Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Cinema at the End of the World Edition
- Thread starter ProstheticConscience
- Start date
fcpremix88
Registered User
Has anyone seen Mass (2021)? I saw it about a month ago and absolutely loved it. I've been trying to read discussion about it, but it doesn't seem to have been seen by too many people. If you watch a trailer or read a synopsis, then you'll know what the movie's about. I went into it nearly blind, and I felt like that was a great experience. I just knew that it was a heavy movie, and I can confirm that I was emotionally drained when the credits rolled. The movie is carried by its four lead performances, but there's this awkwardness in the beginning and end that give it an added layer of authenticity.
King Richard (2021) Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green 6A
A biography of the Williams family that focuses on....the DAD? King Richard is about how Richard Williams had a plan since his kids were little children that both Venus and Serena Williams would grow up to be great tennis players. Come hell or high water, through acrimony with his wife, his daughters, tennis coaches and sports agents, he sticks to his vision. And, whatyaknow? It works. For a straightforward tennis biography, more like a hagiography many have suggested, King Richard is a thematically complicated movie. The story itself is a feel-good one, a story of black parents living in tough Compton, California successfully raising a pair of their five daughters to be champions, an unprecedented feat in the almost exclusively privileged white world of tennis. Pretty clearly director Reinaldo Marcus Green means to accentuate the positive here, to show that the Compton community is about much more than drugs, guns, gangs, and violence. That is all well and good, laudable even. But, the Richard here (portrayed very well by Will Smith) is pretty much an air-brushed version. Yes, his cantankerous, my-way-or-the-highway approach worked this time, but in reality he must not have always been pleasant to be around. The movie addresses family tensions between Richard and his wife Oracene but can't quite finesse the "Father Knows Best ' message that the movie flirts with. It's a trick of perspective really. Look at Richard from one angle and he is a hero parent; look at him from another angle and he is a controlling martinet. King Richard sort of recognizes the latter...but not to the extent of jeopardizing the emphasis it wishes to place on the former.
Sidenote: Is King Richard a good sports movie? For sure. Plus all the actors can actually play tennis, which is a real plus in terms of suspension of disbelief.
Last Night in Soho (2021) - 5/10
In London for the first time and enamored with 1960s culture, a young fashion school student (Thomasin McKenzie) dreams at night about a glamorous would-be lounge singer (Anya Taylor-Joy) in 1960s London, but the dreams quickly turn into nightmares. I liked the first half, when it's a fish out of water story and nostalgic for the 60s. I disliked the second half, when it's a somewhat nonsensical mystery/horror that turns the nostalgia into disgust for 60s sexism. I don't mind showing that the era wasn't as idyllic as we imagine, but making every male back then a creep overdid it for me. McKenzie is charming and sympathetic and, surprisingly, the real star, while Taylor-Joy actually has few lines and her character is rather shallow. She's mostly there to look glamorous, which made it a bit hard to relate to or empathize with her. Through most of the film, it was hard to believe that the writer/director (Edgar Wright) was behind the Shaun of the Dead trilogy, but it became more believable at the end. You wouldn't think that he could find a way to fit "zombies" into a movie about 60s fashion and culture, but he found a way. The outrageous twist is pretty surprising, as well, but was just too unbelievable to me. I like horror, but it was the innocent, grounded parts that worked best for me and I would've preferred that it turned into more of a mystery than a horror. A straightforward, more believable and character-driven mystery in which she gradually learns what happened to her 1960s alter ego would've been more to my liking, I think.
In London for the first time and enamored with 1960s culture, a young fashion school student (Thomasin McKenzie) dreams at night about a glamorous would-be lounge singer (Anya Taylor-Joy) in 1960s London, but the dreams quickly turn into nightmares. I liked the first half, when it's a fish out of water story and nostalgic for the 60s. I disliked the second half, when it's a somewhat nonsensical mystery/horror that turns the nostalgia into disgust for 60s sexism. I don't mind showing that the era wasn't as idyllic as we imagine, but making every male back then a creep overdid it for me. McKenzie is charming and sympathetic and, surprisingly, the real star, while Taylor-Joy actually has few lines and her character is rather shallow. She's mostly there to look glamorous, which made it a bit hard to relate to or empathize with her. Through most of the film, it was hard to believe that the writer/director (Edgar Wright) was behind the Shaun of the Dead trilogy, but it became more believable at the end. You wouldn't think that he could find a way to fit "zombies" into a movie about 60s fashion and culture, but he found a way. The outrageous twist is pretty surprising, as well, but was just too unbelievable to me. I like horror, but it was the innocent, grounded parts that worked best for me and I would've preferred that it turned into more of a mystery than a horror. A straightforward, more believable and character-driven mystery in which she gradually learns what happened to her 1960s alter ego would've been more to my liking, I think.
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cupcrazyman
Stupid Sexy Flanders
Dr No (1962) 4/5
Started watching James Bond from the 1st movie.A bit dated by todays standards but still a pretty good movie.
Started watching James Bond from the 1st movie.A bit dated by todays standards but still a pretty good movie.
Pranzo Oltranzista
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
- 3,981
- 2,900
Nowhere to Run (Harmon, 1993) – JCVD, an average size penis Quebecer (again) who sometimes like boobs (something he shares with a 9 y/o boy) escapes his prison convoy. He takes a brake from all the running away from the law in the countryside in order to spy on an undressing lady farmer before breaking and entering into her home to steal some salt and later show his unimpressive meat to her children. It goes without saying that he befriends the whole family, and helps them fight away an evil promoter who wants to buy their land as if this was a ski resort comedy. Had this film been made 10 years earlier, Burt Reynolds would have been the man for the job. 2.5/10
I needed a flick to fall asleep yesterday and ended up watching it to the end.
I needed a flick to fall asleep yesterday and ended up watching it to the end.
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I watched this a few nights ago and liked it. Leave it to Spencer Tracy to pull off being a hero and a villain in the same film.
I watched this tonight and liked it just as much, maybe even a bit more. I was surprised by the ending because I was expecting it to somehow be happy. Maybe I shouldn't have been, though, since it was pre-Code. It's a reminder that Hollywood didn't necessarily do "Hollywood endings" until it was forced to. Maybe they should be called "Hays endings," instead.
Thanks for both recommendations.
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Chili
Time passes when you're not looking
- Jun 10, 2004
- 8,788
- 4,924
That`s a good point on the second film. The story continued after the end of the film, so the ambiguity is just right, something like Papillon. It is frustrating to read/hear about films that had key scenes removed or altered because of the code.
KallioWeHardlyKnewYe
Hey! We won!
- May 30, 2003
- 15,772
- 3,808
One-Eyed Jacks. Marlon Brando (in his only directing effort) transposes his brooding, pretty persona into a Western revenge story about partners gone bad. Brando (particularly his voice) was odd to me but the movie still works pretty well almost in spite of this. Bit of a different flavor to a familiar story. The supporting cast feels a lot more appropriate, particularly the walking dust covered cactus that is Ben Johnson though Karl Malden as the wayward partner is perfect in that conflicted spot as well. You better believe Timothy Carey and Elisha Cook Jr. have small roles in this.
Hangover Square. A Jekyl-and-Hyde infused crime mystery that fell pretty flat for me. Some style in the scenes, but there isn’t much mystery and not a lot of personality.
I Wake Up Screaming. Kinda fell apart at the end for me and can’t decide if it’s a serious mystery or spunky romantic one, but I liked the Laird Creager (funny enough the star of Hangover Square) performance as an obsessed detective.
Prisoners of the Ghostlands. I like it. I embrace its absurdities and blindly ignore its faults. Give Sion Sono a Marvel movie and let chaos reign!
Hangover Square. A Jekyl-and-Hyde infused crime mystery that fell pretty flat for me. Some style in the scenes, but there isn’t much mystery and not a lot of personality.
I Wake Up Screaming. Kinda fell apart at the end for me and can’t decide if it’s a serious mystery or spunky romantic one, but I liked the Laird Creager (funny enough the star of Hangover Square) performance as an obsessed detective.
Prisoners of the Ghostlands. I like it. I embrace its absurdities and blindly ignore its faults. Give Sion Sono a Marvel movie and let chaos reign!
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
Scanners (1981)
3.25 out of 4stars
"A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic and telekinetic abilities called "scanning", to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners for world domination."
Excellent sci-fi horror thriller. The plot alone got me giddy, exploring this sort of supernatural science 'stuff' is fun fantasy. The whole story is very well done intriguing journey. 'Scanners' themselves are well explored on a first hand and community basis, from introductory to evolved stages. And there are a handful of memorable visual 'action' sequences, including the famous head exploding scene and the final battle. Ironside is the standout as the villain amongst the cast. There is also plenty of commentary on outcasts/loaners/prejudiced peoples/mentally ill even, pharmaceutical/clinical lab companies, military subsidiaries, military actions, and ethics.
Videdrome (1983)
3.20 out of 4stars
"The president of a small TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast."
Another great sci-fi horror thriller. This time themes of media(television)'s power/impact on individuals and society, consequences of adrenaline/dopamine inducing imagery/actions/addiction/desensitization, sadomasochism, Freud's psychoanalytical (Id vs ego I'd say here) and psychosexual theories, dehumanization, reality TV, morality, government regulations/politics, societal cleansing, and I'd even suggest some form of radicalism is explored. It's a fun trip into the side of darker media and the darker side of media's influence, both great and small.
Dead Ringers (1988)
3.20 out of 4stars
"Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, one a brainy introvert and the other a cocky freewheeler who shares women with his brother, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman."
Another great (psychological) horror thriller. First and foremost, Irons is the star of this in his dual polar opposites twin acting roles, many with only himself in the room on screen, an arguably oscar worthy performance. Themes explored include psychology(obviously) and most specifically Freud's psychoanalytical theory again, emotional stability/fragility, identity, yin and yang dualism, relationship dynamics, codependency, obsession/addiction, and love. The twins, Beverly and Elliot, complimentary differences that lead to their success are also the individual weaknesses that cause their own failures in different ways (professionally and romantically). It's a rather dark (bittersweet at best) self-destructive journey into deep depression and madness due to separation, love, and obsession. I'd suggest it as a half platonic love triangle film, albeit with a twin (Beverly) in the middle versus the women between them.
The Dead Zone (1983)
3.00 out of 4stars
"Johnny Smith wakes from a coma due to a car accident, only to find he has lost five years of his life, his girlfriend, and his job, but has gained the psychic powers of seeing futures and pasts when touching an individuals hand, especially regarding life and death situations."
Another great sci-fi thriller(I wouldn't quite call this one horror, albeit it has a couple elements). One the least Cronenberg-esque Cronenberg films I've seen, most likely do the fact that this is a Stephen King adaptation and Cronenberg had nothing to do with the screenwriting. Being able to see the past and future, and change that future he sees, is the grand spectacle alongside Walken's character itself here. Walken's performance is very effective and expressive in the main role as a man with a double-edged sword gift, who suffers mentally, physically, and emotionally from it's use, both indirectly and directly. The question becomes whether this power is more of a gift or a curse. This supernatural (or not depending on your beliefs in psychics) tale is heavily grounded in reality and a humanized protagonist. There are a lot more what if's for the viewer to contemplate in this film instead of his usual commentary on things, comparative to Cronenberg's other great films (again, most likely because Cronenberg didn't partake in writing this). I won't spoil the progression of the film or character, but both develop and go where they need to go, and culminate to a perfectly metaphorical end.
eXistenZ (1999)
2.85 out of 4stars
"After creating her latest virtual reality game, a game designer is on the run from assassins while also trying to play her game with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged or altered."
Another quality sci fi thriller horror, and probably the most underrated 'horror' film from Cronenberg. It's bigget weakness is that it was released a month after the original Matrix came out, thus weakening it's impact on a more general (and possibly targeted) audience, not to mention a few parallels. It also feels more choppy than Cronenberg's other films for some reason, which also hurts it. That said, the film is overstuffed with futuristic ideas/creativity alongside bringing potent commentary on it's subject matter. A neurologically implanted (and based) game device that overrides your brain and gives you an embodied 5 senses 'lively' alternate world experience, guns and bullets made out of bones, time deceleration in the game world (IE=You can play the game for 30 real world minutes that actually may be like living/"playing" 150 conscious minutes inside the game world), and a few decent scenes of the viewer questioning whether they are in the game world or the real world. The movie does a good job covering the small and large impacts of the current and future video game world, including escapism, limitlessness/impossible becoming possible ability, reality distortion/life disruption, psychological, political, and even philosophical/existential implications.
The Brood (1979)
2.75 out of 4stars
"A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst unexplained murders."
Another quality sci fi horror, and as Cronenberg put it, his only film that embodied a "classic horror film". Rather direct in it's style and storytelling, albeit it still has expressive commentary and intellectual engaging similar to his "higher quality classics", but not as much or as deep imo. Even though I guessed the majority of the twist halfway through the movie, it really took none of the joy away from the viewing. Also, reading about the movie going on, I was expecting more gore, but aside from the ending sequence, it's very tame in that regard. Not sure if on purpose, but there were some comical touches in the mix too. Themes covered include mental illness, psychology, motherhood, child abuse, negligence, trauma; internalization of trauma/repression, traumatic triggers, anger/rage, single parenting issues, marital separation, and arguably coping mechanisms.
Shivers (1975)
2.55 out of 4stars
"The residents of an island based suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless and violent sex-crazed zombies out to infect all others they can find."
A good sci fi horror film, whose central plot is straightforwardly sex zombies. This is honestly the only Cronenberg film where I feel his 'body horror'/visual graphicness use is over the top but possibly acceptable given the film's subject matter. It's a fun spin on the zombie genre, with some expected but controversial sequences of sex assaults thrown in (albeit nothing explicitly pornographic in that matter). That said, it's mostly skin deep and very blunt with it's messages on sexual repression and sexual taboos. I've seen some consider this an exploitation film, I'd say it's not conclusively or purposefully one imo.
Naked Lunch (1991)
??? out of 4stars (mildly amused is the best way I would put it with a highly debatable label on quality)
"After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife, and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa."
A surreal sci fi film based on the famous book by William Burroughs (not horror). I am not rating it because I feel this is definitively more of an art piece than entirely entertainment cinema, especially in structure and design. It's a plotless neutral fever dream "drug trip", if I had to categorize it in a set of words. That said, I will say how I felt about it. As previously noted, I was mildly amused, not blow away, not confused, not disgusted or overwhelmed, and I can't say I was disappointed because going in I knew what I was getting into. I laughed a few times and found parts of the experience appealing and interesting, but parts of it also felt underwhelming and dare I say tamely bland. Creativity is there and I'm sure this could be a psychologist's field day, but I wouldn't say I'd suggest it to anyone. C'est la vie.
Reposting my The Fly review for reference on the topic at hand:
The Fly (1986)
3.70 out of 4stars
"A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong."
The classic and my favorite Cronenberg sci-fi body horror movie about a scientist experimenting with teleportation and accidentally splicing his genes with a fly's by accident in a test. Has so much going for it. Works as a sci-fi movie, a horror, a tragedy/morality story, relationship drama, and even a decent amount of comedy thrown in. Everything is done and fulfilled so so well. Not to mention, the visuals 35years later stand the test of time beautifully and don't feel fake or purposefully comical in any way. Might be one of the most accomplished horror movies I've ever seen.
As you can see, I used this week to dive into the horror movies of David Cronenberg, the "Godfather of Body Horror", and one of the greatest horror directors of all-time. His consistency of great horror films and top 5 movies are very strong, albeit I'd say not as masterpiece worthy as Carpenter's top 2 (The Thing and Halloween). This was an overly rewarding journey for me. Cronenberg clearly knows how to write dialogue, end movies(very important in this genre especially), express commentary on things, and has futuristic/ahead of his time ideas (Videodrome's commentary on societal media 40yrs~ later is astonishingly accurate and eXistenZe is still to come). Not to mention, has shown multi-faceted success and even outside of his natural element. The Dead Zone doesn't even feel like a film he made and A History of Violence and Eastern Promises are highly regarded crime dramas. While he does cover different topics and storylines in each of his films, I would say he seems to have obsessions on reality or perception bending/grayness/altering, sex, the psychology of humans, sci-fi, and body horror, which I would state is used more tastefully than excessively, albeit repeatedly. Expanding on that, it's definitely noteworthy that no 2 of his films are that similar in ideas or themes, (albeit Videodrome and eXistenZ cover a little bit of similar territory, and it appears Shivers and Rabid both cover a form of zombies) which we see too often in the horror genre (For example: Raimi's Evil Dead Trilogy is fantastic, but 1 and 2 have almost the exact same plot and setting, albeit it is a sequel, which hurts comparatively when talking greatness imo. That said there are better comparisons here, take Craven for example. I know Pranzo feels Craven is overrated. Craven has his writing and/or directorial hands in 5 Nightmare on Elm Street movies, 4 Scream movies, and 3 Hills Have Eyes movies, which are heavily repetitive and I'm being kind here suggesting that roughly half of those sequels don't even appear to be worth a viewing unless you are a huge fan of the plots or subgenre. Craven here is either wasting his time or lacks great story ideas for this genre, I'd argue the latter is likely but both may be the answer here).
The only other movie of Cronenberg's I wanted to see and haven't yet was Spider (2002) with Ralph Fiennes. It turns out the only way for me to view it was by purchasing the dvd online and getting it sent to me, and at a supposed unfriendly cost, so that was out of the question. Oh well.
3.25 out of 4stars
"A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic and telekinetic abilities called "scanning", to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners for world domination."
Excellent sci-fi horror thriller. The plot alone got me giddy, exploring this sort of supernatural science 'stuff' is fun fantasy. The whole story is very well done intriguing journey. 'Scanners' themselves are well explored on a first hand and community basis, from introductory to evolved stages. And there are a handful of memorable visual 'action' sequences, including the famous head exploding scene and the final battle. Ironside is the standout as the villain amongst the cast. There is also plenty of commentary on outcasts/loaners/prejudiced peoples/mentally ill even, pharmaceutical/clinical lab companies, military subsidiaries, military actions, and ethics.
Videdrome (1983)
3.20 out of 4stars
"The president of a small TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast."
Another great sci-fi horror thriller. This time themes of media(television)'s power/impact on individuals and society, consequences of adrenaline/dopamine inducing imagery/actions/addiction/desensitization, sadomasochism, Freud's psychoanalytical (Id vs ego I'd say here) and psychosexual theories, dehumanization, reality TV, morality, government regulations/politics, societal cleansing, and I'd even suggest some form of radicalism is explored. It's a fun trip into the side of darker media and the darker side of media's influence, both great and small.
Dead Ringers (1988)
3.20 out of 4stars
"Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, one a brainy introvert and the other a cocky freewheeler who shares women with his brother, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman."
Another great (psychological) horror thriller. First and foremost, Irons is the star of this in his dual polar opposites twin acting roles, many with only himself in the room on screen, an arguably oscar worthy performance. Themes explored include psychology(obviously) and most specifically Freud's psychoanalytical theory again, emotional stability/fragility, identity, yin and yang dualism, relationship dynamics, codependency, obsession/addiction, and love. The twins, Beverly and Elliot, complimentary differences that lead to their success are also the individual weaknesses that cause their own failures in different ways (professionally and romantically). It's a rather dark (bittersweet at best) self-destructive journey into deep depression and madness due to separation, love, and obsession. I'd suggest it as a half platonic love triangle film, albeit with a twin (Beverly) in the middle versus the women between them.
The Dead Zone (1983)
3.00 out of 4stars
"Johnny Smith wakes from a coma due to a car accident, only to find he has lost five years of his life, his girlfriend, and his job, but has gained the psychic powers of seeing futures and pasts when touching an individuals hand, especially regarding life and death situations."
Another great sci-fi thriller(I wouldn't quite call this one horror, albeit it has a couple elements). One the least Cronenberg-esque Cronenberg films I've seen, most likely do the fact that this is a Stephen King adaptation and Cronenberg had nothing to do with the screenwriting. Being able to see the past and future, and change that future he sees, is the grand spectacle alongside Walken's character itself here. Walken's performance is very effective and expressive in the main role as a man with a double-edged sword gift, who suffers mentally, physically, and emotionally from it's use, both indirectly and directly. The question becomes whether this power is more of a gift or a curse. This supernatural (or not depending on your beliefs in psychics) tale is heavily grounded in reality and a humanized protagonist. There are a lot more what if's for the viewer to contemplate in this film instead of his usual commentary on things, comparative to Cronenberg's other great films (again, most likely because Cronenberg didn't partake in writing this). I won't spoil the progression of the film or character, but both develop and go where they need to go, and culminate to a perfectly metaphorical end.
eXistenZ (1999)
2.85 out of 4stars
"After creating her latest virtual reality game, a game designer is on the run from assassins while also trying to play her game with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged or altered."
Another quality sci fi thriller horror, and probably the most underrated 'horror' film from Cronenberg. It's bigget weakness is that it was released a month after the original Matrix came out, thus weakening it's impact on a more general (and possibly targeted) audience, not to mention a few parallels. It also feels more choppy than Cronenberg's other films for some reason, which also hurts it. That said, the film is overstuffed with futuristic ideas/creativity alongside bringing potent commentary on it's subject matter. A neurologically implanted (and based) game device that overrides your brain and gives you an embodied 5 senses 'lively' alternate world experience, guns and bullets made out of bones, time deceleration in the game world (IE=You can play the game for 30 real world minutes that actually may be like living/"playing" 150 conscious minutes inside the game world), and a few decent scenes of the viewer questioning whether they are in the game world or the real world. The movie does a good job covering the small and large impacts of the current and future video game world, including escapism, limitlessness/impossible becoming possible ability, reality distortion/life disruption, psychological, political, and even philosophical/existential implications.
The Brood (1979)
2.75 out of 4stars
"A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst unexplained murders."
Another quality sci fi horror, and as Cronenberg put it, his only film that embodied a "classic horror film". Rather direct in it's style and storytelling, albeit it still has expressive commentary and intellectual engaging similar to his "higher quality classics", but not as much or as deep imo. Even though I guessed the majority of the twist halfway through the movie, it really took none of the joy away from the viewing. Also, reading about the movie going on, I was expecting more gore, but aside from the ending sequence, it's very tame in that regard. Not sure if on purpose, but there were some comical touches in the mix too. Themes covered include mental illness, psychology, motherhood, child abuse, negligence, trauma; internalization of trauma/repression, traumatic triggers, anger/rage, single parenting issues, marital separation, and arguably coping mechanisms.
Shivers (1975)
2.55 out of 4stars
"The residents of an island based suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless and violent sex-crazed zombies out to infect all others they can find."
A good sci fi horror film, whose central plot is straightforwardly sex zombies. This is honestly the only Cronenberg film where I feel his 'body horror'/visual graphicness use is over the top but possibly acceptable given the film's subject matter. It's a fun spin on the zombie genre, with some expected but controversial sequences of sex assaults thrown in (albeit nothing explicitly pornographic in that matter). That said, it's mostly skin deep and very blunt with it's messages on sexual repression and sexual taboos. I've seen some consider this an exploitation film, I'd say it's not conclusively or purposefully one imo.
Naked Lunch (1991)
??? out of 4stars (mildly amused is the best way I would put it with a highly debatable label on quality)
"After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife, and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa."
A surreal sci fi film based on the famous book by William Burroughs (not horror). I am not rating it because I feel this is definitively more of an art piece than entirely entertainment cinema, especially in structure and design. It's a plotless neutral fever dream "drug trip", if I had to categorize it in a set of words. That said, I will say how I felt about it. As previously noted, I was mildly amused, not blow away, not confused, not disgusted or overwhelmed, and I can't say I was disappointed because going in I knew what I was getting into. I laughed a few times and found parts of the experience appealing and interesting, but parts of it also felt underwhelming and dare I say tamely bland. Creativity is there and I'm sure this could be a psychologist's field day, but I wouldn't say I'd suggest it to anyone. C'est la vie.
Reposting my The Fly review for reference on the topic at hand:
The Fly (1986)
3.70 out of 4stars
"A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong."
The classic and my favorite Cronenberg sci-fi body horror movie about a scientist experimenting with teleportation and accidentally splicing his genes with a fly's by accident in a test. Has so much going for it. Works as a sci-fi movie, a horror, a tragedy/morality story, relationship drama, and even a decent amount of comedy thrown in. Everything is done and fulfilled so so well. Not to mention, the visuals 35years later stand the test of time beautifully and don't feel fake or purposefully comical in any way. Might be one of the most accomplished horror movies I've ever seen.
As you can see, I used this week to dive into the horror movies of David Cronenberg, the "Godfather of Body Horror", and one of the greatest horror directors of all-time. His consistency of great horror films and top 5 movies are very strong, albeit I'd say not as masterpiece worthy as Carpenter's top 2 (The Thing and Halloween). This was an overly rewarding journey for me. Cronenberg clearly knows how to write dialogue, end movies(very important in this genre especially), express commentary on things, and has futuristic/ahead of his time ideas (Videodrome's commentary on societal media 40yrs~ later is astonishingly accurate and eXistenZe is still to come). Not to mention, has shown multi-faceted success and even outside of his natural element. The Dead Zone doesn't even feel like a film he made and A History of Violence and Eastern Promises are highly regarded crime dramas. While he does cover different topics and storylines in each of his films, I would say he seems to have obsessions on reality or perception bending/grayness/altering, sex, the psychology of humans, sci-fi, and body horror, which I would state is used more tastefully than excessively, albeit repeatedly. Expanding on that, it's definitely noteworthy that no 2 of his films are that similar in ideas or themes, (albeit Videodrome and eXistenZ cover a little bit of similar territory, and it appears Shivers and Rabid both cover a form of zombies) which we see too often in the horror genre (For example: Raimi's Evil Dead Trilogy is fantastic, but 1 and 2 have almost the exact same plot and setting, albeit it is a sequel, which hurts comparatively when talking greatness imo. That said there are better comparisons here, take Craven for example. I know Pranzo feels Craven is overrated. Craven has his writing and/or directorial hands in 5 Nightmare on Elm Street movies, 4 Scream movies, and 3 Hills Have Eyes movies, which are heavily repetitive and I'm being kind here suggesting that roughly half of those sequels don't even appear to be worth a viewing unless you are a huge fan of the plots or subgenre. Craven here is either wasting his time or lacks great story ideas for this genre, I'd argue the latter is likely but both may be the answer here).
The only other movie of Cronenberg's I wanted to see and haven't yet was Spider (2002) with Ralph Fiennes. It turns out the only way for me to view it was by purchasing the dvd online and getting it sent to me, and at a supposed unfriendly cost, so that was out of the question. Oh well.
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
No Time to Die
with Bond people.
We open with Bond seemingly retired with a new girlfriend in Italy. He actually says out loud: "We have all the time in the world." D'oh. Before long, all hell breaks loose and black SUVs and dirtbikes roar through winding city streets, Norwegian fjords, and various other locations to snuff out James Bond once and for all. Surprise, they all miss. Felix Leiter shows up for old time's sake with a proposition for Bond: Snatch and grab a nasty Russian scientist who's got genocide on his mind. But the job's a setup for a shadowy puppetmaster who's got his eye on world domination...like they all do. Bond's been out of the action for a while; MI6 had even thought him dead and assigned the 007 codename to someone else (Gasp!). But if the CIA and MI6 aren't on speaking terms regarding genocidal madmen...that's really not good.
Craig's last outing as Bond, and...uh...yeah. They were much too eager to wrap up characters and shut the door, and they forgot to have a plan. Rami Malek minces well enough as Safin, but he's pretty forgettable as Bond villains go. I was never fully clear on his actual plan; nanobots programmed to kill X dna profiles worldwide, but they were pretty vague on details.
Meh. Better than the last one and Quantum, but not by a lot. Casino Royale and Skyfall remain easily the best Craig Bond movies. The character endings seem pretty final, but this is Hollywood. No reason to think a Thanos un-fingersnap couldn't bring everyone back if enough people want to spend enough money on Bond films.
Got the time?
with Bond people.
We open with Bond seemingly retired with a new girlfriend in Italy. He actually says out loud: "We have all the time in the world." D'oh. Before long, all hell breaks loose and black SUVs and dirtbikes roar through winding city streets, Norwegian fjords, and various other locations to snuff out James Bond once and for all. Surprise, they all miss. Felix Leiter shows up for old time's sake with a proposition for Bond: Snatch and grab a nasty Russian scientist who's got genocide on his mind. But the job's a setup for a shadowy puppetmaster who's got his eye on world domination...like they all do. Bond's been out of the action for a while; MI6 had even thought him dead and assigned the 007 codename to someone else (Gasp!). But if the CIA and MI6 aren't on speaking terms regarding genocidal madmen...that's really not good.
Craig's last outing as Bond, and...uh...yeah. They were much too eager to wrap up characters and shut the door, and they forgot to have a plan. Rami Malek minces well enough as Safin, but he's pretty forgettable as Bond villains go. I was never fully clear on his actual plan; nanobots programmed to kill X dna profiles worldwide, but they were pretty vague on details.
Meh. Better than the last one and Quantum, but not by a lot. Casino Royale and Skyfall remain easily the best Craig Bond movies. The character endings seem pretty final, but this is Hollywood. No reason to think a Thanos un-fingersnap couldn't bring everyone back if enough people want to spend enough money on Bond films.
Got the time?
Pranzo Oltranzista
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
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I have a few things to say about this post, but I'm dead tired right now. I can probably get you Spider too. I'll check tomorrow.
KallioWeHardlyKnewYe
Hey! We won!
- May 30, 2003
- 15,772
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One of my favorites and an absolute master. Just chiming in with some added thoughts on The Brood which is one that my love for has grown every time I've seen it. Definitely low key relative to his other stuff (gore, intellectually) I find it among his most emotionally wrecking. Not exactly subtle but it's still insightful about bad relationships and cycles of abuse in ways a lot of more respectable movies ain't. It's a rare Cronenberg that's from his heart as much as his brain.
Torment / L’Enfer (Claude Chabrol, 1994)
A stressed-out lakeside hotel manager (François Cluzet) becomes suspicious and paranoid that his young attractive and outgoing wife (Emmanuelle Béart) is having affairs with staff and guests of the hotel. What starts out as innocent insecurity and light jealousy slowly turns into full blown emotional and physical abuse as he becomes engulfed in an all-consuming paranoid delusion of suspicions of infidelity. Chabrol does an excellent job at slowly building this film so that the man’s metamorphosis into a destructive and abusive asshole is believable. Chabrol does a good job of putting the viewer into the guy’s perspective so that the interactions of his wife to other men, which are warm and friendly, are slowly read by him to be flirtatious, sexual, and eventually full-blown nymphomaniac in his delusions. Both Cluzet and Béart are good in their roles, particularly Cluzet who makes the transition to a monstrous human being believable. The film feels very Hitchcockian, which is unsurprising since Chabrol is often called the French Hitchcock as he is the French master of sinister and suspense, particularly in Chabrol’s use of taking a warm and beautiful setting, in this case a beautiful lakeside resort, and turning it into hell on earth (the French title L’Enfer is French for Hell). With a subject matter which includes emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, Torment is not a pleasant watch, but it is a good psychological examination of jealousy and abuse.
A stressed-out lakeside hotel manager (François Cluzet) becomes suspicious and paranoid that his young attractive and outgoing wife (Emmanuelle Béart) is having affairs with staff and guests of the hotel. What starts out as innocent insecurity and light jealousy slowly turns into full blown emotional and physical abuse as he becomes engulfed in an all-consuming paranoid delusion of suspicions of infidelity. Chabrol does an excellent job at slowly building this film so that the man’s metamorphosis into a destructive and abusive asshole is believable. Chabrol does a good job of putting the viewer into the guy’s perspective so that the interactions of his wife to other men, which are warm and friendly, are slowly read by him to be flirtatious, sexual, and eventually full-blown nymphomaniac in his delusions. Both Cluzet and Béart are good in their roles, particularly Cluzet who makes the transition to a monstrous human being believable. The film feels very Hitchcockian, which is unsurprising since Chabrol is often called the French Hitchcock as he is the French master of sinister and suspense, particularly in Chabrol’s use of taking a warm and beautiful setting, in this case a beautiful lakeside resort, and turning it into hell on earth (the French title L’Enfer is French for Hell). With a subject matter which includes emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, Torment is not a pleasant watch, but it is a good psychological examination of jealousy and abuse.
Pranzo Oltranzista
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
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Cool.
I have a link for you but it seems I can't send you a PM because of your privacy settings - send one to me!
Pranzo Oltranzista
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
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I like that you put Scanners on top of this (well, except for The Fly) because - and just like The Brood - I feel it's a very underappreciated little gem. Flawed for sure, but both films have a lot of elements to feed very interesting readings. Shivers does too, but for some reason (maybe because it largely inspired Alien) often finds a lot of respect from all spheres of intelligentsia. That being said, Videodrome is the very best film in this list IMO, by quite the margin. I have both that one and Crash as rare 10/10 films. So yeah, the not masterpiece-worthy comments doesn't fly with me, especially when compared to Halloween (!) (I do have The Thing at 9/10).
Naked Lunch is a fine adaptation of one of my favorite "novels" - one of those unadaptable texts that sometimes make for the most brilliant adaptations. I should watch eXistenZ again, not sure how I feel about it.
I don't understand the Craven comparison. Cronenberg is a true artist, he does have his obsessions like they all do, but you don't go in a Godard or Breillat film saying they repeat themes already covered. It's pretty much always the same theme(s) and obsession(s), it's a discourse. Craven is a doer, a storyteller at best, and not much of an artist (he also only wrote 2 Nightmare films, the first and seventh, and 2 Hills films, the two he directed). There's a few "periods" in Cronenberg's oeuvre, like there is in Woody Allen's (or Picasso's), but essentially, he's making the same thing again and again.
Gotcha. What are your favorite and/or most appealing things from Videodrome? If it hasn't been too long since you've seen it, I'm curious of why it stands out amongst the others for you. Crash, I am not sure if I care to see. I honestly had no interest in after reading the title, I understand the allure and concept having validity in possible emotional/psychological and intellectual ways, but I don't have too much care for seeing it on film. Maybe one day, but you're evaluation of it has perked me more on it's existence.
It's funny, I actually was complimenting Cronenberg in that regard comparative to some of his peers, not knocking him. I'm sorry if it came across as so, but I believe when evaluating him next to some peers like Raimi or Craven especially, Cronenberg gets large kudos points in the variety category. Raimi's arguably 2 greatest works, ED 1 and 2, are too similar, and I'm not high on his Spider Man Trilogy (and Drag Me To Hell is completely him mimicking him too much with a lot of his Evil Dead works and tricks in the film). On Craven, correct me if I'm wrong, but Craven wrote or cowrote NOES 1, 2, 3, Final Nightmare, and New Nightmare correct? I agree, Cronenberg's repeating coverage of themes, which I believe are not that often or direct even, is almost an eventuality when making that many films.
Pranzo Oltranzista
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Oh I thought you were saying Cronenberg was repetitive, just like Craven was - my poor English often tricks me into believing I understood stuff. ;-)
As far as I know, Craven was kind of f***ed over on the Nightmare franchise, and he only gets writing credits because they're using his character(s). I don't think he wrote a line of any of the sequels, up 'til they went back to him for New Nightmare.
As for Videodrome, I thought you were pretty much on points with your comments. I used to use it in class as an "exam", presented it and asked students to write a short essay on the New Flesh as postmodern utopia, which is (or was) my main interest with the film. You're right to link it to eXistenZ, who also toys with that notion, but I remember it as a lot less relevant picture.
That's a good point. Since it was a based on a true story, the writers probably didn't want to invent a happy ended that didn't exist. Also, I happened to be reminded just now of a line from The Shawshank Redemption: "You know, outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to go to prison to learn to be a crook." I'm now noticing similarities in the two films. I wonder if this one (or the story that it was based on) provided a bit of inspiration for the other (or the story that it was based on).
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Chili
Time passes when you're not looking
- Jun 10, 2004
- 8,788
- 4,924
The directors I hear interviewed often seem to be influenced by other films, so it`s possible. Chaplin described ending a film as looking for a way out of a labyrinth. Interesting to contrast the ending of Fugitive From a Chain Gang with City Lights which came out the year prior.
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Pranzo Oltranzista
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Cretton, 2021) – The whole way through, I was trying to remember that Netflix series this film reminded me of, and just couldn't. Wu Assassins, with mythic warriors, the relation to the villainous father, the land outside of our realms, etc. Very close cousin, and something I forgot completely in a nano-second (thanks Google). This Marvel entry will probably suffer the same fate in my little mind, I just can't care for heroic fantasy (and fantasy in general), it's something about the non-mimetic world model, where just anything goes, that bore me to death (oh, suddenly, these rings can do this and that, why not?). I mean, give me Jason Voorhees, he defies our world model, but he appears as a defiance in the film's diegesis too. Anyway, I don't know why I can give a pass to some of these Marvel films and not to others, but this just didn't work for me (and again, that misplaced humor). Too bad, cause the fights are pretty cool. Otherwise bland x1000. 3/10
Also, anybody knows the distance from Ta Lo to K'un-L'un? That dragon crap seemed pretty close to the Iron Fist insufferable stories about his village.
Also, anybody knows the distance from Ta Lo to K'un-L'un? That dragon crap seemed pretty close to the Iron Fist insufferable stories about his village.
Pranzo Oltranzista
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Gialli #34 & 35 are two of the worst I've seen in my whole run and didn't convince me to go back at it full time. I started with a classic I hadn't seen before (thought it would be a nice springboard), but it turned out as the most boring film I've seen from the genre. I thought some sleaziness might help with the second one, but it was even worse, so worse that I laughed the whole way through - so pretty good in the end.
Death Carries A Cane (Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio, Pradeaux, 1973) - Terrible acting, terrible writing, characters and dialogues. And not a pretty film either, with poor directing and editing. The result is pure garbage (the overexposed 4 seconds lesbian flashback after the long blank stare at the camera might just be the film's highlight). I think they might have aimed at touches of comedy, not sure if it was voluntary or not, or maybe just a little fun they had at dubbing. It even fails as a whodunit, if you know the tropes of the genre, you will have no problem identifying the murderer quickly, not that you will really care. The sleaze is of no help, just an inch away of being hilarious. 1.5/10
French Sex Murders (Casa d'appuntamento, Merighi, 1972) – Most confusing, very poor giallo. A superimposed silhouette jumps from what looks like a stock shot of the Eiffel Tower* – but no, they are filming on location, and intend to make the most of it (photo direction is crap, but nevermind). Police cars arrive, lots of cops run up the many stairs of the tower, finally arrive on top, but too late, a superimposed silhouette jumps from what we now know is the Eiffel Tower (but what? Is that the second jumper or the one we just saw?). Good, the inspector's voice-over, while he looks at the distance, might explain what's going on: “It all began on the last night of the carnival.”. That's it. Cut to a thief robbing jewelry, and no more of that - and we will never hear again of this carnival (in the end, when the Eiffel Tower suicide comes around for a third time, you get to understand that the whole film was its explanation by the cliché inspector). It doesn't help that the copy I have switched from the English to the French dub without warning (the English one clearly not being made by anglophones is hilarious), but nothing of that prepares for the level of absurdity we soon reach when a man throws a fit of jealousy to a girl in a brothel (his favorite prostitute the synopsis says), swinging and slapping air and doing everything he can to keep his penis hidden from view (not much success there either). And that's just the first few minutes. A terribly out of key (borderline scary) French song, experimental toying with color calibration, and incomprehensible stretches of overacting, are just some of the comedy elements you'll enjoy here, in addition to a very goofy timeline (some of it just being really poor photography, like day turning to night from shot to shot, and maybe some of it just being from a careless translation... For example: “when you refused to help him, last night” - you mean last night, before his trial that ended with a death sentence to the guillotine, his escape from prison and death while running away from the cops? Oh yeah, last night). Hilarious stuff throughout, but you might lose interest after the high-roller start to the madness. SoBIG. 1/10
*the version on YouTube is missing that non-sensical shot!
Death Carries A Cane (Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio, Pradeaux, 1973) - Terrible acting, terrible writing, characters and dialogues. And not a pretty film either, with poor directing and editing. The result is pure garbage (the overexposed 4 seconds lesbian flashback after the long blank stare at the camera might just be the film's highlight). I think they might have aimed at touches of comedy, not sure if it was voluntary or not, or maybe just a little fun they had at dubbing. It even fails as a whodunit, if you know the tropes of the genre, you will have no problem identifying the murderer quickly, not that you will really care. The sleaze is of no help, just an inch away of being hilarious. 1.5/10
French Sex Murders (Casa d'appuntamento, Merighi, 1972) – Most confusing, very poor giallo. A superimposed silhouette jumps from what looks like a stock shot of the Eiffel Tower* – but no, they are filming on location, and intend to make the most of it (photo direction is crap, but nevermind). Police cars arrive, lots of cops run up the many stairs of the tower, finally arrive on top, but too late, a superimposed silhouette jumps from what we now know is the Eiffel Tower (but what? Is that the second jumper or the one we just saw?). Good, the inspector's voice-over, while he looks at the distance, might explain what's going on: “It all began on the last night of the carnival.”. That's it. Cut to a thief robbing jewelry, and no more of that - and we will never hear again of this carnival (in the end, when the Eiffel Tower suicide comes around for a third time, you get to understand that the whole film was its explanation by the cliché inspector). It doesn't help that the copy I have switched from the English to the French dub without warning (the English one clearly not being made by anglophones is hilarious), but nothing of that prepares for the level of absurdity we soon reach when a man throws a fit of jealousy to a girl in a brothel (his favorite prostitute the synopsis says), swinging and slapping air and doing everything he can to keep his penis hidden from view (not much success there either). And that's just the first few minutes. A terribly out of key (borderline scary) French song, experimental toying with color calibration, and incomprehensible stretches of overacting, are just some of the comedy elements you'll enjoy here, in addition to a very goofy timeline (some of it just being really poor photography, like day turning to night from shot to shot, and maybe some of it just being from a careless translation... For example: “when you refused to help him, last night” - you mean last night, before his trial that ended with a death sentence to the guillotine, his escape from prison and death while running away from the cops? Oh yeah, last night). Hilarious stuff throughout, but you might lose interest after the high-roller start to the madness. SoBIG. 1/10
*the version on YouTube is missing that non-sensical shot!
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Shareefruck
Registered User
Haven't been watching movies for quite a while now for whatever reason (there probably were some that I never bothered posting here, but they weren't very notable or memorable), but was looking for suitable Christmas gifts for children and ended up going through The Secret World of Arrietty again (in case there's any weirdly emotionally-scarring moments that I forgot about, which is sometimes the case-- wouldn't recommend watching Spirited Away as a kid, for example).
It's a very simple and cute movie with a normal but effective premise, that doesn't try to be absolutely brilliant like other Ghibli films do/are (or even have that striking of a theme/message), but is created with the same painstaking polish, tastefulness, and attention to detail as some of their best. I actually really had a great experience with it, it completely nails what it's trying to do, and I appreciated it way more than I did the first time I saw it. Just slow enough to feel earned and have room for moments to breath, while also moving along just quickly enough to be well paced.
Good stuff, and a recommended family film that you can't really go wrong with. I actually like this kind of quaint experience (with this level of aesthetic polish) more than a lot of critically acclaimed movies that would generally be considered better by most.
3.0 (Very Good)
It's a very simple and cute movie with a normal but effective premise, that doesn't try to be absolutely brilliant like other Ghibli films do/are (or even have that striking of a theme/message), but is created with the same painstaking polish, tastefulness, and attention to detail as some of their best. I actually really had a great experience with it, it completely nails what it's trying to do, and I appreciated it way more than I did the first time I saw it. Just slow enough to feel earned and have room for moments to breath, while also moving along just quickly enough to be well paced.
Good stuff, and a recommended family film that you can't really go wrong with. I actually like this kind of quaint experience (with this level of aesthetic polish) more than a lot of critically acclaimed movies that would generally be considered better by most.
3.0 (Very Good)
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