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Post by Mattsby on Jun 10, 2021 21:57:58 GMT
The Mercenary (1968) rewatch, 8/10 or more, and enjoyment level thru the roof. To me this might be the most exuberant spaghetti Western, a somewhat knowing farce of the Zapata subgenre, very much hitting Leone’s markers, but excitingly, and totally pumped up by one of Ennio’s very best scores. Corbucci filmed this right after (the bleak, the brilliant) The Great Silence and they were both released in December around Italy… imagine that double feature.
On this rewatch I kept picking up on the use/misuse/metaphors of bodies… Franco Nero keeps striking cigarettes on people (boobs, a dead man’s foot, etc)… he compares the revolution to human anatomy…. Jack Palance’s villain strips in a you-cant-shame-me way… and the whole framing is around Tony Musante’s literal clown, “a hero to clown in six months” - during the climactic showdown, he leaves his foam nose on.
Under the comedy (“Chopin? Was he from Chihuahua?”) there’s still a lot snuck in - the idea that political action and violence become playful matter in the hands of vain, capricious people. Musante and Nero are supposed to be a team but their off-class relationship is always being negotiated bc they don’t have a design outside of themselves. Nero is needy, greedy, a salt-over-shoulder mercenary - he’ll protect you for a price, but it seems his own personal reward is the feeling of control, a luxury for the ego - he even controls the showdown at gunpoint. His ‘heroic’ lead is barely one… he’d leave you thirsty while showering under all the water. Musante adds zeroes to his Wanted reward to bloat his infamy, too foolish to realize that would add more means to his capture.
Side note - I always look forward to the Spaghetti ending copy, the wide-open final exchange before going separate ways. Other than The Good the Bad the Ugly, some aren’t great - Face to Face, Big Gundown - but some are so memorable like Sabata, Bullet for the General, and here, where “keep dreaming….” comes with an Old West tip.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 10, 2021 22:19:20 GMT
In case anyone wants to catch up on this and is working through their Shudder 1 week free trial (um) - the great Hagazussa : A Heathen's Curse is streaming on Shudder - I can't believe I wrote this review just 3 months ago (!?!) and I've seen it 3 times (um) and bought it on a great Arrow DVD .edition......and yeah that ~ 8 rating was low I actually went to cancel my Shudder today and they offered me a full free month (howboutthat)... Just like a villain to keep you on the hook! I finally watched Hagazussa and well.......it's immediately well made and remarkable bc the filmmaking touch is almost gentle, yet so brushingly intense and very creepy... I didn't mind the slowness, I loved its attention to textures, crunching snow, petting the horse... and then the subject trauma threw me a little.... I wasn't, not at all, expecting this to enter gross-out territory, and it almost shoves you into all of its sexual sickness that it became for me a movie I... didn't love. But I like the chapterizing of it and I will definitely keep an eye on what creative team do next. Yeah it's a tough watch in particular because the gross out stuff may not actually be happening either - in the way we first process it at least (very arguable) so on some level I was repulsed AND confused - and also because the last 2 chapters are in effect silent (or dialog free) which makes you think on first viewing that something has gone wrong with the film ........ I'm presenting this movie as a feature showing of my movie club irl next month and speaking on it before hand and taking questions afterwards - which I haven't been inspired to do in a long time ............ and I'm already prepared for every conceivable question ........like you know........"Wtf was........THAT?"
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 10, 2021 22:25:30 GMT
I actually went to cancel my Shudder today and they offered me a full free month (howboutthat)... Just like a villain to keep you on the hook! I finally watched Hagazussa and well.......it's immediately well made and remarkable bc the filmmaking touch is almost gentle, yet so brushingly intense and very creepy... I didn't mind the slowness, I loved its attention to textures, crunching snow, petting the horse... and then the subject trauma threw me a little.... I wasn't, not at all, expecting this to enter gross-out territory, and it almost shoves you into all of its sexual sickness that it became for me a movie I... didn't love. But I like the chapterizing of it and I will definitely keep an eye on what creative team do next. Yeah it's a tough watch in particular because the gross out stuff may not actually be happening either - in the way we first process it at least (very arguable) so on some level I was repulsed AND confused - and also because the last 2 chapters are in effect silent (or dialog free) which makes you think on first viewing that something has gone wrong with the film ........ I'm presenting this movie as a feature showing of my movie club irl next month and speaking on it before hand and taking questions afterwards - which I haven't been inspired to do in a long time ............ and I'm already prepared for every conceivable question ........like you know........"Wtf was........THAT?" Love that and wish I had a damn movie club! The director has mentioned Tarkovsky and Zulawski as having definitely influenced him, which I can see....but you know who came to mind for me while watching, Dreyer. In the gradual style that keeps suddenly getting under your skin, and in theme... like in Ordet how that family seems like they cannot live without the feeling and fear of religion, that specific tension, and the Day of Wrath subject, is sort of doubled-down here.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 10, 2021 22:28:43 GMT
In memoria di me (2007) 7+ / 10 ..........thanks to wilcinema for the recommendation Slow moving but engrossing story about the surrender of yourself to Faith but that's just on one level......this movie takes you (deep) into the seminary structure and life and some of its best passages are silent, meditative and visually dense. Good film - and a unique one - although not one concerned with typical dramatic plot points.......or resolutions which may be expressly the point.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 11, 2021 0:20:59 GMT
Yeah it's a tough watch in particular because the gross out stuff may not actually be happening either - in the way we first process it at least (very arguable) so on some level I was repulsed AND confused - and also because the last 2 chapters are in effect silent (or dialog free) which makes you think on first viewing that something has gone wrong with the film ........ I'm presenting this movie as a feature showing of my movie club irl next month and speaking on it before hand and taking questions afterwards - which I haven't been inspired to do in a long time ............ and I'm already prepared for every conceivable question ........like you know........"Wtf was........THAT?" Love that and wish I had a damn movie club! The director has mentioned Tarkovsky and Zulawski as having definitely influenced him, which I can see.... but you know who came to mind for me while watching, Dreyer. In the gradual style that keeps suddenly getting under your skin, and in theme... like in Ordet how that family seems like they cannot live without the feeling and fear of religion, that specific tension, and the Day of Wrath subject, is sort of doubled-down here. It is definitely like Dreyer in that it leaves it to you to get certain connections - and like with Dreyer those are visual - usually The Church seems overtly absent until you realize the priest did call for her.......gave her the skull........so proactively doomed her too....... This is one of the very few modern movies to me where the form as conceived then meshes with the narrative exactly: how "fluids" here - base or unseemly, vulgar: menstrual blood that presages rape, an inverted type of "mother's milk" (sexual, grotesque), urine .........are all at odds with a Church we know but don't see - confessional wine/Christ's blood, purifying or baptismal water, tears of repentance, etc. The self-baptism she gives herself when she washes her hair is done in a way that its striking but may not strike the viewer as a sick baptism at all - it's a film made to be read........and re-read.......in a lot of ways that run deep in its fabric What's funny is this was his Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie Berlin graduation project. I could see him never following it up - like he had this inspired origin story and now is like "Ok, I'm out" and drop the mic
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 11, 2021 16:08:27 GMT
Shrew's Nest (2014) - 7+ / 10 on ShudderLook............ the only people I've ever "killed" are here on MAR - and that was just metaphorically speaking - but even I know that the clean-up of their bodies is a lot more complicated than this movie suggests it is for actual murders. But, if you can suspend your disbelief, it's a very entertaining ride of psychological terror in 1950s (and before!) Spain with an unhinged lead performance by Macarena Gómez (Heyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!! ............Macarena!) and a small but pivotal role from the always good or better - when I see him at least - Luis Tosar. The very ending of this movie is simultaneously the biggest "Oh, Wow!" ........and......... "Wait.......That's It???" thing I've seen in a long while ........oh and it's getting a US remake from Paramount apparently too ......
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jun 11, 2021 18:46:02 GMT
Mangrove (2020)
Now that is how you do a courtroom drama folks. You spend some time building to the events that lead to a trial, you develop characters well so that by the time they are on trial you care about them and why they are on trial. Then you continue to interject humanity between the events in the courtroom in a believable way, by having people speak to each other in believable ways, in scenarios that are believably portrayed. You trust an audience to follow a story from A - Z, and do not have to jump backward and forward from trial to event. I recall being quite impressed with The Trial of the Chicago 7 when I watched it, but this film is forcing me to re-evaluate my opinion on that one. It's also going to cause me to make some painful cuts from my acting Top 5's.
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Post by stephen on Jun 11, 2021 18:47:14 GMT
Mangrove (2020)Now that is how how you go a courtroom drama folks. You spend some time building to the events that lead to a trial, you develop characters well so that by the time they are on trial you care about them and why the are on trial. Then you continue to interject humanity between the events in the courtroom in a believable way, by having people speak to each other in a believable ways, in scenarios that are believably portrayed. You trust an audience to follow a story from A - Z, and to not have to jump backward and forward from trial to event. I recall being quite impressed with The Trial of the Chicago 7 when I watched it, but this film is forcing me to re-evaluate my opinion on that one. It's also going to cause me to make some painful cuts from my acting Top 5's. Fuck yeah.
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Jun 11, 2021 20:40:20 GMT
The Farewell. First watch. Really touching film. Lost some steam in the last act but just had a lot of nice moments throughout. Liked Awkwafina here quite a bit, which was a nice surprise since I normally find her pretty grating. Rest of the cast was very good as well, especially Nai Nai.
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Pasquale
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Post by Pasquale on Jun 11, 2021 21:50:15 GMT
Mangrove (2020)Now that is how how you go a courtroom drama folks. You spend some time building to the events that lead to a trial, you develop characters well so that by the time they are on trial you care about them and why the are on trial. Then you continue to interject humanity between the events in the courtroom in a believable way, by having people speak to each other in a believable ways, in scenarios that are believably portrayed. You trust an audience to follow a story from A - Z, and to not have to jump backward and forward from trial to event. I recall being quite impressed with The Trial of the Chicago 7 when I watched it, but this film is forcing me to re-evaluate my opinion on that one. It's also going to cause me to make some painful cuts from my acting Top 5's. Fuck yeah. Does this anthology of McQueen's requires to be seen in order? Are the movies completely separate from each other in terms of impact and plot/story?
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Post by stephen on Jun 11, 2021 22:00:49 GMT
Does this anthology of McQueen's requires to be seen in order? Are the movies completely separate from each other in terms of impact and plot/story? It doesn't need to be seen in any particular order, no.
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Pasquale
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Post by Pasquale on Jun 11, 2021 22:38:33 GMT
Does this anthology of McQueen's requires to be seen in order? Are the movies completely separate from each other in terms of impact and plot/story? It doesn't need to be seen in any particular order, no. Thank you.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 12, 2021 8:14:01 GMT
Violation (2020/2021) - 4 / 10 on ShudderRivals Antebellum at times as a PoS on a big social issue - but where Antebellum was a racist film about racism ..........Violation is a feminist (arguable) film about ......... misandry at least. A depiction of a young woman who uses a rape (arguable) to inflict upon us a snuff film basically with a furious descent into psychological manipulation, revenge and heavy handed metaphor. 87% on RT ...........yeah right - not nearly as smart as it thinks it is, and frankly makes me wants to take the side of everyone else except the victim (arguable).......that's not victim blaming........that's a bad dramatic arc.......
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Post by Pavan on Jun 12, 2021 11:59:37 GMT
Love and Monsters (2020)-
This is surprisingly good. It all worked a bit easy and fast for the protagonist but he has conviction and his heart is in the right place. A fresh and earnest story with likable characters, lots of fun and great visual effects make this one of the better end of the world films- 7.5/10
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Post by cheesecake on Jun 12, 2021 14:00:39 GMT
Had a Parasite and Society double feature last night.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jun 12, 2021 15:41:56 GMT
Rent-a-Pal (2020)
This was really great and not at all what I was expecting for about three quarters of the film, then it just got a little tired, obvious and lamely predictable in the end. It's a shame too, as this film was flying high for so long. Still, the end wasn't enough to dampen what was still quite a good package. The editing was great and the screen play rather impressive, with both of those aiding a fine lead performance from Brian Landis Folkins, and a very fine supporting performance from Will Wheaton.
Psycho Goreman (2020)
This is the kind of nonsense entertainment I can't get enough of, right from when I started watching this sort of gore soaked silliness as a kid. It was just a fun, low budget, genre blending cheesefest; done with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The costumes were brilliantly ridiculous and the practical effects beyond endearing. The gore by the bucket full was stupidly hilarious. The dialogue and performances were corny and too much. This was a so bad it's very good kinda film.
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 12, 2021 15:57:12 GMT
Violation (2020/2021) - 4 / 10 on ShudderRivals Antebellum at times as a PoS on a big social issue - but where Antebellum was a racist film about racism ..........Violation is a feminist (arguable) film about ......... misandry at least. A depiction of a young woman who uses a rape (arguable) to inflict upon us a snuff film basically with a furious descent into psychological manipulation, revenge and heavy handed metaphor. 87% on RT ...........yeah right - not nearly as smart as it thinks it is, and frankly makes me wants to take the side of everyone else except the victim (arguable).......that's not victim blaming........that's a bad dramatic arc....... Agree on the 4/10. Reading interviews with the filmmakers only confirm that their intentions don't really match the execution. Made in a sloppy, teased out way... It obscures and pads some of the events but not "the revenge" so the female victim comes to seem like the only assaulter. ?? Surprised critics, or anyone, likes this bc it feels both backwards and proud of itself. What is so "thoughtful" about it? Plus, who puts bones in perfectly good ice cream!
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 12, 2021 18:24:18 GMT
Some jot on recent watches - Convicts (1991) 6/10. Fifth collab btwn Duvall and writer Horton Foote - after The Chase, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, the underrated Tomorrow. I liked the idea and site of this, a convict plantation (in lieu of slaves) run by an isolated, badly senile old man, seen thru the eyes of a wage-waiting boy. But the focus narrows just to the Duvall character who repeats himself over and over and wears you down, and he does a lot of lip licking. I was more interested in what was going on outside of his room...especially when you have James Earl Jones out there! Bodyguard (1948) 6/10. Lawrence Tierney was kinda perfect for the 60m noirs of the time bc of his will-punch-you presence and history (they just announced a new biography on him btw). He did one of the best, The Devil Thumbs A Ride, the previous year. Here, after his cop is fired, he decks the chief and goes to work security for a corned beef factory? Yes, this is meat noir. RKO bought the story treatment off Robert Altman who gets his first career credit here. Not a very memorable pic but solid while watching. Pirates (1986) 6.5/10. Dwindled a little on this rewatch.... I kept questioning how flatly plot-empty it is and how it almost feels like a musical without the numbers. Perhaps a Penzance wish but I had this thought before the ending line... Matthau tells his sidekick, "Will you sing for me?" -- Despite being not very good or funny, Matthau gives a curly perf and it's here and there enjoyable and the whole crud-covered detailing is impressive. The Nicholson/Polanski initial pairing would've been special. Goyokin (1969) 7ish/10. Overlong and uneven and a little incomprehensible, but there are some strikingly eerie scenes and the pounding climax(es) make the wait worthwhile. Great cast, a whos-who of samurai cinema... and directed by the underrated Hideo Gosha. The Princess Bride (1987) 7.5/10 or so, how couldya rate it? Vividly wonderful... I've seen it as a kid and used to quote "Anybody wanna peanut" an annoying amount... but this was my fav watch of it tbh... don't we all wanna be read bedtime stories by Peter Falk??
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Post by Miles Morales on Jun 12, 2021 18:39:04 GMT
Mahapurush - 7.5/10
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jun 12, 2021 18:41:03 GMT
The Exorcist III (1990)Hadn't seen this for a fair few years and my love for it hasn't dimmed at all. It's a fine horror film, but an even better cop film. That hallway sequence has to be one of the best in horror, and the scenes in the cell are genuinely disquieting. Those medical shears too ...terrifying murder weapon. Have to mention Brad Dourif too. He's a force of nature in this. Has he just taken my 1990 Supporting Actor win from Pesci...I think he might have.
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Post by Viced on Jun 12, 2021 18:55:28 GMT
Ladybug Ladybug (1963)Holy harrowing! Tautly yet tenderly directed by Frank Perry, with an excellent cast of characters. My only complaint is that the hilarious kid that got sent to the principal's office exited the film so soon. This would've been riveting if it was just 'Lord of the Flies in a fallout shelter' for 80 minutes too. Kids talking about war and nukes... fascinating, depressing, and... hilarious ("my cat doesn't like loud noises." ). Absolutely jawdropping and heartbreaking conclusion too. Some old fogey in the IMDb reviews says they haven't looked at an abandoned refrigerator the same way since they saw this as a kid in 1964... and I'll probably feel the same way from now on.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Jun 12, 2021 21:04:11 GMT
Oh honeys, such a great movie! The story is not very original and has been done before, but it is done here with great French charm. Bernadette Lafont as Paulette carries the movie superbly! Not only does crime sometimes pay, but it makes you a much nicer person! Paulette (2012) 8/10
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morton
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Post by morton on Jun 12, 2021 21:23:22 GMT
Totally clicked on the wrong thread for some reason when I first posted this.
My friend sometimes gets free passes to early screenings, and this past Thursday she got tickets for The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. So this was the first time I’ve been to the movies in more than a year.
I was very easy on it because I didn’t pay anything for it. I never saw the first one, but I don’t think you have to because the story is pretty straightforward. It’s pretty dumb all around, and it felt like most of the actors knew that too and just showed up for the paycheck. Still I laughed a lot at how dumb it was, and there were a few moments that were totally predictable that I still laughed at.
I’m not sure I’d recommend it unless someone has something like AMC’s Stubs or something, but it was fun.
God help me because I’ll probably go see Free Guy even though it looks like another really stupid comedy, but I hope that Ryan Reynolds did actually stumble into a good comedy outside of Deadpool because I think he totally carries the film, and I think the idea of Free Guy has potential even though the trailer doesn’t make it look all that great.
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 12, 2021 23:28:32 GMT
Ladybug Ladybug (1963)Holy harrowing! Tautly yet tenderly directed by Frank Perry, with an excellent cast of characters. My only complaint is that the hilarious kid that got sent to the principal's office exited the film so soon. This would've been riveting if it was just 'Lord of the Flies in a fallout shelter' for 80 minutes too. Kids talking about war and nukes... fascinating, depressing, and... hilarious ("my cat doesn't like loud noises." ). Absolutely jawdropping and heartbreaking conclusion too. Some old fogey in the IMDb reviews says they haven't looked at an abandoned refrigerator the same way since they saw this as a kid in 1964... and I'll probably feel the same way from now on. Phenomenal movie. Katy Perry's Uncle was on fire in the '60s - if it wasn't a masterpiece (The Swimmer, Last Summer), it was a gem (A Christmas Memory). This is between the two, though it's insanely underrated - it flopped on release and came at a crucial period, few weeks after the JFK assassination, few weeks before Dr Strangelove... it pushes specific fears to then....and in tone to now (more last year). Perry needs a boxset from Arrow or Criterion or something. Lotta great essays to be written on his work, and the work needs remastering. I like how they set this in Gradyville Pennsylvania... an actual 'unincorporated community', a town so small its population is excluded from the census. That context adds to the cryptic strandedness on screen. Also s/o to Liv Soprano and Mr Feeny's first job.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jun 13, 2021 8:48:23 GMT
"Die Katze" (The Cat) (1988) - 7.5+ / 10 (sort of a re-watch)I had seen this 161 years ago but forgotten much of it (except the ending) and seeing it again I'm thinking it should be better known - a lot better - it's not unknown but it's missed being recognizable for its touch points. Inside Man and Tarantino take elements of this movie in some ways Heat even - if Heat was a leaner straight genre pic ........there's a whole 80s Eurotrash vibe that's in here in many Hollywood 90s movies ........there are twists and sex and more twists.
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