Support NeoGAF

[Pachimari]

The Breakup Playlist (2015) | ★★★★☆
I always watched Filipino movies growing up but with no subtitles, so my mother had to translate every single line during movies. That's a long time ago. Since then, I saw my first Tagalog movie with English subtitles in Wag Kang Lilingon, but that was also a decade ago. While on vacation in the Philippines (my other home country) last year, I fell for a movie called "The Breakup Playlist" and I watched it on local television understanding nothing, so I made up my own lines and story as it went on. That was cute, and kind of exciting and funny. I've since gotten hold of it with subtitles and this time I totally got the plot, and it's still a wonderful romantic story, with the usual drama you find in Filipino films of this genre. Great acting by Sarah Geronimo who also happens to be a celebrity singer in real life. I found her counterpart in Piolo Pascual to be even better, and together they complemented each other very well. It was cute and going through the emotions, and I loved individual scenes like the one in the music store where the characters had to describe their exes, how they felt about each other and so on by choosing CD covers on the shelves. Not only that, the movie got a fantastic OST to boot that was released individually and got some very catchy love songs that sounds good in Tagalog. If you're into Asian movies, please give some of these Filipino movies a chance. There's another one called Saving Sally which just came out that combines real performances with animation and I haven't seen any other movie do it better. Another Tagalog movie coming out this Fall is The Revengers which is a parody on The Avengers starring Miss Universe 2015 winner Pia Wurtzbach.

Mystic River (2003) | ★★★★☆
Right after above movie I was in the mood for some true mystery, a thriller, and something moody. And Mystic River brought it in spades. I didn't realize it was a Clint Eastwood movie until the credits were rolling, not that it makes a differences knowing it before hand. The plot is easy to follow, and unfortunately it was too easy to guess at times. I liked everybody's performance, so I turned off the tv satisfied.

Kong: Skull Island (2017) | ★★★☆☆
I started up this movie out of nowhere. It just happened. I guess I wanted to watch a franchise movie. I wasn't fond of Godzilla beforehand so I was reserved when it came to this new King Kong feature. Let me say it's probably the prettiest movie I've seen this year, some popping colors complementing each other well, and some truly nice action shots. The acting left a lot to be desired and these big names didn't have much to do honestly, but I was pleasantly surprised by all the monsters. I did not expect to see so many different ones, and they were all so beautiful and exotic to look at. I wanted to be in this place. Although I did want more quiet scenes and dark scenes with mystery, but it seems to be an action movie first and foremost, and it delivers in all its battles; especially the last fight. The after credits was a nice touch, and I'm interested in this connected universe going forward.

 

[HollowCentral]

Citizenfour (2014) is an incredibly well-made documentary that feels incredibly rushed. Which makes sense, considering the sensitive nature of the subjects discussed, that the filmmakers would want to get this out as close to the leaks as possible. The interview segments with Snowden are easily the most interesting parts of the film, adding a human element that could have easily been missing from it. It's hard to keep track of events, especially towards the end once the shit hits the fan, but the way these events and conversations are presented keeps them feeling interesting. It's hard to discuss this film, ultimately, because I don't want to get into the politics of the whole situation. But if you like well-made documentaries that are full of intrigue, you'll probably like this, weather you agree with it's message or not. 8/10.

 

[Peco]

Twin Peaks has once again made every other show shit. Trying to catch up the latest season of got (first 2 eps) and it's just so flavorless. Very tv-ish. I think that The Return being described as a 18 hour movie was an excess, but after a few days I think i kinda get it.

I watched Silence a month or two ago, and today it kinda popped in my head. It's a bloody shame garfield lead it as he wobbles the movie, which, at times, might be Scorsese most interesting work in quite a while. The oppressiveness, both of religion dedication and it's castration is so well captured.

As portuguese, those fake-accents in english were distracting as hell. Would rather they just went with their owns.

I really liked Garfield in Silence. Need to do a rewatch soon actually.

 

[More_Badass]

Marshland

Titles are important; they're your first impression of a work, they impart hints of theme and tone and premise, and they prime you for what you're going to read/watch/play. Marshland makes its statement within the first ten seconds, with the gorgeous satellite imagery of Guadalquivir Marshes's lush landscape during the opening credits. The setting is as much a character as its two protagonist, both the isolated town with its sparse surrounding expanse of wetlands and the era, taking place in a newly democratic 1980s Spain shortly after the collapse of a fascist dictatorship.

It's in that tumultuous time that Marshland's murder mystery thriller takes place, and it adds an compelling atmosphere over the story, as thick as the wet humid air of the marshes. The protagonists may be working together but their ideologies - one who was critical of the government while fascism reigned, the other a veteran of that system - are far from mutual. This clash injects a unique undercurrent and sense of history to the bleak tense procedural. Much like Under The Shadow's setting of 1980s wartorn Tehran elevated that horror movie, Marshland's historical context does the same for its story.

 

[duckroll]

Caught Logan Lucky over the weekend. Really funny and great dynamic between the cast. Soderberg does this sort of ensemble like no one else can. Aside from Craig and Macfarlane, I barely recognized any of the other cast as themselves. Had a great time just watching the heist unfold. Lots of laughs, pretty clever script. Maybe a bit too clever for a bunch of hillbilly characters though. This has to be up there as one of the most redneck shows I've seen. Lmao. Pity it bombed.

 

[More_Badass]

Caught Logan Lucky over the weekend. Really funny and great dynamic between the cast. Soderberg does this sort of ensemble like no one else can. Aside from Craig and Macfarlane, I barely recognized any of the other cast as themselves. Had a great time just watching the heist unfold. Lots of laughs, pretty clever script. Maybe a bit too clever for a bunch of hillbilly characters though. This has to be up there as one of the most redneck shows I've seen. Lmao. Pity it bombed.

Had an opposite reaction after seeing it earlier today. While I really liked the cast and found them personable, fun, and funny, the heist plot line of this hillbilly heist movie didn't really do anything for me. It was enjoyable and decent sure, but I don't think it did anything particularly well in terms of plot or as a heist movie. The heist itself never felt exciting, and the execution felt like it relied too much on luck and coincidence. Even those Oceans 11 was doing heist comedy as well, the missteps along the way felt like they were overcome through clever improvisation or clever foresight and planning. Not here

The cast and the personal story at the core saved Logan Lucky for me, and Craig stole the show as Bang. I hope we see more off-kilter and varied roles from him

 

[duckroll]

The heist itself never felt exciting, and the execution felt like it relied too much on luck and coincidence. Even those Oceans 11 was doing heist comedy as well, the missteps along the way felt like they were overcome through clever improvisation or clever foresight and planning. Not here

Errr, I don't see how that's true. There's almost nothing in the actual execution that was down to luck or coincidence. Even things that looked like coincidence or lucky breaks were actually planned out in advance. Anything that went wrong had fail safes built into the plan. It was honestly way too clever for the characters to have come up with, which is the unbelievable part. The bulk of the planning in the heist involves the fact that in a place like this, everyone who grew up there knows everyone else. That means there's a good amount of predictability and routine that can be exploited. The only actual coincidence I can think of is how Seth Macfarlane totally self-owns himself twice in the film and is prevented from getting in the way. But that's just karma, because who doesn't want to punch him in the face right?

What I found fun about the film was how there isn't a "this is the plan" sequence that lays it all out at any point, the film follows them as they execute the plan, not knowing the exact intent of the plan. Seeing the results and piecing it together as it goes makes it really enjoyable, rather than seeing something explained unfold and waiting to see what goes wrong. The pacing is great.

 

[Sean C]

The Master (2012): Thus concludes my rewatch (or, in the case of Hard Eight, first watch) of Paul Thomas Anderson's filmography. I hadn't seen this since its theatrical run, and at the time I wasn't overly impressed with it, as it struck me as too deliberately opaque. While it still doesn't rate among Anderson's real masterpieces, I liked it more the second time around, mainly for Hoffman's character. The main weakness in it, for me, is that Phoenix's character doesn't really come across as much of a person; he only really works as a metaphor. As is often the case with watching older films, you spend some time picking out actors who were unknown faces at the time but are now more recognizable (Rami Malek, Jesse Plemons, Jillian Bell).

Final ranking of PTA films:

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Boogie Nights
3. Magnolia
4. The Master
5. Inherent Vice
6. Punch-Drunk Love
7. Hard Eight

School of Rock (2003): Richard Linklater's stab at a more mainstream comedy remains, for the most part, a smart piece of filmmaking, though there are a couple of bits that feel beneath a Linklater production -- namely, the Sarah Silverman character, a stock "nagging girlfriend"; and the gay kid. In the latter case, on the one hand it was probably bold at the time to have a very obviously gay preteen, but he's unfortunately a huge stereotype, which is particularly notable because none of the other kids in the class feel like types.

 

[AoM]

Serenity (2005)

Such a shame this bombed. But at least it happened. Some amazing moments here, and Whedon's realization of the Verse will always be satisfying. It has your trademark Whedon humor, but I wish the crew had had some more lighthearted interactions. But I realize the nature of the story required such a dark tone and lasting consequences. In the end, I'm glad the entire cast got to come together one last time.

 

[More_Badass]

Errr, I don't see how that's true. There's almost nothing in the actual execution that was down to luck or coincidence. Even things that looked like coincidence or lucky breaks were actually planned out in advance. Anything that went wrong had fail safes built into the plan. It was honestly way too clever for the characters to have come up with, which is the unbelievable part. The bulk of the planning in the heist involves the fact that in a place like this, everyone who grew up there knows everyone else. That means there's a good amount of predictability and routine that can be exploited. The only actual coincidence I can think of is how Seth Macfarlane totally self-owns himself twice in the film and is prevented from getting in the way. But that's just karma, because who doesn't want to punch him in the face right?

Yeah, I get that it was all planned but it didn't feel that way while the heist was unfolding. And while they reveal some elements later, it felt like less "aha, that's how they pulled it off, very clever" and more anticlimactic "oh...okay...I guess that works?".

Plus there were some annoying lucky/coincidence moments like

Spoiler

the guards not seeing the broken chain on the gate to the tunnel

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Welp, 4 1/2 hours on a plane from Detroit to LA pressed up against the window by a guy wide enough to be a linebacker. What to do? Watch a couple movies I had downloaded on Netflix.

Lion (2016) - crying on a plane next to a guy who could be a linebacker is usually considered bad form, so I choked back the tears that threatened spill over at the end of this. What a great movie. What a powerful performance from the young Sunny Pawar as the five year old Saroo. Dev Patel picks up quite well to tell Saroo's story as the need to find his birth mother becomes the overwhelming force in his life, even as it tears his relationships with his new family and girlfriend apart. Stunningly shot, heart-warming and tragic, a marvelous tale based on a true story.

4.5 / 5

Mulholland Drive (2001) - I thought this might be a rewatch, but after about ten minutes I was pretty sure I'd never seen this. And ... wow. This neo-noir story that spirals into what could be considered a fever dream or perhaps a psychotic break is really something. Lynch's fingerprints are all over this, from the steely close-ups on eyes to the lack of a soundtrack to the strangeness that simply permeates the tale. There are seemingly unrelated vignettes that come back later, albeit perhaps a bit haphazardly. But this becomes a tragic tale of love lost under the big lights of Hollywood. Impressive.

4 / 5

 

[Cripplegate]

What's up you movie loving fucks, I'm at TIFF. Get ready for some TIFF TAKES fresh out of the festival oven.

God gave all things a purpose. For a horse, it's to run across an open field. For a cowboy, it's to ride.

The Rider (dir. Chloé Zhao) - 8/10

This is a remarkable blend of documentary and narrative impulses, as Zhao takes people she knows, and the stories of their lives, and shapes them into a "fiction" that plays in a familiar genre, but still holds a mirror up directly to the reality of their surroundings (some scenes, particularly a subplot involving bull rider Lane Scott, might as well be a documentary, but even that gets folded into the "narrative" by the end in a really beautiful way).

It's a really beautiful film, which is all I can think to say. It's the word I keep coming back to over and over, and it fits. There is a vulnerability, a painful nakedness to the film, that is both challenging and uplifting. It hits upon a lot of themes (disability, masculinity, identity more generally, community, and in some of the most touching and memorable scenes, the relationship between people and animals) and explores them with great patience and insight. Also, horses. If you love horses, don't sleep on this. They basically deserve equal billing, for all the screen time they get (and are an important part of the story, obviously).

Now the hardest question to answer is going to be: Which movie had the best animal performances at TIFF 2017? The horses here set the bar pretty high, but there's a llama in Zama that might be the real MVP. More on that later.

The poet says to share.

mother! (dir. Darren Aronofsky) - 7.5/10

It's really fucking dumb, but that's inevitably going to be the case when you swing for the fences, and then keep swinging until your arms fall off, and then go and set fire to the fences (with your feet? because you have no arms?), and then somehow convince Paramount (while you are on fire, because why would you play with matches with your feet are you crazy) to launch this obscene madness onto 3000 SCREENS WHAT THE HELL LOL. This Friday is going to be a shit show, is what I'm saying.

It's the most audacious and earnest thing Aronofsky has made since The Fountain, which means it's the best thing Aronofsky has made since The Fountain, which doesn't mean it's a good movie... but I probably love it? It's so awesome and terrible I don't really know for sure! I really don't want to say anything until other people have seen it and we can get a conversation going (because there's a lot to unpack, or maybe there's nothing to unpack?), but wow, it's intense. I was in a perpetual state of anxiety and the third act is probably the fastest I've ever seen a movie ramp from any kind of sense of normalcy into pure fucking chaos. I'm torn on it, but proceeding cautiously with a positive rating, because I certainly admired its audacity, and I certainly FELT the damn thing. That was one hell of a visceral experience. And that's more than I can say for a lot of movies.

Currently on the schedule for the remainder of the fest (I hope to see at least a couple more than this though):
Zama (just saw it, going to sleep now tho so will be back later with thoughts)
Thelma (I have a feeling this won't be as good as Oslo, August 31st, but what is?)
Dark River (because The Selfish Giant was amazing)
Kings (because I loved Mustang, but... well, this sounds terrible on paper, but we'll see)

 

[More_Badass]

...but wow, it's intense. I was in a perpetual state of anxiety and the third act is probably the fastest I've ever seen a movie ramp from any kind of sense of normalcy into pure fucking chaos. I'm torn on it, but proceeding cautiously with a positive rating, because I certainly admired its audacity, and I certainly FELT the damn thing. That was one hell of a visceral experience. And that's more than I can say for a lot of movies.

Sounds like my kind of movie. A movie that can do that is something to appreciate

But damn, don't want to get my expectations too high...

 

[kevin1025]

.

Darn you for having an awesome time at TIFF, I was dying to go this year and couldn't make it. Next year, without fail, I'm there. Definitely keep up the great thoughts!

I'm seeing mother! the very first showing on Thursday evening, I need to see this thing.

 

[UrbanRats]

Raw was nice, it had a good tense atmosphere, and some scenes genuinely had me me cringe (which is good, it means i haven't got the hunger yet!).

 

[thenexus6]

A really cosy easy to watch film. Would be a great introduction to Japanese cinema kinda film if people haven't seen many. Third time i've watched it now. I love Koji Yakusho in this.

 

[BaronLundi]

Mulholland Drive (2001) - I thought this might be a rewatch, but after about ten minutes I was pretty sure I'd never seen this. And ... wow. This neo-noir story that spirals into what could be considered a fever dream or perhaps a psychotic break is really something. Lynch's fingerprints are all over this, from the steely close-ups on eyes to the lack of a soundtrack to the strangeness that simply permeates the tale. There are seemingly unrelated vignettes that come back later, albeit perhaps a bit haphazardly. But this becomes a tragic tale of love lost under the big lights of Hollywood. Impressive.

4 / 5

A lot in MD is debatable but I'm not sure anything is unrelated

http://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/classical.htm

 

[overcast]

Should I watch Dunkirk for the second time tomorrow or Close Encounters (for the first time ever). I have moviepass.

Edit: or neither

 

[Sean C]

Kings (because I loved Mustang, but... well, this sounds terrible on paper, but we'll see)

I have my fingers crossed for that one, because Mustang was my favourite film of 2015 and God knows we need more female auteurs. Plus, Halle Berry has to get another good dramatic role one of these days, right?

 

[Fancy Clown]

Should I watch Dunkirk for the second time tomorrow or Close Encounters (for the first time ever). I have moviepass.

Edit: or neither

Close Encounters, my dude.

 

[HollowCentral]

School of Rock (2003): Richard Linklater's stab at a more mainstream comedy remains, for the most part, a smart piece of filmmaking, though there are a couple of bits that feel beneath a Linklater production -- namely, the Sarah Silverman character, a stock "nagging girlfriend"; and the gay kid. In the latter case, on the one hand it was probably bold at the time to have a very obviously gay preteen, but he's unfortunately a huge stereotype, which is particularly notable because none of the other kids in the class feel like types.

Still my favorite Jack Black movie. Bernie is a close second though, and was also directed by Linklater. Check that out if you haven't, I feel like it's really underrated.

 

[gamz]

Still my favorite Jack Black movie. Bernie is a close second though, and was also directed by Linklater. Check that out if you haven't, I feel like it's really underrated.

Easily my favorite Black movie and Linklater channelled his energy to perfection here. This was the perfect vehicle for him.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

A lot in MD is debatable but I'm not sure anything is unrelated

http://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/classical.htm

Yeah I actually read through some wiki stuff after watching it, and I did say "seemingly unrelated vignettes" because while it feels like you can't quite follow why certain ones were there, they do show up later. The guy with the dream for instance in the beginning, showing up to stand at the counter near the end, in the same diner.

I think I'd have to watch it again (and likely will, at some point) while the overall of it is still fresh. I'm sure there's stuff I flat out missed because I thought it was one thing and then it swerved like a motherfucker.

 

[shaneo632]

London Film Festival press screenings start next week. Definitely gonna check out Takashi Miike's new film and Ingrid Goes West (latter isn't out here until November).

 

[Creamium]

If you look at the film as being similarly structured to a poem you might appreciate the repetitive nature more.

I hadn't considered that. What did you think of the film?

 

[Rei_Toei]

Boy A gut punch of a movie starring a very young Andrew Garfield as a young delinquent returning to society with a new identity after being part of a horrible event in his young years. Bleak shit, but extremely solid story-telling. Recommended, though you may need some cuddling afterwards.

 

[More_Badass]

Sea Fog (Haemoo)

An unexpectedly dark drama/thriller, I only knew the synopsis on Netflix before seeing it and, like a lot of South Korea's best, the tonal whiplash made for a very gripping watch. The sense of place, this old fishing boat out on the fog choked seas, deserves a mention too; we really get to know the ship, its different rooms and quirks, and that really added to the tension and claustrophobic atmosphere as the film progressed.

 

[UrbanRats]

Sea Fog (Haemoo)

An unexpectedly dark drama/thriller, I only knew the synopsis on Netflix before seeing it and, like a lot of South Korea's best, the tonal whiplash made for a very gripping watch. The sense of place, this old fishing boat out on the fog choked seas, deserves a mention too; we really get to know the ship, its different rooms and quirks, and that really added to the tension and claustrophobic atmosphere as the film progressed.

Ah, that's basically what i also thought of it, back in February.
not a masterpiece, but it kept me on edge all the way through, which is more than fine.

 

[More_Badass]

Ah, that's basically what i also thought of it, back in February.
not a masterpiece, but it kept me on edge all the way through, which is more than fine.

Spoiler

The big turn in the middle was such a "wait...no...holy shit...that just happened...wtf" moment. I'm so glad that the Netflix synopsis doesnt hint at it. Like movies just dont do that. When I learned it was inspired by a real event, it made more sense. Reality is more fucked up than an expected plot structure can ever be

 

[Theorry]

It was just silly. But damn i laughed through the whole movie. Such a great 90 min.

 

[HollowCentral]

Super 8 (2011) is a movie that feels straight out of the 80s. It has a tone very much like that of The Goonies or Gremlins, which makes sense considering that Steven Spielberg was also heavily involved with this. It has a lot of mystery surrounding it, but manages to also have some humor in it. The story has good pacing to it and does a good job of keeping the kids adventure formula from feeling stale. The kids are all great, with the standout being Elle Fanning. The adults unfortunately aren't as good as the kids, but they do alright. The monster also kinda looks like shit, but it's design is interesting, and it's never on screen long enough for it's poor CG to be that much of a problem. The script is a little weak, with characters saying too much about what's going on a lot of the time, but that could also be due to it's throwback nature. It's a fun film that especially stands out for almost resurrecting a genre I thought would be lost to time. 7/10.

 

[MidnightCowboy]

Laura Palmer theme on repeat

 

[Rhomega Beta]

IT (2017): Haven't seen the original miniseries or read the book, but this was a good movie. First thing I was somewhat surprised as was the idea to move the story from 1958 to 1989. There's jump scares, but it's not overly reliant on them. There's tension and buildup, there's hallucinations, there's body horror. Of course, it's not all just clowns and such. You do have a sort-of coming-of-age story with the Losers Club. It shows that confronting a deadly clown isn't easy, and neither is dealing with abusive parents. At least it didn't make some of the stupider decisions from the book or miniseries. Looking forward to Chapter Two.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

I hadn't considered that. What did you think of the film?

It's my favorite Jarmusch. The mellow, meditative style is my thing, and the burrito I ate later tasted just a tad better because of the movie.

 

[kevin1025]

Snatched

Amy Schumer is a good writer. She is not a good actress. She plays such a whiny, unlikable character in this that I just didn't care what happened to her. And Goldie Hawn coming back for this movie specifically feels like a crime. The coincidences, the loose story, the attempts at comedy, all were insufferable. Boo to this.

The Big Sick

Now this movie, right here. Damn great. The writing is perfect, the performances are perfect, I had a big smile through most of it... and Kumail Nanjiani finally gets his starring vehicle. Super funny and also super emotional. Definitely watch it, could easily be one of the top films of the year.

The Exorcist

I haven't watched it in fifteen or so years, and it is still incredibly impacting. The way it unfolds is done less like a horror movie and more like a drama with horrific moments in it, and because of that, the horror means more. Linda Blair is insanely good in this. Some of the shots are beautiful, especially the huge dig site in Iraq at the beginning. Such a great film.

Marc Maron: Too Real

Really funny, and pretty real, as the title suggests. He comments on his life, his thoughts on death and his ideas and his cats... and the story of a hat. Liked it a whole lot.

The Siege

Denzel Washington is great as always, and it's interesting to watch after the events of 9/11 (which it was filmed before)... but there's still this weird tone to the subject matter that I'm not so sure on. It's a little mean-spirited to the Muslim community, I guess, which is I think the point but still rubs me the wrong way. It's fun to see all the New York actors in super small roles that would become something years later. I think this may officially be the movie where Bruce Willis stopped caring.

Transformers: The Last Knight

All right, so I'm actually only halfway through this one. My head actually hurts. There were two flashes of brilliance, one involving Bumblebee reassembling (which was awesome) and another involving Arthurian times (though Stanley Tucci's drunken Merlin jokey jokey way trashed it hard). There are times where something is said, like don't shoot the kids, and what do they do? They shoot unbelievably close to the kids. There's editing mistakes that are baffling (one cut does not go along with the previous cut --- and Anthony Hopkins was literally inserted into a scene in a cut to him when he clearly wasn't with them at the time), Megatron is a jet now (I thought he died, multiple times?), there's a Suicide Squad title card sequence for Decepticons... and Wahlberg plays a total jerk who is cruel to everyone. And Steve Buscemi as a traveling salesbot is super weird.

But as I said, this is still in progress, so god knows what still awaits me. More review coming soon (if I survive...).

 

[More_Badass]

The Exorcist

I haven't watched it in fifteen or so years, and it is still incredibly impacting. The way it unfolds is done less like a horror movie and more like a drama with horrific moments in it, and because of that, the horror means more. Linda Blair is insanely good in this. Some of the shots are beautiful, especially the huge dig site in Iraq at the beginning. Such a great film.

Finally saw The Exorcist in full last year, and I completely agree

When you watch it, you realize all the countless imitators that have come since have just been trying to copy and one-up the Exorcist for 44 years. Girl floats in the air for a bit, got to have the possessed crawling up the walls. Her head spun around, got to have a back snapped at an angle or unnatural movements. But the black eyes and pale faces we got today can't come close to how disgusting and diseased Regan looked

The build-up worked so well. We watch this girl worsen for two hours, all the while knowing all these treatments are just causing more suffering for this poor girl. In other movies, the "family tries other methods before getting priest" part just feels formulaic, but in The Exorcist, it's horrific and sad

 

[Cripplegate]

TIFF Report #2 feat. The Zama Llama

His loneliness is atrocious.

Zama (dir. Lucrecia Martel) - 6.5/10

Sprawling and fascinating, but also a little exhausting. It feels weird to complain about plot in a movie where plot doesn't really matter, but here I go: The movie eventually reaches the point of dull repetition (the investigation into a scribe's book adds yet another delay and did nothing for me, even if the payoff was a wickedly funny punchline) and then it does a hard left into a manhunt scenario that charts an obvious and tired course to a predictable conclusion (I started tuning out at this point). The final act is appropriately disorienting but I can't say I got a lot out of this adventure of colonial decay.

Which is a shame, because I found The Headless Woman to be so thrilling in its formal precision, and politically scathing in its conceptual rigor (it's the ultimate anti-mystery, in which a woman convinces herself that she killed someone and her bourgeois peers fall over themselves attempting to safeguard her status). But of course Zama is an entirely different beast, so it wouldn't be fair to make that comparison. Also, Martel's much lauded formal mastery is still evident, and lives up to the hype. I love the way Martel frames her subjects, and stages (in)action. There are countless striking and memorable images and scenes. Unfortunately, they didn't add up to as much this time. But, I am both willing and eager to revisit Zama after the fest, in a better environment, where I can focus on it more attentively, and don't have the cacophonous nightmare of mother! still rattling around in my brain (no movie, however good, could stand up to that).

As for the llama, A.A. Dowd says it best:

In another priceless ladling of insult atop injury, Zama learns that his rival in the area has been transferred exactly where he wants to go, and his silent, pathetic agony is punctuated by a stray lama that wanders into the room, mocking his misery by its very presence.

Maybe I was just losing my mind by this point (possible!), but this scene is seriously amazing. I couldn't stop laughing. The llama just wanders into the house in the middle of the scene, and in one single take, saunters down the hallway to the room with Zama, walks right up to him and stares at him, walks around him and stares at him again (he ignores it the whole time, deliberately?) and then wanders off. I was dying to ask Martel if this was something they managed to coax the llama into doing, or if the thing actually stumbled into the shot accidentally (it can be spotted in earlier shots in a pen outside of the house), but I didn't get a chance. Either way, perfection. Out of the five movies I have seen so far, this is the single moment I keep replaying in my mind. I'm still laughing as I type this. I've never seen an animal steal a scene like this before.

Up next, back to back disappointments from Trier and Barnard. Say it ain't so!

 

[kevin1025]

Finally saw The Exorcist in full last year, and I completely agree

When you watch it, you realize all the countless imitators that have come since have just been trying to copy and one-up the Exorcist for 44 years. Girl floats in the air for a bit, got to have the possessed crawling up the walls. Her head spun around, got to have a back snapped at an angle or unnatural movements. But the black eyes and pale faces we got today can't come close to how disgusting and diseased Regan looked

The build-up worked so well. We watch this girl worsen for two hours, all the while knowing all these treatments are just causing more suffering for this poor girl. In other movies, the "family tries other methods before getting priest" part just feels formulaic, but in The Exorcist, it's horrific and sad

Definitely true. I think all of the imitators took the wrong lessons from the movie. The creepy, terrifying bits are important, but it's the character work and treating everything with care that goes a long way. And the exorcism being the last resort, and the priest even being against it and having his doubts until the very end, made it all mean so much. And you're right, none of the movies since have really gone all the way with the transformations like The Exorcism has. I do love some of the more recent horror movies, but this one is hard to top quality-wise, all these years later.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

The Prestige: A movie about magicians in the 1800s, and Tesla is involved. That's a pretty original story, and it's a good movie, showing off magic tricks and how they worked. It's also about a rivalry and back-and-forth revenge. Always enjoy Michael Caine, and there's enough twists to make Shyamalan jealous.

 

[Bonen no Max'd]

The Prestige: A movie about magicians in the 1800s, and Tesla is involved. That's a pretty original story, and it's a good movie, showing off magic tricks and how they worked. It's also about a rivalry and back-and-forth revenge. Always enjoy Michael Caine, and there's enough twists to make Shyamalan jealous.

I just watched this today too, I thought it was good but I think I would like it more on a rewatch. I was kind of bothered though because there were enough scenes I'd seen before but they were scattered throughout the whole movie so I'm not sure where I saw them.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Initiation Love

Really loved this. There is very little chat about it on most english lanuage sites, but it is an amazing Japanese love story set in the 80s with an added twist that makes it unique. It is the first time in years I wanted to watch a film again after the credits rolled - maybe the first since Primer. I'd love to start a thread about it on GAF, but after searching I see no mention whatsoever of the film on the whole site, so I feel I would just be talking to myself.

 

[Boogs31]

Saw IT tonight and thought it was mediocre at best. All the characters were one dimensional. The plot didn't have any sort of cohesion, it just felt like the order of the scenes didn't matter at all. Worst of all it wasn't tense or scary in the slightest. If you've seen the trailer, you've basically seen this movie. The kid from Stranger Things was the only redeemable thing in the entire movie.

4/10

 

[TissueBox]

Millenium Actress (rewatch)
Classic grain cross-section.
6.9/10

 

[Discotheque]

On this Logan Lucky discussion earlier on this page (or whatever), I had problems with Hilary Swank's bizarre ass Clint Eastwood impersonation. But otherwise man it was such an enjoyable movie. Arguably the best movie Soderbergh has made since the early 00s. A lot of heart to the characters too.

Plus I can't knock a movie that has an impromptu singalong of Country Roads at a pageant. bless up.

Twin Peaks has once again made every other show shit. Trying to catch up the latest season of got (first 2 eps) and it's just so flavorless. Very tv-ish. I think that The Return being described as a 18 hour movie was an excess, but after a few days I think i kinda get it.
.

It did for tv dramas this year what Mad Max Fury Road did to me for action movies and blockbusters. Its kind of broken them going forward for a little while

Like Top of the Lake: China Girl and The Deuce pilot was really good don't get me wrong but I will likely never see something like Twin Peaks: The Return again. Such a strange and compelling season of tv. The way he used music too, from both the performances closing out episodes and also throughout the rest of the series was impeccable.

Should I watch Dunkirk for the second time tomorrow or Close Encounters (for the first time ever). I have moviepass.

Edit: or neither

Close Encounters man, seeing it for the first time in theaters would be really nice.

IT

It was okay. I think shortly after the georgie scene it didn't start so hot with this poorly paced series of scares one after the other. and whats worse is that a lot of the scares in here I felt like I've seen done so many times before, cgi zombie faces, painting coming to life etc. etc. it was all such..retread territory.

but once it finally started to focus more on the kids it ended up being pretty entertaining. on the strength of an enjoyable, albeit fairly generic, ensemble and character interactions I'd say this is my favorite big studio horror movie in years. over conjuring 1 as well. a lot of the humor between the new kids on the block stuff and the stranger things kid was great. and the kid from midnight special was a solid lead.

I hope this director really works harder on ambiance though in the sequel. the town of Derry isn't this big looming character that it should be and also its just such textbook direction during all the 'scary' parts. i read a few impressions on this forum calling this like a haunted theme park ride kind of movie and it really does seem like that throughout most of it.

the scenes with all the kids just chilling is the highlight of this one, and also Skarsgard's Pennywise is not bad. he won me over.

 

[UrbanRats]

Like Top of the Lake: China Girl [...]

Uh, i read this was pretty bad (especially compared to the first season), is it?

 

[Discotheque]

Uh, i read this was pretty bad (especially compared to the first season), is it?

its an odd one to describe. the first season had a great performance from Peter Mullan as the antagonist, and David Wenham was in there to deal the majority of the misogyny towards the main character.

now in the second season almost every male character is dialed up to 11 as pieces of crap to show the gender politics. and also there's some goofy humor thrown in the mix whereas the last season was pretty grim throughout.

oh and don't get me started on the bad guy, breh...he's like Tommy Wiseau if he played a horrible sex trafficker. I'm not joking dude. if you manage to make it through the season you're gonna laugh so hard when you see his master plan (fwiw though he is really entertaining because of his absurdity)

I thought it was kinda fascinating though. Campion tried to tackle a lot, and made some questionable decisions too. But honestly I think she nailed some of the ideas at least, specifically the internet gen and how they treat women and also the bitter reality of the escort business. its short too, and as soon as i saw the first episode I knew it would get hella divisive. its such a wacky season in comparison to that more grounded detective drama we got with the first series. it entertained me but I can't help but think it would have been better off they didn't go so absurd and comical here. oh and also moving from a small town in New Zealand to Sydney made the show lose its beautiful landscapes too

 

[Rei_Toei]

Is Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale worth 276 minutes of my time? I saw there's two version, the one with two parts (276 minutes) and a much shorter version of 150 minutes. Anyone see it, can comment on it?

 

[UrbanRats]

its an odd one to describe. the first season had a great performance from Peter Mullan as the antagonist, and David Wenham was in there to deal the majority of the misogyny towards the main character.

now in the second season almost every male character is dialed up to 11 as pieces of crap to show the gender politics. and also there's some goofy humor thrown in the mix whereas the last season was pretty grim throughout.

oh and don't get me started on the bad guy, breh...he's like Tommy Wiseau if he played a horrible sex trafficker. I'm not joking dude. if you manage to make it through the season you're gonna laugh so hard when you see his master plan (fwiw though he is really entertaining because of his absurdity)

I thought it was kinda fascinating though. Campion tried to tackle a lot, and made some questionable decisions too. But honestly I think she nailed some of the ideas at least, specifically the internet gen and how they treat women and also the bitter reality of the escort business. its short too, and as soon as i saw the first episode I knew it would get hella divisive. its such a wacky season in comparison to that more grounded detective drama we got with the first series. it entertained me but I can't help but think it would have been better off they didn't go so absurd and comical here. oh and also moving from a small town in New Zealand to Sydney made the show lose its beautiful landscapes too

Sounds wacky.
Honestly, the first season was so emotionally draining, that i think i'm looking for excuses to skip this one, lol.

___
In other news, that Villainess trailer is quite something...

 

[HollowCentral]

Snatched

Amy Schumer is a good writer. She is not a good actress. She plays such a whiny, unlikable character in this that I just didn't care what happened to her. And Goldie Hawn coming back for this movie specifically feels like a crime. The coincidences, the loose story, the attempts at comedy, all were insufferable. Boo to this.

It doesn't sound from that write-up that Amy Schumer is a good writer. Plus, Trainwreck was not well-written. I mean, maybe her style's just not for me, but she always seems like she's trying way too hard, and it comes off as contrived and boring.

 

[kevin1025]

It doesn't sound from that write-up that Amy Schumer is a good writer. Plus, Trainwreck was not well-written. I mean, maybe her style's just not for me, but she always seems like she's trying way too hard, and it comes off as contrived and boring.

That's true. I think some of her stand up is super well written, and her show has some fantastic stuff in it (12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer is one of the best half hour comedy episodes I've seen). But when she tries to do movies, it doesn't translate well at all. You're definitely right about trying too hard, there's some things in this movie where you can really tell she's trying so hard to get a laugh, but it just comes off as unfortunate.