Days of The Week (Films Watched 10/8 – 10/14)

30 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched 10/8 – 10/14)”

1. Let’s see. This week. I saw A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (for the LAMB Acting School on Kate Winslet), that was crap and The Illusionist by Sylvain Chomet, which I liked. Just now, Melancholia by Lars von Trier which is amazing. Tomorrow, I’m going to watch 50/50 and The Ides of March.

   1. 50/50 and IDES on the same day is going to make for a great afternoon at the movies. I’ll be interested in hearing what you think.

      I actually got a trailer for MELANCHOLIA before TAKE SHELTER this weekend, but decided to hide my eyes under my hat. For some reason I feel the urge to go into that film blind.

2. Continuing the pace of a film a day for October…

   Deconstructing Harry: Woody Allen at his Woody Allen-est.
   Un Partie de Campagne: A fragment of what was intended. Jean Renoir’s unfinished film contains more romance than most modern romances.
   The Bad and the Beautiful: Brutal and unflinching. Leaves off where The Player picks up.
   Novocento: At least an hour too long. Likely two. Possibly three.
   The Aviator: Could’ve gone another hour without my caring. My new favorite DiCaprio performance.
   2 ou 3 Choses que je Sais D’elle: Not the first Godard I liked, but the first Godard I feel like I really understood.
   All That Heaven Allows: Jane Wyman is great; the rest is melodramatic and merely decent.

   1. I didn’t get around to DECONSTRUCTING HARRY when I was doing The Film Locker last summer, and I really wish I’d been able to work it in. Once I get done with all of these horror films, I’ll scratch it off the list.

      THE AVIATOR is pretty damned underrated, isn’t it? I still can’t get over how handsome that whole film looks…

      1. Yes, The Aviator is criminally unloved, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. And yes, it seems ridiculous to say that about a movie that won five Oscars, but there it is.

         Had I not such a list to get through, I’d watch it again right now.

         1. First of all, great work on The LAMBcast. I’ll have to capitalize on your mic skills and get you on The Matineecast one of these days.

            Secondly, I think THE AVIATOR suffered from a trend I dislike: the cannon comparison.

            You get a director who has amassed some great offerings within their body of work. At a certain point, t doesn’t matter whether their new releases are solid or not because they aren’t being measured against the field so much as they are being measured against themselves.

            See: Wes Anderson, Almodovar, Woody Allen, etc

            In the end, people didn’t overlook AVIATOR because it wasn’t good, they overlooked it because it wasn’t GOODFELLAS, RAGING BULL, MEAN STREETS, etc

3. I had a brilliant week of film-watching.
   Firsts: How to Marry a Millionaire– So in love with Bacall’s voice.
   Lars and the Real Girl– How talented is Gosling anyways? Amazing.
   Cinema Paradiso– Days of the Week boy finally! It was so lovely…especially that ending *sniff*
   The Help– It was sweet and I really liked Davis, but I really don’t get what’s with all the Oscar buzz.
   Vertigo– Not my favourite Hitchcock, but it was intriguing nonetheless.
   Y tu mamá también– Fun, but I really don’t get how Cuaron made Harry Potter after this.
   L.A. Confidential– I finally let go of my Russel Crowe-hatred for a while and watched this. And it really is as good as everyone says.
   From Here to Eternity– There was so much more than that kiss in this film.
   Princess Mononoke– I have never seen so much blood in cartoon (except Kill Bill duh). But it was really beautiful animation.
   Mulholland Drive– First Lynch experience. Um….
   A Bug’s Life– A Pixar film I hadn’t seen. Nice 🙂
   Une Femme est une femme– Ugh, romcoms should learn things from this. So in love with Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo.
   The Iron Giant– Adorable.
   George Harrison: Living in the Material World– 3 hours was a bit too long, but I love George.

   Rewatched- Pleasantville– I had forgotten how much I loved this film. So pretty.

   1. Nik, I am in a massive state of envy that you got to see so many wonderful films for the first time all in one week. Some of those are ones I love dearly (namely L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, VERTIGO, and TAMBIEN) and to soak them all up for the first time within the same seven days? Cinematic bliss!

      I believe I might have to take drastic measures to catch up with that George Harrison doc…

4. Hey! Well done! A Normal week Ryan for me. Evn I am lucky if I see four films. This week I have watched:

   STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
   STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI

   Hopefully, this afternoon, I will be watching;

   HIGH NOON
   MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
   ALIEN

   This is a good week for me!

   1. It’s alright mate – next week will return me to my usual level of insanity!

      Your Star Wars entries have been an interesting read, although you missed the chance to experience them the best way possible. There’s a blog out there that happened upon what they believe to be the best viewing order:

      A NEW HOPE
      THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
      THE PHANTOM MENACE
      ATTACK OF THE CLONES
      REVENGE OF THE SITH
      RETURN OF THE JEDI

      This way, the “Father” reveal is still shocking, the first trilogy plays like a Vader flashback, Obi-Wan’s revelation at Degobah still carries its weight, and you can end everything off with Jedi.

      Perhaps next time…

      (Looking forward to finally getting your thoughts on PARIS)

5. Interesting that we both watched Miller’s Crossing this week! However, this was my first time experiencing the film.

   1. I know you dislike much of their work, but which other Coen brothers movies have you seen?

      1. I would point out the difference between disliking and being indifferent :). But as of last night I’ve seen Barton Fink, Miller’s Crossing, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, No Country For Old Men, A Serious Man, True Grit, Burn After Reading, The Ladykillers, Raising Arizona, Intolerable Cruelty, and The Big Lebowski. I watched part of The Hudsucker Proxy but had to leave and never got around to finishing it.

         1. My commenting filters do some funny things sometimes – oddly, this was caught as Spam. Odd.

            I’m not sure if you lustened to The Film Locker or not, but when we did our Coen Brothers episode, I described them as “a particular brand of vodka”. I’ve come to realize over time – in part through my own experience – that their manner of storytelling is not for everyone. What’s worse, is that those that dig what they do tend to browbeat those who don’t.

            So I hear you and your indifference, no “watch it again” coming here…though I do love several of the films in their cannon dearly.

            (For what it’s worth, I also believe that Kubrick and Malick are similar acquired tastes)

            1. Hmmm, mesa thinks it would be a fun idea to try and describe directors in terms of food and drink analogys.

               Here’s how I would describe them in terms of your vodka analogy: The Coen brothers hit the tongue with a beautiful array of flavor, but the stringent after taste often leaves much to be desired.

            2. But some people *like* that type of Vodka…

6. I love Cat People. Watched it in high school film class after a round of film noirs.

   My current class is on Scorsese week, and I have to say that after TAXI DRIVER, MEAN STREETS, and RAGING BULL I am kind of DeNiro’d out.

   1. Oh I do so love RAGING BULL and all of that glorious black and white. For me, that is Scorsese at his very very best.

      Pardon me, I do believe a re-watch is in order…

7. May: A horror film you might like, Ryan. It’s more spooky than terrifying and it belongs with Let the Right One In and The Devil’s Backbone as one of the few sad horrors I’ve seen.

   The Woman: Jumping from that gentle, sorrowful early Lucky McKee film to this was a hell of a thing. This is a pure exploitation film that aggressively pits misogyny against itself. That’s a fine line to walk, but McKee succeeds.

   The Ides of March: Script has no idea what it wants to say so it aims aggressively for the middle so as to blandly appeal to as many as possible. A far cry from the golden days of political paranoia.

   Terri: A fine twist on the sort of comedies the Duplass brothers make, with more humanity for me to latch onto. It holds its beats too long, but the young actors are painfully real and John C. Reilly is great too.

   1. I dtill haven’t read your IDES review – damn am I ever a bad community member these days.

      I liked TERRI, but wasn’t really sure what to say about it (hence no review written). It might have been too personal a story for me to bend my brain around…which I realize is a critical cop-out.

8. Breathless – Brilliant piece of work and the beginning of the French New Wave

   Real Steel – Clunky, annoying, and thoroughly enjoyable

   Office Space – Nice little comedy about a few guys who don’t like their jobs

   About Schmidt – Woefully accepts and walks in its own unsatisfying pity

   L.A. Story – Steve Martin attempting to be romantic. Eh, lackluster to say the least

   Old School: Not nearly as funny as I remembered

   and finally….

   George Harrison Living In A Material World: Finished part 1 – can’t wait for part 2. An interesting and touching insight into the Beatles and the most misunderstood member.

   Tonight: Who knows.

9. * Unenjoyable for RS haha

10. The Thing
    Carrie
    Silver Bullet
    Oldboy (really did not enjoy that film)
    War of the Worlds

11. I’d love to give Miller’s Crossing another watch. Such a good film.

    1. What’d you think of CARRIE and WAR OF THE WORLDS?

       1. War of the Worlds was better than I expected. I should have known better Tom Cruise is not bad at picking films. Carrie felt at times trancelike, then the pacing would rapidly change. It threw me a little too often.

          1. For WORLDS, what brought on my faith in the film wasn’t so much Cruise’s involvement as it was Spielberg’s. Sure his last decade’s worth of films tend to have their flaws, but for almost all of them the good outweighs the bad…and pretty much every one of them has its inevitable “wow” moment.

             For WORLDS, I always come back to the moment they’re trying to avoid detection in the cellar.

12. First time viewing, courtesy of Netflix instant play: The Thai film “Chocolate”, a new, old school-style martial arts extravaganza.

    1. Interesting…can’t say I’ve ever heard of it. Did you write about it by chance that I might be able to read more?

13. Last week, I only saw two movies:

    – Ironclad: Decent action set pieces but the romance was cripplingly cheesy.

    – Stake Land: The Road meets Zombieland (without the comedy). Very good post-apocalyptic vampire movie I thought.

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