Last Movie You Saw, Name & Review Movie • Page 91

Except for Happy Death Day, all the horror movies I've seen this past month and a half (if you can call Raw, The Bad Batch, and mother! horror) involved the consumption of human flesh. That's nice.

 

Jesus. Florida Project and Sacred Deer this weekend, Lady Bird and Last Flag Flying the next, and Three Billboards the following. How am I going to fit all of these into my schedule...

 

While We're Young is pretty average Baumbach, which is to say that it's pretty darn good. A bit sillier in both plot and tone, I feel like. Great performances all around; even though it's my least favorite of Stiller's three Baumbach performances, I remember the dude's Zoolander and I'm like dang.

Still need to see Margot at the Wedding and Mistress America.

 

Baumbach is so hit or miss. Margot at the Wedding has a lot of the same problems as While We're Young.

 

I freakin' loved Loving Vincent. One of the best movies I've seen this year.That Rashomon/Citizen Kane structure just never gets old for me when done right.

 

Wolfen - 7.5/10
Sinister 2 - 2.5/10
Lifeforce* - 8/10
The Ritual (2017) - 8/10
The Void (2016) - 5.5/10
Under the Shadow - 8.5/10
The Exorcist* - 7/10
Exorcist II: The Heretic - 4/10
The Exorcist III - 8/10

A far better week than the last one which I know isn't saying much but despite the couple of duds I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Wolfen kicked off the week in strong form and that is despite it not being the best werewolf film but thanks to its deep themes, police procedural framework and a wholly engrossing plot it was nonetheless a big surprise.

Sinister 2 was a disappointment given how much I liked the first film despite its flaws but the sequel just feels utterly unnecessary and doesn't even register scare wise.

Rewatched Lifeforce after less than two weeks since I first viewed it as I couldn't stop thinking about it and my brother hadn't seen it so that was a perfect excuse to revel in the madness of this film, an utter joy and sure to be a staple of future Halloween seasons.

The Ritual was another horror treat at the cinema (been a strong year for horror this year) and it more than exceeded my expectations. With a really good setting, plenty of tense scenes, solid visuals and it keeps its cards close to its chest for as long as possible which makes the final act all the more satisfying.

The Void has some positives but I didn't find the plot all that satisfying but it was overall entertaining enough and the aesthetic and general tone certainly was good.

Under the Shadow was just about the best film of the week thanks to strong characterisation, an engrossing plot, solid visuals and the mix of war and the supernatural was exquisitely done.

Finally I watched the three Exorcist films and my enjoyment of the first film hasn't increased at all sadly, I just don't find it scary or tense enough but it is nonetheless a film I respect and it is more than watchable. Neither of which can be said for Exorcist II: The Heretic which isn't as awful as I expected but it is ludicrous, has too many long stretches of boring plot and like the first film lacks any scares. Though not the best film of the week Exorcist III was the biggest surprise given what I had heard about reshoots and it not being entirely what William Peter Blatty wanted but ignoring all that it was scarier, more tense and far more engrossing than the previous two films while just generally being more entertaining.

Going to finish off the rest of this month mostly with the first six Halloween films as I have only ever seen the first two so I am hoping that series is overall better than the Friday the 13th series.

 

I remember watching Exorcist II: The Heretic and thinking it was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

 

Jigsaw - 4/10

I actually liked this until about the last fifteen minutes. then I hated everything about it

 

Mother! - 9/10

I think I've come to the realization that i'm just a big Arenovsky fan. What's crazy is that on facebook, I saw so many "ughh mother was the worstttttttt" or "lol mother" posts and i was concerned... like, is it super crazy? Is it super boring? Does it not make sense?

Sure enough the answer was no to all of those. I thought the movie was incredibly memorable, had a wonderful tone, and other than beating you over the head with the "point" at the end, I thought was fantastic. Big fan. Thumbs up.

 

I hated mother! and I was talking to someone last night who absolutely loved it and she said, “mother! is such a fantastic reimagining of Dante’s Inferno,” and I was just like, “what the hell are you talking about?” Now, I am all for different takes on films that are open to interpretation, but mother! is just not one of them. It is very explicit in what it is about, in fact, it’s too explicit in its purpose, in my opinion. I don’t care if she loves it or not, but it’s not about Dante’s Inferno. We can all agree on that, right?

Somehow we also got on the subject of LOST, which she hated, and that’s totally fine, but her reasoning was that at the end it’s revealed that they were all dead and that nothing in the beginning really happened or mattered and I was just dumbfounded. There are a myriad of reasons to not like LOST, but that is not one of them. I challenged her stance and she said, “well that’s my interpretation of it” and would not be convinced otherwise. Like mother!, LOST isn’t really the type of show that leaves things up to interpretation. They tell you outright, “this is what is happening.” I don’t know what my point is here, exactly. I guess I’m just questioning when a viewer’s interpretation of something is appropriate or not.

When watching something like Twin Peaks, or Lost Highway, I feel like the viewer’s interpretation of what happened is a large part of the experience. They are designed to leave things open for questioning. At a certain point though, there’s no such thing as interpretation and just fact, right? I’m not gonna watch Toy Story and tell you it’s about the holocaust, that’s just wrong.


Side note: people are also just wired differently. The scene in mother! where they eat the baby was probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious scenes I’ve seen in awhile. I thought it was so laughably bad and that girl I was talking to said that part made her cry so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

to your point, no, i dont really think there's really much to interpret in Mother (or in the Lost finale...although i know that ending flew over many peoples heads).

and i thought it was a fucked up, yet funny visual, since by that point of the movie, you totally understand what the movie is depicting. Definitely didn't make me cry....and i dont think it was unintentional if you laughed.

 

There is a movie called Room 237 that lets lunatics ramble for two hours about what they imagined The Shining to be about. There is a limit to reasonable interpretation.

 

But how!?

I’ve seen it. It’s absolutely ridiculous. With that said, while I think those people are absolutely insane, I do think it’s a testament to how captivating The Shining can be, I guess. If I watch it through that lens I actually find some enjoyment in it. I remember laughing so hard when that woman zooms in on the poster in the background and talks about how she sees a Minotaur.

 

Um, did anyone else see The Florida Project? Cause what in the actual fuck was that ending? That was one of the dumbest decisions I’ve seen all year. I really enjoyed that movie, as depressing as it was, but I am honestly baffled by that ending. Literally just the last 30 seconds of that movie were awful, I am so confused haha. It didn’t ruin the rest of the movie by any means but it’s just...I don’t understand

 

I heard that from YMS too and I am so intrigued

 

im stoned watching Untraceable and it's pretty hilarious

e: o shit Ted Beneke is in this movie

 

I went in blind and it was so shocking lol. It was like an entirely different director took over. It’s weird because I felt like it was ending on a really high note and then NOPE

 

pretty sure it was a fantasy coping mechanism

 

Pretty sure it was bad

My confusion doesn’t lie in what it happening so much in the directing style

 

Tank Girl was a fucking blast, I totally get how it could be too much for a lot of people but I loved it

 

Candyman* - 8/10
The House of the Devil* - 8.5/10
Halloween (1978)* - 9/10
Halloween II (1981)* - 6/10
Halloween III: Season of the Witch - 7/10
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers - 5.5/10
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers - 5/10
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers - 4/10
Payback* - 7.5/10
Live by Night - 5.5/10
The Haunting (1963) - 8/10
The Cabin in the Woods - 6/10

Mixed bag this week but nothing I watched this week I truly hated. Due to lack of time I will be brief with this week's roundup.

The Halloween series in terms of the first six films is a lot stronger for me than the first six Friday the 13th films with the first three in the former series being particularly strong, surprised how much I enjoyed the third film and it is a shame they never continued the different story and characters per film idea.

Live by Night was underwhelming considering the amount of talent involved and sorely lacked originality.

The Haunting was surprisingly effective with a solid cast and some great camerawork that really throws you into the plot which is wholly engrossing.

After all the hype I had heard about The Cabin in the Woods over the past five years I was expecting something far better but sadly I wasn't impressed. I feel it shows its hand far too early (would have been more intriguing to start off like other horror films and then reveal itself), it isn't scary or tense enough and thought it does get funny and entertaining it only does so in the final act.

Due to less time over the rest of this year there is a chance I won't be able to keep up my one film a day goal but I'm not going to throw in the towel just yet but if it happens then so be it, kept it up far longer than I expected.

 

Thor: Ragnarok was the most fun I've had watching a Marvel movie in a long time.

 

Saw The Florida Project. It was pretty great and well done for the most part. Having all struggles of the adult characters play out as the back drop to the kids summer adventures was an interesting and effective story telling device. But yea... that ending. It felt like a completely different movie.

 

Thor: Ragnarok - 9/10
The Serpent and the Rainbow - 7/10
Videodrome - 6.5/10
The Odd Couple - 8.5/10
My Life as a Zucchini - 9/10
The Sugarland Express - 7/10
Heist - 6.5/10
The Devil’s Backbone - 8/10

Second week in a row where I haven't hated a single film I watched and overall it was a great week despite being the lowest amount films watched in a week since the beginning of June due to time constraints.

Kicked the week off with a massive surprise in the form of Thor: Ragnarok as the previous two films didn't impress me all that much compared to the stronger films in the Marvel Comics Universe but I also had high expectations given my love of Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Ragnarok mostly worked thanks to that films director/actor Taika Waititi who gave it an incredibly funny tone. As a result this is my second favorite superhero film of the year (behind only the incredible Logan) and beats the likes of Wonder Woman, Spiderman: Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 because unlike those films it didn't fall apart in the final act as it had better pacing, action and kept the comedy flowing.

The Serpent and the Rainbow is by no means the best film from Wes Craven but thanks to solid practical effects, an engrossing plot and some weird scenes it is at least entertaining enough despite not being all that scary or having much depth.

I know how much love and praise Videodrome gets but I really struggled to get into it which isn't to say it has no positives but due to no characters being likable or even all that interesting I just didn't find it engaging enough.

Another surprise of the week was The Odd Couple since American comedies have rarely generated a substantial amount of laughs for me but this not only had me laughing throughout but had me engrossed in the characters and the plot. Was also surprisingly dark in areas and the two leads were great.

My Life as a Zucchini (or Courgette for us Europeans) was another surprise as upon seeing the short runtime I expected it to lack depth and brush over anything substantial, how wrong I was. This like The Odd Couple had its dark moments but like that film made the payoff all the better plus it was funny, has incredible stop motion animation and I was wholly engrossed. Quite frankly I would have happily accepted a longer runtime.

The Sugarland Express may not be as great as Duel that came before it or Jaws that came after but it was entertaining enough, Goldie Hawn was a solid lead and it had its funny moments mixed with some darker moments albeit more brushed over than the two previous films from this week.

Heist lacks any originality and tries little new but it has a great cast, a fun plot and some nice twists that make it entertaining enough despite lacking any depth.

Finally The Devil’s Backbone may well not match the comparable Pan's Labyrinth but it was clearly groundwork for what made that film great so I wholly respect it for that plus it is a solid film in its own right albeit lacking any real scares.

Hopefully I manage to keep this up despite my increasingly lacking time as now only evenings and weekends are free but this year has been incredible even if I don't make it to the end of the year with one film minimum a day.

 

The Killing of a Sacred Deer - 9/10

I loved everything about this.