Watched Les Misérables the other night. Apart from the obvious comparisons to La Haine, there is a bit of The Wire in there. A review I read mentioned Do The Right Thing, and I can see that, but maybe that film is so influential it just becomes part of the fabric (and it is certainly not as stylised as that film).
Really really good, with some excellent pen-portrait characterisation of its huge cast, great soundtrack.
I thought the script had some plotting issues, and -maybe this is an age thing - it didn't feel as urgent or angry as La Haine. Plus for a film concerning racial tension and disparity, the Gypsy characters were depicted as sentimental thugs.
But if you can get past that, it's a thought-provoking, tense thriller
@jump
Nooo, it's was the Ladj Ly film which happens to have the same name. It's set in the same part of Paris as Hugo's novel (so Wikipedia tells me, I've not read any of his stuff).
On a related note, why are there musicals about horrific events?
Les Mis (as it's called in a pally, fun way), Miss Saigon, Oliver, etc
@Rambler That does make more sense as I didn't remember a alot of what you were talking about when Wolverine and Catwoman were singing in that movie.
I will add Cannibal The Musical to that list too, it was made by the South Park guys before they were big time about the true story of a prospecter who had ate his friends during a winter.
I watched a musical recently called Annette, about how Adam Driver kills Marion Cotillard and raises their daughter who is an actual puppet girl. Yet it's by Leos Carax who made Holy Motors so it's not even his weirdest film.
@jump
Holy Motors I really loved, and I thought Les Amants de Pont Neuf was brilliant as well, but really didn't like Pola X, despite it having Catherine Deneuve in it (other Leos Carax film are available).
I'll have to check out Annette, it sounds like a musical version of Little Otik.
@Rambler Holy Motors is from my favourite genre, "weird films that you give up explaining to people half way through trying to explain it". I really like Mauvais Sang from him too. He gave an interview once and said something along the lines of "some directors use subtext and I think those directors are cowards."
I had a looksie at Little Otik, sounds interesting and by the guy that made Faust which I liked so I've added to my never ending list of films to see. It sounds a bit different to Annette though because there's no (in story) reason for why the kid is a puppet.
@jump Yeah, Svankmajer's stuff is brilliant. Think I've said it before, but I totally recommend the films of the Brothers Quay, and the film The Secret Life of Tom Thumb by the Bolex Bros in similar veins.
@Rambler I’ve seen Mad God, I saw a clip of it and thought it was a TOOL music video but then I realised it was actually a film trailer. I looked it up to see it was a passion project from a FX guy who worked on everyones favourite 80/90s blockbusters (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones etc) and he had been making it slowing for decades on his off time.
It is a fudging mental animation and I really enjoyed it. I had no idea what or why things were happening a lot of the time (I looked it up however no one seems to knows what the film actually is) but what connected with me was how much love and creativity was poured into it which you can feel throughout.
Mayhem, loads and LOADS of fun. It’s made pre-covid but in the movie the world has a pandemic of a horny/rage virus so an office get gets quarantined which happens at a time an employee is having an argy bargy about office politics so bloody gory messy horror follows. It’s all fun stylish silliness but I also loved the banter of the characters like metalhead Samara Weaving talking about Anthrax (side note despite being proper actor Hugo’s niece she become a great Scream Queen) and how much you hate the IT guy. Highlight of the film was Samara Weaving and Steven Yeun spitting in each others faces in an arguement.
Ad Astra, meh. It’s well made but it just feels like it has the trappings of a better movie whilst the movie itself is a mere okay. Everyone mumbles quiet intense dialogue as it’s “deep” but nothing is said, flashbacks of crying women because of trauma without a theme, a good score adding to nothing scenes etc. Despite this being big budget and being post Gravity, The Martian and Interstellar the space set pieces are just okay aside from the odd really good bits. Highlight of the film is the opening where Brad Pitt is falling down.
Stoker, loved this! It doesn’t touch Park Chan Wook’s other films like Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Thirst, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance etc but then what does? It is a very meticulous in style and once it gets going it is great, plus it’s made for rewatching because of how detailed and foreshadowed everything is. I feel sorry for the movie’s marketing team, as you can’t talk about the film without spoiling the mystery of it and if you did how like is it a grown up Tim Burton film, coming of age movie, psych murderer profile like Antibodies or Silence Of The Lambs, a sexual discovery movie, a family mystery? I loved the relationships and characters in it, Nicole Kidman talking about about motherhood as a means to reset things for her and then trying to sacrifice herself plus unlocking the coming of age story of Mia Wasikowska herself are highlights for me. The editing, transitions and framework are outstanding to the point they are worth watching just for the craftsmanship. Highlight of the film is a coin flip between the shower scene or the piano duet.
Don’t Breath 2, it reminds me of all of the Godzilla sequels. That monster that is destroying everything in the first film is now being written as the good guy because you can't have a sequel without them and I love the audacity of it but it flopped in execution that moment when he started shouting with a tear down one eye he is sorry for murdering and raping those people. The film itself is a lot weaker than the first but watchable enough. Highlight of the film was Stephen Lang’s performance as the blind guy much like the other film.
It sounds more like a Takeshi Miike film, but I've not kept up with his stuff for some reason (think the last i saw was First Love?).
Also sounds like an ultraviolent Gohatto, which starred Kitano
@Rambler "a frantic, blood-drenched, star-studded historical epic that has more beheadings per minute than any feature film I’ve seen in a while. (The title, by the way, translates as “Neck.”)" well that sold it to me. Stupid question, why is he called Beat Takeshi?
First Love aint that old is it? It came out during covid/lockdown time but then again Takeshit Miike is a beast, he makes more movies in a year than what a lot of studies put out. That reminds me I want to watch Ichi The Killer again, I watched it as a kid and I want to see if it is more than just a gory bloody mess.
Speaking of cult Japanese films, has anyone ever seen Love Exposure? It sounds interesting but at 4 hours long I want to make sure it's actually worth it.
@jump
Iirc he was in a comedy duo called The Two Beats, as in deadbeat - Beat Takeshi, and, er, Beat Dave?
He's had such an oddball career - it's as if Paddy McGuinnes is a feted Cannes director.
First Love is from only a couple of years ago, but he's probably directed about 10 films and a TV series since then!
Ichi the Killer is indeed more than a gory mess - it has themes that would make others on here complain about being discussed. I've still not seen the uncut version, so should remedy that. However the execution at the mid point of Dead or Alive 1 is the pinnacle of his utterly gleeful gore horror.
Some of his stuff is quite straightforward and restrained - it's not all Visitor Q and Gozu!
Looking up Love Exposure, I've not seen anything by Sion Sono! Looks like a good film and would make a good double bill with Eureka
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 at the local theater. To start, I'm not a Marvel fan, superheroes aren't my thing. I tend to like cartoons more than comic book heroes, but that's me personally. With that said, I do like space and sci-fi movies and the Guardians of the Galaxy series fits in with that. Third movie, I loved it, laughed and cried, it was even dark at times. I'd say the darkest of the three movies IMO. I did enjoy it, good movie IMO.
I did see Guardians of the Galaxy 3 in 3D, so this was my first 3D experience. With that said, I really can't do 3D well with my eyes, I even struggle using 3D on 3DS and sometimes I notice it if it's a 2D game (like 3D Sonic 1), or I just don't (most other games). So the glasses only made the picture clearer for me. Didn't affect my enjoyment of the movie, but still worth noting.
The other day I watched Ferdinand on Disney+. I'm really surprised I never watched this animated movie, because I loved it. It was a bit longer than most animated movies, but I really enjoyed the story and the characters, and the kind of bull Ferdinand was. Really good movie I wish I seen sooner.
The resident Trolls superfan! Looking forward to Trolls Band Together this November!
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