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What movie have you seen recently?

GeoGeo
edited December 2009 in Movies
I've noticed there are many film threads that are aimed at something very specific, but I've found there isn't a general "what did you see recently" thread regarding films. So I've started one for everyone. If you saw a movie recently (old or new) and want to put it here, put it right here.

I remember on the very first Geekchat I took part in when Emily was there, I told her what directors and films I liked and she suggested I expand a bit into indie and somewhat obscure films. It's taken me a while to do so because I had to see other movies first. I guess I've finally started on that recommendation by starting off with a film that, for the first time ever, has truly frightened and horrified the fuck outta me. I've gotten really scared at films before, but this just takes the cake. As a side, I take a stance to try to not be offended by anything I see on the screen as I feel that would either distract me from the film itself or cause me to completely miss the message that a film is attempting to make, it isn't worth it, but I digress.

I'm sure, quite a few people here know the name of the director well, but this is not only his first film, but also his most surreal and disturbing. That man is David Lynch, and the film is none other than the underground cult classic Eraserhead. A friend of mine recommended it to me and told me to watch it in the dark, alone, and with the volume all the way up. The first thing I have to say about this film is "Holy...Shit". I can appreciate the suffering that Lynch went through to get this movie made, as that is common amongst most directors that start out, but it baffles me that a distribution company actually distributed it to any theaters, if not for that lucky break, this film would have been unreleasable.

The content in it is so disturbing and unnerving, that I actually had a hard time finishing it. I don't think anyone can figure out what this movie is trying to say, and I've learned that Lynch has said that no one ever has, and he has never heard a single interpretation that was correct. He also said he probably never will reveal what this film really was about. This is quite possibly one of the most bizarre films I have ever seen in my life. Artistically though, the film is a masterpiece concerning surreal, warped, and totally fucked up imagery. I liked it overall, but I have to say that it takes a very specific and targeted taste to enjoy Eraserhead, and is absolutely not for everyone. If you are faint of heart, get nauseous easily at seeing very disturbing and/or vile things, or are expecting to have children in the not-too-distant future, avoid this film under any circumstance whatsoever, as you will most likely not like it or revile it.

I won't be putting this on my blog, as I don't think I could give a fair enough review and it plegged plagued with vagueness and not actually make a concrete thought.

I leave you with the following remark "What the hell was that creature?"
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Comments

  • edited December 2009
    I just finished watching Attack The Gas Station and I'm still in awe that that ending just happened.

    And if you think Eraserhead is disturbing, you should watch Gummo(no you shouldn't).
    Post edited by Sail on
  • edited December 2009
    Gummo and Eraserhead are disturbing in very different ways. Eraserhead is unnerving and uncomfortable but all in the context of fantasy. Gummo is terrifying because of the hyper-realism. I do not think that Eraserhead is the right place to start with Lynch. You may get the wrong impression. It seems to me that Eraserhead deals with a lot of Herzog-like meaningless images, things that might trick you into thinking there is some abstract meaning attached. You really should watch Blue Velvet sometime soon. As much as I hate to describe a movie as "deep," it does have lots of layers of symbolic meaning, and everything that happens feels purposeful, even the really weird stuff.
    Post edited by whatever on
  • edited December 2009
    Yeah Blue Velvet, softer than satin was the light, of the stars.

    Where does Inland Empire, another film of Lynch, find itself among those two movies? Because of Empire I felt pretty fucked up for about a day, but then again, that might be my personal tolerance.
    Post edited by Magnum_Opus on
  • I just finished watchingAttack The Gas Stationand I'm still in awe that that ending just happened.
    That movie is fucking fantastic.
    you should watchGummo(no you shouldn't).
    I have heard of this. What I have heard has me very frightened.
  • Gummo and Eraserhead are disturbing in very different ways. Eraserhead is unnerving and uncomfortable but all in the context of fantasy. Gummo is terrifying because of the hyper-realism. I do not think that Eraserhead is the right place to start with Lynch. You may get the wrong impression. It seems to me that Eraserhead deals with a lot of Herzog-like meaningless images, things that might trick you into thinking there is some abstract meaning attached. You really should watch Blue Velvet sometime soon. As much as I hate to describe a movie as "deep," it does have lots of layers of symbolic meaning, and everything that happens feels purposeful, even the really weird stuff.
    I've seen other Lynch movies before such as Elephant Man and Mullholand Drive.
  • I've seen other Lynch movies before such as Elephant Man and Mullholand Drive.
    Fun Eraserhead fact that may be spoilerish: the giant worms that crawl around of the floor in stop-motion? Those were umbilical cords that Lynch stole from a hospital. An assistant stepped on one and was so disgusted that she immediately quit.
  • edited December 2009
    I have heard of this. What I have heard has me very frightened.
    I recommend watching Julien Donkey-Boy if you don't think you're up for Gummo. Both are among my favorite movies. With Julien, you can feel sympathy for a lot of the characters. Gummo, you can't. Also, Herzog is in Julien, and he's pretty much the coolest guy around.



    @Magnum_Opus: I watched the first half hour of Inland Empire and was so bored I had to shut it off. Eventually I'll need to actually watch it, but I never feel up for it.

    I watched the new Herzog movie last night, Bad Liutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. I think it's his funniest movie. It's very interesting to see Herzog's unique stylistic elements in the context of what is basically a Hollywood thriller. One of the best examples of this:



    Herzog used the same song in the chicken scene in Stroszek.
    Post edited by whatever on
  • Saw Me and Orson Welles twice this week. The first time I saw it was on my own, and I was wowed by Christian McKay's performance as Welles. He alone is worth the price of admission on this one. The movie itself was "eh" to good for the first 3/4 (oftentimes feels more like Me and Claire Danes), then really took a turn to greatness in the last quarter, especially during the actual performance of Caesar. Most of the really good parts are those taking place during rehearsals and performances. From what little experience I have in theatre, that stuff seemed spot-on and very entertaining. The stuff with Zac Efron, Claire Danes, and Zoe Whatserface, not so much. I especially picked up on their annoyance factor the second time around, when I took my dad to see it. He pointed out, and I agree now, that this is mainly the director's fault, much as one would like to blame Zac Efron. Linklater holds on scenes for too long and directs his actors in cliched, over-played ways. When the movie needed to be theatrical, it was great, but when it needed to be filmic and played down, it didn't always succeed.

    Still, like I said, Christian McKay at the very least makes this worth seeing, and if you're a drama nerd, the recommendation goes doubly.
  • SawMe and Orson Wellestwice this week. The first time I saw it was on my own, and I was wowed by Christian McKay's performance as Welles. He alone is worth the price of admission on this one. The movie itself was "eh" to good for the first 3/4 (oftentimes feels more likeMe and Claire Danes), then really took a turn to greatness in the last quarter, especially during the actual performance of Caesar. Most of the really good parts are those taking place during rehearsals and performances. From what little experience I have in theatre, that stuff seemed spot-on and very entertaining. The stuff with Zac Efron, Claire Danes, and Zoe Whatserface, not so much. I especially picked up on their annoyance factor the second time around, when I took my dad to see it. He pointed out, and I agree now, that this is mainly the director's fault, much as one would like to blame Zac Efron. Linklater holds on scenes for too long and directs his actors in cliched, over-played ways. When the movie needed to be theatrical, it was great, but when it needed to be filmic and played down, it didn't always succeed.

    Still, like I said, Christian McKay at the very least makes this worth seeing, and if you're a drama nerd, the recommendation goes doubly.
    I've been meaning to see that, and I'm sure my drama teacher would love it.
  • Because I can't write little easy answer I give you the whole back-story with this one. (After the part where I start to talk about the movie, there will be things that some person can see as spoilers, if you feel that you are spoiled, I take no responsibility.)

    So me and my roommate have long time planned doing a tortillas + movie -night and last wednesday we finally did. For a while we wondered what we should watch, I would have liked Ghostbusters, because I'm still shocked that my roommate hasn't seen it (But he will, I'll promise), but roommate didn't want it. In my movies folder I also had 28 Days later as well as 28 months later, that I had got from a friend. Now, I'm not really into horror movies and neither is my roommate. I dislike cheap scares and gore and I think my roommate has similar reasons. Still for some weird reason we decided to watch 28 Days later, as we had both heard good things about it.

    So, about my thoughts towards the movie then. Short answer: I liked it. How I saw it, it really wasn't horror movie at all, but it was zombie movie definitely, two different kinds at that. Beginning was cool, post apocalyptic survival in zombie occupied city and I liked that how little there actually was zombies around, I don't remember seeing a single zombie attack that didn't have some importance for story, no zombies just for the sake of zombies. Then there was the last half of the movie that showed classical situation where external threat (that is ofter zombies) makes people turn against each other.

    Personally I liked first half of the movie more. It's slower pace and situational suspense worked more than soldiers in the end witch weren't detailed enough.You didn't really have any reason to feel sad for deaths of the soldiers, and I think that if some of them had been shown in a light other than "Here's a bunch of Army-assholes" the action scene at end could have been more dramatic. Now you just wished that zombies get all of those bastards.

    I could talk a bit about characters, but don't really have extra time on my hand now, so shortly, liked the main characters, soldiers weren't detailed enough.
  • Bad Lieutenant
    I really want to see this movie now. Any time Roger Ebert compares a movie to Cormac McCarthy's writings, you know it has to be good.
  • GeoGeo
    edited December 2009
    Bad Lieutenant
    I really want to see this movie now. Any time Roger Ebert compares a movie to Cormac McCarthy's writings, you know it has to be good.
    This is indeed true. The Road is a very welcome and awesome addition to the apocalyptic wasteland sub-genre of science fiction. It almost ranks there with A Boy and His Dog except it doesn't have the nasty...yeah.
    Post edited by Geo on
  • Recently watched "The Idaho Transfer". Very weird post apocalyptic movie.
  • I just finished watchingAttack The Gas Stationand I'm still in awe that that ending just happened.
    Bonus points to the one guy struggling to menace everyone with his book of matches.
  • edited December 2009
    Bad Lieutenant
    I really want to see this movie now. Any time Roger Ebert compares a movie to Cormac McCarthy's writings, you know it has to be good.
    Huh, I'm glad that has compelled you to see it, but I don't see the similarity at all. In my opinion, Herzog is a far better writer than Cormac, but they go about things in such different ways. I might compare Bela Tarr to Cormac, in terms of sparsity and dryness.
    Post edited by whatever on
  • Just got back from seeing Avatar. Awesome movie!

    I saw it in 3D and I have to say that the 3D was perfectly used. Rather than using the same old "stuff flying at you" 3D this movie used it to add depth to scenes.

    Parts of the script and plot were a bit heavy handed and the allegory is obvious. Still a great movie.
  • edited December 2009
    Just got back from seeing Avatar. Awesome movie!

    I saw it in 3D and I have to say that the 3D was perfectly used. Rather than using the same old "stuff flying at you" 3D this movie used it to add depth to scenes.

    Parts of the script and plot were a bit heavy handed and the allegory is obvious. Still a great movie.
    I saw it in regular theater, and I have to agree what what you said. I am also thinking of watching it again, but on 3D on the IMAX just to see how different Pandora would be. Regardless of the obvious allegory and plot, the acting and characters were still decent. I enjoy Sam Worthington, Zoe Sadana, and Sigourney Weaver for most part and think they did a good job.

    Just seeing the planet of Pandora with it's unique wildlife, plant life, and landscapes were really amazing.

    It's another great James Cameron film of stunning visual effects with mediocre story, but still worth watching.
    Post edited by Rochelle on
  • edited December 2009
    On the car ride home we were wondering why the land animals had six legs yet the Navi only had two.

    We were also amazed at how well the CGI characters were done. The facial expressions were full of emotion without being exaggerated (Shrek).

    When we saw the first group of native life chasing Jack we both looked at each other and said, "look, displacer beasts!"
    Post edited by HMTKSteve on
  • edited December 2009
    Have any of you guys seen the new Lars Von Trier flick, Antichrist? Tied for favorite movie of the year with Port of Call, for me. Cannes pretty much said it was the worst film at the festival, which is even more reason to watch it. It is very rare that I have a physical reaction to something I see on screen. Antichrist is the first film that has really distressed me in recent memory, and that is what makes it such a powerful and important film. Even if you don't enjoy watching it, it is an experience that you will never get from any other movie. Everything is beautifully shot and acted, as is the case with all of Lars' films. Although I wouldn't say he is "the best film director in the world,” he is definitely in my top five. (him, Herzog, Lynch, Korine, The Coens)



    A movie I'm very excited for is My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? Herzog directs, David Lynch produces. Of course the trailer looks like ass, but I am quite sure the film will be amazing. In one Q&A;, Herzog talked about how, three minutes into the film, he wants the audience to know everything about the murder, who the murderer is, and where the murderer is, and from then on the audience will be completely unable to predict anything.

    Post edited by whatever on
  • On the car ride home we were wondering why the land animals had six legs yet the Navi only had two.
    We were also amazed at how well the CGI characters were done. The facial expressions were full of emotion without being exaggerated (Shrek).
    When we saw the first group of native life chasing Jack we both looked at each other and said, "look, displacer beasts!"
    Yeah, a lot of the alien things of Pandora reminded me of a lot things I would see in WoW. I was intrigued on how the Na'vi would bond with horses and flying creatures with the ends of their braids. I also like the bio-luminescence of the world at night. That was really cool too.
  • Went to see White Ribbon on Tuesday. New Haneke film, he is getting soft in his old age, didn't make me feel physically ill once but it is a masterpiece. Brilliant piece about Germany before the start of the First World War and the kids that would be the Second World War generation.
  • Oh dude, I downloaded that a while ago, but only watched the first 15 minutes before I had to go out. Been really meaning to watch it. Love Haneke so much. Got around to Cache recently, gold.
  • Huh, I'm glad that has compelled you to see it, but I don't see the similarity at all. In my opinion, Herzog is a far better writer than Cormac, but they go about things in such different ways. I might compare Bela Tarr to Cormac, in terms of sparsity and dryness.
    Comparing something to Cormac McCarthy is Ebert's way of saying he likes it.
  • On topic though, last night I watched 8 1/2. It was fantastic, but you should already know that.

    However, I just watched Avatar. The visuals were incredible, as I expected, but the plot just wasn't that great. Honestly, everything it did District 9 already did better and with a fraction of the budget. I think Avatar will end up being a very important film because it'll either be the point where very realistic CG films become the norm or where people finally realize that CG can't save a mediocre plot. Unfortunately, I think the former is more likely.
  • I think Avatar will end up being a very important film because it'll either be the point where very realistic CG films become the norm or where people finally realize that CG can't save a mediocre plot. Unfortunately, I think the former is more likely.
    Gah. It's still firmly in the uncanny valley as far as I'm concerned.
  • The funny thing is that my favorite shot in the whole movie is the shot of the three human main characters in the prison cell. It seemed like such a reprieve after all the neon colors everywhere.
  • edited December 2009
    Saw Princess and the Frog. I liked it a lot.
    Post edited by Sail on
  • edited December 2009
    I too just returned from watching Avatar in 3D. I thought it was an excellent film as the sum of its parts, but that, as others have said, some of those parts were kinda slipshod at moments. Some plot points were highly telegraphed, and some scenes were a bit grating (SPOILERS: all the Na'vi screaming in the aftermath of the first assault, the alien love scene which was this bizarre mix of romantic and extremely strange that I've never witnessed). That being said, it was an immensely enjoyable and entertaining film, and I'd watch it again.

    Also, the concept of "disabled man controlling a remote body, likes remote body more than human form" is really, really, like Call Me Joe. Startlingly so.
    Post edited by WindUpBird on
  • I know it's out of season right now, but I just watched Trick r' Treat and it was bloody fantastic (pun intended).
  • I know it's out of season right now, but I just watched Trick r' Treat and it was bloody fantastic (pun intended).
    One of the best Halloween movies in the last couple of years.

    For me, most recently, I'd have to say "Master Killer (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin)"
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