Vexter

i just watched the trailer for that movie it looks pretty good i'm going to have to check it out

bob.

Good to know it's on netflix....saw it twice in the theater and it was easily one of my top ten last year....such a beautiful film....and funny as hell

a little behind with some great films to review

"awards season" is my favorite time of year and 2014 is not disappointing

well maybe a little

as always with Exo's reviews....i don't read them when it's a film i really want to see....so it's almost as fun to go back and read his thoughts once i finally get a crack at the film

and with me no longer making weekly trips to LA for work....i now have to wait what seems like eons before they come to Reno.....i am half tempted right now to hop in my car and drive 2 hours just to see Foxcatcher

at that....


Whiplash

i'm with you man almost 100%....

two words....

MUSIC PORN

so again very simple premise but amazingly well done....the relationship between these two characters....who by the way are both completely fucking insane with ambition....and i really mean that both of these characters are like loony bin crazy....the things both of them do to each other and to every human being who has the unfortunate pleasure of their company is absolutely enthralling and pushes this film far beyond anything i was expecting....the scene where the kid forgets his sticks turned a popcorn filled theater into pure golden silence

both Simmons and Teller deliver probably two of the best performances of the year

did i mention MUSIC PORN.....seriously if i played jazz anywhere near the level the performers in this movie did....i would have left the theater and played till i bled (a continuing theme in this film )

movie of the year....not so much....as of right now is it in my top three....yes


Interstellar

i have seriously mixed emotions on this film....and unfortunately my emotions involve major spoilers....so i'll keep this somewhat short

so first and foremost.....this is an absolutely gorgeous film....if you love space and even more so love space on the big screen....you must see this in the theater

that being said

i demanded my money back and almost walked out (by the way i do this often and it's only worked twice )

that is how horribly stupid the script was and the whole general theme behind it

had it not been for the wonderful effects, solid acting, and i will admit the drive to see what was going to happen in the end (which pissed me off beyond belief....just like fucking Contact)

i'll just leave it at that....it was worth the time simply for how amazing the film is visually....thank satan the movie theater serves beer....as the was a three beer movie for me

so Exo you may be asking...what in the world could be better than Whiplash.....one word


Birdman: or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

well several words

this is....and probably will end up as the best film of the year for me....and with the amazing films all year long...that really is saying so much

so where to start

unlike Interstellar....the script is perfect....i know...this film is attempting to be meta for the sake of being meta...but it works so fucking perfect....the things the director is trying to say about film making and about the audience is so obvious that when he goes out of his way to mock himself....it's just pure genius

only one time this year did i actually say the word "wow" due to a performance....as in after a scene i was so taken back and breathless that the word "wow" escaped my mouth during the viewing....thank you Emma Stone

actually every character in this film gets a wow moment.....obviously Keaton gets most of the screen time...and seriously every second is worth it....but seriously every character has some moment where there is an intimate connection between them and the audience.....and every moment is bursting with emotion and reality....which is great because this film is anything but rooted in reality

EVERYBODY in this film deserves an award for acting.

that being said....the cinematography.....

if you all remember....last year a movie called "Gravity" came out and everybody raved about the 13 minute long tracking shot that the film opens with

well this film is shot in one take....just like Hitchcock's masterpiece Rope...

but like Gravity....Birdman cheats a bit on this concept....but it still works.....and every second that the camera is on is amazing.....the transitions are perfect and unlike Rope this takes place over several days and all over New York City....it is nothing short of spectacular


also whats great about this film is...unlike other Inarritu films.....this one is re-watchable....although it still leaves you with the weight of the world on your back

trust me.....if you love the art of film....you have to see this...cause that is exactly what this is.....art.

can't say enough good things about Birdman

by far film of the year

__________________
A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

The Batlord

Just saw this myself. As dumb as some of the things were in this movie, especially Anne Hathoway's speech in the middle, I still really dug it. I was kind of disappointed with the sciencey stuff though. It was awesome, but a lot of the people on here made it seem like the scientific explanations for things would be a lot more textbookish, which I was looking forward to, but it wasn't nearly so in depth. And that part at the end got me seriously choked up. I've noticed that ever since I teared up at the end of The Flash Paradox, I've been getting a lot more emotional over movies. Batman has opened me up emotionally.

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bob.

Textbookish!

Ha!

Was that meant to be a pun?!

__________________
A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

The Batlord

Uh... yeah, yeah it was totally a pun. I completely understand the joke that you are referring to.

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bob.

Hmmmmmmm

__________________
A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

Exo

On Whiplash: Music porn indeed. I actually just got back from seeing it a second time. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still had short of breath after it finished. It stills holds. I also rewatched Grand Budapest last night. That movie keeps moving up for me. It's a joy.

On Interstellar. I saw it a couple days ago. I haven't gotten around to reviewing it because I was so mixed on it. I agree with you, beautiful film, horrible script. The acting from MM was good though. I enjoy him.

Bob...I have a bone to pick. Let me preface this by saying that I love you and that you're awesome and this is no way a knock on you as a person. It's just something I have to say...

Please don't ask for your money back from the theaters just because you hate the movie. I'm assuming you did this after the movie finished...a three hour movie by the way.

In my time managing my theater, we had a strict rule. You may come out and ask for your money back AS LONG as you do it before the half way mark of the film. The film could be 90 minutes or four hours. As long as it is half way. I had a lot of people come out and ask for their money back after the movie had finished and I always told them flat out...absolutely f*cking not. You can't not go to a restaurant, eat a entire meal, and then ask for your money back because you thought it was sh*tty. You ate the whole thing. The thing with this analogy is that you can actually argue against it because the product is the directly from the supplier. They cooked your steak. They cooked it sh*tty. The theater did not make Interstellar. In fact, they had 0% to do with the production of the sh*tty movie you just experienced. I've walked out of movies. I always do so before the halfway mark, and if I don't make it before half way, I go home without my money back. It's not fair for the theater, who doesn't make D*CK on movie tickets anyway, to have to cough up the dough because you hated a film. My theater chain went out of business and we had theaters in NYC.

Bob, you're one of my favorite people on this site. I say this with love. Really.

Sequoioideae

I love this movie, it's not the gore that really gets me, it's the characters. Ichi himself represents this sort of ****ed up version of Milton from Office Space. He gets off on the physical abuse of others, watching women being beaten and raped. It's in essence the darkest, most taboo thing that makes Ichi so terrifying. Not only that, but he has the mind of a child, when pushed too far he goes into a crying frenzy and dismembers whatever is near him. The mixing of a docile manchild and extreme sadist is probably one of the most terrifying things I can think of. I really wish they put out an English translation of manga, it's supposedly even more ****ed up.



Enough of that though, some of the scenes in this film are just so hilariously bad, like the scene where Ichi cuts the pimp in half. It's campy, it's wrong, it's funny, it's sad, awkward, and just a joy to watch.

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Funnel From Another Lover

God Is My Solar System

bob.

it's really more of a on standing joke with three ushers at the theater i frequent....which is a luxury multiplex and IMAX

it started with me walking out of Maleficent 20 minutes into the film....and them having bets on how long it would take me to leave....i think they have a similar policy

and no worries ever my friend

and i agree 100% with Grand Budapest Hotel

__________________
A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

Exo

Oh, okay, well...THAT GOES FOR ANY OTHERS WHO ARE THINKING ABOUT IT.