Seen and not seen's, recommendations and queries on top films in general.

[ConcreteMascara]

I've actually got a VHS copy of Angel Dust on the way right now thanks to eBay [it feels like 1999 all over again]. Very excited to watch. Apparently there was only ever a VHS release in the US and by the New York Times no less.

Watching Cure had me thinking a lot of Splatter: Naked Blood which is pretty different plot was but aspects of the visuals, execution and sound felt weirdly similar. I think it's just something about the extreme disaffection/emotional malaise in '90s Japanese cinema that really ties a lot of it together. a real absence of joie de vivre . I appreciate it

[Atrophist]

Watched Chilean/German experimental, avant-garde horror Luz. Some interesting visuals and setpieces, but that's about it. There is practically no plot, yet the film still manages to be confusing at times. And even at only 70 minutes still feels too long. If you liked Beyond the Black Rainbow this might be worth your while.

[ConcreteMascara]

Angel Dust - 1994 [dir. Sogo Ishii] - damn this VHS arrived quick! apparently it was published by the New Yorker, not the New York Times. Looked pretty good for a 24 year old VHS but I'd love to see this one on Blu-ray. Let me say first that the electronic score for the film is the most 1994 thing possible in the best way. Some of the pieces are the expected dark ambient drones and scrapes, but some of it is dub with a breakbeat and other parts are slow-mo techno. Reminds me of Biosphere's score for Insomnia or the soundtrack for Boogiepop Phantom. I love '90s electronic music :)  The movie itself? Well it starts off pretty spooky and serious, sorta kinda, but by the 2/3rd mark it becomes more of a weird thriller more focused on style than substance. Now the style is very good so it kept me interested mostly, but I will say by the end I felt it was a little long. I can't help but compare it to Cure which I watched only two days prior. Where Cure felt like an extremely cohesive whole where every frame, sound, piece of dialogue served to deliver a very specific idea and feeling, this felt much less refined and way more like a "movie" than an "art film". Obviously I can get down with either but Cure was so good on every level I immediately wanted to re-watch it, where as with Angel Dust I just wanted to look stills from it.  Also, I've never seen the show Hannibal but I feel like Angel Dust could be the link between Hannibal and Twin Peaks via Japan?

edit - thinking a little harder, the difference between Cure and Angel Dust is Cure had a message of weight under its psychological thriller trappings, Angel Dust did not, but it looked cool as hell.

[online prowler]

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure is a contemporary classic in my book. Dense with atmosphere and very etheral. Sharing to a degree the core theme of Cure is the English film The Ghoul (2016). It is directed by Gareth Tunley and produced by Ben Wheatley. Just as Cure a homicide detective is the main characther who is investigating multiple murders. Things start to go slightly akward when he goes undercover. See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKmhU8c6hc0

[aububs]

going to try and track down The Ghoul, never heard of that one

there's another japanese movie i've wanted to see for a long time because it also sounds similar to Cure but i haven't been able to find a watchable copy yet. It's called MARKS from 1995.

i did find it on youtube but the quality isn't great so i haven't bothered with it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZLcBhMPN-8

[ConcreteMascara]

there's another japanese movie i've wanted to see for a long time because it also sounds similar to Cure but i haven't been able to find a watchable copy yet. It's called MARKS from 1995.

i did find it on youtube but the quality isn't great so i haven't bothered with it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZLcBhMPN-8

Wow just looking at the description on Letterboxd it sounds interesting. What is it about Japanese cinema and especially '90s Japanese cinema that produces such interesting results? I guess the collapse the economic bubble and film bubble allowed people to come in and do weird things with low budgets or budgets based on VHS sales, but still, it feels like an endless well of weird shit to watch.

[host body]

high life by claire denis was really good. kind of a mixture between cronenberg and tarkovsky, claustrophobic and non-linear arthouse scifi. robert pattison has quite a solid filmography, looks like he's both a great actor and has great taste when choosing his parts. good time, the previous safdie brothers movie before uncut gems is one of my favourites from this decade.

[absurdexposition]

high life by claire denis was really good. kind of a mixture between cronenberg and tarkovsky, claustrophobic and non-linear arthouse scifi.

"Solaris with a sex room."

robert pattison has quite a solid filmography, looks like he's both a great actor and has great taste when choosing his parts

Check The Rover if you haven't seen it.

[host body]

high life by claire denis was really good. kind of a mixture between cronenberg and tarkovsky, claustrophobic and non-linear arthouse scifi.

"Solaris with a sex room."

robert pattison has quite a solid filmography, looks like he's both a great actor and has great taste when choosing his parts

Check The Rover if you haven't seen it.

hah, I guess solaris with a sex room is accurate. i really liked it though.

i have seen the rover, it was pretty good.

[Eigen Bast]

Finished up Penda's Fen last night. Brilliant, evocative film! Visionary English history told through the cipher of a young nationalist whose identity is slowly crumbling. Avant coming of age folk horror? Sure, why not. Killer soundtrack heavy with droning organ and squealing dissonance.

[Potier]

Recent consumption of movies has been all over the map - two of the ones I checked out recently are:

Demonlover (2002) by Olivier Assayas - my first Assayas for all I can recall - picked this out on a hunch after reading a synopsis and noticing that Chloë Sevigny is in it. Overall nothing too special. Guess it could be called a corporate spy-thriller in a sense. I feel it did fall way short when it came to the blend of manga/torture porn that was the subject matter in a sense. The female characters worked well - both main actresses did a good job in their portrayal. Ultimately maybe a bit too subtle for my taste and a bit too stretched out. It had me thinking it would have been so much better had it been done by Cronenberg... Still worth your time and seems like an overlooked movie in Sevigny's filmography.

Sarah Plays A Werewolf (2017) by Katharina Wyss - also picked out on a hunch. Story of an emotionally challenged and overtly sensitive teenager that lives in a theatre dystopian dream world of sorts. There is also a lot of rather blunt christian faith and martyrdom content. A difficult home life & the resulting social ineptness and isolation add to the problem. This leads to dangerous obsessive behavior and ultimately a violent outburst. I did like this one simply for some of the bizarre characters, the language components of french and swiss-german, the setting and some of the subtle unsettling moments. It's funny how it also made me feel it would've been better had it been done by a different director - this time I figure it would've made for great Haneke-material. Worth seeing if you are more into contemporary arthouse-type newcomer films.

[absurdexposition]

Penda's Fen

Excellent film. One should expect nothing less from Alan Clarke.

Demonlover (2002) by Olivier Assayas

This has been on my list for some time. Seems like it might be a spiritual companion to Abel Ferrara's New Rose Hotel, which is based on a short story by William Gibson. Boarding Gate by Assayas isn't half bad (stars Asia Argento, as does New Rose Hotel) and I really loved the Carlos mini-series (3 feature-length "episodes" about Carlos the Jackal) when I saw it about a decade ago but I need to revisit it. The only other Assayas I've seen is Irma Vep (A Chinese movie actress, in France to star in a remake of "Les Vampires", finds petty intrigues and clashing egos on the set.), but it didn't really click with me.

Watched a bunch recently, as usual. Some notables:

The Untamed (Amat Escalante, 2016) - Mexican sci-fi/horror drama that is low-key on horror and (extremely) low-key on sci-fi but the drama is almost compelling enough.

The Bloodstained Butterfly (Duccio Tessari, 1971)

Castle Freak (Stuart Gordon, 1995) - I was amazed at how this just descends into pure evil. Felt like I was watching some bleak 70s exploitation film when it started getting down to it.

Antiviral (Brandon Cronenberg, 2012) - Nice debut by David Cronenberg's son. It definitely runs in the family. Looking forward to watching Possessor whenever I can find it.

[Potier]

...speaking of Haneke...I finally got around to watching Happy End (2017).

Definitely will not go down in history as one of my favorites from his filmography. While Trintignant is great to watch, I felt that everybody else sort of wasn't up to speed which was a surprise - particularly for Huppert who does tend to look tired these days. The aspect of the refugee crisis is only noticeable on the periphery, the over-the-top tucked away sexual deviance and sociopathic tendencies of Kassovitz' character seem forced somehow. Sociopaths raising sociopaths is the bottom line here, however Harduin and Rogowski are ultimately not strong enough to carry the rest of the picture. The best scene is the brutally honest conversation between the old man and the little girl. Pretty standard fare and predictably depressing. I was not moved in the end.

[Potier]

Penda's Fen

Excellent film. One should expect nothing less from Alan Clarke.

Recent Clarke for me was Scum (1979) - had never seen it before. All around punch to the gut if obviously not as graphic or violent as one might think. It's short and it does not fuck around which is a plus. Winstone is outstanding as the main character. I watched this one alongside another one with Winstone which was Sexy Beast (2000). Even though Kingsley is obviously the dominant force in this totally different animal of a film, Winstone is still great.

Demonlover (2002) by Olivier Assayas

This has been on my list for some time. Seems like it might be a spiritual companion to Abel Ferrara's New Rose Hotel, which is based on a short story by William Gibson.

Still have not gotten around to New Rose Hotel but I will certainly watch it soon.

Antiviral (Brandon Cronenberg, 2012) - Nice debut by David Cronenberg's son. It definitely runs in the family. Looking forward to watching Possessor whenever I can find it.

I remember loving that one even though it is a total knock-off body horror flick. It was just so great to see another Cronenberg after the old Cronenberg changed the subject many moons ago.

[NerveGas]

Penda's Fen

Excellent film. One should expect nothing less from Alan Clarke.

Demonlover (2002) by Olivier Assayas

This has been on my list for some time. Seems like it might be a spiritual companion to Abel Ferrara's New Rose Hotel, which is based on a short story by William Gibson. Boarding Gate by Assayas isn't half bad (stars Asia Argento, as does New Rose Hotel) and I really loved the Carlos mini-series (3 feature-length "episodes" about Carlos the Jackal) when I saw it about a decade ago but I need to revisit it. The only other Assayas I've seen is Irma Vep (A Chinese movie actress, in France to star in a remake of "Les Vampires", finds petty intrigues and clashing egos on the set.), but it didn't really click with me.

Watched a bunch recently, as usual. Some notables:

The Untamed (Amat Escalante, 2016) - Mexican sci-fi/horror drama that is low-key on horror and (extremely) low-key on sci-fi but the drama is almost compelling enough.

The Bloodstained Butterfly (Duccio Tessari, 1971)

Castle Freak (Stuart Gordon, 1995) - I was amazed at how this just descends into pure evil. Felt like I was watching some bleak 70s exploitation film when it started getting down to it.

Antiviral (Brandon Cronenberg, 2012) - Nice debut by David Cronenberg's son. It definitely runs in the family. Looking forward to watching Possessor whenever I can find it.

Yeah Castle Freak really goes beyond what I initially expected when I watched it many years ago. Gets pretty dark/exploitation esque considering it comes off as a pretty tame 90s horror flick at first. Will have to check out Antiviral. Cronenberg is without a doubt one of my favorite directors so would be interesting to see what his son has to offer.

Recently watched Star Time. Disturbed young man's favorite TV show is cancelled so he goes on a murderous rampage while wearing a baby mask. Try's to be somewhat intellectual in its depictions of mental illness, but ends up being incredibly corny. Bought it on Blu Ray blindly when Vinegar Syndrome was having a sale, so I guess I struck out on that one. Did pick up their release of Decoder though and that did not disappoint in the least.

Also recently watched Ulrich Seidl's Import Export but it was late and I passed out. Enjoyed what I remember and will be watching it again. Was a big fan of his movie In The Basement. Graphic  BDSM, a nazi memorabilia collecting marching band. All in his typical style with long takes and such. All around intriguing flick that is effective in its humanization of the subjects.