Let's All Go to the Movies

What Lies Below: Yikes I'm 3 in a row for total trainwreck movies. Felt like a shitty episode of Goosebumps/Are You Afraid of the Dark crossed over with a corny Lifetime made for TV movie full of in your face horny gestures. Directing, acting, basically everything was fucking bad. How is this the top movie on Netflix???
 
air said:
What Lies Below: Yikes I'm 3 in a row for total trainwreck movies. Felt like a shitty episode of Goosebumps/Are You Afraid of the Dark crossed over with a corny Lifetime made for TV movie full of in your face horny gestures. Directing, acting, basically everything was fucking bad. How is this the top movie on Netflix???
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Because that's what they want you to watch. So be prepared to see a few different cover arts for it and it be recommended multiple times
 
air said:
Tenet: Take a movie with a complicated plot line and heady concept, both of which relies on the viewer understanding a tremendous amount of narrative, while hearing a horrific audio mix/soundtrack that makes the dialogue unintelligible.

The movie is a technical marvel, though fell way short of how Interstellar created a grand sense of awe (for the record, Interstellar at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's IMAX was my personal pinnacle experience for seeing movies in a theater) despite having some easy layup cinematic setpieces for mindfucking the viewer. My favorite scenes explored the concept of inversion in a way that was clear to the audience, but there simply wasn't enough of it. For example, the fight in the art depot was fantastic, but moves into genius territory once the audience knew what was actually appening and understood the terror of being attacked by someone from the future moving backwards in time. Using that plot device in a more meaningful way would've sent this movie above and beyond for me.

A lot of people will probably finish this feeling confused, while for me, its dissatisfaction. Hell, the big final battle felt like some weak ass cinematic setpiece in a COD game. I think my favorite part of watching Tenet was Nolan insisting on seeing it in theaters, but wearing headphones somewhat helped make some sense of wtf I was watching. The plot is really not that hard to follow if you could actually hear the dialogue. I liked the movie, but I'm certainly not watching it again knowing it's a showcase of Nolan simultaneously at his best and worst as a filmmaker. Or if I do, I sure as hell will do it with an altered state of mind.

One last thing: Robert Pattinson's performance was the most fun part of the movie and seeing him as an action hero has me sold that he is gonna be fucking awesome in Batman.
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Saw Tenet again in a theater while high as a kite and this time I loved it. Having theater quality sound made a tremendous difference in hearing the dialogue and I can see why Nolan was so adamant about the theater experience for this movie. This time around I even noticed something crazy in certain scenes - the music plays BACKWARDS on the inverted scenes?!?! What the shit WTF WTF wow. Almost wish I'd seen this in IMAX, but also unsure if the bass would've been too overwhelming.
 
When the Masters was on rain delay yesterday, I made the mistake of flipping over to Primal Fear, which was about fifteen minutes in on HBO. Needless to say, I watched the rest of the movie.

It’s the definition of a movie that is far better than it should be. Also had two of my favorite underrated babes in Laura Linney and Maura Tierney. Points docked for making Edward Norton, though.
 
I still really dislike the last 30 minutes of Return of the King’s theatrical cut. End that shit at “you kneel for no one” and fade to black. The movie is so black and white that the mystery of the Undying Lands just feels unnecessary theatrically.

Just my opinion. I’m all for Jackson doing all the books endings in his 4.5 hour cut. It just makes the end a slog.
 
Trial of the Chicago 7 6/10
The film as a whole was entertaining, with a competent ensemble cast and pretty nice pacing. The movie features a nice balance of humanity and comic relief, with notable performances from Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman and Mark Rylance as attorney Bill Kunstler.
However, as with several of the films in this year's Best Pic noms, this one just doesn't seem worthy of the notoriety. It was fine, but falls short of recent process dramas, courtroom dramas, social activism films. It wades through the middle of several genres, neither failing nor excelling at any.

Sound of Metal 8/10
Riz Ahmed is outstanding in the lead role of this touching and dramatic, yet never-over-the-top and deeply human film. I have some experience personally with the deaf community and cochlear implants specifically, and many of the themes surrounding those issues rang very true. It was touching, well-executed from a film-making standpoint, and again- it's worth the price of admission for Ahmed alone.
I did have an interesting feeling after watching the film though; I think it really would have made an excellent 4-6 episode miniseries. There is more than enough in the character, the circumstance, backstories and future that the film left me craving more information. I think that is part of what made the film so satisfying to me. Leave 'em wanting more.

Highly recommended.

After watching all the best pic noms, I'll do a post on that shortly.
 
So after finally viewing all of the Best Picture nominees, here's where I come out. The following list is my personal opinion, not a prediction.

1- The Father- It deserves another viewing, and may suffer from being a staged play prior to being a film, but overall had the most "this-is-a-best-picture" feel, combined with execution and performance.

2- Minari- I realize I didn't score this as high as I probably should have, but it was really lovely and I have thought about it often since my viewing. Also has a "best picture" feel.

3- Sound of Metal- I scored it higher than Minari, but it might not be as good of a film, just perhaps more enjoyable, if that makes sense.

4- Mank- Inventive and unique in the field.

5- Nomadland- I feel like I need to re-watch, maybe I was just missing something. Seemed like the type of film that would hit me more, but it just didn't. Felt like Oscar-bait a little.

6- Judas and the Black Messiah- A nice film. No complaints.

7- Trial of the Chicago 7- A nice film. No complaints.

8- Promising Young Woman- Really didn't like this one at all. Very few positive comments I could make.


How I think it will go down: Mianari wins. I do not follow, nor do I know how earlier awards shows have gone.


I realized that the only Best Actor nominee I haven't seen is Bozeman in Ma Rainey. I'll check that out in the next couple days. Right now, I'd give an edge to Hopkins, but would feel great about Ahmed or Yeun.
 
GhostOfGaspar said:
How I think it will go down: Mianari wins. I do not follow, nor do I know how earlier awards shows have gone.


I realized that the only Best Actor nominee I haven't seen is Bozeman in Ma Rainey. I'll check that out in the next couple days. Right now, I'd give an edge to Hopkins, but would feel great about Ahmed or Yeun.
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Nomadland completed the clean sweep at the BAFTA's over the weekend, winning every single precursor award to Best Picture, along with all of the critic circle awards before that. Anything else winning would be the biggest upset in Oscar's history.

Boseman also has Best Actor locked up though I agree with you on Hopkins. Really the only major award that is up in the air come Oscar night is Best Actress.
 
LurchingBeast said:
Nomadland completed the clean sweep at the BAFTA's over the weekend, winning every single precursor award to Best Picture, along with all of the critic circle awards before that. Anything else winning would be the biggest upset in Oscar's history.

Boseman also has Best Actor locked up though I agree with you on Hopkins. Really the only major award that is up in the air come Oscar night is Best Actress.
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I certainly don’t always line up with the academy, and I know you loved it, but I just don’t get the Nomadland thing. It was good, not great.
In the last few years, I thought The Shape of Water was deserving (my pic was Phantom Thread), Parasite was deserving (my pic was Jojo Rabbit), Birdman was deserving (really weak field).
I’m looking forward to a year of better films, and seeing them in the theater, as they deserve.
2nd Pfizer poke is Wednesday.
 
GhostOfGaspar said:
I certainly don’t always line up with the academy, and I know you loved it, but I just don’t get the Nomadland thing. It was good, not great.
In the last few years, I thought The Shape of Water was deserving (my pic was Phantom Thread), Parasite was deserving (my pic was Jojo Rabbit), Birdman was deserving (really weak field).
I’m looking forward to a year of better films, and seeing them in the theater, as they deserve.
2nd Pfizer poke is Wednesday.
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I think this is my favorite field of Best Picture nominees in quite some time. Most aren't among my favorite movies of the year or anything but almost everything is solid if not very good. Every year there are a few downright shitty nominees, where this season there's only one I actively dislike.

2020 was an awesome year in movies, IMO. With a limited slate, I had an overall higher average rating than the previous 2 years. I do miss the theater greatly but it felt like the lack of big budget bloat gave smaller pictures room to shine.

As an aside, I'm counting The Father as a 2021 movie, so you guys can expect that on my best of list this year.
 
I'll preface this by saying that there have been several times in the last 5-7 years that I've told my wonderful wife, "We should check this one out; this dude that I think knows what he's talking about recommended it". We have pretty differing tastes, but I certainly appreciate yours.

LurchingBeast said:
I think this is my favorite field of Best Picture nominees in quite some time.
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woof. But ok, maybe. Looking back, that might be hard to argue, but I feel like I want to. aught7 will always be a highlight/sore spot for me (TWBB is second on my all-time list only to A Clockwork Orange). 2013 was a rich year as well.

LurchingBeast said:
the lack of big budget bloat gave smaller pictures room to shine.
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Yep!
 
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