What was the last movie you watched?
- Thread starter jamesblakefan#1
- Start date
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Code 8
King_ Zeglan12
Professional
Just finished the Batman trilogy from Christopher Nolan
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
Sentinel, there are many very entertaining American film noirs from around that time. Have you looked deeply into the genre?
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
"Under the Skin"
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
I think so, and I have plenty with me but not sure my mum would care to watch them.
Could you name a few?
Started a movie called The Meddler 2015 with Susan Sarandon. Recommended by someone here. Nice.
Zara
G.O.A.T.
Were you able to make any sense of it? It's very dark and just plain weird.
Moose Malloy
G.O.A.T.
Big fan of film noir, not sure where to start. There are a lot on YouTube btw.
here are the famous ones(you’ve probably seen some of them)
The Maltese Falcon
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity
Touch of Evil
Detour
Laura
Out of the Past
The Killing
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Murder My Sweet
The Asphalt Jungle
Gilda
The Big Heat
The Big Combo
Night of the Hunter
Mildred Pierce
Kiss of Death
Kiss Me Deadly
Key Largo
Lady From Shanghai
DOA
Narrow Margin
some lesser known ones
The Hitch-hiker
Crossfire
Woman on the Run
Phantom Lady
Criss Cross
The Killers
The Breaking Point
Nightmare Alley(being remade soon)
Too Late For Tears
Night and the City
The Woman in the Window
Scarlet Street
The Reckless Moment
Black Angel
Sudden Fear
Fallen Angel
Pitfall
Leave Her to Heaven
Nora Prentiss
Raw Deal
Kansas City Confidential
The File on Thelma Jordon
Sorry, Wrong Number
Angel Face
They Live By Night
Thieves Highway
The Damned Don’t Cry
Brighton Rock
Last edited:
Zara
G.O.A.T.
I've seen The Meddler. It's quite nice, yes. And Susan is always very easy to watch and captivates you right away. Did I recommend it though? I forget.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
It sort of fits the mood of current times.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
Beyond the general premise of Scarlett's character being an alien harvesting humans, and targeting lonely men, I think the film is deliberately left open to interpretation. It's a good film for people to watch then try to figure out afterwards in a cafe, that is back when people went to movies and cafes.
Moose Malloy
G.O.A.T.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
Great list. I have a few film noir box sets with some obscure ones you left unmentioned. I can look at them and see if there are any to recommend.
I find the genre really interesting for the cinematography, which is highly influence by German Expressionism (as was Hitchcock), and the themes of alienation and moral uncertainty. Returning WWII soldiers saw and did many things that made readjusting to "normal" life difficult, and many noir films tapped into this psychology.
Moose Malloy
G.O.A.T.
What did you think of Woman on the Run? Title really doesn’t make sense
Love the San Francisco location shoot. And a nice change of pace for Ann Sheridan(I gather she wasn’t a fan of the way she was just thought of as a pretty face)
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
The original title was "Man on the Run." I liked it for what it was, a low-budget, pulpy B-movie with lots of scenes filmed in San Francisco. The San Francisco locations were a big reason for me watching it. Many noir films were set in San Francisco, and shot on location. Incidentally, the noir themes and low-budget guerrilla-style filming on city streets influenced the prominent French New Wave directors.What did you think of Woman on the Run? Title really doesn’t make sense
Love the San Francisco location shoot. And a nice change of pace for Ann Sheridan(I gather she wasn’t a fan of the way she was just thought of as a pretty face)
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Golmaal (1979) - Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Cast - Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt
I think my 20th time viewing. Comedy gold.
Utpal Dutt is such an awesome actor - any role he takes up, serious or comedy turns to a masterpiece and what to say of Mukherjee himself? What a gem of a director he was. I miss such clean cinema.
Cast - Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt
I think my 20th time viewing. Comedy gold.
Utpal Dutt is such an awesome actor - any role he takes up, serious or comedy turns to a masterpiece and what to say of Mukherjee himself? What a gem of a director he was. I miss such clean cinema.
Neon Demon. Very psycological film on a lot of different levels. Very much a Shining type kubrick film. Interesting if you are aware of the dark side of the world, people, hollywood etc. If not it will probably give you nightmares or you just wont understand it. Not sure wether the director is a whistleblower or a satanist. Probably the best film I have seen in the last five years or so. Warning it will probably mess with your head if you are the type that engage in self denial type mentality. It is however a more positive film than It Follows .... which is also very good but the Director screws with your head in that one...... in a bad way.
Rafaisdabest
Hall of Fame
Halloween - was ok but ended like there’s going to be another movie.
Moose Malloy
G.O.A.T.
like Dennis O’Keefe in that. Made some other good noirs - Cover Up(a Xmas noir), T-Men, Raw Deal.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Thanks I've seen almost all in the first list, and many in the second. Will make a list of the unwatched ones and get them.
Bolded unwatched one.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
The Coen Brothers describe their masterpiece The Big Lebowski as a Chandleresque adaptation to the 90s generation. I agree wholeheartedly!
Turbo-87
G.O.A.T.
Rambo: Last Blood
If you have 1:29 of your life to waste, give this one a try. Weak story with plot holes so big you can drive a UPS truck through them. Over the top violence, even for John J Rambo. The franchise should have ended with III but thank the heavens this is really it. This movie is so disjointed from what we should remember Rambo to be. With how gruesome the deaths are in this movie it kind of makes you long for 1980's clean kills.
If you have 1:29 of your life to waste, give this one a try. Weak story with plot holes so big you can drive a UPS truck through them. Over the top violence, even for John J Rambo. The franchise should have ended with III but thank the heavens this is really it. This movie is so disjointed from what we should remember Rambo to be. With how gruesome the deaths are in this movie it kind of makes you long for 1980's clean kills.
D
Deleted member 758560
Guest
have you seen the man from nowhere? was going to watch for a long time but just hadn't gotten to it yet.. try it if you haven't...probably it would be more exciting than gemini,
Moose Malloy
G.O.A.T.
sounds like you are pretty well versed in noir if you’ve already seen most of those.
you could probably watch some of those with your mom. Nora Prentiss, Leave her to heaven, the damned don’t cry are more dramas with noir elements than straight noir.
Zara
G.O.A.T.
have you seen the man from nowhere? was going to watch for a long time but just hadn't gotten to it yet.. try it if you haven't...probably it would be more exciting than gemini,
No, I haven't. Trying to avoid movies with subtitles! I get awfully distracted. I don't think Gemini is all that good but will be watching for the cinematography purposes. I am just trying to learn as much as possible about photography/cinematography by watching the great work of these great men.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
"Man with a Movie Camera"
rainingaces
Legend
Sounds like artsy fartsy dribble.
yeah its pretty artsy. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. Its probably one of the darkest films I have seen. If you have a weak stomache I wouldnt watch it because there are a lot of serioussly disturbing scenes. This director has been hyped up as the next Kubrick. Now.... I dont know if he is that good but he is close with this film. Lots of layers....themes of witchcraft, possesion etc. set inside the world of modeling and entertainment. Honestly I have not seen anything like it but its the type of film you will analyze and think about in an attempt to understand its complexity. I could see people getting pretty disturbed with it and not knowing what they are watching. It certainly does not spoon feed you. I would say if you are familiar with things like witchcraft, the occult, human sacrifice, astrology, Illuminati etc... you might get it on first watch.
I liked it for what it was but It sure does not feel like A Rambo film. I have a feeling this was a script for something else and they adapted it. I would say if you like old school revenge films..... Charles Bronson type stuff you will like Last Blood. Its almost more like a Punisher script. Compared to most junk coming out these days its fantastic. Stallone can still bring some hard core action which is impressive. My 7 year old loves Rambo and he really enjoyed it. Credit sequence is a montage which was nice.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Started watching something called Lost In Florence (2017).
5.1 on IMDB @Azure
but mum called it interesting, so i should scout out more 5.1 level movies on IMDB !
In this stellar movie, a hunk who can't act falls out of love with his gf, and then falls in love with his buddy's gf, and he also takes to an ancient Italian sport like a beached whale takes to water. They all depend on him.
The scenery is beautiful, the scenes of the sport are really silly, the romance itself is of course vapid, but the choice I had was Nicholas Nickleby but mum said that would be very depressing. The new Italian gf looks a lot like Anne Hathaway, so i guess that's a second positive, after the scenery.
5.1 on IMDB @Azure
but mum called it interesting, so i should scout out more 5.1 level movies on IMDB !In this stellar movie, a hunk who can't act falls out of love with his gf, and then falls in love with his buddy's gf, and he also takes to an ancient Italian sport like a beached whale takes to water. They all depend on him.
The scenery is beautiful, the scenes of the sport are really silly, the romance itself is of course vapid, but the choice I had was Nicholas Nickleby but mum said that would be very depressing. The new Italian gf looks a lot like Anne Hathaway, so i guess that's a second positive, after the scenery.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Thanks, these sound promising.
NonP
Legend
Was gonna wait till after I take care of my main project but couldn't resist killing several birds with one stone:
First off I was quite pleasantly surprised that anyone except the usual gang would be interested in that long review of mine two weeks after the fact. Glad you liked the film and my bad for such a late acknowledgement.
Having said that I find your notion of "noir" very questionable, and since it happens to be the topic du jour let's explore this a little further. It's a notoriously difficult term to define, but most scholars would agree that among its key attributes are moral ambivalence and cynicism as well as physical and/or emotional violence. Apart from the ugly confrontation with Tommy Tucker (the private investigator hired by the title character's husband) Carol could hardly be described in those terms. You could also argue that the film's low-key lighting is yet more evidence of its noir cred, but nobody would classify Schindler's List or Pan's Labyrinth as such for its lighting alone.
But your use of the term "French noir" is quite interesting, because one could well argue that film noir was indeed a French invention although it's often understood to have originated in America. In his magisterial More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts (arguably the best book ever written on the subject) James Naremore in fact nominates as a key figure not a filmmaker but "the somewhat Rimbaud-like personality Boris Vian" whose 1946 roman noir J'irai cracher sur vos tombes (I Spit on Your Graves, published under the pen name Vernon Sullivan) exemplifies many of the noir characteristics we now attribute to its better-known film siblings. Its plot and the real-life aftermath are too juicy (or, if you will, too noirish) to pass up so I'll quote Naremore in full:
And more choice morsels from the same chapter:
I'm in the camp that insists noir is less a genre than a category applied retroactively to films with the aforementioned and other characteristics in common, so while my own definition is fairly flexible a film still must partake in a certain sensibility before I feel comfortable categorizing it as noir. Among Haynes' oeuvre the TV (mini)series Mildred Pierce is an obviously better fit for the category than his most acclaimed work.
First off I was quite pleasantly surprised that anyone except the usual gang would be interested in that long review of mine two weeks after the fact. Glad you liked the film and my bad for such a late acknowledgement.
Having said that I find your notion of "noir" very questionable, and since it happens to be the topic du jour let's explore this a little further. It's a notoriously difficult term to define, but most scholars would agree that among its key attributes are moral ambivalence and cynicism as well as physical and/or emotional violence. Apart from the ugly confrontation with Tommy Tucker (the private investigator hired by the title character's husband) Carol could hardly be described in those terms. You could also argue that the film's low-key lighting is yet more evidence of its noir cred, but nobody would classify Schindler's List or Pan's Labyrinth as such for its lighting alone.
But your use of the term "French noir" is quite interesting, because one could well argue that film noir was indeed a French invention although it's often understood to have originated in America. In his magisterial More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts (arguably the best book ever written on the subject) James Naremore in fact nominates as a key figure not a filmmaker but "the somewhat Rimbaud-like personality Boris Vian" whose 1946 roman noir J'irai cracher sur vos tombes (I Spit on Your Graves, published under the pen name Vernon Sullivan) exemplifies many of the noir characteristics we now attribute to its better-known film siblings. Its plot and the real-life aftermath are too juicy (or, if you will, too noirish) to pass up so I'll quote Naremore in full:
And more choice morsels from the same chapter:
I'm in the camp that insists noir is less a genre than a category applied retroactively to films with the aforementioned and other characteristics in common, so while my own definition is fairly flexible a film still must partake in a certain sensibility before I feel comfortable categorizing it as noir. Among Haynes' oeuvre the TV (mini)series Mildred Pierce is an obviously better fit for the category than his most acclaimed work.
NonP
Legend
As I've pointed out it's the unmistakably seductive lesbian (as opposed to same-sex) sensuality that has made Portrait such a hit with the arthouse crowd. It's the film's most beguiling feature in more ways than one, and not always for the better.
One thing I didn't emphasize enough in my review was the film's strain of conservatism which stands in opposition to its professed progressivism. Apart from its listless handling of class what prevents it from joining the best love stories is the almost complete lack of resistance from either protagonist to the dissolution of their union. Either one's torment barely registers except in the overwrought conclusion where Marianne watches from afar Héloïse convulsing with tears as she's reminded of her lost love while the concert orchestra reenacts their shared musical séance (courtesy of the Presto from "Summer" of Vivaldi's Four Seasons). Despite its shaky execution this ending would earn most of its full intended power were the lovers not so resigned to a fate of sexual servitude for the rest of the film, and while Sciamma deserves credit for her bold insistence on female intimacy to speak for itself it's no coincidence that most reviews focused on this sorority aspect rather than its more radical expression of same-sex love which is undermined by its fatalism.
And that's not a purely ideological or philosophical critique. Here's the much-lauded ending which left me cold:
Compare this with Carol's, which comes immediately after Therese leaves a party where she realizes she cannot live a lie and belongs instead with her newfound love, social sanctions be damned:
To me it's no contest. And note how Haynes' economical use of the (gay) female gaze still manages to say more about the lovers in less than half the time.
Now I'm not such a fan of how Carol's own sensual touches allow it to skirt those social sanctions either, which brings us to Sciamma's own point of comparison. Yes I'm talking about Titanic.
Compared to its two successors Cameron's blockbuster epic is decidedly less arty fare: there's hardly any subtext, no low-key photography, the acting is sometimes ham-handed and some of the plot details are better left unsaid. But the eerie aftermath of the disaster and even the much-maligned scene of Jack meeting his demise after his refusal to share the raft with Rose (whose spirit of male chivalry reminds one of Broken Blossoms) are worthy of comparison with Griffith. And say what you will about its class politics but I'd much rather see the issue addressed with Sharpies than not at all when it's an unavoidable aspect of the love story.
Such "populist" treatment of its themes is no doubt what instigated such a fierce critical backlash as well as what gives the film its enduring power, culminating in Rose's dreamy farewell we all know by heart:
It's quite possible Cameron had never read a page of Wallace Stevens' Opus Posthumous while Haynes and Sciamma had at least passing knowledge when they created their respective films, but art often knows more than the artist himself and I find that out of these three Titanic best understands Stevens' remark that "[t]he exquisite truth" is to believe in your own fiction willingly while knowing it to be a fiction. Indeed given her courageous pursuit of true love you could say Rose actually lived her supreme fiction.
There actually is a man, the one who comes to fetch Héloïse for her arranged marriage to a Milanese nobleman. His appearance is an unexpected "jump scare of patriarchy" which is what makes it so shocking and violent.
I'm frankly embarrased to admit which or how many of these I've yet to see but can name a couple other worthy titles:
Ace in the Hole (Wilder)
Le Deuxième Souffle/Second Breath (Melville)
Don't Bother to Knock (Baker - haven't seen it myself but for completeness' sake)
In a Lonely Place (Ray)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes)
The Long Goodbye (Altman - surprised a self-professed fan like you didn't include this)
The Manchurian Candidate (Frankenheimer - ditto)
Park Row (Fuller)
Party Girl (Ray)
Pickup on South Street (Fuller)
Point Blank (Boorman - again for completeness)
Sweet Smell of Success (Mackendrick)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Preminger)
While the City Sleeps (Lang)
The Wrong Man (Hitchcock)
Now you know I like to follow the big names.
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
Moose Malloy
G.O.A.T.
As I've pointed out it's the unmistakably seductive lesbian (as opposed to same-sex) sensuality that has made Portrait such a hit with the arthouse crowd. It's the film's most beguiling feature in more ways than one, and not always for the better.
One thing I didn't emphasize enough in my review was the film's strain of conservatism which stands in opposition to its professed progressivism. Apart from its listless handling of class what prevents it from joining the best love stories is the almost complete lack of resistance from either protagonist to the dissolution of their union. Either one's torment barely registers except in the overwrought conclusion where Marianne watches from afar Héloïse convulsing with tears as she's reminded of her lost love while the concert orchestra reenacts their shared musical séance (courtesy of the Presto from "Summer" of Vivaldi's Four Seasons). Despite its shaky execution this ending would earn most of its full intended power were the lovers not so resigned to a fate of sexual servitude for the rest of the film, and while Sciamma deserves credit for her bold insistence on female intimacy to speak for itself it's no coincidence that most reviews focused on this sorority aspect rather than its more radical expression of same-sex love which is undermined by its fatalism.
And that's not a purely ideological or philosophical critique. Here's the much-lauded ending which left me cold:
Compare this with Carol's, which comes immediately after Therese leaves a party where she realizes she cannot live a lie and belongs instead with her newfound love, social sanctions be damned:
To me it's no contest. And note how Haynes' economical use of the (gay) female gaze still manages to say more about the lovers in less than half the time.
Now I'm not such a fan of how Carol's own sensual touches allow it to skirt those social sanctions either, which brings us to Sciamma's own point of comparison. Yes I'm talking about Titanic.
Compared to its two successors Cameron's blockbuster epic is decidedly less arty fare: there's hardly any subtext, no low-key photography, the acting is sometimes ham-handed and some of the plot details are better left unsaid. But the eerie aftermath of the disaster and even the much-maligned scene of Jack meeting his demise after his refusal to share the raft with Rose (whose spirit of male chivalry reminds one of Broken Blossoms) are worthy of comparison with Griffith. And say what you will about its class politics but I'd much rather see the issue addressed with Sharpies than not at all when it's an unavoidable aspect of the love story.
Such "populist" treatment of its themes is no doubt what instigated such a fierce critical backlash as well as what gives the film its enduring power, culminating in Rose's dreamy farewell we all know by heart:
It's quite possible Cameron had never read a page of Wallace Stevens' Opus Posthumous while Haynes and Sciamma had at least passing knowledge when they created their respective films, but art often knows more than the artist himself and I find that out of these three Titanic best understands Stevens' remark that "[t]he exquisite truth" is to believe in your own fiction willingly while knowing it to be a fiction. Indeed given her courageous pursuit of true love you could say Rose actually lived her supreme fiction.
There actually is a man, the one who comes to fetch Héloïse for her arranged marriage to a Milanese nobleman. His appearance is an unexpected "jump scare of patriarchy" which is what makes it so shocking and violent.
I'm frankly embarrased to admit which or how many of these I've yet to see but can name a couple other worthy titles:
Ace in the Hole (Wilder)
Le Deuxième Souffle/Second Breath (Melville)
Don't Bother to Knock (Baker - haven't seen it myself but for completeness' sake)
In a Lonely Place (Ray)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes)
The Long Goodbye (Altman - surprised a self-professed fan like you didn't include this)
The Manchurian Candidate (Frankenheimer - ditto)
Park Row (Fuller)
Party Girl (Ray)
Pickup on South Street (Fuller)
Point Blank (Boorman - again for completeness)
Sweet Smell of Success (Mackendrick)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Preminger)
While the City Sleeps (Lang)
The Wrong Man (Hitchcock)
Now you know I like to follow the big names.
My list was sticking to the generally accepted classic cycle of noir - American noir films from 1941(Maltese Falcon) to 1958(Touch of Evil)
something like LongGoodbye would be considered neo noir)
Neo-noir - Wikipedia
Azure
G.O.A.T.
My basic minimum is 6.9 on IMDbStarted watching something called Lost In Florence (2017).
5.1 on IMDB @Azure
In this stellar movie, a hunk who can't act falls out of love with his gf, and then falls in love with his buddy's gf, and he also takes to an ancient Italian sport like a beached whale takes to water. They all depend on him.
The scenery is beautiful, the scenes of the sport are really silly, the romance itself is of course vapid, but the choice I had was Nicholas Nickleby but mum said that would be very depressing. The new Italian gf looks a lot like Anne Hathaway, so i guess that's a second positive, after the scenery.
Anne Hathaway? Hmmmmm
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
I watched Bridge of Spies last weekend. Meh typical Hollywood film. Show Russians treating American spy bad and show Americans treating Russian spy with dignity.
Now I need a better watch for this weekend.
See this and take the bad taste out of your mouth.
Suspense!
NonP
Legend
Afraid not. As a self-taught cinephile I've got many glaring lacunae, none probably bigger than classic Hollywood, and most of these noirs are American so you do the math.
Until fairly recently my usual MO was to take the best/fave directors and check off their works one by one. Now my viewing is more work-oriented, though my reading still tends to be director-centric.
My list was sticking to the generally accepted classic cycle of noir - American noir films from 1941(Maltese Falcon) to 1958(Touch of Evil)
something like LongGoodbye would be considered neo noir)
Neo-noir - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
MICHELUZZO
Professional
Turbo-87
G.O.A.T.
You let a 7 year old watch the final battle? Yikes.
LOL... yeah it was pretty much Horror gore porn level in last blood. I allow my seven year old to watch gore but he is understands its not real and watches a lot of special effect behind the scenes trickery. He knows its all fake. Last Blood has some wild practical effects. As for all the shooting and gunplay .... he knows its all fake as well. He can outshoot more adults with his little cricket rifle when he is not shooting his Bow in the back yard.
I was pretty shocked at the level of gore in the movie though and I have scene everything. Lots of cringe worthy stuff even for me. Honestly I think it was too much even for a Rambo film.
Its good though... people should give it a watch. There really isnt a bad Rambo film IMO. Stallone always does a good job. They are all really different in there own ways. First Blood is my favorite but all of them are classics. Last Blood is like John Rambo going full Paul Kersey Deathwish 3 mode.
Since some here appreciate older films.....Watched this last night. One of My all time favorite Kirk Douglas films.... I am actually a bigger fan of actors like Errol Flynn, Glenn Ford, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson etc. but Kirk nailed this role. Its kind of a precurser to First Blood in a lot of ways.
