I think this is the first great film of 2019. It's a more conventional film than either Bone Tomahawk or Brawl in Cell Block 99, and it is also Zahler's first film in which I felt Tarantino's influence (multiple perspectives and parallel storylines, sharply written and discursive dialogue). But I still think this is Zahler's best effort yet as he is really becoming a master of storytelling, pacing, dialogue, etc. This is evidenced in how willing he is to extend scenes (e.g., the slow boil of the standoff at the junkyard) and slowly ratchet up the tension to unbearable levels.
Furie
Went to see this for the much-hyped Veronica Ngo fight sequences. The choreography was pretty fun to watch but I feel the bar has now been set much higher with the bathroom brawl scene in M:I-Fallout and the single take fight sequence in Creed, where it's more than just choreography and quick edits. Fight scenes are much more intense and realistic if every punch and kick is delivered for the purpose of really hurting somebody and you can sense the full weight of the actor when he gets body slammed against a wall or the floor or the bathroom sink.
Greta
A rote thriller but still a treat for cinephiles to see 1) Huppert cast in this role, and 2) Rea and Jordan reunited again. My wife was not impressed. When I got home, I showed her a scene from Haneke's The Piano Teacher to explain one of the visual gags in the film but it was clearly too inside baseball. I was also impressed by Moretz's level of commitment to this role as the only character in the whole movie that behaved anything resembling like a real human being.
Juliet, Naked
Finally caught up with this one. Adapted from a Nick Hornby novel (which I've not read) and features original songs from Conor Oberst, Robyn Htichcock and Ryan Adams. I thought the movie would be similar to High Fidelity in that Hornby would offer insights about music obsessiveness and how pop culture can define one's personality but instead it was just a rehash of 84 Charing Cross Road and You've Got Mail. In fact, the movie is so empty of any music references that you could probably have had Ethan Hawke's character play a porno king instead of a reclusive music legend who released a porno called "Juliet, Naked" and begin a correspondence with someone on a chat forum and not change a word of the e-mail correspondence.
Us
Premise is much too thin to support a feature-length film. Or rather, there was nothing in terms of plot or character development between the reveal of the premise and the twist ending. There was recently a thread about short films and this would probably have made for a great 20 minute film as there were some genuinely creepy scenes, and the twist would provide a perfect ending for a short. Also, not sure if the casting of Elisabeth Moss was an intentional stunt but the movie would have really given moviegoers something to think about during that empty 75 minutes in the middle if Mark Duplass had been cast in Tim Heidecker's role.
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I watched Heart of the Sea on the weekend, I really enjoyed the premise and the move as a whole. Well acted and well written re-visualization of Moby Dick
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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I read a story this morning about a 14 year-old boy in Kentucky claiming he is the same boy that's been reported missing in Illinois since he was 6 years old. The whole story reminded me of this great documentary.
UPDATE:
Wow, the kid turned out to be a 23 year old impostor.
Last edited by snootchiebootchies; 04-04-2019 at 03:43 PM.
I watched Heart of the Sea on the weekend, I really enjoyed the premise and the move as a whole. Well acted and well written re-visualization of Moby Dick
I liked it. If you enjoy reading, The North Water is very good.
Everyone should go see Shazam. It was really great. They nailed it out of the park with this one.
Oh I strongly disagree.
Spoiler!
If you're gonna go see it, don't.
Spoiler!
A few funny moments doesn't make up for that train wreck of a third act. It was boring and completely devoid of any tension whatsoever. Like a Power Rangers meets Ghostbusters TV special, sprinkled with overlong villain monologues and flying around endlessly (without actually fighting?!?). Cool first half though, I guess? Even though the trailer pretty much summed that up beforehand.
Saw Pet Sematary the other night and thought they did a pretty good job of it.
King's horror novels always seem to have a harder time translating to the big screen than his more dramatic works (e.g. Shawshank, Stand by Me), but advancing technology helps quite a lot. This was a genuine horror movie that was well paced (could have been a bit longer if anything) and stuck fairly faithfully to the book. In a weird way it was a bit like "Us" but with white people (and less humour and plot holes).
No movie is ever going to live up to the book in terms of sheer fright value, but this one made a good effort. Solid 7.5/10 from me.
Saw Pet Sematary the other night and thought they did a pretty good job of it.
Haven't seen Pet Sematary but was really impressed with Kolsch and Widmyer's previous feature, Starry Eyes. It was funded through kickstarter and it's pretty amazing how good they made the movie look on such a shoestring budget. They were also way ahead of their time and prescient about the whole #MeToo movement.
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Blackkklansmen was good but based on what I’d read I was expecting it to be amazing. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed but I wasn’t wowed. It definitely was not best picture winner material.
I was rather disappointed with Pet Sematary. Great premise but ending kind of turned the movie from scary to schlock. Seemed like the creators got together and based everything on original movie and where they could surprise with a twist.
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
I found the movie "They Shall Not Grow Old" quite interesting. I imagine many men and boys back then romanticised about going to war and later being shocked by the realities of it when they actually were on the battlefield.
One of the best parts about the film was Peter Jackson talking about how they made the film and all the problems they encountered.
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Us wasn't great. It felt like they were sort of wildly flailing at the metaphor rather than actually getting a good hold on it.
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I think this is the first great film of 2019. It's a more conventional film than either Bone Tomahawk or Brawl in Cell Block 99, and it is also Zahler's first film in which I felt Tarantino's influence (multiple perspectives and parallel storylines, sharply written and discursive dialogue). But I still think this is Zahler's best effort yet as he is really becoming a master of storytelling, pacing, dialogue, etc. This is evidenced in how willing he is to extend scenes (e.g., the slow boil of the standoff at the junkyard) and slowly ratchet up the tension to unbearable levels.
Just watched it. Wow, what a grimy intense movie.
Definitely my favourite of Zahler's 3 so far.
Please keep posting your reviews, I really enjoy them.
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