Seen and not seen's, recommendations and queries on top films in general.

[bitewerksMTB]

Blue Velvet will be getting the Criterion treatment soon.

I've got Orgies of Edo, Audition, Stone Cold Dead, & Antropophagus waiting in a pile for viewing. SCD is about a sniper murdering prostitutes then sending photos to the police. The trailer looks good & I'll probably check it out tonight.

[holy ghost]

Watched The Favourite tonight and fuck, I don't usually hit up the current crop of Oscar favs but this one friggin' ripped so hard. Super weird, super funny, super out there and everything hit just right - acting (Emma Stone was amazing!), costumes, cinematography, music.... what an oddball movie!

[Peterson]

ELEPHANT - In the light of a recent school shooting down here and the killings in New Zeland I finally watched this one and liked it a lot. It's a simple idea at surface executed with style and empathy, Gus Van Sant is one of the best contemporary film makers in my opinion, at least when he goes more "artsy", and that's what he does here.

I hated Elephant and Van Sant's body of work. My Own Private Idaho maybe gets a pass.

Nocturnal Animals (dir. Tom Ford, 2016)
    Surprisingly good story-within-a-story (a bleak and violent one wrapped in an empty and sad one) with great performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams, and one of Michael Shannon's best roles. Dunno if I'd watch again, but I was pretty impressed with how dark and committed all the acting was.

Detachment (dir. Tony Kaye, 2011)
    This could have been like "the mild-mannered type's Taxi Driver," but Kaye's direction approach ruined everything - arty interludes, breaking the fourth wall, pointlessly brief scenes, all that stupid shit. If you edit down performances by Bryan Cranston to two lines and edit out literally all of William Petersen's dialogue, you're an idiot. Decent enough performances by Adrian Brody and Sami Gayle, but still pretty much a dud.

The Founder (dir. John Hancock, 2016)
    Weirdly charming despite it's blandness, sort of like the fast food empire the film is about. Michael Keaton plays the investor who wrested the McDonald's name away from its founders. I don't really know what to say about this film but that it was funny and sort of mesmerising. Laura Dern, however, deserves much bigger roles than afforded here.

[ConcreteMascara]

ELEPHANT - In the light of a recent school shooting down here and the killings in New Zeland I finally watched this one and liked it a lot. It's a simple idea at surface executed with style and empathy, Gus Van Sant is one of the best contemporary film makers in my opinion, at least when he goes more "artsy", and that's what he does here.

I hated Elephant and Van Sant's body of work. My Own Private Idaho maybe gets a pass.

agreed

[A-Z]

Come on people, Good Will Hunting is a wonderful film.

[EXU]

I hated Elephant and Van Sant's body of work. My Own Private Idaho maybe gets a pass.

Yeah, that happens a lot and I am not one to argue with that at all. Have you seen "Drugstore Cowboy" tho? You may like it better than the rest.

A SCANNER DARKLY - I found it good but it seems like I should like it more, must say I am not a fan of the rotoscoping style after 15 minutes of it or so even if it suits the material nicely. Anyway, it's an intriguing mix of black comedy, stoner movie, sci fi psychdelics and cartoon (the acting is very "Bugs Bunny esque" or something).

THE ROAD - I like Hillcoat "The Proposition" a lot, "Triple 9" is good if somehow clunky and haven't seen his other stuff yet. "The Road" is another great movie and everyone must have already seen it by now I guess. Very realistic depiction of what post apocalypse should become (as far as I can especulate), it starts bleak as fuck, gets very tense and works it's way under your skin so that it's optimism (or glimpse at that) doesn't feel too heavy handed in the end. I am a loser so I haven't read the book yet and I kinda regret it but at the same time I am very curious as to how the subtle (and oh so meaningful) details in the movie get treated. The sparse cast is all around top notch.

[DSOL]

Puppet Master - The Littlest Reich- fun movie with some pretty good gore and kills

[Peterson]

I hated Elephant and Van Sant's body of work. My Own Private Idaho maybe gets a pass.

Yeah, that happens a lot and I am not one to argue with that at all. Have you seen "Drugstore Cowboy" tho? You may like it better than the rest.

A SCANNER DARKLY - I found it good but it seems like I should like it more, must say I am not a fan of the rotoscoping style after 15 minutes of it or so even if it suits the material nicely. Anyway, it's an intriguing mix of black comedy, stoner movie, sci fi psychdelics and cartoon (the acting is very "Bugs Bunny esque" or something).

Actually, I've never seen it, spoke too soon! Forgot about that one, and will check it out - liked Matt Dillon in Factotum so good starting point. Thanks for the reminder.

Agree on Scanner, it's almost like that film is more personally important to me than it is actually great, although looking back I can't imagine any other treatment pulled off, either. I had a friend pretty much exactly like RDJ's character, but who hasn't? One of the few films whose DVD commentary is worth watching - Reeves has some interesting comments about Ryder's performance and her absence from the commentary.

[absurdexposition]

THE ROAD - I like Hillcoat "The Proposition" a lot, "Triple 9" is good if somehow clunky and haven't seen his other stuff yet. "The Road" is another great movie and everyone must have already seen it by now I guess. Very realistic depiction of what post apocalypse should become (as far as I can especulate), it starts bleak as fuck, gets very tense and works it's way under your skin so that it's optimism (or glimpse at that) doesn't feel too heavy handed in the end. I am a loser so I haven't read the book yet and I kinda regret it but at the same time I am very curious as to how the subtle (and oh so meaningful) details in the movie get treated. The sparse cast is all around top notch.

For me this is another case where the book is vastly superior to the film. Unlike No Country for Old Men where the book and film are pretty much on the same level.

[A-Z]

Noroi (2005)
a found footage j-horror dealing with black magic and demonic possession, kind of like Hereditary if it was a mockumentary instead of a family drama
a journalist investigates some paranormal events involving people with psychic abilities, things get progressively more sinister as he goes deeper down the rabbit hole
found footage is usually crap and j-horror is usually crap
this one turned out to be very good despite being both at the same time
main reasons why it works
- reliance on slowly building up the atmosphere of dread through subtle details; most of the time it's just people behaving weird, legit supernatural stuff is very limited; little jump scares and no stupid SPOOKY GHOSTS
- a normal sceptic guy actively trying to solve a mystery, gathering & analyzing clues etc., which makes the story feel more 'real' and more exciting due to the twists and turns in the investigation
- goes out with a bang in super dark final sequences

all in all, a very pleasant surprise

[Acne]

Noroi (2005)
a found footage j-horror dealing with black magic and demonic possession, kind of like Hereditary if it was a mockumentary instead of a family drama
a journalist investigates some paranormal events involving people with psychic abilities, things get progressively more sinister as he goes deeper down the rabbit hole
found footage is usually crap and j-horror is usually crap
this one turned out to be very good despite being both at the same time
main reasons why it works
- reliance on slowly building up the atmosphere of dread through subtle details; most of the time it's just people behaving weird, legit supernatural stuff is very limited; little jump scares and no stupid SPOOKY GHOSTS
- a normal sceptic guy actively trying to solve a mystery, gathering & analyzing clues etc., which makes the story feel more 'real' and more exciting due to the twists and turns in the investigation
- goes out with a bang in super dark final sequences

all in all, a very pleasant surprise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhbCvVjL6CM

[DSOL]

Us- was actually pretty good. really enjoyed the movie. good pace, strong acting esp the leading woman and a pretty interesting twist at the end. I've never seen Get Out so I had no prior knowledge of how Peel directed a film or how his style is, but he seem to drop a lot of easter eggs in this film which was pretty cool.

[aububs]

this is really good. i had to check my politics at the door but most of you won't have to

[FallOfNature]

^ been wanting to see that

Haven't had time for many movies lately, with exception to;

There Will Be Blood
"I drink your milkshake!" . A favourite.

The Dirt
Motley Crue biopic, a bit silly but overall quite watchable I thought. Not really a fan, but I might chuck on one of the first two albums after half a case of beers on a Friday night (still have a Dr Feelgood tape I stole from my uncle when I was 6/7).

[ConcreteMascara]

this is really good. i had to check my politics at the door but most of you won't have to

my dad recommended that to me, but it's the same director as Bone Tomahawk and I hated that movie so I'm not so sure I want to spend 2hrs45mins on a movie I might hate.