Thanks to diminishing commitments, business, personal and otherwise, I now find myself going to the cinema a lot and am now seeing quite a lot of movies at local and not so local cinemas, usually instead of working and during the business hours... which makes sense for practical purposes as tickets are way cheaper for morning and midday aka matinee shows and often I have the cinema all to myself and at other times just a handful of people.
I usually have a cine lunch too with a drink or two, there are not too many people to complain at matinee show times.
Also helps that here in Moscow, a city owned chain of small cinemas decided some time ago to go into arts- , classics- and other great films and in the language of the originals just subtitled in Russian, and new releases are also shown that way and I like that as I know many languages.
So here goes, counting only those that I saw at cinemas starting from mid-August 2021, most recently seen on top.
Total count to date: 72
72. Memories of Murder (2003, Bong Joon-ho)
Seen May 14, 2023, watched with interest.
71. City of God ( Cidade de Deus, 2002)
Another one of those supposedly great films, of all times even, but didn't do much for me as I think it doesn't age well and the narrative devices it uses are trite and too gimmicky.
70. Funny Games (1997, Haneke)
Seen on April 13, 2023 - more or less what I expected, it was a matinee show, so succumbed to a nap in the first third unfortunately after a bad night previously, but don't think I missed anything, the film is rather pointless, but not a waste, setting up the audience and frustrating them, re: scene with the knife in the boat, but overall felt dated in 2023, and I must say actors seemed too unattractively German.
69. The House That Jack Built (2018, von Triers)
Didn't think much of this, to be honest, treading some familiar grounds in a new setting,digressions are weak, Triers' habitual mention of Hitler is there (for he is just a tiny white prick norseman nazi with artistic pretensions), but really nothing much in any department, also boring and tedious, also nothing much in filming techniques. For me, his Nymphomaniac remains his best and by a lot so, and the only one of his output that I think is multiple rewatch material.
68. The Boss of It All (2006, von Triers)
An actionless comedy but maybe something to it, with a twist at the end, pretty comical that. But liked Nymphomaniac much more. Also, was waiting to see some special camera work per Internet reviews but didn't see nothing much in that department. Some Triers idiosyncrasy: a mention of Hitler, check.
67. Moonrise Kingdom (2012, Wes Andersen)
March 2023 - Not much to say about. I don't know what the fuss is all about, just another American movie, non-Holliwood, but that isn't enough. In fact, I have yet to see a Wes Andersen movie that I'll find possible to like, though I didn't dislike this one.
66. Marlowe (2022)
As I am a huge fan of Raymond Chandler, so went to see this of course, even though I already new from the Internet that it was a poorly rated and reviewed movie but still was mildly disappointed on top of that. There is nothing of Raymond Chandler's Marlowe in it, even less than in the 1975 Long Goodbye movie but that film at least had other things going for it, this one has nothing. And Liam Neeson is naturally a poor actor who was maybe good once in the first Taken and that's all basically. Nor does he look or acts like someone who is suitable to play PI Marlowe.
February 2023, this is of course rubbish with a convoluted but easily forgettable plot, now a couple weeks later can't remember almost anything about it. Some claim you have to see it repeatedly to work out what's it all about, but I say, why even bother.
64. Wings of Desire (1987, Wenders)
Wanting to see it for a long time, finally saw it in February 2023, and it didn't seem like it was worth wanting to see it for so long: it was underwhelming, didn't think much of it to be honest, not Wenders' best lazy effort, I am afraid, American Friend, Alice in Cities, False Bewegung and even Paris, Texas are all much better and are rated higher by me.
63. Charlie Countryman (aka The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman aka Kill Charlie Countryman)
Saw it in late January 2023 on a Monday, and it is clearly a B-movie but one that was apparently shot on location in Bucharest and not in Budapest for once. Also, it was nice to see the Schweiger and Mad Mikkelson dudes thought not so much Shia LaBeouf. The female lead was also lacking but then the version I saw was missing a scene where apparently LaBeouf gave the lady oral pleasure, maybe that would have changed overall impression for the better.
62. La Vida Padre / Too Many Chefs (2022)
It was an early show in mid-January 2023, and as I was not fully awake that morning, I slept through most of it, and don't think will bother to see the whole movie.
61. Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Late December 2022 - as far as I gather from the film's wikipedia entry, it got a standing ovation at Cannes 22 and maybe even the Palm Door but, though watched it with some interest, I fail to understand how or why or wherefore.
I don't think there is anything special or that new in it: a bit of Lord of the Flies towards the latter third, the scene where the yacht sinks is reminiscent of the storm scene on a cruise liner in Polanski's Bitter Moon except in Polanski's more tasteful movie there is only one person vomiting his seasickness unlike nearly everybody in the film at hand, and as if that isn't enough, there are multiple exploding toilets with torrents of the Western world's most abundant, and near only remaining, resource.
In fairness, there maybe some other themes explored in the movie but nothing too subtle or artistic and other than that there is not that much to say for me which is not to say that the film should not be viewed at least once, and it has one thing going for it which is that it is not some "closed" Hollywood garbage but is an "open" film and thus allows for a variety of interpretations.
60. Remember (2022)
December 19, 2022 - an Alzheimer afflicted old man decides to kill a bunch of very bad people from his past, including eventually himself. I think it is a Korean remake of the 2015 Remember which I have not seen however.
Saw it in mid-December at my local cinema where it had a re-run - and I thought it was a good movie on balance. Every day deserves to be a Noam Chomsky day. Power to the people, stick it to the man. That's what it is about. Maybe.
Seen sometime in early December 2022 at my local cinema - A very good spy film basically, slow, careful and observant, a bit like a Le Carre thriller but more honest, and with more truth to it. Also an unusual setting in a top Cairo religious academy where a power struggle ensues involving various religious factions as well as the government's secret service. Lots of local color too, and well filmed and well acted in general, though not immune to some predictable spy thriller cliches.
November 29, 2022 - to be honest didn't think much of this one though there were moments and time was not wasted seeing it; but as such it is a painfully politically correct (PC) and rather hollow and predictable comedy slash drama, no major insights or revelations from this one or anything that useful really to take away.
November 18, 2022 - saw it today, interesting nontraditional dancing routines; there is not much of a plot, it is "psychological horror", but to be honest, didn't think much of the horror. It's hard to surprise me in the horror department, on the cinema screen and off it, also at times watching it felt a bit tedious but still an important movie, I think, and worth seeing at least once.
55. Nostalgia (2022)
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November 14, 2022, a strong Italian film maybe even a new entry (though a lesser one) in the great tradition of Italian film-making, something about coming to terms with the past and paying for it, beautifully shot and acted, and beautifully set in what looks like a real Napoli, though the idea that two teenage hoodlums would have strong feelings about their friendship, each other, what they did and didn't do, some 45 years later - after being out of contact for all of those - sounds far-fetched.
Certain scenes stay in the mind, and saw a Bialetti coffee cooker on several occasions and I have taken to use one a lot recently, so there you go, it kind of brought it closer to home.
Also, liked the tan sports coat the protagonist was wearing almost the entire movie, want.
54. Zero Fucks Given (2021)
Felt a low-budget movie about the life of a young female French flight attended with a small airline, worth checking out for a peak into the life of someone you will never be, but nothing too major or insightful.
53 Women on Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988, Almodovar)
Seen, November 3, 2022, at a small local cinema - it was fun, very intense Almodovar colors, no great laughs but still a funny little comedy; some takes, scenes and visuals caught attention, also montage sequences, short though they were
52. Dead for a Dollar (2022, Walter Hill)
It's nice to see a freshly-minted Western in this day and age and especially from Director Walter Hill, however it is a bit lame though watched with interest.
Also, not enough gun play or gun skills on display.
And too many nods to modern diversity culture or whatever it is, if you get my drift.
51. Decision To Leave (2022, Park Chan-wook)
A Korean neo-noir drama with elements of the police procedural, I think, it is beautifully shot, though pushing on three hours may be bit too much.
Practical Thing to learn from this movie?
Sun bathing can be done fully closed, in cold climates and increment
weathers, 30 min daily, for your daily dose of sun exposure, suppose to
help with all kinds of problems.
50. The Passengers of the Night (2022)
Seen in October 2022, a movie with Charlotte Gainsbourg, some French dysfunctional family movie in a nice middle-ish class way, nice, but I liked Charlotte better in Nymphoniac.
49. Crimes of the Future (2022, Cronenberg)
Enjoyed it for what it is, body horror but not too gross, though the message is pretty primitive, it's just another moralistic tale, but performances are not too bad, Viggo Mortensen acts ancient in this and maybe he actually is, the much-fapped-to-elsewhere Lea Seydoux is in it and does a bit of frontal nudity (or her body double does), nice visuals either way.
My in depth review of the movie I wrote elsewhere wherever that might be.
Lea Seydoux bares her body double and lies with a plastic eating Viggo Mortensen
Atmospherec, performances, all there in a Bladerunner kind of future but a moralistic tale with too much preaching in the end
Also a bit of surgery action for fans thereof. And some growths, including facial ones, benign or otherwise. Which is par for course since it is body horror, and
48. The Doors (1991, Oliver Stone)
September 5, 2022 - clearly a big director movie, other than that, nothing too impressive, nevertheless enjoyed for what it is, the sound could have been more powerful and there is a place for more Doors songs.
47. Nimphomaniac Part II (2013, Lars von Trier)
August 4, 2022 - enjoyed this one mainly for the visuals, and aside stories by the interviewer (whoever he is) who ends badly, denouement was predictable IMO.
46. Stealing Beauty (1996, Bertolucci)
July 13, 2022 - what I expected more or less, knowing it's a Bertolucci, though it's a quieter Bertolucci, still enjoyed it.
A Refn horror flick, well worth seeing, stylish looking but rather short on substance; also the main character changes her persona out of the blue, just like that - snaps fingers - and unconvincingly so. The three models look too much alike, so was at a loss who ate who or did what.
44. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997)
A well meaning German film, and even funny occasionally, also lots of cultural allusions I think, may well be worth a looksee. And it also qualifies as a road movie, and I do like road movies and sometimes even seek them out when at a loss what to watch.
43. Hiroshima mon amour (1959)
Said to be an important French film and a classic and it is but also felt more dated than, say, Breathless.
42. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Rubbish, somehow highly reviewed but still contrived rubbish and quite long too for as little sense as it makes, also unattractive leads, however Jamie Lee Curtis is in it, and that's a boon, even though failed to id during the movie.
41. Night on Earth (Jarmusch, 1991)
Nice portmanteau (?) movie but nothing much really, a typical art-house flic with no plot, no rhyme, no reason, but I like taxis so enjoyed this one, even though it's not about taxis per se
40. Drive My Car (2021)
March 31, 2022, a road film per description but not much of it was on the road, did get an eyeful of some rather ugly Saab model car in red, one that professors and directors were supposedly fond of driving.
However compared to modern car aesthetics, it almost looks beautiful.
It is a "life imitates art" kind of story of the life of a director producing Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in Japan with lots of Japanese characteristics, like perverse Japanese ladies fond of masturbating in strangers' houses, either for real or in fantasies. Maybe something to think about but not too subtle either. And felt a bit overdrawn.
39. Snowpiercer (2013)
I like train movies and it was a train movie. However it was also an apocalypse movie and I am not so much into apocalypse movies.
It was also a revolt movie where the less privileged passengers kept at the back of the train carrying the last of surviving humanity fight to to get to the front of the train to supplant the more privileged, and I am even less into revolt movies.
And the premise was not that original even if the combination of apocalypse movie tropes was different from what I had seen before.
But some performances were good and there were amusing incidents of action so not a waste of time.
38. C'mon C'mon (2021)
Feb 28, 2022. It's American but not Hollywood thus a different kind of cinema but didn't think much of it, to be honest, though actor performances are maybe good. Now about a week later, have difficulty writing anything about it at all.
37. Deception / Tromperie (2021, Arnaud Desplichin)
Feb 22, 2022 - Lea Seidoux is nice, the movie is not without its moments, it's an art house talking film mostly.
Yes, Léa Seydoux is there and gets to do a lot of what she had No Time to (Die) do opposite that other senior citizen in a recent release.
This time she has to fake an interest in an even older character but it's mainly a verbose thing even if you do get an eyeful of the female lead.
36. Detours / Обходные пути (2021)
Feb 14, 2022 -A slow walk through Moscow's outlying districts and a look at what may or may not be going on.
35. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992, Lynch)
Seen on Feb 8, 2022: watched with interest, but also a bit tedious towards the end. In the end was waiting for the end. But obviously a good film and clearly a David Lynch film.
34. Parallel Mothers (2021, Almodovar)
Feb 7 2022: A good Almodovar film - bold colors, beautiful women, a bit of LGTB action, and a message... conveying something. But not the strongest Almodovar movie even from amongst those 4 or 5 that I have seen but definitely worth seeing. There are not only two mothers who are parallel but also are two stories - a personal and a public one.
33. The King's Man (2021, somebody)
Jan 24, 2022, a rare garbage even by Hollywood's lowly standards, at times bordering on the despicable.
And completely fails as a comedy, of course.
32. Nightmare Alley (2021, Guillermo del Toro)
Jan 22, 2022, a proper noir film - actually a neo-noir as it is in color - complete with a femme fatale (often omitted in modern renditions of noir themes) with a proper film-noir ending but with an unusual setting in traveling carnival sideshows and "mentalism" numbers.
A bit tedious and uninspiring though, also visually dark and, I think, unattractive.
31. Licorice Pizza (2021, Anderson)
Not a typical Hollywood flick in a good way but still underwhelming, as far as I am concerned (Jan 13, 2022).
30. Black Box / Boîte noire (2021)
A French aviation thriller. Not too bad. A bit quiet and pedestrian, almost no physical action and you kind of anticipate the ending but can be watched at least once (seen: Jan 09, 2022).
29. In the Mood for Love, a 2000 Wong Kar-wai film.
Obviously, it's a great movie, especially in terms of cinematography and visuals in a claustrophobic interior setting and close-quarters filming as well as angles and door- and window framing etc., etc.; while the story is that of an unconsummated love which is a shame, really.
All they do together is eat.
28. Champion of the World, a 2021 Russian film about the 1978 World Championship Karpov-Korchnoi match
Not a very good movie, I am afraid and quite boring, and not much going for it in terms cinematography either.
Saw it on 16 December 2021 - very early, for some reason Russia was one of the two or three countries given an early release of the movie but didn't enjoy this one at all.
I don't even seem to recall a single attention catching episode, scene or even frame.
Lots of references to the original Matrix film and exposition once-overs but nothing in the way that made the original so great.
Cheap looking cgi, also almost exclusively dark in the real world to hide fake scenery, the story is pretty boring, fight choreography is lame or even non-existent, need I go on... oh yes there are no jaw-dropping chases either.
For completion's sake, one could still watch it probably but that's it.
26. A Glitch in the Matrix, a 2021 documentary
I watched it with some attention but it's not that good.
Ok, it gave a name to the theory that is the simulation theory but all it was is just a number of chopped up and re-combined interviews with some far-out science fiction writer (which was the most interesting), a suspect scientist and a number of youtubers or gamers or some such characters who were afraid to show their real selves, not to mention a psychopathic murderer who was also interviewed.
The guy who talked about synchronicity and coincidences maybe made the most sense.
As to the simulation theory I think we can discard it if only because that Elon Musk dude is in favor of it or pretends to be.
25. Vladivostok, a 2021 Russian Mosfilm film
On Dec 10, 2021: a noir story without much of noir style, full of missed opportunities, no decent soundtrack, watched with some interest but some onsets of boredom also, the protagonist's final action scene is a pastiche, a suicide by cop(s) ending apropos of nothing, totally unrealistic, could have been a much better movie but some nice views of Vladivostok nonetheless.
24. House of Gucci
A typical Ridley Scott bio flick.
Watched with interest.
Some over-the-top (and over-the-hill) performances but above average acting, and you kind of wait for
the deed the entire movie but a solid biopic nonetheless, if nothing particularly special.
Almost 3 hours passed quickly and without much boredom or other manifestations of psychic entropy.
23. Compartment No. 6
A 2021 Finnish director movie winning something or other at the 2021 Cannes, seen November 25 at a local cinema.
A road movie with much of it in a train compartment, a bit pedestrian nevertheless, some over-used cliches about Russia but an unusual twist at the beginning, a strange love affair from which the lady protagonist is running which however rings true.
Overall I enjoyed it more or less and I like rail travel.
22. Bad Education / La mala educación
A 2004 Almodovar film. An Almodovar restrospective continues here in Moscow and so do I.
Interesting and maybe unusual and bold in certain aspects and depictions of certain activities but not as strong as Talk To Her for instance which remains the best Almodovar film for me of those I have seen so far (Talk to Her, Volver, Broken Promises and Bad Education).
21. The French Dispatch
A 2021 Wes Andersen film. I don't mind an anthology (or is it portmanteau?) movie but was not feeling this one at all.
There were some moments where this viewer's attention was held but overall the movie seemed a pointless exercise with pretensions as to style.
Entirely skippable, in my opinion.
20. Memoria
A 2021 Apichatpong Weerasethakul film.
I enjoyed it as a slow romp through some Columbian scenery.
But fell asleep once only to be awaken by the mystery "sonic boom" sound rather like the lady protagonist herself in the movie, I guess it's a case of life imitating art in real time.
It's true that the action was mostly aural and not visual. But contemplation was visual, and plenty of it. Something to look at like at a still, until something unexpectedly moves. Also, what's going on? seems a pertinent question and the answer is with the viewer, although aliens may or may not have been involved.
19. Talk to Her / Hable con ella
Today saw this movie Nov 13, 2021, must be some Almodovar retrospective going on here.
Well, what can you say, after a slow-ish and melodramatic start it does end with a powerful denouement. A great film.
And it's more than a little bit crazy, of course, of Almodovar even to conceive of such a thing...
After watching it I also learned that Geraldine Chaplin, who is in it, is Charlie Chaplin's daughter. Believe it or not, I thought she looked familiar.
18. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Saw this 1984 horror original today Nov 10, 2021 in a cinema. My previous viewings of this cult classic were on video or TV but I had forgotten many details. It's pretty good and in places even scary even today but nostalgia sets in and affects the overall impression with more than a tinge of sadness. Also, Johnny Depp's first movie role, I think. It is actually the highest ranked move in the entire Nightmare on Elm Street franchise both by popular and critical vote.
17. Are You Lonesome Tonight / Re dai wang shi
A Chinese Director Wen Shipei's 2021 movie which was the subject of a 2021 Cannes special screening.
A neo-noir film in form but not in substance as the story doesn't follow the noir canon and is a moralistic tale with a positive ending.
There is also some non-linear story telling utilizing what gradually transpires to be dream sequences.
Underwhelming but maybe worth a look-see out of curiosity, especially for Asian crime cinema aficionados.
Light fixture at the cinema
In fact, Are You Lonesome Tonight reminds me of the 2019 movie The Wild Goose Lake which is more a neo-noir story although still not true "noir" but closer also somewhat superior to the reviewed film.
16. Volver today Oct 25, 2021
This is a good film - a 2006 Almodovar film combining comedy with drama acted out by a bunch of killer (looking and otherwise) Spanish ladies, including Penelope Cruz. The subject matter turns out to be quite shocking but the magical realism of its presentation does wonders. Clearly a great movie, not least in its visual aspects and film directing techniques. Also, very colorful - literally and local color-wise.
Had to brave rising covid numbers here in Moscow to go to the cinema but hey I am fully vaccinated and masked.
And then I was the only customer watching it... Volvo?
15. No Time To Die
The last Daniel Craig Bond outing (to date?). And I was less than impressed for what it's worth. All Bond movies are bad but this is bad with a vengeance, in my opinion.
It's a miss!
After a promising beginning somewhere in a snowy France or is it Switzerland? and the little bit in Venice before the title sequence which was admittedly also nice, it turns out to be a bad and boring movie, very disappointing and some key scenes of it were shot at night, that is in darkness, - sort of what filmmakers do when they want to hide cheap sets and bad acting / directing, like what supposedly happened in Cuba.
Quite a downer too.
Craig is looking his ugliest and most aged yet, like a cross between a mongrel stray dog and an aged tortoise sans the personality of either.
One is almost tempted to think they should have put him out of his misery for real too.
It might go down in history as the first Bond movie where the protagonist (Bond) is uglier than the villain.
A near total waste of time and money however I did manage to catch some winks whilst watching it so not all is bad.
***
Movie going outfit on the day. I make out as if going to work but instead bunk off to a cinema haha, it's true.
"A gentleman never works"... especially under a Capitalist system.
On a more general note, working under a capitalist system is obscene -
you're only enriching your exploiters on a subsistence level pay
whereas they rake in zillions. And this is where movies come in - they are like opium for the oppressed masses.
***
14. Titane, a Julia Ducournau (who?) movie - 2021 Palme Door and all that, clear parallels with the No. 13 below on my list, a strange creature is born at the end but there is a fire brigade thrown in for good measure. Worth viewing once, not sure about owning although there are some atmospheric scenes. Overall, I rather liked it, I think, but not for the main story - mostly for the accompanying, environmental, atmospheric things and cinematic depictions.
Second thoughts after awhile: I may have come to have a higher regard of this film after a lapse of some time since the first viewing which was a week ago; it now seems to be worthy of repeat viewings, and it's a very sensitive fire brigade too on top of everything, not to mention the fire chief aka commander who steals the show in the second part of the movie.
13. Eraserhead, a David Lynch first film - Oct 01, 2021.
12. Persona - a 1966 Bergman film.
A true classic, enough said.
11. Youth - a 2015 Paolo Sorrentino film with Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel starring and also a very mature looking Rachel Weisz and an unrecognizable Jane Fonda.Watched it with interest for what it's worth, the film's portrayal of the great Maradona was funny though but I think it's more drama than comedy.
My film going outfit.
10. Shutter Island
9. Annette - another Carax film and a Sparx brothers soap rock opera
8. Only Lovers Left Alive, a Jarmusch vampire move, the best vampire movie ever, this one seems to be worthy of a purchase and repeat viewings.
7. Holy Motors, a Leon Carax film, maybe makes sense, liked the limo.
6. Reminiscence - nothing much but the plot retained a modicum of interest till the end, or I did in it
5. La Haine - great and has aged well, that is to say, almost not at all, as fresh and topical as ever
4. Chungking Express - atmospheric, I would like to own this one to watch on my laptop repeatedly on the background whilst working (hardly)
3. Free Guy - not a complete waste of time but almost
2. Breathless - a great Godard and the late Belmondo film
1. Trainspotting (the original first one)
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