Films you've seen recently and would unreservedly recommend:

[monobass]

I liked Synecdoche. I think in some ways it was a lot more economical than the Jonze and Gondry films in the first half at last, it did away with lots of mechanisms of establishment of plot and context that we are so used to seeing in Hollywood films.

It did the same thing as Adaptation in a way, sets itself up with a inevitable trajectory that will be played out... but whilst I could see it was very clever and inevitable that Adaptation turned into a B-Movie action flick, I much prefered the fuzzy impressionist decay of hoffmans ego and identity in Synecdoche. (the first film I've been to in quite a while where people walked out 3/4 of the way through).

It's a great cinema movie, there are more revelations to be had when you persevere in the dark with a group of people.. rather than ending up reducing the film to a postage stamp on your laptop screen as your mind wanders back to talking shit on forums.

 

[scottdisco]

i got a x-post going on with Droid in the kid films thread re My Neighbor Totoro!

I much prefered the fuzzy impressionist decay of hoffmans ego and identity in Synecdoche. (the first film I've been to in quite a while where people walked out 3/4 of the way through).

beautifully put yo (not seen it but might do)

It's a great cinema movie, there are more revelations to be had when you persevere in the dark with a group of people.. rather than ending up reducing the film to a postage stamp on your laptop screen as your mind wanders back to talking shit on forums.

that final bit seems perhaps a bit harsh, mind

 

[baboon2004]

i watched walkabout, great film!

whilst watching the film i fell a sleep and dreamt i was deep in the australian outback observing a four legged beast, whose head was that of donald sutherland. i’ve obviously tied the two roeg films i’ve recently seen together, possibly because of baboon2004's mention of a double billing.

Best double bill in cinema history (which actually happened): Wicker Man and Don't Look Now, 1973.

I'd take a look at Picnic at Hanging Rock and 29 Palms too, for the similarly psychedelic desert imagery (and they're both very good/great films_.

 

[nochexxx]

vincent gallo's brown bunny.

unintentionally during the time of release i was in hibernation and therefore missed the hype surrounding gallo's film. i did however have a vague expectation of there being a blow job scene proper. other than that i watched it without any real expectations and thought it was superb!

 

[empty mirror]

^ i'd have to agree with you there
we are in the minority, i guess
long takes and open spaces are what make cinema good
that one had both

 

[nochexxx]

yep! i love hellman and kitano films for the same reasons.

and the way brown bunny unravelled itself was immense.

 

[cobretti]

Watched [REC] tonight for the first time since seeing it in the cinema last year. By jebus it's scary. The last half hour is intense; in fact the whole film is a masterclass in how to pace a horror movie/thriller. 5.1 mix is great too.

 

[craner]

New York Ripper chez Shapiro

First time I saw it, hated it, tonight, Shapiro and I realised it's not misogynist at all, it's very cynical and nasty, for sure, but layered, weird, worth something. And technically superb...at least until the muddled conclusion. Better than The Psychic and Four of the Apocalypse, if not the early gialli. Some corrupt Helment Newton flashes and other High Art nods, arresting set pieces, Guy Bourdin hell, all that, but base, doomed...

Yes, it was ok and unsettling, a good Fulci number.

 

[monobass]

O'Horten is nice

 

[Buick6]

I finally saw PERFORMANCE, and what a fucking great fucking movie it was!!

Great soundtrack too. Really gets into the whole identity, artist, sexuality mind fuck thing and it's very psychedelic as well. Also has lots of literary reference to Borges and the like. Yeah its terrific.

Also watched CHILDREN OF MEN again was is one of the best films this decade, and and half-way through watch LA BELLE CAPTIVE by Alain Robbe-Grillet who was doing what David Lynch does years before Lynch was doing it.

 

[IdleRich]

"half-way through watch LA BELLE CAPTIVE by Alain Robbe-Grillet who was doing what David Lynch does years before Lynch was doing it."

Yeah, that's wicked. Not sure it adds up to much but I love it. Potential SPOILER that's what my avatar is from.

 

[polystyle]

Nic Roeg love ...

Glad to see some have caught up with Roeg's great films.
Performance , Walkabout , Don't Look Now , Man Who Fell To Earth ...
By the time I could catch up to him to slip him a tape he was doing Insignificance.
It was ok ( sorry Art G but ... ) , soundtrack made a fraction better by inclusion of our DCC tracks.

Somewhere I have book with Wm Burroughs meeting Roeg

 

[slim jenkins]

The Hustler - Hadn't seen it for years...well worth another look...Newman, Piper Laurie...great cinematography and of course that brilliant first match with 'Fats'...superb.

Also watching Naked Lunch again...which gets better to my eyes....love those pre-digi FX...

Can't find Grillet's Trans Europe Express...anyone got any ideas for DVD availability?

 

[IdleRich]

"Can't find Grillet's Trans Europe Express...anyone got any ideas for DVD availability?"

I've got a dodgy copy... but it's got no subtitles, do you speak French? I don't think it's one where you can scrape by with a rudimentary grasp either. I've actually got a (Swiss) friend who has just qualified as a translator and I'm trying to persuade her to sit down and simultaneously translate it for me but I think that that might not deliver the full effect.
Failing that I think my friend might have downloaded a copy for me which I hope to get my hands on soon, if that's any good I could pass it on to you if you like.

 

[slim jenkins]

That would be great if it happens - thanks. It seems odd that it's not easily available.

 

[owengriffiths]

Swedish vampire film 'Let the right one in' is big, catch it in the cinema while you still can. Even if you hate vampire films/ horror, very little pandering to the cliches of the genre. I saw it last week and although its not a brilliantly amazing film, I have been thinking about it for days now. It's set in a snowy suburban new town type estate in the 80's.

I'm tempted to see O'Horten but my local showing ends late and I cant see myself making the last bus home. arguing over whether it's worth the taxi expenses.

 

[Corpsey]

Saw 'Coraline' yesterday, first 3D film I've seen. Not the greatest film in the world but an amazing visual spectacle. The stop-motion animation is so good that I almost think its been rendered pointless... could just as easily have been in CGI.

 

[nomos]

saw Up last week in 3D and it was really good.

 

[Kate Mossad]

Fassbinder - Fear Eats the Soul.

 

[zhao]

enjoyed very much new Jarmusch Limits of Control. it's a really mature work, taking his flirtation with repetition, randomness, absurdity, to another level of meditative refinement. kind of a Becket Manga... already noted in metal thread the great Boris soundtrack.