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thefutureisplywoodbikes · 6 years ago

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Harte Rates, #1

Hello. Those who know me well know I watch quite a lot of films and because I’m a nerd I rate them all on IMDB so that, come December, I can write a film of the year list that no-one really wants to read. In a bid to turn this activity into something useful/exacerbate a waste of time (delete as your opinion deems applicable) I’ve decided to make this into a monthly exercise, in case others wish to risk trusting my guidance when selecting what to watch. Below you’ll find a list of what I’ve watched so far this year with a rating out of ten. Below that will be a little additional information on each film for those of you that like that sort of thing. (I tend to rate things based on how I feel in the immediate aftermath of watching something so there is a chance I may be swayed by a prevailing mood and if you’re suspicious of my praise or damnation this may be why) Right at the bottom will be a breakdown of the ratings and what they mean. Anyway enough preamble.

Since January 1st I have watched:

- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) - 9/10

- Rumble Fish (1983) - 9/10

- The Last Movie (1971) - 7/10

- The Lobster (2015) - 9/10 (rewatched)

- Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) - 3/10

- Shin Godzilla (2016) - 6/10

- Sucker Punch (2011) - 2/10

- Alien³ (1992) - 6/10 (rewatched)

- High Noon (1952) - 9/10

- Gargoyles (1972 TV Movie) - 3/10

- The Favourite (2018) - 10/10

- Madhouse (1981) - 6/10

- The German Sisters (1981) - 8/10

- Fyre (2019) - 7/10

- Roman Holiday (1953) - 9/10

- Moon (2009) - 8/10

- Eyes Without a Face (1960) - 7/10

- Funny Face (1957) - 8.5/10

- Destroyer (2018) - 7.5/10

- The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) - 10/10

- A Quiet Place (2018) - 7.5/10

- Sabrina (1954) - 9/10

- Burning (2018) - 9/10

- Alison's Birthday (1981) - 3/10

- Roma (2018) -10/10

Further Details

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) - 9/10

Should you watch it: Definitely if you haven’t already. Probably if you already have.

Where did I watch it: It was on Amazon Prime but I don’t think it is any more

What’s it like: Beautiful photography and brilliant performances of contrasting style from the two leads. Also it’s crueller and more blackly comic than you might expect from a film from 1962, in a good way.

If you like ______, watch this: Not sure really, maybe Psycho regarding the dark humour perhaps Frankenheimer’s 60′s films for an approximation of the aesthetic. If you’re a fan of Davis or Crawford you probably wont require prompting for this.

Rumble Fish (1983) - 9/10

Should you watch it: Yeah.

Where did I watch it: Caught it at the cinema on 35mm. Print had seen better days and I’d say is nearing the end of it’s serviceable life. Even with ropey sound at the beginning and a few scenes chopped up more than I’d like it was great though.

What’s it like: Looks great and has a superb soundtrack from Stewart Copeland. Full of incongruous smoke and inky blackness it’s a surprisingly and I’d say unusually seductive film from Coppola. The story is kind of absent and Coppola pitching it as an “art film for teenagers” maybe belies a lack of serious depth but if you’re prepared to relax and let it wash over you it’s got a lot of dreamy charm to offer.

If you like ______, watch this: I could maybe scratch up some movie parallels but the most apt I think is Charles Burns’ Black Hole; they share a commitment to pitch black nights and hypnotic hazy days in the visuals.

The Last Movie (1971) - 7/10

Should you watch it: Maybe. It’s interesting and has some great imagery but it’s Hopper in his years under the influence so you’ve got to put up with some really erratic editing.

Where did I watch it: At the cinema, the 4k restoration.

What’s it like: As I said above interesting with some great imagery but occasionally taxing. It’s got some good scathing moments regarding the corrupting and toxic influence of American culture and insidious decadence but the highlight for me is the town that adopts the actions of the movie shoot seen at the beginning into a perverse pseudo-religious ritual

If you like ______, watch this: El Topo maybe, but don’t expect the same level of exuberant flair that that has. Medium Cool maybe

The Lobster (2015) - 9/10 (rewatched)

Should you watch it: Definitely. Or least start watching it. You may hate it and if so you may want to duck out before it get’s really dark. Personally I enjoyed it more on the second viewing and was disappointed I hadn’t returned to it sooner.

Where did I watch it: It was starting on Film4 when I got in from work.

What’s it like: Cruelly delightful. An utterly absurd premise but within that setup it mercilessly and hilariously mocks the compromises, capitulations and deceptions we succumb to in pursuit of love or under pressure to conform and suggests the reality we inhabit to be if not equally then similarly fickle and ridiculous.

If you like ______, watch this: The work of Chris Morris, or other Jorgos Lanthimos films obviously.

Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) - 3/10

Should you watch it: Fuck no!

Where did I watch it: NowTV.

What’s it like: Tiresome pointless bullshit. It’s a film with giant robots fighting giant monsters that I managed to asleep during more than once.

If you like ______, watch this: The first Pacific Rim, also tiresome pointless bullshit but not to quite the same extent as this. The Transformer films maybe, they’re also insufferably fucking awful.

Shin Godzilla (2016) - 6/10

Should you watch it: Meh, do what you like.

Where did I watch it: NowTV.

What’s it like: A Godzilla movie but taking itself more seriously than you maybe think it should but somehow being better for it.

If you like ______, watch this: It plays out a bit like a disaster movie with teams of experts earnestly theorising, but is also entirely ridiculous, so maybe shit like The Core or The Day After Tomorrow.

Sucker Punch (2011) - 2/10

Should you watch it: No-one should have ever seen this.

Where did I watch it: NowTV.

What’s it like: Like someone who really wants to direct music videos made a 2 hour showreel inspired by computer games, borrowed the plot from a women in prison film to tie it together. It’s woefully incoherent but weirdly effective at being consistently sleazy.

Annoying they managed to waste the time of and sully the resumes of some really talented actors while doing so.

If you like ______, watch this: Babestation Daytime, youtube clips of the cut-scenes in the early Resident Evil games, the grimier depths of 70s exploitation cinema. Basically if you're already a lost cause.

Alien³ (1992) - 6/10 (rewatched)

Should you watch it: If you feel the inclination.

Where did I watch it: Film4 I think

What’s it like: Alien, but not as good. Decent cast. Some fun moments

High Noon (1952) - 9/10

Should you watch it: Yeah, why not? It’s only 85 minutes and it’s good.

Where did I watch it: NowTV

What’s it like: It’s brilliantly shot for starters; most of the shots have a crispness in the focus that you notice because you don’t see it achieved much elsewhere. The depth of contrast is also really good. Where this really excels though is in the pacing and editing, it plays out in near real-time and ramps up tension really effectively. Also the story’s more cynical than you might expect and jars with heroic narratives of the times and with those traditionally seen in Westerns. John Wayne called it “the most un-American thing I’ve seen in my whole life”, which alone should be enough to perk you interest.

If you like ______, watch this: If you like From Here to Eternity also directed by Zinnemann, you’ll certainly like the look of this at least. Touch of Evil maybe too. And while Hitchcock perhaps fairly complained her character is a bit mousy in this, if you’re a Grace Kelly fan she’s mesmerising whenever she’s on screen here. And if you fancy another unusual western with a black-list connection, check out Terror in a Texas Town (written by Donald Trumbo)

Gargoyles (1972 TV Movie) - 3/10

Should you watch it: No, it’s shit.

Where did I watch it: Go Flow Streaming TV, it’s a channel you can get on Roku currently free that has a few gems available for free (Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Wages of Fear) nestled amongst shit like this.

What’s it like: Shit.

(Though it’s still only the second worst Scott Glenn film on this list)

If you like ______, watch this: Shit

The Favourite (2018)

Should you watch it: Absolutely, it’s wonderful.

Where did I watch it: At the cinema, and so should you while you still can.

What’s it like: From the trailer I was expecting a deliciously vicious mean little comedy, what you actually get is a more sophisticated tale of Machiavellian manoeuvring and some surprising tender moment. A pristinely hilarious script, stellar performances throughout and visually beautiful.

If you like ______, watch this: Good films. The Death of Stalin perhaps. Also, probably goes without saying but if you like Lanthimos’ other films, more so The Lobster than Killing of a Sacred Deer.

Madhouse (1981) - 6/10

Should you watch it: Eh, probably not unless you really like this sort of thing.

Where did I watch it: Amazon Prime

What’s it like: Pretty standard 80′s slasher fair but with a couple of decent special effects moments and a bit more visual flair than you normally get with these. It was one of the video nasty titles on the DPP list if that interests you.

If you like ______, watch this: Crappy 80′s horror films.

The German Sisters (1981) - 8/10

Should you watch it: Yeah catch if you can.

Where did I watch it: At the cinema, part of a Margarethe von Trotta season that may still be touring.

What’s it like: Serious and engaging; if you’ve seen any other New German cinema, or other politically charge European cinema from the late 70′s/early 80′s you’ll likely have an idea of what you’re getting.

If you like ______, watch this: Reminded me generally of Antonioni and One Sings, The Other Doesn’t more specifically

Fyre (2019) - 7/10

Should you watch it: Oh yes.

Where did I watch it: Netflix

What’s it like: It’s not an exceptional documentary but it is an exceptional story. It is the perfect antidote to the suggestion that you can achieve anything with a positive attitude and the unquestioning conflation of success with capability. I experienced perhaps the most prolonged period of schadenfreude in my life while watching this, and I’ve been an incurable misanthrope for at least 20 years. On another note, watching this will introduce you to Andy King, a man of such astonishing professional commitment and unassuming likability, that after this he likely became the world’s most eligible employee.

If you like ______, watch this: If you like seeing the affluent disappointed. Documentary wise it’s pretty standard fair but Three Identical Strangers or Precinct Seven Five may also be up your street.

Roman Holiday (1953) - 9/10

Should you watch it: If you find Audrey Hepburn to be an enchanting screen presence, yes. If you don’t, maybe not.

Where did I watch it: NowTV

What’s it like: Somewhat old-fashioned in a charming way, but also in a way that may make you a little uneasy with the exploitative manipulation of Peck’s character when viewed in a modern light. Not to the extent it spoils the film though I’d say. It looks great, makes superb use of its location and zips along merrily.

If you like ______, watch this: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck or the mismatched romance movies of the 40′s/50′s

Moon (2009) - 8/10

Should you watch it: Yeah, but I’m late to the party on this one so you probably already have.

Where did I watch it: Amazon Prime

What’s it like: Good. A smart little movie that plays to its strengths and limitations. Sam Rockwell is always watchable and is on good form here.

If you like ______, watch this: Reminded me of Outland though I’ve not seen that for ages and that might be down to a plot-point rather than anything more general. If you liked Silent Running you may well enjoy this.

Eyes Without a Face (1960) - 7/10

Should you watch it: If it sounds up your street, yeah. It’s good, not great.

Where did I watch it: Go Flow Streaming

What’s it like: Good. A bit predictable in a Hammer kind of way but, refreshingly, more callous. The special effects while not exceptional have a mundane quality akin to actual surgical procedures that make them seem more realistic.

If you like ______, watch this: Similar look to Les Diabolique from what I recall of that.

Funny Face (1957) - 8.5/10

Should you watch it: Again, if you especially like Audrey Hepburn and/or musicals yes, otherwise maybe not.

Where did I watch it: NowTV

What’s it like: Pleasant, but outmoded. The celebration of the transformation from independent intellectual to model and girlfriend is a bit queasy, as is the titular song. It’s wonderfully colourful though and decent fun; Astaire is charming as usual, Hepburn reliably delightful and Kay Thompson wittily brash.

If you like ______, watch this: It’s Stanley Dolen so if you liked Singin’ in the Rain you may well enjoy this (though probably not as much). Also, I haven’t seen them but Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort look to have a similar exuberance.

Destroyer (2018) - 7.5/10

Should you watch it: Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry too much if you’ve missed it at the cinema

Where did I watch it: At the cinema

What’s it like: Solid. Maybe a bit predictable but well worth a watch. Felt a bit derivative to me, but derivative of good things; Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here) and the first series of True Detective. Mostly fairly low key but has one particularly invigorating scene in the middle that’ll satisfy the thrill-seekers among you.

If you like ______, watch this: As I said above, We Need To Talk About Kevin, You Were Never Really Here, True Detective. Maybe Brick too. If you feel like exploring Kusama’s earlier, Jennifer’s Body is good fun.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) - 10/10

Should you watch it: I fucking loved it but it’s up to you. I feel mine may be an idiosyncratic assessment.

Where did I watch it: NowTV

What’s it like: Achingly cool. McQueen and Dunaway are both effervescently alluring throughout as is their cat and mouse seduction. The playfulness of the extensive use of split-screen adds to the fun. This is a film that makes polo enjoyable viewing and chess sexy.

If you like ______, watch this: Steve McQueen and/or Faye Dunaway. The films of Norman Jewison. You may also like Out of Sight, How To Steal a Million or The Hot Rock but they’re all at best vaguely related.

A Quiet Place (2018) - 7.5/10

Should you watch it: It’s pretty good. You choose.

Where did I watch it: NowTV

What’s it like: A pretty dumb premise but one that it commits to it and makes good use of. It’s an endearing and well put together little movie.

If you like ______, watch this: Not sure, nothing particularly springs to mind. Probably if you like John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Edge of Tomorrow is probably a good fit. Pitch Black perhaps

Sabrina (1954) - 9/10

Should you watch it: Yeah, it’s Billy Wilder of course you should.

Where did I watch it: NowTV

What’s it like: Smart and funny but with the bittersweet touches you expect from Wilder. Hepburn and Bogart are great while Holden and the rest offer solid support. Like Roman Holiday and Funny Face the aspects whereby it’s just accepted that men will manipulate the lives of women as they see fit don’t really sit too comfortable nowadays within a romcom but it’s a pretty minor niggle

If you like ______, watch this: Roman Holiday, The Apartment

Burning (2018) - 9/10

Should you watch it: Yes. I thought it was great.

Where did I watch it: At the cinema. You should too.

What’s it like: Brilliant and brilliantly unnerving. And that’ll do for now, the less you know the better.

If you like ______, watch this: I don’t want to say too much lest I spoil it, though I’d say it has some of the feel of Blow Up (not the pretension though)

Alison's Birthday (1981) - 3/10

Should you watch it: Nah.

Where did I watch it: Amazon Prime

What’s it like: It’s a zero-budget, bloodless Australian horror movie from 1981 and while it’s competently put together in a TV movie kinda way, it is incredibly dull. It’s like an episode of Neighbours trying to make your afternoon especially spooky.

If you like ______, watch this: Minder is probably on a par in terms of dramatic tension. Maybe if you have a hankering for a particularly dull episode of Tales of the Unexpected.

Roma (2018) -10/10

Should you watch it: Yes, in the cinema if you can.

Where did I watch it: I saw it at HOME and if you’re in Manchester so should you but go to a Curzon if you must.

What’s it like: Spectacular. It’s beautifully photographed throughout but some of the shots it features are masterful. The sound design is superb too and even though it looks stunning is probably the main reason I’d say to see it in the cinema. And it has a deeply compassionate, complex story, that seems transparently informed by the truth of the director's life. A majestic cinematic triumph.

If you like ______, watch this: I was reminded a bit of Andei Rublev and Altman in the camera movements, Cold War in the clean naturalism of its look and maybe Nuri Bilge Ceylan in the scope of the story, though this is a far less demanding watch. But you don’t need any of this bullshit anyway, just go see it.

And we’re done. Congratulations if you stuck with it. It took fucking ages to write, hopefully it was an easier read. Let me know if you think it’s a taxing format and I’ll maybe shift to more regular updates. (Also I think that as it stands, this moreso serves to highlight the inadequacy of my vocabulary than it does the presence of any useful film knowledge.)

A word on ratings

I used to a movie recommendation site called JInni, now defunct, which had the a breakdown of ratings that I liked enough to keep using after it shutdown. See below.

10 - Must watch

9 - Amazing

8 - Great

7 - Good

6 - OK

5 - So-so

4 - Disappointing

3 - Poor

2 - Bad

1- Awful

My baseline is likely a 6, if I don’t actively regret or resent watching something it’ll likely be there. Anything 7 or above I’d say is worth seeing, 5 and below I wouldn’t necessarily bother, a 6 is up to you, it’ll pass the time. So if you feel the inclination you can obviously treat 5 as 0, 6 as 1 and 10 as 5, for a simpler 5 star rating system; I like to distinguish the full spectrum from dogshit to sublime but what you choose to do is your business.

#HarteRates

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yodamo-blog · 13 years ago

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Venice Film Festival 2011: Alps, Hail and Chicken With Plums

Alps is the second feature from Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek director whose first feature, Dogtooth, won the Un Certain Regard award in Cannes a couple of years ago. I wish I'd seen it at the time; when I finally caught up with it, I'd seen, in the interim, Mexican director Arturo Ripstein's unforgettable 70s black comedy The Castle Of Purity, which, too, was about a family being sheltered from the outside world, so the novelty was somewhat lost. I didn't have especially high hopes for Alps, then, but what I saw has persuaded me to give Dogtooth another go. It's hard work for sure, and delivers only two obvious clues in the first 45 minutes. But once the premise is made (sort of) clear, what seems like a very fuzzy, meandering movie suddenly snaps sharply into focus. Whether this is even the real world, let lone the modern day is left abundantly vague when the film opens, and a scrawny ribbon dancer is shown performing a breathless dance to the blaring strains of Wagner's Ride Of The Valkyries. She's phoning in her performance because she'd rather be dancing to pop music, but when she says as much, her coach turns sour, threatening physical harm if she speaks so insolently to him again. These two people – from memory, I don't recall any real names being used, but that could just be the disorientating nature of the film – are part of a mysterious quartet who operate out of a rundown gym. We meet the other two soon enough; the group has a meeting, in which their leader announces that he has decided on a name. They are to be called Alps: for many reasons, but the primary one being that it gives no indication of what it is they do. So what do they do? Well, it's shown to us in tantalising fragments that come together so slowly the film will test the patience of the casual viewer. But if you stick with it, Alps becomes a brilliant, baffling puzzle that, though it looks superficially like one of the suburban grotesques cooked up by Austria's Ulrich Seidl, is actually more of a Lynchian mood-piece. Though dream-like in tone, it never becomes nightmarish, and the climax is even somewhat moving. Made with a brutally assured style that at times borders on anti-cinema, Alps is a provocative story about people and relationships that constantly undercuts our needs and expectations. Above all, it's about individuality – how much pride we have in it of ourselves but, more poignantly, how we demand it of other people. Saturday morning's film Hail was certainly about individuality too. I must have slipped up somewhere but I decided to see this instead of Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, which I skipped because a) it's out on Friday in the US and b) even afterwards, the kindest thing anyone had to say about it was that it was “quite good”. That said, Hail wasn't the hardboiled Australia crime movie I was hoping for it. It's stylish, bold and definitely not for the squeamish, but the struggling non-professional cast were pushed too hard for my liking. Inspired by the real-life experiences of its star, the weather-worn Daniel P Jones, it tells the story of a criminal named Danny (Jones), who gets out of jail and goes back to the home he shares with his patient, loving partner Lauren. Danny gets a job but breaks his arm in a fall, so, to help him get back on his feet, an old flame of Lauren's comes by with a proposition that has disastrous consequences for all. There are good moments in this overlong and, visually, slightly self-regarding film, but they mostly don't involve the genre elements. Hail works best when its leading man is trying to articulate his troubles, and the look in his eyes in certain scenes certainly does open a window on a very dark psyche. Ultimately, though, I didn't buy what it was about and left feeling rather soiled by my stay in Hail's world. The music choices, however, made that time tolerable. I can't pass comment on James Franco's Sal yet because the security at this festival is a farce and I couldn't get in. But I didn't mind too much because it meant that I got to see all of Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's wonderful Chicken With Plums, an Iran-set love story with echoes of Amelie but with a much punchier sense of humour and an elegant sense of tragedy and loss. Mathieu Almaric stars as Nassir-Ali, a violinist who is in despair because his favourite instrument has been smashed and no other will do. At his wits end, he decides to die, and after rejecting all the options in a hilariously bleak montage of potential suicides he opts to stay in bed and simply waste away. Will he die? The film answers that question very early on (I won't spoil it), but the film continues to surprise us, using an ingenious mix of flashbacks and flash-forwards, explaining how Nassir-Ali came to give up on life and why he can create such beautiful music. After the animated Persepolis, which also mixed gallows humour with sweetness and sadness, Chicken With Plums is a startlingly accomplished live-action follow-up. Its zaniness has less of a Jeunet quality and resembles more the the wackiness of the early Coens, if they had a bit more heart. The ending is a bit elongated and undermines the power of the film's simplicity, but this film completely won me over with its eccentricity, confidence and pure, unsentimental emotion.

#Alps #Jorgos Lanthimos #Marjane Satrapi #Daniel P Jones #Mathieu Almaric #Chicken With Plums #Poulet Aux Prunes #Hail

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