Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Nintex]

The Dig

What a beautiful touching film 

[Great Rumbler]

At first I thought The Dig was based on the Lucasarts adventure game and got excited.

[Bebpo]

I keep telling people Psycho Goreman is "The best movie I've seen all year"

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I've only seen 3 movies this year

[close]

[Joe Molotov]

At first I thought The Dig was based on the Lucasarts adventure game and got excited.

Imagine being Steven Spielberg and adapting Ready Player One but not this.

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

At first I thought The Dig was based on the Lucasarts adventure game and got excited.

Imagine being Steven Spielberg and adapting Ready Player One but not this.

Or at least Boom Blox

[Nintex]

https://twitter.com/cinepocalypse/status/1358459768613052419

[chronovore]

Rewatched T E N E T over the weekend.

It’s better the 2nd time around.

I noticed a lot of subtle cues that I had missed the first time, like some of the music playing backwards, and some scenes which have things going inverted in the bkgd while the foreground plays forward.

Also watched it while holding a popular Internet theory in my mind which made it even more solid in it storytelling for me:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kat’s (the tall blonde woman) son is named Max. In French, that’s spelled Maximilian. The Robert Pattinson character, Neil, is the grown man version of the son. He’s using the last letters of the name, reversed.

[close]

[Bebpo]

So basically until Covid is over and done with and the world returns, TV is the new movies I guess? With this coming right after Wandavision ends -> Loki right after this ends -> What If... right after that ends, it sure seems like there's going to be a high budget Marvel show going weekly at all times which basically replaces the big Marvel movies every three/four months.

I also am pretty skeptical all these 2021/2022 Marvel movies are actually gonna be released. Black Widow, Shang Chi, Eternals, Spider-Man 3 this year? Yeah...very skeptical. I wouldn't be surprised if everything in the theatrical lineup just gets pushed back another year and MCU is TV in 2021. Which is fine if the shows work.

[Bebpo]

One thing I've noticed sadly is that even though a lot more films are coming direct to streaming services in this no-theater-limbo, most of them have been pretty shit? Like HBO Max gets a Ghibli movie day 1 and it's got 32% RT. The Denzel movie reviews are crap, Wonder Woman 1984 was crap, Netflix a bunch of big name actor/director films and most are like 60% RT or less.

There's still good stuff out there, but it's pretty disappointing that in the year where we are getting tons of theatrical stuff at home right away, most of it is ending up junk.

Hopefully Judas and the Black Messiah will be good at least. That's out in another week or two and early reviews are good.

*edit* Might watch The Dig. Looks nice, but also looks pretty dull.

[Tasty]

Judas has lots of buzz.

[Nintex]

Rating wise The Dig lands at a 7 / 7.5 it seems and that's fair I think.

I figured it would bore me after 15 minutes but it is really well made. And between all the big drama going on both IRL and in the blockbusters it was nice to have a story of a smaller scale with more personal stakes.
It's also beautifully shot compared to actual 'big budget' movies like WW84 and Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes deliver great performances that make it work.

We're really entering doomer season as far as movies are concerned. Just a few that stood out to me:
Judas and the Black Messiah (FBI / Black Panthers)
Cherry (Tom Holland plays traumatized Afghan war vet)
The Father (Hopkins take on dementia)
Nomadland (film about the 2008 Recession)
Minari (Korean family that migrates to the US in the 80's)
Bliss (Owen Wilson's take on addiction and homelessness but they marketed this as a sci-fi flick which it isn't)

Hopkins/Dementia sounds like a shoe in for the oscars to me but Judas also looks really good in that regard.

[Bebpo]

Cherry had horrible reviews from the press irrc.
Bliss has pretty bad reviews (28% RT)

I definitely want to see Minari when it hits streaming.
Nomadland is supposed to be good, yeah.

[Madrun Badrun]

Polar with Mads was terrible.  I haven't seen a movie that gratuitous in a very long time.  Also felt like two different movies spliced together.  Vanessa Hudgens was good though.

[ShutUp]

As someone that liked Kong and liked 50% of KOTM, that trailer looks pretty terrible. No wonder they waited two months before release to drop any footage. Tonally seems bad.

Also, they really shrunk Godzilla down and sized up Kong. Zilla looks lame af.

They probably waited two whole months before release because 99% of people are watching this at home. No need for some eight month blowout in marketing like we usually get when people will be watching this on the couch in their underwear.

[bork]

https://twitter.com/cinepocalypse/status/1358459768613052419

If not for the HDTV in one photo, I would have thought these were pictures from the mid-1990s.

More:
https://twitter.com/cinepocalypse/status/1358461641898262531
https://twitter.com/cinepocalypse/status/1358475830058504196
https://twitter.com/BHYRights/status/1358579093680267264

[Bebpo]

It's like everyone's grandparent's house if they were rich and had a huge house on the sea.

[Thirty-Ought-Six]

The Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014)

I know it's propaganda but I couldn't help loving this. Mainly because it is Tsui Hark and he has the clout to leave out politics for the most part, while also sneaking past the censors with a brilliant framing device. The entire movie is shown to be the idealized imagination of the modern day, even to the point of repeating the same scene multiple ways to emphasize it isn't how it really played out.

Still feels funny to be sitting there cheering the PLA at 1 in the morning.

[chronovore]

Polar with Mads was terrible.  I haven't seen a movie that gratuitous in a very long time.  Also felt like two different movies spliced together.  Vanessa Hudgens was good though.

It's fun enough. The Hudgens parts are mostly serious, but the rest of it is spastic/gonzo gross-out violence comedy. The movie is like a Garth Ennis comic book. Enjoyable, but I feel a little dirty for enjoying it.

[Don Rumata]

Looks like a nightmare to live in, tbh.

[Nintex]

The 2021 millenial appartment aesthetic but stuck in 1994

[naff]

https://twitter.com/Jmewhoa/status/1358517529614950405

sounds about right

[Bebpo]

Every day for several months I go, is this is the night I waste my hard earned free evening watching Tenet,

Well I finally watched it.

 

That was the biggest budget high concept, but totally dumb sci-fi Bond movie ever. Was rolling my eyes so hard for most of it. Also was pretty poorly edited + bad sound mixing. The first 30-40 mins feel like watching some clip version where every scene is 60 seconds long with no intro/outro or pacing.

I'm pretty mixed on Nolan. I thought Dunkirk was fantastic and very well shot. But I wanna  every time people say Inception is some great intelligent sci-fi film.

I think I've realized I just don't sync with Nolan's view of science fiction. Whenever he makes a non-sci-fi movie I like it. Memento, Batman movies, Dunkirk are all enjoyable. But I don't like Inception, Interstellar or Tenet.

Basically every sci-fi movie is Nolan thinking he is smarter than everyone and making the most clever sci-fi film. But it's really not and is just big and dumb explosion-y that pretends to be smart. Which to me is pretty much textbook definition of as pretentious as you can get as a filmmaker.

I probably should just avoid any sci-fi stuff he does in the future and stick to his non-sci-fi. Also his writing and dialogue in Tenet was pretty crappy, which just gives it more of a low level pulp dumb feel which doesn't gel with the high concept thing he's trying to pull off. I feel like someone else could've pulled off the story concept better and maybe been less pretentious about it. Maybe would've worked better as an indie film and not the SAVIOR OF THE FILM INDUSTRY 

Reading a lot of comic books lately, the plot of Tenet actually feels like some Image comic book run. Which is fine, but just admit you're making a comic book level sci-fi film and not some grand savior high brow cinema.

[Transhuman]

You have to watch it backwards stupid

[Bebpo]

Actually Tenet reminds me a ton of Warren Ellis's comic Injection. Tenet is basically an Ellis comic book film.

I was talking to someone and they said Nolan isn't pretentious and doesn't think he's making high art. He loves Michael Bay movies and is just making comic book blockbusters most of the time and having fun with it. And it's the media and publishers that hype his stuff up as high art cinema, not him.

So maybe I'm wrong on Nolan. Idk. His stuff is just always SO.SERIOUS. Does anyone ever even laugh or smile in this films? (no the Joker laughing does not count).

[team filler]

a nolan comedy where all the jokes are explained to make sure the audience gets it 

[Bebpo]

My box art quote for Tenet would be:

"What would happen if Christopher Nolan wrote & directed the next Fast & Furious movie"

and then the part they would leave out in the quote is "...and so it would be a bit smarter, but would be missing the heart, the self-awareness and the family"


Also, all hating aside I'd still probably give Tenet a *** / **** stars. It was big dumb and entertaining. So it was fine. It's just real easy to lolz at.

[Nintex]

Nolan's films are elevated by some of the most talented actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Mcconaughey and Washington.
They can captivate an audience and guide them through the Nolan verse.

In Inception nearly everyone on the screen is irrelevant it's just Cobb experiencing it all.
He's the mentor, hero and in a way even the villain all at the same time and he's a master of his environment.

That's why Dunkirk is such a strange part of Nolan's work because it doesn't have such strong characters.

[Tasty]

Charisma

Whedon

[Bebpo]

Nolan's films are elevated by some of the most talented actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Mcconaughey and Washington.
They can captivate an audience and guide them through the Nolan verse.

In Inception nearly everyone on the screen is irrelevant it's just Cobb experiencing it all.
He's the mentor, hero and in a way even the villain all at the same time and he's a master of his environment.

That's why Dunkirk is such a strange part of Nolan's work because it doesn't have such strong characters.

I've read people debate if Washington is a good actor.

I thought he was fantastic in Blackkklansman, but yeah he didn't do much other than mumble lines that felt forced in Tenet.

Haven't watched Malcom & Marie yet. Pretty bummed it has 59% RT since I love Euphoria and it basically looks very similar stylistically from Levinson as writer/director.

[Bebpo]

Charisma

Whedon

Yeah it's a bummer Whedon turned out to be a shithead.

His earlier stuff was pretty good. Though I don't think he's made anything good in the last decade, so maybe not a big loss.

[EchoRin]

Nolan's films are elevated by some of the most talented actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Mcconaughey and Washington.
They can captivate an audience and guide them through the Nolan verse.

In Inception nearly everyone on the screen is irrelevant it's just Cobb experiencing it all.
He's the mentor, hero and in a way even the villain all at the same time and he's a master of his environment.

That's why Dunkirk is such a strange part of Nolan's work because it doesn't have such strong characters.

I've read people debate if Washington is a good actor.

I thought he was fantastic in Blackkklansman, but yeah he didn't do much other than mumble lines that felt forced in Tenet.

Haven't watched Malcom & Marie yet. Pretty bummed it has 59% RT since I love Euphoria and it basically looks very similar stylistically from Levinson as writer/director.

Loooooved Blackkklansman.

Euphoria, not for me. I had to tap out after 4 or so episodes. I haven't seen any of Levinson's films so I don't have any particular expectations, but I feel like if M&M veers a bit into that Euphoria territory I'm probably not going to watch it on my own even if I enjoy both lead actors quite a bit.

[Transhuman]

Charisma

Whedon

Yeah it's a bummer Whedon turned out to be a shithead.

His earlier stuff was pretty good. Though I don't think he's made anything good in the last decade, so maybe not a big loss.

She went public with this already, but back then no-one cared.

[Tasty]

Charisma

Whedon

Yeah it's a bummer Whedon turned out to be a shithead.

His earlier stuff was pretty good. Though I don't think he's made anything good in the last decade, so maybe not a big loss.

She went public with this already, but back then no-one cared.

Back then she was much more neutral on what happened and even a bit conciliatory to Joss (likely because she had to be.)

Here is what she said in 2009:

What happened was that my relationship with Joss became strained. We all go through our stuff in general [behind the scenes], and I was going through my stuff, and then I became pregnant. And I guess in his mind, he had a different way of seeing the [fourth] season go. I think Joss was, honestly, mad. I think he was mad at me and I say that in a loving way, which is — it’s a very complicated dynamic working for somebody for so many years, and expectations, and also being on a show for eight years, you gotta live your life. And sometimes living your life gets in the way of maybe the creator’s vision for the future. And that becomes conflict, and that was my experience.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg are all coming out against him.

https://deadline.com/2021/02/sarah-michelle-gellar-abuse-claims-response-charisma-carpenter-joss-whedon-buffy-1234691481/

Joss is probably done.

[Bebpo]

Watched Malcom & Marie

Levinson is talented but he needs an editor reigning him in because in Euphoria and this he'll overindulge and its what keeps him from firing at 100% in a way that feels consistent. Instead he's got high point excellent scenes and lows and its messy. Malcolm & Marie probably should've been about half the length.

Still, as a dark comedy there were some really funny bits, the writing when it's on is sharp and great delivery by both Zendaya & Washington. Directing & cinematography & music choices are good.

I think it's worth watching but it's not great and I'd never watch it again.

I think Euphoria special #1 is a better version of this at half the length.

[Madrun Badrun]

Saw Phantasm for the first time.  That was a real treat. 

[chronovore]

Watching Final Destination for the first time. I can see why it was a hit that launched a series. Five or six films though? After all of them, it must really look like the Grim Reaper is getting sloppy. He’s just bad at his job, constantly cleaning up after himself.

Lots of these actors went on to many roles. So many familiar faces. But not the main actor. Did he just bail on acting?

[Skullfuckers Anonymous]

aaawww yiiisssss

It’s out 

All the parts are here: https://thoughtmaybe.com/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head/#top

[Tasty]

Watching Final Destination for the first time. I can see why it was a hit that launched a series. Five or six films though? After all of them, it must really look like the Grim Reaper is getting sloppy. He’s just bad at his job, constantly cleaning up after himself.

Lots of these actors went on to many roles. So many familiar faces. But not the main actor. Did he just bail on acting?

The first Final Destination is fricking great. I saw it so young it actually kinda scarred me lol, the bathtub "suicide" scene in particular. But I loved the ending, and I think what sold me on the movie was this:



Even my dad loved this part and he hates horror movies.

FD2 is better than it has any right to be and totally embraces the schlock. That opening death scene is still probably the best in the series.

FD3 has fan fave Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the inevitable roller coaster death but it's pretty good. Don't remember much else tho.

FD4... "The" Final Destination is "The" Most Forgettable One. Literally remember zilch on this one.

FD5 is secretly awesome and the less you know about it going in, the better.

Candyman/Tony Todd being the glue that holds this series together is just the cherry on top

[Great Rumbler]

[Tasty]

I love every FD movie. They're dumb but so much fun. They're the fast and furious franchise of the horror genre.

Devin Sawa was a child star. He got tired of acting, had a family, etc. I think he's doing stuff now though.

Devin Sawa was recently in the special hit, The Fanatic. Also starring John Travolta as the mentally-challenged protagonist who accidentally murders a Mexican housekeeper while stalking Devin Sawa.

[Tasty]

Like I said, maybe the best one in the series.

[Great Rumbler]

You probably won't be surprised to hear that the director of FD2 was involved in creating the highway chase from Matrix Reloaded.

[Potato]

Like I said, maybe the best one in the series.

The scene is great, but I would pay good money to see someone do a pulled back, top-down view of that crash scene just to see how ridiculous it looks as there is a massive flaming wreck in the middle of the highway and people just drive at full speed into it without a care in the world.

[Nintex]

aaawww yiiisssss

It’s out 

All the parts are here: https://thoughtmaybe.com/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head/#top

HOLY FUCKING SHIT. The first episode is PEAK Adam Curtis.

*dancing brits*

*train appears*

"Mao Zetong's wife had gone mad"

"I didn't like Kennedy very much, I was more into Ayn Rand so when he was killed by Oswald it was like the hero from my Novel had come to life"

"Sandra Paul caught her husband having sex in the back of a car on a trip to London"

"Then the Nazi's invaded and he was sterilized"

"The Central Intelligence Agency started a program called MK Ultra"

"Thornley used PlayBoy Magazine to spread the conspiracy which he believed would make people stop believing in them"

*footage of a bar fight*

This thing is like an Adam Curtis slot machine

[Great Rumbler]

Like I said, maybe the best one in the series.

The scene is great, but I would pay good money to see someone do a pulled back, top-down view of that crash scene just to see how ridiculous it looks as there is a massive flaming wreck in the middle of the highway and people just drive at full speed into it without a care in the world.

There was a 70+ vehicle wreck in Fort Worth early this morning because of slick roads where more and more vehicles kept smashing into the pile in the middle of the interstate [causing the death of at least 5 people], so maybe it's not that ridiculous after all.

[Potato]

Like I said, maybe the best one in the series.

The scene is great, but I would pay good money to see someone do a pulled back, top-down view of that crash scene just to see how ridiculous it looks as there is a massive flaming wreck in the middle of the highway and people just drive at full speed into it without a care in the world.

There was a 70+ vehicle wreck in Fort Worth early this morning because of slick roads where more and more vehicles kept smashing into the pile in the middle of the interstate [causing the death of at least 5 people], so maybe it's not that ridiculous after all.

Yeah, I remember reading about something similar happening in Italy a long time ago, but that was due to heavy fog.

[Pissy F Benny]

https://www.nme.com/news/film/bam-margera-says-hes-been-cut-from-jackass-4-and-asks-fans-to-boycott-the-new-film-2878844

I'm boycotting it too, suck my dick knoxville

[Madrun Badrun]

His video was really sad.  Dude needs help.

[Nintex]

Jackass star Bam Margera has been cut from the upcoming Jackass 4 after failing to stick to the production's rules on his substance abuse.

They expected Bam to make that shit sober

[Nintex]

2nd part of Can't Get You Out of My Head: An Emotional History of the Modern World watched.
It's starting to get some structure and I can see where Curtis is going with this.

He makes some interesting observations as always. Feels like an extension of the century of the self.
But one has to wonder if Curtis is as obsessed with 'patterns' to explain his own theories as the subjects of his documentary are. 

[EchoRin]

Outfoxed - Fox News critique doc. This is from 2004. A nice reminder of their various tactics and styles. A good refresher on some terms or vocabulary that has evaporated from my head. It's funny how the same tactics are very much super effective still today. Not too different at all. the whole thing is really funny if it wasn't so sad.

It's free on Youtube. Not sure if international audiences can see it, but here is the link if you want to kill an hour and 15 minutes.

LINK

[Bebpo]

Saint Maud

The usual slow boring snails pace arthouse horror flick that gets a lot of raves (aka, see last year's film Relic).

Other than being slow & boring it was ok. I felt it was pretty straight-forward and would've worked better as a short film/short story. But that's how a lot of these slow crawl horror movies are. Looked nice and had good acting I guess.

Looked pretty nice though I was really, really confused the entire movie where this was taking place. It's on a pier that has a big Coney Island sign, but every single person is European with heavy accents? I've never been to Coney Island, is it basically a city of European immigrants even today or something?

*edit* Ok, apparently it was in England but they just had a boardwalk with a place called Coney Island which made it extra confusing to my American senses.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Like it was pretty obvious early on that the lead is nuts and then it's just watching a slow mid-descent to final descent of crazy.

Seems like if anything, the film is trying to make a statement about religion being a bad cure for mentally ill people because they can take it too hard and channel their mental illness through religion.

[close]

[MMaRsu]

Charisma

Whedon

Yeah it's a bummer Whedon turned out to be a shithead.

His earlier stuff was pretty good. Though I don't think he's made anything good in the last decade, so maybe not a big loss.

She went public with this already, but back then no-one cared.

Back then she was much more neutral on what happened and even a bit conciliatory to Joss (likely because she had to be.)

Here is what she said in 2009:

What happened was that my relationship with Joss became strained. We all go through our stuff in general [behind the scenes], and I was going through my stuff, and then I became pregnant. And I guess in his mind, he had a different way of seeing the [fourth] season go. I think Joss was, honestly, mad. I think he was mad at me and I say that in a loving way, which is — it’s a very complicated dynamic working for somebody for so many years, and expectations, and also being on a show for eight years, you gotta live your life. And sometimes living your life gets in the way of maybe the creator’s vision for the future. And that becomes conflict, and that was my experience.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg are all coming out against him.

https://deadline.com/2021/02/sarah-michelle-gellar-abuse-claims-response-charisma-carpenter-joss-whedon-buffy-1234691481/

Joss is probably done.

Ehm I love Charisma, Sarah and Michelle..

But aside from being a complete dickhead, what exactly has Whedon done here? They keep calling him an abuser, does that mean he took them for granted, made jokes about their weight and told them that he would fire them if they didnt do what he wanted?

I read both twitter posts from Charisma and still dont quite understand what he did exactly. Well except pressure her not to keep the baby etc. But I already knew all that pregnancy shit and thats why Whedon fired her.

Yeah he's a major asshole, but can we not pretend that a lot of people in Hollywood ie directors are hardcore cunts?

[MMaRsu]

Michelle would openly make fun of production assistants and mock people on set.  Her comments were personal, rude, and unprofessional.  Her actions were toxic and damaging to everyone.

Hmm 

[MMaRsu]

Also wondering as to why someone who felt they were abused in Buffy (Charisma also played a role in Buffy) would continue to work with Whedon during Angel.

Perhaps the issues arose when she became pregnant and he wasnt such a dick before that?

I dunno. Shit seems wayyyy overblown to me.

[Don Rumata]

Michelle would openly make fun of production assistants and mock people on set.  Her comments were personal, rude, and unprofessional.  Her actions were toxic and damaging to everyone.

Hmm 

It's likely for most people at the constant center of praise and attention to be annoying diva cunts.
This goes for both cast and high level crew (director in this case).
I have to say though, Buffy was basically Whedon's harem-show, it's almost obvious how that got to inflate his nerd ego.

[Nintex]

Michelle would openly make fun of production assistants and mock people on set.  Her comments were personal, rude, and unprofessional.  Her actions were toxic and damaging to everyone.

Hmm 

I don't think we really understand how that works as in the Netherlands people don't accept being bossed around that easily and if you're an asshole to everyone you can expect to be put in your place.
Sure it happens in older more traditional professions (construction, retail etc.) but in creative fields, film production and office work it's difficult to get away with such things without everyone ganging up on you or leaving instead.

We don't accept authority and we don't let famous people get away with things as much. Just look at what happened when our prime minister told football audiences to shut the fuck up 
Even though he was right we didn't accept such language from the prime minister and pushed back.
I've noticed this working for American clients too, like you can be in a call with 4 - 6 people and everyone starts circle jerking about how great everything is. And then the next day you get these emails like:
"Sorry, I didn't really want to say this in front of everyone and the manager that I didn't like it at all" or "I noticed you were getting along with person x or y but he's very toxic so we should really try not to involve him".
Confronting succesful people or higher in rank is apparently not acceptable unless you manage to go behind their backs and backstab them

[Don Rumata]

This was also years ago, now you can record Christian Bale being a psycho (and that was 2009) and tweet it within seconds, back then you needed to eat more shit, with absolutely zero counterweight.
Not saying things are peachy now, but risk for public blowback is there.

[Nintex]

V for Vendetta

Got this recently in 4K. The plot with the pandemic is much like what's going on in the world today which is weird over a decade later 
Hugo Weaving plays a great mysterious 'V' but for me the real star of the film is Evey Hammond played by Natalie Portman. She just kills it in all her scenes.
I also like the way this movie portrays the evil Empire. In most films such military dicatorships are presented as near perfect and infallible (Star Wars for example) until a plot device emerges.
In this movie it is pretty clear when they're introduced that the broken men of Norsefire live with guilt, regret and fear that haunts them and thus makes them easy targets for manipulation.
And finally there's Finch, the chief inspector who also adds in a detective story layer. Even though the story and characters are great the action is a bit lame.
V hasn't got much in terms of weapons except for some "fancy karate and knives". His real weapon is deception is manipulation and in some way his lack of weaponry is also an important part of the plot of the film.

Defintely still worth watching but I don't think it's on many streaming services, at least not where I live.

[Tasty]

V for Vendetta is so fucking good. I went through this period in high school where I was all "Ehh it's too and it changed too much from the comic" but then I came around and now I think it's way better than the comic.

Hugo Weaving being masked up 100% of the film (well, you can't see his face in that flashback anyways) was so fucking bold back then but I couldn't imagine it any other way.

I think this was also the first movie that kinda slapped into me "Hey, shit can go bad for gay people real quick," just when I was coming to terms with myself. An very important movie in my life.