I’m one of the few people who enjoyed both Scarlet Diva and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, flaws and all. Asia is bold, flashy and visceral and I hope she’s able to direct more. I’m far from being a fanboy of her father too. It’s a shame her project with Alejandro Jodoroswky appears to have fallen by the wayside.
I thought Control benefited by being in B&W. You can’t really have a bio-pic about Ian Curtis and have it in color. I also enjoyed how Wings of Desire switched back and forth between B&W and color. Very effective to the story. Good call on Night of the Living Dead, a few posts up. The B&W made it all the more creepier.
Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!
Pretty Poison
Vice Squad
Maniac
Santa Sangre
Two-Lane Blacktop
Vanishing Point
Cafe Flesh
The Great Texas Dynamite Chase
Betty Blue
Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains
I Drink Your Blood
Performance
When a so-called cult film becomes popular, does it cease being a cult film? A lot of people have seen Repo Man and The Rocky Horror Picture Show by now and I don’t really think you could say their appeal lies strictly within a limited ‘cult’ audience as before. You can easily buy a DVD of TRHPS at Walmarts these days. Has the term ‘cult film’ been stretched so far that it doesn’t hold much meaning anymore?
I like ‘If’ but like ‘O Lucky Man’ just a little better mostly because of the charming songs from Alan Price. I also feel that OLM is less dated than ‘If’.
(ask me the same question tomorrow and I’ll probably give a different answer though)
Considering the subject matter (necrophilia) and the era it came out (early 70’s), it’s fairly shocking that a movie like this was made. Unfortunately, it lumbers along at a slow pace and the acting is less livelier than the numerous corpse’s that turn up. Worth seeing if you’re a fan of exploitation oddities, I guess.
Yeah, The Mighty Boosh is something else. However, it’s one of those series you’re either going to find hilarious or not funny at all. There’s no middle ground.
There’s very few critics in any medium that I “trust”. I do enjoy Travers though. More so for his writing and humor than actual criticism. I wouldn’t run out and see something just because he recommends it but I usually agree with him when he pans something. He and Matt Taibbi are the only things that stop Rolling Stone from being completely unbearable.
Travers isn’t the harshest critic out there but he’s also not the type to over-praise mediocre movies. So often Rolling Stone will have a big feature or a cover story plugging a particular movie and Travers will give it a negative review anyway. I think he’s fairly independent and doesn’t pander to anyone.
If anything, Nashville helped me understand and appreciate country music a little bit more. Sort of like Coal Miner’s Daughter, in that regard. It’s been ages since I watched it but it’s definitely worthy of its ‘classic’ status. Altman was running on all cylinders then and pretty much hit every target he was aiming for.
I might as well use this thread to bitch about the failure to release a legit, director’s cut edition of The Devils. Every so often you hear there’s plans to reissue it but then nothing happens. Hopefully one day…
I remember skipping out on kindergarten to attend a Godard film festival. Must have been about 4 or 5…
Well, no not really. I lied. If I had to pinpoint any moment in my life when I saw how powerful a medium film could be it would probably be when I was watching the USA cable program Night Flight which ran every Saturday evening from 11 PM to 6 AM. It had mostly music but they would also show weird cult films and assorted art-house gems. It was on Night Flight that I first saw Eraserhead and Godard’s Sympathy For the Devil. Night Flight was the gateway and pushed me into all sorts of new directions. It only ran for a few short years during the early 80’s but it left its mark on me.
He’s become just like Nicholson. Sleepwalking through roles and raking in the bucks. I realize that meaty roles are hard to come by at their age but it’s still no excuse for not trying to do something challenging occasionally. At least Nicholson is still entertaining to watch whereas DeNiro has become a bore. When was the last time he was actually interesting in a movie?
I would say he’s rated just right, neither under or over rated. His moment has come and gone. Or at least his influence has seeped into the mainstream so much so that his earlier work no longer seems brazen. That’s not a knock on him because it happens to all trail-blazers and Kern was certainly a trail-blazer. He came along at the right time and captured that time perfectly.
@ Ari ~
I also wouldn’t say he invented the ‘hipster trash aesthetic’ and the cinema of transgression was much more than a mere fashion statement. Lots of artists during that time, whether their medium was film, music, photography or painting, felt the same way and were documenting those feelings even before Kern came on the scene. He became the most notable (thanks in part to Fingered and The Right Side Of My Brain) but he wasn’t the only one.
Asia Argento over 2 years ago
I’m one of the few people who enjoyed both Scarlet Diva and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, flaws and all. Asia is bold, flashy and visceral and I hope she’s able to direct more. I’m far from being a fanboy of her father too. It’s a shame her project with Alejandro Jodoroswky appears to have fallen by the wayside.
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Films that benefit from being in black and white over 2 years ago
I thought Control benefited by being in B&W. You can’t really have a bio-pic about Ian Curtis and have it in color. I also enjoyed how Wings of Desire switched back and forth between B&W and color. Very effective to the story. Good call on Night of the Living Dead, a few posts up. The B&W made it all the more creepier.
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Your Top Cult Films over 2 years ago
Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!
Pretty Poison
Vice Squad
Maniac
Santa Sangre
Two-Lane Blacktop
Vanishing Point
Cafe Flesh
The Great Texas Dynamite Chase
Betty Blue
Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains
I Drink Your Blood
Performance
I guess most of my choices qualify as cult films.
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Your Top Cult Films over 2 years ago
Almost any of Nicolas Roeg’s films could be considered a cult film.
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Your Top Cult Films over 2 years ago
I haven’t seen Insignificance either and don’t remember much about it other than the always lovely Theresa Russell being in it.
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Your Top Cult Films over 2 years ago
When a so-called cult film becomes popular, does it cease being a cult film? A lot of people have seen Repo Man and The Rocky Horror Picture Show by now and I don’t really think you could say their appeal lies strictly within a limited ‘cult’ audience as before. You can easily buy a DVD of TRHPS at Walmarts these days. Has the term ‘cult film’ been stretched so far that it doesn’t hold much meaning anymore?
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Scariest movie ever made over 2 years ago
The House On Haunted Hill
The Haunting (both films the original versions)
Halloween
Carnival of Souls
Let’s Scare Jessica To Death
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"if...." or "O Lucky Man!" over 2 years ago
I like ‘If’ but like ‘O Lucky Man’ just a little better mostly because of the charming songs from Alan Price. I also feel that OLM is less dated than ‘If’.
(ask me the same question tomorrow and I’ll probably give a different answer though)
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 2 years ago
Love Me Deadly (1972). 4/10
Considering the subject matter (necrophilia) and the era it came out (early 70’s), it’s fairly shocking that a movie like this was made. Unfortunately, it lumbers along at a slow pace and the acting is less livelier than the numerous corpse’s that turn up. Worth seeing if you’re a fan of exploitation oddities, I guess.
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Your Top Cult Films over 2 years ago
Skidoo
Sweet Movie
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
Going Places
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Great TV Series Recommendations over 2 years ago
Since you’re willing to delve into the 60’s, look no farther than The Prisoner.
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Great TV Series Recommendations over 2 years ago
Yeah, The Mighty Boosh is something else. However, it’s one of those series you’re either going to find hilarious or not funny at all. There’s no middle ground.
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Peter Travers? over 2 years ago
There’s very few critics in any medium that I “trust”. I do enjoy Travers though. More so for his writing and humor than actual criticism. I wouldn’t run out and see something just because he recommends it but I usually agree with him when he pans something. He and Matt Taibbi are the only things that stop Rolling Stone from being completely unbearable.
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Peter Travers? over 2 years ago
Travers isn’t the harshest critic out there but he’s also not the type to over-praise mediocre movies. So often Rolling Stone will have a big feature or a cover story plugging a particular movie and Travers will give it a negative review anyway. I think he’s fairly independent and doesn’t pander to anyone.
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Great TV Series Recommendations over 2 years ago
I was referring to the original The Prisoner series and yes, that and The Avengers (with Emma Peel, of course) go hand in hand.
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Great TV Series Recommendations over 2 years ago
@ JMA
No need to apologize. I just wanted to clarify that it was the original series that I’m recommending and not any remake.
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3 Favourite Movies From 5 Favourite Directors over 2 years ago
Abel Ferrera ~
MS. 45
The King Of New York
Bad Lieutenant
Jean-Luc Godard ~
Band of Outsiders
Pierrot le Fou
Breathless
Werner Herzog ~
Aguirre Wrath of God
Stroszek
Nosferatu
Jim Jarmusch ~
Down By Law
Stranger Than Paradise
Dead Man
Terrence Fisher ~
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
The Mummy
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john waters 10 best of 09 list over 2 years ago
It’s been ages since Waters made a decent film but he’s still as relevant as ever when it comes to writing and criticism.
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john waters 10 best of 09 list over 2 years ago
Wouldn’t Waters and Tarantino make wonderful hosts for an ‘At the Movies’ type of program?
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Nashville...what the hell? over 2 years ago
If anything, Nashville helped me understand and appreciate country music a little bit more. Sort of like Coal Miner’s Daughter, in that regard. It’s been ages since I watched it but it’s definitely worthy of its ‘classic’ status. Altman was running on all cylinders then and pretty much hit every target he was aiming for.
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Ken Russell over 2 years ago
I might as well use this thread to bitch about the failure to release a legit, director’s cut edition of The Devils. Every so often you hear there’s plans to reissue it but then nothing happens. Hopefully one day…
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Best film for a snow storm? over 2 years ago
Let The Right One In
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Best film for a snow storm? over 2 years ago
Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World would be a perfect choice too.
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 2 years ago
Stalker – 9/10
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WHO IS / WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FILM ACTRESS EVER? over 2 years ago
I’m sure most of these names were mentioned before but off the top of my head…
Christina Lindbergh
Natassja Kinski
Julie Christie
Meiko Kaji
Diane Lane
Anna Karina
Milla Jovovich
Judy Geeson
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Best Western of all Time? over 2 years ago
I don’t know about it being the best but The Long Riders is perhaps my favorite western.
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At what age or what stage of your life have you really started getting into film? over 2 years ago
I remember skipping out on kindergarten to attend a Godard film festival. Must have been about 4 or 5…
Well, no not really. I lied. If I had to pinpoint any moment in my life when I saw how powerful a medium film could be it would probably be when I was watching the USA cable program Night Flight which ran every Saturday evening from 11 PM to 6 AM. It had mostly music but they would also show weird cult films and assorted art-house gems. It was on Night Flight that I first saw Eraserhead and Godard’s Sympathy For the Devil. Night Flight was the gateway and pushed me into all sorts of new directions. It only ran for a few short years during the early 80’s but it left its mark on me.
Go to Comment
What is the matter with him? over 2 years ago
He’s become just like Nicholson. Sleepwalking through roles and raking in the bucks. I realize that meaty roles are hard to come by at their age but it’s still no excuse for not trying to do something challenging occasionally. At least Nicholson is still entertaining to watch whereas DeNiro has become a bore. When was the last time he was actually interesting in a movie?
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What is the matter with him? over 2 years ago
“but seems to me like De niro doesn´t care anymore.” writes Tania.
Nail firmly on head.
Like I said before, it seems like he’s not even trying.
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Richard Kern woefully underrated over 2 years ago
I would say he’s rated just right, neither under or over rated. His moment has come and gone. Or at least his influence has seeped into the mainstream so much so that his earlier work no longer seems brazen. That’s not a knock on him because it happens to all trail-blazers and Kern was certainly a trail-blazer. He came along at the right time and captured that time perfectly.
@ Ari ~
I also wouldn’t say he invented the ‘hipster trash aesthetic’ and the cinema of transgression was much more than a mere fashion statement. Lots of artists during that time, whether their medium was film, music, photography or painting, felt the same way and were documenting those feelings even before Kern came on the scene. He became the most notable (thanks in part to Fingered and The Right Side Of My Brain) but he wasn’t the only one.
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