Finally got the last of the Marvel Cinematic Universe releases on blu-ray earlier in the week so have started working my way through them. I just watched The Avengers last night and that has possibly been my favourite so far, although it did end up feeling like it dragged on a bit but I did watch it back to back with Captain America which maybe didn't help.

My ratings on Letterboxd have been a bit half-assed and I've given them all a 4 so far. In terms of entertainment value I feel like they've all been on par and I'm struggling to pick a favourite. None have stood out as being drastically worse or better than the others, in my opinion. The Incredible Hulk is probably a contender for my favourite of the phase 1 films, which I found a bit odd because it's not one I really hear people talking about much.

Have really been enjoying these films now. I've seen a few of them in the past (Thor, Captain America and Civil War) and I wasn't impressed with them. Civil War in particular I really didn't enjoy much, but I went to see it at the cinema with friends and a complete outsider to the franchise and I just didn't get what was so likable about it. Now that I'm getting more familiar with the films and enjoying them all, I'm actually quite looking forward to re-watching Civil War with a new point of view.

From what I understand the live action Resident Evil movies get a lot of flack I'm currently watching Extinction and so far it's just your typical summer blockbuster ,There's really nothing scary or suspenceful about it.

New trailer for Stranger Things 2. Ghostbusters costumes confirmed. Pretty hyped.

I've only seen a few movies this year so far, need to step my game up.

Punch-Drunk Love
Already love this one, watched the criterion. There's a 40 minute Cannes panel that I don't think included one shred of insight, other than PTA seeming to have a disappointingly shallow vision of his own character. Most of the questions were either boring or completely lost in translation, there's like several points where they'd waste minutes listening to total gibberish and not be able to answer. Super awkward. There's some deleted scenes that only served to remind me this really is an Adam Sandler movie at the end of the day, and some bits about the music and the artist who did the colorful interlude thingies, that was a bit more interesting..

Sherlock: The Final Problem
Not a movie but I saw it in the cinema. Some of the most unbearably tense scenes I've ever sat through in the first half but it all falls apart into lazy writing toward the end, and the transition from last episode to this one was shaky to begin with. This show has been getting increasingly silly with diminishing returns since series 2 and while I'm a big enough fan to put up with it I'm not excited at all by a probable season 5 and wouldn't mind if series 3 and 4 were just wiped from the timeline.

Every character has become more exaggerated and ridiculous with each episodes and the mysteries flimsier that it's only a matter of time before even the most hardcore fans have had enough. It's weird rewatching this whole series, season 2 is good enough to make me an obsessive fanatic all over again but then season 3 is enough to cool me off, and I don't know if I'll bother going through this season again.

Arrival
Was really hyped for this. Bit overrated. The first half and some specific scenes are excellent, but toward the end the pacing gets more and more rushed and the writing more dodgy. It's good but not the sci fi masterpiece some people blew it up to be. It's a bit like inception [or another film by this director, Enemy] in that there's a mildly complex sci fi idea at work that they make sure is very easy to understand and hard to misinterpret, and as a result people who don't normally enjoy sci fi come away thinking the film is a whole lot cleverer than it really is, and ultimately everything is done so cleanly that you're not left with much of anything to think about once it's over.

Wish they'd had the courage to make it a bit more vague and creative in how things are presented. It's similar to Enemy in that it feels like a big budget movie but with very understated indie sensibilities, though while Arrival is probably better overall I think Enemy had a bit more gutsy ambition and wasn't afraid to be a bit more 'out there'. The light use of special effects works very well.

This is also the guy who's directing Blade Runner 2049, and while I'm not convinced that sequel is necessary to begin with I am confident it's in good hands.

The Nice Guys
Liked this more than I expected to, very solid, straight-forward action comedy. I can imagine getting a lot of rewatches out of this.

Also still watching Community, just finished season 3. It's become one of my favourite shows and one I know I'm going to rewatch endlessly. Season 2 was surely one of the best seasons of any sitcom, every fucking episode was brilliant, but 3 has had far more duds in the mix. Still good for the most part though. I've noticed the remaining three seasons only have half the amount of episodes each and that might be for the better.

Been watching House of Cards (the netflix version) whenever I can fit it between excessive Bloodborne sessions. I tried this back when it was first released but it didn't hold my attention, I'm getting more into it this time. Definitely takes a few episodes to get going. Movies are for nerds though.

At 2/14/17 06:29 AM, Jackho wrote: Been watching House of Cards (the netflix version) whenever I can fit it between excessive Bloodborne sessions. I tried this back when it was first released but it didn't hold my attention, I'm getting more into it this time. Definitely takes a few episodes to get going. Movies are for nerds though.

I couldn't get along with it, and I love the original version.

Francis Urquhart is one of the greatest characters in TV history, but Frank is a bit bland. He doesn't have that sly, winking charm that Francis does, which is what holds the series together for me. Francis Urquhart is a monster, but he's extremely likeable. Frank is just a bastard.

I mean, he says "You may well think that, I couldn't possibly comment" and actually means it, which is basically blasphemy.

I saw Personal Shopper at the Glasgow Film Festival.

It was a bit dull but at least Kristen Stewart looks pretty good in the buff, I guess.

The final act is so meandering I ended up thinking about what takeaway to stop for on the way home, and then got halfway back before remembering I was meant to go see Dark Night right after. It literally ruined two films for me.

Next weekend: like 6 horror films, with only 5 hours for sleep between Friday night and Saturday morning. This will go well.

I saw A Cure for Wellness.

It's a mess, but an enjoyable one. It lurches between creepy, slow build mystery and extreme body horror at the drop of a hat, and descends into full on Hammer Horror camp by the end, but it plays it all totally straight and is just about mental enough to pull it off.

(MINOR) SPOILERS:
It drags in the middle, with plot points literally being repeated. Did we really need the protagonist to be brainwashed, break the programming, only to be rebrainwashed and to break the programming again later? A lot of it is relatively cliche, but is visually interesting and outright gross enough to get a pass. The tooth scene is gratuitous and a cheap way to get a reaction, but it definitely works, so I can't moan too much.

Saw Doctor Strange at the dollar movie. Probably great if you are stoned or on acid. It was overdone and all about graphics trying to boggle your mind. It became tedious and boring. It has astral projection, and it promotes eastern philosophy.

Get Out is FANTASTIC.

I am halfway through FrightFest. Thoughts so far:

A Cure for Wellness - Good, but stumbles and falls short of being great. See earlier post for more detail.

The Transfiguration - Fantastic, even if it isn't really a horror film. Fantastic performances all round, and even if it is a bit derivative (it draws heavily from things like Martin and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), it still manages to feel fresh.

Shin Godzilla - Super disappointing. The Japanese bureaucracy stuff wore thin very quickly and the political commentary felt hamfisted, even if the Godzilla sequences themselves were great.

Happy Hunting - Solid if forgettable film. Rednecks hunt people in the desert, and it plays out exactly as you'd expect. No real surprises but still a decent execution of a played out concept. There's a small amount of black humour, but it usually falls a bit flat, and the film never commits to "horror-comedy" which makes a few of the "funny" moments feel out of place.

Cage Dive - Standard found footage fare with three irritating Americans being eaten by sharks. If you've seen The Reef or Open Water you've already seen this. Bland and a bit naff.

Went and watched A Cure For Wellness last night. I guess, it's breathtakingly weird.

At 2/25/17 06:38 AM, Absurd-Ditties wrote: I am halfway through FrightFest. Thoughts so far:

And the second half:

Fashionista - A good thriller, but not a horror film, and barely even has any horror elements. Not sure why it was screened as part of this, but glad it was, because I really enjoyed it.

Bloodlands - Good, small scale horror with a strong social realist undercurrent. Excellent performances, but the supernatural element feels almost tacked on, and the film would have worked just as well if the two feuding families were just normal guys since all the best scenes don't even involve the Striga the film centres on.

Detour - Excellent crime thriller from the guy who did Severance, and based on those two films I'm going to have to watch some of his other work. Again, doesn't feel like a horror, but it is very good. It's structured around a parallel narrative with two timelines shown in splitscreen, which was interesting, but the fact that this format does not go in the way you'd expect was even better. Really good.

Raw - Incredible. Favourite of the festival, and best film I've seen in a while. Brutal, full of amazing gore and extremely gross body horror, while also having strong characters and gorgeous visuals. Loved it.

I watched Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.

Imo it's overall the best of the original trilogy, though I loved the first one's indie charm. There's not an awful lot of world-building in the Mad Max series which is a shame because the setting looks unique and cool.

Also, I believe it's kind of a taboo to have good-natured women die violently (coughing up blood and all), so I was surprised the film actually went there. Thought that scene was interesting...

Watched Bill Evans: Time Remembered today. A documentary about the jazz piano player covering both his professional and personal life all the way to his eventual death caused by years of addiction to cocaine and heroine. Bill Evans is one of my favorite musical artists of all time, so I was pretty excited for the release of this doc.

There's not much new information in it that I didn't already know, but there are plenty of interviews, as well as archival recordings of Evans himself, which definitely made it worth the watch. It also helped push me to actually practice piano again, I've owned an upright for about three years now and I can probably count the number of times I've sat down to practice on one hand.

I Am Not Your Negro is really great.

Watched a bunch more over the last few days:

Son of Saul
Liked this one. The camera takes a while to get used to, but it makes for a very intimate portrayal that feels different from other holocaust films.

Before I Disappear
It's a good attempt at being a bit different I guess, but I just didn't find this film very interesting. Also, the soundtrack is all over the place.

Spotlight
Decent enough, but plays it very safe if you ask me.

Logan was okay I guess.

Saw the new Kelly Reichardt film, Certain Women.

Really liked it. She's maybe my favourite director working today, and while this isn't quite as good as some of her other work, it was still great. She does kitchen sink drama as well as the likes of Ken Loach or Mike Leigh, but also has a real eye for visuals whereas the British social realist classics are often a bit flat looking. This might be her best looking film yet, too.

So yeah, it's no Night Moves, which is one of the best films in years, but it's still something you should definitely go see.

At 3/3/17 12:18 PM, Absurd-Ditties wrote: Saw the new Kelly Reichardt film, Certain Women.

One of my favorites of last year. Lily Gladstone is a gawddamn revelation.

So yeah, it's no Night Moves, which is one of the best films in years, but it's still something you should definitely go see.

I actually liked this one better than Night Moves, but those are the only two films of hers I've seen so far. She's doing a Q & A at a screening of Meek's Cutoff in NYC later this month so I might check that out.

At 3/3/17 03:20 PM, Dr-Worm wrote: I actually liked this one better than Night Moves, but those are the only two films of hers I've seen so far. She's doing a Q & A at a screening of Meek's Cutoff in NYC later this month so I might check that out.

Definitely do, it's the first film of hers that I saw and the one that got me hooked.

At 3/2/17 10:51 PM, Jurornumber3 wrote: Tomorrow I'm gonna go see 2 movies! Never done that before.

I think my record is 7 in a row at the cinema, starting late on a Saturday night and going through to around midday on Sunday. Did 5 last weekend.

The most I've seen in a row at the theater is 5. It was the Reader, Milk, Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon. I forget what order, except I'm pretty sure Frost/Nixon was last. It was all the best picture nominees of that year. There was only one intermission, if I recall correctly.

At 3/3/17 07:09 PM, Sense-Offender wrote: The most I've seen in a row at the theater is 5. It was the Reader, Milk, Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon. I forget what order, except I'm pretty sure Frost/Nixon was last. It was all the best picture nominees of that year. There was only one intermission, if I recall correctly.

My 7 was Brazil, Alien, The Thing, Highlander, The Princess Bride, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

At 3/3/17 09:40 PM, Absurd-Ditties wrote:

At 3/3/17 07:09 PM, Sense-Offender wrote:

My 7 was Brazil, Alien, The Thing, Highlander, The Princess Bride, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

That is a sweet lineup.

I'm new to this club, so I'll list some of my favorite movies off the top of my head:

The Wild Bunch
The Third Man
Fist of Legend
Singin' in the Rain
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
The Night of the Hunter
Network
The Rebellious Reign
Duck Soup
Red Cliff
War of Arrows
A Bridge Too Far
Goodfellas
DOPE
Police Story 2: Supercop
Alien
Full Metal Jacket
Dr. Strangelove
The Three Musketeers (Richard Lester, Director)
The Four Musketeers (Richard Lester, Dir.)
Lawrence of Arabia
Der Untergang (Downfall)
Star Wars: A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
Inception
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Revenge of the Dragon (a.k.a. Tough Guy)
Enter the Dragon
The Dead Lands
Gosford Park
Das Boot
All That Jazz
Blade Runner
Zoot Suit
Paprika
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Time Bandits
Taxi Driver
The Road Warrior
Hard Boiled
Severe Clear
The Untouchables
Headhunters
Patema Inverted
Cabaret
Casablanca
Seven Samurai
When Trumpets Fade
The Warriors
Deep Cover (w/ Lawrence Fishburne)
The Limey
The Adventures of Tintin
Kagemusha
Timbuktu
Elite Squad
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
Chocolate
The Sting
Jarhead
The Firm
Captain America
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: Civil War
Safe
Devil in a Blue Dress
Fight Club
Jaco
Touching the Void
Way of the Dragon

Some more will probably pop into my head, long after I'm able to edit this post to add them, but this'll do for now.

I'll stop here.

It's been sitting on my shelf for a while now but I finally got around to watching Toxic Avenger. For some reason I'd assumed it was going to be a lot heavier with the horror, but turned out to be a really fun film. Next time I have friends round and they're wanting to watch a "so bad it's good" type film, this is definitely getting played.

Class of Nuke 'Em High is the only other Troma film I've been meaning to get, but are there any others that are as enjoyable to watch as Toxic Avenger? Traditional review scores are hard for me to base decisions on with this sort of thing because the low scores don't necessarily mean it's a bad film.

Between getting stranded in Penrith last week and having someone throw up on my shoes yesterday, I'm about halfway to completing my reenactment of Withnail & I.

Going to see Kong: Skull Island on Saturday, Maybe. Another thing, I was watching Enemy Of The State and really enjoying it. Until after about half way through, it decided not to fucking work!

I saw Headshot because LIARS said it was like The Raid.

It's not. It's full of naff melodrama and the action isn't particularly special. Just a solid martial arts film that happened to be made in the same part of the world.

Logan is fucking sweet.

At 3/10/17 03:21 PM, Absurd-Ditties wrote: I saw Headshot because LIARS said it was like The Raid.

It's not. It's full of naff melodrama and the action isn't particularly special. Just a solid martial arts film that happened to be made in the same part of the world.

Been on my watchlist.

Finsihed House of Cards season 3, starting to get burnt out a bit. I'll probably watch the UK version soon.

At 2/15/17 06:37 PM, Absurd-Ditties wrote: Francis Urquhart is one of the greatest characters in TV history, but Frank is a bit bland. He doesn't have that sly, winking charm that Francis does, which is what holds the series together for me. Francis Urquhart is a monster, but he's extremely likeable. Frank is just a bastard.

I can't compare yet, but I think Underwood does have that sly charm at times, and it's entertaining in its own right to watch someone who's just pure evil. His characterisation is a bit uneven though, and I find american shows can end up having weird pacing in their character development, where nothing happens for several episodes then a significant, character-changing event comes out of nowhere all at once rather than a more gradual change. It just makes the other episodes feel like filler.

The show has a lot more silly moments than I was expecting and some that literally made me say what the fuck out loud. It's pretty good. A little dry for me though, I can't just binge it without watching something else.