The Movie Thread

[AAReagles]

Don't forget 'Winning'... Not the best racing movie ever made, but far from the worst..

I remembered (post#165), and I'm glad you did along with another race afficionado here, who mentioned it much earlier, as I feel this movie gets overlooked too often. Furthermore, despite Quentin Tarantino's lack of perspective, and other so-called fashionable critics, this film is the best racing movie I ever saw - IMO. I haven't seen Rush yet, and I'm sure there's more films from one period or another that I have yet to discover - but Winning is basically a time-capsule treasure trove to me.

continued...

[Mekola]

Why the hell am I making a fool out of myself and continue to post on this thread? Obviously nobody else is interested to watch "my movies" or to comment what I say.

I'm probably a stubborn arse so I'll continue:
Relatos salvajes ( Wild Tales) by Damian Szifron, an amazing Argentinian movie, probably the best I've seen in months. It's a black comedy consisting of 6 short unrelated stories having the same theme -revenge. If in the past I said that x or y movie wouldn't be enjoyed by people on this forum, in this case I'm sure you'll definitely love it.
We live in a crazy world and most of us run a stressful life. Sometimes we feel it's too much and then we become violent and act extreme. Call me crazy ( dilo??!!?) but I admit I recognized myself in some of the characters although I seem to be a very gentle person.
So please, if you can't go to a theatre at least download this movie and you'll not regret it. Because it has action, sharp and clever humour and unpredictable turns.

Relatos Salvajes is considered the best Argentinian film of 2014. His director Damián Szifrón is known to produce some local TV series, like "Los Simuladores" ("The Simulators", 2002) and "Hermanos & Detectives" ("Brothers & Detectives", 2007?). These series, created in Argentina, were exported and had both their versions made for TV in Spain.

[AAReagles]

... when Winning was filmed in 1968, it captured a time when Americans truly cared about racing. Not just NASCAR or Indy; but all kinds of events. You could see it from Car&Driver, Autoweek or Road&Track magazines whether it was coverages of Petty and Foyt, Clark and Gurney, or Riverside and Monza - it didn't matter. Racing was more embraced then than it ever was for us.

And yet oddly enough, racing had also started to decline from our pinacle of interest soon after: Clark was gone, the corporate front soon followed - which made quick dispatch of Gurney's international efforts, and of course the Ford Motor Co pulled up stakes from Europe and headed home. As an american, yes the film holds a strong sentimental value to me.

Anyways, with that storyline & cast - most notably Richard Thomas' performance - Winning couldn't possibly fail.

[gadjo_dilo]

Timbuktu, a french-mauritanian production by Abderrahmane Sissako.
A beautiful movie about a part of the world about what I don't know much.
Timbuktu is occupied by jihadists who impose their absurd rules. It's forbidden to sing, to play football, to smoke. Women should wear gloves. But population is passive and resigned.
The absurdity of the fundamentalist rules are underlined with a fine irony. One of the jihadists is secretly smoking, a girl is forced to marry an unwanted jihadist just because he's a "good'' man and Allah tells that good men should be given a woman, the jihadists enter a mosque with guns and their shoes on, they should stop the music but face the situation when the songs are psalms dedicated to the Prophet. But what I liked most was a scene where young boys are playing football with an imaginary ball and when the jihadists come they start to do gymnastics exercises.
The movie looks like a documentary about a cruel reality that can't be denied, it's really impressive.
....I strongly recommend it, believe me, it's a visual feast..

http://www.cinemagia.ro/trailer/timb...imbuktu-11175/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CspcDYQ-SiY

And my fav part

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBGec1b5WkE

[AAReagles]

Not sure if that would be a movie for me.

Other than Lawrence Of Arabia, the only other flick pertaining to that region of the world that I saw, was about a russian tank crew becoming lost/seperated during the invasion of Afghanistan; called The Beast (1988).

George Dzundza played the part of the misguided officer too well, reminded me of our Lt. we had to DX before he would end up getting shot w/.223 rounds. Oops!

Mark Isham soundtrack is awesome btw.

[Mintexmemory]

Not sure if that would be a movie for me.

Other than Lawrence Of Arabia, the only other flick pertaining to that region of the world that I saw, was about a russian tank crew becoming lost/seperated during the invasion of Afghanistan; called The Beast (1988).

George Dzundza played the part of the misguided officer too well, reminded me of our Lt. we had to DX before he would end up getting shot w/.223 rounds. Oops!

Mark Isham soundtrack is awesome btw.

Timbuktu (Mali) is 4752 miles by road to Mecca (One of the central cities in Lawrence of Arabia).
Saudi Arabia (Middle East) and Mali (Central Africa) aren't considered as being in the same region of the world.
Now Kabul is a damn sight nearer to Mecca - 2760 miles but Afghanistan is also not considered to be the same region as Saudi and nowhere near Mali, being as it is in Asia.
What about Black Hawk Down - definitely Africa but very hard to talk about the Horn of Africa being in the same region (as opposed to continent) as Central /Western Africa
Apart from all the South African films (Mandela and the rest of the post-Apartheid genre) can recommend the following African setting movies:
Last King of Scotland
The Constant Gardener
The Passenger
White Mischief

[AAReagles]

Blackhawk Down?... yep.

Sahara (1943, Bogart)

The Desert Fox (1951, James Mason)

Tobruk

Play Dirty (1970, Michael Caine)

You're right about regions, our medal for the Persian Gulf War was labeled Southwest Asian Campaign. Yet when there is nothing but rock and sand, it's all the same to me.

[gadjo_dilo]

You're right about regions, our medal for the Persian Gulf War was labeled Southwest Asian Campaign. Yet when there is nothing but rock and sand, it's all the same to me.

Now to be honest the setting is less important ( I can also add The flight of the Phoenix by Robert Aldrich, The English patient, Out of Africa ) as long as the story and characters are typical European or american.
I liked Timbuktu because it's related to the local culture and traditions. Actually there's not a certain plot and not main characters, it's more about everyday life of these people and the problems they have to face.
In the same league I think of Le source des femmes by french director Radu Mihaileanu ( french???? In fact he's a Jewish romanian) a rather poetic movie about woman's condition in that part of the world.

[AAReagles]

Now to be honest the setting is less important ( I can also add The Flight of the Phoenix by Robert Aldrich, The English patient, Out of Africa ) as long as the story and characters are typical European or american.

Ugh!
Yep seen and forgot all three of those. Flight of Phoenix was cool!

I liked Timbuktu because it's related to the local culture and traditions. Actually there's not a certain plot and not main characters, it's more about everyday life of these people and the problems they have to face..

Somehow I got this mixed up with a Peter Ustinov movie...

[gadjo_dilo]

Blimey! I did it.....
I went to see a french family movie just for entertainment. Maybe because I just started a two weeks holiday having to stay in this horrible city while everybody left and have fun.
So the movie is La famille Belier, about a teenager girl who's the only one who can hear and talk in a deaf-mute family who lives in a farm. She has a special talent for singing but leaving the family and going to Paris to fulfil a career is a hard decision because she helps them in communication with people.blah, blah, blah......everything is predictable, still it's very positive and it makes you feel good ( well, I confess that the old fart I am cried a few teardrops).
But a real surprise was the soundtrack, a lot of old songs of Michel Sardou. In my early years when I was crazy after British or american music, our TV or radio stations played this guy so much that I hated him from the bottom of my heart. Now I discovered his great songs. ( have I told you I've become an old fart?....... ).

Here's one song that.....
Nahhhhhhh.......I won't tell....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGvN3seTy7c

.