Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Dec 19, 2023 12:10:22 GMT -5
The Iron Claw(12/13/2023) The title The Iron Claw refers to a professional wrestling move employed by members of the Von Erich family, a pro wrestling dynasty from the late 70s and early 80s consisting of Fritz Von Erich and his four sons: Kevin, Kerry, David, and Mike. The title also has a bit of a double meaning however as it is essentially a chronicle of how all these men were metaphorically “gripped” by forces somewhat beyond their control: controlling parents, crippling expectations, clinical depression, and above all everyone’s favorite sociological concept “toxic masculinity.” The film follows this family from around the time the eldest son Kevin has begun wrestling and follows them as their fortunes in the ring wax and wane and all four children really torture themselves to gain the approval of their domineering father, who early in the film recites the ranking by which he favors them while saying they can move up and down said ranking. Dude clearly does not believe in “participation trophies” and the effect this parenting style has over these guys well into adulthood is plainly extremely negative.
The Iron Claw is directed by Sean Durkin, who previously gave us Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Nest. I can’t say I’ve fully gotten a grip on this guy’s style yet as he clearly has a serious visual style but it’s not one that can be easily described and it tends to change a bit between movies. Early on he seemed to be into very clean looking Fincher-esque photography but here he puts a bit more grit into the film in order to match the aesthetics of period and class milieu of the story. He’s also assembled a pretty impressive cast including Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany, and Lily James and the actors playing the wrestlers in particular seem to have gotten completely jacked for the parts they’re playing… to the point where I worry they might be on steroids. Efron in particular is a smart bit of casting because even though he looks like Hercules here you can still tell that underneath he’s still the soft dude from the High School Musical films and this differentiates him from the other characters despite the character’s best efforts. If you know about the fate of a lot of these family members in real life you can probably gather that this isn’t exactly an easy going feel good movie, in fact I might go so far as to call it a total bummer, but it’s not depressing without purpose and does manage to find an authentically hopeful image to end on. **** out of Five
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PG Cooper
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And those who tasted the bite of his sword named him...The DOOM Slayer
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Post by PG Cooper on Dec 19, 2023 12:16:59 GMT -5
I'm really happy this is getting good reviews.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Dec 19, 2023 14:35:32 GMT -5
I'm really happy this is getting good reviews. I literally just had a meeting about this movie. Supposedly, we’re in the key demographic for this movie. The sales are mediocre right now, so I don’t see this translating to strong box office. Reviews are strong, so I guess we’ll see if word-of-mouth does its job. |
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 19, 2023 14:57:16 GMT -5
I’m really pumped for this.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Dec 19, 2023 16:31:31 GMT -5
I'm really happy this is getting good reviews. I literally just had a meeting about this movie. Supposedly, we’re in the key demographic for this movie. The sales are mediocre right now, so I don’t see this translating to strong box office. Reviews are strong, so I guess we’ll see if word-of-mouth does its job. It's got about the dumbest release schedule imaginable. Movies about cycles of depression and toxicity don't exactly scream "Christmas release" and while the reviews are strong it's not necessarily going to be a fixture of "best of the year" lists or awards and has a ton of other competition in the prestige category. A24 is supposed to be a smarter distributor than this. |
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thebtskink
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It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.
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Post by thebtskink on Dec 20, 2023 14:07:57 GMT -5
I'm really happy this is getting good reviews. I literally just had a meeting about this movie. Supposedly, we’re in the key demographic for this movie. The sales are mediocre right now, so I don’t see this translating to strong box office. Reviews are strong, so I guess we’ll see if word-of-mouth does its job. Old wrestling territories have an institutional love for anything related to it. I bet if you look into 80s or 90s events in your area there were probably a few. |
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PG Cooper
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Post by PG Cooper on Dec 23, 2023 7:58:01 GMT -5
Neverending I saw it. I did cry. That ending is very powerful. Also a wrestling montage set to Rush is a good way to pander to me specifically.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Dec 23, 2023 17:20:35 GMT -5
Neverending I saw it. I did cry. That ending is very powerful. Also a wrestling montage set to Rush is a good way to pander to me specifically. Christmas came early. And I ain’t talking about Denise Richards. |
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PG Cooper
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Post by PG Cooper on Dec 23, 2023 19:43:18 GMT -5
Neverending I saw it. I did cry. That ending is very powerful. Also a wrestling montage set to Rush is a good way to pander to me specifically. Christmas came early. And I ain’t talking about Denise Richards. She came twice. |
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frankyt
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Post by frankyt on Jan 11, 2024 9:47:51 GMT -5
Good movie. But a one and done ride. The wrap up was awkward and strange by the ride there was solid.
7/10
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