He's so twee though.

For sure. Anderson is to Michael Bay as Twee is to explosions.

Wat

Really liked This is the End. Wish there were more meta fictional castings like this. Always fun

Good lord I love that movie. I think the mood is utterly unique, and there are some frames that are just stunning. It's sort of like Ivan's Childhood, which has some images that will be in my head fifty years from now when I die.

I am interested to hear your opinion.

By the way, I did not care much for Andrei Rublev.

I agree with JV about Wolf, but not about Moonrise Kingdom. Love that movie.

I tried to watch Andrei Rublev about 2 weeks ago on Hulu. Couldn't get into it much myself. Stopped about 75 mins into it. Prob will finish it eventually just to say I did.

I've liked all of his movies but The Sacrifice. The ending of Rublev is stunning, I think, and makes the entire film worth watching.

Rushmore, have you seen Sukorov's Mother and Son?

Ran out and bought Terrence Davies' The Long Day Closes the day it came out. Instantly vaults into my top fifty or so. Of course, others may not be quite as enthusiastic; however, I love movies that investigate childhood and adolescence. Davies looks at how home, school, the church, and movies form the institutions that constitute the young boy's life. And it is in movies that he finds solace, of course.

Andrei Rublev took me like 4 days to watch and I nearly died of boredom

Heh

(Now the ending, I agree. That's the bell scene, isn't it? Whatever it is, bell scene was amazing.)

Dallas Buyers Club

Pretty good...interesting story...but nothing special. I understand why MM and Leto won a bunch of awards, though.

Davies' makes movies I wouldn't think I'd enjoy from a description but goddamn I'm in awe. I actually watched The House of Mirth three times in one day first I saw it, don't even know what's drawing me in. And then The Deep Blue Sea man so haunting. Now you could give these exact scripts to 25 different directors and I don't think I'd enjoy many of them at all.

Luckily, The Long Day Closes isn't available on Netflix (boo).

No, in the ending, Tarkovsky switches to color. showing the actual works of Rublev. But the bell scene is terrific too.

Recommend highly his Of Time and the City as well.

this. i can name at least 50 films from 2013 that were superior. a better film on the topic is the documentary, How to Survive a Plague. I believe it's still on Netflix, harrowing watch.

ya felt the same way about DBC.
thought the performances were very good but the story itself was super predictable and kindv boring.
I understand it was based on a true story and I wasn't expecting car chases and aliens, but dunno just felt rather bored throughout.
compared to other biopics felt flat.

that being said Leto n MM were both phenomenal (tho I think MM was even better in killer joe)

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

A tale of friendship, love, and college kids in the wood chipper.

On rewatch I didn't find this movie quite as funny as the first time. It's still plenty funny, but what shined through more was how witty and clever it is. And the overwhelming amount of heart. Tucker and Dale are great characters and this movie really goes out of it's way to bring you into their friendship.

I love this movie.

8/10

The Land Before Time II

The songs are terrible, the animation is terrible, the word dinosaur literally means "terrible lizard" and in this case I'd agree.

2/10

Into the Abyss

Werner Herzog takes on the death penalty.

But in true Herzog fashion there has to be a twist - and in this case he makes an anti-death penalty movie while focusing on one case where even I wasn't sure this guy should be spared. Picking some likable dude who might be innocent would have been too easy.

The film really delves into the victim's families and the families of the perpetrators. All the interview subjects seemed to be living in a world of pain, even before the murders occurred. Just about all the people in front of the camera have been in trouble with the law for something. They interview the father of the guy who got life in prison for this crime instead of the death penalty: an interview that takes place in another prison. This family had Thanksgiving dinner one year in the prison between the incarcerated father and two sons. There is a cycle of poverty and crime very evident here.

The most powerful interviews for me were of the prison Chaplain and the guard who helps strap the inmates onto the gurney and wheel them into the room. Both men have seen way too much death in their time and the stress on their souls is palpable. Very touching interviews with them both.

I have a hope that pro-death penalty people would watch this film and take it to heart. At least be a little conflicted about it, as I admit I was while watching it from an anti-death penalty mind set. Because if the death penalty does exist, then it exists to kill exactly people like this guy. I recognize that. But in the end, nobody has the right to take a life.

7/10

Had a pretty solid weekend for movies.


Scenic Route 7/10 (Netlfix Canada)
This is one of those movies that Netflix kept consistently shoving in my face as a recommendation so I finally decided to give it a look. The fact that i knew nothing about and it had Josh Duhamel in it had my expectations pretty low, so I was actually pleasantly surprised. Its a simple premise two semi estranged friends driving through a desert when the car breaks down. The story is basically then carried on the backs of great acting from of all people Duhamel and the guy Fogler (the guy from Balls of Fury), as self truths and tense situations yield dramatic fallout and realizations. The ending is pretty good too, if not a little ambiguous but still I was captivated by the movie the entire time. When the credits finished I had that feeling where you get where your like you just saw a unexpectedly good movie.



Elite Squad (Netlfix Canada gem) 8.5/10

This movie I had high expectations for. A brazilian friend had told me it was a huge hit back home and to be honest the other movies I'd see from him I thought were also excellent (City of Men, City of God). Excellent story, excellent pacing and a great leading actor. Basically its the story of the BOPE (brazilian SWAT elite team) and a captain who wants to retire cause he's having a kid and has anxiety so he needs to find replacement. Its gritty fast moving and a feels like a very honest story. I loved it and look forward to seeing its sequel.

Martyrs ??/10

I really don't know how to describe this movie. It was a friends suggestion for the most messed up movie he'd ever seen, which was a pretty strong selling point and I was expecting another bust. I'd have to say it delivered. Some parts were hard to watch, and the first and second halves have completely different tones. Basically transitions from a psychologically tense disturbing horror to a big bowl of the wtf just happened. It definitely wasn't a bad movie, I just don't know if it was good.

If anyone else has seen this, I'd love to get your impressions and I would have to agree its the most messed up movie I've seen since Srpski Movie,

Martyrs was a masterpiece in my eyes. Very well done. The French produce some amazing horror movies ( Inside, High Tension, Frontier(s) ). If you are into jaw dropping messed up I would recommend Serbian Film. Watch with caution, it's known as the most disturbing film ever made.

Srpski film translates into Serbian film so I've seen it and would have to agree yeah thats the most disturbing film I've even seen. Martyrs has recency in its favor but Serbian movie basically desensitizes you to everything

Nymphomaniac Vol 1+2

I'd be interested in seeing the Director's Cut as a disclaimer displayed that this is an abridged edition with much censorship. I imagine they loomed longer on the beaver and cock shots perhaps? After a long anticipation I'm still conflicted with my reaction.

It's sexy at times, but for the most part I squirmed in my seat. There's one sequence in particular where it's possible for any viewer to think, "Wow does he really condone this behavior? It *sounds* like he's making that statement."

I'll post more later. Surprised by how much I was moved by Christian Slater.

I've pretty much heard the same thing about A SERBIAN FILM and tbh I really have no interest in seeing it. I had heard similar sentiments about the "original found footage" horror movie, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) and I did have a chance to see the uncut version a little while back. Has anyone else seen CH? I definitely have an opinion about CH but if no one has seen it or knows what I'm heck I'm talking about there's no point in going any further.

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Even better than I remembered it being in the theater. Sensational performances by Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, terrific music By Phillip Glass, great script from Patrick Marber, and bravura directing by Richard Eyre. Dench is a wicked villain, and any movie in which Bill Nighy plays the most sensible character is going to be fun for sure. If you haven't seen it, treat yourself.

Seen it. This film was banned in several countries. Since it was ranked up there in disturbing cinema I had to watch it. Was put together pretty well for a low budget film I thought. The actual cannibal aspect was not that scary to me. I thought the biggest monsters were the researchers. Caution: do not watch if you are PETA nutcase. Scenes of real animal slaughter occur.

P.S. I'm drunk so that may have not made any sense.

P.S II, Serbian Film and Cannibal Holocaust are not even in the same category of f*cked up. Serbian owns that title.

Yeah, I'm trying to stay away from speaking about this one too much until it's out for everyone to see. I only squirmed at one point in particular (in Pt2), but then ended up giggling a bit. There is a point in Pt 1 that would've got me to squirm had it gone a different route, but it ended up being okay in that part.