What movies are you watching?

[Jorge]

yes poor things was soooo bad

this director is consistently worthless.

I like pretty much everything else he's made (The Favorite is, I think, a masterpiece in narrative editing) and I think he came back strong with Kinds of Kindness. Poor Things is a disaster though

[Dev]

yes poor things was soooo bad

this director is consistently worthless.

I like pretty much everything else he's made (The Favorite is, I think, a masterpiece in narrative editing) and I think he came back strong with Kinds of Kindness. Poor Things is a disaster though

I pretended that Dogtooth and The Favorite were ok when I saw them. Had to justify The Favorite was good because of the set designs and cinematography lol.

[Higgs]

Every year there seems to be one big movie that is widely beloved that inspires in me a visceral and intense dislike. Recent examples have been The Substance, Poor Things, Everything Everywhere All At Once... this year it seems to be Sinners

The Substance was fucking awful.

Strong disagree

I know I'm an outlier with my opinion here but I couldn't stand it. Not sure what it was as I enjoyed it at the start (the style of it, the cinematography etc) but by half way through it just really annoyed me.

Oh well, opinions and all that. Plenty of movies for us all I guess.

[Jorge]

yes poor things was soooo bad

this director is consistently worthless.

I like pretty much everything else he's made (The Favorite is, I think, a masterpiece in narrative editing) and I think he came back strong with Kinds of Kindness. Poor Things is a disaster though

I pretended that Dogtooth and The Favorite were ok when I saw them. Had to justify The Favorite was good because of the set designs and cinematography lol.

Who were you pretending / justifying this to?

[Ello Sailor]

Horny artsy chicks. And Lenny.

[Jorge]

I really think The Favorite is unique in the way the editing is in constant conversation with the screenplay. I've never seen a movie that moves quite like it

[Ello Sailor]

Was it painterly?

[Dev]

yes poor things was soooo bad

this director is consistently worthless.

I like pretty much everything else he's made (The Favorite is, I think, a masterpiece in narrative editing) and I think he came back strong with Kinds of Kindness. Poor Things is a disaster though

I pretended that Dogtooth and The Favorite were ok when I saw them. Had to justify The Favorite was good because of the set designs and cinematography lol.

Who were you pretending / justifying this to?

I'm just saying I thought the movies were mid when I first saw them but in retrospect they were probably outright bad.

As a guy who in general loves style over substance filmmaking these films prove the necessity of meaning. I do not think the director has anything of value to say but there is a ton of money behind him so the films look good and it's tempting to give them credit for their aesthetic merits but no.

But yeah, when I first discovered Dogtooth as a kid it looked like something I would like... I wanted to like it. Same with The Favorite.

[Jorge]

So has your opinion changed upon rewatching, or are you just reassessing based on your memories of them?

[Dev]

Just based on memory. I don't even rewatch movies I like let alone ones I don't. I am probably good with never seeing another film by this guy.

[Jorge]

I do not think the director has anything of value to say but there is a ton of money behind him so the films look good and it's tempting to give them credit for their aesthetic merits but no.

I fully disagree that the films lack meaning, but I also think there is meaning in aesthetics.

It's also a bit fallacious to say the movies look good because there's a ton of money behind them; Sinners looks like absolute shit and it has over six times the budget of The Favorite, as an example.

[Jorge]

Just based on memory. I don't even rewatch movies I like let alone ones I don't. I am probably good with never seeing another film by this guy.

You should rewatch them. If we've established that Younger Dev is unreliable with regards to his film takes, you shouldn't lean on his faulty half-remembered recollection for this reassessment

[Dev]

I do not think the director has anything of value to say but there is a ton of money behind him so the films look good and it's tempting to give them credit for their aesthetic merits but no.

I fully disagree that the films lack meaning, but I also think there is meaning in aesthetics.

It's also a bit fallacious to say the movies look good because there's a ton of money behind them; Sinners looks like absolute shit and it has over six times the budget of The Favorite, as an example.

Yeah, but we are pretending this Yorgos guy is one of the new auteurs. There are lots of fake new auteurs. Ari Aster comes to mind.

But in terms of the meaning I will be more specific. The conflict in these films is not interesting. None of these films teach me anything new. If anything they just sorta don't add up.

I don't think Yorgos actually gets people. And he definitely doesn't get the dark subjects he explores. His characters do not resemble real people ever. Rich guy pretending he's deep.

[Dev]

Just based on memory. I don't even rewatch movies I like let alone ones I don't. I am probably good with never seeing another film by this guy.

You should rewatch them. If we've established that Younger Dev is unreliable with regards to his film takes, you shouldn't lean on his faulty half-remembered recollection for this reassessment

Best I can offer is to review one of the new ones but even that is asking a lot.

[Dev]

The Lobster was worthless too. This guy sucks.

[BurtReynolds]

True

[Jorge]

But in terms of the meaning I will be more specific. The conflict in these films is not interesting. None of these films teach me anything new. If anything they just sorta don't add up.

I don't think Yorgos actually gets people. And he definitely doesn't get the dark subjects he explores. His characters do not resemble real people ever. Rich guy pretending he's deep.

These are valid critiques and I obviously can't argue you into liking his style but I would offer that, as far as I can tell, he is rarely attempting to depict real people, that his work is more exploratory than didactic, and that I do not believe his films are attempting "depth" -- most of them are farces, and they're pretty funny. These last two aspects don't apply to Poor Things, which to me is didactic and is reaching for depth, and that's part of why I think it sucks. He also seems obsessed with mechanisms of social control and approaches them in a darkly comedic way. Pair that obsession with his finesse as a filmmaker and that's why I love The Favorite so much.

[Jorge]

Just based on memory. I don't even rewatch movies I like let alone ones I don't. I am probably good with never seeing another film by this guy.

You should rewatch them. If we've established that Younger Dev is unreliable with regards to his film takes, you shouldn't lean on his faulty half-remembered recollection for this reassessment

Best I can offer is to review one of the new ones but even that is asking a lot.

I will give you $20

[Dev]

Just based on memory. I don't even rewatch movies I like let alone ones I don't. I am probably good with never seeing another film by this guy.

You should rewatch them. If we've established that Younger Dev is unreliable with regards to his film takes, you shouldn't lean on his faulty half-remembered recollection for this reassessment

Best I can offer is to review one of the new ones but even that is asking a lot.

I will give you $20

lol you'd rather me rewatch The Favorite or try Kinds of Kindness? How will you pay me??

[Dev]

Killing of a sacred deer and Alps are also options I guess