sidehacker's viewing log

[sidehacker]

The Idiot (1951)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... diot-1951/

[kiddo]

Why no response?

This is quite awesome.

[sidehacker]

Really? Thanks!

[Lauren]

Yep, lovin' the new blog. Don't have much to comment on, as... well you know. But I've reactivated my Netflix & I'm taking a few suggestions.

Also, you should post your top 100 toward the top 1000 here before it gets recounted 'cause Masculin feminin's just dying without you.

[Lauren]

Could you point me in the direction of your original review of Gespenster or write anew why it has a place in your top 100? Just caught it today, really liked it, found it tremendously affecting, but I wouldn't rate it quite so highly so I'm wondering if I didn't connect to it on all the levels you did. ...If it's all right to bring up a German movie here.

[sidehacker]

In all honesty, I don't know. Guess it shouldn't be in my top 100 then.

The Affair (1967)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... fair-1967/

[sidehacker]

The Day a Pig Fell into the Well (1996)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... well-1996/

[sidehacker]

Pale Flower (Masahiro Shinoda, 1964)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... ower-1964/

[kiddo]

Really? Thanks!

Although I don't share your "firm" view of valuable cinema, I respect it and find it fascinating. When I read your stuff, I know what I get - and can build my "expectations" thereafter. Try to keep up the frequent activity.

[sidehacker]

Here I was thinking I was just blabbering nonsense. Thanks! (again)

There Was a Father (Yasujiro Ozu, 1942)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... ther-1942/

[Lauren]

July Rhapsody (Ann Hui, 2002) - 10/10 - December 21st

It feels pointless even writing a review for this: if you like any film in my top ten then this is pretty much a must. If you appreciate those moody type of dramas that come out of Hong Kong, yeah see this. As much as I like Wong Kar-Wai and Fruit Chan (and really, really like them!) neither one of them have come remotely close to doing something quite as great as this. I've always felt that Wong Kar-Wai borders a bit too much on being overly-stylized. He's great at what he does but I always feel he's one step of way of entering a David Fincher type of territory, though he's obviously gone to a more "mature" territory. On the other end, I've always felt that Fruit Chan's style is perfect but his material is always a little weak, feeling just like a redux of stuff has Wong done or in the case of Hollywood Hong Kong, just plain silly. This is really like the perfect coming together about everything that makes those two directors so great and probably a characterization similar to Cassavetes. Seriously, even if this were just ugly and dull, it be so great to watch just to see life presented in carefully, tenderly, and so on. There may be some visual shortcomings now that I think about it but that could easily be blamed on the mediocre DVD. I can still the basic idea of what Hui was trying to do through the watered down colors. The intimate close-ups of small objects, the occasional speed manipulation, the flashes of sequences that make simple conversations feel like extremely poetic voice-overs. Even with all this, there are some flaws. Maybe it's a bit hard to explain without the basic plot: A teacher named Yiu is basically having a midlife crisis and contemplating an affair with a student who is completely in love with him. There's this bad subplot about how "oh history is repeating itself" because Yiu's wife had an affair with their favorite teacher. There's a few sequences towards the end dealing with this that border on being too sentimental, the hospital scene in particular but the ending more than makes up for it.

A really lovely film, thanks very much for the indirect recommendation. Wanted to respond to a few of your comments before writing a bit of a review. I agree with you the visuals weren't all there -- and it may very well be the DVD transfer; I've seen a few stills online that look crisper and brighter -- but indeed the story makes up for it. It is simple and intricate all at once, quite naturally weaving through a multi-layered narrative. For that, I wouldn't agree that the history repeating aspect was a bad subplot. I think it perfectly substantiated his insecurities and reasons for spending time with the girl; he has become the teacher he idolized and hated, perhaps a lesser mind but a better man, and it sets up a believable kind of psychological confusion in identifying the girl with his wife, innocent and brash and pining for an older man... but this time, the girl wants him, and he's perhaps always wondered if his wife ever did. Anyway I think that 'history repeating' aspect was quite clever and not laid on too heavily. Wonderful little character drama.

[sidehacker]

A Pool Without Water (Koji Wakamatsu, 1982)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... ater-1982/

[sidehacker]

Samaritan Girl (Kim Ki-Duk, 2004)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... girl-2004/

[lucky]

I don't think Kim's films are really that poorly made -- you haven't seen The Bow or Spring, Summer... yet, which, though they have their flaws, are good films. Samaritan Girl doesn't seem like it'd be one to me, in fact I'd say that anything before Spring, Summer... of his fails to pique my interest at all. But yeah, those two films are quite good, you should at least see them before you pass judgment on ze guy.

[sidehacker]

A Distant Cry From Spring (Yoji Yamada, 1980)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... ring-1980/

Here's some left over screenshots:

[sidehacker]

Death Row Woman (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1960)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... oman-1960/

[sidehacker]

Gion Bayashi (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... ashi-1953/

[sidehacker]

Shara (Naomi Kawase, 2003)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01/30/shara-2003/

[sidehacker]

Older Brother, Younger Sister (Mikio Naruse, 1953)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/01 ... ster-1953/

[sidehacker]

Killing in Yoshiwara (Tomu Uchida, 1960)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/02 ... wara-1960/

[sidehacker]

The Kon Ichikawa Story (Shunji Iwai, 2006)

http://cinematalk.wordpress.com/2008/02 ... tory-2006/

[Philosophe_rouge]

Loving the reviews Sidehacker, I'll get around to commenting on them properly when I've seen something. It probably won't happen soon, but I think one day... it will come.

[Jos]

I don't think Kim's films are really that poorly made -- you haven't seen The Bow or Spring, Summer... yet, which, though they have their flaws, are good films. Samaritan Girl doesn't seem like it'd be one to me, in fact I'd say that anything before Spring, Summer... of his fails to pique my interest at all. But yeah, those two films are quite good, you should at least see them before you pass judgment on ze guy.

I just saw Samaritan Girl and have to agree with Sidehackers review, but i also agree with this statement. Especially Spring, Summer... is great and definetly worth a watch, even if you disliked the other films of him.

[Ally]

hi,

Ok, pairs for round one:

Lauren--José
Ally--sidehacker
wigwam--Philosophe_rouge
luckytourist--gaston monescu
PimpPanda--Tuco
Benny Profane--Olof

Give it some thought & make your recommendations! You might want to talk to your partner a bit before you make your selection, here or in their viewing log.

any recommendations?

i saw a miike last night and searched for info on him here and didn't see any postings from you. have you seen: The Happiness of the Katakuris ? If not, I can come up with a few movies to recommend to you, so that you can pick from them. let me know

[Ally]

I recommend you Truffaut's The Woman Next Door.

Thank you

I saw it before I was keeping viewing logs and I wrote in a reference to it in the novel i'm now writing. btw Truffaut was my favorite New Wave director before Chabrol and so I've seen most of his stuff. now you'll have to force me to see something i haven't seen.