Movies The Movie Thread! - Continuation - Part 1

[Brandish μ]

Recent watches:

Ready Player One - While it's corny and predictably annoying at times, found it to be charming and enjoyable overall. It's like a Marvel type movie, with Willy Wonka vibes, pop culture references and the lighting of a Spielberg movie (seriously it was as if a flash grenade went off in the junkyard the first time Wade went into Oasis lol). The reference trope is a little tiring but I'm good with it because of the heart behind it. So I liked RPO, while conceding it's not a great movie.

Movies by Sergei Paradjanov - a friend of mine loves his movies, so I bought 4 in a set, watched two of them. Color of Pomegranates was the one I knew as the 'critically acclaimed/masterpiece', so I watched that first. I know nothing about the content, history or culture involved in this movie; and for that reason I don't believe I can fully understand and appreciate it. It's more or less a subjective/surreal biography. What my friend had said, and it's true, is that Tarsem Singh's The Fall ripped off some imagery from Paradjanov. I'd recommend Pomegranates to anyone who likes surreal/artistic movies, or likes seeing acclaimed films to tick off their lists. I was happy to see it, not a converted fanboy tho. Only 70-ish mins runtime so it's almost a TV episode.

Henry: Portrai of a Serial Killer I just want to mention, as a horror movie, I think this is up there with my faves. Scary how real it feels, and how easy it is for Henry to kill. Great villain and performance by Michael Rooker. Would recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it. Some of the scenes are tough to watch.

I plan to watch some more 'acclaimed' movies I've never seen such as A Brighter Summer Day and A Short Film about Love.

Hard To Be a God

Hard To Be a God

Hard To Be a God

Hard To Be a God

More like Hard to Be a Viewer...

I can't remember watching a movie and felt disgusted from the world/environment of it. The mud, the shit, the vomit, the blood... you name it, it's everywhere. The camera throws you right in there too, it's pretty relentless. It makes you feel crazy, it's more of a trial than a film.

It is a great film though, no question. There's a lot of commitment from the sets, camera work, and ofc the actors who put themselves through a lot to create this world. I feel like these comments are reducing how excessively magnificent this movie is in many aspects.

Hard to be a God requires more viewings for sure. Like, it took me a good 30mins just to get a hang of the dialogue, which isn't helped by the observer style camera work. Don Rumata especially was hard to synch with early on, because of how he comments, with little change in tone or volume in his voice. After a while you get used to it, because he feels amused, hopeless and pity for that world. He's an incredible character just thinking about it. But yea, another watch would help me.

 

[Eigengrau]

More like Hard to Be a Viewer...

┬┴┬┴┤ ͜ʖ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴...

I can't remember watching a movie and felt disgusted from the world/environment of it. The mud, the shit, the vomit, the blood... you name it, it's everywhere. The camera throws you right in there too, it's pretty relentless. It makes you feel crazy, it's more of a trial than a film.

I found the camera - or rather, the viewer - placement/movement in general pretty amazing.

I saw the film with headphones while in the dark and I was mindblown all the way through.

I've seen multiple times people mentioning that it's supposed to be someone ACTUALLY holding a camera and going around filming everything, but I don't think that's actually the case because in some instances that doesn't really make sense. Anyway, I haven't exactly found a credible source that confirms/debunks this, personally I don't think that it's an actual person there.

It is a great film though, no question. There's a lot of commitment from the sets, camera work, and ofc the actors who put themselves through a lot to create this world. I feel like these comments are reducing how excessively magnificent this movie is in many aspects.

The actors especially, and I literally mean everyone in the film, including the extras, especially the extras. What a tremendous casting.

So many weird, disfigured, not really pretty at all people, which I'm lead to believe are all "real". I'm not saying there weren't prosthetics for sure, but there's something about all of them that definitely make me go "yeah, I could totally picture a person looking like this hundreds of years ago", they all have this appearance of "not belonging", which really works with great effect in the story.

Spoiler

Hard to be a God requires more viewings for sure. Like, it took me a good 30mins just to get a hang of the dialogue, which isn't helped by the observer style camera work. Don Rumata especially was hard to synch with early on, because of how he comments, with little change in tone or volume in his voice. After a while you get used to it, because he feels amused, hopeless and pity for that world. He's an incredible character just thinking about it. But yea, another watch would help me.

After I first watched it (and if I remember correctly) for the following days/weeks I kept revisiting some scenes here and there.

Sometimes, I also put the film in the background on youtube (you can find it if you search the russian name) and I just leave it like that for a while.

Regarding he dialogue/tone/volume, funny that you mention it, because when I first started watching the film, I immeditaly noticed (especially with headphones) that the sound was dubbed over.

That was somewhat disappointing, BUT that appears to have been an intentional decision, so as to give the audience a greater sense of displacement.

I really do like the monotone-like sound of Rumata, it's almost as if it pierces straight through everything else even though it's almost always a cacophony of sounds.

But hey, I salute for going through with the whole thing \('0')7
Not a lot of people would, and I'm glad you enjoyed it, at least that's what I'm getting from it!

Were there any favorite shots/moments for you?
And when it ended, did you feel like you could/wanted to see more of that world? Or did you feel like 3h was more than enough?

There's so many incredible shots, but one of my favorites has to be the one where he goes to open the door and the owl lands on his shoulder (around 1h48mins).

Speaking of "trials", I guess the closest thing I have to something like that would be watching Sátántángó, which is 7h30mins long.

I've seen people saying that you definitely should watch it all in a single sitting, and of course I'm a "purist" and all, but I just don't know if I can still/lay still for that long, I mean it's pretty much 1/3rd of a whole day.

It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I feel like it may be physically impossible for me to do so and still find enjoyment all the way through.

 

[Brandish μ]

I've seen multiple times people mentioning that it's supposed to be someone ACTUALLY holding a camera and going around filming everything, but I don't think that's actually the case because in some instances that doesn't really make sense. Anyway, I haven't exactly found a credible source that confirms/debunks this, personally I don't think that it's an actual person there.

I don't believe anyone is holding a camera, unless it's something like a Go-Pro. I just couldn't imagine a camera being allowed. Someone could be there because people stare at the lens and talk to it. Then again, the people are so crazy it's hard to tell.

So many weird, disfigured, not really pretty at all people, which I'm lead to believe are all "real". I'm not saying there weren't prosthetics for sure, but there's something about all of them that definitely make me go "yeah, I could totally picture a person looking like this hundreds of years ago", they all have this appearance of "not belonging", which really works with great effect in the story.

Yea, the look of the people nailed the aesthetic as much as anything else. And how they didn't give af about hygiene. Don would pick up cups all the time, drink, then spit it out. This type of behaviour is something I imagine happened in those medieval times. It's just a massive feat in world building.

Regarding he dialogue/tone/volume, funny that you mention it, because when I first started watching the film, I immeditaly noticed (especially with headphones) that the sound was dubbed over.

I wish I could've watched this on laptop with earphones, because of the sound. The TV I watched on just doesn't cut it, but there's nothing I can do (my laptop doesn't have a CD drive). But yea, once I got used to it, it made Don Rumata's dialogue stand out.

Were there any favorite shots/moments for you?
And when it ended, did you feel like you could/wanted to see more of that world? Or did you feel like 3h was more than enough?

There's so many incredible shots, but one of my favorites has to be the one where he goes to open the door and the owl lands on his shoulder (around 1h48mins).

3hr felt like enough. There's details I surely missed too.

Yea that was a good shot. I like how he tried to fend it off too but it stayed. I probably liked most the scene where Don is talking to the 'doctor' about God and how he pities Arkanar with the rain coming down (the rain was noted earlier in the movie).

Speaking of "trials", I guess the closest thing I have to something like that would be watching Sátántángó, which is 7h30mins long.

I've seen Satan's Tango, I watched it with breaks. I've got limitations. I don't have problems taking breaks watching movies either, though I prefer to get the done once I've sat down.

 

[Eigengrau]

I don't believe anyone is holding a camera, unless it's something like a Go-Pro. I just couldn't imagine a camera being allowed. Someone could be there because people stare at the lens and talk to it. Then again, the people are so crazy it's hard to tell.

However I believe the head-piece that Rumata wears is an actual camera, a video feed that is transmiting back to the ship/his people. Also don't remember where I read this, but I've seen it mentioned that when Rumata goes "ah?" multiple times throughout the film, almost always without any kind of prompt from anyone else, it's him "reacting" to something he heard from the people on the other side, either giving him indications or something.

Or maybe he's just losing it all together. But yeah, I do remember seeing that there was a connection between the two things.

Yea, the look of the people nailed the aesthetic as much as anything else. And how they didn't give af about hygiene. Don would pick up cups all the time, drink, then spit it out. This type of behaviour is something I imagine happened in those medieval times. It's just a massive feat in world building.

Not saying that this is what was happening, but in my mind, the "logic" behind all the smelling and whatnot was this: imagine that you're in some place (their world) where literally everything/everywhere/everyone smells bad: whenever you come into contact with any kind of thing that you can smell, you do it not because it has a good smell (probably doesn't) and it can momentarily ease your suffering, but because right then and there, it's simply "different" to what you're used to smelling, even if the "different smell" is still terribly bad.

Not sure if I'm expressing myself well or if that makes sense, but that's kinda how I interpreted it sometimes. I mean, imagine for a moment that you live in a castle that's made of shit; having a room where it only smells of piss (while you have 999 shit rooms) would still be as bad, but it would be "different" still.


-----------------------------

So I saw Endgame and uh... hmm.

No spoilers so I won't say much, but I guess it was an alright watch.

Some things were done well, there were a few weird moments/scenes (editing didn't help) that were really unnecessary, but other than that I guess it was alright, it had its cool moments.

However, after reading a few comments from some people, in regards to plot holes and whatnot, I gotta say that the film does have problems for sure.

Other than that, I feel like the execution overall could've/should've been a lot better. Some key moments seemed a bit rushed through, and they just didn't sink in.

It's the same old thing: props to the guys that made this whole shared-universe thing work, but as for the literal directing? The way it is filmed and shot? Overall it just doesn't do it justice. So, so many moments could benefit much thanks to a different angle/framing, stuff like that.

But hey, I'm just a casual pleb, never seen a Marvel film in theaters and have only seen the Avengers ones I think, so y'know, I'm not exactly their target audience. Pretty sure it's a 10/10 for 99 out of 100 people.

I'll leave it at that for now.

 

[Brandish μ]

However I believe the head-piece that Rumata wears is an actual camera, a video feed that is transmiting back to the ship/his people. Also don't remember where I read this, but I've seen it mentioned that when Rumata goes "ah?" multiple times throughout the film, almost always without any kind of prompt from anyone else, it's him "reacting" to something he heard from the people on the other side, either giving him indications or something.

Or maybe he's just losing it all together. But yeah, I do remember seeing that there was a connection between the two things.

I think on second view I'll look at this closer. I can buy it being a small camera, but something would have to direct it at times.

Not saying that this is what was happening, but in my mind, the "logic" behind all the smelling and whatnot was this: imagine that you're in some place (their world) where literally everything/everywhere/everyone smells bad: whenever you come into contact with any kind of thing that you can smell, you do it not because it has a good smell (probably doesn't) and it can momentarily ease your suffering, but because right then and there, it's simply "different" to what you're used to smelling, even if the "different smell" is still terribly bad.

Not sure if I'm expressing myself well or if that makes sense, but that's kinda how I interpreted it sometimes. I mean, imagine for a moment that you live in a castle that's made of shit; having a room where it only smells of piss (while you have 999 shit rooms) would still be as bad, but it would be "different" still.

Yea I'm no historian either, but that's what I mean. There's no services to these places and people aren't accustomed to what we perceive as cleanliness. But Rumata is from Earth, so it really nailed this part in further (I might not have been clear about what I was saying either). I was getting uncomfortable watching him do it and couldn't imagine how absorbed he was, or that he'd just forgotten.

 

[M3J]

Endgame was a tearjerker, and I loved the ending.

Captain America proved why he's the best and my favorite

 

[Ice devil slayer]

Endgame was pretty good
Could've been better tho like there were some things that i really didn't like

 

[M3J]

Some of the humor was bad, but it had plenty of badass moments along with some bad ones

 

[Ice devil slayer]

The humor felt pretty forced at some moments

 

[FetherMan]

Avengers: Endgame 4 / 5

Endgame's main focus was bringing the heroes back together to win one last victory together and it was done somewhat well and not. However, there is a conclusion to this entire saga that started being built with "Iron Man" and for me, the real saga got boosted off of "The Avengers" back in 2012.

Both "Infinity War" and "Endgame" are two entirely differently films, whereas IW was more focused on a villain's goal and Endgame's story focuses on bringing a team back together to face their greatest enemy for one last uncertain victory (and revenge, kind of).

I like what they did with Hawkeye and Hulk, I feel they stood out more and there was humor used well throughout the film too. The thing with Endgame is, it was made entirely for the hardcore Marvel audiences and many others who love the Marvel films in general. The biggest problem is, if you haven't seen the past 20 plus films including "Infinity War", you'll be completely lost on what your seeing as well as being somewhat invested in what's happening to the characters.

Overall, I'll be seeing the film again and it didn't feel like 3 hours to me, much like "Lord of the Rings". lol.



p.s., Here's hoping for Phase 4 and what's to come, can't wait for 2020.

 

[Jammin]

Just watched Avengers Endgame. Loved it. 10 out of 10 for me.

Obviously, I am the hardcore marvel fan it's meant for. But it just did a great job at what it was trying to do and really couldn't have done better. I think it leaves the marvel universe in the most interesting place it's ever been. I wouldn't say it was perfect in every way but it's was far more satisying than I was expecting and I'm coming away 100% satisfied.

 

[Eigengrau]

Well, it looks like I'll be seeing at least 13 films in theaters between May 2nd and May 12th, which really sucks :/.

Out of the 20 ticket vouchers I had for the film festival, I sold 3 to my dad, and I should be selling a further 4 to my friends (who should be coming to the same screenings with me), but that still left me with far too many films I was kinda forced to pick so as to not let the vouchers go to waste, and truthfully, I'm really not excited at all with most of them.

There's one in particular that I'm really dreading because it currently has a 4,4/10 score on IMDb, but there aren't really that many more options for me at this point, so I'll be giving it a shot.

But yeah, during that time period I'll be seeing at least 1 film per day, and 2 films on 3 days.

I really hope it doesn't get too nauseating... I am mostly mad at myself for having bought so many tickets pre-emptively, but I also want to give the films a chance. Who knows, there might even be some good surprises on there, but out of those 13 I'll be seeing, I only really wanted to see about 8-9, and honestly, there just doesn't seem to be any film that's even close to the kind that really blew me away last year at the same festival, which is a damn, damn shame.

Oh well, it is what it is.

Wish me luck and lots of sanity, I'll post all about them after the last screening in a single post :0.

rip me

 

[Faust]

Kudos to the Russo brothers, but
without Whedon, Gunn and Waititi's contribution to the MCU, Endgame wouldn't be as entertaining as it turned out.

 

[Jammin]

Kudos to the Russo brothers, but
without Whedon, Gunn and Waititi's contribution to the MCU, Endgame wouldn't be as entertaining as it turned out.

I agree but that's part of what makes it so good. It takes all of those pieces and puts them together into a satisfying finale. Also don't forget Jon Favreau. I know that he's not considered one of the best MCU directors but he's really the one that got this party started. And the Russo brothers took all of it weaved and it together into something fulfilling.

If this was the last MCU movie ever, I'd actually be fine with it.

--- Double Post Merged, Apr 30, 2019, Original Post Date: Apr 30, 2019 ---

Like a review I was listening to after I saw it, Jermey Jahns I think, was saying that this was like the the last chapter in a 22 chapter book. Which has never really been done before. And the Russo brothers somehow did it.

 

[Eigengrau]

Also don't forget Jon Favreau. I know that he's not considered one of the best MCU directors but he's really the one that got this party started.

And that's why Favreau is currently an executive producer on the Star Wars tv show, The Mandalorian

 

[Jammin]

And that's why Favreau is currently an executive producer on the Star Wars tv show, The Mandalorian

He's also worked on Avengers: Endgame... as an actor.

I mean, I think people give him crap because the MCU has moved on to more talented people but do you remember what a surprise the first Iron Man movie was? People thought Downey Jr was a terrible choice for the role. People were used to superhero movies being like the Raimi Spiderman movies. Disney didn't own Marvel yet so they didn't have the kind of budget or prestige they have now.

He did a lot with a little. And Endgame was still using what he built as a pillar for itself.

Spoiler: Specifically

The Tony Stark character and his relationship with Pepper. Favreau built all of that.

 

[xi0]

People thought Downey Jr was a terrible choice for the role.

Did he? I know he wasn't in the best place personally or career-wise when he got the role, but when I remember hearing he was cast I thought he was born for the role.

 

[Jammin]

Did he? I know he wasn't in the best place personally or career-wise when he got the role, but when I remember hearing he was cast I thought he was born for the role.

Yeah a lot of people thought he was a terrible choicee before he proved he was perfect for it. I remember being not entirely sure about it too but I was willing to give it a shot. People forget how much unease there was in the early marvel movies about all the actors.

Chris Evans was Johnny Storm from The Fantastic Four movies so people weren't sure about him either.

 

[M3J]

Kudos to the Russo brothers, but
without Whedon, Gunn and Waititi's contribution to the MCU, Endgame wouldn't be as entertaining as it turned out.

Eh they ruined Thor in Endgame. Literally had no reason to turn him into a fat sack of shit, and yet they did.

 

[XXGenesis]

EndGame is...Lets say I didn't like it. Slept through some parts, don't wanna go see it twice to catch those parts...1st Hour is slow...Next Hour is uninteresting imo & sadly. The fight scene is the best part of the movie. I've seen all of the Marvel Movies & I've enjoyed them very much. But I didn't expect Endgame to blow my socks off, but surely didn't expect to be so disappointed.