The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

[wakka]

I watched The Cooler.

This is a film set in Las Vegas, about a down-on-his-luck guy who's actually employed for his unluckiness - he's a 'cooler' at a casino, who goes to tables where players are winning so that his bad luck rubs off on them and they start losing.

William H Macy is the loser, Alec Baldwin his boss with a dark side, Maria Bello the waitress that Macy starts to fall for.

This treads a lot of the same ground as a lot of Las Vegas films. It's all here - everyone's on the take, nights bleed into days bleed into nights, there's a loneliness and an emptiness that echoes among the slot machines and neon. And then there's some people finding some human connection among all that soullessness.

So it's kind of like Hard Eight or Leaving Las Vegas in that regard, or myriad other films that play this template (even Night of the Running Man, although that's significantly cornier).

Although the material isn't totally original, it's still a really good film, elevated by great performances, a good script, and some creative cinematography. It's a nice tight 97 minutes, and yet manages to fit two parallel storylines - one about Macy's life and putative relationship with Bello, one about Baldwin's bosses plan to remake his beloved casino in a way that he hates - in, plus a significant emotional payoff.

The one thing I did think was strange was the way that luck, the idea that it can in a very real sense run hot or cold, is incorporated as a factual element. It wasn't a huge problem but it was essentially a fantasy element that sat at odds with much of the rest of the action for me.

But it's a good film, basically. Recommended. It's on Prime Video right now gratis.

[Neon Ignition]

Venom: Let There Be Carnage
If you're looking for more fun banter between Eddie and Venom this film will definitely hit that spot. It's an even more simple and lean version of the first film and largely gets by on how short it is. Those who didn't like the first definitely won't be convinced by this though at all. For any future entries there's already a real sense of them needing to expand it out to stop it growing into a tired one trick pony.

Halloween Kills
It feels hard to come down on this given the guffins the franchise already has in it. There's lots that I liked about it but it's also undoubtedly the weaker film compared to the one before it. There are so cringey performances and lines, some real stupidity on show which is a shame as other aspects are quite interesting too. It feels like it needed longer in the over and that those behind the scenes who have comedic backgrounds need to reign themselves in for the finale.

[wakka]

Identity

This is a pure hokum fest, and I enjoyed it greatly.

A group of strangers end up stranded at a motel in a dark and stormy night - then they start getting bumped off one by one. Whodunnit?!

It's Agatha Christie crossed with Jason Voorhees by way of M. Night Shyamalan (yep, it's one of those films that are part of that early 2000s craze for major third act reversals).

It's on Prime, in terrible, DVD rip picture quality and with crap stereo sound, and if you are looking for a fun and unchallenging 87 minutes, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

It absolutely rips along. Lots of energy, lots of silliness, and a very '2000s' cast - John Cusack and Amanda Peet both present and correct.

[Neon Ignition]

Halloween
The 2018 re-sequel. It's definitely a better sequel than Halloween II was and it's a much better film than Kills too.


I'd say what I'm part way through watching atm and where my head is currently at with it as well but I imagine I'll get Eastowned again

[Neon Ignition]

Candyman
The new one. There's some intrigue to it in terms of it being the fourth entry and so there's an interest in seeing how it relates to the original. Other than that it's not a very good film, it seems to think it's more than just a generic horror but it's not and the attempts to make it visually more slick and to expand upon the mythology in a way that highlights police brutality against the black community don't work because they undercut the tone of the film and detract from story and sequences in the film. It essentially has nothing of worth to add because the original film is better made and tells the same tale in a more effective way.

[Dogg Thang]

I watched The Lighthouse. I didn’t enjoy it but then it doesn’t seem like a film that was meant to be enjoyed. I didn’t get a huge amount out of it though. Fun watching Willem Defoe do his thing but I didn’t find myself sucked into it and was far too aware of the sound design so kept missing lines because I was listening to the endless oppressive sounds. Not sure what the film was supposed to do.

[QualityChimp]

Pretty sure it's an allegory for the terrors of celibacy.

[Dogg Thang]

I was waiting for the pair of them to get it on and was actually surprised they didn’t.

Um, spoiler.

[Atticus]

Um, spoiler.

Why'd y'spill yer beans?

[Cassius_Smoke]

The Lawnmower Man

I always advocate watching a truly awful film sometimes. And you will get no worse than this film. Its bad in every single way. Bad acting, bad script, bad music, bad cast. It has no redeeming features. If you watch this, you will really appreciate the Hollywood film making process. You will view modern Tim Burton films as ****ing masterpieces.
It's a gift to be able to make a film this bad.

[Atticus]

Haha, I remember going to see The Lawnmower Man at the cinema … you rekindled the ropey memories. There is a place for such atrocities though, as you say

We watched Panic Room last night. I hadn’t seen it in 20 years and it hit all the right notes. Every Fincher trick in the book and then some. It’s just a really well structured ride. It hits top gear very quickly and never lets up. The fun of those in the room figuring out plans versus those outside figuring out their own is brilliant. I love films like this. The brownstone is just right, with freedom to creep and hide but still tight and creaky. The casting of the robbers is perfect too, esp Forrest Whittaker and a memorable turn from country singer Dwight Yoakam. This was great fun to revisit.

[Dogg Thang]

I remember it being just like Home Alone.

I did not care for Home Alone.

[Atticus]

My son said it reminded him of Home Alone not long after the perps arrived … then the film seemed to acknowledge that when one referred to another as Joe Pesci.

The building and courtyard and single setting gave me Rear Window vibes.

[wakka]

I watched The Lighthouse. I didn’t enjoy it but then it doesn’t seem like a film that was meant to be enjoyed. I didn’t get a huge amount out of it though. Fun watching Willem Defoe do his thing but I didn’t find myself sucked into it and was far too aware of the sound design so kept missing lines because I was listening to the endless oppressive sounds. Not sure what the film was supposed to do.

Yeah this is pretty much exactly how I felt about it. Like, I guess that was kind of cool?

I didn’t really feel like I ‘got it’.

EDIT: [MENTION=16707]Cassius_Smoke[/MENTION] that is a brilliant review

[Dogg Thang]

Yeah this is pretty much exactly how I felt about it. Like, I guess that was kind of cool?

I didn’t really feel like I ‘got it’.

Yup. The only thing is that I do think that Kenner could have made a knockout set of figures and little playset for it in the '80s. I'd have liked that.