Nilade
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Post by Nilade on May 26, 2023 0:55:55 GMT -5
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on May 26, 2023 9:15:24 GMT -5
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on May 26, 2023 10:36:31 GMT -5
Will probably lean toward Resurrection |
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PG Cooper
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Post by PG Cooper on Jun 8, 2023 20:49:49 GMT -5
When We Were Kings
This documentary on the famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman for the Heavyweight Championship in 1974 was something of an education for me. I had of course heard of the 'Rumble in the Jungle' before but I didn't really know much beyond that it was a fight between Ali and Foreman. I had no idea that the match took place in Zaire amidst intense political turmoil, or that it was backed financially by the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. When We Were Kings' commentary moves rather seamlessly from discussing these ethical concerns to the pragmatic realities and complications of hosting a massive sports event in conjunction with a soul music festival (events which ended up taking place at different times due to Foreman suffering a cut in training) to the personalities and athleticism of the fighters themselves.
Leon Gast's wealth of footage jumps so effortlessly between topics that it feels not to be dominated by any particular agenda beyond the goal to provide as full a document of this fight as possible. It's an intriguing watch, all-told, one with some fascinating commentary on Black and African identity, and the tensions between those two points, that this event spoke to. As a white Canadian I'm reticent to speak too much more on this topic, but the movie definitely provides a lot to think about. On a simpler level, the sheer charm and charisma of Ali in particular is great fun to behold and I was way more interested in the breakdown of the fight itself than I expected to be.
A-
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jun 8, 2023 23:59:16 GMT -5
Awesome, I just watched it for the first time last year then immediately bought the Criterion blu ray.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jun 25, 2023 9:55:10 GMT -5
A few days left in case anyone needs inspiration for Sunday movie watching.
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IanTheCool
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Post by IanTheCool on Jun 25, 2023 9:56:55 GMT -5
I can do the next round
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Jun 25, 2023 19:10:33 GMT -5
Sorry that I haven't been around these parts much lately. Don't worry, everything's fine, still been going about my usual life. Anyway -- watched Paper Moon last night and loved it. And I watched I See You this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised. I'll get my reviews of those -- along with Aftersun -- up ASAP.
And of course, I'm in for the next round.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Jun 28, 2023 18:47:32 GMT -5
One down...
Aftersun (2022)
It really is not only a testament to the strength of a film like Aftersun that it has stayed in my mind so vividly since initially watching it months ago now, it's also appropriately on-brand, given the subject matter. To say that this movie surprised me is an understatement. Even with all the praise going in, I still wasn't quite sure what to expect from this. I had heard some of the basics -- enough to give me an understanding of what the overall framing device for the film was going to be -- yet that did nothing to diminish its overall impact as a piece of storytelling. Because this movie is far from just being about a storytelling gimmick. Instead, writer/director Charlotte Wells uses the approach to enhance the emotional aspects of the story and the character development in really meaningful and engaging ways that just drew me in further the more it went on. The film essentially hinges on whether or not you're able to buy into the father/daughter relationship that's at the center of everything here, but fortunately, it's a relationship that's more than able to carry the weight of everything on its shoulders. Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio are phenomenal in this, and sell these characters with ease. They really do feel like an actual father and daughter, complete with the ups and downs. But the more this film goes on, the more you start to see the various layers here, which just makes the whole thing deeply affecting and like a gut punch by the end. Seriously, there's a specific sequence toward the end involving a particular famous song that has lingered with me ever since I've watched this movie. And Charlotte Wells makes it that much more impactful through her use of editing, framing, lighting and whatnot that emphasizes the point in rather stunning fashion.
It just establishes Wells as an exciting new talent on the scene and if Aftersun is what she debuts with, then I'm excited to see what she gives us next. This more than lives up to the hype.
****/****
Paper Moon and I See You coming soon.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jul 2, 2023 15:45:19 GMT -5
How are we all looking? Who’s in for next round?
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PG Cooper
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Post by PG Cooper on Jul 2, 2023 16:10:22 GMT -5
Me. I've been ready for weeks.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Jul 2, 2023 16:28:04 GMT -5
How are we all looking? Who’s in for next round? I'll catch up soonish, go ahead and put me in the next round. |
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Jul 2, 2023 19:28:40 GMT -5
Will get my owed ones in ASAP, but I'm still in for another round.
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Jul 3, 2023 16:39:42 GMT -5
Menance II Society
The film opens with a Korean shopkeeper and his wife gunned down by an O-Dog (Larenz Tate) over a dispute while Caine (Tyrin Turner), who is caught off guard, looks on stunned. They grab the surveillance tape from the store before they leave. This sets off a chain of events that will impact the boys for the remainder of the summer.
It’s easy to compare this film with Boys n the Hood, which came out just two summers prior. Boys n the Hood is clearly the better of the two films, but that doesn’t make Menace II Society a bad film by any means. In Boys n the Hood, they hunt down the killers of Ricky’s character, whom they find at a burger joint at night. In Menace II Society, they hunt down the killers of Cain’s cousin, whom they find at a burger joint at night. Comparisons aside, I like what the film has to say about learned behavior. Children are not born bad. Cain learned about violence and selling drugs from his father (Samuel L. Jackson). And like his father, his career ends up being selling drugs in the streets. This sets him off on dangerous path that he might not come back from. Also in the movie is Jada Pinkett-Smith in her first role as the girlfriend of Cain’s incarcerated mentor that he soon forms a relationship with.
Definitely grittier than its predecessor, and almost as effective, Menace II Society continued the trend of urban movies we still see today. A great film and directorial debut from the Hughes Brothers.
7.5/10
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Jul 3, 2023 16:56:56 GMT -5
I'm in.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jul 5, 2023 18:12:17 GMT -5
We have an even number this time, do you guys prefer regular pairings? Or do you like assigning to a certain person and someone else assigning for you? There's just more variation with the latter but I'm game for whatever you guys want.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Jul 5, 2023 19:22:39 GMT -5
We have an even number this time, do you guys prefer regular pairings? Or do you like assigning to a certain person and someone else assigning for you? There's just more variation with the latter but I'm game for whatever you guys want. I'd probably keep regular pairings the norm and then shake things up every once in a while with the other one. IDK |
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PG Cooper
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Post by PG Cooper on Jul 5, 2023 19:26:12 GMT -5
We have an even number this time, do you guys prefer regular pairings? Or do you like assigning to a certain person and someone else assigning for you? There's just more variation with the latter but I'm game for whatever you guys want. I'd probably keep regular pairings the norm and then shake things up every once in a while with the other one. IDK Yeah I think the odd shake-up is preferable to making it the norm. |
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Jul 5, 2023 22:19:03 GMT -5
I'd personally be down for another shake-up.
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Jul 6, 2023 17:48:04 GMT -5
I vote to shake it up.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Jul 7, 2023 18:55:19 GMT -5
Resurrection (2022)
I didn’t hear much about Resurrection when it was released last year, to the point where I’m not sure if it even played in theaters… clearly IFC is no A24 when it comes to promoting elevated horror features, but truth be told I’m not sure how many box office opportunities this was ever going to have. It’s kind of a hard movie to talk about as its high concept is hard to talk about both in terms of it being a spoiler of sorts and also just because it sounds really weird when spoken out loud. Talking around it, the movie is about a woman played by Rebecca Hall (who’s becoming something of a scream queen between this and The Night House) who has built a decent life which is thrown into chaos when an older man played by Tim Roth who she had once been in an manipulative relationship with when much younger comes back in her life and starts to “Cape Fear” her by basically stalking her. There’s another twist to how he manipulates her, which is quite strange, and one’s enjoyment of the movie will probably rest on how able you are to go along with that conceit. I sort of went with it, but maybe wish they’d done a bit more with it. It’s no secret that “elevated horror” usually involves horror stuff showing up as symbolic manifestations of trauma experienced by characters and some of them recently almost aren’t metaphors at all and are just sort of straight up depictions of people descending into madness or stalking. This one in particular probably wouldn’t even qualify as a horror movie for much of its running time as nothing overtly supernatural really happens until very late in its runtime. It’s a neat little effort for the most part but I’m not sure director Andrew Semans was able to bring anything to the film stylistically that was overly unique and I’m not sure the ending entirely works.
*** out of Five (close to 3.5)
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Jul 11, 2023 16:18:59 GMT -5
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PG Cooper
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Post by PG Cooper on Jul 11, 2023 17:01:48 GMT -5
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Jul 11, 2023 17:10:58 GMT -5
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Jul 11, 2023 17:16:01 GMT -5
Could you give me a few more? I don't have Apple+ at the moment, am holding off on watching Nimona for a little while (long story) and have seen the other three. |
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