What movie did you watch today?

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drizzle
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by drizzle »

Galaxy Quest - Not sure what randomly drew me to this at 2am on a saturday but it held up incredibly well. The cast obviously makes it (Shaloub was my favorite on this watch), but the plot manages to say some poignant things about the relationship between fans and the objects of their fandom too, despite the generally goofy tone. The fleeting 'damn they don't really make movies like this much anymore' thought that passed through my head as the credits rolled was pretty depressing.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Spartan »

Afraid of the Dark (1991)

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Went in expecting a shitty British slasher, turned out being a David Lynch style fantasy thriller revolving around blindness as its central theme. Won't pretend I totally loved it but it surprised me in a good way, regardless. The recognisable British cast were cool in their supportive roles, but it's the creepy performance by Ben Keyworth which sold this. Crazy how this kid did one other film and just quit.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Tommy Bunz »

Yo did you stop using Letterboxd?

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Spartan »

Yeah, it sucks.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by LilLeftBrain »

long live da letterboxd.
recently caught weiner-dog, the new solondz, which i quite dug, the devito bit probably being the highlight
recently caught wiener, the doc, which i also quite dug, the whole shebang staying intriguing
moved by duck muscles

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Tommy Bunz »

That sucks man. Letterboxd isn't perfect but its a good source to find new movies I want to watch and I like the diary function. I always enjoyed seeing what you were watching.

I went and saw Hell or High Water last night. Might be the best movie I've seen all year. Up there with The Nice Guys. Never knew Chris Pine could act like that. Foster and Bridges are both really fucking great in it too.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Spartan »

Apart from you and Lefty, I honestly found it hard to find other folks worth following on Letterboxd. So many reviewers spilling over from Tumblr or whatever shitty film blog they spawned from writing attention seeking shit about the latest release to get followers. Got sick of seeing all that. It was also a bit depressing having to zoom out all the time to fit a picture post of everything I watched within a month.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Spartan »

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Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Was never a fan of this film, but it's a fascinating retrospective with online fanboyism of that era and how it spawned the reddit generation and the Collider herd. It's also interesting seeing how some careers flourished while others went virtually nowhere. Shannon Elizabeth was so hot.

Most Likely To Die (2016)
Last Shift was proof in the theory that a talentless hack like Anthony DiBlasi could be capable of delivering a decent film in their career. This however is a return to familiar territory for our kid. No expense was spared here with its all star cast; which includes Gary Busey's son and Perez Hilton in this rip-off of the pseudo-American slasher Slaughter High. Watch that instead!

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Spartan »

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#Horror (2015)
Strong contender as one of the worst films I've watched so far in this decade. So irredemably bad, it became a test of willpower for me just to finish watching the film after fifteen minutes. Awful, awful film. Awful.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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lolol that screenshot
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by drizzle »

Warcraft - Inoffensively mediocre. Weirdly felt like an obligatory prequel to a better movie, or an adaptation of a Wikipedia entry that describes the broad strokes exposition/background of a better movie or something. There's a totally serviceable b-grade fantasy narrative in here somewhere, lost in transparent attempts to set up a franchise.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Was kind of hoping for a Warcraft extended cut which would rectify some of the main issues i had with the film, in a similar fashion to what the ultimate edition did for BVS. It's a very jarring and messy film in its current form. Cool fights, though.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by ric »

Hell or High Water
heard it was the next no country. obv not. pretty good movie nonetheless. mostly not a waste of time. which is nice and unexpected. marinated in some self pity though (not entirely bad, that). best thing about this movie is the way they unveil the story.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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http://www.indiewire.com/2016/05/cannes ... od-288923/
Already a monster hit back home, Na Hong-jin’s spellbinding and scatterbrained “The Wailing” is 156 minutes of demented occult nonsense that gradually begins to feel less like a linear scary story than that it does a ritualistic invocation of the antichrist.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Comedy Quaddafi »

Korea is killing it in 2016. The Wailing is a third classic from Hong-Jin. Hes getting better with every film too. Has to be considered one of the best right now.

I saw The Handmaiden by Park and thought it was good but not great - a bit like Stoker, although there is probably a lot more going on to enjoy in his latest film.

Train to Busan just raised the bar for zombiefilms so high others should just stop bothering now. And Kim Je-Woon's film will be out at the end of the year I think.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Westworld - rewatched because of the HBO show, still holds up well enough, maybe better than people give it credit for (same vein as Tron, Logan's Run, and Zardoz). It's a pretty tight and efficient scifi fantasy, doesn't do much beyond OHSHIT KILLER ROBOTS but it doesn't really need to. Taking the time to make fun of the park's guests for being lecherous and douchy pays off well when they start getting killed.

Laughing Policeman - Nominally a police procedural noir, but really belongs in the elusive subgenre of 70s movies about straighlaced dudes having trouble adjusting to the era's social changes. The main plot is a murder investigation but that's really just an excuse to show Walter Mattau and Bruce Dern become increasingly confounded by a tour of San Francisco's subcultures, especially the sex-oriented ones. The resolution of the mystery is boring but the characters/acting are great and the cinematography is gorgeous.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by unclebengi »

Quadruple feature last night, 2 Bronson flicks, 2 Herzog flicks.

Once Upon a Time in the West, The Enigma of Kasper Hauser, Mr Majestyk, & Nosferatu The Vampyre

The soundtracks were fucking incredible on all of these movies. Mr Majestyk was my favorite of the bunch and instantly my favorite Bronson flick ever, loved everything about it. The Enigma of Kasper Hauser was great all around, but the cinematography was fucking outstanding and I didn't quite expect that even though it's a Herzog film.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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John Wick - Re-watched after the sequel trailer came out, actually liked it more this time around. Still think the action is nothing special, but I appreciate how hard this movie works at imagining the underworld as a fantasy setting. Also, the amount of random subtle and not subtle references to classic crime and noir is pretty commendable in itself.

Suicide Squad - Awful in pretty much every way, to an extent where it's just baffling that somebody thought some of this shit is a good idea to do on screen. I feel bad for the couple of genuinely talented people involved. BvS is orders of magnitude better, at least it has some semblance of vision that it attempts to realize.

Ghostbusters (2016) - It works as far as watching funny people say funny shit for about 110 minutes, but really it doesn't feel like anybody tried any harder than 'what if we redo the original... but with WOMEN :ohsh: :ohsh: :ohsh: :ohsh: '. The story feels completely perfunctory, in pretty much every way. It follows the exact same trajectory as the original, and leans on callbacks to it frequently, without adding a single new thing. Granted, the original isn't exactly War & Peace either, but its plot still feels like more than a thin excuse to have those 4 actors on screen. Can't really say the same here.

Zootopia - the social justice metaphor doesn't hold up for shit and possibly even backfires, but putting that aside this was cute and entertaining take on mismatched buddy cop tropes
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Amanda Knox- good documentary, I got really into it even though I barely had any clue about the case beyond the general outline and never followed it back when it was a hot news thing. Things are very obviously presented and edited in her favor, but the italian cop and brit journalist who are made to be the villains of the piece do more than enough to hang themselves and those are pretty much the best parts.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by unclebengi »

I thought the Knox doc was really interesting. I'm the same as far as having limited prior knowledge, the hook of it to me though is the idea that people were judging her based on her outward behavior (seeming happy/aloof/doing cartwheels). Her monologues were my favorite part because she makes excellent points about how every individual reacts to certain life circumstances differently. She clearly had a unique disposition from a very young age and as a result faced a widespread assumption of guilt largely because of her said disposition.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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My Scientology Movie (2016) - Louis Theroux tries to bait these creeps to stalk him and then films his interactions with them. Him and Marty Rathburn who was an enforcer of the cult reconstruct events happening at their compound. I agree with the Guardian review which said its amusing but feels a bit lightweight.

Going Clear (2016) - This is the one to watch for people like me who didn't really know anything about Scientology but the basic facts.

Interstellar (2014) - I didn't like this at all. First hour was painful to get through in particular. I enjoyed the part with Matt Damon but otherwise this was a completely dull and lifeless disaster of a film. Inception was redeemed by at least being entertaining but theres nothing to like about this piece of shit film unless you have a fetish for Matthew McSomething and computer animated images of space.

Batman v Superman (2016) - I knew it would be shit when I heard Affleck was involved. During the first hour I was really suprised by how much I enjoyed it all but then none of it went anywhere and the film stopped making any sense.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Holy Hell (2016) - If you've ever wondered what it would be like if a bunch of rich LA people were ever to join a cult run by a gay porn actor with a penchant for classical ballet, then you're in luck. Finding out how these eighties proto-hipsters got hoodwinked into worshipping this Wayne Sleep motherfucker for twenty years, swindled out of their trust funds, and some of them ultimately getting bummed by him was fucking hilarious. Might be my pick for documentary of the year.

The Purge: Election Year (2016) - Not as good as the second one, but it's still an awesome movie, regardless. I love how this went from a mediocre home invasion flick to a franchise that's now the spiritual successor to Carpenter's vision of a dystopian America.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - Was enjoying it at first, but the novelty soon wore off and got stale pretty fast; like every superhero movie out these days. Underwhelming film.

Society (1989) - Nearly thirty years on and body horror guru, Brian Yuzna still doesn't understand it, and he directed it. Fundamentally a flawed film, but I still like it for being a product of its time more than anything else, and it's been fun seeing it referenced by bat shit conspiracy theorists over the years. Devin DeVasquez was like a cross between Vanity and Darlene back in the day.

The Heroes of Evil (2015) - Went from a promising revenge drama to a predictably corny love triangle. Passable, but it's nowhere near as good I was expecting it to be.

The Duel (2016) - Surprised by just how much this new western got slagged off. Woody Harrelson was dope in this, and it seemed like Liam Hemsworth actually had some acting lessons. Good film.

Doomsday (2007) - In retrospect, it's the project which kind of killed Neil Marshall's promising film career. Unapologetic tribute to Escape from New York and the Mad Max films. Has aged pretty well since the last time I watched it.

Confessions of a Brazilian Call Girl (2011) - For a biopic about a prostitute / celebrity blogger, this was way too predictable and it felt like a bland TV movie.

Ninja Vengeance (1988) - I figured an eighties film about a ninja taking on the KKK in some hick town would make for a quality evening - I was dead wrong. Definitely up there as far as inept action movies go and it looks like it was filmed on a shoestring budget. On every level it's terrible, even blundering its whole anti-racism message by winding up being racist itself; much like the racially charged action movie The Klansman. Avoid this shit like the plague.

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987) - A drug kingpin threatens global domination by shanghai-ing horny marines and turning them into an army of genetically engineered ninjas, and it's up to Messrs Dudikoff & James to stop him. This is why Cannon ruled.

Invoked (2015) - Been a good run of recent Irish horror flicks, but this shit was so terrible that it left me feeling like the cast and crew involved in this rancid found footage movie should have been placed in front of a firing squad (and filmed).

Amanda Knox (2016) - Obviously felt sorry for the Kercher family, and kind of understood Foxy Knoxy's perspective a lot better after watching this. Ultimately, all parties were treated badly by a botched investigation and a shitty judicial system. Was always ashamed of the British press, particularly after the Milly Dowler phone hacking, but this was another low and it left me with the impression that Daily Mail journalist Nick Pisa and all his peers might actually be psychopaths, simply based on their lack of any real emotional empathy.

Horns (2013) - Haven't seen anything by Aja since Mirrors. Turns out this was less a horror movie and more of a romantic fantasy drama in a similar vein to Ghost. In fact, it follows an almost identical formula. Still liked it, though. Really been digging some of Radcliffe's post Harry Potter work.

Pain in Full (2002) - Despite the ending feeling somewhat rushed and abrupt, I found this leagues ahead from the usual pap which gets labelled as a "hood movie". It unashamedly borrows from some other notable crime dramas, but there's enough here for it to stand on its own feet and be taken somewhat seriously.

February (2016) - Had my eye on this for a while, but feared the worst after it disappeared off the radar and reappeared again with a different title. After a shaky start, this turned out to be a really good horror movie. Emma Roberts was really great in this. Always thought she was just a pretty face and that was it, but I was impressed by her performance. Redemption for James Remar after that god awful polar bear flick.

The Prophecy (1995) - By no means a great movie, but an entertaining oddity just the same. Worth watching alone for Walken being his crazy self as Archangel Gabriel, but Viggo Mortensen almost stole the film for me as Lucifer.

The Thinner (1996) - Kind of had a soft spot for this from back in the day. I still think it's pretty good.

Sometimes They Come Back (1991) - Wasn't a fan of this during my youth and was hoping it might have aged for the better like some other King adaptations I could mention. Sadly, it did not.

The Last Days on Mars (2013) - Cosigning Image

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Don't Breathe - It's cool to see interesting B-movies getting a little buzz but I thought this wasn't that great. The basic premise runs out of steam a few times and has to rely on forced twists and moments of extremity to keep itself going. 10 Cloverfield Lane and Green Room did more and better with the close space premise. But Stephen Lang is good as the bad guy and there are some effective scares and moments of suspense, so it's watchable enough.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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In A Valley Of Violence - Ti West's spaghetti western, came out in limited release and streaming on Friday, already leaked. Loved the hell out of it. He did better at it than Tarantino imo, Django and H8 were very cool but they were Tarantino movies first and foremost. West's take has less ego and agenda, he's just reveling in genre tropes while also making fun of them. He does this almost to a fault, the plot unfolds exactly how you would expect, to the tee. I can see how that can be a turnoff, but arguably the fun here (as with almost any good genre movie) is in the execution. The archetypes are old but well staged and just a little idiosyncratic in the right way. Hawke is surprisingly good as the mysterious stranger inevitably pushed to violence, Travolta and Ziggy are great scenery chewing villains, the dog and dumbass henchmen are genuinely funny, etc - that's what really makes this shit work.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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In Order of Disappearence (2014) - This is the film Tarantino would make if he was Norwegian. It's a snowy action-comedy-drama about a father who wants to take down a crimesyndicate to avenge his son.

Elle (2016) - This is instantly a top 5 Verhoeven film. No one but Isabellle Huppert could have played this role convincingly. The script is messy and gloriously un-PC. A powerful comeback.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Nerve (2016) - Didn't expect this Cheap Thrills meets Hackers mash-up to be as much fun as it was. Got a bit cringeworthy when it attempted to delve deeper into much darker territory with its critique on online anonymity, but it wisely stayed in its lane for the rest of the movie as an effervescent teen thriller. Dave Franco did a sterling job of not making me want to punch him in the face in this one. Dope soundtrack, too. I can see this becoming a cult movie by today's acne-ridden fuckwits.

Lights Out (2016) - As expected, it suffers the same inherent problems when most horror shorts are stretched out and adapted into feature length movies. Even though there were some very cool set pieces, the film was largely let down by some really stuffy and uninspired writing. As a result, it all feels terribly uneven and somewhat forgettable.

Imperium (2016) - Totally bought into Harry Potter as an FBI agent going undercover as a nazi skinhead to prevent some 9/11 type terrorist catastrophe. For about half of the film, there was enough great tension, such as the Levi's scene, to keep the paranoia flowing and to make you wonder whether or not Gryffindor's finest would get his cover blown. Unfortunately, it just fizzled out by the second half of the film and desperately would have benefitted with a curve-ball or two to keep things on edge, instead of the predictable route it went.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) - Kind of respect it for not catering to today's Adderall-poppin' horror fans, but this treads far too much on the end of the spectrum for my liking. A really gorgeous and atmospheric chiller, but there really wasn't a whole lot happening. Its overall weak plot left some serious questions going unanswered; such as the motive for Polly's murder. Wasn't expecting it to hold my hand, but intentionally neglecting important plot details while languishing over cool arty farty shots is a bit pretentious, in my book. Sophomore slump for Oz Perkins.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by ric »

Sully 2016
actually a touching movie. go in not knowing what to expect and you'll probably tear up
hanks and eckhart(?) do their job well.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Moonlight - Lives up to the hype, mostly. I thought some of the plot beats were a little too familiar, almost bordering on rote, but they are realized on screen so well that it prevents them from feeling like full on cliches. The direction, acting and cinematography are all incredible, like jawdroppingly good at some points. Even if you don't have any interest in the subject, it's worth seeing for the execution (which is a tad ironic since the movie is being celebrated and likely will be mostly critique-proof specifically because of its subject matter)

47 Ronin - The Keanu one, because I had to dial back the seriousness a lot of notches after Moonlight. As far as dumb cgi stuff goes this was totally legit, even kinda reminded me of 70-80s martial arts fantasy movies from Shaw Bros and Japan. Good action, surprisingly well shot and stylized, some cool monsters, not too idiotic, knows what it's there for and doesn't try to do more than it has to. It's also surprisingly respectful of the source materials and traditions, aside from the whole thing where it re-purposes real Japanese history to include a white savior and random fantasy elements. It ends like a Japanese movie, not an American one, which is probably the best compliment I can give.
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Re: What movie did you watch today?

Post by Tommy Bunz »

Totally agree about 47 Ronin, was surprised at how much i enjoyed it. They did a great job incorporating the fantasy elements into the story and in a lot of ways its better for it, as the original story is actually a bit of a dialogue heavy slog. Ichikawa's version in the 90's is pretty slow and I haven't even attempted Mizoguchi's, that shit is 4 hours long.

Also watched Society recently and enjoyed it immensely. Its so fucking bizarre and unique, and I had a good time imagining in my head that this is how Donald Trump family gatherings are like. I have to give a shout out to the special edition Arrow blu-ray, which has some of the coolest packaging I've ever seen, the whole case is made to look like stretched flesh.

Image

I spent most of October doing a monthly horror marathon.
Highlight was probably a rock-horror double bill I did a couple weeks ago, watching Deathgasm and Phantom of the Paradise back to back.
Deathgasm was great fun but I really really enjoyed Phantom. It just worked on every level for me and the music is soo damn good.

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Re: What movie did you watch today?

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Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) - Unnecessary sequel to an overrated movie. Would hazard a guess Will Smith turned this down because he couldn't get his skirt-wearing son to be the main star in it. Very poor.

Into the Inferno (2016) - I can watch footage of erupting volcanos and rivers of molten magma all day, but after about twenty minutes, Herzog loses all interest in it and opts to film boring ass John Frum worshipping cargo cults in the South Pacific. Decent doc, but I expected more from this, tbh.

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