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Post by Martin Stett on Jun 11, 2018 16:02:33 GMT
Catching up on a lot of 2017 movies this week.
Battle of the Sexes (2017) -- A cookie-cutter feel-good movie with one of the most blandly safe romantic subplots in history. BUT THEY'RE GAY SO THAT MAKES THE MOVIE SO DARING. I find it pretty hilarious that the movie makes King into a hero when nothing has changed for women in the 40 years since; they're still payed shit for the same work and in the end, she didn't change history in the slightest. Such a sugar-coated Hollywoodization. 4/10
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) -- Lanthimos went too far here. His signature deadpan approach drains the movie of all emotion, so there is never any stakes involved. Intellectually you can understand how this dilemma may be a big deal, but when everyone speaks like zombies, why should I care. 5/10
Detroit (2017) -- An intense, brutal experience that knows exactly what it wishes to do and does it very well. 7/10
Faces Places (2017) -- This starts off wonderfully, but the more introspective it gets, the more it loses its magic. This movie was always about JR and Agnes, but it filtered that through how they see the world around them, and how they interact with other people. When the film begins focusing on them instead of their surroundings, it grinds its gears and keeps repeating the same things. Still a good movie, but not the wonderful piece I expected from the first half or so. 7/10
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Post by mhynson27 on Jun 11, 2018 16:17:05 GMT
Ghost Stories
Hereditary
Searching
The Insult
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Foxtrot
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jun 11, 2018 16:45:31 GMT
Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom (2018) When a film is this damn entertaining, you can look past most of its flaws and give it a decent rating. 6/10
Jungle (2017) Could have been a lot better, but it wasn't bad at all. Another promising performance from Radcliffe. 6/10
Anon (2018) As I said in another thread, I hope this gets a wider audience and develops a fanbase in the future, as it was a neat little film. 7.5/10
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Few of my first time watches of all-time classics have ever gone as well as this one. What a film and what an experience. It was a treat for the eyes, then senses and the emotions. 24 hours on from it, and it seems to get better and better in my mind. It's a long time since I loved a film this much on first watch. If it holds up on re-watch I reckon it'll finish up very high in my Top 100 when I redo it later this year. 10/10
This is the End (2013) Not as funny as I recall it being, and I'm dropping it a point on this re-watch. Michael Cera though, he remains comedic gold. 7/10
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jun 11, 2018 17:33:26 GMT
With Honors - 7.5 / 10
His Girl Friday - So fucking good. Snappy dialogue, delivered incrediby fast, and the lead performances play off each other so well. A classic. - 9 / 10
Solo: A Star Wars Story - Really enjoyed this. Probably the purest fun Star Wars film, I've seen in some time. The action sequences were thrilling, Ehrenreich was a solid Han, Glover was a great Lando, and the visuals were stunning. Plus I really dug the "space heist" aspect.
Also hearing John Powell's score in the context of the film really made me appreciate it more. It fit so well with the visuals. The love theme in particular really stood up. Such a wonderful piece of music. - 7.5 / 10
Torn Curtain - A bit uninteresting at points, and it features one of Newman's weaker performances (he didn't have a good time making the film, and you can tell). I can see why this is considered one of Hitchcock's weakest, but the last half, especially with the German terrorists, is actually pretty good. Mixed bag, but I enjoyed it overall. - 7 / 10
Also I don't like that this is the film where Hitchcock and Herrmann had a falling out, because of studio peer pressure. I've listened to the Herrmann score, and it would have fit the film much better then the Addison's "standard" score.
The Man Who Invented Christmas - Really bizarre take on Charles Dickens. It gives you the fantastical idea that he was inspired to write A Christmas Carol after being visited by spirits, which is um, interesting. Stevens and Plummer are great though, and the production design is inspiring enough. Good enough overall, it's just the main idea I can't get over. - 7 / 10
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2018 17:45:22 GMT
Basically did nothing but watch movies for a good portion of the week...
Scoop - definitely lesser Allen. It has its moments, but mostly mediocre. 5.5/10.
American Graffiti (rewatch) - as entertaining as ever. 8/10.
Hereditary - still processing it. Loved it so much... at least an 8/10, but could go higher on a rewatch/further reflection.
Sisters (De Palma) - the buildup was masterful. After that, it becomes a very strong Hitchcockian thriller. tbh i thought it was better than most Hitchcock films I've seen. 8.5/10.
Game Night - liked it more than I thought I would, but still- I don't like it nearly as much as some people seem to. 6/10.
Throne of Blood - I was a bit disappointed by this one. 7/10.
The Untouchables - very entertaining, if heavily flawed. 7/10.
Easy A - worst movie I've seen in a long time. 1/10.
Rope - Up there with Vertigo as my favorite Hitchcock film I've seen. 8/10.
The French Connection - some really really great moments, great acting, and all around very well made. The story didn't grab me as much as I would've liked it to, but it was still a very memorable experience overall. 7.5/10.
Black Christmas (Clark) - This one got to me. The phone calls, the lighting, and the atmosphere make for a very disturbing and chilling experience. 9/10.
50/50 - pretty solid comedy with some emotional depth. A strong 7/10.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage - God, I love Argento. Need to see more of his stuff. 8/10.
Bonnie and Clyde - had some problems with it here and there, but mostly a super entertaining ride w/ really good characters + performances. 7.5/10.
The 39 Steps - great premise... lost my interest a bit in the last act, but still a decent film. 6.5/10.
Hidden Figures - very average. Nothing at all special. 4/10.
And a shit ton of shorts...
Scorpio Rising - one of the best short films I've ever seen. Instantly made me want to check out more of Anger's shorts. 9/10.
Lucifer Rising - slightly better than Scorpio Rising imo. Excellent imagery + a phenomenal soundtrack make for quite an impactful and memorable experience. 9/10.
Fireworks - what a debut. 8/10.
Transfer (Cronenberg) - maybe I just didn't "get" this one. I just thought it was annoying. 3/10.
The Nest (Cronenberg) - this was pretty cool, though. Makes me want to check out more of Cronenberg's features. 7.5/10.
Two Solutions for One Problem (Kiarostami) - okay... lol. 5/10.
The Black Imp (Méliès) - decently entertaining. 6/10.
My Daily Routine (Lowery) - I'm sure some people can relate to it... I just didn't care. 5/10.
Flying Padre (Kubrick) - kinda interesting. the priest seems like a cool guy. 6/10.
Genre (Hertzfeldt) - fun and creative. 7/10.
Billy's Balloon (Hertzfeldt) - also creative, and kinda frightening. 7/10.
I'm Here (Jonze) - eh... this one didn't totally do it for me. I can respect the creativity and filmmaking, but I wasn't at all emotionally affected. 6/10.
Ménilmontant - yeah this was great. 8/10.
The Battle of Midway (Ford) - neat to see the footage. Nothing particularly special about the film itself, though. 6/10.
Tale of Tales - one of the better short films I've seen. A beautiful and powerful Tarkovsky-esque stream of consciousness. 8.5/10.
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Post by Pavan on Jun 11, 2018 20:16:10 GMT
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)- 6.5/10
A Monster Calls (2016)- 6.5/10
Signs (2002)- 6/10
The Brothers Grimm (2005)- 6/10
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)- 6/10
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Jun 11, 2018 20:53:27 GMT
Lean on Pete (2018) - it's minor Haigh but it's fine. 7.5You Were Never Really Here (2018) - take away the music, cinematography, editing, and Joaquin and nothing about this movie works for me. Not its lazy story or villain, not its half-assed character study, not its secondary characters (they hardly even register as characters), not the little girl that felt more like a walking metaphor for bad allegorical movie characters than a real person, not the weird hand-holding and tandem singing...  5The Ipcress File (1965) - final act is pretty great, I just wish it hadn't waited until then to be interesting. 7The Death of Stalin (2017) - Fits snugly into Ianucci's oeuvre. There's snide and snarky humor aplenty and it's all thrown at the wall and most of it sticks, but I also liked the movie wasn't disrespectful of the victims of these regimes and power moves. No one's laughing by the ending, and Ianucci manages that appropriate tonal shift seamlessly. 8Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) - Fine bit of kitchen sink realism, but it's most worth watching for Rachel Roberts and early Finney. 7.5Angst (1983) - Brilliantly-made film that I don't ever want to revisit. This is the reigning champion of first-person POV serial killer films, and Kargl does some amazing things with camera and editing to really get you into the mind of a crazed sadistic killer whose psychosis stems from a childhood that sounds as appalling as anything we see him do onscreen. 8Julia (1977) - Can't help but be baffled at how well this fared at the Oscars. Was 1977 that shit a year? None of the performances stand out, least of all the two Oscar-winning ones. The story is neither here nor there, and often feels like its drifting aimlessly and filling in arbitrary details and backstory. The plot doesn't really start until well into the film, and it progresses oh so slowly and meekly. There's some interesting mystery to this story, but seeing it unfold from a great distance and through the eyes of someone whose primary concern seems to be writer's block makes for an incredibly disconnected experience. You feel totally disconnected from what this movie is all about; Julia's anti-Fascist activities. This is because the movie never establishes an emotional bond between her and Jane Fonda that registers any emotion. Their relationship is talked about with hints toward some kind of schoolgirl fixation, but by the movie's standards, these are just two wealthy girls that grew up together in big houses who liked to play word puzzles with each other in big gardens and big bedrooms and that's why they share such an intimate bond. Whatever. 6Hereditary (2018) - the more I think about it the more I love it and want to see it again. 8.5
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Post by urbanpatrician on Jun 11, 2018 21:49:49 GMT
King Lear (1953) - I had thought Orson Welles directed it when I picked it up. I later found out he didn't. Still meh regardless 6/10
The Lady Vanishes (1938) - Copy and paste:
I am somewhat in conflict about this film. I can see a Bunuel in there until it got to the "spy" revelation which is typical of some of the worst tendencies of Hitchcock. It was fully a Bunuel movie until the old lady had to reappear again, and that's one longtime criticism of Hitchcock is his need to explain every plot point. In the 30s, Bunuel was in the early stages of experimenting with his ideas of absurdism. Hitchcock must have been inspired by Bunuel, but inserting the spy element kills the initial momentum the film has built up. And I cannot call this one of his better films for this reason. 7
Bringing Out the Dead - This is the only one of Scorsese's films that I haven't rewatched I could see going up.... apart from Silence. And... it was not a great experience. It's marred by 90isms, the same team who did Fight Club and Requiem for a Dream probably worked on this. Also, there seemed an attempt to recapture Taxi Driver and then combine it with some really average mainstream television stuff and seems... to not really any real point other than "respect my randomness. That's the way I play." It's just mediocrity, not one of Scorsese's underrated films at all. Not even as good as Fight Club, and only equal to the way dated Requiem for a Dream. 6
Frankenstein (1994) - ...... I have no idea how Winona Ryder wasn't in this. Branagh, Bonham-Carter, the peak of Ryder's popularity. Seemed strange she wasn't in this. Helena Bonham Carter being burned to death has been made a meme now. 5
A Day in the Country (1936) - Copy and paste:
Daisy serenity. The interesting thing is that this was exactly how I imagined. Lol... not really any different than my imaginings. You can argue maybe it's too light, and "let's make it as simple as possible so everyone will like it." But I definitely liked it, and I thought it got better and the picturesque world came to life later on and the B/W cinematography of the park and lake looked as good as a Flaherty. However, I do see a little bit of a lesser The Rules of the Game, and it perhaps is just a little too simple to be the type of film that takes you to another level. But it deserves at least a 7.75 rating. Could elevate it later, but a 7.75 is not bad, and in 1936 it doesn't have a lot of other competition. 7.5
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) - 6/10
The Wings of the Dove - Best film I've seen this week. I'd say it's on par with The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, and it's better than The English Patient. Great era. Romantic period films in the 90s was really hot. I love the relationship triangle, and how mainstream accessible they made it, but not as blatant romantic-y like Titanic or The English Patient, or even Bridges of Madison County. It's quite underrated, and not given enough credit. Good ending, but I guess it was the actual book ending. And this is by a mile my favorite Helena Bonham Carter performance. The rest aren't even on the same plane. Allison Elliot was also nomination worthy, and lead. Not sure if they're my wins, because I have Robin Tunney for Niagara, Niagara. But they're definitely my #2 and #3 and is threatening. The race comes down to those 3. 8/10
The Outlaw Josey Wales - Not one of my favorite Eastwoods, directed or acted. I feel like there's a way better film here than the one that bypassed my eyes. But I felt the slow start, and was alienated initially and never regained my attention. I definitely liked some of the location choices, it's better than John Ford's unoriginal use of locations anyday. And there was definitely some intensity in there that I at least saw if not felt, but there are lots of other Eastwood movies I enjoy more. Maybe someday I'll give it another shot, but for now.... 7/10
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