Movies (and occasionally face slaps) (Part 1)

The book and audiobook are terrific. Infinitely re-readable. The movie is good but not nearly as great.

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Am I the only one who absolutely hated Midsommar?

I mean it’s not a good movie, but I thought it was pretty enjoyable as a comedy.

I don’t think you’re alone. You kind of need to have gone to a swedish psychedelic retreat to really connect with the material, and I realize not everyone has been so fortunate.

Found the original ending to Scent of a Woman on YouTube (NSFW):

I kind of like it.

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I mostly just like Jason Momoa and want him to succeed. I can’t imagine anyone but him playing Drogo

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I won’t argue with that. I held out hope that Danny’s promise to see him again would be fulfilled and at least bring him back for a cameo.

What the fuck knives out was fucking terrible, faith in humanity lower.

As a long-suffering fan of science fiction, I feel like we’re almost in a new age of creative sci-fi. Back in the 50’s to early 70’s there was this great rush of speculative, intelligent sci-fi from Twilight Zone to Star Trek to 2001. Then it became all about action and explodely dystopian shit --and like don’t get me wrong, I love that Terminator and those Star Wars and Fury Road, but good sci-fi is supposed to pose challenging “what if?” questions to us.

Honestly? The Matrix is probably one of the best conceptual sci-fi movies of the past 30 years. What if machines have overtaken their creators and we’re all living in a simulation? There’s a ton of kung-fu shooty action in The Matrix, but at it’s core, it’s a solid concept for a science fiction film.

Recently, it seems like we’re getting movies like Arrival, The Martian, Sorry To Bother You, Enemy, Ex Machina, on the big screen. Stuff that makes you think. You can actually tell a sci-fi story with no gunplay or explosions.

PS: Just saw Jojo Rabbit. Fantastic.ScarJo is incredible.

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Ha, thanks for the replies. I guess I have to finally watch Mandy and see what the fuss is about. And Clown looks intriguing.

But, lol, I should’ve stressed I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I was Horror Movie Guy. Except for Clown I’ve heard of all of those and seen 2/3. Apologies that my version of “not keeping up” is askew.

I suppose I was asking about any hidden gems, indie lo/no-budget etc.

Like Resolution,

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/resolution_2013

or They Look Like People,

or Toad Road

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Man there is some bad taste in movies itt.

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Just saw The Lighthouse. The first half hour was all beautiful shots and I was like man, I’m going to love this movie. Ultimately too obscurantist for me though. Lost the atmosphere as it descended into chaos and at the end I was like “ok man whatever”.

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That is about what I thought. I enjoyed for the odd experience but it fell apart as an actual movie for me.

I watched it yesterday. It did not find it terrible but I had very high expectations and they were not met. This is clearly meant as a modern take on Agatha Christie and it does a reasonably good job at that. It doesn’t live up to the hype though.
I also have some difficulty buying Daniel Craig as a Southerner. I am still going to watch Knives Out 2. His character has potential.

In the last few days I also watched The Joker and Parasite and enjoyed them both very much.
I don’t know who could beat Joaquin Phoenix for best actor at the Oscars. Brilliant performance through and through.
Joker should be best picture (haven’t seen all nominees yet). This isn’t a comic book movie at all. You could remove every bit of DC lore and it still works. It‘s at its core a very, very good version of Falling Down
In another world Parasite could be a dark horse for best picture but in this one this type of movie cannot win. Highly recommended though.

The Daniel Craig character from Knives Out was supposed to be a parody of Hercule Poiroit and other cozy murder mystery detectives. It’s intentional that his accent and mannerisms are absurdly over the top and hard to buy.

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Thank you for clarifying this. I will collect a new list of suggested hidden gems!

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So 6ix, I’m not sure if these are low budget/indie enough for you. These are a bunch of movies that in my experience, many have heard of but often didn’t give them a chance. And some are new-ish so maybe you haven’t given them a chance yet :+1:

ESCAPE ROOM (2017)
There are a million different Escape Room movies. I watched the last four or five and thought this one from 2017 was the best. Surprising since I think this one had the lowest budget.

Time travel/paradox thrillers
COHERENCE
This movie RULES. Watch it as many times as you want and you will always catch something new. The more you discover, the more you know what to look for each time.
TIME CRIME
TIMELAPSE
TRIANGLE
For fans of Primer and Coherence. Currently streaming on Tubi.

General horror:
THE ABCs OF DEATH
A short-film anthology. Varying quality. All at least clever. Some are great. Currently streaming on Tubi.

VHS 1/2/3
A different frame for another short-film anthology series. Currently streaming on Tubi.

I suggest starting with these vignettes:

Amateur Night (VHS 1)
The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger (VHS 1)
A Ride in the Park (VHS 2)
Safe Haven (VHS 2; this one is fucking bonkers)
Dante the Great (VHS 3)
Parallel Monsters (VHS 3)

Netflix offerings:
BEFORE I WAKE
CAM
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
CHLOE
TWO-SENTENCE HORROR STORIES

Hulu offerings
IN THE DARK: an anthology series
This is produced by Blumhouse, so if you enjoyed Truth or Dare, Halloween, Split, Don’t Breathe, The Purge, Get Out…on and on, they have a bunch of great horror flicks by now. You will enjoy this one if Blumhouse is to your taste.

I recommend starting with Down, Pure, and Uncanny Annie (like a horror version of Jumanji).

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Did you ever work at a video store? lol :grinning:

TWICE. And a movie theater.

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