Rate the last movie you saw

[David.]

This is what Jigo said privately

Even some people would be like ok ya that's pretty good .

 

[The Oi]

This is what Jigo said privately

That would make sense because “ya” is consistent with my vernacular.

Did I bold it to clarify?

 

[David.]

That would make sense because “ya” is consistent with my vernacular.

Did I bold it to clarify?

You actually used the n word and I was being politically correct.

 

[The Oi]

You actually used the n word and I was being politically correct.

This all started from me trying to make you feel good about yourself.

 

[Cavatt]

I just saw Saturday Night Fever. That is a really weird movie. Travolta is a sick dancer. Makes Pulp fiction scene make more sense.

 

[MD13]

Into the Spider-Verse - 10/10

Holy shit was this good. I'd go so far as to say it's the best superhero film I've ever seen. It's fun and funny and self-aware and even hits you in the feels a couple of times. It's a damn near perfect movie.

Deserves every bit of praise I've seen heaped on it.

I've been beating this drum for a while now. Everyone should go see it, and if you're a comic/superhero fan there's NO reason not to see it (@gourimoko ).

I'd say it should be a front-runner for best picture. Is that a hot take? Sure it's going against a ton of biases being an animated superhero movie, but as a superhero movie I thought it was WAY better than Black Panther. It's by far the best film I've watched in the last year in the sense that everything about the movie absolutely works.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I've been beating this drum for a while now. Everyone should go see it, and if you're a comic/superhero fan there's NO reason not to see it (@gourimoko ).

I'd say it should be a front-runner for best picture. Is that a hot take? Sure it's going against a ton of biases being an animated superhero movie, but as a superhero movie I thought it was WAY better than Black Panther. It's by far the best film I've watched in the last year in the sense that everything about the movie absolutely works.

Not only is it a better overall film than Black Panther, I'd say it has better black characters too, and given that that seems to be the main reason Black Panther is nominated (it was a solid movie, but best picture quality?), no reason not to give the better superhero movie a nod.

 

[MD13]

Not only is it a better overall film than Black Panther, I'd say it has better black characters too, and given that that seems to be the main reason Black Panther is nominated (it was a solid movie, but best picture quality?), no reason not to give the better superhero movie a nod.

My problem with BP was that I predicted the entire plot about 15 minutes in to the film, so there wasn't anything surprising to me. But Miles Morales was unbelievable; I don't remember the last time a lead in a superhero film was that likeable,sympathetic and charismatic. They managed to fit a coming of age story and teenage angst into the plot without stopping you from rooting for him, truly brilliant.

 

[Jack Brickman]

My problem with BP was that I predicted the entire plot about 15 minutes in to the film, so there wasn't anything surprising to me. But Miles Morales was unbelievable; I don't remember the last time a lead in a superhero film was that likeable,sympathetic and charismatic. They managed to fit a coming of age story and teenage angst into the plot without stopping you from rooting for him, truly brilliant.

I really enjoyed the contrasting relationships he had with his dad and uncle.

 

[gourimoko]

I've been beating this drum for a while now. Everyone should go see it, and if you're a comic/superhero fan there's NO reason not to see it (@gourimoko ).

I'd say it should be a front-runner for best picture. Is that a hot take? Sure it's going against a ton of biases being an animated superhero movie, but as a superhero movie I thought it was WAY better than Black Panther. It's by far the best film I've watched in the last year in the sense that everything about the movie absolutely works.

Not only is it a better overall film than Black Panther, I'd say it has better black characters too, and given that that seems to be the main reason Black Panther is nominated (it was a solid movie, but best picture quality?), no reason not to give the better superhero movie a nod.

I haven't seen Into the Spider-Verse, but on you guys' recommendation, I'll definitely check it out.

But just wanted to point out that I think BP was nominated not because it had Black characters - there are a lot of movies, every year, that do feature Black actors; but instead, because it was so well put together, and became a cultural phenomena, and because it was truly a good movie.

In saying that though, I've come to realize there is a disconnect between what Black people think about Black Panther, and non-Black people. And there's nothing wrong with that.. I experience cultural disconnects every fucking day being married to a foreigner. But to give you an idea, I saw the movie with friends as well as my wife; and my Asian friends thought it was great but ... they didn't really get it (oddly, my Mexican friends did). My wife, who is Asian, didn't really get it either, but she thought it was still great.

But Black men and women in the audience do understand the symbolism and the narrative, and the subtle challenges and push-backs in the film because Ryan Coogler spent no time explaining Black culture through exposition but instead just immersing the film within it.

Now understandably, this isn't a majority Black country, and the Academy isn't a majority Black institution; so, there's reason to believe that most of the Academy members, like most audience members, won't see the film in the same light as African-American audiences.

Many will think that it's a cultural phenomena, and there's tremendous buzz, but that the art itself is lacking compared to other films that have been nominated. I think that's understandable, and that's why I think so many are pushing the film right now because the narrative, scope, and messaging in the movie is actually fundamentally Black, that it's very easy to miss. For many, it might be analogous to watching a Japanese movie that's immersed in Japanese culture, not meant for export, and then trying to really understand it (an exercise that I've frequently done in the past, and it's not intuitive).

And BP is actually a lot like this - it's actually quite a bit like a foreign film in that, the symbolism and cultural undertones that are weaved throughout the movie are so uncommon on the big screen that they might seem alien - and simply tolerated as being a far out vision of a comic book. In that process, the subtlety of what Coogler is doing is likely lost, because what's happening on the screen is minimized in the process. The gravity of the personal experience he's presenting, yes through the lens of a superhero, isn't as well understood or appreciated by non-Black audiences, and again, simply due to not living that experience and already being in that culture. And admittedly, part of that lack of understanding is a failure on the director for not conveying it in a way that it could be understood - however, I think Coogler deliberately avoided too much exposition as a statement to make the counterfactual normative claim that 'this should require no explanation.'

Now, all this being said, do I think BP is the greatest film of all time? No. It's probably not in my Top 10 or even Top 20 films. I'm not sure if it's even close. So I want to say that to establish some ground truth here - the film is often overrated by many, but also underrated by some as well.

But compared to it's contemporaries, the current nominees for Best Picture - I can't see how or why BP would lose?

Bohemian Rhapsody is among the worst movies nominated; but it's nomination was assured since it's a biographical portrayal and these films historically do the best at the Oscars. The same goes for Vice, and The Favourite.

BlacKKKlansman, and A Star is Born are obviously both high-reviewed and well liked films, but I wasn't a fan of ASB even though I did think the movie was very well put together. I find myself having a hard time actually agreeing that these movies were better than Black Panther; or even some of the nominees from last year including The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Dunkirk or Get Out.

Now, obviously much of this is subjective, and I haven't really delved into what I think makes BP such an awesome film (I've done that a few times already in this thread); but, I just wanted to establish the framework with which I'm operating in 2019 and why I would say BP should win Best Picture (and yes, I think it absolutely should).

IMO, if BP were not to win, given how beloved it is, how well received it was, how well made it was, and how powerful that movie is to those who it was intended for (which is not automatic, again, look at the numerous films with Black actors in them); then I think that would probably illustrate just how wide the gulf is between the Academy and African-American culture. And again, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it'd be an interesting observation nonetheless.

 

[kosis]

I haven't seen Into the Spider-Verse, but on you guys' recommendation, I'll definitely check it out.

But just wanted to point out that I think BP was nominated not because it had Black characters - there are a lot of movies, every year, that do feature Black actors; but instead, because it was so well put together, and became a cultural phenomena, and because it was truly a good movie.

In saying that though, I've come to realize there is a disconnect between what Black people think about Black Panther, and non-Black people. And there's nothing wrong with that.. I experience cultural disconnects every fucking day being married to a foreigner. But to give you an idea, I saw the movie with friends as well as my wife; and my Asian friends thought it was great but ... they didn't really get it (oddly, my Mexican friends did). My wife, who is Asian, didn't really get it either, but she thought it was still great.

But Black men and women in the audience do understand the symbolism and the narrative, and the subtle challenges and push-backs in the film because Ryan Coogler spent no time explaining Black culture through exposition but instead just immersing the film within it.

Now understandably, this isn't a majority Black country, and the Academy isn't a majority Black institution; so, there's reason to believe that most of the Academy members, like most audience members, won't see the film in the same light as African-American audiences.

Many will think that it's a cultural phenomena, and there's tremendous buzz, but that the art itself is lacking compared to other films that have been nominated. I think that's understandable, and that's why I think so many are pushing the film right now because the narrative, scope, and messaging in the movie is actually fundamentally Black, that it's very easy to miss. For many, it might be analogous to watching a Japanese movie that's immersed in Japanese culture, not meant for export, and then trying to really understand it (an exercise that I've frequently done in the past, and it's not intuitive).

And BP is actually a lot like this - it's actually quite a bit like a foreign film in that, the symbolism and cultural undertones that are weaved throughout the movie are so uncommon on the big screen that they might seem alien - and simply tolerated as being a far out vision of a comic book. In that process, the subtlety of what Coogler is doing is likely lost, because what's happening on the screen is minimized in the process. The gravity of the personal experience he's presenting, yes through the lens of a superhero, isn't as well understood or appreciated by non-Black audiences, and again, simply due to not living that experience and already being in that culture. And admittedly, part of that lack of understanding is a failure on the director for not conveying it in a way that it could be understood - however, I think Coogler deliberately avoided too much exposition as a statement to make the counterfactual normative claim that 'this should require no explanation.'

Now, all this being said, do I think BP is the greatest film of all time? No. It's probably not in my Top 10 or even Top 20 films. I'm not sure if it's even close. So I want to say that to establish some ground truth here - the film is often overrated by many, but also underrated by some as well.

But compared to it's contemporaries, the current nominees for Best Picture - I can't see how or why BP would lose?

Bohemian Rhapsody is among the worst movies nominated; but it's nomination was assured since it's a biographical portrayal and these films historically do the best at the Oscars. The same goes for Vice, and The Favourite.

BlacKKKlansman, and A Star is Born are obviously both high-reviewed and well liked films, but I wasn't a fan of ASB even though I did think the movie was very well put together. I find myself having a hard time actually agreeing that these movies were better than Black Panther; or even some of the nominees from last year including The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Dunkirk or Get Out.

Now, obviously much of this is subjective, and I haven't really delved into what I think makes BP such an awesome film (I've done that a few times already in this thread); but, I just wanted to establish the framework with which I'm operating in 2019 and why I would say BP should win Best Picture (and yes, I think it absolutely should).

IMO, if BP were not to win, given how beloved it is, how well received it was, how well made it was, and how powerful that movie is to those who it was intended for (which is not automatic, again, look at the numerous films with Black actors in them); then I think that would probably illustrate just how wide the gulf is between the Academy and African-American culture. And again, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it'd be an interesting observation nonetheless.

I loved Black Panther, saw it twice in the theater, but this is going to Roma. The acting, storytelling, and camera work are really hard to top... and it's a directing marvel. Would be absolutely stunned if it lost.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I mean, I agree Black Panther is a good movie. I just don't really think it's better than any other good Marvel movie, of which there are a handful.

And Into the Spider-Verse was just a better overall film. I got some dust in my eyes multiple times while watching it, something I'd never say about Black Panther.

 

[kosis]

All I know is that that trash ass Bohemian Rhapsody flick has no business even being in the category. Complete joke.

 

[gourimoko]

I loved Black Panther, saw it twice in the theater, but this is going to Roma. The acting, storytelling, and camera work are really hard to top... and it's a directing marvel. Would be absolutely stunned if it lost.

I left that movie off because I haven't seen it but I've heard nothing but good things.

All I know is that that trash ass Bohemian Rhapsody flick has no business even being in the category. Complete joke.

I agree completely, it's utter nonsense.

 

[gourimoko]

I mean, I agree Black Panther is a good movie. I just don't really think it's better than any other good Marvel movie, of which there are a handful.

Yea but think about the question though; is BP better than Vice, or Bohemian Rhapsody, or Green Book, or The Favourite?

I would say it's better than those 4 films, and I think a majority of even non-causal cinephiles would agree.

I think the question becomes less clear when comparing against A Star is Born and BlacKKKlansman; and as @kosis pointed out, Roma is very likely going to make a strong showing (but I haven't seen it so can't comment).

So if you were to say, what are the top 8 films this year, I think you'd be hard pressed to make a list without BP on it - and that's definitely one component as to why it was nominated this year, but would've had a harder time in certain years past.

That being said, I don't think BP was necessarily the first Marvel movie that should have been nominated for Best Picture. I think Winter Soldier was definitely a good enough movie on it's own merit, to have warranted a nod. But think about it, that year (2014) you had the following movies that were flat-out better films:

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) The Wolf of Wall Street
3) Gravity
4) Dallas Buyers Club
5) Captain Phillips

In fact, I would put at least 2 of those movies, maybe 3 or even 4 of them, as better films than Black Panther.

So it kind of boils down to the year of release, the competition, etc etc...

And Into the Spider-Verse was just a better overall film.

I'm definitely going to watch it as soon as I can... You guys have me hella curious.

I got some dust in my eyes multiple times while watching it, something I'd never say about Black Panther.

I think that's kind of what I'm talking about in my first post though. Black Panther was a highly emotional film for me, and many (most) of my Black friends. But my non-Black friends didn't see it that way. Like, at all.

There's a few movies that I've seen that were Asian films that didn't carry anywhere near the emotional gravity for me, that they did for my wife or Asian friends.

A good contemporary example would be the short "Bao." To me, this film meant next to nothing... but to my Chinese friends, it was excellent and had a cultural meaning that I understood at a surface level, if I were to think about it, but not a visceral level where the film could evoke emotions without me rationalizing what was happening on the screen through an external lens.

From my observation, Bao and Black Panther, are a lot alike in this sense; and this explains the stark differences between how Black and non-Black audiences perceive the film quite differently; or, in effect, the difference between being a good movie, and a great one.