seen a good movie recently?

[mercedes]

saw furiosa earlier this week, it was nice...
i think i still prefer fury road in comparison; its got better action, less noticeable cgi (if any), and a tighter story
was nice to see hemsworth in a non mcu role again; he should do more films like rush, extraction, and blackhat wheres hes not goofy thor

just saw vanilla sky last night, now that was a really great film!
was pleasantly surprised in where the plot went with its reveal
first time in a while where ive been really immersed and cant really foresee a films plot or character development
those 2 hours went by in a flash...

please go ahead and use this thread to post films that you have seen recently and would like to discuss...

 

[Andrew]

Recently watched Chinatown since the local theatre had it. A great film that makes you go hmmm when you think about the ending in connection to the man that directed it.

 

[Mukky]

Got a protable projector to watch movies in the living room recently, quality is ass, but it gives a certain aesthetic to it that makes watching old stuff a vibe.

Anyway, to test it out, I got reccomended "It's Such a Beautiful Day", which is a very good but also very very sad film.

 

[ethos]

Godzilla Minus One was fantastic, as someone who's not usually a kaiju movie fan. I think the perspective it took was a much more deliberate critique of the Japanese government than the "Godzilla is a superhero" it has become over the last few decades. I saw a panel interviewing two Japanese-American professors, one of physics/radiation and the other on humanities, and their ideas really clicked. There's a general notion that "Godzilla is the atomic bomb" that has been taken on by western audiences, because of course the US wants to make content about them and what they did. Though these two were saying that largely in Japan, Godzilla is interpreted to be their ancestors coming back in a rage for what Japan did during WW2, now stained by radiation. It really helped change the tone of the movie for me.

Also saw Challengers last week and LOVED it - the writing is incredible, some of the editing/shots are fantastic, and the entire thing is soundtracked by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross/NIN. I think it widely got the "Zendaya in a Thruple" review from the one scene that went viral, though it's definitely not as banal as a movie as people play that off as.

 

[TotalMattF]

I recently saw Aguirre, The Wrath of God and the opening was so captivating I had no choice but to see the whole thing.

 

[mercedes]

just seen train to busan
this film was as great as people boast it to be, pretty emotional too
was quite surprised at how ferocious they made the zombies
its got me craving more of ma dong-seoks films, hes my favorite korean actor; any film featuring him is always a good time
ill probably continue with his roundup series... haven't seen the roundup no way out 2023 and the roundup punishment 2024 yet

 

[Andrew]

I rewatched Austin Powers the other night and that movie is still a laugh-a-minute. The whole trilogy is up on YouTube as "free with ads", which if you have an adblocker installed still just means free lol. Think I might finally see the other two.

 

[kevin supermarket]

i watched napoleon dynamite in full for the first time last week (?). it feels weird to say that i don't think a movie like this could be made today. so little actually happened, yet so much went on. i've never been so entertained watching a guy have a day at school.

 

[Mukky]

I rewatched Austin Powers the other night and that movie is still a laugh-a-minute. The whole trilogy is up on YouTube as "free with ads", which if you have an adblocker installed still just means free lol. Think I might finally see the other two.

oh dip, really? I should check it out then lol

 

[mercedes]

goin thru a rewatch for the MI series with family...
pleasant surprise in MI3
for some reason i remembered it as a tacticool but boring film
the rewatch opened my eyes... it has such a great gritty look and heavy atmosphere to the film.. almost like a michael mann film
and the intense stakes in the story, cool villain and action sequences made for a great film

 

[ethos]

Rewatched 'Before Sunrise' for the first time in maybe 15 years and wow is it an excellent movie. All about fleeting conversation and vulnerability with strangers. The entire movie is a liminal journey and wow is it a great ride. Richard Linklater really does a great job of it. Another favorite of his is Waking Life, a rotoscope animation of a dream journey.

 

[Mukky]

Recently watched The Lord Of The Rings: Extended Trilogy at my local cinema. It took over 12 hours to complete and I was exhausted by the end of it, who knew sitting down and consuming the best high-fantasy has to offer all day could be so tiring?

I hadn't seen the movies for nearly 10 years so re-watching them like this was truly an experience. I didn't even catch on to what the extended editions added, but I loved every second of it. Would do it again next year!!

 

[Mukky]

Hoodwinked!, despite it's sloppy animation, is still a great comedy film. Got promted to see it again from a YouTube video and found out it's up for free!

 

[Andrew]

Last night I watched The Last Stop In Yuma County, which is a good movie that unfortunately never really gets above that despite every opportunity to be something greater. I wrote out a review at 4AM and fell asleep while writing it, which I guess is kinda fitting. Much like this movie there is a point where my ramblings run out of gas. Ironically enough I probably would like this movie some more if certain elements of it were worse - it looks and feels very high brow at times when it is not, lol. Screws with my expectations.

-----

The Last Stop In Yuma County is simply *dripping* in Americana. From the moment the production company logos first hit the screen, it's made clear that this is an all-American '70s styled romp. There was a time in film production where this would be a far more unique style to pursue, but regardless of that style's saturation throughout both high & low budget film it doesn't take away from just how nice it is. Colors are vibrant, clothes 'n cars are fun, and everybody's found a way to look cool while smoking.

Ok, maybe that last point could be left in the past. (Look up the fate of the Marlboro men, kids.)

That throwback style is perhaps the most interesting thing about this movie. As far as crime flicks go, this isn't True Romance, Snatch, or Pulp Fiction. The adventure is limited, almost certainly due to the meager budget the production crew was working with. I'm always drawn in by this idea of a great thriller movie set in a single location, but the more I see the concept in use the more I realize that you need to be *incredibly* precise with it. You cannot leave anything on the floor, when a movie is formatted like this it becomes an elaborate rube goldburg machine and you simply have to make every piece work together. *Most* parts of Yuma County do.

That word *most* is ultimately what holds this movie back. I found myself asking the question "so what's the meaning here?" a few different times towards the end. The first hour of this film builds to a great conclusion, and I would be willing to accept this film existing for the sake of one incredibly elaborate new-old-west-style shootout. I got to hear some Roy Orbison and see a well organized Mexican standoff. You can roll the credits briefly after there and I'll be happy.

Then it kept going.

There was no scene in this movie that I thought was bad, but ultimately its problem is that a 30 second long shootout is the only part that's truly *great*. In another life it would either be a well-loved TV movie or a drive-in theatre classic. In our life, it's a solid B- movie that does little exciting but will give you something to pay attention to for 90 minutes. Catch it on Netflix if it ever joins that lineup, but don't go in expecting the world.

 

[Mukky]

Saw the new Alien: Romulus film

I thought it was pretty good! Scary as heck, felt like I could barely take a breath watching it. I am usually terrible with horror films, and this was no different. Amazing use of practical effects.

 

[atradaitoshi]

Saw the new Alien: Romulus film

I thought it was pretty good! Scary as heck, felt like I could barely take a breath watching it. I am usually terrible with horror films, and this was no different. Amazing use of practical effects.

Twitter really putting in work to spoil for me what I'll see in the movie

 

[crantheman]

I re-watched Castle In The Sky this past summer at my local theater (they were showing a bunch of Studio Ghibli films throughout the summer). It was a fun time! Amazing and classic film

 

[mercedes]

I re-watched Castle In The Sky this past summer at my local theater (they were showing a bunch of Studio Ghibli films throughout the summer). It was a fun time! Amazing and classic film

a ghibli film ill always remember fondly because i watched it with my mom for the first time....
classic!!

 

[ball]

watched antonioni's "la notte" for the first time the other day. antonioni is a director that a lot of much smarter people than i love, and who should theoretically be a favourite of mine. he favors long takes and sparse narratives about the empty malaise of upper class life which is extremely in my wheelhouse. he has a knack for weaving in these unexpected but visually immaculate setpieces, like one where the wife, longing to escape, watches kids fire rockets off in a field.

as a film about a loveless marriage it deals with the contrast between how the men and women in the film cope with the suffocating emptiness of their lives. the husband is a listless intellectual with writers block keeping up appearances at book signings and parties whereas the wife has to retreat into playing a background character in her husband's life. the film makes interesting use of windows as reflective surfaces that frame the characters in a sort of ghostly way.

probably needs to be revisited at some point. maybe when i'm older. one of those films that makes me want to dive into actual film theory rather than just watching movies all the time

 

[Andrew]

Last night I watched The Beekeeper. Solid action flick, made an even better movie by acknowledging its status as a 6-outta-10-shoot-em-up and having some fun with being schlocky/trashy. There's a moment in this movie that's so (intentionally) dumb that I paused it because I was laughing too hard.

Still wish Kurt Wimmer would direct another action movie instead of just writing/producing stuff like this. I adore Equilibrium and long for more like it every day.