The Latest Movie/TV show You Watched Topic 2.0

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Monkey Man is still my favorite movie of 2024 by far really. Last year was a great one for mid budget action movies. The Beekeeper, Ungentlemanly Warfare, Monkey Man, Boy Kills World, and The Killer's Game were all highly enjoyable. Ungentlemanly Warfare I find was a good showcase of just how much Cavill was wasted during his time in the DCEU.

[Jetty_Jags]

I rewatched Dune 2021, and while I liked it better than when I saw it in theaters, I'm still not blown away. I do need to finally give part two a watch (and actually read the book), yet perhaps in ignorance I believe I "understand" the source material enough to move forward with my criticisms.

I don't like Timothee Chalamet as Paul. He's a fantastic actor with great range, but his performance here feels almost 2-dimensional, made worse by the film's continual stoic tone rendering him a cardboard cutout moving from scene to scene, location to location (no matter how brilliantly photographed by Villeneuve & Fraser). Upon a closer inspection, the film is actually doing something more interesting here, but still fails to fully engage with the complex circumstance Paul is brought up within. Comparing his interactions with Duncan Idaho and his father, there's a clear masculine angst that Paul is struggling with, a motif visually reinforced by his fixation upon the matador iconography of his grandfather, and is at least partially realized in the climatic knife dual as Paul finally takes action to the familial expectations of both his father and mother.

Whereas most scenes are heavily reserved and almost completely unemotional, Paul is appealing to/fulfilling the stoic aesthetic set by his father. In contrast, Paul's most emotionally intimate/vulnerable/expressive scenes are through his interactions with Duncan Idaho, where he can shed his reserved pretense amongst his friend. This dichotomy correctly paints Paul as a young man stuck between two worlds, having to leave behind his childish behaviors and find his own identity sometimes through and sometimes against the expectations set by those around him. Unfortunately, the scenes between Paul and Duncan are few and far between, leaving large swathes of the film cold and sterile, worsened by the fact that this is far from Paul's only conflict. Chalamet does little to distinguish between the other forces at play. He acts equally as stoic in response to his mother's political/religious aims, and to the other figures of his life, including but not limited to Dr Yueh and Gurney. Having subtle yet variable demeaner between these individuals would create further depth regarding the relationships between those around Paul, how they wish to mold him, and most importantly illustrate Paul's response to these influences. Equally as important, this would provide the film a greater emotional anchor that it so desperately lacks. Without this further depth and emotional connection, this film's Paul comes off as a soulless marionette to the grandiose spectacles the film triumphantly showcases (which is admittedly the picture's greatest strength).

While I place a lot (if not an unreasonable amount) of responsibility at Chalamet's feet (coincidentally mirroring the high expectations set upon his character), this problem could equally have been avoided by a more interesting score from Hans Zimmer. I want to focus any future viewing on the score just to make sure I'm not overstepping here, but I failed to detect any musical motifs or nuances that played off the various interactions and expectations between Paul and his parents/advisors/friends et all. While it's easy to compare John Williams' work with Star Wars in bad faith, I think it illustrates two points quite succinctly. Music can successfully illuminate greater character nuances in spite of simple/shallow/or weak acting/writing & can invoke complex and multifaceted emotional responses beyond continual lamentation and establishing atmosphere (why is there so much wailing in this?). The interactions between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fischer are fine but nothing special, yet Han Solo & the Princess transforms this into a more than compelling love story, Vader's villainy is as much his imposing silhouette as it is the Imperial March, and there's perhaps no more effective and efficient evocation of faith & providence in art than Binary Sunset.

I want to like this, I really do, and certain elements are absolutely exquisite. But as it stands, it is gorgeously vapid and vacant, in-spite of some strong thematic trends that clearly exist within the material, one just needs to find the right voice for them to sing.

[LSD Jellyfish]

(I guess it was technically 2023 but released stateside 2024 or at least that's when I saw it)

Wim Wender's Perfect Days was a delight. Not my favorite of Wenders and hasn't stuck with me as much as I'd like, but recent self-reflection bolstered my appreciation as it strongly reflects my current perspectives on life and leisure (perhaps it was more subconsciously influential than I thought).

I watched Perfect Days the other day. I liked it a lot, but I must admit it didn’t “wow” me. I appreciated the simplicity of the concept and thought the film was great at portraying a series of simple vignettes and joys, while also working as a great character study. That being said, I kept wishing it to veer more into an actual plot, but I suppose it worked enough. Lots of great costume design, lighting, and acting and facial expressions.

And of course, good soundtrack. Wound up listening to Lou Reed on my way to work today.

I’ll definitely be watching more stuff by Wim Wenders soon.

[Voyager]

Civil War (2024). It was pretty good, I liked it.

[Jetty_Jags]

I’ll definitely be watching more stuff by Wim Wenders soon.

Paris, Texas is my all time favorite movie, and got a gorgeous 4k remaster recently (although the Criterion standard blu ray is pretty good too).

The American Friend is fun, but I need to rewatch it to cement my feelings on the third act.

I'll try to watch either Wings of Desire next (some would argue this is his best film), or Kings of the Road (those who prefer his early works have great things to say about this one). It'll probably take me a while to get through all his stuff, but I'd like to some day.

[Cryptid_Liker]

Love Hurts. Good action, groovy OST, not really much to note otherwise. 7/10, too much ichor.

[Jeff-Goldblum2]

I last watched a movie called Die Monster Die!

It stars Boris Karloff and Nick Adams from Godzilla Vs Monster Zero. This is actually an adaptation of HP Lovecraft's Colour Out of Space. So with that in mind and the fact it stars Nick Adams this may technically be the closest we get to the coveted Godzilla Vs Cthulhu movie?

Anyway the movie was better than I expected, with the pacing and atmosphere of a Lovecraft story and they even manage to have a scene with lovecraftian horrifying creatures, which is interesting for a movie of it's time.

[Jomei]

Joined the Severance Macro Data Refinement team. Great show so far. A strong blend of surrealism, grounded character drama, and dystopian and thriller genre components. Been a while since something lived up to the hype, but so far it's KINO.

[Voyager]

Lake Mungo (2008): Man, has this movie been on my mind over the past couple days! I had heard it's reputation as one of the scariest films ever made, so I watched it to test out that theory. I didn't end the movie scared, but just sad. It had to be one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. A story of a girl who in life was a ghost and now in death, she is forever tethered to a world that she didn't belong to. Her family got the closure they wanted, but just like in life she will forever be misunderstood and ultimately left behind.

[Cryptid_Liker]

Just finished binging the original Mobile Suit Gundam in preparation for GCucks. It's not a perfect show by any means (kinda dragged a bit in the 30s) but most of the time, it hit and when it hit, boy did it. Episode 41, especially, is just... wow. Already had Witch from Mercury on my radar since it first came out but I'm definitely putting a pin on Zeta and CCA as well. Good stuff.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Watched The Curse (2023-2024) by Nathan Fielder. God tier show, absolutely amazing. Can’t say or remember a time a show so quickly “gripped” me and I binged the show in two days. I binged it not because of stupid twists or cliffhangers (like a lot of contemporary made for streaming shows) but just because it’s perfect.

Lake Mungo (2008): Man, has this movie been on my mind over the past couple days! I had heard it's reputation as one of the scariest films ever made, so I watched it to test out that theory. I didn't end the movie scared, but just sad. It had to be one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. A story of a girl who in life was a ghost and now in death, she is forever tethered to a world that she didn't belong to. Her family got the closure they wanted, but just like in life she will forever be misunderstood and ultimately left behind.

I wouldn’t say I ever found Lake Mungo scary, but the “twist”/what happens halfway through the movie is deeply uncomfortable and horrific in another lens. It’s a great movie, and agree it’s “sad”.

Added in 2 minutes 1 second:

Joined the Severance Macro Data Refinement team. Great show so far. A strong blend of surrealism, grounded character drama, and dystopian and thriller genre components. Been a while since something lived up to the hype, but so far it's KINO.

I watched Severance Season 1…a long time ago (people know how long of a wait is between season 1 and 2).

Anyways, I’m about midway through season 2, but if it sticks the landing, it’s really something special. Can’t say too much, but season 2 might be better than season 1.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Just got out of Brave New World. Seriously I thought it was pretty good. Not sure where all this hatred is coming from. Guess it's just in vogue to hate on these films now.

[G-Matt]

Just got out of Brave New World. Seriously I thought it was pretty good. Not sure where all this hatred is coming from. Guess it's just in vogue to hate on these films now.

I agree, I really enjoyed it too. I thought it managed to keep the same spy thriller style of The Winter Soldier.

[GigaBowserG]

No One Will Save You.

Recommended.

[Major sssspielberg!]

Just finished going through the original Star Trek and its associated films, and am now almost done with season 1 of TNG. Despite its reputation, I've found season 1 to be absolutely delightful so far, so many things already start clicking into place. Wonderful show all around.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Just finished going through the original Star Trek and its associated films, and am now almost done with season 1 of TNG. Despite its reputation, I've found season 1 to be absolutely delightful so far, so many things already start clicking into place. Wonderful show all around.

I remember that I was originally warned that TOS ends abruptly. However, the TOS movies really work well to wrap it all up. I really love Star Trek the Motion Picture, and it really works well to wrap everything up.

[Jomei]

Severance season 2 completed. While I have some mild critiques about placement of backstory to maximize impact, on the whole, it was another very engrossing season with a suitably explosive finale that addressed many of the implied tensions that had been building.

[o.supreme]

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

Definitely a fun little film. It attempts to capture the spirit of the original LT/MM, and does pretty well, not perfect, but it certainly could have been far FAR worse (Space Jam a New Legacy comes to mind).

[Voyager]

Upon my girlfriend's adamant recommendation, I watched Meet Joe Black.

I don't understand the low ratings, I thought it was a beautiful movie.

[Cryptid_Liker]

Caught an IMAX screening of Princess Mononoke after having wanted to watch it for years now. Absolutely worth the wait, probably even the best Ghibli movie I've seen thus far.