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Post by Jeremy on Jan 7, 2022 10:58:31 GMT -8
I don't think that's quite it. Obviously star power plays a part in any hit movie, but a lot of this film's presumed awards clout will presumably come from the messaging, as well as the vigorous campaigning on the part of Netflix (the fact that it's on the world's biggest streaming service has doubtlessly played a role in the breadth of reaction), as well as the inadvertent debates it's sparked on social media at large.
And then there's the separate issue that the Academy is kind of resistant to awarding Netflix movies, particularly at a time when theaters are in constant flux. I can see it getting nominated in multiple major categories, but am less sure it can win.
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Post by Jeremy on Jul 1, 2022 13:16:12 GMT -8
Been a while since I posted any film reviews, so here are three in one! Here is my blockbuster movie roundup of Top Gun: Maverick, Lightyear, and Jurassic World Dominion.
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Post by Jeremy on Sept 30, 2022 5:49:04 GMT -8
I sort of promised myself that I would get another film review posted sometime in September, and here we are! I watched Bodies Bodies Bodies over a month ago, but it's really stuck with me and is one of my favorite films of the year. With it now being available on VOD, it seems like a good time to review the dark and hilarious Gen Z horror film that deserved more life in theaters. (I avoid major spoilers in the review, since most folks still haven't seen it. I was going to make a comparison to another great comedy-horror film, but then I realized the comparison would sort of be a spoiler. So watch the movie and then we'll talk about the comparison.)
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Post by ThirdMan on Sept 30, 2022 11:27:10 GMT -8
In general, I'm much more receptive to satirical/darkly comedic horror films, so I'm fairly certain I'd enjoy Bodies Bodies Bodies. I notice Barbarian is also getting pretty strong reviews, but it looks like more of a straight suspense-thriller.
Though I was given a movie gift card a while back, nothing on the September (or even October) schedule seems that interesting to me. May check out the new Spielberg in November (I just hope it's not too maudlin). TAR and the new Martin McDonagh film look good, as does the Knives Out sequel. I kind of want to give that Bardo film a look (based on the visually ambitious trailer), though it's gotten very mixed/negative reviews for being overlong and self-indulgent (it seems as though Iñárritu may be editing it down after the poor reception at festivals, though). Anyways, this year feels pretty thin, down the stretch, artistically. Hopefully some of the late, yet unseen (by critics) entries such as Chazelle's Babylon prove to be of some worth.
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Post by Jeremy on Sept 30, 2022 14:17:30 GMT -8
Yeah, I think you'll enjoy Bodies Bodies Bodies. You seem to like the unspecified film I was reminded of while watching it (at least according to your Letterboxd rating), so it's definitely worth a look.
It has indeed been a slow stretch for movies, and not just artistic ones. I'm eager to see what Spielberg does with The Fablemans, and will probably check out the new Chazelle and Aronofsky films as they become widely available, and of course Glass Onion when it reaches Netflix. But things are pretty quiet on the theatrical front at the moment. The biggest artistic release this week is Blonde, and I'd sooner ingest glass than sit through that film.
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Post by guttersnipe on Sept 30, 2022 14:58:18 GMT -8
What's your issue with Blonde? Norma Jean as directed by Andrew Dominik sounds like manna to me, and will be my first port-of-call when I get home next week.
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Post by ThirdMan on Sept 30, 2022 15:24:06 GMT -8
Yeah, I'll definitely be watching Blonde this weekend. Like the director, love the actress (I'd also argue she's even more beautiful than Marilyn Monroe was). I'm aware reviews are in the mixed-to-negative range overall (at least amongst "major" critics), and I'm sure it's self-indulgent, but whatever. I'm confident I'll get something out of it.
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Post by guttersnipe on Oct 1, 2022 0:39:35 GMT -8
I never really know how anything is reviewed.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 1, 2022 8:44:58 GMT -8
That's cool. But unless I randomly happen upon a trailer for a film, I'm usually made aware of movies premiering at festivals via the sort of positive or negative response they're getting from those who've seen them ("those" being film critics) early. It doesn't mean I'm going to ultimately agree with the majority of reviews, but congratulations if you're somehow able to live in a bubble that keeps critical response completely out of your field-of-view.
I also like to use a bit of a filter when trying to find things that might be of interest to me, as I don't really want to watch everything that gets released, and some trailers can be very misleading w/r/t a film's content. I'm not going to watch every trailer, and some smaller films (with a small advertising budget) simply don't come to my attention unless they're drawing raves from reviewers. If something looks really interesting to me, I generally won't be swayed from seeing it by strongly negative reviews (see: Blonde). If I'm undecided on something, and the overall reviews are really negative, I might see the film, but probably won't spend much, if any, money to do so (I can always borrow it from the library for free a few months later).
Anyways, I imagine Jeremy doesn't want to see Blonde because it's reputed to be long, very dark/depressing, and exploitative in nature.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 1, 2022 16:55:13 GMT -8
I tend not to use reviews as a gauge for major cinematic releases (I've noticed that if a film has over a 90% on RT, there is an equal chance that I will love it or be completely indifferent), but some critical buzz can be helpful for sorting through smaller releases. I follow a few critics online whose tastes often align with my own and will perk up if they call attention to a smaller film that hasn't yet achieved wide release (that's how I first heard of Everything Everywhere All at Once, for example), but generally I just go with my gut, wherever it may lead.
As for Blonde, much as I love Ana de Armas (she's the best part of No Time to Die, even if she gets under 15 minutes of screentime), nothing about that film sounds appealing to me. It's nearly three hours long, with an NC-17 that it apparently takes full advantage of*, and as J.C. says, it's largely being described as very dark, downbeat, and exploitative. Not trying to stop others from watching it, but it's absolutely not for me. (I also have no prior familiarity with Dominik's work; Assassination of Jesse James has been on my radar for a while, though as with Blonde, its runtime is pretty daunting.)
*It is hilarious to see an NC-17 rating on a Netflix film. "No children admitted"... to your couch?
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 2, 2022 0:32:41 GMT -8
I find the Tomatometer pretty misleading much of the time, and usually click on the average-grade counter to get a better indication of the overall critical response to a film. So many movies get 90%+ on the Tomatometer with, like, barely above a 6/10 average. Then you often get more complex films in the 70-85% range that average 7.5/10 or higher, because they provoke a stronger reaction.
Speaking of Everything Everywhere All At Once, as much as I love it, I suspect it likely being a top awards contender for 2022 has less to do with its artistic quality, and more to do with awards bodies wanting to score brownie-points by supporting a film with minority actors in most of its major roles. But whatever, if award nominations result in more people watching it this Spring, so be it.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 2, 2022 6:07:53 GMT -8
I don't think that's the driving force behind Everything Everywhere's awards momentum; rather, it's the rare arthouse film that was a (modest) hit with mainstream audiences, which is catnip for awards season. Its main obstacle is that it was released relatively early in the year, whereas most of the heavy hitters won't reach mass distribution till November or later. But I expect it will do well in some of the technical categories at least, a la Dune or Blade Runner 2049.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Oct 9, 2022 10:25:44 GMT -8
I personally hated Bodies Bodies Bodies! But to each their own. Yeah, I think you'll enjoy Bodies Bodies Bodies. You seem to like the unspecified film I was reminded of while watching it (at least according to your Letterboxd rating), so it's definitely worth a look. It has indeed been a slow stretch for movies, and not just artistic ones. I'm eager to see what Spielberg does with The Fablemans, and will probably check out the new Chazelle and Aronofsky films as they become widely available, and of course Glass Onion when it reaches Netflix. But things are pretty quiet on the theatrical front at the moment. The biggest artistic release this week is Blonde, and I'd sooner ingest glass than sit through that film. Do you think that 3000 Years of Longing was an "artistic" movie? I really quite liked it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it - it sort of wrecks any sort of binary between mature and childish I try to apply it under. Very fitting coming from the director of Guttersnipe's favorite film, Mad Max Fury Road. Ha ha ha. Speaking of Everything Everywhere All At Once, as much as I love it, I suspect it likely being a top awards contender for 2022 has less to do with its artistic quality, and more to do with awards bodies wanting to score brownie-points by supporting a film with minority actors in most of its major roles. But whatever, if award nominations result in more people watching it this Spring, so be it. Man, this is the one time I would be *really* happy if an awards ceremony treated one of the competitive categories like a lifetime achievement award, because I 100% think James Hong has earned some awards recognition by this point in his career. But I agree with Jer that the movie really is that exemplary in ways that have nothing to do with racial politics - not to mention, when you remember that at the Oscars, especially in the technical categories, Best Editing/Costume Design et al are really Most Editing/Costume Design et al, there is absolutely no way EEAAO is not getting nominated for those categories and possibly even sweeping.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 9, 2022 12:43:24 GMT -8
Yeah, with EEAAO, it may just be that it's an artistic "international" (cast-wise) film that, much like Parasite, also happens to be really entertaining, making it undeniable to awards bodies. But I've just seen so much (IMO, insincere) pandering to racial politics on awards shows in recent years, to supposedly make up for years of minority artists being completely overlooked, that I always view this stuff with a bit of skepticism. Mind you, EEAAO may be nominated for a bunch of awards, but only win in a few technical categories. Hopefully Michelle Yeoh is a frontrunner for Best Actress (alongside Cate Blanchett, the likely winner), at the very least, though: her work is a rather difficult balancing act, and shouldn't be overlooked.
As for James Hong, he's had a long and storied career, but I don't really feel like his performances have been all that different over the years, as his cadence/delivery is about the same in just about every role I've seen him in (from Chinatown, to Seinfeld, to EEAAO). I want the two main women in the film (Yeoh and Hsu) to get the love, mostly. And the screenplay, obviously.
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 9, 2022 13:32:16 GMT -8
I personally hated Bodies Bodies Bodies! But to each their own. In fairness, I'm more biased against the Extremely Online modern generation than most people, so I was probably more inclined to like this movie beforehand. Haven't seen it yet, though I plan to if only for the innate appeal of Elba and Swinton. I've heard mixed things overall, but it doesn't surprise me that George Miller is blurring the line between mature and juvenile storytelling - his kids' movies ( Babe: Pig in the City, and to a lesser extent the Happy Feet films) are a cut more adult in tone than the competition. As for EEAaO, I expect it will win some technical categories and at least get the nomination for Screenplay. Yeoh's performance is terrific, but I'm a bit skeptical she'll make the Oscar cut. (Sci-fi films don't usually break into the acting categories.)
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