Rate the last movie you watched

[smashingjj]

sorry man, can't say I didn't warn ya

[smashingjj]

I mean you can and you're also right, but who gives a pee ache you kay, can I get an amen?

[FoolofaTook]

[toase]

sorry to disappoint you

[Tchocky]

Terminator: The Old Robot Awakens

It's the best Terminator film since T2...but don't interpret that as me saying it's good. For the most part, the movie cannibalizes the previous Terminator movies, even the godawful Genisys, and has created something of a Frankenstein's Monster of a movie. This sort of approach worked for The Force Awakens, but only because the newer characters were actually interesting. In this movie, none of the new characters resonate with the audience nearly as much as Linda Hamilton and (a surprisingly under-utilized) Arnie. Unsurprisingly, they get most of the movie's best moments (and inject this dreary film with some needed laughs). Mackenzie Davis's performance is pretty one-note and she's hamstrung with a plot device that is meant to add tension but just feels unnecessary and like fodder to pad out the movie's runtime. Natalia Reyes's Dani, while not bad by any means, doesn't really cover any new territory not explored by Linda Hamilton in the first Terminator movie. As the bad Terminator, Gabriel Luna (aka Ghost Rider from Agents of Shield) does the typical bad Terminator things, and...that's about it. Still not as menacing or as cool as Robert Patrick's T-1000. Some of the action sequences are pretty creative and exciting (if not a bit hard to follow at times due to some shaky camera work and dark enviros) but some of the effects look a bit unfinished and CGI-rubbery. Overall a decent waste of time, but that's all it is. No new ground and nothing that makes me particularly excited for more.

C-

[topleybird]

THE VVITCH



The story of a Puritan family getting f'd in the a repeatedly by forces beyond their control. This was my second time watching it, and it was just as dread-filled and intense this time around. Breakout star: Black Phillip, the best lil' goat in all the land. A+

[Disco King]

Originally Posted by topleybird

THE VVITCH



The story of a Puritan family getting f'd in the a repeatedly by forces beyond their control. This was my second time watching it, and it was just as dread-filled and intense this time around. Breakout star: Black Phillip, the best lil' goat in all the land. A+

I really dig this, and am super stoked on seeing The Lighthouse.

I went into The Witch with no expectations, not having had seen any of the promotional materials. Which is a good thing, because the studio marketed it as a typical horror flick instead of a tense, supernatural domestic drama with horror aesthetic elements, and most of the bad reactions seem to have come from people who would be better served choking down another Conjuring installment or something.

[Tchocky]

Jojo Rabbit

This movie was unique....mostly in a good way. Starts off kind of like a hilarious parody of a Nazi propaganda film, then transitions slowly to something more serious before mostly abandoning the comedy in favor of drama that really hits you hard. Despite all the humor, it's not shy about showing and talking about the ugly aspects of Nazi Germany; while not as graphic as Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan, what is actually going on in the war is made subtly clear in the first 75% of the film before the very serious finale. The actors, even the kids, all do a fantastic job. Props to newcomer Roman Griffith Davis and Thomasin McKenzie for ably carring the movie as the two mains; they has great chemistry and wonderful dramatic and comedic timing. Loved Sam Rockwell and Alfie Allen's...let's call it...dynamic (Kudos to Rockwell for not only making me laugh my ass off but also making me tear up at the end). Rebel Wilson is her usual hilarious self, Stephen Merchant shows up to add some creepy tension as an SS officer, Scarlett Johansson adds some humanity to the story, and the director Taika Waititi as Hitler...oh man, dat flawless comedic timing doe. The film could have used a little bit more polish; some of the tonal shifts were a bit too jarring and the ending dragged on a bit longer than it should have, but overall, Jojo is no dodo.

A-

[TuralyonW3]

So many good films lately:

Lighthouse - A

a fucking gorgeous and gripping nightmare. Incredible performances. Quite Lovecraftian

Jojo Rabbit - A-

Hilarious, touching, wildly eccentric, and supremely entertaining

Parasite - A

one of those twisty turny Korean epics. Masterful cinema

[FoolofaTook]

hell yeah parasite. song kang ho slays as usual.

[Shallowed]

Joker good

[Disco King]

I thought Joker was good. With all the talk about how "disturbing" and "depressing" the film is (I was already skeptical that this film could really be uniquely disturbing and bleak in a world where Holocaust dramas, torture porn, films where Willem Dafoe cums blood, and films about our greatest human atrocities, already exist), I was worried that it would lack the black comedy that really sets The Joker apart from any other murderous supervillain, and I found that the film actually did end up having some great comedic bits, and that these were where the film really shone (the scene where Fleck drops the gun in the hospital; the scene with the dwarf). In fact, I wish it had more of these, because these felt the most "Joker," and probably played the best to Phillip's strengths.

The film owes a lot to previous films. The premise of Fleck being obsessed with a late-night talkshow host having parallels to The King of Comedy made more obvious by the casting, obviously. Even the scene of Joker running from the orderlies is framed almost exactly like the scene of De Niro's character running from security staff. Fleck being a disturbed loner moved to violent fantasies by urban decay seems to borrow a bit from Taxi Driver. The shot of Joker in the back of a police cruiser is angled a lot like a similar shot in The Dark Knight. There's also the cute nod to the '60s television show when young Bruce Wayne slides down a pole.

I feel that the film had an unpolished script that was saved by good performances, good cinematography, and a good score, however. The third act was especially disapointing. I mean, the film literally has the main character explain his character motivations and essentially the point of the entire movie to an audience before shooting a guy in the head. Like, you can make a film examining the negative consequences of a society marginalizing the mentally ill without having the character look into the camera and say "hey guys, these are the negative consequences of a society marginalizing the mentally ill."



After Fleck comes to the realization that his life isn't a tragedy, but rather a comedy, I think he should be past the point of self-pity and rationalization of his actions to others. He should be free from his insecurities and his fear of uncertainties, and fully inhabit the trickster persona of being emancipated from his cares and societal conventions. I think the scene on the talkshow set would have been more effective if when The Joker gets on stage, being free from all the ties to Fleck's old identity (his mother and coworker being dead, and his relationship with his neighbour not really existing), his new persona allows him to find a charisma within himself that actually dazzles the audience and wins them over from Franklin, the man who once mocked him. I think it would have worked better if as The Joker, his jokes actually go over well at first, and he gets the audience to laugh at some clever but dark jokes. This would have fit the theme better than having him be just as awkward and off-putting as he was as Arthur, I think, and would have also worked at meta-commentary on how the character, despite being a sick person who should not be idolized, seems to inspire people to identify with him through his charm. As the jokes become progressively darker and more non-sensical, only then should the audience start to become confused rather than delighted, starting to realize that something's not quite right with this one, and that's when The Joker should shoot Franklin. No explanation from the character is needed, because we, by virtue of having had been watching the damn film for the past hour-and-fifteen minutes, know exactly why the Joker shot him, and don't need it spelt out to us in a blunt monologue that was only really sold because Phoenix and De Niro are good enough actors to sell what were really some pretty bad lines. I never really felt like we had that moment where Fleck really became The Joker. The scene with the dancing on the stairs came close, but then when we get to the talk show, it feels like the transormation hasn't really happened yet. And I'm not judging this on how closely he resembles other versions of The Joker, like the comics Joker or the Nicholson or Ledger Jokers or whatever, but rather on whether he becomes who I feel like the script was setting him up to be before kinda deflating.

[Shallowed]

Originally Posted by Disco King

Fleck being a disturbed loner moved to violent fantasies by urban decay seems to borrow a bit from Taxi Driver.

What about the fucking pointing to the head "pow" thing?? How could you forget to mention that?

I think the scene on the talkshow set would have been more effective if when The Joker gets on stage, being free from all the ties to Fleck's old identity (his mother and coworker being dead, and his relationship with his neighbour not really existing), his new persona allows him to find a charisma within himself that actually dazzles the audience and wins them over from Franklin, the man who once mocked him. I think it would have worked better if as The Joker, his jokes actually go over well at first, and he gets the audience to laugh at some clever but dark jokes. This would have fit the theme better than having him be just as awkward and off-putting as he was as Arthur, I think, and would have also worked at meta-commentary on how the character, despite being a sick person who should not be idolized, seems to inspire people to identify with him through his charm. As the jokes become progressively darker and more non-sensical, only then should the audience start to become confused rather than delighted, starting to realize that something's not quite right with this one, and that's when The Joker should shoot Franklin. No explanation from the character is needed, because we, by virtue of having had been watching the damn film for the past hour-and-fifteen minutes, know exactly why the Joker shot him, and don't need it spelt out to us in a blunt monologue that was only really sold because Phoenix and De Niro are good enough actors to sell what were really some pretty bad lines.

I disagree. That would make this Joker closer to the edgelord Heath Ledger Joker, or worse yet, the Jared Leto Joker. Having him suddenly metamorphose into a charming, witty jester would be even more unrealistic than what we got. Remember, his state of mind was incredibly fragile even when he had access to funded medication. We should expect him to be in a WORSE state by the time he gets to be on the show.

Also, I like how it rubs the characters flaws in our faces, which is kind of needed when so many other anti-heroes (Heath Ledger's Joker in particular) are idolised by shallow edgelords that can't see the flaws in the characters.

I never really felt like we had that moment where Fleck really became The Joker.

At the very end. Pulled out of a crashed police car he was in the back of, like he was being reborn from the womb of his oppressor, delivered by his comrades, sprawled in a crucifix position on the hood of that same police car, then when he regains consciousness, he smears the blood dripping out of his nose, using it to paint his face into his iconic red smile. He's finally happy.

[reprise85]

el camino breaking bad movie

i mean it was cool i guess but definitely not essential viewing

[teh b0lly!!1]

Originally Posted by TuralyonW3

So many good films lately:

Lighthouse - A

a fucking gorgeous and gripping nightmare. Incredible performances. Quite Lovecraftian

Jojo Rabbit - A-

Hilarious, touching, wildly eccentric, and supremely entertaining

Parasite - A

one of those twisty turny Korean epics. Masterful cinema

all A's huh

imagine that

[topleybird]

Films TW3 is excited about, all graded As? Something is truly fishy here

Grade on the curve next time

[Disco King]

Originally Posted by Shallowed

What about the fucking pointing to the head "pow" thing?? How could you forget to mention that?

Honestly, going through a list of all the homages to Taxi Driver would take a while. Even the whole subplots of being encouraged to get a gun by a coworker, and of falling in love with a girl whose role is to highlight flaws and hypocrises in the main character, were inspired by it (The King of Comedy had a love interest that served that same function, too).

Even though Phillips' Gotham was heavily inspired by Scorsese's depiction of the grimey, hostile New York streets, I still felt that his take of Gotham felt like more than a New York stand-in, and felt somewhat distinct. Across the many diverse interpretations of Gotham City, one thing always seems to remain constant: the city is oppressive. It feels more walled-in and claustrophobic than New York does, like the city is trying to swallow you.

Originally Posted by Shallowed

I disagree. That would make this Joker closer to the edgelord Heath Ledger Joker, or worse yet, the Jared Leto Joker. Having him suddenly metamorphose into a charming, witty jester would be even more unrealistic than what we got. Remember, his state of mind was incredibly fragile even when he had access to funded medication. We should expect him to be in a WORSE state by the time he gets to be on the show.

Also, I like how it rubs the characters flaws in our faces, which is kind of needed when so many other anti-heroes (Heath Ledger's Joker in particular) are idolised by shallow edgelords that can't see the flaws in the characters.

I dunno, I think that having him have an initially positive reception from the audience would actually help to drive home how shallow and wrongheaded it is to idealize and idolize someone like The Joker. The real audience would gather that we're watching a disturbed, sad, and dangerous man being accepted by his audience because of a superficial charm and charisma. The diegetic audience would serve as a stand-in for people IRL who think it's cool to idolize the Joker, and the negative consequence of that.

I also feel like it would complete that arc suggested by the other changes we see as Fleck transforms into The Joker. For example, he seems to have rid himself of his chronic, disabling laugh by embracing his dark sense of humour instead of trying to suppress it. His limp is gone, and his movements become more free and graceful. He's severed all ties to his oppressive former life by smothering his mother and killing his coworker. These things don't represent him getting better, but rather falling so deep into irreverent nihilism that he no longer has any social ties that would necessitate having concern for himself or others. Being "the trickster" would actually be a sad thing, because even though in folklore, the trickster archetype's distance from societal concerns is what allows him to reveal cultural hypocrises, in the Joker's case, that societal distance stems from a very tragic set of events, which would leave us to ponder if being the "liberated trickster" is even all it's cracked up to be.

Originally Posted by Shallowed

At the very end. Pulled out of a crashed police car he was in the back of, like he was being reborn from the womb of his oppressor, delivered by his comrades, sprawled in a crucifix position on the hood of that same police car, then when he regains consciousness, he smears the blood dripping out of his nose, using it to paint his face into his iconic red smile. He's finally happy.

I did enjoy that part, because I think it also helped to function as a ****-commentary on idealization of disturbed and anti-social characters like The Joker. By Joker's own admission, he doesn't care about any of the protesters and isn't political at all. He's more concerned with personal sleights against himself. Despite that, these rioters are enamoured with him, not because they care about him or even know anything about Fleck, but because they care about the image they've created of him in their own minds, upon which they've projected their own wishes and feelings.

[Disco King]

I kinda had mixed feelings on the film revealing Fleck's relationship with Beetz's character to be a hallucination.

On the one hand, it seemed less like a hallucination than a self-serving fantasy, in that in the scene that it's revealed, it doesn't seem that Fleck himself was unaware that these scenes never really happened. This helps cast Fleck in a less sympathetic light, as somebody who just believes what he wants to believe because he's a self-centered solipsist (it's also worth noting that Beetz's daughter is completely absent for all these scenes, which would make sense, because Fleck is so self-centered that he doesn't actually care to factor her personal life into his fantasies). It also raises that possibility that, as Fleck's boss said, Fleck is a liar, and perhaps his coworker's account of Fleck pestering him to buy a gun off of him was actually truthful. Giving these flaws to the character helps make it so that the film isn't casting him as a hero or celebrating his actions.

However, on the other hand, those scenes never really happened, it kinda makes Beetz's entire character and all those scenes with her totally inconsequential to the plot, doesn't it? Also, it makes one scene make no sense at all: when Beetz's character confronts Fleck about stalking her, Fleck is so socially inept that he makes an awkward comment about owning a gun, which is taken by Beetz's character to be a joke. If this were all an idealized fantasy happening in Fleck's head, it doesn't make sense that he would imagine a scenario that relies on the dramatic irony of him not understanding the intention of Beetz's statements and responding with something inappropriate. It's pretty clear that these scenes were originally meant to actually have happened, but that the script was later re-written, and they neglected to make sure that every scene with the two still made sense under this new context.

[TuralyonW3]

Originally Posted by teh b0lly!!1

all A's huh

imagine that

Have you seen any of them?

[TuralyonW3]

Originally Posted by topleybird

Films TW3 is excited about, all graded As? Something is truly fishy here

Grade on the curve next time

Have you seen any of these films?

[Shallowed]

I should rewatch Taxi Driver. I've only seen it once and hated almost everything about it. Maybe I'll like it now.

[Shallowed]

I could possibly even see it in a cinema. There's quite a few around that do screenings of old film prints.

[Shallowed]

Originally Posted by Disco King

However, on the other hand, those scenes never really happened, it kinda makes Beetz's entire character and all those scenes with her totally inconsequential to the plot, doesn't it?

Yeah you could remove every scene with her in it, or anything that references her (I'm not sure if there were any mentions of her in other scenes) and not only would it not change anything in the plot, (aside from the allusion to Arthur being delusional) it would actually improve the pacing and plot of the movie. It never even occurred to me that he was hallucinating, that the time spent with her was all in his head, until I was reading about it afterwards.

As soon as that character was introduced I was thinking "welp, I guess this must be the shallowly-written, unnecessary love-interest" and that's pretty much what we got.

They missed an opportunity to develop more cOmPlExItY to his character, by not having him take a shine to her child. His relationship with children is hinted at implied throughout the whole film, what with him being a performing clown, the scene with the mother and child on the bus, Arthur defending his attackers at the start as "just kids", and with Arthur's interaction with young Bruce Wayne.

Why did she even have a child? The child was even more of an accessory to the cast than she was. If they had the resources to write a pointless relationship that was aLl JuSt A dReAm, they could have bothered to write in a relationship with her child, too.

[teh b0lly!!1]

Originally Posted by Shallowed

I should rewatch Taxi Driver. I've only seen it once and hated almost everything about it. Maybe I'll like it now.

hilariously unsurprising coming from a guy incapable of producing anything better to say other than "ok" relating to any conversation or topic

[topleybird]

Originally Posted by TuralyonW3

Have you seen any of these films?

I hope you know I was being sarcastic in response to the post above mine

I would like to see all of these movies

[Shallowed]

Originally Posted by teh b0lly!!1

hilariously unsurprising coming from a guy incapable of producing anything better to say other than "ok" relating to any conversation or topic

I only respond with "ok" to conversations and topics that are worthy of it

[Shallowed]

*has an enthusiastic critical discussion with someone about a film we both really liked*

*expresses desire to be re-exposed to an acclaimed film, expecting to go from hating it to liking it*

"you're incapable of saying anything better than 'ok'"

[Shallowed]

ok

[Disco King]

Originally Posted by Shallowed

I should rewatch Taxi Driver. I've only seen it once and hated almost everything about it. Maybe I'll like it now.

I've also only seen it once, but I really liked it. Although I wasn't that big a fan of the ending. I think it actually would have been better if it kind of had a circular narrative structure, with Bickle ending up in a station in life and with an outlook no different than how he started, to kind of drive home the futility of his situation. I understand and appreciate what they were trying to do with the irony of having this guy who was ignored and marginalized by society celebrated as a hero by people who aren't privy to the fact that he could have just as easily made headlines as disturbed murderer who assassinated a political candidate, but something about such an abrupt change in fortune felt tonally jarring, and the whole "the underdog has to become recognized as heroic and get the girl who previously rebuffed him" just feels so damn American to me. Like, if the movie were made by anyone but Americans, it would not have ended that way.

I also understand that the final shot of Bickle being alarmed by something in his rearview mirror as the strings in the score screech was meant to suggest that Bickle is still unstable, and it's only a matter of time before something sets him off and rouses him to violence again, but like, I feel like a suggestion so abstract and dream-like would have fit better with a film that was that way in its entirety, whereas I feel like Taxi Driver leans more on the side of being a literal narrative than some abstract dream-logic narrative.

Originally Posted by Shallowed

Yeah you could remove every scene with her in it, or anything that references her (I'm not sure if there were any mentions of her in other scenes) and not only would it not change anything in the plot, (aside from the allusion to Arthur being delusional) it would actually improve the pacing and plot of the movie. It never even occurred to me that he was hallucinating, that the time spent with her was all in his head, until I was reading about it afterwards.

As soon as that character was introduced I was thinking "welp, I guess this must be the shallowly-written, unnecessary love-interest" and that's pretty much what we got.

They missed an opportunity to develop more cOmPlExItY to his character, by not having him take a shine to her child. His relationship with children is hinted at implied throughout the whole film, what with him being a performing clown, the scene with the mother and child on the bus, Arthur defending his attackers at the start as "just kids", and with Arthur's interaction with young Bruce Wayne.

Why did she even have a child? The child was even more of an accessory to the cast than she was. If they had the resources to write a pointless relationship that was aLl JuSt A dReAm, they could have bothered to write in a relationship with her child, too.

Yeah, I agree, giving them some real interactions would actually help flesh out his character and tie into his hinted relationship with children and innocence. The base of the character is that he just wants acceptance and to make people laugh, so having children who haven't yet been made cynical by life experiences be the only people to respond positively to him would have furthered that theme. It would also tie into how he probably values that so much because of how his own childhood was robbed from him. And it would helo support Murray Franklin's statement that "not everyone is awful" and Fleck is just pitying himself, because we would have direct evidence of at least a couple people genuinely being kind to Arthur.

[Shallowed]

Oh well that's not what happened, discussion is pointless, have a nice life guys