Not as good when you're watching an edited for cable version, but I won't hold that against it. I will hold it against this hotel that doesn't have streaming apps.
Favorite (Not Necessarily Best) Four From Every Year Since Birth
Recently Reviewed
4,613 reviews
Maybe a bit interesting until the 34 minute mark, then it just becomes yet another rabid zombie movie.
Liked the start, even like how it ends, the rest… meh.
If you think <I>Vantage Point</i>'s <A HREF="https://youtu.be/vDp-08uNH0Y?feature=shared">trailer</A> spoiled the entire film, think again. Beautifully filmed and shown from the perspective of eight attendees at a political event turned site of a terrorist attack, it's held together by strong performances (William Hurt, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker) and, while the day's events may repeat due to getting the perspective from each character, a lot of action that holds you until the very end (with a nice twist)!
<B>Final thoughts</b>:
An easy contender for one of the best films I watched with my <A HREF="http://letterboxd.com/lgoled">LG OLED TV</A> in <B>Filmmaker Mode</b>, up there with <I>The Bourne Identity</i>
This hotel doesn't have streaming apps, so I have to keep watching The Office and movies on cable. So far I've watched part of Amazing Spider-Man 2, part of Amazing Spider-Man, all of Guardians 2, and maybe seven episodes of The Office.
Guardians 2 is really funny even though I think the story is meh.
Usually I don't want to watch a movie with a 90% male cast, but when it's Wes Anderson I don't mind.
Also I don't know why but I think it's funny every time they swear.
I can't believe there are ten more of these, and I can't believe Vin Diesel makes so much money to voice a tree.
This actually hasn't aged as poorly as I expected. I was never that into it though, and I'm still not. It's okay to just not be the target demo.
Phil Hartman is Kirsten Dunst's cat, and the love interest is Matthew Lawrence dressed like Where's Waldo.
Kiki's Delivery Service is a little more weird than precious, which makes it my favorite one.
The plot of this movie is bad, and I'd say it aged horribly if I didn't think most of the jokes were tasteless when it was written also. However, Kathryn Hahn is so funny that I laugh a lot anyway.
This is the exact kind of weird comedy that I love. It has been a long time since I've heard a sold out theater laugh so hard and so often. I want to see it again tomorrow and then quote it for the rest of my life.
I love Amanda Seyfried, and I was actually pretty into the first two-thirds of this. It really drops the ball with the ending. Everything wraps up way too quickly, too neatly, and too conveniently.
I didn't realize that's Joseph Gordon Levitt on the cover until he popped up in the movie.
The outline of this script was probably really good, even if it does seem to be largely inspired by the Coen brothers. There just isn't that much meat on the bones beyond that, aside from a scene-stealing Simon Rex, who unfortunately isn't in enough scenes to save it.
[Listen to me talk about <I>The Invitation</i> on <B>The Letterboxd Show Podcast</b> <B><A HREF="https://pod.link/letterboxd/episode/39964f85ef60d3a99e8c6f084f37c941">here</A></b>]
Grief is the main character in Karyn Kusama's <I>The Invitation</i>, but is also a catapult into how others choose to move forward, whether here in the present or, what some may say, the afterlife. So when Will (Logan Marshall-Green) receives an invitation to attend a gathering hosted by his ex-wife, with whom he shared a child with that had died due to a tragic accident, and her new husband, he accepts, and hopes this will be a new step to overcome some of the obstacles in his life. While there, he is surrounded by many old friends who had also received invites, but also new faces as well, including Pruitt (a fantastic performance by John Carroll Lynch), a fellow member of a group called The Invitation. Stories are told, questions are asked, and Will senses something's not quite right, and, while there, notices hints of trouble coming about.
Kusama takes Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi's script by the hand with her camera(s) to skillfully express the actions of each character and setting. There are some unsettling scenes, but nothing too extreme that would make you look in the other direction. You can feel what each character expresses throughout - excitement about seeing old friends, engaging in conversation about The Invitation, telling old stories and jokes - until the time that all is exposed. This anticipated downward spiral is what makes <I>The Invitation</i> a must-see film.
<B>Final thoughts</b>:
RSVP <B>Yes</b>. If available, watch the film with LG OLED's <B>Perfect Black</b> enabled. It's a dark film with even darker tones, and this is the way to experience it.
