Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched  (Read 684335 times)

1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4130 on: January 27, 2020, 09:46:01 AM »
I haven't yet seen 1917 (seeing it later today), but why would a comparison to video games be demeaning ?
I usually read it to label 1917 an unemotional exercise that makes war look fun and is only interested in the technical craft and completing the next immediate objective, discounting the art Mendes makes along the way and those powerful final scenes he builds to. Michael Phillips (for example) calls the film Read Player World War One.

Teproc

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4131 on: January 27, 2020, 10:04:23 AM »
Tenki no ko / Weathering with You (Makoto Shinkai, 2019)

Basically Your Name with much, much flatter main characters, a climate change-adjacent fantasy element that one really shouldn't spend too much time thinking about, and the overall feeling of a less inspired re-hash... still very beautiful, and some good supporting characters, but a big meh overall.

5/10

I haven't yet seen 1917 (seeing it later today), but why would a comparison to video games be demeaning ?
I usually read it to label 1917 an unemotional exercise that makes war look fun and is only interested in the technical craft and completing the next immediate objective, discounting the art Mendes makes along the way and those powerful final scenes he builds to. Michael Phillips (for example) calls the film Read Player World War One.

Right, I just thought the oldkid quote you reacted to was purely descriptive, and "it's like a video game" is simply a stylistic choice... whether or not it works is another issue (seeing it in a few hours though I'll be going in slightly skeptical).
« Last Edit: January 27, 2020, 10:44:46 AM by Teproc »
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joshuaadavidd

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4132 on: January 27, 2020, 10:37:38 AM »
The last two I watched, since the last one I watched wasn't very interesting but the one before that was!

Thoroughbreds (2018, dir. Cory Finley)
★★
Thoroughbreds is convinced it's acidic but it's mostly just bland.


Eighth Grade (2018, dir. Bo Burnham)
★★★★★
This movie makes so many good choices. Casting Elsie Fisher and the always-good Josh Hamilton were obviously good ones. But what a great job of showing Kaley as the person that she can't show herself. That such a compassionate and grounded film can convincingly display the maelstrom of emotions and considerations that make up every decision a thirteen-year-old makes, that can show the casual cruelty of clueless adults with the bedrock love and fearfulness and worry of a parent watching their child navigate the horror show that middle school can be, is a testament to Bo Burnham's power to observe people as they are and present themselves to be. Truly a special movie.

oldkid

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4133 on: January 27, 2020, 02:29:38 PM »
1917

I love the idea of following these two soldiers across the no-man’s-land to enemy territory.  But the longer I follow them, the longer I live in the POV camerawork, the more removed I am from their reality.  I am an observer, not a fellow traveler.  I feel like I’m on a boat in a huge Pirates of the Caribbean ride or running beside them in a video game.  I have a lot of time to observe the amazing detail of each scene, but I am spending too much time looking for the cogs of the machinery and not enough time in the world.

Still,  there are some amazing moments.  I jumped, cringed and cried at all the right times, and I was stunned by some of the effects and the art design was top-notch.  It was fantastic and the scene at night, running through ruins while flashes of light and gunfire gave it a horror-like atmosphere was top-notch.  But the time-jumps and coincidences weren’t as smooth as I’d like.  You have a wonderfully set up scene of an airplane crashing and drama with the pilot, which transitions to a group of soldiers on the other side of a building who didn’t see or hear any of the previous scene.  I know what’s happening, there is a space/time jump, but it just didn’t feel natural.

Still, it is great to be in the world of WWI as an observer for a couple of hours.

3.5/5

Weathering With You
Rain, rain, rain.  So much water, so many drops, falling, landing, splashing.  I could watch this animation for hours.  And it’s a good thing, because that’s what we get.

A runaway takes up with a strange group of adults and kids, trying to make a living in Tokyo and trying to separate the truth from the myth about Rain Girls.  The fantasy element is enjoyable, the animation is gorgeous and the characterization is decent.  I love the path director Makoto Shinkai is forging away from Miyazaki and Kon to create a new series of blockbuster anime, although I wish that he might take on some of Kon’s grittiness and characterization, if not the psychological complexity.

I liked Weathering better than Your Name, but it still doesn’t compare with the anime greats, in my mind.

4/5

The Two Popes
A series of discussions between Pope Benedict and the soon-to-be Pope Francis dramatizes not so much the friendship and mutual exploration of hypocrisy between the two men, but two forms of the church.  You have a traditional, by-the-book church which has led to hiding and housing great evils, and a socially-aware Christianity that is naive in the use of power.  It is dull to the outsider, but to those involved in church discussions between these two groups, it is insightful and dramatic.

And the acting is fantastic, of course.  I wouldn’t give either of these men awards for their work, but it is so much fun watching them at play.

4/5
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1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4134 on: January 27, 2020, 02:49:20 PM »
1917

I love the idea of following these two soldiers across the no-man’s-land to enemy territory.  But the longer I follow them, the longer I live in the POV camerawork, the more removed I am from their reality.  I am an observer, not a fellow traveler.
Did you notice the film does this too? There's a definite hard edit after which the camera takes a more observational perspective, with high angles (like out the window onto the flare city or the final trench) and shots that leave the character(s) to take in the world he(they) are feeling dislocated from.

oldkid

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4135 on: January 27, 2020, 09:14:47 PM »
I did, but not consciously.  I knew that I was being led to observe the surroundings and not the character(s) and then back to the character(s).  To objectively observe the POV would be a fascinating perspective.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

oldkid

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4136 on: January 27, 2020, 09:18:17 PM »
Has anyone else seen Liyana?  It is a documentary about African orphans which presents their lives in a mythological storytelling perspective with both beautiful cinematography and animation.  Worth a watch.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Eric/E.T.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4137 on: January 27, 2020, 10:08:34 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?

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.

OK, I went back to this and searched Twitter and Google. Where is #FBC a thing? I also don't think the actual average frat boy knows about Drive. Fight Club and Lebowski, for sure.

BTW, when I looked #FBC up the first time, I got this from Urban Dictionary. I honestly thought this is what you meant by it. I like it a lot better than Frat Boy Cinema.  ;) (Not that I like it like it, like some frat boy might, but it's more straight to the point.)

BTWW, just watched Columbus again. It's a move that clarifies for me what is at the core of good art. Not facts or tidbits, but a master bringing together elements to move/provoke the consumer. Like Okja reminds me the horrors of factory farming and is worth an occasional visit just for that, Columbus reminds me not to get caught in film trivia, or even film criticism, but to be moved and share that with others when possible.
A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

smirnoff

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4138 on: January 27, 2020, 11:09:19 PM »
Heart and Souls

Sigh. How simple this movie is, yet rather unique too. There is a natural flow of story, character and dialogue that sits so well with me. I never got bored by staying far out ahead. Instead, I let it unfold in front of me and happily so. EXCEPT! There is a moment in here that is too traumatic for words, because no child should ever have to go through such an abrupt and complete loss. The little boy who plays the part really sells the sadness and it takes me a while to stop internally shaking from the scene. Alfre Woodard is great as always and reminds me that a marathon of her work would be very rewarding.

Thanks, smirnoff. I really loved it. If I didn't know that pixote recommended this film to you, I would have thought that Tremors brought it to your attention. Did you know that the people who wrote and directed Tremors did this movie too? :) Do you see any similarities in the two films?

Only that the two films had a strong ensemble cast. :)

I'm glad you enjoyed this!
Hey you three, what are your thoughts on Robert Downey Jr., watching this performance knowing what the next 25 years was going to bring?

I'm only vaguely aware of RDJ's lows. I just know he went through some drug fueled rough times. I don't remember ever being aware of it through the news or anything at the time. Maybe I was too young to notice. So whatever his checkered past was didn't really come to mind during the film.

smirnoff

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #4139 on: January 27, 2020, 11:20:53 PM »
Downsizing
★ ★


How about that HUGE (actually very adorable) explosion at the end ? I would nominate that for best comedic moment if I had seen in it time.  :))

I was undecided on the film when I caught up with it and still am. I agree with what you wrote.

 

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