Movies you've just watched

[Lord British]

snip

Haha oh man, I used to have exactly the same avatar as you do (I really like Louis Wain), and every time I scroll down a thread, I am confused for a second before I realize I didn't make a particular post.

Tommy Katkins sends his regards...

Spoiler

Sell all you have give it to the kittens
And pour the milk on Louis' grave
And Catland sometimes called Pussydom
Opens for you instantly it's the inmost light!
It's the inmost light
Somewhere over the rainbow
On the good ship lollipop
There oh there
Goodnight
The inmost light
The happy children rise all from their pools
Eyes still sealed
Sleep tight
With mud and night
It's their inmost night
Goodnight
And yet still I which I could dream as when young
Sleep tight
As she came to me so young and honest
Goodbye
Yet the bloodbells chime
I do not notice them I shall not notice them
Yet the bloodbells chime
Tommy Katkins still send his regards
Frozen for ever on some animal somme
The last thing on his mind is marriage
But the call of home and heart
Yet the bloobells chime [Repeat: x3]

https://youtu.be/3e6D4mqpx9s?si=8oRbDOx6mqVTXopk

[XoPachi]

Watched Knives Out and Glass Onion back to back with a friend. Glass Onion immediately became one of my favorite movies. That was excellent. I've never seen Daniel Craig beyond his excellent 007 work. He's amazing as Detective Blanc. He can come across as so goofy and dorky but it hides an incredibly sharp wit.

[Sumez]

Man, Glass Onion is so fucking dumb, but I enjoyed it as well. It's just silly fun, which might actually be the best way to do a detective "mystery" such as this.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

snip

Haha oh man, I used to have exactly the same avatar as you do (I really like Louis Wain), and every time I scroll down a thread, I am confused for a second before I realize I didn't make a particular post.

Tommy Katkins sends his regards...

Spoiler

Sell all you have give it to the kittens
And pour the milk on Louis' grave
And Catland sometimes called Pussydom
Opens for you instantly it's the inmost light!
It's the inmost light
Somewhere over the rainbow
On the good ship lollipop
There oh there
Goodnight
The inmost light
The happy children rise all from their pools
Eyes still sealed
Sleep tight
With mud and night
It's their inmost night
Goodnight
And yet still I which I could dream as when young
Sleep tight
As she came to me so young and honest
Goodbye
Yet the bloodbells chime
I do not notice them I shall not notice them
Yet the bloodbells chime
Tommy Katkins still send his regards
Frozen for ever on some animal somme
The last thing on his mind is marriage
But the call of home and heart
Yet the bloobells chime [Repeat: x3]

https://youtu.be/3e6D4mqpx9s?si=8oRbDOx6mqVTXopk

Goodness, what a sad song... I was going to have a cuddle session with my cat, but it'd just returned from a field trip (weather's shite today) and now I have brown paw marks on my lap

Man, Glass Onion is so fucking dumb, but I enjoyed it as well. It's just silly fun, which might actually be the best way to do a detective "mystery" such as this.

The bell chime "designed by Philip Glass" was so fucking stupid

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Duck, you Sucker! - 8/10
The first half hour or so was relatively lighthearted fun (don't know if you can say that after an implied, maybe (?) welcome rape), then things turned dark; I think Leone even alluded to the Nazis (that one officer who at one point brushes his teeth meticulously looks awfully like a film Nazi, and that scene towards the end where trains arrive and hundreds of people are routinely shot as if the soldiers were working a production line was heavily reminiscent of concentration camp iconography for me). All in all, very cool film, but due to its unevenness and length (which didn't bother me at all when I watched Leone's other rather long films) not as good as Leone's other work.
Next up: Leone's last film Once Upon a Time in America, then I'll see where I can get my hands on The Colossus of Rhodes, and then we'll start watching Kurosawa (I haven't seen any of the most influental classics like Hidden Fortress (Star Wars!), Seven Samurai, or Yojimbo!).

[RGC]

@ChurchOfSolipsism, hey cool! Duck, you Sucker! / Fistful of Dynamite is one that passed me by. I've only seen the Leone well-knowns (Once Upon a Time in The West/America, and the Clint with no name trilogy). Come to think of it, the same applies with my dabblings in Kurosawa. I've been through the widely regarded cream of the crop (except High and Low, which may happen this week!), but I'm not prone to deep diving into a director's more obscure work unless it gets specifically recommended. Dilletantism at its finest! Hidden Fortress is a great Sunday afternoon adventure film, whereas Seven Samurai and Yojimbo contain a bit more dramatic grit. Enjoy!

[RGC]

Equinox Flower (1958) Dir. Yasujirô Ozu

Spoiler

A fairly understated dramedy about a shift in attitudes toward marriage that took place between generations, and interfering parents who try to impose outmoded values on the young (veritable Ozu mainstays).

Wataru Hirayama (Shin Saburi) wants to arrange the perfect husband for his daughter, Setsuko (Ineko Arina), to ensure her happiness; happiness he naturally equates with financial security (that age old conflation). Meanwhile, the daughter has other plans and has already picked out a boyfriend she intends to wed. Dad doesn't approve and puts his foot down, almost alienating Setsuko in the process. Two other young women, one of whom is Setsuko's close friend, are in the throes of similar rebellion against their respective parents. Wataru tries to get to grips with what is going through his daughter's head, but ultimately he's a stubborn old bast with too much pride, and is too set in traditional ways.

There's a belief held among Wataru and his friends that strong headed wives tend to bear male offspring whereas strong husbands will more likely lead to daughters being born. There's a comedy in this daft notion (though it's intended in jest), especially when we realise Wataru's strong will is just old fashioned pigheadedness, whereas it's his wife Kiyoko (Kinuyo Tanaka) who has the kind of strength that actually matters to a family. To the patriarch's face she plays the subservient role we'd expect for her generation. But she also exerts a subtle influence that helps prevent the family from falling apart, and allows Wataru to save some face. From this point of view, according to the male/female offspring theory, the Hirayamas should have borne sons not daughters.

You can sympathise with Wataru for wanting to do right by his daughter, but there's also a double standard at play when in one scene he advises his daughter's friend to follow her heart to find happiness, but won't apply the same wisdom to his own child.

This was my fifth Ozu. It wasn't quite up there with my favourite, Late Spring (1949), but enjoyable nonetheless.

[XoPachi]

Man, Glass Onion is so fucking dumb, but I enjoyed it as well. It's just silly fun, which might actually be the best way to do a detective "mystery" such as this. :P

Yeah that's what I love about it. They made a smart DUMB ass movie. It's so fucking funny and stupid but is very sharply written. I was constantly laughing.

[Sumez]

It's kind of funny because Knives Out was essentially the same, but it was presented less like a straight-up comedy. I think just making it overtly cartoonish and comical actually benefited the sequel. I'm really looking forward to the third movie.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

@ChurchOfSolipsism, hey cool! Duck, you Sucker! / Fistful of Dynamite is one that passed me by. I've only seen the Leone well-knowns (Once Upon a Time in The West/America, and the Clint with no name trilogy). Come to think of it, the same applies with my dabblings in Kurosawa. I've been through the widely regarded cream of the crop (except High and Low, which may happen this week!), but I'm not prone to deep diving into a director's more obscure work unless it gets specifically recommended. Dilletantism at its finest! Hidden Fortress is a great Sunday afternoon adventure film, whereas Seven Samurai and Yojimbo contain a bit more dramatic grit. Enjoy!

Well, Leone only made 8 films so you've seen more than half of his oeuvre
I wish I watched more films in my daily life, but I have so many hobbies and projects that I usually watch films when I can recruit some mates of mine.

[Lord British]

Duck, you Sucker! - 8/10
The first half hour or so was relatively lighthearted fun (don't know if you can say that after an implied, maybe (?) welcome rape), then things turned dark; I think Leone even alluded to the Nazis (that one officer who at one point brushes his teeth meticulously looks awfully like a film Nazi, and that scene towards the end where trains arrive and hundreds of people are routinely shot as if the soldiers were working a production line was heavily reminiscent of concentration camp iconography for me). All in all, very cool film, but due to its unevenness and length (which didn't bother me at all when I watched Leone's other rather long films) not as good as Leone's other work.
Next up: Leone's last film Once Upon a Time in America, then I'll see where I can get my hands on The Colossus of Rhodes, and then we'll start watching Kurosawa (I haven't seen any of the most influental classics like Hidden Fortress (Star Wars!), Seven Samurai, or Yojimbo!).

I really liked DYS, Coburn and Steiger worked very well together. It's a shame I didn't see it much earlier! My fave Leone behind OUATITW.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

As of yet, I gotta say I enjoyed The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly the most. I love the score, and while it feels epic, it doesn't feel like a three and a half hour film at all imho.


Porco Rosso 8/10
It's very slow and has a simple plot, but there's a lot of regret and sadness under its surface. It's also remarkable because unlike most other Miyazaki films, it takes place in a very specific place and time, ie fascist Italy, so it's also about that. The one scene where Porco Rosso (which was voiced by Michael Keaton in the English version! if I'd known beforehand, I think I would have watched the dubbed version) tells Fio about the great battle that his side loses and his vision where he sees all the planes rising and joining a river of souls or whatever in the sky made me shed unmanly tears.

[Sumez]

Porco Rosso is one of those movies where I remember it being ok, and then on randomly rewatching it I realised just how fucking emotional it is. It's brilliant especially for being one of the more "overlooked" Miyazaki films.

As of yet, I gotta say I enjoyed The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly the most. I love the score, and while it feels epic, it doesn't feel like a three and a half hour film at all imho.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly isn't just Leone's best film in my opinion, but one of the best films I have ever seen. It's fucking remarkable.
I like Once Upon as well and such, but I think all his other great movies are merely great movies. Goodbadugly is an all-time masterpiece.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Porco Rosso is one of those movies where I remember it being ok, and then on randomly rewatching it I realised just how fucking emotional it is. It's brilliant especially for being one of the more "overlooked" Miyazaki films.

That's exactly how it was for me as well - nice the first time (I was a lot younger then as well, like around twenty, now I'm in my fourties), a real pleasure the second time, and all the themes resonated a lot more with me as well. "I'd rather be a pig than a fascist."

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly isn't just Leone's best film in my opinion, but one of the best films I have ever seen. It's fucking remarkable.
I like Once Upon as well and such, but I think all his other great movies are merely great movies. Goodbadugly is an all-time masterpiece.

Again, I couldn't agree more, TGTBATU is a film for the ages and one of the very best I have ever seen.

[Randorama]

Re: Porco Rosso...

Highly personal movie for me, due a very convoluted family history intertwined with that period of history for Italy and Austria/Germany. Besides, most of the movie is set in/on the Adriatic Sea and around Venice. I lived in Venice and have a deep connection with the Adriatic Sea also because of my region of origin (Abruzzo), so the movie really feels like a piece of personal past history for me.

Fun facts, in no particular order:

"Porco" has a real name: "Marco Pagot", with the surname being Piedmontese in origin (i.e. from Piedmonte, the North-West region of Italy).

"Fio" is short for "Fiorina" ("Fiolina" in Japanese), a name that has almost disappeared these days (cue: who is "Fiolina Germi"?)

Porco flies on Milan's Navigli (river channels, the river being the Po river) during one scene. Navigli have now been drained off and are used for other functions.

Porco's hideout exists and is a secluded beach somewhere in Dalmatia, now part of Croatia but then annexed to the Italian kingdom (read here).

Gina's hotel is also based on a real-life, rather secluded hotel close to Dalmatia. The link above does not offer any pictures of the hotel, sadly, but it should be on an island near Dubrovnik.

Miyazaki actually took a few freedoms with Porco Rosso's plane: he basically combined two Italian models of the time into a single "prototype plane" (see here, automatic translation is your friend).

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

That was cool to read!

[RGC]

Indeed, factoid-tastic there Rando!

As I said, it's my favourite of the Studio Ghibli offerings, I don't know, maybe because it has that strong emotional element and because beneath this cold, Roman Centurion-esque, double 'ard bastard of an exterior beats the heart of a vulnerable little lamb! All I know is It left an impression more than the others, and had beautiful humour to it as well. Not sure about Michael Keaton though. Fuck dat! I'm no purist but I tend to avoid the Hollywood celeb dubs, which feel totally out of place whenever I've tried them. A disinterested sounding Liam Neeson (his default tone), in Ponyo was more than enough for me.

TGTBATU = god tier, natch! It's pretty universally regarded as such though. I am shite at withstanding 3 hour films, but as noted this one never feels it. Have to say, I feel the same about Godfather 1&2 also.

Leone's Once Upon a Time in America I have a deep appreciation for, but the more I age the harder I find a certain scene to stomach (even though it's perfectly in keeping with the character).

[Randorama]

Thanks COS, and I forgot:

Once I watched this movie with friends during a summer holiday on the beach, in small seaside city called Alba Adriatica. Barbeque, fine wine, feet in the sand, the sun setting on a hot August night...pure bliss, giant mosquitoes notwithstanding.

I also understand that the movie is a love letter to Italy from Miyazaki, who is one of the many Japanese mangakas/anime artists with a passion for Il Belpaese. My vague recollections are that he did fieldwork in Italy for Lupin the third and he visited the country several times when he created the Sherlock Holmes anime with anthropomorphic characters: the Italian public broadcasting company commissioned the series (read here, with automatic translation).

Another factoid: "Marco Pagot" is the son of Italian cartoons stalwart Nino Pagot, who created Calimero, the black chick. Probably Miyazaki paid homage to his friend, in this manner.

Even funnier factoid: the daughter of Jean Giraud/Moebius is called Nausicäa, in honour of Miyazaki's character. In case you wonder, Miyazaki inserted many homages to Moebius' works in his movies. The Facebook page dedicated to Jean Giraud/Moebius should contain several articles dedicated to the topic (I am too lazy to dig them up, though, sorry).

By the way:

I know that you lads like Fulci, but I kept forgetting to find some readings on the artist and the man for your enjoyment. Again, automatic translation is your friend: here and here, and here too.

An interesting fact is that many of his movies were heavily censored because of their political content, but not because of their violence or softcore porn. An acquaintance of mine who teaches contemporary cinema at my hometown's university once made an apt comparison between Fulci and Go Nagai as excellent artists who were heavily ostracised in their times because of their willingness to handle morbid and culturally loaded topics in their works.

Interesting rumour/urban legend: Fulci entertaained the idea of creating a Divina Comedia series for TV, but of course he never found any financial backers for the project.

I suspect that I should find some decent readings on Sergio Leone, too.

[BIL]

(cue: who is "Fiolina Germi"?)

Muh queen ;w;7

Bravo Rando and COS, Sumez and RGC too I've only passing familiarity with Ghibli, but I've always loved what I've seen. That sounds like one I need to watch. This thread always delivers.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

What a wealth of interesting info, excellent. I'll probably only remember the fact that Giraud named his daughter Nausicaä in honour of Miyazaki though haha

Re: celebrity dubs, not interested in those at all usually (although it's a good sign they exist I guess) but Michael Keaton is absolutely great in Porco Rosso, as in most other things he's involved in. Used to look down on the dude when he played a horrible Batman in the first movie (probably not his fault, though, the film was an uninspired mess apart from the production design and Jack Nicholson's decent Joker) - never realized he played Beetlejuice, which is totally overrated anyway - completely changed my mind when I saw him in Birdman and really enjoy watching all of his films since then.

[RGC]

I'm pretty much with you on all of that. Clever casting for Birdman, as though it was written specifically with Keaton in mind. Funny, and my kind of quirky too.

I do have a soft spot for Batman Returns, setting aside the quality of Keaton's portrayal (imo, serviceable for a fairly undemanding role). It has a great supporting cast, whimsical story, some decent street punch ups among jugglers and fire breathers, plus the Batmobile's daft as hell 180 degree rotation foot.

Suppose I'm fairly neutral on Keaton overall, much as I've liked some of the films he's appeared in. E.g. I enjoyed Pacific Heights back in the day as a reasonable thriller, though I believe Keaton had very few actual lines. His Mr Mom has almost certainly not stood the test of time. As I recall, he gave a good, grounded performance in Jackie Brown. That (plus Beetlejuice, which I'm kinda meh on), just about covers my experience with the chap. Won't argue he wasn't good in Birdman though.

[GaijinPunch]

Re: Porco Rosso...

Highly personal movie for me, due a very convoluted family history intertwined with that period of history for Italy and Austria/Germany. Besides, most of the movie is set in/on the Adriatic Sea and around Venice. I lived in Venice and have a deep connection with the Adriatic Sea also because of my region of origin (Abruzzo), so the movie really feels like a piece of personal past history for me.

Fun facts, in no particular order:

"Porco" has a real name: "Marco Pagot", with the surname being Piedmontese in origin (i.e. from Piedmonte, the North-West region of Italy).

"Fio" is short for "Fiorina" ("Fiolina" in Japanese), a name that has almost disappeared these days (cue: who is "Fiolina Germi"?)

Porco flies on Milan's Navigli (river channels, the river being the Po river) during one scene. Navigli have now been drained off and are used for other functions.

Porco's hideout exists and is a secluded beach somewhere in Dalmatia, now part of Croatia but then annexed to the Italian kingdom (read here).

Gina's hotel is also based on a real-life, rather secluded hotel close to Dalmatia. The link above does not offer any pictures of the hotel, sadly, but it should be on an island near Dubrovnik.

Miyazaki actually took a few freedoms with Porco Rosso's plane: he basically combined two Italian models of the time into a single "prototype plane" (see here, automatic translation is your friend).

Great info! That's why I keep coming back here.

[Sumez]

Suppose I'm fairly neutral on Keaton overall, much as I've liked some of the films he's appeared in. E.g. I enjoyed Pacific Heights back in the day as a reasonable thriller, though I believe Keaton had very few actual lines. His Mr Mom has almost certainly not stood the test of time. As I recall, he gave a good, grounded performance in Jackie Brown. That (plus Beetlejuice, which I'm kinda meh on), just about covers my experience with the chap. Won't argue he wasn't good in Birdman though.

IMO Keaton has been pretty immaculate since his Birdman "revival". He is fantastic in that movie, but lots of his other roles in more recent years have been just as good. I loved him in The Trial of The Chicago 7 (sadly overlooked movie), and even his minor role as the villain in Spider-Man Homecoming was pretty cool - the only Marvel movie which actually feels like a "real movie" to me.

[Randorama]

COS, BIL, GP: thanks! I aim to please, gents

[RGC]

Above Suspicion (1995) Dir. Steven Schachter

Spoiler

Christopher Reeve plays another less-than-sympathetic lead in a thriller with a TV movie vibe and a cool twist. It's very satisfying when a plot twist dawns on you just before it's revealed. It shows the director has got the balance right with clues and timings, so you don't regard the plot as predictable, and still get to feel a degree of smugness for “calling it”. Saying that, I'm normally pretty slow on the uptake with these things.

Speaking of twists, it's a cruel twist of fate that merely weeks after this film was made, in which Reeve stars as a wheelchair bound cop, he was injured in real life and suffered a very similar fate as his character.

The basic setup: Det. Dempsey Cain is shot in the spine while raiding a crack den. After receiving a medal of valor (even though he totally fucked up in not checking the area was clear, plus took dangerous gung-ho risks with the raid in the first place, jeopardizing his entire crew!), he sinks into a depressive hole. Hopeless, he takes out a $2m insurance policy on his life and asks his incompetent brother (Edward Kerr) and his wife (Kim Cattrall) to help him orchestrate a very elaborately conceived “accidental” death. This way his wife and son can claim the loot and go on to live comfortable lives, and he can be permanently freed from the pain of disability. Detective Alan Rhinehart (Joe Mantegna) catches a whiff of something dirty going down and refuses to let go.

I'm hoping this doesn't already say too much! For me it wasn't a life changing film, but I can easily imagine Reeve reflecting deeply on the tragic coincidence linking this story with his own personal life, after that fateful horse riding accident, and wondering if he'd pissed off somebody upstairs.

Also features a younger William H. Macy, plus some juicy humping scenes that situate it squarely in the 90s.

Edit: contains no likeable characters (not personality wise anyway).

[RGC]

True Grit (1969) Dir. Henry Hathaway

Spoiler

This is only the second Western with John Wayne I've seen (the other being Rio Bravo, which I watched purely to give Assault on Precinct 13 a bit more context). Wayne had such an idiosyncratic way of delivering his lines it's always been low hanging fruit for impersonators. That peculiar ambling gait too. Not many post Gen X'ers would recognise it though (remember that scene in Leon/The Professional? ).

Precocious minor Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), wants justice for the brutal murder of her father. She enlists the help of whisky drenched U.S. marshal, Rooster Cogburn (Wayne), who may be a distasteful subhuman to her well-to-do family, but is known for always getting his man. Texas ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), has been contracted to find and arrest the same man, so they join forces in search of Tom Chaney and his band of wanted men – a roster that includes Robert Duvall as “Ned Pepper” and Dennis Hopper as “Moon”.

It's fair to say the Cohen Bros took things to more of an extreme in their retelling, moving with the times, with audiences’ increasing bloodlust, and the demand for more amped up drama. I loved that version on the big screen back in 2010, so much so I went to see it twice. Comparing it with the original, the newer version can be deemed a fairly faithful update, especially regarding the distinctive quippy dialogue, of which the original has plenty to offer:

LaBoeuf: What are you doing?
Rooster Cogburn: Lookin' for sign.
LaBoeuf: You couldn't see it if you saw it.

Kim Darby is excellent as the plucky upstart, Mattie, who wields a pistol as big as her arm, and who casually offers strangers representation from her Lawyer Daggett, should they need legal protection.

I'll admit the whole thing has a slightly quaint feel, which is largely down to the classical orchestral score, which I associate with older period pieces like Ben-Hur, and some of the painted sets. But the dialogue more than makes up for it.

Rooster Cogburn:
When's the last time you saw Ned Pepper?
Emmett Quincy:
I don't remember any Ned Pepper.
Rooster Cogburn:
Short feisty fella, nervous and quick, got a messed-up lower lip.
Emmett Quincy:
That don't bring nobody to mind. A funny lip?
Rooster Cogburn:
Wasn't always like that, I shot him in it.
Emmett Quincy:
In the lower lip? What was you aiming at?
Rooster Cogburn:
His upper lip.



Of course, this and Leone are worlds apart. But they're not even aiming for the same thing.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

The Man With the Golden Gun - 6/10
Been watching all the James Bond films in a row and felt pretty burned out after Live and Let Die; the formula felt so trite at that point (despite the awesome totle song by John Lennon), I remember these films being a lot more campy fun when I was a kid. Anyway, after a pause of a month or so I decided to continue. Man with... was, all in all, a bit boring, but I liked the practical effects/ models and of course Christopher Lee. Also, I have to admit that the casual grimy sexism and misogyny in these films is weirding me out more and more; here, the Bond girl is beyond useless and almost gets Bond killed by switching on a laser with her butt (because she's a blonde useless bimbo, you see! hahaha, attractive women are so dumb, right fellas?). The violence against women also seems to have that weird fetishistic quality to it; earlier in the film, Bond slaps a different woman twice, then, when she doesn't give him the info he wants, he almost breaks her arm, and ten minutes later, of course, she finds him irresistible. What a crock of shit.

edit: Seeing solar power presented as this incredible scifi tech also made me think of our current dire situation re: climate warming; despite having technologies available to harness regenerative energy for decades, we as a species have largely failed to respond to a crisis we have collectively caused.

[RGC]

Oh god yeah. I was a huge fan of Moore era Bond as a kid, but I wouldn't revisit them now, especially with young family members around, as I can't be arsed pausing it repeatedly to explain why it's not okay what that leathery bloke keeps doing with those women half his age. Very occasionally I might feel the nostalgic compulsion to watch one, only to find the rose tint has mostly worn off, and what's left generally isn't worth it. Some decent stunts though.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Yeah. Also, that heinous American character ("Let's go get 'em, boy!"), which was such an aggressively dumb caricature that it veered into the realm of chauvinism. The half-sunken ship used as an MI6-base was great nonsense, though.

I'm determined to soldier on; looking forward to Timothy Dalton-era & later Bond films, as you say the action setpieces were good and they toned down the retarded shit more and more. One Brosnan-Bond even has Michelle Yeoh kicking all sorts of ass; I remember watching that one in cinemas, and while it doesn't hold a candle to Police Story 3 or other Hongkong films Michelle Yeoh was excellent in, it was pretty cool.

[vol.2]

Secret Mall Apartment (2024) 9/10

Documentary film about the group of artists in Rhode Island who moved furniture into an empty space in the bowels of a mall in downtown Providence.

Narratively framed around the footage the artists took of their experiences during the initial 3 years of their project, and filled out with more in-depth looks at the individual artists. The constituent elements of footage are woven together to form a narrative about the destruction of downtown Providence and American communal spaces to make way for outsized corporatization.

I would give it a 10 out of 10 if I liked the music better. It's not bad music; it does it's job very well and is not distracting, but it's unremarkable and a bit out dated sounding background music IMHO. Just workmanlike and nothing special.

The director, Jeremy Workman, was in the audience and answered questions afterwards. He was really fantastic, and I can see where all the energy in the film comes from. His next film is going to be a documentary about a school in South Korea that teaches the children of North Korean defectors. He's just starting principal photography on it, and I'm excited to see it.

I highly recommend the Mall Apartment film, and I urge anyone interested to go see it ASAP as he said in the QA that there will be no streaming deal for it as he doesn't do that. The current release might be your only change to ever see it.