Board 8 > B8 Movie Club Topic 2 - Into the Little Shop of Fargo Willy's Machete Wonderland

(+) Yeah! (+)

@Snake5555555555 it is your turn to recommendd

Best Stalker review I've seen:

https://letterboxd.com/bransonreese/film/stalker/

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damn son

Xeybozn posted...

I was going to watch Stalker, but

Definitely must be based on region then, because it still says it's available for me.

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i think it might be because you're not logged in since i get what you're describing when i check the page on a different browser where i'm not logged in

kateee posted...

i think it might be because you're not logged in since i get what you're describing when i check the page on a different browser where i'm not logged in

Well that's kind of shitty coming from a legitimate site.

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OK here we go:

The Love Witch (2016, Pluto, Vudu, Crackle, Prime, Sling)
Synchronic (2019)
Man Bites Dog (1992, HBO Max)
Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018, Tubi, Vudu, Prime)
Wild (2014)

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Vote for any and all movies you would be interested in seeing for the next week (~Mar. 12th, NA). The movie with the most overall votes wins. You may rank your votes from most preferred to least (do not rank movies you would not vote for) so I don't have to @ you back in case of a tie. If you do not intend to vote and are fine with whatever wins, please reply with "No Vote" so there is as little of a waiting period as possible. If you list multiple movies in your vote but you are not ranking them, please include "Not Ranked" along with your vote (I will assume they are ranked otherwise). Please vote by Friday, Mar. 12th, 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

The Love Witch (2016)
Synchronic (2019)
Man Bites Dog (1992)
Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018)
Wild (2014)

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The Love Witch is also on kanopy and amazon prime

Synchronic is on hoopla (another free library service)

Vote:
The Love Witch

i'd be most excited for that one. Man Bites Dog looks like it could be interesting too. I would at least be hoping for a unique experience with Synchronic and Antrum. I do not like Wild.

this is like the 3rd time where one of the nominations is a movie I've watched in the last couple weeks

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Synchronic (2019)
Man Bites Dog (1992)
Wild (2014)

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Willy's wonderland was awful but the breaks joke was funny.

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Stalker

Stalker tends to get the 'sci-fi' label and I think that can mislead people's expectations. It is based on a sci-fi short story about aliens (Roadside Picnic) but the movie strips the premise of any definite scientific explanation and uses it more as a vehicle for the characters to have long-winded philosophical dialogues and spiritual soliloquies. We may have been hoping for a fantastical 2001 Stargate sequence at the end, or a Wizard of Oz to appear as Swifty indicated (good call actually). But Tarkovsky isn't concerned with razzle dazzling us, he wants to keep us in a meditative trance. Alpha brain wave type shit. Average shot length over a minute type shit. It's important that the characters stop at the threshold of the room, but the camera enters and places the viewer inside.

I like a lot about Tarkovsky's style, especially emphasis on texture. He is fascinated by all things grimy, dingy, warped, corroded, wet, abrasive, decaying, just plain nasty as fuck. The setting is always a character in his films. I like his slow camera movements, they have a slightly voyeuristic bent - the way the camera creeps around it's like the Zone itself is observing the men at times. At other times it's disinterested in them, moving away from them while they're talking to hover over junk in the water or zoom in on a tree for a minute. It puts the viewer in a weird state of mind.

The dialogue gives you a lot to ponder, I think the nature of the Zone or what it might symbolize are clearly open to interpretation. The story still hints at aliens in the beginning, and Tarkovsky's pretty religious so there's the god/faith angle. The Zone could represent art or cinema itself, I think there's a pretty strong meta reading to each person getting something different out of the magic room based on what they bring into it. There is also some hinting at nuclear power in the background, and unfortunately this was a reality as the shooting location was harmfully radioactive.

I do think there are a few flaws, you could lose the silly chase sequence at the beginning before they get on the handcar and save like twenty minutes. Go from the bar to the tracks, get right into it. The last scene with the Stalker whining in bed gets old too. His emotionally fragile performance works for most of the movie but at that point it's a bit grating.

Ultimately it's not my favorite Tarkovsky film (I think The Mirror is his masterpiece) but it does grow on me every time I come back to it. Worst rogue-lite ever though 8/10
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Man Bites Dog looks like the only one I can stream so thats my vote!

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The Love Witch (2016)
Synchronic (2019)
Man Bites Dog (1992)

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Suprak the Stud posted...

Man Bites Dog looks like the only one I can stream so thats my vote!

clarification. have you used kanopy before? unsure because you've mentioned it in the past but you've also left it out a number of times. so idk if it's because you forget about it or it's something you don't have access to.

The Love Witch
Man Bites Dog
Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made
Wild
Synchronic
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I do! But none of these are on kanopy are they? Unless I'm not reading them right.

Snake5555555555 posted...

OK here we go:

The Love Witch (2016, Pluto, Vudu, Crackle, Prime, Sling)
Synchronic (2019)
Man Bites Dog (1992, HBO Max)
Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018, Tubi, Vudu, Prime)
Wild (2014)

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Sorry I've seen it mentioned before here of course but I don't know anything about it or even where you go for it.

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i commented with this a post down

kateee posted...

The Love Witch is also on kanopy and amazon prime

Synchronic is on hoopla (another free library service)

i still don't know if regional differences are a thing but Love Witch is on kanopy for me.

Oh duh. Oops probably should've kept reading!

I don't have hoopla but The Love Witch is a definite yes. I'd probably be fine with Synchronic as long as hoopla is free but I dunno how that one works.

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hoopla is pretty much the same as kanopy. if your library gives you access to it, you can stream the movies they have with a library card.

although with hoopla you're limited to 5 titles a month while kanopy gives you 10. and kanopy overall seems it has a larger selection and better user interface. i've used both though and they both work fine.

i actually have two library cards from different counties which is why i have access to both.

After looking up the costs to libraries for kanopy, I now understand why mine doesn't have it.

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Synchronic
The Love Witch
Wild
Antrum
Man Bites Dog


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The Love Witch (2016)

Antrum
The Love Witch
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The Love Witch
Man Bites Dog
Antrum

ranked

watched Synchronic last week, and it was pretty decent, but I've had The Love Witch downloaded on my laptop for probably 4 years now and still haven't watched it

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Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made
The Love Witch

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Stalker

man, I just... I don't fucking know. I simultaneously have really strong feelings about this film, and very little feeling at all. I'm in love with the concepts behind it. The very idea of The Zone is fascinating; it's something revisited in Annihilation, Wilder Girls, Color Out of Space, and it's always so interesting and has so much potential for further explanation. Ideas like the room being close and easily within reach, but the Stalker's insistence that the Zone itself will punish you for taking the straight path. There's one moment late in the film where the Stalker dips his hand into water, only for the camera to cut up and the group is in a room entirely filled with sand, and it's stunning. Much like the film suddenly cutting from sepia to color the moment they are in the Zone. On top of that is incredible cinematography, with dozens of stills from the film that could be works of art on their own.

BUT at the same time, the film doesn't work for me at all. The main characters don't even begin to come into their own as characters until a solid hour in at least, and even then, they never truly feel very distinct. Naming them solely after their jobs is an intriguing choice, because it presents them solely in the way society views them, but the film also makes little attempt to ever develop them as more than that. The philisophical discussion is interesting... until it isn't. This movie screams of a creator that is overly self-indulgent; someone that won't let their film be edited where it desperately needs to be. At a certain point, your stylistic intentions get in the way to a point that isn't and shouldn't be acceptable to the viewer. A long, still take on an expression slowly reacting to a situation can be powerful. A long, still take on expressions that don't even slightly move simply doesn't have that power, especially when this is repeated just so many goddamn times. In a film so driven by its sense of encroaching dread and terror, why does so much of it feel like filler?

I want to enjoy this, because on paper I adore so many things about this film. It's kind of like Kateee said, it's a film that requires multiple viewings, but I also have very little desire to watch it again. It's a film that is years ahead of its time and also hindered by the limitations it places on itself.

no rating seems appropriate for this, so I guess 7/10

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I typed out something long and then my page refreshed and it was gone. Rip.

Stalker (1979)

In short, the movie had a lot of build up with little reward; the slow scenes where the men sat there in existential dread/however they were feeling rarely were powerful enough to make me feel like it was worth the anticipation. The men themselves felt more like archetypes than dynamic, flowing, independently thinking characters (symbolic, though too much so that it took away from my feeling of immersion). There were some very neat themes and I love the concept of the Zone and its wonders. I do like that they made it so far and then were like, nah, nvm. There's power in that, and many of the themes this film had to offer (getting one's true deepest desire, importance of the journey and not the destination, etc.).

I especially liked the ending, when it took the story away from these three men and focused on the Stalker's family. The wife speaking directly to the camera was a powerful move and I fully admired her perspective/the perspective she brought to the film. Sure there's this all-encompassing zone that gives the Stalker an altruistic meaning of life, but there's lots of life to be had in not pursuing one's ultimate true goal, too. And sometimes you settle, and that's okay.

I would watch a whole movie about the Stalker's daughter and not think twice about it. She's neat.

Overall, eh? Maybe I'm just not smart enough for the movie. I enjoy it for what it is, respect it for inspiring so many other beautiful works of art, etc., but I can't say I'm left with much of a lasting impact.

7/10 (promise i'm not just rating it what John did, lmao)

Stalker 7/10

Visually I loved every bit of the movie, but I found myself not particularly caring about the mystery of the Zone/Room all that much. Which is kind of the opposite I expected to feel about the movie going into it as unexplained sci-fi mysteries are usually exactly what I'm interested in seeing. I never felt like the reverence they have towards it is entirely earned.

The ending was the one part of the movie that really made the Zone/Room feel otherworldly to me. All of a sudden the daughter having telekinesis is like the first thrown nut along the path I really wanted to follow. Was it just from her father constantly flirting with the zone, bringing something back with him that's affecting her, or did he actually make a wish and this was the old monkey paw outcome.

It probably doesn't help that I watched the movie over two nights.

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next movie is The Love Witch (2016) directed by Anna Biller.

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Got it. I'll be going into this one completely blind. I imagine it's something like Bewitched.


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Raka_Putra posted...

I'll be going into this one completely blind.

Same.

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Camden posted...

or did he actually make a wish and this was the old monkey paw outcome.

Monkey


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I would like to change my rating to 6/10 for Stalker.

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Ah yeah, I'm excited this was chosen even though I expect it to be quite polarizing

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Got nothing to do tonight. Finished the season of Taskmaster I was watching and I'm not in the middle of anything else, so maybe I'll watch this tonight instead of waiting until the end of the week like I've been doing lately.

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Camden posted...

Got nothing to do tonight. Finished the season of Taskmaster I was watching and I'm not in the middle of anything else, so maybe I'll watch this tonight instead of waiting until the end of the week like I've been doing lately.

Spoilers: He didn't.

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i don't think anyone's followed up a post saying they'll do something with actually doing it

Im watching this tonight.

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lucifiere posted...

I do like that they made it so far and then were like, nah, nvm. There's power in that, and many of the themes this film had to offer (getting one's true deepest desire, importance of the journey and not the destination, etc.).

yeah i think it became quickly apparent that this was not going to happen because nothing could live up to the expectations.

lucifiere posted...

(promise i'm not just rating it what John did, lmao)

what movies do you two feel the most differently about?

also when we first started, i asked everyone about their top 10 movies. any idea what that would look like for you?

there were a couple times in The Love Witch that kept reminding me of The Room so i just looked up a bunch of scenes to remind myself of them. and no The Room was much worse than I remembered so i would like to apologize to The Love Witch lmao

The Love Witch

clarification about 'The Room' comment: not that i think TLW is a bad movie or even a "so-bad-it's-good" movie but the bizarre dialogue and the sudden delivery like "All the love and great sex you were giving me?" and "What turns you on?" like immediately after a character being handed a gigantic cup just cracked me up and The Room was just what came to mind.

Anyway, first thing about this movie: aesthetically one of the best i've ever seen. The colors, costume design, and everything related to how it looks is amazing. The cafe(?) or tea place or whatever and when it shows all of the customers together aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

I can definitely see why it's said to be a cult movie and why Snake said expecting it to be polarizing. The "bad" acting, stilted dialogue and delivery and it's just...corny including the fakest punch ever thrown with almost nonsensical plot elements (all of that kind of just accentuate and fits with the whole supernatural 'witch' aspect in a way), and I could easily see people dismissing this as 'bad' or overindulgent. I thought it was hilarious at times and I would definitely be interested in a rewatch as I can imagine it being more endearing on future watches.

The character of Elaine herself is just really visually striking and memorable. There's movie characters that I immediately forget the names of because they serve more as functions of the film than lasting, memorable characters but she's definitely going to be in my mind for some time. ICONIC(?)

Very telling dialogue/themes present throughout that I'd love to be able to organize into a cohesive writeup since I think there's a bit to unpack. honestly probably won't happen because let's be real.

anyway, on a first impression i'm feeling a 7/10.

kateee posted...

ICONIC(?)

YES

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The Love Witch - 5/10

Movie was gorgeous, but boy was the dialogue not doing it for me. Campy B movies, parody or otherwise, generally aren't something I'm interested in to begin with so I'd be lying if I said I didn't go into this somewhat expecting to not enjoy it. Not exactly how you want to approach a movie but I don't think there was any way I was going to be able to go into this not a little negatively biased.

I think the movie would've still got a six out of me outside of the renaissance fair. Everything else felt like it was progressing the movie at a good pace but that section of the movie in particular really dragged for me.


kateee posted...

including the fakest punch ever thrown

This was actually my favorite part of the movie, I stopped the movie to watch it back a few times. One of those rare scenes that got a genuine, out loud laugh out of me even though I'm sitting in front of a computer watching the movie by myself. I'm interested in how many times they had to shoot that punch to get that level of terrible and great combined.

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Camden posted...

I think the movie would've still got a six out of me outside of the renaissance fair. Everything else felt like it was progressing the movie at a good pace but that section of the movie in particular really dragged for me.

think this was my least favorite part as well. was feeling very awkward watching the play they were putting on and even more awkward every time it cut to the audience members laughing