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Hussite
The first movie escapes me for now, but when I think back to my childhood and all of the movies I watched back then, they're all tied to a memory of family or friends. Night of the Living Dead with my sister, Lethal Weapon with my mom, Mallrats and Clerks everyday for an entire summer with my friend Jackie.
When I was a teen, in the 90's, we had video stores like the internet has streaming services. A small town could easily have 3 video stores. There was a laundry mat where I grew up that had every Faces of Death video and they would rent them to my sister and I without caring about the MUST BE 18 disclaimer (now anyone can just on online and see the worst shit imaginable so I'm sure the relevance of that is lost with the times.) I once owed them $150 for a Searching for Bobby Fischer VHS that I lost under the seat of my 1986 Chevy Caviler in 97 or 98.
There was another video store down the street, you could rent 7 movies for 7 days for $7. As a kid, working at McDonalds, that was a hell of a deal. I'd get my 7 moves and come back the next day and get 7 more. I watched everything I could, everything I had time for and when you're an insomniac who can operate on 4 hours or less of sleep, you end up with a lot of extra time.
Sometimes I reach a point where I feel like I've seen everything that is worth watching. But I always find some hidden diamond in the rough just waiting to be dug up and discovered all over again.
When I finally went to college I studied Communication Arts and took some film classes. Which really helped to open up a whole new appreciation for all of the films I have seen and have yet to. Great, I can rewatch everything now with new eyes! How many takes is a scene? camera lens? this director loves long shots!, where's the lighting? , mise en scène, practical effects, sound design, digital, 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, Bolex....
Now if I really like something I have to watch it a couple times. Usually, I watch it once by myself, then again with someone else. I love catching people up on the classics. My gf absolutely loves the Rambo and Rocky movies now and she never even heard of them before we went out.
So, nobody is reading this but it's more of a journal at this point anyway.
I've never taken the time to compose an oration on what I enjoyed, disliked, found intriguing, loved, hated, or what have you. I did start a blog once where I was going to review things but I only made one entry. So, I'm planning to start, late in the game writing responses on IMDB to movies I've seen.
I feign to call them reviews because I dont know exactly how the composition will go but I'm just going to have fun with it.
Please respect one another
"Peace, love, and chicken grease"
-Shawn
Reviews
Gutland (2017)
Gutfilm!
Other reviewers have already done a good job explaining what this movie is about. However, anyone who gives a movie a perfect score loses some credibility. It was good, but has it's flaws like any movie.
Who should watch this movie?
If you like a slow burn that's full of atmosphere, beauty, and steeping with anxiety throughout, you probably will not be disappointed. Think Hereditary meets Badlands (the Martin Sheen Badlands) and Of Mice and Men (If that's even possible to imagine.)
I was a bit irritated by the inaccurate subtitles because I hate with translators take their own liberties with their source material. But I'm not going to fault the film for that and it didn't detract from the story at all.
Who shouldn't watch this movie?
If you don't sprechen Deutsch or hate reading subtitles you should probably move on.
If you don't enjoy a slow expositive narrative expounded through long static camera shots, pantomime expression, and an overall feeling of apathy until the whole story is wrapped up and you can appreciate the forest for the trees, shrubs, brush, and snag.
Then you'll probably be bored out of your gourd.
I'll be looking forward to the next Govinda Van Maele flick!
12 Round Gun (2017)
This is why I never trust IMDB ratings
Sam Upton has not been on my radar until I saw this. Great performance, good directing, camera work, writing, and acting (for the most part.) Great freshen full-length film debut.