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Thread: 28 Film Discussion Threads Later

  1. #66976
    Screenwriter Lazlo's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Ezee E (view post)
    Telluride Report to come tomorrow.
    Awesome. I'm really hoping to go next year. Seems like an amazing festival.
    last four:
    black widow - 8
    zero dark thirty - 9
    the muse - 7
    freaky - 7

    now reading:
    lonesome dove - larry mcmurtry

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    The Harrison Marathon - A Podcast About Harrison Ford

  2. #66977
    White Tiger Field Stay Puft's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Ezee E (view post)
    Telluride Report to come tomorrow.
    Giving up in 2020. Who cares.

    maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (Sky Hopinka) ***½
    Without Remorse (Stefano Sollima) *½
    The Marksman (Robert Lorenz) **
    Beckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino) *½
    Night Hunter (David Raymond) *

  3. #66978
    I'm in this fantasy movie league thing where you pick movies and actors that score points based on awards nominations/wins, and to a lesser degree metacritic ratings and box office results.

    I had 6th pick and Gary Oldman, Dunkirk, Carey Mulligan, Sally Hawkins, and The Post were off the board. It was last pick so I had two in a row and doubled up on the PTA film (Phantom Thread?) and Daniel Day-Lewis.

    It felt bold... without an official title I'm scared it could even come out next year.

  4. #66979
    What is best in life? D_Davis's Avatar
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    When I first saw The Neverending Story as a young boy, I totally identified with Sebastian. I was Sebastian. I used to find places to sneak away to at school in order to read fantasy novels - all the way through high school. Some of my most cherished memories are of reading certain fantasy novels in certain places. One place in particular was in between the bed and the far wall in the guest bedroom at my grandma's house. It was a dark room; it always felt like dusk or dawn in that room. I wanted nothing more than to fall into a fantasy world, which is why I gravitated so strongly towards pen and paper roleplaying games.

    To this day, the music, especially the theme song and the leitmotif used throughout, instantly teleports me back to that frame of mind. It's impossible for me to view the film with any kind of objectivity. More so than any other film, The Neverending Story floods my soul with an overabundance of wonderful nostalgia.

  5. #66980
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Idioteque Stalker (view post)
    I'm in this fantasy movie league thing where you pick movies and actors that score points based on awards nominations/wins, and to a lesser degree metacritic ratings and box office results.

    I had 6th pick and Gary Oldman, Dunkirk, Carey Mulligan, Sally Hawkins, and The Post were off the board. It was last pick so I had two in a row and doubled up on the PTA film (Phantom Thread?) and Daniel Day-Lewis.

    It felt bold... without an official title I'm scared it could even come out next year.
    That sounds awesome!

  6. #66981
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
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    We are approaching the beginning of a new season of the Fantasy Movie League that is played in the Off-Topic Forum. We currently have space for new players if anyone would like to jump in. I can accommodate at least 2 new players.

    There is a long list of rules located in the first post of the Fantasy Movie League thread. But basically, your sole action would be to draft 9 films that will be released during the months of October-March that you think will make the most money at the box office (domestically).

    If you'd like to play, visit the Fantasy Movie League thread by September 12th (5:00 PST) and post something along the lines of "I'm in."
    Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
    The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
    Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
    Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
    Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
    Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
    Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
    Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
    Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
    Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***

  7. #66982
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
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    Telluride.

    This may be the first year in which I wasn't enthralled by a movie that played. It was also the first year where the weather was seemingly perfect through it all, minus maybe one hour of rain to even it out. The spirit of the people, the city, and the team I manage along with will always keep me coming back, no matter the case. If there's a better film festival out there, I couldn't imagine it. This year, Christian Bale and Angelina Jolie attested to it.

    The movies I saw:

    First They Killed My Father (Angelina Jolie)- Jolie loves to torture her protagonists it seems. It's no different for the young girl that fights her way through survival in the Cambodian genocide. Props to Jolie for directing on foreign land, in a different language, and never holding back, even if it was a bit repetitive after a while, and a little long for its own good. The descent into hell for the primary family is tough to watch, and made me want to read more about this piece of history. As the kids join the military, learn to set trip wire, land mines (and eventually have to cross that territory) is scary. I applaud Jolie here, and find it weird that the Telluride crowd initially laughed at the idea of her filming this movie, a crowd that demands woman in film/diversity in film, but when it's Jolie directing a Cambodian movie, it's met differently. Something for another time I guess.

    With that, Jolie is LOVED by kids. I didn't expect that. I never saw Maleficient, but kids would run through streets to get close to her. Even better, she seemed to prefer seeing the kids. She no showed to a party and basically all late night events. She was also part of the largest attended panel that the festival may have ever had, consisting of "wonder women" that included Natalie Portman, Billie Jean King, and Alice Waters. I was working during that panel

    Downsizing (Alexander Payne) - Here's something pretty disappointing. I created my Gold Derby and had this as one of the big contenders for Oscar season. After this, I'd be surprised if it gets nominated for anything. Starts off promising with a sci-fi/satire/comedic approach, but never really stays too inventive after that. Nor funny. Nor anything truly satirical. Christoph Waltz gets to play a partying European which is pretty funny to watch as he pairs along with Udo Kier, but after that the jokes are pretty obvious, and Damon is kind of dull. What a waste of Kirsten Wiig.

    Shape of Water (Guillermo Del Toro) - Del Toro was very well liked in Telluride. Especially after he held his own impromptu Q&A on a Sunday morning for anyone that happened to be walking Colorado Blvd... Keep in mind, this is basically the main street that everyone walks on, so pretty cool thing to just walk into.

    With that, adult fairy tales with 50's storytelling. Take that for how you want to. It's definitely interesting to watch, but never hits the perfect chord that seems to be right around the corner. The cast is fun and great, especially Michael Shannon in a very obvious antagonistic role. Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins are very funny. Hawkins is very effective as the mute hero. But something just never makes it great in my mind. Is it the "monster" that's never truly beautiful and remarkable as the cast makes it out to be? Maybe so.

    First Reformed (Paul Schraeder) - Possibly the love or hate movie of the festival. Schraeder goes back to his uncomfortable protagonists with Ethan Hawke as the lead Reverend, and Amanda Seyfried as a confused wife. Expect the normal Schreader-isms on a pretty low budget. Always engaging, even if it's a little tiresome here and there. This created a lot of workouts, but I was curious the whole way through, and it's sitting pretty well with me. Expect interesting discussion for those who sit with it all, but it's not going to light up the awards circuit.

    Darkest Hour (Joe Wright) - There always seems to be one British Government Biopic a year, and Joe Wright takes the helm on it this year with Gary Oldman in a standout performance. Joe Wright makes it stylistically interesting to watch for what is otherwise an atypical story that you can predict every beat to. It's a nice little prelude to Dunkirk, and if you love those British Biopics, then you'll like this one too.

    One Week (Buster Keaton) - I always make a visit to the Sheridan Opera House. A small 200-seat theater, originally an opera house, so it has uncomfortable seats, seating on balconies, and the sides, overlooking a large stage. Typically with art house films, silent films with music, or tributes... It's always fun to come here. In this case, it was for two silent films, I'd only have time for the Keaton. A piano played alongside a Keaton movie I had yet to see. Keaton, on full display as always with inventive use of a "portable house building kit" that had as many laughs as you'd see in a Looney Tunes cartoon, except in live action. Very impressive.

    Hostiles (Scott Cooper) - Cooper's been on the verge of a masterful movie, but can never land it. Out of the Furnace was one of my favorites when it came out years ago, but suffers from a pretty weak ending. Nothing changes here, but Cooper experiments with the west, and his violence and good focus on scenery and the violence of men make it a good watch throughout. Rosemund Pike is the most interesting here, and an actress that seems to be great in anything she does, but never really recognized. Bale keeps the dialog minimal, and effective. Brutal opening scene and a good, if not, atypical shootout near the end. Awesome final shot of the movie, but Cooper still hasn't made his masterpiece.

    Battle of the Sexes (Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris) - Dayton and Faris create an interesting world here that feels completely 70's throughout it all. Emma Stone is especially good as Billie Jean King, but outside of this, and a theme that's very relevant with today, it seems just kind of obvious in the end. Steve Carrell is never charismatic enough or douchey enough to make the main conflict interesting. The tennis match at the end is never really thrilling like it should be, so the payoff is kinda meh.


    Overall:
    First They Killed My Father - ***
    Downsizing - **
    Shape of Water - ***
    First Reformed - ***
    Darkest Hout - ***
    One Week - ****
    Hostiles - ***
    Battle of the Sexes - ***

    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


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  8. #66983
    Producer Yxklyx's Avatar
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    After just having re-watched Polanski's Macbeth I have to ask when is he coming out with Macbeth 2?

  9. #66984
    Last night I had a very elaborate dream about Christopher Nolan. In real life, I generally like his movies but consider his reputation to be severely overstated. In my dream, however, he was a renegade artist using his accrued popular capital to sneak giant leaps for the medium into wide release, a la 2001: ASO and The Tree of Life.

    First I went to the theater to watch Spiderman: Homecoming, on which he was an unusually active producer. I don't remember many details from the movie itself, but suffice to say it was not the same Spiderman: Homecoming from real life. It was technically groundbreaking in how it blurred the lines between cinema and theater by using some futuristic 3D technology: at one point I remember the crowd jumping out of the way in terror as an actual car was dragged by webs toward the screen (Nolan, who was in attendance, looked on with a smug satisfaction). At another point holographic nude women sang and gave lap dances to rapturous praise. But most titillating to me were the many cryptic hints toward Nolan's secret future project, which I already felt would be a monolithic artistic achievement.

    That movie would become Dunkirk--again, not at all the Dunkirk from real life. In fact, the pre-release marketing for the film (which was the same as in real life) was a total red herring, but succeeded in luring droves of people to the theater and even strengthened the film's meta-narrative. (Looking at the marketing after having seen the movie revealed there were indications everywhere as to what the film was actually about.) Dunkirk played in megaplexes all over the country, but--due to Nolan's integral role not only in the making of the film but also in its "performance"--it could only be played at one theater at a time. The film literally could not be shown unless Christopher Nolan was personally there.

    Before the lights went down, Nolan told me I was sitting in his seat. I politely moved, and this was the only direct interaction I had with him in my dream. Then he grabbed a microphone and the film began. Nolan recited an original poem as the words stylishly but tastefully flashed across the screen. The opening shot was a beautiful, dense jungle landscape. It looked like earth from the times of dinosaurs by way of a Dr. Seuss obsessed with realism. It seemed like something out of a sci-fi film, but somehow I was 100% certain it was a real place. It was impossible, but it was also real. Nolan had unveiled an actual place heretofore unknowable to humans. He was an inter-dimensional truther.

    I immediately knew that Dunkirk was a sublime masterpiece, but even in my dream the audience wasn't thrilled by its slow pace. Disgruntled patrons began to leave, and before long only a small crowd remained, all of us completely in awe. Like Spiderman: Homecoming, Dunkirk blurred the line between cinema and theater, and likewise the narrative blurred the line between fiction and documentary. On the surface, the story seemed like sci-fi: a character (played by many different actors) hooked him/herself up to machines and could go anywhere/anytime or be anyone they wanted. But it wasn't sci-fi. Nolan was offering profound truths about identity in the multi-verse that I knew would eventually be a tangible reality to people everywhere.

    Then I woke up and immediately wrote this.

  10. #66985
    Who should my last actress pick be in my fantasy movie awards thing? Lots of points for Oscars, medium points for Globes, some points for critics and guild awards. (Points for nominations as well.)

    Kate Winslet, Wonder Wheel (Woody Allen)
    Jane Fonda, Our Souls at Night (Ritesh Bedra)
    Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman (Sebastian Lelio)
    Isabelle Hupert, Happy End (Michael Haneke)

    Gold Derby, the award predictor website, has them ranked in that order. I don't feel great about any of them, but already have Frances McDormand and Diane Kruger.

  11. #66986
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
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    Knowing none of the films, I'd take Winslet in the Allen film.

  12. #66987
    Quote Quoting Skitch (view post)
    Knowing none of the films, I'd take Winslet in the Allen film.
    I'd almost dismiss it out of hand if not for Blue Jasmine, but if there is any weight to this Wonder Wheel movie then she becomes intriguing. Unfortunately, there's no trailer.

  13. #66988
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Liam Neeson done making action movies is the worst news I've heard today. But I laughed out loud at my desk when I read the synopsis of Hard Powder

    "he's already shot: "Hard Powder," in which he plays a snowplow driver who faces off with drug dealers"

    Let's see... what other blue color career can we make Liam play and then have him kick everyone's ass later in the movie.

    http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...nt-him-to.html


    "The thrillers, that was all a pure accident," said Neeson. "They're still throwing serious money at me to do that stuff. I'm like, 'Guy's I'm sixty-f--king-five.' Audiences are eventually going to go, 'Come on.'"
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  14. #66989
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
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    That's a remake of In Order of Disappearance, and its actually a good flick.

  15. #66990
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Idioteque Stalker (view post)
    Who should my last actress pick be in my fantasy movie awards thing? Lots of points for Oscars, medium points for Globes, some points for critics and guild awards. (Points for nominations as well.)

    Kate Winslet, Wonder Wheel (Woody Allen)
    Jane Fonda, Our Souls at Night (Ritesh Bedra)
    Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman (Sebastian Lelio)
    Isabelle Hupert, Happy End (Michael Haneke)

    Gold Derby, the award predictor website, has them ranked in that order. I don't feel great about any of them, but already have Frances McDormand and Diane Kruger.
    Winslet, absolutely.

    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


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  16. #66991
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
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    I'd go with Fonda.
    Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
    The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
    Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
    Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
    Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
    Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
    Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
    Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
    Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
    Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***

  17. #66992
    Winslet was taken right before my pick, so I freaked out and went with Daniela Vega. Fonda is probably a better choice, but against my better judgment I picked the role that seemed more interesting to me personally. Very bad strategy to have two actresses in non-English movies (Vega and Kruger).

  18. #66993
    Moderator Dead & Messed Up's Avatar
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    Anyone given The Beastmaster a shot recently? It was a cable standard when I was a kid, but I could remember barely any of it, and mother of God, what a fun dumb time. I can't imagine the dumb is an accident, given that Don Coscarelli made the clever and surrealist Phantasm; instead, it has to be a strategic full-embrace of sub-Robert-E-Howard sword and sorcery pulp fiction.

    Describing this movie feels like a Stefon skit from SNL. This movie has everything. Bat-monster-men. Adorable ferrets. MacBeth witches. Rip Torn in a skirt. Excessive boobs. That last bit could maybe be offensive if there was any sense at all that beastmaster Dar knows what sex is beyond something that ends quickly with a fade-out (or, in the comic days, a page-turn to the next morning). The movie looks cheap often, the actors rarely convince (John Amos and Rip Torn give it their all), but the momentum's so headlong (excepting the protracted double-climax) and Coscarelli's imagination keeps tentpoling potential dips. Hell, the film's still introducing ideas in the back half, like gimp-masked soldiers (possessed by glow-stick colored slugs) that change into idiot monster soldiers that windmill their spiked arms through tunnels before finally attacking red-robed monks that're supposed to be on their side! And there's a bit where the Beastmaster and red-headed sorceress Kiri leap off a tower wall with no hope of survival, but then, through the power of editing, they land softly in a close up of a passing straw-packed cart. Whew!

    The only real problem with the film is that the Beastmaster doesn't take control of the villain's horse at the end and get it to knock him off and then walk right up to Dar and stand beside him as his newest ally. And then maybe it could nod significantly at the black tiger and neigh triumphantly.

  19. #66994
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
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    Watched it for the first time last year. Really, really enjoyed it. And bonus, it contained a scene I remembered from my childhood that I could never remember what movie it was in! Does anyone else have several of those stuck in the back of their head?

  20. #66995
    Moderator Dead & Messed Up's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Skitch (view post)
    Watched it for the first time last year. Really, really enjoyed it. And bonus, it contained a scene I remembered from my childhood that I could never remember what movie it was in! Does anyone else have several of those stuck in the back of their head?
    Same here! It was the bit with the eye-ring looking around and then getting burned by John Amos.

  21. #66996
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Guys......... I just watched Ran last night. That one action scene.

    :-0
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  22. #66997
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Dead & Messed Up (view post)
    Same here! It was the bit with the eye-ring looking around and then getting burned by John Amos.
    Mine was the bat creatures with a death hugs.

  23. #66998
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Been deeeeeeeeeeestroying my backlog lately.

    In the last week, watched Harakiri (Kobayashi), Sherlock, Jr., White Heat (Raoul Walsh), Yokimbo and Ran (Kurosawa) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford).
    Twitch / Youtube / Film Diary

    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  24. #66999
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Oh man, sounds like you're having a grand time.

    Found that list of "dope stuff I've never seen", haven't you?

  25. #67000
    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    Been deeeeeeeeeeestroying my backlog lately.

    In the last week, watched Harakiri (Kobayashi), Sherlock, Jr., White Heat (Raoul Walsh), Yokimbo and Ran (Kurosawa) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford).
    Rank them.

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