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Post by Ben Grimm on May 15, 2016 17:27:22 GMT -5
I haven't seen either yet, but both High Rise and Green Room are films I want to see, but don't want to be stuck in a theater with, in case I just can't take them or need a break or something.
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repulsionist
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actively disinterested
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Post by repulsionist on May 16, 2016 16:49:50 GMT -5
Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) This is, probably, my fifth or sixth time seeing this movie. I shared it with an old pal on Saturday night. Sharing something that has a high profile meaning that you haven't been in direct contact with, but only remember it as fondly as the emotion guiding the memory, makes for shyness - in me, at least. What I'm saying, is that this is a fairly difficult film to "love". Respective of this artist, I read Weddle's Peckinpah biography and Prince's Savage Cinema: Sam Peckinpah and the Rise of Ultraviolent Movies. I thought I had a stronger bearing on what Peckinpah sought to accomplish in his filmwork after reading these books. In light of that statement, I put forth that Garcia is the most refined output of Peckinpah. The film stands as his truest sentiment about art and film, even moreso from the perspective of his entire works. Plot for a paper submission: Capable deadbeat loser intent on drinking life away because something done him wrong = Film's protagonist Benny = Sam Peckinpah Deadbeat presented with weak stream of cash from disreputable reprobates = Benny and the criminals = Sam Peckinpah and low-level Executive Producers. Deadbeat knows there are strings attached, but goes forward with the task based on his current understanding and lack of ethical resolve to resist anything smelling of opportunity = Benny asked to retrieve the head of Alfredo Garcia = Sam Peckinpah being inked to do a film by mid-to-upper level producers. Deadbeat discovers that his Whore with a Heart of Gold knows the path to complete his task = Benny and Elita = Peckinpah and his muse of the moment. Whore with Heart of Gold goes along with task until full scope of task revealed which compromises her morals, thus a staying true to the "heart of gold" = Benny and Elita have a goal but that goal remains untenable = Peckinpah and muse are ready to fight the world to get this film done. Whore with Heart of Gold is fatalistic and goes through a series of tribulations, despite intuitively knowing that the destination is only one location which, unfortunately, results in a grisly end = Benny and Elita's relationship doomed by each's personality = Peckinpah's muse knows this is a wild ride with a crazed coke and booze fiend; not LTR material. Deadbeat, after losing the only object of value in his life for which he was willing to break all other rules in trying to obtain the big score, continues the trajectory because he has even less to lose than what he started with = Benny finding the Head; losing the Head; then going through different stages of hell to get the Head back - all the while forming a personal relationship with the Head = Sa Peckinpah must finish the film despite losing creative control; how he manages to do that makes him go a little crazier each time through the wringer. Deadbeat causes mayhem and destruction seeking the absolute value for completing the task = Benny capably working through a series of henchmen to reach the million dollar prize = Sam Peckinpah taking his salary and points despite having willfully fucked the producers of a film. Deadbeat dazily blasts through all impediments and receives reward like some Zen Shogun/Samurai = Benny almost forgetting the briefcase after blazing a trail of murder = Sam Peckinpah lining up a row of shots for his crew that finished another pile o' screwed up half-masterpiece that got wrested away because no one believed in the vision of Sam. EDIT: repulsionist channels Sam: Gawdammit! People better know what's good for them and look at this. Some powerful work was done here. All the work in my head appears sloppily rendered in a known communication format, so it should be completely understood by everyone! What!? Do I have to throw a tantrum to get recognition? Get ready!
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Post by Stuffed Salvador on May 17, 2016 21:48:37 GMT -5
Neighbors 2
It repeats a lot of the same story beats as the original movie, but the movie makes it feel fresh enough to where it doesn't feel like you're watching the same movie.
Also, the movie tries to tackle a ton of themes involving feminism and sexism and how gender biases affect female college students, but they way they try to handle it is so hit and miss a lot of it doesn't work. But I have to at least give the filmmakers credit for trying to add those things even if it's so blunt it may as well be mansplaining it.
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repulsionist
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actively disinterested
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Post by repulsionist on May 17, 2016 22:35:53 GMT -5
Americathon (1979)
You guys...are totally missing out if you haven't seen this. Election season balm or irritant.
Viva Tijuana Heights!
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Post by Stuffed Salvador on May 18, 2016 22:32:01 GMT -5
Green Room
Well, that was fun.
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 19, 2016 22:44:13 GMT -5
Keanu
Saw it in an empty theater on the last day it was screening, and I gotta say: I don't get the love for this movie. I thought it was mediocre. Key and Peele are normally very silly, and I didn't get the level of energy from them that they usually bring, or that the movie's setup demands. Kitty doe.
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Paleu
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Confirmed for neo-liberal shill.
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Post by Paleu on May 20, 2016 2:07:43 GMT -5
The Inheritance
Masaki Kobayashi is easily my favorite Japanese director, and probably my favorite overall director too (at least on alternate Thursdays when the planets align). He's more well known (insofar as he is known at all) for his jidaigeki dramas Hara-Kiri and Samurai Rebellion, or for his The Human Condition, a ten hour saga detailing a Japanese soldier's struggle to remain moral during WWII, or for Kwaidan, a series of Japanese ghost stories adapted from a collection compiled by Irish-American Japanophile Lafcadio Hearn. As a result, the melodrama The Inheritance stands out for its modern setting (well, modern for 1962), but it still shares much in common with Kobayashi's other films, including his masterpiece, Hara-Kiri, released the same year.
The Inheritance is the story of a wealthy industrialist who learns he has only three months to live, and gets a series of his associates that he wishes to leave two-thirds of his fortune to his three illegitimate children, provided they are worth giving money to. Unsurprisingly, his associates contrive all sorts of different ways to use the illegitimate children to secure a piece of the fortune for themselves; one of the more altruistic ones wants the industrialist to leave him in charge of a foundation responsible for giving out his And much like his jidaigeki, Kobayashi uses the cliches and conventions of melodramatic dramas against the very society they represent and all too often glorify. There are problems with this approach; all the other Kobayashi films I've mentioned have sympathetic characters which are seriously lacking in The Inheritance. The central conflict of the movie is so contrived as to be laughable; really, he never mentioned any of his illegitimate children to any of his closest confidants? And while there's some excellent acting here (including the always magnetic Tatsuya Nakadai), some of the performance seem phoned in or at worst flat. But in spite all of that, the movie is fantastic, and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who liked any of Kobayashi's earlier films. Think of it as a mixture of High and Low and The Housemaid. Not my favorite movie of his, but definitely worth a watch, and not just for Kobayashi completists like myself.
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Ice Cream Planet
AV Clubber
I get glimpses of the horror of normalcy.
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on May 20, 2016 16:43:04 GMT -5
Tom at the Farm
My first Xavier Dolan film, and to be fair, it was a disappointment. Dolan has an appetite for juggling genres and the film could have been a great queer psychosexual tragicomedy. All the right ingredients are there: a splash of Bergman (a family dealing with tragedy), some Hitchcock (the sinister mysteries afoot), and a dollop of Lynch (a sexual brute, brilliantly played by Pierre-Yves Cardinal).
Instead, despite some good individual scenes, a great supporting performance from Cardinal, and a nice appearance from the actress who plays Delphine on Orphan Black, it's all a fairly weak stew. More often than not, it feels like a silly, overheated melodrama from the 90s; a bit like the adaptation of Dolores Claiborne. Unlike that film, which at least had two excellent performances from Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom at the Farm feels largely like a vanity project for Dolan. This would be fine if Dolan was a better actor and Tom wasn't a wafer-thin character. Alas, he cannot do the heavy lifting and but the film only really comes alive with Cardinal is on screen.
Overall, not bad with a few beers, but nothing groundbreaking or terribly interesting. Entertaining enough.
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Dellarigg
AV Clubber
This is a public service announcement - with guitars
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Post by Dellarigg on May 21, 2016 12:46:56 GMT -5
The Wicker Man
The 2006 remake. Watched with a friend for the sole purpose of amusement, and amusement there was. While the vast majority of the problems could be laid at the door of the script (this writer could not write 'fuck' on a dirty truck), the whole thing was misconceived, and I'm not even a huge fan of the original. While Cage was, of course, an entertaining lunatic, he could've done less thinking this deserved the commitment normally devoted to Chekhov, and less grabbing of his face to denote his angst. He looked bad on a wobbly bike. I was glad when they set his arse on fire, but I wish they'd left him in the bear costume to do it.
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Paleu
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Confirmed for neo-liberal shill.
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Post by Paleu on May 21, 2016 14:28:53 GMT -5
Thor: The Dark Worldstarforge described it as "the best Doctor Who episode I've ever seen", and he's not wrong.
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on May 21, 2016 23:21:44 GMT -5
The Nice Guys
That was so much FUN!
Ryan Baby Goose is hilarious and Russell Crowe does a great job, but for me the real star was the young Angourie Rice, who I thought was also fantastic in These Final Hours. Seriously, in a really great cast she still managed to be the best of all. The movie was just generally very funny and a really enjoyable ride. I can see it being really great as a multiple re-watch, too!
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 22, 2016 1:01:51 GMT -5
The Wicker ManThe 2006 remake. Watched with a friend for the sole purpose of amusement, and amusement there was. While the vast majority of the problems could be laid at the door of the script (this writer could not write 'fuck' on a dirty truck), the whole thing was misconceived, and I'm not even a huge fan of the original. While Cage was, of course, an entertaining lunatic, he could've done less thinking this deserved the commitment normally devoted to Chekhov, and less grabbing of his face to denote his angst. He looked bad on a wobbly bike. I was glad when they set his arse on fire, but I wish they'd left him in the bear costume to do it. Neil LaBute's The Wicker Man is a true act of cinematic terrorism, creating a remake so bad that it actually eclipses the original Classic in the public mind. It's like he saw the terrible 90s version of The Haunting and thought "challenge accepted." |
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on May 22, 2016 3:31:33 GMT -5
The Wicker ManThe 2006 remake. Watched with a friend for the sole purpose of amusement, and amusement there was. While the vast majority of the problems could be laid at the door of the script (this writer could not write 'fuck' on a dirty truck), the whole thing was misconceived, and I'm not even a huge fan of the original. While Cage was, of course, an entertaining lunatic, he could've done less thinking this deserved the commitment normally devoted to Chekhov, and less grabbing of his face to denote his angst. He looked bad on a wobbly bike. I was glad when they set his arse on fire, but I wish they'd left him in the bear costume to do it. Neil LaBute's The Wicker Man is a true act of cinematic terrorism, creating a remake so bad that it actually eclipses the original Classic in the public mind. It's like he saw the terrible 90s version of The Haunting and thought "challenge accepted." I didn't even know that the Nic Cage Wicker Man was a remake until like last year. |
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clytie
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Post by clytie on May 22, 2016 8:03:53 GMT -5
The Big Short I liked 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 May 22, 2016 8:23:08 GMT -5
The Wicker ManThe 2006 remake. Watched with a friend for the sole purpose of amusement, and amusement there was. While the vast majority of the problems could be laid at the door of the script (this writer could not write 'fuck' on a dirty truck), the whole thing was misconceived, and I'm not even a huge fan of the original. While Cage was, of course, an entertaining lunatic, he could've done less thinking this deserved the commitment normally devoted to Chekhov, and less grabbing of his face to denote his angst. He looked bad on a wobbly bike. I was glad when they set his arse on fire, but I wish they'd left him in the bear costume to do it. Clearly the most egregious sin of them all. |
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Smacks
Shoutbox Elitist 
Smacks from the Dead
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Post by Smacks on May 22, 2016 13:07:23 GMT -5
Adventureland: Cute! Although that may just be because I find Jesse Eisenberg adorbs-able.
A.C.O.D.: Okay, Adam Scott, Amy Poehler, Jane Lynch....can't lose, right? OMG wrong. I've never been so bored. I patted myself on the back for making it to the end.
The Double: Okay, more Jesse Eisenberg, plus directed by Richard Ayaode....sounds good. Holy fuck was that creepy. I was not expecting it to be that atmospheric and creepy and for a storyline that is not really horror, I'm impressed with how the overall feel of it made me pick my feet up to make sure toes were not hanging over the edge of the bed. I was afraid I was getting a little "Fight Club-ed" near the end but it resolved itself nicely.
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Smacks
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Post by Smacks on May 22, 2016 13:12:43 GMT -5
Oh, I knew I forgot one. Band of Robbers, with no one I've ever heard of but Hannibal Burress, who is underused in this film. Took me about a third of the way through to get interested in the story because I found the main character pretty unlikeable at first but overall I liked it, would recommend. It started off goofy but as the main characters developed I got more invested in the plot. The Mark Twain names are a little silly....requiring a suspension of disbelief, but it gives it a comic book/fairy tale feel that I actually warmed up to. I may actually watch it again.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on May 22, 2016 13:44:21 GMT -5
Adventureland: Cute! Although that may just be because I find Jesse Eisenberg adorbs-able. I like this movie quite a bit, but I feel like it would be a straight-up cult classic if it ended with him and his friends sitting on the hill instead of the schlocky rom-com "follow her to the big city and get laid" fanfic ending. The whole movie felt really down to earth and honest until that point. |
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Dellarigg
AV Clubber
This is a public service announcement - with guitars
Posts: 7,634
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Post by Dellarigg on May 22, 2016 15:54:04 GMT -5
The Night Of The Following Day
Kidnap caper melodrama starring Marlon Brando, a few years prior to his Godfather career resurgence. It's a highly routine film, though still not at all surefooted in its delivery of said routines, as typified by a twist at the end that adds less than nothing to the proceedings.
There is, however, an eerily well-made shootout on a beach at dawn that shows a lot of talent, it's a fairly tight 90 minutes, and a blonde Brando is in decent shape and, as ever, almost supernaturally watchable. Whenever I see a Brando film, I know I'm in for at least a week of unconsciously mimicking his walk and posturing, so be glad you're spared that.
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Ice Cream Planet
AV Clubber
I get glimpses of the horror of normalcy.
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on May 22, 2016 17:19:48 GMT -5
Concussion (2013 film)
Not to be confused with the Will Smith sports drama, this lesbian-centric film tries to combine the naturalism of Weekend with the gleeful kinkiness of Belle de Jour. All the ingredients are there, and while the ideas are certainly interesting and ripe for exploration, they aren't anchored to any compelling characters or narrative. The performances are all good, with Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane from Deadwood) giving a particularly sensitive, layered performance. Unfortunately, there is so little commentary on why the characters do what they do that the film never works as either a character study, a melodrama, or a satire of gay suburban married life. 'Tis a shame; the material was certainly rich enough.
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on May 22, 2016 17:23:41 GMT -5
I finally saw Drive[/b] last night—it was pretty good with some excellent acting (Ah! pre-Lewyn Davis Oscar Isaac! Christina Hendricks! Albert Brooks! Ron Perlman!) but the film started to lose me around the the scene in the elevator. From there to the end the movie kind of slid into self-seriousness—stuff slowed down, heightened contrast/symmetry, weighty music, portentous editing, that creepy Christ imagery when Gosling’s wearing through the mask and looking through the door with the cross-shaped frosted panels—it just took me out of the film and felt like it was hitting me over the head with how important and serious everything was. I got that it was serious, but one can do serious with a light touch. And that song in the end, about being a “real human being” or whatever—blech. Although if you’d average out my opinion over the course of the film you’d have something pretty damn great, by the end I was kind of sick of it.
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Post by Stuffed Salvador on May 22, 2016 19:53:45 GMT -5
Jean-Luc Lemur I just think it's an overall bad movie with nothing going for it, so you still liked it more than me
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2016 20:57:00 GMT -5
Well, if you want to know how I feel about driving... *gets forcibly removed from stage*
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Smacks
Shoutbox Elitist
Smacks from the Dead
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Post by Smacks on May 23, 2016 7:27:39 GMT -5
Adventureland: Cute! Although that may just be because I find Jesse Eisenberg adorbs-able. I like this movie quite a bit, but I feel like it would be a straight-up cult classic if it ended with him and his friends sitting on the hill instead of the schlocky rom-com "follow her to the big city and get laid" fanfic ending. The whole movie felt really down to earth and honest until that point. I thought the exact same thing, I was disappointed in the ending. Not every damn movie needs a happy ending. I like realistic endings. They make me feel better about my own crappy life. |
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on May 23, 2016 8:44:49 GMT -5
The Land Before Time
It's weird. I'm sure I saw the whole thing at least once as a kid. I know for a fact that the cousins I grew up visiting seemingly every weekend were big fans. I was born in 1987 so I should have been in the right age range for this to be a big part of the childhood movie rotation. And yet, I had basically no recollections of it. Anyway, it's on Netflix now and was an appealingly short run-time option for the kids at the end of a long day running around outside. It was fine I guess, although the Duckie dinosaur's speech pattern is really annoying so I hope my kids don't attach to it.
Captain America: Civil War
Really enjoyed it. Perhaps a bit long, but what else is new blockbusters? Unlike Age of Ultron, here is a movie that made it's big cast and new character introductions a selling point, rather than something to slog through. It almost made me like Ultron better in retrospect for how well it set up this superior movie. And the fights were really great this time around. Maybe it was the elimination of the much-maligned "Generic MCU Villain" from the proceedings, but there was a real sense of actual creativity and fun on display.
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Ice Cream Planet
AV Clubber
I get glimpses of the horror of normalcy.
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on May 23, 2016 9:03:57 GMT -5
I finally saw Drive last night—it was pretty good with some excellent acting (Ah! pre-Lewyn Davis Oscar Isaac! Christina Hendricks! Albert Brooks! Ron Perlman!) but the film started to lose me around the the scene in the elevator. From there to the end the movie kind of slid into self-seriousness—stuff slowed down, heightened contrast/symmetry, weighty music, portentous editing, that creepy Christ imagery when Gosling’s wearing through the mask and looking through the door with the cross-shaped frosted panels—it just took me out of the film and felt like it was hitting me over the head with how important and serious everything was. I got that it was serious, but one can do serious with a light touch. And that song in the end, about being a “real human being” or whatever—blech. Although if you’d average out my opinion over the course of the film you’d have something pretty damn great, by the end I was kind of sick of it. Fun fact: the man who adapted the film, Hossein Amini, also adapted the Henry James novel The Wings of the Dove (he should have won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work, but at least he was nominated) and the Patricia Highsmith thriller, The Two Faces of January. There is always the debate between how much a film is influenced by the screenwriter or the director, but I do wonder if Hossein's screenplay was a bit too chilly or if that was all on Refn's direction? |
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on May 23, 2016 11:09:25 GMT -5
Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers (2010)
Fair beginning to the Lego movie(s) legend(s).
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clytie
TI Forumite
Posts: 1,071
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Post by clytie on May 23, 2016 11:13:05 GMT -5
I finally saw Drive last night—it was pretty good with some excellent acting (Ah! pre-Lewyn Davis Oscar Isaac! Christina Hendricks! Albert Brooks! Ron Perlman!) but the film started to lose me around the the scene in the elevator. From there to the end the movie kind of slid into self-seriousness—stuff slowed down, heightened contrast/symmetry, weighty music, portentous editing, that creepy Christ imagery when Gosling’s wearing through the mask and looking through the door with the cross-shaped frosted panels—it just took me out of the film and felt like it was hitting me over the head with how important and serious everything was. I got that it was serious, but one can do serious with a light touch. And that song in the end, about being a “real human being” or whatever—blech. Although if you’d average out my opinion over the course of the film you’d have something pretty damn great, by the end I was kind of sick of it. Fun fact: the man who adapted the film, Hossein Amini, also adapted the Henry James novel The Wings of the Dove (he should have won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work, but at least he was nominated) and the Patricia Highsmith thriller, The Two Faces of January. There is always the debate between how much a film is influenced by the screenwriter or the director, but I do wonder if Hossein's screenplay was a bit too chilly or if that was all on Refn's direction? 1997 was an extraordinarily good year for adaptions. I think that The Sweet Hereafter should have won though. |
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on May 23, 2016 11:35:23 GMT -5
Ice Cream Planet All my problems seemed to be with directing choices—the story was fine, the direction was overwrought. THat said looking back at The Dissolve’s review of The Two Faces of January it looks like a lot of the same problems popped up there, so maybe not.
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on May 23, 2016 13:12:27 GMT -5
Ice Cream Planet All my problems seemed to be with directing choices—the story was fine, the direction was overwrought. THat said looking back at The Dissolve’s review of The Two Faces of January it looks like a lot of the same problems popped up there, so maybe not. gets SERIOUS about Drive (2011). Without the referent film history in the viewer's personal experience I do think there's quite a lot lost in the direction by Winding Refn. For sure, he's bombastic in his approach, but I think that stems from his unadulterated worship of "70s Times Square" films - as in "get the viewer in their seat and keep them there via lurid violence and sex": the Grindhouse axiom. I wager that the driving (oh yes, I did that!) sentiment behind this film is the same reason he wants to do a Maniac Cop reboot (cromagnon sexual polarity where it's easier to see the edges, hyperviolence, suitable gore, distinct silent hero/villain, wild in-camera car stunts, all action against impossible odds, and a painful end that rewards no one except the protagonist's sense of justice). Discrete visual references in Drive as afforded by this typer's memory. The Driver (1970) [basically the plot for Drive] Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965) [Kenneth Anger's influence in this film is pretty strong] The works of Michael Mann up through Miami Vice [Most visual and sound design in the film] Refn seeks to make a film that is both (mostly personal) nostalgic reverie and post-modern revisionism of past film updated with fresh, artistic ultraviolence (because that's how I experience the director's sentiment behind the desire to indulge in nostalgic reverie - rip it up! see what remains; deconstruct to reconstruct). I posit that such is the impetus for his direction choices that may fall flat with some. |
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