Movie

I really dug that pitch. It could be like the sports drama version of Fury Road (in which the entire film is more or less a single chase.) Does such a movie already exist?

I'll start off by plugging Jon Bernthal's character Griff in Baby Driver. "Okay folks, if you don't see me again... it's 'cause I'm dead!" A line delivered before exiting the movie entirely. 🤣 I get endless amounts of enjoyment from Bernthal's entire performance in this scene. From his body language to his dry/deadpan delivery as he looks directly into the camera before walking off!! 😅

Honorable Mentions to Monty Python and the Holy Grail's "cop out" ending (which took me YEARS to catch) and Egon subtly signaling to Venkman in the original Ghostbusters as they negotiate fees with the hotel manager after their first bust. 😂

I just finished rewatching From Up On Poppy Hill with my daughter, and it got me thinking about this topic. For those who haven't seen it, it takes place in 1960s Japan in Yokohama, a gorgeously-depicted port city on a hillside near Tokyo. The film luxuriates in the hillside and seaside views of its city, in its streetscapes, and in the interiors of some of its buildings, while taking us on a whirlwind tour of the environs via seemingly every possible mode of transportation.

It's a movie wherein a major part of its emotional core is the importance of places and how they inform our histories as people, both personal and societal.

The film's protagonist, a teenage girl who lost her father during the Korean War, raises a flag in her boarding-house garden every day atop the hillside to signal ships in the harbor below, beckoning her father home in a personal tradition that intertwines city, home, and her own internal grief.

In doing so, she catches the eye of a teenage boy on his father's tug below, who runs their school newspaper from an old tottering multi-story schoolhouse-turned-clubhouse packed to the brim with the additions and grime of its resident school clubs.

Their budding romance gets her involved in a fight to save the building from demolition amid waves of urban renewal in the 60s.

It's a charming setting, but what I particularly love is the way it's woven through every aspect of the story, from the visuals to the themes to the characters and even the plot mechanics, such as they are.

Of course, Studio Ghibli has a long history of making movies where the setting is a critical cornerstone of the project; the bathhouse in Spirited Away being the most obvious example. But there are many films from other studios (and directors not named Miyazaki) where this is the case. What are some of y'all's favorites?

Is Dead Silence the greatest horror movie ever? No. Does it need to be? Again, no. I love the premise of a ventriloquist doll(s) being haunted and murdering people that scream. The writing and acting are not exactly great but I think the gore and thrills more than make up for it. Also, I love Charlie Clouser’s score for this film and I think it might be my favorite work from him. The movie’s plot is a bit goofy but it’s a lot of fun and it makes for a short and sweet film. I like to watch this movie every now and again because of the way it draws you in and becomes so absurd. It’s a shame this movie didn’t do well because I would have liked to have seen a sequel. What do you think of Dead Silence?

I finally got around to watching Banshee Chapter and I really enjoyed it. The creators did the best they could with what they had but I ultimately felt it was held back by the low budget. This movie could have been epic with more money. What movies do you think would benefit from a bigger budget, provided the creators could maintain their creative integrity?

Your choices:

• (1999): A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.

• (2003): A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.

• (2006): The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

• (2010): After withdrawing to the Chateau Marmont, a passionless Hollywood actor reexamines his life when his eleven-year-old daughter surprises him with a visit.

• (2013): Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes.

• (2017): The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.

• (2020): A young mother reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York.

• (2023): When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.

I don't mean ones like john wick or wrath of man where they just go and kill the bad guy without any pain. Something like the punisher(2004) but with a more enjoyable journey?

Zootopia

I get it...I get it...

It's a kids movie

But goddamn, when it first came out, GROWN ADULTS were treating it like it was the most important movie of our times! It had a near perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes. AFI named it as one of the Top Films of 2016, there were articles going "Can you believe a Disney movie said THAT?!", there were reports of fucking grown ass cops watching it to learn not to be racist, and just look at its Best Animated Oscar Presentation:

And I get it people were afraid of Trump, as I was, but, well, hyping up the most recent at the time movie with an anti-racism message didn't exactly stop the guy from getting elected did it? And using it for police trainings didn't exactly stop police violence against minorities either now did it?

Sure the movie gets political IN THE THIRD ACT but people were acting like the third act was the entire damn movie when, at the end of the day, it was really just a generic kids movie with the only thing really sticking out about it was its message and the chemistry between its leads. If it came out in, say, 2012 people would've just said that was pretty good but it wouldn't have gotten the "It's the most important movie of our time" moniker that it got in 2016.

Try to watch Rebel Moon Part 2 and only could get through 30 mins after getting a bit bored. I love movies like aliens, district 9, interstellar , matrix.