I watched the other one Ghostbusters Afterlife not long ago on Netflix and found it great. As a neurodiverse woman I wish a movie like this would have existed when I was a girl. The main character resonated with me a lot and the rest was good enough popcorn fun for me. I am not watching something like this in a movie theater, but when it hits a streaming service I will most likely give it a chance.
I watched The Equalizer 1 + 2. I had fun with them and got a great book recommendation out of it: Ordered the German version of “Between the World And Me” ( Zwischen mir und der Welt) from my library. Who thought that an action movie of all things could make me want to read about feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being Black in the United States.
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Why not see it the theater?
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I don’t think there is a theater in Germany where I could see it. I know there is a television special, but not on the streaming services I have access to.
Also I might have a better time to read it and google some of the references in it that I otherwise might not get as a white German with not much knowledge in Black history. I will get the book on Monday, looking forward to it.
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I meant Ghostbusters. I was replying to your reply to me. 
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Oh sorry missed that, I rarely go to the movie theater (because of my handicap they aren’t comfy to sit for two hours when I can’t move or have my feet up), maybe twice a year, so it has to be something I really feel will profit from a big screen and a Ghostbuster movie is just fine at home, especially since I prefer not to go to the latest showings in the evenings and with a movie like this you might end up with a lot of loud kids in the theater.
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Fair point. I only go for movies I really wanna see on the big screen myself.
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Just finished The Holdovers. It is exactly the kind of movie the trailers made it out to be. I laughed. I shed a tear. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Performances are great throughout, but I was especially impressed with Da’Vine Joy Randolph. I had only seen her before in Only Murders in the Building playing a character I will charitably call underwritten. Here, however, she carries several emotional moments handily. I didn’t know she had it in her!
The story is set in 1970s, and the film matches the aesthetic impressively. I think the film grain was added in post, but I didn’t care either way as the shot composition and editing matched that early 70s vibe while staying true to Alexander Payne as a storyteller. It also features a killer soundtrack.
For those in the know about the Alexander Payne situation: In some ways I do feel like this movie is a reflection on his relationship with Rose McGowan. I don’t know whether McGowan or Payne are telling the truth about that situation, but I’ll say this- even if you take Alexander Payne’s version of the events at face value, it isn’t a good look for a 31 year old man in power to be with an 18 year old. The movie does create an ethic that laws concerning age should be obeyed. 
I forgot about that story until about halfway through the movie when Paul and Angus’ relationship evolves beyond teacher and student. I have no conclusive thoughts on this topic, but I’ll consider next time if I want to support Payne as an artist or not. Or maybe I’ll forget again.
Anyway, I really enjoyed it. 9/10.
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I’ve been searching thrift stores for Ex Machina on DVD or Blu Ray but I’ve been unsuccessful. I’ve seen it before and would like to see it again. Excellent flick!
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nah, the new season is pretty decent honestly. there were some real shitty moments in past seasons (like the lady gaga episode, or bart joining a feminist graffiti group and the writers doing pretty much nothing with a decent idea, or treehouse of horror episodes not being horror but just glorified plugs and shitty semi-parodies of disney films, or those god AWFUL ‘shorts’ they made which are just needless crossovers and more advertising for disney.) it definitely isn’t amazing and has its flaws, but it is solid.
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You seen any of Alex Garland’s other work? He’s an interesting director carving out a niche for himself with sci-fi/psychological horror, and I recommend all his stuff.
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I think a lot of his work is interesting, save for Men which is his undeniable failure of filmmaking despite having decent performers to work with. I’m also ambivalent about his take on Annihilation but that’s partially because I think that on the one hand injected compelling ideas that weren’t present in the book, but on the other he attempted to resolve something that I don’t think should have been resolved. That said it’s hilarious to observe how much VanderMeer loathes Garland, lol. His Men review is scathing (appropriately so) but seems to come from a place of personal grudge which reduces its critical power.
In conclusion, @8BitHero, I agree that you should watch Garland movies and shows, but don’t feel bad if you skip Men.
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BMO, share with us your hatred of Men. I liked it! I don’t think it all works, and maybe it is his worst work (that or Annihilation), but I enjoy them both more than I do most sci-fi/psychological thriller/horror works.
@8BitHero Check out his show Devs if you haven’t seen it!
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I watched Annihilation not long ago and I had mixed feelings about some things in it, but overall found it to be good. Would you recommend the book, or I heard it is a trilogy even?
I quite enjoyed the first book but I don’t think VanderMeer’s talents are great enough to carry the rest of the trilogy. He has some great idea and I found the first book very unsettling, but I felt he undid the best parts of the first book in the second and third. That said there were still parts of those books that were worthwhile, so some may enjoy them more than I did.
What didn’t you enjoy about the film? Depending on what it was you might like the first book.
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Men is Garland’s attempt to mansplain just why men are so awful to an audience that’s probably at least half composed of people who already know this intimately well and don’t need a three minute scene in which Garland lays out all his anxieties about the female body as a means to use birth as a metaphor for the endless life cycle of misogyny. It’s simultaneously excessive, in all the wrong places, and too reserved, unable to go far enough to really engage its premise with any depth beyond saying “surprise, men suck”. Angelica Jade Bastién, a critic in quite fond of, does a better job of explaining exactly why it’s a bit of a failed project, never terrible enough to be a bad film but certainly lacking enough to be a worthwhile one:
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The after sex scene with the guy she was betraying her husband with for example. Too long, boring and all of that just to might bring a bit of guilt into her backstory? It felt out of place.
The start was too slow (I was close to turning the tv off), the interogation at the end end too dragged out, all these people standing around that glass room unnecessary wierd. I wish we could have had more time with each of the women instead.
For them having lost days soon after they entered the zone … it seemed something was missing there, maybe cut from the movie? They were not unconsious, they were setting up tents and cooking, eating etc. and they did not care about it for some reason.
Writing this down, nothing big. I probably really want more insight into who these women were and more time to understand how they react/change.
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I’ll check out his other stuff!
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Really didn’t enjoy Men or Annihilation.
Finally saw Train to Busan. Hype is 100% justified, such a great film. Really good characters, too. As with all good zombie films, the zombies are there to tell a deeper story. Probably my favourite zombie film outside of 28 Days Later.
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When I finally saw Train to Busan I was sort of blown away. I kept hearing it was really good, and it really is. When I think about my favorite zombie movie it’s hard not to say Train to Busan.
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