Rian's Forum

Trespass Against Us Michael Fassbender (does that guy ever sleep?) again, this time as a modern gypsy, a member of an outlaw gypsy clan, whose life is kept under the overbearing thumb of his strangely-religious father. Solid work from beginning to end. Not for the overly-sensitive, but f*ck 'em. With Brendan Gleeson. Directed by Adam Smith.

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WIR SIND DIE FLUT | WE ARE THE TIDE
Sebastian Hilger - Germany - 2016
If you have been waiting for the filial successor to Lucile Hadžihalilović's EVOLUTION, here it is. Not that Hadžihalilović and Hilger having anything to do with each other, jussayin. Off the top of my head, EVOLUTION and WE ARE THE TIDE are the only films that I would enter in the UPSTREAM COLOR column. Oh yeah. You need to see both (or all 3) of these movies. Turn your phone off, pay attention, and something incredible will happen. Truth.

WIR SIND DIE FLUT trailer
EVOLUTION trailer
UPSTREAM COLOR trailer

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Interview With a Vampire: Went to imdb and was absolutely dumbfounded to see a score that wasn't 0.0.

gobsmacked you say?

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Back when it was new, everyone thought it was Pretty Cool. Granted, I had (and still have) a lot of spooky-ooky friends whose wardrobes are 104% black clothing. Haven't seen it in roughly forever, but I can imagine it not aging well. I will say that I recall young K. Dunst was pretty good for being 9 or whatever.

I'm a KD superfan, so I thought she was great. Cruise was also fun to watch. Brad Pitt's worst performance by a mile, though, and he's the one tasked with carrying that monstrosity.

That "I want some more" line made her forever a favorite in my eyes too. Her career's foundered a bit, but she's still good by me.

haha, ah man... I love that movie.

*goes and stands in shame corner*

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Mesh-Head: If I were you, I would run.
Buddy: If you were me, you'd be good-lookin'.

I love it too. One of the few vampire movies where you really feel the immortality slowly turning everyone completely sociopathic. You feel the humanity drain out of it as the movie progresses, but in a good way.

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I think that was just everyone hanging around Tom too long.

Bunny And the Bull Psychedelic romantic comedy from the folks who brought us The Mighty Boosh (sort of). As imaginative and absurdist as the film is, it feels as if it's stuck in second gear much of the time. Directed by Paul King.

Loving Vincent Handpainted animation concerning the life and, especially, the mysterious death of Vincent Van Gogh. One of the most beautifully animated films I've ever seen. Directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman.

The 39 Steps A textbook example of how Hitchcock could make anything suspenseful (in this case, principally through pacing)), even a story as silly as this one. With Robert Donat.

Brick I'd forgotten just how beautifully directed this film is.

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PUSHER
Nicolas Winding Refn - Denmark - 1996
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This thing just never gets old. Kim Bodnia is crazy cakes. Outstanding cast with Zlatko Buric, Mads Mikkelsen, and Slavko Labovic. How many movies have you seen that were ruined by interior automobile scenes which used rear projection? Yeah, me too. PUSHER has in car scenes which are worthy. Simply based on how many times I have seen this movie, it qualifies as my favorite Refn.

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TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER
Wisit Sasanatieng - Thailand - 2000
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You have to be in the right mood to enjoy the weirdness in this movie. In that respect it is like Nobuhiko Ôbayashi's HOUSE, but unlike HOUSE you don't feel like you're stuck in a prequel to SAILOR MOON for the first hour before floating heads start biting people on the ass. TotBT is animated by a pulp romance western gangland narrative. Right. Over the top theatrics, nutty buildings painted in electric pastels, cowboys with all the wrong weapons, gangsters with shoulder fire missiles, young love, ritual abuse, and comic panel composition. Acting that makes the BATMAN television series look like HOWARD'S END. If you are loose and relaxed, TotBT can be richly rewarding. Try going at it with some sort of aesthetic pretensions and you'll probably deservedly have a stroke. Happy motoring.

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Grease: First time in a long time. In fact, my first time watching it and realizing just how obvious it is that this is satire. I love it.

Absolutely Anything A nerdy school teacher finds himself endowed with miraculous powers (courtesy of a committee of Very Superior Beings or some such) that allow him to do, well, absolutely anything! Little does he know that it's all a test to see if humans are superior enough beings to remain in existence. Rather pedestrian overall, although the Monty Python crew supplying the voices for the VSB is fun. Also with Kate Beckinsale and, supplying the voice for the dog Dennis, Robin Williams. Co-written and directed by Terry Jones.

Being 17 Two high school students develop an attraction towards each other and, like the cowboys in the John Ford/John Wayne westerns, they can only express the physicality of their attraction by fighting each other. One of the few coming-of-age films I've seen where the protagonists actually seem to have an inner life. Directed by Andre Techine.

North by Northwest A case of mistaken identity gets Madman Cary Grant kidnapped by James ("VoG") Mason and his crew of accented hooligans. Nobody throws away lines like Cary Grant. One of Hitchcock's best. Also with Eva Marie Saint.

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