Films Recently Watched

[Candiru]

Tenebrae. This was fun. I would never kill any of those insanely hot women. That's just ignorant.

[AJW]

After Hours (1985)

 

Another lost gem from Scorsese, an absurdest kafka'esc day in the life (or rather night) of our leading man - all he wants to do is go home but the universe just doesn't seem to let him. Highly recommended!

 

Club berlin/10

 

 

 

 

This was fantastic

[Nebraska]

one of the best films i've ever seen

 

http://youtu.be/iXYmFqEkCGQ

[Guest Jimmy McMessageboard]

Rush

Made me remember that I actually like F1 and wanted to see more racing but this film tried to cover so much way too fast. Odd how James Hunt even overshadowed Nikki Lauda even in the advertising for this film which is really about lauda and told from his perspective.

 

I lolled hard when olivia wilde turned up and his mates are reading a paper which mentions her and that she is a model as way of introduction.

[Schlitze]

Enemy 8.5/10

Twas with delight and without expectation i embraced the delectable Enemy. It's been a long time since seeing something which reminded one of the fine mysteries of Lynch's post 1997 feature lengths, yet it is here to some extent in the form of mood and abstract innuendo. And also Isabella Rosselini in a cameo as Gyllenhaal's mum.

A brooding Toronto has never looked so menacing since Shivers (or maybe Crash).

Most of the surprise was going in thinking this was a thriller like Villeneuve's immense 'Prisoners' from last year. Maybe that's how you should approach it too if you are reading this post.

[Guest transmisiones ferox]

Shutter Island

7/10

[Schlitze]

Wolf Creek 2 7/10

Pretty beastly. Wolf Creek 2 is the quintessential horror sequel. It don't fuck about. Fans of Wolf Creek 1 will understand that we have now extracted the the tension from that one, now lets get to know the savage Mick Taylor a little bit better, and lets see how he reacts to some European' s in his bush.

[yshf]

Under The Skin - 8/10 - Interesting interpretation of the novel. I like that it distinguishes itself from the narrative of the original and doesn't cling to certain aspects undeservedly... like... no cheap rule-breaking, nothing feels out of place, that kind of thing. Glazer obviously had a goal he set out to accomplish and made it clear that he wasn't trying to appeal to fans of the original. Both stand alone as great, unique works playing off the same ideas and universe. The film plays by the rules of the narrative but reworks them in an interesting way, places the characters in a slightly different setting, emphasizes different aspects of the commentary, and does all of this really well without feeling lost or pretentious. Like, fucking incredibly well. Also, Mica Levi's score is one of the most amazing soundtracks I have ever heard. Worth checking out for that alone imo.

[data]

kid cannabis 2/10

 

main character was just so, so cringeworthingly crap.

[Atop]

Alien Abduction

 

3/10

 

Well, they named a film after a subject that I find terrifying, from the novels Communion and Intruders, to the films Close Encounters, Alien Abduction Slumber Party and Dark Skies....this subject fucks my head up and I enjoy it for that fact because most horror films and scary stories are not that effective on me. But the idea of a species of beings that can appear anywhere, want to butt rape you, and will steal you or your family without you being able to do shit all about it? I love it.

 

This film is a fucking turd.

 

I expected to be a little freaked out by some of the scenes but for the four or so alien scenes, the film makers? stole the aesthetic of the 5 minute film, Alien Abduction Slumber Party by Jason Eisner, one of the best short films I have ever seen. They decided to turn it into the worst found footage film I have ever seen. Breaking all of the rules of what the genres should entail, both alien contact and found footage, they allow the nearly hour and a half film to meander without anyone actually getting abducted until the end. We meet a redneck that is an alien abduction expert, hiding in the woods, never thinking to tell people that aliens exist, and he knows how to avoid them, with shotguns and tin cans on fishing lines! Yeehaw!

 

The kid with the camera is autistic, he seems really normal until he has to say any number and then he immediately turns into Rain Man. He apparently is really good at shooting film, he loves to edit shots with the same sound reel still playing, MOVIE MAGIC, and frame the shots really well, almost like it isn't even him shooting the found footage? WHAT!?!?!?! The edits all feel like normal film edits, nothing random or natural, amateur, still shit but it doesn't feel like a found footage film AT ALL! The focusing within the shots were done post production, the actors all seem like actors, they are an upper middle class family hanging out in the woods of Tennessee because that is where rich people go to vacation.

 

The first main scene where we know aliens are abducting people is in broad daylight and there are empty cars everywhere, leading into a road tunnel, filled with more cars, luggage everywhere, doors open, and the family is okay with this 28 days later scenario, they feel no need to run away because they are low on gas, wah, then an Alien pops out from behind a car! My friend and I laughed oh so hard.

 

We actually didn't finish the film because the non abducting enraged me so much. Although I did see the end of the film because it is at the beginning, or course, so I felt I could skip the actual ending. Fuck this film. Fuck IFC for releasing it.

 

CAN SOMEONE MAKE A TRULY TERRIFYING AND PARALYZING ALIEN ABDUCTION FILM????? PLEASE!!!!!!!?

[data]

i really don't get why they started the movie by showing the entire last scene. within the first minute of the movie you already know exactly how it's gonna end, so you spend the next 90 minutes not giving two shits about any of the characters as they run around screaming in the woods. also the daughter seemed to be weirdly ok with her mom being folded in half by that alieny tractor beam or whatever. and also why did the mom look like 35 and the daughter like 21? that was weird. what a shit movie.

Edited April 25, 2014 by data

[Atop]

yeah man, I didn't even make it to the Mom being folded. Horrible casting!, The kid's hair!!!!! Ahhh, such a piece of turds!!!!

[peace 7]

Reading ze above reminded me of Fire In The Sky, dyuuuuude..... Classic and based on real events, yo. Fucking badass.

[Atop]

That one didn't hold up for me, I was a bit freaked out by the ending when I was younger but I kept thinking when is he going to get abducted while watching it. Much like the previously mentioned shit fest, Alien Abjection, there wasn't enough abductin happenin. Dark Skies is a lot better I think, and the second season of American Horror Story has some rad abducting in it.

[peace 7]

You have to watch Fire In The Sky as a 10 year old, all paranoid on crank, and then your parents give you a shitload of Pepsi to make you have to piss. And then they hide Grey mannequins behind sofas and all over the fucking house, so when you go to take a piss when the shrooms start to kick in, your whole house morphs into the alien craft.

[Atop]

yep, that would freak me out.

 

but if I would have seen Dark Skies at the same age, with the same substances....I think it would have ruined for life.

 

 

I read Communion when I was 10 and it had a terrible effect on my life. I became totally paranoid about greys kidnapping me. For a good 2 years I was convinced they were coming for me. Then I saw the film and it was comical, has Walken overacting the shit out of a horrible script. The film was so terrible that it helped me to not be afraid of greys anymore.

 

Cut to me reading Majestic, age 13, by the same author of Communion. Fucked me up again but I was old enough by this time to know that I was pretty much safe from greys. As long as they weren't real.

 

Now I just enjoy the genre and wish it could be more amazing.

 

The boy getting taken out of his house in Close Encounters, love that scene so much!

 

Nothing has lived up to that since then.

 

ahh yes the Fourth Kind, if it were just the Rubber Johnnyesque scenes cut together, with the people screaming and becoming paralyzed and contorted, that would have been rad. The rest of the film is unforgivable.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Atop

[peace 7]

The book cover to Communion used to scare me... Drawings of greys in general used to scare the fuck out of me. Now I really like them. I also think greys are real. I have a palm-sized grey head that I bought in 1998, and I've taken it around ze world with me. It's now like a charm.

 

I think one of the scariest parts about greys, is not their nature or even scary appearance-- there is for some reason this idea that you will just be walking to take a piss, and then a grey would just be standing in your hallway. The "greys are just standing there" is pretty scary.... Same with Men In Black. Fuck.

[Squee]

Enemy

 

What? I liked it. But... what?

[Rubin Farr]

The Fisher King - 7/10 going thru Jeff Bridges' filmography after meeting him at a show recently, this was an underrated chance for him to play the straight man for once, and a great tortured character. I hope he works with Terry Gilliam again.

[data]

Enemy

 

What? I liked it. But... what?

 

 

 

I’m not sure if this is what director had in mind, but it seems like the most plausible explanation. Anyway, this is how I think things happened

 

Anthony has affair with Mary. Then, she realizes he’s married, they get into the fight (as seen towards the end of the movie) and later they have a car crash. He survives the accident, however gets injured. That’s how he got scars. Helen, of course, finds out that he had been in an accident with a woman he was having an affair with, however she forgives him. There is a clue that Mary survived the accident as well, which will be mentioned later.

 

Anthony tries to carry on with his life, but it’s difficult. On one hand, he’s overwhelmed with guilt, on the other, he’s not ready to give up his former lifestyle (which is chasing other women, as his mother mentioned).He starts visiting sex clubs and that’s how he tries to conquer his problems, but not permanently. Notice how a spider is stepped on and crushed in a club scene. I believe spider represents his fear of life with Helen and becoming a father.

 

However, the fear (along with possible guilt) reemerges and he needs to deal with it some other way. That’s when he creates an alter ego – Adam, a college professor. He probably looked up colleges and ran into Adam’s name and unconsciously “decided” to use that name for his new personality. A professor named Adam Bell indeed exists, however when both Anthony and Helen look him up, they find only the name, no pictures. Therefore, he could be anyone.

 

Notice how most of Adam’s life (which takes place only in Anthony’s mind) is somewhat surreal and empty. He teaches the students same lesson twice (at the beginning of the movie) and once he even walks into the empty classroom. Classes shown at the beginning take place in Anthony’s mind, however, walking into empty classroom indeed happens, since later he runs into Helen. I believe empty classroom is meant to show us that he does not teach at the university.

 

Through Adam, Anthony tries to detach himself from his real life. Notice there’s only half of the whole picture, which is later shown in his and Helen’s apartment. As Adam, he symbolically cut off Helen from his life (therefore, the torn picture) and has a relationship with Mary. However, the pieces of his real life start popping into his consciousness while he’s in his “dream world” as Adam. That’s why Adam’s friend (who is also figment of Anthony’s imagination) recommends him to watch the movie. That’s when the imaginary world starts to collapse.

 

Helen notices there’s something wrong with her husband. At first, she thinks he’s having an affair with Mary, AGAIN. That’s what makes me think that Mary survived the accident, as well. Helen gets suspicious, looks up the alleged professor and decides to pay him a visit to find out whether he was a “jealous husband”. When she arrives at the university, there is a shocking revelation. She runs into Anthony, who was, at the time, completely overtaken by his alter ego. She’s upset, which is shown in later scene where she says something like: “I think you know what’s going on.” She is not sure whether Anthony has a mental illness or he’s playing a trick on her.

 

Anthony is unaware of his condition and meets up with Adam. The meeting, of course, takes place in his head, therefore the isolated motel. Adam, who is about to get destroyed (since Anthony will possibly find out he’s just an alter ego) suddenly withdraws from conversation, therefore allowing Anthony to carry on with delusion.

 

Anthony now wants to stay with Helen, but to have an affair Mary as well. That’s why he insists on taking Mary to a romantic holiday. Instead of it, he returns to his and Helen’s apartment, but this time as Adam, since his alter ego had overtaken him. Helen notices he’s being awkward and wants to find out whether he’s into Adam’s character again. That’s why she asks him: “How was school?”. Now, she’s certain of his mental condition. He falls asleep and has dreams of his accident with Mary. When he awakes, he realizes that something’s wrong with him, breaks down and cries. Helen shows him support and asks him to stay, meaning she liked Adam personality better than the original.

 

For a while, everything seems to be in order. Next morning, he hears about some accident, but turns off the radio, since it reminds him of the one he had. Now he becomes a dictator, who censors the information. When he finds the key for club, he switches into his old self and his fears of fatherhood (and perhaps women in general reappear) and that’s why he sees Helen as a giant spider. That’s the moment when history repeats itself. His fear of the women may have been caused by his relationship with mother, who seems to be somewhat distant and shows little understanding for his problems.

 

 

 

read this on imdb since i couldn't be bothered figuring it out myself. sounds plausible.

[delet...]

Gravity - Bullock's acting and just the fact that it was her pissed me off for a good portion of the movie until i got used to it. In the main though, I did some skimming through the exposition and emotes and stuck to the action, this is probably what got me through it. no real reason to watch this film, especially if you don't like illogical bits some that defy physics and some logic, not to mention other stuff which i can't be bothered remembering but i'm sure that if i saw it again the tedious specifics would come to me/10

 

 

i did wonder where she ended up, my brother thought that it was africa cause of the landscape, which of course led to speculation about her getting all the way only to now have to fend of wild animals. Not to mention nasties that might have been in that water. We were also annoyed that a craft started to sink that would have been designed to land in a choppy sea.

 

[dr lopez]

The Fisher King - 7/10 going thru Jeff Bridges' filmography after meeting him at a show recently, this was an underrated chance for him to play the straight man for once, and a great tortured character. I hope he works with Terry Gilliam again.

robin williams fucking sucks man

[Nebraska]

 

eric bana does his mission impossiblest to knock off a bunch of terrorists that blasted jewish olympians. there is a tiny french dude feeding him the leads like "they're here. go there. safe house. 500,000 dollar ok?" i have a soft spot for this film because i used to watch this movie as a kid and pretty familiar with how things went down

[AJW]

Terrorvision 8.5/10 so enjoyable

[gaarg]

Gravity - Bullock's acting and just the fact that it was her pissed me off for a good portion of the movie until i got used to it. In the main though, I did some skimming through the exposition and emotes and stuck to the action, this is probably what got me through it. no real reason to watch this film, especially if you don't like illogical bits some that defy physics and some logic, not to mention other stuff which i can't be bothered remembering but i'm sure that if i saw it again the tedious specifics would come to me/10

 

 

i did wonder where she ended up, my brother thought that it was africa cause of the landscape, which of course led to speculation about her getting all the way only to now have to fend of wild animals. Not to mention nasties that might have been in that water. We were also annoyed that a craft started to sink that would have been designed to land in a choppy sea.

 

The space feel made this movie for me, I thought it was really done well. I didn't like all the drama, but I kinda liked the experience as a whole.