I would be interested in hearing from anyone who saw Sinners at this relatively late date who did NOT know it was a vampire flick.
Just curious what one might have heard about the film that made them want to watch it, but kept them in the dark about the vampire aspect.
For me, the first I heard of the film was quite a while ago - a review on NPR - which made it clear that it was a vampire flick. Which was one of the aspects making me want to see it. I fell firmly in the disappointed/not impressed camp. Not trying to convince anyone other than how they feel.
I didn’t love the movie, but Coogler does IMO a lot of clever things, especially in not making Remmick some black and white (pun intended I guess) Klannish symbol. A lot of thought went into that guy.
It’s really just that, as someone else said, I’m tired of vampires and their tropes.
There is considerable overlap with the “Sinners - watched it” thread.
I found the first half interesting - but horribly slow. Second half I found the gore excessive and unnecessary, and many of the characters’ actions - for lack of a better word - stupid.
But I readily acknowledge that I am in the minority.
A really minor point, but I don’t recall it having been addressed much - the main actor did a great job playing the twin roles. But I always personally have an issue with such situations. Instead of just accepting the characters and the story, I find myself seeing if I can spot the “seams” - see what they did to have the same actor acting against himself. In decades past, they’d show one character from the rear. Or the 2 characters would never cross a centerline… I quickly gave up trying to do so in this
movie, but just wanted to observe that that is a very minor point that often detracts from my immersion in a film.
Sometimes I’ll feel the same about extended tracking shots. Instead of just enjoying the shot/scent, I find myself trying to spot where the cut appears.
I didn’t know until just now . No worries about spoilers - I think it is beyond spoiler territory IMHO and I don’t mind spoilers anyway. But yeah, I haven’t gotten around to watching it just yet and I know literally nothing about it other than it has some hype (I haven’t watched the Oscars in a decade). I’m very, very much an impulse watcher of films on streaming these days, I’ve sworn off cinemas since the COVID days.
I’m thankful I saw both Sinners and Weapons completely unaware of the supernatural elements. By now both have been thoroughly spoiled by the media in general and the Oscars show in particular.
I’ve been wanting to watch this for a while, and finally did last night. It’s a compelling and well-edited documentary that is really heart-breaking. It’s kind of along the lines of a greek tragedy, where you know that bad things are coming, but are powerless to stop them. This is a documentary that unambiguously picks a “side” (and rightly so, IMO). Definitely not a light-hearted watch.
It was clear from the trailer it was some kind of art house supernatural horror flick dealing with social issues in the vein of Jordan Peele, Ari Aster etc. There’s a name for this kind of horror, but it escapes me.
I didn’t know it was specifically vampires until shortly before I saw it. I don’t really care about vampires but I was still excited for the film. I could tell from the trailer that I would be into it.
Still blew away my expectations.
I expected to be much more afraid watching it, but vampires don’t scare me, so I was fine.
I wasn’t that clueless. I vaguely knew that vampires would eventually play a part in the story. I just didn’t imagine it was going to turn into something so over the top. I enjoyed the first part of the movie, the realistic settings of a bygone era in the Deep South and all. Then somewhere along the line, I dozed off. I awoke to the vampire holocaust in full swing. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I honestly wondered if I was watching the same movie!
I do plan on watching it again. My wife wants to see it.
Mr Nobody Against Putin (2025). A videographer at a Russian elementary school is heartbroken when Russia invades Ukraine, his friends start getting conscripted, and he witnesses the increasing militarization of the school and the endless propaganda being directed at young children. He decides to use his job as a cover for creating a documentary about the situation, and then flee the country with the footage. I found the degree of repression and propagandizing the film revealed to be surprising and worse than I had imagined.
The only other Oscar-nominated documentary I’ve seen is The Perfect Neighbor, and to me it’s a toss-up as to which I preferred – they’re both excellent. You have to admire the Russian filmmaker’s courage and determination, which was probably a big factor in its Oscar win. The Perfect Neighbor deals with a lesser topic, but you have to admire the way they managed to tell a complete and coherent story from such scattered footage. Both docs are highly recommended.
From a business side, this was one of the most important movies of the past decade. Basically, it was the start* of a new universe of monster movies. Cruise and others were going to portray all different monsters and creatures and criss-cross over to each movie, much like Marvel does.
They got Cruise(a massive get for them), Russell Crowe, Johnny Depp, and more.
The failure, financially, of Mummy ended the whole thing and it remains a big unfinished project. I would have liked to see what they did.
*I think Dracula Untold(2014) was going to be included in the sense that the Dracula of the movie would have continued portraying the character. Alas, no. It’s not a bad movie.
Here is the one image they took, though I believe we all figured out these people were not in the same room when the pic was taken.
The Perfect Host (2010). A fine little mystery thriller. Clayne Crawford plays John Taylor, an injured bank robber on the run desperate for a temporary hideout. David Hyde Pierce is Warwick Wilson, a mild-mannered homeowner into whose home Taylor insinuates himself by pretending to know one of Wilson’s best friends.
This movie has so many twists and surprises that I’ll refrain from saying anything more. Just go in blind and enjoy it. Definitely recommended and I think it’s been critically underrated.
In Bruges. This had been sort of semi on my radar for quite a while, but comments here finally pushed me into watching it. Visually very nice, some genuinely funny moments, and good character stuff going on, all balanced out to perfection. So I’ll apply for membership in the Movies You’ve Seen Recently In Bruges Fan Club.
It also contains one of my favorite “fake-out” openings, stringing the viewer along just long enough to think it’s going to be another generic Tarantino ripoff.
. No worries about spoilers - I think it is beyond spoiler territory IMHO and I don’t mind spoilers anyway. But yeah, I haven’t gotten around to watching it just yet and I know literally nothing about it other than it has some hype (I haven’t watched the Oscars in a decade). I’m very, very much an impulse watcher of films on streaming these days, I’ve sworn off cinemas since the COVID days.
