Flicks I seen

CashRules · Post by **CashRules** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 5:06 pm

Roseanne would have been a much better series if they removed all the scenes in which any member of the Conner family appears. Johnny Galecki and Laurie Metcalf may be the only two people in history who have ever said the words "Thank God for The Big Bang Theory" in reference to the show.

Cassius Clay · Post by **Cassius Clay** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:49 pm

sikax wrote:Inherent Vice is so amazingly good. I hope you get around to paying more attention to it.

And yes, quite sexy.

I'll definitely give it another try one of these days.

I've never been impressed by a sex scene before. I typically think they're awkward...sometimes titillating, but mostly unnecessary. But this scene was different. It was beautifully shot: the acting, the slow pacing(which built tension), the fact that it involved a dreamlike monologue with no cuts (the lack of cuts also builds continuous tension), the angles(the way you can barely see her buttocks moving up and down in the background when she lays across him with her face in the foreground) the cameras focus on her face(weirdly calm sexual agony in her expressions), how she tried to provoke him by trying to remind that he should be upset at her (that she needed a spanking), how he sits there passively and quietly during her the whole thing then just loses it, and how short, intense, and desperate the actual sex was because of the long build up..so many little nuances that result in a deeply erotic/hypnotic scene. This is how porn should be made.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:00 pm

Long takes/no cuts are my shiiiiiiiiiit.

For real, everything you just said is spot-on. No matter how "vanilla" the actual sex is physically, the right tension can make the scene VERY erotic and satisfying. Yes, smooth smooth.

If you appreciate this kind of thing (and who doesn't?), you should check out Blue Is the Warmest Color.

Cassius Clay · Post by **Cassius Clay** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:30 pm

Really? I remember liking Blue. I found the main character endearing, but I remember feeling like some of those sex scenes were gratuitous. I remember a wide shot of them in 69ing that went on for too long I think...with no music or anything. Just seemed like a raw pornographic shot. Maybe made more awkward by the fact that I watched it with other people. I'm really not sure what to make of that scene.

Though it isn't sex scene, the scene in Secretary where Maggie Gyllenhaal gets spanked by Spader for the first time vaguely reminds me of the sex scene in Inherent Vice. Gyllenhaal makes that scene what it is with her facial expressions, which the camera is focused on.

Derived Absurdity · Post by **Derived Absurdity** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:52 pm

It probably was a raw pornographic shot. There was a lot of controversy over that scene at the time.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 10:06 pm

Yeah, maybe the fact that you were with other people made it awkward or whatever, or maybe I'm wrong, but I felt the sex scenes fit well with the tone of what was happening at the time. I agree it might have been too long, but at least when it started it flowed well.

And yeah it basically is explicit porn, but that's not the point.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 4:01 pm

The Ghost and the Darkness - 5/10

The apparently true story of a man sent to Kenya to build a bridge for the British government. He and the workers are terrorized by two vicious man-eating lions. Val Kilmer plays the main guy, Michael Douglas plays a badass who's sent in to help. Pretty much everyone dies yada yada yada. Lots of orientalism and inherent "Africa is exotic" bullshit, but it's the 90s and white people are white people. Extremely campy, sometimes funny, mostly just stupid.

CashRules · Post by **CashRules** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 6:42 pm

The Ghost and The Darkness is loosely based on a true story. The two lions existed and were man-eaters. However, they were Tsavo lions so even though they were males they had no manes because Tsavo lions evolved in brush country where manes would be a hindrance to their survival. On screen this would have probably looked like lionesses and viewers would ignorantly think lionesses weren't as threatening as male lions so they went with lions with manes. Val Kilmer's character, Patterson, actually existed and wrote the book on which the story is based, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, and likely stretched the truth a great deal. However, in reality he did kill both lions. The lions are displayed at the Field museum in Chicago. Douglas played a fictional character, great white hunter Charles Remington, who was named as a reference to the Remington family of gun manufacturers.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:05 pm

Yeah, I looked it up afterward. Patterson made rugs out of the pelts before they got shipped to Chicago, so the displays in Chicago are actually smaller than how big they were alive.

Douglas' character was a useful plot tool. Patterson was a good hunter but ultimately wasn't presented as well enough equipped to handle it and workers were turning on him. It was interesting how Remington was sent in as the ultimate badass hunter and then gets killed.

Post by **aels** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:25 pm

I am more informed on the man-eaters of Tsavo than anyone could reasonably expect me to be and that is from reading Lion Adventure by Willard Price when I was a child (and also as an adult. No judging). I know a lot about animals now.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:52 pm

Flicks re-seen

City of God - 8.5/10
True story of youngsters growing up in a slum in Rio de Janeiro. Some choose the path of crime, others don't. The main kid, Rocket, wants to be a photographer. His first professional gig is taking shots of the local crime boss, a childhood acquaintance. His photos eventually help nab the guy and the crooked cops and he becomes famous. Or something. Anyway, it's more about hard life in the slum and how kids cope with shit. Good stuff.

In Bruges - 8/10
This one's quite funny. Dark comedy. Rather dark. It's about two assassins who are sent to Bruges (which is in Belgium, of course) after a botched job to lay low. All kinds of nonsense ensues. One guy tries to kill himself while the other is ordered to kill him. Midgets and hookers and cocaine etc. And Ralph Fiennes is hilarious. Good fun.

Blade Azaezel · Post by **Blade Azaezel** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:16 pm

I watched After Earth, A Good Day to Die Hard and Hangover 3 yesterday. You know they're shit films when Hangover was the best one.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:23 pm

Ouch. Yeah, all three of those are bloody terrible.

Cassius Clay · Post by **Cassius Clay** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:43 pm

I refuse to watch After Earth. M. Night is really trying to break my heart.

Monk · Post by **Monk** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:52 pm

sikax wrote:Flicks re-seen

City of God - 8.5/10
True story of youngsters growing up in a slum in Rio de Janeiro. Some choose the path of crime, others don't. The main kid, Rocket, wants to be a photographer. His first professional gig is taking shots of the local crime boss, a childhood acquaintance. His photos eventually help nab the guy and the crooked cops and he becomes famous. Or something. Anyway, it's more about hard life in the slum and how kids cope with shit. Good stuff.

In Bruges - 8/10
This one's quite funny. Dark comedy. Rather dark. It's about two assassins who are sent to Bruges (which is in Belgium, of course) after a botched job to lay low. All kinds of nonsense ensues. One guy tries to kill himself while the other is ordered to kill him. Midgets and hookers and cocaine etc. And Ralph Fiennes is hilarious. Good fun.

Loved In Bruges - I had no idea what to expect, and I laughed my ass off.

Blade Azaezel · Post by **Blade Azaezel** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:23 pm

Cassius Clay wrote:I refuse to watch After Earth. M. Night is really trying to break my heart.

It just doesn't really have much of a plot. You just spend 90 minutes watching Jaden Smith wandering around a forest, ignoring every order his dad gives him and being a prick.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 4:11 pm

Flick re-seen

Equilibrium - 9.9/10
Easily in my top 20. It's basically a modern take on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Emotion has been outlawed and everyone's existence is purposed toward the maintenance of this emotionless society. I know, the reasoning is flawed, obviously, but that's how dictatorships function. Christian Bale plays an elite member of the order-keeping police unit which detects and eliminates anyone feeling anything or harboring illegal pieces of art etc. Then he has a revelation and revolts blah blah blah. I don't want to spoil much. Great movie.

Post by **Gendo** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 4:27 pm

sikax wrote:Flick re-seen

Equilibrium - 9.9/10
Easily in my top 20. It's basically a modern take on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Emotion has been outlawed and everyone's existence is purposed toward the maintenance of this emotionless society. I know, the reasoning is flawed, obviously, but that's how dictatorships function. Christian Bale plays an elite member of the order-keeping police unit which detects and eliminates anyone feeling anything or harboring illegal pieces of art etc. Then he has a revelation and revolts blah blah blah. I don't want to spoil much. Great movie.

See now this would have been in my top 10 if I'd happened to think of it.

Derived Absurdity · Post by **Derived Absurdity** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 5:07 pm

I never saw that movie, because the premise sounded so incredibly stupid to me. It's like a parody of every unimaginative dystopia flick ever. 'In the future we literally won't have any emotions!!' Come on.

But if it's apparently good, I might see it.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 5:13 pm

I know what you mean, but it's not one of those.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 9:17 am

Straight Outta Compton

This is something of a sentimental thing for me. N.W.A. and its members have been key developmental figures for me in my life. Their music has helped shaped me in a number of ways. To say I went into this movie with a bias would be an understatement. With all living members' support and direction and F. Gary Gray behind the camera, there was nothing that was going to keep me from enjoying this movie. The hype was unprecedented for me. For me to see this objectively would be a difficult task.

For similarly important films in the past, I have gone in as myself and not a critic for the initial viewing, to first enjoy it emotionally and spiritually, if you will. I did that with the first viewing tonight. The next time I see this movie (probably tomorrow), I will go in with my critic's glasses on. But, from what I saw tonight, I have no doubt that this will go down as one of my favorites ever. This was stupendous. I had a smile on my face for the first hour. This shit is FUCKING hilarious. Cube and Gray have eyes for comedy, and it shows here, even with the serious subject matter. And then shit gets real. You know, business and rivalries and tragedy etc. And the heavy stuff is done REALLY REALLY WELL. These so-called no-names can act. Good holy God, go see this movie. If you aren't a fan, do it anyway. It's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Post by **Gendo** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 3:45 am

I somehow missed the mention of City of God. Years ago, someone on these forums told me to buy it, so I did. I was completely blown away. One of the best films out there.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 5:24 am

Gendo wrote:I somehow missed the mention of City of God. Years ago, someone on these forums told me to buy it, so I did. I was completely blown away. One of the best films out there.

It was probably me.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 4:05 pm

Flicks re-seen

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 10/10
Classic tragic Chinese tale of love and vengeance. Easily one of the all-time giants of the genre. I'm not going to say anything about it if you haven't seen it.

House of Flying Daggers - 8.5/10
In some ways I like this more than Crouching Tiger. It's much less heavy, but the plot suffers a little. Visually, this is probably the most stunning movie I've ever seen. Good flick.

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior - 7.5/10
Badass Muay Thai fighter from the country travels to Bangkok to retrieve the stolen Buddha head from his village and kick some serious butt doing so. Lots of fun.

Post by **Gendo** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 7:12 pm

I like and own all 3 of those, but I like Flying Daggers the most. I only barely remember Ong-Bak, but I remember thinking it was a ridiculous and silly plot, but that didn't matter at all because the action was just so amazing.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 7:28 pm

Yeah, it is silly, and the two sequels are more silly, but they're fuckin awesome.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:31 am

Flick re-seen

Blue Is the Warmest Color - 9/10
This is my third viewing, and I didn't even notice that this movie is over three hours long until now! It is quite good. There has been much conversation about the sex scenes in this film (which are rather explicit, hence its NC-17 rating), but they don't distract. In fact, much of the sex is intrinsic to the plot. It's a coming-of-age story following Adele, who struggles with high school (at first) and social mores and "adult" life and her sexuality etc. I won't say much of the plot. You should check it out.

It's a simple plot, but each stage in Adele's growth is beautifully crafted and symbolic. Very poetic.

Post by **aels** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 5:31 am

Equilibrium is terrific. Kind of silly if you think about it too hard but mostly terrific. It's also become kind of memetic in my family as it led to the christening of Sean Bean as Three Scene Bean on account of how quickly he gets killed off, and any mention of Equilibrium must be met with shouting 'HE IS THE ONE WHO IS FEELING!' in the manner of Taye Diggs. City of God is also amazing, and much less silly.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:06 am

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Indeed

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 1:58 pm

Straight Outta Compton - 10/10

Far and away the best movie of the year so far. It's perfect. Excellent excellent performances by the relative no-names. With any biopic there are going to be discrepancies with historical facts, but you get the gist of N.W.A.'s path. And that's OK.

If you don't know N.W.A.'s story or aren't a fan of them or of hip-hop in general, I really don't know what to say. It is informative, you get the idea of N.W.A., but don't take this as the full story. This is essentially the N.W.A. that Ice Cube and Dr. Dre want to show you today. The two of them had a lot of creative control over this thing, and it shows. But, having that "inside knowledge" doesn't take away from anything; it's a tremendous film.

Let's imagine it's fiction and in a vacuum. Amazing writing, acting, pacing, everything. I don't think I can ever see this movie too many times. Already been five times and don't plan on slowing down.

Post by **Gendo** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 6:11 pm

Can you describe in a couple sentences what makes N.W.A's backstory interesting enough to have a movie about them? More than any other random musical group?

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 6:22 pm

They invented a lot of techniques and styles that now define hip-hop. That's #1 for me; pretty much everything that followed N.W.A. had threads of N.W.A. woven into it, like The Beatles and the Carter family did for rock and country.

Also, the individual members found massive success beyond the group, especially Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. Dr. Dre is undoubtedly the most influential hip-hop producer ever, and probably the most successful. Everything he touches turns to gold, and N.W.A. was the first taste of that.

Beyond the music, N.W.A. affected the streets of Los Angeles and in many ways provided a voice for the kids who were being harassed and taken advantage of by a flawed system or found themselves being carried away in criminal behavior. N.W.A. was the first group (perhaps along with Public Enemy) to rap about street reality instead of just women and having a good time. This was a turning point in hip-hop, and the best example of what I said in the first sentence. They said whatever they wanted to, and rappers after them could do the same.

Sorry, that was more than a couple sentences. I could go on all day. Basically, they were pioneers in as a much a definitive way as any musical act ever. In my opinion, they're worthy of a biopic and just general interest as much as anyone.

Pope Bucky · Post by **Pope Bucky** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 6:51 pm

I never got into the hip hop scene. Would it be an interesting movie for me?

I'll more than likely (99+%) wait for cable release.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 7:59 pm

If you have an interest in the history of hip-hop, yes.

I mean, it might not be interesting in a historical aspect if hip-hop or N.W.A. are of no consequence to you, but otherwise it is a funny and intelligent movie in and of itself.

Post by **OpiateOfTheMasses** » Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:10 pm

sikax wrote:It's a Coen brothers flick about a lazy stoner who's dragged into this scheme involving a kidnapped woman and he's meant to solve it along with his bumbling idiot friend and they get into all kinds of shenanigans. Very quite funny and good. It sounds like it's slapstick but it's not. It's subdued, Coen humor, which I like.

I like most Coen brother films and maybe I've just had to put up with too many stoners in my life, but Lebowski just bugged the hell out of me. I had no empathy for the title character and I thought that the vast majority of the attempts at humour in it lacked the elegance and wit that they manage in their other films and they were just appealing to a lower common denominator.

But that's just my two cents.

Post by **Gendo** » Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:20 pm

OpiateOfTheMasses wrote:
sikax wrote:It's a Coen brothers flick about a lazy stoner who's dragged into this scheme involving a kidnapped woman and he's meant to solve it along with his bumbling idiot friend and they get into all kinds of shenanigans. Very quite funny and good. It sounds like it's slapstick but it's not. It's subdued, Coen humor, which I like.
I like most Coen brother films and maybe I've just had to put up with too many stoners in my life, but Lebowski just bugged the hell out of me. I had no empathy for the title character and I thought that the vast majority of the attempts at humour in it lacked the elegance and wit that they manage in their other films and they were just appealing to a lower common denominator.

But that's just my two cents.

Post by **OpiateOfTheMasses** » Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:31 pm

Clever response dude.

CashRules · Post by **CashRules** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 3:37 am

The Big Lebowski sucked and the cab driver should have killed him for blasphemy.

Unvoiced_Apollo · Post by **Unvoiced_Apollo** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:24 am

sikax wrote:What We Do in the Shadows - 8/10

It's a comedy mockumentary about vampires living in modern-day Wellington, New Zealand starring the ilk of "Flight of the Conchords" and whatnot. It is expectedly quite hilarious.

I just saw this. It was indeed pretty funny.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 4:27 pm

The Trip and The Trip (to Italy) - 8/10
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon drive around Northern England and then Italy eating lunch and talking. It's pretty hilarious. They spend the whole time moping and doing impressions of Michael Caine. Good stuff.

The Double - 8.5/10
An adaptation of Dostoyevsky's short story of the same name starring Jesse Eisenberg, Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowski. Written and directed by Richard Ayoade, it is of course quite funny. Also rather dark. It detracts from the original story a bit, but the central theme remains. Jesse Eisenberg (Simon) is a clerk in a government office who's basically just existing day in and day out, taking care of his miserable mother and having zero luck with the ladies. Then a new employee (James) comes to work and he looks just like Simon. At first they're friendly and do favors for each other (standing in on dates, taking tests for each other etc.), but then the new guy starts taking advantage of Simon's meekness. Simon doesn't like that and attempts various ways to sabotage the new guy's popularity. He mostly fails, but eventually finds a way, and he gets the girl. Nice, weird flick.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Mon Sep 07, 2015 8:26 pm

Flicks re-seen

Braveheart and Gladiator
Basically the same movie. Same imagery, plot, even dialogue. Interesting watching them back-to-back. Never realized how incredibly similar they are. Anyway, they are great great movies about war and redemption and all that shit, but they're like, the same fuckin thing! Weird. If you haven't already seen these two classics, I don't know what to say to you.

BruceSmith78 · Post by **BruceSmith78** » Tue Sep 08, 2015 12:10 am

I loved Braveheart and hated Gladiator, so they're not that similar.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 5:12 pm

Flicks re-seen

Rambo: First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II
I love the Rambo franchise. It's good fun. Even the most recent one. Excited for the next one, which Stallone says will be his last and his "version of No Country for Old Men". I am intrigued.

Lord of War - 8/10
Written and directed by the guy behind Gattaca and The Truman Show (among others), Nic Cage stars as a Ukrainian-American illegal arms dealer. He gets to be so super good at his job that the United States government recruits him to broker deals they don't want to be seen doing, essentially protecting Cage from any criminal charges brought forth by ultra-zealous Interpol agent Ethan Hawke. Jared Leto plays Nic's brother/partner who gets caught up in the wild lifestyle, ultimately to his demise. This film features one of my favorite drug/dream sequences ever. Definitely worth a peek. Nothing too heavy here.

Post by **Gendo** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 5:56 pm

I had no idea that Lord of War, Truman Show, and Gattaca were all the same guy. They're all great, though I'd say Lord of War was more good than great.

I only finally saw First Blood within the last year. I object to you calling it "Rambo: First Blood". "Rambo" is in no way part of the movie's title. Just like how Raiders of the Lost Arc doesn't have "Indiana Jones" anywhere in the title. Anyway, I was very impressed with First Blood. I was expecting just a basic action movie about a guy killing a bunch of people in Vietnam or something, but it wasn't anything like that. Lots of good emotion and story on top of the action. Plus the plot was nothing like I thought.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 6:24 pm

I know "Rambo" isn't in the title, but I did it deliberately to consolidate for the readers the general concept that I'm watching the Rambo movies.

BruceSmith78 · Post by **BruceSmith78** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 3:52 am

I saw part of a Rambo movie, don't know which one, and it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Dude launched himself out of a swamp or some shit like he was a goddam rocket and grabbed onto a helicopter. I was cracking the fuck up.

Dr_Liszt · Post by **Dr_Liszt** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 5:13 am

I've been watching a lot of Orcas documentaries and I have come to the conclusion that those are the most intelligent animals on the planet. I wouldn't be surprised if it was discovered that those fuckers look down on us.

When people told me dolphins are intelligent I thought "Oh right, they can learn to do tricks and stuff like a dog, whatever." I never imagined people meant "if they want to eat you, they know how and will use the laws of physics against you." It's scary.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 2:03 pm

BruceSmith78 wrote:I saw part of a Rambo movie, don't know which one, and it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Dude launched himself out of a swamp or some shit like he was a goddam rocket and grabbed onto a helicopter. I was cracking the fuck up.

That's from Part II. And, yes, hell yes, that's awesome.

sikax · Post by **sikax** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 2:15 pm

Flicks re-seen

Inglourious Basterds - 8.75/10
Probably my favorite Tarantino joint. It's super funny and Waltz is awesome.

Django Unchained - 6.98/10
This one really doesn't do much for me. Not nearly as funny as previous Tarantino joints. Waltz's character is boring. Foxx and Leo are the two bright spots here, and Waltz gets another fucking Oscar. Kerry Washington might be the most bland actor ever. I dunno, there's just something lacking here...it's not as cohesive as Basterds. I don't think it's a coincidence that this has a totally different feel from past Tarantino efforts and that his long-time editor, Sally Menke, wasn't attached to Django. She had done everything before this, helping to define Tarantino's style. She unfortunately passed away before Django was done.

Post by **Gendo** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:28 pm

Only seen each of those once, but I would generally agree with your assessment, except adding more praise to Inglorious Basterds.