Let's all go to the movies~

[KingRoyal]

Hopefully Daniel Craig gets to say "This is truly a glass onion" at some point

[KingRoyal]

Really loved the hell out of Nope, which shows Peele making a Spielberg homage without using Spielberg imagery. It also has a live action Akira slide in it. I don't want discuss too much other than to recommend because the movie benefits from knowing less about it going in.

[KingRoyal]

Movie reviews

Barbarian (2022), directed by Zach Cregger and stars Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård.

It's about a woman who pulls up at an AirBnB only to discover that someone is already there and that the place might be double-booked. That's all I say, because the film benefits from going in cold and knowing nothing about it, but it's scary and fun and creative in a lot of ways. Highly recommend

Pearl (2022), directed by Ti West and starring Mia Goth

I really wanted to like Pearl, I was super jazzed about its trailer and the general RKO/Columbia-era film-making it was going for. And Mia Goth delivers a great performance, and the cinematography by Eliot Rockett looks great, but somehow this film just did not click with me. It delivers what it advertises, but it's not really surprising and I found Pearl to not be that deep a character. The film gives all that's needed to know about her in the first 15 minutes then just goes from there. There's a few fun scenes (country girls make do) and if gory kills are your thing you might enjoy it more than I did

Cowboys vs Aliens (2011), directed by Jon Favreau

Favreau deserves some kind of award for taking an easy concept and a stacked cast and squandering both. Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown, Walton Goggins, Paul Dano, Keith Carradine, all amazing actors, all wasted. Things start out promising as we get the character dynamics of the Arizona town the movie is set in, but things go downhill from there. Once the sci-fi concept kicks in, things just become more and more boring and any interesting character bits are thrown out the window. Do no recommend

[Niku]

Movie reviews
Pearl (2022), directed by Ti West and starring Mia Goth

I really wanted to like Pearl, I was super jazzed about its trailer and the general RKO/Columbia-era film-making it was going for. And Mia Goth delivers a great performance, and the cinematography by Eliot Rockett looks great, but somehow this film just did not click with me. It delivers what it advertises, but it's not really surprising and I found Pearl to not be that deep a character. The film gives all that's needed to know about her in the first 15 minutes then just goes from there. There's a few fun scenes (country girls make do) and if gory kills are your thing you might enjoy it more than I did

What'd you think of X? I totally dug it and am lookin' forward to checking out Pearl (and Maxxine), so just curious what your expectations were going into this one.

[KingRoyal]

So, I wanted to see X and it also looked like something I'd vibe with, but never got around to it. I did not know that Pearl was a character from X, I went in with only the Pearl trailer to guide me

I'm not the biggest fan of slasher horror, though, so my take on the film is one where it just didn't gel with me. I still think Mia Goth gave a great performance and the whole thing looks great

[Niku]

Yeah X (very deliberately) feels like a modern remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre while also doing its own thing; so if TCM doesn't do much for you I'm not sure that X will either. Mia Goth remains really great in it though.

[KingRoyal]

Oh, thing is, I loved Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That film is dope, so I'm still pretty interested in X. Horror can be extremely hit or miss with me

[Thad]

Wendell & Wild is straight-up the best film I've seen in years. I think the last thing I saw that gave me this kind of "my God I love movies" high was probably The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

Selick's still got it. Just incredible production values as always, a great cast (James Hong, still working in his 90s!), and some fairly pointed political messages to boot (it is a movie about how private prisons are more evil than literal demons). Loved everything about it.

[Thad]

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a remarkable gem of a film. The premise of jumping through the multiverse is used to explore themes of nihilism, personal choice and who we are and who we choose to be with. And it happens to be incredibly funny and have a lot of fun, expressive action scenes to boot. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan are both fantastic in it, though I think that undersells how the entire cast knocks it out of the park. Just absolutely loved this movie.

The thing about Everything Everywhere All at Once is that it's produced by the Russo Brothers and stars Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and James Hong.

In other words, this is a movie made by people who could make any fucking movie they wanted. It's a passion project, and that's evident in every scene. This is a movie where a bunch of immensely successful and talented people read the script and made it because they wanted to.

And of course that doesn't automatically mean a movie is going to be good. But fortunately, this one is!

[KingRoyal]

I just watched A Pigeon Sitting on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014) by Ron Andersson and it was amazing



The story sort of follows a pair of traveling salesman of novelty items, Sam and Jonathan, through their lives as they struggle to sell vampire teeth, a laughing bag and a grotesque old man mask. But mostly it is a series of small black comedy tableaux, bordering on the absurd and even horrifying in one case.

[KingRoyal]

The Banshees of Inisherin is the latest from Martin McDonagh, who directed In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. It is tragic and beautiful, but also funny in the way McDonagh films are

On a small island off the coast of Ireland, Padraic (Collin Farrell) suddenly finds that his friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) no longer wants to be his friend. Not because of anything Padraic said or did but because Colm just doesn't like him any more. It touches on themes of loneliness and self-centeredness and just life on a small island, and how people relate to each other and seek meaning. It's really good

[Niku]

The Menu might be the funniest movie released in 2022. If you're me, anyway.

[Thad]

DC Slate Unveiled: New Batman, Supergirl Movies, a Green Lantern TV Show, and More From James Gunn, Peter Safran

Looks like a good, eclectic group of shows, though as long as Zaslav's in charge who the fuck knows if anything is actually going to get completed and released.

Creature Commandos
Waller
Superman: Legacy
Lanterns
The Authority
Paradise Lost
The Brave and the Bold
The Batman Part 2
Booster Gold
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Swamp Thing

Nice to see some comic book writers named, but kinda pissed that the only artist named is Jim Lee, who drew none of the comics being adapted.

The Authority -- from the publisher created by Jim Lee; written by nobody; drawn by nobody

The Brave and the Bold -- based on the Batman comics written by Grant Morrison and drawn by nobody

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow -- based on the recent miniseries written by Tom King and drawn by nobody

(The Authority was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch; Grant Morrison's Batman was drawn by various artists including Frank Quitely, Tony Daniel, and Yanick Paquette; Supergirl: WoT was drawn by Bilquis Evely.)

[Mongrel]

I gotta say, Bilquis Evely's art is pretty eye catching; I know a Moebius fan when I see one.

[KingRoyal]

Remember in like 2004 when screamer videos were a temporary trend? Just a bunch of low effort videos where someone mildly interesting or spooky was presented just long enough for a loud noise and spooky_face.jpg to suddenly flash on screen and startle the viewer.

They eventually fell out of favor since all the formula quickly became redundant and the videos themselves never managed to actually involve any real sense of dread or horror

Anyway this has been a review of Skinamarink (2022)

[KingRoyal]

Cocaine Bear (2023) does what it advertises and does it about 90 minutes. A horror-comedy about a bear going on a cocaine-fueled murder rampage in the mountains of Georgia, against the backdrops of the Appalachian mountains, with fun gory kills and character actress Margot Martindale

It's also the final performance from Ray Liotta, who is dressed like Agent Dale Cooper's doppelganger throughout and is a lot of fun. Also includes helpful advice when dealing with non-cocaine black bears in the wild

[Thad]

I think there are actually a few more Liotta movies that haven't been released yet, but from everything I've heard Cocaine Bear is a great role to go out on.

[Niku]

Remember in like 2004 when screamer videos were a temporary trend? Just a bunch of low effort videos where someone mildly interesting or spooky was presented just long enough for a loud noise and spooky_face.jpg to suddenly flash on screen and startle the viewer.

They eventually fell out of favor since all the formula quickly became redundant and the videos themselves never managed to actually involve any real sense of dread or horror

Anyway this has been a review of Skinamarink (2022)

[KingRoyal]

Oscar bait season has begun early

[nosimpleway]

could

could they not get licensing for that song Aqua did