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Post by tristramshandy on Sept 15, 2024 6:55:06 GMT
Some of the more bizarre Law and Order situations were when they chose actors to play characters before they were hired full time. For example, Jerry Orbach played a defense attorney before he was Lennie Briscoe. Anyways, James Earl Jones played a defense attorney named "McCoy" before Sam Waterson played the prosector named "McCoy" for a decade plus. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD26b2x3VXsI'm sorry for being that dick, but I really despise all things jedis and other sci-fi/super hero/fantasy stuff. James Earl Jones was the original Troy Maxson in Fences and the only black Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (at least for Broadway). Darth Vader is iconic - - but the aforementioned charters are true acting roles. I'd rather celebrate those.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Sept 15, 2024 12:48:27 GMT
Speak No Evil (2024) - a case where strong direction and acting elevated a script that needed a little more development. The twist wasn't especially shocking or even interesting, and the villain's motivation was muddled, but McAvoy was magnetic and the tension was rife throughout. The Critic (2023) - I'm just glad we still get to see Ian McKellen acting. I might see Speak No Evil next week, depending on what else is out. McAvoy is doing incredible stuff in the trailer, which looks like the movie evolved from a conversation on how to make a bunch of awkward situations into a horror story.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Sept 15, 2024 14:59:06 GMT
Speak No Evil (2024) - a case where strong direction and acting elevated a script that needed a little more development. The twist wasn't especially shocking or even interesting, and the villain's motivation was muddled, but McAvoy was magnetic and the tension was rife throughout. I watched the original one maybe a year ago and I really liked it. Though I disagree with it, I understand why foreign language films gets remade in the US, but the original Speak No Evil is in English. Odd that a new one came out so fast (the original was only 2-3 years ago). In any event, I'd check this one out solely because of the cast. The original probably caused me to outwardly say "what the fuck are you doing? Get the FUCK out of there" more than any other movie. Which is the kind of the point.
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Post by sdm3 on Sept 15, 2024 15:15:35 GMT
Speak No Evil (2024) - a case where strong direction and acting elevated a script that needed a little more development. The twist wasn't especially shocking or even interesting, and the villain's motivation was muddled, but McAvoy was magnetic and the tension was rife throughout. Yep there was definitely a moment (several, actually) like that in this one, too. That they got out and had to go back for the girl's doll was maddening to watch. The dad had it right; she's almost 12, it's time to grow out of it.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Sept 15, 2024 16:15:50 GMT
Yep there was definitely a moment (several, actually) like that in this one, too.
That's definitely the one moment that got the biggest rise out of me when I saw it. I do like the "micro-aggressions as a horror element" plot device but I am not sure it translates as well with an American audience as it does, say, in the original Danish version.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Sept 15, 2024 17:26:50 GMT
Speak No Evil (2024) - a case where strong direction and acting elevated a script that needed a little more development. The twist wasn't especially shocking or even interesting, and the villain's motivation was muddled, but McAvoy was magnetic and the tension was rife throughout. I watched the original one maybe a year ago and I really liked it. Though I disagree with it, I understand why foreign language films gets remade in the US, but the original Speak No Evil is in English. Odd that a new one came out so fast (the original was only 2-3 years ago). In any event, I'd check this one out solely because of the cast. The original probably caused me to outwardly say "what the fuck are you doing? Get the FUCK out of there" more than any other movie. Which is the kind of the point. That original movie is really, really good. That feeling you describe is uncommonly effective and well portrayed in that movie. I felt similarly about Midsommar, which takes a very different approach to a similar theme. But I'm gonna guess that this American remake doesn't have the balls to be as upsetting and nihilistic in the end, even if the beats leading up to it are the same.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Sept 15, 2024 17:35:01 GMT
Speak No Evil (2024) - a case where strong direction and acting elevated a script that needed a little more development. The twist wasn't especially shocking or even interesting, and the villain's motivation was muddled, but McAvoy was magnetic and the tension was rife throughout. The Critic (2023) - I'm just glad we still get to see Ian McKellen acting. I might see Speak No Evil next week, depending on what else is out. McAvoy is doing incredible stuff in the trailer, which looks like the movie evolved from a conversation on how to make a bunch of awkward situations into a horror story. The trailer looks like a an obvious, shallower summary of the first movie that gives away WAAAAAY too much. Many of the surprises from the first movie that were legitimately shocking are just revealed outright in that trailer. The original is one of the most effective and impactful tension building horror movies I've seen in years. I'm not saying this one won't be any good, but I can tell clearly from the trailer that it won't have the same subtlety and impact. The first movie is very much worth seeking out.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Sept 15, 2024 18:35:07 GMT
Watched In A Violent Nature (2024) last night, which is now available on Shudder. I'm sure you know, this is a film shot almost entirely from the perspective of the killer. We have seen this technique employed before in various films, recently and notably in Halloween (2018), in what is a standout sequence in that film. Basically, anyone watching that said "holy shit, this is awesome, I'd watch a whole movie of just that!" Well, here you go. What works here? Well, this is definitely an experiment and the idea of following our killer around for virtually all of the runtime is something I haven't really seen before, at least not to this extent. I love anyone that pushes boundaries and tries new things and if you're like me in that regard, then this movie is for you.
This movie is GORY. Make no mistake, this one delivers on the violence and blood. If you have seen it, the "Yoga Kill" - holy shit, it is glorious in its gratuitousness. Plus, there are some terrific practical effects and they do some interesting camerawork in spots. Necessity is the mother of invention and when you have a tiny budget like this one does, you have to get creative and there are some terrific sequences that showcase that creativity.
What's also kind of interesting is that there's basically a whole other movie going on that we largely don't see, namely from the victims point of view. Early on, we're introduced to a cast of completely forgettable (seemingly by design) victims but outside of one scene, we only see them from the killer's POV. So the only information we get is when the killer happens to walk by them and overhears them. It makes for some extremely clunky dialogue and doesn't really work narratively, but it's an interesting concept for sure. But for example, at one point, the characters take a group picture and the killer can be faintly seen in the background when they take it. In a normal movie, we'd have a scene where a character looks at the picture later in the movie, sees him, and that causes the alarms to go off. Here, we see the picture taken and only later do we hear a character mention "what about the guy in the picture?" and that's it. We don't get that scene where the characters discover the situation, thus raising the tension.
From a horror movie standpoint, however, doing it this way kinda kills any tension that may have existed. Usually, we see characters talking, we don't know exactly where the killer is or who is getting the axe, which creates suspense. Here, we always know where the killer is and who he is stalking so you're really just kind of along for the ride. The only two scenes where there is any tension is the early scene where we meet the victims (a dizzying, very long scene where the camera just goes around and around and around the group where the killer is somewhere in the woods nearby) and then the polarizing monologue at the end. At the end of the movie, when I felt tense due to the fact that you don't see the killer, it dawned on me that this was basically the first time I had felt that.
What will undoubtedly turn some people off, however, is the pace. Since we're with the killer the whole time, you'll see him kill someone, but then he has to get to another part of the territory and you will basically just watch him walk. And walk. And walk. It's actually quite soothing and given that there is no score (only diagetic music in spots), it almost serves as an ASMR video, like a nature stroll. All you hear, for about half the movie's runtime, is the sound of the killer's footsteps through the woods and the ambient noise of the wind, birds and insects. Some reviews I read, in describing this aspect of the movie, said that it's the most soothing slasher you'll ever experience. I think that's fair.
To me, it seems like the entire movie is meant to be amusing in that we always chide the cliche in Friday the 13th and Halloween where our victims are running, while Jason/Michael and just slowly walking and they inevitably catch up. Here, we legit just see the killer walking from Point A to Point B, highlighting just how boring being a horror movie killer can be once the deed is done. It's funny (kinda), and certainly inventive, but it doesn't always make for a great movie. It's more like you're watching someone play a video game.
Anyway, an imperfect movie for sure but I love the concept and there are some standout sequences. The characters are atrocious and entirely forgettable, and the film's structure renders the narrative quite flat. But the idea is something that someone else can really build upon and I am sure we're going to see someone copycat this, either in whole or in part, but do it in a more narratively satisfying way.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Sept 16, 2024 1:12:33 GMT
Watched In A Violent Nature (2024) last night, which is now available on Shudder. I'm sure you know, this is a film shot almost entirely from the perspective of the killer. We have seen this technique employed before in various films, recently and notably in Halloween (2018), in what is a standout sequence in that film. Basically, anyone watching that said "holy shit, this is awesome, I'd watch a whole movie of just that!" Well, here you go. What works here? Well, this is definitely an experiment and the idea of following our killer around for virtually all of the runtime is something I haven't really seen before, at least not to this extent. I love anyone that pushes boundaries and tries new things and if you're like me in that regard, then this movie is for you.
This movie is GORY. Make no mistake, this one delivers on the violence and blood. If you have seen it, the "Yoga Kill" - holy shit, it is glorious in its gratuitousness. Plus, there are some terrific practical effects and they do some interesting camerawork in spots. Necessity is the mother of invention and when you have a tiny budget like this one does, you have to get creative and there are some terrific sequences that showcase that creativity.
What's also kind of interesting is that there's basically a whole other movie going on that we largely don't see, namely from the victims point of view. Early on, we're introduced to a cast of completely forgettable (seemingly by design) victims but outside of one scene, we only see them from the killer's POV. So the only information we get is when the killer happens to walk by them and overhears them. It makes for some extremely clunky dialogue and doesn't really work narratively, but it's an interesting concept for sure. But for example, at one point, the characters take a group picture and the killer can be faintly seen in the background when they take it. In a normal movie, we'd have a scene where a character looks at the picture later in the movie, sees him, and that causes the alarms to go off. Here, we see the picture taken and only later do we hear a character mention "what about the guy in the picture?" and that's it. We don't get that scene where the characters discover the situation, thus raising the tension.
From a horror movie standpoint, however, doing it this way kinda kills any tension that may have existed. Usually, we see characters talking, we don't know exactly where the killer is or who is getting the axe, which creates suspense. Here, we always know where the killer is and who he is stalking so you're really just kind of along for the ride. The only two scenes where there is any tension is the early scene where we meet the victims (a dizzying, very long scene where the camera just goes around and around and around the group where the killer is somewhere in the woods nearby) and then the polarizing monologue at the end. At the end of the movie, when I felt tense due to the fact that you don't see the killer, it dawned on me that this was basically the first time I had felt that.
What will undoubtedly turn some people off, however, is the pace. Since we're with the killer the whole time, you'll see him kill someone, but then he has to get to another part of the territory and you will basically just watch him walk. And walk. And walk. It's actually quite soothing and given that there is no score (only diagetic music in spots), it almost serves as an ASMR video, like a nature stroll. All you hear, for about half the movie's runtime, is the sound of the killer's footsteps through the woods and the ambient noise of the wind, birds and insects. Some reviews I read, in describing this aspect of the movie, said that it's the most soothing slasher you'll ever experience. I think that's fair.
To me, it seems like the entire movie is meant to be amusing in that we always chide the cliche in Friday the 13th and Halloween where our victims are running, while Jason/Michael and just slowly walking and they inevitably catch up. Here, we legit just see the killer walking from Point A to Point B, highlighting just how boring being a horror movie killer can be once the deed is done. It's funny (kinda), and certainly inventive, but it doesn't always make for a great movie. It's more like you're watching someone play a video game.
Anyway, an imperfect movie for sure but I love the concept and there are some standout sequences. The characters are atrocious and entirely forgettable, and the film's structure renders the narrative quite flat. But the idea is something that someone else can really build upon and I am sure we're going to see someone copycat this, either in whole or in part, but do it in a more narratively satisfying way. Not gonna look at the spoilers yet because I'm still very much looking forward to this one. I've heard good things and the stylistic choice looks really interesting. Coincidentally, I just watched Talk to Me, the Aussie teens talking to the dead movie, and it seems like it's kind of the inverse of what you describe. In terms of style and concept it's really not anything new, but it just presents its characters as real people with a little more depth than that kind of movie usual does, and has good performances from young actors that I've never seen before. On another coincidental note, I also just saw Sasquatch Sunset and it was another unusual movie set in the woods. Nothing else in common, as far as I can tell. But it was weird.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Sept 16, 2024 21:37:51 GMT
Speak No Evil (2024) - a case where strong direction and acting elevated a script that needed a little more development. The twist wasn't especially shocking or even interesting, and the villain's motivation was muddled, but McAvoy was magnetic and the tension was rife throughout. I have seen the original and the American remake. I think I liked the remake better than the original. Several of the small differences worked better in the remake, in my opinion. When it comes to the biggest difference of them all, each version has its advantages and disadvantages. In the original, the visiting parents are killed and the daughter becomes the new tongueless child of the serial killer couple. It’s pretty fucking bleak, but it’s bold and unique. In the remake you lose that to a traditional horror movie ending. Less original but it’s a good extended tense sequence, and there is of course some satisfaction in seeing the bad guys getting their comeuppance.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Sept 17, 2024 16:31:42 GMT
I got a notification from the Canadian government telling me that according to their records I had never watched Slap Shot (1977) and if I didn’t rectify that, I would be subject to penalties up to and including loss of citizenship. So I had no choice but to finally after all these decades watch the quintessential hockey movie.
What a blast! Memorable characters, crazy situations, Paul Newman. I finally know who the Hanson Brothers are!
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Post by klawrencio79 on Sept 17, 2024 16:36:16 GMT
I got a notification from the Canadian government telling me that according to their records I had never watched Slap Shot (1977) and if I didn’t rectify that, I would be subject to penalties up to and including loss of citizenship. So I had no choice but to finally after all these decades watch the quintessential hockey movie. What a blast! Memorable characters, crazy situations, Paul Newman. I finally know who the Hanson Brothers are! That's awesome, glad you liked it! What would the American equivalent of this be? Independence Day?
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Sept 17, 2024 17:47:03 GMT
I got a notification from the Canadian government telling me that according to their records I had never watched Slap Shot (1977) and if I didn’t rectify that, I would be subject to penalties up to and including loss of citizenship. So I had no choice but to finally after all these decades watch the quintessential hockey movie. What a blast! Memorable characters, crazy situations, Paul Newman. I finally know who the Hanson Brothers are! That's awesome, glad you liked it! What would the American equivalent of this be? Independence Day? Field of Dreams? Any Given Sunday?
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Sept 17, 2024 18:35:11 GMT
That's awesome, glad you liked it! What would the American equivalent of this be? Independence Day? Field of Dreams? Any Given Sunday? Teen Wolf.
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