I'm trying to go through my Filmstruck* queue before it goes away. Some I haven't seen before, and some I really wanted to rewatch. And they're all really, really good.
* I agree with that article about 100%, not just about what's wrong about this stupid business decision, but what's wrong with a whole bunch of other shit too.
I saw that remake in a theater when it first came out mostly because of the David Bowie, but I haven't rewatched it since. I remember it being pretty cheesy, but maybe I should watch it again someday. The remake made a lot of aspects of the original more explicit, probably partly just because of the Hayes code or something, but I kind of prefer the little bit of subtlety in the original. (Not that the original isn't also cheesy. It super-is.)
But it's weird you bring that up, because I also started watching Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence yesterday, which I also saw when it came out because of the David Bowie and remembered as not so great. I didn't finish because I am pretty sure I remembered correctly. I might finish it later if I get through the more urgent ones, though.
The Incredibles 2: While it's basically the same movie as the first one, I like the universe and characters so it works. A major issue with having a 'secret' villain in a movie is that there's not many options to pick from. Are they the bad guy? Nah probably not, what about them? Yep! And in case you didn't figure it out in the first few minutes the secret villain even says "I'm the power behind the power" or something like that.
While I would have liked for it to be a different tale, the utter and complete horribleness that was Cars 2 and in lesser extent Monsters Inc 2 has given this film a boost for not being complete trash. I really think Pixar's original "we don't do sequels" agreement they had with Disney before they were bought was the right idea as so far only Toy Story 2 has been equal if not better than the original.
Toy Story 3 was also good. I dunno how I'd order them as I haven't rewatched the first two movies in over a decade but I feel like they're all in the same tier of quality.
I dunno how I feel about them making a fourth one though...
The best films in my opinion are Italian
French Comedy
I really want to live in these countries
A friend advised to buy a property and thus obtain a residence permit
I.e
Buy a house in France Houses for sale in France. House prices in France and get a residence permit. and then citizenship
So simple
Have you heard anything about this ???
and then, maybe they will take me to shoot in Italian and French films)
You guys know I don't come in every time I see a good movie because I know it's boring and all. I only really bore you about things I am busting at the seams over.
And holy shit, The Cremator. If this had been made in English, everyone would know it. Holy shit, this movie.
It's a sort of surrealish horror thriller comedy about a funeral director in Czechoslovakia in the 30s, and I never like to give away plots so I won't, but everything about it is just beautifully done. The cinematography and the dialog and OMG the acting the lead guy is more Peter Lorre than Peter Lorre. I mean, there are no bad actors in this. They're all great, but THAT GUY!
I need the very best quality physical copy of this movie ever because I need to watch it like ten more times at least, because there's stuff I'm still a little confused about, and plus I just really really want to.
If you get a chance to see this movie, I strongly recommend you do.
I'll spoiler the bemoaning again so you can skip it.
And it's just driving home again how awful it is that Filmstruck's going away. I've been trying to prioritize and cull my watch list that I thought I had all the time in the world for, and it's killing me to run up, again, against something in there that I might never see otherwise that I love so much. Because I see a ton of movies that I really like, and every now and again, I'll find one I just love love love, and the main place I find these those is just going away.
I'm giving a thumbsup to Widows. A p good, terse story well told. Starring the absolutely incredible Viola Davis. I mean, wow. Is there anything she's not good in? Let me answer that: No. She has this palpable presence any time she's in a room. You HAVE to deal with her. She doesn't have to do anything or say a word and you can't not deal with her being on the screen. It's not chemistry, exactly. It's elemental. Basic to the foundation of the universe.
Also seen't the Wreck it Ralph 2 thing. While the whole of the movie is p good, all the scenes with the Princesses were my favorite part(s).
The story about Orson Wells trying to make make The Other Side of the Wind, which he tried to get finished up until his death. Netflix released both this and an edit of the actual movie.
If you're interested in movies as an artistic media, it's probably worth watching.
On a personal note, listening to Orson Wells in this reminds me a lot of listening to my Dad, which makes this movie extra bittersweet.
We saw The Favourite last night. (You have to spell it the British way, as there was a movie called The Favorite that came out recently enough that it was jamming me up looking for showtimes.)
I loved it and so did Matlock, so I'd recommend it to most people, I guess. It's directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who is one of the founders of the recent "Greek weird wave," but he done hit the big time and started making movies in English starting with The Lobster. This always worries me when a director I like makes it big because sometimes, they get tangled up with studios that don't let them do what they do best. But he's been doing pretty well so far, and I think this is the best of his English language movies so far.
It's a little more toned down than some of his earlier work, but he still has these little surrealistic elements that are just realistic enough to be unsettling and weird, and he's putting his bigger budgets to good use by making a big lush, immersive costume drama.
Apparently there is an end-credits teaser for Into the Spider-Verse. But if you're not actually Marvel and not just playing with Marvel toys you don't get to play that game so stuff it.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was very entertaining and visually interesting and I left the theater with a big smile on my face.
Agreed, only this feels like it’s underselling the movie. Then again, almost every review I’ve read feels like it’s underselling the movie. It’s actually even better than most of the reviews have said – despite several of the reviews actually specifying that it’s better than most of the reviews say it is. Part of this is because it’s the type of cinematic experience that defies description. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen in theatres before, because it’s unlike any other film ever made.
In fact, though I’m way behind on my 2018 movie viewing, I think it may have been the best film I saw last year (apart, perhaps, from Pan’s Labyrinth for the third or fourth time, if we’re counting older movies I watched last year). Either that or Black Panther (both Marvel properties, perhaps not coincidentally). Nothing else I saw was both as well crafted and as ultimately life-affirming.
In particular, this is the first comic book film I’ve ever seen that actually feels like a comic book. Many are crafted with obvious knowledge and love of their source material, but they still feel like films that are based on comic books. This actually feels like a comic book. A lot of this is due to the expert animation, which is unlike anything that’s ever been done before. It’s a completely unique animation style that’s as much of a head trip as the visuals for Doctor Strange (an acknowledged influence on the film) were. It somehow manages to recreate the aesthetics of comic books on the big screen without actually feeling like it’s just a visual translation of what a comic book would look like if it were animated. I mean, there’s a lot of aesthetics that are brought to the film’s visual style directly from the medium of comics, but there’s more to it than that. It’s difficult to put entirely into words, but this review does an excellent job.
There’s a lot more to say about this film, and maybe I will at some point, but really, go see it if you haven’t already. It’s a fantastic, beautiful film that isn’t getting enough love at the box office. I’m likely to see it at least once more before it leaves cinemas, not least because I didn’t see it in 3D and I think this is one film that would benefit from the experience. And I’m unsurprised that Moonlight director Barry Jenkins praised it, given that they’re on very similar wavelengths both aesthetically and philosophically.
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Cēterum cēnseō factiōnem Rēpūblicānam dēlendam esse īgnī ferrōque.
“All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind.” -Adam Smith
You know. It's probably not surprising to anyone, but among my top movies this year, the Spider-Verse and Black Panther are easy top 3. Also high in that listing is the Mission Impossible. As a counter to all of that, the Tomb Raider movie was forgettable. I remember seeing it when it was available to rent on Prime or Demand and thinking "Oh Hey! I wanted to see that! Oh no, I did see it." And then again when I was reviewing the list of movies I've seen this year: O"h yeah, Tomb Raider came out. Huh."
Last weekend me and The Kid watched Whisper of the Heart, the only anime directed by Yoshifumi Kondō at Studio Ghibli before his untimely death from an aortic aneurysm at age 47. Wikipedia describes it as a "romantic drama" and it wasn't the typical Studio Ghibli fantasy fare. But it was a good movie to watch with my daughter.
Then we watched The Cat Returns, which was focused on The Baron, a character from Whisper of the Heart. The Cat Returns was the standard Studio Ghibli heartwarming fantasy, and had quite the cast of American voice actors -- Anne Hathaway, Tim Curry, René Auberjonois. Both movies were entertaining, and though not the same type of movie, the connective tissue between the two was p. imaginative imho.
Also, saw Vice a couple weeks ago, second what Vremya said about it. Spider-Verse and Aquaman are still playing at the local movieplex... Haven't yet brought myself to see Aquaman, but I watched Spider-Verse twice, cuz my friend wanted to see it, and at first The Kid didn't want to see it, then she changed her mind so I saw it again with her. I heartily recommend everyone see Into The Spider-Verse at least once.
I saw The Favourite and while I wouldn't say it was my favo(u)rite movie, it was definitely good.
Interesting to see Olivia Colman getting so much awards buzz for a dramatic role after only knowing her for Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look (both quality comedy shows).
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