Random Movie Thoughts Thread

[Totenkindly]

It is kind of boring. I still like the camera work though.

My other issue are the sketches. I think they're cool, however they are much more difficult to create in that style coherently than they would appear, you need a decent artist rather than average people.

 

[Totenkindly]

Matthew McConaughey Reveals Dad Died While Having Sex With His Mom

What a way to go. It's like a quirky Wes Anderson scene.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Matthew McConaughey Reveals Dad Died While Having Sex With His Mom

What a way to go. It's like a quirky Wes Anderson scene.

Alright alright alriiight

 

[Totenkindly]

Science says Sinister is the scariest movie of all time, marking the end of our trust in science

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Ever see a movie that didn’t scare you the first time but you were scared watching it a later time?

I found The Shining bored me when I was a kid, but I really grew to appreciate it and find it very unsettling as an adult

 

[Totenkindly]

Finished the third Blumhouse AP film yesterday, "Nocturne."

In general I appreciate Blumhouse horror films but this particular collection has its strengths and weaknesses. Basically Blumhouse can involve some decent actors, even the no-names (it's a step up from typical B-horror), and they sometimes have great look and feel, which has been typical of this collection.

It's just sometimes their execution doesn't quite lock in. It's like a brand that wants to exhibit some arthouse qualities but can't quite seal the deal in terms of execution -- at least when they're not going for the schlocky/shocky kind of approach. THis year was more of the same -- they had the semi-decent "The Invisible Man" with Elizabeth Moss about the same time "Fantasy Island" came out -- the latter of which has been considered one of the worst films of the year. They also were part of "The Hunt," which was better than the political war around it but not really top tier, part of the comedy-shock-horror genre.

As far as the Amazon package goes:

"Black Box" had a big heart and was really concerned about character drama but had pretty cheesy tv-cable scifi/horror wrappings.

Nocturne tries to be something more on the level of Midsommar with its surreal elements but never quite gels in the actual writing. Again, the actors are pretty solid, the music is quite good, and there's some strong dramatic moments, but it all doesn't quite gel, and in the end it will remind viewers of similar films that much better sealed the deal regardless ambition and psychotic breaks (like Black Swan, for example -- Aronofsky really takes the idea through to completion, with multiple layers).

So I can't say it's not enjoyable, it's just not as resonant as it should have been, it's like trying to built a tower out of legos but missing some of the floors/steps along the way. Its reach exceeds its grasp.

I started "Evil Eye" but already feel like it might be my least favorite of the four, even recognizing a few of the actors. (The daughter's been on Mr. Robot and GLOW, the mother was big in Season 3 of Jessica Jones, the father I actually recognized immediately despite a beard and 20 years older as the father of Sati from The Matrix Revolutions.)

Ever see a movie that didn’t scare you the first time but you were scared watching it a later time?

I found The Shining bored me when I was a kid, but I really grew to appreciate it and find it very unsettling as an adult

I'm trying to think of some but none have yet come to mind, especially as an adult.

I mean, I can understand why The Shining, I feel like its imagery more targets adults and is less coherent to children, there's more to tap into versus it just being passing images.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Well um I possess a part of James Woods’ soul

 

[Totenkindly]

^ Dear god -- that's like a Cronenberg film...

Like "Being John Malkovich," but super-messed up.

EDIT: Unless by James Woods you really meant a combination of Ed Wood and James Franco.
Wait. that's still pretty messed up.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

^ Dear god -- that's like a Cronenberg film...

Like "Being John Malkovich," but super-messed up.

EDIT: Unless by James Woods you really meant a combination of Ed Wood and James Franco.
Wait. that's still pretty messed up.

Both of them give me an uneasy vibe. I’d rather be stuck in a room with both Buseys

 

[Totenkindly]

My 4K for the back to the Future trilogy came this morning, so I watched 30 minutes of the first film over lunch.

It's a really awesome transfer, cleaning a lot of the problems with DVD and even the much better Bluray transfer. The whole movie comes more alive, everything is even, the colors are all there, natural grain. When they do the zoom on Strickland and McFly early on in the school hall, I could see the myriad wrinkles and surface detail of Strickland's neck. It's all pretty incredible. (Later, there's so much depth to the images -- like the front of Doc Brown's house, with the rich wood hues and colored glass. But I could glow about many of the scenes.) I'm glad they actually bothered to do a decent job cleaning up these films, since they (and particularly the first) really deserve it.

It's funny because I am not a fan at all of the '50's, nor do I care to watch films set in the 50's typically (at least, not the color films made in the 80's set back in the 50's trying to glamorize that time period). But I love the first film despite that, because it's funny, the acting is great (I mean, Fox and Lloyd of course make a great comedic team; but Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson are still probably understated in the amount of praise they deserve, they even scan as their older selves extremely well), and it's a key example of how to write a densely laden screenplay where all the lines pack useful information that rewards viewers for paying attention but not at all in the clumsy manner of Nolan's "Inception" where you know you're being fed information, it's all delivered organically as part of the naturally unfolding dialogue and has emotional impact all on its own.

Just a really masterful effort, and ingenuous in finally settling on a DeLorean as a time travel device.

I still get chills (and often tear up) when Biff yanks open that car door and George finds his resolve. It's not even the punch, it's when he chooses not to run. You can see him realize he's going to get the shit-kicked out of him... and he commits to trying anyway. For me personally, it might be in my Top Ten Evocative Moments of films I have seen, that choke me up each and every time I see it.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

From the 90s, when this film hadn’t yet attained its current level of recognition and adoration. I remember being thrilled to see people like this starting to recognize what a great film it is. I still rank it as one of Carpenter’s top three.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

chainsaws are the worst possible melee weapon. It's funny how they appear in stuff like this fearsome, invincible weapon.

They're heavy and cumbersome outside of their intended usage, meaning slow maneuverability and limited motions.
They're loud, meaning anyone can hear you coming from a distance.
The chains are actually easy broken. Hit it the right way with a heavy lead pipe or a machete, and you might snap the blade.

they really only work as a psychological weapon. I'd take a good knife or a baseball bat over a chainsaw every time.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

man, I would have been the perfect age to be serving on a real life SeaQuest right now. So upset that didn't come to pass by now. Show begins in 2018 or 2019 IIRC

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

man, I would have been the perfect age to be serving on a real life SeaQuest right now. So upset that didn't come to pass by now. Show begins in 2018 or 2019 IIRC

We're more Sealab 2021 at this point.

 

[Totenkindly]

you're more likely to hurt yourself than a victim trying to wield a chainsaw as a mele weapon.

But it will be a hell of a show, regardless!

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

We're more Sealab 2021 at this point.

I guess that will do.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I mean, Ash is still the epitome of camp coolness, even if it makes no sense how he keeps that thing gassed up

 

[Totenkindly]

Did finish all three Back to the Future films last night.

The reviewers were correct about the 4K assessments, especially the third film -- it's pretty glorious, especially with all the outdoor shots, the level of detail and color and lighting is incredible. I love watching films when the visual and audio detail is adjusted properly to such a degree that I can actually see and notice new things in a film... for example, hearing comments or responses by extras that are lost on the DVD level of quality but are finally consciously audible on the advanced audio tracks in Dolby Atmos for example, on a good sound system.

It's funny, I wasn't really fond of the final installment when it came out, but it is a film that has grown on me over the years. Not the beginning or the ending, which feels a bit boilerplate, but the entire middle meat of the film. It manages to again reflect elements of the first film but in a more mature fashion than the second (which became more of a convoluted regurgitation at times). For one, it takes a lot of the "funny" moments and adds gravitas, to stress, "This might be familiar, but this particular world is much more dangerous" -- like the "town square" chase that was a glorified heroic skateboarding victory but in BttF3 flips completely on its head with almost deadly results. Also, the film basically swaps the emotional arcs of its two lead characters, so we see them play each other's roles from the past two films. It makes the film more interesting. It's not just mirroring the prior films, it's adding extra dimensions to the mirror or actually using mirroring to contrast rather than identify as.

Even the whole yellow/chicken thing, which seems too simplistic on the surface (aside from feeling out of the blue directly, because Marty doesn't really show this trait in the first film) -- well, it actually makes sense in the overall psychological framework, when one steps back. George is essentially a coward and uncertain enough of his own principles in order to be in a position to stand up for something. But he discovers in the first film that he does hold values and finally finds the moxie to take a stand even when he thinks he will lose badly -- he commits. Meanwhile, Marty seeing his father growing up has had a different response; he resolves to never be branded a coward, and this is what the second two films focuses on... how his reaction to his fathers' struggle essentially creates a different one for himself that he must somehow rise above, depending on what the situation actually needs from him.

I also have to say that Lloyd and Steenburgen have amazing chemistry -- one of those times when two characters fall for each other in a film, and you can actually feel it and it makes total sense. Show, not tell... and great casting in that sense.

One thing I appreciate about Strickland is how Tolkan plays a generally one-dimensional part but someone makes him interesting, funny (which totally being a straight man), even makes him feel more well-rounded especially in this film, while playing his own ancestor and bringing up his kid to respect his views on discipline.

I do laugh seeing Elijah Wood showing up as a five year old in the second film, or watching ZZ Top perform in the last and spinning their instruments around. It's nice to take pleasure in little bits of meta-familiarity.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

This is a great homage to Maurice Binder’s 007 title sequences

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Did finish all three Back to the Future films last night.

The reviewers were correct about the 4K assessments, especially the third film -- it's pretty glorious, especially with all the outdoor shots, the level of detail and color and lighting is incredible. I love watching films when the visual and audio detail is adjusted properly to such a degree that I can actually see and notice new things in a film... for example, hearing comments or responses by extras that are lost on the DVD level of quality but are finally consciously audible on the advanced audio tracks in Dolby Atmos for example, on a good sound system.

It's funny, I wasn't really fond of the final installment when it came out, but it is a film that has grown on me over the years. Not the beginning or the ending, which feels a bit boilerplate, but the entire middle meat of the film. It manages to again reflect elements of the first film but in a more mature fashion than the second (which became more of a convoluted regurgitation at times). For one, it takes a lot of the "funny" moments and adds gravitas, to stress, "This might be familiar, but this particular world is much more dangerous" -- like the "town square" chase that was a glorified heroic skateboarding victory but in BttF3 flips completely on its head with almost deadly results. Also, the film basically swaps the emotional arcs of its two lead characters, so we see them play each other's roles from the past two films. It makes the film more interesting. It's not just mirroring the prior films, it's adding extra dimensions to the mirror or actually using mirroring to contrast rather than identify as.

Even the whole yellow/chicken thing, which seems too simplistic on the surface (aside from feeling out of the blue directly, because Marty doesn't really show this trait in the first film) -- well, it actually makes sense in the overall psychological framework, when one steps back. George is essentially a coward and uncertain enough of his own principles in order to be in a position to stand up for something. But he discovers in the first film that he does hold values and finally finds the moxie to take a stand even when he thinks he will lose badly -- he commits. Meanwhile, Marty seeing his father growing up has had a different response; he resolves to never be branded a coward, and this is what the second two films focuses on... how his reaction to his fathers' struggle essentially creates a different one for himself that he must somehow rise above, depending on what the situation actually needs from him.

I also have to say that Lloyd and Steenburgen have amazing chemistry -- one of those times when two characters fall for each other in a film, and you can actually feel it and it makes total sense. Show, not tell... and great casting in that sense.

One thing I appreciate about Strickland is how Tolkan plays a generally one-dimensional part but someone makes him interesting, funny (which totally being a straight man), even makes him feel more well-rounded especially in this film, while playing his own ancestor and bringing up his kid to respect his views on discipline.

I do laugh seeing Elijah Wood showing up as a five year old in the second film, or watching ZZ Top perform in the last and spinning their instruments around. It's nice to take pleasure in little bits of meta-familiarity.

BTTF III grew on me a lot over the years. It used to be my least favorite but I now prefer it over II.

WTF was up with that one kid at the end?