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Film Thread.
I thought a trio of themed threads about other entertainment media might be good. If you're not interested, please just ignore the thread and pick some threads that interest you from here: http://celephais.net/board/view_all_threads.php

Anyway, discuss films...
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Possible Fargo3 Spoilers 
Finished watching Fargo 3. I thought it was a bit average for the first half (I know he's the big name hollywood actor but Ewan McGregor annoyed me). I remember being into season 1 and 2 more in the beginning. But really picked up and got exciting in the second half.

I didn't like Varga though. Trying too hard to be the disgusting Nazi. And the cliched asian bodyguard with headphones all the time that thinks he's the shit but actually is just a big fuck up. I constantly just wanted to punch them both. Comparing them to the S2 baddies that were genuinely fucking scary and believable rather than cliched.

What really disappointed me was the conclusion. I can only guess that they want to re-use a certain character in a future season. Or it was some sort of commentary on the current banking system, but whatevs.

Overall great though, just not as good as s1 and s2. 
Spoilers Of Wonder Woman And Fargo Season 3 
I found David Thewlis rather entertaining in both, people hated him in WW but I found his performance similarly entertaining to in Fargo, someone who is evil and also condescending. Also, the Greek mythology stuff in WW, particularly the style of it as an animated Renaissance painting, was great. WW script was an average-ish adventure plot with the basic elements of coming of age, humour, romance etc., but it was fairly well-executed and the cast and cinematography, were both good. As a mapper, the design of Themiscyra was fucking sweet, better than Kyrpton in Man of Steel, which has a lot of parallels to this movie. Development of the side characters could have been handled better and there were some awkward/cheesy moments, but am I wrong in thinking the action scenes were great? Overrated WW may be but I think it's still a solid 7/7.5.

Fargo Season 3 was all about the theme, all the characters were there playing the roles they did as an allegory for the banking system post-financial collapse, and from that angle I think it's really good, even though the way the conclusion worked out in the last couple of episodes was confusing and (despite this randomness being one of the themes) I wish they worked in Episode 3 (the scifi one) more in the end. The homages to Coen brothers films were fun but it did feel like self-cannibalism. The "post-truth" theme of it all was interesting. Overall it wasn't as good as either previous season or as good as it was looking to be in the first half of the season, but it still was good. To me the most annoying character was the second female cop (even the first one was already a Fargo trope) followed closely by the "no DON'T investigate" chief, that's total self-cannibalism. I'd call Season 1 an 8.5 or 9, Season 2 a 9.5, and Season 3 a 7.5. At the very least the theme was timely. When the bankers come may sexy ex-cons (Winstead was entertaining) and mute hitmen oppose them vigorously... 
I Thought The Action Scenes Sucked 
totally derivative and not that great IMHO. 
 
It Comes at Night - 7/10

Extremely low key, but very moody and effective psychological thriller (ignore the marketing, this is not really a horror movie) with pacing that carefully builds dread carefully before unleashing its grim fatalistic end. There are also a lot of loose ends left open, but IMHO none of them ultimately matter but worth keeping in mind if you prefer tighter narratives.

Also, I saw it with similarly annoying teenagers to Drew who wouldnt shut up and kept flashing their phones around because "nothing is happening". 
 
Baby Driver - 5.5/10

Opening car chase is pretty exciting and well staged, after that I did not care one bit about anything that happened in this movie. I also found the much heralded cutting of action to the music nothing that interesting and only really aligned at a very superficial level. 
Agree 
pretty overrated, some nice parts but quite empty overall.
Honestly it's been going downhill for a while re whats his name, the director, for me. 
George A. Romero Dead - Night Of The Living Dead Author 
The author who spawn the entire concept of zombies is dead. I have read that before "Night of the Living Dead" that the role that zombies fill in a movie was typically filled by vampires an example )

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jul/16/george-a-romero-night-of-the-living-dead-director-dies-aged-77

Night of The Living Dead was interesting, the first zombie shows up after a husband jokes "They are coming to get you Barbara" mocking her fear of cemetaries. End with the sole survivor being shot by a sheriffs deputy. The origin of the zombies, in 1950s sci-fi style, was a passing meteor.

Dawn of the Dead, the first sequel, improved and expanded on the concept and took the plot of a group of individuals deciding to take refuge inside a mall. This movie would be remade in 2004, its remake it also very good.

George A. Romero was a character in Call of Duty Black Ops:

http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/George_A._Romero

When the once-dead zombie genre encountered a resurgence after the release of 28 Days Later, Romero ended up gaining a second wind of recognition for his work after countless zombie movies and zombie video games (Left 4 Dead, ZombieLand, etc, etc, etc.) started getting pumped out. 
R.I.P. George 
Night was a masterpiece that inspired John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, among others.

I'm expecting the other Romero to say a word about his namesake. 
 
The Beguiled - 7/10

Moody, understated and well acted period drama with probably some of the best cinematography in years (the aesthetic reminded me of Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Innocents at the same time). The last 15-20 min or so felt rushed, especially considering how languid and deliberate the pacing otherwise was.

(ps - I have not yet seen my blu ray of Don Siegel's 70's version.) 
Arrival. 
A 10. Not a 10/10 with a beginning 10 and an end 10, a continous 10. 
Arrivial Is Very Good 
Not sure it's a 10, though. I'd say it's a solid 7.5, maybe even an 8. 
I Dunno What Is Arrivial 
But it's probably not as good as Arrival. 
I Knew That Was Coming 
as soon as I hit enter 
What A Coincidence 
Because I saw a boring contrarian "it wasn't that good" comment coming as well. Maybe I can see the future... 
Interesting... 
...did you foresee this?! 
 
The Arrival was a well-executed movie.

I thought the philosophical concepts in the movie were excellent ...

1) The aliens language is their gift. To communicate in it will change your mindset to a higher level and connect the dots to attain "foresight".

2) The aliens established contact with humans specifically because their foresight saw they will desperately need our help in 3000 years.

3) The main character has a daughter, despite her foresight telling her that her daughter will die young -- that she find her daugther's life irreplaceably special, but because she did not make her husband aware of the the daughter's short life span, leads to conflict with husband leading to divorce.

Far better than the shovel loads of sequels they have been pumping out. 
 
Yes I enjoyed it. Great concept and ending.

I found it a little frustrating and unrealistic the way the other countries acted in the end, though. Although I suppose that is what you'd expect out of a baby child like Kim Jong-un. Then we've got one president that rides horses with his chest out for his branding, another that communicates with the world via troll tweeting. Maybe not so unrealistic. 
@kona 
When asked why they came ...

They responded "Use weapon".

And communication with them was a complicated and difficult experience.

A response of "use weapon" would certainly freak out some of the world leaders. 
Bah 
Arrival took Kubrick's influence in a bad direction (slow and mysterious but ultimately pretentious and sentimental, even if the language idea was interesting and Amy Adams is always good). If you're going to take Kubrick as an influence it can be slow and mysterious but it needs to be complex, symbolic and even clinical, and that's what I got from Under the Skin, a way better "first contact" film (ducks).

Dunkirk was an intense film, from the very start the movie does an excellent job of making it feel like you're there; most of the time you're about to die horribly, and the rest of the time is boring and grueling if you can't do anything about it, and harrowing and guilt-ridden if you (think you) can. Nolan did a great job making viewers feel like we're drowning alongside evacuees and sailors or craning our necks for the next dive bomber attack, so I wouldn't call that exactly "fun," some scenes are extremely tense, but overall it is a great film. Plus its realism serves as a forceful reminder of what people were willing to put on the line to fight for their country only a generation or two ago, and I personally think that's relevant so that younger generations do not take everything for granted. Dictatorships do not naturally go extinct and nations with democratically elected governments do not grow on trees. 
 
Dunkirk - 7.5/10

Pretty good as an experience in terms of putting you there, particularly in IMAX70, but apart from the experience side of things I found it lacking in many other qualities. Also, putting you in the cockpit of the planes didn't necessarily lead to good dogfight scenes IMHO. I also found the timeline approach, whilst interesting (and I can understand why structurally the decision was made), to not add anything in terms of impact.


Wind River - 7-7.5/10

Extremely well shot and confidently directed (leaving aside the insertion and placement of a flashback sequence), but with a surprisingly straightforward and lacklustre script. Perhaps Taylor Sheridan wanted to focus on the directing side of things this time around but it was a bit odd to see that he would save, relatively speaking, his weakest script for himself. Having said that, the movie and characters have a very nice, lived in feel and the mood of the whole thing is excellent. The final shot is also amazing.


The Big Sick - 5.5-6/10

Found the writing and characterisations far too broad for the film to work convincingly as either comedy or drama, leaving it straddling a not very engaging middle ground. Probably didn't help that I thought the male lead, who is playing himself, to be a very flat performer. Also one of the more uncienmatic movies I have seen in quite a while. 
Covenant 
Only movie I've watched recently is Alien Covenant. Looks like everyone on IMDB rate it 1/10. What a bunch of pathetic little cunts. I wouldn't blame Ridley if he said right fuck these pack of useless whinging children I'm retiring from movies and enjoying my billions with hookers and coke for the rest of my life instead of giving the fanbase another Aliens movie. Years of work and all they do is bitch and claim "my life is ruined" because the movie sucked. It seems unless he makes a perfect movie, it'll bomb.

Not that I thought it was that great. It wasn't as good as Prometheus and predictable from the start. But that's what happens when you know how the last one ended and know where the Alien virus is supposed to eventually end up, and you know Bad David is bad. It was just an okay movie. Many critics seem to hammer all the stupid decisions and plot holes, but there's no more here than any other action or horror movie.

It would have been interesting to see what Blomkamp might have done. But rebooting the whole thing always seems like a cop out to me, like you aren't good enough to write something to fit the current story so just start again.
Imagine if someone came along to direct the new Star Wars and just said nah screw it, I'mma reboot this whole thing. Chappie was utter garbage (actually deserving of 1/10s haha) but those short movies he put out recently were good, so who knows.

Is it true Ridley is doing 2 more of these movies? How will they not be the same story again? Prometheus and Covenant were basically the same story. One just had badder David and more Aliens then the other. 
 
Disagree On Both Counts 
she was still hot in the movie (though lol the second image you picked certainly does not convey that), but the movie was crap and for the love of god Ridley please just stop.

Looking forward to seeing Wind River, I loved Sicario and Hell or High Water. 
 
Apparently it was her idea to do the Jim Carrey Dumb & Dumber bowl cut hairdo, she talked Ridley into it. 
 
I assume they were going for a Sigourney version 2. But she's no Sigourney.

Sig had a unique sort of look where she could pull of attractive but tough as fuck at the same time and it didn't matter if she had the long curly hair, short messy, or none at all, she was impressive. Katherine just doesn't look tough at all.

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--7uCqzMoG--/18j55kt21k3hzjpg.jpg

In fact it's a bit disappointing that they just killed Elizabeth Shaw off, way to ditch the lead character you just built the new franchise around. 
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