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Gerald's Game - A taut and engaging horror that is well acted and beautifully filmed. I know Gerald's Game is a much maligned King novel, but it's always been a favourite of mine...situational horror at its best. The film has to adapt a novel which primarily revolves around internal dialogues and memories, and it the actors and Flanagan pull this off to perfect. Not only is it not cheesy, but it's genuinely unsettling and captivating. There is some unsettling imagery and some beautiful cinematography in this film. Flanagan's editing style also makes his films a unique treat, and Gerald's Game pulls off a lot much like Oculus did. One of the best King adaptations ever. There is one part in this film where the imagery might be one of the most horrible things I've seen in a film, it actually made me wince, and I never wince. Just...ouch. 4/5
Hush - Having liked Gerald's Game (and Oculus), I decided to knock of this Mike Flanagan film immediately after. It too shows his prowess in making genre films. I like that the killer ditches the mask early, which is his confident way of telling the audience he doesn't need cheap tactics to make a thriller, which I think was also him giving the finger to all the home invasion films lately with masked people like The Purge, The Strangers, and You're Next. He he suprasses them all here. Having the protaganist be a deaf/mute not only makes her more vulnerable to the killer, it also creates a stronger sense of tension. The violence is quite graphic, especially and early stabbing (yikes), but also incredibly limited to only a few moments so it really shines instead of feeling gratuitous. There are so many props set up in the first bit of the film that were brilliantlt brought into the film at the exact right times. 5/5
Mother! - No movie made me feel as anxious as Mother! did. The claustrophobia, the ever-escalating noise and loud voices, and so many people crammed into a house. By the time the film progresses from a relateable madness into outright madness, you just give up and let it take you into the madness. A fantastic film, whether you want to look for meaning or not, as the photography, the mood, and the production itself is so strong. What Dunkirk did for sound for action/war films, Mother! does for horror as it absolutely assaults your ears in a way with puts you right in Lawrences shoes...that and the relentless closeups and tracking shots which hardly let you get away from her...so not only do you feel trapped by the people, the noises, and the walls of the house (which the film never leaves), you're also trapped with Lawrence and her reactions. 5/5
Next up: Blade Runner: The Final Cut in theatres
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Mother! - No movie made me feel as anxious as Mother! did. The claustrophobia, the ever-escalating noise and loud voices, and so many people crammed into a house. By the time the film progresses from a relateable madness into outright madness, you just give up and let it take you into the madness. A fantastic film, whether you want to look for meaning or not, as the photography, the mood, and the production itself is so strong. What Dunkirk did for sound for action/war films, Mother! does for horror as it absolutely assaults your ears in a way with puts you right in Lawrences shoes...that and the relentless closeups and tracking shots which hardly let you get away from her...so not only do you feel trapped by the people, the noises, and the walls of the house (which the film never leaves), you're also trapped with Lawrence and her reactions. 5/5
I pretty much agree with you on this one. I was yanked into the thing and rode with it all the way, an experience I like to have at the movies.
I don't know why, but DUNKIRK just fell as flat as a pancake with me, despite the IMAX size and sound. I WANTED like hell to like this movie, but I just could not. Oh well.
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
Oh, okay. I gotcha.
I loved Dunkirk, but I can see why some people might come away feeling like you did. I think the main reason for this is the fact that the film deliberately keeps the audience at arm's length. Meaning, we are never really allowed to really connect with any of the characters. It lacked that emotional punch that you would find in other war films where you make a personal connection with the protagonists, which was partially Nolan's objective.
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I think with Dunkirk you're supposed to connect with them because they're people in a horrible situation, trying to survive/help others. And really, we shouldn't need a reason to want to see people survive a war movie. We shouldn't need to know they have a wife waiting back home, or kids, or what job they had before the war, or anything else. Nolan just made the battle as realistic as possible, and we saw it thorugh the yes of a couple of characters involved in different aspects, whether its being a commanding officer, a listless soldier just trying to get off the beach, pilots trying to save lives, or civilians trying to take people off the beach. The simplicity of Dunkirk is what I really appreciated. And Nolan isn't the best at writing interesting characters to begin with, so him going total minimal in the plot and character part is why I enjoyed Dunkirk a lot more than his non-Batman stuff.
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Yup, literally exactly what I said last month.
http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/...=1#post1071616
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Before I Wake - This is one of those films nestled in between the netherworld between two genres, in this case Drama and Horror. The film actually tells a pretty good story about dealing with grief from various perspectives and the true strength of this movie was in the performances by the 3 lead actors, Kate Bosworth, Tom Jane, and Jacob Tremblay. The Canker Man is a pretty creepy entity with a really cool design so the film definitely has a strong creepiness factor, even an effective jump scare or two. I think the biggest fault of this film is that it's not enough of a horror film to truly call it a horror film, as effective as Flanagan makes that side of the story. Flanagan's ability as a genre filmmaker to tell stories about characters while still crafting evocative scares and tension is what true sets him apart from other big genre filmmakers, like James Wan. I think the film could have used a little more variety in terms of what Cody dreams about to come true to really get the premise across because it is quite limited in execution. Casual horror fans probably won't enjoy this, but those who appreciate a good story that's about something, and the scares also come from a place of metaphor, I think it's definitely worth a watch. 3/5
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Was this ever released, or did you use "alternative means"?
A NEW GAME BEGINS
It's on Netflix.
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Oh wow. For real? I didn't even know.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
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I'm hoping they upload Ouia: Origin of Evil and Absentia, then I can knock off all the Flanagan films without using "alternate means".
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Absentia was very good. Pretty sure it was streaming on netflix ages ago. Think that's how I watched it, so I don't know if they'll get it again.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
I know I mentioned this before, but I don't remember your answer. Do you ever use your local library as a source for renting DVDs? Back a few years ago when I had more free time, I was plowing through movies like they were going out of style. I would rent 8 for the week. That is assuming that Canada has libraries.
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If I didn't have regular TV shows I watched, I could be watching a ton more movies.
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I just watched It Comes at Night. I need to go back and see what everyone said about it now. It was a decent little film, although a bit slow. I remember people mentioning that the marketing was off, and it was, but at least I knew not to expect a scary movie going into it. Matt have you seen it yet? I feel like it's a film you'll enjoy.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US - 7 out of 10, beautiful scenery
BLADE RUNNER 2049 3D - The 3D was mediocre at best, and the jerks pulled it out of the big auditorium and stuck it in a smaller one because they were broadcasting OPERA in the large theater! Grrrrr. The movie suffered because of this. The credits and place names were so tiny I could barely see them. Still - an 8 out of 10 from me. I just might go back to see it in IMAX.
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
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I'm seeing mixed reviews on Blade Runner. If nothing else, the look seems fantastic.
And I was looking forward to Mountain Between Us but read a review that made it seem like it was more of a romance. Is that accurate?
A NEW GAME BEGINS
Actually, I think remaking movies that didn't work so well in the first place are what remakes should be for. Rather than remaking a classic that got everything right the first time and (9 times out of 10) can't be improved on.
That hasn't stopped the new Flatliners movie from apparently sucking, of course.
Never be cruel and never be cowardly. And if you ever are, always make amends.
You are a walking talking Doctor Who encyclopedia to me. - Melike
Spoiler:
Yes, the LOOK of BLADE RUNNER was quite impressive. That's why it screams out for a great big screen to be shown on.
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
I saw Stronger yesterday and I really enjoyed it. If Gyllenhaal doesn't win this year there is seriously something wrong. There's a scene in a car where he is just operating on a different level.
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Blade Runner 2049 is simply a towering achievement in filmmaking. It's a reminder of the best that film has to offer and the endless possibilities that are achievable.
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