Crocefisso

I tend to use Rotten Tomatoes for this sort of stuff these days, but just to give a taste of some of the past few months of film viewing: -Ugetsu Monogatari - 9/10. Atmospheric period piece, cinematography excellent and a great adaptation of 18th century morality literature. -The Leopard - 9/10. Although long, this is a stunningly beautiful and compelling portrait of the decline of the aristocracy. Subtle and elegaic. -Lincoln - 8/10. Day Lewis mainly carries this, but nevertheless Spielberg's usual simple morality has managed not to annoy me in this one instance. -The 3 Worlds of Gulliver - 5/10. A very average adaptation of a literary classic, forgettable and decidedly hammy. -Citizen Kane - 9/10. I can see why it's a classic. Amazing character study, beautifully shot and marvellously acted. -Ocean Waves - 6/10. A rather bland and angsty story of unrequited 'teen love'.

Arrietty - not as good as any other Ghibli film I've seen, this is a straightforward adaptation of the borrowers with very Spielberg-esque structure and ending; a 6/10 at best. Three questions to our film-watching regulars here: a) Any of you guys got a Rotten Tomatoes account? (I opened one two days ago and have busily rated 110 films from memory since then) b) If so, add me: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/member/crocesigismondi/ c) Please look at my reviews and if you think it appropriate nominate me as a 'super-reviewer'. Given some of the terrible reviews I've read on the site by alleged 'super-reviewers', I quite fancy the title myself :P

Thanks very much for your continued support and encouragement, agamotto. :)

^ I think the Grand Armée's 1812 invasion is the perfect summary of why not to invade Russia. Sure, the casualties weren't the same, but the role the weather played in the 19th century was far more decisive.

^ The snow here in Britain was good at first, but since Monday or so it's become a drag.

Thanks for the encouragement. People don't often respond to fictionals, so it's especially nice when they do. :)

@ Kaida: I love Abbott and Costello. They deserve a place in history for that 'Who's on first' sequence alone. @Jona: Also largely agree with you, never much liked SotD. As for all the films I've been watching recently, a few of the more memorable: -Red Sorghum - this film had real potential, and I think there was quite a lot to like about it - great cinematography, richly textured portrayals of Chinese peasant life - but the narrative was a bit disjointed and weak. Strong ending was another redeeming factor, and overall a 7/10. -Vertigo - I cannot see how this is as good as some of Hitchcock's other films, such as the perfect Rear Window. The plot was convoluted and James Stewart's character has the emotional depth of a child. It started out intriguing and ended up, one too many twists and turns later, a little tiresome; nevertheless, it was a good quality film throughout. 7/10. -Animal Kingdom - that Australian gangster films even exist was surprising for me. That it is so well acted and the characters so varied, well realised and well portrayed - Uncle Pope is as sinister as Joe Pesci in Goodfellas - was an additional bonus. Certainly the best film produced so far this decade (ie, since 2010). 9/10.

Saw A Hen in the Wind this morning. Incredibly powerful film about post-war life, achieves far more in barely over an hour than most films do in two. A definite 9/10.

For everyone living in Britain: Try as I might, I cannot help but be annoyed at how New Tricks is always on TV. It's so shite I can't believe anyone watches it.

Congrats! :thumbsup: Thanks Kaida. :)

Just saw Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro. As a big fan of samurai films (in particular his), I found the parody of the ineptiutude of the samurai and of the female characters very apt. Probably around 8/10.

Offered a place to study history at Oxford. :razz:

First bike ride of the year this morning ruined by ice. Luckily the bike's fine.

-In the Loop -Meet the Parents -Borat -My Big Fat Greek Wedding (funny at the time) -All good films of Shakespearean comedy, especially the 1980 version of Twelfth Night

Starting with Republic of Wine once I have free time. Given that its author won the Nobel last year, I expect it to deliver the goods.

^ Meaning that you were fine with them for the first 7 years of your life - did something terrible happen? :eek:

Perhaps she needs testing for dyslexia or something? These are quite basic words for a 14 year old.

Saw An Autumn Afternoon yesterday. Yet another quite moving film, if gentler and not as sad as some of the ones I've been watching recently. 9/10.

Apparently not. The reviews of Life of Pi that I read said things like the CGI added "spiritual wonder" (and this particular reviewer panned every other aspect of the film). Everyone seems to be convinced these days that CGI can add depth and increase involvement in a film, and I frankly cannot see it. I perhaps should have been clearer that I wasn't really responding to decebal's comment, given that i've never seen the film he mentions, simply that it sparked a trail of thought for me.

I'm unconvinced that CGI actually adds anything to a film, other than a glossier finish, and have yet to see a film where it has actually contributed to the story. In Life of Pi, for example, most of the allegory was shoved into sequences either side of a fairly standard castaway affair, so the CGI did nothing to add to the trite subtext. Yesterday evening watched Tim Burton's Batman, can't say I was very impressed. 5/10.

I don't think anyone can blame you for that. Did you have Erdinger weissbier?

It's decided then, I'm going to learn to cook.

On the back of Tokyo Story, I watched Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, by the same director and on similar themes. The redemption of Shojiro and the one-sided loveliness of Setsuko (compared with the guild ridden Noriko in Tokyo Story) made the film happier but ultimately less powerful. Where the widow in Brothers and Sisters is taken in by Shojiro, and the film ends with Shojiro comically trying to escape a marriage arrangement by running away onto a beach out of bashfulness, Tokyo Story's ending is very much in the vein of one of the last major interactions, in which one character asks Noriko "Isn't life disappointing?" and she smiles feebly, before answering "I'm afraid it is." The ungrateful children in Brothers and Sisters are scolded at the film's end and walk out in shame, but those in Tokyo Story merely return to Tokyo, having grabbed trinkets from their dead mother, to continue their past behaviours. Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family is nevertheless a very strong film, worthy of about 8/10.

At present I eat fruit for breakfast and have a late, large lunch at a restaurant for just over £10. I then don't eat again until breakfast the next day (the exception is Sundays, where I don't have lunch because I'm cycling and instead have dinner at a restaurant). Would cooking lunch and dinner really be cheaper than this (good UK supermarkets are v. expensive)?

A readable essay about anti-capitalist motifs in Spirited Away, for any fans (ie, everyone who's seen the film): http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc51.2009/SpiritedAway/index.html