I agree. The movie is clearly derivative of a lot of works, but I thought Trier's direction was marvelous. I, too, was on the edge of my seat until the end. Top Twenty territory for the year for me. Agree about Harboe, too.
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Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It
- Thread starter ThePhoenixx
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Led Zappa
Tomorrow Today
Baby Driver (2017) Directed by Edgar Wright 9/10
This movie is a work of art. Definitely as good as it gets as far as the Crime Heist, Stunt Driving, Car Crashing, Music Driven, Love Comedy-Drama Genre goes. I even let myself enjoy the clearly on purpose impossibility of a long row of dryers filled with colorful pieces of clothing spinning in sync with the music. There are times is doesn't take itself seriously at all with winks to the audience asking us to just let this one go, but the emotional storylines still tugged at my heart. The idea of music driving the script, no pun intended, worked perfectly with this movie. A great achievement on it's own. One of the few movies in recent memory that I immediately want to watch again.
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Thank you for the reply. I agree with you that it is beautiful to look at, the director manages to create a very tense atmosphere that is very appropriate for the movie, and the lead actress is good at her role. Unfortunately, those good qualities are not enough to overcome the nonsensical plot, and a really simple message that basically decries overbearing parents and religious dogma. To me, it is no better than a 4/10, because I find the whole thing to be rather dumb.
The Snowman (2017) Directed by Tomas Alfredson 3B
Police Inspector Harry Hole (yup, no kidding) (Michael Fassbender, an alcoholic cop now but once supposedly a legend, is working on a case that involves a serial killer who leaves various creepy snowmen behind as his calling card (easy enough to do in wintry Norway). Various things happen, some of them even vaguely related to the plot, and then the movie ends on a wildly fortunate note that left me shaking my head. It pains me to think that something so gorgeous to look at could be such an awful movie, but there is no getting around that fact. Despite the atmospheric Nordic cinematography, the plot is meandering and nonsensical. One of the key minor characters, the most useless red herring in the history of red herrings, shouldn't even be in the movie as he is incompetently introduced and serves no discernible purpose whatsoever throughout the entire movie. On top of everything else, Fassbender tosses in his most lackluster performance ever. A script this disjointed suggests the screenwriters either didn't understand the original source material by best selling mystery writer Joe Nesbo or the makers of the film had to make deep cuts for budgetary reasons. The Snowman is the virtual antithesis of what a thriller should be.
Later: Even the director, Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), is slagging the film, calling it rushed and underdeveloped. Under pressure from producers, the movie started shooting without a complete script and never did get the missing scenes. That explains a lot.
I agree with you kihei. The Snowman, while beautiful to look at, is pretty much a stereotypical Hollywood thriller that tries to be smart, but there are absolutely no thrills, because everything is predicable, towards the very end. Now that the director comes out and reveals part of the behind the scene process, we now know why, so I appreciate the information.
That said, I thought the acting is pretty good. While this is not Fassbinder's best performance, I still think that he manages to give his character some depth, with a tortured performance. Now that we know what happened during production, one has to be rather impressed with what he is able to accomplish, given what he has to work with.
Nalens Oga
Registered User
Flirting With Disaster (1996) - 6.5/10
The Secret In Their Eyes (2008) - 8/10
Still Walking (2008) - 7.5/10 (that tempura with the corn, I want that)
The Secret In Their Eyes (2008) - 8/10
Still Walking (2008) - 7.5/10 (that tempura with the corn, I want that)
GlassesJacketShirt
Registered User
Shame to hear. I'm a massive fan of Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, so it's tough hearing how this one got squandered.
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
Willard (1971 version)
with old people and that guy who kinda looks like an American Malcolm McDowell...but isn't. Turns out he's the Senator in X-Men who got turned into goo and impersonated by Mystique later on. That guy. Only young and blond in 1971.
Willard is down on his luck. He's a late 20's loser with no friends, he lives with his henpecking mother in a huge, dusty house that's all ready to be the set of a horror movie, and he works at a soul-crushing office job where Ernest Borgnine screwed his dad out of ownership years ago. He's as down on himself as everyone else...and that's pretty down. His only reprieve are the rats in the backyard his mom orders gotten rid of...who he makes friends with. There's Socrates the nice white rat, and huge Ben the black rat. Also lots of others in the colony, and Willard likes them a lot better than people. Soon, he's faced with disruption to his world as he realizes the house is heavily mortgaged, and nasty Ernest Borgnine likes houses more than rats.
Meh. I guess better than the remake with Crispin Glover...maybe. Not all that good. I guess if you like rats it's decent Halloween fare.
with old people and that guy who kinda looks like an American Malcolm McDowell...but isn't. Turns out he's the Senator in X-Men who got turned into goo and impersonated by Mystique later on. That guy. Only young and blond in 1971.
Willard is down on his luck. He's a late 20's loser with no friends, he lives with his henpecking mother in a huge, dusty house that's all ready to be the set of a horror movie, and he works at a soul-crushing office job where Ernest Borgnine screwed his dad out of ownership years ago. He's as down on himself as everyone else...and that's pretty down. His only reprieve are the rats in the backyard his mom orders gotten rid of...who he makes friends with. There's Socrates the nice white rat, and huge Ben the black rat. Also lots of others in the colony, and Willard likes them a lot better than people. Soon, he's faced with disruption to his world as he realizes the house is heavily mortgaged, and nasty Ernest Borgnine likes houses more than rats.
Meh. I guess better than the remake with Crispin Glover...maybe. Not all that good. I guess if you like rats it's decent Halloween fare.
Led Zappa
Tomorrow Today
Without Willard there's no Ben and that would be very sad.
Also, I remember liking that movie a lot as a kid.
Human Flow (2017) Directed by Ai Wei Wei (documentary) not scored
Now an expat himself, Ai Wei Wei, the world's best known Chinese dissident and artist, has constructed a documentary about the international refugee crisis that calmly lays out the human, social and political repercussions of what has now become a major crisis in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. I was ashamed to realize how little I actually knew about the refugee crisis. If nothing else the documentary is a real eye opener. By looking at several trouble spots and by interviewing refugees around the world, Ai provides a clear outline of the scope of the problem and the cost in terms of human displacement, loss and bereavement. Short interviews from various knowledgeable observers and brief quotes from a wide range of media sources are used to comment on the dangers we face now and in the future if a resolution isn't found to this massive dilemma. For if a humane solution isn't found, an authoritarian solution will almost certainly be forthcoming. Human Flow contains much beautiful camera work, some of it provided by drones, but aesthetic considerations are really beside the point here. The documentary supplies enough information on enough levels to allow people to start an intelligent conversation, which alone is an important contribution as the problem isn't going to go away and will in fact only get worse in the future.
English with some subtititles
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Franck
eltiT resU motsuC
The book is an absolute masterpiece. If you enjoyed the film you are going to love it, it explores the themes present in the film at much greater depth and touches upon a myriad of topics that the film did not have time for.
The Fool (by Yuri Bykovm, 2014, Russia), Durak (original title)
Good movie, from 'the school of hard knocks'; this dark social satire won the Best Actor award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in 2014. I noticed the film on a web list of "Gems of World Cinema you Might Have Missed". I have to stop reading these click bait lists, but the film was pretty good anyway, it was a good suggestion.
IMDb says : "Dima Nikitin is an ordinary honest plumber who suddenly decides to face the corrupt system of local politics in order to save the lives of 800 inhabitants of an old dormitory, which is about to collapse."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3560686/
Good movie, from 'the school of hard knocks'; this dark social satire won the Best Actor award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in 2014. I noticed the film on a web list of "Gems of World Cinema you Might Have Missed". I have to stop reading these click bait lists, but the film was pretty good anyway, it was a good suggestion.
IMDb says : "Dima Nikitin is an ordinary honest plumber who suddenly decides to face the corrupt system of local politics in order to save the lives of 800 inhabitants of an old dormitory, which is about to collapse."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3560686/
I've only watched the movie so far. My sister agrees with you on the book, she says it's a masterpiece.
The Fortress (2017) Directed by Hwang Hong-dyuk 8B
In the 17th century, Korea's King and Court take refuge in a remote fortress when there country is under siege by Chinese invaders who support the Qing Dynasty. Badly outnumbered and fighting in the dead of winter, the Koreans are isolated, their only hope being that support will eventually come from a neighboring army. If that support doesn't arrive, however, they are in a real pickle with few good options. I'm not sure what I was expecting; probably one of those entertaining magic realism treatments with swordplay coming on mountain peaks or atop pine trees, ala Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I wasn't expecting what I got--one of the best and, certainly, most unheralded movies of the year. While the movie does have some brutal, feverish battle scenes, The Fortress has a lot on its mind besides action. The movie paints a very realistic picture of what it is like to be under siege in winter in 17th century Korea. All sorts of practical problems need to be addressed such as warmth and food (you take the straw blankets away from the freezing men and use the straw to feed the horses who you fatten up and then kill to feed the freezing men). Meanwhile for the Court, issues of strategy, life and death issues, come up constantly. How is the King going to respond to this looming threat that menaces his Court and his kingdom. Of all his advisers there are two good and decent men, Choi and Kim, who, though on diametrically opposed sides, are the most thoughtful and articulate ministers in his court. Despite their philosophical differences, which are discussed in key, riveting scenes at some length, they both respect and trust each other. A key question becomes what option should the King take: saving his life and with it, a sort of side effect, the lives of his peasants or saving the nation's honour, perhaps an even higher consideration for a national leader. The ending is long and uncompromising, but fully earned--and concludes on the perfect, tiny grace note. Some very complex themes are played out with intelligence and surprising depth. The Fortress is the best South Korean film that I have seen since Mother (2009) , which is high praise.
subtitles
Top Ten of '17 so far
Loveless, Zyvgintsev, Russia 9B
The Death of Louis XIV, Serra, Spain/France 9C
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos, Ireland/US 8B
The Third Murder, Kore-eda, Japan 8A
Faces Places. Varda, France 8A
On Body and Soul, Enyedi, Hungary 8A
A Fantastic Woman, Leilo, Chile 8A
Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve, US 8B
The Fortress, Hwang, South Korea 8A
Valley of Shadows, Gulbrandsen, Norway 7A
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Baby Driver (2017) Directed by Edgar Wright 9/10
This movie is a work of art. Definitely as good as it gets as far as the Crime Heist, Stunt Driving, Car Crashing, Music Driven, Love Comedy-Drama Genre goes. I even let myself enjoy the clearly on purpose impossibility of a long row of dryers filled with colorful pieces of clothing spinning in sync with the music. There are times is doesn't take itself seriously at all with winks to the audience asking us to just let this one go, but the emotional storylines still tugged at my heart. The idea of music driving the script, no pun intended, worked perfectly with this movie. A great achievement on it's own. One of the few movies in recent memory that I immediately want to watch again.
This review looks just like a kihei review, except with a lovely, mesmerzing animated GIF instead of a still frame. Led Zappa appears to be throwing down the gauntlet. How will kihei respond to this challenge?
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
Keyhole
with Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, and other, probably very confused people.
By Guy Maddin. So it's in black and white, though not his beloved grainy film stock for once.
A dark and stormy night. Gangsters shoot their way into a huge, labyrinthian house. Their leader Ulysses (Patric) shows up later, carrying a drowned blind girl who's still alive. He's trying to find his wife, who's in a locked room somewhere in this huge house where they used to live together. There are ghosts, however. They don't like to be touched. Yeah.
Bizarre symbolism and dreamlike images frequently run into Monty Python levels of absurdism. Dialog goes nowhere. The kind of movie where you ask yourself questions like: "Why is that guy screaming into a glass of milk?" and "Why is Jason Patric carrying around a stuffed wolverine named Crispy?" and also "Is that guy in the closet under the stairs furiously masturbating, or...no. Nope. He's just shaking a dice container as the voiceover says 'Yahtzee!!' Uh...?" A lot of reviews I've since read take the movie seriously, but I refuse to believe that a movie that has a recurring scene of Kevin McDonald humping a ghost who's casually washing the floor is intended to be taken seriously. As determinedly weird as Guy Maddin can be, he's got to be having a chuckle at reviewers who dissect the symbolism of the bike-driven electric chair.
Rating: wtf/10.
Commissioned for the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University. Because of course it was.
with Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, and other, probably very confused people.
By Guy Maddin. So it's in black and white, though not his beloved grainy film stock for once.
A dark and stormy night. Gangsters shoot their way into a huge, labyrinthian house. Their leader Ulysses (Patric) shows up later, carrying a drowned blind girl who's still alive. He's trying to find his wife, who's in a locked room somewhere in this huge house where they used to live together. There are ghosts, however. They don't like to be touched. Yeah.
Bizarre symbolism and dreamlike images frequently run into Monty Python levels of absurdism. Dialog goes nowhere. The kind of movie where you ask yourself questions like: "Why is that guy screaming into a glass of milk?" and "Why is Jason Patric carrying around a stuffed wolverine named Crispy?" and also "Is that guy in the closet under the stairs furiously masturbating, or...no. Nope. He's just shaking a dice container as the voiceover says 'Yahtzee!!' Uh...?" A lot of reviews I've since read take the movie seriously, but I refuse to believe that a movie that has a recurring scene of Kevin McDonald humping a ghost who's casually washing the floor is intended to be taken seriously. As determinedly weird as Guy Maddin can be, he's got to be having a chuckle at reviewers who dissect the symbolism of the bike-driven electric chair.
Rating: wtf/10.
Commissioned for the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University. Because of course it was.
a) Arched eyebrow
b) Kicked cat
c) Find a Steve McQueen "Bullitt" GIF and use it for every review
d) Eat shark tonight
Winner: d)
Hey, it's a fun movie. I thought the GIF went great with the review.
I'm going to have to watch Baby Driver again. LZ just gave Baby Driver a 9/10 and made it sound like Lawrence of Arabia or The Godfather. LZ should definitely apply for the possibly-open film-review position at Road & Track magazine! 
(i still luv ya LZ)
(i still luv ya LZ)
Columbus (2017) Directed by Kogonada 4B
Set in Columbus, Indiana, a small town with a lot of noteworthy modern architecture, Jin (John Cho, from J. J. Abrams' Star Trek) waits impatiently for his already hospitalized father to die, while Casey, a year out of high school, stays home to look after her mother, a recovering meth addict. Jin and Casey develop a relationship based mainly on discussions that take place while they are observing various historical buildings. In Columbus, the colour is muted; the cinematography is muted; the characters are muted; the dialogue is muted; and if mutes appeared in the film, they would no doubt be even more muted. If you can keep your eyelids open, it's kind of an interesting approach, emphasis on the "kind of." Columbus has a glowing 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, I thought the movie was starter-kit Michelangelo Antonioni complete with the great Italian director's preoccupation with how characters' feelings are influenced by their physical environment but minus the existential grounding that lends deeper meaning to so many of his movies. So, yes, the movie is a little different from standard Sundance fare, but its relative novelty is overwhelmed by how ponderous the whole enterprise seems.
Nalens Oga
Registered User
Sidewalls/Medianeres (2011) - 7.5/10
This was shaping up to be a 9/10 but it had a disappointing average indie movie ending in the final third. The two characters are also so pathetically mopey but I did like the Argentine architecture it showed using whatever frame filters were used in Play Time.
This was shaping up to be a 9/10 but it had a disappointing average indie movie ending in the final third. The two characters are also so pathetically mopey but I did like the Argentine architecture it showed using whatever frame filters were used in Play Time.
GlassesJacketShirt
Registered User
Blade Runner 2049
9/10
Most likely will end up being my favorite wide release of the year. How it ultimately ranks will be decided when I can finally get access to some foreign releases, but gosh dolly did this one meet my expectations on first run.
Very beautiful film.
9/10
Most likely will end up being my favorite wide release of the year. How it ultimately ranks will be decided when I can finally get access to some foreign releases, but gosh dolly did this one meet my expectations on first run.
Very beautiful film.
Led Zappa
Tomorrow Today
I'm going to have to watch Baby Driver again. LZ just gave Baby Driver a 9/10 and made it sound like Lawrence of Arabia or The Godfather. LZ should definitely apply for the possibly-open film-review position at Road & Track magazine!
On the @kihei letter scale I would give it an A,B,C & D. I think it can be enjoyed as an easy ride as well as taken deeper on many avenues. I think in that regard it's similar to Pulp Fiction where it took movie norms and tweaked them in a very inventive and satisfying way. Of course Pulp is a 10/10 in my book. But I thought this director, whom in his mind was writing the movie for I think 20 years, took a well worn genre and made it into much much more than the foundation it was built on. Watching "the making of" piece of the DVD definitely had an impact on my high rating, but I'm not that far off from RT which ended up with an 8/10 average. Maybe the fact that I don't tend to really like movies with a bunch of car crashes and gun battles also contributed to my appreciation of what was accomplished.
I had trouble with Baby Driver and posted that a month ago. It probably had to do with the high ratings it had and my high expectations going in. I thought the music led driving sequences were well executed but had issue with (what I thought) was the rather adolescent storyline including the romance. I also thought the 'bad-guy stars' carried the show too much because Elgort could not (they were too strong for him). It was still a fun ride as they say, I was just critical in response to those high ratings. I'd like to think I can still post weaknesses to a movie here even if others like it and so do I. It's not a critique of the poster or the movie necessarily. I'm not that deep, the best movie of 2017 for me so far is Guardians of the Galaxy 2, that says a lot. Next is Paterson, an art house flick. I've watched many of kihei's serious films and while I know I am watching a good film, it still doesn't mean it's my favorite. I'd like to think I can still criticize some elements of his favorites and he won't be offended by it. So far he has been good with that.
Led Zappa
Tomorrow Today
Oh, I'm fine with the criticism. Just expanding on my thought process.
I see about 1 1/2 movies a week and I'm almost always behind because I wait for Netflix, so I'm not a great judge of best movies of the year, because I don't have a wealth of movies to draw from. But Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is in my top 5 of movies I've seen in the last year. I saw Paterson as well, but there was something that didn't quite sit right with me. I'm glad I watched it as it was definitely well acted, very different and well worth the watch.
Top 5 in no particular order
Arrival
The Secret In Their Eyes
Baby Driver
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The Edge of Seventeen
I also have some difficulty deciding what is a 2017 flick when theatres here show a supposed 2016 release in 2017 (like Paterson). But I will scratch an Academy Award nomination like Arrival even if I saw it in January 2017. For Secret in their Eyes, I know you like Ricardo Darin so I will assume you mean that one, not the one with Chiwetel Ejiofor; the first is a 2009 release so that is really pushing it lol. I'll watch or post any year here but won't record it as a 2017 if it goes too far.
I also had difficulty with The Meyerowitz Stories earlier but nobody seemed to want to discuss it so I let it ride. I know it is a good film but I had a lot more criticisms about it than kihei's review. I can see an actor there getting an AA nod (it was such good acting), but if the movie gets nominated for other than that, I'll give my head a shake. And I like Noah Baumbach.
The worst movies of 2017 so far (to me) are CHiPS, Baywatch and A Ghost Story with Casey Affleck. While many might agree with the 1st two, I know I'm in minority for the latter.
Two movies I'm surprised I liked were Kong: Skull Island and Colossal. I really thought I'd come out disliking those two and I really liked both.
Led Zappa
Tomorrow Today
, but yeah, the 2009 version. But I wouldn't have seen it if it weren't for the newer version.- Status
