Last movie watched...

[Funt Solo]

It seems apposite (linked with the themes of Army of the Dead) to link in this long, quite difficult article: Children tell of neglect, filth and fear in US asylum camps.

When professionals point out that removing children from their carers (in an example in the article - splitting up two sisters, one of whom was a child) causes the same distress for the child as removing them from their parent (because the carer is a parent figure in their life), the people doing the removing simply respond "but it's federal law", as if that's some kind of an answer.

[Professor Bear]

They were only obeying orders.

[milstar]

ZACK SNYDER: Here is a film I have made, and it is about the inevitable failure of capitalism and why concentration camps are bad.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Typical Snyder.  So right wing.

That Zack Snyder's ARMY OF THE DEAD is an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist work is apparently irrelevant to the living torment that is social media commentary, for Snyder is a right-wing hack and that is the only lens through which his work is allowed to be evaluated.  A Sean Spicer cameo is highlighted as proof that the film is right-wing, but Spicer's cameo actually sees him schooled by an African-American woman for failing to acknowledge racial profiling and America's jailing of political dissidents.  Within minutes of this, we see life in America's concentration camps as a living Hell in which people can "disappear" at the whim of guards who use their authority to hide their raping not just detainees, but also those who enter the camp as medical volunteers.  The camps full of people deemed less than human and a threat to American security, treated like they're diseased, all of them seemingly Latino, all confined behind a massive wall - I don't know who needs to hear this in relation to a Zack Snyder movie but this is not subtle stuff, it is not hard to miss, and none of this is my "hot take", this is the actual text of the film story.

There's a whole sub-plot in this movie where an alpha-male character is struggling to communicate with his daughter, and Snyder devotes long, seemingly aimless minutes to a father and daughter failing to express themselves adequately to each other and they cut the conversation short thinking they have time to work this through.  They've left this conversation in a bad place, but they'll sort it out later.  There's time.
I can think of... another interpretation of this part of the story which was written by Zack Snyder that doesn't involve his right wing politics, but Zack Snyder is right wing, so it's probably just about how he doesn't understand women probably.

There's an axiom in left-wing thinking that goes "we can sooner see the end of the world than accept the end of capitalism", and in recent years this has been born out to be true because capitalists are literally burning the planet to death, but if you want to see a fun examination of this notion played out with a zombie tiger, this movie has your back.  I really enjoyed its silly mix of heist and zombie tropes and while I did feel the running time once or twice, it's got plenty going on to keep you occupied.  It starts with a just-married woman declaring "I love life WOO" and if you know where that's going - and you definately do - but can keep watching anyway, you won't have any problems with this.

I got totally opposite impression from the film. To me, it's lefty piece of work, that serves as anti-capitalist statement and Snyder always comes to me as lefty.
Btw, I got that the whole father - daughter thing is self insert there, given Snyder's personal tragedy.

[TordelBack]

Have to say,  I'm glad to see the alternative takes on this movie here (even from folk who believe Robespierre was un Papa centriste). I'm no fan of Snyder,  except as a highly skilled technician, but I do love some Bautista, and so the trailer appealed. I'll give it a shot this weekend.

[karlos]

Snyder himself recently said he's baffled that he's considered right wing when he is a lefty.

I wanted to love Army of the Dead but found it muddled and all over the place.

I do love me some Snyder in general, though, (adored his Justice League cut).

[CalHab]

I thought Snyder was a follower of the Ayn Rand cult?

[von Boom]

Stowaway on Prime. This film gives unpolished turds a bad name.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Dead of Night (1945, Ealing)

Having just finished Sean Hogan's utterly incredible England's Screaming, which gets much usage of the character Hugo Fitch, I spent the weekend trying to find a cheap copy of Dead of Night on dvd. Then yesterday I found I'd recorded it off the telly last year, and it was sitting on my Sky box all along.

While the Hugo segment is, of course, the best- and Hugo himself a terrifying creation, I also really enjoyed the story about the mirror, and the astonishing end sequence. Shame about the misjudged comedy ghost/ golf segment and the screechiness of Sally Ann Howes' (Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) accent- which hurt my poor ears.

If you've not seen it, it's worth it for Hugo- brrrr.

SBT

[Dandontdare]

Just read the wiki summary and that sounds amazing - I love those old portmanteau films but if I've ever seen this one, it was many years ago. The ventriloquist bit is the only section that sounds familiar, but I may be mixing it up with other spooky-ventriloquist films (wasn't Anthony Hopkins in one?)

[milstar]

Just read the wiki summary and that sounds amazing - I love those old portmanteau films but if I've ever seen this one, it was many years ago. The ventriloquist bit is the only section that sounds familiar, but I may be mixing it up with other spooky-ventriloquist films (wasn't Anthony Hopkins in one?)

It's called Magic. A sad film, actually.

[Dandontdare]

Just read the wiki summary and that sounds amazing - I love those old portmanteau films but if I've ever seen this one, it was many years ago. The ventriloquist bit is the only section that sounds familiar, but I may be mixing it up with other spooky-ventriloquist films (wasn't Anthony Hopkins in one?)

It's called Magic. A sad film, actually.

That's the one. Brilliantly creepy.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Dead of Night pops up on TalkingPicturesTV fairly regularly- which is where I recorded it from.  You will need to adjust your aspect ratio though, because it's automatically played in widescreen and it shouldn't be.

And for anyone in love with British horror films, I cant reccomend England's Screaming highly enough. But that's one for the Reading thread.

SBT
 

[karlos]

Dead of Night is an absolute classic, one of the very best supernatural films ever made.

Talking Pictures is such a stonking channel: it reintroduced me the masterpiece that is Night of the Demon last year. Great stuff.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Yep, me too. And then I went and bought a copy for my shelves because it really is one of the best horror films I've ever seen.

And- still on the subject of England's Screaming- Julian Karswell is a main character in the book, and his long shadow and influence runs through it all the way to the end. But again, that's one for the 'Reading' thread.

SBT

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Aliens

Sorry, War for Planet of the Apes

Sorry, Army of the Dead

It was... unexpectedly good