Films Recently Watched

[ambermonk]

Finally took it upon myself to watch The Lawnmower Man: Director's Cut.

I did so just for the scene where Rosco the chimp (aka Cyboman) gets gunned down by that private security firm Dr. Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) works for. It was hilarious watching him flailing around like a distraught soccer mom.

Plot spoiler ahead

Long story short, the good doctor's original simian test subject gets gunned down by his own company because it's on the loose and dangerous. Then he finds a retarded guy to replace said chimp as his new guinea pig, and overtime boosts his Intelligence and Charisma by about 6 SPECIAL points via combined special drug treatments and brain-enhancing VR sims. The Lawnmower Man is no longer retarded and gets laid.

But towards the end his Intelligence gains 3 SPECIAL points and Charisma takes a nose dive, lower than it originally was. He's now some kind of superhuman Tetsuo/SHODAN prototype with mind control and telekinesis, exacting revenge on 2 abusive fathers. Then he proceeds to the facility where he was "made" and evolves into some kind of VR omniscient demigod. So Dr. Angelo tries to blow up the facility before Super Jobe can upload himself to the entire interwebs or some crap. Dr. Frankenstein trying to kill his own monster, in other words.

So Dr. Angelo succeeded in leveling the facility, but Super Jobe also succeeded in somehow making every landline phone in the world ring simultaneously.

But yeah. Jobe tried to make up for his lifelong disability by turning into Super Jobe. Then tried to turn the world into some kind of Vaporwave hell. Big LOLs were had at the cheesy CGI, especially with Super Jobe turning G-men into Dippin' Dots and unleashing Vaporwave bees on security personnel.

[Silent Member]

Protip: Don't watch lawnmower man 2.

[cwmbrancity]

Ok, to be fair I think hate the people who praise that movie as a masterpiece more than I hate the movie. Anyone who still hasn't grown out of their 16-20-year-old-phase and who still thinks it's cool to smoke weed and listen to The Dark Side of the Moon while watching 2001 is the worst. Take your weak ass weed and gluten free spelt bread somewhere else. And while you're at it, stop talking about Waking Life, please.

 

Fight me!

 

 

that's quite a convergence of associations

 

there must be some way to enjoy the film beyond the bs filters/inferences?

 

plus, Kubrick.... the man didn't really do bunk

 

c'mon, you sound like Eugene here

[dingformung]

Ok, to be fair I think hate the people who praise that movie as a masterpiece more than I hate the movie. Anyone who still hasn't grown out of their 16-20-year-old-phase and who still thinks it's cool to smoke weed and listen to The Dark Side of the Moon while watching 2001 is the worst. Take your weak ass weed and gluten free spelt bread somewhere else. And while you're at it, stop talking about Waking Life, please.

 

 

Fight me!

 

Waking Life is a fun movie because of the way it is edited (cel-shaded graphics, unpredictable camera shakes, cum on, what's not to like about that?) and because of the weirdass dialogues and 2001: A Space Odyssey is still a good movie and it aged particularly well in my opinion, it probably is better now than at the time it was released be it only because of the variety of movies available now that are influenced by it. Also, who listens to music while watching a film? Did anyone of your peer group do that in their/your "16-20-yearl-old-phase"? I think Waking Life holds a very special place in your heart and you are too proud to admit it, otherwise you wouldn't post a comment like this. I bet you were one of these especially philosophical "free spirits" that would smoke weed only because they thought it would enhance the experience of watching a certain movie when you where in your young times but now that you are mature you are "over it" and think it is "weak ass" hahah

[dingformung]

cuntass

[TRiP]

You should like a film just because you like it, not because of what anyone else thinks - sounds as if you have a chip on your shoulder about some old 'friends' of yours who just rubbed you the wrong way.

 

I think 2001 is the possibly the greatest film ever made, nothing comes close to it in it's scope and execution. It's just a pure gem. But that's just me!

 

Waking Life is also great.

 

Also, i'm pretty sure its Dark Side of the Moon mixed with The Wizard of Oz that peeps combine...but wouldn't be surprised about doing it to 2001 also.......sounds like a cool idea 

[Squee]

[Lada Laika]

Waking Life was so boring that it resulted in my first makeout session in high school. 10/10 would rent again.

[cichlisuite]

Waking Life was so boring that it resulted in my first makeout session in high school. 10/10 would rent again.

 

You could say it woke you into life...

[o00o]

 

sci-fi shortfilm that will be made into a movie soon

trailer for the long film: 

 

[cruising for burgers]

i just watched unsane by soderbergh and honestly wtf...

it's definetly on purpose but it looks so amateur and b rated and the soundtrack was completely ridiculous. at least it had kind of a fulfilling ending besides its predictability...

[cruising for burgers]

i guess it was meant as a sort of a wink to giallo movies?

[T3551ER]

 

sci-fi shortfilm that will be made into a movie soon

trailer for the long film: 

 

 

Looks sweet - you always pray that stuff like this doesn't lose focus when being translated from short to long form (see Oculus, Lights Out, etc.) - but this looks like it might do it. 

 

Coupla of horror movies watched this weekend gearing up for Halloween n'such:

 

Malevolent

Something charming about this indie-ish horror flick. The best horror* roots itself in human issues of its characters, using the scares/supernatural bits as a reflection of the inner struggles of those they afflict. There is plenty of affliction to go around here, with a pretty spot-on look at the methods and effects of misogynist manipulators (of the DV variety), interestingly viewed through the lens of a sibling relationship (though this carries over and beyond to other characters as well). Death/insanity/addiction are all reflected at least pseudo-realistically in the characters, as are adoration, sacrifice, and something akin to love or, at least, kindness. 

 

Well shot, well directed, well-scripted, and well-acted, nevertheless things never quite seem to come follow through on what is a very promising set-up. That being said, would imagine fans of the indie-horror scene (e.g., Hereditary, It Follows, etc.) will find a lot to love here. This one never reaches quite the heights of those films (or what's promised by the first 2/3 acts), but there is something heartfelt and genuine going on in the middle of this thing - just wish they could have stuck the landing a bit better. 

 

SERIOUS SPOILERS THAT WILL RUIN THE ENDING SO PROCEED ONLY IF YOU DARE!!!! (spooooky halloweeen voiceee!!!!!)

 

 

 

So, think the thing that hurts this one is the attempt to mash up too many genres into one. It's a bit of a ghost story, a bit of a torture porn tale, a bit of a whodunit. It does all those things adequately well, but that means it doesn't ever quite do any one thing spectacularly. That being said - I'm still finding things to ponder after it's over, such as how the misogyny/controlling relationship of the main pair are inverted with the mother/son. So, yeah, still not great, but in the pantheon of Netflix mediocrity, this flick sticks out like a Kubrickian masterpiece. 

 

 

 

 

3rd Eye [Thai Horror]

*unless that horror is a genre mashup of every US horror trope in the last 20 years, blended with what are (likely) extremely diluted and poorly researched indigenous myths, filtered through the lens of a director/culture that doesn't realize that some of those horror tropes are actually US directors aping (and in turn diluting) Asian horror cinema. At one point it's a ghost story, at another it's a possession tale, for a while it's sort of a zombie flick, sometimes a sort of cautionary witchcraft tale, and it all ends with what I can only describe as someone filming a live walkthrough of a JayCee's House of Horror halloween haunted house walk. It's a simulacrum of a simulacrum of a simulacrum, and is all the better for it. 

 

So, ok, this is by no means a "good" film. It's not even a "good bad" film. But it's a film that has probably evoked the most DIFFERENT types of reactions in me in any film to date. This film somehow managed to make me laugh out loud, literally (and heartily), at some of it's more histrionic aping of US (and other) horror memes, while also (somehow?) making me almost fall asleep at points,  shock scaring me occasionally, and THEN surprising the shit out of me many with its many, many late in the game twists. I mean, we're talking someone was like, "Fuck, we got funded? Ok, well, this is the ONLY horror film we will ever get to make, so let's put, like . . . . TWO M. Night Shamalyan twists in there. . . no wait, THREE. It's gotta be THREE." You could take a straw poll of me at 10 different times during this movie and gotten a completely different take at each one. 

 

In the end, not the worst way to waste a lazy Sunday evening. From a purely cultural/cinematic standpoint, it's sort of fascinating to see what another culture thinks about what a "pop" horror movie should look like. Early on, there's a fly-through of the house the mimics the James Wan Conjuring style introduction to the cast, but it's not carried off with the same sort of unique confidence or artistry, and ends moving through a horridly obvious CGI door (a shot that is repeated at least once more, to gradually lessening effect). That's sort of a metaphor for the whole thing (take that as you will). 

[worms]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq01ymxJkMQ

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbKzgKobeM

[dingformung]

i guess it was meant as a sort of a wink to giallo movies?

it was filmed on an iPhone to explore how much you can get out of phone cameras

[Rubin Farr]

Machine Girl is classic.

[worms]

Machine Girl is classic.

yes, watched it with my cousin last night, he dissed the fx bad  but i admire the main character's determination to get justice. and the mechanic lady is just too hot. tempura arm, drill bra, ,chainsaw arm, machine gun arm, this film has everything. including bad visual effects.

 

ankoku joshi is totally different, a schoolgirl murder mystery with lots of twists and turns. both are great films imo.

[cruising for burgers]

 

i guess it was meant as a sort of a wink to giallo movies?

it was filmed on an iPhone to explore how much you can get out of phone cameras

yeah that was also done in the newspaper biker boy movie but i meant the script and acting mostly...

[auxien]

I watched You Might Be The Killer. It was okay, I guess. Would've been way more fun if I'd been drunk, or if the story had strayed a little bit somewhere or tipped a touch more towards the humor. 

[auxien]

I also just watched (most of) Splice. It was bad. A caricature of 'rebelious scientists' make a hybrid animal/human baby, both end up sexing with the creature. Stupid, terrible shit. Not even fun, don't watch this, ever.

[Enthusiast]

i just watched unsane by soderbergh and honestly wtf...

it's definetly on purpose but it looks so amateur and b rated and the soundtrack was completely ridiculous. at least it had kind of a fulfilling ending besides its predictability...

 

 

I am a big Soderbergh fan, but Unsane is garbage. I don't mind the low budget aesthetic at all, Tangerine was shot on iPhones and I loved it. I was so bored watching Unsane that the boredom is the only thing I can remember.

[hello spiral]

I also just watched (most of) Splice. It was bad. A caricature of 'rebelious scientists' make a hybrid animal/human baby, both end up sexing with the creature. Stupid, terrible shit. Not even fun, don't watch this, ever.

 

I <3 Splice, Seen it loads of times <3

[caze]

yeah, it's great.

[Silent Member]

K, I'm definitely watching that, thanks for the rec

[hello spiral]

going to see this tomorrow as part of the BFI Film Fest. Looks good