Movies

[Mr Moore]

Haha, just saw Tenet. What a load of stinking shit, lol. Putting good actors and expensive effects in couldn't stop it being an overly long and rather directionless B-Movie of the highest order. Worst Nolan by a country mile. And Michael Caine is starting to sound more like Withnail's Danny everyday!

 

[Gavaxeman]

Haha, just saw Tenet. What a load of stinking shit, lol. Putting good actors and expensive effects in couldn't stop it being an overly long and rather directionless B-Movie of the highest order. Worst Nolan by a country mile. And Michael Caine is starting to sound more like Withnail's Danny everyday!

Told you I wasn’t sure ...can’t pretend I understood it ..but was in awe of the visuals ....

Or was I ?

 

[Bennnnn]

Getting excited for Charlie Kaufman's newest one I'm Thinking Of Ending Things. I decided to read the book it's based on and am really loving it. It's a quick read, so I'm already halfway through. Aaaand very interested to see how he manages to twist and turn it into a new thing.

 

[EvanBenner]

Getting excited for Charlie Kaufman's newest one I'm Thinking Of Ending Things. I decided to read the book it's based on and am really loving it. It's a quick read, so I'm already halfway through. Aaaand very interested to see how he manages to twist and turn it into a new thing.

If anyone can adapt this thing, it's Kaufman. I'm stoked, but I queued the movie as part of my Letterboxd HoopTober challenge, so I'll be watching it a few weeks after it premieres.

 

[Melt Face Molly Drop]

Seems I've been on an A24 kick lately. With the last 4 being:

The Witch
The Lobster
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Hereditary

I enjoyed the tone and pacing of all these movies but felt the endings to be rather unsatisfying. Maybe it's an A24 thing, but I was left wondering why these characters that have gone through so much still seem very unaffected or aloof, satanic possession aside. Of these 4, Hereditary is maybe the only one I'd potentially re-watch, otherwise not a ton of re-watch value for me.

Taking a look at other items in the A24 catalog, I really enjoyed Ex Machina, The Florida Project, Moonlight, Lady Bird, The Disaster Artist, Eighth Grade, Mid90s. Based on that, would anyone recommend others in their catalog? The next 2 on my list are Room and Midsommar.

Others I've seen that were a miss for me: The End of the Tour (they tried hard to tone down the pretentiousness of the characters, maybe too hard), Swiss Army Man (just wasn't impacted by the story), Uncut Gems (liked it, just don't see myself ever wanting to revisit - tone is TENSE)

 

[Indymisanthrope]

Seems I've been on an A24 kick lately. With the last 4 being:

The Witch
The Lobster
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Hereditary

I enjoyed the tone and pacing of all these movies but felt the endings to be rather unsatisfying. Maybe it's an A24 thing, but I was left wondering why these characters that have gone through so much still seem very unaffected or aloof, satanic possession aside. Of these 4, Hereditary is maybe the only one I'd potentially re-watch, otherwise not a ton of re-watch value for me.

Taking a look at other items in the A24 catalog, I really enjoyed Ex Machina, The Florida Project, Moonlight, Lady Bird, The Disaster Artist, Eighth Grade, Mid90s. Based on that, would anyone recommend others in their catalog? The next 2 on my list are Room and Midsommar.

Others I've seen that were a miss for me: The End of the Tour (they tried hard to tone down the pretentiousness of the characters, maybe too hard), Swiss Army Man (just wasn't impacted by the story), Uncut Gems (liked it, just don't see myself ever wanting to revisit - tone is TENSE)

Last Black Man in San Francisco
Under the Silver Lake
Lean On Pete
Green Room
Under the Skin

I don't love all of them, but I appreciate that A24 is taking risks.

I had very high expecations for A Ghost Story, and even knowing beforehand what I was getting myself into, it was tough, unless you want to watch Rooney Mara eat pie and cry for an uncomfortably long time.

 

[EvanBenner]

Seems I've been on an A24 kick lately. With the last 4 being:

The Witch
The Lobster
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Hereditary

I enjoyed the tone and pacing of all these movies but felt the endings to be rather unsatisfying. Maybe it's an A24 thing, but I was left wondering why these characters that have gone through so much still seem very unaffected or aloof, satanic possession aside. Of these 4, Hereditary is maybe the only one I'd potentially re-watch, otherwise not a ton of re-watch value for me.

Taking a look at other items in the A24 catalog, I really enjoyed Ex Machina, The Florida Project, Moonlight, Lady Bird, The Disaster Artist, Eighth Grade, Mid90s. Based on that, would anyone recommend others in their catalog? The next 2 on my list are Room and Midsommar.

Others I've seen that were a miss for me: The End of the Tour (they tried hard to tone down the pretentiousness of the characters, maybe too hard), Swiss Army Man (just wasn't impacted by the story), Uncut Gems (liked it, just don't see myself ever wanting to revisit - tone is TENSE)

Seconding @Indymisanthrope's recos for:
Midsommar (especially!!)
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Under the Skin

Green Room is great, but it's also A LOT. Super tense.

Others I've enjoyed:
Climax (Tense, but a spectacle. I also just love Gaspar Noe drug films.)
The Blackcoat's Daughter (a good companion to The Witch)
High Life (sci-fi with a distinctly French flare)

The Hole in the Ground was also fine but probably falls into the endings trap you've already identified.

I'm also super stoked for St. Maud and The Green Knight, so I hope they opt for VOD in lieu of theaters soon.

 

[Bennnnn]

Well I guess I’ll bring up I’m Thinking of Ending Things first.

I feel weird after watching it. And I’m not 100% clear on...every aspect? But I really thoroughly enjoyed so much of it. It’s out there. Kind of creepy. Sometimes off putting. But it worked largely for me. Still gotta untangle all my thoughts. And I’m in the last bit of the book...which I think maybe would clear up the ending for me. Also I’ll say they are pretty similar but also slightly different in tone and how it’s presented...

 

[Black Sheep Audio]

 

[Bennnnn]

I watched the first Bill and Ted last week and plan on doing the next one and the new one this weekend. So rewatching such a nostalgic movie, I was reminded again that things are often just better in our memories. It’s not a bad movie. It’s charming in places, and has a funny ending with a crazy dumb reveal. But it’s nowhere near as good as I remember it. I remember Bogus Journey so much less so this’ll be interesting.

But, and apparently this is a hot take, it’s like when I watched Space Jam a few years ago and realized it’s terrible (B&T isn’t terrible but it isn’t great). I was bummed. As a kid I was obsessed with that movie. I thought rewatching it would be a fun nostalgic time. But god that movie sucks. It’s a bad movie.

Oh I also watched Beetlejuice for some reason. That’s another nostalgic movie for me. But this one surprisingly holds up. I actually found it much funnier this time around. Haven’t seen it since I was young so a lot of things went over my head. Also I’m shocked...shocked that I watched this as a kid in school. What was the context of us watching it? I have no idea. But I remember that we did.

 

[LeSamourai]

I watched the first Bill and Ted last week and plan on doing the next one and the new one this weekend. So rewatching such a nostalgic movie, I was reminded again that things are often just better in our memories. It’s not a bad movie. It’s charming in places, and has a funny ending with a crazy dumb reveal. But it’s nowhere near as good as I remember it. I remember Bogus Journey so much less so this’ll be interesting.

But, and apparently this is a hot take, it’s like when I watched Space Jam a few years ago and realized it’s terrible (B&T isn’t terrible but it isn’t great). I was bummed. As a kid I was obsessed with that movie. I thought rewatching it would be a fun nostalgic time. But god that movie sucks. It’s a bad movie.

Oh I also watched Beetlejuice for some reason. That’s another nostalgic movie for me. But this one surprisingly holds up. I actually found it much funnier this time around. Haven’t seen it since I was young so a lot of things went over my head. Also I’m shocked...shocked that I watched this as a kid in school. What was the context of us watching it? I have no idea. But I remember that we did.

Space Jam is bad enough that it made a bazillion dollars, but nobody was willing to hire its star or director for another movie afterwards. That's saying something.

We watched the first Bill and Ted, and while it suffered some in my daughter's eyes after watching the Back to the Future trilogy a couple of weeks ago, it's dumb fun and I enjoyed it. I think my favorite parts are the ones that make no sense, like Genghis Khan covering himself in sports padding and being able to skateboard like Tony Hawk.

 

[Bennnnn]

Space Jam is bad enough that it made a bazillion dollars, but nobody was willing to hire its star or director for another movie afterwards. That's saying something.

We watched the first Bill and Ted, and while it suffered some in my daughter's eyes after watching the Back to the Future trilogy a couple of weeks ago, it's dumb fun and I enjoyed it. I think my favorite parts are the ones that make no sense, like Genghis Khan covering himself in sports padding and being able to skateboard like Tony Hawk.

Oh yeah it does have dumb fun moments but not as much as I thought. Also I thought about Back To The Future while watching it and kinda thought ‘now there’s a movie I am always in the mood for...’ 1 and 2, not so much 3.

 

[Bohnjaggs]

Oh yeah it does have dumb fun moments but not as much as I thought. Also I thought about Back To The Future while watching it and kinda thought ‘now there’s a movie I am always in the mood for...’ 1 and 2, not so much 3.

I'm one of those people who actually prefers the second Bill & Ted film to the first. It kind of raises the stakes overall and introduces my favorite character in the trilogy (The Grim Reaper/Death).

Space Jam is bad enough that it made a bazillion dollars, but nobody was willing to hire its star or director for another movie afterwards. That's saying something.

I only saw Space Jam once and that was enough. My wife has surprisingly never seen it, even though she was the perfect age for it when it came out. I've thought about watching it with her but I just can't make myself do it.

 

[dhodo]

I watched the first Bill and Ted last week and plan on doing the next one and the new one this weekend. So rewatching such a nostalgic movie, I was reminded again that things are often just better in our memories. It’s not a bad movie. It’s charming in places, and has a funny ending with a crazy dumb reveal. But it’s nowhere near as good as I remember it. I remember Bogus Journey so much less so this’ll be interesting.

But, and apparently this is a hot take, it’s like when I watched Space Jam a few years ago and realized it’s terrible (B&T isn’t terrible but it isn’t great). I was bummed. As a kid I was obsessed with that movie. I thought rewatching it would be a fun nostalgic time. But god that movie sucks. It’s a bad movie.

Oh I also watched Beetlejuice for some reason. That’s another nostalgic movie for me. But this one surprisingly holds up. I actually found it much funnier this time around. Haven’t seen it since I was young so a lot of things went over my head. Also I’m shocked...shocked that I watched this as a kid in school. What was the context of us watching it? I have no idea. But I remember that we did.

Beetlejuice is gold. I remember watching it a bunch as a kid, but it must have been on TV, because I don't remember that F bomb that stood out on a recent viewing.

 

[Black Sheep Audio]

 

[Melt Face Molly Drop]

Space Jam is bad enough that it made a bazillion dollars, but nobody was willing to hire its star or director for another movie afterwards. That's saying something

To be fair, the director was mostly a music video director, so not like he was looking for an in on Oscar material after that one. I bet the studio knew what they had and weren’t trying to make it anything more than what it was on the surface. As for Jordan, I doubt he felt the need to grab another film so can’t tell if that’s sarc or not. The 90s was ripe already with sports stars in movies.

As for it being a bad movie, well yeah @Bennnnn it’s a kids film set out to entertain. They knew they weren’t making Spirited Away or Who Framed Roger Rabbit here. It’s not thought provoking whatsoever, and merely existed as an escape for parents to earn some points with their kids. It worked with me, as I saw it twice in theaters. I watched it recently for the nostalgia factor and it was just that: a way to evoke memories from the past to elicit emotions in the present.

 

[LeSamourai]

To be fair, the director was mostly a music video director, so not like he was looking for an in on Oscar material after that one. I bet the studio knew what they had and weren’t trying to make it anything more than what it was on the surface. As for Jordan, I doubt he felt the need to grab another film so can’t tell if that’s sarc or not. The 90s was ripe already with sports stars in movies.

As for it being a bad movie, well yeah @Bennnnn it’s a kids film set out to entertain. They knew they weren’t making Spirited Away or Who Framed Roger Rabbit here. It’s not thought provoking whatsoever, and merely existed as an escape for parents to earn some points with their kids. It worked with me, as I saw it twice in theaters. I watched it recently for the nostalgia factor and it was just that: a way to evoke memories from the past to elicit emotions in the present.

I don't really fault it for not being better than it needed to be, but then things like the Lego Movie or the Paddington series come along and are so much better than they needed to be to keep the executives happy, and I sometimes need to remind myself that it's ok for not everything to be great.

 

[LeSamourai]

The Space Jam soundtrack was definitely the most played cd in my stereo that year, I'll add.

 

[BattleFlag]

Re-watched Monterey Pop this evening. My girlfriend had never seen it, so that was a lot of fun to chat about afterwards.

One thing that always strikes me about the film is just how head-and-shoulders above all the other performers Otis Redding was. There are legendary performances all over that festival: Hendrix, Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Who, Ravi Shankar. And while the technical chops and lead performances are riveting, no one even comes close to touching Otis’ charisma. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the word go.

 

[LeSamourai]

Re-watched Monterey Pop this evening. My girlfriend had never seen it, so that was a lot of fun to chat about afterwards.

One thing that always strikes me about the film is just how head-and-shoulders above all the other performers Otis Redding was. There are legendary performances all over that festival: Hendrix, Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Who, Ravi Shankar. And while the technical chops and lead performances are riveting, no one even comes close to touching Otis’ charisma. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the word go.

Seeing how I live in Monterey, I really need to watch that one of these days!