My feed

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 16th Directed by: Chloé Zhao I feel like it happens to me all the time that I watch a new movie and it just makes me completely lose hope in new movies and give up on them for a while again. This is a very utilitarian movie a visual point of view, very point-the-camera-at-the-thing filmmaking. When they did attempt to do a nice establishing shot or something it still felt entirely uninspired. There's a scene in the movie where Fern watches a video on her phone and it zooms in to take up the entire screen, you can tell this sequence was shot on a phone but it really doesn't look all that different to the rest of the film. Actually it would have been clever if this entire movie was shot on phones, y'know, mobile and all. The only creative aspect I can really praise might not even be creative; a lot of this movie is hearing from random drifters that Fern meets, and they feel like entirely real people. If they are, then that's great, I love that, but I can't really give much credit to the filmmakers for just pointing a camera at an interesting person. As good as those scenes are, they only make up a fraction of the film. There were a few times the writing made me groan, like how about we make the main character, who is a roaming nomad without a home may I remind you, how about we make her family real estate agents? Isn't that so IRONIC? Or how about when the one drifter Dave seems to be settling down with his family, we have Fern point out that he has a flat on his van and he HADN'T EVEN NOTICED? Because he would just completely stop caring or paying attention to his primary vehicle once he stopped drifting. These are sort of nitpicks but it's indicative of the amount of thought that went into this movie I feel. Some of it is really nice, I got a feeling that this movie could help certain people through some hard stuff. The ending is really nice, I kind of felt like the entire movie existed just for that ending, also one of the few things expressed through filmmaking and not just having people talk at the audience. This movie is an okay story executed not particularly creatively. I'm not mad at it, but I don't suppose I really feel anything about it. Downloaded.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles rated Last Letter

 Last Letter 6/10

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 15th Directed by: Eric Rohmer Man I really did not expect the content of these early films from Rohmer, he had an interest in some dark fiction in his youth. This is absolutely fascinating for French cinema fans, there's a shot from this film that I saw a long time ago of Rohmer and Godard, I assumed it was just a photograph but here it is, in this fiction film starring the two as actors. Despite being shot on 16mm, this looks incredible, much better than Bérénice, the difference is wild for only two years. This is a very good story, with very good dialogue, it's exciting visually, especially in it's final moments. Again, surprising if you're a fan of Rohmer's later works, but I'm putting this right up there with some of his best. MUBI.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Albums Listened to in 2014 list

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles posted 35 images [View All]

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 15th Directed by: Shunji Iwai Very pleasant vibe that this story lumbers along through, many scenes feel several minutes too long, the music is sometimes distracting, other times overbearing making every moment feel like it's supposed to be the emotional climax, making the experience feel even longer. I'm making it sound way worse than how I actually feel about it, there are parts in the middle I found myself tuning out for but I really loved our time with Yuri in the first half of the movie or so, I loved seeing Takako Matsu from April Story, and the third act is full-on beautiful. Ends on a high note so it makes me feel like I loved it, and it's not like I was bored or anything, but overall I don't know if this does anything to make it above average. Good movie, no real reason to recommend it though. Downloaded.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles posted a image

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 15th Directed by: Shunji Iwai Immediately I feel like I have to see this one again. I'm not used to something so dense from Iwai and I was also genuinely confused by the two main characters being played by the same actress, kind of wish I knew that going in. I really need a re-watch to dig deeper into the story but I can tell you that this movie has really nice warm undertones at pretty much all times, and one very specific thing I've learned about Iwai is he enjoys his protagonists taking photos of things. I enjoy that too. The movie is a little bit heavy handed but I do think it's earned to an extent. I'm getting big Koreeda After Life vibes off of this and that's huge praise, this needs to sit with me for a while for me to understand if it really is that great. Downloaded.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles rated Bérénice

 Bérénice 4/10

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles rated Fermière à Montfaucon

 Fermière à Montfaucon 6/10

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 3 items to Movies Watched in 2021 list

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Albums Heard in 2021 list

January 14th Year: 2020 Genre: Black Metal Bestial Form of Humanity

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles posted a image

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Albums Heard in 2021 list

January 14th Year: 1988 Genre: Heavy Metal Miracle Man

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 4 items to their collection

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles posted 9 images [View All]

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 14th Directed by: Ringo Lam A really grimy story with a perfectly executed look and feel for said grime. Not what I expected, this is not a martial arts movie at all, but unlike some other "martial arts" movies from the "1990s", when some stunt work does happen, it's just done for real, all in camera, in one shot. It adds to the grittiness but it's also just the quality you expect from this decade and from Ringo Lam. I kind of lost what was going on in the plot at some point but I didn't feel like I needed the details at a certain point. There are some incredible moments of tension and violence in the third act, I actually feel like I need to watch this one again and really soak in what's going on. Downloaded.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 14th Directed by: Daniel Lee Tonally, this movie is right up the alley of Affleck Daredevil and the first X-Men that it's kind of amazing that this came before them, cause I kind of doubt those movies took inspiration from this. You could call it ahead of it's time for that. Now that's like, 10% compliment and 90% indictment, I know Jet Li can do cool martial arts shit, so why do we have to cut around it like he can't? There was ONE sequence in this movie where I was impressed by the fights/stunts, otherwise it was boring and hard to watch. Not just because of every individual strike being it's own shot, but also because it's literally hard to see. Everything is so dark and in a way that it just makes everything ugly. The plot did get kind of fun when Karen Mok gets involved, again very 2000's superhero movie, but the absurdity of the shot when Black Mask is standing there with some takeout and sugary drinks kind of won me over to the whole thing. I was expecting a lot from the poster and general vibe, but it's not terrible at the end of the day. Downloaded.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 13th Directed by: Grigori Chukhrai I love these stories of humanity in wartime. At the beginning I thought this movie was just going to be a straightforward war story with the typical incredible visuals you expect in Russian films, but it becomes so much more. Our lead, seen as a dopey kid at the beginning and a responsible young man at the end is criminally kind, it almost feels like propaganda. Another funny trope you'll see here is the impossibly beautiful young girl who always conveniently has an eye light. I don't think I've ever seen another war movie I could call "cute". Another review on here pointed out that this is a road movie, and that is more of an incentive to watch it than anything I can think to write. Downloaded.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles posted 4 images

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 3 items to their collection

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 3 items to Albums Heard in 2021 list

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 12th Directed by: Delbert Mann Misery loves company. This is a really powerful story, not something I'd expect to see from a major Hollywood movie from the 50's. I kind of didn't think that generation was capable of not believing they were the shit and had the right to take whatever they want. But you see that in the people around the titular character, strangely ahead of it's time, this movie. It's almost like a 2000's indie romance, but without much care put into cinematography... Also 50 years earlier. This whole thing is pinned on Ernest Borgnine, he is a revelation and almost everyone else is absolutely terrible. Especially his romantic foil who may as well be a brick wall (which is kind of the point, but I think the actress could have done more). But he does in fact, carry this movie, this story really couldn't have worked without a powerhouse lead, as incredible as it is. I realize I actually can't say much without telling you the whole point, but watch this for a small cast, low-budget feel, a downtrodden, unexpectedly emotionally transparent lead, a lovely but brutally honest portrayal of Italian American culture in New York in the 50's, and a touching tale about feeling past your prime and being stuck. It really stands alone despite it's flaws. Downloaded.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles posted a image

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 10th Directed by: Sogo Ishii, Yukihiro Sawada I don't know what I was expecting. The protagonist steals a gun, kills his teacher and then holes up in the school, with hostages, as the police try to handle the situation. There's literally nothing more to it, at least from a practicality standpoint, there is more nuance to the story but I don't want to give everything away. But as far as what you're actually watching for 95 minutes, it is exactly as described. I really should appreciate the simplicity of this more, as the only message I can really infer is just "Fuck the Japanese School System", and that's kinda sick. At the least, it's a very angry film and you can feel that, it almost feels like it's trying to incite something you. Youth plus anger can never be a bad combo in cinema, it's just that those bones yield little meat. YouTube.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles posted a image

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles voted for an image

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2021 list

January 10th Directed by: Kô Nakahira A film obsessed with it's protagonist, and why wouldn't it be? Mariko Kaga is the entire show here, one particular scene depicting a conversation, the camera can't be ripped away from staring solely at her. For a Japanese New Wave film there's no great wealth of particularly strange imagery or camera movements, this actually feels more heavily influenced by the French New Wave, it wouldn't be an absurd thing to call this is the Japanese Vivre sa vie. Honestly this movie wasn't doing a ton for me other than having a real pretty girl be charming, which definitely accounts for something, but the story did take a turn late into the movie that had me feeling some stuff and made the whole thing feel a bit more important. I don't think this is essential viewing, not even for Japanese New Wave stuff, but I have been trying to find this movie for over 5 years and I wasn't disappointed now that I've actually seen it. So if that means anything to you. YouTube.

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Re-Watched in 2021 list

January 9th Directed by: David Lynch 3rd Viewing Previous Rating: 4.5 After: 4.5

4 years, 2 months ago

CD Smiles added 2 items to their collection

4 years, 2 months ago