#82

the last two films i’ve watched both had sigur ros on the the soundtrack- mitchells vs the machines and seaspiricy

seaspiricy i found alarming, some scary stuff i ain’t know, including, kudos to them for this, because i feel similar exposes have omitted- appalling working conditions.

the aesthetic was too macho for my liking- emphasising ‘i could be killed for doing this’ a few times, mission impossible style caption writing and the most spectacularly ill-judged, offensive animations i can remember seeing.

maybe this method is more effective at getting the message out, but i feel some of the way it was done can do damage, too. to people’s psyche’s, like. i ramble, dunno if that makes any sense!

#83

“Conspira-sea” was right there ffs

8 Likes
#84

Recently watched:

Shirley - Biopic of sorts of novelist Shirley Jackson who I hadn’t heard of before. Jackson played by Elizabeth Moss and her professor husband take in a young couple and an odd relationship between them begins. Didn’t enjoy the film as hoped. The feel of it reminded me of mother! somewhat. 5/10.

Say Your Prayers - Two hapless evangelical hitman try to kill a Richard Dawkins type of author at a literature festival in Yorkshire. Thought I’d watch as it was only 85 minutes long. Didn’t really go anywhere, was average at best and seemed longer than 85 minutes. 5/10.

The Wrath (2018) - Korean horror set in the 14th century. A ghost or a spirit causes the deaths of the sons in the family leaving a power struggle amongst the matriarch and the daughters in law. No scares and probably didn’t set out for them. Good production and sets and is more of thriller than an out and out horror. 7/10.

Honest Thief - A Liam Neeson action film by the numbers. A stupid plot and unfortunately no over the top action sequences but Neeson has again has a very particular set of skills. Wouldn’t watch this sober but I enjoyed it as a pointless no brainer with drinks. 7/10.

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#85

The Scarlet Dove - 1960’s Finnish one about a man who stumbles upon his wife having an affair , then finds her dead and he’s the chief suspect.

Have this on DVD and have 0 memory of buying it or even hearing about it before but I loved it. The film plays out superbly and you feel the main character is really on a journey. Ends in the shittest way though (proper primary school creative writing ending)

1 Like
#86

I’m watching Tenet. I think I get what’s happening, though not really sure why any of it is happening.

#87

Just finished In The Earth. A real film of two halves. The first is a fairly standard horror but then it flips into the most pretentious pseudo art house wank for the second half. I went from genuinely tense to totally disconnected.

Ben Wheatley built up a lot of credit with me after Kill List, but it’s been a slow, steady decline since then. I’m finally ready to give up. I’ve only seen Kill List once and I’m starting to think it mustn’t be as good as I remember it

#88

I’m watching Palm Springs based off this post and am enjoying it.

7 Likes
#89

It’s a good, fun time

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#90

thought Nomadland was great. best of the best picture contenders i think, glad it won

#91

High-Rise (Film 4) 3/5
:office: Radiates such an old school filmmaking feeling and aesthetic that is so very much up my street… I also found it a rather brave, bold and totally unique artistic vision… It is somehow has all those greatly admirably qualities, but also a bit of a mess. A proper feast visually and aurally, but so hollow and lacking in any sense of central core or emotion connection - maybe that was the point? Will ruminate for some time I think. Such a very hard thing to score and think it might be a thing to revisit sometime in the next 5/10/15 etc years.

Kikis Delivery Service (Netflix) 4.5/5
:kissing_cat: Absolutely charming coming of age tale wrapped in so much warmth and discovery. There are some expertly observed moments of humanity and naturalistic flourishes of animation that feel many years before its time.

Dog Soldiers (Film 4) 2/5
:wolf: Whereas Kiki’s Delivery Service felt 20 years ahead of time…this felt the total opposite. I know it was uber low budget, so i’ll give it a semi pass. Felt very mid 90’s ITV Drama.

Up In The Air (BBC 2) 3.5/5
:airplane: Extremely well observed and a notch above what it might seem with the casting very much on point top to bottom. With the recent shutdown of air travel and major shift to working from home / remote working / video conferencing…the decade plus of time elapsing since release really helped add some extra layers of depth and consideration.

When Harry Met Sally (BBC 1) 4/5
:speaking_head: What an absolute dynamite screenplay. So brisk and astute. Bravo everyone.

1 Like
#92

Ha i felt the absolute opposite about High Rise, thought it was one of the least original films I had seen in years. Hmmm maybe that’s my issue with Wheatley. He’s gone from being a visionary to a copycat

4 Likes
#93

I really liked Dog Soldiers and High Rise just didn’t click with me.

#94

Might watch the Flintstones live action one tomorrow

#95

Dog Soldiers had such bad CGI it took me right out of it

#96

What did you watch it on please? I looked for it this evening on Netflix and Prime but couldn’t see it.

#97

You’ve articulated my thoughts about High Rise. I loved it but it felt like it really dropped off the edge and didn’t fulfil its potential which is a shame. Stylistically brilliant, just not quite what it could have been.

Glad you loved Kiki’s Delivery Service. Have you seen all/most of the other Ghiblis?

1 Like
#98

It’s on Disney+.

#99

Seen just over half of the 23 Ghibli films. Slowly making my way through in the past 10/15 years. So gutted we couldn’t get into the museum when in Tokyo. This shop near Taipei 101 was fun, but doesn’t match up:
https://goo.gl/maps/1AGMxRK9mFsyEBGx8

High-Rise is seemingly a real marmite movie - might start a thread about that subject. :blush:

#100

Another vote here for left totally cold by High Rise.

#101

Only thing I can really remember is “Industrial Estate” over the closing credits. It gets another star for that alone.