Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched  (Read 683909 times)

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4110 on: January 25, 2020, 03:30:03 PM »
I consider Fight Club on a par with Big Lebowski...culturally important, especially among bros, based on great scenes/moments but doesn’t hold together well as a complete experience. Though in the case of FC soured additionally by the toxic interpretations.

Two definite #FBC films, two bad #FBC films.

Count me as a relative fan of Downsizing, mixed in general on Payne, but disappointed it wasn't nearly as wonderful as Nebraska.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4111 on: January 25, 2020, 04:04:55 PM »
Could we put a moratorium on #FBC and maybe actually treat those films as something not to be dismissed offhand simply because of the kind of audience they tend to attract?

Bondo

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4112 on: January 25, 2020, 07:04:34 PM »
Les Miserables

I tend to be of the view that the protagonist is by necessity the perspective of the film. A film has to try really hard to stand apart from the protagonist (something I feel The Art of Self-Defense did). Of course, some might say trying to figure out what the film wants you to think about something is the wrong question. Still, watching this film that places us in the perspective of a trio of police officers (specifically a new transfer to the area) had me asking the question.

It is a sad commentary on the state of policing in the United States that watching these three, led by a white cop who exhibits overt racism and homophobia (in spite his partners being non-white) and not big on following the rules as he basically practices stop and frisk tactics, I was thinking they weren't that bad. The could certainly be better, but they still tended to use communication and understanding in a lot of the situations to attempt to keep a peace. When the dramatic moment occurs that significant changes the pace of the movie, even that feels more tragic than a result of reckless policing. And if one still is mostly critical of the police after two-third, the last third had me uncomfortable with how much I was backing the police. It's the moment I go "does this film want me to embrace reactionary police state policies, because that's what it is making me feel." This isn't unlike my response to Parasite, feeling like the film was making me side with the wealthy family.

If not for the final moments and epitaph drawn from the film's namesake, I would have had major qualms, though I don't know that those save it completely. That quote asserts that people aren't bad but they are made bad by bad environments, applying equally to the police and the people. However, having been set only within the police, I only get one end of the context. Like Parasite, I ultimately leave appreciating much of the filmmaking but this discomfort over how well it sells its message holds it back a touch.


Eric/E.T.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4113 on: January 25, 2020, 09:43:06 PM »
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
I'm a Cassavetes neophyte. I saw that The Last Picture Show, which I don't always listen to because I usually haven't seen both films, discussed it along with Uncut Gems, and since I like Uncut Gems, I figured this is where I'd start with Cassavetes. I loved it. Ben Gazzara as Cosmo is excellent. He sets you up to underestimate him, but also doesn't overdo it when his big moment comes. I bought into his character 100%. I dig Cassavetes style, like I figured I would, there is nothing false in it. I will generally take the trade-off of a lower quality of picture (in the objective means of fidelity) if it yields a higher level of intimacy and truth. That trade-off definitely helps explain the success of this film.

I finally feel like I'm discovering some films from further back that I can dig into, enjoy rather than appreciate, in De Sica and at least this first (for me) Cassavetes.

Incendies
If you say you know where those two narratives were heading before the big reveal, either you're a liar or kind of warped. It's a difficult film to pin down because it deals in heavy subject matter via quasi-allegory (Fuad as Lebanon), and it likely requires more knowledge of Lebanon's civil war and the rift between Muslims and Christians in the country than I possess. It's incredible to look at, and I think the road sign transitions, with the big, bold, red letters are very effective guides. The use of Radiohead's You and Whose Army is weird. Maybe its use shows an ambition for the film to be more than a film about a war in a specific place, hence also calling the country Fuad, but ultimately I don't think Villeneuve succeeds in making it what one site called a Greek tragedy. Of the five Villeneuve pictures I've seen, it probably sits at the bottom.
A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4114 on: January 26, 2020, 12:51:42 AM »
The Gentlemen
★ ★ ★ - Good

I'm a fan of Guy Ritchie or more accurately I'm a fan any time he wants to make a gritty, flashy, British crime movie. This is where his dialogue is sharpest, though I'll admit it's also pretty pleased with itself and smug on a level even Tarantino manages to avoid through sheer craft. (There are also a few brief moments that are out of step with the times, and I think that's a deliberate choice, but the results are cringy.) This film isn't doing anything new and if you don't like Lock Stock, RocknRolla and the like then you won't like this either. It's strange to see a lack of artistic growth, but once again he gathers an interesting cast of stars and splats the screen with a lot of gangster attitude.

Special mention to Hugh Grant. After a full career of playing the same type of character endlessly, it seems Paddington 2 (and Cloud Atlas) has freed him up to go way outside his comfort zone. I didn't blink at Colin Farrell's fresh character quirks and Michelle Dockery here is like when Helena Bonham Carter made Fight Club, but Grant's commitment to the character now has me wondering what he can't play.

1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4115 on: January 26, 2020, 09:47:55 AM »
Lady Macbeth
★ ★ ★ - Okay



The film is a Portrait of a Woman and Pugh sets it On Fire.

It's ridiculous how clear Florence Pugh conveys emotions, often doing her best work without dialogue. The shots of her storming around the grounds have a visual beauty, but watching Pugh is like watching a tornado tear through the lush landscape. I've now seen four films featuring the actress and already her resume is varied, but her talent is immense. Midsommar was my first and it remains my favorite, and when I watch it again I think that opinion will be further entrenched by the additional exposure. As for the film... it's not bad. It's just kind of thin, and the rest of the cast seems content to fit their narrowly defined roles. You could fault Pugh for pointing out the wasted potential.


FLYmeatwad

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4116 on: January 26, 2020, 11:51:38 AM »
Could we put a moratorium on #FBC and maybe actually treat those films as something not to be dismissed offhand simply because of the kind of audience they tend to attract?

It's a movement, Sam. I would also like to stress that there are a bunch of great films that I would qualify as Frat Boy Cinema. Even the ones where messages get mixed like they do in Fight Club, the example I would always go to is likely Drive. I don't think something being a part of #FBC means it's bad or should be dismissed, if anything those elements and how they work or don't work on a case by case basis is where I find my interest lies.

IDrinkYourMilkshake

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4117 on: January 26, 2020, 01:20:35 PM »
Though in the case of FC soured additionally by the toxic interpretations.

I know people who started bare knuckle boxing clubs on the back of Fight Club.

Someone needs to tell me what '#FBC' means. I don't use any of that social media stuff.


EDIT: Never mind - just saw FLY's post. "Frat Boy Cinema".

Unfair on Lebowski. Maybe in America it has a different audience, but in the UK I think its cult is a lot cooler than the kind of people I imagine when Americans say "Frat Boy".

« Last Edit: January 26, 2020, 01:26:14 PM by IDrinkYourMilkshake »
"What should have been an enjoyable 90 minutes of nubile, high-school flesh meeting a frenzy of blood-caked blades, becomes instead an exploitational and complex parable of the conflicting demands of agrarianism and artistry. I voted a miss."

Antares

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4118 on: January 26, 2020, 03:25:15 PM »
Someone needs to tell me what '#FBC' means. I don't use any of that social media stuff.

Glad I'm not the only one who didn't understand what it meant.
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jdc

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4119 on: January 26, 2020, 04:30:54 PM »
There should be a reference guide to help translate FLY’s posts. It can start with FLY
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