-
OK, it's on.
Last movie you watched
- Thread starter zxc
- Start date
EyeSeeCold
lust for life
Dark Matter and BoJack Horseman
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Insomnia (1997), original release.
This version stars Stellan Skarsgaard, who is remarkable but really quite different than Al Pacino in the remake (Christopher Nolan, 2002). In fact, it's really an interesting study between the two movies because they are both viable in their own rights led by a great actor, besides some flaws in each story and each still managing to share MANY of the same plot points while using them in different ways.
Put simply, the American version allows for the flawed protagonist (there, named Will Dormer) to wrestle morally with his actions and sets things up so that his flaw is more a choice between "goods" (integrity vs pragmatism); this also means that his flawed choices are driven by a system outside himself. The Swedish version doesn't really offer a compelling external reason for Jacob Engstrom (starring protagonist, different name) to lie about his mistake, except that he's already been in trouble once for past indiscretions and... his professional ego seems fragile. So here, it's more a matter of watching Engstrom act amorally mainly to cover his own tracks, yet find himself in more and more of a tangled web where each lie demands another lie; and the only sense that it bothers him at all is via some pretty nuanced by effective facial expressions on the part of Skarsgarrd (who can do a lot with a little) + his inability to sleep as the penetrating eternal sunshine -- like a blazing conscience -- keeps him from sleep and eventually drives him into hallucinations and short reality breaks. Whatever victory he finds is ultimately hollow.
tl;dr -- Dormer is threatened to be driven over the cliff by his own moral compromises for a greater good + external events; Engstrom drives that puppy right over the cliff on his own because he doesn't want to ruin his professional image.
One point of comparison between the two (that tells you a difference in how the protagonist is portrayed) is the dog. Without explaining too much of the scene, the dog is handled differently in each version even if it plays the same purpose, and one character is much colder than the other in what unfolds.
Another key difference is the villain. Same basic guy, same basic stuff... but Nolan's version (where Robin Williams did a solid if sometimes a little too verbose job in the role) is actually actively pressing Dormer, initiating their relationship, overtly rationalizing his behavior. This all fits in with Nolan not just positioning Dormer as a struggling (versus corrupt) hero, but also his highly accentuating the sunlight issue in his version (since the baddy manages to also interrupt Dormer's sleep the few times he starts nodding off) -- the original movie kind of plays it straight in that regard. Both versions of the baddy operate from the same basic angle, but the remake's version makes him more more a harrier of Dormer and perhaps even perpetuating his murder cycle (thus needing to be stopped by hero), while the original's version seems much more interested in simply being left alone and it's not clear if his performance would be a repeat. Dormer's behavior is thus more justified script-wise than Engstrom's, building sympathy.
Culturally the differences could also reflect upon Swedish understatement versus USA overtness. The USA has a few more action sequences that seem appropriate, even if the gun battle at end is a bit forced. it also has a few artificial peaks that can make it feel forced + an emotional undercurrent (where you emotionally can connect with some characters) that occasionally feels the same; the Swedish version is flatter and could have used a little bit more to break up the emotional monotony but offers a more cynical and clinical view of the "hero" and you're mainly watching his dissolution, which is also an interesting approach.
This version stars Stellan Skarsgaard, who is remarkable but really quite different than Al Pacino in the remake (Christopher Nolan, 2002). In fact, it's really an interesting study between the two movies because they are both viable in their own rights led by a great actor, besides some flaws in each story and each still managing to share MANY of the same plot points while using them in different ways.
Put simply, the American version allows for the flawed protagonist (there, named Will Dormer) to wrestle morally with his actions and sets things up so that his flaw is more a choice between "goods" (integrity vs pragmatism); this also means that his flawed choices are driven by a system outside himself. The Swedish version doesn't really offer a compelling external reason for Jacob Engstrom (starring protagonist, different name) to lie about his mistake, except that he's already been in trouble once for past indiscretions and... his professional ego seems fragile. So here, it's more a matter of watching Engstrom act amorally mainly to cover his own tracks, yet find himself in more and more of a tangled web where each lie demands another lie; and the only sense that it bothers him at all is via some pretty nuanced by effective facial expressions on the part of Skarsgarrd (who can do a lot with a little) + his inability to sleep as the penetrating eternal sunshine -- like a blazing conscience -- keeps him from sleep and eventually drives him into hallucinations and short reality breaks. Whatever victory he finds is ultimately hollow.
tl;dr -- Dormer is threatened to be driven over the cliff by his own moral compromises for a greater good + external events; Engstrom drives that puppy right over the cliff on his own because he doesn't want to ruin his professional image.
One point of comparison between the two (that tells you a difference in how the protagonist is portrayed) is the dog. Without explaining too much of the scene, the dog is handled differently in each version even if it plays the same purpose, and one character is much colder than the other in what unfolds.
Another key difference is the villain. Same basic guy, same basic stuff... but Nolan's version (where Robin Williams did a solid if sometimes a little too verbose job in the role) is actually actively pressing Dormer, initiating their relationship, overtly rationalizing his behavior. This all fits in with Nolan not just positioning Dormer as a struggling (versus corrupt) hero, but also his highly accentuating the sunlight issue in his version (since the baddy manages to also interrupt Dormer's sleep the few times he starts nodding off) -- the original movie kind of plays it straight in that regard. Both versions of the baddy operate from the same basic angle, but the remake's version makes him more more a harrier of Dormer and perhaps even perpetuating his murder cycle (thus needing to be stopped by hero), while the original's version seems much more interested in simply being left alone and it's not clear if his performance would be a repeat. Dormer's behavior is thus more justified script-wise than Engstrom's, building sympathy.
Culturally the differences could also reflect upon Swedish understatement versus USA overtness. The USA has a few more action sequences that seem appropriate, even if the gun battle at end is a bit forced. it also has a few artificial peaks that can make it feel forced + an emotional undercurrent (where you emotionally can connect with some characters) that occasionally feels the same; the Swedish version is flatter and could have used a little bit more to break up the emotional monotony but offers a more cynical and clinical view of the "hero" and you're mainly watching his dissolution, which is also an interesting approach.
Pyropyro
Magos Biologis
Watched the 1951 Jean Renoir film The River today at class. It's a beautiful coming of age film set in India. I've learned and appreciate a lot of new things from that movie including Hindu philosophy/religion, women love rivalries (which is interesting), issues on mixed races and Hindu poetic language.
It's a light yet moving film which entices me to learn more about Indian culture and history.
It's a light yet moving film which entices me to learn more about Indian culture and history.
Pyropyro
Magos Biologis
Watched the fantasy movie BFG. I won't spoil much but I think the movie picked up the pace during the second act. I think it's a great movie for kids and is dark enough to be relatable for us adults.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Rewatched Abre Los Ojos (which I liked every better the second time) and then also Tesis, both early pics in Spanish by Amenabar.
Tesis is more a conventional thriller involving the discovery of a snuff film ring, but it manages to be kind of unpredictable (you can guess who is involved, but it's not certain until the last 10 minutes). There's also some nice character snippets in the dialogue. When I watched it, it was clear that Amenabar had real talent... and I guess the film picked up a number of Goya Awards that year as well.
Amenabar has a really nice way of telling a story -- even with subtitles, I find his dialogue interesting and very fluid/casual. Two of the main actors in Tesis also end up leads in Abre los Ojos, but very different.... I didn't even recognize the one guy. Very talented.
Amenabar is also interesting because he tends to write his own scripts and almost always does his own music as well for his pictures. He's very talented. It's too bad his eventual shift into English films didn't necessarily pay off; The Others (marking his shift into English films?) has some really great moments but a few awkward spots in terms of dialogue, and Regression (with Ethan Hawke) was not one of the better movies I've seen in the last year. It's been a slow shift down over the years, hopefully this next picture will bring his game back up.
---
I suppose I should mention Suicide Squad. It's a bastardized half-child of Ayers and the squeamish studio, and it shows; you can tell the editing crew was going nutty, and there's even a few continuity mismatches. (One scene, I was like.... "uhhhh.... where'd those bullets come from?")
Smith and Robbie are the focal point, and Viola Davis also stands out. I could see pieces of a really good movie in there, but most of it ended up being an amicable amusing but disappointing mishmash. It was fun watching Robbie while it ran -- she's delightful -- but once the movie is over, it won't sit in your head at all and instead simply vanishes from interest. I did enjoy the bits with Joker and Harley Quinn (and I'm glad the Joker wasn't in it more, I'm tired of all these DC movies having the same characters involved), but it was sanitized a bit, true.
All in all, it's better than most of the stuff in the broad genre (because before Marvel continuity really kicked in starting with Iron Man, much of the genre was shit), but it's a big disappointment in terms of the rich character tapestry and comics continuity that it squanders unabashedly. It would have sat on top of the heap around 2003, but now it's lost in the lower-middle of the pack. I usually haven't seen a movie do so little with so much.
Tesis is more a conventional thriller involving the discovery of a snuff film ring, but it manages to be kind of unpredictable (you can guess who is involved, but it's not certain until the last 10 minutes). There's also some nice character snippets in the dialogue. When I watched it, it was clear that Amenabar had real talent... and I guess the film picked up a number of Goya Awards that year as well.
Amenabar has a really nice way of telling a story -- even with subtitles, I find his dialogue interesting and very fluid/casual. Two of the main actors in Tesis also end up leads in Abre los Ojos, but very different.... I didn't even recognize the one guy. Very talented.
Amenabar is also interesting because he tends to write his own scripts and almost always does his own music as well for his pictures. He's very talented. It's too bad his eventual shift into English films didn't necessarily pay off; The Others (marking his shift into English films?) has some really great moments but a few awkward spots in terms of dialogue, and Regression (with Ethan Hawke) was not one of the better movies I've seen in the last year. It's been a slow shift down over the years, hopefully this next picture will bring his game back up.
---
I suppose I should mention Suicide Squad. It's a bastardized half-child of Ayers and the squeamish studio, and it shows; you can tell the editing crew was going nutty, and there's even a few continuity mismatches. (One scene, I was like.... "uhhhh.... where'd those bullets come from?")
Smith and Robbie are the focal point, and Viola Davis also stands out. I could see pieces of a really good movie in there, but most of it ended up being an amicable amusing but disappointing mishmash. It was fun watching Robbie while it ran -- she's delightful -- but once the movie is over, it won't sit in your head at all and instead simply vanishes from interest. I did enjoy the bits with Joker and Harley Quinn (and I'm glad the Joker wasn't in it more, I'm tired of all these DC movies having the same characters involved), but it was sanitized a bit, true.
All in all, it's better than most of the stuff in the broad genre (because before Marvel continuity really kicked in starting with Iron Man, much of the genre was shit), but it's a big disappointment in terms of the rich character tapestry and comics continuity that it squanders unabashedly. It would have sat on top of the heap around 2003, but now it's lost in the lower-middle of the pack. I usually haven't seen a movie do so little with so much.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
*cough* A Serbian Film (2010).
Well, I just crossed that one off my masochistic to-do list.
Surprise: The technical quality of the film is actually good. IOW, the guy knows how to make a movie. And much of the acting from the mains was decent as well, and well-cast. Great pacing, great framing, decent editing, some great building of tension for the first half. There's a lot of stuff that is merely hinting at being unsettling, but it's not clear what's going on (nor are the stops thrown wide open) until the last 45 minutes of the movie.
The second half becomes more of an investigation of what happened in the part we missed, as well as a full-title sadistic boogie slamming you off the walls; a lot of the outrage is generated from that half of the movie. You can't downplay it. It's pretty brutal, emotionally, watching the physical brutality that occurs. But I felt even worse for the protagonist -- the violence inflicted on him is mostly internal, and goes to the bitter end. That string of sequences is made for the kind of bastards who would get a sick thrill of slashing and burning works of art in a famous museum, shattering priceless heirlooms to see the devastation, or... well, just abusing other human beings.
There is a discussion of victimhood in the movie's middle. The main character is told he is the only person in the movie who is not a victim... but that isn't true. Not by the end. He might be the most victimized, at least in terms of his soul. There is also a question of whether victimhood belongs to those on the receiving end of power or actually to those who have lost their volition; I lean towards the latter, but neither is pretty.
Is the movie saying anything? I'm not sure. People talk about how it describes the experience of living in Serbia through a particular period of history. I can't presume to know. But the movie is horrific, and cynical, and tragic for the best people in the film. I hurt, afterwards, for them, while simultaneously feeling a bit ill.
Well, I just crossed that one off my masochistic to-do list.
Surprise: The technical quality of the film is actually good. IOW, the guy knows how to make a movie. And much of the acting from the mains was decent as well, and well-cast. Great pacing, great framing, decent editing, some great building of tension for the first half. There's a lot of stuff that is merely hinting at being unsettling, but it's not clear what's going on (nor are the stops thrown wide open) until the last 45 minutes of the movie.
The second half becomes more of an investigation of what happened in the part we missed, as well as a full-title sadistic boogie slamming you off the walls; a lot of the outrage is generated from that half of the movie. You can't downplay it. It's pretty brutal, emotionally, watching the physical brutality that occurs. But I felt even worse for the protagonist -- the violence inflicted on him is mostly internal, and goes to the bitter end. That string of sequences is made for the kind of bastards who would get a sick thrill of slashing and burning works of art in a famous museum, shattering priceless heirlooms to see the devastation, or... well, just abusing other human beings.
There is a discussion of victimhood in the movie's middle. The main character is told he is the only person in the movie who is not a victim... but that isn't true. Not by the end. He might be the most victimized, at least in terms of his soul. There is also a question of whether victimhood belongs to those on the receiving end of power or actually to those who have lost their volition; I lean towards the latter, but neither is pretty.
Is the movie saying anything? I'm not sure. People talk about how it describes the experience of living in Serbia through a particular period of history. I can't presume to know. But the movie is horrific, and cynical, and tragic for the best people in the film. I hurt, afterwards, for them, while simultaneously feeling a bit ill.
Bad Itch
Push to Start
- Local time
- Today 4:30 PM
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2016
- Messages
- 487
Jenny it has been a while since this post... did you eventually see Snowpiercer? It finally arrived on Netflix for me yesterday, but I had rented it from Google and watched the snot out of over a 48 hour period some months ago.
I do love Korean films.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
No, I haven't watched it yet -- i watched about ten minutes of it, kind of lost interest, and never got back to it. Maybe I need to just give half an hour and see if that catches my interest.
Ironically, I did start watching Transsiberian last night and plan to keep going with that one. Talking about wicked train movies and all...
I picked up Lady Vengeance on DVD last month but haven't seen it yet. (I've seen Oldboy.) I also grabbed 3 Extremes (which I've already seen) and a Tale of Two Sisters w/ subtitles (which I have also seen), and Dark Water (the original, not the shitty remake that I saw last month and then realized that I think I watched a few years ago and thought it was shitty then too and somehow forgot that I had seen it). I do get a kick out of watching remakes of Asian pics.
Mostly, they suck... although I do think the American versions of "The Ring" and "The Grudge" were pretty decent in their own right. But yeeesh... I really wanted to like "The Uninvited" (the remake of Tale of Two Sisters).... the original was a bit hard to follow in spots, and the American version had some interesting parts but just became a typical American shit-horror pic by the end.
I've gotten more into subtitled movies as time has passed, there's some decent non-American films that I had never been exposed to. I still have to finish The City of Lost Children; I saw half of it visiting my cousin in Chicago, then I came home and I don't have a copy.
---
My current list of other downloaded pics I will be watching:
- Before Midnight
- Before Sunrise
(still looking for a copy of Before Sunset)
- Cronos
- Dark Water (Asian original)
- Freaks
- Happiness
- Shutter (Asian original)
- Thirst
- y tu mama tambien
- amores perros
And I had a download of Brooklyn (yes, I admit it -- a normal wholesome movie), but now HBO just released it so I'll watching it off HBO instead since the quality will be better. HBO can be annoying, and the same with Netflix -- it releases movies that I've ended up renting by the time they release on the service.
Bad Itch
Push to Start
- Local time
- Today 4:30 PM
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2016
- Messages
- 487
It's worth a half hour I think. Very quirky. I love Tilda Swinton to bits in this one.
Also "Save The Green Planet" if you can find it... priceless.
I remember watching (more like semi-tasking) Transsiberian at some point in the last couple of years while working from home one day. I end up being in the room while a movie is playing but not really seeing it.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
oh Tilda Swinton
She's fucking awesome... and such range. It cracked me up when I realized I was watching her being the screwy boss in "Trainwreck." (Hmm, there we are with trains again. WTH?) She's so androgynous looking, which just adds to her allure... but quite talented.
She's fucking awesome... and such range. It cracked me up when I realized I was watching her being the screwy boss in "Trainwreck." (Hmm, there we are with trains again. WTH?) She's so androgynous looking, which just adds to her allure... but quite talented.
Pizzabeak
Banned
- Local time
- Today 12:30 PM
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2012
- Messages
- 2,667
I don't like Tilda Swinton and gave We Need to Talk About Kevin a bad review. The editing was bad and it was just a blatant film. The best thing it did, as an afterthought, is further show how one can sympathize with parents... Especially ones that have had an enormous responsibility fall on their shoulders.
Sinny91
Banned
Batman Vs Superman - New Dawn or something...
Pretty brilliant. Everything I wanted and more. (as far as comic book movies go)
Love the bod on superman.
The most outrageous ending - how could they do that?!?!?!?
Pretty brilliant. Everything I wanted and more. (as far as comic book movies go)
Love the bod on superman.
The most outrageous ending - how could they do that?!?!?!?
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
They're taking it right out of the comic book.
Never fear.
The Ultimate Edition is better than the Theatrical; they edited out too much connecting information for the theater release. There are still issues with it, but the unedited cut is better.
I gave it 4.5/5 stars I think.
I do agree that it definitely puts you in her shoes as a struggling parent who experiences ambivalence towards her kids but is trying to be there for her eldest... and it never seems to matter. There's just this relationship of animosity there, which she has part culpability in, but he just seems to hate her. Despite her best efforts (which still are inadequate), things just go WAY south.
Pyropyro
Magos Biologis
Watched the Secret Life of Pets . It's a nice buddy movie (with dogs) and quite enjoyable if you are a pet person regardless of species. The story goes dark here and there but doesn't do much to destroy the movie's mood.
There's also an Aesop about taking care and not abandoning pets so it's great for kids and for adults who don't want to buy pets for their kids.
There's also an Aesop about taking care and not abandoning pets so it's great for kids and for adults who don't want to buy pets for their kids.
Sinny91
Banned
Ahh, there were some scenes which I were thinking seemed somewhat short. But I was surprised it was as long as it was, or as good as it was. Some of the other comic movies I've seen recently have been cheap and poor... I'm glad I gave this one a go.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Yeah, I'm strongly ambivalent about the movie, in terms of being disappointed with the tone and wishing characterization and stuff might have been better, but I do enjoy watching some of the plot sequences... and like I said, the extended edition really helps flesh out stuff so it's not just so plot-jumpy. I am usually that way with movies by Zack Snyder -- I will still watch Sucker Punch periodically, but at the same time I want to throw stuff at the screen.
It had one of the best Batman fight sequences, realistically, I think.
The whole Zod>Doomsday sequence inspired me to take the dead body of that dragon in our RPG game and mad-science it into a red dragon ghast. I hope to surprise the crap out of the group in the final days of the campaign by unleashing it, especially because I am not sure if my character can fully control it.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
Kubo and the Two strings (2016).
I'm a fan of Laika's films -- they usually try to have some depth to their animated movies, and appeal to a more mature kid and/or adult audience. Kubo isn't much different and in fact might be the best movie they have put out.
It's very much a "hero's quest" movie and explores the realities of grief and transition from a young boy's perspective. There's a lot of loss in this movie, and needing to let things go.
It's also got some beautifully transcendent moments as well as creepy-as-shit moments that you might not expect in a "kid's movie" -- all accentuated strongly by the beautiful stop-motion artwork. I mean, these guys nail stop-motion out of the park.
For beauty, I think mainly of the boat made of leaves that Kubo weaves together, it's pretty spectacular. And for creepy -- the two sisters who are Kubio's aunts. Jesus. The first time they really make an appearance, it's as powerful as watching a really good Japanese horror flick, blank white masks and black cloaks and all. I love that.
I did pretty much guess any of the spoilers before the movie got to the respective point, but I didn't care -- it didn't spoil the mystery, it just gave a sense of fulfillment when I saw things resolve as I had intuited they might.
I'm a fan of Laika's films -- they usually try to have some depth to their animated movies, and appeal to a more mature kid and/or adult audience. Kubo isn't much different and in fact might be the best movie they have put out.
It's very much a "hero's quest" movie and explores the realities of grief and transition from a young boy's perspective. There's a lot of loss in this movie, and needing to let things go.
It's also got some beautifully transcendent moments as well as creepy-as-shit moments that you might not expect in a "kid's movie" -- all accentuated strongly by the beautiful stop-motion artwork. I mean, these guys nail stop-motion out of the park.
For beauty, I think mainly of the boat made of leaves that Kubo weaves together, it's pretty spectacular. And for creepy -- the two sisters who are Kubio's aunts. Jesus. The first time they really make an appearance, it's as powerful as watching a really good Japanese horror flick, blank white masks and black cloaks and all. I love that.
I did pretty much guess any of the spoilers before the movie got to the respective point, but I didn't care -- it didn't spoil the mystery, it just gave a sense of fulfillment when I saw things resolve as I had intuited they might.
Bad Itch
Push to Start
- Local time
- Today 4:30 PM
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2016
- Messages
- 487
The Ninth Configuration (1980).
Screenplay adapted by William Peter Blatty from a novel by William Peter Blatty, and directed by William Peter Blatty, so...
This isn't the last movie I watched (that goes to "American Hustle" which I checked out before naps last night), but I'm sitting here listening to the rain outside and contemplating the pending necessity of venturing out into it and all I can hear is Captain Billy Cutshaw screaming "THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE!" In my head... so I will probably watch it again tonight.
This movie is fun. For fans of The Walking Dead, Cutshaw is played by Scott Wilson who played Hershel on TWD. It also features Stacy Keach in possibly my favorite Stacy Keach role yet.
Screenplay adapted by William Peter Blatty from a novel by William Peter Blatty, and directed by William Peter Blatty, so...
This isn't the last movie I watched (that goes to "American Hustle" which I checked out before naps last night), but I'm sitting here listening to the rain outside and contemplating the pending necessity of venturing out into it and all I can hear is Captain Billy Cutshaw screaming "THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE!" In my head... so I will probably watch it again tonight.
This movie is fun. For fans of The Walking Dead, Cutshaw is played by Scott Wilson who played Hershel on TWD. It also features Stacy Keach in possibly my favorite Stacy Keach role yet.
Sinny91
Banned
The Purge: The Election
I quite like this series of movies. I think they are closer to truth than fiction.
I quite like this series of movies. I think they are closer to truth than fiction.
Bad Itch
Push to Start
- Local time
- Today 4:30 PM
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2016
- Messages
- 487
Didn't realize they were already up to a third. Are the sequels on par with the first one? I enjoyed the first one.
Sinny91
Banned
Erm, yea more or less.
The Box.
Meh.. Some aspects were mildly 'thrilling', but it was pretty slow, and although it was a bit boggling there was no major mystery reveal.
The Box.
Meh.. Some aspects were mildly 'thrilling', but it was pretty slow, and although it was a bit boggling there was no major mystery reveal.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
It's more of a philosophical movie, with allusions to Sartre's "No Exit" -- and it doesn't really answer questions. I think Donnie Darko (same director) felt a little more fulfilling.
Sinny91
Banned
Equals
Was alright.. Like a modern version of THX 1138
I would have enjoyed it much more had it not involved Kristen Stewart's face.
I find her impossible to take seriously since Twilight.
Was alright.. Like a modern version of THX 1138
I would have enjoyed it much more had it not involved Kristen Stewart's face.
I find her impossible to take seriously since Twilight.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
I downloaded a lot of crazy disturbing crap last night, including the the original "The Last House on the Left" (1975?) but that's probably the least of it. When I'm feeling particularly masochistic, I'll start digging in. I guess I will be the go-to girl on movies you don't want to tell anyone you actually saw, lest they start crossing the sidewalk to not pass in front of your house.
I didn't really know she could actually act until I saw her in "Clouds of Sils Maria." She's done a lot of over-popularized shite in her career.
I'll take it as a hesitant positive on the movie, if one can handle Stewart. I was wondering if it was worth a watch. I like Hoult, he's got an appealing earnestness about himself. (He's actually the kid -- grown up now -- that starred in "About a Boy" with Hugh Grant, I think.)
I didn't really know she could actually act until I saw her in "Clouds of Sils Maria." She's done a lot of over-popularized shite in her career.
I'll take it as a hesitant positive on the movie, if one can handle Stewart. I was wondering if it was worth a watch. I like Hoult, he's got an appealing earnestness about himself. (He's actually the kid -- grown up now -- that starred in "About a Boy" with Hugh Grant, I think.)
Sinny91
Banned
Bad Itch
Push to Start
- Local time
- Today 4:30 PM
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2016
- Messages
- 487
Get the Gringo (2012)
This movie feels a lot like Payback (1999), and I love that. Gibson is fun, and Get the Gringo is a fun enough way to waste 96 minutes of your life. I've seen this a number of times now, usually while I'm doing other things (it's how I watch a lot of movies... repetitive semi-tasking) and that's how I'm watching it now. I might seek out Payback and put that on next... ima waste SO much time tonight
This movie feels a lot like Payback (1999), and I love that. Gibson is fun, and Get the Gringo is a fun enough way to waste 96 minutes of your life. I've seen this a number of times now, usually while I'm doing other things (it's how I watch a lot of movies... repetitive semi-tasking) and that's how I'm watching it now. I might seek out Payback and put that on next... ima waste SO much time tonight
nanook
a scream in a vortex
just made it through captain america. hard work. without ironman, it would be insufferable... super confusing plot and all for a few moments of iron feels at the end.
most impressive movie lately: embrace of the serpent. it just feels like it's a documentary but turns out fairly surreal ...
bridgeend - something to it. weird plot and ending, but good in the making. a depressed dream.
the neon demon - well, i dunno, meh ... not very vegan, lol. a fucked up dream.
the sea of trees - just about watchable if you like the actors. i do. an unconvincing dream you wake up from.
jungle book - liked the scene with Ka the most. a fun dream.
the man who knew infinity - good dream! but what was it about? wasn't math. can't remember.
embers - a very realistic dream. if you actually have dementia, lol.
into the forest - fairly intense movie.
synchronicity - what a hilarious combination of entp vanity and bladerunner aesthetics.
my hindu friend - weird but i just like willem dafoe.
elser - fuck yeah! because fuck hitler and fuck your holocaust denial, americans!
green room - super intense and i hated patrick stewart after watching this. he is way too convincing in this character.
the driftless area - a precognitive dream about the death of anton yelchin
yeah, i'm trying to get into lucid dreaming again...
most impressive movie lately: embrace of the serpent. it just feels like it's a documentary but turns out fairly surreal ...
bridgeend - something to it. weird plot and ending, but good in the making. a depressed dream.
the neon demon - well, i dunno, meh ... not very vegan, lol. a fucked up dream.
the sea of trees - just about watchable if you like the actors. i do. an unconvincing dream you wake up from.
jungle book - liked the scene with Ka the most. a fun dream.
the man who knew infinity - good dream! but what was it about? wasn't math. can't remember.
embers - a very realistic dream. if you actually have dementia, lol.
into the forest - fairly intense movie.
synchronicity - what a hilarious combination of entp vanity and bladerunner aesthetics.
my hindu friend - weird but i just like willem dafoe.
elser - fuck yeah! because fuck hitler and fuck your holocaust denial, americans!
green room - super intense and i hated patrick stewart after watching this. he is way too convincing in this character.
the driftless area - a precognitive dream about the death of anton yelchin
yeah, i'm trying to get into lucid dreaming again...
nanook
a scream in a vortex
i saw this this show... genius of the modern world ... thinking:
wait, this is jennywocky! or editorone in drag.
wait, this is jennywocky! or editorone in drag.
nanook
a scream in a vortex
cheese
Prolific Member
Inside Out
This is an animated kid's film that's actually brilliant, at least in how it shows the workings of the mind. Most of the movie is shot from behind a young girl's eyes and revolves around the 5 personified and caricatured emotions that contribute to her personality and choices. I found it poignantly accurate, from watching the emotions literally wrestle for the controls, to seeing how an emotion simply bumping into a memory can cast a glow over the whole thing, affecting how it's perceived. Paul Ekman (psychologist who identified the 6 core human emotions and related facial expressions, constant across all cultures) was a consultant on the movie.
It's not just an adventure in imagination - there's an overarching plot culminating in a life lesson the movie creator actually only learnt while struggling through his own emotions...trying to come up with a suitable plot. His crisis birthed direction for the movie. The struggle isn't new or extraordinary, but it's very, very relatable and happens to us all the time.
The imaginative aspect itself is wonderful too. You're essentially watching metaphor brought to life. Only as you watch, you realise metaphor and reality in this case aren't that clearly delineated. Emotions *do* act as motivated and motivating agents, they *do* struggle with each other and can all exist simultaneously. Each one *can* contribute to whole segments of your personality, as anyone with a mood disorder knows. There's a lot that isn't necessarily true to life, but I was struck enough by what was.
I actually felt glad to have watched this movie at the end. I enjoy a lot of movies, but there's not many I feel so happy about putting time into. It was fresher and more genuine, and truer-to-life in multiple ways, than most other movies. Still a happy animation, but actually rewarding to watch - for me anyway.
This is an animated kid's film that's actually brilliant, at least in how it shows the workings of the mind. Most of the movie is shot from behind a young girl's eyes and revolves around the 5 personified and caricatured emotions that contribute to her personality and choices. I found it poignantly accurate, from watching the emotions literally wrestle for the controls, to seeing how an emotion simply bumping into a memory can cast a glow over the whole thing, affecting how it's perceived. Paul Ekman (psychologist who identified the 6 core human emotions and related facial expressions, constant across all cultures) was a consultant on the movie.
It's not just an adventure in imagination - there's an overarching plot culminating in a life lesson the movie creator actually only learnt while struggling through his own emotions...trying to come up with a suitable plot. His crisis birthed direction for the movie. The struggle isn't new or extraordinary, but it's very, very relatable and happens to us all the time.
Fearing sadness, running away from it, creating a shadow we try to hide in small corners of our mind.
The imaginative aspect itself is wonderful too. You're essentially watching metaphor brought to life. Only as you watch, you realise metaphor and reality in this case aren't that clearly delineated. Emotions *do* act as motivated and motivating agents, they *do* struggle with each other and can all exist simultaneously. Each one *can* contribute to whole segments of your personality, as anyone with a mood disorder knows. There's a lot that isn't necessarily true to life, but I was struck enough by what was.
I actually felt glad to have watched this movie at the end. I enjoy a lot of movies, but there's not many I feel so happy about putting time into. It was fresher and more genuine, and truer-to-life in multiple ways, than most other movies. Still a happy animation, but actually rewarding to watch - for me anyway.
Pizzabeak
Banned
- Local time
- Today 12:30 PM
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2012
- Messages
- 2,667
Return to Oz, it was alright.
American Ultra, didn't end up watching. Don't remember how I got it. Told a friend about it and he said it sucked so I didn't bother, despite at least wanting to.
Lego Movie, was alright. Will need a rewatch but I basically got why it was funny. It may have been too late, I dunno, but of course having too much hype and good ratings ruined it.
American Ultra, didn't end up watching. Don't remember how I got it. Told a friend about it and he said it sucked so I didn't bother, despite at least wanting to.
Lego Movie, was alright. Will need a rewatch but I basically got why it was funny. It may have been too late, I dunno, but of course having too much hype and good ratings ruined it.
nanook
a scream in a vortex
omg, you have to watch this movie. it's just like this message board. it's about brothers who are, like, really intense philosophers and there are some chicks in it too and the science is mad: Men & Chicken
TheManBeyond
Banned
- Local time
- Today 8:30 PM
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2014
- Messages
- 2,850
Submarine
really cool, enjoyable, cute, sweet, dark kind of hipster tho
8/10
really cool, enjoyable, cute, sweet, dark kind of hipster tho
8/10
onesteptwostep
Junior Hegelian
- Local time
- Tomorrow 5:30 AM
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2014
- Messages
- 4,253
Bad Itch
Push to Start
- Local time
- Today 4:30 PM
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2016
- Messages
- 487
ARQ 2016 (Netflix).
Fun times but nothing super remarkable. Small cast, small set and doesn't suffer from it. Other films in the same vein might be +1 (2013), Triangle (2009), Prometheus Trap (2012) or Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and many others.
I was sort of distracted when I watched this- I had just finished watching season 6 of The Walking Dead over the course of two evenings and needed to refresh my palate which is coated with the ennui of "I have no interest in anything in the universe until I can binge on the next season" and also run on sentences. I may have been sucked in a few times and I'm pretty sure I didn't find it boring. I don't feel as though I've been robbed of the time I spent in the room with it.
Might even watch it again.
Fun times but nothing super remarkable. Small cast, small set and doesn't suffer from it. Other films in the same vein might be +1 (2013), Triangle (2009), Prometheus Trap (2012) or Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and many others.
I was sort of distracted when I watched this- I had just finished watching season 6 of The Walking Dead over the course of two evenings and needed to refresh my palate which is coated with the ennui of "I have no interest in anything in the universe until I can binge on the next season" and also run on sentences. I may have been sucked in a few times and I'm pretty sure I didn't find it boring. I don't feel as though I've been robbed of the time I spent in the room with it.
Might even watch it again.
Intolerable
Banned
- Local time
- Today 3:30 PM
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2015
- Messages
- 1,139
The Conjuring 2
- Meh. Wasn't the first one. Was a decent movie though. I suppose the villain seemed like an asspull to me. Even the name of it was kinda what? I don't recognize that.
I thought the main cast did good.
- Meh. Wasn't the first one. Was a decent movie though. I suppose the villain seemed like an asspull to me. Even the name of it was kinda what? I don't recognize that.
I thought the main cast did good.
Sinny91
Banned
The World's End
- . The film follows a group of friends who discover an alien invasion during an epic pub crawl in their home town.
Epic.
- . The film follows a group of friends who discover an alien invasion during an epic pub crawl in their home town.
Epic.
Dorian Tullus
Greenshirt
- Local time
- Today 8:30 PM
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2016
- Messages
- 55
sicario, not as dark and cruel
i liked the dinner table scene
i liked the dinner table scene
Joe13414
ENTPlease kill me
Into Thin Air, based off of book by Krakouer. 2 teams of climbers climb Mt.Everest and a lot die in over-emotional scenes of high contrast snow and comical ragdolls, its a great book and movie, but I liked it, it almost made me emotional over the end.
3+(1/2) stars
3+(1/2) stars
Sinny91
Banned
I'm watching Black Mass:
Johnny Drop is old and bald...
Johnny Drop is old and bald...
Pyropyro
Magos Biologis
Watched animated comedy Storks. Quite funny and sometimes dramatic at some points. My favorite characters there would be the wolves who take pack mentality to a whole new level.
Pyropyro
Magos Biologis
Watched Tamil romantic comedy I. I was surprised that the film was well done. Special effects were okay but the costume and scenery porn was awesome. The acting was as I predicted, sometimes over the top but it gave the film extra charm. I think the only issue that I got was that the film lasted for 3 hours.
Last edited:
