Serious Movie Discussion XLI

[iGnP]

Has anyone here seen The Wailing? loved it. Great horror movie if you dont mind the length (2.5 hours approximately) and reading subtitles

 

[Joseph Budden]

Has anyone here seen The Wailing? loved it. Great horror movie if you dont mind the length (2.5 hours approximately) and reading subtitles

My man. Been reading about how great it is, downloaded it last night. Probably check it out tomorrow night.

 

[HUNTERMANIA]

Just realized McDonald vs. Linekar is coming up next week too.. didn't even know that had been scheduled lol. With the 202 card looking the way it does.. we are spoiled this summer.

Also thanks @europe1 for fucking up my viewing schedule with the Stalker recommendation. I obviously can't move on without figuring the thing out and that should only take a year or two.

My immediate impression is that I wasn't thrilled with the introspection - fuck it was slow, though undeniably gorgeous - but I'm going to go back and look for a more coherent way of putting it all together.

Curious to hear @HUNTERMANIA's thoughts as well.

I loved it! I would need to watch it again to give a more insightful summary of what I thought it was about (I can't remember all the dialogue), but I thought the whole movie was filled with meaning. Really great shit. I think it's like what the journey to heaven is like, what spiritual progress is like, how inscrutable God's ways are, etc. Again, I only watched it once.

 

[Rimbaud82]

I loved it! I would need to watch it again to give a more insightful summary of what I thought it was about (I can't remember all the dialogue), but I thought the whole movie was filled with meaning. Really great shit. I think it's like what the journey to heaven is like, what spiritual progress is like, how inscrutable God's ways are, etc. Again, I only watched it once.

Have you seen Nostalghia? I think that you would really like it. It's probably not one of his very best, but I saw it again the other after reading a few interviews with Tarkovsky about the film and I enjoyed it much more. It was in the cinema though so it was strange, a mixture of people like me sitting in rapt attention and others yawning haha.

Here's the interviews I am talking about:

http://people.ucalgary.ca/~tstronds/nostalghia.com/TheTopics/Tarkovsky_Rondi-1980.html
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~tstronds/nostalghia.com/TheTopics/Tarkovsky_Porro-1983.html
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~tstronds/nostalghia.com/TheTopics/Tarkovsky_Aspesi-1983.html
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~tstronds/nostalghia.com/TheTopics/Gideon_Bachmann.html

 

[Sigh GunRanger]

Did you see High Plains Drifter? I feel like you were in here talking about it recently...can't remember...but it's pretty rad imo. I dug the surreal aspects surrounding Eastwood's character and that it never made it any less of a Western.

yup. it's so much cooler when you realize he's a ghost. Makes everything worthwhile.

one of the most underrated westerns



and how did edco die?

 

[Flemmy Stardust]

yup. it's so much cooler when you realize he's a ghost. Makes everything worthwhile.

one of the most underrated westerns

He's the Grim Reaper imo

and how did edco die?

I believe a diving accident...sad as hell.

 

[Sigh GunRanger]

He's the Grim Reaper imo

eh, i tend to look at it as he's out for revenge rather than the law of death.


you ever see The Counselor?



@Dragonlordxxxxx link me to the comic thread please

 

[TheStruggle]

I saw and reviewed The Infiltrator

https://societyreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/the-infiltrator-review/


The Infiltrator is brilliantly acted by everyone involved. The casting choices are amazing and they all fit the roles based on the true story to the tee. The narrative is built on lies and deception which played well when you are in a world where truth build on lies is the only thing that keeps you alive. The banks played a much bigger role in this story but their involvement is minimized until the end when the main players are taken to prison. For a movie that’s runtime was about 110 minutes, you feel that an extra 20 minutes to clean up the plot holes would have greatly benefited the film and led to a much higher rating. The worst thing I can say about The Infiltrator is that it could have been better. The ending felt a bit too ‘Hollywood’ and the script seemed crippled so they could stay true to the book. I do recommend the book also called The Infiltrator written by the real life Robert Mazur, it offers a lot more insight to the story than the film can given the runtime. If you love biopics then you will be entertained and if you’re looking to duck Ghostbusters this weekend, then this is a solid choice as an alternative.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

@Dragonlordxxxxx link me to the comic thread please

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/comic-book-discussion-thread-v-17.3209393/

 

[Joseph Budden]

@iGnP

Wow, the Wailing was amazing. Definitely one of my favorite films i've seen this year. Would go as far as to say its probably my second favorite (right behind Neon Demon, slightly ahead of The Invitation)

That third act was CRAZY. The story became such a mind fuck, but in a good way.

Spoiler

I was very confused at first lol. I think the director was going for that in a way, to make the viewer as confused as the protagonist. Few things i'm still confused about, biggest one is who was the person they ran over. Was it just a stranger? Weird moment.

But I think the woman in white was actually trying to help? And the shaman they had hired worked for the devil? Still confused as to what sins he committed that led to his daughter's possession. Maybe when he went to the Japanese guys house? But that happened after his daughter was possessed.

Also, was the woman in white the same woman who was throwing rocks at him? I still don't know why that woman was throwing rocks at him lol

And also, was his daughter really cured at that one point and then possessed again? What are your thoughts on these things?

Gonna read some stuff on the imdb boards, see if they can give me some insight to the few questions I have. Amazing film though, and I hope more people give it a watch, especially since its a film that sparks conversation about it.

 

[Ricky13]

Watched the original Supes movie (1978) after years. Goddamn it's so good.

Ricky Bless!!

Definitely go see it again. There are some small details that I noticed only after knowing the path the film takes & where it ends.

Needs to be done. Really benefits from the theatre experience.

And was the first time I couldn't see Keanu act, much as I love him otherwise.

What the hell was Hail, Caesar?

 

[iGnP]

@iGnP

Wow, the Wailing was amazing. Definitely one of my favorite films i've seen this year. Would go as far as to say its probably my second favorite (right behind Neon Demon, slightly ahead of The Invitation)

That third act was CRAZY. The story became such a mind fuck, but in a good way.

Spoiler

I was very confused at first lol. I think the director was going for that in a way, to make the viewer as confused as the protagonist. Few things i'm still confused about, biggest one is who was the person they ran over. Was it just a stranger? Weird moment.

But I think the woman in white was actually trying to help? And the shaman they had hired worked for the devil? Still confused as to what sins he committed that led to his daughter's possession. Maybe when he went to the Japanese guys house? But that happened after his daughter was possessed.

Also, was the woman in white the same woman who was throwing rocks at him? I still don't know why that woman was throwing rocks at him lol

And also, was his daughter really cured at that one point and then possessed again? What are your thoughts on these things?

Gonna read some stuff on the imdb boards, see if they can give me some insight to the few questions I have. Amazing film though, and I hope more people give it a watch, especially since its a film that sparks conversation about it.

Spoiler

they ran over the old Japanese man. that's why when they pushed him off of the mountain, all the evil w the daughter seemingly stopped. we were meant to believe that it killed him

the woman in white was a spirit that basically looked over the little town/village that the cop lived in. she tried to guide the cop to the Japanese man. im not entirely sure if that's the same woman who was throwing the rocks at him (funny scene, though)

the shaman worked with the devil, yes. my guess is the ritual they tried to perform on the daughter was a process in which the demon would get full possession of the child if completed. because it was interrupted, the demon was hurt by it. but the shaman was clearly working for the demon's cause. the cop struggled to see who was good and who was bad

the 'sin' that the cop committed was banging that other lady in the car, right?

 

[Joseph Budden]

Spoiler

they ran over the old Japanese man. that's why when they pushed him off of the mountain, all the evil w the daughter seemingly stopped. we were meant to believe that it killed him

the woman in white was a spirit that basically looked over the little town/village that the cop lived in. she tried to guide the cop to the Japanese man. im not entirely sure if that's the same woman who was throwing the rocks at him (funny scene, though)

the shaman worked with the devil, yes. my guess is the ritual they tried to perform on the daughter was a process in which the demon would get full possession of the child if completed. because it was interrupted, the demon was hurt by it. but the shaman was clearly working for the demon's cause. the cop struggled to see who was good and who was bad

the 'sin' that the cop committed was banging that other lady in the car, right?

Spoiler

Yeah IMDB boards confirmed for me it was the Japanese man. It looked like him, but I was thrown off with how sudden and out of nowhere that was.

From what i've gathered the woman in white was the same woman throwing the rocks. I need to rewatch this at some point for sure, apparently the woman in white makes a few appearances that I didn't pick up on (sounds racist but was kind of hard to differentiate some of the Koreans lol)

Best interpretations i've read agree with you. I was thrown off a bit cause of the wasps when the Shaman was driving, but from what i've read its the devil warning him of their contract, which is why right after he calls the main character and tells him he has to go home.

That lady was his wife lol I still haven't read an interpretation that seems really clear on the 'sin'. Killing the Japanese man seems to make the most sense but i'm not sure.

 

[iGnP]

Spoiler

Yeah IMDB boards confirmed for me it was the Japanese man. It looked like him, but I was thrown off with how sudden and out of nowhere that was.

From what i've gathered the woman in white was the same woman throwing the rocks. I need to rewatch this at some point for sure, apparently the woman in white makes a few appearances that I didn't pick up on (sounds racist but was kind of hard to differentiate some of the Koreans lol)

Best interpretations i've read agree with you. I was thrown off a bit cause of the wasps when the Shaman was driving, but from what i've read its the devil warning him of their contract, which is why right after he calls the main character and tells him he has to go home.

That lady was his wife lol I still haven't read an interpretation that seems really clear on the 'sin'. Killing the Japanese man seems to make the most sense but i'm not sure.

Spoiler

lol that was his wife? wow shame on me for not being able to differentiate lol. i guess i was a little thrown off because his convo w the daughter made it seem like he didnt want anyone knowing of it (cheating on his wife)

here's are my questions: if he was indeed working w the demon, why did the shaman go back to the cop's house (when he was encountered by the white lady)?

and what was the whole deal w the zombie? is that what happens to the people that are fully possessed?

 

[Rimbaud82]

Watched Miles Ahead last night. It wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed it. I think the plot was a bit of a weak point, as it just seemed a bit far fetched (ie. Miles and a Scottish writer try to steal back his session tape from a generic sleazy producer), but in the end it didn't actually matter because Don Cheadle's performance as Miles was so good (Ewan MacGregor was very good as well). Plus the nature of the film meant that the plot wasn't as important since it isn't a typical 'biopic' that follows a chronological structure. So really the plot just served as a tool for Cheadle to explore the character of Miles as opposed to being an interesting story in and of itself. That's how I felt about it anyway. Plus the film jumps around quite a bit between the different periods of Miles career, as I said I liked the deviation to standard biopics.

I am a huge Miles Davis fan though, and I think that played a part in why I liked it so much because I am already very familiar with his career and the events which are depicted. Maybe if you went into it knowing nothing, or if you just aren't a fan of Miles then you wouldn't like it as much. On RT it has an audience score of 69 which surprised me.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

I've watched lots of movie's recently, I'll mention some of the better ones

Ogro (aka Operacion Ogro) (1979) 7.5/10 - Gian Maria Volonte dazzles (as always) in another political powerhouse. The true story about the ETA terrorists attempt to assassinate Carrero Blanco. It was a little weird, I felt like a kid again, watching an "R" rated movie for the first time... the terrorists were the good guys in this movie. I was half-expecting to have my door kicked down after downloading it. Volonte is on of my favourite actors though, I had to see it. The ending was awesome. This short video shows the scene I'm talking about in all it's brilliance.


Burning Paradise (1994) 8/10 - Ringo Lam directed this one. I've pretty much run out of Sammo Hung & Yuen Biao movies to watch, I've seen every HK Jackie Chan film, and I've seen most of Stephen Chows movies so I started to branch out into unfamiliar territory when it comes to Hong Kong movies. I'm not much of a fan of Chow-Yun-Fat or Ringo Lam, but I saw the trailer before another HK movie and it looked good so I checked it out. It was great, brutal, creative, funny, great sets, great fight scenes, some new tricks i'd never seen before, great use of fire in the final fight scene. It was very well directed (for HK) and the acting was even good (very good by HK kung-fu movie standards)


The Jezebels (aka. The Switchblade Sisters) (1975) 7.5/10 - This was one of Tarantino's favourites and I can see why. It was one of the most entertaining and funny awful movies that I've ever seen. Possibly the worst acting ever, it's just hilarious. Jam-packed with bad knife-fights, ridiculous behaviour, horrible acting. It was a real treat to watch. There was a shoot-out/gang-war at the roller rink in this movie, what more needs to be said.


The Super Inframan (1975) 6.5/10 - A truly terrible movie, that's so much fun to watch. I loved it. This was the first superhero movie in Hong Kong. It's a Shaw brothers production. Just look at this poster... sheer awesomeness.

I don't why they have a knock-off superman logo there, it's a rip-off of "Ultraman" and "Kamen Rider"

Apollo 13 (1995) 7/10 - It was kind of boring, I knew what was going to happen so their wasn't much suspense for me. It was on TV so I watched it.

The Big Gundown (1966) 8.5/10 - The plot description on IMDB is literally the entire movie. I kept waiting for Lee Van Cleef to realize the truth, and it didn't happen until right before the movie ended. It was still really good though. The baron was a brilliant character. The parts where with Brokston were interesting.

Day of Anger (1967) 8.5/10 - I really liked this one a lot. There's not much to criticize about it. The story wasn't great I guess, and Scott transformed a little too quickly imo.

Spoiler

I liked how they spoke about modifying firing pins for faster shooting, it took some of the mystique away from gunfighters but I found that part very interesting, even if it was far-fetched that his stable-mate had Doc Holliday's gun

Warriors Two (1978) 6/10 - Sammo Hung's third directorial effort. Apart from Bruce Lee movies, kung-fu films (from Hong Kong) didn't get good until the 80's. This movie is highly praised and at the time I'm sure it was creative and modern for that industry at that time, but today... The fight scenes were too slow, the comedy was too slapstick. It didn't do a lot for me. The intro was great though.

Run, Man, Run (1968) 8/10 - The third movie in the series, after The Big Gundown(1966) and Face tof Face (1968) My subtitles were way off which kind of ruined it. They started 10 seconds behind but I put up with them, by the end they were 5 minutes behind the video, I don't even know what they said to each other at the end of the movie. Nonetheless I still was able to figure it all out, and it was still an enjoyable experience. It was deeper and more political than The Big Gundown, but not as well acted and directed imo. Thomas Milian just can't compete with Van Cleef. I'm going to buy the movie so I can enjoy it properly next time. The story was much better than "The Big Gundown" imo. The windmill scene was great.

The Victim (1980) 7.5/10 - Sammo Hung directs this highly entertaining movie. For the time the fight scenes were brilliant. It's an old-fashioned style HK kung-fu film, but with a modern take on the fighting.

 

[chickenluver]

Watched Miles Ahead last night. It wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed it. I think the plot was a bit of a weak point, as it just seemed a bit far fetched (ie. Miles and a Scottish writer try to steal back his session tape from a generic sleazy producer), but in the end it didn't actually matter because Don Cheadle's performance as Miles was so good (Ewan MacGregor was very good as well). Plus the nature of the film meant that the plot wasn't as important since it isn't a typical 'biopic' that follows a chronological structure. So really the plot just served as a tool for Cheadle to explore the character of Miles as opposed to being an interesting story in and of itself. That's how I felt about it anyway. Plus the film jumps around quite a bit between the different periods of Miles career, as I said I liked the deviation to standard biopics.

I am a huge Miles Davis fan though, and I think that played a part in why I liked it so much because I am already very familiar with his career and the events which are depicted. Maybe if you went into it knowing nothing, or if you just aren't a fan of Miles then you wouldn't like it as much. On RT it has an audience score of 69 which surprised me.

I was really excited for this but when I read that the main plot was a completely fictitious scenario I was rather irate. Seems like a disservice to the man IMO. I want a movie that balances the musical genius with the man, preferably exploring his bad side, such as being an abuser of women, and his terrible relationship with most of his children.

That being said I'll have to see it just to see this Don Cheadle performance, and of course because it's a Miles Davis movie.

The worst thing is I love that idea of a movie that explores those lost years in the second half of the 70s, so why did they have to add fictitious nonsense?

Alright I guess I should see the film before criticizing further.

 

[HUNTERMANIA]

Haven't watched any movies lately

 

[ufcfan4]

Watched the original Supes movie (1978) after years. Goddamn it's so good.



Needs to be done. Really benefits from the theatre experience.

And was the first time I couldn't see Keanu act, much as I love him otherwise.

John Williams has done so many phenomenal scores that fit so well with the particular film. Superman has got to be one of the best.

Haven't seen the 78 movie in what feels like a decade and a half at the least. Definitely have to re-visit it.

 

[ufcfan4]

Haven't watched any movies lately

I fell into the same boat for a while. Game of Thrones and MMA were keeping me busy. Though yesterday I caught a really solid movie on cable- A Soldier's Story. Don't know if any of you guys ever saw it but it is about a JAG officer investigating the death of a black sergeant at an army base in Louisiana toward the end of World War II.

It was one of Denzel's earliest roles (he is as awesome as he typically is) and it also David Alan Grier in it. Adolph Caeser plays the sergeant and he plays the character in a very psychologically interesting way. The film deals a lot with racism but not just that experienced by black soldiers from white officers, but also internalized racism as well.

Quality film that I recommend to those who like movies like A Few Good Men and Courage Under Fire.