Come one come all! We joked about this a while back but I'm no coward so I'm starting the Aetolia Movie Lovers/Watchers Club, or the AMLC for short.
What is it?A club where people who love to watch, review, critique, and devour movie media can gather! We can grow stronger as a community by making fun of films.
Who can join?Anyone reading this!
How does it work?Every month there will be two movies selected - at least one of these movies will be readily available on Netflix, Hulu, or some other easily-accessed streaming service, and I (or, perhaps, another member) will do my utmost to ensure it gets publicly streamed using the rabb.it service for folks who don't have subscriptions, at least once during the month. Then, once you've watched the movie (either in a stream or on your own), come here to discuss, critique, and faff!
Who selects the movies?We do! Members may submit recommendations
here during the middle of the month - these will be made into a poll in the last week of the month, and next month's movies will be selected from the top two winners. There will occasionally be theme months too, where you're asked to suggest movies from a particular genre, theme, or perhaps a certain actor.
When do we start?!Now! The suggestion form is open and I am taking criticism, suggestions, etc. the poll will start next week.
THIS MONTH'S SUGGESTION BOXSuggestion BoxTHIS MONTH'S POLLApril Movie ChoicesTHIS MONTH'S MOVIESMonty Python and the Holy Grail (US Netflix)
Tale of Tales (US Netflix)
9 (US Netflix)
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NEXT STREAMThursday, April 4th, approx 6 PM EST
Rij Stream Link
A low, sultry voice resounds within the depths of your mind, "I look forward to seeing your descent."
Comments
(Spinesreach): Xiuhcoatl says, "Oh man, grab the children-corn. This is gonna be good."
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - 4 votes
Tale of Tales - 4 votes
9 - 4 votes
WOW!! A three-way tie! I'll need to find a better voting system to prevent this kind of thing in the future, but to celebrate the inaugural month of the club, let's watch all three! (Or as many as you are able to watch in the month.)
As a HUGE plus, all three of these movies are available on Netflix, which means all three of them can be streamed for members (and non-members) to watch together! I will put together a stream for one or more of these movies Thursday, April 4th at approximately 6 PM EST. Get your snacks! Bring your friends! Be ready to deal with my overly critical half-trained movie critic self!
Hope to see you there! The main post of this thread will be updated with the choices.
Although I didn't have time to sit down for the whole movie, I got to see the first few minutes this time before falling asleep...I'll see it again this weekend with friends!
I did want to share something about what I saw so far.
Another thing that I did find interesting is in the beginning when a man was pulling a cart around and calling out "Bring out your dead".
I lived in Egypt for a few years, between the elementary and secondary school age and got to learn a lot about the culture and language. In certain neighborhoods you'd see a guy that pulls a cart around similar to this movie, beating a bell just the same way, and he yells to "Bring out your junk". This can be anything you want to get rid of for quick cash. Over time it became abbreviated into a slurred word "rubabekya."
Edit: please no jokes, it's a literal translation!
#Tahrir #SoukelGomaa #TravelingFleaMarket
Visuals: 5/5
Story: 2/5
Cinematography: 4/5
Overall: 3/5
Since this is my first review of the thread, I should warn that I tend to be a very harsh critic - that doesn't mean I don't like the movie! On the contrary, I'm very fond of 9. I saw it when it came out in 2009, as I was obsessed with Tim Burton at the time and discovered that he was producing the movie. I noticed a few flaws at the time, but overall I was too young and too uneducated to really appreciate the movie's strengths and flaws alike.
As far as strengths, the movie is beautifully animated, especially for 2009. Everything is crisp and clean and moves well, without any stiffness that I could see. Acker has an amazing attention to detail that really breathes life (heh) into the post-apocalyptic world in which the movie takes place. The main characters, little rag dolls called Stitchpunks, are emotive and fun to watch. The antagonists in the movie are breathtaking and terrifying. The voice acting is good, too!
Where 9 falls short is in its narrative, however. Without giving away any details, the story is predictable and a bit tired - rather shallow, I would say. Its messages are unsubtle and heavy-handed, and in this critic's opinion, less poignant for it. In addition, the pacing of the movie is very strange - it is breakneck in the beginning, drags in the middle, and backloads a lot of the 'plot' to the very end. This serves to create a mystery, but the I find that the mystery is less compelling than the visual spectacle of the world itself.
That being said, 9 is more than worth a watch - I consider it essential for any Burton fans! Definitely give 9 a look, if for nothing else than to say that you have.