just watched Tokyo Story. jesus christ. heartbreaking film; really need to check more Ozu now. last night I watched the Big Star doc that came out a couple years ago, and, obviously, loved it. also watched Chungking Express for the umpteenth time a few nights ago; will be watching Fallen Angels tonight for the umpteenth time. actually, fuck it. let's do a list of my past month.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives: gorgeous, but inconsequential and too long. not sure I'm entirely on the Weeretherasekul [sic] train as of yet, but I'm gonna keep trying.
2046: very good, as to be expected from Kar-Wai. also a bit too long but still packs quite an emotional punch and the sci-fi elements were very interesting and, of course, gorgeous.
Grizzly Man: great. enthralling documentary that was in turn absolutely hilarious and deeply harrowing / sad.
Weiner: it was good. again, treads the hilarious / dark line very well, but feels a tad exploitative and ultimately inconsequential, especially towards the end when it turns into something of a high-speed real-time chase against a pornstar or something? which, I guess, is to its credit, considering that's absurd for a political documentary, but it just didn't add up to much.
Solaris: good but the weakest Tarkovsky I've seen. you really feel its 3 hours, unlike Stalker. undeniably gorgeous and the last 15-20 minutes especially are absolutely brilliant.
The Lobster: left the theatre feeling absolutely horrible, to its credit, but other than that it drags sooooo much, especially in the second half. did have a fair bit to say about love, though, which is always welcome. Lanthimos's style is definitely something of an acquired taste.
Hotel Chevalier / The Darjeeling Limited: the former sucked. the latter is underrated as hell, but Wes Anderson can, admittedly, do no wrong in my eyes.
Wings of Desire: so close to being amazing if it weren't for some kinda pointless bits. not as good as Paris, Texas, but close, and the b&w cinematography is gorgeous, as is a lot of the philosophical dialogue.
Belladonna of Sadness: crazy psychosexual surrealist anime from 1973. not bad.
Drugstore Cowboy: one of the weaker Van Sant films, but I still love the guy's style and William S. Burroughs as a junkie priest is something not to be missed.