As the other commenters were wondering, I went to see this when it was a theatre play, so I can say that it works much better as play, where the cliched nature of the stories take second place to the special effects and scares. Having Andy Nyman chat to you from the stage like he's giving you a lecture about some ghost stories he's collected also works much better than seeing him actually getting involved in the plots and interviewing people.
I still quite enjoyed the film, though. It kind of works as a love-letter to the horror anthologies of the 70s and classic ghost stories.
Interesting look into a failed dot-com startup. It's often confusing about what's going on in terms of the business and funding side, but it's impressive to see a startup captured by fly-on-the-wall documentation from beginning to end, so we see the initial highs and meteoric rise before the eventual crash and recriminations. Tuzman is an entertaining character; his ego, persuasiveness and paranoia prefiguring disaster. There needs to be a documentary about his subsequent adventure, as he has wound up in a hellhole Colombian prison on serious charges of fraud and stock manipulation.
The prints are held by the Centre for Visual Music and occasionally loaned out to museums. The page for the film is here so you can see if it is being shown near you, but it is not available to watch online:
http://www.centerforvisualmusic.org/Raumlichtkunst.html
(There are 12 episodes, each containing two lectures).
An informative and compellingly taught series of lectures on moral philosophy; one of Harvard's most popular courses. Michael Selman uses a Socratic teaching method that encourages debate and makes the arguments seem immediate.
The film can never decide if it's a black comedy, a bleak tragedy, or a gory horror film. There are some fun parts but it adds up to a disconcerting experience and has been fatally Americanised.
Mildly diverting entertainment for horror fans, but this is an unimpressive, unconvincing version of the story. King's horror works because it is the intrusion of the uncanny into a down-to-earth vision of the modern world. This film is very much in the style of currently-fashionable supernatural horror, divorcing the film from realism by locating the creepy cemetery in a lightning-lit CGI dimension, and going for jump scares over psychological dread.
The footage showing the behind-the-scenes events in a coup attempt is fascinating, and despite bias the key events portrayed are broadly true. There was a violent military coup against Chavez, and it was backed by the US government (in as much as they knew about it and approved).
The propaganda levels make the film less interesting (and here they're far above what I'd expect in a balanced news broadcast, they're at least at Fox News levels). The filmmakers clearly think that Chavez and his government are great and swallow their claims uncritically. So I'm watching each scene wondering how much has been omitted, edited and manipulated to make it fit a narrative. Watching this in 2018 with Venezuela now an undeniable dictatorship and failed state is an interesting experience. There's a sick irony in knowing that the claims of Chavez's policies bringing freedom, democracy and prosperity are hollow and the fears of the opposition all came to pass.
I also think you've missed out the remake of "Arroseur et arrosé" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1184937/, which should come between Lutteurs japonais and Bonne d'enfant et soldat.
Should #47 be Retour d'une promenade en mer? I thought it should "Le retour. Aux Champs-Elysées" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3452882/. I thought both your "travaux au canal de jonage" shorts were correct, but I've sent a message to Armoreska to check.
Technical aspects are great: powerful performances, very good cinematography and strong direction that creates a bleak foreboding atmosphere. However the plot goes through a lot of convolutions to throw red herrings and clues at the viewer in a way that ended up feeling unbelievable. I was particularly disappointed by the revelation of a cartoonish villain at the end who doesn't seem to fit in with the tone. It recalls Mystic River with which it shares a lot of positives and negatives, but it also resembles Memories of Murder and The Vanishing (both of which are clearly superior) but with the darker parts filed off to make it more palatable for a mass audience.
Good performances, especially Washington's powerhouse turn, help to conceal that the script is actually quite bad, with a stream of unlikely plot conveniences showing up in the final act.
Comments 1 - 25 of 501
Movie comment on The Cardinal and the Corpse
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7n74W9si1oMovie comment on Mockingbird
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BCGf8FjBPEMovie comment on ABC Weekend Specials: Bunnicula, the Vampire Rabbit
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVqEjOP8C5cMovie comment on Requiem for Sally
ChrisReynolds
Available to watch for free on BFI player:https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-requiem-for-sally-1979-online
Movie comment on Ghost Stories
ChrisReynolds
As the other commenters were wondering, I went to see this when it was a theatre play, so I can say that it works much better as play, where the cliched nature of the stories take second place to the special effects and scares. Having Andy Nyman chat to you from the stage like he's giving you a lecture about some ghost stories he's collected also works much better than seeing him actually getting involved in the plots and interviewing people.I still quite enjoyed the film, though. It kind of works as a love-letter to the horror anthologies of the 70s and classic ghost stories.
Movie comment on Startup.com
ChrisReynolds
Interesting look into a failed dot-com startup. It's often confusing about what's going on in terms of the business and funding side, but it's impressive to see a startup captured by fly-on-the-wall documentation from beginning to end, so we see the initial highs and meteoric rise before the eventual crash and recriminations. Tuzman is an entertaining character; his ego, persuasiveness and paranoia prefiguring disaster. There needs to be a documentary about his subsequent adventure, as he has wound up in a hellhole Colombian prison on serious charges of fraud and stock manipulation.Movie comment on Raumlichtkunst
ChrisReynolds
The prints are held by the Centre for Visual Music and occasionally loaned out to museums. The page for the film is here so you can see if it is being shown near you, but it is not available to watch online:http://www.centerforvisualmusic.org/Raumlichtkunst.html
Movie comment on Justice
ChrisReynolds
YouTube channel for the whole series(There are 12 episodes, each containing two lectures).
An informative and compellingly taught series of lectures on moral philosophy; one of Harvard's most popular courses. Michael Selman uses a Socratic teaching method that encourages debate and makes the arguments seem immediate.
Movie comment on The Gate
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_JxzW3l1YMovie comment on The Invisible Man
ChrisReynolds
The tension is fantastic even though the story makes itself predictable through obvious setups.Toplist comment on Goomba Stomp's 150 Greatest Horror Films of the 20th Century (2016)
ChrisReynolds
@manwithpetgull The Next of Kin movie has been corrected. Thanks for catching it.Movie comment on Shadow of Mordor
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xK7e0-_3oQMovie comment on Dust
ChrisReynolds
https://vimeo.com/183239997Movie comment on Lords of Chaos
ChrisReynolds
The film can never decide if it's a black comedy, a bleak tragedy, or a gory horror film. There are some fun parts but it adds up to a disconcerting experience and has been fatally Americanised.Movie comment on Pet Sematary
ChrisReynolds
Mildly diverting entertainment for horror fans, but this is an unimpressive, unconvincing version of the story. King's horror works because it is the intrusion of the uncanny into a down-to-earth vision of the modern world. This film is very much in the style of currently-fashionable supernatural horror, divorcing the film from realism by locating the creepy cemetery in a lightning-lit CGI dimension, and going for jump scares over psychological dread.Movie comment on Alexander's Ragtime Band
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpUc8OScodgMovie comment on Final Stop
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQhqvVqxlEEMovie comment on Chavez: Inside the Coup
ChrisReynolds
The footage showing the behind-the-scenes events in a coup attempt is fascinating, and despite bias the key events portrayed are broadly true. There was a violent military coup against Chavez, and it was backed by the US government (in as much as they knew about it and approved).The propaganda levels make the film less interesting (and here they're far above what I'd expect in a balanced news broadcast, they're at least at Fox News levels). The filmmakers clearly think that Chavez and his government are great and swallow their claims uncritically. So I'm watching each scene wondering how much has been omitted, edited and manipulated to make it fit a narrative. Watching this in 2018 with Venezuela now an undeniable dictatorship and failed state is an interesting experience. There's a sick irony in knowing that the claims of Chavez's policies bringing freedom, democracy and prosperity are hollow and the fears of the opposition all came to pass.
Movie comment on Nightmare at Elm Manor
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjjW6PYkk1QMovie comment on See You Soon
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaHmrpelNXAToplist comment on Lumiere ! Le cinematographe 1895 - 1905
ChrisReynolds
The "Arroseur et arrosé" remake http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1184937/ is still not there. It is not the same film as http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1184937/. Apart from that everything now looks correct.Toplist comment on Lumiere ! Le cinematographe 1895 - 1905
ChrisReynolds
I agree with Armoreska that "Saut a la couvert" should be this one: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000031/I also think you've missed out the remake of "Arroseur et arrosé" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1184937/, which should come between Lutteurs japonais and Bonne d'enfant et soldat.
Should #47 be Retour d'une promenade en mer? I thought it should "Le retour. Aux Champs-Elysées" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3452882/. I thought both your "travaux au canal de jonage" shorts were correct, but I've sent a message to Armoreska to check.
Movie comment on Bloody Mary
ChrisReynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGjTTqk0RDsMovie comment on Prisoners
ChrisReynolds
Technical aspects are great: powerful performances, very good cinematography and strong direction that creates a bleak foreboding atmosphere. However the plot goes through a lot of convolutions to throw red herrings and clues at the viewer in a way that ended up feeling unbelievable. I was particularly disappointed by the revelation of a cartoonish villain at the end who doesn't seem to fit in with the tone. It recalls Mystic River with which it shares a lot of positives and negatives, but it also resembles Memories of Murder and The Vanishing (both of which are clearly superior) but with the darker parts filed off to make it more palatable for a mass audience.Movie comment on Training Day
ChrisReynolds
Good performances, especially Washington's powerhouse turn, help to conceal that the script is actually quite bad, with a stream of unlikely plot conveniences showing up in the final act.Showing items 1 – 25 of 501