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Divius · Sep 1, 2016

August Wall of shame:

Remember:

DO NOT just post the title of the movie you wratched. It isn't conducive at all to the kind of discussion & communication we want to engender here, because it tells us nothing of you, the movie, the impact of the latter on the former. Post scores, descriptions, essays, poems, gifs, hashtags, whatever provides you the best outlet for personal expression, you unique little digital snowflake. Also, Marvel movies are mostly shit. - icarus-daedelus

Interesting movie listing/rating sites:

Letterboxd
iCheckMovies

Our ICM group: http://www.icheckmovies.com/groups/neogaf/

Regs on such sites:

- Post your top 5 of August!

- Are you new to the Movies You've Seen Recently threads? Let us know a bit about yourself:

1. What's your favorite Movie?
2. Who's your favorite director?
3. Who are your favorite actors/actresses?
4. Favorite Genre(s)?
5. What's your favorite performance in film?

- Unsure of what to watch?

ICM has a compilation of many official movie lists with lots of interesting recommendations. Or you could ask members in the thread; we don't bite. Participate!
---
August thread.

old manatee · Sep 1, 2016

Midnight Run: This was way better than Hot Pursuit.

YesNOnoNOYes · Sep 1, 2016

Out of the Furnace

It was slow paced but pretty well shot. Captured the characters' personalities and lives very well. Casey Affleck surprised me a little (in the good way). 3/5

The Danish Girl

This one came across too forcefully poignant to me. Alicia Vikander was great, though. 2/5

Deliver Us From Evil

Eric Bana was good in this. The subject matter was a bit tired, however. There was nothing particularly chilling or scary, but it was an okay horror movie to while away an afternoon. 1.5/5

Discotheque · Sep 1, 2016

DON'T BREATHE

pretty decent horror/thriller. loses it near the end though when they feel the need to tack on some sinister background to the blind character. stephen lang is a great physical presence. oh and there's a "turkey baster filled with semen" gag in here....

daydream · Sep 1, 2016

top watches of september:

1. dr. strangelove
2. nuit et bruillard
3. there will be blood
4. reservoir dogs
5. palo alto

duckroll · Sep 1, 2016

I watched Shin Godzilla on Monday and it was the fucking tits. I'm glad I finally got to wash the stench of August out with a good movie at the end. Suicide Squad and Kingsglaive hurt me so bad. Lol.

duckroll said:
So, time to put more words into this.

I thought it was fantastic and exactly what I expected and wanted out of an Anno Godzilla film. This is a film that embraces the kaiju genre, respects the origin of Godzilla, and understands modern Japanese society.

There are no fucks given in the making of Godzilla here. If you don't accept the fact that Godzilla is traditionally a rubber suit monster, it might be hard to enjoy this the way it is meant to be. This isn't chasing Hollywood's version of Godzilla, this is Japanese as fuck. That's not to say it isn't serious, but it is internally serious. It doesn't feel the need to present itself as something trying to for photorealistic CG, but rather the CG tries as best it can to look like a stop motion model. It is dumb at times? Yes! Is it really cheesy? YES! Does it get motherfucking amazing when it wants to? OMG YES.

So the question is, if Godzilla remains quirky and cheesy, and doesn't look like a super detailed realistic CG creature, how can we take it seriously? Because everyone in the film does. The movie is certainly presented seriously, even if it is self-aware at the ridiculousness of a giant monster. That is part of what sets this apart from Hollywood renditions of Godzilla. Here, the seriousness is driven by the critique on Japanese bureaucracy, the challenges of multinational collaboration, the difficulty in reacting to an unprecedented disaster, and so on. It works because Anno is really good at nailing establishing shots and creating a sense of place. The contrast of the ordinary and familiar against the fantastical and ridiculousness is what makes the Godzilla event so interesting.

I found the characters very refreshing for a kaiju film, and it was interesting that they chose not to highlight much of the military might at all in terms of characters (although, they do show off a lot of hardware porn), instead using the cast to really hammer home that when something like this happens in modern Japan, everything is down to decisions made by talking heads who often don't have a good grasp of the situation but have to make snap decisions.

The Anti-Godzilla Task Force formed in the film is a special projects office rather than some special ops squad, and how the film depicts them reminds me a lot of an anime production studio. You have the young ambitious get-goer with alternative views who wants to make a real difference, he puts together a team of like-minded quirky individuals who are passionate about the same thing, and they sit in an office filled with boring generic office equipment, racing against time to crunch the numbers and put together the plan to take down the monster. Undermanned, underfunded, underappreciated, but powered by an idealistic view of the working class Japanese adult, they shred red tape to come up with a solution against an unbeatable force of nature. It was really entertaining to see it unfold.

The music, the effects, the shot composition, the editing, even the ridiculous climax. I loved it all. The only thing I would say made me think "damn that's not so good" was the stupid ass American Japanese envoy who is played by some hot model actress who speaks in Engrish. But considering how Evangelion the movie felt, that just kinda stopped being annoying and just got charming after a while.

That was a fun as fuck movie. Wanna watch it again...

Dr. Harford · Sep 1, 2016

1. What's your favorite Movie?

Eyes Wide Shut

2. Who's your favorite director?

Stanley Kubrick

3. Who are your favorite actors/actresses?

Joaquin Phoenix

4. Favorite Genre(s)?

Sci-fi, Action, Conspiracy

5. What's your favorite performance in film?

Jack Nicholson in The Shinning

Films watched:

Four Lions
Hilarious dark comedy about a group of misfit wannabe terrorists. Such balls to do this but its handled so well that you may even end up liking them. Highly recommend, one of the finest comedys in recent times.

Discotheque · Sep 1, 2016

Dr. Harford said:
Films watched:

Four Lions
Hilarious dark comedy about a group of misfit wannabe terrorists. Such balls to do this but its handled so well that you may even end up liking them. Highly recommend, one of the finest comedys in recent times.

really enjoyed this movie. kind of amazed it didn't cause a big splash or uproar in North America, i guess it didn't fall on their radar. i feel like with a big marketing push this would have been the most controversial movie of the decade.

UrbanRats · Sep 1, 2016

I watched Kingslaive, the FFXV 2 hours commercial.
What a piece of shit that was, however a couple of things in that world were cool, so i'm still looking forward to the game itself.
This "movie" though... damn.
The worst thing was just how confusing everything was; two characters talk in a car, and you have to show, like, 15 different angles from inside the car, jesus, settle down, less is more and all that.

Avoid it, unless you lost complete control of your life, like i did.

Divius · Sep 1, 2016

Watched 30 movies in August

TOP 5 NEW VIEWINGS OF AUGUST
5. Weiner
4. Love & Friendship
3. Ah-ga-ssi AKA The Handmaiden
2. Higanbana AKA Equinox Flower
1. El abrazo de la serpiente AKA The Embrace of the Serpent

Honorable Mentions: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie / The Tales of Hoffmann / Kanashimi no Beradona AKA Belladonna of Sadness

WORST VIEWINGS OF AUGUST
Yip Man 3
The Railway Children
Imperium
Spies Like Us
Jason Bourne
Hard Target 2
Bastille Day

Some quick notes:

Weiner was both hilarious and sad. Poor Huma. Love & Friendship had me with a goofy smile on my face the entire time, loved Beckinsale's character and the writing. Equinox Flower my least favorite Ozu so far, but still great.

Embrace of the Serpent probably tops Carol as my favorite movie of 2015.

Hard Target 2 didn't have enough snake punching. Bastille day was insultingly awful.

UberTag · Sep 1, 2016

My "planned" must-watch hitlist for TIFF this month...

- After the Storm (Hirokazu Koreeda)
- American Honey (Andrea Arnold)
- Aquarius (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
- Arrival (Denis Villeneuve)
- The Birth of a Nation (Nate Parker)
- Blair Witch (Adam Wingard)
- Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
- Christine (Antonio Campos)
- Elle (Paul Verhoeven)
- Graduation (Cristian Mungiu)
- The Handmaiden (Chan-wook Park)
- The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Juho Kuosmanen)
- I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach)
- La La Land (Damien Chazelle)
- Lion (Garth Davis)
- Loving (Jeff Nichols)
- Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan)
- Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
- Neruda (Pablo Larraín)
- Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford)
- Paterson (Jim Jarmusch)
- Raw (Julia Ducournau)
- The Red Turtle (Michael Dudok de Wit)
- The Salesman (Asghar Farhadi)
- Sieranevada (Cristi Puiu)
- Things to Come (Mia Hansen-Løve)
- Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade)

As always, this is highly dependent on my success in rushing certain films and what tickets I'm actually able to secure. Seems like everything is going to wind up off-sale before I can even make my selections. It's also likely that some of the early Venice / Telluride reviews will bump some of these films down and bump some other films up.

On the bright side, my track record in rushing screenings is pretty stellar. Plus, it's not uncommon to score free tickets that way.

I have some filler films plugged in that are getting jumbled around as I shuffle my sched around. Also plan to squeeze in some non-festival screenings of Sully, Gleason, Hell or High Water, Train to Busan, Southside with You, The Infiltrator, Indignation, possibly Kubo again, etc.

Here's my Top 10 of the year thus far (heading into festival week; 2016 initial release films only so no The Witch, The Lobster, etc.)...

1) Kubo and the Two Strings
2) Hunt for the Wilderpeople
3) Captain Fantastic
4) Zootopia
5) Weiner
6) Sing Street
7) Star Trek Beyond
8) Eddie the Eagle
9) The Jungle Book
10) The Nice Guys

Most of these won't be hanging around my Top 10 after this month.

Blader · Sep 1, 2016

Coffy
This was not a very good movie, but Pam Grier fucking kicks ass in it. Badass, charismatic, sexy as hell...goddamn. Great leading performance even when everything else around her is pretty amateurish. This would probably be a point lower without her in it.
3.5/5

All in all, August was a pretty weak month for me. The only real standouts for new watches were Hitchcock/Truffaut and They Were Expendable. My mini blaxploitation marathon was kind of a bust.

I did see The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and 8 1/2 in theaters, though, which were both cool experiences, though maybe not ideal Monday night after work choices.

phoenixyz · Sep 1, 2016

Top 5 (12 watched) of August
1. The Nice Guys
2. Embrace of the Serpent
3. The Jungle Book
4. The Last Boy Scout
5. High-Rise
(quite the steep slope in quality this month)

Worst of August
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Back to lurking

Cipher Peon · Sep 1, 2016

August was such a super crazy month for me. Got to see a Rocky Horror performance on my birthday, saw SUICIDE SQUAD in 4D, and watched lots of movies!

Best Movies of August:
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Suicide Squad
12 Angry Men
Spotlight
Deathgasm

Also, I didn't mention it but I'm actually applying to be a movie reviewer in my uni's newspaper and I'm taking 2 more film classes. Life is very exciting!

Shambalakan · Sep 1, 2016

The Salesman
9/10

The newest movie by Asghar Farhadi who won an Oscar award for A Separation.
Synopsis of the movie:

Forced out of their apartment due to dangerous works on a neighboring building, Emad and Rana move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the young couple’s life.

Really loved the movie. It had a great intense story with amazing cast (one of them won award in Cannes 2016) and one of the best endings I remember in the recent years. The last 30,40 minutes of the movie was really amazing and loved every seconds of those moments.
I still think About Elly is the best film by Farhadi, but The Salesman has a place alongside A Separation and it's one of the best Iranian movies these years.

Rhomega Beta · Sep 1, 2016

Top 5 of August:

1. The Sting
2. Good Will Hunting
3. Finding Vivian Maier
4. How To Train Your Dragon 2
5. The Little Prince

Peco · Sep 1, 2016

My personal top 5 of august:

1) Kiss Me Deadly [Robert Aldrich]
2) Possession [Andrzej Żuławski]
3) Bone Tomahawk [S. Craig Zahler]
4) Kajaki (a.k.a. Kilo Two Bravo) [Paul Katis]
5) The Drop [Michaël R. Roskam]

Count Dookkake · Sep 1, 2016

Might make the wall of shame this month with Fantastic Fest coming up.

ViewtifulJC · Sep 1, 2016

Count Dookkake said:
Might make the wall of shame this month with Fantastic Fest coming up.

Pull a Toothless, just dump it all in one gigantic post

Bronx-Man · Sep 1, 2016

Down in Durham, there's a theater doing a screening of My Neighbor Totoro & Ralph Bakshi's Wizards in two weeks. Definitely gonna try to get some friends and make a trip for that.

Count Dookkake · Sep 1, 2016

Wizards is great on the big screen. The backgrounds are so detailed at times that you can't really get the full effect at home.

George Oscar Bluth II · Sep 1, 2016

Top August Viewings

1. Jaws
2. Zootopia
3. Porco Rosso
4. Good Morning, Vietnam
5. Dead Poets Society

I actually managed to watch enough to make a top 5 this time.

PassiveObserver · Sep 1, 2016

Rewatched King of Comedy. Scorsese's best next to After Hours. Robert De Niro made my skin crawl. Love how they held off on showing his comedy set until the very end.

Shambalakan said:
The Salesman
9/10

Hyped. Saw Fireworks Wednesday last night and that came in as my least favorite of Farhadi's so far, but it was still gripping.

Freeza Under The Shower · Sep 1, 2016

Didn't even make the wall of shame. Man.

Baroquemantic · Sep 1, 2016

I didn't watch much; especially not much new.

New in August

1. Love
2. Burying the Ex

Rewatches in August

1. Dave Chappelle's Block Party
2. Love & Basketball
3. The Iron Giant

big ander · Sep 1, 2016

46 features (only 3 of those rewatches) and 26 shorts in August. yikes
So I'm gonna do 20
1) Contact
2) El Futuro Perfecto
3) Results
4) Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
5) The Ornithologist
6) All the Cities of the North
7) Hermia & Helena
8) Rat Film
9) Sweetie
10) Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
11) The Forest for the Trees
12) Massacre Time
13) River of Grass
14) The Hedonists
15) Quay Shorts Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies; The Comb; De Artificiali Perspectiva, or Anamorphosis; In Absentia
16) Mister Universo
17) Interchange
18) Ghostwatch
19) Pusher
20) Kes

last watch of the month:
Medicine for Melancholy - When your movie stars Wyatt Cenac and has a Brent Weinbach cameo before opening credits roll to Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, it's difficult to get on my bad side. Medicine for Melancholy remains enjoyable moment to monochrome moment thanks to great music and Cenac's likability. He's friendly, plain-speaking, attractive. Tracey Heggins is eventually endearing too, though her character starts so unreasonably chilly it's actively unlikable and she and writer-director Barry Jenkins come up short in showing how she warms up to her one-night stand partner. The instance that flips the switch, Cenac dorkily playing the Mr. Rogers theme on acoustic guitar, is too adorable to be partially wasted the way it is. Dramatic heft from these two trying to navigate being black in indie spheres and having contrasting strategiesHeggins' tries to ignore race and has a white art curator boyfriend who pays their mortgage, Cenac relentlessly points out how and when being black changes a situationis steered adeptly, though the related issue of gentrification in San Francisco never melds well when Jenkins tries to shoehorn it in. In one scene the couple stops outside some local meeting and just listens to pedestrian talk about gentrification. You're not apt to make any noteworthy points about race/class by pausing a charming romance.

lordxar · Sep 1, 2016

Including the Masters of Horror episodes I put down 32 films in August. I'm including those because they are available to toggle on Letterboxd so that is good enough for me.

Top Five
Badlands
Rosemary's Baby
The Innkeepers
American Ultra
Sausage Party

Honorable mentions
Baskin
Bug
Our Brand Is Crisis

Biggest Flops
Godzilla vs. Megalon - What a piece of shit
The Innocent - Waste of about an hour
Mulholland Drive - I know this won't be popular but I did not really see the draw. It was a made for tv thing with tits occasionally. I like the Lynch stuff I've watched so far but this was too much Twin Peaks and not as much Dune.

Masters of Horror top five so far
Cigarette Burns
Chocolate
Homecoming
Deer Woman
The Fair Haired Child

I finished season one and watched one episode of season 2. There are either some really cool stories or just boring slogs to get through. I will say Imprint is pretty much over the line of horror I watch. Green Inferno was violent and gory but it was entertaining. Imprint was just torture porn type stuff and that's not in my wheelhouse. Regardless of the episodes I've enjoyed seeing what the directors do and the cast that is in them. Brian Benben usually plays a character I like. Michael Ironside as a vampire? lol

Rhomega Beta · Sep 1, 2016

Cinema Paradiso: A heartfelt look at the life of a boy, Salvatore, who just loves movies to the annoyance of his mother and the film projectionist, Alfredo, at the local theater. A disaster leaves Alfredo blind, Salvatore grows up, falls in love, loses it, and eventually leaves to make a life of his own. It's also a look at movies and Salvatore's love for them, as he learns how to run a projector and becomes projectionist himself. The town of Giancaldo is beautiful. The reviews I've read on Letterboxd have people reflecting on their own love of cinema, but I'm not feeling here. Still, this is a great movie, and seeing as I do love movies myself, I'll continue watching more.

T Dollarz · Sep 1, 2016

The Childhood of a Leader is a super strange film. The dialogue is excellent, the score is super haunting, and things really start to pile up as the boy behind flaunting his will over the people close to him. Robert Pattinson is in this for basically no reason, he's in like two scenes. The guy who plays Daavos in GoT is awesome in this, and his wife is even more of a highlight. Child actor was great as well. Unfortunately all the building tension didn't amount to anything, the ending was terrible. Overall I liked it but it was very flawed.

Top Watches of August:
1. Pete's Dragon
2. ParaNorman
3. Kubo and the Two Strings
4. Hell or High Water
5. Love & Friendship
6. Coraline
7. The Boxtrolls
8. The Childhood of a Leader
9. Suicide Squad
10. High-Rise
11. Jason Bourne

Puck Beaverton · Sep 1, 2016

I like the Lynch stuff I've watched so far but this was too much Twin Peaks and not as much Dune.

TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared · Sep 1, 2016

I didn't know anything about Mechanic Resurrection before I saw it, except the poster that was in the cinema for it with Jason Staham hanging on a rope off a glass building, which really tells you all you need to know. It's a dopey Jason Staham action movie with set all over the globe with some ludicrous plot and Tommy Lee Jones as an arms dealer with a conscience.

What saves the film from being complete rubbish though, is the fact that the movie, and by extension Jason Staham (as he often does) seem to be fully aware of how stupid the movie is and plays up to it. The action is stupid and the editing is weird and way too quick, but its just fun enough to get past a lot of it. The plot is convoluted, boring, makes no sense, such as why all these murders need to be accidents isn't explained, and the fact we're constantly reassured through the movie that the murder victims are bad guys that we shouldn't feel bad about seeing die. Ok.

But like I say, its fine. Mainly cos its self aware, Staham is self aware about it, and its fine. Just fine.

ViewtifulJC · Sep 1, 2016

L.A. Takedown - I know this won't be popular but I did not really see the draw. It was a made for tv thing with guns occasionally. I like the Mann stuff I've watched so far but this was too much Heat and not as much The Keep.

Lumpy Onion · Sep 1, 2016

The Black Cat (1934)- What a nice surprise this was. I had recorded a bunch of Boris Karloff movies on TCM recently and this was the first one I got around to. Utterly creepy and quite bizarre and dark for when it was made. Has both Bela Legosi and Karloff and they both gave memorable performances as two deeply disturbed WW I veterans 15 years after the war. And it all takes place in this fancy Art Deco house so it gave the film an oddly modern feel. Anyway, great movie that aged surprisingly well. Has nothing to do with Poe story though.

Gotta love 70 minute long movie. Even if I don't like it I don't feel like I wasted too much time.

omgkitty · Sep 1, 2016

10 for August

1. Trust (Hal Hartley)
2. The Lobster
3. Coraline
4. The Hateful Eight
5. Joint Security Area
6. 0.5mm
7. Kubo and the Two Strings
8. Paranorman
9. Little Fugitive
10. Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano)

Bold are rewatches

A few notes.
Holy shit Trust was great and I expected nothing of it.
Expected a lot of The Lobster and loved it as well. Glad it was left with an openly ambiguous ending.
Coraline is even better the 2nd time around.
The Hateful Eight was incredible until it turned into Reservoir Dogs.
Joint Security Area drags for the first 30 minutes, but hits it's stride when it starts to piece everything together.
Knew nothing of 0.5mm, and was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps a tad too long at over 3 hours, but comes together nicely. One I now dread never being able to see again because it's an obscure Japanese film.
Liked but didn't love Kubo. Maybe too much hype got to me. Laika keeps adding more and more CG to their films which I think detracts from the artistry.

lordxar · Sep 1, 2016

Just go with it

Infernostew · Sep 1, 2016

Top 5 watches in August:

1. Chungking Express
2. The Tenant
3. A Hard Day's Night
4. Opening Night
5. Indignation

Worst 3 watches in August:

1. Yoga Hosers
2. The Black Dahlia
3. Anthropoid

Hell or High Water - A pretty unconventional bank robbery film with some really great acting. Fun action set pieces. Easily one of the better films of this year. 7/10

Contempt - I've been within this year working my way (slowly) through Godard's filmography as his stuff is well represented on TCM. Contempt is a ultimately about relationships and a failed marriage. The film takes place as Fritz Lang is directing an adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey and an American producer doesn't want it to be an art film and asks a French writer to make it more mainstream. Ultimately the screen writer and his wife begin to quarrel. The characters can be a bit frustrating at times but overall I really liked this one. Cinematography is absolutely stunning to boot. 7/10

Yoga Hosers - I'm not a big Kevin Smith fan but I do enjoy his earlier stuff. That being said, I have always rooted for him being a fellow New Jersey native. He making it real difficult as of late though. Yoga Hosers is Clerks but with 2 one note high school teenagers who work at a convenient and fight 1 foot tall nazi bratwursts with sauerkraut guts called bratzis... yea. You read that correctly. It's painfully unfunny and while the leads aren't bad (per say) they're just plain. The only time I chuckled was when Tony Hale was on screen (maybe 3 minutes) and Justin Long (maybe 5 minutes) who plays their yoga instructor. Did I mention they do yoga and are from Canada? Well, if you didn't know from the title, they make it painfully known though out. Johnny Depp's awful character from Tusk is back and he's just as awful in this one as he is in that. Welp, umm.. don't see it, it's boring and it sucks unless you're the biggest Kevin Smith fan on the planet. Unfortunately, when I saw it there were these huge Kevin Smith fanboys and fangirls sitting behind me laughing at almost everything. It was obvious that they were the only ones who liked it because they were the only ones. 2/10

lordxar said:
Biggest Flops
Mulholland Drive - I know this won't be popular but I did not really see the draw. It was a made for tv thing with tits occasionally. I like the Lynch stuff I've watched so far but this was too much Twin Peaks and not as much Dune.

You're Dead!

Eh, It's not for everyone.

Window · Sep 1, 2016

Wings of Desire: One of the most beautiful and stunning films I've seen. The dialogue is a bit overwhelming at times and and a lot of its meaning remains elusive to me (and perhaps always will) but the ambition and the skill with which the film is executed is mesmerising.

UrbanRats · Sep 1, 2016

Ander didnt expect you to like Contact that much.
I dont outright dislike it, but some things like the cartoon christian terrorist really bring it down.

Haloid1177 · Sep 1, 2016

Best of August (the range is amazing to great, really solid month):

1. Hell or High Water
2. ParaNorman
3. Don't Breathe
4. Kubo and the Two Strings

Worst of August:
Suicide Squad ugh

Probably gonna watch Jungle Book tonight, didn't make it to theaters to see it.

lordxar · Sep 1, 2016

Mulholland Drives biggest fault in my eyes is that it's too much like Twin Peaks. I'm talking style not subject. It has that soap opera feel which isn't a bad thing but after watching TP it kind of wore thin. Now I love Dune which is why I made the comparison. It feels more like something fit for the big screen. Although I haven't watched it in about 20 years so maybe my memory is hazy...

mariachi507 · Sep 1, 2016

I've been dropping the ball as a cinephile. Most of my free time has gone to various tv shows over the past couple of months. I'm pumped for next months 31 days of horror though.

George Oscar Bluth II · Sep 1, 2016

I rewatched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It's a fun film that really takes me back to simpler times (I was a kid when it released) and really captures the whimsical wonder of the book. I have to say that it follows the book to a fault at some parts, like the dialogue. Pretty stiff lines made even more stiff by child actors (not their fault). I liked it quite a bit.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets isn't as good but still manages to capture the spirit of the source material. The acting of the main trio has improved which makes it an easier watch than Philosopher's Stone. It feels like this film has no second act though; it runs through plot points and doesn't really stop until the final confrontation, though I suppose I could say the same for the book. I liked it.

Watching Prisoner of Azkaban tonight.

big ander · Sep 1, 2016

omgkitty said:
Holy shit Trust was great and I expected nothing of it.

Have you seen any other Hartley? If not, loving Trust means you'll love his other films, definitely recommend seeking out more. I think the usual next steps people would suggest would be either Simple Men or Henry Fool (my first two were those), though I think going for The Unbelievable Truth next would be just as fitting. It's his one feature before Trust, Adrienne Shelly stars again, very similar tone to Trust (not that Hartley switches up his tone much across his career). All three of those are about the same level of quality, couldn't go wrong with any of em.

Of course, I think Hartley's absolute masterpiece is Surviving Desire which isn't exactly well known. I think you can only find it for purchase on DVD or purchase/rental on Hartley's vimeo. But if you have a way to watch it it's incredible. Oh and Shelly's movies as a director are supposed to be good too, I've only seen Sudden Manhattan but it's a lot of fun.

UrbanRats said:
Ander didnt expect you to like Contact that much.
I dont outright dislike it, but some things like the cartoon christian terrorist really bring it down.

I didn't either but that kind of blockbuster pop-philosophy has worked well for me in the pastit's just about getting it exactly right. Doesn't hurt that Foster is there. Gonna go back and watch a ton of her movies soon I think, because I've realized even when I don't love a movie she's in (Flightplan, Panic Room) Foster herself is never anything less than excellent.

Anyway, while the Christian terrorist foiling the first attempt is a bit clumsy I didn't find it entirely implausible. Other than the overly broad brush there the characters were fairly grounded. Okay maybe not the John Hurt crazy zillionaire, but even Tom Skerritt's dismissive chauvinist antagonist has some detail. You get the sense, especially in his final scene, that he only turned against Foster's "pure research" SETI work because he'd lost faith and this mess rekindled it for him.

More than anything what thrilled me was how Zemeckis' use of filmmaking technology squares so well with the themes of the film. I think it fits with a strain of late 90s/early 00s examinations of our increasingly "virtual" lives, e.g. The Matrix, that use new special effects to look at how connection and empathy can happen through simulacra. I mention it in my LB review but when Foster goes on the trip she seems to be in some digital bubble and she reaches out at the screen and stretches it, it's just a beautiful moment.

Divius · Sep 1, 2016

Love the avatar ander

lordxar · Sep 1, 2016

Do not watch Contact 2. It's fucking terrible. They reuse quite a bit of footage and made it on an obviously low budget. I bought the pair in dvd back in the day and even getting part two free essentially still felt like a ripoff.

Freeza Under The Shower · Sep 1, 2016

I had no idea a second one even existed.

I did however, watch Cell (2016). Well, that's a movie. Half a thought here, half a thought there, lousy film language and non-helpful editing to round it off. It's a movie in the sense that it has shots, and it's not all terrible, but there's no cohesion between much and the ending is 'multiple choice' and therefore terrible.

Dangerblade · Sep 1, 2016

Juno [2007]

First time seeing this and I really enjoyed it. Ellen Page plays the role really well with just the right amount of childish humour and sensitivity in all the right places. I liked the music choices and the cartoony stylisations and cutaway gags throughout. I did feel it kind of ended abruptly, though.

big ander · Sep 1, 2016

Divius said:
Love the avatar ander

Heh thankswas prompted by that Spike Jonze perfume commercial with Margaret Qualley, her dancing and facial expressions reminded me a ton of Anne Marsen

but not as amazing

lordxar said:
Do not watch Contact 2. It's fucking terrible. They reuse quite a bit of footage and made it on an obviously low budget. I bought the pair in dvd back in the day and even getting part two free essentially still felt like a ripoff.

I'm finding zero evidence of this existing. do you mean Sphere? It's the only movie I see that's been sold with Contact in a dvd double

except that doesn't feature a lot of reused footage from Contactmaybe you're thinking of 2001: A Space Odyssey + 2010: The Year We Make Contact?

lordxar · Sep 1, 2016

My bad...MY BAD! Fuck. The Arrival is what I was thinking of. Shit...

ViewtifulJC · Sep 1, 2016

Contact 2 was Interstellar

Contact 3 is coming out this November, stars Amy Adams

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