I saw Personal Shopper and it rocked me to the core. It's shrouded in mystery. The film takes its time and has an immensely satisfying final act. Kristen Stewart plays a Medium who also shops for a model/celebrity in Paris. Her twin brother died and both agreed that when one died, they would send the other a signal from the other side. The film is about Stewart's character looking for that sign. It's not quite a horror film but I was nervous and uncomfortable throughout. The pacing is "slow" but I was always immersed. I hesitate to recommend it, because it has already divided audiences (critics and non-crorica alike). I love it.

Don't Think Twice - 7/10 (Highly Enjoyable)

Trainspotting 2

An echo of the original, but cleverly done and engaging enough to keep you there till the end. It's maudlin, vicious and funny in places, and really is the middle-age meetup of people who had a vivid and exciting (and at times boring) youth.

Worth a watch, but no replacement for the sharp original.


7/10

Deer Hunter on TCM right now, good stuff. War is hell imo.

I just found myself pondering what the best movies about war are, and my mental list is surprisingly short. My first thought was Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg pulled off something really special there imo. It's a tribute to the fallen that avoids the usually flat final product of "tributes". To me, that says that Spielberg really understood the weight of what he was doing and although I don't recall the other nominees, I'm glad he won best director that year at the Oscars.

Most over-rated to me would be Full Metal Jacket, and while I really like Apocalypse Now I see it as more of a stylistic piece than a "war movie" if that makes sense.

hello americans. have you guys seen victoria? german movie, 135 minutes one-take. english is mainly spoken. kinda neo-noir. recommended.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4226388/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

Blackhawk Down was phenomenal.

and while not technically a movie, band of brothers is the greatest war story ever filmed.

and in the same format, generation kill is one of the most realistic depictions of war I've ever seen (made by the creators of the wire).

deerhunter is a great depiction of how war effects the community back home (while being hilariously unrealistic about the entire depiction of war)

and obv I disagree wrt FMJ which at the very least is amazing for the basic training segment.

also apocalypse now is just phenomenal from start to finish tho I agree it's somehow not really a war film despite really really looking like one.

paths of glory is probably the greatest anti-war film ever.

platoon is a pretty good vietnam film even if for some reason I don't connect with it personally, it got alot right about the experience (i'm obv extremely unqualified to judge that I only say it based on my extensive study of the war)

born on the 4th of july is another good look at the cost of war and the battlefield hospital scene is as good of an anti war message as you'll get.

downfall is a really fascinating and seemingly very accurate depiction of the last days of the nazi empire.

the thin red line didn't really do it for me other than being really beautiful to look at.

lone survivor was largely a fairy tale but it was entertaining enough (I've read alot of actual after action reports and military intelligence material on that incident and the book and Hollywood story are total fiction but it makes for a good story).

I always liked jarhead but have heard it criticized by alot of real jarheads.

good morning vietnam is awesome tho not a conventional war film.

the bridge over the river kwai is a great prisoner of war film
and while the film adaptation was meh king rat is a fantastic book about POWs.

but for me blackhawk down, BoB, n generation kill are the seminal 3 works when it comes to depicting war on screen.

oh ya and of course saving private ryan is amazing, tho largely due to the opening D day scene.
after that it really is quite a pedestrian war film n more of a road trip movie.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some but this is a subject I've long been fascinated by and studied extensively both on my own and in college and those are the films I remember without doing too much thinking.

I know someone will post a film and I'll be like DOH how did I forget that but such is life when posting at 6:42am.

edit: oh ya who can forget glory? well apparently I can, but it's worth including.
it's sad their are so few great civil war films, I long for a really epic gritty realistic modern civil war film made by a great filmmaker (andrew dominik would work) as it was the first war I was obsessed with.
starting around 11 I read every book about the civil war I could get my hands on.

It sounds cool, but I've never had a chance to see it. I like continuous-takers.

Someone inform Senorkeeed!

I just watched FMJ the other night. The first part is unbelievably awesome imo. That drill sargeant has to be one of the best casting jobs ever. But, yeah, the second half doesn't hold up as well.

I guess not technically a movie, but Band of Brothers deserves a mention. Elite.

The best war movies came out of the 60's and early 70's
Dirty Dozen
The Great Escape
Kelly's Hero's
Probably my 3 favorites but I like the older ones better than the newer ones. Band of Brothers and The Pacific on the other hand are in a league of their own.

Dirty Dozen is on TCM right now, just starting!

While I love The Great Escape and watched it a bunch as a kid thanks to my dad, it feels more like a movie that takes place during a war than a movie about war. I suppose POW movies are a (very small) sub genre of their own.

It's easier to for me to think of great films that take place with a backdrop of war, such as Casablanca or Pan's Labyrinth. The Deer Hunter could be included in that list also although it's been a long time since I've watched it.

I've seen most of the ones you mentioned RBK, definitely some great stuff there. Somehow I've never gotten around to Band of Brothers and I may start remedying that this evening thanks to this discussion.

My favorite recent depiction of battle in film/tv was definitely the Battle of the Bastards in GoT, that was cool as hell.

i think watching band of brothers than immediately going to generation kill is a great move.

in alot of ways generation kill is a modern sequel to band of brothers and its really interesting to see the similarities and differences.

both of them are based on true stories and both are made with a real focus on authenticity.

the pacific, while vastly underwhelming when compared to band of brothers, is still worth a watch.

That looks interesting...thanks

Band of Brothers is in my top 5 of greatest movies (or filmed entertainment) ever made. Not just in the genre or war.

Never saw Generation Kill...will have to check it out.

Full Metal Jacket is basically two movies. One of which is amazing and the other merely OK imo.

It all depends on your definition. Is Dr. Strangelove a war movie? Most would say not but it's one of the best ever nonetheless.

I agree with you here. They are so massively different but I think can be put together due to the sheer realism of the depictions. Generation Kill is such an underrated mini series. BoB is pretty much universally considered one of the greatest shows in TV history and GK is never going to be put on that pedestal but it would be nice for people to have even heard of it.

Definitely one of the best in any genre, and probably a good litmus test for someone having a similar sense of humor as me.

My brother sometimes randomly does this great impression of ripper's speech about war being left to the generals etc. (usually if we're chomping on a cigar ourselves), and it makes me lose it every time. That movie is just endlessly quotable in general, I'm chuckling just thinking about it.

"Mandrake, have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?"

How about some Patton and Lawrence of Arabia love?

OMG ONE TAKE MOVIE. SUCH SKILL. MUCH TECHNIQUE

How about Love And Death?

all one take/long take movies:

Roy: Parred the backside with a 7-iron.
Simms: Why?
Molly: Yeah, that's exactly right. That's the question, "Why?"
Romeo: Because he broke his other clubs. Snapped them in two.
Simms: Jesus.