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

(+) Yeah! (+)

In Bruges

When I learned of this movie several years back I just assumed it was a drama. Not until this topic series did I learn it would be a dark comedy, and even then I didn't realize there'd be so many laugh out loud moments. Even the little opening monologue delivered by Colin Ferrell made lol thanks to his expert delivery. Even as a straight male I have to say he's got the charisma to make even me drop my pants. He's not a man whore, he just has a gift he needed to share with as much of the world as he could. His odd couple sort of relationship between his Ray and Brendan Gleeson's Ken really made this movie. It's just fantastic the way the two play off of each other while still clearly having a genuine friendship. While it quickly became clear that the new job they were going to receive would be what it was, and that Ken wouldn't go through with it, there were still some nice surprises littered throughout. The date scene between Ray and Chloe where they were both toying with the truth was also a neat piece or writing. Overall it was a fantastic movie brought down only slightly by a sluggish pace where some scenes seem to be playing out in molasses.

8/10

---

Also, Kate, would you consider putting the available stream service for the selected movies in that Google Sheet?

---

sure. the only thing is that i won't be checking if/when movies get taken off a particular streaming site so there may be inaccuracies for the future.

oh and there are differences between countries

there is now a "streaming" sheet

again, i won't be able to check if things are taken off/added regularly

i've listed netflix, hulu, amazon prime, hbo max, disney+, peacock, kanopy, hoopla, and criterion channel

any more i should add?

@Raka_Putra is that what you had in mind?

perhaps Shudder? Tubi's a good one too

---

ooh yeah i have free trial experience with Shudder

i don't think i've ever heard of Tubi before. i'll add that too.

looked briefly into it and do they even have a no-ad version? don't know about others but ads are an instant dealbreaker for me. i think i heard of some sites where they just run some ads at the beginning and you can play the rest of the movie uninterrupted? but ads during the middle of a movie is an absolute no for me personally.

for the next vote, search tells me Hunt for the Wilderpeople is also on Netflix? also on kanopy and hoopla.

Dolemite, Okja & Marriage Story are Netflix exclusives. i know the latter two were Netflix produced.

Hell or High Water only on Hulu

kateee posted...

ooh yeah i have free trial experience with Shudder

i don't think i've ever heard of Tubi before. i'll add that too.

looked briefly into it and do they even have a no-ad version? don't know about others but ads are an instant dealbreaker for me. i think i heard of some sites where they just run some ads at the beginning and you can play the rest of the movie uninterrupted? but ads during the middle of a movie is an absolute no for me personally.

I'll put up with ads, but I agree that they are highly detrimental to the experience. TV shows are made with baked-in spots for ad breaks, movies aren't. Watching In Bruges on Peacock was a bit jarring, though they had the good sense to put all of the ad breaks in the first half and leave the second half ad free.

---

Yeah, that works beautifully! Since some of us are catching up to previous weeks. Thanks a bunch.

Though I have to admit that I've been attaining access to the movie through alternative means, but if future selections turn out to be available in Netflix or Disney+, I'll watch them there.

---

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)
Okja (2017)

HftW is the only one I have seen yet, though I'd be plenty happy rewatching Okja. Really any but Marriage Story I'd be down to rewatch


---

Dolemite is My Name.

Been on my watchlist for ages

---

Hell Or High Water

I've seen the entire list. This is probably the only one I'd opt to rewatch.

---

Oh I honestly didn't even think of ads since I use ad-blocker >_>

---

So do I but I recall some sites just wouldn't play the video if you have adblock on. I think that happened with hulu for me years ago.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Okja (2017)
Hell Or High Water (2016)
---

Fargo

Summed up very briefly: Money makes greedy people really stupid, with entertaining results. Seriously, there are so many times where someone could have stopped things from getting worse, but chose not to because money. And in the end the whole scheme just falls apart and everyone loses. The basic idea is simple enough, but it's a perfect fit for the Coen brothers and the end result is great.

9/10
---

Hell Or High Water

---

Okja
Dolemite Is My Name
Marriage Story
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Hell or High Water
---

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)

next movie is Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) directed by Taika Waititi

@Aecioo
@Camden
@ChichiriMuyo
@CoolCly
@iiicon
@jcgamer107
@Johnbobb
@Raka_Putra
@Seginustemple
@Snake5555555555

@Suprak_the_Stud
@SwiftyDC
@tyder21
@ViolentAbacus
@Xeybozn

Fargo

I'm a Coens fan so this is the first movie I got to re-watch for this club. Bonus! A couple things stood out to me this time. First was how the icy winter setting presents a visual inversion of noir (a genre they love playing with), it's 'film blanche' so to speak. The iconic poster of the body face-down in a pure white landscape exemplifies this. Secondly is how the region is specifically back-grounded by Nordic heritage. Most of characters' surnames (Lundegaard, Gunderson, Gustafson, Grimsrud) are explicitly of that region, even the fake name Jerry gave the hotel at the end (Andersen) has Nordic connotations - of course it should be noted that according to the movie's 'true story' disclaimer all of the characters names are indeed fake in order to protect identity. But they are region-accurate, this Nordic heritage is where the Minnesota accent comes from. And I don'tcha know enough about Norse mythology to recognize if there are any larger storytelling connections to be made, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Coens were keen on that angle too (maybe not as overtly as O, Brother's allusions to The Odyssey but along those lines). I haven't seen the series on FX yet so I'm curious to see if they delve into that stuff more.

Several of the Coen films' favorite subjects are here - kidnappings and ransoms, briefcases of money, hitmen, larger-than-life villains - Peter Stormare has tough competition in this category but his nostril-smoking dead-eye performance might be the creepiest behind Bardem in NCFOM. Macy is really creepy too, and I think it works that we don't get a reason for his character needing money beyond simple greed, no initial justification of needing to pay for cancer treatment or something. It hardly matters when his scheme revolves around traumatizing his family for it. MacDormand shines as the story's beacon of light, and her character embodies an inverted noir trope by running counter to all the grim hard-boiled detectives with nihilistic voice-overs.

Admittedly I still don't know what to make of the Yamagita character. I've read different takes, some think he's just to provide a sense of realism because his scene is so random, which feeds into the 'based on a true story' teasing. Sounds plausible, I'm more persuaded by the reading that his erratic behavior indirectly makes Marge more suspicious of Jerry's. The scenes are back-to-back so there's a logic to that...although I still don't get why Marge couldn't just directly be suspicious of Jerry to begin with.

This isn't my favorite Coen flick but that's okay because they have a lot of good ones.

9/10
---

oh yeah I watched Fargo again last night

Fargo is honestly one of the first things I'd think of as a near perfect movie. At the very least, a near perfect crime thriller. Everything here is just fucking incredible. A handful of great actors giving career-best performances (once again, William H Macy got robbed at the Oscars). Music, cinematography, dialogue, everything is top notch. Marge and Norm are probably the most wholesome couple ever put to film. So many little dangling threads to follow without it ever being distracting or hard to follow for even a moment. And it's fucking hilarious, and it's disturbing, in a dark balance that nobody manages to do quite like the Coen Bros.

10/10, easily one of my favorite movies. This is like my 5th watch of it I think and I like it more every time.

Also, I highly, highly, highly recommend the tv show.

---

One last thing I forgot to mention about Fargo's Nordic heritage - according to Wikipedia the main musical theme is based on a Norwegian folk song called "The Lost Sheep".
---

Johnbobb posted...

Also, I highly, highly, highly recommend the tv show.

How's the latest season? It's on a growing list of shows I watch that I haven't got around to seeing the latest season of. My tv backlog is going to catch up to my gaming one at this rate...

---

Camden posted...

How's the latest season? It's on a growing list of shows I watch that I haven't got around to seeing the latest season of. My tv backlog is going to catch up to my gaming one at this rate...

pretty good. Maybe not on the same caliber as some of the other seasons, but still considerably better than any other crime show imo

It's worth watching for Jessie Buckley alone

---

Wilderpeople: 7/10

It was like Lord of the Rings.

---

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

"Pretty majestical."

"I didn't choose the skux life, the skux life chose me."

This was a hidden gem when it came out. I didn't know anything about it. I think this was the first Taika movie I've seen and it made me a fan of his work. Sam Neill was great in this, too. Pretty much everyone was great, even Pyscho Sam. Bush Man! Just a lighthearted, funny, feel-good movie. I enjoyed it a lot.

9/10


---

finally got around to clearing the hard drive space to rewatch Fargo

Camden posted...

I was getting the first season mixed up with it and was expecting things to happen that never ended up happening.

yeah this. i was waiting for both the big guy and Jerry to fall into the ice when running from the cops. and was like oh. that didn't happen.

Seginustemple posted...

Fargo
Peter Stormare has tough competition in this category but his nostril-smoking dead-eye performance might be the creepiest behind Bardem in NCFOM. Macy is really creepy too

was definitely thinking about Bardem in No Country while watching. and lol Macy and Buscemi kind of have the same feel? like their eyes or something.

Admittedly I still don't know what to make of the Yamagita character. I've read different takes, some think he's just to provide a sense of realism because his scene is so random, which feeds into the 'based on a true story' teasing. Sounds plausible, I'm more persuaded by the reading that his erratic behavior indirectly makes Marge more suspicious of Jerry's. The scenes are back-to-back so there's a logic to that...although I still don't get why Marge couldn't just directly be suspicious of Jerry to begin with.

yeah i pretty much accept the latter at this point where it makes her realize Jerry was lying about the car. She's naturally trusting and "good" so she takes what Mike and Jerry say at face value. only when she finds out Mike was lying does she consider that Jerry could also have been lying.

Fargo

l watched this for the first time in 2013 and it's still great but i was considerably less engaged rewatching it. idk why. maybe it has to do with the show, or my mood.

fucking car salesmen, am i right? imagine being Jerry's kid and finding out your father was such a massive piece of shit. earlier in the movie, his grandfather says that he'll never have to worry because they're loaded but he ends up losing his father/mother/grandfather by the end. and his biggest problem before that was getting Cs in school and hockey. fucking hell.

there's actually a moment right after Jerry/father-in-law/Smithers discuss the kidnapping/ransom for the first time at the diner. as they're going their separate ways, Smithers asks Jerry, "Is Scotty going to be all right?" and the look on Jerry's face/reaction is totally "oh shit i completely forgot about my son" lmao. and when Buscemi's character (after getting his ass beat by Shep) calls him in the last stretch, Buscemi's character says "i'll shoot your fucking wife and all your little fucking children" and Jerry's response is like the least-panicked "oh you leave Scotty alone." (father-in-law is listening in). Now if this was a "real" kidnapping and he hadn't met the guy before, assuming the kidnapper did not know additional information, he has voluntarily divulged that 1. he has one son and 2. his son's name is Scotty. if Buscemi really decided to carry out his threat, it's not like that information would have been hard to find but he's still giving ANY extra information to the guy who presumably kidnapped his wife and is threatening his entire family. i mean, yet another pathetic piece of shit character named Jerry i guess lol. the scene right after the kidnapping where you hear his torn-up voice and then the reveal that he was REHEARSING breaking the news to his father-in-law just really adds that extra slimeball layer to the character on top of all the obvious shit. great performance.

also i thought it was funny how the guy who says the least throughout the movie was the one who ended up telling the whole story to Marge at the end.

8/10

Hunt For The Wilderpeople

The start with I was just like "is that the kid from Deadpool 2?" Which yes, it is. The scene where he's introduced had me amused. The social worker is listing off all of these "terrible" things this kid has done while he walks around this tiny farm and ultimately just puts himself back in the cop car. Obviously this is exactly the place this kid needs to be, and sadly as soon as he realizes it a speed bump has to derail his happy new life. If it weren't for it being slightly by the numbers, I would have given this movie a higher score. As it is it's funny, heart-warming, a little bit sad but always charming to its core. And just when I think it had reached its apex and it couldn't deliver any more we meet Psycho Sam. This little movie never stops giving and it is every bit as good as people told me it was. Oh, and I really got a kick out of the little role played by Hamish.

Skux life. Majestical.

9/10

---

is anybody here interested in Criterions? they are having a 24 hour 50% off sale today

i thought it started at noon but forgot that it was noon EST

kateee posted...

is anybody here interested in Criterions? they are having a 24 hour 50% off sale today

i thought it started at noon but forgot that it was noon EST

gg my wallet

---

Hunt For The Wilderpeople

This I thought was really funny. Like easily above Thoroughbreds (which was sadly the last movie I watched for this) which was more sporadically funny. This was pretty hilarious throughout. I laughed out loud multiple times, even at some stuff that probably seems relatively minor. The lady confusedly asking "Jesus?" in the church twice, or Ricky trying to heat up that water pack over a fire only to have it burst and douse the fire, or Ricky and the child welfare movie arguing about who was the terminator, there are a lot of scenes that made me laugh here and not just smile. The whole first three quarters of the movie I'd say was consistently great and I thought the writing here was excellent.

I also really, really liked the casting. The main two, of course, but the entire cast here was great, even the small roles. The priest or the hunters or the child welfare lady or the cop, there really wasn't a weak casting in the entire bunch. A lot of really good, comically well time performances here. I was a bit surprised after the opening scene because I thought this was going to have a low budget feel to it, but it really doesn't. It was very well directed too, and well shot. I thought it did a nice job handling the heavy scenes that were mixed throughout to without suffering from tonal whiplash. I guess I would say the death of the dog felt a bit out of place as it didn't really serve any sort of purpose at that point in the film other than "uh oh we need another heavy scene to balance out the fun we're having". Still, it really is one of those movies that you could describe as a "feel good" comedy as much as I hate to use that phrase. I just think it really applies here quite well.

In terms of complaints, I thought the final act was much weaker than everything that preceded it. Not that they didn't know how to end, specifically, but more so that they didn't know how to make it end funnily. It didn't have nearly the same impact as the rest of the movie, and after a pleasant surprise of Rhys Darby showing up, the rest of the movie is sort of just a car chase and the predictable resolution. The movie was also probably a bit formulaic overall, but that I didn't care as much about because I was having fun along the way.

Very good film, and funnier than I was expecting. Definitely an easy, feel good sort of comedy even with some occasional dark bits. Worth watching, easily.

In Bruges - 9/10
Hunt For The Wilderpeople - 8/10
Thoroughbreds - 7/10
Mother - 5/10

---

I am up for nomination?

I'm going to try to pick movies that you can stream. Granted you all have the major streaming services.

---

Ok so I watched Willy's Wonderland finally

awful, uninspired laziness. I wish I had more to say about it but everything from the set design, to the sound, the story, etc was clearly made with zero effort and it's one of the worst paycheck films I've ever seen. They clearly wanted to cash in on Five Nights at Freddys and thought they could just have Cage be 'badass' by never talking but I'm convinced it's just a reason for him to give minimal effort. It's honestly not worth me saying any more about it - one of the worst films I've seen in a long time.

i'm actually shocked Snake likes it so much because I also consider myself a horror fan and for us to be on complete opposite sides of this is crazy

---

Four (?) people watching Willy's Wonderland was way more than I thought, considering it wasn't the pick!

Also seems you either love it or hate it.

Going to watch Wilderpeople tomorrow, been on my watchlist for a long time

---

ViolentAbacus posted...

Four (?) people watching Willy's Wonderland was way more than I thought, considering it wasn't the pick!

I was against making it the pick because asking people to spend 20 dollars to be able to discuss something seems really unfair. Didn't stop me from seeking it out but I wouldn't ask or expect others to do that, and the last thing I want is to lock people out from discussion.

---

i haven't watched anything in a while! I don't think I even wrote up my own movie rec. Man there's just something about watching a 2+hour movie that does not jive with my idea of destressing. I've been working a lot of overtime lately so when I get free time, watching a movie just seems never able to compete with playing a video game, reading a book, reading manga, watching an episode of a TV show, watching youtube, watching twitch... theoretically it should just be easy to open the movie and watch part of it but that never seems to fit into my decision making, it's always at the bottom of the list

BUT that's why i signed up for this topic because I've seen very few movies and want to see more. I'll probably start watching them all soon.

---

Hunt For the Wilderpeople

I don't really have much to say about this one. The story is a bit formulaic and predictable, but it's executed well enough that it's not a problem. I was definitely surprised by how funny it was. That's partially because I was expecting a more serious movie, but even accounting for that it's a legitimately good comedy.

8/10
---

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

First Taika Waititi I've seen. i found out the kid was the same actor from Deadpool 2 and i was hoping that he would be like a completely different character here because he was really obnoxious in Deadpool. but like...he's almost playing the same character and instead it just becomes clear why he got cast for Deadpool? or maybe they worked in the same characteristics after the casting?

Like the first 40 minutes I was not really into it. I thought it started picking up after they'd been on the run for a while but by the last 20 or so minutes I was just bored and waiting for it to end. lot of jokes and visual gags that I just didn't find funny and I kept thinking about other movies that handled similar themes/moments in a way I preferred (it wasn't Up either). i think i might just be a depressive fuck.

5/10

@SwiftyDC your turn to nom

Ok, here are my noms:

The Little Things (2021)
The Goonies (1985)
Before Sunrise (1995)
The Outpost (2019)
When Marnie Was There (2014)

---

When Marnie Was There (2014)
The Little Things (2021)

I was thinking of nominating a 'Ghibli' movie next week, though I'll probably pass on doing so if Marnie wins here. They've been on my list of movies to watch for a long time.

---

The last Ghibli movie, I believe. Sadface.


---

that can't be true

oh shit it is

like there are some technicalities and stuff but it indeed was the last film that was fully produced by them

i think i actually now remember hearing about this years back too when Miyazaki retired

Camden posted...

I was thinking of nominating a 'Ghibli' movie next week, though I'll probably pass on doing so if Marnie wins here. They've been on my list of movies to watch for a long time.

like...you've never seen ANY Ghibli?