Barbie
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Post by Barbie on Apr 23, 2022 2:39:32 GMT
The Parent Trap - 8/10 Freaky Friday - 8/10
The Lindsay Lohan remakes. I love these movies, and this is my first time watching them as an adult. Lohan at her peak was one of the best actresses of her generation, and I’m positive that if she didn’t spiral downwards and had good people around her, she’d at least have an Oscar nomination by now. She’s an excellent actor with raw talent. She can do drama and comedy and held her own against veteran actors as a kid and teen. Her roles in both movies are difficult to do for any actor, and for her to do so well at such a young age is so impressive. It’s an sad and heartbreaking what happened to her. I hope she heals and finds her way back to acting in projects that will showcase her talent
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2022 14:22:59 GMT
Christine (1958) - A bit "twee" in parts, but the directorial flourishes within are quite inspired, and Romy Schneider grounds it with her beautiful performance. I think of this as a stepping stone from Sissi to her more "adult" roles... Oh, and of course she and Delon are simply stunning together.
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Apr 26, 2022 17:57:21 GMT
The Pope of Greenwich Village. First watch. Kinda meh, but I’d probably have liked a lot more if I had first watched it in the 90’s. Really intrigued by what could have been if Cimino directed this with DeNiro and Pacino, as originally intended. And holy hell does Eric Roberts dial it up for his entire performance. Also, does any actor work as much as he does? Looking thru his IMDB is exhausting, over 670 acting credits.
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Post by ireallyamsomething on Apr 27, 2022 11:32:03 GMT
The most recent great discovery - The Third Lover (1962)
Completely captivated by this relatively early work by Chabrol which has strong echoes of the past and the future. The past being Hitchcock - the voyeurism (Psycho), the following (Vertigo), an extended vital scene at an amusement park (Strangers on a Train). The future, more importantly, being prime Chabrol himself, the late '60s/mid-'70s era of his signature thrillers with lacerating commentary on bourgeoisie lifestyles.
Though it's not as simplistic as just criticizing the facade of happy relationships and respectability among the bourgeoisie - this film sees the pathetic, pitiable protagonist with clear eyes - who is so bitter, envious that he desperately and deviously destroys a picture of harmony he can't stand. And yet, because the world and the protagonist are drawn so well - there is sometimes a literary feel to the narration and observations too - it becomes a treacherous tragedy.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 27, 2022 12:02:51 GMT
A Special Education (1977) - First Time Watch - at least an 8 / 10 ........ This is a major - and pretty great - movie that I didn't know......but it's also deeply sad - punctuated with knowing humor by Goran Markovic (his debut?) - that is part comedy (sort of), pointedly observed drama, and sharp social / cultural criticism but also a coming of age story. This movie has several things in it that Pauline Kael (I think?) would have loved - but not sure if she ever reviewed it (?) - a detached emotionalism that ratchets up as it goes along. An unforgettable ending .......not sure if this has been seen on MAR?......in America, this would have been a mawkish mess......
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Post by ireallyamsomething on Apr 27, 2022 14:59:37 GMT
A Special Education (1977) - First Time Watch - at least an 8 / 10 ........ This is a major - and pretty great - movie that I didn't know......but it's also deeply sad - punctuated with knowing humor by Goran Markovic (his debut?) - that is part comedy (sort of), pointedly observed drama, and sharp social / cultural criticism but also a coming of age story. This movie has several things in it that Pauline Kael (I think?) would have loved - but not sure if she ever reviewed it (?) - a detached emotionalism that ratchets up as it goes along. An unforgettable ending .......not sure if this has been seen on MAR?......in America, this would have been a mawkish mess...... I had added this to my watchlist recently - this is a further reminder to check it out...
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 27, 2022 16:02:07 GMT
A Special Education (1977) - First Time Watch - at least an 8 / 10 ........ This is a major - and pretty great - movie that I didn't know......but it's also deeply sad - punctuated with knowing humor by Goran Markovic (his debut?) - that is part comedy (sort of), pointedly observed drama, and sharp social / cultural criticism but also a coming of age story. This movie has several things in it that Pauline Kael (I think?) would have loved - but not sure if she ever reviewed it (?) - a detached emotionalism that ratchets up as it goes along. An unforgettable ending .......not sure if this has been seen on MAR?......in America, this would have been a mawkish mess...... I've seen three films from Goran Markovic. All were very good, even great (the best being The Meeting Point). I haven't watched this one though. I might check it out as it does look interesting.
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Post by Martin Stett on Apr 27, 2022 18:35:10 GMT
2018 Scavenger Hunt #1Swing KidsCorny. Maudlin. Silly. Shallow. And god damn irresistible. The movie may be shallow Oscar bait, but whenever the music kicks in... It. Fucking. SOARS. And there is A LOT of dancing and music in this movie. 90 minutes of it, maybe? I'm just guessing, I'm terrible at estimations. This makes its point (war bad, dancing good, why can't we all just get along) whenever those tap shoes hit the ground and transport the viewer into another dimension. Truly a delight.
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Post by Mattsby on Apr 27, 2022 18:54:33 GMT
Below the Belt (1980) Obscure gem, 5.2 on IMDb and only 205 votes. Based on a true story... it was the director's only film, he was inspired by the Roland Barthes wrestling essay from his book Mythologies - gives him Thanks in the credits too. Filmed mostly in 1974 but stalled for a while... It didn't hit NY theaters until '83. Edited by Steven Zaillian before he took up screenwriting. Cast is littered with forgotten, low-key legends.... Mildred Burke, Captain Lou, Tiger Joe Marsh, Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi), Shirley Stoler (Honeymoon Killers, Seven Beauties), Paul Brennan's only acting part (Badger from Salesman doc).... an MVP in Dolph Sweet who says "Old wrestlers never die, they just fake away." But the star is Regina Braff who never acted again. The movie is kinda like Girlfriends (1978) but with amateur wrestling. At the beginning, it's a little Altmanesque. It'd work best as a b-side to All the Marbles (1981) which is like a better, studio-budget redo of it........ Or for anyone who liked the GLOW show and wanted to watch something closer to its source.
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Drish
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Post by Drish on Apr 28, 2022 14:43:05 GMT
I really liked Kwaidan even if some of the cultural references went over my head. A really hypnotic and visually pleasing horror anthology that mostly works esp. the first two stories.. genuinely creepy and engrossing. The third one, while an interesting plot kinda bogs down the film with its length. Loved the samurai feel of the last one but it didn't have the horror punch like the first three. Quite an admirable effort, though it didn't need to be a 3hr film. (8/10) Also, Tatsuya Nakadai has the most perfect face.
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Post by urbanpatrician on Apr 28, 2022 20:43:32 GMT
I really liked Kwaidan even if some of the cultural references went over my head. A really hypnotic and visually pleasing horror anthology that mostly works esp. the first two stories.. genuinely creepy and engrossing. The third one, while an interesting plot kinda bogs down the film with its length. Loved the samurai feel of the last one but it didn't have the horror punch like the first three. Quite an admirable effort, though it didn't need to be a 3hr film. (8/10) Also, Tatsuya Nakadai has the most perfect face. It's a very good folklore, its entertaining and interesting. But it's not the masterpiece some Japanese lovers claim.
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 29, 2022 17:08:48 GMT
Agnus Dei (1971) - Another great film from Miklos Jancso, one of his most allegorical for sure, that uses the Hungarian revolution of 1919 as a backdrop to criticize the moral collapse a position of power can bring, regardless of it being religious, political or military. The cinematography and shot composition is as impeccable as ever. The film is perhaps a bit heavy-handed in it's message, but that is a minor gripe in an, otherwise, pretty astonishing work. - 8.5/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 30, 2022 15:56:27 GMT
You Won't Be Alone (2022) - 7 + / 10The only movie I've seen this year that I really liked - I may be underrating it maybe - every year I fall in love with Art-Horror movies upon reflection which I review in a lukewarm way and they end up at the top of my end of year lists - Censor, History of the Occult, Hagazussa, Saint Maud (ALL debuts) - I'm not sure if this is like those but at the very least it's a Possessor - something with so many good ideas in it, it makes other movies (looking at you The Northman) seem safe or in some ways pandering or tepid. This Folk-Horror is not very horrorific but it is very folk-tale-ish.......the story of a witch in a remote setting - this has elements of the great recent witch films The VVitch and Hagazussa but more in the burnished lushness of the former and the sparse rural poetic visual design of the (way more terrifying and disturbing) latter. It operates on its own wavelength though. Ths movie has no discernible moving plot at all - so you could blow it off as waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too arty ........but it still finds lots (LOTS) of time for its tone poem approach - deeply encroaching nature, motherhood, terrific sound design and even better silences and um, er, shapeshifting into wolves and stuff........which I guess is horror but also plays as Mother Nature just gone wacky. In a way this movie is a critics movie - it "seriously" examines the myth ( ?) of witches without giving in to an audiences expectations......which also means it's kind of dull. On the other hand, I'd watch it again.....which is high praise. You could call this the Let The Right One In of witches or the Wings of Desire of witches......and that's sort of not entirely wrong. Exceedingly interesting conceptually.......though a somewhat overtly impenetrable film in how it plays...... deeply feeling and humanistic which you can rarely say in this genre. This is a debut from Goran Stolevski and is entirely in Macedonian.
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Post by PromNightCarrie on May 2, 2022 19:33:55 GMT
Mississippi Mermaid 8/10. BUT this movie would not have worked if they had not cast Catherine Deneuve. She makes you say, "Okay, I get it, Belmondo. I get it."
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Post by Joaquim on May 3, 2022 1:02:10 GMT
Million Dollar Legs (1932): 7/10
Really funny, I enjoyed this a lot. Some of the jokes fall flat but that’s to be expected when there’s a gag every couple of seconds
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Post by pacinoyes on May 3, 2022 14:29:27 GMT
We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021) - Um........under a 6 .......
Really wish this was better - a confusing, cheaply made movie that plays arbitrarily with what is really happening to a maddening degree but also is very up to date and relevant with cultural ideas and issues. Has lots of good ideas in it, as to what is (really) happening to you, and your body and "out there" in the real world vs. your online reality ........that are Cronenberg-esque without overtly being body horror. Might have made a better descriptive short story than a movie........or needed more artistic rigor or thematic control over what it's saying......
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on May 4, 2022 4:27:33 GMT
Batman Returns - To call it a dark film feels disingenuous, especially with the silliness going on. It’s more just a moody and bitter film, to a degree that it becomes hard to truly “enjoy” it. It’s clear Burton doesn’t even want to make a Batman movie, as evidenced by him pushing Keaton aside for a significant amount of time, his misunderstanding of the character’s inner workings and tone, and putting far more of his attention on the villains. Pfeiffer and DeVito who both prove scene stealers, and Walken whose character shouldn’t even exist. Burton is more just making a movie of his own invention that happens to have Batman in it. Why even make a Batman movie at all if that’s the case? Burton has an imaginative eye, from the glorious production value on display, even if his clunky set-pieces show how ill-equipped he is at action still. It may not reach the insufferable likes of Batman & Robin or Batman v Superman, but it’s a disappointment regardless.
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Post by mhynson27 on May 4, 2022 14:48:15 GMT
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Goddamn Lizzie, goddamn.
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on May 6, 2022 5:39:18 GMT
Frankenweenie (2012) (Rewatch) - I finally figured out why this movie doesn’t sit well with me. Tim Burton had the easiest emotional pull in the book; a boy who loved his dog so much, he cheated death itself to bring him back. It’s not hard to see why that love would resonate, as I’m sure we’ve all had those pets that we’d give anything just to spend one more day with. That’s what brings us in, that’s the emotional core of the film, and that’s what gradually gets buried as it progresses. Buried under the weight of the numerous homages to Burton’s favorite horrors and B-movies, as the Ed Wood-esque creature antics take precedence, and push that sweet center to the sidelines in a way that dismisses and minimizes it. By far the weakest of Burton’s stop-motion concepts.
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on May 6, 2022 18:34:22 GMT
Righteous Kill. I still can’t believe the was the next movie DeNiro and Pacino made together after Heat.
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Barbie
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Post by Barbie on May 7, 2022 1:39:18 GMT
Basic Instinct - 7/10. Rewatch
This was entertaining, but I’m not gonna pretend it’s not trashy. I’m baffled by people who act like this film is prestige. I also don’t get people who praise this film as subversive and satire bc it’s Verhoeven. What? Am I missing something???
Knowing what we know now about how Sharon Stone was actually misled into showing her vagina during the interrogation scene, I’m so sad for her and how she was disrespected and violated.
I see people on Film Twitter and Left Twitter praising Verhoeven as some radical leftist or progressive filmmaker, and I’m not getting that from him, at least not here. And that’s fine but let’s not pretend like he’s something he’s not.
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on May 7, 2022 2:56:01 GMT
Basic Instinct - 7/10. Rewatch This was entertaining, but I’m not gonna pretend it’s not trashy. I’m baffled by people who act like this film is prestige. I also don’t get people who praise this film as subversive and satire bc it’s Verhoeven. What? Am I missing something??? Knowing what we know now about how Sharon Stone was actually misled into showing her vagina during the interrogation scene, I’m so sad for her and how she was disrespected and violated. I see people on Film Twitter and Left Twitter praising Verhoeven as some radical leftist or progressive filmmaker, and I’m not getting that from him, at least not here. And that’s fine but let’s not pretend like he’s something he’s not. Just watched this myself earlier this week – it’s not really satirical in an outright humorous sense, but I still see it as poking fun at how Americans engage with the idea of sex – we like to think we’re sexually savvy, but are still hopelessly bound by a kind of prudishness. Verhoeven is making fun of Americans for watching movies and expecting/wanting the artificial, prudish idea of sex that Hollywood often sells us by, for example, beginning the film with an explicit sex scene instead of titillating the viewer. Instead, he throws it in the viewer's face. Also, by giving us a protagonist who is so in over his head and overconfident in his own sexual prowess, and making a complete fool of him, Verhoeven is satirizing the American self-delusion of sexual acumen. RoboCop and Starship Troopers are probably Verhoeven’s most explicitly satirical films though, if you haven’t checked out those out yet.
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Post by stabcaesar on May 7, 2022 11:20:54 GMT
Knowing what we know now about how Sharon Stone was actually misled into showing her vagina during the interrogation scene, I’m so sad for her and how she was disrespected and violated. I see people on Film Twitter and Left Twitter praising Verhoeven as some radical leftist or progressive filmmaker, and I’m not getting that from him, at least not here. And that’s fine but let’s not pretend like he’s something he’s not. Yeah he's a fucking creep.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on May 8, 2022 0:50:42 GMT
The Cursed (2021).
Banging. Does dip a bit in its third act, but damn was that a great opening.
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Post by stephen on May 8, 2022 1:28:14 GMT
The Cursed (2021). Banging. Does dip a bit in its third act, but damn was that a great opening. Worst thing about the movie is that it was re-named. Eight for Silver is such a bitchin' title.
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