What movie did you watch today?

[alpha]

Passengers 2017?
eh. cool. mid level ceiling. at least they played music (figuratively) with the genres involved and didn't do anything particularly retarded. almost cried but not quite at one point. a good enough date movie as there is some juicy 'what if' subject matter

This got bashed hard and with good reason. But if you can get past the absurdity of some it, it's fun. A solid 2 star movie to watch.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

The Girl With all the Gifts (2016) - This was entertaining and original zombiefun.

Detour (2016) - Christopher Smith makes really good films but it has been a while since Black Death, his best. This one has an unusual style of narrative like Triangle but is more commercial. I enjoyed the film but was hoping for something even better.

Silence (2017) - This is the best "serious" film from an a-list director since I can remember. Of course its being ignored because Jesus isnt trendy these days but I really dont see why that should matter.

[ric]

in re passengers

This got bashed hard and with good reason. But if you can get past the absurdity of some it, it's fun. A solid 2 star movie to watch.

Yeah I like it for what it is. I'm actually really surprised it's getting so much hate (which I didn't know until I just looked it up)

I guess I would just argue with those reviews below and by saying what you just said I mean this movie is what it is and if you go in wanting a clean narrative and and perfectly positioned concepts and premises then don't go. this is a movie about the characters and their relationships. and the thing is is that the tangible aesthetic sensibility here is actually pretty cool. and in a way the headier subject matter is actually pretty well isolated so it appeals to that side of the experience as well

super spoiled.

I just read some of those reviews and I think they are totally missing the point. for example it is extremely let's say 'realistic' that people fall in love and then forgive each other some shit but aside from that forgiveness is not even really the point of motivation. especially in our exaggerated 'we are the only two people here' kind of world. one review essentially says what Pratt did is unforgivable and alike to murder (which is like an ethics 101 answer that you see during undergraduate debate competitions). to the movies credit she doesn't really actually forgive anybody that I recall. in fact she says something like I'll never forgive you and then never takes it back. the point is how do you move forward. they chose to stay together and to act for each other and for the rest of the ship etc etc. all this appears to really be completely ignored. but that is the reality and complexity of deep committed relationships. etc etc. circling back around to the 'ethics' part of it. I wonder what any of these new found critic geniuses would have done as a normative remedy.

it's almost like every review I read or saw glimpses of (3 and 3) is trying to anticipate a certain response or attitude or mood from the audience to try and play to that and to sell to that.

[Comedy Quaddafi]

Oklahoma City (2017) - PBS docu about the OKC bomb and the previous related incidents at Ruby Ridge and Waco. Interesting that the film ties all of this in to a grand narrative about dangerous nazi militias when none of the people involved in these incidents seem to fit that description. At least there isn't evidence of that in the docu. Anyway it was interesting.

Into The Wild (2007) - I only saw it this weekend because, like most people in the thread (below) apparently, I was put off by what I figured the movie would be: a pretentious and spoiled kid being annoying for 3 hours. I was kinda right but the movie was also enjoyable.

Anyway I figured there would be a great thread with Icesickle in it, so I found one but it was underwhelming aside from a few good posts, although he created the thread he did not post in it after seeing the movie. Guess the good stuff is elsewhere. There's a prententios rant and a glowing review from Trademark if you're interested - I like how it abruptly ends the thread (not as good as his review of Inception but along those lines) http://philaflavaforum.com//forum/viewt ... =9&t=82530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Spartan]

I Am Not A Serial Killer (2016)
Offbeat horror aimed at mumblecore hipsters. Didn't love it, but I still enjoyed it, since it's way better than usual dreck that makes its way to me. Its slow pace made this drag on a bit too long; it's still a rewarding viewing experience, however. Christopher Lloyd is really good and the main protagonist carried the movie well enough to have me attempting to second guess how it'll all end.

Double Face (1969)
Soporific giallo by the usually competent Riccardo Freda. Klaus Kinski looked bored as hell in this, and I don't blame him, because I started to doze off a few times watching this. The only notable highlight was the car crash scene, where a toy car was set on fire. Both Margaret Lee and Killer Kinski acted together again a few years later in the abysmally smutty Slaughter Hotel. At least that movie had more entertainment value, though.

Human Cobras (1971)
A film of two halves. Mismatched but enjoyable hybrid of a hardboiled revenge action movie and a traditional giallo. It's crazy how the film's hero descends from a badass fighter to a bit of a pussy further on. The film also sports a guy getting killed by an elephant - which is pretty unique for a giallo flick. Film composer Stelvio Cipriani recycles one of his oldies from Femina Ridens for the film in a really novel way here. Overall, as predictable as this film was, this turned out to be surprisingly decent.

[ric]

The Great Wall 2017
it is what is. typical east west cash grab. Damon is who he is and he plays the role well but what kind of role is that? yeah it's ok. story is kinda sweet for the 'genre'. the look is cool for the most part. and the chick commander is doing it for me. see this if you're in the mood. for something kinda cool and not really good. a good date night movie to keep it lighthearted.

[ric]

MOONLIGHT BITCHES

[Career Over Like Mike(NJJ)]

I keep checking this thread to see if Spart has commented on the last Resident Evil flick..

[Spartan]

Doubt I'd rush to the theatre to watch it (Sienna Guilleroy isn't in the the latest one ), but I did binge-watch the previous flicks on Netflix not too long ago.

As much as Paul W. S. Anderson gets mocked, no-one is really fucking with him when it comes to the never ending wave of post-Matrix style girl power movies:



Have you watched The Girl With All the Gifts yet? That's probably the best zombie flick we've had in recent years, in my humble opinion.

[Career Over Like Mike(NJJ)]

I haven't.

New R.E movie is my fave of the series since the one with Ashanti.

[Spartan]

Ironically, Extinction wasn't directed by our Paul.

[drizzle]

Yea I stick to the Anderson ones myself. Although Mulcahy is not the worst pick for it either, he has some good shit under his belt. Is the thing with the zombie crows in Extinction?

I'm looking forward to the new one though, the last 2 were good.

The new Underworld movie was also pretty fun. They're always dependable for what they are, but this one was a touch above the usual I think.

[Tommy Bunz]

I own all of the RE movies but couldn't tell you what happens in any of them other than the first one. They're entertaining but the Resident Evil franchise could have been a really great serious horror franchise if Anderson didn't get his hands on it.

[alpha]

The most recent of the re movies is probably the best of the series. Good stupid fun at its finest.

[tehgiftofgab]

Who has a flatter chest? This chick or the mom from banshee

[Spartan]

The Love Witch (2017)
Probably the most visually stylish film I've seen since The Neon Demon. The film looks amazing; the pacing, not so much. It's way too long for its own good by a good thirty minutes. The introduction of a vital supporting character half-way through the movie, almost ground the movie to a halt and tested my patience somewhat. It's still rather good, though. Along with a bunch of other movies, I got strong vibes of Bell, Book & Candle and very much The Velvet Vampire. Despite its faults, I still rather liked this and will probably cop it on blu-ray in a sale somewhere down the line.

Headshot (2017)
Totally different movie to the one above and yet it has the very same problem of being way too long. Nowhere near the same league as The Raid movies, but I did enjoy the gory violence; especially the police station scene.

[drizzle]

King Kong (2005) - Haven't seen this since it first came out. It holds up better than it's reputation suggests, Jackson mostly nails the reverential meta-pastiche of the 30s original that he aims for. But he also overshoots wildly, 3+ hours is an insane length for this kind of thing. There are 3 distinct acts and only one of them really feels like a proper creature feature. And a lot of the stuff that gets it to that length is too goofy or too on the nose, it feels like it could be easily cut. Aaaand some of the CGI is pretty bad, especially in the island scenes. Somewhere in here is a really great 2 hr movie, a rare case for when studio interference with the ambitions of a director might actually be a good thing. Kinda ironic, considering the whole plot is built around a director overextending himself to make an epic movie that the studio rightly doesn't believe in.

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack / Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

For whatever reason I never really fucked with any Godzilla from the 90s and up, aside from Final Wars. I only watched the old b/w stuff and the campier 70s/80s standouts. Turns out that was a mistake, this later stuff rules. The influence of the age of blockbusters is clearly visible and makes for better effects, better mix of serious and goofy tones, just better movies all around.

Hellboy - another one I randomly decided to rewatch after a decade. Still good but not as good as the second one. In retrospect it's a very neat layout of the formula that the MCU would adopt for all its first franchise entrees, down to underwritten poorly motivated villains.

[Tommy Bunz]

Ha, I just copped that same Godzilla set and watched Giant Monsters All-Out Attack last week. Good shit, a solid modern send-up of Honda's Destroy All Monsters. You should add Godzilla 2000 to your watch list as well.
Godzilla movies are up there with MST3K episodes and Zatoichi movies as my favorite things to put on when I'm going to bed. Comfort cinema or whatever.

[Spartan]

Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Failure of a revenge thriller / romantic drama. Somewhere along the way this got lost up its own arse. I did enjoy Shannon's performance, though. Not sure if the hilarious ending was meant to be intentional or not.

[drizzle]

^^ Judging by the positive reviews that sequence was really supposed to be an emotionally devastating burn. I was dying laughing at it.

Johnie To's Three - I wanted this to be better but it's just not great. The build up is kinda interesting while it's happening, but in the end it doesn't amount to much. The inevitable climatic action scene is a cartoonish mess of CGI, it verges on self-parody in the same way some of the stuff in Vengeance did. But it at least the movie looked pretty good. Like Mann, To's style is so fluid and polished that he can pull off something visually interesting by default even if the rest is nothing special.

[ric]

Logan 2017
easily the best xmen themed movie to date. I cried near the end and then at the very very end was almost ready to take it all back. I mean that lost shot/setup is so fucking wack it's amazing and I'm actually surprised it's in their which says how much they've moved shit forward

[drizzle]

Resident Evil: Final Chapter - Really strong franchise conclusion slightly undermined by some surprisingly poor action scene editing. Just really choppy, too many cuts in every shot and it becomes frustrating because the movie is pretty action packed. Shame because otherwise this is one of the best entries into the series, as the credits rolled I was thinking I wouldn't mind seeing a few more of them if Anderson can do them with the sense of purpose and focus he has here.

[Spartan]

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
Personally think the majority of Netflix's original films are rather shite. This was definitely one of the better films, however. Elijah Wood drops all pretensions here and goes full fucktard sidekick. Enjoyed how this vigilante-lite themed film evolved from an awkward comedy to a legit thriller.

Pieces (1982)
Copped Arrow's new blu-ray of this gory slasher masterpiece and it's still immensely entertaining.

[ric]

Life 2017
could have been redeemable had they NOT done typical horror bullshit (I'm not a fan of the genre). but did go that way so....you know. There are some good moments in this though full of quality writing and acting. which just makes it even more disappointing that they decided to do something so... cliche.

[drizzle]

The Great Wall - was curious because there were some 'wait hold up this is actually decent' reviews. Decent is about right, it's not a total disaster but it doesn't really do anything notable either. The white savior stuff is not particularly egregious, the usual template is there but it's nowhere near Last Samurai levels. Yimou has a good eye for visual stylization and squeezes in some inspired looks but nothing as consistently crazy as Hero or Flying Daggers. The pacing is proficient with lots of action so you never get bored, but there aren't many OHSHIT moments. The monster design and the cgi works but isn't impressive. Etc etc, pretty much a B-/C+ in every way.

Godzilla Vs King Gheedorah (91) - This was ludicrous in the best way, can't believe I've been sleeping on these late period Kaiju all this time. Trying to find the more rare Vs Biollante next, seen that poster a million times but never knew the movie apparently lives up to it.

[fatboybrandon]

Been watching Se7en, 007 Spectre on my computer and Die Hard 2 on VHS today and the past week. Recently downloaded Sicario from the iTunes store. I'm glad to be able to work at home and have different flicks on while working.

[Ramen]

On The Job - Action flick out of the Philippines. Felt they could have tightened up the story lines a bit and probably a bit more action would have helped but a fun flick none the less. Pretty good quality and cinematography compared to most filipino movies.

[Spartan]

Arrival (2016)
A bit let down by this. Decent film overall, but I felt it fell apart once the whole humans will be humans trope bubbled to the surface and suffocated the remainder of the movie. I like Villeneuve, but this is my least favorite of his films.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Didn't care much for the original, but Fincher has a knack for turning bland material into highly watchable shit. Actually found this Lisbeth Salander character unintentionally comedic rather than the cyberpunk badass feminist role model (a cliché to begin with anyway).

The Man From Nowhere (2010)
For an action flick, I thought the action sequences were the least impressive elements in the movie. The rest of it was surprisingly stellar, though.

Dr. Strange (2016)
As much as I hate Cumberbitch, this was a good fit for him. The supporting cast were a massive let down, though. Other than Tilda Swinton, they really had nothing to work with here. Mad Madds was particularly ineffective as the film's villain. So much effort was spent on the admittedly impressive visual effects and turning our douchebag doc into a sorceror supreme that everything else took a backseat. This is a major issue I've had with many comic book movies and I doubt it will ever change.

[drizzle]

I Don't Feel At Home In This World Any More - Liked it a lot, maybe more than Green Room. Blair is clearly following Saulnier's footsteps here but he brings his own touches to that formula and he might turn out better at it. He's definitely better at the 'action' moments meant to release the tension, the confrontation for the laptop and the final standoff at the house are good examples of that. These scenes have an immediate OHSHIT quality that Saulnier couldn't quite nail in Blue Ruin or Green Room (although at certain points they start to feel too slapsticky to take seriously.)

Drowning Pool - good 70s noir with Paul Newman as a wise-cracking LA PI investigating something down in Louisiana. Doesn't really deliver as a mystery, but it runs through the PI noir tropes nicely, it's fun to watch Newman coolly talk shit to a rogues gallery of bayou stereotypes, and at times it's surprisingly stylish. The underlying theme is the same kind of nihilism and disillusionment that's found in Chinatown and Night Moves, 'this isn't romantic or thrilling, it's tragic and ultimately meaningless', so that's pretty cool too.

[ric]

Ghost in the Shell 2017
pretty dope really. haters will be haters. the mood is cool. mansell does the music and its dope. there're some sweet characters in here including Scarlett. the visuals are of course dope