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VierasTalo added 5 items to their collection

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo added 6 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo commented on a list

Movies the giraffe watched in 2019: August (27 movies items)

"I can't believe they made a sequel to The Peanut Butter Solution all these years later!"

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo voted for list

Movies the giraffe watched in 2019: August (27 movies items)

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo rated The Leftovers

 The Leftovers 10/10

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo added 1 item to VT's episodemeter list

Complete Episodes: 28 Seasons: 3 One of the more thoroughly thought-out and constructed pieces of modern TV. Actually has a few comprehensive themes. Love it.

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo added 8 items to their collection

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo added 8 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 6 months ago

VierasTalo rated Der Student von Prag

 Der Student von Prag 6/10

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added 1 item to Film Journal 2019 list

The best of the three Student of Prague -films, which is an interesting trilogy since each was made about one decade after the prior. Made during the third reich, but with apparently little involvement from officials, this is a rather radical departure from the stories of the prior films, taking a much more in-depth psychological angle to the events, as the titular student's (who does very little studying in any of these films) reflection isn't stolen, per se, but rather just removed from existence, leaving a hole in whatever he has inside him as this "sentimental dreamer" has been removed. He becomes hollowed, not particularly enjoying even the pleasures of love he made the deal with the devil for, but still striving to live within it, as he has nothing else. As such, rather than a doppelganger running amok around town, the film has Balduin go insane from this loss of his soul, as he begins seeing the reflection around town, until finally coming to realize his only escape, form of combining the two again, is to perform a metaphorical (and, turns out, literal) suicide, which is innumerably more fascinating than the rageful "I hate you evil twin and I will shoot you" of the other two films. Though Wohlbrück is no Conrad Veidt, he is very talented at playing an empty shell of a man rapidly going insane. This is also the shortest of all three versions (the Letterboxd runtime is incorrect, as the film lasts a tight 74 minutes), as it contains a lot less of hedonistic faffing about since Balduin never really gets a chance to be happy with his wealth. The addition of a supernatural luck in gambling rather than this film's version of the devil just giving him the money is also a fun gimmick that gets used to harrowing effect towards the end. Also worth noting that this is the one adaptation where Balduin's fencing ability is actually used for something, as in a borderline Hitchockian sequence he duels a baron who he has agreed to take it easy on, a scene in which the pressure and excitement is born purely out of our stress over whether he'll, as a soulless husk, honor this agreement or not, rather than from the literal action of the flailing swords. Oh, speaking of that devil, they actually do some interesting stuff with him, as he is much more of a character than in the previous films, and absolutely not an outright supernatural character either, though I do wish the film gave itself a few more minutes to breathe and explain why he departs from the film as abruptly as he does. Long story short though, if you want to see one of these movies, do this one, even if it only momentarily reaches the fever pitch set design of Galeen's 1926 version.

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added 19 items to their collection

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added 22 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added Eye of the Devil to wanted list

 Eye of the Devil 

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added The Incident to wanted list

 The Incident 

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added 6 items to their collection

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added 7 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 7 months ago

VierasTalo added 4 items to their collection

5 years, 8 months ago

VierasTalo added 5 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 8 months ago

VierasTalo voted for list

Watched films in 2019 (87 movies items)

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 5 items to their collection

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 4 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo voted for list

Movies the giraffe watched in 2019: May (25 movies items)

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo rated Eye in the Labyrinth

 Eye in the Labyrinth 4/10

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 1 item to Film Journal 2019 list

If only the first 50 minutes of this thriller were as good as the last 40. Though generally called a giallo, I have some strong opposition towards it being called that on account of, well, there not necessarily really being a murderer or murders in general for a long-ass while, and the list of culprits being of such wide berth it's more an Agatha Christie knockoff than anything else. Coupled with the very, very flat visuals and a sub-par score, I didn't really have that much fun during the "mystery solving" part of the movie. When it kicks into another gear it gets crazy stupid and I almost love it for that, but still, it only has the briefest moment of any sort of intensity which isn't enough to make it entertaining schlock.

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 2 items to their collection

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 2 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo rated Deadwood: The Movie

 Deadwood: The Movie 8/10

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 1 item to Film Journal 2019 list

A story about the sense of resolute and clarity time can bring to each of our peculiar proclivities and overall existences written with the resolute and the clarity of someone who has spent a decade's worth of time thinking about how to write it.

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 2 items to their collection

5 years, 9 months ago

VierasTalo added 3 items to Film Journal 2019 list

5 years, 9 months ago