Media itt: movie/film discussion - Beware Spoilers

#111 Some Like It Hot
The last Billy Wilder movie I have to see on this list and holy shit it's actually good. It's a comedy movie about two musicians who dress in drag and sneak into a women's band when on the run from the mafia. Wilder is always clever but rarely funny, still there were a few laughs here and there. But considering the premise, this movie could have been insufferable and never was. The acting on everyone's part is good, even Marilyn Monroe is perfect for her role. But mostly the plot goes along at a good pace, while the ending is climactic and feels perfectly natural for the story. Easily the best Billy Wilder movie I've seen.

#112 Unforgiven
This was a really good deconstruction of the Western genre by Clint Eastwood. His last western (and first best picture Oscar), he turned the whole genre on its head by depicting killing as a hard thing to do and showing how myths are created. If this movie was a total farce it'd still be pretty good, but it's what the film becomes by the end, and the steady buildup to it, that makes this a nearly 10/10 film for me.

It's also a remarkably conservative movie. The villain is a lawman who outlaws guns, but when you look around there's an undercurrent of conservative values throughout it. Not really surprising I guess.


With Billy Wilder out of the way, let's talk about him as a director. I asked someone specifically why they liked him, and it wasn't a call-out, I just can't get a straight answer. Most people don't even know he exists. From the articles I've read online, even they admit that the wide variety of genres he has covered leaves very little to interpret about the man himself. I saw someone say he was cynical. Compared to who, Frank Capra? Billy Wilder is no Earnest Hemingway or Don Henley. Some people like him for the sheer number of decent films he made in his time. Well, I guess by that logic anyone is bound to enjoy a few, but quantity over quality hardly makes for what are supposed to be some of the best films ever. Double Indemnity is fucking shit, but I've seen it praised as "creating all the tropes of film noire". Erm, no, those were in books for decades. TL;DR for a guy who has 5 films on this list, Billy Wilder has no personality at all.


I'm taking a break in October to watch a shit ton of horror movies with friends.
 
Saw Beasts of No Nation at the London Film Festival on Thursday and it was absolutely stunning. Here's my review:

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BEASTS OF NO NATION

Netflix’s first foray into feature films looks to be a wise, wise choice; there’s been talk of Beasts of No Nation becoming a major Oscar contender by the end of the year, and it’s not hard to see why. The film follows Agu, a West-African child that, after being separated in vicious circumstances from his endearing family, is forcibly enlisted and raised by a ruthless yet engaging ‘Commandant’, to become a child soldier. It’s harrowing, relevant subject matter, and the film doesn’t shy away from the tragedies and awful consequences that arise with the recruitment of youngsters to fight in a savage, territorial war.

The film starts off harmlessly enough, with a smiling Agu (played terrifically by first-timer Abraham Attah) cheekily attempting to sell an ‘imagination-TV’ with his friends. The comedy and joy is quickly diminished, and the descent into ferocious, troubling war is cleverly contrasted by its jubilant epilogue. Director Cary Fukunaga, of True Detective fame, excels in crafting sequences of intense, tragic warzones; encapsulating Beast of No Nation as a whole, they’re brave, visually mesmerising and unafraid to detail the immense bloodshed. These scenes are shot by Fukunaga himself, where the camerawork is used wonderfully – particularly in an overwhelmingly powerful tracking shot – to capture both the sorrow and the survivalist instinct of the men shown on screen. It’s kinetic and stylistically superb, but doesn’t burden the terrifyingly realistic action.

Abraham Attah is a revelation as Agu – emotionally astounding and maturely performed. It’s testament to Attah that he matches – and often goes beyond – the more showy, brutal performance by Idris Elba as Agu’s commandant. Elba adds complexity to a character that wisely avoids becoming melodramatic, completely transforming into his taxing role.

Due to its subject matter, the film is unavoidably emotional and upsetting to watch, with many scenes difficult to sit through without covering your eyes at the horror of it all. Aided by Dan Romer’s unusual, effective synthetic score, there are many tearjerking moments that beautifully evoke anguish of Agu’s situation, yet it never feels like the film is manipulative or overly preachy. One scene, around halfway into the film, shows white tourists indifferently snapping photos of the war-stricken battalion as they pass by; Beasts of No Nation’s message is clear. Something needs to change.
 
Films I've seen since my last update:

Partisan ★★★★

Partisan presents itself as Australian Ariel Kleiman’s feature-film directorial debut, though you wouldn’t realise it from the maturity displayed on screen. The narrative, rather than flimsily structured as some critics have purported, is sinisterly brooding and intentionally thin, giving the film a normality that adds effective contrast to the otherwise shocking subject matter. The subject matter in question revolves around Alexander, a misbehaving child played in a menacingly placid way by newcomer Jeremy Chabriel, and his unorthodox upbringing; trained to become a child assassin by his father, Gregori (Vincent Cassel), a deceivingly paternal figure with a strong partisan ideology.

The world is seen through Alexander’s eyes, and so many events are inevitably left to vague interpretation, a viewing experience that will frustrate those who prefer complete exposition. There is no background given to the story, or to the characters that are contained within the story. Even the location is ambiguous, the film taking place in an equivocal Eastern European nowhere-land (filmed in Georgia and Australia of all places), where the only prelude is an introduction to Gregori’s preparations, rather than the character itself. His motives are left unanswered, and we can only speculate and watch through Alexander’s eyes as he attempts to raise his growing collection of children to become savage tykes, It’s a brave, refreshing method of story-telling, and one that allows the viewer to develop their own inferences; motifs of inapposite fountains and protective earbuds lend clues to Partisan’s overarching themes, as do allusions to religious imagery of baptism and Gregori’s twisted views that bare similarity to Old Testament beliefs. If I’m sounding unsure, that’s because I am – a revisit to delve deeper into the film’s morals is a necessity.

On a more basic level, Partisan eases by with intrigue effectively maintained. The world-building is immediately captivating, and the story is developed at a pace that suppresses any temptation to reveal the film’s revelations too early. There’s an almost otherworldly, slightly mundane feel to the film that draws the viewer in – callous bombshells are juxtaposed almost immediately by stylistic karaoke – akin to Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives – though made all the more unsettling due to the connotations of innocence that the children represent.

Sadly, this isn’t a theme explored enough in Partisan – the film is fairly distant in conveying any emotion felt towards the children. They’re raised and manipulated in a way that should seem sorrowful, but the film doesn’t probe deep enough into this topic, instead more interested in the face value of the events taking place. This disjointedness, or detachment from adversity is partly due to a script that is written in an occasionally stilted style. The film is understated in many respects, but its script is often wholly blunt and unnatural, where “show, don’t tell” is neglected. These moments are rare, but severely jarring, threatening to derail its intent of relaying information via the emotions of characters (close-ups of faces are used abundantly) and images of heavy symbolism.

Cassel executes Gregori with all the complexity he can muster, and manages to pose as a caring but unnerving figure incredibly well. He’s overshadowed, however, by Chabriel, who confidently plays Alexander as an enigmatic figure scarred by his upbringing. Without his coldly inquisitive, underplayed performance, the film would suffer greatly.

The film is bolstered by the talent of Oneohtrix Point Never’s emphatic, evocative score, connoting an epicosity and grandeur that does well to balance Partisan’s small-scale location. Though as far as small-scale films go, Kleiman thrives in presenting Partisan as having huge repercussions. The themes are ambiguous but not impenetrable, the pacing slow but never dull, and the final scene will linger on in an exceptionally powerful manner.

The Fall ★★★★

Sicario ★★★★

The Shining ★★★★

Boogie Nights ★★★★★

Before I Disappear ★★★★

Spectre ★★

The Holy Mountain ★★★★

Everest ★★★

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials ★

And the award for most disappointing sequel of 2015 goes to Scorch Trials, the follow-up to 2014’s actually-quite-good Maze Runner. Helmed once again by Wes Ball, the film kicks off right where the last one left us – Thomas (played enthusiastically by Dylan O’Brien) and his group are ‘rescued’ and sent into a menacing facility where other young groups – each previously having their own maze – are waiting for them. Cue an expected escape from the building after Thomas unearths horrifying secrets about who their captors are, with the remainder of the film taking place in the sun-scorched open air, the gang encountering numerous obstacles that move the plot along, though not swiftly enough.

Right from the off, it’s made clear that the novel isn’t being adapted from, but rather being used as a source of inspiration. There are certain elements of James Dashner’s best-seller that remains untarnished, but most of the plot is replaced and restructured in order to either make the flick more palatable to a modern audience, or to avoid breaching the slim budgetary constraints. Though despite the film being limited by its budget, it comes across as a $20m flick rather than $60m, thanks to dodgy effects and the use of shaky-cam to obscure action.

Simply put, the new plot that this sequel has is just not good enough. The directing is admirable, the acting fine – though a league below its predecessor – and the camerawork impressive for a YA adaptation. The plot, however, is deeply convoluted, fatuous, and irritatingly generic. In my Maze Runner review, I praised the film for its refreshing refusal to bow down to YA tropes. Sadly, Scorch Trials doesn’t follow suit, integrating a tepid love plot, uninspired zombies and somehow finding room for a celebratory house-party – yes, in the middle of a dusty, zombie-ravaged world. Revelations concerning the film’s characters and the series’ overarching plot arise every now and then amid the contrived chaos, but you hardly care – you’re just lost trying to find out whether each plot point the film undergoes has relevance or even makes sense in context of the film. Here’s a hint: it doesn’t.

Adaptation ★★★★

Hanna ★★★★

The Martian ★★★

Macbeth ★★
 
#113 3 Idiots
A lot of people live in India. That's the explanation I read from time to time when Bollywood flicks creep onto the IMDB top 250. And for sure some should be there, but sometimes they show up out of nowhere and disappear just as suddenly. In the month of October there was another film I probably would have watched with this one had it not vanished. 3 Idiots on the other hand has endured, with plans for an American remake, in spite of complaints by English speaking imdb regulars. Well, it's not bad. The message is very important. Schools teach us to take tests and not to learn, and in some countries literally kill people. But it's not very good either. The comedy is low-brow as fuck. Slide whistle. The dramatic scenes are more than a bit ridiculous and sappy by our standards. The two songs felt out of place in a nearly three hour movie and weren't very impressive, though one was annoyingly catchy. I'd probably have to see more Bollywood to really judge this, but so far I liked fake Bollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire a lot more.

#115 Raging Bull
Bored me. Hard to articulate why. Maybe it's the long-drawn out scenes where characters mostly mutter? Or how it's a boxing movie with no boxing? Or how it feels really more like a mafia movie, with the same old plotline. Man rises to power, abuses wife, gets in trouble. So fucking tired of this by now. At least those movies had characters with more dimensions. All Jake LaMotta does is bitch about his wife. We see other characters talk about how he's an embarrassment, and about his trouble with maintaining his weight for boxing, but nothing out of the character himself.

#152 The Martian
A triumph of human capability and a champion of science, this movie was everything that Interstellar wanted to be and failed miserably at. It's one of many movies this year absolutely worth watching. It doesn't fall into the normal space cliches until the very end, and doesn't ruin itself over them. Matt Damon acts his ass off, with plenty of opportunity to effectively emote.
 
The Martian was extremely brilliant, I agree. I saw it a few weeks ago with my girlfriend and twin sister, and we all came out of it feeling really impressed by everything. The acting is brilliant, the message is pretty damned powerful, and the humor is amazing. This movie definitely deserves the love it has been getting. And it definitely has my respect in trying to recreate and modernize the Golden Age of NASA, and the achievements and inspiration events like Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 had on both the United States and the world. It's definitely up there with the greatness of Tom Hank's Apollo 13...

As for my quest on the IMDB list, I am 127/250 done and for chronological purposes am right now in the middle of watching For A Few Dollars More, which is number 97. I really haven't been hitting the list as hard as I wanted to, and spent the last few weeks watching movies off list such as Nightcrawler, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 50/50, and other random movies. When I have been working on my list, I have deviated a bit chronologically by watching Shutter Island, LA Confidential, and The Kings Speech. I really have no motivation to write huge blocks of reviews and thoughts like I had been doing because Von does a far better job than me and my last post was right before school started and I've had a lot of distance between me and those movies I watched earlier in the list. So I'll just settle for this...

Exceptional: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (I talked about this a lot before, but this is definitely in the list of one of my favorite movies of all time), Full Metal Jacket (The first part with Gomer Pile was exceptional, and the second part just alright. Can't seem to stop quoting this movie though...), The Sting (I feel like it was missing something and could have been a better movie, but I love conmen and though it was a movie, some really great cons were pulled off...) , Shutter Island (I give it props for still making me believe still believe my theory even after it revealed the truth).

Underwhelming: Bicycle Thieves (Von summed my thoughts on this up well), The Kid (Not a bad movie, but the length and the developing humor made it unspectacular), Singing in the Rain (Not a bad musical but not deserving of all the praise it gets)

Don't Know What to Think: 2001: A Space Odyssey (I like this movie a lot, and I want to like it. But I came away from the movie asking myself what the hell did I just watch and then I went back to watch parts of it over again to try and better understand the plot. I ended up giving it a 7/10, but it's just a weird movie) , Snatch (It was funny and had me laughing a lot. I'll give it that. But there are about a thousand characters who I had a hard time keeping straight and it was just too much happening in one movie) , Amedeus (I'm not a big classical music guy, and I dont have any inkling of musical understanding in the least. So while this movie wasn't great, it also wasnt at all bad...)
 
vonFiedler said:
#113 3 Idiots
A lot of people live in India. That's the explanation I read from time to time when Bollywood flicks creep onto the IMDB top 250. And for sure some should be there, but sometimes they show up out of nowhere and disappear just as suddenly. In the month of October there was another film I probably would have watched with this one had it not vanished. 3 Idiots on the other hand has endured, with plans for an American remake, in spite of complaints by English speaking imdb regulars. Well, it's not bad. The message is very important. Schools teach us to take tests and not to learn, and in some countries literally kill people. But it's not very good either. The comedy is low-brow as fuck. Slide whistle. The dramatic scenes are more than a bit ridiculous and sappy by our standards. The two songs felt out of place in a nearly three hour movie and weren't very impressive, though one was annoyingly catchy. I'd probably have to see more Bollywood to really judge this, but so far I liked fake Bollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire a lot more.

#152 The Martian
A triumph of human capability and a champion of science, this movie was everything that Interstellar wanted to be and failed miserably at. It's one of many movies this year absolutely worth watching. It doesn't fall into the normal space cliches until the very end, and doesn't ruin itself over them. Matt Damon acts his ass off, with plenty of opportunity to effectively emote.
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1) 3 Idiots is one of my favourite movies of all time. Low-brow humour isn't inherently a bad thing - look at Dumb and Dumber, Laurel and Hardy, etc. Some scenes are hilarious (the speech scene, for example). I love 3 Idiots for its emotional value, however. Yes, it's cheesy and overly sentimental, but damn, doesn't it work? The film is so good-natured, so heart-breaking, has a strong emotional core, has admirable and important moral messages, and Aamir Khan is fantastic. The two songs were just great big bundles of fun - 3 Idiots tries to rid of the viewer's cynicism and it succeeded for me at least.

2) Gonna have to strongly disagree with you on The Martian; Interstellar was a far superior film. The Martian wasn't bad at all - but it was very safe. The film was amusing, and relatively enjoyable, but there was nothing in it to make you go 'wow, this is stunning' like Interstellar's 'mountains' scene, or the wormhole, etc. The film aimed to be an enjoyable feel-good romp and it succeeded, at the expense of any emotional heft. The characters - including Damon - all came across as caricatures (Glover the worst of these cases). It's a fine movie - but just fine. It lacks the ambition or the depth for me to really like it.

Other films I've seen since last update:

Youth - ★★★
The Truman Show - ★★★★
Being John Malkovich - ★★★★
You're Next - ★★★
The Final Girls - ★★★★
Slow West - ★★★
Fantastic Mr. Fox - ★★★★★ - rewatch
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - ★★★★★ - rewatch
 
Eagle4 said:
2) Gonna have to strongly disagree with you on The Martian; Interstellar was a far superior film. The Martian wasn't bad at all - but it was very safe. The film was amusing, and relatively enjoyable, but there was nothing in it to make you go 'wow, this is stunning' like Interstellar's 'mountains' scene, or the wormhole, etc. The film aimed to be an enjoyable feel-good romp and it succeeded, at the expense of any emotional heft. The characters - including Damon - all came across as caricatures (Glover the worst of these cases). It's a fine movie - but just fine. It lacks the ambition or the depth for me to really like it.
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I don't see what's safe at all about, as BT put it better, "trying to reignite the golden age of nasa". It doesn't bring to mind other movies, it brings to mind congressional hearings. Interstellar on the other hand is ostensibly about humans becoming their own gods through intellect, yet it's also a movie where a room full of scientists believes in a space ghost for no reason, or make really stilted speeches about how love beats facts. And I'm stunned that you of all people would confuse "set pieces" with "ambition". Big video game cgi neither makes me think nor does it really dent Nolan's pocket at this point. Interstellar has a lot of heart and it was entertaining, but it's a stupid movie and it'd be Nolan's worst if Rises didn't exist.
 
#116: The Hunt
Worst fucking movie I have ever seen. I've gone back and forth between wanting to explain why and just leaving it at that. It commits the worst type of plot hole multiple times, which is character acting stupid and out of character to create drama. Then the film uses this to create scenes that are supposed to be edgy and depressing. I wanted to stop watching three times. And why, what's so fucking important that characters have to be complete dumbdouches and emotionally manipulative shit has to be pulled? Don't trust kids who say they are being sexually abused. Not even don't trust allegeded adult rape victims, but specifically children, because in this movie it's supposed to be some M. Night Shamylan twist that kids lie from time to time (oh really???). And... WHY? I GET the Pianist. It's awful, but it's oscar bait tripe. But anyone who helped this movie win an oscar for foreign films should be fucking ashamed of themselves.

#117: Downfall
Aka as that meme with shouting Hitler. Honestly, I had NO idea this was actually supposed to be a good movie. And I'm still not sure... I guess the display of sheer incompetence at all levels of the split government during the attack on Berlin was interesting, and for sure the actor who played Hitler fucking earned his stripes for doing an amazing job in a role that maybe not everyone would want to be known for. But I think this overly long movie is mostly just depressing. It's sole message is a bookended interview with one of the actual people portrayed, and it's also kind of obvious. So it doesn't really do anything for me, or really even expand upon other movies portraying nazis.

#118 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
This movie came out of nowhere and just popped right onto the top 250. It's... the most boring movie I have ever seen. Less happens in the same time than in the human segments of Inside Out. Everything takes its sweet time, and even the opening boasts how the kind of story is one you've seen EVERYWHERE else. But at the same time, I'm just not feeling the whole "this guy tried to kill his wife, wow I sure hope they make up" angle.

#119 Good Will Hunting
FINALLY a good movie, god damn. Well, the first thing I thought was, "wow, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote this? That's cool." Then the second I thought was "this dialogue is fucking annoying." Yet somehow, it's a movie with an endearing plot, a good message, and very good characters and acting. I've wanted to watch it for a long time, since Robin William's death is one of the only celebrity deaths that actually hit me pretty hard. He's pretty great in it, but I think Matt Damon and Stelan Skarsgard put in equally good performances. There are more than a few well regarded Robin Williams movies that don't make it into the top 250, but I'd like to take the time sometime to cross them off my list as well.
 
Just came back from Creed. That movie is a goddamn gift. It hits a lot of familiar notes to anyone familiar with the Original Rocky or the franchise itself, and has a few parts where the motions moving the plot forward are falling apart at the seams, but when that third act kicks in things get locked down TIGHT. The actual story itself however is in unfamiliar territory. It's the story of the product of an affair from the former heavyweight champion of the world and how he copes with the constant battle against his fathers legacy.

On its own the story of Adonis Creed is compelling and touching. And seeing the world through his eyes is a great movie on its own right. But this is still a Rocky movie. Everything in this movie builds towards the fight. And it pays off. It's near 2 hours after credits and I'm still running the fight over in my head. The action choreography was spectacular and the camerawork and sound editing viscerally matched the emotions of the moment. A nervous beginning with numbed sound, and little camera dynamics; leading to a swelling sound paired with a tight shot and the only clear sound being the announcers describing the action as a "phone booth" fight- all exuding the frantic dynamic change to the composition of the fight- finally releasing out to an amazing triumphant catharsis. And all of what I described is the first 3 rounds of a 12 round fight. The rest of the fight follows in this same masterful measured and controlled pattern and it manages to also simultaneously pay off on every emotional beat played throughout the film in absolutely stunning ways and literally brought me to tears multiple times. Back and forth between tears and thrilled excitement and borderline cheering.

A fucking monumental movie. A fantastic movie without the fight, the stuff of legend with it. A beautiful masterpiece.
 
#120 The Great Escape
For starters, this is a very silly movie, and I suspect much more silly than was the intention. The accents are terrible, the shenanigans are Hogan's Heroesesque, and the whole premise is some of the most fridge-logicy shit I've ever seen. We took every prisoner who was good at escaping from prison and put them in the same prison. Can't be a bad idea. Now, this is a true story, and one said to be very accurate, so HISTORY SPOILERS ahead.

While it's a goofy movie, it is a very entertaining one. It's just damn fun to see all the things they have to do in order to orchestrate this escape. It mostly works as a fun adventure if you don't take it too seriously. The diverse cast of characters is great, and Charles Bronson is the man.

I'm just not sure about the severe tonal shift in the movie. For one thing, it's not exactly a great escape, as almost everyone dies. I guess it's more of an Ambitious Escape. Again, real history, but that's the problem when you portray an actual war crime (the geneva convention breaking execution of 50 people, not the escape) as a lighthearted adventure.

#122 Chinatown
And now I wouldn't be surprised if L.A. Confidential was inspired by this. This is a noir flick that's actually intriguing and keeps you guessing. I really liked everything about this film until the ending. Now you could fucking spin yarns all you want about the protagonist being denied his cliched "I explain the crime" scene, or how it defies the expectations of the audience, but the fact of the matter is that a team of scientists couldn't tell you what the main character was expecting to come out of his dumb actions at the end of the movie, and by extension what the writer thought the character expected. And by writer I mean Roman Polanski (director of bad movies and actual rapist), who changed the ending at the last minute. And you can tell in interviews about it that he thinks he's so fucking slick and clever. "But I'm still talking about it", yeah, not everything you did back then that we still talk about was for the best though.
 
^yes, please spoil a very precise plot tactic....
Texas Cloverleaf said:
Request for the typical reviewers: Ex Machina
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Don't be fooled, the movie isn't actually about artificial intelligence. Also easily in contention for one of the best movies of the year....
 
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Ex Machina is a great film and largely worthy of the praise its receiving - though I'm concerned it's been a little too overhyped. Each actor is on point, the film's themes and presentation of those themes are mature, and it contains a stand-out dance scene. The inevitable twist is a little anticlimatic at first glance (as is the ending) but makes sense when you think about it. It's style and visual flair slightly hinders how emotive the film is though - it's quite distant, which is apt for a film about developing AI, but as a result there's more intrigue of how the story will move along than actual care for the characters.

Definitely worth a watch.

edit: Soul Fly , how is the film not about AI?
 
Texas Cloverleaf said:
Request for the typical reviewers: Ex Machina
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I gave it an 8/10 and I'm a pretty hard rater. It is a simple movie, but almost beautiful in it's simplicity. I would recommend it, but it's not going to challenge any movies in your favorites list.

The movie is pretty much summed up by a very flawed and isolated computer genius flies a neutral office worker in his company to interact with his AI machine to see if he can tell if, not if it is a machine, but if it is conscious. The neutral office worker substitutes in for the movie viewer... and we as the viewer are introduced with numerous problems and clues to find the truth. It's like a trial where numerous conflicting evidence is being introduced, and the "jury" must make a choice of whether to trust the very flawed, possibly psychopathic human or a non-human computer program who shows caring and compassion which may or may not be genuine as a result of... you know... it being a computer.

Some logical flaws towards the end, but the journey is pretty good. It gets you thinking and places you in the movie and screws with your perception of reality numerous times.
 
Saw Trumbo last night. I'm not gonna give it a rating because I suck at rating things, but it was a good film. Not great, but good.

Bryan Cranston was his usual impeccable self, which was probably the biggest plus of the entire movie. The premise is pretty interesting, especially if you're a cinema/history buff and are already interested in this sort of thing. John Goodman is absolutely fantastic and completely steals every scene he's in. Pretty visually appealing film - some nice practical smoke effects, and Cranston's character totally nails the "retro cool" vibe with his typewriter and his cigarette holder and his perpetual glass of bourbon.

My biggest issue, ironically, is that it's not a super well-written film. There are a few witty lines of dialogue (again, John Goodman), but the pacing is weird and in a lot of places the film feels really slow, even when the plot's progressing, which is really sad in a biopic about a screenwriter. Also, I love Louis CK, but the man is just not an actor.

So yea. Trumbo. If you like movies, go see it. If you like Bryan Cranston or John Goodman, go see it. If you're a stickler for narrative, you may wanna pass.

edit: since everyone seems to be chronicling all the movies they've seen this year, mine are here. pretty nifty site tbh

ignore my ratings because i'm too lazy to put any real thought into them 99% of the time
 
#123: Heat
I almost said last time that Jack Nicholson was a breath of fresh air over Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. I almost said going into this week that I'm tired of three hour films. Proven wrong on both counts. In fact, Heat is probably the movie most deserving of a long run time that I've ever seen. Why is that? Perhaps because it's a multi-faceted movie that fleshes out every character and plot point exactly as much as they need to be. Heat's story centers around a bank robbery which would be the climax and point of any other heist movie, but here it's the end of the 2nd act. There are so many plot threads that work well together; combating a businessman who wants the heroes dead, investigating a string of serial killings, revenge, and not one, but three relationship drama that instead of being tiring are actually dramatic. Even a character, the equivalent in other movies of the mook who gets killed off immediately, has several scenes stretched over two hours to explain his background and drive to do what he does.

Holy fuck this cast! Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are as on point as ever. But then there's Jon Voight, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, Natalie Portman, Danny Trejo, Xander Berkely... I'm probably leaving some people out but I haven't seen a cast this impressive outside of Lincoln.

#124: On the Waterfront
Another very good black and white movie. It's not without its faults. I find the female love interest's part in the story to be insufferable. Sure she's driven and does what she wants on her own terms, but any scene with her drags like crazy. But the movie makes up for it with every other scene. The character of the priest is a total badass. Scenes between Marlon Brando and his brother are gripping as fuck. This is damn good drama, and Marlon Brando is one hell of an actor.
 
I am a massive Heat fanboy and it always makes me glad to see that people still watch it now and then. No clue why everyone these days still remembers Forrest Gump but has no clue what Heat is (I literally had someone think I meant the movie 'The Heat' with Melissa McCarthy and I died a bit inside).

In other news it is now two days until the new Star Wars comes out. Does anyone else suspect that it will be thoroughly mediocre? Pure speculation on my part but I've never been a huge fan of the JJ Abrams Star Trek movies and doubt that the new ones will have much emotion impact.
 
I won't be seeing The Force Awakens for at least a week. I WILL infract anyone who fails to use spoilers correctly.

Not gonna go huge into it (I talked about it either in this thread or another movie thread), but Super 8 was fucking amazing. And almost the universal negative against Star Trek 2009 was that JJ would have been a better fit for Star Wars. So I'm optimisitic, especially without Damon Lindelof anywhere near it.
 
Films I've seen since last update are:

Minions - ★★★★ (REWATCH)
American Ultra - ★★★
Vacation - ★★★
Mississippi Grind - ★★★
The Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 1 - ★★★★ (REWATCH)
Ted 2 - ★★
The Big Lebowski - ★★★★
Knock Knock - ★★
The Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 2 - ★★★
Bridge of Spies - ★★★
Pan - ★★
The Forbidden Room - ★★★★★
The Lobster - ★★★★
Crimson Peak - ★★★★★
The Duke of Burgundy - ★★★★★ (REWATCH)

If you have any qualms about my ratings, pls bring it up

From now til January 1st, I'm planning on seeing Carol, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Tribe, and The Night Before. All could very easily enter this list but for now, here is my Top 20 Films of 2015:

1. Inherent Vice
=2. Mommy
=2. The Duke of Burgundy
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Beasts of No Nation
6. Whiplash
=7. Inside Out
=7. Birdman
9. The Forbidden Room
=10. Crimson Peak
=10. Tomorrowland
12. Me, Earl and the Dying Girl
13. The Man From UNCLE
14. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
15. Lost River
16. Selma
17. Foxcatcher
18. Sicario
19. It Follows
20. London Road
(Honourable Mention: Ex Machina)

Additionally, my infinitely-more-controversial Top 20 Worst Films of 2015:

1. Clouds of Sils Maria
2. Listen up Philip
3. American Sniper
4. Jauja
5. The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials
=6. Pan
=6. Mortdecai
8. Force Majeure
9. Furious 7
10. The Interview
11. Macbeth
12. Fantastic Four
13. Spectre
14. Knock Knock
15. Kingsman: The Secret Service
=16. Ted 2
=16. Jurassic World
18. Big Hero 6
19. The Signal
20. Kung Fury

Seen 72 films released in the UK in 2015 so far this year - though I'm hoping to break triple digits next year. Anomalisa is certainly my most anticipated release.
 
Just saw The Force Awakens. I actually went into it prepared for it to be a Phantom Menace-esque let-down (but to be honest I'm prepared for that for any movie that sees massive amounts of hype like this one did), despite it having 95% RT (which iirc is currently the highest of any Star Wars movie.) I wouldn't go as far as to call it better than Empire or any of the other original trilogy films, but nonetheless it was still a powerful way to reboot the franchise and makes up for the atrocities that were the prequels

So for starters, I wonder how much Mark Hamill was paid to say nothing

I actually went into this knowing Kylo Ren was the son of Han and Leia, but I remember this was implied early on anyway. What I didn't go in expecting was such an emotional scene involving Han trying to bring Kylo Ren back from the dark side. I'm still not thrilled that they killed Han Solo, but that scene was still powerful. should've shot first

Also holy shit, Starkiller Base makes the Death Star look like a children's toy. Speaking of, I feel like this movie's climax was better than A New Hope's, seeing as the original Death Star had a video game boss weak spot while it took a little more than using the Force to fire into a two-meter-wide exhaust port to take down Starkiller Base. Also, you have a lightsaber duel between Kylo Ren and Finn (but Rey takes over from Finn later) going on simultaneously, so there's added action and the feeling of tension with them having to get off of Starkiller Base before it's destroyed.

In other news, I'm suspecting that Rey is Luke's daughter. I'm basing this almost entirely off of the fact that she's Force-sensitive, but I feel like at this moment, the only Force-sensitive characters could have come from Luke or Leia (or possibly some relation to Ezra or Kanan from Star Wars Rebels but I doubt they'd want to drag non-film canon into this) and if she were the daughter of Han and Leia, they'd have known about it. It could explain why she had been on Jakku and why her parents left her there, i.e. keeping the First Order from finding her after Kylo Ren basically went Darth Vader on the Jedi Order that Luke was attempting to rebuild.
 
cosmias said:
Carol is legit in the running for my favorite movie of the year<3
Click to expand...

Ok I don't know if I'm cold-hearted or what but I found Carol to be just fine but nothing more. The mood Haynes created was excellent but the story itself, and the performances, didn't emote much imo. Each individual performance was very good (though Blanchett was hamming it in a little at the start), but there wasn't any tangible chemistry between Mara and Blanchett. After hearing about Carol like it was the second-coming of Christ, I found it all rather disappointing. The score was great to begin with, but is literally the same tune again and again; I know that method can work, but here it felt a lil repetitive.

I also thought the plot was nothing to write home about - it focused too much on Carol's family issues, and too much on Therese's photography interest; one had an abrupt resolution while the other didn't really go anywhere. The film didn't give enough time for Blanchett and Mara's relationship to breathe and develop, and when there were chances for that to happen, instead Haynes chose long pauses and incessant stares at one another instead of actual dialogue to build a relationship and make it believable.

And I'm all for ambiguous endings but it was apparent that Haynes just didn't know how to bring his film to a halt.

If you want to see a lesbian drama that does everything better, watch The Duke of Burgundy.

3/5
 
Eagle4 said:
Ok I don't know if I'm cold-hearted or what but I found Carol to be just fine but nothing more. The mood Haynes created was excellent but the story itself, and the performances, didn't emote much imo. Each individual performance was very good (though Blanchett was hamming it in a little at the start), but there wasn't any tangible chemistry between Mara and Blanchett. After hearing about Carol like it was the second-coming of Christ, I found it all rather disappointing. The score was great to begin with, but is literally the same tune again and again; I know that method can work, but here it felt a lil repetitive.

I also thought the plot was nothing to write home about - it focused too much on Carol's family issues, and too much on Therese's photography interest; one had an abrupt resolution while the other didn't really go anywhere. The film didn't give enough time for Blanchett and Mara's relationship to breathe and develop, and when there were chances for that to happen, instead Haynes chose long pauses and incessant stares at one another instead of actual dialogue to build a relationship and make it believable.

And I'm all for ambiguous endings but it was apparent that Haynes just didn't know how to bring his film to a halt.

If you want to see a lesbian drama that does everything better, watch The Duke of Burgundy.

3/5
Click to expand...

That's definitely a common criticism I've seen for the film, how it was too cold, too distant, etc. I, for one, loved that aspect of the film. Every soft, delicate touch and and longing glance held a lot of emotional impact. Not to mention that I was completely head over heels for the cinematography, score, and performances (Mara's nuanced one, especially). But, hey, different opinions and reactions! Also, coincidentally, The Duke of Burgundy has been on my watch list for quite some time.
 
#42: Stars Wars: The Force Awakens
Of course I was gonna see this movie whether it was on the list or not. And it's pretty surprising to me that it is. Not because it doesn't deserve to be, it actually fits in with classic Star Wars like a glove. But you'd think it'd have to be REALLY fucking good just for people not to underrate it due to expecting too much. Mind you, I don't know if the first 2/3 are really as good as the old movies, but the last 1/3 starting at Starkiller Base is some of the best shit we've ever seen in Star Wars, including the absolute best lightsaber fight. Been meaning to make a more spoilery post in the other thread for a while now.

#128: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
I actually watched It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas. I guess that's not a surprise, but it's the other big Capra/Stewart outing. I don't think Mr. Smith is as good, but it's still pretty good. It's a little soft and naive for a film about capital corruption, and I must have fucking hallucinated it when the main character assaults about a dozen reporters with no consequences. Still, I came out of this movie thinking that we really need another non-partisan movie about political corruption. And while Stewart is very good, Jean Arthur and her character really steal the show, esp for the portrayal of a female character in the 30s. The thing that hurts this film the most was its abrupt ending. Common for the time, but really regretful here.

#129: My Neighbor Totoro
The only Miyazaki movie on the list I had yet to see (but not the last I have to see), this was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. Well made. Ahead of its time. Probably going to be really good to watch with my kids... but not by myself. It's a bit better than Ponyo in that regard; while it's a lot simpler, the lack of excess helps it in this case. But while the subtle angst that permeates Miyazaki's films does exist, there's no real bite, or consequences, or much of a linear narrative at all. Things happen and are cute. I've seen both the English and Japanese dubs for most of Miyazaki's movies, but as per what I've done with everything else on this list I went with Japanese, and I thought the voice acting was super endearing.

#130: The Bridge on the River Kwai
Another long movie that mostly uses its time well, though it sags the most in the middle. It's certainly an interesting dramatic story with amazing acting from all sides, but for the life of me I just can't empathize with Obi-wan's character at all. Bridge is about a Japanese POW camp. Soldiers and officers alike are enslaved to build a bridge over a river. I didn't know this, but I guess the Geneva Convention states that officers can't be made to do manual labor. Far be it from me to argue with the Geneva Convention, but I don't give a shit at all about this. Why shouldn't officers work if soldiers have to? The first hour is spent grandstanding about the injustice of this, but I don't give a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. When Obi-wan finally gets his way and the movie treats it like a big heroic victory, he then decides to help build the bridge quickly and effectively. Now, the movie knows that he's being a questionable prick at this point, but it's supposed to be balanced out by him upholding the convention while his soldiers literally work themselves to death. It's a movie worth watching because it gives you a lot to think about, but seriously fuck this character.

#131: Ikiru
The first Akira Kurosawa movie I've seen that isn't a period piece. It's uh, it's very ponderous. It's also very boring. But I guess it's worth watching, I felt it payed off in the end. There's just a lot to get through, and slowly, before that. Ikiru means "to live", as in the main character has only half a year "to live", but "to live" is also what he's going to start doing for the first time. It's Breaking Good, and with just as many slow scenes, but without television series pacing. I could probably recommend this movie the most next to Yojimbo.

Bonus Movie: Krampus
Instant Christmas classic. Like, holy shit, in a year of 10/10 films, this is maybe the 3rd or 4th best I've seen all year (the other would be Star Wars). I mean, seriously, I'll watch this on future Christmases. It's just an entertaining movie with real holiday spirit, except everybody fucking dies horribly. Lots of families I know enjoyed this together. Go see it while you still can.


I don't know who is reading at this point, but I've been thinking lately. I tried explaining to a friend what Oscar bait was the other day, and I realized that I had NO idea what movies actually qualify as that right now. Even looking into it, I guess The Big Whatever where a bunch of actors used makeup to look ugly will probably get nominated. I have no idea what else will, because Star Wars is overshadowing everything. And frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Star Wars and Mad Max got nominated (but they won't win). I just really don't know what they are going up against at all.
 
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