I'd nominate The Master, if you haven't seen it! It's a love/hate kind of movie, but for me it equals There Will Be Blood, plus it has two tragic bastards at the center of the whole thing. It's not as powerful, but the two performances (three if you include Amy Adams) are next level.
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Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| September 2017
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
I'd nominate The Master, if you haven't seen it! It's a love/hate kind of movie, but for me it equals There Will Be Blood, plus it has two tragic bastards at the center of the whole thing. It's not as powerful, but the two performances (three if you include Amy Adams) are next level.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Treasure of Sierra Madre maybe?
KraftyKrankins
Member
Battles Without Honor And Humanity
Part 3: Proxy War
A somewhat middling third installment that does fairly little to advance the plot. Most of it is spent on setting up the inevitable war that actually takes place in the fourth movie and a very forgettable sublplot about a character that doesn't amount to much in the end.
3.5/6
Part 4: Police Tactics
Much better than the lackluster third part. The plot picks up the pace greatly in this one(barring some odd 15 minutes near the beginning that felt like filler) and a lot of plot threads from the previous movies finally get closed. Absolutely stoked to watch the last one(or sixth out of eleven I guess) tomorrow.
4/5
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared
Member
Death Note 2017 is an example of how to take source material and utterly butcher it, butcher it to death. Not that the original death note manga is of any huge literary or artistic merit, but its pretty damn good (at least up to a certain point, and I haven't watched the anime)
This film meanwhile, not only removes all the all interesting characters, interesting motivations, and the interesting setting and aesthetic choices, it replaces them with the most boring, butchered (great word) choices imaginable. Ryuk is now malicious instead of just enjoying himself. Light is now whiny and horny instead of a misguided overly judgemental teenager, Mia is now cold and calculating instead of being deranged and clingy, L is now overly emotional. It all looks awful, they chose the worst possible music choices, it can't decide on a tone swinging between something like Saw or Final Destination to a horror film to a love story, just ugh. You know your film is rotten when Willem Dafoe can't save it.
This film meanwhile, not only removes all the all interesting characters, interesting motivations, and the interesting setting and aesthetic choices, it replaces them with the most boring, butchered (great word) choices imaginable. Ryuk is now malicious instead of just enjoying himself. Light is now whiny and horny instead of a misguided overly judgemental teenager, Mia is now cold and calculating instead of being deranged and clingy, L is now overly emotional. It all looks awful, they chose the worst possible music choices, it can't decide on a tone swinging between something like Saw or Final Destination to a horror film to a love story, just ugh. You know your film is rotten when Willem Dafoe can't save it.
HollowCentral
Member
Mulan (1998) may as well be a first watch for me, since it's one of the few Disney movies I don't remember watching as a kid. I'm sure I did, but I barely remembered anything about it. I'm glad I watched it though, cause it's pretty good. The visuals alone put it towards the top end of animated films, and it's look would go on to inspire similar films to go in the same direction (namely Kung Fu Panda). The story is definitely one of Disney's more ambitious, and the fact that it's pulled off so well makes Mulan one of the more interesting "princesses". The voice acting is solid, and it's great to have a mostly Asian cast, which hopefully the remake doesn't fuck up.
It does have it's problems though. The first third or so is pretty rough compared to the rest of the film; the tone is all over the place, and the pacing feels lightning fast, like it has to introduce everything in double time. Luckily, once Mushu shows up the film gets going again, but the pacing continues to ebb and flow, and never feels quite right. Overall, though, it's a solid film, and could turn out to be one of the better of Disney's upcoming slate of remakes. 7/10.
It does have it's problems though. The first third or so is pretty rough compared to the rest of the film; the tone is all over the place, and the pacing feels lightning fast, like it has to introduce everything in double time. Luckily, once Mushu shows up the film gets going again, but the pacing continues to ebb and flow, and never feels quite right. Overall, though, it's a solid film, and could turn out to be one of the better of Disney's upcoming slate of remakes. 7/10.
Fancy Clown
Member
IT (2017): Discussed more in the review thread, but in brief a pretty good movie that succeeds on the strength of great casting (we're in a golden age of child actors).
The Way We Were (1973): Marvin Hamlisch's score and theme song (the latter being one of the things that is regularly parodied, so it's interesting to see the original usage) are great, and I overall enjoyed this movie. Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford have good chemistry. The final act of the movie focusing on the Blacklist is a bit cliche now, though I expect this was one of the first big movies to deal with the topic. The ending, where
, is something that it would be impossible to dramatize now while presenting him as a sympathetic character.
Five Easy Pieces (1970): One of those post-Hays Code gritty dramas that reveled in the newfound ability to depict really unpleasant people (Jack Nicholson's speciality!). Looked at from decades later sans that novelty, there's not much to it, really. The movie's most famous scene, for some reason, is a side bit about Nicholson trying to get a special order at a restaurant.
The Way We Were (1973): Marvin Hamlisch's score and theme song (the latter being one of the things that is regularly parodied, so it's interesting to see the original usage) are great, and I overall enjoyed this movie. Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford have good chemistry. The final act of the movie focusing on the Blacklist is a bit cliche now, though I expect this was one of the first big movies to deal with the topic. The ending, where
Redford apparently just walks away from his just-born daughter and never sees her
Five Easy Pieces (1970): One of those post-Hays Code gritty dramas that reveled in the newfound ability to depict really unpleasant people (Jack Nicholson's speciality!). Looked at from decades later sans that novelty, there's not much to it, really. The movie's most famous scene, for some reason, is a side bit about Nicholson trying to get a special order at a restaurant.
AngmarsKing701
Member
IT (2017) - gonna be impossible to talk about this movie without talking about how I saw it. As mentioned previously, my wife and I went to the drive-in to see this. Now, the drive-in is about 75 minutes away, and while we originally had planned to eat out on our way, between work and picking up our van from the shop, we left a little later than we'd wanted to.
So, we're gonna eat at the drive-in. Frankly, this added to the atmosphere. Nachos--err, wait... "nachos"--french fries smothered in melted cheese, cheese steaks, popcorn, twizzlers. Most of it quite goopy. My wife had outfit the back of our van by folding down the back row of seats, throwing a mattress topper in there, pillows and blankets. It was a perfect night for watching a movie at the drive-in. Mid 60s temp, not a cloud in the sky.
Never been to this drive-in before, but it's like driving into the 80s, which, for IT, was perfect. The screen even has a slight tear in it up near the right corner.
Now, we've not been in a while, so we pulled a little stupid move. Put the car in the accessory position, tuned the radio to the correct frequency and settled in. About halfway through, the van is dinging, and we're ignoring it, until it shuts off.
Errr... battery dead?
So we're a little freaking out, though of course the drive-in folks even have on their web site that they keep jumper cables for this very reason.
Luckily, the battery wasn't dead dead. I tried to turn it on about ten minutes later and it fired up, and given we had enough gas we let it idle to watch the rest. So there was a good ten minutes in the middle where we were straining to hear. Now ... all of that being said, there's not a ton of dialog here anyway, and if you're familiar at all with the book or the mini-series (it was a mini-series, wasn't it?) the missing ten minutes of sound really isn't that much of a problem.
Okay - now that I've given you a wall of text about how I saw it, the movie itself. Creepy af. Everything inside is dark. All the houses have dark hallways and dark entrances. Curtains are drawn all the time. Steeped in shadows. While the child actors do a great job, the adults are great here too. Fucking creeeeeepy. From the parents to the leering pharmacist, everyone comes off as being on the edge of psychotic. Really well done. As for the kids themselves, solid casting, solid performances.
This movie belongs to Pennywise though. I've never been one to be scared of clowns, but holy shit this dude just oozes creepy. There aren't a ton of jump scares here, and it's almost as though the director decided "you know what, horror movies these days depend way too much on jump scares you can see coming from a mile away." No, this movie isn't a jump scare movie; it's just fucking creepy, from the evil clown at its core, to the dank sewers, to the dark hallways of the houses and the library, to the people inhabiting Derry. It's positively clinging with creepy.
Makes you shiver when it's all said and done.
Really fun time, made even better by the drive-in atmosphere.
4 / 5
So, we're gonna eat at the drive-in. Frankly, this added to the atmosphere. Nachos--err, wait... "nachos"--french fries smothered in melted cheese, cheese steaks, popcorn, twizzlers. Most of it quite goopy. My wife had outfit the back of our van by folding down the back row of seats, throwing a mattress topper in there, pillows and blankets. It was a perfect night for watching a movie at the drive-in. Mid 60s temp, not a cloud in the sky.
Never been to this drive-in before, but it's like driving into the 80s, which, for IT, was perfect. The screen even has a slight tear in it up near the right corner.
Now, we've not been in a while, so we pulled a little stupid move. Put the car in the accessory position, tuned the radio to the correct frequency and settled in. About halfway through, the van is dinging, and we're ignoring it, until it shuts off.
Errr... battery dead?
So we're a little freaking out, though of course the drive-in folks even have on their web site that they keep jumper cables for this very reason.
Luckily, the battery wasn't dead dead. I tried to turn it on about ten minutes later and it fired up, and given we had enough gas we let it idle to watch the rest. So there was a good ten minutes in the middle where we were straining to hear. Now ... all of that being said, there's not a ton of dialog here anyway, and if you're familiar at all with the book or the mini-series (it was a mini-series, wasn't it?) the missing ten minutes of sound really isn't that much of a problem.
Okay - now that I've given you a wall of text about how I saw it, the movie itself. Creepy af. Everything inside is dark. All the houses have dark hallways and dark entrances. Curtains are drawn all the time. Steeped in shadows. While the child actors do a great job, the adults are great here too. Fucking creeeeeepy. From the parents to the leering pharmacist, everyone comes off as being on the edge of psychotic. Really well done. As for the kids themselves, solid casting, solid performances.
This movie belongs to Pennywise though. I've never been one to be scared of clowns, but holy shit this dude just oozes creepy. There aren't a ton of jump scares here, and it's almost as though the director decided "you know what, horror movies these days depend way too much on jump scares you can see coming from a mile away." No, this movie isn't a jump scare movie; it's just fucking creepy, from the evil clown at its core, to the dank sewers, to the dark hallways of the houses and the library, to the people inhabiting Derry. It's positively clinging with creepy.
Makes you shiver when it's all said and done.
Really fun time, made even better by the drive-in atmosphere.
4 / 5
Still Alice (2014) | ★★★☆☆
Since my dad was diagnosed with dementia one and a half year ago it's been really hard on me, my family and my father. I've needed to consume media that plays with this subject matter and found Still Alice; a movie I decided to watch yesterday. First and foremost, I think Julianne Moore did a splendid job in the role of Alice, and really invested her emotions into it, and I liked the acting of the supporting roles as well. It was a little hard to watch through as it stroke close to home, yet it was also different compared to my father's sickness, as this movie plays with familial alzheimers. Still, it was about a wonderful person who would slowly forget words, names, actions and even rooms in her own house. It was heartbreaking with the video Alice decided to record, and somewhat still understandable on some level, but still tough. I found myself teary-eyed at points which is rare with movies but it happened here, yet there was also room for smiles when the movie would touch upon the smaller positive things in life.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (Despecialized Edition) | ★★★☆☆
I'm in a real Star Wars mood for sure. With The Last Jedi around the corner I've found myself checking out my first Star Wars novels, starting up the TV show, and for the first time ever watching and finishing the fan made "despecialized edition" of the first Star Wars movie. I had forgotten things, like Tarkin being in it, and Han Solo's comeback, so it was still a wonderful rewatch. Some effects and gamma looked different than the Blu-ray edition I noticed and I'm not sure I liked it. The movie itself was solid and probably one of the better Star Wars films, yet it's boring at times but the pacing is still quite even. I liked the plot of Ben Kenobi, and knowing stuff like Luke and Leia being related before going into the movie. It put things in perspective.
Since my dad was diagnosed with dementia one and a half year ago it's been really hard on me, my family and my father. I've needed to consume media that plays with this subject matter and found Still Alice; a movie I decided to watch yesterday. First and foremost, I think Julianne Moore did a splendid job in the role of Alice, and really invested her emotions into it, and I liked the acting of the supporting roles as well. It was a little hard to watch through as it stroke close to home, yet it was also different compared to my father's sickness, as this movie plays with familial alzheimers. Still, it was about a wonderful person who would slowly forget words, names, actions and even rooms in her own house. It was heartbreaking with the video Alice decided to record, and somewhat still understandable on some level, but still tough. I found myself teary-eyed at points which is rare with movies but it happened here, yet there was also room for smiles when the movie would touch upon the smaller positive things in life.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (Despecialized Edition) | ★★★☆☆
I'm in a real Star Wars mood for sure. With The Last Jedi around the corner I've found myself checking out my first Star Wars novels, starting up the TV show, and for the first time ever watching and finishing the fan made "despecialized edition" of the first Star Wars movie. I had forgotten things, like Tarkin being in it, and Han Solo's comeback, so it was still a wonderful rewatch. Some effects and gamma looked different than the Blu-ray edition I noticed and I'm not sure I liked it. The movie itself was solid and probably one of the better Star Wars films, yet it's boring at times but the pacing is still quite even. I liked the plot of Ben Kenobi, and knowing stuff like Luke and Leia being related before going into the movie. It put things in perspective.
AngmarsKing701
Member
GOAT song though: "Make a Man Out Of You"
That scene where she realizes how to get the arrow. Goosebumps. Every. Single. Time.
Oh, and the bow at the end too. Shit, LotR's bowing scene was stolen from this movie.
Training Day?
You're kind of setting yourself up for disappointment with anything right next to Blood though.
Naked (Mike Leigh)
JoJoShabadoo
Member
Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Anyone here watch this? The review thread on Gaf is only 1 page.
It was actually pretty good. Wasn't sure what to expect. A kind of neo-noir Lynchian thriller. The opening credits were... Memorable. Anyone else get scared by the
baby monitor scene?
Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Anyone here watch this? The review thread on Gaf is only 1 page.
It was actually pretty good. Wasn't sure what to expect. A kind of neo-noir Lynchian thriller. The opening credits were... Memorable. Anyone else get scared by thebaby monitor scene?
I really, really liked it. The highway scene is one of the most tense scenes of last year. Plus Michael Shannon was awesome, as always. I think Amy Adams was a tiny bit problematic, but that's based on the character being so iced out from how her life is.
HollowCentral
Member
That song is pretty fucking amazing. Like, definitely top 5 Disney songs for sure, maybe like #2 after Circle of Life.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Lost City of Z (2016) - the based on the true story of Percy Fawcett, an explorer of the early 20th century driven to find "Z" (essentially El Dorado), deep in the jungles of the Amazon. Hunnam does a wonderful job with the passion necessary to drive such a character. Pattinson is great as his aide de camp in the first half. Perhaps a bit long, as we see quite a bit of how such an explorer's life puts strain on his family, who nonetheless stand beside him throughout his life.
I did think the movie dragged on a bit. The jungle stuff was the most interesting, but unfortunately only occupied maybe half the movie.
2.5 / 5
I did think the movie dragged on a bit. The jungle stuff was the most interesting, but unfortunately only occupied maybe half the movie.
2.5 / 5
TissueBox
Member
King of Comedy's a darkly comic one.
'Course, it's not quite an irredeemable Daniel Plainview character at the center of it. Actually I wouldn't go into that expecting There Will Be Blood at all, I just recommended it because it has a character of beautiful awkward cringe, which is also not seen well done as much 'round these parts.If you haven't seen it Barry Lyndon is a classic.
In any case I actually do sympathize with Plainview's character. Like in many compelling character studies, in the end it was all about them being alone.
HollowCentral
Member
Disney's Hercules (1997) is a strange movie, especially compared to it's peers. I've been on a Disney kick recently following my last watch of The Lion King, and this is the one I've seen the most recently since the last time (about 2 years). That being said, I didn't remember it being this...unique. I mean, it is a Disney movie with Danny DeVito and an implied rape attempt between a river guardian and Meg. That being said, it's actually not as bad as people like to make it out to be. It's almost the opposite of Mulan, in a lot of ways. For example, where Mulan works best when it's being serious, Hercules is at it's best when it's being really weird and off-the-wall. The voice acting, as usual, is pretty great (especially Danny DeVito), and James Woods's Hades is pretty awesome. Best of all though is "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)", which is definitely one of my favorite Disney songs.
There's a lot of rough patches though. Pain and Panic are definitely two of the weakest comic relief characters Disney's written, and Hercules himself is pretty boring. Much like Mulan, the beginning third is much weaker than the rest, but it's much more noticeable here. It's also clear that some of Disney's early CGI work was happening here, with the gorgon. And...it hasn't aged well. Despite it's glaring issues though, it's still an enjoyable movie. Not one of Disney's objectively great films, but I like it for what it is. 6/10.
There's a lot of rough patches though. Pain and Panic are definitely two of the weakest comic relief characters Disney's written, and Hercules himself is pretty boring. Much like Mulan, the beginning third is much weaker than the rest, but it's much more noticeable here. It's also clear that some of Disney's early CGI work was happening here, with the gorgon. And...it hasn't aged well. Despite it's glaring issues though, it's still an enjoyable movie. Not one of Disney's objectively great films, but I like it for what it is. 6/10.
Suspiria: It is tempting to being and end a review with "HOLY SHIT I GOT TO FUCKING WATCH THIS IN AN ACTUAL GODDAMNED THEATER WHERE ARE MY SEDATIVES," but in reality, it's just too engrossing an experience of a film to leave it at a simple yet effective line like that. Coming from someone whose first viewing of the film was courtesy of a ratty public access show that wanted to be MST3K but had neither the money nor the talent to pull it off, one had to be thankful that they at least had the sense to run their films uncut, and even with what could generously be stated as a third-generation VHS copy of the film, it left quite an impression on the 12 year-old me. I've seen it plenty of times of since then, but when the opportunity finally presented itself to be able to catch the recently restored version in a theater, I could not leap or run fast enough to get to wherever and whenever it was playing. Leaving the theater, I was left once again with an overwhelming impression of seeing something truly extraordinary yet again, pointing to not only the wonderful job Synapse Films did with the restoration, but to also how new and fresh it feels when it's in the format it was created for in the first place. Yes, the story seldom makes any sense at all, but one is hard-pressed to mind when Argento and company are so diligent on creating such a gorgeous nightmare of a world within each frame, aided by the pounding, screeching rhythms of Goblin's score. If this is a 40 year-old film, then it does a remarkable job of being so forward-looking with its presentation and obsession that it's a miracle that it wasn't ripped off more, and still somehow manages to feel rather fresh. Argento swung for the fences here and hit a home run, and for those lucky enough to live in a city where this is touring in, do anything and everything you can to see firsthand just how far out of the park.
KraftyKrankins
Member
Battles Without Honor And Humanity: Final Episode
The last one finishes the series in a decent, but a little anticlimactic way. "Final Episode" stays true to the series' themes though and leaves a lot of questions unanswered, somewhat fitting considering what it's adapted from. Brash and unforgiving to the easily distracted audiences this "jitsuroku" crime saga will stay in the back of my mind for a while.
3.5/5
I watched A Hard Day yesterday and enjoyed it for that uniquely elusive Korean blend of genres. Part drama, part black comedy, part thriller. Didn't always work (the antagonist isn't really fleshed out much) but had some hilarious and tense moments.
Got me thinking about Korean cinema. From memory and looking up some lists, I made a chronological list of Korean movies I enjoyed:
1999: Attack the Gas Station!, Siri
2000: Joint Security Area
2001: My Sassy Girl, Volcano High
2002: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Public Enemy
2003: Oldboy, Memories of Murder, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter & Spring, A Tale of Two Sisters, Silmido
2004: Taegukgi, Bin-Jip, Spirit of Jeet Kune Do, R-Point
2005: A Bittersweet Life, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
2006: The Host, Aachi & Ssipak, The Customer is Always Right, No Mercy For the Rude, A Dirty Carnival, City of Violence
2007: -
2008: The Chaser, The Good, The Bad & The Weird,
2009: Thirst
2010: The Man From Nowhere, I Saw the Devil, Bedevilled
2011: The Front Line
2012: -
2013: Snowpiercer
2014: A Hard Day
2015: -
2016: Train to Busan, The Wailing
So what stands out is basically the period 2003-2006 was pretty crazy and amazing. Oldboy with its legendary hallway fight scene and amazing twists, Memories of Murder revitalizing a genre that was dead to me personally, the serene beauty of Spring Summer Fall Winter & Spring, fantastic horror with A Tale of Two Sisters, the mad-stylish A Bittersweet Life (Byung-hun Lee, one magnificent national treasure))crazy monster action (in broad daylight!) with the Host, wild animation with Aachi & Ssipak, stylish noir-comedies such as No Mercy for The Rude... But before and after this 4-year period there was som obviously some great stuff too. Attack the Gas Station is juvenile comedy at its best, 2008 gave us The Chaser, 2010 The Man From Nowhere, I Saw the Devil and Bedevilled (immensly solid horror), etc.
But either I kinda got out of touch or roughly after 2010 interesting output dropped a bit. I hope it's the former, since A Hard Day got me in the mood for Korean cinema. I hope you guys have some recommendations, be it recent productions, be it stuff from 2000-2010, based on the 36 movies mentioned above.
Got me thinking about Korean cinema. From memory and looking up some lists, I made a chronological list of Korean movies I enjoyed:
1999: Attack the Gas Station!, Siri
2000: Joint Security Area
2001: My Sassy Girl, Volcano High
2002: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Public Enemy
2003: Oldboy, Memories of Murder, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter & Spring, A Tale of Two Sisters, Silmido
2004: Taegukgi, Bin-Jip, Spirit of Jeet Kune Do, R-Point
2005: A Bittersweet Life, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
2006: The Host, Aachi & Ssipak, The Customer is Always Right, No Mercy For the Rude, A Dirty Carnival, City of Violence
2007: -
2008: The Chaser, The Good, The Bad & The Weird,
2009: Thirst
2010: The Man From Nowhere, I Saw the Devil, Bedevilled
2011: The Front Line
2012: -
2013: Snowpiercer
2014: A Hard Day
2015: -
2016: Train to Busan, The Wailing
So what stands out is basically the period 2003-2006 was pretty crazy and amazing. Oldboy with its legendary hallway fight scene and amazing twists, Memories of Murder revitalizing a genre that was dead to me personally, the serene beauty of Spring Summer Fall Winter & Spring, fantastic horror with A Tale of Two Sisters, the mad-stylish A Bittersweet Life (Byung-hun Lee, one magnificent national treasure))crazy monster action (in broad daylight!) with the Host, wild animation with Aachi & Ssipak, stylish noir-comedies such as No Mercy for The Rude... But before and after this 4-year period there was som obviously some great stuff too. Attack the Gas Station is juvenile comedy at its best, 2008 gave us The Chaser, 2010 The Man From Nowhere, I Saw the Devil and Bedevilled (immensly solid horror), etc.
But either I kinda got out of touch or roughly after 2010 interesting output dropped a bit. I hope it's the former, since A Hard Day got me in the mood for Korean cinema. I hope you guys have some recommendations, be it recent productions, be it stuff from 2000-2010, based on the 36 movies mentioned above.
HollowCentral
Member
I should really check out more Korean films. The only two I've heard of on that list are Oldboy and Snowpiercer. Gotta do some research.
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972): I approached this with some trepidation since it's one of those films that gets talked about so much as an arthouse masterpiece, and I have to say, I came away not thinking all that much of it. It's certainly impressive on a production level, but it never gives any reason to care about any of the things happening onscreen, and that sort of Kubrickian approach generally doesn't work for me. The influence on certain chapters of George R.R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons is funny, though.
Lee Hyeon-seung's Il Mare and Kang Hyeong-Cheol's Sunny are great. Oh and Barking Dogs Never Bite too, it's my favorite Bong Joon-ho work (come at me).
New World by Park Hoon-Jung is rated highly pretty much everywhere but I've yet to see it.
I'd recommend all of the ones Rei_Toei mentioned, they're all insanely good!
2009 also had Mother, which was great.
But I Saw The Devil will always be my favorite from South Korea. It'd take a lot to topple the love I have for that one.
MidnightCowboy
Member
David Lynch must have been horny as fuck throughout the entire production of Fire Walk With Me. Definitely ups the sleaze factor when compared to the original show. I dug Chester and Stan a lot, it's a shame they never come back. Some pretty horrific stuff, but you know, I'm not sure I was ever as terrified as I was during
But that's probably because I'm used to the style by now.
Also new Donna is aight, but doesn't come close to the original. And no Audrey, GOAT Twin Peaks character
Maddy's death scene.
Also new Donna is aight, but doesn't come close to the original. And no Audrey, GOAT Twin Peaks character
Roadgames This is some Aussie thing that showed up on Shudder the other day. They had me at Stacey Keach but kept me with Jamie Lee Curtis. Keach plays this oddball long haul trucker in the outback that has a serial killer following him...or is he? Very cool film and very odd.
Life I loved it! Ryan Reynolds trying to burn the creature was great. The space station was well done and I really liked how everything was kind of modern and not some future spacey stuff. Really I could have stood to see this unfold as a science film and not a horror because the first half was pretty damn good as it was. The second half was a bit nuts but I'm a sucker for films like this.
Alien Covenant ...it wasn't bad? If I had to define this it would be the best goddamn b movie ever made. I mean whoever said Ridley just ran with whatever insanity crossed his mind was right on point. At no time does this feel like an actual Alien film but as I say in my Letterboxd review its like some bizzaro universe you see in comics. Like someone said fuck it lets go crazy and see what happens. Can't wait to see where this insane circus goes next.
Life I loved it! Ryan Reynolds trying to burn the creature was great. The space station was well done and I really liked how everything was kind of modern and not some future spacey stuff. Really I could have stood to see this unfold as a science film and not a horror because the first half was pretty damn good as it was. The second half was a bit nuts but I'm a sucker for films like this.
Alien Covenant ...it wasn't bad? If I had to define this it would be the best goddamn b movie ever made. I mean whoever said Ridley just ran with whatever insanity crossed his mind was right on point. At no time does this feel like an actual Alien film but as I say in my Letterboxd review its like some bizzaro universe you see in comics. Like someone said fuck it lets go crazy and see what happens. Can't wait to see where this insane circus goes next.
Gnome Scat
Member
Gone Girl: 3.5/5
I thought the initial premise of this movie was a pretty brilliant concept in terms of making the "did he do it" question intriguing and contentious, seeing how the apparent kidnapping and/or murder of a man's wife has become highly sensationalized, set to the background of a dying marriage. This reduces Ben Affleck's character to a more 'neutral' state, where his level of care proportional to our expectations of how a husband should be acting in this situation is used to keep the audience guessing, as well as how the information is doled out parallel to how the media is spinning a developing story. I don't want to delve into spoilers because I did like and do recommend this movie, but around the halfway point this seemingly physiological thriller shifts tone and direction, turning into a very different, more straight-forward story that is still entertaining and thrilling to watch unfold (however somewhat contrived), but prevents the movie from reaching it's true potential.
I thought the initial premise of this movie was a pretty brilliant concept in terms of making the "did he do it" question intriguing and contentious, seeing how the apparent kidnapping and/or murder of a man's wife has become highly sensationalized, set to the background of a dying marriage. This reduces Ben Affleck's character to a more 'neutral' state, where his level of care proportional to our expectations of how a husband should be acting in this situation is used to keep the audience guessing, as well as how the information is doled out parallel to how the media is spinning a developing story. I don't want to delve into spoilers because I did like and do recommend this movie, but around the halfway point this seemingly physiological thriller shifts tone and direction, turning into a very different, more straight-forward story that is still entertaining and thrilling to watch unfold (however somewhat contrived), but prevents the movie from reaching it's true potential.
Paterson is an interesting film, but compared to the other Jarmusch films I've seen (Broken Flowers and Ghost Dog) it feels like the weakest. Showing the full week with a few small variables is a neat concept, but it didn't feel ideal to carry the entire movie. Like Paterson noticing the crooked mailbox every day and correcting it, felt like it was laying the 'every day is the same' idea on too thick. What I did like was Driver's performance and the poetry. It's funny how he actually got upstaged by the girl, that was by far the best poem.
There's also some recurring imagery that I don't see the hidden meaning of, like him seeing twins everywhere. His girlfriend even says in the beginning of the movie that she dreamt of them having twins. No idea if I'm missing symbolism here.
I also kept thinking
As a dog person I also couldn't handle how he left him outside the bar every night... I liked Marvin more than Paterson
There's also some recurring imagery that I don't see the hidden meaning of, like him seeing twins everywhere. His girlfriend even says in the beginning of the movie that she dreamt of them having twins. No idea if I'm missing symbolism here.
I also kept thinking
his dog was going to get stolen, especially since he ran into some thugs warning him about it.
Bonen no Max'd
Banned
O' Brother Where Art Thou was very fun and had great music. I haven't seen a lot of George Clooney but he was super great in this, and the music was all very good. I'm definitely down for more films featuring Klansmen getting crushed by giant burning crosses. Of the now five Coen movies I've seen, I'd rank it at about the same as True Grit, not transcendent but very fun and well-made.
On the other hand The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was pretty disappointing. Visually I found it much less interesting than I expected to and I never really connected with the characters or the story at all. There's some good bits but overall I just didn't like it all that much, which was disappointing because Grand Budapest Hotel is one of my new favorites. Hopefully Rushmore and Fantastic Mr. Fox will be better.
I also rewatched The Wind That Shakes the Barley again and I don't have too much to say on it other than that it's still amazing.
On the other hand The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was pretty disappointing. Visually I found it much less interesting than I expected to and I never really connected with the characters or the story at all. There's some good bits but overall I just didn't like it all that much, which was disappointing because Grand Budapest Hotel is one of my new favorites. Hopefully Rushmore and Fantastic Mr. Fox will be better.
I also rewatched The Wind That Shakes the Barley again and I don't have too much to say on it other than that it's still amazing.
jokingbird
Member
I really liked the second half. In a way it was true to life. Where rationalizing can bring about a repulsive solution to a problem. I think the sister really represented the viewer in the situation.
Puck Beaverton
Banned
If you look at the film as being similarly structured to a poem you might appreciate the repetitive nature more.Paterson is an interesting film, but compared to the other Jarmusch films I've seen (Broken Flowers and Ghost Dog) it feels like the weakest. Showing the full week with a few small variables is a neat concept, but it didn't feel ideal to carry the entire movie. Like Paterson noticing the crooked mailbox every day and correcting it, felt like it was laying the 'every day is the same' idea on too thick. What I did like was Driver's performance and the poetry. It's funny how he actually got upstaged by the girl, that was by far the best poem.
There's also some recurring imagery that I don't see the hidden meaning of, like him seeing twins everywhere. His girlfriend even says in the beginning of the movie that she dreamt of them having twins. No idea if I'm missing symbolism here.
I also kept thinkingAs a dog person I also couldn't handle how he left him outside the bar every night... I liked Marvin more than Patersonhis dog was going to get stolen, especially since he ran into some thugs warning him about it.
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
I had the displeasure of seeing that movie in a screening with first-year university students who didn't care for it. I felt it had class, but the experience kind of got lost to a room of bored kids.
HollowCentral
Member
Power Rangers: Krispy Kreme Force (2017) is a good movie that's dragged down by having to be a Power Rangers movie. If this was an original thing and could create it's own lore, it probably would've been a lot better. But I still enjoyed it. Quick story time: I saw this when it was in theaters, and I saw it in a practically empty theater with a friend at 2 PM on a Tuesday. We went in expecting it to be awful, and by the end we looked at each other and said, "Huh. That wasn't bad". Rewatching it, I feel the same way, and I probably liked it even a little more than when I saw it the first time. I really appreciate the coming-of-age sections the most. Being a teenager in high school, a lot of the points they made rang really true, even more so than in Homecoming. I also really liked some of the interesting cinematography choices, especially
. The five teenagers were all pretty good, with RJ Cyler as Billy being easily the best character. I also liked the final action scene, especially once the Zords got involved.
Of course, there are plenty of problems. Elizabeth Banks is neither good enough to be interesting or bad enough to give some campy fun, and Bill Hader never gets better than mildly annoying. And the last third of the film is much weaker than the rest, with just too much action. I wish it had been more evenly spread across the entire film instead of a big 30 minute block, because the way it is feels like overkill. Again, Power Rangers: Doughnut Charge isn't great, but it is good, and if I were to see it on Black Friday for cheap, I could see myself picking it up. 6/10, up from a 5.
with the opening car crash
Of course, there are plenty of problems. Elizabeth Banks is neither good enough to be interesting or bad enough to give some campy fun, and Bill Hader never gets better than mildly annoying. And the last third of the film is much weaker than the rest, with just too much action. I wish it had been more evenly spread across the entire film instead of a big 30 minute block, because the way it is feels like overkill. Again, Power Rangers: Doughnut Charge isn't great, but it is good, and if I were to see it on Black Friday for cheap, I could see myself picking it up. 6/10, up from a 5.
Bonen no Max'd
Banned
Would definitely recommend giving it another shot if you have the chance and inclination, it's a very sad but very powerful movie and was an instant favorite of mine.
My local nonprofit theater is showing I, Daniel Blake in a couple weeks so I'm going to have to go get more of that Ken Loach experience because this was perfection for me.
More_Badass
Member
Oldboy
Had only seen the remake, so I had put off seeing the original, thinking that it would be diminished in hindsight.
How wrong I was. So wrong.
This was one brutal mindfuck of a thriller. The classic hallway fight was even better in context, and the last 20 minutes was just one endless string of emotional visceral punches to the gut.
The Chaser
Yes, another ruthless Korean thriller. I'm a glutton for punishment. While I really liked the pacing of the first act, I felt the second act felt dulled and lacked the edge and momentum of what came before. The finale made up for that.
Fury of a Patient Man
A lean mean Spanish revenge thriller, that while somewhat generic in its premise, succeeds thanks to the subtle rage in its protagonist's performance and its gritty suspense. When the bursts of brutal violence come, they come as a release from Fury's sustained tension
Had only seen the remake, so I had put off seeing the original, thinking that it would be diminished in hindsight.
How wrong I was. So wrong.
This was one brutal mindfuck of a thriller. The classic hallway fight was even better in context, and the last 20 minutes was just one endless string of emotional visceral punches to the gut.
The Chaser
Yes, another ruthless Korean thriller. I'm a glutton for punishment. While I really liked the pacing of the first act, I felt the second act felt dulled and lacked the edge and momentum of what came before. The finale made up for that.
Fury of a Patient Man
A lean mean Spanish revenge thriller, that while somewhat generic in its premise, succeeds thanks to the subtle rage in its protagonist's performance and its gritty suspense. When the bursts of brutal violence come, they come as a release from Fury's sustained tension
sunshine and gasoline
Banned
Memoir of a Murderer
Yet another Korean film I've watched recently. This one didn't impress me as much as Midnight Runners but I liked the concept though I felt that the execution was less than ideal.
At its core the movie is about a murderer who is slowly using his memory and is really spotty with recent memories. He then stumbles across another murderer and starts on a path of conflict with him. What could have been a pretty good thriller is ruined by moments where the film starts to "cheat" with its twists. Those moments always threw me out of my immersion. YMMV on this aspect.
3/5
Yet another Korean film I've watched recently. This one didn't impress me as much as Midnight Runners but I liked the concept though I felt that the execution was less than ideal.
At its core the movie is about a murderer who is slowly using his memory and is really spotty with recent memories. He then stumbles across another murderer and starts on a path of conflict with him. What could have been a pretty good thriller is ruined by moments where the film starts to "cheat" with its twists. Those moments always threw me out of my immersion. YMMV on this aspect.
3/5
Messofanego
Banned
I'm a big fan of one of the director's previous films, A Bloody Aria. Thanks for the review on this one.
Puck Beaverton
Banned
I still want to see Spike Lee's intended version of Oldboy. The way way Brolin spoke about it makes it sound so good. Shame what happened.
KraftyKrankins
Member
Which Ozu should I watch as my first one? Tokyo Story or The End Of Summer? I'm leaning more towards Tokyo I think.
Puck Beaverton
Banned
Tokyo.
More_Badass
Member
Suburra
Been on a trend of foreign movies lately, and this was my first Italian film. A compelling thriller set among the politics and warring gangs of Rome, where church, politicians, and crime are often interwoven from the parliament seat to the dank back alley. As various parties circle around a bill that'll allow a section of the city to be turned into a Vegas-style strip, a single death spirals events out of control, resulting in all manner of brutal deaths and menacing threats.
Really enjoyed it, now I have to check out Gomorrah and both film's TV adaptations
Been on a trend of foreign movies lately, and this was my first Italian film. A compelling thriller set among the politics and warring gangs of Rome, where church, politicians, and crime are often interwoven from the parliament seat to the dank back alley. As various parties circle around a bill that'll allow a section of the city to be turned into a Vegas-style strip, a single death spirals events out of control, resulting in all manner of brutal deaths and menacing threats.
Really enjoyed it, now I have to check out Gomorrah and both film's TV adaptations
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared
Member
Tom Cruise has his best big smile, slightly manic look on for American Made, a highly enjoyable, flashy, yet ultimately empty and flimsy look at the life of Barry Seal, a drugs smuggler/people smuggler/possible CIA agent.
Despite the aforementioned lack of substance, its really a lot of fun, Cruise really looks like he's enjoying himself, and this character feels practically written for him. The story being told is extremely well paced with very little down time, it looks excellent. The action stuff is extremely well done and Cruise is no small part of that. Domhnall Gleeson has a great role as a slick CIA agent, and the whole film has a kind of rough feel to it, in the best possible way. Slick, but also rough and well worn. It's a great ride.
Despite the aforementioned lack of substance, its really a lot of fun, Cruise really looks like he's enjoying himself, and this character feels practically written for him. The story being told is extremely well paced with very little down time, it looks excellent. The action stuff is extremely well done and Cruise is no small part of that. Domhnall Gleeson has a great role as a slick CIA agent, and the whole film has a kind of rough feel to it, in the best possible way. Slick, but also rough and well worn. It's a great ride.
Tag: Completely off-the-rails bonkers from start to finish, though through all the ultraviolence, mind-bending reality shifts and back-flipping pig men, there's a strong feminist message at the center of it that helps give the film a surprisingly effective gut punch when it reaches its conclusion. Sion Sono certainly is making it known that his stuff is right up my alley, so more exploration is due at some point.
If you haven't yet, check Sono's Love Exposure. It's a crazy ride but one of his strongest, I think. Enjoyed it heaps more then stuff like Suicide Club and Cold Fish.
Fancy Clown
Member
Gunga Din: Some grade-A imperialist bullshit, and Cary Grant feels like he's auditioning to be one of the three stooges at times, but the movie looks lovely and there's a fun adventure movie at its core. Evil cultist antagonists always score extra points in my book too.
True Savior
Member
Twin Peaks has once again made every other show shit. Trying to catch up the latest season of got (first 2 eps) and it's just so flavorless. Very tv-ish. I think that The Return being described as a 18 hour movie was an excess, but after a few days I think i kinda get it.
I watched Silence a month or two ago, and today it kinda popped in my head. It's a bloody shame garfield lead it as he wobbles the movie, which, at times, might be Scorsese most interesting work in quite a while. The oppressiveness, both of religion dedication and it's castration is so well captured.
As portuguese, those fake-accents in english were distracting as hell. Would rather they just went with their owns.
I watched Silence a month or two ago, and today it kinda popped in my head. It's a bloody shame garfield lead it as he wobbles the movie, which, at times, might be Scorsese most interesting work in quite a while. The oppressiveness, both of religion dedication and it's castration is so well captured.
As portuguese, those fake-accents in english were distracting as hell. Would rather they just went with their owns.
I'd also throw in a vote for Why Don't You Play in Hell, because it was also on the Love Exposure wavelength that I love.