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Post by sandylea on May 23, 2021 14:47:41 GMT
Saw Spiral; From the book of Saw Absolutely LOVED it. I’m a huge Saw fan, so I was super excited for this! The story was brilliant, Chris Rock was fantastic and the gore! Holy shit. I was expecting some gore, but this is by far the goriest and most messed up. Every trap had me tending like bitch, and one trap almost made me vomit. I love gore and horror but this tested me.
Next I finally got to see Wrath of Man - I really enjoyed it. Great action, solid story. I do feel like it could’ve had more action or a lesser run time? I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, but I do love Jason Statham and definitely love Guy Ritchie as a director
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Post by RT on May 24, 2021 14:09:20 GMT
Army of the DeadIt promised zombie craziness and it delivered. So there's that. But like...ok SPOILERS... They enter the city and all the slow zombies died in the sun. The one lady says when it rains they come back to life. I was so hyped for that, but then it doesn't happen.
They make a HUGE deal about the one guy having his chainsaw. He never uses it.
Batista's daughter risks her life to save some lady. You don't see if she makes it out alive or not.
That one woman that fights off the hibernating zombies and ends up in a hallway near the group...they just watch her get eaten! They were all standing right there with guns, and had just shot their way out of a building!
What the fuck was up with those two UFOs near the start!?
Why do some of the zombies have robot faces!?
Why was this movie 2 1/2 hours long!? So overall I enjoyed it but man...there is some very dumb writing in this one as well.
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Post by Emperor on May 24, 2021 19:42:15 GMT
Short Term 12 (Destin Daniel Cretton, 2013)
I have a particular affinity towards movies that deal with therapy and psychology. The most well-known of these is One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. But I'm talking more about films that deal with teenagers and young adults suffering from trauma. Girl, Interrupted, with a breakout performance by Angelina Jolie, is a shining example. There's also Manic[/b], an independent film from 2001, a notable early role of both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
While I like Manic and find it to be a bold film, it's pretty dark and doesn't do much to showcase the benefits of a juvenile psychiatry ward. Short Term 12 is the positive antithesis, a drama that takes a look at troubled teenagers and young adults, giving a fair showcase of the trials and tribulations. The core of Short Term 12 is optimistic, hopeful, positive, but it doesn't shy away from the difficult hurdles that trauma victims have to overcome.
The morale of the story is that everyone has value, no matter how "fucked" they may seem. People ultimately want to be happy, help themselves, and not hurt others. This is difficult when you have lived a life full of abuse and neglect, but not impossible. All it takes is genuine love and persistent care. You have to be their friend, and not just a casual friend, a real friend, someone you will go far out of your way to help.
The film opens with cast of soon-to-be stars. Brie "Captain Marvel" Larson, Rami "Freddit Mr. Robot Mercury" Malek, Stephanie "Rosa from Brooklyn Nine-Nine" Beatriz. They are young adults who work in a care home for troubled teenagers. Larson plays Grace, the head of this little group. By her side is her boyfriend Mason, played by John Gallagher Jr. Nope, I've never heard of him either, but that doesn't diminish from a wonderful performance.
Short Term 12 is a very authentic telling of this scenario; Director Destin Daniel Cretton had worked at a similar home. Authenticity is something I value very highly in drama films, and you often find it in independent cinema more so than big Hollywood productions.
The main take home point for me is that to truly take care of someone, you need an awful lot of empathy. And there's no better source of empathy than real life experiences. This is why Grace is so good at her job. She's been through a lot of shit herself, although we don't discover the full extent of this until the closing scenes of the film. She's able to connect with all of these trouble kids and teenagers on a deep level, finding unique ways to get in their heads and relate to them. On the flip side we also see the cold distance of a doctor, therapist, or manager from the people they directly or indirectly take care of. Not to diminish their professions at all, but the carers are with the teenagers on a full-time basis, which gives them a much greater insight than years of medical school. The decision maker of the care home is not presented as a villain, far from it; he just offers a more distant and level-headed perspective that is somewhat disconnected from the frontline.
Rami Malek's character is another key to exploring this theme. He's the new kid on the block, and it's clear from the beginning he has no idea how to connect with these people. Presumably he has never suffered, and so has no natural gift for this job. He might as well be from another planet. At the start of the film he pushes the teenagers away, but by the end of the film he's picked up some wisdom from his colleagues. This highlights that it's not at all easy to be a caregiver. It's an extremely demanding job, and sometimes you have to be willing to experience the trauma of those you are trying to help.
Brie Larson's performance is wonderful, and deservedly met with critical acclaim. She's able to pull off a layered character who is in control on the outside but is internally a wreck herself, which seeps into her personal life. The end of the film is really heartwarming in that she is able to channel this to help those she cares for, and one very touching scene sees one of her patients Jayden actually helping Grace through her own emotional struggles.
Another important point is connecting through shared interests. Grace notices that Jayden likes to draw and expressed her feelings through her artwork and stories. Grace sits in her bed and draws with her and listens to her stories. One of these stories is an allegory for the abuse she received from her father. Very emotional scene. A similar and equally powerful scene earlier in the film sees Mason listen to a rap song written by another resident Marcus. Marcus rarely has a word to say, mumbling throughout the film and keeping himself to himself, but when he starts rapping, all those pent up emotions flow out of him with some genuinely great lyrics.
I love films that make me think so deeply about human nature. Short Term 12 makes it very easily. It is wonderfully shot, acted, and written. It has so many lessons to teach about caring for others, and these motifs are demonstrated with vivid, powerful scenes. I still don't know what the title means, but it's a brilliant film regardless.
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Post by mikec on May 29, 2021 21:23:13 GMT
Give us some specific examples! I'm so curious now, and will gladly discuss anything I've seen before too. Â Waiting for starters. But we're already in agreement with that. Things like most slasher films seem to get it for instance I watched Texas Chainsaw The Beginning. A prequel to a remake of the original film. So basically just another event in the timeline. At this point ain't nobody on the fence with Leatherface and his people. I would say more often than not these types of films get shit on and okay sure, but watching it I didn't think anything was too bad. Didn't drag in place where nothing was happening. I consider these types of films more suspense than horror, so I won't fault it for lack of scares. Still I'm trying to figure out what someone that sits down for a film like this is expecting.
Same with Zombie's Halloween. Yeah it's not our Mike Myers (oh behave baybay) and maybe it didn't need to exist, but it's hardly even a contender for worst film ever. I just think people like having power. Thumbs down, bring me another goblet of cider pronto peasant!
The Zombie Halloween movie is fun. If you want horror movie reviews I tend to trust Arrow in the Head much more than regular critics- joblo.com/arrow Though one place Rottwn Tomatoes got right in the horror genre is my most recent watch - Train to Busan. It’s maybe the first zombie movie I’ve watched to make me really feel things about the characters, and the zombies are horrifying. I am not particularly interested in the sequel, anyone seen it?
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Post by c on May 30, 2021 0:36:22 GMT
Peninsula does not recapture what made Train to Busan so good. It basically is just another zombie film, nothing special.
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Post by RagnarokMike on May 30, 2021 7:42:39 GMT
Cruella: Actually a decent watch, the Emmas absolutely chew scenery in the best of ways, Thompson especially hangs with the best Disney villains in her ruthlessness; and Stone is clearly having a ton of fun getting to go all out. It's not amazing, I think I enjoyed the Maleficients a bit more (maybe just the first), perhaps a tad long, but does move at a pretty good pace once it gets going Better than most of their direct adaptation efforts.
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Post by Emperor on May 30, 2021 18:30:19 GMT
I'm hitting a home run with my recent movie choices. If I'm motivated to write an essay about a film, it's Top 100 material.
Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008)
When Clint Eastwood started to work behind the camera more than he did in front of it, his movies became fascinating and profound character studies. Starting with Unforgiven, a deconstruction of the Western stories he had been so crucially involved in, his films often take a standard genre archetype but zoom in on the characters, the human beings, to the point where the story fades into the background. I've noticed this in Million Dollar Baby, Hereafter (an underrated member of his collection), and American Sniper.
Gran Torino is another such character study, this time with Eastwood himself playing the principal character. This character is Walt Kowalski, an elderly white male and Vietnam veteran. We quickly understand that he is racist, throwing around racial slurs as casually as most others say "hi, how are you?". Bigotry has become second nature. His contempt is directed at seemingly everyone around him, including his own family. At the start of the movie the only positive relationships he has in his life are with his dog and his barber, although his conversations with his barber are nothing more than a witty exchange of slurs and insults. Gang culture thrives in his neighbourhood: blacks, latinos, and asians. He sees these people as he sees the dirt on the underside of his shoes. Not just because they are gangsters, but because they are not white.
As bigoted as Walt Kowalski is, the irony is that he is the biggest stereotype of them all - that of the conservative priviliged white American. It's not just the racism, it's his attitude towards women and his close-minded view of how a man should be.
In life we assume that people above a certain age are set in their ways. Once a certain birthday is reached (somewhere in the 60-70 range), that's it, their view of the world is unshakeable and cannot be changed no matter what. Indeed, Walt is one of these people. The early scenes show his family and his priest trying to reach out of him in the aftermath of his wife's death, but he bluntly rejects them with the efficiency of a sledgehammer blow to the skull. Incidentally, I'm very curious what Walt's life was like when his wife was around. Was he as unbearable? Eastwood does not answer this question.
Getting back to the plot, a large family of Hmong people live next door to him. For those who don't know (I didn't before watching the film), the Hmong is a group of people originating from South East Asia who fought on the USA's side in the Vietnam war and fled to the USA once the war was over. Kowalski is ignorant to this fact and sees the Hmong as he sess all Asians: vermin to be executed if they put one foot wrong. In fact, his mind has never left the Vietnam war, where he remorselessly killed anyone who was the slightest threat. He hates this aspect of himself, but has buried his self-loathing behind a shield of resentment and hurtful words spoken through gritted teeth.
With the utmost care and delicacy, Eastwood shows that even such a tightly-wound man can change, if approached in the right way. The morale is that change does not come so easily. It requires time, care, and persistence. This theme also runs throughout Short Term 12, the subject of my last review.
Through a number of encounters where Walt chases off gangsters harassing his neighbours, he starts talking to Sue, the teenage daughter of the Hmong household. How she (and the rest of her family) deal with Kowalski's intolerance is fascinating and at the heart of the film's message. She does not become angry or upset as Kowalski bludgeons her with racial slurs and blunt insults, she simply ignores the insults and converses with him. She is happy, jovial, intelligent, and occasionally trades witticisms with Walt. From Walt's experiences with his barber we know this is how he enjoys communicating. He likes the little verbal jousts.
The film is not explicit about its passage of time, but through context it's clear that Walt warms to his oriental neighbours over a period of weeks or perhaps even months. Besides Sue's conversational warmth, her family treat him very well. After he saves the young boy Thao from a gang beatdown, the Hmong community bring a vast amount of food packages to his doorstep. Like all offerings, he rejects them remorselessly, dumping them into the trash in full view. The Hmong continue as if nothing happened, not angered, simply continuing to bring him gifts and wish him well. This unrelenting barrage of unconditional kindness slowly breks down Walt's psychological wall, and he starts to integrate himself with the Hmong community.
Watching this unfold over the course of the film is one of the most fascinating and heartwarming movie experiences I've had. It's also funny - there are many moments of black comedy that surely must have been scripted with the intention of being amusing. Although Kowalski is a difficult human being, he ultimately has a good heart, so we start to laugh at the times when he is being mean. His racial slurs become terms of endearment. It's part of his language, he doesn't stop saying it, but it becomes jolly and friendly, just like the banter with his barber.
The gang violence is put on the backburner, but comes to the forefront in the film's bittersweet conclusion. I won't describe the act performed by Walt, but it's wonderful and unexpected, although punctuated by a blunt display of symbolism that almost offends the subtle sensitivity of all that came before it. Nevertheless, the film ends on a strong point, wrapping everything in a nice little bow.
Wonderful film, a powerful message strongly delivered. Another Clint Eastwood masterpiece.
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Post by Lionheart on May 31, 2021 4:13:56 GMT
I'm hitting a home run with my recent movie choices. If I'm motivated to write an essay about a film, it's Top 100 material. Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008)When Clint Eastwood started to work behind the camera more than he did in front of it, his movies became fascinating and profound character studies. Starting with Unforgiven, a deconstruction of the Western stories he had been so crucially involved in, his films often take a standard genre archetype but zoom in on the characters, the human beings, to the point where the story fades into the background. I've noticed this in Million Dollar Baby, Hereafter (an underrated member of his collection), and American Sniper. Gran Torino is another such character study, this time with Eastwood himself playing the principal character. This character is Walt Kowalski, an elderly white male and Vietnam veteran. We quickly understand that he is racist, throwing around racial slurs as casually as most others say "hi, how are you?". Bigotry has become second nature. His contempt is directed at seemingly everyone around him, including his own family. At the start of the movie the only positive relationships he has in his life are with his dog and his barber, although his conversations with his barber are nothing more than a witty exchange of slurs and insults. Gang culture thrives in his neighbourhood: blacks, latinos, and asians. He sees these people as he sees the dirt on the underside of his shoes. Not just because they are gangsters, but because they are not white. As bigoted as Walt Kowalski is, the irony is that he is the biggest stereotype of them all - that of the conservative priviliged white American. It's not just the racism, it's his attitude towards women and his close-minded view of how a man should be. In life we assume that people above a certain age are set in their ways. Once a certain birthday is reached (somewhere in the 60-70 range), that's it, their view of the world is unshakeable and cannot be changed no matter what. Indeed, Walt is one of these people. The early scenes show his family and his priest trying to reach out of him in the aftermath of his wife's death, but he bluntly rejects them with the efficiency of a sledgehammer blow to the skull. Incidentally, I'm very curious what Walt's life was like when his wife was around. Was he as unbearable? Eastwood does not answer this question. Getting back to the plot, a large family of Hmong people live next door to him. For those who don't know (I didn't before watching the film), the Hmong is a group of people originating from South East Asia who fought on the USA's side in the Vietnam war and fled to the USA once the war was over. Kowalski is ignorant to this fact and sees the Hmong as he sess all Asians: vermin to be executed if they put one foot wrong. In fact, his mind has never left the Vietnam war, where he remorselessly killed anyone who was the slightest threat. He hates this aspect of himself, but has buried his self-loathing behind a shield of resentment and hurtful words spoken through gritted teeth. With the utmost care and delicacy, Eastwood shows that even such a tightly-wound man can change, if approached in the right way. The morale is that change does not come so easily. It requires time, care, and persistence. This theme also runs throughout Short Term 12, the subject of my last review. Through a number of encounters where Walt chases off gangsters harassing his neighbours, he starts talking to Sue, the teenage daughter of the Hmong household. How she (and the rest of her family) deal with Kowalski's intolerance is fascinating and at the heart of the film's message. She does not become angry or upset as Kowalski bludgeons her with racial slurs and blunt insults, she simply ignores the insults and converses with him. She is happy, jovial, intelligent, and occasionally trades witticisms with Walt. From Walt's experiences with his barber we know this is how he enjoys communicating. He likes the little verbal jousts. The film is not explicit about its passage of time, but through context it's clear that Walt warms to his oriental neighbours over a period of weeks or perhaps even months. Besides Sue's conversational warmth, her family treat him very well. After he saves the young boy Thao from a gang beatdown, the Hmong community bring a vast amount of food packages to his doorstep. Like all offerings, he rejects them remorselessly, dumping them into the trash in full view. The Hmong continue as if nothing happened, not angered, simply continuing to bring him gifts and wish him well. This unrelenting barrage of unconditional kindness slowly breks down Walt's psychological wall, and he starts to integrate himself with the Hmong community. Watching this unfold over the course of the film is one of the most fascinating and heartwarming movie experiences I've had. It's also funny - there are many moments of black comedy that surely must have been scripted with the intention of being amusing. Although Kowalski is a difficult human being, he ultimately has a good heart, so we start to laugh at the times when he is being mean. His racial slurs become terms of endearment. It's part of his language, he doesn't stop saying it, but it becomes jolly and friendly, just like the banter with his barber. The gang violence is put on the backburner, but comes to the forefront in the film's bittersweet conclusion. I won't describe the act performed by Walt, but it's wonderful and unexpected, although punctuated by a blunt display of symbolism that almost offends the subtle sensitivity of all that came before it. Nevertheless, the film ends on a strong point, wrapping everything in a nice little bow. Wonderful film, a powerful message strongly delivered. Another Clint Eastwood masterpiece. I barely recall this movie but I have a very strong memory of thinking it was "okay" and that I never wanted to see it again. This would have been in 2008 when it released though, which my old self now realizes was 13 years ago when I was only 16. So, it is due for a rewatch. God knows if or when I will get to this, but I may like it more on a fresh viewing. I do enjoy almost all Clint Eastwood films with only few exceptions.
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Post by c on May 31, 2021 5:55:45 GMT
Just watched Cruella. Went into it with low expectations but love Stone and high fashion drama so figured would give it a shot. Way better than I expected. Felt like peak 80's Burton. Amazing soundtrack and Stone was just amazing. Did a run a little long with the third act basically kind of lingering at times, but overall great film. I really dug the story, was a fun origin story and gives the character a lot more nuance than she normally gets.
I love people complaining this was too edgy whereas the original Cruella literally skinned puppies for coats. Also it was rated pg-13 showing it was more of a film for people who grew up with Disney and now are not children. I kind of hope they lean into this, as stuff like Once Upon a Time, Kingdom Hearts and Wicked, showed there is a market for more mature stuff featuring fairy tale characters.
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Post by Lony on May 31, 2021 14:38:22 GMT
The Marksman: I decided to give this a watch, it's your typical action thriller movie from Liam Neeson. It's not a bad movie, however, it's really not all that great either… it's just serviceable. Cruella: I gave this a watch as the fiancee wanted to see it, anyways the movie started off slow and was kinda boring, however, things started to pick up half way through the film and actually get interesting. As for an origin story, it wasn't bad and Emma Stone was great as Cruella, you could tell she was definitely having fun with the role. I doubt I'll ever watch it a second time, but for a one time viewing it was alright. 2021 Movie Rankings 8. Locked Down 7. The Marksman 6. Cruella 5. Thunder Force 4. Tom and Jerry 3. Godzilla vs. Kong 2. Raya and the Last Dragon 1. Mortal Kombat
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Post by Ness on May 31, 2021 14:40:52 GMT
Damn sounds like everyone was watching Cruella over the weekend.
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Post by 🤯 on May 31, 2021 15:07:51 GMT
Damn sounds like everyone was watching Cruella over the weekend. Seriously. PW is low key full of either Disney heel or Emma Stone marks. Although on the Emma front, I can't THROW STONES[/dad joke] since I just watched and loved The Favourite. Wife & I are like 2/3s through Nomadland. It's... A thing. Not bad. But also nothing really happening. Just showing us what life is like in a van by yourself.
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Post by RagnarokMike on Jun 1, 2021 6:24:06 GMT
I'm hitting a home run with my recent movie choices. If I'm motivated to write an essay about a film, it's Top 100 material. Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008)When Clint Eastwood started to work behind the camera more than he did in front of it, his movies became fascinating and profound character studies. Starting with Unforgiven, a deconstruction of the Western stories he had been so crucially involved in, his films often take a standard genre archetype but zoom in on the characters, the human beings, to the point where the story fades into the background. I've noticed this in Million Dollar Baby, Hereafter (an underrated member of his collection), and American Sniper. Gran Torino is another such character study, this time with Eastwood himself playing the principal character. This character is Walt Kowalski, an elderly white male and Vietnam veteran. We quickly understand that he is racist, throwing around racial slurs as casually as most others say "hi, how are you?". Bigotry has become second nature. His contempt is directed at seemingly everyone around him, including his own family. At the start of the movie the only positive relationships he has in his life are with his dog and his barber, although his conversations with his barber are nothing more than a witty exchange of slurs and insults. Gang culture thrives in his neighbourhood: blacks, latinos, and asians. He sees these people as he sees the dirt on the underside of his shoes. Not just because they are gangsters, but because they are not white. As bigoted as Walt Kowalski is, the irony is that he is the biggest stereotype of them all - that of the conservative priviliged white American. It's not just the racism, it's his attitude towards women and his close-minded view of how a man should be. In life we assume that people above a certain age are set in their ways. Once a certain birthday is reached (somewhere in the 60-70 range), that's it, their view of the world is unshakeable and cannot be changed no matter what. Indeed, Walt is one of these people. The early scenes show his family and his priest trying to reach out of him in the aftermath of his wife's death, but he bluntly rejects them with the efficiency of a sledgehammer blow to the skull. Incidentally, I'm very curious what Walt's life was like when his wife was around. Was he as unbearable? Eastwood does not answer this question. Getting back to the plot, a large family of Hmong people live next door to him. For those who don't know (I didn't before watching the film), the Hmong is a group of people originating from South East Asia who fought on the USA's side in the Vietnam war and fled to the USA once the war was over. Kowalski is ignorant to this fact and sees the Hmong as he sess all Asians: vermin to be executed if they put one foot wrong. In fact, his mind has never left the Vietnam war, where he remorselessly killed anyone who was the slightest threat. He hates this aspect of himself, but has buried his self-loathing behind a shield of resentment and hurtful words spoken through gritted teeth. With the utmost care and delicacy, Eastwood shows that even such a tightly-wound man can change, if approached in the right way. The morale is that change does not come so easily. It requires time, care, and persistence. This theme also runs throughout Short Term 12, the subject of my last review. Through a number of encounters where Walt chases off gangsters harassing his neighbours, he starts talking to Sue, the teenage daughter of the Hmong household. How she (and the rest of her family) deal with Kowalski's intolerance is fascinating and at the heart of the film's message. She does not become angry or upset as Kowalski bludgeons her with racial slurs and blunt insults, she simply ignores the insults and converses with him. She is happy, jovial, intelligent, and occasionally trades witticisms with Walt. From Walt's experiences with his barber we know this is how he enjoys communicating. He likes the little verbal jousts. The film is not explicit about its passage of time, but through context it's clear that Walt warms to his oriental neighbours over a period of weeks or perhaps even months. Besides Sue's conversational warmth, her family treat him very well. After he saves the young boy Thao from a gang beatdown, the Hmong community bring a vast amount of food packages to his doorstep. Like all offerings, he rejects them remorselessly, dumping them into the trash in full view. The Hmong continue as if nothing happened, not angered, simply continuing to bring him gifts and wish him well. This unrelenting barrage of unconditional kindness slowly breks down Walt's psychological wall, and he starts to integrate himself with the Hmong community. Watching this unfold over the course of the film is one of the most fascinating and heartwarming movie experiences I've had. It's also funny - there are many moments of black comedy that surely must have been scripted with the intention of being amusing. Although Kowalski is a difficult human being, he ultimately has a good heart, so we start to laugh at the times when he is being mean. His racial slurs become terms of endearment. It's part of his language, he doesn't stop saying it, but it becomes jolly and friendly, just like the banter with his barber. The gang violence is put on the backburner, but comes to the forefront in the film's bittersweet conclusion. I won't describe the act performed by Walt, but it's wonderful and unexpected, although punctuated by a blunt display of symbolism that almost offends the subtle sensitivity of all that came before it. Nevertheless, the film ends on a strong point, wrapping everything in a nice little bow. Wonderful film, a powerful message strongly delivered. Another Clint Eastwood masterpiece. I barely recall this movie but I have a very strong memory of thinking it was "okay" and that I never wanted to see it again. This would have been in 2008 when it released though, which my old self now realizes was 13 years ago when I was only 16. So, it is due for a rewatch. God knows if or when I will get to this, but I may like it more on a fresh viewing. I do enjoy almost all Clint Eastwood films with only few exceptions. Love Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby gets the edge, and Unforgiven is the masterpiece...but still one of my favorite Eastwood pics. Army of the Dead: No Zombieland (or Dawn of the Dead remake), but was a fun enough watch, really great use of violence, excellent visuals.
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Post by c on Jun 1, 2021 11:19:46 GMT
Damn sounds like everyone was watching Cruella over the weekend. Seriously. PW is low key full of either Disney heel or Emma Stone marks. Although on the Emma front, I can't THROW STONES[/dad joke] since I just watched and loved The Favourite. Wife & I are like 2/3s through Nomadland. It's... A thing. Not bad. But also nothing really happening. Just showing us what life is like in a van by yourself. Emma stone mark And not a lot of new shit releasing these days. Film was seriously good though and will be taking a few Oscar nominations for design and what not at least.
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Post by 🤯 on Jun 1, 2021 11:22:33 GMT
Finished Nomadland. It was... Meh.
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Post by Lionheart on Jun 1, 2021 15:39:34 GMT
Finished Nomadland. It was... Meh. Please tell us more.
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Post by 🤯 on Jun 1, 2021 15:56:08 GMT
Finished Nomadland. It was... Meh. Please tell us more. Frances McDormand portrays Fern McDonald, a widow with no kids whose husband worked for a mining company in Nevada that folded shop on operations and the company-owned mining town altogether seemingly as some sort of consequence of the GFC. Suddenly left with no family, job, or house/home, Fern converts a white work van into a small cheap RV and embraces the nomad lifestyle... which is apparently a thing? It's lonely but there's still some decent sense of community among fellow people nomads. They just drive all around, picking up seasonal odd jobs, then move on again. Fern turns down help and offers from seemingly caring friends and family to move in and settle down. Through a scene with her older sister we learn Fern's plight isn't entirely "oh woe is Fern" as she chose to leave her family behind and stay out on the road partly as an impulsive whim because of how interesting the life and people are. Really a whole lot of nothing happens over a pretty long run time for so little to happen. There's a teased old people romance angle, but Fern ends up bailing because it ultimately involves settling down and staying in one place. I think she maybe also feels like she can't betray the memory of her husband by embracing any feelings for this new guy, Dave. Prompted by a touching sit-down with RV Bob, who shares what I really thought the message of the movie should've been (I'll see ya down the road*), Fern goes back to Empire. She empties the storage shed of her dead husband and past life's belongings, and pays presumably one last visit to their old company-owned house/home. Then the movie ends with her van driving down a familiar road from earlier in the movie, but ultimately one with no real meaning. I got the impression that instead of moving on, she was just stubbornly doubling down on the life she'd been leading and the reasons why. *The I'll see ya down the road concept, while it literally ties into this nomad life, figuratively was about how dead loved ones can be honored by getting on with living knowing we'll be reconnected somehow someway someday. Spending too much of our lives remembering our dead loved ones to help keep their memory alive can often end up costing us our lives too by preventing us from living them to their fullest. So I was hoping to see Fern's character more clearly change after her chat with RV Bob. Go make a final peace with Empire, but then show her returning to Dave to try starting something new or at least returning to her sister after their exchange. Alas, the ending was a little too nebulous... At least with the chosen cinematography. The more open-ended ending would've worked better IMO with a better final shot. Anyway, Frances and entire cast were STELLAR, especially considering what they had to work with in terms of story and scripted dialogue. But ultimately the most interesting takeaway for me was getting to see inside Amazon distribution centers.
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Post by c on Jun 1, 2021 22:04:43 GMT
Just watched the new Saw film. Was pretty good I thought. One of the since four really. The final trap was the most creative they have done. People are bitching about it being a BLM callout, which it is, but it is a very well done one. The main game was really good, but oddly enough, they did not really spell it out.
Chris Rock does CARRY the film on his back though. Without him, not sure it would have been anywhere near as good.
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Post by Emperor on Jun 3, 2021 11:53:03 GMT
The Addams Family (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1991)
No essay today. This is the first time I've seen The Addams Family at any length. I thought they would be right up my alley since it's got that goth/occult/morbid appeal, but didn't really work for me. Roger Ebert summed it up best.
"There are a lot of little smiles in "The Addams Family," and many chuckles and grins, but they don’t add up to much. I was mildly entertained, but I was hoping for big laughs and with one exception I didn’t find them."
Mildly entertained is the perfect way to describe my experience. Besides it not being particularly funny, the story wasn't much to write home about either. Some nice set pieces and pretty good acting, but nothing special.
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Post by RagnarokMike on Jun 4, 2021 8:06:46 GMT
Addams Family Values was definitely the superior movie, first was decent enough, mostly just for the brilliant casting all around. Raul Julia alone was worth the watch.
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Post by 🤯 on Jun 4, 2021 12:34:22 GMT
Addams Family Values was definitely the superior movie, first was decent enough, mostly just for the brilliant casting all around. Raul Julia alone was worth the watch. 100% agreed. Values surpasses the original in much the same way Judgment Day arguably surpasses Terminator. Or maybe Sister Act 2 to Sister Act is the better analogy here? Anyway, they fine-tuned everything that worked well from the first to make an overall better complete picture.
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Post by Ness on Jun 6, 2021 15:30:13 GMT
Just watched Superman Red Son. Guess it's all about location. Being raised in the sticks versus mother Russia is the difference between being a boy and a man.
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Post by UT on Jun 15, 2021 16:38:12 GMT
Conjuring 3: Checked it out a few days ago on HBOMax and it was good for a third entrant into a franchise. Not quite as great as the first two but solid.
A Quiet Place 2: It was so great to be back at the theatre last night , it obviously added to the experience but the movie was rather awesome as well. Barely a peg below the OG which is high praise with how loved that movie is. Definitely recommend and would suggest seeing it in a theatre if you can.
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Post by Emperor on Jun 16, 2021 23:14:15 GMT
I'm a good old-fashioned British man, so it's about time I watched some classic Bond, a staple of our nation. The only Bond film I've seen in full is Skyfall. Time to rectify that by starting from the beginning. Dr. No (Terence Young, 1962)Pretty much immediately I can identify the James Bond tropes, although they were not tropes at this point in time, just quirky moments. There's the unique film introductionwith the iconic bond theme, then the equally iconic introduction of James Bond himself. Not long after that the film clarifies that Mr. Bond is a bit of a playboy. He is irresistible to women, and he does not wish to resist them either. The next scene establishes that he is a secret agent, codename 007, and a pretty good one. He is sent to Jamaica to investigate some strange occurrences, assassinations the audience are witness to in the very opening scene, but without much context. Sean Connery portrays a secret agent who does not act like a typical action star (when I say typical, I mean typical of the 80s and 90s; I don't know what was typical in the 50s and 60s). He's not a badass, he's a charming and somewhat lackadaisacal English chap. But beneath his outward calm he's a very effective spy. He can smell a rat a mile away, and the way he handles unexpected situations, and people who are trying to deceive him, is both amusing and captivating. Take for instance a receptionist working for Bond's Jaimaican correspondent who is actually an inside agent, spying for Bond's mysterious enemies. Bond's onto her immediately because she's far from subtle. Furthermore she is oblivious to the fact that she tipped Bond off almost immediately. He charms her. She invites him to her house, which is obviously a trap. Bond knows this, and doesn't care. He drives to her house, yet seems surprised by the car that aggressively chases him. He dispatches them with a stroke of good fortune (one of many in the film), and arrives at her house. She continues to clumsily lie to him. He pretends to call a taxi, when in fact he is calling his colleagues to arrest her. After she is removed from the equation, he casually paces around her house, framing a scene where he has been seduced and fallen asleep, and waits for his assassin. The assassin inevitably arrives, leading to my favourite moment in the movie. One huge Bond trademark, the Bond girl, is introduced about halfway through. Honey Ryder (played by Ursula Andress) enters the story by walking towards Bond on the beach clad in a bikini. The character's sex appeal is without question, but she is treated with respect and is worked into the story in an intelligent way. She's far more than just eye candy. Bond doesn't even bother to seduce her until much later in the story. Of course it all boils down to a big finale. Bond sneaks onto the secret island base of the mysterious Dr. No. He is captured, mostly through his own idiocy. The villain's undoing is his arrogance. Instead of killing James Bond, Dr. No invites him to dinner in his island base, they have a fascinating conversation, then leaves him in a cell while he conducts his masterplan to sabotage an American rocket launch, or something (it's not really important). Unfortunately this prison has a rather obvious escape route. Bond sneaks out, borrows the costume of an employee, and in a suspenseful scene kills Dr. No while blowing up his base by fiddling with his sci-fi-esque machinery. He rescues Honey Ryder, and they kiss on a boat in the final scene. Cute. You'll notice that the previous paragraph is riddled with clichés, but I wouldn't be surprised if Dr. No introduced these very clichés to cinema. Not knowing film history very well, it's a mystery to me why James Bond became such a monster franchise. The plot devices (which we now see everywhere) ought to be part of the reason, as well as the unorthodox character of Bond himself, who has a unique British charm. He doesn't win by being better than everyone else, but through a combination of cool competence and blind luck. I assume for these reasons Dr. No was completely different from other action/thriller movies of the time. To give credit where credit is due, the villain's arrogance is perfectly justified and not at all as ham-fisted or as intelligence-insulting as such plot devices have been executed in later films. Dr. No is excellent, captivating throughout, highly suspenseful, never a dull moment. No wonder James Bond is massive.
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Post by iron maiden on Jun 16, 2021 23:48:11 GMT
I LOVED this write up Emperor . I'm a self diagnosed Bond-a-holic. Dr. No being the first in the franchise set the standard successful formula for all future Bond films. Many people get caught up in those formulas and the clichés as why NOT to like them, but there is a lot to enjoy. I do appreciate in the more recent films that Bond relies less on 'luck' and more on skill and sometimes, is shown to be very lucky to live or get out the situation alive. I look forward to your other write ups as you go through them and at the end we'll have to discuss your favorite film of the franchise, your favorite Bond, villain, etc. Ursula Andress is stunning and classy. If you haven't seen the movie She, it's a classic.
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Post by RagnarokMike on Jun 17, 2021 7:33:00 GMT
Mulan (live action): Wasn't a bad movie, but not particularly good, definitely not much reason to watch again. It was fine.
Raya and the Last Dragon: The movie that remembered to include a fun dragon was actually a pretty solid watch, entertaining start to finish. Wouldn't put it with Toy Story or the Incredibles, but strong 2nd level outing.
(Bo Burnham) Inside: God damn, that was an abstract masterpiece. Consistently hilarious and at times tragic. Just, can't praise it enough.
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Post by Emperor on Jun 17, 2021 8:33:35 GMT
I LOVED this write up Emperor . I'm a self diagnosed Bond-a-holic. Dr. No being the first in the franchise set the standard successful formula for all future Bond films. Many people get caught up in those formulas and the clichés as why NOT to like them, but there is a lot to enjoy. I do appreciate in the more recent films that Bond relies less on 'luck' and more on skill and sometimes, is shown to be very lucky to live or get out the situation alive. I look forward to your other write ups as you go through them and at the end we'll have to discuss your favorite film of the franchise, your favorite Bond, villain, etc. Ursula Andress is stunning and classy. If you haven't seen the movie She, it's a classic. Thank you iron maiden! I'm not sure I'm going to watch all of them (if so it will be over the span of like 10 years), but certainly the next couple of Connery films will be fairly soon. I hope.
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Post by iron maiden on Jun 17, 2021 14:41:54 GMT
Thunderball is a favorite of mine. The underwater fight scene was revolutionary at it's time. I believe it boasts an Oscar for the Best Visual Effects for which the same FX Coordinator also won later on for a little film called Star Wars.
Goldfinger is my mom's favorite.
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Post by @admin on Jun 18, 2021 4:51:21 GMT
(Bo Burnham) Inside: God damn, that was an abstract masterpiece. Consistently hilarious and at times tragic. Just, can't praise it enough. I enjoyed this but consistent probably wouldn't be the word I'd use - it could have used some editing to cut it down to a hour and the result would have been a lot better. With that said there were a few songs that had me in absolute stitches, particularly White Woman's Instagram and Sexting. And it's definitely the most interesting, relatable and creative piece of pop culture dealing with the pandemic (most of them have been crap let's be honest) so for that it earns some extra significance.
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Post by @admin on Jun 19, 2021 10:23:42 GMT
A Quiet Place 2: It was so great to be back at the theatre last night , it obviously added to the experience but the movie was rather awesome as well. Barely a peg below the OG which is high praise with how loved that movie is. Definitely recommend and would suggest seeing it in a theatre if you can. Movie theatres are rad huh?! I really enjoyed it too and it was the perfect reason to get back to the cinema. I actually thought it was even more engrossing than the original, I think the dual storylines really helped - I got a little bit emotional at the ending! I went back to see what PW said about the first AQP and was fairly blown away to read Emperor's comment about Emily Blunt being Cillian Murphy in female form! What are the odds?!
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