Recently watched movies!

[Dr Kain]

War for the Planet of the Apes - 10/10

They Live by Night - This was one of the movies I picked up by Criterion this past week and while it was a good movie, it wasn't flawless. The acting for the main girl was pretty atrocious as she kept looking into the camera, not giving enough emotion during some scenes while being overly dramatic in others to the point that it felt forced. There were a lot of fantastic camera shots and great lightning, but the movie probably should have been a good 10-15 minutes shorter than it was. Still, I did enjoy it as the dude from The Rope was excellent and it was interesting to see what is apparentely the first dumb children lovers getaway movie. Well okay, the main guy was 23, but they were still pretty much kids when it came to their emotions. I mean they got married like 2 days after they met each other. Anyway, I give it a 7/10.

[lhb412]

Suspiria

Wow! Really dug this one. Besides a half-remembered viewing of Deep Red in the middle of the night on a UHF channel when I was a teenager I haven't really experienced any if Dario Argento's movies. This is ostensibly a horror film about an American girl who goes to a prestigious European ballet school where people keep getting murdered, but as a viewing experience it's more about the aesthetic response to the outrageously colored sets and lighting (one of the last movies made in Technicolor) and the haunting, driving score by the band Goblin. I'm on vacation and watching this on my computer, but I'm eager to watch this one on a bigger screen.

[jellydonut25]

Baby Driver - 3.5/5. It's entertaining, and really well-made and choreographed, but there's a distinct Millennial-ness to it that was hard for me to get over. Everyone is too "cool" and Baby wasn't developed enough. I started to get a little antsy. Chase chase chase chase, style style style style, where's the CHARACTER, where's the HEART?

[lhb412]

^I loved the character of Baby. He's a soft sweetheart and not a badass (well, he is a badass, but doesn't show any of the signifiers), and has this essential awkwardness: he cribs lines from movies and conversations he's heard because he isn't used to interacting with people, he mispronounces words he's read but not spoken, etc. I actually found him very relateable!

I felt a irony-free retro-ness from the romantic leads. It's like they're plucked from a '50s movie, which reminds me of another racing themed movie that's about nine years old and was helmed by the Wachowskis and I won't mention the name 'cause I know you hate it jelly!

[Dr Kain]

Carnival of Souls - So this was a thing, huh? I mean, I didn't hate it, I wasn't bored, but it didn't grasp me. It also didn't help that I figured out the plot twist within the first 3 minutes of the film. There were a lot of cool moments, but I hardly consider this a horror movie when half of the movie was focused on close up shots of the girl's face starring blankly into nothingness. She wasn't interesting. She wasn't likable. The people around her all acted like creepizoids who just wanted to screw her and would have had this not been filmed in the 60s. Also, the carnival was in the movie for like 2 minutes. Maybe this worked out better back in the 60s when it was made and it probably felt like something new, but I've seen better. I'm going to give it a 7/10.

Also saw Homecoming again. Just as magnificent as it was the first time. 10/10.

[lhb412]

^Yeah, I think Carnival of Souls is far more interesting as a historical landmark of indie horror that established a lot of motifs other folks would build on as opposed to, you know, a film that's very interesting just to watch on its own.

[Dr Kain]

Free Fire - It's well shot, has some great moments of comedy that is fired off at perfect intervals, the acting is on point, but it really starts to lose its effect and adranaline around the 45 minute mark. Not to mention I cannot remember anything about the soundtrack, signaling it as a total dud in that regard. Still, it would have been a hit had it only been an hour long movie, but as a 90 minute one, it is a misfire. I give it 7/10.

[Benjamin Haines]

I just saw Baby Driver and it is fantastic. Edgar Wright has been one of my favorite directors since Shaun of the Dead and this film does not disappoint. It's a riveting blast with slick pacing, sharp writing and top-notch actors.

[Dr Kain]

The Asphalt Jungle - Holy christ, I never thought I would see another Film Noir is that is as perfect and witty as Double Indemnity. This was down right fantastic and has instantly become added to my top 5 Film Noir list of all time. It was just superb with a ton of top notch camera work, lighting, the acting is some of the best I have ever seen with criminals that were flawed human beings instead of expert level super villains, the women didn't overstay their welcome and didn't get sappy beyond recognition, and everyone's motive for the way they were made sense. The plot twists were numerous and yet each one of them was engaging and kept the suspense going, especially during the heist, which occurs halfway through the movie and keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering if something is going to go awry or not. It was intense and intelligent. I cannot recommend this movie enough to anyone, especially if you are a fan of crime thrillers, Noir, or just want to see one of the best movies ever made. I give The Asphalt Jungle a 10/10.

[Psycho Soldier]

Kubo and the Two Strings - A year later, this remains one of my favourite animated movies. While I've gained a greater awareness of its shortcomings (e.g. some flat dialogue at points), its theme and main character resonate pretty deeply with me, and its more intimate moments are its most powerful.

Mortal Kombat - This is really not a good movie, but it's still a decent way to pass 100 minutes. Flat characters, clunky dialogue, mostly underwhelming fight scenes... but the music is great, and the movie captures the look and feel of Mortal Kombat despite its lack of blood and gore. I appreciate it for its nostalgic value, as well: it was one of those '90s movies I grew up with.

[lhb412]

[Dr Kain]

Mildred Pierce - Man, another outstanding Noir. This is another masterpiece that I can not think of anything wrong with it. It is so heartbreaking that Mildred sacrifices everything she has for that little wretched piece of **** daughter and it still isn't good enough. What is most interesting is how this completely throws the Noir formula on its head as it stars a woman as the lead while the men are reduced to the role normally given to the female characters. There is so much more I want to say, but to say anything more would ruin it. It's got top notch acting, fantastic camera work and lighting, and snappy dialog. A solid 10/10 film.

[canofhumdingers]

DUNKIRK - in IMAX laser at the Texas State History Museum in Austin.

Wow! This felt less like a movie and more like a historical experience. Despite the massive scale of the evacuation, it felt very personal and gave you true insight into what it must have been like to be a soldier on that beach, a spitfire pilot, and a civilian in one of the rescue boats. It all looked and felt so real.

I had the good fortune to see this in a massive IMAX laser theater, which is one of only two ways you could see the entire 1.43:1 image of the film (the other way being actual IMAX 70mm film). It disappoints me that so few theaters are available to show this film in its proper format because it was VERY impressive. And the VAST majority of the film was shot on IMAX film and therefore filled the entire screen. In fact, so much of the film was in true IMAX it felt kind of pointless for the few shots here and there that were in scope. I actually wish that they had abandoned the changing aspect ratio for this film. I understand that some shots may have needed to be shot on 35mm for technical or budgetary reasons, but I would've preferred them to be filmed at academy ratio (1.37:1) and then very modestly cropped vertically to fit the IMAX 1.43:1 screen. Then, while you'd still notice the slight drop in image clarity in the occasional 35mm segments, you would at least maintain the entire giant screen being filled with the image instead of reverting to this narrow band of the scope image across the center of this massive screen. Of course, choosing that method would've resulted in a lower quality image for all the non "true" IMAX theaters.

Now I have to spent a minute talking about the aerial sequences. They used real WW2 Spitfires, Me109's, and He111's for most of the shots, and it was AWESOME seeing these beautiful antique warbirds on this massive format! Spitfires are my single favorite airplane (I gave a little internal cheer when one character has a line about the spitfire being the greatest plane ever built). I was incredibly blessed to see four of them fly in person at the Duxford air show several years ago and flying one myself is a top-of-the-bucket-list goal I've had for years and hope to achieve some day. The way Nolan presents the aircraft and pilots is magnificent. Even with over a decade working in aviation and a lifetime pouring over books, visiting museums, and attending air shows; I've never felt like I had a better sense of what it was REALLY like to be a ww2 fighter pilot as I did after watching this film. Sure there's some leeway given for artistic license (that one spitfire sure had an awful lot of ammo, and man could it glide a long long way...). But the actual job of being a fighter pilot, flying the plane, navigating, managing the systems and the fuel, all while strategizing with your wingmen and then actually having to fight and defend yourself are presented in truly magnificent fashion. I particularly loved the scene where he had to manually pump his landing gear down. Most people don't even know you can do that. But even modern jet liners have ways to manually pump or crank the landing gear down if the normal system fails. And it's usually just as much of a pain the rear as it was in that spitfire.

Tl;dr -

if you have any interest in WW2 history GO SEE THIS MOVIE

If you have any interest in WW2 aviation, or really any interest in aerial combat GO SEE THIS MOVIE

If you have any interest in history and learning about the harrowing experiences of others GO SEE THIS MOVIE

And see it at the biggest, best theater you can get to. I didn't mention it before, but the sound design is also SUPERB.

If you have the chance to see this on IMAX 70mm or laser, DONT MISS IT!!!!

[Dr Kain]

I won't touch this movie until my library gets it. I'm done with Nolan's pretentious bullshit.

Just wondering though, can you actually hear the dialog in this movie or is the sound mixing a piece of trash like it was with Rises and Interstellar?

[lhb412]

^People are saying Nolan really got back to basics and curtailed his excesses with this one. It's getting near universal acclaim!

Man, there's a bunch of movies in theaters I want to see (Spider-Man, Apes, Valerian, Dunkirk, and Atomic Blond is, what, this weekend?) and I've got a stack of Blu-Rays I need to watch, tons of stuff on my Netflix and amazon watch lists...

[canofhumdingers]

Well, I've never had a problem hearing the dialogue in any of those movies, so I'm not sure how to answer that. I mean, it's war so sometimes you can't hear every word someone says because of the bullets, bombs, airplanes, etc... but I never felt like I was struggling to hear anyone. There were a few lines that were tough to understand b/c of the accent, but it wasn't an issue of being able to hear them.

I didn't go into detail on the sound design in my last post, but it was very well done. The gunshots are so sharp and piercing. I rarely jump in movies and this one made me jump numerous times because it sounded so real. It sounded like getting shot at. There were maybe two times where it genuinely caught me off guard, but most of the times, I KNEW it was coming and I STILL jumped at the crack of the bullet because it sounded so... real. And the other sounds were just as real too. The terror of a Stuka dive bomber screaming down on you never felt so real.

This movie is hardly pretentious. If I had a common complaint about Nolan's previous work, it would be the overly convoluted plot devices in the third acts. This film doesn't have that issue. As I said before, this feels more more like a very realistic historical reenactment than it does a movie.

Really, if you're interested in seeing this film at all, I'd strongly recommend going to the largest format theater with the best sound system you can. This movie deserves it.


Edit - I forgot to mention, how awesome is it that they actually got a number of the surviving boats from the ACTUAL evacuation to reprise their roles for the movie?!

[klen7]

Finally knocked a couple critical darlings from the horror genre off my list

They Look Like People - Creepy, but mostly due to the sound track. Without spoiling anything, this doesn't really go anywhere for most of its runtime

The Void - Lots of great visuals, lots of great practical effects, a bit too high on the gore for me to want to add it to my personal collection, but i'd gladly watch a sequel by the same creative team

[Dr Kain]

Jaws - 10/10

[O.Supreme]

The Martian- ok, I know this sounds odd, but my father-in-law will occasionally pick the most Random movies and want to *gather* his family around to watch. In an odd way he reminds me of my Grandfather. Sure 30 years ago we all had to watch The Wizard of Oz, or The 10 Commandments, or ET when it was on TV, because if you missed it, there was no repeat for another year.

But this is a different time. He has a DVR for pete's sake! (Although I guess this was a premium channel free preview event that would not let him record it ). But at any rate, if he wanted to see it so bad, I'd just rent it from Red Box, or Amazon etc...the timing was just bad. It was on at 9pm, and I was really tired...and this was not going to be fun.

So THE MARTIAN...what can I say? It was ok, I guess, kind of wish I had that 2 1/2 hours back for sleep though...The plot was nonsensical, though it tried its best to be. Not really a fan of Matt Damon to begin with, But its funny because I found the whole subplot of how they were going to rescue him, and any scenes on Earth, or with the crew of the ship to be more interesting. Any time it cut back to Damon on Mars I was like...D'oh, get back to NASA, and I know the filmmakers wanted you to have the exact opposite feeling. Also I want to know how they got away with 2 F-bombs and a PG-13 rating? I mean I know he half-mouthed a couple others, and there was obviously some vulgar text that was implied and not shown, but he actually fully uttered 2 F's. Kind of glad my kids lost interest early on and weren't watching...sorry I know I'm probably the last person on earth who cares about language in movies, but I do, if its not necessary, there's no reason to do it just for shock.

anyway...probably a 4/10, no reason to see this again, glad I didn't spend any money on it.

[Dr Kain]

REally? I thought The Martian was a fantastic movie. However, just like The Ravenant from last year, it's not a movie I could really see myself watching again.

[canofhumdingers]

I also really liked The Martian. It's got some problems, sure, but overall I thought it was a well-above-average "realistic" space adventure film.

On a funny side note, regarding realism.... I read an article that got into the science of the film and how the entire premise that sets up him getting stranded is pretty much impossible. The air on mars is so incredibly thin that a massive windstorm is a non-issue. Basically, even a 200mph wind on mars would feel comparable to a stiff breeze on earth. That's because to move something (like knock over a rocket, or blow Matt Damon off his feet) the wind has to put enough pressure on that object. And pressure is Force divided by Area, where Force is Mass times Acceleration. But with air so thin, it has VERY LITTLE mass. So little, in fact, it would have to move at *insanely*, *crazy* high speeds to create the problems in the beginning of the movie.

[Rody]

I've been watching various things lately.

Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise - this feature film is what drove the foundation of animation studio Gainax, and as the crew's first official work under the banner, it is amazing. The plot and the characters are straightforward and earnest, but not shallow; the film shows more than it tells, and shows it in very nice animation detail. This film really ought to be a famed classic like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, or the older Miyazaki films. It's probably going down as one of my favorite (animated) movies.
A.

The Frisco Kid - Gene Wilder plays a Polish rabbi traveling to a new synagogue in California, and Harrison Ford plays a bank robber who crosses paths with the rabbi, and takes sympathy on him, leading him on the way as the two experience harrowing adventure and moral challenges together.
With Gene Wilder in top billing, I was expecting something very off-beat and silly; but for the most part, The Frisco Kid plays its story straight. Wilder's rabbi Avram is a very genuine person who struggles to keep up with the wild nature of the American west. Harrison Ford's Tommy is a jerk with a heart of gold (not surprising for Ford), and the chemistry between the two is quite good. The film wasn't what I expected, but I enjoyed it plenty nonetheless.
B.

The X From Outer Space - I'm very glad I've finally seen this obscure kaiju film... even if it wasn't particularly good. The story spends half of its time on the travel to and from outer space, before getting to Guilala's awakening and rampage. I think there are pretty much two films here squished into one - a space adventure movie, and a giant monster movie - so maybe the filmmakers were trying to kill two birds with one stone in an all-encompassing sci-fi flick; unfortunately, most of the story beats are presented in a pretty by-the-numbers format, without any truly remarkable set pieces or compelling characters.
Guilala is a delight, however; his design is one of those rare few that manages to be utterly (memorably) bizarre, while also being a well-enough designed suit that it conveys a believably organic look - albeit one entirely alien. We need more monsters like Guilala.
Overall, The X From Outer Space is interesting for genre fans, but not actually very good. I'm glad I saw it, though.
C.

Frankenstein - the original, legendary film. My first time seeing this film was... Fine?
Honestly, I think Frankenstein might not have aged well. The narrative is fine, but the execution often feels a bit clunky and unrefined, and the ending doesn't feel proper to me. Boris Karloff plays a very good monster, however - a very sad, awkward being who knows only to react in kind to others' love or hatred. Colin Clive gave a pretty good performance as well, conveying Henry Frankenstein's near-mad passion for his work. Sadly that disappears almost entirely once they get him away from the castle halfway through the film.
C+.

Nosferatu - now here's a solid horror movie. Essentially a ripoff of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu is a bit inconsistent with its pacing and buildup, but fully delivers on creepy visuals and a growing sense of dread as Count Orlock reveals himself and makes his way to protagonist Hutter's home village and anxious wife. I call it a ripoff because, as far as I know, the director never actually got permission to retell the Dracula story; but it's nevertheless an effective adaptation of the classic novel. I also find it interesting that vampire's weakness against sunlight actually originated here, and not in the novel.
It was also a little humorous to see a striped hyena terrorizing the woods; I'm sure in 1922 such animals were quite exotic for the mainstream!
B+.

[lhb412]

^Honneamise is one I've been eyeing for a while. Your review may just have tipped it into the buy pile for me!

Sorry you didn't go gaga for Frankenstein! It's one of my favorite films, nevertheless, I understand your issues with the pacing, some of the production elements and whatnot, which basically comes down to the clunkiness of it being a pretty early sound film (Dracula '31 suffers even more in the regard) as well as the studio mandated happy ending. I've watched a lot of films of that era, so I'm probably more forgiving on this stuff because I can spot it, you know? But I really hope you give the direct sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, a chance if you haven't seen it. It's a much more polished and audacious film, by virtue of both five years of getting the bugs out of what was then a new technology and an expanded amount of creative control for director James Whale: Karloff's monster learns to speak, Colin Clive is ever at the verge of nervous break, there's more gothic weirdness, more subtext, more mad scientists, more monsters - more everything!

Bram Stoker's widow actually sued the producers of Nosferatu and won. All of the prints were supposed to be destroyed! Thankfully a few survived.

[Dr Kain]

I actually prefer Frankenstein over Bride. Both are wonderful movies, but Bride gets a little too slilly such as the getting high scene and the people in the jar bit. I also don't think Karloff looks as threatening as the Monster, but I can excuse it as being battle damage from the burning windmill. I love the scene with the blind man though and wish more had been focused on that aspect.

[jellydonut25]

Watched Logan for the first time since theaters yesterday. It's amazing. For sure one of my two or three favorite movies of the year.