Last movie you saw and rate it

Margin Call (2011) 4/5

Very good! So happy J.C. Chandor is nominated for best original screenplay.

@ Jonas:

Margin Call was a great film…as usual it got ignored….practically.

The Trial 2/5…..Truth be told I didn’t watch the last half hour so maybe it’s not fair to rate it….but I just couldn’t take it anymore….Perkins was miscast…..

Love Torn in a Dream
Raoul Ruiz, director and writer.
Vintage Ruiz 8/10 for RR lovers,
full review here: Link

Who killed the Electric car? Very good documentary! 9/10.

Who killed the Electric car? Very good documentary! 9/10.

Rewatches:

Russian Ark 8/10

Good idea, good approach, not varied enough to hold my interest for two hours.

Andrei Rublev 10/10

Shot so well that even when I’m not quite sure what’s happening on screen I’m enthralled.

Magnificent Obsession (1954)
Dir. Douglas Sirk

4/5

This is spectacular. So much Technicolor! Rock Hudson is the ultimate babe-dude and the allegorical references of Jesus is pretty brilliant. As a Sirk fan this is not my favorite from him, but I feel like with time (more viewings and as I age) I will appreciate it more. Jane Wyman is also equally wonderful. Definitely no Imitation of Life as far as tear-jerkers are concerned, but a few definitely rolled down my cheeks at several moments especially in Switzerland!

Also Agnes Moorehead! Love her all the time and am so glad she had a pretty large role in this gem!

Worst. Double Feature. Ever!!!!

Dream House (Director: Jim Sheridan)
1.5/5

it’s as bad as everyone said it was. It makes no sense whatsoever and feels at times like an ultra-somber episode of “American Horror Story” without the horror. One of the dullest films I’ve seen in a long time complete with ridiculous twists that make no sense. I can see why Sheridan, Craig and Weistz hated this movie.

Chronicle (Director: Josh Trank)
1/5

at least this wasn’t dull. Sadly, it wasn’t very good either. More like a few decent ideas than a full-fledged film (like alot of found footage movies) and it all leads up to an overlong, extremely loud and incredibly close-up fight scene that just takes forever. Stupid.

I need to see something good now…..

Miss Bala – 3 stars

It took me until the last shot of the film to realize this was not a character study of this one woman, but rather she was used as a vessel into showing the complexities of the Mexican drug trade. Highly original approach to a rather played out topic, Miss Bala is a great film with highly impressive filmmaking from a technical standpoint.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon 3/5—better than I thought it would be…it’s a pleasant, beautifully shot, meditative look at the early life of St. Francis of Assisi. This film is definitely infused with the early 70’s hippie love/flower power vibe in much the same way as Jesus Christ, Superstar was.

Howl 3/5—-With the right material James Franco is quite a good actor. He shines here as Allen Ginsberg. However, the part of the film that takes place during the obscenity trial over the publication of Howl fall flat. Also, the animation was annoying….I don’t need a visual interpretation of the poem to keep me intrigued.

PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION: Did anyone like this film here apart from Den? I found it really difficult to sit through. By midway i was totally bored, and like Altman’s other HD snoozefest, ‘The Company’, the film looks ugly, so the pleasure of just watching—central to Altman’s appeal—is entirely lost. The cast just goes through the motions, nobody really stands out. I guess that is by design, but for me this approach doesn’t work here in the way that it has in previous Altman films, and it effectively renders every character and performance the same shade of dull. Virginia Madsen stood out somewhat, but she merely hovers in the background. Harrelson and Reily have a few decent numbers together, but they aren’t given much to do. The only thing the film gets right is the ending, and at that point it’s too late. I wish the rest of the film had a similar bittersweet tone to it.

Perhaps those familiar with the PCH show will get something more out of it, but for me it was completely bland and uneventful, and i’m an Altman fan too. . 4/10 and that’s being generous. As far as swansongs go for legendary directors, this is right up there with De Sica’s ‘The Voyage’.

@Joks

Nope. I didn’t care for the film.

The Round Up (La Rafle) 7/10

A lot better than I thought It would be. Second half was alot better than the first as well.

The Round Up (La Rafle) 7/10

A lot better than I thought It would be. Second half was alot better than the first as well.

CARNAGE 9.5/10

CARNAGE 9.5/10

I’m with Den on A Prairie Home Companion. Thought it was a very sweet movie. Not amazing or anything, but pleasant. And I think Kellior is a snooze on the radio.

^^Yeah, ‘sweet’. Kind of strange coming from Altman eh? hehee. Guess he was less jaded and cynical in his old age ;-)

Yeah, A Prairie Home Companion is a real dud for me. I can’t stand it but then again I really don’t like Garrison Keillor’s brand of NPR whimsy so it’s not my thing but it makes me sad that Altman went out with such a bad film.

I’ll join the chorus of disapproval on APHC, a film of no particular interest whatsoever. On the other hand, my parents really enjoyed it, and mentioned to me that I’d get it when I’m their age. It might be an older person’s movie.

Providence 1977
Alain Resnais director and David Mercer writer
With John Gielgud Dirk Bogarde
6/10 Too many ideas to really work up to it’s potential
Review (of sorts) here; Link

I remember enjoying A Prairie Home Companion when seeing it at the movies but somehow the film hasn’t really stayed with me so it’s probably weaker than I remember it being.

@Joks -

“PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION: Did anyone like this film here apart from Den?”

Yes, I loved it. It’s actually one of my favorite Altman flicks. When it came out (in 2006?) it made my top ten list. A wonderfully entertaining film.

^^It should have been renamed ‘Prarie Home Companion: Hollywood Karaoke’

ahahahahaa

Nostalghia (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1983)

10 out of 10, I would have to say. I couldn’t even begin to give a full review of it, but suffice to say I was totally blown away (in 35mm at that!).

Couldn’t agree more… Nostalghia>>>almost everything.

DP.

Re-watch:

Il Messia (dir. Roberto Rossellini, 1975)

Already thought it was great, but a second viewing earns this a 10/10.

See the bottom of the frame where lower class laborers are resting in the shade with their ladders waiting for the crucified to die- those are the details Rossellini drenches us with.