FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: films of a certain quality

[JackRiddler]

It's not research history, it's a bunch of modern rationalist actors and factions playing Machiavelli on some other planet, but I quite like it. In a way it's more like science fiction than swords and sorcery.

[Harvey]

It's not research history, it's a bunch of modern rationalist actors and factions playing Machiavelli on some other planet, but I quite like it. In a way it's more like science fiction than swords and sorcery.

No one knows what happened, and the story of the Ninth Legion has been quite a lure for writers, film makers and television in recent years presumably because it can go absolutely anywhere without having to invent everything.^

[JackRiddler]

It's not research history, it's a bunch of modern rationalist actors and factions playing Machiavelli on some other planet, but I quite like it. In a way it's more like science fiction than swords and sorcery.

No one knows what happened, and the story of the Ninth Legion has been quite a lure for writers, film makers and television in recent years presumably because it can go absolutely anywhere without having to invent everything.^

Now on the 2nd season, still entertaining and funny but abandoned pretenses to sociology and faux-histoire and took the full turn to magic nasty dark lords battling for supremacy over Middle Earth while Girl Frodo and Stinky Sam (great pair!) wander about bearing the ring, etc. etc. Except everyone talks real fast and smart, see, like in a slapstick comedy or gangster flick with English dialect and cursing. It's a lot more fun than I'd expect from my own description. Thanks for the rec.

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[Harvey]

Herzog's interview with Gorbachev is very good, if wistful.

Many critics sneered respectfully, but I loved Peterloo. It brought the period stunningly to life and movingly engendered in this viewer a powerful sense of destiny thwarted.





This sense of lost yesterdays is achingly present in The Young Karl Marx, equally enjoyable.





And similar themes abound in the background of this well rounded revenge tragedy The Nightingale:

[8bitagent]

Saw some pretty good movies in theaters in 2019!
to Dr Evil, sorry you didn't enjoy Ad Astra. I saw it several times in theaters, something I usually never do. I just found the experience transcendent. the sound design, look and vibe I just love. Yeah, nothing really happens and it just goes from one Brad Pitt ambient scene-turn conflict to the next, but it worked for me. I also loved Interstellar a lot, but was bored by The Martian and Gravity. LOVED First Man tho, just from the sound design and look alone. I still need to see Lucy In the Sky(Im a total mark for modern space exploration movies)

I HIGHHHHLY recommend "US". I was so so on "Get Out", but Peele's followup up Us really delivers both the creepy level, the comedy zombie horror moments, and the weird 1980's stuff.

Midsommar was pretty good too. Weird to see a horror film staged completely during the bright daylight but I felt it worked. I kind of dug his Hereditary film, but what bugged me about Hereditary was the family drama and weirdness felt so detatched from the real world. Like when the daughter has that gruesome accident, where were the cops? Like you never see any interaction or scenes with the real world, other than the hobby craft store parking lot scene. Also that final ending treehouse scene was just too goofy for me to feel like it was the proper scary bow to end on.

Loved Joker. The Standoff At Sparrow Creek on Netflix was really good too.
LOVVVED "Vox Lux", probably my favorite from back in January.

I thought Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell was boring, tho the lead guy embodied the real Richard Jewel pretty well. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was worth watching. For some reason despite the bad reviews, I really liked The Goldfinch. I saw the Leonard Cohen documentary "Leonard and Marianne" in theaters and I absolutely loved it.

Literally almost everyone I know in person kept raving about "Parasite", even people who never would watch a foreign language film. So I definitely need to see it soon, haven't kept up with Korean films in awhile.
And yes, sadly I was pretty "meh" on the final Star Wars film.

[thrulookingglass]

I'm not quite sure this belongs under this topic, but I thought it needed to be posted here on RI. Fuckin-A its the CIA!

[JackRiddler]

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Looks great! Can't wait. Really.

ON EDIT: Watched all three parts! Amazing stuff.

Note that the first screen reads:

"DEFINITION OF THE ALTERNATIVES IS THE SUPREME POWER."

This is the motto of the company that aired it on public access, apparently, Alternative Information Network.

But it could just as well describe what it took me many years to understand was the true modus operandi of the CIA and the other institutions of imperial management. Hell, it may have taken THEM many years to understand it.

The documentary was released in 1980, so this is why Carter is treated as the current president and Stansfield Turner as current DCI. This makes it invaluable, for the dual perspective of its own view looking back to 1947 and our own watching the doc 40 years later (!). So it is amazing both for the continuities and contrasts to today. We could have a separate thread just to discuss those.

Pretty sure I've seen it before, but at least 10 years ago. This version was produced for airing in Austin, TX public access by Alternative Information Network starting in 1983. It was taped on to VHS during a 1993 repeat. It was uploaded to Youtube in 2016. Phew!

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[JackRiddler]

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Need a film that explains why Russians, unlike the French, did not need to invent the concept of existentialism? Here you go...

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WHISPERING PAGES (Ru, 1994, 1:09 runtime)
dir. Alexander Sokurov
"Based on the works of Russian writers of the XIX century."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k0dVsWS638

[thrulookingglass]

One recurrent theme in that CIA film from 1980 is the company always sought to undermine leftist activities, never right wing actions. If if they're willing to perform these terrorist activities abroad to destroy grass-roots socialist movements...

[JackRiddler]

Back then there was clarity. The left was always the enemy, the right was a weapon against them. The left was a threat to control and extraction. Also, back then it was potentially contagious. To the Cold War leaders the right was the good guys, or else, at worst a management problem if they made their sponsors look bad.

[Karmamatterz]

Drove up to Ann Arbor this week with a friend who highly suggested the ride would be worth it. He was right.

https://fantasticfungi.com/trailer/

Fantastic Fungi is a documentary about fungi and mushrooms. It can only be seen at select screening locations so plan to do a search. I wish it was available to pay per view online, but we also met some cool people in the lobby after the film was over.

https://fantasticfungi.com/mushroom/

If you're expecting it to be all about magic trippin' shrooms, it's not. Though they are mentioned, it's more about the potential health benefits including helping treat Alzheimers and some forms of cancer. Something I had not heard before is that some variants of fungi can decompose toxic waste. Very cool film. The visuals were awesome.

If anybody else has seen it I would like to know what you think.

[chump]

The Winning Season was a fun film to watch; well acted with Sam Rockwell as a recently divorced, with a teenage daughter, “ boozing busboy”, who was a pretty good player in his day; so he’s offered an chance to coach the girl’s basketball team at the same local high school where he was a star.

https://youtu.be/yDg69ptEKsg
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[Harvey]

Drove up to Ann Arbor this week with a friend who highly suggested the ride would be worth it. He was right.

https://fantasticfungi.com/trailer/

Fantastic Fungi is a documentary about fungi and mushrooms. It can only be seen at select screening locations so plan to do a search. I wish it was available to pay per view online, but we also met some cool people in the lobby after the film was over.

https://fantasticfungi.com/mushroom/

If you're expecting it to be all about magic trippin' shrooms, it's not. Though they are mentioned, it's more about the potential health benefits including helping treat Alzheimers and some forms of cancer. Something I had not heard before is that some variants of fungi can decompose toxic waste. Very cool film. The visuals were awesome.

If anybody else has seen it I would like to know what you think.

I've only watched the first film at your second link so far, but very good indeed. Thanks.

[thrulookingglass]

I'm not sure this qualifies as a film, but I thought it belonged here. I was considering starting a new thread regarding to pertinent pieces on youtube that help educate. Anyhow, this piece is remarkable if you ask me.

[semper occultus]

some bloke did a bit of an artisanal film-making using a period hand cranked 16mm camera & film stock. Bit hipsterish. Film festival beardy-types loved it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_(2019_film)