What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)

[Reno]

That it was, I agree there.
I can certainly understand how people like it (it's not "beyond me"), I just happen to disagree. The film very publicly divides opinion. It's not worth having a snit over. The reason I brought up the book (and my experience was contrary - almost all of the positive reviews I read were from people who'd read the book) is because I was hoping to glean something more about why some people like it so much. I was kind of hoping you'd explain something more about it.

Give the book a try, maybe you'll like it. It's one of my favourite novels of the last couple of decades and it is different from the film in that it has far more of a plot and concrete themes. I don't think it shines more of a light on the film because the film deliberately leaves events open to interpretation and if you've read the book you are more likely to interpret it along those lines, which for me got in the way. The central character in the book is quite different to start with, a surgically altered quadruped who is described as rather grotesque and who barely passes for human.

While I was initially disappointed that the film is such a loose interpretation, now I think it's one of the things which are admirable about it. So many faithful adaptations feel like mere illustrations of a text, which reduce rather than enhance it and add little to the experience of reading the book. The film of Under the Skin completely becomes its own thing and the only aspect it is really faithful too is its atmosphere and the concept of looking at our world through alien eyes.

It is a deliberately slow and repetitive film. To some that approach is boring, to me it was hypnotic.

 

[D'wards]

Wake in Fright - a brilliant Australian film that was kind of forgotten about for many years. It really stayed with me for a few days. Really encapsulates that once the grog starts flowing things can go awry pretty quick, and how the aggressive hospitality of some types is a pretty horrible thing really.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

I watched Method Man in the Mortician. He was very good. The film was a bit flimsy, but a good try.

 

[DotCommunist]

I watched Method Man in the Mortician. He was very good. The film was a bit flimsy, but a good try.

whats his preferred acting style?


I watched Spectre. Either bond films are getting insanely repetitive or I've seen it before and somehow forgotten completly. It was alright, JB ennit. A big sugary cake of nothing but there is some good fights and cars chases etc

 

[Orang Utan]

whats his preferred acting style?

don't you remember him from The Wire?

 

[DotCommunist]

don't you remember him from The Wire?

cheese, the dog murdering bastard. I was making a joke based on his hip hop name

 

[Sue]

Wake in Fright - a brilliant Australian film that was kind of forgotten about for many years. It really stayed with me for a few days. Really encapsulates that once the grog starts flowing things can go awry pretty quick, and how the aggressive hospitality of some types is a pretty horrible thing really.

After watching that I didn't drink for weeks.

 

[inva]

Duelle
Jacques Rivette's 1976 supernatural film noir. A fairly straightforward plot compared with a lot of his work of that period and with less of an improvised 'theatrical' feel. It is beautifully shot by William Lubtchansky and mainly set in bars, dancehalls and at card tables and has a familiar Rivette atmosphere of conspiracy and mystery along with a dose of mystical nonsense which he also seemed to have a liking for. I think I'm right in saying it was intended to be the second of a series of four films followed by Noroît. The first was never made and Rivette had a breakdown during the filming of the fourth, but ended up partially making it years later as The Story of Marie and Julien which I've watched before and liked a lot.

Anyway, while the supernatural story in Duelle is a bit lacking, it is a very stylish film with nicely composed nods to classic noir and on the whole makes up for its shortcomings.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

The Martian, which I enjoyed a lot. As a slab of hollywood entertainment it was very good.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Crimson Peak - perhaps Del Toro's weakest fantasy horror to date. Casting and costumes were good but man, what up with the shit story? Too predictable. Maybe it's me. I'm just not liking his Hollywood efforts.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - I like apes, I like apes on horseback, I like apes on horseback firing machine guns....

 

[Reno]

The Fassbinder Foundation is restoring all of his films and releasing them on Blu-ray and I got the box set of the first ten restored films this week. Now I've got a Fassbinder film retrospective in a box.

Watched The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant last night which looks great. Essentially the filmed version of his stage play, six characters claustrophobically confined to one room, the film is still very cinematic as the camera is always on the move. I love the compositions of how the characters are arranged in the frame, they are so tightly choreographed this could be a dance piece. It charts the start and end of a love story, which as so often with Fassbinder is closely linked to exploitation, both emotionally and financially. In addition to her infatuation with her callous younger lover Karin, Petra is in an abusive master-servant relationship with her always silent assistant Marlene, which may be more erotically charged than her romantic involvement.

Fassbinder was ahead of his time in the depiction same sex relationships in that the homosexuality of the characters is never the issue, though at the time that was often misunderstood because he didn't feature "positive stereotypes". However while in other films of the period the homosexuality of the characters is linked to their flaws, unhappiness or downfall, this is not the case here. His gay characters are simply no better than his straight ones.

This is one of a small handful of films which exclusively features female characters. Loved the costumes, with Petra being a fashion designer this goes to town with the costume design, which was influenced by the early 70s art-nouveau revival. The women are always elaborately dressed up and styled, while merely hanging out at Petra's home. The dress below which looks like something from a Klimt painting is one of my all time favourite costume designs. If there is such a thing as lesbian camp, this is it.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

The Fassbinder Foundation is restoring all of his films and releasing them on Blu-ray and I got the box set of the first ten restored films this week. Now I've got a Fassbinder film retrospective in a box.

Watched The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant last night which looks great. Essentially the filmed version of his stage play, six characters claustrophobically confined to one room, the film is still very cinematic as the camera is always on the move. I love the compositions of how the characters are arranged in the frame, they are so tightly choreographed this could be a dance piece. It charts the start and end of a love story, which as so often with Fassbinder is closely linked to exploitation, both emotionally and financially. In addition to her infatuation with her callous younger lover Karin, Petra is in an abusive master-servant relationship with her always silent assistant Marlene, which may be more erotically charged than her romantic involvement.

Fassbinder was ahead of his time in the depiction same sex relationships in that the homosexuality of the characters is never the issue, though at the time that was often misunderstood because he didn't feature "positive stereotypes". However while in other films of the period the homosexuality of the characters is linked to their flaws, unhappiness or downfall, this is not the case here. His gay characters are simply no better than his straight ones.

This is one of a small handful of films which exclusively features female characters. Loved the costumes, with Petra being a fashion designer this goes to town with the costume design, which was influenced by the early 70s art-nouveau revival. The women are always elaborately dressed up and styled, while merely hanging out at Petra's home. The dress below which looks like something from a Klimt painting is one of my all time favourite costume designs. If there is such a thing as lesbian camp, this is it.

No apes on horseback?

 

[Reno]

No apes on horseback?

Sorry

...but I like those too. I think the Planet of the Apes reboot is the best Hollywood film franchise going and Caesar is the most interesting ongoing character in a film series right now. Can't wait for the third one.

 

[Maharani]

Green Street : Stand Your Ground

Hammer Hooligans in prison, up against Chelsea fans , then Millwall fans after a ruck in the first prison - Millwall fans rule the 2nd prison as they have a corrupt Prison Warden on their side - but a good prison warden is on their side and helps them out - they eventually have to play a game of football for their freedom - and win despite the Millwall firm kidnapping a girlfriend, so after initially throwing this crucial match, A Russian fixer is able to arrange a rescue, and they romp to victory and FREEDOM!

I watched it, so you don't have to

truly awful

Isn't the gorgeous Danny Dyer in this?

 

[Maharani]

I've just started Bates Motel. It's actually pretty ok.

EDIT: it's actually shit but I'm hooked now.

 

[Maharani]

I watched Method Man in the Mortician. He was very good. The film was a bit flimsy, but a good try.

He was in something I watched recently but I can't recall what it was. He's a good actor.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

He was great in The Wire.

I'm going to see him and Redman live soon...with my kid and my brother....

 

[Nine Bob Note]

Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation

Two films with subtitles inside a week! It was on Amazon and I didn't have to pay for it. Swedish James Bond for an adult audience. Clearly done on a budget but still really enjoyable

 

[Maharani]

Girlhood. What an irritating bunch of characters and so unbelievable in the change in personality of the main girl. AND playing a whole Rihanna track while girls jump around, dancing badly, was more than unnecessary. Rihanna IMO is unnecessary anyway.

Didn't finish the film as was ready to break the TV.

 

[krtek a houby]

EDIT: it's actually shit but I'm hooked now.

There's a whiff of Twin Peaks about it but that's not a bad thing. Norman is the least interesting character in it.

 

[Maharani]

There's a whiff of Twin Peaks about it but that's not a bad thing. Norman is the least interesting character in it.

I thought that at the first couple of eps but that feeling soon withered. I do like the mother and the elder brother is mmmm. But it's just silly, I suppose that's ok and it's easy to watch.

 

[krtek a houby]

I thought that at the first couple of eps but that feeling soon withered. I do like the mother and the elder brother is mmmm. But it's just silly, I suppose that's ok and it's easy to watch.

Dylan is easy on the eye but it's Sheriff Romero who gets my pulse racing. I don't know why; his character in Lost never did it for me!

 

[ViolentPanda]

I watched the most recent Punisher filmas Daredevil comes out tomorrow and the roster of eebil (or morally ambiguos) contains the Punisher. Which btw, if you want a character nickname that sounds like some sort of Dom, go with that.

it was a bit poor tbf. This fellas deal is that he's a bit tasty, his family got massacred and now he's just going to kill the bad people. I like a revenge/action flick as much as the next man but I'm left wondering whats the point of having this in marvelverse? I've seen the same story done a million times and often far better.

also, was the writer sieg heiling as he penned this line?

The point being that Frank Castle came from a morally-dubious background - CIA field agent and cop - so his reaction to the death of his family is of a piece with the social role he's previously played in society, sans the legality.

Speaking of Daredevil, in the comic-verse there are a few crossovers between DD and Punisher, via Jigsaw.

 

[Maharani]

Dylan is easy on the eye but it's Sheriff Romero who gets my pulse racing. I don't know why; his character in Lost never did it for me!

I preferred the other detective. Romero looks like he's got kohl no 1 on. Although I do like a man in eyeliner usually. I think he's just too cold for me.

 

[magneze]

Hyena
Corrupt cops and gangsters. Deserves better ratings. Thought it was good.

 

[oneunder]

Hyena
Corrupt cops and gangsters. Deserves better ratings. Thought it was good.

Soundtrack is nice too.

 

[DotCommunist]

Trailer Park Boys: Don't Legalize It

You'd think a running piss joke would get old but they maintained it along with many other lols. I think its fast becoming my fave comedy prog since peep show or misfits.

 

[Idris2002]

Badlands.

Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, 1973. Terence Malick directs.

Sheen turns in a much better performance than he does in the Cassandra Crossing, where he was Ava Gardner's toy boy. He's also playing a mass-murdering nonce though, so there's that.

Warren Oates turns in the best performance as Spacek's doomed father. The very best thing in it, though, is the scenes of the American mid-west, its open spaces and its big skies. Another one I wish I'd seen on the big screen.

It's also another film that makes me think that Americans have never really processed the trauma of the depression. Even though it was made forty years after FDR became president, a lot of the locations and sets look unchanged since the 1930s.

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

I noticed Philomena was just about to drop off the iPlayer, so watched it just to see Dench and Coogan really.

I've not been so blindsided by a film for ages, wow. Enraging, moving, beautifully played.