Saturday, January 5, 2019

Weekend Open Thread

It's back? Maybe?

26 comments:

  1. Happy new year to everyone! I hope 2019 is an interesting year for movies.

    Thank you for resurrecting the Weekend Open thread, Patrick. I believe it is a facet of the FThisMovie! that is worth keeping.

    I have watched several memorable films recently:

    THE ICE PIRATES (1984)- This was a delightful watch. It miraculously succeeds as a pirate film within the framework of science fiction parody. What a cast, too. Definitely the most fun I have had with a film recently.

    DOUBLE SUICIDE (1969)- The black-and-white cinematography is just one aspect that stands out from this Japanese art film. The conceit of the film is that the real-life actors are actually puppets. Maybe not a great film for a Saturday night of entertainment, but it is worthwhile for a those who appreciate Japanese aesthetics.

    SEEDING OF A GHOST (1983)- I had no expectations going into this, but it even blew me away with no expectations. By any standard this Shaw Brothers production is ridiculously shoddy, but there is so much weirdness to it that I could not help enjoying it. Black magic, sexploitation, ghosts, fights, corpses coming back to life, a criminal investigation, gore and other kinds of strangeness.

    I also re-watched COMMANDO for the first time since I was a youngster. Processing the movie as an adult was a fascinating experience. There is so much of Commando that is ridiculous, but I did love the super macho 1980s vibe. Vernon Wells' Bennett was favorite part of the film.

    For any poliziotteschi fans, there is a top-notch example on Amazon Prime called THE STUNT SQUAD from 1977. It has the requisite scenes for the genre: uncomfortable violence, car chases, and desperate characters. The central villain is appropriately nasty and the location shooting is terrific. The dubbing, while it can be awkward, is not distracting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay, it's back! Happy New Year everyone!

    Haven't watched much this week, but on New Year's Eve I did see Zero Effect, which I was inspired to buy because Adam mentioned it on that 1998 article of his (had to go for a R1 DVD, there's no European release, much less a Blu-ray). I still love that movie and Bill Pullman is amazing.

    Another one was a Spanish movie from 1985 called Star Knight. It's a comedic fantasy-scifi where a spaceship visits a medieval town and the townspeople mistake it for a dragon. Harvey Keitel plays a fearless knight and Klaus Kinski a doctor/alchemist. It's silly and broad but I had fun with it.

    Going back to last year, I had a goal of seeing movies from at least 25 different countries in 2018, and I ended up with 33. This year's goal is to top that. Also, I saw 102 movies in theaters, which was my personal best.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thirty-three different countries? I'm so impressed, Mikko! #goals

      Delete
  3. Thanks for bringing back the weekend open thread! I need somewhere to talk about what I've been watching since none of my friends or family are really movie people and they don't want to hear me ramble about what I've seen recently haha.

    I have been on a bit of a '70s kick recently which I think is due to F this movie and pure cinema:

    -What's up, Doc? (1972) I loved this so much more than I expected to. Great madcap comedy that was genuinely hilarious and I think I'm in love with 1972 Barbra Steisand now

    -Night moves (1975)- More of a hangout movie than mystery than I expected, it was great to have no idea where it was going and Gene Hackman was in his prime. Also the ending made me think of Patrick's quote about 70s movies "It's the 70s, fuck you, that's why." Haha

    Network (1976)- Just as great as I had expected and so far ahead of its time, it's ridiculous. Great performances as well.

    Also, I finally saw Shaun of the dead and it was as good as I expected, although it did lose a bit of steam for me near the end.

    Aquaman was better than I expected and even though it was big, loud and exceptionally silly, I had so much fun with it. I can't explain it haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's Up, Doc? is a terrific movie, and one of my favorite comedies. If you haven't already, I would recommend Howard Hawks's Bringing Up Baby, starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. It was a major inspiration for Bogdanovich's film.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the rec. I would love to see more movies in the same vein. I just watched His Girl Friday today and loved it.

      Delete
  4. Holmes And Watson is a piece of shit. One of the worst movie i've ever seen. Still have to see The Happytime Murders, but i'm sure H&W is worse

    Aquaman did not suck, which for a DC movie means it's a masterpiece. Laughed out loud and the drumming squid part, then at the mortal kombat part. The Mantis subplot could be removed because he felt like a Power Rangers vilain. It's 30 minutes too long and doesn't know what direction it wants to go, sometimes it's a romantic-adventure-comedy, sometimes it's a horror movie, most of the time it's a standard superhero action movie. But contrary to Wonder Woman, it doesn't shit the bed in the 3rd act.

    I did watch some actual good movies, but what's the point of that :)

    I have to tell my Neverending Story Blu-Ray story. I bought the first edition a long time ago, one of my first i think, the movie is a masterpiece so of course i did. The original blu-ray contain the original english track and the french dub track. Being french-canadian, i grew up on the french dub. I recently saw the 30th anniversary edition for only 10$. It's the same transfer, but they added a new 30 minutes documentary celebrating the 30 years of the movie. Of course i had to get it, so i did and gave the first one to my friend. Then i pop it in my PS4 only to discover that the new edition doesn't have the french dub. Now, i couldn't take back the blu-ray from my friend, so i told him i'll give him the new edition, he gives me back the other one and i'll re-buy the new edition (the old one is kinda hard to find at a decent price). I check online, the local store has it in stock. I go to the store, head to the family section, only DVDs of the film, no Blus. I'm pissed i went out for nothing. Then i think of looking in the other sections. Well, bingo, somebody misplaced it. Get it, get back home, and now i'm happy.

    The moral of the story, Neverending Story is a masterpiece and you should watch it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I picked up a DVD of it at the local used goods store. There have been several good DVD finds there recently: High Plains Drifter, An American Werewolf in London, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and Showdown in Little Tokyo. All for a couple of dollars.

      Delete
    2. It feels so lonely being the only person who enjoyed The Happytime Murders. Perhaps someday, you'll join me, Kunider.

      Delete
  5. I cracked open the behemoth Bergman Criterion set and got to work. I've only seen a handful of his films and I've been looking forward to taking my time through the the set and along with reading the included essays. It started with Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) which is his international breakthrough. Being a comedy from Bergman I didn't know what to expect. I ended up really liking it. Some pretty biting wit and great banter really make it move.

    Ace in the Hole (1951) - Holy shit is this incredible. A major Wilder blindspot for me and one where he really has his finger on the pulse of society- then and now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that Bergman Collection looks delicious. i already have too many Bergman movies from Criterion to justify buying this. maybe one day.

      Ace In The Hole is a hidden gem, but thanks to Criterion we can now see it.

      Delete
    2. With 2018 being the centennial of Bergman's birth, I was expecting more retrospectives of his films than I actually came across.

      The TCM channel broadcast a few of Bergman's films the last two weeks. I watched the theatrical version of Fanny and Alexander for the umpteenth time. Something about that film always draws me in for 3.5 hours. Last weekend I watched parts of Winter Light, which I definitely need to see all the way through. Such beautiful starkness.

      Delete
    3. The loss of Filmstruck really hit hard, in part because we lose so many Bergman films. I was fortunate to view Winter Light and The Silence before the service terminated - Winter Light in particular is a beautiful (if VERY stark and bleak) movie.

      Delete
  6. i saw The Death Of Stalin today. if you haven't seen it yet, find it and watch it. it's on DVD in north america, but i'm sure it's streaming somewhere. i got the Region B UK blu-ray for a decent price. the movie is great. i also learned today that it was based on a french comic book La Mort De Staline, published in 2 volumes in 2010 and 2012 and after reading the first dozen pages, i can confirm it is a great adaptation.


    i also suggest you watch History Buffs on the movie, on youtube:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG-tG-Wo0Do

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link, looks interesting. Will have to check it out once the hockey game ends (Finland and USA are currently playing in the Under-20 hockey world championships final).

      Delete
    2. Good luck. You eliminated us (Canada), so you better win. If my team is eliminated, might as well be by the one who's gonna win the whole thing

      Delete
    3. Maybe it will be the elusive Olympic gold medal next.

      Delete
    4. 2 Golds and 2 Silvers in 4 years in the U18 tournament. The Finnish youth hockey program is strong.

      Delete
  7. Thanks for the return of the open thread...

    Wondering if anyone out there has watched the Shout Factory release of Silent Night Deadly Night 2 yet.

    When I first heard about it and that they'd finally found Eric Freeman do to a commentary track I was really looking forward to it. But then I found out that he did the track with the director. Those can be iffy things - worse case scenario it's just a couple of people telling each other how wonderful they are and not much else.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Roma (2018) - I am having a hard time making it through this one. Plenty of accolades and praise being thrown around. Roma's Being hailed as best of the year and it is leaving me in the cold. A bitter, dark, desolate cold.

    A technical marvel of gorgeous choreographed cinematography sure, but these 135 minutes feels more 300 minutes. I am struggling to engage with this story and these characters.

    This is Alfonso's first feature for me that is not working. I've loved so much of his other work.

    How is everyone else feeling about this soon to be Oscar winning film?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't seen it, but it look different than his last few movies. So there might be a disconnect there

      Delete
  9. Happy New Year everyone!

    1) Welcome back Weekend Open Thread! I've missed you.

    2) My kids were watching Tron: Legacy (2010) in the car, and so I listened to the movie over the car sound system during a long drive yesterday. That score is amazing! I'm definitely going to buy it.

    3) More Mark Ahn podcasts please!

    4) It's fun listening to old podcasts, as a bit of a time capsule. I listened to the Tron episode from 2010 this morning, and there were gems like "I think this will be the year that comic book movies peak", "It's a good thing Nolan has turned around the DC comic movies", etc.

    5) My SMM didn't go very well. I started strong, but halfway through, watched Moneyball (2011) twice in a row one afternoon, and didn't watch any more horror for the rest of SMM.

    6) I watched 373 movies last year. First time I kept a list, and definitely the most I've ever seen. Looking forward to compiling a list of my favourites soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To your defence, Moneyball is very good

      Delete
    2. It's fantastic. A movie I can watch again and again. The score is subtle but just on point for the emotional beats of the film. Absolutely beautifully shot. Who would have thought a movie marrying sports and mathematics would look so good. (Wally Pfister, oh yes).

      Delete
  10. I watched The Strangers: Prey at Night. Genuinely surprised it's so devisive. I thought it was lean and super fun. One of favorite horror movies from last year.

    Also caught up with Satan's Slaves, Terrified, and You Might be the killer. Shudder is probably my favorite streaming service after 2018. Double Lover isn't mentioned much, but I enjoyed it as well. It was sort of like The Brood and Dead Ringers mashed up, only directed by Brian de Palma.

    ReplyDelete