In Which I Just Talk About a Bunch of Movies I Watched Recently

[Spun Lepton]

Hey, everybody. Been a bit.

High Anxiety (1977)-- I don't know if it's because I haven't seen much Hitchcock (I know, I know), or if the comedy just feels really dated. Didn't work for me at all. Didn't laugh once. Didn't finish it. 3/10

Vibes (1988) -- Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum have no chemistry and the IMDb's trivia section says they didn't get along. That must have made all that kissing they do really awkward. I adore Lauper's music, though, so she could have been a egomaniac for all I know and I'd still love her. First half-hour is actually pretty fun. Everything after that is a freaking slog. Weird blocking. Slow pacing. No excitement, even during the scenes that are supposed to be exciting. They could have trimmed 10 minutes out of it and it might have salvaged it, I don't know. Barely finished it. 4/10

Stitches (2012) -- Gory horror comedies are always on the menu. This one is just okay. Humor is super-dry. The guy playing the killer clown seemed like he was having a lot of fun. The exploding head was a highlight, but I don't know if I'd suggest you watch the movie just for that. Generous 6/10.

House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) -- Decided to give Rob Zombie's debut another chance. This movie is so over-edited that it becomes grating at times. But, you know, not nearly as bad as I'd initially thought. There are some glimpses of greatness here. 6/10

The Gauntlet (1977) -- Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke together yet again. It's weird-funny to watch their movies together knowing how their marriage ended. (It ended with him blacklisting her from Hollywood. Bad shit.) The characters in this are really freaking dumb and nothing you can say will ever change my mind. Didn't finish it. 4/10

Ms .45 (1981) -- I'm not a fan of rape-revenge movies in general, but the rape scenes (there are 2) are handled with maturity. Meaning, not in the least bit lascivious (*cough cough* I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE *cough*). I like that it morphs into a statement about how trauma destroys people. Abel Ferrara and Zoe Lund delivering something more meaningful through their grindhouse sensibilities. 8/10

Horror Noire (2021) -- Big disappointment. So flat. Nothing feels inspired. Nothing feels exciting. The endings to all the stories are just kind of there. Generous 5/10.

[StuSmallz]

Hey, everybody. Been a bit.

High Anxiety (1977)-- I don't know if it's because I haven't seen much Hitchcock (I know, I know), or if the comedy just feels really dated. Didn't work for me at all. Didn't laugh once. Didn't finish it. 3/10

The Gauntlet (1977) -- Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke together yet again. It's weird-funny to watch their movies together knowing how their marriage ended. (It ended with him blacklisting her from Hollywood. Bad shit.) The characters in this are really freaking dumb and nothing you can say will ever change my mind. Didn't finish it. 4/10

Yay, another new film thread! I have seen these two movies before, but it's been forever, and I remember both of them just being okay (with the former suffering somewhat from Brooks' overly broad, old-timey sense of humor, while the latter is just another interchangable Eastwood cop movie), but I'm still happy to see some more movie discussion here, so keep it up!

[Spun Lepton]

the latter is just another interchangable Eastwood cop movie), but I'm still happy to see some more movie discussion here, so keep it up!

I mean, I kinda go into these 70s Eastwood movies expecting and kind of wanting that. I noticed this got decent reviews upon its release which surprises me a little bit. I get a sense that Eastwood was trying to do a kind of neo-noir thing, what with his alcoholic loser character who gets involved with a dame who's just trouble. I had a lot of trouble buying Eastwood as that alcoholic loser, honestly, because he's always just playing his same steely-eyed bad-ass, regardless of what the character needs.

[DFA1979]

High Anxiety is a lesser Brooks flick but I still like it. Ms.45 is great.

[Yxklyx]

I tried to watch Brooks' Spaceballs a while back and couldn't get past the first 10 minutes. Most comedies do not age well.

I remember liking The Gauntlet and Ms. 45 is a great film that I've seen a couple of times.

[baby doll]

Most comedies do not age well.

Most comedies, like most films in general, suck from the moment they're released.

[DFA1979]

Spaceballs is hilarious.

Also very little point in watching movies if you don't like or hate most of them. There are multiples things to do with ones' time. Which reminds me why am I here again? I donno.

[Idioteque Stalker]

DFA asks "why am I here" more than Friedrich Nietzsche.

[baby doll]

Also very little point in watching movies if you don't like or hate most of them. There are multiples things to do with ones' time.

Most works of art in any medium are terrible. It doesn't follow from this fact (which I don't believe is at all controversial) that one shouldn't bother with the stuff that's actually good.

[DFA1979]

DFA asks "why am I here" more than Friedrich Nietzsche.

Nothing wrong with Nietzche. Although I'm more of a Kierkegaard man myself even if I don't agree with his political views. Political philosophy wise I always liked Rousseau.

[DFA1979]

Most works of art in any medium are terrible. It doesn't follow from this fact (which I don't believe is at all controversial) that one shouldn't bother with the stuff that's actually good.

Well that's just your opinion, man. It's also the most depressing one I've ever heard. Woof. I mean you might as well admit you're just wasting your time on well, everything.

[StanleyK]

Most of everything sucks. It's a well known fact, so much so that there's a principle about it called Sturgeon's Law.

[Skitch]

Spaceballs is top ten comedy of my all time

[StuSmallz]

Most works of art in any medium are terrible. It doesn't follow from this fact (which I don't believe is at all controversial) that one shouldn't bother with the stuff that's actually good.

[baby doll]

Well that's just your opinion, man. It's also the most depressing one I've ever heard. Woof. I mean you might as well admit you're just wasting your time on well, everything.

I don't see why that's depressing. Literally hundreds, if not thousands, of films are released each year, most of which you and I will never hear about: commercial films from China, India, Nigeria and other countries that play primarily to a domestic audience and have little international circulation. Some of these films may be enjoyable (I have fond memories of the Bollywood film Mohabbatein), but the overwhelming majority are lousy, just as the majority of American commercial films are lousy. I'm not referring here to Marvel-level blockbusters, which only account for a small percentage of Hollywood's overall output (and which personally I mostly avoid), but the undistinguished program pictures that allow theaters to keep their doors open year round (e.g., any Liam Neeson revenge thriller or the latest remake of/sequel to a horror movie from the 1970s). Moreover, anyone who's ever been to a film festival can testify that most of the films that get selected are of little artistic merit (e.g., anything by Paolo Sorrentino, to say nothing of less prestigious directors who can't get into Cannes or Venice but have to settle for second- and third-rate festivals like Karlovy Vary and Shanghai). Commercial exhibition and the international film festival circuit require a constant flow of new films to sustain themselves; whether those films are any good is a secondary matter, although the sheer number of films being made guarantees that at least a few dozen worthwhile films will be made each year. And while it often happens that a great film gets buried (see Mani Haghighi's Modest Reception), quality has a way of asserting itself over time.

[DFA1979]

Nah, it's depressing.

[baby doll]

Nah, it's depressing.

Depressing or not, it's nevertheless obviously true. I'm not hearing a counter-argument that all, or even most, Chinese rom-coms, Mexican wrestling films, and North Korean propaganda movies are worth bothering with (which is not to say that none of them are).

That said, there are still more good or great films than is possible to see in one lifetime, which means one has to make choices (choosing one movie to watch always entails not choosing many others that one potentially could watch). That the vast majority of movies are obviously terrible and need not be considered just makes it easier for me to make a decision; otherwise, I'd be paralyzed from having too many options. Realizing through trial and error that I had no interest in superhero movies unless they're directed by Louis Feuillade or Georges Franju--and therefore I need not ever sit through another Marvel or DC comic book movie as long as I live--was actually liberating for me because it means I can ignore them without wondering if I'm missing anything. At this point in my life, I've seen enough of them to know that I'm probably not.

[Gizmo]

Well, I liked the new Spider-Man, but there's no thread for it that I could find.

[Ezee E]

Well, I liked the new Spider-Man, but there's no thread for it that I could find.

There's a button for that