Random Movie Thoughts Thread

[Totenkindly]

Watched "The Boogeyman" tonight on hulu, based on a 70's short story by Stephen King that I never much liked anyway. (it was okay.)

Mixed feelings on this film. Decent acting (Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher [Nat on YellowJackets], Vivian Lyra Blair [Princess Leia in Obi-Wan]), etc., and a short but memorable bit with David Dastmalchian. They sell this film as hard as they can. It starts out eh, then gets far more interesting and slow burn for awhile. It has creepy ambiance but also jump scare reliance. I think once you get a clear view of the monster at mid-point of so, then it starts going downhill and becomes of a stock "monster of the week, fight the monster, yada yada yada" and then goes for sentiment / mysticality vs getting into deeper psychology like a better film would have.

It also had to be dumb and try to play off the short-story ending rather than being true to its own story and in the process kind of undermines any positive work the characters did for a cheap kick.

I'm kinda thumbs up in terms of the performances and it's only 1:38, but it could go either way.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

The interesting thing about horror is that I like many different horror movies, for many different reasons. Some are campy, some are interesting in the lore, some create this mood or atmosphere, some actually scare me.

One horror movie I do not like which many consider a classic is Phantasm.

I'll tell you why. There is a mysterious monster in the movie which I was curious about, mainly because I didn't know what it was despite this movie being around for more than 4 decades and having a reputation. Eventually, the big reveal comes:

It's Jawas on the same ketamine/amphetamine Yoda took in Attack of the Clones. Jawas. Fucking Jawas. I can see how this movie might be scary to a droid, but otherwise.... I just can't get into this.

It's too bad it's not rabid, mangy Ewoks. I think given their established penchant for human flesh, it would work much better.

My jaw just dropped at this and it destroyed my entire suspension of disbelief, making it impossible for me to get into the movie.

Evidently this wasn't ripped off and it was just something in the air at the time for some reason (that I'd love to figure out). I believe a Neil Young album cover from the same period also has Jawa-like creatures. But that doesn't change how ridiculous it looks.

I was interested in this movie because I saw a clip of this flying sphere trying to burrow into this guy's head in a masoleum-like structure. It turns out that this is the best part of the movie and there was no need to watch anything else. It's just too ridiculous, and not in a fun way, but in a "I can't believe I'm watching this".

But hey, if other people love this movie, more power to them. (I don't believe in fighting with people about liking or disliking different movies than me, unless it's as a joke.) I just can't get over the thing I mentioned. To me, it's stupid in a way that's more annoying than amusing.

 

[Totenkindly]

I saw The Creator today by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One). please go see this film. Due to a confluence of bad timing and other factors, it hasn't yet met its production budget of $80 million, but I would like to see more films where a director actually has a vision and makes me care about the characters and story. Despite its flaws, it is so much better than most of the soulless shit being pumped out by studios with bigger budgets.

I think this film is a lot better than many films with a special effects budget of $200 million. It's a bit deceptive in its angle -- it's really an emotional human journey of a man seeking redemption and reuniting with a lost love, and it's also about the West's propensity to destroy other beings it doesn't understand and/or views as threatening rather than taking more time, assessing root causes, and observing things playing out in real time, versus giving different groups a chance to live in peace. It's not really going to dig more into how AI works (like Ex Machina) but simply suggests one vision of how AI will respond to humanity. I was also reminded of District 9 a lot, and maybe The Mandalorian a bit in how this film unfolds (but that isn't a bad thing).

I feel like occasional moments got cut, so there's a few things in the film that feel contrived to me plot-wise but never in a way that ruined the emotional impact of what I was watching. I feel like it actually gets the emotional arcs correct and offers equivalent payoffs to them. Also, so much is actually set up in the film ahead of time -- there are things that happen later in the film that we are shown in other contexts earlier in the film, so when they happen in the main plotline, it's not a surprise and we can even predict it coming.

It feels epic, it feels big, and it just plain feels. I was already hooked after the stellar first 15 minutes, and cried a number of times including at the ending. I cared about the characters, and even cared about some of the characters that were only in the film for a few minutes. I even cared about Janney's character, lol. There's also some LOL jokes in the film (like a translator that must be set to PG, but you know what must actually be being said).

 

[Totenkindly]

Saw de Palma's Sisters (1972?) this morning. I had the main twist figured out almost immediately -- hey, I have hindsight on de Palma plus 50 years of film twists so that this one felt telegraphed from a mile away

Besides them having being cojoined, Dominique is currently dead and Danielle has schizophrenic breaks where she thinks she is Dominique. So rather than two separate sisters, it's two sisters in one body so to speak.

De Palma seems fascinated by voyeurism and people watching things in secret that they shouldn't see, then not being able to convince others of what they saw.

This was more a marvel of Kidder and Salt's performances + some interesting camerawork and/or camera approaches by de Palma, including the split screen narrative which can build tension because you are seeing two different perspectives unfold at once and knowing exactly how far away they are from intersecting. I also thought the film got really interesting once the sofa is getting moved and Grace tracks Breton and Danielle to the institution. Really a masterful stroke by Breton in how he deals with Grace (howlingly funny but horrible), and the whole film at that point seems to kick into high gear and becomes really stellar.

I think I saw a reviewer afterwards refer to William Finley as some kind of equally seedy John Waters, and yeah I think I thought of Waters when watching this film.

I am pretty sure one of the bakery women is an uncredited Olympia Dukakis in a wig.

This was apparently de Palma's really first big thriller that then led him through a slough of them and made his name for him, so no one was expecting it at this point in his career, but that last half hour will blow people's socks off. It's interesting too how little people expect from women in this film and/or how they treat Danielle and Grace. The police are kind of terrible, in how dismissive and condescending they are with Grace (although she's written some hit pieces on them), then get apologetic in a weird way (sending her chocolates as an apology?) and kind of get just as condescending at the end when they were trying to apologize and now believe her stories.

 

[The Cat]

I really enjoy Phantoms. This is a story that would make a fantastic Call of Cthulhu TTRPG Mystery.
The Investigators come together from two teams, two civilians unarmed, and two small town cops barely armed, and one moderately disgraced but still working academic. No one is exactly honest about themselves. Liev Shreiber does a fantastic job of playing a creepy weirdo. This movie really made good use of not showing the monsters and practical effects. I appreciate the meta nods to Wes Craven, John Carpenter and Lovecraft throughout. It also makes me wonder about gibbering mouthers and shoggoths, namely what existence is really like for a GM, and how were shoggoths really made by the Elder Things.

 

[ceecee]

Saw de Palma's Sisters (1972?) this morning. I had the main twist figured out almost immediately -- hey, I have hindsight on de Palma plus 50 years of film twists so that this one felt telegraphed from a mile away

Besides them having being cojoined, Dominique is currently dead and Danielle has schizophrenic breaks where she thinks she is Dominique. So rather than two separate sisters, it's two sisters in one body so to speak.

De Palma seems fascinated by voyeurism and people watching things in secret that they shouldn't see, then not being able to convince others of what they saw.

This was more a marvel of Kidder and Salt's performances + some interesting camerawork and/or camera approaches by de Palma, including the split screen narrative which can build tension because you are seeing two different perspectives unfold at once and knowing exactly how far away they are from intersecting. I also thought the film got really interesting once the sofa is getting moved and Grace tracks Breton and Danielle to the institution. Really a masterful stroke by Breton in how he deals with Grace (howlingly funny but horrible), and the whole film at that point seems to kick into high gear and becomes really stellar.

I think I saw a reviewer afterwards refer to William Finley as some kind of equally seedy John Waters, and yeah I think I thought of Waters when watching this film.

I am pretty sure one of the bakery women is an uncredited Olympia Dukakis in a wig.

This was apparently de Palma's really first big thriller that then led him through a slough of them and made his name for him, so no one was expecting it at this point in his career, but that last half hour will blow people's socks off. It's interesting too how little people expect from women in this film and/or how they treat Danielle and Grace. The police are kind of terrible, in how dismissive and condescending they are with Grace (although she's written some hit pieces on them), then get apologetic in a weird way (sending her chocolates as an apology?) and kind of get just as condescending at the end when they were trying to apologize and now believe her stories.

I had to go find it but I remember reading a description of De Palma as "a scruffy voyeuristic Hitchcockian conspiracy buff" which is fairly accurate.

 

[Totenkindly]

Jason Momoa Allegedly Arrived Drunk on Aquaman 2 Set Dressed as Johnny Depp

Documents allege that Jason Momoa acted poorly, James Wan pushed for Amber Heard to be fired from Aquaman 2, and Elon Musk got involved.

movieweb.com

Wtf

 

[The Cat]

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I am so excited for Killers of the Flower Moon.

 

[The Cat]

Dear Hollywood; allow me an avid, passionate fan of the humanities, to give you the secret sauce formula to successful movies:
Good writing. A Director with a real vision. Quality acting. Minimal executive interference into the creative aspects of the movie. Stop looking for secret formulas to make successful movies and focus on making quality movies and the successful sorts itself out.
​

 

[The Cat]

Sometimes some of my players ask me why my orcs sing in my D&D games and why so many they run into are bards.

Same for my goblins.

This is why.​

 

[The Cat]

 

[Totenkindly]

Finished Smile today. It's an odd film -- a weakness is that its plotting and some of the scenes can feel kind of familiar; however the production quality, sound design, staging, and acting is decent enough to compensate and leading to some really unnerving moments. There are also abrupt cuts that can feel disorienting (it makes sense in context of the story) , plus some cringy moments that are just pretty f'ed up but it fits appropriately with the type of film.

I kinda thought the film was gonna end the way it did, so that wasn't a surprise, but it also seems to take efficacy out of the main characters struggling with potential mental illness, so I feel like it lost some nuance even while it felt like it tracked through to the conclusion.

There's a short that was promoted to get funding called Laura Hasn't Slept that is also pretty decent as a proof of concept even though the details of the conceit have changed for the feature-length film.

 

[Totenkindly]

Sometimes some of my players ask me why my orcs sing in my D&D games and why so many they run into are bards.
Same for my goblins.​

"Where there's a whip, there's a way" is like the best thing about "Return of the King".

And then the hobbit:
15 BIRDS
IN FIVE FIR TREES
THEIR FEATHERS WERE FANNED
IN THE FIERY BREEZE
WHAT FUNNY LITTLE BIRDS
THEY HAD NO WINGS
OH WHAT SHALL WE DO
WITH THE FUNNY LITTLE THINGS
OH WHAT SHALL WE DO
WITH THE FUNNY LITTLE THINGS

Yeah, I just typed that from memory of the cartoon song, lol. What is that, 45 years of ingrained memory?

 

[The Cat]

"Where there's a whip, there's a way" is like the best thing about "Return of the King".

And then the hobbit:
15 BIRDS
IN FIVE FIR TREES
THEIR FEATHERS WERE FANNED
IN THE FIERY BREEZE
WHAT FUNNY LITTLE BIRDS
THEY HAD NO WINGS
OH WHAT SHALL WE DO
WITH THE FUNNY LITTLE THINGS
OH WHAT SHALL WE DO
WITH THE FUNNY LITTLE THINGS

Yeah, I just typed that from memory of the cartoon song, lol. What is that, 45 years of ingrained memory?

Oh where are you goin, with beards all awaggin, no knowing no knowing, what brings Mr Baggins, and Balin and Dwalin, in June to the Valley ha ha! Rankin Bass defined a lot of my fantasy aesthetics.

 

[Totenkindly]

The actor Clint Eastwood said will be remembered in "100 years"

When discussing actors with director Cameron Crowe, Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood once mentioned the modern actor who would be remembered in "100 years."

faroutmagazine.co.uk

Interesting. It might be an odd thing to hear, because everyone knows him and he is well-saturated in the market, but I think Cruise is underrated.

Let's lay aside his reputation for crazy antics on occasion, and/or his physical fearlessness and raw ability to perform his own stunts (which is pretty nuts, the things he insists on doing himself). And his penchant for running, running, always running.

The reality is he has done movies from about any genre you can imagine (rather than pigeonholing himself or being a one-trick pony). Sometimes this casting can be controversial (some people liked his LeStat, others didn't.) But it does show someone who isn't bound by types of stories or at least can find a commonality in his characters across genre. He's pulled in a few GGs and has a few Oscar noms.

Despite being a sex symbol in some ways (at least in his heyday), and being in many blockbusters, we can take his qualities from his physical performances and translate them to all of his roles: He seems utterly fearless, and he is all-in regardless of the cost. I'd have to search for awhile to see if I can come up with anything he's ever half-assed, if I can find something. (Well, I didn't see Rock of Ages, and I didn't like Vanilla Sky, and the Mummy sucked but ehh...) He actually has a great sense of comic timing.

Even in his blockbuster stuff, he has emotional nuance. Set aside Magnolia and Rain Man. There's a lot of films he could have done that could have been emotionally schlocky or done superficially (Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow, The Last Samurai, War of the Worlds, Minority Report, The Firm) and he doesn't -- he actually pulls out something more subtle and real and provides these kinds of pictures some actual depth -- typically a sense of underlying fear, or half-buried loss, nagging doubts, etc.

The guy has a massive ego in his personal life at times, but I also understand it to be something that drives him for excellence and courage in his work, so.... it kinda is what it is.

 

[Totenkindly]

 

[ceecee]

The actor Clint Eastwood said will be remembered in "100 years"

When discussing actors with director Cameron Crowe, Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood once mentioned the modern actor who would be remembered in "100 years."

faroutmagazine.co.uk

Interesting. It might be an odd thing to hear, because everyone knows him and he is well-saturated in the market, but I think Cruise is underrated.

Let's lay aside his reputation for crazy antics on occasion, and/or his physical fearlessness and raw ability to perform his own stunts (which is pretty nuts, the things he insists on doing himself). And his penchant for running, running, always running.

The reality is he has done movies from about any genre you can imagine (rather than pigeonholing himself or being a one-trick pony). Sometimes this casting can be controversial (some people liked his LeStat, others didn't.) But it does show someone who isn't bound by types of stories or at least can find a commonality in his characters across genre. He's pulled in a few GGs and has a few Oscar noms.

Despite being a sex symbol in some ways (at least in his heyday), and being in many blockbusters, we can take his qualities from his physical performances and translate them to all of his roles: He seems utterly fearless, and he is all-in regardless of the cost. I'd have to search for awhile to see if I can come up with anything he's ever half-assed, if I can find something. (Well, I didn't see Rock of Ages, and I didn't like Vanilla Sky, and the Mummy sucked but ehh...) He actually has a great sense of comic timing.

Even in his blockbuster stuff, he has emotional nuance. Set aside Magnolia and Rain Man. There's a lot of films he could have done that could have been emotionally schlocky or done superficially (Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow, The Last Samurai, War of the Worlds, Minority Report, The Firm) and he doesn't -- he actually pulls out something more subtle and real and provides these kinds of pictures some actual depth -- typically a sense of underlying fear, or half-buried loss, nagging doubts, etc.

The guy has a massive ego in his personal life at times, but I also understand it to be something that drives him for excellence and courage in his work, so.... it kinda is what it is.

I liked his LeStat.

I actually think he comedic roles have been great and maybe should be done more often. That just doesn't seem to be in the cards - his action moves are what people want more than anything else and until he's physically unable to do them in the way he currently does, other types of roles have to wait.

 

[The Cat]

I liked his LeStat.

I actually think he comedic roles have been great and maybe should be done more often. That just doesn't seem to be in the cards - his action moves are what people want more than anything else and until he's physically unable to do them in the way he currently does, other types of roles have to wait.

he slays me in Tropic Thunder. But I think my favorite movie of his is IWAV, and Collateral.

 

[Totenkindly]

I read today that Best Buy plans to discontinue physical media for films/tv in 2024. I guess I won't really ever be shopping at BB again, aside from maybe if I need a phone or computer cable RIGHT THIS SECOND... and Amazon can get you in a day or two max nowadays anyway, if not evening delivery.

This is really sad. They are the only major in house supplier (IMO) that provides some kind of variety of content for visual media. I don't really consider Wal*Mart or Target to fit the bill, their collections have radically been reduced over time and Wal-Mart mostly sells either what is very current or shit films, whereas Target is pretty much down to just current films/shows and barely anything else...

I remember when there were a number of specialty shops (in the 90-00's) that were selling visual media of all sorts, and BB is kind of the last store standing from that group, where you could actually go shop the physical product itself. They also had kind of blazed the "special format" products for films -- steelbooks, alternate covers, etc. But now I've been noticing Amazon also sometimes carries the special steel book versions as well.

So it looks like now we're gonna basically not have a real physical store to purchase films from (chain wise). There are still online sellers -- Amazon is easily the biggest, and you also have places like Zaavi (US and UK branches) that will have special media versions of films getting released, and then there are the heavily curated online stores like Shout, Arrow, and Criterion who put out remastered films with additional content as their primary product, so the only place you get their product from is them. (I guess B&N still does carry Criterion as a brand and also has their twice year sale 50% off.)

Just sad. I remember buying my first D&D game and Dragon magazine in Waldenbooks close to 45 years ago or so. And then there were Sam Goodie and FYE and other specialty media stores. Do the Hollywood Video stores stills exist in malls somewhere? And Borders is gone... not sure if BAM is still around. Circuit City was actually my preferred electronics store and where I actually bought my first smartphone account in 2007-2008? (I still have that phone number, although obviously my phone is tons better now!) -- I only went to BB because everyone else in that bracket seemed to be defunct.

Everything just keeps changing. People die and that is one thing, but all the brands and stores you knew as a kid and even just ten years ago will often disappear as well. And everything is virtual. Obviously the internet can support that business model now, it's just sad. I also like having physical product. Just like I don't really like reading books electronically and want the paper versions, maybe the quality has improved a great deal for music but I don't feel like it is there yet for film although it's pretty decent; I don't really like having "access" to films I can stream, I actually would like to have the quality 4K or whatever is top at the moment, because it isn't the same.

Stream "Infinity War" on Disney+ and then pop in the 4K disc. You will immediately tell that even when the physical picture is pretty decent on the stream, the sound quality is not there and they have dropped/compressed a lot of the sound data. When I really want to enjoy a film with a great 4K release (like GotG2), I will always pop in the 4K -- you can actually hear all the nuance and threads interweaving in the music. I am definitely impressed by the quality of streams over the last few years, it's noticeably improved, but I don't think the sound is there at the moment.

And now you can't really physical shop for stuff at a real hands-on store. It's all internet purchases.