Movies you've recently watched

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
The Endless was a pretty interesting Lovecraftian indie. Not enough tension/mood, and the actors kinda sucked, but these directors deliver in plot what other movies of the same genre stumble upon.
 
NightCrawler said:
The Endless was a pretty interesting Lovecraftian indie. Not enough tension/mood, and the actors kinda sucked, but these directors deliver in plot what other movies of the same genre stumble upon.

Have you watched the director's prior movies - Resolution or Spring? The Endless ties into those movies a little bit.
 
So i finally saw infinity war, honestly 7/10 movie. Could have been better, but the character arc of thanos was honestly quite intersting. And once you finally reached to the end of the movie, where he reaches his long desired wish, it really echoed in my head.
An indiscriminate and fair culling, killing those both strong and weak without bias. And it really doesn't cherry pick as a large number of our heroes actually died to it, really telling you that they truly are no exception.
 
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Mandy was awesome and I say this as someone who absolutely LOVED Beyond The Black Rainbow. This's a much focused movie compared to Rainbow and yet, it's slow burn (compared to typical films). Panos is a genius and without spoiling much, the story here is basic - revenge. Set in the 80's, Red and Mandy live in the woods and trouble finds it's way when the head of a religious cult spots Mandy. She's special, he says and kidnaps her with the help of a demon biker gang. The cult leader tries to seduce her in an LSD induced dream sequence with his music. When it doesn't work, his cult kills her. Red, played by Cage goes after them. The film takes that basic concept of revenge and does so much more with it and it's not just the visuals, it's the sounds to go with it. Like Rainbow, Panos colors the screen with distinct color palettes to depict moods and Johannsson's soundtrack hits a perfect 10. I've sat on it for a week now and I find myself replaying some scenes and remembering. Mandy is definitely a cinematic experience. That being said, Nicolas Cage plays a version of himself you see in other films which is perfect (over the top) but it sucked that in moments of rage or sadness, people in the theater laughed/ chucked at his acting because it's him and they can't see him beyond his memes. I wish I had the whole place to myself! But whatever. Watching it again, soon. So far, one of my favorite films of the year.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Showed my wife John Carpenter's The Fog (and hoping to review most of his deep cuts with her), which actually scared her pretty good, specifically the first kills, but unfortunately it kind of never tops that sequence and doesn't really live up to the ultimate potential of the concept because they put a cap on the kills and therefore the tension (even though the conspirator thing is a cool idea!). It just could have had more payoff considering how much went into the setup, but too many people survive, you already know they will 2/3rds of the way through, and presumably everyone else in town is a-ok too (it's like that lack of suspense when a movie is down to its final hero, but with a whole ensemble cast =). Anyway, still a pretty cool chiller for an old indie on a small budget, and it certainly doesn't look like it because it's visuals are pretty nice and most of the effects still convincing enough. Not the best Carpenter, but not a bad one either.

We got a quarter of the way through Escape From New York, which she also hadn't seen or couldn't remember, but baby made it untenable viewing at that point. :puck:
 
I love The Fog! Carpenter's synonymous with The Thing and Escape From New York and it stops there, considering a general viewing (casual) audience. So whenever it comes up, I get excited. The colors, imagery is just awesome. It's cool you're going on a Carpenterian journey with her. What's next after Escape From New York? Just essentials or all 18-20ish films? Looking at the list of movies he's directed, I haven't watched The Ward and Body Bags.

By the way, I think Mandy's right up your alley. It's got that 80's (horror/ slasher) movies vibe to it.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
IncantatioN said:
I love The Fog! Carpenter's synonymous with The Thing and Escape From New York and it stops there, considering a general viewing (casual) audience.

Ahem, someone would like a word with you... :daiba:

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So whenever it comes up, I get excited. The colors, imagery is just awesome.

Yeah, it's amazing what Carpenter can do with no money (literally, just look at Dark Star) and still make fucking classics. I've been comparing him to Spielberg lately and how if The Thing hadn't have been so disastrously received, Universal bought out his multi-picture deal(!), what could have been. That might sound crazy but their earlier work especially is more similar than one might think. Duel is very Carpenter-esque, and even Jaws or Close Encounters, but Carpenter never had a breakout studio hit to make films on that level. Nowadays after Assault on Prescint 13 he'd get a fucking Star Wars franchise of his own. Probably better the way it turned out considering what he and Debra Hill did on their own, though I wish he'd gotten to do more and better in the late 90's and 2000's. On that note, it's nice to see he's had such an influence on so many auteurs that have managed to break through in ways he was never able, and hopefully this new Halloween film and his accompanying score will be a renaissance of sorts for his career.

It's cool you're going on a Carpenterian journey with her. What's next after Escape From New York? Just essentials or all 18-20ish films? Looking at the list of movies he's directed, I haven't watched The Ward and Body Bags.

We finished New York tonight, and that aside this is more his less famous works since I've shown her all the biggies already (Halloween I & II, Elvis, Christine and They Live are probably her "favorites" =). So, next on our viewing list are Assault on Precinct 13, Starman (which I've never seen) and Big Trouble in Little China and then I'll see where we go from there. I don't know if I want to touch Memoirs of an Invisible Man and Someone's Watching Me! and Dark Star might be too much to ask. We'll definitely do Escape from L.A. at some point, a better movie than it's cripplingly bad CGI effects portray. Did you know Ghosts of Mars was originally Escape from Mars? Too bad... or maybe not.

Aazealh said:
Prince of Darkness should obviously be on the list.

Of course, and his last real great, In the Mouth of Madness, to complete The Apocalypse Trilogy! :zodd:

I don't know though, that might be apocalypse for my marriage. :ganishka:
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Yeah Mandy was a fucked up trip for the mind. Saw it a bit before it was officially released.

i also watched Anti-Birth a few days ago and Hold the dark. The latter i did not like that much. it's very well done and directed but the story...

Griffith said:
I don't know if I want to touch Memoirs of an Invisible Man

You should! It's one of his best (in the less horror ones he did) in my opinion (and one of my favorite, just behind In the mouth of Madness)

You should also check (if not already) his 2 masters of horror movies. Wich I really liked. Aaaand crap I've double posted.

Ps: thank you whoever has merged my posts! Sorry about that! :slan:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
jackson_hurley said:
You should! It's one of his best (in the less horror ones he did) in my opinion (and one of my favorite, just behind In the mouth of Madness)

Good to hear, I remember being inexplicably into it as a kid for some reason, so wasn't sure if it would hold up as Chevy Chase goes from a boon to a possible liability with age. =)

You should also check (if not already) his 2 masters of horror movies. Wich I really liked.

I have them somewhere along with his feature length TV movies. They definitely had interesting premises. I'd even be up for The Ward although it's supposed to be a sour note to end on. John should finally make his big Western before riding off into the sunset; get Blumhouse to let him make a genre-bending horror western ala the original Westworld and it's Myers-inspiring unstoppable man in black.

Aaaand crap I've double posted.

Ps: thank you whoever has merged my posts! Sorry about that! :slan:

Screw merging, I've come around on that; it's not your fault everyone else is too slow or lazy to reply something in the time you make two separate posts. :griffnotevil:

But I digress, we're talking about John Carpenter...

Halloween (2018)

Well done and good fun, but not as grand a return as promised. Some of the character choices were a little extreme, like Laurie was basically wrong for the past 40 years, to the point I don't even feel like Michael actually escaping validated her wasting her life in the meantime; it was actually a little too sad. Also, retconning all the additional movies made it weird that Laurie prepared so for a guy that's been incarcerated in a medium security asylum for 40 years as if she somehow knew he was the unstoppable Myers shown again and again in the sequels (H20 made more sense in this regard with Halloween II intact). Her daughter was annoyingly adamant as well, and the granddaughter and her friends were ok (but the babysat boy was best =). Also, this movie had The Wiz/Artie, the strongest man in the world featured prominently and I didn't even recognize him!

All that aside, they got Myers mostly right, I only had a few relatively minor quibbles; a bit too big, too plodding at times, and the lack of daytime stalking sure made it coincidental that every other person he killed was a friend of Laurie's granddaughter. I loved that they brought back his perverse or "playful" side a bit with the displays or tricks but I also feel the sexual element was lacking. Myers in 1 and 2 was kind of a creep, he stalked pretty young girls and grunted joyously while he sliced or strangled them. There was clearly a voyerism and sexual deviancy implied, starting with his obsession with his sister for some added incestuousness. This Myers was basically an asexual killing machine with no motivation, which gets it half right anyway (maybe it's the difference between 21 and 61 =). Oh yeah, speaking of which, while I appreciate them bringing back Nick Castle for a scene and the breathing, I would have preferred they kept the casting of Myers all original throughout: Castle as the Shape, Tony Moran unmasked. I know that would have made him shorter and stalkier and they'd need a stunt man for Castle anyway, but Myers was just an average looking guy in the first one, an everyman distinguished by the pure darkness inside, just the shape or vessel of evil, so I wouldn't mind him looking like an average 60 year old either. I think that could have even been creepier/scarier.

Anyway, it was as down to earth and well made as can be for movie eleven in a truly messy franchise, and an interesting take in its own right, but not the definitive bookend to the original it's purported to be. Halloween II, familial reveals aside, is still the best of the Halloween sequels due to its overall proximity to and continuity with the original; it was made a couple years later, takes place the same night creating one huge movie, and most importantly Carpenter was back writing and directing reshoots, and Debra Hill was still writing/producing, even if they regarded it as an unwanted stepchild. So, Halloween 2018 with it's polar opposite, decades later, fresh eyes approach will have to settle for being the second best Halloween 2 for now. Though I'd be interested in watching it again to see if I like it even more with subsequent viewings (I usually hate things the first time, so some light complaining is like praising it with faint bitching =); it's visually very pleasing with a great long tracking shot following Myers, Curtis is good, Carpenter's score is great, and it checks almost all the right boxes to be a worthy tribute to the classic Halloweens. One thing I might have done was use more names or characters from previous Halloweens but reinvented, like make Laurie's daughter still be named Jaime Lloyd, etc. Like a Marvel Ultimate Universe version of Halloween. :rakshas:
 
Speaking of Carpenter ... not sure if you approve/ disapprove, Griffith?

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Watched Bird Box while I was traveling because everyone around me at the time were talking about it. When I finished watching it, I thought maybe most people recommending it on my social media feed had maaaaaybe not watched A Quiet Place (similar thematically but a waaaaay better film) or they weren't picking the weak script/ story apart or they were just watching it for Sandra Bullock. Everything considered, this was a waste of my time.

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It's weird that I get curious about what people are dialing into on a long flight ... is it a TV show, what kind of movie are they watching and do I generally see the same thing on most people's screens? From what I noticed during my bathroom or walking breaks was that folks gravitated towards Crazy Rich Asians, Jumanji and Life of the Party (I had to look this up). Stats aside, I was glad I had my laptop to keep me company and re-watched Satoshi Kon's films. When I was done, in came Sicario 2 and it was interesting. It wasn't as thrilling as the first one and you get a sense that the writing took a bit of a hit but was it engaging enough? Definitely. It still looks and feels like the first movie, although with less dread because Johann's soundtrack was awesome. There are key things that happen in the movie that get to be pointless in the last act and the absolute end was not what I expected, so that gets a bit of a thumbs up from me. The underlying narrative is pretty relevant to today with the border/border crossing issue. Overall, pretty decent. It didn't need to exist but it's there.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Spider-Verse was the best superhero movie I've seen since ... Spider-Man 2? Super solid, fun, and funny.
 
Walter said:
Spider-Verse was the best superhero movie I've seen since ... Spider-Man 2? Super solid, fun, and funny.

I had a problem with the movie which negatively impacted my enjoyment of it in a big way (which I understand is on me), namely how the background images often looked as though they were meant for a 3D showing of the film, even though I was seeing the 2D version. For example:

https://imgur.com/a/k5krhvh

Continuously being put off by such images prevented me from fully immersing in the movie, which is a real shame.
 
Walter said:
Spider-Verse was the best superhero movie I've seen since ... Spider-Man 2? Super solid, fun, and funny.

I saw it last night and enjoyed it a lot. Visuals were amazing, the way the colors popped and how dynamic the character animations were.

m said:
I had a problem with the movie which negatively impacted my enjoyment of it in a big way (which I understand is on me), namely how the background images often looked as though they were meant for a 3D showing of the film, even though I was seeing the 2D version. For example:

https://imgur.com/a/k5krhvh

Continuously being put off by such images prevented me from fully immersing in the movie, which is a real shame.

Yeah, it was kinda weird but it looked like they were basing it the printing technique used in vintage comic books http://4cp.posthaven.com/?page=3
 
Sareth said:
Yeah, it was kinda weird but it looked like they were basing it the printing technique used in vintage comic books http://4cp.posthaven.com/?page=3

Thanks for the link! The Captain America image in particular reminded me of the effect, so I can definitely see it being what they were going for. A bit of an odd choice but, like i said, the problem’s on me, not the movie.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
IncantatioN said:
Speaking of Carpenter ... not sure if you approve/ disapprove, Griffith?

https://i.imgur.com/HGbytEU.jpg?2

That shirt is FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC!
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Walter said:
Spider-Verse was the best superhero movie I've seen since ... Spider-Man 2? Super solid, fun, and funny.

It was better than The Incredibles and/or The Avengers then (plus the Dark Knight comic real book ritty movie dark etc etc =)? I really want to see this one but the wife's ear temporally stopped hearing on date night and we logically decided on skipping the movies! :mozgus:

I'm going to throw her under the bus though and point out she wasn't even for it anyway, preferring Vice or even, gulp, Venom, which I assured her was not the Spider-movie we were looking for.
 
Solo: A Star Wars Story is on Netflix now so I, uh, watched it. I hated it. Ehrenreich couldn’t capture the spirit of Solo (could anyone besides Ford?). Glover, I felt, nailed Calrissian, but his parts in the movie were pretty un-Calrissian-like. I liked that the film acknowledged that droids are literally slaves in the Star Wars universe, but Lando’s droid was so terrible it makes Jar Jar Binks seem like the height of character creation by comparison. The Enfys Nest storyline was so stupid and unnecessary.

The story wasn’t very good and was at points laughable. I mean that literally. I actually laughed when Vos’ barge came flying through those mountains. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie (or real world incident) where a bad guy hires thieves to rob a place, and then they hang out at the scene of the crime until the bad guy comes and picks them up. But then again when the best equipped force in the galaxy, the Empire, only sends like four stormtroopers and three droids to guard one of the most precious/targeted resources in the galaxy, you probably don’t have to worry about escape plans.

Also, the insane fan service was so over the top that about halfway through the movie I thought,” Jesus, they’re even explaining that?” It was the opposite of Rogue One’s easter eggs/fan service which fit the surrounding films nicely like the middle piece of a jigsaw puzzle (Red Five dies in Rogue One so in A New Jope the spot is open for Luke, for example). Solo’s fan service was just so stupid, and there was way too much of it to the point of being obnoxious.

Anyway, like I said, Glover was fantastic. I also liked Woody Harrelson’s character because it’s Woody Harrelson. Oh, and the “Han shot first” subtle jab was awesome. Outside of that, I felt like Solo was essentially the physical manifestation of the fears and worries everyone had when Disney bought the franchise.
 

Kompozinaut

Sylph Sword
Saw Glass, and, unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed, but I also should admit that I really didn't know what to expect. As I walked into the theatre, I even told myself, "My expectations are so low, surely I'll enjoy this, even if it's bad." Not a great mindset, obviously, but even that couldn't salvage my experience. The whole movie just felt very muddy, like Shyamalan was just trying to cobble something together, which ultimately lead to an incohesive, contrived, and overall lackluster end to a trilogy nobody really asked for (or realized they were getting).

Extremely minor spoilers (maybe?)

James McAvoy's performance remains, arguably, the greatest thing to come out of the franchise. Changing personalities on a dime with near flawless execution was fun to watch (even if the whole vilification of DID patients is overdone, and proliferates a negative stereotype). Bruce Willis was basically asleep for the entire film. I don't remember the last time he gave a compelling performance, honestly. I think the guy just needs a paycheck every so often, and he's been riding off the laurels he acquired 20 years ago for some time now. And Samuel L. Jackson is quite literally asleep for half the film, which is really strange considering his character is the namesake of the movie. I thought the script did Elijah Price the greatest disservice. I was really hoping for a celebration of this great mastermind that Unbreakable and Glass make him out to be, but what we got was pretty impotent. Sarah Paulson remains insufferable throughout the entire film. She plays shades of the same character in everything I've seen her in, and I really can't stand what she brings to the table.

The music was distracting, and didn't feel appropriate for most of the film (not unlike a certain adaptation of Berserk we all love). The moments that I did enjoy were just cues taken from flashbacks to Unbreakable, which was distracting in it's own way.

I'll just forget about this movie and pretend Unbreakable and Split aren't connected.
 
jackson_hurley said:
I saw twice : Dragon ball super Broly. And to be honest, it was surprisingly good for a dbs movie.

I missed seeing it in the theater! Must've been fun on the big screen.

After MoviePass essentially shot itself in the foot last year, I cancelled my membership and joined AMC's A List in January. Basically it's about $20-24 a month and you can watch up to 3 movies a week. With ticket prices on 2D films at $17 or IMAX at $23, it was an easy decision to make and I got the membership. I feel like I've watched a fair amount of movies since November or December but I don't recall any of them. Oh wait, Birdbox. It was terrible.

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Aquaman was long and if you have the patience to wait till the end, there are pretty cool scenes (imagery) and that final battle that's a bit ridiculous, over the top and basically fun. It felt like a cross-over with a certain movie franchise SPOILER -
that massive thing came out of the ground and my brain screamed KAIJU - PACIFIC RIM ... so over the top hahaha!
. Opening scenes with Aquaman's dad and Nicole Kidman were extremely weird because of the CG used (to make them look younger). The plot was whatever ...

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Creed II was disappointing. I couldn't get behind Adonis or his motives and dousing himself with self-pity through the mid of the film to his comeback didn't feel convincing enough. I was more interested in Ivan Drago and his son Viktor and it was really cool to see the father-son duo go through their own emotions of what the fight meant for them. The weight of a win was a lot more substantial with their story. Although you're supposed to root for Adonis by the end, I felt more for the 'bad guys'. But that wasn't why the movie disappointed. Weak plot overall where character motives weren't fleshed out and the pacing felt weird.

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The Favourite had a bit of everything - humor, drama, romance - backed by solid acting. This was good.

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Spiderman was ... just wow. Everything about the visuals were amazing and the story was really good too. It took the first 5 minutes for my vision to adjust to the graphics/ motion and once it did, it was like a sublime milk~honey filled creme puff. That last sequence was bonkers with the level of detail and so goddamn much happening. I loved it and can't wait to watch it again on BR.

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I remember watching the original film as a kid, on and off. I like Emily, so I wasn't averse to watching a retelling with her in it. Seeing Lin-Manuel on screen was jarring because of his accent or his singing. The movie's decent at best and scenes characters shared with Mary were enjoyable. It also felt a little too long and couldn't say it was a good movie.

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Bohemian Rhapsody ... for what it is, is a good film. Not entirely accurate with historical events, but if you let all of that go, this is awesome. I had a hard time seeing Rami as Freddie Mercury during the first half but after the time skip, his appearance and everything fit the Freddy I've seen growing up or in interviews from later in his life. The Live Aid performance rocked. Well done. The Parsis back home like to call him 'aapro Freddie' or 'our Freddie' when they casually talk about Queen and it's a band all of us Parsis grew up listening to because of our parents. We Will Rock You was a pretty popular track for birthday/ New Years parties. And it hit home when his father emphasized that he should live life with "good thoughts, good words, good deeds". That phrase is so basic and something I inculcate as my way of life, whether or not I believe in the religion. Overall, fun watch.

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Alita throughout has great visual effects/ CG, especially the fight scenes and the fight direction. I wasn't feeling the end or how quickly everything progressed in the last 10 minutes or where the stories leaves you. When the credits rolled, I thought there were a few loose ends/ questions about what happened to X or where are we with Y scenario. This would have worked really well as a TV show, giving everyone time to breathe. I haven't read the manga in years but a close friend is reading it and shared that they've made changes to the intent of some characters, which kinda begs the question - why. But hey, I hope it does well and we can watch a sequel in the near future cos this has potential.

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I have only watched oooooone (I think) other Rebel Wilson movie and she fits the role like a glove in this one. It's light, silly and makes fun of rom-coms from the 90's or 2000's.
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
Just got around to seeing Alita. Though I don't think he's right for the part, I did really enjoy watching Christoph Waltz play Ido. It was cute as hell (maybe even... TOO CUTE). The sets and the art direction were pretty great. Perhaps less squalid than it could or should have been. Ed Skrein surprised me by playing a pretty good Zapan.

The rest, the changes, the big eyes, Jackie Earle Haley largely wasted under 400 pounds of CGI and uninspired writing, Hugo coming across as an escaped supporting lead from a Bayformers movie, whatever the hell they're doing with Nova.. Eh. Still, fun to watch and not too frustrating.
 
I finally got to check out this much talked about blockbuster movie in China called The Wandering Earth. Predictable and kinda fun cos I wasn't looking for a series movie to watch. The Sun is expected to expand and consume what's closest to it in the near future and to escape any harm, Federations of Earth come up with a plan to fix the problem. 2 part solution - to have mountain size boosters on one side of the planet, fire em up so they help propel Earth on this journey across the solar system to hit up Jupiter's orbit; and to have a space station stay in front of Earth to map out their path and make sure there aren't any obstructions. The idea is also to stay in Jupiter's orbit for a while and leave eventually to find a new Sun to orbit. It made me want to re-watch Sunshine because this movie felt sub-par but decent for what it was trying to do. Irrational decisions, simple solutions for complex problems and all that ridiculousness aside, you can tell it's a movie made in earnest.

Last night I watched Someone Great on Netflix, not my choice. I like films where the supporting cast outshine the main draw and this was one of those movies. It's a movie about a (long term 9 year old relationship) breakup from the girl's perspective and how she deals with it - an account of a day after her breakup. In the company of her two best friends, she spends her day seeking tickets to a music fest she's been going to for years and within that day, flashbacks to times or situations of her relationship with her now ex-boyfriend. It's Broad City + any rom-drama involving heart-break. Decent at best.
 
Can't say I've seen many films these past few years that I would genuinely recommend friends and family, but that being said I recently saw the crime thriller Dragged Across Concrete (directed by S. Craig Zahler of Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Bone Tomahawk fame) and it was quite a fun ride. Pacing is slow (intentionally) but it builds up to such a crazy rollercoaster that it really pays off towards the climax and resolution of the film. I'm torn between this or Cell Block 99 as my favorite film of his, but I think Zahler is on a roll and am looking forward to what he does next. Definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Heat or films of that ilk.
 
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