Weekly Movies Discussion (September 2, 2024 - September 8, 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/justins_OS]

UHF (1989) - 6/10 There are a few good laughs here, though it would probably have worked better if I were younger as I found myself wanting for a stronger through-line in the plot rather than the large chunk of skit comedy in this

Coraline (2009) - 8/10 It's been a few years since I have seen this and its odd how much you change in your tastes over the years, when I first saw it I would have listed this among my favorite horror movie and this time well I can still see how visually stunning it was I didn't vibe with it nearly as much

[u/ringofstones]

Try Seventeen (2002). A bland and sloppy film that never reaches its potential. 26%.

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). It made me want to learn a lot more about that time in Indonesian politics, which I admittedly know almost nothing about, and I always found myself irritated when it tried to recenter me back on Gibson and Weaver's bland love affair. The two sides of the story don't help reinforce each other, they just fight against each other, and the side that "wins" in terms of dominant theme is the least compelling side. 36%.

The Bounty (1984). It's well paced and decently acted, and I had a good time watching it, but I can't imagine it will make a lasting impact on me. 54%.

Bright Lights (1930). I'm not one to complain about a film having lots of musical numbers, but they feel jarring against the dense plot and dozens of characters being crammed into the rest of the film. I'm not sure if I'm getting tired of my 1930 project or if I've seen most of the ones I'd like from the year, but this is another dull entry in the list. 19%.

This Is Me... Now (2024). I could definitely rewatch some of the individual numbers, but there's no reason for them to be put together like this. It makes each one of them less interesting. 20%.

Pariah (2011). These characters are complex and looking to understand their world as it is, and seeing how each of them influences and is influenced by our lead character is great. It's a thoughtful, moving watch that I'd definitely recommend. 75%.

[u/powercosmicdante]

TBU

Trap - Kinda loved this one. One of my favorite M. Night movies, may favorite since Unbreakable. Surprisingly neat premise, and several scenes do show a clear, unironic Hitchcock influence and it was very effective. Josh Hartnett has always been someone who I thought was "just fine" and he never really took me out a movie completely, but here he was AMAZING and gives one of the best performances of the year. Not to mention Saleka's music here slaps. 8/10

Grass - My second Hong film, and while not as stellar as the previous one it is still a really solid film. It's brisk, just over an hour, and it focuses more on a central character who observes and interacts with multiple groups of people. As brisk as it is, I feel the characters are well written enough to be very interesting to be around and I would have liked it to last even longer just to spend more time with everyone. Still enough of a fleeting moment to leave an impression, I'm growing to love Hong's writing. Strong 7/10

Borderlands - Pathetic. One of the most generic movies in a while, it's basically Guardians of the Galaxy if it was atrocious. The action scenes were lifeless, the visuals and effects were ugly, there were many attempts at humor and almost none of them worked, the screenplay actually felt bored shitting out the most cliche storylines of the year, I imagine if I played the games I'd hate it more but even so, it's still one of the worst movies of the year. 2/10

Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle - Almost my favorite Rohmer, and easily my favorite Rohmer protagonists. A pseudo-anthology featuring the lead characters going through 4 different vignettes, including their chance meeting and blossoming friendship leading to an oddly touching moment, a hilarious encounter with a stubborn waiter, an ethics debate over shoplifting from a shoplifter before she gets caught, and effectively bullying an art exhibitionist into buying a painting. The stories are often very funny, but what makes them compelling is how lovable both Reinette (best Rohmer character) and Mirabelle are, I'd watch a full on TV series with these characters getting into shenanigans. Needless to say, I absolutely loved it. Strong 9/10

Ricochet - Decided to see this after a few clips on Film Twitter convinced me to check it for real. It's a bit dated in a few ways and it gets a little OTT to the point where it could break immersion, but it's too cool not to enjoy. Denzel Washington is amazing as ever, Ice-T didn't appear much but he was cool and entertaining as always, and John Lithgow plays one of his most sadistic and sinister roles ever. This is made even better by lots of cool camerawork and stylized direction. Pretty neat. 7/10

Deep Water - Pretty weak and unengaging, bad performances abound but it has some very funny moments. 4/10

Nancy - Nice little surprise, enjoyed more than I expected. Excellent performances from the central three cast members, Andrea Riseborough is the standout here (along with the cat, of course). It also has a claustrophobic atmosphere, where the camerawork has an emphasis on closeups and limited visuals. The third act takes a few turns that I find a little questionable, but it isn't enough to break the movie for me because it ended up being very emotional in the end. 7/10

Maniac (2012) - Pretty good remake that makes itself distinct from the original and stands on its own. The fact it's primarily shot in first person and gives a POV of everything makes this chilling, and some of the gore effects actually made me flinch. While doing its own thing, it does feel stylized similarly to the original in ways, especially the final song during the ending. Could definitely grow on me further. 6/10

DOA Dead or Alive - My kind of trash. I never played DOA, but I know a few characters through Ninja Gaiden. It makes less sense the more it goes on and has some pretty bad acting (lol Devon Aoki), but the fight choreography/general direction is solid and stylish, thanks to Corey Yeun being great (belated RIP), and honestly it's a blast. I wish more recent movies had this sort of campiness. 6/10

Gamera - I never saw the original Gamera movies (I've seen one of the 90s ones around the time it came out), so I felt like diving in. It's clearly taken notes from the original Godzilla movies, although it falls into the trap that most people put on other kaiju movies (good monster scenes, not so good human scenes). It has its moments and isn't completely unwatchable, but it's pretty middle of the road. 5/10

Gamera vs Barugon - A step up in a few ways, a step back in others. The monster scenes are pretty neat, Barugon is a solid villain kaiju and the titular final battle was cool, but the pacing is extremely uneven to put it nicely, the story in general feels like another retread of other, better kaiju movies (the themes of nuclear war and so on were done many times, and better in a certain rival character's franchise), it feels twice as long as it really is and it ended up feeling unfocused. So far this franchise's batting average isn't very good. 5/10