Films Recently Watched

[chim]

^ It's really good.

Midsommar 

I'm guessing the inspiration for this came from a heroic dose of shrooms at an actual solstice event. I like the idea of people expecting midsommar to consist of folk-drone dance parties and old people throwing themselves off cliffs, but the cavalcade of far-fetched nordic pageantry is kinda laughable and hard to take seriously. The humor wasn't lost to some reviewers it seems. I really liked the camerawork, the shots and colors were beautiful. The story dragged out needlessly. 

[Candiru]

Yeah with Midsommar, it seemed like they could’ve done some more believable world-building with that runtime. When I was watching it I was like “LOL it’s a different culture! SOOO different!!” I just liked the idea of it. I need more pagan horror movies. 

[Rubin Farr]

Birds of Prey - really bad.

[chim]

Hostiles 

Instant favorite. I don't get the scathing criticism this drew, but I didn't read that much into the political implications... It's an exciting ride with good characters and wonderful hammy acting. Everything gets picked apart at the bone nowadays. 

 

[Nebraska]

bizarre nunsploitation from mexico about a nun who's sexual urges are awakened by images of satan. the frustration and confusion of her sins mixed in with the strict cloistered environment lead her into a kind of mixed pandemonium of day dreams where she's no longer sure what's real and what might be in her own mind. 

this is where the filmmakers had a great idea- but clearly not nearly enough einsteins to pull it off (tech or script wise)- resulting in a rather interesting piece of cinema that's part surreal and a whole lot of b-grade cinema.

the end dance/chant scene reminds me a lot of fellini or passolini except the treatment clearly lacks the artistic finesse of those directors- so this ends, predictably, how it begins

 

[ooqpoo]

Jay & Silent Bob Reboot was a depressing experience. I've always had a soft spot for the world of Clerks/Jay & Silent Bob, but there was absolutely no redeeming elements in this.

Spoiler

except for the grilled chicken joint being named Cock Smoker ^^ 

 

[Nebraska]

despite having died in the last film, ilsa is somehow still alive- and this time in the middle east (palm springs)- acting as a harem keeper for a corrupt sheik running a human slave auction business. hot on her heels is an american senator (?) and his henry kissinger side-kick who ends up being the butt of many a homosexual inspired jokes (sometimes involving minors) whilst the main dude forcefully beds our main gal as her two lesbo henchwomen remove a guys testicles during a fight.

 

[ooqpoo]

^I remember seeing one of those Ilse films at a video rental shop when I was a kid and  being fascinated by the cover. Never got round to watching it, are they any good? 

[spratters]

Prisoners (2013) - Quite enjoyed this, entertaining to the end.

[Rubin Farr]

Thought this might be timely to revisit, hadn't seen it since the 2000s and it still holds up.  Rory Cochrane is in LA, and terrorist fears of a dirty bomb attack turn out to be a killer virus.  Low budget, but well done.  

[marf]

I watched 'escape room' last night. Liked it

[cruising for burgers]

Quentin Dupieux aka Mr Oizo does it again:

 

[marf]

Midsommar was more of a joke. No one really believes that shit.

[dr lopez]

midsommar fucking sucked. what a stupid movie

[Alcofribas]

yeah midsommar was incredibly dumb. a lot of this new wave of horror films that are supposed to be smart and good bc they deal with “issues” or whatever are actually p stupid imo

[Nebraska]

On 3/9/2020 at 1:05 PM, ooqpoo said:

^I remember seeing one of those Ilse films at a video rental shop when I was a kid and  being fascinated by the cover. Never got round to watching it, are they any good? 

if you like exploitation, then the first one is recommended as it's notorious for firing up the nazisploitation genre. the other 2 will depend on whether or not you fancy the main dame and her dominating presence 

[Nebraska]

i seem to remember enjoying this film when i first watched it, but viewing it again today was a sobering experience. the director seems to have completely missed the point of using made when kubrick used 'also sprach zarathustra'- as significant moments in earth's history brought about by contact with the monolith, but also a catalyst of significant change in whoever has contact with said object. 

this director uses it as a calling card to link his film to the previous one. remember 2001? this is part 2. 

after that there are some wild constrictions of time and leaps of imagination. one scientist (in the middle of the cold war) asks a government aid to lie to the president so he can accompany a russian space mission to jupiter to recover the ship from the previous movie. he tells his wife during dinner that he is leaving and there is a very high probability that he will never return. she runs to the kitchen and slams a dish down. besides 1 bedroom scene, we never see her again. i'm assuming she dies, but who knows-

our main guy writes her regularly, but his letters seem more like mission logs with complex and (possibly?) sensitive mission directives. is/was his wife a scientist too? 
 

how did they manage to fsck up an arthur c clarke story- especially when the director was basically communicating with the author on a daily basis? whatever- he ended up doing films with jean-claude van damme which is- frankly- more his speed than anything like this.

nice try i guess?

[Roo]

19 hours ago, Nebraska said:

i seem to remember enjoying this film when i first watched it, but viewing it again today was a sobering experience. the director seems to have completely missed the point of using made when kubrick used 'also sprach zarathustra'- as significant moments in earth's history brought about by contact with the monolith, but also a catalyst of significant change in whoever has contact with said object. 

this director uses it as a calling card to link his film to the previous one. remember 2001? this is part 2. 

after that there are some wild constrictions of time and leaps of imagination. one scientist (in the middle of the cold war) asks a government aid to lie to the president so he can accompany a russian space mission to jupiter to recover the ship from the previous movie. he tells his wife during dinner that he is leaving and there is a very high probability that he will never return. she runs to the kitchen and slams a dish down. besides 1 bedroom scene, we never see her again. i'm assuming she dies, but who knows-

our main guy writes her regularly, but his letters seem more like mission logs with complex and (possibly?) sensitive mission directives. is/was his wife a scientist too? 
 

how did they manage to fsck up an arthur c clarke story- especially when the director was basically communicating with the author on a daily basis? whatever- he ended up doing films with jean-claude van damme which is- frankly- more his speed than anything like this.

nice try i guess?

That happened to me too. When I first saw it I'd recently read the series and this was the best book in the series for mine. I also had a soft spot for Peter Hyams genre work at that time. So whilst it obviously couldn't compare to 2001, I found it a respectable continuation of the film series.

But after my second viewing many years later I decided to sell it. Just not something I ever need to see again. Has its moments, but can't match the book.

[onecaseman]

Let's see. A bunch of updates.

Brick: A re-watch. I still enjoy it.

The Lighthouse: can't say I enjoyed this one. Rough slog.

Ash Is Purest White: a bit boring

Knives Out: Re-watch. I love this movie.

Uncut Gems: A bit over-hyped, but decent movie.

Thief: this was pretty cool, but 80s relationships on screen make no sense. Proto-Heat in a way.

The Irishmen: I loved this, and never found it boring except for perhaps the very end.

Joker: I mean this was okay, and I get it's a modern Taxi Driver, but I could also just watch Taxi Driver.

Jojo Rabbit: stopped halfway in because it was boring

Ad Astra: should have been better

[lyst]

7 hours ago, onecaseman said:

Ad Astra: should have been better

I was really hoping this would be good when it came out, went to go see it in the theaters.   Did not enjoy it at all -- besides some of the cinematography.  If I wanted to watch a whole film of Brad Pitt on the verge of crying , well, I wouldn't...

[Nebraska]

a classic piece of poliziotteschi with one of the most recognizable pieces of italian gangster funk. carlo (franco nero) is in a witness of a bank heist. the thugs kidnap him, mug him and give him a good shake up to keep his mouth shut. he goes to the cops who frustratingly seem reluctant to follow through with an investigation. to make matters worse, he keeps seeing the thugs around town. 

this is a by-the-numbers everyday guy takes matters into his own hands revenge story with the 70s euro-crime edge of hardboiled corrupt cops, over-the-top bad guys and desperate no-holds barred violence that doesn't spare the innocent. 

[Enthusiast]

I love ships

[Nebraska]

On 3/8/2020 at 12:39 PM, ooqpoo said:

Jay & Silent Bob Reboot was a depressing experience. I've always had a soft spot for the world of Clerks/Jay & Silent Bob, but there was absolutely no redeeming elements in this.

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except for the grilled chicken joint being named Cock Smoker ^^ 

 

currently streaming for free on amazon prime. might check it out (never watched any of smith's films except clerks which i really enjoyed)

[brian trageskin]

doctor sleep - utter shite

[Rubin Farr]

On 3/14/2020 at 1:01 AM, Nebraska said:

i seem to remember enjoying this film when i first watched it, but viewing it again today was a sobering experience. the director seems to have completely missed the point of using made when kubrick used 'also sprach zarathustra'- as significant moments in earth's history brought about by contact with the monolith, but also a catalyst of significant change in whoever has contact with said object. 

this director uses it as a calling card to link his film to the previous one. remember 2001? this is part 2. 

after that there are some wild constrictions of time and leaps of imagination. one scientist (in the middle of the cold war) asks a government aid to lie to the president so he can accompany a russian space mission to jupiter to recover the ship from the previous movie. he tells his wife during dinner that he is leaving and there is a very high probability that he will never return. she runs to the kitchen and slams a dish down. besides 1 bedroom scene, we never see her again. i'm assuming she dies, but who knows-

our main guy writes her regularly, but his letters seem more like mission logs with complex and (possibly?) sensitive mission directives. is/was his wife a scientist too? 
 

how did they manage to fsck up an arthur c clarke story- especially when the director was basically communicating with the author on a daily basis? whatever- he ended up doing films with jean-claude van damme which is- frankly- more his speed than anything like this.

nice try i guess?

It took me years to realize that was Helen Mirren.