What I’m Watching #3

Welcome to the second edition of What I’m Watching, a series that twice a month looks at the films I’ve been watching recently, and the films I plan to watch in the future. Today’s post covers all the films I’ve watched since July 1.

Films Watched For the First Time:

56 Up (2012): The brand new installment in Michael Apted’s Up series of films which has been following the lives of fourteen British middle-class individuals since age seven. Now they’re 56 and the series is more engaging than ever. FilmScore: 8/10

Karin’s Face (1984): A short documentary consisting solely of images of Ingmar Bergman’s mother, Karin. Bergman fans will be interested, others probably won’t. 6/10

Glen or Glenda (1953): Notorious for its reputation as one of the worst movies ever made, Glen or Glenda is absolutely terrible for countless reasons. Despite it’s good-intentions premise, it fails across the board, a ludicrous mess of a movie. 3/10

A Lesson in Love (1954): This lesser-known Bergman comedy from the 1950s is actually surprisingly good, if flawed in parts. It trudges into the area of drama at times and this is where it encounters its flaws, but in general is watchable with a great cast. 7/10

From the Life of the Marionettes (1980): A late and underrated film from Ingmar Bergman that is not perfect, but still damn interesting and echoes his greater, earlier works, while not quite succeeding in all the areas that made them great. A powerful drama about alienation, mental confusion and loneliness. 8/10

Torment (1944): Interesting drama scripted by Ingmar Bergman but directed by Alf Sjöberg. Well regarded as a Swedish classic, Sjöberg’s film is a powerful, engaging tale of desire and obsession, with great actors bringing strength and courage to their parts. 8/10

I Was Born, But… (1931): Wonderful early silent comedy from the great master Yasujiro Ozu that is also one of his oldest surviving films. The delightful story of two young boys, brothers who are struggling to fit in in a world of persecution. Light and funny but also painfully honest at times. 9/10

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011): A genuinely unsettling and quite discomforting film that is almost certainly among the best of last year. Lynne Ramsay’s direction is pitch-perfect and deeply disturbing, lending the horrific film an extra touch of power and brilliance. 9/10

Julien Donkey-Boy (1999): This film, an important staple of the Dogme 95 genre, is like a sister film to Harmony Korine’s previous work Gummo, and at times exceeds it with its level of raw power juxtaposed with dark humor. Werner Herzog starring as an abusive, schizophrenic father is a big highlight. 8/10

Peeping Tom (1960): Perhaps I missed something, but I can’t quite see why this film is regarded as highly as it is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good film that I liked, and the actors are stunning (particularly Karlheinz Bohm as the lead character), but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected. 7/10

Sione’s Wedding (2006): Mildly funny Kiwi comedy that features the kind of humor you either enjoy or you don’t. I personally don’t really care for this cult favorite (the subtle comedy of Eagle vs Shark is more my thing), but it does have a few decent laughs. 6/10

Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business (2012): Crappy sequel that will only be enjoyed by fans of the first, and even then some of them will be disappointed. 4/10

A Swedish Love Story (1970): Wonderful, delightful and beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe this Swedish classic from the great director Roy Andersson, made early in his career before his films became more bleak and darker. A tale of puppy love, Andersson’s film captures the exuberance and innocence of childhood in a refreshing manner without the clichés or predictable plotlines. 10/10

Elegy of a Voyage (2001): A 45-minute meditation on memory, history and existentialism from the Russian filmmaking poet Aleksandr Sokurov. Not one of his best films, but still wondrous and thought-provoking. 8/10

Fred: The Movie (2010): This is basically an unbearably exuberant teenager screeching at the top of his lungs for ninety minutes. Take from that what you will. 1/10

Angels and Demons (2009): As if The Da Vinci Code wasn’t enough ludicrously bad filmmaking based on astonishingly awful literature, along comes Angels and Demons to add to the insanity. 3/10

New Years’ Eve (2011): … 1/10

Sex and the City 2 (2010): The single most vile, reprehensible cellular abortion in cinematic history. Some movies are like watching paint dry. This is like watching shit dry. And it’s so fucking long. Certainly the worst film ever made; no film can dare challenge it. NO RATING.

Bad Lieutenant (1992): Harvey Keitel is stunning in this underrated film from Abel Ferrara. One of the best American films of the 90s, this shows Keitel on top form, and his performance is riveting and mindblowing. A great, great film. 9/10

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009): Werner Herzog’s supposed “remake” of Abel Ferrara’s film introduces some new and interesting elements (most notably a direct homage to Herzog’s greatest film Stroszek) and shows Nic Cage going crazy like only Nic Cage can. Surprisingly good. 8/10

The Travelling Players (1975): The third film in my gradual study of Theo Angelopoulos’ career, and easily one of his greatest works. Though quite lengthy and noticeably slow at times, I really wasn’t bothered by its run time and was absorbed from start to finish. The direction of a true auteur in his early stages. 8/10

Hard Candy (2005): Interesting thriller with great performances from Patrick Wilson and a young Ellen Page. A violent – but crucially not bloody – tale of justice and retribution pushed to its extremes. 8/10

Jesus Camp (2006): I don’t like any of these people at all. 6/10

Befrielsesbilleder (1982): Early film from Lars von Trier that’s well shot and mildly interesting but at times almost incomprehensible. 6/10

The Skin I Live In (2011): Pedro Almodovar’s latest film, and one of his best. An interesting mix of horror and drama shot and directed in a way that clearly expresses Almodovar’s luscious, transcendant, unique visual style. 9/10

A Film With Me In It (2008): This interesting and mildly funny comedy survives mainly because of the sharp comic timing of Dylan Moran, who is genuinely hilarious. 6/10

Don’t Look Now (1973): A classic horror film from Nicholas Roeg regarded as one of the greats for good reason. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are both fantastic as a married couple falling apart after the death of their daughter. The setting of Venice provides a creepy backdrop, and the famously steamy sex scene is brilliantly edited and very effective. 8/10

Doodlebug (1997): Early film from Christopher Nolan. Only three minutes long, but clever and dark. 6/10

Shadows (1959): My second John Cassavetes film, and it has definitely confirmed my admiration for the director. An interesting, plotless dissection of race relations and relationships with a peppy jazz score and good actors, it’s an important film in the history of American independent cinema. 8/10

Wendy and Lucy (2008): Kelly Reichardt, now famous for Meek’s Cutoff, made this film with Michelle Williams back in 2008, and I think I prefer this one. Williams is fantastic in an understated but effective performance as a lonely woman in a strange town. The film is slow, but I like slow-paced movies, provided they still remain interesting and this one does. 8/10

Rocco and His Brothers (1960): Luchino Visconti’s 3-hour masterwork, Rocco and His Brothers is an epic in every sense of the word. Enthralling for every minute and with a devastating conclusion, the film has a great cast, utilises the incredible talent of each actor and provides us with a great story that helps make this film one of the most memorable classics of its era. 10/10

Rewatches Since July 1

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Hunger (2008)

Snatch (2000)

True Lies (1994)

Persona (1966)

The Green Mile (1999)

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Stranger than Paradise (1984)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

You, the Living (2007)

Lake of Fire (2006)

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Film Tally: New Movies: 31 Rewatches: 12 Total: 43

Films Ranked:

10/10

A Swedish Love Story (1970)

Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

9/10

Bad Lieutenant (1992)

I Was Born, But… (1931)

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)

The Skin I Live In (2011)

8/10

The Travelling Players (1975)

Don’t Look Now (1973)

Shadows (1959)

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

From the Life of the Marionettes (1980)

56 Up (2012)

Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)

Torment (1944)

Elegy of a Voyage (2001)

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

Hard Candy (2005)

7/10

A Lesson in Love (1954)

Peeping Tom (1960)

6/10

Karin’s Face (1984)

Jesus Camp (2006)

A Film With Me In It (2008)

Sione’s Wedding (2006)

Doodlebug (1997)

Befrielsesbilleder (1982)

5/10

4/10

Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business (2012)

3/10

Glen or Glenda (1953)

Angels and Demons (2009)

2/10

1/10

New Years’ Eve (2011)

Fred the Movie (2010)

NO RATING

Sex and the City 2 (2010)

Upcoming Films

As I mention in each of these posts, I always keep ten films (no more, no less) on my Letterboxd watchlist. These are ten films that aren’t relatively hard to find that I should be seeing in the next few weeks or so.  Since the start of the month, I’ve watched these films from the watchlist: A Swedish Love Story, Peeping Tom, I Was Born, But…, 56 Up and Rocco and His Brothers. Also on the watchlist is Les Vampires, a six hour film split into ten parts. So far I’ve watched the first two parts. As of today, the ten film watchlist consists of: The Conformist (1970), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Vanya on 42^nd Street (1994), Love is Colder than Death (1967), The Gold Rush (1925), Chelsea Girls (1966), Film Socialisme (2011), Out 1 (1971), The Terrorizers (1987) and Les Vampires (1915). I hope to have watched at least five or six of these before the month ends.

Other films that I have that I plan to watch soon are: David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1978), Kenji Mizugochi’s Ugetsu (1953), Theo Angelopoulos’ The Beekeeper (1986), Lukas Moodyson’s Together (2000), Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession (1981) and Eric Rohmer’s My Night with Maud (1968).

So what about you? Have you seen any of these films? And if so, what do you think of them? What have you been watching? Leave a comment below.