Last movie watched

[Brian21]

I thought I'd offer some thoughts on two recent and fairly divisive films. I found both interesting, and both entertained me, but I also find it difficult to outright recommend either:

Megalopolis

A visionary architect fighting to transform his city runs afoul of the corrupt mayor and his dangerous cronies. Drama, Sci-Fi. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Aubrey Plaza.

www.kaleidescape.com

Megalopolis: Honestly, I probably like the story of the film more than the film itself, and I'm quite sure Francis Ford Coppola is fine with that. Here's a director that I like, taking his own personal wealth and making a film for an audience of one (himself). And, I wonder how much he did it for the final product or the act itself. He'd certainly accept accolades, but I think this film will have a limited audience.

Fortunately, I'm in that limited crowd. It starts from the beginning as "A Fable", and it is indeed that. If you're open-minded, don't get turned off by bizarre leaps, and enjoy seeing a master filmmaker experiment in his own playground, you may just dig it. I appreciate the criticism out there, but at worst this is a "not my taste" and not what I'd call a "bad" film. Still, it's almost certainly going into my "Incomprehensible Drivel" collection once my pre-order download is authorized.

The Substance (2024) ⭐ 7.2 | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi

2h 21m | R

www.imdb.com

The Substance is a film I've been awaiting for some time, and I thought it was the rare bizarre/arthouse film that I could watch with my wife due to the cast. And, I was right. Unfortunately, we each had different experiences and while I came away enjoying the overall package, it does come with a fairly significant caveat. I'm going to use spoiler text here, though I won't get into specific plot points:

As anyone can tell from the trailers, this is a film that's firmly in the "body horror" genre. Even with that known, the third act makes a leap that is going to lose a LOT of the potential audience. To paraphrase Tropic Thunder: "You never go FULL Cronenberg." The film went from something we expected to recommend to friends and family to something we talked about with each other and then moved on from.

I enjoyed The Substance but acknowledge this also has a limited audience; more limited than would be anticipated from the trailer. This film is shot beautifully, cast incredibly, and will certainly spur discussion. I want to see more from this director, I'm just not recommending it to my parents or in-laws as I anticipated I might.


*"Incomprehensible Drivel" is one of my K Collections where a promising director is given carte blanche by a studio only to realize that they most certainly need some editorial/production guidance. Ari Astor's "Beau is Afraid", Alex Garland's "Men", Darren Aronofsky's "Mother", Christopher Nolan's "Tenet", Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales", David Robert Mitchell's "Under the Silver Lake", etc. (For the record, I own and support all of these films.)

I didn't see The Substance on the Kaleidescape store but it seems other platforms have it for sale. Where did you watch it?

 

[LoveCinema]

I didn't see The Substance on the Kaleidescape store but it seems other platforms have it for sale. Where did you watch it?

I watched it on the MUBI app; I subscribed when they got The Fall Remastered 4K in September. I have since bought it from Apple.

 

[Brian21]

I watched it on the MUBI app; I subscribed when they got The Fall Remastered 4K in September. I have since bought it from Apple.

Thanks. I'm new to Kaleidescape, so hopefully this isn't a common thing.

 

[LoveCinema]

Thanks. I'm new to Kaleidescape, so hopefully this isn't a common thing.

K gets anywhere from 10-20% of releases made available on other digital stores. They’re limited by both contracts and resources, but they try their best to get the most requested titles.

If there’s something missing that should be available to them (available digitally, studio K is contracted with), you can send a request to: movies@kaleidescape.com

 

[josh]

I'm going to use spoiler text here, though I won't get into specific plot points:

As anyone can tell from the trailers, this is a film that's firmly in the "body horror" genre. Even with that known, the third act makes a leap that is going to lose a LOT of the potential audience. To paraphrase Tropic Thunder: "You never go FULL Cronenberg." The film went from something we expected to recommend to friends and family to something we talked about with each other and then moved on from.

Wow, well done using this seldom-used feature of the posting interface! As far as I know, it's the first time this was used, and even I didn't really know it was possible or so well implemented in the forum software. Great way to offer some things about the movie to those who've seen it and hide it from those who don't want spoilers! I'll have to remember that myself.

For other users who want to do this: here's how you do it when making a post: highlight your "spoiler" text you want to hide, then click the three dots in the UI above your text entry box, then pick the "spoiler" icon, the one with the eyeball with a slash through it.

You will then be asked if you want to enter a visible label for that hidden text, or you can leave that box blank and it will just make the whole block you listed fuzzy, like @LoveCinema did in the example above.

 

[StanfieldNC]

Wow, well done using this seldom-used feature of the posting interface! As far as I know, it's the first time this was used, and even I didn't really know it was possible or so well implemented in the forum software. Great way to offer some things about the movie to those who've seen it and hide it from those who don't want spoilers! I'll have to remember that myself.

For other users who want to do this: here's how you do it when making a post: highlight your "spoiler" text you want to hide, then click the three dots in the UI above your text entry box, then pick the "spoiler" icon, the one with the eyeball with a slash through it.
View attachment 6255
You will then be asked if you want to enter a visible label for that hidden text, or you can leave that box blank and it will just make the whole block you listed fuzzy, like @LoveCinema did in the example above.

Spoiler: This is.....

this is great!

 

[Transepoch]

Wow, well done using this seldom-used feature of the posting interface! As far as I know, it's the first time this was used, and even I didn't really know it was possible or so well implemented in the forum software. Great way to offer some things about the movie to those who've seen it and hide it from those who don't want spoilers! I'll have to remember that myself.

I wouldn't mind having the two minutes back I spent trying to get the webpage to finish loading (why else wouldn't the content finish resolving?) before the word "spoiler" caught my eye. An interesting implementation of spoilers that doesn't affect the page layout & lets you preview how long a response is being hidden.

 

[Spankey00]

Just finished Godzilla Minus One with friends. This is up there with the best HT presentations there are! Shame it’s not on K.

 

[leo9000]

Watched Smile 2 last night. I thought it was an entertaining sequel to the first film. Nice to see that the director tried to do something different with the material and not just redo the first film. I noticed some nice nods to De Palma. The sound and picture looks great (except for near the end of the film where there was a lot of noise and distortion lines to the image - during the bright hospital/clinic scene. Not sure if this was the transfer or my Lumagen processor).

Smile 2

A pop star in the midst of her world tour is plagued by visions of disturbingly smiling faces. Horror. Directed by Parker Finn. Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Kyle Gallner. Purchase and download today in 4K Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

 

[matth22]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - annual Thanksgiving tradition. It's a must.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

Watched Smile 2 last night. I thought it was an entertaining sequel to the first film. Nice to see that the director tried to do something different with the material and not just redo the first film. I noticed some nice nods to De Palma. The sound and picture looks great (except for near the end of the film where there was a lot of noise and distortion lines to the image - during the bright hospital/clinic scene. Not sure if this was the transfer or my Lumagen processor).

Smile 2

A pop star in the midst of her world tour is plagued by visions of disturbingly smiling faces. Horror. Directed by Parker Finn. Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Kyle Gallner. Purchase and download today in 4K Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

Hmm. I just downloaded it as the request of my daughter. She wanted to watch it but I hadn't seen the first one, so last night we watched the first Smile movie. Certainly a step above most horror movies - original and the actors didn't really behave unbelievably like I see in others in the genre - running away for 10 seconds then slowing down to look behind them, etc. Looking forward to Smile 2 tonight.

 

[Trevor]

Watched Fred Claus last night:

Fred Claus

Santa's resentful brother spreads his own brand of Christmas spirit after he's recruited to help out at the North Pole. Holiday, Comedy. Directed by David Dobkin. Starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, and Miranda Richardson. Purchase and download today in HD.

www.kaleidescape.com

One of the HD conversions for Strato V and the newer encode is rocking what should be close to double the video bitrate of the Blu (that I've seen quite a few times). Looks to be the same transfer as the Blu as it's still contrasty{TM) and has a very digital mid-2000's look to it but the compression was noticeably improved...even the perceived motion seemed to be better. Same old Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (another hint that it's likely the same master as the Blu) but it looked better than I've ever seen it look.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

Watched Smile 2. Comparable to the first one - very good for a horror film, IMO. Will be watching Strange Darling tonight.

 

[Techthusiasm]

We are still working through the MCU as a family and are *finally* into movies that my wife and I hadn't yet watched ourselves with Shang-Chi last night. I thought it was pretty well done. Kids were thumbs up. They set up the character pretty well and some solid fight choreography and sets. Too bad they still have yet to pay off anything this movie established, I believe.

Eternals is next though as we work through this questionable phase.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

A gifted martial artist confronts his storied past when his father's mysterious organization draws him into the search for a mythical village. Action, Adventure, Martial Arts, Fantasy. Purchase and download today in 4K HDR10 with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

I'm also glad that extras were integrated into all the downloads a while back. So we could easily watch the couple of behind the scenes after the movie.

 

[Oldred]

We are still working through the MCU as a family and are *finally* into movies that my wife and I hadn't yet watched ourselves with Shang-Chi last night. I thought it was pretty well done. Kids were thumbs up. They set up the character pretty well and some solid fight choreography and sets. Too bad they still have yet to pay off anything this movie established, I believe.

Eternals is next though as we work through this questionable phase.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

A gifted martial artist confronts his storied past when his father's mysterious organization draws him into the search for a mythical village. Action, Adventure, Martial Arts, Fantasy. Purchase and download today in 4K HDR10 with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

I'm also glad that extras were integrated into all the downloads a while back. So we could easily watch the couple of behind the scenes after the movie.

Hmmmm good luck with Eternals, it's your biggest test so far I reckon

 

[Aburguy]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - annual Thanksgiving tradition. It's a must.

Totally agree

 

[jlttotem]

Just installed my Strato V and the first movie we watched was Avatar. Amazing. I had never seen my TV display Dolby Vision and it was much, much better than streaming services. I've never been able to see DV using Netflix because it always tells me my TV doesn't display DV (not right). I think its some kind of issue between DV and the Apple TV box. And the sound was fantastic. Just upgraded my rear surrounds and it made a huge difference.

Already looking for my next Dolby Vision movie. Any suggestions? Thanks! Jeff

 

[gadgetman]

Just installed my Strato V and the first movie we watched was Avatar. Amazing. I had never seen my TV display Dolby Vision and it was much, much better than streaming services. I've never been able to see DV using Netflix because it always tells me my TV doesn't display DV (not right). I think its some kind of issue between DV and the Apple TV box. And the sound was fantastic. Just upgraded my rear surrounds and it made a huge difference.

Already looking for my next Dolby Vision movie. Any suggestions? Thanks! Jeff

I'd certainly try Avatar Way of Water, Top Gun Maverick, Furiosa, Bladerunner 2049, Ready Player One, MI 6 or 7, and Lucy.
These movies also have Dolby Atmos so you can get the full video and audio experience.

 

[jlttotem]

I'd certainly try Avatar Way of Water, Top Gun Maverick, Furiosa, Bladerunner 2049, Ready Player One, MI 6 or 7, and Lucy.
These movies also have Dolby Atmos so you can get the full video and audio experience.

Thanks for those suggestions. I'll add them to my wish list!

 

[Gstaff]

This week I’ve finally checked out Fast X (great Atmos effects) and I just downloaded Heretic to watch tomorrow.