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Post by ThirdMan on Nov 24, 2022 14:00:53 GMT -8
Will be curious to hear Jeremy's thoughts on Glass Onion, assuming he makes it to the theater for the one-week engagement, as opposed to waiting until December 19th for the Netflix debut.
Anyways, IMO, it's WAY more over-the-top than the original, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I can't evaluate it fully on account of probably falling asleep for a few minutes during it -- I work an overnight job, and my sleep patterns don't align all that well with these movie showtimes -- but I definitely had a good time with what I saw of it. Daniel Craig is great fun (as before), but Janelle Monae feels like the standout here.
ETA: Just watched Bodies Bodies Bodies. It was alright, though I think it would've been more effective had they threaded more of that self-consciously "woke"/insincere millennial dialogue (clearly intended as parody) throughout the film, rather than just unloading most of it in one scene. And as recent, well-reviewed horror/suspense-thrillers go, I'd say Barbarian had a more unique structure, even though I wouldn't characterize that as a particularly great film either (certainly better than most standard slashers and supernatural horror flicks that clog up multiplexes, though).
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 24, 2022 19:05:58 GMT -8
I think Bodies Bodies Bodies includes several instances of woke-speak throughout the film; it just comes to a head in that one scene when the characters are at their most fraught and embittered - which, honestly, is when the current culture's buzzwords get the most mileage, especially online. (Also, take care to note that the characters are Gen Z, not millennials. My generation has its own set of #cringe dialogue, and the younger kids need to stop trying to make fetch happen.)
Structurally, I'd say that Barbarian is one of the year's most innovative films, and is genuinely shocking in spots. I still slightly prefer Bodies Bodies Bodies for its cast and pinpoint cultural humor (plus I think it sticks the landing a notch better than Barbarian does), but they're both among my favorite films of the year. But of course I'm kinda twisted that way.
I'm considering whether to see Glass Onion in the theater, rather than wait for its Netflix debut. Truth is, I haven't been going to the theater as much as I like lately, due to both scheduling issues and not having friends who care to see non-superhero flicks on the big screen. But I really do want to see a few on the big screen before year's end.
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Post by ThirdMan on Nov 24, 2022 23:38:22 GMT -8
I just don't feel the woke-speak was emphasized enough earlier in the film to take full notice of it as a prevailing theme -- them just being shallow, materialistic people isn't really enough, as that's been so commonplace in these sorts of films over the years -- so piling so much of it into that one scene just felt a bit forced and inelegant, IMO. Anyways, the movie is generally well-acted, but I've seen so many horror movies where young characters (are they meant to be in their mid-to-late-20s, Pace and Davidson aside?) wander around in the dark shrieking that overall, I didn't find it overly special. Not bad, though, and it certainly sticks the comical landing, as you said. And Jeremy, I hope you're only using "cringe" with a level of ironic detachment, because I, uh, cringe whenever anyone over 20 uses the word in that dopey, adolescent way (whatever happened to "cringe-worthy"?).
And I'd make an effort to check out Glass Onion on the big screen, as it's got great production values (why Neflix paid so much money for a relatively modestly-earning franchise is a question for another day, though), and is very funny, so should play well in a decent-sized crowd.
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 25, 2022 6:51:31 GMT -8
Netflix's payout for the Knives Out franchise was nuts (they don't even have the first film streaming at the moment), and it's not surprising they finally decided to give Glass Onion a brief theatrical window to try and earn some money on it. But I'll see if I can find some time to give the new film a whirl while it's on the big screen. And Jeremy, I hope you're only using "cringe" with a level of ironic detachment, because I, uh, cringe whenever anyone over 20 uses the word in that dopey, adolescent way (whatever happened to "cringe-worthy"?). You can tell I was using it ironically because I put the hashtag in front of the word. You know, in order to make it extra cringe. What distinguishes Bodies Bodies Bodies is not just how it deploys its cultural commentary, but when. The first act makes it very clear - perhaps too clear - that these are shallow, preppy rich kids (I believe all except Pace are supposed to be in their early 20s) who spend too much time on their phones and love flaunting their accomplishments. It's only when their backs are against the wall and the panic sets in that the big buzzwords come out and the characters try to one-up each other in victim points. It's all fun and games till people start dying; at that point, your only mental defense is to label your friend as "upper middle class." Also, I can't help noting the irony that the film itself became embroiled in a modern-day victimization controversy that involved accusations of objectification and homophobia. Incredible stuff. Edit (SPOILERS): Oh yes, and the film this reminded me of was Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, due to the fact that so many of the "killings" were based around a misunderstanding. That's another entertaining and very funny film, with one of the best uses of an in medias res opening ever.
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 25, 2022 12:53:14 GMT -8
Also, good time to log some other films I watched this week.
Nope - Each Jordan Peele film feels more ambitious and less coherent than the one preceding it, but he certainly knows how to sell an audience on that ambition. The film's deliberate pacing makes it feel for the longest time like an exercise in wheel-spinning, but a lot of the disparate symbols get some payoff in the film's back half, and I expect others will pay off further on rewatch. (As opposed to Us, a film I've come to think less of and about over time.) At its heart, Nope has some glaring critiques to level at the business of cinema, and if all those elements don't quite come together (with some, like the Jupe material, feeling underbaked), it does offer a lot to discuss and interpret without feeling overly showy in doing so. And that chimpanzee scene is among the scariest I've seen anywhere this year.
Petite Maman - Celine Sciamma's follow-up to Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a brief (72 minutes), minimalist story of mothers and daughters, and perhaps the most benign science-fiction(?) tale in years. But it's also moving and effective, telling a compelling story about youthful friendship while keeping music and supporting cast to a minimum. There's probably more that could be explored here, but the film leaves audiences with a lot to contemplate, without ever talking down to them. (The PG rating suggests this is a family film, but as with After Yang or Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, most kids probably won't connect with the deeper themes here.) The girls playing the two leads are quite good, even if it was occasionally difficult to tell who was who.
RRR - After watching this widely acclaimed, massively successful action-adventure-comedy-romance-musical from India, I have deduced that Bollywood films probably aren't for me. There's some impressive technical achievements to be found here, but the choppy editing, corny music, dodgy, VFX, and outsized performances got on my nerves. With a runtime longer than Avengers Endgame, the film pulls out every stop and puts its audience through the wringer, but the end result is simply exhausting. I dunno, most people seem to love this, but I just found the whole thing to be ludicrous and artificial, and ultimately annoying.
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Post by ThirdMan on Nov 25, 2022 14:22:32 GMT -8
Petite Maman - Celine Sciamma's follow-up to Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a brief (72 minutes), minimalist story of mothers and daughters, and perhaps the most benign science-fiction(?) tale in years. But it's also moving and effective, telling a compelling story about youthful friendship while keeping music and supporting cast to a minimum. There's probably more that could be explored here, but the film leaves audiences with a lot to contemplate, without ever talking down to them. (The PG rating suggests this is a family film, but as with After Yang or Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, most kids probably won't connect with the deeper themes here.) The girls playing the two leads are quite good, even if it was occasionally difficult to tell who was who. This is an engaging little film. There was one scene that I found rather jarring, though. The kid's dad comes into contact with her new best friend and doesn't even seem to acknowledge that the girl is IDENTICAL to his daughter. I get that the film's generally subtle and thus doesn't spell things out too overtly, but that seemed a bit of a reach in it not being addressed in some way.
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 26, 2022 18:57:04 GMT -8
It seemed like all the characters were pretty laid back about their circumstances; even the lead girl was far less excited than you'd expect to find another girl who somehow looked just like her. I assumed that was just a French thing (kind of like how the dad was smoking all the time).
Oh, and Sciamma was also apparently the cowriter of My Life as a Zucchini, which I quite liked as well. She seems to have a knack for writing young voices.
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 29, 2022 20:00:59 GMT -8
So my schedule this week was kind of hectic (not with work, mostly just travelling during and after the Turkey Day), so I didn't have much time for the big screen. But I was finally able to catch the new movie from Film Twitter's boyfriend on the last night it was available in theaters.
Overall? Not as strong as Knives Out, and probably about 15 minutes longer than it needed to be, but still plenty entertaining. The setting and performances are bigger and broader, which makes for good laughs, although there is one big climactic scene that quickly got on my nerves. The metaphor isn't subtle - does Blanc need to spell out what a "glass onion" means twice over the course of the film? - but it inspires an impressionable visual centerpiece around which to center its mystery. As far as escapist entertainment set intentionally during the Covid era go, this one isn't as distracting as some others (I kind of like how the "spray" is never explained), though it does mean some of the early political commentary is layered on a bit too thick, and feels a bit overly self-satisfied as a result.
Daniel Craig is a blast to watch - I daresay this is an even better role for him than Bond - and most of the surrounding cast has fun as well. I'd agree with J.C. that Janelle Monae is the standout, although the film doesn't quite play fair with the audience in regards to her character, which took me out for a bit. But I can't say more without venturing into spoiler territory, which I'd rather not get in too deeply before the film makes its Netflix debut. (Speaking of, the film seems to be doing quite well at the box office, and I wonder if Netflix is kicking themselves for not extending the theatrical window further.)
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 22, 2022 6:59:50 GMT -8
Went to see a new film that has both critics and audiences buzzing. You know the one, with the big-eyed cat people in that weird mythical world. Yeah, I know it's a sequel to a film that premiered over a decade ago, but I was still happy to re-immerse myself in its world, with characters both old and new. The main draw is of course the CGI, which looks terrific, and lends weight and impact to every action sequence.
Anyway, the point is that I greatly enjoyed Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The cast is very funny, with Antonio Banderas recapturing the title role with bravado, and Harvey Guillen (of WWDitS fame) quite good as the comic relief. It's a bit overcrowded, with at least one too many villains, but it deals with more mature themes than a sequel to a Shrek spinoff would have you think, particularly in regards to mortality and the flirtatious embrace of death. (The story centers on a cat being whittled down to his ninth and final life and grappling with the threat of permanent demise.) It surprisingly parallels Guillermo del Toro's recent Pinocchio in this regard, though thankfully it's not nearly that bleak (the script is peppered with funny lines and a few welcome callback cameos).
But the main selling point here, as with The Bad Guys, is the animation, which has clearly taken a page from Into the Spider-Verse. The action explodes off the screen in each setpiece, and makes for a rollicking good time. It's also awash in color (the scenes set in the Dark Forest are in fact refreshingly vibrant), making it one of the more visually splendid films I've recently seen in a theater. Not sure if this will be the new house style for DreamWorks going forward, but I certainly have my fingers crossed; it's far better-looking than any of those movies with the little yellow you-know-whats produced by you-know-who.
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Post by Jeremy on Jan 1, 2023 13:27:28 GMT -8
Happy new year, folks! Though I'm not yet going to create a new thread, as this is technically a film I watched last night, way back in 2022.
Anyway, Strange World. I passed on seeing this in theaters, as the trailers - what scant ones Disney bothered to produce - made it look rather uninteresting. And... having now seen the film, I can confirm the truth in advertising. There are some interesting ideas and some smooth animation here, but it's all saddled with one of the most generic scripts and some of the blandest characters in recent memory.
As with other recent animated Disney flicks, there isn't much in the way of tangible villainy (one character emerges as a potential antagonist late in the third act, but it's quickly dispensed with); instead, the story centers on intergenerational conflict between its three leading men. It could potentially be interesting if it all wasn't so achingly familiar and painfully predictable, but the characters are stock and even by Disney's usual standards, it's incredibly obvious where everyone will end up by the end.
There's also a climate change message to the film, which becomes obvious around the time we get to the Big Reveal. And... in fairness, it's not the worst of Disney reveals, and at least manages to make sense within the confines of the story. But considering that the story is supposed to be about characters venturing into the unknown, the reconciling of bold exploration with the film's eco-friendly finale is awkward and a bit frustrating.
There is, however, a Firefly in-joke that I genuinely appreciated. So points for that.
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