Films Recently Watched

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  On 4/23/2024 at 9:51 AM, iococoi said:

nah, sorry, was "ok" but nothing special. i dont get the 97% @rotten ...if you want something "demonic", go watch When Evil Lurks

I liked the idea. I didn’t like the film. 

  On 4/14/2024 at 6:04 PM, Alcofribas said:

i've been thinking about this little curtis convo for a few months now but haven't taken the time to really organize my thoughts. i don't intend to dive deep here but i do want to say that i think the "loose with the facts" criticism is quite overblown. i think there is a tendency to privilege a notion of an academic relationship to facts because his movies are "documentaries" which are popularly believed to be a kind of objective, historical medium. i see curtis' project differently. he is using the medium to tell stories, taking this massive archive of bbc footage to tell quite different versions of "reality" than that footage was ever meant to tell. naturally, he has to maintain a certain minimum friendliness to the bbc to be allowed to do this, which i think is reflected in his overall project in certain ways. 

my own feeling about his work is that he manages to diagnose and incriminate the power structures of the 20th century without ever making them feel like the only reality. the overall feeling at the end of one of his films is not helplessness, cynicism, or the feeling that power is unchangeable. he is able to lay out the massive corruption at the heart of power and the consistent failure of resistance while somehow also creating this mood where you somehow feel that nevertheless, these things actually aren't inescapable conditions of reality and that we can change this. i don't quite know how to describe how he does this. i think part of it is that he has this tendency (for which he is often criticized) of repeating these themes and examples of certain things that he will just leave open-ended. i think part of it is the way he uses musical motifs which create these eery moods over which he speaks in a frank and friendly way. i think part of this is also that he is using these objects of facts (archival footage) in a new way, creating something new from them. all this has an interesting psychological effect imo. 

i want to be clear i think he has a lot of the facts absolutely right and a lot of the criticisms i've encountered seem overstated and inappropriately academic. he is a popular filmmaker using the bbc to tell what for many viewers are radical stories about global power. to me, it's very cool stuff. the left needs more shit like this, without question. too much leftist art is either liberalism with radical feathers or dull, sanctimonious school lessons. a lot more people are going to become interested in radical thinking, or just possibly look beyond corporate propaganda, if they see movies like this than if they are given das kapital or whatever. i personally quite like his movies, they're thought-provoking, sincere (no idea what was meant by "stolen political posturing" itt), and really pack a lot of interesting history and ideas into an enjoyable, flowing narrative. 

i also think he's a funny guy. for several years now he's talked about how the age of individualism is an error, how collective movements have been corrupted by it, how the most "radical" thing you could do today is experience and do things without telling the world...and this mofo is out there making 8 hour films where he just riffs his ideas about society and culture. gotta love it

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@dr lopez

edit: I do appreciate the thoughtful post and am tempted to give something a go, maybe Hypernormalisation even

  On 4/29/2024 at 1:45 PM, usagi said:

 

 

@dr lopez

 

edit: I do appreciate the thoughtful post and am tempted to give something a go, maybe Hypernormalisation even

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His style is pretty easy to parody and very funny when done well. Know I already commented on Curtis before, but I definitely recommend starting out with Hypernormalisation. There are certain things that you will get there that you are not likely to get anywhere else in documentary form, like his narrative about how suicide bombings became a preferred form of attack in certain Muslim countries in response to American interventions in the region. His coverage of Muammar Gaddafi has a similar thing going on. The post WWII history of Libya and Gaddafi himself are never really discussed in honest terms in the West because the US helped the rebels track down and murder him, and the ways that Western countries used him to promote their own foreign policy goals in the 80s, 90s, and 00s is fascinating. After the British and Americans air bombed his home in the 80s, Gaddafi called Margaret Thatcher a harlot lol

which fan

Late Night With the Devil - I liked this, the budget was low but they tried to make the aesthetic work. It had the vibe of a Tales From the Crypt episode, and the ending took me a second to look back on and understand.

  On 5/3/2024 at 6:22 AM, Rubin Farr said:

Late Night With the Devil - I liked this, the budget was low but they tried to make the aesthetic work. It had the vibe of a Tales From the Crypt episode, and the ending took me a second to look back on and understand.

saw this last week. was pretty entertaining 

Good stuff, Jerry firing on all cylinders, has a Mike Judge type satire feel to it, and has a lot of famous friends. Tons of quotable one-liners.

Just been watching LOTR extended in 1 hour chunks with my kids (10 and 7) they loved it. 

And so did I. 

Late night with the D was pretty fun yeah. Think they went too far with it, took it from creepy to silly, but entertaining all the same. Ghostwatch is still unrivalled.

I don't know if I told you guys I watched Speak no Evil already, but I did a while back and god damn that was some bleak shit. Not sure how well it works if you're not too aware of the Scandinavian way of thinking, so I can't really recommend it, but I do anyway, if you're up for feeling like total shit.

I also watched Limbo (2021) which looks good but is a bit arse. Main characters are so fucking unlikeable I couldn't get into it. Lots of screaming and beating women. No thanks, I'm good.

The Creator, which looks good but is a bit arse. I guess you can watch it stoned or something if you are in desperate need of some neat sci fi visuals.

Monolith, conspiracy podcast reporter talks to various people in her home studio about some mysterious black stones, was pretty intriguing for a while and then they lost me because, again, they took it too far. Whatever happened to being subtle.

Beau is Afraid. Beau was afraid / 10

Enys Men. Folk horror thing, I pretty much dug it, but don't ask me to explain why or what it was about, it was a vibe.

Stopmotion. Bleak horror film about a lady dealing with her mommy issues, and other stuff. This is good for feeling like shit again.

Out of Darkness, some Neanderthals run into problems along their nomadic path. Super predictable to me, I just didn't give a shit by the end. I'm a terrible person.

Cropsey. I thought this was going to be the one, but no. It was just boring.

Kim's Video this is pretty fun and I love a lot here, film nerds are geeks, but that's fine. I was super duper disappointed by the climax of the film though (no spoilers so I can't say any more). I'm not sure this was the best solution.

Shutter Island, I was right the first time I saw this and hated it. Some films don't deserve second chances.

Hundred Beavers, I was mildly entertained for fifteen minutes, but this short film isn't a short film. Unbearable in the long run.

Tomorrowland. Turned this dogshit off.

More Things That Happened. They sure did, at least now I can say that I've seen them all. If you really really really need Inland Empire to be a lot longer you can watch this, if you think it's plenty long already you can skip.

Okay, I can tell I'm just rambling and my time is up but

Kamikaze Taxi. Bought this on VHS in Paris in the fucking Fnac on Champs Elysees when I was on interrail some time in the 90s and lent the tape to a mate who lost it when I got back. Been looking for it ever since. Thank you for reading another anectode about my life/10. Nah, I finally found it on the interwebs and it was still as charming and nice as I remembered. My life is now complete.

Beam me up, padawan. May the forth and beyond!

  On 5/4/2024 at 11:38 PM, Silent Member said:

Late night with the D was pretty fun yeah. Think they went too far with it, took it from creepy to silly, but entertaining all the same. Ghostwatch is still unrivalled.

I don't know if I told you guys I watched Speak no Evil already, but I did a while back and god damn that was some bleak shit. Not sure how well it works if you're not too aware of the Scandinavian way of thinking, so I can't really recommend it, but I do anyway, if you're up for feeling like total shit.

I also watched Limbo (2021) which looks good but is a bit arse. Main characters are so fucking unlikeable I couldn't get into it. Lots of screaming and beating women. No thanks, I'm good.

The Creator, which looks good but is a bit arse. I guess you can watch it stoned or something if you are in desperate need of some neat sci fi visuals.

Monolith, conspiracy podcast reporter talks to various people in her home studio about some mysterious black stones, was pretty intriguing for a while and then they lost me because, again, they took it too far. Whatever happened to being subtle.

Beau is Afraid. Beau was afraid / 10

Enys Men. Folk horror thing, I pretty much dug it, but don't ask me to explain why or what it was about, it was a vibe.

Stopmotion. Bleak horror film about a lady dealing with her mommy issues, and other stuff. This is good for feeling like shit again.

Out of Darkness, some Neanderthals run into problems along their nomadic path. Super predictable to me, I just didn't give a shit by the end. I'm a terrible person.

Cropsey. I thought this was going to be the one, but no. It was just boring.

Kim's Video this is pretty fun and I love a lot here, film nerds are geeks, but that's fine. I was super duper disappointed by the climax of the film though (no spoilers so I can't say any more). I'm not sure this was the best solution.

Shutter Island, I was right the first time I saw this and hated it. Some films don't deserve second chances.

Hundred Beavers, I was mildly entertained for fifteen minutes, but this short film isn't a short film. Unbearable in the long run.

Tomorrowland. Turned this dogshit off.

More Things That Happened. They sure did, at least now I can say that I've seen them all. If you really really really need Inland Empire to be a lot longer you can watch this, if you think it's plenty long already you can skip.

Okay, I can tell I'm just rambling and my time is up but

Kamikaze Taxi. Bought this on VHS in Paris in the fucking Fnac on Champs Elysees when I was on interrail some time in the 90s and lent the tape to a mate who lost it when I got back. Been looking for it ever since. Thank you for reading another anectode about my life/10. Nah, I finally found it on the interwebs and it was still as charming and nice as I remembered. My life is now complete.

Beam me up, padawan. May the forth and beyond!

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Shutter Island is crap, you are correct. 

  On 5/4/2024 at 11:38 PM, Silent Member said:

Tomorrowland. Turned this dogshit off.

Hahaha, you must be the first person 9 years to think of that film.

The Abyss in 4k

  On 5/6/2024 at 11:35 AM, Squee said:

Hahaha, you must be the first person 9 years to think of that film.

Yeah, I was wondering where Brad Bird went and then I started watching that. Lock him up.

  On 5/4/2024 at 11:38 PM, Silent Member said:

Tomorrowland. Turned this dogshit off.

Wowww I was thinking about this film earlier this week and couldn't remember what it was called. Saw it when it came out and it was dreadful.

  On 5/6/2024 at 3:47 PM, milkface said:

  On 5/4/2024 at 11:38 PM, Silent Member said:

Tomorrowland. Turned this dogshit off.

Wowww I was thinking about this film earlier this week and couldn't remember what it was called. Saw it when it came out and it was dreadful.

"a screenplay by Bird and Damon Lindelof" k bye

Bill Skarsgard is going to be Count Orlok in Eggers' Nosferatu as well as The Crow in that shitty reboot/whatever it is. two dozen of one and half an egg of the other, or something.

Marnie (1964) - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

I used to love Hitchcock's films when first getting into film a while ago. Found them somewhat boring or old fashioned for a while after the initial enthusiasm subsided. Have recently been re-watching some, and this one was awesome, very fun and dark. Sean Connery is a business man who was forced into his family business and had to give up his real passion for zoology (he liked studying apex predator cats, the criminal class of nature he says, and he still keeps up with the field). He finds a human animal that he can tame (and help?) in the Tippi Hedren character, a criminal herself with a strange and sexually repressed past which Connery must penetrate pun intended in order to save her from herself. The scenes when they are alone are remarkable with great dialogue. Bernard Hermann score also great as per usual, and a phenomenal action sequence involving a horse. Visual effects not on par with other Hitchcock film's like Vertigo, but the effects and suspense both work to articulate the movie's theme in ways that surpass his best films imo. Feel like this might be one of his most underrated gems, and I enjoyed it much. Set and costume design also on par for the master of suspense.

watched these on the plane:

a 3hr trailer for a film about oppenheimer. seriously, there is not even one scene where there is any development of story: it's just a string of scenes with lots of music, editing and the occasional "dialogue parts" but even those are hacked to bits. i think nolan decided to make this film before he even knew the full story.

rachel z is cute AF but she's also overly dramatic. this was made for kids and by people with zero understanding of what a dystopian society is all about. i've never seen the hunger games before so i got the idea this was "setting everything up" because it felt unfinished despite being overly long, and peter dinklage and viola davis were having way too much fun claiming to have "created" the games a few years before this crap happens.

zegler can get it out of ten

  On 5/8/2024 at 11:32 AM, usagi said:

Bill Skarsgard is going to be Count Orlok in Eggers' Nosferatu as well as The Crow in that shitty reboot/whatever it is. two dozen of one and half an egg of the other, or something.

I’m not a fan of his. I felt his pennywise was over the top and ridiculous. Not scary. Movie made him a ton of money though, so what do I know?

I will have low expectations for his nosferatu but I like eggers so I will watch. 

Nomadland. thought it was an interesting look at a subculture here in the US. Frances McDormand's performance carried the whole thing. she blends in with groups of van dwellers trying to live off the grid. not much in terms of plot really, but it didn't feel overly long or boring. all the supporting actors were not acting at all, and apparently a lot of them didn't know who Frances was.

There is a 0% chance that Civil War isn't a russian psyop