list/discuss/rate - your recently watched movies

Henry Plainview wrote: People Who Do Noise--It's an interesting look at the people behind the noise scene in Portland, Oregon, but you do have to like noise to some degree to get any enjoyment out of it. One thing that shocked me was how juvenile so many of the performers were: almost all of them mentioned that they were convinced that society is going to collapse within 15 years and so they're trying to reflect that in their sound (or just party), and they all seemed to agree that "noise is the new punk rock" or "noise is the most punk music possible". But noise was around a long time before punk! And the world is probably not going to end! It also dragged a bit because so much of it was people just screaming into a microphone with lots of distortion and feedback, and if you want to do that for your personal catharsis that's fine, but don't pretend that you're being original and changing the world. But I guess any movie covering local bands would have that problem since most local bands suck.

I would watch that.  I agree, many of these guys doing modern so-called noise are not really doing anything that wasn't already done 50-100  years ago.... (and most of them are just pretentious hipsters with no musical know how or talent... the old saying goes, "you gotta know the rules before you can break them...") That old-school stuff is where it's at.  If you don't have them yet, pick up the "Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music" collections- 5 double discs of wonderful stuff, that breaks things down historically...

Atavachron wrote: The Prestige Fascinating tale of two magicians in old London (Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman) and the deadly rivalry that develops between them.  Wonderfully plotted and full of great twists and turns, brilliantly directed by Christopher Nolan, and David Bowie is great as Nikola Tesla.  From Chis Priest's novel.  Highly recommended.

I didn't like that much, unfortunately.

The Curious Case OF Benjamin Button - 8/10 (excellent, and very touching).

 ^ wonderful flick, one of my very favorites of his along with Crimes & Misdemeanors and A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy     

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

set in S.F. at the height of 1970s socio-political paranoia, this version is absolutely one of the scariest films ever made and captures the sheer terror of being consumed reflected in the 1956 classic.  Donald Sutherland stars with Jeff Goldblum, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Veronica Cartwright.  Perfectly reinterpreted by Philip Kaufman, meticulously chilling and relentlessly creepy.  A must see.

 
***  the '56 original is just as good in its own way, a beautiful and elegant horror classic.

 ^ I agree--  strange thing is, I saw it in the theater and quite enjoyed it but like some novelty, it just doesn't seem to hold up.  And yeah, the 'twist' is barely that.. oh and Bruce Willis either needs better toupes or should just go shaved-head.

Unbreakable is better but Shyamalam's films get weirder and weirder .. didn't much like The Village or Signs

The Madness of King George

Spirited adaption of the play about a monarch's sudden onset of manic behavior.  Fun with a great screenplay, full of anglocentric oddities and first rate performances.

^ When Cartoon Network arrived in my country circa 1995 they changed my life for the better, they were having mostly older stuff like Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo. I basically learned English because of them (now it's not possible because they are dubbing everything). 

I did not care too much for There Will Be Blood.  I like Daniel Day Lewis quite a bit, but the only good parts were the beginning, and the savage end, where he utilizes a bowling pin to do in that little gold-digging sh*thead....  otherwise- total snoozefest (for me).



I saw Shutter Island last night- very well done.  Predictable in parts, yet enticing enough to sit through.  Enough surprises to make it interesting.  With most films, you are taken on a ride through the eyes and mind of the protagonist.  This was definitely one of those experiences, where you were not too sure what was real.... clever script... AMAZING SCORE- with some Penderecki, Ligeti, Schnittke, Cage, Mahler, etc.  nice and dark.... well-suited for the film.  DiCaprio proves once again his superb acting skills....and this was the best Scorcese films I have seen in some time.  8/10