Movies you've just watched

[GaijinPunch]

Have you ever seen a real vagina?

Ever tried not to be one?

(hey, if that's how you wanna roll)

mine was better.

[Opus131]

Mine was more accurate.

(feels like i'm back to kindergarten here)

[Ixmucane2]

Good Kill

An intensely weak tale combining unconvincing propaganda with worthless "first world problems": around 2010 a USAF F-16 pilot (Ethan Hawke) stops risking his life alone and abroad, being reassigned to piloting drones from the comfort of a base just outside Las Vegas. He has a gorgeous wife (January Jones) and two nice children, he lives with them in a little detached house, he is about to be promoted, and he feels miserable, with serious marital and alcohol problems, because he feels a coward and he wants to be a pilot again.

Most of the action consists of assassinations under the directions of someone on the phone from Langley, with an irritatingly neat progression from reasonable missions to outright war crimes that feels like a deliberate attempt to explain why drones are evil, culminating with a stupid "Hollywood" ending.

This sort of film is representative of the bad side of independent productions: apparently no studio executive told Andrew Niccol that his script wasn't good enough for funding.

[Vexorg]

The World is Not Enough: ***

Continuing on our long journey through the James Bond boxed set. I think this is probably my favorite of the three Pierce Brosnan Bond films (I know Goldeneye is supposed to be the only "good" Pierce Brosnan film but something about it doesn't click for me, and Die Another Day was just a trainwreck of bad CG and nonsense) but ultimately, I find Pierce Brosnan not to be a very convincing James Bond in the first place. In spite of that, the movie keeps things moving along reasonably well, and only occasionally devolves into nonsense (the whole saw blade helicopter scene was probably the worst offender in the film, but not the only one) and every once in a while something explodes that has no good reason to explode, but on the whole it avoids going completely off the deep end the way Die Another Day did.

[boagman]

The World is Not Enough: ***

Continuing on our long journey through the James Bond boxed set. I think this is probably my favorite of the three Pierce Brosnan Bond films (I know Goldeneye is supposed to be the only "good" Pierce Brosnan film but something about it doesn't click for me, and Die Another Day was just a trainwreck of bad CG and nonsense) but ultimately, I find Pierce Brosnan not to be a very convincing James Bond in the first place. In spite of that, the movie keeps things moving along reasonably well, and only occasionally devolves into nonsense (the whole saw blade helicopter scene was probably the worst offender in the film, but not the only one) and every once in a while something explodes that has no good reason to explode, but on the whole it avoids going completely off the deep end the way Die Another Day did.

Um, so "Tomorrow Never Dies" doesn't count?

[Mischief Maker]

Um, so "Tomorrow Never Dies" doesn't count?

No it does not. In fact it epitomizes everything that went wrong with the Bond movie franchise in later years.

Compare this scene in From Russia with Love with this scene from Tomorrow Never Dies.

[rapoon]

Silent Running - wildly malerotic. That being said, Bruce Dern hauls the whole lot of it all the way through; he and the short guys who animate drones.

silent running is hilarious. i knew something was up when the opening song is a hippy track about the earth dying. speaking of Trumbull, i liked brainstorm much better but i don't think he directed
anything after that. i think he was suppose to release a documentary about the making of 2001 (he and kubrick and their respective contributions, many of which kubrick is erroneously credited for)
but it was shelved for some reason.

[Opus131]

Um, so "Tomorrow Never Dies" doesn't count?

No it does not. In fact it epitomizes everything that went wrong with the Bond movie franchise in later years.

Compare this scene in From Russia with Love with this scene from Tomorrow Never Dies.

Or the vast majority of modern films for that matter.

[boagman]

Um, so "Tomorrow Never Dies" doesn't count?

No it does not. In fact it epitomizes everything that went wrong with the Bond movie franchise in later years.

Compare this scene in From Russia with Love with this scene from Tomorrow Never Dies.

Not my point. TND is a Pierce Brosnan Bond movie. There are at least four Brosnan Bond movies. That was all I was trying to say.

[Hagane]

I watched Inside-out. Or 25 minutes of it, to be more accurate. I had very high expectations for it, with so many people billing it as Pixar's return to form after a string of mediocre movies.

I couldn't stand it. The hyperactive emotion characters got extremely annoying very fast with all the gesticulation and chatter, I thought the dialogue was stupid, the human characters ugly, the story corny, all the symbolism so plainly evident and kindergarten level... a huge disappointment. It was so annoying I just couldn't keep watching it.

So I watched Haemoo instead. Sung-bo Shim's first movie a a director (he also co-wrote the superb Memories of Murder), I got interested in it mainly because it's screenplay was written by Joon Ho Bong, one of my favorite Korean directors. It was really good, despite a somewhat slow start. The story is about the captain of a fishing boat that returns to shady businesses to try to keep his beloved ship afloat in a rough time for fishermen. He believes he will take an usual smuggling assignment, but it turns out he will have to do something much riskier and morally problematic.

You can quickly realize that things will start going south very fast. Despite some strange comedy bits and corniness on the beginning, this is a tough movie to watch, definitely not something you want to pick if you want a happy movie. But it's very good, and I'm happy to see Joon Ho Bong do something of this level after the literal train-wreck that was Snowpiercer.

[Xyga]

Blue Ruin

Cute <3

[Acid King]

Blue Ruin

Cute <3

I am unbelievably hyped for Saulnier's next movie.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/2/2/1089411 ... ck-stewart

[options]

the literal train-wreck that was Snowpiercer.

ugh. you couldn't get through Inside Out and I couldn't get through this.

[Hagane]

Neither could I! It was a painfully terrible film. I hope his next Hollywood movie is better.

[iconoclast]

I didn't think Snowpiercer was terrible, but between that and Park Chan-wook's Stoker, I'd rather see Korean directors stick to making movies in Korea. Both are easily their worst movies. Never mind that Kim Jee-woon went to direct some Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie.

At least Bong Joon-ho's next film will star Jake Gyllenhaal. That should be a nice step up from Chris Evans' wooden performance in Snowpiercer.

[Skykid]

Snowpiercer isn't terrible, it's just super stupid in places.

You guys are talking about this director like he's a marvel - what are his Korean films I might know? For me the Korean movie golden era passed very quickly. Most recommendations turn out to be utter crap these days. Not Japanese movie levels of crap - that's tough to top - but definitely subpar.

Um, so "Tomorrow Never Dies" doesn't count?

No it does not. In fact it epitomizes everything that went wrong with the Bond movie franchise in later years.

Compare this scene in From Russia with Love with this scene from Tomorrow Never Dies.

Ha ha, pretty low blow using From Russia. That's probably the best Bond movie of them all. Most of everything post Connery has been garbage, arguably, but I harbour a childhood soft spot for the borderline farce of Roger Moore's offerings. They're like live action 007 cartoons.

Casino Royale was really the only decent Bond in a long, long time.

[Xyga]

Blue Ruin
Cute <3

I am unbelievably hyped for Saulnier's next movie.
http://www.polygon.com/2016/2/2/1089411 ... ck-stewart

So am I now.

[Hagane]

Snowpiercer isn't terrible, it's just super stupid in places.

Snowpiercer is not super stupid at places, it's stupid all around, from the setting to the characters and awful dialogue, third rate acting and the fights that try so hard to look cool that end up looking ridiculous instead.

Every movie the director made before it is worlds better. Memories of Murder for me stands as his very best, Mother being a close second. He does really good thrillers. I liked The Host too, even though it's not for everyone, and Barking Dogs Never Bite was good also. Snowpiercer was a huge letdown for me, knowing what the director is capable of.

[GaijinPunch]

Blue Ruin
Cute <3

I am unbelievably hyped for Saulnier's next movie.
http://www.polygon.com/2016/2/2/1089411 ... ck-stewart

So am I now.

Blue Ruin was awesome!

[Obiwanshinobi]

Like Grains of Sand (original title 渚のシンドバッド).

Spoiler

Ostensibly homoerotic opening scene might alienate some viewers, but it's one of those virtually plotless films that remain very watchable nonetheless. Less melodramatic than most puberty chronicles, at least.

[Skykid]

Snowpiercer isn't terrible, it's just super stupid in places.

Snowpiercer is not super stupid at places, it's stupid all around, from the setting to the characters and awful dialogue, third rate acting and the fights that try so hard to look cool that end up looking ridiculous instead.

I don't disagree with any of this. In my original appraisal I said the exact same thing: the dialogue is trash, the CG is awful, and some of the plot developments are so stupid it's beyond comprehension (sticking your arm into a set of gears to stop a train is the most retarded thing ever).

Acting was mostly third-rate but a lot of that is down to the director's inability to direct his actors. His cast wasn't bad, per se.

But I didn't find it unwatchable as you. I thought it was entertaining-enough garbage and I preferred the foreign tone to your average boring Hollywood feature.

Every movie the director made before it is worlds better. Memories of Murder for me stands as his very best, Mother being a close second. He does really good thrillers. I liked The Host too, even though it's not for everyone, and Barking Dogs Never Bite was good also. Snowpiercer was a huge letdown for me, knowing what the director is capable of.

Right, well I've only seen The Host and I thought it was vastly overrated rubbish with crap effects. If you don't have the budget for good CG, be pragmatic and don't use so much of it.

[boagman]

But I didn't find it unwatchable as you. I thought it was entertaining-enough garbage and I preferred the foreign tone to your average boring Hollywood feature.

And come on! Tilda Swinton was pretty funny in it. She completely went all out for it, even if it was ultra-silly. I appreciated that.

[options]

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: The Sword of Destiny

was kinda amped for this ...until I discovered it was in English and featured a half-caucasian chick as a main character. turned me right off. I was looking to get transported back into that mythical China of the first film, not get served some half-assed, appeal-to-the-Western-audience bs.

perhaps it ended up being decent, but I didn't stick around to find out. "Back to Browse."

[Obiwanshinobi]

When I was having misgivings about neo noir in films (not much since The Big Lebowski I would care for), I'd forgotten about Strange Days. Its soundtrack seems better remembered than the movie indeed (not quite unlike Judgement Night).
I for one liked Strange Days very much and, having just re-watched it, I think it holds up. That the SF plot device does a better job here than the so called "cyberpunk" in its time's live-action cinema isn't saying much, but it's all just cohesive. What glues it all together, I suspect, is the somewhat soapy Ralph Fiennes - most other things, no matter how energetic, are SO formulaic another hard-boiled protagonist could end up as just too much service.

[soprano1]

Not a film i just watched, but saw the trailer for this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_vs._Kayako
Good god, the plot is horrific, here's the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McJCevmQy6A

[Opus131]

Just saw some dreadful film called Deadly Weapon, courtesy of youtube.

I saw this film as a kid and remember being really impressed by it. Turns out the film is a complete piece of crap. Never trust your childhood memories i guess.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Duel in the Sun - 'tis a 1946 movie? Back when I watched it as a kid (on a black & white TV set, no less), that number wouldn't have told me much, but hot shit DAMN!



Just when I was thinking it's the same year as The Battle of the Rails - bang! - a similar train wrecking scene showed up (not quite as punchy, but that's beside the point). Sweet F.A.

[options]

she's got nice eyes...

Sanjuro

I think only the third Kurosawa film I've ever watched. I'm obviously not terribly familiar with his work, but it was immediately apparent why he's held in such high regard as a director. the framing of his scenes is so fresh and unique, even to a pair of 2016 eyes. it's like poetry. that vision must've been revolutionary when it was released.

it's also very cool seeing the points of reference for so many Samurai Showdown-style game characters.

[Opus131]

Kurosawa is great. Definitely one of my favorites.

it's also very cool seeing the points of reference for so many Samurai Showdown-style game characters.

Not to mention his influence on the likes of Sergio Leone.

[Xyga]

Citizen Kane - a movie of circumstance, last time I saw it was during the 90's I think.

Still a good film there's no doubt, but the actress playing Susan sucks, or she's really good at playing a character that sucks, dunno.