Films Recently Watched

I started watching Aquaman.

It was very pretty with some great underwater CGI bits including Atlantis.  Some cool punch ups, a bit more "in your face"action than I was expecting.  Pretty cool.

But.....

It was way too long.  I though the film was about to finish then I noticed there was like another 50 minutes to go? ffs.  Anyway,. I stopped watching.  I might watch the end another night. 

And so with that in mind, when I eventually get around to watching Justice League, I will watch it in the chapters.  

shock waves. nazi zombies on an island and a fantastic atmospheric soundtrack. pretty good.

  On 4/27/2021 at 2:50 AM, tbf said:

as for Mortal Kombat, I'm positive it will be bad but I'm gonna try to watch it with my 6 year old self in mind like the first one, that shit was a childhood staple. Christopher Lambert was at the premier, I got to meet fucking Raiden

Best attitude for this film!

The plot is rudimentary and predictable... but really, who's going for the plot in a Mortal Kombat movie?

I went for the HIGH IMPACT VIOLENCE and thoroughly enjoyed the film. And it looks pretty decent too.

Kano is a fucking stellar character and brings some gobsmacking comedy to the film. Not cheese like Johnny Cage in the first film (not hating that though, MK 1995 was a staple for me too!)

  On 4/26/2021 at 5:48 PM, Nebraska said:

wow this was incredibly silly- from the ridiculous "convincing" of everyone that has to compete in the tournament to the "outworld" being a barren wasteland with the sole purpose of hosting "fighters" from around the universe (?). this is the kind of film that would've been epic had it come out in the 90s, but with most of the target audience in their mid to late 30s, i can't imagine what they were thinking

Expand  

  On 4/27/2021 at 10:58 AM, brian trageskin said:

as i already mentioned itt, parasite has a very dumb, far-fetched plot imo, the metaphor is dumb too. i wouldn't have a problem with the film had it been an anime. it's not though. 

that's a bit like saying mission impossible is far-fetched. the movie is pretty upfront about its own absurdity, from beginning to end. it uses that absurdity as a comical narrative device so it can explore all these different subtleties in the characters' social relations, which is the whole point of the movie

  On 4/27/2021 at 11:57 AM, Rubin Farr said:

 

Expand  

this sounds like it was made on an MC-505, all them rave soundz
 

  On 4/27/2021 at 11:28 AM, Kid Lukie said:

The plot is rudimentary and predictable... but really, who's going for the plot in a Mortal Kombat movie?

I went for the HIGH IMPACT VIOLENCE and thoroughly enjoyed the film. And it looks pretty decent too.

and it's not like they're trying to hide it either. the thing is supposed to be a VFX boasting live action version of the video game innit?

Yeah, but it was also pretty damned boring when there wasn't a fatality going on.

Cronenberg is making a new sci-fi film, nice.

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/04/david-cronenberg-sci-fi-movie-crimes-of-the-future-shoot-1234633841/amp/

  On 4/27/2021 at 12:45 PM, tbf said:

 

that's a bit like saying mission impossible is far-fetched. the movie is pretty upfront about its own absurdity, from beginning to end. it uses that absurdity as a comical narrative device so it can explore all these different subtleties in the characters' social relations, which is the whole point of the movie

not really. the mission impossible films are exciting action films. you expect some stunts, quick edits, a very simple "plot" that serves as a framework for more stunts, maybe some kisses along the way. it's "absurd" because the stakes are "so high" and we know Ethan Hunt will stop at nothing to complete his mission. sometimes that means holding on to a jetliner taking off. Also.. I will say that nothing in any mission impossible movie is as absurd as a housekeeper keeping her mentally ill husband locked up in a korean war-era bunker conveniently hidden below her employers house but that they don't know about. The issue with Parasite is that it expects us to revel in the "absurdity" of situations just described but *also* the hyper-horrific realism of face-bashing, body-stabbing, subterranean apartment flooding etc. Those are played completely straight, as if they were really happening - there's nothing comically absurd about those extremely important moments in the plot. Parasite is not a character study either, it's an obvious and flawed social critique. The only good part about Parasite is that rich people who saw it empathized with the rich family lol

Shaolin vs. Lama (1983)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086304/

fu

  On 4/29/2021 at 8:50 AM, dr lopez said:

I will say that nothing in any mission impossible movie is as absurd as a housekeeper keeping her mentally ill husband locked up in a korean war-era bunker conveniently hidden below her employers house but that they don't know about. 

exactly

  On 4/29/2021 at 8:50 AM, dr lopez said:

The issue with Parasite is that it expects us to revel in the "absurdity" of situations just described but *also* the hyper-horrific realism of face-bashing, body-stabbing, subterranean apartment flooding etc. Those are played completely straight, as if they were really happening - there's nothing comically absurd about those extremely important moments in the plot. 

exactly. how do you want me to get emotionally invested in the film when it depicts ridiculously unrealistic situations? the juxtaposition of genres really doesn't work here imo. the film oscillates between being completely idiotic and taking itself way too seriously. 

take "the visit" by shyamalan for example: the film oscillates between comedy and horror, yet the horror doesn't reduce the comedy and the comedy doesn't reduce the horror. parasite does the opposite: both registers cancel each other out in terms of emotional impact. 

  On 4/29/2021 at 8:50 AM, dr lopez said:

Parasite is not a character study either, it's an obvious and flawed social critique. 

exactly. don't get me started on the cardboard characters and the -imo- pathetic excuse for social satire. if this film is a character study, then zoolander is one too. 

So to cut a long story short then, (a concept that would have undoubdtedly improved the film)... Parasite was a weak mess and anyone who thinks otherwise is a basic bitch imho.

  On 4/26/2021 at 12:22 PM, perunamuusi said:

Finally got round to watching Parasite. A foreign film for people who don't watch foreign films. Far longer than necessary and an absolute mess but western cinema critics say that's what makes the film brilliant. Do not believe them. It isn't. 

Marriage story. Kramer vs Kramer for privileged bourgeois wankers. Should have cleaned up at the Oscars 2019. Absolutely excellent. Adam Driver & Scarlet Johannsson are superb. 

Expand  

I agree, I thought Parasite was boring.

  On 4/29/2021 at 3:33 PM, perunamuusi said:

So to cut a long story short then, (a concept that would have undoubdtedly improved the film)... Parasite was a weak mess and anyone who thinks otherwise is a basic bitch imho.

I liked Parasite except (IMO) it’s portrayal of the “poor” family right out the gate made them out to be more like subhuman rats folding pizza boxes in a shit-flooded hovel than human beings. It also continued along that theme , although more subtly, throughout the remainder of the film by making almost all of their collective actions the immoral ones. Then the end really lost me at that backyard party. It felt like the story didn’t know how to end so once again the poor people were reduced to immoral actions. 
Seriously tho, if you graphed out all of the ways the rich people were humanized and the poor people were dehumanized, it would be drastically imbalanced. 
Again, other than that, I liked it. 

  On 4/29/2021 at 8:50 AM, dr lopez said:

not really. the mission impossible films are exciting action films. you expect some stunts, quick edits, a very simple "plot" that serves as a framework for more stunts, maybe some kisses along the way. it's "absurd" because the stakes are "so high" and we know Ethan Hunt will stop at nothing to complete his mission. sometimes that means holding on to a jetliner taking off. Also.. I will say that nothing in any mission impossible movie is as absurd as a housekeeper keeping her mentally ill husband locked up in a korean war-era bunker conveniently hidden below her employers house but that they don't know about. The issue with Parasite is that it expects us to revel in the "absurdity" of situations just described but *also* the hyper-horrific realism of face-bashing, body-stabbing, subterranean apartment flooding etc. Those are played completely straight, as if they were really happening - there's nothing comically absurd about those extremely important moments in the plot. Parasite is not a character study either, it's an obvious and flawed social critique. The only good part about Parasite is that rich people who saw it empathized with the rich family lol

Expand  

well, now you're trying to compare "absurd" between two completely distinct genres. wether the motivation for it suits you or not, almost everything that makes mission impossible entertaining is borderline ridiculous in terms of veracity.

it's not a masterpiece, and it probably got all of that prestige from industry clique mentality, as it usually goes. but what I noticed about every harsh critique of this movie is that it usually comes from a place of privilege. no, I'm not trying to take it there, but seeing how this movie resonated in a inequality and poverty strung country, and most every other 3rd world country, the criticism I see is mostly related the more superficial aspects of it, which makes sense if you don't find the subject that much relatable.

it's totally fine if you're looking for plain entertainment and that particular movie didn't cut it for you, though

  On 4/29/2021 at 3:33 PM, perunamuusi said:

anyone who thinks otherwise is a basic bitch imho

frankly, don't even care, babe

semi biographical story about the formation of la eMe (the mexican mafia) that included a bit too many (extended and detailed) gang rape scenes that the real guys decided to take out some of the crew. 

not exactly a spectacular film (more like a more amateur version of a bronx tale) but it's got a banging soundtrack and lots of chicano talk

Watched Sherpa on Netflix. Not much to say but I’d give it a 8/10.

Oh yeah, don’t call a Sherpa a motherfucker. Not a good idea. Especially on what I presume is a sacred holy place in his homeland.  Wanker tourist.

one of the Robert Altman classics I'd never seen before. loved it. Elliott Gould's performance was fantastic. a lot of ad-libbing apparently, some of the dialogue was pretty wild. also great early '70s shots of L.A., and I had a genuine lol moment when an uncredited Ah-nold appears in one of the final scenes as a shirtless thug.

found this incredibly annoying and contrived mainly due to the sequence of events

  On 1/18/2021 at 4:12 PM, Tim_J said:

The endless is a bit difficult because of the atrocious acting and weak directing... It didn't really grabbed me the 1st time but after watching resolution for the 2nd time I got back to the endless and it was a much better experience... I'd like to hear your thoughts on synchronic though... Make me feel less of an hater... 

Ok, FINALLY got around to watching Synchronic (since it dropped on Netflix was willing to give it a go). Annnnnd...

Actually really liked it. I went in to it with extremely lowered expectations so I think that probably helped, and I also spaced it out over a few days, which may have helped with some of the potential pacing issues. I actually spent a couple of days thinking about why I liked it, particularly given that a lot of people seemed to really hate it (not just you TJ, lots of negative reviews out there), and have come to the conclusion that:

These guys write/make films that rely on the audience identifying with the main character(s) and, if you do, it makes a lot of the stuff that might otherwise seem cheesy and just plain stupid AF not so bothersome, and perhaps even endearing. I also think I have to be in the right headspace, otherwise my opinion might vary wildly. Spring is my favorite of theirs, but as someone who lost a parent around the same age as the protagonist, I totally resonated with some of the shit he was going through. It wasn't hard for me to see myself saying/doing some of the things he did, even though someone else might find it all laughable. I also happened to come across that one at just. the. right. time for its messages to land. 5 years later or earlier and I probably would have just hated it. 

For this one (I'll spoiler it in case people might want to watch unfettered by advance knowledge):

 Ultimately, it's not a film that I'd probably recommend to someone - unless I knew them really well and knew where they were in their life and I thought that it might resonate them. And even then I'd have to give the caveat that, depending on their mood, they might find it to be total crap.

Solid B+ from me though - actually though the direction was a step up from their earlier efforts. 

enjoyed Color Out of Space

watched the "Some Kind of Heaven" doc about the villages retirement community in florida. it's interesting. crazy place. sad cringe people at times.. makes me never want to get old. 

sound of metal - good

I watched In Earth, the new Ben Wheatley film, feels like a cheap gonzo "lets shoot something during the pandemic" movie. I've seen people shitting on it online, but I really liked it. Very much felt like a companion piece to a Field in England. Just go in expecting a low budget romp in the woods and you'll be fine.