Movies We've Seen Recently

[Tiny Prancer]

saturday night was the big halloween movie marathon at the lucas, and I went for three of the four movies they were showing. They started off with Hocus Pocus at 3 (which I skipped) and Addams Family at 6, to start with something family-friendly, and and then at 9 they moved on to scarier fare with Psycho and then Evil Dead 2 at 12. I'd never seen Addams Family or Psycho before, and wasn't as interested in Evil Dead 2, but I stayed because I knew the audience was going to be worth the showing. Watching Psycho was an odd experience, since I knew what was going to happen because of pop culture, but my idea of the actual order of events was extremely muddled. It was kind of sad how the shower scene wasn't nearly as shocking to me as I knew it should be, because with all the pop culture parodies, I had a totally different picture of it.

I had a total blast being out there for it, though. There were even costume contests held by the theater, but very few people actually participated, and the Evil Dead trophy ended up going to a dude who wasn't in costume but could do a very good impression of Henrietta. I was half-tempted to try to claim the Addams Family trophy because I can do a pretty good Cousin It impression if I flip my hair over my face. I'm definitely looking forwards to the Nosferatu showing on Halloween, and I'm hoping a friend of mine is interested in seeing Book of Life so we can have an excuse to see it during the season.

[Mique]

I just saw "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" and it was weird as hell, but really good as well.
If you want to see Michael Keaton playing a washed up actor who played a comic book character go crazy as he tries to find a new place for himself in live theater, then Birdman might be for you.
It was also shot as if it were all one continuous take without cuts or transitions. It's definitely not something I've seen before.
The person I saw it with can't decide what to think of it hours after it ended if that tells you anything.

[chai tea latte]

I just saw "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" and it was weird as hell, but really good as well.
If you want to see Michael Keaton playing a washed up actor who played a comic book character go crazy as he tries to find a new place for himself in live theater, then Birdman might be for you.
It was also shot as if it were all one continuous take without cuts or transitions. It's definitely not something I've seen before.
The person I saw it with can't decide what to think of it hours after it ended if that tells you anything.

I'm gonna watch this movie next week on the strength of this recommendation

[chai tea latte]

I just saw "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" and it was weird as hell, but really good as well.
If you want to see Michael Keaton playing a washed up actor who played a comic book character go crazy as he tries to find a new place for himself in live theater, then Birdman might be for you.
It was also shot as if it were all one continuous take without cuts or transitions. It's definitely not something I've seen before.
The person I saw it with can't decide what to think of it hours after it ended if that tells you anything.

I fucking loved this movie. Go see it if you can find somewhere that's airing it, it's really really good. The cinematorgraphy (directed by Emmanuel Lubezki, who was responsible for Gravity being as beautiful as it was) is my favourite part, except no it's everything.

Also, now that Jodorowsky's Dune is on netflix you don't really have an excuse for not watching it. If you like movies, or the ideas involved with making movies, it's probably an experience you'll enjoy.

[Locclo]

Caught a few movies that are all excellent, in varying genres, and I highly recommend all of them.

The Book of Life is an animated movie about a wager being played between two Mexican gods, with interesting results. The art is stunningly beautiful, and it was incredibly funny at times, and not just the typical kid humor that you tend to see in animated movies (see: Madagascar).

John Wick, jumping genres a tiny bit, is an action movie about an ex-hitman who, after having a bad encounter with some Russian mobsters, decides to take his revenge with extreme prejudice. What really surprised me about this one is how detailed the sort of criminal underworld is - it has very strict rules that are enforced by its members, and (almost) everyone has a strong sense of professionalism and loyalty. Aside from that, though, the action is great and there's some excellent deadpan humor at a few points during the movie.

Finally, Big Hero 6 is a Disney animated movie based on the comic book series by Marvel, though it's only loosely based on it from what I've read. The story is pretty predictable and nothing too special, but like most things Disney, it's an absolute feast for the eyes, and it reaches a huge range of emotions from start to finish. One of the best movies I've seen all year, frankly.

Planning to see Interstellar tomorrow, so I'll have to report on that later.

[Tiny Prancer]

I saw Book of Life today and adored the hell out of it, and I absolutely want the artbook now. Plus I watched Over The Garden Wall and wow what a good short series it was.

[Locclo]

Just got back from Interstellar, and it was genuinely probably the best movie I've seen in a long, long time. The visuals were great, the music was great, and there were quite a few moments that had me weeping like a child because they were so emotional. At least for me, the movie didn't just live up to the hype surrounding it, it actually surpassed it. Seriously, just go see it.

[chai tea latte]

Clive Barker's Nightbreed came out in 1990 and it was terrible, but super recently a director's cut came out, 14 years after the movie. it's

did you know you wanted to see David Boreanaz crossed with The Hoff die and become undead in a really unsubtle gay anti-cop metaphor? you totally do, because this movie is fucking awesome. true blood sucked instantly and lost sight of its central metaphor, and this is everything true blood wasn't. tune in for:
-a pile of letters and documents being burned, the only legible one of which is a CANADIAN PASSPORT
-david cronenberg as boone's psychiatrist, up to some serious hijinx
-people saying cool shit, getting murdered, and also explosions

e: it's finally a really good movie, not bad like it used to be

[Tiny Prancer]

A good friend of mine is moving away while I'm going to be gone during winter break and we decided to hang out one last time, and since she'd sang its praises and I'd agreed to watch it with her, we ended up watching the Tintin movie and holy shit, it is a STUNNING movie. Not only is the CGI absolutely fantastic (there were multiple times where I forgot it wasn't live-action) but it manages to combine a realistic look with the cartoony features of Herge's characters in a way that not only looks totally natural and never once hits the uncanny valley, but it also fits the movie PERFECTLY. Seriously, I have no clue how they managed to pull off something that fucking good. The storyline is based mainly off of the Secret of the Unicorn storyline, and not only adapts it in ways that feel fun and exciting, but still feels loyal to the comics and have lots of fun moments that feel like they came straight out of the comic itself. Plus the action sequences are utterly STUNNING, and I ended up rewinding those scenes just to watch them again and take in the cinematography, especially since once action sequence features an AMAZING battle at sea as the two ships catch on fire, and another features a continuous camera shot for an entire chase sequence that still blows my mind just to think about.

PLEASE WATCH THIS MOVIE. Whether you're a fan of Tintin or not, it's a gorgeous film and you need to experience it. My life has legitimately changed for the better for seeing it.

[crow]

A good friend of mine is moving away while I'm going to be gone during winter break and we decided to hang out one last time, and since she'd sang its praises and I'd agreed to watch it with her, we ended up watching the Tintin movie and holy shit, it is a STUNNING movie. Not only is the CGI absolutely fantastic (there were multiple times where I forgot it wasn't live-action) but it manages to combine a realistic look with the cartoony features of Herge's characters in a way that not only looks totally natural and never once hits the uncanny valley, but it also fits the movie PERFECTLY. Seriously, I have no clue how they managed to pull off something that fucking good. The storyline is based mainly off of the Secret of the Unicorn storyline, and not only adapts it in ways that feel fun and exciting, but still feels loyal to the comics and have lots of fun moments that feel like they came straight out of the comic itself. Plus the action sequences are utterly STUNNING, and I ended up rewinding those scenes just to watch them again and take in the cinematography, especially since once action sequence features an AMAZING battle at sea as the two ships catch on fire, and another features a continuous camera shot for an entire chase sequence that still blows my mind just to think about.

PLEASE WATCH THIS MOVIE. Whether you're a fan of Tintin or not, it's a gorgeous film and you need to experience it. My life has legitimately changed for the better for seeing it.

It's the best Indiana Jones movie of this millennium

[STOG]

Killing Them Softly is an American neo-noir crime film that has a budget of $15 million and it somehow still looks like it was made for the price of a Twix. (This is probably because most of the budget for this movie went towards grabbing Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, and Ray Liotta, as well as some okayish CGI effects).

This is not a bad thing. Growing up in these sorts of environments made me think about how clean all the environments in movies were. The movie revels in its disheveledness - rotting houses and sidewalks overgrown with weeds. shitty looking cars and rusty old revolvers. An old beat up station wagon full of fucking dogs in the middle of a rainstorm.

My absolute favorite scene from this movie is in a bar. The bar itself looks like an old schoolhouse trailer cut up and repurposed for selling cheap beer. It's where Brad Pitt and some poor blabbermouth have an agreement to things that brings the movie to a slow, inexorable close.

The movie does this thing where it takes old Presidential speeches from 2008 and plays them in the background of the movie because the movie's set in the ECONOMIC CRISIS OF 2008 AND THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE REVOLVES AROUND A FAILURE CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF PEOPLE'S MONEY, WOOOOO THIS CRIME BUSINESS IN SHITSYLVANIA IS LIKE THE WAY AMERICA RUNS THINGS BLBLBLBLBLBLBL DO YOU GET IT NOW, CANNES AUDIENCE?

Anyway, I liked it and it is not a bad movie. It's on Netflix Instant if you want to see it.

[Nikaer Drekin]

Finally, Big Hero 6 is a Disney animated movie based on the comic book series by Marvel, though it's only loosely based on it from what I've read. The story is pretty predictable and nothing too special, but like most things Disney, it's an absolute feast for the eyes, and it reaches a huge range of emotions from start to finish. One of the best movies I've seen all year, frankly.

I agree that there's a lot of good stuff about Big Hero 6, but for me the plot drags things down a lot more. I wish the movie had allowed us more time to enjoy the things that were so great about it, but it seems like it feels obligated to do the whole superhero thing that we've seen a hundred times before.

On another note, I just watched Pain and Gain, and it wasn't... completely terrible, I guess. Paced well, looked nice, had an interesting story, but Michael Bay is still sort of a juvenile moron so that both (a) dumbed the satirical aspects down and (b) kind of felt cheap and disrespectful considering that this is based on a true story where people actually died.

[chai tea latte]

In the film Galaxy of Terror, a man punches his own arm off. The severed limb then throws a shuriken into his chest.

this has been a public service announcement

[chai tea latte]

Side By Side, which is a documentary about physical film and its history and future narrated by keanu reeves, is very good and should be watched. There are a few really great moments that i don't want to spoil for you, and then there's a segment on 3D i wasn't super hot on. there's also some really cool before/after post-processing stuff that I liked a lot.

if you like film, or are interested in the physical technology of digital imaging, and editing, and photography and cinematography and archiving, this is a good film to watch. Conveniently for all y'all suckers its even on netflix

[BomberJacket]

The 1959 Santa Claus movie, with commentary by Rifftrax at Rifftrax Live.

So this movie was made in Mexico and insane on multiple levels. Then some carnie in the US bought the rights to it and dubbed the thing with like three people. No effort was made to replace or edit scenes containing Spanish text.

Some notable highlights:
- A 20 minute scene at the very beginning where Santa uses his organ computer to check in on his multiethnic child labor force (costumes designed by gigantic racists)
- Every child in the movie wearing impossible amounts of white face makeup
- Fucking Merlin and Vulcan, both working at Santa's space castle to provide him with magical goodies
- A dance scene in hell followed by a demon talking with Satan about his digestive problems
- Santa serving magical Christmas coctails to neglectful parents
- Santa shooting a demon in the ass with a toy howitzer