Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Spring 2021 Edition

[kihei]

Will not miss a chance to plug my favorite Tottenham in film moment.

I am just mulling over the possibility that you may be the only combined Columbus/Tottenham fan in the world.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I am just mulling over the possibility that you may be the only combined Columbus/Tottenham fan in the world.

There are a few of us here. Decent local Spurs supporters group ... I ASSUME there is some overlap with the CBJ though I can't speak to it specifically.

My favorite personal Spurs fandom anecdote is that I was once at a bar and started chatting with a fellow next to me. English gent. We got to talking about soccer and after a bit I posed this questions, "I'm a Buffalo Bills and New York Mets fan, what club do I root for?"

Without hesitation (and with a bit of disgust), "Oh you're Spurs."

I'd like to think the pain has made me stronger. Seasons like this I'm unsure.

 

[Pink Mist]

There are a few of us here. Decent local Spurs supporters group ... I ASSUME there is some overlap with the CBJ though I can't speak to it specifically.

My favorite personal Spurs fandom anecdote is that I was once at a bar and started chatting with a fellow next to me. English gent. We got to talking about soccer and after a bit I posed this questions, "I'm a Buffalo Bills and New York Mets fan, what club do I root for?"

Without hesitation (and with a bit of disgust), "Oh you're Spurs."

I'd like to think the pain has made me stronger. Seasons like this I'm unsure.

I'm a Spurs and Leafs fan, some would say that makes me a bit of a masochist. When deciding on a Premier League team years ago and I found out the Spurs long championshipless streak, they were the only team who made sense for me to support as a Leafs fan, there was no other option

 

[nameless1]

I didn't think it was rosy at all, I was actually pretty bummed out through most of it. And I didn't need scenes with white people making racist comments to highlight this family's struggle, there was more than enough going on within the family unit to make me feel for them.

As for BP rankings, I have this ahead of Nomadland and Judas, both of which were big disappointments for me.

Frankly, the fact that it centers on a Korean-American family, in the American Deep South, is about the only interesting part about the movie. In fact, it is the key aspect that the movie is promoted on, so it is only fair to point out, or even criticize, the way race relations is portrayed in the movie. Otherwise, the movie is just another tale on the struggle for the American Dream that is interchangeable with the many, many on the same subject.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

Frankly, the fact that it centers on a Korean-American family, in the American Deep South, is about the only interesting part about the movie. In fact, it is the key aspect that the movie is promoted on, so it is only fair to point out, or even criticize, the way race relations is portrayed in the movie. Otherwise, the movie is just another tale on the struggle for the American Dream that is interchangeable with the many, many on the same subject.

It's a fair criticism, I just don't think it was necessary to highlight the difficulties this family was facing. And the "white people in the Deep South being racist to minorities/immigrants" trope has been done to death and is an element that would've also been interchangeable with many other films on the same subject.

 

[nameless1]

It's a fair criticism, I just don't think it was necessary to highlight the difficulties this family was facing. And the "white people in the Deep South being racist to minorities/immigrants" trope has been done to death and is an element that would've also been interchangeable with many other films on the same subject.

That is fair. We will have to agree to disagree on this one. Ultimately, I just find the story boring.

 

[Osprey]

Speaking of VHS, I'd never seen Victory until yesterday but I have very clear memories of the video box sitting on the shelf at the video store in my youth. For whatever reason that's a visual that has stuck in my mind forever. I even went to double check and it's almost exactly how I remembered it.

View attachment 424193

It's a pretty cheesy, memorable cover. Their arms form a V... for Victory... get it? Get it?! It also looks more like an old videogame box than a movie box. Maybe they ran out of budget after paying Stallone and Caine.

I similarly hadn't seen Return of the Living Dead or Repo Man until last year, even though I have clear memories of their VHS boxes from hours spent in front of the shelves at our local video store. It was kind of a cool feeling to actually watch them for the first time after over 30 years. Now, I just need to find Buns of Steel to check off another box that I vividly remember.

The Passion of Joan of Arc [La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc] (1928) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

Based on original transcripts, this silent film classic documents the interrogation, humiliation, and execution of Joan of Arc (Renée Jeanne Falconetti).

To borrow a line from kihei: whoa whoa whoa! Have you not heard of spoiler tags?

It really is a terrific film, but a little predictable.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

That is fair. We will have to agree to disagree on this one. Ultimately, I just find the story boring.

I appreciate the discussion.

 

[Osprey]

The Courier (2020) - 7/10 (Really liked it)

In the early 1960s, a British businessman (Benedict Cumberbatch) is recruited by MI6 and the CIA to travel to Moscow on "business" in order to make contact with a Soviet military intelligence officer (Merab Ninidze) who's willing to share state secrets. A Cold War spy drama that's based on a true story, it's similar in a few ways to Bridge of Spies, which was also a true story about a non-military citizen sent behind the Iron Curtain during the early 60s... though, in this case, his mission is not so innocent. It's less about action and espionage and more about the businessman's relationship with his Soviet contact, whom he gets to know as a person, and with his wife, whom he can't tell what he's doing. Cumberbatch does a great job, especially at conveying his character's confusion and hesitance, Ninidze makes for a sympathetic Russian and the rest of the actors are very good, as well. The production looks convincingly 1960s, though I could've done without the muted colors that make the whole film look like something between black & white and color. The first hour and 15 minutes were engaging enough, but didn't strike me as remarkable as spy movies go. It felt a little familiar and took a while to get going, but it was worth it once it did. The last half hour is different and gripping and really elevated the film for me. If you're looking for a fast-paced, fictional spy thriller, keep looking. If, instead, you feel like a methodically-paced spy drama that's historical and a little educational (I didn't know that this Soviet officer was so instrumental to the West), then this might do nicely.

 

[Pink Mist]

Little Big Man (1970) directed by Arthur Penn

Have you ever thought to yourself “damn I wish Forrest Gump took place in the wild wild west”. No? Neither have I, but if for some reason you have, I have just the movie for you. Little Big Man shares many features as Forrest Gump. It has a folksy voiceover and a dimwit main character who somehow keeps stumbling into all of the major ongoing historical events of the time. Its also way too long and considered a classic despite not being very good. For some reason, this film is held in high regard, probably for the same stupid reasons Forrest Gump is, but to me, I didn’t find it funny, I don’t find it entertaining, and its satire wasn’t very interesting or pointed. But if you’re looking for the prequel for Forrest Gump (god help us), here it is.

 

[kihei]

Gyeongju (2014) Directed by Lu Zhang 8B

Choi (Park Hae-il), a South Korean, returns home to Seoul from China where he is teaching political science at the prestigious University of Peking (a South Korean teaching in China is a rare bird, the movie suggests). He is home, briefly, to attend a funeral of an old friend, and he reminisces about past times. He decides to journey to Gyeongju, a city not far from Seoul, to revisit some memories. Once there, he meets a chatty assistant at the travel information office, beckons an old flame for no clear reason (it ends badly), and, more importantly, gets to know Gong, a young woman who owns a tea house where once hung an obscene folk painting. His interest in what happened to the painting makes Gong think he might be a pervert initially. They kind of hang out together, but it gets awkward.

The vibe here is a strange one, somewhere between Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Hong Sang-soo's ruminative On the Beach at Night Alone, tending to the former in narrative structure and the latter in terms of actual content. Choi is shyly friendly but a little out of it, too, not always a good judge of the social moment. He floats about Gyeongju like a leaf in a wind storm, going where the breeze takes him. Like Before Sunrise, Gyeongku works because the whole story seems somehow very plausible, relatable--I could see this stuff actually happening in real life, which somehow made it very easy for me to identify with the proceedings. I also liked very much how Gong’s story was worked into the narrative—something that gave the movie added richness and depth. While Gyeongju may be a tough slog for many, viewers able to tolerate minimalist cinema will find there is a lot to enjoy here.

subtitles

MUBI

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Who plays Florentino Perez in the Super League adaptation?

 

[Mescaleroman]

Who plays Florentino Perez in the Super League adaptation?

Paul Sorvino

 

[Pink Mist]

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) directed by Peyton Reed

Days from ending a two-year house arrest sentence, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is reluctantly dragged into a mission from the geniuses Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) to unlock the quantum realm and save Pym’s wife/van Dyne’s mother who has been trapped there for 30 years (what she’s been eating and drinking to survive living there for so long? Unclear, but go with it). A bit of a palate cleanser after the Avengers: Infinity War, this film is a light comedy led by Rudd’s natural and effortless charisma with much lower stakes compared to the other MCU films. Much of it is very funny (especially anything involving Ant-Man’s buddy played by Michael Peña), but it feels kind of inconsequential and forgettable.

The Marvel Moment: My Ongoing Rankings of the Marvel Movies
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Thor: Ragnarok
4. Captain America: The First Avenger
5. Iron Man
6. Doctor Strange
7. Thor
8. Spider-man: Homecoming
9. Ant-Man
10. Ant-Man and the Wasp
11. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
12. The Avengers
13. Avengers: Age of Ultron
14. Iron Man 3
15. Black Panther
16. Thor: The Dark World
17. Captain America: Civil War
18. The Avengers: Infinity War
19. Iron Man 2
20. The Incredible Hulk

 

[kihei]

Red Moon Tide (2021) Directed by Lois Patino 8B

Red Moon Tide represents exactly the kind of cinema by which I am most enthralled. Red Moon Tide is a monster movie/ghost story/witch's tale told almost exclusively in absolutely amazing images. The story has the haunting feel of an old folk tale with the sea and the moon representing the monsters and a mother who is also a witch mourning for her son. Foolishly he has gone to sea in search of the monsters and he has not reeturned. There is virtually no dialogue which is replaced by a scattering of voice-overs presented by the various characters who appear almost frozen in time. These brief voice-overs help to heighten the atmosphere provided by the (literally) entrancing images. As should more often be the case in cinema, the emphasis is on image, mood, the kind of things that you can feel or sense but not necessarily put into words. The images are often surprising, disorienting, occasionally abstract; they are sometimes dark, even hard to make out until, snap, you do.

There are so far only seven reviews of Red Moon Tide on Rotten Tomatoes, all highly positive, and the following expressions come up among them: "transfixtion is contagious"; "ineffable dread"; "almost supernatural purity"; "the symbol becomes its own essence and purpose"; "operating at the fine art end of the cinema scale"; and "the more the film moves toward the esoteric, the more interesting its images become." In other words, not exactly standard critical reactions to a new film. Some people might call this movie experimental cinema, but what's the experiment? Whatever one calls it, Red Moon Tide is just flat out one beautifully realized film.

Later Sidenote: I wonder if this was the sort of thing Terrence Malick was trying for but wasn't able to pull off. I'd love to know his reaction to Red Moon Tide.

subtitles

MUBI


Best of 2021 so far

1. Red Moon Tide, Patino, Spain
2. Identifying Features, Valadez, Mexico
3. Manor House, Puiu, Romania
4. The Dig, Stone, UK

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Red Moon Tide (2021) Directed by Lois Patino 8B

Red Moon Tide represents exactly the kind of cinema by which I am most enthralled. Red Moon Tide is a monster movie/ghost story/witch's tale told almost exclusively in absolutely amazing images. The story has the haunting feel of an old folk tale with the sea and the moon representing the monsters and a mother who is also a witch mourning for her son. Foolishly he has gone to sea in search of the monsters and he has not reeturned. There is virtually no dialogue which is replaced by a scattering of voice-overs presented by the various characters who appear almost frozen in time. These brief voice-overs help to heighten the atmosphere provided by the (literally) entrancing images. As should more often be the case in cinema, the emphasis is on image, mood, the kind of things that you can feel or sense but not necessarily put into words. The images are often surprising, disorienting, occasionally abstract; they are sometimes dark, even hard to make out until, snap, you do.

There are so far only seven reviews of Red Moon Tide on Rotten Tomatoes, all highly positive, and the following expressions come up among them: "transfixtion is contagious"; "ineffable dread"; "almost supernatural purity"; "the symbol becomes its own essence and purpose"; "operating at the fine art end of the cinema scale"; and "the more the film moves toward the esoteric, the more interesting its images become." In other words, not exactly standard critical reactions to a new film. Some people might call this movie experimental cinema, but what's the experiment? Whatever one calls it, Red Moon Tide is just flat out one beautifully realized film.

Later Sidenote: I wonder if this was the sort of thing Terrence Malick was trying for but wasn't able to pull off. I'd love to know his reaction to Red Moon Tide.

subtitles

MUBI


Best of 2021 so far

1. Red Moon Tide, Patino, Spain
2. Identifying Features, Valadez, Mexico
3. Manor House, Puiu, Romania
4. The Dig, Stone, UK

VERY intrigued.

 

[kihei]

VERY intrigued.

Make sure there is no backlighting in the room when you watch it; make it as dark as possible. For clarity of image.

 

[Osprey]

Little Big Man (1970) directed by Arthur Penn

I love Forrest Gump and this has great reviews at RT, so I'll definitely add it to my list. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Pink Mist]

I love Forrest Gump and this has great reviews at RT, so I'll definitely add it to my list. Thanks for the recommendation!

Post your thoughts when you watch it!

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Nomadland (2020). B+
First off, the (very) good: This is a really beautiful film, both aesthetically and thematically. The cinematography is of course a standout, and I feel the need to give special mention to the original score -- it's very lyrical in melody, which fills the space extremely effectively, especially since the movie itself is not especially dialogue-heavy. Great stuff.
McDormand is exceptional, and the amateurs hold their own as well. Swankie's monologue in particular is a captivating standout. Nomadland is a very engrossing and worthwhile film, and it very much captures the goal of "transporting you into another world" that cinema so often tries to achieve.

Now, the bone to pick, and it's a big one. It completely glosses over the physical challenges of the gig labor lifestyle that the nomads must utilize in order to make money. I can almost forgive Zhao for the downright pleasant depiction of working at an Amazon factory, even though their deplorable conditions weren't even a secret even when the movie was being made, because I'm sure Amazon wouldn't let their brand be used if they came off negative in even the slightest. Tough, but oh well, that's the biz.

Less forgivable is the complete absence of these challenges everywhere else. Linda May and Swankie both broke ribs serving as campground hosts. But every depiction of McDormand's Fern working is, again, very agreeable. Now, am I asking to see these injuries happen? No, that would almost give off the sense of manufactured drama and would break the spell. But is it asking too much for the characters to at least allude to these occurrences (e.g. Linda May offering some words of caution when she's showing Fern the ropes of hosting)? I don't think so.

Zhao can always have her cake and eat it too by saying "hey this is a work of fiction," but when you've got real people playing versions of themselves, and you're telling their story, you're doing them a disservice by not making a stronger attempt at showing a fuller picture. If anything, illuminating those sacrifices would further emphasize the intangible aspects of the beauty of the chosen lifestyle, and IMO is the main thing holding back the film from being truly great.

 

[Puck]

"Life is crap, Archer. You go to the movies to get away from that for a little bit. Get some pixie dust thrown on you for a precious two hours." - David Baldacci

I'm guessing many Directors hold back a little on dishing out too much reality. Putting butts in seats is another 'that's the biz' proposition and you don't necessarily do that by painting a canvas that is too dark, especially on a film for general audiences.

But in the Nomadland case, Zhao also had to weigh not making real people's lives (playing themselves) seem too dark or depressing, I thought she showed some respect there and found a balance.

 

[Osprey]

I actually thought that Nomadland was too realistic, to the point that it was a little uninteresting and boring.

Do I get a 'like', too?

 

[kihei]

Zaya and the Last Dragon (2021) Directed by Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada 6A

An ancient evil force called the Kuun have comeback to threaten Kumandra, a mythical Southeast Asian civilization. Zaya, Warrior Princess extraordinaire (there are no other kind these days), takes it upon herself to track down the last dragon and, with its help, save the day. She faces competition from another Warrior Princess whose clan seeks to preserve the status quo. Interestingly in our latest princess instalment, female empowerment is now a given—all of the central female characters in the movie are already empowered—and a new theme has emerged, the need for cooperation and trust to achieve a better world. The animation is wondrous, the interplay between dragon and heroine is fun, and the message to children seems tailored to fit our troubled times (a note at the end of the film informs the audience that 400 animators working at home created Zaya and the Last Dragon). From an adult standpoint, while the animation is splendid to behold, Disney animated films (not counting Pixar) have become something of a princess factory lately. With exceptions (well, Zootopia, anyway), their emphasis on formulaic fantasy worlds lacks the depth and sophistication of the best films from Studio Ghibli whose animation is even more beautiful and whose stories seem often grounded in more involving situations and concerns, thus making them more adult friendly.

Sidenote: I do think the ongoing multicutural emphasis from Disney combined with strong female leads is a very healthy thing, though.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Nomadland (2020). B+
First off, the (very) good: This is a really beautiful film, both aesthetically and thematically. The cinematography is of course a standout, and I feel the need to give special mention to the original score -- it's very lyrical in melody, which fills the space extremely effectively, especially since the movie itself is not especially dialogue-heavy. Great stuff.
McDormand is exceptional, and the amateurs hold their own as well. Swankie's monologue in particular is a captivating standout. Nomadland is a very engrossing and worthwhile film, and it very much captures the goal of "transporting you into another world" that cinema so often tries to achieve.

Now, the bone to pick, and it's a big one. It completely glosses over the physical challenges of the gig labor lifestyle that the nomads must utilize in order to make money. I can almost forgive Zhao for the downright pleasant depiction of working at an Amazon factory, even though their deplorable conditions weren't even a secret even when the movie was being made, because I'm sure Amazon wouldn't let their brand be used if they came off negative in even the slightest. Tough, but oh well, that's the biz.

Less forgivable is the complete absence of these challenges everywhere else. Linda May and Swankie both broke ribs serving as campground hosts. But every depiction of McDormand's Fern working is, again, very agreeable. Now, am I asking to see these injuries happen? No, that would almost give off the sense of manufactured drama and would break the spell. But is it asking too much for the characters to at least allude to these occurrences (e.g. Linda May offering some words of caution when she's showing Fern the ropes of hosting)? I don't think so.

Zhao can always have her cake and eat it too by saying "hey this is a work of fiction," but when you've got real people playing versions of themselves, and you're telling their story, you're doing them a disservice by not making a stronger attempt at showing a fuller picture. If anything, illuminating those sacrifices would further emphasize the intangible aspects of the beauty of the chosen lifestyle, and IMO is the main thing holding back the film from being truly great.

I get this, but I think I'm more forgiving of it. While the gig economy and the larger economic circumstances that put Fern in the position she's in is absolutely an element of the film, I didn't watch it thinking it was about that. I came out feeling like it was way more about grief and loss and personal connection and it just happens to take place with that gig economy background. Perhaps that's a difference without distinction?

The bones are there to fully address those economic realities but I don't think that was ever the intention (right or wrong) so I'm not as bothered as some about the movie not further exploring that.

I do agree that there's probably a version of it that can do both ... but I'm ok with the version we got.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Nomadland (Zhao, 2020) – This is the kind of films I don't really enjoy commenting on. It's obviously an interesting film, but it's pretty thin, so everybody ends up saying basically the same things – echoes that quickly lose much meaning. You kind of have to admire the process, but what does it achieve exactly? The tension it should create between reality and fiction is mostly lost to the beautiful shot composition and calculated pace of the narration, and the moments of truth are relegated to bribes of monologues. The nomads' reality never really takes over the fiction like it did in the better cinéma-direct films from Quebec or in the latter Varda films. The only tension remaining is with their presence in the film. The non-actors are acting, playing (kind of) themselves (first trace of reflexivity), which pushes you online to go check up a little about their story: Swankie doesn't have cancer, but Bob's son really committed suicide, etc. There's other little self-reflexive devices that were pretty smart too. Zhao's involvement with Marvel makes the written reference to the MCU (The Avengers) – something that could have been terribly lame otherwise – an interesting echo to the portrayed way of life and doing things your own way, by choice. Also, not long after her sister says Fern lives like the pioneers, she hums Home In the Meadow to the baby, a song from How the West Was Won (which ends with a narration about people free to dream, free to act, free to mold their own destiny). It's mostly a film about not going anywhere, about flat tires and stalling cars – a film about nomads that can't move on – so it could just be absolutely brilliant that it doesn't feel like it's really going anywhere itself. I just think it had its hands on something that could have been a lot more - as a docufictive portrait of a "way of life" it's real far from Pour la suite du monde.
7.5/10