Feb 18, 2016

what did you think of the boardwalk empire pilot/show. i see some similarities.

could be prestige tv is hitting another wall

 

Feb 18, 2016

noooo

 

Feb 18, 2016

It's best to take them individually as the sleazy teen movies you thought 3 was. Slashers are too restrictive to logically stretch over multiple movies, and the continuous production schedule never allowed them to stray too far from the formula of the original. With each new director trying to throw their own spin on Jason, tonal consistency and narrative continuity was thrown out the window. Paramount wanted to reinvent Friday while keeping it exactly the same, and it never really found its footing before moving onto the next crew.

 

Feb 18, 2016

It was a bit of a mess, but I dug Boardwalk Empire overall. I remember finding its pilot solid, albeit like Vinyl's a bit overly familiar. Still, I thought there were enough interesting threads there for me stick with it, whereas I'm not sure I'll continue on to the next episode of Vinyl, in spite of its cool cast (Cannavale, Wilde).

 

Feb 18, 2016

I've actually read more about the series than I've watched until now so I knew the trajectory and some background before going in. Tbh, I think the property is kind of garbage despite possibly having the richest lore. It never really had a strong foundation like Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm Street, which is kind of a good thing, considering how sour those sequels mostly felt by comparison. I wasn't spoiled by something near perfect, and so I can just have fun watching cheap garbage with s--- acting and an identity crisis. It's kind of cool when franchises like Alien reinvent themselves with every sequel, the problem here is the directors are s--- because the budget is s--- so the actors are s--- etc. It's s--- all the way down with Savini and Manfredini being the main exceptions.

 

Feb 20, 2016

Yeah, Friday is garbage lol. I found a new respect for the franchise after watching the Crystal Lake Memories documentary, but I was never the biggest fan of the movies themselves.

I'd agree with Nightmare, but Halloween has a lot to like. II, H20, and the first Zombieween are all at least solid, and Season of the Witch is a classic. Probably the most consistent franchise out there despite the stretch from Return to Curse.

 

Feb 20, 2016

@FilmAndWhisky I saw The Witch...It's not without its flaws, but I thought it was a solid, impressive debut.

The most intriguing narrative choice it makes is to eschew any ambiguity in the opening minutes. Through a few effectively surreal images, it confirms the supernatural and that there is indeed a witch lurking somewhere in the woods. Conventionally, for a story that critiques the irrational fear and paranoia of zealots, one would typically expect that the film would walk the line, at least for a short while, that those fears may perhaps be unjustified and only conjured in their imagination. The Witch opts instead to fully indulge in the supernatural while nonetheless still highlighting the hypocrisy and moral failings of religious extremists. There may be a witch in the woods, but the way the family turns on one another is still not justified by the real world presence of their most irrational fear.

However, for what's predominantly a slow-burn horror rooted in atmosphere, this approach can undercut some of the movie's effectiveness, as the film is not aided by the eeriness that comes with the unknown. Along these lines, with some of its obvious horror signifiers and ominous score, the film, especially in its first half, can feel like it's supposed to be scarier than it actually is.

With that said, director Robert Eggers displays considerable formal prowess from his use of natural light to his impeccable sound design (the sound of footsteps in the brush resonate with tension). While it may not always pay off, Eggers also exhibits admirable patience and restraint. This works best in an exceedingly well acted exorcism scene that's made all the more unsettling by just how grounded it is.

The clear crux of the film is in Thomasin's character, a young girl on the cusp of womanhood. There's much talk of original sin in the movie and, given her family's strict puritanical values, hers appears to be simply being a young girl. This is also contrasted with the very notion of a witch, itself an outgrowth of extreme fears of sex and femininity. When these worst fears are ultimately confirmed in the jarring imagery of its entertainingly over the top finale, it becomes for Thomasin a twisted form of liberation.

 

Feb 23, 2016

FYI, Criterion 50% flash sale in effect until noon EST tomorrow

 

Feb 23, 2016

@MovieSXN

 

Feb 23, 2016

Interesting..might try to pick up something

 

Feb 23, 2016

@MovieSXN.. dear friends... @Narsh

Sunday is the Oscars. In advance, Newsweek paid me $$ to write an SNL guide to oscars, as fmr head writer Adam McKay is on the cusp of winning Best Adapted Screenplay. It's comprehensive-ish and you all should read with pride:
http://www.newsweek.com/looking-all-snl-staffers-received-oscar-nods-429584?piano_t=1

 

Feb 23, 2016

>Saturday Night Live
>Academy Awards


Good job getting dat $$ tho

 

Feb 23, 2016

dont be a #film snob tho. a year ago you hadnt heard of von trier, makin tracks with the pyromaniacs and s---...

 

Feb 23, 2016

You don't have to be a snob to realize that SNL is corny and the Academy Awards are political bs.

 

Feb 23, 2016

#edgy

 

Feb 23, 2016

Nobody under 30 likes SNL and everybody admits that the Academy Awards are a sham. Not even controversial tbh.

 

Feb 23, 2016

first point is wildly irrelevant to what im writing about (and not to mention questionable). the second point is kinda sorta the main thrust of the piece. quit attempting to play urself like some arbiter of cool and go back to aping rhyme asylum

u should be happy for me, instead of trying to tear me down. smh

 

Feb 23, 2016

Just going to put you on ignore for a while.

 

Feb 25, 2016

does anyone have a link to Journey from Motown to Off the Wall pls?
@MovieSXN

 

Feb 25, 2016

Krampus is out @Pinhead