* Did you watch a film last night (on Blu or DVD), and what was it? *

[NorthStar]

Elle ("She" - 2016) ... French ... directed by Paul Verhoeven
{I don't need the subtitles for this flick, so there was no distraction...all my concentration was directed on the onscreen moving pictures and dialog.}

It is Verhoeven's first feature film in ten years after his 2006 film Black Book (highly recommended), and his first in French language.
Written by David Birke, based on the novel Oh... by Philippe Djian, and starring Isabelle Huppert.

Plot

Michèle Leblanc seems indestructible. Head of a successful video game company, she brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to business. Being attacked in her home by an unknown assailant changes Michèle's life forever. When she resolutely tracks the man down, they are both drawn into a curious and thrilling game - a game that may, at any moment, spiral out of control.

? Music by Anne Dudley ? very very nice, perfecto with this flick's style...I loved it.

This was delightful. The French culture, Paul Verhoeven's stylish compositions, camera work, progression moving along with mystery...
What a nice change from Hollywood huge financial blockbusters and disasters.
This ain't no video games CGI stuff a la Avengers and Captain America and X-Men. This is cinema filmmaking/writing art, more character fleshing and culture, language communication oriented with touch.

It floats gently and intelligently with a great dose of horrific reality and awesome human humor. ...Life can be real tough and it's all in how you act and interact and react to it.
Isabelle Huppert is superb, and all her family and friends and co-workers and neighbors are all interesting and realistic human characters.
This is Woody Allen's stuff in high heeled/caliber shoes. The locales are impeccable, right where we should be, like chosen by a grand master of simplistic reality.
We are totally drown in the subterfuge of learning the art of mysteries from human's deviations.
It's a must see. It's a great ride of funny characters, and very well constructed.

Overall (everything): 90

Last word: Playing @ some of your local theaters next month, exactly. French people are simply ahead here (last Spring...May, on theaters, and the Blu last week...from France).
Don't miss it.

 

[MadFloyd]

How did you get a hold of the Bluray, Bob? Did you order it from Amazon France?

 

[NorthStar]

Yes, it's a region B ... so you need a region-free BR player. * http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Elle-Blu-ray/157834/
• http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Elle-Blu-ray/162127/ ? Includes Masterclass with Paul Verhoeven (45 mins)
_____

Bonus:

I loved the music score; it reminded me of some great European film masterpieces...like the music scores from Roman Polanski's films...several of them.
Roman and Paul are disliked by many many people. Yet, some of their films are true cinema art constructed masterpieces with film music scores to die for.

The opening (main titles) and the ending; the music is simply sublime and set the tone.
Listen to that second and third music videos above, and tell me that you aren't moved...I let the rolling credits scrolled all the way through during my viewing. I was immersed by what I just witnessed and I had to remain transfigured in that composed and relaxed stance...it was simply automatic...stronger than any conventional force. That's when a film truly engulfs you deeply the way cinema art should. And here the music score was a perfect complement...IMHO.

 

[MadFloyd]

And what made you seek it out such that you would order it from Europe? Are you a dedicated Verhoeven follower?

 

[NorthStar]

I searched for good Blu-ray movies. ...Foreign and domestic.

Verhoeven? Not particularly, but when I've read about his latest film...Elle in French, and after over ten years since hist last one...Black Book, which I also have on Blu and that I really like; I was sold.

People do their research to buy a car, a pair of loudspeakers, amplifiers, preamplifiers, audio cables, homes, wines, cigars, watches, Italian shoes, etc., I do that too with music and films. You learn how to appreciate more with taste, to develop that art, and it's becoming part of you, like second nature.

Same with Le Petit Prince 3D from France: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Little-Prince-3D-Blu-ray/138781/
And also based on a book.

My favorite film's genre is...UNIVERSAL. Not the Hollywood studios, the entire world. ...Same with music.

Ian, no matter how, when, where, ...Elle is a film I recommend...@ the theater next month, on import Blu and DVD right now, later, it don't matter.
It's not in 4K/UHD, not in 3D, it's regular Blu and the value is in the film content for me on this one...everything.
I shared the tip about this flick. And Paul Verhoeven happens to be the director. I pass along my impression.

About you, do you think he's a sexual pervert? :b Is he out of touch with the Hollywood film industry? Should he concentrate more in porn films?
When you have the chance, and if you take it, you'll find out what this film does to you. For me it was a good reality check in some truths in life...regarding caring for others, vulnerability, being rude, life and death, and a whole bunch more. Brief it's a magical film in its overall glimpse @ a business woman and her entourage including her family.
It was very rewarding in many aspects, a great movie experience. It's well done too, with great camera shots and fun/serious acting. ...Very French...Paris middle class (higher end) suburb. ...And a film's music score I love.
__________

? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(film)

This is not your typical American film, and he was right, Verhoeven, to shoot it in Paris, France instead of Boston, USA.

Development

In May 2014, it was announced that Paul Verhoeven would direct an adaptation of Philippe Djian's 2012 novel, Oh..., his first feature film since Black Book (2006). The director felt it was an opportunity for him to do "something very different to anything I've done before. But this stepping into the unknown, I think it’s very important in the life of an artist. It puts you in an existential mode. As an artist you have to, as much as possible, step into the unknown and see what happens to you." The project was unveiled at the Marché du Film during the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it was described as "pure Verhoeven, extremely erotic and perverted." Verhoeven was looking for an actress who would be "prepared to take that on" and believed Nicole Kidman "could handle this role." He also considered Marion Cotillard, Diane Lane, Sharon Stone and Carice van Houten for the role of Michèle, a businesswoman who is raped in her home by an unknown assailant and refuses to let it alter her precisely ordered life. The film was originally supposed to take place in Boston but, according to Verhoeven, it proved to be "too difficult" to shoot the film in the United States due to its violent content. Verhoeven then decided to do it in French and used a significant time before production to learn the language, in order to effectively communicate with the predominantly French cast and crew. In September 2014, French actress Isabelle Huppert signed on to star in the film as Michèle. Huppert had read the book before being offered the part. She is a longtime fan of Verhoeven’s work whom she described as "one of the best directors in the world for me".

Filming

Principal photography began on 10 January 2015 for a ten-week shoot. Filming took place in and around Paris. A planned sequence in Paris' main police station was cancelled following the Charlie Hebdo shooting on 7 January. The film was also shot in a house for Huppert's character in Saint-Germain-en-Laye for five weeks. Verhoeven's mise-en-scène for the film was influenced by three films: Federico Fellini's 8½, Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. Every scene was choreographed and Verhoeven storyboarded the whole film himself. He chose to shoot the film with two Arri Alexa cameras as "These days the amount of time a director is given to make a move has diminished by 40 to 50 percent. Working with two cameras solves part of that problem while giving you the opportunity to do things that you wouldn’t do before."

When the film wrapped, Verhoeven described the shoot as "difficult" but later admitted that "in retrospect, it was very pleasant and easy." He dismissed rumors that Elle was an "erotic thriller" in the tradition of some his previous films, including Basic Instinct, "Those people who think that this is an erotic film will be disillusioned. They are in for a strange confrontation with a movie that is... not ordinary. I don’t think the story is erotic; it’s about rape. An erotic thriller would be a bit weird, right? I mean, it might be erotic for the person doing it, but I don’t think that rape in general is something you would call erotic." On May 13, 2015, he told Variety he had "a strong feeling with this one that I was doing something that I’d never done before, which applied when I made RoboCop." He also praised Huppert’s performance, saying that "She is an extremely gifted actress that gives you more than what’s on paper… even what’s in the book. She does experiments in her mind to get to places that she would probably avoid in reality. And she does that in an absolutely unique way." He also said in an interview with Film Comment:

She’s one of the most brilliant actors I’ve ever met in my life. She’s so extremely special and is able to avoid any cliché in any situation, always finding a different way of doing things. She comes up with all kinds of extra details that you wouldn’t even dream of, that I would never come up with on my own. She’s not only a great actress but she is also especially imaginative and creative in her approach to the character. I didn’t have to tell her anything about Michèle because it was clear from the first shot that she knew exactly what her character would do and how she would behave in whatever circumstance. She is extremely audacious and she really had no problem with anything that was in the script, so I have an enormous respect for her.

 

[NorthStar]

Paul Verhoeven

Filmography

Year Film Director Writer Notes

1971 Business Is Business Yes
1973 Turkish Delight Yes
1975 Katie Tippel Yes
1977 Soldier of Orange Yes Yes
1980 Spetters Yes
1983 The Fourth Man Yes
1985 Flesh and Blood Yes Yes
1987 RoboCop Yes Saturn Award for Best Director
1990 Total Recall Yes
1992 Basic Instinct Yes
1995 Showgirls Yes Razzie Award for Worst Director
1997 Starship Troopers Yes
2000 Hollow Man Yes
2006 Black Book Yes Yes
2012 Tricked Yes Yes
2016 Elle Yes
____________

• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Verhoeven

Très marqué par la Seconde Guerre mondiale, dont il est un témoin direct dans son pays occupé par les Allemands, il garde le souvenir de scènes terribles.

Roman Polanski is another filmmaker marked by the 2nd World War. ...Some Japanese filmmakers too, were marked by the Atomic bombs.

 

[NorthStar]

Masterclass with Paul Verhoeven (45 mins).

Bonus:

 

[NorthStar]

I watched The Legend of Tarzan in (((3D))) last night.

It took a long time to get in the jungle. I was expecting more jungle stuff. That wasn't a really good start; it was even boring...not captivating.
This film lacks the adventure interest of the real Tarzan and his girlfriend of the jungle, Jane.
Too many scenes were simply excruciatingly boring and devoid of any spark.

Sure the picture in 3D looks pretty like Margot Robbie, and Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson are in it, and Djimon Hounsou too.
But it wasn't directed by Quentin Tarantino, unfortunately. He would have created a much better Tarzan and Tarzana.
And who's that guy playing Tarzan? ...A pretty boy from Sweden. In my book he's missing few chops in acting...

Anyway, it's more like a very slow pace and boring failed comedy/TV soap opera than a true captivating and entertaining adventure.

As you can guess my score won't do it any favor. ...Overall (and forget the 3D CGI technical aspects and special sound effects): 23

Last word: Ouch! Take Jane out of there among the monkeys and invite her to Disneyland. Then take that cruise ship vacation with full room service.

 

[NorthStar]

Blood Father starring Mel Gibson, and directed by a Frenchman...Jean-François Richet (from Paris, France).

It's an action movie for sure, with drugs and violence, and revenge.
Forget 'Tarzan', Mel is the guy. When it comes to side with justice and equilibrium you can do much worst than to not go along with Mel.

His daughter hangs with the wrong people ("CEO drug companies"...way of speech...for drug dealers) and that brings her and her father (Mel) trouble, serious trouble.
An ex-con (Mel Gibson) fights to protect his estranged teenage daughter (Erin Moriarty) after her boyfriend frames her for stealing money from a drug cartel. Elisabeth Röhm, William H. Macy, and Diego Luna co-star.

That was an entertaining little flick, mucho mas bueno than the very disappointing 'Tarzan'. Overall: 77 ... I recommend, very so.

Last word: The boyfriend just picked the wrong girlfriend's daddy-o. ...Just the wrong candidate.

 

[NorthStar]

I was expecting more from The Infiltrator, but unfortunately it fell short, way too short. It plays like a B TV soap opera.

Almost any documentary on the subject is better than this inferior flick.

Based on a true story. Federal agent Robert Mazur (Bryan Cranston) goes undercover as a money-laundering businessman in an attempt to bring down Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel in the 1980s.

It just wasn't well made, not even remotely interesting...more plain boring...IMHO.
Overall: 36 ...Skip it or risk boredom. * Some (many) people didn't see the same film that I did...

 

[NorthStar]

I watched this last night: ???? ?

[video=vimeo;149779134]https://vimeo.com/149779134[/video]

Overall: 100

 

[NorthStar]

Early this morning, before breakfast, I watched for the second time this documentary based on a true story from the bestseller. ...On my laptop's screen.

But this time around I looked @ the real facts and not. It wasn't easy because so many people lied.
It's tough to look @ Haiti people who lost everything and nothing is being done to help them. It raises serious questions.
And then there are all those important deals about pipeline, mining, uranium, plutonium, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Africa, Congo, Colombia, Canada, Russia, few European countries, etc., etc., etc. and one has to wonder what this world has become to.

Methinks people are selfish and working for their own personal interests...financial gains. ...And power. That foundation looks like it's made of rotten deals that don't benefit @ all the people it supposed to help, but only the ones that don't need it. It seems that smart people are the ones that can weave around the laws and values of our societies.
This is a foundation for the people in need, right? ...To rebuild and to restore and to provide medicine, food, water, shelter, roads to the dying.

Would you contribute and trust your contribution to get there through this foundation: https://www.clintonfoundation.org/
Where are the crews who are rebuilding the poor destroyed sections of Haiti? Investigate a little and you might cry a little inside your heart.
Go in the past a little too to help you see the light.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Foundation
• http://www.factcheck.org/2015/06/where-does-clinton-foundation-money-go/
• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-foundation-defends-expenses/article30845665/
• http://nypost.com/2015/04/26/charity-watchdog-clinton-foundation-a-slush-fund/

My main and only interest here is the foundation documentary, the finances. ...For the knowledge.
I recommend this documentary; it's only an hour long. Overall: 85

Last word: Watch it, and only discuss it among your families and friends; not here. This thread is only about movies, documentaries, entertainment, science fiction, unbelievable horror stories, stuff based on true events, imagination, big money rewards @ the movies.
I watched it twice now, and it's worth watching by everyone. It's good for the brain, for the knowledge, for the awareness. And that is all.
It's a private family affair; one we can all learn from.

 

[NorthStar]

This film is like a poetic/sensual/drama/psycho/horror painting that you would hang in Trump's penthouse. It would fit with the guy.
It's not your regular storyline making sense, it's more your Hollywood's lifestyle, New York/LA high rise young fashion show for the "younger" elite in search of an older and unidentifiable lost identity. It's not a perversion from some movie executives, it's a deviation from the norms of our society...the decline of the American youth. It's sort of like a director's direction into the obscurity of real life for the degeneration of our generation.
The Neon Demon got my attention mainly because of Elle Fanning's unique actress talent/charisma.

"The plot follows an aspiring model in Los Angeles whose beauty and youth generate intense fascination and jealousy within the industry."

Crank the volume, relax...and it's like going to the disco club on a Friday night and on ecstasy.
Overall (everything...picture, sound, experience): 65 ...Right on the edge between insanity and presidency.

Last word: Leave you inhibitions behind the back of your brain...in the black dormant room without a door's knob.
Not everyone will be able to do that, and for them it will be a disaster. Others will survive and escape intact, without too many scars.

 

[NorthStar]

Charlie Chaplin, cinema muet, the Charleston, Jazz, New York, Broadway, the statue of Liberty, California, Hollywood high society, the movie industry in America, the culture, the fine gestures, privileges, connoisseurs of fine items, material, capital, cars, houses, boats, beach front properties, clothes, shoes, suits, chapeux, dresses, jewelry, champagne, swimming pools, room service, valets, chauffeurs, prestige, money, stocks, sex, tough guys, entertainment, ... Woody Allen.

This is character and culture driven. No Marvel, no DC comics with super special/fictive (superficial) effects, everything is real here, more real than fiction.
"A New Yorker moves to Hollywood in the 1930s to work for his uncle, a powerful agent. He soon falls for his uncle's secretary, unaware that they're secretly having an affair."

It's an assortment of vignettes, beautifully photographed and choreographed. Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro
It's a vision back to the 30s, part of Hollywood's history still standing today.
I enjoyed the interactions from the characters in their decors of comfort; Woody's vision with his unique touch and cool jazz music selections of the time period (? thumbs up here).
Good grouping of actors/actresses. It stars Jeannie Berlin, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll and Ken Stott.
It won't win an Academy award for best romantic comedy.

Overall (everything entertainment and technical): 66

Last word: Conformed to Hollywood's society norms.

 

[NorthStar]

I love the Autumn season, the colors. Each tree has its own story, shape, charisma, colors... And all the trees together during this time of the year form a rainbow, a painting, a familial forest of diversification and elevation.

This flick is like a rainbow too, with color characters and color cinematography and color stories; three of them.
It's a pleasing navigation, a gentle breeze among the rivers and the rapids cascading down the mountains.

Tale of Tales: "In this adaptation of three 17th-century Italian fairy tales about troubled royals, a queen conceives a child by eating a monster's heart, a king grows obsessed with a pet flea and a ruler is bewitched by a woman with a beautiful singing voice."

- Director: Matteo Garrone
- Music by: Alexandre Desplat

It's three theater pieces of grand mastercraft, with sumptuous decors, rich characters and superlative moving shots/camera work.
Remember the name of this Italian film director, Matteo Garrone; and check for his other films, among them:

Now I too have to explore some more...

• 2002 – The Embalmer (L'imbalsamatore)
• 2003 – First Love (Primo amore)
• 2008 – Gomorrah (Gomorra)
• 2012 – Reality
• 2015 – Tale of Tales (Il racconto dei racconti)

Tale of Tales you are going to like, I'm pretty sure...it is cinema adult with taste and magical visuals.
Overall (3 tales, everything): 80 ...Recommended of course (anything @ 65 and above is, from my eyes and ears and mind).

Technicalities of the BR:
- Audio: Dialog is clear, music is adult, it's all good.
- Video: Dark @ times, gracious, a visual feast overall.

Last word: Could I write a book about it? No, but yes. :b

 

[NorthStar]

A short documentary/film (45 min) last night on Blu:

Great ride, solid on tracks with beautiful vistas/cinematography. This is also my neck of the hoods; I traveled that same path and saw all this countryside plus more...
Gorgeously filmed, and super relaxing...gives you the train travelling dose right in your veins.
That train is magnificent, well polished/maintained/restored to its glory days...a true art piece of great history.
This is a great documentary.

Well recommended with an overall score rating (value entertainment and technical cinematography and sound): 86
______

"Rocky Mountain Express is a 45-minute IMAX film released in the fall of 2011. Directed by Canadian filmmaker Stephen Low, it features the Canadian Pacific Railway’s restored 4-6-4 H1b Hudson steam locomotive 2816. Shooting began in 2006 and continued intermittently over the next five years, primarily on the main line between Calgary and Vancouver, with the cooperation of the CPR. The film was shot in 15 perforation/70 mm film, using a helicopter and gyro-stabilized camera mount as well as a variety of engine and train mounts"
______

It is also available on 4K Blu-ray, for the full equipped 4K people. But it doesn't come in (((3D))) for people like me, with a set of 3D eyes. :b
Anyway, the inferior/regular 1080p resolution Blu-ray is fantastic picture quality wise, full of details, and it also comes with a Dolby Atmos audio soundtrack for people with an expanded taste in sound immersion. And so is the 4K/UHD version.

______

This is a great Blu to add in any Canadian movie collection, and the all great American continent.
...And even to the people all across the whole world. Trains are cool, mountains are cool, the Rockies are cool, our planet is cool, this Blu is real cool.

Last word: Embark aboard and enjoy the ride.

 

[YashN]

On Netflix though:



Some so-so acting but interesting camera work. A thriller with another edge to it. Some genuine scares made more palpable with the camera work, but isn't it the right time for that? The storyline and dialogue are so-so too. Could have been better, but nevertheless quite a solid attempt.



An interesting premise, but the Marvel sequel to "The Avengers" somehow fails to grip like the one before it and even is behind "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". Good action movie, marred by some plot-holes and some interstitial moments which attempt to show something different from an all-action movie but doesn't succeed in bringing anything to the overall experience.

Way too long for what it is, should have been wrapped up in 1h50 max IMO. "Avengers" and "CA:TWS" were fun, this one wasn't as much.

Now, what it is though is more interesting for the next leg of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when things become Cosmic scale, and probably veering towards the Guardians of The Galaxy line, whose sequel should be out next year as well.

 

[NorthStar]

I woke up in the middle of the night last night awaken by some noises...
I checked in one of my lower drawers where I store my headphones and few other wires.
Yup, a mouse was chewing them and destroyed them.
Sorry for the off topic but I had to share some of the things about living in the country. :b Lol, and very true.
______

But before I made that discovery I watched this flick on Blu (Hunt for the Wilderpeople):

This is the kind of film where words can't describe the experience.
Simply put, overall rating score: 94

Very higly recommended, and this Blu-ray shines.
______

"A rebellious teenage orphan and his reluctant caretaker survive in the New Zealand wilderness after the former attempts to run away from his foster home. Meanwhile, a nationwide manhunt is launched to find the two."

The ride lasted a rich and entertaining 100 minutes (less without the end credits).

The young director, Taika David Waititi (born 16 August 1975), also known as Taika Cohen, is a New Zealand film director, writer, actor, painter and comedian.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2004 short film Two Cars, One Night. His feature films Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople became the top grossing New Zealand films. His horror comedy film What We Do in the Shadows also received critical acclaim.

Last word: Say you only have time to watch one movie in the next couple weeks, or months; watch this one. Because not only we love life but also because life loves us.
That mouse eating the wiring from my headphones, she's a rebel too, desperately looking for trouble...

 

[Ronm1]

Revisited a few old ones

In the Line of Fire
I really liked Clint on this one

Domino
Intense good dts track

The Saint
I've always liked this film
The Russians are stereotypical sleazeballs
Even the ones who help him
Nice touch with Roger Moore st the end

 

[NorthStar]

Domino (2005) is a wild experience; visually and sound (bass) wise.

R.I.P. Tony
____

Got the Blu too.