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Post by igs on Mar 1, 2017 21:38:53 GMT
Watched Swiss Army Man (with Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe.) If you just hear the synopsis it can sound off-putting, like farting corpses and what not, but it has to be one of the most original films I've ever seen, definitely of the last few years (The Lobster is up there as well.) Which acid trip the writers/directors went on to dream up this bonkers film I don't know or care. Many laugh out loud moments, and I was surprised by how many times I was genuinely touched by it - the premise sounds so insane that I guess I wasn't expecting sincere emotion but there was plenty.
In the world of sequels, prequels, remakes and franchises it definitely is unique. Has anyone else seen this movie?
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Post by sgev1977 on Mar 4, 2017 16:40:35 GMT
I haven't watched Jackie yet but I think Pablo Larrain is one of the most interesting filmmakers nowadays. A good number of his movies are about important political figures or events but interesting enough he is more interested in human nature than politics itself and that's very refreshing considering how people today expect everything to be political pure and thus inhuman.
He said in one interview that he just want to understand recent history with his movies. The old what happened and why?
I recommend his comedy about the Chilean election that overthrow Pinochet, No, which is recorded with the style of old VHS and Post Mortem about the aftermath of the death of Salvador Allende.
I also want to watch Neruda.
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Post by roverpup on Mar 4, 2017 17:11:14 GMT
We watched Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and I have really mixed feelings about that one.
I did like the relationship between Martin Freeman's character and Tina Fey's character. It was developed very nicely and felt like something that actually happened over the course of the story. I liked the atmosphere of the film when they were supposedly in Afghanistan. I thought Tina Fey did a pretty good job of acting. I think MF did a good job with what he had as a character. I thought the best acting in the movie was done by Christopher Abbott (as Fahim Ahmadzai).
BUT...
I thought it was a complete mess of a movie up until 40 minutes from the end. In fact both of us expressed the feeling that it really was almost pointless and seemed to have little to no direction to the story. I didn't care about the characters really, didn't feel like it was exactly a "slice or life" film or a structured plot type of film. It seemed rudderless and confused.
I really didn't know why they had to give MF a Scottish accent. Seemed completely pointless.
I didn't find it humourous. It just didn't make me laugh or even smile. Well, maybe a couple of times but I love dark comedies and I love parodies and I like political satires and this movie was none of those.
I hated the character that Margot Robbie played. Really poorly developed and played by her without any enthusiasm.
I would have balled halfway owing to the fact that it was becoming so irritating to watch, but because of the ending 40 minutes I am kind of glad I didn't. But at best I can only give this one a 4 out of 10 if I were grading it.
:-))
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Post by igs on Mar 4, 2017 19:15:07 GMT
I recommend his comedy about the Chilean election that overthrow Pinochet, No, which is recorded with the style of old VHS and Post Mortem about the aftermath of the death of Salvador Allende. This sounds really interesting, thanks for the recommendation! I've been thinking about going to see Neruda too, I think it just premiered here in Finland a while ago. But there are so many films recently that I want to see, and cinema here is very expensive so it's not like I can go 5 times a week.
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Post by sgev1977 on Mar 4, 2017 19:17:28 GMT
I just watched two movies on mubi:
Lars Von Trier's Europa: like everyone in the world I have a love-hate relationship with Von Trier. Initially I hated his submissive female characters. I think I finally understood where he comes with Dogville. I loved Melancholia, too. Europa is one of his early movies and probably one of the few with a male character as protagonist. I think it's stunning! The idea of a conventional narrative but with actors playing with black and white video images still look pretty inventive now. I really enjoyed it.
The other was a French thriller called Irreprochable which was very entertaining and with a great central performance by Marina Fois.
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Post by igs on Mar 4, 2017 20:29:33 GMT
like everyone in the world I have a love-hate relationship with Von Trier I hate von Trier and almost all his movies (including Dogville and Melancholia although neither are on the level of simply godawful with Antichrist or Manderlay - haven't seen Europa.) But then there is Dancer In the Dark, which somehow manages to be one of my favorite films of all time. Sometimes I can't reconcile someone making so many films I absolutely hate with a film that I so utterly love. I guess this is a prime example of "exception that proves the rule."
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Post by mllemass on Mar 4, 2017 20:33:25 GMT
I felt that way, too, when I watched Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. I had missed it in the theatre and was anxious to see it when it showed up on Netflix. It was a huge disappointment. There was no plot. It was just a series of events, which I think were based on a true story. That's why Martin Freeman had to be Scottish. But a series of events, even if they're interesting, don't necessarily make a good movie. It sounds like what you'd get if you asked a journalist, "So what was it like when you were assigned overseas?", and they answered you, "Well, one day when we were . . ," and they told you a bunch of interesting anecdotes. I blame whoever wrote the script!
I had the same reaction to Legend, with Tom Hardy playing twin gangsters. It was such a waste of his talent. Again, it was based on real-life events and had no plot. And the ending was so ridiculous! It was as if they realized that no one would be able to follow the "story", so they threw in a narrator at the last minute - which actually made no sense. It was a mess!
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Post by roverpup on Mar 4, 2017 20:49:53 GMT
You must be right Mllemass. It was poor writing - just no focus at all to the movie's "moments". Until the kidnapping plot came along and then it gave the movie some purpose finally.
I remember seeing Legend too and thinking it was a bit of a hot mess as far as the writing was concerned too. Rudderless - like WTF.
Far enough about the accent for MF. I forgot it was based on real events. I think it was a bit over done but at least I never thought of him as John Watson, with that accent!! LOL!
:-))
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Post by coolclearwaters on Mar 4, 2017 21:06:39 GMT
I so wanted to see Neruda, but it was only here for about 5 minutes. I was so disappointed. The same thing happened with Julietta. A friend and I tried to see it and failed miserably. There was only 1 daily showing at rush hour in a theater across town. After over an hour in traffic, I got there late and then got lost in the parking garage. It was ridiculous. I thought I might die of old age trying to find the exit.
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Post by sgev1977 on Mar 4, 2017 21:34:16 GMT
like everyone in the world I have a love-hate relationship with Von Trier I hate von Trier and almost all his movies (including Dogville and Melancholia although neither are on the level of simply godawful with Antichrist or Manderlay - haven't seen Europa.) But then there is Dancer In the Dark, which somehow manages to be one of my favorite films of all time. Sometimes I can't reconcile someone making so many films I absolutely hate with a film that I so utterly love. I guess this is a prime example of "exception that proves the rule." He provokes very extreme reactions. I watched Breaking the Waves in the 90's because everyone was saying it was a masterwork but I absolutely hated it! I was shocked that the abusing of a woman was presented as a way to sainthood. That was the reason I never watched Dancer in the Dark. It sounded very similar! Years later I watched Dogville and somehow everything made sense: it was the masochistic Christian notion of sainthood which it's ridiculous what he was talking/criticizing about. Paul Bettany's character looks himself like a Christ figure saving the "bad woman" just to discover he can't be so good/self-sacrifing/masochist like her. She is Christ and he is Judas. Then at the end her father, a mafia leader/Old testament God appears and convinced her that forgive the sins of others is not noble but smug because she would never forgive herself for what those people did to her. The Dogville is clearly also a very cruel allegory of the USA which he sees like an hypocritical rural town which enjoy the benefits of the work by immigrants but don't doubt to abuse and destroy them when it didn't need them anymore. I remember a lot of American critics were very angry with him and the movie at the time. I watched Manderlay but I thought it was forgettable (or at least I personally don't remember anything about it!) but very recently watched Melancholia and I really really like it. The images are beautifully poetic and the metaphor of a catastrophic ending of the world with suffering depression is interesting. After I watched it, I confess I finally thought "I don't hate his movies anymore. He is actually good". It's not an easy director but that's probably what make him interesting. Still Nymphomaniac is on Netflix but I had haven't the guts to watch it! Europa is very different to his later filmography. For starters, the main character is male and probably is a slightly more traditional narrative but with a very original technique of using video projections and mixing white and blacks with color.
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