Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Mid-Spring Edition. Happy Beltane!

[tardigrade81]

Anyone seems The Boy Behind The Door on Shudder yet?

got crazy good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Might give it a go this weekend.

 

[Osprey]

Pig (2021) - 5/10 (Didn't like or dislike it)

When his truffle hunting companion is rudely pignapped, a hermit (Nicolas Cage) must re-visit his past in order to get her back. I'm pretty sure that this film was made just to subvert expectations. I imagine that the writer's train of thought was "Let's play off of John Wick, replace the puppy with a pig and cast Cage so that audiences fully expect him to flip out and go on a revenge spree, but then let's go in a completely different direction." What that direction is is better left to be discovered, but it's likely not what you expect. There's an absurdity throughout the film and some chuckles to be had as Cage goes around Portland demanding to know where his pig is while looking like a hobo who isn't even willing to wash dried blood off of his face. Aside from that, the film seems to take itself pretty seriously, maybe a little too seriously for a story about an old man going to the ends of the earth to get his pet pig back. It felt to me like your standard directorial debut in which the writer/director tries a little too hard to impress and dress up an overly simple story. It's stretched out with subplots and scenes, including a confusing one reminiscent of Fight Club that seemed very out of place, and is broken up into three parts which are announced with (dare I say it?) pretentious subtitles. Much of the film is nonsensical, which I wouldn't have minded if it had fully embraced that instead of trying to make sense. Though it was different than I expected, I found that refreshing, and despite it being very slow, I wasn't exactly bored. It has the appearance of a very well-made film, but there just wasn't enough of a story for me, and Cage's larger-than-life persona only propped it up so far. I appear to be in the minority, though, so it'll probably appeal more to others. It's now on most streaming services for a reasonable $6.99 if you'd care to check it out.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

I watched Wrath of Man (2021) with Statham on a recent airplane trip home, it was surprisingly decent. (7/10)

 

[kihei]

The Cloud in Her Room (2020) Directed by Zheng Lu Xinuan 8C

The Cloud in Her Room is a collection of loosely connected moments about Muzi, a 22-year-old girl, who returns to her hometown Hangzhou to celebrate New Year with her (separated) parents and various girl friends and boy friends along the way. There is no narrative, just a collection of revealing fragments that shows life from Muzi's rather laid-back perspective. The scenes are brief, gorgeously shot in black and white, and often start at the end of things or just before somethiing is to happen. This doughnut-like approach is not overused, but it can be a bit disconcerting to contend with until you get into the movie's peculiar rhythm. Muzi seems both connected and disconnected from the people in her home town, including her jazz-playing, quietly irresponsible father and her fading drama queen mother. Whatever happiness that most of the people in this movie ever had, it has left them a long time ago and it's not coming back. But life goes on.

I love stylistically innovative, oblique movies like this where images are often far more important than words. In terms of social isolation and alienation, Zheng seems to have some fairly obvious influences: Jia Zhangke, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Michelangelo Antonioni. But she brings a fresh sensibility that makes the material very much her own. The Cloud in Her Room is the best piece of slow cinema that I have seen in some time.

subtitles

MUBI

1. Red Moon Tide, Patino, Spain
2. The Cloud in Her Room, Zheng, China
3. Identifying Features, Valadez, Mexico
4. Manor House, Puiu, Romania
5. The Dig, Stone, UK

 

[GabeTravels]

Watched Vivo with my 4 year old nephew tonight.

Spectacular music as usual from Lin Manuel Miranda, and he does well as the main character.

Fun animation, cute story.

One of the better ones we've watched with my nephew... Greatly enjoyed it. 8/10

 

[ProstheticConscience]

New thread up.