Currently Watching

Started by Steve, July 14, 2007, 17:49:04

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japanesebaby

Quote from: fiction on January 09, 2009, 15:05:26
Arrrrghhh! One of the few films I haven´t seen with Mr Depp. Must make it happen soon!

highly recommended.  :smth023

"Originally from Cleveland, William Blake gets a job as an accountant in a place called "Machine Town". Already in the train that takes him to the Dickinson wood factory an "unknown guy" warn him against the place he is going to. It is not fortune that awaits him but Death. Indeed the first night in "Machine Town", Blake is shot at and wounded. From this point on start a long journey of wandering in company of Nobody, an Indian and a philosopher.

This black and white film is mesmerizing. Obviously the black and white marks a rupture between what you are used to...So in essence this rupture is between let say classic Western and Jim Jarmush western as he re-visit the genre. It is also a way to keep the audience to what is essential...Color is a filter that can distract you, the sobriety of black and white will not.

But what exactly is essential in that movie? Beside the fact that Mr. Jarmush depict a brutal and impulsive America, the movie opposes a new born civilization that is already collapsing and a dying one that is still shining...But more than that the journey of William Blake is a metaphoric and circular voyage from misunderstanding to certitude. The guide Nobody, himself trapped between the two civilizations can not provide a cure to the passing man but may very well provide a path to a curing one. This journey from Machine Town, the "anti chamber" of hell to the sea, first step to Heaven is tremendously poetic and emotional. Also emotional is the evolution from misunderstanding to comprehension between Nobody and William Blake who eventually settles on what is essential reaching a common ground, clarity...

Help by a haunting and beautiful score from Neil Young and an extraordinary cast the film succeed in transforming the wood wagon of hell in which William Blake embarks to the wooden vessel to heaven in which he will lie.

One of the best films from Mr. Jarmush, Dead Man manages to take the audience in one of cinema most poetic journey..."

(user comment/review by 'auberus' from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112817/)



"Look out the window. And doesn't this remind you of when you were in the boat, and then later than night, you were lying, looking up at the ceiling, and the water in your head was not dissimilar from the landscape, and you think to yourself, "Why is it that the landscape is moving, but the boat is still?"



(btw the entire casting of this movie is great: lots of memorable odd-ish supporting roles and cameos, for instance iggy pop makes a pretty odd appearance.)

Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

japanesebaby

Quote from: fiction on January 09, 2009, 15:05:26
Arrrrghhh! One of the few films I haven´t seen with Mr Depp.

talking about mr depp, have you seen this one (it was depp's debut as a director too, i think)?:



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118768/


"A down-on-his-luck American Indian recently released from jail is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film, the resulting pay of which could greatly help his poverty stricken family.
...Convinced that he has nothing to offer this world, he agrees to be tortured to death by a gang of rednecks in return for $50,000."
(from imdb).

i have to say i'll recommend it because it is a very good film, but i'll do so with a warning as it's also one of the most shocking films i've seen, truly. it was really a slap in the face for those people who used to think depp was just a pretty face.

there are no shocking images or anything but the fact that you know what's going to happen in the end... it's a pretty heavy film.
i found it pretty hard to sleep after watching this film.

btw marlon brando makes a truly scary appearance, really creepy.
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

fiction

Quote from: japanesebaby on January 10, 2009, 19:53:19
talking about mr depp, have you seen this one (it was depp's debut as a director too, i think)?:

As a matter of fact no (said with a slight touch of embarresment).

Just watching Narc (Joe Carnahan) on Swedish television. Ugly and sleazy but dark and fierce. Jason Patric is awesome in this flick (even Ray Liotta makes a difference). A little touch of Quentin Tarantino or a police film from the 70´s.

Thanx for Your tips guys!
again and again and again and again and again and...

fiction

Sylvia (Plath) with Gwyneth Paltrow... I´m sceptical but I´ll keep looking.
again and again and again and again and again and...

Poe


Bubba Ho-Tep

Has more depth than you'd think...
[i]Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away...[/i]

japanesebaby

Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

j

The repeat of Barack Obama being sworn in as the new US President (finally!!!)  :smth023

japanesebaby

Quote from: j on January 21, 2009, 00:58:31
The repeat of Barack Obama being sworn in as the new US President (finally!!!)  :smth023

good luck to him. :smth023
i don't usually watch that kind of stuff (particularly if it's being broadcast overseas or something), but i actually did watch this too. it's good to notice how big change in mental climate this change is already bringing. especially in a time when most news that you watch on a daily basis are more or less depressing/straining/full of all sorts of other downers.
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

dsanchez

2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

Poe


I.O.U.S.A. (2008)

Obama and Co., good luck indeed...
[i]Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away...[/i]

japanesebaby

Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

japanesebaby




http://waltzwithbashir.com/

a very good film about  supressed memories of the lebanon war and the genocide in the refuge camps:

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there's a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can't remember a thing anymore about that period of his life.
Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images ...


the film also has an interestingly original style, something of an "animated documentary". works very well imo. and it makes the occasional real documentary/news footage really powerful and shocking. 
recommended watching.


Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

Poe

Quote from: japanesebaby on March 06, 2009, 18:20:01


Hmpf, missed this one at the film festival in Gothenburg, knew too little about it to dare to give it a shot... :smth012

Well, tonight I'm going for this one, if nothing else comes in the way:


Double Indemnity (1944)
[i]Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away...[/i]

japanesebaby

Quote from: Poe on March 13, 2009, 19:04:03
Quote from: japanesebaby on March 06, 2009, 18:20:01


Hmpf, missed this one at the film festival in Gothenburg, knew too little about it to dare to give it a shot... :smth012

hey too bad. anyway it's a really good film about a really eye-opening subject. i totally agree with this review:

I have never seen a film quite like this in my life and I have never left the cinema feeling the way I did. About ten inutes in you forget you are watching an animation and a subtitled film you soon realise you are watching a masterpiece. Best film I have seen all year.
(review on www.play.com)

so i suggest you could try to pick it up on dvd. i'm sure it's already available on rental.
i was actually planning to order this: http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/8248644/Waltz-With-Bashir/Product.html


a bit relatedly, i was angry at myself that i missed this one when it was in the theaters:

http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persepolis/


Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

Poe

Quote from: japanesebaby on March 14, 2009, 07:21:50
I have never seen a film quite like this in my life and I have never left the cinema feeling the way I did. About ten inutes in you forget you are watching an animation and a subtitled film you soon realise you are watching a masterpiece. Best film I have seen all year.
(review on www.play.com)

Dang it! I'll watch it some day...

I've heard about Persepolis, yet again there's a film adaptation out before I've even read the back of the book... The film's got an 8.0 at imdb, so it must have pleased some readers. Perhaps it's one of those film adaptations that doesn't ruin the book for you if you haven't read it first...

Tonight, before I watch The Sopranos, 1st episode season 2 (), I'm gonna watch this silly little thing, again:

David Lynch & Crispin Glover's Big Blockbuster #1 (in case anyone's wondering, Crispin Glover played Marty's dad in Back to the Future)
[i]Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away...[/i]