jeremysliew

• 
  I recommend you see...

  Samson and Delilah

  by Jeremy

  Probably one of the best Australian film ever, certainly one of its most powerful, dealing with the nation's elephant in the room, the indigenous Australians. A harrowingly confronting film about youth, indigenous culture, disadvantage and poverty ultimately turns into a subtle but extremely moving love story. A quietly beautiful film that gets under your skin and shakes you too your core. Particularly powerful from an Australian perspective the film looks hard at a shameful fact of Australian society, without moralizing or pointing blame, the film transcends the subject matter and creates a powerful love story. But be prepared for its slow style and its ability to emotionally drain you.

  smith44

  Probably one of the best Australian film ever, certainly one of its most powerful, dealing with the nation's elephant in the room, the indigenous Australians. A harrowingly confronting film about youth, indigenous culture, disadvantage and poverty ultimately turns into a subtle but extremely moving love story. A quietly beautiful film that gets under your skin and shakes you too your core. Particularly powerful from an Australian perspective the film looks hard at a shameful fact of Australian society, without moralizing or pointing blame, the film transcends the subject matter and creates a powerful love story. But be prepared for its slow style and its ability to emotionally drain you. See this movie!!!

  posted 4 days ago
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  I recommend you see...

  Obchod na Korze (The Shop On Main Street) (A Shop on the High Street)

  by Byron

  The funny and tragic performances, the camera work, the story, the dream sequences; all great reasons to see this film. Another foreign picture that doesn't really have anyone involved who became very famous outside of Czechoslovakia. No famous autuers, and yet I thought it was brilliant. It leaves a mark!
  
  Jozef Kroner as Tony Brtko holds the movie together. He's drunk much of the time and finds a boisterous voice in this condition. When he's sober, he's a pushover, too scared, too kind to do what is expected of him as an Aryan. He hates his brother-in-law who lives a wealthy life as a Nazi officer. He is annoyed by his nagging wife. The Nazis are just beginning their plan to clear all the Jews out of this small Czech town. Tony's brother-in-law gives him the advice that a Jew-lover is the only thing worse than a Jew, and tells him to stay away from one known acquaintance named Mr. Kuchar who is a friend to Jews. Tony needs Mr. Kuchar's help too much to give up his friendship though. Tony gets assigned to take over a shop, which carries sewing supplies, from an elderly Jewish woman. Ida Kaminska plays the widow Mrs. Lautmann. She is set in her ways and hard of hearing, but serves her few customers well. She continually claims not to understand that Tony as an Aryan is supposed to take her shop away from her because she is a Jew. While this is sometimes genuine, she's such a cheerful old lady that I got the definite impression that she was playing dumb, that she was just playing with Tony at times. The "I don't understand, I don't understand." is more existential, more metaphysical. The Nazis have a wooden pyramid monument built in the square that many of the Czechs call the Tower of Babel. It also reminded me a bit of the obelisk in 2001: A Space Odyssey. This pyramid doesn't look very dangerous, but it conveys a sense of impending doom. Pictures of the young Mr. and Mrs. Lautmann from a happier time begin to haunt Tony. The dream sequences are bright, washed out, pure images of a symbolic main street where Tony becomes Mr. Lautmann and all the current political problems are gone. The Shop on Main Street realistically portrays daily life in this place and time and slowly builds some powerful suspense in the final scenes.

  hypathio7 (Administrator)

  Hey, you should really see this too!

  posted 21 days ago
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  I recommend you see...

  Monsieur Vincent

  by Byron

  This movie put a lump in my throat by the end because you really become close to this generous generous man. The movie gives you lots to think about. One idea particularly stuck with me- Monsieur de Paul has just realized some truths about the lives of the poor he has vowed to help and goes to a younger fellow priest to enlist his assistance. Monsieur de Paul says (in French with English subtitles so I paraphrase), "You can't worry about saving the souls of the poor. You have to help them live a life worthy of a soul first." That's profound to me! Compassion and pity are not the same and Monsieur Vincent struggles with feeling pity quite a bit it seems. However, you can't help thinking that this man, who served the poor, sick, and abandoned, started something worthwhile!
  
  Claude Renoir was the cinematographer. Other than him, there are not too many people in the cast and crew who became very well known outside of France. Still it is a very special film that is not by one of the famous auteurs.

  hypathio7 (Administrator)

  I know I sent this recommendation before, maybe a year ago, but I have many new friends here now. I apologize if this is a repeat.
  
  Hey, you should really see this!

  posted 21 days ago
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  I recommend you see...

  Plan 9 from Outer Space

  by Byron

  Terrible continuity!!!!! A bad movie that is still a must-see, but that doesn't mean I can give it more stars than this. I saw this at midnight on the big screen as part of a cult film series at a local indie movie theater. Oh, and it was a colorized version with some home movies and samples of Ed Wood's commercial work attached. There was also a very funny lead-in to the movie illustrating the failed attempts of "Plans 1-8." Rocky Horror was playing on the screen next door. Of course everyone came dressed up for that cult film, but there weren't any extreme fans dressed up as characters from this movie. I enjoyed myself laughing in disbelief at the bad acting, editing, writing, sci-fi, and special effects! I could support the idea that this is the worst movie ever.

  hypathio7 (Administrator)

  Hey, you should really see this!

  posted 26 days ago
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  I recommend you see...

  Enlighten Up!

  by Byron

  I generally like fictional movies with really good production values. I'm finding that I appreciate some documentaries with very low budgets and elements that I recognize are not perfect. All of the audio and camera work and narrative not being perfect only adds to the candidness of the project and increases the power of the message in certain ways. With the director picking Nick Rosen as the subject of her Yoga movie, I think she chose a very good face and mind for the film. Choosing a young skeptical reporter from New York was a perfect choice for having the movie speak to people like me. I do not practice yoga or know much about it. Through Nick and the director Kate the movie is informative, candid, enlightening, and at times amusing. There are many little jewels of wisdom to pick up from the various yoga instructors that Nick visits. And it is not a film that ends up suggesting that Yoga has some magical power and is the right thing for everyone to practice. The narrative climaxes with an inspiring question session between Nick and a Yogi with a yellowish orange turban. Does something like Yoga change you? Well it can. Even for someone like Nick it has an affect when he's surrounded by it for such a compact amount of time. He is changed for the better. But it is not by Yoga that everyone will find their true selves or happiness. This movie is for people who have Yoga experience and just as much for those who don't!

  hypathio7 (Administrator)

  Hey, you should really see this!

  posted 27 days ago
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  I recommend you see...

  American Splendor

  by Byron

  want to see this because it won best picture with the NSFC and best picture with the LAFC

  hypathio7 (Administrator)

  This isn't really a recommendation, but an excuse to share my Cleveland Tourism video.
  
  My wife and I have entered the Positively Cleveland contest for best "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video"
  Please watch this video and tell your friends to do the same! If you have a youtube or google account, please leave comments and ratings for the video. We need a whole lot more views to boost our popularity before Wednesday May 27th to make it into the finals.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8k_Q_vSzQ
  
  Thanks,
  Byron

  posted 39 days ago
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  I recommend you see...

  The Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai)

  by Byron

  I just saw a restored print of this on the big screen with newly translated subtitles. I had forgotten how long it was (with an intermission). It is more about slowly revealing the characters and saving the big action sequences for the end. I really enjoy the outdoor setting as well. I think I've mentioned it in other reviews, but there is something so beautiful about the forest. The hills surrounding the small village are magnificently captured, the wind blows, the dust is stirred up, and when it rains, the mud replaces the splatter of blood. The movie starts with a lot of slow steady drum beats for accompaniment and culminates with the rapid patter of sandaled feet and pounding hooves of the attacking bandits' horses.
  
  The story takes its time as four peasants led by Rikichi (Tsuchiya) go to town to enlist the help of samurai for the defense of their village. Samurai are born into privilege, can read and write and enjoy leisurely arts, and are generally proud of their social standing and skill. They finally find the good-hearted and intelligent Kambei (Shimura). Two other samurai are watching Kambei too. Katsushiro (Kimura) is a young man who immediately has great respect for Kambei and requests to be his disciple. Kikuchiyo (Mifune) is boisterous and intrigued by the more clever man, but expects Kambei to give him respect and acceptance automatically. The other samurai are gathered once Kambei agrees to the peasants' proposal. Toshiro Mifune is such a treat when he appears again drunk, trying to claim upperclass lineage, and wildly trying to prove some skill to the other six who only laugh. Toshiro's performance might seem over done, he's such a ham. I couldn't accept his wildly different style when I first saw this movie, but I grew to love him. Having seen him in some others pictures by now, I was totally with him during this viewing. He adds much needed humor. The story continues slowly as Kambei leads a careful defense plan to protect the four sides of the village. Meanwhile, the villagers "piss and cry" at every little thing and try to learn from the samurai how to use spears to defend themselves. Katsushiro has a romantic subplot with Shino, one of the peasants' daughters. Backstories are revealed about a couple of the other peasants and about where Kikuchiyo came from. Finally the bandits attack! And Kambei methodically checks off the chart on his map as they lessen the bandits' numbers. It's a very controlled, but impressive, and close battle as the villagers fight for their lives with the strategic leadership of the samurai.

  hypathio7 (Administrator)

  Hey, you should really see this!

  posted 50 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood

  by Byron

  My local library had a DVD of this doc with the 1917 film The Little Princess as a bonus feature. A worthwhile documentary! I don't know much about the earliest days of the movie industry in Hollywood and was not aware of all of the work that Frances Marion accomplished, though as it turns out I have seen some movies she wrote. As the film states, historians are like archaeologists excavating all this forgotten history about women's roles and power in the infant film industry. Thurman narrates, Bates speaks Marion's words from her book and diary, and several women in the film business today share their respect for Marion's work and their observations about working in Hollywood now seventy years later. And of course with TCM involved there are lots of great stills and clips preserving Hollywood in the teens, twenties, and thirties.

  hypathio7 (Administrator)

  Hey, you should really see this!

  posted 58 days ago

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