Stickied The Last Film You Saw Thread (& Discussion)

[Indian Dan]

Just watched In Bruges - brilliant black comedy.

 

[Darlo On Tour]

Rampage (2018) 6/10

This movie is by no means great film making, but i found it entertaining with all the action and special effects. It's a basic bromance story about a guy and a gorilla. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Dunkirk (2017) 9/10

Dunkirk is a really good movie, especially the way it's told as three separate stories with Land, Sea and Air. A genuinely powerful and emotionally feat of storytelling to reflect the perspectives of the soldiers on water, ground, and air. A masterpiece from Christopher Nolan. Starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney and Jack Lowden.

 

[Stevencc]

Il cinico, l'infame, il violento (The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist) (1977)

Big Merl plays a angry commissioner (as usual) that is targeted for the role he played in getting an influential criminal incarcerated. He is attacked and left for dead - but survives. The media and the authorities report that he is dead, giving him the chance to escape to Switzerland and hide out. Instead, big Merl does what big Merl does and seeks violent revenge.

This one was great and opened my eyes to the pure entertainment that Maurizio Merli offers. He is cheesy but he is wonderful. He does his own stunts and you can tell that he fucking loves it.

9/10

Città violenta (The Family) (1970)

Charles Bronson plays a hitman that is set up by his girlfriend and a gang boss. He escapes and seeks revenge (bit of a theme).

This one was more of an action film with a higher budget than the others I've been watching but it was enjoyable - Bronson was great and Telly Savalas was also very good for the short periods that he was actually in the film.

8/10

I've got one more poliziotteschi to watch tonight before I move on to chambara films - Japanese samurai films, basically.

 

[Darlo On Tour]

Final Destination (2000)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Final Destination 3 (2006)
The Final Destination (2009)
Final Destination 5 (2011)

Been watching this franchise over the last few days, I really enjoyed the Final Destination series, I thought the 5th one was the best. And the first one was a satisfactory movie.

I think the second and third were banking on that late 90s/00s hot teen horror stuff that Scream and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' paved the way for. But still pretty decent to watch.

The only weak link is The Final Destination, which is cheapened by the poor special effects.

 

[mowgli]

Jigsaw (2017)
A complete gore fest as expected with some bizarre deaths 7/10.

 

[Stevencc]

Il grande racket (The Big Racket) (1976)

A group of ne'er-do-wells terrorise the businesses of Rome through violent and uncompromising extortion. A group of the affected align themselves with police inspector Palmieri and head to a warehouse to instigate the shootout to end all shootouts.

I've ended on an enjoyable poliziotteschi here. Fabio Testi was good, as always. The gang of extortionists were brutal - wives and daughters of the business owners were raped, murdered, urinated on and burned alive.

One scene shows Testi rolling down a giant hill in a car after being pushed over the edge by the aforementioned naughty people, with the camera rolling inside the tumbling car and it looks like they literally just did the stunt and shot it at is, without trickery and effects. Ridiculous.

8/10

 

[mowgli]

The Commuter (2018)
Liam Neeson in an average thriller. 6/10.

 

[Stevencc]

羅生門 (Rashomon) (1950)

The story of the rape of a woman and the murder of her samurai husband as told by a woodcutter, a priest, the samurai and his wife.

An intriguing film on the nature of truth, subjectivity and honour. It was wonderfully shot, of course, being directed by Kurosawa. It was interesting to see what is now a common plot device (flashbacks and multiple accounts of the same event as viewed through different eyes) being used for one of the first times in film.

8/10

 

[SALTIRE]

羅生門 (Rashomon) (1950)

The story of the rape of a woman and the murder of her samurai husband as told by a woodcutter, a priest, the samurai and his wife.

An intriguing film on the nature of truth, subjectivity and honour. It was wonderfully shot, of course, being directed by Kurosawa. It was interesting to see what is now a common plot device (flashbacks and multiple accounts of the same event as viewed through different eyes) being used for one of the first times in film.

8/10

One of the rare Kurosawa films I wasn't fond of.

 

[Stevencc]

One of the rare Kurosawa films I wasn't fond of.

I've not seen the majority of them yet but I know they'll all struggle to beat Ikiru.

 

[SALTIRE]

I've not seen the majority of them yet but I know they'll all struggle to beat Ikiru.

Aye Ikiru is something else and Takashi Shimura, who was a regular with Kurosawa, was a superb character actor, and was extraordinary in it. Throne Of Blood, Ran and of course Seven Samurai are quality also off the top of my head.

 

[Stevencc]

Aye Ikiru is something else and Takashi Shimura, who was a regular with Kurosawa, was a superb character actor, and was extraordinary in it. Throne Of Blood, Ran and of course Seven Samurai are quality also off the top of my head.

His performance in Ikiru was a masterclass and he was very good in Rashomon too, yeah - I've yet to see him in anything else but he's set high standards in the two that I have.

I will be getting through those three during the course of my chanbara run - very much looking forward to watching them.

 

[mowgli]

Bushwick (2012)
Absolute shit/10.

 

[Darlo On Tour]

The Commuter (2018)
Liam Neeson in an average thriller. 6/10.

This one reminds me of maybe Taken, but on a train. I liked the seductive Vera Farmiga, she's a little cutie.

 

[Stevencc]

修羅雪姫 (Lady Snowblood) (1973)

On her prison deathbed, a woman (Sayo) gives birth to a daughter. During the birth Sayo admits to her fellow inmates that she was the victim of a gang-rape committed by three of the four criminals that murdered her husband. Her imprisonment is a result of her managing to exact revenge upon one of the gang, killing him in the process. Unable to get her hands on the remaining three criminals during her incarceration, Sayo slept with as many prison guards as possible - hoping to have a child capable of taking vengeance on her behalf. Lady Snowblood is born and seeks to do just that.

Great film, completely bonkers too. Extremely violent, bright red blood squirting all over the place. Beautifully shot - a feast for the eyes.

9/10

 

[SALTIRE]

修羅雪姫 (Lady Snowblood) (1973)

On her prison deathbed, a woman (Sayo) gives birth to a daughter. During the birth Sayo admits to her fellow inmates that she was the victim of a gang-rape committed by three of the four criminals that murdered her husband. Her imprisonment is a result of her managing to exact revenge upon one of the gang, killing him in the process. Unable to get her hands on the remaining three criminals during her incarceration, Sayo slept with as many prison guards as possible - hoping to have a child capable of taking vengeance on her behalf. Lady Snowblood is born and seeks to do just that.

Great film, completely bonkers too. Extremely violent, bright red blood squirting all over the place. Beautifully shot - a feast for the eyes.

9/10

Ooh never heard of that one. Will need to hunt it down.

 

[Stevencc]

修羅雪姫　怨み恋歌 (Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance) (1974)

Lady Snowblood is arrested and sentenced to death by hanging for the killing of several of the policemen that attacked her in the early scenes of the film. Shortly before her sentence is due to be carried out she is rescued by the head of a secret police force and told that she can escape her fate by spying on an anarchist.

This one was, again, beautiful to look at. The plot, while enjoyable, wasn't as strong as the first one - which had me hooked from the very start.

8/10

 

[silkyman]

Went to see Hotel Transylvania 3 with the kid this afternoon.

Regressing to the Adam Sandler mean, unfortunately. It had entertaining moments, and was daft enough to pass the time, but not that great. You could see most of the plot coming from a mile off (which you could with the otherwise excellent Incredibles 2, TBH) and most of it felt forced, with scenes and 'jokes' clearly recycled from the first couple and rejected.

 

[Stevencc]

切腹 (Harakiri) (1962)

The story of Hanshirō Tsugumo, a ronin. He travels to a palace courtyard to request to use its ceremonial grounds to commit harakiri. Before Tsugumo prepares to commit the act, he recounts a story to those gathered in the courtyard...mayhem ensues.

Fantastic film. The story is wonderful and is paced to perfection with the almost entirely percussion based soundtrack adding to the tension inherent in it. Everything is in perfect balance - the speed at which we move through the story, the piecemeal manner in which we are fed the violent elements in the story (adding to the power when they do arrive), the soundtrack, acting, the look - it's all perfect. Watch it.

10/10

 

[SALTIRE]

切腹 (Harakiri) (1962)

The story of Hanshirō Tsugumo, a ronin. He travels to a palace courtyard to request to use its ceremonial grounds to commit harakiri. Before Tsugumo prepares to commit the act, he recounts a story to those gathered in the courtyard...mayhem ensues.

Fantastic film. The story is wonderful and is paced to perfection with the almost entirely percussion based soundtrack adding to the tension inherent in it. Everything is in perfect balance - the speed at which we move through the story, the piecemeal manner in which we are fed the violent elements in the story (adding to the power when they do arrive), the soundtrack, acting, the look - it's all perfect. Watch it.

10/10

Oh yeah that is a belter of a film, and shows the hypocrisy and rigidity of the Japanese honour system well.

 

[Dirk]

Didn't watch here for a few days and therefore didn't notice that Steven moved east.

Stevencc: I like your new selection as I am always fond of japanese films, especially when they have Ninjas, Samurais or similar in it (OT, coincidentally actually I am playing NIOH, a Dark Souls like game which is settled in ancient Japan. I am celebrating it, one of the best games of 2017 /OT)

We Germans always had (and still have) sympathy for the japanese. Once they were called " die Preußen Asiens (the prussians of Asia)" because of their military orientation; we had a Kaiser (emperor) and they had one (and still have) and their work ethics are not that different to ours.

What I wanted to ask, do you watch the movies in original japanese with english subtitles or in an english dubbed version?
I watch these classics like Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo or Ran in original although I don't understand a word japanese but I always like the "drama" when they speak (another thing which is not so different to us ) and have german subtitles on.

Thanks for the description of the Lady Snowblood movie(s).
I didn't hear of them before but it sounds interesting. Will take an internet research soon.


edit: Just read that the "Lady Snowblood" was role-model for Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill".

 

[SALTIRE]

Just read that the "Lady Snowblood" was role-model for Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill".

Wouldn't surprise me Dirk, he plagiarises everything anyway and has no original thought of his own.

I watch all foreign films in subtitles if I can. Dubbed films just aren't the same, unless they are the laughably bad Chinese martial art films of the seventies and eighties. Tried to get a subbed stream for The Raid 2 the other week, but couldn't. Now there was nothing wrong with the film, but the dubbing distanced some of the duologues for me.

 

[Darlo On Tour]

Went to see Hotel Transylvania 3 with the kid this afternoon.

Regressing to the Adam Sandler mean, unfortunately. It had entertaining moments, and was daft enough to pass the time, but not that great. You could see most of the plot coming from a mile off (which you could with the otherwise excellent Incredibles 2, TBH) and most of it felt forced, with scenes and 'jokes' clearly recycled from the first couple and rejected.

I liked the first two movies of Hotel Transylvania. I thought they were pretty good when i watched them with the grandaughter. Other than not that great, the main thing is did the kid enjoy the movie.

 

[Darlo On Tour]

Genius (2016) 4/10

Genius can't live up to its title that's for sure, a true story about Thomas Wolfe's work as a writer in the 1920s and his close friendship with Max Perkins. A drab and dark slow movie with absolutely no chemistry between or among any of the players. Starring Colin Firth, Jude Law and Nicole Kidman.

Outlaws and Angels (2016) 6/10

This film was very disturbing, the film is a spaghetti western type with the soundtrack that pays homage to genre greats like Morricone. It's about three thirsty, hungry fugitives who invade the Tildon clan's isolated farmhouse. Which turns out to be not a very pleasant night for the upstanding christian folk. A vicious portrayal of the wild west. Starring Chad Michael Murray and Francesca Eastwood.

 

[Stevencc]

Didn't watch here for a few days and therefore didn't notice that Steven moved east.

Stevencc: I like your new selection as I am always fond of japanese films, especially when they have Ninjas, Samurais or similar in it (OT, coincidentally actually I am playing NIOH, a Dark Souls like game which is settled in ancient Japan. I am celebrating it, one of the best games of 2017 /OT)

We Germans always had (and still have) sympathy for the japanese. Once they were called " die Preußen Asiens (the prussians of Asia)" because of their military orientation; we had a Kaiser (emperor) and they had one (and still have) and their work ethics are not that different to ours.

What I wanted to ask, do you watch the movies in original japanese with english subtitles or in an english dubbed version?
I watch these classics like Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo or Ran in original although I don't understand a word japanese but I always like the "drama" when they speak (another thing which is not so different to us ) and have german subtitles on.

Thanks for the description of the Lady Snowblood movie(s).
I didn't hear of them before but it sounds interesting. Will take an internet research soon.


edit: Just read that the "Lady Snowblood" was role-model for Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill".

I always watch films in their original language with subtitles, mate - I prefer it that way. You mention the way things sounds in language and I think that's an important part of film, another texture - you lose that when you go for a dubbed version.

Lady Snowblood was fantastic and I can see where Tarantino got a lot of his ideas for Kill Bill from, for sure.

 

[Stevencc]

子連れ狼 子を貸し腕貸しつかまつる (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance) (1972)

A ronin travels the land as an assassin for hire with his three-year-old son in tow (in a weaponised homemade buggy).

A friend of mine had raved about this one for years and I was a little let down by it - perhaps I came into it with unrealistic expectations.

7/10

 

[Dave-Vale]

The Greatest Showman. Seen it a few times and watched it this weekend with the kids. It’s ace.

 

[Stevencc]

大菩薩峠 (The Sword of Doom) (1966)

A sociopathic swordsman kills without remorse.

Tatsuya Nakadai's performance as the amoral samurai was creepily effective but that was the high point in an otherwise decent film.

7/10

 

[Benji]

I watched Black Klansman and thought it was a great and interesting true story. There is some very clear and obvious social commentary, but also lots of subtle nuggets of consideration to chew over. Sometimes it is wagging a finger and lecturing society on the recent curtailment (or possible recession) of social progress. There is something playful about it though, I found it to be a fascinating and curious film.

 

[Indian Dan]

I’m just sitting down to watch Hereditary. God bless Kodi!