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Movie/TV recommendations

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My film lecturer described Enter the Void as the visual equivalent of being punched in the face for two hours, but in a good way.

I endorse this recommendation, it is definitely intense though.

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My film lecturer described Enter the Void as the visual equivalent of being punched in the face for two hours, but in a good way.

I endorse this recommendation, it is definitely intense though.

Yeah, it is such an uncompromising film. It feels like the Director had a really strong vision of what he wanted to show, and didn't let things such as audience reaction, traditional narrative and general cohesion get in the way. The film is happy to be weird and also to send a camera into someone's cervix, and I love it for that. Just absolutely uncompromising. 

 

I'm going to watch Wet Hot American summer because I have a hankering to see some kids being thrown out of a van.

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I just watched HWAS for the first time and didn't find it funny at all (apart maybe from Paul Rudd). I can't understand how it's become a cult classic, especially to the point where it's now getting a tv show!

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HWAS? do you mean the Hartley Wintney Angling Society? typing in 'HWAS film' into google turned up some bollywood film with a scantily clad lady. That's some weird google searches I hope I don't have to explain away at work! WHAT IS HWAS?

 

Also I watched Big Hero 6! It was really good! Made me cry like twice. Also really funny. The sceptic in me just knows this is probably going to be a really big franchise, spanning comics and TV series and everything. If you haven't seen it yet (it only came out a fortnight ago in England), stay to the very end of the credits, there's a bonus scene which is just excellent.

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Scroll up to the previous post and you will find the answer you seek!

 

I didn't like Big Hero 6. It was trying so hard for that Iron Giant vibe, but the writing just wasn't good enough. Clumsy, predictable, mawkish. What was the post-credits scene? Put it in spoiler tags!

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Ooohhhhh, you meant WHAS! HWAS isn't a thing. Unless you like fishing.

 

I agree that most of the major plot points were totally predictable, and Hiro can do nothing, apart from stand about. And they can't say Hiro's name right (A particular irritant for my missus), but I did find it funny, and really enjoyable. I haven't seen Iron Giant in ages though, so I can't comment on that

 

As for the post credits scene:

It was just a short scene involving Stan Lee playing a small cameo as Frank's Dad talking to frank. It was pretty funny, I thought.

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I felt it was competent, but we're not talking a classic film here. It was fun times and not much more.

 

Stan Lee's contractually obligated to cameo in all Marvel adaptations.

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Stan Lee's contractually obligated to cameo in all Marvel adaptations.

 

I knew that about Marvel films, but what was Marvel's input into Big Hero 6? Was it already a comic before the movie? Forgive my ignorance. Also the best Stan Lee cameo is in the anime Heroman:

 

665798-stan_lee_in_heroman.jpg

 

the anime is quite terrible though, I would advise against watching it.

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I just watched HWAS for the first time and didn't find it funny at all (apart maybe from Paul Rudd). I can't understand how it's become a cult classic, especially to the point where it's now getting a tv show!

 

Interesting, I also just watched Wet Hot American Summer and really enjoyed it. I mean, it was weird as heck and really felt more like a sketches layered on top each other, but it did it's weirdness really well and I had several laugh out loud moments.

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Ooohhhhh, you meant WHAS! HWAS isn't a thing. Unless you like fishing.

 

Dammit.

 

I spotted the set-up for that end-joke during the movie and thought it was one of the few subtle gags in the movie! Little did I know...

 

What was wrong with the pronunciation of Hiro? I noticed that the tall skinny girl gave it a bit more of a Japanese accent. I guess you could explain away mispronunciation with the Am-Jap mash-up setting (which is underused to the point that you wouldn't know it existed if it weren't for the massive San Frantokyo sign at the start - even Hiro doesn't look vaguely half-Asian).

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Interesting, I also just watched Wet Hot American Summer and really enjoyed it. I mean, it was weird as heck and really felt more like a sketches layered on top each other, but it did it's weirdness really well and I had several laugh out loud moments.

 

I think the comedy landscape has changed dramatically since WHAS came out, or even in the subsequent years in which it became a cult hit.  It blew me away 12 years ago.  Now, yeah, it's just a series of short- and long-form sketch, with some great improv mixed in.  Totally solid, but one-upped by everything going on right now.  Everything is so blended form-wise now, though, that I think there's something great about how clunky it is.  It's nicely raw.

 

Speaking of comedy,  BROAD CITYyyyyyyyyyy.  They are my favorite and I can watch their show endlessly.  Just bought a chromecast so I don't have to keep awkwardly plugging my computer into the television to keep up with the current season.  BROOOOADDDDD CITTYYYYY

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I'm hearing delightful things about Broad City. I should probably watch it.

 

They sometimes veer close to doing that style of uncomfortable comedy, but it's balanced out by a vitality and sheer joy that just warms my heart and tickles me endlessly.

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Oh, I forgot to say, Jupiter Ascending is a giant mess, but not in a fun way. Mythology and plot heavy, with action sequences verging on Transformers-bad. I think I'm going to ignore the AV Club reviews from now on...

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He will be missed, but maybe it's for the best. Honestly, after he directed his movie and returned I wished for Jon Oliver to fill his chair again. Thankfully, we didn't need to wait long to see more of Oliver in a similar format.

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He will be missed, but maybe it's for the best. Honestly, after he directed his movie and returned I wished for Jon Oliver to fill his chair again. Thankfully, we didn't need to wait long to see more of Oliver in a similar format.

And it was good! Yessss.

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Speaking of Enter the Void, by coincidence I finally watched the whole thing last night. I was actually more nauseated by the rest of the movie than by the beginning, and it's a really long movie.

Also watched The Host (Gwoemul), and loved it.

Planning to see Mother (by Bong Joon-ho), and Irreversible (Gaspar Noe). Slowly getting through my back catalogue of films.

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I just came back from a screening of Inherant Vice.

 

It was OK. To get the good stuff out of the way: It looked like it was trying to re-create the 70's vibe, and it did it very well, I think. I say I think because I wasn't actually there in the 70's, or live in america, but it felt like authentic. I particularly liked the screen effects to make it look like it was shot on a reel. Also the music was good. Good choice Mr. music man, although no Greatful Dead? In a movie about hippies in the 70's? The fuck.

 

Now onto what I didn't like. For a start, everyone mumbled. It might have been because I've been watching a lot of anime, so have just gotten used to subtitles, or that I was tired so wasn't concentrating, but I missed out like 30% of the dialouge due to people mumbling, which wouldn't be so bad, apart from it's such a dialouge heavy film, the 30% of the dialouge that was mumbled meant I then didn't understand about 60% of the dialouge, because the mumbled stuff seemed to somehow be important to the rest of the conversation. Part of me thought that maybe this was the point, that it wasn't about the dialouge but about what's going on in the shot. Certainly all the comical gags were all visual, bar the pancakes bit. But no, I don't think so. I just think some of the performances were bad, because I could understand some people perfectly.

 

Then the plot. Maybe not being able to hear all the lines meant that the plot was less obvious, but it seemed to meander about with little care or attention. Plot lines start seemingly randomly, and are forgotten about without any real closure. they seem to tie into other plot lines, but in such a way that it seems more accidental than anything. When things are resolved, they are resolved so quickly at the end, but not at a pace, or connected, just a bunch of scenes they tacked on the end to make sure that there's some closure to the larger plot points. The film had no peaks, it had no climax, it just had a flatline of emotionless 'events'. The end of the movie also made little sense the more I think about it:

Why did Doc save Owen Wilson? He said himself that he didn't get involved in family affairs, so why change things now? It felt so out of charachter, especially given that he had the option to just take the money and run, which would have been the more appropriate choice.

 

My friend said that 'that was the point, that it meandered' when I mentioned my thoughts after the film, which is a. ) a fucking rubbish argument, and b. ) if that was their intention, then don't take nearly 2 hours to prove that point

 

Seriously, 2 hours is a long time to devote to a movie, and when that movie doesn't engage you, it just made me space out, which is ironic given that the film is all about drugs. (I think that's the right use of the word, I'm sure Ben will pick me up on it.) The ending scene in particular, was nothing. I can't even remember what the last line of the film is, or what it was about, or even where they fucking were. The film could have easily been a good 30 mins shorter, and would have probably been better for it.

 

I could go on about the finer points of the plot that made little sense or were forgotten about just as quickly as they were raised, but I'll sustain from that because it'll probably bore everyone.

 

Maybe I should have read the book or at least watched the trailer before going in. It took me half the fucking film to realise what his job actually was.

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I just saw the recent What We Do In The Shadows, and it was surprisingly funny! Well, leave that to Jemaine Clement. You'd expect something horrible and tired from a vamire mockumentary, but they just pull it off. Wrote a bit about it on Filmadeus.

 

whatwedointheshadows01.jpg

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I just saw the recent What We Do In The Shadows, and it was surprisingly funny! Well, leave that to Jemaine Clement. You'd expect something horrible and tired from a vamire mockumentary, but they just pull it off. Wrote a bit about it on Filmadeus.

 

who not only co-penned and co-directed, but also plays one of the lead vampires in a household of four

So did Taika! Grrrr

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it just made me space out, which is ironic given that the film is all about drugs.

 

It is appropriate, not ironic, you dolt!

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It is appropriate, not ironic, you dolt!

Damnit Ben you made a thread for this!

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I just came back from a screening of Inherant Vice.

 

It was OK. To get the good stuff out of the way: It looked like it was trying to re-create the 70's vibe, and it did it very well, I think. I say I think because I wasn't actually there in the 70's, or live in america, but it felt like authentic. I particularly liked the screen effects to make it look like it was shot on a reel. Also the music was good. Good choice Mr. music man, although no Greatful Dead? In a movie about hippies in the 70's? The fuck.

 

Now onto what I didn't like. For a start, everyone mumbled. It might have been because I've been watching a lot of anime, so have just gotten used to subtitles, or that I was tired so wasn't concentrating, but I missed out like 30% of the dialouge due to people mumbling, which wouldn't be so bad, apart from it's such a dialouge heavy film, the 30% of the dialouge that was mumbled meant I then didn't understand about 60% of the dialouge, because the mumbled stuff seemed to somehow be important to the rest of the conversation. Part of me thought that maybe this was the point, that it wasn't about the dialouge but about what's going on in the shot. Certainly all the comical gags were all visual, bar the pancakes bit. But no, I don't think so. I just think some of the performances were bad, because I could understand some people perfectly.

 

Then the plot. Maybe not being able to hear all the lines meant that the plot was less obvious, but it seemed to meander about with little care or attention. Plot lines start seemingly randomly, and are forgotten about without any real closure. they seem to tie into other plot lines, but in such a way that it seems more accidental than anything. When things are resolved, they are resolved so quickly at the end, but not at a pace, or connected, just a bunch of scenes they tacked on the end to make sure that there's some closure to the larger plot points. The film had no peaks, it had no climax, it just had a flatline of emotionless 'events'. The end of the movie also made little sense the more I think about it:

Why did Doc save Owen Wilson? He said himself that he didn't get involved in family affairs, so why change things now? It felt so out of charachter, especially given that he had the option to just take the money and run, which would have been the more appropriate choice.

 

My friend said that 'that was the point, that it meandered' when I mentioned my thoughts after the film, which is a. ) a fucking rubbish argument, and b. ) if that was their intention, then don't take nearly 2 hours to prove that point

 

Seriously, 2 hours is a long time to devote to a movie, and when that movie doesn't engage you, it just made me space out, which is ironic given that the film is all about drugs. (I think that's the right use of the word, I'm sure Ben will pick me up on it.) The ending scene in particular, was nothing. I can't even remember what the last line of the film is, or what it was about, or even where they fucking were. The film could have easily been a good 30 mins shorter, and would have probably been better for it.

 

I could go on about the finer points of the plot that made little sense or were forgotten about just as quickly as they were raised, but I'll sustain from that because it'll probably bore everyone.

 

Maybe I should have read the book or at least watched the trailer before going in. It took me half the fucking film to realise what his job actually was.

 

My wife and I were transfixed by Inherent Vice.  We came out of it in a daze.  Found a local vegan food chain, split a beer and stared at each other for a while before we began to carefully unpack it.

 

I loved the structure of it.  No Hollywood conflict!  Just a maze-like narrative that disappears behind you.  It captured the kind of immanence that being stoned brings on.  I couldn't quite follow it, but it felt like the main character couldn't either, so I didn't feel alone.

 

Grateful Dead probably would have cost too much to license, and I think of it as a hippie apocalypse movie.  The Grateful Dead culturally represents a desire to perpetuate the hippie culture at their apex, whereas this movie finds hippies as paranoid, capitalistic, and junkies.  The frayed ends of the cultural explosion.

 

I do agree that the pacing slows to molasses towards the end.  I started reading the book and got to about the same point and found myself putting it down in shorter bursts, so I think it's just a problem with the story as a whole.

 

Sorry you didn't like, but I just wanted to give it a thumbs up!

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