Perryapsis's recent activity
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis LinkDoes anybody want to talk about: Rental Family (2025): ★★☆ This was good. I didn't see any trailers or marketing for this, but the premise seemed interesting, so I gave it a go. It's predictable...Does anybody want to talk about:
Rental Family (2025): ★★☆
This was good. I didn't see any trailers or marketing for this, but the premise seemed interesting, so I gave it a go. It's predictable (even for an idiot like me), but it executes its concept well. A lot of the online discussions talk about how it's another movie of "Brendan Fraser being himself" in a positive sense. I haven't seen any of his other movies, but now I'm interested after seeing him in this.
I'm a bit proud that I basically immediately called a twist that, if Letterboxd reviews are anything to go by, the average viewer didn't notice until it was explicitly revealed. Yay media literacy!
If I have one criticism of the movie, it's that the flip-flopping between English and Japanese was confusing. Maybe my American is showing, but is it common in Japan (or multilingual situations in general) for speakers to switch languages back and forth multiple times mid-conversation, even mid-thought or mid-sentence? I kept trying to figure out the pattern/rules of when they use each language, but I never did figure it out. I feel like I was looking for and expecting hidden meaning because of this, but the writers evidently didn't intend to put any. Maybe I would benefit from a rewatch.
The Circle (2017): ★☆☆
I don't even remember how I initially found out about this movie, but I was intrigued by its awful reviews despite several big-name actors and interesting premise. Kinda like when I watched Cleopatra (1963), I was curious to see how it was messed up more than I actually was about the movie.
After watching it, I lack the expertise to criticize the technical issues of the film, but it never really makes any emotional impact. The movie gently scratches the surface of many different topics, but fails to meaningfully discuss any of them. There's no narrative through-line, so the scenes feel like disconnected vignettes. The ending (if you can call it that) feels unearned. It's like a scatterbrained rambletuber was asked to write two hours' worth of material about social media and then they tried to turn it into a movie.
The blu-ray was interesting in that it says "Canada only," but Amazon sent it to me in the United States anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The disc has absolutely no special features whatsoever, but it does automatically play three (skippable) trailers before loading the main menu. One was an army movie with Kate Mara and a dog, another was some other random army movie, and the last one was some slice of life movie about a group of teenage girls. Since I don't remember anything about them after watching all three trailers, they must have all been very successful movies /s. Normally trailers on discs annoy me, but this was mildly interesting as a time capsule.
Can anyone recommend any other infamous trainwreck movies that are nevertheless interesting to watch as case studies about what not to do?
Zootopia 2 (2025): ★★☆
This was about what I expected. If you enjoyed the first movie, then you'll probably enjoy this one. Like the original, it's heavy-handed with its theme at times to get the point across to kids. Parents can still enjoy most of the humor and character drama. The plot is weaker than the original, I was able to just go along for the ride and not worry about it too much.
There are so many callbacks or cameos to characters from the original that don't have any role in the sequel that it was distracting by the end. There are also several references to other movies, which doubtlessly means that there were many more that went over my head, but it was nice to see them when I did recognize them.
One very small point, but has an ending spoiler
I don't like how the ending is clearly a sequel hook/bait, and it bugs me even more that the movie even hangs a lampshade on that fact.The Asphalt Jungle (1950): ★★☆
A noir heist film. It's also an early role for Marilyn Monroe, although the only has a scene and a half. This is definitely an old movie in style; it takes its time to show you the crooks planning the heist, assembling the team, actually doing it, making their getaway, and then bamboozling from the cops afterward. I feel like a modern movie would focus on carzy stunts during the heist and turn the escape into an action sequence. This movie patiently builds the tension establishing the characters (although would it have killed them to put them all together at least once? There are so many that it took me some effort to keep them straight at first) and maintains its relative calm during the hesit itself. That actually works pretty well and establishes the characters as professional criminals who have been there before.
I was surprised by how much they humanized the villains. I thought they couldn't portray the bad guys in a good light because of the Hays Code, but multiple guys here are shown with their wives and families and given at least some redeeming qualities. The ends of their character arcs are sometimes abrupt and unsatisfying because they don't tend to involve those elements after being introduced earlier in the movie.
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Comment on Paramount launches a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. in ~movies
Perryapsis LinkWhile I share others' concerns about Paramount winning, I hope that the fact that they are still pursuing a bid helps put more pressure on Netflix to keep its promises about continuing theatrical...While I share others' concerns about Paramount winning, I hope that the fact that they are still pursuing a bid helps put more pressure on Netflix to keep its promises about continuing theatrical releases.
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Comment on 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup groups are set in ~sports.football
Perryapsis LinkHere is a table of the groups. When playoffs are required to determine a spot, I've included all possible teams and shortened their names with ISO 3166 codes whenever possible. Group Team 1 Team 2...Here is a table of the groups. When playoffs are required to determine a spot, I've included all possible teams and shortened their names with ISO 3166 codes whenever possible.
Group Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4 A Mexico South Africa South Korea CZ/DK/IE/MK B Canada BA/IT/N. Ire./Wales Qatar Switzerland C Brazil Morocco Haiti Scotland D United States Paraguay Australia RO/SK/TR/XK E Germany Curaco Ivory Coast Ecuador F Netherlands Japan AL/PL/SE/UA Tunisia G Belgium Egypt Iran New Zealand H Spain Cabo Verde Saudi Arabia Urugay I France Senegal BO/IQ/SR Norway J Argentina Algeria Austria Jordan K Portugal CD/JM/NC Uzbekistan Colombia L England Croatia Ghana Panama -
Comment on Netflix wins bidding war, starts talks with Warner Bros. Discovery in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentWhich ones? The only physical release from Netflix that I'm aware of is All Quiet on the Western Front, but that wasn't from Criterion.Criterion has also been pretty good at doing physical releases for some of the better Netflix productions too
Which ones? The only physical release from Netflix that I'm aware of is All Quiet on the Western Front, but that wasn't from Criterion.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentI just saw it as well today. It was either this or Zootopia 2, but I can definitely catch the latter some other day, while this one is the kind of movie my theater will show for a week and then...I just saw it as well today. It was either this or Zootopia 2, but I can definitely catch the latter some other day, while this one is the kind of movie my theater will show for a week and then drop. I just read the premise and went in mostly blind.
I agree that it's a drama; having a few jokes doesn't inherently make something a comedy/dramedy. The few jokes they really lean into do land, though (I'm gonna go brush my teeth).
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentMaybe that's part of it; Brief Encounter is a British movie instead of a Hollywood one.on screen romances in classic Hollywood
Maybe that's part of it; Brief Encounter is a British movie instead of a Hollywood one.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis LinkDoes anybody want to talk about Brief Encounter (1945): ★★☆ ? Well, I finally had to do it. I watched an English-language film with the subtitles on. I'll occasionally turn them on and go back...Does anybody want to talk about Brief Encounter (1945): ★★☆ ?
Well, I finally had to do it. I watched an English-language film with the subtitles on. I'll occasionally turn them on and go back when I can't understand a line of dialogue. I had to do that so many times in the first ten minutes of this movie that I just left them on. The characters all have English accents, talk quickly, and the movie relies so heavily on dialogue and narration that this poor American couldn't follow along effectively.
I was generally conflicted because the movie tries to get you to sympathize with the protagonists, but they are both married to different people. They absolutely aren't "the good guys" for that reason. But that doesn't cause a snag for you, I can see why this movie is so highly rated (79% four stars or higher on Letterboxd).
It was funny to me that the main character is annoyed by the motormouthed-woman at the beginning, but then spends the rest of the movie talking over it herself. It's justified as the protagonist's inner monologue, but I got a chuckle out of the irony.
There's a scene in this movie where they tip a waiter, but was made and set in England in 1945. Was tipping a thing in England at that time? I thought it was a distinctly American custom, especially that far in the past.
From what I've heard, this is very similar thematically to In the Mood for Love (2000). Maybe I should watch that soon.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentThis makes me wonder if I should see it at all. I was only vaguely interested in the first one, but eventually saw it based on positive word of mouth. I thought it was just okay. If the new one is...Yes, this part is less entertaining. It's messier, less coherent and less character focused. It also somehow feels rushed despite it being an entire film. But there's nothing significantly worse about this film. The craft is the same ...
This makes me wonder if I should see it at all. I was only vaguely interested in the first one, but eventually saw it based on positive word of mouth. I thought it was just okay. If the new one is "very similar to the first, but the story is messier," then I might skip it. I find that I'm kinda dumb and struggle to enjoy movies that are more about the craft than the story.
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Comment on What broke the quarterback pipeline? in ~sports.american_football
Perryapsis LinkOne more reason that quarterbacks are being thrown into the fire is the rookie wage scale. If a young quarterback does pan out, you've got him under contract for way below market rate for three to...One more reason that quarterbacks are being thrown into the fire is the rookie wage scale. If a young quarterback does pan out, you've got him under contract for way below market rate for three to five years. You can use the money you save to retain or acquire better players around him. The scale took effect with the 2011 CBA, and it has been considered wasteful to make a guy sit and learn for one of those years ever since.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentIn the special features on the blu ray, one of the presenters said that they basically wrote the songs and dances first and threw together a story to tie them together. I think that may have just...[T]he last sing and dance segment just goes on for ever[.]
In the special features on the blu ray, one of the presenters said that they basically wrote the songs and dances first and threw together a story to tie them together. I think that may have just been a part where they couldn't come up with anything to make it work, so they just rolled with it.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link Parent12 Angry Men will hold up for a long time. It doesn't depend on special effects or being flashy. It wasn't even in color at a time when that was really taking off. It totally relies on good...12 Angry Men will hold up for a long time. It doesn't depend on special effects or being flashy. It wasn't even in color at a time when that was really taking off. It totally relies on good writing and actors nailing their performances, and they did.
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Comment on Strange YouTube watch-tracking behavior in ~tech
Perryapsis Link ParentI turn it off too, but have to keep turning it off over and over. The setting is stored locally in cookies instead of on your account, so every time you clear your cookies, you need to turn the...I turn it off too, but have to keep turning it off over and over. The setting is stored locally in cookies instead of on your account, so every time you clear your cookies, you need to turn the setting off again.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis LinkDoes anybody want to talk about: Singin' in the Rain (1952): ★⯪☆ This has a 20-minute movie-within-a-movie that totally interrupts the plot. Multiple times I thought, "This is still a part of that...Does anybody want to talk about:
Singin' in the Rain (1952): ★⯪☆
This has a 20-minute movie-within-a-movie that totally interrupts the plot. Multiple times I thought, "This is still a part of that bit?" Maybe it says something about me that the singing and dancing by itself wasn't enough to keep me entertained. Disappointing since this movie is universally well-reviewed.
Sabrina (1953): ★★★ (rewatch)
Flow (2024): ★★☆
Finally got a chance to watch this. I'd been hoping for The Wild Robot to win best animated movie last year, and I still would now that I've seen Flow, but I can see why others liked this one. The entire thing is presented literally except for that one scene, and maybe I'd have given it full stars if it was literal the entire way through. It's impressive how well this movie tells its story with literally no dialogue. I agree with all the Letterboxd reviews confused about how all the animals seem to know how to do that thing (that would be a mild spoiler to specify).
12 Angry Men (1957): ★★★ (rewatch)
The Sound of Music (1965): ★★⯪ (rewatch)
The Boy and the Heron (2023): ★☆☆
I had the same problem with this movie as I did with Howl's Moving Castle. It never explains how the magic works, so I was confused most of the time and had trouble following along. I left feeling stupid again because I got crossed up by a kids' movie. I've enjoyed other Ghibli movies with magic (e.g. Spirited Away and Totoro), and I don't understand why some of them work for me and others don't. The last "canonical" Ghibli movie I want to see is Princess Mononoke, so hopefully that works out.
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Comment on A Cloudflare outage is taking down large parts of the internet - X, ChatGPT and more affected in ~tech
Perryapsis LinkLetterboxd is down as well. I didn't realize that they used Cloudflare.Letterboxd is down as well. I didn't realize that they used Cloudflare.
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Comment on For those who didn't know, find what you want to watch and for how much on services! (justwatch.com) in ~movies
Perryapsis LinkTangent: is there a comparable utility for people who want to buy movies on disc? Of course you can order everything off Amazon, but it would be nice to buy directly from smaller stores instead....Tangent: is there a comparable utility for people who want to buy movies on disc? Of course you can order everything off Amazon, but it would be nice to buy directly from smaller stores instead. But since many retailers either don't carry movies at all anymore or carry little stock, it's not always easy to find a particular movie. It's especially tough if a title isn't a new release.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentHow do you decide which films to put in which list (and how to order them)? I'm aware that different organizations prefer different kinds of movies, but I'm not super familiar with which groups...How do you decide which films to put in which list (and how to order them)? I'm aware that different organizations prefer different kinds of movies, but I'm not super familiar with which groups prefer what.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis LinkDoes anybody want to talk about: City Lights (1931): ★★⯪ Not surprised that this is considered one of Chaplin's best movies. The plot is simple enough for idiots like me to follow, and it really...Does anybody want to talk about:
City Lights (1931): ★★⯪
Not surprised that this is considered one of Chaplin's best movies. The plot is simple enough for idiots like me to follow, and it really focuses on developing the three main characters. The jokes mostly land. The ending is a bit abrupt, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
Back to the Future (1985): ★★⯪ (rewatch)
My local theater was showing this for its 40th anniversary. I was surprised by how much of the beginning I had forgotten since my first viewing. I think it took about 40 minutes to get to where the movie starts in my mind. I remember the characters, so I forgot how much time the movie spends building them up before really putting the plot into motion.
The Lady Eve (1941): ★★☆
I'm not usually huge on romcoms, but this one was good enough to be worth watching. I realized that All About Eve came out only nine years after this movie. It makes me wonder, due to similarities that I can't discuss without spoiling both movies, if the name for Eve was inspired by Eve in this movie.
I have one question that isn't very important, but I can't ask it without (potential) spoilers in the answer.
Spoilers!
About 37 minutes in, why does Pike ask the card sharp not to tell Jean his middle name that he wrote on the check? I don't remember this specific detail ever being relevant again. Although we see the check later, the middle name on the signature isn't important, so I'm assuming I missed something.
Bugonia (2025): ★⯪☆
This was good until the last ten minutes. The ending was disappointing and soured my opinion on the rest of the movie. It feels like a movie that is meant to be fun on a rewatch once you know all the secrets, but that ending doesn't make me want to actually go watch it again. :/
I liked the long sequences of unbroken dialogue. This movie has a lot of "close up of someone talking for 30 seconds straight, then a 30 second close up of the other person responding, repeat five times." I know that a general principle of film is "show, don't tell," but this movie seems to pull off the opposite effectively. Then again, 12 Angry Men is one of my favorite movies ever, and it's 90 minutes of people sitting around talking, so maybe I should have already known that. But anyway, it was nice to see it done well again here.
Does anyone know why this movie was shot in a 3:2 aspect ratio? I really noticed the difference when the trailers ended and the movie started. But I don't know enough about cinema to know why they would do it that way. Some other people online have talked about how it's an artistic choice, but not why the director would choose to make this particular choice.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentI, uh... probably spent more than I needed to (and explain it away as something that only happens twice a year), but I ordered: City Lights (1931) The Lady Eve (1941) Brief Encounter (1945) A...I, uh... probably spent more than I needed to (and explain it away as something that only happens twice a year), but I ordered:
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City Lights (1931)
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The Lady Eve (1941)
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Brief Encounter (1945)
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A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
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Black Narcissus (1947)
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The Heiress (1949)
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The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
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Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
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The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
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Taste of Cherry (1997)
The package arrives on Monday.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
Perryapsis Link ParentI haven't. It looks like the blu-ray is cheap. I'll consider it after my wallet recovers from the Criterion sale.I haven't. It looks like the blu-ray is cheap. I'll consider it after my wallet recovers from the Criterion sale.
My local theater isn't showing Kill Bill - The Whole Bloody Affair, but a theater from the same chain an hour away is. It would basically take up an entire afternoon to see it between driving, sitting through all the trailers, and then actually watching the movie. I've already seen the two parts separately and enjoyed both. Could someone here please try and convince me to go see it?