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Post by Martin Stett on Jul 29, 2019 12:29:52 GMT
Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) -- Thematically doesn't come together too well, but Brolin is pretty great and the movie is never really gets bad, just uninspired. 6/10The Tracey Fragments (2007) -- I think there's a good story in here, but it's buried under some cringeworthy dialogue and that awful split screen gimmick that works about 5% of the time and destroys the atmosphere through all of the rest. Tracey could be an interesting character if her internal dialogue didn't sound like a terrible writer was trying to emulate all of the hip swearing of "kids" while giving Tracey the emotional maturity of an infant. 3/10Shoplifters (2018) -- Kore-eda at his most ambitious, and it mostly works. I can't truly find fault with this, outside of saying that I liked the sweeter moments more than the darker ones. Once the story got dark, it made sense... but for some reason it didn't absolutely floor me the way it should have. I was in a bad mood when I started this though, and that may have affected me. 8/10 and still the best first viewing of the month so far. A Special Day (1977) -- Two people talk about politics for a couple of hours and it's kind of mildly interesting sometimes. 5/10Citizen Kane (1941 rewatch) -- Holy shit, the cinematography is gorgeous. Um. The story beats felt a bit more pat this time around, but the execution of individual scenes are so great that it's hard to care. 9/10The Cosmopolitans (2014) -- Whit Stillman's pilot for his TV show that never got picked up. I'm a fan of his so hunted this down, and... it's his worst piece, certainly. He's straining for the humor here, and the characters are all people he's done before. Still a lot of solid exchanges, such as the women talking about dating ex-pat Americans and the inherent pitfalls. I would have liked to see where Stillman brought this as a whole series, but I understand why those filthy voters in Amazon's poll didn't latch onto this. 6/10A Star is Born (2018) -- I have so so sooooo many problems with this movie, but now that I've chewed on it for a while, none is bigger than this: the whole thing is a male empowerment fantasy. Ally has no agency outside of Jack. Ally is stalked and abused by Jack. The ending has Jack kill himself, and the movie portrays this as martyrdom: Jack dies so that Ally can become the star she was meant to be. Yes, there's that scene where Ally and -- uh, the brother, whatever his name was -- cry and talk about Jack's illness and that it's awful he's dead, but then Ally sings the final song (Jack's song) and she becomes the STAR, abandoning her pop music to sing what she was meant to, and it's all wonderful that she has finally reached her true potential. I'm not one to complain about political correctness, but this was just disgusting. Doesn't help that the music is blah or that Cooper's directing is hilariously amateurish. 2/10
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Post by mhynson27 on Jul 29, 2019 12:44:32 GMT
Moonrise Kingdom (re-watch) The Cat in the Hat (re-watch)
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Post by EythorAH on Jul 29, 2019 13:06:23 GMT
Snowtown (2011) - 8/10 A Simple Favor (2018) - 7/10 The Box (2009) - 7/10 Long Shot (2019) - 7/10 Krisha (2016) - 7/10 Ready Player One (2018) - 5/10
Big Little Lies S01E01 - 7/10 Santa Clarita Diet S3 - 8/10 - why tf did Netflix have to cancel this out of all shows. I love it so much!
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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 29, 2019 17:31:43 GMT
How Do You Know (2010) Manhunter (1986) (R) Alfie (2004) Mystic River (2003) (R)
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Post by themoviesinner on Jul 29, 2019 17:41:08 GMT
We don't agree much on films, but I'm with you on A Star Is Born. The film was incredibly inept on almost every level.
The films I watched last week were the following:
Miami Vice (2006) - 7.5/10 Chernobyl (2019) - 9/10 Salo, Or The 120 Days Of Sodom (1975) (Rewatch) - 10/10 Sucker Punch (2011) (Rewatch) - 8.5/10 The Thieves (2012) (Rewatch) - 8/10
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Post by JangoB on Jul 29, 2019 17:52:19 GMT
La ronde - Quite an audacious film for 1950 with its meta trickery, no real plot and the fact that it's all pretty much about sex. Loved it. Fantastic visual experience too, as always with Max Ophüls - magnificently opulent sets, fascinating long takes, inventive cutting.
City of Women - Great Fellini which is simultaneously sympathetic to the feminist cause and also pretty cheeky and funny about the whole thing. And it also does a terrific job at exploring both male vulnerability and male chauvenism, all through the bewildering imagination of its genius auteur.
He Got Game - A vibrant Spike Lee joint which only gets a tad bogged down by the Milla Jovovich subplot which doesn't really bring anything interesting to the table. The rest of it is awesome though with Denzel giving yet another amazing performance.
Death and the Maiden - Quite good with two pretty cool turns by Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley but I'm just overall not such a huge fan of these chamber-style, almost real time play adaptations.
The Shootist - The last John Wayne performance is really rather excellent and the film is fine but I wanted it to be more than fine seeing how strong the baggage of it was.
California Suite - An enjoyable ensemble comedy which unfortunately doesn't leave more of an impression because of how dull Herbert Ross's directorial approach is. And the switches between dialogue-driven comedy and full-on slapstick are a tad jarring.
The Lion King - The 2019 one. It's rubbish.
Tombstone - Real good western entertainment. What a cast - pull the trigger randomly and you'll hit an awesome character actor. The movie has an overdramatic moment here and there but overall it's very enjoyable.
The Great Race - I kinda wish that big scale comedies like this were made nowadays because now the genre is really suffering from a lack of any sort of visual appeal. The movie was really quite entertaining although I have two slight issues with it. First off, the whole 'prince kidnapping' section of the film goes on for a bit too long and just doesn't mix too well with the pacing of the rest of it which is not too fast but is still always on the move. This whole plot thread seems like a pit stop that takes too much time. Although it does have individual good things in it. The other issue I had was with Jack Lemmon whose OTT performance felt like a mixed bag to me. Other than that, it was kind of a blast. And sorry to get all superficial here but I don't think I've seen Natalie Wood be more beautiful than in this movie. Couldn't talk my eyes off her during her scenes. And she was really wonderful and funny too!
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Jul 29, 2019 21:26:58 GMT
only nine this past week Becoming Jane (2007) - Pretty light romantic biopic about Jane Austin, modeled after the characters and themes of her own work (romance vs. practicality, women's lack of agency and limited options, the unreliability of first impressions, etc.), but they don't quite translate. It's never warm or tender or articulate enough to quite capture the brilliance of Austin's work. Just watch Pride and Prejudice (either version) for the 20th time and you'll be fine. Waitress (2007) - was totally caught off guard by this one. Was expecting a light quirky indie romantic comedy with a baking backdrop but what I got was an emotionally eviscerating story about a working class woman's struggle to escape an abusive marriage. Heart-breaking, painfully authentic, life-affirming, and beautifully empowering. Keri Russell shines in the lead role. Breach (2007) - a competent espionage thriller, nothing more nothing less. Ryan Philippe somehow isn't terrible and there are some really tense sequences, but Chris Cooper by far is the best thing about it. All in all not a bad watch. Death Proof (2007) - felt conflicted about this one. Structurally it's two films in one split down the middle, following one group of women and then 14 months later, another. The problem is that the first group of women is infinitely more interesting than the second, so the second half is largely a drag until the explosive finale. Still, that final act action piece is one for the ages. Stardust (2007) - cheesy, goofy, fun little fantasy romp with glorious costumes and makeup but boy those 2007 VFX are looking rusty. Michelle Pfeiffer, as always, is the highlight. Here she plays a witch and she hams it up deliciously. Secret Sunshine (2007) - man this was grueling. Two and a half hours with very little in the way of structure, and a conclusion that comes and goes with basically no payoff. The film is a study on grief and faith (and faith's inability to mitigate real pain), but it's all pretty academic, and apart from Jeon Do-yeon's riveting hysterics, it's missing that spark of life. Stardust Memories (1980) - Sparsely hilarious, incoherent, and extremely meta (but to what end?). Not exactly sure what Allen's getting at by satirizing Fellini but it does make for some hilarious bits. Could have done without all the incest and child molestation jokes though, yeesh. Rampling is on top form here. Billy Liar (1963) - I saw Morgan! (1966) earlier this month and this reminded me very much of that one, but Schlesinger and Courtenay trump Reisz and Warner any day of the week. Excellent lead performance from Courtenay, playing your typical "angry young man" but from a different angle. Billy Liar like all kitchen sink dramas is concerned with working class disillusionment in the face of hard and unfair realities, but focuses how these realities stifle potential and especially the imagination. Courtenay's protagonist Billy Fisher tells lies and lives in a fantasy world because the only place he can enjoy the creative freedom he craves is in his own head. Every time he comes crashing back to reality it's like some part of him has died. Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) - I can appreciate the difficulty of trying to sum up a person's prison life in film when the majority of that life was lived in a single room, but Birdman of Alcatraz, with its small settings and cramped spaces, was a punishing watch. 160 minutes feels entirely too long, especially considering that the supporting characters (Malden, Ritter, Neville, Savalas) are given such limited screentime. Lancaster is solid as a rock here, and I loved Guffrey's cinematography which did wonders for the limited spaces, but the directing and script fell short, and too much of the film is preoccupied with following predictable beats about Robert Stroud's life in a small cell taking care of his birds. It doesn't make for rewarding viewing. The film does pick up in the third act when Stroud gets transferred to Alcatraz and renews his ideological head-butting with Malden warden character. That's the character drama I'm here for, but it comes a bit too late.
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 29, 2019 21:35:33 GMT
Secret Window (2004) 7+. Rewatch probably for the 25th time, but this time really noticed how often Mort Rainey's dialogue itself is plagiarized. "Chico don't be discouraged" - "Is that you John Wayne?" - "This is not my beautiful house." - Rosemary's Baby too, etc. Depp perf remains amazing. This Boy’s Life (1993) 5. Leo and Barkin are good, but the narrative around Leo feels sporadic and corny. De Niro one-note.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019) 6.5. Reviewed in thread, standout Leo playing sensitive and insecure, mellow style for QT, which is fine but loses traction, couple good scenes, but mostly witless both micro and total.
Season of the Witch (1972) 7. Striking psychosexual Romero. Reviewed in Classics thread.
Go Tell It On the Mountain (1984) 6.5. You can feel its low-grade production but nevertheless powerful. Reviewed in Last Movie watched thread.
True Crime (1999) 7.5. First several scenes are ace, with good dialogue, smart details. Mostly stays right on track. You can tell the weaker scenes (there's like three or four of them) bc they're the only ones with a score over them. Massively entertaining. Complex, urgent narrative. Also, somehow, very funny, esp James Woods, I mean laughed a lot.
Against All Odds (1984) 6.5. Great first half. Rachel Ward who I found annoying in After Dark My Sweet six years later, is jaw-droppingly appealing here. Slimy James Woods who likes to drive on the wrong side of the road. Male competition, of course, and when you add professional competition, well, that's when the pulp comes hammering. Kael said it was "Chinatown meets North Dallas Forty." It isn't that good, but underrated, sexy, entertaining.
Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) 7+. Fast-paced, engaging, slick Woods. I didn't know about the real-life case, so it was all very surprising and unexpected and appalling.
Diggstown (1992) 6. Very silly but fun. Game perfs, a goofy wily Woods whose outfits are outrageously 90s, and a demented deadly serious Bruce Dern.
Cop (1988) 7+. Reviewd in Last Movie watched thread.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 29, 2019 22:05:04 GMT
All of Me - 8.5 / 10
At Eternity's Gate - 8.5 / 10
Cool Runnings - 7 / 10
Isn't It Romantic - 6 / 10
Teen Wolf - 6.5 / 10
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - 8.5 / 10
Caddyshack - 8 / 10
L.A. Story - 10 / 10
BasKETball - 6 / 10
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Jul 29, 2019 23:24:22 GMT
Us The BFG Space Jam Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
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Film Socialism
Based
99.9999% of rock is crap
Posts: 2,553
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Post by Film Socialism on Jul 30, 2019 17:56:25 GMT
the best thing i saw was Cyberella which is a 90s softcore porn and probably one of the best movies i've seen all year, just ideal use of craft in my eyes
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