ATAR Notes: Forum

General Discussion => Accountability and Motivation => Topic started by: beatroot on December 08, 2018, 06:55:54 pm

Title: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on December 08, 2018, 06:55:54 pm

Hello everyone!

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking about my tertiary studies and I've been a film student for almost a year now yet my film knowledge is so poor. Why? Because I can't stand watching films and can't sit through them- especially if they go over one hour (which is basically every film out there). My brain can't handle so much information being said in under three hours. This is why I prefer TV- since the storylines are stretched out and it's easy to settle down. I find this so ironic as I am a film student and to say that I don't watch films is an embarrassment and goes against everything I study. People scoff at me at film school when I say I haven't even watched Star Wars or Citizen Kane.

Watching lots of films can help with my film history, identifying different directors and referencing styles when I make more films in the future. It's about time for me to stop binge watching the same shows over and over again (I'm looking at you Brooklyn Nine Nine and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and it's time for me to expose myself to as many new films as much as possible to help develop my knowledge and artistry.

In the spoiler below is a list I have watched so far this year. If the film is bolded, it means I had to watch it during lecture and therefore does not count.

27 films!

* The Truman Show
* Casablanca
* The Room
* Newsfront
* Samson & Delilah
* Grave of the Fireflies
* Chungking Express
* The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
* In the Mood for Love
* The Kissing Booth
* Set It Up
* Muriel's Wedding
* Manchester by the Sea
* Submarine
* Midnight in Paris
* Wild Child
* The Man with the Movie Camera
* Loving Vincent
* Cleo from 5 to 7
* To All the Boys I've Loved Before
* Crazy Rich Asians
* Cargo
* Heathers
* Sierra Burgess is a Loser
* Italian for Beginners
* Mean Girls
* Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

In this thread, I aim to watch at least one film per week to begin with. I will write down my thoughts about the film. I will also try to aim to visit the cinema at least once a month. I live very close to one so hopefully this can encourage me to watch films on the big screen.

The latest film I've watched was 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' which is a British coming of age film. The last time I went to the cinema was on November 17 where I watched 'Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindewald' and I dislike it very much.

I'm gonna try to watch 'Die Hard' sometime soon so I can finally understand its references in Brooklyn Nine Nine.

Also please feel free to suggest in this thread any films that you think are worth a watch. It doesn't matter if its a silent film or if it's absolute trash or a cult film- as I said, I am trying to expand my film knowledge and history so any film would be awesome! Thanks everyone!

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: angewina_naguen on December 08, 2018, 09:20:55 pm

May be weird to recommend my related text for Ext 1 but it’s a gorgeous film with awesome cinematography  ;D Masahiro Shinoda’s Pale Flower. There are subbed versions which you can find online. Can’t think of any others off the top of my head so I’ll throw some recommendations your way when I can think of any  8)

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: Calebark on December 08, 2018, 09:27:58 pm

I'd recommend a German war film called Das Boot, which is about a Nazi submarine. I'm not normally into war films but recommend this one -- as long as you're not claustrophobic, as the film does a great job of addressesing that

Edit: if you like that one ^ then would also recommend Come and See

My favourite movie is The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It's by no means high-brow. You just need to embrace the cheese that embodies the film. It's a fun flick. It's a cheesy Cold War spy movie (note: talking about the movie, not the original TV series)

Anything with Viggo Mortensen in it

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: Opengangs on December 09, 2018, 09:38:34 am

Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin is one that I definitely recommend. I love the comedy (as with any Chaplin films ;)) which comments on the difficulty of employment due to modern industrialisation.

I haven't watched it in so long but I also recommend The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Weine. It follows a crazed hypnotist who uses sleep and unconsciousness to murder people. It was the inspiration to films like Nosferatu and Metropolis.

If you want more modern films, I recommend Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom and Richard Linklater's Boyhood which are both coming of age films.

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: owidjaja on December 09, 2018, 10:09:08 am

The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro is one I enjoyed. The cinematography was really nice (the filters they used made it seem like you're looking through a fish tank) and I love the homages to old films :)

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: EEEEEEP on December 09, 2018, 10:55:43 am

The Water Diviner

The filming is beautiful, the music choice is great!  Also, I do love a good old romantic Aussie story :3

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on December 10, 2018, 08:36:07 pm

^ Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Have added all your films to my to watch list.

Quote from: Opengangs on December 09, 2018, 09:38:34 am

I haven't watched it in so long but I also recommend The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Weine. It follows a crazed hypnotist who uses sleep and unconsciousness to murder people. It was the inspiration to films like Nosferatu and Metropolis.

Now that you've mentioned 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'- I can't believe I nearly forgot to add this to my already watched list in my OP! It was my favourite film that I've watched during a lecture so I really can't believe I forgot to mention it. I despise silent films but this film was brilliant because the production drew me in! I've been wanting to watch Metropolis for a while now ever since I saw 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'.

An update on Die Hard: tried watching it on the weekend but other commitments got in the way so I didn't have time ahhh. I don't understand why I can't even watch one film. I'm terrible aha.

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: Joseph41 on December 15, 2018, 02:46:57 pm

I have only heard of 4.5 of the movies in your list of 27. Is that unusual?

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: PhoenixxFire on December 15, 2018, 05:04:03 pm

Quote from: Joseph41 on December 15, 2018, 02:46:57 pm

I have only heard of 4.5 of the movies in your list of 27. Is that unusual?

Hmmmm (ngl, I haven't heard of most of them either)

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: EllingtonFeint on December 16, 2018, 10:49:13 pm

I definitely think you should watch The Giver. Right now that is my favourite movie. Would love to know what anyone else thinks of it if they’ve seen it!
So I actually watched this before I read the book and although I truly adore both I kinda consider the book and the movie to be completely unrelated! They’re just so different! So if you haven’t read the book yet, watch the movie first! I feel like it makes it so much better,
ALSO the piano is this movie is so beautiful that I literally went out and learned the song AND the violin/dance/wedding part and composed an ending to it on piano and played it at my school’s awards night. Also I love the actors.

Some other movies I utterly adore and definitely recommend are...
-The Great Gatsby
-Tintin
-Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
-Hugo
-A Series of Unfortunate Events
-Fantasic Beasts and Where to Find Them

All have such gorgeous cinematography

And Clueless cos I am practically Cher incarnate.  ;)



OH! And one more, I dunno if I recommend this or what but I just watched Roma. Sorry, I didn’t like it, BUT it is a really good movie. Also I watched The Great Wall with my dad and had literally no idea about anything about it except that Mark Wahlberg’s in it and woahhhhhh that was pretty bizarre.

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: darcyynic on December 16, 2018, 11:23:48 pm

Here are some of my absolute FAVOURITE films! They are so beautiful and heartfelt and meaningful. :)

- The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson
- Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann
- The Dressmaker by Jocelyn Moorhouse
- Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino
- Whiplash by Damien Chazelle
- Carol by Todd Haynes

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on December 17, 2018, 07:34:17 pm

Quote from: Joseph41 on December 15, 2018, 02:46:57 pm

I have only heard of 4.5 of the movies in your list of 27. Is that unusual?

Completely fine! Not everyone enjoys watching films :)

Quote from: EllingtonFeint on December 16, 2018, 10:49:13 pm

I definitely think you should watch The Giver. Right now that is my favourite movie. Would love to know what anyone else thinks of it if they’ve seen it!
So I actually watched this before I read the book and although I truly adore both I kinda consider the book and the movie to be completely unrelated! They’re just so different! So if you haven’t read the book yet, watch the movie first! I feel like it makes it so much better,
ALSO the piano is this movie is so beautiful that I literally went out and learned the song AND the violin/dance/wedding part and composed an ending to it on piano and played it at my school’s awards night. Also I love the actors.

Some other movies I utterly adore and definitely recommend are...
-The Great Gatsby
-Tintin
-Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
-Hugo
-A Series of Unfortunate Events
-Fantasic Beasts and Where to Find Them

All have such gorgeous cinematography

And Clueless cos I am practically Cher incarnate.  ;)



OH! And one more, I dunno if I recommend this or what but I just watched Roma. Sorry, I didn’t like it, BUT it is a really good movie. Also I watched The Great Wall with my dad and had literally no idea about anything about it except that Mark Wahlberg’s in it and woahhhhhh that was pretty bizarre.

Added all your suggestions! Are you referring to 'The Piano' by Jane Campion? If so- then that film is a definite on my list as well! She's probably the most famous and successful graduate from my film school so it would make sense to watch her films. We were even lucky to watch some of the short films she directed while she was a film student. I heard some parts of 'The Great Gatsby' were filmed in Sydney (specifically at ICMS in Manly) so would like to watch that. I've watched 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'- the film's production design was fantastic and distinct though the story was different to the books so the film puts me off a bit. I very much prefer the Netflix series much better (minus Neil Patrick Harris' depiction of Count Olaf. I still preferred Jim Carrey's portrayal). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was quite slow at first ngl but was drawn as soon as the action started to build halfway through the film. Editing and special effects were fantastic *bad dum tss*

And Clueless ?? As if! Love love love Clueless! It's iconic. My favourite scene has to be when Cher realises she has feelings for Josh. Makes my heart warm up a little.

Quote from: darcyynic on December 16, 2018, 11:23:48 pm

Here are some of my absolute FAVOURITE films! They are so beautiful and heartfelt and meaningful. :)

- The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson
- Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann
- The Dressmaker by Jocelyn Moorhouse
- Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino
- Whiplash by Damien Chazelle
- Carol by Todd Haynes

Everything's been added to my to watch list! I need to get on Whiplash ASAP too because I really liked La La Land and also- if I had a dollar everytime Whiplash was included at my lecture, I could probably pay off all my student fees.

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on December 23, 2018, 11:08:18 pm

I managed to hit two birds with one stone today- I watched 'Die Hard' AND I watched it at the cinema as well (special screening session).

Die Hard (1998)
Dir. John McTiernan

Even though I watched the film in 35mm, the quality wasn't actually too bad and all the technical aspects were fantastic. Loved the screen music- how they used Christmas music and make it sinister to match with Hans and his men. But also reflect the Christmassy vibes of the film. Everything was fine besides how unrealistic the plot was. I understand it was an 80s cop film but my goodness I just couldn't believe that John hadn't died after placing himself in numerous life threatening situations.

At least I finally understand all the Die Hard references in Brooklyn Nine Nine.

My rating of the film has to be 3.5/5.

Got some good laughs from the film but I just couldn't look past on how unrealistic the plot was. Story is the main priority within film- way way above cinematography, sound, editing, etc.

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on December 25, 2018, 08:31:31 pm

Merry Christmas everyone!

I have treated myself to four films- two on Christmas Eve and two today.

Love Actually (2003)
Dir. Richard Curtis

A Christmas romance film that follows a number of love stories- though since there were so many going on at once that the stories were not developed easily and therefore I could not appreciate all the characters. The only love story that I liked from start to finish was the Prime Minister and Natalie's. Rating: 3.5/5

Love Rosie (2014)
Dir. Christian Ditter

A lovely romance story that follows best friends Rosie and Alex and somewhat very realistic depiction of lost loves. Lily Collins and Sam Clafin were fantastic and were so emotionally raw. Would recommend this film for sure! Rating: 5/5

Miss Stevens (2016)
Dir. Julia Hart

A film about an English teacher who escorts three students to a drama competition during one weekend. All technical aspects were beautiful (especially the cinematography and colour grading my goodness!). Though the characters of Lili Reinhart and Timothee Chalamet were irritating that it drew me away from the story. Rating: 2/5

The Bad Education Movie (2015)
Dir. Elliot Hegarty

A film made for the fans of the TV show 'Bad Education'- follows the story of history teacher Alfie Wickers and his students of Class K as they tour through Cornwall. You can only appreciate the film if you've watched the TV series. Jokes were a bit immature and plot was very unrealistic. Although the characters of Alfie Wickers (played by Jack Whitehall) and his students added warmth and depth to the film. Rating: 3/5

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on February 06, 2019, 11:12:16 pm

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was an experience to watch and I appreciate its stylistic editing ;D

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on March 29, 2019, 01:04:05 pm

Was expecting to be super scared when I watched Us (Dir. Jordan Peele, 2019) last night but it wasn't actually that scary for a horror/thriller film. Took me a few hours after the film to actually understand the film.

The score probably had to be my favourite part of the film. Absolutely fantastic editing especially towards the ending.

Now I do feel like I have to watch Get Out.

Edit: Also watched My Kid Could Paint That (Dir. Amir Bar-Lev, 2007) during a lecture last week. It was interesting at first but got bored halfway through because they kept dragging it.

Title: Re: Bea needs to watch more films
Post by: beatroot on April 10, 2019, 05:36:01 pm

Yes so I have finally watched Get Out (Dir. Jordan Peele, 2017) and it was quite interesting.
I preferred Us over than Get Out in my opinion.