Saturday, February 20, 2016

Weekend Open Thread

Weekends! I prefer the weekends!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in #fthismoviefest last week. It was a lot of fun.

Talk about whatever you want! A new Star Wars is now in production. So is the new Guardians of the Galaxy. Somehow both of these things are considered news on movie sites. So talk about that? Or literally anything else.

24 comments:

  1. I saw The Witch tonight. Very interesting to see this movie with a packed theater full of junior high students and adults who thought they were going to see a Conjuring type studio movie and instead got a quiet, slow, atmospheric, art movie that barely shows The Witch at all. I heard alot of complaints from people wanting their money back when it was over. I quite enjoyed the movie. It was very beautiful and the score was chilling. I had a hard time understanding alot of the dialogue because the voices were too quiet or deep but I was able to follow along ok. Don't go into this thinking it's going to be a stuff jumping out at you type horror film. It goes deeper than that. I really recommend checking it out, I would rather get a ton more movies like this than 10 more purge or paranormal activity sequels. Very interesting film.

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    1. I cant wait for this, March 11th over in the UK, I need to avoid spoilers for 3 more weeks Urrggghhhh

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    2. One could maybe blame the marketing for people complaining about The Witch. I had the feeling after watching it that much like Crimson Peak or the Babadook, it would disappoint people who were expecting a "Horror" movie. Personally I loved it, but when recommending it to people I have to stress that it's not a monster movie or a slasher, and that it's a much more psychological movie. The first question people have been asking me is whether or not the movie is scary, and I have to tell them that it's not scary in the way that they mean. Also I agree with you in regards to the dialogue to the extent that I look forward to seeing it in some format where I can put subtitles on.

      I also watched Race and Lady in the Van (I'm manager at a theater and also handle most of the projection related work in case people wonder how I watch so many movies). Neither were great on any sort of narrative level. I wasn't hugely familiar with the details of Jesse Owens' life or the Olympics in Berlin, so Race interested me on that level and least. It tries to juggle too many subplots and ultimately ends up not doing any of them justice.

      I don't really have much to say about Lady in the Van. Like Race, it's also based on a true story, although in this case that story is about a homeless woman who moves her van into the driveway of a playwright and then proceeds to live there for the next 15 years. I don't have any objections to the movie, but it didn't really do much for me until maybe the last 20 minutes or so. Maggie Smith of course turns in a strong performance though having played this same role a few times before.

      At home I've been watching through the Universal Monsters blu-ray set, and I'm not looking forward to watching Spectre again but I watched through every other Bond movie last month so I almost feel obligated to.

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    3. The Witch is great. I saw it in a small packed theater of mostly hipsters, especially the couple behind me, who were ironically giggling at just about everything. That is, until the last half hour, when even they couldn't deny how disturbed they were. Anyway, the general murmuring after it was over was mostly "it sucked", by people who were no doubt expecting some kind of witch fighting.

      But I thought it was great. Dripping with atmosphere, and very disturbing. It also has one shot, about 4 seconds long, that is as memorable and upsetting as anything I can remember. It reminded me a lot of Kill List, a movie which I absolutely love.

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    4. By the way, I think "it sucked" it the new signifier of a quality horror film. I think general audiences only want to see jump scares or slashers, and have a hard time responding to deliberately-paced independent horror. It Follows got the distinguished title of "yo that's the dumbest movie I've ever seen yo" from a young gentleman in my theater last year.

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    5. Loved The Witch. I opted to see it at the local arthouse instead of the multiplex. I'm so glad I did. About half the audience stayed through the credits discussing what a great experience they'd just had.
      I was trying to temper my expectations going in, afraid of being let down, but it didn't matter. I loved almost everything about it. I even had a nightmare.

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    6. Absolutely loved The Witch. Cant wait to see again so I can unwrap all of the layers of the film. I got the same reaction from my theatre; people complaining expecting to see a typical modern horror. This movie further strengthened my hate for crows.

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  2. PIECES

    Did any other lucky people get the Grindhouse releasing bluray of Pieces? what a release, it is so great, the 42nd street memories documentary is superb, the scan looks really good, and of course the soundtrack and the Jigsaw puzzle too :)

    I am still dreaming of Xtro one day but this is a brilliant release, my favourite for a while

    "The jizz of a thousand Ghosts" Debbie Rochon

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    1. From what I read, they only made 3,000 copies with the puzzle replica and those are now sold out. But the disc is incredible.

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    2. You have to watch Creature from 1985, Dennis. That one needs a proper blu-ray release. I loved Pieces before the transfer so I am super excited for the blu-ray. Xtro and Creature would be a great double.

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    3. I have that one on good olde Vhs Brent, in the Uk it was called Titan find, I love Klaus Kinski, he's a strange but compelling actor, Good choice for Bluray, that would be great,
      I predordered the Piece's disc as soon as I heard about it, luckily I was early enough to get the jigsaw, but too be honest with the soundtrack and the bonus stuff its a great package either way, I was shocked to hear Paul Smith was not really too into all the blood, what a cool film

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  3. I wanted to bring up Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt. I tore through it over the past few days and I figured the subject matter would resonate with a few other f heads.
    It's a slight bit of memoir, but it does a good job examining the mind of a particular sort. It's a fond reminiscence and a cautionary tale that really had an emotional impact I wasn't expecting. Good stuff.

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    1. I feel like I took all the wrong lessons away from that book, because he keeps saying "I can't live like this" and I was all "WHY NOT?"

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    2. As an excellent writer and critic you're definitely good sticking with this particular obsession. You won! The author was trying to define himself by the wrong things perhaps.

      The anecdotes about letting his relationships suffer and catching red eyes home from comedy festivals in order to see 11 am screenings made me cringe a little.

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  4. I subscribed to Hulu today to watch 11.22.63. Any recommendations for other shows to seek out? I think I'll also watch all of Masters of Horror too.

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  5. "The Demolisher" was like if an amateur, less talented Refn directed The Exterminator. Half decent score. Okay film.

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  6. III (2015 russian) - "III" is like the Russian version of a Tarsem film although I don't mean that as a slight (when Tarsem is good (The Fall) he's good. It's visually pretentious as hell but a lot of it works for me and it's definitely got character. There's a dumb ass "jump-face-scare" early on which really hurts the films for my standards but all in all I really liked "III". The score by Moonbeam is freakin' fantastic and it's gonna take a lot to beat it for the rest of the year. The lead actress doesn't hurt the eyes either. The story...well...it's whatever.

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    1. I liked The Fall a lot, too, but I always fast forward through the masked bandit parts to get back to the guy and little girl, even though I really appreciate the way they're connected (very cool). Did you like the whole thing or just part?

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    2. I really liked the entirety of The Fall. I honestly can't think of any criticism at the moment. I like the story, the visuals make sense for that kind of film and Lee Pace is really good in it.

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  7. I binged the entire first season of Love. It's great BUT those movie-themed music parties look like my hipster nightmare.

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  8. First I finished the first season of Jessica Jones, which was ok but maybe 3 episodes too long for that storyline. I liked Daredevil a lot better.
    Next I watched the horror comedy Fresh Meat from New Zealand. It was sometimes interesting but not very funny and more often annoying. Nothing to recommend.
    Next was The Hundred Foot Journey, a typically lighthearted Lasse Hallstrom movie with a fine cast, a good although very unrealistic story that still resonated at times with me. Good entertainment for a rainy afternoon.
    Then I saw the first season of Mr. Robot, which I liked very much. Great show with a twisty story, lots of shady characters and a schizophrenic hero.

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