Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

[NSpan]

Bone Tomahawk: 5/10
With a name like that I was expecting something much pulpier, trashier, and shorter. But this Western about some townsmen hunting down a clan of evil Indians to rescue the abducted outstays its welcome by building characters but not really doing much. It gets incredibly gruesome, almost to the point of being unwatchable, but the tension is good and the cast generally good (except Matthew Fox, who is awful)

I had flipped past this title dozens of times on Amazon Prime and never once actually considered watching it until Boosh brought it up on Facebook. I was in the mood for something new tonight, so I went for it.

The credits are still rolling, and I'm in awe. I thought this movie was exceptional. It defies genre--turning Western tropes on their head and managing to be smart, ridiculous, intense, and sharply funny all at once.

I almost turned it off after the first five minutes. Then I almost turned it off after the next five minutes. Then Richard Jenkins stumbles into a scene and the movie goes balls to the wall bonkers for the remainder. It's as if each actor is in an entirely different production from one another, but the deft direction manages to mold it into a satisfying (if outright bizarre) cohesive whole.

I'm very interested in seeing what this director does next. I think 100 others could have attempted to turn this preposterous script into a decent film, and they'd all fail.

Check it out. I'd like to hear what the rest of you guys think.

[Buscemi]

NSpan, you want to do the next Guest Picks week on the Facebook page? I haven't been able to get much interest this time.

[NSpan]

NSpan, you want to do the next Guest Picks week on the Facebook page? I haven't been able to get much interest this time.

Yeah, I could maybe round something up, bud. I'm off of Facebook until Sunday, though. If it's cool with you, I'll send you a message then.

[Buscemi]

That's fine. I'm out of town on Sunday and Monday anyway.

[NSpan]

I never saw a trailer for "Room," and I (somehow) managed to never really hear anything ABOUT it, either. Other than accolades, of course. So I basically went into it blind.

In high school, I was on the wrestling team. Each weight class had only 5 pounds before the next. If you didn't make weight on the day of a match, you could throw off the entire team... so, in an effort to shed that extra pound or two in the hours leading up to weighing in, some of us would jump rope in a sauna and sweat it out.

I think I lost more weight from crying during this ENTIRE FUCKING FILM than I ever did in a sauna.

Out of the 2015 Best Picture nominees that I've seen (Mad Max, The Big Short, The Revenant, The Martian, and this), Room wins by a long shot.

[numbersix]

In high school, I was on the wrestling team. Each weight class had only 5 pounds before the next. If you didn't make weight on the day of a match, you could throw off the entire team... so, in an effort to shed that extra pound or two in the hours leading up to weighing in, some of us would jump rope in a sauna and sweat it out.

I think I lost more weight from crying during this ENTIRE FUCKING FILM than I ever did in a sauna.

They should put this at the start of the trailer.

Agreed, though, its the only Best Pic nom I'll rewatch (maybe Mad Max for kicks), and I've already seen it twice.

[Geezer]

That pretty much nailed it, NSpan. Though unlike Six, it's why I never have a desire to ever watch it again.

[Chienfantome]

I really like the film, but to me it's "Just" a vert good film. I don't think it Will feature in my Top 10 at the end of the year. But it's very good no doubt about it.

[numbersix]

Sing Street: 6/10
An immensely enjoyable coming-of-age story set in 1980s Dublin, where a teen moves to a rougher school as his parents face financial difficulty. Trying to impress a girl he sets up a band, and what we get is a New Wave/Romantic journey through his attempts to understand his feelings about the girl and about his life. While there's nothing hugely new about this, it's still deeply entertaining with a strong balance between laughs and moving moments. Some issues are resolved with too much ease, but it's incredibly watchable.

James White: 7/10
A powerful but tough film about a young man who cannot seem to deal with his anger issues. The film starts with the death of his estranged dad, and as he goes on holiday to deal with it (by getting drunk and taking drugs) we realise his mother is unwell, and the film is about his struggle to help her. It's a film centred on its two powerful performances, and they manage to carry the film.

10 Cloverfield Lane: 6/10
It's evident that this is a film tacked onto a franchise. it's a tense thriller about three people in a bunker, but then it tries to connect with the Cloverfield world and doesn't quite manage to justify the latter or marry the two. The three actors are all superb. It's been ages since I saw Goodman this strong on the big screen, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead may have the break she always deserved. Some of the writing tries to contrive tension in the most ridiculous of ways (the Santa Claus scene), but it's still a decent flick.

[Chienfantome]

I really should come here and review the films I see more often.
This weekend I've seen 5 films.

- "Evolution", a french fantasy that won prizes in festsivals, about an island on which Strange women make Strange expériences on boys. The film is weird and unnerving. Beautifully ambitious but not accomplished enough writing-wise. 6/10

- "Triple 9", a heist film that owes to Mann's heat but exist in itself thanks to an intersting take on the moral ambiguities of characters, a powerful sense of direction, and a stellar cast. 7/10

- "Jodorowsky's Dune", a documentary about the failed dream of Jodo to make a film out of Dune, working on it during two years in the mid 70's only to see his dream crumble. The story is fascinating, but what makes it so fascinating is the interviews of Jodo himself, and his view on cinema that is so inspiring. 7.5/10

- "Moonwalkers", a crazy comedy about a CIA agent whose mission is to hire Kubrick to film a fake moon landing in case the real one is a failure. Except he doesn't find Kubrick a Young agent who needs money and leads the agent to believe he is Kubrick's agent. The film is quite delirious and very funny. Scene-stealing performance from Robert Sheehan. Really fun 7.5/10

- "The Assassin", a Taiwanese film that won Best Director for Hous Hsiao Hsien at Cannes last year, a contemplative and meditative wu xian pan, that features stunning visuals and mise-en-scène. A bit too slow here and there, but beautiful cinema. 7/10

The Assassin was the 16th film I saw from last year's Cannes competition consisting of 19 films. The 3 I haven't seen are "Marguerite et Julien" (missed it), "Chronic" (missed it) and Gus Van SAnt's Sea of Trees, which is getting released in April in France.
From what I saw, I wouldn't have given Dheepan the Palme d'Or. I would have given it to "Son of Saul". The Assassin deserves best director. I would have awarded Something to Kore-Eda Hirokazu's film, "Unimachi Diary".

[Buscemi]

Triple 9 7/10

This is more or less a Southeastern Heat, with two good cops, a group of corrupt cops who double as thieves, a Hispanic gang, and the Russian-Jewish mob duking it out in Atlanta. It's certainly not like anything John Hillcoat's done before, as this is his most contemporary and explicit story to date (and probably most political, due to the police corruption themes). Hillcoat seems to have taken nods from both Michael Mann (the Heat influence and the score being done by four composers, led by Atticus Ross) and David Ayer (the ensemble cast and graphic content) and though his product isn't on the level of the best Mann or Ayer, it's still a good timekiller. The plot can be hard to follow at times (or maybe it was because I was sitting a little too close to the screen as the auditorium was small and with a huge screen) but it makes sense in the end. On the cast, Casey Affleck (sounding like Jimmy Carter) does well as the new cop on the block, Clifton Collins Jr. does nicely as a detective leading a double life, and the makeup department did a really good job making Kate Winslet look Russian (you wouldn't know it was Winslet at first glance until you look past the prosthetics). I did wonder how Chiwetel Ejoifor and Gal Gadot got together though (maybe the Blu-ray will have deleted scenes).

In short, not on the level of Hillcoat's other films but still enjoyable.

[NSpan]

Cooties - 2/10
This isn't even enjoyable in a "bad horror movie" kind of way. Nearly every joke falls flat. In spite of a decent cast (Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad), this movie just has nothing to offer anyone. SKIP IT.

[Chienfantome]

Cooties - 2/10
This isn't even enjoyable in a "bad horror movie" kind of way. Nearly every joke falls flat. In spite of a decent cast (Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad), this movie just has nothing to offer anyone. SKIP IT.

I loved it. I laughed all the way through it.

[Buscemi]

Cooties was another movie I recommended to NSpan. To quote Vincent Gambini, "You win some, you lose some".

Anyway...

Hello, My Name is Doris 8/10

On one side, it's a raunchier East Coast version of last year's arthouse hit I'll See You in My Dreams. On the other side, it's probably the anti-mumblecore movie. Going to the rarely seen reverse of the May-December romance (older woman, younger man), this comedy focuses on a sixty-something Staten Island eccentric (Sally Field) who falls in love with her much younger co-worker (Max Greenfield). But while she's crazy in love with him as she begins to enter his world, he only sees their relationship as platonic. Field gives an awards-worthy performance as the titular character, giving her a full-bodied and multi-dimensional performance that could have been a cliche sociopath but manages to be a very sympathetic character despite some of her actions. Also giving a quality performance is Tyne Daly as Field's best friend, who serves as a voice of reason for Field's character while also being just as eccentric. The cast is loaded with familiar names (besides Field, Greenfield, and Daly, there's Beth Behrs, Stephen Root, Peter Gallagher, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Reaser, and a few others) and for a small film, I'm surprised director Michael Showalter (yes, of Stella and The State fame) was able to get such a well-known cast for a theme filmmakers often aren't willing to film. But plenty of power for the director and cast for getting it made and for it turning out so well.

[Chienfantome]

Cooties was another movie I recommended to NSpan. To quote Vincent Gambini, "You win some, you lose some".

That was a good move. NSpan just knows nothing.