Movies

Ever struggle through a movie thinking it's one thing only to realize what you're watching is an entirely different release?

That's me right now finishing up a Japanese killer cosmetology horror called Hair Extension (2014) on Tubi. Thought I had actually put on Sion Sono's killer cosmetology movie Exte: Hair Extensions (2007) only to realize it wasn't about 80% in.

Relieved it actually wasn't the right movie bc it was def not good, so I at least still have Sono's to look forward to.
 
Speaking of not good movies...I wanted to like this one, but I did not find it up to the task it set for itself. Bland and uninspired attempt at depth in a message that was shallow and dull.
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Hemotep said:
Speaking of not good movies...I wanted to like this one, but I did not find it up to the task it set for itself. Bland and uninspired attempt at depth in a message that was shallow and dull.
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I kind of enjoyed this when I watched it during Sundance. It took me a bit to get on its purposely monotone wavelength though. It plays like Americanized Greek cinema.
 
In the bad movie camp goes

Matrix Resurrection

Finally got round to watching it ...and I wished I hadn’t bothered

What a load of bum
 
Gavaxeman said:
In the bad movie camp goes

Matrix Resurrection

Finally got round to watching it ...and I wished I hadn’t bothered

What a load of bum
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kvetcha said:
I, um, really liked it
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I've been in several work and social situations where this movie comes up and I have to bite my tongue to hold back from saying "actually I think it's a very audacious movie that confounds expectations and succeeds on its own terms, even if those terms aggressively run counter to its own big-budget multiplex milieu." I feel a lot more strongly about its context and intent than I do its entertainment value.
 
gaporter said:
As someone who didn't care much for the first Jurassic World, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Fallen Kingdom was way more over-the-top and insane than I was expecting. I guess it got pretty bad reviews, but whatever. I like to have fun when I watch movies.
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My wife and I like it more than most as well, for pretty much the same reason. Now I'm hoping they get really weird with it and go the dino/human hybrid route.
 
Bull Shannon said:
I've been in several work and social situations where this movie comes up and I have to bite my tongue to hold back from saying "actually I think it's a very audacious movie that confounds expectations and succeeds on its own terms, even if those terms aggressively run counter to its own big-budget multiplex milieu." I feel a lot more strongly about its context and intent than I do its entertainment value.
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I liked it a lot. I'm not really sure what people were expecting, for the movie to continue straight off of where it left off 20 years ago or something?
 
Bull Shannon said:
I've been in several work and social situations where this movie comes up and I have to bite my tongue to hold back from saying "actually I think it's a very audacious movie that confounds expectations and succeeds on its own terms, even if those terms aggressively run counter to its own big-budget multiplex milieu." I feel a lot more strongly about its context and intent than I do its entertainment value.
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My feelings exactly. I think it's a bold, weird follow-up that aggressively questions its own existence and the greater cultural legacy of the franchise without navel-gazing so hard it stops being fun. The action scenes aren't as finely crafted as those in the original films, but narratively and thematically I think it's a blast. It feels a bit like a public scream session for Lana Wachowski.

Also Jessica Henwick 😍
 
kvetcha said:
My feelings exactly. I think it's a bold, weird follow-up that aggressively questions its own existence and the greater cultural legacy of the franchise without navel-gazing so hard it stops being fun. The action scenes aren't as finely crafted as those in the original films, but narratively and thematically I think it's a blast. It feels a bit like a public scream session for Lana Wachowski.

Also Jessica Henwick 😍
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It seemed like a sequel / reboot made against the wishes of the creators who wanted to sabotage it. What was the point ? It didn’t seem to have anything to say or do to add to the original trilogy- clever maybe but increasingly dull as it went on - utterly pointless movie

IMO !

The Cattrix !
 
zomgbear said:
I'm not really sure what people were expecting, for the movie to continue straight off of where it left off 20 years ago or something?
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A question the movie pretty directly and repeatedly lobs at the audience. :p
Gavaxeman said:
It seemed like a sequel / reboot made against the wishes of the creators who wanted to sabotage it. What was the point ? It didn’t seem to have anything to say or do to add to the original trilogy- clever maybe but increasingly dull as it went on - utterly pointless movie

IMO !

The Cattrix !
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I think the first 45 minutes or so sound like that primal scream, or at least a smirking interrogation of "what are we even doing here?", but I gotta resist the narrative that Lana Wachowski wanted to sabotage this project. Particularly this quote about bringing the characters back after the death of her parents:
"I couldn't have my mom and dad… yet suddenly I had Neo and Trinity, arguably the two most important characters in my life," she continued. "It was immediately comforting to have these two characters alive again, and it's super-simple. You can look at it and say: 'Okay, these two people die, and okay, bring these two people back to life, and oh, doesn't that feel good?' Yeah, it did! It's simple, and this is what art does and this is what stories do. They comfort us and they're important."
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Ultimately, I think the Matrix (and even more so the sequels) are deceptively corny and unashamed about trying to be about feelings, optimism, and love. It's a movie where the villain's ethos is "people like this oversaturation, and if you present them with the option to bombard themselves with a disturbing but emotionally heightened alternative to reality (cough, cough social media), and the heroes' ethos is "kissing and holding hands is what makes it worth breaking away from that." It's corny af and I love that for it.
 
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Gavaxeman said:
It seemed like a sequel / reboot made against the wishes of the creators who wanted to sabotage it. What was the point ? It didn’t seem to have anything to say or do to add to the original trilogy- clever maybe but increasingly dull as it went on - utterly pointless movie

IMO !

The Cattrix !
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I'm fascinated by your impression. If sabotage was the motivation, i felt it was against those who coopted the original for all the wrong reasons in the first place. A reclaiming of the narrative steering wheel. Did it succeed in that regard? Not entirely. But I appreciate that it added something to the conversation and brought some of the original's subliminal ideas unignorably to the fore.
 
Bull Shannon said:
A question the movie pretty directly and repeatedly lobs at the audience. :p

I think the first 45 minutes or so sound like that primal scream, or at least a smirking interrogation of "what are we even doing here?", but I gotta resist the narrative that Lana Wachowski wanted to sabotage this project. Particularly this quote about bringing the characters back after the death of her parents:

Ultimately, I think the Matrix (and even more so the sequels) are deceptively corny and unashamed about trying to be about feelings, optimism, and love. It's a movie where the villain's ethos is "people like this oversaturation, and if you present them with the option to bombard themselves with a disturbing but emotionally heightened alternative to reality (cough, cough social media), and the heroes' ethos is "kissing and holding hands is what makes it worth breaking away from that." It's corny af and I love that for it.
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EvanBenner said:
I'm fascinated by your impression. If sabotage was the motivation, i felt it was against those who coopted the original for all the wrong reasons in the first place. A reclaiming of the narrative steering wheel. Did it succeed in that regard? Not entirely. But I appreciate that it added something to the conversation and brought some of the original's subliminal ideas unignorably to the fore.
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Thanks for trying to put a more positive spin on that movie ...BUT...

The original Matrix was an instant classic , and a must rewatch over and over ..pretty sure it helped push DVD buying to a bigger audience...

Will anyone rush to watch the Matrix Resurrection more than once ....?
 
Gavaxeman said:
The original Matrix was an instant classic , and a must rewatch over and over ..pretty sure it helped push DVD buying to a bigger audience...
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I mean, you're describing a lightning in a bottle cultural touchstone, and to recreate that is a really tall order; even the sequels failed to make such a cultural and artistic impact, and I'm saying that as someone who finds them good-or-at-least-interesting. I like that Resurrections is so divisive, and completely understand how it can be offputting, but I like the way it's in conversation with the very task of going back to the well two decades later.
 
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