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Post by Martin Stett on Jan 22, 2018 15:39:03 GMT
Girl Walk // All Day (2011) -- "Why are you dancing?" "Because I'm happy." This movie is as simple as this one beautiful exchange, and my hat's off to that. I haven't had such a big, goofy grin on my face watching a movie in a long time. I'm not a fan of the nonstop hip hop music on the soundtrack, but that doesn't bother me when the dancing and pure enthusiastic joy of what's on screen is this damn infectious. 9/10 at least
Halls of Montezuma (1951) -- I understand that Milestone and company were trying to make a movie about the horrors of war in an era of gung ho war movies, but they failed miserably. The trouble is in the portrayal of the enemy: Even when the Japanese are given the chance to speak, they are never allowed to be anything more than racist caricature. This bleeds over into our American heroes, who are never given any faults (the movie never considers the abhorrent racism of one character to be a fault, and so neither shall I), and thus their psychological breakdowns just seem silly, instead of painful. 2/10
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) -- This movie is unfocused. It can't figure out where the story is going or who the characters are, all changing on a whim of the writer. It is inoffensive fluff and I still enjoyed plenty of individual moments, but as a whole, this is a very rough piece of work. 5/10
Inception (2010 rewatch) -- How much a single rewatch can change one's opinion. I thought this movie was a blast the first time through. To be fair, it still is a good ride, but there is one LARGE problem with the script: It isn't populated by any characters. Beginning to end, these are plot exposition devices. None of them have personality in the slightest, which leaves only the action scenes to deliver. Deliver they do (outside of the hospital scene, which is sloppily edited to a confusing point), and it still got my blood pumping. But there's no soul underneath the glitz. 7/10
Great Expectations (2012) -- I like Mike Newell. Some would call him workmanlike, and I suppose that's true. But there is a sense of... harmlessness to him. He can't seem to find it in himself to ever make anybody a bad guy and is always, somehow, painting everyone in a positive light that makes his films easy to swallow and enjoyable. His Harry Potter outing was a blast because of this, and this uninspired Dickens adaptation is also fun and frothy. There's no bite, but I can't find it in me to dislike it. 6/10
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2018 16:33:15 GMT
Saw a bunch of shorts this week
Dekalog - 9.5/10 (could easily go to a ten)
The Snails - 6/10
Rushmore - 6/10
Eraserhead Stories - 7/10
Dumbland - 7.5/10
BPM (Beats Per Minute) - 6/10
Ken Park - 8/10
Wonder Wheel - 6/10
The Meaning of Life (Hertzfeldt) - 7/10
La cravate - 7/10
Machete - 2/10
The 3 Rs - 8/10
Swimmer - 7.5/10
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces - 8/10
Almost Famous - 7/10
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Post by stephen on Jan 22, 2018 16:37:07 GMT
Thor: Ragnarok: It's fun, which is something no Thor film has been up to this point. It's flashy, ditto my first point. Hemsworth actually is interesting for once. But the whole thing just feels like it's trying too hard, and while the humor in it feels eager enough to please, I found myself kinda zoning out whenever Tessa Thompson wasn't on screen. She was the standout by a mile. It's remarkable how little impact Blanchett made for a role seemingly tailored to her strengths.
Mom and Dad: So glad this was the film I broke my 2018 cherry on. It's demented, delirious, and oh so delicious. Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair go for absolute broke in this high-octane hysteria-fest. It's 28 Days Later meets Crank. Also, Mommie Dearest no longer lays claim to the "most disturbing use of wire hangers" title.
I, Tonya: It feels very much like Craig Gillespie binge-watched Goodfellas, Casino and The Wolf of Wall Street every night while making this film. And there are times where the Scorsese flourishes are so blatant as to be almost Lufthansa Heist-level. But where David O. Russell crashed and burned when he tried to ape Marty, Gillespie manages to slalom skillfully along without too many bumps, aided by a strong (if somewhat overly tongue-in-cheek) script by Steven Rogers. The film feels very much like a rhinestone in a sea of diamonds, and I mean that as a compliment; it lends credence to the film’s message that beneath the glitter and glitz, there are bruises and broken limbs. The cast is pretty solid across the board, and of course Allison Janney has the showiest of the supporting roles as Tonya’s loathsome mother. It’s the sort of acid-tongued, chain-smoking, dont-give-a-fuck dragon lady archetype that becomes the favored part for women of a certain age, and of course Janney rips into it with gusto. For the most part it works, but there are moments where I feel the film refuses to give LaVona any real pathos, and as a character she comes off a bit malformed in the final cut. Of course, a film like this lives and dies by its lead, and Margot Robbie is more than up for bearing the burden. Her Tonya is at times tragic, at times contemptible, but never feels anything less than real. Neither she nor the film blunt Harding’s more unsavory aspects, nor do they make her overly sympathetic. The film’s mission statement is not to exonerate or to absolve, but rather to understand, and for the most part I think its message does come across.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2018 18:33:18 GMT
Of yours I've only seen Inception. I used to rate it lower (I don't think I've ever been so annoyed by expository dialogue in a movie...), but over time I've softened on it and can enjoy it for what it is now. I'd give it a light 7/10.
Everything I saw this week was from one of the big names -
Gertrud (1964, Carl Dreyer) - 8/10, Dreyer is really an excellent director La Strada (1954, Federico Fellini) - 7/10, not sure this quite hits greatness for me but it is a very strong 7 as it stands The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976, Clint Eastwood) - 6/10, beautifully shot but didn't do much else for me The Big Heat (1953, Fritz Lang) - 6/10, Lee Marvin is awesome as always but this definitely was a letdown
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Post by notacrook on Jan 22, 2018 18:36:52 GMT
Darkest Hour - 4/10 The Devil Wears Prada - 7/10 The Post - 7/10 The Dead - 5.5/10
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Post by Lord_Buscemi on Jan 22, 2018 19:12:01 GMT
FUCK YES! GIRL WALK IS AMAZING Seriously, the most infectious film I've ever seen.
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 22, 2018 19:14:18 GMT
The Imposter (2012) 8 The Last of the Mohicans (1992) 7 The Collector (1965) 7.5 Citizen Ruth (1996) 7
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Post by Pavan on Jan 22, 2018 19:40:23 GMT
Newton (2017)- 8/10
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Film Socialism
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Post by Film Socialism on Jan 22, 2018 22:27:24 GMT
End of Evangelion (Tsurumaki & Anno, 1997) - this is honestly a hard one to talk about because i'm really not a fan of the series outside of maybe 3 episodes towards the end and i don't know if EoE quite earns all of its abstract transcendence that it aims for (which is a LOT) but it's a pretty great looking and emotional film that somehow remains resonant even though it came from such mediocre "source" material. 8/10
Nouvelle vague (Godard, 1990) - didn't knock me down like it did when i saw it 5 years ago but i still really dig this, as inscrutable as it is. pretty and aural and has a genuine statement behind it unlike i believe a lot of godard's later works. 8/10
Spider (Cronenberg, 2002) - i would never have guessed cronenberg was behind this but apparently he was. a touching, ethereal film which is a bit slow at first to its detriment and then later to its benefit. 8/10
Dandy Dust (Scheirl, 1998) - i thought this would be Liquid Sky 2 and it ended up being Flaming Creatures mixed with those memories of "weird" 90s shows and movies that all 90s kids remember. this one is especially strange as all the individual scenes sort of make sense but the narrative makes none. reminds me of trecartin in that way. still, hey, sex/surrealism/camp/scifi what's not to love. 8/10
Nostos (Piavoli, 1989) - wish i vibed with this harder than i did. a cool idea and definitely one of those silent avant-gardes you can project in the background of your wedding. 7/10
Francisca (de Oliveira, 1981) - yeah this is one of the best films i've ever seen. it has all this influence from other directors i'm not quite as huge on (duras, straub, oliveira himself), but holy fuck everything comes together beautifully. looks incredible, has so much to say, there's cool ways experimental elements are used (reminds me of godard at times), just perfect filmmaking. 10/10
Suicide Club (Sono, 2001) - he weakest sono maybe, if only because his genius shot compositions and visual flourishes are more subdued. this feels like a more wild kiyoshi kurosawa than anything both in subject matter and look. i like knowing how it relates to Noriko's Dinner Table now, and i think the themes behind this are more interesting because they're more concrete than some of the abstract stuff going on in that film and others. 7/10
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jan 22, 2018 23:17:22 GMT
Panic Room - 7 / 10
The Lives of Others - 8 / 10
The Place Beyond The Pines - 7 / 10
I Don't Feel At Home in This World Anymore - Quirky weird indie, not sure I especially liked it, but it was interesting - 6 / 10
What We Do in The Shadows - 8.5 / 10 - Love it! Just plain hilarious.
Jumanji - 7.5 / 10
Call Me By Your Name - Great film. All the performances are superb. Michael Stuhlberg's "big speech scene", is one of the best acted moments of any film I've seen this year. - 9 / 10
Stone - 5 / 10
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Post by pacinoyes on Jan 22, 2018 23:28:28 GMT
Shape of Water - I should not go to see movies described as "adult fairy tales".
If you had to draw up a film I have nothing in common with or interest in, it's this one.
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Post by Martin Stett on Jan 23, 2018 0:21:32 GMT
End of Evangelion (Tsurumaki & Anno, 1997) - this is honestly a hard one to talk about because i'm really not a fan of the series outside of maybe 3 episodes towards the end and i don't know if EoE quite earns all of its abstract transcendence that it aims for (which is a LOT) but it's a pretty great looking and emotional film that somehow remains resonant even though it came from such mediocre "source" material. 8/10 Would someone who flat out despised the source material like this? Because I'm in that camp, but when someone expresses distaste for the show and still likes the movie, they pique my interest.
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Post by mhynson27 on Jan 23, 2018 0:47:14 GMT
The Post The Shape of Water Lost in Translation
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Film Socialism
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Post by Film Socialism on Jan 23, 2018 1:00:56 GMT
End of Evangelion (Tsurumaki & Anno, 1997) - this is honestly a hard one to talk about because i'm really not a fan of the series outside of maybe 3 episodes towards the end and i don't know if EoE quite earns all of its abstract transcendence that it aims for (which is a LOT) but it's a pretty great looking and emotional film that somehow remains resonant even though it came from such mediocre "source" material. 8/10 Would someone who flat out despised the source material like this? Because I'm in that camp, but when someone expresses distaste for the show and still likes the movie, they pique my interest. obviously i would lean towards yes. also note: the characters in the film are pretty much completely different from the characters in the series. ordinarily this would be frustrating but given as how i have no attachment to the series' characters, eh, i don't really care. i think it's worth a shot if you've slogged through the show.
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Jan 23, 2018 2:42:34 GMT
The Fate of the Furious The Game The Beguiled
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Jan 23, 2018 2:57:38 GMT
Shape of Water - I should not go to see movies described as "adult fairy tales". If you had to draw up a film I have nothing in common with or interest in, it's this one. Thoughts on the performances? How do you feel about del Toro likely winning BD over the other potential nominees (besides McDonagh, who I assume you would personally want to see win haha)?
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Post by Martin Stett on Jan 23, 2018 3:09:28 GMT
Would someone who flat out despised the source material like this? Because I'm in that camp, but when someone expresses distaste for the show and still likes the movie, they pique my interest. obviously i would lean towards yes. also note: the characters in the film are pretty much completely different from the characters in the series. ordinarily this would be frustrating but given as how i have no attachment to the series' characters, eh, i don't really care. i think it's worth a shot if you've slogged through the show. So long as it cuts down on the random nudity and crass humor, and kills all of the teenagers so we can focus on the people that didn't make me want to shoot myself. Do those two things, and hell, I'd probably enjoy it a lot.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jan 23, 2018 10:12:23 GMT
@ The_Cake_of_Roth - I thought everybody gave it the old college try - Hawkins, Shannon, Jenkins were effective but it was all in service of BS. The cinematography and score make you feel like you're seeing a real movie more than that - the whole thing depends on how much you can stand until you say "Enough". I think Del Toro seems to have everybody's support but I don't really know why he does - but he knows how to put all the elements of film out there and he has ideas - I mean who else could have dreamed this movie up? But why dream it up to begin with............. I don't think MM is getting in but I hope I'm wrong obviously - I think he gets squeezed out. Nolan and Guadagnino are Del Toro's real competition to me where I say ok, these guys did something where the directorial vision and control is noticeable. Didn't see PTA or Ridley Scott though....the irony is MM is going to be shafted as a screenplay film and Get Out and Lady Bird are far more that than 3 BB's.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jan 25, 2018 15:01:28 GMT
The Open House (2018) 7.5/10 Death Note (2017) 5/10 The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017) 7.5/10 Mudbound (2017) 6/10 Shimmer Lake (2017) 8.5/10 I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore. (2017) 8/10 War Machine (2017) 5/10 Okja (2017) 7.5/10 The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) 8.5/10 Personal Shopper (2016) 6/10 War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) 9/10
It (2017) re-watch 9/10
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