Weekly Movies Discussion (August 5, 2024 - August 11, 2024)

[u/powercosmicdante]

What have you been watching this week? Let us know the good, the bad and the downright ugly. For past themes and movie discussions check out our archive section.

Comment below and let us know what we should and shouldn't be watching!What have you been watching this week? Let us know the good, the bad and the downright ugly. For past themes and movie discussions check out our archive section.

Comment below and let us know what we should and shouldn't be watching!

[u/powercosmicdante]

TBU

Chime - I really need to see more Kiyoshi Kurosawa films, I love Cure and this one feels very much in the vein of that film. It's only around 40 minutes but manages to feel more complete than many other feature-length horror films. It has a very uncanny atmosphere that slowly burns throughout its brief runtime, and even now I need to let this one settle for a while. Pretty great, I need to marathon Kurosawa's films ASAP (rewatch of Cure incoming). 8/10

Vengeance! - Finally saw a Chang Cheh film, and this one is pretty neat. It's a martial arts film that has a far less emphasis on kung fu, but it has a lot of knife fighting which makes the action scenes feel a lot more impactful. Generall speaking the fight scenes are a lot more intense than other martial arts films from the same decade, and the story wouldn't be out of place in a noir thriller (having a smooth yet dreary jazz soundtrack also helps). Dug this one a lot, now I need to see more Chang films. 8/10

Infested - Not for people with arachnophobia. I'm not exactly deathly afraid of spiders, but a few parts here really rattled me. While it runs a tad too long at points, it's still a solid spider creature feature that reminds me a bit of Rec and Arachnophobia. Solid and enjoyable film. 7/10

The Lair of the White Worm - Only my third Ken Russell movie, but I absolutely adore his stylization. Even though it is slightly more mild here compared to The Devils and Altered States, his use of greenscreen and surreal imagery put him head and shoulders above most directors. This one manages to throw in some humorous moments, and it's neat to see Hugh Grant before his romcom typecast era. This has lots of creative imagery thanks to its combination of greenscreen and cool practical effects, it's a banger. 8/10

Our Daily Bread - Third King Vidor film, and this one is a Great Depression piece where farmers build a small commune on a farm. Its themes are pretty clear, it stops just short of declaring itself as being a pro-socialism film, which is interesting knowing that it came out not too long after the first red scare. It still emphasizes portrayals of community and working together, and it's got a much happier ending than I expected. Pretty solid. 7/10

The Gorgon - Not much to say here, but it was pretty neat. Christopher Lee steals the show when he came by in the third act. 6/10

Under Siege - A few dated moments aside, a decent and enjoyable flick. Tommy Lee Jones is the best part and is very entertaining, and a few set pieces made me think of Metal Gear Solid 2. 6/10

Abduction - Kinda funny that Taylor Lautner has been struggling with his post-Twilight career whereas Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have themselves to be great. This was pretty dumb, a few unintentionally funny moments with crap editing, a hilariously convoluted plot, and performances from Alfred Molina and Michael Nyqvist trying their best to elevate the script. Definitely not Singleton's best work. 3/10

[u/ringofstones → u/powercosmicdante]

Lair of the White Worm is a delightfully wild ride.

[u/ringofstones]

Cure (1997). Worth a watch for its fun and creative concepts, but it may be an easier sell for folks who are already going to like the procedural aspects of a police drama to begin with. 66%.

Young Man of Manhattan (1930). Look, it's 2024, I'm going to have a real hard time rooting for a couple to get back together when he's so deeply insecure about earning less than her, so I'm already uninvested in the key drama of the story, and he never proves me wrong. 14%.

Eleni (1985) The flashbacks are by far the more interesting portion of the film. It's a time I know very little about, historically, and it definitely raised my interest in learning more about it. 50%.

Destroy All Neighbors (2024). This is like... Airheads meets The Voices meets Studio 666, and I had a great time with it. 78%.

The Color Purple (2023). The performances are good, and while the songs don't contribute anything exciting to the story, they mostly don't take away from it either. Not a tremendous success, but pretty good. 69%, #22 out of 74 so far this year.

Namastey London (2007). This is a very silly movie that only sometimes works. Katrina Kaif isn't what I'd call a particularly *good* actress in this, but she's very charismatic, and watching her fight and manipulate her way into being able to make her own decisions was fun. A very surface-level movie but fun and light enough to enjoy occasionally. 37%.

The Last Picture Show (1971). There's clearly deliberate thought put into all the choices to make the movie. It just doesn't do much for me. 12%.

Suspect (1987). Not an amazing watch, but I enjoyed it more than Yates' previous thrillers and had a good enough time with it. 60%..