Gonna see it on IMAX in a few hours, will give impressions.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
Movies You've Seen Recently | September 2019
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
I watched Pulp Fiction during my return flight from Japan, because it happened to be on the in-flight entertainment system. It was great. Also, I think it's the first movie I've watched this year.
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum - 3 stars
Defining Moment: Every fleeting second with Laurence Fishburne's Bowery King, who recognizes just how much fun can be had luxuriating in this rapidly expanding world of lunacy. Everyone else is setting up a sequel, but Fishburne lives in the give no fucks present.
Alita: Battle Angel - 2 stars
Defining Moment: Alita's Motorball tryout, nothing but blurred colors and kinetic energy cut short by a need to keep this roughshod plot hurtling forward, neglectful of fleshed-out motivations or organic development.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - 2.5 stars
Defining Moment: On a suicide mission, a particular member of our stalwart human team finds Godzilla and wishes him well, uttering, "Goodbye, old friend." A rare moment where the human and Titan plots converge into something greater than they offer in isolation.
Defining Moment: Every fleeting second with Laurence Fishburne's Bowery King, who recognizes just how much fun can be had luxuriating in this rapidly expanding world of lunacy. Everyone else is setting up a sequel, but Fishburne lives in the give no fucks present.
Alita: Battle Angel - 2 stars
Defining Moment: Alita's Motorball tryout, nothing but blurred colors and kinetic energy cut short by a need to keep this roughshod plot hurtling forward, neglectful of fleshed-out motivations or organic development.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - 2.5 stars
Defining Moment: On a suicide mission, a particular member of our stalwart human team finds Godzilla and wishes him well, uttering, "Goodbye, old friend." A rare moment where the human and Titan plots converge into something greater than they offer in isolation.
Hustlers
Is this a perfect film? No—the frame narrative leads to some oddly glossed over ellipses and everything seems a touch too neat, but when the camaraderie is this fun and the sisterhood this genuine who cares? Constance is a star, Keke and Lili are fun as hell, and JLo is, well, JLo. That is to say, a bonafide legend. She needs to challenge herself more (in terms of acting), because when she gets a good script she's dynamite. Her intro has to be one of the swaggiest, sexiest scenes EVER. Her BDE is through the roof, probably the biggest since Rachel Weisz in The Favourite. Also serves as a fairly interesting examination of the 2008 financial crisis. I'll be thinking about the Christmas scene and Usher's cameo for a loooong time. Love in This Club is a stone cold classic.
"What's your name?"
"Usher, baby."
GOOSEBUMPS
Is this a perfect film? No—the frame narrative leads to some oddly glossed over ellipses and everything seems a touch too neat, but when the camaraderie is this fun and the sisterhood this genuine who cares? Constance is a star, Keke and Lili are fun as hell, and JLo is, well, JLo. That is to say, a bonafide legend. She needs to challenge herself more (in terms of acting), because when she gets a good script she's dynamite. Her intro has to be one of the swaggiest, sexiest scenes EVER. Her BDE is through the roof, probably the biggest since Rachel Weisz in The Favourite. Also serves as a fairly interesting examination of the 2008 financial crisis. I'll be thinking about the Christmas scene and Usher's cameo for a loooong time. Love in This Club is a stone cold classic.
"What's your name?"
"Usher, baby."
GOOSEBUMPS
Last edited:
I thought Constance Wu sucked ass in Crazy Rich Asians but yeah she's proven to be a good lead in Hustlers, though JLos Mama Wolf character steals the movie every scene she's in.
also whew she looked fire in this movie, oh my goodness. like somehow astronomically better than the other ladies too.
also whew she looked fire in this movie, oh my goodness. like somehow astronomically better than the other ladies too.
Last edited:
It's not a crowdpleaser at all. It's a very slowburn, contemplative movie. More 2001 than Interstellar, let alone something like The Martian. It has some action scenes (and good ones too), but they could have easily been left on the cutting room floor without hurting the story.
I absolutely loved it. Pitt is ace, it looks and sounds great and it explores some beautiful themes. But I think it will leave many disapointed, as it will be easy to walk in and expect something completely oposite of what it is.
Frankenstein's Monster's Monster, Frankenstein: A rather silly yet loving recreation of all those ridiculous televised plays of the 70s and 80s that went all high concept on everyone for no real reason at all, with David Harbour channeling his inner Orson Welles as his father (well, something like that, at least) to rather amusing effect, along with a most welcome appearance from Alfred Molina in a supporting role. Less effective are the mockumentary aspects that never really feel like that they're particularly essential or nearly as funny as the play, even if they do find the time to give character actor greats like Mary Woronov and Michael Lerner some screen time. Perhaps they thought it was going to be too accurate a recreation and that the joke would go over too many heads, but the hearts and minds here clearly made their preference known throughout.
This honestly pushed me from being mildly curious to excited to see this movie.
As someone who enjoyed The Lost City of Z in part because of its blue balls structure and despite Hunnam, I'm in for Ad Astra being totally not a crowdpleaser.
So was it worth it to see in IMAX? Just thinking whether I should watch this in IMAX or Atmos/larger screen theatre. I've only ever seen true IMAX films in IMAX and they look stunning. Not sure if it's worth it for films shot using the IMAX or some other digital camera.
Watch it on the biggest screen possible, with the best sound system.
By the way, it's not as if Ad Astra is without it's faults. I loved it, but I also heard and read criticism I can agree on. It could've cut deeper into what it tries to say, the VO can be on the nose and Liv Tyler's role is completely decimated. But I loved the trip from the first to the last minute.
I googled and nothing shows it was shot with IMAX cameras. I had something came up on that day so didn't manage to see the film but I'm having a date night with wife this Sunday and will see it with her together which should be better, then I'll let you know if IMAX is worth it.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988): I gather that the Kundera novel this is adapted from (which I haven't read) is heavily concerned with philosophical matters, which don't translate to film. Instead, we have almost three hours of Daniel Day-Lewis struggling with the relatable problem of there being too many beautiful women he wants to have sex with, occasionally being interrupted by the Prague Spring. Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin are both expectedly great as the women who have the misfortune to be tangled up with this self-absorbed man. There's also a young(er) Stellan Skarsgard for a few minutes. The repeated references to Anna Karenina in the narrative lead up to the movie quietly ripping off Tolstoy's philosophical point in that novel, but it cannot help but come across as random.
Personally, I didn't mind Sheeran's role, he was fine as the full of himself musician who even
has his own song as his ringtone
The Lusty Men
"Broken bones, broken bottles, broken everything."
When I was a kid, my mom went through a short-lived country music phase where she listened to Tim McGraw and the like, which always makes me laugh when I think back on it, but one of the cool things she did was take my sister and I to a rodeo. Now, I was like 5 or 6 years old at the time, so I don't remember a whole lot aside from scattershot memories of cowboy boots and the roar of the arena, but it sure as hell left a mark on my subconscious because two decades later I still really dig the rodeo lifestyle and aesthetic. I'm not plugged into the circuit or anything, but I have love. I think it's the working class nature of the sport, the way lost and battered people congregate for the briefest of rushes, how jeans are put to their intended purpose. It all speaks to me, somehow, someway.
You know what also speaks to me? Nicholas Ray's sublime craftsmanship, Robert Mitchum's chin, Arthur Kennedy's Transatlantic accent, Susan Hayward's, well, everything. Mitchum is simply too cool for his swagger not to surface, but I appreciate how relatively quiet he is in this movie, reacting to the actions of others rather than driving the narrative. Not unlike Sterling in Johnny Guitar. And the few instances where he does take initiative make for exceptionally juicy turns—the hallway scene and the ending hit especially hard. But this is Susan Hayward's show in my eyes (and to a lesser extent, Lorna Thayer's). Sidelined wives who can do nothing but sit around and live in fear of their husbands potential demise. I cheered when she poured that glass on Babs' head, and it only gets better from there. You go, girl.
Stray thoughts:
In the right hands, unrequited love is hands down one of my favorite narrative elements. Pervasive melancholy mood throughout, gotta love it.
The announcer is much appreciated, his commentary brings a wealth of authenticity to the proceedings.
Some pretty sweet rodeo action, from bronc and bull riding to daring feats of bulldogging. Can't help but feel bad for the animals though, I'm sure they're not fans of being tied up and wrestled to the ground.
And lastly, as always with these things, I have to mention that Nicholas Ray doesn't miss.
ty swoon
"Broken bones, broken bottles, broken everything."
When I was a kid, my mom went through a short-lived country music phase where she listened to Tim McGraw and the like, which always makes me laugh when I think back on it, but one of the cool things she did was take my sister and I to a rodeo. Now, I was like 5 or 6 years old at the time, so I don't remember a whole lot aside from scattershot memories of cowboy boots and the roar of the arena, but it sure as hell left a mark on my subconscious because two decades later I still really dig the rodeo lifestyle and aesthetic. I'm not plugged into the circuit or anything, but I have love. I think it's the working class nature of the sport, the way lost and battered people congregate for the briefest of rushes, how jeans are put to their intended purpose. It all speaks to me, somehow, someway.
You know what also speaks to me? Nicholas Ray's sublime craftsmanship, Robert Mitchum's chin, Arthur Kennedy's Transatlantic accent, Susan Hayward's, well, everything. Mitchum is simply too cool for his swagger not to surface, but I appreciate how relatively quiet he is in this movie, reacting to the actions of others rather than driving the narrative. Not unlike Sterling in Johnny Guitar. And the few instances where he does take initiative make for exceptionally juicy turns—the hallway scene and the ending hit especially hard. But this is Susan Hayward's show in my eyes (and to a lesser extent, Lorna Thayer's). Sidelined wives who can do nothing but sit around and live in fear of their husbands potential demise. I cheered when she poured that glass on Babs' head, and it only gets better from there. You go, girl.
Stray thoughts:
In the right hands, unrequited love is hands down one of my favorite narrative elements. Pervasive melancholy mood throughout, gotta love it.
The announcer is much appreciated, his commentary brings a wealth of authenticity to the proceedings.
Some pretty sweet rodeo action, from bronc and bull riding to daring feats of bulldogging. Can't help but feel bad for the animals though, I'm sure they're not fans of being tied up and wrestled to the ground.
And lastly, as always with these things, I have to mention that Nicholas Ray doesn't miss.
ty swoon
I loved Ad Astra. I think it's my favourite of the tons of space movies we've had over the last decade or so.
Also saw the new Rambo, and other than some fun with a ranch full of booby traps and lots of death at the end, it's a really dull Taken rip off.
edit: Also did Midsommar, which is a new release in NZ, but old news to y'all.
Also saw the new Rambo, and other than some fun with a ranch full of booby traps and lots of death at the end, it's a really dull Taken rip off.
edit: Also did Midsommar, which is a new release in NZ, but old news to y'all.
Silent Light/Stellet Licht (2007)
A beautiful corpse, in the 21st-century "art film" style. Stillborn art can have its compensations; here, it is the wondrous Mexican countryside, offering some indelible images. However, because Reygadas doesn't seem interested in imbuing his characters with the spark of human life--the director's typical treatment of human figures is to pose them standing or sitting, eyes staring blankly ahead--I failed to find an entry point into this hermetic, torpid world where neither time nor passion seems to exist. For all of Tarkovsky's or Tarr's longueurs, one always at least had Tarkovsky's expansive humanism, or Tarr's knowing vigor to preserve the vitality of human choices and relationships in their theses. Here, the proceedings have been properly embalmed for placement behind museum glass. Admire, but do not touch.
A shame, since the culture of German Mennonites in rural Mexico seems a vibrant one for exploration on the screen.
A beautiful corpse, in the 21st-century "art film" style. Stillborn art can have its compensations; here, it is the wondrous Mexican countryside, offering some indelible images. However, because Reygadas doesn't seem interested in imbuing his characters with the spark of human life--the director's typical treatment of human figures is to pose them standing or sitting, eyes staring blankly ahead--I failed to find an entry point into this hermetic, torpid world where neither time nor passion seems to exist. For all of Tarkovsky's or Tarr's longueurs, one always at least had Tarkovsky's expansive humanism, or Tarr's knowing vigor to preserve the vitality of human choices and relationships in their theses. Here, the proceedings have been properly embalmed for placement behind museum glass. Admire, but do not touch.
A shame, since the culture of German Mennonites in rural Mexico seems a vibrant one for exploration on the screen.
Shadow of the Vampire: In theory, a what-if story about the production of perhaps the most influential horror film ever made has a lot of potential for a history lesson about not only the film, but of German expressionism itself, as well as offering up a kind of metafiction on vampire cinema that would seem rather appropriate for the film that invented most of it in the first place. Disappointingly, this film does nothing with any of that, offering up instead a straightforward story of a gentleman's agreement from hell between highly fictionalized versions of F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich in a shockingly poor performance that offers zero insight and far too much bluster) and Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe in a fun and occasionally tragic turn, getting the chance to shine with his impressive makeup that could have seriously impaired him otherwise), and the ineffectual cast and crew that stand in both of their ways. The simplicity wouldn't be such a problem if the film didn't feel so damn lifeless from start to finish, generating shockingly little atmosphere for the visuals and even less sympathy for the human members of the cast as everyone seems hellbent on being as unpleasant as possible with no upside beyond the fact that they're working on a film that would go on to be considered a masterpiece. It's hard to figure out what the point of it was in the first place, as the screenplay never latches onto anything important or generates the kind of tension that the situation calls for, with the direction following suit as it can't ever seem to find the right tone throughout or generate much interest in the attempts to contextualize the recreation of many key scenes from Nosferatu, often reminding you instead that there's a far better film that you should have been watching instead of this professionally made yet woefully inadequate ball of nothing.
A quick bit of what I've watched this week.
Sahara (2005) is a goofy fun adventure movie that I don't quite understand why it's got such a bad reputation. It's not the best movie in the world but I enjoyed watching it. My wife likes the books it's based on and has a fondness for the movie as well, so that's how I came to watch it. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the end but it's fun to watch it move along from silly event to silly event.
Double Impact (1991) gives you two Jean-Claude Van Dammes for the price of one. It's incredibly stupid but it rolls with it. There is too much plot for it to match the brilliance of Bloodsport and it unfortunately casually throws around slurs like so many other films from the era as well. There's an awful scene of a frog being butchered on the streets of Hong Kong that's both shockingly cruel and also presented in a way that feels wildly racist. Still, you get to see JCVD team up with himself and kick people in the head. It's a blast if you're in the right mindset for it, even if it has massive massive problems.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) is a Disney animated movie I bought on a whim. I had never seen it before and decided to give it a shot. It blew me away. It's the best thing Disney has put out in its traditional animation era. It's thrilling, amazing animated, quite funny, and just completely worked for me. I didn't expect to like this movie so much but I absolutely fell in love with it. It does have Disney's problem of portraying native peoples problematically and Kida is another of Disney's women of color who is heavily sexualized, even more so than Jasmine. It's still better than Avatar in that sense AND it's only 90 minutes long though. If you like adventure movies influenced by pulp stories and Jules Verne, you'll like this one a whole lot. The blu-ray also had the DTV sequel on it but that is absolute trash and you can safely ignore that one.
Outland (1981) is High Noon set in a space station starring a surprisingly subdued Sean Connery as the marshall dealing with the corruption. It's deliberately paced and it uses its space station setting very well to give the movie an isolated and claustrophobic feeling. The beginning of the movie is rather noir-ish and the second half is straight up a High Noon western. It shouldn't work but it does. Give it a shot!
Legend (1985) is nonsense. It's gorgeous nonsense but nonsense nonetheless. I watched the director's cut version and I can only imagine how baffling the theatrical cut was on its release. It sure is purty though.
Sahara (2005) is a goofy fun adventure movie that I don't quite understand why it's got such a bad reputation. It's not the best movie in the world but I enjoyed watching it. My wife likes the books it's based on and has a fondness for the movie as well, so that's how I came to watch it. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the end but it's fun to watch it move along from silly event to silly event.
Double Impact (1991) gives you two Jean-Claude Van Dammes for the price of one. It's incredibly stupid but it rolls with it. There is too much plot for it to match the brilliance of Bloodsport and it unfortunately casually throws around slurs like so many other films from the era as well. There's an awful scene of a frog being butchered on the streets of Hong Kong that's both shockingly cruel and also presented in a way that feels wildly racist. Still, you get to see JCVD team up with himself and kick people in the head. It's a blast if you're in the right mindset for it, even if it has massive massive problems.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) is a Disney animated movie I bought on a whim. I had never seen it before and decided to give it a shot. It blew me away. It's the best thing Disney has put out in its traditional animation era. It's thrilling, amazing animated, quite funny, and just completely worked for me. I didn't expect to like this movie so much but I absolutely fell in love with it. It does have Disney's problem of portraying native peoples problematically and Kida is another of Disney's women of color who is heavily sexualized, even more so than Jasmine. It's still better than Avatar in that sense AND it's only 90 minutes long though. If you like adventure movies influenced by pulp stories and Jules Verne, you'll like this one a whole lot. The blu-ray also had the DTV sequel on it but that is absolute trash and you can safely ignore that one.
Outland (1981) is High Noon set in a space station starring a surprisingly subdued Sean Connery as the marshall dealing with the corruption. It's deliberately paced and it uses its space station setting very well to give the movie an isolated and claustrophobic feeling. The beginning of the movie is rather noir-ish and the second half is straight up a High Noon western. It shouldn't work but it does. Give it a shot!
Legend (1985) is nonsense. It's gorgeous nonsense but nonsense nonetheless. I watched the director's cut version and I can only imagine how baffling the theatrical cut was on its release. It sure is purty though.
After watching five or so years ago I cannot envision Disney's Atlantis not being partially worked on behind the scenes by Don Bluth. It carries way too many trademarks of his late 90s period, especially if you've ever seen Titan AE.
I actually kind of liked Atlantis but it feels so weird for Disney.
I actually kind of liked Atlantis but it feels so weird for Disney.
NETWORK (1976)
Can't believe this is a 40 year old movie. You change the wardrobe, get maybe younger actors, and the script still fits these times. It's on Netflix y'all.
I'm guessing JOKER was inspired by this flick a bit, and im probably more excited to watch that now that I've seen this.
Can't believe this is a 40 year old movie. You change the wardrobe, get maybe younger actors, and the script still fits these times. It's on Netflix y'all.
I'm guessing JOKER was inspired by this flick a bit, and im probably more excited to watch that now that I've seen this.
I've never seen Titan AE. I should probably fix that.
I think why I liked Atlantis so much is how it didn't feel like a traditional Disney movie. It was a bold experiment for them and it didn't pan out box office wise for sure but it really worked for me and I'm glad it exists. It's clearly from a period where they weren't sure what to do. I think it followed The Emperor's New Groove, another huge outlier in the Disney animated canon, so it seems like they were a bit frazzled.
The King of Comedy probably inspired Joker a hell of a lot more. Watch that.
The Grizzlies
Really surprised how good this was. Its the indie version of the Disney sports underdog story, in the most depressing way possible. Really great performances from new faces. People should see it, recommended 100%
The Grandmother (rewatch): I'm still very much impressed by how much David Lynch there is in his first big short film, from the impossibly black abyss that allows characters and a few props to be discernible to the soundtrack that sounds like someone putting their ears up to a wall and getting the chance to listen to the other side of Hell through it. If it's not as refined as his feature films would come to be, it is nevertheless remarkable that this is unmistakably one of his works from start to finish, one with a ton of skin-crawling moments that pair well with the raw nerves of sadness that pervades throughout.
Oh boy, been a while since I posted here.
Blonde Venus - Overtook Morocco as my least favorite Von Sternberg / Dietrich collaboration. It's not bad, but it was very middle-of-the-road, especially compared to something like Shanghai Express or The Scarlett Empress.
Carnival of Souls - Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It's rough around the edges in all the right ways. The wonderful atmosphere and a great ending really tie the whole thing together.
Witchfinder General - More drama than horror, but still plenty horrific. Vincent Price and his cohort are real bastards. Didn't overstay it's welcome and offers an interesting perspective on the awful persecution that men carried out.
Blonde Venus - Overtook Morocco as my least favorite Von Sternberg / Dietrich collaboration. It's not bad, but it was very middle-of-the-road, especially compared to something like Shanghai Express or The Scarlett Empress.
Carnival of Souls - Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It's rough around the edges in all the right ways. The wonderful atmosphere and a great ending really tie the whole thing together.
Witchfinder General - More drama than horror, but still plenty horrific. Vincent Price and his cohort are real bastards. Didn't overstay it's welcome and offers an interesting perspective on the awful persecution that men carried out.
Yeah, it's interesting to watch the roots of his style from his earlier short films like that and The Alphabet. Totally unnerving.
Down and Dirty Duck: Answering the question that plagued the mind of millions: what if Fritz the Cat was even cheaper and cruder? New World Pictures hopped onto the suddenly hot scene of adult animation with their brand of trend-chasing knock-offs with this film, and the results are... exactly what you expected them to be. With ultra-cheap animation (though, to the credit of the filmmakers, it's probably about as good as you were likely to get with a largely one-man operation with pocket change) and a penchant for overdosing the weirdness and offensiveness at all times with basically no regard for storytelling or characterization, it can't be denied that its intentions are strictly mercenary. Yet I can't deny that some of the bizarre situations work in some instances, whether it's a very, very specific fetish for our hero of sorts or the surprise twist that arrives at the climax (in more ways than one!), and it has opportunities that arise every so often that take you off guard for a genuinely good laugh. Its moments of inspiration prevent it from being a completely cynical exploitation of a more successful feature film, but only just.
12 Angry Men
I feel like I've seen all the popular "good" modern flicks, so I've been diggin into the past yesterday took me to 12 Angry Men, and I can now see why it's heralded as a classic.
It's a broad generalization, but sometimes it does feel like there are two types of people, Type A, and Type B. This movie takes that idea , and combines it with empathy, sadism, selfishness, righteousness, and gives us a great window into group dynamics.
My only hit would be, well, I don't think they condemned the racist guy enough, but for it's time, I guess that turning your back to someone equated to condemnation.
good flick!
I feel like I've seen all the popular "good" modern flicks, so I've been diggin into the past yesterday took me to 12 Angry Men, and I can now see why it's heralded as a classic.
It's a broad generalization, but sometimes it does feel like there are two types of people, Type A, and Type B. This movie takes that idea , and combines it with empathy, sadism, selfishness, righteousness, and gives us a great window into group dynamics.
My only hit would be, well, I don't think they condemned the racist guy enough, but for it's time, I guess that turning your back to someone equated to condemnation.
good flick!
Nigtcrawler is the modern film I found to be most inspired by Network along with Christine (2016). The latter is a true story that actually inspired Network.
Rewatched The Thin Red Line. Does anyone else remember that because Saving Private Ryan and this were released at the same time you had to pick a side? Or maybe that was just me an my dumb friends. I remember absolutely HATING this because I didn't know who Malick was or his whole jam or any of that shit. Obviously I was just a moron and I've loved it for years. Did Adrian Brody seriously think he was starring in this lmao. Can you imagine him sitting between is parents at the premier? Oh god I would fucking die. Also the sheer number of famous dudes in this thing is kind of distracting now. At the time there were the stars and then there were the "hey I think I've seen that guy." But now those guys have had 20 year careers since then so it's like oh shit I didn't remember him being in this. Or even the one woman in it who turned out to be Eowyn. John Travolta nearly sinks this whole thing. I know he's playing an asshole, which he was born to play, but still.
Nah, there definitely was a bit of side-picking with SPR and TTRL back then, if only because of how long a gap there was between Malick's films in that era. It's pretty crazy that he went from making four movies in 32 years to doing six in this past decade.
I had this feeling with Band of Brothers, though it's less distracting since all the McAvoys and Fassebenders and Hardys are so much younger
The Clooney cameo in TTRL is probably the most conspicuous
I love the movie too but I think I love it more for its moment than as a complete movie. The thing just kinda putzes along after a certain character's death.
And I totally felt the same about the whole choosing sides thing with Saving Private Ryan.
I'm one of those that was pretty disappointed by Ad Astra. I actually appreciate that they only used the scifi setting for a personal story, but both main characters were (by design) unsympathetic, their arcs entirely predictable and the ending message was so cliche and worn out it felt like a waste of production budget
It has some spectacular visuals and the acting was good too, so I didn't hate it or anything. But it's not something you need to go to the cinema to for.
It has some spectacular visuals and the acting was good too, so I didn't hate it or anything. But it's not something you need to go to the cinema to for.
Not go to the cinema for the visuals? That's really the main selling point of cinemas that you can't replicate at home even if you have a 100" TV with surround sound. If it's a dialogue genre or the cinematography is standard, then yeah wait for home release. I get you were disappointed but I don't think the venue or timing has much to do whether to watch it or not, unless waiting to watch it at home for free.
Okay let me put otherwise: it's not something I think you should rush out and pay extra buck for.
Ramona: What if you took a rape-revenge film and skipped straight to the final 20 minutes? While the genre is a bit of a guess on my part, it's hard to not see that being something of a starting point for understanding the motivation behind our heroine's rampage of murder against three men, with some photos of brutalized women figuring into it all. Really, the big part of the appeal here is the sheer style on display throughout, be it the long takes (including an impressive 8+ minute opener), cool-as-ice framing choices and a heroine with a heck of a look to pair well with the vengeance she doles out. Throw in a little Bauhaus during its strong finale and you got yourself one slick little film that may be more of an exercise than an actual narrative, but boy, does it look good doing it all the same.
Midsommer
Was honestly a bit disappointed because it was almost completely predictable. Like, i nailed most of it before they even traveled and then once they got there i nailed almost all of it. It was annoying watching the obviousness play out, but i will admit they got me at the end. All being said, the performances were great, production was great, i mean, no complaints about its quality in that regard, but damn disappointing in a genre that thrives on its mystery to keep it going.
For more detail of my thinking
Anyway, 6-7/10 for me, really wanted more, especially after Hereditary was so left field for me and i didnt see where that was going at all, at least within reason.
Was honestly a bit disappointed because it was almost completely predictable. Like, i nailed most of it before they even traveled and then once they got there i nailed almost all of it. It was annoying watching the obviousness play out, but i will admit they got me at the end. All being said, the performances were great, production was great, i mean, no complaints about its quality in that regard, but damn disappointing in a genre that thrives on its mystery to keep it going.
For more detail of my thinking
So the beginning was downright chilling and got me excited, but as soon as the foreign friend started talking about the festival and showing pictures of some 'princess' and saying he was excited the girl was going, i knew this was ritual sacrifice shit. When everyone actually arrived to the location, WICKER MAN shit is flashing all over. And from there i basically knew what was gonna happen. The only thing i got wrong was i thought in the end the boyfriend would accept the 'may queens' death because he wanted escape, not the other way around. But the aspect of drugging really muddies the intention waters there, and why she seemed so thrilled to join the cult. I guess finally having a new family mattered the most to her.
Anyway, 6-7/10 for me, really wanted more, especially after Hereditary was so left field for me and i didnt see where that was going at all, at least within reason.
They did unite to
deplatform
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Loved it. The more i muse abut the more I like what Tarantino did with it. Will muse about it on my podcast. But I can see why people didn't like it.
Loved it. The more i muse abut the more I like what Tarantino did with it. Will muse about it on my podcast. But I can see why people didn't like it.
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film: The production values of this documentary are not what one would call up to code, but frankly, it was nice to get a history lesson about the early days of studio horror filmmaking that was also not afraid to lob some genuine critique at a decent chunk of the films that were released and even at some of the more iconic ones at that. And even if it was convention footage from panels that the talent were a part of, it was still nice to have so many of the people that worked on these films while they were alive to get the official word on their experiences and their impressions of the two big stars of that era. At less than 80 minutes long, it clearly doesn't have enough time to move much out of the Universal back lot, though it must be said that I found myself agreeing quite heartily with their assertion that The Body Snatcher was the best of the Val Lewton productions at RKO!
A loose collection of Kaiju fights held together by utter drivel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters manages to be one of the more disappointing films of the year. I'm not looking for a nuanced and gripping take from the story but this manages to be both stupid and banal even with a strong suspension of disbelief tight in hand.
From the start through to the end it's a complete scattershot plot, wholly devoid of any sense or cohesion. The Kaiju fights themselves are enjoyable and manage to sustain you through the bog between each, but even then they can be ropey in places. Ghidorah goes from a terrifying spectacle in some of the best shots of the film — shrouded in cloud, lightning bursting and silhouette rippling — to a 90's action figure whenever you're too close. It's a disappointing distraction from the rest that are, by and large, rendered perfectly.
Mothra and Godzilla don't disappoint and a number of the scenes do hit that bar of expectation you had going in, even if you've already seen glimpses of most of them in the trailer. The inconsistent camera around the fights does dampen the scale sometimes but on the whole they manage to stoke the same sense of awe that the first knocked out of the park. It's this that affords it the extra half star, because it's those moments that manage to shed a lot of the seriousness in favour of what you came for; to see giant monsters duke it out.
For the most part though Godzilla: King of the Monsters feels like one of those drawings where you fold the paper and each person draws a separate piece before you unveil some disaster of a creature. A mind-boggling dropping of the ball that takes itself far too seriously to be seen as anything other than a mess. If you're just there for the fights it's enough to pull you through but the best moments serve to highlight just how disappointing the rest is.