Movies with Mitch

I loved nightingale but yes a tough watch. Had you seen Babadook? I didn’t really care for it that much but thought Nightingale was a powerful film

Some recent stuff

Titane - 8/10. Incredible film. I may like her earlier film Raw even more tho. But if you’re in the mood for something completely insane this is the film for you. It won top prize at Cannes film fest last year

Antlers - 5/10 had all the makings of what should have been a great horror film but fell short in every aspect

Watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) on new years with my gf as she had never seen it. One of the greatest horror films of all time. 10/10

Matrix - whatever the new one is called 3/10 . Wow this stunk. Even tho it was tongue in cheek and self aware it was just so bad it couldn’t be justified. Pass

2 Likes

Babadook was an interesting take on how some single mothers deal with motherhood and its frustrations. It had some interesting symbolism too. It was ok. I prefer Hereditary as far as a horror movie with a female lead.

Nightingale was a good movie once I got past the beginning. Always interesting to see two people ignorant of each other’s cultures forced to interact.

I’ve only seen the Texas Chainsaw Massacre from your list. The other ones require me to pay to see them. The original TCM is a gem of a horror film.

I don’t plan to see the new Matrix.

2 Likes

Hey there @sg8627

Have you seen any of the older classic westerns like Red River, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence? Although this is not a western per se, it has that vibe - Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp and filmed in black and white.

2 Likes

Hey man

I have not but I will check those out

The old ones I’m pretty picky but I love Joe Kid and Outlaw Josey Whales

There’s so many but the ones I listed up top are definitely worth the time

1 Like

I’ve seen both Tombstone and The Quick and the Dead. I must have liked Tombstone when I saw it at the cinema as I ended up buying it on VHS. Showing my age there. I might also have The Quick and the Dead up in my attic on VHS although not sure. A nice link considering it includes a downsized Leonardo Di Caprio, who I felt was channeling Leonard from The Big Bang Theory in Don’t Look Up. Sam Raimi can always be relied upon for some nice camera work. There are loads of good early Clint Eastwood films, like The Beguiled, Play Misty For Me, and of course…Dirty Harry!

1 Like

Hey there @hippydoof

What did your gf think of TTCM?

I first saw a pirated copy of it when I was a teenager and although I appreciated it, ranked it as one of those films that I may not want to watch again due to it being gruellingly unpleasant.

So saying I HAVE watched it more than once since and actually watched it again last year. The more I watch it the more I appreciate it, and unlike some other early work from guys like Wes Craven, this looks more contemporary the older it gets. Absolutely seminal.

I have just finished bingeing both seasons of Mindhunter, and I am very disappointed they delayed production of season 3. What an excellent show.

Title : Mindhunter
Genre : Psychological Thriller
Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv
Directed by: Multiple
Screenplay by: Joe Penhall
Summary :

Two FBI agents and a Professor of Psychology form the FBI’s now-famous Behavioural Science Unit in the late 1970’s by travelling the country interviewing notorious serial killers.

Review:

The best TV series I’ve watched in a long-time. Probably goes in my top 10 of all time. If you are fascinated by psychopaths and serial killers, and what makes them commit completely debased, inhumane acts, this is the show for you.

What makes the show so unique, in my opinion, is the ability to scare you shitless without any actual violence. It is very similar to 7even in that regard, a 1995 film directed by David Fincher who was Executive Producer of Mindhunter. That’s the difference between low-rate Thrillers or Horror movies and intelligent Psychological Thrillers - the suspense of thinking something will occur, without it actually occurring.

The show pairs two polar opposite FBI agents - Holden Ford and Bill Tench - based on the real-life John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Ford is more intellectual, taking night classes at the University of Virginia, with idiosyncrasies comparable to the killers they study. He uses instinct and gets in the mind of the killer to figure out their psyche. Tench is a red-blooded American and a family man. He is still highly intelligent, but behaves more procedurally.

The series begins with the pair interviewing infamous serial killer Ed Kemper, who killed female college students, had sex with them posthumously, and cut their heads off as trophies. The actor who plays Kemper does an amazing job portraying the real life Kemper, who was over 6 ft 9 inches and had an IQ of 145. Through these interviews, the pair gain insights into the behavioural profiles of killers they hope to mold into a methodology to prevent similar crimes in the future, or catch the killers much sooner.

Jonathan Groff, who plays Agent Ford, has been praised for his performance. He’s arrogant, narcissistic and operates purely on instinct, yet he’s highly effective and surprisingly empathetic. He seems to genuinely care, although his mannerisms are formal and awkward and he seems to not understand social queues. Holt McCallany is also great, providing a practical and stabilising force to balance out the ambitious Ford. I like Anna Torv as an actor, but I found her character annoying. I know she was meant to be the intellectual helping provide intelligent insights and build the methodology to apply, but the show made her feel unnecessary most of the time. She basically just stated the obvious. Her acting was on point, but the script didn’t do her any favours.

Throughout two seasons, the show evolves from interviewing killers like Kemper, Montie Russell and Richard Speck, to applying the insights they’ve developed to the real-life case of the Atlanta child murders committed by Wayne Williams. Most episodes also follow the life of Dennis Rader aka BTK, who terrorised Wichita for almost three decades. These are some of the most interesting scenes. Each is highly suspenseful and some lead you to believe you’re about to witness a murder, but don’t.

The score, cinematography and set design are incredible and make the show. It feels very real for the time (not that I was alive in the 1970’s or 80’s) with all the faded mustard coloured clothing, chain smoking and noisy American cars. Perms are abundant, as are aviator sunglasses. The scene titles use bold typography representative of that era. And the score is eery as fuck. It does a brilliant job of building the tension and adding sinister tones to scenes that may have otherwise felt normal in a more procedural crime drama. You’ll be watching BTK argue with a library assistant about a broken Xerox machine while thinking he’s the second coming of Satan (which he probably was, to be fair).

I can’t recommend Mindhunter enough. It’s available on Netflix.

Score: 9/10

5 Likes

cool!

I’m not sure she entirely liked it. She’s used to jump scare a minute kinda horror flicks. Chainsaw is absolutely more about atmosphere building to unbridled insanity. I’m not sure she was on board with it. To me tho it is lightning in a bottle and can’t be reproduced no matter how many times it’s been copied or ripped off or rebooted nothing can even compare to the OG.

1 Like

Such a great show and the everyone of the serial killer’s is cast so perfectly its freaky

2 Likes

Hi man, I like David Fincher movies too. Take a look at The Game.

1 Like

This thread makes me wish I’d wrote down on a list every movie I love that’s moved me one way or another

I just finished watching season 1 of The Man in the High Castle.

Has anyone else watched it? Love a good dystopian future and my god this is bleak.

1 Like

I blazed through that. Loved the setting, but found the script/acting to be a bit lacking. Worth it for the art direction though.

1 Like

Yeah, it’s a bit…empty at times. Some of the actors I thought were good, like Alexa Davalos (Julianna Crane), Rufus Sewell (John Smith) and Joel da la Fuente (Inspector Kido), but some of them are pretty bad like Luke Kleintank (Joe Blake).

I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot like Lost and lose the plot.

1 Like

Totally agree. I absolutely love the alternative history setting, which is incredibly intriguing. They also have a few great actors, while others are a bit meh. Unfortunately, the plot is a bit all over the place and character development is lacking a lot, though. It is still a decent show and Rufus Sewell is fantastic, but there was so much more potential that I can help but ultimately feel disappointed.

That said, personally of the best moments of the entire show happens at the end of season 2, I think. So, the best part is still to come @Sugarhouse

2 Likes

If anyone’s interested
Started watching Deadwood
I like it a lot except it’s hard to follow what everyone is saying with old west slang/jargon

Anyone liked it?

2 Likes

Since we’re suggesting “old” series I’m going to suggest Westworld!

1 Like

Deadwood is a classic. Man, 2000’s HBO was the peak of television. Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood…

2 Likes

Yea dude I like the style of Deadwood a lot
I just can’t follow them well lol
I gotta turn it up and listen real well

I gotta get into the wire too
I feel like that doesn’t get a lot of play but ratings are super high on that show
Any reason why?