Holy shit, may have to finally check it out. I'm on the verge of cancelling Hulu, FS will probably be a better value.
Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| March 2017
- Thread starter Divius
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Holy shit, may have to finally check it out. I'm on the verge of cancelling Hulu, FS will probably be a better value.
IlGialloMondadori
Member
Paris, Texas. Loved it. Absolutely great film, gorgeous cinematography and soundtrack. Plus, it's got Harry Dean Stanton.
Beauty and the Beast - The best thing is the additional songs and that Luke Evans, otherwise it lacks the charm and charisma of the animated original (also a movie that knows when a song is maybe going a bit too long). Capably made, very well acted with some good voices, but it's almost a shot for shot attempt at recreating something that kind of didn't need recreating in the first place so I'm luke(evans)warm at best.
Life - It kind of goes through the numbers but is still well made. I liken more to an extended episode of the Twilight Zone, little character development but great atmosphere and it does a lot for the little it has to work with (a few people in one location). I think if it took more time to develop characters you would have had a classic.
Samurai Rebellion - I picked up the Criterion Rebel Samurai boxset on the cheap and revisited some movies I hadn't seen in a while. First up was this one that, to be honest, is a bit mislabeled as a chanbara flick and is really just more what Kobayashi does well (drama, politics, commentary on class and power struggles) that just happens to have Mifune and just happens to have a handful of swordfighting at the tail end. It has that great climax but it's really a small family drama more than anything as they deal with the powers at play that keeps tearing them apart.
It's a bit too long for what it is as it drags out the family drama a little too much and I feel there's a tighter, 90 minute version of this movie that would be utterly brilliant. The morality play pretty much makes it's case and point by half way but extends it unnecessarily further so I seeing it again I feel it's a lesser Kobayashi for me.
Life - It kind of goes through the numbers but is still well made. I liken more to an extended episode of the Twilight Zone, little character development but great atmosphere and it does a lot for the little it has to work with (a few people in one location). I think if it took more time to develop characters you would have had a classic.
Samurai Rebellion - I picked up the Criterion Rebel Samurai boxset on the cheap and revisited some movies I hadn't seen in a while. First up was this one that, to be honest, is a bit mislabeled as a chanbara flick and is really just more what Kobayashi does well (drama, politics, commentary on class and power struggles) that just happens to have Mifune and just happens to have a handful of swordfighting at the tail end. It has that great climax but it's really a small family drama more than anything as they deal with the powers at play that keeps tearing them apart.
It's a bit too long for what it is as it drags out the family drama a little too much and I feel there's a tighter, 90 minute version of this movie that would be utterly brilliant. The morality play pretty much makes it's case and point by half way but extends it unnecessarily further so I seeing it again I feel it's a lesser Kobayashi for me.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Wow. I'll be lucky to get 50 all year. Things have been so freakin' busy lately I've barely had time to keep up with the TV shows I'm watching, let alone sit down for a movie.
Hoping to see the new Beauty and the Beast this weekend with my wife.
I'm sitting at 50 so far. Teach me!
xrnzaaas
Member
The Accountant was a very good movie. I liked basically everything and it did a good job at letting my guard down because I didn't suspect the
almost until the final moment. Really enjoyable flick and not as shallow as I've expected after reading the synopsis.
brother reveal
AngmarsKing701
Member
I was pleasantly surprised, although I do think the way they handled being on the spectrum felt inconsistent from child to adult.
Discotheque
Banned
Watched all the main Fast & Furious movies. Can't be bothered to do specific write-ups for all of them. But it is fun to see these movies evolve (with the 2nd and 3rd entries being the odd ones out) from the 'simple street racing' in part 1 to the over the top, tank/drone-fighting, skyscraper-hopping, Tony-Jaa-parkouring action-filled mega-movies. Fun stuff.
Special mention to F&F6 which, for me, really is a notch above the rest, the writing on the comedic front and the dynamic and gigantic action pieces are especially well done.
In my opinion, from best to worst
1. Fast & Furious 6
2. Fast Five
3. The Fast and the Furious
4. Furious Seven
5. Tokyo Drift
6. 2 Fast 2 Furious
7. Fast & Furious 4
Finally a fast and Furious ranking that mirrors my own. 6 is a lot like 5 with a much cooler villain.
Weekend boredom is your friend!
I saw Split recently and damn... the ending is
I really hope M Night gets
It's a decent film made much more fun by the ending.
pretty great. I love the link to Unbreakable, and the fact you think you've been watching a film in one genre and suddenly it's revealed it's been something else all along.
I really hope M Night gets
to add to this universe.
It's a decent film made much more fun by the ending.
Honestly 5.6. and 7 make one hell of an action trilogy. I want to see someone reboot Initial D
Going to marathon some more Kurosawa movies tonight.
Lower depths
Hidden Fortress
The bad sleep well
Messofanego
Banned
Raw was bloody amazing for a coming-of-age, darkly comic, feminist, cannibal body horror, family drama. Saw an early screening of it at BFI Southbank (comes out April 7th). Might be a runner for one of my favourites of the year. In the Q&A, Julia (the director) kept on mentioning Cronenberg as one of her biggest influences. I asked a question and she alled me "savvy" for name-dropping Excision and Zulawski's Possession (which she actually showed to the actress for her to transform like Isabelle Adjani). She gave me a thumbs up on the way out, and I did the same
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
Anyone have a solid date when Filmstruck will hit the consoles?
MidnightCowboy
Member
Bruh the scene where they are all drifting in unison like some synchronized swim team is so corny and the peak moment of the franchise
WHY ARE ALL THESE TEENAGERS SUCH GOOD DRIVERS
Tokyo Drift is one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
All they've said is sometime in the spring.
All they've said is sometime in the spring.
Finally got around to creating and exploring Letterboxd. The spreadsheet method for cataloging wasn't really working for me. I followed all the members in OP, is there anyone else notable in the Letterboxd community outside of GAF worth following?
And in case you're not in the OP, follow me and I'll follow back: https://letterboxd.com/crustikid/
And in case you're not in the OP, follow me and I'll follow back: https://letterboxd.com/crustikid/
Raw was bloody amazing for a coming-of-age, darkly comic, feminist, cannibal body horror, family drama. Saw an early screening of it at BFI Southbank (comes out April 7th). Might be a runner for one of my favourites of the year. In the Q&A, Julia (the director) kept on mentioning Cronenberg as one of her biggest influences. I asked a question and she alled me "savvy" for name-dropping Excision and Zulawski's Possession (which she actually showed to the actress for her to transform like Isabelle Adjani). She gave me a thumbs up on the way out, and I did the same
Hell yeah, awesome story, killer movie.
Messofanego
Banned
I'm gonna do that Nintendo fan thing and camp out a month early.
Raw was bloody amazing for a coming-of-age, darkly comic, feminist, cannibal body horror, family drama. Saw an early screening of it at BFI Southbank (comes out April 7th). Might be a runner for one of my favourites of the year. In the Q&A, Julia (the director) kept on mentioning Cronenberg as one of her biggest influences. I asked a question and she alled me "savvy" for name-dropping Excision and Zulawski's Possession (which she actually showed to the actress for her to transform like Isabelle Adjani). She gave me a thumbs up on the way out, and I did the same
Keep hearing great things about this, is it getting a wide release? I'll definitely check it out if so, Possession is great.
Messofanego
Banned
I spotted Universal and Focus Features in the opening, so hopefully. Don't know about a wide release in USA, maybe not too many cinema chains could handle it cause there's a main gay character (and quite a bit of gay sex), there's female sexual awakening, cannibalism, and other things that aren't particularly what most Americans are ok with
Johnlenham
Member
Notes on Blindness - That was a rough watch.
The Tree of Life
Easily the best film of the past decade, and a top 5 movie of all time. The scenes I had problems with on first viewing (dinos, Sad Sean Penn, the ending) I love now. Everything else that I loved on first viewing (cinematography, family scenes, music) are as amazing as ever.
Balee dat.
Easily the best film of the past decade, and a top 5 movie of all time. The scenes I had problems with on first viewing (dinos, Sad Sean Penn, the ending) I love now. Everything else that I loved on first viewing (cinematography, family scenes, music) are as amazing as ever.
That Tavener music hnnnngg.
Balee dat.
An interesting thing I discovered was Malick's younger brother, a guitarist, commited suicide when he was 19. Given that one of the brothers in The Tree of Life, the one that died, plays the guitar like Malick's younger brother, I'm inclined to believe that his death came about because he killed himself, much like Malick's brother, given that he's obviously based on him, which makes me intrepret everything differently. Malick's brother killed himself whilst in Spain persuing a music career, so the news of his death would've come through mail, like it does in the movie, which all but confirms how the brother died.
And it's also worth pointing out that Malick had two younger brothers, much like Jack, so there's another parallel between this movie and Malick's life. This movie is definitely autobiographical.
At some point, I gotta do a full on analysis of this movie, lol. There's a lot to dig into.
And it's also worth pointing out that Malick had two younger brothers, much like Jack, so there's another parallel between this movie and Malick's life. This movie is definitely autobiographical.
At some point, I gotta do a full on analysis of this movie, lol. There's a lot to dig into.
I hated this movie the first time I watched it, mostly because of the things you mention having problems with, and the fact that I saw it with a friend on a whim without realizing what it was. This almost makes me think I should give it another chance. Almost.
Shiadoit.gif
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
quick aside: Having seen the RLM video on Life and knowing that it's coming from "the good people at Sony" it's pretty obvious this movie was basically a producer at Sony going 'I want to remake the Blob but the original movie is boring'. No wonder the actors went off-script as much as possible during promotion.
Anyway:
BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966): Caps rightfully used here, as this movie is self-aware schlock glory all the way to eleven. It is truly a glorious work worthy of being witnessed first-hand. Back to the Batcave, Robin! I loved it. And I honestly didn't expect to like it this much.
It also has a key reminder of acting being a much more physical activity before recent times and its obsession with close-ups, as villains joyously move all over the screen with the camera having to keep up with them. It's so much (more) fun to watch actors actually being allowed to act to the fullest extent of the set, not so much arbitrary limitations usually set by close-ups or green screen. The more recent Batman movies will either endure or fade into oblivion, but this BATMAN movie is a classic for the ages.
Anyway:
BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966): Caps rightfully used here, as this movie is self-aware schlock glory all the way to eleven. It is truly a glorious work worthy of being witnessed first-hand. Back to the Batcave, Robin! I loved it. And I honestly didn't expect to like it this much.
It also has a key reminder of acting being a much more physical activity before recent times and its obsession with close-ups, as villains joyously move all over the screen with the camera having to keep up with them. It's so much (more) fun to watch actors actually being allowed to act to the fullest extent of the set, not so much arbitrary limitations usually set by close-ups or green screen. The more recent Batman movies will either endure or fade into oblivion, but this BATMAN movie is a classic for the ages.
Count Dookkake
Member
It pains me that youngsters think the 60s Batman is something to laugh at, rather than laugh with.
Kids have a hard time understanding that comedy and self-awareness existed before whatever was the first naughty cartoon that they loved.
Kids have a hard time understanding that comedy and self-awareness existed before whatever was the first naughty cartoon that they loved.
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared
Member
What a load of mawkish The Secret Scripture turned out to be. Looked kinda good, ended up being rubbish.
The story seems to be based on those terrible books you see them selling in petrol stations, the ones designed for old people, Rooney Mara is Rose, whose been locked in an asylum for 50 years cos of stuff what happened in world war in 1940s Sligo. Jack Reynor is the dashing young man who goes to join the RAF, Theo James is the weird catholic priest, etc. You can guess the plot from there.
So, it looks rubbish, cheap. The story is contrived and riddiculous, even as one of these stories goes, the plot twists are so obvious you can tell them from the poster. The Irish accents are just awful, the acting is either poor or hammy to fuck.
And it was just really boring and stupid, and I didn't enjoy it at all.
The story seems to be based on those terrible books you see them selling in petrol stations, the ones designed for old people, Rooney Mara is Rose, whose been locked in an asylum for 50 years cos of stuff what happened in world war in 1940s Sligo. Jack Reynor is the dashing young man who goes to join the RAF, Theo James is the weird catholic priest, etc. You can guess the plot from there.
So, it looks rubbish, cheap. The story is contrived and riddiculous, even as one of these stories goes, the plot twists are so obvious you can tell them from the poster. The Irish accents are just awful, the acting is either poor or hammy to fuck.
And it was just really boring and stupid, and I didn't enjoy it at all.
Justice League Dark. I ordered the bluray after seeing it on Amazon and noticing it was rated R. I liked it. The more super hero-y Constantine is growing on me. It got me to order volume two of the trade digitally.
The animation was serviceable, voice acting good, and the story fast and simple. They turned Zatanna into a kind of amalgamation of her New 52 (or whatever) comic self and Madame Xanadu, and I was bummed that Shade The Changing Man and Andrew Bennet were both absent - but Swamp Thing was pretty cool.
So for April I think I'm going to watch every terrible Nic Cage movie from the last decade that he's done for the money. Just what is on Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. Any suggestions? The WWII (?) film Indianapolis is looking nice and shitty.
The animation was serviceable, voice acting good, and the story fast and simple. They turned Zatanna into a kind of amalgamation of her New 52 (or whatever) comic self and Madame Xanadu, and I was bummed that Shade The Changing Man and Andrew Bennet were both absent - but Swamp Thing was pretty cool.
So for April I think I'm going to watch every terrible Nic Cage movie from the last decade that he's done for the money. Just what is on Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. Any suggestions? The WWII (?) film Indianapolis is looking nice and shitty.
Messofanego
Banned
Wicker Man is on Netflix. It's a shame Vampire's Kiss isn't on any streaming service.
Trespass. Watch Trespass. There's a full Nic Cage scene that can go down in the history books. Outcast with him and Hayden Christensen is pretty wild. Then there's always Drive Angry.
Army of One's poster looks phenomenal, so I'm curious to watch that one.
Cripplegate
Member
I legit love Drive Angry 3D. No idea how it'd play in 2D, but it's seriously the best 3D film to date. It's the only one I've seen that actually attempted to use the format for more than just the gimmick (objects fly at camera) or the Cameron approach (screen is a window into another world, i.e. illusion of depth makes CGI Pandora more believable). There's tons of clever framing (frames within frames, multiple layers, etc.) that actually provide a better illusion of depth than Cameron's approach (because it gives your brain more reference points), as well as just forcing the director to be more creative with the mise-en-scene, and it also employs some avant-garde tricks (e.g. superimpositions that intermingle via the illusion of depth provided by 3D and also move and behave independently of source images, so for example in one scene the superimposed images ripple like waves across the screen) that, no joke, I have only ever seen repeated in one other film: Godard's Goodbye to Language 3D. And that's saying something!
All on the list, thanks. Really looking forward to Trespass. I've seen the thumbnail plenty of times, just never had the urge to watch it until now. I love a good over the top Cage scene.
The Godzilla stuff in Shin Gojira is absolutely amazing and features some of the best Godzilla scenes I've seen. The boardroom stuff is also dope; Very funny and witty. Great music as well. Solid 7/10.
There hasn't been much GAF hype iirc, but this seems like a film MoveGAF would enjoy.
There hasn't been much GAF hype iirc, but this seems like a film MoveGAF would enjoy.
Huh GAF won't shut up about the movie. Just look at the recent Godzilla thread. Also Japans second highest grossing movie of 2016. Better than 2014 version is what I see the most
The scene where he uses his atomic breath is easily the greatest thing of 2016
Checks streaming availability...and still not up. I don't even think it's been at the theatre around here. I want to see it but it's a rare beasty
Agreed. That one scene midway through justified the movie to me all on its own. It felt like it dragged on a bit toward the end, but it's hard for me to judge it based on that, considering it was a commentary on Japanese politics and I know 0 about Japanese politics that I didn't read because of Shin Godzilla. Either way, they did manage to make even the dialog scenes visually interesting for the most part.
The Handmaiden (2016): Second viewing, largely sustains my initial impressions. It's a lot of fun, even if I think Park sacrifices a lot of the characters' emotional weight on the admittedly great aesthetic he brings to it.
Two Days, One Night (2014): This is probably my third viewing of the film (and with this, I've now caught up entirely on my backlog of Blu-ray disks purchased by not watched), and it remains an absolute triumph of acting. Marion Cotillard's performance here rivals Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine for the best of the decade. It's also easy to miss what a feat of writing the story is, since the premise of Sandra approaching all her coworkers to have variations of the same conversation could easily have come across as dully repetitive in the wrong hands.
Two Days, One Night (2014): This is probably my third viewing of the film (and with this, I've now caught up entirely on my backlog of Blu-ray disks purchased by not watched), and it remains an absolute triumph of acting. Marion Cotillard's performance here rivals Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine for the best of the decade. It's also easy to miss what a feat of writing the story is, since the premise of Sandra approaching all her coworkers to have variations of the same conversation could easily have come across as dully repetitive in the wrong hands.
The ending, which strikes a really wonderful balance and doesn't succumb to easy nihilism or miserabilism, is wonderful.
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared
Member
I was complaining about American comedies with Fist Fight not too long ago, but I watched The Meddler and it was fantastic! Granted its a comedy-drama rather than a straight comedy, but still.
It's a real tight, funny script. Superb acting from the two leads of Sarandon and Byrne, and the rest of the cast. JK Simmons is always fantastic.
It was a very funny story, but also poignant, incredibly relatable, and it had a great ending. Can't argue with it, easily passed the 6 laugh test.
It's a real tight, funny script. Superb acting from the two leads of Sarandon and Byrne, and the rest of the cast. JK Simmons is always fantastic.
It was a very funny story, but also poignant, incredibly relatable, and it had a great ending. Can't argue with it, easily passed the 6 laugh test.
Fancy Clown
Member
Zatoichi the Outlaw: Shintaro Katsu kicks off the first Zatoichi film under his own production company in pretty spectacular style. Zatoichi the Outlaw embraces the darker side of violence with a lot more bloodshed, dismemberment, suicide, and other grim elements. It's not all for show however, as this film is unabashedly political in its twisty year-spanning plot, which makes for one of the most engaging, personal, and brutal climaxes in the series. I can't help but feel it could have been even better if it hadn't felt the need to tick all the usual Zatoichi boxes however, as the first half plays out in typical Ichi fashion to its detriment, went it could have spent the time setting up the emotional beats for the subplots and fleshing out it's loftier political ambitions a lot more. It's still some damn fine entertainment though, with some particularly arresting acid-washed colors and some highly memorable villains.
Cripplegate
Member
Kedi (6.5/10) - A nice little documentary about some of the cats roaming Istanbul, and some of the people whose lives they have affected. The perfect "what else is on Netflix today" kind of movie (as soon as it's streaming, that is); could only really recommend a trip to the theatres if you can tolerate 80 minutes of an audience going "awwwww so cute" nonstop in unison.
And thank god these cats are so cute, because that's about all there is to it. While there are some touching moments here and there, when we see how the lives of both the cats and the people have been improved by interacting with each other, the film refuses to delve any deeper on the significance of this relationship, or really any topic. One scene briefly mentions the planned demolition of a market, and one interviewee laments what this might mean for the cats who roam there, but the film abruptly drops that subject. The film simply lets various people speak (some have a bit to say, some nothing at all) and refuses to editorialize or pass judgment, so you end up with a film that doesn't say anything interesting or useful out of a fear of politicizing a movie about cats. There's also a scene where a kitten is seriously injured and taken to a vet, fate left unknown ("this is the reality" says the man who drives the kitten to the vet, but the kitten is still alive and then that thread, like others, is abruptly dropped). So afraid to potentially offend in any way, the movie moves along quickly (it's only 80 minutes, as I said). This also means the movie doesn't say anything philosophical, despite again making repeated gestures in that direction ("cats know that God exists" is a saying repeated a couple times, simply because it makes for a nice sound bite).
The only point the movie really wants to make is that cats are living creatures and should be afforded the same value and respect as humans. A nice sentiment, but also lacking in nuance and not exactly so simple. It actually goes one step further and suggests cats are just like people. But because of the film's refusal to engage substantially in even contextual concerns, like socialization, domestication and animal behavior, the movie is basically just flirting with anthropomorphism for 80 minutes and then putting a bow on it (roll credits). It's a charming film, I enjoyed watching it (I love cats, ayy), but I will also say that as far as documentary filmmaking goes, this is about as simplistic as it gets. It's documentary filmmaking in the mode of sentimental crowd pleaser. Thumbs up for cat lovers, otherwise maybe save it for random streaming on a rainy day.
And thank god these cats are so cute, because that's about all there is to it. While there are some touching moments here and there, when we see how the lives of both the cats and the people have been improved by interacting with each other, the film refuses to delve any deeper on the significance of this relationship, or really any topic. One scene briefly mentions the planned demolition of a market, and one interviewee laments what this might mean for the cats who roam there, but the film abruptly drops that subject. The film simply lets various people speak (some have a bit to say, some nothing at all) and refuses to editorialize or pass judgment, so you end up with a film that doesn't say anything interesting or useful out of a fear of politicizing a movie about cats. There's also a scene where a kitten is seriously injured and taken to a vet, fate left unknown ("this is the reality" says the man who drives the kitten to the vet, but the kitten is still alive and then that thread, like others, is abruptly dropped). So afraid to potentially offend in any way, the movie moves along quickly (it's only 80 minutes, as I said). This also means the movie doesn't say anything philosophical, despite again making repeated gestures in that direction ("cats know that God exists" is a saying repeated a couple times, simply because it makes for a nice sound bite).
The only point the movie really wants to make is that cats are living creatures and should be afforded the same value and respect as humans. A nice sentiment, but also lacking in nuance and not exactly so simple. It actually goes one step further and suggests cats are just like people. But because of the film's refusal to engage substantially in even contextual concerns, like socialization, domestication and animal behavior, the movie is basically just flirting with anthropomorphism for 80 minutes and then putting a bow on it (roll credits). It's a charming film, I enjoyed watching it (I love cats, ayy), but I will also say that as far as documentary filmmaking goes, this is about as simplistic as it gets. It's documentary filmmaking in the mode of sentimental crowd pleaser. Thumbs up for cat lovers, otherwise maybe save it for random streaming on a rainy day.
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