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Midweek Movie Free Talk
Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
Train Dreams
As a fan of Terrence Malick, this is quite the weak rip off. I have so much more respect for Nomadland as a film now that I realize clearly ripping off Malick is difficult.
For one, this is boring, which Malick’s films never are. The dialogue here is also grating. Characters speak the themes of the story but they do so in that whispery tone. There’s this corny voice over that sounds like a commercial or a children’s film voice over.
It’s a pretty looking movie but there’s nothing substantial here. It’s all so effortful, shallow, and derivative.
(2.5/5)
Sentimental Value
I did not care for 2021’s The Worst Person in the world. It’s filled with too much “look at me” directing and is so millennial coded in its themes and the way it approaches the characters. Especially at the time when I was experiencing a backlash to how much of the cinema I grew up watching was already coded that way, it did not connect with me.
This is different. There are some showy directorial elements here but there’s real restraint shown. The drama plays out in a pure way, almost uninterrupted. I connected with and understood the main character here than I did in Worst Person. What’s interesting is that they deal with similar concepts but the execution in characterization is so different that it works for me here now. What helps is that it’s primarily dealing with familial tensions rather than just a woe is me fest.
It’s also, frankly, a much more interesting plot. Something that cinephiles can enjoy with the process of making a movie in the industry on display and with the many references to classic cinema.
The performances are killer. Elle Fanning was great in this. The woman who played the sister, I looked up her name but I can’t copy and paste right now and I don’t know how to spell it, was the stand out for me. Quietly devastating.
The way that this plays out, the look and feel of this, the subtlety. When I had dreamed of being a filmmaker as a teenager, this was the type of film I envisioned making.
(5/5)
I like Malick's work for the most part, but I think he's a prisoner to his own style. I thought he broke out with A Hidden Life, but if he's back to that swopping steadicam, I don't have a lot of patience for it.
I liked Worst Person but I don't remember anything about it beyond enjoyment.
Really looking forward to Sentimental Value now. I think Joachim Trier is an interesting director, though not exactly a rising star yet in my book. I was okay with The Worst Person in the world but with Oslo, August 31st it really became apparent how his film are very much tuned to a specific generation.
I think what helps here is Stellan Skaarsgard’s character. Because now he has a Boomer to write for he has to get their perspective down.
Rental Family
Man, what a beautiful film. I'm sorta lost for words on this movie, it was not at all what I expected. I went into this movie sorta blind actually, I just saw that Brendan Fraser was in it and I was essentially sold. The movie is about a lonely, struggling American actor in Japan who reluctantly joins a "rental family" service, where people can hire actors to portray friends, family members, coworkers, etc. As he gets to know his clients, he is confronted with the moral complexity of his work but rediscovers his purpose and sense of belonging.
I saw online this film being marketed as a comedy-drama so I assumed it would lean heavily into the comedy here but it really doesn't, it strikes a really nice balance of drama with comedy sprinkled into it. I really wonder if the movie was written for Brendan Fraser specifically because of his exile from Hollywood and years-long battle to eventually find his place again in the movie industry. His character in the movie really reminds me of Brendan himself, at least from what I've see of him through interviews and whatnot. Highly highly recommend watching this movie!
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).
I watched Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro. I was prepared to love this, but it really missed the mark for me. There are a lot of things I liked about it - the cast is amazing, the acting is good if a bit scenery-chewing, , the set designs are intensely gothic and incredible, the story is a really faithful and good adaptation of Shelley's novel. The pacing felt quite off; with almost two and half hours of run time it felt like some things - the standoff in the ice - were really slow to build up to. Other things felt like they needed more development and time, like Frankenstein's loathing of death.
It's not a bad movie at all, but it certainly fell short of my expectations, since I am the sort of person this seems expressly aimed at.
I really liked your thoughts on the film, but I'm not sure what you could mean by "the acting is good if a bit scenery-chewing". I'll almost certainly watch this film, but I'll temper my expectations, I guess.
The acting is generally good, but at times some of the actors have a tendency to overact in their scenes. Oscar Isaac especially, but Elordi and Waltz also have scenes where the acting is a bit over the top to the point that it takes you out of the movie a little bit.
In case the point was lost because of my use of scenery-chewing: Chewing the Scenery (TVTropes link) is a phrase that is used when an actor is getting a bit extreme with their performance. Usually this means that the actor looks like someone who is acting instead of acting like someone who is doing whatever the character is doing.
Bugonia (2025) -- great little film. Definitely worth a watch. Go in blind.
One Battle After Another (2025) is great and absolutely not what I was expecting.
You know, Benicio del Toro is just a great actor. It's cool to see actors who transcend their hunk status and show off their chops. From Escape at Dannemora to this, his energy is always so calm but perfect for every role.
I saw Bugonia recently, and really enjoyed it!
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Going into it, I forgot I'd seen a couple other movies by the same director that I didn't particularly like (the lobster, killing of a sacred deer), mostly because of the fairly emotionless delivery. In this one, I had some good laughs at Stone's character because I could easily relate her cold corporate personality to people I've met.Then, the final act was a pretty fun ride, I'd gave been a bit disappointed if it didn't go the direction it did.
he’s one of my favorite directors. but yeah, i’m with you across the board. she plays a great ball buster.
You should watch Poor Things and The Favourite they’re more accessible than Lobster and Deer
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.
I was reminded of Before Sunrise when I saw it, with its depiction of random encounters leading to strong romantic attraction. I very often find on screen romances in classic Hollywood very hard to believe in. They feel forced and "acted". This is one of the notable exceptions, as there is some undefinable chemistry between the two on screen. Also, the use of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 is beautiful done.
Maybe that's part of it; Brief Encounter is a British movie instead of a Hollywood one.
Tipping was a European custom imported to the States somewhere in the late 19th to early 20th century that then died out (mostly) in Europe.
Bugonia -What an interesting/fun movie. I shared a couple other thoughts in another reply, hidden as I agree with tomf to go in blind.
Marcel the shell with shoes on - A very cute, creative, and kinda silly/emotional/funny little movie. I was looking for something easy and feel-good and this really scratched that itch. It came out a few years ago but flew under my radar then.
Sinners - I dont like a lot of horror, so put off watching it for a long time. I was thoroughly entertained and it left me thinking about its themes and symbolism after. Still, even though I felt like each scene was very well crafted (especially that music scene) and it was good overall, something felt just a little disjointed or uncohesive at times.