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[Messofanego]

What if? Then what?

Wiener-Dog [trailer]
Absolutely hilarious, morbid, and poignant mortality tale. Much like his previous films like Palindromes and Storytelling, there is connective tissue between the vignettes which this time is a wiener-dog. If Todd Solondz wanted to achieve the most depressing and darkly comedic dog film ever, he succeeded. The cast across the board are fantastic, with some of them giving standout performances like Danny DeVito as a down-on-his luck screenwriter and teacher at a film school, Zosia Mamet as an immeasurably cheery struggling actress ("I play a crack whore but it's very emotional") who drops the feigned happiness right at the end of her segment, Greta Gerwig as an awkward girl who has a crush on Kieran Culkin's junkie badboy character as they go on a roadtrip (and their relationship seems to be an alternate future of Welcome To The Dollhouse), and Ellen Burstyn as an old lady who ponders over how her life could have been in the funniest scene I've seen all year (

Spoiler

"And that's you if you left a bigger tip"

garnered the biggest laugh).

I also kind of love that a rapist dog has the same name as my first, in a slightly racist-tinged story that Julie Delpy's character tells her son about the consequences of what happens if a dog isn't spayed. Their conversations reminded me a lot of the awkward conversations between the son and dad in Happiness.

It's the first time I've noticed the cinematography (Edward Lachman) in a Solondz film and here it's gorgeous. There are some tracking and long shots that really hammer the poignancy and strange beauty in death and excrement (Solondz mentioned the latter's shot being a reference to Godard's Weekend).

I don't think it's too early to say it's in my top 3 of Todd Solondz films. It's mostly down to how cohesive and clever the film is thematically with being about mortality, how razor sharp the writing and editing is, how many memorably funny scenes there are, and how well it sticks to his practice of revisiting characters, themes, structures throughout his "cinematic universe" as a means of being about alternate possibilities or futures which is perfectly encapsulised by the final vignette with Ellen Burstyn's "and that's you if...".

Todd Solondz ranking:
Happiness
Welcome To The Dollhouse
Wiener-Dog
Storytelling
Fear, Anxiety & Depression
Dark Horse
Palindromes
Life During Wartime

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The director was there (with lovely blue glasses) for a Q&A. He's as hilarious in person as his films are He mentioned how the way that wiener-dogs have been bred, they're the dumbest dogs and it was difficult to film them but he was glad when it was over. I asked him the question about revisiting characters that was quite eye-opening as to why he revisits characters/structures in his cinematic universe, and as to how he gets the well known actors that show up for his weird movies (it's pretty simple actually, they just say yes when he asks them so I guess he has a lot of fans). One of other audience questions reminded me how the theme of mortality circles back around (

Spoiler

the little boy in the first segments has cancer, the dog in the last vignette is called Cancer

). The funniest answer he gave was to a question about advice to aspiring writers: "Do whatever weird thing you're passionate about, like if you're a Julia Roberts fan when everyone else is Wong Kar Wai".

More people should watch Todd Solondz and Roy Andersson films, they're the kings of dark comedy.

 

[Borgnine]

10 Groverfield Lane: 7/10. Starts off with a great premise: Mary Elizabeth Winstead chained up in a sex dungeon. Pretty much downhill after that. Great tension but too much of is built on misunderstandings because the characters don't ask the right questions. Entertaining enough though.
The Crucible: 6/10. Prime Nona but pretty cheese, DDL doing the same thing he always does. It's interesting that we're supposed to get incensed at the injustice because witchcraft isn't real but then neither is the God that condemns it, so it all seems fair to me. It's an allegory for communism right, I don't have time to look it up.
The Lobster: 8/10. AHAHAHHHAHAHAH. Best movie of the year so far. Falls away a bit in the last third. Can't get enough of this guy, hope all his movies are like this.
The Wiz: 2/10. People were entertained by this at some point?
Running on Empty: 7/10/ Kinda cornball but I enjoyed it. This River guy is pretty good, can't wait to catch up on his past 30 years of work.
Did I review Brooklyn here yet? I need to post more. 8/10 it's great.

 

[-Stranger-]

Down Terrace

Director Ben Wheatley's debut film
The story centers around a British crime family.
A witty and at times hilarious dark comedy.

3.5/5

 

[JoduanER2]

10 Groverfield Lane: 7/10. Starts off with a great premise: Mary Elizabeth Winstead chained up in a sex dungeon. Pretty much downhill after that. Great tension but too much of is built on misunderstandings because the characters don't ask the right questions. Entertaining enough though.
The Crucible: 6/10. Prime Nona but pretty cheese, DDL doing the same thing he always does. It's interesting that we're supposed to get incensed at the injustice because witchcraft isn't real but then neither is the God that condemns it, so it all seems fair to me. It's an allegory for communism right, I don't have time to look it up.
The Lobster: 8/10. AHAHAHHHAHAHAH. Best movie of the year so far. Falls away a bit in the last third. Can't get enough of this guy, hope all his movies are like this.
The Wiz: 2/10. People were entertained by this at some point?
Running on Empty: 7/10/ Kinda cornball but I enjoyed it. This River guy is pretty good, can't wait to catch up on his past 30 years of work.
Did I review Brooklyn here yet? I need to post more. 8/10 it's great.

Pervert... hahaha

 

[lordxar]

Police Story. I have Playon and Win 7 which has been bugging the shit out of me to upgrade to 10. So I let that go yesterday since work will be headed to 10 in the near future. Anyway Playon not working was a big concern so I fired that up after 10 installed and had a new channel, this Tubi TV thing. I was about to shut that off but thought what the hell, let's see what it has. Quite a few movies actually and it's some sort of free service. So I checked it out and boom Police Story is on there. Very, very cool movie. I'd say it's Jackie Chan's best so far. There's a lot of action, decent slapstick, and a pretty damn good ending. There's also a shit ton of stunts and most of it is practical rather than too fantastic. Hell the part with the phones was amazing and it had no action.

Edit: Return to the 36th Chamber. Basically a different take on the original with the same guy posing as an idiot. This wasn't bad but the first was better by far.

 

[TheFlow]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2014
★★★ Watched 03 Jun, 2016

Every scene with the turtles was cool everything else not so much.

No likes
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 2016
★★★ Watched 03 Jun, 2016

Great concept that ending up being underwhelming for the majority of the movie

No likes
The Night Before
The Night Before 2015
★★★★ Watched 03 Jun, 2016

One of the better Holiday comedies. Seth Rogen was great

No likes

 

[Ridley327]

Whiplash: The short film version definitely bears more of the mark of a calling card or a demo reel compared to the final film, but since it's from the same script, it's neat to see how Chazelle was starting to put the pieces together for his craft, especially in the feel of the editing that was so vital to the final film. JK Simmons isn't quite the powerful presence he was in the final film, but he was definitely starting to get a real feel for what the role would call for. If I was an investor, the short was intriguing and polished enough that I'd have certainly started having some real serious talks with Chazelle and co. on what it would have taken to get the full film made.

High-Rise: I don't think I exaggerate when I feel like this has The Most Certifiably Insane Film Award on lock-down for this year and probably the next two or three. While I'm not sure if it's the best thing I've seen from director Ben Wheatley, it is certainly his most ambitious on virtually every level, as it features a sprawl that his previous features lacked and strong production values that still bear the unmistakable look and feel of his visual sensibilities and talent for pitch-black humor. Definitely not for all audiences, as the debauchery on display is only exceeded by Wheatley and Amy Jump's editing techniques that help to heighten the mania that takes hold of the titular building in which a week or two can pass by in the span of 30 seconds without warning or further elaboration. It is such a visual film that it's kind of crazy that Wheatley was able to get such a big, well-known and varied cast for it, and for their part, everyone is game for the weird and wild ways that the script dives into their psychoses and/or rapidly deteriorating external situations. It is not the first film to tackle class warfare in such a pointed way, even in this kind of scenario, and I doubt it'll be the last, but I'll be damned if it isn't the gutsiest way to tell that kind of story that I can remember experiencing. I dare even say it's even a lot of fun, though I can recognize that I would sound just as crazy as this film.

 

[kurisu2001]

More people should watch Todd Solondz and Roy Andersson films, they're the kings of dark comedy.

I love Todd Solondz, but I really can't stand the forced stiltedness and fake weirdness of an Andersson film. It feels like dentistry watching those, because yeah we got all the themes and ideas from that first five minute sketch but then I'm like oh god no it's a whole movie. And thén the horrible marching band music kicks in on the soundtrack.

I wish I could see the appeal, but for me this is nothing like Solondz, I'd look to Jarmusch or Hartley for better comparisons.

 

[Messofanego]

I love Todd Solondz, but I really can't stand the forced stiltedness and fake weirdness of an Andersson film. It feels like dentistry watching those, because yeah we got all the themes and ideas from that first five minute sketch but then I'm like oh god no it's a whole movie. And thén the horrible marching band music kicks in on the soundtrack.

I wish I could see the appeal, but for me this is nothing like Solondz, I'd look to Jarmush or Hartley for better comparisons.

Jarmusch for dark comedies? Coen movies would be a better alternative suggestion.

 

[Messofanego]

High-Rise: I don't think I exaggerate when I feel like this has The Most Certifiably Insane Film Award on lock-down for this year and probably the next two or three. While I'm not sure if it's the best thing I've seen from director Ben Wheatley, it is certainly his most ambitious on virtually every level, as it features a sprawl that his previous features lacked and strong production values that still bear the unmistakable look and feel of his visual sensibilities and talent for pitch-black humor. Definitely not for all audiences, as the debauchery on display is only exceeded by Wheatley and Amy Jump's editing techniques that help to heighten the mania that takes hold of the titular building in which a week or two can pass by in the span of 30 seconds without warning or further elaboration. It is such a visual film that it's kind of crazy that Wheatley was able to get such a big, well-known and varied cast for it, and for their part, everyone is game for the weird and wild ways that the script dives into their psychoses and/or rapidly deteriorating external situations. It is not the first film to tackle class warfare in such a pointed way, even in this kind of scenario, and I doubt it'll be the last, but I'll be damned if it isn't the gutsiest way to tell that kind of story that I can remember experiencing. I dare even say it's even a lot of fun, though I can recognize that I would sound just as crazy as this film.

Coming out on July 18th, so can't wait to get the blu ray and watch it a third time. Shit is cray. See mah boy Luke Evans kill it.

 

[Ridley327]

Yeah, Evans was a nice surprise. He usually comes off as a more grizzled Orlando Bloom in everything else, so it was nice to see a lot more personality and, dare I say, charm coming from his direction.

Spoiler

Strange thing to say about violent rapist, but they all can't be blue ribbon winners.

 

[kurisu2001]

Jarmusch for dark comedies? Coen movies would be a better alternative suggestion.

Dead Man, Permanent Vacation, Stranger than Paradise, Broken Flowers, Only Lovers Left Alive... or maybe we don't agree on what a dark comedy is.

By combining odd characters, dark comedy and an incredibly hip atmosphere in classic art-house films such as Down by Law and Stranger Than Paradise, Jarmusch has influenced and assisted younger indie directors in finding a modicum of commercial success with less-than-mainstream fare

(J. Holleman)

Coen Brothers often go there too but it doesn't define their overall work for me.

 

[-Stranger-]

Irrational Man

I thought Phoenix & Stone were pretty good in this.
It's standard Woody Allen fare really.
Not amazing but not bad either but i did find it quite entertaining all the way through.

3/5

 

[Discotheque]

Yeah, Evans was a nice surprise. He usually comes off as a more grizzled Orlando Bloom in everything else, so it was nice to see a lot more personality and, dare I say, charm coming from his direction.

Spoiler

Strange thing to say about violent rapist, but they all can't be blue ribbon winners.

dude was the standout of the movie imo. channeled those masculine, boozing and violent 50s/60s celebs like oliver reed spot on.

 

[kurisu2001]

Luke Evans, yeah he's pretty cool. Noticed him first in Ryuhei Kitamura's No One Lives which wasn't that great a film but it was somewhat saved by his performance.

 

[Haloid1177]

Weather was shitty over the weekend so I continued my PTA watch/rewatch and went to see The Lobster in the morning.

The Lobster: 7/10

What a depressing film. The idea is wonderfully absurd and everything in the beginning involving the hotel was great, but after that it kinda fell off for me. I know we'll never get one but I honestly wouldn't mind a sequel to this, the idea of the world is that interesting.

Punch Drunk Love: 5/10

Sandler was great, Hoffman was a scene stealer, but I found the movie incredibly dull. It is certainly weird and unique in storytelling which I appreciate, but by the end it felt like nothing really had happened the entire film.

The Master: 6/10

Amazing performances by Phoenix and Hoffman, they carried the whole movie and are the sole reason I enjoyed it. When I finished the film the only thing I realized was that to me, it seemed there were absolutely no character arcs in the film, and then I think well maybe Phoenix's character had a bit of one, but it seemed so small that I missed it. Magnetic characters all around though, don't get me wrong, but it was another Punch Drunk Love situation where I felt the narrative itself did not take me anywhere

Inherent Vice: 8/10

I've owned this movie since it came out on Blu-Ray, and the one time I tried watching it with a friend we both agreed to turn it off after thirty minutes. Forcing myself to watch, I actually loved it, and it's far and away the second best film for me PTA has done (after Boogie Nights). It had offbeat humor, really strange yet endearing characters, and such a crazy mystery throughout that I could not help but love it by the end. It ran about a half an hour too long, but that was my only complaint.

I have Magnolia and Hard Eight left to watch, and I think the feeling I've gotten from PTA is that I appreciate the work he does in every film, but the narrative is a killer for me in almost all of them. I'm enjoying my time with them for sure, but at this point I think only Boogie Nights is something I'd watch again.

 

[Blader]

The Wild Angels
Doing another, though shorter, Roger Corman marathon this June after (mostly) having fun with last year's. This is the only Corman-directed film in the bunch this time around, but it's pretty solid. Some really nice camerawork. For all his reputation as a maker of schlock, Corman's craft, when he was really into the project at least, was still more than proficient. The film starts to unravel in sort of a dull way

Spoiler

when Loser's funeral breaks out into a party[/b], but for what it was -- a 60s biker movie (apparently the first) with not much of a plot and some pretty detestable characters fueled by equal parts detestable and vapid ideologies -- I thought it was fine. A bizarre amount of Nazi imagery all over the fucking place, though.
3/5

The Shooting
Felt mixed about this. On the one hand, it looks really great; Monte Hellman shoots the shit out of what had to be an extremely low-budget western. Plus, it has Warren Oates in it! On the other hand, the plot is frustratingly opaque and the pacing is a slog; the movie is 80 minutes but feels almost twice that. The journey is kind of interesting, but at the same time hard to care about since you're never what the hell everyone is even doing. Millie Perkins' character is also incredibly annoying. I liked Two Lane Blacktop much more. I don't have anything against existential/meditative/acid westerns (I really liked Dead Man), but there isn't really anything to chew on here.
2.5/5

 

[User 479360]

It was alright as background noise while colouring. I paid attention to it, though.

It was a bit too crazy, and the ending was disappointing.

Spoiler

The guy didn't even get the hot girl.

Speaking of: I watched it mostly for TWD and FTWD alums, Alicia Debnam Carey (so hot) and Sarah Wayne Callies.

 

[Ridley327]

The Forbidden Room: A film concerning the dreams and memories of, among other things, a volcano, a mustache, a broken pelvis and a fair few people to go along with them. It looks like someone's really weird collection of previously lost silent films that was edited together for the world's most surreal Russian nesting doll, as the overlapping of the tales on display here can go deep. Indeed, there's always something interesting going on and plenty to admire after the initial shock value is over, particularly the film's bold visual inventiveness in combining old-school in-camera effects with a healthy dose of digital post-processing and plenty of individual scenes (I always knew Udo Kier was an ass man!), but it will definitely try one's patience, and if not for the near absence of a real narrative drive to tie everything together (not something I mind), then certainly for its near two-hour length and some of the stories being weaker than others. All in all, a fun if overstuffed serving of the surreal with a cast that largely seems like they wouldn't come within a continent's width in working on a project this difficult to classify but makes it all the more unique and interesting as a result, no matter how small some of their roles may be.

 

[lazybones18]

The Lobster

When I found out that this was directed by the guy who did Dogtooth, I had some doubts since I didn't like that movie (something I was interested in seeing after its Oscar win), but I took a chance anyway. I ended up liking it. It took a while for it to fully pull me in, but I'm just glad I enjoyed watching this. It definitely didn't feel like a two-hour movie, but I consider that to be a positive in this case. And I can't decide

Spoiler

whose ass I would want all over my crotch: the maid or that heartless bitch who are both smoking hot

 

[Bamboo]

The Forbidden Room: A film concerning the dreams and memories of, among other things, a volcano, a mustache, a broken pelvis and a fair few people to go along with them. It looks like someone's really weird collection of previously lost silent films that was edited together for the world's most surreal Russian nesting doll, as the overlapping of the tales on display here can go deep. Indeed, there's always something interesting going on and plenty to admire after the initial shock value is over, particularly the film's bold visual inventiveness in combining old-school in-camera effects with a healthy dose of digital post-processing and plenty of individual scenes (I always knew Udo Kier was an ass man!), but it will definitely try one's patience, and if not for the near absence of a real narrative drive to tie everything together (not something I mind), then certainly for its near two-hour length and some of the stories being weaker than others. All in all, a fun if overstuffed serving of the surreal with a cast that largely seems like they wouldn't come within a continent's width in working on a project this difficult to classify but makes it all the more unique and interesting as a result, no matter how small some of their roles may be.

I also enjoyed it and only later found out about Guy Maddins Project Seances. It in the same vein, in the same style and tbh, a lot of the material seems to have been shot at the same time. The interesting bit is, that every film you see is to some extent random and that every film (or this exact combination of film) can only be seen once. Didn't really understand how exactly it is processed and how many of the parts are repeated, but it's sure an interesting approach.

Here's the website where you can watch your film and an interesting interview with the filmmaker about the project.

http://seances.nfb.ca/

https://www.vice.com/read/guy-maddin-fills-the-internet-with-haunted-films

 

[lordxar]

I also enjoyed it and only later found out about Guy Maddins Project Seances. It in the same vein, in the same style and tbh, a lot of the material seems to have been shot at the same time. The interesting bit is, that every film you see is to some extent random and that every film (or this exact combination of film) can only be seen once. Didn't really understand how exactly it is processed and how many of the parts are repeated, but it's sure an interesting approach.

Here's the website where you can watch your film and an interesting interview with the filmmaker about the project.

http://seances.nfb.ca/

https://www.vice.com/read/guy-maddin-fills-the-internet-with-haunted-films

That's some weird shit. Pretty cool idea though.

 

[Ridley327]

I also enjoyed it and only later found out about Guy Maddins Project Seances. It in the same vein, in the same style and tbh, a lot of the material seems to have been shot at the same time. The interesting bit is, that every film you see is to some extent random and that every film (or this exact combination of film) can only be seen once. Didn't really understand how exactly it is processed and how many of the parts are repeated, but it's sure an interesting approach.

Here's the website where you can watch your film and an interesting interview with the filmmaker about the project.

http://seances.nfb.ca/

https://www.vice.com/read/guy-maddin-fills-the-internet-with-haunted-films

Wow, that's a pretty crazy project!

Maddin seems like a good gateway into more modern arthouse fare: his stuff is out there, but it isn't so inaccessible due to the roots in silent cinema.

 

[Arnie7]

Everybody Wants Some!!
Another visual audio time capsule of a film. Brimming with fun and happy characters who just basically do normal things. Linklater again puts plot on back seat. The ensemble are so good together. Every character shines in it. Just all round good time of a film.

 

[-Stranger-]

The Lobster

Wow what a film.
So damn original not to mention downright weird and quirky.
It was a little hard to connect with the film on an emotional level due to the absurdity of what i was seeing still i couldn't bring myself to look away.
Good follow up film by this director.

3/5

 

[SeanC]

Double Life of Veronique - A haunting movie that’s been on my query for a long time because I a) Love the Three Colors trilogy and b) love Irene Jacob even more. I admit, I did have to read a little on certain parts because they were a bit unclear and vague, but once I got that and lined the plot points up it all made sense.

Spoiler

But the dude that sends people recordings to “test” them? Fuck that guy. What a selfish self-righteous douche. She should have kicked him in the nuts and moved on.

Bit of a male-gaze in that section but Jacob is so good that I can buy it and her emotional leaps. 4/5

Ishtar - It’s not really one of the worst movies ever made, but it really is a clunky mess of one. I think the thing that struck me as the single element that brings it down is tone. It can’t seem to settle on one. Sometimes it’s dramatic, overly so, other times it wants to be funny or goofy like a screwball comedy, but it all feels aimless and wasted. Not to mention the loose threads that never get resolved (like the girlfriends, what a waste of Carol Kane). It's not good, it's not bad...it just kind of wades in the puddles of mediocrity and trying to get things to work that don't work at all.

It’s interesting that the more I think about the movie the more I dislike it. 2/5

The Nice Guys - A good script, good directing and good actors but I also felt the movie suffered from pace. Usually Black’s scripts move and get on with it, but The Nice Guys kind of dwelled in certain parts and the ending was kind of all over the place and trying to juggling a little too much I think. Still, the leads are fantastic and I’d love to see a sequel. 3/5

Hush - Clever, particularly towards the end. It’s got a gimmick but it doesn’t force it, it just kind of is and they use it smartly. Killer should have left the mask on, though. The mask was wonderfully creepy but he takes it off in no time then is just some dude that looks like he should be hanging out at the farmer's market. Once I saw his face I felt the menace was lost. 3/5

Speedy - Gotta get these Lloyd movies out of the way, I think Speedy is my favorite so far. It’s just a fun movie with a lot of great bits, particularly Lloyd slowly losing his nice suit over the course of the day at Coney Island. Dirt. Paint. Dogs. Crabs…of course it has the famous “flipping off” scene which I believe is the earliest we see someone giving the finger on film? 4/5

 

[Rhomega Beta]

The Secret of Kells: I was impressed by this movie's art style, and I loved the character of Ashley. It was a good story overall, and now I want to see Song of the Sea.

The Core: This movie was just dumb. Did people really need to keep dying? I'd say the area around the core looked weird and kinda stupid, but we don't know what it looks like anyway.

The Seven Year Itch: Marilyn Monroe gets top billing, but the real star is Tom Ewett. A paranoid daydreamer, it can be hard even for the audience to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Monroe is great here too. She's not trying to steal him away from his wife, she's just being friendly and wants an apartment with A/C.

Heathers: Well this got dark. I heard this compared to Mean Girls, and I was expecting something like that or a John Hughes-esque picture. Instead we got a psychopath who murders people and makes it look like suicide, which is the big subject of the movie. I still think it's good regardless.

 

[lordxar]

Disciples of the 36th Chamber. The last one and I dare say it nearly rivals the first. This one is straight comedic action though. I actually kind of enjoyed the arrogant, smartass kid too. Of course it's a Shaw film so it ends with a fucking massive brawl with a shit ton of fighters.

 

[Ridley327]

Tab Hunter Confidential: A solid if slightly unspectacular profile on the title subject that gains a lot of life when it focuses in more on Hunter's personal life, particularly on the complicated relationships he had with Anthony Perkins and figure skater Ronnie Robertson. The little anecdote about the start of his recording career was also a neat little glimpse into the easily bruised egos of studio heads of the time, and it was nice to see so many actresses of that era being around to give their two cents on Tab, even if it was largely the same response among the entire lineup.

 

[kurisu2001]

Midnight Special should have been really up my alley, loved Take Shelter, always enjoy seeing Shannon and Driver, I like wierd supernatural stuff, but I guess they overdid it plotwise. Less is more.

Really enjoyed Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, got really funny especially near the end.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

I rewatched Hail Caesar. It's delightful. The black hearts people must have to dislike this.

 

[lordxar]

E.T. Another I haven't watched in a helluva long time. This largely holds up and is still a bit kiddie but still enjoyable.

 

[SeanC]

Midnight Special should have been really up my alley, loved Take Shelter, always enjoy seeing Shannon and Driver, I like wierd supernatural stuff, but I guess they overdid it plotwise. Less is more.

You know, I actually forgot I saw that movie a few weeks back until you posted this. It really made little impression on me, I guess.

 

[Toothless]

From its own thread:

Saw it last night. Definitely enjoyed it, but had some issues. Here's my review:

A fascinating future is showcased in The Lobster. A land full of baleful polymorphs and necessary couples. Yorgos Lanthimos' world of the City and the Hotel is endlessly intriguing and ridiculously creative. The humor embedded within this world is provocative and amusing in a very dry manner. Sadly though, the film is hopelessly in love with its world, rather than the characters, and Colin Farrell's David, our gateway to the world, is rather bland. He is completely passive, serving more as a tour guide than a character, until the final third of the movie, when he finally gets some light agency. Likewise, the other characters, although amusing, exist solely as plot devices or representatives of the wacky world. Yet, the world is so enthralling and imaginative that marking these as major slights seems unfair to the overall experience. The Lobster is an amusing world wrapped up in an okay film, but yet, this is one world definitely worth exploring for a bit.

 

[Infernostew]

Oh shit... So I watched some stuff and forgot about this thread.

Top 5 in May:

1. A Separation
2. The Lobster
3. Young Frankenstein
4. Cinema Paradiso
5. One on Top of the Other (aka Perversion Story)

Seeing a free screening on The Conjuring 2 in about 10 minutes. I absolutely hated the first one. Here goes nothing...

 

[Ridley327]

Maggie: What happens when you set out to make a somber drama and forget to add in the drama? You would get a film just like this, that seems to be content in the underlying concept being the major emotional buy-in without having to do any of the legwork necessary to make the mounting tragedy stick. It's all bleak, from the practically slime-covered lenses, the atonal musical score and getting someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger, so well-known for his charisma, to play against type as a set-upon father feeling the weight of the world pressing upon him as he's delaying the inevitable for his progressively zombified daughter. There's nothing inherently wrong with a film that forgoes moments of levity to emphasize what should be more complicated feelings of grief, but it's incredibly difficult to sympathize with the characters when it is set up and plays out like a very long escort of a corpse to their coffin, stopping along the way to show the symptoms of degeneration that were discussed earlier on in the film (they practically go down the whole pamphlet by the film's end) and a well-intended but disastrously executed final friendly get-together that plays out like an American Eagle Outfitters commercial on lithium. The most obvious mistake that I can think of is that the script makes the fatal error of starting well after the incident that puts Maggie in the position that she's in, practically skipping right ahead to the depression bullet point on the Five Stages of Grief, which kills any kind of tension that could have been had, along with ensuring that there aren't any real character arcs. It also doesn't help that the whole film feels largely anonymous from a visual standpoint, making an already tough slog that more difficult to get through, with only one or two shots showing any kind of spark that is otherwise buried under the weight of a parade of drained compositions of characters in profile with uninspiring editing to connect them. A concept like this should have been an easy victory, but it made it all the more depressing to see how much it was bungled in the process, with little to offer even minor praise to and makes it difficult for me to recommend to anyone but the intensely curious. A rather massive misfire.

 

[Divius]

For some reason I am deep into LOST again, so probably won't see too many movies this month.

 

[SpaceHorror]

So Diane Lane came into my place of work today. She smiled and winked at me as she was saying goodbye on her way out.

I think my heart melted.

 

[Fallout-NL]

For some reason I am deep into LOST again, so probably won't see too many movies this month.

Awesome, I've been thinking about doing a rewatch as well. Been too long since I've got my Sawyer on.

 

[Milton]

I only just saw Inception for the first time last week. Managed to make it all this way spoiler-free too.

Absolutely blew my mind. Those final few minutes with Zimmer's music playing, just wow. Couldn't speak for a moment after that.

 

[Fancy Clown]

For some reason I am deep into LOST again, so probably won't see too many movies this month.

In college I blacked out one night and when I woke up the next day I found out I had been binge rewatching the first season of Lost for some reason lol

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Interstellar is so frustrating. There are moments in that movie that are so beautiful, especially with that booming soundtrack forcing this strange liquid out of my tear ducts, but jeeeeeeeesus the schmaltz is too much. Love.....bleh.

 

[Timeaisis]

Someone posted on facebook that Raiders hasn't aged well and no longer holds up.

Really doesn't hold up well at all. The effects and props look cheap, the plot is full of holes. But, just like the casual racism and sexism, it's a product of its time, and of course it was a harkening back to an even earlier time. And its memorable moments are the kind that stick with you well after it's over, and inspire greater things.

Ooof. Good thing we got Mavhel now, tho, huh.

Anyways, I almost unfriended them.

 

[Yamabro]

What plot holes?

 

[Discotheque]

Interstellar is so frustrating. There are moments in that movie that are so beautiful, especially with that booming soundtrack forcing this strange liquid out of my tear ducts, but jeeeeeeeesus the schmaltz is too much. Love.....bleh.

I unconditionally love that one. Its overblown and schmaltzy but I like it a lot. Even the sentimwentality was great (aside from that terrible anne hathaway monologue).

"The answer is looove TARS" being delivered by a voice like mcconaughey's with that Zimmer soundtrack is hilarious.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

They didnt pay Matt enough for Interstellar

 

[Timeaisis]

What plot holes?

I dunno, maybe he was referring to the whole "Indy isn't necessary" thing or whatever that stupid meme thing that came to prominence a few years ago. Hardly a plot whole, if you ask me.

 

[Infernostew]

The Conjuring 2 - Well, at least they got the time period right. Pretty much everything else plays out like your typical possession story with a touch of things not making sense and awful looking CG. Feels a lot more cheap than the first film but I think I was generally a bit more entertained by this one. Hell, who am I kidding? The only reason I liked this film a bit more was because they used a Clash song it in. 3/10

 

[Discotheque]

I dunno, maybe he was referring to the whole "Indy isn't necessary" thing or whatever that stupid meme thing that came to prominence a few years ago. Hardly a plot whole, if you ask me.

This trend of calling practically every big adventure/action movie before the 2000s (and even within the century funnily enough) as "dated" and then trying to break them down in the interest of being politically correct is so wack.

 

[Timeaisis]

The Conjuring 2 - Well, at least they got the time period right. Pretty much everything else plays out like your typical possession story with a touch of things not making sense and awful looking CG. Feels a lot more cheap than the first film but I think I was generally a bit more entertained by this one. Hell, who am I kidding? The only reason I liked this film a bit more was because they used a Clash song it in. 3/10

I'm not sure if I should read this as a positive or negative review. I am thinking about seeing it this weekend, though.

This trend of calling practically every big adventure/action movie before the 2000s (and even within the century funnily enough) as "dated" and then trying to break them down in the interest of being politically correct is so wack.

Yeah, it annoys me to no end, but whatever. If people don't want to like good movies of old, so be it.