Last Movie You Watched

[NikF]

Lately: Mad Men. I remember NikF posting about this (or perhaps a related) dance scene some (a long?) time ago. . .

https://www.youtube.com/v/WPW7_RQmSCU

Hope you don't mind, but I replied to you in the television thread http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,24223.msg959236.html#msg959236

[Artem]

Antonioni's L'Eclisse

First time I've seen it and it was a knockout. Every single shot masterfully composed, and the final seven minutes must be one of the greatest endings in all film.

One of my favorite films. You can turn the sound of and it will still be 100% enjoyable.

[SimonNZ]

One of my favorite films. You can turn the sound of and it will still be 100% enjoyable.

It instantly jumped on to my favorites list. I'll try to watch it a second time before I have to return it. Stunning.

Also got out Antonioni's Identification Of A Woman, which had just arrived at the video store in a Criterion edition, and which I haven't seen before.

Also: I've been reading a very good online book-length study of L'Eclisse and at one point they compare it to the work of Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse, who I somehow know not at all. So I'll be following that thread as well.

[Drasko]

Also: I've been reading a very good online book-length study of L'Eclisse and at one point they compare it to the work of Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse, who I somehow know not at all. So I'll be following that thread as well.

Could you point me toward that study? I've seen several Naruse films and can't say that comparison with L'Eclisse is first that came to mind. My favorite Naruse films would be Floating Clouds and When Woman Ascends the Stairs with wonderful Hideko Takemine in the lead and Repast with Setsuko Hara.

[Bogey]

After listening to Spielberg and Scorcese rave about this film, I was excited to take in my first viewing. However, I came away not caring for it.  I guess I need more viewings to see the genius in it.

[Bogey]

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Why in the world are you  watching a Christmas movie this time of the year, James.

[Karl Henning]

After listening to Spielberg and Scorcese rave about this film, I was excited to take in my first viewing. However, I came away not caring for it.  I guess I need more viewings to see the genius in it.

A friend of mine especially praised the scholarly commentary that tracks the film.  (But, no:  I haven't gone back to listen to it yet, myself.)

Thread Duty:

Last night, the second half of Insomnia.  Beautifully shot, "slow-paced thriller";  fine-to-outstanding performances by the principals.

Also, not for the first time, though for the first time on blue disc:  Enemy of the State.  Relentless, and almost unrelievedly noisy (which serves the story) . . . particularly in light of real-life subsequent to the movie's release, we don't really deserve that happy ending.  But I am grateful for it.

[James]

However, I came away not caring for it.

While I can sort-of appreciate it's historical significance etc.,  Same reaction here essentially - a total flat-line. In fact, the majority of the 'historical' films I have viewed (especially foreign ones) have this reaction on me. I can appreciate them, but they do absolutely nothing for me.

[James]

Why in the world are you  watching a Christmas movie this time of the year, James.

Ha! I don't know, cuz everyday is Christmas in my world ..  ?

That was the first time I saw it actually 

Are any of the sequels worth a gander?

[(poco) Sforzando]

We saw Hugo in 3-D, and it was fun (as well as a beauty).

I would agree with that; it was the only totally convincing use of 3-D I've yet encountered. (My DVD is 2-D, but I don't have a 3-D player.) Most effective were the performances by the two young kids, the cinematography of Paris, and Scorsese's obvious love for the early days of film.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Are any of the sequels worth a gander?

Third one is actually my favorite. Second one is ok. Haven't seen IV and V and have heard that V is one of the crappiest movies ever made.

[James]

Third one is actually my favorite. Second one is ok. Haven't seen IV and V and have heard that V is one of the crappiest movies ever made.

By & large .. I often avoid film criticism, it is often the crappiest.

[James]

I would agree with that; it was the only totally convincing use of 3-D I've yet encountered. (My DVD is 2-D, but I don't have a 3-D player.) Most effective were the performances by the two young kids, the cinematography of Paris, and Scorsese's obvious love for the early days of film.

Scorsese is one the best in the biz .. I have Hugo on a blu-ray twofer coupled with the old Willy Wonka film .. so I will not be able to experience it in 3D but I am curious to check it out soon, it's way outside of Martin's zone and probably the only fantasy film he'll ever do.

[SimonNZ]

Could you point me toward that study? I've seen several Naruse films and can't say that comparison with L'Eclisse is first that came to mind. My favorite Naruse films would be Floating Clouds and When Woman Ascends the Stairs with wonderful Hideko Takemine in the lead and Repast with Setsuko Hara.

Yup, its here:

http://www.davidsaulrosenfeld.com/

The bit about Naruse is near the start of Chapter 8 "The End", the paragraph starting: "In Catherine Russell's comprehensive study of the films of Mikio Naruse..."

The videostore I frequent has When Woman Ascends the Stairs, so I'll be seeing that soon, but has no others.

[SonicMan46]

Ha! I don't know, cuz everyday is Christmas in my world ..  ?

That was the first time I saw it actually 

Are any of the sequels worth a gander?

Hi James - I've seen them all but has been awhile (the other film names below from an Amazon DVD box) - I only bought the first one, so my favorite by far, and cannot remember the others that well, sorry.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Last two nights, we have been streaming a few films from Amazon that were on my 'to see' list:

A Brilliant Young Mind (2015) w/ Asa Butterfield et al - short first synopsis below - Susan & I enjoyed watching the film - ratings: 7.2/10, IMDB; 86%, Rotten Tomatoes; 4.1/5*, Amazon - I'd do 4* on Amazon - read some reviews if the story is of interest.

Time Out of Mind (2015) w/ Richard Gere & Ben Vereen - short second synopsis below; ratings: 5.7/10, IMDB; 77%, Rotten Tomatoes; 3.2/5*, Amazon - a grim, realistic, and relentlessly depressing movie, but HEY, you may be in the mood for such a film?  Susan left half way through to do other things and I had to watch over two nights - if interested, make sure you're in an 'upbeat' mood - I would agree w/ a 3* rating in Amazon (which shows a reverse Bell-shaped curve, so more or less a movie you might love or just hate - ) - Dave

Struggling to build relationships with others, a teenage math prodigy (Asa Butterfield) develops a budding friendship with a young girl (Jo Yang) while competing at the International Mathematics Olympiad.

A homeless man (Richard Gere) bonds with a new friend (Ben Vereen) at New York's Bellevue Hospital while trying to repair his relationship with his estranged daughter (Jena Malone).

 

[(poco) Sforzando]

Scorsese is one the best in the biz .. I have Hugo on a blu-ray twofer coupled with the old Willy Wonka film .. so I will not be able to experience it in 3D but I am curious to check it out soon, it's way outside of Martin's zone and probably the only fantasy film he'll ever do.

No one would have expected this from the director of Raging Bull or Goodfellas, but Scorsese is very interested in film history and was behind a number of Criterion restorations such as Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes. That's the connection, I think.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Today's movie was "Seymour: An Introduction," title lifted from J.D. Salinger and directed by the actor Ethan Hawke. It's a documentary on the life of Seymour Bernstein (apparently no relation to Lenny), a concert pianist who gave up performing in public in order to devote his life to teaching. For me, it's at times on the sentimental-inspirational side, and it does little more than probe the surface of Bernstein's life, but occasionally there are fascinating observations about performance and composing that make this one well worth watching. We see Bernstein as a very gentle soul, reclusive, possibly gay (though nothing is said about his personal relationships), and there are interesting glimpses of him teaching master classes and private lessons. A bonus on the DVD is a short recital of not very technically demanding pieces that Hawke coaxed him into playing for his theater group. And threaded throughout is piano music, mostly familiar - Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, and even some Seymour Bernstein. You'll also see some clips of Glenn Gould and Clifford Curzon. On the whole worth seeing.

[James]

No one would have expected this from the director of Raging Bull or Goodfellas, but Scorsese is very interested in film history and was behind a number of Criterion restorations such as Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes. That's the connection, I think.

Scorsese's output is quite diverse - but it's usually Adult fare .. a special effects laden children's fantasy epic in 3D is quite a surprise. He's so knowable (encyclopedic) and deeply skilled though, he could probably do anything if he set his mind to it. I'm looking forward to his upcoming one - Silence.

[SimonNZ]

After listening to Spielberg and Scorcese rave about this film, I was excited to take in my first viewing. However, I came away not caring for it.  I guess I need more viewings to see the genius in it.

If the copy you have has Michael Jeck's justly famed commentary, then I urge you to take the time to play it. It was one of the earliest commentary tracks from the days of laserdics and set the standard by which all others were, and still are, judged. And he will certainly explain and highlight all the touches of understated genius throughout the film.