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What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Newer Films)


King Mark

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It was pretty boring.  We watched yesterday. 

 

I was quite happy with Bohemian Rhapsody.

Going to see Overlord in the next couple of days

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 

 

More of the same. Johnny Depp is just as miscast in the film as the trailers indicate, if not worse. Eddie Redmayne continues to play Newt as an idiotic semi-autistic ingrate with a cute little Niffler stealing the show. Jude Law is a welcome delight as a younger Dumbledore (as is all the Hogwarts scenes), as are the deliciously gorgeous Zoe Kravitz and Claudia Kim.

 

Some big plot twists abound (I mostly rolled my eyes) as are a plethora of Easter eggs, but they don’t resound with emotional authenticity. Die hard fans will eat this up regardless but this spin-off franchise is well past its sell-by date. James Newton Howard again revisits his themes (and quotes Williams’ appropriately), but the film left me jaded.

 

I doubt I will see the next three movies now. They need some fresh blood and ditch David Yates, he’s been there far too long.

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On 11/11/2018 at 2:03 PM, Koray Savas said:

Did it end up being a Cloverfield tie-in?

I don't see how. I enjoyed it as a science fiction warfilm crossover. 

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6 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Within the first 10 minutes, I was prepared to name The Ballad of Buster Scruggs my film of the year.  By the end, I was sure.

Didn't know there was a new Coen film! Thank you for pointing that out!

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2 hours ago, publicist said:

The german dub is atrocious. Just switched to english but from what i saw (20 minutes) i'd say it's not exactly a beacon of originality or wit.

Is it just cheap or something else (the dub). Dubs tend to be very patchy, lately.

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It's much better in english - and you understand the poetic folk tale tone they were going for. Totally destroyed in the german version by what sounds like someone trying to do a parody.

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3 hours ago, publicist said:

It's much better in english - and you understand the poetic folk tale tone they were going for. Totally destroyed in the german version by what sounds like someone trying to do a parody.

Like The Hateful Eight, where the original makes you think of Shakespeare and the German dub makes you think of Adam Sandler movies?

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17 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Within the first 10 minutes, I was prepared to name The Ballad of Buster Scruggs my film of the year.  By the end, I was sure.

 

Will probably see that sometime tonight.

 

I liked the score.

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I keep hearing about this Ballet of Buster Scruggs movie, but I'll never get past its so obviously desperate to sound eccentric title. It's like they knew a wacky name like "Buster Scruggs" would inevitably draw in those try-hard buffs who are suckers for cheap gimmicks like quirky movie titles.

 

"Gee, this already sounds so sonorously peculiar, even by Coen Bros standards. Surely it has to be a delight of a film! Even the font they used for the title on the poster is irresistible!"

 

Nah, I think I'll hang out for the next Liam Neeson thriller instead: Submerged Doubt

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4 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Dismissing movies based on their titles now? Lol

 

The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, Inside Llewyn Davis... This is nothing new. 

 

Honestly, I get where he's coming from. I don't have an opinion on this particular movie, but that "appeal to quirky" is something that can irk me too.

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Screen Shot 2018-11-17 at 2.18.57 PM.png

 

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

 

It's a bit lethargic in places and not always as witty as it thinks it is, but I liked it. A series of short stories that aim to deconstruct the broad-gestured romanticism of the "Wild West". There are no heroes or villains in the Coens' vision of the world. Just people who live and die, each life seeming more meaningless than the last. Handsomely framed too, but there is this ugly, hyper-digital Netflix look that plagues parts of this film. I know they set out for more stylized visuals for each short, but it looks very much like "television". A common problem many Netflix originals share. Not entirely sure what's up with that. Maybe the Coens just need Deakins?

 

Oh and Burwell's score is rather endearing, as you would expect. 

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6 hours ago, KK said:

I know they set out for more stylized visuals for each short, but it looks very much like "television". A common problem many Netflix originals share.

 

Ummmm.... maybe because Netflix is television?

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His point was that it looks like filter hell (in the outdoor panoramic shots). Which is not a requirement for tv productions. I'm not that bothered by it, but if you don't take out those non-standard image modes on your tv it looks truly awful.

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9 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

You’re either on the Coens’ wavelength, or you’re not.

 

I do really like a fair amount of their output. Raising Arizona, Hudsucker, Big Lebowski, No Country... of the ones I've seen those sprung into my head first. I even had a laugh with Burn After Reading. But then I thought their True Grit remake was terrible.

 

Ballad of Buster Scruggs is bound to be at least half decent (I was being factious for my own amusement earlier), but I think I'd rather watch the Ballad of Cable Hogue again instead right now than another one of those craaaaazy Coen Bros flicks.

 

9 hours ago, KK said:

Oh and Burwell's score is rather endearing, as you would expect. 

 

Burwell is a very fine composer, who disappointingly doesn't really seem interested in writing for movies outside of his niche.

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I thought True Grit was a masterpiece.

 

Also, this new movie is gorgeous, not sure what KK's getting at.  It looks cinematic and beautiful, and very stylized as the Coens' films often do.

 

Anyway, I got super excited about Buster Scruggs.  I've actually watched it twice now.  But judging reactions from both critics and here, I'm quite alone loving it this much!  Ah well, that's alright, my wife loved it too at least.

 

I love every single story as its own particular thing, but it's definitely true that "The Gal Who Got Rattled" is the strongest narratively.

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Fantastic Beasts 2. This was a total slog and borefest. The first I thought was decent, this one is legitimately awful. You could say the action sequence at the start set the tone - as an action setpiece it was messy and confusing to look at. The rest of the movie followed suit in terms of its vapid, overwrought, perlexing plotting. By the end I wasn't sure what the point of the story was, but I knew enough that it was all bad. Visually dull too, many scenes are set in Paris and it might as well have been London or anywhere else in the world because it all looks the same. Depp is equally boring. Much preferred Colin Farrell in the first movie.

 

Overlord. Now this was quite a treat...to an extent. B-movie polised to A-class sheen. Simple characters that are simply told, but effective nonetheless. Great action. Always entertaining. My biggest gripe is that it didn't get icky enough in the third act.

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On 11/17/2018 at 11:58 AM, publicist said:

It's much better in english - and you understand the poetic folk tale tone they were going for. Totally destroyed in the german version by what sounds like someone trying to do a parody.

 

You just posted the definition of dubbing.

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9 hours ago, Stefancos said:

 

Ummmm.... maybe because Netflix is television?

 

Like pub said, there's some funky  processing or grading in the film that makes parts of it look like it was filmed on a studio parking lot, or strong Instagram filters were thrown on it. And shows like Breaking Bad are proof that this is not the de facto look for television.

 

Don't get me wrong. It's still a very fine looking film, and beautifully framed, but there are parts where the artificial look rubs me the wrong way. Neuters the impact of some the vast outdoor pan shots.

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In Québec we are used to french dubbing, moreover for many years now we do our own dubbings in Québec. It's a real job here, the actors who do that are pro (and are real actors).

 

More than that, the people that do the adaptations chose words that matches the lips movements.  It's very rare I have a problem with a Québécois dubbing.

 

When there is many dubbings available on a DVD or Blu-Ray, I always listen to them by curiosity... I must admit the the other dubbings never match the french ones!

 

The spanish ones are very strange, the voices don't match at all!

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6 hours ago, Quintus said:

Burwell is a very fine composer, who disappointingly doesn't really seem interested in writing for movies outside of his niche.

 

I wonder if he's simply not considered for films outside his "niche".

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6 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

True Grit 2010 is a great film!

You give it way too much credit.

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2 hours ago, publicist said:

If the dubbing actor beats the original, I take the dub. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt, ...

2 hours ago, Bespin said:

When there is many dubbings available on a DVD or Blu-Ray, I always listen to them by curiosity... I must admit the the other dubbings never match the french ones!

German and French are the only languages that do dubs of English movies right.

1 hour ago, JoeinAR said:

You give it way too much credit.

No.

8 hours ago, Quintus said:

Burwell is a very fine composer, who disappointingly doesn't really seem interested in writing for movies outside of his niche.

He's alright. His music is even more simplistic than Nicholas Hooper's. When the music must get dramatic, they're both fucked.

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7 hours ago, KK said:

Maybe it was intentional then? I don't know. I just didn't always love what I was seeing.

Do you have anything specific in mind? Each story had a different look and none looked artificial to me. 

5 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

He's alright. His music is even more simplistic than Nicholas Hooper's. When the music must get dramatic, they're both fucked.

Odd stance, considering drama is Burwell’s forte.

7 hours ago, Stefancos said:

I wonder if he's simply not considered for films outside his "niche".

Don’t forget he was hired for films like Gangster Squad and Thor 2, only to be replaced by Steve Jablonsky and Brian Tyler...

 

His best work is for his regular collaborators anyway. The Coens, Todd Haynes, Spike Jonze, etc. 

 

And if you want a taste of his orchestral bombast then there’s Twilight. 

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12 hours ago, KK said:

 

Like pub said, there's some funky  processing or grading in the film that makes parts of it look like it was filmed on a studio parking lot, or strong Instagram filters were thrown on it. And shows like Breaking Bad are proof that this is not the de facto look for television.

 

Don't get me wrong. It's still a very fine looking film, and beautifully framed, but there are parts where the artificial look rubs me the wrong way. Neuters the impact of some the vast outdoor pan shots.

 

I'm in the process of watching The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (still 40 minutes to go). The film has obviously been given a yellow tint, as if they used a color lens filter. For the most part, I don't have a problem with it (I never felt it looked like TV), but occasionally there are shots (close-ups of green foliage, for instance) where the chosen tone (yellow) doesn't seem quite ideal. 

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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

A pretty good collection of short stories. They all build on and relate to each other in some aspects, while being distinctly different in others (purely visual storytelling vs. dialogue-heavy stories for example). Very pleasant and likeable overall, quite funny at times.

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