2018 February Film DiScussion Thread

Saw Lady Bird last night - really liked it, gave me Ghost World vibes.

Finally watched Good Time tonight on Netflix, everything about it is excellent, love RPatz.

Exactly - considering the number of blended/adopted families, it’s unusual that they don’t spell it out and enormously welcoming and big-hearted. Especially when you think how Miguel could have reacted when LB raised the race question on his university admission. That’s a pretty shitty piece of striking out on her part but he stays calmer than he could.

You sometimes get a similar result (for different reasons) over here in the theatre.
Blackadder skewered it in the
Money episode from the second series with that line about “Shut up Baldrick, you’d laugh at a Shakespeare comedy.”
(As did DiS with the “original tongue” gag, tbf.)

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Oh no, I absolutely hated Ghost World :confused:

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

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Yeah, really belongs in the “things you should like but don’t thread”. Hated Thora Birch’s character, thought she was self-centred and a bit heartless and basically without any redeeming features - and she’s exactly the sort of character that I usually like in these films!

  1. Madness, I tell you!
  2. I don’t think Lady Bird is that much like Ghost World to be honest

The Shape of Water - Ended up really liking this against all odds. Really fell for the schlocky cold-war stuff and thought Michael Shannon and Sally Hawkins were both absolutely brilliant. The score was really lovely too although it sailed a bit close to Giacchino’s Up score at one bit which I found a tad distracting. Set design was wonderful, the CG was very well done. So yeah, seems like I’m someone who likes fish-man romance films now then…

Not a huge fan either but I pure love the blues hammer bit

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Isn’t there a young Michael Shannon or Jon Hamm or someone in this scene/film

Doesn’t look like it, but David Cross is in it

sick of hearing about Marvel films.

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Manchurian Candidate remake was a bit all over the place, felt like some of it just didn’t hang together that well and some very bizarre soundtrack choices. Meryl was clearly having loads of fun with her role though and she was pretty great tbf.

Also watched The Hudsucker Proxy a while back and really enjoyed that. Obviously it’s very light so I’m not surprised it’s not one of their highest acclaimed films, but it was still damn funny and engaging, really just a treat all round. Feels underrated.

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I swear someone turns up in the student ball scene? It’s been a while since I’ve seen it though

Are you thinking of Groundhog Day?

it’s not really like Ghost World

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I don’t know, am I?

you know, for kids!

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https://twitter.com/kyle4prezident/status/965376575465168897

Personal favourite:
https://twitter.com/kyle4prezident/status/965376584734556160

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Saw The Shape of Water yesterday. Was surprised at how slight a premise the film has and just how thinly spread the content felt over the running time.

I was never bored but nor was I very engaged either. Aside from it’s central intriguing conceit the film does very little. The plot is essentially Free Willy and no amount of beautiful photography or excellent performances manage to shake that up.

There are some nice moments in the film but these are mostly just the dynamics between Eliza and Giles in the early stages. The blossoming romance between Eliza and the creature seems hurried and ultimately unsatisfying, we never really get to see how they fall for each other and given that their relationship underpins the entirety of the rest of the plot this is a real weakness. Also it’s never satisfactorily explained just how much access Eliza gets to the creature in this top secret, high security environment. It all feels poorly thought through.

I was amazed at how unambitious the film is beyond its visuals. The plot does nothing that we haven’t seen a million times before. And then, when it is ambitious (the dance number) it really hasn’t done anything to earn that moment and the whole thing feels flat and forced.

Sally Hawkins and Richard Jenkins are both impressive and very likeable as the odd couple but Michael Shannon is wasted in a confused role that seems to try and explore his character’s humanity while also presenting him as the standard villainous face of authority.

Didn’t hate it but wouldn’t recommend it for anything other than wiling away a couple of hours on a wet Sunday afternoon.

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