jazztalk.net

I'm in the midst of "The Wire, now on the third season, the is better than 99% of the current flicks.

moldyfigg wrote:I'm in the midst of "The Wire, now on the third season, the is better than 99% of the current flicks.

Now you're talking. I'm looking forward to watching it again. Are you watching the new, restored version?

The Wire is great. For more excellent TV check out The Knick.

Movies:

Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
QT just gets better

A Million Ways To Die In The West
Surprisingly funny

Gone Girl
Good story but left me emotionally flat

The Interview
Poor. No timing.

HBO showed the restored version during the holidays. Wow!

A. Kingstone wrote:The Wire is great. For more excellent TV check out The Knick.

Gone Girl
Good story but left me emotionally flat

I wasn't impressed with The Knick early on but I felt that it got stronger as the season went on. Had me by the end for sure.

Gone Girl was another one I checked out in the theater. I liked it for a while but then it lost me. The ending was just silly.

I've seen two movies recently:

"Coming Home," directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. A story detailing the unfortunate psychological aftermath of the Cultural Revolution for one hapless family. Well acted but lacking nuance, IMHO.

"A Most Violent Year," directed by J.C. Chandor. An ambitious businessman in the New York area in 1981 struggles to compete without resorting to the gangsterism prevalent in his industry. Good stuff. The period depiction of the New York of--my God--over 30 years ago is convincing.

Tom Storer wrote:"A Most Violent Year," directed by J.C. Chandor. An ambitious businessman in the New York area in 1981 struggles to compete without resorting to the gangsterism prevalent in his industry. Good stuff. The period depiction of the New York of--my God--over 30 years ago is convincing.

Love me some Jessica Chastain.

Continuing my Tarantino Festival.

Kill Bill Vol 1
Kill Bill Vol 2
Death Proof

I will not apologize for liking these so much. My age may be a factor, growing up in the 70's with martial art, car chase and exploitation movies yet the dialogue, story telling, music accompaniment and action are so compelling I don't think of Tarantino's films as mere homage but great works of their time. Tarantino seems to be very focused on what he wants his actors to portray scene to scene. Bill 1 is excellent, 2 less so and Death Proof may be his weakest but still enjoyable as Dirty Mary Crazy Larry made an impression on me in my youth and who else is honouring stunt men and women? When the villain is revealed I was frightened; when the heroes prevail I whooped.

I've got Fanny And Alexander, Fellini's 8 1/2 and Brazil to watch and may check in after viewing.

A. Kingstone wrote:Continuing my Tarantino Festival.

Have you seen Inglorious Basterds? That's another QT favorite of mine.

LennyH wrote:

A. Kingstone wrote:Continuing my Tarantino Festival.

Have you seen Inglorious Basterds? That's another QT favorite of mine.

There will be some Nazi carving this weekend along with some cowboy retribution.

Fanny And Alexander (Short Version 3.5hrs)

Superb.

A. Kingstone wrote:Fanny And Alexander (Short Version 3.5hrs)

Superb.

It's very good but the long version is even better. It's one of Bergman's best.

Some recent viewings:

Alamar (very good; great setting...somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico).

Only Lovers Left Alive - must-see for any Tilda Swinton fan. Moody atmospheric Jim Jarmusch flick.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed - Shitty one about kidnapping an heiress.

Everlasting Moments - Wonderful period film set in turn of the century Sweden.

Philomena - I can't resist anything with Judi Dench. Pretty good.

A Most Wanted Man - LeCarre and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Just so-so.

Nebraska - crazy Bruce Dern as good as ever.

Inside LLewyn Davis - Coen brothers. I enjoyed this very much. Charming and wry in the way the Coens can be.

The Skeleton Twins - Contrived but still worthwhile, especially if you like Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. Luke Wilson is a bonus (love me some Luke Wilson). Some of the scenes between Hader and Wiig felt so genuine and "real".

Best of all was a film from Iran made in 1997 called "Children of Heaven".

once again for the films that stonemonkts gives and i have seen,too, i have almost the same opinion and comments!
and bravo for an american who watches iranian films,sometimes they seem slow,but they hide much power inside and lead us,as western viewers, back to a forgotten world and values estimation.

i enjoyed the mike leigh new one -mr.turner.
there's a lot of good critics for a swedish one.force menauge i think it's called ,and i'm going to see it next week.

and please give the oscar to marion cottilard!

INHERENT VICE is a crazy good film. Hilarious. Imagine WC Fields as a hippy detective.

Whiplash will be out on DVD next month. Looking forward to that.

Relatos Salvajes/Wild Tales

I just saw this Argentinian movie last night--what a riot! You'll need subtitles--I would have been lost had I not had my Mexican gf helping me--but everything about it is perfect, the black humor, the photography, the music, the acting...it's 8 or 9 short vignettes, all dealing with frustration boiling over on some level.

It's a little Tarantino, a little Robert Altman, a little Woody Allen. But really, he's his own director.

Nominated for best foreign picture this year to boot. Check it out. Written and directed by Damián Szifrón, I believe.

Jazzooo wrote:Relatos Salvajes/Wild Tales...............

It's a little Tarantino, a little Robert Altman, a little Woody Allen. But really, he's his own director.

..................

Sold!

I'll look for it.

Frank is available via streaming from Netflix right now.

Pretty terrific. The last scene is mesmerizing; I watched it like 5 times. The film has really stuck with me since I watched it last night.

There are videos of the band (from the film) playing live, including on The Colbert Report. Fun stuff. There are also videos out there of Chris Sievey playing Frank Sidebottom, the character that Frank in the film is loosely based on. I had never heard of him before.

The Theory of Everything--this is some excellent movie-making, I think. Heroic people that didn't actually have to shoot at anyone from 200 yards to earn that adjective.

LennyH wrote:Frank is available via streaming from Netflix right now.

Pretty terrific. The last scene is mesmerizing; I watched it like 5 times. The film has really stuck with me since I watched it last night.

There are videos of the band (from the film) playing live, including on The Colbert Report. Fun stuff. There are also videos out there of Chris Sievey playing Frank Sidebottom, the character that Frank in the film is loosely based on. I had never heard of him before.

Thanks for the tip!

Last night saw Tokyo Sonata, a 2008 film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to the other one). Very good! Takes a few unexpected dark turns but it was overall worthwhile. Excellent acting and cinematography, with sparse and effective music. Depicts the fall and (sorta) rise of a family after the father gets laid off.

LennyH wrote:

moldyfigg wrote:I'm in the midst of "The Wire, now on the third season, the is better than 99% of the current flicks.

Now you're talking. I'm looking forward to watching it again. Are you watching the new, restored version?

What does "restored version" mean?

"What does "restored version" mean?"

HBO converted the video to HD and to fit rectangular tv screens. Coincidentally I was re-watching the Wire before the 'restoration' and the improvement was substantial!

I unintentionally watched 3 Scarlett Johannsen movies this past weekend. The latest Captain America, Her, and Chef! All very, very good flicks. Scarjo's a favorite!

Chazro wrote:Scarjo's a favorite!

I don't think she's a particularly good actor but I like her anyway!

"Under The Skin" was good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io92j2qqEGk