Movie Record 2022 Edition - The Bear and Badger

Cos

93. Blade of the Immortal
Probably the first Takashi Miike film I've seen since 13 Assassins came out over a decade ago. Apparently his 100th film as well. A master samurai on the run is cursed with immortality following the death of his sister. It's high on violence and fairly average in terms of blood and gore for a Miike film, but the most disappointing aspect is that it feels like watching someone play Dynasty Warriors. The protagnist is immortal so whilst there is some jeapordy introduced, there is an awful lot of watching reams of NPCs being slaughtered in a quite uninspiring manner. There are a few 'boss' type fights which have much more style but not enough to keep it interesting. The samurai is also acting as a bodyguard to a young girl but she's so annoying I kind of hoped she'd get killed off. Pumping out 100 films in less than 30 years will certainly have an impact on quality, this is the definition of middling. [5]

Cos

94. All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
I haven't read the book or seen any of the other films so this is probably one of the most visceral portrayls of WWI I've encountered. Four German student friends are inspired to join the army and arrive together on the front lines, already in the latter stages of the war, to discover the harsh realities of trench warfare and the empty promises of a victory in the making. It is an absolutely brutal setting, incredibly well realised and the scale of the battles is impressive. The focus is firmly on the impact of the war on those fighting it though and it's unflinching in that regard with a couple of particularly intense scenes - one reminded me all too much of Fish being slowly stabbed in Saving Private Ryan. The leads are all great, the relationship between the main character and his mentor/friend he finds in the midst of the madness is heartwarming and provides the only real rays of hope.

The experiences of those on the front line is contrasted with the generals and politicians to highlight the absurdity and shallowness of their situation. Even as the armistice is approaching, they remain determined to fight for mere metres for when the final lines are drawn. It does go heavy on the messaging but it's hard to criticise as it's all accurate and knowing full well the events that unfolded over the next 30-odd years are seeded from the outcome, it's an all round bleak but intense affair. [8]

Yossarian

Sounds like Netflix might have got around to releasing its one good movie this year.

Cos

I was going to say that's a bit harsh but then when I checked, none of the films I'd use to counter your point were from this year so... I guess, yeah

Moot_Geeza

I wish they'd release more westerns though.

davyK

Halloween Ends then. Felt I had to go see it after Kills last year despite the review. It's all right. Not great. It's worst crime is not building tension properly - quite a feat considering the franchise. That's partially because it doesn't have a believable bad guy and not annoying enough protagonists to deserve what's coming to them. When Myers appears it shows that it should have been more about him.

It's all over the place narratively and they have tried to squeeze too much in. They should have just kept it simpler. But it was OK for a Halloween night cinema visit. It definitely ends the story which is its purpose and it does that! At one point I thought they weren't going to end it.

Let the Right One in Came home and watched this after @Experiment626 told me I could set the subtitles in Prime to be readable. A wonderful solemn, slow paced, low key take on the vampire genre. Some CGI cats in there which are maybe its only weakness and even then it's a fleeting thing but the tech is used well for the narrative. Excellent young leads and support and the adults fill in well too.

I'm betting the US remake is shit.

Raiziel

davyK wrote:

I'm betting the US remake is shit.

It’s actually decent.

hylian_elf

Seconded.

davyK

Fair enough.

Surprised.

Minkymu

Mortez saves it tbh

ShabbyMcCrabby

Yeah, it could even be considered great. Probably would be if the original didn't exist. By the guy what made The Batman so it has his nice visual sensibilities. And Richard Jenkins.

125. Signs
Managed to convince my non-horror gf to watch one spooky movie each year on Halloween. Trying to go easy early on. I do really love this movie though. It's ham-fisted at times but it shows how good Shyamalan is at adding flavour to his characters in the writing and his cool visual ideas in shooting stuff. Great sound design too.
[8]

davyK

I consider Signs to be under rated.

"Swing away" is a great payoff moment too.

tin_robot

Gremill wrote:

67. Pontypool Low budget Canadian horror set almost entirely in a local radio station in an old church basement during a winter storm, where it becomes clear from callers, police radio and their traffic reporter that something is going very, very wrong indeed outside. Anchored by a brilliant turn by the lead actor, it incredibly manages to offer something new and unusual to the overcrowded zombie genre - grim, original and apocalyptic. 9

I watched this last night with my wife, as it seemed a good fit for Halloween. I'm not sure I liked it quite as much, but it's certainly worthy of a watch. As you say, it's doing something more interesting with the genre, and does a good line in letting stuff happen in your head long before it shows anything. It left me intrigued to hear the radio play (which is apparently basically identical bar the ending) and the novel (which is apparently very different). It also features the oddest post-credits sequence of, I think, any film I've seen, and left me rethinking much of the film that came before it as a result.

Spoiler:

Gremill

68. The Void
Very low budget horror ($86k!) with strong Lovecraft and John Carpenter vibes, some superb practical effects, buckets of gore, very little plot and an unnerving atmosphere. At 91minutes you can't go wrong. 7

Raiziel

ShabbyMcCrabby wrote:

125. Signs
Managed to convince my non-horror gf to watch one spooky movie each year on Halloween. Trying to go easy early on. I do really love this movie though. It's ham-fisted at times but it shows how good Shyamalan is at adding flavour to his characters in the writing and his cool visual ideas in shooting stuff. Great sound design too.
[8]

The children’s birthday party scene gave me serious chills when I saw it at the cinema.

Gremill

69. Matrix: Resurrections
So, this was fine? Didn't find it as rubbish as many seemed to have found it. Alongside the often stunning visuals and sometimes great action, there was a lot of unnecessary Basil Exposition, some nonsensical tech-gibberish and weirdly crap fight scenes. Some good meta-ideas at the start weren't really explored properly though and I was actually a bit disappointed when the full on Matrix stuff started happening. I would have preferred a film about someone with a severe mental illness trying to parse reality from fantasy. A decent, but overall pointless, way to spend too much time watching a film. 6

ShabbyMcCrabby

For another good horror you probably haven't seen Grem you should check out Starry Eyes. Is great.

Gremill

Cheers Shab.

Wookienopants

Gremill wrote:

68. The Void
Very low budget horror ($86k!) with strong Lovecraft and John Carpenter vibes, some superb practical effects, buckets of gore, very little plot and an unnerving atmosphere. At 91minutes you can't go wrong. 7

Sounds like my next watch

Minkymu

Wookienopants wrote:

Gremill wrote:

68. The Void
Very low budget horror ($86k!) with strong Lovecraft and John Carpenter vibes, some superb practical effects, buckets of gore, very little plot and an unnerving atmosphere. At 91minutes you can't go wrong. 7

Sounds like my next watch

Oh yes i forgot about that corker.

Thats the one set in the hospital where the cult gathers outside ye

Wookienopants

Minkymu wrote:

Wookienopants wrote:

Gremill wrote:

68. The Void
Very low budget horror ($86k!) with strong Lovecraft and John Carpenter vibes, some superb practical effects, buckets of gore, very little plot and an unnerving atmosphere. At 91minutes you can't go wrong. 7

Sounds like my next watch

Oh yes i forgot about that corker.

Thats the one set in the hospital where the cult gathers outside ye

I'm watching it now. Halfway through and the actor playing the main cop is terrible but the film is pretty fun

Wookienopants

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Very silly, very stupid and lots of fun. A parody of every music biopic and made me chuckle lots.

davyK

The Northman weird and bloodthirsty in equal measure. A superb piece of fim art.Loved it, albeit viewed on a plane whilst under the influence of several Johnnie Walkers.

ShabbyMcCrabby

I still would like to know how they filmed that shot where the camera starts on the shore and moves onto the boat. Crane with a camera handoff? Smart stitching?
He did a YouTube vid walking through the sequence but never really explained how they did it.

ShabbyMcCrabby

126. Halloween Ends
Well this was better than expected especially after Kills. Tries to do something interesting and have actual characters. Also uses its violence wisely and decides not to show some stuff which is completely opposite to the last one. Shame it's still sloppy AF with weird pacing at times and ADR and other things that suggest changes were made late. RLM vid matches my feelings.
[5]

The Daddy

Bullet Train. Absolutely ridiculous cross section of Tarantino/Ritchie/somethingelse. Fun though. Wookie would probably like it.

Wookienopants

The Daddy wrote:

Bullet Train. Absolutely ridiculous cross section of Tarantino/Ritchie/somethingelse. Fun though. Wookie would probably like it.

The trailers tell me I would!

djchump

It’s a fun David Leitch film. Pitt is great, but Aaron Taylor-Johnson just keeps stealing films for me - nearly did it in Tenet as well with the teeny-tiny part he had. Will watch anything he’s in.

hylian_elf

58. Flowers of Shanghai - 29/10
My first Hou Hsiao-hsien. A lovely film full of so many beautiful ladies, not least Michelle Reis!
A period piece set in late 19th century China, portraying the interconnected lives of several courtesans and their benefactors/clients and the romance, tension, and jealousy that comes with it. An intriguing look back at a decadent and opulent time, when beautiful girls were trapped and improsoned from a young age and beaten, driven to work hard to buy their freedom.
Shot by the renowend and masterful Mark Lee Ping-bing almost entirely as very long takes with the camera slowly moving between subjects of interest. Each scene taking place in a single room/location, it is beautiful to watch. There's some gentle classical music in the background, almost melancholic and never overbearing or taking cetre stage - that belongs to all the actors.
Highly recommended for anyone who loves Asian cinema.
[9]

Watched it on Criterion Bluray. The booklet has a nice essay on the film and an insightful interview with the director. On disc supplements aren't many but I'll definitely give them a watch.

poprock

The Lost Boys
This was our Halloween movie for the year. And it was lovely to dip back into late-’80s Santa Carla for an hour and a half. Still looks and sounds great.

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