So what are you watching?
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prinCZess
Warrior, Writer, Performer, Perv
Also watched Bullet Train recently. Would also recommend it to folks with the same highlight of 'if you like kind of cult-y, action movies'.
My...interesting thing I found about it I suppose...is how it does a combo of mostly foul humor and slapstick for much of the time that's contrasted to a little bit of 'seriousness'/pretentiousness spaced throughout the movie--in a good way. Besides that, it's very by-the-numbers in ways it sets up plot points and Chekov's guns and characters, but then sometimes it doesn't use those devices or undermines them, and sometimes it lets them go through as you'd expect, so it manages to be predictable and unpredictable--you can piece together events before they happen, but then sometimes how they happen or to who throws further wrench in things.
If you go past the violence and wisecracks, It feels like a movie you'd watch for a film study/screenwriting class--in a good way.
Which makes me very curious of the book it's based on.
Yeah just saw it. Pretty much agree with your analysis on it. I don't think... I liked it as much but it got better as it went on. The humor and quirkyness didn't really work for me all that much in the beginning of the film with all of the banter and whatnot that was going on plus all of the establishing flashbacks cutting into the movie... which I'm really not a fan of. I know a fair number of movies kinda do the quick flashbacks to introduce characters like Guy Ritchie Crime films and the like but here it was really getting kinda onerous early on.
But the film did get more interesting the further along it went and as all of the characters and plotlines got settled and sorted out. I didn't quite care too much for a fair bit of the ending, more banter and quirkiness,. And the ending CGI bits and slow motion shots kind of had me not feeling the offbeat atmosphere it was trying to relay. It was all bit much again. Also in regards to banter, such as with the two masked assassins mooks babbling about a case. Tarantino helped start a thing of people talking about normal things to establish characters and now with folks like James Gunn and Taika Watiti and this guy, who I think also was involved in the Deadpool movies (I'm assuming since it feels very similar to Deadpool 2 and similar casting and the luck stuff) do really over the top humorous banter which sometimes works and sometimes I get uninterested with, like here. Like am I watching Clerks or an action movie in some scenes.
So yeah. Overall it was entertaining. Above average in quality. I think I genuinely laughed a few times, but towards the latter half of the film so as comedy... it was aight. Characters were very distinctive and quirky and well acted so I guess it was hard to dislike them. But overall... I wouldn't say it was a great action movie.
Tiamat
I've seen the future...
"Something wrong, Colonel? You've come here prepared to fight a madman, and instead you found a god? Do you still refuse to accept my GODHOOD? Keep your own God! In fact, this might be a good time to pray to Him! For I beheld Satan as he fell from Heaven! Like LIIIIGHTNIIIING!!!"
Tiamat
I've seen the future...
Season 4 of Stranger Things for me was....a mixed bag. Some parts decent, other parts, MEH. I'll post more thoughts later.
Argent
Well-known member
So I just wached the new Top Gun. Overall I would say it lived up to the hype. You could see that they cared about the older flim and wanted to make this a great movie instead of a soulless cash grab.
Phoenix was done very well. She acted like all the other pilots and they did not push girl power ya the entire movie like modern Hollywood loves to do. Instead she was just another Top Gun Pilot with a gaint ego.
Ya it is a genre staple but not for everyone but overall it is a bit more mainstream then movies like Snatch that has massive amounts of swearing and sex jokes to cover up the lack of humor in the movie.
Phoenix was done very well. She acted like all the other pilots and they did not push girl power ya the entire movie like modern Hollywood loves to do. Instead she was just another Top Gun Pilot with a gaint ego.
Ya it is a genre staple but not for everyone but overall it is a bit more mainstream then movies like Snatch that has massive amounts of swearing and sex jokes to cover up the lack of humor in the movie.
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I saw Where the Crawdads Sing on Netflix and I was kind of expecting some kinda boring romance/love story or whatever but instead it was a pretty intriguing and engrossing drama set during the 1950's and 60's. It was a character drama, with romantic themes, coming of life stuff, a mystery/crime thriller and a legal drama over it all plus it had a fair bit of nature/survivalist/individualism type of themes as well which was really neat to take in. The acting was great, the period setting and locations looked beautiful and the story and actual drama part of the film really drew me in. Probably one of the best films I've seen this year, and it's certainly not one I typically would've even bothered watching so I'm glad I gave it a chance.
The only drawback would be that the film is a bit too clean and rounded in some respects, I compare it a lot with Winters Bone, a 2006 Independent film that rightly propelled Jennifer Lawrence into stardom. Everything just seemed a bit too clean and manicured for a person living in the marshes, but then again, I'm not expert and it could just be a brain bug of mine. It barely detracted from the quality of the film regardless. Would recommend watching if you like those kind of period movies, or drama films with lots of character and legal themes in it.
If you need anymore reason to watch this movie, I just looked and apparent it has a 34% rating from critics, CERTIFIED ROTTEN but a 96% positive rating from audiences.
The only drawback would be that the film is a bit too clean and rounded in some respects, I compare it a lot with Winters Bone, a 2006 Independent film that rightly propelled Jennifer Lawrence into stardom. Everything just seemed a bit too clean and manicured for a person living in the marshes, but then again, I'm not expert and it could just be a brain bug of mine. It barely detracted from the quality of the film regardless. Would recommend watching if you like those kind of period movies, or drama films with lots of character and legal themes in it.
If you need anymore reason to watch this movie, I just looked and apparent it has a 34% rating from critics, CERTIFIED ROTTEN but a 96% positive rating from audiences.
THIS is the hallmark of a good film.
Good 'tard take. Stick to Wikipedia instead of watching the film.
Argent
Well-known member
So I binged Arcane on Netflix. I have to say that for all their missed and woke casting in stuff they actually made a good show here.
It uses an animation stlye that is a mix of 2D and 3D. Overall it looks great and the show does some creative things with it especially in regards to Jinx.
The thing that makes the show is the mix of two classic storylines. The frist is the fighting against a corrupt goverment thay doesn't care and is abusing them. It has the standard trappings of a young gang wanting to fight, the noble crime boss versus the one willing to do anything. Overall paint a fairly good picture of a slum in a steampunk setting.
The second is about a young man from a small house trying to change the world for the better. It shows the entrenched interests and how he must work to change them. It also shows the drity poltics and even has childhood friend that rebels against her family.
Both storylines intertwine and make for a compelling narrtive. Then on top of it the charaters are interesting and the relationships are compelling making you actually care about them.
Overall a nice surpise.
It uses an animation stlye that is a mix of 2D and 3D. Overall it looks great and the show does some creative things with it especially in regards to Jinx.
The thing that makes the show is the mix of two classic storylines. The frist is the fighting against a corrupt goverment thay doesn't care and is abusing them. It has the standard trappings of a young gang wanting to fight, the noble crime boss versus the one willing to do anything. Overall paint a fairly good picture of a slum in a steampunk setting.
The second is about a young man from a small house trying to change the world for the better. It shows the entrenched interests and how he must work to change them. It also shows the drity poltics and even has childhood friend that rebels against her family.
Both storylines intertwine and make for a compelling narrtive. Then on top of it the charaters are interesting and the relationships are compelling making you actually care about them.
Overall a nice surpise.
Val the Moofia Boss
Well-known member
I thought that the first 3 episodes were okay but after that it became a slog. Almost everyone became unlikeable (I still liked Victor by the end but apparently he eventually becomes a cyborg supervillain by the time LoL happens) and the story was moving at a snail's pace, and by the end of the season they were a dozen different plot threads that had been left open. Subplot creep. There is no way that the showrunners can satisfyingly wrap up all of those subplots and you know they're just going to pile on more and more as they introduce more characters and locations and factions from the setting in future seasons. It also took the showrunners like 4 or 5 years to make one season so good luck ever seeing the end. The show certainly looks pretty but I find it very hard to care about what's going on in it. Also can't recall any music from it.
If there is a second season and it's still about the dreary Zaun vs Piltover police violence/class warfare/privilege plotline, I think I'll pass. If the show moved on from that and explored the wonder of the fantasy setting then I'd be more interested.
If there is a second season and it's still about the dreary Zaun vs Piltover police violence/class warfare/privilege plotline, I think I'll pass. If the show moved on from that and explored the wonder of the fantasy setting then I'd be more interested.
Argent
Well-known member
The next season is set for a Fall 2023 release. It is not uncommon to have a frist season take a long time becasue of funding troubles. But once you get renewed they can normally produce season quickly.
As for the plotlines there are a few but no more then a show like Yellowstone or simlar drama. You have the main plot between Zaun vs Piltover. Subplots still kicking are the professor and Firelights, Ambessa Medarda wanting weapons, Jinx and Vi's relationship and Caitlyn's Rebellion.
Victor's plotline is about done and he already asked for the Hextec that could save him to be destroyed. Slico is dead and gone while the doctor is more of a set peice then plotline. Jayce's hesitation over making weapons is tied so close to the main plot line I have trouble seperating into a subplot.
So I am not to worried about lose threads till they get up to Game of Thrones level of subplots.
It did move at a slower pace which I liked snice it is a charater base drama. But I expect you won't like the second season snice I execpt it to take place in the aftermath of the final scene with maybe a small time skip.
Normally this would be the case -- when "critics" say a film is shit but the audience say it's awesome, usually it means that the critics have their heads so far up their own arseholes they can see their tonsils. But...
The word "patriarchy" alone gives it an amber light.
Saw White Noise. It was on Netflix and starred Adam Driver and Don Cheadle among others. It was a pretty weird movie with three acts or parts. It came off as a kind of quirky Wes Anderson (he wasn't involved in this film) style thriller and comedy film which is kind of an odd combination.
The movie started off slow and I wasn't sure if I was going to like the film but the longer it went on, the more I actually grew to like the 'Gladney' family that was the focus of the story. It took its time introducing the characters and then it wasn't until like a half hour into the film that the actual crisis struck and the thriller and almost horror style elements started to really seep in and I got really drawn into the movie because the film just didn't have that kind of atmosphere going into it. And I felt that the characters and the way the films tone was set being shifted into a thriller type of story really made the film feel like an original take on a genre that can be pretty stale.
Then... the third act came and... I still watched it but... it just wasn't as... engrossing as the really strong second act. It was still great acting, interesting characters and I loved the quirky interpersonal interactions and everything but there was another shift in narrative and tone which I think would kill the interest in a lot of people who might be invested in the film up to this point.
Overall I liked the film and watched it competely through in one go. I didn't lose interest in it but in the third act I wasn't sure if I should be frustrated or annoyed or whatever at where the film was going.
It'd be a very polarizing film in general I think which is why I'd hazard recommending it.
I would absolutely say give it a try if your interested in a very original and well acted take on the thriller genre or if you just want to see something new and kinda quirky. Or if your a fan of Wes Anderson type of films.
And if you are going to watch it I absolutely would say you should go in blind/spoiler free. Just watch it and see if you like it.
It's a random quote from a Wikipedia entry.
Here's another quote from Wikipedia:
Oh shit, I don't know about this thing called 'American Revolution.' Sounds like neoliberal dogwater.
The movie started off slow and I wasn't sure if I was going to like the film but the longer it went on, the more I actually grew to like the 'Gladney' family that was the focus of the story. It took its time introducing the characters and then it wasn't until like a half hour into the film that the actual crisis struck and the thriller and almost horror style elements started to really seep in and I got really drawn into the movie because the film just didn't have that kind of atmosphere going into it. And I felt that the characters and the way the films tone was set being shifted into a thriller type of story really made the film feel like an original take on a genre that can be pretty stale.
Then... the third act came and... I still watched it but... it just wasn't as... engrossing as the really strong second act. It was still great acting, interesting characters and I loved the quirky interpersonal interactions and everything but there was another shift in narrative and tone which I think would kill the interest in a lot of people who might be invested in the film up to this point.
Overall I liked the film and watched it competely through in one go. I didn't lose interest in it but in the third act I wasn't sure if I should be frustrated or annoyed or whatever at where the film was going.
It'd be a very polarizing film in general I think which is why I'd hazard recommending it.
I would absolutely say give it a try if your interested in a very original and well acted take on the thriller genre or if you just want to see something new and kinda quirky. Or if your a fan of Wes Anderson type of films.
And if you are going to watch it I absolutely would say you should go in blind/spoiler free. Just watch it and see if you like it.
It's a random quote from a Wikipedia entry.
Here's another quote from Wikipedia:
Wikipedia said:
Oh shit, I don't know about this thing called 'American Revolution.' Sounds like neoliberal dogwater.
prinCZess
Warrior, Writer, Performer, Perv
Thanks to friends recommendation of it, their promise I would love it in particular, and Tuesday being discount-day, went to see Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Friends were right: I did love it in particular just on purely subjective 'had fun, liked the writing' levels. But somewhat stepping away from those to try and be a little less biased...
It's a lot of fun, and (in my opinion, at least) accomplishes that same Shrek-movie ability of being a kids movie and an 'adult' one at the same time--except instead of being primarily a comedy with some raunchy adult-humor, Last Wish steers into being primarily a...Heist?ish?...movie with some adult themes (as in...literal themes, not sexy lingerie) confronted and impacting characters (well, the main character at least). Weirdly enough...I actually don't remember a single risque joke in the whole thing. Which just seems nuts for a Shrek-spinoff.
It also manages to 'feel' like a proper fairy tale adaptation/expansion/storyline? That's nebulous, I know, and probably comes down to me liking the screenwriter(s) style, but it manages to present some pretty beat-you-over-the-head types of messages--the one I most remember just in the scale of obvious-message to me still being entertained being a brief plot point that emphasizes 'stop and smell the roses'--in a way that still manages to be entertaining and without seeming like it's just doing a dumb thing so kids are entertained, and it manages to weave together a couple of those pretty beat-over-head morals and messages into the flow of the story without ever seeming too cliche.
Plus death. A good bit of very clear and straightforward death. Mainly to villain-mooks but they're portrayed sympathetically so...There's that. Once again--Shrek movie that has basically full-circled around back to being a fairy tale reconstruction, tragic hero, moral message(s), and everything.
Also is animated really pretty--in particular whenever the main antagonist shows up (which are easily some of the best done parts of the movie) and everything shifts into this noticeably darker, noticeably...jankier, perhaps?...style where you can tell certain things are being emphasized and called attention-to based on the main character's perceptions of things, and it's just...really neat to watch and see this shift between the more lighthearted moments where everything's pretty and enjoyable and these confrontation scenes where everything's dark and spooky. It's a cool dynamic to see, and that change in visuals does a lot to sell...A cat with Antonio Banderas voice having a midlife/existential/mortality crisis.
Apparently there's six seasons of TV-show on one of the streaming services? I've just now found this out because I vaguely remember watching and enjoying a little of the very first many years ago, but never went back to it or followed it until just now looking at wiki. In any case, it doesn't really play into things at all and no knowledge of things that happened are required.
Boils down to: I liked it and would recommend it--whether you're taking young uns to it or even just watching it yourself.
Friends were right: I did love it in particular just on purely subjective 'had fun, liked the writing' levels. But somewhat stepping away from those to try and be a little less biased...
It's a lot of fun, and (in my opinion, at least) accomplishes that same Shrek-movie ability of being a kids movie and an 'adult' one at the same time--except instead of being primarily a comedy with some raunchy adult-humor, Last Wish steers into being primarily a...Heist?ish?...movie with some adult themes (as in...literal themes, not sexy lingerie) confronted and impacting characters (well, the main character at least). Weirdly enough...I actually don't remember a single risque joke in the whole thing. Which just seems nuts for a Shrek-spinoff.
It also manages to 'feel' like a proper fairy tale adaptation/expansion/storyline? That's nebulous, I know, and probably comes down to me liking the screenwriter(s) style, but it manages to present some pretty beat-you-over-the-head types of messages--the one I most remember just in the scale of obvious-message to me still being entertained being a brief plot point that emphasizes 'stop and smell the roses'--in a way that still manages to be entertaining and without seeming like it's just doing a dumb thing so kids are entertained, and it manages to weave together a couple of those pretty beat-over-head morals and messages into the flow of the story without ever seeming too cliche.
Plus death. A good bit of very clear and straightforward death. Mainly to villain-mooks but they're portrayed sympathetically so...There's that. Once again--Shrek movie that has basically full-circled around back to being a fairy tale reconstruction, tragic hero, moral message(s), and everything.
Also is animated really pretty--in particular whenever the main antagonist shows up (which are easily some of the best done parts of the movie) and everything shifts into this noticeably darker, noticeably...jankier, perhaps?...style where you can tell certain things are being emphasized and called attention-to based on the main character's perceptions of things, and it's just...really neat to watch and see this shift between the more lighthearted moments where everything's pretty and enjoyable and these confrontation scenes where everything's dark and spooky. It's a cool dynamic to see, and that change in visuals does a lot to sell...A cat with Antonio Banderas voice having a midlife/existential/mortality crisis.
Apparently there's six seasons of TV-show on one of the streaming services? I've just now found this out because I vaguely remember watching and enjoying a little of the very first many years ago, but never went back to it or followed it until just now looking at wiki. In any case, it doesn't really play into things at all and no knowledge of things that happened are required.
Boils down to: I liked it and would recommend it--whether you're taking young uns to it or even just watching it yourself.
Saw three movies on Paramount + recently. The Dictator, The Marksman and Wrath of Man.
The Dictator where Sacha Baron Cohen portrays the Dictator of a Middle Eastern despotate called Wadiya. It was about as lame and silly as I expected but was actually far more amusing and funny then I expected in spite of it. There's really not much to say about it. Had some narmy moral lessons and very shallow satire on things, but it was the jokes and generally satirical flavored humor that made the movie fun to watch. And yes it was an actual movie, not something like Borat or Bruno or whatever.
Next up was The Marksman starring Liam Neeson as Liam Neeson portraying a rancher on the border. Liam Neeson makes a lot of these kind of films and this one is actually better then most of his efforts in this vein. There's not as many kills or action and it does a decent job of having him accompanying an eleven year old Mexican lad on a journey across the United States evading a surprisingly dedicated band of Cartel Assassins. The action is better then most of the Liam Neeson films, being mostly short and brief gunfights and longer shots performed during the hand to hand combat instead of the quick cut chop suey many of his films action scenes have. And he gets a chance to do some proper acting as well. This neo-Western overall had a fair number of cliches and some narmy bits but its worth giving a look, especially if you watch a lot of Liam Neeson action movies for some reason like I do. It's nothing special beyond it being a decent action-drama yarn.
And finally just last night I saw Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man. I'm sure I had the chance to see this movie before but if I'm going to watch a protagonist kill everyone movie, I'd prefer the above Liam Neeson films to a Jason Statham one. But this film was actually pretty well put together. I can see how the films format and disjointed narrative had some relation to Guy Ritchie's earlier British crime movies Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, though this film actually takes place in Los Angeles. It starts off as a standard Jason Statham star vehicle as far as one can tell, but then it just gets better and better as you realize there is an actual plot that this movie unwraps and by the middle part of the film I am really interested in what is going on.
Is Jason Statham basically Jason Statham here? Yes... but the film uses him well. He's also surrounded by a cast of legitimately interesting characters in the other Armored Car Guards (oh yeah this film is about groups of professional thieves attempting to knock off armored cars), the various criminals and other surrounded players in the story. The surprisingly complex (not bloated like most movies) storylines almost weaved into a bit of a mystery/thriller type of vibe which I appreciated as well.
I was let down by the ending though. It was a big action set piece which was great for action movie fans but overall was a pretty big letdown for me in regards to story and plot and the character arcs of everyone involved. It was almost sad seeing such an action packed climax that IMHO didn't really serve the story it was telling all that well. Some action movies pull off great scenes that are seamlessly integrated into the plot, just look at Michael Mann's Heat. This didn't do it for me.
Still Wrath of Man was worth a watch. If Jason Statham (or any action movie person) made movies with a bit more substance like this, I'm there for it.
The Dictator where Sacha Baron Cohen portrays the Dictator of a Middle Eastern despotate called Wadiya. It was about as lame and silly as I expected but was actually far more amusing and funny then I expected in spite of it. There's really not much to say about it. Had some narmy moral lessons and very shallow satire on things, but it was the jokes and generally satirical flavored humor that made the movie fun to watch. And yes it was an actual movie, not something like Borat or Bruno or whatever.
Next up was The Marksman starring Liam Neeson as Liam Neeson portraying a rancher on the border. Liam Neeson makes a lot of these kind of films and this one is actually better then most of his efforts in this vein. There's not as many kills or action and it does a decent job of having him accompanying an eleven year old Mexican lad on a journey across the United States evading a surprisingly dedicated band of Cartel Assassins. The action is better then most of the Liam Neeson films, being mostly short and brief gunfights and longer shots performed during the hand to hand combat instead of the quick cut chop suey many of his films action scenes have. And he gets a chance to do some proper acting as well. This neo-Western overall had a fair number of cliches and some narmy bits but its worth giving a look, especially if you watch a lot of Liam Neeson action movies for some reason like I do. It's nothing special beyond it being a decent action-drama yarn.
And finally just last night I saw Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man. I'm sure I had the chance to see this movie before but if I'm going to watch a protagonist kill everyone movie, I'd prefer the above Liam Neeson films to a Jason Statham one. But this film was actually pretty well put together. I can see how the films format and disjointed narrative had some relation to Guy Ritchie's earlier British crime movies Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, though this film actually takes place in Los Angeles. It starts off as a standard Jason Statham star vehicle as far as one can tell, but then it just gets better and better as you realize there is an actual plot that this movie unwraps and by the middle part of the film I am really interested in what is going on.
Is Jason Statham basically Jason Statham here? Yes... but the film uses him well. He's also surrounded by a cast of legitimately interesting characters in the other Armored Car Guards (oh yeah this film is about groups of professional thieves attempting to knock off armored cars), the various criminals and other surrounded players in the story. The surprisingly complex (not bloated like most movies) storylines almost weaved into a bit of a mystery/thriller type of vibe which I appreciated as well.
I was let down by the ending though. It was a big action set piece which was great for action movie fans but overall was a pretty big letdown for me in regards to story and plot and the character arcs of everyone involved. It was almost sad seeing such an action packed climax that IMHO didn't really serve the story it was telling all that well. Some action movies pull off great scenes that are seamlessly integrated into the plot, just look at Michael Mann's Heat. This didn't do it for me.
Still Wrath of Man was worth a watch. If Jason Statham (or any action movie person) made movies with a bit more substance like this, I'm there for it.
Heat was amazing.
Last week or so I saw a couple low budget indie thriller/horror style movies.
I saw the film Coherence (2013) which was a low budget film that takes place during a dinner party. It's setting is something similar to the film The Invitation but this film is even better in quality in my opinion despite seemingly lower in production budget. It is definitely a thriller movie with some surreal and horror elements. The characters in the film weren't even given much of a script, but apparently instead given notecards of what to do in the scene and ad libbed/improved the rest. I thought it was a very original and very well acted film which I can't really comment too much on without giving any spoilers and this is a movie which you will want to watch going in blind so to speak. Very original take. Would recommend.
Then I saw two films by the same director duo. The first is the 2012 character drama-horror film Resolution. It starts out like the plot of Resident Evil 7 in a guy gets a video from an old best friend of his who is squatting in the hills of Southern California and the protagonist is given a map along with the video and goes to him to help cure him of his addiction since his best friend was apparently addicted to Meth or whatever. So... he does as best friends do, when he refuses to go to rehab, he handcuffs him to a nearby pipe and says they're going to spend the week together until he detoxes cold turkey. Hilarity (not really) ensues.
Anyways the film is a super slow burn of a thriller and most of the film is fulfilled by that main character driven story. They encounter his violent clients/customers and other addicts, homeless people, random squatters, corrupt security guards and all other sorts of interesting characters out here in the foothills and yet there is also an undercurrent of low key inexplicable things going on in the background as well. So, repeating myself again, very fun original film and take on the thriller/horror genre.
The second film by this Director duo I saw was Spirit which came out in 2014. It's a Body Horror Coming of Age Romance film. I don't like Body Horror films in general because I find them squicky, and I don't watch too much Romance because the genre in general doesn't interest me but I really loved watching this movie though. It was unexpected in the paths it took to tell its story. And honestly, it wasn't that squicky. It's degeneracy free if you are worried about the whole merging of Body Horror with Romance.
So yeah... would recommend all three films to those remotely interesting in character driven mysteries and thrillers or surreal/cosmic/eldritch type of horror I guess.
I saw the film Coherence (2013) which was a low budget film that takes place during a dinner party. It's setting is something similar to the film The Invitation but this film is even better in quality in my opinion despite seemingly lower in production budget. It is definitely a thriller movie with some surreal and horror elements. The characters in the film weren't even given much of a script, but apparently instead given notecards of what to do in the scene and ad libbed/improved the rest. I thought it was a very original and very well acted film which I can't really comment too much on without giving any spoilers and this is a movie which you will want to watch going in blind so to speak. Very original take. Would recommend.
Then I saw two films by the same director duo. The first is the 2012 character drama-horror film Resolution. It starts out like the plot of Resident Evil 7 in a guy gets a video from an old best friend of his who is squatting in the hills of Southern California and the protagonist is given a map along with the video and goes to him to help cure him of his addiction since his best friend was apparently addicted to Meth or whatever. So... he does as best friends do, when he refuses to go to rehab, he handcuffs him to a nearby pipe and says they're going to spend the week together until he detoxes cold turkey. Hilarity (not really) ensues.
Anyways the film is a super slow burn of a thriller and most of the film is fulfilled by that main character driven story. They encounter his violent clients/customers and other addicts, homeless people, random squatters, corrupt security guards and all other sorts of interesting characters out here in the foothills and yet there is also an undercurrent of low key inexplicable things going on in the background as well. So, repeating myself again, very fun original film and take on the thriller/horror genre.
The second film by this Director duo I saw was Spirit which came out in 2014. It's a Body Horror Coming of Age Romance film. I don't like Body Horror films in general because I find them squicky, and I don't watch too much Romance because the genre in general doesn't interest me but I really loved watching this movie though. It was unexpected in the paths it took to tell its story. And honestly, it wasn't that squicky. It's degeneracy free if you are worried about the whole merging of Body Horror with Romance.
So yeah... would recommend all three films to those remotely interesting in character driven mysteries and thrillers or surreal/cosmic/eldritch type of horror I guess.