Movie/TV recommendations

[Patrick R]

I just watched Primer. What the hell was that? Intruiging and baffling. I feel I want to watch this again in a year or so, perhaps with someone to talk about it afterwards.

His latest film, Upstream Color, is different but evokes similar feelings. It's on Netflix Instant.

[feelthedarkness]

Official MST3K Turkey Day Marathon is back!

 

[melmer]

I watched The canyons a few days ago. It's like a poorly acted soap opera.

A hell of a lot less sex then I was expecting (which wasn't the reason I was watching it thank you)

Shot in LA, visually I found it a nice accompaniment to playing GTA V

If you like film I'd say it is worth a watch. I do wonder if the whole thing was intentionally naff

[Stuart]

It is indeed excellent. You should proudly exclaim that you think it is awesome. I've heard the sequel is not, however. Which is sad.

 

Really? I watched Upstream Color recently and I thought it was excellent. Surely not on the level of Primer, but still a very well made film. 

[Brannigan]

Really? I watched Upstream Color recently and I thought it was excellent. Surely not on the level of Primer, but still a very well made film. 

 

He was talking about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

[Stuart]

He was talking about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

 

Woops, my bad! In that case, watch Upstream Color. It's a great spiritual successor to Primer.

[BadHat]

Primer is awesome.

If you liked that I can recommend you Nothing.

Seconding this recommendation as someone who wasn't crazy about Primer. Nothing is just really good and funny and weird. Directed by the Cube guy!

[clyde]

We are watching the korean drama My Lovely Sam Soon again. This will be my third time with this 16-episode soap.

http://www.dramafever.com/drama/8/1/My_Lovely_Sam_Soon/

The main character is so much fun to be around, I think that's a large part of the appeal for me. At no point do I feel like the romantic interest deserves Sam Soon, but I certainly can see why he likes her.

I suppose I could summarize the premise a bit, but I'm concerned that I won't be able to point out what I likeso much about this k-drama:

Sam Soon is a highly skilled worker who is constantly devalued by the entiriety of the society in which she lives. Even though she is a passionate artist and a compassionate individual with a good amount of wisdom, she is constantly down on herself because she is told that she is just an old, over-weight, unmarried woman. The interesting part is that she can only internalize this so far. If someone (the romantic interest) does something under the assumption they are of more worth than she, Sam Soon just can't stand it and is compelled to confront them. Her wit and confidence comes out when opposed and it's incredible convincing when it does.

The story is pretty good. It's largely about the romantic-interest getting over himself. He's pretty despicable the entire way through, but as his history is unfolded, the causes of his bratty isolation provide an interesting character-development.

See, I barely (if at all) touched what i like about the series. I'll just mention one more thing, she explains various french recipes at various times in the series when they are relevant to personal circumstances. I love that type of thing when it is done well.

[Stuart]

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE FILM GRAVITY. IF YOU'VE WATCHED GRAVITY AND LIKED IT, CHECK THIS SHORT FILM OUT.

 

 

Jonas Cuaron, son of Alfonso Cuaron and co-writer of Gravity, filmed this little short film that shows us the other side of the radio conversation Ryan Stone has while inside the Soyuz space module.

 

What I love about this is not only the fact that it gives a different perspective on that pivotal moment, but how it beautifully ties into one of Gravity's many themes, which is of letting go. While Ryan is struggling to literally let herself go from space and mentally let go of the suffering and sadness she feels about her daughter's death, Aningaaq suffers the struggles of letting go of a pet that he feels greatly connected with, emotionally and spiritually.

 

It also reinforces what I believe is an overlooked theme in Gravity and quite possibly an allusion to Cuaron's friend Alfonso Innaritus' film Babel, which is, at the most basic level, about language barriers. The radio conversation scene and this short film demonstrate how, despite differences in language, ethnicity, culture, and religion, all of us as humans share similar knowledge and experiences that bind us. To Ryan, what Aningaaq says has no meaning, and what she says has no meaning to Aningaq. But when they both howl, and when the baby cries, and when Aningaaq sings a lullaby, they both are mutually sharing things that connect them as human beings, rather than just people of different race, religion, gender, ethnicity, culture, etc.

 

And the fact the film and the short film try to bring this sort of message to light is both moving and beautiful to me. 

[Frenetic Pony]

Frozen

 

Cute and enjoyable while it lasts, but rather forgettable after its over. Beyond the opening they seem to have forgotten about the fact that it's available in 3D, making the extra money not worth it. Beyond the opening song the numbers just feel cutesy and repetitive explanations of plot points we already got, kind of like filling in time where jokes or plot could have gone.

 

Speaking of the plot, there's few beats to it and feels rather simplistic. The whole of the story might have been rapped up in a short children's book, and doesn't have the pacing or cleverness or etc. of more modern and better kids films like Wreck it Ralph or a Toy Story. I know I'm ragging on it a lot, but that's the interesting things to talk about, what it might have been. What it actually was, was... well animated but generic looking. Cute jokes passing quickly. A quickly paced plot with no dead time, but not a huge amount of substance. Not a bad way to spend a free hour and forty five in an afternoon (or night as it were). But even Tangled, for all its problems, was at least more clever, more self aware, and on more occasions something to marvel at visually.

[Ucantalas]

I was a little excited for Frozen when all I had seen of it was that weird looking snowman guy.

Then I saw an actual trailer for it, and... meh. I don't really think I want to watch it all that much.

[clyde]

Is there a name for the thing in movies where the twist at the end starts a montague of previous scenes that are now informed by something revealed at the end; and it makes you go "He was talking to a ghost the WHOLE TIME!"

There has got to be a name for that.

[Roderick]

When that happens, the film pulls a "Usual Suspects".

[Nachimir]

Has anyone else been watching American Horror Story? A friend recommended it, and I found season 2 very odd indeed:

As if it was written to entertain writers. Within the first few episodes there's an evil scientist experimenting on inmates, alien abduction, demonic possession, and a serial killer. It seems to telegraph that only one or a few of these things will be real. The last episodes feel like an extended epilogue that says: "Scientist? Yeah, he's a Nazi and now he's dead. That nun really was possessed by the devil too. Serial killer's dead. Oh yeah, the alien abductions? They were totally a thing too".

[SecretAsianMan]

I got a Chromecast over Black Friday and it came with some Google Play credit, so I bought Pacific Rim.  That was such a dumb, silly, cheesy, obvious, goofy, ridiculous movie.  I loved the shit out of it.

[BadHat]

Is there a name for the thing in movies where the twist at the end starts a montague of previous scenes that are now informed by something revealed at the end; and it makes you go "He was talking to a ghost the WHOLE TIME!"

There has got to be a name for that.

 

I don't know but my favourite version of this is the end of this episode of Clone High (skip to like 19:45).

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TCr_7tC09U

[Codicier]

I got a Chromecast over Black Friday and it came with some Google Play credit, so I bought Pacific Rim.  That was such a dumb, silly, cheesy, obvious, goofy, ridiculous movie.  I loved the shit out of it.

If the digital version comes with the directors commentary I 100% recommend a second sitting just to hear Del Torro talk about the film itself and more generally (and with what seems like genuine affection) the movies that inspired it.

[SecretAsianMan]

It sadly does not come with any kind of commentary, something that didn't occur to me until right after I finished watching it.  I'm sort of tempted to get a physical copy just for that.  Are there any other cool special features?

[Codicier]

Sadly the DVD version seemed pretty basic apart from the commentary (I borrowed it from the library), however I do think Del Torro covered some of the same ground in a podcast which someone recommended in one of the other threads.

So while it may not be the same as having him talk along as the film plays it's still a good follow up to a viewing.

http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tt/tt130802guillermo_del_toro_p

[tegan]

I have the three-disc Blu-Ray, which is surprisingly cheap apparently. It has an entire second disc of featurettes and stuff.

[Stuart]

I have the three-disc Blu-Ray, which is surprisingly cheap apparently. It has an entire second disc of featurettes and stuff.

 

Hot damn, awesome! I love this movie so much. And so happy that two of the most critically and commercially successful movies were made by Latino directors (those movies being Pacific Rim and Gravity). Makes me happy to be Hispanic and seeing people of my race and ethnicity make grand and beautiful films watched around the world. <3

[Patrick R]

If you are into weird undefinable art films, 4 out of 5 of my favorite movies of 2013 (Upstream Color, Computer Chess, Berberian Sound Studio and Room 237) are now on Netflix Instant.

[Frenetic Pony]

If you are into weird undefinable art films, 4 out of 5 of my favorite movies of 2013 (Upstream Color, Computer Chess, Berberian Sound Studio and Room 237) are now on Netflix Instant.

 

Speaking of which, I just watched Blade Runner again. I know it's supposed to have a coherent plot and etc. But even now it's hard to remember the movie as anything more than a bizarre quasi nightmarish collage of lights and weird colors and strange noises. It's definitely still the oddest looking movie I've ever seen, not a single set or scene is left to just look normal. Everything has to look like an acid head trip vision of the future as seen from the eighties.

[tegan]

Yesterday I watched two movies! First was The World's End, which was excellent but I don't have a lot to say about that hasn't already been covered. Gary's Sisters of Mercy shirt distracted me the whole time, so I laughed pretty hard when the opening heavenly chorus from "This Corrosion" started playing during two key moments of the film. Just one thing that bugs me:

It felt like there was more going on with the Blanks that was supposed to be explored, but wasn't. Specifically that they always needed loud noise whenever they'd start a fight, like the hand dryer and the fire alarm, and the way they always tried to grab the victim's face

Second was Monsters, the incredibly generic-looking monster movie from 2010 that is really anything but. I have really high hopes for next year's Godzilla film, and seeing the director's previous work really takes the edge off. This guy could totally do an amazing Godzilla film.

[Codicier]

I went to see gravity today and i was just utterly awe struck at times. It's just one of those perfect films where the director neatly accomplishes everything he aims to.

Also feeling kinda sad. It made such good use of every inch of the cinema's screen and even the 3D was very effective, and I'll likely never get to see it in that format again.