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Saul Bass: Anatomy of Film Design
Book
Iconic graphic designer and Academy Award--winning filmmaker Saul Bass (1920--1996) defined an...
KyleQ (267 KP) rated Halloween (2018) in Movies
Jul 20, 2020
I wanted to like it.
Ignoring every entry other than Carpenter's original, 2018's Halloween attempts to reboot the Franchise in anew direction.
Oddly enough, comedian Danny McBride was a writer, while director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) directed.
I blame much of my distaste on their overhyping it. They said this would be a slower movie focused on creating suspense ala the original.
In reality, this more than tripled the body count, even surpassing Rob Zombie's remake which was 10 minutes longer.
From the get-go, Michael just wanders about killing people, at one point we just follow him walking down a street randomly killing people. This has more senseless violence then Zombie's outings.
Another thing I didn't like was that, with this only following the original in which after escaping, he killed 4 people. It doesn't make sense that he would be this popular legend still talked about 40 years later.
Also, victims are idiots, it's no shock who gets killed. Honestly, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) was the only likable character, and even she pushed it a bit.
For positives, Carpenter's score was great, I liked some of the camera work. Intro credits were cool, throwing back to the original. And Curtis was good returning as Laurie Strode.
I really wanted to like 2018's Halloween, but it lacked suspense, characters were dumb, it felt more like a senseless action/comedy than horror. This would've fit the Friday the 13th franchise better. I really hope that the sequels are better.
Oddly enough, comedian Danny McBride was a writer, while director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) directed.
I blame much of my distaste on their overhyping it. They said this would be a slower movie focused on creating suspense ala the original.
In reality, this more than tripled the body count, even surpassing Rob Zombie's remake which was 10 minutes longer.
From the get-go, Michael just wanders about killing people, at one point we just follow him walking down a street randomly killing people. This has more senseless violence then Zombie's outings.
Another thing I didn't like was that, with this only following the original in which after escaping, he killed 4 people. It doesn't make sense that he would be this popular legend still talked about 40 years later.
Also, victims are idiots, it's no shock who gets killed. Honestly, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) was the only likable character, and even she pushed it a bit.
For positives, Carpenter's score was great, I liked some of the camera work. Intro credits were cool, throwing back to the original. And Curtis was good returning as Laurie Strode.
I really wanted to like 2018's Halloween, but it lacked suspense, characters were dumb, it felt more like a senseless action/comedy than horror. This would've fit the Friday the 13th franchise better. I really hope that the sequels are better.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Purge (2013) in Movies
Aug 8, 2021
Despite it's shortcomings, it's easy to see why The Purge ended up spawning a franchise and that's mainly down to it's tantalising premise. The whole "murder is legal for one night every year" idea is suitably dystopian, and yet feels uncomfortably plausible. It's a little slice of horror-plot gold.
This first entry however, is more of a tease of what could be, focusing on one family, in one location, on Purge Night.
It has a fair amount going for it. Two strong leads in Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, a relatively charismatic villain, and a well paced narrative that manages to achieve some sort of tension here and there.
Unfortunately, it falls into silly action clichés during the final third. It's easy to lose count of how many times a main character is about to meet their demise, before being miraculously saved at the last second. It becomes a bit laughable by the time the credits roll. The plot beats around this point take a bit of a dive as well, with some last minute twists thrown in that don't really make a lick of sense. The action itself is fairly entertaining, but marred somewhat by all the crappy CGI blood flying around. And although the main villain has some entertaining aspects, his minions are just a bunch of cringy edge lords that unfortunately plague this entire series.
All that being said, The Purge is still a modest and tidy enough home invasion thriller that deserves a watch.
This first entry however, is more of a tease of what could be, focusing on one family, in one location, on Purge Night.
It has a fair amount going for it. Two strong leads in Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, a relatively charismatic villain, and a well paced narrative that manages to achieve some sort of tension here and there.
Unfortunately, it falls into silly action clichés during the final third. It's easy to lose count of how many times a main character is about to meet their demise, before being miraculously saved at the last second. It becomes a bit laughable by the time the credits roll. The plot beats around this point take a bit of a dive as well, with some last minute twists thrown in that don't really make a lick of sense. The action itself is fairly entertaining, but marred somewhat by all the crappy CGI blood flying around. And although the main villain has some entertaining aspects, his minions are just a bunch of cringy edge lords that unfortunately plague this entire series.
All that being said, The Purge is still a modest and tidy enough home invasion thriller that deserves a watch.
Richard Hell recommended Band of Outsiders (1964) in Movies (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated For a Good Time, Call... (2012) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)
Started out a little worrisome but thankfully this is every bit as funny, progressive, breezy, joyous, and woefully slept on as its cult supporters make it out to be. Miller and Graynor's chemistry is out of this world; and Nia Vardalos, Mark Webber, and of course the man Justin Long are smashing in their respective supporting roles. This was right around the start of that era where these raunchy sex comedies started to get not just really fucking obnoxious but also formulaic and near intolerable - so it's more than refreshing to see one that gives its characters an insane amount of both agency and dignity, setting up a commendable amount of their intricacies and quirks without ever pandering on the former nor judging them for the latter. The whole thing just has this infectiously delightful verve and bright personality about it, and it never seems like it's making any of the topics it finds humor in the actual butt of the joke. I admit that I'm sick of seeing just random montages of the city in opening credits sequences like this though, it adds nothing to the experience other than to remind you that this takes place in New York - and it does show its clumsiness in other areas too sometimes, but it's a damn good time as well as a reminder in how far some thoughtfulness and authentic care can go in elevating an experience like this. Ends a bit suddenly but otherwise the realization of that last scene is simply perfect.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The House That Jack Built (2018) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
One of the singular most disgusting, depraved, downright inhuman pieces of genre filth I've ever laid eyes on - try to think the 𝘚𝘢𝘸 movies' gore porn meets 𝘈 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 levels of twisted and shockingly grotesque subject matter. Not perfect: at times this feels more like a defense than an apology (not that he doesn't answer for a lot nor are the defenses always unwarranted), but it's rigorously complex and as a piece of provocation this is simply exquisite - almost unparalleled. Over two and a half hours of unforgettable novelistic madman monologues and some of the most cruel, savage violence you will ever see in a motion picture. I'm seldom ever less than fully impressed by Lars but the fact that this is so twisted and animalistic yet the humor is still so on point is only another testament to why he's one of the greatest living directors. Bats for the fences and rubs your noses right in all its slime, plus it has some of the most haunting effects work you're likely to ever see. Matt Dillion gives not only the ultimate performance of his career, but one of the defining of the decade in what can only be described as blood-curdling, remorseless but totally eccentric work. Screamed and shrunk into my own body numerous times. I've seen a metric ton of vile, uncomfortable cinema and I'm not unsettled easily but this was truly terrifying - as well as 110% unique. My jaw was dropped the entire epilogue well through the credits. RIP - Bruno Ganz.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Sharp Objects in TV
Nov 26, 2020
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥..."
Decay in all its forms, *very* HBO - right down to the opening credits sequences - in the best ways. If I have one complaint it's that I wish this were an episode longer to really settle into its final moments before the jaw-dropping rug-pull ending (and maybe I wish it was a little more physically gross when it calls for it) - but I digress, this is phenomenal television all the same. Flynn is as complex a writer as ever and Jean-Marc Vallée is at some of his most fully engrossing. As someone living in a tawdry small town just like this it does a bangup job at showing how those types of areas prey upon their little boys and girls, and bears witness to the differing ways their subsequent rage manifests between each gender. You know yourself much less than everyone else *thinks* they know you, if you aren't peering directly into their eyes you aren't safe from disparaging remarks even from your supposed closest allies - the moment in episode 5 where the camera keeps switching POVs while somebody glares at someone else, who then glares at someone else, who then glares at someone else, etc., etc. does a good job at exemplifying this. Adams, Messina, and particularly Clarkson, Scanlen, Perkins, and Czerny are sublime as these haunted enigmas of people. Gives away some of its themes a touch too on-the-nose later in the game but nonetheless a grim, fragmented, trancelike nightmare of hatred. Magnetic as hell.
Decay in all its forms, *very* HBO - right down to the opening credits sequences - in the best ways. If I have one complaint it's that I wish this were an episode longer to really settle into its final moments before the jaw-dropping rug-pull ending (and maybe I wish it was a little more physically gross when it calls for it) - but I digress, this is phenomenal television all the same. Flynn is as complex a writer as ever and Jean-Marc Vallée is at some of his most fully engrossing. As someone living in a tawdry small town just like this it does a bangup job at showing how those types of areas prey upon their little boys and girls, and bears witness to the differing ways their subsequent rage manifests between each gender. You know yourself much less than everyone else *thinks* they know you, if you aren't peering directly into their eyes you aren't safe from disparaging remarks even from your supposed closest allies - the moment in episode 5 where the camera keeps switching POVs while somebody glares at someone else, who then glares at someone else, who then glares at someone else, etc., etc. does a good job at exemplifying this. Adams, Messina, and particularly Clarkson, Scanlen, Perkins, and Czerny are sublime as these haunted enigmas of people. Gives away some of its themes a touch too on-the-nose later in the game but nonetheless a grim, fragmented, trancelike nightmare of hatred. Magnetic as hell.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Planet Terror (2007) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
If you seek a movie so absurdly over the top in almost every regard, then look no further.
Planet Terror is a glorious throwback to practical driven and blood soaked video nasties of the 70s and 80s, is super stylized to the point of self aware stupidity, and boasts a fantastic cast - a roll call of who's who in the cinema of Rodriguez/Tarantino.
Of course, Planet Terror is one half of the duos Grindhouse project, and for me, slightly takes the edge over Death Proof. Both films are great and gleefully brimming with tributes to the exploitative sub genre of its namesake, but Planet Terror is just balls to the wall fun, a blast from start to finish.
Its has badass female leads - Cherry Darling, a former go-go dancer with a gun-leg, and Dakota Block, a nurse who shoots trigger functioning syringes full of sedatives at anyone who pisses her off - Rose McGowan and Marley Shelton and both brilliant.
It has Bruce Willis mutating into God knows what. It has Tom Savini and Michael Biehn as zombie fighting sherrifs. It has Sayid from Lost collecting people's testicles in a pickle jar.
And Jesus Christ it has so. much. gore. It must have been a hell of a sticky set to work on to say the least.
To top it all off, it even opens with the now infamous Machete "trailer", with Danny Trejo and motherfucking Cheech Marin.
Planet Terror is a ride as soon as the opening credits start. An absolute must for any horror or grindhouse fan.
Planet Terror is a glorious throwback to practical driven and blood soaked video nasties of the 70s and 80s, is super stylized to the point of self aware stupidity, and boasts a fantastic cast - a roll call of who's who in the cinema of Rodriguez/Tarantino.
Of course, Planet Terror is one half of the duos Grindhouse project, and for me, slightly takes the edge over Death Proof. Both films are great and gleefully brimming with tributes to the exploitative sub genre of its namesake, but Planet Terror is just balls to the wall fun, a blast from start to finish.
Its has badass female leads - Cherry Darling, a former go-go dancer with a gun-leg, and Dakota Block, a nurse who shoots trigger functioning syringes full of sedatives at anyone who pisses her off - Rose McGowan and Marley Shelton and both brilliant.
It has Bruce Willis mutating into God knows what. It has Tom Savini and Michael Biehn as zombie fighting sherrifs. It has Sayid from Lost collecting people's testicles in a pickle jar.
And Jesus Christ it has so. much. gore. It must have been a hell of a sticky set to work on to say the least.
To top it all off, it even opens with the now infamous Machete "trailer", with Danny Trejo and motherfucking Cheech Marin.
Planet Terror is a ride as soon as the opening credits start. An absolute must for any horror or grindhouse fan.
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