I dont watch regular tv, just dvds. So in one night of about 2 hrs viewing, I get through either one film or 1-2 eps of a tv show (depending on the length).

And IMHO Spartacus is pretty average, heaps better Kubrick than that. 

Yeah Eyes Wide Shut and Dr Strangelove are masterpieces. 2001 I enjoyed twice, but would be a big undertaking to watch again - it's pretty long and dull by todays standards. Paths Of Glory & A Clockwork Orange were also very good. Hmm what else. The Shining & Full Metal Jacket I felt were a little overated but still decent. Barry Lyndon was one of the most boring movies I've ever seen. 

agree on strangelove and The Shining. Also rate 2001 and Paths of Glory very highly. Full Metal Jacket's terrible IMHO.

I recommend The Killing, brilliant stuff. 

Yeah The Killing is good too, though not very Kubrian. The sudden abrubt ending was interesting, and frustrating. I liked the lead characters performance in it. 

Mini reviews of last week's worth of viewing:

Persepolis (2007) - the abrupt ending stops it from being an instant classic but otherwise this is brilliant stuff. Equal parts funny and touching, Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical tale of growing up in (and out of) Iran during the 80's is a very distinct and personal film. The animation is technically adequate but the stark, expressionistic black and white style is used very very effectively to mesh with, and highlight, the material. You can also enjoy it on many levels, which is not something you can say about most films with a theme like this one.

7.5-8/10


Rogue (2007) - Greg McLean has a great horror film in him and although he hasn't quite got there yet (Wolf Creek,/b> just missed that mark due to second half predictability), the signs are good. This never attempts to be anything more than an entertaining B movie australian version of Jaws, and on that level it succeeds pretty well. Extremely well shot and with some very effective suspense sequences, one only wonders what can be done if McLean sets his aim a bit higher than simply making a genre picture.

6.5/10


Port of Shadows (1938) - Marcel Carne is most famous for the brilliant Children of Paradise, but that is reputedly only the last of what is considered a sequence of 6 classic films. This is the second in that series and while I cant say I thought it was anywhere near 'classic' level, it is an undeniably entertaining film despite some stilted scripting and acting.

6.5/10


Not One Less (2000) - Zhang Yimou's attempt at a neo-realist docudrama, complete with non professional actors and only location shooting, and its quite good. The movie follows the story of a 13 yr old girl who becomes a substitute teacher in rural China when the previous teacher has to leave for a month. What follows is an effective, if sentimental, look at the hardships and motivations in a survivalist world where your first instinct is just to watch out for yourself.

7/10


Morocco (1933) - early Josef von Sternberg/Marlene Dietrich collaboration and whilst it has moments of magic where Dietrich's screen presence is used to great effect, the bulk of it is a plodding, unconvincing and uninvolving love story.

5.5/10


Reconstruction (2003) - overly pretentious but still entertaining effort from danish director Christoffer Boe. Boe expressly announces to the audience at the start that what follows is 'not real and only a film, but that you will still care [about what happens to those involved]". From then on, he expertly manipulates and re-manipulates the audience time and again without caring to explain what it is that is going on. I suppose that is the point, as made at the start of the film, and while you do care about the characters to a certain extent, its still all a little underwhelming when none of it (deliberately) comes together at all.

6.5/10


Witness (1985) - never considered this to be top tier Weir but I warmed a little more to it this time around. I still think its an uncomfortable battle between two different films, both of which work reasonably well on their own but are less than the sum of their parts when combined. Still, worth a watch.

6/10


To Be or Not To Be (1941) - have never warmed to Ernst Lubitsch, until now. This is pretty hilarious stuff with some extremely clever and funny writing and top notch performances led by Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, a husband and wife acting duo on the polish theatrical scene just before WWII and who then become involved in political espionage during the war. Lubitsch carefully assembles his pieces at the start and then knocks them over again and again with great comedic effect as the movie continues.

8/10


The Quiet Duel (1949) - probably the least effective Kurosawa film that I've seen and even then it has moments of greatness thanks to a combination of immaculate composition and reliable performances from his staple cast of Toshiro Mifune and Takeshi Shimura. On the whole though, this attempt by Kurosawa to again indirectly explore post-war Japan is a fairly mundane and predictable melordrama.

5.5/10 

sorry about the bolding.


Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964) - Robert Aldrich and Bette Davis's followup to their fabulously gothic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane is not as successful an attempt as that film, but is entertaining in its own way. This time Davis cant quite strike the right balance between 'over the top but still believable' and 'scenery chewing', resorting far too often to acting like a possessed marionette. Still, its magnificently shot and despite some unconvincing performances and an unnecessarily long length, Aldrich's inspired direction keeps it going.

6.5/10


From Here to Eternity (1953) - Set around the events of Pearl Harbour, but that is only a backdrop for what is really an attempt at examining the american psyche at the time. However, despite that ambition, it is actually a pretty corny film (some of the lines have to be heard to be believed) which only works because some of the actors deliver performances that are much better than the roles they were given (namely Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed).

6/10 

A Tale Of Two Sisters (j-horror)
A fantastic, psychological horror with aspects of thriller/drama. Has some good scary scenes, but the whole movie doesn't make sense until you've got to the end, and realise what horrible events took place. I especially liked the pace of some scenes - done very slowly which just amps the suspense. Hollywood horrors are far too rushed. The best horror I've seen since Silent Hill. I think it is/was remade by Americans. No doubt the remake is rubbish. 

I thought it was decent but no more. Then again I hated Silent Hill so what do I know.

The next movie by the same guy is also worth checking out, A Bittersweet Life. There's a 20 min action scene in the middle that's just phenomenal and makes up for the average nature of the rest of the movie. 

The Furies (1951) - complex psychological western from Anthony Mann that is a great film until the last act which comes across as either a studio tack on or an ill advised attempt by the scriptwriters to overcome writers block.

Either way, the ending lets down the film which is otherwise a well performed, written and directed effort centring around the family poweplays at a new mexico ranch. Barbara Stanwyck is terrific in the main role and is aided by Mann's rather dramatic use of imagery.

7/10


Lars and the Real Girl (2007) - decent attempt at something a little different, but despite reasonable writing and acting, it struggles to overcome the central premise that is, at best, highly implausible. Its almost as if the writer came up with the central premise (a reserved, shy man buys a 'love' doll as his companion) without ever really thinking through its logical consequences.

I was ready to believe that some of the people in his life would play along with it for his sake, but to believe that a whole town would, especially in the manner depicted, is just asking a bit too much.

Still, not without merit as most the acting is quite good.

6-6.5/10


The Sicilian Clan (1969) - above average french heist film whose main attraction is having Alain Delon, Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura in the same film, in much the same way as The Score's main attraction was having De Niro, Norton and Brando in the same movie.

And much like those three actors were in The Score, the famous french trio is equally watchable in what is otherwise a fairly predictable, run of the mill, but entertaining affair.

6.5/10


30 Rock season 1 - bit too hit and miss, but the seer amount of jokes in any given episode means that it is more hit than miss. Still I wish it was more consistent in the quality of humour because it could b a great show (rather than just a good one).

7/10


Waltz with Bashir (2008) - stunning animated film from israeli director Ari Forlman which is hard to categorise.

Its a quasi documentary mixed with doses of surreal imagery that wouldnt be out of place in something like Apocalypse Now. The movie follows Forlman trying to reconstruct his memory from his time in the Israeli forces after he experiences a dream 20 yrs later that contains familiar yet unknown images.

Some of the war imagery is by the numbers in the manner it is depicted and theres a level of disconnect with the main character but this a very interesting, confronting and thought provoking effort.

7.5/10 

really surprised me, i was expecting some stupid comedy thing. You're right though, it just doesn't get better than 'good'. 

I started watching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Bebop recently and really like it (4th episode now). Recommended! 

movie's decent too. 

naruto naruto naruto




tentacle porn 

Keeping Mum (2005)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444653/
Do not read the user comment at imdb.
I enjoyed this movie. Sure it has some not-so-great moments but overall it is nice black humour. Definitely recommended as it seems rather unpopular.

And contrary to the terrible Johnny English, Rowan Atkinson is very nice in this movie (well, it's totally different, Johnny English is terrible all by itself). 

So i was wrong, the Quarantine opening soon in the U.S. is actually a remake of the Spanish [Rec], not an import of the original. 

See #2272 

as expected. Are Americans able to watch anything produced elsewhere?

The language can't be the barrier as even The Office series from UK had to be remade in USA.

That is scary. Reminds me of the iron curtain. 

jump! 

Parisian Michael Vartan played lead man in a series for years, the most popular TV personality is English man Hugh Laurie, Dominic West and Aidan Gillen lead in the best series that ever ran, Naveen Andrews plays the most popular character in another great show, Laura Logan is chief correspondent for CBS News division, so many actors are from Oz that it is difficult to keep track of them, Barack Obama might just win in a land slide and is doing well in States that Democrats haven't carried in over thirty years and you are tut tutting about American Xenophobia? Take your fucking blinders off, man. Get out of that glass house once in a while. 

Dominic West and Aidan Gillen lead in the best series that ever ran

Unless I missed it, which is quite possible, I haven't seen any love for that series in this thread. That series is, of course, "The Wire", and better critics than myself have failed to express just how good a show it is.

Although on the American/British divide, it is interesting to note that while all 5 series of The Wire are currently bestsellers on amazon.co.uk, only the most recent series sneaks in at number 93 on amazon.com. :-p 

And they have been americanized. Speak english in a completely american setting and culture. Laurie has british accent and that's it, that's a counter somehow to my point? I think it rather proves it than counters it. 

Although on the American/British divide, it is interesting to note that while all 5 series of The Wire are currently bestsellers on amazon.co.uk, only the most recent series sneaks in at number 93 on amazon.com. :-p

That is curious, though I suspect word of mouth will lead to a steady sales stream in the long run. I only started to watch the DVDs recently on Netflix, and David Simon has been on my radar since Homicide came out (first two seasons of the show that is based on are good as well).

Hugh Laurie can pass for Mid Atlantic prep school, but Dominic West' Baltimore accent is phenomenal.

Bambuz, not even close. Laura Logan, and Naveen Andrews are hardly Americanized. I could give you a dozen more examples but I thought I made my point brutally enough as it was that you would understand how little that over the top Euro-Chauvenist (which you are the worst example I have come across, and no doubt you embarrass other Europeans by its frequency) that you would compare American cinematic preferences to Stalinist Russia for Chrissakes actually reflects anything resembling reality.

Have you ever actually met an American? You continually proffer opinions about us that are
so off base as to make me wonder. 

(first two seasons of the show that is based on are good as well).

(first two seasons of the show that is based on it are good as well).

The book came first, of course ;)

Oh, and Preach, I'm really getting into the fifth season over the last few weeks. The Newspaper culture presented there is one of the sharpest digs I've seen Simon deliver yet. 

Just the laws of supply and demand. When everything is remade and nothing shown as original, it's weird.

Oh, I'm a purist and have strong opinions on many things. I may oversimplify and provoke too to make the argument short and easy to understand.

But Euro-Chauvenist (sic), that I thank you for. (*Adjusts monocle*) I have been upgraded from Euro-Trash. 

Yeah, the fifth season was a great capstone for the show in my eyes, although not everyone agrees. Notably, quite a few media critics didn't like it so much, perhaps because they dislike having the spotlight on them! Some people said that the newsroom felt "tacked on", but to me that was kind of missing the point. The criticism is that the newspaper misses most of the stories in the series, so it has to be "disconnected" in those places.

Anyhow, I got me the 5th season DVD now, which just got released over here, and had a listen through the commentaries, when I get a chance I'll watch through the full series again. Also, you said about the Homicide book, is that worth getting? I just picked up a copy of Clockers, which is by a Wire staff writer called Richard Price, and if you liked season 1 of The Wire then you'll enjoy this one too.