Saturday, December 23, 2017

Weekend Open Thread

Hahahahaha.

48 comments:

  1. Hope everyone is having a good holiday season. Personally I spent an extra four hours at work last night fixing a projector but I made sure to set aside some time for family in the last week. Took my dad to see The Last Jedi. Didn't dig it as much as a lot of other people here but it's cool to see a lot of people here connecting with it on a personal level.

    Also watched a couple music documentaries with Queen: Days of Our Lives, and Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson story (as well as a couple concert videos to go along with each). The Queen stuff I most knew but it's presented well. As for Mick Ronson, I've always appreciated him as a guitarist due to his work with Bowie but my eyes were really opened as to what an amazing producer he was and how much credit he deserves on things like Lou Reed's album Transformer.

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  2. I wish all of you a pleasant Christmas.

    It has been a quiet couple of weeks on the movie front. Getting ready to get back to work and holiday preparations have occupied my mind and my energy. Consequently, documentaries have dominated my recent watches. These are the most notable ones I have seen.

    THE SUNSHINE MAKERS (2015) – Revolutionaries or criminals? This doc details the exploits and punishments of Nick Sand and Tim Scully, who threw themselves into the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s by making LSD, particularly the variation known as Orange Sunshine. A significant part of the charm of the film lies in the vastly different personalities of the men. Definitely a good film for those interested in the ‘60s counterculture.

    VITA ACTIVA: THE SPIRIT OF HANNAH ARENDT (2015) – A very ambitious documentary exploring the ideas of the philosopher famous for coining the expression “the banality of evil.” Her attempt to explain the behavior of totalitarian governments like the Nazi regime, especially the idea that terrible deeds are not necessary perpetrated by evil people, alienated a lot of her fellow Jews and intellectuals.

    A documentary I am finishing up is JAMEL SHABAZZ STREET PHOTOGRAPHER, which is about a man who, by chronicling life in his Brooklyn neighborhood in the early 1980s, ended up capturing the early period of hip hop culture. Perhaps a few too many needless talking heads but still engaging.

    The only narrative film I have watched this week is THE BOOGEYMAN as a tribute to Ulli Lommel. Is it a drama, a slasher, a ghost film, or a possession film? It seems like all of the above but at different moments. The unpredictability of the film is probably its greatest strength. Overall, it is entertaining.

    I intend to finally get to the original BLACK CHRISTMAS this weekend. The TCM Underground features this week have a roller skating theme. I will be recording THE UNHOLY ROLLERS, an early '70s roller derby film. XANADU, on the other hand, just does not interest me at this time.

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  3. Only seen a few movies the last couple of weeks. 78/52 was a great documentary about Psycho (mostly the shower scene), The Golden Child is another of those comfort movies, Netflix's Discovering Bigfoot is hilarious, as is A Christmas Prince. And I thought The Last Jedi was just okay. Entertaining but nothing special.

    Also watched a documentary about Finland's first win in the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1995. That was a huge deal in Finland at the time and now there's a new movie out next week about it.

    Happy holidays to all the F-heads and the FTM team!

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    1. THE GOLDEN CHILD is a film that I have rarely heard or read anything positive about. I have never seen it. Do you think its reputation is deserved, Mikko?

      Winning an Olympic gold medal would be an even better achievement. What are the expectations for the men's hockey team in the upcoming Olympics? Canada are probably the favorites again. Hockey is one of the events I like to watch during the event. Curling and the cross-country skiing events are my favorite ones, however.




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    2. Hope you don't mind me chiming in, but The Golden Child is one of my top 20 favorite movies of all time. I completely think it holds up, although it's goofier and goofier every time I watch it. Plus, Charlotte Lewis.

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    3. Not at all. I remember The Golden Child being utterly panned when it came out. A recent podcast I heard brought it up as a film that deserves a reassessment. It cannot hurt that Eddie Murphy was at this his peak at the time.

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    4. The Golden Child for me is one of those films I've loved since childhood and hence, have probably lost all objectivity towards it. I love it. Charles Dance will never be any other character in my eyes than Sardo Numspa.

      As for the Olympics, it's gonna be a weird one after the NHL refused to allow their players to compete and Russia won't be competing under their own flag. Without the NHL, Russia would've been the absolute favorite but it's hard to know what their team will now look like and if they'll be motivated. It's anybody's guess at this point. Finland definitely have a chance, probably the best one since 1994 when they lost only one period in the whole tournament, but that was a crucial period in the semi and they only got the bronze medal. That was without NHL players as well.

      But back to movies, just got home from a Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Suburbicon double bill. Jumanji was exactly what I wanted it to be, goofy fun. I think it's a clever idea for a sequel and it entertained me. I didn't even feel the two-hour running time. Suburbicon felt like a Coen brothers imitation to me, until I saw in the end credits that it was co-written by them. It's a weird dark comedy with its tone all over the place, but I found it pretty watchable with good performances and a few funny scenes. Going in pretty much totally blind probably helped, all I knew about it was Clooney, Damon and that it's set in the 50's.

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    5. Btw, Suburbicon was the 365th movie I've seen this year and the 98th in the theater. Maybe a couple more before the year's end...

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  4. The pic and caption to this made me laugh out loud.

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  5. i'm sooooooo watchnig Bright later today.

    right now i'm watching Hansel And Gretel Witch Hunters. i've never been a fan of Jeremy Renner, but Gemma Arterton more than makes up for it

    also saw Supergirl, and boy was it bad. i was expecting bad-entertaining, but it's not even that. it's too bad because Helen Slater does try her best.

    the most interesting thing i saw this week was Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. this is very good stuff and a cautionary tale for anorexia. too bad it can't be distributed

    i'm debating which one is worse, Daddy's Home 2 or Bad Moms Christmas. i'm leaning toward the former, but there's a point to be made for the later.

    i also want to point out that i finally got the Criterion edition of Le Cercle Rouge. one of my favorite film ever. it cost me a bunch, but i regret nothing.

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    1. Have you enjoyed the Hallmark Christmas films so far this year?

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    2. i've watched A Christmas Prince. it was as fun as you expect from this kind of movie.

      i also saw 12 Dates Of Christmas. another fun one. i had less issues with it than Mr Riske and Mr Bromley

      now that my christmas vacation has officially started, i'll try to watch a couple more

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  6. Happy Holidays to all the F-Heads! I'm proud to be a part of the best place on the internets.

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  7. Bright: Never been a fan of David Ayer. Never been a fan of Max Landis (who said this was his Star Wars).

    But…

    the movie is not that bad. It certainly doesn’t deserve all the hate. The scenario could be tighter, the dialogues could be better, Will Smith’s best years are behind him and he sadly can’t sell a movie by himself anymore. On the other side, the world is pretty good and actually works (even with the elves, orcs and racism clichés), there’s some decent action scenes.

    Who else liked it here?

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  8. I tried to get Adam Riske involved in a Twitter discussion about Rules of Engagement (2000) forgetting that he's no longer on Twitter. But for the life of me I can't remember why I would want to talk to anyone about Rules of Engagement except to say that the red wine fooled me into wanting (needing) to talk about Rules of goddamn Engagement.

    So... any opinions about Rules of Engagement?

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    1. Hi! I somehow missed that one. How is it?

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    2. As I said, red wine was had... but, I think it might qualify as a terrific mall movie. Also, I saw it in a mall, so I that counts, right? I mean, it's kinda shitty but Friedkin directs the hell out of at least half of it (it comes and goes) and Guy Pearce is doing something and that something *might* be brilliant. Give it a watch. Or skip it. Either way, your life will remain the same.

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    3. for me, it's an entertaining, if maybe a little forgettable movie. if i remember correctly, there's a little bit of A Few Good Men in there. i think it was just a bit before Samuel L Jackson became what he is today. i recommend it

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    4. I get rules of engagement confused with John McTeirnan's "Basic", which I remember being bonkers. Which one is a better mall movie I wonder?

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    5. Oh, 'Basic' is a lot more fun and dumber than a bag of hammers. McTiernan commits to it like a motherfucker. So it gets my vote for a superior mall movie.

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  9. Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. If you're looking for a movie to fill your time, Vudu has pretty much every single movie on sale. Just picked up Emelie, Black Christmas and We Are Still Here for $14 total. Watched Emelie for the first time....really good. Drops the ball a bit at the end, but it builds tension just about as well as anything I've seen in a while. Highly recommended.

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  10. I'm with Riske on Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle. That movie is a great time!

    Downsizing, however, is a gigantic mess. Sometimes miserable, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes ok. But it's pretty bad.

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    1. Downsizing, i felt it asked sone great questions about the consequences of that world, then go in the opposite and boring direction without answering them

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  11. I just finished "Krampus" for the 7th time. The sound design, cinematography (of course) and practical effects are just as fantastic as I always. The ending is heartbreaking and I love it (I wish there was no alternate ending at all on the Blu Ray). Still, I really wish I loved this movie. I just think it's "okay" for some reason. Oh well :(

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    1. You’ve seen it a lot for an ‘okay’ movie

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    2. Correct. I really want to love it but I just don't. I've seen a ton of films numerous times that I flat out don't like at all hoping to find something in them that might change my mind.

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    3. And my wife loves it so that makes me happy to revisit it.

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    4. can't argue with trying to like something. and the wife.

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    5. I've seen "Interstellar" five times and it's one of the worst films I've ever seen haha.

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    6. that i can argue with, because i love it despite its flaws. but that's another conversation

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    7. :) Would love to discuss, not argue. Taste...

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    8. I think it’s the humor that doesn’t work at all. Not sure why either because the cast is made up of some incredibly funny people.

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    9. I agree and it still feels heavily edited to me despite Dougherty stating that it's not.

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  12. i just saw Dead Or Alive from Takashi Miike for the first time. i saw the 3rd one years ago and i remember liking it a lot. but this one i'm not sure. it opens great, then nothing happen for 90 minutes, i get confused with the chinese/japanese thing and the numerous side character, then it end in fireworks out of nowhere (those of you who've seen it will understand).

    having watched the 3rd one already, i think i was expecting something else here. otherwise i think it was a decent yakuza flick.

    i got the Arrow release back in april and i'm just cracking it open. i expect more interesting stuff in the 2 sequels

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    1. I loved DOA and was not a fan it's sequels. I actually remember pt. 3 looking much cheaper than the first two. Am I misremembering?

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    2. I’ll let you know, probably tomorrow

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    3. Watched DOA2. I think i’m really not in the mood for those right now because i was also kind of bored

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    4. haha, that was my reaction to 2 and 3. Never revisited them.

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    5. I also got the Black Society Trilogy that was released about the same time as DOA. Now i’m afraid of watching them

      Gotta go through DOA3 first

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  13. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever is the political correct way to wish you film lovers a great Christmas

    Much love to you all

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  14. If you want to have a blast and see Frank Grillo and iko Uwais kick aliens asses, then you need to be watching Beyond Skyline. I loved it.

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    1. yeah, i watched it yesterday. tons of fun. they go balls out into the action. the first movie was garbage, but this one if fun.

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  15. I was able to get into something like a holiday mood last night with the original BLACK CHRISTMAS. There were many moments when it was necessary to remind myself that this was made in the early 1970s. The film undoubtedly did set precedents. The casting could not be better. Margot Kidder really seemed to be having a fun time. With Deathdream also on his resume in 1974, Bob Clark was really on a roll.

    Afterwards, I watched the majority of XANADU. There were parts of it I legitimately liked. The 1940s throwback dance number between Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton John is cute and has some cleverly executed double exposures. Olivia appears to be relishing the chance to be dancing with him. The sequence for the title song has so much energy and flair that this musical fan could not help enjoying it. As for the story and the acting, there was little to appreciate.

    As I write this, a question is coming into my mind: Would I rather watch XANADU or THE APPLE again? I think THE APPLE wins.

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  16. Happy holidays, everyone! Thanks for being the best people on the internet.

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  17. Merry Christmas to all the F This Movie! family!!

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  18. Watched The Last Jedi for the second time tonight. It’s as great as the first time. 2 scenes that i really don’t like, but they don’t break it for me.

    But it was an adventure. Right at the start i had to tell 2 guys a few seats on opposite sides of me to shut off their phones. I was polite, they complied, all was great... until about halfway through the movie when i see 2 guys seemingly arguing. But it was during the horses escape scene at the casino, so i didn’t hear anything. One guy get kicked out (who get kicked out of a star wars movie on christmas eve?). All of that was a few rows in front of me (i was in the last row). The movie ends, i get out before the shot with the stupid kid with the stupid broom. I get greeted by the manager. Gives me a free ticket for any other movie at any theater of that chain and sorry for the disturbance.

    First christmas gift of the year :)

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  19. So its getting a sequel i'm guessing that they wont use your title. :-)

    http://variety.com/2018/film/news/bright-sequel-netflix-1202651949/

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