Films Recently Watched

[Enthusiast]

2021's movies that I liked in no particular order

• Azor
• Titane
• Minari
• Wrath of Man
• Riders of Justice
• The Green Knight
• Dune
• Coming Home in the Dark
• The Card Counter

 

[Rubin Farr]

16 hours ago, lyst said:

Watched the new Matrix, God that was atrocious.  Reminded me way too much of 2 and 3 and not enough of 1.  Couldn't even finish it to be honest.

Then saw new Spideyman, it was dope - while a bit too campy at times for me, but i guess one should expect this from MCU.  Completely wiped my memory of that Matrix slander of a movie.

Spider-Man is now the most profitable movie in Sony’s history. It was good, but not that good. People are starved.

[Rubin Farr]

Starts off like it’s gonna be some kind of Videodrome body horror, but then it starts to look like Creepshow with fluorescent lighting, and imitation Mandy hatchet action. It keeps looking like they’re trying to film The Blood on Satan’s Claw, but it never comes together. 2/5 butterfly collars 

[Silent Member]

It was almost really good!

[Satans Little Helper]

The Red Letter Media review of the Matrix #4 was (also) enjoyable!

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Satans Little Helper

[Silent Member]

I'm considering just watching that and skipping the movie, I'm sure it's more entertaining.

[Satans Little Helper]

2 hours ago, Silent Member said:

I'm considering just watching that and skipping the movie, I'm sure it's more entertaining.

Do both. And start with the movie. If you can't stomach the movie, you can skip ahead to the review. But try the movie first. In a way, it's a similar experience to watching the 3rd season of Twin Peaks. (neo is a talpa) ;D

[Squee]

18 hours ago, Rubin Farr said:

Starts off like it’s gonna be some kind of Videodrome body horror, but then it starts to look like Creepshow with fluorescent lighting, and imitation Mandy hatchet action. It keeps looking like they’re trying to film The Blood on Satan’s Claw, but it never comes together. 2/5 butterfly collars 

Watched it the day before yesterday and was severely disappointed. It felt rushed and the “twist” came out of nowhere and then it ended. 

[Silent Member]

9 hours ago, Satans Little Helper said:

Do both. And start with the movie. If you can't stomach the movie, you can skip ahead to the review. But try the movie first. In a way, it's a similar experience to watching the 3rd season of Twin Peaks. (neo is a talpa) ;D

I did this combo. It was a pretty good time. RLM

[usagi]

I've been putting off watching it.

[kichiguy]

Couldn't make it past 30 minutes of the new matrix. Its in the recycle bin.

[Silent Member]

It's pretty terrible, but sometimes I'm in the mood for watching a trainwreck.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Silent Member

[beerwolf]

 

Okay I watched this horror last night. Wise move. I don’t want to give much away so can’t say much, but if you decide to watch it you must stick with it and persevere, because it starts off brilliantly and at such a pace that you will think your in for a rollercoaster but then it slows down, right down, and then you’ll be tapping your toes and looking at the long running time and thinking of maybe watching something else. I’m glad I didn’t. I thought it was a classic by the time it finished. And I lay in bed thinking about, rolling around and around in my head, trying to work it out. A lot of people including critics have shot this film to peices but apparently it’s building a large cult following. I’m definitely in the cult. Most rotten tomato reviews are either half a star or 4 or 5 stars. Usually a sign that something could be very good but not for everyone.

Edited January 2, 2022 by beerwolf

[usagi]

I think you had a little too many drinkeroonies before sitting down and/or while watching that one, my brother.

[beerwolf]

16 minutes ago, usagi said:

I think you had a little too many drinkeroonies before sitting down and/or while watching that one, my brother.

Hmm I thought I was fairly compus mentis. But your probably correct. 

[usagi]

I just thought it was pretty stale. I posted about it some pages ago and said that I don't like quitting movies once I've started them but that one really punished me for sticking with it. I got nothing out of it in the end.

[iococoi]

1 hour ago, beerwolf said:

 

Okay I watched this horror last night. Wise move. I don’t want to give much away so can’t say much, but if you decide to watch it you must stick with it and persevere, because it starts off brilliantly and at such a pace that you will think your in for a rollercoaster but then it slows down, right down, and then you’ll be tapping your toes and looking at the long running time and thinking of maybe watching something else. I’m glad I didn’t. I thought it was a classic by the time it finished. And I lay in bed thinking about, rolling around and around in my head, trying to work it out. A lot of people including critics have shot this film to peices but apparently it’s building a large cult following. I’m definitely in the cult. Most rotten tomato reviews are either half a star or 4 or 5 stars. Usually a sign that something could be very good but not for everyone.

 

twists.mp4  

 

 

[milkface]

2 hours ago, beerwolf said:

 

Okay I watched this horror last night. Wise move. I don’t want to give much away so can’t say much, but if you decide to watch it you must stick with it and persevere, because it starts off brilliantly and at such a pace that you will think your in for a rollercoaster but then it slows down, right down, and then you’ll be tapping your toes and looking at the long running time and thinking of maybe watching something else. I’m glad I didn’t. I thought it was a classic by the time it finished. And I lay in bed thinking about, rolling around and around in my head, trying to work it out. A lot of people including critics have shot this film to peices but apparently it’s building a large cult following. I’m definitely in the cult. Most rotten tomato reviews are either half a star or 4 or 5 stars. Usually a sign that something could be very good but not for everyone.

[cichlisuite]

but if i hear him the first night, isn't he close enough that I can safely assume he already found me?

 

[Nebraska]

this was pretty funny. a little longer than necessary but whoever plays the captain needs his own show

[Rubin Farr]

7 hours ago, Nebraska said:

this was pretty funny. a little longer than necessary but whoever plays the captain needs his own show

“How lucky am I you showed up the same day my anti-psychotic medication ran out?” Trudy stole the show 

[zero]

On 1/2/2022 at 12:35 AM, kichiguy said:

Couldn't make it past 30 minutes of the new matrix. Its in the recycle bin.

I made it approximately 50 minutes before giving up. BUT I dove back in again last night picking up from where I left off, and found it was somewhat enjoyable. I tried to pretend that the first 50 minutes never happened, and am watching an entirely different movie starting at this point. around this part of the film is when they finally get around to showing the sentinels/CGI "real" world stuff, which gets some points in my book, as it's eye candy at least. I didn't make it to the end though, may try and force myself to do so this evening.

I just don't understand how this happens. there were apparently test screenings as well. how does no one pre-release realize this is a total disaster of a film? it's like Lana had a half-baked idea to take the Matrix into meta land, which someone at the studio must have liked, and then gave her full reign to go further and further down the rabbit hole...until no one had any clue what this thing is about any more. aren't there people involved in the film making process that try and jump in and steer this thing back to sensical waters when this happens?

I read bits of interviews with some of the actors who said that they were just as confused on what this is about as well. apparently they'd ask Lana to explain a scene, and she'd ramble on for 10 minutes, then they'd be even more confused than before. the tone of this film feels entirely off, the editing sucks, the special effects are amateur hour, the acting sucks, and on and on.

so disappointing. the 2nd & 3rd films had their problems, but at least the tone from the first one carried through in those. this new one is like a bad joke. but who knows, maybe that was Lana's intention. to ruin the franchise in order to stick it to the studio or something. can't imagine they'd do another one now.

[T3551ER]

The Nightingale  - historical piece from the writer/director of the Babadook. The first 30 minutes of this are the most disturbing, harrowing, traumatic, horrifying and relentless stretch of film I might have ever watched. I mean, pretty much ever evil thought/fear about what might happen to your wife and child (if you have such things) are played out in unflinching though perfectly executed fashion. The movie doesn't get MUCH brighter than that - the layers of discrimination passed down from class to class are manifold, and I'd say it's only within the last 14/15th of the movie that (outside of, arguably, the protagonists) you see anything resembling compassion and/or kindness. However, the weight of the rest of the film makes those moments feel appropriately special, and even cathartic. The last scene is beautiful, if bittersweet, lone voices crying out into the ether that they still exist, that they are, that they were. I'd have a hard time recommending this one to anyone, though it is a great film. I'm glad I watched it. I will never watch it ever again. 

Venom 1 and Venom 2  - If you DO watch the Nightingale, I would highly recommend watching these two afterwards. Because they are, like, the total, polar opposites, a virtual antidote to the misery and heartache of the above. Not a thing happens that has any actual weight, they are trim, 90 minutes or so of pulp, humor (that frankly, I actually lol'd for real at on a few occasions), and spectacle. Big, stupid fun. I know they got a critical drubbing but *shrugs* I enjoyed the shit out of them - sry not sry

Matrix 4 - the penultimate moment in which I almost lose all credibility on WATMM (I liked it) followed by the final nail (I have to confess I liked Cowboy Bebop too - but that's for a diff thread). There is a high degree of jank present in this film that is befuddling -

Spoiler

e.g., the "new bullet time"   looks... like, I don't know, SyFy level CG or something? But other parts of it don't? But then there are other scenes where the visuals appear meticulous, finely tuned, etc.

The final stretch feels like an artifact of the pandemic era, with dim lighting used to hide the limits on # of extras in a scene. It's a film that feels like 20 minutes or so was cut, but I couldn't tell you exactly where or why. 

But, I still liked it. The meta elements of the first 20 minutes are fascinating, particularly as you consider how the rest of the film plays out. You get what you want but then it's not quite what you want, is it? The aforementioned BT is, conceptually, very interesting but not particularly well executed. In some ways it reminds me a bit of Twin Peaks S3 - there is this thing we all WANTED to happen (a return to the small town charm of Twin Peaks, the return of "our" Cooper, etc.) but that's not what we got. In some ways, it feels like the film is making a commentary on itself and, perhaps, the futility of even making a Matrix movie that can say anything about anything, including itself, here in 2021/2022. 

All that aside, one thing it absolutely feels like a commentary on is aging as well as the importance of relying on each other. Going to dip into spoilers here sooo

Spoiler

When Thomas aka Neo aka Keanu is asked early on if he put himself into the game, you could easily shift this to be "movie" and "role" and his response, "yes... perhaps too much" feels like a response not only from the character but the actor himself. There are many moments like this, where the weariness and self-reflection feel like they are being spoken by the face behind the mask behind the mask, both for him and for Carrie Ann Moss. I feel like Neo's powers have waned, because Neo aka Thomas aka Keanu is no longer young. We see him go through all his old tricks (stopping bullets in the air, etc.) but he efforts with these moments. He can no longer fly. He's aging. He's facing the end. In the "real world" (is it?) he talks about feeling like nothing he's done has meant anything. I think a lot of people think about that (particularly entering the latter half of life), but it's probably not something many people say out loud. Particularly not in a Blockbuster movie. 

I love the reversal at the end, that it's not Neo but Trinity, not the man but the woman who ultimately saves the day. I love that, while the trilogy was about the "One" this film is about the two, and the many. It's a suggestion that we are stronger together, that even those who you thought might have been your enemy (see humans + machines working together) can be your friend. I love that they really jumped off that fucking building, for real. 

I know I'm in the minority here, but there was a lot in the film that resonated with me. It's a film that I think has more depth than a lot of people give it credit for and I'm willing to bet that it'll end up gaining more traction as time goes on and people detach from what they wanted it to be and accept it for what it is. 

That's my extremely, admittedly, subjective take. Other random thoughts:

Spoiler

- I do wish they played a little bit more with the idea that this is all inside Thomas Anderson's head. Though, I guess, one could still read it that way. That Thomas Anderson, the programmer, really has lost his fucking mind and everything we see, from the OG Matrix through the point that he stops taking his pills is actually either part of his game and/or him hallucinating

- The modal. I actually think this is potentially critical to analyzing the film if you wanna get super philosophical about it. If a modal is a looping program that is designed to help an agent/program evolve, then is the Matrix - particularly this Matrix film - just another modal that is designed to help Neo evolve? This film is, in many ways, a rehash of earlier Matrix events, even borrowing wholesale similar shots. 

- Apparently they tried to get Weaving back to play Agent Smith. This film would have been 1000% more awesome if that actually happened

- The idea that modern society has trapped us in a place where we desire things we almost can have, but can't, and then fear the loss of the things we do have is so spot on. I know it keeps me trapped....

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by T3551ER

[cruising for burgers]

19 minutes ago, T3551ER said:

The Nightingale  - historical piece from the writer/director of the Babadook. The first 30 minutes of this are the most disturbing, harrowing, traumatic, horrifying and relentless stretch of film I might have ever watched. I mean, pretty much ever evil thought/fear about what might happen to your wife and child (if you have such things) are played out in unflinching though perfectly executed fashion.

+1

Edited January 3, 2022 by _vow_of_silence_

[zero]

31 minutes ago, T3551ER said:

 

  Hide contents

 

- Apparently they tried to get Weaving back to play Agent Smith. This film would have been 1000% more awesome if that actually happened

 

yes. him and Laurence Fishburne were sorely missed. they brought some serious acting chops to the 1st Matrix film that really helped convince you as a viewer to take the concepts laid out in the film seriously. the agent Smith replacement (Jonathan Groff) was a total goofball and annoying as hell. I liked him ok in Mindhunter, but he was hamming it up big time in this role.