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

Originally Posted by Arhu
Watched 2001: A Space Odyssey, for the first time. I thought I had watched it before but I think it was only 10 minutes of the intro when I was 10 and a few minutes around "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that" a couple of years later, as well as lots and lots of pop culture references.

So… well, I'm glad I finally watched it. Aside from that I don't have much to say. Will probably read the book next.

I'm a massive Arthur C Clark fan and also a big Stanley Kubrick fan, but 2001 left me relatively cold and it's one of Clark's Sci-Fis I've never bothered reading (beyond the initial original short-story The Sentinel).

But then I was never alive and an adult in 1969 when space exploration was the hottest topic on the planet and any form of realistic space travel depicted in movies was a rare event.

As such, I too have never really bothered to ever talk about it much. If you're just starting on Clark and want some good Sci-Fi, I would recommend titles such as The City and the Stars or Childhood's End or even Rendezvous with Rama well before 2001.

There never was a book of 2001 before the movie, so it's not a matter of comparing the book to the movie anyway, it's a book of the movie, not the other way around.

Lamb

The latest horror film from A24. I'd been wanting to see it ever since I saw the trailer. It seemed like a classic mindfuck from a studio that's known for them.

It was interesting, and I think most people who enjoyed other A24 films will like it. That said, it didn't have the kind of impact I was hoping for. It's more weird than creepy, and there aren't any really jarring or memorable scenes in the manner of something like Hereditary.

If you were hyped after seeing the trailer like I was, try to temper your expectations a bit. I'll be curious to hear what others think about it.

First to say I have no idea what is A24.

Second, I hate Hereditary and it is one of the worst movies I have ever seen - but it's not the movie's fault, I hate style over substance mundanities, many love it so they don't have to buy sleeping pills.

Third, it wasn't the trailer style that hyped me, it was the trailer substance. Noomi steals the screen.
If you don't know who that is, do please watch her in The Trip on Netflix.
She is the queen of playing totally different roles, if only she didn't accept some bad scripts (Child 44 for example).

-----

I don't know when will I find time for Lamb as next on my list are russian movies Brother and Brother 2, then a few (g)old HongKong movies from 80s.

After HK back to "mother russia" and their Cuckoo. Then towards east and korean Welcome to Dongmakgol - not a remake of the russian Cuckoo, but the story idea is very close so I want to compare the two.

-----

About Arthur Clark, he had ingenious ideas and some that weren't really good.
The problem I have with him, and not only him, Jodorowsky is the similar type of an author, he copypasted the same ideas accross his different books.
This doesn't make him bad, majority of authors have no good idea at all. It's just every next book I have read was not as exciting as his previous ones.
And you know I hate been there done that, it's grinding!
Regardless of what you think about him, on thing you cannot miss to notice. His books are all substance over style. That's what makes him one of the top authors ever, even if you are rereading same stuff in different wrapping.

Originally Posted by lackblogger
I'm a massive Arthur C Clark fan and also a big Stanley Kubrick fan, but 2001 left me relatively cold and it's one of Clark's Sci-Fis I've never bothered reading (beyond the initial original short-story The Sentinel).

I quite liked the story, but the movie's just too… slow at times. I'd consider the book a must-read if you're into SF though (the sequels less so). Maybe it helped that I read the book first, then saw the movie.

Originally Posted by lackblogger
As such, I too have never really bothered to ever talk about it much. If you're just starting on Clark and want some good Sci-Fi, I would recommend titles such as The City and the Stars or Childhood's End or even Rendezvous with Rama well before 2001.

I'll second the recommendations for Childhood's End and Rendezvous with Rama.

I'll agree that the book version of 2001 is better than the film, yet I've never found the movie dull or boring, and I think I've watched it at least on five occasions. The books get a bit blander after the first, yet I'd still say they're well worth reading.

Originally Posted by joxer
First to say I have no idea what is A24.

Second, I hate Hereditary and it is one of the worst movies I have ever seen - but it's not the movie's fault, I hate style over substance mundanities, many love it so they don't have to buy sleeping pills.

Third, it wasn't the trailer style that hyped me, it was the trailer substance. Noomi steals the screen.
If you don't know who that is, do please watch her in The Trip on Netflix.
She is the queen of playing totally different roles, if only she didn't accept some bad scripts (Child 44 for example).

https://a24films.com/

As for Noomi Rapace, she's ok in Lamb. The acting in the film didn't blow me away, but it's decent. I liked Noomi in Prometheus, but I'm not sure if I've her in anything else.

Originally Posted by lackblogger
I'm a massive Arthur C Clark fan and also a big Stanley Kubrick fan, but 2001 left me relatively cold and it's one of Clark's Sci-Fis I've never bothered reading (beyond the initial original short-story The Sentinel).

It's worth reading as a companion piece to the movie, because it explains some shit. The movie made me go "huh!?" in parts, and the book made me go "ohhh". It was written at the same time as the development of the movie, so it's not a traditional novelization or whatever.
I've read the three sequels and they're worth reading, though the last (3001) is rather insubstantial. Good to see the fate of key characters, though.

If you're just starting on Clark and want some good Sci-Fi, I would recommend titles such as The City and the Stars or Childhood's End or even Rendezvous with Rama well before 2001.

Amen to that. Three great books.

Originally Posted by JDR13
https://a24films.com/

As for Noomi Rapace, she's ok in Lamb. The acting in the film didn't blow me away, but it's decent. I liked Noomi in Prometheus, but I'm not sure if I've her in anything else.

She shot to fame after her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (the originals, not the US remake).

I'm very keen on seeing Lamb, but I imagine my options are limited.

Originally Posted by Shagnak
I'm very keen on seeing Lamb, but I imagine my options are limited.

My options were limited as well, but it's available if you know where to look.

Originally Posted by Shagnak
She shot to fame after her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (the originals, not the US remake).

I'm very keen on seeing Lamb, but I imagine my options are limited.

The Millenium trilogy, yes.
You saying a remake was made? OMG…

Originally Posted by JDR13
I liked Noomi in Prometheus, but I'm not sure if I've her in anything else.

Apart from the new The Trip movie just added to Netflix, some notable movies with her you might have watched are:
- criminally underrated psychological thriller/horror Babycall
- a crime drama with some actor from the overrated Sopranos who did a great job in The Drop
- ingenious childcontrol distopia What Happened to Monday?

I saw a movie that's been on my recommended list for some time now. The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke. I haven't seen any of his other movies, but there's always a certain level of reverance when I hear his name mentioned. So I was suspecting I would either not like it, or find it pretentios or something.

Well, I was wrong. It's a pretty great movie, even though it's very troubling. It depicts a german village during the years just before start of the first World War. And it's intense, but still pretty believable.



Anyway, pretty great movie. I intend to look for his other recommened ones, like Funny Games, Amour and Cache, to name a few that I keep hearing recommened.

In the mean time, I've started a movie that my SO really wanted to see. The russian anti-war film, Come and See. I was skeptical to see it right after White Ribbon, since I'd gotten enough of a depressing viewing experience from that, but this is a different kind of depressing. We're only about 30 mins in, so we need to see the rest of it, but it seems promising. In an awful kind of way. I don't really like seeing children in a war movie, as I find that kind of manipulative, but the main child actor is pretty great. I guess so is his friend, the girl he meets along the way.

Michael Haneke is well worth a watch, IMO.

Watched The Paper Tigers: very enjoyable action/comedy that is witty, light-hearted, good story and does not take itself seriously. Was hooked from beginning to end - highly recommended.

I watched A Quiet Place 2 last night, after kinda liking the original A Quiet Place and finding the setting interesting, thought it was worth a shot for a Halloween date night with my partner.

I have to say, I would be hard-pressed to find a movie with more plot holes, narrative incongruencies, and generally irrational behaviour from every character, along with forced, unbelievable emotional moments that feel uncalled for and destroy the pace of the events, if there was any.

I really like Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy, but geez, feels bad to see them in this complete mess of a film.

Do not recommend.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Anyway, pretty great movie. I intend to look for his other recommened ones, like Funny Games, Amour and Cache, to name a few that I keep hearing recommened.

Haneke's reputation is deserved, imo. I haven't seen Amour, but I liked the other two in your list quite a bit.

Originally Posted by Nereida
I have to say, I would be hard-pressed to find a movie with more plot holes, narrative incongruencies, and generally irrational behaviour from every character, along with forced, unbelievable emotional moments that feel uncalled for and destroy the pace of the events, if there was any.

Completely agree. I hate-watched it after the first ~30 minutes. I like Emily Blunt too (her nail/bathtub scene is imo the best scene of the first film), and she was largely wasted.

"What were the overheard words by the Nazi child masturbating in the bathroom?

Second time watching Knives Out. Such a fun, well-written movie

Wanting to see Doctor Sleep, I rewatched The Shinning. Pretty good, but somehow not that impressive anymore. The atmosphere is still spot on. But overall, I feel the movie is not as impressive as Dr. Strangelove or 2001 or Eyes Wide Shut.

I'm about halfway through Doctor Sleep, and I'm not really feeling it. It's decent. It's not bad at all, but I just don't find the idea all that inspiring or intriguing. Usually when a film is good you're hooked. I'll probably finish the last half later on, and I'll be surprised if I feel very differently.

I watched a horror movie from 2012, "Would you Rather".

I have to admit, it was pretty good. It has a sort of horror movie appreciation fan to it, where a lot of horror movie genre fans seem to like it, judging from reviews. I recommend it mainly because of Jeffrey Combs, who plays the lead villain in it. If you are a fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he is the guy who played Weyoun.

He is an excellent actor, and if you are a fan of DS9 like I am, you will recognize his voice and mannerisms immediately in the movie. He definitely puts a little bit of Weyoun into his character, that is for sure, in how he is very well mannered and well spoken, and tries to be charming, and so on.

As far as the movie plot, ok, its just a standard type of silly horror movie plot, where a group of (common) people who are down on their luck, and desperate for money, are chosen to attend a "dinner party" at a mansion, and they are told they will have a chance to win a huge sum of money, and basically have their whole lives turned around by solving all their money problems, if they are the eventual winner.

But the true nature of the game is not revealed until after all the people have agreed to the terms, and so they don't realize how twisted this "game" really is, until its too late.

Its very good psychological horror with a charismatic lead villain in Jeffrey Combs.
I would say its basically like a classic version of a Twilight Zone episode, but one where its very dark, like a dark moral fable - for me I loved the ending, but others may think its too dark, and be disappointed.