redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Probably my favourite documentary film of all.
What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)
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trabuquera
Modesty Bag
Hidden Figures - the one about the African American women who worked for NASA during the space race. Had it recorded but never got round to it as I expected it to be preachy and mainstream and glib-eral. Which it sort of is, but it's also much much better than that, with high-wattage star power, more fun than expected, brilliant production design and lots of great early-60s fashion and architecture and music. The message that 'workplace discrimination is bad m'kay?' is driven home repeatedly but the period detail and the performances really make it a worthwhile use of your time. It still doesn't crack the central problem of how to 'do' (not exactly to explain, but to show why it matters) complex maths and the workings of truly inspired intelligence though. Lots of chalkboards and furious equation-ing.
ska invita
back on the other side
Embrace The Serpent (2015)
Early 20th century white men going up the Amazon film, in the tradition of Aguirre Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo < but very different, placing native tribespeople - or rather, tribesperson, central to the story/perspective . An excellent and important film. Right up there with the Herzogs ones, and in some aspects better - no mean feat. A film that stays with you as a memory...or a dream or a song, to put it into the films themes
Some top notch acting, especially from the two actors who play the stoic Karamakate, neither professional actors, always a good moment. Manduca really well portrayed too.
Antonio Bolivar who played old Karamakate died last month, likely Covid
www.newyorker.com
Its on the Channel 4 OD player
Early 20th century white men going up the Amazon film, in the tradition of Aguirre Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo < but very different, placing native tribespeople - or rather, tribesperson, central to the story/perspective . An excellent and important film. Right up there with the Herzogs ones, and in some aspects better - no mean feat. A film that stays with you as a memory...or a dream or a song, to put it into the films themes
Some top notch acting, especially from the two actors who play the stoic Karamakate, neither professional actors, always a good moment. Manduca really well portrayed too.
Antonio Bolivar who played old Karamakate died last month, likely Covid
The Death of Antonio Bolívar, an Indigenous Elder in the Amazon Rain Forest
Bolívar, who achieved fame appearing in the film “Embrace of the Serpent,” as a man forgetting his roots, is believed to have been infected by the coronavirus, which is now threatening Amazon communities.
Its on the Channel 4 OD player
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ska invita
back on the other side
There's a good film in Iplayer up for the next 2 weeks
www.bbc.co.uk
....tells the story of the home of Belfast Punk, Good Vibrations, and one Terri Hooley, the man behind it
Enjoyable film, done in that BBC Films style, make everyone a bit two dimensional, a bit cartoony, tweak the story for maximum convenient story telling purpose etc...similiar to Pride in style
Drama and comedy, but theatrical....As someone totally unaware of all this it didnt offend me.
Enjoyed it and learned a lot
Two bits of excellent follow on watching are these two slices of the real thing
player.bfi.org.uk
and also
Shellshock Rock (1979)
"overcoming sectarian divisions to come together and live their lives their own way, united by music" perhaps the key message the Good Vibrations film has.
Catch it all before it gets taken offline again
BBC Two - Good Vibrations
A music lover decides to open a record shop in 1970s Belfast and call it Good Vibrations.
Enjoyable film, done in that BBC Films style, make everyone a bit two dimensional, a bit cartoony, tweak the story for maximum convenient story telling purpose etc...similiar to Pride in style
Drama and comedy, but theatrical....As someone totally unaware of all this it didnt offend me.
Enjoyed it and learned a lot
Two bits of excellent follow on watching are these two slices of the real thing
Watch Self-Conscious Over You - BFI Player
Witness The Outcasts at their incendiary best in this thrilling concert film
player.bfi.org.uk
and also
Shellshock Rock (1979)
"overcoming sectarian divisions to come together and live their lives their own way, united by music" perhaps the key message the Good Vibrations film has.
Catch it all before it gets taken offline again
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
Fascinating tale of Colonel Percy Fawcet and his search for The Lost City of Z . A bit British stiff upperlip but at the same time absorbing
ska invita, if you haven't see it, Birds of Passage (by the same team as Embrace of the Serpent) is also excellent.
ska invita
back on the other side
Idris2002
cavalcade of hubris
There's a good film in Iplayer up for the next 2 weeks
....tells the story of the home of Belfast Punk, Good Vibrations, and one Terri Hooley, the man behind itBBC Two - Good Vibrations
A music lover decides to open a record shop in 1970s Belfast and call it Good Vibrations.
Enjoyable film, done in that BBC Films style, make everyone a bit two dimensional, a bit cartoony, tweak the story for maximum convenient story telling purpose etc...similiar to Pride in style
Drama and comedy, but theatrical....As someone totally unaware of all this it didnt offend me.
Enjoyed it and learned a lot
Two bits of excellent follow on watching are these two slices of the real thing
Watch Self-Conscious Over You - BFI Player
Witness The Outcasts at their incendiary best in this thrilling concert film
and also
Shellshock Rock (1979)
"overcoming sectarian divisions to come together and live their lives their own way, united by music" perhaps the key message the Good Vibrations film has.
Catch it all before it gets taken offline again
Well worth watching, yes. I did ask someone who was around then "is it true that punk brought the communities together?" and he said "Belfast was too scary in them days, so we used to go and hang out in Bangor".
While watching it, I thought "wow, they did a really good job of recreating the look and feel of Belfast in the 1970s and 80s". But then I thought, "hang on, Belfast still looks like that".
Days of the Bagnold Summer... based on a comic book I haven't read. When his dad cancels a visit to see him in Florida, Daniel (Earl Cave)l, a metal loving 15 year old spends the Summer with his mum (Monica Dolan). After watching the trailer I wasn't sure I was gonna enjoy it so was a bit cycnical...maybe I had a Kevin the teenager type character in mind as a reference point.
The dialogue sometimes felt a bit wooden but there's plenty of laughs and some real cringey moments where Rob Brydon plays one of Daniel's teachers and goes for a date with his Mum. An easy watch though and I haven't got much concentration in me at the moment for complex things.
The dialogue sometimes felt a bit wooden but there's plenty of laughs and some real cringey moments where Rob Brydon plays one of Daniel's teachers and goes for a date with his Mum. An easy watch though and I haven't got much concentration in me at the moment for complex things.
Orang Utan
Acceptable through usage
I really liked it. That garage door moment! 
Earl Cave is the spit of his dad isn’t he?
Earl Cave is the spit of his dad isn’t he?
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Saw this last night and had pretty much the same thoughts, really really disappointing from Denis. Just sort of meandered (and not in a good way) through a series of conversations. I actually thought the final scene was one of the best bits of the film but it was too late and utterly disconnected from the previous 90 mins.
I missed this at the cinema (thankfully) but I remember HOME advertising it and Philippe Garrel's Lover for a Day (also available on MUBI) as sort of companion pieces - that is a meandering film on relationships that is excellent.
I Vitelloni - Does not quite reach the heights of La Strada but still great work, and amazingly fresh considering that it is almost 70 years old and very much a story (exploits of young men dreaming of their futures) that has been told many times. Fellini gives a scene of real vigour and life.
Yea...although I hadn't realised it was him in series 2 of The End of the Fucking World until I read it.
krtek a houby
Satin is my master
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Roger Corman tale of love, greed, desperation, murder and dentistry.
Great cameos from Dick Miller and Jack Nicholson.
Inherent Vice (2015)
PT Anderson does 70s noir. Great cast, soundtrack and slightly confusing story.
Roger Corman tale of love, greed, desperation, murder and dentistry.
Great cameos from Dick Miller and Jack Nicholson.
Inherent Vice (2015)
PT Anderson does 70s noir. Great cast, soundtrack and slightly confusing story.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
MUBI have a season on Indian cinema. Have to say I'm almost no experience of such, I've heard of Ray (though not seen any of his films) but that's about it so this I hope this will be good introduction.
Uski Roti/Our Daily Bread - the debut film by a director called Mani Kaul who I'd not heard of but has a name and after watching this I can see why. It's quite a challenging watch, so probably was not the best thing for me to watch yesterday when I was knackered, to do it justice I probably need to re-watch it. But even tired and missing some of the subtly it is clear that it is a remarkable work. The core story is clear enough, a wife makes and delivers meals to her faithless husband but the film plays around with time and place very effectively. Bresson's influence is clear, definitely worth checking out but you do need to give it the concentration it deserves.
Uski Roti/Our Daily Bread - the debut film by a director called Mani Kaul who I'd not heard of but has a name and after watching this I can see why. It's quite a challenging watch, so probably was not the best thing for me to watch yesterday when I was knackered, to do it justice I probably need to re-watch it. But even tired and missing some of the subtly it is clear that it is a remarkable work. The core story is clear enough, a wife makes and delivers meals to her faithless husband but the film plays around with time and place very effectively. Bresson's influence is clear, definitely worth checking out but you do need to give it the concentration it deserves.
krtek a houby
Satin is my master
The Island (2006)
Russian film about a priest living on a remote island, racked with guilt over his past. Reminded me a bit of Silence but with a sense of humour.
Russian film about a priest living on a remote island, racked with guilt over his past. Reminded me a bit of Silence but with a sense of humour.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
92 in the Shade - Peter Fonda, Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton play boat guides under tension in Florida. Very, very 70s - rambling plot, strange (partially drawn) characters, storylines that are introduced but not really dealt with - if you are looking for a coherent story then don't bother with it, but as a series of strange vignettes it kind of works. I can imagine some people really disliking it but to me to has a certain charm.
Our Little Sister - fantastic portrayal of a family, three sisters take in their younger half-sister after their father dies, very much Ozu inspired, no great "dramatic" set pieces but a series of unfolding scenes looking at the lives of these people and their friends. Absolutely great.
Our Little Sister - fantastic portrayal of a family, three sisters take in their younger half-sister after their father dies, very much Ozu inspired, no great "dramatic" set pieces but a series of unfolding scenes looking at the lives of these people and their friends. Absolutely great.
I rewatched the Shining last night after not seeing it for maybe 20 years. I ended up really annoyed with it. Horrible overuse of the soundtrack and flashy camera work to the point it kept taking me out of the film. If you're sat there thinking, "oh I like the piece of Penderecki and the way the camera swings round the corner is gorgeous" then you're not absorbed into the film - which is crucial for horror. The way the soundtrack in particular is slavered over the whole film is particularly grating - nothing much is happening in this scene but we need to constantly remind you that this is horror. Woo scary. Woo scary. At one point you used a heartbeat soundtrack Kubrick. You bastard. Why? Just because woo scary (it was that point I snapped). Chanting voices. Is there suddenly a religious subtext maybe? No just woo scary. River of blood - is that an abstract representation of the horror of the hotel's history. Is it hell. No it's just woo scary. Flash up scenes of hacked up bodies. Woo scary. Obligatory twist at the end. Woo scary.
All these techniques are not integrated with the story telling. Kubrick uses Ligeti in 2001 Space Odyssey to give you a sense of the alien, abstract and complex. Here it's just hey "this has some high and low string noises and that's pretty scary isn't it"? It's not used at certain points to communicate the uncommuncatible. It's slavered everywhere. It's an insult to all this classy music he has employed.
And yes its fans will say it has half a dozen subtexts. But how shallow are they? Vague mention of an Indian burial ground not followed up. Something about Danny's ghost friend not followed up. Something about Danny's shining talent that leads nowhere. Domestic violence, bullying? Sure but it doesn't show how it ends up there, Jack Nicholson is pulling scary faces and being dickish from the start. Obsession? What's the obsession even about and why should I care?
So all it is is a descent into madness that's relies on Jack Nicholson pulling and Shelley Duvall pulling faces (yes they're both really, really good at it, but take that away and you are left with nothing). Good horror films have subtext all this has is technique. This film subverts nothing.
It's made me really angry. It felt like an insult to the genre. It's like Kubrick thought "well this is just a horror film, we don't need to worry about characters or subtext or emotions other than fear and anger. I'm going to use my talents to create atmospheric film and hit the audience over the head with it. Easy peasy." Bloody coaster.
It's a shit horror film made well. But it's still a shit horror film.
----
Just needed to get that off my chest.
I do like his other films though.
All these techniques are not integrated with the story telling. Kubrick uses Ligeti in 2001 Space Odyssey to give you a sense of the alien, abstract and complex. Here it's just hey "this has some high and low string noises and that's pretty scary isn't it"? It's not used at certain points to communicate the uncommuncatible. It's slavered everywhere. It's an insult to all this classy music he has employed.
And yes its fans will say it has half a dozen subtexts. But how shallow are they? Vague mention of an Indian burial ground not followed up. Something about Danny's ghost friend not followed up. Something about Danny's shining talent that leads nowhere. Domestic violence, bullying? Sure but it doesn't show how it ends up there, Jack Nicholson is pulling scary faces and being dickish from the start. Obsession? What's the obsession even about and why should I care?
So all it is is a descent into madness that's relies on Jack Nicholson pulling and Shelley Duvall pulling faces (yes they're both really, really good at it, but take that away and you are left with nothing). Good horror films have subtext all this has is technique. This film subverts nothing.
It's made me really angry. It felt like an insult to the genre. It's like Kubrick thought "well this is just a horror film, we don't need to worry about characters or subtext or emotions other than fear and anger. I'm going to use my talents to create atmospheric film and hit the audience over the head with it. Easy peasy." Bloody coaster.
It's a shit horror film made well. But it's still a shit horror film.
----
Just needed to get that off my chest.
I do like his other films though.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Oh god. As a layman with no pretence to understand or get the finer points of acclaimed films or the genius of their creators, I am often apprehensive about criticising certain films that are particularly revered by critics and/ or students of the art form in question.I rewatched the Shining last night after not seeing it for maybe 20 years. I ended up really annoyed with it. Horrible overuse of the soundtrack and flashy camera work to the point it kept taking me out of the film. If you're sat there thinking, "oh I like the piece of Penderecki and the way the camera swings round the corner is gorgeous" then you're not absorbed into the film - which is crucial for horror. The way the soundtrack in particular is slavered over the whole film is particularly grating - nothing much is happening in this scene but we need to constantly remind you that this is horror. Woo scary. Woo scary. At one point you used a heartbeat soundtrack Kubrick. You bastard. Why? Just because woo scary (it was that point I snapped). Chanting voices. Is there suddenly a religious subtext maybe? No just woo scary. River of blood - is that an abstract representation of the horror of the hotel's history. Is it hell. No it's just woo scary. Flash up scenes of hacked up bodies. Woo scary. Obligatory twist at the end. Woo scary.
All these techniques are not integrated with the story telling. Kubrick uses Ligeti in 2001 Space Odyssey to give you a sense of the alien, abstract and complex. Here it's just hey "this has some high and low string noises and that's pretty scary isn't it"? It's not used at certain points to communicate the uncommuncatible. It's slavered everywhere. It's an insult to all this classy music he has employed.
And yes its fans will say it has half a dozen subtexts. But how shallow are they? Vague mention of an Indian burial ground not followed up. Something about Danny's ghost friend not followed up. Something about Danny's shining talent that leads nowhere. Domestic violence, bullying? Sure but it doesn't show how it ends up there, Jack Nicholson is pulling scary faces and being dickish from the start. Obsession? What's the obsession even about and why should I care?
So all it is is a descent into madness that's relies on Jack Nicholson pulling and Shelley Duvall pulling faces (yes they're both really, really good at it, but take that away and you are left with nothing). Good horror films have subtext all this has is technique. This film subverts nothing.
It's made me really angry. It felt like an insult to the genre. It's like Kubrick thought "well this is just a horror film, we don't need to worry about characters or subtext or emotions other than fear and anger. I'm going to use my talents to create atmospheric film and hit the audience over the head with it. Easy peasy." Bloody coaster.
It's a shit horror film made well. But it's still a shit horror film.
----
Just needed to get that off my chest.
I do like his other films though.
As it happens I love The Shining. It ignores or chooses to play down much of the supernatural aspect of the story as told in the novel, which apparently was the main reason why Stephen King hated it. But there is a lot to be admired about the film, not least the acting, setting and claustrophobic atmosphere. The bathroom scene showing the exchange between (ghost) Grady and Jack Torrance is absolutely superb, and when you read an analysis of the scene and the significance of even subtle changes in the camera angle, it all makes sense and appreciate the genius of the man.
Having said that, I found parts 2001 A Space Odyssey to be boring as fuck, and Eyes Wide Shut insufferable shite. If that makes me an eejit, so be it.
Reno
The In Kraut
Much of that is valid. I really loved the novel and that's exactly how I (and many others, including Stephen King) felt when Kubrick's The Shining first came out. The first half hour feels like this is going to be the scariest film ever made, but that dissipates once Nicholson takes the film towards comedy with his Big Bad Wolf turn. I've come to love the film as an audio-visual experience though, it's Kubrick's aesthetic at its most distilled and I love the way he uses the musical cues.I rewatched the Shining last night after not seeing it for maybe 20 years. I ended up really annoyed with it. Horrible overuse of the soundtrack and flashy camera work to the point it kept taking me out of the film. If you're sat there thinking, "oh I like the piece of Penderecki and the way the camera swings round the corner is gorgeous" then you're not absorbed into the film - which is crucial for horror. The way the soundtrack in particular is slavered over the whole film is particularly grating - nothing much is happening in this scene but we need to constantly remind you that this is horror. Woo scary. Woo scary. At one point you used a heartbeat soundtrack Kubrick. You bastard. Why? Just because woo scary (it was that point I snapped). Chanting voices. Is there suddenly a religious subtext maybe? No just woo scary. River of blood - is that an abstract representation of the horror of the hotel's history. Is it hell. No it's just woo scary. Flash up scenes of hacked up bodies. Woo scary. Obligatory twist at the end. Woo scary.
All these techniques are not integrated with the story telling. Kubrick uses Ligeti in 2001 Space Odyssey to give you a sense of the alien, abstract and complex. Here it's just hey "this has some high and low string noises and that's pretty scary isn't it"? It's not used at certain points to communicate the uncommuncatible. It's slavered everywhere. It's an insult to all this classy music he has employed.
And yes its fans will say it has half a dozen subtexts. But how shallow are they? Vague mention of an Indian burial ground not followed up. Something about Danny's ghost friend not followed up. Something about Danny's shining talent that leads nowhere. Domestic violence, bullying? Sure but it doesn't show how it ends up there, Jack Nicholson is pulling scary faces and being dickish from the start. Obsession? What's the obsession even about and why should I care?
So all it is is a descent into madness that's relies on Jack Nicholson pulling and Shelley Duvall pulling faces (yes they're both really, really good at it, but take that away and you are left with nothing). Good horror films have subtext all this has is technique. This film subverts nothing.
It's made me really angry. It felt like an insult to the genre. It's like Kubrick thought "well this is just a horror film, we don't need to worry about characters or subtext or emotions other than fear and anger. I'm going to use my talents to create atmospheric film and hit the audience over the head with it. Easy peasy." Bloody coaster.
It's a shit horror film made well. But it's still a shit horror film.
----
Just needed to get that off my chest.
I do like his other films though.
I prefer the shorter European cut to to the longer US cut which doesn't add much of importance and slows down the already deliberate pacing to a crawl.
The Kubrick classic I don't like is A Clockwork Orange, it gives me a headache.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
What did you think of Eyes Wide Shut?
Reno
The In Kraut
I've only seen it once and I didn't care for it much, but probably should give it another try. Many of Kubrick's films have grown on me on a rewatch. It still hasn't experienced the critical reevaluation of other, initially poorly received Kubrick films like The Shining or Barry Lyndon and isn't considered to be among his better films. I also don't like Full Metal Jacket, after a good first half it goes down the drain.
The first time I saw 2001 in my teens on TV I didn't quite get what the fuss was about. Seeing it on the big screen many years later completely changed my mind and it is now among my favourite films.
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You probably know more about film than me. I didn't like the bathroom scene because it just felt like another random horror thing, although it's far from the worst part of the film. There are two scenes that really worked for me, the first time the two girls show up and the part where the cook walks into the hotel. Both very related to how the film doesn't just scream "horror film!" at you in particularly via the soundtrack. Suddenly a bit of quiet and the film breathes.
Nine Bob Note
Self-Isolating before it was fashionable
Vice's The Dark Side of the Ring
Behind the scenes scandal in the wrestling business. All available to download off of Sky. So far, I've found it to be not too in depth and seemingly aimed at former wrestling fans and casual observers who have heard of the big names and enjoy scandal, true crime etc, so some of the episodes - the Montreal Screwjob for example - I found pretty poor, but I've been fascinated hearing about the Road Warriors, the murder of Dino Bravo, the relationship between Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth etc
Behind the scenes scandal in the wrestling business. All available to download off of Sky. So far, I've found it to be not too in depth and seemingly aimed at former wrestling fans and casual observers who have heard of the big names and enjoy scandal, true crime etc, so some of the episodes - the Montreal Screwjob for example - I found pretty poor, but I've been fascinated hearing about the Road Warriors, the murder of Dino Bravo, the relationship between Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth etc
The musical cues were the thing I hated the most, partly because I know Kubrick can be great for exactly that. The film doesn't let up with the noise. It feels manipulative not relevant. But anyway this has been cathartic thanks.
PS That final image of Nicholson - that was comedy right?
Reno
The In Kraut
I love the bathroom scene and how he cast those two actresses and I do actually find that scary. I think he tried to not do the thing with ghosts other horror films did at the time, have them be transparent fade in and out. He didn't use any optical effects and instead did everything with editing.
I recently watched Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining and while it's not entirely without merit, the bathtub ghost from room 237 turns up in it and she looks so rubbish compared to the Kubrick film. For the "crone" version they cast a younger, more attractive actress and then they put lots of makeup on her, which makes her look like a cliche movie ghost. There is something physical and concrete to the ghosts in The Shining which I think makes them effective and different.
Reno
The In Kraut
Everything with Nicholson kind of seems to be.
I agree it was an effective scene. But in context how does it fit into the story? And if it doesn't what does it symbolise? If it's there to just scare then I'm annoyed whether or not it's effective. Kubrick did some great war films, he seemed to get it with those, but I'm glad this was his only horror. Random scares are the hallmark of bad horror, all the best horror films have a bit of intellect to them even if they have the reputation that they don't.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
He was famously extremely fastidious and demanding, not only of the actors but the props & set. One well known anecdote is that in the scene when Wendy flicks through the half written novel her husband had been meant to be typing for weeks, and sees that it is just hundreds of pages of ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’.
Even though the shot only shows the written content of about 10-20 pages as Wendy flicks through them, Kubrick insisted that some crew member must actually type the several hundred pages that made pile. Not even photocopy some of them- every sheet had to be typed individually. I’m sure his incredible attention to detail made his films what they are, but the above demand is unjustifiable bullshit. From what I’ve read he could come across as a sociopath and horrible person to work under.
Noticed Filmworker was on last night on Film4. If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it -- it's a documentary about a man who devoted his life to working with Kubrick at great personal cost.
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