A bunch of movies I watched but did not write about:
Good
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006): A weird but beautiful movie that stands apart in Park Chan-wook's filmography (I've watched so far). The movie happens in an insane asylum and most of the events happen from the point of view of the inmates.
Los cronocrmenes (2007): One of the better time travel movies I have watched recently.
Kairo (2001): Kiyoshi Kurosawa is someone who makes slow burning artsy horror films - you know the ones where the atmosphere has greater relevance over the usual gore, special effects, and jump scares. Though I'd rate
Cure (1997) as a better film, this is not found wanting. Once you get past the fact that you know how the internet works and this film certainly doesn't, this is a creepy ride.
Not so serious, but fun
Trollhunter (2010): A fantastic Norwegian (horror?) comedy of the found footage mockumentary style. It works best if you watch it without any expectations (or very low expectations).
You're Next (2011): It is a regular slasher film with a twist on the usual tropes. Intentionally or not, it is best viewed as a tongue-in-cheek dark humor. You may not quite see what is special. But, what appealed to me is how information plays a part - quite opposite of the way it does in the vastly superior
Jagten (2012), where one lie wrecks a life; in this, missing one fact wrecks lives.
Mixed / Good, but .....
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
Robert Bresson is an economical person. He does not waste any frames, which means that if you are not observant when watching, you'll get confused. For the sake of brevity, he omits character introductions and emotional outbursts. In fact, he usually has 50 takes so that his non-professional actors are drained completely off their will to "act". What that means is
a) Before you process "Oh! He is dead", you are already in the next scene.
b) Before you finish thinking "Hmmm... Who is this guy? Is this the father or a new character?", things are already moving ahead.
c) The characters either seem like stoics who don't bother about what just happened to them or you feel that the actors are delivering their lines in a completely disinterested, abnormal manner (mostly the latter).
I prefer both
Diary of a Country Priest (1951) and
A Man Escaped (1956) to this one.
Coming to this film, we have an "Actor" who is the complete opposite of the dog actor in the (Japanese) Hachi-ko and he is a ... donkey! He too was untrained like the rest of the cast, but boy! does he carry the film on his able shoulders (and he literally carries weight and endures a lot of punishment as well). That last scene was really great - comparable only to the last scene of Hachi-ko (Japanese). As for the rest of the characters, they make some stupid mistakes and pay for it. Not that I didn't care, but the 'blank/neutral' acting comes in the way, especially with respect to Marie.
The Dreamers (2003)
There is no plot. In the late 1960s, french liberal twins allow a young American to stay with them when their parents are gone.. and that's it. I have the same feeling as one of the IMDB reviewers. In some places, this feels like a cinematic poetry (like only Bertolucci can). At other places, it just drags. But, whatever said and done, the one big reason I stayed awake and watched this... Eva Green! :licklips:
Re-watch
My Neighbor Totoro (1988): I watched it for the third time this year. This is definitely my favorite children's film. The usual Disney / Hollywood Kid's film has the tailor-made good vs bad and good triumphs after struggle storyline. There is not a bad bone in this one. There are many lovely, memorable scenes with a sense of innocence and magic (which adults miss). Even though I may rate a few animation films to be better than this, this is the one I will keep revisiting for years to come.
Martyrs (2008): Of all the disturbing or hard to watch movies, this one enjoys a special place in my heart, which is why I went back and watched it again. While this
is a house of pain, a bloody torture of the physical and psychological kind, it also carries some meaning which kind of elevates it above ordinary stuff like 'Frontiers' and even above the depiction of pure depravity and power abuse that is 'Salo'.
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