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Movies You've Seen Recently | December 2018
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
If Beale Street Could Talk is wonderful, but it proves no matter how good the directing is Dave Franco can only play Dave Franco.
Upon further reflection after typing this up, I've made up my mind that this is indeed the best Spidey movie ever. Sorry Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
★★★★★
The ultimate love letter to the character. A well-done story that nails an exceptional balance of heart, humor, and action. An unparalleled visual feast.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is many things, but as a whole, the movie embraces the character's roots in a way none of the adaptations, film or show, have before. It marries the visual language of comics and the dynamic movement of animation more effectively than any direct recreation of panels ever could. It respects both the relatable underdog essence of Spider-man that has resonated with fans for decades and the myriad interesting, cool, weird re-imaginings of the hero. It juggles a character-driven origin story for Miles, a full-fledged arc for Peter, creative and humorous introductions to the other Spider-heroes while making them integral to Miles' own arc rather than just being comic relief or quirky additions.
The action pops off the screen in energetic explosions of movement and color and onomatopoeia and Kirby and Bendis. Every gag and moment of humor works, whether it's a reference to the films or comics or character's history, a fun subversion of formula, solid delivery, or a smart call-back. But most importantly, Into The Spider-Verse never sacrifices story for humor or action, always ensuring that every beat and character serves Miles' development, always finding room for sincere emotional pay-off.
I don't know if Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse quite tops Spider-Man 2 as my favorite, but nevertheless it's the truest and most visually stunning cinematic adaptation of the wall-crawler we've ever gotten.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
★★★★★
The ultimate love letter to the character. A well-done story that nails an exceptional balance of heart, humor, and action. An unparalleled visual feast.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is many things, but as a whole, the movie embraces the character's roots in a way none of the adaptations, film or show, have before. It marries the visual language of comics and the dynamic movement of animation more effectively than any direct recreation of panels ever could. It respects both the relatable underdog essence of Spider-man that has resonated with fans for decades and the myriad interesting, cool, weird re-imaginings of the hero. It juggles a character-driven origin story for Miles, a full-fledged arc for Peter, creative and humorous introductions to the other Spider-heroes while making them integral to Miles' own arc rather than just being comic relief or quirky additions.
The action pops off the screen in energetic explosions of movement and color and onomatopoeia and Kirby and Bendis. Every gag and moment of humor works, whether it's a reference to the films or comics or character's history, a fun subversion of formula, solid delivery, or a smart call-back. But most importantly, Into The Spider-Verse never sacrifices story for humor or action, always ensuring that every beat and character serves Miles' development, always finding room for sincere emotional pay-off.
I don't know if Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse quite tops Spider-Man 2 as my favorite, but nevertheless it's the truest and most visually stunning cinematic adaptation of the wall-crawler we've ever gotten.
The House that Jack Built
Just like wood, you can easily identify Lars Von Trier. Yup, that's Lars Von Trier. Matt Dillon lends some credibility to what are incresingly pretentious attempts by Lars to shock and disturb everyone. If people walking out of the theater during its premiere doesnt tell you Lars has issues, maybe it's when he admitted "jack is just like me, i just dont kill people'. Uh huh. Anyway, if you can stomach the awful shit, which isnt too too graphic, then i guess it's well done and entertaining enough. The ending is the usual Trier bullshit. 59% at RT is better than i thought it would receive.
Just like wood, you can easily identify Lars Von Trier. Yup, that's Lars Von Trier. Matt Dillon lends some credibility to what are incresingly pretentious attempts by Lars to shock and disturb everyone. If people walking out of the theater during its premiere doesnt tell you Lars has issues, maybe it's when he admitted "jack is just like me, i just dont kill people'. Uh huh. Anyway, if you can stomach the awful shit, which isnt too too graphic, then i guess it's well done and entertaining enough. The ending is the usual Trier bullshit. 59% at RT is better than i thought it would receive.
When the Truman show came out I thought it was kind of silly and didn't really take it seriously. Now that time has passed it is absolutely incredible in its message and delivery of that message. While I agree it's flawed in certain aspects, my god is it an interesting movie now in the time we live in where 2+2=5.
Deadpool 2
Fun, Not much to it, and it weirdly shamelessly takes the plot of Looper to mine what pathos it can scrounge up, but I enjoy both of these flicks as they play. I thought that the sense of humor in the original Deadpool mostly just lazily coasted on easy, foul-mouthed sex/potty gags and the sheer novelty of having an actual, proper 4th wall-breaking Deadpool without doing much of anything amusing or entertaining with him, 2 had just enough effort put into it to reach that Family Guy/Austin Powers level of effective, lowbrow guilty pleasure humor to satisfy, the level that this series should be aiming for, IMO; the skydiving/post-credits sequences were genuinely pretty amazing, if I don't say so myself.
Fun, Not much to it, and it weirdly shamelessly takes the plot of Looper to mine what pathos it can scrounge up, but I enjoy both of these flicks as they play. I thought that the sense of humor in the original Deadpool mostly just lazily coasted on easy, foul-mouthed sex/potty gags and the sheer novelty of having an actual, proper 4th wall-breaking Deadpool without doing much of anything amusing or entertaining with him, 2 had just enough effort put into it to reach that Family Guy/Austin Powers level of effective, lowbrow guilty pleasure humor to satisfy, the level that this series should be aiming for, IMO; the skydiving/post-credits sequences were genuinely pretty amazing, if I don't say so myself.
My Top 10 of the year:
- The Spy Gone North (Yoon Jong-bin)
- Spider-Man: New Generation (Peter Ramsey, Bob Persichetti & Rodney Rothman)
- Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
- Burning (Lee Chang-dong)
- Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)
- BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)
- Girl (Lukas Dhont)
- Climax (Gaspar Noé)
- Guy (Alex Lutz)
- A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper)
OP
OP
^ I have seen a grand total of 0 of those.
Also you might've opened the floodgates of top 10 lists...
Also you might've opened the floodgates of top 10 lists...
yep. I have to turn in a top 10 list by Tuesday, and I just feel it is too soon.
Least we get a lot of heavy hitters on VOD come February.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -
The first half grants us an authentic protagonist, a knowing self-awareness of genre tropes, and keeps us guessing where things are headed. A lot of the appeal is in the uniquely personal background of Miles Morales. A half-black, half-Hispanic teen, the opening does a great job quickly sketching out his personality traits. His love of graffiti and classic Air Jordans are clever visual signifiers that isnt another Peter Parker story. There's a great running joke about the excess of Spidey origin stories we've seen, as Miles actually reads the ASM #1 in a very meta take of coming to terms with his powers. The movie shoots up another level with the introduction of Peter B Parker, from the alternate dimension. If Spidey is the hero we want to be, Peter has always been closer to what we are, so its a great unexpected joy to see a 30-something, divorced, Fuck Great Responsibility Peter at the center of the narrative. The movie peaks around the middle, when a clever infiltration performs multiple story functions(a Bonding experience for our two leads, explains the villain's schemes/motivations, training for our young hero, clarifies the mcguffin, a supervillain reveal, a plot twist new sidekick, great comedy). By the second half, however, things get a bit more pedestrian. Here's the colorful cartoon side characters, here's the Denial of the Call by our hero before suddenly Answering the Call, here's the spectacular exhausting spastic climax. What had started as clever and subversive eventually morphed into something very familiar and antic. I felt more worn down than energized by the time it was over.
But it has style to burn, and likable characters, which means I'll definitely see the inevitable sequel(s).
The first half grants us an authentic protagonist, a knowing self-awareness of genre tropes, and keeps us guessing where things are headed. A lot of the appeal is in the uniquely personal background of Miles Morales. A half-black, half-Hispanic teen, the opening does a great job quickly sketching out his personality traits. His love of graffiti and classic Air Jordans are clever visual signifiers that isnt another Peter Parker story. There's a great running joke about the excess of Spidey origin stories we've seen, as Miles actually reads the ASM #1 in a very meta take of coming to terms with his powers. The movie shoots up another level with the introduction of Peter B Parker, from the alternate dimension. If Spidey is the hero we want to be, Peter has always been closer to what we are, so its a great unexpected joy to see a 30-something, divorced, Fuck Great Responsibility Peter at the center of the narrative. The movie peaks around the middle, when a clever infiltration performs multiple story functions(a Bonding experience for our two leads, explains the villain's schemes/motivations, training for our young hero, clarifies the mcguffin, a supervillain reveal, a plot twist new sidekick, great comedy). By the second half, however, things get a bit more pedestrian. Here's the colorful cartoon side characters, here's the Denial of the Call by our hero before suddenly Answering the Call, here's the spectacular exhausting spastic climax. What had started as clever and subversive eventually morphed into something very familiar and antic. I felt more worn down than energized by the time it was over.
But it has style to burn, and likable characters, which means I'll definitely see the inevitable sequel(s).
Browsing this thread because I want to watch something but I have no idea what. One of those times you spend more time figuring out what to watch instead of actually watch something.
But I didn't realize Searching was out on bluray so I guess I've found what I'm watching tonight, yay.
But I didn't realize Searching was out on bluray so I guess I've found what I'm watching tonight, yay.
Bumblebee (2018) - 6.8/10. A nice course-correction for the Transformers franchise which executes both its rock 'em sock 'em action and family drama fairly well. The "girl and her pet" plot is really charming, thanks to the expressive effects and Hailee Steinfeld's performance.
I do think the nostalgia-baiting was layered on a little thickly, though; there are like 30 80s songs in here and the "homages" to E.T. end up feeling a little cynical and insincere by the end of the movie.
But it's very light, easy viewing with a sweet central dynamic even if it's not particularly ambitious.
I do think the nostalgia-baiting was layered on a little thickly, though; there are like 30 80s songs in here and the "homages" to E.T. end up feeling a little cynical and insincere by the end of the movie.
But it's very light, easy viewing with a sweet central dynamic even if it's not particularly ambitious.
The Favourite: 7/10. Olivia Colman best actress.
Roma: 7/10. Adored the cinematography but it didn't really connect with me all that much. Honestly this would be so much better if feces wasn't used to establish major themes. Ain't nobody wanna see that. Loved all the funny parts. Also, that one part good lord.
Ballad of Buster Scruggs: 6/10. Well this is just mean.
The Decline Of Western Civilization III: 8/10. I'm not entirely sure how I never saw this, there's a very real possibility I'm in this thing somewhere. I was there at this time listening to those bands, I went to the Showcase Theater like every other weekend. I saw Naked Aggression at least a half a dozen times. I remember going to the benefit show for Phil Suchomel after he died. Beyond just straight nostalgia though this is easily the best in the series. Part II is mostly just a joke filled with morons, but this is a more serious look at some incredibly damaged people and how they cope.
Roma: 7/10. Adored the cinematography but it didn't really connect with me all that much. Honestly this would be so much better if feces wasn't used to establish major themes. Ain't nobody wanna see that. Loved all the funny parts. Also, that one part good lord.
Ballad of Buster Scruggs: 6/10. Well this is just mean.
The Decline Of Western Civilization III: 8/10. I'm not entirely sure how I never saw this, there's a very real possibility I'm in this thing somewhere. I was there at this time listening to those bands, I went to the Showcase Theater like every other weekend. I saw Naked Aggression at least a half a dozen times. I remember going to the benefit show for Phil Suchomel after he died. Beyond just straight nostalgia though this is easily the best in the series. Part II is mostly just a joke filled with morons, but this is a more serious look at some incredibly damaged people and how they cope.
Roma: I'm pretty sure that Alfonso Cuarón and his crew secretly invented a time machine and decided to use it here to tell this tale, a beautifully rendered depiction of a Mexico in turmoil and upheaval that plays into the background of a refreshingly realistic and quaint year in the life of a maid as she tends to her family as well as her own trials and tribulations. The result is a story that feels so authentic in terms of its management of scale and tension that it can almost beggar belief that this wasn't secretly the most gorgeous documentary out there. There are some tiny missteps throughout that do feel like that Cuarón may have gone a bit too far with the technical prowess on display when those scenes may have been better served with something more direct, but by and large, it's an enormous achievement at just how much of a technical powerhouse this film is in both its visual and audio qualities and how rarely it feels like it's showing off just to show off. This is very powerful stuff and a terrific reminder that even the most mundane of premises can be mind for some genuinely affecting drama in the right hands.
Decline III is amazing and it and part I are definitely a whole different deal from II which is just an amusing piss take. Naked Aggression were great, Killing Floor is a classic.
Rewatched Roma at home, still beautiful. the sound design was much more effective in the theatre, though. The movie has multiple that one parts, not sure which scene Borg is talking about.
Also watched the second Harry Potter beasts movie. there is so much happening and so little reason for us to care. Katherine Waterson is my wife tho
Also watched the second Harry Potter beasts movie. there is so much happening and so little reason for us to care. Katherine Waterson is my wife tho
That first trailer was making it feel more like a 6.9 but apparently they shifted away from a straight Shape of Water but with robots.
Ugh, I'm trying to squeeze a bunch of stuff I want to see this week and it's becoming a pain. I want to see Peter Jackson's WWI doc Monday but it looks like that is not happening cause I need to see Spider-Man in Dolby Cinema and that will only work on Monday night. And the doc will not have evening showings on the 27th (are you kidding me Fathom. People will be working that day!). Tuesday is Never-Ending Man and Roma. Wednesday has to be Spider-Man in 3D. Thursday will be Wildlife...hopefully. Weekend I'll have to make time for The Mule as well as Aquaman and possibly The Favourite and Mary: Queen of Scots
The Favourite - Phantom Thread meets Amadeus directed by a sentient bag of cocaine.
I dug it so much.
I dug it so much.
Ralph Breaks The Internet
I had an okay time with it as it is a servicable movie, but it's not exactly great. Gorgious animation, but a lackluster screenplay which kind of makes a sudden, strange change of direction
The comedy was fine, though it barely got more than a gentle sniff out of me. It hinges to much on references and recognition, without adding another layer to it. It's 'oh sure, pop-ups are anoying', without doing more with it (easy to say as an armchair critic of course). It will probably make this movie feel dated very quickly too, because it uses an arena that is at the same time very contemporary and ever changing.
The whole thing soars when the Princesses are on the screen though. Suddenly the jokes find the right tone and the references are used for more than the sake of reference. It helps probably that these are evergreen characters.
So overall I was entertained, but just as the first (which was slightly better) I'll have forgotten most about rather soon.
I'll see Into the Spider-Verse later this weeks (release on wednesday), and I'll try to catch a showing of this Magnificent Cake too, as it got a limited release here in Belgium. Then Mary Poppins next weekend and it will be it for 2018. Should clock me at 71 theatrical showings for the year. Roma is going to be the first of 2019. It starts showing in my city on december 26th, but I'm abroad until january 1st.
I had an okay time with it as it is a servicable movie, but it's not exactly great. Gorgious animation, but a lackluster screenplay which kind of makes a sudden, strange change of direction
I didn't really get the Penelope wants to live in Death Race (or whatever it was called) twist. It felt a bit unearned and not really fitting with the story up to that point? I don't know. It felt like a jolt for some reason.
The whole thing soars when the Princesses are on the screen though. Suddenly the jokes find the right tone and the references are used for more than the sake of reference. It helps probably that these are evergreen characters.
So overall I was entertained, but just as the first (which was slightly better) I'll have forgotten most about rather soon.
I'll see Into the Spider-Verse later this weeks (release on wednesday), and I'll try to catch a showing of this Magnificent Cake too, as it got a limited release here in Belgium. Then Mary Poppins next weekend and it will be it for 2018. Should clock me at 71 theatrical showings for the year. Roma is going to be the first of 2019. It starts showing in my city on december 26th, but I'm abroad until january 1st.
The House That Jack Built - It's really not worth your time. A sprawling mess, and just absolutely bloated to the extreme. Von Trier waxs lyrical about art, philosophy, and psychology, which slows the film to a crawl, in a desperate attempt give any semblance of meaning to the controversial narrative and violence, but is ultimately just artless pornogrpahy. You're not going to miss much by skipping this.
Seems like The Favourite could be a movie I'll love, since there's so many mentions of Phantom Thread when talking about the former movie.
It also seems like The House That Jack Built is getting mixed reactions as always with Lars von Trier. Some absolute love it, while others don't rate it.
It also seems like The House That Jack Built is getting mixed reactions as always with Lars von Trier. Some absolute love it, while others don't rate it.
This post made me laugh so hard. I relate to this 100%, that guy's expression and all!Just got through watching Mother!
First half of the film I was really enjoying. I was thinking this isn't so bad why is it so controversial.
Second half of the movie everything went to shit.
what the actual fuck was that.
For those that have seen both:
What's better between the Bubblebee Movie or Spiderman in the cinemas now?
What's better between the Bubblebee Movie or Spiderman in the cinemas now?
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Super impressive. From the art style to the perfectly struck balance between Miles' story and the stories of the other alternate Spider-people to the genuine emotion this movie packs (thinking especially of scenes like
), this thing is really firing on all cylinders. Incredible post-credits gag too; explaining it to my partner was very difficult though. :lol Loved this movie. Every Spider-Man movie from now on should preceded with a Spider-Man Noir or Spider-Ham short.
9/10
The Favourite
Really great production design and cinematography. Rachel Weisz' performance was the standout for me. Also, this is something I never really notice, but her costume design was fucking sharp. Funny and enjoyable, and I have nothing really bad to say about it, though it doesn't really feel like the kind of film that will linger with me for long. As far as political/historical dark comedies this year go, I liked The Death of Stalin more.
7/10
Super impressive. From the art style to the perfectly struck balance between Miles' story and the stories of the other alternate Spider-people to the genuine emotion this movie packs (thinking especially of scenes like
Miles putting coming into his own and test-swinging with his new suit or letting Peter go at the end
9/10
The Favourite
Really great production design and cinematography. Rachel Weisz' performance was the standout for me. Also, this is something I never really notice, but her costume design was fucking sharp. Funny and enjoyable, and I have nothing really bad to say about it, though it doesn't really feel like the kind of film that will linger with me for long. As far as political/historical dark comedies this year go, I liked The Death of Stalin more.
7/10
Do we know when the ERA Best Films voting starts and ends? Suspiria and Climax are both hitting VOD mid/late January and I don't want to miss out on those for my list
Although Bumblebee is definitely better than the last few Transformers sequels, Spider-Man is easily the better movie.
The Night Comes for Us
As a fan of martial-art indonesian movie like the raid, the killer and some other i was supprise i've never watch this one. So after 1 month into my watchlist on netflix I've decide to give it a go and....
if we forget the confusing story and the little I care i've got for the little girl, this was a insane great movie !!!! Action scene were intense, it just never stop for 45 minutes at the begining. The gore and violence feel realist, the amount of work put into make-up must be insane ! There was a lot of time i was like houuu this must hurt real bad, didn't had the feeling since the first raid. The villains were nice overall, and very few shaky cam, this was a great suprise. I'll rewatch it because these 2 hours have pass like butter.
For any The raid fan, go watch this, but be careful the amount of gore is on another level !!
As a fan of martial-art indonesian movie like the raid, the killer and some other i was supprise i've never watch this one. So after 1 month into my watchlist on netflix I've decide to give it a go and....
if we forget the confusing story and the little I care i've got for the little girl, this was a insane great movie !!!! Action scene were intense, it just never stop for 45 minutes at the begining. The gore and violence feel realist, the amount of work put into make-up must be insane ! There was a lot of time i was like houuu this must hurt real bad, didn't had the feeling since the first raid. The villains were nice overall, and very few shaky cam, this was a great suprise. I'll rewatch it because these 2 hours have pass like butter.
For any The raid fan, go watch this, but be careful the amount of gore is on another level !!
Spider-man and it its not even close
He will probably start it in January, but it always ends the weekend of the Oscars.
Climax is March unless the VOD is different than the release date.
I hated that movie. Most vile, disgusting, mean-spirited thing I've seen in the theater. Not even worth talking about, actually. The best thing to do with trolls is to ignore them.
Please tell me the ending of this movie wasn't just openly spoiled cause I will get around to it in due time before our voting. It's probably me reading too much into this description.
I just wish the plot wasn't such a mess. The villains were all unique and had really awesome fights, but we should have learned more about the Lotus. People also take way too much damage to the point were it's very unrealistic. Action and choreography were top notch and what really carried the movie. It's decent, I liked it.
The plot is what brought the movie down for me after that initial watch high. The movie had a perfectly lean premise driving the action and then it tries to jam a movie's worth of characterization and backstory and world-building into the second half, all of which feels extremely jarring and completely hollow and messes up the pacing
Those final fights may have been more brutal and ruthless than either Raid's, but they had none of the thrilling anticipation and build-up and perfect escalation. Raid 2's kitchen fight felt like a rematch for the ages. I couldn't care less about the stakes of the climatic fight in Night.
It's that time of year when you're getting together with extended family for the holidays. Are you ever just sitting there and you glance over and see the vast wasteland that is some extended family member's DVD collection? This weekend I was assaulted by a couple hundred straight garbage tier mediocre selections. I've tried to put it out of my mind but I remember seeing The Core, What Just Happened with Robert DiNiro, some Medea movie, I Am Legend, Taxi with Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah, and it just goes on like that. I'm sitting there HHH scusting and they thought it was something I ate. I didn't have the heart to tell them.
I went on a date friday and the girl told me one of her favorite movies of all time was kinda old... Kill Bill vol 1 (2003). I didn't knew what to say. I just nodded and said I liked it quite a bit too.
oh, i love this insight a lot.
i think part III and the exiles would be a good double feature
Bird Box (2018) - 6.4/10. Generic and sentimental yet still relatively entertaining thanks to the strong performances - especially Sandra Bullock - Bird Box can't help but feel like an ersatz A Quiet Place despite the source material being written several years ago.
Susanne Bier continues to be a super inconsistent filmmaker; some moments are wonderfully restrained and others have all the grace of, well, a blindfolded person holding two kids while stumbling through a forest.
Susanne Bier continues to be a super inconsistent filmmaker; some moments are wonderfully restrained and others have all the grace of, well, a blindfolded person holding two kids while stumbling through a forest.
