Dellarigg
AV Clubber 
This is a public service announcement - with guitars
Posts: 7,627 
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Post by Dellarigg on Dec 8, 2014 19:00:13 GMT -5
2001: A Space Odyssey - on the big screen. An event, obviously. It perhaps wasn't the sharpest print I could've wished for, but still, the monkeys and the stargate sequence both looked great.
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Post by NerdInTheBasement on Dec 8, 2014 21:36:11 GMT -5
Well, I finally watched Under The Skin!
Wow, what a beautiful looking movie. Tons and tons of the shots featured here are extraordinary to watch. It may be the best part of the movie. No, wait, the best part is the score which is great at establishing and retaining an eerie mood. NO, no, no, the best part is Scarlett Johansson (who should have won an Oscar for giving one of the best performances of 2013 in my favorite film of that yearHer) being phenomenal. NOOOOOOO, wait, it's the fact that some scenes are excruciating in the amount of tension they convey, namely an extended conversation between Johansson and a man with neurofibromatosis.
Damn, what a movie.
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Post by disqusf3dme on Dec 8, 2014 23:59:08 GMT -5
I was able to see A Better Tomorrow 2, which is one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever had the pleasure of watching. From what I understand, John Woo disagreed with his producer and wanted to make a 2 hour + epic, but the producer won out and some outside editors cut it down to a little over an hour and a half. It's unfortunate, because you can really tell that it was originally meant to be longer, as the whole thing moves rather quickly, and the narrative gets convoluted due to the number of subplots. There are many moments and relationships that develop rather quickly and you can tell a lot was cut out. I would really have liked to see a longer version. Stylistically, you can tell it was a big influence on stuff like The Raid 2. All the shots of cool gangsters lounging around on modern furniture in crisp suits are totally cribbed from this movie (Although I'm sure that itself was inspired by Tokyo Drifter or something like that). There's a lot of aggressively wacky stuff, like a scene where Chow Yun Fat can't get a dude with severe PTSD or something to eat, and so he just throws all of his food on the ground until the guy starts gnawing on some raw meat and then Chow Yun Fat feeds him an orange and they're both really stoked about it. The last scene is the best, where the main characters raid the bad guys house and just go on a fucking rampage, it's brutal. Total overkill. The entire movie is full of ridiculous overkill.
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Post by flapjackriley on Dec 9, 2014 3:13:27 GMT -5
So I've not had problems watching movie through iTunes through my old laptop or this one to the extent I just had while watching The Babadook. Seems like this is a common problem for Windows but this time it was so bad, the audio kept lagging and there was a constant static noise. It was so goddamn annoying and definitely lessened the experience. None the less, I liked this movie. Best horror movie I've seen all year that's for certain. The little boy is straight out of a Tim Burton film, I'm hoping he'll get some work in the future. Annnnnnnnd as if I didn't already have absurd scary thoughts before going to sleep, I can now just picture the Babadook creeping over me while I sleep. Yay!
*cries*
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Post by ganews on Dec 9, 2014 21:33:17 GMT -5
I've still got half an hour left on Magnolia and wow is this a slog.
edit: and now it's raining frogs. I already went past the singing. What am I doing here.
edit 2: clearly I am a Phillistine.
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Post by Bizarre Gardening Accident on Dec 10, 2014 13:33:39 GMT -5
Beastmaster
I enjoyed it, but there's a lot of scenes of animals in real genuine distress that upset me more than I expected. Don't know why. The ferret sinking in quicksand, the tiger (who died from complications brought on by the fur dye) falling into the pit...left me quite unhappy.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Dec 10, 2014 16:03:32 GMT -5
Just saw Die Hard for the first time last night. It is now my favorite Christmas movie.
We also watched the second one, but it was mostly awful.
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Ice Cream Planet
AV Clubber
I get glimpses of the horror of normalcy.
Posts: 3,833
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Dec 10, 2014 19:25:19 GMT -5
After years of being on my list, I finally got around to watching Raging Bull. A classic for a reason, and De Niro gives one of the best performances I've ever seen. A true treat. Thanks Dellarigg for encouraging me to give it a go! |
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Post by Lone Locust of the Apocalypse on Dec 11, 2014 6:07:07 GMT -5
Nymphomaniac
The ending reminded me of the torture porn movie Would You Rather, in that it was a bunch of cheap bullshit designed only to shock. Better than Antichrist though. At least it didn't have Willem Dafoe's erect penis cumming blood. That was an uncomfortable theater experience.
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,678
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Post by repulsionist on Dec 12, 2014 11:53:33 GMT -5
Honeymoon (2006)
So my 3-year-old Samsung Blu-Ray player has Internet. I've recently begun roaming the App(s) in hopes of finding some items of interest that don't require multiple keyword searches. I recently downloaded The Man Channel. As one might expect, there are T'n'A titles in the mix. To that end, I chose to distractedly watch a brief documentary called Honeymoon. It's a quick-hit doc about an Assistant Director at a 24-hour Live Porn TV station. To be clear, this is a Japanese 24-hour Live Porn TV station/content delivery medium/whatever. The AD is no Max Renn, but he is an hilariously awkward goof whose senior berates him in person and comes up with some very funny disparaging remarks. Definitely a "slice of life" for a branch of the otaku phenomenon.
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Dec 12, 2014 13:36:29 GMT -5
Frequencies
I hadn't heard of this but saw that it was recently added to Netflix and generally like sci-fi, so I figured I'd give it a try. I quite liked it. It moves at this somewhat offputting, dreamy pace that reminded me of Upstream Color, though obviously it wasn't nearly as good as that because most movies aren't. The philosophical questions it was focusing on were interesting, and I felt like it made use of standard sci-fi beats/tropes to make something more unique. Definitely worth a watch for sci-fi fans.
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Post by disqusf3dme on Dec 12, 2014 13:39:22 GMT -5
Fucking Die Hard because it's that time of the year. It's got to be one of the most purely entertaining films, if not the most. It's constantly building, and so well written. I don't think there are any loose ends, everything is accounted for. There's nothing else you can really say that hasn't already been said.
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Post by Bizarre Gardening Accident on Dec 13, 2014 4:02:34 GMT -5
The 12 Disasters of Christmas
I think it was hilarious. The song "The 12 Days of Christmas" is a coded message about the Mayan end of the world 2012 thing. If that raises a smile, you'll probably enjoy this.
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Post by NerdInTheBasement on Dec 13, 2014 15:09:37 GMT -5
Last night I saw Exodus: Gods And Kings in Cinemark XD 3D. Some well done sequences (like the parting of the red sea) can't make up for a mismatched tone, poor scripting and wasted acting. Seriously, why is Aaron Paul even in this?
On the other hand, I watched The Departed this morning and loved, loved it.
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Ice Cream Planet
AV Clubber
I get glimpses of the horror of normalcy.
Posts: 3,833
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Dec 13, 2014 18:06:18 GMT -5
Rewatched Dangerous Liaisons yesterday, and it's still one of my favorite book to film adaptations. I absolutely love that movie.
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Post by flowsthead on Dec 14, 2014 0:53:39 GMT -5
Just saw Die Hard for the first time last night. It is now my favorite Christmas movie. We also watched the second one, but it was mostly awful. The second is the most sequel-y sequel that every sequeled. They literally do the same film but in an airport. The third one is pretty great though. Stop at the third though, the rest are shit. |
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Post-Lupin
Prolific Poster 
Immanentizing the Eschaton
Posts: 5,673
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Post by Post-Lupin on Dec 14, 2014 7:02:04 GMT -5
Last night I saw Exodus: Gods And Kings in Cinemark XD 3D. Some well done sequences (like the parting of the red sea) can't make up for a mismatched tone, poor scripting and wasted acting. Seriously, why is Aaron Paul even in this? On the other hand, I watched The Departed this morning and loved, loved it. Had you seen Infernal Affairs before The Departed? |
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Post by flowsthead on Dec 15, 2014 23:46:45 GMT -5
Sunshine
It had a beautiful atmosphere, the visuals washing over me like a wave. There was the simplest of plots and the barest of differentiation between the characters, but the actors did a great job of contributing to an ethereal, almost nihilistic languidness and hedonism. It might be an odd designation for a film about saving humanity, but maybe that's why I felt the first half worked much better than the second. There is an obstacle in the second half that feels especially unnecessary, but otherwise even then tension and problems felt like they contributed to a sense sensual fatalism.
I should add, Cillian Murphy, Cliff Curtis, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rose Byrne were great. Most of the rest were decent, and Chris Evans is starting to seem like a more limited actor to me. He was fine, but unspectacular.
3/4
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Post by Lord Lucan on Dec 16, 2014 7:36:45 GMT -5
Nymphomaniac The ending reminded me of the torture porn movie Would You Rather, in that it was a bunch of cheap bullshit designed only to shock. Better than Antichrist though. At least it didn't have Willem Dafoe's erect penis cumming blood. That was an uncomfortable theater experience. The last Trier film I saw was Melancholia which was quite good and I'm interested in seeing Antichrist and Nymphomaniac, however sadomasochistic. Breaking the Waves is one of my very favourites. Speaking of Dafoe, I last saw The Last Temptation of Christ and it's now one of my favourites as well. I don't know why it took me this long to see it, but I regret not doing so a long time ago. Absolutely strange and compelling, great cast, great soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. Highly recommended. I heard a lecture by someone recently who I respect a lot which suggests that the novel on which it was based may not be particularly well written, so this might be a case of a film being better than its source material. |
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Post by Lone Locust of the Apocalypse on Dec 16, 2014 7:57:43 GMT -5
Nymphomaniac The ending reminded me of the torture porn movie Would You Rather, in that it was a bunch of cheap bullshit designed only to shock. Better than Antichrist though. At least it didn't have Willem Dafoe's erect penis cumming blood. That was an uncomfortable theater experience. The last Trier film I saw was Melancholia which was quite good and I'm interested in seeing Antichrist and Nymphomaniac, however sadomasochistic. Breaking the Waves is one of my very favourites. Speaking of Dafoe, I last saw The Last Temptation of Christ and it's now one of my favourites as well. I don't know why it took me this long to see it, but I regret not doing so a long time ago. Absolutely strange and compelling, great cast, great soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. Highly recommended. I heard a lecture by someone recently who I respect a lot which suggests that the novel on which it was based may not be particularly well written, so this might be a case of a film being better than its source material. Looking back, my post may have been too negative. There is a lot to like about the movie, it's just that the ending is so crass that it almost makes you forget about the good bits. The worst thing about the ending is that it is preceded by a moving monologue about society's hypocrisy regarding female sexuality. Trust me, Antichrist will change the way you see Dafoe. |
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Post by Lord Lucan on Dec 16, 2014 8:03:34 GMT -5
The last Trier film I saw was Melancholia which was quite good and I'm interested in seeing Antichrist and Nymphomaniac, however sadomasochistic. Breaking the Waves is one of my very favourites. Speaking of Dafoe, I last saw The Last Temptation of Christ and it's now one of my favourites as well. I don't know why it took me this long to see it, but I regret not doing so a long time ago. Absolutely strange and compelling, great cast, great soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. Highly recommended. I heard a lecture by someone recently who I respect a lot which suggests that the novel on which it was based may not be particularly well written, so this might be a case of a film being better than its source material. Looking back, my post may have been too negative. There is a lot to like about the movie, it's just that the ending is so crass that it almost makes you forget about the good bits. The worst thing about the ending is that it is preceded by a moving monologue about society's hypocrisy regarding female sexuality. Trust me, Antichrist will change the way you see Dafoe. I'm interested to see if those two are at all nihilistic. A lot of people seem to feel Breaking the Waves was gratuitous and exploitative, but I didn't find that whatsoever. What was hard to watch was always at the same time meaningful. I'll have to put that to the test. I'm imagining him ejaculating blood now and I feel the same about him, but you could be right. |
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,678
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Post by repulsionist on Dec 16, 2014 16:53:09 GMT -5
Rok diabła (2002)
Ever wonder if someone thought about remaking The Rutles as a mystical journey that involves real-life music heroes of Czech Republic, then thought to include a luminary from a revered punk band? This Dutch guy did. He made a light-hearted investigation into the Perennial Philosophical underpinnings to The Friends of Bill.
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Post by flowsthead on Dec 16, 2014 17:16:23 GMT -5
The last Trier film I saw was Melancholia which was quite good and I'm interested in seeing Antichrist and Nymphomaniac, however sadomasochistic. Breaking the Waves is one of my very favourites. Speaking of Dafoe, I last saw The Last Temptation of Christ and it's now one of my favourites as well. I don't know why it took me this long to see it, but I regret not doing so a long time ago. Absolutely strange and compelling, great cast, great soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. Highly recommended. I heard a lecture by someone recently who I respect a lot which suggests that the novel on which it was based may not be particularly well written, so this might be a case of a film being better than its source material. Looking back, my post may have been too negative. There is a lot to like about the movie, it's just that the ending is so crass that it almost makes you forget about the good bits. The worst thing about the ending is that it is preceded by a moving monologue about society's hypocrisy regarding female sexuality. Trust me, Antichrist will change the way you see Dafoe. I don't want to get into spoiler territory, but I thought the ending to Nymphomaniac was perfect. It was the best way to end the story as it clarified, confirmed, and emphasized the perspective of Joe beautifully. |
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,678
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Post by repulsionist on Dec 17, 2014 11:13:45 GMT -5
Bowery Bugs (1949)
Magical Thinking required, wherein an essay positing the possibility that a Merrie Melodies cartoon from 1949 has a strong coherence to the hipster phenomenon.
It is funny to evalutate this cartoon by the preceding statement.
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Post by flapjackriley on Dec 17, 2014 21:55:54 GMT -5
One of those times where I actually caught the climax of a movie during work before I saw it in full. But I'm glad because the agonizing finale of Foxcatcher made me want to see it. And I'm glad I did. Outside of that freaking nose and those few minutes where Channing Tatum channeled Vanilla Ice, I found myself engaged by the movie. I really like those "battle for someone's soul" kind of stories. Mark Ruffalo is great in this too, he humanizes the distant performances that Tatum and Carrell give. I'm amazed at how Channing Tatum has found a way to bounce around in different genres playing the same meathead personality. That is who he is, and he's very good at it by now.
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Post by X the Anonymous Zeus or Odin on Dec 19, 2014 6:38:45 GMT -5
I just finished watching The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was excellent and delightful.
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Dec 20, 2014 1:11:20 GMT -5
@iffy and I watched The Giver this evening. Shitty adaptation of a wonderful book. I can't point to too many specific things that made it such a bad adaptation, and I might not even call the movie itself truly bad. But it didn't seem to understand the source material and felt very wooden and emotionally empty. Which is a particular offense since the book is so emotionally powerful!
Anyway, the movie also had a line that had us both going "WHAT?!" because it was so baffling:
While describing people who have feelings and are therefore bad: "Those people who stare at each other's necks...just for the view".
WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!
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Paleu
AV Clubber
Confirmed for neo-liberal shill.
Posts: 1,258
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Post by Paleu on Dec 20, 2014 1:39:22 GMT -5
@iffy and I watched The Giver this evening. Shitty adaptation of a wonderful book. I can't point to too many specific things that made it such a bad adaptation, and I might not even call the movie itself truly bad. But it didn't seem to understand the source material and felt very wooden and emotionally empty. Which is a particular offense since the book is so emotionally powerful! Anyway, the movie also had a line that had us both going "WHAT?!" because it was so baffling: While describing people who have feelings and are therefore bad: "Those people who stare at each other's necks...just for the view". WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?! Just the kind of opinion I'd expect from a filthy neck-starer like you! |
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Post by ganews on Dec 20, 2014 10:45:21 GMT -5
Watched The Lego Movie last night - absolutely delightful. I expect it resonated especially well with Lifemate because of her dad's model trains. The tiny details were amazing, like the break in the chinstrap of 80s Spaceship Guy. That always happens!
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Post by NerdInTheBasement on Dec 20, 2014 10:53:32 GMT -5
I caught two movies on my birthday yesterday, with wide separations in quality. The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies was....OK. I've actually found a lot to like in these Hobbit movies, but good Lord this one was tedious. So much extraneous stuff (Suaron set-up, Elf/dwarf love story, Alfred the annoying servant) that distracted from some genuinely great pieces of the movie, mainly Martin Freeman as Bilbo. Freemans performance is easily the best part of this franchise, and he pretty much singlehandedly keeps the film afloat. At least some cool action moments are around, though most CGI elements (namely green screen of backgrounds for characters when they're walking) look awful.
On the other hand, Whiplash was nothing short of monumental. The directing was superb, every shot was so intricately composed and organized, the editing was powerful, Miles Teller was a terrific lead, and holy shit, J.K. Simmons terrified me beyond belief. He's like a rattlesnake; slithering into a scene, not making much movement, but when he pounces on you......oooooo boy. I'd heard people raving about the movies last scene for weeks now, and it did not disappoint. It was a tour de force of a conclusion to a movie that I found to be nothing short of miraculously excellent.
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