Last Movie You Saw, Name & Review Movie • Page 94

Same, when I watch movies at home I'm usually online so I'm only half paying attention

 

Even if they meant Edge of Tomorrow, I'd still agree. Lol.

 

I do feel like the lack of development was somewhat intentional, since part of the movie is about him projecting a development of feelings on her that she couldn't reciprocate due to being unconscious.

 

Ok buddy, we're not in the unpopular entertainment opinions thread anymore, keep this trash to yourself

 

Psh. Lady Bird hasn't been out long enough for that to be an unpopular opinion. Besides, the world is my oyster.

 

Ace Ventura 2 - 7/10

I'll never forget seeing this in theaters and literally crying from laughter (when I was 9).. I still laugh but I'm sure it's mostly a nostalgia kick. Monopoly guy scene is still #1

 

I Am Not Your Negro is a very good documentary about James Baldwin, but it leads me to a question I always have about evaluating documentaries: are you judging the film on the material, or are you judging it on its artistic merits?

Every year the most renowned documentaries tend to be about weighty themes, but often the hidden gems are about frivolous or eccentric figures.

 

This is the same issue I have with the minimalist poet, Rupi Kaur. If you’re not familiar, she’s an Indian-Canadian poet, known for writing brief pieces often revolving around things like sexual abuse, the oppression of women, poverty etc. But because of her heavy themes, I’ve found that she is able to escape criticism simply based on that alone, despite the fact that her poems are, in my opinion, basically trash. Of course it’s good that there is a prominent woman of color who is making it big, but I can’t help but acknowledge the fact that she might as well be writing fortune cookies.

 

Marjorie Prime is such a welcome relief for the science fiction genre. As people throughout the world get prepared to be indundated by laser swords, explosions, and space ships for three hours, Michael Almeryeda has released a deep and thoughtful examination on a future where we can surround ourselves with memories and the potential ramifications of that sort of insulation. In the film, you are able to create a fully lifelike hologram of a loved one, teaching it memories and even going so far as to adjusting the age of a loved one so a spouse that died of old age can be projected in their youthful form even as you cling to life. At first it operates in the same way photographs or visits to a grave may, allowing people to monologue and deal with their emotional baggage, but what the film examines is the reliability of our own memory and how we could use these images to reconstruct our own past to comfort ourselves in the present. As various family members talk to the Prime holograms, you see different versions of family trauma, repressed memories, and hidden incidents that few know. It creates situations where the hologram is aware of knowledge that the person never would have known in their own lives, and how memory itself is not processing old information but instead is re-interpreted each time; when we remember something from twenty years ago, we are actually remembering our recollection of the last time we processed that memory. This is something that research has determined, but it is hard to accept; has my memory of prom or my driving test or my visit to the Eiffel Tower been corrupted by years of nostalgia and re-evaluation? The ending of the film is particularly powerful, as you get to a point where there are multiple Prime holograms interacting with each other, all constructed by the various memories of the living people they spoke to but with some imperfections and flaws from how certain people remember them. It is a smart, probing film and something that leaves you with questions after it is over.

 

as someone who's filmed a doc, it's a mix i think. docs can be really boringly made about super important subjects, really artfully made about odball subjects, really compelllingly made about frivolous stuff. any of those can make good docs, or bad docs can be made about stuff that's important enough you wish it were well made. that's why, imo, documentaries are among the most challenging genre; there's a realistic constraint that must be managed, and you can't just skate by on sincerity alone.

that said, I Am Not Your Negro is really solid. Baldwin was a gem.

 

Get Out (third time in the last week) - 9.5/10

I was SO far behind on this (just saw it for the first time last week), but goddamn it's so good. Really might be my #1 of the year.

 

Berlin Syndrome - 7.5/10
Gremlins* - 8.5/10
Swiss Army Man - 8/10
Mindhorn - 8/10
Free Fire - 7/10
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - 6.5/10
Bad Santa - 8/10

Putting this up a bit late but an overall good week and I didn't dislike any of the films I watched while also managing to fit in some more Christmas films.

Biggest surprise of the week was Bad Santa as I have generally not enjoyed all that many American comedies but that managed to illicit not only laughs but general enjoyment. Everything else was at least entertaining with Gremlins despite being probably my twelfth rewatch is film of the week and still holds up.

 

Marjorie Prime is really good.

 

Over the last few days I watched Dawson City: Frozen Time, The Human Surge, and The Other Side of Hope. All three are decidedly geared toward the arthouse, but The Other Side of Hope is something that the average audience can enjoy. Just like Le Havre, Kaurismaki has a fascinating way of shooting deadpan comedy in what seems like an overly serious audience. Sometimes it feels like a European Napoleon Dynamite, which sounds like an insult but it works here because he is dealing with an inherently awkward situation as a Syrian refugee tries to traverse modern-day Europe and its contradictions and cultural differences. European arthouse cinema is almost exclusively dreary dramas, so it is nice to get a change of pace sometimes.

Dawson City and the Human Surge are much more difficult; Dawson City is a fascinating look into film preservation that also works as a sad reflection on how capitalism's booms and busts raise and destroy cities. The Human Surge is intentionally difficult, but it is one of the best films of the year at examining lives we tend to ignore.

 

I don’t know about two of those, but I read a review for Dawson City awhile back that had me really intrigued. And the score that they used in the trailer was hauntingly beautiful.

 

Hong Sang-soo has been making slightly different versions of the same time; tales of regret, self-loathing, missed chances, and the inherent depression of modern life. On the Beach at Night Alone is the latest (he puts out roughly two films per year, so it can be hard to keep track) and it is as strong as his other work. It plays around with the perception of reality; is the main character watching a movie version of herself in the second half of the film, and is the director a nod to Hong's affair with an actress in real life? However, that is never really the point, as these are films about people talking about their problems, but in the reserved way that Korean culture has ingrained into them.

It is so pleasant to have Hong around, as you never feel like any sort of rush to see his work but instead they work as a relaxing antidote to so many other Very Important Films. This is part of his extremely quick pace; like Steven Soderbergh or Woody Allen, people tend to find less importance in their work because of how often they come out. Of course, this used to be a standard; Godard released 15 films in a nine year period, and in the studio system people were expected to churn out multiple films a year. Hong sees through the bloat of modern cinema, and it is time that he is appreciated as a master, especially as his Korean counterparts have fallen off since the golden age of a few years ago.

 

I realized this year that Hong is my favorite working director. I travelled to a festival in Montreal mostly just to see Claire’s Camera (so I deeply disagree with the point about not feeling in a rush to see his films). His three films from this year are all incredible. The Day After may just be his finest work.

 

The Stunt Man - 8/10
Fist Fight - 0/10
Byzantium - 7/10
Uncommon Valor - 7/10
Midnight Run* - 9/10
The Terminal - 8/10
Life (2017) - 6/10

Odd week which featured not only the worst film I have seen from this year but also several middle of the road films but hardly the worst week and Midnight Run was fun to watch once again.

Dud of the week and dud of the year as well was easily Fist Fight which is another modern American comedy that utterly fails at everything. It is just another one of those films that thinks being loud, abrasive and saying nonsensical shit somehow makes it funny but the morons involved with this film clearly haven't the first clue about how to do comedy. None of the characters I care about, it looks like a TV film and is clearly set in an alien alternate reality where the negative consequences for being a violent teacher don't exist. Sometimes I forget why I rarely stray into modern American comedy and then a film like Fist Fight reminds me and I wonder how anyone can see any value in such a piece of shit. I'm glad non-American comedies that are actually good exist as I love to laugh which that pile of arse couldn't even muster a smirk.

Looking forward to seeing what I can squeeze in on the final week of what has been an incredible viewing experience over the course of this year.

 

Gremlins - 5/10

First time seeing Gremlins! This had forever been one of those movies i liked to tell people i've never seen, and they go 'whaaaaaaaaat?'. But it was time. There are many moments when I think seeing something and how much you like it can depend on WHEN you see it (as in year or how old you were or where you are in your movie watching lifespan). This could possibly be one of those moments because i thought this was kinda bad. Not even in a cheesy way, just...I'm not necessarily sure what I was watching. It wasn't a comedy, horror, campy, 'good, a proper story, memorable characters.. it was fairly boring too and sorta long as well. Gizmo was really cute though. And I love me some animatronics! I fell asleep for the last 20 minutes or so :/. Oh well! Merry christmas

 

Home Alone* - 6.5/10
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - 6/10
Die Hard* - 10/10
The Muppet Christmas Carol - 7/10
MouseHunt* - 8/10
Gattaca - 8.5/10
The Wall - 7/10
In the Loop - 9/10
Escape to Athena - 5/10
Robbery - 8/10
The Red Turtle - 9/10
The Poseidon Adventure* - 9/10

* = Rewatch


Final week of the year which was a pretty solid ending to what has been a fantastic year overall due to the stellar amount of films released this year and me succeeding at my goal of watching at least one film a day, 480 in total.

Just a few stats that I found interesting due to the volume of films I watched that Letterboxd have on my profile.

Average of 40 films a month, average of 9.2 a week and the highest amount of films watched in a given week was 13 which happened three times. Only 21% of films I watched in 2017 were a repeated viewing.

The person to feature in the most films I watched was Samuel L. Jackson with 15 films and the most prominent director of the year with 8 films watched was Peter Hyams.

For 2018 I am not going to be setting a one film a day goal but as I noticed my Letterboxd profile was somewhat devoid of reviews for films that I own I will be watching all of those films I have yet to review mixed in with the usual new releases and films I want to see.

Here is to a Happy New Year and hopefully a great experience watching films.

 

Your Home Alone ratings had me real worried. But you made up for it with Die Hard. 10/10 is correct, it is literally a perfect movie.

 

I know they aren't perfect films but I genuinely have enough fun with them where I can ignore the flaws just enough to not care, glad you agree with me on Die Hard though.

 

Some people write it off as just a dumb action movie, but it really is so much more than that. There's so much attention to detail. Even the smallest thing mentioned ends up having a payoff by the end.

 

I agree, which is one reason out of many that I love it so much plus given all the repeated viewings I have been able to appreciate the finer details more and more.

 

The Shape of Water is incredibly moving and beautiful. Probably my favorite of 2017. My first GDT; definitely interested in seeing more.