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- DirectorElia KazanStarsKarl MaldenCarroll BakerEli WallachAn immature, naive teenage bride holds her anxious husband at bay while flirting with an amorous Sicilian farmer."In a swing, you relax just like in a cradle."
This cult controversial movie by Elia Kazan was nominated for four Oscars. Boris Kaufman was nominated for Best Black and White Cinematography, Tennessee Williams for Screenplay, and Carroll Baker for the role of the nineteen-year-old "white-trash" virgin in the American South, married to the older cotton gin owner since she was seventeen, who is anxiously awaiting her twentieth birthday when she has to lose her virginity. She sucks her thumb, sleeps in a cradle and plays innocent, while seducing her frustrated husband and his business rival. Somewhat like Lolita, more innocent, but somehow more nasty and repulsive. Catholics boycotted the movie in the tens of millions, about seventy percent of the theaters canceled its screening, Time Magazine declared it the dirtiest American movie ever, and the New York Cardinal called it essentially evil and dangerous to the morale of the audience. From today's perspective, all that stir is ridiculous and it is not likely for anyone to see it as a shocking movie now, and on the other hand, it is insanely boring. In my opinion, its single quality is excellent cinematography.
5/10 - DirectorMichael PowellStarsKarlheinz BöhmAnna MasseyMoira ShearerA young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror."Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is? It's fear."
The 1960s cult controversial horror thriller by Michael Powell is now considered the British counterpart of Hitchcock's "Psycho" and the originator of the slasher horror genre. Due to the considerable similarity to "snuff" films, it was so shocking and unacceptable in its time that after only five days it was withdrawn from cinema and it destroyed Powell's career. This is the first British mainstream film to explicitly portray nudity, as well as one of the first in which we see through the killer's eyes. Unlike "Psycho", this film is quite devoted to the characterization of a serial killer, with upsetting scenes of his traumatic childhood, so it somewhat evokes pity and sympathy, which was also totally unacceptable at the time. It has been almost two decades until the movie in its original form became available to the general public again and now it is considered a masterpiece of psychological horror.
Still, for some reason, I did not like it at all.
6/10 - DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDirk BogardeSylvia SymsDennis PriceA closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice."Well, it used to be witches. At least they don't burn you."
Homosexuality was illegal in Britain until the end of the 1960s, and even then it was legalized only for those over 21, 5 years higher than the legal minimum for heterosexual couples. This black-and-white thriller in the spirit of film noir follows a lawyer who risks his career and marriage in an attempt to locate a blackmailer that extorts money from homosexuals so as not to report them. Controversial movie by Basil Dearden was not shown in mainstream theaters, and is best known as the first movie to use the word "homosexual." Interestingly, the lead actor later revealed his homosexuality. I'm not thrilled, but it's worth a look.
7/10 - DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsSilvia PinalFrancisco RabalFernando ReyViridiana, a young nun about to take her final vows, pays a visit to her widowed uncle at the request of her Mother Superior.I really don't like this guy
"Viridiana" is considered one of the best films of all time and possibly the best Spanish film of the last century. It was not exactly unwatchable to me, but it bored me big time and I wouldn't watch it again if my life depended on it. I can't bash it for anything in particular, but I don't like it in any respect. No wonder, since I didn't like the other Buñuel's I watched. I think I didn't rate any of his "masterpieces" over five out of ten. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1961, but despite that recognition, it was immediately banned in Spain for blasphemy and obscenity (insinuation of incest, rape, and necrophilia).
4/10 - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJames MasonShelley WintersSue LyonA middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.I prefer the 1997 remake, but still a great movie
"Lolita" (1997) was always one of my very favorites, and rare example of the movie better than the book. When I saw this one for the first time I was a kid and I could not stand black and white movies, but I still decided to watch it because of my love towards the book and movie from '90s. Unfortunately, 160 minutes of black and white was too much for me. Two decades later I finally watched the whole thing and I definitely recommend it to everyone who didn't see it yet. And newer one too. And the book. How could I even think that Kubrick could fail... I'm ashamed.
7/10 - DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.10 nominations, 7 Oscars won and not single one female role. I did not notice that at all while I was watching this great movie, but then I read that fact somewhere and started to rewind the movie in my head. Three and a half hours of movie and completely without any women in it. It must be very good movie if I didn't notice absence of women lol.
- DirectorPaolo CavaraGualtiero JacopettiFranco ProsperiStarsStefano SibaldiRossano BrazziYves KleinA "shockumentary" consisting of a collection of mostly real archive footage displaying mankind at its most depraved and perverse, displaying bizarre rites, cruel behavior and bestial violence.God has a weird sense of humor - he made the human race
Very interesting "shockumentary" from 1962. Even if it is partially faked, it still has a message that will make you think what's weirder and more savage - tribes that didn't change their ways for centuries or the western civilization... This film can make you laugh and cry, shock you and make you rethink some things you were always taking for granted. Highly recommended (not to watch during, right before, or right after meals).
8/10 - DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.Almost unwatchable
This controversial documentary by Frederick Wiseman was banned worldwide from its creation in 1967 until 1992. It shows the state of affairs at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Bridgewater, a prison hospital for the criminally insane and, although Wiseman had permission to shoot, the result was very bad publicity for the government, so this is the only American film banned for reasons other than obscenity or national security, but rather for violation of the privacy of prisoners. This documentary is very difficult, and since it has no story, but only strings gruesome and disgusting scenes, in addition to being nauseous, it is also quite boring. I respect the intent of the author, but I barely made it to the end.
2/10 - DirectorMike NicholsStarsDustin HoffmanAnne BancroftKatharine RossA disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.He did mother and daughter and it isn't even a porn
Mike Nichols deservedly won Academy Award for this story about a college graduate, torn between his older lover and her daughter. It is coming of age love drama sprinkled with some hilarious moments. Dustin Hoffman nailed the role and it launched his career. The story is well-written, well-played and directed, with great photography, but probably the best thing about this movie is the music of Simon and Garfunkel. Still, I wouldn't place it amongst the greatest movies of all time.
8/10 - DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWilliam HoldenErnest BorgnineRobert RyanAn aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them."We all dream of being a child again, even the worst of us. Perhaps the worst most of all."
I didn't expect a Western to have such depth, plus immense amounts of brutal shooting and destruction, which made it one of the most controversial films of all time. Also, many consider it the best western of all time. I would not go that far, but it definitely is worth your time.
8/10 - DirectorMelvin Van PeeblesStarsMelvin Van PeeblesHubert ScalesJohn DullaghanAfter saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.Disappointment
Strong message, interesting story-line, explicit sex and violence, beginning that promises... and then very fast movie transforms into unwatchable crap. Stretched, full of unnecessary "parrot" repetition, too chaotic, mediocre acting and, for me, terrible directing. Director, who is also the screenwriter, must have been either on heavy drugs or VD reached his brain. The movie is made with just 150.000$ from his own pocket, so I have no objections to production, it's OK for such a small amount of money, but even with that budget and only three weeks of shooting it could have been done much better. This way he just ruined an awesome idea.
3/10 - DirectorMike NicholsStarsJack NicholsonCandice BergenArt GarfunkelChronicling the lifelong sexual development of two men who meet and become friends in college.Overrated
21 June 2016
The cult movie, picked up some rewards, considered to be one of the most controversial movies of all times, blah-blah... If you didn't see it already my advice is to skip it. But if you did, I would appreciate hearing your impressions, just to see if I'm stupid or this movie really is a bullshit.
5/10 (and even that much only because of Ann-Margret) - DirectorKen RussellStarsVanessa RedgraveOliver ReedDudley SuttonIn 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.I thought that "Clockwork Orange" was sick
This movie is not nearly famous as "Clockwork Orange", but it should be. It is probably the sickest movie I ever watched. After this, "Clockwork Orange" looks like a picture book for kids. And at the same time, it essentially is a good movie. Unlike "Human Centipede" and similar nonsense movies that try to cover the absence of any quality by tons of abominations, this movie is equally nasty and a really good piece of cinematography. Just try to put your prejudice aside and you'll enjoy it. Even if it is too much for some of us, its quality cannot be denied.
8/10 - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned."What we were after now was the old surprise visit. That was a real kick and good for laughs and lashings of the old ultraviolent."
Every single aspect of this movie is perfect and they are all perfectly integrated into a perfect whole. Without a doubt one of the best films of all time. If you rate this movie anything less than a maximum rating, I have nothing to discuss with you about movies in general.
10/10 - DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsDustin HoffmanSusan GeorgePeter VaughanA young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment."Why don't you grow up?"
A young American scientist with a very attractive wife comes in rural England, hoping that the quiet environment will help him to write his book and smooth relations in the shaky marriage. But soon he discovers that the locals are not very friendly to newcomers and is forced to deal with an extremely violent environment.
The film starts slowly and in the first part deals with the characterization of the young couple and their unstable relationship, while building the uneasy atmosphere of their surroundings. In the second part, this discomfort culminates with open conflict between them and the locals, which somewhat resembles clashes in western movies. In order to survive, a young city nerd must overcome his cowardice and find a way to defeat significantly more numerous enemies.
If we watch this movie as a thriller or even horror, the emphasis will be put on a brutal finish, while the first part will look like an overly stretched and boring introduction. But I think that such an approach is wrong. I see this film as a psychological drama, the essence of which is the characterization of the protagonist and his transformation from an insecure city child, which is pushing problems under the carpet in the fear of confronting them, to a man, whose extreme situation in which he finds himself, forced to grow up, confronts with reality and assumes responsibility and control over his life. His relationship with his wife is merely "randomly" chosen tool for portraying his personality, while the violent ending is just one of the countless possible situations that would make this person transform. Essentially, this is the same story as one in which the nerd is bullied at school until he snaps and shows his teeth, only displayed in a much more brutal way.
From today's perspective, the film is not particularly explicit or controversial, but in the early seventies, due to fairly convincing scenes of rape and violence, and especially because of the implication that the victim herself caused rape and somewhat enjoyed it, Sam Peckinpah struggled to pass the censorship, and the original uncut version was released on DVD only in 2002.
In the beginning, I wasn't particularly impressed by Susan George, but in the rape scene she is so convincing that you could almost physically feel her breaking, and after that scene she is quite impressive until the end. Dustin Hoffman has pretty well put forward the transformation of the main character, though I think he could have done it better. And as directing is concerned, if you watched "The Wild Bunch", I think Sam Peckinpah does not require further comments.
8/10 - DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceNotorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".It hurts...
How the hell this movie got an average rate over six?! It is very close to being the ultimate winner in a stupidity contest. It is one of very few most stupid things I ever had the misfortune to see. Of course, it could be even worse, it could last more than ninety minutes... This movie was banned worldwide because of nudity, perversion, and a complete lack of morality. But in my opinion, that's not the worst thing about it. It should be forbidden because of extreme stupidity and terrible terrible acting. My recommendation - avoid it at any cost.
2/10 - DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsMarlon BrandoMaria SchneiderMaria MichiA young Parisian woman meets a middle-aged American businessman who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.Go, get the butter
It took me days to come to my senses after watching this movie. Wow! Marlon Brando was nominated for an Oscar for this part. His competition were Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Robert Redford, and the Oscar went to Jack Lemon. Definitely tough competition. I could not decide which one of them is more awesome.
Fun fact - Bernardo Bertolucci was sentenced to four months in prison in Italy for making this movie, while in America he was nominated for an Academy Award.
8/10 - DirectorBo Arne VibeniusStarsChristina LindbergHeinz HopfDespina TomazaniA young woman, rendered mute after a childhood sexual assault, is trained to seek violent revenge on those who kidnapped and forced her into prostitution.Inspiration for "Kill Bill"
"First they took her speech... then her sight... When they were finished, she used what was left of her for her own frightening kind of revenge."
This Swedish sexploitation action thriller is the first movie ever banned in Sweden. Due to scenes of rape, extreme violence, and hardcore sex, it was banned in many countries, while in others it was shown in the censored version, which required expulsion of explicit scenes and shortening the original 107 to only 82 minutes. It was advertised as "the movie that has no limits of evil" and the main actress was so down after starring in it that she abandoned the acting career forever. But the main reason I decided to watch the original version was that it served as an inspiration to Tarantino to create his masterpiece "Kill Bill".
7/10 - DirectorDon EdmondsStarsDyanne ThorneGregory KnophTony MumoloIlsa is an evil Nazi warden at a death camp that conducts "medical experiments." Ilsa's goal is to prove women can withstand more pain and suffering than men, and therefore should be allowed to fight on the front lines.Nasty Nazi
This sex/torture B-movie was the original that triggered a huge wave of "Nasty Nazi" movies that marked B-production of the '70s. That was a really nasty decade. The film is complete bullshit, but still has something that makes you watch it till the end (if you have stomach for it).
5/10 - DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsTatsuya FujiEiko MatsudaAoi NakajimaA passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.Japanese erotic drama that, balancing on the edge of pornography, tells captivating story of love, passion and obsession that leads to inevitable death.
MUST WATCH - DirectorJoel M. ReedStarsSeamus O'BrienViju KremNiles McMasterIn the Theatre of the Macabre in New York Sardu and his assistants present a show involving the torture and mutilation of young women. The audience assumes it is just an act but the torture is real, as are the deaths."This isn't S&M, this is Art!"
If only... Joel M. Reed wrote the script in one day. And it is painfully obvious.
4/10 - DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsPaolo BonacelliGiorgio CataldiUberto Paolo QuintavalleIn World War II Italy, four fascist libertines round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental, and sexual torture."The one true anarchy is that of power"
"Salò" was directed by the notorious Italian poet, novelist, painter, and film-maker Pier Paolo Pasolini, who was murdered before it was released. The art house film was based on a work "120 Days of Sodom" by the notorious Marquis de Sade, to depict the short-lived, lakeside republic of Salo in Nazi-controlled Northern Italy at the close of WWII. There, four ruling fascist officials, in a secluded chateau near Marzabotto, rounded up a group of adolescent boys and girls and subjected them to one hundred and twenty days of physical, mental and sexual torture.
When I saw this movie for the first time, it was without competition, the single sickest movie I have ever seen. The movie is extremely disgusting, but it has something that made me see it through to the very end. Since then, I have seen much worse than that, but this one is the only of its kind that made me re-watch it a few more times. It is the most impressionable one in the long run.
6/10 - DirectorLouis MalleStarsBrooke ShieldsKeith CarradineSusan SarandonA preteen girl lives as a prostitute in New Orleans in 1917."There's only two things to do on rainy days, and I don't like to play cards"
The image of an adult world through a child's eyes. Brooke Shields is a daughter of a prostitute (Susan Sarandon) who grew up in brothel at the beginning of the twentieth century. After her mother marries and leaves her, she finds rescue from the brothel in a marriage with the photographer who has often photographed the acts of her and her mother. This historical drama is inspired by Al Rose's 1974 non-fictional book "Storyville, New Orleans". Although the film has no explicit scenes or even vulgar language, it has caused controversy because it came out at the time when child pornography and child abuse were in the public eye. From today's perspective, the film is pretty mainstream.
7/10 - DirectorJohn Alan SchwartzStarsMichael CarrSamuel BerkowitzMary Ellen BrightonA collection of death scenes, ranging from TV material to homemade super 8 movies.Strong stomach
Extremely disgusting, somewhat interesting, and even informative, but terribly done and completely ruined with spirit rapping at the end. The movie is full of real footage of dead bodies, catastrophic accidents, and body parts scattered all around. I don't know why did I even watch this at all, but on the other hand, I'm not sorry that I did. I have completely mixed feelings about this. So, only for those with a strong stomach and serious excess of free time.
3/10 - DirectorMeir ZarchiStarsCamille KeatonEron TaborRichard PaceAn aspiring writer is repeatedly assaulted, humiliated, and left for dead by four men she systematically hunts down to seek revenge."I can't come! You're interrupting my concentration!"
After a brutal gang-rape, four men leave their victim for dead. But Jennifer is very much alive and very determined to get one hell of revenge.
It was filmed in 1978 under the title "Day of the Woman" and it badly failed. Two years later, it was re-released under the name under which we know it today. It was also shown under the names "I Hate Your Guts" and "The Rape and Revenge of Jennifer Hill". It is interesting that the film does not have a soundtrack, contains the longest rape scene in history, and some critics have declared it the worst movie of all time.
The worst - no, it is not, far from it. It is one of the better I have seen in its genre. But there are not any particular qualities either. Low-budget revenge trash, suitable to kill two hours of a boring afternoon, and nothing more than that.
7/10 - DirectorWalter HillStarsMichael BeckJames RemarDorsey WrightA street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.
"I'll shove that bat up your ass and turn you into a popsicle"
22 September 2015
The film's original poster, which stated the film's tagline: "These are the armies of the night" and this additional phrase: "They are 100,000 strong. They outnumber the cops five to one. They could run New York City," outraged and scared many people, and some of the film's early showings incited lethal violence and caused gang outbreaks. The movie is full of violence and vulgar language, and if you stand for political correctness I suggest you skip it. Although I don't consider it to be of great cinematographic value, it sure is good entertainment and it has a message to deliver.
7/10 - DirectorTinto BrassStarsMalcolm McDowellPeter O'TooleHelen MirrenA dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.The most expensive pornographic film ever made - $22 million
"Critical and commercial disaster."
"Worthless fantasy trash."
The film is full of explicit sex but it does not make it pornography. Pornography has completely different intentions. Definition of pornography is: "Pornography is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purpose of sexual arousal", and this movie simply isn't it. It was meant to shock, not to sexually arouse. The story is a historical drama presented in a vulgar and shocking way with explicit sex and violence. But it definitely isn't pornography.
Worthless trash?! I suppose it is a question of taste. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It twists actual historical facts, but it is a movie, not the history textbook. And parody on "Alea iacta est!" is so funny. For me, this is a really good movie, at least
8/10 - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsAl PacinoPaul SorvinoKaren AllenA police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.Disappointment
24 September 2015
I can not believe this will come out of my mouth about a movie starring the phenomenal Al Pacino... but this is crap!
5/10 - DirectorUmberto LenziStarsGiovanni Lombardo RadiceLorraine De SelleDanilo MatteiThree friends set out to disprove cannibalism on a trip to the Amazonian jungle, where they meet two men trying to escape a vicious cannibal tribe."Oh God, please let her die soon. Oh, let her die soon. And let me die soon too, please."
A group of anthropologists travels to the jungles of Colombia to study the tribe believed to be cannibalistic. The tribe is enslaved by drug dealers and, when the enslaved natives freed themselves and started revenge, anthropologists find themselves in a crossfire. The film shows explicit violence, torture and killing, it is not for those with a weak stomach, and it was banned in over thirty countries. It's disgusting in every way and its artistic value is equal to zero, and yet something made me see it through and prevented me from burying it with the rating.
5/10
Pre-credits disclaimer: The following feature is one of the most violent films ever made. There are at least two dozen scenes of barbaric torture and sadistic cruelty graphically shown. If the presentation of disgusting and repulsive subject matter upsets you, please do not view this film. - DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.Only for fans of disgusting footage
For his work on the film, the director was arrested by Italian authorities on suspicion of murder charges and faced life in prison, following its 1980 Milan premiere. He endured a trial when Italian authorities were unconvinced that the footage was indeed staged. Deodato lost the original trial, and all prints were to be destroyed, but he managed to have the ruling overturned in the early '80s when the actors finally appeared on TV to prove otherwise.
Some five years passed before the film saw release in Deodato's home country. This movie was banned for twenty years in many countries.
5/10 - DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsMichael RookerTracy ArnoldTom TowlesArriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.What a waste of time
Another in the series of films I've found on the lists of the most controversial films of all time and another in a series of disappointments. Among the few more films, "Henry" caused the introduction of the NC-17, a rating for a non-pornographic adults-only film. People describe this film as unforgettably traumatic, but I do not even slightly remember it, although I saw it only a few years ago. "Chilling", "a movie to keep you up at night", "one of the scariest movies ever made", "haunting", "really horrifying", "I'm still shaking", are some of the statements that made me watch it again, although the first time I rated it 5/10.
After re-watching, I'm reading reviews and I'm wondering who's crazy here. Is it possible that I am totally inured to everything or is this movie, in fact, overrated nonsense? If it was made a few decades earlier, maybe I could understand such reactions, but for mid-eighties, this is totally lame. From the title, I expected a film dealing with the psychological profile of a serial killer, but there is not even a basic characterization of the protagonist here. It fails as a drama, because it does not convey any emotion, and as a thriller, because there is no plot, and as a horror, because there is no tense atmosphere or even bloody scenes. There was nothing to hold my attention. Slow, empty and boring. My rating definitely goes down.
3/10 - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsWillem DafoeHarvey KeitelBarbara HersheyThe life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.It is accomplished!
"The dual substance of Christ - the yearning, so human, so superhuman, of man to attain God... has always been a deep inscrutable mystery to me. My principle anguish and source for all my joys and sorrows from my youth onward has been the incessant, merciless battle between the spirit and the flesh... and my soul is the arena where these two armies have clashed and met." - Nikos Kazantzakis, from the book "The Last Temptation of Christ"
This controversial drama by Martin Scorsese is based on the novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis, and brings us a portrait of Jesus Christ with all the virtues and flaws, fears and temptations of a realistic human being. Personally, I believe that Jesus was not a historical figure, but that he was the creation of the Church authorities, who composed his teachings from the teachings of several preachers from several periods, because they needed the Messiah to pass off their teachings and doctrine. But even if he has walked the land, the way he is portrayed in this movie seems to me more plausible than any other display of the Savior that I encountered so far. The film has an unusual and controversial approach to the presentation of Jesus' life (so much that in France Catholic fundamentalists burned several cinemas during its screenings, which resulted even in one fatal outcome) but if you watch it with an open heart and mind, without prejudice, I believe that you will realize that such an approach is not a blasphemy, but to a conscious, intelligent viewer can be much more susceptive and effective in conveying Jesus' teaching than the classic approach. The author of the book wrote in the prologue: "This book is not a biography; it is the confession of every man who struggles. In publishing it I have fulfilled my duty, the duty of a person who has struggled much, was much embittered in his life, and had many hopes. I am certain that every free man who reads this book, so filled as it is with love, will more than ever before, better than ever before, love Christ."
"Harmony between Earth and the heart, that is the world of God."
I do not think there's a need to spend words on Scorsese's directing. With a budget of seven million dollars, which is a fairly low budget for this kind of film, Scorsese has done a miracle and earned an Oscar nomination. At first, Willem Dafoe did not appeal to me as Jesus, but bit less than three hours later I can no longer imagine anyone else in that role, and Harvey Keitel perfectly presented the counterweight role of Judas. Although already forty years old, Barbara Hershey is captivating in the role of Mary Magdalene, and I have no objections to performances of the rest of the cast either. The music of Peter Gabriel significantly contributes to the atmosphere, and the end of the film is one of the most memorable in my cinephile "career." I warmly recommend it to both believers and nonbelievers, because of the messages that the film conveys and which will, at least subconsciously, affect your view of the world, and as an unforgettable movie experience.
"Thank you, Lord, for bringing me where I didn't want to go." - Jesus
10/10 - DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsRichard BohringerMichael GambonHelen MirrenAt Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge."I think those Ethiopians enjoy starving. Keeps them thin and graceful"
I didn't particularly like the story itself, but the film is visually really striking. Costumes, scenery and colors that threaten to oust your eyes leave a strong impression, and a dark and morbid atmosphere is in line with the tone of the story. There are also good acting, several ingenious replicas that I laughed at in unbelief, as well as an unforgettable finale. I can not say that I liked the film, it was even a bit boring, but something was pulling me to re-watch it several times over the thirty years since it came out. Although I rated it relatively low, I must recommend it as an unusual and unique movie experience.
6/10 - DirectorJennifer LynchStarsJulian SandsSherilyn FennBill PaxtonA surgeon becomes obsessed with the seductive woman he once was in an affair with. Refusing to accept that she has moved on, he amputates her limbs and holds her captive in his mansion.Am I disturbed for loving this movie?
As a teenager, I caught this movie partially on TV, and, not knowing its name, for years I was searching for it to watch it properly. A few years ago I accidentally bumped into it on some list of the most controversial films of all time, recognized it, and finally got it. The years of waiting paid off - I was thrilled.
I do not want to go into the particular story because I can not do it without spoilers. I will only say that this is convincingly the most morbid love drama I've ever seen, which at the same time provokes fascination and repulsion. In some instances I was sympathetic with the psychopath, in the other with the victim, while at the moments I was wondering who was actually crazier. The first choice for the role of Helena was Madonna, but the contract was then signed with Kim Basinger. Kim gave up in the last minute, she was sued for nine million dollars, and the leading role went to fantastic Sherilyn Fenn, who perfectly portrayed the role of an arrogant "ice-queen", so cold-blooded that even in this extreme situation I could not unreservedly sympathize with her. Maybe I'm too subjective, because of her role in the series "Twin Peaks" and my fascination with this film, but I really think that with Kim this would be a complete failure.
Something disturbed like this can not come from a normal mind. As apple does not fall far from the tree, it is hardly surprising that the script was written by the then nineteen-year-old daughter of David Lynch. A few years later, Jennifer directed the film and won Razzie Award for the Worst Director. Besides the award for the worst directing, there is a rating of 4.6 on IMDb, Metascore 26 and 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. But when you put it all on one pan of scales, and then Sherilyn Fenn climbs on the other side...
9/10 - DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.Killer movie!
The story, directing, cast and their performances, action scenes and music, and most of all, the emotions... It will sweep you off your feet.
10/10 - DirectorLarry ClarkStarsLeo FitzpatrickJustin PierceChloë SevignyA day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins."What if you can't make yourself happy?"
A low-budget independent film that shows us one day in the life of a group of New York teenagers, a life that comes down to skate, parties, alcohol, drugs and ultimately sex. I grew up in the nineties and I recognized a lot from my own puberty and surroundings, but however crazy we were, this is really extremely extreme. And yet, as much as this seems exaggerated to most of us, even to those who have really gone through all sorts of things in life, for some children this is a harsh reality. It's not a masterpiece of cinema, but it's a film that should be seen for a better understanding of the world we live in.
7/10 - DirectorShekhar KapurStarsSeema BiswasNirmal PandeyRajesh VivekThe story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994."Any man that marries a little girl... I'll kill him."
"Bandit Queen" is the true story of the legendary Phoolan Devi, who was something like Robin Hood of India. While the authorities persecuted her, the media made her famous. In order to avoid the death penalty in the case of capture, in 1983, she surrendered to the authorities, but after eleven years in prison she ran for parliament. She was assassinated in 2001.
The film has a problem with the scenario, some parts are false and in some places it seems hastily and piled up. In all other respects it is greatly made, but quite heavy and difficult.
8/10 - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJames SpaderHolly HunterElias KoteasAfter getting into a serious car accident, a TV director discovers an underground sub-culture of scarred, omnisexual car-crash victims who use car accidents and the raw sexual energy they produce to try to rejuvenate his sex life with his wife."I want really big tits, out to here, so the audience can see 'em get all cut up and crushed on the dashboard."
I watched this movie because of James Spader. When I figured out that there are also Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette in it, and that it was directed by David Cronenberg, my expectations grew further. Unfortunately, the film did not fulfill them even remotely. I can not say that it is bad, but it is unjustifiably excessive and by shocking it tries to conceal the essential mediocrity.
6/10 - DirectorAdrian LyneStarsJeremy IronsDominique SwainMelanie GriffithAn English professor falls for a minor, and has to face the consequences of his actions.Ignore description on IMDb
"A man marries his landlady so he can take advantage of her daughter." - The worst description of this movie possible, lie that gives a completely wrong picture of what you can expect to see in this film.
Disturbed, but at the same time very romantic and sad love/life story, much much better than the original novel by Nabokov. One of my favorite movies of all time.
10/10
"She was Lo, plain Lo in the morning, standing 4'10 in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. In my arms, she was always Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins, my sin, my soul, Lolita."
"I was a daisy-fresh girl and look what you've done to me. I should call the police and tell them that you raped me, you dirty old man."
"Despite all the danger and hopelessness of it all, I was in paradise, paradise whose skies were the color of hell flames, but a paradise still." - CreatorTrey ParkerMatt StoneBrian GradenStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneIsaac HayesFollows the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado."There is actually a lot of intelligent social commentary here - it's just masked under anything they could possibly offend someone with." - chthon2
16 October 2017
For some reason, I stopped following this show a long time ago, even before the tenth season I think. Recently, again for some inexplicable reason, it came to my mind and I decided to start it all over, from season one, but this time I'm going to finish it, or better to say catch it, because I hope it will never end. This morning I finished the first season. There's nothing better than healthy laughter with morning coffee. After 20 years this season is still fresh and hilarious. One of the strongest tens I ever gave.
10/10
(I'm near the end of the 8th season now and it still kicks ass.)
24 December 2018
In the last year I have seen all 22 seasons of "South Park" and, although it had its ups and downs, overall it's one of the best TV shows of all time and definitely the ultimate animated one. I can't wait for the 23rd season. - DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneMary Kay BergmanWhen Stan Marsh and his friends go see an R-rated movie, they start cursing and their parents think that Canada is to blame."You may laugh yourself sick - as sick as this ruthlessly funny movie is"
"I was not a fan of South Park before I saw BL&U, nor was I a fan of movie musicals. Well, I'm still not a fan of musicals, but I'm a fan of *this* musical, and I am grateful to Parker and Stone for demonstrating that it's still possible to make a great movie on one's own terms.
For this movie, unlike the usual feature-length adaptation of a pop culture phenomenon, not only lives up to its pedigree, it wildly exceeds it. Yes, the movie does recycle many of the show's jokes, but it does so in new yet relevant contexts that keep the material funny if you are familiar with the South Park world. If you aren't familiar with that world (as I wasn't before seeing the movie), the gags are simultaneously accessible yet often subtle.
Subtle? Yes, many of the gags are. Indeed, one of the pleasures of owning a copy of the movie is having the ability to review the movie, in slo-mo if necessary, and discover throwaway sight gags that one has missed in the delirium of watching this anarchic satire the first time through. (And if you have the DVD, you can add subtitles to catch many of the songs' often elusive lyrics.)
Then there's the music. What is it about movie musicals that attracts great satiric minds? Not since Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" has a work of art so subversively exploited the conventions of the movie musical as South Park. From the droll opening strains of Mountain Town, to the Disneyesque "Up There," to the Les Miserables spoof, "La Resistance," South Park simultaneously sends up the genre while paying homage to it, and still finds room to use the songs to score delicious points against its myriad targets.
One last thing: this movie is not cynical. Beneath the scatological humor, the cartoon violence, the scathing portrayals of Wynona Ryder et al, and the backdrop of adult xenophobia, sexual repression, and political opportunism, is a sensibility that exalts childhood as an island of honesty and idealism, if also of id-like impulse and frequent selfishness. In this, they share space on the shelf of great satires with "Candide," "Gulliver's Travels," "Tom Sawyer" and especially "Huckleberry Finn"--classics that, like BL&U, also exposed the hypocrisies of the adult world "through the eyes of a child."
Elvis Costello once sang, "I want to bite the hand that feeds me/I want to bite that hand so badly/I want to make them wish they'd never met me." That BLU was shut out at the Academy Awards (having only garnered a nomination for the relatively tame "Blame Canada", which lost, appropriately enough, to the execrable Phil Collins) only vindicates the film's take-no-prisoners send-up of nearly everything that annoys in this suffocatingly focus-group-tested, PC-policed, cynically sentimental, violence-ridden, love-starved modern world. See this movie, and see the persistence of hope and possibility sparkling like a diamond amid the pop culture detritus of a quiet little red-necked, white-trash, strait-laced, meshugeneh, US mountain town." - Tresy
8/10 - DirectorRupert WainwrightStarsPatricia ArquetteGabriel ByrneJonathan PryceWhen a young woman becomes afflicted by stigmata, a priest is sent to investigate her case, which may have severe ramifications for his faith and for the Catholic Church itself."The kingdom of God is within you and all around you. It is not within buildings of wood or stone. Split a piece of wood and you will find me. Look beneath a stone and I am there."
"Stigmata" deals with religious themes of stigmata and the "Gospel of Thomas," the oldest known gospel, which is considered to be the closest to the teachings of the historical Jesus. It is not included in the "New Testament", and the church considers it to be heretical. Although the film makes some historical and factual mistakes, it is not a documentary but fiction, so we can regard them as artistic freedoms, which, even if they do not contribute to the quality of the film, certainly do not diminish its strength. Patricia Arquette excellently portrays the role of a young atheist whose life is headed upside down by the inexplicable appearance of wounds similar to crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, and Gabriel Byrne plays a priest sent from the Vatican to investigate her case. The chemistry between them is good and is the backbone of the film, and the powerful explicit scenes of stigmata appearance spice it up with horror atmosphere, although I would describe this movie as a drama rather than a horror.
7,5/10 - DirectorCatherine BreillatStarsCaroline DuceySagamore StéveninFrançois BerléandFrustrated by the lack of intimacy in her relationship, a young schoolteacher goes through a series of intimidating and often violent sexual partners.Pretentious crap
I have encountered this film on some list of the most controversial films of all time. It was one of the few I haven't already seen, so I decided to correct this oversight. It turned out that I didn't miss much. The author of this film is not nearly intelligent, deep and interesting as she thinks she is, and the film completely misses its goal, if I understood it well, and I think I did. Nudity and pornography are anything but erotic, the philosophical aspect is superficial, banalized and prone to generalization, and the film is not shocking but quite boring. It is not unwatchable, but it is largely irritating and total waste of time.
4/10 - DirectorVirginie DespentesCoralie Trinh ThiStarsRaffaëla AndersonKaren LancaumeCéline BeugnotTwo young women, marginalised by society, go on a destructive tour of sex and violence. Breaking norms and killing men - and shattering the complacency of polite cinema audiences.A hardcore hybrid of "Natural Born Killers" and "Thelma & Louise"
In Canada, the theatrical release of this film was banned because of pornographic content. And when distributor re-submitted it as pornographic, it was again banned because of excessive violence. In Australia, the police prevented the screening, and the director and actors are porn stars. This information, the name of the movie itself, and my headline are quite enough for you to know exactly what to expect. Honestly, I didn't like it, but still, something made me see it through. Certainly, a striking experience.
5/10 - DirectorLarry ClarkEdward LachmanStarsAdam ChubbuckJames BullardSeth GrayKen Park is about several Californian skateboarders' lives and relationships with and without their parents.Aren't you glad your mom didn't abort you?
This controversial erotic drama presents us the traumatic lives of several teenagers in a rather explicit and brutal manner. It reminds me of "Kids" from 1995, but it is somewhat better. The film is sick and definitely not for everyone, but it has that something that makes it worthy of attention.
7/10 - DirectorCarlos CarreraStarsGael García BernalAna Claudia TalancónSancho GraciaPolitics and sexual passions threaten to corrupt a young, newly-ordained priest in a small Mexican town."I made you the priest's whore"
"The Crime of Father Amaro" tells a story about a young Mexican priest who is lost in a world of romance and politics, a world that is completely new for him. With this theme and justified R classification, there were numerous controversies and attempts to ban it, but instead it became a big hit, earned more than any other Mexican film before it, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Personally, I think it is overrated and I do not see the quality that deserves an Oscar nomination, but I quite liked it and warmly recommend it.
7/10 - DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.Weird
I rated it low, but still, I return to watching it from time to time. I don't know why... The idea is interesting, construction is weird, I do not like it at all, and still, it seems I can't get it out of my head...
5/10 - DirectorPeter MullanStarsEileen WalshDorothy DuffyNora-Jane NooneThree young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.You're not a man of God
Magdalene Asylum were institutions funded by the Catholic Church in Ireland in which young girls served a "prison sentence" for moral dangers for themselves and others. Moral offenses in the form of pregnancy outside of marriage, flirting with boys, and even being a victim of rape, brought these young girls to these laundries, with the legal consent of their fathers or family. The girls were brought without trial and were sentenced to forced labor for the rest of their lives. They suffered a barbaric treatment from the nuns and priests who led these institutions, justified by a conservative hysteria about sex. Magdalene Laundries destroyed about 30,000 women, and the last of these perverse institutions was closed only in 1996.
7/10 - DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsMichael PittLouis GarrelEva GreenA young American studying in Paris in 1968 strikes up a friendship with a French brother and sister. Set against the background of the '68 Paris student riots.How I fell in love with Eva Green
Bernardo Bertolucci has always been one of my favorite directors, but with this film, he bought me for all time. "The Dreamers" is a film that I saw many times and I've never found the strength nor found the right words to describe and analyze it. This is an example of movie magic, and magic cannot be explained. Or maybe I do not want to try, fearing that by analyzing I could spoil my love for this movie. A strong story, perfect atmosphere, great music and a very good feeling for details. "The Dreamers" is full of references to many famous movies and, as my movie experience grows with years, every time I watch it the experience is getting stronger. Eva Green is fantastic and it's hard to believe that this is her first movie role. I'd be lying if I said that her nudity and sex scenes had no influence, but mostly I was fascinated by her overall appearance and a powerful presence on the screen, and this fascination holds me for fifteen years. The first cadre of the scene where she mimics Venus de Milo is one of the most beautiful erotic photographs I have ever seen.
10/10 - DirectorMel GibsonStarsJim CaviezelMonica BellucciMaia MorgensternDepicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem.Mel Gibson's life's work... I hope not.
Technically, it's done almost perfect, but in all other aspects... It is too long, pretentious, conceited (I'm not sure if it's the right word), morbid, stereotypical, in one word - yuck! After this, I think Gibson is a sick man, because a mentally healthy person could not design such a thing. If it was meant to be a horror or some sick drama like "Serbian Film" and such, I could understand, but it is not. Even "Serbian Film" that is unbelievably disgusting has its qualities and reasons to be disgusting, while this crap simply has no excuse.
5/10 - DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreGeorge W. BushBen AffleckMichael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.Sad but true
Intelligent people should realize most of this even without this movie, but even with it, most people refuse to see what's going on. And I must add one objection - I don't know if there really was a terrorist attack or the government staged the whole thing, but anyway, even if that was really terrorist, the government allowed them to do it, because there is no damn chance it could happen without their intelligence knowing about that. Plus, plains could not completely destroy towers and especially not the way they collapsed. There had to be huge amounts of explosives and plains just started the chain reaction. So, either the whole thing was staged, or it was at least allowed and "improved" by the USA, to provide for themselves a nice excuse to invade, occupy and rob middle east countries. USA power is based on such things, they did it the whole 20th century and they do it still without any intention to stop it. They must not stop it because without war they would collapse.
7/10 - DirectorVincent GalloStarsVincent GalloChloë SevignyCheryl TiegsProfessional motorcycle racer Bud Clay heads from New Hampshire to California to race again. Along the way he meets various needy women who provide him with the cure to his own loneliness, but only a certain woman from his past will truly satisfy him.Slow, boring, but it has its worth
Probably the slowest movie I have ever seen. If there was no good music in it, it would be unwatchable.
After the race, a guy packs up his motorbike in the van and he drives, drives, drives, and drives some more and make a stop to get some gas, flirt with a cashier, then drives again, and drives, drives, goes to a pet shop and then drives again...
The complete story from this ninety minutes movie easily fits in fifteen minutes. Then the movie ends and leaves behind such emotion that I have to recommend it even if it is boring as hell. The fact is that Gallo is irritating, and even more so as a director, but man, he can act, he really can.
4/10 - DirectorBill CondonStarsLiam NeesonLaura LinneyChris O'DonnellA look at the life of Alfred Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.Let's talk about sex
"Kinsey" is a biographical drama about biologist Alfred Kinsey, who in the middle of the last century first seriously devoted himself to the study of human sexuality, causing serious controversy and creating enemies in religious and puritan circles. During the 15 years of research, he interviewed about 18,000 people and eventually became completely obsessed with this topic, losing all moral brakes and engaging into the practical exploration of his own sexuality. Besides Liam Neeson who nailed the leading role, there are also Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, Tim Curry, Oliver Platt, and genius John Lithgow. Very interesting, informative and at times shocking and dramatic, this is a film you won't forget and which certainly won't leave you indifferent.
8/10 - DirectorDavid SladeStarsPatrick WilsonElliot PageSandra OhHayley's a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff's a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff's place. Jeff thinks it's his lucky night. He's in for a surprise."This is officially sick"
A fourteen-year-old teenage girl on an online chat hunts a thirty-year-old man who she believes is a pedophile. After weeks of correspondence, she convinces him to meet her and then take her to his home, where she turns into a little monster. She is determined to punish him for pedophilia, although the same has not been proven in any way. But her cruelty goes beyond the scope of punishment, as well as the limits of humanity, and if such a child exists, I would not wish it even to a mortal enemy. Technically speaking, the film is very well done, and Ellen Page almost alone carries the entire film and she does it fantastically. However, her character in the movie is so disgusting that I could squash her like a cockroach, without any guilty conscience. It's shocking, painful and sick to exhaustion. Despite all the objective qualities, watching made me sick, which speaks quite a lot when you take into account that I am a fan of horror.
6/10 - DirectorAng LeeStarsJake GyllenhaalHeath LedgerMichelle WilliamsEnnis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends."I wish I knew how to quit you"
For more than a decade, I refused to watch a movie about gays. Man, was I wrong! Although technically the movie is about gays, essentially this is a film about forbidden love, with which many of us can identify, regardless of sexual orientation and the specific circumstances of our own experiences. A well-told story, so emotionally charged that it will make even homophobe cry. The fantastic performances of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal are incredibly convincing and deserve Oscars, not just nominations. And let's not get any further on, the film is simply perfect. Pure ten.
10/10 - DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsDavid Alan BascheOlivia ThirlbyLiza Colón-ZayasA real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot."I'm just calling to tell you that I love you, and goodbye"
When we talk about September 11, we usually refer to the World Trade Center and discuss the conspiracy theories and who is, in fact, responsible for this tragedy. Until this film, I never heard anyone mention passengers of abducted planes, and no matter what really happened, these people do not deserve to be forgotten. This film took care of it. The story is told from the perspective of the passengers of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, passengers who realized what was happening and took matters into their own hands, sacrificing their lives for a greater good. True, their fates were already sealed, since the abduction was a suicide mission, but it does not diminish the courage of people who have decided to leave this world as heroes, not as victims. With all due respect to them, I did not particularly like the film.
7/10 - DirectorRon HowardStarsTom HanksAudrey TautouJean RenoA murder inside the Louvre, and clues in Da Vinci paintings, lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years, which could shake the foundations of Christianity.The mind sees what it chooses to see
This is far from the masterpiece of cinema, but I really do not understand such low ratings on movie sites. The film is an adaptation of the famous bestseller by Dan Brown, which is not high-quality literature but it certainly is highly entertaining. It is directed by Ron Howard, starring legends such as Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina... So, the story, directing and acting are guaranteed good. Personally, I've always enjoyed the conspiracy theories, and when one thus interesting is transferred to the big screen by such a great team, I really do not understand all this hate. From the standpoint of the pure entertainment and quality of the entertainers
9/10 - DirectorJohn Cameron MitchellStarsSook-Yin LeePeter SticklesPJ DeBoyA group of New Yorkers caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.You know that feeling...
That feeling when you are watching a movie and thinking: "Why the hell I waste my time on this nonsense, I should really turn this crap off and... OK, now I'm giving it up..." and then you find yourself staring at the ending credits and wondering what was that thing you just wasted two hours of your life on, but somehow you're glad you did and you're even a little bit sorry it's over...
7/10 - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJeff BridgesJennifer TillyJodelle FerlandBecause of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination."A poetic horror film" - David Cronenberg
Very morbid and disturbing, but at the same time very poetic. It is a kind of movie where you expect Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Tim Barton to show up around the corner, but not enough fairytale-like or too realistic for them. Surely it is not horror, it's beautiful child drama. The whole movie is made from the point of view of eleven years old girl, so she carries the whole movie on her own from the beginning till the end. And to successfully pull off that at such a young age is quite amazing.
Maybe I am too biased towards this kind of movie, but in my opinion, kid deserved at least a nomination for Oscar.
Overall impression: 8/10
Jodelle Ferland: 10/10 - DirectorSrdjan SpasojevicStarsSrdjan 'Zika' TodorovicSergej TrifunovicJelena GavrilovicAn aging porn star agrees to participate in an "art film" in order to make a clean break from the business, only to discover that he has been drafted into making a pedophilia and necrophilia themed snuff film.Good movie, terrible name
At first, I was rejected and disgusted, but then I decided to give it another chance without prejudice.
Technically speaking, the movie is very well done, far better than almost every other Serbian movie I ever saw, and as I am Serb I saw quite a few. Story... OK, it's morbid, sick, disturbed, even insane, but the warning is clearly stated: drama/horror/mystery, so those who do not like horrors are warned and should skip it. Nobody forces them to watch. However disturbing it may be, in its own genre it is not so shocking, no more than "Hostel" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" for example. It has an easy introduction, a good plot, few nice twists, and an ending typical for its genre. The quality screenplay, pretty good acting and, for Serbia, fantastic production. Within the genre, it's surely the very best Serbian movie.
The main issue with this movie, the thing that makes it controversial and repulsive for a domestic audience and even lovers of the genre, is its name. "Hostel" was not named "Czech Movie", it was named "Hostel". This country, if we had a real one thou, should have censored this title and force authors to change its name before releasing the movie. They had no right to represent our country this way. There's enough prejudice against Serbia and other Balkan countries already, we do not need more negative representations. After all, it is just a movie and it should be observed like fiction that it is, but under a different name, more fitting to the horror genre, it would be much better accepted.
For the movie: 7/10
For the title: 0/10, and the one who came up with it should be sued or simply kicked in the butt. - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsLubna AzabalMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinMaxim GaudetteTwins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.Overall impression + spoilers + my ideas to improve the story
Warning: Spoilers
Great idea but a weak realization. The story has strength and depth and, if it was made by the book, the book probably kicks ass, but the movie left me indifferent. I cannot say what is the issue, if it is acting or directing or music or what... but until just a few minutes before the end I had absolutely no emotions towards what I was watching and I was bored. For the idea and the very end of the movie... 9/10, but the overall impression is about 5/10.
!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!
Christian girl gets involved with a Muslim refugee and gets pregnant. Christian police kill the Muslim and her child is taken away at birth and sent to an orphanage. Many years later she gets revenge for the tragedy of her youth by killing the leader of Christian police. She ends up in prison where she is raped by the cruelest guard. She gets pregnant again and gives birth to twins. After she is released from prison, she takes her children to Canada.
After she died her testament sends her children in a quest to find their father and brother and deliver letters from her. The daughter goes to search for the father and the son searches for the brother and they both find the same person.
The orphanage was destroyed in the war and the child was adopted by attackers and trained to be a killing machine. He ends up as a prison guard where he rapes a female prisoner, not knowing it was his mother.
Twins first get to know that their father is not killed in the war, as they were told. They find out that they are a result of their mother being raped in prison while she was serving sentence for murder. Then as icing on the cake, they find out that she was raped by the long lost son. So, in adult age, you find out that your whole life was a lie. Your mother is a murderer, you are a rape child, the rapist is your older brother, and you are just a side effect of sadistic, incestuous rape, and now you are expected to continue with your life as a mentally stable person... yea, right, like it is possible...
So, I would like to improve this already sick movie by adding some epilogue to it:
a) Father/brother receives both letters and, when his brain finally realizes shocking truth, he drops letters on the floor and jumps through the window (shoot himself in the head), while twins end up in a closed section of a sanitarium.
or, for those who root for a happy ending...
b) Twins cry in embranchment, which ends up "horizontally", and father/brother accepts his newfound family and joyfully awaits the birth of his grandchild/nephew and they lived happily ever after.
P.S. Yup, I know, I'm sick.
7/10 - DirectorTom SixStarsLaurence R. HarveyAshlynn YennieMaddi BlackInspired by the fictional Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin dreams of creating a 12-person centipede and sets out to realize his sick fantasy.The fan of the first film decides to surpass a crazy doctor and connect twelve people. This film is slightly less crap than the original.
4/10 - DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsAntonio BanderasElena AnayaJan CornetA brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.His best...
This movie is unbelievably sick. But it pulls you into the story so deep that all that sickness, instead of being shocking, seems like the natural flow of things. This might easily be the best Almodovar so far.
9/10 - DirectorElizabeth BanksSteven BrillSteve CarrStarsEmma StoneStephen MerchantRichard GereA series of interconnected short films follows a washed-up producer as he pitches insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.Embarrassment transfer
I can't believe big names they gathered for this kind of movie. Completely sick, I cannot come to my senses after what I've just watched. On first glance, it looks like some independent low budget production made by some stoned adolescent, and then you see Dennis Quaid, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Gerard Butler, Halle Berry... and dozen more famous stars. This movie is a delicacy for those who love embarrassment transfers and dark and vulgar humor. Must watch.
"The filmmakers wish to extend their personal thanks to... AND ANYONE WHO HAS EVER HAD A DIRTY THOUGHT" :D
8,5/10 - DirectorDavid WnendtStarsCarla JuriChristoph LetkowskiMarlen KruseThe adventures of an eccentric girl who has strange attitudes towards hygiene and sexuality longs for the reunion of her divorced parents.Refreshing
The movie is not as disgusting as announcements and the trailer were indicating, but it definitely isn't for those with a weak stomach. Teenage drama with elements of black humor about a girl who tries to overcome her childhood traumas and find herself through exhibitionistic sexuality and pretty sick experimenting. The movie is a bit shocker, but it is not disgusting only for the sake of shocking. Everything has its place and purpose in telling this story. The movie is refreshing and entertaining, but not too good. I would rate it between 6 and 7, but Carla Juri deserves 10, so let it be
8/10 - DirectorJon S. BairdStarsJames McAvoyJamie BellEddie MarsanA corrupt, junkie cop with bipolar disorder attempts to manipulate his way through a promotion in order to win back his wife and daughter while also fighting his own inner demons.Where's Oscar for McAvoy?
If you like "Trainspotting", you'll love this one. "Filth" is also an adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel and, although the stories do not have much in common, the movies share a specific atmosphere that will pin you to the screen. Its name fits perfectly, because the film is uncompromisingly dirty. James McAvoy plays a corrupt police detective who would stop at nothing to get his promotion. But behind the mask of a self-confident macho chauvinist, there are hidden secrets that the movie gradually unfolds, up to the totally wicked twist at the end. Although McAvoy's character is almost utterly bad guy, his rude and ruthless charm will mesmerize you and make you be on his side all the time, even when his behavior is inexcusably brutal. In addition to his undoubted acting talent, Mcavoy dedicated himself to the credibility of his performance, so he drank lots of whiskey in order to make his role of heavy alcoholic and drug addict more convincing. His transformations throughout the film, and the powerful expressions of psychological states and emotions of his character definitely deserve an Oscar. Although the film is full of insane moments, surreal scenes and filthy humor, "Filth" is primarily a powerful and shocking drama about a man who is falling apart inside, but whose life thought him that he must not show it. The film brings this phenomenon to surreal extremes, but essentially it is something with which many of us can identify, and I think that's precisely what makes McAvoy's character rather antihero than a villain, and what makes us sympathize with him.
8/10
I would just like to mention the remarkable performance of Jim Broadbent, whose surrealistic scenes make this film even more bizarre, and if you pay attention, you may notice tributes to Stanley Kubrick's cult films "A Clockwork Orange" and "Odyssey". - DirectorEvan GoldbergSeth RogenStarsJames FrancoSeth RogenRandall ParkDave Skylark and his producer Aaron Rapaport run the celebrity tabloid show "Skylark Tonight". When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Jong-Un Kim, they are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.I laughed out loud
A satirical comedy about the assassination of North Korea's dictator led to threatened retaliation against the US by North Korea's foreign government, for alleged state-sponsored terrorism against its country's leader. The computer systems of Sony Pictures were hacked and threatened attacks against theaters showing the film caused a wide-release cancellation. Hacking caused the leak of personal employee data and some embarrassing emails by company executives as well as releasing digital copies of yet unreleased films. It forced the company to take its computer network offline and cancel The Interview's release in major US national theater chains in the wake of threats from North Korea and its supporters. Despite the controversy, Sony made the film available on the Internet and it became their most successful online digital movie release. They lost about $100 million on this incident.
The movie is lots of fun and after a long time I was laughing, not smiling, but really laughing while watching comedy.
9/10 - DirectorTom SixStarsDieter LaserLaurence R. HarveyEric RobertsTaking inspiration from The Human Centipede films, the warden of a notorious and troubled prison looks to create a 500-person human centipede as a solution to his problems.
- DirectorDavid WnendtStarsOliver MasucciThomas M. KöpplMarc-Marvin IsraelAdolf Hitler wakes up in the 21st century. He quickly gains media attention, but while Germany finds him hilarious and charming, Hitler makes some serious observations about society.Surprise :D
I expected nothing at all. I didn't even plan to watch it whole. Just wanted to see how it looks like, spend about 10 minutes watching it on fast forward and forget about it. Instead, I was hypnotized for the next two hours. Hitler wakes up in 2014 and tries to keep up with the world. You would expect comedy, right ?! But instead of laughter, I got a movie with a really serious message. From cinematography point of view, this could have been done much better, but it's worth your time and attention anyway.
8/10 - DirectorGaspar NoéStarsAomi MuyockKarl GlusmanKlara KristinMurphy is an American living in Paris who enters a highly sexually and emotionally charged relationship with Electra. Unaware of the effect it will have on their relationship, they invite their pretty neighbor into their bed.Love porn with depth
Gaspar Noe is a legend. He succeeded to make a porn movie and show it at the Cannes festival. Good story, has its depth and touches the essence, great camera, directing, actors and a sickly good soundtrack. But in the end, it's still porn. Love porn. I love it.
8/10 - DirectorFrank HenenlotterStarsCharlee DanielsonAnthony SneedMark WilsonDriven by biological excess, a man and a woman search for sexual fulfillment, unaware of each other's existence. Unfortunately, they eventually meet, and the bonding of these two very unusual human beings ends in a god awful love story.Disappointing end
I thought Henenlotter finally made a really good movie... Good atmosphere, nice pacing, instead of retarded special effects from previous movies he left some things to our imagination... Instead of showing us unconvincing monsters he made better effect by clever camera angles, cuts in all the right places, faces of characters when they see things we cannot see and similar tricks. But no, he could not resist. Near the end, he gave up on good directing and got back to retarded special effects, showing us the monster that is so stupid that spoils it all and lowers this movie on the same level with "Basket Case" franchise. And then he buried the movie with an incredibly lousy ending. If he endured keeping the movie on the same level till the end it would be strong seven, but this way I cannot go over five, and even that is more for the idea than for its realization.
5/10 - DirectorConrad VernonGreg TiernanStarsSeth RogenKristen WiigJonah HillA sausage leads a group of supermarket products on a journey to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they are picked off the shelf.WTF I just watched ?! I heard many things about this movie and everything was true, but even if I did know what to expect I was swept off my feet. Adventure that, in very vulgar and explicit way, makes fun of racial, political, sexist, homophobic and every other stereotype you could possible think of, alluding or directly spoofing celebrities, famous events, movies, music. I think it is impossible to catch all layers and details of this movie in just one watching. Technically it's nothing special, but story is good enough to make everything else negligible. Even the worst scenes are fun, and those best and most shocking I had to rewind and re-watch several times, not being able to believe my own eyes and ears. I couldn't say it's one of the best animated movies of all time, but it definitely is the most original and bravest I've seen so far and I'm absolutely amazed.
9/10 - DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.I want to see as many as possible and that's why I rarely repeat movies, but some movies one simply has to watch over and over again. "Trainspotting" is one of those. With "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998) and "Requiem for a Dream" (2000) it makes a "holy trinity" of drug addiction movies. While I really can not stand the first two, "Trainspotting" is real masterpiece in every way. Story is adapted from cult novel of the same name by Irvin Welsh, about Mark Renton, heroin addict from Edinburgh, and his low-life friends. Although at no time does it condemn drug addiction directly, the film shows the life of addicts in a way that is much more effective than any moralizing. The story is fast paced, full of crazy and surreal situations, unforgettable scenes, black humor, and phenomenal dialogue and monologues. Great acting, original directing and one of the best soundtracks of all time. Movie that instantly became cult classic and even after two decades it does not lose any of its strength.
10/10 - DirectorSpike LeeStarsJosh BrolinElizabeth OlsenSamuel L. JacksonObsessed with vengeance, a man sets out to find out why he was kidnapped and locked into solitary confinement for twenty years without reason.This is not a new adaptation of the same story, this is a bad copy of an existing movie. Most of it is literally copied from "Oldeuboi" (2003), and what was altered was changed to the worse. I suppose there would be no changes at all if there was no American puritanism. Only the sickest things were changed to adjust the movie for the western market, which is best seen in the way they mutilated ending. Spike Lee made a remake so lousy that I don't understand why Samuel L. Jackson had agreed to play in it. The only positive impression on me was left by the sweetness of Elizabeth Olsen, but no matter how much I enjoyed watching her, she failed to make me overlook how much everything else in the film was bad. I have a feeling that today too many movies rely on seduction of the male audience's by beautiful / cute / sexy girls, as well as the female part of it with the handsome actors, and on megalomaniac special effects, while the true values of the seventh art are neglected. This brings fast profits at the cinema box office, but there are fewer and fewer movies that can withstand test of time and not be forgotten as soon as something new comes out. If I had not seen the Korean version, I might have rated this bit higher, but the impression left by the original is too strong to be able to avoid comparing them throughout the whole duration of the remake. And compared to the original, the remake is really poor.
5/10 - DirectorJoe DanteStarsThea GillJon TenneyTerry David MulliganA hotshot White House speech writer deals with the publicity nightmare of his life when recently deceased soldiers return from beyond the grave.Why politics must be involved in everything...
This is not horror. Zombie movie is just a package for the satire of the American system and modern politics in general. As a horror it is a complete failure, and as an anti-war film and political satire it could have been much better. I'm not sure whether the story of soldiers who are rising from the dead to vote against Bush is original or taken from somewhere, but it is too obvious, unfunny and cheap. While I fully support the message sent by this film, I think that it doesn't belong in a horror franchise.
As a horror movie it deserves 3/10 and 7/10 for it's message and the way it's presented, so
5/10 - DirectorDusan MakavejevStarsEva RasSlobodan AligrudicRuzica SokicA young female starts a love relationship with a serious young man. However, while he is away on business, she gets lonely and succumbs to her colleague's desires.Legendary but highly overrated
To me, the story is lousy and boring, and dialogues, monologues and narrators are catastrophic. The only thing worth seeing in this movie is Eva Ras. She was really pretty girl in her youth, and this is the first Yugoslavian film with explicit nakedness. The scene in which the black cat is lying on Isabel's naked body is known not only within domestic but also the world cinematography.
3/10 - DirectorAnne FontaineStarsNaomi WattsRobin WrightXavier SamuelA pair of childhood friends and neighbors fall for each other's sons.Motherfuckers
If I should compare it to another movie... the first choice would be "Brokeback Mountain". Not as much in the story itself, as in the depth of the emotion it conveys. For a decade I was refusing to watch the movie about homosexuals, and when I finally saw it I rated it 10/10. This is the similar case. When people hear what it's about prejudices make them avoid it, but this disgust on such topics is quite hypocritical. None of us is without sin, and this film is superb.
8/10 - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCameron DiazDaniel Day-LewisIn 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.Controversial
Subjective tastes are very diverse and opinions of movie fans most often vary throughout the 1-10 scale, but in most cases majority agrees. However, there are movies that divide the audience into completely opposed groups of those who praise and those who bash the movie, with negligible few of those who rate it somewhere in between. When you scroll through the reviews for "Gangs of New York" you can see either 1/10 bashing or 9-10/10 hymns. And all the arguing between those groups is in vain. They'll never agree. In this particular case, I'm with those who praise it. I am not able to prove the worth of this movie to you with facts. The magnificence of this movie is not in analyzing the objective quality of its components, it's in the overall impression it leaves. And I was very impressed. I won't go into the historical accuracy of this movie for two reasons: I do not know the facts and I absolutely do not care. I will not analyze the story-line or dialogues. The cast consists of a bunch of great and well-known actors that rarely fail, and based solely on their performances, especially Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as the overall visual impression, I rate this movie the strong
8/10 - DirectorSam WrenchStarsJimmy CarrA man, with an incredibly stupid laugh, tells jokes to an audience.You think you know offensive ?!
Two basic characteristics of Jimmy Carr are totally moronic laughter, which is impossible to get used to, and pushing the boundaries of offensive to infinity. This man not only picks topics that most people would not touch with a two-meter stick, but also manages to turn the things that you never thought could be offensive into total shockers. Just when you think that this does not get any worse he proves you wrong. Jimmy Carr always can make it worse. Most of the performance I couldn't manage to laugh because my jaw was hanging open in disbelief. I do not know how this man is not afraid for his very life. His picture should be in the dictionaries next to the word "offensive", because this man manages to push the limits of offensiveness to absolutely any topic that could come to your mind.
9/10 - DirectorAlex GibneyStarsHunter S. ThompsonJohnny DeppJoe CairoA portrait of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.A portrait of Hunter S. Thompson
I do not like documentaries and I do not like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", but this is really worth a look.
7/10 - DirectorPaul LynchStarsD.W. MoffettRae Dawn ChongRichard GroveWhen an alien race makes first contact with the Earth, they request only one thing: Earth's dead. It seems the alien beings exist in a gaseous state that will come to an end if they are not given host bodies to occupy. The bodies of the dead will serve that function. One year later, Dr. Michael Alders is in charge of the program to provide the aliens with bodies. He considers them them to be parasites but carries on as best he can. When his best friends, Karen and James Heatherton die and are included in the program, his discomfort grows. When he learns however that the aliens have transported potentially toxic gases to Earth, he assumes the worse.Unused potential
A gaseous alien race that has remained without a mother planet seeks a refuge on Earth. They do not pose any threat and the only thing they are looking for is to inhabit the bodies of deceased people, because they can survive in a gaseous state only for a short time. A government organization is formed to transfer aliens into corpses and they are slowly integrating into society. But, as expected, not everyone agrees with the new situation and problems are inevitable.
This episode is very good in every aspect, from idea to realization, but 45 minutes is simply not enough for this kind of story to develop properly. It needs at least two hours movie, and has a serious potential for a great series. In this form, it is in range of the average "The X-Files" episode.
7/10 - DirectorTibor TakácsStarsBruce DavisonSonja SmitsWilliam HickeyHarlan Hawkes is selfish, rich and very old. A private team of top doctors care for him 24/7. He'll do anything to cheat death. His doctor is working on a treatment that might make Harlan immortal but Death intervenes to keep the balance.You can cheat death until it decides to cheat back
Over a hundred years old billionaire covers all costs of experimental cardiological research for having doctors keeping him alive in return... forever? Cleverly using wealth and regulations, he manages to put himself in front of all, and even blackmails doctors to neglect other patients if needed. I suppose the episode aimed to condemn the selfishness and cowardice, but it did not cause this effect in me, and I think it has perfectly demonstrated the relativity of ethics and morality. William Hickey is excellent in the role of an old man who refuses to die, the effects are quite satisfactory, and the episode has a great atmosphere. After five episodes, I can say that this is the best series of this type I've seen so far.
7/10 - DirectorSteven ShainbergStarsJames SpaderMaggie GyllenhaalJeremy DaviesA young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.Must watch!
I do not like SM, Maggie Gyllenhaal I never liked and comparing this to "50 Shades of Grey" was a complete deal breaker. But finally, I decided to see it because of James Spider. I like him a lot. And now I'm sorry that I did not see this movie back in 2002. because then I could use the past 15 years to see it a dozen more times. This movie is unbelievable. It is based on SM relationship, but it is more about love and determination to fight for what you really want. Spider is good as always, but Maggie was a real surprise. I never saw her this way before. Beautiful, sweet and good actress. I underestimated her unfairly. And the music was done by Angelo Badalamenti, author of legendary "Twin Peaks" soundtrack. Movie hypnotized me completely and two hours was not long enough. I was horny, crying and laughing all at the same time. I cannot recall any other movie ever had such effect on me. It blew my mind. This is one of easiest tens I ever gave and I'm a miser when it comes to rating movies.
10/10 - DirectorLars von TrierStarsCharlotte GainsbourgStellan SkarsgårdStacy MartinA self-diagnosed nymphomaniac recounts her erotic experiences to the man who saved her after a beating.Nymphomaniac (2013)
[Director's Cut]
"When we are, death has not come. When death has come, we are not."
"Nymphomaniac" is the final part of Lars von Trier's "Trilogy of Depression", after the "Antichrist" (2009), which was to me inexplicably dull and unjustified morbid, and "Melancholy" (2011), which I have not yet come to see. Originally, "Nymphomaniac" was conceived as a single film but, due to its inhumane length, in the theatrical release, it was divided into two two-hour films. I am watching the director's cut, which lasts five and a half hours.
The first film begins with a scene in which an older man encounters a beaten woman lying on the street. After she refuses an ambulance and the police, he takes her to his apartment and places her in bed. Then he sits down next to her and she tells him her whole life, the life of a nymphomaniac. Occasionally he interrupts her with interesting comments on various topics, such as philosophy, nature, music, literature, mathematics and even fishing, but all these digressions are directly or metaphorically related to the main subject of the film and represent life philosophies that will lead you to thinking and self-analysis, especially if in some of them you recognize yourself.
The film is full of explicit pornography, but this time it is not there just to shock and cause controversy, but it greatly enhances the artistic power of film and contributes to the credibility and the dramatic nature of the story. The sex scenes are not simulated, they are genuine pornography, but they were shot by porn actors and subsequently edited together with the bodies of the main actors. The film is fantastically shot and directed, and drama and pornographic scenes alternate in perfect harmony. The atmosphere is hypnotically dark and depressing, additionally empowered with an interesting selection of music, which ranges from industrial metal band Rammstein, through rock classics, to Bach's organ compositions. Although the movie is very slow and long, my attention has not been weakened for a moment.
In all three films of the "Trilogy of Depression", Charlotte Gainsbourg plays the main role, but as the first part of the "Nymphomaniac" takes us through her childhood and girlhood, in the main role we see Stacy Martin, who, although not particularly beautiful, is extremely cute and sexual, and in every way a sight for sore eyes in comparison with Charlotte. Charlotte's rescuer is played by Stellan Skarsgård, who appears in a total of seven von Trier's films. There is also Christian Slater in the role of Nymphomaniac's father, as well as Uma Thurman, who gave perhaps the best performance in her career. Stacy, Charlotte, and Stellan topped their roles, but in her relatively short scene, Uma Thurman completely overshadowed them. Her scene is totally over the top, but still somehow realistic and believable. This somewhat relates to the film in its entirety, but Uma's scene is one of the most powerful I've ever seen. Ruthlessly awkward, strongly emotional and definitely unforgettable. Uma deserved an Oscar big as the Statue of Liberty.
There's still three hours of the second movie left for me to make a final judgment, but for now, this is a pure ten.
Seligman: "Well, I divide humanity into two groups: the people who cut the nails on the left hand first, and the people who cut the nails of the right hand first. My theory is that the people who cut the nails of the left hand first they're more light-hearted. They have a tendency to enjoy life more, because they go straight for the easiest task, and save the difficulties for later. So, what do you do?"
Joe: "Always the left hand first. I don't think there's a choice. Go for the pleasure first, always. And then when you've done the left hand, only the right hand remains. That's the easiest one left."
Seligman: "I never thought of it like that. Well, you're never too old. Never too old to learn."
10/10 - DirectorLars von TrierStarsCharlotte GainsbourgStellan SkarsgårdWillem DafoeThe continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adulthood, obsessions and what led to her being in Seligman's care."The human qualities can be expressed in one word: hypocrisy."
In the second film, Charlotte Gainsbourg takes on the lead role from Stacy Martin. These two actresses, both in appearance and in spirit, are so different that it was impossible for me to see them as the same person, which completely breaks down the continuity of the story. I literally had the impression that I was watching another film, about another woman, on a similar topic. And in addition, the protagonist of the first film, despite everything, was quite likable, while I felt repulsive and disgusted towards a disturbed masochist from the second part. Trier returns to his recognizable style of shooting scenes with the sole purpose of upsetting your stomach. No one will convince me that an explicit and extremely detailed view of a woman who performs an abortion on herself in any way contributes to a better understanding of the story or a stronger dramatic effect. It's simply there to shock you, upset you and maybe even make some of you give up on further watching. Controversy for controversy sake, which, in my opinion, is a feature of the egomaniac who must at all costs be at the center of attention. The story becomes more morbid, crueler and much darker, and technically too stretched, less convincing and more boring. Seligman's digressions got weaker and the overall impression was that actors too share my experience of the film and that they are already bored, and now they are only getting to the end.
Although it is single five-hour film, subjectively I experienced it as two films, of which the first is a masterpiece of drama, while the second is a weaker sequel that vainly tries to mimic the greatness of the first one. And yet, when my impressions settled, all the flaws of the film can not diminish their strength. If I ignore the parts inserted just for the sake of shock and controversy, what remains is one of the most powerful dramas I've ever seen in my life, and to which I simply can not give anything less than the highest rating.
Seligman: "You shouldn't use that word. It's not what you call politically correct."
Joe: "Well, excuse me, but in my circles, it's always been a mark of honor to call a spade a spade. Each time a word becomes prohibited, you remove a stone from the democratic foundation. Society demonstrates its impotence in the face of a concrete problem by removing words from the language. The book burners have nothing on modern society."
Seligman: "I think society would claim that political correctness is a very precise expression of democratic concern for minorities."
Joe: "And I say that society is as cowardly as the people in it, who, in my opinion, are also too stupid for democracy."
Seligman: "I understand your point, but I totally disagree. I have no doubt in the human qualities."
Joe: "The human qualities can be expressed in one word: hypocrisy. We elevate those who say right but mean wrong and mock those who say wrong but mean right."
10/10 - DirectorAdam NimoyStarsCynthia PrestonBarbara TysonNathaniel DeVeauxLegendary lawyer Thurman Cutler is hired to defend Adam, a humanoid robot with many human qualities including speech, rational mind and empathy, who's been accused of murdering his creator. Cutler suspects there's more to the story.What makes us human?
Self-conscious android kills its creator, but does not remember it. The prosecution is trying to force its destruction, while the daughter of the murdered scientist sees it as a brother and hires a top lawyer to save it. This SF courtroom drama deals with the question of whether artificial intelligence can be considered a personality and have equal rights to people of flesh and blood. The story is very well told, the acting is on an enviable level in relation to most of the series of this type, and the episode finale, although already seen cliché, is quite effective. One of the best episodes of the first season.
8/10 - DirectorOliver StoneStarsWoody HarrelsonJuliette LewisTom SizemoreTwo victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media."I'm surprised Hollywood ain't caught up with you yet, your story'd make a much better movie than that Serpico shit."
Mickey and Mallory are two young traumatized people who embark on a road trip, killing everyone who gets in their way. The media soon turn this sick romance into the main sensation, and the pair of brutal psychopaths into cult anti-heroes.
This controversial achievement of Oliver Stone was blamed for inspiring real-life murders and I do not doubt that there is some truth in it, but it's so damn fun to watch. 35mm, Super-8, animation, back projection, fast color-switching, black & white, skewed camera angles, quick-cut editing, loud rock soundtrack, and various special effects make it a superb adrenaline roller-coaster. Why should you see it? Because this film is already a matter of general culture. Why should you love it? Because the original script was written by Tarantino, because Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, and Robert Downey Jr. nailed the lead roles, because you will listen to the music of Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, NIN, RATM, Manson, because it is extremely entertaining and simply awesome in every way possible.
10/10 - DirectorTun-Fei MouStarsGang WangDai Yao WuRunshen WangJapanese troops round up Chinese and Russian prisoners of war and take them to unit 731, where they're horribly tortured and experimented on to test new biological weapons."Fleas and germs can defeat bombers and guns"
At the end of WWII, the Japanese used Chinese prisoners as guinea pigs for testing new biological weapons. This horror drama is based on true events, which should make it even more horrifying, but I was so bored that I barely made it to the end.
2/10 - DirectorJörg ButtgereitStarsBernd Daktari LorenzBeatrice ManowskiHarald LundtA street sweeper who cleans up after grisly accidents brings home a full corpse for him and his wife to enjoy sexually, but is dismayed to see that his wife prefers the corpse over him.A film about love for man and what remains of him
"Nekromantik" brings us a story about a man who cleans streets after serious accidents and who brings a corpse home to join him and his wife in bed. It is full of explicit sex scenes with a corpse in decay that serve no purpose other than to overturn your stomach. This complete nonsense is not even slightly horror. It is simply disgusting to exhaustion and back, while in no way justifies its repugnance. This is low-budget trash, in every respect unwatchable.
1/10 - DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
In my opinion, this movie is way overrated, as well as most of the Monty Python's "masterpieces". I rated it seven out of ten, meaning it is slightly above average. But the song from the film is the truest song ever recorded. It may sound like a cliché, but I want this song at my funeral, because it has the incredible ability to brighten even the darkest moments. I consider this song the most valuable legacy of Monty Python.
The movie: 7/10
The song: 10/10 - DirectorMichael FindlayHoracio FredrikssonSimon NuchternStarsMargarita AmuchásteguiTina AustinAna CarroA so-called "snuff" film involving the exploits of a cult leader leading a gang of bikers in a series of supposedly real killings on film.Avoid at all cost
If you have absolutely nothing better to do... still do not watch this bullcrap.
2/10 - DirectorCatherine BreillatStarsCharlotte AlexandraHiram KellerRita MaidenReluctantly, a sulky adolescent returns to her parents' house for yet another boring summer vacation, dabbling in desire and the art of desirability, eventually mixing reality with vision, caged fantasies with the fierce female sexuality."A surreal voyage into adolescent sexuality"
"A Real Young Girl" is the directing debut of French writer, screenwriter and director Catherine Breillat, known for her controversial erotic films that border with pornography, in which she signs the source novel and the script and directing. The film is extremely slow, but it is necessary for building the desired atmosphere. In the beginning, you will probably be bored, but I think the author does it deliberately, so that we can identify with how the protagonist of the story feels, a teenage girl who returns from the boarding school to a parental home for a summer break. Charlotte Alexandra plays a girl in the age when hormones drive her nuts and she has no idea what to do with herself. We've all been through this stage of growing up, but this movie stretches it to extremes. Teenagers often have strange fantasies, and a healthy dose of perversion is nothing new, but this movie is sick dirty. I have the impression that many scenes have been inserted only to disgust and shock the audience without, in any way, contributing to the story or the artistic value of the film. Or the author simply used this to work out her own morbid perversions that she could not achieve in reality. On the one hand, I was impressed by the performance and appearance of the young Charlotte, as well as the excellent characterization of her character, while on the other hand, the story is quite boring and at times repulsive. A movie like this could have been made only in the seventies.
6/10 - DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.Ineffable nonsense
The film, which many mistakenly consider Tobe Hooper's directorial debut (Eggshels, 1969), is significant because it launched an avalanche of similar films and practically started the slasher-horror genre. But apart from this, I really do not see that the film has any qualities, and besides that, it is quite stupid.
3/10 - DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsTimothy BottomsJeff BridgesCybill ShepherdIn 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.Cybill Shepherd (naked) debut
At the beginning of the fifties, a group of teenagers, in a small dreary dying town in Texas, graduates from high school and is forced to face a gloomy reality. The film does not have any particular plot, but rather tries to present the grayness of everyday life of people in a hopeless environment. This atmosphere is largely contributed by the black and white technique and the absence of a music background. Music in the film only occurs when the characters listen to it on the radio, jukebox and the like. In the seventies, it caused controversy because of, for its time, explicit nudity and teenage sex as one of the main motives, but the movie is so depressing that even a sex desire is cut off at the root.
The film won two Oscars, out of eight nominations, as well as many other awards, and is considered one of the best American achievements of the seventies, but, although intellectually I realize its greatness, it did not leave a particularly strong impression on me. Although I had already seen it a few years ago, I had the impression that I was watching it for the first time, and I believe that in a few more years I would not remember anything again.
7/10 - DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanJon VoightSylvia MilesA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process."Wouldn't you say that the wonderful love of these two men in Midnight Cowboy, a story about two fags, qualifies as a perverse movie?" - John Wayne
Two years after he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "The Graduate," Dustin Hoffman decided to raise controversy to a higher level and earned another nomination. The homosexual relationship of the main characters is not explicitly portrayed anywhere, but only strongly implied, although the director originally wanted to include a sex scene. But whether it is seen as a homosexual love or as a "buddy" movie, the story is equally striking and tragic. Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight did great in their roles and the chemistry between them is strong, and John Schlesinger faithfully preserved the taste of 42nd Street in the late sixties. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards (both Hoffman and Voight were nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role) and won them for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. It also earned a handful of other awards and nominations, it is included in the American Film Institute's list of the "Top 100 Greatest American Movies", most lists of the best and most controversial movies of all time, as well as Steven Schneider's "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die." An interesting detail is that Schlesinger once said that he was inspired by the Yugoslavian 1967 film "When I Am Dead and Gone".
8/10 - DirectorVilgot SjömanStarsLena NymanVilgot SjömanBörje AhlstedtTold in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Blue) (1968) deals with topics such as class society, non-violent resistance, sex, relationships, and tourism to Francoist Spain.Barely watchable
This black-and-white film by Swedish director Vilgot Sjöman combines explicit nudity (the first mainstream film to feature a full frontal of a naked man), sex and male-female relationships with controversial political views. For that reason, it was often banned, in the case of Spain until 2005. Although it has a cult status, to me it was extremely boring.
3/10 - DirectorSrdjan DragojevicStarsDragan BjelogrlicNikola KojoDragan MaksimovicDuring the war in Bosnia, two childhood friends eventually become enemies, as the tragic and devastating circumstances of the war put them on the opposite sides and expose the most gruesome and cruel aspects of the human nature."One kiss for a dead man?"
Festivals in Venice, Cannes, and Berlin have dismissed this film as Serbian propaganda, thus causing it a great injustice. Yes, it can be viewed from this angle, but more or less everything can be pulled out of context and misused. "Pretty Village" sends the same message as "The Knife" and shows all the meaninglessness of the war in Bosnia, only as a medium, instead of depressing drama, it uses black-humored comedy. But this humor is not cheerful humor, but rather underlines the horrors of war, perhaps even more striking than drama. To me, this is by far the most powerful war film I have ever watched and the best domestic film since the breakup of Yugoslavia.
10/10 - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.Why does the detective every time leave the car through the passenger door?
When I first saw this movie, I didn't like it. I was bored, and I think I rated it six out of ten. But I was younger, with less film experience and much less patience. Therefore I decided to give it another chance.
Nominated for four Oscars, Alfred Hitchcock's horror thriller "Psycho" is considered one of the best films of all time and one of the most influential films in the genre. The oldest R-rated movie can also be found on the lists of the most controversial films because, in its time, it was something new and shocking. Frankly, I was a little bored. Although technically well-made, with great camera, music, and performances by Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, the story and overall atmosphere made no special impression on me. The introductory part, until Marion arrives at the motel, was needlessly dragged on for half an hour and, after hundreds of watched thrillers and horrors, neither did the rest of it particularly hold my attention. With all due respect for the status of this film, its impact on the history of cinema, the cult scene in the shower and one of the most legendary twists of all time, my subjective impression does not allow me to rate it higher than
7,5/10 - DirectorOtto PremingerStarsWilliam HoldenDavid NivenMaggie McNamaraTwo aging playboys are both after the same attractive young woman, but she fends them off by claiming that she plans to remain a virgin until her wedding night. Both men determine to find a way around her objections."The three things I live for are steak, liquor, and sex."
Adaptation of the eponymous Broadway show from 1951, which came to close to a thousand performances, is the film debut and the only Oscar nomination for Maggie McNamara. This is the first Hollywood mainstream movie to use the words "virgin," "seduce," and "mistress," which has led to censorship battles, and it was even banned in some places, but it ended up with three Academy Award nominations. This romantic comedy was scandalous at the time. It is interesting to see what was considered unacceptable and vulgar behavior in the middle of the last century. I'd love to see the faces of the cans of that time when flipping through today's tabloids.
7/10 - DirectorHoward HughesHoward HawksStarsJack BuetelThomas MitchellJane RussellWestern legends Pat Garrett, Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid are played against each other over the law and the attentions of vivacious country vixen Rio McDonald."A Sale of Two Titties"
Howard Hughes' controversial Western is the film debut of Jane Russell, the girl who got the role after Howard's thorough pursuit of an actress as busty as possible. As much as it is Western, it is also a "sexploitation movie", even advertised with the slogan: "What are the two great reasons for Jane Russell's rise to stardom?" In addition to taking every opportunity to highlight Jane Russell's lush breasts, the film also contains a scene between her and Billy the Kid bordering on rape. The consequences of this approach were censorship and court proceedings, but also a large audience response. I too was attracted by advertising and I watched it solely because of the controversy it caused, but I have to say that I was not disappointed with the movie itself. The story is interesting and departs from the standard Western pattern, showing us the fictitious relationships of Pat Garrett, Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid in a way you will not encounter elsewhere and with a quite good characterization. It is far from a masterpiece of cinema, but I really did not have any major objections and I warmly recommend it.
7/10