Apr 7, 2020

@Twan @Swizz and everyone else in this quarantine screening cohort - my recent viewings are:

Double feature: Malcolm X and Ali. Great, great American historical epics. They capture the gravitas of both men, so pivotal to the evolution of race relations and politics in the mid 20th century. I almost wish one of two things: a. that denzel would've cameod as X in Ali, and/or b. either way maybe someone does a spliced long cut merging these two stories into one. like an olympic baton, ali carries on x's message of segregation, then integration in american life. spike lee and michael mann are dissimiliar filmmakers in a lot of respects, but i think these specific subjects would blend well.
but man, the opening 20 minutes of Ali is a particular favorite - some of the best american filmmaking of the last 20 years imho. goes without saying denzel and will smith absolutely crush. loveeeeeeee these movies - for 3 hrs a piece theyre both "rewatchable" ::bill simmons voice::

The Last Man on Earth: speaking of will smith, i watched the original version of richard mathesons I Am Legend, The Last Man on Earth, on Amazon. Very solid early zombie flick. I love Vincent Price, as you may've guessed. (In fact, when i was younger, rly young, i got price's autograph before he died, which now hangs in my den...) This was an Italian production so once dialogue enters the picture about halfway through it gets rather jarring. still considering the ongoing pandemic, this is almost essential viewing for horror fans.

Less essential is Ghostkeeper, a 1981 Shining knockoff shot in Banff. Stuffy acting and fairly mundane. The setting is (fittingly) chilling but they don't capitalize at all. Mediocre and boring.

Also bad (but perhaps not exactly ~forgettable) is Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster. I read somewhere this has been cited as one of the worst films of all time - so lets start there. consider the fact there is NO frankenstein in this movie, just a robot named frank.... think Ed Wood. amateur on all accounts - laughably makeup,sets. bizarrely, the score for this dumb scifi horror mashup is surf rock. beyond the fact this came out in the early 60s it makes no sense.

EDIT - also watched the TV movie biopic, Truman. Gary SInise is great but you can feel the limitations (budgetary or otherwise) of the medium, given its the mid 90s and theyre tackling like 35 years of history. still a good primer given Biden could likely become new POTUS

 

Apr 2, 2020

Beautiful elegy/"love letter" to specific point in time, moment in film history. expertly crafted - you feel like you're in the time period. excellent blend of humor, suspense and pathos. and just a great hangout flick starring two of the biggest, coolest stars in the planet. felt like the right evolution for tarantino at this point in his career - part memoir/essay on his love of film history. bigger question is: why didn't you like it?

and even bigger question: what is @Twan watching while housebound?

latest screening for me was a rewatch of 1989 best picture winner, Driving Miss Daisy. I'll be honest (while not posting this on Letterbox) - I liked it, and think its underrated. its rep is its an outdated and corny/sentimental film that undersells its racial politics to an offensive degree. and i get that POV - it does not have Do the Right Thing's militant politics.... but that doesn't mean its blind to race or inherently apolitical. In fact, it's a very lo-fi, subtle view not just of what being black in mid 20th centurys southern caste system was actually like for many working class african americans..... but its (perhaps moreso) a glimpse at another outsider in southern life, an elderly jewish woman... borne in like 1876 lol. and using her to explore core themes like hypocrisy among otherwise decent, good people is compelling and works. ive read the play is part of a trilogy about jewish life in atlanta, so i think thats an essential way to view the film. the script/story itself sure feels like a one act play, but i dont know you can fault it for its own narrative modesty or self imposed limitations. or if you can, the film is redeemed due to truly excellent work by jessica tandy and morgan freeman. v touching, brilliant character work.

granted, i doubt this would be my choice for the best picture oscar. but i think for what it is, and given the context of its release, its a valuable if imperfect glimpse at a bygone american life that resists having to provide all the answers to societys ills.

 

Apr 1, 2020

Vice- I expected more after Big Short, idk I feel like they skipped the most interesting parts and showed how he was a drunk 60 years ago too much

Come and see- haunting, incredibly sad and exhausting experience. Might be the best war movie you will ever see

Hot Fuzz- again expected more, why make 40 minute long shootout? Could be much funnier, beggining is really good and it just keep getting worse every minute

El angel exterminator- great idea executed perfectly, wonderful shots, funny and sad, very weird, deeper than it seems at first, at least I hope so

The Staggering Girl- beautiful, romantic, interesting and very short, what's not to like. I wish I will look like Kyle MacLachlan looked here when Im older

 

Apr 1, 2020

lmao I should change it back to CA or something i think. Maybe if @WPG agrees to vote biden in the general i will

good thoughts! and agree on Paul Hauser - thought Richard Jewell was underrated and the fact Hauser wasn't nominated for Best Actor makes me sad. perfect role. as fast and sometimes drab or one note as modern eastwood goes that casting, performance was kinetic...

anyways just watched another 80s horror movie: "Blood Rage," a cheeky Halloween knockoff. Fun fact it was released in 1987, shot in 1983 , was originally titled "Nightmare at Shadow Woods" but - inexplicably - is called "SLASHER" in its own opening credits.! Also, Woody Allen's ex wife is only 'star' and her scenes seem like they were shot in a vacuum and spliced together with the rest of the cast. Fun!

 

Apr 1, 2020

@Papa Alpha Andy I like your take on Honey Boy, v similar to my own (an interesting experiment with fascinating components - some that were genuinely great, like Shia's performance - but not one that fully works). I do NOT like that I have to type 'Papa' to mention you

some movies I've watched in the last week or so.......

Birds of Prey - Admired this more than I truly liked it. It's zippy and fun and has plenty of personality (and I love Margot Robbie so much), but I found its tone fairly grating and I have major comic book movie fatigue as it is.

The Gentlemen - This was pretty dumb the more I think about it but, tbh, I really enjoyed it lol

Downhill - The first major disappointment of the year for me (although the reviews sort of warned me). Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are so so good. But the script lets them down - it doesn't have the emotional weight OR the laughs that it needed

Edge of Tomorrow - Not sure how I missed this one. Really fun!

Richard Jewell - I enjoyed watching this, despite the fact that it's all wildly obvious. All respect to Clint Eastwood, but wouldn't it be nice for him to do something, ANYTHING that was surprising? Okay, he's 90, fair enough, I'll back off. But it definitely gives his films a bit of a ceiling. Not clear to me why Kathy Bates was Oscar worthy. Paul Walter Hauser was great!

A Serious Man (rewatch) - One of my favorite Coen Bros. Just brilliant. That ending!

 

Mar 31, 2020

@Asmxdeus as you said, i think its left to the audience to ponder the ending. another thing that makes clockwork orange good is the music. its eerie and it just fits the scenes well, especially the opening scene which is fantastic

Once Upon A Time in the West (1968)

i'm not sure i like this one as much as some of sergio's previous westerns, but its still a good film. to me this one isn't as entertaining as the others. i can even see people finding it boring, though i don't feel that way. the music is once again awesome, and just makes the movie all that much better.

8 out of 10

 

Feb 22, 2020

PARASITE
Simply the best film of the 2010s. A masterpiece. Also, 2019 can give 1999 a run for its money.

 

Jan 11, 2020

Uncut Gems 9/10
Joker 4/10
Knives Out 7/10
Ford vs Ferrari 7.5/10
Zombieland Double Tap 7.5/10
Gemini Man 6.5/10
The Aeronats 8/10
Doctor Sleep 6/10
Rambo Last Blood 8/10
Hustlers 8/10
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 8.5/10
Ready Or Not 7.5/10

Watched those over the last couple of months.

 

Oct 3, 2019

Joker

Its just phenomenal it’d be a missed opportunity if they let this a stand-alone film

 

Aug 25, 2019

Lmao.

Holy s---, weekend at Bernie’s! I haven’t seen that movie in literally forever. I’ve seen it many many years ago but honestly, I don’t really remember it. Have you recently seen it? Now I wanna re-watch it lol

 

Dec 22, 2018

Dog Day Afternoon 10/10

 

Dec 20, 2018

LA Confidential - 10/10
Shaun of the Dead - 10/10
Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse - 9.5/10

 

Nov 29, 2018

The Devil's Violinist - 10/10
Boyhood - 7/10
Jackie Brown - 9/10
Halloween (2018) - 8/10
Snatch - 9/10
Closer - 8/10
London - 7/10
Wonder Wheel - 7/10

 

Nov 25, 2018

Lost in Translation - 10/10
Dial M, For Murder - 10/10
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 7/10
The Grand Budapest Hotel - 8/10
The Killers - 8/10
The Killing - 9/10

 

Sep 16, 2018

Bronson

Incarcerated as a very young man, Michael Peterson (Tom Hardy) morphs into a personality called Charles Bronson and becomes England's most-violent prisoner. Based on a true story.





Tom Hardy is brilliant. Loved it.

 

Jan 7, 2018

• I watched A Ghost Story because of how high @Twan placed it in his year end list. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised, as you will see below.
  
  
  
  
  A Ghost Story 2017
  ★★★★★ Watched 06 Jan, 2018
  
  A hypnotic rhythm is mounted by the contemplation of sorrow, a gesture of existence for the sake of existence, a show of absence for the vindication of presence.
  
  91/100 - Amazing.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Frances Ha 2012
  ★★★★ Watched 05 Jan, 2018
  
  Nuanced physical comedy and naked vulnerability of person and performance help lift this otherwise banal story to greater heights.
  
  80/100 - Great.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania 1972
  ★★★★½ Watched 02 Jan, 2018
  
  A beautiful and heartwarming sentiment to personal history, presence, and wonder for a forgotten world.
  
  87/100 - Excellent
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  I Used To Be A Filmmaker 2003
  ★★★★ Watched 02 Jan, 2018
  
  Really lovely and thoughtful. A deliberate contradiction to tautology, a meeting of two passions.
  
  80/100 - Great.
  
  1 like
  
  
• 
  Afraid So 2006
  ★★★★½ Watched 02 Jan, 2018
  
  Whoa. Abstract, direct, montage cinema at its finest. Vertov would be proud.
  
  85/100 - Excellent.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Prayer 2002
  ★★★ Watched 02 Jan, 2018
  
  Cinematic, but I'm guessing its power is lost out of context. Would like to see the full omnibus to better engage with this.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Baby Driver 2017
  ★★★★ Watched 28 Dec, 2017
  
  Sharply edited, and boasting at times gorgeous sets a generally pleasant mise-en-scene. Audio and Visual harmony, rhythm, match on actions... splendid. Near companion to DRIVE/SAMOURI/CONFORMIST but clearly its own thing.
  
  83/100 - Great.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017
  ★★★½ Watched 25 Dec, 2017
  
  Best yet casting of Spider Man, and greatest potential for the series' development. It's popcorn balance of comedy and drama will always keep it from being great, though.
  
  75/100 - Very Good.
  
  1 like
  
  
• 
  Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017
  ★★★½ Watched 25 Dec, 2017
  
  Most mature, well-written, and well shot of new school Star Wars, but also more obnoxiously ambitious.
  
  Should be called Star Wars VII. The other two, a remake and a prequel, shouldn't count. Here's to the real beginning.
  
  79/100 - Very Good.
  

 

Sep 13, 2017

M- 10/10

 

Mar 23, 2017

this was stunning, first time properly watching this PTA the absolute god

 

Mar 9, 2017

• 
  Ali 2001
  
  
  ★★★★★ Watched 06 Mar, 2017
  
  Incredibly visceral, emotive, and (digitally) adaptive. Boasting amongst the best editing and cinematography displayed in recent film, particularly digital. This may be Mann's finest hour, and is certainly Will Smith's.
  
  93/100 - Amazing.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Raise the Red Lantern 1991
  ★★★★★ Watched 06 Mar, 2017
  
  Literary values are made cinematic through Zhang's subtle narration and poetic cinematography.
  
  91/100 - Amazing.
  
  No likes
  
  
• 
  Hacksaw Ridge 2016
  ★★½ Watched 27 Feb, 2017
  
  A captivating spectacle with the perhaps the most contrived story, contradicting morals, and egregious violence on film.
  
  63 - Decent, since I'm splitting the difference.