Film and Episodic Content Discussion Thread

Indirectly related rant: I would never knowingly subscribe to Sirius/XMRadio, but due to a series of family things, I have it in my car for 2 months. Random perceptions about the audio equivalent of Netflix:

• There are something like 400 Sirius/XM stations, but something like 5 actually mean something to me and are worth my time to hear. The sheer volume of sports-only stations, godbot radio, and extremist politics stations is moderately alarming, as in, what species is their audience?
• I know from various subscribers that the business model of satellite radio is quite deranged:
  • Their consumer market (individual car owners) is heavily dependent on dramatic discounts for a year or whatever, followed by dramatic price increases (it leads to a lot of "churning," which sounds myT familiar to anyone who follows streaming TV of all kinds)
  • Their business market (fleets of cars or trucks) involves extreme pricing from day-1. It's 24/7 rape & pillage, apparently because they have no competition
  • Thus many "customers" actually hate Sirius/XM's guts
  • There used to be XM and there used to be Sirius. One was renowned for this and the other for that. In a deranged failure to defend U.S. laws regarding monopolistic practices, Sirius was allowed to buy XM some years back. The result was not improved content, but much higher pricing (of course--how else could it play out)
  • And now, lo and behold, SiriusSM just laid off 20% of their worldwide workforce.

My reaction: lots of sympatny/empathy for their employees, but bottom-line, f**k SiriusXM. When you only grow & maintain markshare by monopolistic practices and greasing the wheels of government agencies that should hold you accountable (but don't), you only getting what you (and your investors) deserve.

I have comparable views towards cable TV and Internet but will spare you all that.

"And in other news" I'm beginning a new rampage of Korean TV and film watching (one of the few things Netflix is really good for is this). More to follow on that. Let's just say that recent comments in this thread about STRANGER, the amazing Korean oolice/prosecutorial procedural, awoke my longing to find new Korean content of even approximately equal quality. It's a mission: I'm bound to fail but motivated to soldier on...

(more to follow)

 

Basically in the insane pursuit of "infinite growth" (which is impossible btw), these companies end up destroying themselves. The only other thing obsessed with infinite growth is cancer.

 

Not true!! I saw a multi-part documentary about fungal zombies and they ran around a LOT faster than the other, less enterprising and seemingly more lethargic, zombies in other documentaries.

 

Or ASR with useless measurements

 

Yeah, but those fungal zombies be blind. Good hearing, though.

 

So Scream 6...

Alot better than the past 2 films IMO. Brings some new things to the table. But still has some pretty glaring and irritating flaws that knock it down a couple pegs for me.

In the end it's a tired franchise having its corpse wheeled around town as if nothing's wrong, but it's got no more gas than the Freddy, Jason, Chucky and Leatherface franchises... all these old school franchises are pretty much a joke at this point, and the horror genre desperately needs an injection of new life to remain relevant.

 

My top 10 films, in no particular order (yes, it's pretentious af, but they actually are my favorite films, and yes, it's v much in the Western canon, Kieslowski and Bergman and Wong Kar-wai almost made the cut, they're in my top bakers' dozen, and Alfonso Cuarón just barely slipped into 14th place with not one but two films, and yes, I need to watch more Satyajit Ray)

• la jetée, chris marker, 1962
• jules et jim, truffaut, 1962
• barry lyndon. kubrick, 1975
• l’atalante, jean vigo, 1934
• andrei rublev, tarkovsky, 1966
• berlin alexanderplatz, (tv series) fassbinder, 1980
• they live by night, nicholas ray, 1948
• brief encounter, david lean, 1945
• detour, edgar g ulmer, 1945
• mccabe & mrs miller, altman, 1971

If you want to/feel up for it, please post your top 10 too! For rewatchability-factor, for blew-me-awayness, for this-film-changed-my-life.

Would love to see @ColtMrFire's lineup...

 

I'd have to think about mine - but I personally only own 4 blurays.

Blade Runner - 4 disc set I believe
District 9
Monsters Inc.
Cars

I have a ton of 'favorites' though - big Kubrick fan. I grew up in a military family, so a lot of his messages hit me square in the heart.

Bardo was the closest I've felt to being in my own dreamspace in a while - (minus Enter the Void and probably Irreversible)
No Country for Old Men - Anton
Fifth Element
Apocalypse Now - Directors cut
Climax
Enter the Void
Suspiria (OG and New)
Holy Motors
Super Troopers
Team America : World Police
Mandy
Lynch stuff / Paul Thomas Anderson stuff / Verhoeven stuff, etc.

I've never really narrow things down - Just like headphones, I try to find positives.

 

Great idea! I couldn't approve more of La Jetée (reverberations from that film are still being felt)

 

NO COUNTRY was one of my favorite films the minute it came out (saw it 3X). Then a friend told me, "To understand this film you really should read the book.." He gave me Cormac McCarthy's book, which completely blew me away. The film absolutely is great; but the book is astounding, particularly in the far deeper realization of the sheriff's character (played in the film by Tommy Lee Jones). In the book, this character is someone who sees the end of world at hand, and can do nothing to stop it..

Here's my list. It could easily have 50 names on it, but I'll stick with these 10 (for now):

• Umberto D
• McCable and Mrs. Miller
• Bullitt
• Apu Trilogy
• Winter Light
• Persona
• The Thing From Another World
• Out of the Past
• Read My Lips (Sur Mes Lèvres)
• Vertigo

 

I don't generally do lists, as I think movie rankings are stupid and don't make any sense... I can't quantify why one movie is better than another if I like them both... they bring different things to the table that the other one doesn't. Plus, my opinion of movies changes as I age, so whatever I list now will probably not be relevant in a few years. So lists are kind of nonsensical to me. As William Friedkin once said, "Best Picture" Oscars make no sense.

But I will do one because @caute asked...

8 1/2
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Paris, Texas
The Terminator
Psycho
2001 A Space Odyssey
Robocop
There Will Be Blood
Back To The Future
Paths Of Glory

 

Like @ColtMrFire said, the list changes with experience and Im far from experienced compared to you guys.

Ill narrow my list as my “favorites”. Movies Ive watched many times and would enjoy watching again. Off the top of my head in no order.:

1. There Will Be Blood
- Gorgeous cinematography
- Main character appears like the antagonist and is utterly merciless. But you could also say he was neutral... In contrast look at the presumably pious priest.
- "The prologue alone could stand on its own as a film," paraphrasing Tarantino.
- Interesting trivia: the priest's "evil twin" seen early in film had been casted to be played by another actor (separate from the priest role). What happened was on set the actor for the "evil twin" disturbed Daniel Day Lewis' method acting off-screen so the director fired the "evil twin" actor and elected to have the priest actor play both roles. Original cast would've had a different effect on the movie and story and Im glad it went the other way as its a way more interesting concept.

2. Birdman
- Michael Keaton perfectly casted. And appreciation for director's penchant and skill for making long durations of film appear like one continuous shot. A generalization, the higher the edit count the worse the movie.

3. The Thing
- claustrophobia and paranoia
- physical special effects age better than CGI

Spoiler: fan edit trailer is great

4. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
- Entirely effecting as a kid but still appreciated today for its music and moral lessons.

Spoiler: Pure Imagination film tribute

5. Adaptation
- A movie inside a movie inside another movie!

6. Groundhog Day
- The movie Ive rewatched the most in my life time. Perfect blend of comedy, romance, and sci-fi essentially.
- Phil

7. Alien
- sci-fi / horror / action goat

8. Zodiac
- A favorite movie because nothing happens, it's purely built on speculation and suspense.
- cinematography: excellent

9. Step Brothers
- favorite comedy

10. Toy Story
- favorite cartoon movie (since as a kid) and can watch again with my kid and he enjoys too

edit: fixed trailer link

 

My top 10 films, in no particular order

You bastards with your excellent taste! Putting me to shame...

Pharma, I need to see the Apu Trilogy. It's been on my list FOREVER. Had to twist that knife, eh?

And Colt, you actually picked the non-pretentious rewatchability emperors, ALONG WITH Fellini and Paris, Texas and not one but two Kubricks. UGH.

Smdh, I love both you bastards... And YES I AM more than a little jealous too.

Thank you all for sharing!! This is making my heart burst.

 

These lists are great. Mine changes here and there, but many of these are consistently there:

Barry Lyndon
Funny, tragic, gorgeous

Michael Clayton
Every actor in this movie is killing it at all times.

Seven Samurai
Often imitated. Never equaled. I wish Mifune could still be working.

Spirited Away
Is there a more transportive, imaginative movie?

The Bourne Identity
One of the best action movies ever made. I will always watch this.

Heat
Big time actors and a big time director in sync.

Spartan
A forgotten military procedural by Mamet that I just love.

Master and Commander
Crowe was born to play this role.

Eyes Wide Shut
My second favorite Kubrick.

Hot Fuzz
Always a great time.

 

Nice list! I especially appreciate THE BOURNE IDENTITY. I have all the Bourne films (incl. the Jeremy Renner one), on 4K blu-ray. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM is my favorite of this terrific series of action films.

Also appreciate MICHAEL CLAYTON, a deep character study with much to say about the law. I loved seeing shape-shifter Tilda Swinton turn herself into a legal wretch (a great role for her). Those scenic outdoor shots all happened outside of Washingtonville, NY, about 8 miles from here. There's a long shot of a very tall RR trestle bridge that's very impressive up close.

 

I like to think the Mifune character in the Matrix was a slight nod to Mifune the actor. Dam Toshiro was smokin' hot.

 

Everybody here associates him with Japanese historical costume dramas, samurai, etc. But I liked him best in his "everyman" contemporaneous roles. I loved him in "STRAY DOG," a 1949 film directed by Kurosawa, who obviously saw in Mifune the clay he could form into masterful characters and performances (what a gift for both men!). Japanese film noir really resonated with me. This was post-war Japan, straining to become more modern (and yet rooted in the recent and distant past). I loved the film.

Like American noir always did for me here, Japanese noir served as an x-ray of the zeitgeist of Japan at that moment in time.

 

"FIRST BLOOD"

drops the mic...

 

Gave you an epic like for McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Altman’s tour de force; it’s a perfect movie.

 

Operation Fortune : Ruse de Guerre

0/5 Stars

I wonder what’s happened to the brilliant Guy Ritchie who made such gems as Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch & even Rock ‘n Rolla & The Gentlemen were pretty good. Wrath of Men was a disappointment & his latest one, Operation Fortune was so bad, I stopped watching after 20 minutes or so.

The story is about a gang of Ukrainian mobsters who steal a device known as "The Handle"; its worth estimated at billions of dollars. The British government hires this guy to retrieve the Handle before billionaire arms dealer can sell it to the highest bidder. Orson Fortune (Statham) leads a team made up of Sarah Fidel (Plaza) and others. So they go after the courier carrying “the handle” an old associate of Orson was also hired by someone else to retrieve “the handle” and he sets up an ambush and steals the hard drive containing the information/ the handle, from Orson and his team. So Orson comes up with a plan to hire a movie star that’s going to help them in some sort of way. I can’t explain why because by this time I had lost total interest and kept contemplating whether to stop watching or not which I finally did.

Where do I begin … the acting is stale, especially Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza & Josh Hartnett. I’m not quite sure if it’s due to the writing, directing or the actors seeming to be on auto pilot. It’s most likely a combination of all those. The opening 20 minutes reminded me of the weekly contemporary cookie cutter television drama, action, etc. series. Cliché characters reciting their cliché lines, each character having his or her turn to say something with the camera stuck on them while they recite their memorized scripted lines.

Statham who used to bring a certain edge to his characters seems to be a parody of himself in this movie. Plaza is of course the tough gal persona which has become a predominent/ a must female character in movies and tv series, ad infinitum. She wont’ take any bullshit of any kind even when the male characters try throwing humour towards her. Her come backs are the typical overused and tired sharp tongue sarcastic & wise ass replies we’ve seen in just about every female character in this genre. The last scene I watched was with Jason Statham and Josh Hartnett, the latter playing an egotistical movie star who’s full of himself. Hartnett is another good actor who is obviously overacting in his scene w/ Statham when they’re both in the movie star’s private jet. He’s walking back & forth shouting a woman’s name (I forget the name) about who “is this man on my private airplane”, “I want him out, etc.” But Hartnett also seems like he’s just reciting his lines and his dismay bordering on outrage, is overplayed and not convincing at all. And that was it for me at that point.

I don’t know, I tried to explain my views as best as I could. I guess the easiest way to say it is, compared to his successful and excellent movies, this one is boring, full of modern day stereotypical characters which are written in so many movies lately and and certainly in most tv series. Only the story line and the actors are different. The creative, witty and original, writer and director Ritchie appears to have now embraced the stereotype, cookie cutter movie formulas which are rampant nowadays. As Yogi Berra would have said : “It’s déjà vu, all over again.”