Midweek Movie Free Talk

Been a really long time since I posted in one of these threads so I can't exactly do reviews for everything I watched since then but hopefully it's not entirely pointless to just post my ratings and maybe one sentence about each one:

Amélie - 7/10

I watched this like 10 years ago and I was very much in love with the movie back then, and while it's still a good movie, it just didn't move me in the same way that it used to.

Deadpool - 7/10

Just a funny, immature romp. Perfect for a certain movie-watching mood.

Deadpool 2 - 6/10

Hopefully Deadpool 3 is better.

Fargo - 8/10

Now this is a movie that really holds up! It's a classic at this point.

Nimona - 7/10

Themes are almost too heavy to be a cartoon but it was very moving, mostly because of that one scene + watching it with a friend. Beautifully animated and funny too.

Howl's Moving Castle - 6/10

I'd never watched a Ghibli movie before and I can't say I'm entirely sold on it. It had some great moments but I will forever struggle to truly enjoy anime.

Legally Blonde - 6/10

Such a dumb fun movie, feels like a must watch but can't say it's as good as Clueless or Mean Girls etc.

The Devil's Advocate - 4/10

I regret spending my time watching it. One scene in particular ruined the whole movie for me but I didn't think it was very good to begin with anyway.

Rushmore - 3/10

This has not aged well. I think you're supposed to root for the quirky main character? But in reality he's just a creep.

The End of the Tour - 7/10

I love this kind of movie where it's more or less just 2 people having a conversation.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F - 3/10

Loved the original but this feels like one of those attempts at a sequel/reboot that just should not have been made. Been a while since I've seen as shoddy acting as whatever Taylour Paige did in this.

Godzilla Minus One - 6/10

Had some really good scenes but ultimately felt it was way too melodramatic. It's slightly criminal to say this but I prefer the American Godzilla movie from 2014.

Alien: Romulus

I liked this a lot. I've seen a lot of complaints about this online, which has to do with the third act. I agree that the third act is decidedly weaker than the rest of the film (with references to the previous Alien films being used throughout it) but those first two acts were outstanding. It was incredibly beautiful visually, it's actually surprising it had an 80M dollar budget, it looks on par with 150M dollar movies. It's tense, with creative set pieces, and it is brutal in it's body horror. Spaeney is also very good in the lead role, I've already been warming up to her through Priscilla and Civil War, but she has a movie star quality to her that cannot be ignored.

I would have no issues placing it in my best of the year if it weren't for the shameless references towards the end. I thought they were awkward, and broke my immersion. But it's still overall very good. And I would say it's probably the best horror movie of the year.

I saw someone say that if you liked Alien Covenant you won't like this, but if you didn't like Covenant you'll like this. I didn't like Covenant at all so it's tracking so far.

Alien rankings:

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Alien: Romulus
4. Prometheus
5. Alien 3
6. Alien Resurrection
7. Alien Covenant

Borderland was great. Best nap I've had for a while.

I watched all 7 Child's Play movies over the course of a few weeks and have now started the Chucky TV series. The films are mostly great (3 is a bit of a turd but not unwatchable), and a few episodes in so far the TV show is fantastic. I think it's become my favorite of the OG horror franchises, largely due to how consistent it is and how each film builds on the previous ones, constantly making callbacks to the full continuous backstory with no retconning at all. Highly recommend for anyone into schlocky horror/comedy who, like me, hadn't experienced everything Chucky has to offer yet.

I'm not including the reboot with Aubrey Plaza in this. Pretty sure I did see that at some point but it made so little of an impression on me that I can't remember much about it.

Watched Perfect Blue last night and something about it really reminded me of Bergman's Persona. Anyway, excellent film without anything wasted.

edit: believe it or not, I haven't seen 400 Blows -- so that is tonight (Thursday)

I took the time to tackle Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles and like probably many others, I first heard about this when it was announced as the best in Sight & Sound. I am not adverse to slow cinema as I have been quite taken with Bela Tarr and there are many similarities in their approach of letting seemingly mundane routines speak for themselves. In itself, it is an admirable achievement Akerman manages to make these long monotonous takes with no dialogue be so mesmerizing and intriguing. A ton is said in subtle shift in body language, especially once we get to the third day (potato peeling scene for starters). In a way we have 3 hours of buildup to a payoff that you miss if you attention wanders just for a second, but it wouldn't have worked without the 3 hours of buildup. A film like Le Bonheur affected me deeper, if those are sort of comparable as classic feminist films, but this is by all accounts an impressive piece of unique film making. Is it the best movie of all time? It deserves to be on the list, but I do find it quite meaningless to have a winner spot for such things as there are so many very different kinds of great films that doesn't make much sense to compare with each other.

Since Alien: Romulus is coming out I did two things. One, I watched the two remaining Alien movies I haven't watched, and two, I watch the two remaining Fede Alvarez movies I haven't watched.

Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection.

I watched Alien back in 2020, and I watched Aliens a couple of months afterwards. Alien 3 was on HBOMAX, and I attempted to watch it. But there was this weird glitch were the film's aspect ratio changed 20 minutes in. I even made a Reddit post on the HBOMAX subreddit about it and others confirmed that glitch was on their side. I'm pretty peculiar about that (I haven't seen What Dreams May Come because I can't find a copy of it in the correct aspect ratio) so I didn't watch it. Now that they're all on Disney+ though I gave them a shot.

I'm surprised Alien 3 was so hated at the time and years after. I understand it's a step down from the previous two movies, but I liked it quite a bit. It's a straightforward contained thriller. It's simple and reuses what we've already seen in the first Alien. But it's solid nonetheless. Considering how torturous production was for him, I think it's impressive Fincher was able to make this movie as good as it was. It really shows how skilled he was as a filmmaker that he made this with less than ideal circumstances.

Alien Resurrection is where I'm at a loss. I know it was considered better than 3 for a while, but... what? It is so dumb. Even if 3 isn't great, there's a level of sophistication to it that's not really present here. Resurrections feels much more like a b-movie, which is entertaining on it's own but it feels out of place for the franchise. Some of the visuals are cool. But I think overall it feels like the cheapest of the four. More low-brow, dirtier. Also, I had no idea Winona Ryder was in this. I feel like she does not get talked about at all for this movie.

Evil Dead (2013) and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

From Alvarez I've seen Don't Breathe and The Girl in the Spider's Web. I liked Don't Breathe at the time, I remember most of it I think. But I would probably benefit from a rewatch, I was 16 at the time I saw it. Girl in the Spider's Web I saw for the first time last year. I think Spider's Web being such a financial disaster is why there was a big gap in between Alvarez's filmography.

Evil Dead was first feature film however. I remember it coming out at the time. I wasn't into movies yet, or at least I wasn't calling myself a film buff just yet. But I was still avoiding horror films. I remember this got a really positive response online. But I still don't know why it's taken me this long to watch it. I enjoyed it a lot. It's super brutal. It's not campy like the original. And it's a lot more mean spirited than the original. I don't think it makes it better, but I think going in that direction gives it it's own identity. But, man Alvarez is such a proficient filmmaker. It's really impressive filmmaking.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the other hand I thought was kind of dull. I want to get into it and be on the contrarian side of the critical reception of this. But I can't. I think everything around it is too thin for me to enjoy the gore. Still, those moments really do highlight Alvarez's technical bravado.

So yeah in conclusion: Alien 3 is good and I'll go to bat for Alvarez. I actually hope he replaces Muschietti on Batman.

Slight spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Didn't much care for Deadpool & Wolverine. I re-watched the first film the day before, and the humor fell way more flat in this one. Even compared to 1 & 2, the majority of the humor is based just on references. The action was largely underwhelming excluding the Wolverine/Deadpool fight vs the hundred or so other Deadpools (to be fair, this was really, really good). Soundtrack was dope though.

Overall a 2/5 experience saved by a solid climax.