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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 10, 2022 18:41:27 GMT
A few more movies of note from the Cinemania film festival:
The Year of the Shark – a French adaptation/parody of Jaws. Same basic premise of a killer shark making an appearance in the waters of a touristic beach town. The police chief (a woman in this case) is obsessed, the mayor and the merchants don’t want to believe it, and so on. It’s an entertaining movie, but I am still not sure what was the purpose of it. It’s not a serious thriller like Jaws, and it is not an all-out comedy clearly played for laughs either.
The Night of the 12th – a French movie about the police investigation of the brutal killing of a young woman. This is not CSI or a Hollywood movie where the police has ultra sophisticated technology that can identify the brand of shoes that the killer was wearing from a smudge on the wall, or that can produce a clear picture from a still from a security camera 200 meters away. No, this is all about the legwork of finding and interviewing the people who knew the victim, checking their alibis, writing reports. There is no Sherlock Holmes with brilliant deductions. There are complaints about unpaid overtime, about printers that break down, about not having the budget to conduct surveillance. It seems very realistic, and all the better for it. It gets a little too preachy on the subject of male violence against women at times, but that’s a minor complaint.
Freestyle (En Roue Libre) – a road movie/comedy about a woman who suddenly develops a serious anxiety problem and simply can’t get out of her car. Things get even more complicated for her when a young man steals her car with her inside in order to go on a personal mission. This may sound like the premise of a thriller, but it’s nothing of the sort. It’s a comedy with touching moments, or a drama with many funny moments, depending on how you look at it. Either way, very enjoyable, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the remake rights have already been acquired.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 11, 2022 18:14:28 GMT
Ohhhhhhhhh......What have we here..... Free Horror via HBO Max - Barbarian (2022) - 'A night of terror awaits a young woman when she books a rental home that's occupied by a stranger.' Starring Horror Icon and Legend Justin Long 92% Rotten Tomato Score / 70% Popcorn Score Let's Give It A Whirl!
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 11, 2022 18:40:40 GMT
Ohhhhhhhhh......What have we here..... Free Horror via HBO Max - Barbarian (2022) - 'A night of terror awaits a young woman when she books a rental home that's occupied by a stranger.' Starring Horror Icon and Legend Justin Long 92% Rotten Tomato Score / 70% Popcorn Score Let's Give It A Whirl! It isn't what you think.
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Post by Horselover Fat on Nov 11, 2022 18:43:11 GMT
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 11, 2022 18:45:05 GMT
Ohhhhhhhhh......What have we here..... Free Horror via HBO Max - Barbarian (2022) - 'A night of terror awaits a young woman when she books a rental home that's occupied by a stranger.' Starring Horror Icon and Legend Justin Long 92% Rotten Tomato Score / 70% Popcorn Score Let's Give It A Whirl! It isn't what you think. Half hour into it..... It's too obvious that he's the antagonist I'm going with - she's completely off her rocker and SHE is the antagonist
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 11, 2022 18:51:33 GMT
Miss Norm. I'll always remember Artie for sadly dumping his meal ticket down the drain with Howard Stern No clue how that dude is alive today - hopefully he's kicked his demons
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 11, 2022 18:54:03 GMT
Half hour into it..... It's too obvious that he's the antagonist I'm going with - she's completely off her rocker and SHE is the antagonist Just wait for it!
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 11, 2022 19:09:38 GMT
So Barbarian is actually a Bigfoot movie - and 'Barbarian' is 'Bigfoot' Spoilers Below! . . . . . That lady in the basement was taken from the tremendous underrated Willow Creek 1:43 of this clip below - it's the same lady. Bigfeet kidnapped women to impregnate them -
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 11, 2022 20:24:33 GMT
Well. That was..... Different. Let's Do 1 More Free Horror via Showtime X (2022) - 'Actors making an adult film in rural Texas find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.' 94% Rotten Tomato Score / 75% Popcorn Score Let's Do It!
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Post by klawrencio79 on Nov 11, 2022 22:07:30 GMT
Well. That was..... Different. Let's Do 1 More Free Horror via Showtime X (2022) - 'Actors making an adult film in rural Texas find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.' 94% Rotten Tomato Score / 75% Popcorn Score Let's Do It! I really enjoyed that one, lots of fun. The prequel (Pearl) just came out and got rave reviews as well although I missed it in theaters.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 12, 2022 13:41:34 GMT
3 thoroughly mediocre in flight movies:
Bodies Bodies Bodies is a wannabe biting satire and horror comedy about how vapid and awful these wealthy Gen Z kids are, and that obviously and very unsubtly comes across, but it doesn’t really have anything new or interesting to say and the writer/director seems to hate all of these characters as much as the audience. It's not badly made but none of it matters and there's nobody to care about.
Clerks III was ok, but while I didn't expect much it was still disappointing because there are good things in it but they're amongst lame jokes, odd plot developments, and ultimately extreme mawkishness, sappiness, sachrinicty and whatever other adjectives you have to describe something being overly sad and sentimental without really earning it. And the way it got there is pretty disappointing. On the other hand, it has some nice plot threads and moments, and there are actually some really well put together, although very simple, sequences where Kevin Smith shows he's learned a thing or two as a director and editor, all along with the sorta bland and simple visual style which has become something of a signature for him. I like the guy, but I think his movies haven't gotten pretty bad. This one is a mixed bag though. I've seen a lot of fans saying that it's surprisingly moving and emotional, but to me that part, which is far and away the most significant in this film, rang pretty hollow.
The Unbearable Wieght of Massive Talent was the Nicolas Cage movie from like 2 years ago that everyone was counting as part of his revival... the one that wasn't Pig. And it's fine. It's a movie where he plays himself struggling to do good work at this late stage in his career at the detriment of his family, and then he gets caught up in an action/crime story when he accepts a big money invite from a fan who is also a drug lord and the CIA wants him to spy on the guy. None if it is quite as fun and self aware as you'd think, but it's all entirely serviceable. The right kind if thing for a plane.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 12, 2022 14:10:42 GMT
3 thoroughly mediocre in flight movies: Bodies Bodies Bodies is a wannabe biting satire and horror comedy about how vapid and awful these wealthy Gen Z kids are, and that obviously and very unsubtly comes across, but it doesn’t really have anything new or interesting to say and the writer/director seems to hate all of these characters as much as the audience. It's not badly made but none of it matters and there's nobody to care about. Clerks III was ok, but while I didn't expect much it was still disappointing because there are good things in it but they're amongst lame jokes, odd plot developments, and ultimately extreme mawkishness, sappiness, sachrinicty and whatever other adjectives you have to describe something being overly sad and sentimental without really earning it. And the way it got there is pretty disappointing. On the other hand, it has some nice plot threads and moments, and there are actually some really well put together, although very simple, sequences where Kevin Smith shows he's learned a thing or two as a director and editor, all along with the sorta bland and simple visual style which has become something of a signature for him. I like the guy, but I think his movies haven't gotten pretty bad. This one is a mixed bag though. I've seen a lot of fans saying that it's surprisingly moving and emotional, but to me that part, which is far and away the most significant in this film, rang pretty hollow. The Unbearable Wieght of Massive Talent was the Nicolas Cage movie from like 2 years ago that everyone was counting as part of his revival... the one that wasn't Pig. And it's fine. It's a movie where he plays himself struggling to do good work at this late stage in his career at the detriment of his family, and then he gets caught up in an action/crime story when he accepts a big money invite from a fan who is also a drug lord and the CIA wants him to spy on the guy. None if it is quite as fun and self aware as you'd think, but it's all entirely serviceable. The right kind if thing for a plane. I never saw it, but the thing about the Bodies trailer that struck me was that the girls all looked 17 and the men looked 45. Is that a plot point? Haven't seen Clerks III, don't know if I'll get around to it. Clerks II might be the last Kevin Smith movie I saw. I really like his early work, but most of his recent stuff, even the self-parody stuff (maybe especially the self-parody stuff) looks unwatchable. The way you describe it, III sounds like someone trying too hard to make an homage to the concept of Clerks. The fact that it's the filmmaker himself is kind of weird. Unbearable Weight was actually from earlier this year, how time flies! I had a good time with it, but yeah it wasn't half as out there as I thought it might be. I read an article where Cage was talking about how difficult it was to play 'himself' in this movie. I hadn't really thought about it until I read it. Like he's playing himself, but not really; this memefied caricature of himself, and not for an SNL sketch or a cameo in someone else's film, for an entire movie. Had to be a little weird. But yeah, it was fine. He had good chemistry with Pedro Pascal in that one, too.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 12, 2022 14:46:31 GMT
3 thoroughly mediocre in flight movies: Bodies Bodies Bodies is a wannabe biting satire and horror comedy about how vapid and awful these wealthy Gen Z kids are, and that obviously and very unsubtly comes across, but it doesn’t really have anything new or interesting to say and the writer/director seems to hate all of these characters as much as the audience. It's not badly made but none of it matters and there's nobody to care about. Clerks III was ok, but while I didn't expect much it was still disappointing because there are good things in it but they're amongst lame jokes, odd plot developments, and ultimately extreme mawkishness, sappiness, sachrinicty and whatever other adjectives you have to describe something being overly sad and sentimental without really earning it. And the way it got there is pretty disappointing. On the other hand, it has some nice plot threads and moments, and there are actually some really well put together, although very simple, sequences where Kevin Smith shows he's learned a thing or two as a director and editor, all along with the sorta bland and simple visual style which has become something of a signature for him. I like the guy, but I think his movies haven't gotten pretty bad. This one is a mixed bag though. I've seen a lot of fans saying that it's surprisingly moving and emotional, but to me that part, which is far and away the most significant in this film, rang pretty hollow. The Unbearable Wieght of Massive Talent was the Nicolas Cage movie from like 2 years ago that everyone was counting as part of his revival... the one that wasn't Pig. And it's fine. It's a movie where he plays himself struggling to do good work at this late stage in his career at the detriment of his family, and then he gets caught up in an action/crime story when he accepts a big money invite from a fan who is also a drug lord and the CIA wants him to spy on the guy. None if it is quite as fun and self aware as you'd think, but it's all entirely serviceable. The right kind if thing for a plane. I never saw it, but the thing about the Bodies trailer that struck me was that the girls all looked 17 and the men looked 45. Is that a plot point? Haven't seen Clerks III, don't know if I'll get around to it. Clerks II might be the last Kevin Smith movie I saw. I really like his early work, but most of his recent stuff, even the self-parody stuff (maybe especially the self-parody stuff) looks unwatchable. The way you describe it, III sounds like someone trying too hard to make an homage to the concept of Clerks. The fact that it's the filmmaker himself is kind of weird. Unbearable Weight was actually from earlier this year, how time flies! I had a good time with it, but yeah it wasn't half as out there as I thought it might be. I read an article where Cage was talking about how difficult it was to play 'himself' in this movie. I hadn't really thought about it until I read it. Like he's playing himself, but not really; this memefied caricature of himself, and not for an SNL sketch or a cameo in someone else's film, for an entire movie. Had to be a little weird. But yeah, it was fine. He had good chemistry with Pedro Pascal in that one, too. Yeah, it comes up that the other guy is older, but it never really matters. Pete Davidson is actually very young, but he's just so weird looking that he seems out of place with all of these hot young girls, but in the movie they're at his rich dad's house, and of course in real life he's banged every hot actress in Hollywood somehow. Your description of Clerks III being the filmmaker making an homage to the idea of Clerks is exactly right. Essentially you describing my description more succinctly was better than my actual description. Not sure if you've seen trailers or anything, but it's basically about the characters from Clerks making the movie Clerks. Some of that stuff is actually fun, but the sad, sappy, sentimental stuff is really what stalls.. and it could have worked. It was just too much and the direction it takes the story is kinda lame. I will say though, that those two lead actors probably give their best performances of their careers... which isn't saying much really, but they're both pretty good and have MUCH more emotional scenes to deliver. But one thing that carries over from Clerks 2 that really doesn't work is that I'll never believe for a fucking second that Rosario Dawson would fuck the guy from Clerks. She's a stunningly beautiful, talented movie star and he's the schlubby guy from Clerks. I really am fond of Kevin Smith and I respect a lot of the stuff he's doing now, it's just that I don't think the movies are good. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was genuinely bad and Yoga Hosers was absolutely terrible. But the fact that he's sort of reinventing how an independent film gets made and distributed now is actually really cool and kind of admirable, and he's taken creative swings like Red State and Tusk that I don't think are very good, but are interesting attempts for sure. But this one should be his sweet spot and it was just kind of OK. I will say, I was surprised by some things. It didn't play out as predictably as you'd imagine going in to it so I respect him for not playing it safe. It opens somewhat predictably if you know what actually happened to him (narrowly surviving a massive heart attack) and the beginnings of the behind the scenes movie stuff all more or less play out like you'd think, but then it goes elsewhere. Just not very satisfyingly. The Nicolas Cage movie was bolstered by how much fun Pedor Pasxal is to watch. That guy is fucking great and they make a really wonderful pair. The big disappointment is that they let the movie off the hook by making him turn into a good guy. Again, it's fine and it was diverting enough, but it does feel like some wasted potential considering how fun the concept is.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 15, 2022 11:14:24 GMT
This sounds like the legendary 'Death Sentence' with Kevin Bacon - Free Horror via SyFy - Upgrade (2018) - 'An implant gives a man the superhuman strength he needs to punish the thugs who killed his wife.' 88% Rotton Tomato Score / 87% Popcorn Score Let's Give It A Whirl!
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 15, 2022 13:51:15 GMT
This sounds like the legendary 'Death Sentence' with Kevin Bacon - Free Horror via SyFy - Upgrade (2018) - 'An implant gives a man the superhuman strength he needs to punish the thugs who killed his wife.' 88% Rotton Tomato Score / 87% Popcorn Score Let's Give It A Whirl! Well, Death Sentence is a weak remake of Death Wish, and Upgrade isn't much like that at all. But it is a fun throwback action sci fi movie. But it's also essentially a super hero movie, so you might not like it because of that. I enjoyed it though as the sorta lost Paul Verhoeven movie that it felt like to me...but with modern effects. Between that movie and The Invisible Man Leigh Whannell has a pretty good thing going. I much prefer him to his previous creative partner, James Wan, who incidentally made the aforementioned Death Sentence with Kevin Bacon.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Nov 15, 2022 14:25:15 GMT
The Unbearable Wieght of Massive Talent Two Nic Cage’s for the price of one. Quite a few laughs in this one. And his double act with Pedro Pascal worked well. Free to Amazon Prims subscribers. Worth a watch.
Paddington 2: the third best movie ever made if you believe TUWOMT! Maybe not that good, but it’s excellent. Cast is to die for and great fun is had by all. Don’t miss it. Free on Amazon Prime.
My Policeman: Free on Amazon Prime. Better than I was expecting.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 15, 2022 15:19:03 GMT
Two more flight movies; Emily the Criminal, which I think it very good if not great, and Bullet Train which is fine and exactly what you think if you've seen the trailer. Both are stories about crime, but they are total opposites in their approach.
Emily the Criminal is a pretty strong, small scale crime movie about Aubrey Plaza's character, a struggling art school drop out with a minor criminal record and crushing student debt who works a menial delivery job, and can't seem to get a 'real' job because of her past mistakes. Then, through a coworker she contacts a group that recruits people to commit credit card fraud. Her task is to take this fraudulant credit card and a fake license and go buy a TV and bring it back to be sold on the street. It works, and she's lured back to do this with bigger items, and eventually starts making cards and selling items on her own. She befriends the guy that she started working with, and experiences violent episodes, but proves to be pretty tough and resilient in the face of threats. She's desperate, and all the while is still trying to pursue a legitimate job and have her successful art school friend get her into her world at the ad agency where she works, but she's also getting deeper into this black market world that finally helped her start to get her head above water. It's somewhat structured like a tragedy because you can see that she's becoming more and more successful and entrenched in this underworld, and all the whole she'd becoming more distant from her old friends and her attempts at getting into the upercrust working life.
What really works about it is that the movie just bluntly presents her story, and the her criminal cohort. It doesn't really pass judgment on her, but also doesn't really forgive her. She's kind of a fuck up, and she's made some significant mistakes, but at the same time some of her friends made the same mistakes and it didn't ruin their lives. You could roll your eyes at the plight of a spoiled art school kid who feels overwhelmed because she has debt and has to work, and she might even agree with you, but she's just doing what she can to get through the fucking day. So when these opportunities and this person comes along it understandable. Again, not excusable, but understandable, which is an important distinction, and one that this movie really gets right.
It ends more or less appropriately. There's tragedy and success inherent in this sort of story, and she does understandable but terrible things at times. But it's a worthy film that tells a good story based on a compelling character.
Then there's Bullet Train which is a wild and unpredictable crazy ride, that's exactly everything you'd expect, to the point where it's not very wild, crazy, or unpredictable. There's fun to be had watching this, but it employs that tone of overly cute wannabe Tarantino dialogue (where criminals argue about their code names) and smart ass characters against it's crime and violence, and uses that trope of jumping back and forth to reveal information and plot twists with slow mo and sound effects to dizzying and annoying degrees, and it does that thing of freeze framing and flashing text on the screen to introduce characters and plot points, that I think started somewhere in the 90s, feels very Guy Ritchie-ish, but was played out and extremely annoying by the time Zombieland did it over a decade ago.
Brad Pitt is having fun, and he's able to sell some of his shtick of being an extremely reluctant violent criminal who really just wants to be Zen about everything and not have to hurt anyone. But by the 15th time he starts reciting what he learned in therapy in the middle of a violent fight it becomes tiresome. The cast is overall good, but also by the time 15th celebrity cameo is revealed it becomes very tiresome. And the CG heavy action spectacle is cool in parts, but by the end when the big, inevitable CGI train derailment occurs it is kind of tiresome.
When you pack this much stuff into a movie some of it will work and some of it won't. That's kind of how I felt about Everything Everywhere All at Once, but that had a lot more in the way of character and story and fresh ideas. They both employ the over the top martial arts movie thing, but this is a new and bigger version of a lot of stuff you've seen before. Good for the plane, but it's not gonna prove very memorable.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 15, 2022 16:21:12 GMT
Paddington 2: the third best movie ever made if you believe TUWOMT! Maybe not that good, but it’s excellent. Cast is to die for and great fun is had by all. Don’t miss it. Free on Amazon Prime.
I always thought the Paddington movies were for kids.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Nov 15, 2022 16:44:01 GMT
Paddington 2: the third best movie ever made if you believe TUWOMT! Maybe not that good, but it’s excellent. Cast is to die for and great fun is had by all. Don’t miss it. Free on Amazon Prime. I suppose they are, but adults can enjoy them too. Maybe get some of the subtler gags the kids might miss. I always thought the Paddington movies were for kids.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 17, 2022 4:08:55 GMT
Half hour into it..... It's too obvious that he's the antagonist I'm going with - she's completely off her rocker and SHE is the antagonist Just wait for it! Not sure if it all worked, but it's truly unpredictable and actually unique. There aren't many films you can say that about.
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