I watched some of the classic Melville ( Le Samourai, Le Cercle Rouge…) and some of the classic Jules Dassin and I like the mood of those films quite a bit. Having said that, I’m always open for new stuffs.
I watched Rolling Thunder and loved it., like any Quentin Tarantino mania.
As for Michael Shannon, that motherf****r scared the sh*t out of me in Revolutinary Road, nearly on par with Heath Ledger as a male supporting performance. I will have to watch Shotguns Stories ASAP.
Speaking about male performance, I agree that Collin Farrel is really good this year. In Bruges will not at all work if you do not believe him, and I do believe him as that character every single second. ” One beer for me, one gay beer for my gay friend! ” But I don’t know if it’s the best male performance of the year. Sometimes it depends on the scale of the movie. In Bruges is a small filck, a underrated masterpiece. Milk and The Wrestler are far more bigger films. As for now, Langella and Dicaprio(Revolutionary Road,and yes, he’s better than Kate Winslet) hold my #1 spot, but that may change after I watch Rourke.
Ah Yes. Melville is the man. Have you heard that To is remaking Le Cercle Rouge? That should be incredible. If you love Le Samourai, you should check out A Bittersweet life. We covered it in episode 2 and it’s far and away one of the best films of the Korean New Wave of a few years ago. I think Rourke will change your mind after seeing him as Randy “The Ram” Robinson. If you’re looking for a cool revenge film, you should check out Framed w/ Joe Don Baker; it’s coming out on dvd soon and I’ve already pre-ordered it. As well, They call her one eye is a pretty solid revenge pic. Although I’d be stunned if you hadn’t seen it yet, OldBoy is THE revenge film in my opinion. Death Wish, is good, Mad Max.. Ms.45.. Carrie… Kill Bill…
Have just seen The Wrestler, I agree, Rourke will win the Oscar, hands down. What a comeback !
As for Michael Shannon http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/53156/
I loved Apocalypto too, it’s one of my faves of the last few years. I vow to watch more euro crime, spaghetti westerns and giallos. I need to watch more of the movies clogging up my hard drive like My Name is Nobody, Shock Waves, Marathon Man, Strip Nude for Your Killer, Welcome Home Brother Charles, Beautiful Girl Hunter, Crippled Masters, Electra Glide In Blue, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, Gator Bait, Killer Fish, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Rainy Dog etc. etc. I should also rewatch some DVDs i saw when purhased but haven’t returned to like Get Carter, the dollars trilogy, Jackie Brown, The Limey and Collateral. Aarghhh!!! too many movies, too little time!!!
I am also a big fan of Apocalypto. And I am literally about to watch Bittersweet life again right after this post…fantastic film. I am going to keep doing what I have been doing over the past few months. Keep watching as many different types of films as I can, watch more genres that I am unfamiliar with and dive deeper into the ones I already enjoy. I have actually watched a few Gentlemen covered films and have not been disappointed in any of them…Truck Taylo…err…Turner and as I said earlier Bittersweet life are both great films and very different from each other. I watched Heroes of the East last night and after it was over watched it again with commentary…so you could guess I liked it a lot. And I plan on watching Trouble Man, the Great Silence, and I bought Exiled for like five bucks! As for directors I want to see more of…Corbucci, To, and some more Hitchcock would be nice too.
My film resolution is to slog through the recently acquired “50 Chilling Classics” DVD set (some hopeful high points include Bad Taste and what I assume whill be a cruddy transfer of Deep Red, plus childhood favorite Cathy’s Curse).
So far two down: Naked Massacre/Born For Hell—rather Last House on the Leftish, but with an interesting backdrop involving Ireland in the 70s—and Metamorphosis, a terrible 1990 ripoff of The Fly but climaxing with the appearance of a Godzilla puppet that I think was all of five feet tall (one of the few villains I would have an inch on).
that is a big one, but we all have staples that we just don’t get around to. As with all of you, I hope once you’ve met your resolutions, you post about it here.. SirCroc: Thanks for the Shannon article; I’m pumped for Revo road. I think Di Caprio and Winslet are 2 of the best actors working today, Marty is Marty and Michael Shannon is my new hero and does menacing SO well. He was one of, if not the only bright spot in the mess that was Friedkin’s Bug. People need to see Shotgun Stories. We’re gonna cover it on the show within the next 2 or 3 months..
thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I still fee like an idiot. I love Polanski! There are only a few movies of his I have not seen, and I feel bad about them as well.
Buddy, I didn’t see Citizen Kane until a year ago, so figure that one out. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We can’t see everything, that’s the way it is, just be a student of film and try to build your knowledge and that’s it brother..
There there (pat on back). We’re all in need of 36 hour days. I think the biggest roadblock with seeing great films is that real movie lovers know that the films need their full due. You can’t just turn Rosemary’s Baby on in the background while checking your email. You need to sit still for two plus hours and let Polanski work his quiet mojo on you (insert tasteless joke here). I still haven’t seen Saving Private Ryan because I’ve yet to find three hours of my life to give up willingly. Plus, I consider the greatest cinematic crime I’ve ever committed (and I paid to see Spice World and actively TiVo made-for-Sci-Fi-Channel originals) to be watching 2001 on my wee li’l 13” TV/VCR combo. Lesson learned, but now more movies go unseen.
for 2009 first thing i wan to do is to watch all the movies i own that i haven’t watched yet.
there is a fair number there, before i even start to consider filling some of the (rather large) holes in my cinema vocabulary.
I am going to do what I said I would never do again…
I am going to re-open my heart to Argento and Hooper and see if time has been kinfd to my initial perceptions of their films….there is always stuff I need to see….but I have pretty much seen all the biggies at this point…..I’m sure there are a couple but I cant think of any…
The Hooper and Argento attempt is a brave step for me….trust me….
well, Hooper I understand not having your heart open. He directed two great films and that’s it. Yes, I am of the belief that he did actually direct Poltergeist. Of course you know the other is.
Argento has made some crap. Can’t deny that. But when he hits, he scores.
I’m gonna give it a shot, I have been ragging on these guys for a while now, and I am of the school that after a little time passes it is good to revisit stuff….it can be seen from a different perspective….so here’s hoping the perspective doesnt stay skewed….
