Movie Thread

[GwaneTIme]

Hi everyone! Which in your opinion is the best movie in 2019? Can Joker be it?

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Hi everyone! Which in your opinion is the best movie in 2019? Can Joker be it?

Can't really say because, I'm afraid the only 2019 movie I have seen was Brittany Runs a Marathon. So, maybe someone else can toss out some opinions on the most recent movies?

On my end, and just in time for the holidays -

Bad Santa (2003) - I've seen this flick a few times before, and while I don't mind all the vulgarity and crassness Billy B.'s Drinking does make me feel queasy and gross. How he doesn't drop dead of alcohol toxicity is beyond me.

The movie does have a few funny moments, I liked John Ritter's prudish but still politically correct character. (It was his last appearance on camera, rip.) But it's definitely not for the faint of heart.

 

[search]

Hi everyone! Which in your opinion is the best movie in 2019? Can Joker be it?

for me, it was "Midsommar". I'm yet to see "Parasite" and "The Irishman" though

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Not the cheeriest of films to watch during the holiday season, but I wanted to change things up a bit after watching some cheesy xmas flicks that aren't even worth mentioning. So on that note...

Conspiracy (2001) - A stellar cast depicting the Wannsee Conference back in Nazi Germany, it's more of a remake of the German TV version called Die Wannseekonferenz that had been made back in 1984, which I had also just watched.

Expect no action, explosions, mandatory romantic scenes - both films are about just a bunch of high-powered men who sit around a table and discuss how they will go about implementing "The Final Solution to the Jewish Question" during WWII. Nonetheless, I found both versions to be quite sharp and engaging, I think each version has something to offer. (I tried to follow the German language one, but my German is so rusty and they spoke quite fast, so I had to turn on the English subtitles after all.)

The subject matter is, of course, very chilling and disturbing, and much of the dialogue in both films is fictionalized because, besides one copy of the minutes that had not been destroyed by the Nazis, there are no records of what was actually said by the people involved. But this is where I think the films compliment each other with their approach, I think they are both worth seeing if WWII interests you.

I also watched a lecture by two historians on youtube about the actual conference afterward, they mention and compare the films as well. I think it's worth seeing being it adds another piece to the puzzle.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSNHb6BSzTg

 

[movingtarget]

Can't really say because, I'm afraid the only 2019 movie I have seen was Brittany Runs a Marathon. So, maybe someone else can toss out some opinions on the most recent movies?

On my end, and just in time for the holidays -

Bad Santa (2003) - I've seen this flick a few times before, and while I don't mind all the vulgarity and crassness Billy B.'s Drinking does make me feel queasy and gross. How he doesn't drop dead of alcohol toxicity is beyond me.

The movie does have a few funny moments, I liked John Ritter's prudish but still politically correct character. (It was his last appearance on camera, rip.) But it's definitely not for the faint of heart.

Bad Santa is the antidote to the family Christmas movies ! They made a sequel but I didn't see it. Pretty funny at the time but maybe not PC enough for the Hollywood suits I doubt, these days.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Bad Santa is the antidote to the family Christmas movies ! They made a sequel but I didn't see it. Pretty funny at the time but maybe not PC enough for the Hollywood suits I doubt, these days.

Noel (2004) is also an antidote... it has a great cast, but up until the very ending it is so depressing that I was wondering whether it would ever lighten up. Halfway through the movie I actually almost gave up on watching the rest.

Come to think of it, A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014) with Robin Williams is also a bit of an antidote, but I actually liked it, it did have some funny moments.

I have a very hazy memory of having seen the sequel to Bad Santa, but it was so awful I don't remember a thing. Kathy Bates was in it? I totally forgot.

 

[sir fly]

View: https://dai.ly/x5vugik

 

[Tricycle Rider]

View: https://dai.ly/x5vugik

That was quite good, thanks for the link! Not sure how accurate the English subtitles were, usually a lot can get lost in translation. Still, I thought the film was at times dark and poignant, but I enjoyed the dark humor. (Certainly each time Martha walked into the office and saw Teja and Luka doing something unusual was funny.)

What was the name of the artist whose paintings were hanging in Teja's office? The snow scene ones... my grandmother had a similar painting on her wall long ago, sadly I will never know who the artist was.

 

[sir fly]

That was quite good, thanks for the link! Not sure how accurate the English subtitles were, usually a lot can get lost in translation. Still, I thought the film was at times dark and poignant, but I enjoyed the dark humor. (Certainly each time Martha walked into the office and saw Teja and Luka doing something unusual was funny.)

What was the name of the artist whose paintings were hanging in Teja's office? The snow scene ones... my grandmother had a similar painting on her wall long ago, sadly I will never know who the artist was.

Thanks for the response and interest, Trike.
The subtitles are pretty accurate, as far as I checked. Of course something's lost, mostly the manner of speaking (phraseology, sayings etc.), which certainly contributes to narrative and discourse, but nothing that would materially violate the storyline. And the movie's based on a cult play from the nineties (that can be found on the ytube, but without the subtitles) for which (the rumour says) scenario was based on true events.
Since you've liked it, here's another one of the same author and spirit.

Sava Šumanović is the artist they're referring to. Besides this movie, his works are used for the lectures beyond faculties and academies of fine arts.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I saw Rise of Skywalker tonight, I would give it a 5/10 because it's Star Wars but probably a 3 if it was a different property. The Disney number movies and this one in particular have been all over the place plot and visual wise. The visuals are amazing as to be expected but the story and fluidity is severely lacking. I was getting bored and checking the run time for when it's over which is unlike me. All in all, if you like Star Wars I would recommend watching it. I liked it more than 7 or 8.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Thanks for the response and interest, Trike.
The subtitles are pretty accurate, as far as I checked. Of course something's lost, mostly the manner of speaking (phraseology, sayings etc.), which certainly contributes to narrative and discourse, but nothing that would materially violate the storyline. And the movie's based on a cult play from the nineties (that can be found on the ytube, but without the subtitles) for which (the rumour says) scenario was based on true events.
Since you've liked it, here's another one of the same author and spirit.

Sava Šumanović is the artist they're referring to. Besides this movie, his works are used for the lectures beyond faculties and academies of fine arts.

Thanks for the link, I'll try to watch the film over the weekend. (Love the Šumanović winter scene paintings, btw.)
-----
In the meantime I watched Downhill Racer (1969) again, the scenery and cinematography are just gorgeous. And it's funny to see how antiquated the ski equipment and clothing are, think I may have had skis like that when I was a kid. Well, maybe not even anything that fancy, but I did have those Carrera goggles once I lived in West Germany.

Also watched The Lives of Others (2006) again recently, this is such a good movie. For those who had lived in the former Eastern Bloc it will ring a lot of bells.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Since you've liked it, here's another one of the same author and spirit.

Ok, I just watched The Balkan Spy (1984), loved the absurd comedy scenes. Like the red light bulb in the kitchen because a white one wasn't available, the 300kg "boar" in the hunting scene, the picture of Stalin (I had to google his pic because I wasn't sure it was him, I mean, who would treasure a picture of Stalin?), etc., I was surprised by the level of violence, though. And the last ten minutes were rather tragic because it was clear Ilija was a lunatic, besides being paranoid why was he so verbally abusive toward his wife? That actually bothered me...

Loved the old Citroen though, and I certainly remember seeing a lot of Moskviches on the streets when I was a kid. (Plus the Trabants, the Skodas, the Ladas... seeing a car from the West would have been rare back then.)

Anyhoo, thanks for the link, I do enjoy watching foreign and indie films for a change.

 

[Koronin]

I saw Rise of Skywalker tonight, I would give it a 5/10 because it's Star Wars but probably a 3 if it was a different property. The Disney number movies and this one in particular have been all over the place plot and visual wise. The visuals are amazing as to be expected but the story and fluidity is severely lacking. I was getting bored and checking the run time for when it's over which is unlike me. All in all, if you like Star Wars I would recommend watching it. I liked it more than 7 or 8.

Sounds like I'll just wait for the DVD as I did with the last two.

 

[sir fly]

Ok, I just watched The Balkan Spy (1984), loved the absurd comedy scenes. Like the red light bulb in the kitchen because a white one wasn't available, the 300kg "boar" in the hunting scene, the picture of Stalin (I had to google his pic because I wasn't sure it was him, I mean, who would treasure a picture of Stalin?), etc., I was surprised by the level of violence, though. And the last ten minutes were rather tragic because it was clear Ilija was a lunatic, besides being paranoid why was he so verbally abusive toward his wife? That actually bothered me...

Loved the old Citroen though, and I certainly remember seeing a lot of Moskviches on the streets when I was a kid. (Plus the Trabants, the Skodas, the Ladas... seeing a car from the West would have been rare back then.)

Anyhoo, thanks for the link, I do enjoy watching foreign and indie films for a change.

I suppose the verbal abusiveness toward the wife (besides being a cultural, Balkan/Oriental, reference) has a function in the genesis of the dyadic relationship between the spouses... Folie à deux seems to be the motif present throughout the whole drama, coming to the fore in the Stakhanovian/Sirotanovićian scene of digging out the picture.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I suppose the verbal abusiveness toward the wife (besides being a cultural, Balkan/Oriental, reference) has a function in the genesis of the dyadic relationship between the spouses... Folie à deux seems to be the motif present throughout the whole drama, coming to the fore in the Stakhanovian/Sirotanovićian scene of digging out the picture.

I'm glad the daughter still had her wits about her, even though it was at the cost of losing her parents. I mean, initially the wife seemed to have been aware that Ilija wasn't quite all there, but due to their relationship and proximity she slowly got infected with his line of unhealthy thinking. So, I think I see what you're saying.

On a completely different note...

I watched Alien (1979) again last night, haven't seen it in ages. But it's still such a good movie -- being I've forgotten most of it I have to admit I had to jump out of my seat several times because of the suspense. The dialogue and acting were good, the cast and the special effects were great... poor, poor John Hurt. He was actually sort of attractive before the facehugger got a hold of him. Having said that...

I also tried to watch Aliens (1986) right afterward, I couldn't even finish the last hour. I haven't seen this flick in ages either, but I remembered why I didn't care for it as much as the original when it first came out. Lots of action, explosions, special effects, inane dialogue, the cli·chéd, cute little blond-haired blue-eyed girl (I'd much rather have the kitty from Alien back) - I loathe these kind of movies nowadays.

The difference between Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens... Ridley Scott has had some stinkers, too. But between him and James Cameron I'd always pick Scott as the director. (Scott had directed Blade Runner, after all, what more needs to be said?)

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Office Space (1999) - Watched this movie again the other day, and while I didn't laugh nearly as much as I did the first half dozen of times seeing it I was reminded of it while trying to work my printer tonight. (Should I be taking a fecking sledgehammer to this old Cannon Pixma printer or not? Such heavy-hitting questions one must ask oneself here in the first world...)

Anyhoo, this movie still has its moments, no matter how obsolete the computer equipment in it may look and be.

 

[movingtarget]

I'm glad the daughter still had her wits about her, even though it was at the cost of losing her parents. I mean, initially the wife seemed to have been aware that Ilija wasn't quite all there, but due to their relationship and proximity she slowly got infected with his line of unhealthy thinking. So, I think I see what you're saying.

On a completely different note...

I watched Alien (1979) again last night, haven't seen it in ages. But it's still such a good movie -- being I've forgotten most of it I have to admit I had to jump out of my seat several times because of the suspense. The dialogue and acting were good, the cast and the special effects were great... poor, poor John Hurt. He was actually sort of attractive before the facehugger got a hold of him. Having said that...

I also tried to watch Aliens (1986) right afterward, I couldn't even finish the last hour. I haven't seen this flick in ages either, but I remembered why I didn't care for it as much as the original when it first came out. Lots of action, explosions, special effects, inane dialogue, the cli·chéd, cute little blond-haired blue-eyed girl (I'd much rather have the kitty from Alien back) - I loathe these kind of movies nowadays.

The difference between Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens... Ridley Scott has had some stinkers, too. But between him and James Cameron I'd always pick Scott as the director. (Scott had directed Blade Runner, after all, what more needs to be said?)

Alien and Blade Runner were both classics. Watched them countless times.

As for Aliens, when I first saw it I found it a bit irritating but the more I watched it the more I liked it. I think along with the first two Terminator movies, it's his best work. The Alien series started to go downhill with Alien IV and never recovered unfortunately. The last two Alien prequels were entertaining enough but nowhere near the quality of the first three in the franchise. The Terminator series has gone the same way. Up to 3 it was good . Haven't seen the current Terminator movie yet but haven't read a good review of it either.

As for Ridley Scott he is a great visual stylist but sometimes the scripting in his movies is not great. For their body of work I don't put Scott and Cameron in the same class as Kubrick and others. Would have loved to see Scott's version of Dune but the project fell apart in the pre-production stage. David Lynch's version was a curiosity piece, strange but not great. The upcoming version of Dune by Dennis Villeneuve should be very interesting after the job he did on the Blade Runner sequel. With the book split into two movies it will make much more sense than Lynch's movie especially for viewere that didn't read the book.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Watched the Irishman yesterday. Very very good, the acting was outstanding, inespecially Pesci. Him and Pacino should both be nominated for best actor in a supporting role at the Oscars, while De Niro would deserve a nomination for leading actor.

I watched The Irishman last night, I agree with you on the movie itself, but disagree a little on the acting. Loved Pesci though, he was right for the role. Here are my thoughts...

Clocking in at 3.5 hours I wasn't sure I could make it through in one sitting, but I thought the movie was actually well-paced and never boring. Okay, I did fall asleep the last ten minutes, but by then things had pretty much been wrapped up.

I had seen movies and documentaries about the mob and Jimmy Hoffa before, so I didn't really learn anything new. Well, except for new speculations as to what happened to Hoffa's body, but that's a mystery I don't think will ever be solved. Still, I did find the movie interesting and surprisingly not too flashy given its bloated budget (over $160 million!!), my only real beef is with the casting.

I could almost buy Pacino as Hoffa being he didn't look as frail as De Niro, but De Niro I just didn't buy at all. Clearly in the flashback scenes this role was meant for a much younger man, I hope Pesci calling him "kid" was just meant as an inside joke. I know they used some kind of new de-aging technology, but it didn't work too well being De Niro still looked frail, and his blue, CGI eyes looked like he had both cataracts and jaundice.

All in all I would recommend this movie for those who are interested in the mob, but just be aware that some of the senior actors might detract from what I think could have been a better viewing experience.

 

[movingtarget]

I watched The Irishman last night, I agree with you on the movie itself, but disagree a little on the acting. Loved Pesci though, he was right for the role. Here are my thoughts...

Clocking in at 3.5 hours I wasn't sure I could make it through in one sitting, but I thought the movie was actually well-paced and never boring. Okay, I did fall asleep the last ten minutes, but by then things had pretty much been wrapped up.

I had seen movies and documentaries about the mob and Jimmy Hoffa before, so I didn't really learn anything new. Well, except for new speculations as to what happened to Hoffa's body, but that's a mystery I don't think will ever be solved. Still, I did find the movie interesting and surprisingly not too flashy given its bloated budget (over $160 million!!), my only real beef is with the casting.

I could almost buy Pacino as Hoffa being he didn't look as frail as De Niro, but De Niro I just didn't buy at all. Clearly in the flashback scenes this role was meant for a much younger man, I hope Pesci calling him "kid" was just meant as an inside joke. I know they used some kind of new de-aging technology, but it didn't work too well being De Niro still looked frail, and his blue, CGI eyes looked like he had both cataracts and jaundice.

All in all I would recommend this movie for those who are interested in the mob, but just be aware that some of the senior actors might detract from what I think could have been a better viewing experience.

Have to admit I have had enough of Scorsese and his Mob movies. I thought The Departed was pretty good but I definitely prefer early Scorsese to his later movies. Casino may have been a little underrated. I liked it better than Goodfellas which was much slicker and shorter. I thought Mean Streets, Raging Bull and Taxi Driver were his best. while The Last Waltz was a great rock documentary especially for fans of The Band.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Have to admit I have had enough of Scorsese and his Mob movies. I thought The Departed was pretty good but I definitely prefer early Scorsese to his later movies. Casino may have been a little underrated. I liked it better than Goodfellas which was much slicker and shorter. I thought Mean Streets, Raging Bull and Taxi Driver were his best. while The Last Waltz was a great rock documentary especially for fans of The Band.

I've never seen Goodfellas or Casino, so maybe that's why I can't say I have tired of Marty's Mob flicks. Should I be tackling these two movies on some rainy night when the mood is right?

In the meantime I've watched some bad sci-fi flicks, but also a couple of movies I thought were rather well done.

God's Own Country (2017) - In some ways it's the UK's version of Brokeback Mountain, but it's so much more visceral. I thought it was so beautifully filmed and acted, this is the Brokeback Mountain for the newer generation I suppose.

The Danish Girl (2015) - Apparently lots of historical inaccuracies were going on here, but I still thought it was rather nice. At times times it was painful emotionally, but overall I still thought it well done.

 

[movingtarget]

I've never seen Goodfellas or Casino, so maybe that's why I can't say I have tired of Marty's Mob flicks. Should I be tackling these two movies on some rainy night when the mood is right?

In the meantime I've watched some bad sci-fi flicks, but also a couple of movies I thought were rather well done.

God's Own Country (2017) - In some ways it's the UK's version of Brokeback Mountain, but it's so much more visceral. I thought it was so beautifully filmed and acted, this is the Brokeback Mountain for the newer generation I suppose.

The Danish Girl (2015) - Apparently lots of historical inaccuracies were going on here, but I still thought it was rather nice. At times times it was painful emotionally, but overall I still thought it well done.

Casino and the Goodfellas are both worth watching. Casino has a few confronting scenes, not for the squeamish.

Haven't seen God's Own Country but I thought Brokeback Mountain was well done. Better than I expected with two great central performances especially Heath Ledger's and a nice soundtrack.

 

[Laplaz]

I watched The Irishman last night, I agree with you on the movie itself, but disagree a little on the acting. Loved Pesci though, he was right for the role. Here are my thoughts...

Clocking in at 3.5 hours I wasn't sure I could make it through in one sitting, but I thought the movie was actually well-paced and never boring. Okay, I did fall asleep the last ten minutes, but by then things had pretty much been wrapped up.

I had seen movies and documentaries about the mob and Jimmy Hoffa before, so I didn't really learn anything new. Well, except for new speculations as to what happened to Hoffa's body, but that's a mystery I don't think will ever be solved. Still, I did find the movie interesting and surprisingly not too flashy given its bloated budget (over $160 million!!), my only real beef is with the casting.

I could almost buy Pacino as Hoffa being he didn't look as frail as De Niro, but De Niro I just didn't buy at all. Clearly in the flashback scenes this role was meant for a much younger man, I hope Pesci calling him "kid" was just meant as an inside joke. I know they used some kind of new de-aging technology, but it didn't work too well being De Niro still looked frail, and his blue, CGI eyes looked like he had both cataracts and jaundice.

All in all I would recommend this movie for those who are interested in the mob, but just be aware that some of the senior actors might detract from what I think could have been a better viewing experience.

To be fair, De Niro can't do anything about the CGI and the special effects. I also think he looked strange at times, but his performance was fine, inespecially in the last part.

I would definetly recommend you to watch Goodfellas and Casino, both very good in my opinion (I have to admit that I'm a big fan of the Mob genre, so these two movies surely aren't for everyone).

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Haven't seen God's Own Country but I thought Brokeback Mountain was well done. Better than I expected with two great central performances especially Heath Ledger's and a nice soundtrack.

I think God's Own Country is worth seeing just for the scenery alone. I had visited the Peak District some years ago, and while not filmed there it reminded me very much of it. You could practically smell the sheep and the English countryside. Speaking of the senses...

I watched Dallas Buyers Club (2013) last night - ooof, it was gritty, and not just because they had only $250 for makeup. Given the star power it's surprising they had a minimal budget to work with, but it didn't take away from the movie at all.

I think McConaughey deserved his Oscar, but I'm not as enamored with Leto as other viewers seem to be. He lost nearly as much weight as McConaughey and wore makeup and dresses for the role, but all in all his performance I thought was rather average.

There are many movies and documentaries about the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s, while not truly accurate (it was never mentioned the character of Ron Woodroof had been married three times, had a kid, and apparently wasn't as repulsively homophobic as depicted in the movie), Dallas Buyers Club is a good place to start if interested in learning about it. Expect a lot of grit.

 

[movingtarget]

I think God's Own Country is worth seeing just for the scenery alone. I had visited the Peak District some years ago, and while not filmed there it reminded me very much of it. You could practically smell the sheep and the English countryside. Speaking of the senses...

I watched Dallas Buyers Club (2013) last night - ooof, it was gritty, and not just because they had only $250 for makeup. Given the star power it's surprising they had a minimal budget to work with, but it didn't take away from the movie at all.

I think McConaughey deserved his Oscar, but I'm not as enamored with Leto as other viewers seem to be. He lost nearly as much weight as McConaughey and wore makeup and dresses for the role, but all in all his performance I thought was rather average.

There are many movies and documentaries about the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s, while not truly accurate (it was never mentioned the character of Ron Woodroof had been married three times, had a kid, and apparently wasn't as repulsively homophobic as depicted in the movie), Dallas Buyers Club is a good place to start if interested in learning about it. Expect a lot of grit.

Yes I will have to catch up with that one. A friend of mine saw it and said it was very good. I never liked McConaughey much in his earlier films but in the latter part of his career he 's done some great work including the first True Detective series.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Yes I will have to catch up with that one. A friend of mine saw it and said it was very good. I never liked McConaughey much in his earlier films but in the latter part of his career he done some great work including the first True Detective series.

I honestly can't recall seeing McConaughey in any other movie besides Dallas Buyers Club. Was he in a bunch of rom-coms (that I wouldn't have watched) running around with his shirt off? That used to be the joke anyway, McConaughey not being able to keep his shirt on. Oh, that and McConaughey and Lance being buddies when Lance was still on top. Hm...

In the meantime, I was in the mood to watch some bad sci-fi flicks last night, and boy, did I ever find them. It's not really hard though - Netflix, Amazon Prime, and even Crackle have nothing but shite sci-fi. Couldn't at least one of them offer 2001 or Blade Runner in a way so I wouldn't have to pay extra?

Somnus (2016) - This flick was amusingly bad. It started out okay, but I had to chuckle when they were traveling in the spaceship where the interior looked more like my '67 Beetle than some modern space age machinery. Given its obviously poor budget and mess of a script I'll just file it in the 'it's so bad it's almost good' category. At least I finished watching it.

And then I tackled Leviathan (1989) and remembered why I didn't like it when it first came out - it's a total Alien rip-off except it takes place under water. I was so offended by the lack of originality I turned it off about halfway through, no need to waste any more time on that steaming pile of garbage.

I did learn that Peter Weller has a PhD though, so that's at least impressive from an actor who was known for starring in sci-fi/action flicks a while back. So yeah, there's that.