Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

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Leestu
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Leestu »

mother!

HOLY WTF!

10/10

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transformers2
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by transformers2 »

Leestu wrote:mother!

HOLY WTF!

10/10
I'm so fucking excited to check this out
BRING BRENDAN FRASER BACK TO THE BIG SCREEN DAMN IT
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BanksIsDaFuture
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by BanksIsDaFuture »

Leestu wrote:mother!

HOLY WTF!

10/10
I've avoided all of the trailers and TV spots for this and I cannot wait to see it tonight.
Alexandra Daddario: Eyes of a Demon, Face of My Future Ex-Wife

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numbersix
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by numbersix »

Was with a bunch of people who all saw it this week and detested it. This is the most divisive film I've encountered in years. Checking it out on Monday

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Buscemi2
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

As I said earlier, I'm not expecting a good Cinemascore or legs.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

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Leestu
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Leestu »

Yep, I expect most people will hate it, especially the general movie going public.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by transformers2 »

mother! 5/10
I have absolutely no idea what in the sweet fuck I was just exposed to. What I can say for certain is that my brain feels like a puddle of goop at the moment and that Daren Aronosfky is a deranged motherfucker who should probably be institutionalized. Have a swell night everyone.
BRING BRENDAN FRASER BACK TO THE BIG SCREEN DAMN IT
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Buscemi2
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Brad's Status 2/10

Another film that thinks it's more important than it really is. Mike White is convinced he's making some profound film on midlife crises and wasted potential but the thing simply feels like pseudo-Woody Allen and ends up really saying nothing. Also, White already wrote a better film about going to college and the future as Orange County. Stiller's character is nothing more than a bland doormat and the rest of the characters are flat or cliched. White's direction also leaves much to be desired, feeling like a TV movie and shot in Pretentious-Vision (what I'm calling 2:1 from now on).

This is something that could have used a Todd Solondz and not had us asking "why isn't Ben Stiller funny anymore?".
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numbersix
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by numbersix »

Time for a Chien-like bumper review bonanza:

Insyriated - 6/10
Compelling drama about a Syrian family who refuse to leave their apartment despite being surrounded by the war. It's tense for the most part, but let down by a silly ending

Happy End - 5/10
Haneke's latest feels like a best-of compilation, dealing with themes he has already dealt with, but in a less convincing way.

God's Own Country - 6/10
Watchable drama about a farmer's son who falls for a Romanian man who comes to help out on the farm. The chemistry is strong, and the ending impressive, although the Romanian's characterisation lacks depth and complexity.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - 4/10
While the first was fun, if derivative, this isn't even fun, with the split storylines failing to come together in any meaningful way.

Bushwick - 5/10
Diverting action film about a USA insurgent attack that takes place in a section of Brookyln, as Dave Bautista and a young woman try to find a safe zone. It's watchable, until they start talking.

Lady Bird - 7/10
The highlight of my TIFF experience. Greta Gerwig's film is a dramedy that gets it right - being both funny and moving as it follows a quirky teen as she comes of age in a dull part of California. Saoirse Ronan deserves some awards for this one.

Vampire Clay - ???
A Japanese film about a lump of vampiric clay. Yep

Beast - 6/10
Well-directed debut film from an upcoming British talent. At times it reaches too far, and the script is too packed with unnecessary moments, but it has great performances.

Revenge - 5/10
Off-putting rape revenge film in which a vapid young woman having an affair with an older man turns into an avenging angel. Nice visuals, but it's far too long for such a simple, bloody premise.

Kings - 5/10
Deniz Erguyven's follow-up to Mustang is disappointing. Charting a day during the LA Riots, it bites off more than it can chew as it attempts to follow every memeber of an extended family as they experience that nightmarish time in different ways. Daniel Craig's inclusion as a sort of quirky drunk writer who falls for mother Halle Berry is just bizarre.

Kissing Candice - 5/10
Another debut film, this time by music video director Aoife McArdle. The visuals are stunning but the narrative, about a teen girl who falls for an enigmatic young gang member, is all over the place.

Wind River - 6/10
Passable crime drama about the death of a teen girl in a snowbound part of Native American land. The big problem is that Elizabeth Olsen's character is completely pointless, as if the film-maker is paying lip-service to feminism, which only makes things worse. But it's mildly gripping throughout.

mother! - 5/10
I'm appreciative of Aronofsky's attempt to make a dream-like story with a sizeable budget and cast. But the religious allegory is just so damn one-note and obvious, that it makes the drama of a young wife and her poet husband feel slow and redundant. If it had been more natural then the film would have worked on two levels, and been much more clever. A noble failure.

Call Me By Your Name - 7/10
Wonderful, sensual film about a teen's first gay love. While it takes too long to get going, once it does it's an intimate portrayal of forbidden love, with every member of the cast (including Armie Hammer, surprisingly) delivering great performances. even us straight folk will be able to identify with the pangs of first love and loss.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Chienfantome »

numbersix wrote:Time for a Chien-like bumper review bonanza
Those are the best ;)
Fluctuat nec mergitur

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Buscemi2
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

The Mountain Between Us 7/10

The first half is much better than the second half (which went through some obvious reshoots to beef up the romantic angle) in this survival film with a pair of capable leads and strong visuals from Mandy Walker. However, it's a minor entry into the sub-genre when better films have come in recent years (such as The Grey and Everest) and it might have been better had it kept up the momentum. I'll need to read the book this time.

By the way, if there was any debate: the dog lives.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

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Buscemi2
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

The Foreigner 7/10

A little derivative of other things (mainly Death Wish, Law Abiding Citizen, and the original Edge of Darkness) but strong performances by Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan elevate this revenge thriller focusing on a grieving father who goes on a one-man killing spree against a splinter group of the IRA. The film drags a bit when it focuses more on the political elements than the revenge elements but when Jackie's laying the hammer down, it is satisfying.

Not much else to say other than it's a decent way to spend two hours.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Shrykespeare »

Buscemi2 wrote:The Foreigner 7/10

A little derivative of other things (mainly Death Wish, Law Abiding Citizen, and the original Edge of Darkness) but strong performances by Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan elevate this revenge thriller focusing on a grieving father who goes on a one-man killing spree against a splinter group of the IRA. The film drags a bit when it focuses more on the political elements than the revenge elements but when Jackie's laying the hammer down, it is satisfying.

Not much else to say other than it's a decent way to spend two hours.
Couldn't have said it better. I might give it 8/10. I've never seen Jackie in a role like this. I don't think he smiled once, and he didn't crack one joke. So atypical of his films. It's a refreshing change.
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Buscemi2
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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by Buscemi2 »

Jackie's been doing more serious stuff in China in recent years to balance out the more lighthearted fare. Some good (Shinjuku Incident), some not so good (Police Story: Lockdown).

Back to the reviews...

Brawl in Cell Block 99 9/10

This might be the most brutal American film to hit screens in years. Grim, (extremely) violent, and unflinching, S. Craig Zahler's follow-up to Bone Tomahawk is every bit as dark as that film, perhaps moreso. But it also has the best performance Vince Vaughn has ever given. Playing a drug runner who is caught in a deal gone bad and now forced to abandon his principles to save his family, Vaughn's character could have easily been a cliche but both the performance and Zahler's script make him a layered and very sympathetic figure despite his actions. The film serves as much of a character study as much as it does a survival film. Don Johnson also does well as the sadistic warden, managing to go one step further from his character from Machete (who was already frightening to begin with). Yes, the film is a little long at 132 minutes but the pacing isn't far off from 70's crime films or 90's independent films. It flows better than most Hollywood action films. Lastly, I'm not surprised by the decision to release this under a small label. There is no way the film would have been rated R (which makes wonder how the hell Zahler's next film is going to get by under a major studio in Lionsgate without heavy cuts).

Not for the squeamish but you probably won't see anything like it this year.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.

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Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

Post by JohnErle »

Here's a quick recap of everything I saw at the Vancouver Film Festival this year, from best to worst.

The Endless (USA) – Two brothers who once escaped from the UFO death cult they grew up in find that their lives on the outside are going nowhere, so the younger brother who remembers the cult as more of a hippie commune wants to go back for a visit. The less said about what happens the better, but think The X-Files meets Lovecraft meets The Wailing without that atrocious ending. The cinematography is bland and inconsistent, but the script is inventive and well constructed and the performances are strong. (9/10)

Suck It Up (Canada) – Two BFFs who've drifted apart reconnect when Ronnie's parents ask Faye if she can help with Ronnie's out of control drinking. Faye drags Ronnie off to her parents' summer cottage in small town BC where it turns out Faye isn't as in control as she initially seems. It's kinda Apatowesque, but with an equal balance of comedy and drama. And one of the leads has an Amy Adams quality that's very appealing. (8/10)

Dead Shack (Canada) – The utterly generic cabin-in-the-woods setup doesn't do it justice because this is a fun zombie comedy with impressive splatter FX on such a low budget. (8/10)

Paradox (Hong Kong) – A very slick Asian Taken, with a Hong Kong cop working with Thai police after his daughter goes missing. I know almost nothing about Asian action movies, and only saw this because it was sandwiched in between two other movies I was planning to see anyway, but I wound up enjoying it very much. The over-the top action sequences don't quite mesh with how dark and serious the storyline gets, but both aspects of the movie were enjoyable in their own way. (8/10)

Housewife (Turkey) – Another movie about a cult with Lovecraftian undertones, this is sort of the flip side to The Endless where the visuals and sound design are top notch, but the story felt a bit underdeveloped and the actors could have been better. This is one I'll definitely have to see again because I saw it with a late night crowd that was laughingly inappropriately at the gore and sex scenes, which reminded me why I stopped going to midnight movies. (7/10)

The Crescent (Canada) – Part psychological thriller, part ghost story, part psychedelic mind fuck. The director used to work as a visual artist, and his experience with marbling is used to great effect. It gets very abstract in the third act, which doesn't really mesh with the more Hitchcokian approach in the bulk of the film, but it has some genuine chills, stunning visuals, and does a remarkable job of capturing a believable performance from a toddler. (7/10)

The Hidden Sword (China) – Sweeping martial arts epic spanning several decades. There are some memorable set pieces, well choreographed action, and healthy doses of eroticism and humour, but I thought the whole was less than the sum of its parts. This is one those films where the subtitles seemed to be written by an ESL student, so I felt like much was lost in the translation. The star and producer were on hand, and they said this was only the third time it had been shown to audiences, and that the director was still editing it for the Chinese release, so maybe there'll be a better set of English subtitles at some point. (7/10)

The Queen Of Spain (Spain) – An old-fashioned, genteel comedy about a Hollywood diva (the ageless Penelope Cruz) who returns to Spain during the time of Franco to film a biopic about Queen Isabella. I didn't realize going in that this was a sequel to a film I'd never seen, so the first 20 minutes are full of warm reunions between characters I was meeting for the first time. The charming cast makes the bulk of the film watchable, apart from Cary Elwes who gives one of the worst performances I've ever seen by a recognizable actor. He's supposed to be playing a closeted gay actor pretending to be macho while flirting with one of the Spanish actors, and just when you thought it couldn't get any more homophobic, he rapes his co-star in a scene that's played for laughs simply because it's two men. Mind-boggling. Apart from that utterly tone-deaf sub-plot, this is a charming, inoffensive comedy for the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel demographic. (6/10)

Black Cop (Canada) – A very timely film about a black cop who goes rogue and starts targeting white citizens the way white cops too often treat black people. Parts of the film are shot using dash cam and body cam footage, and those documentary style sequences are easily the best part of the film, but there's also a lot of pretentious and amateurish sequences with the main character delivering monologues while talking directly to the camera. Ultimately a disappointment, but a Hollywood remake wouldn't surprise me. (6/10)

Have A Nice Day (China) – An old-school hand-drawn animation full of static images where the look and the soundtrack are the key selling points. This is a simplistic, 80 minute Tarantinoesque crime drama with some unexpetced Anime/sci-fi elements about a bag of stolen money that keeps changing hands. (5/10)

Bitch (USA) – A housewife with four demanding kids and a hopelessly self-absorbed husband loses her mind and stars behaving like a wild dog. What could have been an interesting social satire is ruined by an actress turned writer/director who's trying way too hard behind the camera. The sound design is particularly annoying, full of discordant jazz, random jarring noises, and the sound of barking dogs, all of which is meant to show the chaos going on inside her characters' head, but five minutes of that would have been more than enough, as opposed to the full hour of it she delivers. It's all so over the top and full of hammy performances and jokes that falls flat, and only in the last half hour does the director calm down, allow the characters to take centre stage, and show a glimpse of what might have been. (3/10)

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