Board 8 > Movie Club Topic 4 - We Need to Talk About the Genius Saint Who Killed The Muppe

(+) Yeah! (+)

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Hard Eight (1997)
The Player (1992)
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)

Hopefully I can find some time to catch up on this topic soon.
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Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)
Hard Eight (1997)
The Player (1992)

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Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)
Three Colors: Blue (1993)

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Vote for all movies you would be interested in seeing for the next week (~Oct. 9th NA). Rank your choices. If you do not intend to vote for whatever reason, please reply with "No Vote" so there is as little of a waiting period as possible. Please vote by Friday Oct 9th, 11:59 PM EST./8:59 PM PST.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Hard Eight (1997)
The Player (1992)
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)

@jcgamer107
@Johnbobb
@lucifiere
@Seginustemple
@SwiftyDC
@ViolentAbacus

Aguirre, The Wrath of God
Hard Eight
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop
Three Colors: Blue
The Player
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Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)
Hard Eight (1997)
The Player (1992)

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Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
The Player (1992)
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)

seen the other twooo

No vote

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no vote

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next movie is Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) directed by Werner Herzog.

@Camden
@jcgamer107
@Johnbobb
@lucifiere
@Raka_Putra
@Seginustemple
@SwiftyDC
@tyder21
@ViolentAbacus
@Xeybozn

oh I never knew that was Herzog - I'm in

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Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

The initial shots of the large group moving down the treacherous forested mountain paths is actually kind of cool. I imagine this was actually pretty dangerous for the film crew. Theres a shot of a cage of live chickens sliding down the mountain and crashing apart. I wonder if that was an accident caught on film or done for the movie There was a whole lot of stuff in this movie that I imagine was fairly dangerous.

So, this cast is immersed in a very hostile environment with no opportunity to find friendly people. The jungle and the river have natural dangers, supplies and food are hard to come by, and theres hostile natives that mostly want to kill them. They dont really have good means of protecting themselves from any of these dangers, so they press on while slowly being worn down and killed off by these dangers. Whats interesting is certain aspects of society are clung to in this environment by the group, when it makes really no sense to do so, and others have been thoroughly disregarded. They require a trial to convict Ursua as they follow the rule of law. They decide to declare themselves a new nation and appoint an Emperor to make what they are doing legal, as their mutiny makes them outlaws. As if this new declaration does anything to change that. The women are carried in sedan chair, in a place where people are constantly getting picked off by arrows and darts or even traps lain on the path. The Emperor feasts from a table full of delicacies on a large table on a tiny raft where everyone else is huddled together eating bits of corn. Logically, they are in an extremely dangerous area with no expectation of returning to modern society any time soon- so everybody needs to be well fed and ready to contribute to tasks and danger. But instead they cling to these customs of society to the detriment of the group. The movie doesnt even pretend that this is going to end well for them, as it not only said that no one survives in the opening crawl, but that El Dorado itself was a lie. The expedition was doomed to fail every time they refuse to turn back.

Aguirre himself is interesting. He has a keen eye for observing everything and keeping control on everybody. Im not quite sure why he has loyal followers he controls most of the crew through fear, but if that was the case for everyone I expected at some point as things get worse and worse he would be turned on, but that never happens. He's the great traitor. Aguirre is what makes the clinging to social norms so interesting since he blatantly and flagrantly spits on any sense of social normalcy with his mutiny and appointment of the new Emperor. Things go how Aguirre wants them to go, and everybody else just tries to rationalize why this is normal.

7/10

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It's Such a Beautiful Day

I wasn't sold at first because the narrator was giving me Elliot Rodger Manifesto vibes (maybe the reading a little too dry/ironic), but it ended up being funny and uplifting enough overall to make the bleak and depressing bits work. The musical sequences are standout, the leafblower drowning out Strauss was hilarious and the rainy bus-ride over Wagner actually pretty moving. The cosmic turn at the end provides a strong finish without becoming either sappy or incomprehensible, and really takes advantage of dynamic range by filling the screen with color after an hour of b/w stick figures in minimal peephole framing. Bringing the viewer from dull grey memory fragments to the vivid present and fantastic future. For being an apparent one-man project this is remarkably well-crafted and orchestrated. 9/10
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@lucifiere your turn to recommend

I didn't know that this was going again - I'm not on Gamefaqs much!

here are some noms:

• There's Someone Inside Your House (2021)
• The Guilty (2021)
• Raw (2016)
• Errementari (2018)

All Netflix bois i have interest in.

I do plan to catch up.

While I am here, though:

• I'm Thinking of Ending Things: 9
• It's Such A Beautiful Day: 10
• Luca: 8

The Guilty
Raw
Errementari

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The Guilty (2021)
Errementari (2018)


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Vote for all movies you would be interested in seeing for the next week (~Oct. 15th NA). Rank your choices. If you do not intend to vote for whatever reason, please reply with "No Vote" so there is as little of a waiting period as possible. Please vote by Friday Oct 15th, 3:00 A.M EST./12 A.M. PST (midnight)

There's Someone Inside Your House (2021)
The Guilty (2021)
Raw (2016)
Errementari (2018)

@jcgamer107
@Johnbobb
@Raka_Putra
@Seginustemple
@ViolentAbacus
@Xeybozn

Twilight Samurai - 10/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yan4CaKs5X4

My favorite samurai film. Fell in love with it right away and have since watched everything adapted from Shuhei Fujisawas work, and while I love almost all of it Twilight Samurai is still my favorite. I'd love to read his books instead of only watching adaptations, but whomever is in charge of his estate refuses to sign off on translations so the single collection of stories from over a decade ago is all there is. Glad I bought it years ago as it now routinely sells for 20-30 times what I paid for it.

I love the setting. It always feels strange to me that my least favorite part of a samurai film is the fighting, seeing as it plays such an integral part of most of them. It's hard to blame Koei for utilizing the 'One Man Kills Thousands' style of combat in the Warriors series when most samurai movies eventually have a scene where one man is constantly surrounded by swords on every side and yet he wades through them all, while they take turns meeting their end. Nothing of the sort here, outside of the short duel, if you can call it that, in the middle of the movie there's just the one battle at the end between two men, neither of whom truly wants to be there.

I wish there were more movies where the samurai are the focus rather than the swords.

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No vote
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no vote homie
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The Guilty (2021)

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next movie is The Guilty (2021) directed by Antoine Fuqua.

@Camden
@jcgamer107
@Johnbobb
@lucifiere
@Raka_Putra
@Seginustemple
@SwiftyDC
@tyder21
@ViolentAbacus
@Xeybozn

Nobody (2021)

This movie wants so badly to be John Wick, the very air is thick with it. Is it John Wick? No, not quite. It's a solid enough action flick, although Bob Odenkirk cast as the lead wasn't the wisest choice in my opinion. He's awkward enough that seeing him as the badass actior star is jarring, but he's also a little too big of an actor (particularly recently) to just be the nobody regular joe forgettable dude the movie insists everyone thinks he is. There's just something slightly off about the performance I can't nail down.

The action is fun, and usually well shot, but not necessarily in a way that lends particular weight to the scenes. It's hard not to compare it to John Wick given the obvious influence, and Nobody, while enjoying, never hits those same high points. Best scene goes to the hacker woman early on who, upon finding out who he is, throws his files on the floor and runs out immediately. That's the kind of response necessary to really sell this premise.

7/10

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also according to the sheet I never rated Luca but that's a 9/10

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apparent criterion flash sale tomorrow starting at noon est

hopefully things will still be in stock by the time i get back

i did pick up some new stuff huehue

Cut Throat City

I was pretty interested in the premise which is why I initially voted for it over the other choices. Unfortunately it ended up feeling quite lackluster in multiple areas.

I think one of my biggest issue is that for a story with such a specific setting of post-Katrina New Orleans, theres no sense of it aside from them directly mentioning hey were in New Orleans and it makes it feel like another generic crime story. Similarly, theres not too much shown concerning any of the struggles the characters go through besides them simply talking about how broke they are. Theres no particular details to latch on to make it memorable in any way and the characters, while potentially interesting, feel more underdeveloped than anything. Theres actually so many of them that the story becomes convoluted and starts falling apart by the end. T.I. was fun though.

I did not think the acting by the lead actor Moore was great either. Ive actually seen other movies hes been in and iirc he came off a lot better in that so I was a bit disappointed that he came off as having an actually distractingly poor performance to me. Like they make sure to tell us that Andre is his best friend multiple times and when hes killed, his reactions just felt so underwhelming. Not that I think he should be crying all over the place or that its impossible for people to bottle their emotions up similarly to how we are supposed to infer I guess.

Overall its a bit frustrating because of the potential. 5/10 though I could actually see it going down to 4 .

well it is time to vote for the next movie. i was honestly hoping i'd be more caught up by the time it came around to my turn which is why i moved myself back but that didn't happen. reminder that THIS WILL BE THE LAST VOTE for the topic. 3 noms from me this time. Providing minimal descriptions and I would recommend going into any of these without looking up anything more.

Secret Sunshine (2007) - Lee Chang-dong: This is a South Korean film by the same director as Burning (2018) about a widow who moves to her husband's small hometown. Features one of the strongest performances by a lead (Jeon Do-yeon) I've ever seen. Available for streaming on Criterion Channel.

Mommy (2014) - Xavier Dolan: This is a French-Canadian film about a mother and her troublesome (to put it lightly) son. The film is shot in a 1:1 aspect ratio. Currently available for streaming on Hulu.

The Tribe (2014) - Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi: This is a Ukranian film about a boy who goes to a deaf boarding school and what he gets up to. The entire film is in Ukranian sign language with no subtitles. Currently available for streaming on kanopy and tubi.

Vote for all movies you would be interested in seeing for the next week (~Oct. 22nd NA). Rank your choices. If you do not intend to vote for whatever reason, please reply with "No Vote" so there is as little of a waiting period as possible. Please vote by Friday Oct 22nd, 3:00 A.M EST./12 A.M. PST (midnight). This is the final vote for the topic.

Secret Sunshine (2007)
Mommy (2014)
The Tribe (2014)

@Camden
@jcgamer107
@Johnbobb
@lucifiere
@Raka_Putra
@Seginustemple
@SwiftyDC
@ViolentAbacus
@Xeybozn

kateee posted...

i was honestly hoping i'd be more caught up

I'm behind on everything, and the idea of catching up on any of it is a dream. It's getting to the point where, like I seem to do every once in a while, I'm going to have to go through my lists and start the culling.

Four movies back here, I'd like to finish the full slate but I'm not making a lot of progress lately. Still triple digits on the overall movie watchlist.

Backloggery puts me at 98 games, which doesn't count Steam.

TV I'm only behind on five shows so not as bad as the rest. Unless you count anime, in which case the backlog is just as bad but also immune to culling because I don't know what 90% of the things on my watch list even are without looking them up, which all of a sudden becomes a lot more work.

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The Tribe

Can't go into this one without looking up more, because I've already seen the trailer from the last time it was nominated.

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No vote.

Also, for me personally, one week is rather difficult to slot a movie in when things get busy (and that's not even taking my mood into account). But overall it's been great.

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Camden posted...

It's getting to the point where, like I seem to do every once in a while, I'm going to have to go through my lists and start the culling.

i've been through this so many times and i just spend more time thinking about what to watch/play rather than actually watching/playing it. i do have things divided into a top/secondary priority but sometimes i'll see something while browsing a streaming site and be like 'yeah i could watch that now'

Mommy
Secret Sunshine
The Tribe

All sound pretty compelling

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No vote

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Secret Sunshine

sold on 'one of the strongest performances I've ever seen'
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next movie is The Tribe (2014) directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi.

@Camden
@jcgamer107
@Johnbobb
@lucifiere
@Raka_Putra
@Seginustemple
@SwiftyDC
@tyder21
@ViolentAbacus
@Xeybozn

As cool as it would have been to start with Mother and end with Mommy, I think this one fits well too. I do wish we would have gotten to all of them though. Still recommend people to check the other ones on your own time

Cut Throat City

Honestly the way kate summed it up is pretty much exactly how I felt, though I think I enjoyed it more than she did. The concept itself was intriguing: basically an examination of how Katrina forced people into poverty, and from there into a life of crime, and while like she said it didn't dive nearly as deep into that as I wanted, I did appreciate that the movie gave them their chance to break away from the crime life after they're spared by The Saint, but didn't end there. A lesser movie might've just ended on that note like "man, getting into that crime life just ultimately wasn't worth it," but no, almost immediately it just cycles itself right back into them putting themselves into a situation they KNOW will get them killed because it feels like the only option.

While the main cast were alright, the supporting cast steals the spotlight pretty easily, with TI's Bass and Terrence Howard's Saint being the kind of memorably standout characters that I could see myself loving in a Breaking Bad-style recurring villain kind of way.

The biggest reason perhaps that I voted for this was because of seeing RZA as the director, and all things considered, despite my issues with the movie, he did a plenty serviceable job at the helm. It's mechanically well-shot, mixed, etc., and I wouldn't have expected less.

Overall I'll give it a 6/10, as I did enjoy it even if it there was a lot of room for improvement

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yeah it's definitely one where i felt would have been better as a show since the characters were the most interesting part

bring da muthafuckin ruckussss

To the audience: This is NOT a 3D film, but please join our protagonist in putting the glasses on at the right moment.

Strange message to see at the start of a movie.

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Cut Throat City

I respect that this bites off more than it can chew, a modern crime thriller set in the Katrina aftermath is a solid concept. I think the problem is it juggles too many characters, and has a hard time threading the social commentary through the plot in an organic way - as much as I enjoy Ethan Hawke drunkenly lecturing a gravestone about the local racist history it does come off forced. The veteran supporting cast is solid as you would expect, I wasn't super compelled by the main crew though. T.I. was surprisingly good.

The ending plays out confusingly, my impression was that the FEMA heist is just Blink finishing the comic book with a martyr fantasy ending but it felt like a strange diversion. Then the stinger twist with Miracle taking over was completely unnecessary, almost hilariously so. But I admire the choice. RZA is channeling Fuqua and it's bound to get tropey sometimes. Similarly I can't fault a Wu-Tang member for making a chess metaphor about street wisdom, but I did laugh when it happened (can't help but think of that dumb SNL skit). You gotta keep your queen protected, son!

George Bush doesn't care about black people 6/10
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Camden posted...

To the audience: This is NOT a 3D film, but please join our protagonist in putting the glasses on at the right moment.

Strange message to see at the start of a movie.

Okay, so this makes more sense now that I've watched the thing.

Long Day's Journey Into Night - 6/10

Found this movie to be a great example of style over substance. Maybe there's more to be found on a rewatch, but I don't see myself finding out on my own.

The gimmick of the second half of the movie being 3D seems like a neat idea, but as someone who doesn't watch movies in 3D I'm not sure if there's any payoff to it. It definitely has an entirely different atmosphere to it in the second half.

The other gimmick, that being the entire second half of the movie is a single, long take, feels a bit unnecessary to me. I googled it after watching to see if it was or not, I saw a couple spots that looked like they were good spots for cuts, and found out that the director used another, nearly as long take in a previous movie. Honestly I feel like these extra long takes in most movies exist so the director can say they did it rather than as anything to actually make the movie itself better.

Movie still gets an above average rating because it looks phenomenal. The long take, even if I feel it was unnecessary and didn't really add anything to the movie that a series of normal scenes couldn't have accomplished just as well, was still pretty cool. Maybe pretty cool is reason enough?

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Seginustemple posted...

has a hard time threading the social commentary through the plot in an organic way

i think that's a good way to put it. it's actually tempting to lower my rating the more i think about it because of the potential

Seginustemple posted...

Then the stinger twist with Miracle taking over was completely unnecessary, almost hilariously so.

by this point i was just tuned out and was just a 'yeah fuck it why not whatever' moment

M

Xeybozn posted...

It's also a very quiet movie, with almost no score and several crowd scenes with almost no sound at all; somehow this feels more like a silent movie than most silent movies I've seen.

Camden posted...

One thing I couldn't help but notice is the long chunks of silence, the first of which honestly made me think something was wrong with my copy of the film.

my reaction too. i actually refreshed the stream and checked my speakers because no sound whatsoever, not even like wind or anything, felt so weird.

Most memorable thing for me will be the WIDE-EYED LOOK of the murderer near the end. it's haunting because he sort of has like a baby face and i just couldn't stop thinking about it.

honestly i was a little bored during the beginning. court scene was great though especially that reveal. enjoyment would most likely increase upon a second watch but i do like being on the conservative side with my scores on first watches. 6/10

i am glad i ended up liking it overall though because for a while i was thinking 'oh damn am i going to be one of those people who say shit like 'i can't watch old movies'

Aguirre, the Wrath of God - 6/10

Just want to start off by saying, the movie looks like every movie I watched in middle school and high school. Stories might all be different but you could tell me they were all using the same set of costumes and I wouldn't have trouble believing you.

Not really knowing any of the history of the characters the cast is based off of, I find it difficult to understand why Aguirre holds so much sway over everyone. When he overthrows Ursua, the promise of the possibility of riches really shouldn't be enough to pull everyone to him so fast, and nothing he's done on screen should instill the level of fear needed to do so.

Even if you didn't know from the start that everyone was completely fucked, the tone of the movie doesn't exactly hide anything. At no point in the film do you ever have a feeling that anyone is going to do anything except die. Technically, Aguirre doesn't die... but dude is dead. If nothing else he's going to trip over a monkey and break his neck on a log.

There's also a couple of scenes that, I'm honestly not even sure if they were meant to be comedy or not. A group of people sitting around counting, and after one gets his head swiftly removed it continues counting and says 'ten'. Or another person, exclaiming that 'The long arrows are getting fashionable' shortly after he finds himself with one protruding from his body. It's like a Python sketch tried breaking out during the movie.


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i'm not really a horror movie person but i guess i'll ask here

top 5 or 10 favorite horror films?

i'm going to look through my lists in a bit to see which ones could be considered horror