Nice. I've been wanting to see it.
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Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| September 2016
- Thread starter Divius
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Nice. I've been wanting to see it.
Fancy Clown
Member
I was actually going to watch it for last october's 31 days of horror but didn't get around to it, so I'll make it a priority this year for sure.
Infernostew
Member
It was on my list last year and I really dug it. Probably my favorite Bava out of the 3 I've seen.
Equity plunges the viewer right into the world of investment bankers without any explanation. Consistently engaging and featuring a sprawling cast, it's the type of thriller often ignored by Hollywood. The use of smaller, not-name actors adds a lot to the realism, although ultimately, it is a pulpy tale. Equity is a very enjoyable time at the theater with a clever screenplay and decent direction. Definitely worth checking out.
User 479360
Banned
I just finished The Calling, a Canadian(?) thriller/cop movie starring Susan Sarandon and Topher Grace. I'd been curious about it after seeing it listed on TMN, but its reviews were middling.
Overall, that's pretty much all it was. It didn't go far enough or have a wow factor.
Overall, that's pretty much all it was. It didn't go far enough or have a wow factor.
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared
Member
Mad Mary Needs A Date (or is it a date for mad mary whatever) is one of the best films I've seen all year, if not the best. And what makes it even better is that I didn't see any trailers for it, and had zero expectations beyond it being a tad sad and dark, as a lot of Irish films seem to be.
And it was sad and dark, but not in a bad way.
I'm even more surprised (in an entirely positive way) with what they managed to achieve in this film in under 90 minutes. It's only 82 minutes but it feels (to me) just sublime. Granted, the story of someone coming back from somewhere to find out everyone has moved on and left them behind isn't wholly original, but its executed so well and touched me in such a way that I didn't mind that one bit.
Superb acting from all the cast, even the ones possibly written to be a tad one sided (even though they don't end up being one sided) engaging story about moving on and letting go, and trying to be a good person even though you have no idea how to do so. Good music, it looked good and at least... faithful to what it is.
And some of those final scenes were a kicker. Loved it start to finish.
And it was sad and dark, but not in a bad way.
I'm even more surprised (in an entirely positive way) with what they managed to achieve in this film in under 90 minutes. It's only 82 minutes but it feels (to me) just sublime. Granted, the story of someone coming back from somewhere to find out everyone has moved on and left them behind isn't wholly original, but its executed so well and touched me in such a way that I didn't mind that one bit.
Superb acting from all the cast, even the ones possibly written to be a tad one sided (even though they don't end up being one sided) engaging story about moving on and letting go, and trying to be a good person even though you have no idea how to do so. Good music, it looked good and at least... faithful to what it is.
And some of those final scenes were a kicker. Loved it start to finish.
Infernostew
Member
Ok. I'm gonna try to be better about writing about each film since I haven't really been doing so recently.
Welcome to the Dollhouse - I've been on a little Todd Solondz kick since seeing Weiner-Dog and Storytelling over the last couple months. Welcome to the Dollhouse is a coming of age film about a girl who is the biggest loser in her high school. She falls for a high school boy that's in her brother's band and hopes he can have sex with her. She also has classmates who watch her take a shit and threaten to rape her. The interactions with her siblings and uncaring parents are pretty hilarious. Actually, it's all very funny. 8/10
Outrage - Beat Takeshi directs and stars in a yakuza crime drama about two warring families under the same larger family. There are some pretty cool moments throughout but there wasn't anything that really elevated it above other films in the genre. I liked it a bit more than I should've due to Kitano but it's pretty average. 6/10
World of Tomorrow - I'll admit it, I've been sleeping on Don Hertzfeldt. Which is a bit strange since watching his films are not a real commitment. Any-who, World of Tomorrow is about a small girl who is teleported to the future by a clone of herself and the clone explains the future and her personal life. Real enjoyable and funny stuff. 8/10
Rejected - So, I've actually seen a few segments from this previously (about 12 years ago or so) and had no idea what it was. Don Hertzfeldt's hilarious attack on commercialism is just great fun. What's even better is that throughout the years, many companies have tried, and failed, to copy Hertzfeldt's style for their own products. 8/10
2001: A Space Odyssey - So, it's taken me a long time but I've finally made it all the way through this film in one sitting. Now before anyone gets on my case, I've always tried to watch this film late at night. Well, it's amazing. I'm astounded that I'm watching this film that was made in the late 60s. It seems almost impossible. I love how we kind of get this weird sci-fi mystery story at the end which develops into a complete mind fuck. Such a beautifully shot film, although I would still say that Barry Lyndon might be his most. Really looking forward to revisiting this again sometime in the future. 9/10
Happiness - Wow. This film is really fucked up and I love it for that. A bunch of people connected by one family with everyone looking for, you guessed it, happiness. Well, as you can expect from Solondz, that might be a bit difficult... I laughed a ton throughout the film and it kinda made me feel bad for it, although not too bad. Really dark but so completely honest (just like Welcome to the Dollhouse). 9/10
Welcome to the Dollhouse - I've been on a little Todd Solondz kick since seeing Weiner-Dog and Storytelling over the last couple months. Welcome to the Dollhouse is a coming of age film about a girl who is the biggest loser in her high school. She falls for a high school boy that's in her brother's band and hopes he can have sex with her. She also has classmates who watch her take a shit and threaten to rape her. The interactions with her siblings and uncaring parents are pretty hilarious. Actually, it's all very funny. 8/10
Outrage - Beat Takeshi directs and stars in a yakuza crime drama about two warring families under the same larger family. There are some pretty cool moments throughout but there wasn't anything that really elevated it above other films in the genre. I liked it a bit more than I should've due to Kitano but it's pretty average. 6/10
World of Tomorrow - I'll admit it, I've been sleeping on Don Hertzfeldt. Which is a bit strange since watching his films are not a real commitment. Any-who, World of Tomorrow is about a small girl who is teleported to the future by a clone of herself and the clone explains the future and her personal life. Real enjoyable and funny stuff. 8/10
Rejected - So, I've actually seen a few segments from this previously (about 12 years ago or so) and had no idea what it was. Don Hertzfeldt's hilarious attack on commercialism is just great fun. What's even better is that throughout the years, many companies have tried, and failed, to copy Hertzfeldt's style for their own products. 8/10
2001: A Space Odyssey - So, it's taken me a long time but I've finally made it all the way through this film in one sitting. Now before anyone gets on my case, I've always tried to watch this film late at night. Well, it's amazing. I'm astounded that I'm watching this film that was made in the late 60s. It seems almost impossible. I love how we kind of get this weird sci-fi mystery story at the end which develops into a complete mind fuck. Such a beautifully shot film, although I would still say that Barry Lyndon might be his most. Really looking forward to revisiting this again sometime in the future. 9/10
Happiness - Wow. This film is really fucked up and I love it for that. A bunch of people connected by one family with everyone looking for, you guessed it, happiness. Well, as you can expect from Solondz, that might be a bit difficult... I laughed a ton throughout the film and it kinda made me feel bad for it, although not too bad. Really dark but so completely honest (just like Welcome to the Dollhouse). 9/10
I love love love both of these movies. Dark but super funny movies. I never quite liked the rest of the Solondz movies as much as these two, but they are both some of my favorites (though I don't know what that says about me!).
obin_gam
Member
Don't Breathe
First of all: the marketing for this is fucked up. It is not even remotely a horror movie which it makes you think in every piece of marketing it has. Even the title font in the beginning makes you think it's a horror. Nope. It is at most a thriller.
Secondly: The protagonists are such boring and bad people that it makes you root for the antagonist because at least the antagonist has any sort of charisma. This is not a good thing mind you considering the nature of the antagonist. This movie's "good guys" are so bad, it makes you root for
Thirdly: It has a plot point revealed in the beginning of the third act that is so laughable that I was actually considering walking out of the cinema right there and then. I guess it was to shock the audience, but man it doesn't play at all.
Fourth: I cannot believe this is the same director that made the fantastic Evil Dead 2011. How the hell did he get neutured this much. To come back to my first point, I really do not understand the rating on this. This is a PG movie easily.
Fifth: This is $12 and 90 minutes I'll never get back
Sixth and final point: This movie makes you
First of all: the marketing for this is fucked up. It is not even remotely a horror movie which it makes you think in every piece of marketing it has. Even the title font in the beginning makes you think it's a horror. Nope. It is at most a thriller.
Secondly: The protagonists are such boring and bad people that it makes you root for the antagonist because at least the antagonist has any sort of charisma. This is not a good thing mind you considering the nature of the antagonist. This movie's "good guys" are so bad, it makes you root for
Joseph Fritzl!
Thirdly: It has a plot point revealed in the beginning of the third act that is so laughable that I was actually considering walking out of the cinema right there and then. I guess it was to shock the audience, but man it doesn't play at all.
Fourth: I cannot believe this is the same director that made the fantastic Evil Dead 2011. How the hell did he get neutured this much. To come back to my first point, I really do not understand the rating on this. This is a PG movie easily.
Fifth: This is $12 and 90 minutes I'll never get back
Sixth and final point: This movie makes you
ROOT FOR JOSEPH FUCKING FRITZL!
The Innocents (2016): Perhaps the best example of the "Polish nuns post-World War II starring Agata Kulesza" genre yet. I don't whether France or Poland gets to submit this for the Oscars this year, but one of them should, because it would be a strong contender. Though despite the presence of Agata Kulesza, the best performance by a woman named Agata in the film is the one given by Agata Buzek. Movies about war and its aftermath that are focused almost entirely on women are rare.
The Light Between Oceans (2016): The reviews for this have been middling, but I thought it was pretty solid on the whole, anchored by, as you'd expect, superb performances from Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. I actually like the first hour or so, centered on life at the isolated lighthouse, better than the second half, where there's a lot more plot. There's a terrific sense of place conveyed. Though
Mustang (2015): I rewatched this with a friend who hadn't seen it before, my third viewing of the year. What a fucking fantastic movie. I think I ranked this third on my Best of 2015 list, and that rating may be too low.
The Light Between Oceans (2016): The reviews for this have been middling, but I thought it was pretty solid on the whole, anchored by, as you'd expect, superb performances from Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. I actually like the first hour or so, centered on life at the isolated lighthouse, better than the second half, where there's a lot more plot. There's a terrific sense of place conveyed. Though
for the epilogue set in 1950, the movie does comically little to make Michael Fassbender look older; there's a bit of grey in his hair and he's dressed in grandpa clothes, and that's about it.
Mustang (2015): I rewatched this with a friend who hadn't seen it before, my third viewing of the year. What a fucking fantastic movie. I think I ranked this third on my Best of 2015 list, and that rating may be too low.
The Secret Life of Pets - A bit too much like Toy Story, right? Still, it's fine. I guess. It's harmless. 5.5/10
The Overnight - I enjoyed the hell out of this. The humor was spot on for me and the way the situation and characters spiraled during the movie was well done. It probably won't leave a mark or reach any top lists at the end of the year, but it's a fun waste of time. 7/10
De Palma - Only recommended for De Palma fans. It's nothing particularly special documentary-wise, but hearing De Palma go over his filmography, revealing his thoughts and ideas behind his movies, specific moments and behind-the-scenes concepts is wonderful. Beware of spoilers if you haven't seen all of his stuff. 7/10
Linklater's Tape was enjoyable but messy. The cinematography, camera angles, framing and the editing all felt 'off' at times. Luckily there's 3 solid actors doing work with the script, which was captivating with its twists and turns. 6/10
The Overnight - I enjoyed the hell out of this. The humor was spot on for me and the way the situation and characters spiraled during the movie was well done. It probably won't leave a mark or reach any top lists at the end of the year, but it's a fun waste of time. 7/10
De Palma - Only recommended for De Palma fans. It's nothing particularly special documentary-wise, but hearing De Palma go over his filmography, revealing his thoughts and ideas behind his movies, specific moments and behind-the-scenes concepts is wonderful. Beware of spoilers if you haven't seen all of his stuff. 7/10
Linklater's Tape was enjoyable but messy. The cinematography, camera angles, framing and the editing all felt 'off' at times. Luckily there's 3 solid actors doing work with the script, which was captivating with its twists and turns. 6/10
Messofanego
Banned
What did I do wrong?
The Childhood Of A Leader
Was interested to see this purely because I loved Brady Corbet in Simon Killer and wanted to see how he'd do behind the camera.
It's chilling. We Need To Talk About Kevin by way of The White Ribbon. And the moral is, punishment doesn't work. Explanations are needed. Reminds me of when our patients go haywire, if an explanation isn't given for what they did wrong. Sumptuous production design and art direction, with the most abrasive, pulse-pounding score in a film this year by Scott Walker. The final shot (camera rolling around like a ball) did provoke laughter from the audience, but I suspect it was of the nervous kind. The late shock revelation doesn't have enough foreshadowing but that's my main problem with the film. Impressive work for Brady Corbet's directorial debut.
The Childhood Of A Leader
Was interested to see this purely because I loved Brady Corbet in Simon Killer and wanted to see how he'd do behind the camera.
It's chilling. We Need To Talk About Kevin by way of The White Ribbon. And the moral is, punishment doesn't work. Explanations are needed. Reminds me of when our patients go haywire, if an explanation isn't given for what they did wrong. Sumptuous production design and art direction, with the most abrasive, pulse-pounding score in a film this year by Scott Walker. The final shot (camera rolling around like a ball) did provoke laughter from the audience, but I suspect it was of the nervous kind. The late shock revelation doesn't have enough foreshadowing but that's my main problem with the film. Impressive work for Brady Corbet's directorial debut.
Infernostew
Member
Have you seen Weiner-Dog yet?
Don't Breathe - Not a bad little thriller. A complete step up from that horrid Evil Dead remake. 6/10
The Sea of Trees is trash. The only good aspect of it is the score, but even that is terrible thanks to it completely not meshing with the film itself. McConaughey's performance is the type of horrific overacting that has to be seen to be believed, and the script is insulting on multiple levels, alternating between being incredibly racist and incredibly sexist, while also treating its audience like they're still in kindergarten with juvenile twists and turns. Gus Van Sant's direction is consistently uninspiring, often reminiscent of a slow train heading straight for a bomb factory with no brakes but yet no acceleration. The Sea of Trees is a complete pile of poop as a film and one of the worst films of the year.
But, hey, if you like watching Matthew McConaughey fall down things, this is the movie for you!!
But, hey, if you like watching Matthew McConaughey fall down things, this is the movie for you!!
User 479360
Banned
Election: I'd seen it before, but PVRed it when it was on TV. It's a pretty good movie.
darkwing-buck
Member
Don't Breathe 7/10
Really not all that scary but still a solid thriller. Had a good time with this one. Reminds me of the 70's-80's horror movies that had one opposing force.
Really not all that scary but still a solid thriller. Had a good time with this one. Reminds me of the 70's-80's horror movies that had one opposing force.
Net_Wrecker
Member
The Neon Demon is more interesting than Only God Forgives, thank christ. I guess you could even say I liked this one. As with Only God Forgives it's trying very hard to be beautiful, but because this one is pushing further into surrealism and dreamy fashion photography minimalism, along with Cliff Martinez going even more nuts on the score with all those pulsating and ethereal 70s/80s synths, I found it a much more engaging audiovisual experience. On the narrative side it's playing with themes we've seen played with before filtered through this satirical dark fairytale turned giallo psychological shock horror thing, but again, I liked it.
I don't know if Refn will ever make a movie starring humans again, but if robots and symbolism is where he's building his home, I prefer this version of it.
I don't know if Refn will ever make a movie starring humans again, but if robots and symbolism is where he's building his home, I prefer this version of it.
Wiener-Dog might initially seem like a program of shorts. After the first segway, there's no real connection narratively between the four segments. Yet these shorts (all four of them brilliant) make up for more than their worth once completed. The entire cast is great but Danny DeVito and Ellen Burstyn both really impress in their brief screentime in the best shorts of the film. The film alternates between hilarious and heartbreaking in the best sense and rarely misses a beat, although at some points one might confused which of these two feelings Solondz is aiming for. Regardless, Wiener-Dog is a brilliant meditation on morality and the power of cinema while also being incredibly entertaining in its own right.
Blood Father - It felt like a Mel Gibson reputation fever dream someone had.
There's nazis, rednecks, mexican cartel sicarios, illegal immigrant mexicans and all those shenanigans, promptly cartoonified.
At some point the girl even shoehorns in a "They're stealing all our jobs" retort to her old father, as if she was reading it directly off of some forum page.
But it was fun, because Mel Gibson carries this movie, because he's just the best guy around, when it comes to playing scruffy "IDGAF" unlikely action heroes.
It's not nearly as entertaining as Get the Gringo, but it's decent enough, and it makes me wish that he played old-ass Max, in a modern Mad Max movie.
Captain War: Civil America - I don't despise all superhero movies or anything, i thought Winter Soldier was very entertaining, but this didn't strike it as good.
First the good stuff that was in it: The action was fun, and people complaining about too many cuts, or citing The Raid or whatever, keep in mind that these folks have to do that shit with Scarlett Johansson, who probably can't flip around very well, and so you need to insert some stuntwoman here and there.
All things considered, they had fun choreography; incidentally, the airport scene was the most boring of them for me, just felt so disjointed.
Other thing i like was the Black Panther guy, probably the only character that felt like he was giving a damn about what was happening, even if you could've cut the character, and the film would've worked just as well, which brings me to my gripes:
1. Too many characters, stop ruining your movies, by trying to plug all your other projects midway through, like what the fuck had Spiderman to do with anything? And many of the people didn't even know what the fuck was going on.
2. This ain't no Civil "War", even in the airport fight, the climax of the internal conflict, they were cracking jokes at each other, like some playground beef.
If they don't care, why should i?
3. And that was probably because the so much touted moral quandary was lame and barely there -- Ironman (legitimately) wants the Avengers to respond to some form of elected power; C.America wants to use his (government granted) powers for himself, assuming his super strength directly translate into super morality or super brain or something (that is debunked by his actions in the movie) so that already makes the C.America counter argument flimsy, and they must've known that, because immediately the movies turns away from the moral discussion, and to "Save Bucky who is clearly been framed!" which has nothing to do with anything.
4. Ironman 4: Captain America was supposed to be the name of this movie, since Ironman is the most interesting character in it (aside from the Panther) and most of the plot seems to revolve around him anyway.
5. I haven't seen Ironman 3, so i don't know if they foreshadow something, but that final Batman twist feels so much pulled out of someone's ass, and further takes us away from the moral dilemma of "who watches the watchmen".
There's nazis, rednecks, mexican cartel sicarios, illegal immigrant mexicans and all those shenanigans, promptly cartoonified.
At some point the girl even shoehorns in a "They're stealing all our jobs" retort to her old father, as if she was reading it directly off of some forum page.
But it was fun, because Mel Gibson carries this movie, because he's just the best guy around, when it comes to playing scruffy "IDGAF" unlikely action heroes.
It's not nearly as entertaining as Get the Gringo, but it's decent enough, and it makes me wish that he played old-ass Max, in a modern Mad Max movie.
Captain War: Civil America - I don't despise all superhero movies or anything, i thought Winter Soldier was very entertaining, but this didn't strike it as good.
First the good stuff that was in it: The action was fun, and people complaining about too many cuts, or citing The Raid or whatever, keep in mind that these folks have to do that shit with Scarlett Johansson, who probably can't flip around very well, and so you need to insert some stuntwoman here and there.
All things considered, they had fun choreography; incidentally, the airport scene was the most boring of them for me, just felt so disjointed.
Other thing i like was the Black Panther guy, probably the only character that felt like he was giving a damn about what was happening, even if you could've cut the character, and the film would've worked just as well, which brings me to my gripes:
1. Too many characters, stop ruining your movies, by trying to plug all your other projects midway through, like what the fuck had Spiderman to do with anything? And many of the people didn't even know what the fuck was going on.
2. This ain't no Civil "War", even in the airport fight, the climax of the internal conflict, they were cracking jokes at each other, like some playground beef.
If they don't care, why should i?
3. And that was probably because the so much touted moral quandary was lame and barely there -- Ironman (legitimately) wants the Avengers to respond to some form of elected power; C.America wants to use his (government granted) powers for himself, assuming his super strength directly translate into super morality or super brain or something (that is debunked by his actions in the movie) so that already makes the C.America counter argument flimsy, and they must've known that, because immediately the movies turns away from the moral discussion, and to "Save Bucky who is clearly been framed!" which has nothing to do with anything.
4. Ironman 4: Captain America was supposed to be the name of this movie, since Ironman is the most interesting character in it (aside from the Panther) and most of the plot seems to revolve around him anyway.
5. I haven't seen Ironman 3, so i don't know if they foreshadow something, but that final Batman twist feels so much pulled out of someone's ass, and further takes us away from the moral dilemma of "who watches the watchmen".
darkwing-buck
Member
Man I still gotta see The Neon Demon if not just for the music lol
UberTag
Member
UrbanRats just echoed almost every point of criticism I had with Captain America: Civil War... apart from highlighting what stubborn jackassess Cap and Ironman were. Yeah, it was impossible to give a rat's ass about their conflict (or anyone else's superficial tête-à-tête) when all was said and done... and that's a shame because I DID care about these characters during other films in this franchise.
Mostly i was expecting something on the level of the Xmen movies, when it comes to the conflict.
I think whether or not, and how you should register all mutants, is a genuinely interesting ethical dilemma to play with.
The one they present in this didn't feel like a dilemma at all in the first place, and then they drop it and "resolve it", by way of completely unrelated things.
Instead the "Civil War" is more driven by Ironman's and Cap's inability to sit down and talk to each other about a very simple misunderstanding, and the inability of everyone else to point this out and refuse to indulge them in their bullshit.
Stubborness is fine, but this to me felt more like a shoddy plot device, especially since the tone is so weird, with all the quips at all times.
Messofanego
Banned
Glad you liked it. One of my favourites of the year. One of Todd Solondz's best, along with Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness.
You could say Civil War is very much like a romcom in that regard.
True Savior
Member
Try to watch most Ghibli you haven't yet (Only Yesterday, Kiki's, Porco Rosso, Castle in the Sky, Secret World of Arriety, Wind Rises,From Up on Poppy Hill, Totoro, etc), Wolf Children, Summer Wars, The Boy and the Beast, A Letter to Momo, Macross do you remember love, Tokyo Godfather, Sword of the Stranger, Gits2, Patlabor 1 and 2, Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus and Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo, Redline, The Wings of Honneamise, Steamboy, Wonderful Days, Sky Crawlers, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Colorful.
Parapluies de Cherbourg tore my heart out and left me a broken man. At first I wasn't sure if the constant singing and the bright colors were a touch of brilliance or a bit gimmicky, but they immediately won me over and had me hooked. Amazing bittersweet story. It's been a long time since a movie actually made me feel something.
Any other essential Demy films? Lola or Girls of Rochefort perhaps? Or something in the same vein from a different director?
Any other essential Demy films? Lola or Girls of Rochefort perhaps? Or something in the same vein from a different director?
ViewtifulJC
Banned
The Young Girls of Rochefort is just as essential IMO. It's more of a "real" musical with elaborate dance sequences and gorgeous pastel colors. Same guy who did the amazing score in Umbrellas is here for this one...Gene Kelly's in this one, too.
Good to hear, sound great. Thanks!
sleverfunk
Member
Train to Busan
No idea this movie existed until my gf asked me to watch it since we still have time to kill before going home.
The pretty alright. It's fun and entertaining but also predictable.
Although the ending is predictable but very good payoff.
It broke me and made my gf cry lol.
8/10
No idea this movie existed until my gf asked me to watch it since we still have time to kill before going home.
The pretty alright. It's fun and entertaining but also predictable.
Although the ending is predictable but very good payoff.
It broke me and made my gf cry lol.
8/10
Most people will say Rochefort (which is indeed worth seeing), but my favourite work of his other than Cherbourg is Une chambre en ville, the last of the six films of his collected in the Criterion box set. It's the other of his musicals, though very different in tone in a lot of ways.
Lola and Bay of Angels are both non-musical and black and white, so very different, but they're worth seeing; Lola, especially, provides Roland Cassard's backstory, so it brings additional context to Cherbourg.
The upcoming La La Land is supposedly heavily influenced by the Technicolour musical Jacques Demy, so I'm really interested to see it.
Ratchet & Clank
Damn, are the games this boring? The movie was uneventful, there wasn't any sense of epicness and the presentation made it seem like some direct-to-tv adaptation.
The Conjuring 2
I liked it, there was one specific jump scare that I thought it was very well done. I didn't like the story it was based on, though. The two main characters were pretty good, but the supporting cast was average.
. The last act also was a disappointment, the resolution was just too quick. I hope there's a third movie coming, though.
Damn, are the games this boring? The movie was uneventful, there wasn't any sense of epicness and the presentation made it seem like some direct-to-tv adaptation.
The Conjuring 2
I liked it, there was one specific jump scare that I thought it was very well done. I didn't like the story it was based on, though. The two main characters were pretty good, but the supporting cast was average.
The Crooked Man felt slapped on the movie and didn't even make sense, he didn't have any relation with the old man or the demon.
Thanks for the input. I've had Cherbourg on my list for years, but with the recent La La Land praise and I also heard about the Demy influence so that made me want to check it out asap. I'll put the others on my list although at a quick glance Girls of Rochefort does catch my eye the most.
Infernostew
Member
Thanks! I'll be looking into most of these.
In addition to The Young Girls of Rochefort, Lola is an especially essential watch since it actually feels a bit like a warmup for Cherbourg's kind of storytelling, along with the realization that Cherboug is actually a sequel to that film. It makes one scene in particular even more awesome because you'll realize what it was quoting the whole time.
If you wanted another film set up like Cherboug, Une Chambre en Ville is also an opera, though it tackles far more political and darker material that gets into squarely R-rated territory throughout. You can definitely feel the lack of Michel Legrand on soundtrack duties, but it's a worthwhile film that goes into some really interesting territory.
BaronLundi
Member
Haven't seen many movies recently, but a good serie. The Honourable Woman (hey Currygan!) although not flawless is certainly one of the better spy drama recently made. Keeps you guessing until the end and it has actual meaningful and interesting turns and twists. Also Stephen Rea is hilarious and generally amazing in it.
I'm gonna go ahead and recommend Peau d'âne. It's unbelievably dated, cheesy and just plain weird (hey! incest!) but it has great songs (music by Michel Legrand as well) and is sometimes (emphasis) gorgeous.
Rochefort is the Best Demy.
I'm gonna go ahead and recommend Peau d'âne. It's unbelievably dated, cheesy and just plain weird (hey! incest!) but it has great songs (music by Michel Legrand as well) and is sometimes (emphasis) gorgeous.
Rochefort is the Best Demy.
In The Mood For Love is a goddamn heartbreaking masterpiece. I saw it once before and thought it was great, but a second viewing cemented it as pretty much perfection. Everything about it is beautiful; visuals, the quiet dialogue, the repeating waltz, the acting, the claustrophobic cinematography.
I managed to get into a screening for the film festival at DragonCon. This one, in particular, was geared towards gory horror shorts. Since I don't think many of these are on Letterboxd and wherever, I shall share my thoughts on them here. Spoiler alert: most of them sucked out loud.
Night of the Slasher: If film can have an inherent catchphrase, the one for this one would be "look at me, I am so clever and that's all that counts." But this mashup of Scream and attempt at a De Palma-esque oner really can't do much more than being a mildly diverting lark that feels more like a test reel for what the director can do than anything actually interesting. When the wittiest thing is having a masked killer wear a Leonard Nimoy mask (us horror fans, am I right?!?), you're in for a wholly unremarkable time.
Blood Bath: Probably the most interesting thing about this one-joke film was that its star/writer/co-producer was in attendance, so she got to talk about a film in which everyone in attendance saw her naked. She stood by her contributions, which I can respect, but there really isn't much to say here other than that little tidbit.
Blue Moon: A 5-minute short stretched out to a deathless 12 minutes, it's the kind of film where you know exactly where it's going to go within 10 seconds and unerringly stays the course with little to justify the extra time. I guess it was kinda neat to have a film where they went to great lengths to not show how shitty its werewolf looked, or how sparse the actual makeup work was for the gore, or how you couldn't understand a single word coming out of the main character's mouth, so there's that?
Burlap: You know you fucked up when an entire audience laughs at your pathetic attempt at profundity with an absolutely disastrous ending. Prior to then, though, it's an overwhelmingly somber home invasion short that makes the mistake of getting too grim as to rob the film of any kind of tension when it becomes obvious that the fate is a foregone conclusion. Who are we supposed to be following in this story? I'm not really sure the director knows, but I do wish that was the only major problem in this short that seems to enjoy having them.
Nasty: A little ode to video nasties, this one kinda works when you get it into your head about how faithful it's trying to be to that era, especially since it has some of the same kind of vibes that something like Xtro provided. It's not entirely successful, as it seems really confused on to move the story forward in an acceptably satisfying way, and it doesn't have the "cranked to 11" insanity that other films of that kind were able to make up for storytelling deficiencies. It did look pretty rad, though, with a nice use of absolutely lurid red and blue lighting throughout and the final image is an outright winner.
Bleed the Night: Finally, some serious competition for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in the category of Least Amount of Lighting and Color in a Film. Seriously, this could have been a sound effects track for a short radio play with how much you can't see. What you can see seems to be some kind of weird video game-like take on surviving a zombie apocalypse, or something. I don't know, I couldn't get over how devoid of discernible imagery this short was, and that's kind of a big problem for a film, no matter its length. It's possible to watch this film and still claim you missed it.
Playback: Oh boy, another oner! Thankfully, this one is pretty short, but there's really not much going on in it. It's another one of those "look at how clever I am" demo reels made with the hope of impressing investors for what a filmmaker really wants to be working on. There's nothing here but surface.
Roadside Assistance: Note to horror filmmakers out there: please stop making "killer picks up another killer that leads to a showdown" stories. This cow has been milked dry long before they tried to draw blood from the stone, and no one is doing anything new and interesting with the concept, which has long been a spent force. Whatever mythology they tried to put into this was for nothing.
O Christmas Tree: If you can't guess where this is going within 10 seconds, then you might be legitimately braindead. Thankfully, the why is fairly unique, which makes the film work on that front, in addition to be an amusing horror-comedy short that doesn't skimp on the gore. It won't change the world or anything, but it does the trick in a pinch.
Shutter: In what I hope will have proved to the rest of the audience in the screening room that foreign horror can be just as bad as everyone says American horror is, this German short does nothing interesting at all. Well, that's not true: the green-screen backgrounds in the bookends are probably some of the worst I've ever seen, so there's that.
Summoned: Truthfully speaking, this was probably the most disturbing short from a content standpoint, though most of it is implied than shown. Child molestation is always tough for anyone to deal with, so the idea of a victim seeking out demonic intervention makes a lot of sense and could have easily been material for a feature-length film. As a short, though, this seems like more of an experiment with how to handle tricky editing, as it flashes between the aftermath and the preamble of the ritual, so the story feels rather undernourished in the shape that it has taken here. There is quite a bit of potential here for a feature, though I wonder how many would-be investors would want to spend money on such unpleasant subject matter, especially from the point of view of a young victim.
When Susurrus Stirs: It'd be easy to make the claim of this short being the best of a bad lot, but I do feel like it does bear out a special mention because it would be pretty good on its own merits even without such unhallowed company to prop it up further. The Lovecraft vibes are through the roof here, and it's a credit to the filmmakers that they were able to balance the mood and dread of the atmosphere with impressive mix of CG and practical effects work, both in terms of how gory it gets and the groovy imagery that they invoke. It goes a bit off the rails in the finale in terms of how much it depicts, and as a fair warning, this might be a bit too much for some male members (hee hee) to endure without looking away from the screen, but it does otherwise stick the landing. Sick and interesting!
Night of the Slasher: If film can have an inherent catchphrase, the one for this one would be "look at me, I am so clever and that's all that counts." But this mashup of Scream and attempt at a De Palma-esque oner really can't do much more than being a mildly diverting lark that feels more like a test reel for what the director can do than anything actually interesting. When the wittiest thing is having a masked killer wear a Leonard Nimoy mask (us horror fans, am I right?!?), you're in for a wholly unremarkable time.
Blood Bath: Probably the most interesting thing about this one-joke film was that its star/writer/co-producer was in attendance, so she got to talk about a film in which everyone in attendance saw her naked. She stood by her contributions, which I can respect, but there really isn't much to say here other than that little tidbit.
Blue Moon: A 5-minute short stretched out to a deathless 12 minutes, it's the kind of film where you know exactly where it's going to go within 10 seconds and unerringly stays the course with little to justify the extra time. I guess it was kinda neat to have a film where they went to great lengths to not show how shitty its werewolf looked, or how sparse the actual makeup work was for the gore, or how you couldn't understand a single word coming out of the main character's mouth, so there's that?
Burlap: You know you fucked up when an entire audience laughs at your pathetic attempt at profundity with an absolutely disastrous ending. Prior to then, though, it's an overwhelmingly somber home invasion short that makes the mistake of getting too grim as to rob the film of any kind of tension when it becomes obvious that the fate is a foregone conclusion. Who are we supposed to be following in this story? I'm not really sure the director knows, but I do wish that was the only major problem in this short that seems to enjoy having them.
Nasty: A little ode to video nasties, this one kinda works when you get it into your head about how faithful it's trying to be to that era, especially since it has some of the same kind of vibes that something like Xtro provided. It's not entirely successful, as it seems really confused on to move the story forward in an acceptably satisfying way, and it doesn't have the "cranked to 11" insanity that other films of that kind were able to make up for storytelling deficiencies. It did look pretty rad, though, with a nice use of absolutely lurid red and blue lighting throughout and the final image is an outright winner.
Bleed the Night: Finally, some serious competition for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in the category of Least Amount of Lighting and Color in a Film. Seriously, this could have been a sound effects track for a short radio play with how much you can't see. What you can see seems to be some kind of weird video game-like take on surviving a zombie apocalypse, or something. I don't know, I couldn't get over how devoid of discernible imagery this short was, and that's kind of a big problem for a film, no matter its length. It's possible to watch this film and still claim you missed it.
Playback: Oh boy, another oner! Thankfully, this one is pretty short, but there's really not much going on in it. It's another one of those "look at how clever I am" demo reels made with the hope of impressing investors for what a filmmaker really wants to be working on. There's nothing here but surface.
Roadside Assistance: Note to horror filmmakers out there: please stop making "killer picks up another killer that leads to a showdown" stories. This cow has been milked dry long before they tried to draw blood from the stone, and no one is doing anything new and interesting with the concept, which has long been a spent force. Whatever mythology they tried to put into this was for nothing.
O Christmas Tree: If you can't guess where this is going within 10 seconds, then you might be legitimately braindead. Thankfully, the why is fairly unique, which makes the film work on that front, in addition to be an amusing horror-comedy short that doesn't skimp on the gore. It won't change the world or anything, but it does the trick in a pinch.
Shutter: In what I hope will have proved to the rest of the audience in the screening room that foreign horror can be just as bad as everyone says American horror is, this German short does nothing interesting at all. Well, that's not true: the green-screen backgrounds in the bookends are probably some of the worst I've ever seen, so there's that.
Summoned: Truthfully speaking, this was probably the most disturbing short from a content standpoint, though most of it is implied than shown. Child molestation is always tough for anyone to deal with, so the idea of a victim seeking out demonic intervention makes a lot of sense and could have easily been material for a feature-length film. As a short, though, this seems like more of an experiment with how to handle tricky editing, as it flashes between the aftermath and the preamble of the ritual, so the story feels rather undernourished in the shape that it has taken here. There is quite a bit of potential here for a feature, though I wonder how many would-be investors would want to spend money on such unpleasant subject matter, especially from the point of view of a young victim.
When Susurrus Stirs: It'd be easy to make the claim of this short being the best of a bad lot, but I do feel like it does bear out a special mention because it would be pretty good on its own merits even without such unhallowed company to prop it up further. The Lovecraft vibes are through the roof here, and it's a credit to the filmmakers that they were able to balance the mood and dread of the atmosphere with impressive mix of CG and practical effects work, both in terms of how gory it gets and the groovy imagery that they invoke. It goes a bit off the rails in the finale in terms of how much it depicts, and as a fair warning, this might be a bit too much for some male members (hee hee) to endure without looking away from the screen, but it does otherwise stick the landing. Sick and interesting!
I haven't! Is it still in limited release or will it be VOD soon?
It just hit Amazon Prime, so if you're a subscriber, you can watch it.
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
I fail to see how trope avoiding would be any better done by a 'better filmmaker' or what that term in the context of a great movie, would even mean. The fact that something is setup and then avoided / perverted is the whole point, with the plot seeming to be an anti-plot, but still being a regular plot. I doubt anyone but the writer would actually get that that was the point of the script, so you would get a worse movie from tossing the script to someone else.
So I had hoped that was sarcasm or something.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
Or: what having a contrarian mind is like. As someone says "can't be done", I get interested. ( :') ) , so I thought of an alternative:
Years ago, my dad mentioned that when two psychologists were put in a room to judge the other man's sanity, they both declared the other stark raving mad at the end.
So, how about a driver picking up a man / hitchhiker and them getting into an argument about killing stuff, leading them both to convince the other that they're killers, and only at the end revealing that they're both psychologists (or something) driven by curiosity and fear for hitchhikers?
Awkward horror, but hey, it might work. The real horror is always reality anyway, as Ligotti has written on.
True Savior
Member
It was not sarcasm. Shane Black is a decent writer. He's a dire filmmaker. The film sound catalogue and design is mundane, he edits any scene at the click of sound (lines, objects, music), it's visually boring (it's flooded of monotonous medium shots), terribly paced, the actor's direction is iffy as fuck. Yeah, a good filmmaker would make this a much better movie.
As for the perversion of expectations, I disagree. If anything, very rarely hollywood scripts are able to be plot subdued. This one is silly since the get go. It goes exactly as expected.
Infernostew
Member
I'm Canadian, our version of Prime doesn't have Video and is instead broken up over two different streaming platforms
Might have to wait, it looks like!It's the first work of his I've seen. Really want to check out some more of his stuff, really impressive.
Fancy Clown
Member
Yeah doing a rewatch of this cemented it as the GOAT of the 21st century for me.
Yes. Storywise at least, gameplay is a little better.
Wow, the Robocop remake wasn't bad at all. The cynicism and over-the-top violence of the original have been replaced by irony and more sci-fi themes, giving it a completely different vibe. I also thought that putting a fresh face in the lead and casting the stars on supporting roles was a great move. Climax was somewhat meh, though and the Fox like show was too prominent.
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared
Member
Can a comedy be a good comedy if it doesn't make you laugh? Cafe Society didn't make me laugh that much really, although it did pass the six laugh test, but it was funny, and I enjoyed it a lot. Lot of absurd situations, convoluted stuff, typical Woody Allen, but its charming, lovely to look at, pretty great acting, and kept me engaged for 96 minutes. Cool beans.
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