I just finished the last episode of Cowboy Bebop. And once again a great thing was ruined by a super sad ending for me. AAAaahh! 

they seem to be a fan of doing that 

It's a sad ending, but it's not a bad one (which is most often the case). 

Agreed, it is beautifully melancholic. I just prefer happily-ever-after. Well, gonna watch the movie soon. 

I seem to have forgotten the ending... 

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (2007) - Palme D'or winner of 2007 and its not hard to see why. The premise is something like this : 1987. Romania is still under communist rule. Amongst other things, abortion is illegal. Otilia agrees to help her college roomate Gabita get one from a Mr Bebe.

That description might put a lot of people off straightaway but they would miss out on a stunner of a film. It doesnt touch on anything concerning the pros and cons of abortion, it doesnt directly touch on anything about the communist regime (although there is a fascinating amount of indirect detail), it focuses simply on a friendship and the strain its put through as events conspire out of control. Its an undoubtedly brutal experience to sit through, simply because of Cristian Mungiu's ability to sucker punch his audience through confident storytelling that heads off into unexpected plot turns which just seem to appear out of nowhere.

My only small complaint is that the film doesnt end as well as it should, although I'm hard pressed to think of a better ending personally. Maybe there was just nowhere left to go after what had come before.

8/10


The Petrified Forest (1936) - solid gangster film that is surprisingly filled with more ideas than is usual for the genre. But they're interesting and well articulated ideas, perhaps too well articulated as it descends into too much talk a bit too often but the characters are extremely well defined and the performances from Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart are suitably strong.

7/10 

Tropic Thunder (2008)
Trash. I expected a nice popcorn hollywood comedy but it was much much worse (a kid leading the drug syndicate and stuff. And Jack Black of course.). 

Frankenstein (1931) - its a bit hokey thanks to some of the performances but there is unquestionable talent behind the camera with James Whale creating a very distinct atmosphere that suits the material quite well. Its also fairly short, which means that the hokiness only registers after you have finished watching it.

6.5/10


Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - the sequel seems to be as well regarded as the first film but I thought its tone was wildly uneven, switching abruptly back and forth between black comedy and 'serious' drama. Again, Jamesd Whale keeps it afloat really, with some nicely executed sequences that show good innovation.

5.5/10


Classe Tous Risques (1960) - seems to have been made simply to demonstrate that Jean Pierre Melville wasnt singlehandedly responsible for the french neo noir genre. But it's no mere Melville imitation, Claude Sautet's film being every bit as good as anything that Melville made in the genre, particularly in its dynamic and thrilling first half.

The character work is brilliant, and while the plot peters out a bit in the second half, by then you have experienced a little gem of a crime film.

7.5/10


Destry Rides Again (1930) - tongue in cheek western/comedy with James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich that is harmless fun without ever really being great in either genre.

6.5/10


Dragonwyck (1946) - gothic thriller from Joseph Mankiewicz in the mould of Hitchcock's Rebecca that is a bit of a misfire despite some stunning cinematography and an impressive performance from Vincent Price. Some of the plotting is extremely awkwardly handled and the movie's focus seems to be all wrong as well.

4.5/10


Grand Illusion (1937) - bit of a dated look at WW1, which according to the movie was the 'gentleman's' war. But Jean Renoir's misguided approach to the material results in a decidedly humanistic touch being lent to the proceedings, something that is sorely lacking from quite a lot of war films. That combined with his technical mastery (some of the tracking shots are unbelievable) make this quite a formidable film.

7-7.5/10


Leatherheads (2008) - the first misfire from George Clooney as director but the intent, to recreate the old Hollywood screwball comedy, was admirable.

Unfortunately the script lacked zing and Renee Zellewegger was cast opposite Clooney. I find her to be a terrible actress and she was completely miscast here resulting in not only a limp performance form her but also a complete lack of chemistry between her and Clooney.

4.5/10 

A lot of those horror movies from the 30's played late at night on the local television affiliates when I was a kid. Amazing how many of them are still watchable today. 

was discovered by Hollywood while he was still writing? One thing for certain, if they were made in the 30's the quality would have been higher than the few movies made of his work in the past few decades. 

nah, just happened to be on top of the unwatched movie pile :)

I went through about 15 movies in the last week or so, those were just the first half. 

anyone seen that new danish film Let the Right One In ? That's meant to be a cracker. 

I just watched Wayne's World and that was great fun. 

nitin u should do a favourite movies list. i got one. 

it'd be too long :)

But if you have time to waste, you can sift through here for the 4.5-5 starrers IMHO.

http://nitin.dvdaf.com 

ok i've gone through it all and got a few dozen to get. you certainly like your film noir, don't you nitin? 

 

I work in cd/dvd retail shop atm, but i almost don't know films. Can you point me at any good films i should watch? Both old and new ones 

if you could name me 10-15 of your favorite movies or just movies you like, sure. 

Has anyone seen "Inside" or "Martyrs"? 

Well, i like sci-fi, horror, historical and unusual films 

that's a pretty broad range but try these if you havent already seen them :

12 Monkeys
28 Weeks Later
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypto
Being John Malkovich
Blue Velvet
Brazil
Children of Men
Dark City
The Descent
Donnie Darko
Downfall
The Fly
From Hell
High Tension
Lost Highway
Memento
Oldboy
Pan's Labyrinth
The Prestige
The Thing
Wolf Creek

Most of those are fairly recentish (ie last 10 years or so) and I'm assuming you've already seen Alien, Aliens and Blade Runner :) 

How To Lose Friends And Alienate People (2008)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455538/
Pretty bland. Stupid american humor. Simon Pegg suits intelligent nerdy humor much better. Bad character building, very bad. Kirsten Dunst is hot.
Thumbs down. 

Kirsten Dunst is hot.

Snags, hot?

http://www.wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=2115

I suppose in a witch broiling children sort of way. 

I think you've hit the nail on the head there.

Pan's Labyrinth is a superb film. The world needs more films like that.

I still need to see The Prestige. The book is excellent like much of Christopher Priest's work.

Ones I liked that may fit with Pulsar's tastes:

Jacob's Ladder
Delicatessan
I Robot
Minority Report
Spirited Away (okay this may not fit but it is brilliant)
No Country For Old Men

ummm there may be more but I am senile.