Movies The Movie Thread! - Continuation - Part 1

[gnut]

You gave Alien 5 out of 10 but Underwater an 8

 

[Jammin]

You gave Alien 5 out of 10 but Underwater an 8

When's the last time you sat down and watched Alien? Because I would have said the same thing before I actually rewatched it. It's really not that good.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 3, 2021, Original Post Date: Dec 3, 2021 ---

The thing that I had really forgotten was just how poor the last third of it was. The slow buildup is actually pretty good where they land on the planet and all that but once the xenomorph gets loose on the ship every character becomes an idiot and the visuals are just strobe lights in the dark. By the end of that I was starting to get pretty bored.

Underwater on the other hand doesn't have any buildup at all. It's sort just 90 mins of super fast paced monster stuff. It keeps it's tension up much better, IMO.

 

[Riku]

I watched Alien last summer. And it still holds up. Sure, some shots haven't aged well, but the mood, tension and story still is there. 9/10.

It's one of the films that is the base for modern blockbuster structure.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 3, 2021, Original Post Date: Dec 3, 2021 ---

The issue with monster films is, that more you see the monster the less scary it gets and the tension looses. Horror turns to action.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 3, 2021 ---

Save the Cat is a book about screenwriting and the structure of Hollywood blockbusters. It's considered a industry-standard read these days and applied even today in writing.

It's name? From Alien. Ripley Saves the Cat. It isn't a stupid unnecessary plot point. It a character defining key moment. It is actually what makes most of us like Ripley over the other crew.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 3, 2021 ---

As influential as Alien is, it isn't still wholly born in a vacuum. It actually rips a lot from 1952 The Thing from Another World (The first film adaptation of The Thing).

 

[Jammin]

I respect the differing option but it's worse than just "save the cat" though. I know people really gave Prometheus a lot of shit because of the character logic but it's actually pretty consistent with the last 3rd of the original.

- One character dies because he says to himself. "There is monster loose on the ship... I'm got to run off alone and find a cat!". Dead.

- Another character "I'm going to crawl into the vents we'll corner it!". Dead. The set for the venting system is like anything but a straight line, leaving me asking how this was ever supposed to work.

- Two characters die because "One panics and stands there like an idiot instead of running away. The other tackles it. " Dead. Poor Yaphat Kotto

- Ripley lives despite multiple points where she should be dead. From her own journey to find the cat to walking around in front of it for like 10 mins in that shuttle at the end.

The sort of mystery and sets of the first part I liked. Pretty great miniature work too. But once the alien gets loose, good lord. I understand it was a relatively low budget movie. I'm not going to give it shit for like the hug me Alien.

But I just didn't feel tension anywhere in the last third. Just a lot of facepalming for me.

 

[xi0]

Wow.... conflicted about this with him still handling Dune but wow, perfect story for him.

 

[xi0]

Looks really good. Loved Egger's work on The Witch. Yet to see Lighthouse but I guess that one was really well-received too

 

[Riku]

Yyyyyes!!!!!

Absolutely adored VVitch and Lighthouse, especially the latter. Eggers seems to keep up the excellent track record based on this trailer.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 20, 2021, Original Post Date: Dec 20, 2021 ---

Considering Eggers' background in theatre, he should be right on homefield with the og Hamlet, with the right sensibilities on having icelandic talent involved with their essentially national epoch.

My only fear is the the spring release, since studios usually push their Oscar bets for later in the year.

 

[xi0]

Yyyyyes!!!!!

Absolutely adored VVitch and Lighthouse, especially the latter. Eggers seems to keep up the excellent track record based on this trailer.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 20, 2021, Original Post Date: Dec 20, 2021 ---

Considering Eggers' background in theatre, he should be right on homefield with the og Hamlet, with the right sensibilities on having icelandic talent involved with their essentially national epoch.

My only fear is the the spring release, since studios usually push their Oscar bets for later in the year.

I saw some people bringing up Hamlet as if they were saying this was some sort of ripoff or something and had a good laugh.

I'm still holding out hope he goes forward with his Nosferatu project. His and Jarin Blaschke's style mixed with that kind of source material? It gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

 

[Erinyes]

I am not too much of a movie watcher, I recently watched Passing, and this week, I got to watch C'mon, C’mon, both were great. I just love the Black and white aesthetic. Passing was brilliant, the topic, the acting - especially Tessa ( damn, she is so gorgeous ), the visuals too. C’mon, C’mon is a beautiful drama packed with wholesomeness and tenderness, Joachim was handsome in it. I'm pleasantly surprised, there were last months that many movies that Iget interested in, and that I genuinely enjoyed (adding on top of those 2, Summer of Soul). I havent' watched Dune, yet, wasn't specifically interested in it but everybody keeps recommending it, I will maybe give it a try, but 2h30...

 

[Riku]

I saw some people bringing up Hamlet as if they were saying this was some sort of ripoff or something and had a good laugh.

I'm still holding out hope he goes forward with his Nosferatu project. His and Jarin Blaschke's style mixed with that kind of source material? It gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

Haha. I kinda understand them though. Basic education often just tells people how Shakespeare is the father of all western drama and that's it. The though that he of all people ripped off took inspiration from folk stories and historical events is new to many.

They are truly to perfect creative team for that remake. Now they just need to find someone to live up to Max Schrecks original performance. Considering their recent collabs, I think they may end up with Dafoe playing the role.

Though didn't Eggers say some time ago he might not do the film after all? Something along the lines of it being too big for his budding career, and it may not be a film that needs a remake in the first place.

 

[kkck]

Welp, saw the matrix film. TBH it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was entertaining enough for a sunday movie at least. A few comments:

Spoiler

- The whole meta stuff at the beginning got old quickly. It was fun at first but at some point it felt like the movie was pretty much hand feeding you the plot, themes and allegories that were always a thing in the first films. I suppose the point could have been to hand feed those to a certain segment of the audience but that obviously comes at the expense of entertaining the audience...
- They tried to lean on the subverting thing, felt a bit too intentionally the last jedi at times. The whole thing was... maybe a miss? There were a couple funny moments there.
- The movie was way less weirdly sexual than I expected. Not a big deal but the first 3 films only got more and more kinky so I kinda expected this one to get pretty uncomfortable.
- The biggest sin in this movie is fight scenes..... So many quick cuts through most fight scenes to the point that it's easy to lose track of what's going on. FFS you have john wick in this. In spite of pretty big advancements in tech since the third film this one feels like a downgrade combat wise. A matrix film should be basically a sci fi martial arts movie with no quick cuts. Quick cuts are for amateurs.
- I figured the movies would sort of pick up where the matrix mmo left of. You know, for the fans. Didn't play the games of course but read about them... I can buy trinity being revived and also being made into "the one" since that's something that makes sense with the machine's capabilities.
- It felt weird that so many people would still buy into the one in spite of the first trilogy making the point that he was a machine creation (that went off script). Neo should have made more of a point on that. As in, when asked about being the one his answer should have been "The one was never ever a thing, the one is a machine fabrication meant to trigger the matrix's reboot.". I also had the theory that this time around neo and trinity would just be programs within the matrix but that didn't exactly pan out. I thought that made sense since neo was to begin with a machine fabrication and in the games trinity was also something to that effect.
- Neil patrick harris was great. The world needs more NPH being a god damn sociopath.

 

[xi0]

They are truly to perfect creative team for that remake. Now they just need to find someone to live up to Max Schrecks original performance. Considering their recent collabs, I think they may end up with Dafoe playing the role.

Though didn't Eggers say some time ago he might not do the film after all? Something along the lines of it being too big for his budding career, and it may not be a film that needs a remake in the first place.

Dafoe would be a funny choice since he already played him before. Though in a fictionalized story about the filming of the original movie. He did get an Oscar nomination for it though, forgot about that.

I think it was shelved at some point. His comments were about it being weird if it was his second movie for some reason. Doesn't change the fact that him being attached to such a project is a no-brainer.

 

[Riku]

Ah true! I had completely forgotten that film! Should watch it.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 30, 2021, Original Post Date: Dec 27, 2021 ---

While Encanto didn't quite resonate with me personally, it was still a phenomenal film. As far as character design and animation comes, this is really the greatest Disney has ever achieved this far. The facial expressions and dancing where incredibly well done. The songs where the total highlight of the film though. Miranda is so gonna nap the Oscar this year. Not sure for what song though, but I think Family Madrigal, Surface Pressure, Two Oruguitas and We don't Talk about Bruno are all contenders imho.

I enjoyed Surface Pressure the most. Most catchy Disney earworm since You're Welcome, with a lot more relatable theme. Total ode to all us big bros/sisters.

 

[FetherMan]

Nightmare Alley , Spider-Man: No Way Home, The King's Man & The Matrix Resurrections - 7 / 10

- Nice time in theaters this holiday and all these films were entertaining in their own way. Unfortunately didn’t get to see "Licorice Pizza", very sad.


Don't Look Up & Encounter - 9 / 10

- Two good films I streamed as well over the holidays. Great acting and well-written, enjoyed.

 

[Organizized]

Okay movie peeps, I've never watched as few new movies as I have this year so I need your help to recommend me some I might have missed.

Watched

Summer of Soul (...Or, When The Couldn't Be Televised) - 9/10
In the Heights - 8/10
tick, tick... Boom! - 8/10
Encanto - 8/10
Luca - 7/10
Don't Look Up - 7/10
Raya and the Last Dragon - 7/10
Nightmare Alley - 6,5/10


To-watch

Belfast
Licorice Pizza
The French Dispatch
King Richard
C'mon C'mon
The Power of the Dog
The Mitchells vs the Machines
Flee
Spider-Man: No Way Home
CODA
The Worst Person in the World
Josee, The Tiger and the Fish
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Faya Dayi
Drive My Car
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Madres Paralelas
A Hero
No Time to Die
The Many Saints of Newark
Pig
Passing
The Green Knight
The Lost Daughter
Red Rocket
Spencer
Respect
The Hand of God
House of Gucci
West Side Story
Dune
Palm Springs
Annette
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Being the Ricardos


These are roughly in order of priority right now, but I've not looked that much into each and every one or read a lot reviews etc. If any of you feel I'm missing a must-see from 2021, or think some of these are too low and should be watched ASAP, please tell me, I need to catch up on the quality films of the last year.

 

[Riku]

I think that about covers it. I'd just add Compartment #6 and maybe Titane.

Compartment #6 is the best Finnish film in a long while. Very atmospheric road trip film across eastern Europe nostalgia.

Titane I haven't seen myself, but it won Cannes so . It's pretty awful body horror though I hear, so depends if you can stomach it. People say its like Tetsuo the Iron Man, but just this day and even more grotesque. I actually might skip.

I also really liked the Last Trial, but I see why some people don't.

 

[M3J]

Matrix: Resurrections was an okay film, but it could have been better if they didn't focus on a certain something too much.

 

[Eigengrau]

Hello everyone, it's been a while, I promise I have not forgotten you
Been busy irl, and even more busy watching films... a total of 200 in 2021!
So I kinda needed a little break from a lot of stuff, heh, and it sure gets complicated when trying to talk about all these films.

Have not had the proper time yet to run my stats as always, but here's a visual spoiler for all that I saw:

Spoiler

With "Matrix: Resurrections" being the last one of the year.

I'd have to spend countless hours, probably, to try and write up a little about each one that's worth mentioning, so I'll just list my favorites of the year (if you guys happen to recognize any movie from that list, you can also ask me about it if you want), I might've talked about the first few ones earlier last year:

- Belladonna of Sadness: must-see anime film.
- Dead Run: from director SABU (who made Mr. Long that I really liked).
- A Brighter Summer Day.
- Yi-yi.
- Departures: a very moving film with an incredible OST, won best foreign film I believe. It doesn't take itself 100% seriously, but a solid watch.
- The Banishment: last feature film I had left to watch from Zvyagintsev. One of his best, but not my favorite of his.
- Classmates Minus: a solid watch made even more rewarding having seen "The Great Buddha+", which I've gushed about plenty in 2018(?).
- Never Gonna Snow Again: a very interesting film. By the end I was like "man, I wanted so much more of this film, more of the characters, more runtime, etc.", but I think the movie works the way it does exactly because it is how it is, if that makes any sense.
- Forest: I See You Everywhere: a film that's pretty much dialogues only, different characters, different scenes and interaction. Very solid acting and dialogue.
- 50 or Two Whales Meet at the Beach: this is one I really dreaded to watch, knowing beforehand what it was about. While it was not quite a 10/10 on the aggressiveness/bleak scale, it was still a tough watch but in the best possible way. Stomach churning.
- The Green Knight: I like how it was paced and everything, I know it was somewhat divisive(?) but I really liked this change in direction and follow-up from the man who gave us A Ghost Story (also recommended). The screen I saw this at wasn't the best (picture very dark in some scenes), but I liked it, how it was shot, the adventure-y atmosphere, and I was blown away by that entire dialogue-less section towards the end.
- Sleep Has Her House: I finally saw it @Brandish μ ! To be honest, there were some instances where I was half falling asleep, but not because I was tired or anything, I think it's simply the kind of film that puts you in that sort of state/trance. It was mesmerizing how shots slowly morphed into something else with me barely taking notice... A very good experience and now I hate myself even more for missing this one in theaters
- Onoda: 10.000 Nights in the Jungle: about the last soldier fighting WWII, who kept on fighting for another 30 years after the war had ended. Really well shot, especially remarkable because it is a Japanese film by all means, but it was made by a French director! Would never have guessed it was NOT made by a Japanese in a million years!
- Drive My Car: I'm sure you've seen this title pop a little everywhere now... 3 hours long, definitely did not feel like it. Really enjoyed it, runtime really lets you immerse in the story, characters, emotions, etc.
- The Innocents (De uskyldige): I don't want to say too much about this one, one of the main reasons I really liked it is because it was one of those films that kept me guessing, no clue what was going to happen next. The director did mention Akira/Domu as influences/references kinda
- Unclenching The Fists: wouldn't be a proper Eigen list without a gut-punching Russian film heh



Some honorable mentions:
- Funny Face
- Persian Lessons
- A Family (or "Yakuza and the Family"), was blown away by the cinematography.
- Xiao Mei
- Hakuchi: The Innocent
- Our Sound (On-gaku)
- Pig, actually good and surprising Nic Cage performance. Felt like a different, unexpected film.
- Evangelion 3.0+1.0
- My Blood & Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (also a SABU film)
- Lamb (the less you know about it, the better).
- Possession, mesmerizing and dangerous performances.



So far this year I have only seen 1 film, yesterday: Nightmare Alley.

Not sure if fully released yet so I'll just say it in spoilers (very little):

Spoiler: NIGHTMARE ALLEY SPOILERS

All in all, good performances, good set, good cinematography. Not exactly "boring", but I don't think the 2h30mins runtime is justified, and while not boring, I just didn't find it particularly thrilling or interesting, at least not past a certain point. I just wanted it to be better than The Shape of Water, and I don't know yet whether I got that or not.

I'm aiming for another 200 this year, minimum
I'll be seeing "Memoria" soon, FINALLY.
Also interested in seeing "Belle", I might talk in another post of stuff I'm looking forward to.

That's it for now

Hope everyone is well and healthy and have a great movie-watchin' year!

 

[Brandish μ]

- Sleep Has Her House: I finally saw it @Brandish μ ! To be honest, there were some instances where I was half falling asleep, but not because I was tired or anything, I think it's simply the kind of film that puts you in that sort of state/trance. It was mesmerizing how shots slowly morphed into something else with me barely taking notice... A very good experience and now I hate myself even more for missing this one in theaters

I'd love to have seen this in a theatre too. I get the sleepy part tho, without plot or characters, or distractions, there's a lot of waiting time. I guess that's how they intended to make the lightning and other imagery be so effective. Good to watch something like this once in a while.

Congrats on hitting so many movies. My fav of the list which I've seen is A Brighter Summer Day. And it's long enough for two movies I'll put some of those on my list of to watch, and maybe I can hit one-fifth of your quota.

 

[FetherMan]

Kimi - 8 / 10

Another new film from Steven Soderbergh. The real quality and direction of his films lately have been amazing and Soderbergh captures some great imagery in this new one. I'm hoping to keep seeing more from this man and I recommend these others too:

"High Flying Bird" & "The Laundromat" both on Netflix.
"No Sudden Move" on HBO MAX, too.