What films have you been watching? (XII/IB) - CFC's Dirty Dozen

[hobbsyoyo]

Clue. It was ok. Not as hilarious as reviews had made it out to be.

Pi. It was interesting but seemed very amateurish.

 

[Synobun]

I watched (rewatched?) Donnie Darko because of @tjs282. I remembered far less of this movie than I thought I did and now I'm wondering if I ever watched it to begin with.

Kinda comparable to the show, Legion, really. And I think Donnie Darko does it better.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Donnie Darko is a pretty good movie. It's really sad though.

 

[Kyriakos]

I think that it was a good movie cinematography-wise and also cast-wise. The story itself has holes ( ).

 

[Synobun]

Red Sparrow.

Two hours and a half of trash.

 

[cardgame]

I thought Pi was really good, surprised me. Donnie Darko is overrated as hell.

I just watched Netflix's ANON and didn't care that much for it, despite the 98% match.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

we are talking about aronofsky's pi here? because that movie was absolutely brilliant, everything from cinematography to OST to its fantastic interplay between lucid genius and paranoia/persecution in the protagonist. probably his best movie, along with reqiuem for a dream, the fountain and black swan.

I also really dug the wrestler and mother!, but those are a little more.. divisive.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I just watched Netflix's ANON and didn't care that much for it, despite the 98% match.

I haven't looked at Netflix's "% match" thing too closely. I've yet to find one of these recommendations algorithms that actually gives me good recommendations. I suspect it's because the data points they use don't actually reflect what I like about things (e.g. "you gave Punch Drunk Love 5 stars, so now we're going to recommend every other Adam Sandler movie"). Still, I find that human curators - radio DJs, film review websites, etc. - still provide very good recommendations. These algorithms are nice in theory, and maybe the behind-the-scenes math works to the programmers' satisfaction, but I've never found one that actually, y'know, fulfilled its purpose (for me, maybe these things work great for lots of other people).

Requiem for a Dream was a scarring experience. Not quite as scarring as, like, Irreversible or almost anything by Lars Von Trier, but scarring. Maybe I'm just delicate. If I met Gaspar Noe and thought I could get away with it, I might punch him.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

we are talking about aronofsky's pi here? because that movie was absolutely brilliant, everything from cinematography to OST to its fantastic interplay between lucid genius and paranoia/persecution in the protagonist. probably his best movie, along with reqiuem for a dream, the fountain and black swan.

I also really dug the wrestler and mother!, but those are a little more.. divisive.

Yeah that's the one. It was amateurish to me. I loved requiem, the fountain and black swan. Haven't seen the others.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I haven't looked at Netflix's "% match" thing too closely. I've yet to find one of these recommendations algorithms that actually gives me good recommendations. I suspect it's because the data points they use don't actually reflect what I like about things (e.g. "you gave Punch Drunk Love 5 stars, so now we're going to recommend every other Adam Sandler movie"). Still, I find that human curators - radio DJs, film review websites, etc. - still provide very good recommendations. These algorithms are nice in theory, and maybe the behind-the-scenes math works to the programmers' satisfaction, but I've never found one that actually, y'know, fulfilled its purpose (for me, maybe these things work great for lots of other people).

Requiem for a Dream was a scarring experience. Not quite as scarring as, like, Irreversible or almost anything by Lars Von Trier, but scarring. Maybe I'm just delicate. If I met Gaspar Noe and thought I could get away with it, I might punch him.

Requiem was indeed scarring (not scary), there are few movies that can top this specific kind of feeling, Mother! was definitely one of them. It left me feeling utterly violated. Same goes for Trier's Antichrist.

I am honestly not even touched by Human Centipede, Cannibal Holocaust (even tho that one was kinda good) or Serbian Movie kind of garbage, it has zero effect. It's a kind of in-your-face disgust which always results in a polarized reaction, it is much easier to not be affected by horrific deeds when there is an obvious "bad guy".

Some are more subtle, like Lynch's Eraserhead. It transfersfers that feeling of discomfort, malaise, awkwardness, something-is-going-horribly-wrong-here better than almost any other movie. It tackles the deep-seated, often suppressed fears, like that of not being a good father, not being able to take care of your loved ones, slowly realizing a relationship is going from ambrosia to toxic waste. Most surrealist cinema somehow fits in this category, it moresore tackles inside issues than outside ones.

Then there is yet another type of horror, which is the realization that humans are sometimes vile, disgusting creatures. Todd Browning's "Freaks" is perhaps the most iconic movie in this categorie and certainly more disturbing than most horror movies. The worst offender in this category might be dogville, but maybe that is just me personally being really troubled by rape.

Funny Games also really hit the spot there, though I prefer the German version to the US version. That movie almost operates in its own category however, which is "comedic-disturbing". Much like the genius "Man Bites Dog", one cannot help but laugh while at the same time being disgusted by one's own reception of what's being shown. That movie has a protagonist you want to love, he just happens to be entirely devoid of empathy and morals.

Others I cannot put into a category, like for example Jörg Buttgereits works or some of Takashi Miikes movies, specifically audition. They seem to concern themselves not with society, but rather with the darkest places of the human mind. And then, of course, there is Pasolini's "Salo, or 120 days of sodom", which I'm honestly too much of a pussy to sit through.

Yeah that's the one. It was amateurish to me. I loved requiem, the fountain and black swan. Haven't seen the others.

Hmmh. I don't quite get why amateurish is necessarily bad, infact I agree completely and thought it enhanced the experience a lot. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I haven't looked at Netflix's "% match" thing too closely. I've yet to find one of these recommendations algorithms that actually gives me good recommendations. I suspect it's because the data points they use don't actually reflect what I like about things (e.g. "you gave Punch Drunk Love 5 stars, so now we're going to recommend every other Adam Sandler movie"). Still, I find that human curators - radio DJs, film review websites, etc. - still provide very good recommendations. These algorithms are nice in theory, and maybe the behind-the-scenes math works to the programmers' satisfaction, but I've never found one that actually, y'know, fulfilled its purpose (for me, maybe these things work great for lots of other people).

Requiem for a Dream was a scarring experience. Not quite as scarring as, like, Irreversible or almost anything by Lars Von Trier, but scarring. Maybe I'm just delicate. If I met Gaspar Noe and thought I could get away with it, I might punch him.

I found the Netflix recommendations were usually pretty good for me but I was super diligent in rating everything I watched. Then they changed it to just a thumbs up and now it doesn't work so well. Apparently the main reason why they changed it is because most people didn't use the rating feature anyways.

 

[Kyriakos]

@yung.carl.jung Chaos reigns ^_^

I liked Pi, and Requiem, but Requiem had a few scenes lifted from Satoshi Kon's anime "Perfect Blue" (to which, i read, Aronofsky bought the rights to adapt as a film, many years ago).

 

[EgonSpengler]

Requiem was indeed scarring (not scary), there are few movies that can top this specific kind of feeling, Mother! was definitely one of them. It left me feeling utterly violated. Same goes for Trier's Antichrist.

I am honestly not even touched by Human Centipede, Cannibal Holocaust (even tho that one was kinda good) or Serbian Movie kind of garbage, it has zero effect. It's a kind of in-your-face disgust which always results in a polarized reaction, it is much easier to not be affected by horrific deeds when there is an obvious "bad guy".

Some are more subtle, like Lynch's Eraserhead. It transfersfers that feeling of discomfort, malaise, awkwardness, something-is-going-horribly-wrong-here better than almost any other movie. It tackles the deep-seated, often suppressed fears, like that of not being a good father, not being able to take care of your loved ones, slowly realizing a relationship is going from ambrosia to toxic waste. Most surrealist cinema somehow fits in this category, it moresore tackles inside issues than outside ones.

Then there is yet another type of horror, which is the realization that humans are sometimes vile, disgusting creatures. Todd Browning's "Freaks" is perhaps the most iconic movie in this categorie and certainly more disturbing than most horror movies. The worst offender in this category might be dogville, but maybe that is just me personally being really troubled by rape.

Funny Games also really hit the spot there, though I prefer the German version to the US version. That movie almost operates in its own category however, which is "comedic-disturbing". Much like the genius "Man Bites Dog", one cannot help but laugh while at the same time being disgusted by one's own reception of what's being shown. That movie has a protagonist you want to love, he just happens to be entirely devoid of empathy and morals.

Others I cannot put into a category, like for example Jörg Buttgereits works or some of Takashi Miikes movies, specifically audition. They seem to concern themselves not with society, but rather with the darkest places of the human mind. And then, of course, there is Pasolini's "Salo, or 120 days of sodom", which I'm honestly too much of a pussy to sit through.

I don't bother with the "gross-out" movies, either. The movies that are strange-creepy are a lot more interesting to me. Earlier Cronenberg, Jacob's Ladder, that sort of stuff. Ever seen Bug? (Heh. At first I mis-typed "Big." Very different movie. ) When I first read that Michael Shannon had been cast as General Zod, I assumed they were aiming to do for Zod what Heath Ledger did for The Joker, and I thought it was brilliant casting. That thud you heard was my crest falling.

I found the Netflix recommendations were usually pretty good for me but I was super diligent in rating everything I watched. Then they changed it to just a thumbs up and now it doesn't work so well. Apparently the main reason why they changed it is because most people didn't use the rating feature anyways.

I read an interview with Sarandos about the new system, and iirc, he said that the previous ratings system didn't correlate with views. He said people would give an Oscar-winning documentary 5 stars and Armageddon 2 stars, but it was the latter they'd rewatch 4 times.

 

[Kyriakos]

Which doesn't sound very realistic, though. I mean, if you are going to watch a movie so many times, you'd not give it a 2/5 rating

 

[Takhisis]

you gave Punch Drunk Love 5 stars

what

 

[cardgame]

The star rating system was almost perfect for me, everything above 4 was something I'd like - the only exception I ever found was Rubber, an apparent one-star that really deserved six.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I read an interview with Sarandos about the new system, and iirc, he said that the previous ratings system didn't correlate with views. He said people would give an Oscar-winning documentary 5 stars and Armageddon 2 stars, but it was the latter they'd rewatch 4 times.

This is totally believable. It's almost like virtue signaling in your Netflix queue.

I actually did rate 'correctly' in that I would rate according to how much I liked something rather than how much I thought I should like something. I'm also a weirdo that spends ~25% of my Netflix time in documentaries of various stripes with a helping of non-English films mixed in.

 

[civvver]

I think I read also that people would go through and rate a bunch of old films they had seen and been like that was awesome, but not actually have watched it on netflix. I also noticed during the ratings that a ton of kids shows had really low ratings, despite being good shows for kids and even mildly entertaining for adults in small doses. I'm pretty sure adults would get sick of their kids watching them and rate them as really obnoxious 1 stars.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

That's also believable and I did that to an extent (rating shows/movies I had seen elsewhere but not on Netflix). But I feel like that would still be useful information for their algorithms to figure out what a person likes.

 

[civvver]

Speaking of rewatching movies, do you guys rewatch stuff? I almost never do. I'd much rather watch a mediocre movie I've never seen than watch a great one I've seen more than once, especially if the viewing was recent. I'll occasionally rewatch old stuff, like I've probably seen Braveheart and Gladiator 3-4 times each and it's been a while so I wouldn't mind seeing them again. Or the Godfather movies, or Lord of the Rings for example. But like Rogue One or any marvel movie? No thanks.

My neighbor doesn't watch tv shows, only movies. He was talking about how he really needs to watch the first Guardians of the Galaxy again and lamenting that it's not out no 4k bluray yet cus it's the only marvel movie he hasn't seen 3 times or more. He followed that up by saying he'd probably just chill and watch Thor Ragnarok again admitting he had already seen it 4 times, once in theaters and 3 times on the 4k bluray he owns. That's 4 times in like 6 months lol. It was a good movie but I have no desire to rewatch it right now.

Tv shows I would be more up to rewatching but they're very time consuming. I have watched game of thrones through twice, and would love to do it a third time before the new season but it's like 60 hours of tv! Same with breaking bad or sopranos or the wire. I have rewatched sons of anarchy once. I think maybe it's just cus with tv shows they are a lot longer so you forget stuff so it still seems kind of new the second time through.