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

[kihei]

I love clouds.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Gave a shot to Marriage Story by Noah Baumbach. I think I actively loathe him as an artist. Outside of a fine monologue by Scarlett Johansson's character regarding her view of her relationship with Charlie, I thought the writing was a total disaster (although I did appreciate the detailed approach to the lawter search and games) but boy, it's really hard to indulge a film that looks to think its smarter than it is make fun of people who think they're smarter than they are. I thought it a limp film that tried so very hard to be funny without ever landing because Baumbach has no genuine comic sensibilities. He's too soft and vanilla, so his constant attempts at upper middle-class quirkisms fare no better than what you'll in a Sarah Jessica Parker project or Friends or any of those destructive, rotten shows and nor did I think the leads has any chemistry, while the support characters were simply impossible. It was hard to feel much sympathy or loathing for the leads. All I felt was a sort of lethargic disdain. Just about nothing had me going. I don't think Baumbach is much of anything as an author or director. In the marriage drama genre, I much prefer Blue Valentine or A Woman Under the Influence. While in the family tragedy/drama genre, I'll forever tip my hat to the superb Horace and Pete by Louis CK. That was a great piece of effective writing.

 

[kihei]

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019) Directed by Elle-Maija Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn 8B

Two young indigenous women meet on a rainy street corner in Vancouver. Aila (Elle-Maija Tailfeathers), who is middle-class and may have just received bad news from her doctor, tries to aid Rosie (Violet Nelson) who is standing barefoot in the rain cowering from her abusive boyfriend who is screaming at her from about a block away. Aila takes a reluctant Rosie to her nice apartment and they plan what to do next. Aila wants Rosie to go to a women's shelter, but pregnant Rosie is reluctant to do so for a lot of reasons. Rosie doesn't say much and she doesn't say it loud. In many ways she is the negative stereotype of a down-and-out indigenous person incarnate. Not much actually happens in this movie beyond Aila's attempt to encourage Rosie to make a fresh start. All of this is shot in one long take (or seemingly so) in which both these women's emotions are belileveably revealed in a pair of excellent performances. The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open is a very tight, circumscribed little movie, but I found it very powerful and very praiseworthy as well. Movies that bear witness are usually going to be on the depressing side, but in Canada we need more movies like this--movies that can have an impact on people's awareness of the wasted lives among us. We have something over 1200 missing or murdered indigenous women in Canada. I wish Villeneuve or Vallee would tackle that story.


Best of '19 so far

1) Parasite, Bong, South Korea
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Sciamma, France
3) An Elephant Sitting Still, Hu, China
4) Hope, Sodahl, Norway
5) Pain & Glory, Almodovar, Spain
6) Vitalina Varela, Costa, Portugal
7) The Irishman, Scorsese, United States
8) The Lighthouse, Eggers, United States
9) Varda by Agnes, Varda, France
10) The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, Tailfeathers/Hepburn, Canada

 

[ORRFForever]

Reviews overall seem mixed, but I have a big problem with the handling of the female journalist character in the movie which has been reported on extensively. They portray her as exchanging sex for information for stories. Haven't seen anything to contradict this yet, so I'll trust what I've heard. That's not only an EXTREMELY lazy and offensive cliche regardless, but there's no actual evidence that the reporter portrayed in the movie who was a real person whose name they use ever did that. The real woman died in 2011 and isn't around to defend herself. Jewell's lawyer even came out today and said that's untrue.

It is absolutely true that the media had a lot of failings during the reporting of the Richard Jewell case. They don't need to concoct nasty, lazy, untrue things to enhance the argument. Just really gross and offensive to me. Probably also worth noting that while Jewell sued and settled multiple court cases with media outlets, he actually lost the one against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (where the reporter portayed worked).

The crazy thing to me is the screenplay was written by Billy Ray who wrote and directed one of the better movies about journalism in the past 20 years or so -- Shattered Glass.

Fair enough and thanks.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Lol I wanted to like it, I really did. I LOVE 2001, I wasn't necessarily expecting a similar movie, but at least a similar kind of response to it. What's the thought on 2001 vs. Solaris? Around the same time and it feels like they always get brought up together.

I don't know what's the thought, but to me Solaris is more interesting by some margin (2001 remains a very good film too).

 

[ORRFForever]

Black Christmas [2019] :

Who knew the title, an attack on a Christian holiday, would be the least offensive part of this movie, as we watch every white guy battle to be the biggest piece of garbage.

Black Christmas is even worse, and more confusing, than you'd expect. It may be the worst slasher movie I've ever seen... and that's saying a lot.

0/10

 

[Savi]

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019) Directed by Elle-Maija Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn 7B

That's one of the most beautiful movie titles of the year

 

[Savi]

Decent list. Can't argue with their top pick

 

[kihei]

Decent list. Can't argue with their top pick

I sure can't complain about #s 1 and 2 . Damn good list, terrific presentation.

 

[kihei]

Gave a shot to Marriage Story by Noah Baumbach. I think I actively loathe him as an artist. Outside of a fine monologue by Scarlett Johansson's character regarding her view of her relationship with Charlie, I thought the writing was a total disaster (although I did appreciate the detailed approach to the lawter search and games) but boy, it's really hard to indulge a film that looks to think its smarter than it is make fun of people who think they're smarter than they are. I thought it a limp film that tried so very hard to be funny without ever landing because Baumbach has no genuine comic sensibilities. He's too soft and vanilla, so his constant attempts at upper middle-class quirkisms fare no better than what you'll in a Sarah Jessica Parker project or Friends or any of those destructive, rotten shows and nor did I think the leads has any chemistry, while the support characters were simply impossible. It was hard to feel much sympathy or loathing for the leads. All I felt was a sort of lethargic disdain. Just about nothing had me going. I don't think Baumbach is much of anything as an author or director. In the marriage drama genre, I much prefer Blue Valentine or A Woman Under the Influence. While in the family tragedy/drama genre, I'll forever tip my hat to the superb Horace and Pete by Louis CK. That was a great piece of effective writing.

I think this is a little over the top, but you nail a lot of Baumbach's weaknesses. Though I liked Marriage Story a lot, Baumbach can be very glib and contrived, and he seems to get a lot of his moves from other directors. For my two cents, I thought that the two leads did an excellent job, but that almost all the other characters were one dimensional types.

 

[Osprey]

Black Christmas [2019] :

Who knew the title, an attack on a Christian holiday, would be the least offensive part of this movie, as we watch every white guy battle to be the biggest piece of garbage.

Black Christmas is even worse, and more confusing, than you'd expect. It may be the worst slasher movie I've ever seen... and that's saying a lot.

0/10

I really don't think that the title is an attack. It's simply a play on "White Christmas," the title of a movie and song that are both strictly secular. Playing on a Christmas song title or lyrics is simply an easy way to communicate that it's a Christmas movie and generate interest. Besides, the title was coined for the 1974 original. If anyone was trying to be offensive, it's the impolite Canadians who made that 45 years ago. This movie is a remake (the second, in fact) of that classic, so it was natural to re-use the name.

Maybe, if you hadn't pre-judged it from the title and had gone into it with a more open mind, you might've ended up giving it... oh... a 2/10, instead .

If you haven't seen the 1974 original, I recommend it. It's a horror classic. I watched it for the first time a few years ago and I liked it. In fact, I just found my review of it in the horror movie discussion thread:

I finally watched Black Christmas (1974) for the first time last night. I enjoyed it more than I expected. There's something about those 1970s horror films that are just so "classy" (for lack of a better word) compared to nearly everything from 1980 onward. Even when the films don't have much point or substance, like this and Halloween, you still feel the care put into the art of the films (the atmosphere, camerawork, editing, details and so on). That's something that you don't get much of after the 1970s, when horror films (especially slasher flicks) became less about competent filmmaking and more about shock value and hurrying from one gratuitous scene to the next. This one also has a somewhat unique ending, which is a rarity in the genre.

I'll watch the panned 2006 remake tonight or tomorrow, which should make for an interesting comparison. I expect it to lose everything good about the original and be an example of the worst, most unoriginal aspects of modern horror, but I must satisfy my curiosity. EDIT: Yeah, that wasn't good. It maybe wasn't quite as bad in some ways that I expected, but largely made up for it by being stupid in ways that I hadn't expected. It's quite forgettable, whereas the original is more memorable and something that I'd like to eventually watch again.

 

[ORRFForever]

I really don't think that the title is an attack. It's simply a play on "White Christmas," the title of a movie and song that are both strictly secular. Playing on a Christmas song title or lyrics is simply an easy way to communicate that it's a Christmas movie and generate interest. Besides, the title was coined for the 1974 original. If anyone was trying to be offensive, it's the impolite Canadians who made that 45 years ago. This movie is a remake (the second, in fact) of that classic, so it was natural to re-use the name.

Maybe, if you hadn't pre-judged it from the title and had gone into it with a more open mind, you might've ended up giving it... oh... a 2/10, instead .

If you haven't seen the 1974 original, I recommend it. It's a horror classic. I watched it for the first time a few years ago and I liked it. In fact, I just found my review of it in the horror movie discussion thread:

Thanks! I will check out the original.

As for the title... I realize it is a play on words but a lot of Christians are offended - and we don't offend easy.

The movie only made $1.8M on Friday night so that should kill the franchise - at least for another 20 years.

As for the movie itself :

Spoiler

EVERY straight white male, minus 1, is the killer - I kid you not.

So, if "Richard Jewell" is represented by this meme (as per Kihei) :

...then "Black Christmas" is reprented by this meme...

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NOTE : I have no idea how to make this "attached" file go away - see below.

Perhaps the Mods can help? Please. Pretty please.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

How is Black Christmas an attack on the holiday?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Decent list. Can't argue with their top pick

I sure can't complain about #s 1 and 2

. Damn good list, terrific presentation.

Marriage Story...

I haven't seen most of these top films, some of them look really good, but that list can't be right. For one thing, Marriage Story is better than anything I've seen from that list, and stuff like Knives Out (10), Midsommar (14), and The Irishman (11) were too weak to make a top-films list any given year.

If anyone was trying to be offensive, it's the impolite Canadians who made that 45 years ago.

Great post.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Just watched I Lost My Body. Wow, this was something. Couple really good movies I've seen lately and I'd put this behind The Lighthouse and Marriage Story for my favorites of the year so far. Animation is something I usually find so difficult to get into, but something about this one was different.

First and foremost, this is probably the most aesthetically pleasing and interesting animation I've seen. I have no art background and can't speak on anything technical, but this movie just had such an interesting style. There were certain aspects that looked hyper-realistic at points and they blended it with animation that looked far more static, often in the same frame. With this in mind, they combined that with some of the most off-kilter and unorthodox shot angles I've seen, particularly when they're focusing on the severed hand plotline. The way these scenes are shot are so kinetic, tense, visceral and bizarre that you just get totally engrossed in it. I mean, we have POV shots from the point off a f***ing severed hand LMAO, how can you not love that? There are a couple animal encounters in here that are unlike anything I've seen in a movie before.

When they flip back and forth between the protagonist and hand, I at first just wanted to get back to the hand, but you start to become engrossed in that story as well, even though a lot of it plays out not too unlike a generic romance movie. That being said, it gets a lot better as it goes along, and once they start tying in the past, it becomes a lot more interesting and meaningful.

Also have to mention that the score is beautiful. Very synth heavy, at moments I got It Follows and Blade Runner 2049 vibes, but it's a lot more ethereal than those scores.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Marriage Story (2019) - 8/10 - It was sad but it made me happy, definitely not getting married though.

A Rainy Day In New York (2019) - 7/10 - It was half stupid and half good so it evens out, poor casting choice for leads though

The Death of Stalin (2017) - 7/10 - Funny but empty

Ad Astra (2019) - 7/10 - It was fine

Parasite (2019) - 7/10 - Good but in an uncomfortably bad way, great first 30ish minutes though. Is every acclaimed Korean film batshit insane btw?

 

[Osprey]

As for the title... I realize it is a play on words but a lot of Christians are offended - and we don't offend easy.

That isn't true. We do offend easily . I used to think that "Xmas" was offensive because I assumed that it was a deliberate removing of "Christ" from the name. It took someone correcting me and me doing some research before I realized that it's been common (and respectful) short hand for the holiday for hundreds of years. In other words, I've done the same thing as you, so I figured that it'd be better if I gave my perspective before you received replies that weren't quite as nice (not that you seem to mind such replies ).

 

[ORRFForever]

That isn't true. We do offend easily . I used to think that "Xmas" was offensive because I assumed that it was a deliberate removing of "Christ" from the name. It took someone correcting me and me doing some research before I realized that it's been common (and respectful) short hand for the holiday for hundreds of years. In other words, I've done the same thing as you, so I figured that it'd be better if I gave my perspective before you received replies that weren't quite as nice (not that you seem to mind such replies ).

I don't see much fighting in THIS thread. Other ones, yes, but posters here seem to be respectful of each other.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

I don't see much fighting in THIS thread. Other ones, yes, but posters here seem to be respectful of each other.

Just don’t respect Marvel and we won’t have a problem

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

6 Underground

3/10

+1 for Reynolds

 

[Savi]

A Rainy Day In New York (2019) - 7/10 - It was half stupid and half good so it evens out, poor casting choice for leads though

Coincidentally I watched that one last night as well, and I agree, it was pretty foolish at times. Felt more like a satire.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

6 Underground - idk/10

Im really not sure what to rate this right now. As far as plot, it’s easily among the worst of the year. But... I found myself thoroughly entertained almost the entire movie. Weird experience haha

 

[OzzyFan]

Bolshoi Ballet: The Nutcracker (2019)
3.50 out of 4stars

I will start this off by saying I have no knowledge or experience of ballet, so I really have nothing to directly compare this to. That said, this surpassed my expectations easily. The elegance, the flow, the visuals, the fantasy, of course the iconic music, whom some consider Tchaikovsky's best and/or most famous work, and story were perfectly on point. Not to mention, art and execution by the ballet dancers is something special itself given the necessary training, flexibility, stamina, and likely injuries I can imagine in this field. Before I saw this I think I read it was the most revenue generating ballet in North America, as an fyi. Slightly off topic, Kihei I know posted about some "wunderkind" male ballet dancer some while ago, if anyone remembers who that was, I would be appreciative of exploring that for a little while.

 

[kihei]

Bolshoi Ballet: The Nutcracker (2019)
3.50 out of 4stars

I will start this off by saying I have no knowledge or experience of ballet, so I really have nothing to directly compare this to. That said, this surpassed my expectations easily. The elegance, the flow, the visuals, the fantasy, of course the iconic music, whom some consider Tchaikovsky's best and/or most famous work, and story were perfectly on point. Not to mention, art and execution by the ballet dancers is something special itself given the necessary training, flexibility, stamina, and likely injuries I can imagine in this field. Before I saw this I think I read it was the most revenue generating ballet in North America, as an fyi. Slightly off topic, Kihei I know posted about some "wunderkind" male ballet dancer some while ago, if anyone remembers who that was, I would be appreciative of exploring that for a little while.

Don't remember who I was talking about but I'd take a guess that it was this guy:



I'd also recommend this fine documentary by Wim Wenders, Pina, about choreographer Pina Bausch and her dance company. Here's a trailer:



Plus the Christmas season is a great time for family movies and Fred Astaire in Top Hat is a lot of fun, though obviously a different kind of dance.

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Richard Jewell - 9/10

While I don’t agree with a certain decision of the movie (discussed earlier in the thread), that part is very inconsequential to the overall narrative of the movie, so it doesn’t ruin the experience... which, overall, is a fantastic one. There were some very emotional parts in this movie, at least to me.