I also watched a couple of September 29 releases, The Sorcerer and the White Snake and The Whistleblower. One was quite good. There were two films I was thinking about all of last Thursday that deal with many philosophical and existential themes, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Stalker. I re-watched both of them. Amazing films. As a result of this madness, I have unfortunately neglected The Decalogue, which is a shame. This must be remedied this week, but with work nearly every day again, it will be a challenge.
But, on with some links for this week:
Alex @ And So It Begins gives an in-depth 2011 Fall Preview. So many potentially great films released between now and the end of the year. Well, for us here in Australia - now and next February or beyond.
The Kid in the Front Row wrote a guest post at Anomalous Material about The Elusiveness of Cinematic Greatness. It's worth a read. While you are there check out a Double-Header of Moneyball reviews.
For another review of Moneyball check out Steven's at Surrender to the Void.
Toby @ Blah Blah Blah Gay: A Movie Review Blog writes a great article on Double Indemnity as part of his Noir-A-Thon.
As part of the LAMB Movie of the Month, Bonjour Tristesse reviews Jean Luc Godard's Bande a Part. I haven't seen enough Godard (not even Breathless), so I am thinking of making him my next personal DOTM.
Thomas Caldwell @ Cinema Autopsy shares a brilliant article he wrote about James Cameron's Aliens called Aliens: Mothers, Monsters and Marines.
Nick Prigge @ Cinema Romantico is having a mild identity crisis.
Sam @ Duke and the Movies reviews Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused.
For great reviews on Tinker Taylor Solider Spy check out Phil's @ Phil on Film, Anna's @ Split Reel and Simon's @ Screen Insight.
Tom Clift @ Movie Reviews by Tom Clift reviews Joint Security Area, a film he watched at KOFFIA. It sounds like an awesome film.
Tyler @ Southern Vision has unveiled his list of 100 Essential Foreign Films.
Jessica @ The Velvet Cafe writes a nice little review about Lillusionniste.
Finally, a great new site I recently discovered is Subtitledonline.com, which specializes in World Cinema.
Hope everyone has a great week!
i'm constantly impressed with your content andy, i couldnt even keep up the pace for a month so i can't imagine what you have to do to keep going.
ReplyDeletethanks for the link, we're just getting to the good part of the noir-a-thon now and i'm having a blast.
Thanks for the link. JSA-Joint Security Area is a really good film though it's a bit flawed. I do recommend if you're into the films of Chan-wook Park.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the linkage.
ReplyDeleteI recently decided after weighing it up that THE DECALOGUE, as one single film, is my favourite film of all time. It just deals with so many different themes and issues, and it does so flawlessly. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
Thanks for the link! Even if more people will now know about my identity crisis.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely check out "Band of Outsiders." What I find craziest about it is that one of those stills I put in my 13 Iconic Images list - Faye Dunaway putting her face between the bars - is actually ripped off from "Band of Outsiders." That is such an influential film.
Thanks for the linkage Andrew :) Seems like you had a busy week of film-watching!
ReplyDeleteHi there! Thank you for the love! It's a lovely little movie. That movie where you checked the watch after 41 min sounds horrible. Again: I guess we need those sad experiences to reminded about how great the great movies where you forget about time actually are.
ReplyDeleteYou are too kind, my friend. Really, seriously, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI just finished The Decalogue... bloody brilliant.
As for laborious running times... the last time I experienced what you're talking about was during Cowboys & Aliens. Awful, pointless, horribly long (which doesn't speak highly of a 118 minute film).
Thanks again for the link!
@ Toby - Yeah it takes plenty of work and consistent motivation, but I am churning out reviews much quicker these days than in the past. Above all, I enjoy it. Watching bad films is tough, but I have remedied that by re-watching some classics. Your welcome. I look forward to your next chosen film. I love Double Indemnity.
ReplyDelete@ Steven - I'll try and seek it out. I doubt it will get a regular release here.
@ Tyler - Sure thing. I expect it will be life-changing just as his other films have been. Really, no one makes films like that anymore!
@ Nick - It was an entertaining read, I thought! Interesting, it wasn't a Godard film I recognised upon hearing the name. I really want to make him a DOTM, and get stuck into his resume.
@ Castor - Of course. Always shout to AM. Yeah, it was a busy week. I appreciated both Uncle Boonmee and Stalker even more, but realised that Ronin wasn't as good as I remember!
ReplyDelete@ Jessica - Yeah, there are some films where you become so absorbed that time has no significance. Today I watched Knocked Up, a film that runs 132 minutes, and it flew by. Then there are films by Kieslowski that run about 95 minutes and squeeze in an incredible amount - tackling characters, themes and political ideologies really concisely. L'illusionniste is in my Top 20 of 2011 at the moment. Really moved me.
@ Alex - You are most welcome. I love reading your work. I can't wait of The Decalogue. Yeah, Cowboys and Aliens went on forever. Awful film.
Thank you for the link Andy! I look forward to your future reviews on Godard.
ReplyDeleteAndy, I watched an Aussie movie tonight called Snowtown. I was sickened by it, even though I could appreciate its excellence. Have you seen it or have you any thoughts on it?
ReplyDelete@ Bonjour - You're welcome. I'm looking forward to getting into his films. I really enjoyed Maculine Feminine and Pierrot Le Fou.
ReplyDelete@ Colin - Yeah, I saw Snowtown earlier in the year. It is an extremely unsettling film for sure, but I thought it was exceptional. I wasn't sure what to make of it initially - hence only writing down a few quick thoughts. But I think it is the best Australian film released this year. Sadly, communities like this do exist in this country (though it was set in the 90's from memory) and I thought the horrifying atmosphere built by the film was just so creepy. The performances (by mostly non-professionals) were excellent too. Glad you got to see it, Colin!
You shoud write about it, Andy. I'd be interested to see what you had to say. Mine is basically me repeating, over and over again, that it was brilliant and I hated it. (I have inner turmoils, as you can tell...)
ReplyDeleteI did write this after watching the film: http://buckle22.blogspot.com/2011/05/first-thoughts-on-snowtown.html
ReplyDeleteGave it a rating of 4/5. It's an ugly, hard-hitting, extremely unsettling drama that I never want to see again. I had chills throughout the entire film and the ending was great. I'll check out your review!
Thanks for the link mate.
ReplyDelete