Media itt: movie/film discussion - Beware Spoilers

The Wolf of Wall Street - 3/10
The first half hour of this film is genuinely really good; the early dialogue flows spectacularly well (despite ramming as many fucks in there as possible) and Matthew McConnaughey dominates the one scene he is in. The quaaludes scene towards the end is well-done and truly depicts rock bottom for our 'protagonists', and the prison shot is some poignant criticism about capitalism.

And while I wholeheartedly agree with that criticism; every part of the film I did not mention in that paragraph inherently contradicts the exact same thing Wolf gets praised for satirizing. There is an undeniably smug aura to the excessive spending sprees and debauchery that Leonardo DiCaprio acts out very convincingly, but as Wolf is based on a novel I can't help but feel a little disgusted by the smarmy and self-indulgent person Jordan Belfort is. The hedonism is almost certainly exaggerated and the insatiable greed is never really condemned. Belfort's only regrets ultimately seem to be getting caught, and it takes away punch from the ending but also makes him so unlikable.

And to be emotionally invested in an unlikable main character for three hours is a tall ask. Especially so when the entire repertoire of jokes consist out of "I am rich, I am a drug addict, and I have a lot of sex". While funny at first, it becomes redundant by its second hour and downright obnoxious by the third. The rest of the side character cast is really flat and underdeveloped, Jonah Hill being the only one getting meaningful screen time. I guess he does okay for what he's given, it's just a poor character overall. Wolf is just a facade, all flash and no substance, completely vapid, and utterly disappointing.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on these films, I acknowledge and respect how you feel about what this movie presents. I just wanted to comment a bit on this. The fact that you feel disgusted about everything that is being portrayed is, I think, enough to show that the movie has made its point about this lifestyle. It doesn't need to necessarily condemn it all in the end, or have the character come to some realisation, because you are getting the message simply by watching it. There is a quote by the editor that I can't find but essentially it says that if you managed to watch the whole thing and didn't end up feeling disgusted, there wasn't much more that could've been done. I just wanted to reply because I see that criticism a lot and my opinion is that the movie doesn't need to moralise throughout on the issue of right or wrong; the audience can come to those conclusions itself.
 
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on these films, I acknowledge and respect how you feel about what this movie presents. I just wanted to comment a bit on this. The fact that you feel disgusted about everything that is being portrayed is, I think, enough to show that the movie has made its point about this lifestyle. It doesn't need to necessarily condemn it all in the end, or have the character come to some realisation, because you are getting the message simply by watching it. There is a quote by the editor that I can't find but essentially it says that if you managed to watch the whole thing and didn't end up feeling disgusted, there wasn't much more that could've been done. I just wanted to reply because I see that criticism a lot and my opinion is that the movie doesn't need to moralise throughout on the issue of right or wrong; the audience can come to those conclusions itself.

that's a good counterpoint and Matt Seitz' review on rogerebert.com gave me further insight in the artistic intention of the film, but I find the argument shaky as the book it adapted was written by the self-aggrandizing, narcissistic con man that is Jordan Belfort, a man trying to move copies. the cover of the book itself claims he lived like a king, the debauchery and insight into a multi-millionaire's life is the original The Wolf of Wall Street's selling point, hence i'm bringing into question the legitimacy of the events presented. Belfort even dubbed himself The Wolf, a perfect showcase of his prideful arrogance.

I feel like that irony is a little lost on Belfort himself but also I feel Scorsese squanders the criticism he's trying to make by literally having a Belfort cameo and paying him seven figures to make a film about him. it inherently contradicts the satire in that 'rich people get away w/ everything' because Scorsese plays into it entirely himself!

furthermore it's just a repetitive slog of the same jokes over and over again and it's time that could just as easily be allocated to analyzing the damage he'd inflicted upon his victims, or something like a point of comparison from the Belfort at the beginning of the film and at the end. or anything else that would actually satirize and break the monotony.

so while I now do believe Wolf is a legitimate criticism of excess and America, I contribute that more to viewers interpretation rather than the way Scorsese intended it to be, because just as easily could it be seen as a celebratory depiction of a reckless no-holds-barred lifestyle that you get from fucking people over
 
I watched 5 martial arts films this week.

The Raid - 8/10
The Raid moves at unrelenting pace, from one gory fight routine to the next. Marvelous and brutal choreography turn this film into a grimy, ballistic musical. These routines are not simply good because of the dazzling editing and widely varied repertoire, but also because they are lengthy and often tense. Fights are entirely rhythmic, weighty in its punches, and go on forever. It is an endless all-you-can-eat martial arts buffet at its fullest potential, only stopping the flurry of punches, stabs, and bullets to catch breath and move the plot forward.

It is a simple predicament: an Indonesian police force raids an apartment complex run by a big drug baron. The squad critically fails and has to fight their way out of the situation. The plot is run-of-the-mill and merely serves as a purpose for the performance art, but suffices nonetheless. The strongest aspect of the setting is the depressive, filthy tenement that adds another layer of dust to The Raid and the lack of frills to distract from its constant highlights.

The Raid 2 - 6/10
The Raid was, to my understanding, a smash hit for Indonesian cinema. Understandably so, for it was martial arts elevated to its highest level this entire decade. And so, The Raid receives a sequel in Berandal, which takes every aspect of its original up a bit.

This means even better, more stunning choreography. Creative techniques, an abundance of crafty and long routines, and more challenging opponents for our main character to shine against. Special effects are top notch and the set pieces are far more varied, notably with different backdrops for our fighters to utilize, but also in a large one-for-all scene at the beginning, or the exhilarating car chase that kept up pace for an absurd amount of time.

Berandal's plot is also significantly more ambitious, although to a fault. Redemption's simplicity was a strength, as it was tense yet never in the way of its martial arts. In attempting a more complex narrative, Berandal knocks speed out of the film. Uninteresting scenes of poorly developed characters meander for too long, for too little of a payoff at the end. The plot is something about the Indonesian mafia clashing with the Japanese mafia, with a third party adding fuel to the fire while our protagonist infiltrates as undercover cop. It is rather weak and a little confusing, but its biggest issue is sanitizing the predicament. Redemption gave us a bloody massacre in a filthy apartment complex, while Berandal gives us shiny clubs and restaurants instead. Part two tries to make up for it by upping the amount of gore and wince-inducing limb breaks, but the situation of it all feels less authentic and, despite its more difficult opponents, at lower stakes than its prequel.

Nevertheless still a marvelous martial arts film that rightfully treats the sports as forms of art, but loses itself a little bit in its ambition and attempts at incorporating more complex elements to a film that reveled in its simplicity.

Drunken Master - 7/10
After disgracing his family, rascal Jackie Chan gets sent to train with a sadistic martial arts master to learn about the power and beauty of alcoholism.

The screenplay is rather juvenile and Jackie Chan overacts a lot, which works really well during the comedic scenes but grates during its downtime. However, Drunken Master captures the essence and ideal pacing of a martial arts film with its simplistic story that merely serves as set up for its phenomenal fighting scenes. Arguably there is one brawl too many, but it is difficult to complain about that as the choreography is so masterful and constantly engaging.

The routines seriously are really good, very rhythmic and easy to follow whilst combining it with slapstick humor. They use swords, sticks, jars, heads, and chairs to vary between duels yet Drunken Master hits its peak in its finale which combines all of what Chan learned throughout the film to defeat a masterful performance by Hwang Jang Lee in a lengthy and surely one of martial arts' finest battles.

(Also I love its sound design, it's so exaggerated in the best possible way)

Drunken Master II - 4/10
Tale about an alcoholic tearing his family apart by getting wound up in a British cultural appropriation conspiracy and a steel mill communist uprising.

Using 1978's Drunken Master as comparison point is logical, yet feels unfair as II is not so much a sequel, rather a similarly drunken-boxing themed film with an eponymous, rascal main character portrayed by Jackie Chan.

Drunken Master II's plot is more ambitious, but is to the detriment of the pacing I praised its predecessor for. Dull story exposition serves as boring downtime whose greatest comedic moments come from hilariously poor English dubbing. At other times II attempts at being a familial drama, but tension is deflated as its meshed with comedy. Anita Mui does a lot to salvage these moments with her phenomenal performance, but Jackie Chan himself does not have the acting chops here to accomplish a subdued sense of humor, unlike his campy acting that sold the prior installment.

The lack of comedy incorporated in action scenes is a serious detriment, but what is worse is the lack of development Jackie Chan goes through. He meanders through the plot yet does not meaningfully change relative to the pictures first scene. Ken Lo's introduction is similarly lackluster, with him beating up our already wasted protagonist, until he disappears until the very final fight. Compare this to Hwang Jang Lee who appears in the first act, beats up Chan in the middle, and after the protagonist progresses beats up the villain in return. The victory is meaningful and cathartic because it confirms advancement.

Of course, complaining about a lack of character growth or weak narrative arcs is mere nitpicking when talking martial arts cinema, but the brawls are, yet again, less adequate than before. They trade in Jackie Chan's exceptional sense of rhythm and creativity for a greater scope, but fending off large groups of drab-colored enemies reduces the effectiveness of clashes and obscures the actual craftsmanship that went into the routines.

On the contrary, the final showdown showcases sensational legwork by Ken Lo in a lengthy set piece and serves as a powerful climax with the famous hot coal scene, but is not nearly enough to elevate Drunken Master II to the level of the original, which surpasses it in practically every facet.

Police Story - 7/10
Man rampages after being disillusioned with his manager and destroys a shopping mall to prove his innocence.
The behind-the-scenes are immense, not just because we marvel at Jackie Chan's incredibly high pain threshold, but also because his perfectionism is showcased quickly. There were three outtakes for that little pen trick he does; it is so marginal, unnecessary even, but those small intangibles culminate in a sense of fulfillment. Police Story is Jackie Chan's most ambitious and outrageous action to date.

That entire shopping mall scene choreography has been etched into my mind and deserves the praise it gets. Every punch is rapid and with force, each blow leading towards the next glass construction to break, the next goon thrown off an escalator, the next fancy trick to awe viewers. But that careful craftsmanship, that keen eye for perfection, is present throughout all the film. The chasing scene where Jackie hooks onto a speeding bus, or the entire brawl utilizing the cars, or even the fancy effortlessness he jumps over fences with. An abundance of overhead angles, repetition, and other nifty editing tricks elevate Police Story, but knowing Jackie Chan goes the extra mile for every stunt he does makes this his most splendid action yet.

Whenever Police Story does not awe viewers with kicks and punches, it is about a police force protecting a witness for the prosecution, but fails to do so as typical Jackie Chan comedy shenanigans ensue. Police Story contains a shoddy plot which obstructs the highlights too often with middling acting performances, but its humor is successful. Never laugh-out-loud funny, but executed in a confident manner.

Police Story is ultimately worth watching if you are intrigued by the memorable set pieces and martial arts mastery, and are able to compromise with a mediocre-to-bad narrative.
 
Alright, so recently, I have watched Mad Max: Fury Road and have really liked it. Its great action scenes, awesome scenery and interesting world building were all features that hooked me to this movie. Now, I was thinking about investing into the original Mad Max trilogy with Mel Gibson, as I thought I could have a similarly positive experience with them as with Fury Road. From what I understand, these movies have become some kind of cult classic within the action films genre without really being able to trenscend this status as Terminator 2 was able to.
Thus, there is my question: should I buy a physical edition of the original Mad Max trilogy, just watch/rent the movies or ignore them?
 
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been watching a lot of movies lately..

High Plains Drifter
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7/10 - Thought this one was pretty interesting, a lot different from other westerns i've seen. has a real ominous aura around the entire movie, like eastwoods character may not be a man at all. like a wandering spirit or a harbinger of things to come. very interesting movie, very morally ambiguous

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The Departed
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9/10 -
awesome fucking movie. when this movie started i was like. theres no way that there is a movie about boston assholes without mark wahlberg in it. and then 20 mins later i felt very validated. incredibly gripping thriller, nicholson is a riot and matt damon is at his best here as a sociopathic masshole.

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Dial M... For Murder!
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7.5/10 -
A whodunnit that gives you the answer. The intrigue is all based around whether or not they actually catch the guy. starts off a little slow but really picks up in the middle. grace kelly is outstanding in this movie, she really sells every single emotion that shes feeling. the final 20 mins of this is some really primo shit.

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Only God Forgives
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5.5/10 -
very methodical movie, very ultraviolent. probably my least favourite Refn movie i've seen so far, it is absolutely gorgeous like the rest of his films

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this is a movie you probably need to see more than once to truly appreciate and on my first viewing i didn't really like it. so maybe i'll come back to it. its very much style over substance. the thai guy who plays the cop is really great.
 
decided to attempt this months letterboxd scavenger hunt https://boxd.it/41mVs

basically every month theres 30 categories and you are challenged to watch them all in a month. i've attempted it before but have never gotten very far.

anyway

MOVIE #1 [Category 31 - A horror film recommended by Guillermo del Toro]
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A deeply disturbing film about the witch trials that occurred in real life under Matthew Hopkins the most notorious witch finder in history with over 300 confirmed murders. The movie is harrowing, vincent price is playing his role to a fucking T. There is this overwhelming dread to the movie where you feel like even if this guy gets caught someone else could easily just take his place and continue on. Ian Ogilvy as the sort of white meat babyface protagonist is very compelling, watching him slowly descend into a frenzy of revenge is a treat.

I gave this movie a 10/10
 
OK so I saw JOKER (2019) a few days ago and I have been sitting on making a post about it. Earlier today a new theory about the movie completely hit me out of the blue and has completely changed my perception of the film.

Spoilers ahead

Arthur Fleck represents a MtF who throughout the course of the movie cracks his egg and is allowed to live freely

At the beginning of the movie you see a man beaten down by the world he lives in, hes forced into standard masculine breadwinner role because of the needs of his mother and the general world that he lives in at the time. Robert DeNiros character represents the only true male influence in his life and he is hidden behind a screen. The scene at the end where he finally gets to talk to him (his dream) ends with him murdering DeNiro and embracing himself for who he is. The real egg crack moment comes earlier in the movie though. The scene where he kills his mother is him rejecting societies gender roles and saying im no longer going to be the man who takes care of you, i'm going to be the woman who takes care of me. This leads to his liberation moment where he removes all of the negative male influences from his life and ends up reconciling with the woman down the hall.

Just think about who he kills in this movie: 3 Dudebro wall street guys, his coworker who has made fun of him and got him fired for who he is, and DeNiro. At the end of the movie when hes finally embraced by the crowd is like the world finally accepting him for who he is. Don't even get me started on what Thomas Wayne represents.

This movie feels deeply personal, and intimate - especially for a comic movie.
 
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I ranked my top 25 films of all time on discord a while back.

1. American Psycho
2. Donnie Darko
3. The Mummy
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. Good Will Hunting
6. Marie Antoinette
7. Layer Cake
8. Melancholia
9. Moneyball
10. Goodfellas
11. The Talented Mr Ripley
12. Requiem for a Dream
13. What We Do In The Shadows
14. Tigerland
15. The Virgin Suicides
16. The Big Short
17. The Bourne Identity
18. Casino Royale
19. Elizabethtown
20. The Big Lebowski
21. Gods and Monsters
22. Cruel Intentions
23. The Martian
24. Burn After Reading
25. In A World

Would be interested to see your lists.
 
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definitely

1. logan
2. pulp fiction
3. american beauty
4. clerks
5. the incredibles
6. inglourious basterds
7. the big lebowski
8. whiplash
9. goodfellas
10. captain america: the winter soldier
11. trainspotting
12. a clockwork orange
13. taxi driver
14. scott pilgrim vs. the world
15. zodiac
16. monty python's life of brian
17. monty python and the holy grail
18. full metal jacket
19. mary poppins
20. the shining
21. good will hunting
22. menace II society
23. kill bill vol 1
24. mid90s
25. dead poets society

honorable: reservoir dogs, a hard day's night, battle royale, spider-man 2, austin powers 2 and 3. joker could make the cut soon
 
LISTS EH

1. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
2. Inside Out
3. Lives of Others, The
4. Princess Mononoke
5. Speed Racer
6. West Side Story
7. Cloud Atlas
8. Matrix, The
9. The Sixth Sense
10. Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The
11. Kill Bill (The Whole Bloody Affair)
12. Groundhog Day
13. Battle Royale
14. Thing, The
15. Wind Rises, The
16. Kubo and the Two Strings
17. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
18. Room
19. Pan's Labyrinth
20. The Handmaiden
21. Fight Club
22. Baby Driver
23. Oldboy
24. Apocalypse Now
25. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

List has changed a lot since I posted my top 250 years back. I pruned about half the movies I used to consider 10/10 so that now only movies that I'm really 99% sure are almost flawless remain. Also Maquia at the head of the list is new. Go watch Maquia.
 
ok this will be tough

  1. No Country for Old Men
  2. Castaway on the Moon
  3. Millennium Actress
  4. Coraline
  5. Conan the Barbarian
  6. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
  7. Sonatine
  8. Chinatown
  9. Rumble in the Bronx
  10. The Mummy (2000)
  11. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
  12. Drive
  13. Perfect Blue
  14. Godzilla (2016)
  15. The Happening
  16. Tokyo Godfathers
  17. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
  18. Why Don't You Play in Hell?
  19. Spirited Away
  20. The Departed
  21. Vertigo
  22. Kumiko the Treasure Hunter
  23. Men in Black
  24. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
  25. Witchfinder General
 
1. vertigo (if this wasnt ur #1 or 2 or worse, not on ur list, ur objectively wrong)
2. Us
3. Alien / Aliens (aliens is better)
4. Yojimbo
5. Get Out
6. Battleship Potemkin
7. Terminator 1 and 2 (and if the matrix is on ur list anywhere I suggest u review reality and figure out which dystopia ur actually gonna live in and thus which is philosophically relevant to ur life and which is a joke)
8. Fantasia
9. All Dogs Go to Heaven (this is the hill i choose to die on, still worthier than american beauty, which btw is the same exact plot as a star is born starring lady gaga)
10. Godzilla Franchise goes here for contributions to sci-fi genre above and beyond all others, established the principle that sci-fi as a genre was abt the visual portrayal of interactions between forces
11. The Shining goes here
12. Citizen Kane
13. 12 Angry Men goes here
14. Django Unchained
15. Trading Places
16. Zero Dark Thirty
17. A Man Escaped (not the great escape)
18. Fargo goes here
19. The Princess Bride
20. The Birds
21. Mad Max Fury Road
22. Lawrence of Arabia
23. Gone with the Wind
24. All About Eve
25. Marnie
 
Bit of a tough one, I don't watch many movies, and I don't really enjoy most of the ones I do end up watching, so coming up with 25 that I'd actually spend time watching again isn't easy. Also comes with the caveat that in almost every single case books are always better than their film adaptions, except possibly Shutter Island where the film comes pretty damn close.

  1. The Outsiders
  2. The Thing (1982)
  3. A Time to Kill
  4. Can I cheat and put Band of Brothers here? Fuck it I'm going to.
  5. Letters from Iwo Jima
  6. Blade Runner
  7. The Godfather
  8. Shane
  9. Kill the Irishman
  10. Shutter Island
  11. Arsenic and Old Lace
  12. Gladiator (don't @ me)
  13. The Warriors
  14. The Godfather Part II
  15. The Godfather Part III
  16. Black Mass
  17. Terminator 2
  18. Terminator 1 (again don't @ me)
  19. Tora! Tora! Tora!
  20. Escape from New York
  21. To Kill a Mockingbird
  22. The Maltese Falcon
  23. Halloween (1978)
  24. A Few Good Men
  25. A Clockwork Orange
 
no order apart from top 4
  1. Margaret
  2. Autumn Sonata
  3. Mulholland Drive
  4. In the Mood for Love
  5. Magnolia
  6. Madame De...
  7. Vertigo
  8. The Age of Innocence
  9. Gone with the Wind
  10. Tokyo Story
  11. Twin Peaks
  12. Celine and Julie go Boating
  13. Carol
  14. All about Eve
  15. Opening Night
  16. Metropolis
  17. The Piano
  18. The Magnificent Ambersons
  19. Safe
  20. The Thin Red Line
  21. Last Year in Marienbad
  22. Three Colours: Red
  23. Interiors
  24. Pain & Glory
  25. Daisies
 
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My top 25 are all just anime. I don’t feel like listing them all bacause anime is just so good.
Am I spamming the thread? I hope not. Do tell me if I am. And if you want me to list all 25 movies.
 
I dont rly have an order (megacoward but also just lazy)

1. No country for old men
2. Burning
3.in this corner of the world
4 whiplash
5 inglorious basterds
6 coraline
7 barton fink
8 o brother where art thou
9 romeo + juliet
10 blair witch project
11 princess mononoke
12 only yesterday
13 taxi driver
14 angels egg
15 FMJ
16 jaws
17 black dynamite
18 battle royale
19 mad max fury road
20 blade runner (lol looking at everyones lists reminded me of other cool stuff)
21 true grit reboot

The fact that I have so many blank spots here shows just how many holes are in my movie watching ouvre. Also my coen bros fetish
But this is a list of the movies ive seen in the last couple yrs that I feel can be argued to be truly great. Definitely want to be watching more cool movies foreign and domestic
 
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