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Post by stampidhd280pro on Sept 8, 2024 2:54:19 GMT
Long time since my last post. I got a 15 dollar membership at the local movie theater which shows old movies. So far this month I've seen American Graffiti, Jaws, Midnight Express (loved this), The Wicker Man, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Conversation.
On my own, I finally got around to the two Jurassic Park sequels. I saw Lost World as a kid, but was underwhelmed. I'm still not terribly fond of it, but technically it is a wonderful feat. Jurassic Park 3 almost looks like a TV movie in comparison, and somehow suceeds in being utterly pointless, but I think I enjoyed it more simply for the action.
I watched the animated Beowulf from 2007. I didn't mind it. It's a credible movie. I finally watched Romancing the Stone. The 80s music is so cheesy. I watched French Postcards which is kind of like American Graffiti: Lost in Paris. Best Defense may be the worst movie ever made, but I enjoy how horrible it is.
I've seen every Matthew Robbins directed feature now. Bingo (1990) is one of the strangest kids movies, right up there with The Stupids (1996). Highly recommended for enjoyers of the absurd.
I saw the Louis Wain biopic. It's very sad.
Hesitant to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice which basically looks like another Force Awakens or Ghostbusters: Afterlife. But I will probably go watch it tomorrow.
Oh, for fans of experimental film, you gotta watch Once Within a Time by Godfrey Reggio. Aggressively abstract. His best since Koyaanisqatsi. It's only like 50 minutes. If it was any longer, heads would explode.
I also started going through Lawrence Kasdan's directorial filmography. Body Heat, I've already seen. And some of his romantic comedies from the 90s were always around at home when I was growing up. I watched the Big Chill though and couldn't enjoy it. Don't commit suicide, or your rich friends will get together, hook up, and have breakfast in the morning. I should probably give it another shot sometime.
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Post by smittysgelato on Sept 8, 2024 4:44:26 GMT
well realism is not exactly what I'm going for. 300 is not a realistic movie, but it paints an accurate picture of what the ancients believed I guess you don't mind the aesthetics, action, etc. departing from realism, but when the movie departs from historical realism, then you don't like it. |
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Post by eljedicolombiano on Sept 8, 2024 13:30:01 GMT
well realism is not exactly what I'm going for. 300 is not a realistic movie, but it paints an accurate picture of what the ancients believed I guess you don't mind the aesthetics, action, etc. departing from realism, but when the movie departs from historical realism, then you don't like it. Well kind of- I still like Gladiator even if there was never a serious move to restore the Roman Republic. |
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Post by smittysgelato on Sept 11, 2024 4:28:50 GMT
I guess you don't mind the aesthetics, action, etc. departing from realism, but when the movie departs from historical realism, then you don't like it. Well kind of- I still like Gladiator even if there was never a serious move to restore the Roman Republic. I remember re-watching Gladiator for the first time as an adult and when it came time for the bit about Marcus wanting to restore the Republic, I remember thinking: "I bet he didn't want to do that in real life, lol."
Anyways, today I rewatched Unforgiven for the first time in about 13 years. The great thing about that movie is that the killing that occurs carries A LOT of weight. A lot of movies rack up a big body count but it can all feel pretty meaningless, but not Unforgiven.
The 4K presentation is underwhelming. It looks a little too dark in too many shots, which happens on far too many 4K movies.
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Post by eljedicolombiano on Sept 15, 2024 12:43:13 GMT
Recently saw The Cowboys one of the last Westerns John Wayne made. I'm still not sure what to think of it.
On the one hand, it has an incredible score from John Williams, and some truly memorable scenes but I can't help but look down on the ending when all the children and teenagers take revenge on the outlaws and kill them.
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Post by stampidhd280pro on Sept 15, 2024 17:41:32 GMT
I watched Red Rooms yesterday. It's Canadian or something. Not bad, really!
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Post by tonyg on Sept 15, 2024 18:20:18 GMT
well realism is not exactly what I'm going for. 300 is not a realistic movie, but it paints an accurate picture of what the ancients believed I guess you don't mind the aesthetics, action, etc. departing from realism, but when the movie departs from historical realism, then you don't like it. Realism for me refers to human character looking natural in their environment. So, historical movies fail for me when they depict 21 century people who think and act such but in an old time costumes. Is like a cosplay. Braveheart is historically inaccurate but it looks realistic because of its characters acting like they did. Fighting for freedom looks natural there not like fighting for the republic in Gladiator. However, while Gladiator is more personal story, I tolerate it (skipping the embarrassing moments of being liberal in the ancient times). I have a friend who is astronomer and he thinks that Red planet is not astronomically accurate movie, i.e. according to him is not realistic. However I think it is realistic, because people there look realistic, including their reaction of being held 3 months in a can (well, spaceship): making illegal alcohol and discussing the meaning of life. |
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Post by smittysgelato on Sept 15, 2024 18:51:52 GMT
Recently saw The Cowboys one of the last Westerns John Wayne made. I'm still not sure what to think of it. On the one hand, it has an incredible score from John Williams, and some truly memorable scenes but I can't help but look down on the ending when all the children and teenagers take revenge on the outlaws and kill them. Not a very George Lucas ending, that's for sure. |
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Post by Ingram on Sept 16, 2024 10:25:43 GMT
Realism for me refers to human character looking natural in their environment. So, historical movies fail for me when they depict 21 century people who think and act such but in an old time costumes. Is like a cosplay.
It's gotten worse. In tandem with all things digital gloss these days, pre-modern historical dramas like Vikings, The Last Kingdom, The Winter King etc. have characters that are so fashionably coiffed they feel like posh advert models or open-world console game avatars of the most generic kind. Everybody's always clad in "designer" medieval wear oddly dressed down and non-descriptive. Historical eras have been worked over to feel like rock videos.
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Post by stampidhd280pro on Sept 23, 2024 9:57:09 GMT
This was really good.
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Post by stampidhd280pro on Sept 25, 2024 14:00:49 GMT
One thing I found out recently about Megalopolis which is coming out tomorrow, is that a lot of the footage was shot by Ron Fricke, who was cinematographer of Kotaanisqatsi and shot the volcanoes and lava for Revenge of the Sith. Just thought I'd mention that here.
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Post by stampidhd280pro on Sept 27, 2024 11:39:09 GMT
I saw Megalopolis twice last night and we're basically dealing with a SW Prequel-level situation. If you are a FFC fan, you need to start planning your next month around this movie because it's a repeat watcher and we're not going to get another one like this. While the dismissive laughter and outright vitriol to this movie is real, thankfully it's being warmly and enthusiastically recieved by film lovers and the discussion of it won't be an uphill battle like it was with the prequels. Even the NYT review and others like it are getting everything right. www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/movies/megalopolis-review-francis-ford-coppola.htmlI'm looking forward to your ranking, Ingram. And if I can make a short, spoiler-free comment about it: It's kind of just a sweet, idealistic little movie with a big budget and rich with artistic value. Star Wars for adults, even. |
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Post by smittysgelato on Sept 28, 2024 19:45:44 GMT
I looked at my local theatre listings and Megalopolis is nowhere to be found. I doubt a tiny family-oriented theatre like mine is gonna bother.
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Film club
Sept 29, 2024 2:03:09 GMT
via mobile
Post by stampidhd280pro on Sept 29, 2024 2:03:09 GMT
I looked at my local theatre listings and Megalopolis is nowhere to be found. I doubt a tiny family-oriented theatre like mine is gonna bother. That blows. I'm on my fourth viewing. |
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Post by smittysgelato on Sept 29, 2024 5:34:29 GMT
I looked at my local theatre listings and Megalopolis is nowhere to be found. I doubt a tiny family-oriented theatre like mine is gonna bother. That blows. I'm on my fourth viewing. I will gladly blind-buy the blu-ray. |
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Post by ArchdukeOfNaboo on Oct 2, 2024 5:09:36 GMT
This was a wild ride. Let me repeat that: A WILD F*CKING RIDE. I was glued to the seat for every minute of it, I couldn't take my eyes off it, it always kept you guessing. The cinematography and art direction were both outstanding, brimming with imagination. Like a Lucasian movie, it often relied on letting the visuals to tell its story rather than jamming in dialogue. I'll take it over a needless Joker sequel and a disinterested, phone-in-my-performance Joaquin Phoenix any day. If you folks enjoyed the female-lead psychological drama that was Black Swan, then you'll love this too. It's a cautionary tale on the obsession with youthful beauty and the unsavoury cosmetic procedures used to achieve it. Demi Moore plays a blinder, she is magnetic in this. Given how her ex Ashton Kutcher dumped her for a much younger woman, I can imagine some of this story must ring personal for her.
In the third act I felt like it slid too much into horror and could have packed more of a punch with its protagonist. Nevertheless, it was a thoughtful, surrealist film, very well cast and with razor sharp writing, I'd recommend it to all. For the voyeurs, there is some nice eye candy on show too, haha.
This is modern cinema trying to be bold for once, I promise you, Ingram. And Disney, if by any chance any of you hacks are lurking here, this is how you do a film based around female characters.
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Post by ArchdukeOfNaboo on Oct 2, 2024 6:23:46 GMT
Ridley Scott out of ideas and going back to his anachronist Roman gladiator story
This will be the biggest sh*tshow going, mark my words. Scott couldn't have made a bigger dog's dinner out of Napoleon and now, a mere 12 months later, he expects us to ingest a Gladiator sequel that nobody wanted? Let's not forget, the main character *SPOILER* died at the end of the original. I think Scott has lost his marbles, he could do with taking a leaf out of Lucas' book and enjoy some retirement.
If you're doing a new film on Ancient Rome, why not forget about the gladiator games and chose a different aspect of the history? There is so much that has never made a whiff of the silver screen. A film based on Aurelian, an emperor during the turbulent 3rd century, would be one of my picks. But then there's no necessity to base it around an emperor either, the series Rome did well (mostly) following the lives of two soldiers.
The comment section is on fire:
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Post by stampidhd280pro on Oct 4, 2024 23:21:22 GMT
Between the inappropriate laughing at Megalopolis and the new Joker, I'm done seeing movies with big audiences. People are so ignorant and disrespectful.
The new Joker is good, btw. Not perfect like the first one, but still engaging and poignant. But I wont be seeing it again until the seats start emptying. It's been 24 hours and I'm still fuming. I'm really just about done with humanity.
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Post by ArchdukeOfNaboo on Oct 4, 2024 23:37:34 GMT
Between the inappropriate laughing at Megalopolis and the new Joker, I'm done seeing movies with big audiences. People are so ignorant and disrespectful. The new Joker is good, btw. Not perfect like the first one, but still engaging and poignant. But I wont be seeing it again until the seats start emptying. It's been 24 hours and I'm still fuming. I'm really just about done with humanity.
You had a few teenagers near you, did you? I've been there several times, never the best feeling, especially when its a film you're enjoying. I find the loud teenagers tend to congregate at the back, so I tend to avoid that area and sit toward the center.
Other than myself, my buddy and this older couple, we had an empty cinema for The Substance. Tuesday nights or even Monday-Thursday in general tend to be quiet where I live. Perhaps too quiet.... I want cinemas to stay alive
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Post by stampidhd280pro on Oct 5, 2024 0:34:10 GMT
Worse. My local movie house is near a university. People in their 20s are the scum of the earth. Millennials are pretty bad too. I'm just sick of people, I guess.
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