Thoughts on recent movies

[Sully]

Watching Moon Knight. It nailed the whole Dark and gritty genre, much better than DC movies in my opinion

 

[Lover]

I just watched the James Bond movie Goldfinger. My first Bond movie ever from start to end. The action itself was kind of boring but his way of creating an intimate frame with the (attractive!!) ladies in such an effortless way was very refreshing

 

[trashKENNUT]

Not a fan of recent movies.

I just don't watch movies in general but weirdly, I do watch enough movies to be updated.

I only watch Marvel (Endgame was the last one. Spiderman, I watch it via YouTube.
and DCEU Zack's Snyder Justice League.

z@c+

 

[Bismarck]

I can vouch for Jason and the Argonauts (1963), The Grounds (2021), and Spartacus (1960), recommended by Chase here. Someone else on here referenced Cool Hand Luke (1967) - a great photoplay on holding frame.

I've also recently watched Kingdom of Heaven (2005) (the Director's Cut Roadshow Version) and The Outfit (2022). On the first, it's an epic picture worth every minute. On the second, the best movie so far this year, directed by a novelist.

Currently snagging The Vikings (1958) also with Kirk Douglas, instead of watching the 2022 version The Northman.

 

[Lover]

Watching Moon Knight. It nailed the whole Dark and gritty genre, much better than DC movies in my opinion

Until this point I wasn't really hooked on this show, mostly disappointed with recent MCU releases. But the new 5th episode did some amazing and interesting storytelling, probably the most unique of all MCU characters. I was hooked pretty much the whole time. Can't wait to see his contribution to the MCU moving forward

 

[Will_V]

Watched Star Trek Beyond last night, first time I've seen a good satisfying scifi movie in ages. Solid male leads, (mostly) balanced humor, fairly minimal wokeism, great looking settings and VFX, and something of the serious but optimistic spirit of the old scifi era. Almost felt like reading all those James Blish books again.

Shame these kind of movies are so incredibly few and far between.

 

[StrayDog]

Exotica (1994) is a smoldering and subtle psycho-sexual hidden gem of a thriller. All about the erotic layers of human connection, and interconnected lives. Definitely recommend for those of you who like movies with a touch of artsiness, and titties. You can watch the whole thing here on youtube

 

[Beck Bass]

Definitely recommend for those of you who like movies with a touch of artsiness, and titties.

Sounds like my type of thing hehe

 

[POB]

The Green Knight - weird as fuck, but a cool movie
Cyberpunk Edgerunners on Netflix - one of the coolest animations out there...great story too...on par with last years Arcane IMO.

 

[Sully]

Watching House of the Dragon.
The character Daemon Targargaryen is the stereotypical “Bad Boy”.

guy also has nailed his fundamentals (I am trying to copy his walking style).

also do you think this is a good response by Daemon when hit with a comeback?

 

[StrayDog]

Recently watched

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)​

Have y'all seen it? I would say it is an absolute must watch

The story according to IMDB: The real story behind the world of sales. This is a realistic portrayal of what it is to try making a life in high pressure sales with all its highs and lows; promises of fortunes and deliveries of dross. Red-leads and dead-leads are to blame for life's outcomes. Living with "Objection, Rebuttal, Close


For one it has a killer cast

Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey

For two the screenplay is next level, with it's layered characters. David Mamet (the screenwriter) has a knack for showing the way that characters' choices define their lives. The Dynamics between each character and the way the whole thing plays out is incredible and it really gets you thinking about how much our own character defines our life. Not to mention the cutting satirical dialogue.

I mean, this monologue alone is priceless and it's only 8 minutes of the movie

"Always be closing"

 

[StrayDog]

Here's one for all you macs out there

1979's Saint Jack

An understated yet engrossing character study about a golden-hearted pimp with an unwavering frame. Jack Flowers is an American ex-pat living in Singapore, who dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel.

Produced by "The pope of pop cinema" Roger Corman, executive produced by Hugh Hefner, Directed by auteur director Peter Bogdonovich, and starring rebound character actor Gazzara.

Knowing this grittier, realistic portrait of the city's seedier side would never be greenlit by Singapore officials, they lied. Telling them the film they were making was a paint-by-numbers romance. They had a fake screenplay for it and everything.

With many scenes shot in a sort of documentary style, this film serves as a beautiful portrait of a bygone era in Singapore. You can watch the whole thing here on youtube

 

[Bismarck]

Haven't watched a single movie since 8 May, when I saw The Three Musketeers: d'Artagnan (2023) which of course couldn't help but show a shy musketeer who acts like a beta and needs to have the fair maiden do all the moves on him, and couldn't help but talk about rape (yawn).

Before that, I don't believe I was watching much either. Saw John Wick 4 (2023) on 26 March, a few days after it premiered here, having watched the first 3 to prepare prior, and North West Mounted Police (1940), which, if you don't mind the borderline racist vibes, has some pretty masculine dudes that sort of make up for it.

I also saw and can recommend Scaramouche (1952), Knights of the Round Table (1953), and The Master of Ballantrae (1953).

 

[Lover]

Watching Indiana Jones at the moment. Never watched it before. The flirt scene from the second movie was brilliant

 

[mist]

Watching Indiana Jones at the moment. Never watched it before. The flirt scene from the second movie was brilliant

indiana jones 5 makes him a capable but bitter old man...his co-lead is an androgynous woman.

The plot is contrived indiana jones lost his charm. I respect that they atleast didn't make him a complete loser to raise up the woman, but many times indiana jones was sorta helpless and in danger without her whereas I didn't get that sense with her like ever.

I also disliked their portrayal of him as a mentor

Hollywood seems really opposed to the idea of male mentors, authority figures

Japanese and eastern media is ontop due to their respect, fun, and less prestentious portrayals of men and women. Not perfect by any means, but mainstream western media is fucking itself

luckily filmaking and good storytelling is opening up in a big way so if mainstream west doesn't adapt they'll just keep bombing and maybe we'll get some decent stories elsewhere...or the writers will strike again

who knows but i'm sorta done with modern flicks

top movie reviewer on the forum is out

 

[Bismarck]

Thanks for the summary Mist. Think I’m gonna give this one a miss.

 

[Wick]

indiana jones 5 makes him a capable but bitter old man...his co-lead is an androgynous woman.

The plot is contrived indiana jones lost his charm. I respect that they atleast didn't make him a complete loser to raise up the woman, but many times indiana jones was sorta helpless and in danger without her whereas I didn't get that sense with her like ever.

I also disliked their portrayal of him as a mentor

Hollywood seems really opposed to the idea of male mentors, authority figures

Japanese and eastern media is ontop due to their respect, fun, and less prestentious portrayals of men and women. Not perfect by any means, but mainstream western media is fucking itself

luckily filmaking and good storytelling is opening up in a big way so if mainstream west doesn't adapt they'll just keep bombing and maybe we'll get some decent stories elsewhere...or the writers will strike again

who knows but i'm sorta done with modern flicks

top movie reviewer on the forum is out

Are you saying you have some Japanese and Eastern modern movie recommendations? Because if you do, stop holding out on us.

 

[Chase]

@Wick,

Are you saying you have some Japanese and Eastern modern movie recommendations? Because if you do, stop holding out on us.

The Raid and The Raid 2 are the best action movies probably in decades. Indonesian. Scottish director with film stars he plucked out of a small Indonesian martial arts dojo. The 2012 Dredd film was a Western attempt to imitate The Raid and the John Wick films are clearly heavily inspired by them (director has also mentioned them as inspiration). Both Raid flms are better than any of the films they've inspired. There's also an Indonesian half-martial arts half-superhero flick called Gundala that's not nearly as good as the Raid movies but still fairly fun.

There are tons of good Korean films. You've got Burning, with the friend zoned guy competing with the charming sociopath playboy for a chick, except the sociopath is REALLY a sociopath... Train to Busan and #Alive if you like zombie films, both of which are better than any Western zombie flick since 28 Days Later. Oldboy, which is just legendary. The Age of Shadows is supposed to be good but I haven't seen it yet (it's on my list). A lot of people liked Parasite but I loathed it... it's exactly one of the types of movies I most hate, about stupid people with a lack of foresight trapped in a preventable-yet-inexorable march toward doom.

Chinese cinema has produced things like Ip Man, which is totally bad ass. It's got films about polygyny, like Raise the Red Lantern, which gives you an interesting perspective into the harem system (and also makes super clear why so much of the ancient Chinese handbook for female morality Biographies of Exemplary Women is focused on teaching women how to be good, virtuous, cooperative co-wives... because that it not going to tend to be their natural condition). Ne Zha is awesome and way better than anything Pixar's come out with in a long time. Huluwa (Calabash Brothers) is a classic Chinese children's cartoon that you can instantly connect with any Chinese who grew up in mainland China in the 1980s over, because they all have seen it and loved it. Honorable mention for The Last Emperor, which was made by Italians, filmed in English, but takes place in China with Chinese actors and is just really good cinema.

Japanese cinema-wise, Rashomon is sort of necessary viewing, as the first movie in movie history to do the "different narrators with different perspectives on the story" thing. A friend recently recommended two other of the director's films to me, Ikiru and Seven Samurai, but I haven't seen them yet. The Ringu films are fun if you like horror. The best stuff coming out of Japan though in my opinion is the anime... I only started getting into anime a few years ago, but Berserk is just so awesome (the 1997 version... the first episode you will be like "Huh? I don't get it" but watch to episode 3 and you'll be completely hooked; it is so worth the ride... guaranteed you will go read the rest of the manga after you watch that). Attack on Titan is the best TV show I've ever seen. It starts off looking like a pretty straightforward story (good guys vs. monsters) but then as it goes it just gets more and more complicated... if you haven't seen it, don't spoil it for yourself first, just get into it and let your mind blow as the plot twists come.

Those are my Eastern cinema recommendations for now.

Chase

 

[Wick]

@Wick,



The Raid and The Raid 2 are the best action movies probably in decades. Indonesian. Scottish director with film stars he plucked out of a small Indonesian martial arts dojo. The 2012 Dredd film was a Western attempt to imitate The Raid and the John Wick films are clearly heavily inspired by them (director has also mentioned them as inspiration). Both Raid flms are better than any of the films they've inspired. There's also an Indonesian half-martial arts half-superhero flick called Gundala that's not nearly as good as the Raid movies but still fairly fun.

There are tons of good Korean films. You've got Burning, with the friend zoned guy competing with the charming sociopath playboy for a chick, except the sociopath is REALLY a sociopath... Train to Busan and #Alive if you like zombie films, both of which are better than any Western zombie flick since 28 Days Later. Oldboy, which is just legendary. The Age of Shadows is supposed to be good but I haven't seen it yet (it's on my list). A lot of people liked Parasite but I loathed it... it's exactly one of the types of movies I most hate, about stupid people with a lack of foresight trapped in a preventable-yet-inexorable march toward doom.

Chinese cinema has produced things like Ip Man, which is totally bad ass. It's got films about polygyny, like Raise the Red Lantern, which gives you an interesting perspective into the harem system (and also makes super clear why so much of the ancient Chinese handbook for female morality Biographies of Exemplary Women is focused on teaching women how to be good, virtuous, cooperative co-wives... because that it not going to tend to be their natural condition). Ne Zha is awesome and way better than anything Pixar's come out with in a long time. Huluwa (Calabash Brothers) is a classic Chinese children's cartoon that you can instantly connect with any Chinese who grew up in mainland China in the 1980s over, because they all have seen it and loved it. Honorable mention for The Last Emperor, which was made by Italians, filmed in English, but takes place in China with Chinese actors and is just really good cinema.

Japanese cinema-wise, Rashomon is sort of necessary viewing, as the first movie in movie history to do the "different narrators with different perspectives on the story" thing. A friend recently recommended two other of the director's films to me, Ikiru and Seven Samurai, but I haven't seen them yet. The Ringu films are fun if you like horror. The best stuff coming out of Japan though in my opinion is the anime... I only started getting into anime a few years ago, but Berserk is just so awesome (the 1997 version... the first episode you will be like "Huh? I don't get it" but watch to episode 3 and you'll be completely hooked; it is so worth the ride... guaranteed you will go read the rest of the manga after you watch that). Attack on Titan is the best TV show I've ever seen. It starts off looking like a pretty straightforward story (good guys vs. monsters) but then as it goes it just gets more and more complicated... if you haven't seen it, don't spoil it for yourself first, just get into it and let your mind blow as the plot twists come.

Those are my Eastern cinema recommendations for now.

Chase

Awesome, thank you for the detailed list!

Seven Samurai is great. I remember thinking 3 hours for a movie? That’s crazy. And I’m the type who doesn’t like to watch a 90 min movie in one sitting.

Well I watched all 3 hours of it in one sitting.

As for AOT, I agree with you. Top tier story telling, characters you care about, real consequences. I feel like it helped me understand has a the world better. I’ve noticed the best pieces of fiction do that.

I’ll add some recommendations too.

Japanese movie from 1963 called High and Low. Was impressed by this one.

Around the time I watched that I checked out Police Story with Jackie Chan, another good one to add.

I’ll have to get my dad to make up a movie list. He has a knack for finding great old movies. One I remember off the top of my head is “Jack the Giant Killer” from 1962. The special effects in it are impressive considering its age.

The Bridge on the River Kwai from 1957 was pretty good too.

 

[DarkKnight]

Seven Samurai is indeed legendary,

Btw about The Raid didn't those actors have a role in John Wick III? A rather respectable one at that they actually had him at their mercy but let him go out of respect

like Ip Man, which is totally bad ass.

I loved these, Donnie Yen did a perfect portrayal, but we should not forget the old classics like "Once upon a time in China" with Jet Li. In part I the scene with the ladder fight was in-cre-di-ble. I have always liked the Chinese movies of Jet li much more than his Western produced ones.

Also guys if you really want a good anime: Hajime no Ippo which is about boxing, but it is surprisingly nuanced. Starts kinda slow but really picks up