BTBR is all shiny, shiny surfaces and killer soundtrack. it may be a bizarro coming-out allegory - or it may just be a shiny, shiny load of reverent/referential bullshit. or a little of both. it would be fun to see on the big screen.
― silent ouzo eclipse (Mr. Hal Jam), Friday, 1 June 2012 16:44 (twelve years ago) link
The title of S&Man is too clever and never fails to confuse me before I remember what it means. Good movie, though, and the everyguy main subject is pretty convincing, whether it's total acting or not.
― The Thnig, Friday, 1 June 2012 16:46 (twelve years ago) link
agreed. and it is. fortunately.
― silent ouzo eclipse (Mr. Hal Jam), Friday, 1 June 2012 16:47 (twelve years ago) link
that final S&Man tape. (shudder).
― silent ouzo eclipse (Mr. Hal Jam), Friday, 1 June 2012 16:49 (twelve years ago) link
<3 Beyond the Black Rainbow, so much. Conversely, kinda hated Rabies.
― Simon H., Friday, 1 June 2012 17:10 (twelve years ago) link
huh. what did you find to love about BtBR? i've been tryin'.
― silent ouzo eclipse (Mr. Hal Jam), Friday, 1 June 2012 17:12 (twelve years ago) link
Besides that it's visually stunning and has a great analog-synth soundtrack, I find it inscrutable in the best way, throwing out just coherent enough a narrative - complete with a year-specific flashback! - to suggest readings without throwing any in your face. Plus, great villain.
― Simon H., Friday, 1 June 2012 17:15 (twelve years ago) link
that just wasn't enough for me. all the films to which it alludes had meat on their bones. Cosmatos just served up the carcasses on a pretty plate. with a side of mint jelly.
soundtrack is awesome, i concur. was shocked that it wasn't done by Lopatin.
― silent ouzo eclipse (Mr. Hal Jam), Friday, 1 June 2012 17:19 (twelve years ago) link
It was done by a member of Black Mountain, I believe. Shame it didn't get a commercial release.
― Simon H., Friday, 1 June 2012 17:21 (twelve years ago) link
The main thing I hated about Rabies was the editing - that whole, "build to a claimax in one setting then cut to the other setting instead" thing they were doing through the whole thing felt like a cheap TV move.
― Simon H., Friday, 1 June 2012 17:24 (twelve years ago) link
*climax
yep. Sinoia Caves (Jeremy Schmidt of BM). i'm hoping for at least an isolated track on the Blu-ray. c'mon, Magnet.
― silent ouzo eclipse (Mr. Hal Jam), Friday, 1 June 2012 17:25 (twelve years ago) link
Wake Wood 3 nights ago. Had me in under its spell for about 30-45 minutes, then became useless. Timothy Spall as classic villager-who-knows-dark-secrets A+, pretty sweet percussion + synth score, neat specifics to the horrid ritual, but overall dudsville. By the time of the OMG Coda I did not care at all.
― but he go's to a resturang and then die in a toilet (Jon Lewis), Friday, 1 June 2012 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
i liked that about Rabies. lent a loping, off-kilter feel to film that underscored the unpredictable way each scenario played out.
― silent ouzo eclipse (Mr. Hal Jam), Friday, 1 June 2012 17:29 (twelve years ago) link
By the seventeenth cut-away I just stopped giving a shit, I think.
I think BTBR was bolstered for me thanks to my mental pairing of it w/ another Canadian mindfuck - though not at all horror - which I saw at the same fest, Daniel Cockburn's You Are Here.
― Simon H., Friday, 1 June 2012 17:43 (twelve years ago) link
The title of S&Man is too clever
That's part of its genius. Even the titular character complains that nobody gets it, and they keep confusing it for S&M Man.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 1 June 2012 18:00 (twelve years ago) link
That's part of its genius. Even the titular character complains that nobody gets it, and they keep confusing it for S&M Man
I'd forgotten that. Still, though, for someone trying to choose a movie on Netflix, it's like "huh?" Until later, when it's "ahhh, ok."
I rather liked Wake Wood when I saw it, though now I remember nothing except that very good "birth" scene.
― The Thnig, Friday, 1 June 2012 18:07 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah... sometimes a good front half and nice grotesque/arabesque details are enough for me. In Wake Wood's case, nah.
― but he go's to a resturang and then die in a toilet (Jon Lewis), Friday, 1 June 2012 18:12 (twelve years ago) link
i posted about both of these in the horror results thread and then realized that they really had no business in there so
Trouble Every Day hmmmmm, kind of confused what people see in this movie really, mostly because oh man vincent gallo is really at his most inept and terrible in this movie, and thats saying something. ive heard theories that his wooden idiocy is intentional here, but i dont buy it.
Amer really exceptional and fantastic, scratches the same itches that Strange Circus and Anguish and Hausu do for me - i say if you want to do art-house horror go all in, and thats just what this does. i dont think i have a single criticism about anything this movie did, and i hope everyone sees it asap
― I want L'interieur chicken, not Hausu chicken (jjjusten), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:34 (twelve years ago) link
Is Amer available on streaming (will try to remember to check when I get home)
― Convert simple JEEZ to BDSMcode (Austerity Ponies), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 19:51 (twelve years ago) link
not afaik, i think you have to get it on disc
― I want L'interieur chicken, not Hausu chicken (jjjusten), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:05 (twelve years ago) link
some more stuff, including one surprising gem. and some okness.
yellowbrickroad - amateur awesomeness, despite an ending that i am fairly eh about. totally fantastic sound design in which the soundtrack is the antagonist both for the viewer and the characters. yeah i know, that doesnt seem to make any sense but just trust me, watch it, its a great movie and a total surprise. might appeal to the pontypool crowd. streaming netflix fyi.
absentia - another somebody has gone missing but why film which yeah is kinda done to death at this point, but theres some pretty solid acting and writing going on here. the jump scares start to evolve into something more forboding fairly early at which point the film hits a pretty nice balance between psychology and spookifying, with at least one very cerebral and subtle "oh shit" moment towards the end. i dug it.
the disappeared - and another missing person thing, british, well acted but sorta wandering around in search of a hook and you can feel that most of the way through. ending is off the rails and not really set up or justified well including a gotcha moment at the very end that might maybe surprise really really stupid people that didnt figure it out about 15 minutes into the movie. pretty aimless, pretty dull. also on netflix streaming but eh dont bother unless you are hoping for a mashup of a dumber sixth sense and a tame kids in trouble film. bleh.
― I want L'interieur chicken, not Hausu chicken (jjjusten), Thursday, 14 June 2012 19:45 (twelve years ago) link
Playback (2012) is on streaming now. It looks dumb. Is it?
― Lewis Apparition (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 14 June 2012 19:57 (twelve years ago) link
well, christian slater is in it.
― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 14 June 2012 20:01 (twelve years ago) link
i mean i havent seen it but a brief imdb etc spin makes it look pretty bad
― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 14 June 2012 20:04 (twelve years ago) link
Is that the one where Christian Slater's career just looms in the background making people unspeakably depressed?
― nuts spats (Austerity Ponies), Thursday, 14 June 2012 20:06 (twelve years ago) link
christian slaters career is too small to loom at this point
― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 14 June 2012 21:42 (twelve years ago) link
maybe it tapdances behind the radiator
yellowbrickroad also has a little lynch going on, various scenes work pretty well at getting a more straight forward inland empire sort of vibe, although one of the missteps of the ending is having a little too much lynch without nearly enough idea behind it. also, the first time i watched it i gave up because of a totally hamfisted moment with a movie ticket seller, but its worth soldiering through that and getting to the meat of the movie i think.
― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 14 June 2012 22:17 (twelve years ago) link
so anyone else see the Fright Night remake? i was pleasantly surprised, because its not half bad, david tennant in particular does the scenery gnawing just about perfectly.
― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Wednesday, 27 June 2012 16:22 (twelve years ago) link
I thought it was actually better than the original, but never thought much of the '85 version. Colin Ferrell tears it up as the knowing anti-Edward.
― old people are made of poop (Eric H.), Wednesday, 27 June 2012 16:26 (twelve years ago) link
V SLIGHT SPOILER
yeah agreed, in particular i liked the fast shift in tone from sleazy charmer to unstoppable force of destruction once he isnt invited into the house. its nice to be reminded about how good he can be when he isnt picking shitty movies to be in. i do feel bad for mintz-platz tho, that dude is never going to escape the mclovin trap. and to be fair he was kinda useless in this, i almost wondered if they cast him just so they could put him in the trailers/on the marquee as a "hey america its kind of a comedy too!" signifier.
― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Wednesday, 27 June 2012 17:02 (twelve years ago) link
I thought The Pact was more effective than 90% of the rubbish i've sat through recently. Not totally amazing but not a waste of an hour and a half.
― Temporarily Famous In The Czech Republic (ShariVari), Saturday, 30 June 2012 12:56 (twelve years ago) link
Saw Splice last night. Filmmakers were so into the idea of making a horror movie that was actually an allegory for the effect of childbirth on young married couples that they forgot to include the horror movie.
― Three Word Username, Saturday, 30 June 2012 17:18 (twelve years ago) link
Hmm, "Fright Night" remake a weird hybrid: it's both smarter and stupider than the original.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 July 2012 16:04 (twelve years ago) link
coincidentally, my wife and i tried to watch it last night. Script seemed fine and so did Colin, but the lead was really uncharismatic and the direction really flat and cold. Only got like 20 minutes in, but gonna try again tonight in case it picks up.
― da croupier, Monday, 2 July 2012 16:29 (twelve years ago) link
and yeah, didn't even remember david tennant would show up eventually
― da croupier, Monday, 2 July 2012 16:30 (twelve years ago) link
It sort of picks up, in a ruthlessly efficient sort of way that sets it apart from the original, but it feels like several pages of script still went unaccounted for.
Amusing the number of non-American leads in this: Colin, Tennant, Poots (ha, Poots), Collette, and then the American lead just happens to be the son of two famous Russian refugees.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 July 2012 16:34 (twelve years ago) link
Setting this in Vegas is brilliant, though.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 July 2012 16:36 (twelve years ago) link
Would sort of be happy, tho, to not see any more horror movies set against the backdrop of mortgage crisis.
― old people are made of poop (Eric H.), Monday, 2 July 2012 16:39 (twelve years ago) link
watched sleep tight (from the director of rec) over the weekend - really good! even tho the plot seems a bit played out
― just sayin, Monday, 2 July 2012 16:55 (twelve years ago) link
xpost Have their been a lot? I thought Vegas was perfect because not only is it nightlife-centric and full of transient workers, but it's also a housing crisis epicenter!
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 July 2012 17:29 (twelve years ago) link
Cabin in the Woods still on multiple viewings
― Fiendish Doctor Wu! (kingfish), Monday, 2 July 2012 19:04 (twelve years ago) link
yeah agreed, in particular i liked the fast shift in tone from sleazy charmer to unstoppable force of destruction once he isnt invited into the house
watching it now. This aspect is good, but aside from Colin, the film seems directed by a robot (the teal and orange color grading and muttermutter-BOOM sound mixing doesn't help either). A better lead (not that "Mom, girlfriend, I'm sorry I'm a dick but you have to do what I say without asking me to give a sentence of explanation!" is an easy role to play) and a better director and this could have been classic.
― da croupier, Wednesday, 4 July 2012 04:49 (twelve years ago) link
ok the irony of a movie written by a former Buffy showrunner ending with a rote "charmless finally can relax and fuck his long-suffering girlfriend" was just compounded by the decision to put a country version of "99 Problems" over the credits (and when was the last time a decent movie ended with random shots from the movie over the credits?).
― da croupier, Wednesday, 4 July 2012 05:20 (twelve years ago) link
seriously, i can't think of a time where there were clips from the movie over the closing credits and I was grateful for the memories of 30 minute past
― da croupier, Wednesday, 4 July 2012 05:21 (twelve years ago) link
saw the new fright night a while ago. it's effective and smart, and colin farrell is great in it, but i thought it lacked personality. the original succeeds not because it's a "good movie", but because it's clever, affectionate, buried in period drag and deeply weird. i love the way it stretches and eroticizes certain moments (especially the dance seduction, which makes sense, but also ed's death, which is just bizarre), causing them to pop out from the rest of the movie like windows into a much stranger world. it really seems to care about its characters and about nerdy horror fandom, where the remake seems distinctly embarrassed by such enthusiasms.
― contenderizer, Wednesday, 4 July 2012 05:25 (twelve years ago) link
and though i like david tennant, his character was all but useless here, and we never really understood why the protagonist would seek his help
― contenderizer, Wednesday, 4 July 2012 05:26 (twelve years ago) link
we never understood why the protagonist did anything
― da croupier, Wednesday, 4 July 2012 05:32 (twelve years ago) link
That's what I meant about it being smarter and stupider than the original. Pros include the vamp played by Colin, not as a yuppie but as a work-by-night bro. Also, setting a vampire fight in a gallery full of anti-vampire tools. But the rest is pretty half-assed. Like, the Ed character, he knows Jerry is a vampire from minute one, but why would he even suspect? And then I like the fact that his mom and girlfriend both find out the truth midmovie in the most overt manner possible, Jerry's psycho freakout, but then what? What happens to the mom? Is she just lying in the hospital? Girlfriend should have stayed there, too. If you have to have faith to use a crucifix, does that mean a crucifix just plastered on the wall does no good? How did David Tennant know anything about this particular breed of vampire? Etc. And the last few beats of the movie are terrible. If ever a flick needed a fake-out second ending it was this one.
Anyway, like I said, feels like it was missing a few pages of script somewhere, like a reel got misplaced.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 4 July 2012 14:03 (twelve years ago) link