Deadline to Signup is March 9th .
also I got everyone down so far.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Movies You've Seen Recently | March 2018
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
also I got everyone down so far.
Yeah I can't do this month either. Still have one to go from feb and I'm going on vacation end of the week so I'm not gonna be watching many movies (besides what's on the plane).
This Is Spinal Tap 1984 ★★★★
I am glad I got the chance to watch this before it left Filmstruck. Spinal Tap is such a great documentary no matter how fake it is because it captures the feel of the time period. Plus some of the jokes are amazing, like that Drummer gag. I also feel embarrassed that I thought this was a real documentary tillI googled the band midway through.
I am glad I got the chance to watch this before it left Filmstruck. Spinal Tap is such a great documentary no matter how fake it is because it captures the feel of the time period. Plus some of the jokes are amazing, like that Drummer gag. I also feel embarrassed that I thought this was a real documentary tillI googled the band midway through.
Letter Never Sent (1960) (Mikhail Kalatozov): Intense Soviet adventure drama about the wrath of nature, perseverance, and just a bit of good old fashioned propaganda. Basic premise is 4 geologists travel to Siberia in the summer looking for diamond deposits, in hopes of getting their names in the history books. Things go wrong, Russians Russ, and the camera goes absolutely crazy. The star of the show here is the cinematography. The camerawork in this movie is like a proto The Revenant. In fact, I just searched "Letter Never Sent The Revenant" and found an interview with Inarritu talking about the similarity. It's kind of astounding, really, that they achieved that same sense of energy and handheld mania half a century earlier. There's a central set piece filled with long takes and close-ups that must've been absolute hell to shoot, and every time you think they're about to cut away from it, it keeps going. The imagery all over this movie is bizarro beauty. Like a quarter of it is in silhouette, and the frame is constantly filled with faces, trees, smoke, fire, snow, and water captured at dutch angles, or layered and smeared as tensions rise and the action moves faster. Then a thunderstorm hits and characters are screaming into the camera with strobe lighting going nuts Black Lodge style. It's those odd little touches that, at times, takes this visceral little slice of socialist realism into a more expressionistic lane. There are a few dated moments of corn where you'll have to suspend your disbelief, but most of this is pure visual experience.
Why are Russians so good at walking around in coats, tormented?
Last edited:
Oh damn really? Yeah I think I'm hype just cause of their style. Give me it.
Do you know if this is available to buy/rent/stream digitally anywhere?
Letter Never Sent (1960) (Mikhail Kalatozov): Intense Soviet adventure drama about the wrath of nature, perseverance, and just a bit of good old fashioned propaganda. Basic premise is 4 geologists travel to Siberia in the summer looking for diamond deposits, in hopes of getting their names in the history books. Things go wrong, Russians Russ, and the camera goes absolutely crazy. The star of the show here is the cinematography. The camerawork in this movie is like a proto The Revenant. In fact, I just searched "Letter Never Sent The Revenant" and found an interview with Inarritu talking about the similarity. It's kind of astounding, really, that they achieved that same sense of energy and handheld mania half a century earlier. There's a central set piece filled with long takes and close-ups that must've been absolute hell to shoot, and every time you think they're about to cut away from it, it keeps going. The imagery all over this movie is bizarro beauty. Like a quarter of it is in silhouette, and the frame is constantly filled with faces, trees, smoke, fire, snow, and water captured at dutch angles, or layered and smeared as tensions rise and the action moves faster. Then a thunderstorm hits and characters are screaming into the camera with strobe lighting going nuts Black Lodge style. It's those odd little touches that, at times, takes this visceral little slice of socialist realism into a more expressionistic lane. There are a few dated moments of corn where you'll have to suspend your disbelief, but most of this is pure visual experience.
Why are Russians so good at walking around in coats, tormented?
Also are you on Letterboxd?
The score was the highlight, what didn't you like about the movie though? Assuming I'm not able to see Phantom Thread, The Shape of Water and I Tonya soon, it'll probably eke out a spot in my top 10 of the year.
Edit: oh cool I Tonya and Water both come out on Blu Ray on the 13th. Nice.
The Host (rewatch)
★★★★
While most monster movies focus on spectacle, The Host has grander ambitions. Its tonal and genre-shifting means The Host encompasses thrilling creature action, dark satire, humor, government conspiracy, family drama, yet the movie never feels disjointed. By focusing on the drama and struggles of its dysfunctional family, the action and narrative is more personal and affecting than others in the genre, giving us characters to root and care for. That the monster here is so unique in its design, not some giant city-destroying beast but something more slimy and animalistic, makes The Host that much more memorable
Killers
★★★½
I might have liked Killers more if I hadn't seen I Saw The Devil first. Killers is certainly a decent addition to that category of "terrifying serial killers + resorting to violence and revenge only makes things worse" films, but for all its brutal violence and bleak tone, it lacked the kind of relentless narrative drive that made Devil so effective. Killers' dual narrative feels somewhat disjointed; while the two influence eachother in major ways, the way two plots and protagonists collide often feels contrived, especially in the final act. Furthermore, Bayu's descent into violence didn't feel like it was developed enough and the pushes toward darkness never seemed strong enough to result in the actions we see occur as a result
Cub
★★
A pretty dull horror movie, that's only real saving graces are the Cub Scout premise giving it a different tone and some absurd death scenes. Not scary, not particularly gory or atmospheric to make up for the lack of creepiness, and mostly moves at a boring pace for a movie that's not even 90 minutes long
Killing Ground
★★
A relatively weak woodlands thriller. Ironically the aspect of the plot that made it interesting is also what sapped Killing Ground of most of its tension and suspense. The first act of the movie held its most tense moments but once the story began unfolding, it descended into mostly predictable story beats and a very abrupt ending
I will give it kudos for having the most hatable character I've ever seen in a horror movie or thriller.
★★★★
While most monster movies focus on spectacle, The Host has grander ambitions. Its tonal and genre-shifting means The Host encompasses thrilling creature action, dark satire, humor, government conspiracy, family drama, yet the movie never feels disjointed. By focusing on the drama and struggles of its dysfunctional family, the action and narrative is more personal and affecting than others in the genre, giving us characters to root and care for. That the monster here is so unique in its design, not some giant city-destroying beast but something more slimy and animalistic, makes The Host that much more memorable
Killers
★★★½
I might have liked Killers more if I hadn't seen I Saw The Devil first. Killers is certainly a decent addition to that category of "terrifying serial killers + resorting to violence and revenge only makes things worse" films, but for all its brutal violence and bleak tone, it lacked the kind of relentless narrative drive that made Devil so effective. Killers' dual narrative feels somewhat disjointed; while the two influence eachother in major ways, the way two plots and protagonists collide often feels contrived, especially in the final act. Furthermore, Bayu's descent into violence didn't feel like it was developed enough and the pushes toward darkness never seemed strong enough to result in the actions we see occur as a result
Cub
★★
A pretty dull horror movie, that's only real saving graces are the Cub Scout premise giving it a different tone and some absurd death scenes. Not scary, not particularly gory or atmospheric to make up for the lack of creepiness, and mostly moves at a boring pace for a movie that's not even 90 minutes long
Killing Ground
★★
A relatively weak woodlands thriller. Ironically the aspect of the plot that made it interesting is also what sapped Killing Ground of most of its tension and suspense. The first act of the movie held its most tense moments but once the story began unfolding, it descended into mostly predictable story beats and a very abrupt ending
I will give it kudos for having the most hatable character I've ever seen in a horror movie or thriller.
On the Criterion side of Filmstruck. Just added it to my list.
Forest Gump - Probably my favourite movie of all time. Watch it at least twice a year and I still find out something new. The latest was a reference to the arrest of Rosa Parks on the bus 2857 in 1955, when the nurse next to Gump said her feet hurt. Such an amazing story throughout.
72% on RT makes me sick in my mouth.
72% on RT makes me sick in my mouth.
OP
OP
Donnie Darko: I'll admit I spoiled myself on this years ago because I wasn't all that interested in seeing it, but the recent Show Me The Meaning podcast encouraged me to see it since it's on Netflix. This is a decent movie with a creepy bunny and jerk characters. It's certainly not a film for everyone. Does have some interesting ideas on time travel.
? That's a good score. And regardless, I think some of the criticism is warranted.
Oh no, the biggest box office hit of that year and winner of countless awards only had a 72% on RT.
I watched The Disaster Artist. Piece of shit. James Franco sucks. I hope that student suing him for stealing the script succeeds and bankrupts him.
Here's a "fun" piece of news for you moviepass fans:
https://theoutline.com/post/3605/moviepass-data-collection-gps
"We watch how you drive from home to the movies," said Lowe. "We watch where you go afterwards."
Now to be fair many services work like this nowadays. But it still serves to keep in mind that you're not actually getting a deal here. You're being bought and sold.
Here's a "fun" piece of news for you moviepass fans:
https://theoutline.com/post/3605/moviepass-data-collection-gps
"We watch how you drive from home to the movies," said Lowe. "We watch where you go afterwards."
Now to be fair many services work like this nowadays. But it still serves to keep in mind that you're not actually getting a deal here. You're being bought and sold.
Do I call a local police force to report this crime or jump straight to a federal bureau.
Forrest Gumps success still pisses me off. Movie has some super problematic messages.
What, you don't like how the film practically does all your homework for you in terms of reading it as how you can live a charmed life even as an idiot, as long as you do it in the most conservative way possible, all the while the women in your life die after fulfilling their biological functions and are punished for straying off the path of virtue and monogamy?
Honestly, the film doesn't really bother me much, even if the messaging is, as you say, quite problematic, and I can at least recognize it for being a trailblazer for using VFX on actors to pull off things that couldn't be possible otherwise. Did it deserve best picture over Pulp Fiction? Probably not, but history bore out the true virtues of both films and I don't think it much mattered who won it then when their legacies are what they are these days.
Pretty much one of the original "Oscar bait" films of modern Hollywood but I still like Forrest Gump. Haters be damned. XP
it's not anywhere close to being the first oscar bait movie. it however sad that kieslowski didn't win best director that year, which is rare interesting nomination.
Some people don't actually mind this. I had told a few people and they claimed, "i don't mind, Ihave nothing to hide and I like the perks of them having info on me'.
You'd have to go Amish in order to not be tracked by something these days...
Yeah like lordxar said, Criterion owns the rights. Digital and physical.
No letterboxd. I'll eventually have to spend some time setting that up and organizing everything, but I keep putting it off.
Red Sparrow
A brutal, cold spy thriller from Francis Lawrence. It is not for everyone. It is filled with double crosses, quiet moments of characters telling the truth but the other person not sure if its meaning, chilling sexual manipulation and abuses, and brutal violence that is quick but effective. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and while Jennifer Lawrence got the physicality and empowerment side of her role down, I feel that her cold character otherwise kind of made it difficult to connect with her (but that was the point). The cast around her are top notch actors that do their best, and I could have used more Charlotte Rampling. Still, beautifully shot and well made, just a little too long.
7/10.
A brutal, cold spy thriller from Francis Lawrence. It is not for everyone. It is filled with double crosses, quiet moments of characters telling the truth but the other person not sure if its meaning, chilling sexual manipulation and abuses, and brutal violence that is quick but effective. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and while Jennifer Lawrence got the physicality and empowerment side of her role down, I feel that her cold character otherwise kind of made it difficult to connect with her (but that was the point). The cast around her are top notch actors that do their best, and I could have used more Charlotte Rampling. Still, beautifully shot and well made, just a little too long.
7/10.
Color me one of these people.
While I do have slight moral issues with them tracking my location after using the service, the service is so excellent that I'm okay with that. Trading convenience and service for privacy is extremely common in the 21st century, and I have made peace with that long ago.
As for Forrest Gump, it's one of my favorite Best Picture winners, but if Pulp Fiction won, it would BE my favorite Best Picture winner.
From those that I've seen
I'm not stressing primarily because I probably do have a few apps that do this. Moviepass saves me shit loads of money and I get to see any movie in a nice theater. Till that changes I'll stick with it.
Lol, why do I care? Take my data all you want if it's still $10 a month then it is still too good to be true. This just makes me hopeful that MoviePass will be around for a long time.
Google logs where you are every second of every day (if you have an android phone), and I'm pretty sure most people have no idea. I have a bigger problem with that
https://www.google.com/maps/timeline
luckily the the GPS on my phone sucks and the logs are all fucked up.
but at least moviepass was up front. in every article that came out after the price drop, when everyone was like "how the fuck are you gonna make money you lunatics?" they were like "this is a consumer data acquisition business"
I'm fine with saving HUNDREDS of dollars on movies per month to let the movie studios know that I go to the bar around the block from the theater after I leave a movie.
edit: oh and I finally finished Stray Dog. it was good, but Kurosawa honestly could have cut a good hour out in the middle.
edit: double oh. and when I saw Foxtrot yesterday they showed the trailer for Gemini before it. definitely a good trailer. but... yeah, that's same same exact movie I saw 10 months ago. I wonder why Neon held it for seemingly no reason.
https://www.google.com/maps/timeline
luckily the the GPS on my phone sucks and the logs are all fucked up.
but at least moviepass was up front. in every article that came out after the price drop, when everyone was like "how the fuck are you gonna make money you lunatics?" they were like "this is a consumer data acquisition business"
I'm fine with saving HUNDREDS of dollars on movies per month to let the movie studios know that I go to the bar around the block from the theater after I leave a movie.
edit: oh and I finally finished Stray Dog. it was good, but Kurosawa honestly could have cut a good hour out in the middle.
edit: double oh. and when I saw Foxtrot yesterday they showed the trailer for Gemini before it. definitely a good trailer. but... yeah, that's same same exact movie I saw 10 months ago. I wonder why Neon held it for seemingly no reason.
Last edited:
I for one welcome our GPS driven overlords! Google Timeline has helped me figure out restaurant names after I forgot them and a few other things of convenience. I wouldn't say it's a required service, but it's helped me enough to be useful and not just steal my data. Now, my company putting all their tracking shit on the company phone is another deal. I can opt out of the Google stuff or disable it. The work shit was mandatory and we got on a list if we didn't comply. So I quickly took all my personal stuff off that phone and got a tablet for it. Even though they pay the bill, it still feels dirty to be pushed into tracking.
Game Night
It's a movie with a lot of fun, some pretty decent lines and some funny moments, but it goes a little too over the top as a lot of recent comedies do, and again it's to their detriment. But to this movie's credit, it's built into its premise, so it makes more sense. It has a surprisingly cool score, has some really good camera work, especially in driving scenes, and what could possibly be Jesse Plemons' best role. But the biggest star of the movie is Rachel McAdams, who is giving it her all, having the time of her life, and brings so much fun and energy to the movie. So for me it's good, and a step up over the usual comedies we've been getting the past number of years, but still doesn't hit perfectly.
It's a movie with a lot of fun, some pretty decent lines and some funny moments, but it goes a little too over the top as a lot of recent comedies do, and again it's to their detriment. But to this movie's credit, it's built into its premise, so it makes more sense. It has a surprisingly cool score, has some really good camera work, especially in driving scenes, and what could possibly be Jesse Plemons' best role. But the biggest star of the movie is Rachel McAdams, who is giving it her all, having the time of her life, and brings so much fun and energy to the movie. So for me it's good, and a step up over the usual comedies we've been getting the past number of years, but still doesn't hit perfectly.
Jefferson in Paris (1995): In honour of James Ivory finally winning an Oscar, a look at this, his failed followup to The Remains of the Day. But what a film this would have been if they had gotten it right. This is the first (and, to date, only) cinematic portrayal of Sally Hemings (a young Thandie Newton), and it was made (as you can see by the above date) prior to the DNA tests that took the notion of the Jefferson/Hemings relationship out of the realm of argument to generally accepted fact. And the film makes no bones about this, the very first scene being a framing device of a white newspaper reporter visiting one of the Hemings children (played by James Earl Jones!) in 1873. This, however, also exposes the biggest problem with this movie, namely, that it has no firm idea what it's about. You would expect with that opening that it would be about Jefferson and Hemings, but it then cuts to Jefferson arriving in Paris, and Sally doesn't appear for at least an hour; the bulk of the running time is devoted to Jefferson pursuing Maria Cosway and other diversions.
The film's lack of focus is particularly evident in regards to the title character (played by Nick Nolte, who does look the part, at least; in another world perhaps we'd be discussing this as a genius bit of playing against type). There are numerous points here where it seems like Ivory and screenwriter Jhabvala are aiming to carry out a very pointed deconstruction of Jefferson's self-image, not merely in relation to slavery (one of the first scenes is pretty much just one Frenchman reading the Declaration of Independence and then asking Jefferson if he's not a massive hypocrite), but also the numerous times where he is willfully blind to the violent character of French civil unrest, persisting in regarding it as a sign of an impending age of Enlightenment and democracy, and his blinkered refusal to allow his daughter Patsy to take holy orders as she desires despite all his talk about the importance of individual choice. And yet, these moments seldom feel cutting or revealing.
The movie has one genuinely great scene, between Sally and her brother James, when the latter just unloads completely against the manifest injustice of their situation (in particular that their slaveowner father literally handed them off as part of Mrs. Jefferson's dowry) and what he sees as Sally's naivete about Jefferson. If only the clarity of this scene could have been brought to the rest of it. This movie, or perhaps this subject in general, is a prime candidate for a new film version.
The film's lack of focus is particularly evident in regards to the title character (played by Nick Nolte, who does look the part, at least; in another world perhaps we'd be discussing this as a genius bit of playing against type). There are numerous points here where it seems like Ivory and screenwriter Jhabvala are aiming to carry out a very pointed deconstruction of Jefferson's self-image, not merely in relation to slavery (one of the first scenes is pretty much just one Frenchman reading the Declaration of Independence and then asking Jefferson if he's not a massive hypocrite), but also the numerous times where he is willfully blind to the violent character of French civil unrest, persisting in regarding it as a sign of an impending age of Enlightenment and democracy, and his blinkered refusal to allow his daughter Patsy to take holy orders as she desires despite all his talk about the importance of individual choice. And yet, these moments seldom feel cutting or revealing.
The movie has one genuinely great scene, between Sally and her brother James, when the latter just unloads completely against the manifest injustice of their situation (in particular that their slaveowner father literally handed them off as part of Mrs. Jefferson's dowry) and what he sees as Sally's naivete about Jefferson. If only the clarity of this scene could have been brought to the rest of it. This movie, or perhaps this subject in general, is a prime candidate for a new film version.
Revolting Rhymes (part 2): A bit of a letdown compared to part 1, though it's still quite fun. The spins on Jack and the Beanstalk as well as Cinderella don't feel nearly as fresh as the first batch of tales, though their interrelated nature does lead to a rather sweet ending, in spite of all the decapitation and accidental matricide. There is a little bit of tension in the non-storybook side of things that does make you wonder if our lupine narrator is going to do what he's come there to do, though it shouldn't come as a surprise that with this being for kids that things don't turn out so nasty in the end. It does wind up a bit spooky, though, which was a welcome surprise. One question lingers, though: who is the father of the kids, especially since they're not really subtle about the specifics of the relationship between Red and Snow? Ponder that one.
Finally got around to seeing The Shape of Water, it was good but I'd still put 3 Billboards, Get Out and CMBYN above it for best picture for the Oscars (for personal movie of the year it's around 9 or 10 currently). I also liked Pan's Labyrinth more.
Anyway it isn't a film that relies on any big twists really but it's still annoying that the trailers I unwillingly saw in previews basically detail every single plot point of the movie. I still enjoyed it though, Del Toro can direct some pretty great villains and Shannon is fantastic as always in that regard.
Got I, Tonya for tomorrow and The Florida Project for Thursday.
Anyway it isn't a film that relies on any big twists really but it's still annoying that the trailers I unwillingly saw in previews basically detail every single plot point of the movie. I still enjoyed it though, Del Toro can direct some pretty great villains and Shannon is fantastic as always in that regard.
Got I, Tonya for tomorrow and The Florida Project for Thursday.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. really well done doc.
but fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
wow.
but fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
during watching it my thought process went from:
the shit that Andrew's parents had to deal with is so fucked....
to - pretty weird that the "this is what your dad was like" film also is a "your mom's a psychotic piece of shit" film...
to - starting to wonder what he woulda thought when he saw it. he's gotta be like 16 now...
to - fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. what the fuck. fuck.
"the best shot we had at keeping Zachary alive was.... I kill her myself."
the shit that Andrew's parents had to deal with is so fucked....
to - pretty weird that the "this is what your dad was like" film also is a "your mom's a psychotic piece of shit" film...
to - starting to wonder what he woulda thought when he saw it. he's gotta be like 16 now...
to - fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. what the fuck. fuck.
"the best shot we had at keeping Zachary alive was.... I kill her myself."
Last edited:
They have saved me hundreds to find out I go home after movies. Would make this trade any day!
Watching every Halloween in prep of this year's. A few left but safe to say I love this whole series even when it's many individual parts are not great.
I want to participate in the pick 3, but I've still got to finish up my watches from last month (sorry Cripplegate). If I can get caught up in the next couple of days then I'll join in.
Awesome, I'm glad you enjoyed them.
TRUTH
Awesome, I'm glad you enjoyed them.
TRUTH
The Shape of Water was ok. Impeccable execution and soundtrack, but the dead simple story offered no surprises nor many things to reflect upon.
Three Billboards was the movie of the year, amazing acting, incredible script supported by the beautiful cinematography. There's a very profound message about forgiveness in the movie and it echoes on all levels and with every scene. I can imagine this movie being a healing experience for many as well as a moment of learning. I can't imagine the last time a movie was so elegant in pulling the strings of the audience, people laughed and cried in the same scenes no matter how old they were... I have to see this one again since it might be one of the best movies of the decade for me.
Three Billboards was the movie of the year, amazing acting, incredible script supported by the beautiful cinematography. There's a very profound message about forgiveness in the movie and it echoes on all levels and with every scene. I can imagine this movie being a healing experience for many as well as a moment of learning. I can't imagine the last time a movie was so elegant in pulling the strings of the audience, people laughed and cried in the same scenes no matter how old they were... I have to see this one again since it might be one of the best movies of the decade for me.
I watched this for the first time recently. Destroyed me. So many emotions.
Let's try it again.
But please, no romantic or happy-end/feel-good stuff. Not my cup of tea at the moment...
Also watched Borg McEnroe yesterday. Was half decent. 3 stars.
OP
OP
So good. I've really gotta give the entire Phantom Thread score a thorough listen.
It's not starting here till next week.its pretty low on my list of shit I wanna see, but I'll probably check it out.
Right now the list of stuff I wanna see playing in NYC this week, in order, is
Thoroughbreds
Oh Lucy
Annihilation
The Square
Red Sparrow
They Remain
The Vanishing Of Sidney Hall
Loveless
Tomb Raider