Re: The Thread For Movies

by Zymologist Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:09 pm

As somebody who's watched a lot of horror movies, I thought The Conjuring was very creepy. I'd highly recommend that and the sequel, although the other movies in the "Conjuring-verse" are totally skippable.

by Kerrick Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:17 pm

Right on! I'll check 'em out. I just added them to my IMDB watchlist. Smile

Since you're such a horror-buff, will you be watching the Suspiria remake? I love the original and the new one looks pretty good actually.

by **MetalPioneer** Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:24 pm

I've seen all of The Conjuring series except for the newest one. I never used to care for horror stuff, but have gotten into it more in the last couple of years. I've seen most of the classics by now. What do you think of the Insidious series, Adam?

And the original The Exorcist still gives me the creeps...a few aspects of the movie are dated, as with any old movie, but it was still pretty crazy...

by Zymologist Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:21 am

I'm pretty sure I've seen all of the Insidious movies (although I'm not remembering Insidious 3 at the moment). I thought they were pretty good, some effective scares, but some of the scenes in The Further--or whatever the ghost world was called--took away from some of the effectiveness. Not bad, though.

by Zymologist Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:18 pm

Sorry Kerrick, I realized I never answered your question about Suspiria. I haven't seen the original, and at this point I'd classify it as one of the classics of the genre that, for some reason, I just don't have any interest in*. It sounds like you're recommending the original though, so maybe I should check it out....

*I've seen several of the classics that I thought were underwhelming. Like The Shining, which I found kind of boring and just meh all around.

by Kerrick Mon Oct 15, 2018 5:01 pm

I really like the original Suspiria and definitely recommend it. It's quite stylized and creative: very vibrant colors and cool music. It's got great atmosphere and is a lot of fun. But it's also quite campy, the acting and dialog aren't going to win any awards, and the plot is a bit loose. So I could see why it's not for everyone. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I wouldn't bother.

I went through a Dario Argento phase where I watched pretty much all his movies (though skipped most of his newer ones which really aren't worth watching...). His stuff from the 1970's and 1980's is all quite good. I particularly like Suspiria, Phenomena, and Opera. He's got a very specific style and you either love it or hate it. If you see Suspiria and don't care for it, I wouldn't recommend watching any more of his.

by Kerrick Mon Oct 29, 2018 2:21 pm

On the other side of the spectrum from Suspiria... we watched The Case For Christ this weekend. I had high hopes but did not think it was very good unfortunately. It had the potential to be a thoughtful and intelligent film (like the book is, despite a few flaws) but I suppose to make it more "interesting" and whatnot, the filmmakers opted to up the drama and downplay the factual evidence for Christ's humanity and deity. And while there were some good and correct truths to glean from it, there was one blaring theological issue I had with the movie: The [cliche] Christian "guru" black woman character applies God's promise to Ezekiel of a changed heart directly to Strobel in attempt to console his wife, as if she knows the will of God and that God will save him. That type of "exegesis" is quite dangerous and is directly in opposition to what's taught in Romans 9:18 that God has mercy on those He chooses to have mercy on and hardens those He chooses to harden. Anyways, it's not a terrible movie. The guy who plays Strobel did a good job acting as did some of the side characters, and there were good "messages" in the film that could speak to unbelievers. But in the end, I recommend just reading the book instead. Smile

And back to horror film discussion... Adam, Walmart has The Conjuring 1&2 on blu-ray for $15. I'm really tempted to just buy it per your recommendation of those two films.

by Kerrick Fri Nov 02, 2018 1:59 pm

We watched A Fistfull Of Dollars last night. It's a classic for good reason. I suspect it was a major influence on Miller's Crossing, as the plot was quite similar.

by metaldude Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:35 am

Zymologist wrote:As somebody who's watched a lot of horror movies, I thought The Conjuring was very creepy. I'd highly recommend that and the sequel, although the other movies in the "Conjuring-verse" are totally skippable.

I'm late to this party, but I have to partially disagree. I agree about The Conjuring. It's one of the best horror franchises to come along in years. That said, I disagree about the Annabelle movies, especially Annabelle: Creation. I really enjoyed it. I do fear disappointment with The Nun. I have yet to see it, but the character is so good in the second Conjuring movie, I think there could be a let down.

by metaldude Mon Nov 05, 2018 10:28 am

Kerrick wrote:
And back to horror film discussion... Adam, Walmart has The Conjuring 1&2 on blu-ray for $15. I'm really tempted to just buy it per your recommendation of those two films.

The first Conjuring movie is on Netflix. In my opinion, it's the "weaker" of the two films. If you like it, then you'll know whether you want to try the second. I found this to be one of those rare cases where the sequel is the better movie. Again, my opinion.

If you haven't already seen it, I would suggest The Haunting of Hill House. It's my favorite Netflix original so far.

by Zymologist Mon Nov 05, 2018 11:05 am

Aw yeah, The Haunting of Hill House is excellent. Wonderfully creepy, but also emotionally poignant--more so than you'd except. That ending, man...it got to me.

by Kerrick Mon Nov 05, 2018 1:27 pm

I almost watched The Conjuring this weekend but ended wasn't quite in the mood so I watched Summer Of 84 instead. It was pretty good. It's obviously trying hard to hearken back to 1980s nostalgia and it does a fine job of that, if perhaps remaining a little too safe in sticking with the typical cliches. It did a good job of building suspense but also keeping it fun. It has a shift towards a much darker tone towards the end which I appreciated. But the ending itself left some to be desired. I'd give it a solid 7/10.

by Kerrick Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:11 pm

This weekend I watched Prospect. I highly recommend it! Partially because my cousin directed it, but also because it's truly a good movie. It's an indie sci-fi flick about a father/daughter duo who land on a planet to mine for this special substance of great value, though things take a violent turn and an unnatural alliance is made to survive. Check it out!

by metaldude Mon Nov 26, 2018 10:59 am

I made a rare appearance at the theater and saw Bohemian Rhapsody and Robin Hood.

by Kerrick Mon Nov 26, 2018 11:41 am

What'd you think of those flicks? I've heard pretty consistently good things about Bohemian Rhapsody though not much about Robin Hood except that financially, it was a pretty big failure. It looked fun though.

I watched The Wailing - a Korean suspense horror flick about a timid police man trying to get to the bottom of these strange and brutal murders sweeping through a small village. It was very well done and left the viewer with quite a bit to chew on after it ended. As the film progresses, it gets darker and bleaker and quite spiritual. There are numerous Christian themes (though it's far from a "Christian movie"). I suspect Adam will like it if he hasn't seen it already, though I am hesitant to recommend it due to its dark and spiritual subject matter.

by Zymologist Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:10 pm

If The Wailing is the one I'm thinking of, I've had it on my Netflix watchlist for like three years and haven't watched it yet....

by Kerrick Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:46 pm

This is it:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5215952/?ref_=nm_knf_i2

I think you'd probably dig it.

by metaldude Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:18 am

Kerrick wrote:What'd you think of those flicks? I've heard pretty consistently good things about Bohemian Rhapsody though not much about Robin Hood except that financially, it was a pretty big failure. It looked fun though.

Bohemian Rhapsody is as good as the hype, though not historically accurate. Robin Hood was entertaining. It was a bit predictable. That said, I wasn't disappointed with it. I personally can't imagine anything in the theaters, at this time, being better than Bohemian Rhapsody.

by Kerrick Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:33 pm

Gotcha. Wow that is quite the endorsement for Bohemian Rhapsody! I never got too into Queen though since my dad was around during their rise and career, he would probably appreciate it. I'll recommend it to him.

The nazi zombie horror flick Overlord is going to be playing at the local discount theater which plays slightly older movies for $3. I think it looks like a lot of fun but I may have trouble finding anyone to go with me haha... Has anyone here seen it? Is it any good?

by Kerrick Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:20 am

^I watched Overlord this weekend with my dad. We both enjoyed it. As expected, it's fairly campy (especially towards the end), the acting and dialog are pretty stilted, and it's quite predictable. However, it was very entertaining and I appreciated how it took its time getting to the horror elements: the first half was purely a war movie. But as with so many horror flicks, it fell a bit apart towards the end. Had they gone a more creative and less derivative route, I think it would've been a much better movie. It's a great rental or if like me you have access to a cheap theater, I recommend it!

by Zymologist Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:23 am

Kerrick wrote:^I watched Overlord this weekend with my dad. We both enjoyed it. As expected, it's fairly campy (especially towards the end), the acting and dialog are pretty stilted, and it's quite predictable. However, it was very entertaining and I appreciated how it took its time getting to the horror elements: the first half was purely a war movie. But as with so many horror flicks, it fell a bit apart towards the end. Had they gone a more creative and less derivative route, I think it would've been a much better movie. It's a great rental or if like me you have access to a cheap theater, I recommend it!

Cool, that's probably one I'll check out on Redbox when it hits.

by Zymologist Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:24 am

So re-watched No Country for Old Men recently--it had been a decade or so since I last saw it. I remember thinking it was very slow, but my tastes have grown since then, so I suspected it might be up my alley.

And yeah, what a fantastic movie. Pretty funny too, if you're paying attention.

by Zymologist Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:25 am

Has anyone else seen the newest Coen brothers movie, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, on Netflix? It's a western anthology, with six unrelated short films that vary wildly in tone, but that are all good. I really liked it, though it wasn't quite what I expected.

by Kerrick Mon Dec 03, 2018 12:34 pm

No Country For Old Men is great. As with you, I appreciated it a lot more during the second viewing. A handful of the Coen Brothers' movies were that way for me.

I'd like to see Buster Scruggs. It's on Netflix yeah? Maybe I'll have to borrow my parents' password hahaha.

by Kerrick Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:32 am

I watched two movies this weekend: The Void and Train To Busan.

The Void. I had seen people recommend it for fans of The Thing so I was intrigued. The special effects are all practical with minimal CGI and some cool creature designs. But that's about where the similarities ended. It started out very well with a good premise, location, characters, etc. Though like so many horror flicks, it sorta fell apart towards the end IMO. Overall I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

Train To Busan. This movie was really good and I definitely recommend. It's got likable and interesting characters, is well written, has some great action sequences, and is overall just a very well done film. As most Americans do, I guess I would've preferred a slightly more upbeat ending. This is no Zombieland where everyone lives in the end...

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