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Movies You've Seen Recently | June 2018
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
To make matters worse is the poster's shattering point is the direct spot she received the injury.
holy crap. Has there been a ruling? Anyone that has seen this movie would know how much more fucked that makes everything.
Not too sure on that one. Since the lawsuit started around the time the film premiered back in March, I think it's still ongoing, at least from what I can find.
I think Hereditary might stick around, Deadpool seems to be leaving.
The Mountain Between Us
Boy you can really, really tell this is adapted from a book. Everything just feels very book-like, particularly the final act. It plays up the melodrama, nothing feels quite like how actual people act and it never grounds itself into a single genre - doing some things well enough to pass but nothing particularly great. Thankfully Winslet and Elba are really, really good and elevate the otherwise predictable and bland material to something at least worth a watch (them and the cute doggo) but it doesn't help that nothing ever feels truly emotionally grounded or tense enough to be more than a higher budget Lifetime movie.
2.5/5
Boy you can really, really tell this is adapted from a book. Everything just feels very book-like, particularly the final act. It plays up the melodrama, nothing feels quite like how actual people act and it never grounds itself into a single genre - doing some things well enough to pass but nothing particularly great. Thankfully Winslet and Elba are really, really good and elevate the otherwise predictable and bland material to something at least worth a watch (them and the cute doggo) but it doesn't help that nothing ever feels truly emotionally grounded or tense enough to be more than a higher budget Lifetime movie.
2.5/5
Octavio Is Dead! (5.5/10) - Directed by Sook-Yin Lee, who will always be a MuchMusic VJ to me. This movie has a lot of good ideas, but it takes forever to get to them. It drags its feet for what feels like the first half of the film, and the ending is super abrupt. It cuts to black and I'm like, wait, it's over? Now? That doesn't feel right. And then suddenly another scene starts and I'm like, okay, I didn't think so... bam, cuts right back to black. Roll credits. A double fake-out. The ending actually makes perfect sense in retrospect, I just don't think it was built up properly. The movie has some great moments, and about 30 minutes or so of story that was actually pretty cool. Could have used a lot more development, though.
Was gonna go to a preview screening of Whitney tonight but it feels like a crime to sit in a cinema when it's 29 degrees outside.
Sunshine (rewatch)
★★★★★
I remember the first time I saw Sunshine. I came away thinking it was just...okay and hating the wild tonal whiplash of the finale. But after a few rewatches and an appreciation for Lovecraftian fiction, I came to see Sunshine in a new light, that it's not the hard sci-fi thriller that I remembered but a cosmic horror survival drama, with a lot of imagery and plot elements that are very reminiscent of that genre.
The overwhelming howling force of the sun dwarfs our protagonists' ship, a cosmic force that invades their nightmares, that draws those that watches its light into enraptured near-religious worship of the sun, a siren song that drives people to madness. What seemed like an out-of-nowhere third-act twist now felt like the logical endpoint of the clues and themes laid out by the movie from scene one
I can't think any other sci-fi movie since Alien and 2001 that makes space feel like such a hostile uncaring abyss. From the everpresent power of the sun, with only a shield and a single mistake between survival and obliteration, to the constant reminder of how fragile their resources and protection are against the void outside, Sunshine wraps its character drama and thrills in a sense of constant threat. It truly captures that aspect of cosmic horror, even without all the more subtly Lovecraftian elements
Jaws (rewatch)
★★★★½
Every time I watch Jaws, I came away appreciating it more. The time, I really noticed how well-paced it is and how efficiently-written the dialogue is. No scene and line is wasted; every moment is one of narrative momentum.
I've really gotten into thrillers more since the last time I saw Jaws, so seeing how expertly Spielberg handled the tension and suspense is still impressive even today. When you read about the making of the film and how Spielberg constantly thought about how Hitchcock would approach scenes, it really becomes apparent in the precise use of suggested threats and build-up to those moments of the shark's appearances. Even today, even with so many other shark movies that have come since, none have topped that palpable terror of Jaws' best moments or the compelling character beats of its quiet ones
The Commuter
★½
I actually quite enjoyed the director's other films with Neeson, so I had hoped that Commuter would at least be a fun turn-your-brain-off action flick.
But The Commuter couldn't even be that. A ridiculous plot that hinges on a mystery is never anything but contrived and a conspiracy that is generic that you can figure it out as soon as certain characters are introduced. Characters that are nothing more than plot devices and a notably dull performance by Neeson. Action that is just competent at best and actively boring at worst. A third act that is dives headlong jarringly into blockbuster spectacle and (again) contrived out-of-nowhere plot devices. An attempt at some kind of message and themes that falls flat on its face with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
So in other words, The Commuter was a waste of 104 minutes
Incredibles 2
★★★★
Incredibles 2 maintains the fine balance between family drama and superheroics that made its predecessor so compelling, while also being less well-paced and tightly-plotted as the first movie. The action in 2 is never less than thrilling, gorgeous, and expertly choregraphed animation, although the finale felt somewhat anticlimatic compared to excellent build-up and pay-off of the first movie's final act. The plot never flows as well as the first either and felt disjointed at times in contrast to the first's small-scale drama and thrills, and 2's villain works as a plot device but is never as memorable as Syndrome.
But for all its weaknesses, a charming beat, a fun gag, a touching moment, and/or a slick action sequence is never far behind.
★★★★★
I remember the first time I saw Sunshine. I came away thinking it was just...okay and hating the wild tonal whiplash of the finale. But after a few rewatches and an appreciation for Lovecraftian fiction, I came to see Sunshine in a new light, that it's not the hard sci-fi thriller that I remembered but a cosmic horror survival drama, with a lot of imagery and plot elements that are very reminiscent of that genre.
The overwhelming howling force of the sun dwarfs our protagonists' ship, a cosmic force that invades their nightmares, that draws those that watches its light into enraptured near-religious worship of the sun, a siren song that drives people to madness. What seemed like an out-of-nowhere third-act twist now felt like the logical endpoint of the clues and themes laid out by the movie from scene one
I can't think any other sci-fi movie since Alien and 2001 that makes space feel like such a hostile uncaring abyss. From the everpresent power of the sun, with only a shield and a single mistake between survival and obliteration, to the constant reminder of how fragile their resources and protection are against the void outside, Sunshine wraps its character drama and thrills in a sense of constant threat. It truly captures that aspect of cosmic horror, even without all the more subtly Lovecraftian elements
Jaws (rewatch)
★★★★½
Every time I watch Jaws, I came away appreciating it more. The time, I really noticed how well-paced it is and how efficiently-written the dialogue is. No scene and line is wasted; every moment is one of narrative momentum.
I've really gotten into thrillers more since the last time I saw Jaws, so seeing how expertly Spielberg handled the tension and suspense is still impressive even today. When you read about the making of the film and how Spielberg constantly thought about how Hitchcock would approach scenes, it really becomes apparent in the precise use of suggested threats and build-up to those moments of the shark's appearances. Even today, even with so many other shark movies that have come since, none have topped that palpable terror of Jaws' best moments or the compelling character beats of its quiet ones
The Commuter
★½
I actually quite enjoyed the director's other films with Neeson, so I had hoped that Commuter would at least be a fun turn-your-brain-off action flick.
But The Commuter couldn't even be that. A ridiculous plot that hinges on a mystery is never anything but contrived and a conspiracy that is generic that you can figure it out as soon as certain characters are introduced. Characters that are nothing more than plot devices and a notably dull performance by Neeson. Action that is just competent at best and actively boring at worst. A third act that is dives headlong jarringly into blockbuster spectacle and (again) contrived out-of-nowhere plot devices. An attempt at some kind of message and themes that falls flat on its face with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
So in other words, The Commuter was a waste of 104 minutes
Incredibles 2
★★★★
Incredibles 2 maintains the fine balance between family drama and superheroics that made its predecessor so compelling, while also being less well-paced and tightly-plotted as the first movie. The action in 2 is never less than thrilling, gorgeous, and expertly choregraphed animation, although the finale felt somewhat anticlimatic compared to excellent build-up and pay-off of the first movie's final act. The plot never flows as well as the first either and felt disjointed at times in contrast to the first's small-scale drama and thrills, and 2's villain works as a plot device but is never as memorable as Syndrome.
But for all its weaknesses, a charming beat, a fun gag, a touching moment, and/or a slick action sequence is never far behind.
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The Crazies: Romero has a certain knack for supplying his B-movie apocalypse scenarios with a sort of frenzied desperation that counteracts most of their silliness, or even works in tandem with it to give the whole thing a queasy quality of insanity. That quality is certainly played up well here, but is most fascinating in its rapidly cut sequences of the military beaurocracy failing to maintain any sense of control (fans of Shin Godzilla should enjoy this half of the movie). The other side of the coin is the on the ground perspective of a group of survivors, but it never feels as emotionally charged or harrowing as Romero's dead movies, at least until the end. The fear of losing a loved one to madness is scary and relatable, but there's something more primal and filmic about watching someone you loved return from the dead as a mindless cannibal. The most potent bit of apocalyptic horror is the wonderful opening where a young child is tormenting his sister (a nice nod to Night of Living Dead) only to run into their daranged father setting the house into an evocatively shot inferno. It's a cladsicly scary scene, and the house burning out uncontrolled creates a nice visual metaphor for the infection to come.
I could see this growing on me if I ever decide to revisit it down the line, but with so much of the story relegated to the less interesting Dawn of the Dead dry run it didn't land as hard for me as it might have.
Incredibles 2: It's not as potent a story as the first, but oh man is it fun. Brad Bird is unfettered from the constraints of love action makes the most of his return to digital creations and makes one of the livliest, stylish, and most action packed superhero movies around. Infinity War what? Best animated action since Spielberg knocked my socks off with Tintin.
I could see this growing on me if I ever decide to revisit it down the line, but with so much of the story relegated to the less interesting Dawn of the Dead dry run it didn't land as hard for me as it might have.
Incredibles 2: It's not as potent a story as the first, but oh man is it fun. Brad Bird is unfettered from the constraints of love action makes the most of his return to digital creations and makes one of the livliest, stylish, and most action packed superhero movies around. Infinity War what? Best animated action since Spielberg knocked my socks off with Tintin.
Thank you!
I've been saying for years that Sunshine is an absolute masterpiece from beginning to end and without a doubt in the upper echelon of sci-fi/horror. I don't get how people don't get the ending in relation to the rest of the movie.
You've put it in a much better way than i've been able to.
Now with a lot of my Lovecraftian books and movies at the back of mind, so many moments and imagery just screamed "cosmic horror" to me while watching it
Like these kinds of shots reminded me of The Void, especially once you consider the hypnotic pull the sun has in the film
Then you have the crew outside where it looks less like the exterior of a spaceship and more like the surface of some alien landscape, this ebony plain with a flaming horizon and aurora winds sweeping across. The spacesuits look more like oppressive diving outfits to explore the abyss rather than the traditional suits.
Is this the director's cut version of Kingdom of Heaven?
https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Heaven-Orlando-Bloom/dp/B000SW16NU
https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Heaven-Orlando-Bloom/dp/B000SW16NU
The director's cut is 194 minutes, I believe. Looks like that's theatrical.
Haha yeah. The bloody hallway might be my favourite action setpiece this year.
Im currently watching the movie after ERA recommendation, im at the middle part. While I really like some of the shots, some of the actions are over the top (trail of blood that doesn't stop and goes on and on, that character would have died of loss of blood at that time, or trying to heat up a blade with a lighter when there's a big fire burning just on the side) but the movie is okay for now.
The fact that she climbs out of the tree she got impaled on and gets an improbable tattoo on her belly should have been a sign the film is not going for a realistic angle at all :P The blood is more seen as an aesthetic motif and used to great effect towards the end.
If surviving the tree impalement doesn't instantly tell you exactly what kind of movie Revenge is, I don't know what will.
I was given my Pick 3 by Boogs31, which turned out to be a fantastic genre showcase:
Raw (2016)
From the beginning, there's an oppressive atmosphere weighing down on the protagonist Justine. The veterinary school is presented as a nightmarish world populated by cruel upperclassmen, and given the undesirability of their profession it makes sense that the students had free rein of the place. These same students also seem entirely oblivious to the emergence of a cannibal in their midst; Justine always feels isolated from any help as she "changes." As expected, every sexual moment is filled with a horrible sense of dread, but I appreciated how little the movie leaned on those moments. There are a few gruesome scenes, but most of the tension is psychological, especially in the final stretch as Justine starts losing it.
Of course, this being a French movie, I couldn't get over the school physician puffing on a cigarette while attending to her patient. Also the utter contempt for any vegetarian options at a veterinary school cafeteria :P
A Girl Walks Alone At Night (2017)
It's immediately obvious this entirely Farsi-language film was shot in some small American town (thirty miles outside of Bakersfield, in fact) and the whole aesthetic feels like a Nicholas Ray film. AGWAAT fits comfortably within the "Drive" pantheon of films whose incredible sense of style compensates for their lightweight story. Gorgeous cinematography throughout, and the moment I saw The Girl dancing to a Farah song, I was hooked. The performances across the board are fantastic, with Arash's ecstasy-addled monologue to the Girl being a standout moment, but the drug dealer/pimp Saeed stole the movie. And that ending was just deviously delightful.
Side note: holy shit, Sheila Vand (The Girl) was the voice of Todd's phone in Bojack Horseman?
Timecrimes (2007)
I hadn't given this movie a fair shot on my first viewing (giving up within the first five to ten minutes) but damn was it brilliant. I thought I'd outsmarted the film by predicting a twist that's revealed within the first act (gee, I wonder who's that guy with the bandaged face?) but the script was airtight. It's such a compact yet perfectly executed premise, wasting none of its brisk 90 minutes, and the narrative loops back on itself in brilliant ways right up to the haunting end. Hector(s) can't help but interfere with his past, making him the perfect time travel protagonist, though my biggest laugh came from his quick acclimation to the whole "waking up in the past" deal. Between Timecrimes and Colossal (2016), I'm fully sold on Nacho Vigalondo as a writer/director; he's one of the freshest voices in modern science fiction.
Thanks!
Raw (2016)
From the beginning, there's an oppressive atmosphere weighing down on the protagonist Justine. The veterinary school is presented as a nightmarish world populated by cruel upperclassmen, and given the undesirability of their profession it makes sense that the students had free rein of the place. These same students also seem entirely oblivious to the emergence of a cannibal in their midst; Justine always feels isolated from any help as she "changes." As expected, every sexual moment is filled with a horrible sense of dread, but I appreciated how little the movie leaned on those moments. There are a few gruesome scenes, but most of the tension is psychological, especially in the final stretch as Justine starts losing it.
Of course, this being a French movie, I couldn't get over the school physician puffing on a cigarette while attending to her patient. Also the utter contempt for any vegetarian options at a veterinary school cafeteria :P
A Girl Walks Alone At Night (2017)
It's immediately obvious this entirely Farsi-language film was shot in some small American town (thirty miles outside of Bakersfield, in fact) and the whole aesthetic feels like a Nicholas Ray film. AGWAAT fits comfortably within the "Drive" pantheon of films whose incredible sense of style compensates for their lightweight story. Gorgeous cinematography throughout, and the moment I saw The Girl dancing to a Farah song, I was hooked. The performances across the board are fantastic, with Arash's ecstasy-addled monologue to the Girl being a standout moment, but the drug dealer/pimp Saeed stole the movie. And that ending was just deviously delightful.
Side note: holy shit, Sheila Vand (The Girl) was the voice of Todd's phone in Bojack Horseman?
Timecrimes (2007)
I hadn't given this movie a fair shot on my first viewing (giving up within the first five to ten minutes) but damn was it brilliant. I thought I'd outsmarted the film by predicting a twist that's revealed within the first act (gee, I wonder who's that guy with the bandaged face?) but the script was airtight. It's such a compact yet perfectly executed premise, wasting none of its brisk 90 minutes, and the narrative loops back on itself in brilliant ways right up to the haunting end. Hector(s) can't help but interfere with his past, making him the perfect time travel protagonist, though my biggest laugh came from his quick acclimation to the whole "waking up in the past" deal. Between Timecrimes and Colossal (2016), I'm fully sold on Nacho Vigalondo as a writer/director; he's one of the freshest voices in modern science fiction.
Thanks!
Columbus (2017)
I had the impression that this was going to be a fun O K coming of age type story. Ended up being completely blown away by how much I loved it. Haven't heard of the director, Kogonada, apparently this is his debut.
The film has some of the come of age tropes that I now come to expect, but the movie manages to be much more. The pacing was perfect. More on the slow side of things, which I like a lot. Some of the shots reminded me of In the Mood for Love in how they were framed.
Will definitely be watching this again.
I had the impression that this was going to be a fun O K coming of age type story. Ended up being completely blown away by how much I loved it. Haven't heard of the director, Kogonada, apparently this is his debut.
The film has some of the come of age tropes that I now come to expect, but the movie manages to be much more. The pacing was perfect. More on the slow side of things, which I like a lot. Some of the shots reminded me of In the Mood for Love in how they were framed.
Will definitely be watching this again.
https://nofilmschool.com/2017/08/kogonada-columbus-interview-review
Still the best shot film of 2017 imo.
Niice! Will definitely be reading this. Any films like it you recommend?
Star Wars: The Last Jedi:
I feel like the proper way to tackle this film is to break it down section by section, so let's go!
The Poe/Resistance stuff, or consequences, in my Star Wars film? Surprisingly, it wasn't until now that we saw much of anything as far as what actually happens after a fierce skirmish, so having a sense of what the cost is of doing flashy maneuvers to blow up all of one ship (it was a big ship, I suppose!) was nice to have addressed and even reprimanded of those responsible. In this case, the film finally gives something for Poe Dameron to, who when we last saw him, was little more than Yet Another Ace Pilot. There's definitely a more confident Oscar Isaac here too, which isn't to say he did a bad job in TFA, but he's clearly more engaged here since he has something to do. We also get a rather nice turn from Laura Dern as a Resistance leader who radiates command and warmth whenever she's on screen while playing superbly off both Isaac and Carrie Fisher. These scenes tackle an interesting theme that pays off with a mind-blowing display of visual effects that won't be soon forgotten and I would probably point to these sections being the strongest overall material that the film has to offer. That being said, and I do risk disrespecting the recently deceased here, I did feel that Carrie Fisher seemed fairly uncomfortable for most of her screen time, though there was a really nice spot of humor with her that landed prior to the final act that did remind me a lot of her past wit and comic timing. But perhaps the weakest elements here is that the humor falls flat more often than not, and there's a lot of it. Also, and this definitely isn't Carrie Fisher's fault, "that scene" never had any hope of being anything other than too silly to buy into it as a dramatic moment.
The Rey/Luke stuff, or a lack of immediate gratification, in my Star Wars film? Yes, the movie makes a bold move here to have Luke damn near destitute and certainly a shattered husk of the man he once was, and while I can't imagine it's the direction a lot of people would have wanted Luke to go in, I think this actually winds up working far better than some give it credit for, for two big reasons. One, and the most obvious one, is that Mark Hamill does a great job here with taking his most iconic on-screen role and turning it on his ear, and it was great to see how much they were able to grow his character when they could have just as easily made him merely the same Jedi master that we last saw him at the end of Return of the Jedi. Just as important, though, is that you also get to see how this goes over with someone who grew up on the legend of Luke Skywalker, and while I haven't been as sold on Daisy Ridley as I have been with the rest of the new main actors, she acquits herself rather well in her scenes with Hamill, balancing both a genuine admiration for the man he once was and the tinge of disappointment with the man he's decided to be. I do feel like that these scene do feel as though the editing hit them more inconsistently, as we wind up with scenes where information is regurgitated and others that are strangely absent (he did say he had three lessons, after all!), so there's a faintly uneven balance present that doesn't resolve itself until the big finale. This is also another chunk of the film where the humor misses more than it hits, and it feels especially bizarre that for a man in self-imposed exile that he'd also have space munchkins running around working on the utilities. And, to my unending lack of surprise, porgs really do offer nothing of value beyond merch bait.
The Finn/Rose stuff, or charismatic talent drawing the short straw, in my Star Wars film? While I had a feeling that the expansion of Poe's character was going to come at the expense of another, it did disappoint me greatly that these were the two that it happened to. Well, I'll amend that slightly, as it's really the disappointment of seeing someone as bubbly and utterly incapable of anything resembling a bad thought like Rose as a character, who Kelly Marie Tran embodies with the kind of authority that we haven't seen with a mid-series introduction since Billy Dee Williams as Lando in The Empire Strikes Back. It was so cool to see a character like Rose exist, loving the fact that she gets to rub elbows with some of the greatest heroes in the galaxy while also being unafraid to knock them down a peg if the situation calls for it. Boyega continues to be fun as well as Finn and manages to land a few bright spots of physical comedy that play into his strengths, which makes it a real shame that their plot involves elements that could have just not happened and not have impacted the story much. I get that in an already busy film that it made zero sense to shanghai one of the leads introduced in the previous film with nothing to do otherwise, but it's clear that there really wasn't as much enthusiasm for their escapade to Canto Bight as there was for the other elements of the film. Well, unless you really have a thing for wondering just how drunk a clearly lost Benicio del Toro was, because wow, this was not his finest hour at all.
The Kylo Ren/First Order stuff, or bumbling villains that are competent almost by accident, in my Star Wars film? Initially, there's really not a lot that they give Adam Driver to do this time around that isn't standing around with a menacing look of contemplation on his face, but towards the end, they finally do make a big payoff with a scene that, and I know I'm putting this mildly given the absolute outrage that this moment otherwise generated, cuts right the chase in terms of establishing who the real villain is of this new run of Star Wars, and it's here where Kylo Ren becomes a real force to be reckoned with. And it's not for the reasons you would think to, as the unexpected dynamic that's now at work here gives future films with Kylo a genuine sense of unpredictability involved as he moves into a role that he may or may not be ready to take. For the rest of the First Order, well, whenever I'm not being distracted by his absolutely ridiculous fake eyebrows, Domnhall Gleeson is surprisingly comfortable with being a punchline for nearly all of his screen time, being physically abused like a champ. Otherwise, it was actually nice to see the villains be on the offensive for a change, though I swear that if never see a shot of the Resistance fleet being pursued by the First Order ever again, it'll still be too soon.
The filmmaking stuff, or unwieldiness as a virtue, in my Star Wars film? While it's safe to say that The Force Awakens did display a consistent level of prowess and aptitude to it for the entirety of the film, moreso than this film does, it's also boring as hell. The Last Jedi has some really weird moments to it that feel like padding for the sake of padding (this really had no reason to be 2.5 hours long at all), especially when there's plot holes that needed some serious patching (yes, I know the film alludes to how Rey got off the Super Star Destroyer 2 Turbo: Championship Edition, but put it together in your head about the sequence of events that transpire for her to get back on the Falcon and into the final battle and you too might have your brain liquefy a bit) and if you couldn't tell from the other sections, it has a poor grasp of humor throughout that makes the bits that actually land feel more like accidents than being from the hands of folks with a good grasp on those aspects. But for every dud joke, bizarre plot hole or boring detour that may sometimes involve Captain Phasma oh god why do people like her so much she's just a chrome-plated stormtrooper, there's a great visual moment just around the corner and the film's attempts to keep the scale small and personal work more often than not, culminating in a big finale that feels earned and has some good payoffs for almost all involved. It also goes into some weird places with the Force that do invite some criticism for how loosely defined they can be, but also reinforces the idea that the Force is something that isn't so easily explained and helps make it feel mysterious and a little bit unknown again for the first time since the original trilogy. And I think that's something I do have to admire about Rian Johnson's work here, in that he may not be sure that everything he wants to put up on the screen works, but he's willing to try and deal with the consequences, which is highly unusual for any blockbuster in his day and age, let alone Star Wars. It doesn't make it a great film that he's willing to roll the dice as often as he does here, but it does give the film a lasting power that an intentional nostalgia-fest like The Force Awakens can't possibly be, and being so willing to upend speculation and understanding for how and why things work means that it has relevance and a story to tell that wouldn't fit into an opening title crawl, as we saw with Rogue One. I don't know where Star Wars goes from here, but at least I feel like there's something that Star Wars can aspire to again, rather than just giving people more of the usual gruel.
I feel like the proper way to tackle this film is to break it down section by section, so let's go!
The Poe/Resistance stuff, or consequences, in my Star Wars film? Surprisingly, it wasn't until now that we saw much of anything as far as what actually happens after a fierce skirmish, so having a sense of what the cost is of doing flashy maneuvers to blow up all of one ship (it was a big ship, I suppose!) was nice to have addressed and even reprimanded of those responsible. In this case, the film finally gives something for Poe Dameron to, who when we last saw him, was little more than Yet Another Ace Pilot. There's definitely a more confident Oscar Isaac here too, which isn't to say he did a bad job in TFA, but he's clearly more engaged here since he has something to do. We also get a rather nice turn from Laura Dern as a Resistance leader who radiates command and warmth whenever she's on screen while playing superbly off both Isaac and Carrie Fisher. These scenes tackle an interesting theme that pays off with a mind-blowing display of visual effects that won't be soon forgotten and I would probably point to these sections being the strongest overall material that the film has to offer. That being said, and I do risk disrespecting the recently deceased here, I did feel that Carrie Fisher seemed fairly uncomfortable for most of her screen time, though there was a really nice spot of humor with her that landed prior to the final act that did remind me a lot of her past wit and comic timing. But perhaps the weakest elements here is that the humor falls flat more often than not, and there's a lot of it. Also, and this definitely isn't Carrie Fisher's fault, "that scene" never had any hope of being anything other than too silly to buy into it as a dramatic moment.
The Rey/Luke stuff, or a lack of immediate gratification, in my Star Wars film? Yes, the movie makes a bold move here to have Luke damn near destitute and certainly a shattered husk of the man he once was, and while I can't imagine it's the direction a lot of people would have wanted Luke to go in, I think this actually winds up working far better than some give it credit for, for two big reasons. One, and the most obvious one, is that Mark Hamill does a great job here with taking his most iconic on-screen role and turning it on his ear, and it was great to see how much they were able to grow his character when they could have just as easily made him merely the same Jedi master that we last saw him at the end of Return of the Jedi. Just as important, though, is that you also get to see how this goes over with someone who grew up on the legend of Luke Skywalker, and while I haven't been as sold on Daisy Ridley as I have been with the rest of the new main actors, she acquits herself rather well in her scenes with Hamill, balancing both a genuine admiration for the man he once was and the tinge of disappointment with the man he's decided to be. I do feel like that these scene do feel as though the editing hit them more inconsistently, as we wind up with scenes where information is regurgitated and others that are strangely absent (he did say he had three lessons, after all!), so there's a faintly uneven balance present that doesn't resolve itself until the big finale. This is also another chunk of the film where the humor misses more than it hits, and it feels especially bizarre that for a man in self-imposed exile that he'd also have space munchkins running around working on the utilities. And, to my unending lack of surprise, porgs really do offer nothing of value beyond merch bait.
The Finn/Rose stuff, or charismatic talent drawing the short straw, in my Star Wars film? While I had a feeling that the expansion of Poe's character was going to come at the expense of another, it did disappoint me greatly that these were the two that it happened to. Well, I'll amend that slightly, as it's really the disappointment of seeing someone as bubbly and utterly incapable of anything resembling a bad thought like Rose as a character, who Kelly Marie Tran embodies with the kind of authority that we haven't seen with a mid-series introduction since Billy Dee Williams as Lando in The Empire Strikes Back. It was so cool to see a character like Rose exist, loving the fact that she gets to rub elbows with some of the greatest heroes in the galaxy while also being unafraid to knock them down a peg if the situation calls for it. Boyega continues to be fun as well as Finn and manages to land a few bright spots of physical comedy that play into his strengths, which makes it a real shame that their plot involves elements that could have just not happened and not have impacted the story much. I get that in an already busy film that it made zero sense to shanghai one of the leads introduced in the previous film with nothing to do otherwise, but it's clear that there really wasn't as much enthusiasm for their escapade to Canto Bight as there was for the other elements of the film. Well, unless you really have a thing for wondering just how drunk a clearly lost Benicio del Toro was, because wow, this was not his finest hour at all.
The Kylo Ren/First Order stuff, or bumbling villains that are competent almost by accident, in my Star Wars film? Initially, there's really not a lot that they give Adam Driver to do this time around that isn't standing around with a menacing look of contemplation on his face, but towards the end, they finally do make a big payoff with a scene that, and I know I'm putting this mildly given the absolute outrage that this moment otherwise generated, cuts right the chase in terms of establishing who the real villain is of this new run of Star Wars, and it's here where Kylo Ren becomes a real force to be reckoned with. And it's not for the reasons you would think to, as the unexpected dynamic that's now at work here gives future films with Kylo a genuine sense of unpredictability involved as he moves into a role that he may or may not be ready to take. For the rest of the First Order, well, whenever I'm not being distracted by his absolutely ridiculous fake eyebrows, Domnhall Gleeson is surprisingly comfortable with being a punchline for nearly all of his screen time, being physically abused like a champ. Otherwise, it was actually nice to see the villains be on the offensive for a change, though I swear that if never see a shot of the Resistance fleet being pursued by the First Order ever again, it'll still be too soon.
The filmmaking stuff, or unwieldiness as a virtue, in my Star Wars film? While it's safe to say that The Force Awakens did display a consistent level of prowess and aptitude to it for the entirety of the film, moreso than this film does, it's also boring as hell. The Last Jedi has some really weird moments to it that feel like padding for the sake of padding (this really had no reason to be 2.5 hours long at all), especially when there's plot holes that needed some serious patching (yes, I know the film alludes to how Rey got off the Super Star Destroyer 2 Turbo: Championship Edition, but put it together in your head about the sequence of events that transpire for her to get back on the Falcon and into the final battle and you too might have your brain liquefy a bit) and if you couldn't tell from the other sections, it has a poor grasp of humor throughout that makes the bits that actually land feel more like accidents than being from the hands of folks with a good grasp on those aspects. But for every dud joke, bizarre plot hole or boring detour that may sometimes involve Captain Phasma oh god why do people like her so much she's just a chrome-plated stormtrooper, there's a great visual moment just around the corner and the film's attempts to keep the scale small and personal work more often than not, culminating in a big finale that feels earned and has some good payoffs for almost all involved. It also goes into some weird places with the Force that do invite some criticism for how loosely defined they can be, but also reinforces the idea that the Force is something that isn't so easily explained and helps make it feel mysterious and a little bit unknown again for the first time since the original trilogy. And I think that's something I do have to admire about Rian Johnson's work here, in that he may not be sure that everything he wants to put up on the screen works, but he's willing to try and deal with the consequences, which is highly unusual for any blockbuster in his day and age, let alone Star Wars. It doesn't make it a great film that he's willing to roll the dice as often as he does here, but it does give the film a lasting power that an intentional nostalgia-fest like The Force Awakens can't possibly be, and being so willing to upend speculation and understanding for how and why things work means that it has relevance and a story to tell that wouldn't fit into an opening title crawl, as we saw with Rogue One. I don't know where Star Wars goes from here, but at least I feel like there's something that Star Wars can aspire to again, rather than just giving people more of the usual gruel.
sorry for late reply, but I can't think of any recent films that capture the feel.
Lot of people say his work is similar to Ozu though.
First Reformed
I finally got around to seeing this earlier tonight. Religion and Nature truly are a match made in heaven. The movie reminded me of mother! but with none of the biblical allegories. I must admit that I think mother! is better than this movie. The movie wasn't bad (Hawke was amazing) but I would say the ending left me unsatisfied.
I finally got around to seeing this earlier tonight. Religion and Nature truly are a match made in heaven. The movie reminded me of mother! but with none of the biblical allegories. I must admit that I think mother! is better than this movie. The movie wasn't bad (Hawke was amazing) but I would say the ending left me unsatisfied.
Watched Ringu for the first time, there's something inherently off and uneasy about that distorted grainy VHS look that just can't be replicated with modern tech. I imagine the imagery of the classic tape wouldn't be nearly as weird or unsettling without that aesthetic
How's it compare to the Ring? I've heard the remake is better, but I have not watched the Ringu original to know better.
Just saw Hereditary for the third time. Some annoying woman a few seats away had a nervous tick and kept shaking for the entire film. Sounded like she was scribbling aggressively in a notebook anytime there was silence. Decided to move to the back of the screen 10 minutes in. Don't come to the cinema if you can't sit still and STFU.
The original is a considerably more understated experience and plays a lot better to the strengths of being a mood piece, and the finale is way more effective with its lack of bombast and considerably more sinister ending. That being said, it's also a lot more lax with its pacing, which doesn't do a lot of favors for the imminent danger feeling, well, imminent. In that sense, the remake does have a leg up on that front in terms of momentum, though I do feel like it does come across as being too busy for its own good as a result.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend the Korean adaptation/remake, The Ring Virus, as that has a lot of excellent qualities to it that helps it to stand apart from the Japanese film while also being indebted to it, as it borrows a fair few shots from it. It has a lot more narrative clarity while still retaining the same menacing atmosphere, and I think it has the best central relationship between the leads.
Never seen the remake or most any other J-horror. The only other one in the genre I've seen is Kairo/Pulse
Next one I'm watching is Dark Waters
So I've been watching Sean Baker's film in reverse chronology. The Florida Project, Tangerine, and Starlet were all ten out of ten bangers.
DVDs arrived recently of Prince of Broadway and Take Out.
Watched Prince of Broadway, and found it to suffer from some pacing issues. It's still a great film though.
Watching Take Out this weekend, anyone have any thoughts on it?
DVDs arrived recently of Prince of Broadway and Take Out.
Watched Prince of Broadway, and found it to suffer from some pacing issues. It's still a great film though.
Watching Take Out this weekend, anyone have any thoughts on it?
Do they all share the kind of laid-bare slice of life style and pacing of Florida Project? Part of what made the drama of that movie hit me so hard was how real it felt
Sean Baker is a cool dude. He will take time to talk to yah and stuff.
edit: I actually watched both films for the first time last week.
edit: I actually watched both films for the first time last week.
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The Florida Project 2017
★★★★½ Watched
The way the colors and visuals pop reminds me of a Jacque Demy film, and the story is so tender. Sean Baker is a genius for putting it in the children's eyes. I think the only recent film that captures something like this is American Honey. Florida Project deserved the best picture nomination.
As a Florida native, I had no excuse for not watching this sooner. This and Moonlight are now my two favorite films set in Florida.
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Tangerine 2015
★★★½
Merry Christmas Bitch!
Listen I know I am late on watching this film, but that doesn't change the experience I had with Tangerine. Don't let the quick cuts, and crazy music throw you off, Tangerine is a gripping portrayal of sex workers, family, and even love. The ending is one of my favorites from 2015.
And yes the fact that Sean Baker liked several of my tweets about this film only makes it more memorable.
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Absolutely. They all share this quality, with Prince of Broadway probably taking this to the extreme. In fact, even his casting reflects this. In Tangerine, the two main actresses were cast because of their experience as trans sex workers in LA, and in Starlet, one of the main characters is an elderly lady portrayed by a woman who had never acted before.
In fact, while I think of it, wasn't the girl from The Florida Project discovered by Baker on instagram?
So far, I think Tangerine is my favorite of his films, but it's very, very close.
I forgot Ring Virus existed...always meant to check that out.
The American Ring is good. It's been a while but I think it's a quality version.
Yup, and she was excellent. hope she gets a lot more work.
I need to watch more Baker films.
possible hot take: The Ring Two > The Ring. Without the tape it's sort of absolute nonsense but that just makes Rachel's inability to distinguish the real from the virtual scarier.
The sequel has Hideo Nakata directing, who was behind the first two Ringus which I also still need to see.
No worries. Yeah, I can definitely see that. I still haven't seen Tokyo Story, so I'll be doing that!
First time I saw the Ring was in some shitty dollar theater that had a grimy ambience like the movie does so it was the perfect setting. I don't remember two other than some deer in the road I think but now I'm in the mood to revisit this series. For me, that first one is legit creepy as shit. It hits all the right points on technology. Pulse was another good one for that and I've not seen the original there either.
I'll give you the concept is hugely scary: as a teen/pre-teen I was so terrified just of the concept of a cursed tape and the sopping wet stringy haired demon that the parody of The Ring in fucking Scary Movie 3 gave me nightmares. This is a movie where little gray aliens arrive and pee from their fingers and Leslie Nielsen is the president. But I watched it and that night tried to fall asleep in front of a turned-off television and couldn't do it. That kept me from watching the source of the parody for about 10 years, which could explain why I was a bit down on it—the actual film could never unsettle me as much as Scary Movie 3 did at age 12.
Damn...now your making me want to watch Scary Movie 2 again....loved that one
Watched Intouchables on Netflix the other week. A french drama/comedy from 2011 that was really good.
Warm and fun and makes you think about life, Based on a true story.
"After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver."
Highly recommend it.
I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10.
Warm and fun and makes you think about life, Based on a true story.
"After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver."
Highly recommend it.
I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10.
Tag
This has my kind of humor! I laughed a lot throughout this whole thing. The ending is my only complaint because it took a weird turn at the end and really derailed all the fun, but then got happy again which felt odd. Ending wasn't bad but the shifts in tone really dampened things.
Aenigma
Wow, this was bad. The movie poster for this really needs to be made into what it portrays because this movie does not do that poster any justice at all. This felt like a third rate Carrie and barely kept my attention.
This has my kind of humor! I laughed a lot throughout this whole thing. The ending is my only complaint because it took a weird turn at the end and really derailed all the fun, but then got happy again which felt odd. Ending wasn't bad but the shifts in tone really dampened things.
Aenigma
Wow, this was bad. The movie poster for this really needs to be made into what it portrays because this movie does not do that poster any justice at all. This felt like a third rate Carrie and barely kept my attention.
Three Colors Trilogy
Liked the first one a whole lot, liked the second one, and then loved the third. Liberty, equality, and fraternity. The three colors all have different meaning, but it was in Red where I found the most interesting pieces. Juliette Binoche is great. Irene Jacob is great. Red is such a beautiful film, I loved everything about it. Watch all three, though!
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
This was crazy town. Dinos are slippery creatures when it comes to our main characters, but secondary people? They're 100% nightmare town. Clone stuff breaks the mind, and trying to make sense of the ending will keep your insomnia problems at an all-time high.
Isle of Dogs
Genius. I loved it. Voice acting and animation at an all-time high. It did have an ending issue, which is disappointing, but everything before that is so good and so enjoyable and nice and fun. Watch this beautiful movie!!
Gotti
"This life ends one of two ways: dead or in jail. I did both." - John Gotti, while I guess dead, maybe?
This movie is a joke. Stacy Keach deserves better. It glosses over the good stuff and gives us the bad stuff. John Travolta forgets his accent multiple times, and his son never ages over multiple decades. It's almost impressive, as much as the Pitbull score. This movie is a total mess, jumping from multiple years like it needs to do that as obligation rather than storytelling technique. It also tries to glorify these murderous people, which is all kinds of problematic. A cop yells at one point, "Next time, Gotti, next time!" That was fun. The rest is not. Avoid.
Liked the first one a whole lot, liked the second one, and then loved the third. Liberty, equality, and fraternity. The three colors all have different meaning, but it was in Red where I found the most interesting pieces. Juliette Binoche is great. Irene Jacob is great. Red is such a beautiful film, I loved everything about it. Watch all three, though!
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
This was crazy town. Dinos are slippery creatures when it comes to our main characters, but secondary people? They're 100% nightmare town. Clone stuff breaks the mind, and trying to make sense of the ending will keep your insomnia problems at an all-time high.
Isle of Dogs
Genius. I loved it. Voice acting and animation at an all-time high. It did have an ending issue, which is disappointing, but everything before that is so good and so enjoyable and nice and fun. Watch this beautiful movie!!
Gotti
"This life ends one of two ways: dead or in jail. I did both." - John Gotti, while I guess dead, maybe?
This movie is a joke. Stacy Keach deserves better. It glosses over the good stuff and gives us the bad stuff. John Travolta forgets his accent multiple times, and his son never ages over multiple decades. It's almost impressive, as much as the Pitbull score. This movie is a total mess, jumping from multiple years like it needs to do that as obligation rather than storytelling technique. It also tries to glorify these murderous people, which is all kinds of problematic. A cop yells at one point, "Next time, Gotti, next time!" That was fun. The rest is not. Avoid.
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Hereditary finally released over here, so I caught it on opening night. Not a huge horror-fan or connaiseur, but I like to catch the ones considered classics. The movie was pretty hyped up after all the wait, and I think it might've hurt my experience a bit. i was expecting 2 hours of unease and dread, and apart from some shocking images and some realy tense sequences, I didn't really feel like I needed to run out of the theatre.
But on the other hand, it is a masterfully crafted movie. It might not have had the effect on me it has on many other, but I was glued to the screen for 2 hours, tried to catch up to a story that seemed to be always a step ahead (it often subverts what it set-up) and marvelled at the way it was shot. Some scenes were incredibly effective too
Some other shots didn't have the intended effect because regretfully I happened to read a tweet beforehand kind of spoiling their intend
Anyway, great movie, even though it was not what I expected and it's not the kind of horror that has a big effect on me (for comparison, I could barely finish It Follows, and felt uneasy for hours after)
But on the other hand, it is a masterfully crafted movie. It might not have had the effect on me it has on many other, but I was glued to the screen for 2 hours, tried to catch up to a story that seemed to be always a step ahead (it often subverts what it set-up) and marvelled at the way it was shot. Some scenes were incredibly effective too
the rearview mirror, the haunting scream of Toni Collette (a masterclass in what I'd call 'don't show, don't tell' :P ), ...
Anyway, great movie, even though it was not what I expected and it's not the kind of horror that has a big effect on me (for comparison, I could barely finish It Follows, and felt uneasy for hours after)
Goes to show how subjective horror is since I was very disappointed by It Follows and could barely finish it as well (but not because it was scary), while Hereditary was one of the most unsettling and dread-inducing horror films I've seen in years
For me, It Follows was never better than its first fifteen minutes and that one scene in the school with the old lady. That opening jump cut was more unsettling and disturbing than anything else in the film, a fantastic example of leaving things to the imagination.
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