California Split (1974) - 8/10. Unaccountably, this is one of the few Altman's I'd never seen (now rectified) about a pair of degenerate gamblers (Gould and Segal) who come into a phenomenal winning streak. Altman does a good job of sidestepping most of the clichés, and it's a treat to see California (and Reno) as it was in the early 70s. And in 'scope!
Baise-moi / Fuck me (2000) 2/10I enjoyed Virginie Despentes' book Vernon Subutext so I decided to try her early movie (adapted from her first novel). The film had created a huge public outcry in France when it was released because of its untamed use of violence and pornography (in a way that would make Lars Von Trier jealous). Well, everything sucks and is boring apart from some cool lines here and there. And the outcry wasn't deserved.
Wasn't? Not enough porn? Not enough extreme violence?And why should it make our Lars jealous? He directed real porn scenes already in Idiots. But for me it did not really work in both films, while it did in Noe's Love or in Winterbottom's 9 Songs.I think much more positive of Baise-moi, but have to rewatch it for something more substantial. Until then a 6 or 7/10
Anybody here who watched the 2 seasons of Westworld? Or at least the first one?
There was enough porn and violence, but it felt so amateurish and repetitive.
Le Cercle Rouge (1970) 7/10 - 4th viewing or so.Still cool as hell. Good to see Bourvil in something serious. His (unhealthy) face works great here. It's a shame he didn't get the time to do more of these, he could have become great. Delon is Delon, Volonte is volonte. Melville's eye for efficience still amazes and is what makes many of his films, like this one, unique to this day. His taste for everything that looks American was probably a bit ridiculous at the time (when you wanted to be discrete in 1970 France, the last thing you'd do is to buy an American car), but now that decades have gone by, it works pretty well, even for French viewers.
You're the only guy I know who can write seven positive sentences about a movie, zero negative, and still only rate it a 7/10.I just saw this movie again also. I think it was my third viewing. This film is at least an 8.5/10.
By the way, that moment when Montand lines up the shot on the tripod ... then lifts the gun off the tripod and fires it on his own, just to prove to himself that he still has the marksmanship – it's a nice moment, and copied from an earlier Melville film, Le Deuxieme Souffle, where, in the heist scene, the young gangster atop the hill removes the telescopic lens from the rifle before shooting the motorcycle cop.
Le Cercle Rouge (1970) 7/10 - 4th viewing or so.