Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| October 2016

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Moonlight

Welp....think I just saw the best movie of the year. Have to still check out la la land, embrace of the serpent, handmaiden and Manchester by the sea but it will be tough for them to top this

Shades of tree of life during the first act brehs. The rest of the movie reminds me a bit of brokeback mountain too (subject matter i suppose) but while I love Ledger in there this movie has much more subtlety to the whole thing. Very understated emotional depth.

Shit looked great on the cinematography front, movie gives you a good look into how damaging repressed homosexuality is, in an urban setting particularly speaking about this movie. And all the performances are great

Gotta give a special shout out to the grown up version of the main character tho. Seeing him flex on the streets echoing his male role model from act 1 but also there are some subtle quirks that stand out when he is not hiding it anymore where the dude is acting almost exactly like the kid actor who played him. If you didn't know any better you'd think he was the kid actor grown up. Hopefully this dude (and the director/writer) blow up. They deserve it
 
13 Assassins not watched in a few years. Introduced it to some people tonight.

Great movie, last hour is just great. Koji Yakusho is one of my favourite actors too.
 
Discotheque said:
Shits making its rounds at various city film festivals.

Gonna see that casey affleck movie on Tuesday too haha
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Yeah apparently it'll be the opening for the Rome film fest, too.
(American Pastoral should come a couple of days earlier, so I'm not sure why they count Moonlight as the opening though).
Of course I'm gonna have to wait way beyond that.
 
Closed off September with...

Network is an astounding piece of cinema. The script is spectacular, having so much memorable dialogue that consistently has momentum despite the notable disadvantage of being stuffed with monologues. Although Finch is by far the highlight, the entire cast is full of phenomenal performances that, although they're elevated, never feel over-the-top or fake. Well, except for Duvall, but even he is an entertaining presence. Lumet's direction makes the film feel shorter than its runtime although still like a modern epic. It's also frequently hilarious and full of really sensationally fascinating satirical points. Network is a consistently engaging and wildly entertaining satire that features the best that Hollywood has to offer. Masterpiece.

And thus, my top 5 first watches of September are...

1. Network
2. Wiener-Dog
3. The Blair Witch Project
4. Blazing Saddles
5. Southside With You
 
Toothless said:
Network is an astounding piece of cinema. The script is spectacular, having so much memorable dialogue that consistently has momentum despite the notable disadvantage of being stuffed with monologues. Although Finch is by far the highlight, the entire cast is full of phenomenal performances that, although they're elevated, never feel over-the-top or fake. Well, except for Duvall, but even he is an entertaining presence. Lumet's direction makes the film feel shorter than its runtime although still like a modern epic. It's also frequently hilarious and full of really sensationally fascinating satirical points. Network is a consistently engaging and wildly entertaining satire that features the best that Hollywood has to offer. Masterpiece.
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I haven't seen it yet, but what I have seen from it is fucking amazing.
 
Discotheque said:
Moonlight

Welp....think I just saw the best movie of the year. Have to still check out la la land, embrace of the serpent, handmaiden and Manchester by the sea but it will be tough for them to top this
Click to expand...
I've seen all of those but Embrace of the Serpent and can easily state that Moonlight blows them all away. Speaking of Serpent, I really need to get on that. I always put off festival fare that I miss from the previous year for some silly reason.

Shades of tree of life during the first act brehs. The rest of the movie reminds me a bit of brokeback mountain too (subject matter i suppose) but while I love Ledger in there this movie has much more subtlety to the whole thing. Very understated emotional depth.
Click to expand...
The understated sensitivity from just about the entire cast across all three acts is what really makes this film stand out from the pack compared with even other films that have broached this subject matter. There's the dialogue that's being spoken and then a wealth of acting beneath that in terms of body language, subtext and what's not being said which is really impressive. Even the kid actors hold their weight without standing out like weak links. And then it's all surrounded by some breathtaking camera work.

Gotta give a special shout out to the grown up version of the main character tho. Seeing him flex on the streets echoing his male role model from act 1 but also there are some subtle quirks that stand out when he is not hiding it anymore where the dude is acting almost exactly like the kid actor who played him. If you didn't know any better you'd think he was the kid actor grown up. Hopefully this dude (and the director/writer) blow up. They deserve it
Click to expand...
Jenkins is definitely getting his props. The multi-act structure (where only Naomie Harris remains a constant) is diluting the credit for the rest of the cast. I suspect that Mahershala Ali (currently getting attention for his work in Luke Cage - he played Juan in Act 1) will land a supporting actor nom but this may wind up being a special film that everyone loves that winds up garnering minimal award recognition for it.
 
From the 31 days of horror thread

lordxar said:
Eaten Alive. This was not very good. I expected something better from Hooper after TCM just a couple years before but this sucked. It did have some elements of TCM in the chase scene towards the end but otherwise the only good thing about this is the nice tits. Robert Englund plays Buck who likes to fuck lol so there is that too. Sadly you'd think a dude wielding a scythe with a giant crocogator on the cover would yield something a bit better.

220px-Eatenaliveposter.jpg
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Had a 3 movie marathon with my roommate last night to kick of October. We saw Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Burn After Reading.

I've seen Evil Dead before and it's still as great as I remember it. I really think the idea of the commentator in the cellar was brilliant and adds a lot to the tense and sometimes manic atmosphere. I also felt it handled the concept of pushing a person mentally to their limits well.

Evil Dead 2 was strange. I really liked the set-up but the movie veered too far into 80's action movie tropes. The one-liners felt pretty forced. I think it would've been better to watch the movies separately because they're almost entirely different genres.

Speaking of entirely different genres, Burn After Reading was a nice change of pace. I don't know how I got the impression that this was one of the lesser Coen movies but my roommate and I really enjoyed it (didn't like either of the Evil Deads though).
 
Toothless said:
Network is an astounding piece of cinema. The script is spectacular, having so much memorable dialogue that consistently has momentum despite the notable disadvantage of being stuffed with monologues.
Click to expand...
That's in my all-time top ten, though I've never entirely decide whether the movie is endorsing William Holden's "damn kids, get off my lawn!" ramblings about the good old days.
 
Tickled

Thoroughly enjoyed Netflix's new documentary 'Tickled', could very well be up there with my favorites already like Man on Wire.

Incredibly fascinating story that unfolds with twists and turns along the way.

Don't sleep on this.
 
Not a movie but: I watched Joe Swanberg's Netflix show Easy over the past couple days and enjoyed it. It's an anthology (though characters cross over between eps) where each episode feels like a 30m Swanberg film. Usual concerns of his—characters renegotiating their visions of their romantic and artistic futures as they age—"written" and acted very well, with stylistic flourishes where it counts. (EDIT: and fantastic music selection.) There was only one episode that I had even mixed feelings on (ep 4, which leaves a soapy twist unresolved at the end in a way that feels needlessly cruel, and absolutely not in line with the lower stakes and general optimism of all other episodes). If you wanted to try just one out, #3 "Brewery Brothers" was my favorite.
 
Whiplash

Wow that was intense. Like, that's what soul-crushingly difficult can be like. Really about pushing people beyond what they're capable of. Just intense.
 
Freeza Under The Shower said:
And now you've seen the best movie ever made.

Where to now?
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Sadly, it's to...

Deepwater Horizon is an engaging disaster film. The spectacle on display is really enjoyable to watch, especially the obvious use of real sets to display the oil crisis. Everything else in it is painfully average. Mark Wahlberg does a typical boring performance and the only memorable actor in it is John Malkovich hamming it up to ridiculous extents. It's a shame because the cast is by far one of the best of the year in talent, but none of them are given anything to do. It seems weird to focus one of the biggest ecological disasters on humans alone and then give none of the humans anything resembling an arc or even character. The build-up to the disaster is well-done and the disaster itself is really fantastic. The minutes afterwards are good, but lessened by Marky Mark being a generic good guy who wants to help everyone out; it just becomes a really typical disaster movie. Then, the postscript actively ruins the film proper by revealing the Hollywood concessions done to get the film made. Deepwater Horizon is a well-shot and entertaining disaster flick that only works when viewed as popcorn cinema, which is a true shame considering its source material.
 
don't tell me Malkovich plays the moustache twirling british villain because now I have to see this
 
From the Halloweeny thread:

So Letterboxd does their Hooptober that I got in on this year and one of the rules if you will is a Bava, Argento, Lenzi, etc film which I've watched a lot of Bava, Argento and Fulci so I thought I'd try Lenzi and his most famous Cannibal Ferox which is also on Shudder so I thought perfect, easily accessible and on the list. Now a couple weeks ago I watched Cannibal Holocaust which I knew was the granddaddy of cannibal movies.

CH really is a great movie. Say what you will about the animal deaths or just the violence against pretty much every living thing that it has but it is a classic in every sense of the word. If you can stomach it I would put it right alongside the Exorcist, Repulsion, the Birds, Alien, the Thing and any other significant horror film. And significant doesn't mean popular like Freddy and Jason, I'm talking certified classic that not only has that public opinion but also great film making and an excellent cast. When I finished that movie my first thought was holy fuck I never want to see this again which, after much thought, became I need to buy this one day because its an amazing film.

Cannibal Ferox on the other hand is one of those shitty knock offs that get made to make a quick buck on the ignorant masses. Like Transmorphers instead of Transformers or Atlantic Rim instead of Pacific Rim. Yes it is violent. Yes it has kind of the same message as CH but beyond that its just not the same. You get over the top here from violence to boobs. The story isn't as well thought out and some things don't make sense.
Dude gets his fucking wang chopped off then runs away later...I doubt he'd be able to move much less run.
This was a complete disappointment because I'm not into cannibal flicks for one and this was as low brow of that as you can get. I could see some high school kids getting a kick out of this but if you want a more mature cannibal movie with an actual message watch CH instead.

c0e51615931d2ff7b19e5b3033675b78.jpg
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Toothless said:
Closed off September with...

Network is an astounding piece of cinema. The script is spectacular, having so much memorable dialogue that consistently has momentum despite the notable disadvantage of being stuffed with monologues. Although Finch is by far the highlight, the entire cast is full of phenomenal performances that, although they're elevated, never feel over-the-top or fake. Well, except for Duvall, but even he is an entertaining presence. Lumet's direction makes the film feel shorter than its runtime although still like a modern epic. It's also frequently hilarious and full of really sensationally fascinating satirical points. Network is a consistently engaging and wildly entertaining satire that features the best that Hollywood has to offer. Masterpiece.
Click to expand...

Still remember how Network smashed me in the face the first time I saw it. Had no idea what I was getting into, even with the knowledge of Lumet being a great director, and the movie being praised by, like, everyone. Such an intense script.
 
"Unapologetically erudite" would be the phrase. It's something we really don't have anymore. I was also cheering for the books in the background (yes, I'm weird like that), like, Max in the main room: books in the back, Max turns to face another direction, more books, and as that scene plays out I was basically going 'will there be more books?' and he turns into the hall and 'YES!', even into the very kitchen. I like big books and I cannot lie. :'D

Also, having watched the first two episodes of Black Mirror, I would suggest 15 Million Merits for being related in theme. Not so much script (it's okay, but it is made for television), but the acting in it is great. Main guy is 'Reggie' from Sicario, if you need convincing.
 
What the hell, CFK graces a rare appearance in the goddamned Pirates of the Caribbean: Fuck You, We're Disney thread and won't show up here? I declare shenanigans!
 
Freeza Under The Shower said:
"Unapologetically erudite" would be the phrase. It's something we really don't have anymore. I was also cheering for the books in the background (yes, I'm weird like that), like, Max in the main room: books in the back, Max turns to face another direction, more books, and as that scene plays out I was basically going 'will there be more books?' and he turns into the hall and 'YES!', even into the very kitchen. I like big books and I cannot lie. :'D
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But nobody wants a dumb damn goddamn book about the early days of television!
 
i enjoyed it as i watched it in theaters but it is pretty forgettable. still, fassbender/winslet/daniels etc. on that very fast paced sorkin script was fun to watch.
 
Finally got into some of Xavier Dolan's work:

Tom at the Farm (2013)
Had this on my watchlist for quite a while, given the subject of the film and the praise it got, I had high expectations. Now, the movie is just beautiful looking and while I didn't mind it being a slow-burn, it felt like it's missing something. I mean I think I get what Dolan was trying to do here...I loved the
twisted sexual tension element
, it's not something I see very often. However, I found the "ambiguity" in some parts of the film a bit amateur-ish, as if the film maker is withholding information just for the sake of creating a fake sense of mysteriousness...if that makes any sense. I guess what I'm trying to say is the film comes off slightly amateurish, if I didn't know better I'd say this is Dolan's debut. But overall it is good, and Dolan along with the other actor give very good performances. Now, unless I'm missing something
Francis (who's homophobic and violent) was clearly into Tom, and by the end with the bed thing and him getting rid of his mother, he was hoping to have a future with Tom. And Tom was having a bit of a Stockholm Syndrome mid-way but started to snap out of it after the bartender's story, thus him escaping after realizing what his fate would be with Francis. Right?
7/10


Mommy (2014)
This one was definitely an improvement. The movie was just wonderful, the acting, the characters, the aspect-ration trick...I enjoyed it immensely. I thought some of the music choices were clumsy but that didn't really hurt the movie. It's great and I do recommend it, yet I do think it was a bit over-hyped. Like someone mentioned in last month's thread, Dolan movies seem to have some problems here and there that end up affecting the overall quality. Looking forward to his new movie though.
8/10
 
Toothless said:
Closed off September with...

Network is an astounding piece of cinema. The script is spectacular, having so much memorable dialogue that consistently has momentum despite the notable disadvantage of being stuffed with monologues. Although Finch is by far the highlight, the entire cast is full of phenomenal performances that, although they're elevated, never feel over-the-top or fake. Well, except for Duvall, but even he is an entertaining presence. Lumet's direction makes the film feel shorter than its runtime although still like a modern epic. It's also frequently hilarious and full of really sensationally fascinating satirical points. Network is a consistently engaging and wildly entertaining satire that features the best that Hollywood has to offer. Masterpiece.
Click to expand...

Net_Wrecker said:
Still remember how Network smashed me in the face the first time I saw it. Had no idea what I was getting into, even with the knowledge of Lumet being a great director, and the movie being praised by, like, everyone. Such an intense script.
Click to expand...

How have I never heard of this...
 
Hello everyone who knows I am round these parts. I've missed you. I haven't watched much these past months, although I did watch A Woman Under the Influence (wow 10/10).

I will be hanging around more often. Been a tough time for me.
 
Ghostbusters 2016 - Well, I gave it a shot. It certainly has its moments and elements I like. I like the weapons and the ghosts, the characters are solid and have good chemistry despite needing more development (the extended version does little to add to that) but there wasn't a whole lot else I got behind.

Moreover, I guess if I found it funnier I would have liked it more and at least be lenient on the meh plot and story, but it never really got there outside of some chuckle-worthy moments. It's a movie that I felt like was pulling its punches and a lot of talent, both the main cast and the huge supporting cast where it seemed everyone with a speaking role was a name, felt wasted. It's not a bad movie at all, I think it does a really good job carving out its own identity in a popular (and overrated) franchise.
 
T Dollarz said:
How have I never heard of this...
Click to expand...

should check out a couple of his other movies too. 12 Angry Men and Dog Day Afternoon are also dope.

UberTag said:
I've seen all of those but Embrace of the Serpent and can easily state that Moonlight blows them all away. Speaking of Serpent, I really need to get on that. I always put off festival fare that I miss from the previous year for some silly reason.


The understated sensitivity from just about the entire cast across all three acts is what really makes this film stand out from the pack compared with even other films that have broached this subject matter. There's the dialogue that's being spoken and then a wealth of acting beneath that in terms of body language, subtext and what's not being said which is really impressive. Even the kid actors hold their weight without standing out like weak links. And then it's all surrounded by some breathtaking camera work.


Jenkins is definitely getting his props. The multi-act structure (where only Naomie Harris remains a constant) is diluting the credit for the rest of the cast. I suspect that Mahershala Ali (currently getting attention for his work in Luke Cage - he played Juan in Act 1) will land a supporting actor nom but this may wind up being a special film that everyone loves that winds up garnering minimal award recognition for it.
Click to expand...

Naomi Harris seems like a lock, because like you said she's the only one who really gets to have screentime throughout all the acts. But really I'd love to see Ali and Rhodes (grown up Chivon) get noms too. Such a good film.
 
Saw The Magnificent Seven (2016) a few days ago.

It reminded me of Suicide Squad in more ways than one. All of the main characters were too good at what they did, too perfect. It never felt like anyone was in danger,
which is why it was so surprising when some of the main cast actually ended up dying. But I guess that happens in the original, too, and I never saw that one
. Also like Suicide Squad,
the characters only just meet each other and suddenly they're acting like a family, although it was a matter of days here so it at least made a bit more sense.
A huge chunk of it seemed to be action scenes that dragged on forever. If Suicide Squad and a western had a baby, this would be it.

Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt seemed to be really phoning it in. Vincent D'Onofrio's voice sounded like something out of the College Humor skit where Batman tests out voices, but he was kind of fun. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo was around just to be the butt of Pratt's jokes and didn't seem to have many lines or much screen time compared to the rest of the cast. Peter Sarsgaard was like a discount Christoph Waltz, just a really generic bad guy. Byung-hun Lee and Ethan Hawke were the only actors I liked.

Suicide Squad was memorable for how bad it was, but I don't think I'll remember The Magnificent Seven at all in a few weeks.
 
Charles Foster Kane said:
Hello everyone who knows I am round these parts. I've missed you. I haven't watched much these past months, although I did watch A Woman Under the Influence (wow 10/10).

I will be hanging around more often. Been a tough time for me.
Click to expand...

Consider my call-out as more of a gentle rib than anything else. I'm glad that your personal problems are passing!
 
The Wailing (2016) is wacky ass Korean supernatural-thriller craziness with a scale and cinematic flair unheard of in comparable modern Hollywood horror. Like seriously, 2 hours and 30 minutes of moody (often rain soaked) rural locations, tone that's all over the map, and a plot edited to unfurl in such a way as to almost demand a 2nd viewing, or at the very least a complete reassessment of several major events. Taken alongside Hong-jin Na's previous 2 movies, The Chaser and The Yellow Sea, it's very apparent that he has absolutely zero chill, and is prone to having his cake and eating the rest of the dessert table too. I'm honestly not even sure how well the piling of layers onto the movie works, even after you take a breath and put the whole thing together, but maaaaaaaan it's entertaining as hell. If you like the sound of an occult movie painted with South Korean thriller sheen that snowballs into "WAT," this is for you. Go in as blind as possible.
 
Top 5 New viewings of September.

An Inspector Calls (1954) - 95
Another Year - 90
Vera Drake - 86
The Admiral: Roaring Currents - 80
A Hard Day - 66


Can't wait for I, Daniel Blake this October...
 
Net_Wrecker said:
The Wailing (2016) is wacky ass Korean supernatural-thriller craziness with a scale and cinematic flair unheard of in comparable modern Hollywood horror. Like seriously, 2 hours and 30 minutes of moody (often rain soaked) rural locations, tone that's all over the map, and a plot edited to unfurl in such a way as to almost demand a 2nd viewing, or at the very least a complete reassessment of several major events. Taken alongside Hong-jin Na's previous 2 movies, The Chaser and The Yellow Sea, it's very apparent that he has absolutely zero chill, and is prone to having his cake and eating the rest of the dessert table too. I'm honestly not even sure how well the piling of layers onto the movie works, even after you take a breath and put the whole thing together, but maaaaaaaan it's entertaining as hell. If you like the sound of an occult movie painted with South Korean thriller sheen that snowballs into "WAT," this is for you. Go in as blind as possible.
Click to expand...

Very excited to finally see this. It played in my neck of the woods for literally one day at a local boutique theater and I missed it. I was supremely bummed.
 
The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

This movie was a surprise. I did not expect much but i think they did a pretty good job,all factors included. The thing that i liked the most was the overall balance between love story and that it actually is a serious movie.

Anyone thinking something in the lines of "okay this movie will be something like Tarzan jumping from threes to threes 90% of the time, totally unrealistic etc" will be surprised in a good way.

6,5/10
 
magnificent seven

goodnight was great, particularly his schizophrenic episodes that end in billy calming him down (with marijuana?)
denzel is good as a battlefield commander. needed more of that
d'onofrio was a champ. love that the character is pretty much a serial killer let loose
sarsgaard looked the part but couldn't deliver lines for shit
john redcorn is fantastic at war cries
what the hell was that cgi shot at the end. just why
 
The Matrix Trilogy

So my history and relationship to these movies are something in the lines of this.

The Matrix – saw it in the cinemas at the premiere back in the days. It totally changed my life, and what a movie actually could do to me. The feels I got from this movie was/still is absolutely unreal. Nothing has come close for me in terms of overall experience and feels when it comes to movies. The only recent movie that has come close to this overall experience and feels is "Her” with Joaquin Phoenix.

The Matrix Reloaded – saw it at the cinemas at the premiere back in days. I remember the world premiere was set to 00.02. Hype was through the roof with people dressing up/cosplaying etc.

The Matrix Revolutions – saw it at the cinemas at the premiere back in days. Again hype was through the roof.

I bought these movies on dvd when they where out, and have watched them a couple of times during the years since they released. Im gonna be really honest and upfront here and say that the second and the third movie the first watch troughs actually didn’t live up to the expectations and the bar that the first movie actually set so incredible high.

I felt something was missing but could not specify or put my finger on exactly what it was. During the years and re-watchs i started to appreciate Reloaded and Revolutions more and more, but still felt something was missing. So it was with very mixed feelings I decided it was time to return and watch the whole trilogy again. This time with my girlfriend, who previously had not seen Revolutions, and it was at least 6 years ago since I watched all the movies.

The result?
Well the trilogy actually made sense for me this time around, and I was able to better understand and appreciate the whole story, and ultimately thinks both Reloaded and Revolutions are really good movies. To be frank, all of these movies are over 10 years old, but I think they STILL outperforms 95% of every damn action movie that has come out since then. There is some stuff in both Reloaded and Revolutions where I got feeeels man, as and adult even. Thoughts like “okay this is sooooo fucking well executed!, "shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit”, crossed my mind several times.

The first movie is still the holy grail for me. When the credits started rolling this time around I felt and knew it again.

The Matrix – 10/10
The Matrix Reloaded – 8/10
The Matrix Revolutions – 8/10
 
So when the hell is FilmStruck going to launch? I don't think I have heard anything about it since it was announced to start in Fall 2016. Their twitter is just like a film tumblr with a bunch of watermarked gifs.

Hopefully it is soon as I'm counting on it to pull me out of this movie watching slump I've been in for most of the year.
 
TreyoftheDead said:
So when the hell is FilmStruck going to launch? I don't think I have heard anything about it since it was announced to start in Fall 2016. Their twitter is just like a film tumblr with a bunch of watermarked gifs.

Hopefully it is soon as I'm counting on it to pull me out of this movie watching slump I've been in for most of the year.
Click to expand...

Hopefully soon. I'm ready to check it out.
 
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