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Post by Doomsday on Dec 24, 2021 22:47:28 GMT -5
Dune
Of course Dune's bread and butter is its out of this world (no pun) visual effects. What adds even more to it though is that the VFX are done in service to the story and not to paper over any faults or cracks in the script like a movie such as Ready Player One does for example. I haven't read Dune and this is my very first experience with anything having to do with the franchise and it didn't take much to notice the obvious influences that stemmed from the novel. 'The Chosen One' or 'The Empire' seemed all too familiar (I won't say anything but just wait until Boba Fett comes out). In fact I had to keep reminding myself that it's those other franchises that are ripping off Dune and not vice versa. But while the story was somewhat predictable thanks to everything I've been exposed to already it was also very engrossing without being boring. It throws a lot at you especially in the first thirty minutes or so but it seamlessly blends it all together as it continues. I also admire how it doesn't talk down to its audience, it doesn't slug in some unnecessary comic relief or telegraph any glaring foreshadowing. Instead it leads you down some already paved roads while still not giving you quite enough to make it totally obvious as to where it's going next. As someone who's not the biggest sci-fi fan this felt fresh and is a good example of what can be accomplished if you combine today's cutting edge technology with an actual, bona fide quality script that doesn't treat its audience like idiots and doesn't feel like it was assembled by 22 'writers' in a board room. I wasn't terribly interested in seeing it before I sat down to watch but I'm definitely on board for whatever else comes our way so long as Denis Villeneuve is at the helm.
A- so says Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 28, 2021 11:00:38 GMT -5
Licorice Pizza
I'll give credit to any movie that hooks me from the very first scene of the film. Licorice Pizza is a heartwarming and often very funny movie about an odd and offbeat relationship as it starts, stops, hiccups and blooms in the early 1970s of the Los Angeles valley. Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim have great chemistry as Hoffman's Gary Valentine tries to woo Haim's Alana despite her being about ten years his senior. That setup alone is funny because a fifteen year old high schooler is normally supposed to lust after a woman in her mid-twenties, he doesn't fall in love with her. Their introduction and subsequent banter throughout the movie makes it feel almost like a younger brother/older sister relationship as each of them goes through their own experiences in life and business and embracing opportunities that always lead them back to each other. I was thinking while watching Licorice Pizza and laughing at its many truly funny scenes that there are a lot of big filmmakers who don't try to make straight comedy films but whose comedy is written and delivered better than most mainstream comedy movies. Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, these guys are funny. They revel in quick setups and payoffs without lingering on anything waiting for you to get the joke. Sometimes in Licorice Pizza that humor is deliberately cringe-worthy and uncomfortable (the investor married to the Japanese women, 'three beavers') but the cringe lies in the characters' hubris and flaws and not in the actual dialogue they're delivering. I suppose my only gripe would be that you start to feel the length after a ways and while there's no huge chunk or sequence that I would cut, it all plays very well, it seems to meander in its third act when you already sort of understand where this might be going. In short I think Licorice Pizza is my surprise of the year because I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I know that PTA has a big cinematic following but he's really not one of my all-time favorite filmmakers. I've seen and respected his output but I'm not one to throw on Magnolia on a rainy day. Licorice Pizza though is a lighter film that still highlights his talents as a writer/director and his offbeat brand of humor and storytelling really hit with me. Definitely a movie I'm going to rewatch down the road and one of my favorites so far this year.
A- so says Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 28, 2021 21:29:31 GMT -5
Nightmare Alley
*some spoilers*
I haven't been overly impressed with Guillermo del Toro as of late. Crimson Peak felt like a hodge podge of his other films and lacked any true originality and I just flat out didn't like Shape of Water in any way whatsoever. When I heard he was directing a remake of Nightmare Alley though, a macabre and bleak if imperfect noir from the 1940s, he seemed like he would be a really good fit. With maybe the best ensemble cast of any movie this year he was able to bring his style to the story of a carny turned celebrity 'mentalist' who scams wealthy businessmen and eventually gets his comeuppance. Bradley Cooper and Rooney Mara are very solid as Stanton and Molly and nipping at Cooper's heels is Cate Blanchett as psychologist Lililith Ritter. It's the supporting cast that really shines here with great albeit brief turns by Willem Dafoe, Ron Pearlman, Toni Collette, Richard Jenkins, David Strathairn and Mary Steenburgen among others. It follows the beats of the original film pretty closely (I haven't read the novel on which it's based) but del Toro fills in many of the small gaps and expands on other threads nicely making it, in my opinion at least, a superior film. It does stumble during the final con much like its predecessor, it's not overly complicated but it's kind of a ridiculous grift that ends up unraveling the whole scheme. It also opens the door to the final showdown between Stan and Dr. Ritter which doesn't really have enough chemistry or development behind it to make for a very suspenseful climax. I suppose you never really understand why Stan would trust a woman like Dr. Ritter who very clearly has ulterior motives as silly as those may be and her desire to crush Stan is also a little sketchy and underdeveloped. It was something that bumped for me when watching the original and it bumped for me here too. If they had made her character a little more fleshed out, maybe if they even made her part of the scheme itself it might have added something to it but her motivation just felt lacking. I do remember reading though that the original film ends with an alcoholic Stan accepting his fate as he agrees to be the Geek in another carnival act but the studio didn't want an ending that bleak even for a noir picture so they had them add a scene at the very end where he winds up being saved from a life of alcoholism and abuse. Not so with del Toro's film as he gives Cooper's Stan the fate he deserves. So yes, an entertaining plot about some wretched characters helps propel Nightmare Alley way past Guillermo del Toro's other recent fare as he demonstrates that he indeed was probably the exact director to helm such a film. It might not be a Best Picture winner but Nightmare Alley is certainly one of the better films this year that takes some chances while still giving nods to where it came from.
A solid B+ or a charitable A- so says Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 31, 2021 22:49:34 GMT -5
CODA
It feels like every year we're fed a high school, coming of age movie about teenage angst and wondering which way to go in life. The only things that really need to be changed are the setting and what each character does in the background. This time we meet a girl Ruby who's the only person who's able to hear among a family of deaf people. They're fishermen by trade but the price of fish is going down, not to mention that they get busted by the Coast Guard for not operating their boat properly given their disability. In the meantime Ruby reveals her sudden gift for singing and is encouraged by her choir teacher, a class she only took because her crush was in it, to apply to Berklee School of Music. Will Ruby help save the family fishing business? And will she get into Berklee against all odds? We all know the answers to those questions but aside from ultimately being a standard coming of age movie at its core it doesn't take any massive or cinematically offensive missteps. Emilia Jones does a pretty good job carrying the movie, Eugenio Derbez does an okay job as the music teacher and isn't nearly as annoying as his character easily could have been, and while the script tries to make Ruby's parents unnecessarily funnier than they needed to be they were played well by Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur. In fact Kotsur especially is really able to show emotion, tension and sadness on screen. Ultimately CODA isn't really a top 10 movie or best of the year but for some reason we always have these passed our way. It's not bad and I'm sure there are some people who will find it endearing and funny (although it tries way too hard on that front) but it's not one that most people will be coming back to after seeing it.
B so says Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jan 5, 2022 23:52:02 GMT -5
The Tragedy of Macbeth
When it comes to modern Shakespearean adaptations nowadays it's mainly about how it's portrayed. We already know what's going on, after all a story like Macbeth has been adapted for the screen several times already, we aren't expecting anything new to the story. It's not like we're seeing a version where he reigns in terror for years to come. No, we know what's up with Macbeth, all we want to know is how we're going to see it. Joel Coen, flying solo sans brother Ethan, brings us his own interpretation filmed in black and white with a German expressionist flair. Denzel Washington leads the stellar supporting cast that includes Frances McDormand (I'm shocked!), Brendan Gleeson, Corey Hawkins and Harry Melling. I was having trouble placing where I saw Melling before, then I cursed myself for not knowing while looking him up on IMDb which reminded me that he met that fateful ending in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Anyways, I've never read Macbeth so it's hard to know what Coen may have cut out of his film version but even if someone isn't well-versed in Shakespearean prose it's still not terribly difficult to get an understanding as to what's going on or what the intentions of Macbeth and more importantly Lady Macbeth would become. Visually it's quite stunning and creepy, one of the most atmospheric films I've seen in a while. It revels in its somber tone and the final shot of the crows pouring across the frame was a really neat way to end the story. Will this movie win a slew of Oscars? Probably not, I can't imagine putting Macbeth front and center is going to win them back the audience they've lost over the last decade but it certainly is worthy of being named as one of the top films this year. That sounds funny because there's this part of me that says 'it's another adaptation among several adaptations of a 400 year old play, what more is there?' But like I said, it's how it's portrayed and Joel Coen once again outdid himself and once again demonstrated that you could make the case that the Coens, one or both, are the best filmmakers working today.
And let's give a Best Supporting Actress nomination to whoever played the Witches.
I originally had this as an A- but seeing as how I watched it a week ago and have noticed just how well it has stayed with me I think that grade isn't generous enough.
A so says Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jan 15, 2022 19:49:27 GMT -5
West Side Story
I'm going to say at the top of this that I really enjoyed West Side Story. In fact I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a Steven Spielberg movie as much as this one. Not that I'm trying to oversell it, I just didn't expect it since, well, Steven Spielberg hasn't exactly been known for hitting it out of the park as of late. The last movie he made that seemed to have pretty widespread acclaim was Lincoln which is almost a decade old at this point. I've said this before but it seemed to me like Spielberg was picking his recent projects on the basis of trying to keep up with the times and stay relevant instead of leading the pack. Although he had West Side Story on his list of passion projects for a long time I found it a little more than coincidental that he announced it not too long after La La Land became a critical and awards darling. Anyways, we could talk modern day Spielberg and the quality of his recent output until the cows come home but if there's one thing that I think has a general consensus it's that he's still a filmmaker in his top form. I'm not a big fan of the original West Side Story, I think I watched it in college and thought it was fine, it was merely a movie that existed for me to scratch off my list. Which is why it was funny that a remake to a sixty year old movie was in the works, I mean was society clamoring for a remake of West Side Story? Unfortunately the answer seems to be no as its box office would suggest but I think anyone reading this who has seen the movie would agree that those who are ignoring it are doing themselves a disservice. I think the thing that Spielberg captured best was having an actual heart to the movie and making the main characters Tony and Maria two people you actually care about. Their stories didn't take a back seat to overwhelming CGI or motion capture which Spielberg has made the stars of many of his later films to their detriment. Did anyone care what happened to Sophie in The BFG? You didn't even learn her name until an hour into it. Did anyone care about Parzival and Artemis in any way whatsoever? Not at all, it's a touch that Spielberg used to be so good at and it's a crucial element that he recaptures in West Side Story. It also didn't feel bogged down by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski's incessant lens flares and chokingly thick smoke, although those trademarks do make their frequent appearances for reasons that escape me. Why Spielberg is so entranced by those visual gimmicks is something I still don't quite understand. Did the scene of Riff buying the gun in the bar need flares? In the middle of a dark pub? Whatever, I'm not the director. But the movie itself is still one that took me almost completely by surprise, even after hearing almost everyone who has seen it give very high marks. This almost feels like a 'back to basics' attempt on his part, something that he maybe did to remind himself of how a movie should be made. Did my low expectations result in me enjoying this movie more than I otherwise would have? Possibly, but I still found myself engrossed and entertained all the same and those are a couple things that I've missed from Steven Spielberg movies for a long time.
A so says Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jan 18, 2022 0:27:41 GMT -5
Don't Look Up
I need to stop looking at Letterboxd from now on. Ever since this movie dropped I noticed how divisive it is. Some people are saying it's a strong metaphor against climate change, others despise how on the nose and unfunny it turned out to be. I have to say that I certainly didn't hate the movie. I didn't love it but it's not as cinematically offensive as I thought it might become. Adam McKay has directed other societal dark comedies with massive ensemble casts to mixed results but Don't Look Up is probably the closest to a straight comedy compared to The Big Short or Vice (which I haven't seen). The problem, and I mean the problem, with this movie is that it's desperately unfunny. I say desperately because this movie is desperate for a joke to land and throws everything at the screen it possibly can. If you want a good metaphor for what this movie ultimately is there are two that can actually be found in the film itself. One is Jonah Hill's character overall. He's just the standard character he always plays saying bizarre and sarcastic comments. Most of what he did was clearly improvised because it's just the Jonah Hill schtick. Over and over and over. The second thing you could compare it to is Jennifer Lawrence's character being perpetually annoyed by the fact that a top Pentagon general had her pay him for free food at the White House. She constantly brings it up throughout the movie as a comedic callback, something that the audience is supposed to laugh at because she keeps bringing it up. 'Maybe THIS time they'll laugh...' That's this movie, it keeps hammering things that aren't funny because they think eventually, if they go long enough they will become funny. You might have seen a stand-up comedian who has a bit that clearly isn't working and instead of abandoning it and moving on he just doubles down again and again and again hoping that he won't lose the audience. Again, that's this movie. Another problem is that it also seems to be a movie that's a critique on several different things other than climate change. It tries to hit on celebrity culture, social media, technology dependence, political sycophancy, and like anything the more you try to cram in the more muddled all your messages become. Even with all that aside though it doesn't give you much in terms of interesting or deep characters. The most memorable ones only stood out because they were more irritating than anything, namely Mark Rylance doing whatever the heck that was. I think because I checked into the movie with pretty low expectations without ever taking it seriously I was able to breeze through it, I mean the story itself isn't that bad and even at almost 2 1/2 hours it moves at a pretty brisk pace, but unfortunately I don't think that was Adam McKay's intent for his audience. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen and I understand what it was trying to do, it just came up short in every area. Also, I'm sure anyone reading this could come up with a few movies that deserve to be on AFI's top 10 more than this.
B- so says Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jan 18, 2022 0:35:33 GMT -5
Well that as they say is that for this year's jump into AFI's top 10 list of 2021. As always there were some movies I really enjoyed, a couple I was lukewarm on and several landing in between but I think I'm much more prime for those flicks that will be front and center for awards season and what's much more important I was able to watch some movies I otherwise might have skipped. Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll be heading back to my casual exploration of Bergman's Cinema.
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Post by PG Cooper on Jan 18, 2022 0:51:49 GMT -5
Well that as they say is that for this year's jump into AFI's top 10 list of 2021. As always there were some movies I really enjoyed, a couple I was lukewarm on and several landing in between but I think I'm much more prime for those flicks that will be front and center for awards season and what's much more important I was able to watch some movies I otherwise might have skipped. Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll be heading back to my casual exploration of Bergman's Cinema. Funny, I just jumped back into Bergman with a watch of Winter Light this evening. Shit's actually funnier than Don't Look Up. |
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Post by Neverending on Jul 20, 2022 16:13:14 GMT -5
Don't Look UpI need to stop looking at Letterboxd from now on. Ever since this movie dropped I noticed how divisive it is. Some people are saying it's a strong metaphor against climate change, others despise how on the nose and unfunny it turned out to be. I have to say that I certainly didn't hate the movie. I didn't love it but it's not as cinematically offensive as I thought it might become. Adam McKay has directed other societal dark comedies with massive ensemble casts to mixed results but Don't Look Up is probably the closest to a straight comedy compared to The Big Short or Vice (which I haven't seen). The problem, and I mean the problem, with this movie is that it's desperately unfunny. I say desperately because this movie is desperate for a joke to land and throws everything at the screen it possibly can. If you want a good metaphor for what this movie ultimately is there are two that can actually be found in the film itself. One is Jonah Hill's character overall. He's just the standard character he always plays saying bizarre and sarcastic comments. Most of what he did was clearly improvised because it's just the Jonah Hill schtick. Over and over and over. The second thing you could compare it to is Jennifer Lawrence's character being perpetually annoyed by the fact that a top Pentagon general had her pay him for free food at the White House. She constantly brings it up throughout the movie as a comedic callback, something that the audience is supposed to laugh at because she keeps bringing it up. 'Maybe THIS time they'll laugh...' That's this movie, it keeps hammering things that aren't funny because they think eventually, if they go long enough they will become funny. You might have seen a stand-up comedian who has a bit that clearly isn't working and instead of abandoning it and moving on he just doubles down again and again and again hoping that he won't lose the audience. Again, that's this movie. Another problem is that it also seems to be a movie that's a critique on several different things other than climate change. It tries to hit on celebrity culture, social media, technology dependence, political sycophancy, and like anything the more you try to cram in the more muddled all your messages become. Even with all that aside though it doesn't give you much in terms of interesting or deep characters. The most memorable ones only stood out because they were more irritating than anything, namely Mark Rylance doing whatever the heck that was. I think because I checked into the movie with pretty low expectations without ever taking it seriously I was able to breeze through it, I mean the story itself isn't that bad and even at almost 2 1/2 hours it moves at a pretty brisk pace, but unfortunately I don't think that was Adam McKay's intent for his audience. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen and I understand what it was trying to do, it just came up short in every area. Also, I'm sure anyone reading this could come up with a few movies that deserve to be on AFI's top 10 more than this. B- so says Doomsday |
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 9, 2022 14:15:29 GMT -5
AFI just dropped their Top 10 list of 2022 and like previous years I was planning on going through them just to give myself a little head start before the Oscar nominations drop. The first thing I noticed is that that instead of putting it in their top 10, the AFI Special Award (whatever the hell that means) was given to Banshees of Inisherin which is stupid because that movie is fantastic. So what other movies bumped it out? Well, here's the list and I have to say there are some movies on here that I was not looking forward to watching. And even without seeing them nobody can tell me that Nope, Women Talking, Elvis, The Woman King or even Avatar are better than Banshees of Inisherin so I'm kind of suspect about this list. I'm a man of my word though and I'll see about taking these down when I can.
AFI's Top 10 of 2022
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Fabelmans
Nope
She Said
Tar
Top Gun: Maverick
The Woman King
Women Talking
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Post by Dracula on Dec 9, 2022 14:20:10 GMT -5
The first thing I noticed is that that instead of putting it in their top 10, the AFI Special Award (whatever the hell that means) I'll give you a hint: what does the A in AFI stand for? |
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Post by PhantomKnight on Dec 9, 2022 14:24:44 GMT -5
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 9, 2022 14:26:54 GMT -5
The first thing I noticed is that that instead of putting it in their top 10, the AFI Special Award (whatever the hell that means) I'll give you a hint: what does the A in AFI stand for? I thought it was an American production. Well if it wasn't then that makes more sense. |
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Post by Dracula on Dec 9, 2022 14:29:37 GMT -5
I'll give you a hint: what does the A in AFI stand for? I thought it was an American production. Well if it wasn't then that makes more sense. Apparently not enough for them. That Special award has been used for the likes of Roma, Parasite, and Belfast pretty much every year. It's their "you're not eligible under our stupid rules, but we want to nominate you anyway" award. |
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Post by PG Cooper on Dec 9, 2022 14:59:43 GMT -5
AFI just dropped their Top 10 list of 2022 and like previous years I was planning on going through them just to give myself a little head start before the Oscar nominations drop. The first thing I noticed is that that instead of putting it in their top 10, the AFI Special Award (whatever the hell that means) was given to Banshees of Inisherin which is stupid because that movie is fantastic. So what other movies bumped it out? Well, here's the list and I have to say there are some movies on here that I was not looking forward to watching. And even without seeing them nobody can tell me that Nope, Women Talking, Elvis, The Woman King or even Avatar are better than Banshees of Inisherin so I'm kind of suspect about this list. I'm a man of my word though and I'll see about taking these down when I can. AFI's Top 10 of 2022Avatar: The Way of Water Elvis Everything Everywhere All At Once The Fabelmans Nope She Said Tar Top Gun: Maverick The Woman King Women Talking Missing The Woman King, Women Talking, and Avatar of course. Definitely excited for those last 2, but The Woman King... idk, honestly I thought the movie looked interesting but reading about how the real King Ghezo was an active slave trader and that the movie completely washes over that is... not something I want to deal with. |
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Post by PhantomKnight on Dec 9, 2022 15:23:53 GMT -5
The Woman King is just a pretty average period action-adventure movie, in my opinion. Nothing really that special.
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Post by Dracula on Dec 9, 2022 15:32:55 GMT -5
I've seen everything but The Woman King and Avatar... meh, this year's prestige offerings seem pretty weak.
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Post by thebtskink on Dec 9, 2022 16:43:27 GMT -5
Was fascinated by seeing Viola Davis talk about it this summer at a film festival.
Sony(?) seems happy for the prestige of being the studio releasing, but there's definitely studio notes.
From the clips shown, I did like that they let her cook a bit, she's not doing the "infallible protagonist" route
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Dec 9, 2022 17:53:48 GMT -5
Not an film exciting year to say the least.
And with The Whale getting ho-hum reviews, outside of Avatar there isn't much to look forward to for turning that sentiment around.
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Post by 1godzillafan on Dec 9, 2022 19:07:07 GMT -5
Everything Everywhere > The Woman King > Tár > Elvis > Nope > Top Gun > The Fabelmans > She Said
Haven't seen Avatar or Women Talking.
List needs more Barbarian.
If this means Everything Everywhere has a straight shot to Best Picture, then it's perfect.
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Post by Neverending on Dec 10, 2022 2:08:05 GMT -5
Not an film exciting year to say the least. And with The Whale getting ho-hum reviews, outside of Avatar there isn't much to look forward to for turning that sentiment around. Don’t sleep on Lyle Lyle Crocodile. |
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Post by PG Cooper on Dec 10, 2022 8:53:09 GMT -5
Not an film exciting year to say the least. And with The Whale getting ho-hum reviews, outside of Avatar there isn't much to look forward to for turning that sentiment around. Don’t sleep on Lyle Lyle Crocodile. I was thinking of making a bit on twitter insisting that Lyle Lyle Crocodile is much better than those overrated Paddington movies. |
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Post by 1godzillafan on Dec 10, 2022 9:50:44 GMT -5
Don’t sleep on Lyle Lyle Crocodile. I was thinking of making a bit on twitter insisting that Lyle Lyle Crocodile is much better than those overrated Paddington movies. Go on Twitter claiming Lyle Lyle Crocodile is less woke than Top Gun and see how long it takes for Elon Musk to respond. |
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 10, 2022 10:49:24 GMT -5
Before laying into the list, here's what I've scratched off to date.
AFI's Top 10 of 2022
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Fabelmans
Nope
She Said
Tar
Top Gun: Maverick
The Woman King
Women Talking
Some quick thoughts on those.
Elvis
I don't say this often but Elvis was surprisingly enjoyable, much more than I thought it would be. I'm as sick and tired of biopics as anyone else and it really irks me that even today playing a music figure on screen automatically gets you awards consideration but Elvis does a good job of standing above others that are churned out. Austin Butler does a nice job as Presley and Baz Luhrmann's style, something that I thought would torpedo the movie, is used to nice effect and doesn't feel totally overwhelming. Of course, the real head scratcher here is Tom Hanks as The Colonel. As we've discussed before his more recent casting choices where he utilizes a thick accent doesn't feel quite natural despite his talents and between that and his prosthetics his presence in Elvis sticks out like a sore thumb. Would I normally put Elvis on a top 10 movies on the year list? No, but at the same time there aren't a lot of movies that really blew me away at all this year. Then again while Elvis might not have blown me away it did entertain and exceeded my expectations with a solid performance from Butler and a fast style. I think that should count for something even if it still fits in the mold of musical biopics.
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