Another Godard film that I despise. Sloppy, aimless satire. Awful to sit through this.

I liked the trial section to the ending, but the endless scenes of talking before hand drew me down a bit. I did notice the effect of cutting between random people blathering on and Socrates made me focus on Socrates more, but I feel like a shorter, more succinct approach would have worked better. What Rossellini examines here is important, it just felt dull in its presentation.

Some amazing images in this. I loved the way it effortlessly blended fiction and documentary. I felt bad for that monkey though...

I just saw this for the second (or third?) time and enjoyed it so much more. I guess I had to see some other Rossellini films to really enjoy the simplicity of this. The one gripe I used to have about it was that unlike, say, Andrei Rublev, we don't really see Francis "tested" as person. But the film is humble, like him, and Francis' tests come from simply humility and constant charity.

The first episode had the longest takes of any Rossellini film I've seen. It was a pretty bold move having it simply consist of a one sided phone conversation. I liked the second episode much more though, as I pretty much sympathize with any "holy fool" character. I wish this episode was feature length, actually. For once, I really liked the endings.

Nice subjects for the static camera. The sound is of course key in transforming them. I wish Criterion would release a whole box set of all of Marker's short works.

Despite more bizarre dubbing, I found this to be much more accomplished than the other works I've seen by Rossellini. There is a certain composure and clarity and patience to the shots and editing that just wasn't in the earlier films. The background music is less intrusive too. I loved the various shots from car. Those indeed felt very "modern". The ending, however, was once again terrible and held back the film.

I wound up liking this film even though I thought I wouldn't in the beginning. Bergman is magnetic as the complex and trapped woman at the center of the film. I loved the sprinkling in of documentary footage, especially the fishing scene. I think Rossellini used background music way too much in some of his films, and the weird dubbing of the non-actors was uneven and distracting. The ending was ridiculous.

I can't say just how much I hate this movie.

Not a huge Rossellini fan, but this was my favorite of his so far. It's incredibly bleak. A dark turn towards the end really brings the humanity of an isolation of a child to this post-war film. Makes me want to contrast the main character with Tarkovsky's wartime Ivan, as they are polar opposites in character but in similar situations. I loved the last 15 minutes.

Finally got back to movies. I liked this. The first half is very quick and humorous and has some astounding technical shots and blocking. The party scene is especially great- the way characters drift in and out of long takes and the way the camera moves freely while the dialogue bounces off of each character. Still feels incomplete, especially in the second half. What the studio did to Welles is very depressing.

It's been a while since I've seen this film. Most of it is fairly straightforward and even breezy at times. You can feel the spirit of the Nouvelle Vague vaguely surrounding the film, especially in some of the camera work and editing. Bob is a very charming character. The ending is my favorite type of ending. It's known as the "Greatest Heist Film Ever Made", a title that only truly makes sense once you've seen it.

I finally got to see this after having it hyped up for years. While it didn't quite live up to the hype, the film is beautiful. I especially liked the distinct lack of exposition throughout the film, allowing subtle emotions and a general mystery to grow out of each segment. For me, the mystery was the most important aspect, the feeling of constantly being left in the dark in the most cinematic of ways.

This was my third Fellini film, and I liked the other two more. I was captured by the bizarrely rapid pace at the beginning of the film and the premise held promise for me (a woman dealing with her self worth during a marriage crisis), but for me the middle got boring and I wasn't feeling Fellini's "here are some dreams/ghosts" like I was in 8 1/2. I just don't think I'll ever be a huge fan of his.

This year I plan to write about every single film I see, and hopefully it will be 3-4 a week. I started off the year by re-watching Seven Samurai for the 3rd time. I hadn't seen it in 3 years. I remember it affecting me much more the first two viewings. It's a great epic, but a problem I have with some of Kurosawa's films is that he has seemingly no regard for the framing or rhythm of the editing in some sections.

Perfect film. Best ending to any movie I have ever seen.

I know I shouldn't have, but I kept laughing at Godard's intertitles. They seemed like a constant "fuck you" to Woody Allen.