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Oyuki the Virgin 1935
Mizoguchi’s version of Maupassant’s Boule de Suif is as dedicated to stillness as Stagecoach is to movement. Characters and conflict are nicely drawn in the Mizoguchi manner and Maupassant’s preoccupations with the bourgeois hypocrisy take more of a backseat to notions of women’s self-sacrifice as much as Ford let Wayne dominate his version.
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Main Line to Terror 1975
Even though It’s an imperfect movie, huge plot holes, not the best performances, and weak dialogues, Masumura crafted an incredibly bold film. In Japan criticizing the Shinkansen is like going against the Emperor, and it works, in a broader sense, as a condemnation of the Japanese post war economic miracle.
Definitely a movie that would never be made today. -
Five Scouts 1938
too well made to be dismissed as pure propaganda. The battle section is very imaginative, tracking shots, pans and the shot were the soldiers are wading through reeds feels very modern. The commander is like a father for his soldiers, who all know their duty. In the end, before marching to battle, they proclaim that they are willing to die for the Empire, which most of them did.
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Children of the Beehive 1948
A country in ruins, physical and emotionally and the kids that play act through it. As manipulative as one might expect from such material, but who cares? Shimizu is a master at small well observed moments and he is great with the kids. There's a light touch to his approach even as material becomes harsher. A great landscape film as well and much like in his 30s masterpieces, Shimizu has a feeling for how body relates to space that is rare.
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Willy's Wonderland 2021
This movie is stunningly stupid in the best way. It's definitely no Mandy or Color Out of Space, but Nic Cage manages to be hilarious without uttering a word.
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Mank 2020
One thing I have to congratulate Fincher on is making great characters. He does this with every movie that I’ve seen of his. Pretty much every character in this felt fairly necessary and not many movies I see do that so hey. Also, the actors do a great job all around, and we’re definitely passionate about their characters. The movie could also be very engaging and I never really found myself bored.
While Mank may have a great set of…
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Coming 2 America 2021
An effective comedic showcase of overlapping cultures, family/gender norms and an engagingly facile story, Coming 2 America was able to obtain the wondrous classic feel of the original and simultaneously integrate modern touches to it. As opposed to just replicating the 1988 one, it builds off of it by perpetuating with this already established world. It senses a true understanding of the environment that the first engendered and utilizes that to its advantage, along with the fact that they are…
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Thunder Force 2021
The biggest problem with Thunder Force is that instead of trying to be its own thing, it's a pale imitation of a superhero movie.
Origin story: check.
Super powers: check.
Cool costumes: check.
Cheesy catchphrase repeated by Lydia Berman (Melissa McCarthy) throughout the film ("Taters!"): check.
Pretty bad '80s metal theme song at the end: check.
Heart, soul, and verve: oops, forgot about that.Lydia Berman and Emily Stanton (Octavia Spencer) are best friends from the beginning like Beth Harmon…
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Nobody 2021
It‘s tricky to critique a film that is solely designed to be enjoyed by audiences, as I primarily watched it to see Bob Odenkirk kick everyone’s ass. Its expeditious pacing, succinct runtime, immaculately immersive sound design and dingy composition ensure that it’s best experienced on a big screen. The grand sense of enthrallment and laughter roaring from the audience immensely increases the entertainment value, perfectly reminding me of what the term “the movies” defines. The fight sequences alone are more…
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Godzilla vs. Kong 2021
Against my expectations Wingard is the first American filmmaker to understand the kaiju picture as a piece of graphic rather than narrative art.
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Freak Orlando 1981
◖◗ ◕ ◓ ◒ ◑ ◐ ☹ 𝕰𝖓𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝕯𝖆y𝖘 𝕾𝖈𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗 𝕳𝖚𝖓𝖙 ☹ ◐ ◑ ◒ ◓ ◕ ◖◗
𝟓. 𝐀 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧
My experience with Ulrike Ottinger so far is that she's someone whose work I like more in theory than in practice. Freak Orlando was the first one I read about/saw pictures from and those idea and strange images captured my imagination in a way that was totally new to me. I tracked down…
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