Movies The Movie Thread! - Continuation - Part 1

[Eigengrau]

Gotta disagree with you there. Haven't seen it myself yet, but Glenn Close in The Wife is considered a nigh-on lock for the win by lots of people, and if you look at the odds sites it's between her and Lady Gaga. I'd actually say Yalitza is the one least likely to win, like you said at first it's most likely just a "here, have a nomination".
Never underestimate the Academy awarding great (especially older) actors who have been nominated several times but never won before. That's what Close has going for her (and a stellar performance, if the world is to be believed). And possibly Amy Adams in the Supporting category.

Well in my case I believe this was the first time (through her nomination) that I found out about her role/movie... That doesn't mean much, sure, but I feel like award season has beem mostly about Roma/The Favourite, but of course there's always plenty of room for "Oscar upsets"...

I'll definitely have to check those odds sites sometime soon.

In the oscar thread last year, I complained about this thing that always happens to me every year: sometimes I can't quite decided if I want to pick the logical, nearly guaranteed choice, or if I want to go with the one I actually want to win.

I said that this year I'd try to go for the most obvious ones, but damn it seems to be that it's gonna be another hard year for me... oh well, still one month away.

It's one of the ones highest on my list, but one of the few I can't get my hands on. It doesn't play where I live, except at a minor film festival-thingy in March... sigh.

I don't quite recall; have you seen any other film of his? Next month there will be a showing for "Nobody Knows" and I'm definitely going.

On my 2018 films to-see-hopefully-soon-list (roughly in order of priority):
Mandy

Also curious to hear your thoughts on First Reformed, a lot of people were mad that Ethan Hawke wasn't nominated for it. I would've rooted for him. I it was really peculiar film.

Others I might see:
Suspiria
Hereditary

Really liked Suspiria, I think that from a filmmaking, creative standpoint alone it's worth checking out.
Regarding Hereditary, I probably don't have to tell you this but it deals with a lot of deep stuff... if Roma left you feeling like that because of you know what, it might be best to avoid Hereditary in the near future, although it's a tremendously well-crafted and acted film, mindblowing soundtrack.

But I'll play devil's advocate and say that because of your particular IRL situation, Hereditary has a much greater chance of messing you up/leaving a much more significant impact on you than the average person, which might "enhance" your experience and how you feel about it... but whether that would be for the better or worse, I wouldn't know x: ...

Feel free to tell me if I've missed any great ones (might've forgotten a few while writing this list too).

I'll just name the ones I put on my "best of the year" list:

- Thelma (could be considered 2018 depending on where you life), extremely well-crafted film with so, so many subtle things that can go easily unnoticed but can give a whole other meaning to what you're watching. One of my favorite OSTs of the year, too (PS: flashling lights/seizure warning);

- The Great Buddha+ (a strange dark comedy of sorts, the humor works really well but there's also a couple of scenes that really hit me in the feels, one of the best surprises for me this year, it stayed with me for a while, soundtrack too)

- An Elephant Sitting Still (y'know, the super long one I really loved... very heavy themes but y'know... you can find this one online and subbed already);

- Luz (very short/experimental horror film, but I loved the look/minimalistic approach, just goes to show how you can tell great stories with a handful of actors/sets, I think it's worth the watch, very promising director);

- Thunder Road (very enjoyable drama, written/directed/acted by one hell of a guy, his acting alone made the movie. If you aren't hooked by that very first scene, I don't know what to tell you. I was blown away);

- November (another weird film but I think it's worth the watch as well, very good visuals and atmosphere in general, based on Estonian folklore and whatnot I believe);

- High Life, I think it's getting a wider release. Don't know if you're currently residing in Sweden or not, but it will play on the 26th at the Göteborg Film Festival. In terms of family-stuff, I believe this might give you the opposite reaction to Roma, but they're two very different films with different themes;

- Long Day's Journey Into Night which you probably still can't watch, but I'll leave it here as a reminder again. Oh wait, it's actually playing at that same festival, on the 30th!

- and finally Burning.

 

[Jammin]

When I saw the trailer for Polar on Netflix. I said to myself "That looks terrible." So, naturally, I ended up watching it.

It was.. significantly worse than I expected.

 

[Eigengrau]

When I saw the trailer for Polar on Netflix. I said to myself "That looks terrible." So, naturally, I ended up watching it.

It was.. significantly worse than I expected.

The trailer looked really bad and somewhat inconsistent (I didn't even watch the whole trailer because I felt they were giving away too much), but I still felt like checking it. I got the film but haven't seen it because the early reviews pretty much confirmed my suspicions.

It's too bad because Mads is definitely a great actor.

 

[Jammin]

The trailer looked really bad and somewhat inconsistent (I didn't even watch the whole trailer because I felt they were giving away too much), but I still felt like checking it. I got the film but haven't seen it because the early reviews pretty much confirmed my suspicions.

It's too bad because Mads is definitely a great actor.

The trailer gave away the whole movie. So for all intents and purposes you might as well have seen it. Except for one funny scene with a dog.

And you are very right about the inconsistency. It's like Mads Mikkelsen clearly thought he was making a John Wick ripoff. But everybody else thought they were making a Sin City ripoff. Except the girl who thought she was in a character drama. And the director just tried to go along with all of it which worked out about as well as you would expect.

 

[Faust]

Will be there Oscars Prediction event this year? @Ustegius @zimbardo

 

[Organizized]

Will be there Oscars Prediction event this year? @Ustegius @zimbardo

Sure, I'll make it happen.

 

[Eigengrau]

And you are very right about the inconsistency. It's like Mads Mikkelsen clearly thought he was making a John Wick ripoff. But everybody else thought they were making a Sin City ripoff. Except the girl who thought she was in a character drama. And the director just tried to go along with all of it which worked out about as well as you would expect.

For what it's worth, I think the film is an adaptation of a comic book that in itself is pretty much quite "hardboiled" as well, but yeah I can see how this adaptation ended up being all over the place.

And speaking of things all over the place...

I saw Velvet Buzzsaw late last night and it was a major disappointment, as well as a total waste of time. I'm shocked that this is a film written/directed by the man who did Nightcrawler... not that I "loved" Nightcrawler or anything like that, but this Netflix film was really, really poorly made in some aspects.

Spoiler: Full thoughts on Velvet Buzzsaw

I thought there was something special/intriguing about the film when I saw the "reveal" in the trailer that it had horror/supernatural elements to it (I had no idea previously) but this film felt like a whole bunch of nothing for 2 hours.

I don't care whether there is a deeper meaning/satire; I felt like the film was very poorly shot (and acted) in some sequences, which is something that I find baffling. Even today I checked out an article that mentioned how Netflix provided them with a big budget that Hollywood didn't want to provide...

Where the fuck did that money go to...? Some scenes were extremely painful to watch.

On top of that, the sound mixing/editing felt amateur at best at times (some sound effects were extremely generic and bad, the kind you'd stumble upon on your first google searches), and the editing itself was all over the place as well.

There were some interesting shots, but overall the film looked and felt like an actual tv show that had been chopped up and glued together.

I can't say I've watched too many Netflix films, but having seen Nightcrawler when it first came out, I would've been appalled to see this follow-up from the director in theaters.

So many elements about it were just downright bad, and in so, so many scenes it felt like they just went with the first take, judging how there's a ton of continuity issues.

Again, I honestly don't get how this can end up being the final product. It honestly does feel like they rushed a whole bunch of things (filming, SFX) just to get the film over and done as quickly as possible.

And of course, the story itself doesn't go anywhere, neither with the supernatural stuff and/or the "meta", in my opinion. I'm sure a lot of people will defend this film by saying there's something to be said about "art" or whatever, but not the way I see it.

They should've focused on one genre/plot or something, this is all very muddled and I sincerely do not get the point of the film, or what the actual story/message was meant to be. I just don't.

Jake was great, the only real good thing about the film, I feel. Should've focused more on him, instead there were all these characters and meaningless exchanges...

As I said, this truly does feel like a tv show about petty art dealers trying to one-up eachother, with a "whodunnit" thrown in the blender, but for me, the final result was just an awful mess, and that's a real shame.

It's like this film didn't deserve its cast/director, because it all feels so cheaply made in some aspects

If anyone is still on the fence about whether they actually wanted to check it out or not, I will say that it is really not worth your time, unless for some reason it's something that you absolutely want to check out for yourself.

Really disappointed that this was it.

Last two films I saw in January were another 2 made by Nuri Bilge Ceylan: Climates and Three Monkeys.
Both were okay, there are interesting choices in the directing and stuff, but ultimately it's more of the same: realistic, mundane situations that sometimes take waay too long to play out.

Again, they're well made, but for what it is, I feel like sometimes it just takes a bit too long to get to the point. Still, these are all much more cinematographic than his earlier films, so that makes it easier to watch.

There's only 3 films of his left for me to watch, but they're also his longest ones :x... Not sure when I'll be seeing them, maybe this month, but yeah.

 

[FetherMan]

For what it's worth, I think the film is an adaptation of a comic book that in itself is pretty much quite "hardboiled" as well, but yeah I can see how this adaptation ended up being all over the place.

And speaking of things all over the place...

I saw Velvet Buzzsaw late last night and it was a major disappointment, as well as a total waste of time. I'm shocked that this is a film written/directed by the man who did Nightcrawler... not that I "loved" Nightcrawler or anything like that, but this Netflix film was really, really poorly made in some aspects.

Spoiler: Full thoughts on Velvet Buzzsaw

I thought there was something special/intriguing about the film when I saw the "reveal" in the trailer that it had horror/supernatural elements to it (I had no idea previously) but this film felt like a whole bunch of nothing for 2 hours.

I don't care whether there is a deeper meaning/satire; I felt like the film was very poorly shot (and acted) in some sequences, which is something that I find baffling. Even today I checked out an article that mentioned how Netflix provided them with a big budget that Hollywood didn't want to provide...

Where the fuck did that money go to...? Some scenes were extremely painful to watch.

On top of that, the sound mixing/editing felt amateur at best at times (some sound effects were extremely generic and bad, the kind you'd stumble upon on your first google searches), and the editing itself was all over the place as well.

There were some interesting shots, but overall the film looked and felt like an actual tv show that had been chopped up and glued together.

I can't say I've watched too many Netflix films, but having seen Nightcrawler when it first came out, I would've been appalled to see this follow-up from the director in theaters.

So many elements about it were just downright bad, and in so, so many scenes it felt like they just went with the first take, judging how there's a ton of continuity issues.

Again, I honestly don't get how this can end up being the final product. It honestly does feel like they rushed a whole bunch of things (filming, SFX) just to get the film over and done as quickly as possible.

And of course, the story itself doesn't go anywhere, neither with the supernatural stuff and/or the "meta", in my opinion. I'm sure a lot of people will defend this film by saying there's something to be said about "art" or whatever, but not the way I see it.

They should've focused on one genre/plot or something, this is all very muddled and I sincerely do not get the point of the film, or what the actual story/message was meant to be. I just don't.

Jake was great, the only real good thing about the film, I feel. Should've focused more on him, instead there were all these characters and meaningless exchanges...

As I said, this truly does feel like a tv show about petty art dealers trying to one-up eachother, with a "whodunnit" thrown in the blender, but for me, the final result was just an awful mess, and that's a real shame.

It's like this film didn't deserve its cast/director, because it all feels so cheaply made in some aspects

If anyone is still on the fence about whether they actually wanted to check it out or not, I will say that it is really not worth your time, unless for some reason it's something that you absolutely want to check out for yourself.

Really disappointed that this was it.

Last two films I saw in January were another 2 made by Nuri Bilge Ceylan: Climates and Three Monkeys.
Both were okay, there are interesting choices in the directing and stuff, but ultimately it's more of the same: realistic, mundane situations that sometimes take waay too long to play out.

Again, they're well made, but for what it is, I feel like sometimes it just takes a bit too long to get to the point. Still, these are all much more cinematographic than his earlier films, so that makes it easier to watch.

There's only 3 films of his left for me to watch, but they're also his longest ones :x... Not sure when I'll be seeing them, maybe this month, but yeah.

I got to see both "Polar" and "Velvet Buzzsaw" and I thought they were okay small films. You see a lot of smaller films with famous actors in them and it's even more rare to have talented directors behind them. The ideas behind the films is what I enjoyed most and I didn't know what to expect from them. I will say this, I wasn't bored with either film. If your movie bores me, it sucks period.

 

[goldb]

BAFTA results are out, and Roma was the big winner of the night (Best film, Best Director).

Any surprises among winners for you guys?

 

[Brandish μ]

Roma...

Idk if it's a surprise, coz she wasn't nominated even, but Thomasin McKenzie (Leave no Trace) would be my choice for the Rising Star.

 

[Eigengrau]

I will say this, I wasn't bored with either film. If your movie bores me, it sucks period.

I mean I never turn off movies if I start watching them willingly. I wasn't exactly bored when watching Velvet Buzzsaw, but it wasn't particularly entertaining either.

Like, if I get to the end of the film and there was no point to the whole thing, no story, resolution or explanation to anything, just a bunch of unlikable characters dying one after another... that's a movie that sucked in my book (in this case, there were also numerous technical flaws that repeatedly took me out of it).

BAFTA results are out, and Roma was the big winner of the night (Best film, Best Director).

Any surprises among winners for you guys?

The Favourite won the most Baftas, but Roma carried off the big prizes, including best film and best director

This is what I think will happen at the Oscars, however I have an inkling that Roma will be the one to take the most wins, not The Favourite, but I could be wrong. But yeah, I can see Roma taking the bigger ones, but the acting ones will go to The Favourite, at the very least.

I don't know, could be a weird year at the Oscars, we'll see.

~~

In the meantime, I've seen Nobody Knows by Kore-eda, The Favourite and Climax.

Nobody Knows was alright I guess, but the friend that went to the movies with me absolutely hated it. It could've been shorter for sure (it's 2h20mins), but it was an alright experience because the whole movie is kinda like the opposite of Shoplifters, in a certain sense, and it was interesting to see some things play out.

I enjoyed The Favourite, but for me the last 20mins or so just kinda fell flat. Didn't really get some of the character's actions at the very end, but yeah. I'm glad that Lanthimos has been doing all kinds of different films, but I just wish there had been a return to form already.

I managed to win a double invite for Climax, so I'm glad to say that participating in those contests is already paying off. Unfortunately, because a lot of tickets were given away, the midnight screening had a lot of people in it, and I had to deal with a lot of dumbasses that nearly spoke throughout the whole film... some people can be real assholes.

Anyway, I liked Climax for the most part, I like the intro, the choreography, and how it all starts falling apart, but past a certain I feel like it just became meh for me. I know how Gaspar Noé tends to shoot his films, I get it, that's his thing, but when you have a whole scene that goes on for I don't know how long where I just can't tell what's happening on screen, it's kinda pointless, I'd say.

Also, considering the rating and whatnot, I was expecting a far more brutal/gruesome/devastating film, and I didn't get that at all, so that was disappointing.

As I said, the execution was nice, so were the visuals and the soundtrack and everything, but I don't think it was necessary to have that many characters and so few things happening throughout the film. I liked MOST of the experimental aspect, and if you didn't want to have much of a story, fine, but at least own it, half-way through it just started becoming more of the same for me except that I could no longer tell what was happening on screen, and that's really not good, I think.

It was definitely worth it seeing it in theaters, but I was left a bit disappointed.

 

[Organizized]

I enjoyed The Favourite, but for me the last 20mins or so just kinda fell flat. Didn't really get some of the character's actions at the very end, but yeah. I'm glad that Lanthimos has been doing all kinds of different films, but I just wish there had been a return to form already.

I disagree, I think their actions make a lot of sense given how things developed. What in particular didn’t you feel you “got”?

 

[Eigengrau]

I disagree, I think their actions make a lot of sense given how things developed. What in particular didn’t you feel you “got”?

Spoiler: Favourite Spoilers

After Weisz's character left, and Emma Stone pretty much "won", I didn't quite find it "believable" how she started acting.
Like, yes, I understand that she wanted to "move up", and she succeeded. She was smart, and made things happen throughout the film that would favor her.

I can understand the drinking, and the "letting herself go" because she could now enjoy the good life as a lady, but what was with the stepping on the rabbit... in the Queen's chambers... while the Queen was only a few feet away from her?

Throughout the whole film Abigail seemed intelligent to me, and not someone who would do something so stupid like that in the open and risking getting caught in the act. I didn't understand that one bit, especially when you consider how motivated she was to step up to that point in life. I just don't understand how she could realistically be able to risk it all in such weird fashion.

I can understand if you were to tell me that Weisz's character was the "truthful" one throughout the whole film (she said things that needed to be said when they needed to be said) while Abigail had been nothing but a liar throughout the whole story.

I can even accept the fact Abigail didn't care for the rabbits whatsoever, and that was all her trying to win the Queen over, but I don't get her then getting so comfortable to an extent where she would risk it all by exhibiting that strange behavior THAT close to the Queen, not when we the audience already knows that:
- Abigail is super smart;
- Abigail did/would do anything to get her position.

I just found her actions hard to believe, and then lo and behold, in the end she ends up pretty much still being treated as a slave by the Queen.

But yeah, I just don't get how you can go from such a smart/scheming character like that, to "let me step on this rabbit that the Queen treats as her own child while she's laying on her bed behind me, I'm sure it's not biggie and she won't notice."

That felt extremely, needlessly risky and out of character for her, I felt :/

Again, I can see how their characters represent honesty/lies (which ties into the very first lines of dialogue regarding love and such), but I just don't find the character's actions believable when we were repeatedly shown throughout the film that she wasn't a dumb dumb '-'...

 

[Organizized]

Spoiler: Favourite Spoilers

After Weisz's character left, and Emma Stone pretty much "won", I didn't quite find it "believable" how she started acting.
Like, yes, I understand that she wanted to "move up", and she succeeded. She was smart, and made things happen throughout the film that would favor her.

I can understand the drinking, and the "letting herself go" because she could now enjoy the good life as a lady, but what was with the stepping on the rabbit... in the Queen's chambers... while the Queen was only a few feet away from her?

Throughout the whole film Abigail seemed intelligent to me, and not someone who would do something so stupid like that in the open and risking getting caught in the act. I didn't understand that one bit, especially when you consider how motivated she was to step up to that point in life. I just don't understand how she could realistically be able to risk it all in such weird fashion.

I can understand if you were to tell me that Weisz's character was the "truthful" one throughout the whole film (she said things that needed to be said when they needed to be said) while Abigail had been nothing but a liar throughout the whole story.

I can even accept the fact Abigail didn't care for the rabbits whatsoever, and that was all her trying to win the Queen over, but I don't get her then getting so comfortable to an extent where she would risk it all by exhibiting that strange behavior THAT close to the Queen, not when we the audience already knows that:
- Abigail is super smart;
- Abigail did/would do anything to get her position.

I just found her actions hard to believe, and then lo and behold, in the end she ends up pretty much still being treated as a slave by the Queen.

But yeah, I just don't get how you can go from such a smart/scheming character like that, to "let me step on this rabbit that the Queen treats as her own child while she's laying on her bed behind me, I'm sure it's not biggie and she won't notice."

That felt extremely, needlessly risky and out of character for her, I felt :/

Again, I can see how their characters represent honesty/lies (which ties into the very first lines of dialogue regarding love and such), but I just don't find the character's actions believable when we were repeatedly shown throughout the film that she wasn't a dumb dumb '-'...

Spoiler: The Favourite

Hm.. I see where you’re coming from, but I gotta say I didn’t see it that way. Having seen clearly, leading up to the final scene, what power gradually turned Abigail into, I didn’t find it farfetched that she was power-drunk enough to enjoy a moment of pure cruelty while she thought the Queen was asleep. I thought it was clear that she was clever in obtaining power, but once she had gotten it she didn’t know how to use it, but was just so high on thinking she had “won” (and on pineapple?) that she got more stupid and reckless. She came from a family where she has been the powerless, abused one. Now she is the one in position to abuse. I didn’t think twice about it tbh.

I realize that me having to kinda argue the point, in fact, makes your point valid. But that’s my take on it, at least. I thought it made sense based on Abigail’s development in the third act.

 

[z.5]

For some reason you guys wanted to suffer through another Oscars competition...

It is my joy to help supply you with the misery that you desire
(T.N. The MH Oscars competition for 2019 is now open, ready, and waiting for your attention)

 

[Eigengrau]

Spoiler: The Favourite

Hm.. I see where you’re coming from, but I gotta say I didn’t see it that way. Having seen clearly, leading up to the final scene, what power gradually turned Abigail into, I didn’t find it farfetched that she was power-drunk enough to enjoy a moment of pure cruelty while she thought the Queen was asleep. I thought it was clear that she was clever in obtaining power, but once she had gotten it she didn’t know how to use it, but was just so high on thinking she had “won” (and on pineapple?) that she got more stupid and reckless. She came from a family where she has been the powerless, abused one. Now she is the one in position to abuse. I didn’t think twice about it tbh.

I realize that me having to kinda argue the point, in fact, makes your point valid. But that’s my take on it, at least. I thought it made sense based on Abigail’s development in the third act.

Yeah, as I said, I kinda understand it from a thematic point of view, I guess I just didn't really like the execution that much.

The other thing was that the last 20mins for me could've just as well been a piece of a Downtown Abbey episode. I understand why it got more serious and that there wasn't much room for humor anymore seeing as the characters were all pretty much done with their arcs, but that's how I felt.

I know that Lanthimos didn't write this script, but once again I felt like his directing skills/trademarks didn't shine through as much as they could have.

I still liked the film as I said, I enjoyed it, but if anything I think it made me appreciate The Killing of a Sacred Deer a lot more.

With that being said, I really can't wait to see what else he'll be doing next.

For some reason you guys wanted to suffer through another Oscars competition...

It is my joy to help supply you with the misery that you desire
(T.N. The MH Oscars competition for 2019 is now open, ready, and waiting for your attention)

Thank you '0'

I think it's quite disrespectful what the Academy will be doing this year, announcing winners for some categories during commercial breaks, like Cinematography... what are they thinking ._.

I'm still debating my final picks but they should be done soon enough.

 

[Organizized]

Thank you '0'

I think it's quite disrespectful what the Academy will be doing this year, announcing winners for some categories during commercial breaks, like Cinematography... what are they thinking ._.

I'm still debating my final picks but they should be done soon enough.

That, paired with the fact that the song performances are cut down to 90 seconds each (at first only A Star is Born and Black Panther’s nominations were to be performed, at least they amended that), makes me so mad. I hear it’s to make sure the show doesn’t run a single minute over 3 hours but I still think it sucks.

 

[Riku]

That sucks indeed. Does anyone know whether it's that way for everyone in the world or does it depend on source/network you watch it from? What I mean is, do the cameras stay on during commercial breaks? If I watch it from a non-commercial channel will I see best cinematography speech?

Sad about the songs too. Why cut from the actual thing instead of (the often cringeworthy) opening and half-show numbers?

 

[Eigengrau]

That sucks indeed. Does anyone know whether it's that way for everyone in the world or does it depend on source/network you watch it from? What I mean is, do the cameras stay on during commercial breaks? If I watch it from a non-commercial channel will I see best cinematography speech?

Sad about the songs too. Why cut from the actual thing instead of (the often cringeworthy) opening and half-show numbers?

From what I understood, I believe they will be streaming the whole thing online where you can watch everything, but the televised show won't feature all the winning speeches and such.

 

[FetherMan]

I mean I never turn off movies if I start watching them willingly. I wasn't exactly bored when watching Velvet Buzzsaw, but it wasn't particularly entertaining either.

Like, if I get to the end of the film and there was no point to the whole thing, no story, resolution or explanation to anything, just a bunch of unlikable characters dying one after another... that's a movie that sucked in my book (in this case, there were also numerous technical flaws that repeatedly took me out of it).





This is what I think will happen at the Oscars, however I have an inkling that Roma will be the one to take the most wins, not The Favourite, but I could be wrong. But yeah, I can see Roma taking the bigger ones, but the acting ones will go to The Favourite, at the very least.

I don't know, could be a weird year at the Oscars, we'll see.

~~

In the meantime, I've seen Nobody Knows by Kore-eda, The Favourite and Climax.

Nobody Knows was alright I guess, but the friend that went to the movies with me absolutely hated it. It could've been shorter for sure (it's 2h20mins), but it was an alright experience because the whole movie is kinda like the opposite of Shoplifters, in a certain sense, and it was interesting to see some things play out.

I enjoyed The Favourite, but for me the last 20mins or so just kinda fell flat. Didn't really get some of the character's actions at the very end, but yeah. I'm glad that Lanthimos has been doing all kinds of different films, but I just wish there had been a return to form already.

I managed to win a double invite for Climax, so I'm glad to say that participating in those contests is already paying off. Unfortunately, because a lot of tickets were given away, the midnight screening had a lot of people in it, and I had to deal with a lot of dumbasses that nearly spoke throughout the whole film... some people can be real assholes.

Anyway, I liked Climax for the most part, I like the intro, the choreography, and how it all starts falling apart, but past a certain I feel like it just became meh for me. I know how Gaspar Noé tends to shoot his films, I get it, that's his thing, but when you have a whole scene that goes on for I don't know how long where I just can't tell what's happening on screen, it's kinda pointless, I'd say.

Also, considering the rating and whatnot, I was expecting a far more brutal/gruesome/devastating film, and I didn't get that at all, so that was disappointing.

As I said, the execution was nice, so were the visuals and the soundtrack and everything, but I don't think it was necessary to have that many characters and so few things happening throughout the film. I liked MOST of the experimental aspect, and if you didn't want to have much of a story, fine, but at least own it, half-way through it just started becoming more of the same for me except that I could no longer tell what was happening on screen, and that's really not good, I think.

It was definitely worth it seeing it in theaters, but I was left a bit disappointed.

my fingers are crossed for "Alita: Battle Angel" this weekend. I've read some of the manga, but I was first introduced to the series via the original series from the early 90's. Trailer looks amazing and I'm hoping it's worlds better than Ghost in the Shell.