CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
5 years, 11 months ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Re-Watched in 2019 list
5 years, 11 months ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
5 years, 11 months ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Re-Watched in 2019 list
5 years, 11 months ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
5 years, 12 months ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 6th
Directed by: Not Edgar Wright
The main complaint I hear about this one is that it's fun, but just kind of fluff. What the hell Marvel movies have you been watching that aren't fluff? I was interested to see Edgar Wright's influence, it's here in bursts, sticking out like a sore thumb, but the movie is funny in those moments and out. It's never not fun, it doesn't get tiring, it has some amazing action scenes actually, it's more conceptual visually than Doctor Strange and it's pretty unique for a Marvel film. One of the best.
Downloaded.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 6th
Directed by: Agnès Varda
A great companion piece to one of the purest musical experiences I've seen. It's amazing to see what this film did to the town of Rochefort, how many of it's citizens remember being a part of the production. It also doubles as a love letter to Varda's recently deceased husband. A must-watch if you love Les Demoiselles.
Blu-Ray.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Re-Watched in 2019 list
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 5th
Directed by: Kelly Reichardt
Simplicity is the main thing that I feel runs through the veins of every Reichardt film. This could be seen as very simple, but can be read many different ways. I can't help but notice the individual versus the organization, and our character contrasted with those who are bound by their constituents. The story is told beautifully whatever you choose to glean from it, but it really connected with me for some reason. Kelly Reichardt is easily one of my favorite modern directors.
Criterion Channel.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 5th
Directed by: Brian Taylor, Mark Neveldine
This movie is so much better than Ghost Rider. It doesn't take itself seriously, it's kind of a blast, and it actually looks really good visually. Ghost Rider himself is realized perfectly, they didn't seem like they were afraid of the CGI budget. The stunt work and action scenes are kind of a marvel, the villains are actually fun and interesting. It's a good time man, I dunno.
Downloaded.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 3rd
Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson
Astonishingly forgettable. Painfully 2000's, Eva Mendes being in this movie at all is evidence of that, nevermind her character being useless and vapid. That, and what I can only imagine is an grisly dumbing-down of the source material (at least I hope). There's a lot of cool ideas going on that don't seem to see their full potential, i.e. Blackheart just being a normal looking dude. Nic Cage is not as ridiculous as one would like, Sam Elliott is Sam Elliott. The movie is very okay, I wouldn't choose to watch it again, but it wouldn't kill me.
Downloaded.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 2nd
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Devoid of anything that makes a movie good. Somehow worse CG than the one from 2003. Imagine a modern MCU movie, now take out any comedy or visual pizzazz. This is a by-the-numbers, drab, brown movie. I was really excited for Tim Roth as soldier action man, and he actually didn't disappoint until he turned into an evil Hulk, a common problem with Marvel villains. Anyway, this one stinks.
Downloaded.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 2nd
Directed by: Ang Lee
Oh, the age of early comic book movies. When we seemed obsessed with adapting comics as a format moreso than the actual contents of the story. I certainly get why, it was pretty much a new medium, there wasn't much to take influence from except the comics themselves. So we get the director of Army of Darkness and Darkman to adapt Spider-Man, and the director of... The Ice Storm and... Sense and Sensibility to do The Hulk? Listen, Ang Lee is great, and that is evidenced in this movie, just saying it's weird. The promotional material seems to be going for a Godzilla 1998 feel, and expecting that from this movie would be flat out wrong. It is not a spectacle, at least not intentionally, it's mostly about complicated emotions, father-son dynamics and repressed memories, with very few, but very memorable scene which you could call "action". The story is surprisingly fascinating, I had no idea Hulk was so complex. The comedy comes from the hilarious visual elements, emulating comic book panels with picture in picture, or other inexplicable flair. Ang Lee is a great filmmaker and what he was able to do with this, all things considered is amazing.
Downloaded.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
April 26th
Directed by: Joe & Anthony Russo
Hollywood movies are becoming pro wrestling. A lot of these movies feel like they're obligated to come with storylines for all these masses of characters they have. Who's getting over? Who's gonna beat who, these blockbusters barely resemble what I know movies to be. However, Endgame mostly avoids these problems, the story is tight especially thanks to the fact that they literally just erased every character that wasn't crucial to this story in the last movie. I do like what they were able to do because of that, I found it satisfying to see characters like Nebula or Ant-Man get a spotlight. That's kind of it though, I don't really have anything else to say about it. It was funny, I guess. The endings to Iron Man and Captain America's characters were well done and pleasant. I feel like I left the theater with no strong feelings or emotions and I'm now left wondering if any of these movies have ever given me that. Like what I said before, these really can't be judged on the same level as real movies, they've created their own art form here. Under that lens, it was good... I was sports-entertained.
Theater.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
May 2nd
Directed by: John Singleton
Now this is substantial. While there's nothing SUPER exciting going on visually, there's just too much passion, emotion, and poignancy. I couldn't even begin to get into it, but this is so much more than what I thought it would have been, I should have known, I have only been blown away by "black" movies from the 90's. I guess I expected a typical crime movie, but really this is more about growing up fatherless, how kids end up without fathers, having no regard for life, others or your own, but really it's about more than that, it's about an entire culture. Everything is full circle, told from a place of perspective. It is really a complete story and it's exemplary.
Downloaded.
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Re-Watched in 2019 list
August 13th
Directed by: Wong Kar-wai
5th Viewing
Previous Rating: 4
After: 4
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May 1st
Directed by: Wong Kar-wai
4th Viewing
Previous Rating: 4
After: 4
6 years ago
CD Smiles added 1 item to Movies Watched in 2019 list
April 29th
Directed by: Kon Ichikawa
I don't know how a film with a premise like this turned out so run-of-the-mill. Ichikawa is a classical filmmaker and I really wish some of the youthful Japanese New-Wave mentality made it's way into this film, it really would have served this story some justice. The truth is, most of the runtime is pretty much wasted, I felt my eyes glaze over several times, there was just nothing really engaging me. Not one of his best.
Criterion Channel.
6 years ago