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[yepyepyep]

Dead Ringers- Wow. Easily the best Cronenberg that I've seen. Jeremy Irons absolutely kills it playing identical twins with similar but different personalities. I was a bit hesitant to watch this because knowing Cronenberg's reputation for gore and the subject matter of gynaecologists, well yeah...

While there a few scenes that are obviously uncomfortable to watch, the film is a bit more reserved in comparison to the hardcore gross fest of The Fly. As mentioned before, Iron's does a remarkable job portraying the twins. They have a fucked up co-dependent relationship that eventually descends into increasingly bizarre and self-destructive behaviour yet Iron's is able to elicit empathy for each character, particularly in the more troubled and unstable Beverley.

There is an underlying sense of melancholy and tragedy that underpins the film which prevents it from feeling trashy or exploitative. Howard Shore also delivers a fantastic and understated score that communicates the sense of sadness without being overbearing.

 

[Messofanego]

Lady Macbeth

The highlight of the night. This will be sitting pretty in my top 10 unless the year goes haywire in the final four months. I had seen others in the thread mentioning the movie, and had been really, really looking forward to it. But I had not been expecting what it became, not in the slightest. I don't want to even hint at anything, since I went in knowing nothing and came out the other side thinking about it still, hours later. Florence Pugh should be up for every major award if life were fair. But yeah! I loved it, and can't recommend it enough. Wow.

One of my favourites too. Like Jane Austen by Haneke.

 

[Clear]

LIfe

Surprisingly a better Alien movie than either of Ridley Scott's prequels. Its no classic, but its very well made, well acted, and generates some decent suspense at points. I'd also add that contrary to what imdb user reviews suggest, I found character actions and events less contrived and egregiously stupid than most films of its type - compared to say Covenant its a model of rationality!


Prevenge

Alice Lowe (Sightseers, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace) impresses hugely as star and writer/director of this micro-budgeted indie horror-comedy. Quickly put together and shot as Lowe was allegedly unable to get hired for other stuff while pregnant(!), its a remarkably assured debut feature. Not sure how well the humour will travel, but if you have a taste for dark British comedy, its a treat.

 

[weshes195]

Well since I got movie pass I'm going to see more movies so I thought I would start posting here!

Saw Anabelle on Sunday, liked it. Creepy and didn't rely on gore to be scary. Not a horror classic (that I'm hoping it will be) but entertaining nonetheless.

On the other hand, saw the hitmans bodyguard last night (with moviepass) and bleh. I was confused how a movie with Jackson and Reynolds would become a mediocre to bad movie but now I know. 90 percent of the jokes didn't land, the story is another buddy movie with almost no originality to it (or really anything creative). And the soundtrack was so bad. Just bland action music.

 

[kevin1025]

One of my favourites too. Like Jane Austen by Haneke.

That's the exact best way to describe it! I hope more get around to watching it.

Edit:

Since I'm the last to post still, here's another!

Ouija

I don't have much to say really, it's not good. So I'll just post my Letterboxd review:

"She left the leftovers after the door swung open. Unbelievable.

Too many jump scares. I turned down the lights for nothing."

 

[Gastone]

Megan Leavy 3 / 5
Since i'm a dog person i thought i'd give this a look. Turned out be pretty alright. Overall it was enjoyable, and i liked Maras performance in this. Solid directing and decently paced, with a few nice action bits thrown in. If you're a dog lover you're gonna enjoy this (which i am).

Sinister II 1.5/5
Being somewhat a fan of the first one, i was kinda stoked to finally get around to watching this. Very disappointed. The eerie atmosphere and evil presense from Bahguul in the first one was just kinda lost in this one. It felt like a pointless and forgettable retread of the first one. And the actors...jesus. Some of the worst shit i've seen in years. James Ranson looked like he was totally out of place and didn't quite know what exactly he was going for in terms of style. Complete waste. And the kids were annoying and C-grade.

 

[kevin1025]

Ouija: Origin of Evil

So it opens with the old school Universal logo. Then it has an old school title card. Then it has the cigarette burns on every reel change. Okay, movie, you're winning a lot of points with me on style alone. I don't think I've ever seen such an uptick in quality in the same "franchise". The 1960's is lovingly recreated and bursting at the seams, the scares are actually really well done, and the characters actually have character and interesting. I really liked the hell out of this one. Watching the first and this back to back was quite the whiplash.

 

[Vibranium]

Split

Finally got around to seeing this, I can say that M. Knight is back, everyone else I know watching it had no clue about the

Spoiler

Unbreakable

twist so it was great to be able to explain it. Everything just clicks into place when that ending comes in. Cannot wait for Glass,

Spoiler

hopefully Bruce Willis cares in it and we get a fantastic assembling of "super-humans". I'm especially interested in seeing how Casey develops as a character when facing off against The Horde and Mr. Glass as well.
Maybe Dunn takes her under his wing?

James McAvoy was excellent, I loved the concept for his character and he pulled it off.

Now if he could just forget about ever making The Last Airbender 2 and stick with stuff more in his wheelhouse.

 

[kevin1025]

Split

Finally got around to seeing this, I can say that M. Knight is back, everyone else I know watching it had no clue about the

Spoiler

Unbreakable

twist so it was great to be able to explain it. Everything just clicks into place when that ending comes in. Cannot wait for Glass,

Spoiler

hopefully Bruce Willis cares in it and we get a fantastic assembling of "super-humans". I'm especially interested in seeing how Casey develops as a character when facing off against The Horde and Mr. Glass as well.
Maybe Dunn takes her under his wing?

James McAvoy was excellent, I loved the concept for his character and he pulled it off.

Now if he could just forget about ever making The Last Airbender 2 and stick with stuff more in his wheelhouse.

*looks up The Last Airbender 2*

Oh, no... Why would he want to do it again? The score during the climax is the only good part

 

[HollowCentral]

So, I finally jumped on the Logan Lucky bandwagon, and boy, what a ride it was!

I really loved this film. It's just so much fun, and feels so genuine. The actors are on point the whole time, and seeing Danial Craig do something like this makes me with he would do these sorts of films more often. Channing Tatum was probably the best I've seen him yet in this (really makes me that more excited for Kingsman 2), and Adam Driver really surprised me. With my only other exposure to him being Kylo Ren, I can say that he really kills it here. I can only hope he brings that talent to TLK.

The story was also incredibly solid. After seeing a few "heist" movies, it can often feel like they all kind of run together, but this stands out for the sheer creativity for breaking conventions and cliches (some of which Soderbergh helped create/popularize with the Ocean's movies).

Spoiler

And the prison ransom scene had me and my dad, who I went with, laughing our asses off for a solid 2 minutes, through the entirety of God Bless America.

I will say that even though 99/100 of the film are incredibly solid, the last-minute

Spoiler

FBI investigation

seemed kind of forced, even though it did play into the story. But other than that, I can't recommend this movie enough. Tell everyone you know to go see it, because apparently that's the only marketing this movie's gonna get.

9/10. Going into the number 2 slot for the year so far, behind Dunkirk but ahead of The Founder.

 

[big ander]

Also saw Logan Lucky tonight. loved it. I was laughing for 99% of it and the other 1% I was getting kinda choked up at a pageant performance of "Take Me Home, Country Roads"?

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

It's proper frustrating to be sitting in a comedy film or tv show wanting to laugh, trying to laugh, yet the media being consumed is just so grim its impossible to laugh, and at best you get a mild chuckle. That is Rough Night in a nutshell.

Where to begin with this rubbish? The central group dynamics of the 5 main women don't work, mainly because they have a shocking lack of chemistry with each other. Jillian Bell and Kate McKinnon remain the unfunniest comedy actors I can recall seeing in recent Hollywood films. The writing is atrocious from start to finish, and only exacerbates the lack of chemistry between the cast. The premise is vaguely interesting or at least lends itself to good comic set ups, but the writers clearly lacked the strength of its own convictions and thus it takes the easy way out in the third act and the ending, rather than do anything with the set up and characters.

The subplot involving the male characters is silly and also unfunny. The best gag of the film is a subplot involving Ty Burrell and Demi Moore as a pair of swingers, mainly because those actors are funny. Rough Night is a rough watch.

 

[Window]

Paris, Texas: It's incredible to me how familiar the places in this film feel to me, even though I've never been to the US. The desolate small towns in the outback, the house in the suburbs in the hills overlooking the big city, the home itself, the school, the concrete jungle, the seedy backstreets...I feel like I've passed through some variations of those in my life. The American Dream of fancy houses, fancy holidays,"fancy women" and wholesome families remains elusive.

 

[Divius]

RIP Tobe Hooper

 

[Fancy Clown]

Damn RIP and thanks for one of the greatest horror films ever made

 

[gamz]

Bummer. TCM is a masterpiece.


Two horror icons in the same year. Arhhhh

 

[Cripplegate]

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre gets under my skin like nothing else. I feel like I need to take a shower every time I watch it. Truly one of the GOATs.

RIP, Tobe Hooper.

 

[Fancy Clown]

 

[yepyepyep]

I remember the first time I saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was when I was a teenager when my mum bought it as a present for Christmas, as well as a non-fiction book about Australian serial killers (jeez mum, what were you trying to say?). That was one crazy Christmas!

 

[kevin1025]

I have only seen part of the dinner scene in TCM and it was mortifying at a younger age. I think I'll finally watch it today.

 

[Borgnine]

Paris, Texas: It's incredible to me how familiar the places in this film feel to me, even though I've never been to the US. The desolate small towns in the outback, the house in the suburbs in the hills overlooking the big city, the home itself, the school, the concrete jungle, the seedy backstreets...I feel like I've passed through some variations of those in my life. The American Dream of fancy houses, fancy holidays,"fancy women" and wholesome families remains elusive.

Paris, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The commentary on the Criterion is fun, Wenders is like "I'm from Germany, can you imagine... a drive thru bank?"

 

[Boogs31]

Transpecos 8.5/10 - Solid thriller with some beautiful cinematography especially considering the small budget. Good performances and character building. I also enjoyed the look at the life of Border Patrol agents who seem to be underrepresented in films. The plot in the 2nd half was a bit of a let down considering how impressive the opening 45 minutes were but I still enjoyed it.

 

[Sean C]

North Country (2005): Charlize Theron and director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) both follow up their earlier awards season success with this gritty dramatization of a sexual harassment case in a blue collar Minnesota mining company. For much of the running time this movie is really good, and quite effective at showing the wide range of ways that sexual harassment is not only perpetrated but excused or belittled by people who are not directly participating (much of this is set in 1991, so we get occasional shots of people commenting on the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings). However, I think it really stumbles toward the ending, where the movie suddenly becomes about how

Spoiler

Theron was raped as a teenager, and the man most responsible for harassing her at the plant was the only witness to this and is interrogated about it on the stand

. Maybe that would have been a good story on its own, but it has little to do with what came before.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

Yo Song to Song is in 4K.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

confession time: I've never seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Nightmare On Elm Street.

 

[kevin1025]

The French Connection

It's shot almost in a documentary style (both in sound and direction), has Gene Hackman being fantastic, and has a cool crime story that has been aped over the years but, despite being my first time watching it, is perfected here. This one is a damn classic, and still holds up to this day.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

That's fine, I didn't want to sleep tonight anyway.

Grime, grit, dirty, hellish, and horrifying. My eyes were wide and my gut was clenched through so much of this damn thing. It's unsettling to a point that no other movie I've seen up to this point has ever achieved to me. And at the same time, it's very tame in its graphic depictions. It's the sudden brutality, the quickness of it, tied to the visceral direction and cuts and the sound editing that sell it.

 

[Fancy Clown]

confession time: I've never seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Nightmare On Elm Street.

Nightmare is good fun but TCM is the real shit

 

[Borgnine]

Blade Runner rewatch: 8/10. You know the more I see of his recent output, Scott got so fucking lucky here. It's just people doing things with no arcs whatsoever but any negative criticism is suffocated by the incredible atmosphere. The problem now is he seems to have no passion for style anymore so we're left with nothing.
Barbarella: 4/10. It's goofy as hell but it's in on the goof but that doesn't make it good. This was offensive on so many levels, not the least of which was set design. And by offensive I mean awesome. Jane Fonda was unbelievably smoking hot in this but at the same time whenever she spoke you could clearly hear she's whip smart so it was this weird incongruity since she's supposed to be a bimbo. A truly bizarre time capsule.
Indignation: 5/10. Very strange. I know it's based on true events which is the only way to explain why so many scenes go on forever for no apparent reason. I'm honestly not entirely sure what the point of this was.
Romancing the Bone: 6/10. Cute. Better than Indy.
The Stepford Wives: 4/10. I mean 10/10 idea but christ this is dull. Like other than the last 10 minutes this is about a interesting as actually living in Stepford. I liked the lack of bras though.

 

[paperspace]

⁣

 

[Ridley327]

All of them, or just the original?

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, JUST THE ORIGINAL

There will be those that tell you that its first sequel is worthwhile. These people are wrong and should feel bad for being wrong.

 

[Fancy Clown]

All of them, or just the original?

I've only seen the original, but as with most of these slasher series I can't imagine the sequels (or prequels or prequel prequels) can even remotely compare.

 

[Count Dookkake]

TCM2 is spectacular.

 

[paperspace]

⁣

 

[SeanC]

I grew up in a time when TCM was the nasty horror movie that people still weren't sure if it was based on real events or not. Like it was taboo. Because of that I never saw it until I was in college, and even then it still sticks with me.

 

[sunshine and gasoline]

Midnight Runners

God damn. Was not expecting this movie to be anywhere near as awesome as it was. I went in expecting a comedic cop duo flick...I went in without watching any of the trailers. It certainly did make me laugh at times and the chemistry between the two trainee cops was nice.

The first part lived up to my expectations. Plenty of comedy involving two men studying to be crops who don't really have strong motivations for becoming police officers. Those two stumble across a kidnapping and attempt to do some crime solving. Nothing exceptional there but parts of it certainly where amusing. And then the two discover the true extent of what they've stumbled across. It's at this point where it kicks into an action film...one that is damn good. Fights are well directed and we always know what is going on. No bullshit quick cuts that make it difficult to know what is going on. Easily some of the best action I've seen this year...maybe even the best. I'll have to watch it again to form a better opinion but I really was impressed. Even a chase where the two main leads are fleeing from a group of men is a treat to see thanks in part to the music.

Its no Raid 1/2 when it comes to martial arts cerography but that does little to lessen it and I really get the impression that the Raid series was more than a bit of an influence in this film. The finale 2 vs 1 fight reminded me a heck of a lot of the 2 vs 1 fight in Raid 1.

If this movie is playing near you do yourself a favor and give it a watch.

 

[weshes195]

Well I just saw Dunkirk, but before posting my impressions, I was tired and on the phone when posting my first post in this thread so I wasn't too caring when posting haha

Top 5 of August:

1. War of the Planet of the Apes
2. Anabelle (Prequel)
3. Dunkirk
4.Atomic Blonde
5. The Hitman BodyGuard

I think those are the ones I have seen this month. The best part of Moviepass wis actually keeping track of all my movies!

1. I don't know honestly. I loved Goodfellas/Godfather but I also love Captain America: Civil War.
2. Alfred Hitchcock. Was the guy who got me to love movies so no matter what, this is the answer.
3. I loved James Stewart; love Tom Hanks.
4. All, but if I had to pick: Comedy, Action, Horror
5. Full Metal Jacket, a combination of the mean General guy and the law and order dude. So intense!

Now, onto Dunkirk. It was...good. Nowhere near Nolan's best and, in my opinion, underserving of its praise. The cinematography is amazing and that action is alright, but that's it. It saddens me that Hans Zimmer did that awesome Man of Steel music and then produced this mediocre music. I have no idea why Nolan thought it was smart to play that same sound throughout the whole film with only maybe 2 (extremely brief) pauses... Couldn't hear 90% of what the people were saying! Nothing intense was happening and yet, while these two Generals were talking, this even paced dun, dun, dun, dun, was going on. Why?

It felt like Nolan wanted to make film with little dialogue and was afraid that people would get bored, so he made the music that would make the intense scenes better in every scene in the movie. Which also made the action scenes less impactful as we have heard the same music THE WHOLE TIME, just not as loud. My experience with Nolan is that he has no understanding whatsoever with sound mixing.


3 out of 5, a good film due to amazing cinematography; the definition of a style over substance movie. Not really any acting (aside from the rescuers who were good), not that much of a script to be able to criticize or praise, and music that makes the most mediocre soundtracks look amazing.

Funny enough, I am going to see Baby Driver next, which I hear also puts an emphasis on music. I have good feeling that I may like their usage, which may even make me even more down on Dunkirk.

 

[Cripplegate]

I've never seen Hooper's TCM sequel. I should definitely get on that.

edit -

Plenty of comedy involving two men studying to be crops

They said I could be anything, so I planted myself in a field and waited for the harvest.

This is the Korean movie, yeah? I think it's playing near me right now. Might check it out if I have time this week.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Romancing the Bone: 6/10. Cute. Better than Indy.

Hmmm....

 

[lordxar]

Death Note Didn't know anything about this going in other than it was some sort of anime or something. First observation is that this has the laziest origin story. Evil notebook falls from sky. Really? That's the whole thing, not really complaining but that seems too easy. On with the killing and brutal were the deaths. At first I didn't really care for the story as it got to be too global but I think it worked out well overall. I'd love to see more stuff like this.

Uncaged Werewolf story with the characters from Superbad. I enjoyed it for what it is but this could have been a lot better.

 

[HollowCentral]

confession time: I've never seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Nightmare On Elm Street.

Same here.

Not really into slashers.

 

[Ridley327]

Same here.

Not really into slashers.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre really isn't much of a slasher itself, even if it was rather influential to that genre.

 

[Ridley327]

Good Time: Imagine an indie drama in the hands of Michael Mann, and you have a good idea of how to approach this film, a wildly successful merger of a race-against-time thriller, small-time crooks and a character study of a man's relentlessness in staying ahead of everyone else. That last point is certainly the most visible aspect to the film's marketing, as this is a showcase role for Robert Pattinson. While those in the know, i.e. know him from films besides the Twilight series, could already tell you about the talent he has as an actor, this is easily his best performance yet, as the role of Connie allows for him to use his naturally good looks and charm to chilling effect, manipulating everyone around him for his own gain as the confines of the one night that the majority of the story takes over offers up a glimpse into his world and also tells us everything he has been about for his entire life. I especially love how well he's able to sell his pauses as his situation gets more and more out of control: you really get the sense that he's going over every possible angle he can in a short amount of time, and even more than the foot chases themselves that happen, you get the sense of how much of a drain it is for him physically to operating at full tilt as he has to here. It's far from a one man show, with some great supporting turns from co-director Benny Safdie as Nick, Connie's mentally handicapped brother that knows just how much of the condition needs to be present without coming off as a caricature, as well as newcomer Taliah Webster as a young girl who aids Connie with a strong mix of resolve and naivete and certainly deserves an immense amount of praise just for being able to keep it together in one of the most squirm-inducing scenes that you'll see in a film in this or any other year, but Pattinson is the thumping heart of the film. Speaking of thumping, the work done on the sound design is unreal in how well it's able to create an atmosphere, with the aggressive overlapping of dialogue and highly accentuated sound effects work doing a marvelous job of selling the chaos, with the soundtrack delivered by Oneohtrix Point Never sealing the deal as not only the perfect accompaniment to the action, but may already justify its praise as being an all-timer for film. As mentioned, the Michael Mann comparisons the film is getting are quite apt, with the same use of digital photography to accentuate low-lighting conditions in order to bring this part of NYC alive, with vivid use of neon lighting throughout that helps to give the film a feeling of not quite taking place in the same NYC we're familiar with. Though not as experimental as Mann is wont to do these days, the Safdies do manage to pull of some rather incredible shots throughout, including one near the end that's probably going to wind up as the most vivid of any shot in a 2017 film for myself. I could keep gushing, but to make it short... well, shorter, this is a must-see film and stands one of the finest films of the year.

 

[HollowCentral]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre really isn't much of a slasher itself, even if it was rather influential to that genre.

Even if the genre's not something I'm a big fan of, there are a lot of them I still need to see just for the novelty of having seen them. TCM, Scream, NoES, Halloween, etc. I need to see them just for cultural reasons.

 

[weshes195]

Great review!

Wow you are making me excited for this film! For some reason it is going to play at my theater for 3 days (maybe another theater will get this movie later?)so I'm seeing this on Wednesday,it's last showing. I don't know too much about it so your review has gotten me very excited!

 

[Infernostew]

Good Time: Imagine an indie drama in the hands of Michael Mann, and you have a good idea of how to approach this film, a wildly successful merger of a race-against-time thriller, small-time crooks and a character study of a man's relentlessness in staying ahead of everyone else. That last point is certainly the most visible aspect to the film's marketing, as this is a showcase role for Robert Pattinson. While those in the know, i.e. know him from films besides the Twilight series, could already tell you about the talent he has as an actor, this is easily his best performance yet, as the role of Connie allows for him to use his naturally good looks and charm to chilling effect, manipulating everyone around him for his own gain as the confines of the one night that the majority of the story takes over offers up a glimpse into his world and also tells us everything he has been about for his entire life. I especially love how well he's able to sell his pauses as his situation gets more and more out of control: you really get the sense that he's going over every possible angle he can in a short amount of time, and even more than the foot chases themselves that happen, you get the sense of how much of a drain it is for him physically to operating at full tilt as he has to here. It's far from a one man show, with some great supporting turns from co-director Benny Safdie as Nick, Connie's mentally handicapped brother that knows just how much of the condition needs to be present without coming off as a caricature, as well as newcomer Taliah Webster as a young girl who aids Connie with a strong mix of resolve and naivete and certainly deserves an immense amount of praise just for being able to keep it together in one of the most squirm-inducing scenes that you'll see in a film in this or any other year, but Pattinson is the thumping heart of the film. Speaking of thumping, the work done on the sound design is unreal in how well it's able to create an atmosphere, with the aggressive overlapping of dialogue and highly accentuated sound effects work doing a marvelous job of selling the chaos, with the soundtrack delivered by Oneohtrix Point Never sealing the deal as not only the perfect accompaniment to the action, but may already justify its praise as being an all-timer for film. As mentioned, the Michael Mann comparisons the film is getting are quite apt, with the same use of digital photography to accentuate low-lighting conditions in order to bring this part of NYC alive, with vivid use of neon lighting throughout that helps to give the film a feeling of not quite taking place in the same NYC we're familiar with. Though not as experimental as Mann is wont to do these days, the Safdies do manage to pull of some rather incredible shots throughout, including one near the end that's probably going to wind up as the most vivid of any shot in a 2017 film for myself. I could keep gushing, but to make it short... well, shorter, this is a must-see film and stands one of the finest films of the year.

Awesome film! I watched it today and also watched Heaven Knows What after. That was pretty good too.

 

[Divius]

Romancing the Bone: 6/10. Cute. Better than Indy.
The Stepford Wives: 4/10. I mean 10/10 idea but christ this is dull.

Now I want to see these. I assume you are talking about the original Stepford Wives?

 

[TissueBox]

Texas Chainsaw is a great trauma induction of a movie... searing and immediate. It not so much transcends the genre as it does perfectly channel its potential, relentlessly. Many have imitated, few will equal.

 

[brianjones]

TCM2 was fun for the first half then grinds to a slow boring halt

 

[BlueTsunami]

Watched Good Time over the weekend. What a dark ass flick, Jesus.

 

[Window]

That ending shot of leatherface literally swinging and dancing around with a chainsaw as the sun is setting (rising?) is pretty much the most haunting ending in a horror movie.