Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

[Reza]

Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) 8/10

Four Weddings and a Funeral (Mike Newell, 1994) 7/10

Dr. No (Terence Young, 1962) 5/10

[flipp525]

Even in 1997, when we watched the film in our mass media class, I remember the chalkboard being absolutely filled with the names and titles of Haldeman, Liddy, McGruder, et al. Katherine Graham, as well.

I grew up listening to Liddy on the radio (my parents had him on constantly). And Katherine Graham, of course, is a Washington institution. Last night, I attended a benefit for a Children's Arts program chaired by a gaggle of local gays held in her childhood home on Crescent Street. It's a stunning property.

All the President's Men succeeds on so many levels, I'm not sure what is the strongest although certainly Robards and Alexander whose brief, but powerful scene(s?) are two of the best things about it. A very taut script and atmospheric cinematography are also in play -- the Deep Throat scenes in the Rosslyn garage are just chilling.

I would've nominated Hal Holbrook, too. Maybe in place of one of the Rocky guys.



Edited By flipp525 on 1255720213

[anonymous1980]

Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino) - 9.5/10

[Eric]

Even in 1997, when we watched the film in our mass media class, I remember the chalkboard being absolutely filled with the names and titles of Haldeman, Liddy, McGruder, et al. Katherine Graham, as well.

[HarryGoldfarb]

Thanks for the info Tee. And thanks for putting the film in perspective for me, a foreigner allthesame. Even though, of course I know the story, for sure. And that's one of the things the film itself is a triumph... you know the ending since the beggining, you already know what happened and that's why I think the amazing directing work in creating that atmosphere of mistery and intrigue is so unique. Maybe I didn't expressed myself rightly. I felt that after watching that atmosphere, so solidly built through the whole film, the way it ends was managed artistically correct but in terms of emotional effect was some kind of a disappointment. Maybe that's just me, and most likely you are right: even though I know the background the fact that I'm not american and I'm not watching it back in 1976 has something to do with it.

While watching the film I hadn't the Oscar specifically in mind, but I came to think about Alexander "this is almost as short as Straight's work" without realizing that both were nominated in the same year.

And thanks for the comment on Shire, you made me remember that issue. She definitely would have been a deserved winner in the supporting category. Straight, as Dee a few years ago, was great, for sure, but I would have preffered a deserving winner rather than an oddity or a trivia fact. And I am one of those who place Network over Rocky any day...

[Mister Tee]

Was Robards the expected winner for supporting? And I guess Alexander was in a cool wave effect... how did she get a nod for this.

To the first question, yes. Robards had won the major critics' awards and, though he'd lost the Globe, I never considered Olivier a real threat for such a silly movie. Burgess Meredith, on sentimental pull, was the chief competition in the end, but Robards had career points of his own, and was a deserved winner. (His repeat a year later was considerably less predicted)

Alexander -- and Beatrice Straight as well -- made the list because, once Talia Shire (NY/NBR supporting winner) was elevated to lead actress to fill out that category, the pickings were extremely slim. The same performance in an obscure film would never have been cited, but the best picture strength of President's and Network helped both ladies score.

Harry, did you know the background story going in? The thing to remember is, in 1976, Watergate was like 9/11 or last year's election..something over which American audiences had obsessed for so long that most of the details were common knowledge (especially the ultimate outcome -- the ending seemed abrupt in '76, too, but we were all able to fill in the blanks of the two years that had followed). I wonder how different it is seeing the film without all that knowledge.

[HarryGoldfarb]

- All the President's Men (1976): Interesting. The film almost has no plot of its own. It's intriguing by its atmosphere and at that it gets more and more effective. Maybe that's why I felt the ending was kind of rushed or anti-climatic. Now I understand how it got the Art Direction award. Was Robards the expected winner for supporting? And I guess Alexander was in a cool wave effect... how did she get a nod for this. She is cfedibly scared and disturbed but she's in two brief scenes and doesn't do a lot. Anyway, a better film than Rocky for my money. 8/10

- Braking the Waves (1996): This was a good excuse to have an interesting argument with my wife about the nature of love. Not a film that I wish to see again soon. Watson is great and even though I know 1996 was a great year for supporting performances, I guess Katrin Cartlidge deserved a nod. 8/10

[anonymous1980]

Fat Girl (Catherine Breillat) - 7/10

(I can definitely see why this film's very divisive).

[Precious Doll]

Tombstone of the Fireflies (2008) Taro Hyugaji 6/10

Whip It (2009) Drew Barrymore 4/10

The Third Lover (1962) Claude Chabrol 7/10

Moon (2009) Duncan Jones 5/10

[Penelope]

El Cielo Dividido (aka Broken Sky, 2006; Julián Hernández) 10/10

Mexico City. College students Gerardo (Miguel Angel Hoppe) and Jonas (Fernando Arroyo) meet and fall in love. One night at a disco, Jonas is distracted by another young man who kisses him and disappears in the night; Jonas can't forget him and starts to reject Gerardo; torn by jealousy and a broken heart, Gerardo begins hooking up with Sergio (Alejandro Rojo). Is it too late for Jonas to realize what he's lost?

I was so wary about watching this film. The reviews are largely negative (a whopping 35 on Metacritic), complaining about the largely wordless narrative, describing it as "indulgent." Perhaps, but what director isn't?

The film opens with a quote from Resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour (though tellingly citing screenwriter Marguerite Duras rather than Resnais), which immediately points out what Hernández is aiming for: a romance of visual poetry. True, Broken Sky lacks the socio-political undercurrents of the Resnais film, and his characters, at first, lack the depth of of those played by Emmanuelle Riva and Eiji Okada. There's no commentary here about social classes or the political climate of Mexico itself; instead, it's a ruminative, daring, highly original tale of love. That's all. Love, in all its joy and heartbreak. (Jane Campion, take note.)

So I was worried that I was in for disappointment, but as the film proceeded, I found myself entranced and dazzled. Despite that 2 hour 20 minute running time, I didn't want it to end. And when it did, my heart was literally breaking and, for the first time in I don't know how long, a film had a few tears springing from my eyes.

Broken Sky is an astonishingly beautiful, and beautifully heartbreaking, film. Part of this is due to the thoroughly committed--and utterly fearless--performances of the three leads, especially Arroyo (yes, it helps that they're gorgeous young men who get naked a lot, but that's just a bonus). But most of it is due to Hernádez's extraordinary direction and the magnificent cinematography of Alejandro Cantú, the camera roving around the characters as if by magic, color and light saturating the screen.

There are so many breathtaking scenes here: Gerardo's mother hears lovemaking coming from her son's room--when she hears the laughter and realizes he's with another man, she smiles; Jonas lost in the disco beat, his eyes closed, in rapture; a long shot of Gerardo and Jonas on rafters, separating, coming together, separating; an eye- and ear-dazzling sequence of Gerardo and Sergio hunting each other in a dive bar accompanied by Renee Fleming's recording of Dvorak's "Mesicku na nebi hlubokem" from Rusalka; Gerardo and Sergio laughingly dancing to a corny Mexican song in a hotel room; and the devastatingly beautiful final scene.

I suspect it will be days before I recover from this film.

[OscarGuy]

Surrogates: Haphazard execution, predictable plot, but interesting concept. Could have done better by a more experienced director.

[anonymous1980]

Les Miserables (Raymond Bernard) - 10/10

La Zona (Rodrigo Pla) - 8/10

[jowy_jillia]

The White Ribbon - 10/10
This is perfection. One of the best movies of this decade.

[OscarGuy]

Whip It.

I liked it. Auspicious debut of Barrymore as a director. Funny, touching and surprisingly well acted.

[Precious Doll]

Spy Crawlers (2007) Mamoru Oshii 2/10

Julie and Julia (2009) Nora Ephron 5/10

Vincere (2009) Marco Bellocchio 8/10

My Sister, My Love (1966) Vilgot Sjoman 7/10

The Burning Plain (2009) Guillermo Arriaga 4/10

The Greeks Have a Word for Them (1932) Lowell Sherman 6/10

Nude on the Moon (1961) Doris Wishman 2/10