Return of the Living SB Movie Experiment: Pontypool

[MrBRulzOK]

How about The Prestige?

[El Pollo Guerrera]

How long is the list now?

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Apr 20, 2014 13:11:14 GMT -5 El Pollo Guerrera said:

How long is the list now?

20 films watched, 50 to go.

Thank God I'm on vacation next week. Keep 'em coming though, I don't mind having a big backlog and I love that there's quite a lot of variety in styles and genres in what you guys have suggested.

[Deleted]

I thank pegasuswarrior for this next suggestion...

Look up a movie called "Go"

[pegasuswarrior]

Apr 20, 2014 17:32:25 GMT -5 cageking666 said:

I thank pegasuswarrior for this next suggestion...

Look up a movie called "Go"

So thoughtful. Thanks.

Good, fun choice.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

Looney Tunes Back in Action.

[J is Justice]

The live action Tekken movie.

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

The Room

[Deleted]

Another Canadian movie for Ssnakebite to watch. Ginger Snaps. I have a feeling you'll enjoy that movie more then all my other suggestions

[kidglov3s]

Apr 20, 2014 21:43:47 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Another Canadian movie for Ssnakebite to watch. Ginger Snaps. I have a feeling you'll enjoy that movie more then all my other suggestions

One of my favorites, certainly out of the past decade. I think GS 2 is also great, I might even prefer that to the first one. Not a fan of the nonsensical prequel though.

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2014 21:49:07 GMT -5 kidglov3s said:

Apr 20, 2014 21:43:47 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

Another Canadian movie for Ssnakebite to watch. Ginger Snaps. I have a feeling you'll enjoy that movie more then all my other suggestions

One of my favorites, certainly out of the past decade. I think GS 2 is also great, I might even prefer that to the first one. Not a fan of the nonsensical prequel though.

I'm ashamed I haven't seen Ginger Snaps 2 yet considering that movie is filmed in my home city of Edmonton. I practically seen almost every movie filmed in Edmonton. I can't hate Good Luck Chuck because I was like holyshit that isn't LA, that's f***ing Edmonton! They made Edmonton look like LA!

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Fubar

Suggested by @supersweetbotch


Well... that was certainly an unexpected experience. Alright, here's the gist: this is a mockumentary about the Headbanger subculture, which from what I can gather appears to be Canada's answer to Chavs only with metal instead of rap. Or at least that's how it starts. And here's the thing: before I watch these films, I like to at least look up their IMDb page, look up some info, see what other people think of it and here, I kept reading about how "new" and "different" it supposedly was and about its hidden depths and all, but once I actually started watching it, I went almost immediately in full-on cranky mode, telling myself stuff like "urgh, this is so stupid and pointless", "wow, White trash being vulgar an obnoxious, no other comedy ever did that, it sure is new and different and deep", "f*** me this is August Underground without the gory bits" and "what did I ever do to SuperSweet?"...

... and then, cancer.

Yep, a third of the way through the movie, one of the two main characters, Terry, drops the bombshell that the other main character, Dean, has testicular cancer. That is when I quit my whining, put on my big boy pants and actually started watching the movie because, well, as sudden and out of place as the revelation seems, it was actually well made in a fairly believable way and on top of that, they gave it the gravity it deserves. So yeah, at this point, the documentary's focus switches to not only Dean's treatment but also his last week-end with both his balls before the beginning of the treatment.

And that's also when I started getting what people were talking about when they said this film is new and different. Yes, it's a comedy mockumentary, but it is really filmed to look like a genuine "a day in the life of..."-style documentary. On top of that, while it is about White trash guys and it does mock their lack of culture and the more... marginal aspects of their lives, it's not disrespectful. The joke isn't "ha ha, look at the silly redneck guys, they think they're people" (which I actually thought it was going to be, hence my originall grumpiness). There are a lot of genuinely moving moments and what really makes this movie work for me is that the characters remain consistent. As a result, the more emotional and even, yes, philosophical scenes feel very earnest, they're not forced, they're not the kind of scenes where a bumbling husband would start making a two-minutes emotional speech with tears in his eyes as the other characters go silent and soft piano music plays and grows increasingly strong. It's really a film that reminds the viewer that just because someone may seem less cultured or more crude than you doesn't mean they don't have important things to say and that you can't learn from them.

If you do watch this movie, I can only tell you: bear with it. For the first twenty minutes or so, you'll probably be like me thinking this is some stupid and pointless bullshit and you'd rather be watching anything else, but the way it treats its subject matters afterwards is worth it and actually makes you think about a lot of things. What makes life worth it, what is dignity, the importance of friendship, all kinds of stuff. And afterwards, you will get that this first act IS actually very important because I think it was the filmmakers' goal, to make you despise the characters and feel they're nothing but vulgar messes of human beings so when the cancer plot shows up and they show their more intimate side, you go "f*** me they were this good all along?". And again, it does it very well, without resorting to manipulative tricks that many similar films would use and most importantly, it doesn't really glorify the characters either, it just gives you a different point of view on them.

In conclusion, this may not be the best film I've reviewed for the thread (although it is one of the better ones), but it's definitely the best surprise so far.


Up next is a film in a completely different style, an adventure/drama film set in Africa during slavery times, Cobra Verde.

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2014 17:47:21 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Fubar

Suggested by @supersweetbotch


Well... that was certainly an unexpected experience. Alright, here's the gist: this is a mockumentary about the Headbanger subculture, which from what I can gather appears to be Canada's answer to Chavs only with metal instead of rap. Or at least that's how it starts. And here's the thing: before I watch these films, I like to at least look up their IMDb page, look up some info, see what other people think of it and here, I kept reading about how "new" and "different" it supposedly was and about its hidden depths and all, but once I actually started watching it, I went almost immediately in full-on cranky mode, telling myself stuff like "urgh, this is so stupid and pointless", "wow, White trash being vulgar an obnoxious, no other comedy ever did that, it sure is new and different and deep", "f*** me this is August Underground without the gory bits" and "what did I ever do to SuperSweet?"...

... and then, cancer.

Yep, a third of the way through the movie, one of the two main characters, Terry, drops the bombshell that the other main character, Dean, has testicular cancer. That is when I quit my whining, put on my big boy pants and actually started watching the movie because, well, as sudden and out of place as the revelation seems, it was actually well made in a fairly believable way and on top of that, they gave it the gravity it deserves. So yeah, at this point, the documentary's focus switches to not only Dean's treatment but also his last week-end with both his balls before the beginning of the treatment.

And that's also when I started getting what people were talking about when they said this film is new and different. Yes, it's a comedy mockumentary, but it is really filmed to look like a genuine "a day in the life of..."-style documentary. On top of that, while it is about White trash guys and it does mock their lack of culture and the more... marginal aspects of their lives, it's not disrespectful. The joke isn't "ha ha, look at the silly redneck guys, they think they're people" (which I actually thought it was going to be, hence my originall grumpiness). There are a lot of genuinely moving moments and what really makes this movie work for me is that the characters remain consistent. As a result, the more emotional and even, yes, philosophical scenes feel very earnest, they're not forced, they're not the kind of scenes where a bumbling husband would start making a two-minutes emotional speech with tears in his eyes as the other characters go silent and soft piano music plays and grows increasingly strong. It's really a film that reminds the viewer that just because someone may seem less cultured or more crude than you doesn't mean they don't have important things to say and that you can't learn from them.

If you do watch this movie, I can only tell you: bear with it. For the first twenty minutes or so, you'll probably be like me thinking this is some stupid and pointless bullshit and you'd rather be watching anything else, but the way it treats its subject matters afterwards is worth it and actually makes you think about a lot of things. What makes life worth it, what is dignity, the importance of friendship, all kinds of stuff. And afterwards, you will get that this first act IS actually very important because I think it was the filmmakers' goal, to make you despise the characters and feel they're nothing but vulgar messes of human beings so when the cancer plot shows up and they show their more intimate side, you go "f*** me they were this good all along?". And again, it does it very well, without resorting to manipulative tricks that many similar films would use and most importantly, it doesn't really glorify the characters either, it just gives you a different point of view on them.

In conclusion, this may not be the best film I've reviewed for the thread (although it is one of the better ones), but it's definitely the best surprise so far.


Up next is a film in a completely different style, an adventure/drama film set in Africa during slavery times, Cobra Verde.

Awesome. I'm actually glad you were touched by it. I just like the movie because the BURTA trash they play are very well done and I want to show you piece of my culture to you. Also I love how your review reflects your viewing experience of the movie, I was ready to damn your review until you mentioned cancer. Can't wait till you see the second one that I listed with way better production then the first movie. Also Goon another movie I suggested is directed by the same guy

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

Marathon Man.

[Deleted]

The Legend Of Billie Jean.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Apr 21, 2014 17:47:21 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Fubar

Suggested by @supersweetbotch

You forgot to mention a great soundtrack.

[bob loves the Hurt Syndicate]

Apr 20, 2014 21:38:39 GMT -5 bob loves the Hurt Syndicate said:

The Room

Veritgo

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

The Kingdom.
link

[Deleted]

Spring Breakers. I adore this movie

[J is Justice]

Full Monty.