Lurker > Seginustemple

You gotta pull a Gothmog and sidestep at the last second, causing the eagle to faceplant
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You bow to no one, azuarc

This'll be my 8th Gilliam...Holy Grail, Time Bandits, Brazil, Baron Munchausen, Fear and Loathing, Brothers Grimm, Doctor Parnassus.

Life of Brian was directed by Terry Jones, same with Meaning of Life. Easy to confuse the two!
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You bow to no one, azuarc

I'm surprised people feel more confident fighting an eagle than a large dog. At least kicks would be viable against a dog
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You bow to no one, azuarc

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Goonies
Muppets: Most Wanted
League of Extraordinary Gentleman
Castle of Cagliostro
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Ah shit I missed Abbey Road. I woulda voted for Because, I wish they did more stuff like that

AND I missed Rumors damn bro now I gotta listen to OKC again
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You bow to no one, azuarc

The Muppets

I'm glad we did this in between Enter the Void and Saint Maud, this was a good palate cleanser. I liked The Muppet Show as a kid, Muppet Treasure Island was my jam so this works on a base nostalgic level even if I don't have kids of my own. It's charming and mildly funny with some hit-or-miss musical numbers. Although one thing I don't get is casting Jack Black as the celebrity guest and not having him participate in any musical numbers. Let the man do his thing!

My favorite bit was Kermit's sad song looking at the paintings, classic Kermit shit. The reflection on being outdated really got to me ("would anyone watch or even care/or did something break we can't repair"). I was surprised the Kermit hand-at-rainy-window meme didn't show up here, they even did one with Amy Adams earlier in the movie. She was great, made the most of her role. Segel was decent, I thought he could have been more grounded but apparently this was his brainchild so maybe his saccharine earnestness is...kinda legit? Funny that this is clearly seeded in Forgetting Sarah Marshall where his character writes a Dracula musical with puppets.

Making the villain rap was pretty cringy, on top of the Muppet doppelgangers being uncomfortably black. Maybe they didn't mean anything by that but it combines to send a pretty awkward message. Also, why the hell is James Carville working the phonebanks? Does he have some real-world financial stake in the property? What a strange cameo choice.

One thing I never realized was that Kermit is the only crossover character between Sesame Street and the Muppets. He really likes to keep his friend groups separate, doesn't he? Can't have Grover at a Gonzo party. But I have a theory about this: Statler and Waldorf are just old Bert and Ernie. Their full names are Bert Statler and Ernie Waldorf and the reason the Muppets and Sesame Street never hang out is because they're in different eras of the Muppetverse. Meaning Kermit is actually an ancient Muppet. 6/10
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Oh I wasn't counting Reforged. I was under the impression it was basically the same game with newer graphics
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Probably Warcraft depending on what you consider "beating" Hearthstone
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You bow to no one, azuarc

dame da ne
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Enter The Void

Damn, this was brutal. I knew about Gaspar Noe's reputation so I kind of expected that but it still surprised me. What starts as a relatively harmless Joe Rogan podcast (Hey bro have you ever tried DMT? You gotta check out the Tibetan Book of the Dead man, it's craaaaaazy stuff) turns into a grim cautionary tale on abusive coping mechanisms. And yet the movie is taking us through the afterlife and reincarnation, which represents a more optimistic worldview than my own. So there's a great beauty to it even while it dwells on a dark life of trauma, suffering, bad decisions.

The use of the car crash as a repeated jump scare could be seen as cheap shock value but I think it perfectly illustrates the nature of such a heavy trauma trigger. After the second time the viewer doesn't feel safe any time the characters are in a car, where it could resurface at any moment. It's more effective than the pop-culture version of this scene that I'm familiar with, where Bruce Wayne's parents are killed in glamorized slow-motion and the pearls go flying and sometimes he chooses to reminisce about it when it's convenient. Not to slam Batman movies, it just struck me as a point of contrast to what I'm used to.

Actually, several movies came to mind as points of reference. 2001 and The Tree of Life. It's a Wonderful Life meets Reefer Madness. The nightmare to Lost in Translation's daydream.

Stylistically there was a lot to love. The title sequence is obviously a winner. The dark vision of Tokyo, the astral plane camerawork, and the long unbroken shots are entrancing. I'm pretty sure there isn't a single cut from when the dude puts down his pipe in his apartment to when he gets shot at the bar. The film really started pushing into greatness territory for me when we started spinning above the warped neon city before the Love Hotel sequence.

Though I did have an immature laugh when we got to the inner vagina cam. I wasn't expecting it! I was taking it fully seriously until then but by the time it started doing the sex ed impregnation video my brain was in full Beavis and Butt-head mode. Whoa, he's like, becoming his own nephew! That's cool. Seriously though, I don't know how to feel about that ending. It's played like it might be positive (flash-forwards seem promising) but it feels fundamentally wrong. It's a romantic gesture to follow through on the promise to never leave his sister but the movie shows us not all romantic gestures end up well, like when he brushes the go-go dancer mom's hair and it ends up unraveling that family. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

Yes I watched this high, I'm high when I watch all of the movies. Yes I've done DMT, no it's not that crazy. Maybe I'm being a little overcautious about dropping 10/10 ratings, Enter the Void is the closest for me so far but I'd have to sit on it a while before bumping it to a perfect score. The one major flaw is that none of the characters are likable, but that's kind of buffered by the first-person approach allowing the viewer to insert themselves into the cinematic out-of-body experience 9/10

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You bow to no one, azuarc

The Wicker Man
Saint Maud
The Ritual
Calibre
Midsommar

I too liked Midsommar but saw it recently enough
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Snake5555555555 posted...

I have to change this I can't have MbD here.

Lmao I feel so dumb for recommending that one. But I have to say I was tickled by the Punisher connection you pointed out, that was so random

Seen:
Fargo
Stalker
Murder by Death
Cool Hand Luke
The Lobster

Top 3 firsts:
Perfect Blue
Mother
45 Years
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Bad Genius

I enjoy it when a movie takes a simple concept and goes all-out with it. Applying all the film language of a heist movie to an academic cheating scandal makes it ridiculously over-dramatic, maybe even hard to suspend disbelief at times - I think it fits how we perceive high school as teenagers more than the reality of it.

I was expecting a serious biopic but as soon as Lynn put the eraser in her shoe I knew it was gonna get wacky (which I like). A serious movie would just have her pass the eraser back when the teacher isn't looking. I like to imagine that was how their first draft went but they realized it was boring so they punched it up with an Ocean's 11-worthy shoe transfer. So yeah a lot of it doesn't make sense if you take it seriously, the piano code is silly (why not just make it A-D = pointer-pinky?) but that's part of the fun of heist movies. The way they were using the camera and music to heighten the drama felt very tongue-in-cheek too, I was reminded of Edgar Wright by some of the slo-mo/zoom/focus gags. The scene where they realize there's a second set of questions especially has a lot of fun camera stuff. Bad guys in suits showing up for a chase scene at the end was the cherry on top.

Bank's arc did work for me, he got wronked and took the academic integrity redpill. I felt like there was a reasonable buildup of jealousy/revenge/hormones going on there.

Favorite scene: Lynn's father is giving her the disappointment speech and takes off his button-up all mad like "I'll fuckin' sell the shirt off my back for this shit" and she's crying, just thought they were both really good actors in that moment. For how hammy the heist business was this movie sold the emotional parts pretty effectively. 8/10
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You bow to no one, azuarc

kateee posted...

it's got to kill him inside though because he was so smug when revealing the ruse behind the nosebleed man. like he felt superior because his connection to his partner was 'real' but now he's in that same position.

Totally, he seems to resent the whole 'defining trait' system deep down but he still plays the game. He really takes it out on nosebleed/limp guy when he kicks his daughter in the leg and says "you should thank me, now you'll be more like your father", what a dick
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You bow to no one, azuarc

The Lobster

Second time watching this one. On paper this is up my alley but it never totally works for me, I share the opinion that the second half deflates it. I admire that it makes this structural gambit of a binary narrative, and I like that it skewers both extremes of we live in a society but I felt like the second half was just the first half in reverse and it spent too much time with the loner leader character (the lady from Death Stranding! I couldn't place it the first time).

There's a lot of stylistic choices I like. The ridiculously flat line deliveries and absurd dystopian world-building serve each other well, the over-the-top strings in the score use classic horror elements for good comic punctuation. Weisz's narration is just as funny as Farrell's performance for my money, and I like the choice to have her narrate in past tense for the first half and then reveal her as the love interest in the second, and then reveal the narration itself to be what gets her character in trouble (in the form of the journal). The visuals were great too, loved all the nature shots and the slo-mo indulgence. John C. Reilly running into a branch at 1/4 speed over classical piano music is just solid slapstick. I do wish they did more with the animal transformation concept, it never really materializes past sight gags in the background and the bro-dog.

To interpret the open ending - it seems there's three options, the relationship can either be abandoned or continued through lies or self-mutilation. Obviously it's ambiguous and nothing is certain but I think there are several indications throughout the movie that Colin Farrell's character would be inclined to fake blindness at that point. His arc is fixated on the matching characteristics, right in the first scene he asks an off-screen woman (presumably his ex-wife) "does he wear glasses or contacts?". She answers glasses. He too wears glasses. It bothers him. This short exchange informs his head-space during the entire ordeal. At the hotel he sees John succeed at faking nosebleeds to get a partner, although it takes physical sacrifice. He suggests to the blonde with great hair that he could get hair transplants, showing that he's open to the idea of changing himself, even faking it. Then he tries faking heartlessness to be with short-hair lady, a test which shows the limit to his ability to make a truly difficult sacrifice. His breakdown in that scene happens in front of a mirror, which I think is a motif pointedly echoed in the final scene. The climaxes of the two halves mirror each other (even visually, the orientation is flipped). And I think this quote is important "he thought that it was more difficult to pretend that you do have feelings when you don't than to pretend you don't have feelings when you do." Insert vision for feelings - the movie shows us that Rachel Weisz is able to fool Colin Farrell for about five seconds that she isn't blind but the loner leader is able to feign death against her. It would be all to easy for him to simply fake being blind.

Maybe the mirror reminds him who's visage he really cares about...7/10
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You bow to no one, azuarc

dick move bro
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Muppets
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The Last Five Years
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Enter the Void
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Scare Me
Bodied
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
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You bow to no one, azuarc

kateee posted...

has anyone seen it before btw?

Never heard of it! I'll have some time this weekend to get to this and The Lobster (which I have seen before), past couple weeks have been kinda busy. However you wanna do the voting system is fine by me I'll watch any damn thing
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You bow to no one, azuarc

I can't believe I used to go to watch parties for this, like twenty people in a room hype for this shit. It's hard to envision that happening for a television show again
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You bow to no one, azuarc

1. The Last Baron - Damn, I kinda forgot about this entire track? The album ends on a huge prog power ballad that actually hits emotionally before bombastically shredding and whaling its way to the finish. It's well-balanced, it doesn't feel overstuffed with ideas and it doesn't become repetitive. How did I forget about this one?

2. The Czar - You know you're in for some shit when it's ten minutes and starts on a low organ note. I don't think I appreciated the drummer enough in the past, all his flourishes really keep it moving and he is unusually groovy/funky for a metal drummer. The Spiral section is classic, the little spiral motif in the guitar riff takes it to the next level.

3. Oblivion - Always enjoyed the southern twang in their sound. This one has the pop-level hook in the chorus and the prog move of introducing an entirely new section for a guitar solo.

4. Divinations - I don't remember this one being so good! The dual guitar line in the chorus has a lot of flavor. They get a lot of variety out of weird scales, modulations, and textural changes.

5. Crack the Skye - I used to like this one more but I must have wore it out back when. I hit the Crack too much (bucket list note: must release a project called Passdabong - Crack the High)

6. Ghost of Karelia - Unfortunately the variety works against me here. It has a good verse and chorus and then like three forgettable sections in the middle.

7. Quintessence - Sick bass tone. Not as into the songwriting here (it's just alright) but I do enjoy the end bit with the techno voice effect.
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Funk looks like a blind spot too. No P-Funk, EWF, James Brown, Prince, Heatwave, not even Jamiroquai. Did we all just hate good vibes in our twenties?
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Well comparing character name recognizability to Star Wars and Avengers is silly, there's like 30 movies between them and people are named shit like Yoda and Captain America. I'm sure if Jake Sully were named Assjuice Johnson everyone would remember it but the movie would only be marginally improved
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Should really be more jazz on there but it's hard to come to a consensus when all the great players have so many albums
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Murder by Marnie: Hunt for the Blue Hand Stalker Lobster Witch

This is about where Netflix serial killer documentaries are at right now

The Tribe
Sound of Noise
Bad Genius

A no-subs foreign sign language film seems too interesting to pass on
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You bow to no one, azuarc

George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
Soundgarden - Jesus Christ Pose
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You bow to no one, azuarc

There's lots of greats but this one always stood out to me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0pdwd0miqs
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You bow to no one, azuarc

I bet OKC has staying power but I'd be surprised if Funeral still cracked top 20

Idk I've been listening to a lot of new (and old) shit the past decade, my list has probably shifted quite a bit. Do people still listen to Arcade Fire a lot?
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Honestly that's a pretty solid list, but man even I wouldn't put three Radiohead albums in the top five that looks silly
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You bow to no one, azuarc

I guess I don't remember much about the main series anymore, but I always loved the Andalite Chronicles and the Hork-Bajir Chronicles. Animorphs had cool ass aliens
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You bow to no one, azuarc

I wanna nominate Steely Dan's 'Can't Buy A Thrill' and I will second Rumours, The Wall, Ben Folds Five, and Aquemini
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You bow to no one, azuarc

I shoulda done one for Nevermind, oh well.

1. Devil in a New Dress - Yeah it's the slick beat that does it for me, and yeah it's just this Alicia Keys song straight up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tSdACqiZIA with a little bit of Smokey Robinson's voice in there to punch it up. It still sounds fresh to me! The Rick Ross verse is fun but really I just love the texture of the instrumental a whole bunch.

2. Runaway - The jewel of the record, the album would be missing its heart without this oddly sentimental moment of self-reflection. On its own it can get redundant, the progression is a bit Pachelbel's canon in that way. In the context of the album it's a welcome slice of vulnerability. Love the little production choices like the stereo effect on the "who got ya" sample or how the detuned piano sample is affected once the beat comes in.

3. All of the Lights - Super hooky and bombastic, crazy drums in the chorus. Just a hype high energy song and Elton John blows that shit up by the end.

4. Power - Again the drums sound great, the dirty kick and the hit-hat really punch through. One of my favorite ridiculous Kanye lines is just "Colin Powell, Austin Powers" because he delivers it like it means something important. It's like he is able to totally buy into an operatic mode of expression no matter what he is saying and I think that's often what's so great about his music.

5. Gorgeous - More cool production ideas - the old radio/over-the-telephone effect on the verses works for me but what I really love is how the entire mix opens up after the last verse, at the end it sounds much bigger and if you scrub back to the start you can hear how thin and compressed it was when it began. The whole song has this gradual dynamic like you're slowly entering the room it's actually playing in, it's really cool

6. Lost in the World/Who Will Survive in America? - This one took a while to grow on me but it's a solid, layered song. There's the element of party anthem but with the weird vocal layering and fantastic percussion/chant ending it's almost too artsy/progressive to be a proper party tune. And then the album closes on a political speech over organ and congas? I kinda love that

7. Hell of a Life - I think the album needs this after Runaway, the transition to a more aggressive sound after that moment of introspection gives the album of a lot of character. Like it doesn't want to reveal sensitivity for too long before putting up the wall of testosterone again. But it's kind of simple and after the four minute mark it's just spinning its wheels.

8. Dark Fantasy - An appropriate opener for sure but most of its charms have worn off. The layered vocals in the "can we get much higher?" section are still fire.

9. Blame Game - I like the idea of the the heavy effects on the second verse (as if there were three voices) but for some reason it just doesn't work here. I find it more distracting than anything. I love the idea of sampling Aphex Twin but that ends up just sounding...okay? And then it tacks an extra three minutes with this Chris Rock re-upholstered pussy skit and again on paper I should be into this but it doesn't work for me.

10. So Appalled - The beat is alright but damn for six-and-a-half minutes with standard braggadocio verses? Life can be sometimes ridiculous. It's not bad, it's below par for this album.

11. Monster -Another one that goes on too long and I still find both Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj obnoxious on it. She has the better verse by far but the silly voice stuff just grates on me, it reminds me of when Eminem tanks a song by leaning too far into his nasal mocking tone. I know most people love this verse though so it's just me being crazy
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You bow to no one, azuarc

knock knock open up the door, it's real :(
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Dionysus and Megaera

it's the partyboy/dominatrix vibes
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Sarah McLachlan - In the Arms of an Angel
Snoop Dogg - Doggy Dogg World
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You bow to no one, azuarc

It does have an addictive quality, maybe it's just me but I feel like they nailed the pace of the run turnaround. There are times where I tell myself it's the last run before I get off and then when it's done I'm like oh well I should at least progress all the dialogue options, and then I'm compelled to level my character up and choose the next load-out, and then I think let's see what the first boon is gonna be because it's right there, and then ten minutes later I'm at the Bone Hydra again telling myself its the last run

does that happen to anyone else
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You bow to no one, azuarc

half_silver28 posted...

Cynthia Harrell - Snake Eater

Everything Everything - No Reptiles
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You bow to no one, azuarc

The Lighthouse is in 1.19:1

release the Eggers Cut
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine
Lupe Fiasco - State Run Radio

but yeah it's Have a Cigar
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You bow to no one, azuarc

SovietOmega posted...

Mmm, let's get rid of the coal miners. We can replace them with nuclear power. The planet will thank us later.

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You bow to no one, azuarc

best fake-out scares
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You bow to no one, azuarc

SpikeSetsFire posted...

Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy

Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity

Lots of good candidates for this one: Pixies - Where Is My Mind?, Seal - Crazy, Cypress Hill - Insane in the Brain, David Bowie - I'm Deranged, Heart - Crazy On You, Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It
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You bow to no one, azuarc

StartTheMachine posted...

Lupe Fiasco - Hip Hop Saved My Life

HM to Parliament - We Want The Funk
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Dead Prez - Hip Hop
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Oh shit Die Hard at 2 right on

100: Predator
175: Die Hard: With A Vengeance
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You bow to no one, azuarc

45: Die Hard
60: The Thing
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You bow to no one, azuarc

Marilyn Manson is the one where I'm not sure how people didn't see it coming. I remember when the guy rubbed his balls on a security guard's head while performing and people just kinda laughed it off.

But when it comes to separating the art and artist I mean shit I can look at a Hitler painting and still enjoy it on some level
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You bow to no one, azuarc