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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
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A masterpiece, surreal-absurdist-comedy, every frame of this picture a portrait of people lost in a dystopian past/present.
While the Wikipedia offers spoilers it might also help you to figure out where you are in the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playtime
Like the central charcter - ish - Monsieur Hulot - you'll periodically find yourself lost in the labyrinth of glass, reflections & concrete. Lots to unpack here and rest assured you didn't unpack it all in the first viewing. Brilliant in it's photography, location choices, lack of meaningful dialogue - the background conversations that tune in and out, direction it took to have quite literally dozens of people walking and performing on cue, it reinvents cinema and yet - the reinvention ends here.
I'd highly recommended this.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1239
2012, classic Greenaway. From "https://www.lespressesdureel.com/EN/ouvrage.php?id=4184&menu=4"
In the winter of 1590, Duch printer Goltzius seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books. Goltzius promises him an extraordinary book of pictures of the Old Testament Biblical stories. Erotic tales of Lot and his daughters, David and Bathsheba, Samson and Delilah and John the Baptist and Salome,stories in which themes of incest, adultery, female entrapment and necrophilia abound. Margrave's court is completely seduced by Goltzius' titillating storytelling, and swiftly sinks into a pit of lechery and religious politics, until the court is forced to buy its way out, and Goltzius can begin his ambitious endeavor.
Greenaway always brilliant, but this was not to my taste - probably me more than the film. And Greenaway's films do demand a larger screen.
To see what else he's been up to (a surprising amount, really, just not all film) read the wiki on him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Greenaway
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1116
More kills in the first six minutes than the entire John Wick Trilogy. Amazing choreography (The first 6 minutes - shot as if it were from the POV of a first-person shooter game - amazing.)
The plot, a little convoluted, and I have a hard time believing that any country, let alone "gang" could reproduce as fast as the kills keep coming. Although - I'd warn you, the Korean films are substantially more graphic / bloody than their American counterparts. Amazing choreography & stunts.
Absolutely no meaning whatsoever. 5 Stars.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1155
Nope. Nope, nope, nope.
I found this while searching my forgotten "Watch Later" list on YouTube, downloaded it.
I like Alejandro Jodorowski. His films are brilliant. And I'm reading his book "The Way of Tarot" and so far his interpretation is excellent.
So I was looking forward to this.
But no.
Half an hour in, when the Australian Serial killer in Paris began smashing pumpkins with his parents/sibling effigies on top, I gave up. I mean, there's nothing new here. He's reenacting scenes from his movies in the guise of "pop-psychology", or an alternative to psycho-analysis, but this has been done. Rebirthing, etc, etc, there are a hundred alternative therapies that are the same as his, offering clients/patients the opportunities to live out alternative scenarios to their upbringing, their childhood, their relationships, to help them realize who they are. And so this - despite his enthusiasm and bullshit - is nothing new. And watching these people - like yourself, like me, but with more trauma, more shit - "regain" their lives - it's just painful, voyeurism, obscene even, I wish them well, all the best, but - given the short intervals between follow-ups, I'm hesitant to class them as "successful" or even "therapeutic". Maybe. We hope so. But - all these nouveau treatments can be found under a hundred other umbrellas, and so I'm giving this a miss.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1289
I've seen this a few times, and every time find more to appreciate in it. A film that tells the story of Faust while itself being the story of Faust, while as well touching upon the themes of Dorian Gray and Phantom of the Paradise and Frankenstein as well. Brilliantly both Satirical and observant, ironic, touching - and - while appearing at first glance to be dated, not a little bit, not at all...
And - little observation - but is it possible - that the Phantom was the inspiration for Lucas's "Darth Vader"? I mean, compare the costumes...
This is a masterpiece that gets better every time I watch it.