28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Idioteque Stalker]

Mamoru Hosoda:

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - 5.5
Summer Wars - 2.5
Wolf Children - 7
The Boy and the Beast - 4
Mirai - 4



Out of all the anime movies I've seen, Hosoda's are the most anime, and consequently the most annoying.

That's like ordering fish and then complaining that it tastes like fish. Your highest and lowest ratings are the ones I haven't seen yet. Looking forward to Wolf Children especially. Like you, I'll probably skip the Digimon movie -- but I am eagerly anticipating his upcoming Belle.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - 8
The Boy and the Beast - 6
Mirai - 7

Along with Masaaki Yuasa, my favorite anime director currently working.

[Spun Lepton]

Woof, Jojo Rabbit has an extremely effective punch-in-the-gut moment in the middle. Did not expect to cry like that. 8/10

[DFA1979]

Woof, Jojo Rabbit has an extremely effective punch-in-the-gut moment in the middle. Did not expect to cry like that. 8/10

Yeah that part was a big surprise. Glad I saw it in theaters.

[Dukefrukem]

Can anyone tell me if Letterboxd posters cripplegate and SODA CHAMP (aka brand-upon-the-brain aka KingPizzaFrog) are Match Cutters?

I think cripplegate is Stay Puft, but no clue about Soda Champ.

Any ideas?

I'm not following any of Soda Champs accounts so they are likely not MCers.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Can anyone tell me, apart from My Winnipeg, which Guy Maddin movies are not silents?

[baby doll]

Can anyone tell me, apart from My Winnipeg, which Guy Maddin movies are not silents?

Define silent. Even those without spoken dialogue have music and sound effects.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Define silent. Even those without spoken dialogue have music and sound effects.

Yeah, it gets tricky. I suppose I mean movies in which there is little-to-no spoken dialogue or diegetic sound in general. Sound added in post, like a score, is usually acceptable (and even the Tramp gets a slide whistle when his pants fall down). Basically movies that kinda/sorta/mostly adhere to the rules of the pre-sound era.

I'm not super familiar with Maddin, so it's quite possible he intentionally makes the distinction difficult on many occasions. But for my purposes My Winnipeg is a sound film, whereas The Heart of the World is a silent film. I'm wondering which others fall on one side or the other.

[StanleyK]

That's like ordering fish and then complaining that it tastes like fish.

I see your point but I have enjoyed a number of anime movies and these were critically acclaimed ones so I gave them a chance. But when you come at me with high school girls who acquire the power of time travel and use it to avoid awkward conversations or boys who get a kiss from their crush and start bleeding profusely from the nose, you've lost me.

[baby doll]

Yeah, it gets tricky. I suppose I mean movies in which there is little-to-no spoken dialogue or diegetic sound in general. Sound added in post, like a score, is usually acceptable (and even the Tramp gets a slide whistle when his pants fall down). Basically movies that kinda/sorta/mostly adhere to the rules of the pre-sound era.

I'm not super familiar with Maddin, so it's quite possible he intentionally makes the distinction difficult on many occasions. But for my purposes My Winnipeg is a sound film, whereas The Heart of the World is a silent film. I'm wondering which others fall on one side or the other.

Most of Maddin's features have synchronized dialogue, the only exceptions I can think of being Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary, Cowards Bend the Knee, and Brand upon the Brain!

[Wryan]

Feels like this would be enjoyed by people here who love Tarantino and those who are meh on him:

https://www.tiktok.com/@itsevanwilli...from_webapp=v1

[Yxklyx]

Most of Maddin's features have synchronized dialogue, the only exceptions I can think of being Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary, Cowards Bend the Knee, and Brand upon the Brain!

It's unfortunate that he added voice-over narration to Brand upon the Brain (at least the versions I've seen), I think that film would work much better without it. It seemed more like a marketing gimmick as he had different versions done with narration by different people.

[Philip J. Fry]

That's like ordering fish and then complaining that it tastes like fish. Your highest and lowest ratings are the ones I haven't seen yet. Looking forward to Wolf Children especially. Like you, I'll probably skip the Digimon movie -- but I am eagerly anticipating his upcoming Belle.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - 8
The Boy and the Beast - 6
Mirai - 7

Along with Masaaki Yuasa, my favorite anime director currently working.

For whatever is worth, Wolf Children is on my top 10 animated films of the past decade (and I've seen a fair share of them) so you're in for a treat. Really good film.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I was so ready to pop in my blu-ray of The Killer from Netflix. Turns out it's cracked and unplayable. As the service becomes less popular, this seems to happen more often. Bummer.

[StuSmallz]

I was so ready to pop in my blu-ray of The Killer from Netflix. Turns out it's cracked and unplayable. As the service becomes less popular, this seems to happen more often. Bummer.

That sucks; would that have been your first time watching The Killer, by the way?

[Idioteque Stalker]

That sucks; would that have been your first time watching The Killer, by the way?

Yes. I don't have much experience with action movies from Hong Kong. I've ordered a replacement disc and added the 36th Chamber of Shaolin to my watchlist, mainly out of respect for the Wu-Tang Clan.

[Skitch]

I bought The Killer on dvd from Dollar Tree for a buck. I've never seen it.

[DFA1979]

The Killer is great. I'm not surprised that Netflix is neglecting their old DVD/Blu-ray in the mail service since they want people to use streaming instead.

[DFA1979]

Wild Bill is frustrating. Sure I liked it, and it's decent enough as far as 1990s westerns go, but man does the last act drag way too much. Solid cast helps a lot, headlined by the awesome Jeff Bridges, yet the movie is largely fantasy and offers very little if any interesting insights into Wild Bill. Oh well. Funny how Roger Ebert didn't like this or Dead Man even though Dead Man is excellent.

Viewed via Tubi, which if this service had existed years back I probably wouldn't have signed up for Netflix.

[StuSmallz]

Yes. I don't have much experience with action movies from Hong Kong. I've ordered a replacement disc and added the 36th Chamber of Shaolin to my watchlist, mainly out of respect for the Wu-Tang Clan.

Well, I can't think of a much better place to start with HK Action movies than Woo's work from '86-to-'92 there, so keep at it, man!

[StuSmallz]

The Killer is great. I'm not surprised that Netflix is neglecting their old DVD/Blu-ray in the mail service since they want people to use streaming instead.

Me and the rest of the family were pretty early adopters of the mail-in service back in the mid-2000's, and I used their streaming service a lot as soon it started back in '07 as well (back when all the movies were in 240P quality; no better way to watch Jaws for the first time right, haha), but I left both behind some time back, since I only rent/purchase movies one-by-one digitally these days for convenience, and I've only re-subscribed to Netflix streaming when they have some big exclusive I want, like The Irishman. Still, I'm glad to see them filling a bit of a niche for the auteurs of the world, as Hollywood keeps cutting out mid-budget efforts in favor of going either increasingly big or small by comparison.

[Spun Lepton]

AV Club says the restored 219-minute cut of Heaven's Gate is a masterpiece.

https://film.avclub.com/one-of-hollywood-s-biggest-flops-ever-is-a-masterpiece

[Wryan]

Nomadland was so good and natural it was almost frightening. I felt it down in my bones. Is there an Oscar for Entire Supporting Cast of Non-Actors? After this, it almost feels like there should be. But then how much of it is really acting and how much is just...being? existing? living? Hard to say, but this walloped me. In certain corners of the internet, much has been made of Zhao's background of privilege or how the book was more anti-Amazon/anti-capitalism, but I don't care much about that. This could have a bit more bite in its explanation of just how these folks got to be as unmoored as they are, but this is shooting more for elegiac and wanderlusty. And that part speaks to me quite well. Could pair nicely with Penn's Into the Wild, as long as you watch Nomadland second. You'd need some uplift at the end of that double-feature.

[baby doll]

AV Club says the restored 219-minute cut of Heaven's Gate is a masterpiece.

https://film.avclub.com/one-of-hollywood-s-biggest-flops-ever-is-a-masterpiece

I've seen the film three times, it looks better each time I see it, and yet, it's ultimately a film I find easier to admire than love. It is so portentous and slow and sepia-toned, it's impossible to get very involved in the story.

Some four-hour movies that really are masterpieces, off the top of my head: Jacques Rivette's La Belle noiseuse, Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day, and Lav Diaz's The Woman Who Left.

[Spun Lepton]

It sounds like these other films you recommended have a faster pace, then? "Portentous and slow," 4-hour movies would definitely push me away. Honestly, I haven't had much interest in Heaven's Gate, restored version or not. The story for The Woman Who Left sounds appealing to me, but the trailer makes it look like it has a pretty languid pace, too. Does the story turn fast enough to justify 4 hours? Any 90-to-150 minute masterpieces you'd suggest?

Edit: I suppose by calling in a masterpiece, you are already suggesting it justifies its run-time. I guess I'm always just hesitant to jump into 4-hour movies.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Jacques Rivette's La Belle noiseuse

Watchlisted. My ~4hr favorites are Edvard Munch and Once Upon a Time in America.