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I'm reviving the thread because I've been feeling the holiday spirit and that means I'm gonna start watching a bunch of horror now.
Of course, I can't tonight because I have peer to peer, which is horror enough. Maybe I'll write about it in this thread.
Of course, I can't tonight because I have peer to peer, which is horror enough. Maybe I'll write about it in this thread.
Question leading into my Sicario review:
Do movies still serve as a form of escape - a way to leave the everyday hardships and calm the mind for a little while - or has cinema become too focused on the stark reality of the world? If the latter, what are the implications of that, if any?
Do movies still serve as a form of escape - a way to leave the everyday hardships and calm the mind for a little while - or has cinema become too focused on the stark reality of the world? If the latter, what are the implications of that, if any?
I saw parts of Nymphomaniac 1. When the girl was talking to the old guy and some phylosophy. I don't get it. Is she an unscrupulous nymphomaniac who doesn't care about others and the movies are to judge her?
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Lady and the Tramp (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 1955)
This was the movie Brenda and I watched at the hospital while waiting for her to dilate enough to give birth to Sarah.
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When dilating my vagina, I usually go with 101 Dalmatians instead of Lady and the Tramp. Sometimes I start to feel a little too sore by the 78th Dalmatian, though.
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Wimp-ass bitch.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
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Sicario (Dennis Villeneuve, 2015)
As usual, this will be less of a review as it is a chance for me to ramble incoherently. There are two things I want to talk about.
This first is something I'm realizing. It feels a bit familiar, like maybe I've read other people talk about it in the past or maybe I myself did. Either way, it was like deja vu. The thought is this, and it's what I was referring to with my question.
Let's compare Sicario, a gritty realistic film about the war on drugs, to Lady in the Tramp, an old-fashioned starry-eyed feel-good movie if ever there was one. Also two movies I have seen recently, which is why I'm comparing them. Which is more important for our well-being? Is it the film meant to teach us things, or the film that serves as an escape?
In my opinion, both have their place. Sometimes I like to listen to Pig Destroyer. Sometimes I like to listen to Regina Spektor. Sometimes I want to watch Sicario or a horror film. Sometimes, I want to watch Lady in the Tramp.
My problem is, as far as I can tell, we've moved away from those old-fashioned starry-eyed feel-good movies in the past decade at least, in favor of the gritty realistic cinema meant to show us reality. I don't know. Part of me feels like maybe we need the feel-good cinema, that form of escape. Maybe it's a way to refresh our mental well-being, so we can go back into the world and do good things. Lady in the Tramp made me feel really good - I'm going to chase that feeling. But still. If we're talking about helping the world... maybe surrounding yourself with a bunch of realistic cinema with the intent to learn about the world isn't the only thing you should be doing. To me, movies like Lady in the Tramp serve as WONDERFUL happy medicine. Really refreshing stuff.
Second thing I want to mention is how great Villeneuve is at symbolism. I usually don't like symbolism much, but when I watch a movie like Enemy or Sicario, I can't help but love it. He manages to be both subtle but not invisible with his symbolism, nor is it heavy-handed or pretentious. It informs you about the characters. I love it.
Anyway that's all I wanted to talk about here. Great film, and honestly much creepier than most horror films due to it being about real stuff.
Boogie.
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As usual, this will be less of a review as it is a chance for me to ramble incoherently. There are two things I want to talk about.
This first is something I'm realizing. It feels a bit familiar, like maybe I've read other people talk about it in the past or maybe I myself did. Either way, it was like deja vu. The thought is this, and it's what I was referring to with my question.
Let's compare Sicario, a gritty realistic film about the war on drugs, to Lady in the Tramp, an old-fashioned starry-eyed feel-good movie if ever there was one. Also two movies I have seen recently, which is why I'm comparing them. Which is more important for our well-being? Is it the film meant to teach us things, or the film that serves as an escape?
In my opinion, both have their place. Sometimes I like to listen to Pig Destroyer. Sometimes I like to listen to Regina Spektor. Sometimes I want to watch Sicario or a horror film. Sometimes, I want to watch Lady in the Tramp.
My problem is, as far as I can tell, we've moved away from those old-fashioned starry-eyed feel-good movies in the past decade at least, in favor of the gritty realistic cinema meant to show us reality. I don't know. Part of me feels like maybe we need the feel-good cinema, that form of escape. Maybe it's a way to refresh our mental well-being, so we can go back into the world and do good things. Lady in the Tramp made me feel really good - I'm going to chase that feeling. But still. If we're talking about helping the world... maybe surrounding yourself with a bunch of realistic cinema with the intent to learn about the world isn't the only thing you should be doing. To me, movies like Lady in the Tramp serve as WONDERFUL happy medicine. Really refreshing stuff.
Second thing I want to mention is how great Villeneuve is at symbolism. I usually don't like symbolism much, but when I watch a movie like Enemy or Sicario, I can't help but love it. He manages to be both subtle but not invisible with his symbolism, nor is it heavy-handed or pretentious. It informs you about the characters. I love it.
Anyway that's all I wanted to talk about here. Great film, and honestly much creepier than most horror films due to it being about real stuff.
Boogie.
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Sicario sounds good Swan. Your review have certainly enticed me to see it now. As you know, I absolutely love Enemy, so camparison with that is enough for me.
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Yods merged my horror and non-horror thread for me. Thanks bro.
I'm going to start this back up. I'm trying to get back into watching movies. With my f*cked up sleep it can be hard. I can get tired really easily when watching a film, even if I'm enjoying it. However, I figure I can break up viewings if I need to. I know some of you are against that, but I'm not, really. Especially if it means getting through a movie at all.
I know I recently talked about getting a science degree, but I'm past that phase. After some thinking I decided I really need to just embrace what I've spent pretty much my entire life interested in - film and music. Those are my passions, and what I've become relatively knowledgable and well-refined with. I could either major in film production and focus on achieving my lifetime dream of becoming a filmmaker, or major in film studies and focus on possibly becoming a film critic, which would be just as cool. As for the latter, I will need to develop my skills as a filmgoer (analyzing cinema and forming thoughts about it) as well as my writing skills. People in real life tell me I'm a good writer and underestimate my abilities as one, but it's all relative. I read/watch essays/reviews about cinema and just wonder how the hell those writers come up with such great analysis. I suppose it's the fact that these people spend a long as f amount of time developing their skills. Thankfully, I know I can write from the heart pretty well - what I need to get better at is my technical and analytical ability. A blend of the two would be great.
I'm kind of just rambling here, but this is my thread to do so. Long story short, I hope to get back to watching and writing about films.
I'm going to start this back up. I'm trying to get back into watching movies. With my f*cked up sleep it can be hard. I can get tired really easily when watching a film, even if I'm enjoying it. However, I figure I can break up viewings if I need to. I know some of you are against that, but I'm not, really. Especially if it means getting through a movie at all.
I know I recently talked about getting a science degree, but I'm past that phase. After some thinking I decided I really need to just embrace what I've spent pretty much my entire life interested in - film and music. Those are my passions, and what I've become relatively knowledgable and well-refined with. I could either major in film production and focus on achieving my lifetime dream of becoming a filmmaker, or major in film studies and focus on possibly becoming a film critic, which would be just as cool. As for the latter, I will need to develop my skills as a filmgoer (analyzing cinema and forming thoughts about it) as well as my writing skills. People in real life tell me I'm a good writer and underestimate my abilities as one, but it's all relative. I read/watch essays/reviews about cinema and just wonder how the hell those writers come up with such great analysis. I suppose it's the fact that these people spend a long as f amount of time developing their skills. Thankfully, I know I can write from the heart pretty well - what I need to get better at is my technical and analytical ability. A blend of the two would be great.
I'm kind of just rambling here, but this is my thread to do so. Long story short, I hope to get back to watching and writing about films.
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Favorite Movies
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams, 2015)
Some dumb moments balanced by some incredibly awesome moments in an overall almost-great film.
I have to say it's just cool to see Star Wars back. I got shivers when the opening credits started. The biggest positive I can give this film is that most of the new characters were, to me, as interesting and fun to watch as those of the original trilogy. My favorite characters in the film were Kylo Ren (a total badass with an added dose of humanity) and, moreover, Rey. Rey. Holy sh*t, what a great character. Possibly my favorite Star Wars character, at least right now. Wonderfully written, great character arc, and tremendously performed by Daisy Ridley. She and Adam Driver were, hands down, the highlights of the film for me.
Anyway, I definitely enjoyed it a lot, but I do feel it's been a bit overhyped. It's not that it's not incredibly entertaining, that it's not well-told - it's just not as immediately iconic as the original Star Wars film from '77. Why is this? In my opinion, it's because much of the film relied on calling back to the original trilogy a little too much. This left little room for originality. Which is a bummer. Thankfully, that originality was given to some great new characters! I'm really excited for the next film.
Go Rey!
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Some dumb moments balanced by some incredibly awesome moments in an overall almost-great film.
I have to say it's just cool to see Star Wars back. I got shivers when the opening credits started. The biggest positive I can give this film is that most of the new characters were, to me, as interesting and fun to watch as those of the original trilogy. My favorite characters in the film were Kylo Ren (a total badass with an added dose of humanity) and, moreover, Rey. Rey. Holy sh*t, what a great character. Possibly my favorite Star Wars character, at least right now. Wonderfully written, great character arc, and tremendously performed by Daisy Ridley. She and Adam Driver were, hands down, the highlights of the film for me.
Anyway, I definitely enjoyed it a lot, but I do feel it's been a bit overhyped. It's not that it's not incredibly entertaining, that it's not well-told - it's just not as immediately iconic as the original Star Wars film from '77. Why is this? In my opinion, it's because much of the film relied on calling back to the original trilogy a little too much. This left little room for originality. Which is a bummer. Thankfully, that originality was given to some great new characters! I'm really excited for the next film.
Go Rey!
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Last edited by Swan; 12-23-15 at 12:31 AM.
Knock Knock (Eli Roth, 2015)
A twisted, captivating, and misunderstood horror masterpiece by my favorite modern horror director Eli Roth.
Roth has never let me down. Odd because not many people seem to appreciate his films. But Cabin Fever, as some of you know, is one of my all-time favorites of the horror genre. I think Hostel is underrated, too. Far too many are quick to criticize movies featuring gruesome torture, while not realizing a film like Hostel achieves exactly what it sets out to do, and does it well. But above all else, above what I find to be the infused intelligence in his otherwise campy, shlocky modern horror films (he has some overarching reason for making each of his films - something you don't see a lot in horror these days), above the great horror filmmaking craft... his films are just damn fun. I think the best compliment I can give this film is it absolutely entranced me like films rarely do now.
Call it "Lords of Salem syndrome" if you want: a horror film that is critically panned by most, but that I personally see as something of a masterwork. As I was watching the film I was constantly taken aback by the greatness of the script, the music, the absolutely phenomenal performances by Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas (and a suitably campy-but-great performance by Mr. Reeves). And then there were the little touches. People who have seen the film know what I mean when I reference the "Facebook" bit at the end. I laughed at that moment, partly because it was funny but mostly because it was a moment of brilliance that cemented what I was had been thinking throughout Knock Knock -
That this movie is un-f*cking-believably awesome, wrinkles and all.
Call me a Roth fanboy, but I'm proud to be one when he makes films like this.
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A twisted, captivating, and misunderstood horror masterpiece by my favorite modern horror director Eli Roth.
Roth has never let me down. Odd because not many people seem to appreciate his films. But Cabin Fever, as some of you know, is one of my all-time favorites of the horror genre. I think Hostel is underrated, too. Far too many are quick to criticize movies featuring gruesome torture, while not realizing a film like Hostel achieves exactly what it sets out to do, and does it well. But above all else, above what I find to be the infused intelligence in his otherwise campy, shlocky modern horror films (he has some overarching reason for making each of his films - something you don't see a lot in horror these days), above the great horror filmmaking craft... his films are just damn fun. I think the best compliment I can give this film is it absolutely entranced me like films rarely do now.
Call it "Lords of Salem syndrome" if you want: a horror film that is critically panned by most, but that I personally see as something of a masterwork. As I was watching the film I was constantly taken aback by the greatness of the script, the music, the absolutely phenomenal performances by Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas (and a suitably campy-but-great performance by Mr. Reeves). And then there were the little touches. People who have seen the film know what I mean when I reference the "Facebook" bit at the end. I laughed at that moment, partly because it was funny but mostly because it was a moment of brilliance that cemented what I was had been thinking throughout Knock Knock -
That this movie is un-f*cking-believably awesome, wrinkles and all.
Call me a Roth fanboy, but I'm proud to be one when he makes films like this.
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Totally LOVE that movie and actually giving the same rating as you! That flick is brilliant
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''Haters are my favourite. I've built an empire with the bricks they've thrown at me... Keep On Hating''
- CM Punk
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