Kajillionaire 8/10
Miranda July recovers from the sophomore slump with her third film, a comedy about a family of petty thieves who live in an office near a bubble factory who get involved with with a eyewear salesperson for an antique heist and soon find their lives changed when the daughter begins to have a delayed coming-of-age moment. Evan Rachel Wood gives an impressive performance, as you really feel for this character who has spent her entire life as a pawn and now has to find herself in the most difficult of situations. It's also not often when you see a heist film when the characters are completely paranoid but also somewhat likeable in their eccentricities. A film that was worth the long wait.
Possessor 8/10
Brandon Cronenberg surprises after his disastrous debut with this thriller that's worthy of his father's filmography. Andrea Riseborough scores in the horror genre again (let's pretend The Grudge didn't happen) as an ex-con who works as an assassin for the corporate world, using VR to enter the heads of the rivals and murder the competition. During her latest job, something goes wrong and now, she is stuck in the body of the target and becomes an unstoppable killing machine. This might be the bloodiest film of the year and would have easily been an NC-17 had it been submitted to the MPA (a disclaimer at the beginning of the film notes that nothing has been edited from the original version, leading the promotional title to be Possessor Uncut). But if you can stand it, the end result is one of the better films to combine technology with terror.
Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Moderators: Buscemi, BarcaRulz, Geezer, W
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Limbo: 5/10
The much acclaimed British film is a dryly amusing story of immigrants waiting to get settled status in a remote part of Scotland. The main character is a Syrian musician who can't seem to play, as he waits out the days with virtually nothing to do. While I appreciate the different take on what could have been a dull drama, it nevertheless disappoints. The Kaurismaki-influenced humour disappears in the latter half, ruining what could have been a decent film.
Pieces of a Woman: 5/10
After an incredible opening scene, in which a woman starts to go through labour, the film sadly plummets into a poorly written melodrama. The only thing that keeps the film engaging is the fine performances from Vanessa Kirby, Shia Leboeuf, and Ellen Burstyn.
Violation: 6/10
A very difficult film to watch. Two friends are reunited as one visits the other in a remote countryside house in the forest. The film jumps around in time, telling the story of a wrong done to the protagonist, and how she responds by attempting murder. The film is all about the details of how to stop and potentially kill someone. It's very gory and nasty, and quite realistic, which makes it a memorable film.
New Order: 7/10
This Mexican film imagines a revolution from the working class, told from the perspective of a wealthy bride who is due to get married on the day of the uprising, and the family of one of her staff-members. It's a cold, painful look at how even revolutions with the best of intentions can be co-opted by villains, and the ones who always suffer are the innocent.
Wildfire: 6/10
Well-acted Irish film about an adult sister who returns home after disappearing for a year. The performances are strong, as the returned sister battles with her mental health, due to a past trauma that has yet to be healed. Sadly, the actress who plays the sister died just after completing the film, making it more poignant than one could imagine.
Bill and Ted Face the Music: 4/10
I dunno, maybe if I was an adult when the originals came out I wouldn't like them. I haven't revisited them since the 90s. But this felt way worse, as an older Bill and Ted, now with music-nerd daughters, realise they haven't saved the world and time is running out. I wouldn't mind the laziness of the story, nor how awful the music is throughout, if the jokes were funny, but they're really not. The only saving Grace is Brigette Lundy-Paine who does a damn fine impression of a teenage Keanu Reeves.
The Devil All the Time: 5/10
An occasionally watchable Southern Gothic tale about a bunch of interconnected figures who all fall foul of nasty bastards. The performances are occasionally fine, but the story is rambling and unable to escape its novelistic approach, making for a rushed narrative.
Another Round: 6/10
The team who made the increible The Hunt return for a lighter story that still has dramatic weight. 4 middle-aged teachers who are miserable for various reasons all decide to get drunk every weekday in order to boost their confidence and creativity. While it works in some ways, it doesn't in others. Mads Mikkelsen is great as the depressed history teacher, and there's strong support for his friends, who all deal with booze in different way. I'd rate it higher if it wasn't for the insansely cheesy dance at the very end.
The Social Dilemma: 5/10
Docs are usually best when they know what they are. This one has some valid points to make about social media and its role in society as it turns us into addicts in order for companies to profit. However, much of the doc is wasted by a fictional story of a teenager in a slightly futuristic world, where we see three versions of his digital self (think Inside Out) try to manipulate him into using social media more often. It's terribly written and embarrassing, leaving the doc with very little time to outline the solutions to the problem of social media, which it only does during the credits.
The much acclaimed British film is a dryly amusing story of immigrants waiting to get settled status in a remote part of Scotland. The main character is a Syrian musician who can't seem to play, as he waits out the days with virtually nothing to do. While I appreciate the different take on what could have been a dull drama, it nevertheless disappoints. The Kaurismaki-influenced humour disappears in the latter half, ruining what could have been a decent film.
Pieces of a Woman: 5/10
After an incredible opening scene, in which a woman starts to go through labour, the film sadly plummets into a poorly written melodrama. The only thing that keeps the film engaging is the fine performances from Vanessa Kirby, Shia Leboeuf, and Ellen Burstyn.
Violation: 6/10
A very difficult film to watch. Two friends are reunited as one visits the other in a remote countryside house in the forest. The film jumps around in time, telling the story of a wrong done to the protagonist, and how she responds by attempting murder. The film is all about the details of how to stop and potentially kill someone. It's very gory and nasty, and quite realistic, which makes it a memorable film.
New Order: 7/10
This Mexican film imagines a revolution from the working class, told from the perspective of a wealthy bride who is due to get married on the day of the uprising, and the family of one of her staff-members. It's a cold, painful look at how even revolutions with the best of intentions can be co-opted by villains, and the ones who always suffer are the innocent.
Wildfire: 6/10
Well-acted Irish film about an adult sister who returns home after disappearing for a year. The performances are strong, as the returned sister battles with her mental health, due to a past trauma that has yet to be healed. Sadly, the actress who plays the sister died just after completing the film, making it more poignant than one could imagine.
Bill and Ted Face the Music: 4/10
I dunno, maybe if I was an adult when the originals came out I wouldn't like them. I haven't revisited them since the 90s. But this felt way worse, as an older Bill and Ted, now with music-nerd daughters, realise they haven't saved the world and time is running out. I wouldn't mind the laziness of the story, nor how awful the music is throughout, if the jokes were funny, but they're really not. The only saving Grace is Brigette Lundy-Paine who does a damn fine impression of a teenage Keanu Reeves.
The Devil All the Time: 5/10
An occasionally watchable Southern Gothic tale about a bunch of interconnected figures who all fall foul of nasty bastards. The performances are occasionally fine, but the story is rambling and unable to escape its novelistic approach, making for a rushed narrative.
Another Round: 6/10
The team who made the increible The Hunt return for a lighter story that still has dramatic weight. 4 middle-aged teachers who are miserable for various reasons all decide to get drunk every weekday in order to boost their confidence and creativity. While it works in some ways, it doesn't in others. Mads Mikkelsen is great as the depressed history teacher, and there's strong support for his friends, who all deal with booze in different way. I'd rate it higher if it wasn't for the insansely cheesy dance at the very end.
The Social Dilemma: 5/10
Docs are usually best when they know what they are. This one has some valid points to make about social media and its role in society as it turns us into addicts in order for companies to profit. However, much of the doc is wasted by a fictional story of a teenager in a slightly futuristic world, where we see three versions of his digital self (think Inside Out) try to manipulate him into using social media more often. It's terribly written and embarrassing, leaving the doc with very little time to outline the solutions to the problem of social media, which it only does during the credits.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
The Wolf of Snow Hollow 3/10
The sophomore jinx strikes again. Jim Cummings follows Thunder Road with this misfire about a Utah sheriff's deputy and his quest to find a killer who is suggested to be a werewolf while battling his own demons. The film doesn't work as a comedy, as the attempts at humor seem to be limited to shouting every line and delivering as over-the-top as possible. And as a horror film, there aren't many scary moments. In addition, the twist is a complete cop-out.
About the only notable thing about it is that this was Robert Forster's final film. His performance is perhaps the only memorable thing about this film that might as well been straight-to-Shudder and then forgotten.
The sophomore jinx strikes again. Jim Cummings follows Thunder Road with this misfire about a Utah sheriff's deputy and his quest to find a killer who is suggested to be a werewolf while battling his own demons. The film doesn't work as a comedy, as the attempts at humor seem to be limited to shouting every line and delivering as over-the-top as possible. And as a horror film, there aren't many scary moments. In addition, the twist is a complete cop-out.
About the only notable thing about it is that this was Robert Forster's final film. His performance is perhaps the only memorable thing about this film that might as well been straight-to-Shudder and then forgotten.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Yellow Rose 8/10
A unique variation on the country music sub-genre of film, focusing on an undocumented Filipina who dreams of being a music star while hiding from ICE. Her situation becomes harder as her mother is captured and now has to follow her goal with a series of sympathetic figures. Eva Noblezada, an actor better known for her stage work, gives an impressive lead performance and is an extremely likeable screen presence. You feel for her as her journey gets more and more difficult. Even if you don't care much for country music, you really like her singing and get emotional when she performs.
This might have been the worst time to release this one but it deserves some support.
A unique variation on the country music sub-genre of film, focusing on an undocumented Filipina who dreams of being a music star while hiding from ICE. Her situation becomes harder as her mother is captured and now has to follow her goal with a series of sympathetic figures. Eva Noblezada, an actor better known for her stage work, gives an impressive lead performance and is an extremely likeable screen presence. You feel for her as her journey gets more and more difficult. Even if you don't care much for country music, you really like her singing and get emotional when she performs.
This might have been the worst time to release this one but it deserves some support.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
So I attended the first part of this year's Dismember the Alamo, which has been split up into four weeks of screenings where each week has a secret title that isn't revealed until showtime. The first movie only had the hints of "sneak preview" and "horror comedy". My first thought was Spontaneous, but that's already on demand. Then, I thought of Freaky, which looks terrible (but then, a trailer for it was shown so it wasn't that).
Then, the movie was revealed...
Psycho Goreman 8/10
If Troma made a movie for kids, this would be the end result. Bloody with lots of practical effects and characters that could only exist in the mind of someone with a lot of time on their hands...and also the funniest horror film in quite some time. Focusing on a brother and sister who dig a hole in their backyard who find a mysterious jewel and soon find themselves able to summon a devil from a distant planet hellbent on destroying the universe. However, the (very sociopathic) sister has other plans for this monster and gives him the name Psycho Goreman (PG for short).
Either you will find this movie really awesome or really stupid. I think the audience was divided. But if you want to decide for yourself, RLJE Films (the former Image Entertainment) has picked up the film for US distribution but has not scheduled a date yet for its theatrical release. If you don't find any theatres running it, Shudder will have it on their site soon enough.
Then, the movie was revealed...
Psycho Goreman 8/10
If Troma made a movie for kids, this would be the end result. Bloody with lots of practical effects and characters that could only exist in the mind of someone with a lot of time on their hands...and also the funniest horror film in quite some time. Focusing on a brother and sister who dig a hole in their backyard who find a mysterious jewel and soon find themselves able to summon a devil from a distant planet hellbent on destroying the universe. However, the (very sociopathic) sister has other plans for this monster and gives him the name Psycho Goreman (PG for short).
Either you will find this movie really awesome or really stupid. I think the audience was divided. But if you want to decide for yourself, RLJE Films (the former Image Entertainment) has picked up the film for US distribution but has not scheduled a date yet for its theatrical release. If you don't find any theatres running it, Shudder will have it on their site soon enough.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Get Duked! 2/10
I have to wonder how anyone at Amazon thought this was worth picking up. It's basically if a fourteen year-old saw Shaun of the Dead and decided to replace the zombies with masked figures and for some reason, decided that they needed to have the protagonists rap and indulge in shrooms. The end result is a embarrassing mess with characters you don't care about and humor that's been done better in countless other films. A pointless film, really.
I have to wonder how anyone at Amazon thought this was worth picking up. It's basically if a fourteen year-old saw Shaun of the Dead and decided to replace the zombies with masked figures and for some reason, decided that they needed to have the protagonists rap and indulge in shrooms. The end result is a embarrassing mess with characters you don't care about and humor that's been done better in countless other films. A pointless film, really.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
The Wretched 3/10
The only explanation that I have for this film getting so much notoriety during its successful by default theatrical run is that the horror community will watch anything. This film about a witch haunting the upper peninsula of Michigan and a visiting teenager fighting its spell is as generic as you can get. Nearly everything you seen here has been done many times before and the end result is nothing more than another 80's-esque nostalgia film built around cliches and misogyny.
Not surprisingly, this has pretty much been forgotten in the same way that other big early COVID release, The Tiger King, has. Even though Halloween's coming, you're better off finding something else on Hulu.
The only explanation that I have for this film getting so much notoriety during its successful by default theatrical run is that the horror community will watch anything. This film about a witch haunting the upper peninsula of Michigan and a visiting teenager fighting its spell is as generic as you can get. Nearly everything you seen here has been done many times before and the end result is nothing more than another 80's-esque nostalgia film built around cliches and misogyny.
Not surprisingly, this has pretty much been forgotten in the same way that other big early COVID release, The Tiger King, has. Even though Halloween's coming, you're better off finding something else on Hulu.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
More flicks from TIFF and LFF
Mogul Mowgli: 6/10
Riz Ahmed's latest is also written by him, telling the story of a rapper who returns home, only to discover he is unwell. While the premise isn't exciting, Riz's performance is excellent and the film manages to be slightly more than a dull drama through its use of dream-like imagery.
Summer of 85: 5/10
Ozon's latest is a bit of a dud. It feels like it's indebted to the 90s French film The Party, but this is about a gay awakening for a teenage boy during one summer, as he hangs out with a more freewheeling neighbour. But the story is dull and the intrigue it tries to create around a tragedy that happens falls flat.
Rocks: 6/10
Decent social-realist film set in London, following a teen girls whose mother abandons her and her young brother, leaving her to fend for herself. Nothing new here, but it's handled well and the brother is great. Plus, a few scenes were shot in my local Turkish supermarket, which was nice to see.
Herself: 5/10
Low-key Irish drama made by the director behind The Iron Lady and Mamma Mia. Here, a mother who is beaten by her husband and unable to find a hocial welfare, decides to build her own house. Sadly, the film can't decide if it's a gritty drama or a light, Commitments-esque dramedy, and so misses the mark.
Kajillionaire: 7/10
It's quirky as hell, but nevertheless charming. Miranda July's latest film follows an oddball family of grifters, living in an office that regularly plagued by soap suds. But the daughter has a crisis of identiy when a newcomer joins to help them rob the old and infirm. There's plenty of wit and oddness but there's an emotional core here too.
Never Gonna Snow Again: 6/10
Accomplished magical realist Polish/Russian story about a stranger who frequents an affluent community to deliver massages, but also make them realise deep-seated truths in their lives. It's a mix of Tarkovsky in its deeper allusions and Sorrentino in its wry yet confident visual eye. An impressive film.
Supernova: 4/10
Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci star in this misguided and naive debut feature about a couple who have to deal with the early onset dementia diagnosed in one of them. What should be poignant falls flat because Firth and Tucci have no chemistry together, and the script writes them as if they're friends rather than lovers. Inauthentic and inconvincing.
The Intruder: 6/10
Argentina's answer to Berberian Sound Studio. A dubbing artist deals with a tragedy, only to find out someone or something is living in her voice and ruining her life. Not quite a horror, it's more an unsetlling psychological thriller about the loss of identity. At times silly, its atmosphere still works for most of it.
Mogul Mowgli: 6/10
Riz Ahmed's latest is also written by him, telling the story of a rapper who returns home, only to discover he is unwell. While the premise isn't exciting, Riz's performance is excellent and the film manages to be slightly more than a dull drama through its use of dream-like imagery.
Summer of 85: 5/10
Ozon's latest is a bit of a dud. It feels like it's indebted to the 90s French film The Party, but this is about a gay awakening for a teenage boy during one summer, as he hangs out with a more freewheeling neighbour. But the story is dull and the intrigue it tries to create around a tragedy that happens falls flat.
Rocks: 6/10
Decent social-realist film set in London, following a teen girls whose mother abandons her and her young brother, leaving her to fend for herself. Nothing new here, but it's handled well and the brother is great. Plus, a few scenes were shot in my local Turkish supermarket, which was nice to see.
Herself: 5/10
Low-key Irish drama made by the director behind The Iron Lady and Mamma Mia. Here, a mother who is beaten by her husband and unable to find a hocial welfare, decides to build her own house. Sadly, the film can't decide if it's a gritty drama or a light, Commitments-esque dramedy, and so misses the mark.
Kajillionaire: 7/10
It's quirky as hell, but nevertheless charming. Miranda July's latest film follows an oddball family of grifters, living in an office that regularly plagued by soap suds. But the daughter has a crisis of identiy when a newcomer joins to help them rob the old and infirm. There's plenty of wit and oddness but there's an emotional core here too.
Never Gonna Snow Again: 6/10
Accomplished magical realist Polish/Russian story about a stranger who frequents an affluent community to deliver massages, but also make them realise deep-seated truths in their lives. It's a mix of Tarkovsky in its deeper allusions and Sorrentino in its wry yet confident visual eye. An impressive film.
Supernova: 4/10
Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci star in this misguided and naive debut feature about a couple who have to deal with the early onset dementia diagnosed in one of them. What should be poignant falls flat because Firth and Tucci have no chemistry together, and the script writes them as if they're friends rather than lovers. Inauthentic and inconvincing.
The Intruder: 6/10
Argentina's answer to Berberian Sound Studio. A dubbing artist deals with a tragedy, only to find out someone or something is living in her voice and ruining her life. Not quite a horror, it's more an unsetlling psychological thriller about the loss of identity. At times silly, its atmosphere still works for most of it.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
The Kid Detective 8/10
A pleasant surprise from Canada about a down-on-his-luck detective, haunted by the case that he never solved, who gets a second chance when he's tasked to solve the stabbing death of an honor student. His travel down the rabbit hole leads him to find that his old reputation as a crime-solving whiz kid might not have been truly earned. Did I forget to tell you this is a comedy? Adam Brody is actually pretty good as the main character, shedding his typecasting by playing an adult character for once, while a lot of the film's success lays in this strange world that the director has created. It's a realistic world while also being a fantasy world seen in the junior detective novels that it successfully emulates. And in the last third, it gets surprisingly dark.
Normally, this isn't the kind of film that gets a wide release but as theatres need product, it managed to seep through the cracks. And it was worth it.
A pleasant surprise from Canada about a down-on-his-luck detective, haunted by the case that he never solved, who gets a second chance when he's tasked to solve the stabbing death of an honor student. His travel down the rabbit hole leads him to find that his old reputation as a crime-solving whiz kid might not have been truly earned. Did I forget to tell you this is a comedy? Adam Brody is actually pretty good as the main character, shedding his typecasting by playing an adult character for once, while a lot of the film's success lays in this strange world that the director has created. It's a realistic world while also being a fantasy world seen in the junior detective novels that it successfully emulates. And in the last third, it gets surprisingly dark.
Normally, this isn't the kind of film that gets a wide release but as theatres need product, it managed to seep through the cracks. And it was worth it.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Everyone has been saying Kid Detective is a hidden gem. I must check it out.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Honest Thief 3/10
After we saw Liam Neeson actually do some acting earlier this year with Ordinary Love, he returns to the formula pictures with this lame and generic thriller about a bank robber who decides to go straight and turn himself in for the woman he loves. However, things don't go to plan when two corrupt FBI agents decide to steal his money and pin him for a murder he didn't commit. The trailer showed everything and nearly everything else is nothing more than a step above something Bruce Willis would make nowadays. Also, Jai Courtney has the fattest head I've ever seen.
About the only good parts were with Burn Notice Guy's dog. But otherwise, forgettable.
After we saw Liam Neeson actually do some acting earlier this year with Ordinary Love, he returns to the formula pictures with this lame and generic thriller about a bank robber who decides to go straight and turn himself in for the woman he loves. However, things don't go to plan when two corrupt FBI agents decide to steal his money and pin him for a murder he didn't commit. The trailer showed everything and nearly everything else is nothing more than a step above something Bruce Willis would make nowadays. Also, Jai Courtney has the fattest head I've ever seen.
About the only good parts were with Burn Notice Guy's dog. But otherwise, forgettable.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Synchronic 4/10
A good Anthony Mackie performance gets wasted in this time-travel film about two New Orleans EMT's (Mackie and Jamie Dornan) who get involved with a series of deaths related to a street drug that creates dangerous hallucinogenic experiences. After the other's daughter disappears, it leads Mackie to find out he has the ability to go back in time and possibly rescue her. It's really nothing you haven't seen before, especially if you just watched Primer again. Otherwise, it's pretty forgettable.
A good Anthony Mackie performance gets wasted in this time-travel film about two New Orleans EMT's (Mackie and Jamie Dornan) who get involved with a series of deaths related to a street drug that creates dangerous hallucinogenic experiences. After the other's daughter disappears, it leads Mackie to find out he has the ability to go back in time and possibly rescue her. It's really nothing you haven't seen before, especially if you just watched Primer again. Otherwise, it's pretty forgettable.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
The Empty Man 2/10
An overstuffed ripoff of both Candyman and The Parallax View that makes barely any sense, involving an ex-police officer in a St. Louis suburb who while searching for his neighbor's daughter, stumbles across a cult that worships a deity known as The Empty Man. But before we learn all this, we have to sit through a 20+ minute prologue involving some hikers in Bhutan. And it doesn't get any better, as this plot that could be easily told in under 90 minutes manages to run 137 minutes. Why? I don't exactly know, other than the director (his first film, surprise, surprise) is a protege of David Fincher and therefore, likely got Fincher's blessing to do whatever he wanted. Or maybe Disney had no idea that the film existed, considering that it was delayed for so long that it became the last film to carry the 20th Century Fox name. But going past the Hollywood insider part of me, how this got made by a major studio is baffling. It's based on a graphic novel maybe five people read and the concept feels like one of those straight-to-VOD movies with an actor best known for a minor role 30 years ago. It's much like a horror version of last year's Serenity.
The auditorium I was in had two other people and they walked out halfway. They probably had the right idea.
An overstuffed ripoff of both Candyman and The Parallax View that makes barely any sense, involving an ex-police officer in a St. Louis suburb who while searching for his neighbor's daughter, stumbles across a cult that worships a deity known as The Empty Man. But before we learn all this, we have to sit through a 20+ minute prologue involving some hikers in Bhutan. And it doesn't get any better, as this plot that could be easily told in under 90 minutes manages to run 137 minutes. Why? I don't exactly know, other than the director (his first film, surprise, surprise) is a protege of David Fincher and therefore, likely got Fincher's blessing to do whatever he wanted. Or maybe Disney had no idea that the film existed, considering that it was delayed for so long that it became the last film to carry the 20th Century Fox name. But going past the Hollywood insider part of me, how this got made by a major studio is baffling. It's based on a graphic novel maybe five people read and the concept feels like one of those straight-to-VOD movies with an actor best known for a minor role 30 years ago. It's much like a horror version of last year's Serenity.
The auditorium I was in had two other people and they walked out halfway. They probably had the right idea.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Yes, God, Yes 8/10
The raunchy teen comedy seems to have died off lately but here's an honest and intelligent return to those movies about a Catholic schoolgirl who comes of age while on a youth retreat and in the process, discovers the hypocrisy of her fellow students and the church leaders. In a way, it's like a Jesuit version of Saved! but also is like Easy A, if Easy A actually tried to understand its subject instead of being Hollywoodized and cleaned up. At 78 minutes, it's a lean, mean, confused about sex machine and should become a new cult film now that it's on Netflix.
Also, I watched Beanpole this morning via the Kino Now Anniversary Binge, a limited time offer where you can rent a bundle of eight movies for free. I passed on seeing it where it first came out but this was an interesting film about war widows who get involved in a closeted relationship and decide to have a child. However, the situation gets complicated when a soldier enters the picture. So, it's Portrait of a Lady on Fire but post-World War II. I liked it more than that film, as this one seemed to have more of a story and higher stakes. 8/10.
The raunchy teen comedy seems to have died off lately but here's an honest and intelligent return to those movies about a Catholic schoolgirl who comes of age while on a youth retreat and in the process, discovers the hypocrisy of her fellow students and the church leaders. In a way, it's like a Jesuit version of Saved! but also is like Easy A, if Easy A actually tried to understand its subject instead of being Hollywoodized and cleaned up. At 78 minutes, it's a lean, mean, confused about sex machine and should become a new cult film now that it's on Netflix.
Also, I watched Beanpole this morning via the Kino Now Anniversary Binge, a limited time offer where you can rent a bundle of eight movies for free. I passed on seeing it where it first came out but this was an interesting film about war widows who get involved in a closeted relationship and decide to have a child. However, the situation gets complicated when a soldier enters the picture. So, it's Portrait of a Lady on Fire but post-World War II. I liked it more than that film, as this one seemed to have more of a story and higher stakes. 8/10.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.
Re: Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep
Let Him Go 8/10
Chien's going to love this movie once it hits France. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner play grandparents who go from Montana to North Dakota to find their grandson, who has been taken by his abusive stepfather to live with his psychotic family (the matriarch played with absolute sadism by Lesley Manville), and soon plan a revenge-fueled rescue. It's a lot like a film from Clint Eastwood, combining the vengeance theme with some beautiful Plains settings and an Eastwood-like score from Michael Giacchino. Lane is really good as the grandmother, carrying the film as a determined figure who cannot stand to see her family hurt. She's like a Liam Neeson action movie character but more level-headed. If there's an Oscar ceremony in the Spring, she could sneak in as a Best Actress nominee. I was somewhat skeptical by the choice of director, being that his forte is more in comedy, but he did tension very well.
The fall season is prime time for a thriller and this does it far better than some of the other offerings lately.
Chien's going to love this movie once it hits France. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner play grandparents who go from Montana to North Dakota to find their grandson, who has been taken by his abusive stepfather to live with his psychotic family (the matriarch played with absolute sadism by Lesley Manville), and soon plan a revenge-fueled rescue. It's a lot like a film from Clint Eastwood, combining the vengeance theme with some beautiful Plains settings and an Eastwood-like score from Michael Giacchino. Lane is really good as the grandmother, carrying the film as a determined figure who cannot stand to see her family hurt. She's like a Liam Neeson action movie character but more level-headed. If there's an Oscar ceremony in the Spring, she could sneak in as a Best Actress nominee. I was somewhat skeptical by the choice of director, being that his forte is more in comedy, but he did tension very well.
The fall season is prime time for a thriller and this does it far better than some of the other offerings lately.
It's like what Lenin said...I am the walrus.