Camo's 2018 Movie Log

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I'm sure Oldman gives a really great performance in this film, but for some reason I have ZERO interest in seeing it.
Oldman is an amazing actor but he's just okay. The makeup department did a pretty good job making him vaguely resemble Churchill, although that can't be hard for such a distinctive looking person and he doesn't look like him that much. IMO, he gave an above average version of the impression everyone does of Churchill, and every scene he was sad or scared or passionate was so gosh darn cringey to me. I was wearing a hoodie while watching it and i pulled my hood over my eyes more than once

Sorry Sean, and on your birthday as well



Hey Cam,
Had you had a chance to look for Before the Rain? It shouldnt be too hard to find. Its a Criterion.



As for the film, I don't remember much of it. Only that they killed guests they deemed morally wrong or anyone who had opposite view points from them. Then burying them in their garden and one guy sucking on a Popsicle.
Siddon nominated it for the Women Director's HoF, i had never heard of it. I didn't really like or dislike it, get why someone could be into it though. It's definitely good for nostalgia purposes because it's so 90's. So many familiar faces.



Oldman is an amazing actor but he's just okay. The makeup department did a pretty good job making him vaguely resemble Churchill, although that can't be hard for such a distinctive looking person and he doesn't look like him that much. IMO, he gave an above average version of the impression everyone does of Churchill, and every scene he was sad or scared or passionate was so gosh darn cringey to me. I was wearing a hoodie while watching it and i pulled my hood over my eyes more than once

Sorry Sean, and on your birthday as well
It's interesting that most of the people who I have heard dumping on thhis movie hard are very familiar with Churchhill and other performances of him. I am not at all. I feel like that might be the difference maker for viewers with this film.
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It's interesting that most of the people who I have heard dumping on thhis movie hard are very familiar with Churchhill and other performances of him. I am not at all. I feel like that might be the difference maker for viewers with this film.
I am very familiar with Churchill but i'm not familiar with other performances of him, the only other portrayals of him i think i've seen are in Inglorious Basterds and The Kings Speech, neither of which is a major role. By the impression of him everyone does i was referring to literally anyone, like me or my friends or comedians or whatever, it was that exact imitation except done by a trained and talented actor. I personally wasn't impressed although he wasn't bad.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
My only real reference for Churchill is John Lithgow from The Crown.
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I am very familiar with Churchill but i'm not familiar with other performances of him, the only other portrayals of him i think i've seen are in Inglorious Basterds and The Kings Speech, neither of which is a major role. By the impression of him everyone does i was referring to literally anyone, like me or my friends or comedians or whatever, it was that exact imitation except done by a trained and talented actor. I personally wasn't impressed although he wasn't bad.
I have seen him in The Kings Speech and Lithglow playing him in the crown....there might be one other show I seen an actor portraying him . Need to look up the name of the show...its about the separation of India from England and the division of India and Pakistan.He's in The Vicroy's House...someone named Gerry plays Churchhill.



Noroi: The Curse




Very solid horror. It had a really creepy atmosphere and it properly felt like reality, that's what i was most impressed by how much it all felt like actual footage even when it got very over the top. It's not a new favourite because i think it was about twenty minutes too long. There was way more story than there needed to be, it got kind of out of hand and i was taken out of the story as there was just too many different characters and stories for an understated horror like this. Would still recommend it because it's well made and a lot of it works.

The one exception to the consistent reality feel was the last scene.
WARNING: "Noroi" spoilers below
It really bothered me that Kobayashi kept filming despite this dangerous nut job attacking his family. It's understandable during the woods scene because they are filming a documentary and what's happening is key to everything, also while they may have grown fond of Maraki and Hori they were still basically strangers. But this is his wife and adopted son and the dude has a rock, yet Kobayashi still makes sure to film everything chasing him with the camera in his hand and trying to stop him with his other, was ridiculous.
Guess that's just a general problem with fake documentaries/found footage films though.




movies can be okay...
I agree with what you said about "Noroi" and its last minutes. I'm kinda tempted to watch it again, just to see what I would think of it now.
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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."
- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke



I agree with what you said about "Noroi" and its last minutes. I'm kinda tempted to watch it again, just to see what I would think of it now.
It's an obvious complaint but i think i did suspend disbelief for large parts of it, the end was just too much though. I don't know how many times you've seen it, but i think it's a movie that wouldn't work as well once you know what's coming, as i said i think it was at least 20 minutes too long for what it is. It is good though, it's well made and is genuinely creepy.



You're not the first person I've seen rave about Love Exposure, but that run-time has always seemed way too daunting. After watching Tokyo Tribe a few days ago, which is unlike any movie I've ever seen, I'm very curious to check out more craziness from Sion Sono, so I'll have to embark on that four-hour journey sometime in the not too distant future.

I had no idea Linklater directed Last Flag Flying until recently. That makes me much more interested in it. Had never heard of Noroi: The Curse until I saw you watched it. After browsing a few reviews, it's now on my (seemingly never-ending) watchlist. The Babadook and Mustang are two movies I'll definitely be watching in preparation for the Directed By Women Countdown.

It's probably been a decade or longer since I last watched The Ring, but it succeeded in getting under my skin back in the day. The video tape itself, with all its bizarre imagery, used to especially creep me out. I just watched that scene again on YouTube and still found it eerily effective. Hopefully my phone doesn't ring in a second.

I've seen Nights of Cabiria, but for some reason I'm struggling to remember much about it, even after reading your write-up. I see that you've been digging on the films of Claire Denis. Trouble Every Day has interested me for awhile, but I hated Bastards, the only other Denis film I've seen so far, so I've been skeptical about the rest of her films.

The Master is indeed amazing. Fist Fight does indeed suck. We also share the same opinion on The Disaster Artist, especially regarding Dave Franco's poor fit as Greg.

I probably shouldn't admit this on the forum, but I preferred the Ben Stiller remake of The Heartbreak Kid to the original. Although neither holds a candle to the true Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels.
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You're not the first person I've seen rave about Love Exposure, but that run-time has always seemed way too daunting. After watching Tokyo Tribe a few days ago, which is unlike any movie I've ever seen, I'm very curious to check out more craziness from Sion Sono, so I'll have to embark on that four-hour journey sometime in the not too distant future.
I'd be very surprised if you didn't like it. It's nuts, has crazy action and is very perverted haha, seems like it's very your sort of thing. I know everyone says this about long films they like but the runtime really does fly in. It's not slow in anyway, so much happens in the film it was originally six hours long but Sono had to cut a third of it to get it released so it's packed.

It's probably been a decade or longer since I last watched The Ring, but it succeeded in getting under my skin back in the day. The video tape itself, with all its bizarre imagery, used to especially creep me out. I just watched that scene again on YouTube and still found it eerily effective. Hopefully my phone doesn't ring in a second.
The videotape is definitely great, probably the best "horror" thing in the film. The closet reveal of the girl who dies at the start was a top five jumpscare for me when i was a kid, but the face was just hilarious now it hasn't aged well same with Caleb's face. That scene is very well done though, it's completely unexpected the girls mum is talking to Naomi during the calm funeral scene then it very quickly goes to her face. I watched The Ring with my friends sister when i was a kid and her phone rang the second it finished I swear, it was... only her dad but still

I've seen Nights of Cabiria, but for some reason I'm struggling to remember much about it, even after reading your write-up. I see that you've been digging on the films of Claire Denis. Trouble Every Day has interested me for awhile, but I hated Bastards, the only other Denis film I've seen so far, so I've been skeptical about the rest of her films.
They are very slow, definitely not for everyone. I couldn't get into Beau Travail at all so i understand your reaction, haven't seen Bastards. Think you'd like U.S. Go Home though, half of the movie is a party scene and it's full of classic rock that i know you're a fan of, plus it's only a little over an hour long.

I probably shouldn't admit this on the forum, but I preferred the Ben Stiller remake of The Heartbreak Kid to the original. Although neither holds a candle to the true Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels.
Haven't seen the remake. I know we've spoken about my hatred and your love for Shawn before, i'm a Hartbreak Kid fan

Thanks for taking the time to comment on everything as usual



Just catching up on some of the later entries...
Enjoyed The Babadook first time around, hopefully it'll hold up on rewatch a little better for me whenever I get round to popping it in. I really must get round to The Nights Of Cabiria at some point - I've been a big fan of Sweet Charity for decades but somehow never yet got round to it's inspiration. Darkest Hour doesn't really appeal that much to me but I know the wife will want to watch it at some point. Not much a fan of the found footage genre in general so probably won't be visiting Noroi unless one of the tv channels airs it.



Not much a fan of the found footage genre in general so probably won't be visiting Noroi unless one of the tv channels airs it.
While it is found footage it's not in the same way as like The Blair Witch Project. 95% of it is us watching a documentary the main character made and released, so it's more like This Is Spinal Tap or something with most of the documentary being interviews with people and simple filming, the only actual found footage part is the last scene.



While it is found footage it's not in the same way as like The Blair Witch Project. 95% of it is us watching a documentary the main character made and released, so it's more like This Is Spinal Tap or something with most of the documentary being interviews with people and simple filming, the only actual found footage part is the last scene.
Kewl, thanks for the clarification - makes a huge difference as to the likelihood of me seeking it out at some stage



I, Tonya




Liked this well enough. Have heard it's basically just the 30 for 30 doc and those who have seen that don't seem to think much of it, i haven't watched that and i only knew the basics of the story; Harding had her rival attacked. So it worked for me a fair amount going in pretty much blind to the whole thing, i don't think it is a particularly good film though so i understand people who are familiar with the story not liking it. Interesting story and well acted, solid one time watch. I do think Janney was very good but at the same time i think the praise is kind of over the top, think it's related to how her character acts more than her actual performance because she was just like Janney always is in films; which is very good but i don't see why this performance deserves more praise than any of her others. Margot was solid enough but i think they could have got someone better.

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I, Tonya

Liked this well enough. Have heard it's basically just the 30 for 30 doc and those who have seen that don't seem to think much of it, i haven't watched that and i only knew the basics of the story; Harding had her rival attacked. So it worked for me a fair amount going in pretty much blind to the whole thing, i don't think it is a particularly good film though so i understand people who are familiar with the story not liking it. Interesting story and well acted, solid one time watch. I do think Janney was very good but at the same time i think the praise is kind of over the top, think it's related to how her character acts more than her actual performance because she was just like Janney always is in films; which is very good but i don't see why this performance deserves more praise than any of her others. Margot was solid enough but i think they could have got someone better.

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I initially was very interested in watching I, Tonya, but then after I read some scathing reviews saying it portrays Tonya as a victim and she was unaware of the attacks, I lost interest. Seeing how you've watched this, does the film show Tonya Harding as a willing participant in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan?



I initially was very interested in watching I, Tonya, but then after I read some scathing reviews saying it portrays Tonya as a victim and she was unaware of the attacks, I lost interest. Seeing how you've watched this, does the film show Tonya Harding as a willing participant in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan?
No she isn't shown as a willing participant. I was skeptical of that but as i said i don't know much about what really happened, this film was the first time i had ever seen anything about it. If you don't mind spoilers since you know the story then this is what happens:

WARNING: "I, Tonya" spoilers below
Tonya gets sent death threats, it's never said who from so Jeff (her boyfriend) tells his friend (without Tonya's knowledge) to send death threats to Nancy Kerrigan believing Nancy's camp are the ones sending Tonya death threats. But the friend instead decides to get to morons to attack Nancy. Tonya is angered when she finds out so she goes to the FBI and tells them Jeff and his friend did it and she knew nothing about it (which is supposed to be true in the film), the FBI then tells Jeff that Tonya gave him up he tries to attack her she runs away then Jeff claims Tonya knew about it. After that her mother is kind to her for the first time in the film/her life and she correctly guesses her mother is wearing a wire to get her to admit her involvement, when she wasn't according to the film.


So yeah, she's absolutely the victim in the film even more than Nancy. There's a whole Tonya getting discriminated against for her poor background, the judges even give her lesser scores than she deserves because of the way she dresses or talks, while Nancy is America's sweetheart. It all is kinda gross.

I don't have a clue what actually happened but i'm skeptical it played out like this to say the least.