What I've Been Watching: The Catch-All Film Thread

I don't know about discussing the problem, but the recent queen movie comes to mind. I don't think that is what you meant though :)

Joxer, for foreign movies, checkout ad fundum.
https://imdb.com/title/tt0106218/

For some reason this one came to mind, but it is actually about all the crazy stuff students do at University. From the same director as the loft, which flopped in the US.
 
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I've seen a few movies and shows already about or with "hazing" and I believe it's retarded practice enjoyed only by sadistic psychopats. But if I understood it right, in this one a de facto murder during "initiation" gets covered up.
If I find that one somewhere, will give it a shot. When it comes to corruption, I'm always in. ;)
 
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If it matters, IMO you're not supposed to like anyone in Rashomon. You're supposed to be disgusted.
The movie's job is to show us how "perfect" humanity is by a style unseen previously and rarely, if ever, seen after.
If anyone asked me not what my favorite movie of all times is, but what movie I believe is the most important ever made, it's Rashomon.

Yes, that's certainly true of Rashamon, it's one of those movies that's better than what it is. It has greater importance value than any other metric. I wouldn't say it the most important movie, but that it joins many others in that category of undeniable classics of human nature, from Shakespeare to Twelve Angry Men. The kind of movies you could nod off to if you're in the wrong frame of mind but if you're on the ball while watching they'll blow your mind. Ace in the Hole is another good example, which is relevant here because of how poor Scandal was in comparison with such a similar theme.

Regards not supposed to like any of them, sure, but you can make unlikable characters likeable rather than just irritatingly unlikable, it's what marks out the best actors and the best direction when someone can make the most reprehensible characters the characters you find yourself rooting for. I actually made a huge mistake in my review where I said Se7ev was based on it when I actually meant The Usual Suspects, and, of course, I feel real dumb now, so I'll go edit that right away, but The Usual Suspects did exactly that, it made you like all of the despicable characters.

It's a very fine line to tread, which is why its never been retried I suppose, it's such a mammoth feat to achieve that specific theme of presenting characters who you loathe and are supposed to loathe while also making them not seem cartoony or pulpy. The Usual Suspects went the pulpy route and succeeding in making it very watchable but at the cost of having a serious unpinning of the concept, it doesn't have that sense of impact to your very soul, just an impact to your sense of thrill, like when watching a magician.

But mostly the problem was the hamming, the overlong silly sword fights, stuff like that. One of the core problems with Akira that you'll find in all his movies I've noticed is that he's not shy of lingering on a scene for too long, trying to make every scene have too much of an impact, which usually just succeeds in making his movies too long for their own good and dilutes the moments that deserve the lingering emotional cues. In this regard he reminds me a lot of Clint Eastwood, another director who for some reason hates editors.

I'm not sure if this format would work for a tv series, let alone a ten parter. This is the kind of story that really needs to be fast and punchy, the whole message taken in in one go like any good mind bending drug. PoV is quite old hat but telling a perfect tale in the length of a movie is the gold dust. Like, imagine if An Inspector Calls was made into a ten part series, yeesh, doesn't bare thinking about.
 
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Watched a couple of movies I quite enjoyed. The Perfection, which successfully ambushed me, as it sets itself up as one type of film, and then mutates into… something else. Not a great film, but it held my interest.

Then saw I Am Mother, which I thought was a solid bit of old-fashioned sci-fi. Not very original, but quite deliberately-paced and bleak, which is how I like my sci-fi.
 
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Partial quote:
Wasn't sure what'll happen, but I actually like Viy.
<cut>
Lower your expectations, fire it up and I promise you'll have fun.

Viy 2 will appear in a few months and won't be happening in Russia but in China. Jason Flemyng will remain in his role, while newcomers in the sequel are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan and Rutger Hauer. Hollywoodcentric youtube channel Looper predicts Viy 2 will be rubbish, because, yeah, it's Russia|China|USA joint production so it has to suck. Maybe it will, but I just can't wait to watch it. :)
Here's a middlefinger to Looper.
It took more than a few months. But it's finally coming. Viy 2 got Aug. 16 release date in China and Russia.
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2...hwarzeneggers-fantasy-action-film-to-release/
The film was originally shot in 2017 and even had a teaser trailer released for it back then. If you haven’t heard about The Mystery of the Dragon Seal despite the fact that it is the first time the pair has appeared together in a film, that makes sense. It’s a sequel to the Russian mega-hit Forbidden Empire (also known as Viy), which never really made it outside of the country in any big way. However, given its success there, the producers decided they’d go bigger and hopped on the trend of aging action stars beating each other up. (Or at least the teaser trailer suggests a Chan/Schwarzenegger fight). It’s the one matchup that The Expendables couldn’t pull off.

The movie will continue the adventures of the English explorer played by Jason Flemyng (Jonathan Green) as he maps the Russian Far East. On that trip, according to the official plot description, he’ll meet monsters, princesses, dragons, and martial arts experts.
I know everyone here is eagerly waiting for the next superhero movie, or perhaps Transformers 34785638754. :p
I'm kinda superexcited over the exotic above. The first one was fun, I don't care USA or India market completely ignored it, maybe it's for the better as then there wasn't some silly remake (although Viy was a sort of a remake), thus I bet the sequel will get even more crazy.
 
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The Raid - 6/10

Very well done, considering the budget. Still a stupid action movie.

John Wick 3 - 4/10

Incredibly hollow and stupid - but I guess it looks kinda cool.

Hold the Dark - 7/10

Very atmospheric and rather engaging. Not exactly a masterpiece - and a little too pretentious with too much violence for the sake of violence.

Still, it had something about it.
 
Saw the movie Skin, with Jamie Bell. It's based on the true story of a nazi skinhead who covered his face and body with extreme tattoos, and then what he went through to change his life and get them erased.

Solid movie - nothing too original, but well made.
 
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Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

Not sure if it's just me or if Tarantino has lost his mojo, but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. For one thing, it was waaaay too long, and most of it was filler that wasn't all that entertaining. The final 30 minutes gives us a cool twist on a real-life event, but you have to sit through 2-1/2 hours of mostly "meh" to get to it.

6/10
 
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I'm not expecting much from it.

Tarantino was always about doing the superficial movie-because-movie stuff really well. But such things can only go on for so long.

I'm gonna check it out one of these days, but I'm not in a hurry.

I thought Hateful Eight was awful - and it didn't even work on a superficial level.

In a way, Tarantino is just another variation of the Marvel movies. It's pretty much the same thing over and over again, based on the success of the original formula.

At least he's planning to retire.
 
I didn't like Hateful Eight either. You'd have to go all the way back to 2009 (Inglourious Basterds) for the last time I really liked one of his films.
 
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Yeah, something like that - IB was fun. I liked Django Unchained until the last 30 minutes or so.

I think my favorite is Kill Bill - but I never thought of his movies as anything but superficial popcorn stuff. Pulp Fiction obviously changed modern cinema - but I never really found it to be a great or profound movie. Highly entertaining, though.
 
I wish I could join this debate but I've been avoiding hollywood's mainstream as much as I can thus hateful eight and inglorious bastards are still waiting (could do them in next few days though, the heat is making me not in the mood for games).
Should I? I have so many other titles to watch, each more crazy and exotic than another.

Lemme put up two examples from last week.

Gozu is one of the craziest movies I've seen in my life, impossible to describe in a few sentences. Truth to be told, I can't describe it in any number of sentences, all I can say is that I can't believe the seriousness of every actor in it. Another thing I cannot pinpoint is it's genre, has everything possible in it and more. A genre of it's own perhaps? Numerous surreal and insane scenes weren't enough, it also contains the anti ME3 ending. While ME3 tried to copypaste Evangelion but ended as an overlong phylosophical bullshit with choose a number you'll fail for sure TV Hugo game idiocy, Gozu cuts it short in a way "did you like what you saw? yes? well fuck you."
A masterpiece for 18+ you need to watch before dying.

Woman at War is not an adventure nor comedy. As usual, imdb adds genres randomly and incorrectly. It's a not boring drama about an eco activist who forgot she applied for child adopting 4 years back and now she has to choose between sabotaging ecology threatening big companies backed by currupt politicians or forgetting it all to become a mother.
The scenery is absolutely amazing, I've never had an idea Iceland looks so beautiful. Chased by helicopter scenes are top notch art, characters are awsome (example: a helper who doesn't care about any of eco bullshit, but well, she might be his cousin so he helps).
And finally, this is a first time I'm seeing music used in the movie performed on screen with active participants. An instrumental trio appears out of nowhere when needed, the same goes for ukrainean vocal trio (sound similar to famous Trio Bulgarka, maybe they're called trio ukrainka? Or it's just a pop reference, dunno). Not only they play/sing some music but also add to the story, turn off tv via remote for example. I loved this uniqueness, some might not.
This movie is not for everyone. Skip if you suck at singing (MC leads a choir) and if you can't believe a movie can be good - without explosions.
Watch definetly if you want to taste something exotic.
 
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I quite liked Hateful Eight. It was beautifully shot, and loved the actors and all the little scenes. I've found it very tense. I also loved Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained.

For some reason, being in Germany right now, I can only find an English VO for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in august, so I hate to wait until then. But I'm excited. All I want from his movies is tense situations with people talking about different stuff. He's managed to keep the tension with just that, so I'm excited.
 
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I've always found Tarantino very hit and miss, but I do think he has a touch of brilliance. When he's firing on all cylinders, like Pulp Fiction and Basterds, it's something unique. He takes an idea that shouldn't work at all, and does it in a style that's original and very engaging.
 
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Tarantino is someone I'll always head out to the cinema for, all circumstances being practical. Failing that and I'll usually get them quite quickly on DVD. He's never made a real duffer as far as I know, I haven't seen Grindhouse/Deathproof yet but that's the only directorial work of his I haven't seen, so I never feel like I've been robbed like I do with some other releases, even if he's below par by individual personal tastes.

This one doesn't release until mid-August across the pond.
 
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For me Tarantino always delivery a good movie. Not all of his movies are great but I had fun watching them all. In some ways he does have a "formula" but its applied to different subjects/areas and he only make like one movie every 3 or 4 years so things feel fresh and new.

I will leave this here as I could never get bored of watching this even after million times …
 
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I don't understand all this love for Basterds, I didn't care for it at all. I found the leads completely unappealing. Hateful 8 I did enjoy, but my favorite Tarantino movie is Jackie Brown.
 
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