Sean's Film Diary 2018

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Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
I will continue to see these till Malick stops making them
Sadly, he said his next film will be a much more conservative one. This entails getting back to strong script reliance, and no stream of consciousness improvised formula.
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



You can't win an argument just by being right!

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Not a movie I planned to see in the theater but, hey, at least it's my first 2018 release. I have a weird relationship with war films. There are very few I love and also very few I hate. This film kind of sheds some light on that I think. By no means is this a great film and I am one hundred percent that many will call it rah-rah patriotic garbage like Lone Survivor. That's fine, I am sure there is an element of truth to that. The dialogue can be pretty wonky at times which leads to some eye rolling. It wears its heart on its sleeve in that way for sure.
We really enjoyed Lone Survivor and it was a bit rah rah but that doesnt bother me at all in war genre. I'm looking forward to this one.



First time i've noticed this thread. Brawl In Cell Block 99 is kind of terrible especially everything before he goes to prison but all the over the top violence was fun for me. I liked Song To Song a lot, it's the only one of his late films i've watched which may play into that going by what you said; only watched that and his first three.

Phantom Thread is out here today Hopefully going tomorrow but i'm not positive i'll be able to, if not then next weekend it'll be at least.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Sadly, he said his next film will be a much more conservative one. This entails getting back to strong script reliance, and no stream of consciousness improvised formula.
I find that doubtful since that would be a first. It's also in German.
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The Post
Steven Spielberg 2017


This isn't a bad film. It almost can't be with all the talent involved that has been around the block a time or a hundred. It's also a film that will be kind of hard not to bring some baggage too if you have any political leaning at all. I wouldn't call it particularly preachy but I wouldn't be surprised if some would feel that way.

My particular issue with it is that lately it has become unclear to me when exactly the media became the moral high ground. The posturing in this movie drove me nuts, but rang so true as to how the press uses information as weapon. Everything is about getting there first and getting it out into the world as quickly as possible. There is no time to study the information properly or give any kind of nuance to what is being reported. The reporters here are not interested in a job well done, just a job done. What bothers me so much is that I am not projecting that on the film, it is right there in the text. It is obvious Spielberg doesn't see that as a problem though. It is as that is how things are supposed to work. These are our heroes while the politicians are the evil and untruth. I have felt for a long time we are basically being fed as much crap from the media as we are politicians. This film confirms that even though its intention is the exact opposite.

That's the political side for me. The technical aspect is that this film is competently made and performed across the board. Hanks and Streep have a good amount of screen time where it is just the two of them and it is wonderful to watch. It almost wouldn't matter what the film was about, these two actors could make it compelling. There are a ton of recognizable faces among the supporting cast and they all do a great job. Special shout out to Odenkirk whose character I found delightful. Certainly channeling some of that Jimmy/Saul magic.

I have to mention the printing presses as well. It is almost worth the price of admission to see the scenes with them, even though it is only a couple minutes worth of time. Really cool to see the detail of how the old machines run.



Spielberg and Hanks got me in the mood to rewatch:

Catch Me If You Can
Steven Spielberg 2002


I hadn't watched this in quite a few years. Simply put, it charms the hell out of me. There is so much fun in this film. Starting with the old school romantic comedy credits which are amazing. Not a sub-par performance in this film. Hanks in his prime and DiCaprio showing why he is about to become the biggest movie star in the world. Walken in a role he was made to play. I love every single character.

The story just feels made for film. Such an unbelievable story that has all this drama and humor baked right into it. The cat and mouse game never grows stale for me. The film is over two hours and I could have watched two more.Just an absolute pleasure.

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“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
The Post



I have to mention the printing presses as well. It is almost worth the price of admission to see the scenes with them, even though it is only a couple minutes worth of time. Really cool to see the detail of how the old machines run.

I couldn't get enough of the type-setting shots and the presses running. I remember thinking to myself how good a job they did making it look so fascinating.



OMG THE POST IS A GOOD MOVIE AND ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS okay because it's their opinion



I'm very happy to see this thread. You used to be one of my favorite reviewers so it's about damn time you got back in the game. Excellent stuff so far, although I haven't seen anything you've written about yet except for Catch Me If You Can, and it's been forever since I watched that.

That five-star rating for Phantom Thread is a welcome sight. I'd been a bit nervous about it due to the uninteresting subject matter, but all this effusive praise has quelled those doubts. I think PTA is arguably the best filmmaker working today, so it's exciting to see that he's back in peak form after a slight misstep with Inherent Vice.

I don't know why I've yet to check out the last few films from Lanthimos. I've only seen Dogtooth so far, but I found it absolutely fascinating and it's still a film I think about from time to time despite several years passing since my one and only viewing. You thought much more highly of Bone Tomahawk than I did, which is strange considering that the film seems more suited toward my taste than yours. Hopefully that means we'll have another inverse of opinions with Brawl in Cell Block 99, but I'm still in no rush to watch it.

I don't know if I'll ever watch Song to Song. I only made it 30 minutes into To the Wonder before giving up, and I almost never give up on films. I've always found Malick equal parts admirable and frustrating, but with his newest films he seems have committed fully to the aspects of his filmmaking that annoy the hell out of me.

I hope you stick with this thread!
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@Captain Spaulding I am very confident you will love Phantom Thread. I hear what you are saying about Bone Tomahawk because of the horror elements. So much of that film is walking and talking though, and I thought it was really funny. Especially on my first watch. I didn't find any of that in Brawl. The only thing that fit were the sudden bursts of violence. Lots of people have loved it and it is extremely pulpy, so might be great for you.

Definitely check out Lanthimos. Of all Mofos I think you will dig him the most. Very dark sense of humor and lots of bizarre behavior.



Something tells me I will like this much more than you did. I'm looking to watch it, just have to wait for the DVD release.


Catch Me If You Can



Love that one, near flawless. I really should watch that one again. It's one if my fav Spielberg films.



Didn't think much of The Post, i gave it the same rating as you but i differ on Streep and Hanks both of which i thought were terrible. Agreed on Catch Me If You Can, it's a top three Spielberg for me.



The Florida Project
Sean Baker 2017


I really enjoyed this but believe I had myself way too over hyped for it. Baker's style is perfect for me. I love how little plot there is in his stories. His films are completely character driven. So enjoyable to just follow the characters in this world he has created. I think my disconnect with Baker is in his humor. This film mostly feels like a straight comedy but I didn't find myself laughing much. The kids are a lot of fun but the pranks they pull leave me more frustrated than amused.

Like the main character in his film Tangerine, the mother character's behavior leaves me extremely frustrated. That would be fine, except for the fact that I don't think Baker wants me frustrated by her. I think he wants me to see things from her perspective and to have sympathy for her. I do not. I sympathize with the daughter to the point of wanting to take her home with me but the mother's criminal activity and lack of respect for everyone she comes in contact with does not make me feel as though she has no other choice. It makes me feel as if she is willfully making decisions that she knows will ultimately negatively effect her and her daughter. There is a fine line between someone making decisions because of hopelessness and straight up ignorance. I don't think most of the adults in Baker's stories walk that line very well. I am not asking Baker to judge these characters but I do want to feel that laughing at them isn't appropriate.

I don't want to come across as bashing this film because I do think there is way more good here than bad. I love the setting. His use of color and the landmarks he uses are great. There are a couple of scenes of genuine joy. The birthday scene and playing in the rain are enough to make me cry. Defoe is fantastic. It is just great to see an actor play so against type and just nail it. I could have watched him in every scene in the film. The quiet way he tries to help this woman and her child is really great.

Overall a very good film that I will return to again at some point. I will also look forward to what Baker does next because while some of his decisions leave me perplexed, he is certainly a unique director that has a voice worth listening to.






I didn't feel that Baker wanted us to sympathise with Halley at any point or he would have made some effort to make her seem sympathetic. She was completely childish and selfish throughout, she used Dafoe in the most awful way and was still a dck to him during it all. I don't think he said much about the characters at all intentionally which i get was a problem for some people, i think he just created a stylized version of this type of reality for us to observe. Personally, i'm glad he didn't delve into that coz that's every troubled mother film ever made. My biggest problem with the film was that we actually got a resolution, would have much preferred it to just end with nothing changing it fit the feel of the film a lot more.

I also didn't take this as a straight comedy, the characters found a lot of it funny (and some of it i did) but i don't think he actually expected us to laugh at most of this behaviour, think their reactions to this stuff was supposed to be shocking if anything.



Like the main character in his film Tangerine, the mother character's behavior leaves me extremely frustrated. That would be fine, except for the fact that I don't think Baker wants me frustrated by her. I think he wants me to see things from her perspective and to have sympathy for her. I do not. I sympathize with the daughter to the point of wanting to take her home with me but the mother's criminal activity and lack of respect for everyone she comes in contact with does not make me feel as though she has no other choice. It makes me feel as if she is willfully making decisions that she knows will ultimately negatively effect her and her daughter. There is a fine line between someone making decisions because of hopelessness and straight up ignorance. I don't think most of the adults in Baker's stories walk that line very well. I am not asking Baker to judge these characters but I do want to feel that laughing at them isn't appropriate.
I am so confused by this paragraph, because - no offense - I agree with almost none of it.



I didn't feel that Baker wanted us to sympathise with Halley at any point or he would have made some effort to make her seem sympathetic. She was completely childish and selfish throughout, she used Dafoe in the most awful way and was still a dck to him during it all. I don't think he said much about the characters at all intentionally which i get was a problem for some people, i think he just created a stylized version of this type of reality for us to observe.
Totally agree. Baker's approach towards characters actually feels pretty deterministic to me. People just are who they are, at least to some degree, and they affect their environment just as much as the environment affects them. He doesn't really judge or sympathize. His view on people is pretty close to my view, to be honest. That's probably why I connected so much with this film. I have found that most of my favorite storytellers approach characters that way.
You don't have to look for an agenda behind everything, @seanc. I don't think there really was one in The Florida Project, other than showing reality. You're probably right about The Post's agenda, though (although I haven't seen it yet, but it seems very likely from what I do know about it).


My biggest problem with the film was that we actually got a resolution, would have much preferred it to just end with nothing changing it fit the feel of the film a lot more.
I disagree. I think he simply followed the events of the film to their logical conclusion, which makes the film all the more plausible. The "resolution" you're talking about certainly didn't feel forced, in my opinion.
I personally loved the very last scene as well, even though it's a bit "dream-like".

I also didn't take this as a straight comedy, the characters found a lot of it funny (and some of it i did) but i don't think he actually expected us to laugh at most of this behaviour, think their reactions to this stuff was supposed to be shocking if anything.
Agreed.
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I think the point, or one of the points, of The Florida Project is to show how these kids deal with the hardships in their life. They make everything their own little theme park.

Moonee just had some rough stuff happen to her. So what does she do? She GOES TO F*CKING DISNEYWORLD!!!!!

That's what I'm talking about.



I disagree. I think he simply followed the events of the film to their logical conclusion, which makes the film all the more plausible. The "resolution" you're talking about certainly didn't feel forced, in my opinion.
I personally loved the very last scene as well, even though it's a bit "dream-like".
I don't really disagree with this, if you read my review i said i had mixed feelings about it and i loved the very end and thought Moonee breaking down was powerful. I just don't think this film needed a conclusion, i liked the idea of being dropped into these peoples lives for a week or whatever then just leaving them as they were, it fit the first half especially before Halley fell out with her friend and it shifted a bit more into drama.

So it wasn't really a problem, just that i personally felt it wasn't needed and it would have worked better that way.



I think the point, or one of the points, of The Florida Project is to show how these kids deal with the hardships in their life. They make everything their own little theme park.

Moonee just had some rough stuff happen to her. So what does she do? She GOES TO F*CKING DISNEYWORLD!!!!!

That's what I'm talking about.
I loved that Moonee's sh!tty life was all pristine and gorgeous; like a fantasy world, then disneyland was shot the way it was. I know that was out of necessity but it really added to it, particularly with Disneyland literally being unobtainable for Baker just like it was for Moonee considering her circumstances.



I don't really disagree with this, if you read my review i said i had mixed feelings about it and i loved the very end and thought Moonee breaking down was powerful. I just don't think this film needed a conclusion, i liked the idea of being dropped into these peoples lives for a week or whatever then just leaving them as they were, it fit the first half especially before Halley fell out with her friend and it shifted a bit more into drama.

So it wasn't really a problem, just that i personally felt it wasn't needed and it would have worked better that way.
I get what you're saying, but the drama felt so powerful and purposeful to me that I regard it as an essential element of the film.
The first half (let's call it the 'playtime'-part) is filmmaking at its loveliest, but standing on its own, it's probably a bit too naive. The slowly developing drama feels raw, real and important to understand the way of living that's being observed.



Believe it or not I feel on the wrong side of the argument. I feel like the people who say the Coen brothers hate their characters or that Scorsese condones his character's behaviors.

Maybe with both films I listened to way too many podcasts that talked about them before I saw them. The two things I feel I hear the most is how funny his films are and how much he loves his characters.

Also understand the way I feel about Tangerine is a very small part of the way I feel about Florida Project. I hated Tangerine and really felt that film was pretty cruel. Didn't feel that way here except for one character and could simply be the baggage I am bringing in.

Anyways thanks for the thoughts guys.