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Post by Martin Stett on Apr 15, 2024 13:56:41 GMT
Man of Steel (2013) - Mopey and overserious, with some troubling morality (LET THOSE KIDS DIE) to boot. The movie's cynicism that is convinced everyone will be afraid of Superman is assumed instead of explored, and it takes up the bulk of the movie. The fights suck, by the way. 3/10
The Piano (1993) - SEX! *sigh* Once again, I can't connect with a movie because everybody is thinking with their genitals. This fares better than most films with this fault - everybody is lonely and depressed, which makes the desire for sexual contact easier to understand - but the lack of actual emotional human connection or conversation or non-sexual physical contact doesn't work for me. Why would these people throw away everything for sex? 5/10
The Flash (2023) - My favorite DCU movie! Miller is pretty fun, but this gets bogged down in its stupid nonsense and references the further and further it goes. 4/10
Black Jack (1979 rewatch) - Has anyone used natural light so well as Chris Menges? Has anyone made such a charming adventure film for kids as Black Jack? There is no winking at the audience here or talking down to them: the movie trusts that kids can enjoy the story of murderers and thieves and madwomen and true love without being patronized. I doubt I could have understood the heavy accents as a kid, but aside from that I would have loved this. 10/10
Exiled (2006) - Nothing especially new or exciting here, but it is a damned entertaining Eastern gangster flick with codes of honor and brotherhood and loyalty and lots of cool (if impossible to understand) shootouts. As someone who grew up on Cowboy Bebop, this was like coming home. 7/10
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008 rewatch) - Even a lesser Spielberg is packed with more inventiveness and fun than any other director approaching this material. The first half is a joy - the stupid motorcycle chase (with the best use of the Wilhelm Scream ever), the Area 51 stuff, the opening credits(!), the anti-commie paranoia - and though the second half has pacing issues - the endless car chase that would have been funny if it was half the length followed by the whole finale section in the city of gold posing no actual danger - it is still a fun ride. 6/10
The Baby of Mâcon (1993) - I don't think this movie has anything interesting to say (oh wow, people suck!), and the play within a film conceit doesn't really make any sense to me, but there's no denying the technical prowess of the cinematography and production design here, with a core narrative that is still enjoyable to follow even if the director gets in his own way with an excess of violence (PEOPLE SUCK) and a startling inverse of clothing. If the director wasn't so intent on shocking - I am not shocked so easily, and only the scene in the barn really hit the heights he intended - this could have been a much cooler examination of man's inhumanity. Instead, it's all a tiny bit too screechy to work as more than a very elaborate curiosity. 6/10
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Apr 15, 2024 14:07:10 GMT
Monkey Man (2024)
The Hunt (2020)
Narc (2002)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Argylle (2024)
Civil War (2024)
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 15, 2024 14:21:50 GMT
Civil War (2024) - Leftist leaning nonsense and the kind of movie that "pretends" to tell both sides of the story - but tells neither - and then turns around and tells you it isn't about politics anyway - it's about REPORTING like it's All The Presidents Men or The Insider - except those dramatized events from a looooooooooooong time ago.......so Civil War seems double dishonest......and which has to be as batshit a thing to make a movie championing in 2024 as heroic cops or honest lawyers.......  Jesse Plemons has a one scene knockout and knows what Reuters is and who may shoot you in the face if you don't think so...... Too well made to be my worst of the year........ but kind of sick in the fucking head enough to be in the running tbh..... 
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bigmilko
New Member
Posts: 143
Likes: 33
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Post by bigmilko on Apr 15, 2024 14:56:25 GMT
Always (1989) - 2/10: fucking hated it. Begs you to give your emotions to this nonsense creepy story and just left me feeling frustrated and angry
Survive Style 5+ (2004) - 8/10: Wacky Japanese ensemble anthology that doesnt make me feel angry, as each story is very funny and enjoyable to see play out. Highly recommend, its free on YouTube right now and basically unavailable anywhere else
Mad Max (1979) - 6/10: pretty fun. The huge car crash stuff and other practical elements are just insane for an independent movie from 1979, even if that makes it hard to believe the apocalypse has happened
Lifeforce (1985) - 7/10: I knew it was gonna be about space vampires, but I still didnt know what the fuck I expected while watching it, crazy stuff happening in this one
Civil War (2024) - 8/10: Im not gonna get involved in the drama and discourse with this one (because I did really enjoy it), but Plemmons certainly gives the movies best moments and the Directing from Garland is as pitch perfect as it could be. Big fan of the movies final minute as well
The Madness of Max (2015) - 6/10: Definitely makes me appreciate Mad Max a lot more, especially since all 2.5 hours of this beast of a Making Of Documentary is just the cast and crew wondering how they were able to get away with any of the shit they pulled in order to make this movie
Cliffhanger (1993) - 6/10: Standard 90s Stallone adventure, its definitely has its moments, but overall yeah, its solid enough
Jacob's Ladder (1990) - 7/10: Wish I enjoyed this one more, Tim Robbins is good, as well as everything else n the movie. I think I just expected something else going into it
RW Dawn of the Dead (1979) - 8/10: Some great zombie stuff going on, and I do love just how much fun the characters are having during the whole thing
Drive-Away Dolls (2024) - 6/10: Easy to tell who really wheres the big directors pants in the Coen family. Its got all the fun silly characters but it feels too unserious for me to really care
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Post by urbanpatrician on Apr 15, 2024 17:41:43 GMT
Let the Right One In - Swedish should only do certain kinds of movies. Not sure if vampire movies is their thing. 6/10
Oppenheimer - I saw it as soon as it got here. I got nothing out of it. Felt like The Irishman to me. The loyalists of the directors stay loyal, but I just see a big long talky slog centered around a pivotal historical moment which is not interesting to begin with.
And I know I'm in the minority here, but I like when Nolan does things that are sci-fi/dreamish, or out of the bounds of reality like Inception and Interstellar but most people seem to much prefer when Nolan is still within reality. Like a big statement depiction of society thrown out of balance by something or someone pivotal, like in The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer..... that's largely Nolan's appeal, anyways 6/10
The Florida Project - I liked the first 30 minutes, but it got repetitive, kinda samesy-samesy as it went along. Still haven't seen Red Rocket.... ho hum about seeing it now. 7/10
The Great Beauty - I like it. Pretty good. Wonder what Sorrentino can do with a Hollywood lead actor or actress, like Lawrence. It seems he can carve his own world, that's proven by this movie. 7.5/10
Dear Zoe - Just a nothing movie..... Sadie Sink resembles Emma Stone before 2016. Just this average-y American gal, insert and slide her into this average-y gal role.... there's lots of those every year. Here's 1. Except a worse actress. But she's small town Texan... so represent. I can get a good feel of small town Texas... I was raised there. 4/10
Barbie - Seen it twice. Still got nothing out of it. I don't get it. are people just seriously plugged into the year 2023 in pop culture? What's the deal here? I just see an aimless little get-along that meanders as a musical. In fact, I can't see what else except this big Gene Kelly musical where all the main stars of the era are gathered around and people just automatically get a kick out of seeing that party. And all the main cultural quips and trends of the 2020s are included. Much like something like Anchors Aweigh. Except Gene Kelly is actually..... good. Gerwig on the other hand........ seems useless. Incredible there were people actually crying at the end when that Billie Eilish song came on, cued over that collage showing all the real life average girls from past and present - old, middle, or young who have played with a Barbie doll. I just wore a big joyless face at all that, while elsewhere emotions were spent. And now that's making me really annoyed both at this movie and at that Billie Eilish song which has now ran its course. 4.5/10
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Apr 15, 2024 17:51:27 GMT
The Settlers (2023) - 7
The Teachers' Lounge (2023) - 6
To Kill a Tiger (2023) - 7.5
and then Dune rewatch (9/10) and Dune: Part Two (10/10)
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Apr 15, 2024 18:47:43 GMT
Dream Scenario - 7 / 10
The Thirteenth Warrior - 6 / 10
Steve Martin: An Act in Two Parts - 7 / 10
The Sisters Brothers - 7 / 10
Past Lives - 9 / 10
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Post by JangoB on Apr 16, 2024 1:53:24 GMT
Beloved - This is an insane project to me: an 80 million 3-hour supernatural slavery drama with a fairly plotless story, highly eclectic (and I'm being very kind to Jonathan Demme using that word) filmmaking and a barrage of deeply offputting elements/imagery. Who the fuck thought it could possibly make its money back? Just crazy. As for the film itself, there's some decent stuff here but it simply gets drowned in a sea of terribly questionable choices and scenes. Why would you even film something like a dog being hit so hard against a wall that its eye pops out of its socket (and that's the opening!)? Or a POV shot of a female slave having her breast milk squeezed out and sucked by two white maniacs? That's repulsive exploitation territory shit, leaving an impression in all the wrong ways. And that Thandiwe Newton performance... those who weren't taken with Emma Stone in Poor Things need to check it out to see the horrow show that could've been. Although the rest of the cast is very solid. Man, what a mess. 80 mil they spent on it...
Dune - REWATCH. Villeneuve's Part One, that is. My third and best experience with it thus far. And my favorite thing about these rewatches has been the evolution of my relationship with Zimmer's score which I found merely fine the first time round but now consider one of my favorites.
The Island of Dr. Moreau - Reading about the filming of this is definitely more entertaining than watching the damn thing. Although it is funny to observe what different actors do when they couldn't care less about a movie they're doing: Brando uses it to be inventive and does all sorts of silly stuff, while Kilmer chooses to just be completely disengaged and not hide it. Seems like the only person who really gave the movie his all was Stan Winston. Although I can't say that it's one of his best achievements either. Quantity-wise, the makeup effects are impressive, but unfortunately I did have some issues with their quality.
Out of Africa - REWATCH. I like this a lot but I think it could've been truly great if directed by someone not as literal-minded as Pollack. Such material needed a poet.
Time Toys - A bad, lame kids movie. Didn't watch it of my own accord.
Jack - REWATCH. I think there's a case to be made for this literally being the worst film of all time... but the opposite case can be made for a few other Coppola movies as well so it's not that much of a problem. Megalopolis will be fine as long as it doesn't have anything as horrendous as the basketball game or the farting in the can scenes featured here.
The Bible: In the Beginning… - There's some nice 70mm photography, a few eye-popping sets and plenty of first-rate growling courtesy of George C. Scott... but it's hard to describe just how insanely dull this thing is. A slog and then some.
The Boy Friend - What happens when a madman like Ken Russell makes a G-rated film? Well... he makes an awesome one! Amazing use of color, among other things.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - REWATCH. One of those perfect movies.
The Fortune - Mike Nichols, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson... what a shame when collaborations of such heft end up being so mediocre and small-time.
Havana - Started off fairly well but the more it went on, the more I felt worn out by it. And it went on for a while. It's all very nicely made, visually decent, finely performed, sure. But at a certain point it's just hard to give much of a shit about the goings-on.
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Post by mhynson27 on Apr 16, 2024 3:55:21 GMT
Raising Arizona
Asteroid City (re-watch)
Civil War
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hilderic
Junior Member
Posts: 307
Likes: 132
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Post by hilderic on Apr 16, 2024 21:43:35 GMT
About Endlessness
Tokyo Twilight
A Man of Integrity
Last Hurrah for Chivalry
Having finally seen "Ozu's darkest film", I guess I'll have to agree with the general consensus on this. However, I also think that Early Spring is a very close second. While its central story may seem light compared to that of Tokyo Twilight, it takes place in a world deeply scarred by hopelessness and decay (unusually for Ozu, one with no children). And, as Early Spring and Tokyo Twilight followed Tokyo Story, it could be said that Ozu's black-and-white period ended with a trilogy of despair. I may need to rewatch his colour films, but I don't recall any of them being quite as tragic.
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Post by ingmarhepburn on Apr 17, 2024 23:15:05 GMT
In the Name of the Father (1993) 8/10
Naked (1993) 8/10
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