MaximusSamus's User Profile

MaximusSamus

11/25/2015 joined Flickchart

4650 profile views

157355 rankings / 3298 movies / 268 comments

247 days, 23 hours, 5 minutes spent watching movies

MaximusSamus's Favorite Movies

Saw Shaun of the Dead Phantom of the Paradise Army of Darkness Halloween The Cabin in the Woods The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi Star Wars The Exorcist

MaximusSamus's Recently Added Movies

Rollerball Dead & Buried Dune: Part Two Shock Waves Poor Things

MaximusSamus's TOTAL MOVIES RANKED BY DECADE

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Comments (41)

 
Jenny111

Jenny111 on 9/6/2018 Reply  · 

i have something to tell you, reply me with ( jennftores@ gmail.com )

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 1/19/2020 Reply  · 

Feel free to talk to me here! I try to be very active in this community and that includes talking with all of you fine folks!

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 1/31/2020 Reply  · 

Hey dude. Thanks for accepting my friend request!
Just wanted to say that I really like your list. The first Saw is one hell of a great concept and really held my attention without dropping the ball. Although, I have to say that I myself like the 3rd one a bit better. I don't know, the themes it explored gave me the chills!
Anyways, nice list! Nice to see someone that likes his horror with shades of humour. The Evil Dead must be my favourite trilogy of all time, any genre.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 2/2/2020 Reply  · 

dude, for sure! I've been on here for years and never really talked to people outside of the discussions on match-ups, so I appreciate you starting up a conversation with me! I love your name and image - big fan of Snake Plissken (and Kurt Russell in anything else) as well as Halloween, obviously. I love ALL of the Saw movies - the 3rd used to be my favorite, but after continuously watching them - I realized that it wouldn't be what it is without the first and just kept going back to the first as my favorite. It's also probably my favorite franchise - that or Star Wars (probably ranked better). Evil Dead is great - and yeah, Horror is definitely my favorite genre. I love it when it's twisted and reworked with other genres - atmospheric sci-fi, musical, comedy - whatever. You can do so much with it that it never gets old to me.

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 2/3/2020 Reply  · 

Hello, friend. Just saw your comment on my page!
Well, I'm here as long as you, but I didn't chat a lot either. That's too bad, because some movies are just so damn worth debating.
Kurt Russell is really awesome! I absolutely love him in The Thing and also Big Trouble and obv Escape. He's a great actor and also awesome when it comes to the "Bad-ass Action Actor" type, y'know what I mean, heh.
I also really enjoy Star Wars, especially the original trilogy. Although, I do think that Jedi is quite mediocre and not a fan of the prequels.
Musical horror is pretty great btw! I love Rocky Horror in every way. Tim Curry is awesome as the transexual mad doctor, and also the music, the sets.
I always says that I don't watch horror to be scared, but because it's a really interesting genre full of possibilities!

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 2/4/2020 Reply  · 

I love discussing film almost as much as I enjoy watching it. Part of the draw of this site was the choice obviously and then the social networking. I just never had any one on one conversations with anyone until now!
I love just about every Star Wars Film. I think the Sequel Trilogy is nearly as good as the OT, but nothing comes close to that really. The best of the PT is definitely Episode III, but the world building in I and II are nice if anything. They aren't terrible. The worst films would be Solo - it just gets more boring everytime I watch it, but it's still Star Wars and still a decent films - just useless for the canon. I'm really eager to see where they go after the Skywalker Saga. They really need to re-invent the franchise and breath new life into it - take from comics and books and games and do something entirely new to the cinematic universe that they have.
I feel Disney needs to do the same with Marvel after ending the Infinity Saga. Stop relying on the names and the brands and take more risks. That's why I'm very excited for The Eternals and Shang-Chi.Hopefully the magic from Guardians pushes those to succeed and that the fanbase still accepts stuff outside of THE AVENGERS.
Rocky Horror is awesome, but have you seen Brian De Palma's The Phantom of the Paradise? Came out the year before Rocky Horror, which ends up taking a lot of influence from De Palma's film. The strenuous production behind it plus the film itself amazes me everyday. I love that movie dearly. It's my favorite musical by far. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
What have you been watching recently?

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 2/4/2020 Reply  · 

I'm fine if we keep chatting on your page! I'll be checking here as I access the site, so don't worry.

I have to say that I really like Rogue One though. Just so great and exhilarating all around. Still didn't saw Solo though and really not very interested in it. But I do want to watch Rise of Skywalker soon!
Yeah, I'm really excited to watch The Eternals! Despite a cancerous fanbase, I really think the Marvel movies are quite fun. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is probs my favourite - its soundtrack, beautiful visuals, Kurt Russell! I'm also excited to watch Black Widow, especially after Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit. Scarlett Johansson is probably one of the best actors out there, y'know. Also, I believe that Florence Pugh is on the movie, and I really liked her on Midsommar and Little Women!

I saw Phantom of the Paradise recently. In december, if I recall correctly. Actually, I thought it was really good! But I think that Jessica Harper was dubbed and it kinda annoyed me if I'm being honest. Besides that, really my kind of movie. I just really like 70's rock musicals all around! I don't know, the excesses of the decade. It spoke to me.

Lately, I've been watching a lot of Italian horror and gothic horror in general. Argento is a master and so is Bava. I really got something for gialli, y'know. Despite a lot of holes and red herrings, they're just so fun and pretty! Also, the scores. Lately, I've watched The Innocents (a British masterpiece from the 60's that mixes supernatural and psychological horror really well) and its remake from this year, The Turning... which really just turned my stomach. Also, I've been eager on watching Boris Karloff movies, from The Mummy to Targets. And Black Sabbath, which is Italian gothic horror starring Boris Karloff, lol. What a masterpiece.
What about you?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 2/5/2020 Reply  · 

Rogue One is great - I agree. I loved Rise of Skywalker as you can tell by my list. It's an exciting culmination of the Skywalker Saga. Is it over packed with some rushed pacing? Yes, but it's Star Wars and it's very very exciting. There's original concept art going around for what could have been Duel of Fates when Collin Trevorrow was attached to direct it and it looks insane - I would have liked to have seen that too but I'm contempt with what we got! I hope you get a chance to see it while it's still playing in theatres.

I still haven't seen Jojo Rabbit or Marriage Story. Both on my list - I'm waiting for a good time to watch the latter with someone, so that hasn't happened yet and Jojo didn't play around where I live - but I do love ScarJo in so many other movies; Under the Skin, Don Jon etc. Black Widow looks decent, I know it'll be good because it's Disney and Marvel so it's guaranteed to be good production and acting wise. I like Florence (who is also great in Fighting with my Family) and David Harbour being in it. I wish they would do away with the continuation of everything after Endgame - like we said earlier - and I wish they would make this a prequel before Iron Man even. I don't like it being set between Civil War and Infinity War - but it should still be a good flick regardless. I just don't feel like there's any stakes to it because we already know everything before and after, but I've been wrong before and sometimes those bridge movies can be better than expected. I agree about the Guardians films - definitely my two favorite marvel movies right ahead of Avengers 1, IW and Endgame.

Jessica Harper wasn't dubbed in Phantom of the Paradise unless you watched an un-official version of it, but there was other dubbing (Beef's singing voice notably and of course Winslow after being crippled, but that's part of the story.) I seriously love that movie. It was one of my dad's favorites and we watched it so many times together. So fucking good, imo.

I love Gaillo films too. Dad also got me big into those - he really showed me just about every type and genre of horror movie there is. I own a lot of Fulci and Argento. I love stuff like Creepers, Suspiria and it's remake, Opera, Cat in the Brain, Zombi, Don't Look Now, Deep Red, Tenebrae - and there's still so much of that type of genre that I still need to see. And you're right about the music too - especially in Argento films. So memorable and unique.

I don't know why I felt the need to bring it up after thinking about those but psychological thrills are also very good. I was thinking of Repulsion recently and just how eerie and creepy that movie is. Left me feeling haunted.

I wasn't aware The Turning was a remake since I've had very little desire in seeing it. It looks dreadfully boring and doesn't look like anything new to the genre. I'll have to watch the original though - thanks for bring that to my attention!

Those Karloff movies are classics. I love the Universal monster movies.

Lately, been a mix of a few things. Mostly I've been re-watching the Bond movies before No Time to Die comes out. I watched Grabbers the other day, as well as Ghosts of Mars - so sort of monsters v group of people type movies. I watched the new terminator. I watched The Farewell. I'm one Fincher movie short of seeing all of his now - just need to view The Game, after watching Panic Room last week.

After Bond, I plan on watching the Austin Powers movies to see how they hold up. I am gonna re-watch the Saw movies before Spiral comes out in May. And I still need to re-watch Bad Boys 1 and 2 before seeing the new one. Which reminds me I still need to watch Toy Story 4 (wanted to rewatch the first 3) & both Devil's Rejects and House of 1,000 Corpses before watching 3 From Hell.

There's always something new and something old to watch lol.

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 2/5/2020 Reply  · 

I was planning to watch Rise of Skywalker on its first weekend, but then I fell short of time and still didn't watch it yet unhappily. That's also bad because I saw The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi on their first day. Well, but I guess it's still playing around here! I'm really not used to movies still playing after more than 2 to 3 weeks of its initial release, because I used to live in a small town in Brazil where the cinemas weren't very good. The only things that they used to play there were blockbusters.
I have moved to Vancouver recently and it's been a whole lot better in this cinema aspect!

Marriage Story is a really fine movie and I do recommend that you should watch it accompanied. It's really nice to analyze both sides and then talking about it with someone else. Truly a great movie. I do think it'll be remembered years from now.

I'm surprised Jessica Harper wasn't dubbed tho! Maybe it's perhaps I didn't really like her voice. I like my women vocalists more like Stevie Nicks than Judy Garland.
Dude, it's so mystical. I don't know, the 70s atmosphere. Yeah, really like it. I have to admit that I had mixed feelings at first, but as it kept going, it really gained me. In short, a great rock retelling of Faust!

Argento was a great part of my childhood btw. Y'know, there were those TV channels that used to play a lot of old horror movies past midnight. I saw Suspiria for the first time there. Really made an impression. From its use of colours to Goblin's soundtrack. I recently saw Bird with the Crystal Plumage, which was also very great.
As for Fulci, I just saw one of his movies first time last night and I was kinda bored. It was The Beyond. I was bored for most of the movie. That spider scene, gee. So long and really badly made.

I just saw Repulsion recently and loved it! Well, I have to say it was quite feminist for its age. Not really a problem in that, but I was quite surprised. Roman Polanski is also controversial himself, but I'm giving the man a pass. It's not like Woody Allen. Actually, there's a grown woman who thinks he already paid his time. I'm looking forward to finish his Apartment Trilogy, btw. Repulsion was great, I love Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant looks really good.

I really do recommend The Innocents! It's a perfect balance of ghost and psychological, and still pretty creepy and unsettling. But, my friend, stay away from the remake.
I'll have to paraphrase Roger Ebert now;
I know I have won no Pulitzer Award, but still in my horror fanatic capacity, I have to tell you, Ms. Sigismondi, your movie sucks.

I'm looking forward for No Time to Die! Already saw all 24/25 (idk) of them, minus the non-official one from the 80's featuring an older Sean Connery.
I'd really like to focus on David Fincher's career someday. I think I already saw half of his movies, so it could be a weekend marathon or something like that. Perhaps I'll be marathoning the Saw movies I still didn't saw as well. I'm curious what it'll be of Spiral, especially because Chris Rock is involved and he worked almost only on comedy before.

True about how there's a lot of old and new things to watch, heh. I just bought recently the blu-rays of James Whale's The Old Dark House and Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. Also, I want to watch White Zombie (1932) since it's for free on YouTube. Y'know, public domain and all.

Tell me, my friend. Since you're a fan of Phantom of the Paradise, I'm guessing you enjoy a lot of 70's rock?
I'm always open to new genres, but I'm really always listening to something from the 60's/70's. The Beatles, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen... great stuff.
Which just reminded me that I need to watch that Bruce Springsteen-inspired flick from last year, Blinded by the Light.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 2/8/2020 Reply  · 

That sounds like a big improvement over where you used to be! I went from a pretty decent metropolitan area to a smaller city. My only options in town for buying movies are pawn shops/used media stores and a Wal-Mart, but if I go a town over (only about 20 minutes), I've got Target and Best Buy again. The town I'm in now has a pretty decent mom and pop, family-owned theatre but they only play the blockbusters. I have to got 20 minutes over for limited releases and even then that theatre only has 2 more screens, so I'm only getting a few more options. If I want indy stuff, I have to drive 2.5 hours back home or to another big city outside the state. But c'est-la-vie, my quality of life has dramatically improved moving away from where I was.

I definitely see where you're coming from in your musical taste - I feel the same. My biggest genres are metal and rock. I love that stuff.

I've actually never seen Crystal Plumage and I can't remember if I've seen The Beyond or not. I think I have, but it must have been so long ago - I can only remember pieces. I own both, so I'll have to make a note to view them for sure. I need to see The Tenant as well, now! Rosemary's Baby is a fucking beloved classic - so good. I agree with you about those two directors lol. Super controversial figures of the industry for sure. I don't mind some of Allen's work, but definitely prefer Polanski. I strongly admire him as an artist.

LOL! I wasn't a huge fan of Ebert personally, but he was very smart and definitely had a way with words and publication. He started a movement of critiquing. I'm not big on critiquing stuff just because you can though. I have always loved giving my opinions on films, but the word critic has such a negative connotation to them. I get a little upset when people call me a critic - because to me I LOVE film and I want to discuss what works and what doesn't. I don't often try to discourage anything unless I have to. As much as I would love to get paid to write reviews, I would hate to directly insult an artist, you know what I mean? My mom watched the Innocents last night after I told her about it - I'll have to see what she thought of it.

Yeah, Never Say Never Again and Casino Royale (the non-canon Bond films) aren't great in my opinion, but still interesting to see. I'm currently up to A View to A Kill in my Bond-a-thon and I just started the Saw-a-thon again. Today I'll be viewing Doctor Sleep for the first time and showing my mom The House that Jack Built if my Amazon package arrives on time! lol.

I love Fellini. La Dolce Vita is fantastic and so is 8 1/2. I still need to see La Strada, Nights of Cabiria,and Amarcord. He also helped write Rome, Open City and that's been on my list too. There's quite a bit of his that I need to see, now that I think of it - but I love what I've seen.

I do enjoy a lot of that music. I LOVE Bowie, Queen, the Beatles, and stuff like that. Some of my favorite other musicians are Elvis, Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Serj Tankian (System of a Down), and Corey Taylor (stone Sour and Slipknot). I also enjoy progressive anti-system music like Rage Against the Machine. But I like a lot of experimental and EDM type stuff too - Death Grips (rocks and rap), Daft Punk. I enjoy a lot of music apart from country, really. Most country I'll go is like folk rock or some bluegrass. But I hate whiny signers that sound like they're crying or just talking about the country. I'm from the South and I don't glorify much of it apart from good food, lol!

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 2/14/2020 Reply  · 

Sorry for taking a long time to get back to you, friend! My internet was quite weak these days.

Yes, a really BIG improvement, especially because I'm loving Vancouver. I was born in a cold town, so I'm really used to low temperatures, opposed to my last town which was hot as all hell.

Crystal Plumage was an absolute masterpiece in my honest opinion. Despite obvious flaws (being flawed always seemed to me like one of giallo's main charms), it's so entertaining that, even though it was late night and I was sleepy as all hell, it really kept me hooked through it. As for The Beyond... it was still early at night and I was wide awake. It managed to make me sleep, lol.

Definitely agree on Roger Ebert being a true man of words. He was a great writer, I can't deny. Actually, I'm also not a big fan of critics or even the concept. The only one I follow is a great Brazilian critic called Otávio Ugá. He always make great comments during his reviews. He always say he has a lot of fun during the movie, in fact leaving the review parts for later, once the movie is over.

So, did your mother liked The Innocents? I hope she did!
And what are your thoughts on Doctor Sleep?
To be honest, I'm not the greatest fan of sequels, but I thought that Mike did a great job. Well, until that last act, at least for me.

Ironically, when you wrote that comment, I was just watching La Dolce Vita. Truly a masterpiece. I never saw anything like it, so I was really mesmerized by it. Y'know, it really felt like the days were passing. Great stuff.
I have zero interest in watching Never Say Never Again and Casino Royale 1967, so I'll pass. I have to say that Casino Royale 2005 wasn't really my thing though. I was more impressed by Skyfall and actually more entertained by Spectre (wow, I know). QoS is the one we need to forget about though. Such bad writing choices. And I actually even liked Jack White's song in the opening.
But my favourite will always be Paul McCartney's. I'm always singing it.
YOU USED TO SAY LIVE AND LET LIVEEEE

I'm actually quite a fan of Southern rock. Does CCR count? Petty, Springsteen, Nicks. I can't say nothing about the food, but I love the musicians, heh.
Hmm, according to Spotify statistics, I listen mostly to rock (only rock, it seems) and soft rock. Really, my kind of stuff when I stop to think about it, lol. Also a fan of the classic glam rock acts. Ziggy Stardust, T-Rex, Mott... great stuff. Especially because The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is probs my favourite album of all time. What is your favourite album of all time?
Your statement about the talking singers kept me wondering - are you a fan of Johnny Cash?
I love a few of his classics, his prison album, and also his American series. Especially the one that featured Tom Petty on acoustic guitar and backing vocals in all tracks, because, as I think you already noticed, I'm kinda of a Tom Petty fanboy.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 2/15/2020 Reply  · 

No worries, friend! I didn't see your message for a couple days anyway. Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I love the cod too. Hate the hot weather. The weather we get mostly is bipolar. Can't make up its mind.

Yeah, I still need to see that. Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I follow a few critics I guess. Mostly friends and people I know where they come from. I mostly hear what others have to say because sometimes they can say it better than I ever could, if we agree. But yeah the general idea seems unfair especially if coming from someone who only views movies and has never made one. That's why I always take opinions with a grain of salt and usually never let them cast my judgment for something without having seen it myself. I know too many a people who won't watch something because someone else didn't like it - and I just can't live my life like that. I want to experience things firsthand and for myself and be the judge of it. So yeah, I'll talk about my opinions all day on stuff but I don't ever want to be the deciding factor for anyone bit myself lol!

My mother didn't care much for The Innocents. She said it was largely boring, but not anything really bad really. We both loved Doctor Sleep though. Thought it was a phenomenal follow-up to the Shining. I loved the atmosphere, the tension & pacing, the acting and the visuals especially. The sequence where Abra tricks and captures Rose the Hat was so beautiful. Not to mention the end - just so climactic and exciting and cool to see the culmination of everything. I really loved Danny's redemption and his mother's approval. Everything was captured and tied up nicely. What didn't you like about the end?

We just watched Eyes without a Face earlier tonight and whilst slow and less exciting than expected - it's really solid. The atmosphere and tension are certainly there and the ending is pretty damn poetically justified. I felt like everything was deserved. Have you seen that one?

Yeah, Quantum of Solace is very forgettable. I definitely love Skyfall and Spectre the most. Both absolute incredible films. I didn't love Casino Royale when it came out, but I'm eager to see it again. Still watching my way through all of them, lol!

"(YOU KNOW YOU DID, YOU KNOW YOU DID, YOU KNOW YOU DID)
But if this ever changing world in which we're
Living
Makes you give in and cry
-
Say live and let die"

Seriously one of the best songs. I agree. I love it so much.
And as mentioned before - great taste! I love that album as well. Bowie was one of the best! I've got favorite songs for sure - "Vermillion Pt. 2" by Slipknot, "Through Glass," by Stone Sour, and "Somewhere over the rainbow/What a Wonderful World" by IZ.
I almost couldn't come up with a favorite album, but I actually think Pink Floyd's The Wall is mine. I love the animated movie for it too. Just incredibly profounding stuff that has always stuck with me.

Oh yeah, I love Cash. I really like a lot of older country music. Just nothing from the last several decades. Hank Williams, Johnny Cash. There are a few classics and staples that even I'll listen to lol. Walk the Line is also a great movie! Speaking of which, Joaquin Phoenix, in my opinion, is the best actor currently living. Who do you like?

Also, directed by the guy who did Logan and Ford v Ferrari (which I need to see). Mangold is pretty good.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 2/15/2020 Reply  · 

Apologies for the few typos. Writing this reply on my phone, way past the time I usually go to sleep and I'm not proofreading anything because I'm exhausted. Work has been killer lately! Hear from you soon :)

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 3/7/2020 Reply  · 

Hello, friend, sorry for vanishing like that! Life was crazy those past few weeks and I just used to access the site to add the few movies I've managed to watch and type a few comments. I'm thinking how it will be once university starts on September.

I really like your philosophy of being the judge of it. Sometimes I check Rotten Tomatoes scores to see how the movie is going with the critics. As long as it's no 0%, it's all good! If a movie's at 1%, that means someone liked it and I might as well be that 1%. I also have to respect my mood, though. If I'm on Bob Dylan mood, I should watch a Bob Dylan-related movie. But I ended up watching the Bruce Springsteen one instead, lol. It was good, but I was always thinking of watching something Dylan right after.
And btw, I just saw Walk the Line this tuesday. I thought it really was awesome! In fact, I'm listening to some Johnny Cash while typing this response. One of his classics, "Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of True West." Ever heard it? And watched his biopic? Great stuff!

About Doctor Sleep's ending...
When the ghosts attack, I thought it was really a weak scene. Because you know, there was always this psychological thing about them. In The Shining, we never saw them actually in action, just staring. And I felt like it was really standing on it's own in the first two acts, but then it was all The Shining. Like I lost it's own identity.

Yeah, Eyes Without a Face is actually one of my favourite horror movies of all time! It's kinda slow, but I usually don't mind it. To tell the truth, depends on the movie. Some are boringly slow, while some are just fine. I thought it was very poetic and ethereal, don't know. Something about it, especially the ending... well, really love it!

So, have you finished your Bond-athon?
I've been listening to Billie Eilish's new theme song and I have to say that I really enjoy it. It's different from her pop songs, but her performance is just fine and I loved the melody. Gotta say, it's hyping me up and I really can't wait to watch No Time to Die.

Dude, I just saw that you have mentioned Walk the Line in your comment! Lol. That goes as a reminder to read everything before typing my own response. But I will leave it unchanged because Flickchart's bugging a lot, hope you don't mind!
I think it's really hard to point out my favourite songs of all time. Perhaps, David Bowie's Space Oddity and Tom Petty's Free Fallin'.
Since Walk the Line put me in a Johnny Cash mood, lately I've been listening to a lot of his classics.
Folsom Prison Blues and God's Gonna Cut You Down are the ones I'm listening more to.
"You can run on for a long time, run on for a long time, run on for a long time, sooner or later gonna cut you down"

Hmm, about favourite actors. I really don't know, to be honest lol.
Yeah, I have to agree that Joaquin is awesome. Loved him in WtL. Anyone that sings in a singer biopic earns my respect immediately! Rami Malek actually also earned mine immediately, but that was because of Mr. Robot. Bohemian Rhapsody, on the other hand, was a really really weak film.
My top actor, though, gotta be Kang-Ho Song. Been watching a lot of his movies recently. The most prominent are still those directed by Bong - Memories of Murder, The Host, Snowpiercer, Parasite! He's excellent in all of those.
I have to watch "A Taxi Driver" as well.
Adam Driver and Bradley Cooper are also great.
As of all time, probs... Kurt Russell, because he kicks ass, Bruce Campbell, a cult favourite, and Tim Curry, the man of 1,000 faces.

Did you just saw The Invisible Man? How was it?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 3/11/2020 Reply  · 

no worries, brother! I understand - life happens! Good to hear from you again, glad you're alright! And good luck too when school starts up for you again. I've got a degree in film, myself, wish I could put it to use and break into the industry and do what I TRULY love for a living. That's the dream, ain't it?

And yeah - sometimes I catch myself not reading a full response before I start typing too. Yeah, I like all those guys - Cash, Dylan, Springsteen. Still need to see Blinded by the Light. Been on my list for a bit. I've been recently watching some teen horror that I needed to catch up on. Stuff that is either just middle of the road OR bad. My sister is my "Bad movie" buddy. So we seek out a lot of bad movies - horror specifically. So we recently watched Rabid (2019) and Countdown (also 2019). They were actually both better than expected, but nothing fantastic or to write home about.

I guess I see what you're saying with Doctor Sleep. I can understand that POV. My best friend sort of felt the same but I don't. I thought it worked well. I do agree with you on Eyes without a Face, though I wouldn't rank it that high, imo. I liked the feel, pacing, and atmosphere for sure. Some movies are better slower. And then as you said - some are too slow *cough cough* The Irishman *cough*. Sorry I think I have a cold, lol!

I'm still watching the Bond movies! I watched A View to a Kill last week. So I'm onto the last 3 Bonds now - Dalton, Brosnan & Craig. I'm almost out of the 80's and into the 90's. The rush isn't so bad now considering NTTD got pushed back. I'll still have them watched though before it would have come out, lol! I haven't listened to the theme yet - I was waiting until the movie came out, but I might as well listen to it now.

I'll say it again - you still have great taste in music and in actors. I like all that you said too. I love MR. Robot. One of the best shows to ever be on TV recently. UP there with the first few seasons of Walking Dead, Better Call Saul & Breaking Bad. Good shit, for sure. Kang is great. He's phenomenal and I hope more people look into his stuff and not just Bong's. But I think they'll realize that when they see all of their collaborations. I still need to see A Taxi Driver as well. It's been on my watchlist for awhile. But the ones you mentioned are great.

I thought we already discussed actors earlier - but it was still only Campbell, Curry, & Russell which we all agreed on, lol. But yeah, Phoenix, Daniel Day-Lewis, Phillip Seymour Hoffman are favorites of mine too. I love Daniel Craig and Ryan Gosling too. I love Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Saoirse Roanan, Sigourney Weaver, Margot Robbie, Julianne Moore & Rachel Weisz too. Those are some of my favorites that come off the top of my head. There are countless more too that I really enjoy as well - like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Dane DeHaan, & Cary Elwes. Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, Michelle Williams, Jodie Foster, Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, Naomi Watts. It's more of a question of "who do I not like?"

I pulled up a list of notable famous actors and it just keeps going lol. So many to name and not enough time and space to write them all out. Who do you not like? Personally, I don't like Miles Teller. He's the biggest one that comes to mind for me.

And yeah, I saw it almost two weeks ago, iirc. I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't say I LOVED it, but it's really good. It's a great modernized version of the story that doesn't bastardize the original or take away from it in anyway. It's a smart social commentary too on the power of women, mental health and toxic masculinity. There's an article here that discusses it's use of gaslighting, too, which has become a real effective tool for filmmakers in wanting to relate to modern audiences. I love the performance that Moss gave too. She's one of my favorite current actresses as well. I thought the tech-based horror also REALLY worked for a 2020 version of the Invisible Man. The only thing that I didn't like was that the trailers sort of ruin the movie. The movie VERY MUCH plays out as a psychological thriller asking the question "is she crazy? Did she make this all up?" but if you've seen the trailers or posters, you KNOW that he is real. The marketing ruins that for the film, because there are still times in the film where I genuinely think they're going to swerve us it and it'll be different, but no. Also the ending is rushed to shit, but still it's a great ending and a great movie. Just awful marketing. I had genuinely no interests in it until I heard how well it was doing and because of who was involved with it. I went in expecting it to be worse. But it wasn't.

Did you ever get around to seeing Rise of Skywalker? Is it still playing?

Addendum: I'd be remiss with myself If I didn't catch on to the fact that all the actors I mentioned earlier are white. So here are some non-white actors that I love as well - Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, Iko Uwais, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Michael B. Jordan, Forrest Whitaker, Dev Patel, Bruce Lee, Jamie Foxx, Javier Bardem, Benicio Del Toro, Lupita Nyong'o, Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruze, Rosario Dawson. There's A LOT of great acting talent out there, as I said before.

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 3/12/2020 Reply  · 

Well, I just saw that No Time to Die was delayed. Damn, that sucks, man. The thing is, I'm avoiding cinema anyways, because of the coronavirus outbreak. Which I actually think was the main reason behind the delay. A few cases in BC. Better stay safe. I'll be putting myself in self-quarantine tomorrow, at least until things get settled. I have to say that I've already tested negative, just out of precaution.
Hope everything is well with you and your family, my friend. Tough times in the world right now.

Well, I'll be starting my film studies in UBC! I'm really glad I did it and I'm going to start seeking some extra jobs once this mess is over. There's a few nice productions here.

Blinded by the Light is actually very fun, but it kinda dragged in the middle. Like, yeah, he's listening to Bruce Springsteen now. So, what's next?
Still, it had a great message and a fine conclusion.
I've been watching mostly nothing this past week. Guess the last thing I saw was Ringu. Pretty good J-horror, let me tell you. I'm actually very fond of Japanese horror. They're really creepy and interesting throughout. Have you ever see it?
I do have a Bad Movie buddy as well, but I'll always try to AVOID bad movies, lol. They're good for laughs, but in most cases I'll feel like we could have watched a way better movie. Like The VelociPastor. It's funny, but...

Think I'm gonna be re-watching Doctor Sleep soon and then I'll give that final act a second try! I might as well have been on a hurry that day lol. I was having some sharp stomachaches and wanted to get home soon.
I see what you did with The Irishman there, lol. Now that was painful. It was really frustrating by the ending. Damn, like it would never end.

Thanks for the compliment, buddy! You do have great taste as well.
Since you mentioned Walking Dead, are you a fan of the zombie genre? I really love Romero's Trilogy of the Dead and I've been playing Resident Evil 2 remastered those days. Also, Shaun of the Dead is your 2.

Damn, let me say some names now. Lupita Nyong'o, Florence Pugh, Jodie Foster, Laura Dern, Sarah Paulson, Toni Collette, Angela Bassett, Park So-Dam, Scarlett Johansson, Regina King.
Hmm, as for male actors, I would add Samuel L. Jackson, Mahershala Ali, Robert De Niro, Javier Bardem.
Yeah, Denzel Washington is also pretty great and how could I forgot Amy Adams?
Which just reminded of Kathy Bates. Yeah, the question is pretty much who we do not like?
One that comes to mind is Emma Watson.

Now, I gotta ask what are your favourite directors?
Hmm, I'll go with Stanley Kubrick, John Carpenter, Hayao Miyazaki.
Bong as well. He must be my favourite director of this century.
Jordan Peele, Greta Gerwig, Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman, Ari Aster, Fellini.

Well, The Invisible Man is one of my most anticipated movies this year! Really glad you liked it. Can't wait to check it out for myself. Too bad about the trailer thing though. That's why I'm always avoiding trailers. I actually don't mind it all that much, because the journey is what matters the most. But I'll try to always watch a movie without knowing anything.
About Rise of Skywalker, I think it's still playing, but been a long time since I went to the theaters. In fact, I'm avoiding large social gatherings as much as possible lately. That's bad because I had the chance to watch it December before that coronavirus thing.
Don't think I'll be going frequently to cinema this year anyways. My 2020 count is literally stopped until we start getting digital releases or either if we get out of this global mess.
As I said before, hope everything is well with you, friend! Avoid social gatherings as much as possible is my tip.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 3/23/2020 Reply  · 

Ten days have passed since your message and only more and more precautions have taken place amid the outbreak. We are alright - not a lot of activity around here, fortunately. But that could change at any moment. People are panicking and reacting really poorly as you have been able to see through the news. Many businesses have temporarily closed or changed their policies and hours and several events have canceled. Not much in the way to affect me or my family and friends. We are all still safe. I'm just sad I still have to work - I wish I could quarantine myself and just stay at home and watch movies indefinitely. It may end up happening - but at the same time I don't want it to in the expense of people getting sick or worse. Definitely crazy times as you've said and something to be thinking about. That's all what everyone talks about right now anyway.

I hope you and yours are safe during this time too!

I have seen Ringu and Ju-On. Not each franchise completely but several of the early films. J-Horror is in my top 5 genres for sure, specifically the Tech-Horror subgenre that came out of the Y2K fears at the turn of the century. So many great stories and unique films came from the fear of technology being the end of mankind - Pulse, One Missed Call, The Ring. Lot of great turn-of-the-century horror. It was the basis for the revival of modern horror here in the states as well, until James Wan came through and single-handedly changed that and revisited classic haunt-horror with The Conjuring and Insidious. Him and then Jason Blum with Paranormal Activity kinda brought about a new age of horror and for the most part it's been incredible. It has the caveat of being the worst genre too, because it's the cheapest and easiest to film. The good films can be few and far between the bad ones, but that's the crux of the industry as a whole, I guess.

YES SIR, big into the zombie trend. It's one that I'll never grow tired of. I consume so much zombie content. Yeah, my favorite genre is horror and within that - Zombie films are hotly regarded as a favorite for me. BUT right now, in this moment, I've been on a vampire kick. Been trying to read, watch, and play stuff around that kind of character. Right now, I'm playing Vampyr for PS4, just waiting for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 to release.That's one game that I'm REALLY excited for and I'm just consuming Vampyr as back-up content right now before that eventually comes out. Other than that, I'm waiting for my refund to hit so that I can re-purchase a Switch and play Animal Crossing.

Bergman, Kubrick, Carpenter & Hitchcock are classics, as you already suggested. I'll add Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Scorsese, Tarantino. My favorite of all-time though is James Wan. Dude brought out everything I love in film and just made it visible to me. Something about his style and what he's been able to do across several genres just works for me. I've loved all of his films and have been deeply and sincerely impacted by him and Leigh Whannell, both. So I'd say he's my favorite. but Spielberg is probably the best, imo. He's consistently popping out banger after banger. There are a lot of incredible filmmakers out there. I know I'm forgetting several I admire and love but I'm too tired and lazy to think about/look for more in this moment.

Yeah, the Coronavirus completely FUCKED cinema worldwide. As far as I know, the box office is nearly completely halted - barring some locations that somehow aren't closed. The last thing I went and saw was Invisible Man and that was over a full month ago. Every theatre around here has closed. though, FORTUNATELY, as you've said - many movies that were playing are straight digital now AND we still have blu-rays physically, so we are still getting some content. We just have to wait and see when everything else got postponed to. ALSO about all that - you won't have to look far for a free way to watch a good quality rip of anything new, since the studios are dropping high quality versions to rent.

Hope all is well and as always, eager to hear from you again, soon, my friend. Take care!

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 4/6/2020 Reply  · 

Hello, friend! Sorry for taking such a long time to get back to you. My internet's been down these days and I've been watching mostly some Criterion blu-rays that I bought some time ago but never had the chance to watch, lol.
Everything's fine with you?

Trump has just declared total quarantine until the end of this month, right?
I know that Canada's PM, Mr. Trudeau, has been doing a great job controlling the pandemic! But let's not get into politics. Are you in home isolation by now, my friend?
Me and my family that is in Canada with me are just fine. Unhappily, my father still lives in Brazil and he needs to work to get paid. And that Bolsonaro fucker isn't giving any money to the people that need (sorry for getting into politics again, friend, lol, guess it's inevitable).

Anyway, let's not get into sad and stressful matters.

Hmm, would you recommend the Ju-On movies you saw? I love some J-horror, but I've been hesitant about watching this one. Also, blow my mind, but I thought One Missed Call was an American movie, lol. I'm probably gonna watch the original now that you've brought it to my attention.
I really like this new horror wave. I'm not the hugest fan of the first Conjuring, the second one is most likely my favourite though. Valak is awesome; too bad The Nun sucked, because I was really hyped back then.
Also, there a few masterpieces that probably are gonna be considered classics a few time from now; Get Out, Us, Midsommar, Hereditary, The Witch and The Lighthouse came to mind.
Pretty much a monopoly up there, but you got the idea, lol.
Which horror movies are your favourites from the past decade?

Ooh, I already saw so much vampire shit that I got reluctant about watching more movies featuring the bloodsuckers. The last one I saw that was really great is a twist on the genre called "Shivers." It's Canadian horror (guess they call it canuxploitation, which is one of my favourite horror subgenres, if you can it that) and it was titled "They Came From Within" in the US. Why a Canadian movie got a different name in the US, you don't ask me, lol. Have you seen it?
Also, from Romero's zombies, I guess we could go to Romero's vampire. Martin is a pretty good film and a different take on the vampire subgenre. But I guess you probably could've already watched it, lol.
As for the games, I still love to play Castlevania. It's kinda always the same, but it's so hooking anyways, heh. Not big on the anime, tho.
Guess I'm gonna look for Vampyr digitally!

Great list of directors! Also, I love that you got James Wan as your favourite. It's an unique choice. Kubrick is kinda cliche. Bergman is probably my #1, which is also probably cliche heh.

I still got a lot of Criterion blu-rays to check out.
The Wages of Fear is one of them, probs gonna watch it today. Diabolique as well, which is directed by the same guy, and Fritz Lang's M. Also, gonna watch something on Netflix. Probably My Neighbours, the Yamadas, the only Ghibli I haven't seen yet.
I have already watched The Invisible Man about two weeks ago and I was really mesmerized by it. Ok, maybe not all that much, but it's thrilling enough. I'd still watch the original one, though.
I saw The Hunt, which is pretty much a neutral movie, not as sharp as it wanted to be. Sonic, which imho kinda sucked. It's mostly a fine watch, but I'm sick of gratuitous references and such things. Also, Onward; a mediocre, by-the-numbers Pixar movie. Voice acting sucked hard. I was mostly annoyed by it and by the lack of emotion in it.
Think I'm gonna rent "Birds of Prey" soon enough.
Have you seen something good lately?

Well, mi amigo, sorry again for taking such a long time.
I hope everything's still well with you and keep on watching, if you can. Stay safe!

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/10/2020 Reply  · 

No worries. I think I left a good gap between responding back to you. It happens!

Good time now to catch up on movies. What Have you been watching?

Politics is inevitable, just like our dear friend - Thanos, lol! Um, no. The US isn't in complete quarantine or lock down like it should be. The president is a fucking idiot and doesn't express the severity of the situation, often mocking his highest ranking medical officials and saying he won't even do what they suggest. So, of course, many follow by example and don't listen to the CDC and other state and federal guidelines. I'm still working unfortunately, because I'm considered "essential" though I work for a home improvement store. Even our Pro Customers aren't currently doing work because no one wants to invite stranger into their home. YET somehow we are deemed essential so people can get their paints and plants because they're bored sitting around the house and need something to do. I'm not surprised the death toll is higher here than anywhere else considering how stupid most Americans are. "stay inside, don't go out, be safe" is what they say as they look out for our best interests, but people will ignore that because "I'm an AmEriCan, yOu CAN't teLl me WhaT to Do" with drool seeping for their gaping mouth. I'm often embarrassed to be from here, but oh well, I can't help that.

Sadly, my family thinks it's a perfect time to move, something I have no say in, and we are trying to move during all this too. 2nd time in just under a year, too, so I've got the added stresses of that to deal with too. I hate packing. Good thing, though, is that I wasn't here long to make any lasting friendships, - so nothing is holding me back. I'm moving to a more metropolitan area too, so hopefully there will be a more diverse culture with more things to do than the dried-up town that we live in now. That is - if things ever get better and stuff goes back to normal. I'm sorry to hear about your dad. I hope he is well and I hope to keep hearing about him and yourself. I'm glad those around you, you included, are still fine!

I would totally recommend Ju-On and all of the Ring movies AND their crossover. Yeah, One Missed Call is actually, originally, a Takashi Miike film (my favorite foreign director). There's two sequels to it. Much better than the American remakes, as per usual. But they were pretty popular and did well over here, obviously.

Dude, I wholeheartedly agree with you about the current wave of horror. I would definitely say that those films you listed will be considered Indy Staples and Modern Classics. I disagree about Conjuring 2 though. I love the first and was adequately bored with the second. Just didn't get me like the first. but yeah, the Nun blew fat chunks. Saw it in theatres and I wanted to legit leave. My favorite horror films of the 2010's would include, in order, The Cabin in the Woods, mother!, Insidious, The Conjuring, Jigsaw, Saw 3D, Suspiria, It Follows, It, and Assassination Nation. The ones you mentioned are quickly behind those, as well as stuff like Evil Dead 2013, Train to Busan, A Quiet Place, and Doctor Sleep. There were a lot of great ones that I could go on and on about, lol.

I haven't seen Shivers yet, but I LOVE Cronenberg and it's been on my list for a couple of months now. I've been meaning to check it out. I enjoy that sub-genre too. To be honest, I had always thought that it meant it was a cannibal film and not a Canadian film. Thanks for the learned knowledge there, pal! DUDE! Martin, too, has been on my list. Now that I know of more streaming sites, I need to see if any of them have it. It's OOP and surprisingly, my dad didn't even have it. So I've got to find a way to watch that too. Thanks for the reminder.

M is one of my all-time favorite movies. Hopefully you enjoy it! The Yamadas is really really good. Very nostalgic for me. There are several Ghibli films that I haven't seen. I'm working on that list too. I just picked up The Cat Returns the other day and I've been meaning to check it out.

Yeah, that's a very level-headed response to Sonic. I enjoyed it a lot, but it was cringey at times. Still a load better than it could have been, lol! Onward doesn't grab me. I may see it considering it's about siblings and the loss of a father - stuff really close to me, but I know there's better, more impactful stuff out that about the same stuff. The Hunt looks oblivious to what it's actually trying to say. Like it seems are self-indulgent and as narrow as The Purge movies to me. It's typical of movies like that now-a-days. They want to seem smart and intelligent but it's just a new coat of paint for an otherwise "watch how many ways we can kill people" type movies and I'm SO tired of that shit. Like Ready or Not. I couldn't care less for that movie. It was so boring and uninspired. They both could be smart and actually satirical like Assassination Nation, Sorry to Bother You, or Cabin in the Woods which are fucking top tier satires in this day in age. Idk if I touched on it or not, yet, but the idea of satire is dead in film and mostly everywhere else too. So many artists fail to understand and grasp a concept before they make light of it. In comedy and stuff, the jokes now are just references to other stuff. Like the idea of something being funny only works if you know what the other thing is that it's referencing. The early 2000's spoof movies killed that type of humor.

I haven't watched much over the last two weeks considering I've been packing. I also bought a Switch and Animal Crossing two weeks ago and have put over 60 hours into that recently. I've watched like 1 movie in the last 14 days.

I'll try to stay as safe as I possibly can, my friend. You do the same and look after everyone else too! As always, I'll look forward to your next response!

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 4/10/2020 Reply  · 

Now how's that for a lightning response? Heh

I've been watching a lot, so let me try to do a quick summary.
Kicked this week with Tigers Are Not Afraid, a severely overlooked, under-watched Mexican horror gem. Really worthy a watch just for what it is: a portrait of violence on Mexican streets and their political scenario. Had some fantasy elements, but these are mostly metaphoric.
Blood and Black Lace - a fine giallo by Bava, probably the father of slashers. I really like the use of colour in this kind of movie.
I saw Yamadas and had a few good laughs with it. It's not really more than the sum of its parts, but what some fun parts those are! Que sera, sera...
Took Wages of Fear out of my list of shame and I really recommend it. Thrilling as thrilling could get, nice tension building and, as paraphrasing some reviewer in the blu-ray cover, you sit there waiting for your living room to explode.
Made it a H.G. Clouzot double feature; I saw "Diabolique" on the same night, it had a great twist and the way the story was told was kinda frightening.
M is great! It lacked a soundtrack, but it aged so well that I was surprised. It is a movie way ahead from its time. But I sat there picturing a future watch with my yet-to-be-born daughter; have to show her the good ones! Perhaps we'll do a little improvisation and create a soundtrack as well, lol.
Nights of Cabiria - another great one from Fellini. It's pretty much the same structure as La Dolce Vita, but a different message all around. It had a great last shot. I think it influenced Midsommar.
Checked out the sequel to Ghost in the Shell -- Innocence. It's great and it's pretty, but I wish I could enjoy that style more.
The Princess Bride - I thought it was kinda overrated, but I still had some fun and loved Inigo Montoya, lol.
Notorious - a great Hitchcock movie. I love how he skillfully builds mystery and also the way he manipulates the camera. This one was kind of a re-watch, but I had a rough first watch, so that was a worthy one.
Pinocchio - also kind of a re-watch, but this time around I was shocked! It's almost a movie directed by Yorgos Lanthimos; kids becoming animals, human traffic, drug abuse, I mean wtf. Is this a family movie?
Watched Sean Baker's Tangerine because I love his Florida Project; was kinda of letdown, but it's still a good movie. It's just that I really don't sympathize with the main characters and that's not because they're transsexuals, but because they're arrogant as hell.
Good Time - a great, great thriller. Robert Pattinson is quickly becoming one of my favourite actors of this generation. Guess everybody had to start somewhere, heh?
Y Tu Mamá También - another Mexican movie, but this one really turned me off. It just really bored me; I guess Cuaron movies simply aren't for me.
Ikiru - it's kinda messy when I stop to think about it, but still it had a great message. By far, not Kurosawa's best, but certainly worthy a watch.
Perfect Blue - a great Anime thriller that resembled a Dario Argento flick. It also certainly inspired Black Swan and Cam. I really like it, but the plot twist is BAD.
Millennium Actress - another Anime, also directed by Satoshi Kon. The plot isn't as engaging, but it's a movie that is interesting enough. Gonna check out "Tokyo Godfathers" and "Paprika" soon.
Cinema Paradiso - I really enjoyed the first half, but once the boy turns into a teen, it kinda lost me. Really liked the soundtrack and the last scene though.
Anatomy of a Murder - engaging, great portrayal of American law system. James Stewart is great as always and I was always swapping sides. This is a brilliant movie.
And I'm about to watch 1932's Scarface once I finish typing this response, heh.
Guess that turned out to be a really long summary, but that's just what quarantine is doing to us, eh?

I understand that reference! Lol
But that about the US sucks, man. Of course, there's still some dumb Trump supporters in Canada, for some reason. I get that Mr. Trudeau is always late to the press conferences in the door of his house, but he's doing something to flatten the curve. Trump, on the other hand, is just an inefficient dumbass. Too bad there's a lot of people, namely science negationists (I guess that's the right name), that are trying to prevent prevention from happening. If we'll get into a more complicated situation, it's because of those dumbasses.

Good luck with packing, friend! Certainly it's not a good time, but hopefully you'll do a safe move. I already had a few family problems myself during this period. Some family members wanted to drive all the way from Quebec to British Columbia to spent at least a month here and I was wtf. But it's settled.
My father is doing fine so far. I guess he had some savings that he's using now. While the president is a good for nothing jerk, there seems to be a few state restrictions. All of the states' governors made their own decisions as to how prevent the covid-19 spread and that's great.

I'm going to watch all those J-horror movies as soon as possible. Now you really got me hyped up for the original One Missed Call! It must be better than the American one, which I thought was pretty bad in all honesty.

Good choices there! I still have to check out all of the Saw sequels. The last one I saw was III, and it was pretty good.
The Cabin in the Woods is a brilliant movie. It's probably in my Top 3 2010's Horror actually. Perhaps, it just won't beat Midsommar for me.
Also, thanks for bringing Assassination Nation to my attention! Guess I'll be putting it in my quarantine watchlist.

Lol about the cannibal thing, because I thought the same! I just really found out it was Canadian exploitation when I got in Canada. I can't really remember how it was very well, but I think it was sort of a funny situation.
I got Martin in DVD! The quality is pretty bad, but I guess that just added to it, lol.

About The Cat Returns; have you already watched Whisper of the Heart? The Cat Returns is kinda of a spin off to it. (And I guess I finally understood why it's called like that)

That is true about the satire genre! Yes, movies like Scary Movie and whatever-movie (they are all just named the same) suck and aren't funny at all. The Naked Gun is one example of a great spoof movie, I would say. If I ever get to make my own movies (and I'm most certain I will, even if I have to raise the budget for my first film myself), I'll try a good satire. I have some plots of my own on mind.
One of these is Blackstar; actually, it's not a satire, but it's been inspired by David Bowie. It would be like a crazy medieval story and there would be time travel and space travel and alternative realities. I know there isn't any family interest in a Bowie biopic, especially because David himself denied permission more than once during his lifetime. But Blackstar would be something like David Bowie in the Bowieverse and if I could manage to get in touch with Duncan Jones, perhaps he would be interested in it?
Anyway, I'm dreaming away here, my friend.

Once again, good luck with this moving! I would ask if Animal Crossing is any good, but since you've played over 60 hours, I guess that goes without saying!
I'm also really glad to know that you and your family's still well. Hope to hear from you soon and, really, good luck.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/13/2020 Reply  · 

That really was a lightning response! I meant to respond just as quickly but I got distracted by the things I mentioned before - packing, catching up on some movies, and playing some games.

I need to check out Tigers are Not Afraid. I've seen a lot of people talking about it, honestly, but haven't looked into it. Yamadas was one of the earliest Ghibli films I watched. Blood and Black Lace is good from my memory. I need to re-watch it for sure. You've really been banging out some great films, from what I've heard and seen are good. I need to watch Wages of Fear for sure. I'll add these all to my list! Diabolique has been on my list for months as well. Damn.

M is one of my favorites. I'm glad you really enjoyed it! I also keep a list of films I plan on showing family and new friends. That's really wholesome your idea there. You guys close to having one or just planning? Good luck on that one, friend :D I can't wait to have a family of my own. I wonder if anyone has put a soundtrack to M. I can't find anything. I know there are a lot of great soundtracks to Metropolis that are really good and I would recommend watching it with each one you could find. Really fun.

Fellini is a master. I still need to catch up on a lot of his, like Nights of Cabiria. I haven't seen Innocence or Notorious either. Notorious really needs to be up higher on my list. Princess Bride is a favorite of mine. Definitely a classic. Grew up with it and watch it often. I love it so. Yeah, I didn't care for Tangerine personally. Need to see Florida Project still as well as Good Time. I've got a group of friends pressuring me into seeing it and I've just been lazy lol! Y Tu Mama Tambien is great dude. But I'm not the biggest fan of Cuaron either, honestly.

I haven't seen Ikiru or Millennium Actress either but I would really recommend Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika. I love those films and Perfect Blue is really good as well. I've heard a lot about Cinema Paradiso, but haven't looked into it either and all i know about Anatomy of a Murder is that it's in the Criterion Collection. You've really been watching A LOT lately, lol!

Yeah, I saw today that Trump got into an argument about disagreeing with his lead medical scientist or whatever. Dude called Trump out and Trump didn't like what he said about how preventative and safe and precautious we need to be. Basically, Trump felt we were fear mongering the public into thinking it's worse than it is, but realistically he just doesn't want to have to deal with it. He's trying to ignore it. He's just a fucking idiot. He doesn't know anything. It's a wonder how he made it to the presidency in the first place. Just a fucking joke. I'm glad to hear that he's doing well - your father - and that the rest of you are, as well.

Yeah dude. Saw is my favorite series, if not for something like Star Wars ahead of it. Most of them are in my Top 100, as for Cabin, it's in my Top 5 of all-time. Yeah, Assassination Nation is a wonderfully fun and gritty watch. Big recommend. Pretty great with the timing, socially, too. Really relevant.

I saw Whisper of the Heart a long time ago. I might need to pick that one up and re-watch it as well. Dude, that sounds like a wonderful fantasy of a film to create. I would definitely love to see it and if you ever needed the help - I would love to work on it with you! I'm always writing and coming up with stuff to film. I've probably got like 10 ideas alone that I'm passionate about making. Call me the next Tarantino I guess. I got them all lined up and everything. I've even got an idea for a Grindhouse Trilogy of 3 shorts. Maybe I could share them with you sometime, lol! Always got something on my mind.

Thanks, brother. I really do appreciate the continued contact and hearing from you all the time. You're just the type of pen-pal I needed. Best of luck and continued successes your way too! Yeah, it's great. If you have a Switch, I would recommend big time.

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TheFireRises

TheFireRises on 4/13/2020 Reply  · 

Thanks for the add. What’s your favorite trilogy?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/14/2020 Reply  · 

Hello! No problem! The more friends & conversation, the better! Favorite trilogy would have to be the original Star Wars trilogy. Followed by that would be the Evil Dead trilogy probably.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/14/2020 Reply  · 

Yourself?

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 4/14/2020 Reply  · 

So, I was typing my response when I accidentally closed the page and lost my entire comment. Bloody technology!
This is my second try to write it, lol.

I understand, friend. So many things to do, so little time. Movies, games, obligations...
I'm trying to make the best of what remains of my free time before college starts (supposedly) this September. Gotta take a lotta movies outta my list of shame.
I had some plans to deeply explore Vancouver; but those are delayed. I also needed to delay a trip that I had planned to Banff, in Calgary. Anyways, we can always take a trip to the old movie lane, hehe.
I have watched Paprika this dusk/dawn (can't properly recall the word in English, lol; I know that in French we say tôt le matin). Some nice eye candy, I also have really enjoyed its lunatic plot. Inception borrowed just a little from it, eh?
I also have to highlight Dog Day Afternoon and Tom at the Farm so far this week.
On my weekly watchlist:
1984, Mirai, Possession, Richard Jewell, Solaris, Bergman's Winter Light, Les garçons sauvages...
I also got Ready or Not in blu-ray. Not really hyped up, but I'll probably watch it.

A random question popped up in my mind.
Have you ever watched any of the Beatles movies, friend?
A Hard Day's Night is my favourite comedy of all time, handily beating Dr. Strangelove. A few years ago, I was a Beatlemaniac and it broke my top 10 the first time I saw it. My Beatlemania has since ended, but it's still holding up very well. It went to #17 in my chart.
Help! is a letdown. It's far from being bad, but it's also far from greatness. While it's still some fun, it still lacks the brilliance and the energy that was present in Hard Day. The music is better, I'll give you that.
Magical Mystery Tour is a total disaster, unless you're high. Once again, the music is better though!
And then, Yellow Submarine is a total improvement on those past two movies. While it's still not as great as Hard Day's Night, it got psychedelic animation, excellent music and British humour, in fact it's kind of a proto-Monty Python. A true animated masterpiece.
Finally, Let It Be, the doc. The bitter, sad ending. It's a mess, but a worthy one, especially for the fans.

I would love to watch a scored version of M! I think it would be even greater than it already is. I have watched Dracula Lugosi with a soundtrack made by Philip Glass and then it really has been growing on me.
As for the family bit, it's mostly planning so far, my friend. I think I should finish film school first; I wouldn't want to lose the little gal/guy's first years. If it's a girl, then she'll be named Nausicaä; if it's a boy, he'll be named Pazu. I really like unique names, and those two are in movies that I love, so they seem like good choices.
I also kinda got the vocation for being a father if you ask me!

I was about to watch a old Fellini's Amarcord Criterion Blu-Ray that I had, eating some macaroni with bolognese, but then I saw that my disc was ruined. That was too bad, because I don't know where else I can watch it.
Are you a huge Cary Elwes fan?
I love him in Princess Bride, he was also pretty great in Saw!

Dude, isn't Trump a worldwide shame lol! I just saw his Council for Reopening USA or some shit like that and I have laughed hard. Ivanka Trump? Wtf? His son in law was there as well.
Also, his way of trying to ignore the pandemic kinda reminded a comic strip that I saw today. It was in Portuguese, so I'll try to make an open translation here;
It's Jair Bolsonaro in a rocket, getting away from Earth. He says: "this virus thing is finally going away."

Can you tell me where I can find Assassination Nation? It would be great if it's available on Netflix!
The only reason Cabin in the Woods isn't even higher on my chart is because I hated the stupidly selfish decision made by the characters in the ending. Instead of sacrificing themselves to save the world, they died anyway, taking along with them more than 7 billion people.
My Saw ranks would be:
1- Saw III
2- Saw
3- Saw II
I know, kinda sacrilegious lol. I'll try to rent all the ones that I still need to watch and then I'll tell you what I thought about them.

Well, friend, I'm probably going to need the help, hehe. Also, thanks for the kind words on my idea! My debut would be a small town coming of age story. I'll probably shoot it on location in the town of Porto Velho, in Brazil!
I also got a lot of ideas and I would love to hear yours!
Blackstar is going to be a complex story, so once I start writing it, I'll tell you.

Same here, my friend. I hope to hear from you soon. Gonna pick up those Saw movies.
It's one of Internet's benefits, eh? You're also a very great pen pal.
I hope everything's still okay! Keep on watching and playing, friend. I'll do the same.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/15/2020 Reply  · 

It happens, my friend! I was answering a survey online earlier and went to another page and came back and it wouldn't load anymore. I gave up - nothing in it for me anyway. Just something fun, lol! You are firing back on the messages, my friend. I get on here, daily, just to hear from you now! (Though I do end up ranking stuff anyway).

Tot le matin would be morning, so dawn. Dusk is the opposite - when the sun sets, lol! I actually took 8 years of french, but I didn't know that phrase until now. I would love to see that area too & travel all around the world actually! Hopefully school does still start up soon, but regardless it looks like you're maintaining a good, steady life during everything! Dog Day Afternoon is a good one. I'm glad you enjoyed Paprika. It's so trippy! I need to check out Possession - been on my list for ages.

I've seen some of the Beatles movies, if not all of them. I'm very very rusty on them though. It's been since my youth since I've seen them. My mom LOVES the Beatles and so did my dad. I'll have to look into each of them, again, and rank them - and then probably go through and actually (re)watch them (again). I do remember The Rutles though! Have you seen that? Pretty funny, imo - and the Beatles even really enjoyed it!

I really dig the names you've got picked out for them. How old are you, my friend? I just turned 25 a few months ago. So I've got plenty of time left (hopefully) in life. I try not to worry about everything going on and everything I've got planned & live it day by day - realizing that I've got all the time in the world. But sometimes it's hard not get depressed and pessimistic about everything. I worry a lot about everything - but what's new? I still find time to enjoy life and relax - even with all my insecurities and anxieties lol!

I love Elwes! He's very underrated in my opinion. Some of his acting at the end of the original Saw is the best I've seen. When he's demanding to see his family; when he just totally loses it and Adam is begging him to calm down and stop. I love that emotion and that moment. He needs to be in more things - but I also need to watch the things of his that I haven't. I love Princess Bride and Men in Tights too!

That's about right. I really still cannot fathom everything about him and what's happened over the last several years. It's just absolute lunacy.

Assassination Nation is available on Hulu - if you have that! It's also available on a site I use to watch movies called soap2day.is. That's kind of the whole point, though, to Cabin in the Woods, but I understand where you're coming from, though. lol. Definitely not a movie you'll get a sequel out of though and that's for damn sure.

It's not sacrilegious lol! I used to really think the 3rd one was best, myself, but I got over that and realized that I prefer the original more. Both are in my Top 20. I would love to hear your thoughts on the rest of the franchise and see your re-ranking afterwards!

Yeah, dude, um...trying to figure out where we can talk privately so others don't steal our ideas - lol! We could exchange emails or facebook - whatever! I've got tons of friends on there lol. Wherever you feel like adding me - just let me know and we can talk there about our ideas and whatever else.

Take it easy, man!

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 4/15/2020 Reply  · 

Yes, friend! I'm always checking your profile to see if you left another message, especially when I come to rank something.
Do you think your rankings are accurate?
I do think there are a few flaws in mine towards the end - but those are all bad movies, so who cares? Lol

Thanks for the dusk & dawn explanation! It was something that just really slipped my mind. I'm in a intermediary french level.
My father himself was a french immigrant. But I was born in Uruguay and yet as a baby we would move to Brazil, where I spent most of my childhood. I took french lessons then, because my father had plans to go back to France. I spent a few time of my teenage years there, but then he had to come back. I've finished high school in Brazil, but I didn't really wanted to go to college there. In all honesty, it's not so good and it's very limited. So I decided that, as Springsteen sings, it was my "Independence Day, all boys must run away." In my considerations, I thought of Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Sweden, England... but then I picked Canada. And now here I am. It's good that it's a bilingual country.
Also, answering your age question; I'll be 21 this June! I came to Canada when I was 20, so I kinda of had one or two sabbatical years since I finished high school.
I understand your worries, my friend. Especially because I feel that I have wasted a really long time of my life. But then, we still got a long way to go, my friend. As for now, I'm kinda of worries free, because I had to wait until Sempteber anyways. Also, I'm confident on the money, so I'm really just waiting...
But wasn't it Tom Petty who sang that the waiting is the hardest part?

On my Beatlemaniac times, I remember checking out the Rutles, lol. I was in the middle of high school, so that was a real long time ago. There even is a Beatles album that I can't recall shit about - guess it was Beatles for Sale, naturally their weakest.

Yeah, Cary Elwes is great. I had some really good laughs with him in Princess Bride, but I still need to check out Men in Tights! But I have to admit, I'm not the biggest Mel Brooks fan. I like Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, but they're far from being favourites.

I do have Hulu! I'll try to check it out at least until Friday. Well, I got all the time in the world.
Yeah, that's true about Cabin, the world HAD to end in the... end. But I wished we at least couldn't realize that it ended because of two (or one?) selfish dumbasses! I guess it was only because of the hippie one. I need to watch this instant classic again.

Unhappily, I've never made an account on Facebook, lol. Guess the thing just really wasn't for me. Email is a good idea though! I'll give you my titles and basic ideas here;
Ballad of Youth - the coming-of-age story I spoke about earlier. It would be kind of autobiographical, but not really all that much. The city where I spent my teenagehood (is that a word? I guess I just really like to improvise words, heh) had a great history, a lot of cultural and historical attractions and even an international airport. But, the facts are: it was dying both culturally and economically. On a free translation, it was called "Old Port." I had the time of my life there, though. A few unforgettable friends, the Halloween parties, the "Alternative Space", the Immigrant's Avenue... it would make a great slice of life I think.
Blackstar is one that I'd like to tell privately. But I'll give you something; its main reality would be one where it's still the Middle Ages. The Plague pandemic killed 99% of the world population. I have it all planned on my notes. (And the pandemic part came way before this one we're living in)
At last, "The Last of the Great Horror Movies." A director called Wes Carpenter wrote the ultimate horror movie, according to himself. He would really kill his actors, but then that's the basic that came to mind so far; also some death scenes that would've been inspired by Hereditary (head), The Shining (axe) and Saw II (needles).

I have watched Ready or Not and I guess we agree on it. It failed to be really funny or satirical. By the end, I was just facepalming. Richard Jewell is the same simple biopic movie, which kind of bores me. Also, oh, the misogyny.

Sorry if I spelled something wrong; my cellphone keyboard was in the Portuguese configuration for half of the comment, lol. On the other half, it was in French.
Well, friend, how's everything? Everyone's okay? What about the moving?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/18/2020 Reply  · 

I think my rankings are as accurate as they can be. It'll never be 100% and surely it would be more accurate if I started all over from scratch and manually ranked each film. It took me a while before I started individually ranking films and I've got too many on my list to go through each to make sure it's 100%. But yeah, it's close to being accurate. I spend A LOT of time on here. Practically my downtime outside of work, games, & movies is split up on the internet - here, facebook. & reddit mostly.

Interestingly enough - an easy, goofy movie-way to remember is by using the titles of the Romero Dead series. NIGHT, DAWN, DAY. and before Land of the Dead came, it was going to be called Twilight of the Dead. I don't know what other times could have been referenced after that point, lol!

Wow, man! You've surely been around - even if not for long - in all of those places. I'm in the States, living in Arkansas at the moment. I never even moved out of my hometown until last year. We're moving down to Louisiana - so that'll be the first time I've lived in another state. Sadly, I haven't even traveled outside of the country :( We've just never had the money to do so, and I've never saved up for it on my own. It's always been a plan, though, to travel, and I'll eventually do that. That's the perks to still having, hopefully, a lot of time left on this Earth. I've got this idea to travel around the world and watch movies from each country in their local theatres. To me, the culture is in the people, food, and architecture but I still want to experience film in my travels. I want to go to Asia, Europe, and several other places and just meet people and experience life. I want to see the beautiful nature, art & experience the community through it's people and food. I love cultural studies and the different types of communities and people in the world. Past, present & future - that's one of my biggest loves outside of movies. I just want to sponge up as much of other cultures as I can....but alas, too financially poor to do anything fun like that at the moment. But here's to the future! Yeah, man, as long we keep a level head about everything and remain optimistic, we'll be alright!

I understand that. I suggest you still watch Men in Tights. Would be eager to hear your thoughts. I like Mel Brooks plenty, but he's not my favorite. I wouldn't say his films are entirely favorites, either. Some more than others, but as I had said earlier - they're all still better than a ton of other comedies and spoof movies & If I remember correctly, that's the point I was making, lol!

Yeah, curious about your thoughts on Assassination Nation, after you watch that one too! I don't think it's that. They weren't being selfish really. They were doing it to get back at the Gods and the gamemakers. They had just been pawns in their game and with them failing intentionally, the Gods killed the earth and because of that, Marty and Dana got the upperhand, technically. By creating the end of the world, they ended the game, which ultimately would starve the Gods and not allow them anyone else to feed on, stay alive and rule over. So no evil Gods. Just a lose-lose situation for everyone. I love it.

Personally, I think ideas best come from personal experience. Even if tweaked, we know our life more than anyone's else and we can write stuff based on what we know. I took several writing classes, in and out of film, both in high school and college and one of my best teachers taught me that - write from your past. You'll be able then to fully flesh out stuff that you've experienced or heard of or just know about. And then you can tweak it and change it. I don't know - somehow all that knowledge helped me write plays about Urban Werewolves & short book about a race of Space Dwarfs that mine potatoes in outer space. I've only got one idea for a movie that actually remotely looks like my life - everything else is just fantasy, horror, or far far from anything I've ever experienced. But most of that just comes from my wide knowledge of stories through all the media I consume. I do think the one, personal story will be really good because of how related to it I am. So, there's something to either side of it, I guess.

I do like your ideas! That last one sounds really fun! I've seen a few things that are kinda like that, but none that are great. So hopefully you could pull of a great one. Cut/Print is a familiar one that comes to mind based on that. It was an interesting concept, but not really a good movie. I would also recommend Poughkeepsie Tapes though, if you haven't seen that. Idk why it came to mind, probably because both movies are similar but one is MUCH MUCH better. Still, Blackstar would be spectacular and incredible to see.

Yeah, Ready or Not wasn't good. I'm not surprised by Richard Jewell. Knowing the story and everything about the movie, I could tell that it would just be propaganda that I certainly don't subscribe to.

You're fine, my friend. I haven't noticed any typos or anything, really. Nothing that stuck out too bad if there was one. We're alright. Making it. Moving over the course of the next week - so hopefully that goes smoothly. We're all packed and just waiting to sign on everything before we can actually move in and everything. I'm mostly just worried about the drive. I mean realistically it's not LONG, but i have bad anxiety about driving. It's the worst and I absolutely hate it. I think that's the worst part. The actual drive and then the unpacking and getting used to everything when we're there. But fortunately, nothing is holding me back here and we have hired movers, so it's a lot easier than the last move, lol!


Feel free to email me - maximusasamus@yahoo.com
make sure the title of the message is something good so i know to respond and not just put it in the trash like the rest of the spam and junkmail I receive.

Take care, friend!

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 4/20/2020 Reply  · 

So let me start by saying that I'm writing this comment having just finished Assassination Nation. And I liked it.
I will admit that I found the start weak; like, the first 2 to 10~15 minutes, but it kept getting better. I have liked the first minute as well, lol. It started referencing The Shining and had that trigger warning sequence. I was involved in the story by the time of the first leak. Thanks for the recommendation, my friend!
I have also just checked out Bad Times at the El Royale by Drew Goddard! Have you watched it? I thought it was a pretty good Agatha Christie homage, had some fun and Jeff Bridges is always great. A few great songs that sound nostalgic to me now, like He's a Rebel, Hush and Twelve Thirty.

I know that I have probably ranked all the films I've ever seen; if you want to correct your list and you got some time to "waste", I'll tell you a little secret about Flickchart; you can enter anything in the email field when signing in and it'll accept, lol. I just won't recommend it if you want to have a serious account.

I guess Diary of the Dead could've been called Selfie Time of the Dead, lol! I do like it, though. By the way, I still gotta check Survival of the Dead, but it doesn't look very promising.

That reminded me of Johnny Cash's I've Been Everywhere; I don't know if it's a original by him, but it sure was sang best by him, lol. It fits here.
I haven't heard a lot of good things about Arkansas, I'll confess. Actually, not really a lot of good things about the south of the USA at all. I do love the music though, lol. At least the ones I know. In fact, I'm always listening to some Springsteen; but I think he's not a major act in those Southern states, eh?
That about the local theatres is something that I would really like to do! Just a tip: don't go to Brazil. It's a terrible country to live or even visit. It's the people that ruin it. If you want to visit South America, go for Peru, Argentina or Uruguay. Chile is also one to keep the distance. Things were getting pretty chaotic down there last time I checked.
If by chance you even come to beautiful British Columbia in Canada, you'll have a couch to crash on, friend!
Me myself, I want to visit New Zealand in the still a little too distant future. I would also love to go to a few Asian countries, like Japan, Korea and China. I'm betting all on my first film; maybe it'll be good for people, who knows?
Then I'll visit these places!

That's true about Mel Brooks. Dude, I just can't stand Scary Movie. Scream is already horror film satire. What's the point of spoofing the spoof or satirizing the satire? None! Guess the guys behind that movie must be really dumb.

You really made a great point about the ending of Cabin in the Woods! The world had to end anyways, so the metaphor would be complete, heh. A brilliant film really. On my first watch, I loved to catch the references. To this point, I'm still catching some!

That's true about writing from your past. As Martin Scorsese said, the most creative is the most personal. Or vice versa, I can't recall it properly, lol. Well, after all, I think the teenage years is the best chance you have to live. Let's just say that there a few years I think I'd rather forget, but then it was me living. I hate the smell of beer and cigarettes are even worse, but I had a chance to take drugs back there and I did out of curiosity. Y'know, stuff like acid and ecstasy, nothing really heavy or addictive like cocaine. That's the regrettable part. There was a time when I ran away from home and traveled across the country jumping on some freight trains or through boats. I was living the hippie life, man! My father also didn't cared at all. He's almost way too liberal when I stop to think about it. He even used to send me money. This also the first time I dated someone. I recall that she was also a very hippie pink-haired girl. Listened to a lot of songs as well; all of the ones that I've mentioned above included! It even shows in my Spotify Wrapped Decade.
Well, but anyways, I've finished high school so why to bother, right? We must live! Adulthood is almost way too many responsibilities.
Also, all this story about my life reminded of Life Is Strange; I'm still on the middle of the second one, but I can still safely say by now that I relate A LOT!

Guess I should check those two just so I won't "plagiarize" without watching them, lol! El Royale also gave me the idea of putting a two way mirror in the dressing rooms, lol. I know it would add some tension to my planned ending. But I'll talk all about this one through the email.
I'll email you as soon as I get connected into a proper Internet connection, friend! Think it won't really take a long time. I'll remember about the title, heh. I'll probably put some Saw reference.

Good luck getting used to it, friend! When I arrived in Canada, it was like a dream came true, lol. So my adaptation process took like two days.
Well, hope I'll hear from you soon, my friend. I'll go watch something Bruce Springsteen related now I think. Or that new Mortal Kombat animation. It looks great.

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/24/2020 Reply  · 

Glad you enjoyed the movie, friend. Yeah, Bad Times is really entertaining. I need to see it again though. I think I only watched it once at the theatre, but I do own it - so I may have shown it to mom once after, but I cannot remember.

Yeah, that's fair. Usually I'll just sit on here and just pick between movies, because I still get fun and unique match-ups. But I've taken more to the community side of the site recently as I've been talking with people and discussing more than I used to, at least.

Lol, the term 'selfie' wasn't popular at that point. I'm still surprised it wasn't called "Vlog of the Dead," I'm glad Romero has SOME sense in not naming it something more stupid. Survival is fun and I remember liking it more than Diary at the time, but both pail in comparison to the original Trilogy and even Land OTD. I had fun with Survival, especially in the concept of two warring families on an island for an extended time. You just know that eventually it turned into inbreeding. Plus, I like Kenneth Welsh's performance in it.

Eh, the south is hit or miss honestly. I'm not a 'country boy' myself. I don't hunt, fish, drive a truck, or go mudding AND I don't enjoy sports nor do I have a raging sense of nationalism. Not everyone down here is like that, either, mind you, but it's easier to find a warped sense of national pride down in the south - because of the whole Civil War. A LOT of people still are very racist, close-minded and conservative. Plus religion, specifically Christianity, is BIG down here. All things I just don't agree with or celebrate. My stepdad does and we clash on A LOT, but my dad just raised me different. Obviously, I enjoy the arts more - books, music, movies and I'm not religious nor do I support the president or the Republican party nor do I find that America is the greatest country to live in.

But it is what it is. When you get into more metropolitan areas, like the one I moved to just this week, you'll find more culture and more open-minded people. Fortunately, I've already started finding like-minded and cooler people than where I was living for the last year. Keep in mind, I had no friends where I lived for over a year, hopefully down here it changes quicker. But There still isn't much to do, because of the virus.

Also, yeah, country music is popular down here. I don't like the newer stuff, but I do like the older stuff as mentioned - Cash and Hank Williams., Some stuff like that. But I dread and despise the 'pop country' music we have now like Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.

I appreciate the advice and the hospitable offer to stay with you if I'm ever there. I may have to take you up on that sometime XD. Maybe we could get together with some of our friends and pop out some movies and then tour those countries - that is - when everything gets back to normal. Maybe, we can get all the active users here together and make like a communal effort to make a movie. "Flickchart brings to you, a movie in partnership with it's users...." type deal. We know the best, We've seen the best, we've studied the best - now we attempt to make magic...together. I don't know. Just a crazy thought, lol.

Haha! I don't mind the first Scary Movie. It's actually pretty fun. But I feel the sequels lost everything that made it even remotely entertaining. And began just riffing on its own franchise. Admittedly, I wasn't the biggest fan of Scream growing up. But I kept watching it at different points and really grew to appreciate it. My problem was actually with Wes Craven. Nothing of his I had seen felt original and unique. But it was because I grew up on all the films that were inspired by his work. So once, I realized that he and his films came before the ones I liked - I was like "Damn this dude is a genius." But sadly this was around the time of his passing and I only respected him for creating Elm Street during his lifetime, but afterwards learned and loved SO MUCH more of his stuff. He was great.

Oh yeah, I'm still catching stuff in Cabin, the deeper meaning of the film - all the references and why everything is done the way it is. Truly incredible movie. I may watch it and Shaun of the Dead tonight. They're two of my go-to movies when I need a pick me up. This move has been chaotic, stressful & I haven't watched anything in just about a week. So i need to crack open some cold ones, cook up some food & just sit back and watch some good movies that I love BEFORE I go back to work this weekend.

That's crazy, man! I'm glad nothing bad ever happened to you in your youthful years. Or else your parents would end up being real regretful. I didn't really experiment with anything until I got to college. I did some hard partying, and learned quickly not to get addicted to certain substances. I still enjoy a drink and some weed every so often. I don't care for cigarettes. I've done some harder stuff, and I'll do it again, but none addicting and none that would completely ruin my life. By the time I got out of college, partying for me just meant a few cold ones and watching movies with friends. None of those ragers or keggers that you see in all those teen movies. Just a chill, relaxing night. But as we've said, this all makes for great potential to tell wonderful stories - yours especially.

I've never played those games. Are they any good?

Yeah, a good reference to something will catch my attention. I'll be looking forward to sharing some scripts and ideas with you there. And Still talking to you here, as well.

Yeah, man. The move was successful. As I said earlier, it's all just onto the unpacking now. We had one room flood the second day we got here, which was less than desirable. Nothing was ruined, but we have to get with the landlord and get that fixed. That was going to be my room, but I'm staying in the spare at the moment. Other than that, just moving expenses and the whole process has taken some time and energy, but it'll be alright. Once we are up and running, things will be much better here than where we were before. I start work tomorrow, at the new location, so hopefully that'll will bring some normalcy to things and hopefully I make some cool friends. But I'll be getting paid again for the first time in about two weeks - so that helps pad the bankbook a little.

Anyway, gotta get back to all this house work. I'll look forward to your next response, friend!

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TommyDoyle2016

TommyDoyle2016 on 4/25/2020 Reply  · 

I would really recommend for you to re-watch Bad Times at the El Royale. There's a handful of brilliant moments there! When Darlene is singing "You Can't Hurry Love" (great song) and she claps to hide the sound of hammering. That's just great!

I see about the community. There's really some nice people here! I do like to rank constantly while listening to some songs. I find myself ranking match-ups according to the song's tempo, lol!

Lol, now Vlog of the Dead would be a cheesy name! I have to admit, it's kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Of course, far from being as great as the original trilogy, but it was some fun. Now I'm not the biggest fan of Land of the Dead, but since you liked Survival, guess I should give it a chance, eh?

Y'know, 50% of the time I lived in Brazil, I lived in a Southern state, so I must admit they kind of have the same activities. The other half, it was on a Northern state and I have to admit it was much better. I also became a vegetarian there, lol. A lot of exotic fruits there I wish I could find in Canada.
I can feel you about your stepfather, bro! Luckily (and I know that sounds controversial lol) my parents divorced when I was a young child and my father was given full custody. My mother was careless in the bad sense of the word if you know what I mean. She married again, but I didn't really met my stepfucker luckily (again). Apart from knowing he's a fucker, of course. An alcoholic fucker at that. I just can't imagine how would it be at home if I lived with her; especially my rebellious younger self lol.
I'm not a Christian at all myself, y'know. In fact, I think I would be considered the worst kind of heretic if I was, lol. Let me just start by saying that I'm pro-choice. Also, there's a whole lot more of things that I did that aren't even all that much of a big deal, but that are considered deadly sins by them. Like having a relationship with another guy. There you are.

Man, that's just great! I have to admit I still need to find myself some new friends. Canada is a very liberal country so I think that'll be easy. Of course, we're not counting Alberta. Alberta stinks! If I can be honest, lol.

Yeah, that would be really great! That would make a hell of a great movie as well. "Wanderlust" is what I'd call it, heh. And perhaps that could be the movie made by the Flickcharters! I know there's a lot of people from a lot of different countries here; from Mexico to Japan, and from Australia to Netherlands. It would make for a great international co-production.

Since A Nightmare on Elm Street was one of the first horror films I saw in my life, you can see why Wes Craven left such a big impression on me. Not long after, I saw The Hills Have Eyes and it scared the shit out of me for my entire childhood. You can see, Brazil wasn't really the role model for responsible parenting back then, lol! My father used to say it was even worse in the 80's; children were featured in fucking alcohol TV ads, dude! It's even more nightmarish now. A wave of brainless moralist parents is on the rise. That'll make for really intolerant adults in the future. My father was always more open-minded and I really feel lucky for that. In fact, he was the one to tell me that it was alright to like boys and girls at the same time. That really made a difference.

Yeah, you should rest, my friend. Especially because you were moving during a pandemic, so that might have been an additional concern. I'll be cooking some noodles this weekend and I'm going to pick up some movies to watch. Been thinking about re-watching They Live while eating my noodles and drinking a swell cold coke. The perfect weekend.

I see that about the addictive substances. I just would keep the distance from things like cocaine, heroin or crack. This stuff is just too heavy. MJ was way bigger on me as a teenager, but I don't think it's so bad right now and I think it would be great to relax; acid is great for listening to things like Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road and that's one I would admittedly take again. But I think things went really hysterical on the last bad acid trip I had, so there's kind of a trauma, lol. Beer is not great on me as well, mostly because of past personal traumas, but I don't mind it all.
There's a picture from those youthful times of mine, taken by she (her name just slipped my mind, but the one thing I know is that her name started with C because that's how I called her, so sorry, C!).
This photo is not in HD or something, but I remember really liking it. I was sitting in the edge of the train while taking a look at the trees we were passing by. It's one of those photographs that instantly reminds me of youthfulness, and it was me there so that's a plus! If I find it, I'll be my new profile pic here.
It would also make for a great Terrence Malick-like shot!

The first Life Is Strange is truly great! One of my favourite games of all time, easily. Life Is Strange 2 has so far been great as well, but I still need to play the rest of it before I can tell you my verdict.
This also just reminded of Until Dawn. A horror-oriented game in the same style. The lives of these characters are in your hands! Have you played it?

I didn't forget about sending that email. My account has been blocked because of some security bullshit because I accessed it from two different countries in a short time span, but I'll be fixing it soon enough.
If you got Twitter as well, I just recently reactivated mine!

That's unfortunate, man. But I hope everything's alright. I understand how a move can be tiresome. You get used to it as time passes. Anyway, good luck there, my friend! I hope everything's gonna be okay. I'm certain you'll gonna find some friends. I'm wishing this pandemic will soon be over so I can find some as well.

Gonna get some sleep right now cause it's getting late here and I forgot to buy some cleaning stuff in the market, lol. My memory is not what it used to be and I don't think it's age because I'm still too young. I probably should also go to see a doctor.
Anyway, sorry for any undetected mistakes, friend (there might be some, I'm a little sleepy). Hope to year from you soon and now, bonsoir tout le monde!

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 5/9/2020 Reply  · 

Sorry for such a long delay, my friend. Been busy with work and life. Things are going well though. Just acclimating to the new city, work & people and life atm. Haven't had much time to get on here and get back to you. But here I am, lol.

Yeah, It was a very smart movie - my best friend saw it 7 times in the theatre. You liked Diary more than Land? That's shocking. I like Land quite a bit. Still not as much as the first three, but better than the two after it. I think I like Survival more than Diary just because it's fresher in my mind. I need to do another re-watch of the franchise. Been since High School since I actively watched anything outside of the original trilogy.

Yeah, I'm very liberal myself too. We've got quite a bit in common there, too. At least in our not being close-minded or hateful. My Stepdad isn't a bad guy - I just didn't grow up with him and I've only known him for like 5 or 6 years, so there's always going to be some distancing and "getting used to." We just have very different personalities and enjoy a lot of different things. I don't think we fully understand each other or how to talk to each other either, but then again we've never lived with each other long enough either. I was on my own in college when my mom re-married and then lived with my dad afterwards until he died, and then only came back to live with mom after that. So even at that, I hadn't lived with my mom and saw her everday for at least 5 or 6 years. In the last year, too, my stepdad had taken a job down here while we were still in Arkansas, too, so we had only spent the summer months living together. For him to be married to my mom as long as he has, we just haven't spent as much of that time together as say, he and my sister have. They probably get along much easier. I just have to get over a lot of stuff mentally and work on my behaviour around him. I am sorry to hear about the stuff that you've had to put up with and the stuff that you've experienced throughout life. But, as they say - you live and you learn. Hopefully you turn every example into a good precident and make a good future for you and your family.

I love how much you admire your father. Hopefully you can see him soon and give him the love he deserves. I fucking miss my dad so goddamn much. Everything has been flipped and turned upside down since I lost him. I never took advantage of him or treated him poorly and I'm so glad of that, because I would be really regretful now I had held anything back from him or treated him poorly whilst he was still alive. That being said, everything I do - I do for him. I'm glad that yours taught you right too. You seem pretty swell, even after a rambunctious youthhood in what sounds like a fucking wild Brazil.

I did finally catch up on sleep earlier this week. They moved my shifts from opening to closing - which i prefer. Waking up early and going to work was awful. Now, I've had time to sleep a full 8 hours or so, work, and then come home and play games with friends. I haven't watched many movies this week though, I need to change that. I've been playing the New Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with friends. I've had so much extra money from work, my tax refund & the stimulus check that I've been able to buy several movies and games that I was behind on, which is cool. I feel like my mind has constantly been running and running but oh well. Lots of stuff going on atm, but I'm getting into the swing of things.

They Live seems like a good re-watch. I was actually thinking about that earlier, before I saw your response.
Yeah, don't worry about me - as I said before - I'm not a party monster or adrenaline junkie - so I'm not gonna get fucked up on the crazy shit. I actually have real bad panic and anxiety attacks from weed now. I haven't smoked it in over two years, just because it's been so un-enjoyable since then. But I used to really like it. Right now, it's usually just a few drinks here and there. Though, I had an incredible time with acid and would do that again. SO yeah, lol. It would be cool to see that picture. Sounds like a fun time.


Yeah, dude, let's put our collective energy of good vibes out there so that we can end Coronavirus and make things go back to normal. I miss it! I wanna go places, like the movies and restuaraunts, and see people and explore the new city. DUDE - every day, I think, "I need to see a doctor." I just need a full exam from every part of my body - mentally & physically - and then go from there. See what's wrong and how to fix it. Who knows what could be going on or if nothing is wrong at all and everyone is this doubtful about themselves lol.

Take it easy, dude! Sorry about the wait again.

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TheFireRises

TheFireRises on 6/3/2020 Reply  · 

What's your opinion on The Mission Impossible franchise and Zack Snyder's movies?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 6/9/2020 Reply  · 

I love the M:I series. The first 3 have become very nostalgic for me, I watched them A LOT as a trilogy and have seen them more than the second half of the franchise. 4 and 5 aren't bad, but aren't really special to me. HOWEVER - Fallout is spectacular, truly incredible film. I love it.

Zack Snyder is good. I think he has a good knack for world design and action directing. I don't praise him as a filmic God or anything, but i definitely don't detract from him either. I've grown tired of the video game feel that the slo-mo camera brings and the edgy aesthetic that comes with his movies. All things I thought were cool, years ago as a teen. But I always look forward to what he has coming next.

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MeanPoop

MeanPoop on 3/14/2021 Reply  · 

Thanks for the friend request...Nice list, you've seen many more films than I have.
How have you managed to see so many films? Its impressive.
I hope you don't mind me asking, who are your top 5 directors?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 4/3/2021 Reply  · 

Thanks for accepting! You have a uniquely eclectic favorites list. A lit of impactful and truly unique movies and directors on your list.

Uh, dude, I'm just infatuated with film. My dad was hugely into it and that played a huge role into how I am with it today. I've got a degree in it, and it's like 1 of 3 things I'm most passionate about. The others being gaming and wrestling. Recently over the last two years, gaming has taken a bigger seat with lockdown and everything. I have more time to put into it than I used to when I was only watching movies.

But I've been huge into movies since childhood and so as I grow older i just look for more and more films I haven't seen. I've been on this site for over 5 years, so I've taken a lot of time to curate my list so it reflects just about everything I've seen (barring shorts, docs, and stuff I can't remember).

Uh, it's hard to narrow down top directors, so here's a list - James Wan, Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Edgar Wright, Brian de Palma, Sam Raimi, Kubrick, David Fincher, Tarantino, Aronofsky, Danny Boyle, Takashi Miike, Chan-wook Park, Hitchcock, Romero, and many many more. I love a lot of people.

What about you?

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MeanPoop

MeanPoop on 5/3/2021 Reply  · 

Thanks for replying. Sorry for the late reply...

You're lucky, my parents were never really all that enthusiastic about the films I enjoyed, so I was forced into seeking them out by myself, which may explain why I don't have as many films on my chart as you do. I don't have any other interests outside of film. The two things that come close are a moderate curiousity with linguistic studies and experimental music. But I am not as interested in either of those things as I am with film.

Anyway, I've seen some films from most of the directors on your list, however I haven't seen any James Wan, Raimi or De Palma films. Which films of theirs do you recommend? I've been planning to watch Oldboy for a while, but its taking me a bit too long, to the point where I am no longer sure if it will live up to my expectations, is it really as great as people are suggesting? I also really like Stanley Kubrick, my favourite of his films is Space Odyssey. I've only seen Audition from Takashi Miike, what do you recommend I watch next?

As for my favourites they are; Michael Haneke, Bela Tarr, Andrei Tarkovksy, Aleksey German, Andrzej Zulawski, Werner Herzog, Ingmar Bergman and recently I've been enjoying many Aki Kaurismaki films.

What do you think of their films?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 5/29/2021 Reply  · 

And I'm equally sorry for my almost-as-late reply. Oh - I just idolized my father so much, that's why I'm so much like him really. But yeah, film is definitely my number one love. I have other passions in life. more political and ecological stuff - like I love cultural studies and just the people and world around us. A fascination with how people and groups live their lives and stuff. So i'm passionate about equality and human rights for everyone. Really empathic and stuff. But for like stuff less serious than life itself - i like games and movies, lol!

For James Wan I would heavily recommend my favourite film - Saw. I'd also recommend the Insidious and Conjuring franchises. He's done a lot to revitalize and reinvent the modern horror genre.
For Raimi, my favourites are The Evil Dead trilogy (and TV series) and the Spider-Man trilogy.
De Palma is great too - kind of had a varied career. His favourites in my opinion are Phantom of the Paradise and the first Mission Impossible.
Oldboy is absolutely a fantastic masterpiece. I think well worth the wait. I don't think it'll lessen the impact waiting so long for it. I heavily recommend Asian cinema - Korea and Japan specifically. Films like Battle Royale Parts I and II, The Wailing, The Vengeance Trilogy - I LOVE THAT STUFF.
For more Miike, I'd recommend Ichi the Killer, the Dead or Alive Trilogy, Sukiyaki Western Django, Hara-Kiri, and the Black Society Trilogy.

I definitely need to check out more of the filmmakers you mentioned. I'm familiar with Haneke (Funny Games), Herzog and Bergman. I like Bergman's slice of life style. His films are relatable to masses without being spectacle. Herzog tends to be very much gravitas. His stuff is heavy and impactful and weighs on you. I met Herzog actually. Back in college. Had a round of beer and pizza with him and some of the local film enthusiasts and students. Great time, but I didn't much care for his documentary he presented to us. Felt it overly pretentious.

I admittedly need to see more Tarkovsky. I've heard Bela Tarr's name, and seen one film from Zulawski (Possession). The other two are completely new names to me, I believe. Maybe I've seen more from the ones you listed but probably not as much as you. I'll definitely check them out as I wait for your next response.

Thanks for reading this long message (I apologize for typoes or mistakes. The old computer I'm writing this out on is very hard to read.) I look forward to your response.

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MeanPoop

MeanPoop on 5/30/2021 Reply  · 

Thanks for the reply...
I'll check those films out. Now you've gotten me very excited to see Oldboy. I'll give you my thoughts on it once I've seen it. It is true I should watch more Korean films, I've seen more Japanese films and enjoyed some of them quite a bit. My favourite Japanese filmmaker so far is Hiroshi Teshigahara, what do you think of his films? I'm also thinking of watching the Human Condition trilogy, but its 9 hours so I need to find the right time.

As for Haneke, I'd recommend watching Cache and The White Ribbon, which are among the best of his more accessible films, but my favourites of his films are The Piano Teacher and Amour, but they are both quite hard to watch for some people. What are thoughts on Funny Games?

I'm surprised at your description of Bergman's films as being slice of life type films, most people I've talked to have described his films using words like theatrical and poetic. I suggest you watch some of his 60s and 70s era films, which I think are his best films. They are also quite different from his early films.

Sorry you don't like Herzog's movies that much, it is true that his style can seem a bit overly and occasionally nauseatingly sensationalistic, but I find that to be the unique charm of his films. You're lucky to have been able to meet him, I never have. Which documentary of his did you see? What were your thoughts on his Nosferatu remake? If you did not like it so much, you probably won't like his other films as much, but still I'll recommend Stroszek, Enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Aguirre: The Wrath of God, if you are still interested.

Glad you've seen Possession from Zulawski, what did you think? If you enjoyed that one, I recommend his 1972 film The Devil and his first film The Third Part of the Night. They're amazing.

For Tarkovsky, I recommend starting with Solaris or Andrei Rublev since they're a bit less slow than the films he would go on to make, but Stalker is my favourite of his films, but be warned it is very slow-paced.

Same goes for Tarr's films, if you have difficulty with slow-paced films, you may have trouble enjoying his films. But I hope you do, they're both among the most unique filmmakers I've encountered, and all of their films have some of the best cinematography, editing and sound design I've ever seen in any film.

For German, I recommend starting with My Friend Ivan Lapshin. Its a bit more restrained than the last two films he would go on to make, which are some of the most mesmerically nightmarish and unique films I've ever seen. I hope you think so too.

For Kaurismaki, I recommend starting with any of his films after 1986, with the exception The Match Factory Girl, which is a little different from his other films, but I still recommend it. They're some of the funniest and most interesting comedies you'll ever encounter.

Sorry this turned out longer than I expected, but I hope it convinces you to watch some of these wonderful films. Last question, I hope you don't mind, what films would you consider guilty pleasures?

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MaximusSamus

MaximusSamus on 6/5/2021 Reply  · 

I'm not uber familiar with Teshigahara, but Woman in the Dunes has been on my list for awhile and I've seen some of his Zatoichi TV series.

Asian cinema is really great. Like with Chinese and Japanese films, I think Korean movies are a great insight into culture and people from that part of the world. Japan has a great knack for horror and action - I love their tech horror films like The Ring and One missed call and their supernatural stuff like Dark Water and The Grudge. Their action and drama films in the samurai and yakuza genres respectfully are great too. China has great action and storytelling in their wuxia and fantasy genres.
I think Korean filmmaking has come in leaps and bounds in the last two decades with filmmakers like Bong Joon-Ho and Park Chan-wook. They have a unique sense of heightened drama and their visuals stick with you forever. Korean horror is really great too - stuff like Gonjiam Haunted Asylum and The Wailing I really enjoy. Train to Busan as well.

I haven't heard of The Human Condition until now and I'll definitely look that one up some more. The Piano teacher and Amour have been on my lists for awhile now. Funny Games is great - I love the original and the remake is surprisingly good too.

Bergman has been around long enough now that I think both descriptions can be used for his many varied films. I've been working through his box set from Criterion. I've been more fond on his slower and more intimate movies about individuals and their struggles but i know and have seen some of his later more produced and theatrical movies.

For Herzog, I've seen several of his films and I do thoroughly enjoy them. I just found Lo and Behold (the documentary) to be pretentious and pandering. He has his head up his ass sometimes, but the dude is immensely talented and artistic. I will never deny that. Nosferatu is great but FUCK Klaus Kinski. Awful and truly vile person.

Possession wasn't what I expected, but the insanity it came with kept me entertained. i loved the acting and the melodrama for sure. I had added those you mentioned to my list after watching it.

I own Stalker, but i still have yet to see it. I've got a backlog longer than the books behind Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings combined. I've seen the Solaris remake but never the original and Rublev is also one on my list.

I'll look into Tarr, German, kaurismaki and their films too. I don't have any objections to film of any style, genre, length, or country of origin. I'm not too hard to please as long as it's not drivel like Pureflix where it's a shitty film from people with shitty agendas.

For guilty pleasures I would say that i love shitty horror movies. I've spent many summers watching SyFy channel original horror movies. They're fun with friends or alcohol too. My sister and I have a bond over going and seeing run of the mill horror movies together and just laughing at them - Lights out, Incarnate and Come Play come to mind.
So really that and bad sci-fi movies as those are my favourite genres. I like to see just how bad they can get.

I also love filmmakers like Neil Breen and Tommy Wiseau. Movies that are barely classifiable as such. I just like to see the bottom end of stuff and just ask myself "How did they get it so wrong?" or "how do they have the confidence and audicty to put this out there?"

Here's my question to you - we've spent a good bit of time talking about films from like the 60s and 70s but what are your opinions on today's films and their filmmakers? and what about after the birth of cinema? I'd like to know your thoughts on stuff pre 1940 and post 1990. I feel like you got the middle bit already covered. Oh and popular film. I feel like we've touched so much on eclectic and unseen stuff but is that all you watch? Do you have any films you just absolutely stay away from?

It took me like an hour and a half to send this reply because i typed it out once and the computer at work crashed, so I had to type it out again. But hope you're well. Hear from you soon,

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MeanPoop

MeanPoop on 6/8/2021 Reply  · 

Thanks for replying...
Aside from Woman in the Dunes, from Teshigahara, I highly recommend Pitfall and Face of Another. Among my favourite Japanese films I've seen so far. Haven't seen his Zatoichi TV series, however, is it any good?

It's true I should watch more Asian cinema, not sure why I haven't. I'll be sure to tell you whenever I've watched the many films you've recommended, it'll take a while, like you, I also have a rather extensive watchlist. I'm surprised The Human Condition trilogy was never on your list since it always comes up whenever I search old 50s & 60s Japanese films. Looking forward to watching it.

You're lucky, I've been eager to get the Bergman box set from Criterion. Unfortunately it's too expensive for me to buy and have it delivered to me since I do not live in the United States or Canada. That is also why I do not have access to criterion's streaming service. But I've still managed to watch many Bergman films over the years. I'm curious, which of the Bergman films that you've watched now did you enjoy most? My favourites are Winter Light, Persona and, Cries and Whispers.

Have not seen Lo and Behold yet, sorry to hear that it was not so good. I agree on your consesus of Klaus Kinski, he was quite fascinatingly and dangerously deranged. So much so that Herzog made a documentary about him. But I still find him quite a hypnotic actor to watch. Would you say that what you know about him behind the scenes completely tarnishes the viewing experience of any film that he appears in?

Never heard of Pureflix, judging by your description I assume I should not bother knowing any more about it...What do you mean by shitty agendas?

I also find Neil Breen's films quite entertainingly incompetent, although I find Tommy Wiseau nowhere near as fascinating as Neil Breen. But generally I don't really enjoy watching bad science-fiction films or bad horror films or films that have anything about them that I dislike or have nothing or not enough that makes any positive impression on me. It tends to leave me more depressed than it should. But I love cinema more than anything else, so naturally it will affect me a great deal when I see its potential be stomped on by uncaring morons who make films the same way you make shoes in a factory. Sorry for sounding pretentious, I should not complain, it could be worse. Still, I have a guilty pleasure, with emphasis on the word guilty, because I feel a tremendously guilty about the amount of times I've rewatched Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher trilogy. I hate most of the writing, I hate this so-called documentary style filmmaking which mistakes technical incompetence and amateur laziness for a deliberate stylistic trademark and the loud obnoxious techno rock/pop music annoys me. Nevertheless, while I mentioned not liking the documentary-style of the films, that is also where most of my enjoyment of the films comes from. While I despise the handheld camerawork, the decision to use all natural lighting and always shooting on real locations contributes a great deal to making what could easily be a generic pulpy-crime-thriller-melodrama that you could find on any streaming service be a bit more aesthetically distinct. That and the films are all very well cast. But as many times as I've watched the films, nobody will ever be able to convince me that they are great films. They are ok, they could be worse, but they could be better as well.

In answer to your first question, unfortunately, I am not so optimistic about today's films. While there are still some interesting directors working today, most notably Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Yorgos Lanthimos(although I have not enjoyed his more recent films as much), I find that the standards of filmmaking have lowered severely and many of the technical innovations we see today only serve to appeal to the, and I'll try to put this as politely as I can, laziness of most modern filmmakers. I'm mostly referring to the inevitable digitalisation of many aspects of filmmaking. However, I will say that there are many positive aspects that have come from the digitalisation of films, mostly in the area of distribution. I would not have been able to watch most or any of the obscure films that now are much easier to find due to the variety of online services that are very easy to access. There also many websites like this one where I can have films recommended to me and keep an archive of the films I've watched. I also prefer digital theatre projection due to the frequent shoddiness of analogue projections. So I will admit with absolute sincerity that are many improvements in the modern filmmaking landscape that I have a great appreciation for. However, there are negative aspects. Analogue cameras are becoming very difficult to come by and analogue editing techniques are almost extinct. I understand that in many ways the digital techniques have helped make many processes in filmmaking much more efficient. However, I think that by removing the rigorous sense of discipline that came with older filmmaking techniques, its more likely for the filmmakers to render things like sound design, editing, especially editing, and cinematography more disposable than they would be if they were forced, circumstantially, to pay close attention to these aspects and make every cut and every shot matter, in the context of the film. That and any film shot on analogue cameras tends to look more visually interesting to me than any film shot on digital(although there are a few exceptions). I've also found quite a lack of originality among newer films. They will usually remain original, albeit, in the confines of the genres that they have put themselves in. Therefore, despite the originality of the way in which the film will be presented it will still have aspects that make it more easily identified with that genre, making some of the film a bit too predictable for me. Sorry for being so cynical, I am often called out on that, but this is what I sincerely believe. Still, there are newer films that have aspects I've enjoyed, and I will occasionally watch newer films in the hopes that something will leave me optimistic in some way. What about you, what are your thoughts on today's films?

I do enjoy watching films from the birth of cinema, but I find them difficult to fully enjoy sometimes due to my inability to criticise many aspects of how they are made since it would not make much sense, due to the equipment that was available during that period of time leaving them unable to do certain things that they eventually would be able to do. But I enjoy watching silent since it is interesting to know where cinema started. My favourite filmmakers of the silent generation are Carl Theodor Dreyer and Fritz Lang. What your thoughts on their films?

I'm not so sure what you may be referring to when you say popular, but if its anything like a Transformers film then you can be absolutely certain I'll be staying away from it. Those films depress me.

In terms of what I stay away from, I would be very general and say that I stay away from bad films. But of course I never know when I will inevitably run into one...

Sorry this turned out so long, you asked some interesting questions which I had loads to say about. I apologise. But anyway, I hope you don't mind me asking a question, what are your favourite acting performances in any film that you can think of at this moment?

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