Movies

Our theater decided to not have any showtimes during the game, so our plans to use free tickets for Parasite fell through. We'll probably rectify that tomorrow/Tues.
 
Parasite B&W is out in select theaters only now too which is one good reason to catch it again. I'm always a little cynical about the black and white versions, but Bong's been doing this since Mother so I guess he sees some value beyond a cash grab. It's also a bit funny to me that he mentioned admiration for both Fury Road and Logan on his US press junket — I wonder if he has any love for their black & chrome / noir versions.
 
Instead of the Super Bowl, I caught Harmony Korine's Beach Bum today on Hulu, which was pretty big bomb for NEON last year. I thought it was interesting, it's sort of his take on the stoner comedy or midlife crisis á la Knocked Up. I don't know if it works as well as Spring Breakers (which is my favorite of his I've seen) but it's a hell of a lot more wholesome. It's really his first non cynical film, almost flirting with being a feel-good picture. McConaughey is perfect as well, he avoids his recent issue of feeling like a self parody, by embracing the parody.
 
zombie.modernist said:
Instead of the Super Bowl, I caught Harmony Korine's Beach Bum today on Hulu, which was pretty big bomb for NEON last year. I thought it was interesting, it's sort of his take on the stoner comedy or midlife crisis á la Knocked Up. I don't know if it works as well as Spring Breakers (which is my favorite of his I've seen) but it's a hell of a lot more wholesome. It's really his first non cynical film, almost flirting with being a feel-good picture. McConaughey is perfect as well, he avoids his recent issue of feeling like a self parody, by embracing the parody.
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I kind of loved The Beach Bum...such a weird, fun movie
 
I also saw Parasite over the weekend. What. An. Amazing. Film.

Loved it and I thoroughly recommend people that have watched it to search the internet for 'Easter eggs' / additional info. There's lots of references which only really apply to Korean culture (the cake shop being mentioned is just one - not a spoiler BTW).

On a side note, if you haven't already seen it I thoroughly recommend another killer film from Bong Joon-ho, 'Snowpiercer'. Another superb film (with a big named cast) which focuses on the class system. Its also being made into a TV adaptation so that's exciting too.
 
Color out of Space was a pretty good bad-good movie; the Nic Cage of it all got me in the door, but I genuinely feel like they nailed the cosmic dread of a Lovecraft adaptation. The movie is poorly made in some respects (there’s a shot of someone giving an alpaca water, and clearly they couldn’t get the alpaca to drink, but they overlay lapping sound effects nonetheless), the script is bland at places, but when it’s inspired, it truly is inspired.

I actually found the movie genuinely discomforting in a way that’s hard for a horror movie to nail.
I spent most of the beginning worrying about the dog; I just don’t need to see awful things happen to a dog, especially in a theater when I can’t look away or fast forward. So when the mom and the son fused together, I was surprised by how upsetting I found it. I was crawling out of my set in discomfort; it was genuinely disturbing, so kudos to them.
 
kvetcha said:
Doctor Sleep Director’s Cut is coming today!

I liked this movie way, way more than I expected to, despite a rather flat third act. Looking forward to seeing how the extra run time fleshes things out.
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I'm curious to know if you think it's worth it for a first time viewer. I was going to rent this title, but I see the director's cut is a purchase only deal.

Also from a bit of research it seems it's 1080p on disc, but 4K DV on digital? I don't love how the studios are handling these cuts recently, reminds me a lot of the Midsommar situation, where the DC is an iTunes Extra exclusive, and only in 1080p. Thankfully I was able to see both cuts theatrically. I found myself preferring the theatrical cut for that film due to the overall sense of ambiguity and pacing being a bit distrupted in the DC, but both were worth a viewing.

I think I also tend to lean towards shorter film cuts. Never really got the massive appeal of the LOTR Extended cuts, I grew up with them on VHS, but as an adult I'll take the theatricals every time. Of course in that case Peter Jackson has admitted he generally disliked the Extended cuts, and considered the theatrical ones his true DC.
 
zombie.modernist said:
I'm curious to know if you think it's worth it for a first time viewer. I was going to rent this title, but I see the director's cut is a purchase only deal.

Also from a bit of research it seems it's 1080p on disc, but 4K DV on digital? I don't love how the studios are handling these cuts recently, reminds me a lot of the Midsommar situation, where the DC is an iTunes Extra exclusive, and only in 1080p. Thankfully I was able to see both cuts theatrically. I found myself preferring the theatrical cut for that film due to the overall sense of ambiguity and pacing being a bit distrupted in the DC, but both were worth a viewing.

I think I also tend to lean towards shorter film cuts. Never really got the massive appeal of the LOTR Extended cuts, I grew up with them on VHS, but as an adult I'll take the theatricals every time. Of course in that case Peter Jackson has admitted he generally disliked the Extended cuts, and considered the theatrical ones his true DC.
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I generally don't spring for Director's Cuts unless the original film is one I felt was considerably modified or edited down for theatrical release. I'm not a fan of more material just for the sake of more material, (though I tend to give book adaptations a lot of leeway here).

In the case of LotR, I think the first two movies are quite improved by the Extended Cuts (especially The Two Towers, which I did not like in its theatrical version). Much of what's added in deepens the characterization or allows the film a bit more room to breathe, and these are movies that exult in the vastness of their scope, so that all works for me. I like seeing book material adapted well.

Return of the King is the one that seems really perfunctory; half the time it feels like they were just inserting sequences of no particular quality in order to hit a new record run time, and I think that movie's both narratively and thematically more satisfying in its original incarnation.

From what I've read, the additional material in Doctor Sleep mostly serves to strengthen the film's existing themes rather than alter the narrative in any meaningful way. There are several sequences in the theatrical version that feel as though they were cut short for time (the movie ran over 2.5 hours!), and I think giving them some room to stretch their legs is not a bad idea. It's a somewhat languorous movie, and I felt that pacing was valuable. The theatrical cut felt a little rushed in the back third, and I'm hoping it feels less choppy this time around.

I read Mike Flanagan refers to this as his 'personal cut,' and I liked what he did with the original version enough to give him benefit of the doubt.
 
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kvetcha said:
I generally don't spring for Director's Cuts unless the original film is one I felt was considerably modified or edited down for theatrical release. I'm not a fan of more material just for the sake of more material, (though I tend to give book adaptations a lot of leeway here).

In the case of LotR, I think the first two movies are quite improved by the Extended Cuts (especially The Two Towers, which I did not like in its theatrical version). Much of what's added in deepens the characterization or allows the film a bit more room to breathe, and these are movies that exult in the vastness of their scope, so that all works for me. I like seeing book material adapted well.

Return of the King is the one that seems really perfunctory; half the time it feels like they were just inserting sequences of no particular quality in order to hit a new record run time, and I think that movie's both narratively and thematically more satisfying in its original incarnation.

From what I've read, the additional material in Doctor Sleep mostly serves to strengthen the film's existing themes rather than alter the narrative in any meaningful way. There are several sequences in the theatrical version that feel as though they were cut short for time (the movie ran over 2.5 hours!), and I think giving them some room to stretch their legs is not a bad idea. It's a somewhat languorous movie, and I felt that pacing was valuable. The theatrical cut felt a little rushed in the back third, and I'm hoping it feels less choppy this time around.

I read Mike Flanagan refers to this as his 'personal cut,' and I liked what he did with the original version enough to give him benefit of the doubt.
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Based on your description the DS cut sounds a lot like the Midsommar one, which is up my alley, adding a bit without changing too much.

I'd have to say I largely agree on LoTR despite our differing preferences. I think Fellowship adds a little more dimension, TT adds scope, and ROTK is just plain bloated! I can see where you're coming from with the point that the movies benefit from the expanded dimension, but I guess overall I prefer the slicker pace of the theatrical. I think I just prefer tighter films tbh, but sometimes some are really butchered in the edit and need the additional length. As long as the scenes don't stand out too much. My biggest letdown is still Leone's OUATIA because the added footage is so obviously integrated including a really piss-poor color grading match. At that point the scenes are practically begging to be cut.
 
zombie.modernist said:
Based on your description the DS cut sounds a lot like the Midsommar one, which is up my alley, adding a bit without changing too much.

I'd have to say I largely agree on LoTR despite our differing preferences. I think Fellowship adds a little more dimension, TT adds scope, and ROTK is just plain bloated! I can see where you're coming from with the point that the movies benefit from the expanded dimension, but I guess overall I prefer the slicker pace of the theatrical. I think I just prefer tighter films tbh, but sometimes some are really butchered in the edit and need the additional length. As long as the scenes don't stand out too much. My biggest letdown is still Leone's OUATIA because the added footage is so obviously integrated including a really piss-poor color grading match. At that point the scenes are practically begging to be cut.
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I haven't seen OUATIA, though it's been on my list for ages.

I will say that if I were watching in a theater, I would probably prefer the LotR theatrical cuts. But in the comfort of home, and with a built in intermission break between discs, the Extended Editions are the more luxuriant experience. They're movies I like to sink into.

I think the ultimate argument for Director's Cuts is something like Blade Runner, where the difference between the theatrical edition and the Final Cut is stark.
 
kvetcha said:
I haven't seen OUATIA, though it's been on my list for ages.

I will say that if I were watching in a theater, I would probably prefer the LotR theatrical cuts. But in the comfort of home, and with a built in intermission break between discs, the Extended Editions are the more luxuriant experience. They're movies I like to sink into.

I think the ultimate argument for Director's Cuts is something like Blade Runner, where the difference between the theatrical edition and the Final Cut is stark.
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Yes it really is great for those films. For BR, I started with the theatrical cut, back when it was streaming on Netflix in the era when you had to use a PC with Silverlight, don't miss that one bit. Needless to say I am much happier with the newer final cut!

OUATIA is great, IMO it does a lot of what Irishman does, a lot better. For first watch, I'd maybe stick to the standard cut due to the crappy inserts and the fact the DC is 4 hours.
 
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