Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (1974):

I've seen more than one film reviewer suggest that Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE is CELINE ET JULIE VONT EN BATEAU done right. Although it's possible Lynch has never seen CELINE ET JULIE, I think that's a pretty spot-on assessment.

Interesting comparison between the two movies, though the only immediate similarity I see is that they both focus on female relationships through a surreal lens. The tones and themes are very different. I'd be interested in hearing his case.

If I ever come across another such comparison I will copy the link and post it for you. I dunno, meta-narratives, dreams within dreams, PHANTOM LADIES OVER PARIS/Hollywood?

[M.10rda]

The Hitcher (1986) remains one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen: I've only ever seen it once. 

It's a tremendous film. However Roger Ebert condemned it ("no stars", iirc) purely based on the fate of a single major character... and that fate is unconscionably grisly. I mean, if the filmmakers intended to disturb as I think they must have - 5/5!

[Jim H]

This Place Rules - A lot of interesting segments on their own surrounding January 6 and Stop the Steal nonsense, but the connective tissue is loose to non-existent.  I like Andrew Callaghan, but I think he needs more of a structure if he's going to make films.  As is, his shorter segments from All Gas No Brakes and Channel 5 are better than his feature.  Still, it's brisk and worth a watch just for the individual parts alone.  

The Hitcher (1986) remains one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen: I've only ever seen it once.  

It's a tremendous film. However Roger Ebert condemned it ("no stars", iirc) purely based on the fate of a single major character... and that fate is unconscionably grisly. I mean, if the filmmakers intended to disturb as I think they must have - 5/5!

It's a pretty weak review too, always remembered that one.  Looking at it again, he basically goes there's a few interesting ideas but I don't like how they pay off, and it's gross.  0/5.  

He has a few really bad 0 star ratings, another that's pretty appalling is Death Race 2000.  He basically goes,  "kids laughed at the intentionally satirical comedy violence and this bothered me, 0/5".  He says NOTHING about the film itself, good or bad.  Embarrassing for such a talented writer and critic as him.  

In a bit of contrast, his Chaos review is a bit better - basically says it is effectively made, but does nothing but wallow in cruelty, and that's vacuous and pointless.

[Trevor]

M3EGAN (2023) - Went to the theater last night with my daughters and saw this one.  Creepy fun; the M3GAN doll is just the right mix of charming and psychotic; the little girl was an excellent actress, and despite a couple of plot holes, the story was engaging and scary.  4/5

When I first heard of that, I thought it was going to be a bio pic of Meghan Markle 😉🐢

[Gabriel Knight]

MISERY (1990)

After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.

Usually movies based on King's work are pretty lame, but this one is an exception. Tense from beginning to end, with amazing acting and character development. And of course, memorable and gruesome scenes.

I would give it a 10, save for the fact that I hate the death of certain lovable character towards the end. He didn't deserved to die. Not to mention, he never actually accomplishes anything, so his entire storyline is pretty much wasted with his death. I don't know if it plays the same way in the book, but I thought it was a horrible narrative decision.

Still, an amazing movie. 9/10

[Rev. Powell]

BREATHING HAPPY (2022): A recovering addict undergoes a long metaphorical hallucination on Christmas Eve, which happens to be the anniversary of his first year sober. The whole idea of doing a recovery movie as a trip movie--with talking doors, hallucinatory drug dealers, and comedy skits interspersed with dramatic flashbacks--is provocative, and maybe even a little perverse; its not boring, but the script struggles with making its character both unique and generic, and tries too hard to keep him likeable while unsuccessfully attempting to stress how much of a bastard he used to be when he was high. 2/5.

[M.10rda]

He has a few really bad 0 star ratings, another that's pretty appalling is Death Race 2000.  He basically goes,  "kids laughed at the intentionally satirical comedy violence and this bothered me, 0/5".  He says NOTHING about the film itself, good or bad.  Embarrassing for such a talented writer and critic as him.  

In a bit of contrast, his Chaos review is a bit better - basically says it is effectively made, but does nothing but wallow in cruelty, and that's vacuous and pointless.

Ebert often did a poor job distinguishing his personal tastes/reactions from a film's objective quality or craft, and he admitted this in print many times.

However, I think he was TOO generous towards CHAOS! I agree that movie is a vacuous exercise in cruelty, but I'd diverge with him on it being "effectively made"!

[lester1/2jr]

I watched a documentary about the Iceman gangster guy on tubi. I can't remember what it was called but it was very...chilling aha.  

I'm not big into gangsters OR serial killers but this was pretty good, maybe because I was in a bad mood. Its hard to try to place this guy in context. On some level, he's just a particularly brutal mafia hit man. On another, he is, among other things, a reminder that the good old days weren't always so good. It's estimated he killed around 200 people. Some of them were other gangsters and probably deserved it and to his credit he never killed women or children. At various times I thought "He's not so different from Dick cheney or someone like that. "

It's in the second half that they get into the real brutality of what he did, which involved quite a bit of torture. Needless to say, he also beat his wife. He "ain't no nice guy" to quote Motorhead. He gave tons of interviews after he was caught which is where I assume they got all this info.  

The documentary itself was thorough but cheap and had a predictable look. If they were talking about people meeting they would show a bunch of people meeting somewhere. If he threw someone down a cliff they would show a cliff that kind of thing.

4/5

[Rev. Powell]

HIT THE ROAD (2021): An Iranian family of four take a road trip with a secret objective at the end. By Panha Panahi, Jafar's son, who attempts to evade prosecution for his implicit regime criticism by lulling the censors to sleep during the first thirty minutes. 2.5/5.

[M.10rda]

THE BLACK PHONE (2022):
I strongly disliked Scott Derrickson's EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE and SINISTER and wasn't too keen on his first DOCTOR STRANGE. I also cannot remember liking an Ethan Hawke performance since GATTACA... which was released in 1997. Let this be a lesson to me to maintain an open mind about movies and moviemakers, because I thought THE BLACK PHONE was a cracking good thriller. Derrickson establishes a superb pace and atmosphere of dread in the early scenes and builds up to a high level of tension that he maintains for the last hour. I particularly admired his unflinching treatment of adolescent-on-adolescent violence. Growing up in the late 70s through the early 90s - an era before supposed zero tolerance for bullying - this was how I remembered schoolyard fights (or in my case, brutal beatings)....... bloody and merciless. Of course, these pubescent gladiators are just levelling up for a bigger fight against a child-murdering, mask-wearing sadist in a scary van.

I've long felt like Hawke took some kind of terrible psychic hit around the time of his breakup with Uma Thurman - which also manifested in him losing any ability to deliver a convincing or empathetic performance onscreen. I thought he was dreadful, laughable, even in FIRST REFORMED, but an easier argument to make is to compare his open, affecting work in the original BEFORE SUNRISE with his performance a decade later in BEFORE SUNSET - it doesn't even seem like the same guy, just an insincere, hollow shell of a human. Frankly, I can barely stand watching him in most roles this century... yet in BLACK PHONE, my visceral distaste for Hawke works quite well, as the viewer must clearly despise The Grabber and actively root for him to suffer comeuppance at the hands of his teen and tween victims. Derrickson wisely refrains from providing any origin story or ameliorating motivation for The Grabber. We don't need it. We just need to see Finney and his compatriots on the Black Phone rise the f**k up............

Highly satisfying. 4/5!

[Alex]

The Munsters.

Going into this, I really wanted to like it. It serves as a prequel to the TV series telling the story of how Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie) gets together with Herman, how they end up moving to the US and even how they get Spot. Lily and the Count (not yet grandpa) I thought were fairly well cast. Herman, well not so much. I felt the actor playing the role lacked Fred Gwynne's goofy charm. The whole thing had the look and feel of a low-budget fan-made project, rather than a studio movie and not in a good way. I think it is the script that really lets the whole thing down, and as Rob Zombie was the director and writer I put the blame directly on him though rather than the cast.

I hope it finds an audience out there and other people like it more than I did, but this is my least favourite Rob Zombie film, beating even Halloween 2 into last place. Neither myself or Kristi liked it, despite both of us being keen to see it.

[indianasmith]

THE BLACK PHONE (2022):
I strongly disliked Scott Derrickson's EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE and SINISTER and wasn't too keen on his first DOCTOR STRANGE. I also cannot remember liking an Ethan Hawke performance since GATTACA... which was released in 1997. Let this be a lesson to me to maintain an open mind about movies and moviemakers, because I thought THE BLACK PHONE was a cracking good thriller. Derrickson establishes a superb pace and atmosphere of dread in the early scenes and builds up to a high level of tension that he maintains for the last hour. I particularly admired his unflinching treatment of adolescent-on-adolescent violence. Growing up in the late 70s through the early 90s - an era before supposed zero tolerance for bullying - this was how I remembered schoolyard fights (or in my case, brutal beatings)....... bloody and merciless. Of course, these pubescent gladiators are just levelling up for a bigger fight against a child-murdering, mask-wearing sadist in a scary van.

I've long felt like Hawke took some kind of terrible psychic hit around the time of his breakup with Uma Thurman - which also manifested in him losing any ability to deliver a convincing or empathetic performance onscreen. I thought he was dreadful, laughable, even in FIRST REFORMED, but an easier argument to make is to compare his open, affecting work in the original BEFORE SUNRISE with his performance a decade later in BEFORE SUNSET - it doesn't even seem like the same guy, just an insincere, hollow shell of a human. Frankly, I can barely stand watching him in most roles this century... yet in BLACK PHONE, my visceral distaste for Hawke works quite well, as the viewer must clearly despise The Grabber and actively root for him to suffer comeuppance at the hands of his teen and tween victims. Derrickson wisely refrains from providing any origin story or ameliorating motivation for The Grabber. We don't need it. We just need to see Finney and his compatriots on the Black Phone rise the f**k up............

Highly satisfying. 4/5!

I enjoyed this one also; I'm a bit curious why you disliked SINISTER.  It is one of my favorite horror movies from the last decade or so.

[M.10rda]

I enjoyed this one also; I'm a bit curious why you disliked SINISTER.  It is one of my favorite horror movies from the last decade or so.

I think I recall you having posted that sentiment. I apologize?
Context counts for a lot/everything. I watched it a couple years late, following a few (though not many) extremely enthusiastic endorsements such as yours. Didn't find it remotely scary or thrilling and didn't find Hawke remotely convincing or compelling or sympathetic. To be fair, I remember being unable to refrain while watching from recalling EOER w/ contempt - that's a film I had far more highly specific complaints about.
Also, I watched SINISTER on DVD in my apartment on a sunny afternoon. Same deal w/ the first INSIDIOUS, another film I find wholly overrated and unscary. So, context is everything. I was probably just watching them incorrectly. 

[FatFreddysCat]

"Sausage Party" (2016)
In this extremely adult animated comedy set in a supermarket, a humble, naive sausage (Seth Rogen) learns the terrible truth about what happens to food when it's purchased and taken out of the store. His efforts to warn the rest of his edible brethren of the danger leads to a revolt against the store's unlucky customers and lots of foul-mouthed animated mayhem. The impressive voice cast makes the most of the movie's one-joke premise. "Sausage Party" is dumb as hell, but it's also quite hilarious in a twisted way. Obviously it is NOT a cartoon for the kiddies!

[Rev. Powell]

BEAUTIFUL BEINGS (2022): A pack of violent misfits take a bullied boy into their gang on the rough streets of Reykjavik (really!) There's a (very) mild supernatural aspect to this in that one of the boys is a psychic who (briefly) has visions, but it's essentially a well-told story demonstrating that neglect and the cycle of violence occurs everywhere--even idyllic Iceland. The young actors all nail their roles. Iceland submitted it to the Oscars but it wasn't shortlisted, and it seems destined to be overlooked despite being one of the best international productions of 2022, and exactly the type of film Oscar loves. 4/5.