Ha, Meek’s Cutoff is one of the relatively few qt3 podcast movies that I still haven’t managed to see.
Sounds like you may not like Meek’s Cutoff.
Oooh, cool, a Kelly Reichardt movie! I didn’t know she had a new movie. She’s the bee’s knees, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve loved everything she’s done, as far back as Old Joy (not to be confused with Oldboy). I think of her as quietly subversive. Meek’s Cutoff is kind of an epic anti-epic, and Night Moves is kind of an anti-thriller thriller.
What was the Q&A like? What sorts of questions did folks ask?
-Tom
People asked about the source work and adaptation, why shoot in 4x3, how they decided to do casting, and getting the setting right. My girlfriend asked if the Reichardt had seen Jim Jarmucsh’s Dead Man, as the outpost scenes were very much like the ones in First Cow (she said she loved Dead Man, but didn’t go as far as to say it served as an inspiration for the outpost scenes). I think she asked another question but can’t remember what it was.
— Alan
Ugh. Plz stop doing this, movie directors. Reichardt had a great answer for why she shot Meek’s Cutoff in that aspect ratio: it was how the world looked out from under a bonnet or from the back of a Conestoga wagon. But I’ll accept that answer for only one movie!
-Tom
Her response is that she just really liked the format, creates more intimate framing, and certain shots work a lot better in that ratio (one shot of a character in a tree and the other on the ground for instance). It’s… okay for this film I guess. Would have preferred something different.
— Alan
Surprise! Onward is coming to a living room near you this evening.
I watched The Lighthouse recently with Willem Dafoe. It was shot in black and white AND 4x4 aspect ratio or 3x3 or maybe it was 2x2 … it was a square! Take that!
I think it worked, maked everything feel cramped on the screen.
(actually there are 2 recent movies with the same plot)
I instantly thought of The Lighthouse when Tom made that complaint also. In fact, When I started watching the movie, I was not sure if there was something wrong with my browser, so I stopped the movie and resized the browser a few times and did some googling to see whether the film was shot in a “weird format.” Cramped indeed!
I’m still not sure if I want to see The Lighthouse, as it sounds kind of unpleasant and I didn’t much like The Witch, but the trailers made me absolutely sure the aspect ratio would irritate the shit out of me.
It is extremely unpleasant, but I don’t know that one’s opinion of the Witch is all that useful a data point.
The reviews I’ve seen make it sound like it does all the things I didn’t like about The Witch, giving the impression that it’s less the subject matter and more the director’s style. Kind of like how it turns out that Gretel and Hansel, while a very different movie than I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House, has most of the same flaws and ultimately I disliked both movies for much the same reasons, and I strongly suspect I will probably not like any other movies by that director because he’ll do the same things. So for Robert Eggers and The Lighthouse.
But…one movie isn’t actually sufficient sample size to be sure about that, reviews or no. So…argh.
The Lighthouse was the funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time. Granted, a lot of people won’t see it that way, because the screaming and storming and filth will more directly capture their attention. But watching these two characters fall apart together was sincerely hilarious to me, especially the more bombastic Willem Dafoe got. I recommend it, and I don’t think there was anything wrong with the aspect ratio. Reminds me of the squareness of some Matthew Brady photographs, etc.
You know, this is probably the exact right way to approach The Lighthouse. As I probably over-explained in the podcast, I just couldn’t get past the fact that it had so little in common with The Witch. If I’d been told it was an absurdist comedy, I suspect I might have been more open to what Eggers was doing.
Stop killing teh cinema!
-Tom
Proposal: Movie theaters are required to reinstall automatic curtains, that move in to perfectly frame every film no matter the aspect ratio. Would that help? (Or maybe all the theaters in LA have these. In Denver it’s just a handful of fancy/historic ones.)
My wife and I rented Emma. over the weekend since she had wanted to see it with a girlfriend prior to quarantine. She loves all things Jane Austin but felt let down by this version. The big glaring issue with the movie is they do very little to make Emma a sympathetic character. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Emma with barely a smile or warmth, and though in the book she’s a matchmaker who seems to delight in the matches, you don’t get any of that here. Johnny Flynn’s Mr. Knightly is likewise dull and dour. Bill Nighy does his usual great job as Emma’s father, but he stands alone here.
Feels like it’s partly the adaptation and partly the director at fault here. But there’s enough blame to go around!
Though it cost $20 to rent, the terms are similar to ‘regular’ rentals - you have 30 days to start watching and the 48 hours to finish it. So she tried to watch is a second time yesterday, but couldn’t get through it.
Ultimately a disappointing film.
While the theaters are closed, I liked the sound of these movies. Especially the documentary features that are usually tough to find but are temporarily available for free.
Anyone seen this? The premise sounds pretty cool but the reviews are all over the place.
I didn’t really care for it. The ideas are stretched a little thin for a full-length film. The premise is the best part, after it’s set up the movie becomes kind of boring. The themes aren’t subtle: they’re garden variety suburban malaise and family strife. I liked seeing Imogen Poots in a leading role but there just wasn’t enough going on. Not surprised to find out it is based on a short.