tree's year in review: twenty eightreen

[Avatree]

Since I had my uh, "vacation" from the forums for the second half of 2018, this is you guys chance to catch up on all my bad takes!

 

this will be pretty straightforward, i'm just gonna run through the year and give shout outs to the highlights of my year in cinema.

 

2018

let's go!

[Avatree]

So, start off the year, as usual with the delayed awards films, which mostly get released in Jan-Feb.

 

DELAYED BY MONTHS

 

EVERY SINGLE YEAR

 

HOW COME, HOLLYWOOD?

 

 

the highlight of these was the excellent Three Billboards!

as a big fan of Martin McDonagh's previous films, I saw it the first chance I could. And was blown away. This movie is jet black comedy - there are several moments when I was laughing away and then BAM, while I'm laughing I suddenly feel awful and upset.

anchored by many strong performances from the whole cast, this is just terrific and really probably my fave film of 2018.

after I saw it, I took my parents to see it and they loved it just as much. the week after, I took my godfather to see it. i just wanted to share this film with as many people as possible because i think it is so good.

 

I also like how clearly its resonated with so many people - just google image search "three billboards billboards" and you can find dozens of real-life protest billboards inspired by this film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Avatree]

as for other delayed American films:

 

- I didn't like fish erotica

- all the money in the world didn't do it for me

- Molly's Game was insufferable

- The Post? pfft.

- Darkest Hour, nah

 

 

I did however, really really enjoy Last Flag Flying. Because of course I did because it's a Richard Linklater film and I'm yet to dislike a film he's made. his style of just relaxed sunday afternoon movie watching just does it for me. (incidentally this was on a Sunday afternoon i believe. the only (1, single) showtime that ever came near where i live.)

Great light-hearted road movie with some somber moments which work well. There was also a Q&A live stream with Bryan Cranston after the movie and he was very charming.

I didnt know anything about it going in, didn't know the synopsis, genre or anything. Nice surprise. well not really a surprise but it was nice.

 

 

-

 

 

The other one I rather enjoyed was I, Tonya

Margot proves she is a lot more than a pretty face. This is a really fun biopic about someone I wasn't familiar with, and margot robbie really gets her claws into the character. good soundtrack too.

[Plain Old Tele]

^^ You should dig up THE LAST DETAIL if you can find it. Essentially the movie that LAST FLAG FLYING is a sequel to, only written by Robert Towne with Jack Nicholson in the Bryan Cranston role.

[Avatree]

5 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

^^ You should dig up THE LAST DETAIL if you can find it. Essentially the movie that LAST FLAG FLYING is a sequel to, only written by Robert Towne with Jack Nicholson in the Bryan Cranston role.

Oh yeah, I remember after the film hearing it is a sequel and meant to look it up. Had forgotten that. Not on Amazon or Netflix so i won't see it any time soon.

[Plain Old Tele]

46 minutes ago, Avatree said:

Oh yeah, I remember after the film hearing it is a sequel and meant to look it up. Had forgotten that. Not on Amazon or Netflix so i won't see it any time soon.

 

This is when it’d nice to still have video stores. 

[Avatree]

10 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

 

This is when it’d nice to still have video stores. 

Yeah. I'm too young to have used blockbuster as an adult but do remember it from when I was younger renting a video for like £2 or whatever it is.

Now, if it's not on your streaming service of choice, tough shit. Only option for that movie I can see is dvd for £18 on Amazon. 

No thanks...

[Avatree]

moving in to February, we had my highlight of 2018.

 

15 years since the release of the GOAT movie. I had seen the wiseausterpiece in the cinema before, but never met the legend himself. The Man. The Myth. The Master.

 

In true football fashion, me and my friend dressed in tuxedo. we thought this would be funny - we did not expect that he would be so thrilled, that he invited us on stage to do Q&A session with him and Greg!

 

(me in the middle)

 

 

 

This was so much fun. Tommy may be crazy but he treats his fans well! I have not had this much fun in a cinema in really quite a long time.

 

So after having a great time, me & my friend left London and went to our mates band do a gig, which was cool, then went out to a bar with the band afterwards... and who starts chatting to me but only a stunning professional model. I think it was my tuxedo that attracted her... we had a good night back at hers.

 

Sorry if that is TMI for the forum/this thread but the thing is - this was just a perfect Saturday. the best day i have had in years. meeting a hero, surprise presenting one my favourite films to an audience, and having sex with a model.

 

I was really happy this day.

 

Thank you Mr Wiseau. ❤️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Avatree]

Moving on to March.

 

i have always disliked Titanic. Found it too soppy and melodramatic, couldn't stand it, and had seen it several times.

So what better way to spend an evening than 3 hours rewatching a film I dont like in the cinema.

But I thought I would give it a chance.

 

Seeing Titanic in the cinema, how it was meant to be seen... it was a really beautiful experience. It really swept me up & I realised what it must have been like seeing it 20 years ago. Truly very special that watching it in the cinema with a fresh mind, what that can do for a film.

 

The following week I was going to Northern Ireland, and because of how much the film moved me, I decided to take a detour to Belfast where the Titanic was built. the titanic museum is really incredible, learning all the history and context of the tragedy, was amazing.

 

Thank God for Jim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now what else came out in March... the highly-anticipated PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING. Loved the first one, was not expecting huge things for the sequel and i managed to avoid all marketing (apart from a couple of posters) (I think).

 

I decided to see this opening night on the best screen available, a Laser IMAX 3D. I thought it was great fun, very different from the original film, but it felt like a fun, upbeat saturday morning cartoon, and I rather loved it.

Has some neat ideas with the aliens and the Jaegars, and has an amusing & inspired twist villain.

 

In fact I enjoyed it so much... that after the credits, i walked out of the auditorium, went straight to the counter and bought a ticket for the immediate next showing. Can't say any other film has prompted me to do that.

TBH right now it's pretty forgettable, I cant really remember what I liked about it. But clearly it sparked something in me because I've never done that before.

 

also the young girl in it is lovely. Don't @ me guys, I know the character is 14 but actress was 18 during filming

 

 

 

 

 

now one of my favourites, possibly my favourite film of 2018:

 

 

 

YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE is pure cinema. Every single aspect of this is near perfection. It is completely enthralling and was an extraordinary piece of art to see, hear and feel in the cinema.

I am not going to say anything further, just please go and watch it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can tell this film was a small release, because they didn't bother renaming MOM & DAD to MUM & DAD here, they just kept the original title because no one was gonna watch it anyway.

Well, I watched it. The cinema was empty - this was the only such screening of 2018, and it's nice to have the cinema on your own. Especially when its a film this fun!

 

This is a b-movie with the premise of, there's an epidemic of parents suddenly developing a desire to kill their children. It's brutal and bloody and the editing and music (seriously... listen to the score) are making the film attack you with a machete.

It doesn't try to explore the sci-fi reasons behind what's going on, it just takes a premise, makes the most of it for 90 minutes and ends. Really nice job.

 

We get a great Crazy Cage performance & a funny use of Erasure's Chains of Love.

 

This also has the best final line of any film this year. Gold.

 

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Avatree

[Avatree]

APRIL

 

I didn't like any movies that were released in april.

 

except unsane, that was good.

[Avatree]

Moving into the summer, honestly my movie watching kind of went down a bit. During the summer I got suspended from work and pretty much spent the whole summer taking drugs, and didn't go to the cinema much. A bit of a mess.

 

I did really enjoy Mission: Impossible Fallout.

 

As a piece of action filmmaking it is really impressive. Doing all these things for real and having the cameras film it in a natural way (like the gif above), really paid dividends in making the film feel authentic, and that grips you. On second viewing I think it is too long, way too long, but I thought it was a great achievement and it's incredible that this franchise is going what 22? years later and continues to be better than ever.

 

 

 

 

I also found a screening of the one and only, Stephen Lang-starring, megabuster. AVATAR.

Remembering just how great the film is, similar to Titanic you forget how well it works, because it's driven by your emotional connection, and the way it makes you feel. I had also never appreciated until this showing how much the 3D adds to the experience. Avatar is stunning.

 

 

aaaand also a highlight of the summer was seeing 2001 on one of the original 70mm film reels.

The film looked utterly magnificent, but strangely, it looked perfect, as if this was a perfectly preserved film. I thought maybe they are showing the digital version but accidentally advertised it as 70mm? How is it possible for it to look this natural and as-intended by Kubrick?

It turned out after I saw the film, and did some googling, that it was in fact a recreation of the original film by Christopher Nolan. a brand new film of 2001. This was really cool and impressive. And obviously 2001 is great, that kind of goes without saying.

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Avatree

[Avatree]

Getting out of the summer...

 

 

 

 

I didn't really didn't want to watch ASIB as nothing about it interested me, but I was just curious to see Bradley Cooper in the director chair. Boy was this a pleasant surprise... great music, well told story, a romance I totally believed in. Wasn't familiar with the plot as didn't know it was a remake. I really regret not watching this a second time in cinemas. It's really stuck with me over the past few months more than other movies have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BAD TIMES! good times I had, at the El Royale. Like a tarantino movie but actually tolerable.

some seriously great stuff by Jeff Bridges and Cynthia Erivo btw.

 

 

 

 

This was extraordinary. I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself in for. But its Peter Jackson, so I had to watch it. There were two things going through my head when I was in the cinema:

- does Peter Jackson have nothing better to do than compile old footage from the war?

- why am I being given 3D glasses for a documentary?

 

It turns out this was well worth being made. This documentary is revolutionary. On a technical level, sorting out the speed of the old footage (10fps to 24fps) by interpolating new frames; colourising the pictures; and overhauling it in 3D, is extremely impressive. Making it look like footage taken in the modern day brings the war to life like I have never seen before. I live near the Imperial War Museum (who commissioned this film) and have watched footage like this many times, never cared about it. Watching/reading about the war is boring. This film is not boring. Using technology to connect the old footage to a young viewer who is not interested in old wars.

This is a complete triumph.

 

Peter Jackson has pushed technical boundaries and opened up a new frontier of documentary filmmaking. I cannot wait to see what other filmmakers will do with this - I know we will see many more films like this in coming years.

 

 

 

 

Now, another little film that I saw in November, you may have heard of it:

 

 

Got to see my favourite film evs with the soundtrack in the Royal Albert Hall, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra - the same orchestra that performed the original score. (obviously not the same members but yeah)

I hadn't been to one of these movie-in-concerts before but it is quite bizarre. for extended periods you forget the orchestra is there at all because they are exactly how the soundtrack goes. I guess that sounds stupid since that's the whole point. but it's very strange.

 

Ive never seen Star Wars in a cinema before and although the digital projection was not incredible, it was well worth seeing.

The actual highlight of it was seeing it with an audience - in this case, an audience of 5,000. I think it's sometimes easy to forget how funny Star Wars is, and being in a massive audience all reacting together was a unique experience.