Board 8 > Movie Club Topic 3 - Murder by Marnie: Hunt for the Blue Hand Stalker Lobster

(+) Yeah! (+)

@Xeybozn your turn to reccomend

Modern Times (1936)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Shoplifters (2018)
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oh hey I've seen 4 of those! and 3 of those 4 are emotionally devastating!

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Shoplifters (2018)
Modern Times (1936)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)


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Vote for all movies you would be interested in seeing for the next week (~June 11th, 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, June 11th, 3:00 A.M EST./12 A.M. PST (midnight)

Modern Times (1936)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Shoplifters (2018)

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

Shoplifters
Dog Day Afternoon
Bicycle Thieves
Hoop Dreams
Modern Times


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Hoop Dreams
Modern Times
Dog Day Afternoon
Shoplifters
Bicycle Thieves
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Modern Times (1936)

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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Modern Times (1936)
Hoop Dreams (1994)

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Shoplifters
Dog Day Afternoon

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Hoop Dreams (1994)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Modern Times (1936)
Shoplifters (2018)

only seen Shoplifters here but i really liked it

The Vast of Night

the blurb on letterboxd i saw immediately made me think of a certain Aubry Plaza film i saw years back and it colored my expectations a little.

overall i thought it was really charming with captivating moments throughout. the dialogue pretty much immediately caught my interest in the familiar quirky way and by the time i noticed how long that switchboard scene had been going on, i was pretty hooked and the best thing about it was the more reserved manner in the way it revealed information. but yeah as others commented that's kind of abandoned by the end. oh and i guess the whole framing device of the recording/tv show thing too.

but as a random aside, there was that part of my brain that was just waiting for the movie to go completely off the rails like when Fay and Ev got into the couples car and i was like, "what if they just pulled a fucking gun on them RIGHT NOW" and startled myself a little when i heard the *click* (it was the tape recorder lmao)

pretty high 7/10 for me for now

after the tally, tie between Hoop Dreams and Shoplifters so nominator breaks tie

@Xeybozn please decide between those two.

Seginustemple posted...

The Vast of Night

The classic War of the Worlds radio play needs a shoutout here too, notice the radio station is named WOTW.

didn't even notice this lol

Not that I was expecting a twist (I mean it is riffing on classic pulp sci-fi) but maybe something a little more open-ended or restrained? I felt like they had done so well telling-and-not-showing up to that point they didn't really need to blow any of the budget confirming that there is in fact a saucer. Let it be ambiguous I say!

Camden posted... The Vast of Night

The final scene was a bit weak, I had no problem with them disappearing right in the last scene but I feel like it would've worked better if they hadn't just shown the ufo right before it. Have them examining the burnt landscape, cut to everyone in town leaving the basketball game and then eventually cut back to the empty field. Everything else in the movie had done a good job setting up that the 'something in the sky' was a real thing and not just a couple of nutjobs listening to static on a radio, so the actual spaceship reveal felt unnecessasry as it didn't really confirm anything the entire rest of the movie hadn't already done in its own way.

yeah very much agree with these and can't help but feel like the movie "caved" in a way to do that big reveal for general audiences because they would want a more overt payoff but yeah also if they just cut to the shot of the recorder without the spaceship it would have accomplished the same thing. and the spaceship just ended up looking so...spaceship-y

kateee posted...

after the tally, tie between Hoop Dreams and Shoplifters so nominator breaks tie

@Xeybozn please decide between those two.

Aren't there still people who haven't voted yet and plenty of time left before votes are due?
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Deadline to vote was midnight

Oh, for some reason I thought it said midnight tonight.

I'll go with Hoop Dreams then.
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Oh yeah I see how that could be confusing

Next movie is Hoop Dreams (1994)

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

Cool - I saw this once, 10 years ago, so good time for a rewatch

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House

Camden was right, this is a weird one. I'm all about weird! Anything unique or experimental gets bonus points from me and this is the kind of movie that thrives on bonus points. I can see why it developed a cult following, it has that Rocky Horror Picture show energy where the counterculture crowd can enjoy how kitsch it it. The acting is camp, sound-stages hokey, editing is bonkers, the music is a joke drawn out until it stops being funny and keeps going until it starts being funny again. The familiar tropes of haunted houses and lovesick ghosts are entirely less disturbing than the uncanny film grammar used to express them.

After watching it twice (it was short enough) what I really appreciated is how on on the surface it has this spontaneous, improvisational energy but there's an undercurrent that feels very designed and deliberate. Not all the foreshadowing is obvious at first. The wedding and camera/picture motifs are well-threaded. For a long time Fantasy is the only one seeing things, on second watch it seems like you could read it as her 'dreamer' trait helping manifest the supernatural. But then there's so much random shit that's thrown in on top it feels like there's no consistent rules or logic, in a fun way. I wasn't sure where Mr. Togo's arc was going at first but absurdly turning him into a pile of bananas completely justifies the subplot to me. They cut to his bits at absolutely the wrongest times but I can put up with his Benny Hill bucket-ass bullshit knowing there is a big banana payoff at the end. I guess he's supposed to be a comic inversion of the ghosts' m.i.a husband, the knight in shining armor who never arrives and is tragically killed in war's absurdity...here expressed as 'bananas'. Craziness.

Favorite scenes were the bleeding mirror with Gorgeous on fire (that was just cool), the silent film flashback on the train, and Kung-Fu's final attack - felt like a very JJBA moment and the definition of 'sending it'. Got a kick out of her funky fight music too, pun intended. And here's the flood of blood three years before The Shining did it!

I don't know much about traditional Japanese homes or architecture so someone tell me if I'm wrong here - but wasn't the staircase/second floor more of a Western design? It felt like the house was stitched together from different styles, I'm not sure if that's just a thing that happened in mid-century Japanese homes or if it's specific to this movie but it caught my eye. 8/10
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The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

i've liked Adam Driver in everything i've seen him in and his performance was enough to keep me invested through the first half but my interest just fell off a cliff some point after that and i was kind of struggling to pay attention. most of the characters just got annoying and i really started to feel its length. by the time they got to the palace or wherever i'm pretty sure i was gone. 5/10

I went ahead and watched Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, without getting into a spoiler review I have to say it's one of the best biopics I've ever seen. Definitely worth a watch if you're interested in the subject
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i'm actually curious about how much of it they fictionalized and what parts of his novels they incorporated. sounds really interesting

I have a hard time sticking to projects like this. Probably won't be participating in this topic very frequently - should probably skip me for nominations indefinitely.

Although feel free to leave me on the @-list so I can see what you all are watching. Definitely not impossible that I hop in from time to time.

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Willlll do

The Vast of Night

8/10

watched this a while back and forgot to mention it. Wasn't really sure quite how to rate it, as the story itself isn't something all that inspiring. Mysterious thing happens, young people discover alien conspiracy, young people discover alien ship, young people disappear. To an extent, the plot follows the motions, and really hits a wall once we reach old lady exposition.

That being said, the filming and dialogue are phenomenal, and kept me hooked the entire time, with the two leads being dynamic from the moment they first appear and never ceasing.

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it really does seem like one of those films that my opinion keeps improving of as time passes despite being aware of its shortcomings

@lucifiere your turn to recommend then

Hoop Dreams - 9/10

One of the best sports documentaries ever made, if not one of the best documentaries, period. An intimate look at two young men coming up in the early 90's Chicago basketball scene, who begin together as freshman at the same high school, but end up having very different journeys as they both work toward playing in college and the NBA. The Chicago area produced a ton of talent around that time, including Juwan Howard of the fab five, who is seen briefly at a basketball camp along with Jalen Rose. Spike Lee also has a brief, but interesting cameo at said camp.

The project was originally meant to be a half-hour TV special on PBS, but ended up nearly three hours long, spanning their entire high school careers from start to finish. Despite the length, it is captivating throughout, especially the strained relationships of Agee and his father, and Gates and veteran coach Gene Pingatore. The only basketball doc I think I've enjoyed more is "Winning Time" featuring Reggie Miller, and (again) Spike Lee.

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House

This movie is...bananas... *snrk*

definitely going to be watching this one again at some point. there's just so much shit going on. the visual effects are so memorably bizarre. one of the early sequences that stood out to me was when Gorgeous was describing her aunt's past and it's shown through a film reel but the other girls are also viewing the film and commenting on the images and effects like the "kiss of fire" and the bomb looking like "cotton candy" as just a really cool way to play with the medium and meta aspects.

the sound editing(?) is noticeable as well. there's all sorts of bizarre overlap between the music and dialogue that seems unnatural though admittedly i'm a little unsure where the intent begins with that one.

lot of cool trivia here as well. The director Obayashi had previous experience working with advertisements and if you've seen any of the multiple "weird Japanese commercial compilations" floating around the internet, parts of the film are definitely reminiscent of that. part of the inspiration for the movie and the events that happen in it came from the director's 10(?) year old daughter at the time and she actually has a "story by" credit. Obayashi's quote that "adults only think about things they understand ... everything stays on that boring human level while children can come up with things that can't be explained" is typically mentioned when the film is brought up and it fits really well here as some of the stuff that happens...i mean...yeah.

Seginustemple posted...

After watching it twice (it was short enough) what I really appreciated is how on on the surface it has this spontaneous, improvisational energy but there's an undercurrent that feels very designed and deliberate.

i think that's a very good way to put it. just like how none of the visual effects feel out of place no matter how "cheap" they look. it really fits the tone perfectly and the main cast with the exception of the aunt having no prior acting experience helps it achieve that feeling.

i really appreciate a lot going on here and love how much personality it has. unforgettable and i'm sure there's a lot more to pick up on for future viewings.

8/10

although i gotta say, having seen the letterboxd page for this movie with the handless image fully prepared me for that scene i thought and then the fucking piano ATE her lmao

Trainspotting (1996)
Mandy (2018)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Vote for all movies you would be interested in seeing for the next week (~June 18th, 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, June 18th, 11:30 A.M EST./8:30 A.M. PST

Trainspotting (1996)
Mandy (2018)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

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

Trainspotting
Mandy

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Trainspotting (1996)

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No vote

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Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Mandy (2018)

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Camden posted...

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Mandy (2018)

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weirdly few voters in this one

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well the actual pool of voters has decreased also

Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Mandy

No Vote

I'm cool with all of these, haven't seen Trainspotting but I loved Mandy and Portrait of a Lady on Fire so I'm totally down to rewatch either
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Portrait of a Lady on Fire
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next movie is Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) directed by Cline Sciamma.

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

the letterboxd page for Portrait has the rating stars replaced by fires

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

10/10

This film is straight fire. Two of my favorite genres are slower-paced romances and period pieces, so this hits on two fronts. It's so incredibly beautiful and you can just feel the longing between the characters.

Recently purchased the Criterion and have been meaning to give it a rewatch.

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I am behind on these ratings because life has been, uh, interesting, but I've been watching!

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote - 8/10
We Need to Talk About Kevin - 8/10
The Vast of Night - 6/10

/ House - 9/10
This movie legitimately has the most charm and I loved it SO much.

Hoop Dreams

Great sports documentary (obviously), but just calling it a "sports movie" is selling it short. It's an amazing look at what life is like for poor people in the inner city, touching on all sorts of issues related to race and class. Alternatively, it's a coming-of-age story enhanced by the 4+ years spent filming. There's so much going on in this movie, and all of it is handled perfectly.

10/10
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We Need to Talk About Kevin

there's a lot i feel like i want to comment about for this one but it's one of those times where you have a lot of incomplete thoughts whirling about and you're wondering if it will even resemble anything comprehensible once you attempt to organize them

i'm going to first take a look around to see if anyone else has already managed to articulate some of the things i'm thinking

i don't even how to rate this right now