Movies you've seen recently

[Lumpy]

Borat 2: had some laughs and a bunch of cringey parts. It wasn't much different from the first one, as far as the plot. He grates my nerves as often as he's funny, I guess that's the act. Worth watching if you're a fan, if not, this won't change your mind. B-

[Lumpy]

Day of the Dead: Bloodlines - there's no George Romero connection except "based on characters" by George Romero. I stopped after 30 minutes because generic in every way. D, not worth watching.

Whiplash - the drum teacher movie. I saw some complaints that it's not realistic, well it's not a documentary so realism isn't the point. B (or B- maybe). Worth watching.

[Dylan Thomas]

I watched The Void last night.  Pretty decent throwback indie horror film from a couple years back.  Weird, bloody and brutal, I found it enjoyable enough despite the blatant borrowing from classics like Hellraiser.  However, if you dig that era of late 80's/early 90's horror, it's fun.  Bonus points for all the black pyramid imagery throughout the film.

[renfield]

Upcoming movies about Bowie, Zappa, and Shane MacGowan coming up. The only one that looks interesting to me is the one about Zappa

[Dylan Thomas]

Oooh, those all sound interesting to me, especially the Zappa one.

I used to have a documentary about Shane McGowan, it was.....something.  It's a testament to human resilience that the dude still has a pulse.

I've seen a lot of documentaries about Bowie, always down to see more.

I've gotten more into Zappa as of late, we used to listen to him a bit in college, because it was something that all of us freaks with weird musical tastes and who didn't want to smoke and chill with our friends who listened to Dave Matthews and Phish could agree on.  Many a good time puffing a joint with some strange motherfuckers while cranking Hot Rats.

I've read up a bit more on Zappa, and he had such an interesting life and story.  Unbelievable how he was basically entrapped into doing audio porn and then did a jail stint over it.  Wild, and explains a lot about his lifelong anti-authoritarian stances.

[neighbor664]

The Montclair Film Festival had an advance screening of the Zappa doc a couple weeks ago. It is really good. It is a very well done labor of love by a super fan for other fans. This is not your standard "behind the music" fare. I imagine you don't have to be a fan to appreciate it either.

[renfield]

In theory I'm interested in movies about all three of them but the only one that actually looked compelling to me from the trailer was the Zappa.

Bowie looks totally miscast to me, did not get any Bowie vibes from the dude they have playing him.

[mortlock]

im looking forward to the zappa doc. i hope they have some unreleased musical hidden gems in it.

[Lumpy]

Rudeboy: the Trojan Records Story - documentary about the rise and fall of British label Trojan who released ska and reggae records in the late 60s and early 70s. Mix of historical footage, and dramatic re-enactments which are well done. I liked it, it was only 90 minutes and might have been longer, but overall 'thumbs up'. Trojan still exists as a reissue label with great compilations and box sets. B+

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - almost 3 hours long, I had to break this up into two sessions which ruined the flow but whatever. Fun and entertaining reimagining of early 70s Hollywood. I didn't know too much about this going in, and that was probably ideal. If you like Tarantino you will almost certainly like this. B+

[Dylan Thomas]

I actually really, really enjoyed Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and I'm generally not that into Tarantino, he's very hit or miss for me.  Similarly, I knew next to nothing about it going in.  It was a really fun movie, and the acting is amazing, particularly the acting around how to be an actor.

[mortlock]

i made the mistake of watching doom with the rock from like 2012 i think. sucked hard.

if you want to watch special forces clearing rooms and hallways for an hour and a half, this movies for you.

[Lumpy]

What Happened, Miss Simone? - documentary about Nina Simone. Not knowing anything about Nina Simone, i thought it was quite good. It's on Netflix. B+

The Act of Killing - kind of surreal documentary that follows up with Indonesian thugs who murdered hundreds of other civilians after a military coup in 1965. The director tells them they are making a dramatic film to show their exploits in the 60s and gets them to reenact murders they committed. Solid B.

The Go Gos documentary. I kind of hated them at the time but the documentary is pretty good, maybe not all that different than a VH1 Behind the Music episode but I've never seen one of those, so... B

I'm Thinking of Ending Things - struggling to get through this, I'm on my 3rd session and still not finished.

13th - documentary about the end of slavery, Jim Crow laws and the prison/industrial complex. Some of it is basic stuff that some people might already know, it's still good though. A

[Dylan Thomas]

I love that Nina Simone documentary.  I think that it's really poignant how it briefly touches on how she wasn't as creative once they had her on psycho-pharmaceutical drugs.

I still have to watch 13th.

[renfield]

Lumpy, regarding I'm Thinking Of Ending Things, I'm curious what's your mileage with Charlie Kaufman films in general?

[Lumpy]

I liked Being John Malkovich, Adaptation was just okay if I recall. Synecdoche was too long but pretty good. I loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, even though it didn't make logical sense (I don't remember why i say that).

[Dylan Thomas]

I liked Adaptation quite a bit, back in my late 20's we used to watch that at my place quite a bit.  I love the shift from when the movie seems pretty tame and normal to when it goes completely off the rails and jumps the shark.

Watched Motorpsycho last night....man that movie is fucking awesome, hadn't seen it in ages.  Campy goodness.

[renfield]

Saw JFK for the first time since I was a kid. It's interesting because it has a reputation for engaging in conspiracy theory-type thinking, when really it's a cautionary tale of how engaging in that thinking can alienate you from your loved ones and from reality. Kevin Costner is a pretty shitty actor who does really unconvincing accents. Solid film overall.

[Lumpy]

I finally finished "I'm Thinking of Ending Things". And canceled Netflix. Double-meh.

[neighbor664]

I've been making my way through the more recent Star Trek series and enjoying them. I respect TOS, but was never a huge fan due to the dated campiness. I like TNG and DSN when they originally aired, but thanks to syndication kinda had my fill of em.  After watching Enterprise, Discovery and Picard I've been binging through Voyager. Not decided on who my favorite captain may be, but Scott Bakula as Captain Archer is by far the worst of them.

[Dylan Thomas]

We've been re-watching Deep Space Nine and keeping up with Discovery.  I've liked Discovery so far, it's fun, though it sometimes goes for too much action/adventure, rather than just sticking to developing cool sci-fi concepts.


Scott Bakula is by far the worst, that whole series is a friggin' train wreck.

[neighbor664]

Shit! I just realized I'd posted in the wrong thread.

[Dylan Thomas]

Breaking all the house rules ;-)

[Lumpy]

Rare Exports was fun, family-oriented action. The language barrier made it less cringey. If it was a Speilberg movie I probably would have hated it.

[RAGER]

Except naked old guys running after a little boy.

[Lumpy]

Yeah true. It's darker than Spielberg dreck.