Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Himu]

I really liked that movie.

[Himu]

Not film (as in, a story-based movie) but related to film.

[Great Rumbler]

A lot of great clips in this video.

[benjipwns]

sorta reminds me of the first hidden camera footage


also mute this, some dork added sound effects in 2014 for some gay ass reason

[Himu]

Nosferatu, 1922, Murnau



Horror is, in my opinion, the worst movie genre. Not because they're scary, but because they're typically boring or dog shit outside of a few classics (Jacob's Ladder, The Shining, The Thing, Alien, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead). Horror is almost never engaging for me unless the story stands on its own and it works as a socio-political work (Jacob's Ladder), psychological horror (also Jacob's Ladder), is riveting (Alien, Psycho), or it's just fun because it's mindless/cheesy filth with cool visuals/effects (Evil Dead 1/2, Nightmare on Elm Street;etc). I would rather play a horror game than watch a horror movie. Low Hanging Fruit: The Genre.

Nosferatu, what some argue is the first horror film (although it actually isn't), is really no different in that I admire the technical achievements obtained but fucking hell is it boring in a "how much do I have left? Fuck. 30 minutes? Kill me" sort of way. I'm really looking forward to watching more German stuff tomorrow so I can forget about this travesty again.

1 1/2 bored horror snores out of 4

Cops, 1922, Keaton



Hilarious. One built up gag after another and all for a woman's love.

3 seesaw stunts out of 4

City Lights, Chaplin, 1931



An emotional, riveting, hilarious, beautifully written self contained tale. I had never seen it before and it's easily my favorite Chaplin after watching. In this Tramp adventure he runs into a blind girl he falls head over heels for who struggles caring for the needs of her and her grandma. He also encounters a rich man that hilariously loves him while he's drunk but doesn't know who the Tramp is while sober. The result is hilarious and emotional antics that lends to extremely rich storytelling and even more resonant ending. Chaplin shows off perhaps his greatest range of acting here. You end up thinking him a real person. The master of the close up of his era he uses the camera in such a way that truly shows off the emotive story telling of film acting. By this time he has fully mastered his craft. Classic stuff.

4 shocked Tramp faces out of 4.

Modern Times, Chaplin, 1936



THE classic. A culmination of decades of work where multiple sets and storylines from past Chaplin flicks are rearranged and improved upon in all their glory. The cinematography is incredible. The emotive acting without overly relying on title cards for this movie makes it all the stronger. Made nearly ten years since the advent of sound, a film about the great depression during the great depression, this film has balls. And despite its age remains utterly beautiful.

Years ago this was my first introduction to Chaplin and it still resonates to this day.

It's fucking hilarious.



It is beautifully shot.





It tells a great story and it exudes timeless classic.

4 non-sensical songs out of 4

The General, Keaton, 1926



Apparently Keaton broke his neck while filming this movie. That's the kind of dedication this film required and he pushes the envelope with this action-heavy civil war romp that is so good it has you rooting for a confederate.

3 "how could I ever root for a confederate other than Buster?"'s out of 4

Chaplin vs Keaton

Before this marathon, I was more familiar with Chaplin than Keaton. Keaton, in present time, doesn't seem to get his due by comparison. Although I prefer Chaplin for his emphasis on character, I still really get a kick out of Buster. In his own way, his philosophy and storytelling are as riveting as Chaplin's but they're presented in much different ways. Keaton loves wide shots to emphasize action and stunts; Chaplin loves close ups to show off character chemistry and characterization. Both make stories about overcoming odds. Buster's almost always finding luck out of a situation through the sheer laws of the universe. Tramp shows his true morale character through good deeds. Both make me feel good but I ultimately love Chaplin for his storytelling. He is more my type of artist but that doesn't change that both are greats of their era that deserved every bit of adulation.

Also, and I just want to add: both were hot short guys.

[Nintex]

Watched the Highwaymen.

Kevin Costner has gotten old but it was nice to see him as a 'good guy' again.
Kevin and Woody did a great job overall and it was an o.k. film. The movie had a lot more threads dangling that they didn't bother to tie up.
Which kinda removes some of the tension from the plot (after all, you already know how this is going to end).

Molly's Game (2017):


I'd rank this as "Pretty Good" on my scale of Bad-Great. Great performances from Idris Elbow and Jessica Chastain (of course, is she ever not great?) It starts off so strong and snappy and is able to keep that pace up for quite a while, but the last act start getting quite repetitive and it ends up feeling like I saw the same scene 5 times in a row. I don't know the real story but I'm assuming Sorkin took quite a few liberties based on his other works and penchant for bloviation. I feel like the in depth poker hand stuff probably wasn't particularly necessary, and doing multiple scenes of it is what made me start to feel the drag around that part of the movie. Reminded me a lot of I, Tanya.

Jessica carries that movie, as she does with more movies. I remember enjoying it quite a bit.

[Tasty]

Been a while but I remember liking Nosferatu quite a bit... like it wasn't amazing but man that German expressionism was on point.

@Himu Now you can watch Shadow of the Vampire, a fictional retelling of how Nosferatu was made, starring Willem Defoe as a real vampire as Count Orlok.

[Transhuman]

I remember liking Embrace of the Vampire. I can't put my finger on it, but something about it really resonated with me

[Tasty]

Horror is, in my opinion, the worst movie genre. Not because they're scary, but because they're typically boring or dog shit outside of a few classics (Jacob's Ladder, The Shining, The Thing, Alien, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead). Horror is almost never engaging for me unless the story stands on its own and it works as a socio-political work (Jacob's Ladder), psychological horror (also Jacob's Ladder), is riveting (Alien, Psycho), or it's just fun because it's mindless/cheesy filth with cool visuals/effects (Evil Dead 1/2, Nightmare on Elm Street;etc). I would rather play a horror game than watch a horror movie. Low Hanging Fruit: The Genre.

So... you're saying like good movies...?

But there's a lot of good horror movies that aren't just the classics. Even (some would say especially) in the last ten years.

[Himu]

Horror is, in my opinion, the worst movie genre. Not because they're scary, but because they're typically boring or dog shit outside of a few classics (Jacob's Ladder, The Shining, The Thing, Alien, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead). Horror is almost never engaging for me unless the story stands on its own and it works as a socio-political work (Jacob's Ladder), psychological horror (also Jacob's Ladder), is riveting (Alien, Psycho), or it's just fun because it's mindless/cheesy filth with cool visuals/effects (Evil Dead 1/2, Nightmare on Elm Street;etc). I would rather play a horror game than watch a horror movie. Low Hanging Fruit: The Genre.

So... you're saying like good movies...?

But there's a lot of good horror movies that aren't just the classics. Even (some would say especially) in the last ten years.

I have seen Cabin in the Woods and I’m a big fan of Let The Right One In. I really liked both the book and Swedish film. I’ve also seen Get Out, and I’ve been meaning to watch It. For the most part I don’t have any draw to watch horror movies unless it’s really, really good.

I really don’t find Vampires interesting as a fear making device. If you can’t tell by my post, I’m all about story and characters - I like drama, not “scares”. Think more Interview With the Vampire. Which is more drama than horror.

It’s just not my genre when it comes to a film setting. This isn’t a judgement on anyone that likes them. I’m sure many horror fans find the movies I like to be boring and that’s fine. Tastes are subjective. I REALLY horror games, though.

FWIW, I feel similarly about many other genres: rom coms, biopics (especially music biopics). They just bore me.

[Joe Molotov]

Lesbian vampires tho 

[Tasty]

Vampires are probably the single worst/most boring creature/monsters to set a story around. There's never been an interesting vampire movie that isn't a parody or satire. The closest to a non-satire/parody vampire movie that's good is Shadow of The Vampire. Any and all straight vampire movies are

Fright Night breh

[Himu]

This 100 year old silent movie that is a bootleg of a boring as hell book to begin with is boring, ergo horror movies are the worst genre.

Eh.

I don’t like it BECAUSE it falls in line with many of the reasons I don’t like most horror.

- flat characters that do stupid shit constantly. I’m going to keep staying in this man’s house despite finding him sleeping inside a coffin! I get deep nightmares while staying here at night and it all goes away during the day time but I’m going to keep staying because I’m fucking dumb. Doesn’t believe and waves off every warning of danger for no reason other than driving the plot and getting him to the next location out of convenience.

- simple story that can be summarized in less than ten words: vampire moves across the street, terrorizes people. There’s no emphasis on story or character but on creating “tension” to scare audiences. The scare is given more emphasis than the story or characters. This is a common problem in horror.

- predictability

- this all leads to a boring movie. A lot of horror is boring to me because they expect you to care about these people without establishing character or story. Their focus isn’t even on character or story. It might be on gore, frights, or visual effects which is why I called it low hanging fruit.

But again, there are similar issues with other genres. Comedy is one, but comedy is subjective. Someone might find Blazing Saddles offensive whereas I find it hilarious. Others loved Soul Plane, I thought it fucking sucked. But horror’s tropes tend to be widespread in the genre.

Essentially, in order for horror to be good (or any movie really), there must be an emphasis on story and character. Most horror movies doesn't even get that far and when it does often it can be very lazy and drenched with tropes. Every genre has trash but with horror, more than any genre, it feels like there’s more far more chaff than wheat.

[Himu]

I readily admit it’s not really my genre although I like to partake once in a while. I don’t judge anyone who loves the genre but I personally find even the best of the genre tends to succumb to the aforementioned issues because it’s their goal to scare you and there’s only few ways to manipulate the viewer in feeling that way through movie making which leads to embracing a certain formulae. Which leads to predictability. It’s a case of preference: you might like basketball, I like baseball. I’ll watch a basketball game now and then but I’d rather just watch baseball. You might find baseball boring. That’s fine. I find basketball boring as fuck. That’s also fine.

[Tasty]

Hmm that does make me think, the only genre that has almost no real cinematic value is rom-coms, but I'd love to be wrong about that.

Like, I enjoy a few of them, but they're like unflavored oatmeal for the most part... and IMO that's worse than "bad." Like the worst movies are either funny or make a good case study on what not to do.

I enjoy Love Actually, but it's not that great of a movie, really... Something About Mary feels more of a straight comedy. The only one I think is really good might be Crazy Stupid Love.

[Himu]

Hmm that does make me think, the only genre that has almost no real cinematic value is rom-coms, but I'd love to be wrong about that.

Like, I enjoy a few of them, but they're like unflavored oatmeal for the most part... and IMO that's worse than "bad." Like the worst movies are either funny or make a good case study on what not to do.

I enjoy Love Actually, but it's not that great of a movie, really... Something About Mary feels more of a straight comedy. The only one I think is really good might be Crazy Stupid Love.

Romance comedy has value. See: Some Like It Hot. But like horror it’s a low hanging fruit genre.

On second thought, dance and Christian movies might have the least cinematic value. Dance movies tend to throw any semblance of story out the window as an excuse to dance. This is different from the musical which generally uses the music for a storytelling device.

Christian movies tho.



Film making language? What’s that?

[Joe Molotov]

Christian sidehugs 

[Himu]

you: i have cancer

me: GROW UP

[Don Rumata]

Worst genres of anything start with "Christian" 9 times out of 10. Maybe painting is the 1.


Christian movies 

Christian rock 

Christian rap 

Christian games 

Christian plays 

Christian poetry 

Christian Christian Slater.

[Tasty]

Chrischan

[toku]

I love Kenji Misumi films. Man knew how to frame a shot  :'(

[Momo]

[TVC15]

Might do a Buster Keaton night. I still have like a dozen Fatty Arbuckle/Buster shorts I haven’t seen yet. Or I can just watch Sherlock Jr again.

[Joe Molotov]

 Hellboy opened at $12 million, about half what the first one did at a 1/3rd of the second one.

[Tasty]

Man and all these shithead producers met with Del Toro like three years ago and he + Perlman were still trying to do the third film with them.

Schadenfreude maxima.

[Himu]

Three Colors Trilogy - Blue (1993, Kieslowski)



A fatal car accident changes a wife and mother's life forever as her husband and daughter are killed. In her depressive state, she sells her home, all of her valuables, leaves everyone she knows to abscond herself from society. Yet try as she might she's still tethered to her tragic past. She fights and fights to forget, to hole herself up in her own world but can't. The visuals communicate this very clearly. Nearly every shot has something blue in it. Many shots are taken of her alone, or to further emphasize her loneliness she's contrasted with something. Either by emphasizing her silhouette through shadow or with regular, every day people living their lives. One such example is after swimming, she's surrounded by excited school children exhibiting a full range of motion and animation in the scene next to her tense, lonely frame. Just by showing motion against her lack of it communicates her current mental health.  The cinematography is so visual and personal that it often feels like you're in her head almost. Such is the power of film. It's hard for me to pick any one particular favorite shot. It could be that aforementioned pool shot. Or it could be the long take scene in the pool after a depressing, emotional scene where she jumps in the pool and the camera starts to pan, searching for her to finally come up for air that perfectly communicates the tension and her state of mind. I have a lot to love about this film. I feel it has much to say about the things we tie ourselves down to.

What a beautiful film. And the lead actress is hot.









4 stars

The Last Laugh (1924, Murnau)



A silent film with no title cards, Murnau shows even further promise as a director in this film made only two years after Nosferatu. Murnau plays with various storytelling elements that would later be embraced and improved upon in Sunrise. The Last Laugh is a powerful film that is an early example of the potential of the silver screen as an artistic medium. Being silent without title cards and yet still being an early 20's film, a lot of it still isn't entirely...polished. So you gets lots of dialogue without actually knowing what they're saying because there's no title cards. For a film that should rely entirely on the visuals it relies far too much on dialogue scenes rather than gesture. That said, it's a landmark film that full encapsulates the visual potential of the medium, eschewing the static German film making of its era. Cinematographer Karl Freund ups the standard for shots in this as they expand what's capable in film.

The first shot is in an elevator as it goes down in first person. Such a thing might seem basic but many German films before this were inspired by theater with static, boring shots that forgets that movies are supposed to move.

This inspired many film makers on the possibilities of the medium and helped put German film - particularly German expressionism - at the forefront of the silent era as an artistic movement.



And what a story. It takes about 10-20 minutes to get going but once it does it's golden. The only complaint is the ending which completely ruins it. Once that title card comes on just cut the movie off. It's over.

3 1/2 stars

[nudemacusers]

Hellboy opened at $12 million, about half what the first one did at a 1/3rd of the second one.

Three bad hellboy movies since 2004. Cursed franchise. 

[Himu]

Roma (2018, Netflix, Cuaron)



A film about family life in 1970's Mexico. Almost every shot is a long shot. I can count the number of medium shots on my hand, never mind the close ups. What a depressing, isolative film. Cuaron has always shown himself to be one of the best in the biz. With this film I feel like drinking after. Jesus Christ. What sustained me was the cinematography. So many takes are long. Like, it felt almost every shot was a bare minimum of 15 seconds. Good lord this must have been a daunting undertaking to film.

3 1/2 stars

[Himu]

I need something fun and happy after that shit. I'm renting Pacific Rim 2 from Amazon Video lmao.

[Himu]

Been reading reviews of Roma and giggling.

https://www.thefourohfive.com/film/review/review-roma-a-painfully-boring-spanish-language-story-gets-a-monochrome-sheen-154

Why do men keep feeling the need to insinuate themselves in stories like Roma - which should be told by women? In this regard, Roma is an affront to realism... it's also boring as hell, all sizzle and zero steak.

https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/entertainment/movies/movie-review-roma-high-art-for-some-bird-droppings-for/article_8428d243-69a0-5f85-9d2b-dec226f9df22.html

You can count on it like clockwork. Every year, a (usually) low-budget art film from a (usually) non-major studio arrives on the scene and causes the majority of the critical community to fawn like groupies while hailing its praises and stumbling all over each other trying to come up with hosanna-like accolades that could make Shakespeare blush.

Sometimes, these movies go on to win Best Picture Oscars (“The Hurt Locker,” “The Artist,” “Birdman,” “Moonlight”), and most all of them tank at the box office. Although not required, ambiguity and being depressing helps their cause and offers continuing proof that the artistic community and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Luckbox are light-years apart.

Every year indie movies show that they exist!!! 

Reddit comment:

I’m sorry but someone please help me understand what am I missing to see? How is it that critics ( who are human beings) call Roma to be a “masterpiece” or “tear jerker?” The movie has unmistakable great visual high quality fidelity and fantastic sound. But I watch movies for escapism and can even watch documentaries but this just high quality shit! The whole point of movies is to capture time that we can’t experience and see it through a artistic lenses, but this movie, it’s called life! And?! I’m tired of directors and actors trying to pull the ethic / sexism repression card on us and expect to be called masterpiece because of fear of being doxed or criticized. For real look at the nomination and you’ll see that half of the list is simply pushed for minority reasons. Is this what we come to, forget about quality and simply allow shit to pass through as long as it’s not going to bring SJW topics to the oscars or anything in life? So if you can and what to please feel free to explain why critics are awwed by Roma, I’m open mined... I mean come on I saw Roma.

[toku]

Pacific Rim 2 is really really really bad.

[Himu]

Tastes really are funny. I find it fascinating how some people will call something I find amazing boring and vice versa. Calling it boring while I'm fully immersed as the movie depicts a specific place in time and what the cinematography is trying to communicate to the viewer. I love slice of life, meanwhile it's apparently boring to tears to others. My favorite part is how people think there's a giant conspiracy and that people like Roma for what it is or our tastes are just different from theirs. Apparently all of the critics are bought.

It's also weird how so many people are like,"I'm bored after 20 minutes". A lot of good movies aren't good in the first 20 minutes and they generally use that time to set up the tone and setting. I have no idea how someone like this could possibly watch Gone With The Wind or Seven Samurai for instance. Have I watched too many old movies to the point where I'm just immune to pacing that needs time to establishes itself? I just don't know.

Pacific Rim 2 is really really really bad.

Nooooooooooooo

[Himu]

The Lady Eve (1941, Sturges)



The complete opposite of Roma, a story of the disappointments of men as mates, and the manner in which women are treated like trash. A screw ball comedy from 1941, like many of its contemporaries it stars sexually forward women that know what they want and know how to get it. Starring the legendary Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda, dialogue is snappy and creative. See:



Funny, witty, and just all around great movie.

[Potato]

For anyone who has seen Captain Marvel...do I need to watch it before I see Endgame or can I just read a synopsis?


EDIT: Yes, I know it's a Marvel popcorn movie and I can just read a synopsis for the entire catalogue of Marvel popcorn movies, but I enjoy them so STFU.

[Himu]

Iirc it’s one of those things that’s not necessary but should enhance it?

[Momo]

For anyone who has seen Captain Marvel...do I need to watch it before I see Endgame or can I just read a synopsis?

No. Also you dont need to read shit. Pretend it doesnt exist, none of it matters.

[headwalk]

For anyone who has seen Captain Marvel...do I need to watch it before I see Endgame or can I just read a synopsis?


EDIT: Yes, I know it's a Marvel popcorn movie and I can just read a synopsis for the entire catalogue of Marvel popcorn movies, but I enjoy them so STFU.

i watched the leaked ending so i can just tell you what happens in endgame so you don't have to watch either:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

potato is a virgin loser

[close]

[Himu]

Citizen Kane

The first time I saw Citizen Kane I was obsessed with it for weeks if not months. I had seen plenty of movies from the 20's and 30's, and even 40's and yet Citizen Kane was so far beyond anything that came before it by leaps and bounds. The direction, visuals, audio, editing, transitions were so far ahead that it took nearly 5-6 years for others to catch up and by then Welles was already about to shake it up again with The Third Man. The intro alone is mind shattering if you have even a modicum of basic film knowledge up to the point of its creation.

Here's His Girl Friday which came out a year earlier.



Here's Kane.



The difference is uncanny. I was obsessed with how much this film changed movies in general. It actually ruins much of the output made during the decade in fact. In a way I'm still obsessed with it. I don't and never have considered it the "best movie ever" but I have no legitimate criticisms towards anyone considering it to be that.

Tonight I re-visited it Kane and it's still. so. good. It's utterly timeless to me.

Looking forward to seeing Welles' unfinished film on Netflix later tonight.

4 stars

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

The Scoundrels is a not-great but intermittently awesome Taiwanese crime thriller that shows a lot of directorial promise for its debut filmmaker. Features some great, clumsy and crowded fight scenes.



Ahhhhhhh yeah. Now this was a good time. Zhang Yimou is having a weird but excellent career. Going between small intimate dramas and giant scaled melodramatic wuxias, Shadow somewhat bridges the gaps between the seemingly hugely different auteurs who are the same person in a film about shared purpose between a dual identity as well. A sickly general uses his presently successfully integrated double in the royal court to achieve his aims, the smallness comes from the remarkable lead performances which carry a lot of weight amongst the oppressively present (and wonderfully realized) stylized, well, everything. Yimou has almost made a proper noir in wuxia drag. It's canvas widens as the film progresses, but the color palate stays stubbornly drab and is no poorer for it. Its spectacular in the literal sense as the near black and white look of the film conjures any other dozens of classic crime pictures about some poor schmuck who's in over his head and has to survive on his wits. As is, its the best use of heightened artifice that I've seen in some time. Don't sleep on this one, especially if you've a chance to see a good screening of it.

[team filler]

I watched this a million times as a kid. the tape I had was a double feature and the title of the movie was different.

[Potato]

For anyone who has seen Captain Marvel...do I need to watch it before I see Endgame or can I just read a synopsis?


EDIT: Yes, I know it's a Marvel popcorn movie and I can just read a synopsis for the entire catalogue of Marvel popcorn movies, but I enjoy them so STFU.

i watched the leaked ending so i can just tell you what happens in endgame so you don't have to watch either:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

potato is a virgin loser

[close]

How can I be a virgin when I am your dad?

[Don Rumata]

For anyone who has seen Captain Marvel...do I need to watch it before I see Endgame or can I just read a synopsis?


EDIT: Yes, I know it's a Marvel popcorn movie and I can just read a synopsis for the entire catalogue of Marvel popcorn movies, but I enjoy them so STFU.

i watched the leaked ending so i can just tell you what happens in endgame so you don't have to watch either:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

potato is a virgin loser

[close]

How can I be a virgin when I am your dad?

Sperm donor?

The Scoundrels looks up my alley, i'll give it a shot.

[Himu]

2019 Cannes list.

Palme D'Or

The Dead Don’t Die (dir: Jim Jarmusch) – opening film
Atlantique (dir: Mati Diop)
Bacarau (dir: Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles)
Frankie (dir: Ira Sachs)
A Hidden Life (dir: Terrence Malick)
It Must Be Heaven (dir: Elia Suleiman)
Les Misérables (dir: Ladj Ly)
Little Joe (dir: Jessica Hausner)
Matthias and Maxime (dir: Xavier Dolan)
Oh Mercy! (dir: Arnaud Desplechin)
Parasite (dir: Bong Joon-ho)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir: Céline Sciamma)
Sibyl (dir: Justine Triet)
Sorry We Missed You (dir: Ken Loach)
Pain and Glory (dir: Pedro Almodóvar)
The Traitor (dir: Marco Bellocchio)
La Gomera (dir: Corneliu Porumboiu)
The Wild Goose Lake (dir: Diao Yinan)
The Young Ahmed (dir: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)

Un Certain Regard

Adam (dir: Maryam Touzani)
Dylda (dir: Kantemir Balagov)
A Brother’s Love (dir: Monia Chokri)
Bull (dir: Annie Silverstein)
The Climb (dir: Michael Covino)
Evge (dir: Nariman Aliev)
Liberté (dir: Albert Serra)
Invisible Life (dir: Karim Aïnouz)
Jeanne (dir: Bruno Dumont)
Room 212 (dir: Christophe Honoré)
Papicha (dir: Mounia Meddour)
Port Authority (dir: Danielle Lessovitz)
Summer of Changsha (dir: Zu Feng)
The Swallows of Kabul (dir: Zabou Breitman & Eléa Gobé Mévellec)
A Sun That Never Sets (dir: Olivier Laxe)
Zhuo Ren Mi Mi (dir: Midi Z)

[Himu]

Hyperzone post your Letterbox'd account.

This is mine.

https://letterboxd.com/imdying/

[Joe Molotov]

Watched Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer a couple of nights ago on Amazon Prime, even though I own the BD. Last night my internet got knocked out during a storm, so I just watched it again on BD. What a masterpiece.

[Tasty]

Hyperzone post your Letterbox'd account.

This is mine.

https://letterboxd.com/imdying/

Followed you.

[Himu]

thanks! following back

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/cannes-announces-2019-lineup-terrence-malick-pedro-almodovar-1203192293/

More on Cannes 2019. Many female directors at the helm.

[Joe Molotov]

I made a Letterboxd thing too, I wanna get in on this. I'm trying to watch more movies.

https://letterboxd.com/JoeMolotov/

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

umm... yeah... sure, I'll post mine.

(pats pockets)
(goes through jacket)

sure I had one round here somewhere...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

hey, I'm a busy guy. I've been meaning to get on it. Geez. This Rajnikanth film on Netflix ain't gonna watch itsefl

[close]

[Himu]

Us

Starts out strong but a disjointed finale, absurd plot twists, uneven acting, and flawed characters put a damper on the experience. It was okay. It was entertaining, but that’s about it. It’s funny reading many peoples analysis of it. This represents that, that represents this. “He wore a shirt that said fragile on it so that must be a nod towards white fragility!” It’s like the fanbase are going full on Evangelion stan. I left the theatre wondering if the movie had any meaning or a message at all. I’m still not sure and I’m still confused.

Wack.

2 stars

[Great Rumbler]

Citizen Kane is dope af.

[Himu]

Us spoilers.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The movie falls in line with many reasons why horror is such a frustrating genre: everyone's stupid and it wants you to go along with it. The thing is that Get Out eschewed this trope by making the main character competent.

So I'm to believe that...

- People that can't speak or talk some how communicated with each other to kill the entire country?
- These are - very important note - people. They're not zombies. They don't eat brains. One blast from a shotgun will take them out. Zombies are frightening because they can increase their numbers easily. There couldn't have been more than 200 people in that underground bunker. You're telling me that all of those people took out entire populations to cover the entire nation? Quite a reach in an America with millions of guns.
- So how are they a threat? Even the bum fuck dad who seems to be learning deficient managed to off at least two of them niccas.
- Their main weapon is scissors and can be killed easily even with their Ghost Fu.

Yet it wants you to buy into this world that they apparently manage to take over.

Once you introduce the take over America plot and multiple people having clones, the entire story falls apart.

[close]

I truly think people riding Peele's nuts with this one but whatever. Us truly highlights many of horrors failings as a genre. Through you could say it's more thriller than horror.

[toku]

I saw someone say that if anything Us proves that Peele was perfect for Twilight Zone and I sorta agree in the sense that Us is a not subtle at all story but Rod Serling made Twilight Zone partly out of frustration with censors so Peele doesn't have a lot to stand on in that regard.

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Wild take here but Us would have worked better if the main family was a white family. Mainly because the conceit? of the whole film is the idea that we all have personas and identities behind the surface, our "real" selves or more real selves. This is destroyed for black viewers since it's explicitly how black lives are lived in america/west. We even have terms for it (code switching etc) and entire genres of literature dedicated to it. There are ways to make it work as is but it needed more time in the oven at the script phase if he had to have a black family at the focus.

Unless maybe his original idea reflected this more but didnt know how to work in white cast members? especially with how it ends and the idea of this being everbody

[close]

[Himu]

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The multiple persona thing should have only happened to the family, no one else. I also agree. While watching it I got a hint of "who's the real monster? Them or us?" as the little girl beat that girl to death with the baseball bat. Then I realized it didn't matter. I still don't get what the movie is trying to say.

[close]

[toku]

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The multiple persona thing should have only happened to the family, no one else. I also agree. While watching it I got a hint of "who's the real monster? Them or us?" as the little girl beat that girl to death with the baseball bat. Then I realized it didn't matter. I still don't get what the movie is trying to say.

[close]

Yes making the scope much much smaller another way to work it, didn't think of that.

[Himu]

As for Twilight Zone, I don't know if Peele is good for it. I haven't seen the new Twilight Zone yet (waiting for Star Trek Discovery s2 to end so i can bum rush it and then watch Twilight Zone) but Peele's work so far have been comedy and horror. Sci-fi...that's a different beast entirely. One of the great things about Twilight Zone is it can be cerebral without throwing too much at you. No hidden messages or anything like that. Just pure philosophy, or in other words, pure sci-fi, which essentially is made to make the viewer/reader ask questions. When I started asking questions with Us it fell apart. So...

[toku]

Im firmly against a tz remake, i rewatch the og every year, its timeless and one of the greatest television programmes to ever air. It's not perfect but so much of it holds up because RS and crew were smart enough to make it so much about classic mythology and moral plays. Amazing amazing show.

[Himu]

Peele should test out Sci fi by directing an episode for The Orville or Black Mirror. Make us question. In both Get Out and Us they end with exposition dumps that rival a jrpg finale. Can he achieve a good story without relying on giving the answers away? Sci fi - good Sci fi - doesn’t do that. So if he’s interested in getting into the Sci fi game that’s what I want to see.

FWIW, he does host the new Twilight Zone. But again, I can’t tell you anything about its quality.

[Himu]

A Quiet Place

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

[Tasty]

A Quiet Place is TV drama dreck.

Edit- I'm thinking of Bird Box, nevermind.

Edit 2- Probably applies to Netflix's new movie The Silence too.

The "we gotta be quiet or we'll die" genre is already overstuffed.