Movies you've just watched

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Just watched "Trophy Kids" on Netflix. I feel physically ill now. Child abuse will do that to you.

[kaicooper]

i start watching some Indie retro movies
or indie Horror/comedy movies lately

i'll list the good movies only:

Final Girls
Deathgasm
We are still Here

the WORST HOLLYWOOD MOVIE i start with in 2016

The BOY

[Lord Satori]

That's a shame. It looked like a somewhat interesting concept from the trailers.

Guess I shouldn't be surprised.

[BeardTaffy]

I watched Seeking a Friend for the End of the World earlier today.
I've got to say, that movie was alot better than i expected!

[lilmanjs]

The Ballad of Narayama (1958 Version)
What a movie! I wasn't sure what to expect nor that I would like this, but darn good movie it was. Have the 1983 version to watch this week. Which is better?

[GaijinPunch]

The Revenant

Calling it now for best director and cinematography for sure, and probably best picture. I've not seen most of the others though. Not sure if they'll give Leo the award finally but I'd say odds are at least even. Someone playing another gender though is generally Oscar gold, so he has that to go up against.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

The Shipping News

Spotted this on Netflix. I have never heard of it before. I thought it was one hell of a movie.

[chempop]

Turbo Kid (netflix) - Everything I could have wanted for an 80's synthwave faux 80's revival flick. 10/10
Le Matos and others nailed the music soooo hard, perfection.

[Ixmucane2]

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

A fun fairytale adaptation, with an excellent no-nonsense but also exaggerated tone diluted, but not ruined, by too much generic combat and a number of pointless moments and stereotypes. Somewhat hasty editing and barely sketched characters.

[Kollision]

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

At least it's got boobs.
Not from Gemma, but anyway...

[LSU]

Martyrs (2008)

Should preface this review by saying I consider myself a horror film fan. Although, I'm fairly old... so stuff like early John Carpenter is my fave sort of Thing. Loved the first half of this film to death. It was amazing... innovative, genuinely surprising, and extremely well made. Then, half way through there's a 'fade to black' moment which is obviously a turning point where I paused the Blu-Ray and thought to myself, 'wow, this is a real classic, it's been a while since I saw a horror film this good!' Then came the second half ... and I felt like it basically became an endurance test for the viewer. Extremely rough viewing, very brutal and bleak. I'm sure my viewpoint is swayed from being a father, so take it with a grain of salt. But I'd have to grade it 8/10 for the first half and then 5/10 for the second half. It's great film making because it's very effective, but it just wasn't my thing at this point in time. Very talented filmmakers though. Impressive stuff and super powerful. French directors seem to be very strong right now. Much like Videodrome 'It has a philosophy', but ultimately just a bit too strong for me. (Or perhaps I'm just a wuss.)

The Forest (2016)

Again, I will preface with the suspenseful horror film fan thing.. Initially I wasn't sure I'd like this, simply due to the fast editing on the initial shots. However.. As it progressed the editing calmed down and I became much more involved with the story. Really well made. Low on gore, but creepy, scary and suspenseful. Really don't know where the crazy low rottentomatoes scores come from..? It's not particularly original in its ideas but the technique is good and honestly I thought it was a great modern horror flick that is well worth a watch. Did get a bit predictable toward the end, but despite that a very solid effort and well worth a view for old-school suspense fans. 6.5/10. Still in theaters so give it a go, it's pretty good.

It Follows (2014)

Well... Now we're talking. This is really as if in this point in time no other horror film has been made since the original 'Halloween'. A fantastic tribute not only to that film (setting and framing wise), but all truly suspenseful horror films since. Really impressed with this one. Maika Monroe (who is also really geat in 'The Guest') is instrumental in the effectiveness of this film. Metaphors very obviously abound about the dangers of inimate contact with strangers and the consequences of such, but what it really boils down to is a really well made suspenseful film with a strong central idea (if just a little derivative of 'The Ring'), a great script, killer performances from the leads and awesome directorial and editing skills. Good film making, good viewing, love it. 8/10.

[Xyga]

Some guy has listed movies by historical setting / era: http://www.hudsonfla.com/films.htm quite convenient.
He also made some neat sci-fi lists: http://www.hudsonfla.com/spacemovies2.htm http://www.hudsonfla.com/spacemovies.htm
Don't ask me why it's hosted there though, total random click.
Go a lot to watch to fill personal moviewatching gaps.

More on topic I've finally watched The Wind Rises (ghibli) - bastards could make the thugest of thugs shed tears.
Splendid of course, I can't stand to know Miyazaki retired and we probably won't see any more masterpices from that studio, or at least not directed by him.

Sorcerer- Since it's recommended so much. Quite different from the Wages of Fear, but this is one of the best 'nightmares in film' I have ever seen.
We're in 2016 and I was still like "no fucking way" seeing how far they've pushed the thing. A true gem born from a production chaos from what I read.

Ivanhoe (1952)
Knights of the Round Table (1953)
Big memory refresh since I had no memories of those, the former was great but wtf went wrong with the latter ? hard to believe it's the same director just one year apart.

[BrianC]

I watched Suspicion (1941). Good movie, terrible cop-out ending.

[Squire Grooktook]

I watched Suspicion (1941). Good movie, terrible cop-out ending.

Nope nope.

Spoiler

In the novel that the film is based on, he murdered her shortly afterwards. And Hitchcock was setting up the same. The only reason he didn't explicitly show it (even though he said he wanted to) is because the film studio forced him to, because they didn't want to show Carey Grant as a murderer. Instead he strongly implied it, which IMO makes it better.

Everything he said in the last segment was a clever lie. All the evidence in the film points to that. Most everything that happens doesn't really add up any other way.

The ending is really chilling and brilliant when you realize it. Hitchcock is best.

[Skykid]

The Walk

Charmingly made dramatisation of the already dramatic wire walk that christened the World Trade Centre. Bob Zemeckis shows that he's still got it when it comes to entertainment filmmaking, and old pal Silvestri scored it beautifully too (I caught the Back to the Future acknowledgement).

Although less real than the documentary film on the same subject, the vertigo inducing effects are profoundly successful and some of the best uses of 3D I've seen in years.

But ultimately it all comes down to key ingredients. It's well written, cast and acted throughout, and Zemeckis has a grip on it so that it never wavers.

Nice WTC tribute too, and while it's a smaller movie that doesn't need repeating, it's the best I've seen from a Hollywood stable in a long time.

[lilmanjs]

A Better Tomorrow
Haven't really seen this in so long I forgot most of what happens. A lot more drama than I remember, but done pretty well. Good shootouts as well. John Woo's character supposed to be sketchy and seedy appearing? On to the sequel after this. Nicely done boxed set for the series.

[Skykid]

^ A Better Tomorrow, as with too many HK movies, is like watching paint dry for the most part, but some of the shootouts are gold. The end of BT2 where two dudes point blank each other and unload a clip while hobbling backwards is some kind of brilliance, perhaps farcical, but spectacular nonetheless. It's the same scene that appears on the TV in True Romance incidentally.

Unfortunately you need to sit through a lot of filler before you get there.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Happened to watch large Birth of a Nation (only read of it before) chunks on the TV channel that's about to screen Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom next. Seriously...
Lillian Gish is quite phenomenal in the former, though. I had to look up where else I could see her. The Night of the Hunter disappointed me sorely once, but Duel in the Sun sounds interesting.

More on topic I've finally watched The Wind Rises (ghibli) - bastards could make the thugest of thugs shed tears.
Splendid of course, I can't stand to know Miyazaki retired and we probably won't see any more masterpices from that studio, or at least not directed by him.

I liked Porco Rosso better. Nevertheless, not many more movies than those two (and The Great Waldo Pepper) seem to reflect what aviation was all about for a certain generation of blokes, only for a brief moment (that of course seemed to last far longer when they were young than it appears in hindsight).

Back to The Wind Rises, all of its romance melodrama felt like a foregin body to me. That being said, the scene (like, 2-3 seconds long?) where dude pours water into the mouth of girl with a twisted ankle is drawn SO well I'm sure there's a strong memory of real-life infatuation behind it. Those "first loves on the train" must leave the purest memories, come to think of it.

[GaijinPunch]

^ A Better Tomorrow, as with too many HK movies, is like watching paint dry for the most part, but some of the shootouts are gold. The end of BT2 where two dudes point blank each other and unload a clip while hobbling backwards is some kind of brilliance, perhaps farcical, but spectacular nonetheless. It's the same scene that appears on the TV in True Romance incidentally.

Unfortunately you need to sit through a lot of filler before you get there.

Was going to watch those soon. Guess I don't have to now. Other movies to fill the HK cinema void.

[Ixmucane2]

The Hateful Eight

A fun reflection on the power of lies and storytelling. Almost nothing the characters say can be trusted, and words are a tool for killing people.

[Mischief Maker]

The main thing I remember about A Better Tomorrow was the jarringly melodramatic music cues that came out of nowhere.

Well that and:

Spoiler

Chow Yun Fat taking time out from an absurdly violent shootout to tell the cop younger brother of the ex-con main character how much his older brother sacrificed for him and they should love each other... only for his brains to get splattered against the cop brother's face, followed by being riddled with a ridiculous amount of bullets in slow motion.

The more I think about the absurd way the movie lurches from tear-jerker to pornographic violence, the more I wonder if A Better Tomorrow is actually a Twin Peaks-esque satire?

Though if you want a Hong Kong action movie that's straight-up with being a satire, check out Full Contact!

[GaijinPunch]

Though if you want a Hong Kong action movie that's straight-up with being a satire, check out Full Contact!

Any other recommendations? I just saw Infernal Affairs for the first time. I know... terrible. But living in Japan you have to go way out of your way to get that shit with English subtitles... easy for guys like us but I was lazy.

[lilmanjs]

Though if you want a Hong Kong action movie that's straight-up with being a satire, check out Full Contact!

Any other recommendations? I just saw Infernal Affairs for the first time. I know... terrible. But living in Japan you have to go way out of your way to get that shit with English subtitles... easy for guys like us but I was lazy.

Well, for me, Point of No Return is worth checking out. Melodrama doesn't feel forced and darn good action. Angry Ranger just for action. Jackie Chan's stunt team worked on it.

[emphatic]

For a 90's John Woo fix, watch The Killer and Hardboiled. Both are really great.

[GaijinPunch]

Cheers.

Yeah, the Killer and Hardboiled have been on my radar since... the 90's... I got sidetracked.

[Skykid]

Honestly, after watching everything mentioned here and way more, really it's only Hard Boiled you need. That one is beautiful.

[dan76]

I finally watch The a Hateful Eight. I liked it, my girlfriend was bored throughout, which I can understand. I'm no Tarentino fan, I think he is way overrated. Never liked Kill Bill, Death Proof is unwatchable except for the few scenes of Kurt Russell. Jackie Brown is by far his best movie. He makes fan films.

So I never have high hopes going in to one of his movies, but I enjoyed this. Liked the actors, the set up, loved the music for once - I know it was Morricone, but wasn't a lot of it from The Thing soundtrack? Tarantino really needs a script editor. The flashback wasn't needed, neither were the two pieces of narration. The film was way too long.

It was good, though I'll never watch it again.

Also, I just noticed this.

I like the ending changes in Special Edition, bringing more emotions than original, personally I don't mind about Hayden Christensen in the end at all.

Oh what?! GTFO!

Yes, seriously. Wtf? I just couldn't let this go.

[Skykid]

I finally watch The a Hateful Eight. I liked it, my girlfriend was bored throughout, which I can understand. I'm no Tarentino fan, I think he is way overrated. Never liked Kill Bill, Death Proof is unwatchable except for the few scenes of Kurt Russell. Jackie Brown is by far his best movie. He makes fan films.

So I never have high hopes going in to one of his movies, but I enjoyed this. Liked the actors, the set up, loved the music for once - I know it was Morricone, but wasn't a lot of it from The Thing soundtrack? Tarantino really needs a script editor. The flashback wasn't needed, neither were the two pieces of narration. The film was way too long.

It was good, though I'll never watch it again.

Generally I think editing issues count for the proportion of H8's issues, but as I went into in great detail before, it also has casting and performance weaknesses, plot tonal problems, and most surprisingly, instances of below par writing.

Unlike you I'm a huge fan of QT, so it's with a heavy heart I admit that H8 wasn't up to his usual standards.

[copy-paster]

Yes, seriously. Wtf?

My reason for that is on the previous post. Go ahead

[GaijinPunch]

Yes, seriously. Wtf?

My reason for that is on the previous post. Go ahead

we really shouldn't.