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ChineseDownhill
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:08 pm 
 

I own Team America on DVD so this isn't meant to bash the movie, more of an observation. But I always found it strange that in a movie about the War on Terror, made by the South Park guys, my favorite part is ....... an extended vomit joke. They could have made Orgazmo with puppets and if they included that scene it would have been just as funny to me.

OTOH I also like the "dicks, pussies, and assholes" speech which at least relates to what they're poking fun at in that particular story.
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acid_bukkake
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:14 am 
 

That's always been the genius of Parker and Stone, the lowbrow jokes mixed with surprisingly wise takes. They definitely take the Henry Drummond approach.
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Metal_On_The_Ascendant
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:10 am 
 

Cool, then you'll like Eric Andre
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BirthOfDisease
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:46 am 
 

I rewatched 28 Days Later earlier this week and I saw it in kind of a different light, with regards to the whole pandemic going on. Obviously it's not quite gone down the pan in the same manner as the film but the fact that everything seems so quiet now out in public is rather striking, very apparent during the scenes of Jim exploring an abandoned London. Still, great film, can never get bored watching it.
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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:59 pm 
 

ChineseDownhill wrote:
I own Team America on DVD so this isn't meant to bash the movie, more of an observation. But I always found it strange that in a movie about the War on Terror, made by the South Park guys, my favorite part is ....... an extended vomit joke.



This is actually my favorite part too, but who can forget that speech at the end? Blowing up Paris to save it? The sex scene? "NO ME GUUUUUUSTA," "BUT THE CORPORATIONS AND THE GLOBAL WARMING," etc.

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newp
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:12 pm 
 

BastardHead wrote:
Empyreal wrote:
They Live - Classic from the 80s with Kurt Russell.


However this is a banworthy mistake tbh

:lol:

They Live is a classic. Lots of good stuff, but the fight scene between Roddy Piper and Keith David always sticks out for me. It is stark and simple and they bludgeon the absolute crap out of each other, but it's also completely absurd. They just keep hitting each other over and over, rolling around on the ground growling, stopping to catch breath before starting up again. Even as the fight gets more ridiculous and they look like total shit it's played as just a few totally normal big macho-ass dudes who are very much into beating each other/themselves into a pulp.

The best bit is when Piper breaks Keith's car window while trying to hit him with a piece of lumber and then apologizes. Like yeah there is an alien invasion nobody else knows about and we are currently trying to pummel each other's face into mince meat but jeez, I'm sorry I damaged your car, man.

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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:14 pm 
 

That fight scene went on so long that I turned to my roommate and just went 'I want the movie to just end with them still fighting and nothing else is resolved.' That would've been funny.
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BastardHead
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:17 pm 
 

Not to mention the total absurdity of the setup. Dude's best friend asks him to try on sunglasses and he gets so angry about it that they have a ten minute long fistfight.
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:47 pm 
 

BastardHead wrote:
Not to mention the total absurdity of the setup. Dude's best friend asks him to try on sunglasses and he gets so angry about it that they have a ten minute long fistfight.


He could've just done it for two seconds to see what the deal was, but nope, fuck that, got to defend his honor...
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Deathdoom1992
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 05, 2020 11:30 pm 
 

Watched Silent Hill: Revelation today, and, like, what the fuck.

Shit's like someone crossed Hellraiser and a Tool music video.

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darkeningday
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 12:14 am 
 

All right, I'm willing to stake my reputation on this, which is great because I don't have a reputation: Andhadhun (2018) is the best black comedy since Fargo.

Empyreal, acid_b and anyone else who loves the Coens and insanely dark comedies that careen precariously close to art films but never go Full De Sica, needs to see this ASAP. I literally watched it twice in a row just because it was so damn good.

Don't read anything about it first, if you don't go in completely blind (heh!) you won't have as much fun. It's on Netflix, it's only about 2 hours, it doesn't have a trace of Bollywood other than the fact it features a blind piano singer (no random musical numbers) and if you don't at least slightly enjoy I'll eat a live rabbit. What do you have to lose?
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acid_bukkake
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 11:42 am 
 

Challenge accepted and I will demand proof.

EDIT: If this were a western movie, it would be by Garry Marshall and probably star Julia Roberts. Get that rabbit ready.
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Dembo wrote:
It just dawned on me that if there was a Christian equivalent of Cannibal Corpse, they could have the song title I Cum Forgiveness.

darkeningday wrote:
I haven't saw any of the Seen movies.

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darkeningday
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 3:49 pm 
 

Keep watching...

Do you honestly think I'd heartily recommend a shitty rom com about a guy faking an injury to win a girl and compare it to the greatest dark comedies ever made? And I don't even like piano rock, like all good m-a posters.

When the "doctor" re-quoted the bewildering quote at the beginning of the movie I fell madly and hopelessly in love.
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~Guest 21181
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:38 pm 
 

The last film I saw I was Erol Morris' Unknown Known. It's an extended interview with Donald Rumsfeld, essentially the spiritual sequel to Morris' earlier Fog of War (an interview with Robert McNamara). The editing and such here is perhaps a bit more manipulative than that film, but really the main difference is that the subject of this film has utterly no moral qualms about decisions that were made and consequences that happened on his watch. None whatsoever, at least as far as can be seen here. Fog of War was more interesting partly because the director got McNamara to elucidate perhaps a bit more than he intended, but also McNamara's soul-searching after the 1960s just makes for more interesting material. As an interview subject, Rumsfeld is almost exactly what you would expect him to be from his past public appearances. For the most part, his demeanor here just comes across as the boomer version of "no ragrets," and Morris can't get past it. There's just nothing here on the same level as McNamara discussing his meetings with the Vietnamese and Cuban governments in the 90s and 2000s to talk about what went wrong; nothing on the level of McNamara essentially confessing to war crimes; and Rumsfeld doesn't offer any advice or lessons like McNamara did.

If you're a student of history or politics it's worth watching, but it's more frustrating than illuminating (on either a policy level or a personal level).

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acid_bukkake
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:14 pm 
 

darkeningday wrote:
Keep watching...

Do you honestly think I'd heartily recommend a shitty rom com about a guy faking an injury to win a girl and compare it to the greatest dark comedies ever made? And I don't even like piano rock, like all good m-a posters.

When the "doctor" re-quoted the bewildering quote at the beginning of the movie I fell madly and hopelessly in love.

No, but I also know most of the movies you get really into are things I find bland and vanilla. I gave it 40 minutes and, while it's very well made, I can't say that I enjoyed it. I figure if I can give a movie nearly half its runtime and still not care then it's not for me.
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It just dawned on me that if there was a Christian equivalent of Cannibal Corpse, they could have the song title I Cum Forgiveness.

darkeningday wrote:
I haven't saw any of the Seen movies.

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darkeningday
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2020 11:53 pm 
 

People always say, "you stopped at the single worst place to stop, keep going!" and they're just egging you to keep going because "Frozen II is sooooo good omg and everyone must feel the same way I do" but what happens when that's actually the case?

The first act is entirely about lulling you into a false sense of security and foreshadowing the insanity of what's to come, such as the trophy wife getting bright red spicy crab meat all over her fingers.

The movie is about a string of grisly murders, black market organ theft, corneal mutilation, extortion, comically incompetent corrupt cops, child grifters, grifting grifters, kidnapping... essentially everything except sex crimes (and zero romances aside from the one at the beginning).

A lot of the fun is discovering the insanity in real time, but if that doesn't sound even remotely interesting the movie really isn't for you. I still think the movie can go toe-to-toe with Fargo.
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Oblarg
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 12:38 am 
 

acid_bukkake wrote:
For a second I thought you were dogging on the Charlton Heston classic...


That is exactly what I'm dogging on. The fucking thing is unwatchable.
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Bishop_Drugsalot
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 4:45 am 
 

Oblarg wrote:
acid_bukkake wrote:
For a second I thought you were dogging on the Charlton Heston classic...


That is exactly what I'm dogging on. The fucking thing is unwatchable.

How dare you

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acid_bukkake
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 8:50 am 
 

darkeningday wrote:
A lot of the fun is discovering the insanity in real time, but if that doesn't sound even remotely interesting the movie really isn't for you. I still think the movie can go toe-to-toe with Fargo.

The plot is fine, it's the Fish Called Wanda execution I don't care much for. The Fargo comparison is a good one, actually, because I also don't really care for that one, either. I'm not sure when I gave off the impression of being really into the Coens, though. I dig a handful of their movies, and that's mostly because of the casts (Jeff Bridges is unfuckwithable).
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It just dawned on me that if there was a Christian equivalent of Cannibal Corpse, they could have the song title I Cum Forgiveness.

darkeningday wrote:
I haven't saw any of the Seen movies.

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darkeningday
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 2:33 am 
 

If A Fish Called Wanda was 500x darker, maybe...

I guess I don't see a big difference between Hot Fuzz's satire of Tony Scott and Katheryn Bigelow with Andhadhun's skewering of Adrian Lyne, the aforementioned Garry Marshall and ridiculous Bollywood thrillers, other than Hot Fuzz being more reliant on punchlines, being way lighter and much more accessible in general.
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Razakel
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:49 am 
 

How in the world is it possible not to be in love with Fargo?

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acid_bukkake
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 12:33 pm 
 

By watching it and thinking it's clever but not as engaging as it wants to be. It's mid-tier Coens for me, personally.
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Dembo wrote:
It just dawned on me that if there was a Christian equivalent of Cannibal Corpse, they could have the song title I Cum Forgiveness.

darkeningday wrote:
I haven't saw any of the Seen movies.

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ChineseDownhill
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 7:16 pm 
 

Saw a couple big hit movies recently that I was prepared to throw my usual criticisms at - way too long! severely overrated! - but ended up liking both.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood didn't make me reconsider my opinion that Tarantino's first 2 movies are his best. And sure, some of the extreme self-indulgence of his later work is present here. I still cared about the characters more than I expected to and found the end quite satisfying.

Avengers Endgame was probably the best Marvel wrap-up movie I could have hoped for. I rank it below Infinity War because I felt it drag in the middle, but above The Avengers (2012).
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Oblarg
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 9:10 pm 
 

Bishop_Drugsalot wrote:
Oblarg wrote:
acid_bukkake wrote:
For a second I thought you were dogging on the Charlton Heston classic...


That is exactly what I'm dogging on. The fucking thing is unwatchable.

How dare you


The only capacity I could enjoy it in is as a sort of morbid peek into how mainstream Christians consume their mythology. It was so self-satisfied it hurt.

The thing's like 4 hours long and has an intermission, for fuck's sake.
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manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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darkeningday
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 9:45 pm 
 

Oblarg wrote:
and has an intermission, for fuck's sake.

is this a serious critique
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Oblarg
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:09 pm 
 

darkeningday wrote:
Oblarg wrote:
and has an intermission, for fuck's sake.

is this a serious critique


It's indicative of how utterly lost-up-its-own-ass the thing is. The film even trots out a professional-looking spokesman before the interminable opening credits to talk about the "historicity" of the story. Of course, following that, the curtain opens on what amounts a bunch of cartoon villains discussing their evil plans to oppress the Hebrews in hamfisted expository dialogue. The dissonance is downright jarring.

The pretentiousness might be forgivable if the movie were any good, but the thing is horrendously campy and trite and glacially-paced. It's bog-standard sappy Christian media, except taking itself seriously as High Art. It's a joke.
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Subrick
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:15 pm 
 

Oblarg beat me to it while I was typing, but I was gonna say, don't forget that it starts with a pre-credits overture and dissertation by DeMille himself on why the movie thinks of itself as being an important thing. Viewed in the context of the time (1956 was near the end of the second Red Scare), DeMille's speech about the themes of man's freedom under God vs. slavery under a heathenous dictator feels very much like "godless Communism bad" propaganda.

Just because The Ten Commandments is an achievement in moviemaking doesn't mean it's palatable for a modern audience. The Birth of a Nation was also a groundbreaking technical masterwork of its time, and look at how well history has treated that movie. If anyone ever thinks of watching The Ten Commandments, they should just watch The Prince of Egypt instead. Same basic story, but literally 121 minutes shorter and much more gripping since it has the added angle of examining the brotherhood of Ramses and Moses. Also, "Deliver Us" is one of the finest opening musical sequences ever, and I'd rank it right up at the top with "Circle of Life".

On a side note, if we're gonna talk about bloated, self-serious Hollywood epics from the dying days of the studio system, the talk of The Ten Commandments reminded me of the one time I watched Cleopatra in full, with no stopping. It was one of the most joyless movie watching experiences I've ever had. I find it astounding that a movie this long (248 minutes, so even LONGER than The Ten Commandments) and this gaudily, ostentatiously expensive ($31.1 million in 1963, which adjusted for inflation is $262,332,565.36 today) could be so boring and lifeless and monotone and lacking any real reason to exist outside of the desires of the Fox executives to at least try and make some money back on this thing. I watched it almost a decade ago, and I have no intentions of ever watching it again.
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darkeningday
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 3:41 am 
 

Most of the greatest films this century have intermissions, many of them long after TTC and Cleopatra.
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Oblarg
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:32 am 
 

darkeningday wrote:
Most of the greatest films this century have intermissions, many of them long after TTC and Cleopatra.


Darn, you're right.
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manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:46 am 
 

darkeningday wrote:
All right, I'm willing to stake my reputation on this, which is great because I don't have a reputation: Andhadhun (2018) is the best black comedy since Fargo.

Empyreal, acid_b and anyone else who loves the Coens and insanely dark comedies that careen precariously close to art films but never go Full De Sica, needs to see this ASAP. I literally watched it twice in a row just because it was so damn good.


I'll give it a shot sometime...

Bacurau - The residents of a small town take things into their own hands as they're assailed by mysterious enemies circling the town. I thought this was cool. Interesting 'fuck the man' kind of story and it takes a while to really show you the full picture, so it's cool in a more gratifying, long-form way that doesn't pander. The characters are all interesting even if there's a lot of them and it's hard to remember a lot of them. The bad guys are colorful and the good guys, you feel for their struggle. There are some slightly artsy flourishes to it that make it stand out. It's a solid flick. I dug the resilient message to it.

Suspiria 2018 - Really quite an audacious interpretation. Very long and artfully done, without really trying to recapture much of the original beyond the basic idea. I don't think this quite hits its mark, it's a simple story and doesn't manage to reach beyond that to justify the huge length - we kind of get the point by the first hour. While the climax is satisfying, it seemed like it was trying to have bigger, more worldly implications that got lost in the fat of the huge runtime and a weird lack of focus. But I liked the ambition.

The Whistlers - Somewhat offbeat comedic heist thing where an odd 'whistling language' is used to communicate. This had all the requisite twists, turns, double-plays and backstabbings you need for this kind of thing. I can't say it totally captivated me but the style was fun and the story never got dull either.

The Perfection - Truly a ridiculous mess of a film. This thing seemed like three movies in one and they couldn't decide which one to make. The most grating thing is either the fact that the film has a habit of 'rewinding' itself to explain twists that you would never have guessed because they're contrived and horribly written, or the super edgy shock value bullshit of the last third of the film - I hate shit that tries to show 'real' issues but are only used so gratuitously. Awful.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer - This is a macabre thriller about a doctor and his family preyed upon by a boy with ulterior motives. The main sticking point is the very weird acting style here, in which everyone basically always speaks in monotone - I didn't get what the point of that was, but then, it becomes unsettling enough later on and the director has a great sense of crafting morbid atmospheres and scenes, with awful images and even worse implications. Overall this was an oddball little picture and I didn't really glean much of a meaning to it, but for an eerie, pitch-black viewing, it was effective.

Climax - Loved it. Starts off innocuous and I was wondering if this was really just some kind of social drama or something. The way this just drops you into a nightmare is so seamless, and then the horror part is so total, that you can't turn away. The atmosphere and feel of this were just so thoroughly addictively dark. And it just didn't relent or let up at all. The waves of surreal, grotesque trippiness, and the way the characters react, make this an exquisite thing for horror.
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KeeperOfTheMissingLink
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 7:42 pm 
 

I watched George A. Romero's The Crazies earlier today, and boy is there a more appropriate film to watch now under a quarantine than this one. A super contagious virus infects the entire nation where it turns people insane and prone to kill people. The entire nation is quarantined as a result, and we eventually find out that the virus is actually a biochemical weapon that leaked into the water. What really makes the film great, though, is that it sports some of the best editing I've ever seen. It's frantic, and very quick, but never goes overboard unless it's absolutely necessary. I heard that Romero was initially using the editing the hide the fact that the film had a small budget (something Orson Welles would do a lot too), but he found this practice serendipitous as it ended up making the film more paranoid-looking.

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Thumbman
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:25 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
Suspiria 2018 - Really quite an audacious interpretation. Very long and artfully done, without really trying to recapture much of the original beyond the basic idea. I don't think this quite hits its mark, it's a simple story and doesn't manage to reach beyond that to justify the huge length - we kind of get the point by the first hour. While the climax is satisfying, it seemed like it was trying to have bigger, more worldly implications that got lost in the fat of the huge runtime and a weird lack of focus. But I liked the ambition.

A great example of a worthwhile remake in my opinion, even if it's obviously not as good as the original. They took a very stylized movie, and completely switched up the aesthetic without really messing with the overall plot. The only really sore spot for me was Thom Yorke ruining the climax with his awful, pretentious voice.
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Eradicatedseraphim
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:56 pm 
 

I thought it was beautiful and the Cold war-era setting was super bleak, that and I feel the ending really made up for the run time. I don't think I've seen a remake with anything as beautiful and incredibly well done as the dance and body horror mixture. It was really something else to me at least.
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:07 pm 
 

The whole Cold War thing was interesting but seemed to be trying to tie together some kind of a story that just didn't really work for me. It seemed sort of extraneous. And usually I like a long length but this just seemed to be repeating itself a bit after a while. But there were enough cool looking things going on that I wasn't exactly bored.
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:42 pm 
 

A Dark Song - This is a real gut punch for me. Utterly profound. I loved the way this movie tackled grief and loss and the processing of those very weighty emotions. And I love any movie that can make things work with very little adornments, just two people in one set locations. I was hit hard by this. Haven't been compelled this way by many other horror films lately.

The Endless - This movie about a pair of brothers re-joining a cult from their childhood was pretty trippy. I found myself getting lost in its psychedelic waves. Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are real talents who know how to craft effective, macabre landscapes while also working with these emotional scripts. The characters are good too and you never know where it's going.

Spring - Another film by Benson and Moorhead - I liked this even better personally. This is a romance that could've been done by Richard Linklater only it was done with a distinct horror backdrop to it. I found this enchanting and mystical, with the kind of erudite writing quality I can probably go back to later and keep analyzing any number of times. Just an enchanting piece of cinema. Raw and honest.

Possum - A sick weird trip of a movie. Some utterly absurd, horrific imagery, and a great performance from Sean Harris as the lead. I think this had something to say about guilt and culpability. Unfortunately a terrible ending sequence mars it. But the rest is good enough to warrant a viewing.

They Look Like People - Ultra raw DIY thing done with pretty much no budget, but it's killer. This is an interesting story about the friendship between these two guys, done through a very odd paranormal, paranoid filter. It's engaging and everyone involved does quite well.

Blow The Man Down - Interesting little crime thriller - it's a subtle quiet kind of thing and has quite a few cool performances. I didn't think this was quite there yet, I'm sure the writers and directors will do better later, but I enjoyed the hell out of this. I love a good small town crime tale and a good atmosphere. The two lead girls do very well, and Margo Martindale is killer. The story is a nice palpably tense thing about morality. I can dig it.

The Dead Don't Die - Hated it. This is total asinine garbage. It's trying to be witty and subversive, but being boring as fuck doesn't accomplish that, and neither does a bunch of masturbatory dialogue about what zombie movies are like. I was amazed at how dumb and awful this shit really was. Some of the worst shit I've seen in a while.

Freaks - Pretty damn cool little thriller. It's a whole supernatural sci fi world and they reveal it in little bits and pieces. The movie is a subtle well done thing. It's well crafted and the performances are killer. I was drawn into its very depressive yet convincing sci fi world.
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OzzyApu
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Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:11 am
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Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:16 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
The Endless - This movie about a pair of brothers re-joining a cult from their childhood was pretty trippy. I found myself getting lost in its psychedelic waves. Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are real talents who know how to craft effective, macabre landscapes while also working with these emotional scripts. The characters are good too and you never know where it's going.

Spring - Another film by Benson and Moorhead - I liked this even better personally. This is a romance that could've been done by Richard Linklater only it was done with a distinct horror backdrop to it. I found this enchanting and mystical, with the kind of erudite writing quality I can probably go back to later and keep analyzing any number of times. Just an enchanting piece of cinema. Raw and honest.

I absolutely loved Spring. The atmosphere, setting, and characters really got me into that. I have The Endless on my watchlist on Netflix so I'll get to that sometime in the future.
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 5:13 pm 
 

Yeah it seemed like such a simple thing, but it was just so damn good and captivating anyway. Real raw talent. They just have that real individual indie quality.

They have another one before either of those too... will have to try that as well.
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Deathdoom1992
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Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 9:19 am
Posts: 555
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 3:36 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
The Dead Don't Die - Hated it. This is total asinine garbage. It's trying to be witty and subversive, but being boring as fuck doesn't accomplish that, and neither does a bunch of masturbatory dialogue about what zombie movies are like. I was amazed at how dumb and awful this shit really was. Some of the worst shit I've seen in a while.


Whilst I didn't quite hate it, I found it a generally lifeless (ha!) movie that should've been so much better, given the cast list. Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead are all I need for zombie parody films.

Most recently watched a bunch of horror stuff, as per usual:

Wolf Creek - seasoned horror fans should all love this film; I've watched it like twenty times and I do. So well-balanced between the calm, lighthearted atmosphere of the first half (which is legitimately as enjoyable and engaging as what follows), and the stunning display of violence and sadism in the second. It's unrelenting and authentic in a way that few horror films genuinely capture, and Mick Taylor is one of the best villains in horror history. 9/10.

Jeepers Creepers - Sorta similar to the Arghoslent discussion on the main forum about art made by shitty people (I'm not gonna derail this thread by talking about Victor Salva but for those who are unaware, a quick google search will reveal all), it's another cult horror movie, a great exercise in tension and release driven by great performances from Gina Philips and Justin Long, and another memorable villain in the Creeper. Also features a number of brilliant, cinematic shots. 7.5/10.

Jeepers Creepers 2 and 3 - Not really worthy of that much discussion of their own. The second is a passable film, some decent moments and a creepy atmosphere, and the subplot with Ray Wise is a good touch, but overall the dialogue feels clunky and the film as a whole just isn't good enough to warrant that much attention. 5/10. The third is fucking terrible, not worthy of the first film's name. Terrible plot, dialogue, wasted Gina Philips cameo, and the Creeper has gotten fat. I could go on. Some decent shots again, and one decent scene where the Creeper's truck is found by a group of teens but that's about all this has going for it. 2/10.

Hostel - Whilst this was pretty brutal for 2005, I'm not entirely sure that it's the "torture porn" it's earned a reputation for being. It's surprisingly well-written and cleanly executed (no pun intended), especially given the small budget, but Eli Roth can do better. 6/10.

Hostel Part II - Roth does do better, seriously upping the brutality (just look at the first of the deaths at the Hostel, man), and introducing an aspect we didn't get in the first film - a look at those who pay to kill others. Great performances from Lauren German and Roger Bart, who goes from a reluctant visitor to a willing participant in the hostel's, ahem, activities. 7.5/10.

Hostel Part III - Yeah this pretty much sucks, as I pretty much expected. It moves the Elite Hunting Club to Vegas, thus killing that sinister Eastern Bloc vibe of the first two, has a terrible plot and twist (in fact, there are two terrible twists for the price of one!). I'd welcome a fourth instalment if Roth were to return to the helm, but of this one, steer clear. 3/10.

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~Guest 859365
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Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2020 5:33 pm
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 5:48 pm 
 

.....


Last edited by ~Guest 859365 on Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Smalley
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:06 am
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:52 pm 
 

Just wrote something about Zodiac, and long review short, "the film's focus in its 2nd half smartly remains on Graysmith and his futile, seemingly endless journey into a (sometimes literal) underworld of endless, labyrinthine deadends, and even when Graysmith does seem to make progress, his marriage is still crumbling underneath the crushing weight of his Quixotic obsession with the case, which comes home even closer than before when it seems as though the anonymous killer has begun targeting Graysmith himself with a series of unnerving calls to his home, the same one where his wife and children live, unaware of the threat he has invited into their midst".
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