| taxi driver (martin scorsese, 1976) |
[Feb. 17th, 2009|08:12 pm] |
i dont have an official top 10, but this would probably be on it (along with 2001, apocalypse now, godfather part ii, IMFL, vertigo, days of heaven, manhattan)...as i type this, i realize that most of the films on this as of yet completed list are american. funny thing is, though, is that i watch equally as many non-american films as i do american, if not more. and moreover, all but 3 of those 8 films (if you include taxi driver) were made in the 70s, which without a doubt was the greatest decade of film.
anyway, the first time i saw it, i didnt really get it. a few years later, i did get it and was blown away. watching it again this week, i am reminded that this is the greatest thing scorsese ever did. |
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| the blossoming of maximo oliveros (auraeus solito, 2005) |
[Feb. 16th, 2009|09:48 am] |
im not quite clear how much this was made for. if it was a small budget (whatever that means), then i respect it. but if it was a large budget, then where did all the money go? because it didnt look or feel like a film with a budget
budgets aside, i liked it. i was going to hate on this film, but it isnt the fault of this for the fact that only a handful of filipino films are available to people outside of the philippines. so i deleted what i just typed. maybe someday average filipino films will be as readily available here in the united states as other average films are. |
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| let's get started (azazel jacobs) |
[Feb. 5th, 2009|08:23 pm] |
as i write this (which is probably weeks months after it is actually posted), the internet is all about jacobs. so, i decided to check out something i could find, and though this wasnt the first thing i could find, it was the shortest. ok, i guess, but it feels longer than it actually is (which says something, however way you want to take it).
anyway, i agree with anthony kaufmann, there is something about that pic of the goodtimeskid that makes me want to see it, and which led me to watching this |
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| venice/vencie (henry jaglom, 1992) |
[Feb. 4th, 2009|07:15 pm] |
surprise surprise, here's another jaglom film that i really enjoy. im telling ya, movies about movies really win me over |
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| stray cats (ellen ongkeko-marfil, 2005) |
[Feb. 2nd, 2009|10:00 pm] |
well written for the most part, funny as well. i initially wrote something about the type of filipino film that gets distributed here in the US, but i've decided it was a ridiculous non-existent observation, so i wont make it anymore. |
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| sunflower (zhang yang, 2005) |
[Feb. 1st, 2009|10:55 pm] |
this is the third film by yang i've seen. i keep coming back to him whenever i get a chance because of the maginficent shower.
this wasnt spectacular, and at times it was particularly cheesy (a little too good of an ice skater if you ask me!). still, it was solid enough that i guess im glad i saw it, but i cant say i need to see it again. |
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| macho dancer (lino brocka, 1988) |
[Jan. 31st, 2009|07:58 am] |
its a shame that, until recently, this was the only film i've been able to come across that is available here in the US from the greatest filipino director ever.
perhaps it was daring back in the 80s, but its rather mild now. it just feels that the shock value here is all style (if you want to call it that) and no substance, and like i said, its not even shocking anymore by today's standards. and it has that unintentional humor about it, too. still, i was moved by his relationship with bambi. but that's about it, ...that and the killer 80s score! |
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| last summer in the hamptons (henry jaglom, 1995) |
[Jan. 29th, 2009|11:16 pm] |
like i said, i really enjoyed festival in cannes, so i really want to explore more of jaglom's work, hoping i will enjoy the rest of it as much as i enjoyed festival. this wasnt so great, but i'll admit that i like certain parts, but there's a pretty big chunk here that i struggled to get through. particularly almost every scene with his wife acting like a leopard |
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| the diving bell and the butterfly (julien schnabe, 2007) |
[Jan. 25th, 2009|08:07 pm] |
i would put this under the category of good films, not quite great, but good. more so in the beginning when we have jean-do's perspective as the only perspective. a great voice over too, to match the solid cinematography.
for the most part, i didnt like the use of popular music in this, except for ultra orange and emmanuel, which was brilliantly, absolutely brilliantly used. and also that u2(?) song when they are on their way to lourdes.
all in all, a well-deserved best director award at cannes for schnabel, whose before night falls i didnt care too much for. anyway, i'm tempted to buy this dvd, because schnabel seems like the kind of guy who is capable of making interesting dvd commentaries. although, i will admit, i tried listening to the first few minutes with the commentary on, and it wasnt quite interesting, but i still bet he's capable. he was on 60 minutes a while ago, and i'll say this: he definitely is ... confident. i think i'd like to hear a bit more about what he has to say |
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