Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

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thebobmaster

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Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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It's very up to interpretation: is there really a witch in the woods, or are the family merely experiencing some sort of mass psychosis brought on by their misfortune?
What makes this movie stand out for me is that it's both. It manages to weave together the super natural and the paranoia very well. It's clear by the end that Thomasin was the the target, and to turn her family against her to the point that she had no road left other than death or joining this covenant. I also can really appreciate some ultimate destruction in a story; literally no one is spared in this movie, and I love how the father in his final moments kinda laughs at how badly he fucked over his whole family.

Vastly prefer this over The Lighthouse by the way. Couldn't really get into that one.
 

thebobmaster

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Bartholen

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Nosferatu, 8/10

Eggers continues his streak with this one. I'd perhaps rank this my third favorite of his, just above The Witch. It doesn't quite have the unique craziness of The Lighthouse, or the scale and visual splendor of The Northman, but in what it sets out to do it achieves with flying colors. Which is kind of funny to say, because this is one of the most monochromatic color films perhaps ever. It is relentlessly grim both in tone and presentation, but to me it worked. I wouldn't necessarily call this a horror movie, more of a grandiose, horror-inflected Shakespearean melodrama. It's all about big emotions and characters grappling with larger than life events.

Perhaps this film's biggest success is Bill Skarsgård's performance as Count Orlok. It takes a lot to make a character like this to 1. not feel like something we've seen a thousand times, and 2. not feel like a ridiculous camp caricature. Skarsgård pulls it off, both with his physicality but even more with his voice. He manages to do an iteration of the classic eastern european "dracula" accent that feels both faithful to previous incarnations, yet also distinct for this character. Even though his screentime is relatively limited, you can feel his presence hanging over every scene. Not that the rest of the actors are slouches either: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Eggers alumnus Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe all turn in performances that would be right at home in Bloodborne. Special mention must be made for Lily Rose-Depp, whose performance is absolutely deranged and genuinely disturbing. There's a particular scene between her and Skarsgård about 3/4 through the film, and the acting was just setting the screen ablaze. The weak link here is possibly Nicholas Hoult, but I think that's more to do with his character not having a lot to do in the story.

The film looks great, as can be expected of Eggers at this point. It's almost completely devoid of color, with gloomy downcast Germany being the most vibrant the film gets. The rest is an exercise in blue-to-black nightscape, or dark interiors lit by torch- and candlelight. It all serves to pull you into the story and atmosphere, which I'm glad to report Eggers once again brings by the bucketload. I saw it in IMAX, and while there were occasional breathtaking wide shots, most of the movie is shot in relatively tight quarters and up close, which I'm not really sure the IMAX benefitted in any special way.

I have to admit there was a twinge of letdown in the experience: the trailers did their utmost to hide Nosferatu, making him seem more like an eldritch presence than a concrete entity, but in the film he's very much physically present. Not that there isn't that spectacular shadow imagery, I just wish the movie leaned into it more. But this is what you get when you watch trailers: misled expectations leading to disappointment. It was also maybe a bit long for my liking. Maybe some of Rose-Depp's character's despair over her predicament could have been cut out, it felt like it was repeating itself somewhat. While I did praise her performance previously, her acting can also be a bit hard to parse overall, because she spends so much of the movie sobbing, pleading desperately or in demonic convulsions. She does that stuff wonderfully, but it does kind of hang a question mark over her acting in other types of situations. The only other thing I know her from is that infamously panned show The Idol, in which I heard she did similar things. So while I am convinced of her acting skills with this particular type of thing, I'm not so sure of her range.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Queer

Another great movie theater experience to kick off the year. This is Luca Guadagnino's second movie released in 2024, following Challengers, and not only do I think it's the better of the two, it might be my favorite of his overall.

I haven't read Queer. I did read Junky (Burroughs' first novel and arguably "part one" to the latter Queer) and Naked Lunch, and found that made the experience perfectly rewarding. Actually I saw a lot of Junky in this. That book ended with Burroughs taking up the quest to find the fabled ayahuasca drug deep in the Amazon, which Burroughs was convinced would grant him "telepathy".

That actually becomes the framework of Queer, which believe it or not, despite its hangout vibes and lots of meandering, isn't wholly plotless: it's about Burroughs trying to connect with another fellow expat on a level that he ultimately deigns unreachable lest they partake in ayahuasca. Burroughs is crazy about this other dude, who's clearly just along for the ride - if and when he can be bothered.

I liked it a lot. I was just completely transported by the movie. What I've always gathered from Burroughs is that he was equally fascinated and disgusted by himself, this pathetic little muerto en vida who seems to be coming and going in every scene like a gray ghost. Daniel Craig nails the part, and the movie captures that sadness and darkness and wry sense of humor perfectly.

Nosferatu

I already said this was fantastic. But I was thinking about Queer, and how so many of Guadagnino's movies are about asymmetrical, lovelorn relationships, and it hit me that Nosferatu belies the same concern found in every Eggers movie: the all-consuming, self-defeating need to trace the source of evil, and that characters are at their most empowered when they surrender themselves to their fate.

So of course adapting Nosferatu was a no-brainer.

By my count I've only seen the three Nosferatu movies (Murnau, Herzog, Eggers) and the three of them are bangers. Just chef's kiss perfect, the lot. For my money Nosferatu is only second to Macbeth in having so many incredible adaptations (Welles, Polanski, Kurosawa, Kurzel, the elder Coen).
 
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thebobmaster

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Casual Shinji

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Fun fact; Alvin Sargent also wrote the screenplay for What About Bob. Might be why Spider-Man 2 is so good at dropping in quick comedic character scenes.
 
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Gordon_4

The Big Engine
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Thor the Dark World - 8/10

Fuck you, this movie gets a bad rap and its largely undeserved in my opinion. Not totally, but largely. The weak points are they don't do quite enough with Malekith to make him super interesting but credit to Eccelston he imbues him with enough presence and gravitas to make him an effective presence. Also some of the effects - there's a flock of birds for example - did need another going over in post. And the awkward subplot of Jane trying to date Roy from the IT Crowd should have been cut and fucked off for more scenes with the Warriors Three and Sif. Although in Sif's case its more understandable as Jamie Alexander got badly injured during filming. And we didn't get nearly enough of the Warriors Three at all. Also Odin is a bit of a dick in this one, which seems at odds with his characterisation in Thor. It feels as if most of his scenes were written with prior knowledge of Frigga's death.

However, beyond that, I really enjoy this movie. Which again has much to recommend it. It moves quickly, the intro with Bor and the Dark Elves is fun, we spend lots of time on Asgard, Loki and Thor's chemistry is delightful and honestly the death and funeral of Frigga - and many other Asgardians - is still a very emotionally effecting scene. Arguably one of the most solemn in the MCU until T'Challa's funeral in Wakanda Forever. Score is great, and the dialogue retains that sort of Shakespearean tone as the first one. I don't mind the changes in Ragnarok and Love and Thunder, but I do miss that part of Thor's personality. Also, I like Thor and Jane; Hemsworth and Portman do have a nice chemistry together and the obvious pride the characters show in each other's accomplishments makes it come across as a very equitable relationship.

Next up, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
 
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PsychedelicDiamond

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Queer

Another great movie theater experience to kick off the year. This is Luca Guadagnino's second movie released in 2024, following Challengers, and not only do I think it's the better of the two, it might be my favorite of his overall.

I haven't read Queer. I did read Junky (Burroughs' first novel and arguably "part one" to the latter Queer) and Naked Lunch, and found that made the experience perfectly rewarding. Actually I saw a lot of Junky in this. That book ended with Burroughs taking up the quest to find the fabled ayahuasca drug deep in the Amazon, which Burroughs was convinced would grant him "telepathy".
That's interesting. Because I haven't read Queer either but I own this paperback with a collection of Burroughs' novels that includes Junkie, Yage Letters, Naked Lunch and Nova Express. And his experiences travelling to South America to try Ayahuasca are what he wrote about in Yage Letters. Yage being a term for Ayahuasca.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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That's interesting. Because I haven't read Queer either but I own this paperback with a collection of Burroughs' novels that includes Junkie, Yage Letters, Naked Lunch and Nova Express. And his experiences travelling to South America to try Ayahuasca are what he wrote about in Yage Letters. Yage being a term for Ayahuasca.
Right, that collection was probably edited by Oliver Harris, who shows up first thing in the movie's end credits as literary consultant. I suspect the movie, as uneventful as it is, is bigger than the book and takes from Burroughs' life and other work. Allen Ginsberg is in it (Jason Schwartzman, killing it) and Joan Vollmer's death haunts the movie in a way that Burroughs rarely acknowledged in his work. And having read Junky, the movie - especially the first half - felt like I was revisiting that particular book.

I liked the trippy/nightmare parts. It's nowhere near the cabinet of curiosities approach of Cronenberg's Naked Lunch but there was plenty more than I expected.

And they do mostly call it yage in the movie until Burroughs does a little theatrical reveal ("you might know it as ayahuasca here"), which made the audience go oooooh because that's what everybody calls it here.
 

thebobmaster

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Old_Hunter_77

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The Day of the Jackal, 1972 4/5

Based on a 1962 book which was inspired by a real-life assassination attempt of French prime minister Charles de Gaulle by a right-wing nationalist extremist group. The story pits an assassin for hire against the law hunting him down.

The film is a European production and there are no household names in it (apparently the studio wanted a big name American to star but the director got his way to casting Brits and Frenchmen, which is cool because it makes the whole vibe feel distinct but then you also get Frenchmen with British accents so it's not perfect).

What I like is that it doesn't really explain much about the titular assassin- you know he's very good at his job but there's no back story or childhood trauma or whatever- it is a classic cat and mouse game. 1972 is an interesting time because it's the beginning of this certain "paranoid" film style- movies like Klute and all the political ones inspired by Watergate and such. Well if you like this time period of films and you just wanna see dudes do intrigues in and around France this is the film for you.
 
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PsychedelicDiamond

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The House (2022)

Stop motion anthology movie set around a house, made by multiple different directors but written by Enda Walsh.

It's a movie of three segments, each about 30 minutes. The first one deals with a human family of peasants (yes, there is a reason I'm pointing out they're human, trust me) getting a luxurious house for free from a mysterious architect which turns out to come with strings attached. The second one deals with a realtor, an anthropomorphic rat, renovating the house and attempting to sell is while fending off a big infestation and an elderly couple that refuses to leave. The third deals with a landlady and her tenants, all of them anthropomorphic cats, being stuck in the house, now an apartment building, as the world around them has become flooded.

Uh... I found this movie rather dull. I like stop motion and some of this looked very good but most of it felt like someone who has never read Kafka attempting to write something kafkaesk. The first segment is a very classical gothic horror piece and probably the most straightforward out of the three. A simple fairy tale about how nothing comes for free and how material wealth can steal your soul. It's fairly simple and has a pretty strong atmosphere. It had sort of a Little Nightmares vibe to it and it's probably the one out of the three that worked best for me.

The second segment has interesting ideas, it plays with certain fears and anxieties, mostly related to work. It also contains what's probably the best part of the movie, a musical number performed by bugs. But it wasn't as well paced, I have less of an idea where it's ultimately going with all this and the payoff is... not bad, exactly, but didn't feel worth the time it took to get there.

Third one's the best looking one. It deals with a house owner attempting to keep her household despite it being in a world that seems to be entirely flooded and her two only tenants being a deadbeat and a hippie, neither of which have paid her any rent for multiple months. Her life takes a turn when her hippie tenant's acquaintance shows up and everyone has to decide whether they should leave or stay. I mean, the cats are cute and it's visually the nicest of the three thirds but it's also the one whose story I got the least out of.

It's... I dunno, this didn't do it for me. I like stop motion and this looks cool and there are individual scenes I enjoyed but as a whole it just feels like it doesn't amount to much. I get more or less what it's about, how it's about the concept of home and about material attachments but I found very little of it tremendously engaging. I think what it's going for is some kind of Raul Ruiz' Fantastic Mr. Fox but for one, that's not something I ever particularly wanted to see and I don't think it's even a particularly well executed example of that. Its messages are just too obvious and straight forward to make for good surrealism, none of it is fleshed out enough for effective drama, the comedy is sparse and so is the horror.

I dunno, I just don't feel there is very much there. It has a couple of respectable enough ideas but they never add up to an especially interesting movie, much less three of them. I want to give credit where it's due, I know very well that stop motion animation is hard work but the actual content here just didn't really reach me.
 

Dirty Hipsters

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Alien Romulus

The best alien movie since Aliens.

This is a good movie, and would almost be a great movie, but there's just a few things holding it back. There's too many call-outs and call-backs to previous Alien movies.

While this movie has its own identity, a major issue of the movie is that it's also trying to fit in parts of every other alien movie into it. Either quotes, motifs, direct tie-ins, or attempting to redo a failed concept from a previous film but "fix" it and do it better.

Andy yelling "get away from her...you *****!" comes off as completely cringe.

Trying to redo the human-xenomorph hybrid" from Alien Resurrection but better kind of falls flat on its face, for all the same reasons it falls flat on its face in Alien Resurrection.

They really go out of their way to make Rain look and dress like Ellen Ripley in as many shots as possible, and reuse shots like the iconic bathroom shot from Alien 3 with the xenomorph snarling near her face.

On the other hand, they bring back the black goo from Prometheus/ Alien Covenant and it's actually an interesting and non-stupid idea overall, so the recycling of concepts isn't all bad.

While there aren't a lot of new ideas in the movie the stuff that's there is pretty well executed. I just wish it had less fan-service.
 
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BrawlMan

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Rage of Honor (1986) - An entertaining action film starring Sho Kosugi in the leading role. There is not much plot to speak of. It's your typical 80s action B-movie about a loose canon (ex-)cop out for revenge of his partner's death. This isn't Kosugi's best movie, but it his most action packed and entertaining as hell. Things just happen and keep going. There are some weird actions scenes where this jungle tribe in the middle of the Argentinian jungle star attacking our lead. It's never made clear why (they're clearly not working for the big bad drug lord who's location is about a mile away), and movie never bothers mentioning them again, once they're done with. A big lipped alligator moment right there.

I give this movie an 8/10.
 

Dirty Hipsters

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Borderlands

I had to turn it off after 8 minutes.

I managed to sit through the entirety of The Flash and yet I couldn't even get 10 minutes into Borderlands. It's actually that bad.

Edit: I was curious and decided to check the rotten tomatoes scores for Borderlands and The Flash. Borderlands was exactly as I expected, 10%, but the score for The Flash has shaken me to my core. The Flash has a 63% critic score and 82% audience score. Having uncovered this unsettling knowledge I feel like I finally understand Trump's America. This must be what the hunter in Bloodborne feels like when they gain insight.
 
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Johnny Novgorod

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Wolfs

One of the weakest scripts ever committed to padding the ranks of a streaming service. George Clooney and Brad Pitt are bickering fixers tasked with covering up a murder at a New York penthouse suite during Christmas Eve. Whenever it looks like the stakes are getting raised, or the plot's about to thicken, the movie quickly shoots it down. Where's Soderbergh when you need him?

The movie's weirdly committed to being the most unexciting version of itself. The impression I got is that it was not a script so much as a single A4 page with the premise written at the top, four bullet points under it (car chase, motel, bar, warehouse) and the words "George and Brad banter" scribbled between each of them. This somehow takes 108 minutes.
 

thebobmaster

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