Yes, Kekexili is WONDERFUL.
The last week or so..
Ashes of Time Redux
Irma Vep
Rachel Getting Married (Cyro Baptista!)
Assault on Precinct 13
All pretty good for what they are, if not quite great.. might be 7’s across the board..
And a few more interesting experimental short compilations from Index:
3 Experimental Short Films by Valie Export
Iris Scan by Mara Mattuschka
Action Films by Kurt Kren
Film ist. (1-12) by Gustav Deutsch
and my favorite thus far:
Sonic Fiction – Synaesthetic Videos from Austria
La Haine- 9.5/10
Lie with Me – 2 stars out of 5
This sure ain’t the Last Tango in Paris of our generation. The heroine has perfected Courtney Love’s stoned, dazed expressions; the hero has photographic prints drying from clotheslines yet never seems to take any pictures — yeah, it’s that kind of movie. Long on condoms; wedding plans; adult children still living with their parents; porny, commitment-phobic women trying to relate to “men who need mommies.” Wait, maybe it is the Last Tango of our generation.
Barbara Loden’s WANDA (1970) — 8/10
First look at this. Still digesting. It was a rough night with Ms. Loden.
Full Metal Jacket. 9.5
Frozen River 6/10 Good performance from Melissa Leo. I wanted to like this more than I did but found myself nitpicking script problems too often.
Step Brothers 4/10
“Last Train From Gun Hill” (1959) Dir. John Sturges. Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn. Fine Western, I especially liked the character of Linda played by Carolyn Jones and both Douglas and Quinn were very good. 6.5/10
“Day of the Dead” (2008) Dir. Steve Miner, Mena Suvari. Why bother other than to look at Mena Suvari. 3/10
“Black Sabbath” (1963) Mario Bava. Three horror shorts. I love the atmosphere he creates. The first and third (with Boris Karloff) stories were excellent. 7/10
“House on Haunted Hill” (1958) Dir. William Castle. Vincent Price. Great fun, Price and supporting cast are all very good. 7/10
“The Comancheros” (1961) Dir, Miachael Curtiz. John Wayne. Typical John Wayne western. Enjoyable. 6.5/10
“Grindhouse; Planet Terror” (2007) Dir. Robert Rodriguez. Rose McGowan. Mmmmmmm, Rose Mcgowan. For some reason I had fun watching this movie, but it could have been so much better. 4/10
“Funny Games” (1997) Dir. Michael Haneke. I kind of knew what to expect going in to this one but I was still captivated. 8/10
The Descent (2005) 9/10 – Uncomfortable, disturbing horror film about 6 women who go spelunking. Body horror, claustrophobia, betrayal. I found it difficult to breathe, watching certain scenes. This is Neil Marshall’s best work so far.
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) 10/10 Absoutely amazing film and possibly my favourite of Ford’s work, although I could say the same about They Were Expendable, Wagon Master, The Sun Shines Bright, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Jackpot 2 – 4/10 Mostly terrible half hour by the Kaurismaki brothers. Some nice shots of backstreets and apartments, but the acting, dialogue, and non-existent story seemed amateurish.
The Crimson Kimono 7.5/10 – I love Fuller, and am surprised that this hasn’t been released anywhere yet.
Coraline 9/10
Merrill’s Marauders 4/10-Not one of Fuller’s best.
Changeling 10/10
Milk 9/10
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button 6/10
Oliver Twist(David Lean) 10/10 Incredible opening sequence.And the dog should have got an academy award. Only disturbing part is the broad stereotyping in Guiness’s Fagin.
rescue dawn : 5/10
The International – 7/10. Confusing plot, but beautifully filmed, and a good fight scene in the NY Guggenheim.
Oh yeah, and on DVD recently, The Black Cat, with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.
9/10 – great art deco scenes, and Karloff and Lugosi were quite good. And there was one scene that literally had me jump out of my seat, though the violence wasn’t shown directly.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – 6/10
– Just like with Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch, the novel is far and away better in every way.
Rumble Fish 10/10
The Night of The Hunter 10/10
I had, a fucking Cinephile night
International: 6.5/10. I confess, I fell asleep for about 10 minutes.
Coraline: 8.9/10. Lovely and sweet and dark. It’s nicely lingered.
American Beauty — 10/10 excellent
The Only Son
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Rating 10/10
Adams Apple 7/10
Death in the Garden (Luis Bunuel): 6.8/10
Ulysses’ Gaze (Theodoros Angelopoulos): 7.4/10
El Norte (Gregory Nava) – Blu-ray: 8.5/10… Great film, beautiful release.. glad I made a blind buy on this one! Makes me anticipate those upcoming Criterion Blu-ray releases all the more..
17 Rue Bleue: 7/10
The day the earth stood still (the remake with Keanu) – It wasnt great but had some moments but Will smiths son ruined most of it. 3/10
“Grand Illusion” (1938) Jean Renoir: 9/10. And then I re-watched “Stalag 17” (1953) Billy Wilder 8.5/10
The Reader 10/10
In the theater: Coraline 3D! 8.5/10
At home: Vertigo 10/10 (I can watch it over and over and will continue to do so.)
In the theatre (Feb. 14): The Wrestler 5/on scale of 10
At home, watching an Academy screener:The Reader 7/on scale of 10
Kenny
Mountain Patrol 8/10
Beautiful but brutal movie set in Tibet.