The Great Movie Tournament: Overall Event Overview

[Still Servant]

Just a friendly and excited reminder that nominations will open up in 12 days, on Monday, June 29th

Everybody sit down and watch some of these fucking movies! Especially 2019 shit.

Check out The Nightingale, Peanut Butter Falcon, Uncut Gems, Lighthouse.

[mae]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire!

[Still Servant]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire!

Yes! Good one!

[Heather19]

Just a friendly and excited reminder that nominations will open up in 12 days, on Monday, June 29th

Everybody sit down and watch some of these fucking movies! Especially 2019 shit.

Check out The Nightingale, Peanut Butter Falcon, Uncut Gems, Lighthouse.

I really wanted to see The Nightingale because I absolutely loved The Babadook, and wanted to see what she did next. But then you guys scared me away from seeing it. Do you think I can handle it? I will say that I absolutely hated Last House on the Left, that was too much for me. Is it anything like that or is it very different?

[mae]

It's a tough watch, Heather, no doubt. It barely missed my Top 30 of 2018, and I "enjoy" controversial films. Here's a good overview, no spoilers:

[Ricky]

I really wanted to see The Nightingale because I absolutely loved The Babadook, and wanted to see what she did next. But then you guys scared me away from seeing it. Do you think I can handle it? I will say that I absolutely hated Last House on the Left, that was too much for me. Is it anything like that or is it very different?

I really, really liked The Nightingale. One of my favorites I've seen this year, for sure. It's completely different than The Babadook, but an excellent story with great characters and really well made.

I haven't seen The Last House on the Left, but the violence and abuse in Nightingale is pretty brutal. It's not like they're glorifying it by any means, but I could see why it might be upsetting for some people.

[Iwritecode]

I really wanted to see The Nightingale because I absolutely loved The Babadook, and wanted to see what she did next. But then you guys scared me away from seeing it. Do you think I can handle it? I will say that I absolutely hated Last House on the Left, that was too much for me. Is it anything like that or is it very different?

I've seen multiple people post about The Babadook so I finally watched it sometime last year and pretty much hated it.

Sorry.

[webstar1000]

I really wanted to see The Nightingale because I absolutely loved The Babadook, and wanted to see what she did next. But then you guys scared me away from seeing it. Do you think I can handle it? I will say that I absolutely hated Last House on the Left, that was too much for me. Is it anything like that or is it very different?

I've seen multiple people post about The Babadook so I finally watched it sometime last year and pretty much hated it.

Sorry.

IT was junk. I cannot believe anyone liked that either. I am with you 100%.

[Iwritecode]

I really wanted to see The Nightingale because I absolutely loved The Babadook, and wanted to see what she did next. But then you guys scared me away from seeing it. Do you think I can handle it? I will say that I absolutely hated Last House on the Left, that was too much for me. Is it anything like that or is it very different?

I've seen multiple people post about The Babadook so I finally watched it sometime last year and pretty much hated it.

Sorry.

IT was junk. I cannot believe anyone liked that either. I am with you 100%.

[mae]

Hiya everyone, now that we're just under a week away from 2010s nominations, I wanted to remind everyone that eligible movies are those that had their first initial screening up to December 31, 2019. That means a lot of the movies you saw officially come out in this first half of 2020 are actually technically 2019 movies and are eligible for the tournament. These are movies, just as one example, that premiered at festivals last year and were acquired by Netflix of Amazon, such as The Platform or The Vast of Night.

[Iwritecode]

I'll be on vacation that week with limited internet capabilities. Not sure how much I'll be able to contribute to the nominations.

[fernandito]

And as a gentle reminder, we also gave you guys a platform with which to list those hidden gems you'd like to others to see and discuss. You can find it here.

So if you don't list anything, I don't want to hear mOrE PeOplE sHoUlD hAvE sEeN iT

[Ricky]

I'll be on vacation that week with limited internet capabilities. Not sure how much I'll be able to contribute to the nominations.

If you sent along a list of some that you'd like to nominate, I'm sure one (or some) of us would be willing to put them in for you as you (ex: "Iwritecode wanted to nominate _______"). I mean, we're not running an election here, so I don't see what would be wrong with that.

[divemaster]

I've narrowed down my favorites of the decade to 130 films. Still too many to nominate!

Ha, that's nothing, I have 300. Plus many many honorable mentions. Can't fit everything into an annual Top 30 list, you know.

I've got like...5. Maybe 10 if I push it.

Which are? Come on brah, don't keep us in suspense!

I've gone through my personal spreadsheet. I've rated four films (2010-2019) 5 stars, and an additional 15 films 4.5 stars. There's about triple that if I drop down to 4 star movies (which I consider really good), but the best of the best turns out to be 19 films for the decade.

Many are not "hidden gems," as everyone has heard of them and either watched or not depending on personal preference. The well-known ones are Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, How to Train Your Dragon, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Avengers, John Wick, Tangled, Knives Out, Hereditary, The Wolf of Wall Street, Les Miserables, Guardians of the Galaxy, Silver Linings Playbook, Blade Runner 2049, The Gentlemen, and Horrible Bosses.

The four remaining films, which many will have not seen or heard of (and thus applicable to this thread) are Sunny, Cold Eyes, A Girl at My Door, and Han Gong-ju. I believe I've posted my thoughts on these at some point in another discussion thread, but I'll compile my reviews/thoughts here for readers' convenience. I'm using spoiler boxes to avoid a wall of text.

Han Gong-ju (2013) Korea

Spoiler:

I went into this completely cold. I knew nothing of the plot or circumstances of the film. I'm not going to give any major spoilers below, but will have to frame the discussion, so if you haven't seen it and want to go in blind (like I did, and very much recommend you doing as well), then read no further.

......

......

The movie starts off with a group of teachers surrounding Gong-ju, a teen girl about 16. Everyone is obviously distraught. "It's not your fault" they tell her, but it is soon obvious that she isn't welcome in her school any more. So her teacher schleps her off to another city and calls in a favor to get the principal of the new school to enroll her as a student. Since her mother and father are obviously absent from the picture, the teacher convinces his mother to take her in to live with her. The teacher's mother is not real keen on the idea.

I don't think I need to disclose any more actual plot points. The viewer is not clued in to exactly what Gong-ju did, until the movie is ready to reveal that. Sure, there are hints at the nature of the situation, but we don't know the details. We follow Gong-ju as she tries to get on with her high school life, and little by little the film opens itself up to us. And with every revelation, we get to know (and like) Gong-ju more and more.

Unlike the stereotypical circumstance of the school kids not accepting, or making fun, or bullying the "new kid," several of the female students are intrigued by her and try honestly to befriend her. Gong-ju reveals some talents that make the girls like and respect her even more. Gong-ju vacillates between accepting the friendship and setting rigid boundaries that test those friendships.

The last half hour of the movie is some of the most powerful cinema I can recall. We've gotten to know and love Gong-ju...and...and...well, it angers me to think how Korean society obviously considers girls. Like something to be discarded, I guess. Whether as a toy or a piece of trash. Once used, just throw it away. This applies to her parents, (some) of her peers, school administrators, and a large number of other adults. Even her teacher, who does show her kindness, seems to be motivated by getting rid of the problem by hiding it than by offering real help. Other adults in a position of authority behave despicably. There is a scene at the school that is just devastating. When the dad shows up, and we finally realize why, it is doubly devastating. The musical cue at the end is the final straw. I felt like someone reached into my gut and yanked emotions out of me I didn't know I had.

What makes it even more effective is that the movie is based on a true story. This really happened. I didn't know that going in to the movie, but a few wiki links I researched after watching made it quite obvious that the way Korean society was portrayed in the movie was 100% accurate as to how the girl was treated. This angers me.

One further thing to note: the movie was quite confusing in that it bounced between "present" and "flashback" with no real cues that was happening. I had to rewind and rewatch some scenes b/c at some points I was very confused about who Gong-ju was talking to and what their role was. Helpful hint: When Gong-ju is working at the 7-11; that's the past. The other store is the present. When she's talking with her long-haired friend, that's the past. The short-haired girl is the present. If you keep that straight, you can suss out the rest, but you really have to be paying attention. That's the only reason for the half-star deduction.

4.5 stars

Sunny (2011) Korea

Spoiler:

...what an amazing movie. I knew it "looked cute" but was not prepared for how much I loved this. The funny parts were hilarious; the sentimental parts were handled well; the dramatic moments were spot on; and the balance of the story of the girls and the nostalgia of the grown ladies was affecting and struck just the right balance. I enjoyed meeting these girls and their different personalities. The scenes with the rival "girl gangs" and the insults they hurled at each other had me in stitches. I watched this on a HK-issued DVD, so I don't know how accurate the subtitles were, but man, that girl had a hilarious mouth on her! "Shut the fuck up you skanky shiznit twat!" I swear the next time I watch this I'm going to copy down the curses and insults. That's gold.

But the funny stuff aside, the poignancy of how we age from childhood, and what becomes of our dreams and friendships--this movie has a lot to say. It's wonderful that it was able to say such things so honestly and effectively.

5 stars

A Girl at My Door (2014) Korea

Spoiler:

Doo-na Bae stars as a police chief recently transferred to a dying seaside village. It seems she had some sort of scandal during her Seoul employment and her supervisors want her to lay low for a while and let things blow over. She does have some problems, not the least being her ability to drink copious amounts of soju each night. Like 3 liters or so as a nightcap. But she's determined to be the voice of law and order, even if it means running up against the town's main economic engine, a volatile lout who exploits illegal immigrant labor.

Ms. police chief soon notices a young teen girl, about 13, who is the town's whipping post. She is called a "whore slut brat" and beat upon--and this is by her own grandmother. She is teased and smacked around by her classmates. Her stepfather (same lout as above) is worse, especially when drunk, which is about every night. The girl gloms on to the police lady, who attempts to shield her from further abuse.

I was very much liking this movie. The main actors are all outstanding. We know Doo-nae Bae, of course. The teen girl is the same actress as the little girl in My Brand New Life, and the girl needing saving from The Man from Nowhere. Both actresses do amazing jobs here--Bae, as the stoic police woman who hardly emotes at all, except via those eyes and her ever-tightening facial expressions, and the young teen, who acts out like you might expect from a girl who has been abused her whole life. Or, maybe, how you might not expect. The actor playing the stepfather will have you hissing at the screen every time he shows up.

The plot and story, also, are compelling and had me along for the ride for sure.

Then, about two-thirds of the way in, some things played out that had me saying to myself "if this movie goes in THAT direction, and gives me yet another vision of nihilism that makes me want to curse the TV, curse the world, and curse humanity, and everything ends like that and ROLL CREDITS, I'm going to give this fucking movie ZERO STARS" and give a hearty middle finger to the Korean film industry that seems to relish not just making you feel bad, but feel suicidal.

But no! The movie does not take that path and instead goes in a different direction that I found unsettling, but interesting and, importantly, completely in line with the characters' experiences and motivations. I bought in 100%. Crisis averted. This is an amazingly good and effective film. The only reason it doesn't get the full 5 stars is that I try to give that rating to those films I see myself watching over and over again. I don't see this one getting 7 re-watches over the years, but I'm sure I'll revisit it again sometime. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars

Cold Eyes (2013) Korea

Spoiler:

Wow! Where to start? The movie opens, dropping you right in the middle of a cat-and-mouse, hard-boiled scenario. Who's the guy? Why is this girl following him? And why does it seem someone is following her? The movie doesn't waste any time with explanation; just puts you in the action and takes you along for the ride.

And the first 10 minutes sold me. Turns out the girl is vying for a position on an elite police surveillance and tracking team. Her amazing skills at observation and memory make her a natural, but of course there is a bit of hazing and having to pay her dues. The team quickly finds themselves surveilling an elusive criminal gang masterminded by a fellow the police team have nicknamed "Shadow."

As I was watching, I started to wonder if Johnny To suddenly became a Korean director. This had all the hallmarks of a Johnnie To movie! And I fucking love Johnnie To! Hell yeah! The quick cuts; the action-without-plot-exposition; the "camaraderie of the team," the quirky little fun bits amongst the chaos and violence (the team members all have animal code names; our girl is "Piglet."). Cold Eyes is not some lame second-rate Johnnie To wannabe, it fucking nailed the homage or whatever. And added a pulse-pounding score that really accentuates the edge-of-your seat tension.

I was solidly at a 4.5 for this, deducting a bit for some coincidences late in the film and a surprising case of the stupids from our elite team members, but then, in the coda--the "Shadow" case being solved; our "Piglet" having graduated to "Reindeer"; she's tracking the new suspect... and it's...Simon Yam! Simon! Fucking! Yam! How awesomely cool is that!

5 fucking stars! Hell yeaah!

(Ha Ha. Turns out Cold Eyes is a sortof Korean remake of the Johnnie To movie Eye in the Sky. I knew something must have been going on. I've actually seen Eye in the Sky and rated it 3.5 stars. It's saying something that a Korean movie can "out-Johnnie To" Johnnie To!)

[mae]

I love both Sunny and A Girl at My Door, thanks for mentioning them!

[DoctorZaius]

Throwing some of my hidden gems (hidden for some I guess) - not necessarily ranked:

Begin Again - Keira Knightly and Mark Ruffalo (superb in every way)
Her - Joaquin Phoenix is just brilliant in this mediation on seeking connection
Kubo and the Two Strings - masterful piece of animation
Song of the Sea - another animated masterpiece
Mud - Matthew McConaughey at his best
The Oldman and the Sea - great to see Robert Redford still at it
Trouble With the Curve - great to see Clint Eastwood still at it
Winter's Bone - Jennifer Lawrence's debut
Spotlight - I know it won an academy award, but I don't know many that saw it. I love newspaper films.
Inside Out - the best film that Pixar ever made

[DoctorZaius]

I'll be on vacation that week with limited internet capabilities. Not sure how much I'll be able to contribute to the nominations.

Given the number of entries I am sure many of your favorites will get covered.

[Iwritecode]

I'll be on vacation that week with limited internet capabilities. Not sure how much I'll be able to contribute to the nominations.

Given the number of entries I am sure many of your favorites will get covered.

I'm not real worried about it. Most of my list is the bigger more well-known movies anyway. I'll probably be able to check in a few times at least.

[Still Servant]

Just a friendly and excited reminder that nominations will open up in 12 days, on Monday, June 29th

Everybody sit down and watch some of these fucking movies! Especially 2019 shit.

Check out The Nightingale, Peanut Butter Falcon, Uncut Gems, Lighthouse.

I really wanted to see The Nightingale because I absolutely loved The Babadook, and wanted to see what she did next. But then you guys scared me away from seeing it. Do you think I can handle it? I will say that I absolutely hated Last House on the Left, that was too much for me. Is it anything like that or is it very different?

It's a brutal watch, I'm not going to lie. I honestly can't say if it's something you will enjoy. It's a revenge flick that has a ton of racial overtones.

[Still Servant]

#SmallerFilmsMatter

[Ricky]

Her - Joaquin Phoenix is just brilliant in this mediation on seeking connection
Winter's Bone - Jennifer Lawrence's debut
Spotlight - I know it won an academy award, but I don't know many that saw it. I love newspaper films.

Agreed!

[Still Servant]

Her will have no problem getting in. Matt adores that film.

[Heather19]

I love Her, such a great film. Also Song of the Sea is so beautiful. I wish they would make more animated films like this.

[fernandito]

Her is amazing. Been thinking a lot about that movie for some reason. Want to rewatch it prior to the contest so its fresh in my mind.

[DoctorZaius]

Her is amazing. Been thinking a lot about that movie for some reason. Want to rewatch it prior to the contest so its fresh in my mind.

In our current climate of Covid isolation, it's hard not to think about Her from time to time.