Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[XsjadoBlaydette]

I loved Smile. It actually gave me nightmares which is a good thing as I don't scare easily.

Barbarian? Me no likey. Mostly because it's chock full of the old trope of purportedly rational people putting themselves in completely asinine and ludicrously dangerous situations. Who finds a hidden, pitch black tunnel under a house in the middle of a rundown neighborhood, and decides to explore by themselves??? Nothing good could be in there!!! That was the equivalent of the old young women, alone and in the dark, who hears an ominous noise, and decides to ask "hello?" into the ether. Once it crossed that bridge, I tuned out; people being stupid ain't scary or interesting.

Well to be fair the character at first did say "nope!" upon looking and walked back to try and get hold of the other character instead. Plus, I'm a bit less bothered by on screen stupidity in most films for multiple reasons: most ppl have no idea how they or anyone else would act under pressure, as an anxious person I make hundreds of dumb mistakes when in an anxious state so can't complain if anyone else does too. Then there's the sheer number of even more stupid decisions ppl are making in the world every day, like do you know of the numerous robbers who have tried to get into ppl's houses through the chimney only to get stuck and be found there dead much later? Then there's the factor of some ppl just don't get scared by those types of ominous horror tropes, especially if they don't believe in supernatural hijinks, so have no problem throwing themselves into creepy areas, which kinda links to the fallacious assumption of characters being aware of being in a horror film, so while we can mock their cultural ignorance of the genre from our comfy seats, most ppl don't suspect in real life they're in a horror film so generally have a bit more leeway when in mysterious environments.

What is too dumb for me is like the scene from Brightburn when the dad tries to shoot the evil superman kid in the back of the head, see the bullet do absolutely nothing to him...but tries to reload his gun for another shot anyway. The rule, the new information could not have been more clearly established for crying out loud, why?? But characters indulging in a bit of headstrong curiosity is more agreeable I thinks at least.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Well to be fair the character at first did say "nope!" upon looking and walked back to try and get hold of the other character instead. Plus, I'm a bit less bothered by on screen stupidity in most films for multiple reasons: most ppl have no idea how they or anyone else would act under pressure, as an anxious person I make hundreds of dumb mistakes when in an anxious state so can't complain if anyone else does too. Then there's the sheer number of even more stupid decisions ppl are making in the world every day, like do you know of the numerous robbers who have tried to get into ppl's houses through the chimney only to get stuck and be found there dead much later? Then there's the factor of some ppl just don't get scared by those types of ominous horror tropes, especially if they don't believe in supernatural hijinks, so have no problem throwing themselves into creepy areas, which kinda links to the fallacious assumption of characters being aware of being in a horror film, so while we can mock their cultural ignorance of the genre from our comfy seats, most ppl don't suspect in real life they're in a horror film so generally have a bit more leeway when in mysterious environments.

What is too dumb for me is like the scene from Brightburn when the dad tries to shoot the evil superman kid in the back of the head, see the bullet do absolutely nothing to him...but tries to reload his gun for another shot anyway. The rule, the new information could not have been more clearly established for crying out loud, why?? But characters indulging in a bit of headstrong curiosity is more agreeable I thinks at least.

I get it that stupidity isn't rare anywhere, but when a film banks on it to merit it's own existence, it loses credibility with me. Yeah, the main protagonist backs off momentarily, but she only tells the one guy who decides, very stupidly, to "investigate" alone, and she allowed it. In reality, she should have told him AND the cops and let them go in a force with floodlights, weapons and whatnot. That movie could have been over in about 9 minutes. And yes, I know this is nothing uncommon, so I'm not faulting Barbarian for being uniquely bad in my eyes; I'm just throwing it on the pile of "films I don't like because the situations they circle around are completely avoidable with any modicum of rationality by the main characters."

 

[BrawlMan]

The Phantom (1996) - 9/10

Fuck you, this movie rules. Billy Zane kills it as Kit Walker, Kristy Swanson is remarkably well suited to the well to do but tough 30s lady Diana Palmer and I defy anyone to tell me that Catherine Zeta Jones as an aviatrix pirate, James Remar as evil Indiana Jones and Treat Williams as the mad bastard are anything less than glorious. Oh and hey, Cary Tagawa as a regular pirate is here too.

The Phantom really is a movie that was like, twenty odd years too early. Its attention to detail with the costume - that Zane shaved himself bald and went all nuts at the gym to better wear - the settings and lore are amazing. Although the biggest retcon is that it moves the location of the Phantom to what appears to be South East Asia (it was filmed in Thailand) where the comic strips I read growing up was based firmly in Africa but I'm pretty happy to accept that as a matter of pragmatism since I imagine filming in and around Thailand was probably safer than Africa.

IMHO, this movie just misses. There's some weird choices, like having the female sky pirates basically disappear after they are introduced, and the tone is a bit all over the place. The bit with the skeleton in the beginning was pretty cheesy, but then later on the bit with the microscope was really dark. The main bad guy is just a little too OtT and doesn't quite get it right, IMHO.

Has some good bits, though, the bridge and the truck in the beginning, for example. And the bit with the microscope was done really well, and...gaaaah!

My parents took my brother and I to see this movie when I was 6. Good times. I watched it a few times on HBO when I was at home, but never more than that. I might have to pick up myself a copy.

 

[thebobmaster]

A ★★★½ review of Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Unfortunately, this was not as good as the original overall. As usual with movies that have multiple segments, I'll be reviewing each segment, with my final rating being an average. That said, one of the weaknesses of this version not present in the original is the multitude of introducers for...

letterboxd.com

 

[Piscian]

Emily The Criminal

Its fine. The story is rather straight forward. Aubrey plays a 20-something drowning in debt and working contract catering delivery jobs due to a felony conviction. She randomly gets sucked into underworld fraud crime and fully embraces it, having nothing to lose, with catastrophic consequences.

I have a lot of empathy for this character. Ive done a lot of shit that would have easily gotten me serious time, but Ive had a charmed life, always leaving parties at the right time or saying the correct words to cops to get out of jams. Ive known so many people just like Aubreys character who just had bad luck.

They do a very good job of making her characters choices logical and the people she gets mixed up with compelling. Its very clear throughout the film that shes seen some shit and her blood runs not quite room temperature because of it. Theres a revealing scene in the 3rd act that fully colors her character, showing why she is so full of venom.

The film itself is not quite thrilling. Everything that happens feels organic and like something you've seen before in other "good girl turns bad" thrillers, but at the same time the film "shows not tells", demanding your attention span and keeps you engaged for the full run time.

If I had one complaint I cant justify ignoring its that the ending is a tad eyerolling. Imagine if Predator 2 ended with Glover joining the predators. Its like "mmm oook?", and seems like an unrealistic character twist. My advice would be to shut off the movie at the beach scene. Thats opaque enough that it spoils nothing but when you see it you can think "ack he said shut it off now!" and I promise you the film should have ended right there. 7/10 would have been an 8 without the stupid ending.

 

[Hawki]

So I saw Avatar 2. I'll give a full review at some point, but in regards to what's said here:

Anyway, Avatar 2 is a bit like T2, in that it's about a "found family" on the run (unlikely allies et al) and the villain has been significantly upgraded. There's also a little bit of Titanic during the climax. In general I think I enjoyed it more than the original. It had sharper characterization, more interpersonal conflicts, and the benefit of a slightly more unpredictable plotline. There's a bit more suspense too since we keep cutting between the heroes and the villain, all of whom grow stronger or simply more prepared for a confrontation. And yes, the spectacle is top notch. Cameron is very deft at preparing action as much as he is at delivering it. He clearly has a fascination with learning and mastering and has a very specific, exciting way of showcasing it. Action is transformative too; a set piece can go back and forth between being airborne and underwater or cutting between different characters and the excitement never wavers.

Honestly, I'm the complete opposite. I found the film to be an absolute letdown. It looks spectacular (seriously, everything is photorealistic to the extent that I found myself asking whether some na'vi were just humans wearing paint, it was that real), but in terms of story and character? Far simpler, far dumber, stretched out over 3 hours. And I say this as someone who loves the original.

Lastly... There's a dark as fuck moment towards the end that goes completely unacknowledged and unexamined by the characters. Even if they're going to address it in the sequels, I just don't believe that it would go unchecked like this. It's a complete moral aberration. How do the characters just walk away from it? Did I miss something?

Are you referring to where:

Spoiler

Neytiri threatens to kill Spider in front of Quaritch?

If so, yeah. I actually believed that the events on the boat would have led to Neytiri killing (spoiler), since he seems genuinely terrified of her as she rampages through the goons, but no. It doesn't happen, and it's never even addressed afterwards.

 

[gorfias]

Burnt (2015) on Netflix

How do movies like this get made? It stars Bradley Cooper. If you have enough money to front a movie with this star, you should have a movie script everyone should want to get behind.

It is inoffensive enough including tropes we've seen done much better elsewhere regarding what it is like to be a kitchen chef, most recently in 2022's The Bear on Hulu. But it is paced horribly and plot points like throwing a mess at the wall to see what sticks. Issues arise and resolve so fast as to make one ask why it was in the movie.

Spoiler

Pacing: The movie starts out interestingly enough. You have a chef who blanked up in the past and now wants to return to his former glory. They lovingly show how awesome he is at this job. Everyone he runs into should be thrilled he has returned and besides the fear he will blank up again, they are. But if he is that great from the git go, where will the drama come from? So, his first real night back on the job is a complete disaster with him throwing such a $hit fit, everyone else in the kitchen should have (and from what I've heard, very likely would have) walked. He puts his hands on a woman chef violently assaulting her screaming into her face as he clutches her shirt collar. Would she ever be near this guy ever again?

Quickly brought up and resolved issues:
So, he has his bad night. The next day, assaulted lady, his subordinate, shows him a few things of which he was unaware for some reason (one trick we've all likely seen before if we like cooking shows) is using a special plastic bag, put the thing you are cooking into it, vacuum seal it and poach it) and boom! He's totally back on his game.
One fear is that he will schtup the female help. Well, he does have a romantic date and kiss with his subordinate out of nowhere. Worst kiss since Rose and Finn in "The Last Jedi". Never brought up again.
From his past, he owes some bad guys money. He gets his @ss kicked in. No worries about them. A former, much younger, flame of his pays the sharks off.
His goal is to get a 3rd Michelin star. The night their judges appear to under-cover come to the restaurant, he is sabotaged. He's nearly suicidal. He falls off the wagon hard. Next day, no worries. Another chef cooks him some eggs and he feels better and the restaurant owner has arranged to have the judges come back the next day.
But the beating he took from the goons? He cooked fine right after the beating but now, the next day? He is so badly injured that he may not be able to cook. But does so with no problem and it is implied he gets the 3rd star.

And everyone is constantly smoking cigarettes. My family assures me that there really are still a lot of smokers out there. I haven't seen many of them. One woman smokes a cigarette at a gala celebration. In the dance room. If this were a gambling casino, sure. Everywhere else, smoking indoors is forbidden. And chefs smoking? Smoking impacts your taste budds. They all smoke! The subordinate is asked to taste something just as she finishes her smoke. I don't think she'd have much of an opinion about it with a mouth full of gunk.

This was a hot mess. 5.5/10.

 

[Gordon_4]

Burnt (2015) on Netflix

How do movies like this get made? It stars Bradley Cooper. If you have enough money to front a movie with this star, you should have a movie script everyone should want to get behind.

It is inoffensive enough including tropes we've seen done much better elsewhere regarding what it is like to be a kitchen chef, most recently in 2022's The Bear on Hulu. But it is paced horribly and plot points like throwing a mess at the wall to see what sticks. Issues arise and resolve so fast as to make one ask why it was in the movie.

Spoiler

Pacing: The movie starts out interestingly enough. You have a chef who blanked up in the past and now wants to return to his former glory. They lovingly show how awesome he is at this job. Everyone he runs into should be thrilled he has returned and besides the fear he will blank up again, they are. But if he is that great from the git go, where will the drama come from? So, his first real night back on the job is a complete disaster with him throwing such a $hit fit, everyone else in the kitchen should have (and from what I've heard, very likely would have) walked. He puts his hands on a woman chef violently assaulting her screaming into her face as he clutches her shirt collar. Would she ever be near this guy ever again?

Quickly brought up and resolved issues:
So, he has his bad night. The next day, assaulted lady, his subordinate, shows him a few things of which he was unaware for some reason (one trick we've all likely seen before if we like cooking shows) is using a special plastic bag, put the thing you are cooking into it, vacuum seal it and poach it) and boom! He's totally back on his game.
One fear is that he will schtup the female help. Well, he does have a romantic date and kiss with his subordinate out of nowhere. Worst kiss since Rose and Finn in "The Last Jedi". Never brought up again.
From his past, he owes some bad guys money. He gets his @ss kicked in. No worries about them. A former, much younger, flame of his pays the sharks off.
His goal is to get a 3rd Michelin star. The night their judges appear to under-cover come to the restaurant, he is sabotaged. He's nearly suicidal. He falls off the wagon hard. Next day, no worries. Another chef cooks him some eggs and he feels better and the restaurant owner has arranged to have the judges come back the next day.
But the beating he took from the goons? He cooked fine right after the beating but now, the next day? He is so badly injured that he may not be able to cook. But does so with no problem and it is implied he gets the 3rd star.

And everyone is constantly smoking cigarettes. My family assures me that there really are still a lot of smokers out there. I haven't seen many of them. One woman smokes a cigarette at a gala celebration. In the dance room. If this were a gambling casino, sure. Everywhere else, smoking indoors is forbidden. And chefs smoking? Smoking impacts your taste budds. They all smoke! The subordinate is asked to taste something just as she finishes her smoke. I don't think she'd have much of an opinion about it with a mouth full of gunk.

This was a hot mess. 5.5/10.

Chef's at this guy's level smoke because its stressful. Same as anyone else. They also drink, although I've heard it said "Never trust a chef who won't drink at work, but will show up to work drunk" or something like it anyway.

 

[Piscian]

Chef's at this guy's level smoke because its stressful. Same as anyone else. They also drink, although I've heard it said "Never trust a chef who won't drink at work, but will show up to work drunk" or something like it anyway.

This is correct. You can actually look up the statistics on this. Smoking and heavy drinking are extremely common in the industry. In fact you can watch literally any episode of top chef and half the chefs chain smoke anytime after the events. Worse chefs have a very high suicide and OD rate. Its extremely stressful. Everybody should really watch "The Bear" on hulu super realistic.

 

[gorfias]

Chef's at this guy's level smoke because its stressful. Same as anyone else. They also drink, although I've heard it said "Never trust a chef who won't drink at work, but will show up to work drunk" or something like it anyway.

This is correct. You can actually look up the statistics on this. Smoking and heavy drinking are extremely common in the industry. In fact you can watch literally any episode of top chef and half the chefs chain smoke anytime after the events. Worse chefs have a very high suicide and OD rate. Its extremely stressful. Everybody should really watch "The Bear" on hulu super realistic.

Yikes, that is unfortunate.
Got to see a 2001 movie called Tortilla Soup, the hook of it being a head chef that has to fake it a lot as he has lost his sense of taste. He has others taste everything for him to gauge how a dish is going. I'd think cigarettes can do that to a person.

I will have to check on that show, "Top Chef" to see this for myself. Crazy.

Agreed, "The Bear" is terrific. It was a critique I read about it being very realistic. That you really can have something really crazy happen and some one just throws up their hands and quits right then and there.

 

[thebobmaster]

"Hell's Kitchen" is another show where you see contestants smoking all the time. Very common in the industry to deal with stress. And every season, there is a challenge involving identifying ingredients by taste. Let's just say you can generally tell who the heavy smokers are from the results.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

"Hell's Kitchen" is another show where you see contestants smoking all the time. Very common in the industry to deal with stress. And every season, there is a challenge involving identifying ingredients by taste. Let's just say you can generally tell who the heavy smokers are from the results.

If I’m reading this correctly, it seems like quite the conundrum that an industry is driving people to heavy smoking which in turns means they can’t taste for shit because well, fucking cigarettes.

 

[Piscian]

Yikes, that is unfortunate.
Got to see a 2001 movie called Tortilla Soup, the hook of it being a head chef that has to fake it a lot as he has lost his sense of taste. He has others taste everything for him to gauge how a dish is going. I'd think cigarettes can do that to a person.

I will have to check on that show, "Top Chef" to see this for myself. Crazy.

Agreed, "The Bear" is terrific. It was a critique I read about it being very realistic. That you really can have something really crazy happen and some one just throws up their hands and quits right then and there.

I started watching top chef in season 10 so I cant speak to the quality of the earlier seasons. I will say its all professional chefs and while there is drama its more focused on serious cooking and not gimmicks. You dont have to deal with the incessant sound effects snd commercial cut away drama effects of shows like Master chef and American kitchen nightmares etc. Though they take advantage of interpersonal drama, it doesn't drag that stuff out. The show is more about giving accomplished chefs an opportunity to brand and fund restaurants.

 

[Gordon_4]

If I’m reading this correctly, it seems like quite the conundrum that an industry is driving people to heavy smoking which in turns means they can’t taste for shit because well, fucking cigarettes.

I wonder, does vaping produce the same effect on your taste? I’m perhaps wondering if some of them have turned to that to preserve their sense of taste and still get their nicotine hit.

 

[Baffle]

What's really mad about being a chef being so high-stress is that it's just food. I mean, yeah, someone will die eventually if they don't get enough food, but not if it's like a bit late or the tartar sauce is a bit thin. People shouldn't be under pressure for things that aren't really that important.

I wonder, does vaping produce the same effect on your taste? I’m perhaps wondering if some of them have turned to that to preserve their sense of taste and still get their nicotine hit.

Yeah, everything tastes of rhubarb and custard or whatever disgusting flavour-of-the-month the cloud I've just walked through is. (Actually appreciate that vaping helps a lot of people give up or cut down on cigarettes; do not appreciate that people treat it differently to cigarettes in terms of where and when they use them.)

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

So I saw Avatar 2. I'll give a full review at some point, but in regards to what's said here:



Honestly, I'm the complete opposite. I found the film to be an absolute letdown. It looks spectacular (seriously, everything is photorealistic to the extent that I found myself asking whether some na'vi were just humans wearing paint, it was that real), but in terms of story and character? Far simpler, far dumber, stretched out over 3 hours. And I say this as someone who loves the original.

As someone who didn't love the original (thought it was fine and that's it) I had more fun with the sequel. I liked how they expanded the world and the story generally felt less predictable. It did feel like the first 3 episodes of a TV show put together but I dunno, it worked for me. I'd like to continue watching.

Are you referring to where:

Spoiler

Neytiri threatens to kill Spider in front of Quaritch?

If so, yeah. I actually believed that the events on the boat would have led to Neytiri killing (spoiler), since he seems genuinely terrified of her as she rampages through the goons, but no. It doesn't happen, and it's never even addressed afterwards.

Yes, I thought that was incredibly dark and they should've at least acknowledged it on her end.

Spoiler

Neytiri not only threatens the life of what might as well be her own son, since they raised him as their own - or at the very least as a little neighboring kid who grew up around her children - but even maims him by carving up his chest with a knife, to prove she means it. WTF. And then the kid just rejoins them like nothing happened? He saves the bad dude's life because he essentially saved his own, so there is a consequence to this, but to have Neytiri just go la di da... I dunno. I don't know how you come back from that.

Ronal was also insufferable and unreasonable like her the whole movie. Cameron may have his action heroine rep but the two main female characters in this, other than Sigourney's, were treated as hysterical and naggy the whole time vs. their husbands.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I wonder, does vaping produce the same effect on your taste? I’m perhaps wondering if some of them have turned to that to preserve their sense of taste and still get their nicotine hit.

Apparently there’s a thing called “vape tongue” which desensitizes taste, but not sure how common it is. Nicotine levels can also be like 5-6 to Ike’s that of cigarettes if so chosen, so in terms of that they’re probably getting more of their money’s worth.

Another thing though is it kinda ironically seemed worse for people than cigarettes for respiratory complications from things like COVID, so there’s that.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Anna and the Apocalypse

Rating: 4 out of 6 (about a 7 out of 10) upon reflection

Tagline: Shaun of the Dead but as a Christmas Musical with the feel of watching a film version of Dead Rising


Plot: Anna and her friends are in their last year of secondary school (High school or you in the USA) and looking towards their futures and university. Christmas is coming up and while they're all going through the motions of Christmas they all have stuff happening in their lives and are feeling or being told they should care about the wider world and be looking to say something or do something about it. Then the zombie apocalypse happens and Anna and her friends have to make it from the local bowling alley to the school to try and meet up with what they hope are the remaining survivors.


Thoughts Tagline: A deconstructionist Christmas film that is pretty dark but all in service of a shockingly wholesome Christmas message.

Thoughts:

It's very hard to give thoughts on this film without spoiling some of the stuff in it so I'm going spoilers.

So the film is rather good at deconstructing the Christmas film tropes and showcasing them but then putting them back satisfied in showing them and falling on the side of "These are good". The idea Christmas is a mess for people in the film before the zombie apocalypse happens sort of feels more grounded and not like other Christmas films where similarly Christmas starts as a mess but people are trying to do what it takes to make Christmas special. In Anna and the Apocalypse people are trying to be Christmassy but on some level you can feel it's surface level and people trying to go through the motions. People aren't working towards Christmas, Christmas is just this thing that happens and you do some stuff because it's Christmas. In Anna and the Apocalypse though other than in most other Christmas films stuff doesn't sort itself out it gets worse and more complicated when the Zombie apocalypse starts.

The pressure on the characters from one another, themselves or even teachers to do something more or be something more and care about more in the wider world really does hit home well even for me much older now. That idea of you not doing enough or not doing stuff right or not caring about enough wider issues, I completely get and it's kind of great in my view that part of the films message as such is "In the end is it really what matters? Don't fret that you feel you're not doing enough". All the things the characters are being told they should care about or be speaking about etc suddenly become far less of an issue than the Zombie apocalypse going on. The films message though played out in a tragic realisation way is the importance of your friends and family and those you love at Christmas and how much that really is what matters. An example in one character wanting to go to film / media school and his teacher saying his assignment needs to say who he is and what he cares about rather than being as she seems to see it a vapid thing with silly effects and explosions added and no real message about things that matter. The twist being his stupid little films about his girlfriend and his friends play a part in helping save Anna ultimate and it's only when these supposedly vapid little films with nothing to say go away that things go wrong in the scene. It really is a film about the importance of the little moments in life rather than worrying about the grand picture and how Christmas is a time for and about family ad loved ones.

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the almost Dead Rising esc villain who felt like he was playing the role of a Dead Rising psycho for whom the apocalypse was just that little thing that was needed to get them to snap. It really did feel like a Dead Rising psycho right down to his actions and the kind of revelation of his beliefs and world philosophy complete with a musical number where he struts about on stage taunting Anna while she is below fighting a horde of zombie.

 

[Piscian]

I watched a strange pair of movies this weekend

Superhost (2021)


I initially put this on in the back round while playing some games, but I found myself pretty quickly shutting my laptop down as I was enraptured by Gracie Gillams performance as the films villain. Usually all these serial killer slasher type villains are devious or scary in a very standard bog dramatic way. Gracie played what I can only describe as what I imagine a real life Harley Quinn would be. Harley Quinn has slowly devolved over time into a kind of bugs bunny, exhausting cartoon character, Gracie on the other hand plays a kind of plasticine sparkly character who very clearly is mentally broken. Like actual screw loose, she moves and talks like a computer fully of viruses not quite fully functional and the same theres something intense creepy about her. Theres an amazing shot later in the film where she's staring at someone through a window eye to eye and they filmed her in such a way that she was a dead ringer for one of those velociraptors in Jurassic Park unblinking, but clearly scoping, analyzing like a predator.

Thats kind of the highlight of the film. The sound and cinematography is really good. This isn't any kind of found footage film though one would expect something like that given the by-line. Everything is filmed in angles and close up with the scary sounds and booming tension at just the right moments

The acting outside of the villain is fine. What I appreciated was that the supporting characters, the AirBnb vloggers and very well fleshed out. They are smart, reasonable and talk like normal people with normal problems. You're concerned ad bummed out when the bad things happen to them, mostly the boyfriend who seems like a good dude.

The movie kind of falls over into some cliche in the third act, but its all earned up to that point so personally I'd give it a 7/10, for what is essentially, a very mundane thriller I was pretty engrossed, but it didn't blow my mind. Definitely for a genic "lets watch a horror movie" night with no expectations.

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

I'll tell you three things straight away. 1. This was a great movie. 2. I did not like it, and it was a thoroughly miserable experience. 3. The trailer is full of lies. As stated in the releases, this is a bleak comedy about a violinist Colm (brenden Gleeson) in rural Ireland whos decided he's near his lifes end, having spent all of it with his best friend Pádraic (colin ferrell) whos dull, and decides one morning he never wants to hear from him again. The movies trailer insinuates that this is going to be a mystery drama comedy. Its not Basically Pádraic is simply incapable of not talking to gleeson. He's just not. He's also not a smart man, so the film is less men at odds and more like a man trying to shoo away a Dog hes had all his life. Things escalate ... and ...escalate and ...escalate. It gets both horrifying and very very depressing. This is not to say the movie isn't extremely funny. Its got laugh out loud bits and is funny all the way through, but goddamn it's dark. The movie is also told from the back drop of the civil war in ireland in 1923. The story takes place on a fiction island that can see cannons and explosions going off on the mainland from time to time, but no one on the island no or cares what the fighting is about. There's supposed to be some symbolism in the film regarding the war, but no being native I didn't get it.

so good movie, but man it messed up my whole day. Just know that you're in for real Shakespearean comedy-tragedy stuff here. 8/10, but probably closer a 9/10 if you like really bleak comedy. Actually I figured out what this reminds me of - "Very Bad Things (1998)". Its not the same kind of ridiculous zany comedy, but its that kind of "why would you write this?" bleak comedy tone, but told as traditional irish parable.

 

[Hawki]

Spoiler

Neytiri not only threatens the life of what might as well be her own son, since they raised him as their own - or at the very least as a little neighboring kid who grew up around her children - but even maims him by carving up his chest with a knife, to prove she means it. WTF. And then the kid just rejoins them like nothing happened? He saves the bad dude's life because he essentially saved his own, so there is a consequence to this, but to have Neytiri just go la di da... I dunno. I don't know how you come back from that.

Spoiler

Well, to diverge a bit, I don't think Neytiri ever saw Spider as her son. Even casting aside The High Ground prequel comic (where, among other things, Neytiri 'breaks' Spider emotionally), even in the film, she never warms to Spider. She dislikes Spider playing with her children, doesn't care when he's captured by Quaritch, etc. Frankly, I'm surprised that she didn't kill him at that point.

Ronal was also insufferable and unreasonable like her the whole movie. Cameron may have his action heroine rep but the two main female characters in this, other than Sigourney's, were treated as hysterical and naggy the whole time vs. their husbands.

Again, opposite here, I liked Ronal. Considering that most na'vi kind of have the whole noble savage/holier than thou thing going on, Ronal's attitude is a breath of fresh air. She's prejudiced against those with "demon blood," prejudiced against humans in general, and basically takes no shit from anyone. It's not the kind of attitude we usually see from na'vi, but to me, I found it refreshing.