sexton said:

Fanny and Alexander (1982) - Two young Swedish children experience the many comedies and tragedies of their family, the Ekdahls.

I really enjoy watching this movie between the holidays--always the five-hour version across multiple nights. I think it's Ingmar Bergman at his best. 5/5

it has to be at least 5 years since i watched the 3hr version, and i still haven't made time to watch the full cut. i really ought to make that a priority when get back to the sight and sound list in the new year.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

A rare mix of brutality, comedy and revelation. Unlike any movie I've seen in some time. Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell have Oscar nods in their futures.

.75

Coco has to be the most overrated film of the year if not, the most overrated since the awful Inside Out. I do understand why people loves this so much, especially here in Mexico, is beautiful visual experience, but story doesn't hold that well. I didn't find it funny at all, it was a very underwhelmin experience. Just the ending was a little bit moving. Another Pixar overrated mess just as Inside Out and Frozen. 1.5/5

damosuzuki said:

i really want to see 'brawl...' as well. i was hoping i would be able to catch it on the big screen but it never popped up in the theatres here. i'm likely going to rent it in a week or two.

my life as a zucchini/ma vie de courgette (2017) 5/5 definitely going to be near or at the top of my favourites of this year. really great stop-motion animation in the service of a story that's at times joyful & at others deeply, almost overwhelmingly sad, but always sad in a subtle, careful way. it's never aggressively plying for your tears. reminds me a bit of how florida project showcased how children could find happiness in the most miserable situations. truly great.

[Edited 12/29/17 17:04pm]

It sounds like a great film, I look forward to watch this film.

damosuzuki said:

sexton said:

I hope you saw the original French-language track. It seemed like so long ago that I saw this for the 2017 Academy Awards that I forgot it's a 2017 release in North America. It was my favorite of all the animated feature film nominations. The running joke about how kids think babies are concieved is very funny.

i did indeed watch the french version. this is one of the instances where i'm happy to give netflix full marks. not only do they have both language versions streaming, but when i started up the film, it defaulted to the french language stream.

i wasn't even aware that both versions were available until the movie was over, at which point i went back and watched a few scenes with the english dub. it was perfectly fine i suppose - nick offerman as the policeman seems like a pretty inspired choice in particular - but the original is so sublime, i can't imagine wanting to watch it as long as the french version is available.

Is it on Netflix?

A Ghost Story: I need to watch this once again in the privacy of my home and own thoughts, that's how I enjoy watchin these kind of films, or any kind of films for that matter. A very slow paced film, you watch the world movin around the main character (the ghost with the classic glhost outfit) as he contemplates the world he left behind, a world he was part of when he was alive. He's still part of that world, but in passive way. Although the ghost hasn't any facial expressions whatsoever, he's able to convey sadness and longing, it's so easy to relate to, he is trapped in this world, in this small place he used to call home in a rather large world. Wonderful film, for some people this might've been regarded as boring and most of all pretentious, and perhaps there's a little bit of pretentiousness, they may be right about it. If so, then there is a very successful at that. 4/5

By the way, the music as usual enhance this already wonderful experience.

214 said:

damosuzuki said:

i did indeed watch the french version. this is one of the instances where i'm happy to give netflix full marks. not only do they have both language versions streaming, but when i started up the film, it defaulted to the french language stream.

i wasn't even aware that both versions were available until the movie was over, at which point i went back and watched a few scenes with the english dub. it was perfectly fine i suppose - nick offerman as the policeman seems like a pretty inspired choice in particular - but the original is so sublime, i can't imagine wanting to watch it as long as the french version is available.

Is it on Netflix?

definitely streaming there in canada - i can't speak for anywhere else in the world.

patti cake$ (2017) 3/5 - woman tries to escape poverty & a dreary home life by searching for success as a rapper. it wallows in pretty much every cliche commonly seen in musicals about underdogs, but it juggles those cliches fairly deftly, & it's also redeemed by hugely winning performances, especially by the lead.

[Edited 1/2/18 19:19pm]

214 said:

A Ghost Story: I need to watch this once again in the privacy of my home and own thoughts, that's how I enjoy watchin these kind of films, or any kind of films for that matter. A very slow paced film, you watch the world movin around the main character (the ghost with the classic glhost outfit) as he contemplates the world he left behind, a world he was part of when he was alive. He's still part of that world, but in passive way. Although the ghost hasn't any facial expressions whatsoever, he's able to convey sadness and longing, it's so easy to relate to, he is trapped in this world, in this small place he used to call home in a rather large world. Wonderful film, for some people this might've been regarded as boring and most of all pretentious, and perhaps there's a little bit of pretentiousness, they may be right about it. If so, then there is a very successful at that. 4/5

By the way, the music as usual enhance this already wonderful experience

i absolutely loved that movie. months later, i still think of it all the time, images from it pop up randomly - it established itself in my head and refuses to leave, & i love it when films do that.

damosuzuki said:

214 said:

A Ghost Story: I need to watch this once again in the privacy of my home and own thoughts, that's how I enjoy watchin these kind of films, or any kind of films for that matter. A very slow paced film, you watch the world movin around the main character (the ghost with the classic glhost outfit) as he contemplates the world he left behind, a world he was part of when he was alive. He's still part of that world, but in passive way. Although the ghost hasn't any facial expressions whatsoever, he's able to convey sadness and longing, it's so easy to relate to, he is trapped in this world, in this small place he used to call home in a rather large world. Wonderful film, for some people this might've been regarded as boring and most of all pretentious, and perhaps there's a little bit of pretentiousness, they may be right about it. If so, then there is a very successful at that. 4/5

By the way, the music as usual enhance this already wonderful experience

i absolutely loved that movie. months later, i still think of it all the time, images from it pop up randomly - it established itself in my head and refuses to leave, & i love it when films do that.

Wonderful film.

Ladybird 4 / 10

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father's research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.

Luca Guadagnino has become one of my favorite directors of the last ten years. He has another winner here with this very touching romance. And Italy as usual looks incredibly beautiful--as does Armie Hammer, my goodness. 4.5/5

sexton said:

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father's research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.

Luca Guadagnino has become one of my favorite directors of the last ten years. He has another winner here with this very touching romance. And Italy as usual looks incredibly beautiful--as does Armie Hammer, my goodness. 4.5/5

I haven't watched it, but the scene when the boy touches Hammer's crotch was hot, super hot.

lady macbeth (2017) 4/5 - a purchased wife in 19th century england with nothing to lose takes a series of escalating risks. definitely not the proper period piece you might think you're getting judging by the poster. a truly unsettling, unusually nasty & satisfyingly evil watch.

[Edited 1/3/18 19:11pm]

sexton said:

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father's research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.

Luca Guadagnino has become one of my favorite directors of the last ten years. He has another winner here with this very touching romance. And Italy as usual looks incredibly beautiful--as does Armie Hammer, my goodness. 4.5/5

i'm impatiently waiting for this one to open here.
armie hammer looks like he could have been engineered in a lab to be the world's most absurdly good-looking man.

i've had 'a bigger splash' bookmarked on netflix for ages. it was one of your top films from last year if i remember correctly, right? i'm gonna try to make getting it in a priority this weekend. apparently guadagnino's next film is a remake of suspiria, which seems like it ought to be wonderfully odd.

[Edited 1/3/18 19:48pm]

damosuzuki said:

sexton said:

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father's research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.

Luca Guadagnino has become one of my favorite directors of the last ten years. He has another winner here with this very touching romance. And Italy as usual looks incredibly beautiful--as does Armie Hammer, my goodness. 4.5/5

i'm impatiently waiting for this one to open here.
armie hammer looks like he could have been engineered in a lab to be the world's most absurdly good-looking man.

i've had 'a bigger splash' bookmarked on netflix for ages. it was one of your top films from last year if i remember correctly, right? i'm gonna try to make getting it in a priority this weekend. apparently guadagnino's next film is a remake of suspiria, which seems like it ought to be wonderfully odd.

[Edited 1/3/18 19:48pm]

Yes, A Bigger Splash and 2009's I Am Love are both top films in my opinion. I saw that a Suspiria remake is in production and I'd normally be wary of another take on such a classic, but with Luca behind the camera, I'll definitely give it a chance.

The Shape of Water (2017) - In a 1960s research facility, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with a strange, amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

Love Guillermo del Toro, love Sally Hawkins so I would have been surprised if this movie was anything less than stellar. And stellar it was--and surprisingly sensual. Yowza. 5/5

damosuzuki said:

lady macbeth (2017) 4/5 - a purchased wife in 19th century england with nothing to lose takes a series of escalating risks. definitely not the proper period piece you might think you're getting judging by the poster. a truly unsettling, unusually nasty & satisfyingly evil watch.

[Edited 1/3/18 19:11pm]

I told RodeoSchro last year that this would be his worst movie of 2017, worse than Dunkirk.

sexton said:

damosuzuki said:

lady macbeth (2017) 4/5 - a purchased wife in 19th century england with nothing to lose takes a series of escalating risks. definitely not the proper period piece you might think you're getting judging by the poster. a truly unsettling, unusually nasty & satisfyingly evil watch.

[Edited 1/3/18 19:11pm]

I told RodeoSchro last year that this would be his worst movie of 2017, worse than Dunkirk.

that's a big reason why it was on my must-see list. as soon as i saw your post, i knew that movie was probably made just for me! and i personally think rodeo should watch lady macbeth & live-stream his reactions.

the villainess (2017) 3/5 korean action film that starts and ends with real flourishes, action scenes that might be as propulsive & exciting as anything in the raid movies. but the 90 minutes or so in between didn't really work for me, wearing me out with too many twists & turns & flashbacks layered over flashbacks. worth a look if action tickles your fancy, but it definitely wasn't all it could have been to me.

I'm glad CMBYN screener leaked since they don't care if anyone outside of LA and NY get to see it. I'm planning on watching it before the globes this Sunday.

sexton said:

damosuzuki said:

i'm impatiently waiting for this one to open here.
armie hammer looks like he could have been engineered in a lab to be the world's most absurdly good-looking man.

i've had 'a bigger splash' bookmarked on netflix for ages. it was one of your top films from last year if i remember correctly, right? i'm gonna try to make getting it in a priority this weekend. apparently guadagnino's next film is a remake of suspiria, which seems like it ought to be wonderfully odd.

[Edited 1/3/18 19:48pm]

Yes, A Bigger Splash and 2009's I Am Love are both top films in my opinion. I saw that a Suspiria remake is in production and I'd normally be wary of another take on such a classic, but with Luca behind the camera, I'll definitely give it a chance.

suspiria is something i'm somewhat ok-ish with being remade. not enthusiastic mind you, because who really needs another remake, but as much as i enjoy the original (i think it's a demented hoot with its garish colours & deranged soundtrack), it's definitely a bit of a mess (a glorious mess, but a mess nonetheless), and if it's in the right hands, a remake could really be something great.

[Edited 1/5/18 4:56am]

sexton said:

damosuzuki said:

lady macbeth (2017) 4/5 - a purchased wife in 19th century england with nothing to lose takes a series of escalating risks. definitely not the proper period piece you might think you're getting judging by the poster. a truly unsettling, unusually nasty & satisfyingly evil watch.

[Edited 1/3/18 19:11pm]

I told RodeoSchro last year that this would be his worst movie of 2017, worse than Dunkirk.

That's right, you did! I haven't watched it but....hmmmm. I'm about to leave for a two-week vacation and there's no dang snow on the mountain! I could have a LOT of time to watch movies, so this might make the list. But I have to resist the temptation to read the wikipedia plot summary. I usually do that on some of the movies y'all review and I have to say -

damosuzuki said:

sexton said:

I told RodeoSchro last year that this would be his worst movie of 2017, worse than Dunkirk.

that's a big reason why it was on my must-see list. as soon as i saw your post, i knew that movie was probably made just for me! and i personally think rodeo should watch lady macbeth & live-stream his reactions.

the villainess (2017) 3/5 korean action film that starts and ends with real flourishes, action scenes that might be as propulsive & exciting as anything in the raid movies. but the 90 minutes or so in between didn't really work for me, wearing me out with too many twists & turns & flashbacks layered over flashbacks. worth a look if action tickles your fancy, but it definitely wasn't all it could have been to me.

OK, I'll do it! But you guys are going to owe me BIGLY for this!

Shape of The Water 8/10

Great movie. Love that Del Toro gives us a wink and a nod not to take the fantasy too seriously now and again. Love the humor. I'm still iffy if the nudity is gratuotous or not. I personally did not find it offensive, but in this day and age i get confused whether i should be offended or not.

Anyway, all the praise for this movie is well deserved and will someone just shovel awards towards Michael Shannon. The man is the best "I- hate-him-so-much-I-that-I-love" villian ever in everything he is ever in.

RodeoSchro said:

damosuzuki said:

that's a big reason why it was on my must-see list. as soon as i saw your post, i knew that movie was probably made just for me! and i personally think rodeo should watch lady macbeth & live-stream his reactions.

the villainess (2017) 3/5 korean action film that starts and ends with real flourishes, action scenes that might be as propulsive & exciting as anything in the raid movies. but the 90 minutes or so in between didn't really work for me, wearing me out with too many twists & turns & flashbacks layered over flashbacks. worth a look if action tickles your fancy, but it definitely wasn't all it could have been to me.

OK, I'll do it! But you guys are going to owe me BIGLY for this!

i'm probably on very wobbly ground saying this, but i think there's a chance you might actually like this thing. i mean, it's no hobo with a shotgun, but...i have a faint hope you might dig it a little.

the noah (1975) 3/5 the post-nuclear war world's sole survivor, driven mad from isolation, invents friends & an ultimately an entire civilization. shades of last year's mother! here, both in the occasionally heavy-handed, really overt religious elements & the over-the-top madhouse ending. i wouldn't call it great by any means, and its story's definitely a bit thin for a full feature running time, but it's an interesting little curiosity, the kind of thing that was built to lie dormant in obscurity before being resurrected by a cult audience.

[Edited 1/6/18 9:30am]

peedub said:

from the writer/director of the much loved 'bone tomahawk', s. craig zahler....a perfect movie experience. no moral, no message, no ambiguity. 90 minutes of 'watch this movie go dark'. plenty of wince, gasp, gaaaahhhh!!! inducing moments, ala the wishbone scene from 'bone tomahawk'. vince vaughn is brilliant, possibly out performing his work in 'true detective'. i did feel that don johnson could have played his character better, but he wasn't bad. pure escapist pulp entertainment. i love s. craig zahler!

99/5

p.s. since i bootlegged the movie (and enjoyed it so much), i decided to throw some money it's way via the purchase of its excellent, writer/director composed soundtrack. also very recommended.

Based on Peedub's 99/5 review, I watched this last night and...well let's just say I didn't find it quite so gripping. It took almost a full hour to really get going and I personally felt that some of the violence was gratuitous, only there to show off the possibilities of a good combination of CGI and make-up (I feel the same about The Walking Dead of late). I also found the storyline unrealistic and implausible. I will agree that there were plenty of wince moments but there were also a number of yawn moments too. I'm really sorry Peedub but this didn't float my boat anywhere near as much as it floated yours 2/5.

peedub said:

We just finished the Tom Cruise vehicle "American Made". Now, you MIGHT think a movie about airplanes and drug smuggling and contras and the CIA and etc and etc and etc would be right up my alley. And it SHOULD be right up my alley.

But I guess I'm in a different alley now.

I will tell you right up front the main problem with this movie - there is no good guy. The main character, a dude named Barry Seal, is a cigar smuggler who...well, dang it. I just read the wikipedia article about the real Barry Seal and guess what?

Other than the fact that the main character is named "Barry Seal", and the fact that SPOILER ALERT SPOILERT ALERT SPOILER ALERT Seal is killed by the cartel, nothing is the same. Since I now know the true story, I can't focus on the fake story. Dang FAKE NEWS got me again!

The only really good thing about "American Made" is that America's Best Actor, the one and only Caleb Landry Jones, is in it. And CLJ plays a screw-up as only he can. Oscar for CLJ!

Beyond CLJ, I really have no reason to recommend this movie. I give it 2 Gremlins out of 5 Gremlins.

sexton said:

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father's research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.

Luca Guadagnino has become one of my favorite directors of the last ten years. He has another winner here with this very touching romance. And Italy as usual looks incredibly beautiful--as does Armie Hammer, my goodness. 4.5/5

A really wonderful film with a beautiful and moving performance by Chalamet. Also, this could be the best work Hammer has done since The Social Network.