Movies!

I watched Your Name tonight, which has now become the highest grossing anime worldwide in history. I enjoyed it, though not as much as Spirited Away, Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and others.

It is beautiful and well-done, but I honestly don't understand why it's the highest grossing EVER. 7/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0wTdCQoc2k

Tickle - a documentary by a New Zealand journalist who investigated Competitive Endurance Tickling. With disturbing results.
Fascinating and damn scary.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks movie focused more on the family. The script was uneven but Oprah did a great job with the role she chose.

Lion started slow but was very good and kept interest.

The Circle movie ended even less well than the novel did. I think the ending was a cop out and less interesting but the novel could have used a better ending too.

The Lost City of Z was epic (both in subject and in length) and competently done. But was it good?

Fucked if I know.

I should be able to say yes: the acting was good, the writing was good, it's an interesting narrative, there were lots of good things.

That said, it felt reeeeaaally really long, and I actively disliked the main character in many ways, particularly the impact of his obsession on the lives of everyone around him. I don't think that was intended though. Soo...

If you enjoy extremely long, period-pieces that involve exploration and obsessive self-centered men determined to get recognition and show the world they're right, this might be a good movie for you.

Since I apparently do not, despite it being competently done, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10.

The Lost City of Z trailer

I first saw The Handmaiden on a film festival and now a friend had gotten his hands on it, so I rewatched it with him. I enjoyed it every bit as much as I did the first time around!

It's a movie inspired by the novel Fingersmith, but instead of Victorian England, it takes place in Japanese occupied Korea. As part of a heist a Korean girl is hired to be the handmaiden to a young lady.

It's a beautifully made film with lots of twists and turns.


I also finally got around to watching Toni Erdmann and it was every bit as good as I expected. Maybe even more so.

It's about a German consultant working in Bucharest and her father, who loves jokes. The daughter is busy and lost in the corporate jungle, so to reconnect and have more time with her, the father comes up with a new persona, Toni Erdmann, that's hired to be the life coach/mentor of her daughter's boss.

It's a funny, but also bittersweet and quiet film about what's important in life. The very last scene of the film was very moving to me and hit home on several levels.

I watched The Anniversay Party and enjoyed, but wasn't overwhelmed by it.
I've been trying to find what music was playing at the scene where the remaing party goers have done ecstasy and are out by the pool.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anniversary_Party

Invictus

Bad Moms, again. Had no WiFi and it was the only thing on my tablet. Film watching is a rarity here unless it's Trolls/Secret Life Of Pets!

Started Santa Clarita Diet last night and season three of Grace and Frankie, both on netflix. It's that time of year.

Binge watched about half of OitnB last night. Tasty!

The Invitation is a mystery/thriller movie about a group of friends getting together for a dinner party after two years of no contact with the hosting couple.

Really suspenseful, I really recommend this one.

I'm home alone for a few days, so I'm looking for movie recommendations. It's at these times that I get to experiment with more edgy films so...what do you recommend? I like quirky, salacious, dark, and comedic but not necessarily all at once. I'm definitely a fan of movies that are so bad they're delightful, too.

midwestyankee said:

I'm home alone for a few days, so I'm looking for movie recommendations. It's at these times that I get to experiment with more edgy films so...what do you recommend? I like quirky, salacious, dark, and comedic but not necessarily all at once. I'm definitely a fan of movies that are so bad they're delightful, too.

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Blue Is the Warmest Color. A beautifully filmed story about being a young gay woman, youth, life, love, art. French.

Jodorowsky's Dune. A documentary about a movie that never got made, but it has had a huge impact on the popular culture anyways.

Polyester. A dark comedy from the 80s. Deals with sexuality, fetishism, religion, and the mundane suburban life, but in a highly satirical way.

Room 237. A documentary about Kubrick's The Shining. Hidden meanings, interpretations, die hard dedication provided by people who really love the film.

What We Do in the Shadows. A mockumentary about New Zealand vampires that share a house. Hilarious.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople From the same director as What We Do in the Shadows. It's about a troubled city boy that gets placed with an old couple in the rural countryside of New Zealand. Funny and moving. I know I make it sound a bit like a Hallmark movie, but it's so far from one!

The Lobster. A dark (or maybe bleak would be a better word) romantic comedy set in dystopian future. Single people are brought to a facility to find a partner and if they don't find one, well, good luck. It's visually amazing, unsettling, funny. It's from the Greek director of Dogtooth, which is another great film.

Under the Shadow. A slow burning horror film that takes place in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war. I wrote about it here when I had watched it. I really highly recommend this one, I mean really. This is not a typical horror movie at all. And it's available on Netflix, at least here!

Houston, We Have a Problem! A documentary about the Yugoslavian space program, features Slavoj Žižek.

I think I have written about at least few of these films on this thread, but I don't have time to find links now.

Seela, thank you so much for the suggestions. You constantly amaze me with the breadth of your movie-watching. At least a couple of these look like they will fit my current mood perfectly.

midwestyankee said:

Seela, thank you so much for the suggestions. You constantly amaze me with the breadth of your movie-watching. At least a couple of these look like they will fit my current mood perfectly.

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What can you expect from a no-lifer who lives in a country where the weather sucks most of the year?

I'm happy if you found something that might interest you amongst my suggestions. I can come up with lots more recommendations if you need them.

seela said:

What can you expect from a no-lifer who lives in a country where the weather sucks most of the year?

I'm happy if you found something that might interest you amongst my suggestions. I can come up with lots more recommendations if you need them.

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I think I just thought of a great way to torture you: for the rest of your life you'd be restricted to watching only the movies on a list that you would be required to draw up. And the list could include only 500 movies.

midwestyankee said:

I think I just thought of a great way to torture you: for the rest of your life you'd be restricted to watching only the movies on a list that you would be required to draw up. And the list could include only 500 movies.

Click to expand...

I think I'd start reading a lot more than I do now. Not necessarily a bad thing.

My imdb watchlist currently has about 650 titles that I'll hopefully get around seeing one day. I really don't think I would be able to draw up a list of 500 movies. And what about all the movies that are made in the future?

This talking of imdb reminded me that I should continue with the bdsm/fetish movie list again. Maybe today's the day!

I ought to pare down to 500 movies!

Got to talking and it turns out my partner hadn't seen Almost Famous. We could only get our hands on the extended directors cut and I'm somewhat disappointed. Yes the occasional music snippets are extended but the pacing is just wrong on so many levels.

A while back someone here commented about a kiwi movie called "What we do in the Shadows". I thought it sounded like it could be my kind of weird so I downloaded it and watched it last night.
It is weird and funny in equal measure. I groaned, eye rolled and chuckled my way through it, while never reaching full on belly laughing heights. The movie never attempted to take itself seriously which was a good thing by and large even if it did slip into moments of shear stupidity.

Downward Dog is such a cute show. I love it.

The Princess Bride

that swordfight!

Bull Durahm

Boys of summer!