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(08-27-2016, 10:25 AM)Kaltes-Herzeleid Wrote: The Deer Hunter (1978).
Putting it simply, there were plenty of great moments...but Jesus fucking Christ the movie could go at glacial speeds sometimes.
Yes it can. The Thin Red Line is another that just will not move.
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Godzilla, Mothra, & King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001).
I'd forgotten how fucking good this movie is, holy shit. One of the best Godzilla films ever made.
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Manhunter (1986).
Such an incredible film, hands down the best adaptation of Thomas Harris's work. Not exaggerating when I say this movie changed my life.
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The Hunted (2003).
Very underrated thriller-action movie, great pacing and characters.
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Apocalypto (2006)
Spoilers follow - be warned.
After reading about a role-playing setting featuring dinosaurs and Aztecs, Twi got curious about those things. She knew a bit about dinosaurs because of our discussing plans to visit the dinosaur fossil exhibit on loan from the Chicago Museum of Natural History. But she didn't know anything about Aztecs. We looked them up, and Twi got a bit of her study on, which of course led to other South and Central American civilizations. Which led to the Maya, and through YouTube's recommended videos, to Apocalypto.
It was the first time we'd seen it, and it wasn't at all what I was expecting. It was a good movie, but, dare I say it: overrated. For years so many people had said what a phenomenal movie it was; that it was the best film ever!
Well, no.
It was good, and we'll probably watch it again, but it wasn't even close to the best film ever.
The good: Immersion: I really liked the way they all spoke in Ancient Maya, instead of using English or Spanish; it helped greatly with suspension of disbelief. The villagers were shown to be real assholes to their chosen scapegoat of the big fellow, which was not only realistic, but was a beautiful step in the escalation of destruction. The way it went from the small scale, to progressively larger and grander acts of cruelty was a great idea, imho, starting with the death of the tapir, to the victimization of the big, impotent fellow by his supposed friends, to the destruction of the village, to the ruin and death in the Mayan city, to the arrival of the Europeans. Each step taking it farther than the last.
Which leads to the next positive, Story: The way each group had easily understood motivations prevented them from being seen as just "evil," though both the Maya and the villagers certainly were evil to their respective socially-acceptable targets (the scapegoat villager, and the captives, respectively, sound familiar?) The villagers killed the tapir for food; the villagers were cruel to the big guy for their own social cohesion, and thus the good of the group as a whole, the Mayans killed them for sacrifices to their god, to relieve the plagues and save their own group; the final chase scene was for vengeance of the war-leader's son, and the Europeans were there to spread the salvation of Christ - sacrifices to their own god, in a way.
Each group, and each step of violence had very understandable motivations behind it. Further, each step's motivations mirrored the ones which came before it, and that, imho was the movie's strongest point, and most noteworthy accomplishment. On a smaller scale it was nice to see the myth of the "noble savage" tossed into the trash can where it belongs. People are people, and the way indigenous populations are portrayed as peaceful hippies all blissfully singing kumbaya together until the big bad whitey comes along needs to die.
There were also a number of very emotional scenes scattered throughout: the scapegoat cry-laughing as the village cruely mocks him to satisfy their sadism, the final separation from the children at the river's edge, the old man embracing the captives as his salvation, the anticlimatic release of the old woman in the city, and her helplessly following her grandson in-law, were only some of them.
The acting: None of the actors stood out as being bad, and some, like the one they chose for the leader of the Mayan war party were great at their roles. He, in particular excelled at it, doing a very good portrayal of the alpha-boss-man, and the slimy little sadistic dude was also well acted.
The bad: Nothing really springs to mind. I've read there were some historical inaccuracies, but neither Twi nor myself are educated enough in ancient Mesomerican cultures to spot them, so they didn't interfere with our enjoyment of the film.
All in all, this movie isn't quite as good as people led me to believe, but it is nonetheless very much worth watching, far better than anything else coming out of Hollywood these days, and I can recommend it wholeheartedly.
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The bigger you build the bonfire, the more darkness is revealed.
Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour.
Legend of Everfree. Pretty much the Suicide Squad of MLP.
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Shin Godzilla (2016).
Tonight, a dream was fulfilled. I saw a landmark event in my life.
...This movie was incredible to see. From start to finish. It was beautiful, tragic, horrifying...I was awestruck.
I'll just list out some key points that stood out to me.
-I was pleasantly surprised by how much I understood the political aspects of it, and make no mistake, it is a political satire. I thought I might not understand it because I'm not Japanese but I found it to be universal. Many of the things in this are just as relatable to my country as it is there. Plus it was interesting to see a foreign point of view on America (that isn't blind praise).
-I greatly enjoy the callbacks to the original movies, it never once felt out of place. Including classic Toho sound effects.
-Hearing the 1954 roars and classic footsteps was wonderful.
-The CGI and puppetry was excellent, some of the best in the franchise. Granted some of the CGI was a tad dodgy, but only once or twice I thought.
-Godzilla himself was nothing short of awe inspiring, everything about him really. I'm one hundred percent happy with all the new abilities and origin they gave him.
-The destruction scene where Godzilla uses his atomic ray for the first time was a masterpiece in and of itself. The visuals combined with the heartrendingly beautiful Who Will Know (Tragedy) honestly made my eyes well up.
This movie genuinely satisfied me in more ways than I would've guessed, the wait was very much worth it. In a way I've waited for this movie my whole life, and it perfectly delivered. A cinematic experience I will never forget.
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(10-14-2016, 01:11 PM)Kaltes-Herzeleid Wrote: Shin Godzilla (2016).
Tonight, a dream was fulfilled. I saw a landmark event in my life.
...This movie was incredible to see. From start to finish. It was beautiful, tragic, horrifying...I was awestruck.
I'll just list out some key points that stood out to me.
-I was pleasantly surprised by how much I understood the political aspects of it, and make no mistake, it is a political satire. I thought I might not understand it because I'm not Japanese but I found it to be universal. Many of the things in this are just as relatable to my country as it is there. Plus it was interesting to see a foreign point of view on America (that isn't blind praise).
-I greatly enjoy the callbacks to the original movies, it never once felt out of place. Including classic Toho sound effects.
-Hearing the 1954 roars and classic footsteps was wonderful.
-The CGI and puppetry was excellent, some of the best in the franchise. Granted some of the CGI was a tad dodgy, but only once or twice I thought.
-Godzilla himself was nothing short of awe inspiring, everything about him really. I'm one hundred percent happy with all the new abilities and origin they gave him.
-The destruction scene where Godzilla uses his atomic ray for the first time was a masterpiece in and of itself. The visuals combined with the heartrendingly beautiful Who Will Know (Tragedy) honestly made my eyes well up.
This movie genuinely satisfied me in more ways than I would've guessed, the wait was very much worth it. In a way I've waited for this movie my whole life, and it perfectly delivered. A cinematic experience I will never forget.
So, Kaltes, I know giant monsters aren't really your thing, but I hear there's this movie called Shin Godzilla. Not to steer you wrong, but it might be worth a look, you never know.
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The bigger you build the bonfire, the more darkness is revealed.
Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour.
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The Wolfman (2010).
Underrated as fuck...had a pretty significant impact on me all those years ago.
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