Watch Watched Watching: Indie Art Cinema Wave #__?

[Veltigar]

I went to the theater to watch James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. That was unexpectedly delightful. Going in I knew nothing about it, but my mate told me the reviews were good and they definitely weren't lying. I don't know whether it's pandemic magic that has softened my heart or whether there is just a wave of really good blockbusters doing the rounds at the moment.

After watching a better than average MCU movie in Black Widow, a Disney remake that actually earned its existence with Cruella, a Fast 9 film that occasionally didn't suck, I have now come across that rarest of creatures: a DC film that is actually great. This was a near-perfect blockbuster for me. It was filmed with so much style and panache that it almost felt like an auteur film at times. At no point did I feel the influence of studio executives and focus groups on the film. It's a remarkable achievement really, far better than the overrated Guardians of the Galaxy films Gunn previously made and which could never truly shake the MCU directives off of them. If memory serves, the only thing that was truly great about GoTG was the use of music and The Suicide Squad is just as good on that front.

Furthermore I really liked the story. It's quite cynical in the way it dispatches characters and as far as I can tell, the ethos of the team is far closer to the source material than previous attempts at bringing this story to live. As someone who is rather skeptical about this age of superheroes, I also thought it was a more realistic look on what would happen if you'd introduce a bunch of superheroes to our world. I love that they were willing to go to some bad places here and didn't end it in the same cliched ways as all these superheroes usually do. 

The film has a true buffet of great performances in it and even the bit players were memorable (Getting people like Sylvester Stallone and Peter Capaldi for such small parts was brilliant and it's a testament to the embarrassment of riches Gunn got to work with). I'd love to see all these characters back again in future installments. It's the first film I have seen from DC that utilized Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn correctly, Idris Elba was brilliant per the usual (his performance as a supervillain was so much better than his comparable role in Hobbs & Shaw), but the real stand out for me was John Cena. I'm not sure where he came from (pro-wrestling is what I hear), but not only was he by far the best part of Fast 9, but in The Suicide Squad that character really stole the show.

There are so many quotable lines in the film, but my favorite exchange occurred between Bloodsport and John Cena's Peace Maker and perfectly describes this film;

Bloodsport: No one likes a show-off

Spoiler

Peace maker: Unless what they are showing off is dope as fuck.

¨Pretty much sums up the movie. Gunn you beautiful bastard, more of this!

 

[Veltigar]

I also caught the 4K restoration of Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000) in the theatre. It's one of those modern classics that I had never seen and that was becoming a bit egregious. We discussed a couple of best of lists made by movie critics a couple of threads back and I think this is the most recent entry in the top 30 of the BFI and it deserves that place.

It's one of the most self-assured films I have ever had the pleasure of watching. It's remarkably good at transporting you back to (a very stylized, hyper real version of) the Hong Kong of the early 1960s and showing how people lived back then and what parameters really determined the freedom and emotional lives of the main characters. Maggie Cheung's Mrs. Chang gets my vote for best dressed female character in film history. She wears a succession of cheongsam dresses that are a feast for the eyes.

The entire film is of course gorgeous. In a sense it reminds me a bit of NBC's Hannibal in the sense that it found superlative beauty in a setting that would usually evoke dreariness and drabness but Wong Kar Wai fills everything with contrasting colors and soft light and it's just a delight. The acting is great. The best compliment I can give is that if I were an actor myself, I'd wish for a role like the one played here by our two leads. Really two characters for the ages.

My favorite part of the film however is the music. It's a perfect score if you ask me. Every single piece is just so evocative of longing and loneliness. Anyone who hasn't seen it and who considers themselves a romantic at heart should give this a chance.

 

[Ran]

Now I have to see if it's playing in Sweden. Absolutely adore In the Mood for Love. An achingly beautiful film, if ever there was one, for all the reasons you say. The cinematography from Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping Ben is fully up to scratch with the performances, the score (especially the unforgettable "Yumeji's Theme" from Shigeru Umebayashi), the direction. There are not many perfect films, but In the Mood for Love is assuredly one of them.

[WarGalley]

2 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I went to the theater to watch James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. That was unexpectedly delightful. Going in I knew nothing about it, but my mate told me the reviews were good and they definitely weren't lying.

In a million years, I was not expecting a DC comics movie (much less the Suicide Squad sequel) to have a 96% RT score off 97 reviews.

[Veltigar]

15 hours ago, WarGalley said:

In a million years, I was not expecting a DC comics movie (much less the Suicide Squad sequel) to have a 96% RT score off 97 reviews.

It's incredible right? I felt like I had become stuck in one of the weirder multiverses of madness after seeing The Suicide Squad. I have studiously avoided the original but the parts I have seen were agonizingly terrible. It's like night and day with this film. I find it strange that I haven't seen more discussion around it here. We always complain about the low standards of blockbusters, so we need to show DC that this type of creative freedom brings a high ROI for them, because I want to see more blockbusters like this.

17 hours ago, Ran said:

Now I have to see if it's playing in Sweden. Absolutely adore In the Mood for Love. An achingly beautiful film, if ever there was one, for all the reasons you say. The cinematography from Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping Ben is fully up to scratch with the performances, the score (especially the unforgettable "Yumeji's Theme" from Shigeru Umebayashi), the direction. There are not many perfect films, but In the Mood for Love is assuredly one of them.

Unforgettable is definitely the best way to describe Yumeji's Theme. It's such a beautiful piece, I can't believe I had never heard it before. I thought there was a mandate from advertising agencies to appropriate great film music to sling totally unrelated products after a few years, but this is such a pristine piece of music. The scene where they pass each other on the stairs and this theme plays will forever remain branded in my mind.

I also love the creative journey behind this film

Spoiler

Apparently the goal was initially to create a far more standard romantic film, with witty remarks and love scenes with nudity. They apparently even shot some of those, but Wong and the two leads together crafted the story while filming the whole thing and decided to change course. Make everything more subtle, implied, romantic. A wise choice if ever there was one.

 The film is heartbreaking though

Spoiler

I really wanted these two to find some happiness and if possible for the film to end with some punishment for their unfaithful spouses. This ending is more poignant of course, but it's a testament to the skill involved in crafting these characters that I wanted a fairytale ending for the two of them. 

 

[RumHam]

I randomly watched Sweetheart on netflix (not to be confused with the show Sweet Tooth.) Thought it was a really good bare bones minimal dialogue horror movie.  The lead actress did a great job, I remember her from Dope. Apparently she's also the Flash's love interest in the DCEU. 

I also finally got around to Freaky on HBO Max, that one was just alright. Not nearly as fun as Happy Death Day. But apparently they take place in the same universe. 

[ithanos]

I watched the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins for the first time and enjoyed it immensely. It chronicles the efforts of American Samoa's National Football team after their record breaking loss to Australia by 31-0. I thought it captured the spirit of the underdog pretty well, helped by having several genuinely interesting characters to hold your attention. Within the team we follow are a cultural mix of weekend warriors, one who is also fa'afafine, as well as outsiders from the diaspora of American Samoans. Throw in to this, Thomas Rongen, who reminds me of Tony Bourdain in his likeability and zeal.    

Wanted to watch this before the movie adaptation comes out, directed by Taika Waititi and starring Michael Fassbender as Rongen. I don't think I'll be in a rush to check out the adaptation as the doc is so good. 

[Knight of Ashes]

The Winter Soldier

In spite of everything that came after, I think it's still my favorite MCU film...

[Teng Ai Hui]

I have finished binge-watching The Last Kingdom.  Seasons 1 & 2 were great fun.  Season 3 was hampered by the character Skade.  Fortunately, the others members of that amazing ensemble cast overshadowed that minor drawback.  Season 4 was bookended well, but I found the middle episodes to be disappointing.

Reasons for the disappointment:

 

I had to stop watching after Father Beocca saved Young Uhtred.  He was my favorite character.

I put it aside again at the mention of the sickness.  I look to books and tv to help me forgot the stresses of real life, not to be reminded of them.

The court intrigue in Mercia felt boring.  The first 3 seasons established a successful formula, and then it was thrown out the window.

Steapa’s death triggered no emotions in me, except that I felt bad for the readers who enjoyed the book version of the character.

 

Any guesses as to when Season 5 will start?
 

[TheLastWolf]

How can The Shawshank Redemption NOT be boring on your #6th rewatch?

[RumHam]

9 hours ago, Teng Ai Hui said:

Any guesses as to when Season 5 will start?

Netflix hasn't said anything other than that it will be the last season. Reportedly they have finished filming. It wasn't on their list of shows coming out this year though. 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

Watched Den of Thieves on Netflix based on a Chapo Trap House recommendation. I suspect those guys un-ironically enjoyed that movie a lot more than I did. 

They were absolutely right about the depiction of Los Angeles being unique. This is probably because this movie was actually filmed in LA and not Vancouver. They were also right about the Benihana scene (it was magical) and Gerard Butler's performance (also magical).

 

[WarGalley]

3 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Watched Den of Thieves on Netflix based on a Chapo Trap House recommendation. I suspect those guys un-ironically enjoyed that movie a lot more than I did. 

They were absolutely right about the depiction of Los Angeles being unique. This is probably because this movie was actually filmed in LA and not Vancouver. They were also right about the Benihana scene (it was magical) and Gerard Butler's performance (also magical).

 

I actually wanted to see this movie but had already cancelled Netflix. I took it to be the C grade / trashy version of Heat as I understand it and am still morbidly curious.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

@WarGalley Sounds about right.

Gasp. Oh my goodness, they're making a sequel!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8008948/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_3

[TheLastWolf]

Stop confusing please, is Den of Thieves good or bad to watch?

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

 

[Mexal]

7 hours ago, The_Lone_Wolf said:

Stop confusing please, is Den of Thieves good or bad to watch?

Good to watch. Thoroughly enjoyable movie even if it's not the best movie.

[TheLastWolf]

2 hours ago, Mexal said:

Good to watch. Thoroughly enjoyable movie even if it's not the best movie.

Thanks, though I'd have watched it for Butler anyway

[Heartofice]

Remember being on a plane on a long haul flight and as I walked to the toilet noticed that almost everyone on board had chosen to watch Den of Thieves even though there was an entire library of movies to watch. 
 

I guess there must be something good about it.

[Werthead]

Trailer for Y: The Last Man, based on Bryan Vaughan's 2002 comic book series (the one that made his name) about every living being on Earth with a Y chromosome dropping dead on the instant - apart from two - and the 50% of the human race that survives struggles to survive.

It lands on Hulu on 13 September. Apparently no international distributor as yet.