Recommend a film

[bearcub]

Had this on other forums I've been on, and think it's a good idea.

Basically, let people know when you see a good film, whether it's at the pictures, on the TV, on DVD, etc, etc. You can give a short description if you want, a full review, or just why you enjoyed it, or even just the name of the film....idea is to give other people ideas for films to watch, keep an eye out for. Especially for films that are not box-office, and might be missed if you don't know about them.

IMDB is a great place to look at for info on films that are recommended that you don't recognise, or want to know more about......

Will start off with a couple I've seen on Film4 recently...

Dead Man's Shoes - revenge film set in England, where a soldier returns to avenge the treatment meted out to his disabled brother. Low budget, but impressive. Basically watched this because it got a good write-up in the TV magazine! And it was right, it was dead good.

Battle Royale - Japanese film that I'd been meaning to watch for a while, but finally got round to it tonight. Schoolkids are sent to an island in a near-future, and told to battle to the death - last survivor is the winner. Think extreme-Big Brother Not usually a huge fan of foreign language films, but when they're good you don't notice, or realise you're watching while reading, the subtitles...which happened pretty quickly with this one.

[Black Mamba]

Kiss Of The Dragon
Liu Jian, a police officer from China, comes to Paris to help the vice squad apprehend a Chinese drug lord and his unknown French connection. The French connection is Richard, the head of the vice squad, who intends to kill the drug lord then frame Jian. Jian ducks a bullet and escapes with a tape of what really happened. By chance, Jian turns to Jessica - a US farm girl who is one of Richard's hookers - for help. She has her own problems, including the fact that Richard has her daughter locked in an orphanage to keep Jessica on the streets and silent about his activities. Can Jian protect Jessica, rescue her daughter, and give Richard the kiss of the dragon?
I enjoyed this movie, partly because it's set in Paris, but it's a good story and it's well done.

Ong Bak
Booting lives in a small and peaceful village. One day a sacred Buddha statuette called Ong Bak is stolen from the village by a immoral businessman who sells it for exorbitant profits. It soon becomes the task of a young man, Boonting (Phanom Yeeram), to track the thief down to Bangkok voluntarily and reclaim the religious treasure. Along the way, Boonting uses his astonishing athleticism and traditional Muay Thai skills to combat his adversaries.

This was an amazing movie as there were o wires used no cgi and no stunt men. The fighters were taking body contact hits!!

[Black Mamba]

Nathalie
Nathalie is the name a Parisian prostitute assumes for a special mission or "private investigation." She is engaged for this unusual, and secretive task by a professional, upper middle class wife who fears her husband is unfaithful to her. Nathalie has to seduce the clueless husband and regularly report all details of her relationship with him, including his most intimate sexual preferences in bed. Nathalie is stunning, charming and cunning. Can Nathalie and her reports to the mistrustful wife be trusted? Is the middle aged husband indeed unfaithful?

This was an interesting twist on the wife/husband hiring a PI to investigate whether their partner is cheating on them or not. It's in French with sub-titles. It stars Gérard Depardieu , Emmanuelle Béart and Fanny Ardant. I won't give anything away but it's worth watching.

[Scoop]

Possibly not in the same league as the previously mentioned films but I went to see "The Last King of Scotland" last weekend and thought it was fab.

[impossiblevoices]

[Ghost Dog - Way of the Samurai] - Modern day Samurai hitman movie, simply unmissable.

[Napoleon Dynamite] - Story about a boy who is out to prove he has nothing to prove. If you have seen it, have you seen the hidden wedding scene right at the end after all credits...?!

[Babel] - A film about what happens when the son of a Moroccan shepherd fires his rifle one day in the hills. Stunning.

[Jamesie]

I'm a big fan of foreign cinema, and for that reason the Filmhouse is my favourite cinema. Here are some of my favourites from the past year or so:

Masjavlar (Sweden) - Mia returns from Stockholm to her parents home in a small town in Dalecarlia (Dalarna) to celebrate her fathers 70th birthday. Her older sisters Eivor and Gunilla welcomes her, but their different lifestyles hinders them from really communicating. The tension builds up and the party that should be a celebration turns out to be a turning point for the family and their friends.

Consequences of Love (Italy/Switzerland) - Titta di Girolamo apparently has a regular and tedious life with nothing strange a part from his own name (as he uses to say). He lives in a Hotel in Lugano (Switzerland) since almost ten years, spending his days waiting for something we don't know. His life is too rigid, too detached following a flat routine. Titta ignore everyone and probably he has no emotions at all. Basically there is no story. But one day he decided, breaking all his personal rules, to exchange some words with Sofia, the hotel's barmaid. Incredibly all the situation change, emotions, love, mafia, death come back violently into Titta's life.

Iluminados por el fuego (Argentina) - The suicide of an old soldier buddy from the Malvinas War brings up some old memories for an Argentinian man.

Brodre (Denmark) - Michael has everything under control: a successful military career, a beautiful wife and two daughters. His younger brother Jannik is a drifter, living on the edge of the law. When Michael is sent to Afghanistan on a UN mission the balance between the two brothers changes forever. Michael is missing in action - presumed dead - and Sarah is comforted by Jannik, who against all odds shows himself capable of taking responsibility for both himself and the family. It soon becomes clear that their feelings have developed beyond mutual sympathy. When Michael comes home, traumatized by being held prisoner in the mountains of Afghanistan, nothing is the same...

And one I want to see this week:

Ghosts (UK) - A young Chinese girl is smuggled into the UK so she can support her son and family in China.

[Porty]

I tried starting a thread like this sometime ago. And I kicked off with the film "millions" which was directed by Dany Boyle and starred James Nesbit. I thought it was alovely film and said so here on POL..

Imagine my surprise when the author of Millions brought out another book and it included two Porty characters "Johnny Porty" and "Mrs Porty". Do the great and good read POL?

[Black Mamba]

Just watched Benny & JoonWhat a lovely heart warming story. I definately recommend it.


Benny & Joon (1993)
In a small town, an auto mechanic named Benny is devoted to taking care of his mentally ill sister, Joon, who can barely function alone in the real world despite being a talented artist. This relatively stable situation is shaken up when Benny is obliged in a poker game to welcome another player's relative, Sam, to his home for a few days. When Sam arrives, he quickly makes an impression with his quietly eccentric ways which emulate the antics of the great silent movie comedian, Buster Keaton. Without Benny's full knowledge, Sam and Joon finds themselves drawn to each other to the fullest degree. However when Benny finds out, it creates a rift in the siblings as they struggle to accept their relationship is profoundly changing with the presence of this odd newcomer.

[babba-licious]

La Haine - This film is about 12 years old i think!! It is French with English subtitles. Set in the French "ghetto" the film deals with France's intolerance towards outsiders. It is shot in black and white. Would recommend to anyone!!!