Films Recently Watched

  On 5/17/2019 at 7:18 PM, chronical said:

would u mind sharing your letterboxd account? I only have a bot as friend on there ;__: wanna use it more, seems like a nice community there, outside of the posh scrobblenuts

yeah def! i'm always checking what my mates have been watching on it for new flicks.

https://letterboxd.com/laurensdl/

worth joining The Film Discord too, some really good discussions on there and lots of letterboxd lists.

Hey you guys know any good spy movies? But real stuff movies, not james bond or austin powers please.
These I watched:

- Eye of the needle (1981) - I liked the plot, a bit tame though
- The lives of others (2006) - I liked it, a good film, but too drama-ish, not so spy-ish
- The bridge of spies - had high hopes, immaculate craft, but too much propaganda; it's all propaganda actually
- Three days of the condor (1975) - now we're getting somewhere; unfortunately it turned out rather cheesy (the love plot with Dunaway is a bit naive)
- The Ipcress file (1965) - yeah we're getting nearer, but boy did it take long to get to the point (and kind of under-delivered).
- Tinker tailor soldier spy - whatever bad I said about this film, I take it back. It's a great film, with exactly the atmosphere and theme I'm looking for
- the Bourne *ilogy - I like Bourne very much, but after the third part things weren't fresh anymore, and it's not really a spy genre, this is more government hitman style

So I'm looking for proper spy movies (don't care for the era), not some macho, needless love affairs stuff. I want 60s, 70s, 80s when they still went analog with their jobs, dense intrigue, ingenious procedures, not flashy cars and stupid women who fell in love because the script said so...

There was a movie I watched when I was a kid, but I remember just this one scene: It was happening in Soviet russia, the guy (protagonist I think) had to follow the other guy as he went into some squalid restrooms, but because he wasn't armed, he screwed off the gear-shift lever of his Lada car to protect him. I don't know what happened after that anymore. Any recommendations?

  On 5/18/2019 at 1:10 PM, cichlisuite said:

Hey you guys know any good spy movies? But real stuff movies, not james bond or austin powers please.

 

not sure if it's exactly about spies but Gorky Park maybe.. i've not seen it myself but remember it was one of my mum's fave books (which there is a film of, obvs), on the shelf with all the Le Carres.. also, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.. there are sequels to ipcress file too..

and, well, this won't scratch your itch at all, but it's good - french show The Bureau.. modern day spy/political thingo. it has pesky relationships stuff etc - though it's not macho, much more realistic style - but also heaps of tradecraft, the difficulty of reintegrating into normal life for a returned spy, and those lovely sitting-around-in-offices-and-walking-down-corridors type bits.. one of my fave shows of recent times..

maybe..

A Most Wanted Man  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972571

The Good Shepherd https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343737

The Falcon and the Snowman https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087231

The Lives of Others https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094

  On 5/18/2019 at 1:10 PM, cichlisuite said:

- Three days of the condor (1975)

I love this one, probably more for the first half than the second. 70's US paranoid thrillers are hard to beat. The Conversation, Klute, The Parallax View (and All The President's Men while we're at it), great movies.

If you've never seen Army of Shadows, I can't recommend it strongly enough. I have to go watch it again now just thinking about it. 

  On 5/18/2019 at 3:55 PM, eryngi said:

not sure if it's exactly about spies but Gorky Park maybe.. i've not seen it myself but remember it was one of my mum's fave books (which there is a film of, obvs), on the shelf with all the Le Carres.. also, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.. there are sequels to ipcress file too..

and, well, this won't scratch your itch at all, but it's good - french show The Bureau.. modern day spy/political thingo. it has pesky relationships stuff etc - though it's not macho, much more realistic style - but also heaps of tradecraft, the difficulty of reintegrating into normal life for a returned spy, and those lovely sitting-around-in-offices-and-walking-down-corridors type bits.. one of my fave shows of recent times..

 

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Oh right, I forgot about The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, it was very good, but I didn't know it's a sequel to Ipcress. Gorkiy Park looks interesting, it might even be the "guy-who-screws-off-the-gearshift-lever" film I've been looking for.

Do you mean Le Bureau des Legendes? It appears interesting so I'll check it out. Thanks.

  On 5/18/2019 at 4:14 PM, iococoi said:

maybe..

A Most Wanted Man  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972571

The Good Shepherd https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343737

The Falcon and the Snowman https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087231

 

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Thanks, will check out.

  On 5/18/2019 at 6:10 PM, Crossword Enthusiast said:

The Conversation, Klute, The Parallax View (and All The President's Men while we're at it), great movies.

If you've never seen Army of Shadows, I can't recommend it strongly enough. I have to go watch it again now just thinking about it. 

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Yeah, the Conversation was good, Hackman nailed it. Also the President's men. I might rewatch it since it was years ago. Thanks guys, I have some material for a rainy weekend now:)

Got a trio of £1 shop (think it was ackcshually a 99p store) straight to DVD horror trash to watch on tonight's shift.

Halfway through this first one now and boy does it suck, fortunately entertainingly so. Corey Feldman's in it!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2002789/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt

after this I've got:

and

Update: So far in this first movie there's been zombie tiddies and a part where a policeman comes back to life but with black eyes and then says "possession is nine tenths of the law" before snapping a guy's neck. 10/10

  On 5/18/2019 at 6:48 PM, cichlisuite said:

Oh right, I forgot about The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, it was very good, but I didn't know it's a sequel to Ipcress. Gorkiy Park looks interesting, it might even be the "guy-who-screws-off-the-gearshift-lever" film I've been looking for.

Do you mean Le Bureau des Legendes? It appears interesting so I'll check it out. Thanks.

Thanks, will check out.

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yep, that's the one!

and oh, sorry, didn't mean Gorky Park was the IPCRESS sequel..it's unrelated.. 

the sequels are Funeral in Berlin & Billion Dollar Brain (60s) and then Bullet To Beijing & Midnight in St Petersburg (90s)

Great, now I'm stocked for a while.

Seems like you're much into this stuff. Do you remember seeing a film with a scene where one guy is following the other guy, but it's a dangerous situation and he doesn't have a weapon, so he un-screws the gear-shift lever from his car (it's an east-block generic sedan, like a Lada) and hides it in his trench coat to serve him as a baton? That's all I remember. And it maybe not even be a spy movie. Anyway, there seems to be a lack of cold war spy films from a Soviet perspective, or is it just me? It would be very interesting to see one.

The Aggression Scale was pretty boring BUT had a bunch of unexpected familiar faces, Ray Wise, the arm wrestling guy from TP3 and Jacob Reynolds from Gummo

loved this- although there were a couple of slow parts but the action was top notch

Has anyone seen this?

  On 5/12/2019 at 1:07 AM, darreichungsform said:

Looks very interesting. Might watch tomorrow. Thanks for the recommendation

curious: but did you ever get around to watching this? 

  On 5/13/2019 at 3:40 AM, melancholera said:

They really should have focused more on the time before he was first caught and not so much on the trials. A lot of the trial stuff exists in real life footage anyway, so it seems kind of pointless. I get that they were trying to show the way that Bundy charmed people, both in his personal life and public/legal persona, but it could have worked much better if it wasn't jumping through the timeline so fast. If you don't have a pre-knowledge of the whole thing, it probably plays like a highlight reel with no coherent narrative. Done well, it could have really pulled the rug under the viewer if it played up the terrible contrast between the acts he committed and the wholesome-ish guy he pretended to be. Part of that would include showing some things that a movie with this kind of cast probably never would. 

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i read online that the film was based on his wife's book- which is why you never see any of the murders and it's more about "the way he charmed people". personally i thought it was a terrible choice to make it from that angle as bundy had a lot of interesting things about him that could have made a compelling film

Yes have seen that Muthafuckaz french animation! Not as far out as Plympton but amongst all the cartoon dross, it burns brighter than Gina Lee Nolan's bleached bum hole at her husband's request. 

  On 5/19/2019 at 6:10 AM, Nebraska said:

loved this- although there were a couple of slow parts but the action was top notch

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do you like it better than the first or second movie?

  On 5/18/2019 at 6:10 PM, Crossword Enthusiast said:

If you've never seen Army of Shadows, I can't recommend it strongly enough. I have to go watch it again now just thinking about it.

I'm currently studying Army of Shadows in French (got an exam on it this Friday) and I've watched it about 4 times now. Everything about it is amazing; the atmosphere, tension and acting all make you feel so much empathy for the characters throughout as many are forced to act against their conscience under pressures of life under occupation or threat of Vichy punishment.

  On 5/20/2019 at 10:37 PM, Echolalia said:

Yes have seen that Muthafuckaz french animation! Not as far out as Plympton but amongst all the cartoon dross, it burns brighter than Gina Lee Nolan's bleached bum hole at her husband's request. 

r u into anime? cause, u know, if u watch real anime u'll see how lame MFKZ is... i'm saying this cause MFKZ is a collab between japanese and french studios...

  On 5/20/2019 at 10:40 PM, Brisbot said:

do you like it better than the first or second movie?

They've already set the release date for Chapter 4: May 21, 2021.

  On 5/20/2019 at 10:40 PM, Brisbot said:

do you like it better than the first or second movie?

good question: i think they're all sort of the same (although maybe the first one is the best in terms of storytelling) imo: the action gets better as they go along but the story doesn't really progress for the better.

  On 5/21/2019 at 2:29 PM, Rubin Farr said:

They've already set the release date for Chapter 4: May 21, 2021.

I was asking which of the three you (or anyone) liked the most.

I hope it just doesn't peter out. I know after the second one they said Wick's last movie will be the third, then they'll continue the story with other main characters.

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good question: i think they're all sort of the same (although maybe the first one is the best in terms of storytelling) imo: the action gets better as they go along but the story doesn't really progress for the better

Yeah that's what I'm afraid of since they know they have a cash cow the likes of fast and the furious.

Can't wait for the Tarantino film. Finally a movie that isn't set at least 100 years ago

nice!  Live action or animated?

Big Night

What a gem, never heard about it till it was suggested to me. Well made, not perfect - but just a darn good film!

  On 5/20/2019 at 10:59 PM, milkface said:

I'm currently studying Army of Shadows in French (got an exam on it this Friday) and I've watched it about 4 times now. Everything about it is amazing; the atmosphere, tension and acting all make you feel so much empathy for the characters throughout as many are forced to act against their conscience under pressures of life under occupation or threat of Vichy punishment.

this

Melville doesn't have many films, but Army of Shadows & Le Cercle Rouge are flawless. The latter's prob one of my favourite films. Saw it on late night tv many many moons ago & only caught back up w/it a decade later. Time to dust of the former, haven't seen that in far too long, least that can be done for a French bloke wearing a stetson

  On 5/23/2019 at 12:47 AM, cwmbrancity said:

this

Melville doesn't have many films, but Army of Shadows & Le Cercle Rouge are flawless. 

Melville has a ton of films, and frankly I have at least 3 that I'd rank higher than those 2 (Le Silence du la Mer, Les Enfants Terribles, and Le Samourai, in no particular order). Real tempted to add Leon Morin, Priest to that list, too.

With that said, yeah Army of Shadows and Le Cercle Rouge are both great. I think the latter's far better than the former. Something about Army of Shadows feels a bit too showy and theatrical (exactly Melville's forte) for the subject matter. Lino Ventura is all-time great though.