Seen any good films lately? [3]

Watched the marvellous Clint Eastwood tonight. Still going at a good age. "The Mule" wasn't a bad film.

Spoiler:

I did wonder if this might be Clints swan song but, I saw him in an interview about this film & even tho he's elderly now he's still got that Clint glint in his eye and apparently the film is based on a true story ? I enjoyed this film. It didn't go from one extreme to another & I felt ok at the end. I wasn't elated but I wasn't left feeling miserable or disappointed either.

Terminator: Dark Fate.....

If you are considering going to see it, don't.

That bad huh. The less you say the worse it must be

A dark fate for the series, anyway.

I saw The Lighthouse last night. I was really excited as I loved The Witch, which Eggers also directed. Unfortunately, I came away disappointed. Not because of the acting--Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson are superb as the stars of the movie--no it was the plot and editing that let me down. The movie becomes too muddled and confusing in the last half. A "descent into madness" that leaves the audience struggling to keep up.

I would have enjoyed a simpler story, told simply. It frustrates me when a modern film goes so far out of its way to make a movie ambiguous. Perhaps there was a hint of David Lynch's influence in this. I suppose if you're a fan of Lynch, then you would like this movie. It is dark, unsettling, sexually charged, with an interesting sense of time and place. Inspirations for the movie are Melville's magnum opus, as well as actual wickie's (lighthouse keeper's) accounts. I heard in a review that the movie was also inspired by the real-life disappearance of three men from a remote lighthouse-island off the Eastern coast of America in 1900, but that was not specifically called out in the credits. No trace of them was ever found and it remains a juicy topic for conspiracy theorists to this day.

That is one of Egger's strengths. He does his research and strives to remain faithful to the way of thinking and the spirit of historical settings. This is sorely needed in modern cinema, with all of its revisionist nonsense: 21st century characters in medieval or ancient settings: a Queen Elizabeth with modern ideas about women's liberation, an Achilles and Hektor who scoff at the existence of the gods.  
There is so much interesting depth to be plumbed from taking a moment in history at face value instead of interpreting it through one's own modern experiences.

The movie is in black & white and uses the silent era of film's 1.19:1 aspect ratio. It's an effective touch, giving it an old-fashioned feel.

Overall, probably 7/10, too confusing, but it gets major props for its moody atmosphere and accurate-feeling setting.

Edit: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lighthouse_2019  Hey look at that, the audience agrees with me. Meanwhile, of course, the critics are too busy falling over each other to heap praise upon the unusual and shocking. Bloody elitists.

Watched Doctor Sleep last night, a solidly made thriller and decent follow up to the shining in its own right.

It's been years since I've seen the original and i havent read either of the books so I can't say how faithful it is to the source material, nor whether hardcore stephen king fans will be pleased, but for me personally the 2 1/2 hour runtime flew by solid performances all round, a couple of genuinely creepy scares and a few well places references to the original, some of the dialogue was a bit on the nose and the first act a tad drawn out and ropey i.m.o., overall i'd give it a 7.5/10, not a classic but a pleasant surprise.

Hmm... 2 1/2 hours is a bit of a commitment.

Forest Shepherd wrote:Hmm... 2 1/2 hours is a bit of a commitment.

yeah it was perhaps a tad long worth watching though.

I hadn't seen the trailer and was unaware it was going to be that long, though going in with no expectations or previous knowledge about the film actually improved the experience for me I think...

The Irishman on the other hand I'm very much looking forward to.... and that's 3 1/2 hours long...

The Irishman on the other hand I'm very much looking forward to.... and that's 3 1/2 hours long...

if you can find it in theatres. Extremely limited release, most sold out. Netflix just sees the theaters as a way to build enthusiasm for the streaming version.

"Joker" was never on my radar, but it just became the most profitable comic book film of all time. Guess I should think about seeing it.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/joker-stuns-box-office-become-162616829.html

Rewatched Terminator 2 to cleanse my palette after my last experience

How did they manage to fuck it up so much?

{{ I seem to find myself asking that question Lance after almost every sequal/prequal/remake film Ive seen of late. }}

Its a desperate lack of imagination I feel.

So I saw Battle Angel. Directed by Robert Rodrigues so it looked great, unfortunately the script was by James Cameron. Why is he allowed to write dialogue? I was popping off script rewrites on the fly that were way better than the clunky tinker-toy writing he supplies. There were so many chances for depth and subtlety, all in the dustbin now. Only one good line in the whole movie, probably written by someone looking over Cameron's shoulder. Very frustrating.

That sounds like James Cameron!

At least it wasnt Michael Bay though.

Been watching wonderful old films in b&w great one called 'Pimpernel Smith' which is a 1940s version of the Scarlet Pimpernel with Leslie Howard. and another film called The Lady Vanishes by Hitchcock. really lovely stuff. highly recommended.

I love the old B/W films. Especially late 40's to 50's. They had real stories that you could immerse yourself in, not all the gizmo's we have now. In fact Im getting that bored with CGI over use now.

That's half the reason why the LotR films had magic the Hobbit films lacked. A modest amount of CGI works great. Too much, and you can smell it, you get bored because you know nothing you are looking at is real.

{{ Thing is many of those old films are just as full of special effects. The issue now as then is in how they are utilized.
If you take say clasic films especially the big epics of the day they are full of matte paintings. For those who dont know this short vid explains it well and gives some great examples of some of the finest matte paintings.



This technique is still used today, only instead of being painted on glass and placed in front of the camera they are created digitally and added in post- but the basic idea is exactly the same, the big advantage that digital gives over actual painting is it can be 3D, allowing the camera to move in shot rather than have to be fixed in place as it used to have to be, so not to ruin the illusion, and you can animate your backdrop with birds, wind in the trees, flapping flags or whatever and add lighting to match the real world lighting, weather and cloud shadow.

When used this way cgi is often not only 100% effective, but you've almost certainly seen it in a ton of modern films and tv shows and not even been aware it was fake. The best cgi is the stuff you just immediatly accept without noticing.

Hers some examples of modern digital matte painting. }}

Those two films I watched were lovely because of the character acting, the background locations were negligible. What did make me laugh though was the office of the fat Nazi officer in Pimpernel Smith. It was decked out in the finest 1940s fascist deco complete with large paintings of naked Arians, and all you can see is a close-up of large ladies 'lady-garden' behind his head. what were they thinking.

Just watch Narnia 1 and 2. Might watch the 3rd today. (Friday) Fun films, not great. 3 days off work so what the hell. Can't go anywhere. Pain working at the hospital at the moment. Got the job of removing contaminated stuff from the covid 19 wards and test clinic.

Hope they are giving you the right equipment to stay safe Chris!

{{ Stay as safe as possible Chris. You do your nation, and the whole species proud. Folk like you doing what your doing right now is the very best of humanity. Thank you. }}

No denying that Petty. I have a nurse in the top flat above me & a receptionist who works at the desk of the hospital as you go in, also in this block. Another 8pm clapping last night by one & all to show support for everyone brave enough & determined enough to go to work to help us all.

Keep safe Chris. Sounds like its a very traumatic job to be in at the moment. I hope that you have all the necessary kit. I admire your courage.

You are brave Chris, please look after yourself ! who else can send in jokes that are as bad as yours Keep washing your hands & then wash some more !