Saw Mickey 17 yesterday, for the most of it I could not understand how this movie wasn't getting more love, then the final third happened. Still enjoyed it.

losthighway wrote: Tue Mar 25, 2025 7:31 pm Finally saw Eggers' Nosferatu. It was everything people had said about it: exquisite cinematography, excellent acting, great attention to detail. If there's anything I can add, it's that it becomes an A minus purely on the grounds of being a remake.

All of his films center on dread. Not a ton of plot (except maybe Northman) just a sense that things are going wrong and will continue to fall. The fact that this is a well known story takes away some of the wonder of just how wrong it will go. The Witch and The Lighthouse had a certain bang at the end. Still there was a grotesque carnality to the ending sequence even if it felt inevitable.

I watched it in the theater a few months ago and then again at home the other night. It's a solid film. I've liked everything he's done so far.

We just watched Flow with our kids tonight. A really engaging movie that has no dialogue. It's terrifying and hopeful at the same time. My dog even watched it.

Been going through all sorts of stuff and put recording on pause for a little minute.

Birth (2004)
The Insider (1994)
Days of Being Wild (1990)
Amadeus (1984)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
The Conversation (1974)
The Mirror (1975)
Zone of Interest (2023)*

All good, some great.

I think there are more but gd Criterion seems to not hold on very tightly to my recent played.

*just watched it on a plane. Need to see again on better speakers as the stupid earbuds did the sound design no justice. Also, I paid $10 to post this.

It’s weird to me that Amadeus isn’t ranked among the all-time greats more often. Maybe sweeping the Oscars did it a disservice, made it seem like those of “those” biopics.

But it’s a brilliant, brilliant movie.

Going into it I had no idea The Martian was a super long nerdcore feel-good movie directed by Ridley Scott. I liked it.

Rewatched It (2017) which I've always liked. Such cool horror imagery and a neat old school haunted house set piece. The CGI isn't that bad and it's rarely used. I remember thinking its sequel wasn't as effective.

rsmurphy wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2025 8:04 am Going into it I had no idea The Martian was a super long nerdcore feel-good movie directed by Ridley Scott. I liked it.

It seems to always be available in the in-flight entertainment systems on commercial flights, so it serves as a great backup if there are no other good movies available. And it's perfect because I can turn it off at any point and it's fine. The first two-thirds of the movie are pretty great, and I don't need to see the ending (which kinda sucks).

Any film nerds have any recommendations of films that are either A) about Stalin and his regime specifically, or B) Set in the Stalinist Soviet era?

rsmurphy wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2025 8:04 am Rewatched It (2017) which I've always liked. [...] I remember thinking its sequel wasn't as effective.

The first part is fine, but the sequel is way, way too long, and repetitive. It was just a bad idea to take a book that bounces between the past and the present and make it chronological. Chapter 2 is a series of set pieces where adults are confronted by Pennywise, the significance of which you'll have to go back to the first one to understand. Less scary and really tedious.

losthighway wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2025 9:48 am Any film nerds have any recommendations of films that are either A) about Stalin and his regime specifically, or B) Set in the Stalinist Soviet era?

This is likely not what you're looking for, but The Death of Stalin is amusing.

jfv wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2025 9:53 am

losthighway wrote: Fri Mar 28, 2025 9:48 am Any film nerds have any recommendations of films that are either A) about Stalin and his regime specifically, or B) Set in the Stalinist Soviet era?

This is likely not what you're looking for, but The Death of Stalin is amusing.

Probably better off with a book. Not much, it's a pretty unglamorous, propaganda heavy era. Hollywood pretty much dominated good movies between 1930-1955 with a few exceptions. I do not care for Eisenstein, and he was already pretty old hat by that point. Maybe David Lean's Dr. Zhivago? That's pretty good. Tarkovsky's Childhood of Ivan is set during WWII, but doesn't have much to do with Stalin. I would instead recommend a survey of late 50's (Cranes are Flying) to today (Leviathan) as there are plenty of good to great Russian movies in that timeframe. I have not seen Fairytale (2022) from Sukorov, but it's described as "experimental adult animated fantasy film. It depicts conversations in purgatory among Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill, using archival footage, and also features Jesus and Napoleon." Perfect for a first date.

EDIT: I have not seen the Robert Duvall HBO TV biopic, but it's probably the most Staliny Stalin thing you're going to find.