2024 MOVIES DISCUSSION THREAD

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today....only two. One will be shown later.

The Big Short (Peacock, leaving on Friday) - 5/5 stars

Spoiler

Not that long ago, I had gotten an undergraduate degree in business from a fairly prominent university. A lot of the time, I felt unsure of myself and wondered if I made a mistake bothering with it. I probably should have gotten an English degree or even a degree in film. The whole idea was I needed something 'stable' for a job.

Job fair after job fair, I would see the same employers who would glance at my resume and essentially roll their eyes. We would exchange pleasantries before I would shuffle off to another employer's table. But it would always be the same.

Christian Bale's character Michael Burry is essentially me in a nutshell (minus the loud metal music and losing one of my eyes). Talking to people is hard. Seeing things that others don't see is even harder. Burry realizes by the end of the movie, despite the people yelling at him in email and blowing up his phone lines, that he was right.

A lot of the actors in the movie - Steve Carell, Jeremy Strong, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, etc - portray people that were really involved in the 2008 housing market collapse. At the time of the collapse, I was living at my parents' house and would read about many of the employers I would try to get an interview with going belly up. A mortgage company based in Atlanta went out of business with the CEO fleeing to a small island in the Caribbean with their money.

What makes this movie works is it takes concepts that require a degree in business (or at least knowledge outside of the movie) and breaks it down very simply and compellingly. Adam McKay's previous formula of making dumb bro comedies like Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, and Anchorman works well here. A lot of the scenes are intriguing, very engaging, and sharply edited. There isn't a scene that strays too long or wears out its welcome. Cinematography from Barry Ackroyd is superb and every shot is perfectly framed - Ackroyd did the earlier five star rated Captain Phillips.

The drawback about this movie is story wise there aren't a lot of female or POC characters in the movie; they are relegated to the side. Karen Gillian's character Evie had an interesting backstory (working for a regulator SEC and trying to get into big banks) that was never followed up on.

The Big Short is a big win.

Let's Spend The Night Together (Peacock, leaving on Friday) - 2.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Simply average as a concert film. The songs sound really off and sorta sloppy, like maybe the band wasn't caring or too over cocaine'd to care. There was a 7 year break after Tattoo You album/concert tour, so maybe they were tired at that point.

Highlight are the deluge of women appearing during "Honky Tonk Woman" and montage footage during certain songs. Watch out for a kid's head during one of the songs, which is a tad upsetting tbh.

 

[zendragon]

Really liked the Big Short and even having read the book I still don't understand shorting or derivatives or anything 

[RIPPA]

Anna Kendrick noted that she decided to donate all of her pay from Woman of the Hour to Anti-Violence charities (specifically RAINN and the National Center for Victims of Violent Crime)

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today....

Nowhere Boy (Peacock, leaving today) - 2.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Decent at times although became a bit melodramatic. Somewhat portrays John Lennon (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and Julia Lennon (Anne-Marie Duff)'s relationship as a bit gross and a bit incestuous (yet the director Sam Taylor-Wood and Johnson met on set so it makes me wonder if that was on purpose).

I wish there had been more about Lennon's musical influences and his meeting Paul McCartney (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and George Harrison (Sam Bell) but I guess what was there was good enough.

For whatever reason, the lighting and cinematography makes everything look like a doctor's office. I did like the scenes when The Quarrymen performed outdoors though.

The Curse of La Llorena (Max, leaving today) - 1.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Yes, this movie is very stupid, the characters are very stupid (screw the doll kid, go back inside), Hispanic tradition got reduced to a scary monster movie but the opening scenes were really well shot.

The Possession of Hannah Grace (Peacock, leaving today) - 2.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Surprisingly decent low-budget horror movie that had effective use of lighting and flashing motion sensor lights for its scare. Characters aren't the deepest or even that good. Seems to draw a parallel between addiction and demon possession, which the movie didn't really follow up on.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Peacock, leaving today) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

The most A24 movie in the Halloween series ever. Tom Atkins is all man. He looks like he looks like a 48-year old bricklayer who just took a break in the pickup with a Thermos full of Hormel Chili and a honey bun. He makes the movie more awesome because he's there; Michael Meyers wasn't in this movie because he was afraid of Tom Atkins and his mustache.

Even if it's only connected to the Halloween series because of it's name, this is a decent sci-fi movie with elements of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It's anti-corporation and anti-Irish apparently.

For the most part, I love how this movie was shot - there wasn't a terrible shot. I really love the shots where the kids in various masks in various cities are shown walking home. One shot in Phoenix, AZ was especially great. The shot at the end with the sky having an orange glow after the factory is destroyed was really great and eerie.

The only drawback is why wasn't Ellie (Stacey Nelkin)'s android replacement wasn't affected by Dr Dan Challis (Atkins) dumping the buttons into the control room? That made very little sense.

All About My Mother (Max, leaving today) - 4.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Pedro Almodovar is one of my favorite directors. This is one of his earlier films and compared to his later works is a bit 'lower budget.' While that is the case, the characters involved are wonderfully complex.

Cecilia Roth plays Manuela Echevarria, who undergoes a fair amount of tragedy throughout this movie. What struck me as interesting is the amount of flexibility she has about changing her story. "I'm able to tell a lie, I've had to improvise too." Manuela hides the fact that her son was tragically killed trying to get an autograph from Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes). Manuela hides who she is from Rosa (Penelope Cruz)'s parents. Manuela hid who she is from Rosa too. Throughout the entire movie, no one knew the truth about Manuela until she was ready to confess. In some cases, the truth is more painful than the lie.

The sense of truth and lies extends to other characters. After all, Huma is an actor. Rosa hides her pregnancy from her parents and her HIV positive status. Agrado (Antonia San Juan) hides who she is from others and then delivers a monologue detailing the cost of procedures done to her. The fact that A Streetcar Named Desire, which is about a character leaving behind their life, much in the same way Manuela frequently leaves behind hers.

A lot of the movie's elements are rooted in melodramas from the 1940s and 1950s like Hitchcock's Rebecca and Mankiewicz's All About Eve. It is difficult to take the premise seriously, but yet the acting makes it easier to do so.

I can complain that the last 10 minutes or so seemed a bit too convenient regarding Manuela's return. I wondered if a better ending would be Manuela and Rosa's son leaving for the last time.

 

[odessasteps]

Halloween 3 would have a perfectly fine reputation if it was just called Season of the Witch or Samhain’s Revenge or Let Dan O Herily Chew Scenery for 2 hours. 

[(BP)]

Halloween III is Michael’s Tony Soprano coma dream that’s happening between Halloweens II and 4, and Tom Atkins is his Kevin Finnerty alter ego. 

[Curt McGirt]

12 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:

The only A24 movie in the Halloween series ever.

FTFY

Unless you consider the Zombie movies to be 'A24' I guess

[Andrew POE!]

1 minute ago, Curt McGirt said:

FTFY

Unless you consider the Zombie movies to be 'A24' I guess

I guess I should define what I consider to be "A24" as it relates to horror movies.

1) It's not really scary

2) It's not really bloody

3) It's more of psychological horror

4) Since it's not really scary or bloody, it's shot in a way that's not typical horror movie shooting. Horror movies build upon tension and release, what "A24" seems to be do is build up a mood and a vibe and possibly scary things happen, but because you're so numb by the mood and the vibe, you aren't afraid, just observing the movie.

I could be talking out of my ass on all of this

[Curt McGirt]

I just consider it to be arty or 'outre' horror. It can be bloody: X, Pearl, the infamous scene in Hereditary, and other films like Love Lies Bleeding, Green Room, but usually violence isn't a big part. I mean there's a Gaspar Noe movie on there that I don't recall being violent. Probably the most violent film on there is the De Palma doc. 

Reading a list of their stuff made me realize that they are extremely varied genre-wise, and just plain film-wise. It also reminded me of The Death of Dick Long which I got a good laugh out of thinking about again. 

[Mike Campbell]

I finally watched Alien Romulus this morning, and holy hell was it great. I'd honestly put it up there with the OG Alien and Aliens. I was joking with a co-worker that The Alien and Halloween franchises had become so messy as far as timelines and what is and isn't considered cannon at this point (especially with the Alien series now including books, video games, and even game DLC as cannon), that it was pretty much choose your own adventure. I discovered that Alien, the Alien Isolation Game, Romulus, and Aliens is my perfect cannon timeline.

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today....up to 862 movies watched since March after today.

The Skin I Live In (Max, leaving end of the month) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

I'm not sure how I feel about this movie. In a lot of ways, this is Almodovar at his most Hitchcockian - except the bad qualities of Hitchcock. Torturous of female protagonist, abject horror that the character is subjected to, and a sense of fear from the audience towards the character.

In a lot of ways, this movie has parallels to Hitchcock's Psycho and The Birds. Elena Anaya / Jan Cornet are Tippi Hedren trying to flee the birds or Janet Leigh trying to escape Norman Bates. It speaks to the sense that you as an audience aren’t sure you are supposed to like this or you’re uncomfortable watching this as a result; this is what Hitchcock would do a lot in his films.

Antonio Banderas portrays Dr. Robert Ledgard as a righteous man but ultimately evil - Ledgard took Vicente against his will and changed who he was as a person on account of his daughter Norma (Blanca Suarez) killing herself. Almodovar compared this movie to Eyes Without A Face, which I need to see as well.

Despite my personal objections to Dr. Ledgard as a character and the case of Stockholm Syndrome that Vicente undergoes as he becomes Vera (Anaya), this movie is shot extremely well. I loved the quick cuts used to show Dr. Ledgard cleaning his equipment and a lot of the camera work involved as Dr. Ledgard and Marilia (Marisa Paredes) watch Vera/Vicente. The usage of time and flashbacks was a really great narrative choice - as we see Vicente becoming Vera, Vera remembers what happened to her. I especially love the shot of the newspaper article and a picture of Vicente that Vera kisses before she murders Dr. Ledgard.

For the most part, this will be one of Almodovar's movies that will stick with me.

Juror #2 (saw at the theaters) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

First off, I'm a bit conflicted as how to rate this. On a purely technical level, this is a 5 star movie. Clint Eastwood as a director relied on very skilled people to shoot and edit this movie; Yves Belanger (who did cinematography on other Clint movies The Mule and Richard Jewell) has a very fine eye for shots around Savannah, GA. Nicholas Hoult, JK Simmons, the always incredible Toni Collette and Keifer Sutherland turned in tremendous performances.

But I can't help but to feel this is Clint Eastwood letting his right wing side appear again. The same Clint Eastwood that appeared at a RNC meeting in 2012 to do a speech to 'an empty chair' of Barack Obama. So obviously he's hoping to speak to the same group of people that get their information from FOX News before deciding who to vote in an election.

Other reviews have said that "Eastwood doesn't tell you what he wants you to think" and "wants you to decide for yourself." In viewing this, the story is obviously biased towards the prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) and the judge is leaning towards the prosecutor. For whatever reason, the defense attorney in the movie Eric Resnick (Chris Messina) is handcuffed and doesn't do more than he can do - one of the characters Harold (J.K. Simmons) says 'he's a public defender - their case load is 10x the normal attorney with very low pay.' Hearing that as a viewer, my thought was "well, will this mean that it's hopeless for the alleged killer to even have a fair trial?" The defense attorney never raised an objection when the witness claimed that he saw James (Gabriel Basso) on the side of the road and looking over the bridge. He never objected to the prosecutor leading the witnesses or trying to sway the jury. In fact, he as a character was virtually powerless. James claims he never did it (by the end of the movie I felt like he hadn't), but if it's like other local politics and local prosecution of cases in Georgia, it's too late. The prosecutor and the defense attorney go out drinking after the case.

The other thing is for whatever reason the jury characters seemed very wooden and one-note. Their sole purpose seemingly is to gang up on Juror #2 Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult). There's not a collection of individuals who have their own thought process as to the guilt or innocent of James; they are seemingly engaging in 'groupthink' for whatever reason. They unnecessarily bristle at the notion of the alleged killer even being innocent; in one scene towards the end, one of the jurors actually succeeds in intimidating Kemp and says "I see through you." If Kemp had already been pulled aside for Harold doing his own investigation, why didn't Kemp go to the judge and speak up about this too? Instead, Kemp simply goes along with the others out of a desire to return to normalcy despite his own opinions. Kemp says "I just want to get back to my wife and they've already decided and I went along with them."

During the time, the DA Killebrew decides to follow up on Harold's investigation and contacts people about accidents during the time of the murder. The scenes in which she visits Allison Crewson (Zoey Deutsch) and finding out about the accident should have lead to misconduct from the prosecutor. But it's the golden rule with local DA's: he or she has the gold makes the rules.

For the most part with the movie, Eastwood seemingly has zero patience for establishing characters or the setting for the main character Kemp. Compared to other legal dramas I've seen recently (like Runaway Jury) I don't really get the sense that Eastwood is interested in having the audience go through the jury process with the jury too about the killer's guilt or innocent; most of the conflict in the movie is with Juror #2 Kemp and his feelings about himself and whether he should speak up about his own potential involvement with the case. I somewhat found it insulting that Larry Lasker (Kiefer Sutherland) would advise Kemp not to step forward; "If you speak up, it doesn't matter if you don't drink, being there at a bar will get you prison time." Seemingly (and sadly for the South it does) going to a bar doesn't mean a person will drink and doesn't mean that he is already guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

For the most part, I can somewhat see why WBD didn't expand the movie to be eligible for the Oscars; Clint Eastwood is making a movie that satisfies an earlier time where conservatives like he could freely express themselves within Hollywood. At the same time, I really hope it gets a nomination for Collette, Hoult, and David/Joel Cox (editors) and Belanger for cinematography and yes even Best Director for Eastwood.

I just wish the script was better.

A Man Called Otto (Netflix, leaving on 11/5) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

A mostly heart-warming drama about a curmudgeon who might be on the spectrum, A Man Called Otto for most of its run takes a bit of time to get there. Tom Hanks plays Otto, who is a North American version of Ove from A Man Called Ove.

Hanks' portrayal has a bit of a dry wit about himself even after he calls people under his breath 'idiots.' He meets Marisol (Mariana Trevino) who is pregnant and a bit overwhelmed after she and her husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) are moving across the street.

A lot of the cinematography of the movie is a bit darken and almost Scandinavian - like the original movie. The flashback scenes with a young Otto (Truman Hanks) and Sonya (Rachel Keller) seem like they are in another country with the older model trains, much less the United States. In fact, a lot of the movie seems like it translate better to a foreign country like Sweden or Norway - the United States doesn't really have an understanding of the concept of "a place being a community" (like the penultimate scene with the realtors trying to kick out the older couple that are friends with Otto). That scene seems to ring particularly false due to the "we'll stake out on our own, we don't need anyone" spirit prevalent in the United States. I did like the scenes toward the end when Otto's body is discovered as Otto does a voiceover for his own letter to Marisol and various shots are shown of Marisol's family using Otto's truck and celebrating him at his funeral.

Despite some tone and story issues, A Man Called Otto isn't a bad role for Tom Hanks, but not particularly noteworthy or outstanding. This type of movie is one that Hanks does in his sleep. It would have been cool in the flashbacks on the train if Tom Hanks showed up as a train conductor (a nice 'wink wink, nudge nudge' to his time as a train conductor for the Polar Express), but that's not the direction taken.

 

[Curt McGirt]

I saw some clickbait where Ridley is gonna do another Alien film, and, well, it's probably true. 

[odessasteps]

This is prob one for Curt and the other devotees but the guy at the comic shop was trying to explain the Renaissance of the Blood Island trilogy, how it's been now adapted into things like comics and a board game. 

[Andrew POE!]

Movies yesterday...went to a birthday party and didn't get back in time.

Inside (Peacock, leaving on 11/5) - 2/5 stars

Spoiler

"We all went to heaven in a little row boat."

Conceptually, this movie has a bit of Tarkovsky in it. It has the hallmarks of his filmmaking - the focus on metaphysical, rain occurring in indoors, an individual's memory. I do wonder how this movie was pitched - "We film Willem DaFoe in a room by himself where he can't escape."

This movie wouldn't have happened if we didn't have a year-long lockdown where everyone was....inside. It's a very simple premise - have one character be in one place during the duration of the movie.

The problem is the movie just doesn't make for a very compelling watch with the concept. The director Vasilis Katsoupis and screenwriter Ben Hopkins have made a movie where the concept is worn out after the first 30 minutes. Willem DaFoe tries to make of the premise and his role the best he can - watching him go from eager for escape to panicking to psychosis is an interesting internal journey.

There's not really a lot of interesting variety in the shots for the movie - which made watching this a challenge. I did like one sequence where it showed DaFoe unscrewing bolts from a window at the top and building a monument with very tense music in the background.

For the most part, I couldn't wait until this was over so I could go outside.

Days (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

Movie is more towards what Tsai Ming-liang did with Stray Dogs than anything resembling a narrative. At times, it is extremely boring; after watching Inside with Willem DaFoe, it's interesting to see another director tackle loneliness and isolation but from a different approach.

The linchpin of the movie is the extraordinary long massage scene that takes almost half an hour to complete; the two characters are developing a human connection and it leads to romance for them.

But like anything else, it ends. They share a trinket and a meal together and go their separate ways. We see a very long scene of a character on a bed (which reminded me a bit of the video "El Invento" from Jose Gonzalez) and the other character sits on a bench listening to the music box.

Having watched about 4 of his films, I'm not exactly sure what Tsai Ming-liang is doing. It seems like this movie is more personal to him versus his earlier movies I've seen of his. I'm somewhat glad he attempted it.

Here (saw in the theaters) - 5/5 stars

Spoiler

I hated Forrest Gump growing up. I felt like the movie was overly long, didn't have a point, and is seemingly baby boomer wish fulfillment as teachers, my dad, and a few others part of that generation re-live their memories vicariously through the movie.

Here is vastly different. Yes, Here offers some of the same as Forrest Gump, but it's more concise storytelling and filmmaking. The narrative structure forced me to pay attention to the amount of detail in the production design and set design. Musical moments in scenes were born of it being played from within the scene and within the frame. I especially love one sequence where you see a tiny portion of Ed Sullivan Show debuting the Beatles while other things happen on screen with Richard Young (Tom Hanks)'s birthday happening.

The story of Here is not a story of characters, but a story of a place and a location. The house we see the entirety of the action is facing a larger house owned by William Franklin. Like Forrest Gump brushing up against history, the house is brushing up against history. We see various people inhabit the house/location including Richard's parents Al (Paul Bettany) and Rose (Kelly Reilly), an inventor and his wife, a Native American woman and her spouse, William Franklin, an aviator John and his wife Pauline, and a modern couple Devon & Helen Harris. While the central story is with Richard and Margaret (Robin Wright) and their struggles of seeking a career of commercial means versus following passions regardless of money, it's not the only story.

Richard and Margaret's story is the most heartbreaking and heartfelt for me. "I thought that worrying meant that problems wouldn't happen." These characters are seeing what they thought was important in their lives escape them. Margaret upon turning 50 is is nearly inconsolable at the number of things she didn't get to do. Wright's performance is really the centerpiece of the movie.

In a lot of ways, this movie along with Clint Eastwood's Juror #2, Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon from 2023 (although I haven't seen that one) and Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmens from 2022 are the 'last hurrah' of 'baby boomer' filmmaking. We won't see directors like this be given a chance from Hollywood to make risky films that are what they want, not what fits numbers on a balance sheet at a studio. To me as well, this movie is what French New Wave filmmakers try to do - a film as risky as what Godard did with Film Socialisme and The Image Book along with Truffaut's sentimental storytelling, Resnais' focus on exactness and Rohmer's desire to depict characters going through an arc.

I'm not sure if this will be nominated for Academy Awards, but I'm not sure I care. I simply enjoyed this movie for what it did.

Nimic (Mubi, leaving on 11/30) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

A trial run at Kinds of Kindness.

 

[elizium]

Inside Days Here Nimic is my CIA activation phrase

[twiztor]

On 10/25/2024 at 8:01 AM, The Natural said:

Live and Let Die is still the best James Bond title track by far, Skyfall second and Goldfinger third. Worst: Die Another Day, Writing's on the Wall (Spectre) and The Man With the Golden Gun. I HATE Writing's on the Wall.

agree with Die Another Day being the worst. Late era Madonna is NOT FOR ME. Must say i'm not a fan of All Time High (Octopussy). Man with the Golden Gun i have no problem with. i think Writing on the Wall is a fine song, but doesn't feel like Bond whatsoever.

i'll also agree on Live and Let Die and Goldfinger. I like the Adele song, but i think Diamonds Are Forever rounds out my top 3.

[J.H.]

A View To A Kill isone of the upper echelon Bond songs. Probably my number three after Goldfinger and Nobody Does It Better. I think For Your Eyes Only doesn't get enough love

James

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today. My brain is mush.

The Rendez-Vous of Deja Vu (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

Abrahams/Zucker/Abrahams team up with Luis Bunuel, Eric Rohmer and Jean Luc Godard to do their version of French New Wave films. Hector (Gregoire Tachnakian) meets Truquette (Vimala Pons) and they try to fall in love, but the French government cancelled summer due to an economic crisis. Madcap hijinks occur where they get separated due to a skeezy lifeguard brother and have to get a car from Dr. Afterlife.

I love a lot of the technical aspects of the movie - the introductory scenes meld real life with the movie where Truquette walks by the military tanks with 'revolutions for sale.' Camerawork involved uses a mix of wide angle shots and close up shots (a lot of the better comedies employ such techniques). The movie uses a lot of scenes that are shown to be memories - I especially like the mention of Chekhov by Truquette to show her memory of Hector being sledding in the snow.

A recurring bit has a guy losing various limbs to a guillotine. He loses his head at the end. "You feeling alright?" "I've been better."

Two Ships (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 3.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Enjoyable short film which seems to set up a lot stylistically of Justine Triet's later films. Laetitia and Thomas have messed up family dynamics (Thomas lives with his father and grandfather, Laetitia has a brother that seems bipolar and almost non-communicative) but try to pursue each other.

Strange Says The Angel (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

Beautiful cinematography but a tad confusing for what the story is trying to be. It feels like the director Shalimar Preuss shot a family's home videos and told them to do things that only made sense to the director.

Apocalypse After (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 2.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Movie operates completely on vibe and style but very little on plot or characters. This would be what '80s style synthcore would look like.

Edge of Tomorrow (Netflix, leaving on 11/6) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

Groundhog Day and Children Of Men meets Starship Troopers and Pacific Rim. Lots of fun action excellently shot although some of the visuals are bit too darken (especially towards the end in Paris). Tom Cruise does a slight variation on his usual charismatic character at first although he eventually settles in to a character who ends up having all the answers. Emily Blunt did really well although I could have done without the romantic subplot.

I did love the initial invasion scenes which were very much in line with WWII footage and was evocative of They Were Expendable. Blunt's character Rita is very much in the mold of John Ford / Howard Hawks WWII leads....in fact, she could have been swapped for a man and the movie wouldn't have missed a beat. She's Rosie the Riveter meets Warhammer 40,000.

Some of the drawbacks for me is some of the time repeating aspects were a bit too precious - especially with the climatic scenes in Paris. There's no way of knowing recruiting J Squad would have worked nor the "Omega entity" wouldn't have anticipated Cage (Cruise)'s attempt to blow it up. The video game storytelling is a bit thin on characters and most of the characters fall into tropes despite Cruise and Blunt's performances.

Still, Tom Cruise loves these types of movies and they are fun to watch.

House on Haunted Hill (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 3.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Really great 1950s horror movie - the introductory scenes with the disembodied heads and the screams at a black screen is inspired.

Carolyn Craig and Carol Ohmart do great ear-piercing screams and the music involved really sell the atmosphere.

Movie is a bit campy but great fun. I loved the tight close-ups toward the end with the skeleton 'grabbing' at Annabelle Loren (Ohmart) as we see her facial expression before falling into the acid.

Some great camerawork as well before the candelier fell and in the living room with multiple actors on screen; the camera focused on two actors with some in the background doing various activities (smoking, drinking, etc).

A slight bit of misogyny towards Carolyn Craig's character Nora but sadly that was the case back then. Despite that, some great campy acting and nice twist towards the end.

Messiah Of Evil (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

Mario Bava does Night of The Living Dead. A ton of slow, foreboding style coupled with a bright cheerful California aesthetic that appeared in Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

I love the scenes where a character is chased through a Ralphs after observing people eat raw meat in the supermarket and where a character watches Gone With The West (even though the marquee says Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye). The scene where Arletty (Marianna Hill) kills her father is pure giallo in how it was shot.

The drawback to the movie is it's almost too slow and really lacks in clarity to the story. I almost felt like I was 'waiting' for something to happen as I watched the movie. The low budget nature of the movie had a lot of the scenes consist of one or two people on screen and talking. The 'zombie' scenes like the movie theater scene and the supermarket scene had little to no dialogue.

I did really enjoy the introductory scenes where a character runs into frame and gets killed - very in line with 'grindhouse cinema' then Arletty talking in voiceover as a hallway with bright sunlight is shot. The soundtrack was incredible too - I'm a sucker for synth heavy soundtracks.

Age Of Panic (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 4.5/5 stars

Spoiler

"I get up in the morning with the beat of a drum"

The personal is political. The political is personal. For this movie, two characters Laetitia (Laetitia Dosch) and Vincent (Vincent Macaigne, who was in the earlier watched The Rendez-Vous of Deja Vu) are involved in a Kramer vs. Kramer personal drama amidst the background of 2012 French Presidential elections. It's as much anxiety inducing as watching The Safdie Brothers' Daddy Longlegs was; the difference being this is in Paris, while Daddy Longlegs was in NYC.

The thing is I understand (and sympathize) with Laetitia's position throughout the movie. Vincent really needed a better excuse than what he offered; he missed the first day of his visitation (without really saying where he was) and seemingly didn't bother to call. During the early part of the movie, he spends the majority of his time buying gifts for his kids while trying to call Laetitia. Then his character had the gall to complain and say that Laetitia was 'spoiling her kids with toys.' While he seemingly is the one buying toys and has the entire apartment scattered with toys.

Vincent is quite honestly a loser.

Then Laetitia hires the most incompetent babysitter I've ever seen (Marc wouldn't survive in Adventures in Babysitting) who lets Vincent in, calls a neighbor then proceed to take the kids to meet up with Laetitia during a frigging march / celebration / rally where the next French President is announced. Marc (played by Marc-Antoine Vaugeois) needs to learn to read the (very large) room.

During the rally, I wondered if I wasn't watching a fictional narrative and was watching a documentary. I loved how Justine Triet shot the scenes at the rally. Some of the camerawork was from a very high angle overlooking an entire group of people awaiting the announcements. Laetitia seemed very much like a reporter rather than an actor in the scenes where she talks about the activity of the people on the streets. Vincent punching someone and the police running into the frame as Vincent is out of frame made me wonder if I saw a very real instance and not a performed scene.

Laetitia and Vincent finally reconvene in Laetitia's apartment and have arguments about visitations and custody. Eventually, they calm down as Vincent leaves after an awkward and weird conversation with Virgil (Virgil Vernier). The entire time that Vincent and Virgil talk, I thought Virgil was sizing up Vincent to punch him in the face while Laetitia was out with the dog for the dog's bathroom visit.

After watching the movie, Justine Triet is just an incredible director. Age of Panic is where her approach with feminine characters dealing with masculine structure (this time, with politics and custody) starts; Laetitia is just as uncomfortable with dealing with her ex as Sandra Voyter was with dealing with her estranged husband, his death and the French legal system.

 

[zendragon]

I've seen House on Haunted Hill a few times growing up. My dad was a big fan of the "so bad its good" genre. If I recall there are a few major plot holes

[The Comedian]

On 11/2/2024 at 1:56 PM, Curt McGirt said:

I saw some clickbait where Ridley is gonna do another Alien film, and, well, it's probably true. 

I've said before that if they bring her back, it better be to have her be the one to finally defeat David...

[Technico Support]

4 hours ago, The Comedian said:

I've said before that if they bring her back, it better be to have her be the one to finally defeat David...

(He said Ridley, not Ripley)

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today...

Chicks AKA The Life At The Ranch (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

In a lot of ways, felt like Eric Rohmer making Girls. Sophie Letourneur seems to be doing a lot of what is done in American mumblecore films from Noah Baumbach and Alex Ross Perry, but more in tune with Parisian university students.

The actors and actresses involved are all uniformly pretty, like something from Sophia Coppola. These are the type of people I would have wished I could have hang out with in college, although at times they got to be annoying. Pam (Sarah-Jane Sauvegrain) is the centerpiece of the movie, but actually almost gets lost in it due to the side story with Manon (the absolutely gorgeous Mahault Mollaret) trying to date a German guy she met on the street.

For the most part, the movie is beautifully shot and everything is centered in the frame really well - the cameras used seem to be a higher grade versus usual 'mumblecore' films but it's shot in a similar style as those movies.

I didn't fully follow the storylines however - for a lot of detractors of Eric Rohmer's style and his disciples, it can seem as if 'nothing happens' (which Chicks falls into that style of filmmaking). But seeing pretty women speak in French while talking about parties to go to or not to wear a leopard skin dress made it easy to watch.

Oh and the movie did mention some new movies I've never heard of - Hang Song Soo films, Stanley Kwan's Center Stage (1991) and The Goddess (a silent Chinese film from 1934).

Les Coquillettes (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

I love "movies about movies" - Les Coquillettes functions in the same way. Normally, this is more fitting with Robert Altman (The Player for example), but this is different. It's more of a conversation between three friends as they remembered going to a film festival. It's not even about what films they saw or what they wanted to see or who they wanted to work.

No, it's three women talking about their experience with trying to hook up with men. Sophie LeTourneur plays a version of herself wanting to meet Louis Garrell and fall in love with him somehow - like another review pointed out, Garrell is like Jennifer Love Hewitt's character from Can't Hardly Wait except LeTourneur never actually meets him.

Camille Genaud plays Camille (in a really pretty Donald Duck dress) and seems to have terrible luck hooking up with Martin (Julien Gester) after making out with him a few times. (Dude kinda acted like he was 'too cool for school' and just called a taxi instead I don't know talking to her and figuring out what's up). Carole Le Page plays Carole and also tries to hook up with a guy named Luigi (Eugenio Renzi).

For the most part with the movie, I loved the camerawork involved. It lends itself towards a 'docu-drama' format. I especially loved one sequence set to M83's "Midnight City" while Sophie looks around the dancefloor for Louis Garrell.

The only drawback for me is the stories shared weren't that interesting and I somewhat had a hard time seeing what the three women saw in any of the men they were interested in. It seemed really superficial.

Gaby Baby Doll (Mubi, leaving on 11/15) - 3.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Tremendous cinematography that's similar to a lot of British films and a nice,sweet love story in the end. Gaby (Lolita Chammah) and Nicolas (Benjamin Biolay) have a similar relationship dynamic to Charlotte and Bob Harris in Lost In Translation, but they end up together in a Bronte Sisters twist. They're together in their loneliness.

Movie is basically Sophie Letourneur really coming into her own as a filmmaker - it's like when Sophia Coppola made Lost In Translation and Noah Baumbach made The Squid And The Whale (those two filmmakers are the two that I can draw a parallel for Letourneur's filmmaking style). Some of the scenes did drag a bit, but the story isn't a typical French comedy. It's more focused on the relationship and the individual character arcs for Gaby and Nicolas. Gaby learns to face her fears of being alone and Nicolas learns to let other people into his life like Gaby. "We're going to have lots of babies."

I dug the Serge Gainsbourg like ending titles song about Gaby.

Blondie of the Follies (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

Movie doesn't quite work as a comedy but is more of a drama. Marion Davies as Blondie McClune is simply great - there were plenty of tight close-ups of her during scenes. The bulk of the movie is the relationship between Blondie and Lottie Callahan (Billie Dove), not Blondie seeking a romance with Larry Belmont (Robert Montgomery).

What I love the most with this movie are the scenes with multiple people - the early scenes where Blondie's apartment is shown with kids playing in the street and the first scenes at the follies. It seems that Blondie goes from one jungle to another.

The scene with Jimmy Durante and Blondie is absolutely hilarious. "Don't go to Grand Hotel."

I love the scene towards the end where Blondie and Lottie are arguing - you can see them argue but can't hear it as the music blast over them. Blondie's goodbye party is a great bit of acting too - Blondie is so beside herself with grief that she has no choice but to laugh at her injury.

Blondie of the Follies is a decent drama with slight comedic elements.

 

[The Natural]

Nightcrawler turns ten this year. Great film. Jake Gyllenhaal wasn't even nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, he should have won. I honestly think that's one of the worst mistakes in the entire history of the Academy Awards. The film wasn't nominated for Best Picture when it should have. Nightcrawler was my Film of the Year.

[zendragon]

Problem was it didn't have an arc, no lessons learned ect. Now that doesn't make it a bad film but makes it a bit to unconventional for mainstream hollywood. I went to a screen that the brothers (director and editor) where interviewed afterwards and said the flat nature of the story made it difficult to get financing to get made.

[Travis Sheldon]

Nightcrawler didn't go BAMF one time in that gawdam film.