Films Recently Watched

[eugene]

i enjoyed the favourite quite a bit. the tug of war at the core of the film isn't too original or interesting, and isn't too deep due to its semi-farcial nature (though it does get deeper towards the end when things slow down and colman's performance helps it a lot), but everything around it kinda makes up for it. the no fucks given treatment of the whole 18th century court biz, the pacing and the editing, the camera, the acting, the production, the lols and so on. all very very tightly and neatly put together while still retaining some of that dogtooth spirit with its ultra cynical wit that sets it very far apart from other attempts to deal with similar setting and subject.

Edited February 13, 2019 by eugene

[usagi]

Overlord was dumb.

[Hk47]

Overlord was dumb.

 

Fuck yes it was... what a piece of shit. Such a waste of time.

 

I think I would have rather re-watched Barb Wire or Battlefield Earth. =/

 

I mean... if you're going to throw away a few hours of your life... it might as well be watching something that has won a few awards for how horrid it was...

Edited February 13, 2019 by Hk47

[usagi]

Hold The Dark. I liked it. maybe it doesn't cohere tightly enough and relies on mystery and symbolism a bit much, but it worked for me. nice mood.

 

edit:

 

 

actually the weakest part of this was the murderous rampage against the police for seemingly little reason than that the father and his friend were running amok with grief. I can sort of see how that'd work if it was woven into the story a bit better but it was a bit too random and seemed forced for the sake of action/momentum.

 

Edited February 13, 2019 by usagi

[Taupe Beats]

if this film weren't so vulgar you'd think it's right up there with tie me up! tie me down! with it's upside down treatment of such a topic. but it's pink cinema, so it exploits the women and embarrass the men- sometimes needlessly as the story is already doing this. 

 

I hated Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! so much. The reverence for Almodovar never ceases to baffle me. Long-form Loreal commercials with specious empowerment themes. A good sense for lighting alone should not afford such accolades.

[Taupe Beats]

Overlord was dumb.

 

Knew nothing about this and then find out this *isn't* a remake of the Stuart Cooper film. Had it been a remake, that would have been bad enough...but this looks like its even worse.

[joshuatxuk]

Solo was decent. RLM pretty much nailed it in their review. Better than I expected, fewer gimmicks than AFA and TLJ, I like it as much as I liked Rogue One, they are needless AF but they also fulfill my old school EU geekdom for side-plots and endless underbelly worlds in the SW universe. I've watched both on Netflix, not in theaters, and both times I distinctly recall pausing it and saying to myself "there's another hour left!?" 

 

 

 

Train robbery part was dumb but overall I enjoyed it's almost complete detachment from any IV-VI films or prequels...except for that awkward Darth Maul cameo

 

 

Re-watched Sunshine for the first time since I saw it almost 10 years ago. Goddamn what a film. One of my favorite sci-fi movies. Any other recs for stuff of that same harder sci-fi genre. I liked Interstellar, Gravity, and Martian a lot. I've heard the show the Expanse is a good show but I was wondering if anything else film wise falls in the same niche.

[T3551ER]

Solo was decent. RLM pretty much nailed it in their review. Better than I expected, fewer gimmicks than AFA and TLJ, I like it as much as I liked Rogue One, they are needless AF but they also fulfill my old school EU geekdom for side-plots and endless underbelly worlds in the SW universe. I've watched both on Netflix, not in theaters, and both times I distinctly recall pausing it and saying to myself "there's another hour left!?" 

 

 

 

Train robbery part was dumb but overall I enjoyed it's almost complete detachment from any IV-VI films or prequels...except for that awkward Darth Maul cameo

 

 

Re-watched Sunshine for the first time since I saw it almost 10 years ago. Goddamn what a film. One of my favorite sci-fi movies. Any other recs for stuff of that same harder sci-fi genre. I liked Interstellar, Gravity, and Martian a lot. I've heard the show the Expanse is a good show but I was wondering if anything else film wise falls in the same niche.

 

Oh, man, haven't thought about Sunshine in a minute. Loved that to bits when it first came out. Other things that might be up your alley:

 

Arrival - more localized sci-fi (i.e., not in space) but pretty ace. Some def interstellar vibes

Ex Machina - one of the best sci fi flicks of the past whatever (IMHOP). More in the Isaac Asimov end of sci-fi than, say, Larry Niven but damn fine. Damn fine. 

The Fountain - one of those love or hate it. Kind of reminds me of Sunshine in the sense of an indie filmmaker does large budget sci-fi. Worth it for visuals alone.  

[joshuatxuk]

^ Fountain has been on my watchlist for a long time, I almost forgot about it. 

 

Thanks for the other recs. I've seen the 1996 Arrival on a long transoceanic flight as a kid. Probably dated now but I liked it a lot, really freaked me out. It's decent, like a decent film length X-files episode. 

 

[Nebraska]

 

spike lee's been making films since the early 80s and now he's 61. after watching this film you'd think he's still in his 20s and it's his 3rd or 4th feature. the production feels really small (rarely any background actors or any sense of large scale. he's also still doing unnecessary dutch angels and unnecessary long takes that go nowhere- and the speeches that go on and on even after making their point. 

 

acting is also kinda weird: adam driver, the one racist dude with the crazy wife, the crazy wife, the drunk racist and david duke are all excellent. john david washington is also good, but i feel like he's being directed for a more blaxploitation film while his love interest barely has a grasp of acting- and she's given nothing more to do than throw up a fist (occasionally) and quickly run through sentences.

 

this is one of those instances where the story being told is more interesting than the film trying to tell it

[onecaseman]

Just rewatched Moon for the first time in a while. So good. Sam Rockwell always does such a good job.

[usagi]

Climax. I enjoyed this a lot to my surprise, mainly for the first half which is sick even if you're not into the usual Noe degeneracy (which I've always been 50/50 on) that occurs in the second half. sick dance routines, sick choreography and shooting overall.

[MaartenVC]

Just rewatched Moon for the first time in a while. So good. Sam Rockwell always does such a good job.

 

Love that movie. 

[MaartenVC]

Pajaros de Verano

 

Native Colombians get involved in the marijuana trade.

 

Fantastic pictures. Great story. Interesting setting. No new agey nonsense.

 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt6386748/

 

From the makers of Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente)! Nice. Gonna watch. 

[Squee]

I honestly don’t get the love for Moon. It’s fine and that’s about it. And the soundtrack is garbage.

[Nebraska]

^^^ +1. also find that film very mediocre.

 

 

well- this was heavy. a guy (in the background) decides to be a buddy to a guy dying of HIV. then he discovers he's slowly falling in love with him and changes a lot of his own perspective on being gay

 

this was the first film to address the AIDS epidemic a decade before philadelphia. 5 days after it was made ronald reagan addressed the disease for the first time. less than 5 years later, the director, actor playing the guy with aids had died of the very same disease. 

[usagi]

I also think Moon is overrated. good but not stellar.

[Roo]

These were the ten best films I finally saw for the first time in 2018:

 

1. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)

2. NGE: The End of Evangelion (Anno & Tsurumaki, 1997)

3. The Deep Blue Sea (Terence Davies, 2011)

4. Suspicion (Hitchcock, 1941)

5. Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)

6. Phantom Thread (PTA, 2017)

7. Fat City (Huston, 1972)

8. Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)

9. California Split (Altman, 1974)

10. The Ghost & Mrs Muir (Mankiewicz, 1947)

 

So far in 2019 The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 1977) has been amazing, entered my top echelon of favourites and will be nigh impossible to beat for the overall year.

[onecaseman]

^ Fountain has been on my watchlist for a long time, I almost forgot about it. 

 

Thanks for the other recs. I've seen the 1996 Arrival on a long transoceanic flight as a kid. Probably dated now but I liked it a lot, really freaked me out. It's decent, like a decent film length X-files episode. 

 

 

Yeah I loved that movie (and also Villeneueve's Arrival). 

[usagi]

Villeneuve hadn't made a bad film imo. if anyone can be trusted with Dune, it's him, especially after how correct he came with the BR sequel.

[iococoi]

Kraftidioten (2014)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2675914

 

good watch..

[Guest]

These were the ten best films I finally saw for the first time in 2018:

 

1. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)

2. NGE: The End of Evangelion (Anno & Tsurumaki, 1997)

3. The Deep Blue Sea (Terence Davies, 2011)

4. Suspicion (Hitchcock, 1941)

5. Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)

6. Phantom Thread (PTA, 2017)

7. Fat City (Huston, 1972)

8. Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)

9. California Split (Altman, 1974)

10. The Ghost & Mrs Muir (Mankiewicz, 1947)

 

So far in 2019 The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 1977) has been amazing, entered my top echelon of favourites and will be nigh impossible to beat for the overall year.

thanks for this list. I thought at first that your #3 was the Samuel L. Jackson movie Deep Blue Sea lol. 

Fat City looks promising, really looking forward to checking out The Duellists too. Phantom Thread was also on my year end list, definitely think it is Anderson's most mature movie (guess that sounds pretentious, but it really sinks its teeth in like none of his other films, saw it like two months ago and still think about it sometimes). My favorite Anderson film is Inherent Vice, fucking hilarious and a really fun time, also the story was adapted by one of America's most gifted novelists, Thomas Pynchon. 

[onecaseman]

Villeneuve hadn't made a bad film imo. if anyone can be trusted with Dune, it's him, especially after how correct he came with the BR sequel.

 

I actually went and binged all of his movies last year, and the first three before Incendies are kind of forgettable. But everything Incendies and after has been great.

[usagi]

I thought Polytechnique was great. let's qualify that statement to his "major" films, then.

[joshuatxuk]

I also think Moon is overrated. good but not stellar.

 

I really enjoyed it as well but not up there for me. I don't even recall the soundtrack TBH