Films Recently Watched

[Alcofribas]

i saw this dingformung post in a different thread:

"FlightClub isn't an anticapitalist/anti-consumerism movie, it just tries to come off as one. In the end it promotes capitalist values: You need an army of stupid workers for the rough work that see you as their authoritarian leader to achieve something (kind of like every corporation), you need creative destruction to keep the machinery working, etc. Tyler Durden isn't a rebel, he is a modern entrepreneur. They should do a remake with Elon Musk playing Elon Musk."

perhaps i'm missing something but isn't the film taking the piss with ideas like this? isn't it about a delusional, schizophrenic guy who is engaged in an ultimately pathetic quest to rebel that is tragically infused with his own adolescent, inane views about society and life? 

fans of this movie obviously think the violence is cool, that tyler durden is bad ass, etc; detractors claim he's toxic, fascistic, etc. imo the movie's own take on him is revealed pretty consistently - i mean he's literally a salesman, this is a totally on the nose trait. there's a useful scene where the two of them get on a bus and jack points out this calvin klein add with some buff shirtless guy and says something like "oh is this how a real man is supposed to look?" and tyler goes "haha self improvement is masturbation." but the whole fucking movie that's exactly what tyler durden looks like, shirtless with an impossibly lean body completely unsuitable for "real" life, training a bunch of men to "improve" their lives.

idk, i think fincher has been pretty consistent in his characterization of masculinity as pathetic and broken. my take on fight club is that it's portrayal of the hyper-macho militancy is definitely ironic. tyler durden isn't making all these corny adbusters observations of the world because that's what fincher thinks is cool - his character is meant to be a juvenile reaction against consumerism that is ultimately just a kind of darker spinoff of mainstream consumerist culture. it's led by a salesman who has the figure of a supermodel. and this is because tyler is not a real person but an incoherent offspring of a pathetic, broken dude's psyche. 

wondering what people's thoughts are on this if anyone cares to share. it's been years since i've seen this movie but i regularly see it being discussed from an un-ironic position and this always surprises me.

[zero]

On 1/3/2021 at 4:41 AM, ambermonke said:

Just watched Inland Empire for the first time. I was expecting it to be more terrifying. Not as much scary as it was surreal.

I didn't fully understand what was going on, but from what I hear it's one of those films that needs to be viewed repeatedly to be properly digested. Interesting to see Terry Crews make a cameo though.

correct about repeated viewings. but even then, it's still a difficult film to try and make any sort of linear story sense out of. think I've probably seen it from start to finish 3 times, but have gone back to re-watch certain chunks to try and understand it more.

the film, for me at least, felt similar to how a nightmare works. there may be bits and pieces of a story that ultimately become more scary/confusing. then it jumps out of the scary part to something that may not be related, while the imagery of the scary part lingers.

 

[QQQ]

Terry Crews being in Inland Empire is the best thing about it

[Enthusiast]

I watched about a thousand star wars films roughly. 

[Dragon]

5 hours ago, zero said:

correct about repeated viewings. but even then, it's still a difficult film to try and make any sort of linear story sense out of. think I've probably seen it from start to finish 3 times, but have gone back to re-watch certain chunks to try and understand it more.

the film, for me at least, felt similar to how a nightmare works. there may be bits and pieces of a story that ultimately become more scary/confusing. then it jumps out of the scary part to something that may not be related, while the imagery of the scary part lingers.

 

Inland Empire is set apart from Lynch's other films, in that it really is so fragmented that it's not reasonably possible to find your own story. Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive use "dream logic" and that can be challenging for the viewer, but at least they have enough consistency and substance to allow viewers to reach their conclusions - Inland Empire doesn't have any consistency, only a small handful of recurring ideas and a basic story that stops after 45 minutes. i love rewatching LH and MD and finding new stories and theories, but i honestly think IE cannot be understood, and you'd have to supply a hell of a lot of creativity as a viewer to make sense of it.

[TRiP]

Had a dip into a bit of some classic Kurosawa recently

Drunken Angel
Excellent stuff, so much innovative techniques for its time and never a frame wasted. Takashi Shimura is incredible here, probably best i've seen him. Toshiro Mifune is also great, hardly recognisable at this young age.

Stray Dog
Also great, interesting to see it being 'considered a precursor to the contemporary police procedural and buddy cop film genres' - goes on a little too long at times but good stuff. Interesting, alike with Drunken Angel, that at this point Shimura is the leading man with Mifune soon to overtake and become the leading star.

The Bad Sleep Well
I love what this film sets out to say and explore - however it just goes on that bit too long and drags at places, but overall it's still excellent. Love the ending, they don't do em' like that anymore. Beautiful cinematography.

Red Beard
Wasn't too taken with this - leaning a bit too much into the soppy side of things, also too long (has the classic 'intermission' part and all) but definitely has its moments and a nice message conveyed overall.

Non-Kurosawa:

Harakiri
Proper classic, great storytelling and cinematography - not to mention awesome soundtrack!

Diego Maradona
Good watch! Was a big fan of Senna when it came out so was looking for a similar experience and wasn't disappointed. This style of documentary is such a breath of fresh air as opposed to the current close up interview style. Just good clean editing does wonders, no need for emotionally exploitive reaction shots

[Rubin Farr]

Can anyone provide me with a timeline of the Hammer Films old Dracula series with Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing? Trying to do a deep dive. Also, the Peter Cushing Frankenstein series. Many thanks!

[milkface]

Just got round to watching Uncut Gems, very good for a film with Adam Sandler in it.

[perunamuusi]

25 minutes ago, milkface said:

Just got round to watching Uncut Gems, very good for a film with Adam Sandler in it.

Watch Punch-Drunk Love

[Nebraska]

classic urban city romance drama film by auteur (shorty) gin x

[milkface]

12 hours ago, perunamuusi said:

Watch Punch-Drunk Love

I heard Mark Kermode speak highly of Punch-Drunk Love in his review of Uncut Gems so I'll definitely check it out.

[Guest]

On 1/6/2021 at 12:03 PM, Alcofribas said:

wondering what people's thoughts are on this if anyone cares to share. it's been years since i've seen this movie but i regularly see it being discussed from an un-ironic position and this always surprises me.

I could not agree more with you about this. it is the scene where tyler and the brad pitt character are on the buss and they see a underwear advert with a cut guy in it and tyler says mockingly something like is that what a man is supposed to look like? Its funny because that is exactly what Brad Pitt looks like and the framing and lighting in the fight scenes highlight this and exaggerate it.

All the same I still enjoy fight club and think Fincher is amazing. Zodiak is killer. I really like how meticulous and careful the narrative is regarding the timeline and dates and stuff.

[Nebraska]

fantastic doc on netflix detailing the crack epidemic from the 80s to mid 90s. skims over a few details like this but still does a really good summary. 

[cruising for burgers]

finally...

Edited January 14, 2021 by Tim_J

[Taupe Beats]

Blind Chance

I am a big Kieslowski fan. With that said, this film is his most glaring example of a trend in his work I don't like. Namely the naive but ultimately good-natured and intentioned protagonist. There is one major scene that feels overly convenient and unrealistic but is pivotal to one of the potential outcomes (the film is structured to show 3 separate potential outcomes from the same origin moment).

Kieslowski had a vaguely similar protagonist for Dekalog 5/A Short Film About Killing. I much prefer the latter to the protagonist in Blind Chance due to the ambiguity in the latter.

Overall it's Kieslowski so it's ultimately still a good film (the performance of the song by one of the Solidarity guys alone makes the whole thing worth seeing).

Spoiler

I also hated the ending (plane crash and the protagonist dies, wah wah wah!). It works as a form of cynical humor but nothing more. And for this film, I def. wanted more. This is another point where Dekalog 5/A Short Film About Killing compares favorably.

 

[mister miller]

On 1/10/2021 at 2:47 PM, perunamuusi said:

Watch Punch-Drunk Love

yep this ones great.

philip seymour hoffman is so good at yelling

[Taupe Beats]

12 minutes ago, mister miller said:

philip seymour hoffman is so good at yelling

Haha agreed. Certainly one of the best scenes in The Master (which is already a great movie to begin with).

[cruising for burgers]

PIG FUCK!!!

[T3551ER]

On 1/12/2021 at 9:27 PM, Tim_J said:

finally...

What did you think? I love love love Spring but wasn't as keen on the Endless- have been slightly worried this one would be a similar melange of interesting ideas that don't quite gel...

EDIT: Holy crap! These guys are going to be directing Moon Knight? I'm sold (I know very little about MK but could see a miniseries really lending itself to these guys' talents)

Edited January 15, 2021 by T3551ER

[Schlitze]

On 1/11/2021 at 11:12 AM, milkface said:

I heard Mark Kermode speak highly of Punch-Drunk Love in his review of Uncut Gems so I'll definitely check it out.

Hahahahaha noob Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems are folklore, man. Jesus. How old are you? If you're just out of nappies I'll let you off the hook! Hahaha, oh man. 

[cruising for burgers]

3 hours ago, T3551ER said:

What did you think? I love love love Spring but wasn't as keen on the Endless- have been slightly worried this one would be a similar melange of interesting ideas that don't quite gel...

EDIT: Holy crap! These guys are going to be directing Moon Knight? I'm sold (I know very little about MK but could see a miniseries really lending itself to these guys' talents)

i'm sad to say but this movie was really bad... like, really really bad... had such high hopes for it...

spring was my least favorite of them... have you seen resolution? if you do you might enjoy the endless a bit more... both movies plots are intertwined...

Edited January 15, 2021 by Tim_J

[cruising for burgers]

must have watched like 1 movie everyday since i got back... that's around 45 movies... see, i'm very good at math...

anyway, i thought freaky was fun, possessor was pretty hot, black box was interesting, i think, can't really get relic's hype, i haven't clue what was tenet about, rewatched birdman and liked it very much... all the rest was forgetful... also rewatched luz, watmm doesn't know what she's missing... another rewatch, rubber by quentin dupieux aka mr.oizo, something's up when you feel empathy for a tire... watched his new one, deerskin, was disappointed...:( xoxo

Edited January 15, 2021 by Tim_J

[milkface]

13 hours ago, Schlitze said:

Hahahahaha noob Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems are folklore, man. Jesus. How old are you? If you're just out of nappies I'll let you off the hook! Hahaha, oh man. 

I'm 12 and it's because I only watch the best of the best films. Just got done watching Flushed Away (2006). You wouldn't have heard of it.

[Squee]

Watched Wonder Woman 1984 and boy. Boy oh boy. It's worse than Justice League. Like, way worse.
I think the worst part is that it isn't dumb enough. It should have been full on ham and absolutely ridiculous. They should have gone balls out and used 80s blue screen for all of their effects and hired Corey Feldman to play the bad guy.

[dr lopez]

plus her acting got worse???