Amph What was the last movie you saw? (Ver. 2)

I'm not crazy about films like that but have heard good things about it. When you saw you almost vomited; was it because of graphic disgusting scenes in the movie like Human Centipede or just physical violence that makes you cringe like that against women and/or children?

 

The movie is not disgusting. It's not even particularly graphic in terms of showing you even what violence there is. It's mostly a movie taken up with dread and emotional trauma. I think I probably know the scene he's talking about and it's the most graphic shot in the movie, just a single close-up shot of something that is very horrifying. It has continued to haunt me as well. It's not a violent act, but the aftermath of it.

And I have never had a horror film keep me awake, but I actually stayed up until like two in the morning after I saw it (my roommate happened to be gone that night, so I was alone in the house), not because I was scared exactly, but because I knew I would start thinking about some of the images when I closed my eyes. I finally forced myself to go to bed, but I actually left a light on in another room, something I don't think I've ever done because of a movie. There were a couple of really upsetting images that kept coming back to me that night. It's just a really unsettling movie.

I think it's a masterpiece, but, um, yeah, it's hard to recommend. Can't deny the craft of the film, the atmosphere, the performances, the score . . . but it's quite difficult. I was on Metacritic the other day and I saw that they recommended the soundtrack, which I hadn't even thought about and I'm always looking for good soundtrack CDs, but then I genuinely thought that I'm not sure I even want to hear the music from the movie again. I'm typically a person who can watch disturbing movies more than once. I've previously only had one movie that I thought was great, but that I'd never watch again, which was White God, a movie with a lot of violence against animals. Hereditary kind of blows that one away in terms of being upsetting. I'm glad I saw it because it is truly a masterpiece, but I doubt I'll ever watch it again. I think Reynar's right on in that it's not a movie about fear or revulsion, which is what most "horror" movies are; it's a movie that's genuinely about horror.

EDIT: Oh, I will just say this in terms of recommending it. I had such a strong reaction to White God, I think, because I have a dog that I love. I thought after seeing it that I think I get the thing about parents not wanting to watch movies where children are endangered or hurt. So, I will say that and I wonder if others might agree with me on this: don't see Hereditary if you have young children. Unless you're just really into extreme cinema or something.

 

The Monster Squad (1987) - Plot; A group of young monster enthusiasts find themselves having to battle Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, Frankenstein and the Creature from the Black Lagoon for the fate of the world.

Lacks the pedigree and pop culture cache of The Goonies, but this beloved cult film certainly makes for a good double feature w/its higher profile 80s brethren. In fact, I'd dare say it's the better of the two films. Its spunky and likeable young cast is complimented by some of the best portrayals of the classic monsters ever. Yep, you heard me right. Ever. Duncan Regehr's Dracula is flat-out scary and Tom Noonan's Frankenstein is a delight.

Clocking in @ a breezy 82 minutes, The Monster Squad is cult film worthy of the hype. - 7/10

 

I loved these movies when I was a kid, I think they were a formative influence on my sense of humor. I've always liked the second one more than the first because it was more outlandish.

There are a million parts of this movie that I love. One of the smaller, more subtle ones that is easy to miss is that one short shot of Ace doing MJ's Beat It dance as he enters the room.

I haven't seen either in many, many years (probably twenty) so I have no idea how they would hold up for me.

 

Yep, you nailed it, Rogue. Not much else to add.

And I don't have kids, but if I did I can't imagine I would've stayed in that theater. I do have younger siblings though, and even that's pushing it.

 

Iron Monkey (1977) Chen Kuan-Tai's directorial debut in which he shows off his favored form of kung fu. I can take monkey style in small doses (such as David Chiang's playfully silly interpretation in The Loot) or here, watching a master like Chen who was trained in this particular style. I finally saw a lot of similiarities to Mantis style which I never picked up on prior to revising this movie.

Chen starts out as a neophyte who eventually climbs his way up the monkey kung fu tree to get rid of the bad guys (in this case, Leung Kar-Yan). The story is good, the choreography excellent and CK-T knows how to frame and film epic fights. I've always respected CK-T as a martial artist, and more recently as an actor (he made any late 70s/early 70s Shaws wuxia he appeared in so much better, even sacrificing a pinky for Killer Constable); needless to say this is very good across the board.

Yes, Donnie Yen was in the 1993 remake in which no Monkey Fist was performed , so you know which one I prefer.

Every so often I watch some indie kung fu to step away from the bonkers polish of Shaw Brothers. I am actually looking forward to finding out what Golden Harvest films 88 Films get to license (I hope not the usual Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan), fingers crossed movies like this, Warriors Two, Odd Couple, The Victim, The Loot and other titles which haven't seen 4k restoration yet, get the nod. Sadly, Broken Oath will not be one of the movies they license.

 

It’s a juvenile movie written for and in the style of a ten year old and I mean that as a compliment.

It also shows kids as mean and obnoxious which I always appreciate because it is a more accurate portrayal of childhood.

 

Exactly. Writers Shane Black and Fred Dekker (Black and Dekker tee-hee-hee) didn't write the child characters as kids who sound like adults trying to sound like kids. I think it helped immensely that both men were in their mid to late 20s at the time, and not so far removed from being kids themselves that cobwebs gummed up the gears of their memories of being 12 years old.

 

‘The Prestige’

If you love this movie nothing will compare to the very first time you saw it. It was an entertaining thrill when you saw all the secrets exposed.

I think the film is the finest example of Nolan as a screenwriter because such meticulous care is taken to hide his show of hand (much like his magicians). His polarizing non chronological story telling works within the dynamic of the three parts of a magic trick.

Revisiting it is all about your appreciation of Nolan and the brilliant cast. Revisiting the clues pop out at you. It’s almost ironic that in the first viewing you fall for the magic but then it’s all about dissecting the technique(again exactly like the plot of the film.)

 

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

 

Okay I do have one more thing to say about Hereditary, because @Rogue1-and-a-half got me thinking about it and I lost sleep over it again last night.

Spoiler

For me, the most horrifying part of "that" scene in particular wasn't the visual shot of the aftermath, but Annie's reaction to her discovery. Beginning with the close up shot of Peter (by the way, what a performance by that young man) as you dreadfully listen to her walk to the car, and hear her realize what she's seeing. And then after "that" shot, when she's on the floor in her bedroom... Toni Collette is an absolute force in the movie, but that might be the most haunting piece of acting I've ever seen. It's too well done. That entire sequence is just masterfully constructed.

And this might be a silly thing, but for years I've kept every ticket stub I've gotten from the theater when I go see a movie. I tore up my stub for Hereditary and threw it in the garbage this morning.

 

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone (2016)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5937962/

 

Stone's work on the Vietnam and Korean wars (e.g. Vietnam: An Exercise in Self-Delusion, The Secret History of the Korean War) is legendary. He was a true hero and patriot.

 

Secret Service of the Imperial Court (1984) when I got back into Shaw Brothers movies three years ago, this was the first one I watched. The title unit are a platoon of executioners who kill anyone who speak out against the Emperor (actually the Emperor’s Eunuch in Chief); eventually the Sgt of the unit Zhao Bufa rebels and must go on the run, but not before other members of his family and noble peers are cut down.

Ultimately, good triumphs over evil as expected. Most of the cast are excellent (I still loathe Lau Wing as Eunuch Wang, he’s so perfectly corrupt and such a skank so that says something about his acting ability. His character’s fight style is laughable though), but this is all about Leung Kar-Yan, Lo Mang and Pai Piao (I also spotted some other faves and frequent SB players this time). This trio give it all they’ve got acting wise and while the pseudo Japanese style story may have infected the fighting just a bit, I still dig this movie for them. BTW this and his cameo in Human Lanterns, I think these were former Venom Lo Mang’s best performances.

Of course, watching this makes me wish that SB did not ignore Leung Kar-Yan, but their loss was Golden Harvest’s gain as Sammo Hung took LK-Y under his wings and made some of the most enjoyable indie fu films with LK-T (also known as Beardy.)

 

You're absolutely right. I saw Alex Woolf last year in a movie called My Friend Dahmer where he played a friend of, well, infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and I thought Woolf's performance was far and away the best thing in the movie, eclipsing even the performance of the actor who played the young Dahmer. With his performance in Hereditary, which is far better even than his quite good performance in Dahmer, I think he's officially on my list of young actors to watch. I reckon he's headed for great things.

Spoiler

And I agree with you really on the most awful part of the scene being Collette's reaction. It's the kind of movie that will never get nominated for an Oscar, but if she's not my pick for best female performance at the end of the year, I'll eat my hat. I mean, it's not as though she has an undistinguished career, but this is a once in a lifetime performance. Her screams in that scene, her off-camera screams . . . they are soul-rending. Just deeply soul-shaking.

But I suppose we'd better stop talking about it, if you're losing sleep again.

 

The Death of Stalin (2017)
Dark and brutal but also very funny. Excellent cast.

 

The American President


In a word: Poignant

Like Jerry McGuire, The American President markets itself as a romantic film, but overall, the film is deeply layered in the "business" aspects of the story. In the case with The American President, the film does a really nice job of providing alot of drama of American politics; from the roles of lobbyists and getting votes in congress; to public opinion and the president's approval rating; as well as mud slinging from a presidential candidate.

Michael Douglas plays a president that most of Americans (non-Trump supporters) would want in the Oval Office, as in one of the film's most subtle dramatic moments, the president says:

Leon, somewhere in Libya right now, a janitor's working the night shift at Libyan Intelligence Headquarters. He's going about doing his job... because he has no idea, in about an hour he's going to die in a massive explosion. He's just going about his job, because he has no idea that about an hour ago I gave an order to have him killed. You've just seen me do the least Presidential thing I do.
​

There so many quotes and instances in this film that allow the audience to admire the President of the U.S., as oppose to real life one right now.

The American President is one of my favorite films, and I love watching more now than any other time.

​

 

Benning and Richard Dreyfuss are great in that movie.

 

^ I totally agree. I also love Martin Sheen's performance in the film, especially since his character doesn't break with the formalities when addressing the President, even though they've been friends for a very long time.

 

And then becomes President himself a few short years later.

 

I had my first Ghostbusters marathon and it was a blast.
The original Ghostbusters is one of my all time favorite films. I can't even remember how many times I've watched it; at least 30 or 40 by now.
And I noticed something for the first time the other day.
There is a long shot over Peck's shoulder when he is interrogating Peter, and you can see Janine peeking around her computer to eaves drop.
Also, Sigourney seems to break character once or twice, laughing at Louis Tully in the hallway at one point, and at Lincoln Center, she laughs at Peter. It's pretty cute to see, tbh. I love her portrayal of Dana.
Anyhow, I could go on praising Ghostbusters, but I'll stop.

I like Ghostbusters 2. Not nearly as much as the original, but it's a very funny movie. I love seeing the guys new careers at the beginning; Ray's Occult Books, Peter's World of the Psychic, and Egon is working at Columbia again, doing scientific research. Winston and Ray take jobs at parties playing the Ghostbusters.
Louis and Janine's romance is cute too. I've watched this one a lot in the last 5 years after having only seen it once, ages ago. It's grown on me. It's nice to spend time with all those characters again.

I also watched the reboot, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call. This is a fun movie and the actors are all great comedians. Kate McKinnon steals the show, imo. She is hilarious. There is good chemistry between the cast. The villain is weak, however, which hurts the plot. The cgi didn't bother me, but the practical effects in the original are much better. I kept an open mind about this reboot and loved it at first. After seeing it a few times, I didn't laugh as much this last viewing.

It's good for a modern take on the story, with an updated, less subtle style of humor and delivery, but the first two hold up better for me, and the original is one of the best films of the 1980s.

 

You can keep praising. I love Rick Moranis and Sigourney together. The whole gate keeper keymaster bit is priceless.

 

Amy Muller (1896) – William Heise

Amy Muller was a famous Vaudevillian dancer and she performs part of her dance routine here. It’s pretty silly. 0 stars.

tl;dr – 0 stars.