Raul's Film Thoughts

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Brooklyn



One of my favorites from 2015. I really thought Saorise Ronan gave the best female performance this year and I was rooting for her to win the Oscar, but that obviously didn't happen. The film has a great story to it. In particular the ending is really heartwarming. I like how the film tugs at the heartstrings of its viewers and how we see her and Tony grow closer to one another. One of those distance makes the heart grow fonder scenarios was played out very realistically to me too. I see this being one of 2015s more underrated films.




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The Revenant



Can't believe I hadn't gotten to this film until today. It's a great piece of filmmaking. I don't know why but I seem to take a lot of stock in cinematography and scores these days and they both were excellent. They help set the mood and the atmosphere for the film. The images of nature blew me away, with the streams and the woods looking so fascinating. Inarritu is a very talented filmmaker. His favorite of mine is still probably 21 Grams but this is no slouch. Give him a lot of credit for making a great film that is much less dependent upon dialogue than most other films. I liked Di Caprio , but I'll say the real acting gem was Tom Hardy. The guy was a real badass. That bear scene was amazing. It felt like we were right there watching the vicious scene. I loved the sentimentality of the film and DiCaprio's quest for revenge. The film was graphic in parts but that didn't affect my enjoyment. The only part I didn't care for was when DiCaprios character fell off the cliff and then he slept inside the horse. That didn't feel all that real to me. But that's a small complaint. The fight at the end was a very tense ending. It's not necessarily an enjoyable film, but a really well made and respected film. That's what Inarritu is all about it seems.

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Must be doin sumthin right
I don't love The Revenant but agree with your appreciation of its nature images. The opening shot in particular was amazing to me because it's just tracking over a tiny stream in a forest but it plays like another movie's majestic helicopter shot over a giant river



The Revenant
....I liked Di Caprio , but I'll say the real acting gem was Tom Hardy.

The only part I didn't care for was when DiCaprios character fell off the cliff and then he slept inside the horse. That didn't feel all that real to me. But that's a small complaint....
We agree! I had the same reaction to The Revenant. I loved the on location winter shooting and cinematography. Totally agree about Hardy be the best actor in the film (DiCaprio was good too). And agree on the horse scene, I mentioned that in my review. Glad you liked this one.



I liked Brooklyn quite a bit, though I did not love it. It was different though and I enjoyed that.

The Revenant did not reach the immense hype on first watch, but by about three watches I feel confident in saying this one I love quite a bit. Amazing, technically, and with an interesting spiritual touch, but above all it's just a great adrenaline-fueled revenge movie.



Raul, I've always enjoyed reading your thoughts on films in the HOFs and Director Dissection and I've often wished that you would share your opinions more often, so it's great to see this thread. Great stuff. Love the succinct, spoiler-free write-ups. You've watched a lot of very recent stuff that I haven't seen yet so I can't weigh in with my own thoughts, but we're on the same page when it comes to The Revenant, Streetcar, Arrival, Hush, Brooklyn and Captain America: Civil War. Manchester by the Sea resonated with you much stronger than it did with me, but I love reading when someone falls in love with a new film. I consider Kazan one of my favorite directors but have yet to see A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Wild River. Somehow I've never heard of Nanook of the North, but it sounds fascinating and I need to make a point to watch more documentaries so I've added it to my watchlist.

I'll make sure to visit this thread more often going forward.
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Thanks Spaulding! I appreciate you reading through my thoughts. I'll be sure to post more in the future. I haven't posted thoughts for a lot of films I've seen lately so I will try to stay on top of it.



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Power Rangers



I was a fanboy back in the day so I wanted to see this for nostalgia purposes. I thought it was a pretty fun ride. I loved seeing the group form and bond as well as the early scenes where they find their tokens. I didn't really like the ending fighting scenes as they kind of dragged on and weren't all that entertaining. I found the yellow ranger to be the best. Funny that her name wasn't Sabrina, that's what I always thought it was, but I was wrong. I also liked Billy and he had some funny segments. I also did like how evil Rita was and thought Elizabeth Banks was a good casting choice. Overall it was fun although nothing spectacular.

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Nightmare on Elm Street



Finally got around to it after all these years never seeing it. It's a pretty interesting premise and I would suppose it would be a film easy to go back to. I liked a lot of the characters so that definitely helped. The nightmare scenes were not necessarily obvious that they were going to happen to me at the beginning, so that added a pretty decent twist to it for me as well. The creation of Krueger was real well done, he's one creepy dude looks wise. He kind of seemed like a klutz though and I feel he should have been more dangerous. I still think I liked the first Friday the 13th better than this one, but this wasn't too bad.




Quite a few people think Nightmare On Elm Street 3 is better than the original, so that would be worth seeing if you liked this enough to see more, don't think you'd have to watch the second one but i really can't remember. Personally the first is my favourite tho and i like it better than the Jason films i've seen. I actually liked Friday The 13th Part II and probably Freddy vs Jason more than the first Friday The 13th.



Quite a few people think Nightmare On Elm Street 3 is better than the original, so that would be worth seeing if you liked this enough to see more, don't think you'd have to watch the second one but i really can't remember. Personally the first is my favourite tho and i like it better than the Jason films i've seen. I actually liked Friday The 13th Part II and probably Freddy vs Jason more than the first Friday The 13th.
I'm on that boat. Dream Warriors is the go-to Elm Street movie for me, it has a great cast and the perfect mix of horror and comedy. Actually, Freddy's Dead is pretty up there as well.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I wouldn't put Friday the 13th ahead of Nightmare. Nightmare is more original in every sense of the word, more creative kills and to me is better put together. I would rank Friday the 13th on the lower end of the classic slasher flicks.
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

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Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2



One of the better sequels for Marvel. I chuckled a lot and the second half of the film was very strong. Dave Bautista had perfect comedic timing. The looks of the film were even better than Dr. Strange. May win an Oscar for visual effects. I laughed a lot and nearly teared up near the end. I liked the opening credits scene with baby Groot too. Good fun film. Yes, Marvel has done better but they kept it fresh here.




I feel like the only one who didn't think the humor in Volume 2 was good. Oh well, I am going to have to see it again with my boys. Maybe my cold heart will turn.
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