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Post by Martin Stett on Sept 9, 2024 14:00:19 GMT
Trenque Lauquen (2022) - For the first three hours, I was totally on board. Citarella didn't care about traditional story structure or narrative payoff and just allowed the characters to explore whatever mysteries intrigued them - very much like Extraordinary Stories (which Citarella produced). It was unpredictably, often very funny, and kept me excited for each new twist. But then the last hour happened in which she kinda sorta tries to answer some of the mysteries, and the movie's charm slowly drains away the more we learn about Laura. When everybody else is obsessing over her, she's an intriguing enigma... but when we learn more about her and why she disappeared, she's just dull. 7/10 but it's pretty great for most of the running time.
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970) - A Zatoichi epic running at the unheard of length of 2 HOURS, and all of that time is stuffed with loads of characters and plotlines and convoluted narrative threads (as opposed to the usual simplicity of the Zatoichi formula). It's the most ambitious movie in a series that could have just slapped Toshiro Mifune in with "he fights Shintaro Katsu!" and called it a day, and I dig it. The interactions between the two title characters are all wonderful - their first meeting is the biggest laugh of the whole franchise - and every time they share the screen this film totally rocks. BUUUUUUUT that epic storyline that I praised for ambition is... well, way too ambitious. There is so damn much happening with so many moving parts, and although I'm not as confused as many people on Letterboxd, it needed more time to make the many gangs and factions and background information on everyone clear. I still think this is nearly the best movie of the series, but it bit off more than it could chew. 7/10
Banel & Adama (2023) - Artsy, boring, one-note, but pretty. If the director put half the thought of her visual compositions into her bluntly expositional dialogue, this could have been pretty good. 4/10
G.O.R.A. (2004) - My brain cells were committing suicide en masse while watching this extraordinarily dumb and crass sci-fi comedy that falls somewhere between Austin Powers and some ten year old's home movie tribute to Star Wars. It's a lot of fun. Who can't get a smile out of an exchange like:
Daughter: Mom, I'm in love!
Mother: With the Earthling?
Daughter: Is it that obvious?
Mother [reminiscing to herself]: Just... like me...
Daughter: I SAW HIM FIRST, YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!!!
Sure, some of the jokes are just crass without being funny at all (the aliens getting butt-raped by the first human they see upon first contact was a bit much), but so much of this was so unexpectedly fun. 7/10
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Post by urbanpatrician on Sept 9, 2024 14:07:11 GMT
Last 3 Weeks
Ozark (season 2, ep 9 - season 4, ep 14) - Could be an all time favorite if it werent for season 3 which was boring. Season 4 did make it all good again. I even liked the 2nd half of season 4 which some people didnt. That middle of season 4 with the murder of Ruth's cousin causing her vendetta ending in the Chicago high rise. The finale was seethingly tense during the scene where Carmela threatens Claire on who killed her son. All those episodes from the middle of season 4 to the end were so good. Season 3 just squeezed the life out of things in the midseason and I even began to zone out. But besides that is also the fact that it needed a season 5. CARMELA's crime boss exploits could've definitely used a season 5. Only difference is Ruth's ending is rewritten or delayed. I miss this family already and a season 5 could've definitely been possible. It's probably the main reason it falls just short of an all time favorite. Julia Garner and her character is etched into my brain. I'll always see her as Ruth Langmore unless something drastically changes in her career. 9/10
The Last Samurai - Good. Better than when I saw it in 2003 which I thought it was just some so-so epic. In 2003, there were 4 movies that people guaranteed would be nominated for Best Picture. Cold Mountain, Return of the King, Master and Commander, and The Last Samurai. 2 underwhelmed. Lost in Translation and Mystic River definitely overperformed audience reception. Seabiscuit was the choice that happened because there wasn't a better 5th option.
I think City of God maybe had a chance but it was gonna be a small one. Seabiscuit wasn't a great movie but it was about horse racing and horse racing movies felt like a bigger deal in 2002/2003 than City of God which in my opinion if released more around 2013-2015 would be a bigger deal with the Netflix binge of Narcos shows and provocative television. Feels like City of God belongs in that category of entertainment. 7/10
Star Trek Original Series (season 2, ep 4-12) - I liked Season 1. The good episodes are really good. But the boring episodes are really instantly forgettable. Season 2 so far is just like Season 1 in keeping that trend. But still there's enough of it to where you can only choose to remember the iconic episodes. 7.5/10 (for these particular episodes.) 8/10 (for the entirety of what I've seen so far)
Godzilla (98-99 animated) (Season 1, ep 1-10) - Was boring. Maybe some childhood images but I probably never watched many of these episodes even back then because it was boring then too 5/10
Virginia's Run - Canadians love movies/shows about horses. Some childhood memories and a beautiful young Rachel Skarsten aside, this movie probably deserves a middling 6/10
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (season 1, ep 1-6) - Never saw the original series. But based on the entertaining and interesting first 6 episodes of the spinoff I'll get on the original series right away. 7.5/10
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Post by JangoB on Sept 9, 2024 14:40:11 GMT
Sweet Bean - 3 films in, Naomi Kawase strikes me as a Japanese version of Claire Denis... if Claire Denis was actually good. This movie is a bit more traditional than Shara and The Mourning Forest but Kawase's auteurist touches bring a nice authenticity to it and save it from becoming a piece of total sap. Inside Out - REWATCH. Pixar's very best. I continue to be in awe of that script. Zoolander - My heart will always have a soft spot for purely stupid comdies, as long as they're done right. This one is. The Rocker - ...and this one isn't. The script is so insanely formulaic and devoid of actual jokes that the only thing that might've had a chance to somewhat save it was the filmmaking... and Oscar-nominated helmer Peter Cattaneo didn't rise to the occasion. This material begs for actual comedic direction with an emphasis on silly (perhaps in the vein of Stiller's Zoolander work) but Cattaneo treats it like a random episode of a lame sitcom. Rainn Wilson's Jack Black cosplay is not especially stimulating either. Red Rooms - An excellent character-based Canadian thriller with an unforgettable central performance by Juliette Gariépy. Just when I thought I was out, 2023 finds ways to pull me back in and surprise me. Have you seen this, pacinoyes? Seems like something that could be right up your alley. Zoolander 2 - The place where comedy goes to die. Everyone involved probably had a great time goofing around on set (well, except for the cinematographer Dan Mindel who found working with Stiller difficult) but none of that fun ended up rubbing off on us, the audience. All I could think about was how disappointed Terrence Malick must've been when he saw this. Oh, but there are a lot of cameos. And Penélope Cruz looks especially astonishing. Not much more to this flop than that, I'm afraid.
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bigmilko
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Post by bigmilko on Sept 9, 2024 15:20:21 GMT
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) - 10/10: Certainly unlike anything I couldve expected, and just hard to believe that this aired week to week on network TV. While I did enjoy the original run a bit more, it is certainly worth noting just how incredible it is. I have not been able to stop thinking about Episode 8 since watching it, nor will I ever forget about the ending and what that all means to Lynch. Gotta Light?
The House That Dripped Blood (1971) - 9/10: Anthology movies can be pretty hit or miss, you either get one pretty strong opener and 3 really mediocre or even bad ones, an while this one starts incredibly strong for me (I was freaking out during the first segment) the other 3 are still a blast. Needless to say I had a lot of fun
The People vs George Lucas (2010) - 6/10: Interesting to see the Letterboxd reactions just despising this movie for either, being mean to George Lucas and the Prequels, or spending 90 minutes listening to Star Wars fans whine and moan about the Prequels like a bunch of babies. But I feel the real take away I got was that Star Wars fans have always been the same and never changed
Dead Silence (2007) - 6/10: Pretty ok mid 2000s horror fair, does nothing special but Wan is able to show of some of his beans that make his horror a bit more fun than the contemporaries
Tales From the Crypt (1972) - 5/10: Again, a pretty solid start but as the other 4 segments kept going getting less and less interesting I was just over it by the ending, does a pretty poor job balancing the 5 too, some are way too long
Map to the Stars (2014) - 6/10: Cronenberg's normal brand of Cronenberg freak is absent, but its swapped out for the ego driven freak show that is Hollywood, and I cant hate it for that, its pretty fun in that regard
RW Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) - 7/10: While I dont love it as much as some online, I still find it wildly enjoyable in a way that most other modern blockbusters dont know how to do. Its very close to being great, I just think if the characters and overall story were just a bit more engaging it could be a real classic
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 9, 2024 16:34:41 GMT
Red Rooms - An excellent character-based Canadian thriller with an unforgettable central performance by Juliette Gariépy. Just when I thought I was out, 2023 finds ways to pull me back in and surprise me. Have you seen this, pacinoyes ? Seems like something that could be right up your alley. Haven't seen but is on my watchlist - it was also recommended to me irl......will definitely write about it when I see it though........thx4thetip  |
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Post by sofi screwbb on Sept 9, 2024 18:13:44 GMT
two weeks worth:
Where the Crawdads Sing (Olivia Newman, 2022) romance melodrama w Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Garret Dillahunt, Ahna O'Reilly, David Strathairn, Jojo Regina, Jayson Warner Smith 7/10
Us (Jordan Peele, 2019) mystery horror drama w Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker 8/10
Made of Honor (Paul Weiland, 2008) rom-com w Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Chris Messina, Richmond Arquette, Busy Philipps, Whitney Cummings, Kathleen Quinlan, Sydney Pollack 6/10
The Watchers (Ishana Night Shyamalan, 2024) mystery horror thriller w Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, John Lynch 5/10
Longlegs (Oz Perkins, 2024) crime horror thriller w Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Kiernan Shipka, Michelle Choi-Lee 8/10
The Exorcism (Joshua John Miller, 2024) horror drama w Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, David Hyde Pierce, Tracey Bonner, Joshua John Miller, Samantha Mathis 5/10
Despicable Me 4 (Chris Renaud, 2024) animation comedy 6/10
Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann, 2024) animation comedy drama 8/10
Kinds of Kindness (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024) comedy drama w Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, Joe Alwyn, Hunter Schafer 9/10
Twisters (Lee Isaac Chung, 2024) action adventure w Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Maura Tierney, Sasha Lane, Daryl McCormack, Kiernan Shipka, Katy O'Brian 7/10
Atlas (Brad Peyton, 2024) AI sci-fi action w Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, Mark Strong, Abraham Popoola 6/10
Red Right Hand (Eshom Nelms, Ian Nelms, 2024) action crime thriller w Orlando Bloom, Andie MacDowell, Scott Haze, Chapel Oaks, Garret Dillahunt, Mo McRae, Brian Geraghty 6/10
The Instigators (Doug Liman, 2024) action crime comedy w Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Ving Rhames, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Hong Chau, Ron Perlman, Toby Jones 6/10
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, 2024) action comedy w Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nuñez, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhea Seehorn, Tiffany Haddish, Joe Pantoliano, DJ Khaled 5/10
A Family Affair (Richard LaGravenese, 2024) rom-com w Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Kathy Bates 6/10
Hemingway & Gellhorn (Philip Kaufman, 2012) TV biopic romance drama w Nicole Kidman, Clive Owen, David Strathairn, Rodrigo Santoro, Molly Parker, Parker Posey, Tony Shalhoub, Lars Ulrich, Peter Coyote, Joan Chen, Mark Pellegrino, Remy Auberjonois 6/10
Margot at the Wedding (Noah Baumbach, 2007) comedy drama w Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro, Ciarán Hinds 7/10
The Strange One (Jack Garfein, 1957) film-noir drama w Ben Gazzara, Pat Hingle, George Peppard, Clifton James, James Olson, Julie Wilson 6/10
Cop Hater (William Berke, 1958) film-noir crime drama w Robert Loggia, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Ellen Parker, Shirley Ballard, Vincent Gardenia, Jerry Orbach 6/10
Live Fast, Die Young (Paul Henreid, 1958) film-noir crime drama w Mary Murphy, Norma Eberhardt, Mike Connors, Sheridan Comerate, Peggy Maley, Troy Donahue, Joan Marshall, Dawn Richard, Dorothy Provine, Norman Leavitt 7/10
I Live My Life (W.S. Van Dyke, 1935) screwball comedy drama w Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, Frank Morgan, Aline MacMahon, Eric Blore, Lionel Stander, Hedda Hopper 7/10
The Doctor Takes a Wife (Alexander Hall, 1940) screwball comedy romance w Loretta Young, Ray Milland, Reginald Gardiner, Gail Patrick 7/10
Guest Wife (Sam Wood, 1945) screwball comedy romance w Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche 7/10
The Seven-Ups (Philip D’Antoni, 1973) action crime drama w Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold, Ken Kercheval, Richard Lynch, Bill Hickman, Joe Spinell, Robert Burr, Rex Everhart, Jerry Leon 7/10
The Laughing Policeman (Stuart Rosenberg, 1973) crime thriller drama w Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett Jr., Albert Paulsen, Anthony Zerbe, Val Avery, Cathy Lee Crosby, Joanna Cassidy, Clifton James, Paul Koslo, Matt Clark, William Hansen, Shirley Ballard, Mario Gallo 8/10
Pretty Maids All in a Row (Roger Vadim, 1971) crime comedy w Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas, John David Carson, Roddy McDowall, Keenan Wynn, James Doohan, Barbara Leigh, Aimée Eccles, Margaret Markov, Joy Bang, Brenda Sykes 5/10
The Zodiac Killer (Tom Hanson, 1971) crime thriller w Hal Reed, Bob Jones, Ray Lynch, Dion Marinkovich, Norma Takaki, Donna Register, Edna DeHart, Norma Michaels 4/10
Quadroon (Jack Weis, 1971) blaxploitation drama w Kathrine McKee, Tim Kincaid 5/10
Broadway Bad (Sidney Lanfield, 1933) music drama w Joan Blondell, Ginger Rogers, Ricardo Cortez, Donald Crisp 6/10
I’ve Got Your Number (Ray Enright, 1934) crime comedy romance w Joan Blondell, Pat O’Brien, Allen Jenkins, Glenda Farrell, Eugene Pallette, Gordon Westcott, Louise Beavers 7/10
rewatches:
Mildred Pierce (Curtiz, 1945) 8/10
Straw Dogs (Peckinpah, 1971) 8/10
Play Misty for Me (Eastwood, 1971) 7/10
The Eiger Sanction (Eastwood, 1975) 6/10
Busting (Hyams, 1974) 7/10
Just Like Heaven (M. Waters, 2005) 7/10
Nothing Sacred (Wellman, 1937) 9/10
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Post by Mattsby on Sept 9, 2024 22:20:00 GMT
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970) - A Zatoichi epic running at the unheard of length of 2 HOURS, and all of that time is stuffed with loads of characters and plotlines and convoluted narrative threads (as opposed to the usual simplicity of the Zatoichi formula). It's the most ambitious movie in a series that could have just slapped Toshiro Mifune in with "he fights Shintaro Katsu!" and called it a day, and I dig it. The interactions between the two title characters are all wonderful - their first meeting is the biggest laugh of the whole franchise - and every time they share the screen this film totally rocks. BUUUUUUUT that epic storyline that I praised for ambition is... well, way too ambitious. There is so damn much happening with so many moving parts, and although I'm not as confused as many people on Letterboxd, it needed more time to make the many gangs and factions and background information on everyone clear. I still think this is nearly the best movie of the series, but it bit off more than it could chew. 7/10 I've been going thru the series as well and it's amazing... how closely they stick to the formula but manage to be different in lots of little ways too. And the Shintaro Katsu perf is addicting to watch, he just gets better and better. My fav stretch is #19-21.... Unpopular opinion (I think?) but that's my taste, a little more oddness and humor and prop gags. Idk why some ppl hate this one? It's the most Leone-like of em, there's great set pieces and a strange buddy-comedy going on in the middle of it and a real bittersweetness by the end. |
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Post by Martin Stett on Sept 9, 2024 23:03:53 GMT
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970) - A Zatoichi epic running at the unheard of length of 2 HOURS, and all of that time is stuffed with loads of characters and plotlines and convoluted narrative threads (as opposed to the usual simplicity of the Zatoichi formula). It's the most ambitious movie in a series that could have just slapped Toshiro Mifune in with "he fights Shintaro Katsu!" and called it a day, and I dig it. The interactions between the two title characters are all wonderful - their first meeting is the biggest laugh of the whole franchise - and every time they share the screen this film totally rocks. BUUUUUUUT that epic storyline that I praised for ambition is... well, way too ambitious. There is so damn much happening with so many moving parts, and although I'm not as confused as many people on Letterboxd, it needed more time to make the many gangs and factions and background information on everyone clear. I still think this is nearly the best movie of the series, but it bit off more than it could chew. 7/10 I've been going thru the series as well and it's amazing... how closely they stick to the formula but manage to be different in lots of little ways too. And the Shintaro Katsu perf is addicting to watch, he just gets better and better. My fav stretch is #19-21.... Unpopular opinion (I think?) but that's my taste, a little more oddness and humor and prop gags. Idk why some ppl hate this one? It's the most Leone-like of em, there's great set pieces and a strange buddy-comedy going on in the middle of it and a real bittersweetness by the end. 19 and 20 are among my favorites, so I'm in agreement there. Judging by Letterboxd reviews, everyone just seemed confused by the plot of Z+Y, which is understandable to some extent, but people are overblowing the complexity. I'm looking forward to #21, because my boy Tatsuya Nakadai is the guest star! I really like Mifune, but I *adore* Nakadai. |
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SZilla
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Post by SZilla on Sept 9, 2024 23:44:48 GMT
I've been going thru the series as well and it's amazing... how closely they stick to the formula but manage to be different in lots of little ways too. And the Shintaro Katsu perf is addicting to watch, he just gets better and better. My fav stretch is #19-21.... Unpopular opinion (I think?) but that's my taste, a little more oddness and humor and prop gags. Idk why some ppl hate this one? It's the most Leone-like of em, there's great set pieces and a strange buddy-comedy going on in the middle of it and a real bittersweetness by the end. 19 and 20 are among my favorites, so I'm in agreement there. Judging by Letterboxd reviews, everyone just seemed confused by the plot of Z+Y, which is understandable to some extent, but people are overblowing the complexity. I'm looking forward to #21, because my boy Tatsuya Nakadai is the guest star! I really like Mifune, but I *adore* Nakadai. I've been watching this series over the past year too, I'm currently got 3 left. #21 and Nakadai are great, but I really enjoyed #22 where Katsu collabs with Jimmy Wang Yu to the point where its one of my favorites of the series so far. |
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