Movies / Films / Flicks

[tribe125]

Yesterday

A few interesting things disappear from the world when the Beatles do (Oasis, sure, but Coca-Cola and cigarettes? What do they have to do with the Beatles?), but overall, the movie is a nice bit of fluff, with a few decent laughs. Not a great movie and the resolution is a bit too pat, but it’s cute and it’s sweet, and palatable.

Random things disappeared, which included The Beatles, Coca-Cola and cigarettes. There were presumably other random changes of no real consequence or interest that we’re not told about. It would be odder if only The Beatles disappeared.

But yes, it was an easy and diverting entertainment in the Richard Curtis manner.

[Fantasio]

Halfway through Ripley on Netflix. A bit long series, but I like the Film Noir vibes.

[Raza]

Random things disappeared, which included The Beatles, Coca-Cola and cigarettes. There were presumably other random changes of no real consequence or interest that we’re not told about. It would be odder if only The Beatles disappeared.

But yes, it was an easy and diverting entertainment in the Richard Curtis manner.

Interesting, that’s not an interpretation of the film I’d heard before. I interpreted it as the Beatles disappeared and anything else missing was a result of the butterfly effect of that, not that many things disappeared from the same cause. Subtle difference, but I can see how that makes you look at the movie differently.

[Sedi]

Just finished the 4th season of "True Detective" with the wife yesterday. Boy, what a mess. Don't bother watching it if you haven't already. Rather re-watch the excellent 1st season.
The 4th season was in part a lame re-hash of the first one. Characters were cardboard-thin and it was probably one of the worst performances of Jodie Foster that I have ever seen. Chemistry between the two leads was non-existent. Male characters (as is common today) were either idiots or plain evil. Motivation of the characters was also weak. It never becomes quite clear why some of the people do the evil stuff they do or why Jodie Foster has such a bad relationship with her stepdaughter (who basically acts like any normal teenager). And let's rather not talk about the "police procedure"-aspect of the series. I am pretty certain that is not how Alaskan police operates normally.
I also didn't like the completely random supernatural stuff they threw in.
While the 1st season had some supernatural overtones, that was never really turned into something real outside of the minds of the characters. In season 4 ghosts walk around like it's the most natural thing. Nobody even questions it or the sanity of the people involved.
So it was basically a mixture of -- bad re-hash of 1st season, lame "X Files" clone, mixed with the usual stuff we know from current productions like weak characters (from a writing-aspect), bad character motivation, overall just bad writing and bad execution.

[Samanator]

Interesting, that’s not an interpretation of the film I’d heard before. I interpreted it as the Beatles disappeared and anything else missing was a result of the butterfly effect of that, not that many things disappeared from the same cause. Subtle difference, but I can see how that makes you look at the movie differently.

. You missed Harry Potter from the list. I found Yesterday quite enjoyable from an entertainment aspect.

[Raza]

. You missed Harry Potter from the list. I found Yesterday quite enjoyable from an entertainment aspect.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Harry Potter. I agree, though. The movie is thoroughly enjoyable and, actually, I’ve found myself thinking about more than I would have guessed. Plus, the performance of Help in the third act was pretty great.

[geoffbot]

Civil war.

Excellent. Gritty, very un Hollywood - A*

[Raza]

Civil war.

Excellent. Gritty, very un Hollywood - A*

Alex Garland, innit.

[geoffbot]

Alex Garland, innit.

I don't really do directors, never heard of him, but I guess I should - 28 days later, wrote sunshine (why is that film so averagely rated - it's great), ex machina...was always gonna be good.

[Raza]

I don't really do directors, never heard of him, but I guess I should - 28 days later, wrote sunshine (why is that film so averagely rated - it's great), ex machina...was always gonna be good.

Ex Machina and Annihilation are biggest highlights for Garland for me, with his TV miniseries Devs being another good tick, despite what I felt was a disappointing ending.

Sunshine is averagely rated because Danny Boyle over-directed it. Not a bad film, but the third act has so many lens flares it makes even JJ Abrams blush and you can’t see what the hell is going on.

Also, how do you not “do directors”? It’s like buying a car without knowing who makes it. Directors are probably the number one indicator of whether a movie is going to be good or not. Like, if you see Christopher Nolan or Denis Villenueve, you know it’s probably going to be good (Interstellar and Dune 1 excepted), if you see Tarantino you know it’ll be self-indulgent garbage, if you see Roland Emmerich you know it’ll be McDonald’s on a screen, if it’s one of the Duplass brothers, you know you’re in for an emotional breakdown, etc.