Curt McGirt Posted June 17, 2025 Posted June 17, 2025 Glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought it was Larry's Q! Now we have to see if you like that better than God Told Me To (I have no doubt you will). 13 hours ago, Technico Support said: And when he turns off his step-n-fetchit act and you see his actual cunning, when his twists Candie around and you realize Stephen is the one in control, it's absolutely incredible. It's perfect. Sits down, pours himself a glass of brandy, Candie joins him and Stephen just lays it all out for the dumb motherfucker. Okay, since the gauntlet has been thrown with the Fridays, I'll do mine. Spoiler 1. Well done proto-slasher but shot EXTREMELY DIM. Makes you wanna mess with your tint on the TV every time. 2. Excellent kills, cool mask, awesome ending. 3. My favorite. It's so just fun! 4. Probably the blueprint Friday film (go figure, four films in), super solid. 5. My 1b. The sleaziest and grossest one, super trashy, a blast. 6. The other blueprint Friday film that is super solid, but I never cared for the tongue in cheek stuff. Doesn't bother me as much now. 7. Lots of cool stuff but the MPAA destroyed it. 8. Boring and awful and the MPAA destroyed it even worse. 9. This was the one that came out when I was a kid and wanted to see it in the theater. No dice. Entertaining but that soundtrack is so bad. 10. We're over the hump to meta here. Entertaining and trashy in an Aughts fashion Freddy vs. Jason: I watched that motherfucker like four times in the theater. The love isn't as hard nowadays but it was a real King Kong vs. Godzilla thing for me then. Friday remake: Again, only seen bits and then the full end. Finale is brutal and tense, up there with the end of 2, love it. 1
Andrew POE! Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 Movies today...not as much as usual due to having to go into the office for work. Platoon (Criterion Channel, leaving on 6/30) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler Platoon as a movie is oppressively bleak. The movie starts with Chris (Charlie Sheen) arriving at a base in Vietnam, just as bodies are leaving to be taken away. There's no respect for the dead; the soldiers throwing them are disgusted at having to do so and whatever idea of humanity is out the window. Barber's "Adagio For Strings" plays throughout the movie and adds to the funeral atmosphere. Platoon just shows the body count and, in a way, we become numb to it. As Chris moves through the movie, he as a character isn't regarded as human being either. As is said early on, "They don't bother to learn your name in the first few weeks." The people serving with him aren't any better. Chris gets asked why he's there. "I volunteered, dropped out of college, I wasn't learning anything." Those that are, as Chris says, "With guys nobody really cares about. They come from the end of the line, most of them, small towns you never heard of. [...] Two years' high school's about it. Maybe if they're lucky, a job waiting for them back in a factory. But most of 'em got nothing. They're poor. They're the unwanted. Yet they're fighting for our society and for our freedom. It's weird, isn't it?" This dichotomy of the rich and the poor shows up in another scene - "the rich will always screw you over. Always," said by King (Keith David). Even within the dichotomy, there's an element of further division. Black soldiers like King and Big Harold (Forest Whitaker) and Junior (Reggie Johnson) are regarded as 'lesser than' by Sgt. O'Neill (John C. McGinley) and especially Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger). Sgt. Barnes is both scarred mentally and physically; he fights for control with Sgt. Elias (Willem DeFoe). The scene where Barnes guns down Elias is fraught and intense; the camera switches back and forth as it zooms in on their eyes before Barnes shoots him. It's only justifiable in a way for Chris to do the same to Barnes towards the end of the movie. As Chris narrates towards the end, "we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves." With Platoon, Oliver Stone did what Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza tried to do with Warfare and present a realistic experience of warfare in Vietnam. We get the sense of who the characters are; the scene where Chris discovers the room where soldiers are smoking weed and dancing (set to "White Rabbit" nonetheless) is appropo. War isn't a place where people are supposed to 'feel good' about anything. The character moments are small, but throughout the movie, we sense the mounting frustration and fruitlessness they are experiencing. There's much in the way of 'plot' or character arcs, but that's the point. As Chris said about going back to the same area the next day, "it's like we're going back to the scene of the crime." The soldiers gun down and torch a village because they can and they've picked the defenseless villagers as a target. Even Chris isn't immune from the hopelessness in those scenes; he has a one-legged villager jumping up and down as he fires at the ground. Chris later breaks down after realizing what he's done. Discussion of Platoon cannot exclude the famous poster image as Willem DeFoe's character survives and just throws his hands into the air; the helicopters circling around and finally just flying away. Chris and Barnes exchange glances and, without speaking, Chris knows that Barnes killed Elias. The cinematography throughout the movie is incredible; it's quiet and eerie and really presents the feeling of the soldiers being trapped in a jungle without coming up for air. Editing is also really great; scenes never out stay their welcome. A lot of the themes in Platoon stayed with Oliver Stone throughout his career and with his later movies about the mistrust of the US government. The US government in Platoon sends the soldiers off, as if it's a meatgrinder. "Eventually we get tired of winning too much," says O'Neill at one point in the movie. Platoon is a standard in war films. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Criterion Channel, leaving on 6/30) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Compared to other Woody Allen movies I've seen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is more saved by the actors involved than the character work or the storytelling. The constant narration is a bit oft-putting; it feels like a combination of Arrested Development and The Royal Tennebaums and is more matter of factly than anything humorous. Some of the narration leaves the mystery of the story out and spells it out too much what is going on. I was halfway expecting the narrator to be a character that sees Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) from a distance at the end of the movie. As it is, both Vicky and Cristina even as main characters are a bit too handcuffed. Vicky is repulsed, yet drawn unexpectedly to Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Cristina is drawn completely to him from the start. It's hard to take seriously or not sense danger from Juan Antonio's initial scenes with the two characters. He tells them he wants to dine, show them a sculpture and hope to sleep with both of them. Vicky's reaction would be a normal, rational reaction; in other movies, Juan Antonio would be pegged as a manipulative and yet psychotic character. With this, he seems almost faultless because of the relationship he has with his ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). What makes Vicky Cristina Barcelona work as a movie is not the soap operaish writing and acting, but Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena. Maria Elena as a character is volcanic, but yet is truly talented. It seems to be a bit of a counterpoint to Julie Taymor's Frida with Salma Hayek. Maria Elena as a charcter reacts to Cristina and Juan Antonio and most of what works is how Cruz acts in scenes. The movie eventually resolves itself to where Vicky has 'one last fling' with Juan Antonio who shows her his artwork - it does create a question that's similar to Tim Burton's Big Eyes - is Juan Antonio taking credit for Maria Elena's painted works? We do see Juan Antonio painting but he seems less in control of what he does versus Maria Elena and her artwork. Anyway, Maria Elena appears with a gun and Vicky realizes at this point what a mistake she made. As I mentioned, the character work and the storytelling isn't as good. Vicky as a character is a fool; for her intellect and rationality, she seems more likely to make mistakes and screw up a good thing she has with her financee (a common Woody Allen trait apparently). I almost wonder if Cristina was written the way she was so that Woody Allen could fantasize about Scarlett Johnasson being in a bed naked. Her character arc is no different than when she started with the movie. The ending has the two characters being literally right where they started; the difference being that Vicky is now married. Still, despite the formulaic approach and some character/story issues, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a slightly average romantic comedy/drama. 1
Brian Fowler Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 The "your mother sews socks that smell" line comes up on most lists of funniest TV edits, so I'm pretty sure it's legit. 1
twiztor Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 re: F13 i'm with @Technico. Fuck #5 because it has no Jason. although it feels like they tried really hard to still make it good. i wish they had brought that level to the other films. i know it's not popular, but i really enjoy #7. maybe it's my predisposition to superpowers, but i love this one. i also really like Manhattan, but maybe that's because he punches dude's head clean off. Goes to Hell makes no goddamn sense and i refuse to count it. also FUCK JASON X. saw it in theaters. hated it. saw it a few years later doing a big F13 watch. hated it. saw it a couple years ago on another F13 watch. still hate it, although not as passionately as before. 1
twiztor Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 Just now, Brian Fowler said: The "your mother sews socks that smell" line comes up on most lists of funniest TV edits, so I'm pretty sure it's legit. my two favorites: from the Big Lebowski, "this is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!" from Mallrats, "all it took was a fat chronic blunt karate punch!" 1 1
J.H. Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 (edited) The "Yippee Kai-yea Motherfucker" in Die Hard being changed "Yippee Kai-yea Moster Falcon!" Might be my favorite bad edited for TV line ever James Edited June 19, 2025 by J.H. 2 1
odessasteps Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 (edited) I thought it was mother trucker. My favorite TV censor is the organ in Balzing Saddles drowning out them singing "our town is turning into shit." I think that works better than the actual line. Edited June 18, 2025 by odessasteps
Brian Fowler Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 Editing the sign Bruce Willis wears in Die Hard with a Vengeance to read "I Hate Everybody" is pretty choice as well. 1
Brian Fowler Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 1 hour ago, odessasteps said: I thought it was mother trucker. My favorite TV censor is the organ in Balzing Saddles drowning out them singing "our town is turning into shit." I think that works better than the actual line. Kinda makes it a running gag to go with "The sheriff's a *GONG*" 1
odessasteps Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 Yeah. And then Hillerman actually says it and its so jarring.
Travis Sheldon Posted June 18, 2025 Posted June 18, 2025 Back in the day, Melon Farmer was used quite a bit when Repo Man aired on cable.
Andrew POE! Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 Movies today... Casualties of War (Criterion Channel, leaving on 6/30) - 4/5 stars Spoiler It's interesting how much Michael J. Fox in this movie resembles James Stewart. Stewart throughout his career played characters that a strong sense of morality, principles and humanity, even with characters that weren't necessarily good (like in Vertigo and in Rear Window). Fox portrays very much a James Stewart like character as PFC. Eriksson; Eriksson starts the movie on a train, like the trains found in Hitchcock's The Birds and in Vertigo. The camera opens with the train car as if it is a room with Eriksson barely visible. As Eriksson falls asleep, his story is recounted. Contrasting this is Sean Penn as Sgt. Tony Meserve. Penn portrays Meserve as having a DeNiro-like swagger and jadedness. Meserve leads his squad of soldiers including Eriksson to locate a woman and kidnap her (Thuy Thu Le). The reasoning has to do with the death of "Brownie" Brown (Erik King) and Meserve being frustrated at having to follow orders. During the course of this expedition, the soldiers feel they have no choice but to follow what Meserve orders them to do. Eriksson objects to doing so and his sexuality is questioned. Even when returning back, Eriksson encounters resistance for reporting what happened from Captain Hill (Dale Dye, who was the technical advisor on the earlier Platoon). Eriksson finally tells a chaplain what happens; the next scene has investigators taking photos of the dead woman with Captain Hill angry at Eriksson for even daring to break the 'good old boy' system. "The chain of command must be preserved for a murder," Eriksson says sarcastically in a scene earlier. Eventually, those involved (including John C. Reilly as PFC Hatcher and John Leguizamo as PFC Diaz) are found guilty and sentenced. Brian De Palma directing a war movie is a bit of an unusual choice. The camerawork and shot selection in this does lend itself to De Palma's strengths, as well as Michael J. Fox as the lead actor. This movie is honestly Fox's best performance; imagine how things would have gone if De Palma and Fox continued to work together. Fox's next movies were Back to the Future series as well as comedies; I could have seen him doing a nostalgic thriller with De Palma that harkens back to Vertigo and Rear Window. The ending scenes are a bit of another homage to Vertigo; Thuy Thu Le plays the woman on the train that reminds Eriksson of the woman he saw in Vietnam. Eriksson calls out to her in Vietnamese and she responds. "The bad dream is over" as she walks away. Casualties of War as a movie is a great war movie about Vietnam and is a nice counterpoint to Platoon. Platoon depicts everything being messed up with morality in Vietnam; Casualties of War shows that morality is messed up, but the arc of the universe eventually turns back to justice. Audition (Criterion Channel, leaving on 6/30) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler Having finished Audition, I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. So much of it seems to hit all the buttons for Hitchcock and the obsessives of Hitchcock. The initial hour or so gave me a flashback to Vertigo with Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) searching for a woman to replace his dead wife through 'auditions.' The obsessiveness on his search is like James Stewart's character searching for a woman like Kim Novak's character. The difference being his former wife doesn't look anything like the female object of his pursuit named Asami (Eihi Shiina) What hits the buttons for the obsessives of Hitchcock include Brian De Palma. Like De Palma, Takashi Miike has the camera function in a voyeuristic fashion; one scene in particular is when the camera watches the housekeeper leave and then the camera goes up the stairs into Aoyama's house. The camera stops at the whiskey bottle before the scene ends. Another obsessive of Hitchcock that plays a factor in Audition is Dario Argento. The restaurant scenes with the glass walls reminded me a lot of Argento's The Bird With The Crystal Plummage. In fact, a lot of the characteristics of Asami is in line with Italian horror. The movie makes it seem as though someone or something is pursuing Asami as Aoyama tries to retrace where she was or what she was doing. The truth is though....Asami was the one luring Aoyama into a trap. The movie seems to make a statement about the uniquely Japanese phenomenon of the standards of women in the culture. In a lot of ways, this movie wouldn't work in the United States at all. Sure, Hollywood would look excitedly at women auditioning for a part in a movie and the rapid sequence as Aoyama and his partner Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura) are interviewing the women, but that's where it ends. The cultural norms of the United States would likely prevent some of what's shown from happening (especially the child abuse that Asami endures). What really is hard to follow in the movie is the last 30 minutes or so. We never hear the truth from Asami's own lips as to what it is. We don't know how much of it is Aoyama remembering what really happened, imagining what happened, or presuming what happened. Asami's own life even as we see it on the screen isn't completely real. Was she actually injured when she was younger? Or did the injuries happen recently? Did she kill the guy at the abandoned dance studio or was that imagined? Were there two different stories about herself that she told Aoyama? At times, I wondered if Asami was even a real person...her characterization is one of a Succubus than an actual woman. The creepy yet painful sounding neck twist after falling down the stairs makes me wonder if she was about to get up and kill Aoyama's son Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki). Audition doesn't answer any of those questions....it's more Lynchian than anything else. The ending scenes confirms that with Asami talking, despite being seemingly dead. She repeats the phrases she said to Aoyama on one of their dates. Even then, Takashi Miike plays with the conventions of dramas and of thrillers and inverts the "Hitchcock Blonde." Asami is not a 'damsel in distress.' She's not looking for Aoyama to save her. Aoyama is the one that needs saving at the end of the movie. Don't Be A Dick About It (Mubi, leaving on 6/30) - 1/5 star Spoiler I guess I'll have to be a dick about it. First off, I have no issue with documentaries that present people having autism. For almost all of those, the filmmakers attempt to present the complexities of the people with autism on their terms and help those who don't have autism come away with an understanding of the person. With Don't Be A Dick About It, so much of it is wasted motions and seems to be 'let's setup a camera and watch Peter re-enact Survivor episodes." The documentary is about his relationship with his brother (who may also be autistic too), but I never felt a connection to the material or to the documentary. I felt like I was wasting my time. Peter through many minutes spent in the world of Survivor (whether watching it or re-enacting it and then telling family members/friends/unknown people they are voted off), comes across a bit mean-spirited. So much of his demeanor honestly rubbed me the wrong way and I came away feeling as though "I wouldn't hang out with this person or even want to be related to him." The chief example is the scene where he talks to the kids smoking out of a bong in the house and then wants to touch the bong. His father gets mad at the kids and doesn't like the fact they did this, while Peter laughs away and acts innocent (despite earlier expressing curiosity about what they are doing). I get it - this is how he understands the world. His brother has a relationship with him on account of being related to each other. Peter did start the early part of the documentary going on a subway and working at an arena for crew at Washington Wizards. While watching it, I felt a bit of panic as an adult. "I remember going on a subway for the first time and I felt uncomfortable then too. Is this what it's like?" The last five minutes were a bit redemptive for this movie with the song "Cheerios" and the two brothers telling each other what they're favorite things about each other are. But to conclude this, I apologize that I have to give this 1 star. The documentary's heart is in the right place, just not sure that I liked it.
odessasteps Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 Platoon and Casualties of War is a natural double bill.
Brian Fowler Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 Materialists is the worst movie I've seen in a theater since... Probably the one two punch of Jurassic Park Dominion and Lightyear.
Andrew POE! Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 2 hours ago, Brian Fowler said: Materialists is the worst movie I've seen in a theater since... Probably the one two punch of Jurassic Park Dominion and Lightyear. Yet I watched Materalists and liked it enough to give it 5 stars. It sounds like it's a divisive movie.
Brian Fowler Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 27 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said: Yet I watched Materalists and liked it enough to give it 5 stars. It sounds like it's a divisive movie. I gave it 1.5, and felt like I was being generous.
J.H. Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 Back when I had a blog I reviewed Audition. Re-reading what I wrote, I find much of my views on it have not changed (though it is no longer in my Top Ten 10). Here's the link, if you you're interested: https://braveblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/5-modern-japanese-films-everyone-should-see-audition/ James
J.H. Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 12 hours ago, odessasteps said: I thought it was mother trucker. My favorite TV censor is the organ in Balzing Saddles drowning out them singing "our town is turning into shit." I think that works better than the actual line. I've actually come across both, so multiple TV edits are out there it seems. Just "Mister Falcon" is so odd James
HarryArchieGus Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 (edited) 3 hours ago, Andrew POE! said: Yet I watched Materalists and liked it enough to give it 5 stars. It sounds like it's a divisive movie. On 6/17/2025 at 11:33 PM, Andrew POE! said: Movies today...not as much as usual due to having to go into the office for work. Platoon (Criterion Channel, leaving on 6/30) - 4.5/5 stars Reveal hidden contents Platoon as a movie is oppressively bleak. The movie starts with Chris (Charlie Sheen) arriving at a base in Vietnam, just as bodies are leaving to be taken away. There's no respect for the dead; the soldiers throwing them are disgusted at having to do so and whatever idea of humanity is out the window. Barber's "Adagio For Strings" plays throughout the movie and adds to the funeral atmosphere. Platoon just shows the body count and, in a way, we become numb to it. As Chris moves through the movie, he as a character isn't regarded as human being either. As is said early on, "They don't bother to learn your name in the first few weeks." The people serving with him aren't any better. Chris gets asked why he's there. "I volunteered, dropped out of college, I wasn't learning anything." Those that are, as Chris says, "With guys nobody really cares about. They come from the end of the line, most of them, small towns you never heard of. [...] Two years' high school's about it. Maybe if they're lucky, a job waiting for them back in a factory. But most of 'em got nothing. They're poor. They're the unwanted. Yet they're fighting for our society and for our freedom. It's weird, isn't it?" This dichotomy of the rich and the poor shows up in another scene - "the rich will always screw you over. Always," said by King (Keith David). Even within the dichotomy, there's an element of further division. Black soldiers like King and Big Harold (Forest Whitaker) and Junior (Reggie Johnson) are regarded as 'lesser than' by Sgt. O'Neill (John C. McGinley) and especially Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger). Sgt. Barnes is both scarred mentally and physically; he fights for control with Sgt. Elias (Willem DeFoe). The scene where Barnes guns down Elias is fraught and intense; the camera switches back and forth as it zooms in on their eyes before Barnes shoots him. It's only justifiable in a way for Chris to do the same to Barnes towards the end of the movie. As Chris narrates towards the end, "we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves." With Platoon, Oliver Stone did what Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza tried to do with Warfare and present a realistic experience of warfare in Vietnam. We get the sense of who the characters are; the scene where Chris discovers the room where soldiers are smoking weed and dancing (set to "White Rabbit" nonetheless) is appropo. War isn't a place where people are supposed to 'feel good' about anything. The character moments are small, but throughout the movie, we sense the mounting frustration and fruitlessness they are experiencing. There's much in the way of 'plot' or character arcs, but that's the point. As Chris said about going back to the same area the next day, "it's like we're going back to the scene of the crime." The soldiers gun down and torch a village because they can and they've picked the defenseless villagers as a target. Even Chris isn't immune from the hopelessness in those scenes; he has a one-legged villager jumping up and down as he fires at the ground. Chris later breaks down after realizing what he's done. Discussion of Platoon cannot exclude the famous poster image as Willem DeFoe's character survives and just throws his hands into the air; the helicopters circling around and finally just flying away. Chris and Barnes exchange glances and, without speaking, Chris knows that Barnes killed Elias. The cinematography throughout the movie is incredible; it's quiet and eerie and really presents the feeling of the soldiers being trapped in a jungle without coming up for air. Editing is also really great; scenes never out stay their welcome. A lot of the themes in Platoon stayed with Oliver Stone throughout his career and with his later movies about the mistrust of the US government. The US government in Platoon sends the soldiers off, as if it's a meatgrinder. "Eventually we get tired of winning too much," says O'Neill at one point in the movie. Platoon is a standard in war films. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Criterion Channel, leaving on 6/30) - 3/5 stars Reveal hidden contents Compared to other Woody Allen movies I've seen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is more saved by the actors involved than the character work or the storytelling. The constant narration is a bit oft-putting; it feels like a combination of Arrested Development and The Royal Tennebaums and is more matter of factly than anything humorous. Some of the narration leaves the mystery of the story out and spells it out too much what is going on. I was halfway expecting the narrator to be a character that sees Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) from a distance at the end of the movie. As it is, both Vicky and Cristina even as main characters are a bit too handcuffed. Vicky is repulsed, yet drawn unexpectedly to Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Cristina is drawn completely to him from the start. It's hard to take seriously or not sense danger from Juan Antonio's initial scenes with the two characters. He tells them he wants to dine, show them a sculpture and hope to sleep with both of them. Vicky's reaction would be a normal, rational reaction; in other movies, Juan Antonio would be pegged as a manipulative and yet psychotic character. With this, he seems almost faultless because of the relationship he has with his ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). What makes Vicky Cristina Barcelona work as a movie is not the soap operaish writing and acting, but Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena. Maria Elena as a character is volcanic, but yet is truly talented. It seems to be a bit of a counterpoint to Julie Taymor's Frida with Salma Hayek. Maria Elena as a charcter reacts to Cristina and Juan Antonio and most of what works is how Cruz acts in scenes. The movie eventually resolves itself to where Vicky has 'one last fling' with Juan Antonio who shows her his artwork - it does create a question that's similar to Tim Burton's Big Eyes - is Juan Antonio taking credit for Maria Elena's painted works? We do see Juan Antonio painting but he seems less in control of what he does versus Maria Elena and her artwork. Anyway, Maria Elena appears with a gun and Vicky realizes at this point what a mistake she made. As I mentioned, the character work and the storytelling isn't as good. Vicky as a character is a fool; for her intellect and rationality, she seems more likely to make mistakes and screw up a good thing she has with her financee (a common Woody Allen trait apparently). I almost wonder if Cristina was written the way she was so that Woody Allen could fantasize about Scarlett Johnasson being in a bed naked. Her character arc is no different than when she started with the movie. The ending has the two characters being literally right where they started; the difference being that Vicky is now married. Still, despite the formulaic approach and some character/story issues, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a slightly average romantic comedy/drama. I like to think I can overlook a bad trailer, but the story of Materialists seems pretty clear in there - a completely homogenized mainstream normy romcom. Potentially very disappointing considering this director Celine Song's last film - the very good Past Lives. Still, I haven't seen it but I have a difficult time believing it's a stronger film than Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which you seemed to have completely missed. It's such a beautifully performed, sexy and fun movie. Penelope Cruz alone is just dynamite. I feel like you put a lot of weight on the story being something that it's not trying to be - all the while overlooking what Cruz, Bardem, Scarlett and Rebecca Hall bring to those well constructed characters. The quantity over quality watch model seems like it makes quieter, more subtle stories more challenging to engage with. Less is more? Edited June 19, 2025 by HarryArchieGus
Andrew POE! Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 (edited) 27 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said: I like to think I can overlook a bad trailer, but the story of Materialists seems pretty clear in there - a completely homogenized mainstream normy romcom. Potentially very disappointing considering this director Celine Song's last film - the very good Past Lives. Still, I haven't seen it but I have a difficult time believing it's a stronger film than Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which you seemed to have completely missed. It's such a beautifully performed, sexy and fun movie. Penelope Cruz alone is just dynamite. I feel like you put a lot of weight on the story being something that it's not trying to be - all the while overlooking what Cruz, Bardem and Rebecca Hall bring to those well constructed characters. The quantity over quality watch model seems like it makes quieter, more subtle stories more challenging to engage with. Less is more? Yeah, I tend to struggle when watching movies later at night as far as aspects like that go. It's likely if I watched Materialists at a 9:00 pm showing I would end up with what happened to me and the most recent The Wedding Banquet - essentially falling asleep in the theater and not remembering portions of the movie. I had paid attention enough to Vicky Cristina Barcelona and just wasn't a fan of Bardem/Hall/Johansson's characters. I could just re-watch it before the end of the month. Woody Allen movies to me just vary quality wise; some I connect with like Annie Hall, Interiors, and Hannah And Her Sisters, but some just seem really average to me like Bananas and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Although his more recent movies after that have a Mendoza line it's failing to hit. Edited June 19, 2025 by Andrew POE!
Log Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 All that talk of tv edits reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svr6Zl2QgX8 1
Curt McGirt Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 Audition has been on TV so many times over the years and I've never felt the need to revisit it. The appearance of the key horror parts on the annual Halloween horror film best-of shows is enough for me. Casualties is curiously one of those Vietnam films I just couldn't finish. Hamburger Hill is another. Yet, for all its grimness, Platoon doesn't bother me; nor does Full Metal Jacket, or Apocalypse Now, or The Deer Hunter. (I completely forgot that Leguizamo or freakin' John C. Reilly were in it though, and that makes me want to give it another try...)
HarryArchieGus Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 1 hour ago, Andrew POE! said: Yeah, I tend to struggle when watching movies later at night as far as aspects like that go. It's likely if I watched Materialists at a 9:00 pm showing I would end up with what happened to me and the most recent The Wedding Banquet - essentially falling asleep in the theater and not remembering portions of the movie. I had paid attention enough to Vicky Cristina Barcelona and just wasn't a fan of Bardem/Hall/Johansson's characters. I could just re-watch it before the end of the month. Woody Allen movies to me just vary quality wise; some I connect with like Annie Hall, Interiors, and Hannah And Her Sisters, but some just seem really average to me like Bananas and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Although his more recent movies after that have a Mendoza line it's failing to hit. Blue Jasmine and Irrational Man with Joaquin Phoenix follow VCB and are both excellent additions to his masterful catalog. Maybe take a look at Moses Farrow’s account of the personal story to get some balance. It may help avoid what seems like a pretty clouded judgment and lack of fair objectivity of the Allen catalog. If you’re blindly buying into the Farrow narrative it’s gonna be hard to be objective.
Andrew POE! Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 5 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said: Blue Jasmine and Irrational Man with Joaquin Phoenix follow VCB and are both excellent additions to his masterful catalog. Maybe take a look at Moses Farrow’s account of the personal story to get some balance. It may help avoid what seems like a pretty clouded judgment and lack of fair objectivity of the Allen catalog. If you’re blindly buying into the Farrow narrative it’s gonna be hard to be objective. Actually, I wasn't even thinking about the Mia Farrow narrative when I watched VCB or the whole thing with Woody Allen's personal life. I was just thinking about how I felt about the movie versus the rest of his work that I've seen.
HarryArchieGus Posted June 19, 2025 Posted June 19, 2025 On 6/17/2025 at 11:33 PM, Andrew POE! said: I almost wonder if Cristina was written the way she was so that Woody Allen could fantasize about Scarlett Johnasson being in a bed naked. 1 hour ago, Andrew POE! said: Actually, I wasn't even thinking about the Mia Farrow narrative when I watched VCB or the whole thing with Woody Allen's personal life. I was just thinking about how I felt about the movie versus the rest of his work that I've seen. The above quote concerning Scarlett was one example that suggested otherwise. Completely overlooking how a choice served the film. The perv narrative tends to disregard the consistently great female leads and key female crew of so many of his films. Further, the tired idea that his latter work lacks in some way always feels like more of an excuse to disregard him personally than a comment on the consistent quality of work. That said, these movies aren’t for everyone and certainly had their share of haters pre-breakup. Sorry, I am being tougher on this subject with you than some rando, but with purpose.
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