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mobby_6kl posted:Widows 2.5/5 I saw it in the theater last year and these are pretty much my thoughts exactly. It helps that it was "Shopping Mall" month at the weekly bad movie showing was particularly brutal. It was nice for something to have some decent action at least.
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Jan 29, 2019 05:59
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And now, a short list of two movies that surprised me and I liked more than I thought I would, and one that was as good as I anticipated it would be: Solo: A Star Wars Story: B- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: A Mary Poppins Returns: B+
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Jan 30, 2019 15:17
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Haven't done this one in a while. Here's some stuff from the past couple weeks Occidental (2017) -- B Roma (2018) -- A+ The Favourite (2018) -- B FYRE (2019) -- B- Cold War (2018) -- B- Serenity (2019) -- D- Fyre Fraud (2019) -- D Splatter University (1984) -- C The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (1971) -- C- Monster-a-Go-Go (1965) -- F(?) Payback (1999) -- C- (Theatrical Cut)
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Jan 30, 2019 17:43
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BeanpolePeckerwood posted:Kiss Me Deadly - 80/100 TrixRabbi posted:Cold War (2018) -- B-
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Jan 30, 2019 17:59
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TrixRabbi posted:The Favourite (2018) -- B I'd lowered my expectations pretty far after people seemed lukewarm on this but I finally caught it the other day and it rules
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Jan 30, 2019 18:30
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Cold War started strong for me but suffers when they get to Paris, which I found a far less interesting backdrop than the Eastern Bloc for this kind of love story. In general, Wiktor has Bland Protagonist syndrome, a man who never seems to have much to offer the far more interesting Zula and their connection never feels legitimate. I had similar connection issues with Pawlikowski's Ida. It's not that I don't mind these kinds of cold films, it's just that Pawlikowski's particular approach feels just a touch too alienating for me. Still, it's gorgeous and I enjoyed much of the earlier half of the film. I can see where people love it. The Favourite likewise I enjoyed, although never fully fell into. I love the use of fisheye, the performances are fantastic, and the dynamic of power is probed in interesting ways. I'll copy paste what I wrote on Letterboxd here: quote:Between this and Vice in the awards pool I do sometimes wonder why we lust for power. Clearly there is the benefit of comfort and control, yet there’s never a degree to which that will satisfy, is there? Sarah and Abigail battle for proximity to this power, and indeed the role is better than that of the Queen itself — all the influence without being the public face who must suffer scrutiny and political consequences, much like Dick Cheney. But what they gain from this is fleeting, a strange pathological hunger they’re feeding. Vice’s depiction of Cheney is wry, cunning, smug. The Favourite views Sarah Churchill in much the same way, enjoying control over Queen Anne, a Bush-like non-leader, thrust into power through family succession. Here, this brings nothing but misery, and final subservience as the leader reasserts her own position — the ultimate fear of the plotting confidant, and the ultimate trump card. Like Bush firing Rumsfeld becomes a turning point in Vice, Anne’s autonomy, the failure of manipulation, is the one thing that can put an end to a perfectly laid plan. We all bend the knee to the chain of command. So in the end, what is gained but a rush? Sex and power, satisfaction, it’s all kind of meaningless. Even pathetic. All the while millions suffer for the egos of people who operate in shadows.
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Jan 30, 2019 20:10
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My biggest issue with Cold War is that the last act hinges on the idea that Wiktor is so enamored with Zula, he's willing to risk torture and lifelong imprisonment just for the small chance of being together with her again. It doesn't flow naturally from their previous encounters, which, if anything, show their relationship as superficial and self-destructive. The folk dances were great though. I would have loved it if the entire film had focused solely on them.
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Jan 30, 2019 21:03
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Samuel Clemens posted:My biggest issue with Cold War is that the last act hinges on the idea that Wiktor is so enamored with Zula, he's willing to risk torture and lifelong imprisonment just for the small chance of being together with her again. It doesn't flow naturally from their previous encounters, which, if anything, show their relationship as superficial and self-destructive. I mean, they're in love enough to commit ritual suicide together so it all makes good sense to me 
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Jan 30, 2019 21:47
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BeanpolePeckerwood posted:I mean, they're in love enough to commit ritual suicide together so it all makes good sense to me Yeah, I think it's just so weird that it never feels like it naturally builds to that conclusion. It seems sudden, the time jumps don't help it.
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Jan 30, 2019 22:29
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TrixRabbi posted:Yeah, I think it's just so weird that it never feels like it naturally builds to that conclusion. It seems sudden, the time jumps don't help it. The collapse of the Soviet Union probably felt sudden, too, even after decades of mutual provocation. TrixRabbi posted:Cold War started strong for me but suffers when they get to Paris, which I found a far less interesting backdrop than the Eastern Bloc for this kind of love story. In general, Wiktor has Bland Protagonist syndrome, a man who never seems to have much to offer the far more interesting Zula and their connection never feels legitimate. I had similar connection issues with Pawlikowski's Ida. It's not that I don't mind these kinds of cold films, it's just that Pawlikowski's particular approach feels just a touch too alienating for me. Still, it's gorgeous and I enjoyed much of the earlier half of the film. I can see where people love it. You and the characters both. The emptiness is intentional.
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Jan 30, 2019 23:26
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BeanpolePeckerwood posted:I mean, they're in love enough to commit ritual suicide together so it all makes good sense to me That really only seems to confirm my point though.
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Jan 31, 2019 11:44
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Wiktor & Zula's relationship is only shown to work when it seems the entire world is conspiring against it and crumbles when it gets to the ostensibly 'happily ever after' section; it's more of an addiction for them than anything typically romantic. When it got to the ending, I felt it was a bit sad & moving, but I also think it made all the preceding scenes carry an air of satire/dark comedy. Also, while I can see how the characters could get short-changed because of the propulsiveness of each scene, in the moment, I really enjoyed the shocks of going from one year to the next few, from one music genre to the next.
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Jan 31, 2019 17:14
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Marjorie Prime - It's Solaris for dummies, C+
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Jan 31, 2019 17:45
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Samuel Clemens posted:That really only seems to confirm my point though. Can't live with her, can't live without her. Ever been in love? It's like that some times.
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Jan 31, 2019 20:49
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They Shall Not Grow Old 5/5 The first appearance of the restored films elicited audibles gasps and someone uttering "holy poo poo".
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Feb 3, 2019 05:09
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I thought I’d seen Police Story before, but apparently Supercop is the third one. The original is basically perfect Jackie Chan — what little story there is works, the supporting cast is great, even the straight comedy bits land 100%. Love a lot of Chan’s stuff but this is maybe the only one I wouldn’t fast-forward to the action. Police Story II is a pretty big letdown afterward. All the business with his superiors around the station is still fun but the set pieces are a major step down. The new prints are amazing, might pick up the blu. Had a surreal moment at my screening when an extremely hosed-up woman got carted off on a gurney while the audio from a big fight scene played over a blank screen.
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Feb 3, 2019 06:17
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Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999): D A Coffee in Berlin (2012, German): B+ The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962): A
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Feb 3, 2019 06:51
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F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999): D not a big fan?
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Feb 3, 2019 06:57
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piratepilates posted:not a big fan? Not really, honestly. Maybe the earlier movies are better (this is the only one I've seen), but although this one had some decent jokes, it seems like the writers couldn't resist reminding you midway through "This is a joke, guys! You should be laughing! See how funny we are?!". I guess  , but a lot of the jokes went on far too long and they were too aware of it being a comedy. One reason Airplane! and Naked Gun work so well is that Nielsen was so talented at deadpanning his delivery that the jokes were almost unexpected. Austin Powers seemed to take so long laughing at its own jokes that it just didn't seem that funny to me.
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Feb 3, 2019 07:04
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Airplane! is loving dope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNkpIDBtC2c
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Feb 3, 2019 08:25
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As long as you aren't someone who is afraid of subtitles, go see Shoplifters, it's a great, quirky film that I'm still thinking about three days later.
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Feb 3, 2019 11:29
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Rick posted:As long as you aren't someone who is afraid of subtitles, go see Shoplifters, it's a great, quirky film that I'm still thinking about three days later. It's so good, and so politiclly subversive without a single political word being uttered. It wrecked me.
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Feb 3, 2019 17:48
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My best of 2018 (I'm still working my way through the stuff I didn't see in theaters so cut me some slack..there's about 20 movies or so that could make this list like burning, cold war, etc once I catch up) death of stalin blindspotting isle of dogs you were never really here upgrade mandy scruggs roma hereditary honorable mentions: sorry to bother you blackkklansman eighth grade three indentical strangers filmworker border vice house jack built searching worst of 2018: the predator jurassic world 2 sicario 2 happytime murders superfly solo acrimony gringo unsane a wrinkle in time pacific rim 2 the commuter
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Feb 3, 2019 18:29
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Shoplifters - 93/100 Sorry To Bother You - 87/100 A Star Is Born - 83/100 First Reformed - 91/100 BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Feb 6, 2019 |
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Feb 3, 2019 20:17
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F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:Not really, honestly. Maybe the earlier movies are better (this is the only one I've seen), but although this one had some decent jokes, it seems like the writers couldn't resist reminding you midway through "This is a joke, guys! You should be laughing! See how funny we are?!". There's only one movie prior to that, and if you didn't like SWSM for the reasons stated then I'd make sure to stay well clear of Goldmember.
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Feb 4, 2019 04:20
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Through a Glass Darkly (1961, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4.5/5 Winter Light (1963, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4.5/5 The Silence (1963, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 5/5 Diaries, Notes, and Sketches: Walden (1969, Jonas Mekas) [Blu-ray] - 5/5 The Virgin Spring (1960, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4.5/5 In the Mood for Love (2000, Wong Kar-Wai) [Blu-ray] - 4.5/5 The Devil's Eye (1960, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4/5 All These Women (1964, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 2.5/5 The Front (1976, Martin Ritt) [Blu-ray] - 4/5 The Passenger (1975, Michelangelo Antonioni) [Blu-ray] - 4/5 The Whales of August (1987, Lindsay Anderson) [Blu-ray] - 4/5 While I still need to see The Touch and The Serpent's Egg, All These Women is certainly the least good Bergman film I've seen - but I kind of liked its anarchic, surreal tone. It's a failure, but it at least looks pretty. I'm really enjoying going through all these Bergman films for the first time. I've been going in order of the curated box set (skipping Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal since I've already seen them several times). The Faith Trilogy is certainly a highlight. I really enjoyed The Devil's Eye in how it's takes equal homage from Ernst Lubitsch and Benjamin Christhensen. After hearing of Jonas Mekas passing away, I owed it to myself to see Walden. It's a brilliant film, even at three hours, literally working like a visual diary. It's one of the best films I've seen this year (along with The Silence). In the Mood for Love doesn't have much plot, but it's stacked with beauty and humanity. It's a slow burn, but well worth it. I also enjoyed The Front. It's a little different to see Woody Allen in a more dramatic role, not to mention that Zero Mostel is great in anything he's ever been in. I think it meanders a little, but the last act is loving incredible. Likewise, I think The Passenger is my favorite Antonioni after Blow-Up (I've also seen Zabriskie Point and La Notte). The Whales of August is a lovely film - it's a little play-like, but it's worth it just for seeing Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, and Vincent Price in a film together.
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Feb 4, 2019 16:40
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The Guilty (Den skyldige) 4.5/5 This is the kind of movie I personally find the most impressive. The latest Avengers is certainly a Marvelous achievement, but it's really minimalist films like this that rely entirely on the writing, acting (of a single person!) and cinematography to captivate your attention for almost 90 minutes that leave the biggest impact. Our guy Asger is a cop that hosed something up and is on emergency desk duty until it's sorted out. After dealing with a few bullshit cases, he receives a call from a woman who was kidnapped by her ex husband and is being driven somewhere in a van. Working against the clock, he gets enough information together to send some cops to their children, who are home alone, and his partner to break into the guy's house. Eventually he coaches her on how to escape. I'm skipping some details but Asger of course does his best to help her out, while struggling to do the right thing (tm) and not get himself in more trouble by overstepping his boundaries. During this entire time, the camera is focused on Asger and sometimes on the monitors he's looking at, and that's it. There might be a few lines of dialogue from some people in the background. This isn't the first thing that does something like this of course, but I think it works much better than most. While not quite the same, I thought Searching felt like a gimmick, but this feels like a clear and effective way of telling the story. I think a big part of why films like these are interesting to me is that, theoretically at least, I could easily make a movie like this. I don't have the connections or the money to make another Spiderman movie, but I could take my DSLR to the office tomorrow, get some volunteer extras and film it after hours on location. But I can't, because that would place huge emphasis on my writing, directing and shooting skills, which are pretty much nonexistent, so yeah.
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Feb 4, 2019 20:40
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Egbert Souse posted:Through a Glass Darkly (1961, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4.5/5 Would love to hear what you have to say about these, as The Silence was also what I would consider to be the standout of the three chamber dramas.
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Feb 6, 2019 21:08
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zer0spunk posted:My best of 2018 Nice. Some great stuff in there. I'll jump on this train: Best, in order: 10 - Vox Lux 9 - Isle of Dogs 8 - Roma 7 - First Man 6 - First Reformed 5 - If Beale Street Could Talk 4 - You Were Never Really Here 3 - Shoplifters 2 - Cold War 1 - Burning Hon. mention, in no particular order: # - The Tree of Life (criterion cut) # - Mandy # - Hereditary # - Annihilation # - Lean On Pete # - Sorry To Bother You # - Deadpool 2 # - Mathangi/Maya/MIA # - The Favourite # - Leave No Trace # - Widows # - Madeline's Madeline Worst, in no particular order: ø - Vice ø - Aquaman ø - A Quiet Place ø - Avengers 3 ø - Free Solo ø - Mission Impossible: Fallout ø - Suspiria Yet to see, but want to see: * - BlackKklansman * - Wildlife * - Eighth Grade * - Woman Walks Ahead * - Mind The Gap
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Feb 6, 2019 21:20
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Crash (1996): 9/10 Weiner (2016): 8/10 oh no he let everyone down Suspiria (1977): 8/10 Police Story (1985): 8/10 Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019): 8/10 Something Wild (1986): 8/10
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Feb 14, 2019 06:37
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They Shall Not Grow Old - 5/5. Really impressive tech and a compelling narrative to make it even more worth the effort.
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Feb 14, 2019 07:02
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Alita: Battle Angel - 88/100
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Feb 14, 2019 08:19
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Alita would have been my favorite movie ever if it wasn't for some stiff acting, stuff happening in dumb ways in order to inelegantly achieve some result (Hugo getting stabbed for no loving good reason, and Alita letting him fall to his death even though she has literally the most advanced body ever made but can't use her legs or something to hold the guy? sheesh) and finally there being an ending that doesn't tie up the story. All that said, watching it in IMAX was a goddamn riot.
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Feb 16, 2019 20:28
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If you generally enjoyed action movies or anime then I definitely think you'll like Alita: Battle Angel. It's not perfect by any means but it's really cool and fun. Cold Pursuit is fun, too, if you like dark comedies and aren't too caught up in plot holes and such you might like this one.
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Feb 18, 2019 19:53
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I thought Tully was a mostly interesting domestic drama, with a really good performance from Theron, before it flies completely off the rails in the last 20 minutes. I honestly can’t believe I hadn’t heard about this completely dumbass twist ending but I guess zero people are interested in anything from Reitman and Cody at this point
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Feb 20, 2019 05:20
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I recently watched several classics. On The Waterfront (1954): B+ I can see why right-wingers supposedly love this movie so much, but you don't have to be anti-union to stand up to corruption. The Maltese Falcon (1941): B+ Bogart seemed to excel in hard-boiled roles like Sam Spade. Great movie, and I can definitely see how it inspired an entire genre of movies. Up (2009): A Not exactly what I was expecting, but I wasn't disappointed. Some really interesting themes about aging and death. e: Forgot one. Battleground (1949): A Feels like a pretty accurate depiction of front-line combat in WW2. I really dug seeing a young Ricardo Montalban as one of the soldiers, enjoying his first glimpse of snow (his character was from L.A) F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Feb 21, 2019 |
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Feb 20, 2019 18:13
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Tomorrowland (2015) is a movie that dares to dream the dream of "goddamn there's a lot of morlocks on Earth. Thank god we have the Small Wonder girl to whisk away the Ubermensches to Rapture" Also, Keegan Michael-Key plays a murderous Comic Book Guy. D The Fate of The Furious (2017) is finally a truly bad Fast & Furious movie (4 was merely dull), and I love the Fast franchise. It's so super-serious, and lacks any of the joy of watching what a kid playing with his matchbox cars and GI Joes who was given a $100m budget would do. Pay Justin Lin whatever he wants to come back and rescue Fast 9 please. C- Shrecknet fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Feb 21, 2019 |
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Feb 21, 2019 04:50
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Never Look Away - 70/100
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Feb 21, 2019 08:41
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Sawdust and Tinsel (1953, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 3/5 The Rite (1969, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4.5/5 The Magic Flute (1975, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4/5 After the Rehearsal (1984, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 4/5 Nanook of the North (1922, Robert Flaherty) [Blu-ray] - 3.5/5 The Touch (1971, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 2/5 The Serpent's Egg (1977, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 3/5 Some Call It Loving (1973, James B. Harris) [Blu-ray] - 2/5 Come Back, Africa (1959, Lionel Rogosin) [Blu-ray] - 3/5 Trigger, Jr. (1950, William Witney) [Blu-ray] - 3/5 Stan & Ollie (2018, Jon S. Baird) [theatrical] - 4.5/5 Persona (1966, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 5/5 (rewatch) The Seventh Seal (1957, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray - 4K restoration] - 5/5 (rewatch) Liv & Ingmar (2012, Dheeraj Akolkar) - 4/5 Ingmar Bergman (1972, Stig Bjorkman) - 4/5 (making-of for The Touch, better than the film itself) Bergman Island (2006, Marie Nyrerod) - 4.5/5 An American in Sophiatown (2007, Earl Lloyd Ross) - 3.5/5 (making-of for Come Back, Africa) The Big Lebowski (1998, Joel Coen) [UHD] - 4.5/5 Miller's Crossing (1990, Joel Coen) [Blu-ray] - 4.5/5 Thirst (1949, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 3/5 Port of Call (1948, Ingmar Bergman) [Blu-ray] - 2.5/5 Legend (1985, Ridley Scott) [Blu-ray - director's cut] - 2.5/5
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Feb 24, 2019 04:10
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The MCU (from Ironman to Antman and the Wasp) I just finished binging the entirety of the MCU movies, to date. I didnt bother with the shows, which I will explain later. I am not a big comic book fan and aside from seeing and enjoying the Keaton/Bale Batman films, I generally avoided comic book movies. I also saw the first Ironman, which I enjoyed and the first Avengers, which I despised. My love for norse mythology led me to finally watch Thor Ragnarok, which I thought was great. After that I thought to give the whole MCU a fair shake from the beginning. Instead of reviewing each movie individually I will separate them into three categories and give you a general idea of what I thought works and what doesnt. Here goes: The Good Thor Ragnarok Ironman Guardians of the Galaxy Doctor Strange Ant Man Ant Man and the Wasp Black Panther The Bad (Mediocre) Everything not listed The Ugly The Avengers (all 3) Thor:The Dark World Ironman 2 The movies I enjoyed were all fun and rooted in the fact that they were influenced by comic books. They don't take themsekves too seriously and also have plots that are mostly self contained. The characters are fun and the writing is good. The action isnt overdone or over edited. The movies that are bad are ironically The Avenger movies, where you have all these characters come together. I originally saw the first Avengers at a corporate release party when working for Pepsi. Lets just say that once you know Pepsi is a corporate sponsor, it is impossible to not be overwhelmed by product placement when watching the movie. These movies are particularly bad because nothing happens in them that matters. Ever. Theres a really emotional scene at the end of Infinity War where Spiderman "dies", except its impossible to care when you are already aware that a new Spiderman movie is in production. Every single one of these characters has plot armor; no exceptions. The Avengers have now become really bloated, constantly introducing new characters without ending the arcs of others. The actual Avenger films boil down to all of these characters joining together and just causing havoc. They got tossed around like ragdolls, never sustaining injuries whether human or gods or mutants or whatever. The cities around them suffer massive infrastructural damage only to have it forgotten weeks later. Nothing that happens has consequences. Now, obviously you have to suspend disbelief to enjoy these movies which I dont have an issue doing thus leading to tge biggest issue with me not being able to enjoy the Avenger movies; there is no relativity. None of these heroes have strength relative to each other. Thor is a god and can probably take on Thanos one on one with his hammer...but he cant beat Hulk; but Hulk can't beat Thanos either. Thor and Hulk together couldnt take on Hel on Asgard, but she was easily killed by Surt, who was earlier killed easily by Thor. What it amounts to on screen is these characters being as strong or weak as the scene demands and usually just results in them getting kicked into cars and buildings, blowing stuff up causing what is likely many civilian deaths. In one scene in my favorite movie of the series (Ragnarok), Bruce Banner jumps out of a plane expecting to turn into the Hulk. Instead he crashes into the ground, which is a hilarious visual gag, but really he should have died on impact. It works in Ragnarok because Ragnarok is fun. Anyways, im not a professional writer so my ramblings may be somewhat incoherent, so I do apologize. TLDR: Some real fun gems; mostly mediocre action movies; the 3 Avengers films are horrendously bloated disasters of no consequence; Thor 2 and Ironman 2 were missteps.
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Feb 24, 2019 21:06
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