Movies
- Thread starter gouis
- Start date
Bohnjaggs
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I thought it could have been a lot shorter.
EvanBenner
Well-Known Member
Closed out last night with The Super Mario Bros. Movie since it's now on Peacock. Consider me unimpressed.
Hemotep
Well-Known Member
He was one of my cousin's elementary school teachers. I met him as a kid and then again at a book signing in Portland when I was 19. We ended up getting lunch together and he invited me to visit his family in the mountains when I went back to Colorado. I never hit him up though, but hung out with his daughter a few times. It was sad to see the crash.
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EvanBenner
Well-Known Member
Anwar's original sequel is quite good too!
Hemotep
Well-Known Member
That's next on my list!
LeSamourai
Well-Known Member
I went to Orson Scott Card's alma mater, and worked at the university bookstore, including some signings with him, and he was always super nice and gracious to all the fans who came and to us employees... I'm kind of glad I didn't know anything about his political postings and anti-gay marriage activism at the time, because I later learned about stuff... and yeesh...
The Denmarkian Wonder
Well-Known Member
mdmost
Well-Known Member
Oldest is now obsessed with Cillain Murphy after Oppenheimer so we popped in this one that she hasn't seen before.
Of course, this line brought the excitement.
So I forgot we owned this on Blu-ray. We initially started watching on HBO Max but had to jack the volume up really high to even hear the actors which made the music almost too much. Switched to the Blu-ray and it was night and day as far as audio. Crystal clear and about 15 clicks down (65 vs. 80) on the volume knob. Why is streaming audio so lousy? I had it on Dolby Digital. Do I need to check the Apple TV settings?
Of course, this line brought the excitement.
So I forgot we owned this on Blu-ray. We initially started watching on HBO Max but had to jack the volume up really high to even hear the actors which made the music almost too much. Switched to the Blu-ray and it was night and day as far as audio. Crystal clear and about 15 clicks down (65 vs. 80) on the volume knob. Why is streaming audio so lousy? I had it on Dolby Digital. Do I need to check the Apple TV settings?
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The Denmarkian Wonder
Well-Known Member
EvanBenner
Well-Known Member
Quick Popcorn Frights roundup:
Saint Drogo (cosmic/folk horror) – The creators of campy drag slasher Death Drop Gorgeous take on eldritch, small town horror in off-season Provincetown, Massachusetts. A gay couple whose relationship is on the rocks travels to P-Town for some restoration—and also to find one of their exes who has gone unusually AWOL. Lots to like about this one! (An uncommon example of Lovecraftian horror done well.)
I'm particularly appreciating Popcorn Fright's deliberate attention to explicit LGBTQ+ programming as a Floridian genre festival.
Sorry, Charlie (suspenseful, single location horror) – An assault victim (Charlie) thinks her attacker from months prior (who lured women with the sounds of crying babies) is still at large despite a suspect being behind bars. His voice begins to haunts her as she volunteers on a crisis hotline from the safety of her home.
This is a whip-smart, paranoia-inducing movie grounded by a spectacular lead performance. Super engaging and satisfying. Fave of the fest so far. (World premiere!)
Animated Shorts Block – Eight unique short films. My favorite was the felt figure stop motion offering Skinned (Écorchée), with honorable mentions to Vulvina Queen of Ecstasy (reminiscent of Belladonna of Sadness), and morbidly humored paper stop motion The Undertaker.
Saint Drogo (cosmic/folk horror) – The creators of campy drag slasher Death Drop Gorgeous take on eldritch, small town horror in off-season Provincetown, Massachusetts. A gay couple whose relationship is on the rocks travels to P-Town for some restoration—and also to find one of their exes who has gone unusually AWOL. Lots to like about this one! (An uncommon example of Lovecraftian horror done well.)
I'm particularly appreciating Popcorn Fright's deliberate attention to explicit LGBTQ+ programming as a Floridian genre festival.
Sorry, Charlie (suspenseful, single location horror) – An assault victim (Charlie) thinks her attacker from months prior (who lured women with the sounds of crying babies) is still at large despite a suspect being behind bars. His voice begins to haunts her as she volunteers on a crisis hotline from the safety of her home.
This is a whip-smart, paranoia-inducing movie grounded by a spectacular lead performance. Super engaging and satisfying. Fave of the fest so far. (World premiere!)
Animated Shorts Block – Eight unique short films. My favorite was the felt figure stop motion offering Skinned (Écorchée), with honorable mentions to Vulvina Queen of Ecstasy (reminiscent of Belladonna of Sadness), and morbidly humored paper stop motion The Undertaker.
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siremobunny
Well-Known Member
were you expecting dinosaurs?
EvanBenner
Well-Known Member
Another Popcorn Frights roundup.
Eldritch, USA (zombie musical comedy) – Younger, under-appreciated adult brother turns to a local cult to bring the older brother he killed back to life. This was decidedly not my thing. Production was fine, and the tone was surprisingly cheery, but I prefer cinema camp over cinema corn.
Psychosis (psychological horror noir) – Mostly black & white, 1:1 reso debut feature about a fixer (who hears voices) delving into an underground of mind altering-drug dealers and hypnotists. I had a hard time paying strict attention to this one, though I appreciated the many voices aspect from an atmospheric standpoint. (An element the game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice applied to greater effect.)
Puzzle Box (found footage psychological horror) – Two sisters arrive at a remote retreat for one's DIY drug rehabilitation only to find themselves trapped. Hard struggle on this one—just constant screaming. Super disengaging. I fully checked out.
Quantum Suicide (sci-fi horror) – Rogue physicist risks all for his research. It fits the bill of something I'd normally be super interested in, but my mind drifted.
Bibi (psychological horror/drama) – A woman and her surviving daughter Bibi are haunted by the death of Bibi's sister many years prior. This one I liked a lot. Super slow and moody. Gorgeously shot and acted.
Brightwood (sci-fi horror romance) – A struggling couple find themselves strangely trapped together on a wilderness jog, then things start to get trippy. This one chugs along almost too steadily to the point where it begins to feel kind of flat, but the final moments stick the landing hard.
Eldritch, USA (zombie musical comedy) – Younger, under-appreciated adult brother turns to a local cult to bring the older brother he killed back to life. This was decidedly not my thing. Production was fine, and the tone was surprisingly cheery, but I prefer cinema camp over cinema corn.
Psychosis (psychological horror noir) – Mostly black & white, 1:1 reso debut feature about a fixer (who hears voices) delving into an underground of mind altering-drug dealers and hypnotists. I had a hard time paying strict attention to this one, though I appreciated the many voices aspect from an atmospheric standpoint. (An element the game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice applied to greater effect.)
Puzzle Box (found footage psychological horror) – Two sisters arrive at a remote retreat for one's DIY drug rehabilitation only to find themselves trapped. Hard struggle on this one—just constant screaming. Super disengaging. I fully checked out.
Quantum Suicide (sci-fi horror) – Rogue physicist risks all for his research. It fits the bill of something I'd normally be super interested in, but my mind drifted.
Bibi (psychological horror/drama) – A woman and her surviving daughter Bibi are haunted by the death of Bibi's sister many years prior. This one I liked a lot. Super slow and moody. Gorgeously shot and acted.
Brightwood (sci-fi horror romance) – A struggling couple find themselves strangely trapped together on a wilderness jog, then things start to get trippy. This one chugs along almost too steadily to the point where it begins to feel kind of flat, but the final moments stick the landing hard.
The Denmarkian Wonder
Well-Known Member
EvanBenner
Well-Known Member
More Popcorn Frights flicks:
No More Time (survival horror) – Well-shot pandemic film that leans heavily (ham-handedly) on COVID-era motifs. In it, a couple retreats to the Colorado countryside to escape exposure to a virus that either causes folks to either vanish or become violent murderers. A dose of magical realism isn't quite enough to help this escape the trappings of its own making, but it's not a total write-off as some people might knee-jerk react.
Abruptio (puppet horror) – Utterly mesmerizing in its life-size puppetry. Newly single Les Hackle is implanted with a spinal explosive and forced to commit heinous crimes at the behest of an unknown commander. Plenty of shock value with a grounding conclusion.
Agatha – Hyperstylized horror where an ill man seeks a cure through unconventional means in a desolate urban wasteland. Interesting visuals but loose on story.
Ghosts of the Void (thriller, psychological) –
A newly unhoused couple seeks overnight refuge in the parking lot of a secluded park only to find the last bit of safety they have left eerily threatened by unknown assailants.
Ghosts of the Void is a confident, contemplative, and impeccably shot debut that treads a very careful line of tapping into real socioeconomic anxiety without being exploitative of its hardships.
Probably my second-fave of 2023 Popcorn Frights virtual features after Sorry, Charlie.
No More Time (survival horror) – Well-shot pandemic film that leans heavily (ham-handedly) on COVID-era motifs. In it, a couple retreats to the Colorado countryside to escape exposure to a virus that either causes folks to either vanish or become violent murderers. A dose of magical realism isn't quite enough to help this escape the trappings of its own making, but it's not a total write-off as some people might knee-jerk react.
Abruptio (puppet horror) – Utterly mesmerizing in its life-size puppetry. Newly single Les Hackle is implanted with a spinal explosive and forced to commit heinous crimes at the behest of an unknown commander. Plenty of shock value with a grounding conclusion.
Agatha – Hyperstylized horror where an ill man seeks a cure through unconventional means in a desolate urban wasteland. Interesting visuals but loose on story.
Ghosts of the Void (thriller, psychological) –
A newly unhoused couple seeks overnight refuge in the parking lot of a secluded park only to find the last bit of safety they have left eerily threatened by unknown assailants.
Ghosts of the Void is a confident, contemplative, and impeccably shot debut that treads a very careful line of tapping into real socioeconomic anxiety without being exploitative of its hardships.
Probably my second-fave of 2023 Popcorn Frights virtual features after Sorry, Charlie.
The Denmarkian Wonder
Well-Known Member
Thackeraye
Well-Known Member
Just out of 1570 Oppenheimer. Made a rookie error of booking a front row seat, so I probably missed some of the spectacle of it. Great film though.