Films II : The Filminator

[radiofloyd]

1 hour ago, DANGERMAN said:

Huh, weird you don't think Aftersun had a life affirming quality to it 😄

I mean, the atmosphere and context of that film is quite dark right?

[one-armed dwarf]

Perfect Days meanwhile I can't tell if it is life affirming or not

 

Like it feels you could read it either way

[DANGERMAN]

4 hours ago, radiofloyd said:

I mean, the atmosphere and context of that film is quite dark right?

I was joking

[one-armed dwarf]

I watched The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), which is the second film Orson Welles did after Citizen Kane. It's got an interesting history where apparently it got turbofucked in the edit and had an hour of the film thrown out while Welles was off in Brazil, doing something else. But that means you have big chunks of story missing and several scenes are quite cut down, though it's not always easy (to me) to tell which of those are the cut down ones. The ending is really stupid

 

It's this sort of intergenerational love story set against the changes in society at the turn of the 20th century. It follows this extremely affluent family called the Ambersons, and another family I forget the name of now. Over the course of it the Ambersons witness their fortunes turn fallow as they fall behind modernity's curve. Meanwhile the other family in the story becomes extremely rich due to astute investment in automobiles. So the latter taking the former's position in society. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Overall tho I think it kinda isn't great. There's flashes of technical brilliance in there, the way the camera moves through scenes of moving people which is something that's in a lot of his other films. The cool, dramatic camera angles and everything draped in light and shadow in such a stylish way, like in Kane. It gives the mansion set a kinda spectral quality as the story moves forward but the Ambersons remain still, quite trapped by it. But it's all a bit of a thin gruel of a film, probably cause it's all fucked around with by RKO

 

The criterion blu ray comes with this rather cool booklet which is mocked out like a screenplay with 'FINAL' crossed out on the cover, a reference to this history of it being shitted up. There's also a load of special features on the history of it, which more than make up for the film being maybe a bit weak

[Maryokutai]

Was in the mood for something light so I watched Groundhog Day yesterday, which I'd actually never seen before. The first 20-ish minutes are a bit of a slog I think, but by the time he goes on a road rage it's clear the movie has entered the stage where its writers went wild with the premise. I think I like this era's humour a lot more than modern American comedies, too. It's less so about desperately wanting to get a reaction but rather a general, underlying goofyness that either makes you laugh or doesn't and the makers are ok with that. Andie MacDowell has a rather mesmerising presence, too, and I'm surprised she didn't become a bigger star after this (unless it happened in a different bubble than mine) – though from today's perspective some of her scenes have probably aged the most, in the sense that despite her being technically in a position of power, she's still a clichéd romantic acting emotionally rather than rationally.

 

Overall the movie does deserve its cult status though I think. In hindsight it's a bit funny that the lessons its protagonist learned seemingly went over Bill Murray's head, who, from what I gather, is a bit of an unlikeable diva in real life.

[Pikman]

I love this film. Could still watch it many more times

[mmmark]

Brian and Charles. Absolutely loved it from start to finish. So funny, warm and touching.

 

 

[Maryokutai]

Was in the mood for something light so I watched Groundhog Day yesterday, which I'd actually never seen before. The first 20-ish minutes are a bit of a slog I think, but by the time he goes on a road rage it's clear the movie has entered the stage where its writers went wild with the premise. I think I like this era's humour a lot more than modern American comedies, too. It's less so about desperately wanting to get a reaction but rather a general, underlying goofyness that either makes you laugh or doesn't and the makers are ok with that. Andie MacDowell has a rather mesmerising presence, too, and I'm surprised she didn't become a bigger star after this (unless it happened in a different bubble than mine) – though from today's perspective some of her scenes have probably aged the most, in the sense that despite her being technically in a position of power, she's still a clichéd romantic acting emotionally rather than rationally.

 

Overall the movie does deserve its cult status though I think. In hindsight it's a bit funny that the lessons its protagonist learned seemingly went over Bill Murray's head, who, from what I gather, is a bit of an unlikeable diva in real life.

[one-armed dwarf]

[Craymen Edge]

10 hours ago, mmmark said:

Brian and Charles. Absolutely loved it from start to finish. So funny, warm and touching.

 

 

 

I loved it.

 

I'm not a big fan of his Brian character, so it wasn't on my radar for a while. When I finally did watch after many recommendations, I was really pleasantly surprised. 

[mmmark]

His Three Daughters on Netflix. Loved loved LOVED it. How it wasn’t up for BAFTAs or Oscars I’ll never know. Natasha Lyonne is absolute bae. 9/10

 

 

 

[mmmark]

Superman II (Richard Donner Cut) I remember really enjoying as a kid but I watched it and was surprised as how crap I thought it was. No nothing to do with the fx btw. It just doesn’t seem to flow at all or make any sense. When superman becomes mortal he changes his mind after 5 minutes and heads back despite being told it’s irreversible. Not only can he reverse it regardless he then uses it at the end against the three foes for the most rushed and least satisfying ending ever.

 

Then he flies fast around the world to reverse time like nothing ever happened (again) and it also means everyone also forgets everything too apparently omg what. 2/10

[Pikman]

On 18/01/2025 at 01:28, mmmark said:

His Three Daughters on Netflix. Loved loved LOVED it. How it wasn’t up for BAFTAs or Oscars I’ll never know. Natasha Lyonne is absolute bae. 9/10

 

 

 

I watched at least half of this. Brilliant acting and overall seemed really solid. I didn't really care too much for the people though and felt like I was watching it more for their skillset than the story.

I went to bed, missing the rest and my wife explained the ending in the morning, which just fine for me 😅

[one-armed dwarf]

Rewatched No Country for Old Men (2007) on a 4k I imported. I think this is still one of my favorite films, despite only seeing it 3 times (including this). I think it's partly cause the initial cinema viewing is something that cant really be topped. The sensory deprivation atmosphere can accentuate this film's style so strongly. How it's this extremely quiet neo-Western/noir thriller where nothing will happen for ages then there's an eruption of awful violence, before it settles again. Incredibly suspenseful. A home viewing can't get quite close unless you have a really posh and sophisticated setup, which requires much more than a disc just being 4k, for this film anyway.

 

This background storyline is about a drug deal which goes wrong, which doesn't really matter that much except for how Brolin's character foolishly dives into a world that'll lead to a pointless wave of violence. The way Bardem moves like a spectral sort of Terminator, methodically destroying people and things and getting some indescribable satisfaction from it. Is it that appetite that drives him more than the money, the film sort of suggests it is but leaves most of the plotting of that oblique. Because it's a Western you expect an ultimate showdown

Spoiler

which is never represented, which somehow becomes a powerful shift of perspective on what you've just witnessed and changes your attitude to it.

 

The other thing I forgot is that Tommy Lee Jones's sheriff character is the real main character, who just sort of witnesses everything happening and can't do anything about it, and just sort of resigns to it and gives up, aka the name of the film. His monologues completing the perspective of the film. 

 

[Maryokutai]

One of my favourites as well, a lot of the Coen stuff just goes way over my head because they usually laser focus on some culturel American/Hollywood aspect I have no clue about, but this one is such a masterfully executed mix of being universally appealing without being dumbed down for the mainstream.

 

Never saw it in cinemas though, my first time watching it was at home with headphones and it was still an extremely intense experience.

[one-armed dwarf]

Apparently it is largely McCarthy funneled through Coens, he wrote both the screenplay and novel. I've never completed any of his books but the one I read the most of, Blood Meridian, had this same sort of nihilistic vision with eruptions of violence from what I remember. 

 

I saw someone describe the film as being sort of about how our lives can be these fragile snatches of time against the plane of unyielding animalistic violence which could turn your way any moment. Which I found a pretty powerful descriptor. You can kinda see it in the scene with Brolin's character hunting deer, how it gets intercut against the scene of Chigurh using cattle euthanasia on bystanders. 

 

Blood Simple is probably the closest other film they have to No Country in theme and plot but it's much more of a riff on boilerplate noir stuff like the Postman Always Rings Twice than it is something as austere as McCarthy's work. Otherwise the film sort of stands apart in their oeuvre, except for it being so noirish which almost all their films are.

[Pikman]

This is EASILY in my top 10 (which is actually a list of about 20 films).
I'll have to test it on the home setup too - didn't even cross my mind. Not watched it for many years for some reason!
(lack of any sort of disc player I guess...).

[mmmark]

I watched NCFOM once and thought it was absolutely boring. I’ll have to give it another go now that I am an old man. 

[mmmark]

I watched for the second time Rambo: Last Blood. The first time I thought it was pretty awful and a massive shame of an end for the character. Upon re watch I had a good time with it. If this came out in the 80s I think it’d be very well regarded today actually as it has all the hallmarks of action movies we love from then plus being far more violent. So idk what sour puss was expecting the first time round but I’d say I’ve flipped from a 3/10 to a 8/10.

 

 

[Pikman]

On 20/01/2025 at 18:08, mmmark said:

I watched NCFOM once and thought it was absolutely boring. I’ll have to give it another go now that I am an old man. 

Really do!
IMO, it helps once you know what to expect - that it's a slow burner.