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Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

CA Dreamin — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 18:32:11 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 04/17/2019 22:32

PurpleHazel wrote:

I was unhappy when Disney acquired Marvel, mainly because Disney DVDs/Blu-rays are generally quite a bit more expensive than the other studios. For example, the earlier Marvel films like the Spider-Man trilogy and the X-Men films can be had cheaply, but the MCU movies cost significantly more. Also don't like the consolidation of Pixar and Marvel under one roof -- too much entertainment business concentration.

The fact it's still an active series also increases the DVD prices. But yeah, it seems like Disney owns/controls an unnecessarily large percentage of the business.

PurpleHazel wrote:

Quote:

7. The Academy, despite losing credibility and audiences, still has a lot of power in the industry. I think they brought Netflix to their knees over Roma. 2017, Netflix campaigns for Mudbound for Oscars, but doesn't release it in theaters. Result, next to nothing. 2018, Netflix campaigns for Roma for Oscars and does release it in theaters.

Netflix gave Mudbound a limited theatrical release so it could be eligible for the Oscars -- when you said "doesn't release it in theaters," were you inferring "barely released it"? Your overall conclusion sounds right.

I was making a generalization. As we said earlier in this thread, the 1-week theatrical release of Mudbound was just a formality for Oscar-eligibility.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

PurpleHazel — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 04:37:51 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 04/14/2019 08:37

StreetSpirit wrote:

2. Marvel is might. Or more specifically, Disney is might. Domestically, between Marvel and Pixar, Disney had the top 3 box office movies of the year, each with over $600M.

Quote:

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

CA Dreamin — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 21:30:41 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 04/14/2019 01:30

Nobody's posted here in a while, plus BEA's Top Films of 2018 poll has ended. So I think it's safe to assume we've all moved on. So I'll post some notes of closure regarding 2018 in film and the Oscars.

1. I thought 2018 was a meh year for movies. Overall I give it a C or C+ grade. I like the way my list turned out, but I can't help but notice 4 of my Top 12 were actually 2017 festival releases that weren't released locally until 2018 (Death of Stalin, Thoroughbreds, You Were Never Really Here, and First Reformed). If I remove those titles and put them on my 2017 list, it makes 2017 look even better and 2018 look average. Of course this my opinion. What did you all think? Was 2018 a good year for movies, bad, or average?

2. Marvel is might. Or more specifically, Disney is might. Domestically, between Marvel and Pixar, Disney had the top 3 box office movies of the year, each with over $600M. The next closest was nearly $200M behind. Clearly the tent-pole structure is alive and well. But man, what would happen if tent-poles started flopping? Nobody knows, but Spielberg said it would cause huge changes.

3. Internationally, the box office seemed pretty healthy anyway.

4. 2018 was supposed to be a make-or-break year for MoviePass. Turned out it was neither. It seemed the company was gonna become a major force in the industry in the early part of the year. But, as many could foresee, they had to retract their unlimited plan by the summer when they realized they were burning too much cash and rival subscription services arose. They became so much of a dumpster fire, some thought MoviePass would disappear by the end of 2018. But they're still here. I used it to see Captain Marvel and Climax last month. I think they've finally found stability in their current model.

5. The Oscars were trying way too hard to attract a bigger TV audience with their Popular Film idea and their categories during commercials idea. They retracted both proposals. And hey, the ratings went up anyway. Who knew that all they had to do was nominate Black Panther for tons of awards? Oh right, everybody.

6. Spike Lee turned his back to the stage while the Green Book cast and crew were up there accepting statues and making speeches. Priceless. That should be the moment of this year's Oscars that should go down in history. And yet, it wasn't even televised.

7. The Academy, despite losing credibility and audiences, still has a lot of power in the industry. I think they brought Netflix to their knees over Roma. 2017, Netflix campaigns for Mudbound for Oscars, but doesn't release it in theaters. Result, next to nothing. 2018, Netflix campaigns for Roma for Oscars and does release it in theaters. Result, 10 noms and 3 wins. Coincidence? I don't think so.

If anyone has something to add, or just wants to keep talking about last year's cinema, go for it.

If not, I'll start a 2019 Films and Oscars thread in the next couple weeks, and we can talk about 'Us'.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

badseed — Fri, 8 Mar 2019 07:10:39 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/08/2019 12:10

StreetSpirit wrote:

I think 1/4 stars is going too far and getting way too specific. Like what's the difference between a 2-star movie and a 2 1/4-star movie? Simpler is better.

As for my ratings, I used to be lenient. I used to give a lot of high ratings. But I've gradually become less and less lenient over the years and now some may even consider me a harsh grader. I rarely give 9s and 10s these days. Movies I gave an x several years ago would probably be x - 1, or maybe even x - 2, by my standards today. But I haven't gone back into my letterbox'd and re-rated things. 1, that would take a long time. And 2, how do I know if a movie should be down-rated if I haven't re-watched it? So yeah, if you follow me on LB, my ratings def come with a margin of error. I'd rather make lists.

I also haven't given many 10s from this decade, The most recent one is Ex Machina. From 2018, I only gave three 9s.

badseed, there are a few debatable titles on your "True 5s" list. Every one of them that I've seen (except one) is at least an 8/10 in my book. But rather than debate something subjective, I'm just gonna call attention to one...Greed. The version that survived is butchered. So much content, entire story-lines, have been lost. The TCM reconstruction with stills and titles does a good job filling in the gaps, and we can envision Greed might have been perfect in its original form. But I don't think we can assume that, and its current survived form is def not perfect for these reasons. It'd be great if the missing footage was found some day.

Here, let me break it down for you (ignore the fact that half these words mean the same thing).

5 - perfect
4.75 - near perfect
4.5 - phenomenal
4.25 - outstanding
4 - great
3.75 - really freakin good
3.5 - really good
3.25 - pretty good
3 - good
2.75 - above average
2.5 - average
2.25 - below average
2- bad
1.75 - really bad
1.5 - awful
1.25 - shit
1- no redeeming value
0.75 - lost brain cells
0.5 - lost a year off my life
0.25 - instant suicide

I get your point regarding Greed but that was the first silent drama to ever click with me. I was quite young when I watched it and the impression stuck. Perhaps I'll reconsider if I watch it again but I was blown away back like 15 years ago.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

PurpleHazel — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 21:44:17 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 03/08/2019 02:44

Hayden wrote:

Shoah and Berlin Alexanderplatz still dauntingly sit in my watchlist....

I've never gotten around to Shoah due to the length. Only film on the They Shoot Pictures Don't They? list's top 100 films I haven't seen.

When I was in my late teens I saw Berlin Alexanderplatz in a theater over two days -- seven plus hours plus breaks both days. Ah, to be young and devil-may-care.

Quote:

could you elaborate some of what you like about The Lives of Others? You're definitely not alone, and that film's never clicked with me.

I liked it pretty well, but thought it was just a little bit simplistic compared to other contemporaneous foreign films.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

CA Dreamin — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 21:14:51 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 03/08/2019 02:14

I think 1/4 stars is going too far and getting way too specific. Like what's the difference between a 2-star movie and a 2 1/4-star movie? Simpler is better.

As for my ratings, I used to be lenient. I used to give a lot of high ratings. But I've gradually become less and less lenient over the years and now some may even consider me a harsh grader. I rarely give 9s and 10s these days. Movies I gave an x several years ago would probably be x - 1, or maybe even x - 2, by my standards today. But I haven't gone back into my letterbox'd and re-rated things. 1, that would take a long time. And 2, how do I know if a movie should be down-rated if I haven't re-watched it? So yeah, if you follow me on LB, my ratings def come with a margin of error. I'd rather make lists.

I also haven't given many 10s from this decade, The most recent one is Ex Machina. From 2018, I only gave three 9s.

badseed, there are a few debatable titles on your "True 5s" list. Every one of them that I've seen (except one) is at least an 8/10 in my book. But rather than debate something subjective, I'm just gonna call attention to one...Greed. The version that survived is butchered. So much content, entire story-lines, have been lost. The TCM reconstruction with stills and titles does a good job filling in the gaps, and we can envision Greed might have been perfect in its original form. But I don't think we can assume that, and its current survived form is def not perfect for these reasons. It'd be great if the missing footage was found some day.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

badseed — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 19:48:14 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/08/2019 00:48

Hayden wrote:

badseed wrote:

So I made that list whilst scrolling through all my 5s. I actually wound up with like 68, and I honestly should have included a few more. But nothing on the list is really all that debatable. They're all perfect IMO. I doubt I could be talked down from any of them but if someone wants to try that's cool.

True 5s https://boxd.it/2GxEw

Shoah and Berlin Alexanderplatz still dauntingly sit in my watchlist....

I agree with most of your list, and I'm definitely not going to talk anything down, but could you elaborate some of what you like about The Lives of Others? You're definitely not alone, and that film's never clicked with me.

Damn, what's not to click? I don't know what to say that doesn't give away the ending but it made an immediate impact on me. It's a simple film but so are many other perfect movies. I love stories about people who go through moral conflicts, especially ones with political and/or legal repercussions.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

Hayden — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 17:13:23 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 03/07/2019 22:13

badseed wrote:

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

badseed — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 14:43:52 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/07/2019 19:43

badseed wrote:

Yeah, if Letterboxd would update their ratings system to include 4.75s I really wouldn't have but probably a couple dozen 5s. Maybe that's a list I could make. I really don't have many 5s on BEA at all.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

badseed — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 12:47:58 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/07/2019 17:47

Gowi wrote:

for music and film it takes a lot for me to decide "yo i think this is perfect"

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

mickilennial — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 05:03:27 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 03/07/2019 10:03

for music and film it takes a lot for me to decide "yo i think this is perfect"

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

PurpleHazel — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 04:42:10 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 03/07/2019 09:42

There aren't that many movies from this decade I'd give a 10 to: A Separation, maybe a few more. A majority of my 10s would go to films from the 1940s through the 70s -- with the 40s, 50s and 70s the biggest decades for U.S. films, and the 50s, 60s and 70s for foreign-language films.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

badseed — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 23:48:37 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/05/2019 04:48

AwaitingAndrew wrote:

The only 10 (or 5/5) I've given a film in recent memory was 1966's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? after I watched it for the first time in late 2018. I didn't feel any of 2017 or 2018's releases were ultimately worthy of a perfect score. Blade Runner 2049 came the closest.

Blade Runner was one of my two 2017 films to get a 10; the other is The Florida Project. Surely my submitted list for our 2017 poll would state differently, but it's the hindsight factor. Also, in the last year I've tried to get less hypercritical and let my ratings be more subjective.

It's been a couple years since I've seen an old film for the first time that I'd give a perfect rating to. I saw the majority of stuff so early in life there just can't be many left. Last one I recall is The Cremator which I never heard of until it made our horror list. Or some Abbas Kiarostami, who I hadn't seen a film from until the poll for our directors list. I did recently rewatch The Big Gundown and brought it up to a 10.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

AwaitingAndrew — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 20:22:56 GMT

Author: AwaitingAndrew

Posted: 03/05/2019 01:22

The only 10 (or 5/5) I've given a film in recent memory was 1966's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? after I watched it for the first time in late 2018. I didn't feel any of 2017 or 2018's releases were ultimately worthy of a perfect score. Blade Runner 2049 came the closest.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

mickilennial — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 17:28:58 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 03/04/2019 22:28

me and my dad had a game after my parents divorce in '99 where we would pick 3 movies each at random from any aisle at blockbuster -- so a lot of my experiences outside of cable tv was from that kind of stuff. we ended up watching trashy b-movies and old hollywood staples. it was wild.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

badseed — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 17:11:10 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/04/2019 22:11

Villain wrote:

Quote:

bolded for emphasis -- that was a lot of my childhood too

in my early 20s i used to watch TCM every morning

I don't have parents that are huge film fans either. Only casual. A lot of people are movie fans because their parents were.

The movies my parents got me into were pretty mainstream, simple films from the 80s and 90s with a few exceptions. I discovered the internet at age 12 and used it to learn about movies. It's still my main tool to this day, as I don't personally know a single person in real life who knows a fraction of what I know.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

Villain — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 16:31:53 GMT

Author: Villain

Posted: 03/04/2019 21:31

Quote:

bolded for emphasis -- that was a lot of my childhood too

in my early 20s i used to watch TCM every morning

I don't have parents that are huge film fans either. Only casual. A lot of people are movie fans because their parents were.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

mickilennial — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 15:31:39 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 03/04/2019 20:31

badseed wrote:

That's not all that many I don't think. I just calculated 5897 divided by 30.5 years and that's about 193 movies a year. Roughly one movie every two days of my life. Of course if you calculate all the re-watches I surely have watched at least one a day.

-As a child, we used to rent at least 3, sometimes 5 movies every weekend. During the summer often we would rent for three days and when we return them rent another three to five. Plus any time there was a horror movie on TV I would watch it.
-As a teenager I was known to most people as "that movie guy". By the time I was 18 I owned over 500 DVDs. I also watched a ridiculous amount of Turner Classic movies.
-As a young adult I really got into Netflix, and then Hulu, whilst continuing to build my collection.

These last three or four years have been a little more tumultuous so I watch what I can, when I can. Sometimes I buy it, sometimes I stream it, sometimes I rent it from Redbox. But yeah a lot more downtime these last few years.

bolded for emphasis -- that was a lot of my childhood too

in my early 20s i used to watch TCM every morning

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

Villain — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 15:12:17 GMT

Author: Villain

Posted: 03/04/2019 20:12

Quote:

-As a child, we used to rent at least 3, sometimes 5 movies every weekend. During the summer often we would rent for three days and when we return them rent another three to five. Plus any time there was a horror movie on TV I would watch it.
-As a teenager I was known to most people as "that movie guy". By the time I was 18 I owned over 500 DVDs. I also watched a ridiculous amount of Turner Classic movies.
-As a young adult I really got into Netflix, and then Hulu, whilst continuing to build my collection.

I suppose maybe I just didn't become a film fan until after you did. I really didn't start to catch on to movies until I was like 17. Prior to that I was probably only watching 15 a year. Sometimes I'll watch that many in a week now. I've still only had 7 years of watching movies on a consistent basis.

Re: 2018 Films and Oscars

badseed — Mon, 4 Mar 2019 14:49:53 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/04/2019 19:49

Villain wrote:

badseed wrote:

I've given 289 5 star ratings in total, out of 5,897 films. Here's the full breakdown by decade:

20s - 17
30s - 15
40s - 29
50s - 43
60s - 59
70s - 39
80s - 30
90s - 19
00s - 17
10s - 21

In regards to some "questionable" ratings, these are the only ones at first glance that I wouldn't expect pretty much everyone to give a minimum of 3.5-4 stars to.

Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song
Pink Floyd The Wall
Blood for Dracula
At Close Range
Cannibal Holocaust

That's still only 4% of your total films watched which is still a very small amount. How many movies do you watch a day? Just out of curiosity. You have a massive total of films for a relatively young man. I've averaged a movie a day for a few years now, but I've yet to hit 2000