Last (x) movies you saw (II)

How was TIFF attended this year? Between leaving the city and COVID, it feels a million miles away.

this was the second TIFF i've attended, with the first being last year and it was one screening (the Soderbergh screening) so idk if i have any worthy standard of comparison

the screenings this yr were mostly full, decently attended without being overwhelming i guess? surprisingly, the least attended screening i went to was Knives Out 2, which was free (well you had to show your Presto card lol)

Summer 2022

Navalny (Daniel Roher, 2022)
Chameleon Street (Wendell B. Harris Jr., 1989)
Limbo (Ben Sharrock, 2020)
Mad Dog Time (Larry Bishop, 1996)
A Life in Waves (Brett Whitcomb, 2017)
Propaganda (Slavko Martinov, 2021)
Domestic Violence (Frederick Wiseman, 2001)
No Time to Die (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2021)
Billy Liar (John Schlesinger, 1963)
Johnny O'Clock (Robert Rossen, 1947)
Last Night In Soho (Edgar Wright, 2021)
Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966)
Paula Rego, Secrets & Stories (Nick Willing, 2017)
Karen Dalton: In My Own Time (Richard Peete, Robert Yapkowitz, 2020)
Adrienne (Andy Ostroy, 2021)
Domestic Violence 2 (Frederick Wiseman, 2002)
Darkened Room (David Lynch, 2002)
Still Processing (Sophy Romvari, 2020)
Mountains May Depart (Zhangke Jia, 2015)
Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh, 2014)
Exhibition (Joanna Hogg, 2013)
The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952)
Benedetta (Paul Verhoeven, 2021)
Evening in Byzantium (Jerry London, 1978)
Hail, Caesar! (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2016)
The Card Counter (Paul Schrader, 2021)
The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950)
Moonwalk One (Theo Kamecke, 1972)
The Matrix Resurrections (Lana Wachowski, 2021)
Belfast, Maine (Frederick Wiseman, 1999)
The Hard Ride (Burt Topper, 1971)
*Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 1971)
Giants and Toys (Yasuzô Masumura, 1958)

What the heck took me to long to see Asphalt Jungle? Sheesh...

Such a great film and one I always like to use to counter the Huston haters. Superior to « Rififi » imo.

*A Straight Crook (1921)
The Wrong Mr. Fox (Jackson, 1917)
Sweetie (Tuttle, 1929)
Gun Smoke (Sloman, 1931)
Young Man of Manhattan (Bell, 1930)
Maman Colbri (Duvivier, 1929)
Captain Fracasse (Cavalcanti, 1929)
The Shadow (Cooper, 1933)

september:

That Batman (Matt Reeves, 2022) 6/10
Trainwreck: the netflix woodstock 99 one (2022) 7/10 -- gave up on the hbo one
X (Ti West, 2022) 7/10
Elvis (The Baz, 2022) 8/10
Good Burger (1997) 5/10

Last Night at the Alamo (1983) 4/5
Deja Vu (2006) 4/5. Funny that Denzel's son later starred in his own time travel action movie (Tenet), but Tony Scott gets the edge over Nolan.
Diary of a Hitman (1991) 2/5. I put this on because it looked like it might be 90s comfort crap. Only film directed by acting teacher Roy London. Sherilyn Fenn and Sharon Stone play sisters.
Truck Turner (1974) 4/5. WILD movie. Nichelle Nichols is phenomenal as an evil madam.
* Contempt (1963) 4/5
Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall (2022) 3/5
The Wrong Guy - 4/5 (1997) Under-seen Dave Foley vehicle. Thought this started out shaky but it soon had the feel of one of his Kids in the Hall sketches, with a touch of one of John Swartzwelder's comic novels. A treat.
Every Man for Himself (1980) 3/5. Memorably perverted, I'll say that.
Top of the Heap (1972) 4/5
Undine (2020) 3.5/5

Showgirl's Luck (Dawn, 1931)
Pierrot le Fou (Godard, 1965)
Her Mad Night (Hopper, 1932)
Hell-Bound Train (Gist & Gist, 1930)
Mush and Milk (McGowan, 1933)
Shrimps for a Day (Meins, 1934)
*Manhatta (Strand & Sheeler, 1921)
The Song of Life (Stahl, 1922)
Trilogy of Terror (Curtis, 1975)
*Dogs of War! (McGowan, 1923)
The Big Show (McGowan, 1923)

Nope (5.5)
Better Call Saul (S6 – 6.0)
Friday Night Lights (S1-S5 – 8.5)
Wild Palms (7.5)
The Americans (S1-S6 – 8.0)
Facing Nolan (5.5)
Blonde (4.0)
Kill Bill (6.0 – I’ll treat the two as one film)
Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall (7.0)
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (6.0)

What the heck took me to long to see Asphalt Jungle? Sheesh...
― Elvis Telecom, Saturday, September 24, 2022 7:21 PM (one week ago)

Such a great film and one I always like to use to counter the Huston haters. Superior to « Rififi » imo.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Sunday, September 25, 2022 7:05 AM (one week ago)

Had the same reaction when I belatedly caught up to it after years and years. I still haven't seen Rififi (which figures into The Americans when Elizabeth tries to work a senator's aide who spends his time at rep houses), but I thought The Asphalt Jungle was almost on par with The Killing.

September

*Malcolm X (Lee, 1992) 8/10
Haxan (Christensen, 1922) 9/10 (its crazy that this 100 years old!)
*Licorice Pizza (Anderson, 2021) 7/10
Scenes From A Marriage (Bergman, 1974) 8/10
Flame (Loncraine, 1975) 8/10
The Boat That Rocked (Curtis, 2009) 4/10
The Great Silence (Corbucci, 1968) 8/10
Vivre Sa Vie (Godard, 1962) 8/10
The Fifth Seal (Fabri, 1976) 9/10
Confess, Fletch (Mottola, 2022) 6/10
Fallen Angels (Kar-Wai, 1995) 8/10
Opening Night (Cassavetes, 1977) 7/10
Noah (Aronofsky, 2014) 5/10
*Nixon (Stone, 1995) 7/10
Windy City Heat (Goldthwait, 2003) 7/10

Asphalt jungle and rififi are both lesser noirs imho

Dante's Inferno (Otto, 1924)
The Mascot (Starewicz, 1933)
Verdict: Not Guilty (Gist & Gist, 1933)
Heaven-Bound Travelers (Gist & Gist, 1935)
Terror Island (Cruze, 1920)
Secrets of a Soul (Pabst, 1926)
It! The Terror from Beyond Space (Cahn, 1958)

Yesterday: Out of the Past, a 1947 noir with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas with dialogue that made me laugh out loud several times, in a good way. My favorite line comes when Mitchum opens a door and sees Douglas, whom he was not expecting; Douglas says, "I hate surprises myself. You wanna just shut the door and forget it?"

Today: The Conjuring 2. I loved The Conjuring, total old-school horror done right (without winking). This sequel suuuuucked. Based on this, I'll be skipping #3 and all the various spinoffs about the haunted doll, the evil nun, etc., etc.

love The Mascot, so weird

one of my favorite things about Out of the Past is how hilariously cheerful Douglas is right up until he's not.

Amsterdam (Russell, 2022)
The Daughter of Dawn (Myles, 1920)
Terror Aboard (Sloane, 1933)
The Secret of the Loch (Rosmer, 1934)
Queen of Atlantis (Pabst, 1932)
Deep South (1930)
Quit Yer Kickin' (Robinson, 1931)
Out of the Past (Tourneur, 1947)
The Lady From Shanghai (Welles, 1947)
The Dark Corner (Hathaway, 1946)
A Place in the Sun (Stevens, 1951)

My favorite line comes when Mitchum opens a door and sees Douglas, whom he was not expecting; Douglas says, "I hate surprises myself. You wanna just shut the door and forget it?"

Jeff: That's not the way to win.
Kathie: Is there a way to win?
Jeff: There's a way to lose more slowly.

boom

Candyman (2021) was very good; I mentioned it in the horror movies thread. I like that it picks up 30 years after the original and ignores all the sequels, but also draws a direct line from the first movie to itself. I also like that it looks fantastic; director Nia DaCosta has a real eye.

I needed to just experience pure low-stakes pleasure tonight so I re-watched Ocean's 11 (the Soderbergh, not the original). A ridiculously good script, a fantastic-looking movie, not a single scene goes on too long, every joke lands...I don't really like either of the sequels but this thing is about as good a comic caper movie as anyone's ever made.

Decision to Leave (Park, 2022) 8/10
Blonde (Dominik, 2022) 3/10
School Daze (Lee, 1988) 7/10
Nosferatu (Herzog, 1979) 7/10
Panique (Duvivier, 1946) 8/10

Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai)
The Night (Tsai, 2021)
Decision to Leave (Park, 2022)
Rabid (Cronenberg, 1977)
Starman (Carpenter, 1984)

Saw Decision to Leave yesterday. I don't see much TV or film so I don't know if this is captured anywhere but it was striking how so much of the plot revolved around phones: texts, pictures, recordings, apps, calls last of all.

Starman is a favourite of mine. Just been re-watching bits, striking what a love letter to the US mid-west this is.

Tangled Destinies (Strayer, 1932)
The Devil's Envoys (Carne, 1942)
Gold (Hartl, 1934)
The New Half Back (Sennett, 1929)
They Won't Believe Me (Pichel, 1947)
Odds Against Tomorrow (Wise, 1959)
*Picture Palace (Mack, 1934)
The Red House (Daves, 1947)
Possessed (Bernhardt, 1947)
The Unfaithful (Sherman, 1947)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) 3/5
Next of Kin (1982) 4/5. Best horror discovery of the month thus far. Bonkers ending.
Wolfen (1981) 3/5
Public Housing (1997) 4.5/5
Drive My Car (2021) 5/5
The Funhouse (1981) 3/5
Songs for Drella (1990) 4.5/5
Crimes of Passion (1984) 3.5/5
Variety (1983) 3.5/5
The Hidden (1987) 3/5
The Mysterians (1957) 2.5/5
Made in USA (1968) 3/5
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967) 3.5/5
Inferno (1980) 2.5/5

started doing hooptober but it doesn't look like i'll finish it. requiring a stephen king remake was an evil requirement that i don't want to do.

A Bucket of Blood (1959, Corman) 5/10
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) 5/10
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970, Argento) 7/10
The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972, Pierce) 2/10
Rabid (1977, Cronenberg) 5/10
Salem's Lot (1979, Hooper) 6/10
Inferno (1980, Argento) 7/10
The Hidden (1987) 7/10 twin peaks fans should definitely watch this
The Blob (1988) 5/10
The Lair of the White Worm (1988, Russell) 7/10
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988, DeCoteau) 4/10
Jason Goes to Hell (1993) 4/10
Cronos (1993, del Toro) 6/10
The House of the Devil (2009, Ti West) 7/10
Pennywise: The Story of IT (2022) 5/10

also

John Wick Chapter 2 (2017) 5/10

The Hidden is a total classic that sadly runs out of momentum a little bit but still

Saw The Hidden in '87 on my 15th birthday, me and my friends found it amazing

It's funny how much of the soundtrack is given over to late 80s IRS Records.

*Circus Clowns (Hibbard, 1922)
Buster's Bust-Up (Meins, 1926)
Flying Down to Zero (Holmes, 1934)
Scratch-As-Catch-Can (Sandrich, 1931)
Triangle of Sadness (Östlund, 2022)
Waxworks (Leni und Birinski, 1924)
The Tingler (Castle, 1959)
Ex-Sweeties (Neilan, 1931)
Second Hand Husband (Christie, 1934)
*Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922)
*Faust (Murnau, 1926)
*The Hands of Orlac (Wiene, 1924)
Count Yorga, Vampire (Kelljan, 1970)
*The Fall of the House of Usher (Epstein, 1928)
*Haxan (Christensen, 1922)

Mothra (Honda, 1961) 7/10
Crimes of the Future (Cronenberg, 1970) 5/10
The Crazies (Romero, 1973) 9/10
Prince of Darkness (Carpenter, 1987) 9/10

good solid ending to the spooky month

October:

Vladimir and Rosa (Godard, Gorin, 1971) BLU-RAY 7/10
*The Return of the Pink Panther (Edwards, 1975) DVD 6/10
Veronika Voss (Fassbinder, 1982) DVD 9/10
And God Said to Cain (Margheriti, 1970) BLU-RAY 7/10
Only Two Can Play (Gilliat, 1962) TPTV 6/10
*Star Wars (Lucas, 1977) DVD 7/10
Sullivan's Travels (Sturges, 1941) DVD 8/10
Arabian Nights (Pasolini, 1974) DVD 6/10
Vagabond (Varda, 1985) DVD 9/10
Troika (Hobbes, Mueller, 1969) CCA Theatre/Weird Weekend 8/10
The Other Side of the Underneath (Arden, 1972) CCA Theatre/Weird Weekend 6/10
I Like Bats (Warhol, 1986) CCA Theatre/Weird Weekend 4/10
Trompe l'oeil (D'anna, 1975) CCA Theatre/Weird Weekend 5/10
Gwaed ar y Sêr/Blood on the Stars (Aaron, 1975) CCA Theatre/Weird Weekend 7/10
O'r Ddaear Hen/From the Old Earth (Aaron, 1981) CCA Theatre/Weird Weekend 7/10

Broker (Kore-eda, 2022) 7/10
* Nope (Peele, 2022) 8/10
Decision to Leave (Park, 2022), 8/10
Songs for Drella (Lachman, 1999) 7/10
* High and Low (Kurosawa, 1963) 8/10

October

The Ides of March (Clooney, 2011) 7/10
Hustle (Zagar, 2022) 6/10
Blonde (Domick, 2022) 7/10
The Beyond (Fulci, 1981) 6/10
*Solaris (Tarkovsky, 1972) 8/10
Fright Night (Holland, 1985) 7/10
*The Devils Rejects (Zombie, 2005) 6/10
The Banshees of Inisherin (McDonagh, 2022) 6/10
*The Lovers on The Bridge (Carax, 1991)
High and Low (Kurosawa, 1963) 9/10
Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook, 2022) 8/10
Barbarian (Cregger, 2022) 8/10
Benediction (Davies, 2021) 8/10
All Quiet on The Western Front (Berger, 2022) 7/10
Athena (Gavras, 2022) 8/10

The Black Vampire (Viñoly Barreto, 1953)
Decision to Leave (Park, 2022)
Beau Bandit (Hillyer, 1930)
Beverly of Graustark (Franklin, 1926)
*Man With a Movie Camera (Vertov, 1929)
The Banshees of Inisherin (McDonagh, 2022)
*The Phantom of the Opera (Julian, 1925)
*Blackmail (Hitchcock, 1929)
The History of the Civil War (Vertov, 1921)
*See How They Run (George, 2022)

Inferno (Baker 1953)
The Gray Man (Russo, Russo 2022)
Nope (Peele 2022)
Deep Blues (Mugge 1992)
Petite Maman (Sciamma 2021)
*Hard Eight (PT Anderson 1996)
Crimes of the Future (Cronenberg 2022)
The Badlanders (Daves 1958)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (Daniels 2022)
Midnight Run (Brest 1988)
Making Waves (Costia 2019)
Licorice Pizza (PT Anderson 2021)
Thor: Love & Thunder (Waititi 2022)
Pigs and Battleships (Imamura 1961)
Leave Her to Heaven (Stahl 1945)
Blue Collar (Schrader 1978)
*The Living Daylights (Glen 1987)
Prey (Trachtenberg 2022)
Lou (Foerster 2022)
RRR (Rajamouli 2022)
*Dracula (Browning 1931)
The Hidden (Sholder 1987)
Deep Cover (Duke 1992)

Decided to opt out of election coverage in favor of hyperviolent action trash, so I watched Peter Berg's attempt at an Indonesian slaughterfest, MILE 22. Mark Wahlberg might be the most unlikable he's ever been, which is saying something. Iko Uwais is great, though. It has the flaws of every Peter Berg movie, of course: knuckle-walking politics (a Tr*mp bobblehead gets a close-up) and incoherent editing. The gunfights are better than the hand-to-hand fights, which subject Uwais to cartoonish wire-work and CGI-looking angles.

Out Yonder (Ince, 1919)
Hot Curves (Taurog, 1930)
The Midshipmaid (de Courville, 1932)
Something to Think About (de Mille, 1920)
Come On, Marines! (Hathaway, 1934)
*Foolish Wives (von Stroheim, 1922)
*Sherlock Holmes (Parker, 1922)
*The Patsy (Vidor, 1928)
*The Big Show (McGowan, 1923)
Derby Day (McGowan, 1923)
*Dogs of War! (McGowan, 1923)
Mary, Queen of Tots (McGowan, 1925)
Robin Hood (Swan, 1922)

Something Wild (8.0)
Simple Men (6.5)
Deceived (5.0)
Moonage Daydream (5.5)
Moneyball (7.0)
Citizen Ashe (7.0)
Atlanta (S4 – 7.0)
Up the Junction (7.0)
Get Out (7.0)
Up the Down Staircase (7.0)

Sentimental teacher rating for the last one (took me forever to get around to seeing it).

Confess, Fletch (2022) 2/5. I can't see why people thought this should have had more of a release. In fact, I could barely see anything with my tv on bright setting.
Trust (1990) 4/5. Realized I had not seen a Hal Hartley movie since at least the mid-2000s, now I want to watch/rewatch a bunch of them.
* Michael Clayton (2007) 4.5/5
The Souvenir Pt. II (2021) 4/5
* Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) 4/5
Crimes of the Future (2022) 3.5/5
Elephant (1989) 4.5/5. The original short film about The Troubles that was the template for the Gus Van Sant movie. Was gratifying to see once again that fucker did not have an original idea.
The Shape of Night (1964) 3/5. Crosses the line into gratuitously beating down its female protagonist, but holy God, this has some cinematography. Look it up to see what I mean. Definitely makes me wish I'd seen it in a decent format.

Please Baby Please (2022, Amanda Kramer) 6/10, I guess? It looks amazing, Andrea Riseborough is a lot of fun to watch, nice to see Dana Ashbrook pop up, but...it doesn't go anywhere and has nothing interesting to say once it lays out its themes.

Lake Mungo (2008, Joel Anderson) 8/10. Really sad.

Snuck in a couple more:

Stars at Noon (2022) 2/5. Margaret Qualley is just awful; the male lead was a bore.
* Orlando (1992) 4/5

A Holy Terror (Cummings, 1931)
The Fabelmans (Spielberg, 2022)
The Girl From Paradise (1934)
The Last Dogie (Watson, 1933)
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (Corman, 1963)
The Rampant Age (Rosen, 1930)
*The Cardboard Lover (Leonard, 1928)
*Show People (Vidor, 1928)
Horse Shy (Howe, 1928)
Sky High (Reynolds, 1922)
*Dog Shy (McCarey, 1926)
Paths to Paradise (Badger, 1925)
*The Serenade (Louis, 1916)
The Rent Collector (Taurog & Semon, 1921)
*When Knights Were Cold (Fouce, 1923)
*Detained (Rock & Pembroke, 1924)
Moonlight & Noses (Laurel & Jones, 1925)
Affairs of a Gentleman (Marin, 1934)

I Came By has things in common with Barbarian and Don't Breathe but goes in a different direction than either of those, and becomes a reasonably sharp analysis (from my outsider/DGAF perspective) of British racial and class hierarchies. On Netflix, worth checking out.

I have now decided that I Came By, Barbarian and the remake/reboot of Candyman function as an unofficial trilogy about gentrification, marginalization, and predation. I encourage some booker somewhere to program all three together and bum everybody out.

I can't see why people thought this should have had more of a release. In fact, I could barely see anything with my tv on bright setting.

Was perfectly visible in the cinema!

Young Blood (Rosen, 1932)
Lightning Strikes Twice (Holmes, 1934)
This Reckless Age (Tuttle, 1932)
Saturday's Millions (Sedgwick, 1933)
The Michigan Kid (Willat, 1928)
And the Ship Sails On (Fellini, 1983)
How to Make Movies (Chaplin, 1918)
*Character Studies (Arbuckle?, 1925)
Joyland (Lane, 1929)

Hooptober leftovers:
Mothra vs. Godzilla (Honda, 1964) 6/10
Phase IV (SAUL BASS, 1974) 8/10 also the alternate ending on youtube, well worth watching
Taste of Fear (Hammer studios, 1961) 8/10

Phantom Menace Episode 1 (Lucas, 1999) 2/10 #fatgungan
The Judge (David Dobkin, 2014) 3/10
The Silver Chalice (set designer Rolfe Gerard, 1954) 4/10
Alien from LA (Pyun, 1988) 4/10 MST3K version
Cyborg (Pyun, 1989) 5/10
around 30 minutes of The Sword and the Sorcerer (Pyun, 1982) which features Link's full-health sword and not much else of note
Enola Holmes (Netflix, 2020) 3/10
The Bob's Burgers Movie (Bouchard, Derriman, 2022) 7/10

phantom menace was the only re-watch.

Well, Ilxor, the last movie I saw was Chungking Express, which was on at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square this Sunday. I've always wanted to see it on a big screen and finally I had my chance. It sold out! But I bought my ticket in advance. When I see a film in London I willingly pay extra for the privilege of walking out of the cinema at the end of the film, because for a split-second the people passing-by are watching a cineaste stepping from a magical world into the real world, not just a normal man walking through a door. For a split-second a cloud of awe surrounds me.

I pay for that split-second. The split-second during which pedestrians see me walk out of the cinema. "Who is that man?", they must think to themselves, "that man who has more taste than me, who regularly partakes in culture. Who is he?", and then I am part of the crowd again. Then I am no longer special. Until the next time. People pay a fortune for a momentary thrill, and going to the cinema in London is no different. Entire societies have been built around the possibility that one day a man might be complemented by the man behind the bar, or by his tailor, or by the people who work behind the counter at the record store. The adulation of passers-by. To be a somebody. But it has to be the right film. It has to be the right film. Chungking Express is perfect because it's famous enough that even non-cineastes are vaguely familiar with it, and it's almost universally beloved because it's so likeable. It's so colourful. Film-makers like it because of the "let's put on a show" quality to its production.

There were trailers for She Said, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and I'm sure there was a third film, but I can't remember what it was. There was an advert for Asda with Will Ferrell as an elf. Did they digitally de-age him, or is he just naturally youthful-looking? When did Elf become a Christmas classic? There were also lots of adverts for money-management apps, which may or may not say something about the flavour of the times. Reading the news today I was sad to learn that the computer guy from Die Hard has died. He was smart. He worked in a university. He was some kind of professor. He saw the end. He saw the end.

This being Ilxor I'm sure you're already familiar with Chungking Express. You probably had to write an essay about it when you were at university. In fact you probably like to pooh-pooh it, because that happens with old classic films. It's one of those Criteron Collection-type films that doesn't have any African-American people in it, like Two or Three Things I Know About Her or Med Hondo's Sarraounia, both of which you are also familiar with. And yet I just couldn't sustain any kind of dislike for Chungking Express. It made me want to visit Hong Kong circa 1994, and then I felt sad because 1994 was a long time ago. So very long ago.

I see you, unclosed italic tag. I see you! I have your measure.

(the elf advert is clips from original elf spliced into new asda footage. they've done it before with Casablanca and stuff)

Escape! (Dean, 1930)
City Limits (Nigh, 1934)
Flirting With Danger (Moore, 1934)
Let's Fall in Love (Burton, 1933)
Chills and Fever (Heath, 1930)
Loose Relations (Edwards, 1933)
White Gold (Howard, 1927)
The Raven (Landers, 1935)
TÁR (Fields, 2022)