haha, don’t worry, it’s nowhere near as bad as Cowgirls. Holy shit that film stunk up the place…
Do you like his other stuff?
^^yeah, i like Van Sant. My favs are Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Paranoid Park and Last Days.
I’m no Van Sant fanboy and I seem to remember liking Restless to an extent. It’s not a great movie by any means but I thought it was decent I think
I can’t remember but I’m pretty sure I didn’t hate it
As for Take this Waltz, Williams was miscast but Rogen was really good IMHO
I liked it only a little more than Santino did :)
Just checked. I gave Restless 4 stars, which shocks me. I must have liked it more than I remembered
The Trip (2002) 1/5—-one of the worst films I’ve ever seen….seriously. The acting is so bad it defies description, the characters are cliches and Jill St. John is the biggest name in the cast…..and she should be embarrassed by this performance…..hell’s bells woman…you worked with Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty at the start of your career…..this film sets the gay cause back about 150 years…..
Oh, for a second i thought you meant The Trip with Steve Coogan, lol
Storytelling 5/5
Todd Solondz is a sick fuck. A beautiful sick fuck. Nobody does dark comedy like he does.
@Tommy, no I haven’t seen anything else by Ceylan and I now have zero desire to do so.
And yes I did see it in the cinema as well, it came out in limited release on Thursday in Australia. Didn’t help though. Still boring as shit. And this is coming from someone who loves Tarkovsky and Tarr!
@Mogambo
I’ve been wanting to see Storytelling for a while now… I thought Happiness was a masterpiece…
^I feel depraved after watching Solondz films. Laughing while cringing.
Michael by Marcus Schleinzer
3/5
A bit boring unfortunately, was expecting a little more from this movie.
G-Legs:“And yes I did see it in the cinema as well, it came out in limited release on Thursday in Australia. Didn’t help though. Still boring as shit. And this is coming from someone who loves Tarkovsky and Tarr!”
Watch Uzak before dismissing him entirely.
I’ve put it in my watchlist, but I can’t say I’ll be in any rush to see it.
THE LADY IS WILLING 2.5/5
A very weird and not very good but rather interesting little romantic comedy with Marlene Dietrich as an actress who quite literally picks up an abandoned baby in the street and decides to raise it as her own, entering into a marriage of convenience with a doctor (played by Fred MacMurray). Boy is this a strange little movie, not the least of the strangeness coming from Dietrich’s extreme likability in the film’s first half: her comic timing and light touch and general human warmth come across as they never did in any other film. She’s a real treat to watch interacting with that baby.
Director Mitchell Liesen can’t quite seems to make up his mind about what the film should be, and there’s a set of complications are introduced that are frankly silly and downright melodramatic. Liesen really blows it in one scene in particular where Fred MacMurray plays the piano to put Marlene to sleep. The scene clearly means to underline the growing familiarity and affection between the two, but it is lit and played more to suggest that he’s plotting to kill her — you’ll know what I mean when you see it, if you ever do and you needn’t rush to download it anytime soon.
We Need to Talk About Kevin – 7. Tilda Swinton and (not sure who played the son)’s performances were great. John C. Reilly was a dud. The editing was lousy and the story kind of fell apart.
@ Joks -
“Den, so Restless is even worse than Psycho(1998) and that cowgirls film?”
Restless is great. If you’re a fan of Van Sant’s personal films, you’ll appreciate this one. I was very moved by it.
@Marcorenton
What did you expect from Michael?
@Jack
The older Kevin is Erza Miller, who was in this really Hanekesque film called Afterschool.
Michael was amazing. One of my favorite films from last year. I actually rewatched it over the weekend. Very daring stuff.
Just watched Steve McQueen’s Shame. Very good. Should try and check out Michael. Sounds interesting.
@Santino
Would it count as a 2012 film also?
@Scampi
Shame was quite good. The orgy scene was an incredible stretch of filmmaking.
@Lover -
Yeah, I think technically Michael didn’t get a theatrical release in the U.S. until 2012. But it of course premiered at Cannes last year and I saw it at AFI Fest last fall. So either one (I’m counting Polisse as this year because that’s when I saw it – even though it also premiered at Cannes last year).
Okay, I’ll still include Michael as a 2012 film, thanks.
I do my own movie awards at the end of the year with categories and stuff. Fuith is one of the better performances I’ve seen this year.
Moonrise Kingdom-
Avoid this one if you’re not a fan of Anderson’s style and quirks. I could’ve enjoyed it the same if there’s no dialog, proof that film is first and foremost a visual medium. Engaging story, nice eye candy. 4/5
dp
Snow White and the Huntsmen
B
Possible spoiler
I got a little excited towards the end of this film when Chris Hemsworth is at the deathbed of Snow White. I thought it was going to be a Last Tango In Paris moment.
There isn’t a second of this film that doesn’t look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. It is one of the most beautiful films of the year, visually, but the storytelling is rather uninteresting. Charlize Theron is pretty damn good, and Kristen Stewart actually fits this role well considering her appearance. Stewart looks super depressed all of the time, so I find it appropriate she play someone who was locked up and isolated for many many years. Hemsworth and the dwarves are pretty cool (and badass), but the fellow who played Snow White’s childhood friend gave off teen-movie vibes, which feels out of place because a large part of this film is dark, mature storytelling.
It is a very dreary film, and the dark woods are something of visual masterpiece. It’s looks like Antichrist’s Eden had rough sex with Pan’s Labyrinth. But soon enough the film reveals itself for what it truly is, a teen movie, but I really loved the parts that made me forget this. Thoroughly enjoyable in every way in the first half, really sucks in the end (but never losing its visual pleasures).
So, yeah, if visuals are your thing this is a definite must see.
Juggernaut (Richard Lester, 1974) – If watching 2 hours of Richard Harris fiddling around with a pair of tweezers and a voltimeter defusing bombs sounds like fun, then have I found a movie for you! If that doesn’t sound so thrilling, then you might want to miss this. 5/10
City on Fire (Alvin Rakoff, 1979) – Another 70s disaster film about, well, a city on fire, so ten out of ten for choosing an a propos title. As for the rest of the movie, the less said the better. 1/10
@Flip
I watched Juggernaut based on a book about overlooked films. Unfortunately, I don’t think that was the case, because my reaction was the same as yours.
Hemingway & Gellhorn – 4/10
It had its moments, but overall such a disappointment. The movie needed an editor, a writer, and maybe a different Hemingway. Glad I watched it, but sad what I watched is all it had to offer.
War of the Arrows
Four (out of five) stars. I really enjoyed this film.
Joks
^^Yeah, i don’t see how it could possibly be worse than Even Cowgirls Get The Blues! heheh.
I’ll check it out eventually, since i’ve watched all of his other films.