Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[Heather19]

Finally watched Midsommer. Not sure what to think. Off to read all the posts about it that I've been avoiding.

[Mattrick]

Parasite is definitely playing at my cinema this weekend so I'm looking forward to my double feature of Parasite and The Lighthouse.

[webstar1000]

Parasite is definitely playing at my cinema this weekend so I'm looking forward to my double feature of Parasite and The Lighthouse.

Lighthouse was filmed a couple towns over. I did some printing for the film

[Still Servant]

Finally watched Midsommer. Not sure what to think. Off to read all the posts about it that I've been avoiding.

Here are my thoughts (still my favorite film of the year):

If you've ever read anything I've written, then you know I love blockbuster films. I love comic book movies. Endgame was amazing, as was the newest Spider-Man film. I also love sequels. John Wick 3 was such a fun movie-going experience and Toy Story 4 was a beautiful nostalgic trip down memory lane.

That being said, while most people were flocking to see Spidey swing into theaters, I went to a 9:40 showing of Midsommar. Although I'm still a sucker for many sequels, prequels, reboots and adaptations, it's films like Midsommar that remind me why I love film. There's something so great about getting something new and fresh.

That's not to say Midsommar is entirely original. There are many films that are similar, from the original Wicker Man to the more recent Netflix original film Apostle, directed by Gareth Evans. What I'm talking about is the excitement of new characters and a new setting. It's a breath of fresh air.

The best way to watch Midsommar is to go in knowing as little as possible. I was able to successfully not watch a trailer for the film and I only knew a brief synopsis. All I knew was that it was Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary and that it starred Florence Pugh. That's all I needed.

I won't go into any more detail here, but Midsommar is not a mainstream horror film, which shouldn't come as a surprise to most people. The film takes its time to build the atmosphere of this community to perfection. It's also a visually stunning film with a vibrant color palette that seemed to illuminate from the screen. Some scenes were so bright they lite up the entire theater.

Midsommar has a few major themes, the most apparent being dealing with tragedy, as well as the up and downs of a relationship. At its core, Midsommar is a break-up film.

It's imperative that we support films of this nature when they get wide releases. They are fewer and farther between nowadays. It's an easy choice for me, but Midsommar is my favorite film of the year so far.

[webstar1000]

Finally watched Midsommer. Not sure what to think. Off to read all the posts about it that I've been avoiding.

Here are my thoughts (still my favorite film of the year):

If you've ever read anything I've written, then you know I love blockbuster films. I love comic book movies. Endgame was amazing, as was the newest Spider-Man film. I also love sequels. John Wick 3 was such a fun movie-going experience and Toy Story 4 was a beautiful nostalgic trip down memory lane.

That being said, while most people were flocking to see Spidey swing into theaters, I went to a 9:40 showing of Midsommar. Although I'm still a sucker for many sequels, prequels, reboots and adaptations, it's films like Midsommar that remind me why I love film. There's something so great about getting something new and fresh.

That's not to say Midsommar is entirely original. There are many films that are similar, from the original Wicker Man to the more recent Netflix original film Apostle, directed by Gareth Evans. What I'm talking about is the excitement of new characters and a new setting. It's a breath of fresh air.

The best way to watch Midsommar is to go in knowing as little as possible. I was able to successfully not watch a trailer for the film and I only knew a brief synopsis. All I knew was that it was Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary and that it starred Florence Pugh. That's all I needed.

I won't go into any more detail here, but Midsommar is not a mainstream horror film, which shouldn't come as a surprise to most people. The film takes its time to build the atmosphere of this community to perfection. It's also a visually stunning film with a vibrant color palette that seemed to illuminate from the screen. Some scenes were so bright they lite up the entire theater.

Midsommar has a few major themes, the most apparent being dealing with tragedy, as well as the up and downs of a relationship. At its core, Midsommar is a break-up film.

It's imperative that we support films of this nature when they get wide releases. They are fewer and farther between nowadays. It's an easy choice for me, but Midsommar is my favorite film of the year so far.

While I loved it.... it’s def not my fav. Wick 3, Endgame, Spider-Man and Joker are above it.


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[fernandito]

It's my No. 1 as well. It's great to think that Ari Aster is just starting out and that we'll get to enjoy his films for years and years to come.

I'm watching The Lighthouse this weekend so I'm anxious to see how that'll stack up against the rest of 2019.

I also want to watch Monos which has been making big waves in many circles.

[Heather19]

So I've had a night to think about it. And I feel like I should love Midsommer but for some reason I don't. I don't mind slow movies, and I love weird ones, so I feel like this one should have been up my alley but when it was over I was just indifferent about it.

I love the imagery and setting. I also love Ari's filming style. He does these long takes on characters, most especially in this one when they were experiencing extreme emotions. I love that. It's not something you see a lot of these days. I feel like most films are more quick shots, or back and forth versus holding the camera on one person for an extended period. But aside from the filmmaking aspect of it, the story itself was just kinda blah for me for some reason. I didn't hate it by any means but I definitely didn't love it.

[Still Servant]

So I've had a night to think about it. And I feel like I should love Midsommer but for some reason I don't. I don't mind slow movies, and I love weird ones, so I feel like this one should have been up my alley but when it was over I was just indifferent about it.

I love the imagery and setting. I also love Ari's filming style. He does these long takes on characters, most especially in this one when they were experiencing extreme emotions. I love that. It's not something you see a lot of these days. I feel like most films are more quick shots, or back and forth versus holding the camera on one person for an extended period. But aside from the filmmaking aspect of it, the story itself was just kinda blah for me for some reason. I didn't hate it by any means but I definitely didn't love it.

It's certainly not for everyone. It's probably one of those mood movies too. For some people, it all depends on what kind of mood they are in to determine how they feel about it.

[Still Servant]

It's my No. 1 as well. It's great to think that Ari Aster is just starting out and that we'll get to enjoy his films for years and years to come.

Totally agree. It's very exciting. Although I haven't seen The Lighthouse, I'm prepared to put Robert Eggers in that category as well.

[Mattrick]

I'm not sure if I can put Ari Aster in that hot new director category. Hereditary is amazing and Midsommar is very good...but there are a lot of similarities visually between Heredtiary and Midsommar, not to mention the focus on mental illness. I hope his next film is quite a departure from these two because I'm worried his future works might be too samey. He's definitely a great new director, but I'm unsure about his future. He really needs to pull a Damien Chazelle and just go out of his comfort zone for his third flick. There is nothing sadder to me as when a promising director doesn't grow after initial success. I'm looking at YOU, Neill Blomkamp.

The Lighthouse both looks like it has some of what made The Witch great, small cast, isolation, yet visually it seems so different that it should set itself apart. I can't wait to see The Lighthouse and Parasite this weekend

Speaking of new directors, I just learned Flanagan helmed Doctor Sleep, which makes me automatically far more excited.

[webstar1000]

Terminator... what I expected. The all girl thing I find a little tiring. The opening 15 mins I loved. And I did like it.... bad terminator was great but after Robert Patrick’s impossible to top. Was good threaten fun and if Cameron got his heart and story back into it... could go somewhere. 7/10


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[fernandito]

I'm not sure if I can put Ari Aster in that hot new director category. Hereditary is amazing and Midsommar is very good...but there are a lot of similarities visually between Heredtiary and Midsommar, not to mention the focus on mental illness. I hope his next film is quite a departure from these two because I'm worried his future works might be too samey. He's definitely a great new director, but I'm unsure about his future. He really needs to pull a Damien Chazelle and just go out of his comfort zone for his third flick. There is nothing sadder to me as when a promising director doesn't grow after initial success. I'm looking at YOU, Neill Blomkamp.

Why are you docking points from Aster for sticking to his visual style? Also, Midsommar isn't so much about mental illness as it is about the extremely vulnerable state overwhelming grief can leave us in.

I read somewhere that he's going to focus on making a dark comedy next so maybe that will alleviate your fears of him doing samey stuff next time.

Agree about Blomkamp though... gosh, it pains me to think how his career is turning out after such a promising start.

The Lighthouse both looks like it has some of what made The Witch great, small cast, isolation, yet visually it seems so different that it should set itself apart. I can't wait to see The Lighthouse and Parasite this weekend

I'm catching The Lighthouse tonight!

[Still Servant]

I'm not sure if I can put Ari Aster in that hot new director category. Hereditary is amazing and Midsommar is very good...but there are a lot of similarities visually between Heredtiary and Midsommar, not to mention the focus on mental illness. I hope his next film is quite a departure from these two because I'm worried his future works might be too samey. He's definitely a great new director, but I'm unsure about his future. He really needs to pull a Damien Chazelle and just go out of his comfort zone for his third flick. There is nothing sadder to me as when a promising director doesn't grow after initial success. I'm looking at YOU, Neill Blomkamp.

The Lighthouse both looks like it has some of what made The Witch great, small cast, isolation, yet visually it seems so different that it should set itself apart. I can't wait to see The Lighthouse and Parasite this weekend

Speaking of new directors, I just learned Flanagan helmed Doctor Sleep, which makes me automatically far more excited.

I can kind of see where you're coming from with Aster, but like Feev said, it's not fair to dock somebody points for that.

I will say that visually both films are very different. Hereditary takes place mostly at night and is very dark and moody. Midsommar is the complete opposite. It takes place in the searing daylight. That alone is enough to set the two films apart for me.

[mae]

I rarely post about movies that I watch, mainly because I don't know how to talk eloquently about what I see other than I liked it or I didn't like it. I really liked Parasite. It's certainly one of the best films of the year, no doubt. Almost every performance was perfect, the tone shift is beautifully done, and it's beautiful to look at. This should be nominated for lots of Oscars, think Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Director, Picture. I don't like rating films, but I like ranking them. This isn't number one of the year for me, I don't think, but it's very close. Maybe in the top three.

[webstar1000]

I rarely post about movies that I watch, mainly because I don't know how to talk eloquently about what I see other than I liked it or I didn't like it. I really liked Parasite. It's certainly one of the best films of the year, no doubt. Almost every performance was perfect, the tone shift is beautifully done, and it's beautiful to look at. This should be nominated for lots of Oscars, think Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Director, Picture. I don't like rating films, but I like ranking them. This isn't number one of the year for me, I don't think, but it's very close. Maybe in the top three.

What’s your #1?


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[mae]

Hard to say. Probably The Farewell.

[Mattrick]

I'm not sure if I can put Ari Aster in that hot new director category. Hereditary is amazing and Midsommar is very good...but there are a lot of similarities visually between Heredtiary and Midsommar, not to mention the focus on mental illness. I hope his next film is quite a departure from these two because I'm worried his future works might be too samey. He's definitely a great new director, but I'm unsure about his future. He really needs to pull a Damien Chazelle and just go out of his comfort zone for his third flick. There is nothing sadder to me as when a promising director doesn't grow after initial success. I'm looking at YOU, Neill Blomkamp.

Why are you docking points from Aster for sticking to his visual style? Also, Midsommar isn't so much about mental illness as it is about the extremely vulnerable state overwhelming grief can leave us in.

I read somewhere that he's going to focus on making a dark comedy next so maybe that will alleviate your fears of him doing samey stuff next time.

Agree about Blomkamp though... gosh, it pains me to think how his career is turning out after such a promising start.

I don't really dock points from him...it's more a case of if he kind of said all he had to say already and it's only downhill from here, then that's a shame. Midsommar is about a mental illness though since the entire beginning sets up the ramifications mental illness has on those close to the sufferer of it. Dani's own issues don't stem from grief, but guilt for failing her sister and the price that paid. But even on that note, Hereditary was also about the overwhelming nature of grief as well. Both films also had cults and sacrifices and emotional plagued people being manipulated by sinister outside forces. There's enough on the surface to differentiate them, but I did enjoy Hereditary a lot more than Midsommar. But yes, if he does something very different it will alleviate my fears of that.

In terms of visual style...it's fine to stick with that if it's unique enough. Wes Anderson is a perfect example of that. But his visual style also permeates the entire world of his films. With Aster, a lot of his visual style is in framing and camera work so it's a lot easier for that kind of thing to be less effective as his films stack up.

[Mattrick]

Today I saw The Lighthouse and Parasite.



The Lighthouse is simply fantastic. The visuals and set design were wonderful. The performances were captivating as all hell. The minimalist score was eerie and otherworldly and supplemented the visuals and emotion just right. If you want to see a pair of actors act their hearts out in a slow, controlled burn of a film that's also somehow frenetic and unwieldy with a pitch perfect atmosphere, than this is the film for you.



Parasite I didn't like quite as much. I think what hurt Parasite for me was the ending. If the movie ended five minutes earlier with a more subtle touch, I'd have liked it more. But the very end was just a little too on the nose and telegraphed for me. It's a shame too because of how much I enjoyed the rest of the film. It's a very good film that fell just shy of greatness for me because of that ending. If I'd have made this film, I'd have ended it with

Spoiler:

a recreation of the scene where Da-Song see the original bunker dweller by having the son of the new owners of the house catching him out of the bunker by seeing his face in the darkness and thinking he's a ghost. The stuff with him living in the bunker just was unnecessary for me and didn't add anything to the film. And the whole 'this is my plan' vision was just way, way too on the nose for me.

. Other than that it was a very good film, like I said. I'm not one of those people who lets an ending ruin the other 95% of the film. Maybe I'll like the ending more when I rewatch. Who knows? The performances and script were great. The whole conceit of the film is a big reason why I like to go into films blind. I thought this film was more of a dramatic horror or some kind so when it turned out to be about what it's about, I found that very intriguing. Big props to the production design of the film.

I give them both a 5/5

[Still Servant]

I rarely post about movies that I watch, mainly because I don't know how to talk eloquently about what I see other than I liked it or I didn't like it. I really liked Parasite. It's certainly one of the best films of the year, no doubt. Almost every performance was perfect, the tone shift is beautifully done, and it's beautiful to look at. This should be nominated for lots of Oscars, think Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Director, Picture. I don't like rating films, but I like ranking them. This isn't number one of the year for me, I don't think, but it's very close. Maybe in the top three.

I've seen you say that before and it never makes sense to me. Who says you have to talk eloquently about a film?

I don't care how well you convey your thoughts on a film, I just want to hear how much you liked or disliked a certain film. I don't give two shits about how eloquent you sound.

[fernandito]

The Lighthouse

I saw this movie last week and have not been able to stop thinking about it. It's an unrelenting, hypnotic film, purposely shot in 1:19:1 to heighten the sense of displacement and isolation. It lives somewhere between allegory and literal, its gripping narrative shouldered by towering performances from both Dafoe and Pattinson.

Be warned, the first half of the film lumbers along at a sluggish pace; those who stick with it will find their patience handsomely rewarded as the film ramps up and the lines between reality and violent fever dream begin to blur.

Eggers' fascination with mythology and the way he deftly weaves it into a tale of two desperate men who fall prey to the elements, their minds, and each other makes this one of the top, top films of 2019.


8.25/10

[Randall Flagg]

The Lighthouse:


Technically superb, and filmed in black and white in the Academy ratio of 1.19:1, this film feels like an old German expressionism film. The near square aspect ratio lends to a claustrophobic feeling and plays like a chamber piece.

In the late 19th century, two men are on an island somewhere off the northeast coast of New England. They are scheduled to tend to the lighthouse and foghorn for four weeks on essentially a rock. The plot plays with your mind (as well as the character's) as it becomes increasingly difficult to tell which of the two characters (or perhaps both of them) is insane. It is even plausible that there is only one person imaging the whole thing.


A severe storm prevents the supply ship from bringing their replacements, and leads to bouts of heavy drinking, dancing, fighting, confessions, and even a hint of homo-erotica. There's even a scene or two with an axe that is reminiscent of The Shining.


Methodical, maniacal, occasionally tedious, yet fascinating, and perhaps the most original film of the year.


4.5/6 beers on the RFSRS

[webstar1000]

The Lighthouse:


Technically superb, and filmed in black and white in the Academy ratio of 1.19:1, this film feels like an old German expressionism film. The near square aspect ratio lends to a claustrophobic feeling and plays like a chamber piece.

In the late 19th century, two men are on an island somewhere off the northeast coast of New England. They are scheduled to tend to the lighthouse and foghorn for four weeks on essentially a rock. The plot plays with your mind (as well as the character's) as it becomes increasingly difficult to tell which of the two characters (or perhaps both of them) is insane. It is even plausible that there is only one person imaging the whole thing.


A severe storm prevents the supply ship from bringing their replacements, and leads to bouts of heavy drinking, dancing, fighting, confessions, and even a hint of homo-erotica. There's even a scene or two with an axe that is reminiscent of The Shining.


Methodical, maniacal, occasionally tedious, yet fascinating, and perhaps the most original film of the year.


4.5/6 beers on the RFSRS

Filmed about an hour from me brother! I can’t wait to see it


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[M_O_O_N]

Filmed about an hour from me brother! I can’t wait to see it

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Very cool!

Just checked the local theater listings for Thursday and "Dr. Sleep" premiers in the same theater auditorium right after "The Lighthouse." It's looking to be a two-fer day.

[Ricky]

Thinking about going to the movies this weekend: Terminator or The Lighthouse? Hmm...

[Still Servant]

It's great to see the glowing reviews for The Lighthouse. I'm glad you guys are getting to see it.

My plan was to see Parasite and Lighthouse last Saturday. Unfortunately, things rarely go as I plan them these days.