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Post by tao on Apr 12, 2018 5:26:57 GMT -5
Watched a few more... His Girl Friday. Directed by Howard Hanks and starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. This is generally thought of as one of the classic comedies of the 40s. I probably need to read into it a bit more because for me it was entertaining but only a little bit above average. 3.5/5 Waltz with Bashir. Animated documentary about atrocities committed during the Israeli/Lebanon war. Brilliantly told and incredibly powerful, particularly the ending. 4/5 Children of Heaven. A simple Iranian family drama. A brother loses his sister's shoes and since their family are poor, they hide it from their parents and get into various scrapes. Very touching. 4/5 Hook. I think this is one of those childhood classics that you probably had to see when you were younger. It didn't really click with me. 3/5 Only one film left on my (second) list - All the President's Men. Planning to watch it in the next few days and then I'll post up my third list RU-FI-O RU-FI-O RU-FI-O BANGARANG!!!
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Post by essien on Apr 12, 2018 13:37:56 GMT -5
Watched a few more... His Girl Friday. Directed by Howard Hanks and starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. This is generally thought of as one of the classic comedies of the 40s. I probably need to read into it a bit more because for me it was entertaining but only a little bit above average. 3.5/5 Waltz with Bashir. Animated documentary about atrocities committed during the Israeli/Lebanon war. Brilliantly told and incredibly powerful, particularly the ending. 4/5 Children of Heaven. A simple Iranian family drama. A brother loses his sister's shoes and since their family are poor, they hide it from their parents and get into various scrapes. Very touching. 4/5 Hook. I think this is one of those childhood classics that you probably had to see when you were younger. It didn't really click with me. 3/5 Only one film left on my (second) list - All the President's Men. Planning to watch it in the next few days and then I'll post up my third list Damn son. You're gonna work through so many classics that you're gonna spend 2019 wondering what to watch lol. His Girl Friday is one of those films that the humor is a lot like The Philadelphia Story, in that it's very smart, rapid fire, sarcastic often to the point of acidic, and often disguised as normal conversation, so you kinda do have to pay attention to get the humor. Now, that's not a knock on you at all, it's just how those films operated, and they act as a nice counterbalance to the vaudevillian slapstick and schtick that made up comedy during that time. i.e. Abbott and Costello, the 3 Stooges, et al. It's a funny movie. I'd have to agree with you about Hook. I remember watching it on TV when I was younger and then rewatched it on Netflix several years ago, introducing it to one of my younger sisters; that it's loooooong is probably the biggest knock on it. Other than that, it's standard family fare and certainly is a product of its time (the brightly colored, almost Nickelodeon like food fight, skateboarding, etc.) IIRC, the kissing couple under the foggy light when they go off to Neverland was actually George Lucas and Carrie Fisher. You’re right, I probably needed to be more on my game when I was watching His Girl Friday. Maybe I’ll rewatch it in 2019 when I’ve run out of classics to watch
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Post by essien on Apr 12, 2018 13:39:03 GMT -5
BANGARANG!!! One of the main things I took away from Hook was that I now know the origins of this song title:
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Post by tao on Apr 12, 2018 17:34:07 GMT -5
Damn son. You're gonna work through so many classics that you're gonna spend 2019 wondering what to watch lol. His Girl Friday is one of those films that the humor is a lot like The Philadelphia Story, in that it's very smart, rapid fire, sarcastic often to the point of acidic, and often disguised as normal conversation, so you kinda do have to pay attention to get the humor. Now, that's not a knock on you at all, it's just how those films operated, and they act as a nice counterbalance to the vaudevillian slapstick and schtick that made up comedy during that time. i.e. Abbott and Costello, the 3 Stooges, et al. It's a funny movie. I'd have to agree with you about Hook. I remember watching it on TV when I was younger and then rewatched it on Netflix several years ago, introducing it to one of my younger sisters; that it's loooooong is probably the biggest knock on it. Other than that, it's standard family fare and certainly is a product of its time (the brightly colored, almost Nickelodeon like food fight, skateboarding, etc.) IIRC, the kissing couple under the foggy light when they go off to Neverland was actually George Lucas and Carrie Fisher. You’re right, I probably needed to be more on my game when I was watching His Girl Friday. Maybe I’ll rewatch it in 2019 when I’ve run out of classics to watch
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Post by essien on Apr 15, 2018 3:58:19 GMT -5
All The Presidents Men. A newspaper thriller about the Watergate scandal starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. I spoke to a newspaper editor when I was studying journalism at university who told me this film was what made him want to get into the industry, and had been meaning to watch it ever since then. I thought it was great - Redford and Hoffman are fantastic and I loved how gritty and intelligent it was (it made The Post look like a parody in comparison). The way the government conspiracy angle was presented made me think of The X-Files at times, and I'm sure this was an inspiration for the show in some way. 4/5
Now, without further ado, I present my third list...
1. Andrei Roublev (I need more Tarkovsky) 2. Angel's Egg (Highly rated early work from Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell) 3. Batman (Tim Burton's 1989 version, since I've never sat down and watched it properly) 4. A Better Tomorrow (80s, John Woo and Chow Yun-fat) 5. Brighter Summer Day (Four hour Taiwanese film, the highest rated film on Letterboxd that I haven't seen) 6. Castaway on the Moon (Highly rated Korean film) 7. The French Connection (Recommended earlier in the thread) 8. In This Corner of the World (Won the Japan Academy Award for best animated feature) 9. Hail, Caesar! (Coens) 10. Lilya 4-ever (Has been in my watchlist since forever) 11. Mind Game (Highly rated anime from the director of Night is Short, Walk on Girl which I absolutely loved) 12. Mistress America (Baumbach/Gerwig) 13. Paterson (I've never seen a Jim Jarmusch film so figured I'd start here) 14. Peeping Tom (A film from 1960 that, along with Psycho, changed the horror genre) 15. Pieces (I've been watching a lot of slashers lately and this one gets a lot of talk) 16. Rififi (Highly rated French film from the 50s) 17. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi) 18. Still Walking (Haven't seen any Koreeda) 19. Women in the Dunes (Highly rated Japanese film from the 50s, I read the book and thought it was excellent) 20. Yi Yi (Same director as Brighter Summer Day, also very highly rated)
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Post by tao on Apr 15, 2018 11:16:35 GMT -5
All The Presidents Men. A newspaper thriller about the Watergate scandal starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. I spoke to a newspaper editor when I was studying journalism at university who told me this film was what made him want to get into the industry, and had been meaning to watch it ever since then. I thought it was great - Redford and Hoffman are fantastic and I loved how gritty and intelligent it was (it made The Post look like a parody in comparison). The way the government conspiracy angle was presented made me think of The X-Files at times, and I'm sure this was an inspiration for the show in some way. 4/5 Now, without further ado, I present my third list... 1. Andrei Roublev (I need more Tarkovsky) 2. Angel's Egg (Highly rated early work from Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell) 3. Batman (Tim Burton's 1989 version, since I've never sat down and watched it properly) 4. A Better Tomorrow (80s, John Woo and Chow Yun-fat) 5. Brighter Summer Day (Four hour Taiwanese film, the highest rated film on Letterboxd that I haven't seen) 6. Castaway on the Moon (Highly rated Korean film) 7. The French Connection (Recommended earlier in the thread) 8. In This Corner of the World (Won the Japan Academy Award for best animated feature) 9. Hail, Caesar! (Coens) 10. Lilya 4-ever (Has been in my watchlist since forever) 11. Mind Game (Highly rated anime from the director of Night is Short, Walk on Girl which I absolutely loved) 12. Mistress America (Baumbach/Gerwig) 13. Paterson (I've never seen a Jim Jarmusch film so figured I'd start here) 14. Peeping Tom (A film from 1960 that, along with Psycho, changed the horror genre) 15. Pieces (I've been watching a lot of slashers lately and this one gets a lot of talk) 16. Rififi (Highly rated French film from the 50s) 17. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi) 18. Still Walking (Haven't seen any Koreeda) 19. Women in the Dunes (Highly rated Japanese film from the 50s, I read the book and thought it was excellent) 20. Yi Yi (Same director as Brighter Summer Day, also very highly rated) When you watch “Hail, Caesar!”, don’t expect a laugh-fest; it’s more dramedy than anything; you can refer to my little blurb for it on p. 74 in the Last Movie... thread. Haven’t seen Sansho The Bailiff yet, although it’s been in my “to-watch” list for forever; I think you’ll enjoy “The French Connection” it feels very grounded and at times almost procedural, as opposed to a typical “supercop” vs. the bad guys type of cop film. Gene Hackman is stupendous in it. And duuuuuuuuuuuuude!!!!!! I fucking love John Woo’s run of gangster films from his early career. From this one all the way to “Hard Boiled” it’s almost like he couldn’t do any wrong. This one is different than a typical gangster film, in that it focuses on relationships and the emotions of the characters as humans, and not “good guys” and “bad guys”. It’s a bit deeper than all that. Check out the immediate sequel if you have time.
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Post by v9733xa on Apr 15, 2018 11:33:58 GMT -5
Man, you like a lot of Japanese shit that i have absolutely no interest in.
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Post by tao on Apr 15, 2018 11:57:27 GMT -5
Man, you like a lot of Japanese shit that i have absolutely no interest in. Who? Me or essien?
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Post by v9733xa on Apr 15, 2018 17:07:46 GMT -5
Well, both of you in retrospect, but essien since he was the author of the list. Not knocking it, just not at all anything i have interest in watching.
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Post by tao on Apr 15, 2018 23:22:39 GMT -5
Well, both of you in retrospect, but essien since he was the author of the list. Not knocking it, just not at all anything i have interest in watching. Well, for me, I find Asian history/society/culture to be very interesting, and this goes all the way back to my early teens, where I vociferously devoured not only WWII history, but history in general. I was drawn to how their (Chinese/Japanese/Korean) respective histories, cultures and traditions were highly similar, and yet so vastly different than Western culture in many respects. Sure, the past 100 years or so has helped bridge the gap between our cultures somewhat, but it's interesting to see how they incorporate their own culture and tradition into aspects of Western culture that they adopt. By watching Asian films, I can gain something akin to a truncated access to this culture, and while I still harbor plans of traveling abroad, watching these films allows me to sharpen and build on the knowledge I've already mentally stored about these respective cultures. Before you point it out, where I live I have limited access to interpersonal communication to these cultures, so that avenue is rather narrow. It'll be open once again when I resume my studies in Mandarin Chinese in the fall. I also maintain contact with friends and acquaintances who are currently living in that region. Another aspect as to why I enjoy these films is that they (mostly) tend to be more morally/ethically rich and complicated, somewhat more so than a standard Hollywood drama. Sure, I like anime, Godzilla and Shaw Bros. kung-fu films as much as anyone else, but that was never the main reason. Above has always been my main reason. Sorry for the long-winded reply, I haven't been asked that kind of question in a long time...
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Post by stuartoxlade on Apr 16, 2018 7:21:14 GMT -5
All The Presidents Men. A newspaper thriller about the Watergate scandal starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. I spoke to a newspaper editor when I was studying journalism at university who told me this film was what made him want to get into the industry, and had been meaning to watch it ever since then. I thought it was great - Redford and Hoffman are fantastic and I loved how gritty and intelligent it was (it made The Post look like a parody in comparison). The way the government conspiracy angle was presented made me think of The X-Files at times, and I'm sure this was an inspiration for the show in some way. 4/5 Now, without further ado, I present my third list... 1. Andrei Roublev (I need more Tarkovsky) 2. Angel's Egg (Highly rated early work from Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell) 3. Batman (Tim Burton's 1989 version, since I've never sat down and watched it properly) 4. A Better Tomorrow (80s, John Woo and Chow Yun-fat) 5. Brighter Summer Day (Four hour Taiwanese film, the highest rated film on Letterboxd that I haven't seen) 6. Castaway on the Moon (Highly rated Korean film) 7. The French Connection (Recommended earlier in the thread) 8. In This Corner of the World (Won the Japan Academy Award for best animated feature) 9. Hail, Caesar! (Coens) 10. Lilya 4-ever (Has been in my watchlist since forever) 11. Mind Game (Highly rated anime from the director of Night is Short, Walk on Girl which I absolutely loved) 12. Mistress America (Baumbach/Gerwig) 13. Paterson (I've never seen a Jim Jarmusch film so figured I'd start here) 14. Peeping Tom (A film from 1960 that, along with Psycho, changed the horror genre) 15. Pieces (I've been watching a lot of slashers lately and this one gets a lot of talk) 16. Rififi (Highly rated French film from the 50s) 17. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi) 18. Still Walking (Haven't seen any Koreeda) 19. Women in the Dunes (Highly rated Japanese film from the 50s, I read the book and thought it was excellent) 20. Yi Yi (Same director as Brighter Summer Day, also very highly rated) Man i'm keen to hear your thoughts on Lilya-4-Ever. What a way to depress you into oblivion. Really didn't like Mistress America.
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Post by essien on Apr 16, 2018 17:02:29 GMT -5
Well, both of you in retrospect, but essien since he was the author of the list. Not knocking it, just not at all anything i have interest in watching. I think the classic era of Japanese cinema is up there with the best. And similar to tao, I've always been interested by the culture, and films are a great way to learn about it. I'd have thought you'd be interested as a cinephile. What's your experience of Japanese films?
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Post by essien on Apr 16, 2018 17:03:43 GMT -5
All The Presidents Men. A newspaper thriller about the Watergate scandal starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. I spoke to a newspaper editor when I was studying journalism at university who told me this film was what made him want to get into the industry, and had been meaning to watch it ever since then. I thought it was great - Redford and Hoffman are fantastic and I loved how gritty and intelligent it was (it made The Post look like a parody in comparison). The way the government conspiracy angle was presented made me think of The X-Files at times, and I'm sure this was an inspiration for the show in some way. 4/5 Now, without further ado, I present my third list... 1. Andrei Roublev (I need more Tarkovsky) 2. Angel's Egg (Highly rated early work from Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell) 3. Batman (Tim Burton's 1989 version, since I've never sat down and watched it properly) 4. A Better Tomorrow (80s, John Woo and Chow Yun-fat) 5. Brighter Summer Day (Four hour Taiwanese film, the highest rated film on Letterboxd that I haven't seen) 6. Castaway on the Moon (Highly rated Korean film) 7. The French Connection (Recommended earlier in the thread) 8. In This Corner of the World (Won the Japan Academy Award for best animated feature) 9. Hail, Caesar! (Coens) 10. Lilya 4-ever (Has been in my watchlist since forever) 11. Mind Game (Highly rated anime from the director of Night is Short, Walk on Girl which I absolutely loved) 12. Mistress America (Baumbach/Gerwig) 13. Paterson (I've never seen a Jim Jarmusch film so figured I'd start here) 14. Peeping Tom (A film from 1960 that, along with Psycho, changed the horror genre) 15. Pieces (I've been watching a lot of slashers lately and this one gets a lot of talk) 16. Rififi (Highly rated French film from the 50s) 17. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi) 18. Still Walking (Haven't seen any Koreeda) 19. Women in the Dunes (Highly rated Japanese film from the 50s, I read the book and thought it was excellent) 20. Yi Yi (Same director as Brighter Summer Day, also very highly rated) Man i'm keen to hear your thoughts on Lilya-4-Ever. What a way to depress you into oblivion. Really didn't like Mistress America. I'll be sure to post my thoughts. Thanks for the warning on Lilya-4-Ever, I'll make sure I'm in a good place when I watch it!
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Post by tao on Apr 16, 2018 17:07:08 GMT -5
That's a good point (for lack of a better word) essien - was there any particular issue with Japanese films that you found insurmountable v9733xa? Or just never found interesting?
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Post by v9733xa on Apr 16, 2018 18:47:35 GMT -5
Well, i don't like anime, so i'm just not going to watch those. Every one i've seen is too silly and i can't take any of them seriously. I had a roommate in college who watched a lot of that stuff and i just found it so bizarre and stupid.
I also don't care for martial arts films, so there's a whole genre i'm not going to watch. Again, it's all so silly.
But probably a lot of it just comes from ignorance. If you have a non-anime and non-martial arts film from Asia, i'm game. Cool Yakuza stuff, ennui-pondering, etc., let's go. But how and where would i watch those?
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