The Movie (and TV show) Watching Thread

[John Dule]

I thought this might be an interesting thread, especially given that I've been seeing a lot of good movies lately. Here's my list from the past couple weeks:

One Two Three: A Billy Wilder movie from the early 60s that has held up remarkably well for its age. My girlfriend first introduced me to this because she's a big Wilder fan, and I've honestly come to like this movie more than Some Like it Hot. The dialogue is so densely packed with jokes that it requires repeated viewings to catch some of the best moments, and James Cagney is great as a witty, quick-thinking Coca-Cola executive. Altogether the movie manages to lampoon both sides of the Cold War in a way that would certainly appeal to some people on this site. I'm surprised it hasn't been remade, possibly taking place in Hong Kong.

Key of Life: Another movie my girlfriend introduced me to, and it's almost as good as One Two Three. This is a Japanese film that manages to shift between multiple genres-- romance, comedy, crime thriller-- with speed and fluidity. It would have been very easy for this movie to lose its focus given how many plot twists it packs in, but it moves just slow enough that it's relatively easy to follow. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Tarantino films or just crime/comedies in general. I'd also recommend going into it with very little prior knowledge, because part of the fun is trying to guess which way the story will turn next.

Blow the Man Down: This is a recent Amazon Studios film that managed a staggering 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite comparisons people have made between it and Fargo, I thought it was somewhat lacking in that style of humor-- it's much drearier than a Coen Brothers movie, though I guess you'll probably like it if you liked Inside Llewyn Davis (I did not). The two main actresses worked well together, but I don't think the movie was nearly as clever as I was led to believe. Many of the plot twists are driven solely by characters acting stupidly, which does not make for a satisfying viewing experience.

The Great Escape: One of my all-time favorite movies and probably Steve McQueen's best role. I have probably watched this half a hundred times in my life, but it never gets old. The use of music especially stood out to me this time around-- the score has a tremendous amount of range and just about every scene has memorable music. This is arguably the best WWII movie made in the decades immediately following the war. I think its melancholy ending is very unique among this category of films, which can sometimes verge too much on yee-ha jingoism for my taste.

Moon: Sadly this is still Duncan Jones' best film over a decade after it was released. But even though he went on to make f**king Warcraft, he still gets credit for Moon, which runs with the 2001: A Space Odyssey playbook without outright ripping it off. Still, the movie would not be half as good without Sam Rockwell-- I can't get into his performance without spoiling the plot, but he's great in this movie. He's the kind of actor who's fun just to watch as he moves through a set, and he is well at home in the schleppy everyman role.

Hell or High Water: I'd only seen this movie once (when it first came out), so I'd mostly forgotten how funny it was. Despite being essentially a crime drama, it manages to incorporate a lot of humor, political references, and racist jokes into its script without ever seeming like it's not taking the story seriously. Jeff Bridges outshines the rest of the cast, of course, but the other three leads are excellent as well. The movie does a great job of portraying both sides of the crime spree and making them all relatively sympathetic, and as someone who enjoys morally ambiguous movies, I found the ending extremely satisfying.


So, what have you guys been watching lately? Anything good?

[John Dule]

My house has been rotating who chooses the entertainment night by night. Tonight was my choice, so I picked Martin Scorsese's Silence, which is easily in my top five movies from the past decade. I'm really confused by religious people who like this movie; it's pretty obvious that the Christian missionaries come across as terrible people in it. But I suppose the fact that it managed to trick some Christians into thinking that it was affirming their faith makes it all the more enjoyably subversive.

[John Dule]

My house has been rotating who chooses the entertainment night by night. Tonight was my choice, so I picked Martin Scorsese's Silence, which is easily in my top five movies from the past decade. I'm really confused by religious people who like this movie; it's pretty obvious that the Christian missionaries come across as terrible people in it. But I suppose the fact that it managed to trick some Christians into thinking that it was affirming their faith makes it all the more enjoyably subversive.

What did the Driver or Garfield character do that made them bad people? The last time I saw it was in theaters and I don't recall that.

They watch from a distance as the Japanese officials torture and kill their followers. They actively evangelize despite knowing the danger that it poses to the natives. They show no respect for Japanese customs or culture and are entirely focused on spreading their own subjective beliefs. When Garfield is captured, he even has a moment of panic in which he yells at the Japanese Christians and asks "Why are you so calm? We're all going to die!" before remembering that he'd told them to believe in the afterlife and martyrdom. Just all-around reprehensible people who are deliberately made out to be intolerably self-righteous.

[John Dule]

I also forgot to mention that I had also seen 'The Nice Guys' for the first time. I don't know why it took me such a long time to see it, it's a really entertaining movie...minus the actual mystery that Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are trying to solve. I really found that uninteresting. Otherwise I would love to see another movie with these two (and Gosling's character's daughter too) and a more interesting mystery-they were a delight to watch.

Have you seen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang? You'd probably like it if you liked The Nice Guys; it's from the same director and I think it was the better film of the two.

[John Dule]

I also saw 'The French Connection' for the first time. It was good but I don't really get what makes it so highly acclaimed. There was nothing really remarkable about it to me.

To be honest, I felt much the same way about it. My dad loves it but I don't understand what sets it apart. It's somewhat unexceptional.

In other news, I rewatched Amadeus last night. There's something powerful about stories that focus on an incredible individual but do so from another person's perspective (Frankenstein, Apocalypse Now, and Fight Club all somewhat fit this mold). It makes that person's lightning-in-a-bottle genius seem all the more mysterious and unattainable. Really a fantastic film.

[John Dule]

Galaxy Quest is a borderline perfect movie.

[John Dule]

I just saw Witness for the Prosecution for the second time and I still can't get over the fact that the movie ends with a narrator straight-up telling the audience not to spoil the ending for their friends. Nowadays they just give the entire plot away in the trailers.

[John Dule]

Has anyone else here seen the German film Look Who's Back? I just saw it tonight. It's done in the style of Borat, but I think it's ultimately much more provocative and effective than anything Sacha Baron Cohen has done (though Cohen is probably funnier). I think it would work in a back-to-back viewing with The Wave-- two German films, both about fascism and its undeniable allure. They're even structured similarly, with the first two acts building up a premise that seems like satire and roping the audience in, until the third act hits home with the film's message.

[John Dule]

The Social Network is just as good as I remember it. Sorkin's dialogue is extremely fast, and I think with a lesser director the movie might not have worked-- but David Fincher truly is a master of his craft.

- Das Leben der Anderen ("The lives of the others", German film)

One of my favorite films. F**k commies.

[John Dule]

I watched "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" last week and really enjoyed it. It was nominated for a couple Oscars last year and I think it won a few, that is when it first came on my radar. Finally bought it off Amazon - good storyline, was very intense.

Have you seen In Bruges? Same director, and I'd say it's definitely his best film.

[John Dule]

When I take a break from my thesis I'll probably rewatch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which became my actual favorite movie a few years ago.

This is my favorite movie as well! I'm rewatching it right now (in installments; the rest of the family was too tired to finish it in one sitting tonight). I swear, I could watch this thing every day and it wouldn't get old. Every time a new scene starts, I get excited for it. We stopped it right after Tuco meets his brother, which I think is one of the best parts of the film.

I just hope that someday someone figures out how to deepfake the Italian actors' lips so it looks like they're actually saying their dialogue. If they manage to do that it'll be perfect.

[John Dule]

Gran Torino (2008)
National Treasure (2004)
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007)
The Big Short (2015)
Die Hard (1988)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The Judge (2014)
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)

This is a perfect balance of five films I love, five I hate, and one I'm indifferent to.

[John Dule]

Some more films I've been watching:

Charade: Great mystery/thriller with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. The plot twists are genuinely unpredictable, and even when you think you've gotten the story straightened out at the end it presents you with one last genius reversal of your expectations. This movie is a masterclass on how to write witty, funny dialogue without resorting to cheap pop culture references or self-congratulatory humor. As a result, it has aged like a fine wine. I think it might belong on my 100 favorite films list. I do wish I could find a copy with decent sound and video quality, though.

The Mule: Clint Eastwood's latest vehicle, and sadly far from his best (his best, incidentally, was The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which I also watched last week). This film's premise-- an elderly man becoming a driver for the Mexican drug cartel-- is loaded with potential, so it was a real shame to see how poor the execution was. Too much time is devoted to Eastwood's family, and their treacly, sloppily written dialogue is saturated with Hollywood cliches. The movie has a few great scenes, all of which are accessible on YouTube. I would not recommend it.

Patton: A fantastic character study, in a way that war films seldom are. I watched this for Memorial Day, and despite a handful of overlong battle sequences (I suppose they had to get the bang for their budget on this one), it is as entertaining as the first time I watched it. George C Scott gives a tremendously layered performance, portraying a man forced to confine his enormous personality to an intolerably small role in history. His ramblings on honor, military history, and reincarnation are poetic (in a brutal, uncomfortable sort of way). The film is just critical enough of Patton to make the audience wonder about the value of such men in the modern world-- do we still need Alexanders, Caesars, or William the Conquerors today? If not, are we free to judge them based on the morality of today, or do we have no right to criticize those who lived in much harsher times than we do? This movie always makes me think, and for that, I think it ranks among the greatest war films of all time.

Rear Window: One of Hitchcock's best films. I daresay, however, that after seeing Charade this movie feels a tad short on plot. After a certain point, you come to realize that there will be no twists or turns in this one, and it loses something for it. The set also looks like Sesame Street. Still, Jimmy Stewart is one of my all-time favorite actors and he sells this role completely. The other neighbors are also interesting little side characters, and even if they don't figure into the plot they're still fun to watch. Altogether I still like the film, but this rewatch has me a little let down (probably because I remembered loving it so much). Perhaps Dial M for Murder is Hitchcock's true best.

[John Dule]

- Das Leben der Anderen ("The lives of the others", German film)

One of my favorite films. F**k commies.

I like Das Leben der Anderen as well. And while I despise the East-German regime, i would call myself a communist, although a democratic or libertarian one. F**k commies is just too general. Communism is a broad ideology with many sub-ideologies. You can tell to  off marxist-leninists, but f**k commies is too general.

[John Dule]

I know i'm complex but

democratic socialism / libertarian socialism is an ideology that exists
I don't like Joe Biden at all, but I prefer him over Trump. Priority is getting Trump out of office. Supporting Trump in 2016 was a mistake.

But good to see that i clearly triggered you. Communism as an ideology is as broad as capitalism is. It has many sub-ideologies, and not all of them are bad. And clearly you think so as well, because you preferred Bernie Sanders in the primary who defended the Castro regime in Cuba, and has a history of defending communism in the past. I'm a Bernie Sanders-style democratic socialist who was misguided in 2016 and led by feelings of wrath in 2016, and the Democratic Party is entirely at fault there.

Also... the political compass is way too simplified, so I like not having a decent position on it, because the political compass makes no sense.

I'm a democratic socialist who can genuinely like a movie like Das Leben der Anderen, showing that i'm able to criticize my own side as well. Maybe you should respect that, instead of going full attack.

Please understand, I'm not attacking you. I just cannot pass up a memeable moment.

[John Dule]

Reading your posts in this thread makes me think you'd like Hopscotch, with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson.  Have you ever seen it?

I have not seen it, but I'll be sure to add it to my list. Some of the latest films I've been seeing:

The Guard: A fun little crime/comedy starring Brendan Gleeson as a cranky Irish policeman and Don Cheadle as an American FBI agent on a mission abroad. I had seen this back in 2013 (which I figured out from my old Rotten Tomatoes page), but I have no memory of seeing it then. To be fair, that sort of makes sense-- the plot seems a tad forgettable, and the performances are far more memorable than any individual scene or story element. However, Gleeson is hilariously standoffish and un-PC, and Cheadle plays an excellent straight man, making this a very watchable (if somewhat formulaic) buddy-cop movie.

In Bruges: From the more successful brother of the director of The Guard, this is one of my all-time favorite films-- I would easily call it a modern classic. Martin McDonagh has done two major films since this, Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, neither of which (in my opinion) capture the frenetic unpredictability, smooth storytelling, and deep characterization of In Bruges. Colin Farrell's performance is his best ever; he switches effortlessly between a sad-sack suicide case and a flippant nihilist at the drop of a hat. Brendan Gleeson co-stars in this as well, and while he's not as funny here as in The Guard, his performance is more nuanced and emotionally satisfying. I have to say, however, that the movie's marketing was completely botched. My DVD case bills it as an "edgy, action-packed comedy filled with thrilling chases, spectacular shoot-outs, and an explosive ending!" Please don't be fooled. This is an unbelievably depressing dark comedy, and it should not have been advertised as anything else. Do not go into this expecting to be cheered up by the zany antics of a couple of wacky mismatched hitmen vacationing in Europe. You will be sorely disappointed.

Roman Holiday: I'm a big Audrey Hepburn fan, and this is probably her best film-- it's hard not be sucked in by its pure, unapologetic wholesomeness. Despite the fact that the screenplay was written by a mustachioed pinko (and it shows in some scenes), the movie is a refreshing piece of escapism both for the audience and for its main character. There's hardly an ill-conceived or unmemorable scene in the film; it moves along briskly without a lull in the action, and the actors have great chemistry (Eddie Albert deserves a nod here for his excellent comedic timing). My old movie-watching forum used to play a game where we came up with the hackiest, most awful ideas for cheap cash-grab Hollywood remakes we could think of. The worst I could imagine was a Roman Holiday remake with Benedict Cumberbatch and that dragon lady from Game of Thrones. Fortunately that idea is so awful I don't think Hollywood will dredge it up until 2025, maybe 2023 at the earliest.

Kikujiro: A Japanese film from 1999 with a very memorable, Forrest Gump-ian piano theme. This movie is a bit demented; it's about a shy young boy trying to find his mother, aided by a middle-aged outcast who I can only describe as a sociopath. This man-- Kikujiro-- is one of the most interesting characters I've ever seen in a film. He's not just a bad person, he's bad at being a bad person; his complete disregard for other people's feelings is matched only by his supreme incompetence in every aspect of his life. Though he eventually finds some redemption in the end, his character in the early stages of the film fascinated me the most. It takes guts to cast yourself in a role like this, but actor/writer/director Takeshi Kitano makes the most of his despicable creation. His deadpan delivery is at the same time hilarious and deeply unsettling. This movie is not for everyone, but as a very unique character study I definitely enjoyed it.

[John Dule]

Also, MASSIVE spoiler ahead:

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

[John Dule]

Mother!: 1/10

I despise Darren Aronofsky, but I think this was his best film.

[John Dule]

I have mostly been taking a break from movies lately, as I've been binge-watching The West Wing. Tonight, however, I watched Frost/Nixon, which I had never seen before. It's a solid movie, but it's got many of the typical flaws in modern biopics-- a shoehorned and out-of-place love subplot, bland music, and somewhat flat cinematography (though I think the style was greatly helped along by the faux-documentary approach the movie takes). The performances are great though, and I have a soft spot for political films.

[John Dule]

The Wailing (2016)

Wow! If the quality of films in a country is related to it's standard of cultural and social wealth, then South Korea is a rapidly developing nation.

Phenomenal film. A visceral experience for the senses.

Saw this a couple months ago. I liked it enough, but I wasn't sure what to make of the ending.

[John Dule]

Next up is Love, Actually, another one of my cheesy Christmas favorites.

This is hands-down the most offensive post you've ever made on this site.

[John Dule]

The Futurama movie The Beast With a Billion Backs is a surprisingly solid take on religion.

[John Dule]

Stranger than Fiction: I'd never heard of this film before watching it on Netflix, but it does a whole lot of clever stuff with a very simple premise. Many people on this site seem to hate Will Ferrell, and I agree that he generally makes low-quality movies, but when he's given a decent role he often manages to shine. This movie is exponentially better than his idiotic man-child movies he makes with his friends. I wish he had more stuff like this in his filmography; it's just as funny as Anchorman, and as a bonus you won't feel bad laughing at it.

Memories of Murder: I watched this South Korean film for the second time last night, and it really holds up. The cinematography is magnificent; the camera is allowed to sit calmly in a corner while the actors move through the scene, and the faraway shots add a darkly comedic effect to the action scenes. Kang-Ho Song is simply amazing in this as a somewhat dim-witted detective who nevertheless has his heart in the right place. And of course, the story is great-- a truly disturbing sequence of killings that manage to depict sexual violence without fetishizing it. I would rank this on my list of 100 favorite films. If you liked Parasite I would wholly recommend this.

Suffragette: A fairly boiler-plate historical drama about the movement to get the vote for women in Britain. I would say that a few factors elevate it above other biopic mush, namely Carey Mulligan's performance and Brendan Gleeson's role as her pursuer. Gleeson's character saves this movie from being totally one-dimensional; he presents real, honest arguments against what Mulligan's character is doing, and it's clear that he isn't in the film to fill the "male villain" role (as the rapist factory owner is). Nevertheless, the movie suffers from the same problems as other films of its ilk-- a complete lack of humor, bland cinematography, washed-out colors, and an overbearing sense of self-importance.

[John Dule]

The Professor and the Madman: After seeing this film, I looked up what the cast/crew had to say about it. Mel Gibson said that he was disappointed with the final cut and felt that the movie had been ruined by the producers. And I have to say... he's probably right. This film is about the development of the Oxford English Dictionary; while the story isn't exactly riveting, Gibson gives a startlingly good performance with a spot-on Scottish accent, and Sean Penn does a better-than-decent job playing an American doctor being eaten away by psychosis. However, just about every other aspect of the film lets them down. Firstly, the movie is easily half an hour too long; tons of unnecessary redundant scenes are included that could easily have been cut, and the second half of the film feels packed with filler, like a hamburger made up of 25% sawdust. Secondly, the dialogue is unbearably ponderous. It is exactly as verbose/loquacious/garrulous as you'd expect from a self-important movie about dictionaries. And third, the cinematography does very little to hold the audience's interest. While the costumes and sets are generally quite good, the camerawork is very uncreative, with lots of shot/reverse shot scenes of people talking in rooms. Constantly cutting in scenes where people are simply talking to one another is unnecessary and doesn't leave you with anywhere to go visually once the drama escalates. Altogether, this was a fairly interesting story anchored by two (unexpectedly) brilliant performances, but the rest of the movie is colossally dull.

[John Dule]

Also, my girlfriend finally got me to watch some of Cowboy Bebop and One Piece. This may surprise some people here given the stereotype of libertarians being weebs, but I have never watched any anime before this. Weirdly, I'm the only person I know out of all my friends who doesn't watch it; liking anime seems to transcend genders, races, and socioeconomic statuses. I'm not sure how it became so popular, but I never got into it growing up (unless you count renting an old Pokemon VHS from the local Silver Screen Video).

Cowboy Bebop is a lot like Firefly (a show I love), featuring a similar futuristic/wild west setting and a very richly imagined universe. Pretty much everything about the world of this show is easy to like; the ship designs, the cities, and the space travel wormholes all feel very clean and well thought-out. The soundtrack is also great. However, after watching several episodes of the show I still feel I cannot connect with these characters.

I think part of the problem here is that I still see cartoons as something for kids, and so a supposedly "more adult" show like Cowboy Bebop rubs me the wrong way because it takes itself seriously while still being pretty absurd. But even despite this, none of these characters seem to confront problems that are relevant to real life-- most of their obstacles have to do with their exotic pasts as criminals, and their run-ins with various crime organizations are just not compelling enough on their own to maintain my interest. Even in a sci-fi setting, I think characters ought to confront realistic problems that will resonate with the viewer. This show is more concerned with being "cool" than with doing this, and because of that I never really got into it.

One Piece is a different thing altogether; it's a straight-up kid's show filled with gleefully cartoonish animation that indulges 110% in the silliness that's possible in this genre. After getting over a few humps (namely the abominably lengthy fight scenes and certain aspects of anime that make me cringe), I've come to find it pretty charming. I had never heard of this show until recently, but apparently it's basically the most popular series in Japan and has been running for 20+ years. The appeal is easy to understand; the humor comes easily and naturally, and the characters embody a nostalgic childish abandon that adults should be able to appreciate as well as kids. The world is just as richly imagined as that of Cowboy Bebop, but by refusing to mask its absurdity under a layer of cynicism and "maturity," I think One Piece has won me over.

Addendum: To sum up the differences between these shows, Cowboy Bebop has a character named "Faye Valentine," which sounds cool, mysterious, and edgy. One Piece, however, has a character named "Lieutenant Double-Iron-Fist Fullbody," which is just so freaking over-the-top and self-aware it's impossible not to laugh at it.