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

[krtek a houby]

Mandy

Nick Cage does Dario Argento like arthouse horror. Andrea Riseborough co-stars and Linus Roache is a narcissistic cult leader.

Wicked and weird. Bikers channeling Cenobites/Mad Max, nods to Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw, Heavy Metal etc.

And a haunting synth score from Johann Johanson. Liked and still letting it settle in.

 

[T & P]

Second viewing of Everything Everywhere All at Once. One of those films so great and multilayered, you enjoy it and appreciate it the second time round even more than the first

 

[magneze]

The title puts me off. Tiring.

 

[T & P]

The title puts me off. Tiring.

You’d be mad not to check it out just based on the vibes you’re getting from the title. It is fucking brilliant. I haven’t met even a single person who’s watched it and didn’t thoroughly enjoy it.

 

[Sue]

You’d be mad not to check it out just based on the vibes you’re getting from the title. It is fucking brilliant. I haven’t met even a single person who’s watched it and didn’t thoroughly enjoy it.

I didn't. I thought it was interesting but (as I said on the thread about it at the time) it's way too long, would've been better by being cut quite a bit.

 

[T & P]

It is quite long, though the pace is so fast it more than cancelled that out for me.

 

[Elpenor]

There needs to be a very good reason for a film to be longer than 2 hours IMO

 

[T & P]

There needs to be a very good reason for a film to be longer than 2 hours IMO

Kind of agree. But then again so many of the ‘top drawer’ films nowadays regardless of genre seem to be over the two-hour mark, you’d be severely restricting your viewing options if you excluded them.

At least this is fast paced. Imagine something like Elvis, at 2h 45m.

On this subject, I’d be very interested to see a list of award winning and award nominated films by running time. I reckon the percentage of Oscar-winning films in the last thirty years that had a running time under two hours is 20% at best. Where is Reno when you need him?

 

[Sue]

Kind of agree. But then again so many of the ‘top drawer’ films nowadays regardless of genre seem to be over the two-hour mark, you’d be severely restricting your viewing options if you excluded them.

At least this is fast paced. Imagine something like Elvis, at 2h 45m.

On this subject, I’d be very interested to see a list of award winning and award nominated films by running time. I reckon the percentage of Oscar-winning films in the last thirty years that had a running time under two hours is 20% at best. Where is Reno when you need him?

I'm not sure what that would tell us that's very interesting tbh. I don't set much store by Oscar nominations as an indicator of quality, for example -- an indicator of some things maybe but not necessarily that.

 

[Elpenor]

All I know is that longer doesn’t mean better.

 

[T & P]

All I know is that longer doesn’t mean better.

 

[krtek a houby]

Kind of agree. But then again so many of the ‘top drawer’ films nowadays regardless of genre seem to be over the two-hour mark, you’d be severely restricting your viewing options if you excluded them.

At least this is fast paced. Imagine something like Elvis, at 2h 45m.

On this subject, I’d be very interested to see a list of award winning and award nominated films by running time. I reckon the percentage of Oscar-winning films in the last thirty years that had a running time under two hours is 20% at best. Where is Reno when you need him?

Loved Elvis. Wouldn't call it a long film, at all. As have said plenty before, don't get the dislike for films that are longer than 2 hours. Esp when people will binge on multi episodes streaming.

 

[krtek a houby]

Second viewing of Everything Everywhere All at Once. One of those films so great and multilayered, you enjoy it and appreciate it the second time round even more than the first

Finally getting cinema release in about a fortnight. Can't wait! Love Michelle Yeoh and the idea of multiple universes/alternative worlds.

 

[Sue]

Loved Elvis. Wouldn't call it a long film, at all. As have said plenty before, don't get the dislike for films that are longer than 2 hours. Esp when people will binge on multi episodes streaming.

I don't dislike them being more than two hours long per se. I dislike them being more than two hours long when it's because they're flabby or poorly scripted or the director's being self indulgent and the film would've been better if shorter.

Unfortunately that ^ applies to many two hour plus films these days.

 

[krtek a houby]

I don't dislike them being more than two hours long per se. I dislike them being more than two hours long when it's because they're flabby or poorly scripted or the director's being self indulgent and the film would've been better if shorter.

Unfortunately that ^ applies to many two hour plus films these days.

Sure, if the film is in need of trimming surplus. Overall, do enjoy a behemoth at the pictures.

 

[Elpenor]

Watched in the last few weeks

Tora Tora Tora
Midway (70s one)
Rambo First Blood
An Inspector Calls (50s one)
Anzio
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Blood Simple

 

[T & P]

I don’t mind trying long films at all, certainly if the subject matter and/ or reviews are encouraging. I might however refrain from checking out a particularly long film at the cinema and wait until it becomes available to watch at home, because if I am paying a premium for the cinema experience I don’t want it spoiled by my small bladder or an uncomfortable seat. But if I’m at home and the flick sounds promising, why the hell restrict your choices by running time?

 

[Part 2]

I watched Satantango last year, it's over 7 hours and while I wouldn't say it's for everyone it's one of the most rewarding film experiences I've ever had. To see it in a cinema must be amazing. The other Bela Tarr films I've seen are more around the 150 minutes mark and don't disappoint in any way, they're like meditation, just beautiful to watch with so much time to soak up what's happening and what it means.

Everything Everywhere really wasn't for me it's almost the complete opposite. Other than the dildo fight I've completely forgotten it, it's a real marmite film.

 

[krtek a houby]

The Commitments

Dublin of 1991 and how strange it looks after all these years. Some of the humour has aged, but overall a nice nostalgic revisit. Lots of familiar faces.

 

[Elpenor]

The Commitments

Dublin of 1991 and how strange it looks after all these years. Some of the humour has aged, but overall a nice nostalgic revisit. Lots of familiar faces.

I picked up the soundtrack in a charity week and been listening to it in the car. Must rewatch the film

 

[redsquirrel]

A Distant Trumpet - Raoul Walsh's last film, a western with a cavalry officer having to deal with a poorly maintained group of troops, a romantic triangle and a conflict with the Apaches. It's some way distant from Walsh's best work above but it's decent enough and better than the late output of a lot of directors

Asako I & II - Kind of mixed feelings about this, one of those films you admire more than like. The idea is interesting and the script, plot, acting, look all good. But I didn't get into the film for whatever reason. Probably me rather than it.

The Cobweb - Vincent Minelli drama about the entanglements - romantic, professional and mental - at a psychiatric institution. Richard Widmark is the doctor , Gloria Grahame his wife, Lauren Bacall an assistant and Liilan Gish the administrator. It's very 50s but - to me anyway - that is a good thing, with that sort of 50s liberal vibe. Not in the same class about Minelli's Some Came Running but better than a lot of stuff.

The League of Gentlemen - Basil Deaeden's 1960 crime caper with Jack Hawkins as the leader of group of ex-military officers that stage a robbery. A old classic that stands up to repeated viewing.

 

[krtek a houby]

Flashback (1990)

Denny Hopper, Kiefer Sutherland, Carol Kane in an enjoyable generational clash comedy. Hopper plays a 60s activist and Kiefer is the FBI agent tasked to bring him in. Lots of Easy Rider references and it feels a bit like Midnight Run with less budget.

Could have trimmed the home movies scene, Al Jolson reference and lashings of sentimentality but pleasant enough waste of a few hours.

 

[redsquirrel]

The Trouble with You - French comedy, that just is not really very funny. Adèle Heanel does a sterling job trying to rescue this but it is just a bit crap. There are a few scenes that are amusing but overall the gags are just weak and rather obvious. I've seen it called a screwball comedy but the brilliance of screwball comedies was the very high quality of the writing, something this does not have.

Harry and Tonto - Now here is good writing. Art Carney is excellent as the elderly widower who sets off on a journey across the states to see his kids accompanied by his cat. Good writing, good acting, some very funny gags, his polish mate is great - "capitalist bastards".

 

[Chz]

Harley Quinn꞉ A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special
Marvellously over the top and ridiculous. If you've enjoyed any of the HQ animated series, seek out the Valentine's special. Every time you think they've maxed out their absurdity budget...

 

[May Kasahara]

Fighting With My Family. Enjoyable fish-out-of-water wrestling dramedy. Plenty of training montages

 

[Nikkormat]

B Movie

One man's story of living the dream, which in this case was his participation in the Kreuzberg scene of 1980s West Berlin (the man is Mark Reeder, who was Factory records' man in the former Prussian capital). Essentially a record of an utterly lost world at this point: contemporary hipsterdom is naught but a bastardised version of this sort of set-up.

Nena, Einsturzende Neubaten, New Order and Nick Cave all come and go, but the real star is the scene itself, and the city itself, which was an utterly different place to what it is today. One scene has graffitists on the western side of the wall being warned by the western cops that their safety cannot be guaranteed if the GDR cops get stroppy with them. And sure enough a GDR border guard pops his head up over the wall to tell them to stop.

Can't say I liked the flippant use of the swastika for shock value in the early scenes; OK it was something some of the punks were into, but it was also a bloody stupid thing to do.

Just watched this. Fantastic bit of history. Well worth the time, highly recommended.

 

[imposs1904]

Just watched this. Fantastic bit of history. Well worth the time, highly recommended.

Is Ian Walker mentioned in the documentary?

 

[Nikkormat]

Is Ian Walker mentioned in the documentary?

Not that I noticed. Not mentioned on the IMDB page either.

 

[imposs1904]

Not that I noticed. Not mentioned on the IMDB page either.

A shame 'cos Walker and Reeder were friends in Berlin in the 80s, and Reeder is featured in Walker's book about Berlin from that period.

 

[Nikkormat]

A shame 'cos Walker and Reeder were friends in Berlin in the 80s, and Reeder is featured in Walker's book about Berlin from that period.

View attachment 363984

That looks interesting, cheers.