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

Interested to hear what other people who have seen the film think.
I'm in the same boat about the new Halloween. Critics seem to love it, but everything I've seen and heard turn's me off. One critic reviewed it positively as a comedy :uhoh:
 
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I didn't even like the old Halloween so I would think my chances of liking the new one are slim to none.

Watched I Think We're Alone Now because I'm a sucker for a good apocalypse movie. It started off well and held my interest all the way through but then it got wacky. Oh, well. At least it's the first post-holocaust move to feature a dwarf as it's leading character. I felt its science fiction premise of Peter Dinklage driving around in any vehicle at will so effortlessly was too wild and I lost my suspension of disbelief early on but still stuck with it
 
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It's a bit strange that the feedback about Venom is so contradictory. The critics suggest it's a load of "tosh" but the public seem to be scoring it fairly high. What I have read suggest that they have packed too much in too little time so it does not hang together. Probably means it requires watching with a pause button.

Interested to hear what other people who have seen the film think. Especially as I might go and see it on Wednesday.

As far as comic book movies are concerned, my opinions tend to line up more with that of critics and often with few at all.

  • Fell in love with Watchmen
  • Found Batman Begins to be "ok"
  • Latter two Nolan Batman movies are a boring pile of overhyped dreck
  • Man of Steel was a dark and gloomy abomination
  • Thor: Ragnarok, probably the best Marvel movie I've seen
  • Avengers: Infinity War, a joke of a tediously long movie with far too many ultimately pointless characters

Definitely no interest in seeing Venom, whether in a theater or on DVD/Netflix.
 
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I liked Man Of Steel. It just resonated with me in those many images of devastation that intentionally conjure up 9/11, and it was the first time I saw Michael Shannon, a good and creepy actor that always plays bad best.
 
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First time I saw him was in Bug (Friedkin), he's incredible in it.
 
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Watched I Think We're Alone Now because I'm a sucker for a good apocalypse movie. It started off well and held my interest all the way through but then it got wacky. Oh, well. At least it's the first post-holocaust move to feature a dwarf as it's leading character. I felt its science fiction premise of Peter Dinklage driving around in any vehicle at will so effortlessly was too wild and I lost my suspension of disbelief early on but still stuck with it

I just saw that recently myself and felt pretty much the same way about it. It started off great but ended terribly. Check out Rememory if you like Dinklage. That one was a lot better.
 
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Are you saying Destiny is a wonderful game if one likes Peter Dinklage? :D
 
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Not related to above.

Can't believe it, but it's true. Koreans went for a remake. Never seen one in the past, okay never noticed probably there are some.
Just as with Hollywood, the remake is unnecessary and silly - the original needs no "corrections".

This remake is The Vanished. Yea, I love asian cinematography, but cmon. There is no way I'd suggest it over the superb spanish original The Body.
Watch the original, skip the remake. I mean either way you'll have to use subs, right? Assuming you can read. :p

Or, if you want another remake of this one, wait for Bollywood's (Hindi) version:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8130904
Lemme rolleyes. I mean at least in this case Hollywood decided not to remake it. Not yet at least. But others did.

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The other day in series thread I've mentioned BBC's gem Bodyguard where the protagonist is a PTSD case, but not severe one as he learned how to hide it. Of course he'll crack at a certain moment and I'll just stop here as the show is best to experience without knowing anything.

What modern cinema lacks of are quality presentations of erratic characters and where better to look for potential ones but in the world of PTSD.
So get one such character who's extreme PTSD case, toss him onto an island ran by a cult that abducted his sister and you have a hit. Or not? Let's see…

The cult worships a certain godess and the "hero" cannot be sure if she's for real of just a part of his hallucinations which look real - just as an actual PTSD case experiences the world. This means there are no blurry and frantic cuts that would tell you okay this is him hallucinating.
As the audience cannot know what's real and what isn't, it still might be possible the goddess is an actual being. And this is where the movie shines. The very same "goddess" is a neutral entity, abused by it's worshippers. It's not really worshipped, it's turned into a tool. Or… Maybe it's not real but just "vision and mission" EA CEO*, erm, um, wait, hopefully not, maybe it's hallucinations caused by the protagonist's illness.
Wether it's one ot another, the movie is not Dartagnan's world where humans are saints. The humanity is rotten one way or another is the message of this the best Jodorowsky's story he didn't write.

I believe Apostle is Netflix' production. Sadly that means, B production. As cheap as possible. You'll notice classic B tropes like introducing a support character who is "in good terms with" the main near the end instead of building the relationship with a few scenes during the whole movie. Or, a sort of villain needs a mask with scars or something on the face - forgeddit and wrap his head with bloodstained bandages, looks equally "scary".
But even with Netflix being cheapskate, performances and the story are so good you won't leave the cinema close your browser with disappointment.

I say, this one is nearmasterpiece.

Warning: The movie contains a highly disturbing scene. If disturbing scenes cause you insomnia or you can't shake them of for days, don't touch this one. This scene is necessary to explain islanders' way of life and is not just a filler, yet because of it I can't write watch before you die as this movie is not for everyone.

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* - Next time someone writes developers or whomever has "visions" and "missions", think carefully on it as it might mean to some you're saying they're sick.
 
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Finally saw Purple Noon (1960). Fantastic adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley. All homosexual subtext was removed and the ending was drastically changed from the Patricia Highsmith novel but I didn't mind one bit. Has some brilliant sequences and the use of sound by the director Rene Clement (who some consider a tragic example of a great director who retired early because he had no idea how to pick good scripts later in life after his classic of world cinema Forbidden Games), like Ripley disposing of the body on the boat and the soundtrack consisting entirely of the wind beating against the unshielded microphones. Hey, maybe it was unintentional (remember that hilarious Benny Hill sketch about critics misinterpreting french new wave directors as "deep?") but it worked. Definitely in the top two of best Tom Ripley movie adaptations, imo.
 
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Man you definetly have a specific taste. I'm not talking about Benny Hill ofc.
Is there a movie without a psycho you like? :D

Got a feeling you're studying locos presentation in movies and not really watching movies for fun. Hopefully I'm right, knew a person who searched an excuse and redemption through movies.
Anyway, for fun, I have to suggest you another "oldish" title, from times when Hollywood knew how to make very interesting movies with psychos even if cheesy and trashy at moments:
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker

If you've already watched it, respect! I know it's a bitch to find it and not pay $5635345693695836534 for DVD/BR.
The only site (apart from ebay overpricing scammers) that sells it is on maintenance so you can check later, it gets out of stock fast though:
https://codereddvd.bigcartel.com/product/butcher-baker-nightmare-maker-blu-susan-tyrell
Maybe you should ask Couch for tips on finding rarities over PM. :evilgrin:
 
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Man you definetly have a specific taste. I'm not talking about Benny Hill ofc.
Is there a movie without a psycho you like? :D

Anyway, I got a feeling you're studying locos presentation in movies and not really watching movies for fun. Hopefully I'm right, knew a person who searched an excuse and redemption through movies.
Anyway, for fun, I have to suggest you another "oldish" title, from times when Hollywood knew how to make very interesting movies with psychos even if cheesy and trashy at moments: Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker.

If you've already watched it, respect! I know it's a bitch to find it and not pay $5635345693695836534 for DVD/BR.
The only site (apart from ebay overpricing scammers) that sells it is on maintenance so you can check later, it gets out of stock fast though:
https://codereddvd.bigcartel.com/product/butcher-baker-nightmare-maker-blu-susan-tyrell
Maybe you should ask Couch for tips on finding rarities over PM. :evilgrin:

I don't know if you understand what the term "psycho" means, which implies "psychotic" as in the famous Hitch film. The famous fictional character of Tom Ripley is a sociopath not a "psycho." You need to read, comprehend and correlate my tastes better. I watch plenty of movies for fun, just not a lot of badly done trite Hollywood trash or big budget bores like recent Star Wars movies. In this sense, we're alike I think. I also like the serious, thoughtful stuff too as long as it's not too arty, slow, pretentious and boring. You list a link with actress Susan Tyrell in it for example. Did you ever see John Huston's Fat City (1972) with Stacey Keach and Susan Tyrell? A wonderful, sad little film. No "psychos" in it, captain ;) Just an amazing slice of life with characters that you believe, if not believe in because they're long past their expiration date.
 
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I call sociopats psychos too. Maybe I'm wrong doing that, but then again try explaining to Kardashian what "literally" means. ;)

In short, based on the title don't think so but my memory is not in best shape honestly and brain makes some other references (fat city milk t...y), loved Keach in everything, will do asap. Unless it's plain drama. I don't watch drama nor comedy when standalone.
 
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Apparently his new movie Mandy is really good as well :)

The reviewer is Peter Bradshaw and he is highly respected here in UK.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...icolas-cage-andrea-riseborough-panos-cosmatos
Mandy is an utter bullshit of a movie.
A mish mash of "coo" and "mysticysm" with overused and tasteless artificial red light. Even Donnie Darko was better than this abomination and you know I slapped 1/10 on Donnie Darko rubbish.

So bad it's worse. Suggest it to your worst enemy, it can't fail.
 
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I watched the Post, I thought it was a stellar take on the Pentagon Papers, and had a nice cast, including Odenkirk, Rhys, Coon, Greenwood, Streep and Hanks. Having read and watched other portrayals of the subject, I was surprised that I enjoyed this movie so much.
 
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It's a shame I avoid plain dramas. Rarely though, I do watch some. Rarely. Must be some special/unique drama for me to try it.
It just needs to be something more than just drama, drama on it's own is like an unbaked cake.

But if drama is also war, biography or history - I refuse to watch it even if my life depends on it. A shame.
 
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Anyone remembers ex-avatar of mine?
Man-768x432.jpg


https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/n...s-derek-kolstad-to-adapt-the-man-from-nowhere
Deadline reports that New Line Cinema’s adaptation of the 2010 South Korean action thriller The Man From Nowhere is moving forward with John Wick‘s Derek Kolstad writing the American version.
I feel sick.
Please. Pretty please. Ignore that silly remake. Before it appears, watch the original if you haven't already.
 
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We went to see the new Halloween on ... Halloween (only get ~15-20 kids per year the last few years, so just left a bowl outside for them). I love the original - saw it in theaters in 1978. Think I saw #2 in theaters as well, and really nothing since - not a huge fan of the genre.

Enjoyed this one quite a bit - not great, but well put together and lots of fun, great seeing JLC again, and the others did a good job.
 
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For the past eight years or so, I lived in a condo building where children couldn't easily gain entry, so we went out sometimes on Samhain just to see some of the costumes and such. This year, being in a more open apartment complex, I was expecting massive amounts of children to show up.....I saw a grand total of six. Leaving me with enough candy for quite some time. I did see one very memorable child in a costume, she claimed to be "Trashy Warrior Witch Woman." It had to be seen to be believed!!
 
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We had quite a few little monsters round here. The rule in these parts is that if you display a pumpkin at the front of your property, the children are welcome to knock for treats. Quite a good system that helps keep everyone happy, and the nippers safer. I remember when I was about 8, we knocked on a few doors and got a very harsh reception. I guess some people feel their windscreens need more shaving foam. :p
 
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