Now Watching

[GtrPlyr]

Roadie (1980)

 

I have probably not seen that movie since, well, 1980. Funny stuff. And what other movie features Asleep At The Wheel, Blondie, and Meat Loaf all in the same scene? None.

I watched that one about 3 weeks ago. Like you I hadn't seen it since the 80s. Fun film, often quite cheesy, but somehow it remains entertaining. The musician cameos definitely add to the charm, and Debbie Harry was darn sexy back then.

[Analogman]

I watched that one about 3 weeks ago. Like you I hadn't seen it since the 80s. Fun film, often quite cheesy, but somehow it remains entertaining. The musician cameos definitely add to the charm, and Debbie Harry was darn sexy back then.

 

And Meat Loaf is great.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Super 8

Excellent entertainment. Although, I have to say that, in the 2 days since I have seen it, it is not really sticking with me in the way that the best movies do. I don't find myself thinking about the flick much. And, there are also no truly memorable individual scenes that I keep coming back to.

Nonetheless, if you catch a matinee, it's a really good way to kill a couple of hours on a rainy summer afternoon.

 

Just what exactly are those?

[Oil Can Boyd]

 

Really liked this movie ...

[El Picador]

I finally watched How I Ended This Summer. Excellent film. I also thought of Herzog during this film as the pace was unusual at times. The fog scene was typical Herzog style as he kept the camera on the man as he walked and walked while the fog thickened. I saved this one to watch again at a later date...perhaps when my Russian improves a little.

 

 

The movie is gorgeous. It's set in Russia's remote, partly radioactive Chukotka region, and the crew actually trucked across the Arctic Ocean, Werner Herzog-style, to capture the fog, the steep cliffs, the polar bears, the blue water, the stone fields. Nevertheless, the main emphasis is really the internal landscapes of the characters.

[El Picador]

 

Soy Cuba - 1964 - USSR/Cuba

[Beltmann]

I finally watched How I Ended This Summer. Excellent film. I also thought of Herzog during this film as the pace was unusual at times. The fog scene was typical Herzog style as he kept the camera on the man as he walked and walked while the fog thickened. I saved this one to watch again at a later date...perhaps when my Russian improves a little.

Glad you liked it! So far, it's probably my favorite movie of the year.

 

Earlier today I watched two movies:

 

 

White Material / dir. Claire Denis / France / 2009

Isabelle Huppert stars as the fearless French owner of a coffee plantation in a West African country collapsing under the weight of civil war. It's a war movie as envisioned by Claire Denis, which means that it is impressionistic, elliptical, savage, and completely engrossing.

 

 

Union Station / dir. Rudolph Mate / USA / 1950

Tough railroad detective William Holden investigates a kidnapping. It's a decent, twisty example of film noir, but director Rudolph Mate is rightly more famous as a cinematographer.

[PopTodd]

Yeah, so I admit, I checked into this for the infamous non-simulated sex scenes. But, when it comes down to it, overall, this was a pretty boring movie and I did not get all the way through it. Not because it was slow and boring (which it kinda was), but because it was painful -- emotionally.

Might be rewarding for those of you who can handle having your old wounds re-opened. But, if you are just looking for cheap thrills, cruise the internet instead.

[El Picador]

 

My wife and I have been enjoying this the past couple nights. It's a little different than the stuff we normally watch, and surprisingly good, considering neither of us really care much for the supernatural/horror type flicks. Lars Von Trier is the mind behind this four part Danish mini series, so its qualities lie beyond a script and storyline.

[jimtweedy1977]

Queen Rock Montreal! Hello my beauties!

[Al.Ducts]

 

 

I've been on a big Stella kick lately. Absurd, but hilarious.

[Beltmann]

 

I've spent a lot of time with By Brakhage: An Anthology Volume Two over the last few weeks. Experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage is a particular favorite of mine, especially the hand-painted films that look like dancing Pollock canvases. (Boulder Blues and Pearls and… (1992) really sticks to the ribs.) Of the films with regular live-action footage, I most admire The Wonder Ring (1955), which studies how light functioned in an elevated train system that was about to be torn down.

[kidsmoke]

The kids and I have been on an Arrested Development jag of late...Brennan & Alissa were young enough when it was new that it's all new to them. It doesn't seem to have aged a bit, in spite of having many political references. But then, does the world of politics ever really change, other than the faces?

 

What a fabulous show, and so great to watch the kids rolling with laughter over Buster & the seal, Gob's magic, etc.

[Queen Amaranthine]

 

My kids are really into Spongebob this summer, so we've watched this movie again...and again...and again. It is very funny!

[Al.Ducts]

The kids and I have been on an Arrested Development jag of late...Brennan & Alissa were young enough when it was new that it's all new to them. It doesn't seem to have aged a bit, in spite of having many political references. But then, does the world of politics ever really change, other than the faces?

 

What a fabulous show, and so great to watch the kids rolling with laughter over Buster & the seal, Gob's magic, etc.

 

 

I've been going back and re-watching all the episodes again after a little break. Still sharp!

[Moss]

 

Just started season 1 and I'm hooked. I don't dare venture into the Breaking Bad thread for fear of spoilers.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

 

My kids are really into Spongebob this summer, so we've watched this movie again...and again...and again. It is very funny!

 

I can imagine that this one is a hit with teh college crowd...(watching with enhancement from the friendly herb would seem as natural as listening to Pink Floyd was when I was in college)

[ponch1028]

Watched this again a couple nights ago. I just love this movie.

[ponch1028]

Been on an 80's and 90's film kick recently, revisiting some more obscure films that I remember fondly and seeing how well they hold up as an adult. Here are a few I've recently watched:

 

 

 

What a weird and mesmerizing film. I love it.

 

 

I've always loved this movie and still do.

 

 

 

Second half w/ aliens does not hold up well. First half is better. Recently listened to a "Movie Geeks United" podcast where they revisited this film, and it explained some things about the film that were cut which would probably made it a little better.

 

 

 

Special effects are horrible, but I still like the warmth of the film. A week ago when I rewatched Jaws 4: The Revenge did I realize that it was the boy from the Last Starfighter who was the adult son.

 

The Manhatten Project

Really good movie. Holds up well.

 

The Phantom

Not an 80's film, but definitely has a nostalgic tone to it and a lightheartedness that many of the recent superhero films lack.

 

Matinee

Another 90's film, but I absolutely love it. Joe Dante is not a visionary filmmaker, but he's made a lot of films that I am fond of and remember vividly growing up as a child.

[Beltmann]

Matinee

Another 90's film, but I absolutely love it. Joe Dante is not a visionary filmmaker, but he's made a lot of films that I am fond of and remember vividly growing up as a child.

Don't sell Joe Dante short--underneath the familiar genre trappings, his movies often contain a genuinely subversive, sharply satirical intelligence. Consider something like Small Soldiers, which on the surface appears to be a commercial for toy tie-ins yet still scorns the practice of selling war toys, or more specifically, the practice of selling war imagery as spectacle. By exploring the relationship between violence and entertainment, Dante suggests that sometimes the "play wars" boys play turn out to be real wars, like the first gulf war. He suggests that in terms of motives and lies, much foreign policy resembles nothing so much as a giant game of Risk. Yes, it's a kids' flick, but it's also a surprisingly savvy commentary on war, war films, and a consumer culture built around aggression. Matinee, which I love, is another film about the link between war fever and spectatorship.

[Queen Amaranthine]

 

I can imagine that this one is a hit with teh college crowd...(watching with enhancement from the friendly herb would seem as natural as listening to Pink Floyd was when I was in college)

 

Spongebob is a a trip even when you're fully sober! I wonder if it syncs up to the Wizard of Oz?

 

This is another creative, silly-funny one specifically aimed at kids (preschoolers in this case) that is said (I personally wouldn't know, for the record!) to double on another level as grown-up stoner humor. My kids have outgrown this show, but for awhile it was a big hit with them and it really sparked their creativity and sense of humor. However, considering that these guys have since been stand-ups at Australia's Marijuana Monologues, it's understandable why they chose to do just one season of this show, saying, "We're really not children's entertainers."

 

[El Picador]

I watched a couple memorable Turkish films recently:

 

 

Bal (Honey) - 2010

 

 

Iklimler (Climates) - 2006

 

Both of these films left an impression on me in one way or another, either for a healthy dose of cultural exploration or by charming my eyes with some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the world.

Edited August 19, 2011 by El Picador

[97flatcars]

Girls Rock! The Movie is a must see for grrrrls everywhere. If I had a girl, I'd definitely send her to Girls Rock Camp in Portland, Oregon. What a well-done documentary!

[Beltmann]

Iklimer (Climates) - 2006

I liked that one, too, but not quite as much as Ceylan's earlier Distant. Have you seen that? If not, let me rave: Out of obligation, a professional photographer invites his unrefined country cousin to stay with him in Istanbul, and we watch, slowly and silently, as these two spinning wheels fail to connect--to each other, to others, to anything beyond their apartment walls. You've seen Climates, so you are already primed for Distant's unrelenting mood of melancholy and loneliness. Frankly, the tone is borderline inhospitable, but I was still engrossed by the way Ceylan contrasts the grungy, everyday details with beautiful visual symmetries, especially when photographing Istanbul's cool exterior. (Like How I Ended This Summer, a major part of its appeal is simply the breathtaking imagery.) The expansive vistas accentuate the pettiness of these men, who permit life's tiny dramas--a lost tool, an invasive mouse, a sloppy guest--to enlarge the distance between them. I saw Distant at a film festival and was so impressed that ever since I've been following Ceylan's career with great interest.

[Beltmann]

 

In A Screaming Man, which is set in Chad as civil war and globalization tear apart the country, the screaming is almost exclusively internal--the rage simmers underneath the characters' wounded eyes.