The Film thread

[sipang]

Still enjoying Taboo here. I could take or leave Hardy's 'inscrutable mastermind' performance but I quite like the setting and the supporting cast, also the funny tiny hats.

Then again, I found Locke (the one that takes place entirely inside a car) pretty entertaining so...

 

[Principle]

Loved Locke, what didn't you like about it?

 

[patagonianwild]

I'm not used to critiquing movies so forgive me if my explanations is not of a high qualitative level. But I would first reiterate Fuumas issue with Taboo, it felt like a masturbation video by and for Tom Hardy. It plays out entirely inside a car, "but because of Tom Hardys marvellous acting it's exciting despite that!", strikes me as very gimmicky. The storyline and how it unfolded was too 'constructed' and felt unnatural. Ultimately it just did not engage me.

However I'm aware a lot of people like it, so I can see how my vexation with it is a bit controversial. Also I will have to check out The Drop, haven't seen that one.

 

[KaleidoscopicK]

perhaps slightly off topic, but recommendations for dark-ish anime?

Ive been enjoying Hellsing Ultimate, Attack on Titan, Berserk, Claymore and some other stuff. Didnt like Death Note, too slow.

Not sure if you've found anything since this post, but I have a few recommendations. A few of them don't have as much action as the stuff you listed - and I'm not sure if you're looking for more of the same - but they are dark, I assure you.

All synopses have been pulled from their respective Blu-Ray or DVD releases. Most of this stuff can be viewed legally, whether through streaming, renting or purchasing them on disc. Of course, you can find them through other means if you look hard enough.

RahXephon (TV Series)

2015 AD. Tokyo is apparently the last city remaining on the otherwise devastated Earth. But high school student Ayato Kamina is caught up in a devastating attack on the city, from fighters that must have come from outside.

Emerging from the rubble, he meets a mysterious girl, Reika Mishima, who guides him to a hidden sanctuary where, from a black egg, an enormous humanoid weapon RahXephon emerges. Inside the egg is a marking that matches one on Ayato's body. He is the only person who can pilot RahXephon, and as assaults on the city continue he finds himself fighting to defend his world, even as evidence mounts that everything and everyone he thought was true isn't anymore.

While it was one of several Neon Genesis Evangelion clones that came after it, this one is the best among them and stands on its own as a respectable series. If you've seen Evangelion, you may like it. While morbid, it's not as intense as Evangelion, which is fine. The primary cast is likeable. There is a movie that is an alternative retelling of the TV series, but the latter is more succinct in its storytelling.

Perfect Blue (Movie)

Mima Kirigoe is one third of chart topping girl-pop group, CHAM! But she is keen to put the childish career of the pop singer behind her and pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Her fans are sceptical however, and she quickly discovers that the transition is nowhere near as easy or enjoyable as she’d hoped...

After getting a part in a very adult murder mystery drama, her life takes a turn for the sinister. She uncovers a blog detailing her life in intimate detail, and as a real life killer begins to attack the people around her, delusion and reality blend into one and she begins to question her own identity...

It may look a bit dated - the movie was made in the late '90s - but if you're in for a dark thriller, this one's for you. Director Satoshi Kon was a true auteur, and his depiction of Mima's psyche throughout the film is brilliant. Arguably his best film (the other candidate being Millennium Actress).

I'd recommend any fan of cinema to give this one a shot.

Shiki (TV Series)

When citizens of a secluded village begin dying off in alarming numbers, the sole hospital's head doctor tries desperately to save his patients - but his efforts are in vain. Entire families are wiped out while others desert their homes. All hell breaks loose as the villagers discover their loved ones' corpses are rising from the grave with an insatiable thirst for human blood. Who is safe when the urge to kill in order to survive blurs the line between man and monster?

It starts off rather normally, but a sense of dread builds as you progress through it. I like this series because it displays how irrational, depraved and insane humans can become when they're pushed to the brink. Some of the death scenes in this show are brutal.

Not your typical Shonen Jump series. (The original manga was serialized in the same magazine as Claymore.)

The Garden of Sinners (Movie series)

After spending two years in a coma due to a traffic accident, Shiki Ryougi awakens with amnesia. In turn, however, she finds that she has also obtained the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception," with which she can see the invisible lines of mortality that hold every living and non-living thing together. Working for a small independent agency, Shiki attempts to unravel the baffling mystery behind a series of abnormal, horrifying incidents, but do they foreshadow something even more tragic and ominous?

Things are not what they appear to be on the surface, but what dark revelations lie underneath? Shiki must tackle supernatural incidents with her special abilities while searching for a reason to live.

Also known as Kara no Kyoukai, which may make your search easier. It's a series of eight movies, of varying lengths. Some are about 30-50 minutes, while others are feature-length.

This series oozes style, and it has the visuals to back it up: the animation is gorgeous!

The pace of this series varies. Some movies start off pretty slowly and have a fair amount of talking. Other movies - or scenes within the movies - have breakneck pacing and action. The biggest example of this is Movie 1 for the former, and Movie 5 for the latter. If anything, I'd watch these two movies to see if you dig it. (The events in this series do not happen in chronological order, hence why I dare make such a recommendation.) Movie 3 is particularly gruesome and is another movie worth watching.

This series is weird in that getting through can be tough, yet the payoff at the end of it all is magnificent. YMMV, and wildly.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (TV Series + 1 Movie)

Madoka Kaname is an eighth-grader who leads a peaceful, fun-filled life as a student, surrounded by her beloved family and her best friends. One day, a transfer student named Homura Akemi arrives in Madoka's class. She is a dark-haired beauty with a somewhat mysterious disposition. Soon after meeting Madoka for the first time, Homura goes on to issue Madoka a strange warning.

Madoka also meets Kyubey, a mysterious looking white creature. He says, "Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!" To make any wish come true -- Madoka didn’t know the meaning of this miracle...

...nor its cost.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with this one, but if you're not, the above synopsis belies what is to come. Not to mention the excellent fights and cool animation.

An antithesis to the magical girl theme. Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura this is not.

Wolf's Rain (TV series)

There is an old legend that speaks of a hidden paradise on Earth - a paradise which only wolves can find. And though thought to have been extinct for hundreds of years, wolves indeed still walk the Earth... hidden among mankind. Now, a group of outcast wolves set out to find Paradise: Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and Tsume.

Each wolf is driven by their own personality and desires, but together they are pursued by humans seeking to quench their own thirst for power. A difficult and long journey lies ahead, with Paradise waiting to be found.

It's morbid, brooding and bleak as all hell, yet it has a lot of substance, which is why it's an enduring favourite of mine. You can't help but root for the main cast.

They also fight a giant walrus, which is just as amazing as it is ridiculous.

And if you haven't watched Fullmetal Alchemist already, give that one a shot! Although it's likely you've already tried it out.

 

[colabear]

Beach Rats
Ingrid Goes West

 

[GT-R]

perhaps slightly off topic, but recommendations for dark-ish anime?

Ive been enjoying Hellsing Ultimate, Attack on Titan, Berserk, Claymore and some other stuff. Didnt like Death Note, too slow.

Death Note was great for the first half, though. Have you tried Gantz or Deadman Wonderland? In my opinion, they are not that good but we clearly have differing tastes.

 

[GT-R]

You should all definitely watch 'Rage', also known as 'Ikari' in Japanese. It's a great film but I can't find the blu-ray on amazon. Why are Japanese movies so hard to get a hold of? It came out in 2016. No way to stream it or anything?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4384088/

 

[KaleidoscopicK]

You should all definitely watch 'Rage', also known as 'Ikari' in Japanese. It's a great film but I can't find the blu-ray on amazon. Why are Japanese movies so hard to get a hold of? It came out in 2016. No way to stream it or anything?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4384088/

I missed out on its screening when it hit my area. Highly unlikely that I'll ever watch it at this point.

Japanese movies are hard to get a hold of, because the Japanese are notorious for adapting slowly to today's digital standards when it comes to their media.

 

[GoldenTribe]

Timecrimes [Los cronocrímenes] (2007) - fun, mysterious, and short; the less you know ahead of time, the better

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) - even more fun, an outback odd-couple travel movie with a well-developed sense of humour (directed by the guy helming Thor: Ragnarok)

Wonder Woman (2017) - the most overrated movie of the last few years? Gal Gadot and Chris Pine acquit themselves fine, and the second act is a pretty good 'fish out of water' routine in a WWI setting, but the special effects are strangely sub-par, the action is okay, the Germans and most of the supporting characters (definitely her "misfit band") are ridiculous or just bad, and then the whole third act beginning roughly with the revelation of the real villain is truly execrable

The Harder They Fall (1956) - a film noir and Humphrey Bogart's last movie in which a PR guy turns a slow-witted Argentinian giant into a heavyweight boxer who becomes a sensation; it paints boxing in a relentlessly cynical light (everything's fixed, owners openly cheat players into poverty), but it is a good rendition of its archetype, and I had a chuckle when it ended almost exactly the same way as Watchmen

Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2 (2017) - it feels like too much of a knowing clone of the first one (Find-Replace "Kevin Bacon" to "David Hasselhoff" etc.), minus anything resembling a fun/classic villain; it's not good when the climactic confrontation leaves you nostalgic for the opening credits with the ravening tentacle monster and a good old-fashioned gunfight

 

[robinsongreen68]

only just found about these and enjoyed the ones i've watched, neil blomkamp's shorts:
https://oatsstudios.com/

 

[colabear]

Victoria & Abdul

 

[GT-R]

I missed out on its screening when it hit my area. Highly unlikely that I'll ever watch it at this point.

Japanese movies are hard to get a hold of, because the Japanese are notorious for adapting slowly to today's digital standards when it comes to their media.

I heard something similar about JAVs.

 

[momentoftruth]

kinda random but does anyone know when Zvyaguintsev's new one (Loveless) is supposed to come out in the US, and if that'll be just NY+LA or a semi-expanded release like for Elena? I saw Sony Classics bought the rights at Cannes, but their website doesn't have the info. Definitely one of my most awaited of the year

 

[KaleidoscopicK]

I finally saw Baby Driver a little while ago, and it was a lot of fun! The on foot chase scene was my highlight.

I heard something similar about JAVs.

Amazon.jp, YesAsia and CD Japan are options to obtaining Japanese Blu-Ray movies. The issue is whether or not they include English subtitles. (Oftentimes, they don't.) I cannot rationalize importing Japanese BDs without subtitles, especially as their media is considerably more expensive.

 

[accordion]

Anyone seen Good Time? I really like the artist who made the soundtrack, which affected my judgement as I thought the entire movie was driven by its background music. Otherwise it was a decent thriller with loud characters but not much else.

kinda random but does anyone know when Zvyaguintsev's new one (Loveless) is supposed to come out in the US, and if that'll be just NY+LA or a semi-expanded release like for Elena? I saw Sony Classics bought the rights at Cannes, but their website doesn't have the info. Definitely one of my most awaited of the year

I have a copy if you're still interested.