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Post by klawrencio79 on Dec 21, 2020 23:03:45 GMT
RIP David Giler. Time to fire up Alien.
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Post by Winston Wolfe on Dec 22, 2020 6:16:12 GMT
I watched "The Machinist" (2004), a psychological thriller starring Christian Bale as a factory worker (hence the title) who hasn't slept properly in a year and is losing his mind. I think the movie is best known for the extreme weight loss that Christian Bale subjected himself to in order to prepare for the role. He appears shirtless many times and he's just skin and bones. Unbelievable. But that's not the only reason for checking it out. I thought it was a pretty decent thriller. The movie has the distinction of having what's certainly the most - let's say "peculiar" - goof listing on its IMDb page. It goes something like that: "In the scene where she's in bed with Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh's nipples alternate between hard and flaccid between shots". Solid movie but it's a pretty tough watch. I only saw it the one time, the ending was a fucking gut punch. The Michael Ironside scene, you know the one, that one also got to me. I think I'm going to rent Tenet tonight. Did you watch it? Was it as bad as I heard?
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Post by sdm3 on Dec 22, 2020 10:43:31 GMT
I'm hopefully going to have time to watch Mank (2020) tonight.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Dec 22, 2020 12:55:55 GMT
Solid movie but it's a pretty tough watch. I only saw it the one time, the ending was a fucking gut punch. The Michael Ironside scene, you know the one, that one also got to me. I think I'm going to rent Tenet tonight. Did you watch it? Was it as bad as I heard? Turns out it’s not available to rent for another couple of weeks. The release last week was for purchase only.
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Post by Winston Wolfe on Dec 22, 2020 13:54:29 GMT
Did you watch it? Was it as bad as I heard? Turns out it’s not available to rent for another couple of weeks. The release last week was for purchase only. There’s...other methods....of obtaining it.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Dec 22, 2020 14:00:40 GMT
Turns out it’s not available to rent for another couple of weeks. The release last week was for purchase only. There’s...other methods....of obtaining it. I know but my preference is to rent it, for a variety of reasons.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Dec 23, 2020 13:11:42 GMT
Christmas movies all day and night for the next few days - Starting off with the original - Black Christmas
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Post by nutsberryfarm 🏜 on Dec 24, 2020 0:20:01 GMT
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Dec 24, 2020 5:41:34 GMT
I watched Fatman tonight.
Fair warning, I'm going into full spoilers here. The trailer gives away almost the entire movie and there isn't much of a plot to begin with, so it's fine.
The craziest thing about this movie isn't that it exists; but that it isn't actually that crazy. It's not darkly hilarious, or ultra violent, or incredibly weird. It's just kind of there, which honestly is a disappointment. It isn't an epic disaster, nor is it better than it should be. It's boring, but not in a way that makes you fall asleep. It's anticlimactic, and yet there was never a ton of tension built up. It's the ultimate contradiction.
For a film that features the potential torture of a little girl and a gun wielding Santa, the story is surprisingly devoid of risk. They don't actually torture the girl. Santa doesn't actually kill anyone. His contract with the government is simply a manufacturing job. US military personnel are killed, because fuck them I guess? But killing elves would be a bridge too far? The final showdown between Santa and the hitman begins as abruptly as it ends, and there were ultimately no stakes because Santa is immortal. It's not that the movie doesn't work, it's that it doesn't really try to do anything.
There are ten different ways this movie could've gone to make itself memorable. Go full Robert Rodriguez on this story and have Santa, or the hitman, or both, tear shit up from start to finish. Go 80s/90s actioner and fill it with hammy Christmas puns and one liners. Make a borderline unwatchable 'grimdark' retelling of Santa, filled with dark takes on popular Santa Claus/Krampus mythos. Make a Razzie nominee of a takes-itself-too-seriously drama about Santa having to regain his faith in society instead of the other way around. It flirted with all of this, but chose none of the above.
You'll have to excuse my scattershot critiques here, but I can only work with what I've been given:
- I don't even understand the point of the military angle. That subplot went nowhere. Again I guess the soldiers were there to be fodder for Goggins because the filmmakers didn't want to kill elves?
- The elves eat nothing but junk food and are highly motivated but it isn't necessarily played for laughs, and it isn't relevant to the story. The elves don't do anything. They assemble hardware for the government and they run for their lives when the shooting starts. A couple fight back for a moment and run off. Why are they here?
- Santa spends his off hours target shooting and working the bag, but has a brief, clumsy fight with one dude (and loses).
- Santa confronts the kid who put the hit on him at the end, and warns him to behave. He didn't smack another kid or shoplift, Santa. He's an accessory to murder. I think we've gone way beyond being on the naughty list. The kid is a brat who puts a hit out on a classmate's family because he lost a scholastic contest. He also puts a hit out on Santa because he got coal for Christmas last year. It's implied that the main reason he's a shit is due to his absentee father. It's also revealed the hitman hates Santa because he lost his parents as a kid and Santa couldn't bring them back.
Two ways to tweak this basic premise to make the movie 1000% better: Make it a nonlinear story where we find out Goggins WAS that kid. Brings everything full circle and makes it a lifelong quest for the kid, so the showdown at the end feels earned.
Or, make Goggins the father who's pissed his kid didn't turn out the way he wished (also beyond Santa's abilities). Santa defeats Goggins and confronts the kid in a finale reminiscent of the Dolph Lundgren Punisher film from the 80s. 'Don't turn out like your Dad, I'll be watching,' that kind of thing. This is essentially what Santa does in this movie, but again it doesn't work because the kid is already too far gone. It only works if you think it's at least 50/50 the kid can be redeemed.
In either of these proposed scenarios, eliminate the US military from the script and instead make it an army of mercs that come with Goggins. Santa has to embrace his inner Krampus to take these motherfuckers out and save Christmas. Yeah we've seen the one man army defend the homestead against an enemy force a thousand times...but this is Santa Claus! Have fun with that shit!
I just don't get it. This movie isn't really for anyone. It isn't edgy enough, it isn't charming enough (though there is a great scene where Mrs. Claus reminds him how important his work is, that he truly does have an enormous positive effect on people's lives), it isn't bizarre enough. I don't hate it, I don't love it; the best reason to watch it is to imagine what could've been done with the material in more capable hands.
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Post by sdm3 on Dec 24, 2020 9:19:47 GMT
I'm hopefully going to have time to watch Mank (2020) tonight. Still haven't had time to watch. "You've had time to post on this board," I hear you all sneer. True, but that takes minutes. I'd have to set aside a couple of hours for a movie. I don't think I'll get to do it until after Christmas.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Dec 24, 2020 10:30:27 GMT
pascali’s Island on Prime. pretty good movie set on a Greek island in the final days of Ottoman rule.
great cast - Ben Kingsley, Charles Dance and Helen Mirren.
uncle frank - Prime again. pretty decent.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Dec 24, 2020 10:33:43 GMT
So many nutters out there. No wonder the virus is still running amok.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Dec 24, 2020 12:49:47 GMT
I watched “The Handmaiden” (Korea, Park Chan-Wook, 2016). Second viewing - I saw it when it came out in theatres, then later bought it on blu-ray. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, a rich young heiress is practically the prisoner of her aunt’s widower, who wants to marry her in order to take her inheritance. A conman concocts a plan to sweep her off her feet, get her to marry him instead, and get the inheritance for himself. For that purpose, he plants a handmaiden in the household with the mission of subtly “pushing” the girl towards falling for him.
I highly recommend it. First of all, visually it is just stunning. Even if the story were weak it would still be worth watching for that alone. But the story is very far from weak. It is quite erotic too, so you might not want to watch it with your grandmother.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Dec 24, 2020 18:43:40 GMT
krampus
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 24, 2020 18:48:37 GMT
I watched “The Handmaiden” (Korea, Park Chan-Wook, 2016). Second viewing - I saw it when it came out in theatres, then later bought it on blu-ray. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, a rich young heiress is practically the prisoner of her aunt’s widower, who wants to marry her in order to take her inheritance. A conman concocts a plan to sweep her off her feet, get her to marry him instead, and get the inheritance for himself. For that purpose, he plants a handmaiden in the household with the mission of subtly “pushing” the girl towards falling for him. I highly recommend it. First of all, visually it is just stunning. Even if the story were weak it would still be worth watching for that alone. But the story is very far from weak. It is quite erotic too, so you might not want to watch it with your grandmother. Chan Wook Park is a blind spot for me. I've only seen Oldboy and Stoker, the latter of which is massively underappreciated. I'll have to get on this one, and the Lady Vengeance movies soon.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 24, 2020 18:50:16 GMT
How do you feel about this one? I enjoyed it, and I think there's some good fun stuff in it, but I don't known if it pulls off the comedy as well as it does the intensity, and the comedy is abundant.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Dec 24, 2020 19:08:42 GMT
How do you feel about this one? I enjoyed it, and I think there's some good fun stuff in it, but I don't known if it pulls off the comedy as well as it does the intensity, and the comedy is abundant. Loved it
Reminded me a bit of National Lampoon's Vacation with the Griswalds and how they really weren't all for being around Uncle Eddie & Co.; however they were family none the less - with horror mixed in
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 24, 2020 19:32:18 GMT
How do you feel about this one? I enjoyed it, and I think there's some good fun stuff in it, but I don't known if it pulls off the comedy as well as it does the intensity, and the comedy is abundant. Loved it
Reminded me a bit of National Lampoon's Vacation with the Griswalds and how they really weren't all for being around Uncle Eddie & Co.; however they were family none the less - with horror mixed in
Yeah, that's clearly what it was going for. I just think some of the comedy that came from the horror elements weren't that strong, like the silly and cartoonish ginger bread men. Some of those moments lost me.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Dec 24, 2020 19:35:43 GMT
Elf
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Dec 24, 2020 21:29:49 GMT
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
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