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Rate the last film that you've watched

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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Matteo » Apr 27, '15, 4:35 am

The film might not try to do anything particularly new or unique in terms of its cinematography, but there's no doubt in my mind that the main focus of the film was its cinematography.


Having seen all of Refn's previous efforts leading up to Drive and having read a lot about his own personal philosophical approach to the medium of filmmaking, I would have to disagree with this. However, and as I understand this was merely your personal reaction to the work (and not an objective assertion on your behalf), Refn is an artist who certainly wouldn't make a piece where the main focus and concentration is the visual sensibilities.

Shots would often linger, far after they had already communicated what they were supposed to, seemingly just so the audience could concentrate on the beauty of the shot. 'Important' moments were often shot in a way that were visually striking, but didn't do the best job of communicating what was happening in that moment.


I'll be the first to state that Drive is a stylised picture and definitely much more visually orientated than a lot of other American productions. In saying that, I fail to recall any moments in the film where the shots would linger, and I thought the photographic aesthetics of the work greatly serviced the subdued, heavily European-inspired 'mechanisms' of the narrative.

I'm not sure if you've seen much European cinema (particularly German and French, which are salient inspirations to Refn), but the film is very inspired from the trademark principles of these countries set out.

I'd be interested to see if you thought there was anything special about the actual narrative of the film, because it left me completely cold.


I personally loved it. There is something very understated and almost 'secondary', for lack of better term, about the narrative. Indeed, a commonality in European cinema of the postwar period (primarily from the 60s and 70s) is this notion of breaking down our expectations of what story is and what it should be. We're often conditioned to look at the structure of narrative in a particularly familiar framework. That is, storytelling is king and presides over everything else (a concept espoused by a lot of famous filmmakers such as Spielberg and Hitchcock), and that all aspects of the filmmaking process must service the story. A lot of world cinema challenges this, and Drive is an example, albeit to a lesser degree. But that's just theory, and a bit too mundane to talk about.

In my opinion, the film tells - what can easily be discerned as - a fairly standard story in a very interesting way. Take the relationship that is formed between the Driver and Irene. There is nothing particularly unique about these two characters forming an attraction towards one another, but how it's ultimately achieved and conveyed to the audiences is impressive. Soft, ambient scoring, almost a softening of all diegetic sound in the background and some very simple yet rhythmic editing. There are many shots in the film that resonated with me. Simple, symbolic shots that strengthened the implications of the relationship. If you'd like, I could screenshot some of them and show you from argument's sake. They're very fun to dissect. I also found the protagonist very interesting. He's not charismatic, he's doesn't follow the conventions of your typical core character, and he's deliberately inexpressive and emotionally stagnant. There is a strange mystery to the character, almost reminiscent of The Man with No Name from Sergio Leone's Westerns. Indeed, he had no name, no past, no identity, no explanation to the motives of his actions - this entire dimension was left out, without exposition, and that's refreshing. It requires the viewers to come up with their own conclusions. It encourages more intellectual activity from the viewer. Sure, some may see it as too distant and detached, but, personally, I appreciated it.

Another interesting thing about the narrative is that, on paper, it's not really memorable. It's a visual film, primarily, telling its story with the language of images and sound. It's very reliant on atmosphere and mood - the first half spawns such a calm and restrained sensibility. And then, out of no where, there is this radical, bloody paradigm shift, and it's handled impeccably. It's just a great slice of unconventional filmmaking, overall.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby VaderBomb » May 04, '15, 11:40 pm

Fiend (Don Dohler, 1980)

"Marsha, why didn't you tell me? It may have been something important!"

Don Dohler's no-budget gem Fiend is a true unique vision and a revelation within the world of independent cinema. It is a film where everything, all of the little intangibles of movie magic work completely and passionately in favor of the artistic approach.

Dohler effortlessly demonstrates this with patience and devotion, and with every passing scene within Fiend, it becomes clear that this is a labor of love that will not not stray from the high standard that the opening scenes suggest.

Shot on cheap 16mm in small-town, late 70s Maryland, most likely in and around Dohler's old stomping grounds, he evokes a certain mysticism that never existed in Hollywood. Especially during the scenes of the children playing in the neighborhood. It's all so authentic. Sun sparkling down, leaves crunching beneath their feet, balls bouncing down the street and a sinister old man watching eerily and blatantly from his front yard.

Steven Spielberg evoked a similar magic (sans creepy neighbor) with his 1982 classic, the incredible E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; but with his giant budget and slick production values, his image of small-town America doesn't seem as genuine. He captures the magic but none of the essence; the intrinsic nature of existing in small-town America. Dohler captures both the magic and the essence, seemingly with ease. To mis-quote a friend, "Spielberg is Spielberg but Dohler is Realberg."

His debut effort, The Alien Factor is an impressive work also made with an extremely low budget. It's a tiny movie with big dreams, and most of the time it succeeds. The difference between the quality of his debut and his second film is that with Fiend, he always gets it right.

The framing, the composition and the cinematography are all flawless. Dohler's mise en scène is confident and precise, his aesthetic is hypnotically bizarre in the best way possible. His use of color, especially blues and reds are mesmerizing. Few independent horror films are as technically perfect and Fiend deserves to be mentioned alongside the best.

The acting performances within are also of note. Don Leifert puts on the performance of a lifetime, playing the iconic and genuinely spooky Eric Longfellow. Leifert is truly great, but he doesn't carry the film on his back.

Richard Nelson's performance is also outstanding. His presence is a strange but sensible mixture of John C. Reilly, Tim Robbins and Tim Heidecker. Nelson clearly takes no influence from these men, considering the time when this film was made, but he nails the "small-town guy just trying to get some answers" role flat on the head.

Dohler's own son and daughter also act and they both do an excellent job playing their respective parts in their father's film. Watching some of the blooper reel on the DVD extras, his son Greg also mans the director's clapboard and can be heard laughing when the actors flub their lines or act silly. It's all so real and charming and adds even more to the love that I have for this movie.

Along with the magic, the technical aspects and the acting, Fiend is creatively written by Dohler and the pace and flow of the film's happenings are far from jarring. The plot is interesting. Supernatural elements are abundant and all of the little turns and movements are necessary to the overall piece.

I often wonder when watching Dohler's films if David Lynch is a fan of his work. The two filmmakers certainly channel a similar energy on the frequent occasion. Due to Dohler being virtually unknown aside from low-budget horror fans, it's possible that Lynch isn't aware of Dohler's existence within the world of cinema. That is a damn shame, not only for possibly Lynch but for anybody else who really love and appreciate the movies. A large majority of our world is missing out on this movie, and I demand that it receives more recognition.

Fiend is a film that has been disrespected for far too long. It is a masterfully crafted little slice of movie-magic and it's one of the greatest films that has ever been made.



Here is a link to view this film:


Watch it. You have no excuses.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Westcoastvibes » May 05, '15, 5:32 am

Well, this thread escalated quickly :lol
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Kirbi » May 06, '15, 5:45 pm

@Hanley! and I saw The Falling on the weekend. It's a weird little British indie piece, set in the 60s and starring Maisie Williams (Arya from GoT).

It begins, focusing on an intense friendship between the main character (a prickly rationalist) and her best friend (a soulful, charismatic beauty), and how it's changing due to adolescence, and coming adulthood. Then, when the friend passes away (very early, so not a spoiler), it shifts to Maisie's character's troubled personality more fully.

She starts fainting at school, it spreads to her closest friends, and then further through the student body. Early on, the film is non-specific about the reasons for this, but the characters posit a few theories - illness, faking, hysteria, magick/ley lines etc.

At the same time, her home-life is getting ever more disturbing... and eventually full-on revolting.

There's an interesting atmosphere in the film; it begins with an almost ethereal nostalgic feel, despite the grittier home scenes and the main character's antagonistic nature. Tension builds throughout the film, and you can feel a creeping gentle horror underneath all of the pastoral loveliness on show.

The movie isn't without problems though: To me, the school and home plot-threads almost belong in different films. I found the school plot the most compelling, and thought that the home one was underdeveloped, but that was the one they finished on - the school plot was very thoroughly relegated, and had an anticlimactic tie-up quite a bit before the end of the film. That creeping tension went nowhere in the end, it just seemed to dissipate.

I think there could've been a really good film in here, with a bit more direction in the script. I really would've liked to see it commit to the horror tone it was showing - it's been a long while since I've seen a horror begin with that kind of beauty and twist it. In the end, I'm not sure what the point of it was, except to start conversations; it didn't seem to want to commit itself to one. Now, this can work, but it has to be done with a much finer hand than was on show here.

I'm gonna give it 4.5/10, because I didn't particularly like it, but at least it was interesting.

In relation to my comment on it being revolting, please see the spoiler:

Sister/Brother incest. Disturbing in any setting, and particularly off-putting when the reasons are as under-explored as here.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Everlong » May 08, '15, 10:37 pm

Just saw Nightcrawler for the first time. Fantastic movie. Reminded me a lot of American Psycho, actually, because of its tone and a lot of its thematic elements. Outstanding writing, and Gyllenhaal knocks his performance out of the park. Can be difficult to watch at times but definitely worth a look if you've not seen it yet.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby UTK » May 10, '15, 11:10 am

Hot Fuzz - 8/10


I saw Shaun of the Dead and World's End, but I hadn't seen Hot Fuzz. It's my favorite of the three now (I would say Hot Fuzz is the best, then Shaun, then World's End).
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Kirbi » May 10, '15, 3:36 pm

I saw Girlhood last night with @Hanley! - don't let the name fool you; it's not trying to be Boyhood in any way. The title is kind of a pun, actually; it's about a teenage girl (Marieme/Vic) who becomes a hoodlum of sorts, it's a coming of age story, and it's kind of about sisterhood.

It's a french film about a 16 year-old girl coming to terms with her reduced options in life when her test scores don't qualify her for further schooling - because of her background, this doesn't leave her with many options, and she winds up falling in with a sort of miniature gang of other girls (there's only four, including the main character).

There's plenty of interest here - the film doesn't take a stance on the morality of them shaking people down and stuff, and the group seem to genuinely care for each other; they're very sweet together at times. When the focus is on this, I think the film is at its strongest. There are other aspects too - her family life, a love interest, and her search for what she wants in her life. These are executed well.

The film is well-shot, and the music is both good and interestingly chosen - I've never appreciated Rhianna's 'Diamonds' so much. The sequence with that song, and the one where Marieme's playing american football at the start of the film are standouts for me.

Towards the end of the film, though, the main character's story shifts, and she's with a few entirely new cast members, with the older ones not around anymore. This is where the movie fell down for me - I didn't really know or care for these characters, and this turn wasn't flag-posted earlier in the film. When I was watching it, I wished that this segment had just been left out - they could've just chopped off 15 minutes or so.

I'm going to give this a 6/10, but it definitely would've been a fair shot higher if the end hadn't felt so stuck on. Still, it was an interesting film. Worth a watch, but probably not a re-watch.

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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby prophet » May 18, '15, 1:46 pm

Hunger Games: Mockingjay - 3/10

I'd seen the first two movies and figured I may as well watch the third so I ordered it from box office and was so disappointed. I understood going into it that we wouldn't be getting an actual 'hunger games' but I found this film to be ridiculously boring focusing entirely on building the plot for the final film. I had little interest in the political war going on and for a film that was mainly filler why the fuck can't we see more of what the Capital is like? Instead we follow Katniss (who is terrible) sulking her way through the movie before it ended with nothing really happening. Is it just me that thought this movie sucked? I'll have to go check out how it did critically.

Max Max: Fury Road - 10/10

I've been known to give the max rating out before for films and felt like I had too with this, I was super pumped for the film anyway despite it's relatively under the radar promotion and it didn't disappoint. Like others have said it begins at 100mph and never slows down. The visuals were phenomenal, the acting was good with relatively little dialogue, the music was brilliant and the script was good. I gave it 10/10 because I enjoyed myself from beginning to end and that's pretty much all you can ask. Maybe I'd feel differently on second viewing (and I fully intend to go again) but on the first showing I loved it and that's all you can ask!
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Highwayman » Jun 06, '15, 9:35 pm

Drive - 6.5/10

It's very stylish. I see the appeal. The story itself, is just flat. Gosling's character rarely speaks and it severely hinders the relationship he has in the film, which was the plot. Throw in a couple driving scenes with some Kavinsky and you've got yourself a film that's trying really hard to be a cult classic...but it's not. Place Beyond The Pines is ten times better.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Ali » Jun 20, '15, 5:49 pm

Inside Out

What is the point of sadness? Why can't we just be happy most, if not all, of the time? Can't we just focus on all the good times and none of the bad things?

This movie answers those questions better than any doctor or textbook ever could.

Riley Anderson is 11 years old, and her life is pretty happy. She's got two good parents, she plays on a good hockey team with all her friends in Minnesota, life's going all right, until her dad's job forces them to uproot and move halfway across the country to San Francisco. Now, of course, this would be emotional for anyone, let alone an 11-year-old girl, but she manages to stay pretty well-balanced, thanks to her personified emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Anger (Lewis Black in what has to be the most obvious casting choice in the history of the universe), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) work in Riley's Headquarters, keeping her sane and stable.

They all seem to have a purpose. Anger keeps Riley's life fair, Fear keeps her safe, Disgust keeps her from being poisoned, and Joy keeps her happy, and she's seen as the boss since most of Riley's life is happy. But Sadness doesn't really feel like she has a purpose, and honestly, none of the other emotions feel like she has a place, either. Sadness is kind of a screw-up, since she can turn happy memories into sad ones, but Joy can't turn them back. A mishap of this nature causes Joy and Sadness to be swept up out of Headquarters, and they have to travel through the rest of Riley's mind to get back. But while they're gone, Disgust, Fear, and Anger are in charge, and though they mean well, they set off a chain of events that could destroy Riley's personality.

The cast is absolutely spot-on. These actors perfectly capture the emotions they're meant to convey, and yet, they are far from one-note. A lesser movie would just have Fear second-guess everything, Anger constantly yelling and causing conflict, that sort of thing, but this is Pixar, specifically Pete Docter, who previously directed Monsters, Inc. and Up. Each emotion has their own personality, they have layers and depth, and that is so important because it does keep this movie grounded and realistic. You understand why it's so important for all of these emotions to work together, keep each other in check, and the writing and acting convey that beautifully. The movie lets you feel, it lets you drink in the big moments, but it knows when to lighten up. It's not full of huge laughs, but it is funny when it needs to be.

Speaking of beautiful, the animation is just stunning. It's so bright and colorful, but not in any sort of clashing way. The emotions all kind of look fizzy, which isn't distracting at all because it gives them a unique style. But of course, this is Pixar we're talking about. If nothing else, their animation is always top-notch quality. Even if it's Cars, the animation is going to look good.

I'm just going to come out and say it. This is one of Pixar's best. Hell, it might be their best, flat-out. Now, it didn't make me cry like Toy Story 3, but I did tear up a bit. This movie gets it, this movie is must-watch material for anyone, especially parents. A parent going into this movie is going to come out with such a better understanding of what goes on not only in their kid's head, but in their own. This movie is required viewing for parents, for kids, for young adults going through tough times, for Psychology students, for basically everyone. I don't usually see enough movies per year to do a Top 10 list, but if I did, I have a hard time believing that anything coming out this year is going to knock this out of the top spot.

Final Rating: Amazingly Awesome. You need to watch this movie.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby UTK » Jun 21, '15, 12:42 pm

Bronson - 6/10

I only gave it a 6 because of Tom Hardy's acting. I didn't really care for anything else, really. I feel like it had a lot of potential. A lot of stuff happened in Bronson's life, and I felt like it was all glossed over. Like the film didn't really have a concrete narrative. It just felt like "Charles Bronson staring at walls and beating people up" for 90 minutes. With a new location every 10. I wish the film focused on individual experiences in his life. I feel like the movie only finally picked up in its last 15 or so minutes.

But then again, it's the same director as Drive
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby EmperorWu » Jun 21, '15, 5:28 pm

Mad Max: Fury Road, greatest car chase movie ever made. Fact. 10/10, would watch again. :clap
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Everlong » Jun 21, '15, 9:07 pm

@Ali glad to hear it's a good one! I've seen all the previews and have kind of been on the fence about it, so I'll have to give this one a shot at some point. THanks!
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Matteo » Jun 23, '15, 4:55 am

Hunger (2008, Steve McQueen)



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McQueen's 2008 prison drama has to be one of the most accomplished and complete directorial debuts in all of cinema. It's a work of someone with a perceptive, observant yet penetrative vision. A work of art that almost transcends the politics of its story and touches upon something much more pensive and philosophical. If you were to read the general premise of Hunger off a piece of paper, you could easily mistake it for a conventional, relatively straightforward and elementary film. However, from a storytelling and technical standpoint, it's anything but. McQueen takes a highly unorthodox and unique approach to the historical drama genre and gives us something truly haunting, perturbing and discomfiting, yet also strikingly beautiful, human and poignant.

His vivid and precise attention to detail clearly stems from his work as an artist. As somebody who is obsessed with small, exact and meticulous details signifying larger, more abstract conceptions. The film's depiction of the hunger and no-wash strike nucleates around this very notion, and it captures the brutality and turmoil of the strike more disconcertingly than any other 'conventional' approach would. But McQueen understands a film can not be this inaccessible and abstruse without giving some type of explanation eventually. And he does. The compelling exchange between Bobby and the Priest (mostly achieved all in one long, impressive take) provides this. It gives the film context, heart, and a sense of direction. It never leaves behind the demands of telling a story.

The last twenty minutes are among some of the most technically dextrous and profoundly meditative in all of my movie-watching experiences. It actually engendered the same type of emotional reaction that the final sequences of 2001: A Space Odyssey induced. In fact, they're rather similar when you think about it. It's about confronting and facing death. Facing morality. The inevitability of demise. The shots of Bobby lying on his death bed, accompanied by the diegetic sounds of slow, steady breathing, seeing his younger self, with his body in a state of decline felt reminiscent of an ageing Dave Bowman when he went 'beyond the infinite'. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an ill-founded and implausible comparison, but that's the power of filmmaking. Hunger is the only other work that made me feel this and I don't know why exactly.

As much as I am crediting McQueen's adept direction and remarkably perceptive sensibilities here, this is simply no overlooking the amazingly physical performance of Michael Fassbender. Yes, the body transformation is one thing, but the pain, the degradation and the human suffering he exhibits is another. This is truly a fantastic piece of filmmaking. I'll conclude by saying that there is this saying in movies and it goes something like this - 'there are three type of films: those that are written, those that are shot, and those that are edited'. I think Steve McQueen's Hunger is a combination of these three things, and maybe, just maybe, something a little bit more. It's a powerful and forceful work, and one I can not recommend highly enough.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Matteo » Jun 30, '15, 12:10 am

Foxcatcher (2014, Bennett Miller)




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I decided to give this a rewatch last week. It's a masterful work, and one of - if not the best - film of last year. Ruffalo, Tatum and Carell are towering in their performances, and Miller exhibits some truly remarkable technical dexterity behind the camera. It engenders a real visual fluidity, thanks in large part to its rhythmic and cogent editing, and admirable photographic composition and framing. The pacing may seem ponderous and stagnant to some, but I appreciated the slow and steady sensibilities of the work.

The film makes some intriguing observations on American exceptionalism whilst also summoning as an intimate and perturbing character study of a lonely, deranged man whose own affluence isolated him from the real world. This, particularly, is a rarity. That is, finding a work that is thematically rich enough to be both personal and small on one level but also quite all-encompassing and universal on another. Foxcatcher can be discerned just as much as an allegory for American patriotism and jingoism as it it can an exploration into alienation, fatherhood and family. I hate to use this word, but it's truly an example of multi-layered, complex, and well developed storytelling.

This is perhaps a work I appreciate more than most because it's exactly the type I found I value, particularly in terms of how Miller brought this dejecting and bleak story to life. Each frame is impeccably constructed, and the type of visual aesthetic Foxcatcher engendered is only attainable with the distinctive, organic beauty of photochemical film. Indeed, Miller was initially going to shoot digitally (primarily because of studio pressure), but after many hours of test shooting, he simply realised that digital provided too much of a polished, vivid and clear image. Certainly, a type of image that just would not be apposite to the nature of the story being told. Ultimately, it's a masterpiece, both technically and narratively. It also has a remarkable OST.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby prophet » Jul 04, '15, 6:38 am

Slow West - 8/10

Beautifully shot film with a good little story that has taken inspiration from a number of classic Westerns, most notably True Grit. Fassbender is on form, as per.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Chewy » Jul 04, '15, 6:46 am

The Lovely Bones.

It's the story of how a weird dude murders the lead singer of Hanson and then the fucker spends an hour and a half smoking crack and dunking absinthe so we get to see through her hippie bullshit dream things.

We're captivated by her amazing philosophical insight, no the opposite of that.

No logic is ever adhered to, from a batshit crazy twat of a father to the useless sap of a mother. But the absolute pinnacle of fucking dumb is the sister who manages to get actual evidence of the offender but decides against telling her parents to give them closure in preference to participate in a epic circle jerk.

I never thought a movie could do it, but this one actually made me side with the child killer. If this kid was as fucking retarded in life as she was in death it had to be seen as a mercy killing, no doubt she would have strangled herself tying her shoelaces at some point. Never mind the other fucking dullards he killed.

if anyone recommends you watch this shit, kick them in the fucking cunt because they are not your friend, they hate you and are probably a pedophile or a member of ISIL.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby UTK » Jul 16, '15, 1:26 pm

Whiplash - 8/10

When this movie came out everybody was talking about Simmons' performance, but I thought Teller's was way more impressive.
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby AkydefGoldberg » Jul 19, '15, 5:12 pm

The Other Guys

7/10

Good action comedy - refreshing to see Wahlberg's character was just as hapless as Ferrells and Rock/Jackson's cameo at the start was funny and needs to be made a prequel, surely..

And Eva Mendes... :damn
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Re: Rate the last film that you've watched

Postby Daz » Jul 19, '15, 9:43 pm

Currently watching Rear Window cause that's the sort of movie I watch when it's nearly five in the morning and I can't sleep
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