ScarletLion's Movie Log

I haven't seen either Eden nor Out of The Blue although both are on my watch list. I'll give them both a bump though.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

You should give it a go Dani. Cant beat a bit of grittiness!

The premise of the film isn't massively attractive.....couple's relationship falling apart. They seek therapy. Doesn't work. So they form a band and write songs about their arguments in a bid to free them of the burdens that they carry. It is well constructed though as there's a genuine emotional pulse to it and the two leads are more than competent in their roles (save for a couple of the open-mic scenes). There are also 2 or 3 very funny bits of dialogue.

Worth a watch but won't tear up any trees.

My Halloween Horror special:


After seeing it mentioned on this forum I thought I'd give it a go. It's a straight up gore fest. The second half of the film is just gore with some gore packed in between the gore. I liked the overall "twist" if you could call it that, and the tone, creepiness and lighting is very well done. It's just the unrelenting violence that sticks in your craw. I guess that was what the director was trying to do. But for horror revenge flicks to really work I prefer gaps in between the horror to build plot / arcs etc. 'I saw the Devil' is an example of a film where this is done expertly.

Given I'm not a huge fan of the slasher splatter home invasion revenge horror genre I was probably never going to rate it too highly.

Same rating I gave Inside and I love the horror genre, but as you say take away the gore and there really isn't much else there.

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Shame you didn't like it more. I'm a fan of gore and Home Invasion would be one of my favourite sub genres so I was always going to love this. Can easily see your gripes though.

I was going to describe this as "Sicario in the snow" until I realised that would be an obvious description as director Taylor Sheridan wrote Sicario. The script is really smart and perfectly paced. Jeremy Renner is probably the best I've seen him and the photography is absolutely stunning.

Sheridan has crafted a really neat thriller and seems adept at using tense standoffs, grizzly crimes and the surroundings to help piece it all together. Very enjoyable.

Had no idea what this was about. Finished the movie wanting to talk to people about it - always a good sign. The Safdie brothers have created a grimy, greasy dirtball of a movie that gets under your skin for the most part, then has a brilliant way of paying off towards the end.

Benny Safdie even stars as the less able brother "Nick", while Robert Pattinson shows again (after his amazing performance in 'The Rover') that he is a very, very able actor. The two play brothers down on their luck and Connie (Pattinson) has a decision to make about his brother's therapy. What follows is a hapless 24 hours of misfortune for Connie that gives us a look at the sleazier side of New York. The pictures evoke memories of Mean Streets but with a touch of Gaspar Noe. Notable mentions for a tidy cameo by Jennifer Jason Leigh and the jabbing soundtrack by 0PN.

The pace is tremendous.It's a thrill ride from start to finish with some very clever subplots, analogies and reveals.

8.5/10

Been looking forward to this for a while so its good news you liked it. Also, I really must get round to seeing The Rover.

2 good films. I have a crazy theory about 'Good Time'. So give us a mention when you have watched it.

Will do!

Wind River looks great! I added it to my watchlist where Good Time already resides.

I'm with SL on Inside

Ha. It's just not my bag unfortunately

Masterful direction from one of the masters. I'm beginning to see why Kieslowski is so well thought of. The lighting, editing and camera work is quite something. And Juliette Binoche's performance in this movie, playing a grieving woman named Julie who's suffered heartbreakign tradgedy, is nothing short of incredible.

There was a scene where she dives into a swimming pool but disapears under the water for what seemed like ages. I could feel msyelf holding my breath. Will she ever come up? Is this signifying a deep mental state from which she might not recover? Then suddenly she appears right infront of the camera as it ceases panning around (as if looking for Julie). She's literally just about keeping her head above water.

The fade to black editing which seems to convey her difficulty in making any sort of decisions due to her nihilistic outlook on life since the tragedy is mesmerising. And the incorporation of the music composition into the film was just perfect.

The movie itself doesn't have a whole load of intense plot to get your teeth into. But instead, the visuals just make you constantly analyse Julie's state of mind, her unwillingness to adapt to a new life and her ultimate battle to stay afloat. There were a couple of subplots that I didn't quite grab, perhaps a little too challenging for me, namely the "mistress" and the unification of Europe as a theme. I'm not sure what angle Kieslowski was coming from on these, perhaps they will become clearer with repeat viewings. But overall, a beautiful film.

Can't wait to see the next 2 installments.

Same rating I gave Blue, be interesting to see how both Red and White fare in your eyes.

I aim to watch them both within the next couple of weeks, so I'll give them a mini review on here. I don't really know anything about the Trilogy really so it's quite nice coming into them totally blind.

I only watched them recently for the first time myself, very glad I decided to finally get a hold of copies. Looking forward to your thoughts on the remaining two

I always try to go in as blind as possible to a viewing, sometimes it's less possible because of unavoidable 'chatter' and preconceptions still sometimes exist anyway (because of who's involved or something is part of a series) but I much prefer to try and know as little about something as I can.

Three Colours Trilogy is indeed a masterpiece. In order I have them, Blue, Red then White but really not much between them. Enjoy.

Quaint, heartwarming, touching but ultimately a little bit of a let down, and slightly derivative of such films as 'Swiss Army Man'.

I liked the concept but it was just a touch too forced.