Merzbow Posted January 12, 2022 Posted January 12, 2022 Agathe Rousselle has such a screen presence, I'm hoping she works with Julia again in the future like Garance Marillier has done over the years. I watched their first short Junior a couple of weeks back and you can already see that there's such a great understanding of body-horror as far back as 2011. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 22, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted January 22, 2022 A Hero (Prime) Asghar Farhadi is my favourite director working today and this is another near masterpiece from him. There's nobody better at crafting tension and anxiety out of domestic dramas. Always a pleasure to see something new from him. Ip Man (Netflix) Stunning stuff, as expected, from Donnie Yen. Not sure why it took so long for me to get round to this but outside of the obvious greatness of the fights, its twist into a war film in its secomd half was especially well done. A Short Film About Love (Curzon channel on Prime) Poland's greatest ever filmmaker with his take on voyeurism and sexuality. Not quite as good as the Three Colours films or The Double Life of Veronique but really well acted and compact. Blade of the Immortal (Film4) Takashi Miike has a go at a Kurosawa-esque samurai epic with his usual insane edge and it's really quite good. Too long, obviously, but probably his most beautiful film that I've seen. A Touch of Sin Jia Zhangke's Ash is Purest White is one of my favourte films of the last few years, a brilliant neo-noir. This crime anthology is just as good, based around several crimes and incidents that have taken place in China. Startlingly violent and great. The Hidden Fortress (ok.ru) Sad that nerds have reappropriated this as 'the film wot Star Wars is based on' because as much as like some Star Wars, this is a brilliant and enjoyable adventure in its own right. Kurosawa's buddy comedy and as great as that sounds on paper. Ikiru Not quite my favourite Kurosawa, a bit too long and dry for my liking, but a great takedown of bureaucracy and the treatment of the elderly. The final third is especially good. Cross the Line Mediocre 'through-the-night' thriller that takes too long to get going and then becomes too ridiculous for its own good. Just watch Victoria. The Piano Teacher (Prime) The expected laugh-a-minute slapstick from mine and @PowerButchi's personal chum, Michael Haneke. Michael Haneke doesn't care about your feelings and doesn't want you to have a good time. I love him. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted February 27, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted February 27, 2022 The White Ribbon A typically grim and challenging drama from everyone's favourite Austrian cinematic sociopath Michael Haneke. Not quite up there with Caché and The Piano Teacher as his best but a guaranteed bad time. I love him. In the Line of Duty 4 (DailyMotion) The great thing about Hong Kong action series is that they usually have no connection to each other. So you can jump into something like this and it doesn't matter if you've seen the rest of the series. Some of Donnie Yen's best work here, but Cynthia Khan steals the whole thing with some amazing fight work and stunts. Love this. SPL 2: A Time for Consequences (Prime - IMDb TV) Similar to above, you don't need to have seen the first one, which is just as well because this is far better. Terrific stuff from Tony Jaa, and the prison fight is one of the best shot action scenes I've ever seen. Amazing what you can do when you keep the fucking camera stable. La Haine One of the two French films everyone has seen along with Amelie. Still just as powerful as when it was released 27 years ago and as such it doesn't look as though it's aged a day. One of the most important films of the 90s. Quote
Keith Houchen Posted February 27, 2022 Posted February 27, 2022 I miss that Twitter account of Michael Haneke trolling Ben Affleck. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 12, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted March 12, 2022 I Am Cuba (YouTube) Technically, nothing happens but it's absolutely stunning and extremely Communist so naturally I loved it. No Man's Land (2001) (YouTube) Been meaning to watch this for about 20 years and it was very much worth the wait. Kind of chilling to watch this now and a similar scenario playing out in Ukraine. Police Story 3 (YouTube) Yeah, it's definitely not as strong as the first two but the final 25 minutes is some of the most irresponsible cinema ever made. Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh have earned their stunt retirements. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 22, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted March 22, 2022 Black Crab (Netflix) Good news for me and @Scott Malbranquethat this continues Noomi Rapace's ridiculously fun run in action and thrillers. The ending is really not very good but this is a gorgeous looking and slightly weird action adventure. Enjoyed it a lot. Summer Survivors (ok.ru) Really lovely road movie comedy-drama from Lithuania about two suicidal people being driven to their new psychiatric hospital. Deals with mental health really thoughtfully and is really accessible and easy to watch. It's here if you fancy it. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 25, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted March 25, 2022 The Worst Person in the World (cinema) Joachim Trier continues his superb run of films - Reprise, Thelma and especially Oslo, August 31st are all terrific, too. This has been much hyped but deservedly so, a really well acted character study with a couple of stand-out scenes that will be remembered for many years to come. The Green Butchers Same director as Riders of Justice, similarly wrong-footing black comedy stuff. You'll be horrified by Mads Mikkelsen's physical appearance, more so than what he gets up to in this. Pretty good. Fearless Hyena (YouTube) If you've seen one pre-Police Story Jackie Chan film, you've seen them all. But they're Jackie Chan films so always worth watching. The chopsticks scene was ridiculous. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted April 3, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted April 3, 2022 (edited) EXIT (2019) Ridiculous this hasn't got any kind of release over here yet, especially with the world embracing all things Korean right now. Just a totally fun action film with a really simple idea done really smartly. The sort of thing Hollywood used to make before, well, you know. Find it on one of the 17,000 KissAsian sites out there. Train to Busan Not quite as good on the rewatch (that ending is too much, man) but still an excellent zombie film with a unique location used really well. A real shame they totally fucked up the sequel, Peninsula. It's been remade by the guy who made The Night Comes for Us, which is an awesome action film, but the rest of his films totally suck and so will this. #Alive (Netflix) Almost as good as Train to Busan but lacking in any real support characters. Some nice spots though and it doesn't mess around, pretty good. Edited April 3, 2022 by Devon Malcolm Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted April 30, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted April 30, 2022 Code Unknown (ok.ru) Not one of Mickey Haneke's best but still a good exercise in audience torment and thematic experimentation. The Firemen's Ball (Prime) Everyone loves a 1960s Czech New Wave comedy, don't they. In all seriousness though this is one of the funniest films I've seen for ages. Milos Forman made some films you might have heard of (I watched Man on the Moon last night, it's really good) but this could be his best. Only 73 minutes too! House of Hummingbird Super depressing but also gorgeous Korean family drama. A tremendous show of how miserable it is to be 14 and so well acted by Park Ji-hoo, now a star for her role in All of Us Are Dead. Loved this. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted May 21, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted May 21, 2022 Dogs Don't Wear Pants (Film4) As on-point as this generally is about BDSM, which is very unusual for any narrative film, it's also very poor on female characterisation and mental health. Very well performed and impressively graphic but a missed opportunity. Retribution (YouTube) Watching a lot of Kiyoshi Kurosawa films at the moment and this will be a familiar one to anybody who's seen any of his crime films. His style takes a bit of getting used to but once you are then there's nobody quite like him. This is only one of his better films..... Serpent's Path (YouTube) .....as is this, but they're both uncomfortable and surprisingly complex crime films that make the likes of Fincher look pretty average in comparison. Bullet in the Head (ok.ru) John Woo does Vietnam. Politically questionable but the character work and blood-letting is as good as anything he's ever done. Takes its time getting going but once it gets there then you don't pause this for about 90 minutes. Quote
Loki Posted May 22, 2022 Posted May 22, 2022 Bullet in The Head is an early Tony Leung movie, isn’t it? He then was in Hard Boiled after that which I guess made him an international star. I’ve not seen any Woo movies in a LONG time. In fact, naive question but is Hong Kong still a powerhouse of cinema as it was in the 80s and 90s? It feels like a long time since I saw any HK films. Maybe it’s just me. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted May 22, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted May 22, 2022 29 minutes ago, Loki said: Bullet in The Head is an early Tony Leung movie, isn’t it? He then was in Hard Boiled after that which I guess made him an international star. I’ve not seen any Woo movies in a LONG time. In fact, naive question but is Hong Kong still a powerhouse of cinema as it was in the 80s and 90s? It feels like a long time since I saw any HK films. Maybe it’s just me. Not really, not since 1997. There are still some being made but most of their best filmmakers moved to America and if they did come back, like Woo, they were making films in China. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted May 29, 2022 Author Paid Members Posted May 29, 2022 Before We Vanish (Prime) Kiyoshi Kurosawa does an aliens invade Earth film and it's exactly as weird as you'd expect from him. But also a fair bit funnier and positive than you normally get from the boy. Good stuff as always. Come Drink With Me I've never really got on with wuxia stuff and I always preferred Golden Harvest to Shaw Brothers, but this is great to look at and the fight scenes are very good. Cuts out the daft slapstick and gets to the point. Ernest & Celestine (ok.ru) Another very good and very cute French animated film. They've knocked out a fair few since the turn of the millennium. This one has some lovely minimalist animation and is over and done with in 80 minutes. Nice! Quote
The King Of Swing Posted June 8, 2022 Posted June 8, 2022 The Hidden Fortress (BFI Player) Finally got around to watching it and other than a couple of scenes that drag a little, it's great fun. Quote
Joe Blog Posted June 14, 2022 Posted June 14, 2022 (edited) The Platform excellent Spanish film, won’t give too much away but the general idea is a prison with 170+ llevels. Once a day a table descends laden with food. The people at the top can eat what they want and the people down below have to hope there is some left. Currently on Netflix. Very tense and a great concept. Edited June 14, 2022 by Joe Blog Quote
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