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The Worst Person in the World - I was enjoying it by the end. It's too long and several of the scenes that just show how (not really) transgressive and impulsive the main character is could be trimmed or removed entirely to no detriment I think. The final three "chapters" are gripping and suitably devastating without feeling sentimental and there is nuanced emotion and insight throughout. Julia is well written and performed in the sense that you always like her even when you feel like you shouldn't. The film just had this habit of occasionally dwelling on or revisiting points that aren't interesting enough to spend a lot of time on.
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Nov 19, 2022 15:17
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In the Mouth of Madness (1995) not a top tier Carpenter but Sam Neil is suitably twitchy and the concept is pretty great. Also props for having a great opening and great ending
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Nov 19, 2022 15:40
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The most spoiler free thing I can say about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is good, but depressing.
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Nov 19, 2022 15:59
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Carillon posted:Rush Hour: I mean what's to say? It's pretty great, and unlike a lot of similar movies I feel most of the instances of racism are immediately undermined. Think Chris Tucker freaking out about the eel and camel hump, the trying to order it. It's not perfect, and I can't fault anyone for not enjoying the movie, but I think as a buddy cop movie it's awesome. I have nostalgia for it, but it definitely works because of the chemistry of the leads, as any good buddy cop movie does. It’s not lethal weapon, but it is perfectly serviceable entertainment. Definitely diminishing returns on the sequels, 3 in particular was awful.
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Nov 20, 2022 04:38
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I bought the big ol'' Bergman box from Criterion. Tonight I watched: Smiles of a Summer Night - This title is so hard to remember, I swear to god. The movie was Berg boy's breakout hit, and it's actually something of a sex comedy. Who knew? It's also pretty drat good, I was captivated from the beginning by the strong character writing and dialogue. It's one of those stories about a bunch of couples who are with the wrong people and how they all swap partners until they are with the right people. The kind of cuckold based comedy you would expect from the French or Shakespeare. What makes this works is that somewhat pathetic yet earnest nature of all the characters. The old man with the young wife who he hasn't even bedded but just loves the idea of being married to a young woman, his passionate son in love with the wife that lets his jealousy and resentment boil over at the worst times, the serial philanderer who is okay with people screwing his wife but gets pissed if they mess with his mistress, etc. Even at the end, when they're with their "correct" partners it doesn't really seem to be relationships that will last. It's a movie that about love as an act of joy and act of humiliation, entirely befitting a director who loved passionately but couldn't maintain a monogamous relationship. I'm giving this an 8/10 Crisis - Bergman's first movie, one that he himself called "lousy" later on. I wouldn't go that far, I'd say it's mostly just forgettable. It's about a woman torn between two mothers, the nice one who raised her and the worldly bio mom from the city. At the same time she's being courted by a bland good guy and more charismatic playboy. Kind of a Madonna/Whore thing, I think, really melodramatic and I never got too invested into it. 5/10 I started watching a Trip to India but I'm a little too buzzed to pay attention.
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Nov 20, 2022 08:26
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Wakanda Forever is lame as all gently caress holy poo poo. The first 5 minutes was a powerful start followed by 15 minutes of political intrigue that made me perk up and think we were actually getting a radical story involving the world vs a rich black nation & some aztecs... but then the bouncy looking blue people hopped up onto the ship and the film got successively more silly (and boring) from there. There's only so much bullshit I can take. About as unpleasant of a watch as Jurassic World 2 & 3 tbh.
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Nov 20, 2022 21:38
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The Menu Went into this with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I really would’ve liked to spend more time with the characters because despite essentially being stereotypes, they seemed really well thought out. Very fun movie, but I think it failed at being as smart as it wanted to be and the second half suffers because of that.
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Nov 21, 2022 03:44
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Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) iykyk. this movie is crazy, wildly uncomfortable, really good poo poo. Could have been made yesterday except WB is completely incapable of making something that interesting in the 2020s.
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Nov 21, 2022 04:53
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Night 2 of my Berg-athon A Ship to India - When are they going to get to the India factory? Another early melodrama, although I found this to be better than Crisis. Another story of a man set against his own father figure. There are some strong character moments here but I don't think I will be thinking about this one in the future. Felt pretty cool to catch the Bergman cameo here. I think he does this in a lot of his films but I never really knew what he looked like until I bought this boxset and dug into the booklet and special features. 6/10 Wild Strawberries - This was quite good, a trip down an old man's memories and fears with some light surrealist elements. I will admit that there were some elements of story structure that I did not 100% kin to, and would probably need a rewatch to absorb and understand. I see some people on Letterboxd say that this made them cry, but for me the reaction was less emotional and more intellectual. Really, if you think about it, this film is just the second act of A Christmas Carol but as an art house film. Since this is my initial reaction, I'm giving it an 8/10, but I feel that could rise over time. I'm going to do something rare for me and do an immediate rewatch with the commentary. I might watch more of these during the week but I'm thinking I'll save weekdays for other films and weekends for Ingmar. e: okay I'm halfway through this rewatch and I'm noticing so much and drat this is a tight script. I'm going to bump this up to a 9/10. Mantis42 fucked around with this message at 10:34 on Nov 21, 2022 |
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Nov 21, 2022 09:57
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Wild Strawberries was a surprise for me too. Quite enjoyed it
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Nov 21, 2022 17:31
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dpkg chopra posted:The Menu I went in mostly blind and loved it. Super strong cast with standout performances from Anya, Ralph, and Hong Chau. I agree the first half was the better half but I like to think that was on purpose. We strive for perfection, which we know does not exist. That is a hard truth.
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Nov 21, 2022 20:28
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Barry Lyndon: Every single frame really is a stunning renaissance painting. The three hrs flew by. A masterful film.
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Nov 21, 2022 21:05
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resident posted:I went in mostly blind and loved it. Super strong cast with standout performances from Anya, Ralph, and Hong Chau. Yeah, Margot’s scene at the end is clearly meta commentary (ugh) on the whole movie but it didn’t quite land with me, I think. If the first half was the “cheeseburger”, then I guess that’s all I wanted.
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Nov 21, 2022 21:20
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Fight Club yea im the one white 30 year old guy who hasn't seen this a hundred times. I guess knowing the twist and everything that happens just made me feel like I'd already seen it. It's quite good, but you knew that. I'd say it perfectly predicted the manosphere and all it's craziness but I think that sort of toxic masculinity has been around forever, and in real life the Proud Boys or whoever would never channel their anger upwards against capitalism. Masculinity is tied with agency and purpose, so the philosophy isn't quite as fascist and crazy as the real life Durdens, but it does feel very Gen X to be "gently caress the system, gently caress corporate America" in a way that emphasizes destruction and the ego over solidarity. Very much like The Matrix. 9/10 Roger Ebert's review is p funny btw, he's like "the first act is good but then it just becomes dumb violence!" There's barely any fighting in Fight Club you fat gently caress.
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Nov 21, 2022 23:38
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Mantis42 posted:Roger Ebert's review is p funny btw, he's like "the first act is good but then it just becomes dumb violence!" There's barely any fighting in Fight Club you fat gently caress. “It is true that I am fat, but one day I will be thin, and he will still be the poster of post # '527895364.'”
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Nov 22, 2022 18:08
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I am watching the entire Italian-made* Hercules** Cinematic*** Universe or as much of it as I can finish. Film 6 - Hercules and the Haunted World This is probably the second best one these but it is damning with some faint praise. Original title is "Hercules Versus the Vampire" which is a lie because there are 0 vampires but there is a Christopher Lee. Due to lacking a scene where Hercules is drugged and sexually assaulted this is lower on the patent pending "hercosity" scale, but it does have some things happen to a sidekick. The plot concerns Hercules' wife Deinara who has been murdered/possessed by evil depending on how charitable you want to be to clumsy cinematic story telling reliant on directly lifting shots from Dracula. Hercules and this films buddy Theseus then go to the underworld to retrieve a magic stone to save her. After all that it turns out the regent is evil and wants to transfuse Dienara's blood into his own to ???? and Hercules must stop him with shoddy repeated stunt work. Key takeaways, even in early 1960 Christopher Lee could make that goddamn smirk that carries entire characters. German Expressionism is alive and well somehow only 15 years after the war, and puts the entire film on its back aesthetically. Hercules is at his perhaps stupidest in any one of these films here, requiring multiple people to tell him exactly what to do so he never once comes up with his own plan or thoughts. This film is peak misogyny for this series so far, it doesn't hate women it just treats them like cattle. Gonna repeat how nice these german expressionist sets look. I also swear on Zeus's grave Rowan Atkinsons Italian Uncle is in this movie good lord. HERC-O-METER**** 1) Hercules is shirtless - First scene with Herc 2) Hercules has annoying sidekick - Theseus is a cuck-elemental with a wanton disrespect for the women he fucks. Then it introduces Italian Mr. Bean. 3) Poor Reference Name - This is my girlfriend, Jocasta. I am Plutos daughter, Persephone 4) Hercules Gets Sleepy - HELL YEAH BABY SO SLEEPY I CAN'T DRIVE A BOAT 5) Hercules is drugged - Happens to Theseus instead 6) Hercules is sexually assaulted - Not really, which is a surprise. 7) There is a Villainous Woman who traps men - Check twice *Many films are co-productions with other countries **Some are rebadged other film franchises like Ursus ***I have been reduced to noting with glee when a film does a cinematic thing like "has a snap zoom" or "pans the camera" ****For those playing along at home, you may note super strength or being the son of Zeus isn't on here. Turns out, these things aren't relevant to be a Hercules movie Barudak fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Nov 23, 2022 |
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Nov 23, 2022 03:12
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Barudak posted:I am watching the entire Italian-made* Hercules** Cinematic*** Universe or as much of it as I can finish. that one is directed by mario bava, so it's no surprise it looks good. one of the later ones was ghost directed by ruggero deodato and, again no surprise, it's weird and hosed up
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Nov 23, 2022 06:57
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DeimosRising posted:that one is directed by mario bava, so it's no surprise it looks good. one of the later ones was ghost directed by ruggero deodato and, again no surprise, it's weird and hosed up Its by far the best shot of these so far, like unambiguously in a class of its own. The one by Ruggero Deodato on the other hand definitely has first time director (and hilarious budget issues) energy all over it and is way less impressive shot wise. Im saving up for the Cannon films and polishing the rest of these off, so I suspect Ive already seen the "peak" of these films. If the ending were slightly stronger and a few things were cleaned up Hercules and The Haunted World would be a legitimate recommendable film outside of the nearly unfixable attitudes to women.
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Nov 23, 2022 07:50
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This is making me want to dig up some Hercules movies as my knowledge of them begins and ends with Mst3k. Which of those Hercules and the Captive Women is my favorite, and I can see why Reg Park got the Schwarzenegger seal of approval too. Least favorite is Machiste, if he even technically counts.
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Nov 23, 2022 13:39
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The Worst Person in the World (2021) chill slice of life, I liked the whimsical cinematic scenes and seeing places I’ve visited in Oslo
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Nov 24, 2022 14:43
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Ongoing Italian Hercules Film Watchthrough Film 7 - The Fury of Hercules This is a return to forgetable for the Hercules genre. This times hercules actor, Brad Harris, has a good look about him, a decent body language and mobility a definite difference from Reg Parks more slab-like Herc. Film has fairly dull but large sets, and is shot fine. Costumes and prop work are perfunctory raids of the ben hur coat closet. Nothing really recommendable here but not as dreadful and dull as bottom tier films. A solid middle film. Despite the title Hercules doesn't really Fury in this film, for the most part hes pretty chill and kind of relaxed for a guy leading a slave rebellion. An easily misled queen runs a slave program to build walls and Hercules puts a stop to her advisor and his thugs mostly. The film really wants you to feel not outright hate for the Queen but again, she runs a slave empire. Hercules helps the cast of secondary characters get killed when hes not around, and their stories aren't fleshed out or interesting enough for you to care what happens to them. Notable things about this film. The return of Italian Bigfoot once again blind sides me. Im never ready for him and my god its always a treat. Weve also got the worst on screen chemistry between the two romantic leads and Im including the film where Hercules (ursus) smooches a woman who begs to be his slave. It was so out of place I genuinely thought I missed some scenes and double checked with the italian version. Stunt work starts strong for this sort of film and them by the end same ol barely as strong as a normal man hercules shows up. HERC-O-METER 1) Hercules is shirtless - First scene with Herc, but singlet remains intact so no fill barechested action 2) Hercules has annoying sidekick - Just barely, with Mosquito who is in two scenes 3) Poor Reference Name - This is my loyal advisor, Polonius 4) Hercules Gets Sleepy - A plot point hinges on him being tired and then oversleeping, but he doesnt audibly say it 5) Hercules is drugged - Literally drugging him to make him sleepy 6) Hercules is sexually assaulted - The Evil-ish Queen just goes for an unasked for smooch, but luckily thats as far this goes 7) There is a Villainous Woman who traps men - Check-ish 8) Hercules' Nipple Wound - First wound in the movie 9) Pointless Oath to the Gods with No Bearing on Narrative - Asks for... more strength from Zeus then does exactly what he was doing before with no variation 10) Hercules doesn't kill the final villain - Mosquito and some Final Verdict - Definitively a Hercules Film Barudak fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Nov 24, 2022 |
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Nov 24, 2022 15:22
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Dolls (1987) is amazing, as is Killer Klowns from Outerspace (1988). I love these films dearly and wish I'd seen them earlier.
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Nov 24, 2022 16:21
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thanksgiving family streaming watches RIPD 2 - even more bland and boring than the original, has the balls to attempt a serious anti-racism moment despite being RIPD 2. 2/10 A Christmas Story Story - surprisingly watchable, way better than A Christmas Story 2. 6/10
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Nov 25, 2022 05:33
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WtF they made an RIPD 2?
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Nov 25, 2022 05:44
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yea but without jeff bridges or ryan reynolds and now it's a western
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Nov 25, 2022 05:47
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Batman Year One I had an hour and change to kill between shifts and put this on. Bryan Cranston's voice is too recognizable to be doing Gordon, it just feels like Walt took a vacuum cleaner trip to Gotham instead of New Hampshire. The pacing is also all over the place, adapting a comic book format to screen so directly just does not work. Maybe put this on if you're really craving the Bat and have already seen near everything else, but the Arkham games, the actual Year One series, BTAS, and all the theatrical movies would serve you better. Slacker I feel thoughts on this film should be incredibly brief. It's really cool to see this constructed world of misfits and weirdos. I think his more focused works are better at looking at people, but this one is a great look at Austin in that period of time. The Menu Few movies commit as hard to being incredibly stupid as this film, and for that I applaud it. The whole criticism of the Chef's food was pretty weak though, the whole seven course meal is fake food and Burger is real food is some reactionary, non politically, nonsense. If Chef's were not allowed to experiment and chained to the old foods we'd all be eating nothing but roast meat and flatbread, and gently caress that poo poo.
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Nov 25, 2022 08:30
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Wtf. At no point does the movie say that. It clearly loves food, it just hates rich people.
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Nov 25, 2022 13:17
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Deliverance(1972) - Wow, The Hills Have Eyes prequel was pretty good.
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Nov 26, 2022 10:51
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Overlord- I came in with pretty low expectations and came out dissapointed. The first 2/3 of the runtime mainly play out as a straight-laced and honestly perfunctory WWII movie. I think the mentality was it would make the last third pay off that much more, but that was not my feeling. Also really weird for a movie from 2018, in the middle of the rise of a neo-nazi movement, to have its central theme be "let us not stoop to the way of the Nazis lest we become Nazis ourselves" I get the feeling this was far more interesting to make as a directorial exercise, because as a film it feels incredibly bare bones. Could have spared about 20 minutes of runtime.
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Nov 26, 2022 15:06
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Black Adam. I like the Rock, I'm getting more into the DCEU than before but I still felt that the Justice Society had better casting, performances and characters. Shame they get sidelined every few minutes so The Rock can be a badass. I would love a standalone Dr. Fate movie as this handled him very well
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Nov 26, 2022 20:05
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The Menu: loving loved it. The trailers made it look good, but it was so much cleverer and so much funnier than I expected. Really excellent, top notch, isn't gonna get any awards because it's genre but definitely one of the best movies I've seen all year.dpkg chopra posted:Wtf. At no point does the movie say that. It clearly loves food, it just hates rich people.
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Nov 27, 2022 00:49
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The Vanishing (2018) on Netflix. Remember that really great recent movie about the lighthouse keepers alone on an island that go crazy and try to kill each other? Well imagine that but without the artistic style, surreal visuals, compelling acting, any humor whatsoever, and absolutely no whacking off. Still a pretty good story but bleak as gently caress. Good music too. Also, not spoiling anything because this comes up like a dozen times, but always remember to double-tap. Teens in an 80's slasher have more common sense than these idiots.
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Nov 27, 2022 05:04
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The first item eaten in the movie, the Clams that have been gelified, Anya Taylor Joy comments that she would prefer "Real" clams. It's the same kind of poo poo you always hear about restaurants like Noma. Somehow the method of preparation and plating makes the food pretentious and "fake" as opposed to a cheeseburger which is "real" Bones and All Severian rates this a 10/10 and would like to say that the ending really spoke to him I think it's okay, it's great to look at. But it presents ethical dilemmas that it's both not equipped to answer, and doesn't seem to want to try to. And Chalamet is impossible to take seriously as a threat. Rylance's is both underused and underwritten despite being well acted. Aesthetically the movie most resembles Lolita, the novel, although it's emotion could not possibly be as far from that work.
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Nov 27, 2022 05:06
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Gaius Marius posted:The first item eaten in the movie, the Clams that have been gelified, Anya Taylor Joy comments that she would prefer "Real" clams. It's the same kind of poo poo you always hear about restaurants like Noma. Somehow the method of preparation and plating makes the food pretentious and "fake" as opposed to a cheeseburger which is "real" It's been previously set up that Margot is refusing to engage with the entire experience, and that Chef Slowik has lost all joy in what he does. The food isn't bad because it's fancy, it's bad because it's become innovation for innovation's sake. And then in Chef's house, we see a time when he was happy and did love making food -- when he was employee of the month at a burger joint. So in the climax, Margot finally engages and meets Chef halfway -- first by clapping her hands and then speaking to him in his language, of food and of serving customers. She deliberately brings him back to a place of cooking for love of food, and then simply... asks if she can go. And she can! And literally anyone else could have too; she's just given them the exact script for if they want to live through the night. Nobody else does, they just sit there passively even as they're turned into the final dish, hell, they even chorus along in that last "we love you, Chef". The movie is satirizing the living gently caress out of snobbery in all its forms; it's calling cleverness for cleverness' sake a suicide pact. It's not attacking Noma, or whatever restaurant you love that it made you mad because you think it's calling you bad by association. It's attacking Bros.
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Nov 27, 2022 06:21
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Weekend Watches Last Night In Soho - Edgar Wright does a Giallo pastiche that was a fun but forgettable story. I wish it had some of the humor of his earlier works, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 6/10 Day Shift - The Netflix algorithm that gave you RIPD2 and Bright gives you some schlock about Jamie Foxx fighting vampires, but not in a cool way like Blade. It feels like they meant to get Ryan Reynolds for the pussy sidekick character but had to settle for Dave Franco instead. Some of the action is kinda alright but it's all cgi blood and gore so even then. 3/10 Only got to watch one Bergman: To Joy - Disc 4 of my Criterion box set was scratched so I just watched it off their streaming services. What's even the point of buying physical media? I got memed into becoming a collector. Anyways this is another early melodrama telling the rise and fall of a marriage through extended flashback. Unlike Wild Strawberries, where the present and past scenes merged and influenced each other, the present scenes are just bookends to the plot. For the era this was written in it feels very ahead of it's time, even if it could now a days be seen as a prototype for later films by the director. The protagonist, Sig, in particular feels psychologically real, a self loathing artist who hates himself for being mediocre and takes it out on those around him. More like the kind of thing you'd see in a 70s film. That being said, while I do think this was competently executed, as a whole it wasn't too gripping. 6/10 I'll watch Summer Interlude maybe tomorrow or Tuesday. I want to speed through these next three films so I can get to Disc 6, Scenes From A Marriage. Mantis42 fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Nov 30, 2022 |
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Nov 28, 2022 09:14
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See How They Run: It was fine? Too clever for itself I think, not funny enough to pull off the death of the Butler as a farce, but also not interested enough in its murder mystery. Great call outs though and fun pieces and performances that almost work, but not quite.
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Nov 29, 2022 03:29
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The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) definitely thought there was going to be more intrigue than there ended up being, the husband was suspiciously easygoing. Otherwise a cool bit of noir. Soundtrack was heavyhanded but that’s pretty of the era
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Nov 29, 2022 16:07
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House or Flying Daggers This is a really pretty film with the costumes, opening pleasure house set, and then all forest full of fall yellows and oranges contrasted by the deep greens of bamboo. The love triangle aspect was fine, nothing special, but solid action and lots of flying daggers too.
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Nov 29, 2022 17:33
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Three Days of the Condor I love Dunaway but every scene with her in it makes no sense. She goes from terrified of the man who threatened her with a gun, broke into her house, tied her up, and was generally being crazy. To going to bed with him in minutes. Other than her entire character, the movie is pretty sick. von Sydow nails that detached gun for hire who still has a sense of honor in their own way. Reminds me a lot of the one dude from Pelham 123. And the CIA grunts being a bunch of pencil pushing nerds who mostly just set tax payer dollars on fire is very true to form. One thing I loved is how Redford holds the gun throughout the movie, at the start he's holding it like a drat can of pop, he's clearly not comfortable with having a weapon or using it, and by the end he's carrying it with confidence. Peggy Sue Got Married Comparing this to Back to the Future seems obvious, but misses the mark completely in my eyes. That series is a lot faster, and more exciting. But Peggy Sue has got a hell of a lot more heart and emotion to it. No offense to Zemeckis but his characters have the emotional depth of a puddle, half the sequels hinge on Marty doing absolutely dumbfuck things because someone called him a chicken. Peggy Sue may also have time travel, but at it's core is about two middle aged people trying to work their relationship out, and wondering if they would have been happier if they'd taken the other road. Turner sure as poo poo deserved that nomination for Best Actress given the emotional depth she brings to the role. And you know what, I like what Cage is doing. He's being such a weirdo goof and making bizarre choices, but you can tell the dude is a good dude and trying his best to figure out what's going on with the girl who until yesterday he was pretty seriously dating. The whole grandmother being a psychic and grandfather freemason plot was bizarre and I'm not sure how Cage even found out she was at the lodge. Doesn't matter still a great movie.
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Nov 29, 2022 20:33
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Summer Interlude - Yet another early Bergman film wherein a character remembers a relationship that ended poorly. Some directors really do just be making the same film over and over again. This one stands by being about a young woman's perspective, with Maj-Britt Nilsson upgraded from 'long suffering wife' from the last film to the protagonist this time around. We get to see her as a energetic, virginal waif and the grief stricken woman who has lost her lover and builds a wall around herself (with the negative influence of a lecherous older man). This definitely feels like the middle ground between To Joy and the later Wild Strawberries. These three are different takes on a similar story, dealing with the loss of youth and the weight of memory. I liked this one. 7/10
Mantis42 fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Nov 30, 2022 |
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Nov 29, 2022 23:36
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