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Post by TerryMontana on Mar 25, 2021 14:09:27 GMT
The Thing (1982)
Re-watch
I couldn't help but make the connection with the Covid times we live in...
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Post by Mattsby on Mar 25, 2021 15:31:32 GMT
Coven of Sisters (2021) 7.5/10 - I think I loved this. Netflix almost-horror set in Basque Country 1609 about a group of friends accused of witchcraft and their sexy, spine-chilling attempts to turn the tables against their captors. Best movie of the year so far...
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 25, 2021 18:04:46 GMT
Coven of Sisters (2021) 7.5/10 - I think I loved this. Netflix almost-horror set in Basque Country 1609 about a group of friends accused of witchcraft and their sexy, spine-chilling attempts to turn the tables against their captors. Best movie of the year so far... Interesting movie - in some ways thematically it's the inverse of my beloved Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse (2017) which itself is the inverse of my also beloved The Witch (2015).........um.........all of them witches! BIG TIME bonus points for referencing this event - which I posted about once in the "historical event that would make a great movie" thread:This one could be made right now (Werner Herzog, come on!) as a commentary on political themes, identity, cultural repression, religion - could be a great horror film even (you could have incorporated it into Suspiria '18 no?).
The dancing plague (or dance epidemic) of 1518
"The dancing plague (or dance epidemic) of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace, (now modern day France) in the Holy Roman Empire in July 1518. Around 400 people took to dancing for days without rest and, over the period of about one month, some of those affected collapsed or even died of heart attack, stroke, or exhaustion."
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Post by Mattsby on Mar 25, 2021 18:18:29 GMT
Coven of Sisters (2021) 7.5/10 - I think I loved this. Netflix almost-horror set in Basque Country 1609 about a group of friends accused of witchcraft and their sexy, spine-chilling attempts to turn the tables against their captors. Best movie of the year so far... Interesting movie - in some ways thematically it's the inverse of my beloved Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse (2017) which itself is the inverse of my also beloved The Witch (2015).........um.........all of them witches! BIG TIME bonus points for referencing this event - which I posted about once in the "historical event that would make a great movie" thread:This one could be made right now (Werner Herzog, come on!) as a commentary on political themes, identity, cultural repression, religion - could be a great horror film even (you could have incorporated it into Suspiria '18 no?).
The dancing plague (or dance epidemic) of 1518
"The dancing plague (or dance epidemic) of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace, (now modern day France) in the Holy Roman Empire in July 1518. Around 400 people took to dancing for days without rest and, over the period of about one month, some of those affected collapsed or even died of heart attack, stroke, or exhaustion."There's even that line the judge says - "There is nothing more dangerous than a woman who dances." I may be overrating the movie a bit, they let the climax stand as the ending when it seemed to be leading to something bigger. And it feels a little too modern and low budget but not that much... it proves the benefit of candlelight. Anyway I was really into it. Sofia Coppola may see this and think Hey I wanna make a witch movie! I gotta check out Hagazussa.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Mar 25, 2021 18:56:35 GMT
Spoilers abound for a few of these so don't read my two line blurbs if you haven't watched the films... You've been warned. Spoilers! There. You've been warned twice.
The Uninvited - This is a film that shows its hand so blatantly early that any reasonable person watching will immediately dismiss Banks as the true bad guy. Then of course the film does one of my biggest pet peeves in horror films and that is... it was all in their head/a dream. Every time I encounter this trope I hope that we get to see a scene with Patrick Duffy peeking out of the shower.
Demonic - Loved the way the film was shot and edited. The whole present time, then back to before the murders, then to the murders time jumps is really my speed... but ultimately the last act just takes a giant dookie on what it set up. Oh look, all these situations involving dozens of people were all part of the demon's plans to have a demon baby with Cody fucking Horn (though at least she was better here than she was in Magic Mike).
Sea Fever - Heyooo something I actually liked! Definitely steals quite a bit from The Thing but ultimately the claustrophobic setting and capable cast make it worthwhile. I do get sick of the whole "person in charge makes a decision that dooms the crew" plot points because you can just let the situation come naturally... it doesn't always have to be "yeah I knew it was dangerous, BUT I DID IT ANYWAY!" Minor gripe, but it shows up so often that I had to say my piece on it. Also, that redhead can come aboard my ship anytime.
The Canal - Hey remember what I said about a certain reveal in my The Uninvited review? Well it happened yet again! God, I hate horror movies so much.
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Mar 25, 2021 19:14:38 GMT
Hard Rain. The movie is not great but I appreciated the old school filmmaking. No green screens, just giant sets immersed in water. There was at least some real intensity and it’s due to the actors really going through everything in a practical sense.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Mar 25, 2021 19:26:27 GMT
Hard Rain. The movie is not great but I appreciated the old school filmmaking. No green screens, just giant sets immersed in water. There was at least some real intensity and it’s due to the actors really going through everything in a practical sense. Ah, when Morgan Freeman was in his action movie phase. Can't really say I miss those days... even if I did see Chain Reaction like 5 times as a kid. Which, is also not a good movie.
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Mar 26, 2021 8:40:01 GMT
The Pledge (2001) - 6.5/10 re-watchI should love this movie, it's exactly the kind of plot I like, starring one of my favorite actors - Jack Nicholson in quite good and untypical form - with astonishing one scene wonders too. I love the book - the short novel by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It just doesn't work for me - it comes close but doesn't quite hang together - and I've seen this a lot .......it's just too obvious and heavy-handed on a directorial level by Sean Penn. It's one thing to destroy your lead but you better not tip it off this much. It starts tipping it's hand in the first third even - around the scene below. One of the bleakest studio pictures of the new century though. Just watched this for the first time, and I see what you mean about the film tipping its hand too much. While I didn't know the specifics of how the ending would play out, it did feel like I spent most of the movie just sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. There are of course movies I love where a sense of dread throughout points to a conclusion that seems inevitable... but here the film almost feels too long for the kind of story it's telling since there aren't any real detours and it follows a pretty straightforward trajectory. Aside from the heavy-handed direction that you mentioned, I also found some of the directorial choices in the beginning to be kind of strange. Like the intercutting of the retirement party and the murder witness just felt awkward to me, and then the zoom-in on the witness's reaction when he discovers the body was bizarre to me too. The performances really carry the movie though - there's Rourke's big scene of course and I thought Redgrave was great in her brief appearance as well. Once Mirren showed up, I was like "Okay, just how long is this parade of big-name one-sceners going to last?"
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Post by Mattsby on Mar 26, 2021 16:55:32 GMT
The Green Mile (1999) 5.5/10’ rewatch. Helluva cast (Michael Jeter possible mvp, and I really love Harry Dean Stanton’s bit). But the level of mawk is overbearing.
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Post by wilcinema on Mar 26, 2021 17:30:55 GMT
Amadeus (REWATCH): Yep, still among the greatest films of all time. This level of cinematic perfection will never be overpraised.
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 26, 2021 18:37:30 GMT
Valley of Shadows (2017) - ~ 7 / 10The start of this film is brilliant - sort of a cross between Spirit of the Beehive and PonetteThen about halfway through there's a long, nearly wordless set piece that takes the movie somewhere else and is much less successful imo. A mixed bag but it's sort of like Blood on the Tracks when you hit the dud song after much greatness (Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts) and then you feel stupid for liking it so much (um) except that one got its mojo back immediately - with this, it doesn't and it just sputters to its ending.
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 27, 2021 0:11:09 GMT
The Treatment (2014) ~ 7 /10 Child molestation trash that is perfectly competently done and less of an exercise in bull-shittery than Prisoners for its obvious parallel........although you still feel like taking a long shower afterwards to get the scuzz off of you. Very powerful for what it is I guess, and worth a watch if you can deal with it in the first place - but..........
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Post by stephen on Mar 27, 2021 0:13:02 GMT
Sea Fever - Heyooo something I actually liked! Definitely steals quite a bit from The Thing but ultimately the claustrophobic setting and capable cast make it worthwhile. I do get sick of the whole "person in charge makes a decision that dooms the crew" plot points because you can just let the situation come naturally... it doesn't always have to be "yeah I knew it was dangerous, BUT I DID IT ANYWAY!" Minor gripe, but it shows up so often that I had to say my piece on it. Also, that redhead can come aboard my ship anytime. This movie was so damn dope.
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 27, 2021 7:14:05 GMT
Der Fan (1982) - a little above 7 / 10 Rewatch I hadn't seen this in a long time and I kind of forgot how there is no real build up of the girls madness - she's batsh it right from the start - and since this is an exploitation film - like all the better ones in this genre - that makes perfect sense because everything grows out of the LACK of nuance. Total precursor of Audition - though less well made! - and total German New Wave-y chill inducing music geek fandom stuff which will make you feel a little weird every time you hear 99 Luftballons or obsess about anything in your own pop culture. Also says a lot about serious issues - politically and personal - although if you read it that way people would tell you, you're wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy overthinking this POS which is precisely the point of any good work in this genre. If you're going to do this kind of exploitation which is in itself a very specific type of niche porn .......well you better give 'em something to think about while you're at it, right?
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LaraQ
Badass
English Rose
Posts: 2,397
Likes: 2,905
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Post by LaraQ on Mar 27, 2021 14:44:07 GMT
Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar.Third watch and it just gets better.
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 28, 2021 4:39:05 GMT
Alléluia (2014) - 8 / 10......on TUBIFrench version (sort of) of "The Honeymoon Killers" - inspired by it at least - but this makes the crimes a European version of that American event - the characters act American from the start - all vulgarity, madness, depravity and money - and framed by a celebrity (Bogart) fascination too. There is none of the "mystery" that is mentioned in their first meeting. This is like De Palma, Chabrol, Jim Thompson blended together - so I love it - but a lot of people won't - it's repetitive and illogical and sensationalized. But that's part of the point the characters themselves are in a repetitive (and twisted) pattern and aren't much motivated by logic or intelligence - they have no character arc. In fact a character here is seen reading Georges Simenon which is a sly joke that rational thought is in the mystery books not THIS film. Incredibly dark (Incest and child abandonment are covered early) and ending on a note that is so open ended that it could be interpreted multiple ways - all vaguely unsatisfying (maybe). Directed by Fabrice Du Welz in by far the most interesting film of his I've seen - with fascinating lead performances - all at the service of oddly right directorial flourishes - at various points a character breaks into song (like Magnolia but it works here, um), a fiery dance of death or a ghastly (unrealistic) wedding ritual - a perversion of the actual ceremony. It's something alright.......
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Post by DaleCooper on Mar 28, 2021 9:55:04 GMT
Re-watched Persona earlier this week. Probably Bergman's best work, and as far as I am concerned one of the absolute finest films ever. Acting absolutely top notch and atmosphere and feel is just killer. Didn't really think of it the first time I saw it, but it reminds me of Lynch film in quite some ways (of course, it's the other way around, but still).
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Post by wilcinema on Mar 28, 2021 10:42:25 GMT
The Incident (1967)
Holy moly, I'd never heard of this movie, and boy did it disturb me. It is structurally pretty clear, and it has a pretty schematic and necessarily archetypal set of characters, which wouldn't work in most movies but it does in this one. This is a movie with a strong thesis at its center, structured like a play but perfectly cinematic, with a very compelling direction and cinematography, and an absolutely terrific ensemble. Martin Sheen and Tony Musante (the true standout) are scary good as the two street hoods who torment and terrorize a group of late night passengers of a NYC subway train, they own these characters and they are as unhinged as the script requires, and the (un)opposing cast is uniformly great (Beau Bridges, Ed McMahon, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Jack Gilford, Jan Sterlin, Thelma Ritter). It's a movie set and filmed in the 1960s but feels like a 1970s movie (echoes of A Clockwork Orange and The Taking of Pelham, with a sprinkle of 12 Angry Men), and definitely an idea that could work for a contemporary remake. It's on Youtube, if someone else is interested.
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Post by DaleCooper on Mar 28, 2021 21:12:40 GMT
Watched Sátántangó today. At seven hours it's indeed a bit lengthy, but overall a quite great film. Especially the first two thirds of the movie are fantastic - it's mesmerizing and incredibly well written and told. How the chapter intertwines is really something. The final third is still good, but it lacks the dimension that made the first six chapters so incredibly good 8.5/10
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Post by Miles Morales on Mar 28, 2021 21:12:49 GMT
Promising Young Woman - 9.5/10
Gave Uncut Gems good competition for being the most intense, nerve-wracking film of recent times. Even at the happier moments I was constantly in a state of unease.
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Post by jakesully on Mar 28, 2021 21:40:07 GMT
Death Sentence (re watch) I can completely understand how anyone would be turned off by this film starring Kevin Bacon/Garrett Hedlund/John Goodman) . It is insanely violent but I thought James Wan ( directorO did an amazing job here as a follow up to the wildly successful Saw. IMO it puts Eli Roth's Death Wish to shame. One of the main factors is that Bruce Willis is known for being a stone cold badass while Kevin Bacon is not. Bacon in Death Sentence played the role PERFECTLY as a desperate average joe that wants revenge . Kudos to James Wan for casting Bacon in the lead
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Mar 28, 2021 22:31:15 GMT
The Old Guard on Netflix. Fuckin abysmal. Felt like a teenager again rifling through the $5 bin at Walmart.
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Post by isabelaolive on Mar 28, 2021 22:37:51 GMT
Citizen Kane (1941) - 4/5 After years, I finally decided to watch this classic that is considered mandatory among cinephiles. And I thought it was excellent. My biggest concern was the fact that I have always seen this film being described as 'boring' even among cinephiles, not to mention that many consider it a 'pretentious' film. But I liked it a lot, good performances, cinematography, design production and the direction is excellent, Welles does in this film something that many directors do today, but without looking too 'pompous'. I was just confused about the discussion about what 'Rosebud' means, before watching the movie I thought the ending would be more ambiguous, since I always see people discussing what the meaning of that word would be, but several scenes, including the final scene , make it very clear that Kane was remembering his childhood and the consequences that were caused by his family's sudden wealth. I was not surprised by the ending, since in the flashback scene, where young Charlie receives the news that he is going to live with Mr. Tatcher, the house where he lives resembles the little house under the snow that appears on the globe, in the opening scene of the movie.
Now I intend to watch the rest of Welles' filmography.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Mar 29, 2021 0:47:22 GMT
Centigrade - Oof. I probably would have rated this better had the entire last 30 minutes not have a crying baby in my ear for the entirety of it. Also, had the 30 minutes prior to that be nothing but marital bickering... and the 30 minutes prior to those had the film been better set up. So basically what I'm trying to say is that this is not a good movie.
Cold Skin - I wasn't expecting Attack of the Merpeople but that's what I got. It has its moments... not bad but not great either. Film looked great, though.
The Secrets We Keep - Listed as a horror movie. Not a horror movie. Pretty solid little revenge thriller, though. Noomi Rapace was worth the price of admission.
The Vast of Night - Oh boy... when I read the little blurb they have for the movie I was SO STOKED. I was expecting a Close Encounters meets The Arrival and instead what I got were 60 minutes of phone conversations, a couple of face-to-face scenes, and some blue balls. What a fucking waste.
In the Tall Grass - There's an old Family Guy clip of Stephen King in his publisher's office and he's looking for ideas and grabs the lamp saying something like, "and there's a spooky lamp!" How right they have become. Scary grass. Granted there's a bit more to it than that, but not a lot. Patrick Wilson was a lot of fun as the killer.
Delirium - Topher Grace should not touch another horror ever again. He has the least convincing scared reactions... and I like the guy. He's the reason I even put it on. The plot of the movie is one head scratching reveal after another (oh boy that mom one was... something else) and explodes by the end with a "WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH?!"
Bob Lazar: Area 51 and Aliens - The documentarian spent way more focus on himself than he did with the journalist and Bob Lazar himself... who I think should have been the major focus, just a thought. The stuff with Bob is fascinating stuff but this doc was just SO overproduced it isn't even funny. At times it was almost like I was watching a music video with a voiceover. Honestly, you are far better off just watching Bob Lazar on Joe Rogan than watching this.
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Post by Mattsby on Mar 29, 2021 1:59:00 GMT
Cosh Boy (1953) 7/10` Solidly made by the underrated Lewis Gilbert - you could program a series on the evolving depictions of delinquents around London, from yobs to teddy boys, with Hue and Cry (1947) to this and The Boys (1962) and then toward the punk scene. One of the main kids in the cast later became an Oscar winning Art Director who worked on Alien, Rocky Horror, Howards End etc. Also in the cast, a teenage Joan Collins. But the lead James Kenney though despicable is sort of brilliant and very Gary Oldman-esque.
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