Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[Gideon58]

https://d1w8cc2yygc27j.cloudfront.net/7680801104279877859/-5388147674987285860.jpg


4

[Takoma11]

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https://mkefilm.org/getattachment/News/Jessica-s-Best-(Friends-in)-Cinema-2019!/FarewellGif1.gif.aspx?lang=en-US

The Farewell - I'm a fan of Awkwafina.
.
.
.
This is based on a true story with a script written by director Lulu Wang and to hear them tell it, this sort of subterfuge is cultural and widely accepted in China. It doesn't end up playing that large a role because at it's heart this is a warm and loving family drama that outshines any philosophical or cultural differences.

The cast does such a marvelous job and Lulu Wang's script is so good-natured and affectionate that this could be anybody's family. I liked the closing moments with Billi back in NYC. It's a sweet and fitting ending but then there's this ... yeah, it's better just to watch it for yourself. Good movie and yes, recommended.

85/100

Yeah, this is a great film. Incredibly powerful and funny and human.

[xSookieStackhouse]

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https://mkefilm.org/getattachment/News/Jessica-s-Best-(Friends-in)-Cinema-2019!/FarewellGif1.gif.aspx?lang=en-US

The Farewell - I'm a fan of Awkwafina. I've heard numerous people mention that they think she's annoying and hard to watch but I'm a fan of her TV show and thought she did a fine job in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Anyway, she stars as Billi Wang, a 30 year old aspiring writer and pianist. She's lived in the United States most of her life, having emigrated as a young child with her father Haiyan (Tzi Ma) and mother Lu Jian (Diana Lin).

She notices her parents acting strangely and they reluctantly tell her that her paternal grandmother Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao) has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and has only weeks to live. They're planning on traveling back to Changchun, China to see her one last time under the pretext of Billi's cousin from Japan Hao Hao (Chen Han) getting married. The rest of her extended family are also gathering but Billi's parents tell her she shouldn't go because she's sure to get emotional and give the whole thing away.

She ends showing up on her own anyway and the rest of the film is devoted to the large, dichotomized family and their interactions. There's plenty of different takes on Chinese life as opposed to those who chose to leave and make a life in the US and Japan. There's also plenty of disagreement as to whether or not it's right to keep their matriarch's ultimate fate from her.

This is based on a true story with a script written by director Lulu Wang and to hear them tell it, this sort of subterfuge is cultural and widely accepted in China. It doesn't end up playing that large a role because at it's heart this is a warm and loving family drama that outshines any philosophical or cultural differences.

The cast does such a marvelous job and Lulu Wang's script is so good-natured and affectionate that this could be anybody's family. I liked the closing moments with Billi back in NYC. It's a sweet and fitting ending but then there's this ... yeah, it's better just to watch it for yourself. Good movie and yes, recommended.

85/100
loved her on shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings

[chawhee]

Promising Young Woman (2020)
https://thatsitla.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/promising-young-woman-e1608176866490.jpg
4
Rewatch, and I still think this might be my favorite movie of 2020. It goes a couple different directions that seem immediately incorrect while you are watching it, but it comes together so well by the end.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/sites/sbs.com.au.film/files/styles/body_image/public/bodymelt.jpg?itok=f6hRB_uj&mtime=1476923949
Heh. I like that how that well placed sticker changes the tagline to read, " ... and the third phase is ... Australian."

[Gideon58]

Yeah, this is a great film. Incredibly powerful and funny and human.


I loved this movie too.

[edarsenal]

Life at the Top (1965), also starring Harvey, is a solid sequel worth checking out also. It has a slightly cheaper and trashier feel which in some ways seems appropriate.

I'll look for that one THANKS

[Fabulous]

The Hand of God (2021)

4

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/dTvGUMFc5WCziTzXZKZ2EfW2bEM.jpg

[Siddon]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/0g/12/jz/2f/subjectwasroses-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=350c8f640e

The Subject was Roses (1968)

Martin Sheen plays a WWII vet returning home to a broken catholic marriage between Patricia Neal (Hud), and Jack Albertson(Willy Wonka). If you like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf this is a good one to watch. It's basically about the collapse of a family told like a play.

rating_4

[WHITBISSELL!]

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The Lavender Hill Mob - 1951 heist comedy from Britain's Ealing Studios. The film opens in Rio de Janeiro as Henry Holland (Alec Guiness) is dining with a friend and handing out generous end of year tips to staff and acquaintances. One of these "acquaintances" is a young woman named Chiquita who looks remarkably like a very young Audrey Hepburn (that's because it actually is her in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo). Henry starts telling his dinner companion the why and wherefores of how he came to be in Rio and spraying money around like a fountain. The rest of the story is in flashback. Of how Henry was an unambitious and humdrum bank clerk in charge of delivering gold bullion from the foundry to the Bank of England. He had however held a long term and covert desire of making off with a shipment.

The arrival of artist Alfred Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) to his boarding house provides Henry with the impetus to see his plan to fruition. Pendlebury happens to own and operate a foundry that makes souvenirs and tchotchkes that are then exported to France. This serves to get around Henry's biggest obstacle which is getting the impossible to fence plunder out of England. Before the pair even have a chance to get the scheme rolling Henry's supervisor throws him a curveball and arranges a promotion that will cut off his access to the delivery process. Having only three days till Henry's very last delivery they hurriedly make arrangements to find the missing two members of their "crew". Needing genuine, hardened criminals they come up with a clever way of having the crooks come to them. Soon enough Lackery Wood (Sid James) and Shorty Fisher (Alfie Bass) have been recruited.

This being from the same studio that brought us The Ladykillers there are surprises and twists and narrow escapes galore. So much so that the problematic yet triumphant heist is just the beginning of the countless hurdles Holland and Pendlebury have to get past.

I like these type of British caper movies and the era they're set in. I have no way of knowing if this is how they actually played out in real life but it's all so civil. Even the requisite manhunts and investigations don't carry the tinge of ruthlessness of their American counterparts. I suppose I'm also partial to these Ealing Studios productions having thoroughly enjoyed The Ladykillers. Now I need to familiarize myself further with Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Man in the White Suit and maybe Passport to Pimlico. As far as this one goes it's thumbs up from me.

90/100

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Drive_My_Car_movie_poster.jpeg


3.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.rogerebert.com%2Fuploads%2Freview%2Fprimary_image%2Freviews%2Fthe-salesman-2017%2Fhero_Salesman-2017.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Salesman, 2016

Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) are a couple living together and performing together in a production of Death of a Salesman. Forced to relocate to a new apartment when their old place becomes structurally unsafe, a tragic misunderstanding leaves Rana alone in their home where she is attacked by an assailant. As Rana struggles to put the experience behind her, Emad becomes obsessed with tracking down her attacker.

This is a compelling, 360-degree examination of the way that a single tragedy can unfurl into a series of hurtful moments both large and small.

There's a tricky line to walk in the way that this story is told, namely that the thriller/mystery aspect of things---Emad's investigation---is naturally a more interesting storyline from a narrative point of view. His search for his wife's attacker mirror's our own desire to see justice done and hits at our very human desire to know and understand what happened.

But thankfully, an equal weight is put on Rana's own struggles, and particularly the way that Emad's investigation keeps her trauma fresh. We never learn the extent of what happened to Rana in the bathroom, aside from understanding that she suffered a serious head wound. The fact that Rana herself can't seem to say--not even to her own husband--speaks volumes. In one quietly heartbreaking sequences, Rana tells a neighbor that she won't be going to the police, and he tells her she's right. Not unkindly---but at the same time in a way that makes your stomach turn---he notes that she would have a lot of "explaining" to do. Essentially, despite her obvious injuries and her not knowing the man who attacked her, she'd have to prove that she was a victim. Through aspects of the play (such as sequences being censored or an actress who is supposed to be nearly nude being covered head-to-toe), we understand the oppression that surrounds Rana and any other victim of sexual assault. In the context that Rana has very little chance at justice, Emad's decision to chase down her attacker feels more like a cruelty than a kindness.

At the same time, Emad's own anger is understandable. Seeing someone you love hurt is horrible. In the wake of Rana's attack, Emad's anger radiates out like an explosion: anger at the "promiscuous" woman who had the apartment before them, anger at the friend who found them the apartment, anger even at Rana herself for still being afraid to shower alone. You would hope that finding the attacked would give Emad a more "healthy" place to channel his anger, but life isn't that simple.

I intended to watch this film in two parts, but I couldn't turn it off. Hosseini and Alidoosti give searing performances as two people whose love keeps them together, yet whose reactions to a tragedy are pulling them in opposite directions.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention an absolutely and adorable turn by a young actor named Sam Valipour as a boy named Sadra, the son of one of Rana and Emad's fellow actors. This child is the cutest flippin' thing, and a sequence involving him and Rana in the latter half of the movie offers a much needed pause for a deep breath.

Really excellent.

4.5

[SpelingError]

27th Hall of Fame

Shura (1971) - 4

I don't know that there's anything in this movie which blew me away, but there was nothing which bothered me either. I suppose the plot is a fairly straightforward revenge story, but the stylistic elements of the film were more than enough to save the film. For instance, I liked the usage of darkness and shadows in several scenes. I don't know if I can quite put my finger on why those elements work, but something about seeing various characters appear/disappear from the shadows gives the film a dreamy aesthetic. I also liked how certain scenes were repeated. Through these scenes, you get a sense of Gengobei imagining how he wants to behave in certain situations or how some of the violence he commits or witnesses it etched into his head. These scenes also cause the film to become a subjective experience which puts you in Gengobei's headspace really well. Finally, the high level of violence also surprised me. While certain elements like the slow motion and the (relatively) high levels of blood help in this regard, that most of the deaths are prolonged gives them even more staying power. All things considered, this is definitely the most violent classic samurai film I've seen. As I said at the start of this review, I wouldn't say this film blew me away, but I do have a lot of respect for the film's technical qualities. It's a stylistically impressive take on the revenge film which is so unique with its craft that you eventually stop caring about its somewhat barebones plot.

[ThatDarnMKS]

X

Ti West blends Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Boogie Nights and The Visit (with just a dash of Eaten Alive) into an authentic homage to 70s horror. It sidesteps many previous issues I had with West’s previous films by focusing on lively, engaging characters and paying off the numerous set ups sprinkled throughout the first act.

It’s sleazy, gory, dirty fun that manages to homage without winking or betraying the aesthetic and atmosphere.

4/5

[Fabulous]

Oxygen (2021)

4

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/uv6Jt4rsqkHUOdafMEMF7w4S3vy.jpg

[Thief]

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
(2021, Coen)

https://i.imgur.com/nTuLsQq.png


"Present fears are less than horrible imaginings."



The Tragedy of Macbeth follows Shakespeare's tragedy with Washington and Frances McDormand taking the lead roles. Corey Hawkins takes the role of Macduff, who sets out to take revenge against Macbeth, as he walks down the path of horrible imaginings as they turn them into reality. They are joined by an ensemble cast composed mostly of theater actors.

Much has been said about this being the first film written and directed by one of the Coen brothers, without the others involvement. Not only that, but he also takes on the task of taking a super-popular and iconic source material, where there's little surprise to what will happen. So what does Joel do? He builds a visually captivating film with some perfect performances to counter anything else.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2289498#post2289498)

[Thief]

NIGHTMARE ALLEY
(2021, Del Toro)

https://i.imgur.com/Bjn6YLW.png


"Sometimes you don't see the line until you cross it."



Nightmare Alley follows Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious drifter with a mysterious past who starts working as an assistant for a carnival clairvoyant act. After learning the tricks of the trade from Madame Zeena (Toni Collette) and her alcoholic husband, he leaves with Molly (Rooney Mara) to start his own psychic act for the wealthy. But how many lines will he cross in the process?

As its expected from Del Toro, the film is a visual spectacle. His direction is impeccable, and the cinematography by Dan Laustsen is gorgeous. The performances are pretty much great all across, with Cooper and Cate Blanchett being the standouts, but others like Mara, Collette, and Richard Jenkins are great as well. It was also great to see Mindhunter's Holt McCallany in a supporting, but somewhat significant role in the second half.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2289508#post2289508)

[Thief]

WEST SIDE STORY
(2021, Spielberg)

https://i.imgur.com/wScr9GD.jpg


"You know, I wake up to everything I know either getting sold or wrecked or being taken over by people that I don't like, and they don't like me, and you know what's left out of all of that? The Jets."



Just like its predecessor, West Side Story follows the Jets and the Sharks, two gangs of white and Puerto Rican members respectively that are fighting for control of their neighborhood. Meanwhile, Tony (Ansel Elgort), a former Jet on parole, falls in love with Maria (Rachel Zegler), the sister of the leader of the Sharks, further sparking the conflict between both groups.

Ironically, just like with the original, it is the side characters the ones that end up being more interesting, and the ones that steal the show. David Alvarez and Ariana DeBose are electric as Bernardo and Anita, but it is Mike Faist the one that stands out for me as Riff, the leader of the Jets. He brings a tragic pathos to the character that no one has; something that is exemplified by the above quote.

Grade: 2.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2289526#post2289526)

[Deschain]

100% agree with you on all those movies, Thief. Especially preferring Bernardo and Anita to the boring as hell Tony and Maria and their dorky arm dance behind the bleachers. :D:D:D

[Thief]

100% agree with you on all those movies, Thief. Especially preferring Bernardo and Anita to the boring as hell Tony and Maria and their dorky arm dance behind the bleachers. :D:D:D

:laugh: Give me a whole Bernardo/Anita film, see how it goes :D

[Gideon58]

WEST SIDE STORY
(2021, Spielberg)

https://i.imgur.com/wScr9GD.jpg




Just like its predecessor, West Side Story follows the Jets and the Sharks, two gangs of white and Puerto Rican members respectively that are fighting for control of their neighborhood. Meanwhile, Tony (Ansel Elgort), a former Jet on parole, falls in love with Maria (Rachel Zegler), the sister of the leader of the Sharks, further sparking the conflict between both groups.

Ironically, just like with the original, it is the side characters the ones that end up being more interesting, and the ones that steal the show. David Alvarez and Ariana DeBose are electric as Bernardo and Anita, but it is Mike Faist the one that stands out for me as Riff, the leader of the Jets. He brings a tragic pathos to the character that no one has; something that is exemplified by the above quote.

Grade: 2.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2289526#post2289526)

Thanks for mentioning Mike Faist as Riff...there's so much dazzle surrounding him onscreen that it's easy to overlook his beautifully understated performance.

[matt72582]

The Subject Was Roses - 6/10


https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/0g/12/jz/2f/subjectwasroses-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=350c8f640e

[Thief]

Thanks for mentioning Mike Faist as Riff...there's so much dazzle surrounding him onscreen that it's easy to overlook his beautifully understated performance.

It's the best performance on the film for me, easily.

[Thief]

THE GODFATHER
(1972, Coppola)

https://i.imgur.com/AODipoZ.png


"It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business."



The Godfather follows that family business, led by Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), as he tries to transfer control to one of his sons. But rising tension between the reigning families of the city threaten their grasp on power, and puts the reluctant Michael in the middle of the crossfire to handle the business.

For something that's "strictly business", there sure seems to be a lot of it around family gatherings and events. From the opening wedding scene to the closing baptism. Memorable family events that unwind as the Don carries out business. Even when it's under the guise of friendly meetings, everything is a "business transaction". Every seemingly friendly interaction is done with the expectation that the time to pay will come someday.

Grade: 5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2289570#post2289570)

[WHITBISSELL!]

NIGHTMARE ALLEY
(2021, Del Toro)

https://i.imgur.com/Bjn6YLW.png

Quick question. Did you see the original before watching this? I tried to watch this one but couldn't get through it and was wondering if anyone else had that problem.


I haven't seen West Side Story (and won't be) but I'm glad to see the love for The Godfather. I'm not sure if that's still my #1 favorite film of all time but for awhile there it was me and Saddam Hussein's all time favorite.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/0g/12/jz/2f/subjectwasroses-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=350c8f640e

The Subject was Roses (1968)
The Subject Was Roses - 6/10
https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/0g/12/jz/2f/subjectwasroses-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=350c8f640eI never realized that a young Martin Sheen looked so much like Tobey Maguire.

[Gideon58]

[CENTER]NIGHTMARE ALLEY
(2021, Del Toro)

/URL]


Bradley Cooper was amazing in this movie.

[Allaby]

Just finished watching Deep Water (2022). Directed by Adrian Lyne, Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas star as a married couple. She sleeps around, he knows it, and when one of her lovers disappears, gossip spreads that he may be responsible. Some good moments, but surprisingly dull for the most part. For a supposed erotic thriller, this is not very erotic or thrilling. Needed to be sexier and more violent. Performances are pretty one note and the screenplay is mediocre. My rating is a 3.

[mark f]

What Lies West (Jessica Ellis, 2019) 2.5 6/10
The Thing on the Doorstep (Tom Gliserman, 2014) 2 5/10
Last Exit: Space (Rudolph Herzog, 2022) 2.5 6/10
Children of a Lesser God (Randa Haines, 1986) 3.5 7/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/a9c39b212b59b198aca35e9debaedbf7/a05a179d4c22eb89-45/s540x810/878617af59653803770ae7242adce13bfe66e76a.gifv
Deaf Marlee Matlin signs to boyfriend William Hurt about why she doesn't feel confident about speaking in a hearing world.
Rainbow Bridge (Chuck Wein, 1972) 2.5 5.5/10 Hendrix Songs 7/10
Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix in Maui (John McDermott, 2020) 3 6.5/10
My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-wai, 2007) 2.5 5.5/10
Julius Caesar (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1953) 3 6.5/10
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/10/4a/9e104a280fec4afc01428dc645281d2d.gif
Mark Antony (Marlon Brando) looks back at the Roman citizens to see how they reacted to his "i come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" speech.
Narcotic (Dwain Esper & Vival Sodar't, 1933) 1.5 4/10
All the Way to Paris (Jamie Uys, 1966) 2.5 6/10
What Sex Am I? (Lee Grant, 1985) 3 6.5/10
Detroit (Kathryn Bigelow, 2017) 3.5 7/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/8ea781c2339431ede482b9750e132b8c/tumblr_oynn96FjOw1qkbx7ao1_r1_540.gifv
John Boyega as a security guard who finds himself in the middle of the 1967 Detroit Riots at the Algiers Motel.
Winter of Frozen Dreams (Eric Mandelbaum, 2009) 2 5/10
Drinking Buddies (Joe Swanberg, 2013) 2.5 6/10
The Sea Around Us (Irwin Allen, 1953) 3 6.5/10
I Think We're Alone Now (Reed Morano, 2019) 2.5 6/10
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KQRq7yhFEUE/XFoH5oH9biI/AAAAAAADwrQ/Dm4XWV4h4ks4tnwBxzmLtvPGVoByDUXlQCLcBGAs/s1600/dinklage%2Balone.gif
Peter Dinklage is happy with his routine of cleaning up the local houses and dead bodies after the apocalypse. He's disturbed when he hears from his library base that another survivor (Elle Fanning) exists and things get stranger from there.
A Little Romance (George Roy Hill, 1979) 3.5 7+/10
Windfall (Charlie McDowell, 2022) 2.5 5.5/10
California Suite (Herbert Ross, 1978) 3 6.5/10
Rescued by Ruby (Katt Shea, 2022) 2.5 6+/10
https://459567-1439581-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/rescued-by-ruby-starring-grant-gustin-official-trailer-1645613700.png
Troublesome shelter dog Ruby is picked by aspiring K-9 trooper Grant Gustin to be his partner, but they both have a ways to go with calmness and mutual trust.

[Thief]

Quick question. Did you see the original before watching this? I tried to watch this one but couldn't get through it and was wondering if anyone else had that problem.



No. haven't seen the original, but I'm curious to check it out.

[Allaby]

I just finished watching the new Cheaper by the Dozen movie on Disney+. It was pretty predictable and some parts were a little cringe, but I still liked it. Gabrielle Union and Zach Braff had a nice chemistry and there are some laughs and enough cute moments to make it worthwhile. I would rate it a 3.5.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/AntlersOctober2021poster.png
By Searchlight Pictures - https://press.searchlightpictures.com/antlers/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69621604

Antlers - (2021)

American Indian culture is a great source of inspiration for supernatural horror films, and in this the 'wendigo' is called upon to seek retribution for our crimes against Mother Earth. The theme this most closely expounds on though, is one of parenting, familial love and growing up with parents who are monsters - which this film takes to literal lengths. To be fair, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) has a meth-addict and dealing father who is pretty bad before he gets attacked in werewolf fashion by a wendigo and turns into one, infecting his younger son Aiden in the process. It's up to Lucas's schoolteacher Julia (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother Paul (Jesse Plemons) to figure out why townspeople are being ripped apart and how to stop the wendigo. This horror film follows all the same beats as many of the films that have gone before it, and that predictability lends a bit of averageness to Antlers. The creature looks great, and it's genesis is outstanding, but we don't get to see too much of it - the filmmakers here not being overly confident in what they've constructed. This is directed by Crazy Heart's Scott Cooper and produced by Guillermo del Toro, a particularly high pedigree for a basic supernatural horror film, and it's not too bad, but nothing to get particularly excited about.

6.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/The_Farewell_poster.jpg
By Studio and or Graphic Artist - Can be obtained from the film's distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60691739

The Farewell - (2019)

I have a Chinese-Australian friend who is, much to my envy, a successful author over here and she has done much to introduce me to the peculiarity of how Chinese families function (she dragged me to see Crazy Rich Asians on it's opening day.) The Farewell seemed to me to be more my kind of film about Chinese family-dynamics, and it does have much more emotional appeal. Billi Wang (Awkwafina) has a grandmother she loves dearly, so when she hears she has cancer and only 3 months to live she's desperate to go see her with the rest of the family. Only thing is, as is common in China, nobody will tell her she has terminal cancer. The family gather around her on the pretext of a fake wedding (which provides much of the film's humour) and struggle to maintain a happy façade during the get-together. This is an extraordinarily 'nice' movie, and it's moving, so I enjoyed it. It has a realness to it that gives it the feeling of not being overly scripted - as if many of the situations and conversations have taken place nearly verbatim, which to some will be it's charm, but others will leave feeling it lacked a bit of polish. Explores the morality behind the "good lie" in context with other small lies we tell all the time - Billi struggles mightily with the desire to tell her grandmother, so she can say goodbye properly and make that final connection with her.

7/10

[WHITBISSELL!]

No. haven't seen the original, but I'm curious to check it out.Yeah, I think that was at the root of my reaction to Del Toro's remake. Maybe if I had gone in cold. You are right about it being a good looking movie but it seemed too much like covering old territory.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Yeah, I think that was at the root of my reaction to Del Toro's remake. Maybe if I had gone in cold. You are right about it being a good looking movie but it seemed too much like covering old territory.
I preferred Del Toro’s film to the original by the slightest of margins. Loved both but I preferred the visual grandeur, heightened noir-isms, scenery chewing performances and uncompromised ending of his film to the original.

It’s close though.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I preferred Del Toro’s film to the original by the slightest of margins. Loved both but I preferred the visual grandeur, heightened noir-isms, scenery chewing performances and uncompromised ending of his film to the original.

It’s close though.I plan on giving it another shot in the future. Let the original fade a bit from my memory.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I plan on giving it another shot in the future. Let the original fade a bit from my memory.
Narratively, it does tread very closely to the original. However, it is liberated from the Hayes Codes concerns that constrained the original and Del Toro is allowed to go full bore with the depravity and style in equal measure. That he also assembled an outstanding cast (Blanchett truly dominates the character and chews up every scene she’s in) within that familiar narrative truly makes it standout.

I love the original but there were numerous times I felt it was forced to pull punches and it wasn’t as “noir” as I’d hoped. Del Toro’s film seemed tailor made to address those concerns.

[Fabulous]

North Country (2005)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/6rgiRuLHn65d3qalkc7YjrtmDQW.jpg

[skizzerflake]

I'm not sure....is it a drama or a very dark, dark comedy - The Outfit - In which a very geeky guy (Mark Rylance) has a tailor shop. He hand-makes very expensive men's suits for an exclusive clientele. He's an expatriate Brit, living in Chicago in the 1950's. What's odd is that many of his customers look like stereotypic gangsters. His storefront assistant seems to have some sketchy friends. He also has foot traffic in his shop, wise-guys who drop thick envelopes into a drop box.

At the same time, he carefully protects his suit-making craft, staying aloof from his sketchy customers, making perfect suits.

So what is this guy's angle. Sooner or later, you know that blood will spash, bodies will fall since several rival gangs seem to haunt that drop box.

Before it's over, there are plenty of bodies. Somebody survives, some don't, the bodies get buried, the cops are clueless or are the cops in on it. I'm not telling. I think I need to see it again to unravel all the clues and false leads. It's pretty good in a very subtle, understated way.

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgJL23HxyU

[Gideon58]

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1057/4964/products/Point-Break-Vintage-Movie-Poster-Original-1-Sheet-27x41_7f2c6ccd-bbc8-42c6-ae15-f5c762838564.jpg?v=1637982079


4

[Allaby]

Master (2022) is an atmospheric horror film with strong performances and effective cinematography and score. The film does a good job building suspense, but doesn't quite reach its full potential. Some elements could have been a little better developed, but for the most part the film works pretty well. Definitely worth checking out. Master is currently streaming on Prime video. 3.5

[Gideon58]

https://assets-in.bmscdn.com/iedb/movies/images/mobile/thumbnail/xlarge/a-thursday-et00322723-10-02-2022-03-22-20.jpg


4.5

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9b/Eternals_%28film%29_poster.jpeg/220px-Eternals_%28film%29_poster.jpeg

3

SF = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9a/After_the_Wedding_poster.jpg
By Studio and or Graphic Artist - Can be obtained from film's distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61165674

After the Wedding - (2019)

I wasn't familiar with the 2006 Dutch film with the same name this is based on - it stars Mads Mikkelsen and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (up against The Lives of Others and Pan's Labyrinth - a tough year to be nominated.) Finding out about that has greatly complicated my relationship with After the Wedding - I wouldn't have bothered watching the 2019 version if I'd known, and now that I have I've blunted the effect the 2006 version might have had. All this after really enjoying my time with the remake which greatly benefits from an emotionally-charged story with surprising twists and turns - if this had of been an original film it would have got a high score from me, but I'm simply left wondering why such a large percentage of todays films are either remakes of foreign films, plain old remakes or based on television shows. At the very least, I had a very entertaining night with a film that I don't respect as much the morning after.

If you haven't heard of either, grab the Dutch version and see it - the film tells a great story that will really reel you in - the remake got to me, and from what I read the Dutch version tells the story using it's actors and filmmaking prowess in a much more powerful way.

7/10

[Fabulous]

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/5eTXwIrF2qDqBLrLlizT4Fl0E1v.jpg

[CringeFest]

Episode I: The Phantom Menace 1

Boring.

Dark Knight (2008) 2

Copycat (1995) 3

I didn't watch these movies in that order, but nothing wrong with a little OCD display!

[ThatDarnMKS]

THE HAND OF GOD

Sorrentino directs in the spirit of Fellini with the sleek, technical precision of Fincher. His vision is absolutely gorgeous and exacting, elevating yet another loose biopic art film into something truly gripping.

5/5

[SpelingError]

THE HAND OF GOD

Sorrentino directs in the spirit of Fellini with the sleek, technical precision of Fincher. His vision is absolutely gorgeous and exacting, elevating yet another loose biopic art film into something truly gripping.

5/5

I also really enjoyed that one. I should check out more Sorrentino.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I also really enjoyed that one. I should check out more Sorrentino.
I’ve only seen The Great Beauty in addition to this but it was similarly sumptuous and gorgeous. That one leans perhaps even heavier on the Fellini influence, feeling almost like it could be called 2 Dolce 2 Vita.

[SpelingError]

I’ve only seen The Great Beauty in addition to this but it was similarly sumptuous and gorgeous. That one leans perhaps even heavier on the Fellini influence, feeling almost like it could be called 2 Dolce 2 Vita.

That one's been on my watchlist for a while. I'll have to check it out.

[ThatDarnMKS]

That one's been on my watchlist for a while. I'll have to check it out.
Hope you love that one as much as I did. It has much more Toni Servillo, which is an obvious benefit.

Speaking of, I have Il Divo and need to watch that soon.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d5/BlacKkKlansman.png
By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7349662/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57942037

BlacKkKlansman - (2018)

I don't know what was happening when I first watched BlacKkKlansman but this is one of those movies where I felt I had to watch it again to have truly seen it - distracted by whatever it was the first time around. It had that familiarity you have when you've 'sort of' seen a film, but this time around I really got it all - I didn't remember that epilogue which takes us yet again through those disturbing events in Charlottesville in 2017 that leave me angry and incensed. The speech about the lynching of Jesse Washington is chilling - one of the most cruel and brutal murders I've ever heard about. I'd love to read Ron Stallworth's Black Klansman to see how closely the film hues to the real story - John David Washington and Adam Driver (a favourite of mine) really propel this tale with thoughtful and humerous charisma - reminding me of Imperium, which this is far superior to. Props to Spike Lee and everyone for really making this feel like it's taking place in the 1970s.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5d/Combien_tu_m_aimes.jpg
By http://images.themoviedb.org/posters/15337/combien_tu_m_aimes.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25545158

How Much Do You Love Me? - (2005)

Sometimes you get a movie recommendation from your dad and you realise that you've ignored so many of his recommendations that you just have to take one for the sake of family unity. That was How Much Do You Love Me? - a romp where lottery winner François (Bernard Campan) pays prostitute Daniela (Monica Bellucci) 100,000 euros a month to come live with him as if she were his wife. Can you really buy love? François has a bad heart, so the sexy Daniela initially causes medical complications, but she stays - for a time at least. The character of Daniela in this is wildly inconsistent, and the tone of this film as a whole shifts from farce to metaphorical inquiry and back again without rhyme or reason. You might say it eventually "liberates itself from it's own story" which is another way of saying disintegrates. Gérard Depardieu comes in late and adds some interest as a gangster, but eventually even his character goes awry (despite his character and motivations he eventually just joins everyone and parties - for no reason) and we end up with a movie that just seems lost.

5/10

[CringeFest]

Joker (2019) 5

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/5cd505aa8bf9d586f33c960140ce93a0/0f876dc3b3b1664b-c8/s540x810/4eb06c4b026414d3cd0744bde992e8097ea328ce.gifv
https://64.media.tumblr.com/7e011962f1c8cc324d2badda77c4ea27/0f876dc3b3b1664b-f2/s540x810/31296dc99a8bbf6bdb57974ecf4f6cdbb88c3d6b.gifv


Closely Watched Trains - 1966 coming-of-age story directed by Jiří Menzel and part of the Czechoslovak New Wave. Teenaged Miloš Hrma comes from a family known for their idleness. He takes a misdirected pride in it and when he's hired as a train dispatcher he looks forward to following in his father's footsteps and doing as little as possible.

This takes place in a small town in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia during the waning days of WWII. There are plenty of colorful characters populating the station with pudgy stationmaster Lanska (Vladimír Valenta) preoccupied with his flock of pigeons while Miloš' supervising trainer Hubička (Josef Somr) is a casual and opportunistic womanizer. But it seems like everyone of the players in this comedic drama are obsessed with sex.

That's apparently the central theme here with Miloš ongoing attempts to lose his virginity with his prospective girlfriend Máša (Jitka Bendová) taking a major part in the story. There are other small touches and peripheral characters such as officious councilor and Nazi collaborator Zedníček (Vlastimil Brodský) who drops by the station to exhort the clearly apathetic crew. The actor playing him could be Fred Armisen's doppelganger.

This is the third Czech film I've seen along with The Shop on Main Street and The Firemen's Ball and I've liked them all. I liked the fatalistic, shaggy-dog-story aspects of them. Sh*t happens and will continue to happen. This one is along the same lines.

85/100

[Fabulous]

Vice (2018)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/fKevZWqdGPk8OyZJkvyt68ZHczY.jpg

[mark f]

Deep Water (Adrian Lyne, 2022) 2+ 5/10
The Notorious Landlady (Richard Quine, 1962) 2.5 6/10
Love After Love (Ann Hui, 2020) 2 5/10
Camelot (Joshua Logan, 1967) 3.5 7/10
https://i.makeagif.com/media/8-01-2015/e4SVEJ.gif
King Arthur (Richard Harris) has a dream to unite England through his round table, but he hasn't counted on what happens when Queen Guenevere (Vanessa Redgrave) and Sir Lancelot (Franco Nero) meet.
Master (Mariama Diallo, 2022) 2 5/10
Watch on the Rhine (Herman Shumlin, 1943) 3 6.5/10
Jinn (Nijla Mumin, 2019) 2+ 5/10
Hero (Hero, 1992) 3 6.5/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/17ac060ed0d645aa6028d23410455131/tumblr_pdm99ttWae1uk4o8go4_400.gifv
Both heroes, fakes and criminals, John Bubber (Andy Garcia) & Bernie LaPlante (Dustin Hoffman) meet outside on the edge of a NYC highrise to discuss how they're getting out of their situation with all the lies and TV reporter Geena Davis.
A New Kind of Love (Melville Shavelson, 1963) 2 5/10
Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977) 3.5 7+/10
The Glass Tomb (Montgomery Tully, 1953) 2 5/10
A Thursday (Behzad Khambata, 2022) 3.5 7/10
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FL5l7PnaIAE61O4.jpg
In Mumbai, playschool teacher Yami Gautam kidnaps a class of children and requests meeting with Indian Prime Minister Maya Rajguru (Dimple Kapadia), all broadcast live to the Indian people while commandos are closing in.
Panama (Mark Neveldine, 2022) 2 5/10
Black Crab (Adam Berg, 2022) 3- 6.5/10
Cheaper by the Dozen (Gail Lerner, 2022) 2.5 6/10
New York, New York (Martin Scorsese, 1977) 3 6.5/10
https://i.gifer.com/Jd17.gif
Lounge singer Liza Minnelli and self-centered saxophonist Robert De Niro met on V-J Day and entered into a tumultuous relationship which brings much success and heartbreak.
Studio 666 (BJ McDonnell, 2022) 2.5 6/10
Shapeless (Samantha Aldana, 2021) 2- 5/10
Captains of Za'atari (Ali El Arabi, 2021) 2.5 6/10
The Sterile Cuckoo (Alan J. Pakula, 1969) 3.5 7/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/02b423cef6c2772079299c4148c23d7a/tumblr_n6t6atNQYH1qjnz9go1_500.gifv
College student Pookie (Liza Minnelli) who's obsessed with death because she lost her mother at birth and shy, retiring student Wendell Burton eventually have sex (mostly at her insistence). They fall in love but the relationship seems hopeless.

[StuSmallz]

Joker (2019) 5Even speaking as someone who thought it was pretty good, that's still...

https://i.ibb.co/kxbh80g/too-damn-high-jimmy-mc-millan.gif (https://imgbb.com/)

[LChimp]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjY0MGEzZmQtZWMxNi00MWVhLWI4NWEtYjQ0MDkyYTJhMDU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODc0OTEyNDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


A little too silly for my taste, but a worthy entry in the Pixarverse.

[CringeFest]

Even speaking as someone who thought it was pretty good, that's still...

https://i.ibb.co/kxbh80g/too-damn-high-jimmy-mc-millan.gif (https://imgbb.com/)


I just liked how unsettling and wierd it was, even though it didn't have much in the way of depth or originality. It does portray how it feels to have a mental illness pretty accurately though...jouquin's awkwardness and confusion deserved an Oscar by itself...

[xSookieStackhouse]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjY0MGEzZmQtZWMxNi00MWVhLWI4NWEtYjQ0MDkyYTJhMDU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODc0OTEyNDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


A little too silly for my taste, but a worthy entry in the Pixarverse.
the movie is so cute i loved it lol

[Wooley]

Camelot (Joshua Logan, 1967) 3.5 7/10
https://i.makeagif.com/media/8-01-2015/e4SVEJ.gif
King Arthur (Richard Harris) has a dream to unite England through his round table, but he hasn't counted on what happens when Queen Guenevere (Vanessa Redgrave) and Sir Lancelot (Franco Nero) meet.



Love me some Camelot.

[Torgo]

I like, but don't love Joker. I'd give it 3. It is scary, thrilling and has value as a cautionary tale about the consequences of not taking mental health seriously, but I don't love the way it's directed and edited. It comes across like a feature length trailer, or better yet, a feature length clip that they play for the nominees during the Best Actor Oscar presentation.

[Stirchley]

Love me some Camelot.

My idea of hell would be to watch Camelot. :p

[Allaby]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjY0MGEzZmQtZWMxNi00MWVhLWI4NWEtYjQ0MDkyYTJhMDU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODc0OTEyNDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


A little too silly for my taste, but a worthy entry in the Pixarverse.

Best film of the year so far for me.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzM5MDZiZmUtOTdhMi00NjNlLTkxOWQtNTQ4NTgxMzA2MTJjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

2nd Re-watch...this semi-classic comedy from 1978 still holds up admirably, thanks to a beautifully constructed homage to Alfred Hitchcock as its story, the more than viable chemistry between Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase, and an impressive supporting cast, with a still roll-on the-floor-funny cameo from Dudley Moore.

3.5

[Gideon58]

https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B1%2F5%2F5%2F5%2F1555077%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D


3

[Allaby]

X (2022) Entertaining and effective horror film, 2nd best film of the year so far for me. 4

[Wooley]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzM5MDZiZmUtOTdhMi00NjNlLTkxOWQtNTQ4NTgxMzA2MTJjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

2nd Re-watch...this semi-classic comedy from 1973 still holds up admirably, thanks to a beautifully constructed homage to Alfred Hitchcock as its story, the more than viable chemistry between Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase, and an impressive supporting cast, with a still roll-on the-floor-funny cameo from Dudley Moore.

3.5

One of my all-time favorites, been watching this since I was like 9 years old.
(1978, btw)

[Gideon58]

In 1978, I was 20.

[chawhee]

Queen and Slim (2019)
https://theundefeated.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/8V40_AW_BW_K0004_0091R-e1574798773446.jpg?w=700
4.5
Rewatch of likely my favorite 2019 movie. I still feel like the content and message was a primary reason this movie didn't get more love. Kaluuya is remarkable as usual, and this movie is terrific in my eyes, scene for scene.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Boss_Level_poster.jpg
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63761368

Boss Level - (2020)

This mash-up of Groundhog Day and action seemed pretty dumb and had an overly convoluted mixed-up and confusing story when it started, but as more of it's plot and action unfolded I have to admit I had myself a pretty good time with it. CGI explosions notwithstanding (cheapskates). What we have at the start is like a video game in real life, with Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) waking up to the same assassin trying to kill him over and over again, whereupon, if he manages to neutralize him and the helicopter gunship which destroys his apartment he'll be beset by further wacky assassins trying to kill him - which they always eventually succeed at doing, whereupon it all starts again from scratch. He figures this all has something to do with his ex, Jemma (Naomi Watts) - a scientist working on something that's half-doomsday, half world-changing and her boss, Colonel Clive Ventor (Mel Gibson) - a kind of evil mastermind. Edge of Tomorrow has already kind of done this, but Boss Level is more laid back and really gets it's groove on in an action/comedy kind of way that I found myself really liking. I actually recommend it.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/Birds_of_Passage.png
By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6386748/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57313075

Birds of Passage - (2018)

It took me too long to get around to this - a film by Ciro Guerra, who wrote and directed Embrace of the Serpent. It unfolds much like Scarface, except steeped in Colombian tradition, superstition and culture. It follows the fortunes of a family who get into the marijuana trade (almost by accident, a groom has to raise serious funds for a dowry to marry the woman he's really set on - and he stumbles into American Peace Corps representatives who are eager to buy in large quantities.) It's not long before murders start occurring, and the traditions these people have sworn by for generations start getting left by the roadside as violence and war between different families spiral out of control. Dreams and signs guide these people, especially the matriarchs - but such bloodshed and wealth are like a cancer to their delicate and intricate way of life. Seeing the effect the drug trade has on the Wayuu people of Northern Columbia is like watching an apocalypse or extinction - and Birds of Passage gives you that sad view from the inside of their unusual and unique way of life.

8/10

[Wooley]

In 1978, I was 20.

Ha! Well then I bet you really loved it, I didn't get half the jokes til I was older.
But the old ladies playing Scrabble! :rotfl:

[Wooley]

Queen and Slim (2019)
https://theundefeated.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/8V40_AW_BW_K0004_0091R-e1574798773446.jpg?w=700
4.5
Rewatch of likely my favorite 2019 movie. I still feel like the content and message was a primary reason this movie didn't get more love. Kaluuya is remarkable as usual, and this movie is terrific in my eyes, scene for scene.

Oh good, I was interested in this but there was so little buzz.
I feel like the movie got no promotion whatsoever.

[Fabulous]

The Harder They Fall (2021)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/d0mpUFKzoPwF1KsdjHpkkaYSvKm.jpg

[Petter0001]

The Last movie I saw was Eternals. It is an action super hero movie of MARVEL . Its very intresting I think You should watch it if you are a super hero action movie lover.

[xSookieStackhouse]

The Last movie I saw was Eternals. It is an action super hero movie of MARVEL . Its very intresting I think You should watch it if you are a super hero action movie lover.
well they are gonna make eternals 2 in the future to be honest

[beelzebubble]

Went to the movie theater on Thursday and saw The Outfit about a tailor who overcomes some gangsters.
I give it four popcorns.
Must see for Mark Rylance's performance.

[Gideon58]

My idea of hell would be to watch Camelot. :p

I'm with you on this one, Stirchley...I've tried a couple of times to watch Camelot, I've never gotten more than 20 minutes in....the only musical that bored me more was probably Paint Your Wagon

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d5/BlacKkKlansman.png
By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7349662/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57942037

BlacKkKlansman - (2018)

I don't know what was happening when I first watched BlacKkKlansman but this is one of those movies where I felt I had to watch it again to have truly seen it - distracted by whatever it was the first time around. It had that familiarity you have when you've 'sort of' seen a film, but this time around I really got it all - I didn't remember that epilogue which takes us yet again through those disturbing events in Charlottesville in 2017 that leave me angry and incensed. The speech about the lynching of Jesse Washington is chilling - one of the most cruel and brutal murders I've ever heard about. I'd love to read Ron Stallworth's Black Klansman to see how closely the film hues to the real story - John David Washington and Adam Driver (a favourite of mine) really propel this tale with thoughtful and humerous charisma - reminding me of Imperium, which this is far superior to. Props to Spike Lee and everyone for really making this feel like it's taking place in the 1970s.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5d/Combien_tu_m_aimes.jpg
By http://images.themoviedb.org/posters/15337/combien_tu_m_aimes.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25545158

How Much Do You Love Me? - (2005)

Sometimes you get a movie recommendation from your dad and you realise that you've ignored so many of his recommendations that you just have to take one for the sake of family unity. That was How Much Do You Love Me? - a romp where lottery winner François (Bernard Campan) pays prostitute Daniela (Monica Bellucci) 100,000 euros a month to come live with him as if she were his wife. Can you really buy love? François has a bad heart, so the sexy Daniela initially causes medical complications, but she stays - for a time at least. The character of Daniela in this is wildly inconsistent, and the tone of this film as a whole shifts from farce to metaphorical inquiry and back again without rhyme or reason. You might say it eventually "liberates itself from it's own story" which is another way of saying disintegrates. Gérard Depardieu comes in late and adds some interest as a gangster, but eventually even his character goes awry (despite his character and motivations he eventually just joins everyone and parties - for no reason) and we end up with a movie that just seems lost.

5/10

This film was very good and I totally agree with you regarding Lee's attention to setting up the period...everything in this movie is pure 1970's.

[Allaby]

Creature with the Atom Brain (1955) Watched on blu ray. I enjoyed this. It was fun. 3.5

[GulfportDoc]

Went to the movie theater on Thursday and saw The Outfit about a tailor who overcomes some gangsters.
I give it four popcorns.
Must see for Mark Rylance's performance.
I haven't yet seen The Outfit, but in my view Rylance is at the very zenith of the best actors performing today. He's been in couple of lessor pictures, but his performances are always flawless.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/7ca862940c4b5f31bdad4b98bd6e4cf9/ee8d1ab59aabc2bb-c8/s540x810/71c7b86a2e9e77317977340890b783bade8980b3.gifv
https://media3.giphy.com/media/VdVwESXsLlYXHt6SyO/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e4733e26ia1zvslfckvrioe23kpfbpidf6vg37elipa&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g
https://64.media.tumblr.com/20d7750bdf0caaffd7b98909f27d9ece/a865e613f18e1874-d5/s540x810/43a8c82a91b305e3a574be829d4e2f5ece847746.gifv

Dune - This would have been better on a big screen but even on a large screen TV it was still pretty good. And as far as this adaptation being split into multiple parts I think that's about the only way to tell this properly. I liked how it gave the story a chance to stretch out and breathe. I think you get a better sense of progression and flow that you wouldn't otherwise achieve if you tried to jam it all into say, a three hour runtime.


Villeneuve does a masterful job with pacing. I mean it could have been a major fiasco if it had failed financially and the studio was forced to leave it unfinished. Fortunately though, the folks involved were fans of the source material and a buttload of work went in to the pre-production. Several years in the making and all that.

The sizable cast is impressive with no discernible weak spots except for Zendaya maybe. That might not be a fair assessment since she's only onscreen a few minutes with only a handful of lines. I certainly hope that's the case because part II will ride or die on the strength of Chani and Paul's dynamics. Timothée Chalamet was the keystone holding it all together and I think he does a fine job. Paul Atreides was supposed to be an unproven youngster and his evolution into Muad'Dib will also be the deciding factor in the second half.

I never watched the miniseries but it was on SyFy so I wouldn't expect much of anything at all from it. And I did like Lynch's vision of what it should have looked like even though final cut was taken from him and has basically left the guy broken hearted to this day. As expected, this was a beautiful film best enjoyed in a theater and maybe by the time part two comes out I'll be comfortable enough to go back. Looking forward to it.

90/100

[GulfportDoc]

86190

Out of Africa (1985)

Starring Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer. Directed by Sydney Pollack from the eponymous novel by Isak Dinesen. Cinematography by David Watkin. Music by John Barry.

I re-watched this film with some trepidation because I recalled seeing it in 1985, and I really didn't like most of it. Three-quarters of it dragged along over a not very complicated story: After arranging a marriage of convenience to a Swedish Baron, a wealthy Danish woman buys a 4000 acre cattle ranch in pre WWI Africa near Nairobi. Cattle raising doesn't work out, so she switches to coffee, which is successful.

With her husband off on commercial safari much of the year, she eventually starts seeing frequently another big game hunter, who is a free spirit. They soon become an item to where the Dane and her husband (who really only wanted access to the Dane's wealth) divorce.

A long term love affair with the current big game hunter does not sustain itself, so he moves out, leading to a surprising ending to the movie.

I came to realize on this recent watch that Out of Africa is an epic romantic drama film (161 minutes), whereas in 1985 I had been expecting more of an action film. This time I really enjoyed the story, and I think it's because I'm more mature now. Even though I was aged 41 on first viewing, I had only minimal capacity to understand the 3 main characters' well portrayed nuances in their motivations and interactions.

And what chemistry all 3 had! Streep of course could meaningfully bond with a telephone pole, and Brandauer was likewise one of the great thespians of that day. Redford follows in third place, but his portrayal was surprisingly effective and believable. I always felt that Redford was a medium weight talent, but yet I never tire of watching his Three Days of the Condor (1975), followed by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), All the President's Men (1976), and even Jeremiah Johnson (1972). Very honorable mention for his work in The Great Gatsby (1974), although against a weak script.

If you enjoy drama and well performed interactions between good actors, along with beautiful scenery and photography, go back and look for this one.

Doc's rating: 7/10

[Gideon58]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCKYCcrOR-IzTYp056yYBklPEZnE2IXlbifTP8CmcqrDMEES2yDRXihhNxX04IrS71lpI&usqp=CAU



3.5

[Allaby]

The First Nudie Musical (1976) This was fun and has some good songs and some nice laughs. Definitely worth watching. 3.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/BattleinSeattle2008Poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18738730

Battle in Seattle - (2007)

Another rewatch of a film I've seen - this one really doesn't stick in your memory for long. Perhaps it's a little too fragmented, trying to tell one or two too many tales about the protest that came to town when the WTO held it's conference in Seattle in 1999. I have to admit, I didn't think these huge protests really became a thing until the 21st Century. We've got Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Carpenter, The Ring's Martin Henderson, Ray Liotta, Rade Serbedzija, Charlize Theron, André 3000, Channing Tatum, Michelle Rodriguez and many more having their characters' individual stories being told - and they kind of all get lost in the maelstrom which leaves us with a diluted story without a really strong main focus. An epilogue that fills us in about subsequent protests and dodgy actions by the WTO filled me with equal amounts hope and despair - but overall I have the feeling that in a couple of months this film will once more be a very faint memory. Serviceable, but not great.

6/10

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cartoonbrew.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2Fbigfish_begonia_musicvid.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Big Fish and Begonia, 2016

Chun is a girl living in some sort of spiritual realm underneath the Earth who has reached the age where she gets to travel to the surface for a short time in the form of a dolphin. But when she is trapped in a net in her dolphin form, a human boy dives into the water to save her, only to drown in the process. Grief-stricken, Chun makes a bargain with a soul collector, discovering that she must care for the boy's soul in the form of an ever-growing fish that she names Kun. Chun's actions, though, have serious consequences for her world and only a young man named Qiu is willing to help her in her quest.

If I had seen this movie when I was a kid, it probably would have bowled me over. The story is intense and complicated, and the visuals are really fantastic.

Coming at it now, though, as someone who has seen a decent amount of animation, I was a bit underwhelmed by this film. I found the narrative and character development a bit scattershot and much of the animation felt derivative of other movies.

Something that is fundamentally striking about this film is the way that its narrative focus kind of turns out to be in the wrong place. Surely, you think, the focus is on Chun and the big fish. You know, like in the title? But the most compelling character stuff comes from Qiu, who is secretly in love with Chun and, unbeknownst to her, goes to tremendous lengths to protect her and help her succeed in her mission. It's a movie full of sacrifice, but largely from characters around the main figures.

I found myself repeatedly wishing that Kun had more of a personality. Yes, he gets a lot of the usual anthropomorphic cute animal beats. But at the end of the day, he's just kind of a big fish. We know that Chun wants to save him. And we understand that he was selfless in giving his life to rescue what he simply believed to be a dolphin in distress. But I was never entirely clear on whether the big fish WAS the boy, or just some manifestation of his spirit. Chun herself also didn't entirely grip me as a character. She was too often frustratingly passive or hesitant, and I didn't feel that she grew as the film went on.

And while this may be a matter of cultural ignorance on my part, I found some of the world-building a bit confusing. There are human-looking spirits who aren't human, but they live with non-human-looking spirits. Then there are souls of humans, only they can only be in certain places. The good people go this way, the bad people turn into . . . spirit rats?

From a visual standpoint, the film has a lot to offer. I really loved a sequence in the soul keeper's house where it turns out that many of his items are actually transformed cats, so that with a wave of his hand a chair suddenly dissolves into five or six irritated cats. There's also some lovely imagery, like a whirlpool that is made of two water dragons.

But something that kept bothering me as I watched was the sense that many of the images were things I'd seen before. An image of flying whales that came right out of Fantasia, or creature design that seemed to owe a lot to certain sequences of Spirited Away. Again, the animation looks really good, but just felt overly familiar.

A good film, but not as strong or original as I'd hoped going in.

3.5

[Wooley]

My idea of hell would be to watch Camelot. :p

Ya know what? You're not nice.

[Wooley]

I'm with you on this one, Stirchley...I've tried a couple of times to watch Camelot, I've never gotten more than 20 minutes in....the only musical that bored me more was probably Paint Your Wagon

I just re-watched it not that long ago, in no way intending to watch the whole thing, but I got sucked in again and ended up being as impressed with it as I ever was.

[Fabulous]

Worth (2020)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/7TmNYrLIBA7gHLIMXVKEIsw5ZDB.jpg

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/maxresdefault.jpeg
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? (2021, Alexandre Koberidze)
4.5
A very intriguing and enigmatic take on the romantic fantasy genre. Set in the Georgian city of Kutaisi (one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world - thanks Google), it follows a story of a newly met young couple who set their first date at a cafe but are prevented from meeting each other due to supernatural circumstances. It's a very long film with next to nothing going on in terms of plot but plot is not really the point — it's the odd charm and uniqueness of its cinematic language that are the highlight here (the film even gets interactive with the audience at some point). There was just something about it that drew me in and kept me watching. I found the general vibe somewhat reminiscent of Apichatpong Weerasethakul — that meditative, transcendent serenity hovering over everything. There were other filmmakers that came to mind, such as Parajanov, Bresson, as well as Kiarostami— the latter mostly due to the incorporation of a sub-plot with a film director in the process of finishing a movie, who ends up miraculously saving the two lead characters from their predicament (very meta, Kiarostami style!). Interesting editing choices and camerawork as well, often focusing and lingering on inanimate objects, parts of the body rather than the whole; the use of long shots, as well. A fascinating film and one that will divide viewers for sure, but, even though not all of it works equally well, I still appreciated it a lot for its own unique personality and vision of what cinema could be and do.

[xSookieStackhouse]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/7ca862940c4b5f31bdad4b98bd6e4cf9/ee8d1ab59aabc2bb-c8/s540x810/71c7b86a2e9e77317977340890b783bade8980b3.gifv
https://media3.giphy.com/media/VdVwESXsLlYXHt6SyO/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e4733e26ia1zvslfckvrioe23kpfbpidf6vg37elipa&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g
https://64.media.tumblr.com/20d7750bdf0caaffd7b98909f27d9ece/a865e613f18e1874-d5/s540x810/43a8c82a91b305e3a574be829d4e2f5ece847746.gifv

Dune - This would have been better on a big screen but even on a large screen TV it was still pretty good. And as far as this adaptation being split into multiple parts I think that's about the only way to tell this properly. I liked how it gave the story a chance to stretch out and breathe. I think you get a better sense of progression and flow that you wouldn't otherwise achieve if you tried to jam it all into say, a three hour runtime.


Villeneuve does a masterful job with pacing. I mean it could have been a major fiasco if it had failed financially and the studio was forced to leave it unfinished. Fortunately though, the folks involved were fans of the source material and a buttload of work went in to the pre-production. Several years in the making and all that.

The sizable cast is impressive with no discernible weak spots except for Zendaya maybe. That might not be a fair assessment since she's only onscreen a few minutes with only a handful of lines. I certainly hope that's the case because part II will ride or die on the strength of Chani and Paul's dynamics. Timothée Chalamet was the keystone holding it all together and I think he does a fine job. Paul Atreides was supposed to be an unproven youngster and his evolution into Muad'Dib will also be the deciding factor in the second half.

I never watched the miniseries but it was on SyFy so I wouldn't expect much of anything at all from it. And I did like Lynch's vision of what it should have looked like even though final cut was taken from him and has basically left the guy broken hearted to this day. As expected, this was a beautiful film best enjoyed in a theater and maybe by the time part two comes out I'll be comfortable enough to go back. Looking forward to it.

90/100
hopefully dune 2 will be good

[chawhee]

Turning Red (2022)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/nK3VhPHv7A4AFLuPxnwdbrTt2yIO8nsfKyC1YZUnbOC4EB_B1YlsnQ5_bFbZG2JXANbOD-I8MPI5EXj6u9fuMRkBQVpG7sxU9-PDa7i2tzKQU_Y9Iv0yea4k5W26dQ=w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu
4
A great start to animated movies in 2022! Really funny, refreshing concepts on more adult themes...my only gripe might be the voice acting of some of the characters seemed a bit too quirky at times.

[TheUsualSuspect]

https://www.joblo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/x-ti-west-poster-featured-1280x720.jpg

3.5

A great throwback to the slashers of the 80's. Ti West loves his influences and he's able to really capture the atmosphere of what he's going for. X manages to build enough slow burn tension until the third act hits with a bloody force.

A group of young people are shooting a porno in a rented farm house from an elderly couple in Texas. They keep their intentions a secret in the fear of losing their location. Once the elderly couple find out what's really going on in their farmhouse, blood is spilled.

This feels like a mix of Texas Chainsaw and Friday the 13th with the amped up sex portions before at the centre. I appreciate the themes of young and ambitious vs old and missed opportunities. This is a slasher film for slasher fans done with a little bit more care and craft put in, just don't expect it to really jump off the screen. It's still a slasher at the end of the day.

[Thief]

BABY FACE
(1933, Green)

https://i.imgur.com/aKsexQc.jpg


"A woman, young, beautiful, like you, can get anything she wants in the world. Because you have power over men! But you must use men! Not let them use you."



Baby Face follows Lily Powers (Barbara Stanwyck), a young woman determined to "get anything she wants in the world". The film follows her journey from her father's speakeasy in Pennsylvania to the upper echelons of the Gotham Trust bank; a journey she achieves specifically by sleeping with different men. From the hiring employee at the bank to the vice-president, and others in between.

From a historical and contextual point of view, it's really interesting to see a film's attempt to push the boundaries set by the system, and Stanwyck revels in the role. She manages to build a compelling character that even if you don't condone her actions, you understand where she's coming from and the reasons for what she's doing what she does. The supporting cast is effective, but this is Stanwyck's show all the way.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2290366#post2290366) and in the HOF27 (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2290367#post2290367).

[SpelingError]

27th Hall of Fame

Thunder Road (2018) - 3

Man, this is one difficult film to rate! Watching more of Jim Cummings' films might make this an easier film to talk about, though I did enjoy a couple things about it. I've seen a few people argue that Jim is so incompetent and buffoonish that it's hard to root for him. To me though, his erratic behavior worked as scenes like his awkward funeral sermon and his breakdown outside the police station were products of Jim's mental state and his feelings of being overwhelmed. He's a try-hard who has difficulty processing his emotions and does whatever he can to get into the good graces of people he feels he wronged. I don't know much about mental health, so I'm not sure how I'd classify his character, but he did appear to have something which made him act the way he did in the film. Given this, while his character can be challenging at times, I wouldn't describe him as annoying. While Jim's mental state is made as clear as day though, I felt a significant disconnect in feeling anything for him. Torgo mentioned in his review how you're often unsure whether to laugh or cry during his breakdowns and, while I agree, I think this was why the film left me cold. Since I was unsure how I was supposed to react to Jim's breakdowns, I didn't find them funny nor emotionally powerful. I was just left kind of indifferent to Jim throughout most of the film (granted though, there are a couple mildly powerful moments near the end). Normally, I'd argue that the film should've toned down on the awkward bits so that it would be easier to feel a connection towards Jim, but again, they were part of the point of his character, so that wouldn't be a good idea. And this brings me back to the first sentence of this review. This is a difficult film to rate as, while I had difficulty feeling much towards Jim, I'm not sure I could improve the film without diluting his characterization. Therefore, I'll say that, while I was left cold by this film, I still understood and appreciated what it was going for.

[Marco]

The Principles of Lust (2003)
https://www.filmaboutit.com/data/shp/images/5EH7sX7aWWWQZhZpcfFSSjNoVnb_1.jpg
Seen this years ago and it was on film 4 the other night so thought I'd have a look after a few years. Alec Newman plays a feckless "writer" that runs into Marc Warren's libertine Billy by accident. At the same time he falls in love with a beautiful Social Worker so his internal battle starts, pleasure or duty.

Some shocking nudey scenes but altogether a well put together film.

[rating]2.5[/2.5]

[Allaby]

Encanto (2021) I liked Encanto even more the second time around. Beautiful animation, wonderful songs, and cute characters. Best animated film of 2021. I'm bumping up my rating to 4.5.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWQwODQwNjctOGMyMi00NjRlLWJlYTctYWY3NGQ4YjI0OWJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxMTY0OTQ@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


4

[StuSmallz]

hopefully dune 2 will be goodYeah, although by the sounds of it through the interviews I've heard, the studio is rushing Villeneuve through the production, so we might end up with another Hobbit trilogy situation on our hands here.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.0QtPkUr4FJ751JRX_WSZawHaEH%26pid%3DApi&f=1

Contact, 1997

Ellie (Jodie Foster) is a scientist who is passionate about the search for evidence of extra-terrestrial life. When funding for her program is cut, she is able to get funds from an eccentric billionaire (John Hurt) and sets up an independent program. When Ellie manages to locate what seems to be communication from a distant solar system, it puts her in the center of a conflict between politics, science, faith, and her own dreams and aspirations.

I didn't quite know what to expect from this film, having always felt lukewarm when I looked at the cover. But dang if I didn't end up really loving it!

Jodie Foster (who, sidenote, looks SO GORGEOUS here!) is the beating heart of the film. Her dedication to science coupled with her earnest outlook on life makes for a character who is incredibly easy to root for. While the plot mechanics of the narrative achieve a very large scale (as in, an international/intergalactic scale), I loved her subtle character arc as she moves to understanding how her scientific pursuits intersect with the need for human connection and her own version of faith. Foster really nails a character who approaches life from a strongly empirical point of view, and is befuddled or impatient when she confronts people who do not think that way.

The supporting cast is sprawling, and for the most part really strong. David Morse gives Ellie's character a cozy background as her loving father who nurtures her interest in science and technology. Tom Skerritt manages to humanize the character of Ellie's boss, who takes advantage of her work to further his own career. Matthew McConaughey does good work as Palmer, a religious man who is wary of technology and the way that it pulls people away from their faith and connection to fellow human beings. His character grated on me much of the time, but he feels fully fleshed out.

The story itself was something I found very moving. It is at once an underdog story, a sci-fi adventure, an almost-thriller, and drama rolled into one. Yet these elements come together to form an incredibly compelling narrative that operates on both a large and intimate scale.

There was very little in this film that I didn't like. Some of the reactions of the anti-science characters border on parody (like one political figure who sincerely questions whether or not the aliens will share "our values"). But at the same time, you know, people have literally been put to death for suggesting that the Earth wasn't the center of the universe. I think that if alien life was proved to exist, there would be some extreme reactions. I would have loved to get a little more in depth with a religious character who was really sorting through how alien life impacts their faith, though I realize the film was already pretty full as is.

I also have to say that the part where Palmer deliberately uses Ellie's atheism to ruin her chance at being the one to travel to Vega was SO disgusting and cruel and controlling and horrible, that I couldn't believe she forgave him. Him admitting that he did it because he loved her came across so gross, and it felt like the film wanted it to feel romantic. Yuck. Just yuck..

Again, I found this film really moving. I loved the scope of it, the character arc, and where it ended.

4.5

[StuSmallz]

https://youtu.be/XHhH4Tsyovw


I haven't actually seen Contact yet, I just wanted to post that clip; sorry!

[Deschain]

It’s rare for me to not finish a movie but I got 20 minutes into Jungle Cruise and just couldn’t take it anymore...

[gbgoodies]

I rewatched The Goodbye Girl (1977) for the upcoming Comedy Countdown. Richard Dreyfuss is terrific in this movie, but it seems to get lost in his filmography behind such classics as Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

4.0

86228

[StuSmallz]

It’s rare for me to not finish a movie but I got 20 minutes into Jungle Cruise and just couldn’t take it anymore...Really? I mean, it didn't look good to me, but it definitely didn't look painfully bad, either... just really, really bland.

[xSookieStackhouse]

Yeah, although by the sounds of it through the interviews I've heard, the studio is rushing Villeneuve through the production, so we might end up with another Hobbit trilogy situation on our hands here.
oh really how many are they makimg?

[Fabulous]

Space Sweepers (2021)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/izrpjJype1BhBf2ROGcxC5KY1fa.jpg

[Hey Fredrick]

https://imgs.search.brave.com/Y1uv_Ol8Siz0jI1sLLwFb-NcISUlh4lU3tv7FkjKu9E/rs:fit:350:272:1/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGF0/aWMudHZ0cm9wZXMu/b3JnL3Btd2lraS9w/dWIvaW1hZ2VzL3N0/b3JteV93ZWF0aGVy/LmpwZw


This was pretty fantastic. Not much to the story, an older guy begins talking about his travels after one of the neighborhood kids see his picture on the cover of a magazine. His life involved traveling the country as part of different dance troupes and musical acts as well as having an on again/off again relationship with a pretty successful singer, Lena Horne. Stormy Weather doesn't have a dull moment. Every song was very good to great. Lena Horne, I had heard of her but haven't seen her in anything (that I'm aware of) but her voice is something else. There's a song Ada Brown sings, no clue as to what what it's called, but it had to be an influence on Crawling King Snake by the Doors. Some of the dancing was incredible. The Nicholas Bros...wow! That hurt just watching! but my fav may just have been Bill Robinson tap dancing on the riverboat or maybe it was his tapping on the congos...nah, it was the riverboat. If you want to be entertained by song and dance this is the film for you rating_4_5

[Deschain]

Really? I mean, it didn't look good to me, but it definitely didn't look painfully bad, either... just really, really bland.

I was expecting light Disney adventure and bland is a good way to put it. So bland I couldn’t stand it. The Rock was not only phoning in his lines but it looked like he wasn’t in the same scenes as the other actors.

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.0QtPkUr4FJ751JRX_WSZawHaEH%26pid%3DApi&f=1

Contact, 1997

Ellie (Jodie Foster) is a scientist who is passionate about the search for evidence of extra-terrestrial life. When funding for her program is cut, she is able to get funds from an eccentric billionaire (John Hurt) and sets up an independent program. When Ellie manages to locate what seems to be communication from a distant solar system, it puts her in the center of a conflict between politics, science, faith, and her own dreams and aspirations.

I didn't quite know what to expect from this film, having always felt lukewarm when I looked at the cover. But dang if I didn't end up really loving it!

Jodie Foster (who, sidenote, looks SO GORGEOUS here!) is the beating heart of the film. Her dedication to science coupled with her earnest outlook on life makes for a character who is incredibly easy to root for. While the plot mechanics of the narrative achieve a very large scale (as in, an international/intergalactic scale), I loved her subtle character arc as she moves to understanding how her scientific pursuits intersect with the need for human connection and her own version of faith. Foster really nails a character who approaches life from a strongly empirical point of view, and is befuddled or impatient when she confronts people who do not think that way.

The supporting cast is sprawling, and for the most part really strong. David Morse gives Ellie's character a cozy background as her loving father who nurtures her interest in science and technology. Tom Skerritt manages to humanize the character of Ellie's boss, who takes advantage of her work to further his own career. Matthew McConaughey does good work as Palmer, a religious man who is wary of technology and the way that it pulls people away from their faith and connection to fellow human beings. His character grated on me much of the time, but he feels fully fleshed out.

The story itself was something I found very moving. It is at once an underdog story, a sci-fi adventure, an almost-thriller, and drama rolled into one. Yet these elements come together to form an incredibly compelling narrative that operates on both a large and intimate scale.

There was very little in this film that I didn't like. Some of the reactions of the anti-science characters border on parody (like one political figure who sincerely questions whether or not the aliens will share "our values"). But at the same time, you know, people have literally been put to death for suggesting that the Earth wasn't the center of the universe. I think that if alien life was proved to exist, there would be some extreme reactions. I would have loved to get a little more in depth with a religious character who was really sorting through how alien life impacts their faith, though I realize the film was already pretty full as is.

I also have to say that the part where Palmer deliberately uses Ellie's atheism to ruin her chance at being the one to travel to Vega was SO disgusting and cruel and controlling and horrible, that I couldn't believe she forgave him. Him admitting that he did it because he loved her came across so gross, and it felt like the film wanted it to feel romantic. Yuck. Just yuck..

Again, I found this film really moving. I loved the scope of it, the character arc, and where it ended.

4.5

Agreed. I felt like your one issue is on the nose and I wrangled with it as well. Honestly felt to me like studio-meddling. It feels out of place in the film, like some studio-douche insisted that angle be touched on.

[Wooley]

I rewatched The Goodbye Girl (1977) for the upcoming Comedy Countdown. Richard Dreyfuss is terrific in this movie, but it seems to get lost in his filmography behind such classics as Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

4.0

86228

I sleep in the nude! Uh-buffo!

[mark f]

Mouthpiece (Patricia Rozema, 2018) 2.5 6/10
Mr. Saturday Night (Billy Crystal, 1992) 3 6.5/10
Sweethearts (W.S. Van Dyke, 1938) 2.5 6/10
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Radu Jude, 2021) 3 6.5/10
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTliNGU3MTQtODQyNS00YzJiLThhNjAtNmIzOWNkZmI1ZDRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQVRoaXJkUGFydHlJbmdlc3Rpb25Xb3JrZmxv dw@@._V1_UX477_CR0,0,477,268_AL_.jpg
Elementary school teacher Katia Pascariu's private sex tape is put on the internet, and a meeting is held by parents and teachers to determine if she should be dismissed or allowed to stay.
Minamata (Andrew Levitas, 2020) 3 6.5/10
Expired AKA Loveland (Ivan Sen, 2022) 2+ 5/10
Down and Out in America (Lee Grant, 1986) 3 6.5/10
49th Parallel (Michael Powell, 1941) 3.5 7/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/5c3257c5b5011c48e3a10be66bdad689/360eef86e3e4bc57-b1/s540x810/b766a428fda11a15396d302eaf1e82b8d73a33f6.jpg
Small group of German sailors is left in Canada by a U-boat and think they can hide or maybe even set up an advance base for the Nazis. Writer Leslie Howard is among those who want to show their leader Eric Portman they're wrong.
H Story (Nobuhiro Suwa, 2001) 2 5/10
Hard Contract (S. Lee Pogostin, 1969) 2.5 5.5/10
Blue Wild Angel AKA Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight (Murray Lerner, 1991) 3 6.5/10
Stop Look and Listen (Len Janson & Chuck Menville, 1967) 4 8/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr_Dd2Rpsc0
Hilarious, highly-creative short about "average drivers" seen from a different perspective. Just watch it for yourself here.
A Thief of Time (Chris Eyre, 2003) 3 6.5/10
The Girl on the Mountain (Matt Sconce, 2022) 2 5/10
Baby Snakes (Frank Zappa, 1979) 3 6.5/10
The Solid Gold Cadillac (Richard Quine, 1956) 3.5 7/10
https://dkanut5j171nq.cloudfront.net/catalogue-images/ti116697.jpg
Former CEO Paul Douglas and small stockholder Judy Holliday make a pretty good team, especially when the corrupt, incompetent Board of Directors of his ex-corporation needs to be voted out.
Jackass Forever (Jeff Tremaine, 2022) 3 6.5/10
Charlie Bubbles (Albert Finney, 1968) 2.5 6-/10
The Necromancer (Stuart Brennan, 2018) 2 5/10
Exodus (Otto Preminger, 1960) 3.5 7/10
https://cdn4.hifigif.cc/picture/original/nUE0pUZ6Yl90nUIgLaZhM_M5L_S0YzAioF9DMKWmo_5uoSAcoTIhqRMuoTAiov1moJSfoP5anJLcXltbFTyTnHqWEv5wLlyspTIl p_9hLJkmnJkyoaEzLJkwo_-gp_1uoTjhM_yz/(HiFiGIF.cc)_exodus-1960-film-small.gif
Epic film about the founding of the state of Israel with an even-handed, heartbreaking account with much-less Hollywoodization than expected.

[M.L.]

I haven't posted here since august, and I'm not going to flood this post with all the movies I've seen since then, so I'll just quickly post my ratings and initial thoughts on the last five films I've seen for the first time.

Memento - 4.5

This was on my list of films I had not seen until just recently, and it was pretty good!

Cabaret - 4

I really like this film, and the "While Rome Burns" feeling that it has as it goes on. This movie was on my radar since I watched All That Jazz, and while I liked that movie somewhat better, this one was also really good.

Prince - Sign o' the Times - 4

Great concert film. Not all songs off the album made the cut, sadly, but it's still full of energy, and most of the songs I liked are there, so...

The Guilty (2018) - 4

I liked it! This film's concept is fascinating to me, And for my money, it's executed pretty well!

Alien³ (Assembly Cut) - 3

I don't consider it a bad film, but some of the special effects (notably with this film's alien), and the pacing (particularly at the climax) killed it for me a little bit. Some of the themes, the grim atmosphere, and a few other things redeem it somewhat in my eyes.

[Gideon58]

27th Hall of Fame

Thunder Road (2018) - 3



Glad I'm not the only person who's seen this film...I rated it about the same as you did. I agree with just about everything you said. It's a very squirm-worthy film experience.

[Gideon58]

I rewatched The Goodbye Girl (1977) for the upcoming Comedy Countdown. Richard Dreyfuss is terrific in this movie, but it seems to get lost in his filmography behind such classics as Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

4.0

86228

Love this movie...don't see how a movie that won him an Oscar could get lost in his filmography though.

[SpelingError]

Glad I'm not the only person who's seen this film...I rated it about the same as you did. I agree with just about everything you said. It's a very squirm-worthy film experience.
A bunch of us have already reviewed it in the 27th HoF, in fact. It's interesting seeing all the reactions to it.

[chawhee]

Sicario (2015)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/92/d3/ab/92d3ab5c8f034b6654159f7de6f71ee6.jpg
4.5
Another rewatch of a favorite of mine, and it still remains a (all too real) harrowing story. Del Toro is remarkable, as is the whole cast. Too bad the sequel was considerably inferior...(no Villeneuve)

[j3ff50n]

The social network was the last movie, I give it a 8/10

[Allaby]

I just finished rewatching The Power of the Dog. I was underwhelmed the first time I watched it, but I liked it quite a bit more this time. I'm bumping up my rating to a 4.5 and would now rank it 4th of this year's best picture nominees.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTgzMzE4MGItZDgxYS00ZGEwLWE3YTctZWY3ZDAyMTk0ZGU4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


1st Re-watch...This creepy psycho-sexual thriller is worth watching for the extraordinary and bone-chilling performance by Carey Mulligan alone. Francis McDormand was superb in Nomadland, but she already had two Oscars...Mulligan should have won for this. 4.5

[Takoma11]

Agreed. I felt like your one issue is on the nose and I wrangled with it as well. Honestly felt to me like studio-meddling. It feels out of place in the film, like some studio-douche insisted that angle be touched on.

Yeah, it makes me wonder if it came from something in the book and was just reduced to something more superficial, or if it was pushed in there because you can't have a movie with a single lead without a romance angle!

[ThatDarnMKS]

I just finished rewatching The Power of the Dog. I was underwhelmed the first time I watched it, but I liked it quite a bit more this time. I'm bumping up my rating to a 4.5 and would now rank it 4th of this year's best picture nominees.
I think it’s my #1 of the BP noms but I need to rewatch Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley

[Fabulous]

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore. (2017)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/pzArlLcI2i7m1dPbuj5lalyi1ZZ.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/26WxKxwL/broken-hall.jpg

Broken Hallelujah - (2014)

Oops. I made a wrong turn into Broken Hallelujah - one of those independent, low budget passion-projects where the professionalism you usually see in modern films is missing and you start to notice many off things, even apart from the acting and direction. Alastair Riddle directed this, and he also provided the score, and he also provided the cinematography - and of course he also produced (with some help from a windfall - these dead relatives are thanked in the end credits.) You can imagine what this is like, especially with Alastair's wife Vanessa in the lead role (she also apparently wrote the screenplay.) I've never seen a more disjointed story - characters just come out of nowhere and entire story arcs appear suddenly making it feel like we've just crossed over into a different film entirely. Of course the acting is poor also - and the entire thing runs for an insane 135 minutes - usually these Edward D. Wood Jnr-type projects have short running times, but Riddle appears to have been in love with everything he shot - so we get the lot.

Broken Hallelujah has a pretty good ending, and by that I mean the last couple of shots and lines leading into the credits. A lot of effort was put into those final few seconds of the film, but the rest is just day-time TV soap opera type stuff, with various characters and families going through marital troubles (the film will suddenly introduce new characters with marital problems a full hour and a half in) - there's no steady focus, but Venessa Riddell gets the most screen time. The connections between characters are so tenuous that there's no cohesion to anything. The cinematography doesn't always match - it almost feels like several different types of camera were used to shoot footage. It's almost interesting - seeing something so far off the beaten track after watching hundreds of professionally handled films. What do the filmmakers get for all their effort and money? 46 people have voted on the IMDb, 3 people have on letterboxd - never to be noticed, and quickly forgotten, Alastair and Venessa Riddle's feature film must have been an adventure for them, but now they face a future that's probably outside show business.

2/10

[Mostafaalijani]

The.Ice.Age.Adventures.of.Buck.Wild
4/10

[Stirchley]

Sicario (2015)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/92/d3/ab/92d3ab5c8f034b6654159f7de6f71ee6.jpg
4.5
Another rewatch of a favorite of mine, and it still remains a (all too real) harrowing story. Del Toro is remarkable, as is the whole cast. Too bad the sequel was considerably inferior...(no Villeneuve)

Yeah, I couldn’t get through the sequel. Emily Blunt was good in Sicario, which somewhat surprised me.

I just finished rewatching The Power of the Dog. I was underwhelmed the first time I watched it, but I liked it quite a bit more this time. I'm bumping up my rating to a 4.5 and would now rank it 4th of this year's best picture nominees.

I liked my 2nd viewing better because there were little things I missed first time around.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/91eab66ed818ab3d253dcbc37d47d8a4/tumblr_oki1ngCFX81qmob6ro1_400.gifv
https://64.media.tumblr.com/d0c00bfee56649087d3a6d161cdb61b5/tumblr_p2h4y2MJ881vf6eyso2_500.gifv
https://64.media.tumblr.com/b9d9e42103c0af143d0e5366b461758f/450430adcd28ee93-53/s540x810/85fa3fd22dcaab8faad0648d5b0a812910951607.gifv

"We find the defendants incredibly guilty"


The Producers - Mel Brooks' first crack at directing a movie and it's a four bagger. Zero Mostel plays Max Bialystock, a once successful Broadway producer now reduced to seducing elderly women in his seedy office in return for "checkies" ostensibly for backing one of his plays. In walks the riotously neurotic Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), an accountant assigned to audit Max's finances. While pouring over Bialystock's books Leo off-handedly muses that the most profitable way to stage a play is to have it flop so that the producer can keep all the investors money.

And that's the premise which launches this indisputably hilarious movie. It takes some convincing for the straight laced Leo to come on board but once the actual preparations get underway it allows the introduction of a whole cast of Brooks inspired loonies. From cross dressing director Roger De Bris (Christopher Hewitt), his flamboyant assistant Carmen Ghia (Andréas Voutsinas) and Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), the clearly unhinged author of Max's intended bomb. It's a paean to the Third Reich and it's leader called Springtime for Hitler.

This 90 minute movie flies by and there are no dead spots. Brooks was shocked to be nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar and completely unprepared when he actually won. It was widely panned by older, more traditional critics while youngsters like Roger Ebert loved it. Which in turn ushered in a changing of the guard of sorts when it came to film making. Not bad for what many thought was an unfunny and vulgar movie.

90/100

[Allaby]

Belfast (2021) I liked this even more on rewatch. Great cinematography, wonderful performances, and a lot of charm and heart. 4.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simbasible.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F11%2F2-9.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Cairo Station, 1958

Qinawi (Youssef Chahine, who also directed the film) is a young man with some physical disabilities and also some mental health problems. Getting a job at a train station selling newspapers, he is sexually frustrated and becomes fixated on the beautiful drink seller Hanuma (Hind Rustum), who is engaged to hunky union organizer Abu Siri (Farid Shawqi).

Given their utter dearth of classics, I was surprised to see this 1958 Egyptian film pop up on Netflix. So surprised that I added it to my watchlist just on that basis alone. As it turns out, it's a pretty compelling little film.

Apparently this film was made in a brief window of political transition in Egypt, after the overthrow of the monarchy but before the film industry was nationalized. Much like it's surprising to see certain sexual or violent content in pre-Code films, I was a bit shocked at the intensity of the content and themes---in a good way.

This is a really perceptive (I'm crediting the film with being intentional with these elements) portrayal of how gender-based violence manifests in a strongly patriarchal society, with almost all of the male characters participating in physical aggression toward women. Some of it is "acceptable," while other actions are seen as wrong.

In one scene, Abu Siri tells Hanuma not to go and sell drinks on the train. Her doing so is illegal, and she risks arrest every time she does it. When she decides to go make a few sales, he drags her off of the train by the hair and, with the enthusiastic encouragement of some male bystanders, takes her into a storage room and beats her. Qinawi watches this with horror, but his horror is deepened when Hanuma finally declares "Enough!" and then turns the interaction flirty. It is doubly disturbing to see both the normalization of domestic abuse between the Abu Siri and Hanuma, and the fact that Qinawi is more upset by his jealousy than by seeing a woman beaten up.

Chahine's performance as Qinawi is really strong, as are the supporting performances by the other actors. All of the characters are complicated, to say the least. There are no straightforward good guys or bad guys here (okay, the random dude chanting "Beat her! Beat her!" seems like a real piece of work), and there's an implicit criticism of the system that leads them to their different behaviors. In one scene, Qinawi stares at a woman, whose husband then takes offense. But when the police won't let the husband go after Qinawi, the man turns his anger on his wife, berating her for having lifted her veil and thus enticed the harassment.

Chahine's direction is also worth of a lot of praise, with some really captivating images, like a shot of Qinawi watching a train's wheels bend the train track as it passes almost in a trance, or a horrific sequence in which Qinawi emulates the behavior of a murderer on a woman, or just a shot of one man taking a knife from another, blood running down his arm as he grips the blade. Everything in Cairo Station feels like it has tension and the potential for violence brewing under it.

It is true that some of the gender politics feel a bit dated. Abu Siri, because of his union-organizing and as a non-murderer, comes out looking a lot better than Qinawi, and it feels a bit as if his treatment of Hanuma is being excused, or at least getting the "but it isn't so bad!" treatment. Hanuma's character is handled with the sense that "she knows what she's doing". I'm sure that it's true to the time period and setting that this kind of relationship would not only exist but even be seen as romantic. From a modern perspective it's a bit hard to take. There's also a whiff of victim-blaming in the idea that Qinawi is driven to violence in part by the rejection of women. But, dude, his interaction with many women is voyeuristically staring at them from hiding places. It must be said, however, that the visual of his shack---filled wall-to-wall with cut-out sexualized images of women--is pretty chilling.

There were a lot of plot developments that surprised me, and this was a concise drama/thriller that made a big impact.

4.5

[StuSmallz]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simbasible.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F11%2F2-9.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Cairo Station, 1958

Qinawi (Youssef Chahine, who also directed the film) is a young man with some physical disabilities and also some mental health problems. Getting a job at a train station selling newspapers, he is sexually frustrated and becomes fixated on the beautiful drink seller Hanuma (Hind Rustum), who is engaged to hunky union organizer Abu Siri (Farid Shawqi).

Given their utter dearth of classics, I was surprised to see this 1958 Egyptian film pop up on Netflix. So surprised that I added it to my watchlist just on that basis alone. As it turns out, it's a pretty compelling little film.

Apparently this film was made in a brief window of political transition in Egypt, after the overthrow of the monarchy but before the film industry was nationalized. Much like it's surprising to see certain sexual or violent content in pre-Code films, I was a bit shocked at the intensity of the content and themes---in a good way.

This is a really perceptive (I'm crediting the film with being intentional with these elements) portrayal of how gender-based violence manifests in a strongly patriarchal society, with almost all of the male characters participating in physical aggression toward women. Some of it is "acceptable," while other actions are seen as wrong.

In one scene, Abu Siri tells Hanuma not to go and sell drinks on the train. Her doing so is illegal, and she risks arrest every time she does it. When she decides to go make a few sales, he drags her off of the train by the hair and, with the enthusiastic encouragement of some male bystanders, takes her into a storage room and beats her. Qinawi watches this with horror, but his horror is deepened when Hanuma finally declares "Enough!" and then turns the interaction flirty. It is doubly disturbing to see both the normalization of domestic abuse between the Abu Siri and Hanuma, and the fact that Qinawi is more upset by his jealousy than by seeing a woman beaten up.

Chahine's performance as Qinawi is really strong, as are the supporting performances by the other actors. All of the characters are complicated, to say the least. There are no straightforward good guys or bad guys here (okay, the random dude chanting "Beat her! Beat her!" seems like a real piece of work), and there's an implicit criticism of the system that leads them to their different behaviors. In one scene, Qinawi stares at a woman, whose husband then takes offense. But when the police won't let the husband go after Qinawi, the man turns his anger on his wife, berating her for having lifted her veil and thus enticed the harassment.

Chahine's direction is also worth of a lot of praise, with some really captivating images, like a shot of Qinawi watching a train's wheels bend the train track as it passes almost in a trance, or a horrific sequence in which Qinawi emulates the behavior of a murderer on a woman, or just a shot of one man taking a knife from another, blood running down his arm as he grips the blade. Everything in Cairo Station feels like it has tension and the potential for violence brewing under it.

It is true that some of the gender politics feel a bit dated. Abu Siri, because of his union-organizing and as a non-murderer, comes out looking a lot better than Qinawi, and it feels a bit as if his treatment of Hanuma is being excused, or at least getting the "but it isn't so bad!" treatment. Hanuma's character is handled with the sense that "she knows what she's doing". I'm sure that it's true to the time period and setting that this kind of relationship would not only exist but even be seen as romantic. From a modern perspective it's a bit hard to take. There's also a whiff of victim-blaming in the idea that Qinawi is driven to violence in part by the rejection of women. But, dude, his interaction with many women is voyeuristically staring at them from hiding places. It must be said, however, that the visual of his shack---filled wall-to-wall with cut-out sexualized images of women--is pretty chilling.

There were a lot of plot developments that surprised me, and this was a concise drama/thriller that made a big impact.

4.5I actually saw some fellow posters talking about this on another forum recently: http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?8266-Top-Ten-Films-First-Seen-in-2022/page2&p=648222&viewfull=1#post648222

[Takoma11]

I actually saw some fellow posters talking about this on another forum recently: http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?8266-Top-Ten-Films-First-Seen-in-2022/page2&p=648222&viewfull=1#post648222

I don't think it's a film I've heard mentioned before (though my ability to retain titles is . . . not good). I would highly recommend it. Both the story and the style are really solid. And it's on Netflix!

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/While_at_War.jpg
By https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNDI3MzhhZDYtOWY4Mi00NjFkLTg3YWUtZDU3OTMwMGRiZjgzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxODk2OTU@._V1_SY1000_SX700_AL _.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63810146

While at War - (2019)

I was looking forward to this because I have a fundamental gap in my knowledge as far as the Spanish Civil War goes, and this film seemed to have that detailed authenticity you can rely on to really take you back in time in a reconstructive kind of way. It's not a comprehensive look at the war as a whole however, and mainly focuses on two key figures during the very start of the conflict : General Franco (Santi Prego), and Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno (Karra Elejalde). Unamuno, an anti-leftist, initially supports the rebellion, despite the fact that seemingly innocent people are suddenly disappearing. When he discovers how ruthless the fascists are, he's forced to make a choice about speaking out - which he knows would very probably cost him his life. Meanwhile General Franco, with the support of the maniacal José Millán-Astray (Eduard Fernández) finds himself in a position to lead the rebellion, his authority worded in a way which (to the dismay of other Generals) would make him an undisputed dictator even after the war ends.

The action mostly takes place in Salamanca as the city's leftist Mayor is arrested and fascists take control - many other events the film kind of glosses over or assumes we already know, but regardless, Miguel de Unamuno is the main focus. Old and in poor health, he seems to stumble into a situation where he becomes a respectable and learned supporter of the fascists, all the while losing friends and colleagues who are quietly arrested and disposed of. He feels too old and frail to be wrestling with his conscience and taking sides in a bitter struggle - but his shame at not opposing the brutality and senseless actions (one friend is arrested and executed for being a Mason - and therefore being part of the global "Jewish conspiracy") eats away at him. What good would announcing his opposition to the fascists really do? He tries to negotiate the release of people whose wives have come to him begging for help - and is met with propagandistic stonewalling and nonsense. When forced to take part in a kind of Spanish 'Nuremberg Rally' he decides not to speak - until the last minute...

As far as Unamuno's inner struggle with colluding (and having a job and staying alive) or denouncing (which would lead to his execution and trouble for his family) this film was okay - but the politics and early course of the civil war are more difficult to follow, as we're not really told what's happening. When José Millán-Astray is screaming about an outrage that needs to be rectified, that's how a scene begins and we can tell we ought to already know what he's talking about. When the fascists have a victory, it's the same story - we're not told how big or what kind of victory it is - the film assumes we have a fair grasp of events. It doesn't effect our ability to follow the human drama in this however, and that part of While at War was the powerful part of the film that should have perhaps been it's entire focus. Karra Elejalde's Miguel de Unamuno is it's beating heart, although Eduard Fernández's José Millán-Astray adds the menace needed to serve as a balance to the thoughtful and kind-hearted Spanish philosopher and writer. Some of this film is really worth seeing - but as a whole it doesn't work so well on audiences who aren't Spanish.

6/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6SAcAled8k

[StuSmallz]

I don't think it's a film I've heard mentioned before (though my ability to retain titles is . . . not good). I would highly recommend it. Both the story and the style are really solid. And it's on Netflix!Cool, I'll have to think about that. By the way, would you be okay with it if I shared your review with those posters on the other forum?

[Fabulous]

White Boy Rick (2018)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/4Y0eLVkUwThX9pt1uqVoWoCtvcl.jpg

[ScarletLion]

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDk3MDcyMDYtMjVjMy00ODM5LWJkYzctN2RiMmE3YTE3NGI4XkEyXkFqcGdeQWxiaWFtb250._V1_.jpg

Clever and light hearted Japanese film about a man who's TV shows images from the future, but only 2 minutes into the future. Shot on a phone and undoubtedly on a miniscule budget, this is a great example of what can be achieved with good writing and direction.

The director Junta Yamaguchi doesn't appear to have directed anything prior to this. No shorts, no adverts no nothing.

7.8/10

4

[Takoma11]

Cool, I'll have to think about that. By the way, would you be okay with it if I shared your review with those posters on the other forum?

Sure.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F92%2Fvq%2Fbo%2Fxe%2Fburning-2018-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D750694c1b8&f=1&nofb=1

Burning, 2018

Jong-Su (Yoo Ah-in) is an aspiring writer and a bit of an odd duck. Unemployed and trying his best to deal with his father's arrest for assaulting a public servant, Jong-Su runs into an old neighbor, Hae-Mi (Jeon Jong-seo). After a whirlwind hangout and bout of sex, Hae-Mi gets Jong-Su to agree to watch her cat while she goes on vacation. But when she returns from her vacation, she's attached to Ben (Steven Yeun), a slick young man who Jong-Su begins to suspect might hide some dark secrets.

Several of Lee Chang-dong's films have been on my radar for a while (especially Poetry and Secret Sunshine), but this is the first one that I've watched. I must say, I really enjoyed it.

The film lands in a really nice place between a thriller and a character study. Like many great films that lean into the psychological aspect, it's framed with just the right degree of ambiguity that we can never totally know if the conclusions reached by the main character are sound or not, lending multiple layers of dread to the events that play out. Is Ben really a sociopath? Or does Jong-Su see that because he wants to believe that Mae-Mi's boyfriend must be evil? And, by extension, do we the audience want him to be evil because a sociopath/serial killer is more sensational than just a faux-edgy pretty boy?

There are a lot of ways that this works out in the film, and none better than the use of Hae-Mi's cat. Despite caring for the cat for two weeks, Jong-Su never sees the kitty. When we're later asked to use the appearance of a cat to drive our understanding of a situation, we have to ask: is that her cat? What does it mean if it is? And what does it mean if it isn't?

Jong-Su himself walks that same line of ambiguity. As he reacts to what he believes to be true about Hae-Mi and Ben, we cannot fully know if his actions are "right" or not. Is he a vengeful protector, or is he the sociopath? The film refuses us answers, forcing the audience to constantly walk a line of sympathy and revulsion. So many thrillers use a character who is socially isolated or an outsider: sometimes they are the hero who can see what others can't, and sometimes they are monsters.

It's kind of interesting to have watched this film right after viewing Cairo Station, another film where an outsider develops an unhealthy obsession with a woman who is not romantically interested in him, and who sometimes turns his anger about that into violence. But whereas Cairo Station was very clear about the unhealthy nature of its lead character's fixation, Burning refuses to show us any kind of absolute truth.

A really solid psychological thriller with memorable imagery and a fantastic final act.

4.5

[SpelingError]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F92%2Fvq%2Fbo%2Fxe%2Fburning-2018-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D750694c1b8&f=1&nofb=1

Burning, 2018

Jong-Su (Yoo Ah-in) is an aspiring writer and a bit of an odd duck. Unemployed and trying his best to deal with his father's arrest for assaulting a public servant, Jong-Su runs into an old neighbor, Hae-Mi (Jeon Jong-seo). After a whirlwind hangout and bout of sex, Hae-Mi gets Jong-Su to agree to watch her cat while she goes on vacation. But when she returns from her vacation, she's attached to Ben (Steven Yeun), a slick young man who Jong-Su begins to suspect might hide some dark secrets.

Several of Lee Chang-dong's films have been on my radar for a while (especially Poetry and Secret Sunshine), but this is the first one that I've watched. I must say, I really enjoyed it.

The film lands in a really nice place between a thriller and a character study. Like many great films that lean into the psychological aspect, it's framed with just the right degree of ambiguity that we can never totally know if the conclusions reached by the main character are sound or not, lending multiple layers of dread to the events that play out. Is Ben really a sociopath? Or does Jong-Su see that because he wants to believe that Mae-Mi's boyfriend must be evil? And, by extension, do we the audience want him to be evil because a sociopath/serial killer is more sensational than just a faux-edgy pretty boy?

There are a lot of ways that this works out in the film, and none better than the use of Hae-Mi's cat. Despite caring for the cat for two weeks, Jong-Su never sees the kitty. When we're later asked to use the appearance of a cat to drive our understanding of a situation, we have to ask: is that her cat? What does it mean if it is? And what does it mean if it isn't?

Jong-Su himself walks that same line of ambiguity. As he reacts to what he believes to be true about Hae-Mi and Ben, we cannot fully know if his actions are "right" or not. Is he a vengeful protector, or is he the sociopath? The film refuses us answers, forcing the audience to constantly walk a line of sympathy and revulsion. So many thrillers use a character who is socially isolated or an outsider: sometimes they are the hero who can see what others can't, and sometimes they are monsters.

It's kind of interesting to have watched this film right after viewing Cairo Station, another film where an outsider develops an unhealthy obsession with a woman who is not romantically interested in him, and who sometimes turns his anger about that into violence. But whereas Cairo Station was very clear about the unhealthy nature of its lead character's fixation, Burning refuses to show us any kind of absolute truth.

A really solid psychological thriller with memorable imagery and a fantastic final act.

4.5

I really dug that one. I think it effectively captured feelings of alienation, envy, and that it found the right balance to create such an ambiguously menacing atmosphere.

[ueno_station54]

https://78.media.tumblr.com/7783cb5ff1e66e305cca9b67118c01c3/tumblr_pgcnmvy3ny1u3vseto1_500.gif
Buddha's Palm (Taylor Wong, 1982)
wuxia films w/ magic powers the only films i want to watch from now on.

rating_4

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/819xG3LWPOS._SL1500_.jpg


4

[Rockatansky]

https://78.media.tumblr.com/7783cb5ff1e66e305cca9b67118c01c3/tumblr_pgcnmvy3ny1u3vseto1_500.gif
Buddha's Palm (Taylor Wong, 1982)
wuxia films w/ magic powers the only films i want to watch from now on.

rating_4
Have you seen Bastard Swordsman? I like that one a lot. Basically turns into kung fu Star Wars / Spider-Man during the climax.

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simbasible.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F11%2F2-9.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Cairo Station, 1958
I remember enjoying this when I watched it two years ago. I need to see more Chahine. The only other one I've seen is Saladin, which I also enjoyed. Interesting to see a historical epic made in that part of the world, and it's more evenhanded in its portrayal of the crusades than you would expect from western examples of the genre. Will give that one a recommendation.

[ueno_station54]

Have you seen Bastard Swordsman? I like that one a lot. Basically turns into kung fu Star Wars / Spider-Man during the climax.
you lost me with Star Wars and immediately won me back with Spiderman. its on the watchlist now <3

[Wyldesyde19]

I don't think it's a film I've heard mentioned before (though my ability to retain titles is . . . not good). I would highly recommend it. Both the story and the style are really solid. And it's on Netflix!

Jabs and I both mentioned our love for Cairo Station previously, me more so. Netflix has 12 of his films available, and I binged them all last year (he was my director of choice for the 2021 Challenge). And I enjoyed most of his films.

[Takoma11]

Jabs and I both mentioned our love for Cairo Station previously, me more so. Netflix has 12 of his films available, and I binged them all last year (he was my director of choice for the 2021 Challenge). And I enjoyed most of his films.

I haven't settled on my director for this year's challenge yet, so that's good to know.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BNzEwZjczYWQtMmRmOC00YWEyLTk4OTYtN2I4ODkzMzlkNzIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUyND k2ODc%40._V1_FMjpg_UX480_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Slacker, 1990

On a hot day in Austin texas, a man in a taxi cab ruminates on what might have been if he'd stayed at the bus stop. From there, we find a woman who has been apparently mowed down in the street. A jogger stops to help---though she does not stop jogging--and is promptly joined by a man who is late for work and can't stop to help, but does have time to slip her his card. And so on and so on as the camera roams the city, one character leading into a short vignette of the next in a series of long, luxurious takes.

It is interesting to come to this film for the first time having already seen Linklater's Waking Life, which uses a very similar long-take, loosely connected personal stories structure. But whereas that film leaned toward discussions of philosophy, this one weaves the deeper monologues in with more mundane interactions.

A broad theme across the different stories seems to be the intersection of individuals and groups. For example, a man musing on why it's bad for everyone that his acquaintance has given a quarter and a soda to a homeless man begging on the street or the way that different characters rail against the powers that be (corporations, the police, the government).

As with any film of this nature, some sequences are more memorable than others. But whatever is happening in the movie, be it a man mourning (or maybe not) the death of his mother or a motor-mouthed woman trying to sell what she claims is a preserved pap smear of Madonna, Linklater allows the sequences to develop with a sense of both time and space that is very atypical of most movies. There are punchlines within the scenes, of course, but Linklater isn't afraid to let his camera linger on the silence or the down beat after the moment of impact.

The characters on display are very much that: characters. They are zany and highly opinionated, but in a way that is very recognizable. Every town has at least a few of these people, and a place like Austin of course has more than its fair share.

It's easy to see why this is considered a significant film in the context of the way that independent cinema has developed.

4

[Allaby]

CODA (2021) Rewatch. I still love this film just as much as the first time. This is a beautiful, delightful, and truly enjoyable gem. CODA is sweet, funny and touching. I really loved the whole cast in this. Tomorrow is the Academy Awards and no matter what happens, CODA is a fantastic film. Still my favourite film of 2021. 4.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/TheGoodLiarPoster.jpeg
By Warner Bros. - Can be obtained from the distributor, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62151446

The Good Liar - (2019)

Sweet little old Betty (Helen Mirren) and kindly, softly-spoken old Roy (Ian McKellen) meet on the internet and start to get to know each other, both having recently lost their partners. Obviously, this is the kind of thriller where absolutely nothing is as it seems - and in one sense once we start following McKellen's Roy around, and learn all about his schemes, we automatically know that Betty's secrets are going to be revealed in the film's denouement. There's a small sense of predictability there, and there's a whole added layer underneath about secret identities and pasts that probably overburdens The Good Liar with the fantastic and unlikely - but aside from that I enjoyed the cat and mouse game these two characters played, and found McKellen a delightfully corrupt and nasty villain. Hustlers and con-men make interesting characters and usually set in motion interesting plots - even with it's predictability, The Good Liar was a breezy watch.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/Herself.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/intl/ireland/2020/herself.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65566639

Herself - (2020)

Very much grounded, this true to life film invites us to get to know Sandra (Clare Dunne) and her agonizing escape from a relationship where horrifying physical abuse has led to her having to escape despite having nowhere to go. These days, public housing lists in many countries take years to provide accommodation - so in the meantime Sandra and her two daughters are put up in a hotel. When she learns that it's possible to construct a small DIY house for £35,000, and is given a tiny amount of land as a token of affection from a family friend, she decides to build her own new home. Her ex-husband wastes no time in emotionally abusing her from a distance, wrangling in court over the two kids and finding any other means to hurt her. Phyllida Lloyd shows a passionate yet restrained hand in directing this moving film.

7/10

[PHOENIX74]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F92%2Fvq%2Fbo%2Fxe%2Fburning-2018-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D750694c1b8&f=1&nofb=1

Burning, 2018

Jong-Su (Yoo Ah-in) is an aspiring writer and a bit of an odd duck. Unemployed and trying his best to deal with his father's arrest for assaulting a public servant, Jong-Su runs into an old neighbor, Hae-Mi (Jeon Jong-seo). After a whirlwind hangout and bout of sex, Hae-Mi gets Jong-Su to agree to watch her cat while she goes on vacation. But when she returns from her vacation, she's attached to Ben (Steven Yeun), a slick young man who Jong-Su begins to suspect might hide some dark secrets.

Several of Lee Chang-dong's films have been on my radar for a while (especially Poetry and Secret Sunshine), but this is the first one that I've watched. I must say, I really enjoyed it.

The film lands in a really nice place between a thriller and a character study. Like many great films that lean into the psychological aspect, it's framed with just the right degree of ambiguity that we can never totally know if the conclusions reached by the main character are sound or not, lending multiple layers of dread to the events that play out. Is Ben really a sociopath? Or does Jong-Su see that because he wants to believe that Mae-Mi's boyfriend must be evil? And, by extension, do we the audience want him to be evil because a sociopath/serial killer is more sensational than just a faux-edgy pretty boy?

There are a lot of ways that this works out in the film, and none better than the use of Hae-Mi's cat. Despite caring for the cat for two weeks, Jong-Su never sees the kitty. When we're later asked to use the appearance of a cat to drive our understanding of a situation, we have to ask: is that her cat? What does it mean if it is? And what does it mean if it isn't?

Jong-Su himself walks that same line of ambiguity. As he reacts to what he believes to be true about Hae-Mi and Ben, we cannot fully know if his actions are "right" or not. Is he a vengeful protector, or is he the sociopath? The film refuses us answers, forcing the audience to constantly walk a line of sympathy and revulsion. So many thrillers use a character who is socially isolated or an outsider: sometimes they are the hero who can see what others can't, and sometimes they are monsters.

It's kind of interesting to have watched this film right after viewing Cairo Station, another film where an outsider develops an unhealthy obsession with a woman who is not romantically interested in him, and who sometimes turns his anger about that into violence. But whereas Cairo Station was very clear about the unhealthy nature of its lead character's fixation, Burning refuses to show us any kind of absolute truth.

A really solid psychological thriller with memorable imagery and a fantastic final act.

4.5

I absolutely adore this film. The ambiguity about the burning of the greenhouses, and the sinister implications of what this might really mean, added to that sense of unnerving possibility Jong-Su suspects, or at least probably wishes were true if he's to continue to see himself as a morally upstanding person who was always the right one. I also very much enjoy a film that leaves us with two equally possible truths as a source of mystery to ponder long after the final credits are over.

[Fabulous]

Set It Up (2018)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/wYHaQzfzv5vOGaV6uPhatFWG338.jpg

[MovieBuffering]

Felt like dipping my toes into some new movies this weekend. Ended up doing a Jodie Comer double dip. She has some chops.

Free Guy - 2021

The originality should be applauded. Refreshing to make a cool movie without an existing IP attached for once. Reynolds is charming as usual and carries the movie well. Comier is very good but plays a nerdy genius computer person along with another dude. You really have suspend disbelief that they are because they are too good looking but if you can good on you. It pretty entertaining flick, but takes some weird choices at spots. There are a couple lines in the movie that take me out of the movie but that's to be expected digesting Hollywood entertainment now. All and all it's worth a gander and I had a good time with it for the most part, even if it was a bit prosperous and dense at some parts. It was fun.

3

https://gray-wwny-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/W-983CKY6IHBwxAvvwpR6l-NfJo=/1200x675/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/JFXIAUI73RGYZBUJWEHKEUS3RY.jpg

[MovieBuffering]

Ending the Comer doubleheader with

The Last Duel - 2021

I can't think of a better example of what happens when you emphasize message over entertainment. The number one goal should be to entertain....always. The movie is a mixed bag because the messaging is so thick the entertainment trails. It's infecting everyone in Hollywood. It's a shame because most of the performances, cinematography and ending were great. Once you get over the fact it's set in medieval France and everyone speaks English I found the performances pretty good. Comer was spectacular, especially towards the end. It's just the subject matter this movie is tackling is dark but the messaging was so thick I legitimately laughed and I shouldn't be. Especially going into the third act and it freezes onto one phrase I laughed pretty hard. I can almost feel the actors patting themselves on the back for this movie. I have a nickname for this movie but saying it would be spoiling the subject matter of the movie. Which I was not expecting it to be about which in hindsight it doesn't surprise me in this climate.

All that is not to say what they attempted to say isn't worthy of exploration I just don't think it's entertaining in a feature film. I think they did a pretty decent job putting you in someone's shows after such an event. However a good chunk of this movie is a pretty hard dull bore to get through. The end is great and has a lot of weight to it mainly thanks to Comer's performance it's just the journey is rough to get there. Ridley should have took Gladiator in this direction :laugh:. Anyways it was ok at best with a great ending.

2.5

https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/p_thelastduel_homeentupdate_22197_ab6d9dbb.jpeg

[ThatDarnMKS]

Rating Free Guy higher than The Last Duel hurts my head, heart and soul.

[Marco]

Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) - rewatch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Julien_donkey_boy_poster.png
Dunno what I expected to get out of watching this disturbing and hilarious film again, but it sure hits the spot. Utterly mental depicting mental deficiencies (Werner Hertzog is fabulous) that can just creep into a family structure. Wish Korine had stayed on this track rather than punt out the *controv* pish that only satisfies the chattering classes....opportunity missed by him I think.

4

[M.L.]

City Slickers - 3.5

I enjoyed it. It's a fairly typical comedy of it's time, and some jokes didn't always land for me, but it was still a good watch.

City Lights - 5

There were more gags I picked up on in this re-watch, I think. Probably my 2nd favorite Chaplin film, and for good reason.

[Wooley]

City Lights - 5

There were more gags I picked up on in this re-watch, I think. Probably my 2nd favorite Chaplin film, and for good reason.

I just recently watched this for the first time and absolutely loved it. Kept telling my friends how this silent film was funnier and better than a lot of comedies they think of. They all just humored me.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I just recently watched this for the first time and absolutely loved it. Kept telling my friends how this silent film was funnier and better than a lot of comedies they think of. They all just humored me.

City Lights is one of my top 3 Chaplin (alongside Modern Times and Limelight). If you want him to bring the funny, the Circus is mandatory and under appreciated.

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/Possessor_%28film%29_poster.jpg/220px-Possessor_%28film%29_poster.jpg

3

SF = Zzz


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

[Takoma11]

I absolutely adore this film. The ambiguity about the burning of the greenhouses, and the sinister implications of what this might really mean, added to that sense of unnerving possibility Jong-Su suspects, or at least probably wishes were true if he's to continue to see himself as a morally upstanding person who was always the right one. I also very much enjoy a film that leaves us with two equally possible truths as a source of mystery to ponder long after the final credits are over.

Agreed.

I think that the whole idea of reality and subjectivity is perfectly summed up in the not-insignificant subplot about Hae-Mi's story about falling into the empty well. Did it really happen? Did she make it up? Did she imagine it so viscerally that she believes it happened?

And much like the well story, whatever is the reality between Hae-Mi, Jung-Su, and Ben, it's upsetting and maybe even horrifying.

[Thief]

ENCANTO
(2021, Bush & Howard)

https://i.imgur.com/Yg402t1.jpg

"I wish you could see yourself the way I do. You are perfect just like this. You're just as special as anyone else in this family."



Encanto follows the Madrigal, a Colombian family led by matriarch Alma (María Cecilia Botero) and settled in the rural titular town. What sets them apart is that at some point in their lives, each member of the family receives a magical gift in a ritual led by Alma; except for Mirabel. This creates disillusionment and resentment in Alma and low self-esteem in Mirabel, because why shouldn't he receive a gift?

Just like with the Madrigal family, there are a lot of strengths and a lot of weakening flaws in it. The main flaw is that the story is a bit of a mess, and the way everything unfolds, sending Mirabel into a quest to find the problem with the house and the family just doesn't make a lot of sense. But at least it's set to some banging music.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2291209#post2291209)

[Thief]

MIDNIGHT COWBOY
(1969, Schlessinger)

https://i.imgur.com/Blg9SkD.jpg


"Uh, well, sir, I ain't a f'real cowboy. But I am one helluva stud!"



Midnight Cowboy follows Buck's journey as he struggles to make ends meet. We don't get a lot of background on him and why he decided to follow this path, but coming from a rural town, you get the idea that he probably was a "big fish in a small pond". However, moving to the biggest city in the US certainly puts him in a much bigger pond; one that he has trouble navigating in.

At some point, he meets "Ratso" (Dustin Hoffman), a street con man, and despite a shaky start, they quickly become friends as they both struggle to survive in the harsh environment of the Big Apple. Buck is naïve and perhaps not that clever, while Ratso's health is quickly deteriorating, and both performances successfully convey the sadness beneath their exterior surfaces.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2291223#post2291223) and the HOF27 (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2291224#post2291224).

[sawduck]

Ben-Hur 10/10 Can't believe it took me so long to watch this masterpiece

Death Wish 6/10

Wall Street 8/10

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/Blinded_by_the_Light_%282019_film_poster%29.png
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60895278

Blinded by the Light - (2019)

Originality isn't one of Blinded by the Light's best qualities, but if you're a fan of these films you'll no doubt enjoy it - and if you're a fan of Bruce Springsteen you'll absolutely love it. Javed (Viveik Kalra) is a teenager of Pakistani descent living in the English town of Luton - the year is 1987. Javed is a somewhat shy and sensitive boy who yearns to become a writer and leave home to be free of his demanding father, who wants him to earn money and support the family - when an acquaintance at school introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. The lyrics and meaning of the music become an almost-obsessive source of inspiration and hope. Through this he connects with a girl for the first time, but his passion for writing, love life and music are diametrically opposed to the direction his family insist he take. What we get is a lot of Bruce Springsteen music - making this a kind of quasi-musical in the way dancing, action and movement follow - with a look at how a Pakistani kid and Pakistanis in general were treated in Thatcher's Britain and all of the growing pains we've become accustomed to in these kinds of movies. Based on a true story, it's a clever, inspirational and very lively film. I'm not a huge fan of the genre or Springsteen, but I can recognize that this is a very genuine coming of age story with a lot of heart - and very recommended for those looking for a pick-me-up.

6.5/10

[Fabulous]

Just Mercy (2019)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/zNqsGEWHlXwFw8wod0HDkgrvsl8.jpg

[Deschain]

I watched Old Henry. Helluva picture.

[Stirchley]

MIDNIGHT COWBOY
(1969, Schlessinger)

https://i.imgur.com/Blg9SkD.jpg


Seen it a million times. A masterpiece of American Cinema.

[SpelingError]

MIDNIGHT COWBOY
(1969, Schlessinger)

https://i.imgur.com/Blg9SkD.jpg


Seen it a million times. A masterpiece of American Cinema.

It's among my favorites of the 60's.

[Gideon58]

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/4434bb07-f1fa-43dd-9e55-efb26403ab5b.dab3e4c3adf48e501e6b746313b693e9.jpeg


3.5

[SpelingError]

27th Hall of Fame

True Romance (1993) - 3

This film was a mixed bag for me. For one, I don't know what it was going for with the characters. Clarence and Alabama's flaws are left out in the open, but given the weird 'they live happily ever after' ending, it seems like you're meant to root for the two of them, and that connection just wasn't there for me. Like, Clarence's Elvis Presley hallucination in the first act screamed "This guy needs serious help!" and I kept that impression all throughout the film. Alabama didn't prove much better in this regard as the way she shrugged Clarence's violence off (the line "I think what you did is so romantic" made me cringe so hard) also annoyed me. As per Tarantino style, the action is highly stylized, but I found very little of it exciting. Those scenes really could've used some tightening up in terms of editing and cinematography. Even the final shootout, though interesting on paper, suffered from this to a degree. With that being said, I liked a few aspects about this film. Tarantino's writing style isn't for everyone, and while a couple scenes like the n word conversation are cringe inducing, I enjoyed most of the dialogue and felt it brought enough style to the film to keep it entertaining from beginning to end. Tarantino has a talent for writing catchy and witty scripts and this film was no exception to that. The film also lives up to another of Tarantino's strengths as it has a strong ensemble cast. Slater, Hopper, Walken, Rubinek, Rapaport, and even Arquette, though her acting occasionally annoyed me, ranged from good to great. Finally, while the story didn't interest me much, I did enjoy a few smaller scenes within the larger story, like Elliot being pulled over by a cop. Issues aside, I enjoyed my time with this film and, while I doubt I'll ever end up loving it, I might watch it again if I'm in the right mood.

[ThatDarnMKS]

27th Hall of Fame

True Romance (1993) - 3

This film was a mixed bag for me. For one, I don't know what it was going for with the characters. Clarence and Alabama's flaws are left out in the open, but given the weird 'they live happily ever after' ending, it seems like you're meant to root for the two of them, and that connection just wasn't there for me. Like, Clarence's Elvis Presley hallucination in the first act screamed "This guy needs serious help!" and I kept that impression all throughout the film. Alabama didn't prove much better in this regard as the way she shrugged Clarence's violence off (the line "I think what you did is so romantic" made me cringe so hard) also annoyed me. As per Tarantino style, the action is highly stylized, but I found very little of it exciting. Those scenes really could've used some tightening up in terms of editing and cinematography. Even the final shootout, though interesting on paper, suffered from this to a degree. With that being said, I liked a few aspects about this film. Tarantino's writing style isn't for everyone, and while a couple scenes like the n word conversation are cringe inducing, I enjoyed most of the dialogue and felt it brought enough style to the film to keep it entertaining from beginning to end. Tarantino has a talent for writing catchy and witty scripts and this film was no exception to that. The film also lives up to another of Tarantino's strengths as it has a strong ensemble cast. Slater, Hopper, Walken, Rubinek, Rapaport, and even Arquette, though her acting occasionally annoyed me, ranged from good to great. Finally, while the story didn't interest me much, I did enjoy a few smaller scenes within the larger story, like Elliot being pulled over by a cop. Issues aside, I enjoyed my time with this film and, while I doubt I'll ever end up loving it, I might watch it again if I'm in the right mood.

In Tarantino’s script…

Clarence dies in the shootout. He steps out of the bathroom and gets shot in the head. None of this eye blown out nonsense. It fits the narrative much, much better.

That said, I don’t mind when messed up characters are given an oddly happy ending. Keeps it from being a morality play.

[SpelingError]

In Tarantino’s script…

Clarence dies in the shootout. He steps out of the bathroom and gets shot in the head. None of this eye blown out nonsense. It fits the narrative much, much better.

That said, I don’t mind when messed up characters are given an oddly happy ending. Keeps it from being a morality play.

Yeah, that would've resolved most of my issues had that been in the film. I get why some people wouldn't be bothered by the ending, but I found it to be really unfitting for the characters.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Yeah, that would've resolved most of my issues had that been in the film. I get why some people wouldn't be bothered by the ending, but I found it to be really unfitting for the characters.
Scott was otherwise pretty faithful to the events of Tarantino’s script. He put it in chronological order but kept the scenes virtually identical to as written.

Some online outlets say the Unrated version has the original ending but I’m pretty sure I have and watched it, only to find Scott’s ending intact.

[Wooley]

27th Hall of Fame

True Romance (1993) - 3

This film was a mixed bag for me. For one, I don't know what it was going for with the characters. Clarence and Alabama's flaws are left out in the open, but given the weird 'they live happily ever after' ending, it seems like you're meant to root for the two of them, and that connection just wasn't there for me. Like, Clarence's Elvis Presley hallucination in the first act screamed "This guy needs serious help!" and I kept that impression all throughout the film. Alabama didn't prove much better in this regard as the way she shrugged Clarence's violence off (the line "I think what you did is so romantic" made me cringe so hard) also annoyed me. As per Tarantino style, the action is highly stylized, but I found very little of it exciting. Those scenes really could've used some tightening up in terms of editing and cinematography. Even the final shootout, though interesting on paper, suffered from this to a degree. With that being said, I liked a few aspects about this film. Tarantino's writing style isn't for everyone, and while a couple scenes like the n word conversation are cringe inducing, I enjoyed most of the dialogue and felt it brought enough style to the film to keep it entertaining from beginning to end. Tarantino has a talent for writing catchy and witty scripts and this film was no exception to that. The film also lives up to another of Tarantino's strengths as it has a strong ensemble cast. Slater, Hopper, Walken, Rubinek, Rapaport, and even Arquette, though her acting occasionally annoyed me, ranged from good to great. Finally, while the story didn't interest me much, I did enjoy a few smaller scenes within the larger story, like Elliot being pulled over by a cop. Issues aside, I enjoyed my time with this film and, while I doubt I'll ever end up loving it, I might watch it again if I'm in the right mood.

Yeah, I've always felt this film had a lot to offer and great potential, but was the right director and the right leading man short.
Slater came off, in moments like the Elvis bits, like the wrong guy for the role. He was a very specific movie star and I feel like he got cast in this by a producer or studio-guy not someone who really understood the script. Conversely, I thought Arquette was pretty good except that Scott directed the wrong movie and she was in the middle of it.
Which brings me to Scott who I think can be a good director (see The Hunger) but he was not the right one for this script. His style is just a little too Hollywood, a little too polished, a little too mainstream-edgy instead of Tarantino edgy for this script. And I feel like you see that in most of the movie, outside of a few very good scenes that were written (and cast) too well to be ruined. Tarantino would demonstrate how a film like this should have been directed a year later.
Still, it is not without entertainment value, I've enjoyed the film a few times.

[SpelingError]

Yeah, I've always felt this film had a lot to offer and great potential, but was the right director and the right leading man short.
Slater came off, in moments like the Elvis bits, like the wrong guy for the role. He was a very specific movie star and I feel like he got cast in this by a producer or studio-guy not someone who really understood the script. Conversely, I thought Arquette was pretty good except that Scott directed the wrong movie and she was in the middle of it.
Which brings me to Scott who I think can be a good director (see The Hunger) but he was not the right one for this script. His style is just a little too Hollywood, a little too polished, a little too mainstream-edgy instead of Tarantino edgy for this script. And I feel like you see that in most of the movies, outside of a few very good scenes that were written (and cast) too well to be ruined. Tarantino would demonstrate how a film like this should have been directed a year later.
Still, it is not without entertainment value, I've enjoyed the film a few times.

That didn't occur to me when I watched the film, but I get that criticism.

[Fabulous]

Pieces of a Woman (2020)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/izNpxVcjKbF9BiYF4GVqxCOfewL.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/ShadowoftheVampireposter.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18099602

Shadow of the Vampire - (2000)

Despite Willem Dafoe's Oscar nomination, this film had completely slipped my radar until recently. That performance is the reason to see this interesting alternate-history telling of the making of Nosferatu (100 years old this year.) He ostensibly plays actor Max Schreck, unknown to all the cast and crew except director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) - as to the reason they have to wait until they're on location to meet him, Murnau explains that Schreck is a method actor, and will only appear to them in character. Well, what Murnau has done is found himself a real vampire - one who will play havoc with the production of the film. Dafoe's seedy, pathetic, yet dangerous ancient monster nearly steals our attention away from any other aspect of the film, and as good as Benicio Del Toro was in Traffic - I give this Oscar to Willem Dafoe. I enjoyed watching it enormously last night, and if I watch it again it will simply be to witness that especially strange incarnation of "Schreck". Having Udo Kier in the cast was like a cherry on top of the cake.

While I'm at it - you beat Rami Malek and obviously deserved the Oscar for your performance as van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate, Willem - that's 2 you deserve. Your other 2 nominations were also very winnable. You know what's gonna happen in the end, don't you? You're going to end up winning an Oscar for some average piece of crap because the Academy is going to be worrying you won't get one towards the end of your career.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/eb/Fisherman%27s_Friends_Theatrical_Poster.jpg
By Entertainment Film Distributors - Direct from the distributor as I am one of the films distributors and it is all over the internet, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60315686

Fisherman's Friends - (2019)

A feel-good pick-me-up kind of true story, this fairly predictable movie is well made, but came at a bad time for me. I've been picking movies these days based on perceived quality, but I'm going to get more picky genre-wise in the future because I'm kind of tired of all of these rags-to-riches and coming of age films. It doesn't matter how well made they are, they all follow the same formula so closely that I find myself watching a film I feel like I've seen a thousand times before. The obligatory romance, financially-driven main character who comes to understand friendship is more valuable than money and transformation of people from average joes to big stars all make their showing here with nothing really distinctive except for the fact that fishermen singing sea-shanties is an unusual group to be selling heaps of records in today's age. This is pleasant, bright and sounds good - but I feel like begging filmmakers to do something a little more different than just rolling out measured scenes that follow a safe tried-and-true pattern.

6/10

[StuSmallz]

Sure.Okay, I shared it: http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?8266-Top-Ten-Films-First-Seen-in-2022/page2&p=648733&viewfull=1#post648733


By the way Takoma (or anyone interested here), have you considered joining the Match Cut forum yet? I think you'd fit in just fine with all the other serious cinephiles already there.

[xSookieStackhouse]

4.5
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p7825626_p_v8_af.jpg

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/ShadowoftheVampireposter.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18099602

Shadow of the Vampire - (2000)

Despite Willem Dafoe's Oscar nomination, this film had completely slipped my radar until recently. That performance is the reason to see this interesting alternate-history telling of the making of Nosferatu (100 years old this year.) He ostensibly plays actor Max Schreck, unknown to all the cast and crew except director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) - as to the reason they have to wait until they're on location to meet him, Murnau explains that Schreck is a method actor, and will only appear to them in character. Well, what Murnau has done is found himself a real vampire - one who will play havoc with the production of the film. Dafoe's seedy, pathetic, yet dangerous ancient monster nearly steals our attention away from any other aspect of the film, and as good as Benicio Del Toro was in Traffic - I give this Oscar to Willem Dafoe. I enjoyed watching it enormously last night, and if I watch it again it will simply be to witness that especially strange incarnation of "Schreck". Having Udo Kier in the cast was like a cherry on top of the cake.

While I'm at it - you beat Rami Malek and obviously deserved the Oscar for your performance as van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate, Willem - that's 2 you deserve. Your other 2 nominations were also very winnable. You know what's gonna happen in the end, don't you? You're going to end up winning an Oscar for some average piece of crap because the Academy is going to be worrying you won't get one towards the end of your career.

8/10



Truth.
I don't know what Rami Malek put in the water but, hey, good for him, I guess.
Not good for Willem, though, who has been an elite guy for years.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Okay, I shared it: http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?8266-Top-Ten-Films-First-Seen-in-2022/page2&p=648733&viewfull=1#post648733


By the way Takoma (or anyone interested here), have you considered joining the Match Cut forum yet? I think you'd fit in just fine with all the other serious cinephiles already there.
Not that I was specifically invited, but I consider myself a deeply silly cinephile so it’s probably not my crowd.

[Chypmunk]

Sillyphiles are the best imo.

(Full disclosure - I'm one myself)

[mark f]

Anne at 13,000 Ft. (Kazik Radwanski, 2019) 2 5/10
Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979) 3.5- 7/10
Crash! (Charles Band, 1976) 1.5 4/10
Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968) 4 8/10
https://i.makeagif.com/media/9-15-2016/tcBFyg.gif
Sci-fi adventure satire has one of the best endings in movie history.
Infra-Man (Shan Hua, 1975) 2 5/10
Logan's Run (Michael Anderson, 1976) 3 6.5/10
Draug (Karin Engman & Klas Persson, 2018) 2+ 5/10
First Man (Damien Chazelle, 2018) 3.5 7/10
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58e45a52ebbd1a24417fdf93/1539387874602-SWS8SQPHCKUCBLZ6HVFZ/FIRSTMAN.GIF
Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), a very private person, played a very important part in the space race and the moon landing.
The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021) 3 6.5/10
The True Game of Death (Chen Tien-Tai & Steve [Harries], 1979) 1.5 4+/10
The Mighty Peking Man (Ho Meng Hua, 1977) 2 5-/10
Woodstock (Michael Wadleigh, 1970) 3.5 7/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft0vkKCadgk
Country Joe McDonald leads the crowd in a "follow-the-bouncing-ball version" of "Vietnam Song".
Psychedelic Witch AKA Death by Invitation (Ken Friedman, 1971) 2 5/10
The Divine Lady (Frank Lloyd, 1928) 2.5+ 6/10
Fangs AKA Snakes (Arthur A. Names, 1974) 2 5/10
The Windshield Wiper (Alberto Mielgo, 2021) 2.5 6/10
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTk2MDg4ZTUtZTFkNi00MmFkLWE2MDAtZDUxMTZiYTNiM2QwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXRyYW5zY29kZS13b3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_QL7 5_UX500_CR0,0,500,281_.jpg
Surprise Academy-Award-winning animated short from 2022 Oscars.
Deadly Cuts (Rachel Carey, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Enter the Game of Death (Lee Tso-nam, 1978) 2 5/10
Charley and the Angel (Vincent McEveety, 1973) 2.5 6/10
Battered (Lee Grant, 1989) 3 6.5/10
https://filmforum.org/do-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase/client-uploads/_1000w/battered-slide-2.jpg
Several battered women talk about how they have no redress from the police when they're battered by men. Here a daughter tells how she never wants to date or marry because of the domestic abuse she witnessed that happened to her mom.

[Rockatansky]

The True Game of Death (Chen Tien-Tai & Steve [Harries], 1979) 1.5 4+/10
Enter the Game of Death (Lee Tso-nam, 1978) 2 5/10



Lol I hope you spaced these far enough apart.


Also, if you're exploring the work of Ho Meng Hua, might I recommend The Vengeful Beauty? It's a kung fu movie with a pregnant heroine who gets in multiple fight scenes and periodically clutches her stomach to remind us that she's supposed to be pregnant.

[Mr Minio]

I recommend The Vengeful Beauty Seconded. A great film.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDRiNDFmMGYtOWY3Ni00ZjUxLTkzZGYtODZiNmIxZGRiZTM4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg


3.5

[Allaby]

Doom Asylum (1987) This was fun. Acting was mostly bad, but in an amusing sort of way. The dialogue was ridiculous and I laughed a lot. If you enjoy cheesy and wacky 80s horror comedies,then this is for you! 3.5

[Rockatansky]

Doom Asylum (1987) This was fun. Acting was mostly bad, but in an amusing sort of way. The dialogue was ridiculous and I laughed a lot. If you enjoy cheesy and wacky 80s horror comedies,then this is for you! 3.5

I liked the guy who wore a necklace with his name on it.

[Allaby]

I liked the guy who wore a necklace with his name on it.

Yeah, he was funny. I also enjoyed when the one girl prayed to God that if she makes it through she will give God money, sex or a gift card for Bloomies. And of course the other girl who offered the killer a discount on therapy sessions!

[matt72582]

I Basilischi - 7/10

It's like a lesser version of "i vitelloni" and you can access it via Amazon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKIbNIw2HkM

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fcriterion-production%2Fcarousel-files%2Fc3f2ec6281d54e0d12deadd3f787d2d0.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1

A Touch of Zen, 1971

Unambitious scholar Gu (Chun Shih) has his world turned upside down when a mysterious stranger strolls into town looking for a fugitive named Yang (Feng Hsu) who is hiding out after her family was targeted by a corrupt government official. A dangerous mix of deception and violent showdowns ensues.

Always a good sign when you have to agonize over which stunning image to include at the top of a review.

This film is just great, with an interesting story, engaging characters, and a visual style that somehow starts strong and only gets better as it goes until it reaches a kind of other-worldly apex in the last five or ten minutes.

While this film is about three hours long, it's the kind of movie where you don't really feel that length. The minutes are all used purposefully, and the action or the character development is constantly moving forward. The relationship between Gu and Yang subverts typical action dynamics, as she is the seasoned warrior and he is the innocent. When Gu does participate more directly, it is to come up with a Scooby-Doo-esque plan to scare the bad guys into thinking a temple is haunted. Chuckling about his brilliance when the ruse is a success, Gu is then brought up short when he encounters the very real carnage that resulted.

While there are many great sequences in the film, the final 20 or so minutes are truly epic, from both an action and visual standpoint. At each step the film just pushes things one . . . step . . . further.

A lot to like here. No notes!

4.5

[matt72582]

Earth Light - 7.5/10

Found this also via Prime. I think it's in the Mubi and/or Cohen streaming site. It's trying to be "art-house", and the photography in Tunisia is wonderful, and once you get past some of that, it's a very good movie, centered around one young man, but the people he meets along the way are interesting, especially one woman in particular. It's different, which is exactly what I've been wanting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUFTt_zN-Kw

[matt72582]

The Cats - 7.5/10
Henning Carlsen is really good. Third movie in just one day. Amazing. It took me the entire year to see that many.

The cast is all female (except one) and it's a good story about mob rule. Very sexual. This was on Mubi


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L82PjLwo4nE

[Wooley]

The Mighty Peking Man (Ho Meng Hua, 1977) 2 5-/10


""Mighty Peking Man is very funny, although a shade off the high mark of Infra-Man, which was made a year earlier, and is my favourite Hong Kong monster film. Both were produced by the legendary Runme Shaw, who, having tasted greatness, obviously hoped to repeat. I find to my astonishment that I gave Infra-Man only two and a half stars when I reviewed it. That was 22 years ago, but a fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that film. I am awarding Mighty Peking Man three stars, for general goofiness and a certain level of insane genius, but I cannot in good conscience rate it higher than Infra-Man. So, in answer to those correspondents who ask if I have ever changed a rating on a movie: Yes, Infra-Man moves up to three stars."
- Roger Ebert

[matt72582]

Everybody Does It - 6/10
I smiled a few times.And the entire 10 minutes are on YouTube. There's no nudity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkFbyFQ3zac

[Gideon58]

27th Hall of Fame

True Romance (1993) - 3

This film was a mixed bag for me. For one, I don't know what it was going for with the characters. Clarence and Alabama's flaws are left out in the open, but given the weird 'they live happily ever after' ending, it seems like you're meant to root for the two of them, and that connection just wasn't there for me. Like, Clarence's Elvis Presley hallucination in the first act screamed "This guy needs serious help!" and I kept that impression all throughout the film. Alabama didn't prove much better in this regard as the way she shrugged Clarence's violence off (the line "I think what you did is so romantic" made me cringe so hard) also annoyed me. As per Tarantino style, the action is highly stylized, but I found very little of it exciting. Those scenes really could've used some tightening up in terms of editing and cinematography. Even the final shootout, though interesting on paper, suffered from this to a degree. With that being said, I liked a few aspects about this film. Tarantino's writing style isn't for everyone, and while a couple scenes like the n word conversation are cringe inducing, I enjoyed most of the dialogue and felt it brought enough style to the film to keep it entertaining from beginning to end. Tarantino has a talent for writing catchy and witty scripts and this film was no exception to that. The film also lives up to another of Tarantino's strengths as it has a strong ensemble cast. Slater, Hopper, Walken, Rubinek, Rapaport, and even Arquette, though her acting occasionally annoyed me, ranged from good to great. Finally, while the story didn't interest me much, I did enjoy a few smaller scenes within the larger story, like Elliot being pulled over by a cop. Issues aside, I enjoyed my time with this film and, while I doubt I'll ever end up loving it, I might watch it again if I'm in the right mood.

That's so weird that you said you didn't feel the connection between Clarence and Alabama, because it was the connection between Clarence and Alabama was the only thing that allowed me to accept everything else that happened in the film.

[Gideon58]

Pieces of a Woman (2020)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/izNpxVcjKbF9BiYF4GVqxCOfewL.jpg

I rated this movie higher than you did and I'm curious what bothered you about it.

[SpelingError]

That's so weird that you said you didn't feel the connection between Clarence and Alabama, because it was the connection between Clarence and Alabama was the only thing that allowed me to accept everything else that happened in the film.
I actually said that I wasn't able to feel a connection to them since they were both unlikable and I felt like the movie wanted me to root for them. I'm aware that the two of them felt a connection towards each other. Never doubted that for a second.

[Gideon58]

That's what I'm saying...the connection made me root for them and once I did that, I was able to accept everything else that happened.

[Fabulous]

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

2

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/gacFeoGjwAJAsbrd90hD5ptcjoe.jpg

[Deschain]

I watched Kimi. It was pretty good. Got a real Rear Window/Wait Until Dark vibe.

[xSookieStackhouse]

rating_5 just released today on disney plus , first episode i loved it and cant wait to see more :) marvel always better then dc even tho i respect dc fans :)
https://terrigen-cdn-dev.marvel.com/content/prod/1x/halfstack_busshelter_48x70_moonknight_v7_lg_0.jpg

[Yomi]

Groundhog Day (1993)
rating_4

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWIxNzM5YzQtY2FmMS00Yjc3LWI1ZjUtNGVjMjMzZTIxZTIxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjU0OTQ0OTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX300_.jp g

[JacobR2000]

Rewatch The Revenant: 9/10, Love it!

[Chypmunk]

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/w220_and_h330_face/gl7ZRTQHYJ9c8LZhwRIVf06SuXg.jpg








In This Our Life (John Huston (& Raoul Walsh), 1942)
Who knew that Ms. Davis could play such a manipulative woman?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3+

[Thief]

CODA
(2021, Heder)

https://i.imgur.com/BA8RMUc.jpg


"Let them figure out how to deal with deaf people"



CODA follows Ruby (Emilia Jones), the only hearing member of her family of fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts. An outcast at school, Ruby enlists in the school choir so she can be close to her crush, but this in turn sparks her love for music and her desire to audition for Berklee. But how will that affect her family? will she be willing to leave them to follow her passion?

Through most of its course, I was more or less unimpressed by the film, even though I was enjoying it. Even though the aspect of a child growing up in a deaf family was interesting and refreshing, the coming of age angle was more or less formulaic and cliché. But once I settled in what it was going for, and I focused on the emotions, it got to me. Towards the last act, I was bawling my eyes out, especially with one scene between Ruby and her dad, Frank (Troy Kotsur).

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2292338#post2292338)

[ThatDarnMKS]

[the coming of age angle was more or less formulaic and cliché.[/rating]


An understatement.

And the deaf angle wasn't handled with an ounce of authenticity, virtually forcing the film to take place in a world where the ADA doesn't exist or the family actively refuses it (which ties into the problematic depiction of the deaf members as being parasitic and uncaring towards their daughter. Sure, some people are garbage but for a movie so praised for representation, it seemed an odd choice).

Then there's the main character. A mediocre actress and decent singer that somehow everyone is convinced is great enough to assuredly get into music school (I'm unconvinced). I've rarely seen a character with so little agency. Virtually every decision is made by her is actually forced upon her or her improbably demanding teacher (that violates every procedure and protocol in place to enforce propriety between teachers and pupils). Her auditions and even her love interest are just something of happenstance.

Making a hearing person the focus of a deaf film also has pangs of the Hollywood cliche of the white focus of the black narrative that has defined many other Oscar darlings because it makes the majority of the voters get warm fuzzies without actually having the growing pains of looking through a lens dissimilar to their own. On that front, it pales in comparison to last year's The Sound of Metal.

From a filmmaking standpoint, it has all the aesthetic pleasure of a Hallmark film.

The only compliments I can give the film are that the deaf parents are talented and bring an amound of heart to the film that was almost lacking (Matlin apparently fought for them to recast with deaf actors, which led to Kotsur). His performance especially, leads to the funniest and most heartfelt moments that in the hands of someone else, could've easily fallen prey to the rest of the films inadequacies.

In other words...

It's artless, inauthentic schmaltz.

[M.L.]

A Face In the Crowd - 4

I liked it quite a bit , though its one of those movies I'll probably need to re-watch. The cast gave good performances all around, but Andy Griffith stole the show, so to speak, as Lonesome Rhodes.

Donkey Skin - 3.5

After watching The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort (Both of which I loved) I decided to watch this film by the same director. While its not as good as those two, I still liked it alright! It has lots of bizarre touches here and there that make for an entertaining watch. It also gave me some The Beauty and the Beast (1946) vibes, due to some of the visuals, effects, and also by having Jean Marais in it.

Paris, Texas - 4.5

Very good film. It's been on my list a while, and I've finally gotten around to watching it. (Come to think of it, so was A Face In The Crowd...) Its another one I'll need to re-watch to get a better opinion of, though.

[StuSmallz]

Not that I was specifically invited, but I consider myself a deeply silly cinephile so it’s probably not my crowd.Nah, we still have plenty of fun there, just like here; check it out sometime, Sexington!
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fcriterion-production%2Fcarousel-files%2Fc3f2ec6281d54e0d12deadd3f787d2d0.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1

A Touch of Zen, 1971

Unambitious scholar Gu (Chun Shih) has his world turned upside down when a mysterious stranger strolls into town looking for a fugitive named Yang (Feng Hsu) who is hiding out after her family was targeted by a corrupt government official. A dangerous mix of deception and violent showdowns ensues.

Always a good sign when you have to agonize over which stunning image to include at the top of a review.

This film is just great, with an interesting story, engaging characters, and a visual style that somehow starts strong and only gets better as it goes until it reaches a kind of other-worldly apex in the last five or ten minutes.

While this film is about three hours long, it's the kind of movie where you don't really feel that length. The minutes are all used purposefully, and the action or the character development is constantly moving forward. The relationship between Gu and Yang subverts typical action dynamics, as she is the seasoned warrior and he is the innocent. When Gu does participate more directly, it is to come up with a Scooby-Doo-esque plan to scare the bad guys into thinking a temple is haunted. Chuckling about his brilliance when the ruse is a success, Gu is then brought up short when he encounters the very real carnage that resulted.

While there are many great sequences in the film, the final 20 or so minutes are truly epic, from both an action and visual standpoint. At each step the film just pushes things one . . . step . . . further.

A lot to like here. No notes!

4.5This has been high on my to-watch list for some time now, so I should probably go ahead and watch it pretty soon. That being said though, I have heard that it was an influence on Crouching Tiger (which is obviously one of my all-time faves), so how would you say it compared to that, just out of curiosity?

[Takoma11]

This has been high on my to-watch list for some time now, so I should probably go ahead and watch it pretty soon. That being said though, I have heard that it was an influence on Crouching Tiger (which is obviously one of my all-time faves), so how would you say it compared to that, just out of curiosity?

I would say that both films do a good job of juggling several story elements and character arcs at the same time. It's been a while since I watched Crouching Tiger, but it seemed to me that A Touch of Zen was a bit more evenly paced. While they both have beautiful, bittersweet endings, I have to give the edge to A Touch of Zen. I don't want to say any more about it until you've watched it, but literally the last 10 minutes are next level.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjNhYTQ5MmEtNjAyNS00MDYwLThkMmQtNzAxY2JhNjM3NGI2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY5Nzc4MDY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


[Rating]4[/Ratiing]

[StuSmallz]

I would say that both films do a good job of juggling several story elements and character arcs at the same time. It's been a while since I watched Crouching Tiger, but it seemed to me that A Touch of Zen was a bit more evenly paced. While they both have beautiful, bittersweet endings, I have to give the edge to A Touch of Zen. I don't want to say any more about it until you've watched it, but literally the last 10 minutes are next level.Hmm; I've heard criticism of CTHD's pacing before (most of which I presume are due to the flashback sequence in the desert), but I never felt that way about it personally. I mean, it is possible for movies to get unfocused by trying to stuff too many sub-plots/tangents in, like with A Very Long Engagement, but I think the desert flashback added a lot of welcome texture to the experience, sort of like the sub-plot with "English Bob" in Unforgiven (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/unforgiven/); they're just one tangent a piece, and they contribute a lot to those film's story/themes, you know?

[Thief]

An understatement.

And the deaf angle wasn't handled with an ounce of authenticity, virtually forcing the film to take place in a world where the ADA doesn't exist or the family actively refuses it (which ties into the problematic depiction of the deaf members as being parasitic and uncaring towards their daughter. Sure, some people are garbage but for a movie so praised for representation, it seemed an odd choice).


Yeah, I've read the ADA complaint quite a bit, but I wonder if that's the reality of the deaf community, or more specifically the working class deaf community out there. And I'm not being facetious, but asking seriously. Does every single deaf person requests a translator for every single doctor's appointment they have to go to? especially in a small fishing town, and considering that we've seen both parents are quite stubborn and yes, selfish? (which we see in the mom's conversation with Ruby about the choir) And if that's the case, wouldn't that make the journey as much about them ("should we let her go?") as it is for Ruby ("should I leave them?"). For me, there is growth from both parts in the end.


Then there's the main character. A mediocre actress and decent singer that somehow everyone is convinced is great enough to assuredly get into music school (I'm unconvinced). I've rarely seen a character with so little agency. Virtually every decision is made by her is actually forced upon her or her improbably demanding teacher (that violates every procedure and protocol in place to enforce propriety between teachers and pupils). Her auditions and even her love interest are just something of happenstance.

Making a hearing person the focus of a deaf film also has pangs of the Hollywood cliche of the white focus of the black narrative that has defined many other Oscar darlings because it makes the majority of the voters get warm fuzzies without actually having the growing pains of looking through a lens dissimilar to their own. On that front, it pales in comparison to last year's The Sound of Metal.


I didn't have any big issues with Jones' performance. I thought she was ok. As for her singing, I didn't need for her to sing great. It's a film, and as long as it's presented that way within the film's universe, I'm ok with that.

I agree with your point about how the hearing person is the focus, etc. but I still think it's a step in the right direction. Let's hope it can lead to more and better representation. I also agree that Sound of Metal is superior.


From a filmmaking standpoint, it has all the aesthetic pleasure of a Hallmark film.

The only compliments I can give the film are that the deaf parents are talented and bring an amound of heart to the film that was almost lacking (Matlin apparently fought for them to recast with deaf actors, which led to Kotsur). His performance especially, leads to the funniest and most heartfelt moments that in the hands of someone else, could've easily fallen prey to the rest of the films inadequacies.


We agree about Kotsur and Matlin, and Kotsur easily has my favorite moments of the film.


In other words...

It's artless, inauthentic schmaltz.

Harsh :laugh: I definitely wouldn't call it "artless", but to each his/her own.

[Takoma11]

Hmm; I've heard criticism of CTHD's pacing before (most of which I presume are due to the flashback sequence in the desert), but I never felt that way about it personally.

I'm not criticizing the pacing of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, just saying that I think that A Touch of Zen flows at a more even pace. The way that each moment builds to the next is incredibly organic, which is partly why the runtime doesn't feel anywhere near its actual length.

And, again, I'm comparing a movie I last watched over 15 years ago with a movie I watched 36 hours ago, so I'm operating more off of impressions than specifics.

[Captain Terror]

86426

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (2017)

I was utterly charmed by this and laughed out loud often. It's a collection of 3 stories: a lazy stork convinces a pig and his two less-than-smart friends to deliver a baby for him; a non-threatening fox unsuccessfully tries to frighten the local animals; and the pig and his friends have to assist Santa on Christmas Eve.

The film was originally in French, but the copy I watched on Hoopla has English voice actors and they're all very good. In fact I would describe the humor as very "British", so it's hard to believe that it wasn't actually an English production.

Maybe I was just in the mood for something cozy and pleasant, but I'm giving this a rare 5-star rating. Check it out if the stress of living in 2022 is bringing you down.
5

[Fabulous]

Long Shot (2019)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/A7jNTrY1nVRhZed4KuwyhohpKrm.jpg

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://media3.giphy.com/media/cMEkWudB2evQSmrXu9/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47l5bi39gfuljedff025aw4cet9c4eyzk94pt2uqon&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g
https://media1.giphy.com/media/6j0X8W1TURe1bwzTjB/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e470yxtamewyqaxqzfgmgsas4o8mvqy03x75vaqegp8&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g

The Green Knight - I can see how some might feel this was disjointed and flat. I can also see how others may have been captivated by the imagery and performances and script. Adapted from the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight it does make significant alterations but they aren't what you would call jarring. At least based on my passing knowledge of the poem. And they do make sense narratively. The outline is there. Big green guy shows up at a Christmas party in Camelot and challenges King Arthur and his knights. Any man able to land a blow will win his big green axe. But there's an O. Henry/Twilight Zone sort of catch and most of the guys are justifiably reticent. But Arthur's nephew, the ne'er do well Gawain (at least according to director David Lowery's version) takes the challenge and sets up the quest he has to go on in one years time.

The cast is solid and Dev Patel does a really good job as Gawain. It's especially good to see a POC in a lead role that would normally go to a white guy without it seeming shoehorned in. The twists and turns Lowery throws in can sometimes be hard to stick with but the ambience is more than enough to see you through. I don't quite know how to feel about the director. I haven't seen A Ghost Story even though I've had the opportunity several times but have watched The Old Man and the Gun and Ain't Them Bodies Saints. This is easily my favorite of the three but if I had to form an opinion of Lowery based on these three films I'd still have to say ...


https://c.tenor.com/QPtm5J-QIAsAAAAC/hand-gesture.gif


75/100

[StuSmallz]

I'm not criticizing the pacing of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, just saying that I think that A Touch of Zen flows at a more even pace. The way that each moment builds to the next is incredibly organic, which is partly why the runtime doesn't feel anywhere near its actual length.

And, again, I'm comparing a movie I last watched over 15 years ago with a movie I watched 36 hours ago, so I'm operating more off of impressions than specifics.I know, I'm just directing this more at Leonard Maltin for criticizing that aspect of the movie in his 2 & 1/2 star write-up for it, while giving stuff like Batman Forever 3; what a hack!:

https://youtu.be/hYNh_9kMnf0

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 rewatched at my friends house :)

https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p8670_p_v8_ab.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Me_and_Earl_and_the_Dying_Girl_%28film%29.png
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56663007

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - (2015)

2015 seems like it was a while ago now, but I'd never heard of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl before coming across it - a Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival. Thomas Mann and Sound of Metal's Olivia Cooke play two kids in a very truthful manner, who give life to a growing friendship that is at times awkward and uncomfortable, but nonetheless very real and grounded - Greg Gaines and Rachel Kushner. Rachel has leukemia, and Greg is initially forced to spend time with her - being a guy who generally avoids close contact with others, he'd have never done so otherwise. He has a winning personality, but has a self-hatred that Rachel and Greg's friend, Earl Jackson (RJ Cyler) continually try and break down. During this film I was continually distracted by various film posters, Criterion DVDs and film references which flood the movie in a visual and thematic sense - above and beyond that, Greg and Earl's pastime is to write, film and edit spoofs of well regarded films - where they slightly change the title in a clever way, and let that title guide their way. The focus on film is a bonus, for the inside look on a tumultuous coming of age, authentic and uncomplicated friendship and teenage psychology are so well handled here that this got under my skin in all kinds of ways, leading to the kind of engagement I've been lacking in the films I've been watching lately. When it wants to be, the movie is very funny - but doesn't feel a need to get carried away with comedic antics, preferring to surprise us every once in a while with very well aimed humour. Other than that, it's an unglamourized picture of teenage life in a complex world, where the dying and insecure make connections that are strong and yet usually painful. A really good film.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/41/I_Am_Not_a_Witch.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55496083

I Am Not a Witch - (2017)

In places like Zambia, belief in witchcraft and witches is so common as to give the appearance of a community living in the dark ages. At the start of this film, tourists visit a kind of holding-pen where supposed witches are held - when asked why they're all tied with ribbons, it's carefully explained that if they weren't they'd be able to take flight, fly around the place and randomly kill people - which they'd immediately start doing if they were untied. An eight year-old kid is brought up on witchcraft charges, just based on idle suspicion (one witness recalls his dreams as evidence - another lady tripped over while the young girl happened to be looking at her.) She's eventually taken to what is in effect a slave camp for 'witches' where they're forced into hard labour every day. This girl, which the other women decide to call "Shula", comes to the attention of a government man who uses her in trials to point out guilty parties and divine the truth. At first Shula enjoys her new ridiculous life, but the enmity of the general population begins to make it's presence felt, as Shula and her 'witch' guardian are continually accosted and violently threatened (one man accuses Shula of having eaten all of his relatives.) She withdraws into herself, a victim of wild and fantastical superstitions.

It seems the usual way things go is when someone has a particular grudge against you, and you're a woman, you're in danger of being labeled a witch - and this is a stigma that is nearly impossible go get rid of - there's a general hysteria which permeates the community in Zambia, where a witch is hiding around every corner, despite a suspicious lack of evidence that anyone practices witchcraft at all, let alone possesses the power these witches are meant to have. At one stage a community of witch-slaves are forced to sing a song which basically goes "We're witches but we've joined with the government - We work for the government now - But that's okay, we're used to it" - a brief moment of levity in a strange, sad and maddening tale. I found this worthwhile watching.

7/10

[Wooley]

Paris, Texas - 4.5

Very good film. It's been on my list a while, and I've finally gotten around to watching it. (Come to think of it, so was A Face In The Crowd...) Its another one I'll need to re-watch to get a better opinion of, though.

Actually my favorite serious film of all time. Blew my head right off when I first saw it. I said to myself, "Right, this is what movies should be."

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2M5MTJmOTEtNWU1Yy00NDNmLWI3MjMtNzFkN2FiZjE5Njg3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEyMjM2NDc2._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg



4

[Yomi]

Outrage Coda (2017)
rating_3_5

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[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTA2MTMwMjIxMTdeQTJeQWpwZ15BbWU4MDAwMTYxNzMx._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg



2

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://thebestpictureproject.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/informer11.jpghttps://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i431/informer35_bettercountit_FC_470x264_020920170634.jpg?w=400



The Informer - I almost quit more than once on this 1935 drama directed by John Ford and starring Victor McLaglen in his Oscar winning role for Best Actor. I know that, for the most part, melodrama held sway in 30's era movies and that subtlety was an unknown commodity. Why state something when you can overstate it? Add in the fact that it's Ford directing a movie about Ireland and you have the potential for some eye rolling moments.


McLaglen plays Gypo Nolan, a former IRA member drummed out of the organization for disobeying an order to kill someone. He's fallen on hard times and yearns to take his girlfriend Katie Madden (Margot Grahame) away from their hard life. She mentions that passage for two on a boat to America is 20 pounds, an amount that Gypo has seen on a wanted poster for his old friend and IRA partner Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford). Gypo isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and feeling shame that Katie has resorted to street walking it isn't long before he convinces himself to rat out his friend for the reward. Frankie is gunned down trying to escape and after Gypo receives his blood money, the rest of the movie plays out over the course of a few tumultuous hours.

There's a whole travelogue's worth of Irish tropes on display here. Hard drinking, fisticuffs, tenors warbling a maudlin tune, the Catholic Church, more drinking, pugnacious attitudes leading to more fisticuffs, a grieving mother in a prayer shawl, potatoes being et. Did I mention the drinking? But then you factor in the Irish accents that blow hot and cold. Disappearing then circling back all in the space of a few sentences.

There's also a pretty young couple that seems dropped in from an entirely different movie. The "commandant" of the local IRA, Dan Gallagher (Preston Foster) and the departed Frankie's sister Mary (Heather Angel). These characters may have been meant to pander to the widest possible demographic but they were yet another distraction. This also featured one of the more noticeably bad performances in Margot Grahame. I don't remember seeing her in anything else so I'm not sure if she's simply a crappy actress but her scenes were almost painful to watch.

As far as McLaglen's Academy Award winning performance, if you've seen him in any number of Ford Westerns alongside John Wayne or maybe Gunga Din then this was just that, only drawn out to a feature length. I don't know if he deserved it or not. The trio of Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone from Mutiny on the Bounty may have served to cancel each other out and maybe people were sick of the other nominee Paul Muni.

I persevered though. I stuck it out and finished it. It's not terrible. It's just hard for me to understand all the awards love it received.

65/100

[ThatDarnMKS]

Yeah, I've read the ADA complaint quite a bit, but I wonder if that's the reality of the deaf community, or more specifically the working class deaf community out there. And I'm not being facetious, but asking seriously. Does every single deaf person requests a translator for every single doctor's appointment they have to go to? especially in a small fishing town, and considering that we've seen both parents are quite stubborn and yes, selfish? (which we see in the mom's conversation with Ruby about the choir) And if that's the case, wouldn't that make the journey as much about them ("should we let her go?") as it is for Ruby ("should I leave them?"). For me, there is growth from both parts in the end.



I didn't have any big issues with Jones' performance. I thought she was ok. As for her singing, I didn't need for her to sing great. It's a film, and as long as it's presented that way within the film's universe, I'm ok with that.

I agree with your point about how the hearing person is the focus, etc. but I still think it's a step in the right direction. Let's hope it can lead to more and better representation. I also agree that Sound of Metal is superior.



We agree about Kotsur and Matlin, and Kotsur easily has my favorite moments of the film.



Harsh :laugh: I definitely wouldn't call it "artless", but to each his/her own.
There are numerous people in the deaf community that make the ADA argument (check out Coda in Twitter) and they validated virtually every suspicion I had about the movie (and expanded upon them significantly). They could've written themselves an out by emphasizing that the ADA isn't followed well and it's a civil rights violation that they live with but... That would've been too authentic? Dramatic?

When you're the lead of the BEST PICTURE, you should be better than "ok." I'd say she would've fit in (as would virtually every thing else) in the middling quality of an ABC primetime drama series. If she'd been a virtuoso singer, given that the plot hinges on that, I'd have understood compromising with a mediocre actress but she's average at best at both, which makes her painfully miscast.

Glad you agree on her being the wrong focal point. It's due to that that presenting her deaf family as an over-reliant hinderance comes off as fairly ableist. It isn't enough that she's their daughter and they want her to help with their business. It's that they're incapable due to their disability to cope without her. They're utterly dependent and willing to compromise her future until she's pushed too far away by a teacher that they decide to try anything. If this were handled as the cynical, screwed up dynamic that it is, it would work, but the film is too concerned with being sweet and cute to realize or care what it's actually doing.

What about the film struck you as cinematic or artful? The film is practically point and shoot (once again, very TV drama), generically scored, conventionally plotted, and hamfisted in it's characters.

[SpelingError]

What about the film struck you as cinematic or artful? The film is practically point and shoot (once again, very TV drama), generically scored, conventionally plotted, and hamfisted in it's characters.

Well, it depends on what you mean by "artless". You're welcome to like and dislike what you want, but all films are technically art. There's just great art, good art, average art, bad art, shitty art, etc.

EDIT: I didn't realize shit was uncensored here. Yay!

[ThatDarnMKS]

Well, it depends on what you mean by "artless". You're welcome to like and dislike what you want, but all films are technically art. There's just great art, good art, average art, bad art, shitty art, etc.

EDIT: I didn't realize shit was uncensored here. Yay!

This isn't a semantic debate of "art" and you should know damn well what I mean by artless in this context.

"The character is two dimensional."

"Well, technically all characters are 2 dimensional because 3 dimensional depth in film is an impossibility. Even 3D films only create the illusion of depth."

Don't be that guy.

[SpelingError]

Ok, fair enough. Never mind my intrusion then.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Ok, fair enough. Never mind my intrusion then.
Apologies if the tone came off more aggressive than intended. Just assume everything I type is seething with drunken, sardonic sarcasm.

[SpelingError]

Apologies if the tone came off more aggressive than intended. Just assume everything I type is seething with drunken, sardonic sarcasm.

Oh, it's all good. I've known you long enough to know you're a good guy. Well, except for that time you said you didn't like The Blair Witch Project. That's unforgivable.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Oh, it's all good. I've known you long enough to know you're a good guy. Well, except for that time you said you didn't like The Blair Witch Project. That's unforgivable.

Ha!


It's not that I don't LIKE it... It's that I think it's not very good.

[SpelingError]

Ha!


It's not that I don't LIKE it... It's that I think it's not very good.

So, since you don't think the film is very good, that means you think it's great, right?

[ThatDarnMKS]

So, since you don't think the film is very good, that means you think it's great, right?
*Shifts eyes*

I uh... I... I think it's certainly important.

[SpelingError]

*Shifts eyes*

I uh... I... I think it's certainly important.

Okay, fine. I'll let it slide this once, but I have my eye on you.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/The_Dark_and_the_Wicked.jpg
By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10229558/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65148782

The Dark and the Wicked - (2020)

Atmosphere is everything in scary movies, and The Dark and the Wicked is obviously taking it's cues from Hereditary - taking what worked in Ari Aster's creepfest and delivering something more pared down but still pretty spooky. Set on a Texas goat farm, a brother and sister must look after their dying father - and something is terribly wrong. Visitors come, say strange things, and the next minute they aren't there anymore. Shadows don't conform to normality, dreams leak into reality and people long dead start calling on the telephone. Their mother chops up her fingers with the carrots and is found hanging in the shed - bothered by something she tries to articulate in a diary of madness. As each day is counted down, the terrified pair become more convinced that something is coming for their father - and if they flee they abandon him to a horrible fate. It's hard to find decent films in this genre, so if you're a fan make sure to give The Dark and the Wicked a go. The cinematography really finds what is unsettling about lonely country properties outdoors-wise, and inside finds just the right level of darkness, having a lot of fun with mirrors and shadows - while the score is deep, resonant and is quiet enough not to overwhelm and keep us on edge - both aspects of the film handled by newcomers. Writer/director Bryan Bertino brought us that home invasion nightmare, Strangers.

7/10

[crumbsroom]

Okay, fine. I'll let it slide this once, but I have my eye on you.


Don't let it slide. MKS is wrong and needs to be held accountable. Preferably with pitchforks.


Blair Witch has its flaws. But it's very good. And clearly very good in its clear very good way.

[SpelingError]

Well, I guess we got no choice.

cancels MKS

[ThatDarnMKS]

Don't let it slide. MKS is wrong and needs to be held accountable. Preferably with pitchforks.


Blair Witch has its flaws. But it's very good. And clearly very good in its clear very good way.
It's very important in it's very clear way.

And it's marketing team was INCREDIBLE

[Takoma11]

Don't let it slide. MKS is wrong and needs to be held accountable. Preferably with pitchforks.


Blair Witch has its flaws. But it's very good. And clearly very good in its clear very good way.

Clearly. Goodly. And, um, very.

Actually, my main memory of seeing Blair Witch in the theater was during Heather's monologue and she says something about wanting a cheeseburger and this guy a few rows back was like "A cheeseburger? A cheeseburger?!". Also, at that moment (you all know the one), there was a satisfying gasp and jump in the audience.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Well, I guess we got no choice.

cancels MKS
Netflix will renew me and I'll be even worse.

[ueno_station54]

perhaps an even hotter take: Blair Witch Project is a borderline masterpiece but i don't think its a terribly important film.

[ThatDarnMKS]

perhaps an even hotter take: Blair Witch Project is a borderline masterpiece but i don't think its a terribly important film.
I see you've chosen war.

[crumbsroom]

There is a man who believes Blair Witch not to be a 'good movie'.


There is also a man who believes Babydriver is not an abomination to humanity.


*ominous music*


Imagine they are the same man.


#LocustsDescendUponTheEarth

[Thief]

There are numerous people in the deaf community that make the ADA argument (check out Coda in Twitter) and they validated virtually every suspicion I had about the movie (and expanded upon them significantly). They could've written themselves an out by emphasizing that the ADA isn't followed well and it's a civil rights violation that they live with but... That would've been too authentic? Dramatic?

When you're the lead of the BEST PICTURE, you should be better than "ok." I'd say she would've fit in (as would virtually every thing else) in the middling quality of an ABC primetime drama series. If she'd been a virtuoso singer, given that the plot hinges on that, I'd have understood compromising with a mediocre actress but she's average at best at both, which makes her painfully miscast.

Glad you agree on her being the wrong focal point. It's due to that that presenting her deaf family as an over-reliant hinderance comes off as fairly ableist. It isn't enough that she's their daughter and they want her to help with their business. It's that they're incapable due to their disability to cope without her. They're utterly dependent and willing to compromise her future until she's pushed too far away by a teacher that they decide to try anything. If this were handled as the cynical, screwed up dynamic that it is, it would work, but the film is too concerned with being sweet and cute to realize or care what it's actually doing.

What about the film struck you as cinematic or artful? The film is practically point and shoot (once again, very TV drama), generically scored, conventionally plotted, and hamfisted in it's characters.

But you seem to be talking about it in the context of it winning Best Picture, and how it didn't measure up to certain standards you expect from such a film, which I'm not (and even if I were, I'm sure it would fare a lot better than others. I'm looking at you, Broadway Melody!). So I'm sure there's a bit of a sting there from your part, and I'm sure if the Oscar/Best Picture angle wasn't in the way, your response wouldn't be as harsh. C'mon, admit it! Admit it! :D

As for what was "cinematic or artful", I don't know. It depends on what you think it's "art". Every film is ar-oh wait... :shifty: No, but seriously, maybe we came at the film from different angles. I'm not a filmmaker, so I'm sure there are tons of things you look for in a film that I'm fairly oblivious in terms of technique and craft, but at the end of the day, I thought it was overall well made, and I responded emotionally to it as both a son and a father.

[Thief]

Oh, and BTW, The Blair Witch Project is a masterpiece *bangs gavel*

[ThatDarnMKS]

But you seem to be talking about it in the context of it winning Best Picture, and how it didn't measure up to certain standards you expect from such a film, which I'm not (and even if I were, I'm sure it would fare a lot better than others. I'm looking at you, Broadway Melody!). So I'm sure there's a bit of a sting there from your part, and I'm sure if the Oscar/Best Picture angle wasn't in the way, your response wouldn't be as harsh. C'mon, admit it! Admit it! :D

As for what was "cinematic or artful", I don't know. It depends on what you think it's "art". Every film is ar-oh wait... :shifty: No, but seriously, maybe we came at the film from different angles. I'm not a filmmaker, so I'm sure there are tons of things you look for in a film that I'm fairly oblivious in terms of technique and craft, but at the end of the day, I thought it was overall well made, and I responded emotionally to it as both a son and a father.

My response was harsh before it won and I thought it looked schmaltzy before seeing it. My feelings on the film wouldn't change (other than bewilderment as to it's popularity)but if it weren't for it's successful BP campaign, I feel like I'd have been allowed to stop thinking about it and it would largely be forgotten as the bit of nothingness it is.

I just don't see what's "well made" about it. From a filmmaking, performance or dramatic perspective. It's like if Happiest Season won best picture because of its LGBTQ representation, despite being a nauseatingly toxic relationship. And yes, I've thought so little about that film since watching it that I had to look up the title.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Oh, and BTW, The Blair Witch Project is a masterpiece *bangs gavel*
A masterpiece of marketing and maximizing profits from a nothing budget? Absolutely.

[ThatDarnMKS]

There is a man who believes Blair Witch not to be a 'good movie'.


There is also a man who believes Babydriver is not an abomination to humanity.


*ominous music*


Imagine they are the same man.


#LocustsDescendUponTheEarth
*cackles maniacally while flames erupt behind me*

I believe I said it’s not a “very” good movie. I’m open to the possibility of it being some level of quality. Just not a level of goodness that could feasibly be described as “very”

[xSookieStackhouse]

rating_5 as a major fan of marvel i loved it i really enjoy it, i dont believe in bad reviews cause mostly of them are not true.and especially i know they are DC fans and DC fans hate Marvel movies
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjlhNTA3Y2ItYjhiYi00NTBiLTg5MDMtZDJjMDZjNzVjNjJmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEyMjM2NDc2._V1_.jpg

[StuSmallz]

An understatement.

And the deaf angle wasn't handled with an ounce of authenticity, virtually forcing the film to take place in a world where the ADA doesn't exist or the family actively refuses it (which ties into the problematic depiction of the deaf members as being parasitic and uncaring towards their daughter. Sure, some people are garbage but for a movie so praised for representation, it seemed an odd choice).

Then there's the main character. A mediocre actress and decent singer that somehow everyone is convinced is great enough to assuredly get into music school (I'm unconvinced). I've rarely seen a character with so little agency. Virtually every decision is made by her is actually forced upon her or her improbably demanding teacher (that violates every procedure and protocol in place to enforce propriety between teachers and pupils). Her auditions and even her love interest are just something of happenstance.

Making a hearing person the focus of a deaf film also has pangs of the Hollywood cliche of the white focus of the black narrative that has defined many other Oscar darlings because it makes the majority of the voters get warm fuzzies without actually having the growing pains of looking through a lens dissimilar to their own. On that front, it pales in comparison to last year's The Sound of Metal.

From a filmmaking standpoint, it has all the aesthetic pleasure of a Hallmark film.

The only compliments I can give the film are that the deaf parents are talented and bring an amound of heart to the film that was almost lacking (Matlin apparently fought for them to recast with deaf actors, which led to Kotsur). His performance especially, leads to the funniest and most heartfelt moments that in the hands of someone else, could've easily fallen prey to the rest of the films inadequacies.

In other words...

It's artless, inauthentic schmaltz.Sounds like you'd probably enjoy this article's criticism of it, then: https://limpingchicken.com/2021/08/18/liam-odell-coda-blames-deaf-people-for-societys-inaccessibility-and-its-damaging/

[Fabulous]

The Devil All the Time (2020)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/gWPz2ucZxzbnbTQCJHADDCcGi9o.jpg