[Hutnicks]

The Birth of a Nation (Silent, 1915)

I wanted to watch this movie because I wanted to feel very uncomfortable with the images and messages it presented. In that, it delivered in full! The protagonists and antagonists this movie portrays are so far from the currently accepted norms that I am sure some would dismiss it as a joke - and others might use it to justify their own warped views. But that's not the real story - if you put this movie into the context of the time it was intended to represent, an entirely different perspective appears. There are some VERY disturbing scenes in this movie - but what really makes you pause and think is that *none* of the scenes are intended to be satire. They are intended to over-emphasize the idea that a group of people that were not prepared for freedom were used as pawns in a much bigger power struggle, and that throwing down oppression is never pretty - regardless of whether the rebellion is forged from hundreds of years of inhumane treatment, or the backlash of the victors that are now in positions of power over their former masters. You can be morally superior and still act badly. For me, the basic message is: Power Corrupts.

9/10 if you can handle a silent movie, probably 3/10 if you can't...

In a propaganda frame of mind Billy? May I humbly suggest you follow that up with "Triumph of the Will".
 
You really need to emphasize that the film was made from Thomas Dixon's "The Clansman" and need to understand Dixon himself, which is albeit an almost impossible task. He grew up in the antebellum south and was raised in an environment of self pity at the unfair treatment the south received. The film more reflects that southern mindset then the rest of the countries and should be taken as a fictional account of war and reconstruction told from the losing side and influenced in a great part by the northern perspectives portrayals of the south. Most notably "Uncle Toms Cabin" drove Dixon almost mad.
 
 I personally rate that film as one of the most dangerous ever made.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Battleship Potemkin (Silent, 1925)

I honestly did not know what to expect from this film. It was created as a Communist propaganda film to dramatize the events of an actual event that took place during the 1905 rebellion of the crew of Potemkin against their Tsarist officers. This film is amazing - I love historical films of all types and the scenes on the steps in Odessa are simply fantastic. The title cards are pure propaganda of the type that simply makes you shake your head - and that's one of the things that makes this such a great film - that propaganda simply fits perfectly with this story - even if you then do some research and find out the real story of the Potemkin wasn't quite so dramatic.

9/10 if you can handle a silent movie, probably 3/10 if you can't...

 

[billybob_jcv]

In a propaganda frame of mind Billy? May I humbly suggest you follow that up with "Triumph of the Will".

You really need to emphasize that the film was made from Thomas Dixon's "The Clansman" and need to understand Dixon himself, which is albeit an almost impossible task. He grew up in the antebellum south and was raised in an environment of self pity at the unfair treatment the south received. The film more reflects that southern mindset then the rest of the countries and should be taken as a fictional account of war and reconstruction told from the losing side and influenced in a great part by the northern perspectives portrayals of the south. Most notably "Uncle Toms Cabin" drove Dixon almost mad.

 I personally rate that film as one of the most dangerous ever made.

Apparently, yes I am! And I absolutely agree with everything you say!

And yes, I did feel like I needed to watch a socialist propaganda film to offset watching a KKK propaganda film...

 

[2015071]

I can withstand a silent movie. In fact, I watched Captain America The First Avenger with no sub and muted. 9/10

 

[Eddyfcknp]

I can withstand a silent movie. In fact, I watched Captain America The First Avenger with no sub and muted. 9/10

 
LOL that's amazing.

 

[LouisLoh]

Very late to the party on this:
 
Big Hero 6 - 9/10
 
On point.. This film hit all the right notes with equal part light-heartedness, action and most importantly, genuineness. In comparison, How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a generic piece of hot mess...  

 

[Eddyfcknp]

The Big Lebowski - 8/10.  First time seeing it, I paused it half way through to run to the store (at 6am) to get some materials for a White Russian (8/10 as well).  I wish there was more story towards the end, but overall really enjoyed it.

 

[2015071]

  Very late to the party on this:
 
Big Hero 6 - 9/10
 
On point.. This film hit all the right notes with equal part light-heartedness, action and most importantly, genuineness. In comparison, How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a generic piece of hot mess...  

Seems like people love predictable movies with forced death scenes. 7.5/10
 
But that car chase is top notch camera work.

 

[LouisLoh]

  Seems like people love predictable movies with forced death scenes. 7.5/10
 
But that car chase is top notch camera work.

Yea, I went back to search this thread and saw your previous comments.. I guess I didn't really think about it since it was the first time I watched it... Makes me think twice about rewatching it heh.

 

[mutabor]

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring ( 2003) 8.7/10
 
The goal of a Buddhist monk - not to be born again. However as the title suggests something went wrong there because the cycle got repeated. The film started with a monk kid torturing animals and having fun at doing that. Then things only aggravated for this kid as he grew older. The ending of the film was difficult to interpret. Because the boy at the end was the same boy as in the beginning indicates that he was kind of born again which according to classical Buddhism is not desirable. Though there are branches where paganism and Buddhism merged together hence different possibilities for interpretation. I have no idea which source Kim Ki-Duk used as an inspiration. It is possible that the Korean director used his own ideas ( and probably more artistic than philosophical) which were not necessarily tied to Buddhist teaching or which were only visibly related to it.

 

[mutabor]

Me Too ( 2012, Russia) 8.5/10
 
World class cinema completely and probably consciously ignored by the West ( political correctness issues)
 
Recently I watched The Island ( 2006) - a Russian movie where main part was brilliantly played by an eccentric rock singer Pyotr Mamonov. Then I decided to watch the last film of a popular Russian director Aleksei Balabanov and while watching it I didn't know that one of the main roles was played by another Russian eccentric rock singer Oleg Garkusha from a group Auktyon which used to be popular in late 80-s though I never watched and listened to them. The film was filled with music and I kind of liked it though I think that it's rather bard music where it is vital to understand words. 
 

 
Soundtrack to the film
 

 
Big review of the film Me Too.

 

[Eddyfcknp]

The Imitation Game - 7/10.  I let my girl rate today, and I agreed with her ruling, decent movie which I had no idea about the history.  She cried at the end and seeing her cry at movies makes me chuckle.

 

[Focker]

  The Imitation Game - 7/10.  I let my girl rate today, and I agreed with her ruling, decent movie which I had no idea about the history.  She cried at the end and seeing her cry at movies makes me chuckle.

 
LOL dude that's terrible

 

[Eddyfcknp]

   
LOL dude that's terrible

 
She always asks why I laugh at that.  I tell her it lets me know she has feelings.

 

[Focker]

   
She always asks why I laugh at that.  I tell her it lets me know she has feelings.

 
 
lol