Taymor has a long theater background. Films are kind of a side project for her, really.
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Movies You've Seen Recently | May 2019
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil and Vile
Have to say way better than expected. Lily Collins and Zac Effron were fantastic. I didn't know much about the Ted Bundy story other than he was a serial killer but it was interesting to see it in this persepctive. The last 10 minutes are surprisingly emotional and i like how they handled that.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla: It's been ages since I last saw this, and probably for most folks since this had been long tied up in major clearance issues. Thankfully no longer a problem, everyone now has the chance to see one of the more famous installments, as it introduces the formidable Mechagodzilla. What's not to like about a robotic double of Godzilla, designed to be armed with an entire country's worth of arsenal and a mean streak a mile wide, as he breaks the jaw of poor Anguirus and hurts our hero enough to make him bleed on two separate occasions? Compared to the other villains of the late Showa-era films, he's certainly the best by far (though it's hard not to have a soft spot for Gigan's crazy design), so the antagonistic force here works well. Well, strictly on the kaiju side, as his handlers, the space apes of the Black Hole Planet 3, are really lame and don't really possess much of a threat with how easily they're dispatched and how easily they're outwitted by our rather large cast of human heroes. The heroes aren't much better, even as there's seldom anything wrong with giving series vet Akihiko Hirata anything to do, but the competency levels are clearly way of whack. Jun Fukuda also continues his streak as being one of the more inconsistent directors of the series, with a lot of strange choices for the human-scale fight sequences that seem to forget that in order to hide the lack of combat prowess for the actors that you have to shake the camera away from them, not put them smack dab in the middle of their slap-happy shenanigans for all to see while still retaining the same violent movements. But with a more bloodthirsty approach to the violence this time around, a fun sidekick monster in the form of King Caesar and lengthy monster bouts, there's a fair bit to recommend here. Mechagodzilla would have better films in him as the series went on, but as far as first impressions go, he was a strong addition to the roster.
Just watched The Nun. It was terrible, as I expected it would be from the first trailer on. It's why I didn't bother to go see it, even as someone who's a sucker for decent horror movies and enjoyed The Conjuring movies and the second Annabelle.
My friend had told me he'd been dragged to see it on a double date, and that it was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen. But it was on TV, was free to watch, and I'd seen all the others. Plus, he hates horror movies to begin with.
Alas, he was right. It's awful. Not scary, not entertaining, not good.
That's on Netflix now? I'll have to watch it tonight.
My friend had told me he'd been dragged to see it on a double date, and that it was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen. But it was on TV, was free to watch, and I'd seen all the others. Plus, he hates horror movies to begin with.
Alas, he was right. It's awful. Not scary, not entertaining, not good.
That's on Netflix now? I'll have to watch it tonight.
I watched Don Jon yesterday and it was a lot more interesting than I expected going in. It was also pretty funny and I liked the performances.
It's pretty funny that I initially added it while looking for other Brie Larson's movies, and she was in it for about five minutes (though it was a very nice scene).
It's pretty funny that I initially added it while looking for other Brie Larson's movies, and she was in it for about five minutes (though it was a very nice scene).
I watched "The wandering earth " this evening and i find it heartwarming that other nations then America can produce shallow stupid special effect indulgent disaster porn.
This is not a take down of the movie though - I found it very entertaining . It looks good and move fast enough and I got to respect just how ridiculous the whole premise is and how committed the movie is to play that nonsense straight .
This is not a take down of the movie though - I found it very entertaining . It looks good and move fast enough and I got to respect just how ridiculous the whole premise is and how committed the movie is to play that nonsense straight .
House (1985), Rewatch - I saw this as a kid but didn't remember much about it. It was good for a 1980's horror. Some interesting camerawork at times, decent-to-good acting throughout (the lead was strong). Really weird horror story, downright bizarre at times. It felt like the director couldn't decide whether they wanted to make a traditional scary movie or horror/comedy at times.
At its core it's about the internal struggles of a man who may have PTSD from Vietnam while dealing the disappearance of his son. I would say it might even be one long, weird allegory on mental illness but I doubt the creators had aspirations that high.
At its core it's about the internal struggles of a man who may have PTSD from Vietnam while dealing the disappearance of his son. I would say it might even be one long, weird allegory on mental illness but I doubt the creators had aspirations that high.
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It is definitely a chinese movie...
Still have to watch the other hour of it, but not really that interested.
Got a Criterion Channel sub this weekend. Why is this video player so bad? You'd think having spent a couple years building Filmstruck's they'd have gotten better at this, but in a single movie it would constantly stop and start, buffer, wildly bump up and down the resolution. Sometimes when I'd paused it and resumed it would jump back to the last time I paused the film. If I refreshed it wouldn't save my place in the movie. The library is great and the UI is I think an improvement over Filmstruck's, more or less, but the shitty video player really cuts against a core part of this whole thing.
Endgame - The main thing is that I liked it, which is shocking when you consider Infinity War, which was filmed at basically the same time as this by the same cast and crew, was damn near unwatchable. The huge difference being one of structure; namely, Endgame actually has one, or at least the semblance of one compared to the sludgy endless pointless Middle that was IW.
The first act capitalizes on a rare storytelling opportunity; our heroes straight up lost, and they gotta hold that shit. There's some great surprises in seeing how everyone has changed and their reaction to dealing with failure. This is probably the strongest material for the actors, who have become quite attuned to the rhythms of their particular characters.
The middle takes the form of an anniversary issue, like Avengers #1000, a celebration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe using the light framework of a cosmic heist. Outside a couple of heroic sacrifices or setbacks, this is all refreshingly lowkey. Its a testament to how attached the audience has become to these characters that this works so well. The Thanos snap was a blessing in this regard; the lowered body count helps keeps the bulk of the movie clear and focused, which I could never accuse Infinity War of being.
The third act is, of course, the Big Climax, with armies of CGI things and lasers and cool shit. This one works about as well as any of them tho, rivaling even the Battle of New York in the original Avengers. For one, the movie has been shockingly restrained when it comes to giant spectacle for most of the film, so the size and scope of the final battle actually feels like a climax and not just another in a near-ending battle. Its also where all the big crowdpleasing moments drop, one by one, including TWO big Captain America moments I've waited damn near a decade for. Like the best superhero team books, its clever in its application of the individual hero' powersets, creating visually unique actions as the battle rages on.
The main mark of success of Endgame is the sense of finality. Sure, they'll be more movies, but like the end of a certain comic book run by a favorite writer, it feels like the closing of a book and the end of a long journey. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Marvel superhero films have meant a great deal for an entire generation of fans, and have had an influence and impact on Hollywood in a way very few franchises have ever done. Endgame rewards our collective fandom with one last big show and a grateful bow towards the audience.
The first act capitalizes on a rare storytelling opportunity; our heroes straight up lost, and they gotta hold that shit. There's some great surprises in seeing how everyone has changed and their reaction to dealing with failure. This is probably the strongest material for the actors, who have become quite attuned to the rhythms of their particular characters.
The middle takes the form of an anniversary issue, like Avengers #1000, a celebration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe using the light framework of a cosmic heist. Outside a couple of heroic sacrifices or setbacks, this is all refreshingly lowkey. Its a testament to how attached the audience has become to these characters that this works so well. The Thanos snap was a blessing in this regard; the lowered body count helps keeps the bulk of the movie clear and focused, which I could never accuse Infinity War of being.
The third act is, of course, the Big Climax, with armies of CGI things and lasers and cool shit. This one works about as well as any of them tho, rivaling even the Battle of New York in the original Avengers. For one, the movie has been shockingly restrained when it comes to giant spectacle for most of the film, so the size and scope of the final battle actually feels like a climax and not just another in a near-ending battle. Its also where all the big crowdpleasing moments drop, one by one, including TWO big Captain America moments I've waited damn near a decade for. Like the best superhero team books, its clever in its application of the individual hero' powersets, creating visually unique actions as the battle rages on.
The main mark of success of Endgame is the sense of finality. Sure, they'll be more movies, but like the end of a certain comic book run by a favorite writer, it feels like the closing of a book and the end of a long journey. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Marvel superhero films have meant a great deal for an entire generation of fans, and have had an influence and impact on Hollywood in a way very few franchises have ever done. Endgame rewards our collective fandom with one last big show and a grateful bow towards the audience.
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I can't say this for sure, but I feel like I'd hate to watch movies as a hobby if Endgame was ever at any point the best film I saw in a calendar year.
Freshwater Assassins: Great idea for a band name! Quite the epic at 24 minutes long, with Painlevé working his way up the food chain for a small slice of a pond's ecosystem, from dragonfly larvae on up to the titular creature, the water beetle larva. It's a rather action-heavy short, too, with plenty of life-or-death struggles depicted throughout between predator and prey, which helps make the film go by far faster than you'll realize by the time it finishes. As always, Painlevé mixes in footage of the creatures themselves with high-powered microscopes that help detail the inner workings of a few attributes to rather striking results, and even for a short that effectively shows how bigger and bigger insects eat their prey, the attention to just how the differ is quite appreciated and helps to really drive home the eat-or-be-eaten philosophy of the habitat as well as the utterly fascinating ways in which each creature has evolved to suit its needs. It's rather swell that he can be so informative and yet so artistically driven in how he was able to bring the footage to life, especially when his subjects are so small and not necessarily the most obviously photogenic of creatures, resulting in a damn fine film.
Maybe it depends what device you're watching on? I've used a Roku and Macbook and it's been smooth as butter. I had more problems with Filmstruck (or, in the same arena, Mubi).
Regarding Endgame.
I'll agree there were some bright moments in the final act but it was simply a bland fight to see aside from a few key shots. I agree with Viewtiful about the movie having a clear structure and like I said before, it simply moves for a 3 hour film. Not really feeling like this is anything special aside from the scope of 22 films coming to some sort of conclusion. It is no doubt a huge piece of pop culture.
I feel like the first act works on a few levels but the way Thor deals with his loss is awful. He gets fat and its played for jokes leading to a complete mismanagement of that character. The middle part of the movie has the entertaining as hell heist sequence but the awful hawkeye/black widow moment and the slog that is Thanos re-entering the story.. I couldn't stand Iron Man talking to his dad and receieving the most obvious, eye-roll inducing inspiriational talks. It was the easiest way to deliver those concepts, ditto for Thor and his dead mother. The concepts of loss, hopelessness and defeat are covered in the most basic sense. I did love the sudden death of Thanos, but the character is not nearly as engaging after that moment.
I'll agree there were some bright moments in the final act but it was simply a bland fight to see aside from a few key shots. I agree with Viewtiful about the movie having a clear structure and like I said before, it simply moves for a 3 hour film. Not really feeling like this is anything special aside from the scope of 22 films coming to some sort of conclusion. It is no doubt a huge piece of pop culture.
Watched The Deep End of the Ocean last night. I didn't think I had seen it, but after watching it I believe I did several years ago. It's a good movie, although it jumps around a bit much.
Just saw Booksmart.. damn the movie was so fucking good. So funny but so rich as well.
Obviously there will be comparisons to Superbad but this film was so much better in my.opinion.
Obviously there will be comparisons to Superbad but this film was so much better in my.opinion.
Troll 2: I was promised the worst movie ever, not a charmingly inept kids horror film that has a surprising amount of creepy imagery and inspired insanity to go with the awful acting and terrible, terrible costuming!
You now owe yourself to track down the documentary " Best worst movie " , highly recommended accompanying piece
Just my laptop. I'm getting a new tv this summer with Roku so hopefully either that or a maybe-someday PS4 app would work better.
Speaking of Criterion...
Cleo from 5 to 7
I think I found Criterion's synopsis of this film more engaging than the film itself. There's about an hour or so of flitting around, which yes I know you'll say, But that's the point, she's trying to distract herself from her health news by buying hats and venting about her songs. All true, but I just didn't find it that engaging. It was the kind of patter that frequently turns me off in New Wave films. The last half hour or so, when she finally does start grappling with her fear and loneliness more head on, and finds comfort in a stranger who joins her to the hospital, was definitely the high point and exactly what I was hoping more of out of the film. The film was overall fine but just didn't hit me as hard as I wanted it to.
6/10
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
Think this is generally regarded as a lesser Kurosawa, which I kinda understand, but it's worth watching if only because how utterly incredible it looks. The colors and imagery are absolutely gorgeous, particularly in the Crows and Mt. Fuji in Red segments. Some of the longer segments are a little slow (the best ones run on the 10-15 minute side) but it's a much more engaging film than I was expecting given its relatively muted reputation. While it doesn't carry any real narrative heft, it doesn't have to; the movie has a very surreal, almost stream-of-consciousness vibe to it, which follows from the cinematography to how the actors speak to each other, that really feed into that feeling of being in a dream. Which also handily precludes any "this isn't making any sense!" or "why is Marty Scorsese playing Van Gogh?!" complaints.
7/10
Avengers: End Game - What a movie. I'll be seeing it again in a theater, probably next week, that's for sure. I haven't felt this kind of satisfied closure since Return of the Jedi when I was a kid. The theater for a Tuesday matinee was about 30% full.
Fiend Without a Face: Fifty minutes of bog standard B-movie plodding, seventeen minutes of rather good stop-motion special effects, surprisingly gory violence for the audiences of 1958 and a nice sense of impending doom. Finishing well doesn't excuse the tedium that preceded it, but it's hard not to be impressed with the miracle is pulls out to close things down all the same.
I can't believe some of you guys liked High Life. It was largely uninteresting, repugnant, and really illogical in terms of character behavior. Sweet FEATURELESS CUBE spaceship design, that's some very imaginative sci-fi.
My favorite things about the movie were A.) the sex room spurting out some kind of milky substance/the sex room in general. And B.) the fact that Andre 3000 must have been some kind of afterthought in this movie's filming schedule because he has basically no relevance to the plot or other characters and eventually just Obi Wan's his ass out of there.
Glad I watched it with a friend because it was at least nice spending time together even if we were watching a shitty pretentious yet boring movie.
My favorite things about the movie were A.) the sex room spurting out some kind of milky substance/the sex room in general. And B.) the fact that Andre 3000 must have been some kind of afterthought in this movie's filming schedule because he has basically no relevance to the plot or other characters and eventually just Obi Wan's his ass out of there.
Glad I watched it with a friend because it was at least nice spending time together even if we were watching a shitty pretentious yet boring movie.
I haven't posted in one of these threads since like October or something. Anyway, I haven't watched as much stuff as I wanted to this year but I am hoping to catch up over summer. These are all the 2019 releases I have seen. Embarrassingly, it is almost all superhero stuff. :P
Us
★★★★★
Man this movie is something else. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. This movie is riddled with foreshadowing and it also feels meticulously crafted even though not everything is explained. Get Out is a much different movie. It is straightforward and spoon feeds the story and even the themes in an easily digestible way. Us on the other hand decides not to explicitly answer all questions but seems to provide just enough information taunting you to figure it out. Peele is flexing with this movie and I am here for it.
There is commentary on societies undesirables, the question of "good vs bad," and whether people have a responsibility to help their fellow man. And it raises these questions in such a way as to not hint at what Peele thinks is right or wrong. And that is just the stuff that resonated with me. I have seen so many other people discuss their own interpretations and themes that I completely missed but also seem totally valid. Us is so clearly focused on larger commentary that arguing about the logic of the specific plot feels ridiculous. It would be like arguing the logic of Aesop's Fables or and episode of The Twilight Zone. Like, that's not the point. Don't miss the forrest for the trees when watching this one or you might miss out on one of the most brilliant films ever made.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
★★★★½
I didn't quite know what I was getting into with this and went in fairly blind. For most of the movie I had no idea what the hell was going on or where the story was going but eventually it clicks as you grow to love the protagonists. Driver does a great job of playing the role of a character trying to find his balance with the audience as all sorts of weird shit happens. A few of the scenes could have been paced better and for a movie this self aware and off-kilter the casual sexism and tropey-ness of the female characters is disappointing. Even with those issues, there is still a lot of heart in this story that demands you question what sanity, dignity and normal means in a capitalistic world of disgusting inequality and immorality.
Captain Marvel
★★★★½
Absolutely loved this. Brie has one of the best shit eating smirks I have ever seen and is able to convey exactly what kind of character Captain Marvel is without needing to say a word. The film really hits it's stride once she and Samuel L. Jackson meet and are bouncing off one another. Captain Marvel is a great addition to what was starting to become a stale universe. Huge props to them for not going with the standard formulaic origin story of "the last act is a fight against a villain that has the same powers as the hero but they are evil" that has plagued so many other MCU movies.
The 90s soundtrack is appropriately in your face and filled me with joy mixed with just the right amount of cringe that is inevitable when hearing songs from this decade.
Avengers: Endgame
★★★★
As the conclusion of the storyline we have been following for a decade, it totally delivers. As a movie though, it is a little weird. Like, it does a lot and is all over the place (both literally and figuratively). It feels like an entire multi-issue comic book event or like a short season of a TV show (with an incredible budget). There are multiple plot points and stories but also clear breaks between them, unlike Infinity War which clearly flows from one point to the next. It shouldn't work as well as it does but it all clicks into place and delivers a satisfying conclusion to the Thanos arc.
Glass
★★★
I don't know if it is the script or the actor but every time Bruce Willis is on screen the movie feels like a low budget sci-fi movie. McAvoy and Jackson really bring their characters to life with their performances and are throughly engaging throughout. That said, the central plot being hella goofy and Willis phoning in his performance all do a disservice to the performances delivered by the other two leads.
Shazam!
★★½
A fun movie with some great leads that carry the movie with their performances. The villain is about as generic as it gets though I felt way to much time was spent developing him given that he was just the same generic bad guy we have all seen a million times before. There are some neat monster designs but nothing interesting is done with them and the fight scenes all felt pretty flat.
Hellboy
★
It felt like an incoherent mess that just jumps from scene to scene. The characters get no development and they both spend too much time saying "hey remember when we did that thing" but also not enough. It lacks confidence and doesn't know what it wants to be leaving it feeling aimless. That said, the very very final action scene is really good, if they had made the whole movie with that vibe and tone the movie would have been great.
Us
★★★★★
Man this movie is something else. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. This movie is riddled with foreshadowing and it also feels meticulously crafted even though not everything is explained. Get Out is a much different movie. It is straightforward and spoon feeds the story and even the themes in an easily digestible way. Us on the other hand decides not to explicitly answer all questions but seems to provide just enough information taunting you to figure it out. Peele is flexing with this movie and I am here for it.
There is commentary on societies undesirables, the question of "good vs bad," and whether people have a responsibility to help their fellow man. And it raises these questions in such a way as to not hint at what Peele thinks is right or wrong. And that is just the stuff that resonated with me. I have seen so many other people discuss their own interpretations and themes that I completely missed but also seem totally valid. Us is so clearly focused on larger commentary that arguing about the logic of the specific plot feels ridiculous. It would be like arguing the logic of Aesop's Fables or and episode of The Twilight Zone. Like, that's not the point. Don't miss the forrest for the trees when watching this one or you might miss out on one of the most brilliant films ever made.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
★★★★½
I didn't quite know what I was getting into with this and went in fairly blind. For most of the movie I had no idea what the hell was going on or where the story was going but eventually it clicks as you grow to love the protagonists. Driver does a great job of playing the role of a character trying to find his balance with the audience as all sorts of weird shit happens. A few of the scenes could have been paced better and for a movie this self aware and off-kilter the casual sexism and tropey-ness of the female characters is disappointing. Even with those issues, there is still a lot of heart in this story that demands you question what sanity, dignity and normal means in a capitalistic world of disgusting inequality and immorality.
Captain Marvel
★★★★½
Absolutely loved this. Brie has one of the best shit eating smirks I have ever seen and is able to convey exactly what kind of character Captain Marvel is without needing to say a word. The film really hits it's stride once she and Samuel L. Jackson meet and are bouncing off one another. Captain Marvel is a great addition to what was starting to become a stale universe. Huge props to them for not going with the standard formulaic origin story of "the last act is a fight against a villain that has the same powers as the hero but they are evil" that has plagued so many other MCU movies.
The 90s soundtrack is appropriately in your face and filled me with joy mixed with just the right amount of cringe that is inevitable when hearing songs from this decade.
Avengers: Endgame
★★★★
As the conclusion of the storyline we have been following for a decade, it totally delivers. As a movie though, it is a little weird. Like, it does a lot and is all over the place (both literally and figuratively). It feels like an entire multi-issue comic book event or like a short season of a TV show (with an incredible budget). There are multiple plot points and stories but also clear breaks between them, unlike Infinity War which clearly flows from one point to the next. It shouldn't work as well as it does but it all clicks into place and delivers a satisfying conclusion to the Thanos arc.
Glass
★★★
I don't know if it is the script or the actor but every time Bruce Willis is on screen the movie feels like a low budget sci-fi movie. McAvoy and Jackson really bring their characters to life with their performances and are throughly engaging throughout. That said, the central plot being hella goofy and Willis phoning in his performance all do a disservice to the performances delivered by the other two leads.
Shazam!
★★½
A fun movie with some great leads that carry the movie with their performances. The villain is about as generic as it gets though I felt way to much time was spent developing him given that he was just the same generic bad guy we have all seen a million times before. There are some neat monster designs but nothing interesting is done with them and the fight scenes all felt pretty flat.
Hellboy
★
It felt like an incoherent mess that just jumps from scene to scene. The characters get no development and they both spend too much time saying "hey remember when we did that thing" but also not enough. It lacks confidence and doesn't know what it wants to be leaving it feeling aimless. That said, the very very final action scene is really good, if they had made the whole movie with that vibe and tone the movie would have been great.
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Was scrolling through my backlog and decided to knock some films off today.
First I watched The King of Comedy which I enjoyed a lot. The main character was crazy enjoyable to watch.
Then I watched Equilibrium which early 00s as fuuuuck. Goofy ass storyline and ugly as sin. It was pretty bad all around. Some of the action was pretty fun, though.
Finally I watched Dragon Ball Super: Broly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. I'm a big Dragon Ball fan but the last 2 movies were pretty bad and barely felt like movies, more like elongated Super episodes. This one genuinely felt like they were trying to tell an actual story. The new art style was beautiful and the action scenes were directed and animated really well.
First I watched The King of Comedy which I enjoyed a lot. The main character was crazy enjoyable to watch.
Then I watched Equilibrium which early 00s as fuuuuck. Goofy ass storyline and ugly as sin. It was pretty bad all around. Some of the action was pretty fun, though.
Finally I watched Dragon Ball Super: Broly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. I'm a big Dragon Ball fan but the last 2 movies were pretty bad and barely felt like movies, more like elongated Super episodes. This one genuinely felt like they were trying to tell an actual story. The new art style was beautiful and the action scenes were directed and animated really well.
Doing another rewatch of LOTR. Seeing Fellowship of the Ring again has only further cemented it as one of my favorite movies of all time. The movie eases the audience into its epic fantasy adventure with such confidence that it almost belies the sheer scale and scope of the trilogy's cinematic achievements. The characters are so natural and sincere, the world so believable and steeped in history, the storytelling ebbing and flowing so smoothly, that the grand tale feels less like movie magic and more like a window into another realm.
It's rare for fantasy anything to really grab me. I can list the fantasy works that have engrossed me on my fingers. The Witcher series, Mistborn, Game of Thrones, Lies of Locke Lamora, Book of the New Sun, and not much else. But LOTR, and Fellowship in particular, is special. Epic fantasy handled with a care and craft that might never be replicated, unadulterated in its treatment of the genre's tropes yet remarkably accessible and perfectly paced.
Last time I saw Two Towers, I felt it kind of stumbled a bit in the expansion from Fellowship's relatively intimate adventure into a multi-thread narrative encompassing all of Middle Earth. Curious to see if that changes.
It's rare for fantasy anything to really grab me. I can list the fantasy works that have engrossed me on my fingers. The Witcher series, Mistborn, Game of Thrones, Lies of Locke Lamora, Book of the New Sun, and not much else. But LOTR, and Fellowship in particular, is special. Epic fantasy handled with a care and craft that might never be replicated, unadulterated in its treatment of the genre's tropes yet remarkably accessible and perfectly paced.
Last time I saw Two Towers, I felt it kind of stumbled a bit in the expansion from Fellowship's relatively intimate adventure into a multi-thread narrative encompassing all of Middle Earth. Curious to see if that changes.
Ready Player One: This movie would have just been mediocre with lots of clunky expository and referential dialog early on but okay visuals, but that ending really got me upset.
So our hero met all of his friends in the real world, found love in the real world, commented on how the real world is nice but he had forgotten, it is revealed that the developer's big regret was losing his real human connection to his friend, and then he gives a speech on the importance of reality.
Then they introduce the delete-the-game button.
Wow, are they actually going to address the escapism obsession and make people have to come together to repair their society and make a better future for the real wor-
The deletion button only exists for a joke ha ha.
"We close the game on Tuesdays and Thursdays because you need a little reality sometimes"
...
The reality that they get to experience from their dystopian junkyard stacked trailers while you put classic arcade games and movie posters in the place you bought with the money you get from now owning the biggest and most important entertainment product in the world.
Then they introduce the delete-the-game button.
Wow, are they actually going to address the escapism obsession and make people have to come together to repair their society and make a better future for the real wor-
The deletion button only exists for a joke ha ha.
"We close the game on Tuesdays and Thursdays because you need a little reality sometimes"
...
The reality that they get to experience from their dystopian junkyard stacked trailers while you put classic arcade games and movie posters in the place you bought with the money you get from now owning the biggest and most important entertainment product in the world.
Started going through my Criterion discs by spine number for a moneysworth/stone cold classics/steak every night with JC marathon. Just in case you see my Letterboxd feed and you're like wow fuck this guy. Just finished High & Low and it's fallen a little bit in my appreciation since I last saw it. Thought provoking setup and fun procedural but in the end they just straight entrap the dude which leads to an additional death and then sentence him to die. Like wtf.
Next up is For All Mankind but I want to watch Apollo 11 first because I believe it's pretty much the same thing? Or very similar at least.
Next up is For All Mankind but I want to watch Apollo 11 first because I believe it's pretty much the same thing? Or very similar at least.
The ending to High and Low left a sour taste in my mouth as well. One could try to make the argument that the system failing the kidnapper is kinda the point but I wouldn't be the one doing that as I don't think the film is attempting say that with respect to law enforcement. Still an amazing film though.
I generally agree with this but I liked it a lot (despite its many faults).
I think the opening and closing acts are the strongest. The action in the final sequences may not be expertly staged but it won me over simply from the story and spectacle pay off it provides (and there's a lot of it). I found the middle to be the weakest, precisely because of those stretched out scenes between Tony/Howard and Thor/Frigga which dealt with deeply emotional states of those characters in a very rote yet convenient (for the plot) manner. I found Nebula's link with her other past self to be utterly contrived as well. Just a poor plot device to get Thanos back into the mix. I actually didn't mind the Hawkeye/Back Widow scene if only for the great visuals it produced (yet again after Thanos visited the same place in IW). The only time heist sequence I actually liked though was Tony+Cap+Scott working around the events of the first Avengers. The Hulk + Ancient One scene was alright but too brief.
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Finally saw Glass
Whatever goodwill Shyamalan might have made with Split and The Visit is pretty much thrown out. Back to Square One, bruh.
Whatever goodwill Shyamalan might have made with Split and The Visit is pretty much thrown out. Back to Square One, bruh.
I've actually been reading a lot of comics lately, not much movie watching. With a wedding/new home coming up and the nba playoffs, just haven't had a good two to three uninterrupted hours to watch a movie.
An Actor's Revenge: Oh yeah, this is that good stuff. Proudly theatrical from start to finish, with a compelling story at its center and a rather lively cast of characters to enjoy, even as there might be a few too many of them in the long run, this is a rather swell merger of stage and cinema that's wholly enjoyable on a surface level while possessing some intriguing relationship dynamics to go along with the political backdrop.
The Predator (2018)
A bit bombastic. Kind of campy and I don't feel like that was intended.
The behavior, motivations, and characterization of the predators changes by the minute to suit the plot at that moment. The protagonist murders defenseless people and it's treated as no more significant than killing a bug to those around him. Its ridiculous conclusion is straight out of Predator fanfic.
Despite its myriad problems it manages to be an entertaining, often humorous action romp (even if that humor is cornball sometimes).
A bit bombastic. Kind of campy and I don't feel like that was intended.
The behavior, motivations, and characterization of the predators changes by the minute to suit the plot at that moment. The protagonist murders defenseless people and it's treated as no more significant than killing a bug to those around him. Its ridiculous conclusion is straight out of Predator fanfic.
Despite its myriad problems it manages to be an entertaining, often humorous action romp (even if that humor is cornball sometimes).
My problems with that
It's explained that the Oasis is a huge part of the economy now. So they're putting people out of work for a few days, disrupting trade, etc. One would even assume that it's how many gain access to things like mental health treatment, consultation, etc. Aside from those problems, I just saw that as an incredibly selfish move by Wade and Samantha.
I don't think Cline gave that ending enough thought.
I don't think Cline gave that ending enough thought.
It's a real shame that S. Craig Zahler has been getting worse with each movie, because he really is a solid hand at the nonchalant unspooling of "everything's going bad" violent nonsense. Dragged Across Concrete unfortunately did not work for me beyond that very specific talent. Even looking past all the toothless provocation that I won't bother to touch on, after a while this started to occupy the same space that I find myself with Tarantino recently (or any of his progeny, like Bad Times At The El Royale): What's the point? It's just eye rolling conversations, that aren't nearly as clever as they think they are, building up hollow characters to die hollow deaths. It's all so contrived. I'm apparently getting too old for this shit.
Alright darlings. Which is better: Silence or First Reformed?
(Have yet to watch the latter, in personal terms. Reserve my vote.)
(Have yet to watch the latter, in personal terms. Reserve my vote.)
I don't think it's possible to go wrong with either film. Easily two of the best films of this decade
I far prefer First Reformed. I like Silence but I don't think of it as one of Scorsese's best as some do. Silence is only ever interesting to me 1.In the conversations scenes involving Ogata/Neeson for its dicussion of imperialism and the culutural lens through which we interpret meaning 2.In how it treats the character of Kichijiro on sin and forgiveness. But these scenes are brief and not perfect. It kinda lost me on the discussion of faith. First Reformed's concerns are may be not as interesting but feel a lot more immediate and relevant to today but that's just the top layer of the story. Beneath is the age old Paul Schrader character from Taxi Driver. However Schrader does some interesting things with this premise using elements from the the genre he calls the Transcendental Style. And that ending is amazing. Silence is the more visually pleasing film though.
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