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Carol - 90/100 Bronson - 74/100 Manchester by the Sea - 82/100 Moonlight - 90/100 La Notte - 80/100 Silence (2016) - 85/100 Elle - 70/100 Lo and Behold: Reveries of a Connected World - 70/100
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Jan 20, 2017 11:03
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Moonlight - 90/100 This is definitely the highlight of the year for me. Endlessly creative photography and music, a structure that constantly surprises, and content that will challenge the preconceptions of its audience. It probes one's emotions in difficult, poetic, and nontraditional ways, without condescending on the material or settling for cliche. The casting, even when it seems like it shouldn't work (for continuity purposes), somehow magically does, I think mainly because of the attention to detail with regard to body language, mood, and clothing. The original score is just unbearably good, with any licensed tracks present being both interesting and obscure, and the colors....THE COLORS!, and little camera bobs and weaves, dreamy depth of focus, all things that are just icing on the cake of incredibly dedicated and sincere performances. Bronson - 74/100 I've never been able to get into Refn, but I do think his films are aesthetically engaging, carnivalesque at least. Hardy puts a lot of work into the role and the whole enterprise is both funny and dark in equal turns with an obvious debt to films like Oh, Lucky Man and Clockwork Orange. But I couldn't help but feel this overabundance of pseudo-profundity while watching, the numerous moments of slow contemplation where there just didn't seem to be anything worth contemplating. This movie put in solid effort, but watching it felt like doing time. I guess that's the point. Manchester by the Sea - 82/100 One of the better films this year. MbtS is just as formal and deliberate as Margaret was years ago, and both films feel like they could be stage plays given the director's history. Honestly, I saw this back to back with Moonlight and it really suffered due to the juxtaposition. Manchester is a clean, politely shot, well acted film, but it felt incredibly stuffy to me, so focused on the mundane and trivial, and both the cinematography and score really reflect an aversion to risktaking. I must admit that Affleck gives an astounding performance, one that manages to disguise some of the more mediocre elements of the film.
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Jan 20, 2017 23:24
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I Before E posted:I have to say I disagree. I found it to be viscerally affecting because of that focus on the trivial and everyday. It takes these moments that at first glance are mundane and shows how even those little moments have the process of grief weighing on them. There's this maelstrom of emotion boiling under the surface of both Lee and Patrick, and the audience is put outside them, mostly unable to see through the facade of calmness and normalcy they put up until it cracks, until Lee explodes into impulive self destruction like in the bar scenes or when he punches through the window or when Patrick has that panic attack at the freezer, and the cinematography you describe as unambitious is a part of that, presenting these characters in a very matter of fact way, as well as reinforcing the tedium of waiting until winter for the ground to soften. I agree that it doesn't really pull out a lot of neat tricks, but it's not going for the sort of impressionistic camera work Moonlight is, and I think both approaches are appropriate for their contexts. Yeah, I got all that out of it, and agree. I guess I'd say that the way it was structured, filmed and scored would not be something I'd likely watch again, even though I felt it worked pretty well to convey the point. So I docked it for that.
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Jan 21, 2017 00:45
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Ewar Woowar posted:I have seen some great movies the last few months (Arrival, Nocturnal Animals, LA La Land) but nothing comes close to Moonlight . Easiest ten out of ten ever and quite possibly one of the most well made movies I've ever seen. The acting, the cinematography, the editing, the music...everything was fantastic. Yeah, certainly one of the best movies I've ever seen. At the theater I work for there have been a lot of puffy, sobbing faces emerging from this one.
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Feb 6, 2017 08:15
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Fifteen of Many posted:For some reason I saw The Space Between Us(2016)! 2.5/5. Score seems high. Plz explain.
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Feb 11, 2017 03:41
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Fences - 84/100 20th Century Women - 90/100 The Lure - 86/100 Toni Erdmann - 81/100 I Am Not Your Negro - 96/100 Astounding year for black cinema, by the way
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Feb 24, 2017 08:06
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York_M_Chan posted:
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Feb 27, 2017 20:02
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York_M_Chan posted:What am I missing? In addition to its broad artistic influence it's one of the great politically subversive films of the Reagan era. Zizek is always fun. Or in Carpenter's own words BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Feb 27, 2017 |
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Feb 27, 2017 21:43
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York_M_Chan posted:Yes I got the point, kinda hard to miss it when it is done with such a heavy hand. That being said, there are a lot of very influential films that really have to be seen in the time and place when they were made. Now this whole movie comes off like a lovely high school punk song or a student film. I dunno, man, I'm your age and I first saw it in like 2007. It just owns.
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Feb 27, 2017 22:06
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I Before E posted:Please go into further detail. Fences - 84/100 This film has absolutely magnetic performances all around, and everyone just NAILS the language and momentum of the scenes. It's wonderful that the film manages to capture the intricacy and contradiction in the characters in a non-judgemental manner, while not being shy about some of the more chauvinistic elements of main characters and how those character traits were also part of a struggle of the time they represent. It's an absolutely exhausting film though, emotionally, foremost, but also in terms of length and linguistic complexity. By the closing scene you wonder how many more climaxes the movie can have. The film is shot beautifully, overall, restrained (similar to Manchester By The Sea), but there are a few glaring moments of poor focus, or scenes where the camera could've been used more creatively to represent the mentality of its characters, whether intoxicated by booze, anger, sadness, or reverie. Though maybe that restrained camera is fitting for a story about people's responses to big events that happen elsewhere. I can't really remember the soundtrack at all, but it didn't detract. A respectful, non-controversial adaptation of challenging material, similar to my feelings on Arrival earlier this year. Toni Erdmann - 81/100 Toni Erdmann is a tough nut to crack, and while brilliant it's not for everybody, nor does it feel built for repeat views. It's about so many different things, yet all of its subjects are interconnected in very concrete, seemingly mundane ways. It can be funny, boring, awkward, and tragic...all in the span of 20 minutes. It's hard for me to call it a comedy, really, though the main characters seem remarkably aware of a spartan comic fiber that binds aspects of everyday life. Over the course of nearly 3 hours you really get inside the heads of these people, though my main takeaways were less personal and more reflections of the contemporary corporate environment: the power structures of the male business class that inexorably co-opt and subdue everything in sight, from rural tradition and class distinction to humor, creativity, happiness, sexuality, food, and even listlessness. This film often times comes about with incredible subtlety regarding the divide between the international corporate Haves and the localized morass of red-zoned Have-nots, and yet the ways in which it demonstrates this increasing divide are brutally subversive. The clean, antiseptic, architectural spaces and repetitive, gobbledygook legalese of corporate life reveal themselves as soul-deadening, lifeless, and filled with pretense. The ways in which women are both required to systematically subdue their sexuality and flaunt it in order to exist within the masculine hierarchy are bizarre, tedious, and pathetic...sometimes all at once, and yet those terms of compliance also expose the fragility and emptiness of that ever-elusive goal at the center of elite capitalism. The only way to wrest ourselves from an unwinnable and unsustainable corporate religion is to emasculate it and eat the cum-covered cupcake. Empowerment through humor, and well worth the time. also Spectre - 46/100 Ugh. I just really dislike the Mendes Bond flicks, they're awful, dour, nonsensical, poorly written and incredibly plodding. About the best thing you can say about this and Skyfall is that the cinematography in each is composed of well-framed, crisp shots with excellent color correction. Spectre itself is an interminable film. None of the actors have chemistry, wit or even really a desire to be there. Why is Monica Belucci even in the film? And the love relationship between Bond and Swann is absolutely bizarre in its emptiness. The film is riddled with lazy callbacks, lame hacking scenes and grandiose action that is somehow...not exciting. And the score is a mix of pandering contemporary pop and filler tension music cribbed from Heat, or any other Michael Mann thriller in the last two decades. In addition to being an awful, unfun watch Spectre is also maddeningly nationalistic. gently caress it. BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Mar 2, 2017 |
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Mar 2, 2017 01:47
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Terrorist Fistbump posted:Selections from the last month or so: Loved this, but want to read your words
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Mar 7, 2017 07:52
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Criminal Minded posted:Everything I've seen in the last couple weeks, review on request ofc: Please!
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Mar 29, 2017 00:39
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Criminal Minded posted:Song to Song: I actually really didn't care for Knight of Cups, and it was the first film of Malick's that I would classify as a failure. Malick's form had become so removed from convention and so ungrounded that its characters felt like hollow vessels for philosophical proselytizing. At the same time, it was curious watching his evolution, beginning with To the Wonder, after he so convincingly said everything he could possibly have said with The Tree of Life; I sensed that for whatever its failures, there was a merit to the approach, as he further fractured his narratives and eschewed diegesis, including dialogue, in favor of a more impressionist sensibility. Very excited now, having felt a similar form of exasperation and intrigue with regard to his current experimental style. Mostly it just looks like the cast clicks pretty well.
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Mar 29, 2017 01:21
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Koyaanisquatsi - 91/100 Personal Shopper - 69/100 Mulholland Drive (rewatch) - 92/100 Cure For Pain - 64/100 Get Out - 78/100 Pather Panchali (rewatch) - 95/100 Happy Together - 85/100 Chungking Express (rewatch) - 87/100 Moana - 65/100
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Mar 30, 2017 17:47
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SimonCat posted:The Lost City of Zinge? Looking forward to this one myself. Egbert Souse posted:
Hell yes.
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Apr 25, 2017 15:44
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Alien: Covenant - 70/100 Prometheus (rewatch) - 85/100 Kedi - 80/100 Dr. Strange - 68/100 Raw - 79/100 My Blueberry Nights - 66/100 Ghost in the Shell (2017) - 65/100 1984 (1984) (rewatch) - (19)84/100 Something Wild - 70/100 Les Diaboliques - 87/100 Rachel Getting Married (rewatch) - 88/100 edit Logan - 75/100 BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 20:47 on May 24, 2017 |
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May 19, 2017 06:18
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Bottom Liner posted:Alien Covenant - 4/5 if you liked Prometheus (which was a 4 for me), 3/5 if you didn't. I don't think it's possible to construct an accurate metric for this series, to be honest. Prometheus is my second favorite of the bunch, after the original, and it's definitely the installment I've watched the most. Whereas, after a bit of consideration and arguments with friends, I think Covenant might be the weakest of the 6 main films, or pretty far down there along with Resurrection. Covenant makes me appreciate the tone of Prometheus more every day.
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May 22, 2017 21:23
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I'm usually bored by comic movies, but Wonder Woman sounds fun. Not $11 fun, but for $4 and a beer you can count me in. Gal Gadot seems like she justifies the experience alone. BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Jun 3, 2017 |
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Jun 3, 2017 01:24
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Marvel movies are dull as dishwater.
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Jun 5, 2017 00:26
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coyo7e posted:My problem with Marvel CU is that, at its heart it always felt like a bunch of old-rear end white guys in horn-rimmed glasses in the 50s were throwing poo poo at the wall and because they werre first, most of it stuck simply by virtue of lack of competition.. I mean look at The Frank Miller Batman, look at Watchmen, and then look at Marvel anything.. If it weren't for the X Men universe I could pretty much just ignore most of the MCU because it's mainly white male power fantasies which appropriate poo poo from minority cultures. Marvel superhero comics are specifically a 1960s phenomenon, and Frank Miller licks Jack Kirby's boots, you filthy animal. edit; Watchmen is garbo, too.
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Jun 5, 2017 23:16
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Wonder Woman - 81/100 The first comic movie I've genuinely enjoyed in a long rear end time.
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Jun 9, 2017 04:54
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The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki - 86/100 Knife in the Water (rewatch) - 98/100
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Jun 16, 2017 07:56
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O.J. : Made In America - 92/100 Baby Driver - 72/100 The Drop - 84/100 BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Jul 1, 2017 |
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Jul 1, 2017 01:22
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I mean, fantastic editing and sound mixing, but everything else about it was middling at best. I'm no big fan of Drive, but I felt like Baby Driver had almost no identity of its own and, despite apparently being a passion project, felt designed by committee to appeal to the broadest possible audience BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 18:18
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glam rock hamhock posted:I really can't comprehend how your can come away from Baby Driver and feel like it was a cynical exercise designed to sell music. I mean what gave that impression beyond it being a movie that was thouroghly focused on music? Well, in addition to the movie itself prominently featuring a colorful cast of iPods as side characters? How about the promotional material, you know, a hard push from Sony Music or something: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirEgK7yJCg Let's release it a week before the movie. BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 19:12
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Here, I don't feel like arguing about something that seems so incredibly obvious to me, so I changed my original post to reflect your concerns.
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Jul 9, 2017 20:06
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glam rock hamhock posted:Maybe it's because I know Edgar Wright but it was pretty much just his taste in music. Like the whole movie is so pure Edgar Wright that it seems bizarre to see people think it was by committee. It just feels backwards to assume that in a movie mostly about it's music to think that the music was forced into the movie. You don't get it. The music doesn't have to be 'forced into the movie' in order to be pushed as a cross-platform consumer experience. I mean, the film itself mirrors a soundtrack's eclecticism by integrating an entire swath of contrasting genre conventions into its story. But that's not a strength, in my own humble, it's just schizoid. Chase/heist/mafia/younglovecomedy/musical/revengehorror/chamberdrama/roadmovie. Am I forgetting anything in this narrative mashup? A Guardians of the Galaxy style mom-tape? Check. Sorry, none of it stuck. Worth a watch, I suppose.
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Jul 10, 2017 01:08
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Yeah, I get it, I've seen them. I didn't knock Baby Driver for editing, visual or otherwise. Is film criticism off limits or something? 
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Jul 10, 2017 03:20
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A Ghost Story - 81/100 heh heh, A24 sent us a promo guy on opening night   A24 
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Jul 30, 2017 21:03
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Between Moonlight, 20th Century Women, It Comes At Night, A Ghost Story, and upcoming The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Disaster Artist, and Good Time...yes, I think it's fair to say that they are the absolute best right now. They're in a league of their own.
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Jul 31, 2017 01:12
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It Comes At Night - 72/100 - Decently thought provoking, well shot/acted suspense film in zombocalypse-style trappings. Would've scored higher but it didn't stick the landing. Dunkirk (70mm) 90/100 - Nolan's finest hour, if you ask me. I'd soured on the man quite a bit in the last 5 years but Dunkirk makes up for all of his recent cinematic dithering throughout the 2010s. I might even say Dunkirk has few peers within the genre, though it certainly owes a monumental debt not only to The Thin Red Line...but also to Malick's more experimental autobiographical films post-ToL, especially in the way it bobs and weaves through the temporal corners (or waves, if you prefer) of narrative structure, subduing classical line delivery in exchange for storytelling through facial expression and body language. The score is genuinely fantastic, if a bit distracting at times, and the entire film is a masterwork of careful editing and interweaving. Overall, it feels like a film that contains almost all of the trademark strengths of Nolan's directorial capacity while sidestepping nearly all of his weaknesses, and in terms of emotional resonance it breaks new ground for a director too often mired in cold, utilitarian feeling. BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 08:17 on Aug 2, 2017 |
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Aug 2, 2017 08:15
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Bottom Liner posted:You worded my thoughts better than I could. What size screen was your 70mm? Our's was a standard sized screen, but it still looked great. I would kill to see it on a larger format like IMAX. I don't work there but from what I understand the Hollywood in Portland is the only true 70mm screening in the state. Auditorium size is ~375 with a 50ft screen, don't remember the exact dimensions, but I'll ask a guy I know. Another theater manager where I work went down and saw a purported "70mm" screening at Regal Bridgeport and apparently a huge section was cropped out.
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Aug 2, 2017 17:52
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Detroit - 73/100 A respectful attempt to do justice to a difficult subject. After a strong and multifaceted opening third the movie simply loses its way. Bigelow apparently thinks dramatic interpretation of heinous behavior is more interesting than the context it exists within, which isn't the case. In addition, a few glaring plot holes and extremely amateurish use of 'embedded' cinematography further mar a film that could've been so much more.
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Aug 8, 2017 07:57
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First timer here: Twin Peaks (season 1) - 86/100 - Highly original, incredibly compelling and humorous. Prime melodrama with a slightly compromised vision, likely due to how dark it's actual themes are. Twin Peaks (season 2) - 69/100 - Sort of kneecaps itself after Lynch departs. Spends a lot of time spinning its wheels, but not without its moments. Contains some absolutely essential moments in preparation for... Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - 90/100 - Absolutely terrifying and heart-wrenching. Benefits from the tv series lore but also sort of overwrites it in a more grounded way, though I think viewing it without watching season 1 at least would make FWWM nearly impenetrable, but part of me is curious what a cold watch would've felt like. That being said, it's basically Mulholland Drive's older cousin from out of town. Too bad Sherilyn Fenn didn't have a cameo. Incredible stuff though, both riveting and unbearable.
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Aug 13, 2017 10:36
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got any sevens posted:I think the racism was the point
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Aug 21, 2017 22:07
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Brazilianpeanutwar posted:I just watched Blade runner for the first time ever. What version did you watch on this maiden voyage? Director's? Final Cut?
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Aug 28, 2017 05:50
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EL BROMANCE posted:Hell or High Water totally snuck up on me, so can't wait for the home release of Wind River. Looks so my jam, and I'm not one of these people who hates Renner's face which is a bonus. Haven't seen HoHW but I absolutely loved Sicario, so I'll definitely catch this on 2nd run.
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Sep 4, 2017 07:20
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Inland Empire - 77/100 Good Time - 87/100 We Need to Talk About Kevin - 78/100 Miami Vice - 89/100 (rewatch) Columbus - 79/100
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Sep 5, 2017 18:23
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Beach Rats - 66/100 Mother! - 91/100
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Sep 16, 2017 02:54
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I Before E posted:IMO the whirlwind pace and intensity made up for the lack of subtlety. Yeah, agreed. I think it's his best film by a country mile, but I'm not a superfan of his.
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Sep 17, 2017 08:22
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