Rock wrote:

Hey Crumb, did you ever go into your thoughts about The World's Greatest Sinner? I see you gave it 4.5 stars on Letterboxd.

No, never articulated anything. I think it was one of those experiences that I didn't want to shoehorn into words. Maybe if I ever watch it a second time I'll try.

I obviously loved it.

crumbsroom wrote:

No, never articulated anything. I think it was one of those experiences that I didn't want to shoehorn into words.

If I were to build a fence around that movie, my cornerposts would be Snakes, Shakes, Shimmies and Flames.

Rampop II wrote:

World's Greatest Sinner... do I need to see this?

You tell me.



 

Well then gimme that ol' time religion...

Greene's dirge for the mouse in Road Trip is another happy memory, by the way. What can I say. Simpler times. 

Last edited by Rampop II (5/21/2024 1:07 am)

Quentin Dupieux's humor has always had a sinister edge to it, and this film, along with maybe Deerskin, fall on his darker side, reveling in the myopic bad judgment of absolutely every character on screen.  I have no insight into Dupieux's motives for making the film, but if I were to allow my own American projection, it feels hand-in-glove like an ultimate microcosmic MAGA satire, where we're all being held hostage by the most ignorant and least hinged among us.  Yannick, our title character, not being top-shelf, psychologically speaking, is our agitated surrogate, someone with zero ability to comprehend the source of his dissatisfaction, who decides to take a random banal drama under the command of his own recognizance.  Not only is Yannick's spite an accurate portrayal of populist frustration, the audience proves an accurate reflection of popular cowardice and complacency, and the stage actors, as our stand-ins for media personalities, reveal arrogant contempt and impotent resentment for their thankless mediocrity.

Again, I have no idea whether this analogy is what Dupieux had in mind, but it rhymes well.

8/10






Benoit Magimel is excellent as a French government official in Tahiti, mingling with the locals and wining and dining various foreign not-so-dignified dignitaries.  There's all sorts of shade on the periphery, silent faces in the distance, rumors of intrigue and corruption and all manner of vice that Magimel's High Commisioner is content to avoid.  Most pernicious is the notion that such rumors are more about orchestrated paranoia to undermine his authority.  Although described as a "thriller", I think this is the wrong approach.  The film is leisurely paced and deliberately portrayed, with none of the genre manipulations that a thriller would entail.  Instead it rests confidently on the strength of its performances and its luscious cinematography, where the endless salmon skies provide the South Pacific equivalent of 'magic hour'.

8.5/10
 

Btw, any of you guys seen I Saw The TV Glow yet?

Rock wrote:

Btw, any of you guys seen I Saw The TV Glow yet?

Where is it available?  It definitely hasn't come to a local theater.

Rock wrote:

I should probably watch more Dupieux. I enjoyed Deerskin quite a bit.

I swear the guy is like a cinematic movement unto himself. You kinda can't go wrong in picking your next Dupieux movie, with the possible exception of Wrong Cops, which is still entertaining and not without some incredible laughs, but it's a slight dip in altitude from the typical highs Dupieux maintains. 

I think Wrong retains its spot as my favorite Dupieux (not to be confused with Wrong Cops), but that's gotta be sentimental to some extent at this point. We all have our favorites and I'd have to bite my tongue to not follow with praises for Reality, for Incroyable mais Vrais... and not slide right into "where do I stop" territory for fear of being remiss, eventually naming most of them and then feeling the weight of the injustice I've wrought against the remaining few, then questioning my own judgment and re–watching those again, leading to a re–watching of them all with intentions of erecting my obelisk of rankings, and finally returning to my starting point, bewildered under the blissful mind–altering influence of all that Dupieux, where the thought of pitting masterpieces against one another feels as absurd, irreverent, unnatural, and impossible as the movies themselves.  I'm excited for you, that's what I can say with certainty. I'll be interested to hear how it goes. 

crumbsroom wrote:

I watched that last Exorcist movie a few nights ago and thought it was great. It's good when it needs to be good, and terrible when it needs to be terrible. I can't even explain why I was so entertained by it. But who cares, I loved it.

 

The DGG one? As someone who couldn't stand Halloween Ends and good chunks of Halloween Kills, I am wary, but Ellen Burstyn's involvement did pique my interest.

Tempted to do a double feature of that and the new Omen movie at some point.