Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +2

[kihei]

Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix) - 8.5/10

Fantastic movie! Absolutely loved it. Funny. Well paced. Had some heart to it.

Surprised me, it did. A great comeback vehicle for Eddie Murphy.

 

[kihei]

Having raised a fuss in some circles by claiming Marvel movies aren't cinema, Martin Scorsese elaborates on what he meant:

Opinion | Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Having raised a fuss in some circles by claiming Marvel movies aren't cinema, Martin Scorsese elaborates on what he meant:

Opinion | Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.

I don't care much for what he does anymore but that was a wonderful read.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I don't care much for what he does anymore but that was a wonderful read.

I never was a big fan... Isn't he supposed to have a huge knowledge of film history? He should know that history will only remember this as one more useful idiot proclaiming the coming death of cinema (cousins of the numerous idiots who announced so often the wider death of arts, themselves distant relatives to the 'tards who tell us every now and then that now they've read Nostradamus correctly and we are now, again, reaching the ends of time). Cinema's first death was to come with the invention of sound - and art films survived many many announced obituaries after that. A bunch of directors had their panties in a twist over digital films and digital projections not so long ago (I wouldn't be surprised if Scorsese was one of them, I remember Tarantino was). No matter what Scorsese whines about, there is nothing lethal about the current situation and Marvel movies are no threat to art films. Maybe Scorsese now realizes that the situation at this moment is brutal and inhospitable to art, but it always was, he just has to live through a little adversity now, something he had the privilege not to face for a long time, but go ask Michael Snow if the situation was hospitable to art in the times the movie brats were thriving...

That being said, Marvel movies are still worthless kiddy flicks. Just so Captain knows I didn't change my mind about that. ;-)

 

[NyQuil]

Having raised a fuss in some circles by claiming Marvel movies aren't cinema, Martin Scorsese elaborates on what he meant:

Opinion | Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.

He's not wrong. And he's not judging either, at least, not the people that watch the films. He's not saying they don't have a place - although he's worried that they take screens and attention away from cinema.

People go to see Marvel movies because of the comforting sameness of them.

But it's not a new concept.

People were dumping on Steven Spielberg for upending the New Hollywood era even though he was ostensibly a part of it at the beginning of his career.

He supposedly was the end of cinema too when his films cost too much to make and made too much money. The result being that studios gravitated towards tent pole films at the expense of everything else.

I'm wondering how much of it was the emergence of the Chinese film audience and the fact that more nuanced films may not succeed as easily over there as the Hollywood blockbuster.

 

[NyQuil]

One aspect about Marvel films is that the source material is essentially meant to be timeless.

The storylines don't really have an end per se. Heroes and villains are kept alive as much as possible for continuity.

And if they die, they don't necessarily stay dead.

So they don't necessarily lend themselves to cinematic storytelling where there are actual consequences.

 

[sr edler]

Only Scorsese films I've ever liked was The Aviator (because Howard Hughes in an interesting character, not because the film itself was a masterpiece or anything, it was okay though) and Dreams by Akira Kurosawa where he plays van Gogh. The van Gogh sequence isn't my favorite in that film though. I'll still recommend it though.

Dreams (夢/Yume) (1990) by Akira Kurosawa – 7/10

This film is pretty good. Scorsese plays van Gogh but it doesn't look like Scorsese but more like van Gogh. You better watch it yourself though because it's really s l o w t e m p o and your partner will 100% end up wanting to do something else (unless that's your plan in the first place).

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Inception (2010)
Dir. Christopher Nolan

A great example of a film that loses its potency every re-watch. Coming out of the theatre in 2010 was an exhilarated child who thought he just witnessed the superior version of The Matrix (1999), a film with several A-list actors finding their way through a labyrinth plot that posed several philosophical questions about people's relations with their dreams. Watching it almost a decade later makes me realize the dialogue is 80-90% exposition, while the editing of several scenes (both dialogue and action) felt rather choppy. Still a cool concept with some fine moments, but I was not enthralled with it this time around.

Score: 6/10

 

[ORRFForever]

Having raised a fuss in some circles by claiming Marvel movies aren't cinema, Martin Scorsese elaborates on what he meant:

Opinion | Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.

Glad he's doubling down - I could not read the entire article but I've heard it discussed on the CBC.

I have said forever that Super Hero garbage makes the movie world a worse place. Glad M.S. agrees.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Glad he's doubling down - I could not read the entire article but I've heard it discussed on the CBC.

I have said forever that Super Hero garbage makes the movie world a worse place. Glad M.S. agrees.

Not exactly sure he said it makes the world a worse place.

 

[NyQuil]

Inception (2010)
Dir. Christopher Nolan

A great example of a film that loses its potency ever re-watch. Coming out of the theatre in 2010 was an exhilarated child who thought he just witnessed the superior version of The Matrix (1999), a film with several A-list actors finding their way through a labyrinth plot that posed several philosophical questions about people's relations with their dreams. Watching it almost a decade later makes me realize the dialogue is 80-90% exposition, while the editing of several scenes (both dialogue and action) felt rather choppy. Still a cool concept with some fine moments, but I was not enthralled with it this time around.

Score: 6/10

Personally I think it holds up fairly well and is my favourite of the Christopher Nolan films along with Memento.

Different strokes I guess.

I still catch little details every time I watch it that are new and interesting.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Harriet - 7/10

Entertaining film and one that does a wonderful job painting a picture of the 1840s/1850s Maryland and Philadelphia, very cathartic at multiple points, and extremely well-acted throughout. But it also takes a load of creative licenses and honestly dimishes from Harriet Tubman's intelligence and work by more or less painting her as a modern day Joan of Arc that was just rash, lucky, and really just a recipient of divine notices on what she had to do.

Just felt weird. I would recommend, but I wasn't expecting to leave a Harriet Tubman film surprised at how they downplayed her intelligence (though last minute they definitely tried to make up for it).

 

[Osprey]

Before watching Netflix's Dolemite Is My Name, I decided, on a whim, to check out 1975's Dolemite to see what the basis was...

Dolemite (1975) - ?/10

The baddest pimp in town (Rudy Ray Moore) and his karate fighting ladies dole out whoopings on those who have wronged him, can ya dig it? The acting is so atrocious that I wonder if most of the people had even acted before or if they just responded to ads in the newspaper. Nearly every line of dialogue has swearing in it to try to make up for it. The writing, directing and editing are amateurish at best. The fight scenes are laughably bad, with weak punches and kicks that obviously miss, yet send people flying. Finally, the whole thing is scored with 70s porno music. In other words, it's one of the absolute worst and most awesome movies that you're likely to see. Like an Ed Wood picture or The Room, this movie defies rating. It's awful, yet hilarious.


(Warning: strong language)

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

The King (Netflix) - 8.5/10

Wow I seriously enjoyed this. I understand why some may find it slow, but I absolutely didn’t at all. Two nice watches in a row from Netflix.

 

[Shareefruck]

Not that this was necessarily done here, but it never quite sits right with me that whenever criticism is made about the erosion of artistic opportunity/appreciation due to populism, it always gets so easily brushed aside by the default "Yawn, this complaint is made over and over again by people in every era, and yet art is still perfectly fine, so clearly there's nothing to worry about" sentiment.

To me, the fact that it's historically always been a concern but has survived to this point doesn't really suggest that it isn't a concern anymore or that it's become apparent that the concern has always rung false. I think you could argue that it's a danger that has been gradually chipped away at over time, and while the interesting stuff still exists, it seems to have been pushed further and further off into the fringes-- Superhero movies dominating so thoroughly only adds to that trend, IMO. Despite people having very different interests, I do think that ultimately, these two things do kind of jockey over a lot of the same real-estate, because the default cultural exposure that people have plays a huge role in building whatever their interests are in the first place.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

while the interesting stuff still exists, it seems to have been pushed further and further off into the fringes

That opinion is really far from the truth. Having been a film collector through the 90s, believe me that it's a lot easier to get access to art films and unknown stuff today than it was then.

 

[Shareefruck]

That opinion is really far from the truth. Having been a film collector through the 90s, believe me that it's a lot easier to get access to art films and unknown stuff today than it was then.

Technology's a big equalizer these days. Accessibility has improved, I agree, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's as much in the public eye being a major influence to everyone (as the Hitchcock example in the article alludes to). You basically have to have a niche collector's mentality to be aware of most of it, I find.

I think it's been pushed further into the fringes, but life on the fringes is just easier now.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Technology's a big equalizer these days. Accessibility has improved, I agree, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's as much in the public eye being a major influence (as the Hitchcock example in the article alludes to). You basically have to have a niche collector's mentality to be aware of most of it, I find.

I think it's been pushed further into the fringes, but life on the fringes is just easier now.

Well, I find myself on a hockey board discussing films with people who have a vast knowledge of films I don't know of and who challenge each other to watch and review artsy flicks... On my first HFBoards existence, 10 years ago and under a different alias [edit: it was more than 10 years ago, Kovalchuk was playing for the Thrashers], these discussions included a total of 3 members, and the other 2 were just beginning to get somewhat interested in artsy stuff. I have no idea how the festival turnups look like, but I feel there's no shortage of interest - and where there's interest, there's ways to find everything.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

And for the record, there was me, there was Dr. Chimera, and there was hmmmm... Kempsey? I don't remember his HF alias...

 

[Arizonan God]

Jojo Rabbit (dir. Taika Waititi)

Loved it, one of my favourites of the year so far. Very heartfelt, funny (although not quite as funny as Waititi's other films) and does a great job of exploring a society that does everything it can to create monsters and dehumanize. This one really blindsided me emotionally as well, without feeling cheap. Roman Griffin Davis turns in a spectacular performance as 10 year old Jojo, and Scarlett Johansson and Thomasin McKenzie are also great.

My biggest issue with the movie is actually Waititi himself as Jojo's imaginary friend Hitler. Don't get me wrong, it's funny at first and I understand the symbolic aspect of the character, but it almost felt like a second thought. I almost forgot about him by the end of the film.

8/10

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot - I stopped caring about Gus Van Sant when he made Good Will Hunting (I haven't seen everything he made after that, but of what I've seen, only Elephant was interesting enough to be compared to his earlier stuff). DWHWGFOF is nothing he'll be remembered for, but like most of his "weaker" stuff, it's good enough to be worth a watch. He's a very good director who can play with both narrative structures and sensibility, which is pretty rare. It still shows here. Very simple story, told with enough subtility to make it work as a film. - 5/10

Have you seen Paranoid Park? Might be my favorite post-GWH Van Sant, and it's one of my overall favorites from him.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

Hate to say it because my expectations were sky high, but The Lighthouse was a disappointment. Very well crafted and acted, but the story is pretty simplistic and hollow, and neither of the characters are especially sympathetic (which can be fine) or interesting (not so fine). I'll give it another go with lower expectations at some point, but as of now it's a 6/10.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Have you seen Paranoid Park? Might be my favorite post-GWH Van Sant, and it's one of my overall favorites from him.

Don't remember much of it, but I did see it and IMDB tells me I gave it 7/10 - which to me is a very good rating.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

I've seen enough on the Scorsese matter for a lifetime, and I'm just ready for people to move on. However, here is the last thing I'll have to say on the matter...

I now watch more "real" cinema than ever before in my life. And you know why? Because of Marvel films. I started to get more interest in them, and then my whole interest in cinema expanded as a result. I still love Marvel films, and I now also get to enjoy "real" cinema as well.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

And you know why? Because of Marvel films.

Just admit that it's because you were getting tired of us giving you shit. ;-)

But hey, no matter the journey, it's great that you now watch more diverse stuff. Doesn't mean you will enjoy the basic stuff less, but it adds to your range of expectations and you can enjoy it "better".