PCF at the Movies (5 Viewers)

[jbutler]

anyone have high expectations of Black Mass?

My expectations are relatively tempered but I'm glad to see Johnny Depp returning to what appears to be returning to real acting rather than kids' movie garbage. We shall see. It's based in the best of the several Whitey books which have come out in the past decade, so it has a good shot.

I'm seeing it along with Everest and the new Maze Runner movie this weekend so I'll report back I'm sure.

 

[detroitdad]

My expectations are relatively tempered but I'm glad to see Johnny Depp returning to what appears to be returning to real acting rather than kids' movie garbage. We shall see. It's based in the best of the several Whitey books which have come out in the past decade, so it has a good shot.

I'm seeing it along with Everest and the new Maze Runner movie this weekend so I'll report back I'm sure.

curious to read your review on Everest. A movie I'm definitely interested in seeing.

I want to see Scorched Trials, but I can wait until I can stream it.

 

[jbutler]

I could use some comedy movie recommends. Anything decent from the last 4 years... Not watched that many flicks since the offspring arrived...

the last four years have not been kind to comedies imo. just not much out there. construing "comedy" fairly broadly, the ones i enjoyed and have or would like to revisit, in no particular order:

the world's end
21 jump street (22 jump street is also very funny, but if you only see one, the original is quite a bit better)
mistress america
magic mike
the to do list
this is the end
don jon
the heat
what we do in the shadows
guardians of the galaxy (i know it's primarily a comic book movie, but i laughed through the whole thing)

 

[jbutler]

As noted above, I saw Black Mass, the Scorch Trials, and Everest this weekend.

Black Mass

It was fine. Absolutely nothing new in the story or the style unfortunately. I have seen a couple critics say that it was plainly trying to rip off Goodfellas, but IMO either he did a shit job of ripping it off or wasn't really trying to. There are certain tropes of the gangster genre that come from Scorsese and are virtually unavoidable now (how can you make a movie about gangs in the 70s and have no Rolling Stones songs?), but for the most part, I thought the filmmaker tried to do something different at least in terms of structure and perspective.

And to be honest, the he could benefited from cribbing a bit more from Scorsese's playbook by giving his characters more range. They are one dimensional and - worse - utterly humorless. Depp is okay as Whitey, but the script doesn't give him much to work with. Watching him be menacing and violent is interesting for a few minutes, but the character more than wears out its welcome over the course of two hours.

Overall I would say it's worth seeing if you're in the mood for a middle of the road mob movie.

The Scorch Trials

Also pretty mediocre. For the audience it's targeting, I'm sure it will do the trick, but there's a lot of lazy plotting and very little character development. It's the fault of the books more than the film obviously, but as soon as I saw that we're now battling zombies I realized the movie was going straight down the middle and taking no chances whatsoever. Which is kind of a shame because the first movie was pretty unique among the Hunger Games wannabes. Still much better than the Divergent series, but not nearly as interesting as it could have been.

Everest

Glad to say that this one was really quite good. My expectations were pretty modest. I mostly expected a disaster movie. I didn't even know enough about it to know that it was based on the actual 1996 Everest disaster Krakauer chronicled in Into Thin Air. I love Krakauer and even if that isn't my favorite of his books, I liked it quite a bit and know the story well. So it was a welcome surprise to see it here and to see all the characters done such great justice with a top off the line cast. Jason Clark, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Jake Gyllenhaal. I loved John Hawkes and Josh Brolin in particular.

The disaster bits were great and the character arcs were just as strong. Very touching where it should have been and paced perfectly. And the score was perfect. It's only out now in IMAX 3-D, so you have to pay out the nose compared to a regular ticket, but it's probably worth it to see in IMAX. Stunning visuals.

Documentaries

Neither merit an entire review on their own, but I also watched corresponding documentaries to two of the above. Whitey: The United States of America v. James J. Bulger covered Whitey's trial after being on the lamb for more than fifteen years. I found it sprawling and messy and irritatingly narrow in scope. As with Black Mass, the material is so fucking interesting that it's frustrating to see it squandered. Even more disappointing when the director has made some of my favorite docs (Paradise Lost, Brother's Keeper, Some Kind of Monster).

I also watched Everest by IMAX. One of the groups on the mountain the day of the 1996 disaster was an IMAX film crew. They chronicled a lot of what led to the several deaths and the 45-minute doc splits its time between expansive shots of the mountain and an attempt at second-rate journalism. I'm sure I did it a bit of a disservice watching it on a 42" tv screen rather than in an IMAX theater, so I guess I shouldn't be so harsh, but the segments attempting to cover the tragedy on the mountain are just cringe-worthy from a documentary perspective imo.

 

[jbutler]

Saw two movies this past weekend:

The Green Inferno

I was pleasantly surprised. While I'm a bit spotty on Eli Roth (loved Cabin Fever, didn't care much for the Hostel movies), I think he's a very competent filmmaker and I am a huge horror fan, so I was very interested in any modern take on the classic cannibal films of the 70s and 80s.

That is not what you get in the Green Inferno. While those classic films are quite serious in tone and every bit as demented as you would hope, the Green Inferno is pretty much a comedy. Yes, there are the requisite gore scenes and there's a bit of suspense and tension, but there are as many big laughs as big scares and they are what stay with you after the movie.

Be forewarned that the cinematography is pretty horrible. It looks almost like it was recorded on a $400 digital camcorder from target. But if you're interested in a horror/comedy combo, check it out.

Sicario

Being a very big fan of Denis Villeneuve's last two movies - Enemy and Prisoners - I was very much looking forward to this one. And it started out very promisingly with a perfectly quiet score and appropriately sparse dialogue. Solid performances throughout by Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro (would not be surprised if Del Toro gets a nomination) and a guy I haven't noticed too much in the past, but later realized I recognized him from Black Mirror: Daniel Kaluuya. Not sure why this guy isn't getting better and bigger roles. Great presence.

I loved every minute of this movie, but after the credits roll, those minutes don't come together to form a single coherent film that matches the quality of the individual moments. Maybe I haven't given it enough time. I remember having to sit on Prisoners for a few days last year before I realized how much I liked it. So I will remain hopeful that maybe more thought or perhaps a rewatch will push it up a bit in my mind.

All that is not to say that it's bad. I still think Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today and even here, the reason each shot and each scene is so wonderful is his work. Some of his framing is really mesmerizing and he pulled in exactly the right score. If you showed me virtually any individual scene I would bet my life on the quality of the movie and that's not nothing. That's an extremely enjoyable movie. Maybe not top ten, but likely an honorable mention.

As a final thought, I could not help but think throughout that the movie would be lambasted as a border-themed remake of Zero Dark Thirty (pretty, young female agent tracks infamous hiding kingpin, is initially morally outraged at common procedure, and ultimately has to address a personal breakdown in the presence of an all male cohort). Having read a couple of reviews now, none have mentioned it and I'm a bit shocked. The similarities don't impact my enjoyment of the movie at all, but I thought for sure someone would try to use them to rip the movie apart.

 

[jbutler]

I've been a bit delayed in writing, but on Friday I saw both Mississippi Grind and the Martian.

I loved Mississippi Grind. As I mentioned in the gambling movies thread, I had pretty high hopes and they were exceeded. It's sort of a darker, more modern California Split. Ben Mendelsohn is amazing as a complete degen and born loser. The story is quite good, but it's the characters, performances, production design, and locations that really make the movie.

I could spend another several hours with either of these guys in these places. Really a throwback to 70s-era movies that are content to craft characters, let them live in front of the camera for a couple of hours, and not care much that neither of the main characters are particularly good people. They're made semi-likeable just by the performances, but as people they're at best selfish and at worst flat out exploitative of others.

And holy shit, easily the best soundtrack of the year so far. Given the nature of the film - a road movie from Iowa to New Orleans - it makes sense that it would be full of great country and blues and it works perfectly. There's a darkness to even superficially upbeat country and blues music that fits the themes very well. Plus, there's a performance of one of my favorite Steve Goodman songs, Rainbow Road. And a performance (by Ben Mendelsohn's character) of one of my favorite classical pieces, Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie. Both are perfectly placed in the movie and have real resonance.

Last but certainly not least, the humor, which is dark and subtle. So much so that I don't think most general audiences will find much funny at all, but we as morbid degenerates will recognize how funny the sick, tragic details of Ben Mendelsohn's life really are.

The Martian was a disappointment. That's not to say that I disliked it. The tone and humor of the film was not at all to my taste and those elements are unfortunately more upfront and imposing than the production design and cinematography, which I loved.

Not sure what constitutes a spoiler here, so I won't talk too much about the story, but that's not necessary as the story is as predictable as possible. It's Matt Damon's character that I find so grating and insufferable and since we spend so much time with him holding up the movie, that's a pretty fatal flaw for me. And the soundtrack basically rips off the feel of Guardians of the Galaxy, relying on a list of 70s hits to give even more levity to the movie.

There are some interesting performances: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean and Jessica Chastain are all great. And I love to see Benedict Wong who has been in more than his share of great sci-fi movies over the past decade. But then in addition to the Damon performance I disliked, Jeff Daniels turns in a middle of the road performance of a poorly written part.

It was plenty entertaining and very well made, so it's a very easy watch, but the flaws are likely to keep me from wanting to rewatch it anytime soon.

 

[spikeithard]

Saw two movies this past weekend:

The Green Inferno

I was pleasantly surprised. While I'm a bit spotty on Eli Roth (loved Cabin Fever, didn't care much for the Hostel movies), I think he's a very competent filmmaker and I am a huge horror fan, so I was very interested in any modern take on the classic cannibal films of the 70s and 80s.

That is not what you get in the Green Inferno. While those classic films are quite serious in tone and every bit as demented as you would hope, the Green Inferno is pretty much a comedy. Yes, there are the requisite gore scenes and there's a bit of suspense and tension, but there are as many big laughs as big scares and they are what stay with you after the movie.

Be forewarned that the cinematography is pretty horrible. It looks almost like it was recorded on a $400 digital camcorder from target. But if you're interested in a horror/comedy combo, check it out.

Sicario

Being a very big fan of Denis Villeneuve's last two movies - Enemy and Prisoners - I was very much looking forward to this one. And it started out very promisingly with a perfectly quiet score and appropriately sparse dialogue. Solid performances throughout by Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro (would not be surprised if Del Toro gets a nomination) and a guy I haven't noticed too much in the past, but later realized I recognized him from Black Mirror: Daniel Kaluuya. Not sure why this guy isn't getting better and bigger roles. Great presence.

I loved every minute of this movie, but after the credits roll, those minutes don't come together to form a single coherent film that matches the quality of the individual moments. Maybe I haven't given it enough time. I remember having to sit on Prisoners for a few days last year before I realized how much I liked it. So I will remain hopeful that maybe more thought or perhaps a rewatch will push it up a bit in my mind.

All that is not to say that it's bad. I still think Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today and even here, the reason each shot and each scene is so wonderful is his work. Some of his framing is really mesmerizing and he pulled in exactly the right score. If you showed me virtually any individual scene I would bet my life on the quality of the movie and that's not nothing. That's an extremely enjoyable movie. Maybe not top ten, but likely an honorable mention.

As a final thought, I could not help but think throughout that the movie would be lambasted as a border-themed remake of Zero Dark Thirty (pretty, young female agent tracks infamous hiding kingpin, is initially morally outraged at common procedure, and ultimately has to address a personal breakdown in the presence of an all male cohort). Having read a couple of reviews now, none have mentioned it and I'm a bit shocked. The similarities don't impact my enjoyment of the movie at all, but I thought for sure someone would try to use them to rip the movie apart.

As for the green inferno, I was listening to a Sirius XM interview with Eli and it was shot a very small budget deep in the Amazon. Using real actual tribes that have never even really seen a camera etc. Interesting stories he told of the movie making none the less.

I watched Casablanca two nights ago. Finally got around to it. Humphrey was solid as I suspected. I enjoyed it but not loved it.

 

[jbutler]

As for the green inferno, I was listening to a Sirius XM interview with Eli and it was shot a very small budget deep in the Amazon. Using real actual tribes that have never even really seen a camera etc. Interesting stories he told of the movie making none the less.

The cinematography has nothing to do with the budget. These days you can put Hollywood-quality cinematography in the can for basically nothing. It was a stylistic choice and detracted from an otherwise very solid film imo.

 

[snooptodd]

The Martian was a disappointment. That's not to say that I disliked it. The tone and humor of the film was not at all to my taste and those elements are unfortunately more upfront and imposing than the production design and cinematography, which I loved.

Saw this last night, and I'm glad I read your review before I went. I had high expectations after seeing the trailer, and this tempered them a bit. In the end it was entertaining, but not something I'll be thinking about days/weeks down the road.

Creed, however ... words cannot express how excited I am about this movie. I realize I'm probably in the minority, but I actually loved Rocky Balboa, and I think this has the potential to be an amazing capstone on one of the greatest film franchises of my lifetime.

 

[jbutler]

Creed, however ... words cannot express how excited I am about this movie. I realize I'm probably in the minority, but I actually loved Rocky Balboa, and I think this has the potential to be an amazing capstone on one of the greatest film franchises of my lifetime.

You're not alone. I liked Rocky Balboa more than most and Creed looks promising. I'm not quite as excited for it as you are, but I'll definitely be there opening weekend. Michael B. Jordan has not impressed me much in the past despite what seems to be universal acclaim, but his performance looks solid from the trailers.

 

[detroitdad]

I liked Rocky Balboa a lot. I like that they focused on "him", vs just making another boxing movie.

 

[snooptodd]

I went into Balboa thinking it was going to be an entertaining joke, and in my mind, it ended up being the second-best film of the franchise. (Rocky IV was the most entertaining for me, Rocky was the best film).

 

[Thisfiendis138]

If anyone has seem trailer for Crimson Peak and found it interesting enough to see in theaters, I'm here to tell you not to waste your money....
It's not even worth explaining why is was lame, predictable and not even scary accidently
Wish I tried harder to pitch Bridge Of Spies to my movie party...

 

[jbutler]

If anyone has seem trailer for Crimson Peak and found it interesting enough to see in theaters, I'm here to tell you not to waste your money....
It's not even worth explaining why is was lame, predictable and not even scary accidently
Wish I tried harder to pitch Bridge Of Spies to my movie party...

Will be seeing Crimson Peak tomorrow. Don't plan on seeing Bridge of Spies unless reviews from people I respect are insanely glowing. It's pretty obvious from the Crimson trailers that it's not a movie for everyone. Not surprised to see a few negative reviews.

 

[slisk250]

I saw The Martian by force yesterday in Bahrain. Pretty sure it lost some dialogue due to censorship. It's OK but the ending was lame and I can agree with much of snoop's analysis.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Alright, PLEASE someone tell me I'm not crazy here. I rented Mad Max Fury Road this weekend and was utterly perplexed how it received a 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

From the jump the movie just had me scratching my head, just seemed like it was trying to be ridiculously odd/weird. My wife and I watched to the point where Furiosa meets up with her old clan while searching for the green land or whatever, and then we had to shut it off.

Up to that point the only character who was moderately interesting was the War Boy played by Nick Holtz (of Warm Bodies fame).

I think the last movie I had to shut off before finishing it was some Arnold Schwarzenegger mess where he's a firefighter going to South America to be an action hero or something (just googled, Collateral Damage, ugh, awful)

But anyway, still scratching my head at the 97% score from critics and 87% from users of Rotten Tomatoes on Mad Max Fury Road. Then again, the Fast & The Furious series has like a gazillion movies in it and I don't get that either.

 

[stocky]

Alright, PLEASE someone tell me I'm not crazy here. I rented Mad Max Fury Road this weekend and was utterly perplexed how it received a 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

From the jump the movie just had me scratching my head, just seemed like it was trying to be ridiculously odd/weird. My wife and I watched to the point where Furiosa meets up with her old clan while searching for the green land or whatever, and then we had to shut it off.

Up to that point the only character who was moderately interesting was the War Boy played by Nick Holtz (of Warm Bodies fame).

I think the last movie I had to shut off before finishing it was some Arnold Schwarzenegger mess where he's a firefighter going to South America to be an action hero or something (just googled, Collateral Damage, ugh, awful)

But anyway, still scratching my head at the 97% score from critics and 87% from users of Rotten Tomatoes on Mad Max Fury Road. Then again, the Fast & The Furious series has like a gazillion movies in it and I don't get that either.

I haven't seen it but all my mates who have would completely agree with you.

 

[Anthony Martino]

I haven't seen it but all my mates who have would completely agree with you.

Sounds like I'm moving to Australia, oh wait.........

 

[spikeithard]

I was just about to post something to what you said above Anthony. I watched Mad Max last night and I was mostly just bored the whole time. Sure the art and action was unreal but the story line and just overall theme I did not care for. I found it hard at times to follow who was who and whats going on etc

Really not sure how this is getting rave reviews?? anyone explain this?

 

[detroitdad]

My son and I really liked it. Of course, we like weird and fucked up movies.

 

[Socraticd]

Alright, PLEASE someone tell me I'm not crazy here. I rented Mad Max Fury Road this weekend and was utterly perplexed how it received a 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

From the jump the movie just had me scratching my head, just seemed like it was trying to be ridiculously odd/weird. My wife and I watched to the point where Furiosa meets up with her old clan while searching for the green land or whatever, and then we had to shut it off.

Up to that point the only character who was moderately interesting was the War Boy played by Nick Holtz (of Warm Bodies fame).

I think the last movie I had to shut off before finishing it was some Arnold Schwarzenegger mess where he's a firefighter going to South America to be an action hero or something (just googled, Collateral Damage, ugh, awful)

But anyway, still scratching my head at the 97% score from critics and 87% from users of Rotten Tomatoes on Mad Max Fury Road. Then again, the Fast & The Furious series has like a gazillion movies in it and I don't get that either.

Did you see/enjoy any of the other mad max movies?

 

[spikeithard]

Did you see/enjoy any of the other mad max movies?

ya that could be my problem is I have not seen any other MM movies before?

 

[Anthony Martino]

Did you see/enjoy any of the other mad max movies?

I've seen others before. The one I remember enjoying was with Lord Humungous where Max was trying to protect the settlement (just walk away, and I will spare your lives...........just walk away)

But yeah, I guess the series has always been B-movie weird in many ways. Just felt like this one I wasn't given much of a reason to care for any of the characters and it just jumped straight into action without much in the way of any backstory. It's been awhile since I've seen the other MM movies so maybe those were similar?

 

[Socraticd]

Yeah, i ask because I didn't think it was out of line with the franchise as a whole, and you're left not being spoon fed the backstory or history of the world or characters that you're watching. They've always been somewhat one dimensional as far as motivations and such, and the plot lines haven't ever been terribly complex. It's a very "this is the world" presentation.

Plus, this guy:

 

[Anthony Martino]

They've always been somewhat one dimensional as far as motivations and such,

In the first movie Max's family is killed, so he's seeking revenge. In the 2nd film he's trying to survive and becomes the hope for a settlement under attack by raiders.

In this movie it seems like it was typical of today's Hollywood, all flash and no substance. Let's try to cram whatever we think is cool, gross or whatever into scenes and people will eat it up!

At the start we're introduced to Max who gets captured and then they clean him up and use him as a blood bag for a War Boy who is dying, but wants to go on a mission of glory so he'll be sent to Valhalla, so we conveniently see him take Max along.

The only glimpse of Max's past is flashbacks of some young girl, which I guess somehow turn out to be psychic visions cause he blocks the nail shot at his skull, but aside from that those flashbacks are pointless additions that don't result in anything for this film.

Furiousa somehow decides she's going to go rogue after rising the ranks to seek out a place she knew 20 years ago that no longer exists (yet in the vast expanse of desert she happens upon what remains of her people, who are just there to die violently during one of a gazillion chase scenes).

The various warring clans decide to team up to chase her down, but we don't really know why they suddenly agree to work together instead of against each other (since they all seem to have distinct territories) and the same holds true for Max and Furiosa, who were trying to kill each other then a few minutes later are dedicated allies (and the same for the War Boy who switches sides)

Max never really seems central to the plot, doesn't have much dialogue and when he does he sounds like he's trying to be Christian Bales batman, just in Australia (but not really sounding Aussie)

Here's some reviews that might touch on the dislike better than I did:

http://kurulounge.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-i-thought-mad-max-fury-road-sucked.html

http://suzannalinton.com/i-hate-mad-max-fury-road/

 

[jbutler]

Yeah, i ask because I didn't think it was out of line with the franchise as a whole, and you're left not being spoon fed the backstory or history of the world or characters that you're watching. They've always been somewhat one dimensional as far as motivations and such, and the plot lines haven't ever been terribly complex. It's a very "this is the world" presentation.

Agreed with all this. The best science fiction just presents the world without explanation, just as Fury Road doesn't explain why or how it came to be that there's a group of women having their breast milk pumped through a contraption in bad guy HQ. It just displays the reality envisioned by the creator. There are tons of things like this through the movie and they come together to form a film that kept me completely enthralled and entertained without needing to know all the details.

I did happen to rewatch all the Mad Max films before I saw Fury Road the first time, but honestly they don't provide any raw information that's necessary or helpful to enjoy Fury Road. They do provide the aesthetic background, so I suppose they're of value in the sense that if you had the same criticisms of the previous films - little character development, little explicit evidence of motivation, little story - then you probably won't like Fury Road either.

To some degree it comes down to whether you enjoy film as a medium as an end in itself or only as a means of presenting a story or a performance. While I do think there is at least one remarkable performance in Fury Road, that's clearly not its point. It's meant to be a visceral experience and it brings all the technical components - cinematography, art direction, sound design, choreography - together perfectly imo.

 

[Anthony Martino]

To some degree it comes down to whether you enjoy film as a medium as an end in itself or only as a means of presenting a story or a performance. While I do think there is at least one remarkable performance in Fury Road, that's clearly not its point. It's meant to be a visceral experience and it brings all the technical components - cinematography, art direction, sound design, choreography - together perfectly imo.

I think as a pure action film I can agree that the cinematography, art direction, sound design and choreography are all pretty damned fantastic. I guess I just felt like I needed something more from the film that a pretty face. Reminds me of a PC game that promotes it's amazing graphics but the gameplay underneath is just shallow and uninteresting.

Which performance did you feel was remarkable in this film? I have a feeling it's not the same as my own, which would be the War Boy played by Nick Holtz. His character was the only one I found myself at least moderately caring about. A lot of people seem to love Charlize Theron but I've just never found her appealing and I don't feel different for her role in this film.

 

[BNM]

curious to read your review on Everest. A movie I'm definitely interested in seeing.

I want to see Scorched Trials, but I can wait until I can stream it.

I saw "Everest" in IMAX 3D. I knew most of the story but I was still plenty impressed and white knuckling a fair amount of the time.

 

[BNM]

The Martian was a disappointment. That's not to say that I disliked it. The tone and humor of the film was not at all to my taste and those elements are unfortunately more upfront and imposing than the production design and cinematography, which I loved.

Not sure what constitutes a spoiler here, so I won't talk too much about the story, but that's not necessary as the story is as predictable as possible. It's Matt Damon's character that I find so grating and insufferable and since we spend so much time with him holding up the movie, that's a pretty fatal flaw for me. And the soundtrack basically rips off the feel of Guardians of the Galaxy, relying on a list of 70s hits to give even more levity to the movie.

There are some interesting performances: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean and Jessica Chastain are all great. And I love to see Benedict Wong who has been in more than his share of great sci-fi movies over the past decade. But then in addition to the Damon performance I disliked, Jeff Daniels turns in a middle of the road performance of a poorly written part.

It was plenty entertaining and very well made, so it's a very easy watch, but the flaws are likely to keep me from wanting to rewatch it anytime soon.

I'll take the opposite angle. I don't like 3D movies but this worked pretty well and the graphics were pretty darned good. I didn't think there were too many amazing performances, including the three you referenced, in particular, and I think all those actors/actresses are very capable. Interestingly, I thought Daniels as the politically appointed system-man was pretty spot on. The script for the supporting cast seemed to be an afterthought, with the majority of the focus being on Damon's character, which I enjoyed and bought into from the start. I also didn't get the GotG rip-off from the music, other than it was music from the 70s and I'm not a huge fan of disco. Music from GotG was much better, and the music in this movie seemed disco-ball-only.

I think, ultimately, I agree with you overall in that it was plenty entertaining and very well made but, for me, the tone and humor were to my taste and I might watch it one more time. As long as they add in all the deleted Jessica Chasten scenes...

 

[jbutler]

Saw Crimson Peak this weekend.

Though feeling a bit apprehensive due to the very little the studio was willing to say in press, I was still looking forward to this one. Guillermo Del Toro's films aren't perfect by any stretch, but they're always very obviously his and I am glad to watch anything he releases. Then mixed reviews started trickling in and I decided not to read any more until I'd seen the movie. I still haven't at this point, so maybe I'll go read a few after I post this.

I absolutely loved it. Every frame was gorgeous, the sets were breathtaking, the costumes were perfect. I can't think of a single thing I would change. I'm not typically a gothic romance fan, but I am a fan of most all horror movies. Crimson Peak mixes those genres in nearly equal parts.

Without spoiling any more than is in the trailer, Mia Whatshernamekowski is a young aspiring novelist and spinster in Buffalo in 1901 whose father has made his fortune as a developer. She becomes enamored of a British baronet played by Tom Hiddleston. She eventually accompanies Hiddleston and his sister, played by Jessica Chastain, back to England and things turn darker.

The lead performances are good, but I think Chastain's supporting performance is most notable. She is quite good as she almost always is. As noted above, it's the aesthetics of the film that are so remarkable, but unlike Fury Road, for instance, the story here is also compelling. While it exists as the scaffolding to support the genre film that Del Toro obviously sought to make, it's solid scaffolding and fits perfectly into the gothic horror tradition. There are very few pure haunted house films these days. They're usually muddled with another genre or two layered on. But here you get a classic haunted house film with just the right touches. I'm always reluctant to say very specific things about a movie because I don't like it when people discuss something before I've had a chance to experience it myself, but I just have to say that the uses of the red clay throughout the movie are excellent.

I can't imagine this not making my top 10 for the year, but we will see some huge releases in the coming two months, so we shall see. But I think it's probably in my top 5, maybe top 3 at the moment.

EDIT: Meant to say that I also watched Pan which was horrible and doesn't deserve any further discussion. One of the worst movies I've ever seen.