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sidehacker

sidehacker
Member Since
27 Apr 2008
N/A
TCI
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2580
ratings
2514
Films
57
Shorts
3
TV Series
6
TV Episodes
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0
collections
0
Recent ratings
197
Minireviews
134
Starred reviews
See all TCIs
2514
Films
57
Shorts
3
TV Series
6
TV Episodes
See all ratings
0
Recent ratings
197
Minireviews
134
Starred reviews
Bio: blog here: http://cinematalk.wordpress.com
Recent Ratings
66 43%
London (1994) - Rated 11 Dec 2015
In which Patrick Keiller argues the destruction of the urban space is not the opposite of construction, but instead it is the same process, just caught in different stages of transition. City space constantly in flux, to a dangerous point. Via Fredric Jameson, it is indeed to easier to see the destruction of the world before the end of capitalism, hell the latter benefits from the former.
50 24%
Abnormal Family (1984) - Rated 11 Dec 2015
For those of you who always wondered how Ozu would photograph a golden shower...
80 81%
Sleep Dealer (2008) - Rated 10 Sep 2015
Samples ideas from the Matrix and eXistenZ sure, but it molds them into something more vital. Based on Rivera's earlier experimental stuff, I get the impression he definitely felt the pressure to throw in some conventional elements (a chase scene, an unnecessary romance) but it doesn't dilute the discourse on labor and borders. I'm pretty content pretending this is the real remake of RoboCop, even though the body/labor/future/Fordism stuff is more pointed and obvious.
89 94%
Perceval le Gallois (1978) - Rated 07 Sep 2015
I see something like this and find it hard to believe the French weren't at least aware of Ozu. Of course, Rohmer builds on him and creates his own completely different and unique cinematic language here. Very few films have juggled humor with something as deeply personal and sincere as the final scene here. It's stunningly gorgeous in all its artifice.
70 53%
We Are Your Friends (2015) - Rated 07 Sep 2015
Trainspotting for EDM brats, basically.
79 79%
It Follows (2015) - Rated 03 May 2015
I think it's pretty simplistic (and too literal) to read this as some sort of STD parable. Maybe the "monsters" are actually trauma, but more importantly, this accounts for Detroit's history, which was so casually erased and ignored in Only Lovers Left Alive. I guess even Halloween is about white flight, but that film is some midwest fiction, this is Detroit. It's even more vital in an age where the city has become, to many, some apolitical icon of "beautiful decay" reblogged on tumblr.
77 73%
La Société du spectacle (1973) - Rated 03 May 2015
spoiler alert: the spectacle is mostly naked women.
73 60%
A Most Violent Year (2014) - Rated 25 Apr 2015
Handsome and arty, and a nice enough distraction, but nothing amazing. Detroit's Packard Plant making an appearance in a film set in New York is pretty interesting, though.
99 99%
Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) - Rated 01 Feb 2015
"So many men unneeded, unwanted in a world where there is so much to be done."
80 81%
Two Days, One Night (2014) - Rated 02 Jan 2015
Pretty close to the Dardenne's best. It might be too schematic, but the narrative's simplicity is what provides the opportunity for slight variations . We basically are treated to the 15 scenes that aren't really different, but gracefully convey the weight of the situation. Like the Child, we're approaching Hallmark territory here, but instead we end up with a "natural" film that covertly synthesizes capitalism's relationship with labor and unemployment.