Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched (2013-2016)  (Read 973542 times)

Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9990 on: December 27, 2016, 12:21:29 PM »
Bad Moms (2016)

Much like the moms in the film, this film is imperfect, never quite living up to what one might imagine it could be. The modern "have it all" definition of womanhood, having to be perfect at work, in social circles, as a parent, and as a spouse, lest a failure in any area reveal her as proof that women can't handle it, is ripe for satire. I realize it is kind of the type of film this is, but when the film got bigger, it tended to lose me. There were a lot of smaller moments of humor to work on here that it didn't need to reach for it.

It is interesting how thin the male characters are. I reckon Amy's boss is part of a broader joke against Millennials, but her husband seems to fit firmly in the manchild archetype. Meanwhile the "hot widower" at school seems to be the unquestioned perfect man, doing it all. I get that it isn't the point of the film, but I'm sitting here thinking, that can't be easy, even if he is a man.

Anyway, for all its scrappiness, I do think it has a good heart and while Kathryn Hahn got a lot of buzz for her really bold character, I feel like Kristen Bell steals the show as the meek stay-at-home mother finding the nerve to stand up for herself. This is what I hope for from light entertainments.

oldkid

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9991 on: December 27, 2016, 12:32:37 PM »
k

Double meaning = a reply and a recognition we hit 1,000 on pages on this thread with this comment?

 ;D


"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

philip918

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9992 on: December 27, 2016, 01:28:47 PM »
Manchester by the Sea

What I've learned from movies is if you go to a bar in Massachusetts and you look at someone or especially if you accidentally bump into someone they will punch you in the face.

StarCarly

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9993 on: December 27, 2016, 01:32:24 PM »
k

Double meaning = a reply and a recognition we hit 1,000 on pages on this thread with this comment?

 ;D

There are no coincedences!  ;D
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Films Watched in 2017

Letterboxd

oldkid

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9994 on: December 29, 2016, 01:37:40 AM »
Krisha
It has been said that Shakespeare used to have many of his plays set amidst royals, because the stakes are so high.  Well, the same could be said about family gatherings.

But in this film, the emotions are heightened by the use of horror-cinematography and a master-class soundtrack.  Rarely have I been so drawn into a family drama, not only because I understand these stakes, but because the filmmaking is so full of experimental imagination, while not compromising on the tone one whit.

4.5/5

Moonlight
Everything in this film is perfect, but it rarely tugged on my heartstrings.  Perfect ensemble, perfect cinematography, wonderful script.  But it left me distant in a way that The Fits didn't.  A great film that didn't leave a great impact on me.
3.5/5
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

philip918

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9995 on: December 29, 2016, 12:36:29 PM »
The VVitch and The Fits is a great double feature.

And a great band name.

oldkid

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9996 on: December 29, 2016, 12:52:20 PM »
K

The VVitch and The Fits is a great double feature.

And a great band name.

This deserves to be repeated.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Junior

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9997 on: December 29, 2016, 01:15:30 PM »
Manchester By the Sea

What a film. I read a lot about grieving this past semester and I think that informed some of how I looked at this movie. The use of intercutting the memories is really well done for such a basic technique, and the humor even in many of the saddest scenes really struck a chord for me. I don't really understand the criticism that it looks kinda boring. I think the shots of the sea (as an opposite to fire, I think) and the deliberate absence of shots of the front of some pictures is evidence that Lonergan is doing some interesting stuff with the camera. Affleck is fantastic, so is the kid, and special shout out to Michelle Williams in a tough role that she gives enough to feel as real as all the other characters with way more screentime.

A


Scrooge (1970)

My first time with this version. Some good songs and probably the best version of the Ghost of Christmases Yet To Come I've seen (he goes to hell! and "Thank You Very Much" is the best song of them all) make this probably my second favorite version of the story. I'm not totally sold on Finney's choice for Scrooge to be so high pitched and he's somehow a worse singer than Michael Caine. Alec Guinness' weird performance as Jacob Marley is super strange in the first scene he's in (the attempts at making him seem like he's floating forward when he's obviously just doing crazy shit with his feet is hilarious) but it gets uncannily scary in the Hell scene, so I'm into it.

B+


It's A Wonderful Life

Sure is.

A+


Star Trek Beyond

Great fun. I very much liked that it had a little more on its mind than having a good time but did not overdo the solidarity/togetherness vs. individuality thing at the same time. The two new characters, the woman and the bad guy, were well drawn for what they needed to be, and the action scenes were fun and well executed. Certainly better than Into Darkness, perhaps not as good as the first one, but only just.

B+


La La Land

I understand the people who think this is a cynical and misguided attempt at capturing a bygone style of movie and failing completely at it. They just don't have love in their hearts, and it is sad so they should be pitied. Though this movie could be easily described with a formula for taking pieces from different movies (pretty much all of which are in my Top 100, including An American in Paris and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), there's enough new to keep me interested and, more importantly, invested in these characters. Though Gosling and Stone might not be Astaire and Rogers as far as singing and dancing go, they are better actors and so I was actually attached to these people as people rather than just really talented performers. And Chazelle makes some really wonderful choices to depart from reality before crashing back down to earth, formally speaking. It's a confection with little nutritional value, but there's something to be said for a really tasty desert. There are 5 great musical moments/songs here, which is a pretty big number for the genre.


Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Watched this again in 3D Imax. It's glorious. The space battle at the end is particularly fun in that format, as is the Death Star. That bit with the dude is still one of the best scenes Star Wars has ever had for its sheer terror, though the ending is currently a little less happy than it needs to be to kick us into the original trilogy for extratextual reasons. I'm sure the feelings I felt the first time watching the scene--joy and excitement and, well, hope--will return in a few months, but for now I feel more melancholic than I think I was supposed to. It's supposed to be part of it, but now it's all of it.

A-
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jmbossy

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9998 on: December 29, 2016, 04:40:30 PM »
Indignation
The impression James Schamus' debut makes is deceptively sleight; a precise examination of society's adherence to tradition and the reservation those customs force on youth. Even though the script and direction defy grandeur, the loss felt by the characters in the end lasts longer than I initially expected. The images, the script, and the characters all reveal themselves with stark simplicity, capturing the life of Marcus Messner (played tremendously by Logan Lerman) as the quiet but thoughtful soul he was, unable to meet his potential caught in a cycle of repression and indignation. Every member of the cast is phenomenal, and the writing is intelligent in both its patter and brevity. Damned fine filmmaking.

Kicks
I suppose an epic is elevated by milestones so far but so deeply connected, the journey feels in totality both vast and whole. Kicks hardly ever feels coherent, hopping between slapstick imagery, seething tension, immobile bursts of the surreal, and eventually, a tragic understanding of how violence threads these disparate places in lives defined by insecurity. In the tradition of the "sundance indie," Kicks feels sort of inconsequential, but marks the significant change in a young persons life. In that mold Kicks is epic for depicting growth of its central character as hard fought, stuck in an impoverished society where every inch gained feels vital when compared to the alternative. Scored with some killer hip hop, celebrations and reflections on those milestones, torn between fronting against ever present fears, and being truly man enough to deal with yours. This movie needs some love guys.

Hell or High Water
Simultaneously filled, start to finish, with exciting well designed set pieces, and a slow burn that hits you all at once. I suddenly realized this wasn't just a fun genre exercise, but a human examination of genre themes, here, Americana in crisis. Losing a land once owned by libertarianism and character to soulless and spineless modernity. This isn't exactly an elegy to the west, there is a thoughtful consideration to the morality lost to the unruly, examining to borders of criminality. The west, its symbols of freedom and conviction are still alive in the culture of modern texas, even if we have smart phones, video surveillance, and fully automatic weapons. These characters' want for liberty has turned to the want for money, a cure to the "disease" of poverty, an escape to its cycle, more than a want for traditional ethics. Lawlessness for liberty's sake; is anything more Texas than that?

This year suddenly got hard to capture in a top 10... and i still have more to see...
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 04:43:43 PM by jmbossy »

pixote

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #9999 on: December 29, 2016, 04:46:37 PM »
Really nice reviews, jmbossy. I'll be curious to see if Indignation makes any sort of dent in the Filmspots -- specifically in the Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Ensemble Cast, and Debut Feature categories, given the strengths you highlighted above.

pixote
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 04:48:39 PM by pixote »
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