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I've watched this David Fincher directed film a couple of times over the past few years and it never gets old for me. It’s very well made and nearly all the elements that I find important in a film come together beautifully. It’s also a whodunit of sorts, which is a type of genre that I’ve found compelling from childhood. Immensely atmospheric, moody, perverse and dark, it’s anchored by a superb score from the always brilliant Trent Reznor with assistance from Atticus Ross. The eclectic cast fire on all cylinders and gel very well in all interactions. I like that this film doesn’t pander or cut corners too – it shows what has to be shown and doesn’t hide the nastiness or brutality in a specific scene. It’s talky, but not dull, and it builds nicely to an especially thrilling and creepy ending for the villain. The last section after this feels a bit tacked on, but it's necessary to complete the tale. I saw the Swedish versions in the theatre in 2010 and really liked them all as well, but think this English language version is in a different league. I love the aesthetic and ambience of this film. Definitely recommended if you’ve not seen it. I hope Knives Out is this good.
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Deliverance (1972)
First watch for me of this John Boorman directed entry. I'd heard of it over the years of course but all I knew was that it starred Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight. The film is basically a chilling tale of survival by four men who decide to go on a canoeing trip through a river before it is ruined due to the construction of a dam. They find themselves in an environment where hillbilly locals, the surroundings, the elements etc. are all unfamiliar and particularly dangerous. The film shows how humans can rise to the challenge when put in extreme circumstances, but also shows how such challenging events can strip away any facades and change them forever. It was filmed in the wild, and the actors did their own stunts including climbing mountains and river rafting. This adds to the authenticity. Coincidentally, there is a graphic abuse scene in this film which is very reminiscent of the one in TGWTDT. This one too is quite uncomfortable to watch and demeaning. The film similarly is quite violent and also has lot of less than perfect characters, but somehow it draws the viewer in. I enjoyed it, but perhaps not as much as I should have given its reputation. I preferred The Edge, which is in some ways similar. Perhaps I need another viewing one day. Voight, Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox are all excellent though.
Good review @bondjames
Shame you didn't like it as much as you thought you would. Personally its one of my favourite films and sits in my top ten of all time.
Its a very faithful adaptation of James Dickey's amazing novel and i love the way director Boorman uses the locations in a way that it's an alien landscape for our characters.
Of course the cast are just brilliant and you couldn't imagine these men played by anyone else.
I've seen it an unhealthy number of times and still love it.
Suprised you've only just seen it.
I have seen those last three in the cinema, The Shining as a rerun in the 80s. The Kubrick films really benefit from the big screen.
Probably the best pure adventure action film ever made. Everyone remembers the action of course, but its surprising how much characterisation and story they manage to cram into such a tight package. Its not just a series of set pieces strung together like we see so often nowadays, theres actually a solid narrative driving the movie forward. Harrison Ford is simply on another level in the charisma department a truly A star level leading man performance. But not infallible, Indiana has depth and vulnerability whilst maintaining a strong masculine allure (cough, EON take note, cough). The direction is sharp and dynamic, so even wordy scenes filled with ancient descriptors, or lengthy sequences of puzzle solving that draw the viewer in. All the supporting cast shine, so much so that many has returned for subsequent entries.
9.5/10
Agree Leonardpine. Have seen it loads of times. Absolute classic.This and Point Blank are Boormans finest films.
The infamous story of Burt insisting on doing his own stunt where the canoe goes over a waterfall. Boorman wanted to use a dummy, but Burt got his way. When they shot the scene, Burt approached Boorman, "What did that look like, John?"
Boorman.."Like a dummy going over a waterfall!"
There are actually quite a few well known films from the 70s which I've yet to see.
Point Blank is another one I have yet to see. Boorman and Peckinpah are two directors whose work I must check out in more detail soon.
You really should watch Point Blank.
If you're not familiar with Sam Peckinpahs work, than Cross of Iron, The Getaway, and The Wild Bunch is a good place to start!
Directed by Vincent Sherman, this noir stars Joan Crawford. She leaves her abusive blue-collar Texas husband (Richaed Egan) when his temper causes their son to be killed in a bicycle accident.
She adjourns to New York city and and gets involved with a crime syndicate run by David Brian, who's main rival is the great Steve Cochran.
I loved this film and am amazed I'd never seen it. Great stuff, especially if one is a Crawford fan.
Steve Cochran is as slimy here as he was in WHITE HEAT the year before, and Kent Smith is excellent as the timid accountant who becomes corrupted by power thanks to Crawford.
Recommended for noir fans.
I couldn't argue with any of that apart from the score, 10/10 for me the genre has never been better served, blockbuster cinema at it's finest only slightly edged by another Spielberg masterpiece Jaws.
Raiders really is one of the most exciting films ever made, I know some prefer the others but to say they are better made or acted would be futile, they broke the mould when they made this.
Brick 2005
When Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) receives a worrying call from his Ex - Girlfriend Emily (Emile De Ravin). He sets out to find her and when he discovers her dead body, he decides to conceal it and look into her murder. His investigation leads him to a 26 year old drug dealer call The Pin (Lukas Hass) and his associates and then things start to unravel.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Looper although I did enjoy Brothers Bloom, also I quite enjoyed that little film Rian Johnson directed last year that seem to upset quite a few people.
Also with RJ now delivering an update of the whodunnit genre with our very own Daniel Craig in the lead with a hugely impressive supporting cast next year, thought it was just the time to find why his debut was so acclaimed and made Johnson a director to watch.
I can see how this might have wound some up and looking at some reviews on IMBD some people really weren't prepared to go with its concept. The nearest comparison I can think of is Bugsy Malone in what it's doing, although the style reminded me of Memento quite a bit
This is essentially a hard-boiled Raymond Chandler style detective story but instead of a hard bitten flawed Bogart type we get a smart ass high school kid being the protagonist. It also might take sometime to tune into the dialogue but once you do and go with it, this makes for a hugely enjoyable, tense, well acted thriller with a difference.
In the same way that kids are playing out as gangsters in Bugsy Malone, high school kids are acting in the adult world. Although the kids are firing custard at their targets, the bullets, punches are real here with tragic consequences.
Although you could and some have said find it all pretentious and too clever for it's own good. Gordon-Levitt makes a great lead and Hass in particular is most effective as The Pin. Nora Zehetner impresses as Laura.
I wouldn't want to talk about the plot too much as I think its best to go in as unknowing as you can. The final scene on the football pitch pretty much spells it out and even though I could see what was coming I was still impressed.
Regardless of your opinions on Johnson after his most controversial and high profile gig, I'd say we are in a safe place with him as the man behind what will be one of the most awaiting films of 2019.
4/5
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this one, and it’s as good as I remembered it. Christopher Nolan expertly weaves together a sombre turn of century tale of broken friendship, relentless ambition, unhealthy obsession, inability to forgive & vengeance, and shows the damaging effects it ultimately has on the lives and souls of two men and all those around them. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (either of these two could be, and perhaps should have been, Bond in my opinion) are outstanding as two magicians determined to one up the other. One is a flamboyant American showman with panache. The other is a Cockney introverted perfectionist with a desire for originality. A terrible accident sets them on a lifelong competitive path which enhances both their careers, but their quest to find the perfect illusion at work necessitates unsustainable and destructive personal deception and illusion at home.
Nolan structures his film like a magic trick, starting with the Pledge, then moving on to the Turn and finally ending with the Prestige (the final revelation). He also uses his now trademark method of changing up timelines, so the film has a puzzle-like structure which keeps the viewer engaged. Wally Pfister as expected does an excellent job lensing the film, which has an authentic period look but also feels intimate and personal. The leads are supported by a great cast including Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Michael Caine, David Bowie, Piper Perabo Andy Serkis and real life magician Ricky Jay (in a small part). By the time it concluded (to Thom Yorke’s excellent Analyse) I was once again reminded of what a creative and smart film maker Nolan is.
He’s pretty solid. The Dark Knight and Batman Begins are my personal favorites of his, but I also really enjoy The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige, and Dunkirk. I do like Memento, Inception, and Interstellar as well, but not quite as much. Insomnia and Following were okay, but I probably wouldn’t rewatch them.
I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but he was a hired director on Insomnia-- that this wasn't a Nolan production as we now know what a Nolan production is. The studio hired him to shoot this.
MOMENTO
BB
TDK
INCEPTION
TDKR
INTERSTELLAR
DUNKIRK
are all pretty amazing films and rival Villeneuve's last five:
PRISONERS
ENEMY
SICARIO
ARRIVAL
BR: 2049
Not a Tarantino film i have watched multiple times, but this just gets better and better everytime i see it.
Not the usual Tarantino, this is un-flashy and most of the violence occurs off screen.
Instead we get an engaging linear story that while quite ordinary is populated by characters we just love to watch and listen to. Tarantino's dialogue just fizzes in this and it's never been better.
Personally i think this is Sam L Jackson's best performance. His character is smart, cool and funny but also deadly. His warning to Max Cherry before they enter the Bail Bonds office near the end is chilling. Also good is his regret and sadness that Melanie was shot and not just "Punched in the face"
De Niro works well in this and it's strange seeing his character go from laid back doper to wound tight psychopath. Tarantino also gets cracking performances from his leading lady, Pam Grier and a resurgent Robert Forster.
add another great soundtrack (Had anyone here heard of the Delfonics before this film?!!!) and you've got a first class crime thriller. I have no idea of this films running time because you just don't notice while watching it, its that good.
I think being his third film and coming off the back of one of the most critically acclaimed thrillers of the last ten years he wanted something to get him ready for the more commercial market.
Insomnia wasn't a bad place to start, working with the late Robin Williams and acting god Al Pacino must have been some experience for him.
Although it's a remake or revision whatever you want to call it, although I think the ending lets it down on the strength of the performances by Robin and Al I think it's a stronger film. The relationship between the 2 is more defined and there are some truly incredible performances from both leads. The moment on the bridge when it switches from Dormer having the upper hand to end with him sat in a slump with Finch totally taken control, a testament to the performances by both.
Also, that log chase is superb. As far as Nolan as a storyteller to me he's still to top Memento, it's such an audacious original idea, that thrillers have strived to get near its brilliance.
Guy Pearce is extraordinary, Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss have rarely been better and the way it plays out, the twists aren't pull the rug from under you, they are built up and the final shocking denouncement when you realize that Leonard is not a reliable narrator.
Yes Nolan has gone onto bigger more ambitious projects and Inception is quite astounding in what is achieved, although Memento for me is yet to be bettered. I actually think The Prestige would be my close second, absolutely love that film, the performances, the script, like a fine-tuned machine as the cogs of the plot move and bring us to the end.
Of course Nolan as a director, I know he can be quite divisive especially on this forum. Though even Interstellar left me cold and The Dark Knight Rises didn't live up to the promise of BB & TDK (well to me anyway), there is no doubting his ambition.
Thankfully Dunkirk reinstated my faith in him again, I wait with bated breath for whatever he does next, alongside David Fincher, those are the 2 directors that get my blood pumping the most. Although Denis Villeneuve would definitely be one that is getting into the same stratosphere for me.
1. Memento
2. The Prestige
3. The Dark Knight
4. Inception
5. Dunkirk
6. Batman Begins
7. Following
8. Insomnia
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Interstellar
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Great film @LeonardPine. Coincidentally, I was seriously considering viewing this one or Pulp Fiction last night instead of The Prestige. It's been a long while since I've watched it. You're right about it being a bit un-flashy - I remember being a tad disappointed after first seeing it on release, but its a film that definitely rewards repeated viewing. It's all about the characters here. Jackson is indeed quite superb - Ordell is not a man to be crossed. I miss Bridget Fonda and am disappointed she gave up acting. I've always thought she was pretty cool on film.
With you there, @bondjames i too was disappointed when i first watched Jackie Brown
After Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction it all seemed a bit ordinary, but it really rewards on closer inspection.
Watching it the other night i had forgotten about that really clever split-screen sequence where as Jackie confronts Ordell, Max discovers his gun missing from the glove box.
I didn't realize that Bridget Fonda had given up acting. What a shame. She's great in it and looks fantastic.
Who knows, perhaps Tarantino could persuade her to come out of retirement!
Jackson has never been better and Pam Grier and Robert Forster are simply brilliant, subtle but effective chemistry that rewards time and time again on future viewings.
I just love his varied catalogue of movies. Shame he himself didn't direct his Natural Born Killers script instead of Oliver Stone who turned Tarantino's clever and radical piece into a stupid overblown mess.
Thankfully Tony Scott did better with Tarantino's True Romance script.
Absolutely loved True Romance. Lol my kind of love story.