Last Movie You Watched

[Zizekian]

I finished watching the HBO miniseries The Weight of the Nation today, which is streaming for free on Amazon On Demand. It was well made but didn't have a great deal of information of which a moderately informed person wouldn't already be aware. It was also very repetitive, with several segments appearing in multiple parts of the miniseries. If the repeated segments were axed it would probably only be a couple of hours long.

[George]

Totally fucking awesome!

[TheGSMoeller]

Life's Too Short
New show from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant

Hysterical scene from the first episode.

http://www.youtube.com/v/sqA577_IoBk

[Zizekian]

This morning I watched Fritz Lang's excellent 1927 silent film Metropolis. This was my first time seeing the full-length cut with previously lost footage.

[Fafner]

I'm halfway through True Blood fourth season. It's become crowded in Bon Temps. Too crowded for a fifty minute episode. An independent plot for each of a now staggering number of supernatural creatures inhabiting this small town: vampires (of course), fairies (and fairy godmothers  ), shape shifters, werewolves, werepanthers, ghosts, witches, magicians, creepy babies. Then they have to fit in the separate plots of some of the human characters. I preferred the previous seasons that concentrated on Sooki and her relationships.

You forgot gods and "skinwalkers."  Plus there are the complicated rules of etiquette that apply to the various supernatural types (were's do not get along with weres of other species, and detest shifters, but sometimes collaborate with vampires, who tolerate witches, unless they are necromancers...).  Sookie also becomes tiresome.  Whenever she strips down for some vampire sex I find myself going for the fast-forward button.   And, just once, I wish Eric Northman would pull his damn pants up.

[val]

CLAUDE BERRI:     "Jean de Florette"

An extraordinary movie, to me one of the greatest ever made. Sublime images, a very intense story of Marcel Pagnol about greed and cruelty, and the unforgettable performances of Depardieu, Montand and Auteuil.
The last images are a monstrous sarcasm against all human values and decency (I am talking about the scene where Montand "baptizes" Ugolin/Auteuil with the water of the hidden source).
However we must not forget that the movie has two parts, the second being, "Manon des Sources".

[SonicMan46]

Big Miracle (2012) w/ Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ted Danson and Kristen Bell - a Netflix rental; one of those 'good feeling' stories (and this one is true) about saving whales - I can't resist these films (last one seen of this nature was Dolphin Tale which I enjoyed more) - popular on Amazon (4 1/2*/5* average rating) & 73% 'fresh' on Rotten Tomatoes -

[Gold Knight]

Via Netflix, a cinema verite film made in 1968 by the Maysles brothers about Bible salesmen  going door to door, entitled "Salesman". Shot in black and white, with no background narration or musical soundtrack, it reminded me a great deal of the type of work Frederick Wiseman did in this genre.

[Zizekian]

Via Netflix, a cinema verite film made in 1968 by the Maysles brothers about Bible salesmen  going door to door, entitled "Salesman". Shot in black and white, with no background narration or musical soundtrack, it reminded me a great deal of the type of work Frederick Wiseman did in this genre.

Great movie! If you haven't already seen it, I would highly recommend their documentary Grey Gardens.

[snyprrr]

Big Miracle (2012) w/ Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ted Danson and Kristen Bell - a Netflix rental; one of those 'good feeling' stories (and this one is true) about saving whales - I can't resist these films (last one seen of this nature was Dolphin Tale which I enjoyed more) - popular on Amazon (4 1/2*/5* average rating) & 73% 'fresh' on Rotten Tomatoes -

mm, this IS a concern!

[Drasko]

Obviously not a movie, but I got seriously addicted to QI over last few weeks. Thank god for youtube though, since only first three seasons (of nine so far) are available on DVD.

[Lilas Pastia]

R.I.P. Isuzu Yamada


also watched over last week or so: Sleeping Beauty 2/5, Room in Rome 3/5, Carnage 3.5/5, The American 4/5.

I would never have thought she was still alive . Probably Japan's greatest screen tragédienne! She was one of Mizoguchi's and Kurosawa's favourite actresses. IMHO the most imperious and harrowing Lady Macbeth in any screen adaptation (Kurosawa's Throne Of Blood). Gosh, I need to see those movies again.

Thanks for the info Milos, I'll make sure to pay my respects in the proper way.

[Lilas Pastia]

CLAUDE BERRI:     "Jean de Florette"

An extraordinary movie, to me one of the greatest ever made. Sublime images, a very intense story of Marcel Pagnol about greed and cruelty, and the unforgettable performances of Depardieu, Montand and Auteuil.
The last images are a monstrous sarcasm against all human values and decency (I am talking about the scene where Montand "baptizes" Ugolin/Auteuil with the water of the hidden source).
However we must not forget that the movie has two parts, the second being, "Manon des Sources".

You got it down pat and I concur with every word. More 'naturalistic' ( à la Renoir) than the second part, Manon des sources. A true classic, very faithful to the spirit of Pagnol. Depardieu is doing a Depardieu - in the best sense. But on a deeper level Montand and Auteuil are simply unbelievable.

[Corey]

[Zizekian]

Great movie! I remember hearing that he's working on a film about the Cultural Revolution, which should be pretty interesting.

Here's what I'm watching now:

[Todd]

Aragorn vs David 8 via tons of dialogue, some good, some less so.  Too, decidedly hammy acting from Keira Knightley, with a Russian accent that waxes and wanes.  Beautiful cinematography, I must say.  Not Cronenberg's best work.

[Brian]

BERNIE (2012)



A delicious movie with authentic east Texas atmosphere, deranged hilarity, and a bravura performance by Jack Black. Shirley MacLaine's botox makes it hard for her face to express emotion, but she's more than compensated for by the "townspeople" interviewed throughout (about 50/50 actors and real Carthage, TX residents who sat for Richard Linklater's camera). One such townswoman, whose name isn't listed on IMDb because she's a real local but who's featured in the trailer (she says "a lotta people woulda shot her for five dollars"), more or less steals the entire movie. Some of them nearly push Matthew McConaughey off the screen, though he paints the courtroom scenes with a wonderful veneer of slime.

Bunches of fun.

[Fafner]

A delicious movie with authentic east Texas atmosphere, deranged hilarity, and a bravura performance by Jack Black. Shirley MacLaine's botox makes it hard for her face to express emotion, but she's more than compensated for by the "townspeople" interviewed throughout (about 50/50 actors and real Carthage, TX residents who sat for Richard Linklater's camera). One such townswoman, whose name isn't listed on IMDb because she's a real local but who's featured in the trailer (she says "a lotta people woulda shot her for five dollars"), more or less steals the entire movie. Some of them nearly push Matthew McConaughey off the screen, though he paints the courtroom scenes with a wonderful veneer of slime.

Bunches of fun.

I don't have the remotest idea what you are talking about.

[TheGSMoeller]

I don't have the remotest idea what you are talking about.

Do you mean to say, I can't see the image of the movie you're talking about?

[Fafner]

Do you mean to say, I can't see the image of the movie you're talking about?

Yes, except there is no indication on my screen that there is an image that is failing to display.