Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
Another creepy looking sci-fi that looks promising.
What Movie(s) Did You Watch Today?
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Hot Monkey
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Watched the latest Exorcist release on Amazon on-demand this weekend it was pretty meh. Wasn't expecting Friedkin level horror but even so it was pretty predictable and didn't bring anything new or interesting to the table. Just a gratuitous sequel IMO.
mcad64
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Watched it on Apple TV on the weekend. In two stints. It's 3hours and 26 minutes. I thought it would be a slow burn with some sort of eruption of violence at the end....it was just slow!!
Maybe it's my fault because I wasn't familiar with the story. Probably would have enjoyed the book more than the movie.
Maybe it's my fault because I wasn't familiar with the story. Probably would have enjoyed the book more than the movie.
Hot Monkey
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This looks amazing thanks.
Hot Monkey
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Watched this caveman horror flick this weekend it had some degree of successful sense of dread and a decent creepy musical score, but overall it was just hard to look past the clean shaven actors looking totally out of place in the intended setting and the story just kinda loafed along to a somewhat predictable and uninteresting finish IMO. Good idea, just not executed so well.
Hot Monkey
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Can't decide if I hate the idea of remaking this movie or not. Leaning towards hating it. Maybe as much as the pointless Oldboy remake. Some things should just be left alone.
Hot Monkey
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Watched this streaming on Max this weekend. Trailer made it sound like it would be quirky comedy and it did have some very funny moments. But honestly by the end it was leaning closer to a closet horror movie with some very dark imagery and very different tone. Then I saw that it was an A24 release and Ari Aster's name popped up in the credits as a producer and it started to make sense. Cage was outstanding I thought and the movie while definitely quirky might be one of the more solid sleeper horror flicks I have seen in a while.
Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
Should be a good movie weekend got tickets for Civil War on Saturday and definitely watching this on demand on Sunday.
Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
Civil War was pretty damn intense. Left the theater with a lot of questions. A lot to process might have to see it again after absorbing the first viewing. Definitely missed a good amount of small but important details amidst the chaos.
Gun fights were louder than Heat just a purely soundtrack based observation. Like borderline uncomfortably loud (not necessarily a criticism).
Gun fights were louder than Heat just a purely soundtrack based observation. Like borderline uncomfortably loud (not necessarily a criticism).
Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
Hundreds of Beavers was absolutely wacky low budget zaniness like a modern day (mostly) animated keystone cops or Buster Keaton tribute with some Bugs Bunny/Road Runner cartoon combat stuff as well. Even a brief reference to Star Wars Endor speeder chase scene. In other words it was all over the place. Debatable if it was worth the $5.99 rental but the more I think back and giggle the less I regret the $5.99 expenditure.
I watched this last night in Cinemark XD.
I'll double down on the intense.
And the gun fights...are the most realistic I've heard ever. Not that I've been in any gun fight, but I've been at a range and heard an M16, various handguns and rifles fired. And...this...sounded like that.
What were the questions?
I went in blind. I've gotten to the point that I like to know as little as possible so I can be surprised and not let down by expectations.
And...it was really good. Maybe a bit rushed at the end. But, I enjoyed it. Definite reference material for your audio system.
Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
I read they used full load blanks instead of half load for super realism with the gun battles. Sure sounded like it.
We also went in blind (other then having seen the trailer). Our main questions were just clarifications of what were the circumstances and/or series events that led up to what we were seeing unfold on screen. Who were really the good guys vs. bad guys, etc. But I think that is really the point of the movie... not to cast blame in one direction or another but rather to paint a picture of what a complete breakdown of order might look like regardless of "who started it".
For example we initially assumed that President Nick Offerman was trying to squash some kind of extremist rebellion... but then it was revealed that he was in his third term as president... so was he a fascist dictator who refused to relinquish power making the rebellion justified? Or was he forced to suspend elections because of the chaotic state of the nation? And some other things that were mentioned without full explanations.
We really liked it and would like to maybe see it again as I mentioned just to try and catch some more of the background news chatter, radio and TV announcements that might help fill in some of these blanks if these easter eggs are even there to decode (above and beyond some of the casually referenced events in character dialogue). Not knowing everything does add to the movie's effectiveness IMO so I am not saying I would like it more or less with some more details possibly being revealed. Just curious if we missed anything.
And seeing in a big/loud screen seems like a must despite what I have read about this movie not really being (technologically) intended for IMAX. It's a very powerful big screen presentation.
As I search now...I do believe that is the point.
As Kirsten Dunst character says, "I thought I was sending messages back as a warning, don't let this happen to us...yet here we are" (or something like that).
The intent of the movie is more of how War is actually empty and meaningless and brutal and terrible and wrong no matter who is supposedly "good" or "right". Not why the war started.
Someone in a Reddit thread was saying, ~"WTF, it never gets into how/why of the war" and a great response was, "Watch Apocalypse Now and try to explain the how/why of the Vietnam War. Or any good war movie".
Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
Agreed... the line between good guys and bad guys in this movie is definitely blurred intentionally to allow us to focus on the general craziness of it all.
I even thought the line between good and bad was blurred with some of the characters... for example... the young photographer protege finds herself photographing her mentors death and then coldly walking away seconds later to get the big scoop/pics of what is happening in the other room with zero hesitation. I think this is meant to demonstrate how people can behave or reveal their true nature under these kinds of intense circumstances. For as much as she idolized and respected her mentor she barely looked back on her way to take over her role as big time war photographer.
The crucible of war is unforgiving and leaves all who are crushed by it, also hardened.
Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
Watched two (very different) movies this weekend enjoyed both of them.
We thought the Holdovers was excellent. Very authentically achieved 1970's setting and style. Trailer makes it look a little more campy and funny then it actually is. There is definitely some humor but also much more somber/serious background tone and subject matter throughout. Great performances all around (one Oscar I believe?). And what started out as an on set prank with a wonky eye contact lens on Paul Giamatti (but ended up staying as a bit throughout the film) was great. I read that even his personal friends and family thought there was something wrong with him... that he had a stroke or something... when they screened the film. Streaming free if you have Amazon Prime.
Before the creatures appeared in this film I would have probably rated Arcadian at like 6/10 stars as a good and watchable apocalypse film. Nothing groundbreaking or super new and original about it in this genre. But then two things happened about half way through. They started showing the creatures which were amazing IMO, very original and pretty terrifying. And more importantly they never really explained what the creatures were or how the world got the way it was. Suddenly the movie elevated itself way up IMO.
So again maybe a 6/10 stars before the creatures (in fairness I might be underselling it the performances were all actually pretty solid). But definitely 20/10 stars after the creatures. Probably the best and most interesting looking sci-fi/horror creatures (and sounding fair warning they make loud creepy sounds that are nightmare fuel and really good in surround sound) that I have seen on screen in many years. I would go out on a limb and say I have not been this impressed with creature effects like this since John Carpenter's The Thing, early Alien movies, etc. We both uttered multiple WTF's as we saw more and more of them. And again the complete lack of clarity as to what the heck they were, their biological anatomy, movements, behavior, origin, agenda, you name it... made them even more interesting and wacky. If you like creature features do not miss these things they were top notch.
Edit: Just found this write up with some cool details about the creatures warning does contain some spoilers.
We thought the Holdovers was excellent. Very authentically achieved 1970's setting and style. Trailer makes it look a little more campy and funny then it actually is. There is definitely some humor but also much more somber/serious background tone and subject matter throughout. Great performances all around (one Oscar I believe?). And what started out as an on set prank with a wonky eye contact lens on Paul Giamatti (but ended up staying as a bit throughout the film) was great. I read that even his personal friends and family thought there was something wrong with him... that he had a stroke or something... when they screened the film. Streaming free if you have Amazon Prime.
Before the creatures appeared in this film I would have probably rated Arcadian at like 6/10 stars as a good and watchable apocalypse film. Nothing groundbreaking or super new and original about it in this genre. But then two things happened about half way through. They started showing the creatures which were amazing IMO, very original and pretty terrifying. And more importantly they never really explained what the creatures were or how the world got the way it was. Suddenly the movie elevated itself way up IMO.
In fact there is this one particular scene where two of the young characters are playing a game where they each have ten seconds to invent a story about how the apocalypse came to be... I think because they are not really sure. This really added weight, dread and mystery to the movie as circumstances escalate and the action peaks towards the end. Great choice IMO to leave a lot of things open and undefined.
So again maybe a 6/10 stars before the creatures (in fairness I might be underselling it the performances were all actually pretty solid). But definitely 20/10 stars after the creatures. Probably the best and most interesting looking sci-fi/horror creatures (and sounding fair warning they make loud creepy sounds that are nightmare fuel and really good in surround sound) that I have seen on screen in many years. I would go out on a limb and say I have not been this impressed with creature effects like this since John Carpenter's The Thing, early Alien movies, etc. We both uttered multiple WTF's as we saw more and more of them. And again the complete lack of clarity as to what the heck they were, their biological anatomy, movements, behavior, origin, agenda, you name it... made them even more interesting and wacky. If you like creature features do not miss these things they were top notch.
Edit: Just found this write up with some cool details about the creatures warning does contain some spoilers.
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Hot Monkey
Well-Known Member
Second trailer looks good... should be good on IMAX...