First song has lyrics like “Bless her beautiful hide”

Destor if I can get a hold of this film, upload it to YouTube and stream it live then we are watching it together.
It cracks me up. Women are things.

If you compare this film with “The Homesman” they tell two very different tales of marriage in the old West.

I forgot how funny this was… guy’s name is Frank… short for Frankincense

What a quality film. I saw it a couple of times in my twenties but it has been a long time.
Every song is awful but relevant.
The comedy is ridiculously funny, it is a work of genius.

One of the brothers goes to town and beats up three guys when another brother offers a group of women some chaw and it offends them.

Come on now

Imagine being an actual hillbilly that sees a group of dames and thinks “what do I own that is good enough to impress them” and the answer you come up with is chaw.

That’s just great writing.

All of the violence is set to a rousing but jovial tune.
Jolly fighting.

The brothers put on a real show to attract wives when they all finally clean up and go into town. They dance like they are acrobats.
4/4 Destor.

Destor watch this movie with me.

Any time something happens that might inflame the groin they burst out into song.
This is your Hays Code in action and it is glorious if implemented correctly only to be subverted correctly.

One of the bro’s just kiss raped a girl with her eyes closed.
Shit is getting real.

The only other western musicals I can think of are Oklahoma! and Calamity Jane.
Seven Brides is way better and totally self aware.

John Wayne seducing a widow by telling her what foodstuffs she smells like is high level shit in “Hondo”.

you have my attention :lol:

Saw "Last Night in Soho" tonight.

Hard Eight (1996) - 7/10

I think nearly any other film tried to have a plot as absent as this and it would produce an unwatchable mess but here i think it really works. The actors and the writing holds you firmly. You want to hear more. You want to see more. You want this despite technically having nothing going on in a larger narrative sense.

The viewer, or at least I, easily get the impression theres something more to know. Whats the angle? That sort of thing. Im a bit too tired to really dig into this but i liked it.

I loved the last shot. Perhaps a PTA trope but his ability to give a massive ammount of information in the closing moments is possibly as good as it gets.

what did you think?

Very well articulated. I agree with your assessment of the overall tone of the film.

I thought it was a visual delight with very few shortcomings.

Visually its outstanding

Three Thousand Years of Longing - 7.5/10

Really enjoyed it up to a point and then in the last act it falls downhill fast

Requiem for a Dream (200) - 8/10

Ive been a fan of Aronofsky's work since π but never got to this despite hearing the word masterpiece thrown around when it comes up. I think thats why i passed on it. It was oversold. I tend to let things sit when theyre built up too much for their own sake and with this film i just never went back to it after the hype died down.

To be clear masterpiece is definitely over selling it but it is very very good. It contrasts legal addiction vs agorist addiction. It mirrors the highs and lows from multiple perspectives and its very captivating. It appears to me its central effort is to call out the pharmaceutical industry and the medical field that fuels it.

Extremely well acted. A superb score. The cinematography has an identity and i get what its going for but ive never cared for the extreme close ups and hard cuts. It works. You can convey a lot with it and its done well here but i always feel like it removes the audience from the world and reminds us this is a film.

On top of that the films toys with reality vs perception and it has us asking what is diegetic vs non-diegetic frequently and that inadvertently breaks the 4th wall. In scenes where we should worry about the characters this hurts the tension.

All that said the major story beats are phenomenal and the climax is deep and harrowing. The film certainly works and well.

@l jaw


That scene has a brutality to it that is really difficult to describe.

Watching Spaced. One of the characters reminds me of Seanny One Ball.

just got a copy for .99¢ :y:

Murder on the Orient Express (2017) - 5 or 7/10

Im giving this film two numbers because if you've seen any of the other adaptations or read the novel...or any of the derivatives for that matter then this will offer nothing of interest. It doesnt bring anything new to the piece at all

And for the record: i think thats a good thing. A reasonably faithful adaptation that has a modern highly notable cast is a great thing to offer audiences. Most movie goers dont watch films from 50 years ago or read novels from nearly a century ago.

Its for those viewers i give this a 7. This is the quintessential whodunnit. The one that truly subverts the detective genre in a way when i saw the 1974 film that blew me away. I do think that version is the better version and if youre inclined to go into older film thats the one you should see but if this is your blind viewing you'll probably get a lot of enjoyment from it.


tl;dr its a fine adaptation of a story thats timeless but also a story that once heard can never be interesting again.

Saw The Black Phone.

Seriously?

Damn that’s good pricing.
It’s a fucking hilarious film.

I’m going to try to set up a watch along for films like this.

If we do a chat we could watch it just by you using your movie and me using my stream.

I would prefer the #1WWE Classic style though.
Straight streaming. I figure uploading movies to a private YouTube channel works at least for the duration of the stream.

Tpww movie nights would be excellent

Trying to watch Cop Shop. My friend says Butler is having a resurgence of sorts.

This movie is boring.

The Banshees of Ineshirin (2022) - 8/10


I really loved this. Im far too tired to write anything.

Everything Everywhere all at Once (2022) - 6/10

A mash-up between Jet Li's The One and Kung Pow! Enter the Fist that hinges mostly on if you find arbitrary funny or not. The idea that a single person in this film could win best actor in any single category never mind best picture is completely beyond me.

Best editing though for sure. No question. The kung fu is pretty solid and often funny. The overarching plot of family and acceptance is as deep as a fortune cookie.

I will however give it an extra point for Raccaccoonie

7/10

Yeah.....I really wanted to love this and I was even on board with it before it "blew up" and turned into an Oscar contender. Been a while since I saw it and while I found it enjoyable enough it didn't meet my expectations of it being anymore profound than - as Destor said - a fortune cookie (v racist comment from Destor. I didn't say it).

Def more on the goofy side (pee your pants as a catalyst) which isn't my thing as I'm more of the hard sci-fi fi (see: Arrival) type of film goer. So, maybe it wasn't for me or a dancing loving racist like Destor but I didn't love it apparently as other did.

Im also a racist dance lover. Its similar but legally distinct

I'd give it 4 Booksmarts out of 10.

Everything everywhere broke my rule of I don't like movies or shows where stuff is happening in other dimensions. It was okay and Raccacoonie was really funny but any time theres interdimensional stuff I lose all interest

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

Really good and funny... just a fun movie to see w friends... Way better than the one i saw in 2000

I'm watching "What If" and Zoe Kazan has such beautiful sad eyes. I'll always remember her for playing "Ruby Sparks".

I'm enjoying this movie more than I should. Maybe I should become more accepting of my basic-ness.

Gerard Butler was always a pish actor but Cop Shop is quality for Toby Huss.

That doesn't excuse how boring the rest of the film was. Straight to DVD garbage.

Joe Carnahan doesn’t do boring.

I haven't enjoyed any of his work since The Grey.

Cocaine bear was fine

I did not enjoy that movie at all. I really tried.

Cocaine Bear was funny but it would have been a funny heist movie without the bear anyway.
I laughed a fair bit.

That’s pretty standard irony Darl.

What can I say...he's a bore.

You fucking are

I'm not charging people to bore them, sunshine. Nor do I have any obligation.

John Wick: Chapter 4 - 4.75/5

Saw "Good Time" tonight. Robert Pattinson was good in it.

Watching "Logan Lucky" for the first time. So many recognizable actors.

“The Searchers” - 3/4

It is imperfect and downright silly at times, but it is so visually influential both in cinematography and style that I should really be giving it a 4/4 on principle.
People like to say Kurosawa was influential, but I bet he looked up to John Ford in his own way.
This is big cinema at its best in a time when representation wasn’t a consideration, but there are very obvious signs of respect and integrity in Ford’s depictions of the savage and the civilised.

If I had to show somebody a perfect example of the acting style of the time period I would have to show them this. This or “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” are the epitome of the era’s ideals.

I would love to see an Audie Murphy biopic made again.
I have a lot of admiration for him as both an actor and a man. His short life is a tragedy.

If he was younger Matthew McConaughey is who I’d want. Audie Murphy could only be played by a real talent.
I think you’d need a young man to do it. That Nick Robinson would be a good shout.

Saw Mario on the worlds biggest Imax yesterday. It was an excellent experience. Great movie. Could have been a little longer but otherwise I loved it and if you don't love it you're a square. 800/10. (Not really, but I'd give it like an 8)

Super Mario Bros was fun

I'd give it 7/10, it's just a really fun movie

Watching “The Cowboys” with John Wayne and in it he uses a group of kids to drive his cattle instead of men as none are available.

Anyway a black cook goes with them and when he sees his colleagues are kids he says he’s going to “fix up some sugar tits to take along”.
Then later on a kid called him the n-word.

Crazy shit.

Haha one of them asks him if he has a black cock

John Wayne cures a lad’s stutter with good old fashioned verbal abuse.
Later on anotherboy is stampeded by a herd.
These kids are growing up fast or not at all.

Bruce Dern playing a bad heel. A kid hitter.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie - 6.5/10

Was ok, some really neat sequences, visuals, and references, but real shallow on everything else. Not that I was really expecting anything but shallow on everything else.

Seeing a lot of people mad at critics for not liking it.. this confuses me. Last thing i would want is critics championing popcorn

Attempting to watch Cape Fear and this might be the weirdest Scorsese film I've seen.

Going to watch Vivarium next.

You better stay away from Imogen Poots; she's mine!

This was absolutely mental. Might watch Repo Man again. Remember it being pretty dope.

Watching Sean Baker's "The Florida Project". Red Rocket was a riot.

This movie made me bawl.

Fucjing Willem Dafoe

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) - 7/10

Ah the American Musical. The only red white and blue art form. This film coming in at the peak of its tenure as the giant of the american film industry just 2 years after Singing in the Rain. I was all in when the films I want song was "bless your beautiful hide." Hilariously brilliant pun the establishes everything you need to know. The goals of the protagonist. Who the protagonist is and just how backward he is. Juxtaposing him against the town.The world the characters will be set in. Everything you need an i want song to do it does and its a toe tapper to boot.

Fundamentally this is two fairy tales kinda mashed together. Its beauty and the beast and the 7 dwarves. Snow white tries to train the drawves to be men essentially.

Not all the songs hit that well, honestly probably only 2 or 3, but where this really nails it is the dance numbers. Choreography is nearly peerless. There's a huge number at the top of the 2nd split in 2 parts. 1st is the dance before a barn raising and the 2nd half is the barn raising itself. In the 1st half the 6 brothers are trying to be men to captivate the civilized women as civilizedmen. and it works. In the 2nd half the civilized men challenge the brothers on the primal level and they've diluted their instincts. The civilized men begin to take advantage of them until they revert to their natural selves but they lose the women in the process.

Now this is incredibly smart stuff. In courting you need to be soft enough attract a female and hard enough to drive away the competing men. If you veer to far in either direction you risk failing the endeavor. And they do this during an outstanding dance number full of gymnastics, tumbling, pratfalls, swing dance and just outright fun.

Another number i really enjoyed was afte the brother return home alone and defeated they have this bit showing their depression where theyre chopping wood in the snow. The song is pretty lovely but what i really appreciated is how they used the work they were doing to be the percussion for the number. It added a really interesting visual layer to the bit and i really enjoyed it.

The films conclusion is pretty outrageous. The men misinterpret a book and conclude kidnapping is the key to getting a wife. So they do. Its all played for laughs and it is pretty funny to be fair. The girls do fall for them ultimately andand when the towns folk come to get back their daughters the girls try to hide from them. They dont want to go home. The brothers try and force them to go home to avoid bloodshed and the girls resist. This creates a scene where everyone is doing the right thing but from the towns folk perspective it looks like the brothers are forcing themselves on the women.

And again its pretty damn funny.

This all resolves with the women declaring their love and the fathers forcing the men to make honest women out of them after its implied theyve spent all winter fucking them (even though they didnt.)

And while it probably shouldnt be its pretty fucking funny.

A completely ridiculous premise that just fucking works.

It’s a perfect film for boozing

I really enjoyed that review, you obviously understand what makes it such a fun film.
The choreography is bonkers.

The choreography is like a 3 stooges bit through dance. Its excellent

The Naked Spur - 2.5/4

It’s a bit like “3:10 To Yuma” if you replace the gravitas with some top shelf buffoonery. James Stewart is the gangliest, most emotional and weirdest cowboy in almost every western he does. This one is actually a good story but with every climax going slightly wrong… lots of daft shit is going on in the Wild West, from gullible elderly gold-diggers to dishonourably discharged confederate cavalrymen. At one point spurs are used like crampons for hands on a sheer rock face. Spurs spin though.
At the end James Stewart just bursts into tears and blubbers like a big fanny. Apparently it is beloved by the French.

I enjoyed it. If it hadn’t been made in the fifties it might have stood a chance at being good for the right reasons because it’s pretty clear that it was trying to be all-out shocking. Robert Ryan smashes Janet Leigh in the head with a gun at one point and James Stewart kicks a guy in the face. Obviously they hit clean air both times and it is visibly ludicrous when the blows are sold as fully as that but that’s how screen violence usually was in Westerns before the sixties turned it up a notch. James Stewart is just a hard guy to buy as a badass.

If you want a good Jimmy Stewart film, check out 'Shenandoah;' both a western and a civil war film.

Antichrist (2009) - 7/10

I wont go in depth on this one because by design its meant to be interpreted by the viewer so there isnt any value in my take away becauae its my take away. I do have thoughts though and I'll enjoy muddling through them over the next few days.

What i will say is if youve ever seen a Lars Von Trier film and didnt like it this wont be the one that changes your mind. His films are challenging across every metric he can muster and he doesntmake films for commercial reasons. You're either interested in exploring the space along side him or you arent.

I was watching an Actors on Actors with Collin Farrell and Hugh Grant and Ferrell was saying how he proffered the smaller roles that were less commercial and more about characters and performances and Hugh chimed in that ultimately their jobs were to be "stuck up their own asses" but to entertain. Ferrell sheepishly agreed.

I couldn't disagree more. Not everything is about entertainment. As if that is some holy virtue. And Von Trier certainly doesnt give a shit about it. Hell he'll actively engage in boredom if it draws you to the emotional peaks he's aiming for.

That said this film is very intense and once the horror film is in full motion during the late 2nd and 3rd acts there's plenty to stimulate the viewer.

It isnt for everyone. Hell it isnt for most.

I did take a point off for the cinematography though. The camera constantly reminded you of its existence. Making deliberate motions that the characters would react to. As if its a 3rd party to the events. While i do think there is deliberate intention to it it does reduce immersion and that is something this film has as a strength until those moments.

Watching Minari today. Seems promising.

This movie is too sweet.

It’s already on the list. I basically only have the epics, the 2-3 hour blockbusters and a handful of Jimmy Stewart, Richard Widmark, Gregory Peck and Burt Lancaster films left.
I’m saving “Paint Your Wagon” for a drunk day.

Richard Widmark might take a week or two because I have purposefully left him out until now. I just felt like Randolph Scott was clearly the main man so he got most of my attention early on.

Widmark is the man. Randolph Scott can go suck a lemon.

In regards to Gregory Peck, I hope 'The Big Country' is on your list. It also has Jean Simmons and the mighty Charlton Heston in it. Good stuff.

Charlton Heston is the least talented big star to ever make a Western. I’ve got Major Dundee on the list because it’s Sam Peckinpah. Gregory Peck was once my favourite actor from the golden age but I am not keeping my hopes up for his Western output. He has the persona of a carpet bagger, and as we all know the good guys in Western movies are almost guaranteed to be former Confederates.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - 7.5/10

I remember not being so impressed by the first one, and then really enjoying the second one and being excited to see where it went from there..... but then I never watched the third until now.

Rewatched 1 and 2 as well (not today). Think I enjoyed the first one more the second time around, maybe I just "knew what to expect" this time, dunno. Still really enjoyed the second.

Third was good, but I think I still like the second one more. Felt myself getting "tired" at some of the action scenes in the third... but then also others being really freaking sweet....

Will try to go to see the 4th one before it is out of the theaters...

Baby Driver - 8/10

As far as the plot i concerned this is a film we've seen before. Its an amalgam of every chase film we've ever seen. Of course its not the plot that makes this film so good.

What makes this stand out, primarily, its the synchronicity between the visual and the auditory. The complexity of these practical cars and all the moving parts being so tightly choreographed against the soundtrack of this film. And the way the world moves in tune with the sounds. Gun fire being on time with the bass. Doors shutting to the beat. A hundred small nuances that move in time.

This marriage of both senses is outrageous because the bulk of this work had to begin on the page and carry through the entire process. Its an astounding achievement in directing and certainly editing as well. Immediately during the credit roll we're given a pretty lengthy oner (its actually two shots masked as one but the cut is well hidden,) and during this shot we're given a clear taste for what this film is aiming for. Complexity and unity across every available spectrum. Its a big goal. One i think the cast and crew were up for the challenge.

The cast is all standout. Ansel Elgort and Lilly James have a magnetic chemistry that instantaneously inspires you to root for them. John Hamm goes from friendly to menacing on a dime and works at both levels. Id say Jamie Fox took a chracter that on the page is excellent and some how got less out of it though. Id have gladly traded him for more John Bernthol.

Im a huge lover of practical car stunts and the lack of cgi is very appreciated. Just metal on metal carnage. Very appreciated. It would have been cheaper to do most of this digitally and there will come a day insurance companies demand it be done digitally so enjoy every frame while you can.

All said this film isnt about the beats of the story but the rhythm of experience. As far as the chase film genre goes this is very high end work.

@lock jaw ive never seen john wick 1. Should i?

B-A-B-Y Baby!

I just went through my posts in this thread and if you only count films i was rating for the 1st time and not films that i had previously seen that had come up in conversation in the 16 years this thread has been going ive given 16 films a 10. Seeing a single 10 a year seems high to me. Maybe im not harsh enough.

Was interesting to see some films on first viewing id rate differently now (not just 10s.) And in all fairness the 10s i give to spider-man movies are openly not critical evaluations and are purely running off fanboyism. That would lower my 10s per year .75 which does sound a bit more realistic.

I saw 2 last year though. Rashomon and Ikiru.

If you've already seen other ones I'd say there's no need.... it really is just a very very basic movie that just "lays the foundation" for the world...

No ive never seen any. I would never watch an iterative without seeing the original...maybe on a plane or something...

Then I would still definitely start from the first one, yeah... it's a pretty quick watch and "sets the tone"

John Wick is a film for Destor for sure.
Destor once fucked a guy up for life for looking sideways at his dog.

If a guy did this to me I’d assume he had already seen John Wick.

Haha...totally. i'd think the same...same pinch :lol:

I skipped wick because of the dog. I can watch basically anything except bad things happening to dogs

You don’t see anything happen to the dog

Yeah! Totally...they don't show anything happen to the dog :wink: :wink: :p

You see nothing besides somebody approaching it. You hear a yelp and that’s it.