Who the hell decided on that combo?
Who the hell decided on that combo?
Someone who likes 80s horror featuring leading sex symbols from that era?Quoting Skitch (view post)
Probably the same sort of person who enjoys abbreviating "assistant" to "ass."Quoting Yxklyx (view post)
Y'know, me. People like me.
Someone made an impressive movie map:
https://i.redd.it/jmqqav1dmuuz.jpg
So I saw a very promising rough cut of Lav Diaz's Evolution of a Filipino Family. Whenever Diaz gets enough money together to finish editing it and do a proper sound mix, he may have a very good film on his hands. Let's just hope the digital elements don't completely deteriorate before that happens.
Just because...
The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022) mild
Petite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) mild
The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) mild
The last book I read was...
The Complete Short Stories by Mark Twain
The (New) World
Watched Blade Runner the Final Cut this past weekend. First time I had watched it since it first came out on DVD.
It's a good movie. It still looks incredible. The sets are simply magnificent. It's a smaller movie than I remember it being. I think that's why it works so well. The filmmakers were able to focus on the details of just a few locations, and so each location/set has real gravitas. The movie feels anchored in its time and place, but I would have liked to see more connecting shots establishing a better geography of where the locations were in relation to one another.
It's small film in terms of plot and exposition. A lot of the fat is trimmed away. It's very much like Road Warrior in this aspect. It's weird though. In my mind, I remember there being more to it. The film leaves a bigger impression than what is revealed on screen. Not quite sure how to put it. I think perhaps it is the atmosphere and mood that carries most of the weight.
I do think that I prefer the film with the VO, and want to watch one of the other version of the movie to see if this is true.
Also. the Final Cut really doesn't leave much mystery as to whether Deckard is an android or not. I don't remember it being so blunt about this.
Wait...The Man Who Killed Don Quixote actually got made?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ma...ed_Don_Quixote
Hahah yeah, I couldn't believe it either when I first heard it. I only found out because I follow Gilliam on Facebook.
Suck on that, Orson Welles.
Just because...
The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022) mild
Petite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) mild
The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) mild
The last book I read was...
The Complete Short Stories by Mark Twain
The (New) World
As for Gaslight I watched the earlier film first and preferred that one. I thought Ingrid was overacting too much.
Rewatched Days of Being Wild for about the third time - such a sublime film.
After the Thin Man (1936)
A drop from the first, but thankfully only a slight one at that. Not as infectiously fresh as the first time around, and Nick acts just a littleee bit too callous in some dangerous/sensitive situations or towards Nora a few times (not so much that I get too worried, but hoping that this doesn't signal him calcifying into shtick). Otherwise as lively and funny as we've come to expect from this couple, especially in their down times between investigating or at their most deliciously alcohol-fueled ("Yes dear, I'm putting away this liquor"). And the plot is quite good for a detective sequel, maybe even better than the original, with some unexpected twists and turns and a surprisingly intense performance at the reveal, which I should have expected more in retrospect. 7.5/10
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
With Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, Zahler is proving himself to be one of the most vital directors working today.
He makes real grindhouse cinema. There is no irony, no winks, no nudges in his films. They're free of anachronistic flourishes, and are not grindhouse pastiche.
He makes serious, character-driven grindhouse cinema, exactly like they made it in the 1970s.
Zahler treats grindhouse cinema seriously, and he demands his audience do as well.
In 30 years, people will talk about Brawl in the same breath as films like Rolling Thunder. It is absolutely brilliant. One of the best films I've seen in ages. If it were a mainstream crime-drama, Vince Vaughn would be walking away with a best actor Oscar. Never in any other movie has his size and presence been used so effectively. Vaughn conveys a ton of emotion through subtle facial expressions and body language.
I absolutely cannot wait for Dragged Across Concrete.
I dunno about Zahler. His films contain obvious mistakes and I can't tell if he's making them intentionally or not. If he is, it's a useless affectation. If he isn't, he's signaling his inexperience.
Anyway, "Cell Block 99" has prisoners wearing shock belts and a character named The Abortionist. It's less fun if taken seriously. (I also think the movie is misnamed. It should have been called "Pretty Good Ass-Kicking in the Last Cell on the Left.")
I'm not sure Davis is using that "Grindhouse" term correctly.
Weekend watching:
Got 10 minutes into the original The Hobbit telefilm and turned that puppy off.
Got 20 minutes into the 1933 Alice in Wonderland and turned that puppy off.
Got 40 minutes into Sucker Punch and turned that puppy off.
Watched all of Midnight Run and had a good time.
Last edited by Dead & Messed Up; 11-06-2017 at 04:41 PM.
I tried to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them the other day and after being bored by the first twenty minutes I realized I had two hours left and turned that puppy off. I hadn't done that with a movie in a long, long time.
Explain yourself.Quoting Dead & Messed Up (view post)
Yeh that movie is bad.Quoting Grouchy (view post)
They bored me.Quoting Skitch (view post)
But giving Sucker Punch so much more time than The Hobbit...sad face...Quoting Dead & Messed Up (view post)
Brawl in Cell Block 99 is an hour of slow burning, compelling turmoil coupled with a grimy, silly, annoying, kind of boring third act.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
It's so much more better, though.Quoting Skitch (view post)
Whatever else, I enjoy how Zahler titles his works. Three examples for each branch:
Films:
Bone Tomahawk
Brawl in Cell Block 99
Dragged Across Concrete
Novels:
A Congregation of Jackals
Wraiths of the Broken Land
Mean Business on North Ganson Street
Music:
Summon the Stone Throwers
Blue Flame Cavalry
Crawl Into the Narrow Caves
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5