ZetsubouKaiji
Well-Known Member
Any time I see Orson Welles I remember him being a massive asshole during the taping of the voice over for a frozen peas commercial.
Secret Santa: Entertainment Board Movie Reviews and Commentary 2019 Edition
- Thread starter Gens
- Start date
Taek
Well-Known Member
Blue Velvet
Damn you, Lynch. Damn you to hell!!!
Like many David Lynch films, this is pretty odd and fascinating and dark and shit, and there's so much that would need a repeat viewing to really pick up on and get the full thematic bouquet on offer.
But as it stands, I found a lot to like about this film, particularly the villain, who was the kind of seriously unhinged that any Joker writer has wet dreams about ("BABY WANTS TO FUCK"), and also the brilliant cinematography through the majority of the film.
The themes of sadomasochism and the mystery itself were less interesting to me than Jeremy's reactions to these things, he's a strange protagonist, he finds himself willing to do all kinds of weird shit and finds himself surprised or disgusted at what he sees.
The use of music through the film is very good indeed, from Dorothy's surreal performance of Blue Velvet, to Ben lip syncing to Roy Orbison's In Dreams. The performances create these strange atmospheres and each performance drives a big change in the narrative.
The use of light is obviously a big thing too, much of the film is dark with only small streams of light that guy be just enough for us to see what is necessary, and the film gets lighter as the mystery uncovers further. It's a fun technique.
This will definitely require a rewatch at some point to see what I've missed. But for now, a solid 3.5/5
Damn you, Lynch. Damn you to hell!!!
Like many David Lynch films, this is pretty odd and fascinating and dark and shit, and there's so much that would need a repeat viewing to really pick up on and get the full thematic bouquet on offer.
But as it stands, I found a lot to like about this film, particularly the villain, who was the kind of seriously unhinged that any Joker writer has wet dreams about ("BABY WANTS TO FUCK"), and also the brilliant cinematography through the majority of the film.
The themes of sadomasochism and the mystery itself were less interesting to me than Jeremy's reactions to these things, he's a strange protagonist, he finds himself willing to do all kinds of weird shit and finds himself surprised or disgusted at what he sees.
The use of music through the film is very good indeed, from Dorothy's surreal performance of Blue Velvet, to Ben lip syncing to Roy Orbison's In Dreams. The performances create these strange atmospheres and each performance drives a big change in the narrative.
The use of light is obviously a big thing too, much of the film is dark with only small streams of light that guy be just enough for us to see what is necessary, and the film gets lighter as the mystery uncovers further. It's a fun technique.
This will definitely require a rewatch at some point to see what I've missed. But for now, a solid 3.5/5
Schizm
Well-Known Member
I love the Pinky & Brain parody of that. They didn't even really change a thing either.
Franconator
Well-Known Member
I love Suzuki's style. It's so out-there and wacko creative, so the weird chopsuey of elements and aesthetics clash at worst and complement each other at best. I really liked this movie for the simple thing it was, and most especially because the lead character went a little crazy at the end. The movie took those hitman rankings way too seriously, but the way it didn't really expound on that or give it too much explanation really helped its cause.
Joe Shishido's a stealthy favorite of mine. His puffy cheeks were off-putting at first, but when I read he did that on purpose, I started looking at him a little differently.
Thanks for this. I'm bumping this up higher on my watchlist.
The director has a flair for crime stories influenced by poverty and especially symbolism. I recently saw Ash is Purest White, which was also directed by Jia Zhangke, and that one also had a lot of references to Chinese history and cycles that went over my head. But it also featured local hoodlums being forced into the life because of poverty, so it was at least a little accessible for outsiders like me.
It's the John Woo-est movie to ever John Woo and it's the best thing ever. I maintain A Better Tomorrow II is his best work, but Hard Boiled is the most John Woo movie out there.
Wasn't the The Killer the one with the doves?
randomredneck
Well-Known Member
I was disappointed they started with The Critic and didn't include his part as Welles himself.
Zed
Database Moderator
Free Fire
You know for a thriller this is as exciting as shooting someone in the foot and then waiting for him to bleed to death. Which is an appropriate analogy given that it's literally what most the film is, people shot in their legs crawling around, hiding in corners, shouting insults or orders at each others while shooting randomly for an hour and a half until they all die. When I watched the trailer it sold the film to me as something really over the top fun, or heck maybe even a high energy satire of some kind, but the movie took itself a little too seriously and was too straight forward with its execution of the concept for me to enjoy it.
Heck, I wasn't even sure who is on whose side most of the time, some of them jumped ship more than once, or were shooting people on their own side for no good reason whatsoever. Even at some point when some 3rd party pair of snipers crash the party and start shooting both parties, and when the guy who was shot in the face at the start to walk again and practically spit out how he and Brie Larson girl were in cahoots with the snipers they don't seem to even put two and two together and reach the obvious conclusion that they were punked by the girl. Hell, it was obvious from the moment the hired sniper was shot in the face trying to tell them who hired him was her, so it wasn't that much of a twist either (maybe from my perspective and not the characters' though).
Random but I kinda noticed every main character seemed dressed up like he's cosplaying like 70s gangster characters, maybe the creators thought this is the only way we'll remember who is who I don't know. I don't know if I'm reading too much into this, was busy being bored to not focus on silly shit.
4/10 I'm really disappointed in this, it really looked like it had a lot of potential for a great satire maybe.
You know for a thriller this is as exciting as shooting someone in the foot and then waiting for him to bleed to death. Which is an appropriate analogy given that it's literally what most the film is, people shot in their legs crawling around, hiding in corners, shouting insults or orders at each others while shooting randomly for an hour and a half until they all die. When I watched the trailer it sold the film to me as something really over the top fun, or heck maybe even a high energy satire of some kind, but the movie took itself a little too seriously and was too straight forward with its execution of the concept for me to enjoy it.
Heck, I wasn't even sure who is on whose side most of the time, some of them jumped ship more than once, or were shooting people on their own side for no good reason whatsoever. Even at some point when some 3rd party pair of snipers crash the party and start shooting both parties, and when the guy who was shot in the face at the start to walk again and practically spit out how he and Brie Larson girl were in cahoots with the snipers they don't seem to even put two and two together and reach the obvious conclusion that they were punked by the girl. Hell, it was obvious from the moment the hired sniper was shot in the face trying to tell them who hired him was her, so it wasn't that much of a twist either (maybe from my perspective and not the characters' though).
Random but I kinda noticed every main character seemed dressed up like he's cosplaying like 70s gangster characters, maybe the creators thought this is the only way we'll remember who is who I don't know. I don't know if I'm reading too much into this, was busy being bored to not focus on silly shit.
4/10 I'm really disappointed in this, it really looked like it had a lot of potential for a great satire maybe.
randomredneck
Well-Known Member
Disco Godfather
Yeah, this was just bad even for a low budget 70's blaxplotation flick.
Yeah, this was just bad even for a low budget 70's blaxplotation flick.
Taek
Well-Known Member
Kind of gutted to read this as it's a film I missed in theatres and was quite hopeful to see. The trailer definitely makes it look like a satire, so to hear it's actually quite serious is definitely not what I wanted to hear.
Gens
Database Moderator
The Trial is really such an underrated gem from Orson Welles. Everyone can keep ass kissing Citizen Kane but it's all about the Trial to me and it's nightmarish surrealism. The reading of Joseph being a closest homosexual is honestly especially interesting considering what Anthony Perkin's background is with his own sexual orientation.
Every time I think of John Woo's use of the disturbed doves tropes, I can't help but imagine Prince's song when doves cry every time for some reason lol:
Zed
Database Moderator
Same. When I saw the trailer I thought this might be one of the best movies in my list.
ZetsubouKaiji
Well-Known Member
I left this out of the review, but Welles cast Perkins for that reason. I didn't want to include some out of context quotes from Welles, but he suspected Perkins was gay even if Perkins wasn't open about it. The film has a lot of layers and it is a personal favorite of Welles.
Free Fire isn't a great movie, but I don't think it's all that serious. There's a lot of tongue in cheek humor. At the end of the day though @Zed60K is right though for a film that's essential an hour and half gun fight it does become a slog because the characters aren't great and it's hard to care who is on what side.
Gens
Database Moderator
Election(2005):
My first time with Johnnie To isn't quite what I expected. For a gangster film there is nary much of a single gunshot in sight. It's more of your thinking gangster's movie with a lot of political shuffling, debating and getting into the intricacies of the Triad's system. Kind of seems Godfather-ish to me in a particular sense. There are many, many characters in this film and allegiances/loyalties it hops around with, backstabbing and double crossing, all that that good stuff. All these people locked into a power struggle. They're fighting for this baton thing of leadership, which definitely isn't phallic in anyway of course. Big D such a great nickname lmao..........
Big D is the loud and brash, over the top guy who's unhappy with the end result, than you have Lok the more calm and collected person, thus begins a tense cat and mouse game. There's this idea of tradition firmly planted in there and you know it really feels like it's pointing out the hollow absurdity, putting things into perspective that they're fighting over some damn stick. For all the idea of honor though, it really disintegrates as greed and power hungriness gets in the way. This very notion ends up not meaning jack fucking shit by the end of the film and everything gets thrown out a window, I was flinching at the cold conclusion. It exposes the hypocrisy here, that it doesn't mean much in the face of power and is kind of a facade under the guise of a democratic election here. Whatever sparse violence there is in this film, it's more brutal and just plain ugly than anything. Preferring to knock people off with blunt instruments. It has this x factor of coming out of nowhere and it really isn't pretty at all. Also paint is the most dangerous weapon of them all! I really appreciate this take on this genre honestly.
A dense movie, but one well worth watching. I really liked it.
7/10
My first time with Johnnie To isn't quite what I expected. For a gangster film there is nary much of a single gunshot in sight. It's more of your thinking gangster's movie with a lot of political shuffling, debating and getting into the intricacies of the Triad's system. Kind of seems Godfather-ish to me in a particular sense. There are many, many characters in this film and allegiances/loyalties it hops around with, backstabbing and double crossing, all that that good stuff. All these people locked into a power struggle. They're fighting for this baton thing of leadership, which definitely isn't phallic in anyway of course. Big D such a great nickname lmao..........
Big D is the loud and brash, over the top guy who's unhappy with the end result, than you have Lok the more calm and collected person, thus begins a tense cat and mouse game. There's this idea of tradition firmly planted in there and you know it really feels like it's pointing out the hollow absurdity, putting things into perspective that they're fighting over some damn stick. For all the idea of honor though, it really disintegrates as greed and power hungriness gets in the way. This very notion ends up not meaning jack fucking shit by the end of the film and everything gets thrown out a window, I was flinching at the cold conclusion. It exposes the hypocrisy here, that it doesn't mean much in the face of power and is kind of a facade under the guise of a democratic election here. Whatever sparse violence there is in this film, it's more brutal and just plain ugly than anything. Preferring to knock people off with blunt instruments. It has this x factor of coming out of nowhere and it really isn't pretty at all. Also paint is the most dangerous weapon of them all! I really appreciate this take on this genre honestly.
A dense movie, but one well worth watching. I really liked it.
7/10
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Gens
Database Moderator
Murder by Death(1976):
This film is genuinely quite a silly bit of fun as murder mystery/detective parody/spoof. I think it's best and helps you have some kind of precursory knowledge of the famous detective figures they're essentially spoofing though. The cast is pretty much made up of super all stars all across the board here that work pretty well together. I think the cast put in good entertaining performances but I've got problems with Peter Sellers here, who plays a parody of Charlie Chan. I get what they're going for but it's just a bit too much on the obnoxious side for me as he's still a racist caricature even as a parody, that isn't that funny and it's off-putting. This particular aspect hasn't really aged all that well along with some homophobic bits and sexism.
That said, the script manages to still mine a good amount of chuckles out of me and I think it's consistent enough with some solid jokes and one liners. Red herrings abound, A-ha reveals and plot twists of course. Poking the convoluted nature of such stories in the genre. I'm not going to say it's the cleverest comedy I've seen but I think it mostly hits the mark for me with it's light hearted breezy ridiculousness and as a genre fan. Also I am a big fan of Peter Falk and Maggie Smith. The ending gets super meta with it being a big giant fuck you to the frustrations with the stories in the genre. Disgruntled mystery reader raging ahoy.
6.5/10
This film is genuinely quite a silly bit of fun as murder mystery/detective parody/spoof. I think it's best and helps you have some kind of precursory knowledge of the famous detective figures they're essentially spoofing though. The cast is pretty much made up of super all stars all across the board here that work pretty well together. I think the cast put in good entertaining performances but I've got problems with Peter Sellers here, who plays a parody of Charlie Chan. I get what they're going for but it's just a bit too much on the obnoxious side for me as he's still a racist caricature even as a parody, that isn't that funny and it's off-putting. This particular aspect hasn't really aged all that well along with some homophobic bits and sexism.
That said, the script manages to still mine a good amount of chuckles out of me and I think it's consistent enough with some solid jokes and one liners. Red herrings abound, A-ha reveals and plot twists of course. Poking the convoluted nature of such stories in the genre. I'm not going to say it's the cleverest comedy I've seen but I think it mostly hits the mark for me with it's light hearted breezy ridiculousness and as a genre fan. Also I am a big fan of Peter Falk and Maggie Smith. The ending gets super meta with it being a big giant fuck you to the frustrations with the stories in the genre. Disgruntled mystery reader raging ahoy.
6.5/10
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ZetsubouKaiji
Well-Known Member
Wake in Fright
For all the jokes about Australia being a haven for all things that want to kill you the country has always had a roguish charm in cinema. It's an untamed land that doesn't follow normal societal norms, which makes it a backdrop for a lot of stuffy folks to remove the sticks from their butts after a lighthearted adventure. Australian cinema had embraced that image in the 1960s and early 70s, which is why Australian audiences were so shocked and upset by Wake Into Fright. The film portrays the deep outback as a wild and dangerous place, but not one that strips away the edifice of civility in freeing way. In this film there is no charm to the vicious outback as it takes a mild mannered man and tears his psyche to shreds as it strips away his pride and his humanity.
The film follows a mild mannered teacher John Grant. Grant is unhappy with his living conditions as he's forced away from the city to pay off student loan debts. He's teaching out in the sticks and the only thing he has to look forward to his a school break where he can go visit his girlfriend in Sydney. When break arrives though John finds himself in the town Bundanyabba or just Yabba as the locals call it. After gambling away all his savings John finds after looking for a quick score to pay off his student loans, John finds himself stuck in the town needing to rely on the dubious hospitality of the locals. At first John just observes their hard drinking depravity, but eventually John finds the alcohol hard to turn down and slowly he begins to sink into the rough life style of the town. It all culminates in a hard to watch kangaroo hunt that turns into an orgy of ugly violence as the true savagery of this society comes to the forefront.
I'll just come out and say it Wake in Fright is better than its more well known cousin Deliverance. Both are stories that follow mid mannered city folk coming into contact with violent fringe cultures and descending into violence and baser instincts. However, I think Wake Into Fright has a more gritty psychological approach that left me feeling more disturbed than I did when I watched Deliverance. John Grant is seduced into this sordid world of weird sexuality, gambling and almost demonic alcoholism even though he clearly should know better. At first he thinks he's above it all and maybe that's his true weakness because he doesn't realize the lifestyles dangerous allure until it's already sucked him in. By the end of the movie Grant has changed, but it's unclear if it's for better or worse.
Part of the reason for the film's poor reception in Australia is although it was based on a novel by an Australian author it was directed by a Canadian man and stars some non-Australian actors. For Australians this made the film feel like a cheap exploitative shot at the Outback. I think the film is stronger for the outsider perspective though. It gives the film an alien film as it seems John is stepping into another world where the normal rules only loosely apply. The feeling of alienation and isolation are key to understanding John's arc in the film.
The film's cast is impressive. It stars Donald Pleasance, Jack London and John Armstrong. These names might not mean much to more casual movie fans, but these guys are all cult favorites. The acting for the film is quite good. Gary Bond as John Grant anchors the film. He's mostly a reactive character as he tries to get his bearings. The others get to have more to do in their roles as none of them are straight out villains. There's something sympathetic about the rough locals. You don't exactly want to root for them, but sometimes you don't mind when they punch through Grant's haughty exterior. Donald Pleasance is particularly great. He plays a perverse doctor with loose sexual mores. He's by turns creepy and one of the more charming members of the cast. That charm hides a perversity that ends up making the character one of the more abhorrent later in the film, but Pleasance plays the role to perfection.
The film is solid in the technical aspects even if its low budget is quite apparent. However, in this case a low budget is more of a boon than a hindrance as it gives the film a gritty cinema verite that adds to the atmosphere and horror of the situation. The kangaroo scene is particularly violent and controversial because it includes footage of an actual kangaroo hunt. However, it was a legally sanctioned hunt that would have been conducted anyway to cull the kangaroo population. It still might be a bit much for people that don't want to see violence against animals because those scenes are gut wrenching.
Wake in Fright was lost for years. It wasn't just lost in the metaphorical underappreciated sense. The actual master negative was lost for decades before an extensive search found it in a shipping container in Pittsburgh marked for destruction. The film was remastered and found a new audience in the late 2000s. It's one of a handful of films to premiere at Cannes twice. If you're looking for a film that portrays the savage side of humanity when the civility of the city is stripped away then give this one a look. 7 out of 10
For all the jokes about Australia being a haven for all things that want to kill you the country has always had a roguish charm in cinema. It's an untamed land that doesn't follow normal societal norms, which makes it a backdrop for a lot of stuffy folks to remove the sticks from their butts after a lighthearted adventure. Australian cinema had embraced that image in the 1960s and early 70s, which is why Australian audiences were so shocked and upset by Wake Into Fright. The film portrays the deep outback as a wild and dangerous place, but not one that strips away the edifice of civility in freeing way. In this film there is no charm to the vicious outback as it takes a mild mannered man and tears his psyche to shreds as it strips away his pride and his humanity.
The film follows a mild mannered teacher John Grant. Grant is unhappy with his living conditions as he's forced away from the city to pay off student loan debts. He's teaching out in the sticks and the only thing he has to look forward to his a school break where he can go visit his girlfriend in Sydney. When break arrives though John finds himself in the town Bundanyabba or just Yabba as the locals call it. After gambling away all his savings John finds after looking for a quick score to pay off his student loans, John finds himself stuck in the town needing to rely on the dubious hospitality of the locals. At first John just observes their hard drinking depravity, but eventually John finds the alcohol hard to turn down and slowly he begins to sink into the rough life style of the town. It all culminates in a hard to watch kangaroo hunt that turns into an orgy of ugly violence as the true savagery of this society comes to the forefront.
I'll just come out and say it Wake in Fright is better than its more well known cousin Deliverance. Both are stories that follow mid mannered city folk coming into contact with violent fringe cultures and descending into violence and baser instincts. However, I think Wake Into Fright has a more gritty psychological approach that left me feeling more disturbed than I did when I watched Deliverance. John Grant is seduced into this sordid world of weird sexuality, gambling and almost demonic alcoholism even though he clearly should know better. At first he thinks he's above it all and maybe that's his true weakness because he doesn't realize the lifestyles dangerous allure until it's already sucked him in. By the end of the movie Grant has changed, but it's unclear if it's for better or worse.
Part of the reason for the film's poor reception in Australia is although it was based on a novel by an Australian author it was directed by a Canadian man and stars some non-Australian actors. For Australians this made the film feel like a cheap exploitative shot at the Outback. I think the film is stronger for the outsider perspective though. It gives the film an alien film as it seems John is stepping into another world where the normal rules only loosely apply. The feeling of alienation and isolation are key to understanding John's arc in the film.
The film's cast is impressive. It stars Donald Pleasance, Jack London and John Armstrong. These names might not mean much to more casual movie fans, but these guys are all cult favorites. The acting for the film is quite good. Gary Bond as John Grant anchors the film. He's mostly a reactive character as he tries to get his bearings. The others get to have more to do in their roles as none of them are straight out villains. There's something sympathetic about the rough locals. You don't exactly want to root for them, but sometimes you don't mind when they punch through Grant's haughty exterior. Donald Pleasance is particularly great. He plays a perverse doctor with loose sexual mores. He's by turns creepy and one of the more charming members of the cast. That charm hides a perversity that ends up making the character one of the more abhorrent later in the film, but Pleasance plays the role to perfection.
The film is solid in the technical aspects even if its low budget is quite apparent. However, in this case a low budget is more of a boon than a hindrance as it gives the film a gritty cinema verite that adds to the atmosphere and horror of the situation. The kangaroo scene is particularly violent and controversial because it includes footage of an actual kangaroo hunt. However, it was a legally sanctioned hunt that would have been conducted anyway to cull the kangaroo population. It still might be a bit much for people that don't want to see violence against animals because those scenes are gut wrenching.
Wake in Fright was lost for years. It wasn't just lost in the metaphorical underappreciated sense. The actual master negative was lost for decades before an extensive search found it in a shipping container in Pittsburgh marked for destruction. The film was remastered and found a new audience in the late 2000s. It's one of a handful of films to premiere at Cannes twice. If you're looking for a film that portrays the savage side of humanity when the civility of the city is stripped away then give this one a look. 7 out of 10
Zed
Database Moderator
Best part about the film was how Harry (the guy with the glasses and the one who fired the first shot) died. He was shot 4 different times in different locations, but the bullet that finally finished him off was in his ass.
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Vuh
Gold Supporter
District 9
Watching this movie again after so many years kinda struck me in a weird way. Concentration camps always seem to be in vogue no matter what decade it is, huh?
The irony of the mothership landing in the heart of South Africa's traditional home of apartheid and the social commentary surrounding it has been written to hell and back. Anything I write would just be dragging up the same reviews from 10 years ago, so I dont think I'll write on the social aspect of the film. What would be I interesting is if you could have the same movie in any of the 21st century's current blockhouse of injustice? I don't think you could.
The special effects, aside from the one scene with the walker robot, have held up immensely over the years and I'd say they're still top notch. Even the futuristic technology that the aliens have seems to have been refined with age, now that we're in an era where we can use DNA as data storage and people are actively looking to make servers and switches out of it. It lost its appeal as futurism and just seems like a logical jump from where we are in 2019.
The plot and setting stick the landing perfectly, and having even brief cameos from UN personnel and exploring just how abysmally strange integration aliens would be, right down to their interaction with black markets, makes the plot relatable even given its absurdity. I'd like to have seen some "historical footage" from the first contact in 1982 where people around the planet are freaking out thinking the End is Nigh only to realize they've just been visited by Space Refugees. A missed opportunity, to be sure, but not a dealbreaker.
Bottom line: 8/10. Not perfect. Like all movies with a handheld, in-the-field cameraman, the cinematography does get disorienting at times. But the world around District 9 is so incredibly fleshed out and they really tried their best to build around the core concept of: "fuck, what do we do now?" Everything in the movie seems ad hoc and it really shines that way. And I don't think it'll be very long before human biotechnology catches up to the point where District 9 is viewed in the same light as Star Trek.
Ex Machina
Another movie I saw previously. This time around it just fell on its face, in my opinion. Caleb is pretty much the standard clueless fuckboi and Nathan is alcoholic Mark Zuckerburg and I didn't feel bad for either of them. Well, I suppose I did, actually, but only in that their demise came without any real comeuppance. There wasn't any price to Nathan's narcissism or Caleb's willful ignorance. At least none that was immediately satisfying on an emotional level while watching the movie.
Just like District 9, the special effects were really cool and Kyoko's design in particular reminded me a lot of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. Forget AI companions, the very first thing a humanoid AI would be used for is the sex industry and Kyoko is pretty much the standard baseline for how that would happen.
I get that the movie wanted to play the gorgeous scenery as a foil against the sterile laboratory in its overarching theme of what it means to "be", bringing up Mary in the Balck and White Room just in case you didn't notice it, despite the camera literally dizzying you around the landscape. But I cant help but feel that the movie was either too short or cut too much to even bring that in as a factor, you know? The conversations about human evolution and sexuality and existence just seemed shoehorned in, even despite the movie's premise, because of their brevity and Caleb absolutely failing to deliver a line that sounded human. Hell, HE should've been the AI with how stodgy some of his lines felt. Or maybe I'm just an asshole. (It's probably both).
Bottom line: 5/10. It's entertaining enough, looks beautiful, and brings up some very interesting implications for AI in society, but everything in the movie feels like a wisp of something greater. Like it's the prelude to a better movie.
Watching this movie again after so many years kinda struck me in a weird way. Concentration camps always seem to be in vogue no matter what decade it is, huh?
The irony of the mothership landing in the heart of South Africa's traditional home of apartheid and the social commentary surrounding it has been written to hell and back. Anything I write would just be dragging up the same reviews from 10 years ago, so I dont think I'll write on the social aspect of the film. What would be I interesting is if you could have the same movie in any of the 21st century's current blockhouse of injustice? I don't think you could.
The special effects, aside from the one scene with the walker robot, have held up immensely over the years and I'd say they're still top notch. Even the futuristic technology that the aliens have seems to have been refined with age, now that we're in an era where we can use DNA as data storage and people are actively looking to make servers and switches out of it. It lost its appeal as futurism and just seems like a logical jump from where we are in 2019.
The plot and setting stick the landing perfectly, and having even brief cameos from UN personnel and exploring just how abysmally strange integration aliens would be, right down to their interaction with black markets, makes the plot relatable even given its absurdity. I'd like to have seen some "historical footage" from the first contact in 1982 where people around the planet are freaking out thinking the End is Nigh only to realize they've just been visited by Space Refugees. A missed opportunity, to be sure, but not a dealbreaker.
Bottom line: 8/10. Not perfect. Like all movies with a handheld, in-the-field cameraman, the cinematography does get disorienting at times. But the world around District 9 is so incredibly fleshed out and they really tried their best to build around the core concept of: "fuck, what do we do now?" Everything in the movie seems ad hoc and it really shines that way. And I don't think it'll be very long before human biotechnology catches up to the point where District 9 is viewed in the same light as Star Trek.
Ex Machina
Another movie I saw previously. This time around it just fell on its face, in my opinion. Caleb is pretty much the standard clueless fuckboi and Nathan is alcoholic Mark Zuckerburg and I didn't feel bad for either of them. Well, I suppose I did, actually, but only in that their demise came without any real comeuppance. There wasn't any price to Nathan's narcissism or Caleb's willful ignorance. At least none that was immediately satisfying on an emotional level while watching the movie.
Just like District 9, the special effects were really cool and Kyoko's design in particular reminded me a lot of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. Forget AI companions, the very first thing a humanoid AI would be used for is the sex industry and Kyoko is pretty much the standard baseline for how that would happen.
I get that the movie wanted to play the gorgeous scenery as a foil against the sterile laboratory in its overarching theme of what it means to "be", bringing up Mary in the Balck and White Room just in case you didn't notice it, despite the camera literally dizzying you around the landscape. But I cant help but feel that the movie was either too short or cut too much to even bring that in as a factor, you know? The conversations about human evolution and sexuality and existence just seemed shoehorned in, even despite the movie's premise, because of their brevity and Caleb absolutely failing to deliver a line that sounded human. Hell, HE should've been the AI with how stodgy some of his lines felt. Or maybe I'm just an asshole. (It's probably both).
Bottom line: 5/10. It's entertaining enough, looks beautiful, and brings up some very interesting implications for AI in society, but everything in the movie feels like a wisp of something greater. Like it's the prelude to a better movie.
Gens
Database Moderator
Blast of Silence(1961):
This is a rather obscure noir from Allen Baron that was really in the twilight zone and tail end of the genre's era as it was fading out of it's prime. Yet it was quite the hidden gem for me I have to say when I watched this awhile ago. The story follows Frankie Bono, a hitman played by Mr. Allen Baron himself. It was originally supposed to be Peter Falk to play the main part too of Frankie but he bailed out. I think Baron actually does a good job playing someone who's pretty uncomfortable, angry and lonely. This was actually his first feature film.
The most unusual and unique thing about this movie is the constant narrator and the 2nd person narration. I actually like the inclusion and get a pretty tongue and cheek sense of dark entertainment out of that as it sort of acts like an insight into the main characters dark disturbed thoughts, almost like it's mocking him. YOU WERE BORN IN PAIN, YOU HATE IT, REALLY HATE IT, KUUUYAASSSSHIIII. Played by none other than Lionel Stander in his gravelly hard boiled as fuck voice, albeit he was blacklisted apparently at the time. The guy who wrote the narration lines, Waldo Salt, was ALSO blacklisted. Funny, huh, it was like a match made in heaven with two people in the industry who are outsiders as well. The film practically is documentary style with the narration.
This was basically made on about zero budget, but I think the way it's shot is pretty great and there's some real rough unpolished charm to the movie. You get this heavy brooding atmosphere, it is a really misanthropic piece against the backdrop of a cheery bustling Christmas in the streets of New York. It's all big one existential crisis for poor old Frank in this film alienated from the world at large. Noir and it's protagonists ever having a happy ending is more or less a huge pipe dream and a joke. Frank lets the human emotions really flood and override him by having it rekindled with his old flame. Well you know where this goes by letting all this humanity in, nothing but tragedy and pain. Ralph is such a creepy dude, he keeps sewer rats as pets. He taunts Frank at one point and I think the LAST thing you want to do is taunt a dangerous hitman. You're just asking for it.
Well, Frank ends up killing Ralph in quite a visceral display of anger getting to him, and gets an even bigger slap to the face with Lori already being hooked up. You have to admit, that Frank's a bit of a dunderhead though as an experienced hitman with the end of the movie. He really should have known better it was a trap and it was naive of him to think there would be no dire consequences of his actions in a deserted area. That said, it still packs a nihilistic punch. Also I love shadows, very dearly.
Martin Scorsese has mentioned he admires this film, and I can see why honestly. It's a well crafted debut low budget noir feature with a great jazzy soundtrack and manages to accomplish quite a bit with it's brief run time, good shit.
7/10
This is a rather obscure noir from Allen Baron that was really in the twilight zone and tail end of the genre's era as it was fading out of it's prime. Yet it was quite the hidden gem for me I have to say when I watched this awhile ago. The story follows Frankie Bono, a hitman played by Mr. Allen Baron himself. It was originally supposed to be Peter Falk to play the main part too of Frankie but he bailed out. I think Baron actually does a good job playing someone who's pretty uncomfortable, angry and lonely. This was actually his first feature film.
The most unusual and unique thing about this movie is the constant narrator and the 2nd person narration. I actually like the inclusion and get a pretty tongue and cheek sense of dark entertainment out of that as it sort of acts like an insight into the main characters dark disturbed thoughts, almost like it's mocking him. YOU WERE BORN IN PAIN, YOU HATE IT, REALLY HATE IT, KUUUYAASSSSHIIII. Played by none other than Lionel Stander in his gravelly hard boiled as fuck voice, albeit he was blacklisted apparently at the time. The guy who wrote the narration lines, Waldo Salt, was ALSO blacklisted. Funny, huh, it was like a match made in heaven with two people in the industry who are outsiders as well. The film practically is documentary style with the narration.
This was basically made on about zero budget, but I think the way it's shot is pretty great and there's some real rough unpolished charm to the movie. You get this heavy brooding atmosphere, it is a really misanthropic piece against the backdrop of a cheery bustling Christmas in the streets of New York. It's all big one existential crisis for poor old Frank in this film alienated from the world at large. Noir and it's protagonists ever having a happy ending is more or less a huge pipe dream and a joke. Frank lets the human emotions really flood and override him by having it rekindled with his old flame. Well you know where this goes by letting all this humanity in, nothing but tragedy and pain. Ralph is such a creepy dude, he keeps sewer rats as pets. He taunts Frank at one point and I think the LAST thing you want to do is taunt a dangerous hitman. You're just asking for it.
Well, Frank ends up killing Ralph in quite a visceral display of anger getting to him, and gets an even bigger slap to the face with Lori already being hooked up. You have to admit, that Frank's a bit of a dunderhead though as an experienced hitman with the end of the movie. He really should have known better it was a trap and it was naive of him to think there would be no dire consequences of his actions in a deserted area. That said, it still packs a nihilistic punch. Also I love shadows, very dearly.
Martin Scorsese has mentioned he admires this film, and I can see why honestly. It's a well crafted debut low budget noir feature with a great jazzy soundtrack and manages to accomplish quite a bit with it's brief run time, good shit.
7/10
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ZetsubouKaiji
Well-Known Member
Ex Machina is a bit of a bait and switch. It's actually using it's science fiction premise to explore humanity. Rather than the robots being tested it's the humans. The film's theme is that humans' impulses can be just as mechanical as AI. It makes them easy to manipulate which is what allows
It's Garland's best overall movie, but Annihilation comes close.
Ava to escape.
It's Garland's best overall movie, but Annihilation comes close.
Franconator
Well-Known Member
My brother had the same complaints about this movie. I trust his taste in movies, so I had to take this off the watchlist. With you echoing his sentiments, it'll probably be a long, long time before I consider this again.
Ah, this was that other Christmas movie I was thinking of. This was a pretty good film that made walking and stalking look like a friggin' sport. Plus, it helped that the main character's name was (Baby Boy) Frankie Bono, which is also another nickname I go by sometimes in real life, so every time the narrator said something, it was easy to imagine he was also talking to me.
Tokyo! (2008)
Okay, I admit I wasn't all too keen on watching this, because I don't always make the best memories with anthology movies. I tend to focus on just several parts that stood out, especially if they're the bad chapters. With anthology movies, even if I can pick and remember the stories I liked, the entire experience often gets dragged down by the worse parts. That's what happened in this movie, which is unfortunate, considering it's only three stories long. Really, the only reason I gave in was because I saw Bong Joon-ho's name on the poster and Jesus in heaven, you know I'm such a whore for the stuff this guy makes.
Anyway.
This was an alright movie, I guess. I liked that, for a feature named after the Japanese capital, it's got three non-Japanese directors handling each of the shorts. What you end up with, is a series of weird little trips down Tokyo from an outsider's point of view. Even better: their short features don't romanticize the city nor do they give Tokyo that glorified weeb-fused view. This movie almost works, because it's less about the actual city and more about the people who live in it. So, what you get is a near-impartial view on hot Japanese issues, each with their own uniquely surreal treatments. Yes, surreal! I'm always such a sucker for surrealism, even if I don't always understand the symbolism without reading a few thought pieces first.
A quick rundown on the shorts:
1. Interior Design (dir. Michel Gondry) - Stars a Japanese couple trying to get their lives together the normal way - finding a place to live in, finding a legal way to earn money, etc. - even if they're both a little unconventional. There's the aspiring filmmaker who's way too experimental and out there for his own good. There's his girlfriend who doesn't really do much, just tags along to help him with the miscellaneous things. She's practically nothing without her man and it's sad to see how much she's aware of that. Starts off in an unassuming way at first: they're caught in the rain, on their way to a friend's tiny apartment to crash there while they're in Tokyo. But real life proves harder for the pair to tackle, so it doesn't take long before the friend starts resenting them a little bit for freeloading and leeching off her - which, by the way, is understandable. Then suddenly, BAM! Just when things look like they're looking up for them, the story takes a surreal shift ala Kafka, only more mundane and down to earth, by which I mean the poor girlfriend turns into a chair instead of a fly. The whole process of her chair-turning is uncomfortable to watch and that's why it worked so well. But it's still somewhat okay, since the ending's uplifting in its own way. Bittersweet, but leaning more towards the sweet part of the equation. Might be a commentary on the quarter-life crisis and that general feeling of loss that you always find in Japanese movies. Her last lines say it all, that she's become more useful as a chair than she ever was as a person. Maybe the ending moral is telling us that there's some happiness to be found in the little things? 3.5/5
2. Merde (dir. Leos Carax) - Okay, I'm just gonna say this right off the bat: this was the chapter I didn't particularly like. I mean, I saw what it was trying to do and I knew what it was trying to say, but it's just a big nahhh for me, dawg. See, there's this crazy man in the sewers who occasionally pops up into the Tokyo suburbia to commit random acts of heinous delinquency. Basically just the generic troublemaking shit, like stealing a cigarette, knocking potted plants around, throwing the stolen cigarette into a baby carriage, and licking schoolgirls' armpits. Small stuff at first. But then, the next time he comes up, he starts flinging bombs at people, so he's put on trial. But because he's this weird sewer creature, complete with the long nails, gibberish language, and nude sleeping habits, the only other person in the world who's able to understand him is some weirdo French lawyer. Of course. So there's a trial and this is the part where the whole thing starts to slip, because seriously, fuck this trial. You're watching interpreters interpret one sentence about three different ways, so even if the crazy sewer man was saying some pretty severe stuff about the Japanese, it was hard to give a shit. It's blatant commentary on the Japanese fear of foreigners and their death penalty law, told in a way that pays homage to kaiju films of old. Instead, it's the weirdo gaijin who plays the kaiju, and like more modern remakes of the kaiju movies, you're left to wonder if the people/Japanese were the real monsters all along. But like I said, this dragged out far longer than necessary, so if you didn't give a shit about this either, then that's fine. 1.5/5
3. Shaking Tokyo (dir. Bong Joon-ho) - It's straight-up the life and times of a hikokomori, but because my mans Bong is on the case, you know there's gotta be a lot more to the story than that. Gives off some slight Parasite vibes, but I only say that because of the hikikomori. There's a nice human twist to it, mainly because the hikikomori gets his world shaken in more ways than one when he makes his first genuine human connection after years of isolation. A satirical take on the modern romance story, where it's our lack of connections that's getting in the way of living meaningfully. Equally chilling is how everyone else in this story's the same way. Makes you think of the parallels to the way we pursue our relationships now. Not sure if the moral still stands eleven years after the movie's release, especially since times and circumstances today are way different from the way they were back in 2008. Would have worked better if the story was allowed to breathe a little longer. It feels a lot like a rough draft of something, now that I think about it. That's okay, Bong, I still love you. 3/5
2. Merde (dir. Leos Carax) - Okay, I'm just gonna say this right off the bat: this was the chapter I didn't particularly like. I mean, I saw what it was trying to do and I knew what it was trying to say, but it's just a big nahhh for me, dawg. See, there's this crazy man in the sewers who occasionally pops up into the Tokyo suburbia to commit random acts of heinous delinquency. Basically just the generic troublemaking shit, like stealing a cigarette, knocking potted plants around, throwing the stolen cigarette into a baby carriage, and licking schoolgirls' armpits. Small stuff at first. But then, the next time he comes up, he starts flinging bombs at people, so he's put on trial. But because he's this weird sewer creature, complete with the long nails, gibberish language, and nude sleeping habits, the only other person in the world who's able to understand him is some weirdo French lawyer. Of course. So there's a trial and this is the part where the whole thing starts to slip, because seriously, fuck this trial. You're watching interpreters interpret one sentence about three different ways, so even if the crazy sewer man was saying some pretty severe stuff about the Japanese, it was hard to give a shit. It's blatant commentary on the Japanese fear of foreigners and their death penalty law, told in a way that pays homage to kaiju films of old. Instead, it's the weirdo gaijin who plays the kaiju, and like more modern remakes of the kaiju movies, you're left to wonder if the people/Japanese were the real monsters all along. But like I said, this dragged out far longer than necessary, so if you didn't give a shit about this either, then that's fine. 1.5/5
3. Shaking Tokyo (dir. Bong Joon-ho) - It's straight-up the life and times of a hikokomori, but because my mans Bong is on the case, you know there's gotta be a lot more to the story than that. Gives off some slight Parasite vibes, but I only say that because of the hikikomori. There's a nice human twist to it, mainly because the hikikomori gets his world shaken in more ways than one when he makes his first genuine human connection after years of isolation. A satirical take on the modern romance story, where it's our lack of connections that's getting in the way of living meaningfully. Equally chilling is how everyone else in this story's the same way. Makes you think of the parallels to the way we pursue our relationships now. Not sure if the moral still stands eleven years after the movie's release, especially since times and circumstances today are way different from the way they were back in 2008. Would have worked better if the story was allowed to breathe a little longer. It feels a lot like a rough draft of something, now that I think about it. That's okay, Bong, I still love you. 3/5
This was just okay, overall. More meh than okay, actually, and while I might hesitate to recommend this to other people (not unless they're so used to watching movies from Japan, and so, won't get lost context-wise), I will, for sure, remember the first and third stories. The second one's better off forgotten, that's how cringeworthy that thing was. Yeck. It's still a little better than Survive Style 5+ (now that one was was really weird), so at least there's that.
3/5
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