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


King Mark

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Watched Knives Out on the cinema with my girlfriend last Monday.

 

The movie is indeed a very funny and well written update of the murder mystery genre for the XXI century, with references to the "here and now" of everything co-existing with Daniel Craig's character, who is straight out of a early XX century mystery novel by Conal Doyle or Agatha Christie.

 

But the movie also has a deeper layer of meaning, wearing its politics stances on its sleeve, as exemplified by some of its more richer shots (particularly the first and one of the last ones, that make the first one get a new layer) and dialogues. In a way, it kinda reminded me of Darren Aronofsky's mother!, which you can read as both text and subtext, as a straightforward story and as an allegory.

 

The orchestral score is great as well. Although I haven't paid much attention to his previous works with Rian, Nathan Johnson is clearly a talented composer, with his music reminding me of some of the Carter Burwell's scores for the Coens, like Fargo.

 

That said, there was what seemed to me a plot hole that stopped me of liking the movie more than I did:

 

Spoiler

Before the car chase scene, Blanc sees Ana de Armas and Captain America on the car, watching the medical examiner's office destroyed by the fire. He and the police give them chase, and eventually catches them. But while Cap is being taken with the police, handcuffed, Marta goes with Blanc on her car. But that's the weird part: although she just commited what I think is a fellony (trying to escape the police), she still gets to go the police office driving her own car, with only Blanc to secure her, and going behind the police cars, which could facilitate and escape.

 

By that point on the movie, Marta was still a suspect, including by Blanc, who hasn't figured it out that she wasn't guilty of Harlan's death. If she was dangerous, and was armed, she could've easily dominated Blanc, kidnapping him and escaping.

 

And worse, instead of going to the police, Blanc still allows her to go to the blackmailer's adress, by herself, while he stays peacefully on the car, listening to music. If she was guilty, she could've easily had abandoned Blanc on the car and escaped on foot.

 

Was Blanc so sure of her innocence that he allowed her that degree of freedom for a suspect? That was very weird.

 

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Jojo Rabbit. This was rather good. Can you make a funny and touching gentle film about a 10-year old Nazi fanatic? Turns out you can! Some of the best films balance on the edge. They shouldn't work and yet somehow they hit that sweet spot. It's one of those. It should have been embarrassing and bad... But somehow it isn't.

 

Karol

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6 hours ago, crocodile said:

Jojo Rabbit. This was rather good. Can you make a funny and touching gentle film about a 10-year old Nazi fanatic? Turns out you can! Some of the best films balance on the edge. They shouldn't work and yet somehow they hit that sweet spot. It's one of those. It should have been embarrassing and bad... But somehow it isn't.

 

That's pretty much the vibe I got from the trailer. Didn't know anything about it other than Giacchino was doing the score before I saw that, and since then I've been looking forward to it.

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Knives Out. What a movie! Absolutely great! A real Agatha Christie-type murder mystery, great script, great performances, great score.

 

I can’t believe it’s the same guy who directed TLJ. Everything is done with such good taste!

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2 hours ago, rough cut said:

It's easy to believe it’s the same guy who directed TLJ. Everything is done with such good taste!

Fixed.

 

Jojo Rabbit

Sweet and satisfactory, but often times reverting to a more basic level of humour than I had anticipated, muddying the image of a slightly more clever, mature satire that I had anticipated. I hardly laughed. I suppose Jojo merits plenty of bonus points for working as well as it does as the film it is, but once I got accustomed to the story I found it to be a tad elementary. Not quite sure why I felt inclined to see this on the big screen- there's really no rush here; wait for physical/digital release if you're cautiously interested. I'd be surprised if this got serious consideration for Best Picture, but that's just my opinion. Waititi and Rockwell are a hoot! Giacchino's score is rarely at the forefront. I feel as though the film would've been better suited to a Monuments Men-type approach, especially if the youth camp portion had been a bigger part of the movie (which it should have). Current verdict is not overly impressed, but not entirely dissapointed. 3 / 5

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7 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

No, it's not ok! It's an outrage! An outrage! @Jurassic Shark should be watching films, all the time!

 

I was talking about the Joker movie. I myself don't really have time, patience, desire, or dispostion, to watch movies or TV shows these days, only to listen to the scores. Haven't watched Parasite, Marriage Story, Mandalorian, The Witcher, etc., and don't know if I will on the foreseeable future.

 

But I really wished to return to gaming, Jedi: Fallen Order seems interesting, and I really need some fun Star Wars adventure to wash the bad taste left by TROS. But buying new triple A games these days is so expensive...  

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Doctor Sleep.

 

Having read the book, and hating it, I don’t know why I submitted myself to this.

 

King-stories are always ‘hit-or-miss’ and bad movies are released everyday so I am not really surprised that I ended up not liking the movie either.

 

What perplexes me though, is how well received the movie seems to have been? 7.5 on IMDB, 77 % (critic) and 89 % (audience) on RT.

 

Granted, there are some cool, unexpected visuals effects and acting performances are good all around, but the story is just bonkers. As a stand alone movie it would be B-grade as best, but as a sequel to a classic such as The Shining, it’s just horrendous.

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TROS.

 

I mean… The huge advantage was going to see it without having any expectations whatsoever. This one is definitely the weakest film in the sequel trilogy, but that doesn’t make it bad. It’s just good popcorn entertainment with the occasional flaw. Is it me, or does Poe become more annoying in every movie? He really shouldn’t be a general. Zorii felt vaguely forced (no pun intended) and I’m glad HUx finally got what he deserved. Rose should have had more screen time and Palpatine was mostly terrible. What happened to the guy from Episode III who you’d listen to and actually want to work for? Other than that, it’s all good fun, but that final scene is just stupid. I thought Rey liked her parents? And why does Leia suddenly die? Was it just a Force overload, like with Luke?

It was difficult to really appreciate most of the music because the speakers in the theatre emphasised the sound effects and because I was wearing headphones for audio description. I loved the variations on all the old themes and although Yoda and Luke and Leia shouldn’t really have been used in that reunion scene, I guess they were going for the emotional effect and you can’t argue it didn’t work. Rey’s training is fantastic and the main theme when help finally comes in the final battle made me shiver all over, as did Leia’s death. The finale is a missed opportunity, though. Why the Imperial March and not the Emperor’s theme or the March of the Resistance? And where is Rose’s theme? Or should I use the Force to understand everything?

 

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1917-trailer-new.jpg

 

1917

 

I really liked this. And for those drawing the Dunkirk comparisons, it is different. Where Dunkirk was never really interested in Dunkirk itself so much as it was in the delivery of its thrills, 1917 seems to go after the expansive world and spirit of the war effort. There isn't much narrative here, but the world is so much richer. And while Deakins delivers some stunning eye candy (the "Night Window" scene is exceptional), it never really feels like its done at the expense of its main objective. This is a film that pretty much nails the scale, chaos and contradictions of navigating No Man's Land. The one-shot "gimmick" doesn't feel "gimmicky" and it works well for the most part. Newman's score, whenever it gets to shine, is really effective.

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Saw two movies at the theaters this weekend:

 

Richard Jewell: Clint Eastwood is a master, and it´s a true pleasure to watch him tell a story; one of the best movies of 2019 imho

 

Little Women: didn´t remember very well the 1994 movie (but a big fan of the score) and never read the classic novel, but what a nice surprise, almost looks like a love letter to the book and the characters; the score works wonders in the movie, but I got the impression they didn´t use the "dance on the porch" cue of the album in the actual scene; anyone?

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Maleficent 2: MIstress of Evil.

 

I can draw comparisons with Doctor Sleep here... how the hell does this one have 6.8 on IMDB? Audience score is 90 % on RT! How???

 

It’s a stinker if I ever saw one.

 

At least critic reviews on both RT and Metacritic are more sensible, adding up to 40 % and 43 respectively.

 

The writing is all over the place. The tone is inconsistent. It tries to be both whimsical and serious at the same time, or rather, from scene to scene, and it does not work. The protagonists are annoying and the resolution is unfulfilling. Bloody hell.

 

Best thing about the movie is Angelina Jolie.

 

Score is good too, I guess, but doesn’t stick out the way it did when James Newton Howard held the baton.

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10 hours ago, Gustavo Joseph said:

Clint Eastwood is a master, and it´s a true pleasure to watch him tell a story

 

He's certainly a master storyteller. Eastwood's movies and style aren't for everyone, but he undoubtedly has an intimate understanding of what makes a good story a good film. Not unlike Spielberg. The two filmmakers have a sure grasp of the mechanical workings of filmic storytelling; something hyped directors such as JJ Abrams and Chris Nolan would do well to apply more learning into.

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hero_jojo-rabbit-movie-review-2019.jpg

 

Jojo Rabbit

 

It's much safer than I expected. It stays comfortably within general "feel-good" vibes, while using the Holocaust as the occasional prop to remind us of the horrors in the background of all of this. Even the humour feels safe, as if it's all been made palpable for larger audiences. With that said, there is real heart to it. And I ended up leaning in favour of its sentimentality, even if others might find it cloying. I just wish the whole thing had gone further, both with the darker edges of the subject matter, and the satirical Nazi humour. As it is, it all works, but in a very spoofy family-friendly G-rated kind of way.

 

Scarlett Johannsson and the kid are great in this.

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4 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

Balfe scored Dunkirk!

 

Officially, just two tracks, Regimental Brothers and End Titles. That said, this pesky "Score Produced by" is still weird... Why don't they just say that Balfe was a co-composer? Because, if they list all the co-composers, there wouldn't be space on the OST cover? Besides Balfe and Wallfisch, this movie still features additional music by Satnam Singh Ramgotra, Andy Page and Andrew Kawczynski, plus four orchestrators, two conductors, etc.

 

 

a1b2c3d4.JPG

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4 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Besides Balfe and Wallfisch, this movie still features additional music by Satnam Singh Ramgotra, Andy Page and Andrew Kawczynski, plus four orchestrators, two conductors, etc.

 

Not to mention Edward Elgar, that sellout!

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Little Women (2019)

 

A refreshing, semi-meta but warm and cozy adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel. Greta Gerwig imbues some of the same energy from Lady Bird, giving the film a lived-in feel and giving the sisters a unique perspective. Saoirse Ronan continues to be one of the best working actresses, supported by an amazing supporting cast like Laura Dern, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Louis Garrel. (Meryl Streep is rather boring as Aunt March.)

 

Furthermore, the film is ably helped by Yorick le Saux's luminous 35mm lensing (you can see the occasional white speck) and Alexandre Desplat's delightful score. It's a cinematic treat and complements the previous film adaptations.

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Marriage Story

 

Baumbach lets the performances carry the film, and there are some wonderful close-ups that really complemented the acting. Loved the way it was shot and paced; and it’s always a treat to see Wallace Shawn. 
 

His best film, after Frances Ha, in my opinion. 

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16 minutes ago, Matt C said:

the film is ably helped by Yorick le Saux's luminous 35mm lensing (you can see the occasional white speck)

 

Wait, I'm confused. You mean they used 35mm film or they used a 35mm focal length lens?

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