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8 votes
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Primer (2004) - My spoiler free review of possibly the most complex and headscratch enducing time traveling themed sci-fi movie of all time.
Hello fellow Tildos! I normally never write reviews, but i just had to after i finished watching. It's also an easy way for me to continue practice my English/writing skills, feel free to pm any...
Hello fellow Tildos! I normally never write reviews, but i just had to after i finished watching. It's also an easy way for me to continue practice my English/writing skills, feel free to pm any feedback that you might have :)
The first time i put on the movie Primer closer to it's release i ended up putting it on the shelf half way through or so, i was probably to tired and not in the mood, because it´s one of those movies that requires your full attention.
Years went by and i forgot all about the sci-fi indie that shook Sundance back in 2004, only for it to emerge not long ago when i made another list of movies to either watch or re-watch once more, as i do now and then. I usually make these lists with a theme, or dedicated to a specific genre, this time it being sci-fi.
During my time watching this super low budget movie made by the software engineer Shane Carruth(his background really shows off in the movie) i had a hard time not thinking about the high quality of cinematography. We are shown some really nice angles right from the start, and very appealing lines of symmetry all the way through, similar to scenes found in movies made by Wes Anderson for example. Same goes for the acting and writing, - some of the dialogue really got me captivated. Every scene had things to say about the characters early on, but it also leaves enough out to keep you curious of who they really are, and what their motives might be, character development, check. An example of this is how they used wardrobe + setting to describe said characters, which obviously was very limited due to the extremely low budget, I have not looked up the actual numbers, but i think i have watched enough indie movies to identify extreme cases like this one. They did a lot with how little they had, which is an art in itself in the business of movie making. This probably bit me in the butt a bit(in a good way, no not that way, grow up:), instead of trying to figure out the time paradoxes, i was captured by how well the movie was made.
After i finished watching i had an ocean of questions. Questions i wont mention here because it might spoil the experience for you. This is a good tell that it's a movie in my taste in a sense that it leaves gaps in the story for you to fill in yourself, it´s a type of storytelling i enjoy, but also a type of storytelling that many dislike.
There is no hand holding in this movie, no explanation at the end, it trusts you to re-watch the movie until you have figured it out, or at least think you have, which is bold, but also embraces the charm of time traveling themed story's in a way, making you travel back in time by rewinding and figure out the time-lines. Or do as i did and watch an explanation video on youtube for closure.
I understand now what all the fuzz was about, why it won prices at sundance, and why it became such a strong cult classic almost instantly.
If you want a mind bender, and a movie that treats you with the respect that you can think for yourself, this might be something for you. If you are into sci-fi, and especially time travel, it's a must watch as long as you can allow yourself to get confused more then you usually get by this type of movie. I also recommend watching this when you have a fresh and rested mind, not after a long day of work.
7.8/10 - will paradox again sometime in the future
28 votes -
The Toy Story trilogy gets the epilogue it deserves
16 votes -
"Amazon's Choice" is given to products automatically and doesn't indicate quality - Many have troubling product defects and warnings, as well as review manipulation
25 votes -
John Carpenter's The Thing, Lost in Adaptation ~ Dominic Noble & That Movie Chick
5 votes -
Empire of meat
2 votes -
A Brilliant Void: A Selection of Classic Irish Science Fiction edited by Jack Fennell
7 votes -
Cyberpunk 2077's E3 demo has weak gunplay and unimaginative stereotypes
25 votes -
Men in Black: International forgets what made the original so great
9 votes -
The restaurant owner who asked for one-star Yelp reviews
20 votes -
Watch Dogs: Legion hands-on: one hour hacking my way through London
7 votes -
The Virtues, a review
4 votes -
A ranking of every ‘Black Mirror’ episode
8 votes -
In 'Don't Wake The Night', You Have The Power Of A God Without The Omniscience
6 votes -
The Mind-Body Solution: Neal Stephenson’s Fall explores higher consciousness, the internet’s future, and virtual worldbuilding in one mind-blowing adventure.
5 votes -
2019 Macbook Pro review by Dave Lee
17 votes -
What's the best worst game you've ever played?
I'm interested in a game that you still loved or enjoyed in spite of its significant flaws or issues. "Best" and "worst" are, of course, based on whatever subjective criteria you choose. What made...
I'm interested in a game that you still loved or enjoyed in spite of its significant flaws or issues. "Best" and "worst" are, of course, based on whatever subjective criteria you choose.
- What made the game bad?
- Why did you keep playing it?
- What enjoyment or appreciation did it give you?
14 votes -
Gravity Falls is awesome
I don't have a lot to say yet; I'm on episode 9 so far. That series has been on my watchlist forever, so the moment I saw it pop up on Netflix I jumped on it. It's as awesome as described. Moreso....
I don't have a lot to say yet; I'm on episode 9 so far. That series has been on my watchlist forever, so the moment I saw it pop up on Netflix I jumped on it.
It's as awesome as described. Moreso. It's funny and quirky. Despite watching two 12-year-olds hang out, it doesn't feel like a kids' series at all (the humour is quite adult, similar level as Futurama). It knows when to make fun of itself. It's pushing all my buttons and I'm having a lot of fun watching it.
My biggest laugh so far has been Mabel's "Scout's Honor" shirt. In my head I was waiting for the punchline and loved seeing the delivery.
Solid recommendation so far. And the theme song is so fucking catchy.
20 votes -
Death is just the beginning: The undead anxiety attack of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’
8 votes -
Long form visual storytelling - the best of TV
We've had a few threads recently criticising the direction of various shows cough Game of Thrones cough and @Amarok suggested a thread celebrating the good stuff on TV instead. Personally,...
We've had a few threads recently criticising the direction of various shows cough Game of Thrones cough and @Amarok suggested a thread celebrating the good stuff on TV instead. Personally, television is by far my favourite means of visual storytelling, a good TV show can go into the kind of depth and complexity that the more time-limited format of movies just can't touch.
A few of my favourite shows then, in no particular order:
House MD - recently rewatched this and it definitely stands the test of time. Sure, there are a few weak episodes here and there but on balance it's solid. Hugh Laurie absolutely nails the role of
Sherlock HolmesGreg House and the supporting cast are excellent too. It has one of my all-time favourite endings of all television shows, even knowing what was coming I still ended up a little moist of eye by the end. Also they grade the colour with increasing desaturation throughout season 8, almost to the point of it being monochrome - until the final scene is in glorious, bright colour and I love little touches like that. TV shouldn't just be actors reading lines, there is a whole medium to tell stories with (Game of Thrones also did this kind of thing well).Detectorists - BBC show about two metal detectorists. Gloriously paced, slow and gentle but insistent in telling it's tale, with really strong characters. Finishes beautifully, at just the right time. A gem of a show, it's very well written and nearly flawless throughout. Mackenzie Crook (writer, director) was offered more seasons but he declined because the show was finished and that takes guts to do but I love that he did. Also features Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell) who is never not brilliant.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - I mean what can you even say about Buffy. Might have been the last show where my friends would meet up for a watch party every week, hanging out for hours discussing it and enjoying herbal cigarettes for the evening. Streaming is great and so convenient but in some ways I do miss TV being an event. There was someone very special about getting everyone together once a week to share in that world, and especially with Buffy because the characters were so close in age to me (I'm slightly younger than Alyson Hannigan and I had such a crush on Willow). Sure, it had it's wobbles (the entire Adam story arc, for example) but also some of the best TV moments of the 90s/early 2000s. Once More With Feeling and Hush are fan favourites for a reason.
Hannibal - Produced by Bryan Fuller, who is always good, but absolutely outdoes himself here, and Mads Mikkelson is terrifying in the titular role. Visually it's stunning, the plot is engaging and deeply disturbing, the characters well drawn and believable (Hannibal particularly so, which is all the more horrifying) and the sound design is absolutely astonishing. I bought a whole new sound system literally just for this show and it was totally worth it. Sound design is one of those things which you only notice when it's particularly bad or particularly good and Hannibal is definitely the latter. It's such a well-rounded piece of television, it uses colour and light and sound and all the tools in the TV maker's box. the ending is a little on the weak side but they got axed early - Bryan Fuller had five seasons planned but they only got three.
I could go on, but I won't because I'll go on for ages! Please add a couple of your favourite shows and maybe we can all find a few new things to watch.
20 votes -
Staining The Timbre - Review: "The Hillbilly Moonshine Massacre" by Jonathan Raab
3 votes -
‘Booksmart’ is the movie you wish had eisted when you were a teen
4 votes -
‘Marx at the Arcade: Consoles, Controllers, and Class Struggle’: A new, sociological investigation of how videogames and gaming fit into contemporary capitalism
6 votes -
Valve explains their thoughts about whether the recent Assassin's Creed: Unity giveaway resulted in the first "off-topic review bomb" with a positive effect
14 votes -
Tyler, the Creator still demands your attention. Does he deserve it?
9 votes -
What are your top three favorite games of all time?
Why? What do they have over others you've played? Do you ever think they'll be replaced/surpassed?
29 votes -
The Terror
4 votes -
Game of Thrones petition: 500,000 demand series eight remake
29 votes -
Steel Pulse: Mass Manipulation review – welcome return of reggae giants
5 votes -
Data shows “Game of Thrones” is taking a historic critical nosedive
20 votes -
Tetris 99 rules
I finally got around to sinking some decent time into it over the last couple of days. I'm addicted. It's fun to go up against so many competitors and watch as people get knocked out of the...
I finally got around to sinking some decent time into it over the last couple of days. I'm addicted. It's fun to go up against so many competitors and watch as people get knocked out of the competition over time. Not to mention, it's frickin' Tetris so of course it's great! I'm really looking forward to the special event that Nintendo's running this weekend. You can earn an old-school Gameboy theme!
4 votes -
Clumsy gods: ‘Catch-22’ brings the subversive humor—and horror—of the book to Hulu
7 votes -
Which sites do you get your movie news/reviews from?
What sites do people use for movie reviews and news? I've been following movie news via the internet since the late 90s. I used to frequent sites like Coming Attractions and C.H.U.D. multiple...
What sites do people use for movie reviews and news? I've been following movie news via the internet since the late 90s. I used to frequent sites like Coming Attractions and C.H.U.D. multiple times per day.
For the past few years, I've mostly been using Twitter to follow news, but I'm trying to use Twitter less so I was curious where other people get their movie news...
This is just a quick list based on my bookmarks...
News Sites
- Birth.Movies.Death - For general movie news
- Bloody Disgusting - For horror specific movie news
Reviews/Thinkpieces
- Bright Wall/Dark Room - Good longform articles
- Horror Movie a Day - My go to reviewer for horror movies
- Jordy Reviews It
- Outlaw Vern - My go to reviewer to find out if an action/martial arts movie is worth watching
- Talk Film Society
11 votes -
Review: "Chambers" Season One
3 votes -
The ‘El Chicano’ Latinx superhero movie needed more of El Chicano
4 votes -
Review: "Bedroom Music" by Steph Castor
5 votes -
Avengers: Endgame as explained by a first time MCU Viewer
15 votes -
Detective Pikachu review — an absurdly silly, wonderful ride
8 votes -
Netflix’s Tuca & Bertie is a surreal celebration of friendship
4 votes -
Buying from Amazon: Three steps to find what you need and avoid fake reviews | No Sweat Tech
7 votes -
Eudora Welty on Charlotte's Web, Dorothy Parker on Winnie the Pooh, and more classic reviews of beloved children's books.
5 votes -
Netflix’s wonderful Street Food focuses on the human aspect of ordinary food
6 votes -
Days Gone reviews – Top Critic Average: 72
6 votes -
Samsung Galaxy Fold teardown
10 votes -
Red Dead Redemption 2: six months later – A detailed look at the failures, and success, of Rockstar’s latest hit
10 votes -
Tiamat’s Wrath raises the stakes as The Expanse nears the end
6 votes -
The Real Ramona: How Beverly Cleary transformed her harsh, difficult childhood into heartwarming fiction
4 votes -
Risk of Rain 2 thoughts and impressions
Some of you may have heard that the bright minds behind Risk of Rain have made their next effort with the help of an added dimension. Risk of Rain 2 released on Early Access lately, to many...
Some of you may have heard that the bright minds behind Risk of Rain have made their next effort with the help of an added dimension. Risk of Rain 2 released on Early Access lately, to many peoples' surprise and joy. I played a decent bit of the original, but never managed to get into it. Something about 2D scrollers like that puts me off hard, but I respected the hell out of the awesome art, fantastic music, and neat synergies/shenanigans throughout the game.
Risk of Rain 2, so far, has been an absolute blast and I'm super happy for the devs. They received way more support than they initially expected upon launch, and the buy 1 get 1 gift key strategy did wonders for them. I've been steadily playing this game with friends and after the initial Diablo 2 loot stealing shenanigans, we've all managed to memorize items, learn builds, and work out what survivalists we like. This game is a killer time-killer; I've spent what I thought was 10 minutes in one match only to glance at the timer and read that 70 minutes have passed. This game almost feels like it's a finished product, and the devs aren't even done yet. I'm super psyched for all the new stuff we'll get to see and experiment with.
I'm also curious as to what anyone else thinks. Has anyone played enough to share their opinions? Did anyone not enjoy their time with the game? Please share!
13 votes -
‘I’m not racist, but …’
10 votes -
The Computer without a Microprocessor - The Gigatron
5 votes