What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)
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Reno
The In Kraut
It didn’t feel too long to me.
Reno
The In Kraut
Detention, the 2011 mash-up of The Breakfast Club, Donnie Darko, Scott Pilgrim and Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, which I never knew I needed. This high school movie satire flew under the radar when it came out but it's completely nuts and it has more ideas and gags per minute than most films have in their entire running time. For the first five minutes I thought I'm going to hate it, after half an hour I never wanted it to end. It starts out like a hyperactive version of Scream meets Heathers and by the time it gets to a time traveling stuffed bear, all bets are off and the movie folds in on itself several times over. It's the ultimate in ADHD cinema and I can easily see how it can look like the most annoying film ever made, but it's just so fucking smart and it's my favourite cinematic discovery of the year. This should be a major cult movie.
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Reno
The In Kraut
I also watched The Hunt, the satirical horror film which got pulled from release after a couple of US mass shootings and was condemned by Trump in a speech, who obviously had not seen it. It then got released a few months later, just before the virus hit and now like many recently released films, has made it to streaming far sooner than intended. On a surface level, as a gory horror film with a fun performance by Betty Gilpin (Nurse Jackie, GLOW) it just about works but as a political satire it falls flat and ultimately its rather muddled. It pits "the liberal elite" and "the deplorables" against each other in a The Most Dangerous Game scenario where one hunts the other for sport. Just putting the broadest of stereotypes on screen in itself isn't good satire and then a plot twist fudge the issues further. In the end it seems to come down more on the side of Trump-supporting rednecks but ultimately it's too toothless to offend.
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belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
Judy.
for the most part a very average biopic with the common themes of a tragic life coming to a tragic end. Made watchable by Zellweger who puts in one hell of a performance. It topples over into impression with too many (distracting) tics at times, and the singing isn’t Judy Garland, but it’s still bloody good. And the ending is obviously nonsense, but quite movingly so.
for the most part a very average biopic with the common themes of a tragic life coming to a tragic end. Made watchable by Zellweger who puts in one hell of a performance. It topples over into impression with too many (distracting) tics at times, and the singing isn’t Judy Garland, but it’s still bloody good. And the ending is obviously nonsense, but quite movingly so.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Cheers for the heads up looks really good. Love Melville, I've seen many of these but can watch them again and again.
Indeliblelink
\......👁&👁......./
Vivarium (2019) - low fantasy,/horror about a young couple who are trapped with a small annoying child in a house that they don't seem able to leave. Not a great film but apt quarantine watching.
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krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
Contagion (2011)
Bit late to the party on this one, but thought I'd check it out as it's gone right up the Netflix ratings and Soderbergh is the director. "Enjoyed" it, and it was quite terrifying without being sensational. Also realized that's where the term "social distancing" comes from...
Bit late to the party on this one, but thought I'd check it out as it's gone right up the Netflix ratings and Soderbergh is the director. "Enjoyed" it, and it was quite terrifying without being sensational. Also realized that's where the term "social distancing" comes from...
Sympathy For Mr Vengeance. Under the guidance of his anarchist girlfriend, a young deaf man kidnaps his ex-boss's daughter and It all goes to shit basically. First of the Chan Wook Park vengeance trilogy, all of which are on Mubi just now. Saw it years ago but my memory is terrible....I'd completely forgotten the twist so it was a really satisfying film to rewatch. I've seen Oldboy more recently, thought this was much better but will probably watch all 3 over this week anyway.
Existenz. Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh in a David Cronenburg film mentioned upthread. In the testing of a new video game which appears to be a bit like VR, reality and game become blurred. I enjoy Cronenburg films if only for the smile they give me the first time some blobby latex is used and there's plenty of that here along wiht some rubbish acting. It was pretty enjoyable as daft sci fi type stuff goes.
3 Iron. Korean film directed by Kim Ki Duk. Not sure if it was mentioned here. A young man rides aroudn on a motorbike identifying empty properties which he breaks into and does a few odd jobs and tidying up in exchange for a bath and somewhere to sleep before leaving. In one house he meets a woman who's in an abusive relationship. It's a really gentle film aside from the use of the 3 Iron. Few (if any) words are spoken between the couple but it's really engaging. I really enjoyed it.
Existenz. Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh in a David Cronenburg film mentioned upthread. In the testing of a new video game which appears to be a bit like VR, reality and game become blurred. I enjoy Cronenburg films if only for the smile they give me the first time some blobby latex is used and there's plenty of that here along wiht some rubbish acting. It was pretty enjoyable as daft sci fi type stuff goes.
3 Iron. Korean film directed by Kim Ki Duk. Not sure if it was mentioned here. A young man rides aroudn on a motorbike identifying empty properties which he breaks into and does a few odd jobs and tidying up in exchange for a bath and somewhere to sleep before leaving. In one house he meets a woman who's in an abusive relationship. It's a really gentle film aside from the use of the 3 Iron. Few (if any) words are spoken between the couple but it's really engaging. I really enjoyed it.
The Octagon
Stop...Hammertime
Joker
Good central performance by Joaquin Phoenix, but the rest of the film is a bit of a mess.
Interesting in places, but essentially Taxi Driver meets King of Comedy (sure that comparison has already been made), except made by a lesser director.
Nice to see De Niro put some effort in for once though.
Good central performance by Joaquin Phoenix, but the rest of the film is a bit of a mess.
Interesting in places, but essentially Taxi Driver meets King of Comedy (sure that comparison has already been made), except made by a lesser director.
Nice to see De Niro put some effort in for once though.
Reno
The In Kraut
The Psychic, a 1977 giallo by Lucio Fulci which I hadn't watched before, though I prefer its alternative, more giallo title Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes. It's a little slow but unlike many Fulci movies, it has a solid plot and is a good mystery, even if I knew where it was going before its psychic heroine had figured it out. The HR Giger-rip-off poster is pretty cool.
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T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Started watching this today and ended up watching all 13 episodes available. Very good and watchable. Not as funny as Always Sunny (what series is?) but it gets better as the season progresses. Very funny at places.
jeff_leigh
What happened to Dubversion ?
An upside of this Isolation is we all get plenty of free time, I think I'll watch that Trilogy myself in the next few days, Again
One Child Nation...Documentary about China's one child policy. It's extremely graphic and harrowing in parts. Interviews with midwives and village officials shwo the different perspectives on the roles they undertook but the overall view is that the policy was necessary and they were just doing their jobs. Not for the faint hearted or easily upset.
A Man Escaped...Robert Bresson. Based on a true story... french prisoner in the second world war plans his escape from a Nazi prison. It's brilliant, I loved it. Even thought the conclusion appeared obvious the suspense in getting there is well maintained all the way through.
A Man Escaped...Robert Bresson. Based on a true story... french prisoner in the second world war plans his escape from a Nazi prison. It's brilliant, I loved it. Even thought the conclusion appeared obvious the suspense in getting there is well maintained all the way through.
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
Invasion of the body snatchers 1978 version. Hadn't seen it for 35 years
Reno
The In Kraut
You forgot to add that it’s great ! One of the few remakes which surpasses an already first rate original film.
I preferred the original but I have a soft spot for 50s sci-fi -- my Dad was a fan* and I remember watching this with him as a kid.
*See also old black and white horror movies, Roger Corman films and more Audie Murphy films than I care to think of.
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
Indeed it is great. It was my 15 year old's first viewing of it. She was surprised at the ending. "But they can't win"
Wasn't there a forgettable 80s remake,too?
Reno
The In Kraut
There were two more remakes. The Abel Ferrara one from the 90s feels more like a poor sequel to the 70s movie than a remake and there is another one from the noughts which is a total disaster.
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Reno
The In Kraut
The 50s one is great. That one has a very film noir quality while the remake is in the tradition of the 70s conspiracy thriller. I slightly give the 70s version the edge because it has a cast of favourite actors of mine from that period and it takes more time to establish its characters. The original also is slightly compromised by its studio imposed framing story, which hints at a hopeful end, while the 70s film ends on one of the the most chilling last shots ever.I preferred the original but I have a soft spot for 50s sci-fi -- my Dad was a fan* and I remember watching this with him as a kid.
*See also old black and white horror movies, Roger Corman films and more Audie Murphy films than I care to think of.
Indeliblelink
\......👁&👁......./
Two Half Times In Hell (1961) [Dir. Zoltan Fabri] - WWII story about a group of Hungarian forced labourers in a brutal POW camp who are told to organize a team to play a football match against German soldiers. Based on The Death Match which has influenced a handful of films including Escape To Victory & The Longest Yard, think this might be the best of the bunch though.
Reno
The In Kraut
They weren’t just your basic superiors and inferiors, they specifically were the GOP stereotype of “the liberal elite" hunting down Trump voters. It was supposed to be a satire on current US political divisions, more specifically the constant sense of persecution right wingers claim even though their man is in the White House. I thought as political satire it toothless and rather flat. As a "The Most Dangerous" game knock-off it was entertaining enough, but like countless other films, save for the political angle.
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Reno
The In Kraut
It’s not a spoiler as that’s made clear from the start. It’s the premise of the film, not a plot twist (though there are some)
Reno
The In Kraut
That something which is made clear from the outset is a spoiler ?Then we shall disagree!
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Cheers again for the heads up about Mubi, really good.
Caught Les Doulos, Chaotic Ana and The Proposition and looking forward to the new Andrew Kotting.
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