Cinema and Movie Thread: coming 2 a theater near u

[rjshae]

We went to watch Bugonia, but weren't quite satisfied with the story. I suppose you could call it an unusual character study. There were a couple of unexpected plot twists, but in the end I wasn't sure what message it was trying to communicate (other than maybe humans don't deserve to survive). I suppose if you liked Poor Things then you may enjoy this. But I preferred Emma Stone in Cruella.

Edited November 19, 2025 by rjshae

[Bartimaeus]

32A (2007).

Irish film. Writing-wise...it was a little basic, all the beats you'd probably expect, but otherwise I thought it was quite nice. A little silly, a little cringey, a little funny, a little drama, a little sad - all the things you'd probably want in a girl's coming-of-age film, without ever being too much in any particular way, and executed in a nice style with good casting. Jared Harris...probably shouldn't have been in it. Too small and simple a part for him, he sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise very natural cast. I didn't initially place him, but I burst out laughing as soon as I heard his voice. A little too recognizable for his own good, I think.

I don't think I wrote about it here, but I watched My Girl (1991), another girl-coming-of-age film, a while back with my nieces, and I can't understate how much better 32A is, despite how much simpler and straightforward 32A is. Hollywood films can just be so painfully dumb and misguided with all the silliness they pre-occupy themselves with in an attempt to earn back the money they cost for their big names, which a smaller foreign/indie film can just ignore in favor of...trying to make a decent film that will resonate with the demographic it's being made for. It's good for this kind of film.

[Amentep]

 

In other news, watched THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 an RITUAL.  Both flawed films, both with thi gs to recommend besides those flaws, and both probably could have been better with more work at the script stage. 

 

 

[Gfted1]

 

[Bartimaeus]

Weapons (2025).

Wasn't sure how I felt about it for most of it, but the hilarious ending pushed me it into liking it overall.

[Amentep]

 

 

[Sarex]

Looks cheesy enough.

[Bartimaeus]

Wolfwalkers (2020).

I'd only heard great things about it, but... It is a gorgeous film, but it was difficult to fully recover from the painful first ~20 minutes. Most every scene felt like it was lingering or outright repeating a few beats too many, I was getting genuinely kinda mad at how poorly edited this felt and how reducing the film by even just...five, maybe ten minutes by chopping off a few seconds from each scene would've helped it feel so much punchier. The script also has a strange way of feeling too kiddie and too adult at the same time, like it can't really quite make up its mind what kind of tone it should have, and I found that...uh, a little weird and off-putting. It could've been great, but I guess it's just one of those movies where a series of seemingly small issues keeps taking you out of it, try as you might. Oh well.

As far as wolf movies go, I liked Princess Mononoke better, and I still don't much like Princess Mononoke despite having seen it four(?) times, so...

Edited December 15, 2025 by Bartimaeus

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Cronos (1992) - Remastered

I think you can sort of file this in the same category as the Midnight Mass miniseries as a world where vampire fiction doesn't exist. Also it takes place during Christmas and New Year's, so I guess it's a holiday thing just like Midnight Mass.

Anyways, I enjoyed it quite a lot. The scenes of the Chronos device remind me quite a lot of Lynch's Eraserhead sequences, and you can hear Lynch's influence throughout the film. It's very much a Del Torro film throughout, and you can see clearly how this is the guy who would go on to make Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy.

[Hurlshort]

I took the family to see Avatar: Fire and Ash. It was good. It didn't really break the Avatar mold or anything, but it kept the world building going. It's crazy to think that this was my daughter's favorite movie as a child, and now she's an adult, and we are still heading to the theater to watch it for 3+ hours. That being said, it didn't feel drawn out or anything. It was a speedy 3 hours. 

I do wish they pushed the biomes a bit. This was very much part 2 of the watery world stuff. There was a volcano area that was barely shown, and the industrial city was also not really explored. So lots of diving in the water with submarines and whales. Also I'm pretty sure the creatures for the Abyss showed up in this thing.

But yeah, if you liked Avatar, more of the same. If you didn't, this certainly won't change your mind.