
One of the worst things I have ever seen, possibly the worst film I have seen. Shame on you Mr. Edison.

Sallie Gardner at a Gallop directed by Eadweard Muybridge - 9/10
Historically important film.

Roundhay Garden Scene directed by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince - n/a

Dickson Greeting directed by William K.L. Dickson - n/a

Inland Empire directed by David Lynch - n/a
I just didn't get it, parts of it were funny and entertaining but it felt too long and not engaging enough for me.

Toy Story That Time Forgot directed by Steve Purcell - 6/10
Decent holiday special, nothing too great.

Pauvre Pierrot directed by Émile Reynaud - n/a

Falling Cat directed by Étienne-Jules Marey - n/a

C'est la vie mon cheri directed by Derek Yee - 8/10
A great romantic comedy that does a perfect shift from a more light-hearted comedic tone to a heavy tragedy. It has its flaws, but the great pacing, acting, and charm of the film makes it work for me. This was actually a revolutionary film in Hong Kong because it made so much money without being an action or horror film, and it's the precursor to a superior film like Comrades: Almost A Love Story (which isn't without its flaws either).

Nollywood Babylon directed by Ben Addelman & Samir Mallal - 7/10
A pretty good documentary on an incredibly interesting subject. I loved learning about the religious and sociopolitical contexts these films were made in and the debate it introduced about arthouse vs. commercial cinemas. As flawed as the film is, it presents an important subject matter that is thought-provoking.

Communism - 2/10
Short anti-communist propaganda film from the 50's, it's horrible but it isn't really boring so I give it a 2.

Sanky Panky directed by José Enrique Pintor - 6/10
One of the most important Dominican films is this broad comedy that's infused with social consciousness. The dialogue and Dominican cultural elements are the highlight of the film and they likely don't translate well to other languages. Still, as far as broad comedies go, it's actually a decent film. I have many problems with the film's message, how it goes about presenting it, and some of the humor. Some of the acting was really bad too, but it's a pretty fun movie that at its best points to something interesting (and this is important since Dominican cinema is just horrible).

Sanky Panky 2 directed by José Enrique Pintor - 6/10
In some ways this sequel is even funnier than the predecessor, but it lacks the heart of the first film and adds a totally stupid and unnecessary gangster plotline. As with the previous film and pretty much any Dominican film, the use of music is horrid and some of the acting is bad as well.

Manito directed by Eric Eason - 7/10
Heartbreaking stuff. I really love how raw this film is in its portrayal of Hispanics living in the city. There are some flaws with the film, but this is really good raw Dogme-style filmmaking with great acting.

Morning Breath directed by Brin Hill - 2/10

Team America: World Police directed by Trey Parker - 5/10
I don't know, I didn't find it very funny. It was even boring at times for me, I'm not too sure why this kind of work is celebrated but it makes other people laugh so that's good.

Sugar directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck - 8/10
The best Dominican film ever, and it's not directed by Dominicans haha. This is actually a very incisive look at Dominican life and culture, the professional sports world, and immigration. It may be a little bit too long, but it's interesting how this film moves beyond the typical sports drama and to a deeply psychological realm that haunts me.

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut directed by Trey Parker - 6/10
Again, I didn't find it that funny, I don't like cartoons about little elementary school kids acting inappropriately. This kind of humor just isn't for me apparently. I will say though, the film is fairly entertaining and well made.

My Best Friend's Birthday directed by Quentin Tarantino - 5/10
These segments show that Tarantino already had a knack for dialogue in his earliest days and has elements that would stick with him for the rest of his career (which I find to be a good thing and a bad thing).

Planet Terror directed by Robert Rodriguez - 7/10
Inside this film there is a masterpiece of genre filmmaking, but it's surrounding by so much unengaging boring padding that it may make it difficult for audiences to enjoy the film for what it is. There are lots of moments of suspense and action that really captivated me, and I began to put myself in the character's shoes but it took a lot of work to get to that point of appreciation which is never a good thing for genre cinema. I was going to watch Death Proof right after, but I couldn't so I'll just watch it tomorrow.
 
Let's Be Cops 3/5
An average film. Kinda meh but it was fun since I've been putting together a police uniform.

Bubble Boy 3/5

I remember when this came out. I remember watching the trailer and thinking about how stupid it looked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSRU48wCphI

Well. It was stupid. And Jake is doing a dweeb voice for all his narration that is kind of annoying.

But since I like Jake G though it was still entertaining. And it had a lot of cool cameos. Like Zach Galifanakis - it was 8 years before the hangover movies and one of the first films zach was in. Shorter hair, shorter beard, it was interesting. Danny Trejo, Mini Me, heck even Fabio made an appearance. :lol:

And it managed to have a good ending, better than I was expecting.
 
MiniJamesW: I'm impressed by the amount of Asian cinema that you watch. I'd like to improve my general knowledge of the cinema of that area, so I was wondering whether you could recommend me 3 Japanese films, 3 Chinese films and 3 Korean films? Just the films that would give me a good grounding (though not the painfully obvious ones that I will have seen!) about what's going on in Far Eastern cinema :)
 
NickClapper said:
MiniJamesW: I'm impressed by the amount of Asian cinema that you watch. I'd like to improve my general knowledge of the cinema of that area, so I was wondering whether you could recommend me 3 Japanese films, 3 Chinese films and 3 Korean films? Just the films that would give me a good grounding (though not the painfully obvious ones that I will have seen!) about what's going on in Far Eastern cinema :)
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Haha thanks, I'll try my best to recommend what are actually the essentials (since I'm so obsessed with this stuff that I know nearly everything is essential to me haha).

The first thing I'll have to say though is that when discussing Chinese cinema, we have to break it down to three distinct national cinemas, namely mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Secondly, I'm not sure what's painfully obvious (are the obvious choices things like Seven Samurai, or newer films?) entirely so I'll just try my best.

Thirdly, with my selection I will be considering availability in these selections since there are rare films that are really good but I think aren't ideal to choose for a list like this.

Japan: So there are many master filmmakers in this nation but the most celebrated are Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, and Yasujiro Ozu. Since Kurosawa may be too obvious, I'll put in his place Mikio Naruse who should be mentioned alongside these directors since he's just as good but not as well-known.

Ugetsu directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Tokyo Story directed by Yasujiro Ozu (alternatively you can choose Late Spring)
Naruse: I have been going through his films in order so I haven't seen his essentials yet, but his most highly acclaimed film is When A Woman Ascends The Stairs which I haven't seen yet but look forward to getting to.

Mainland China: I'm a little less familiar with this cinema but I know that there are a few particularly important film eras that are important here, but I'll just cover what I have personally seen.

Street Angel directed by Yuan Muzhi: A great example of the leftist propaganda films of the 1920s and 30s, this is such a delightful musical-comedy that doesn't feel like propaganda at all. In my eyes, it is simply a perfect film that's charming from beginning to end.
Spring In A Small Town directed by Fei Mu: one of the finest films I have ever seen, rarely gets the attention it deserves outside of Asian film 'experts' or scholars.
Raise The Red Lantern directed by Zhang Yimou: You may know Zhang for his 2000s wuxia films such as Hero but he started out making some of the best drama films in the world. I have seen many of his films, but this is my particular favorite with its great symmetry, its sumptuous color, and one of the most powerful cinematic stories I have witnessed.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong is interesting because it has a commercial cinema that rivaled Hollywood in the Asian region, yet it also has an interesting arthouse festival cinema. I'll try to cover both of these types of cinema. As much as I love martial arts films, I think I'm going to have to not make any selections since you might have already seen stuff by Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Shaw Brothers filmmakers.

John Woo: In my eyes, he is the greatest action filmmaker, some of his films might be ones you've already seen but let me recommend two of his masterpieces that aren't seen as often. A Better Tomorrow is the film that put him on the map, and one of the best action-melodramas ever made. Bullet In The Head is Woo's most personal film, very dark stuff. Still if you haven't seen it though, my favorite is The Killer.
Wong Kar-wai: Wong is HK's best known arthouse director and he has made many great films, I highly recommend In The Mood For Love and Happy Together
Tsui Hark: Shanghai Blues for some of the finest staging you'll find in a comedy film this side of the silent cinema.

Taiwan: Taiwan is known for its arthouse cinema with the Taiwanese New Wave of the 1980s and the festival cinema that came out of it. There are two recognized masters, namely Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien. Later on Tsai Ming-liang came along, and many are starting to see him as a master (including myself). Taiwan's most famous filmmaker is of course Ang Lee who made three great films in Taiwan before going to Hollywood, but I think he's a little too mainstream for these purposes. King Hu is another important filmmaker but from an earlier era, he made independent martial arts films in Taiwan after leaving Hong Kong. Again, this is limited to films I have seen. Unfortunately it's very hard to watch these films, but if you get the chance I highly recommend them.

A City Of Sadness directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien
Taipei Story directed by Edward Yang
What Time Is It There? directed by Tsai Ming-liang

Korea: This is by far the national cinema I'm least familiar with of these, but fortunately I have seen a bit I can recommend. Korea has a rich cinematic history, but I am only familiar with films from the 1990s and on, and I haven't even watched their mainstream highlights but I have seen a few films that impressed me a lot, only arthouse films here though.

Poetry directed by Lee Chang-dong
The Day The Pig Fell Into The Well directed by Hong Sang-soo
Bad Guy directed by Kim Ki-duk (I have mixed feelings about this film, and I think you'd be better off starting with his more acclaimed film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, but again I have limited myself to films I have seen.)

I hope this was helpful, I know I gave alternatives sometimes but I'm just really passionate about this stuff and it's much easier for me to recommend directors than specific films (since I don't know which ONE film to pick for each director haha).
 
Death Proof directed by Quentin Tarantino - 4/10
So far my least favorite Tarantino film, and I hated the Kill Bill films. This film just doesn't really do anything and isn't fun enough to justify that. The chase scene at the end was awesome, but the film just completely shifted styles a few times and it was never consistent in tone. Gosh, I know it sounds like I'm judging this film very superficially but it just felt so juvenile to me and none of it was fresh. I loved Tarantino's first three films, but starting with Kill Bill he just gets too self-indulgent, too in love with his music taste/fetishes/movie taste, and what started out as pretty cool caricatures in his early films become lame caricatures of caricatures. Hopefully Tarantino got back on track with the subsequent films which I haven't seen yet. I'll watch them soon, since I really loved what this guy did at first.

This means I give the whole Grindhouse package a 6/10. I was surprised to find that most people prefer Tarantino's film to Rodriguez's one. I found the Rodriguez film to just be a lot more fun, it has its flaws too but it's more consistent for me and it doesn't really feel aimless for me.
 
MiniJamesW said:
Raise The Red Lantern directed by Zhang Yimou: You may know Zhang for his 2000s wuxia films such as Hero but he started out making some of the best drama films in the world. I have seen many of his films, but this is my particular favorite with its great symmetry, its sumptuous color, and one of the most powerful cinematic stories I have witnessed.
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And as a contrasting opinion, I'll say that "To Live" is a better film by the same director, but not in a "watch instead of" sort of way, but to say watch both. Both are amazing and essential films.
 
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