What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

Watched Amadeus (Director's Cut) for the first time in years.  Always a great movie, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I remember.  It descends into camp too much, and I found the emphasis on Mozart's home life, and the portrayal of his wife, distracting. As well as taking up too much screen time. It also start to get vaguely depressing about 1/3 into it, whereas most biopics wait until the final third before portraying the downfall of genius.

 

F. Murray Abraham is the highlight of this film, of course, as is Jeffrey Jones portrayal of Joseph II. Simon Callow is always good in a supporting role. I used to love the film, but just didn't connect with is as well as I have in the past and struggled to get through it. Even though it's admittedly a wildly entertaining film.  

 

Since the movie hasn't changed, I can only conclude that I have.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Amadeus remains one of my favorite films, but I don't enjoy that director's cut.  Everything it added is fat that was right to be trimmed.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

17 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Unwise for a film with that title.

Indeed. There's hardly any violence at all!

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

To belatedly chip in on Fargo ... I really enjoyed the movie and Season 1 of the show, but felt that Season 2 really missed Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton and that the UFO 'sightings' were dumb.   

[Quintus 5,399]

I have yet to sit down and watch season 2.

 

Btw I thought the first season was really good, but not without its problems. The film I don't mind, but it's not really what I think of as being an "up there" movie. I definitely prefer FARGO in TV format. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

*shakes head*

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

Fargo was a fantastic movie, with a very high rewatachability factor.  Wonderfully entertaining performances.

 

Season 1 of the series was a mixed bag, but enjoyable enough. I haven't seen season 2.

[Jay 37,369]

Apparently season 3 begins next week!

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

Yeah. These shows creep up on you. I still need to catch up on the latest seasons of The Americans & Homeland. I rarely watch anything week to week anymore, and I'm just waiting for those ones to finish up.

[Jay 37,369]

We tried to watch The Americans but after 3 episodes moved on to other shows and never came back.  Maybe someday.

We've watched Homeland consistently and let me tell you: It's no good.  Dunno when you stopped watching, but they've done this annoying thing where every season after the first 2 is practically a soft reboot, each season set in a new country with new bad guys and new main characters, and none of them are compelling at all.  The show is a shallow shell of the potential it showed in its first 2 years.  And its already been renewed through season 8!

[A24 4,339]

1 hour ago, Sweeping Strings said:

To belatedly chip in on Fargo ... I really enjoyed the movie and Season 1 of the show, but felt that Season 2 really missed Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton ...

 

Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst were not that shabby though ...

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Sweeping Strings said:

 ... and that the UFO 'sightings' were dumb.   

 

That I wholeheartedly agree with.

 

 

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Matt Damon looks fat!

[KK 3,307]

I loved the UFO sightings. A great Coen-esque, absurdist touch.

 

37 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Matt Damon looks fat!

 

Fat Meth Damon was pretty good. And Kirsten Dunst was great!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

6 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst were not that shabby though ...

 

 

 

 

 

Bokeem Woodbine was perfect.  The performances were the best thing about season 2.  Wonderful cast.

 

[A24 4,339]

The new Twin Peaks is going to have a hard time if it wants to beat Fargo.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You sure?

[A24 4,339]

Yep!  Fargo is the new Twin Peaks. If Lynch's third season is not up to scratch, then it's doomed.

 

 

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Because thats how TV works....

[Disco Stu 15,495]

10 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Yep!  Fargo is the new Twin Peaks. If Lynch's third season is not up to scratch, then it's doomed.

 

 

 

 

I kinda see what you mean, but for me Coenesque absurdism is so different from Lynchian surrealism that they're not comparable beyond the surface level.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Small town and crime. Thats all Alex sees!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

Alex looks, and he sees small town and crime. He has to look with better eyes than that.

[A24 4,339]

Believe it or not but once again the specialists agree with me:

 

Quote

BIANCULLI: The simultaneous humor and suspense here is a hard act to carry-off, but it's done flawlessly and consistently. This season of "Fargo" may be the closest thing I've seen to "Twin Peaks" since "Twin Peaks." It's that singularly stylized, that oddball and endearing in its dialogue and performances and that instantly addictive.

 

David Bianculli is the founder and editor of the website TV Worth Watching and teaches television and film history at Rowan University in New Jersey. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Like I said, I see the similarities but they have very different aims at their cores in my opinion.

[A24 4,339]

That's why you are not a professor teaching this sh!t, Stu!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

You know nothing of my work.

 

Where's Marshall McLuhan, when you need him?

[A24 4,339]

Aren't you a nurse, Richard? 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

He works with kids...

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

17 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

For @Muad'Dib!

 

 

El Espíritu de la Colmena - Victor Erice (1973)

 

Well, I did enjoy that one more than Cría Cuervos! One reason for that is the setting: instead of the oppressive house of that film, here most of the story takes place outdoors, in the Castilla countryside, which is beautiful in its own desolate way. Loved the deserted look of it all, and how it conveys the feeling that the village the characters live in is completely cut from the rest of the world. Gives the film a unique atmosphere and great vistas.

The cast is really excellent, too: Ana Torrent, of course, but also Isabel Tellería who plays her somehow deranged sister (that scene with the cat was disturbing!) and Fernando Fernán Gómez who perfectly portrays a character that is alternately rather cold and a bit frightening, and warm and loving (the mushrooms scene is quite touching in that regard).

Just like with Cría Cuervos, there is apparently a whole political subtext in the film (yet another criticism of Francoism) but it's not easy to get if you're not familiar with Spain's history (in fact, I'd expect most non-spanish viewers not to get it). That being said, just like with Cría Cuervos, even if you miss that political message, there's still a lot to get out of the movie, especially since it's open to a lot of interpretation (there's not a lot of dialogue, and quite some stuff left unexplained). For example, there's the whole beehive analogy: you could interpret it as the beehive being Spain as a whole, or just the village where the film takes place, or even just the family at the center of the story (this idea is reinforced by the fact that the window panes of the house strongly evoke honeycombs). Then, there's the mother and the person she writes to (who is that person, exactly? Could it possibly be the soldier hiding in the sheepfold?). And of course, there's Frankenstein in all that: who is meant to represent Frankenstein's monster in the film? Ana's father? Franco? The soldier (who is killed for reasons Ana doesn't understand, just like the monster)? By the way, really liked the kids' reactions to the film. I wonder if they actually showed them the film (and their reaction was genuine) or if they showed them something different.

The film as some great visual ideas, too: as mentioned above, the window panes that look like honeycombs (with Ana opening the window being seen as her opening the beehive), the whole golden look of the film (again, to evoke a beehive), the way the parents are never seen together in a same shot, even when in the same room (a visual indication that there's no love between them anymore, if there ever was any), the way Ana's face turns into the Frankenstein's monster in the water reflection...

The score by Luis de Pablo was lovely too (there's one cue in particular that sounds exactly like a French children's song, which was quite odd but funny nonetheless) and participates greatly in the atmosphere in the film.

 

All in all, it's quite a unique, memorable picture which gracefully paints the world seen through the eyes of a child (seems to have been a source of inspiration for del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth) and leaves a lot of plot elements to the viewer's interpretation, which makes for a nice experience. Recommended!

 

I adore in particular the little scene where the law shoots the wanderer in the night. In any other film they would have showed you the guns, the policeman, the actual shooting... Here it's done in such a simple and effective way, it's genius really. It was probably due to budget restrictions, and if so it's a brilliant way of dealing with that problem by working with the resources you actually have.

 

I'm really glad you liked this one, Blood. There's a lot of stuff you mentioned that seem to slip my mind so I guess I'll have to watch it again soon to refresh my memory. It really makes me glad to recommend people movies that have touched me in such a personal level like this one and listen/read their reactions, good or bad I love to discuss stuff about movies. 

 

Good call on the Pan's Labyrinth connection! I hadn't thought about it, but I can definetly see it now. 

 

Now I have to watch the Lupin movie and we'll be even! After that I suggest we keep recommending stuff to each other, could be a lot of fun.

[Quintus 5,399]

Any small town setting will inevitably be compared to Twin Peaks since it became the indelible template for small towns on TV. Bloodline, Fargo, True Detective, Riverdale, you could go on and on. 

 

In Fargo's case though, the similarity with Twin Peaks is literally just it's small town setting, because otherwise they're nothing like each other. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

2 hours ago, Quintus said:

Any small town setting will inevitably be compared to Twin Peaks since it became the indelible template for small towns on TV. Bloodline, Fargo, True Detective, Riverdale, you could go on and on.

 

Broadchurch was labeled the British Twin Peaks at one point if I recall correctly. Though I don't think Twin Peaks ever had paedophile paranoia rage in it.

[Quintus 5,399]

I still need to watch that. I had my reservations because it is British, but Happy Valley shown me that homegrown longform drama can still be brilliant. 

[A24 4,339]

I don't think anyone thinks True Detective is reminiscent of Twin Peaks so it's yet another bogus post from bogus poster Quint.

 

OTOH, when watching Fargo, many people said: "It's the new Twin Peaks!" 

[Quintus 5,399]

Heh, that's rich coming from Alex "finger on the broken button" Cremers. Or, Rotten Tomatoes boy, as I think of him. 

 

Anyway, to demonstrate the accuracy of his dad dancing insight, here's what google thinks about it:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=true+detective+twin+peaks&oq=true+Detective+twin+p&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.6660j0j4&client=ms-android-lenovo&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

 

Checkdafuqmate. 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Koray Savas 2,251]

1 hour ago, Quintus said:

Heh, that's rich coming from Alex "finger on the broken button" Cremers. Or, Rotten Tomatoes boy, as I think of him. 

 

Anyway, to demonstrate the accuracy of his dad dancing insight, here's what google thinks about it:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=true+detective+twin+peaks&oq=true+Detective+twin+p&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.6660j0j4&client=ms-android-lenovo&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

 

Checkdafuqmate. 

Alex also hasn't seen Season 2, which wears its Twin Peaks influence on its sleeve. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I would say True Detective shares a few things with Twin Peaks. Mainly that definite, yet undefined presence of something supernatural.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

1 hour ago, Alexcremers said:

I don't think anyone thinks True Detective is reminiscent of Twin Peaks so it's yet another bogus post from bogus poster Quint.

 

Hey, Lee, did you know; you're a fake poster?! 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I don't really think Alex believes Lee is bogus.

 

It's just that sexual tension again...

[BloodBoal 7,538]

14 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

I would say True Detective shares a few things with Twin Peaks. Mainly that definite, yet undefined presence of something supernatural.

 

Yes! The Yellow King is pure Twin Peaks! Carcosa is the Black Lodge! It's all connected!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

The only thing is...TWIN PEAKS, did it twenty five years previously, and no-one caught up for that amount of time. That shows how far TWIN PEAKS was/is ahead of the game.

[Quintus 5,399]

I actually don't think True Detective and Twin Peaks have all that much in the way of similarities going on between them, but I was aware of a debate at the time True Detective 1 was airing, I remember people drawing parallels between the two online. There's the surrealism aspects and the supernatural, that's for sure. But tonally, they're quite different. 

 

Fargo doesn't having any of those things in its own makeup. It's sort of an absurd farce and ultra violent thriller. Lynchian? No. It is unmistakably Coen-esque, of course. 

 

19 minutes ago, Richard said:

 

Hey, Lee, did you know; you're a fake poster?! 

 

#FAKEBOGUSLEENEWS!!! 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

Both FARGO, and TRUE DETECTIVE are good programmes, but TWIN PEAKS is, simply, the most astonishing TV show, ever.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

That would be Deadwood, actually.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Fine programs, all of them!  But Deadwood is it for me.  The tops.  Never to be dethroned.

[Quintus 5,399]

Okay chaps, it's not a contest. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

That just means you've already lost!  Hahahaha!

[Quintus 5,399]

What? 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Exactly.

[BloodBoal 7,538]