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Post by lunchlunch on Aug 18, 2021 0:07:10 GMT -5
What have y'all been watching? How was it? Any movies you recommend? I'll start with a few movies I watched recently. The Switchblade Sisters (1975) ★★★★★This movie fucking ruled. If you're a fan of 70s grindhouse movies, or even just if you're a fan of Tarantino, you've gotta check out this movie about a teenaged girl gang initiating a new member, and chronicles her rise to a leadership position in the ensuing weeks. Somewhere between The Warriors and Mean Girls, this is a sleazy, camp-fueled romp with great memorable characters, better storytelling than it deserves, and a fair bit of humor. Attachment DeletedThe Green Knight (2021) ★★★★☆Based on an unfinished Middle English manuscript about a King Arthur legend, this was a pretty solid psychedelic fantasy film about a semi-cowardly knight who tries and fails to live his life according to the honor he feels entitled to. An enigmatic film that gives the task of unraveling it to the viewer. Some of it doesn't quite work but overall, if you're ready to go back to blazing up in the movie theater parking lot before having an immersive viewing experience, this is the movie to go see right now. Visually gorgeous as well. Attachment DeletedDon't Breathe 2 (2021) ★★☆☆☆Really enjoyed the first movie, I thought it was a tight effective thriller. I hate in thrillers/horrors when the camera is always up close, and you don't get much sense of the surroundings so a jump scare can come from anywhere. It's just lazy. The reason why the tenseness works in Don't Breathe comes from the fact that you know the exact layout of the house and understand where the placement of every character is. Don't Breathe 2, however, was pretty lame. Dumb plot twists that are incongruous with what came before, weak characters, and most importantly, it was boring. All I wanted was a mean, violent exploitation flick with no good guys. And it pretty much is that, but I kept finding myself drifting out of the movie to daydream, so it failed to captivate me outside of a couple very clever setpieces (one involving a girl handcuffed to an electric wheelchair moving towards an empty concrete swimming pool). Attachment Deleted
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matador
You're trying to say you like DOS better than me, right?
I feel asleep.
Posts: 1,078
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Post by matador on Aug 18, 2021 23:28:58 GMT -5
What have y'all been watching? How was it? Any movies you recommend? I'll start with a few movies I watched recently. The Switchblade Sisters (1975) ★★★★★This movie fucking ruled. If you're a fan of 70s grindhouse movies, or even just if you're a fan of Tarantino, you've gotta check out this movie about a teenaged girl gang initiating a new member, and chronicles her rise to a leadership position in the ensuing weeks. Somewhere between The Warriors and Mean Girls, this is a sleazy, camp-fueled romp with great memorable characters, better storytelling than it deserves, and a fair bit of humor. I really want to watch this. Haven't seen a Jack Hill movie I didn't like.
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Post by lunchlunch on Aug 18, 2021 23:54:39 GMT -5
matadorIt's on Arrow's streaming service right now, definitely worth a free trial at least. I actually haven't seen any other Jack Hill movies. What would you recommend checking out first? The Big Doll House and The Big Bird cage appeal to me just because I've liked other women-in-prison 70s movies such as the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, but his blaxploitation movies are pretty famous and might be some required viewing. Or are there maybe some lesser-known Hill gems that you champion?
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matador
You're trying to say you like DOS better than me, right?
I feel asleep.
Posts: 1,078
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Post by matador on Aug 19, 2021 2:46:51 GMT -5
matador It's on Arrow's streaming service right now, definitely worth a free trial at least. I actually haven't seen any other Jack Hill movies. What would you recommend checking out first? The Big Doll House and The Big Bird cage appeal to me just because I've liked other women-in-prison 70s movies such as the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, but his blaxploitation movies are pretty famous and might be some required viewing. Or are there maybe some lesser-known Hill gems that you champion? Oddly enough, I haven't seen his more famous stuff like the blaxploitation movies (haven't seen much blaxploitation in general, outside of the Blacula movies) or those women in prison movies you mentioned. It's definitely an acquired taste but I really like The Swinging Cheerleaders. Not sure if you're familiar with the Cheerleaders sexploitation movies but it's probably the most professionally put together of those movies and I found it to be engaging and interesting. It's one of those movies where it's much better than it should be. It's much less sleazy and salacious than the other ones though, which some people don't like. Spider Baby is a really odd and memorable 60's horror gem - kind of feels like The Addams Family meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Has a pretty good late career performance from Lon Chaney Jr. in it as well. He took his name off of Sorceress, but I had fun with it. Typical 80's low budget sword & sorcery stuff but with a heaping of gratuitous nudity. The scene where the main villain raises an army of the dead is probably one of the most unexpected moments I've ever seen in a movie. I won't spoil what happens but it made me laugh.
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matador
You're trying to say you like DOS better than me, right?
I feel asleep.
Posts: 1,078
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Post by matador on Aug 29, 2021 4:31:57 GMT -5
No pictures or ratings because I don't feel like it. (How do you add pictures that aren't attachments anyway?).
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) I'm not a weeb, I have no exposure to any Neon Genesis Evangelion stuff, my understanding is that this series of movies is a remake of the original anime series. No idea why the third movie is 3.33 and the fourth one is 3.0+1.0 - honestly, this is all very confusing to me. Not sure if this is well-regarded by fans or not but I wanted to see what all the hubbub about this anime was and it was on Amazon Prime, so why not? I mostly enjoyed this with a few reservations. This is mostly set-up but there's a lot to cover so I was reasonably engaged with the material. There's some stuff I still don't get, like why the mechs are piloted by children, but perhaps this will be revealed later on. Shinji's kind of a weak protagonist but perhaps he'll grow to be more interesting as these movies continue. Misato, on the other hand, is great and the bizarre sexual tension between these two intrigues me. Overall though, it left me interested in watching more.
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009) I mostly enjoyed this more than the first one because with a lot of the set-up and world building out of the way, this gets more character focused and that's where I think this series shines. The introduction of two new characters - Kaji and Asuka - add a lot of interpersonal drama to the story, which I liked. I still think Shinji's a weak lead but he's a bit more interesting here as he interacts a bit more with other characters. Still, I think the supporting cast is more interesting and I get bored with the action scenes/mech stuff because it's too Shinji focused. I have no preference when it comes to Rei/Asuka but Asuka really shakes the cast up so I appreciate her presence, even if she's bratty. Misato's ex-boyfriend, Kaji, appears and I appreciate the added focus it gives to her character (she's my favorite as of now).
Sabata (1969) A solid spaghetti western starring Lee Van Cleef, seemingly influenced by his role in For a Few Dollars More. By no means a classic and it won't sell anyone who isn't already a fan on the genre but it's enjoyable for what it is. Sabata (Van Cleef) collects a reward for catching some bank robbers but ends up getting wound up in a land grab conspiracy. What makes this stand out is that the title character is something of a gadgeteer, outwitting his enemies with clever devices rather than speed or marksmanship. One trick that pops up a bit is Sabata using a long-range rifle that allows him to shoot at his enemies while they can't hit him. There's also a lot of acrobatics in this since one of Sabata's allies is an acrobat and the bank robbers were acrobats from St. Louis. All very odd. The movie is hindered by the fact that it eventually devolves into scenes of the bad guys trying to kill Sabata for about half of the run time but it's fun watching Van Cleef get out of trouble, so it's not a big fault. Plus, you're invested in sticking it out to see the inevitable confrontation between Sabata and the suspicious Banjo (William Berger, who almost steals the show from Van Cleef). As far as non-Dollars trilogy spaghetti westerns starring Van Cleef, Day of Anger is my favorite but this wasn't bad. Haven't seen any of the sequels but I'm kind of curious about them (though Van Cleef isn't in the second one).
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Post by lunchlunch on Aug 29, 2021 14:54:59 GMT -5
matador My friends have told me for years to watch Evangelion but for some reason I don't get around to it. Anime's tough for me. I love cartoons precisely because they're stupid (Looney Tunes/Ren & Stimpy) but anime is a whole other level of retarded, there's very few titles I enjoy. I don't feel the need to watch hours of self-insert protagonists training to become the most powerful being in the universe, all while fighting a series of bad guys, each purported to be the most powerful being in the universe. (Don't try to convince me anime is anything but, weebs) I've heard Evangelion is "smart" and "not like other anime" and "a coming of age story moreso than a story about fighting mechs" but I haven't gotten around to it yet. The fact that a non-weeb like you enjoyed the movies is promising though. I haven't seen Sabata but I love spaghetti westerns, especially with some Cleef action. Still haven't seen Day of Anger but I watched Death Rides A Horse recently and goddamn, it's up there for me with The Big Gundown and The Great Silence for my favorite (maybe I'm just contrarian but I don't hold Leone's stuff in as high regard as others do (besides Once Upon A Time In America but that's another genre)). The fact that Sabata is in a sense a Batman type character is very cool, because usually spaghetti western heroes are more like Superman. Near-invincible crackshots. That definitely sets the movie apart. I did try watching Day of Anger one night but it was a 240p pan-and-scan crop that I just couldn't stomach. I'll have to look for some HD versions of DoA and Sabata, I actually think Arrow might have some. Still need to see the Jack Hills you mentioned. Also, I think the images above are attachments, but I clicked the 'Reply' button instead of 'Quick Reply'
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matador
You're trying to say you like DOS better than me, right?
I feel asleep.
Posts: 1,078
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Post by matador on Aug 29, 2021 16:17:08 GMT -5
matador My friends have told me for years to watch Evangelion but for some reason I don't get around to it. Anime's tough for me. I love cartoons precisely because they're stupid (Looney Tunes/Ren & Stimpy) but anime is a whole other level of retarded, there's very few titles I enjoy. I don't feel the need to watch hours of self-insert protagonists training to become the most powerful being in the universe, all while fighting a series of bad guys, each purported to be the most powerful being in the universe. (Don't try to convince me anime is anything but, weebs) I've heard Evangelion is "smart" and "not like other anime" and "a coming of age story moreso than a story about fighting mechs" but I haven't gotten around to it yet. The fact that a non-weeb like you enjoyed the movies is promising though. I haven't seen Sabata but I love spaghetti westerns, especially with some Cleef action. Still haven't seen Day of Anger but I watched Death Rides A Horse recently and goddamn, it's up there for me with The Big Gundown and The Great Silence for my favorite (maybe I'm just contrarian but I don't hold Leone's stuff in as high regard as others do (besides Once Upon A Time In America but that's another genre)). The fact that Sabata is in a sense a Batman type character is very cool, because usually spaghetti western heroes are more like Superman. Near-invincible crackshots. That definitely sets the movie apart. I did try watching Day of Anger one night but it was a 240p pan-and-scan crop that I just couldn't stomach. I'll have to look for some HD versions of DoA and Sabata, I actually think Arrow might have some. Still need to see the Jack Hills you mentioned. Also, I think the images above are attachments, but I clicked the 'Reply' button instead of 'Quick Reply' I'm not a weeb but I've mostly liked what I've seen anime-wise so I'd take what I said with a grain of salt. Plus, while I've liked what I've seen so far, I don't love it. I've heard the same things about Evangelion's depth and smartness but I'm not seeing it so far, I mostly just like it as a relationship drama right now - the lead character isn't great (and is probably meant to be a self-insert but I don't relate to him) and I don't care at all about the mech/fighting stuff. Have you seen the Vampire Hunter D movies? Those are probably my favorite anime movies that I've seen, particularly the 2nd one. I also like some of the Satoshi Kon anime I've seen - Perfect Blue and Paprika (didn't like Tokyo Godfathers). There's still a bit of the superhuman crackshot in Sabata but it's a bit weird how much more he relies on guile and trickery. I find Day of Anger to be very similar to Death Rides a Horse. Most people seem to prefer the latter but I saw DoA first so perhaps that's why I like it more. Both are great though. The Great Silence is great too, haven't seen it since I was in high school but it left a big impression on me. Really should pick it up on blu-ray sometime. Haven't ever seen The Big Gundown yet but I really need to get around to watching it sometime. I do love the Dollars trilogy though, so I can't agree with you there. They do feel a bit more American in tone though, so I could understand someone loving other spaghetti westerns and not being as into them. Never seen Once Upon a Time in America though.
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Post by lunchlunch on Aug 29, 2021 17:11:50 GMT -5
Didn't like Vampire Hunter D. Watched it because I like the aesthetic of 80s/90s OVAs but couldn't get into Vampire. Perfect Blue and Paprika are great though. I definitely don't hate all anime, just by and large as a genre, particularly after the 90s when the animation mostly became soulless. Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Angel's Egg, Belladonna of Sadness, Paprika and Space Adventure Cobra are anime movies I actually own and love. I like the Dollars movies and OUATITW but don't consider them masterpieces is all.
The Big Gundown is really really good. Cleef playing the good guy, Tomas Milan is wanted for raping a twelve year old, there's a badass German bounty hunter, twin hillbilly henchmen, mysteriously corrupt government officials, passing Mormon pioneers singing hymns scored by Ennio Morricone, its all good.
If you end up picking up The Great Silence, and you've also seen The Hateful Eight, pay attention to the dozen or so shots that Tarantino directly lifted from the movie. I dig Tarantino, he's a great storyteller, but the more Italian and Asian cinema I get into (not to mention American 70s B movies), the more I realize every shot from a Tarantino film is stolen from somewhere else. And sure, homage, whatever, but it's getting to where I don't think he's capable of being more than a collage artist.
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dmdr
Doomer
is this how I add a title under my avatar?
Posts: 588
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Post by dmdr on Aug 29, 2021 17:47:01 GMT -5
I don't feel the need to watch hours of self-insert protagonists training to become the most powerful being in the universe, all while fighting a series of bad guys, each purported to be the most powerful being in the universe. (Don't try to convince me anime is anything but, weebs) behead those who insult dragonball z It's only smart if you watch it as a teenager. Adults will find it quite, well, adolescent. I quite enjoyed it when I was 18 but thinking about it now, I'm not gonna bother revisiting it Speaking of 80s anime, have you seen Cyber City OEDO 808? Nice 3-episode OVA with a hilarious English dub, and a big influence on Auger;Zenith (probably, I've seen Cuppy type about it in the past) LASTLY lol at Tarantino being a great storyteller. He recently novelised once upon a time in hollywood and there's about 3 pages describing a television ad for cherries or something followed by two pages precisely delineating how much food that stunt man guy puts into his dog's bowl. I'm barely even exaggerating. absolutely dreadful stuff
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Post by lunchlunch on Aug 29, 2021 18:08:21 GMT -5
dmdrI remember hearing about Cyber City a couple years ago but couldn't find it anywhere. I'll have to check again. I wouldn't be surprised if Tarantino isn't a great novelist, but I don't think meandering asides in novels is a bad thing. Gravity's Rainbow is one of my favorite novels and it's full of wandering asides. The first chapter spends a large amount of space describing a banana breakfast. It's just one piece of a larger story that contains pie fights with fighter planes, adenoid monsters, a man whose erections coincide with V2 rocket blasts, a mysterious Nazi device, a conscious lightbulb, an octopus trained to kidnap girls, and all sorts of weird WWII shenanigans. But meandering asides are a part of it and I'd argue a part of many great novels (not calling OUATIH a great novel). Tarantino describing a commercial could be interesting actually, breaking down what techniques make for a compelling ad. Stanley Kubrick once said in an interview that the most exciting cinematic techniques and artistry were being employed for TV ads (paraphrase).
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dmdr
Doomer
is this how I add a title under my avatar?
Posts: 588
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Post by dmdr on Aug 29, 2021 22:21:30 GMT -5
I feel like we have the opposite taste in books (my favourite novel is Hour of the Dragon by REH and that's almost a novella)
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matador
You're trying to say you like DOS better than me, right?
I feel asleep.
Posts: 1,078
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Post by matador on Sept 1, 2021 22:15:36 GMT -5
Didn't like Vampire Hunter D. Watched it because I like the aesthetic of 80s/90s OVAs but couldn't get into Vampire. Perfect Blue and Paprika are great though. I definitely don't hate all anime, just by and large as a genre, particularly after the 90s when the animation mostly became soulless. Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Angel's Egg, Belladonna of Sadness, Paprika and Space Adventure Cobra are anime movies I actually own and love. I like the Dollars movies and OUATITW but don't consider them masterpieces is all. The Big Gundown is really really good. Cleef playing the good guy, Tomas Milan is wanted for raping a twelve year old, there's a badass German bounty hunter, twin hillbilly henchmen, mysteriously corrupt government officials, passing Mormon pioneers singing hymns scored by Ennio Morricone, its all good. If you end up picking up The Great Silence, and you've also seen The Hateful Eight, pay attention to the dozen or so shots that Tarantino directly lifted from the movie. I dig Tarantino, he's a great storyteller, but the more Italian and Asian cinema I get into (not to mention American 70s B movies), the more I realize every shot from a Tarantino film is stolen from somewhere else. And sure, homage, whatever, but it's getting to where I don't think he's capable of being more than a collage artist. I like most of the anime you mentioned. Never seen Angel's Egg or Space Adventure Cobra (never heard of it). I almost got to see Belladonna of Sadness in theater but wasn't able to go. It looked really interesting but I still haven't seen it. I've never seen The Hateful Eight but I'm not surprised to hear it takes so much from The Great Silence, it was immediately what came to mind when I saw the trailer for it.
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