|
Zone of interest. 2.5/5 I hate to sound like a baby who hates slow paced films, but really... I remember very little that happened. I do realize the point is to show how mundene their lives are, right next to horrific stuff happening. The first few times you heard the horrors in the background it worked, but as it went on, it just wasnt as effective. Maybe that is also part of the point of the film, to lure you into that mindset. But I didnt find it all that interesting or well executed in the end. Sandra Hüller gave one of, if not the best performance on the year with anatomy of a fall imo. But in this she is just forgetable. Godzilla Minus One. 2/5 Was entertained for parts of it, but it overstayed its welcome by quite some, and then pussied out hard at the end. Dogtooth. 4/5. I have watched this before, around the time it was released and somehow remembered very little of it. But it was quite good and hosed up. Watched it as a warm up for tomorrow when i'm watching poor things
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2024 23:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 03:35 |
|
|
Philthy posted:
Just that classic horror sequel mistake of thinking bigger = better. What really annoyed me in 28 weeks: in 28 days that gsybe score is just brooding for whole movie, before finally reaching that amazing crescendo at the films climax. In 28 weeks, they do that exact trick like 4 times throughout the film.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2024 00:06
|
|
|
 Cure (1997) A pretty fantastic murder mystery with some occult mindfuckery. A bunch of people are showing up murdered with large X's carved out of their throats. A detective has been working on the case for some time, and it's putting an incredible strain on his relationship with his wife. No complaints about any of this flick. It looks great, sounds great, and a solid story. This will be going on my rewatch list, there are so many scenes that can be analyzed. 3.5/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2024 07:28
|
|
|
Mean Girls (2024) -- It was a blast! It works as a companion to the original (which still holds up, as I confirmed with a viewing last week) because it has just the right amount of homage while still feeling fresh and standing on its own. The songs are catchy and there are some impressively elaborate dance numbers filmed with long, tracking shots. All the famous lines are in there, but there's a lot of new dialogue and blink-and-you'll-miss-it gags that had me laughing throughout. I felt old because I had no idea who any of the younger actors were, but everyone was really charming and committed to their characters. Felt really modern in how it incorporated technology and aspects of daily life that didn't exist in 2004, but never seemed like it was jumping on any fads. Most fun I've had at the theater in a while! B+
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2024 15:30
|
|
|
The End we Start From (2023) - a couple have a baby right at the moment weeks/months of torrential rain floods their London house, and eventually most of the country. While society quickly begins to unravel, they manage to escape to the country, but safety there doesn't last long. The acting and script are fantastic, as is the score and much of the imagery and storytelling, and the film does a great job of building an atmosphere of dread - one that isn't ever relieved by a jump scare or a monster being revealed - the bad thing in this film can't be beaten and isn't going away. On the downside, it might be too slow paced for some, not an awful lot really happens, and the whole thing is a bit of a downer. Still recommended, though. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2024 22:06
|
|
|
 It Comes at Night (2007) Post apocalyptic movie about a paranoid family trying to exist a miserable life in solitude until the credits roll. They left out all the fun bits, and left in the stuff no one wants to see. Felt really lazy. It looked good, though! 1/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2024 03:15
|
|
|
 The Machine Girl (2008) A brother and sister whose parents died try and make their way through life. When Ami's brother is killed by a son of a Yakuza boss, she vows revenge. Little does she know they're not ordinary Yakuza. They're ninja Yakuza. After she loses an arm, she begins to wear weapons in its place. If you like stupid amounts of blood and hilarious goofy gore scenes, then you'll probably dig this. I sure did. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2024 06:25
|
|
|
The Perfect Element posted:Just that classic horror sequel mistake of thinking bigger = better. There’s only one Godspeed track in 28 Days Later, East Hastings over the scene of Cillian Murphy’s character wandering around deserted London and then being chased ending in the gas station explosion. The rest of the score is by John Murphy with one track by Brian Eno iirc
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2024 18:10
|
|
|
 Blood Machines (2019) A soul of a ship is freed and decides it's time to no longer be subservient to humans. This was a pure eyegasm with a fantastic soundtrack. The art direction is incredible, and definitely my poo poo. The story is solid. However, the dialogue is complete garbage. It feels like this could have been such an amazing short flick if they had found a decent writer to pair with the amazing visual talent. Like a dream half fulfilled. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2024 00:23
|
|
|
 Revenge of the Ninja (1983) Ten year old me should have kept training as a ninja. If I could have been half as cool as the ninjas in this movie, then I would die a happy man. This is the 80s classic, about a retired ninja who is run out of Japan. He moves to America where he is then betrayed by his best friend. Don't gently caress with a ninja. This movie has every weapon you could ever dream of. The weapons themselves have hidden weapons that contain even more hidden weapons. The soundtrack is pure synthwave goodness backing crazy fights against gang members, mafia, ninjas, and even a budget Joe Pesci. Yeah, so much of this movie is cheese, but the fight scenes are decent, the ending showdown is epic. 3.5/5 This movie was actually billed as the Indonesian movie of the same name, but as soon as I realized it was the rad 80s movie I wasn't going to stop watching.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2024 04:08
|
|
|
 Revenge of the Ninja (1984) A mystical necklace that makes someone invulnerable is the center of the movie. A woman named Maya is entrusted to protect the necklace from rival gangs, a dark ninja, a resurrected undead god, a wizard, and a rootin' tootin' gunslinger that shoots explosive bullets. Her shirtless boyfriend (Who earned the right to be shirtless) tries to protect her by starting random fights wherever they go. This movie was mostly a ton of scenes stitched together, and you never really knew why something was happening. I legit laughed out loud quite a few times at some of the randomness throughout this flick. The sound was surprisingly well done, including the voice acting for the dub. This is another it's so bad it's good, but really it's a bad movie. The randomness keeps it from being a miserable experience. 2.5/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2024 00:47
|
|
|
 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) A bunch of friends dragged me to see this movie when it was released. I wasn't a big fan of this back then. I think I may have enjoyed this a bit more this time around. It has some really goofy scenes, and some are so over the top you wonder what they were thinking. The movie does have a few moments here and there, especially the Spirit of the Forest scenes. Overall, the story is still not really my cup of tea, and De Niro as The Creature is just as weird as it was back then. Some of the sets looked like sets, while others looked fairly cool looking. Still, I'm glad I got to revisit this after 30 years. I must have a higher tolerance this time around. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2024 02:59
|
|
|
I watched Four Lions and it was funny for an hour and a bit and then made me sad and now an hour later I'm still sad. 3.5/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2024 07:04
|
|
|
Philthy posted:
My family and I watched it when it came out expecting something like to Bram Stoker's Dracula, which it kind of is...but man does the body horror vibe with the Elfmanesque score in the funkiest way, and I think my mom and sister were a bit taken aback with the Helena BC arc lol after expecting more period drama stuff. These days it feels like such a weird pitch for a wide audience, almost more in the style of Batman than Dracula, but I can't say it didn't leave a huge impression on my younger self. The stuff in the snow was all very moody and memorable.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2024 07:51
|
|
|
This movie: Deniro giving a really heartfelt monologue about his place in the world Also this movie: shirtless sweaty Branagh jumping all over his lab equipment like it was a Ninja Warriors obstacle course
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2024 07:58
|
|
|
The goop wrestling went on long enough for me to start laughing.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2024 15:06
|
|
|
 The Noonday Witch (2016) A mother and daughter move to her husband's small town as they wait for him to come return. The country is in the middle of a severe drought, which is typically a sign of something more sinister to come. The town helps the family out with all their issues as the story slowly unravels. Beautifully shot, this is more of a mother and daughter bonding movie with a very slow burn to it. The scenery, location, and townsfolk keep the movie interesting. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2024 05:27
|
|
|
 Malpertuis (1971) [Director's Cut] This was a somewhat confusing, but interesting film. A young man named Jan finds himself in an old mansion with a very bizarre cast of people. The mansion itself is a bewildering labyrinth with strange rooms and situations throughout the movie. I kept thinking of the movie Brazil and The Meaning of Life during certain scenes. It has that same weird vibe, but not nearly as well done. This is also a long movie that dragged on at times. Apparently, a cut down release exists, and I think that would likely have elevated it for me. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2024 05:42
|
|
|
The Nature of the Beast (1995) Lance Henriksen plays an office worker travelling across the desert who gets stuck with Eric Roberts, an entertainingly over the top sinister hitchhiker that he can't get rid of. Two men with a secret, a string of grizzly murders following closely behind, and a suitcase filled with a million dollars of mob money. It's extremely 90's and cheesy but well made, and the whole ride is pretty tense. The twist at the end, while predictable, doesn't really make any sense though - very little of the film makes any sense whatsoever in light of it 3/5 Midnight Pooptrain posted:Was going to watch this right now but then I saw it was directed by that nonce Victor Salva. drat. toiletbrush fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Jan 28, 2024 |
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2024 14:58
|
|
|
toiletbrush posted:The Nature of the Beast (1995) Was going to watch this right now but then I saw it was directed by that nonce Victor Salva. drat.
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2024 18:25
|
|
|
 Occult (2009) A found footage documentary film. A crew investigates a scene where three people were brutally attacked. Of the three, one survived with a gnarly pattern cut into his body. They begin to interview the survivor and follow him as he's now seeing miracles. The characters are all fantastic, the style, the story. I loved it all. This is definitely one of my top found footage flicks yet. There is even a special appearance by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Director of Cure, which I really liked not too long ago!). So good. 4.5/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2024 03:29
|
|
|
The Novice A film about rowing that joins the likes of Soderbergh's High Flying Bird as a movie about sports that I actually care about even though I don't give a poo poo about the sports. Isabelle Fuhrman as Alex is a presidential scholar at an unnamed university who achieved her accolades through obsessive hard work. She joins a novice rowing program, possibly for something else on her resume or just for the exercise, but her obsessive personality towards being the best kicks in. In the context of a team sport this becomes more destructive, and the physical toll on her body becomes dangerous. Alex has a kind of pathological need to prove herself, at the risk of becoming a pariah to the team or others around her. She majors in physics despite telling her TA that its her worst subject, and therefore the one she has to work hardest at. And in rowing, she initially starts off much worse than the other serious novices, but pushes herself to work twice as hard even though she doesn't need a sports scholarship the way some of the others do. This examination of "hard work for hard works sake" is the crux of the film, exploring why someone would continue to make life difficult for themselves when it doesn't seem to be offering themself any particular benefit. The intensity of the film is the main draw. You really get the sense that this character was hurt in some way in her early life, and punishing herself through grueling hard work, a way of self-abuse that society at least seems to reward/think highly of, is how she manages to make an asset of her desire to destroy herself. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2024 16:51
|
|
|
Philthy posted:
Love the ending so much.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2024 17:23
|
|
|
MacheteZombie posted:Love the ending so much. Yeah! Usually with these there is some dragging in the middle, but this offered enough going on to keep your mind working the entire time. I was second guessing myself about a few things just because the behavior of some of the people was so well done. I couldn't find any flaws with this movie on my first watch. I could only find this on YouTube. I don't know if an actual US release actually exists or not, I'm not finding anything. But I'd certainly add it to my small collection if I could.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2024 18:07
|
|
|
 Lake Mungo (2008) Directed by Joel Anderson This is a found footage documentary about a family that goes for a swim at a local park, and one of them goes missing. After the body is found, they begin to grieve in their own ways. Some of them begin to hear strange noises, have weird dreams, and see what might be their missing family member on video and images taken after their death. The mystery unravels as they find more clues from those around them. This was a miss for me. It looked good, the acting was good, the entire vibe was good, but the story was just lacking. It doesn't really push any boundaries or expand on personal relationships beyond passing glimpses, so it remains very tame and ultimately uninteresting. 2.5/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2024 01:38
|
|
|
Ixtlilton posted:I watched Four Lions and it was funny for an hour and a bit and then made me sad and now an hour later I'm still sad. Philthy posted:
What are the odds of both of the two funniest movies about suicide bombings in history both coming up on the same page? anyway these are both 5/5 stone cold classics and so is lake mungo
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2024 22:06
|
|
|
 Dementia (1955) Directed by John Parker What a treat this was! A film with no dialogue at all. It follows a woman who goes in and out of possible different personalities while she is out and about in skid row LA during the night. She often finds herself hoping to be living a better life, while she is conflicted about horrible things she may have done prior while constantly on the run. You see this a lot from someone like David Lynch in movies like Lost Highway, Blue Velvet and others. Emotions such as guilt, hope, anger are represented as physical manifestations and alter egos. I was not expecting this at all. Thumbs up. 3.5/5
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2024 00:12
|
|
|
A bunch of Oscar-nominated movies have been re-released in theaters, so I just got a chance to catch Past Lives, and I'm really glad I did! Very cozy mood piece that meditates upon roads not taken, how much of our lives depend on chance, what it's like to love a version of a person from your past that may no longer exist, and how feelings of regret and acceptance can coexist. There are a lot of movies about two childhood sweethearts reconnecting with each other at different places in their lives, but this one distinguishes itself with a certain awareness and avoidance of Hollywood tropes. It eschews traditional story structure and never cheapens itself with melodrama. Shot in a still life style that uses physical distance to tell you about the characters' uneasy relationships, and leaves a lot of quiet space to ponder what's being left unsaid. All around, the cast conveys a lot of complicated emotions with awkwardness and subtle face acting, and Greta Lee in particular is a standout. The soundtrack feels like it would be good accompaniment for a rainy day. Truly a lovely film!
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2024 03:20
|
|
|
Philthy posted:
You're wrong but you'll understand that some day.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2024 22:24
|
|
|
 Bedlam (1946) Directed by Mark Robson Another fantastic older movie. I have a soft spot for older movies, they often seem to be so focused, and every scene is sculpted and used to its potential. This story follows a woman who is running in circles of the rich, who all take pleasure in using the local madhouse as their source of twisted enjoyment. She quickly realizes this is pretty messed up, and eventually pushes for reforms. This gets her in trouble with the rich who are controlling everything and it soon ends up with her vs the world. A really enjoyable story that I'll enjoy rewatching in the future. 3.5/5
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2024 05:37
|
|
|
Miller's Girl -- Kind of an interesting failure? It's at least well made for a film by a first-time writer-director, who may not get to make a second movie based on this one's reception. Tells a story about an inappropriate teacher-student relationship where it feels like the filmmaker is writing out one of her old high school fantasies, only acknowledging the taboo in terms of the characters having something scandalous to hide, and seemingly taking no interest in examining the ethics. Like someone trying to do Lolita without realizing that Humbert is supposed to be pathetic, or trying to make a more self-serious Cruel Intentions without realizing that kind of thing only works as camp. It's clear that the creator wants you to know how smart she is and only knows how to write characters who want people to know how smart they are, so the characters drone on about literature a lot, and it's sometimes clever but sometimes just a little too clever. The pretension may be infecting me because I'm realizing that I sound almost as pretentious in reviewing it. There are no redeemable characters, and sometimes it can be fun to watch horrible people being horrible to each other, but it doesn't quite work here because none of their scheming is all that interesting. The actors, to their credit, make the most out of the material, particularly Jenna Ortega, who has crazy charisma as a precocious sociopath with a veneer of innocence, and takes total control of every scene she's in. It's competently directed and paced, and the way it's edited and scored is oddly alluring. One of the characters hears his creative writing described as "overreach without ambition", and that's ironically a good description of the movie itself. It takes risks and doesn't really stick the landing, but maybe that's better than playing it safe. Couldn't really recommend going to see it, but it's an interesting experiment.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2024 00:19
|
|
|
 Wicked City (1987) Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri Another city infested by demons. This one is about demons and humans coexisting and having a treaty resigned for more peace. A faction of demons doesn't want this to happen, so the two main characters, a male human, and a female demon are assigned to protect one of the main representatives until the treaty is signed. There are lots of cool fight scenes and demon designs here. The artwork is incredibly great. The music is nice and moody. However, the amount of demon sex rape is pretty high, and it's almost every other scene once it gets going. This is part of why gross anime stereotypes exist. It sucks, because everything else about this was pretty kick rear end. 2/5
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2024 00:34
|
|
|
Whoa. That animation is loving sick.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2024 09:30
|
|
|
Argylle (2024) - The Beekeeper was funnier. 1/5.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2024 14:41
|
|
|
 Sweet Home (1989) Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa A TV crew is documenting a famous fresco painter, and they gain access to a mansion where this painter once lived hoping to find undocumented pieces of art. Long abandoned, and locked up because it was thought haunted, they begin to document what they find. It doesn't take long for things to get weird and spooky. This was a proper haunted house flick that was pretty good. The effects were decent, especially the ending. Apparently, there is an NES game that was developed side by side with the movie as it was being filmed, and it's well received. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2024 01:32
|
|
|
Philthy posted:
Been meaning to see this, the team that made the game sought out to make a 3d sequel, botched it and ended up making Resident Evil out of it instead. Its weird mansion and Gothic puzzles are it's legacy
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2024 02:36
|
|
|
If they ever restore and screen SWEET HOME, I'm there, I've only ever seen it in horrendous quality.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2024 03:22
|
|
|
Man this is what bums me out about live action Japan stuff. They don't put real money into it. Sweet Home has a bit of a legacy, it's from 1989 and only been on VHS and laserdisc
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2024 03:41
|
|
|
The NES game is playable on the web here.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2024 04:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 03:35 |
|
|
Passing Through (1977) - 5/5 Just one more notch in favor of the 1970s being the finest decade in the history of the medium.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2024 08:14
|
|