Recently Seen, Part 18 (July 2018)

[sitenoise]

^Wasn't captivated by the looks of the movie and that review isn't helping at all. View attachment 9424

Scroll up and read @ebossert's review. It's more positive.

I wonder when I'll get back to China viewing.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict a new wave of well-produced indie films from China. They want to export themselves but it's not working with the stupid stuff. Black Coal, Thin Ice marked the turning point and will prove to be an important film when history is written. The Looming Storm, Old Stone, Blind Massage, stuff like that. And I think Nai An is going to be a prominent player, as a producer/actress. She's starring in a upcoming film Girls Always Happy that sounds like it might hit a sweet spot between universal appeal and being "about China" (because all the best Chinese films are "about China").

 

[plsletitrain]

I've seen ebossert's review before and didn't quite enticed me (so your review sealed the deal).

By the way, sht I can't remember the ending to Black Coal, Thin Ice. Makes me revisit my decision to join letterboxd. Can its diary feature be seen by other users as well or just privy to my eyes? Because if its the latter, I will really put in black in white who's the killer or who died so that years from now I can remember what happened in the film.

 

[plsletitrain]

Or can you just tell me how the film ended? lol I kept looking at the reviews and the trailer but I really can't remember how it ended. I did remember some of the scenes (particularly that fireworks in the end) but I can't remember what's the ending about.

 

[sitenoise]

By the way, sht I can't remember the ending to Black Coal, Thin Ice. Makes me revisit my decision to join letterboxd. Can its diary feature be seen by other users as well or just privy to my eyes? Because if its the latter, I will really put in black in white who's the killer or who died so that years from now I can remember what happened in the film.

You can only use spoiler alerts. Letterbox puts a picture of a skull (I think) in your review and you have to click "I Can Handle the Truth" in order to read it.

Or can you just tell me how the film ended? lol I kept looking at the reviews and the trailer but I really can't remember how it ended. I did remember some of the scenes (particularly that fireworks in the end) but I can't remember what's the ending about.

For me the movie ended with the dance number in the gym. You know how I am with dance numbers. But Guey got taken away in handcuffs and there were fireworks after that.

 

[plsletitrain]

Tsk. Okay I still can't remember. If I were to make a guess, she was moved by a past experience to drive her to that but I'm making up an entirely different movie so blah I'll just watch it again. Where's that boxing emoticon.

 

[sitenoise]

Tsk. Okay I still can't remember. If I were to make a guess, she was moved by a past experience to drive her to that but I'm making up an entirely different movie so blah I'll just watch it again. Where's that boxing emoticon.

We should all re-watch it again and discuss how important it is, and how beautiful it is, and how funny some of it is.

I don't remember all the psychological stuff. Something about a coat. I seem to recall it's unclear whether we can still side with her or not.

 

[JepGambardella]

More from Fantasia 2018:

One Cut of the Dead (Japan 2017 - Shinichiro Ueda)

A one-take movie about a film crew that gets interrupted by real zombies While shooting a cheap zombie movie. Try to wrap your head around that one! Very funny comedy. Don't read too much about it, and don't turn it off after 15 or 20 minutes even if you feel very tempted to.

https://letterboxd.com/film/one-cut-of-the-dead/

Penguin Highway (Japan 2018 - Hiroyasu Ishida)

I am not a big fan of Japanese animation - I rarely ever watch Anime feature movies or TV series. But the description of this one looked interesting ("sentimental, surrealist science fiction gem"), so I gave it a chance. Nice enough to look at, but the story was just a bit too surrealist for my taste.

https://letterboxd.com/film/penguin-highway/

 

[plsletitrain]

We should all re-watch it again and discuss how important it is, and how beautiful it is, and how funny some of it is.

Okay I'll bring that up next time. Or remind me if I forget.

I don't remember all the psychological stuff. Something about a coat. I seem to recall it's unclear whether we can still side with her or not.

Yeah, I think there's a psychological thing, mind-boggling whatever here.