Thoughts on recent movies

[Chase]

I saw it. Educational? haha how do you mean, Tony?

I was traumatized just reading an analysis of that movie.

 

[Will_V]

I was traumatized just reading an analysis of that movie.

Lol I'd never even paid attention to that movie, but going by that analysis it seems like they really cleaned out the bin of all the worst things a movie could represent. You could hardly make something more rotten if you tried.

 

[StrayDog]

Lol I'd never even paid attention to that movie, but going by that analysis it seems like they really cleaned out the bin of all the worst things a movie could represent. You could hardly make something more rotten if you tried.

I like weird artsy stuff, and don't mind being challenged at the movies, so I had to see what all the hoopla was about.

Honestly I think this analysis gives the filmmakers way too much credit. Ultimately it was vapid and not saying much of anything at all. It was way too shallow and poorly written to actually be making some sort of strong statement. And was more just a grab bag of in vogue talking points.


But it definitely was a movie full of simps, and devoid of any male figures with actual depth and dimension to them. So I guess you could say that much was indeed rotten

 

[POB]

Lol I'd never even paid attention to that movie, but going by that analysis it seems like they really cleaned out the bin of all the worst things a movie could represent. You could hardly make something more rotten if you tried.

Strong Lars Von Trier vibes...I'll pass

 

[Will_V]

I like weird artsy stuff, and don't mind being challenged at the movies, so I had to see what all the hoopla was about.

Honestly I think this analysis gives the filmmakers way too much credit. Ultimately it was vapid and not saying much of anything at all. It was way too shallow and poorly written to actually be making some sort of strong statement. And was more just a grab bag of in vogue talking points.


But it definitely was a movie full of simps, and devoid of any positive masculine figures. So I guess you could say that much was indeed rotten

I'm not even commenting on the movie itself, only the synopsis. The quality of the direction or acting doesn't make much difference if the message is depraved.

I mean, it's so bad that whether it has simps or not is the least of its problems.

 

[StrayDog]

Strong Lars Von Trier vibes...I'll pass

yeah cinemas biggest sour puss. not a fan

 

[POB]

yeah cinemas biggest sour puss. not a fan

He is a guy on a crusade to destroy cristianity's values and to expurge any trace of benign masculinity in his movies.
Never understood the hype

 

[StrayDog]

I'm not even commenting on the movie itself, only the synopsis. The quality of the direction or acting doesn't make much difference if the message is depraved.

I mean, it's so bad that whether it has simps or not is the least of its problems.

that's what I am saying though. both the film, and this analysis want this movie to have more of a message than it actually does. I get this reviewers take on it, but I also think he might be reaching a bit. just like the movie is reaching a bit with it's perspective. But any way. I watched it so you don't have to.

still curious @Tony D thoughts since he brought it up

 

[StrayDog]

He is a guy on a crusade to destroy cristianity's values and to expurge any trace of benign masculinity in his movies.
Never understood the hype

I think he might hate humanity. if his movies are any indication of his worldview

 

[StrayDog]

any way, back to great movies. This one came up recently with some of the boys, and if any of y'all haven't seen it yet it's incredible. Give it a watch. Guaranteed to touch your heart

 

[Chase]

As far as recent movies are concerned, I had an interesting experience with Glasshouse (2021). It seemed pretty decent at first. Decent setup, decent characters. It reminded me a lot at first of the Irish(?) post-apocalyptic film I saw in 2017 or something... some guy living alone in a cabin where he grows his own food, has the cabin transformed into a fortress to fend off raiders, and then a young chick and her mother happen along, screwing up his whole "man alone surviving in the woods trusting no one" dynamic. Forget the name of that one.

But then at a certain point with this film Glasshouse I started to get more and more confused and irritated with the inexplicable decisions of the male actor. He's fixated on this frumpy-looking, dour chick instead of the hot & cheerful one. He can seemingly read the frumpy dour chick's mind. Then he starts doing totally evil shit basically to relieve the guilt and burden of the frumpy girl. He's fucking the hot chick but really it's just to get to the frumpy chick. Then in the end he decides to do more basic evil shit in order to allow some random other guy into the compound and basically give himself apparent sexual competition for seemingly no good reason. It's just this parade of inexplicable decisions. I was watching this whole thing going "What the bloody hell is going on?"

After watching it, confused about who would write and direct this and what they were even thinking, I looked up the movie on Wikipedia, and... it's written by two women and directed by one of the women. As soon as I saw that I said, "OH!" It's basically pitch-perfect female fantasy:

• Mysterious sexy stranger appears
• He pays attention to the frumpy girl and inexplicably likes her more than the hot girl
• He can somehow read the girl's mind, sees to the heart of her, and values her for her inner qualities
• He makes the amoral decisions to relieve the heroine of her guilt and responsibilities and set her free
• He happily allows additional roosters into the coop because hey, who cares about competition

If you're trying to relate to the male, it's a completely frustrating experience (or at least it was for me). If you want an insight into the female psyche, about what women are basically wishing/hoping men will do to/for/around them, though, it's fascinating. You just have to go in thinking to yourself, "This guy is a caricature depicting what women hope men will do/be for them in fantasy land."

Choose them over other (hotter) women, read their minds, see right to the quick of them, make them feel chosen and valued for their inner qualities, liberate them from their feelings of duty and obligation, set them free... and otherwise they don't care about the guy's sense of duty, fairness, justice, or morality at all, so long as he's using his abilities in ways they like that are favorable to them.

...

Slightly less recent of a film, I watched Crank (2006) for the first time not that long ago.

That movie is just action-packed hilarity. I don't know if it's a really great example of masculinity, but nobody can accuse Jason Statham in that film of simping or effeminacy, that's for sure.

At a certain point you are going, "I just know he's going to end up fucking this chick in public with a whole bunch of people watching," and the movie does not disappoint.

Chase

 

[James D]

As far as recent movies are concerned, I had an interesting experience with Glasshouse (2021). It seemed pretty decent at first. Decent setup, decent characters. It reminded me a lot at first of the Irish(?) post-apocalyptic film I saw in 2017 or something... some guy living alone in a cabin where he grows his own food, has the cabin transformed into a fortress to fend off raiders, and then a young chick and her mother happen along, screwing up his whole "man alone surviving in the woods trusting no one" dynamic. Forget the name of that one.

But then at a certain point with this film Glasshouse I started to get more and more confused and irritated with the inexplicable decisions of the male actor. He's fixated on this frumpy-looking, dour chick instead of the hot & cheerful one. He can seemingly read the frumpy dour chick's mind. Then he starts doing totally evil shit basically to relieve the guilt and burden of the frumpy girl. He's fucking the hot chick but really it's just to get to the frumpy chick. Then in the end he decides to do more basic evil shit in order to allow some random other guy into the compound and basically give himself apparent sexual competition for seemingly no good reason. It's just this parade of inexplicable decisions. I was watching this whole thing going "What the bloody hell is going on?"

After watching it, confused about who would write and direct this and what they were even thinking, I looked up the movie on Wikipedia, and... it's written by two women and directed by one of the women. As soon as I saw that I said, "OH!" It's basically pitch-perfect female fantasy:

• Mysterious sexy stranger appears
• He pays attention to the frumpy girl and inexplicably likes her more than the hot girl
• He can somehow read the girl's mind, sees to the heart of her, and values her for her inner qualities
• He makes the amoral decisions to relieve the heroine of her guilt and responsibilities and set her free
• He happily allows additional roosters into the coop because hey, who cares about competition

If you're trying to relate to the male, it's a completely frustrating experience (or at least it was for me). If you want an insight into the female psyche, about what women are basically wishing/hoping men will do to/for/around them, though, it's fascinating. You just have to go in thinking to yourself, "This guy is a caricature depicting what women hope men will do/be for them in fantasy land."

Choose them over other (hotter) women, read their minds, see right to the quick of them, make them feel chosen and valued for their inner qualities, liberate them from their feelings of duty and obligation, se

Slightly less recent of a film, I watched Crank (2006) for the first time not that long ago.

That movie is just action-packed hilarity. I don't know if it's a really great example of masculinity, but nobody can accuse Jason Statham in that film of simping or effeminacy, that's for sure.

At a certain point you are going, "I just know he's going to end up fucking this chick in public with a whole bunch of people watching," and the movie does not disappoint.

Chase

I checked out Crank last week when the public sex scene popped on my YouTube. Super cool movie + Statham is a real g.

Btw, I saw in a forum post about fav movies that your top one was The Count of Monte Cristo?

I was wondering which version?

I saw the 2002 one and the mini series with Gerard Depardieu.

 

[POB]

If you're trying to relate to the male, it's a completely frustrating experience (or at least it was for me). If you want an insight into the female psyche, about what women are basically wishing/hoping men will do to/for/around them, though, it's fascinating. You just have to go in thinking to yourself, "This guy is a caricature depicting what women hope men will do/be for them in fantasy land."

Teorema from Pasolini has a similar set up, although darker.
The stranger turns out to be bissexual and fucks everybody in the house, including the father.

Call me an old fashioned brute, but to me movies where the male lead has no defining arc of masculinity are pure dogshit.

 

[StrayDog]

call me an old fashioned brute, but to me movies where the male lead has no defining arc of masculinity are pure dogshit.

hmm I'm with you most of the way here, but there are definitely exceptions

Exceptions aside, check out this movie essay channel. They guy consistently does a great job at elevating what makes classic films so solid, and tearing apart a lot of the dogshit people let slide these days

 

[Chase]

@James D,

Btw, I saw in a forum post about fav movies that your top one was The Count of Monte Cristo?

I was wondering which version?

I saw the 2002 one and the mini series with Gerard Depardieu.

2002 version. Not high cinema but it made a big impression on 19 y/o me and is still one of my favorite films.

I read the book some 15 years later. Book is also great, though very different from the the film. Definitely less politically correct, especially the chick Dantés ends up with at the end (who was not in the 2002 film adaptation at all).

You can see the difference between mid-19th Century masculine values vs. early 21st Century popular values just looking at how they gave Dantés a "happy ending" in those two different versions of the same tale.


@POB,

Teorema from Pasolini has a similar set up, although darker.
The stranger turns out to be bissexual and fucks everybody in the house, including the father.

Call me an old fashioned brute, but to me movies where the male lead has no defining arc of masculinity are pure dogshit.

Yeah, films lacking any kind of masculine character arc ring pretty hollow.

I'm replaying Chrono Trigger right now when I have some spare time... one of the best video games ever made, arguably the best JPRG ever made. They just had a dream team director, writer, artist, and composer working on that game.

Two of the most compelling characters in the game have clear masculine character arcs. In a way, they're opposite arcs. One must learn to aside his self-doubt and embrace the role of the hero. The other must set aside his cynical loner-dom and realize he must work as part of a team if he wants any hope of achieving his goals. Former guy never had trouble working with others, but seriously undervalued himself. Latter guy had no trouble valuing himself, yet chronically undervalued others. Both are forced to grow, and it's very satisfying.

Chase

 

[Atlas IV]

I've watched 365 Days at least once with former girlfriends. It's basically every girl's BDSM fantasy on steroids - a boring, plain Polish girl gets held hostage by a handsome, rich, powerful Italian mafia lord for 365 days or until she falls in love with him. It's an interesting look into how women want to be seduced.

Like a real seduction, the film builds up with tension and uncertainty to a climax in which he fucks her senseless and pleasures her in every way possible.

As a film, it's terrible. The scripting is laughably bad. But it was also the #1 most popular movie on Netflix in like 50 countries for a long time. It was also protested against by a bunch of French feminist critics, probably because it reveals some uncomfortable truths about the nature of women that can be exploited by dirty, unscrupulous, cunning men (...like us).

 

[James D]

I've watched 365 Days at least once with former girlfriends. It's basically every girl's BDSM fantasy on steroids - a boring, plain Polish girl gets held hostage by a handsome, rich, powerful Italian mafia lord for 365 days or until she falls in love with him. It's an interesting look into how women want to be seduced.

Like a real seduction, the film builds up with tension and uncertainty to a climax in which he fucks her senseless and pleasures her in every way possible.

As a film, it's terrible. The scripting is laughably bad. But it was also the #1 most popular movie on Netflix in like 50 countries for a long time. It was also protested against by a bunch of French feminist critics, probably because it reveals some uncomfortable truths about the nature of women that can be exploited by dirty, unscrupulous, cunning men (...like us).

It's one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

But it helped me get laid three times when girls suggested we watch it together.

 

[ulrich]

You can see the difference between mid-19th Century masculine values vs. early 21st Century popular values just looking at how they gave Dantés a "happy ending" in those two different versions of the same tale.

I read the count of Monte Cristo when I was 16 and very naive to the world.
It puzzled me to no end that he didn’t end up with the first girl… you know “meant for each other”, “his one true love”…

As a grown man now, I totally get

 

[Marty]

It's basically every girl's BDSM fantasy on steroids - a boring, plain Polish girl gets held hostage by a handsome, rich, powerful Italian mafia lord for 365 days or until she falls in love with him.

Have you read The Collector by John Fowles?

 

[Atlas IV]

Have you read The Collector by John Fowles?

No, but it sounds a lot darker