List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2013

[Gramsci]

We watched it last night. It was pretty much as OU described. I was worried it might be one of those films where having watched the trailer there wasn't much else to see but at least there was a bit more to it. I didn't think much to the dialogue at times.

I knew my Mrs would like it, she thought it was great. I'd probably give it about 6.5/10.

My two (female) friends were in tears at the end of "Broken" as they found it so moving. I was not so sure about it. I think it works as a film that people can relate to. I agree with Orang Utan Orang Utan there were little touches of "reality" that were well observed.

I thought it had some humour in it to balance out the grim parts of the film. He did manage to not make it mawkish and overly sentimental. Which I thought was an achievement. It could have slipped into that mode.

 

[Gramsci]

Stoker by Chan-wook Park, which is more proof that when Asian directors go Hollywood, most of them make films so bad, it makes me question whether they were ever any good in the first place. And yet the fans of the director were ready to love this long before it came out and have convinced themselves that it is great, hence this dross has a 7.9 rating on Imdb.


Fuck off back to Korea Chan-wook Park and make more vengeance films.

I saw it at Screen One in the Ritzy. It looks stunning. It still had the Korean pyscho-sexual weirdness despite being transferred to the US. It was kind of bizarre. I kept on thinking why are they not speaking Korean? Made me think partly why his films ( made in Korea) work on a western audience is that they are seen as exotic. Its not the same when u have Nicole Kidman.

Its not going to US that meant he made a bad film. I think your second point is nearer the mark. Where they ever any good in the first place? I think he has been making films where style counts for more than substance. Take the Vengeance films. "Sympathy for Mr Vengeance" I rate as one of his most interesting films. (Only seen it on DVD as I do not think it was released here.) It was related to the Korean financial crisis some years ago. By the time of the third "Lady Vengeance" it was style above substance. Lady Vengeance was just as stunning to look at as Stoker.

 

[Gramsci]

"Beyond the Hills" (Dupa dealuri ) Trailer here

I went to see this fine example of Euromisery at the Ritzy. Two and a half hours of unrelenting grimness. Not a crowd puller then. Lots of room as the cinema only had about ten people in it Saturday afternoon. I liked it. Great way to spend cold Saturday afternoon.

Its made by the director Cristian Mingiu. He is known for his film about abortion in Communist Romania "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile)".

After seeing it I read it is loosely based on a real event. A women who undergoes an exorcism at a Monastery. No its not melodramatic. The Father is not a "Rasputin". Its very claustrophobic. You are not told the time it is set in. But there is a jolt when you realise its around now. The monastery is almost medieval. Its not an exploitative place but a refuge from the harshness of present day Romania. It expressed a disappointment with the West. Communism is gone but the West ( as the Father says at one point) is no alternative. The self imposed poverty of the Father makes his church more popular. Also gets him in trouble with the church hierarchy. However the real world impinges itself on the monastery when a confused women turns up.

The film contains no music until right at the end when the credits come up. Another jolt as I then realised the sound in the film was the wind more than anything.

It reminded me of the work of Bela Tarr (Satantango). In the post Communist times people look to something they can believe in. But , with the black humour of East Europe, it turns out into a disaster and a false trail.

The cinematography is very good. Particularly the way he lets you get to know people through there faces.

I would say it is definitely worth seeing. If not light entertainment.

Shows that Mingiu is not a one off director. This is an assured piece of film making. I look forward to his next film. Good to see Romanian film is getting released here.

 

[Part 2]

Watched it on the train a few weeks ago. My earphones aren't up to much and when there was screaming going on I could see the woman next to me checking to see what I was watching.

Great film, bleak as fuck though.

 

[Orang Utan]

The Paperboy
Meh!
Silly unbelievable plot developments
ACTING, esp from Kidman
Sweaty and leaden
Was knackered so almost nodded off a couple of times
Efron and McConnaughey were good though.
This Daniels chap is a bit heavy handed
the Woodsman was similar nonsense. Haven't seen Precious.

 

[Part 2]

Ah, I thought I might go see that tomorrow. I was gonna see Compliance but just downloaded it.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

"Beyond the Hills" (Dupa dealuri ) Trailer here


Shows that Mingiu is not a one off director. This is an assured piece of film making. I look forward to his next film. Good to see Romanian film is getting released here.

Certainly agree. It's chilling throughout. You actually feel cold when it's cold on screen even. Even when it's sunny it looks cold ! Like his previous film the lack of music really focuses on the on screen 'actualité'

UK citizens should watch it to remind everyone how great the NHS is ! Wonder what Mingiu will do next.

 

[Gramsci]

Just seen "Side Effects"​

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I was a bit nonplus-ed by it. It looks goods and is a film noir plot with twists and turns. But I could not help but think I have seen this kind of thing before. Also it seemed old fashioned in the way that the man is the victim who has to pull out the stops to save his life. Women they are devious creatures. Reminded me a bit of Basic Instinct in that sense.​

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I did like the way that none of the yuppie New Yorkers were portrayed as nice people. Below the surface they got nastier and nastier as the film went on. Good portrayal of the complacent middle class who will stab there fellow workers in the back if necessary.​

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Also takes apart the therapy culture of these people. Got a problem- get a pill or a shrink.​

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Is the film supposed to be a comment on present day corporate US or an exercise in film noir? Never sure whilst I watched the film.​

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Unlike satire this was played straight as a thriller. A satire on corporate business and middle classes can work as in the Norwegian film "Headhunters".​

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I got the feeling this film was trying to be more sophisticated than that. Or thought it was.​

 

[Orang Utan]

I Wish - a sweet little Japanese film in which a group of kids get together to make a wish at the moment two bullet trains (new in the film) pass each other. It's a bit like Stand By Me in feel. I really liked it. The kids are ace and it looks ace. Has got lots of eating in it. Yum.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I almost liked that. Sounds interesting

 

[DrRingDing]

Stoker. It was shit. Don't bother.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Post Tenebras Lux, recommended. Experimental in an ambiguous way. It's trying to find it's way throughout. Has a shocking penultimate scene !

 

[Sue]

I Wish - a sweet little Japanese film in which a group of kids get together to make a wish at the moment two bullet trains (new in the film) pass each other. It's a bit like Stand By Me in feel. I really liked it. The kids are ace and it looks ace. Has got lots of eating in it. Yum.

I saw this a few weeks ago and was struggling to stay awake...

 

[Sue]

Caesar Must Die. Not the Jet Li flick () but a film set in an Italian high security prison where the inmates are putting on a production of Julius Caesar. Thought it was excellent.

 

[Sue]

Finisterre -- 10th anniversary screening with a Q&A with St Etienne and the director(s). Basically just a series of shots of London with some voiceover. Quite enjoyed it.

Trance -- not bad.

Spring Breakers, not quite sure what to make of this. Better than it looked from the trailers and had a few quite bizarre and funny bits. Interested to hear what other people think.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Neighboring Sounds (O Som Ao Redor). Well made - if a little overlong - Brazilian film exploring class tensions and social anxiety in a residential suburb. It's one of those films I think I'd get more out of watching it a second time round, although I'm pretty sure I won't bother. 7/10

 

[blossie33]

Spring Breakers, not quite sure what to make of this. Better than it looked from the trailers and had a few quite bizarre and funny bits. Interested to hear what other people think.[/quote]


I've just seen Spring Breakers. Saw a trailer for it last week and just decided to go this afternoon.
It's not really the type of film I would be drawn to see but I actually enjoyed it.
Not quite sure what to make of it myself - whether it was meant to be a bit of a send up of the Gangsta thing? The story was a bit bizarre but interesting. Thought the acting and actual photography was really good.

 

[moonsi til]

I saw 'spring break' last night choosing it over 'trance' and for quite a long time I thought I had made a bad decision. I discovered I had become involved in the film when the girls met alien and he took them back to the party (where they were playing pool). I started to feel fear in my stomach about what was going to happen to them and about what I was going to see. I hadn't expected that.

I found the scenes with the girls in their my little pony balaclavas to give light relief in the tension and to help portray the absurdity and innocence. Thankfully the whole cinema laughed at that part. I'm glad I have seen it but I could have easily walked out after 30-40 mins.

 

[redsquirrel]

Barbara - this cam out in the UK lat year but has only been out here the last couple of weeks. Set in East Germany not long before the fall of the war, a much much better film than The Lives of Others that I've seen it compared to, it's far less simplistic than that piece of rubbish.

Bonjour Tristesse - I'd never seen this before, but I'm a Preminger fan and was looking forward to it. Unfortunately it's not one of his best, despite a very good cast - Deborah Kerr, David Niven and Jean Seburg. Jean Seburg's character is the big problem IMO, she's such a spoiled child that I just wasn't able to have any sympathy for her at all, Seburg is also looks too old for the role making the character even more dislikable.

 

[cyprusclean]

The cinema.

Saw The Hobbit, and loved it.

Missed Jack Reacher. Did anyone see it?

 

[DrRingDing]

The Hobbit - disapointing jape.
Stoker - Load of old bollocks
Trance - A shaved clunge does not make a great film.

 

[Sue]

I saw 'spring break' last night choosing it over 'trance' and for quite a long time I thought I had made a bad decision. I discovered I had become involved in the film when the girls met alien and he took them back to the party (where they were playing pool). I started to feel fear in my stomach about what was going to happen to them and about what I was going to see. I hadn't expected that.

I found the scenes with the girls in their my little pony balaclavas to give light relief in the tension and to help portray the absurdity and innocence. Thankfully the whole cinema laughed at that part. I'm glad I have seen it but I could have easily walked out after 30-40 mins.

I thought he did a very good job of making the whole Spring Break thing look awful -- like a Club 18-30 holiday -- but yes, bits like the party scene (did feel menacing) and the Britney bit were good (don't know whether that was meant to be funny or not but everyone in the audience was laughing). As I said, better than expected.

 

[Sue]

Dans la maison, Francois Ozon's latest. Interesting idea, funny and well acted though the end was a bit .

 

[Reno]

Spring Breakers, which I went back and forth as to weather I enjoyed it or not while watching it, but I probably did. It's shot by Benoit Debie, my favourite cinematographer working and it looks and sounds gorgeous in a dreamy sort of way. But Harmony Korine's films always feel more like animated hipster style-magazine pages, than actual movies. It reminded me a little of watching Stoker which was also a style-over-content film, but I far preferred the fluid, neon pop look here to the anal retentive, airless quality of Stoker. At least unlike Stoker this didn't pretend to have a complex plot or characterisation and then fell flat on its face. Spring Breakers is little more than a candy coloured moral void in which pretty people shimmy around brandishing guns to a great soundtrack.

 

[Reno]

A Hijacking, Danish docu-drama style film about the hijacking of a Danish cargo vessel by Somali pirates. It follows the events on the ship and the hostage negotiations at the company who owns the ship. Not bad, quite tense in places, with some familiar faces if you follow Danish telly like Borgen and The Killing. Could have maybe been a little tighter in its pacing.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Spring Breakers is little more than a candy coloured moral void in which pretty people shimmy around brandishing guns to a great soundtrack.

I thought there was a bit more to it than that, or at least I hope so. I think the moral void was the main point of it, that the values and ambitions of American youth today - or at least many of them - are morally bankrupt. Maybe. Whatever, I really enjoyed it - it was well paced, looked great, was sporadically amusing, James Franco was great as Alien, and as you say the soundtrack was ace. 8/10

 

[Reno]

I thought there was a bit more to it than that, or at least I hope so. I think the moral void was the main point of it, that the values and ambitions of American youth today - or at least many of them - are morally bankrupt. Maybe. Whatever, I really enjoyed it - it was well paced, looked great, was sporadically amusing, James Franco was great as Alien, and as you say the soundtrack was ace. 8/10

It's Rorschach cinema on which you can impose your own meaning. Personally I think like all of Korine's films this is a display of hipster apathy. If the film was as moralistic as you say it is, I would have hated it. I quite liked its vagueness and the confidence that it didn't feel the need to prop up its playfulness with some sort of statement.

 

[Tankus]

The cinema.

Saw The Hobbit, and loved it.

Missed Jack Reacher. Did anyone see it?

Seen Reacher and Oblivion , don't normally like Cruise but these were both of his better efforts ...worth a punt

 

[Reno]

I went to a screening of Oblivion. The first half is intriguing and I loved the designs, but when it comes to explaining everything it falls apart and gets a bit rubbish. Tom Cruise as always appers as a Ken doll shaped void who you have to replace with an actor of your choice in your mind. Not terrible, but could have been better.

 

[pissflaps]

is Patrick Swayze dead? fuck me. that is news.

Roadhouse was fucking great.