SF Film/Cinema Thread

Recent viewings :

L'appartement/Mimouni/France/1996: a romance constructed like a thriller, starring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel in their first on screen pairing. I had seen that film before (and own the DVD), definitely recommended if you can't find it; unpretentious but quality entertainment.

Le dernier gang/Zeitoun/France/2007: Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but an interesting view for those that are fascinated with some of the events presented in Olivier Marchal's 36 quai des orfèvres and the activities of the famous "gang des postiches" (the hairpiece gang, famous bank robbers from the 80s) whose membership's eventual demise also led to the fall and imprisonment and eventual pardon of a senior police officer for reasons still seen as nebulous and politically motivated.

Next on the watch list:

"¢\tMongol, a mega-production about the life of Genghis Khan starring Tadanobu Asano
"¢\tTruands, Schoendoerffer's (who directed secret agents) latest movie, another cop/criminal thing that I enjoy and you might not, Marchal also has a small role in this.
"¢\tNueve Reinas: has anyone seen this, I like what I've read but never bothered to watch it.
"¢\tNaissance des pieuvres/Water lilies: Girls coming of age story, supposedly pretty good. New Yorkers might have heard of it under the title of "water lilies" as I saw a couple of posters plastered around Manhattan announcing its theatrical run.

where can you guys find movies like this? No DVD store i see here has such a vast selection of obscure films.

Originally Posted by Fade to Black

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where can you guys find movies like this? No DVD store i see here has such a vast selection of obscure films.

Most of the movies I listed aren't obscure they're just not released in the US.

My sources:
"¢\tI have a relatively large DVD collection, a large part of them being French DVDs, so different market, different sensibilities=different releases
"¢\tI live in the bobo (yuck) part of town so there are some pretty good movie rental places.
"¢\tSome cinemas mainly show "independent" and "foreign" (hate that US-centric classification) films.
"¢\tI download that **** like a cat burglar on speed (for example "Disco", a mainstream and surely pathetically bad comedy came out this month).
"¢\tOnline rental places often have excellent selections.
"¢\tI have friends with similar interests who may just lend me a couple of movie, say a guy is from Sicily he'll have plenty of releases from the old country and might get new ones from the same sources as I.
"¢\tAs I said some of these aren't really that obscure: Water lilies won some prize at Cannes, the gangster movies I mentioned were relatively mainstream releases, Mongol is a mega production with a pan-Asian star and some Russian and German backers.

Originally Posted by Fade to Black

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where can you guys find movies like this? No DVD store i see here has such a vast selection of obscure films.

Netflix has a fair amount of more obscure films. I wish i still had my account as the local blockbuster is ****

Originally Posted by Fade to Black

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where can you guys find movies like this? No DVD store i see here has such a vast selection of obscure films.

FTB, finding the movies themselves isn't so difficult if you're studious and resourceful; it's knowing what movies to look for.

i swear i am not affiliated but greencine is the best mail-rental dvd joint i know for obscure flicks since nicheflix closed shop; they ship you your next dvd as soon as you drop your current one in the mail; the honor system!

Originally Posted by denimdestroyedmylife

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i swear i am not affiliated but greencine is the best mail-rental dvd joint i know for obscure flicks since nicheflix closed shop; they ship you your next dvd as soon as you drop your current one in the mail; the honor system!

What do you mean "closed shop"? (I don't use Netflix, and I couldn't find anything from a cursory search through the news....)

no, not NETflix, NICHEflix.

Aw no, I had no idea nicheflix was done for.

I watched Gary Tarn's Black Sun last night, a beautiful documentary about artist Hugues de Montalembert, who was struck blind after being attacked on the streets of New York.

Originally Posted by denimdestroyedmylife

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no, not NETflix, NICHEflix.


The mind is faster than the eye....

Watched The Bride with White Hair, directed by Ronny Yu and starring Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin. Found it bizarre, horrifying, and amazing.

Hong Kong VCD double bill last week:

See You in Youtube - uhh...one of the worst movies i've ever seen. bought it thinking it'd be a guilty pleaure, Janice Man looks uglier in motion than in her touched up pictures and Elanne Kwong bores me. Stay away from this one.

CJ7 - Surprisingly good...very good actually. I refused to see this in the theaters for some reason, but was in for a pleasant viewing. Not much Chow screen time, but his style in this movie is an inspiration to me. Doesn't look like a movie that took 3-4 years to film though.

The Savages - Very good, subtle and nuanced drama/comedy with stellar performances from both Hoffman and Linney, especially the latter. Also I thought the guy who played the father was excellent as well...what i liked so much about the film was that the story and characters felt totally believable and human, and even the ending didn't go overboard in trying to deliver a typically satisfying conclusion like it could've.

I just came back from seeing Smart People. I enjoyed the movie. Although, Ellen Paige annoys the piss out of me, too bad she's not beneath me when it's happening.

I watched the original La Femme Nikita today. I don't usually go in for straight up action films but this one was a joy ride all the way through. VERY FUN and not just a little bit twisted.