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Media itt: movie/film discussion - Beware Spoilers
- Thread starter Jebus McAzn
- Start date
An American Werewolf in London (1981) 4/10
A rewatch. I remember seeing this as a kid and thinking it was really weird. Since I have friends who like it, I figured I'd give it another shot. Well, I understand it a bit more, but the reason only the strangest scenes were memorable is because so little else happens. There's very little London even in this film.
Shock Treatment (1981) 7/10
The sequel to Rocky Horror Show, but it's less Science Fiction Double Feature and more Network. It's infamous as a bad sequel. While it couldn't easily live up to the original, there's a lot of great music here. It's what is in between the music that is less compelling. There's some conspiracy subplot they keep jumping back to and I couldn't care less. It's also sad that Brad and Janet get recast, but the two who replace them work instantly. In fact, I absolutely adore Jessica Harper and am saddened that she never had much of a film career. As for Brad, I know in the original you're supposed to drown at his scenes by shouting asshole at him, but he's not even a character for almost the entirety of this film. Also the ending is pretty lackluster. It also really hurt this film that it was a satire of reality TV 15 years before that really existed. So it's not a bad sequel at all. I'd watch it again. But I definitely prefer the original.
The Wicker Man (2006) 3/10
If you've seen the montage on youtube of Nic Cage doing goofy things sometimes while dressed as a bear, you've seen the best parts of the film. Most of the "horror" comes from them wanting us to think the main character is going crazy, but why? There's no real supernatural element in the end. He's not crazy, just really dumb. Still, I felt this was a bit overhyped as far as bad movies go. It is pretty standard for a lousy remake.
The Visit (2015) 5/10
A big career comeback for M. Night Shyamalan. When this movie was released, he won Glorbulon 5's award for great humon dialogue. Ok but really I'm a bit stunned that in 2018 I could watch a Shyamalan movie and not see a twist coming. Maybe that's because there are a lot of plot contrivances, but I still though the last third of the film was pretty cool. Too bad you have to endure the first two thirds to get there.
Carrie (1976) 6/10
Not a remotely subtle movie, but it's from Brian de Palma, director of Scarface, so no surprise there. However, Scarface is a lot of fun and Carrie is just pretty tragic. Generally works well as a simple parable about persecution begetting evil.
Freaks (1932) 5/10
Horror movie? That's probably the most demeaning idea, that this is somehow horror. Strange movie. I'd probably tear it to pieces, but knowing that the original 90 minute version is lost forever, it makes me a little sad. So if you have 50 minutes to spare, it's worth checking out. You'll see nothing else like it.
The Evil Dead (1981) 5/10
The last Evil Dead movie I had to see. When a friend showed me The Evil Dead 2, he said that you pretty much didn't need to watch the first. And that's very true. The sequel retcons the original out of existence and is superior in almost every way. And even if you wanted a scarier Evil Dead, the remake is actually better. Still, Sam Raimi has some of his trademark directing habits throughout this film, so it's not really bad. It's just been improved upon so much.
A rewatch. I remember seeing this as a kid and thinking it was really weird. Since I have friends who like it, I figured I'd give it another shot. Well, I understand it a bit more, but the reason only the strangest scenes were memorable is because so little else happens. There's very little London even in this film.
Shock Treatment (1981) 7/10
The sequel to Rocky Horror Show, but it's less Science Fiction Double Feature and more Network. It's infamous as a bad sequel. While it couldn't easily live up to the original, there's a lot of great music here. It's what is in between the music that is less compelling. There's some conspiracy subplot they keep jumping back to and I couldn't care less. It's also sad that Brad and Janet get recast, but the two who replace them work instantly. In fact, I absolutely adore Jessica Harper and am saddened that she never had much of a film career. As for Brad, I know in the original you're supposed to drown at his scenes by shouting asshole at him, but he's not even a character for almost the entirety of this film. Also the ending is pretty lackluster. It also really hurt this film that it was a satire of reality TV 15 years before that really existed. So it's not a bad sequel at all. I'd watch it again. But I definitely prefer the original.
The Wicker Man (2006) 3/10
If you've seen the montage on youtube of Nic Cage doing goofy things sometimes while dressed as a bear, you've seen the best parts of the film. Most of the "horror" comes from them wanting us to think the main character is going crazy, but why? There's no real supernatural element in the end. He's not crazy, just really dumb. Still, I felt this was a bit overhyped as far as bad movies go. It is pretty standard for a lousy remake.
The Visit (2015) 5/10
A big career comeback for M. Night Shyamalan. When this movie was released, he won Glorbulon 5's award for great humon dialogue. Ok but really I'm a bit stunned that in 2018 I could watch a Shyamalan movie and not see a twist coming. Maybe that's because there are a lot of plot contrivances, but I still though the last third of the film was pretty cool. Too bad you have to endure the first two thirds to get there.
Carrie (1976) 6/10
Not a remotely subtle movie, but it's from Brian de Palma, director of Scarface, so no surprise there. However, Scarface is a lot of fun and Carrie is just pretty tragic. Generally works well as a simple parable about persecution begetting evil.
Freaks (1932) 5/10
Horror movie? That's probably the most demeaning idea, that this is somehow horror. Strange movie. I'd probably tear it to pieces, but knowing that the original 90 minute version is lost forever, it makes me a little sad. So if you have 50 minutes to spare, it's worth checking out. You'll see nothing else like it.
The Evil Dead (1981) 5/10
The last Evil Dead movie I had to see. When a friend showed me The Evil Dead 2, he said that you pretty much didn't need to watch the first. And that's very true. The sequel retcons the original out of existence and is superior in almost every way. And even if you wanted a scarier Evil Dead, the remake is actually better. Still, Sam Raimi has some of his trademark directing habits throughout this film, so it's not really bad. It's just been improved upon so much.
Bruce Campbell himself has said the Evil Dead remake was intended to have a more serious tone than the original.
EDIT: Wasn't able to cite source earlier... Season 4 Episode 9 of the SyFy series Face Off
EDIT: Wasn't able to cite source earlier... Season 4 Episode 9 of the SyFy series Face Off
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Finally got a chance to see venom today. It's a must-see for any film fan, because it is hilariously awful. They must have gotten 4 writers to sit down in a room together and consume LSD to come up with this bad of a script. It's so filled with lines that absolutely nobody in the world would say. And I'm not talking about the "Turd in the wind" stuff, it's interactions between Normal Humans that are completely mishandled. Venom's origins and powers have absolutely nothing to do with Spider-Man's established history, with all the visuals and action scenes stolen from the Prototype video games.
I have been on a crusade against Sony pictures for horrible franchise writing for a while, and this film is basically the Sony film to end all Sony films. Product placement everywhere, lens flare, shaky cam, massive cuts in the action scene, plot holes, weird half-ass attempts at political commentary, it has it all. Half of me hopes that this is the end of the Sony Spiderman Villains universe because this was basically an example of how not to make a movie, but half of me wants it to continue forever because it was just that funny.
I have been on a crusade against Sony pictures for horrible franchise writing for a while, and this film is basically the Sony film to end all Sony films. Product placement everywhere, lens flare, shaky cam, massive cuts in the action scene, plot holes, weird half-ass attempts at political commentary, it has it all. Half of me hopes that this is the end of the Sony Spiderman Villains universe because this was basically an example of how not to make a movie, but half of me wants it to continue forever because it was just that funny.
I'm looking forward to watching the movie of the big star Freddy Mercury. Probably the name of the movie will be Bohemian Rhapsody (A Queen's music), and I loved it! Toy Story 4 is also my expectative, I always watched Toy Story and this is one of my favorite cartoons, I really like it and want to be what I will watch in the new movie :').
I do not usually watch the Sony movies even for lack of knowledge of the stories, but I've also been waiting for a movie very well done, because this was the movie of the year and several fans were waiting for this. I thought the writers could have taken more of the story and even of Venom himself, but what I saw the most was a love story in the entire movie, and I was a bit upset. The movie isn't horrible at all, but it's far from being an amazing movie.
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They Live (1988) 8/10
Should have managed to watch this one before Halloween was over. Excellent populist horror. The scariest thing about it is just how much sense it would all make (of course the real world isn't going to make sense or anything). Lots of great lines. Some scenes linger a bit too long, but overall it's still a great film.
Time to Kill (1989) 4/10
Nevermind, this must be the most obscure Nic Cage movie. I'd have been well fucked if someone hadn't uploaded it in English to youtube mere months ago. Somewhat complex films about fascists doing bad things, the consequences thereof, and guilt. I think it's really disappointing that the main character gets off easy in the end. Otherwise it's better than you'd probably expect.
Black Swan (2010) 6/10
An interesting take on the Swan Lake story, but I think somewhat inferior to similar films like The Wrestler and Whiplash. What is supposed to set this apart are the psychological horror elements. I've seen people talk about how much the film shocked them, but it didn't do as much for me.
Tokyo Godfathers (2003) 8/10
The first Satoshi Kon movie to really impress me. Also the one that really caught my attention to begin with. It may not be as thickly psychological as his previous two films, but I think it has a lot more going for it with likeable characters and interesting scenarios. He's better at telling a humanist tale than being a second rate Ingmar Bergman.
The Boy and the Beast (2015) 6/10
This is Mamory Hosoda at his most furry-fetishist and least comprehensible. Bounces between different thematic elements without being able to decide one to stick to. A coming of age story that won't mean anything to anyone who doesn't get stuck in another world and raised in the way of the sword. I guess it's cool sometimes though.
Should have managed to watch this one before Halloween was over. Excellent populist horror. The scariest thing about it is just how much sense it would all make (of course the real world isn't going to make sense or anything). Lots of great lines. Some scenes linger a bit too long, but overall it's still a great film.
Time to Kill (1989) 4/10
Nevermind, this must be the most obscure Nic Cage movie. I'd have been well fucked if someone hadn't uploaded it in English to youtube mere months ago. Somewhat complex films about fascists doing bad things, the consequences thereof, and guilt. I think it's really disappointing that the main character gets off easy in the end. Otherwise it's better than you'd probably expect.
Black Swan (2010) 6/10
An interesting take on the Swan Lake story, but I think somewhat inferior to similar films like The Wrestler and Whiplash. What is supposed to set this apart are the psychological horror elements. I've seen people talk about how much the film shocked them, but it didn't do as much for me.
Tokyo Godfathers (2003) 8/10
The first Satoshi Kon movie to really impress me. Also the one that really caught my attention to begin with. It may not be as thickly psychological as his previous two films, but I think it has a lot more going for it with likeable characters and interesting scenarios. He's better at telling a humanist tale than being a second rate Ingmar Bergman.
The Boy and the Beast (2015) 6/10
This is Mamory Hosoda at his most furry-fetishist and least comprehensible. Bounces between different thematic elements without being able to decide one to stick to. A coming of age story that won't mean anything to anyone who doesn't get stuck in another world and raised in the way of the sword. I guess it's cool sometimes though.
Going to see this tomorrow night:
Events like this are why we independent cinemas are so important; really looking forward to seeing this.
Events like this are why we independent cinemas are so important; really looking forward to seeing this.
Update: Nosferatu was great. Really excellent photography and visual direction+it’s aged incredibly well despite being a silent film. The live electronic score that was behind it at the cinema did a really good job of handling the tone and increasing tension too, although I do wish that they’d provided a bit more tonal relief in the scenes where the atmosphere didn’t need to be tense as that alone would have made the tension in other scenes that much more palpable, but that’s just a minor complaint about the specific screening I saw and not really something I minded a whole lot.
Saw The Pink Panther Strikes Again earlier and god damn it Peter Sellers is a fucking genius comedy actor (especially when paired with such superb comedy writing). I think probably the thing that I respect the most about the Pink Panther films is that they don't try to "say" anything and exist purely for the purpose of making you laugh and nothing else, which is a concept that I think a lot of series and movies tend to stray away from nowadays (often without good reason to), and when they do go for the much more entertainment-centric approach of the Pink Panther I can't help but notice how they almost always pale in comparison to Peter Sellers' portrayal of the world's most incompetent detective. It's probably not a hugely controversial statement for me to call him the greatest comedy actor who has ever lived, and every time I watch one of these films it always reaffirms that opinion spectacularly. And this is before accounting for Henry Manccini's brilliant score. Needless to say this was a barrel of laughs and a total joy to watch.
Ryan Reynolds as a Pikachu though. Think about it, RYAN REYNOLDS as a Pikachu! I don’t care if this movie sucks I’m watching the shit out of this.
Mr. Mime has dodgeball shoulders and I can't unsee that.
I actually think it looks promising! The comedic notes in the trailer hit pretty well, it's a neat concept, and the VFX looks like it will be spectacular, they did well to hit on a balance of realism/cartoony.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) 3/10
Revenge of the India bomb. This film was by all accounts pretty gutless and destined to be forgotten as soon as it was released, but alas, here we are at #147 on imdb. I tried to have an open mind and find some moderate entertainment but good lord is this film insufferable. 2/3 fuck you, we're Queen, we're the best band, 1/3 Freddie Mercury learning that the only real love is straight love. Bewildering that last bit. Rami Malek really disappears into the role of Rami Malek jutting his chin out.
Sanjuro (1962) 7/10
I said it about Yojimbo, so I'll say it about the sort-of sequel. Akira Kurosawa's skill in film making is better appreciated with simple films like this than overblown epics. Toshirou Mifune is one of the coolest dudes in cinema. Both are well worth a watch.
Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) 4/10
Annoyingly sneaky anime tie-in movie (I only just found out it was). Features life lessons that really have no relevance for high school students. Struggled not to fall asleep.
Revenge of the India bomb. This film was by all accounts pretty gutless and destined to be forgotten as soon as it was released, but alas, here we are at #147 on imdb. I tried to have an open mind and find some moderate entertainment but good lord is this film insufferable. 2/3 fuck you, we're Queen, we're the best band, 1/3 Freddie Mercury learning that the only real love is straight love. Bewildering that last bit. Rami Malek really disappears into the role of Rami Malek jutting his chin out.
Sanjuro (1962) 7/10
I said it about Yojimbo, so I'll say it about the sort-of sequel. Akira Kurosawa's skill in film making is better appreciated with simple films like this than overblown epics. Toshirou Mifune is one of the coolest dudes in cinema. Both are well worth a watch.
Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) 4/10
Annoyingly sneaky anime tie-in movie (I only just found out it was). Features life lessons that really have no relevance for high school students. Struggled not to fall asleep.
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Fire Birds (1990) 3/10
Lame ripoff of Top Gun except its about the war on drugs instead of being about... absolutely nothing. On the one hand, the conflict in Top Gun is nonsense. On the other hand, it's hard to look back on the drug war in 1990 with the patriotic fervor the movie wants us to. Anyway, it was a pretty unhinged era for Nic Cage, so there are at least a few fun scenes.
Overlord (2018) 7/10
Would be a more entertaining war movie than usual just on the strength of its direction alone even before factoring in horror elements. Not the best movie to write home about, but probably the best Resident Evil movie we're gonna see.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) 7/10
Very interesting movie. One monk's life is shown through a set of Buddhist parables, each about 20 minutes long. It's a quiet film that takes its time with things, but each segment is poignant enough to justify this.
Paprika (2006) 5/10
Rodan was right about this being Kon's worst movie (although it is wildly different from Inception). It just seems pretty indulgent and nonsensical. Treads a lot of same creative ground as Perfect Blue, but bizarrely hinges on the main character being a sort of magical girl? Stuff happens and the plot is really simple.
A Troll in Central Park (1994) 3/10
Technically I must have seen all of Don Bluth's movies, but some of them I was so young that I really don't remember them. Or in this case I was six and I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this rental. And it just sucks. I guess it still has Don Bluth's animation, but even that is shaky. Just a terribly childish and pointless film. I'd honestly rather watch The Princess and the Goblin, which feels like an animation knock-off except that it actually came first.
An American Tail (1986) 5/10
This has more of what you'd expect from Don Bluth, opening with an antisemitic village destruction and the characters in exodus. Its heavy stuff for children to watch, but I really didn't like the main character or his impact on the overall story. The mice decide to fight back against their metaphorical oppressors by building a giant mechanical mouse and tossing them all into the ocean (take that Trump) and then there are no more cats in America, nobody in the audience believed for a second.
Widows (2018) 7/10
A pretty good heist movie. The cast is great and the characters are really good. Great portrayal of the innate violence towards women in our world. Very nuanced and without black and white morality. Reminded me a bit of The Wire. But then you finish the film and you realize there's a lot of fridge logic there. Like suddenly hiring a babysitter to be their getaway driver. They don't know her. The audience doesn't know her. Or Daniel Kaluuya's character, who gets a subplot where he runs around acting really villainous for no real reason and toward no good resolution. So check it out; it might be a best picture front runner, but there have been better films this year.
Lame ripoff of Top Gun except its about the war on drugs instead of being about... absolutely nothing. On the one hand, the conflict in Top Gun is nonsense. On the other hand, it's hard to look back on the drug war in 1990 with the patriotic fervor the movie wants us to. Anyway, it was a pretty unhinged era for Nic Cage, so there are at least a few fun scenes.
Overlord (2018) 7/10
Would be a more entertaining war movie than usual just on the strength of its direction alone even before factoring in horror elements. Not the best movie to write home about, but probably the best Resident Evil movie we're gonna see.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) 7/10
Very interesting movie. One monk's life is shown through a set of Buddhist parables, each about 20 minutes long. It's a quiet film that takes its time with things, but each segment is poignant enough to justify this.
Paprika (2006) 5/10
Rodan was right about this being Kon's worst movie (although it is wildly different from Inception). It just seems pretty indulgent and nonsensical. Treads a lot of same creative ground as Perfect Blue, but bizarrely hinges on the main character being a sort of magical girl? Stuff happens and the plot is really simple.
A Troll in Central Park (1994) 3/10
Technically I must have seen all of Don Bluth's movies, but some of them I was so young that I really don't remember them. Or in this case I was six and I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this rental. And it just sucks. I guess it still has Don Bluth's animation, but even that is shaky. Just a terribly childish and pointless film. I'd honestly rather watch The Princess and the Goblin, which feels like an animation knock-off except that it actually came first.
An American Tail (1986) 5/10
This has more of what you'd expect from Don Bluth, opening with an antisemitic village destruction and the characters in exodus. Its heavy stuff for children to watch, but I really didn't like the main character or his impact on the overall story. The mice decide to fight back against their metaphorical oppressors by building a giant mechanical mouse and tossing them all into the ocean (take that Trump) and then there are no more cats in America, nobody in the audience believed for a second.
Widows (2018) 7/10
A pretty good heist movie. The cast is great and the characters are really good. Great portrayal of the innate violence towards women in our world. Very nuanced and without black and white morality. Reminded me a bit of The Wire. But then you finish the film and you realize there's a lot of fridge logic there. Like suddenly hiring a babysitter to be their getaway driver. They don't know her. The audience doesn't know her. Or Daniel Kaluuya's character, who gets a subplot where he runs around acting really villainous for no real reason and toward no good resolution. So check it out; it might be a best picture front runner, but there have been better films this year.
Wild at Heart (1990) 5/10
I had just seen Capt Kirby shittalking this movie as being David Lynch's worst (as if Dune didn't exist) just because Nic Cage is in it. This is ridiculous to me as Nic Cage is to acting as David Lynch is to directing. Both are so unconventional and unrestrained, it's a perfect match. But it's also very reminiscent of Raising Arizona... both films by eccentric auteur directors about Nicolas Cage being a southern degenerate and going in and out of prison. And yes, neither are their respective director's best offerings. But Nic Cage isn't the problem here; the plot is too thin for a two hour film. There's also not a lot to parse in terms of subtext and metaphor. The world is chaos and sometimes shit: that's the message, they say it out loud at one point.
Umberto D. (1952) 5/10
I only had to watch this to know that it was directed by the same guy as Bicycle Thieves. The two movies are practically exactly the same. And I still can't get behind this sort of neo-realism. Non-actors are bad actors. But there's a dog in it, and that makes the story extra sad.
Papillon (1973) 7/10
"The penalty for a wasted life is death."
I love prison movies and this one is actually a true story. Maybe that explains why so much of the film is just aimlessly running away. Really you want more of your prison film to be about suffering and planning. Also one of the high points of the film is the friendly bond between Papillon and Dustin Hoffman's character, but Hoffman is missing for large parts of the film. Still it's a classic for good reason.
Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) 5/10
Better than it has any right to be. The plot is ridiculous and the production is unremarkable, but it's surprisingly watchable. Lot of energy from the actors. Several 90s cameos. If Top Gun can be considered a great movie just for being very 80s, then it can't be wrong to get at least a little enjoyment out of this for being very 90s.
I had just seen Capt Kirby shittalking this movie as being David Lynch's worst (as if Dune didn't exist) just because Nic Cage is in it. This is ridiculous to me as Nic Cage is to acting as David Lynch is to directing. Both are so unconventional and unrestrained, it's a perfect match. But it's also very reminiscent of Raising Arizona... both films by eccentric auteur directors about Nicolas Cage being a southern degenerate and going in and out of prison. And yes, neither are their respective director's best offerings. But Nic Cage isn't the problem here; the plot is too thin for a two hour film. There's also not a lot to parse in terms of subtext and metaphor. The world is chaos and sometimes shit: that's the message, they say it out loud at one point.
Umberto D. (1952) 5/10
I only had to watch this to know that it was directed by the same guy as Bicycle Thieves. The two movies are practically exactly the same. And I still can't get behind this sort of neo-realism. Non-actors are bad actors. But there's a dog in it, and that makes the story extra sad.
Papillon (1973) 7/10
"The penalty for a wasted life is death."
I love prison movies and this one is actually a true story. Maybe that explains why so much of the film is just aimlessly running away. Really you want more of your prison film to be about suffering and planning. Also one of the high points of the film is the friendly bond between Papillon and Dustin Hoffman's character, but Hoffman is missing for large parts of the film. Still it's a classic for good reason.
Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) 5/10
Better than it has any right to be. The plot is ridiculous and the production is unremarkable, but it's surprisingly watchable. Lot of energy from the actors. Several 90s cameos. If Top Gun can be considered a great movie just for being very 80s, then it can't be wrong to get at least a little enjoyment out of this for being very 90s.
Mirai (2018) 8/10
I actually saw this twice because I felt a little dismissive of it the first time, but the movie comes together so well in the end. I think I told somebody "Mamoru Hosoda will never make a masterpiece" before and didn't want to look dumb. Did my opinion change a second time? Yes, but not enough to change the score I give the film. It may not be Hosoda's masterpiece but it's probably as good as he's capable of and I wish the whole movie was as good as the ending sequence. It is a bit of a misleading film. I thought it was about a girl from the future visiting her brother, but it seems to exist more in the kid's imagination and the future sister bit is recurring and important but doesn't have much screen time. You might also think it's a Hosoda movie where he wouldn't sneak in his fur fetishism, but you'd be wrong! So it may not be the best anime movie of the year, but at least it provides us with the best anime song of all time.
Sling Blade (1996) 4/10
There are a lot of overhyped films that are critically adored and loved by casual viewers that while bad, still have a lot of objective quality to their filmmaking. This is not one of those films. It is poorly acted, poorly directed, poorly written, and poorly scored (three of these things being Billy Bob Thornton's fault). Now there are plenty of poorly made films that are enjoyable enough, but Sling Blade is insufferably woke and full of forced drama. It's exactly the kind of movie that Tropic Thunder made fun of. Not unwatchable but thoroughly lacking.
Thumbelina (1994) 4/10
It's easy to write this off as a film for little girls, but then you realize that it's also just a ripoff of Pinocchio. Anastasia is infamous for Don Bluth selling out and ripping off Disney, but no one says the same of this one, a film for which the limited celebrity cast consists of actors from Disney's two previous films The Little Mermaid and Aladdin (but don't get me wrong, Gilbert Gottfried is the high point of this film).
I actually saw this twice because I felt a little dismissive of it the first time, but the movie comes together so well in the end. I think I told somebody "Mamoru Hosoda will never make a masterpiece" before and didn't want to look dumb. Did my opinion change a second time? Yes, but not enough to change the score I give the film. It may not be Hosoda's masterpiece but it's probably as good as he's capable of and I wish the whole movie was as good as the ending sequence. It is a bit of a misleading film. I thought it was about a girl from the future visiting her brother, but it seems to exist more in the kid's imagination and the future sister bit is recurring and important but doesn't have much screen time. You might also think it's a Hosoda movie where he wouldn't sneak in his fur fetishism, but you'd be wrong! So it may not be the best anime movie of the year, but at least it provides us with the best anime song of all time.
Sling Blade (1996) 4/10
There are a lot of overhyped films that are critically adored and loved by casual viewers that while bad, still have a lot of objective quality to their filmmaking. This is not one of those films. It is poorly acted, poorly directed, poorly written, and poorly scored (three of these things being Billy Bob Thornton's fault). Now there are plenty of poorly made films that are enjoyable enough, but Sling Blade is insufferably woke and full of forced drama. It's exactly the kind of movie that Tropic Thunder made fun of. Not unwatchable but thoroughly lacking.
Thumbelina (1994) 4/10
It's easy to write this off as a film for little girls, but then you realize that it's also just a ripoff of Pinocchio. Anastasia is infamous for Don Bluth selling out and ripping off Disney, but no one says the same of this one, a film for which the limited celebrity cast consists of actors from Disney's two previous films The Little Mermaid and Aladdin (but don't get me wrong, Gilbert Gottfried is the high point of this film).
Amos & Andrew (1993) 5/10
A comedic film about an innocent black man who gets shot at by the police and their attempts to cover up the waaacky situation. It's a massive understatement to say that this film did not age well. But putting aside how uncomfortable it is, there are some good jokes and a great cast.
Alright Eagle4 you bastard, it was inevitable that I would answer your challenge and take on the Sight and Sound list. I blame you for anything that befalls me from here on out. Starting with:
La Jetee (1962)
Rock-A-Doodle (1992) 6/10
The sort of infamously bad movie that plagued that later half of Don Bluth's career, but while certain scenes don't stand out as much as I remembered from my childhood, as far as bizarre fever dreams go, there are several factors that make this film very watchable. Christopher Plummer gives 110% as the villain and he's just delightful every time he gets a line, as is his sidekick played by Charles Nelson Reilly. Phil Harris is great as the narrator as well. Everything is just so strange and off the wall, but you just can't pause this sort of shit.
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953) 7/10
You know a film is good when it's pretty interesting before you even know ghosts are going to show up. I think this one is better than a lot of Kurosawa films. It suffers a bit from splitting two storylines into only 90 minutes, but there aren't a lot of pre-70s films that I would complain are too short.
Red Rock West (1993) 7/10
Speaking of actually good films, here's an actually good Nicolas Cage film. While it sometimes feels like a cheap noir, it makes up for that with a legitimately interesting plot and a compelling theme, that being that it's difficult to be a good person in a bad world. And while Nicolas Cage's performance is reserved, there are a few gems from him.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) 10/10
And finally we have a 10/10 Nicolas Cage film, and really, a superhero film right up there with Logan. It is the Batman movie I've always wanted. It really begs the question, why are superhero movies live action anyway? Spider-Verse is as crazy as Thor: Ragnarok but can do so much more. It is a sharp comedy with a genuine superhero message and endearing dramatic moments. It is musically on point 100% of the time. It is a team-up movie that works so well because all the character are more alike than different. Once you know that every spider-person was bitten by a radioactive spider, has spider powers, and is motivated by the loss of a loved one, you can look at anime spider-girl and black and white spider-man and know exactly what they are all about in seconds.
Anastasia (1997) 5/10
I thought I had a pretty good memory of this movie, but I rewatched it again just in case I was being biased against it by its poor reputation. And while the bad things I remember about it are still bad, there is some good here as well. It's not hard to imagine a few changes that would have made this a good movie, and the music is a big step up from previous Don Bluth films. The problem is that you'd be forgiven for thinking this is a parody of Disney films at first due the wacky revisionism of rather recent history. Given that Don Bluth had previously distinguished himself from Disney by not pulling punches, actually going into the assassination of Rasputin and the October Revolution as a backdrop for the film would have been rad.
A comedic film about an innocent black man who gets shot at by the police and their attempts to cover up the waaacky situation. It's a massive understatement to say that this film did not age well. But putting aside how uncomfortable it is, there are some good jokes and a great cast.
Alright Eagle4 you bastard, it was inevitable that I would answer your challenge and take on the Sight and Sound list. I blame you for anything that befalls me from here on out. Starting with:
La Jetee (1962)
4/10
It's a slideshow with narration you pompous fucknuts (those being the S&S voters).
It's a slideshow with narration you pompous fucknuts (those being the S&S voters).
Rock-A-Doodle (1992) 6/10
The sort of infamously bad movie that plagued that later half of Don Bluth's career, but while certain scenes don't stand out as much as I remembered from my childhood, as far as bizarre fever dreams go, there are several factors that make this film very watchable. Christopher Plummer gives 110% as the villain and he's just delightful every time he gets a line, as is his sidekick played by Charles Nelson Reilly. Phil Harris is great as the narrator as well. Everything is just so strange and off the wall, but you just can't pause this sort of shit.
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953) 7/10
You know a film is good when it's pretty interesting before you even know ghosts are going to show up. I think this one is better than a lot of Kurosawa films. It suffers a bit from splitting two storylines into only 90 minutes, but there aren't a lot of pre-70s films that I would complain are too short.
Red Rock West (1993) 7/10
Speaking of actually good films, here's an actually good Nicolas Cage film. While it sometimes feels like a cheap noir, it makes up for that with a legitimately interesting plot and a compelling theme, that being that it's difficult to be a good person in a bad world. And while Nicolas Cage's performance is reserved, there are a few gems from him.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) 10/10
And finally we have a 10/10 Nicolas Cage film, and really, a superhero film right up there with Logan. It is the Batman movie I've always wanted. It really begs the question, why are superhero movies live action anyway? Spider-Verse is as crazy as Thor: Ragnarok but can do so much more. It is a sharp comedy with a genuine superhero message and endearing dramatic moments. It is musically on point 100% of the time. It is a team-up movie that works so well because all the character are more alike than different. Once you know that every spider-person was bitten by a radioactive spider, has spider powers, and is motivated by the loss of a loved one, you can look at anime spider-girl and black and white spider-man and know exactly what they are all about in seconds.
Anastasia (1997) 5/10
I thought I had a pretty good memory of this movie, but I rewatched it again just in case I was being biased against it by its poor reputation. And while the bad things I remember about it are still bad, there is some good here as well. It's not hard to imagine a few changes that would have made this a good movie, and the music is a big step up from previous Don Bluth films. The problem is that you'd be forgiven for thinking this is a parody of Disney films at first due the wacky revisionism of rather recent history. Given that Don Bluth had previously distinguished himself from Disney by not pulling punches, actually going into the assassination of Rasputin and the October Revolution as a backdrop for the film would have been rad.
Aquaman: Never in my life have I ever seen an actor carry a movie quite so hard as this one. No other actor could have made this movie work, and by god Jason Mamoa almost couldn't pull it off, but damn it he did. My general summary of the movie is this: meh intro, fucking great first third/half, horrible horrible horrible almost movie-ruining middle, good ending. Amber Heard was all over the place, going from being kick-ass to almost deliberately trying to ruin this movie, to just barely redeeming herself at the end. Willem Dafoe was almost as perfect for his role in this movie as he was Green Goblin, and I was almost waiting to see him ride a manta ray like the hoverboard he did in Spiderman. The actor that played Black Manta could have honestly been a cardboard cutout, but was thankfully not in the movie much probably because of this.
Overall I would give it an 8/10. The visuals and sound (apart from Pitbull) were phenomenal, Jason Mamoa was great, and the story survived the director's best attempts to drive the movie to a complete standstill in the middle 20 minutes. Definitely would recommend getting a popcorn refill and going to the bathroom once the desert sequence starts aka once Pitbull's cover of Africa by Toto starts playing.
Overall I would give it an 8/10. The visuals and sound (apart from Pitbull) were phenomenal, Jason Mamoa was great, and the story survived the director's best attempts to drive the movie to a complete standstill in the middle 20 minutes. Definitely would recommend getting a popcorn refill and going to the bathroom once the desert sequence starts aka once Pitbull's cover of Africa by Toto starts playing.
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Deadfall (1993) 6/10
I had been looking forward to this Nicolas Cage movie more than any other, and I'm glad to report that it is the good kind of awful. It starts hideously cheesy, peaks in the middle with a barrage of Cage outbursts, and just when you think it will get dull, in comes Charlie Sheen in a snake skin suit and the tall man from Phantasm with scissors for hands. Nonsensical, absurd, and incredibly poorly made, but I think it's something everyone should see once in their lives.
Guarding Tess (1994) 1/10
On the other end of the spectrum, you have a film that Roger Ebert gave three and a half stars (a more rabid Nic Cage fan than I). This film is absolute dogshit. At first I thought it was the most tragically unfunny comedy of all time, and don't get me wrong, it's not lacking in groan enducing jokes. But it took me a while to figure out that this film was a knock-off of Driving Miss Daisy. I'm hard pressed to believe Driving Miss Daisy didn't have a bad reputation by the time this knock-off came out, so... why? The film is also made by some alien who seems to understand how to film scenes, but not why scenes exist, which leads to a constant string of "what was the point of that?" moments. This movie has a better IMDB score than Vampire's Kiss. Y'all fucking crazy.
Close-Up (1990) 8/10
Iranian filmmakers are the craziest motherfuckers. Close-Up is a film using real footage from an actual criminal trial... intercut with reenactments of the crime starring the actual people involved, victims and criminal alike. This is absolutely insane. At its core this is a humanist story about a sad man with no opportunities... unless that's bullshit. I mean, if the real person is just full of shit while being filmed, not the film being bullshit... unless the film is bullshit. WE DON'T KNOW! It blurs the lines between fiction and reality so much. Iran is single-handedly why Italian New Wave is dogshit.
The Pagemaster (1994) 5/10
One of the early examples of Isekai, this is a who's who of Star Trek actors with a time tested formula that just works. It's too bad that the 75 minute run time barely scratches the surface of what they could have done here, and that the animation is unremarkable, but it still just passes muster as a nostalgic treat.
One Piece: Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (2002) 2/10
All the first two One Piece films had going for them was good animation. Without that, this one is just garbage. Feels like it should have been a rejected anime filler arc. Childish and with the tired plot of "but I hate pirates!". Focuses on one character which has potential, but does absolutely nothing with him. I don't remember Chopper ever being so cowardly, and he doesn't even get a good fight to prove otherwise.
I should have been watching Jean-Luc Goddard's Histoire(s) du Cinema, but I couldn't find a version with subtitles that bothered to translate even half the film. Yes, one of the alleged best movies of all time isn't even easily watchable. I'll have to spend some money to see it and will likely do so after my vacation.
I had been looking forward to this Nicolas Cage movie more than any other, and I'm glad to report that it is the good kind of awful. It starts hideously cheesy, peaks in the middle with a barrage of Cage outbursts, and just when you think it will get dull, in comes Charlie Sheen in a snake skin suit and the tall man from Phantasm with scissors for hands. Nonsensical, absurd, and incredibly poorly made, but I think it's something everyone should see once in their lives.
Guarding Tess (1994) 1/10
On the other end of the spectrum, you have a film that Roger Ebert gave three and a half stars (a more rabid Nic Cage fan than I). This film is absolute dogshit. At first I thought it was the most tragically unfunny comedy of all time, and don't get me wrong, it's not lacking in groan enducing jokes. But it took me a while to figure out that this film was a knock-off of Driving Miss Daisy. I'm hard pressed to believe Driving Miss Daisy didn't have a bad reputation by the time this knock-off came out, so... why? The film is also made by some alien who seems to understand how to film scenes, but not why scenes exist, which leads to a constant string of "what was the point of that?" moments. This movie has a better IMDB score than Vampire's Kiss. Y'all fucking crazy.
Close-Up (1990) 8/10
Iranian filmmakers are the craziest motherfuckers. Close-Up is a film using real footage from an actual criminal trial... intercut with reenactments of the crime starring the actual people involved, victims and criminal alike. This is absolutely insane. At its core this is a humanist story about a sad man with no opportunities... unless that's bullshit. I mean, if the real person is just full of shit while being filmed, not the film being bullshit... unless the film is bullshit. WE DON'T KNOW! It blurs the lines between fiction and reality so much. Iran is single-handedly why Italian New Wave is dogshit.
The Pagemaster (1994) 5/10
One of the early examples of Isekai, this is a who's who of Star Trek actors with a time tested formula that just works. It's too bad that the 75 minute run time barely scratches the surface of what they could have done here, and that the animation is unremarkable, but it still just passes muster as a nostalgic treat.
One Piece: Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (2002) 2/10
All the first two One Piece films had going for them was good animation. Without that, this one is just garbage. Feels like it should have been a rejected anime filler arc. Childish and with the tired plot of "but I hate pirates!". Focuses on one character which has potential, but does absolutely nothing with him. I don't remember Chopper ever being so cowardly, and he doesn't even get a good fight to prove otherwise.
I should have been watching Jean-Luc Goddard's Histoire(s) du Cinema, but I couldn't find a version with subtitles that bothered to translate even half the film. Yes, one of the alleged best movies of all time isn't even easily watchable. I'll have to spend some money to see it and will likely do so after my vacation.
rip filmstruck
agreed, i was in a full theatre of p diverse makeup and it seemed like it was rly well received. i loved everything about it (direction/screenplay/performances/costumes etc). also probably the only acceptable use of a rape joke ever.
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My top 25 films of the year:
25. SUSPIRIA (dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Holocaust drama contained within a witches' coven. Exposition is a bit iffy but amid the overabundant themes at play, the director's love for the original really stands out. Cracking climax.
24. THE REAL ESTATE (dir. Axel Petersen)
Housing estate drama that plays out like Aquarius meets Good Time meets Rambo. As crazy and divisive as that sounds.
23. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (dir. Russo bros.)
Maybe the best MCU film? Good year for Marvel, what with Black Panther as well, but I was enamoured with the sheer scale at which this thing operates, how everything fits into place, how the stakes feel high and how well Thanos was executed. The ending, as Thanos looks out into the horizon, may be the best thing Marvel has done yet.
22. BIRDS OF PASSAGE (dir. Ciro Guerra, Cristina Gallego)
Follow-up to Embrace of the Serpent is a Colombian drugs trade thriller that applies poetry to a Scorsesian premise. I'm a sucker for films that convey the effects of Capitalism/the modern world, so this one was always likely to win me over.
21. SUPPORT THE GIRLS (dir. Andrew Bujalski)
Lovely, contained, empowering slice-of-life drama detailing a couple of days in the life of workers at a Hooters-esque restaurant. Only occasionally funny but there is so much compassion shown for its characters.
20. ANNIHILATION (dir. Alex Garland)
Takes a while to get going, but its climactic sci-fi spectacle remains one of the year’s most memorable moments, and reverberates back over the Stalker-lite expedition that precedes it.
19. THE IMAGE BOOK (dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
An essay of considerable dissonance, an impenetrable, sensory wall of colour, sound, title cards, ISIS, and old film reels. Was enraptured and terrified in equal measure.
18. JAHILYA (dir. Hicham Lasri)
A quasi-anthological film concerning Moroccan politics by way of Gondry, the microcosmic dreamscape of Hicham Lasri’s Jahilya is one of the year’s best-kept secrets.
17. FIRST MAN (dir. Damien Chazelle)
In Damien Chazelle’s most mature picture yet, he’s managed to make a compelling biopic out of a complete void of a man. Neil Armstrong’s stoicism is weaponised and made tragic, his track-minded motivation to reach the moon’s dusty wasteland mirrored by USA’s space race exploits. It’s a thoughtful, surprisingly restrained character study, bereft of the showy razzmatazz of La La Land while maintaining the knife-edge set-piece thrills of Whiplash.
16. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (dir. Orson Welles)
Orson Welles returns from the grave with The Other Side of the Wind, a Netflix edit-job that boasts a kaleidoscopic film-within-a-film structure, a synapse-snapping flurry of whips, pans, cuts and swivels, a moment where a woman hacks at a giant inflatable penis, and perhaps the best sex scene put to film… ever?
15. DONBASS (dir. Sergei Loznitsa)
A brutal, unflinching study on the process of war for its country's inhabitants.
14. THE FAVOURITE (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
The director's best so far. Three amazing performances, a killer script, and a cracking ending.
13. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT (dir. Lars von Trier)
A self-reflective study that matches murder with art, movie-making with mayhem, serial killers with von Trier, etc. Provocative, but moving, hilarious, a tongue-in-cheek blast disguised as a cry for help.
12. HAPPY NEW YEAR, COLIN BURSTEAD (dir. Ben Wheatley)
I'm a sucker for Ben Wheatley, so of course he was gonna feature. A surprisingly tender portrayal on the nature of conflict within an extended family. Once again, ending for the ages.
11. UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (dir. David Robert Mitchell)
A dreamy wade through LA's underbelly. Operates on so many levels: a send-up of truth-seeking, an ode to the Hollywood of old, an examination of the pathetic privileged male archetype, etc, etc, etc.
10. MADELINE'S MADELINE (dir. Josephine Decker)
An enthused and compelling take on mental disorder fetishism and power roles, Madeline’s Madeline is so full of wonderful ideas that its protagonist’s headspace seems barren in comparison.
9. THE SISTERS BROTHERS (dir. Jacques Audiard)
Moving soliloquy to the Western's tendency to be led astray by violence. Cast is pitch-perfect.
8. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE (dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Lynne Ramsay’s latest pursuit after We Need To Talk About Kevin is an outrageous take on the hitman thriller, shredding the narrative of its excess and then some, until we’re left with husks of characterisation and imagery that resemble some sort of deeply disturbed tone poem.
7. FIRST REFORMED (dir. Paul Schrader)
Love 2 cry at abrupt endings xox
6. SHOPLIFTERS (dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Centered around a ragtag family – that they are unrelated by blood hardly matters – who steal stuff and are overstuffed into a stuffy house, Kore-eda’s Shoplifters knocks the stuffing out of you.
5. BURNING (dir. Lee Chang-Dong)
Rallying cry for a disenfranchised Korean youth, Burning is an ambiguous love triangle that simmers over into a deliciously tense thriller, maintaining its metaphorical heft throughout. Can't wait to revisit.
4. TRANSIT (dir. Christian Petzold)
Unsure what to make of this out of Berlin, but it lingered and lingered and...now it's one of my favourite films of the year. A swooning, mood-mustering chamber piece, a war film plucked from time, every character goes everywhere and nowhere, as if they're walking on treadmills. Ending pin drop is one for the ages.
3. AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL (dir. Hu Bo)
4-hour Chinese electric epic, a study on nihilism with a tender heart. Impossibly moving given the context of the director's suicide. I left the screening a broken man.
2. LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (dir. Bi Gan)
Holy shit this film. A dreamy collage of memories transforms into a memory-tinged hour-long-take dream, effortlessly moving, stunningly choreographed, one of the most transportive experiences I've ever had. I've seen it three times now - each viewing is an improvement on the last.
1. SUNSET (dir. Laszlo Nemes)
Unfairly maligned out of Venice, Nemes has a masterpiece on his hands. A study on how human nature leads to war, and will always inevitably lead to war, this is a politically resonant, capitalist-condemning, showstopping wade through the bustling streets of Budapest. Plays out like a fever dream that slowly suffocates you - this is cinema via asphyxiation. Looooooved it.
25. SUSPIRIA (dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Holocaust drama contained within a witches' coven. Exposition is a bit iffy but amid the overabundant themes at play, the director's love for the original really stands out. Cracking climax.
24. THE REAL ESTATE (dir. Axel Petersen)
Housing estate drama that plays out like Aquarius meets Good Time meets Rambo. As crazy and divisive as that sounds.
23. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (dir. Russo bros.)
Maybe the best MCU film? Good year for Marvel, what with Black Panther as well, but I was enamoured with the sheer scale at which this thing operates, how everything fits into place, how the stakes feel high and how well Thanos was executed. The ending, as Thanos looks out into the horizon, may be the best thing Marvel has done yet.
22. BIRDS OF PASSAGE (dir. Ciro Guerra, Cristina Gallego)
Follow-up to Embrace of the Serpent is a Colombian drugs trade thriller that applies poetry to a Scorsesian premise. I'm a sucker for films that convey the effects of Capitalism/the modern world, so this one was always likely to win me over.
21. SUPPORT THE GIRLS (dir. Andrew Bujalski)
Lovely, contained, empowering slice-of-life drama detailing a couple of days in the life of workers at a Hooters-esque restaurant. Only occasionally funny but there is so much compassion shown for its characters.
20. ANNIHILATION (dir. Alex Garland)
Takes a while to get going, but its climactic sci-fi spectacle remains one of the year’s most memorable moments, and reverberates back over the Stalker-lite expedition that precedes it.
19. THE IMAGE BOOK (dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
An essay of considerable dissonance, an impenetrable, sensory wall of colour, sound, title cards, ISIS, and old film reels. Was enraptured and terrified in equal measure.
18. JAHILYA (dir. Hicham Lasri)
A quasi-anthological film concerning Moroccan politics by way of Gondry, the microcosmic dreamscape of Hicham Lasri’s Jahilya is one of the year’s best-kept secrets.
17. FIRST MAN (dir. Damien Chazelle)
In Damien Chazelle’s most mature picture yet, he’s managed to make a compelling biopic out of a complete void of a man. Neil Armstrong’s stoicism is weaponised and made tragic, his track-minded motivation to reach the moon’s dusty wasteland mirrored by USA’s space race exploits. It’s a thoughtful, surprisingly restrained character study, bereft of the showy razzmatazz of La La Land while maintaining the knife-edge set-piece thrills of Whiplash.
16. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (dir. Orson Welles)
Orson Welles returns from the grave with The Other Side of the Wind, a Netflix edit-job that boasts a kaleidoscopic film-within-a-film structure, a synapse-snapping flurry of whips, pans, cuts and swivels, a moment where a woman hacks at a giant inflatable penis, and perhaps the best sex scene put to film… ever?
15. DONBASS (dir. Sergei Loznitsa)
A brutal, unflinching study on the process of war for its country's inhabitants.
14. THE FAVOURITE (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
The director's best so far. Three amazing performances, a killer script, and a cracking ending.
13. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT (dir. Lars von Trier)
A self-reflective study that matches murder with art, movie-making with mayhem, serial killers with von Trier, etc. Provocative, but moving, hilarious, a tongue-in-cheek blast disguised as a cry for help.
12. HAPPY NEW YEAR, COLIN BURSTEAD (dir. Ben Wheatley)
I'm a sucker for Ben Wheatley, so of course he was gonna feature. A surprisingly tender portrayal on the nature of conflict within an extended family. Once again, ending for the ages.
11. UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (dir. David Robert Mitchell)
A dreamy wade through LA's underbelly. Operates on so many levels: a send-up of truth-seeking, an ode to the Hollywood of old, an examination of the pathetic privileged male archetype, etc, etc, etc.
10. MADELINE'S MADELINE (dir. Josephine Decker)
An enthused and compelling take on mental disorder fetishism and power roles, Madeline’s Madeline is so full of wonderful ideas that its protagonist’s headspace seems barren in comparison.
9. THE SISTERS BROTHERS (dir. Jacques Audiard)
Moving soliloquy to the Western's tendency to be led astray by violence. Cast is pitch-perfect.
8. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE (dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Lynne Ramsay’s latest pursuit after We Need To Talk About Kevin is an outrageous take on the hitman thriller, shredding the narrative of its excess and then some, until we’re left with husks of characterisation and imagery that resemble some sort of deeply disturbed tone poem.
7. FIRST REFORMED (dir. Paul Schrader)
Love 2 cry at abrupt endings xox
6. SHOPLIFTERS (dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Centered around a ragtag family – that they are unrelated by blood hardly matters – who steal stuff and are overstuffed into a stuffy house, Kore-eda’s Shoplifters knocks the stuffing out of you.
5. BURNING (dir. Lee Chang-Dong)
Rallying cry for a disenfranchised Korean youth, Burning is an ambiguous love triangle that simmers over into a deliciously tense thriller, maintaining its metaphorical heft throughout. Can't wait to revisit.
4. TRANSIT (dir. Christian Petzold)
Unsure what to make of this out of Berlin, but it lingered and lingered and...now it's one of my favourite films of the year. A swooning, mood-mustering chamber piece, a war film plucked from time, every character goes everywhere and nowhere, as if they're walking on treadmills. Ending pin drop is one for the ages.
3. AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL (dir. Hu Bo)
4-hour Chinese electric epic, a study on nihilism with a tender heart. Impossibly moving given the context of the director's suicide. I left the screening a broken man.
2. LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (dir. Bi Gan)
Holy shit this film. A dreamy collage of memories transforms into a memory-tinged hour-long-take dream, effortlessly moving, stunningly choreographed, one of the most transportive experiences I've ever had. I've seen it three times now - each viewing is an improvement on the last.
1. SUNSET (dir. Laszlo Nemes)
Unfairly maligned out of Venice, Nemes has a masterpiece on his hands. A study on how human nature leads to war, and will always inevitably lead to war, this is a politically resonant, capitalist-condemning, showstopping wade through the bustling streets of Budapest. Plays out like a fever dream that slowly suffocates you - this is cinema via asphyxiation. Looooooved it.
vice was the best movie of the year. the critical sniping at it comes from fear. it's a movie that is merciless. the final twenty minutes made me think of heart of darkness. marlow on the boat saying he couldnt bear to tell kurtz's intended the truth, saying it was too dark, too dark altogether... there's no too dark for vice. just stares into the black. the horror