20-10s 20-10s General Pimping Thread

[caley]

Swiss Army Man: I think this is the highest one on my list that I haven't pimped in here (Unless I didn't pimp 'Tree of Life' this time but considering my years of talking about it  all over here and to anyone who listens about how much I love it, I probably don't need to). I remember reading about the first time where it was a story on audiences booing and walking out on "Daniel Radcliffe's farting corpse movie" and I made a mental note about it. I thought the trailer looked amazing and kept waiting for a chance to see it And halfway though finally getting to see it, I got a phonecall that my 90+ year old seemingly-indestructible* great uncle died but I decided to stick it out and finish the film and I actually think it ended up helping.  It's about a man (Paul Dano) who has been marooned on a deserted island and just as he's about to kill himself, he sees another person, only to discover that it's a farting corpse (Radcliffe). Without explaining too much (If it even can be explained), the man ends up using and befriending the corpse to help him survive. It's not perfect (Some people hate the ending, I think it works so perfectly) but it's incredibly weird and imaginative, and surprisingly moving and full of unbridled joy .  I really love it.

*(when he was in his mid to late eighties, he was doing some woodworking, felt some slight discomfort in his long bothersome neck, passed out, got up and walked himself upstairs in his retirement home, called his son and asked him to drive him to the hospital. Once there, he was X-rayed and found to have a hangman's fracture of his neck, the same injury that paralyzed Christopher Reeve, my great uncle was out of the hospital the same day. A few years later he was riding his motorized scooter down a sidewalk, when a car came out of an alley without looking and pushed his scooter right out into the road.  My great uncle was fine.)

 

[The Natural]

First time watches:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Waititi, 2016). Chances are I'll be voting for this. It's funny and sweet which is a difficult balancing act to bridge. An odd couple dynamic going on with Sam Neill and Julian Dennison's characters.

Ex Machina (Garland, 2014). I'm hit and miss when it comes with the sci-fi genre. More often than not, I don't like it. This proved to be an exception addressing AI and can autonomy think and pass off as a person? Alicia Vikander is great as Eva. A lock for my ballot.

The Death of Stalin (Iannucci, 2018). I enjoyed this and it had it's funny moments against the dark material but it's no The Thick of It or In the Loop (2009).

Hereditary (Aster, 2018). This was hyped as scary as I recall on release. Borderline pick for me.

You Were Never Really Here (Ramsay, 2017). Doubt this makes my 50.

Parasite (Joon ho, 2019). One of those heavily hyped films but is worth all the hyperbole? Oh, yeah. Had a mare trying to find a shop that sold it due to the delays in stock caused by the coronavirus but it worth the wait. The less you know going, the better. The first hour was my favourite thing from it, the infiltration period.

Lady Bird (Gerwig, 2017). A really good coming of age movie though I find the titular character unlikeable at times.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013). I really enjoyed this adaptation of the soure material, Flashpoint as Barry Allen wakes up to a world different from his own. One of the best animated comic book movies for my money.

Knives Out (Johnson, 2019). Really liked this mystery whodunnit? Reminded me of the live action Cluedo show in the UK back in the day. Clever tight script, THAT accent by Daniel Craig and seeing Evans play against type from what he's best known as, Captain America. I'll be voting for this.

Locke (Knight, 2014). I remember when this came out that the gimmick was a one man show and that it is, Tom Hardy in a car as his life starts to unravel. When I rank things, I tend to give bonus marks for something different that it's stand out to the usual so Locke will benefit from that.

Edited August 26, 2020 by The Natural

[caley]

Watched

Jojo Rabbit: which is a lot different movie than advertised, a much sadder and more moving film than wacky war satire seen in commercials.  I really liked it, though.  Thought every actor was spot-on (Especially the two leads) and the wackiness/humor was used occasionally to cut the tension or gloom, rather than for wackiness' sake. This will force its way onto my list, even at this rather late stage.

The Farewell: I really didn't have much desire to see this, as I don't really find Awkwafina funny and had no desire to watch her act, but it was actually a really solid film. A young woman in NYC finds out her grandmother is dying back in China, but the family, out of a Chinese tradition, haven't told the woman of her terminal diagnosis so they organize a fake wedding to cover for why so many family members are suddenly visiting. What I liked about this one is that, as Awkwafina's character is somewhat of an outsider (A Chinese immigrant raised in America), many of the various customs and traditions have to be explained to her so if, like me, you're totally unfamiliar with these customs, it's helpful to have it explained without making the film seem condescending.  Some really solid acting.  Good flick, might well make my list, too.

[The Natural]

So ballot update. I'm doing a top 50. My top ten looks to be secured. The 2010s had its moments but I'd definitely take the 2000s and 1990s over it without hesitation.

Edited August 31, 2020 by The Natural

[Octopus]

I'm looking at doing about 80. The last 20 to equate 100 would be a big enough drop off, but I got a week to decide. I don't see myself watching too much this up coming week. I wanted to get in a couple of Lav Diaz films, but that's not reasonable with my schedule. Maybe one or two more modern movies.

My list is mostly set with room for slight wiggles. 

[caley]

Man, I could go 200 easy. Getting it down to 100 was a nightmare for me, had to dump a lot of "I had a great time watching this silly blockbuster/goofball comedy/action movie but I can't say they were...great" films.

[Control]

I’m doing 100. Have the list of films, just need to put everything after about #20 in order (and add directors and years).

[The Natural]

On Sunday I watched three films for the first time. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) and Contagion (2011).

In 2015, I watched Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation at the cinema. My first Mission: Impossible movie and I right enjoyed it despite not seeing the films beforehand. Over the weekend I decided to watch Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) and Fallout (2018) for the first time and I right enjoyed them as well. The core IMF cast from Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt to Luther Stickell, Benji Dunn and Ilsa Faust. The stories are good though sometimes can be a bit too twisty for it's own good and feature standout action set pieces. The stunts Tom Cruise pulls off are remarkable. All three will make my ballot but I'm having difficulty deciding the order they should go in.

Contagion. There's times you watch a movie and say it's not real to reality. You don't have that get out clause here. The similarities to what we're all experiencing right now in 2020 is eerie. It'as the scariest non horror movie going. I'll also be voting for this.

Edited September 7, 2020 by The Natural

[The Natural]

Been working on my ballot most of today after watching three films yesterday. I'm happy with it with the odd exception. Cool there's an extra week for more cramming.

[The Natural]

I'm now up to 16 first time watches for this project in no particular order:

 

Carol (Haynes, 2015)

Nightcrawler (Gilroy, 2014)

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Waititi, 2016)

Ex Machina (Garland, 2014)

Snowpiercer (Joon-ho, 2013)

The Death of Stalin (Iannucci, 2018)

Hereditary (Aster, 2018)

Parasite (Joon ho, 2019)

Lady Bird (Gerwig, 2017)

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Bird, 2011)

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (McQuarrie, 2018)

You Were Never Really Here (Ramsay, 2017)

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (Oliva, 2013)

Knives Out (Johnson, 2019)

Locke (Knight, 2014)

Contagion (Soderbergh, 2011)

Edited September 7, 2020 by The Natural

[RIPPA]

Well Brittany Runs A Marathon is definitely making my list.

It's like the first thing in a month I have watched that will do so. Such a string of disappointments

[The Natural]

Wrong thread.

Edited September 8, 2020 by The Natural

[The Natural]

Final tally of first time watches for this project stands at 21. Wish I'd seen a few more. Fortunate to see what I did thanks to my best friend who is more like a brother to me and the library was mostly out of commission due to the coronavirus crisis.

The 21 in no particular order:

Spoiler

Zootropolis (Howard/Moore, 2016)

Carol (Haynes, 2015)

Nightcrawler (Gilroy, 2014)

Parasite (Joon ho, 2019)

Lady Bird (Gerwig, 2017)

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Bird, 2011)

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (McQuarrie, 2018)

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Waititi, 2016)

Ex Machina (Garland, 2014)

Coco (Unkrich, 2017)

Moana (Clements/Musker, 2016)

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (Oliva, 2013)

Knives Out (Johnson, 2019)

Locke (Knight, 2014)

Contagion (Soderbergh, 2011)

Batman: Hush (Copeland, 2019)

Toy Story 4 (Cooley, 2019)

Snowpiercer (Joon-ho, 2013)

The Death of Stalin (Iannucci, 2018)

Hereditary (Aster, 2018)

You Were Never Really Here (Ramsay, 2017)

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by The Natural

[The Natural]

I rook part in the Best Films of the 00s project. Looking back on that ballot and this, I find interesting how my #1 Best Director of the 2000s Christopher Nolan and my #2, Quentin Tarantino have fallen in this decade. Only one Nolan film and none by Tarantino will feature this time round.