I just finally watched Bone Tomahawk last night

Submitted by utopiandiorama t3_10p582t in movies

Holy crap... There's a ton of movies I'm just now getting around to watching. Someone on this sub the other day mentioned Bone Tomahawk. I thought, I need to see that because I love Kurt Russell. I went into the movie without watching the trailer or knowing anything about it. I thought it was going to be just a normal cowboys vs Indians western. I was horrified. There are some absolutely brutal death scenes, particularly one where a man is butchered by getting cut in half down the middle. Normally horror makes me yawn but that scene scarred me for life. The only other death scene I can think of that's that gruesome was when pyramid head ripped that girls skin off in Silent Hill. That scarred me. Bone Tomahawk was a little slow at some parts, could have used a larger cast and spent more time fighting the enemy than just showing them traveling there 75% of the film. Richard Jenkins deserved an Oscar for his performance in that film. His acting was on point! Overall great movie but sadly one of those you can only watch once. 5/7!

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Bamm83 t1_j6iqtmf wrote

I personally thought Mathew Fox stole every scene he was in. He was as convincing of his character as I've ever seen.

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Zachariot88 t1_j6jpzze wrote

Easily my favorite part of the movie, he gets some great one-liners about women, and killing those dudes who wandered into their camp is one of those ultra-pragmatic things you're always wishing a character would do in a thriller.

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chickbarnard t1_j6jbixm wrote

Yup, definitely proved his worth since Lost. I'd like to see him in more things like this.

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darthstupidious t1_j6jct0m wrote

IIRC the issue with Matthew Fox was never his talent or commitment, but he's well-known to be a bit of an asshole that's hard to work with.

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All_Hail_Figgleforth t1_j6ic3m8 wrote

Now check out "Brawl in Cell Block 99"!

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PepperBun28 t1_j6iim0q wrote

"throw down your weapons!"

"Pig, this is what I'll throw!" BRRRT

One of the beat lines in a gunfight I have ever heard.

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justa_flesh_wound t1_j6ivkv0 wrote

It's so damn bleak. Left me more uncomfortable than bone tomahawk

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zjustice11 t1_j6n4giv wrote

That concrete face scene. Sheesh. The watched dragged across concrete and it was solid but a definite departure from that level of gore

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TravelinDan88 t1_j6im1xl wrote

What's funny to me is that his next movie was called Dragged Across Concrete, yet that action happens in Brawl in quite vivid detail.

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kehakas t1_j6lksse wrote

Wait so his next movie is gonna be called Getting Most of Your Fingers Blown Off?

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dashKay t1_j6j2wgt wrote

Watched it last night! I kinda hated the color grading, I think it made it look ugly but it really was a brutal movie. Loved the ending.

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debugstatement t1_j6jzmpu wrote

SPOILER ALERT: that head shot scene was so bad. The rest of the movie is great!

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Poorly-Drawn-Beagle t1_j6ie59y wrote

Movies that are best remembered for That One Scene for 500, Alex

Also brief appearance from David Arquette and a guy who is not Slim Pickens but really sounds like him

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mickeyflinn t1_j6idhlo wrote

Yeah that scalping scene was just too brutal!

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Buoyant_Armiger t1_j6kphnp wrote

I was recovering from a badly sprained ankle when I watched it, Patrick Wilson rebreaking his leg and then having to walk on it was sickening in a way most movie violence isn’t for me.

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Poisoning-The-Well t1_j6ij2qq wrote

There aren't enough Horror Western movies. Only other one I can think of is Ravenous (1999). Bone Tomahawk could be adapted to a neat DnD module.

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Big-Zoo t1_j6l0eqw wrote

The score of Ravenous is just bat shit crazy

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Malkyre t1_j6lbms3 wrote

It's in keeping with the rest of the batshit crazy. I love that movie.

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Mythic-Insanity t1_j6khgqh wrote

There are a decent number of them that I’ve seen over the years, the problem is most of them just just suck due to abysmal budgets, bad acting, and terrible scripts. This movie is great because it felt like a great western that had horror present instead of a horror movie trying to hide its low budget with horses and six shooters.

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kinobick t1_j6iilsm wrote

Going into films without watching the trailer is such a good move, as long as you’re willing to be subjected to seeing someone being split in half.

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kehakas t1_j6lkxey wrote

Every time I fire up a new Pixar movie, I think to myself, is this the one where they finally split someone in half?

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0rphan_Martian t1_j6ix32w wrote

My absolutely favorite part is when the Sheriff tells the Doc that if he was dying, he’d want to hear that he would be avenged. Then later as he is getting cut up, the Doc yells, “I’ll make sure you’re avenged!”

The sheer irony of him trying to comfort the Sheriff while simultaneously reminding him he’s about to die had me laughing so hard.

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utopiandiorama OP t1_j6kw16a wrote

I caught that and that's one thing that made me love Richard Jenkins performance. But especially the scene where he's in the cage talking about the flea circus

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hooman260 t1_j6icvbm wrote

Thanks for reminding me that this movie exists. Its due a rewatch.

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thid980 t1_j6if8yw wrote

I hate gore so that movie freaked me out.... It's a shame cuz I love westerns and that scene was just not my thing at all

I do like Zahler's other films cuz they're a lot slicker and more grungy

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TravelinDan88 t1_j6iluk5 wrote

Bone Tomahawk is "Just Guys Being Dudes: The Movie" until the third act. It's more or less a comedy, then everything goes to hell. I love this flick

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Technical-Waltz7903 t1_j6jnpem wrote

Love all movies by Zahler.

Cell block, Tomahawk and Dragged Across Concrete. Check them out.

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Earthpig_Johnson t1_j6o9a9x wrote

His books are top-notch, too.

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Technical-Waltz7903 t1_j6oe99n wrote

Didn't even know that he wrote books. Thank you for the tip!

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Earthpig_Johnson t1_j6oev5l wrote

They’re all good to great, but his two so-called horror westerns are really special. “Wraiths of the Broken Land” and “A Congregation of Jackals”.

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UseOnlyLurk t1_j6isn54 wrote

Me: Weird, this western movie reddit recommended is in the horror section and I don’t handle horror well at all. Oh well, I love me some gritty westerns!

So yeah, Bone Tomahawk was not for me and I should have known better.

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ListenThroughTheWall t1_j6lko4x wrote

>Bone Tomahawk was a little slow at some parts, could have used a larger cast and spent more time fighting the enemy than just showing them traveling there 75% of the film.

Weird critiques for a purposefully slow-paced film that focuses on only a small group of characters. Sounds like you wanted an action movie out of something that's not an action movie.

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ozmondine t1_j6kf2jx wrote

Apocalypto got pretty gnarly as well

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browster t1_j6idw8b wrote

> 5/7

I see what you did there

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utopiandiorama OP t1_j6iglff wrote

What kind of a rating scheme is that!?!? Lol

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BandOfDonkeys t1_j6ijohv wrote

5/7

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utopiandiorama OP t1_j6iju1l wrote

That was rhetorical. I know what it means. That's what they asked the guy who first said it

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fatbongo t1_j6jsshq wrote

>Bone Tomahawk

they're all good ratings bront

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evilfollowingmb t1_j6l3mx5 wrote

I just love the dialog in this movie. I don’t know if people really talked like that back then, but found it full of wit and subtlety. Combined with the brutal action and horror, I thought it was the complete package.

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littlefingerthemayor t1_j6mdbo6 wrote

The dialogue rocks in every zahler movie. Check out Dragged Accross Concrete and Brawl in Cell Block 99.

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Obfusc8er t1_j6ictvm wrote

This movie is a Jack-in-the-box.

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Anusbagels t1_j6ixxb9 wrote

This movie is a masterpiece. I found the dialogue, sparse as it is, was perfect.

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Zeeshmee t1_j6jkjn4 wrote

I love that movie and if anyone enjoyed it, the director (S. Craig Zahler) is a great author as well. I would specifically recommend Wraiths of the Broken Land. In case you're wondering, yes, the literature is just as brutal.

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Krustoff t1_j6ka431 wrote

Bone Tomahawk indeed rules and there's plenty of images throughout that have etched themselves into my brain. If you want something more along the horror/thriller side of that movie, I'd highly recommend Green Room by Jeremy Saulnier.

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-OQO- t1_j6ikp2o wrote

The very very best experience is seeing this movie blind, thinking it’s just a western. You might consider deleting this post and using spoilers?

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MagnetHashira t1_j6iu0et wrote

The one death scene that always stuck with me was the sister in Hereditary. Just to leave her there too.

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Toadman005 t1_j6iut8f wrote

You should ask my sister and my mother.

...I've never met them...?

That is correct.

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Subnovae t1_j6j0v7z wrote

Saw the headline and came to see if that death scene scarred you too. I thought it was just another western. I also have a different perspective on what troglodyte means..

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GaryKing1413 t1_j6jjecd wrote

I just find it funny and cool subverting of expectations when the badass, gunslinger with experience in killing natives gets taken out first and only end up killing one of the Troglodytes

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jorlev t1_j6jn37p wrote

This was a great western with fabulous script and amazing actors... and then took an unexpected turn down the darkest alley imaginable.

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shreddington t1_j6k9ipj wrote

Opinions were really split 50/50 on that one.

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snagglewolf t1_j6kj69h wrote

That movie is 85% character study and 15% brutal horror. Heck of a ride.

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TheShadyGuy t1_j6in6t1 wrote

Sid Haig in the opening scene should have let you know that it was going to get crazy.

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slxix t1_j6ipzcc wrote

Its a fantastic ride.

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ArcticFlava t1_j6j872q wrote

I highly recommend watching Old Henry and True Grit (new one) also without watching trailers.

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Bankei t1_j6k4ora wrote

The audio in this film is spectacular

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cnewman11 t1_j6l9t7y wrote

I recall watching Silent Hill in the theater and everyone was shook by that Pyramid Head scene.

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tetrohydro74 t1_j6ipcqv wrote

Loved Matthew Fox in that movie

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Dagoran t1_j6jglp5 wrote

The split from the crotch scene lives rent free in my noodle bowl. I saw it when it first came out. Absolutely diabolical. Savage AF scene.

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brandontimmy t1_j6k1whj wrote

There's a similiar scene inTerrifier , only this time it's a naked girl hanging upsidedown , it's allot more brutal and graphic

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SuperFamousGuy t1_j6k8nb8 wrote

Art also didn't, uh... finish his work; which, for some reason, made it so much worse to me.

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MichaelRoco1 t1_j6k4k4m wrote

Call me crazy but I actually really disliked that death scene. Sure it was brutal and it’s not like I couldn’t handle it, but it just felt like it partially alienated the feel of the movie and felt kind of unnecessary.

Wasn’t enough to detract from my enjoyment of the movie though, it’s one of my favorite hidden gems in horror. Kurt Russell never disappoints, and Richard Jenkins showed some surprising depth.

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Videowulff t1_j6kgze9 wrote

Maybe I am just jaded from a life of horror movies, but I was constantly told by so many people and reddit how brutal that specific kill was. Now I did not know the specifics or anything so I kept waiting for somethinf absolutely horrific to happen. When the guy gets killed, I looked to my friend and asked if that was the scene and he excitedly confirmed.

Honestly all the nonstop hype about this scene led to it being a huge disappointment. Like, it was pretty sudden and brutal but not as violent as everyone kept saying it was...compared to Laid to Rest, The collection, or even moments in the Evil Dead remake, it just didn't live up to the hype...

If I had not been waiting for it or told about it and it just suddenly happened, it probably would have been a huge WOW moment but with everyone constantly bringing it up, it just made me go "oh...ok..."

Movie is still good. They dont pull punches with killing off characters which adds a lot to the tension and realism to the story. Acting was on point and the characters very likable. I give it all the credit it deserves otherwise.

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chiletomislava t1_j6mpwkl wrote

Ah you mean Tom Boneahawk

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utopiandiorama OP t1_j6n4aow wrote

Yeah him. Great guy. Wants to be a bone scientist someday.

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chiletomislava t1_j6n5tey wrote

It’s a reference to Bonanas for Bonanza. Funny podcast, I’d recommend checking out their episode about this movie

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RustyLugz t1_j6n1l1d wrote

>I went into the movie without watching the trailer or knowing anything about it

best way to watch any film in my opinion, trailers spoil alot of films

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Top-Home5308 t1_j6n9f74 wrote

I have seen that movie as well! I thought I ve seen everything concerning horrormovies. Slamming something [ big carrot, root??] into the man s troath to stop screaming, turning him upside down en slowly start carving his crotch with a manchete for several times. then the 2 men who held the man upside down both pulled one leg and teared the man open en in two halves. Too sick to even think about such thing. It was disgusting to watch! The movie itself was kind of boring and not entertaining.

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dirt_mcgirt4 t1_j6khh7f wrote

I haven't read your post yet I'm going to assume you found it to be the 'Feelgood hit of the summer'.

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casecutty t1_j6l0uiz wrote

5/7 wtf kinda scale is that lol

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6ievoz wrote

Zahler is by far one of the few interesting and genuinely talented contemporary filmmakers of our time. It’s not surprising he’s having a hard time getting funded lately because Hollywood hates talent.

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Nldngooner t1_j6ik04f wrote

Dragged Across Concrete made 660k on a 15mil budget, not surprised most wouldn't touch him with a 10ft pole

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Juan-Claudio t1_j6ilflj wrote

Best bet for him would be to get some sort of deal with a streaming service. Unfortunately, the type of movies he makes are pretty much destined to flop at the theaters.

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6imqgd wrote

PTA and James Gray have been flopping on nearly every movie theyve
done for a decade. I genuinely don’t think commercial success means shit. I think Hollywood just likes filmmakers who follow their agenda and kiss their ass. Zahler is not one of those people.

Edit:

Apparently Zahler just went into production last November on a 3 hour black and white film about an animatronic puppet. Just nobody reported on it because Hollywood and the agenda led media doesn’t value real talent.

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WredditSmark t1_j6j0dsp wrote

When you’re making multiple references to conspiracy theory, right wing, dog whistle talking points you’ve gotta really ask yourself, is it I who is the asshole ?

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Nldngooner t1_j6kjvpf wrote

He could at least be more subtle it to. In Dragged Against Concrete there was literally a glass smashing scene to drive the message home

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6j77od wrote

How is it right wing to acknowledge that PTA and Gray keep getting work despite losing their studios tens of millions of dollars every film? I think it’s you who has to ask yourself why that is the case and why Hollywood works the way it does.

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gee_gra t1_j6jh444 wrote

>Hollywood and the agenda led media doesn’t value real talent.

Are you a maniac?

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6jlkq5 wrote

Nope just factual

Talent is only allowed to stay on if they’re making big hits

Otherwise you only stay in the industry if you make politically correct nonsense and/or kiss producers asses

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gee_gra t1_j6jmuzs wrote

You coulda just said "Yea" lol 🤣

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gee_gra t1_j6ijds5 wrote

He made a few intensely violent movies, he's not breaking some ridiculous new ground

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Ashamed_Ladder6161 t1_j6ik6yt wrote

You can make a violent movie well or you can make it very very badly. He shows a very good command of his budget and he always gets a good performance from his cast. He’s only a hand full of movies into his career, he shows a huge amount of talent.

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gee_gra t1_j6imqnu wrote

I mean, those are all good qualities for a director to have, but kind of a low bar to set

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Ashamed_Ladder6161 t1_j6infr8 wrote

If you say so. I mean, firstly, there’s not that much violence in his films, it’s just the moments are memorable and make an impact because they often feel out of place, but violent directors include Tarantino, Lynch, Fincher, Cronenberg, Pekinpah, Verhovan, De Palmer, Miike, Stone, Scorsese, Noe, and Haneke. I think you’re pressed to say the bar is low just because a film has violent parts in it. This isn’t an argument to say he deserves to be in the above tier of directors, but I’d argue he is more than he isn’t. Compare him to the hundreds of other violent directors the world has already forgotten because they have no talent, I think he has a promising back catalogue.

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gee_gra t1_j6iwf4q wrote

>not that much violence

If you mean like, in terms of number of acts of violence — yeah I guess, but the way he presents violence is intense and lurid in a way that comes off as "there for the sake of it" at certain points for me

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Ashamed_Ladder6161 t1_j6jiqa8 wrote

I think they’re repulsive, and a lot of the time that’s what it’s supposed to make you feel; revulsion. Given how little there is of it, and that it rarely lingers, it didn’t feel gratuitous to me. But to each their own.

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6iornc wrote

Have you seen todays filmmakers? It’s really not a low bar when most of them can’t even do that

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gee_gra t1_j6iq1ep wrote

>todays filmmakers

That's pretty fuckin vague pal hahaha, who in particular has earned your emnity? I'd also say there's plenty of directors who can get actors to act and can utilise their budget well

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6itq4s wrote

I would say most of them aren’t good lately. I can name plenty of names. Richard Linklater, Jennifer Kent, Rian Johnson, Ryan Coogler ever since Disney bought him, Martin McDonagh, Pablo Larrain, David Lowery, Julia Ducournau, Sean Baker, Chloe Zhao, Alice Wu, list goes on and on

These new filmmakers are shit. The Safdies and Zahler are maybe some of the few ones that have talent.

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gee_gra t1_j6ivyij wrote

I think this is just a matter of taste cuz you've listed some fucking terrific filmmakers imho hahah

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Ashamed_Ladder6161 t1_j6jhocd wrote

Of course it’s a matter of taste. But you can’t have it both ways. He named a bunch of action directors as being very poor, you counter many of them are really good, while also arguing the bar is low. That’s counter intuitive.

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gee_gra t1_j6jiiw6 wrote

Well, he named one person who you could contend is an action director with Coogler. I'm not sure what you mean by "it's counter intuitive" — most of those directors have gotten good performances from their actors and seem to have handled their budgets well, they've crossed that low bar, and managed to make good films while doing it.

I'll also add that the guy I responded to seems to be some kinda lunatic so there's no much to be mined there

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Ashamed_Ladder6161 t1_j6jjbn6 wrote

I’m not sure I’d agree many of them handle their budgets well, although they certainly have bigger ones, and I’ve seen plenty of weak performances in their catalogues, but I think we’re just going to have to politely accept we see this differently.

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6inbk4 wrote

You’re delusional if that’s all you reduce his works down to. He crafts ambiguously layered characters very well. Most hacks in Hollywood can only think of protagonists in a black or white mindset and spell it out for you but Zahler crafts very morally ambiguous themes in his work and can directly make you uncomfortable in the protagonists he expects you to watch because he doesn’t make it easy for the audience to see his characters as good or bad. Many of the best scenes in his movies are just pure dialogue moments as well.

Dragged Across Concrete was legitimately Tarantino level writing with the large cast of multilayered characters and most of the film has no action so it’s straight up ignorant to say all Zahler does is make “intensely violent” movies.

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Sammyd1108 t1_j6iscjx wrote

Dragged Across Concrete was good, but the fact that you’re comparing the writing to a Tarantino film is laughable.

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6it6lm wrote

It’s better than quite a few Tarantino films so it’s really not laughable at all

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Sammyd1108 t1_j6itnyp wrote

There’s not a single Tarantino film it’s better than, even Death Proof, lol.

If anything, a lot of his writing comes off as a slight knock off version of a Tarantino film. You seem to view Zahler much better than he actually is. He’s a good filmmaker, but that’s it. The only reason he gets mentioned so much on here cause of how violent his films are.

Dragged Across Concrete isn’t even his best movie, Bone Tomahawk is.

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RolloTonyBrownTown t1_j6jihc9 wrote

> He’s a good filmmaker, but that’s it.

Hes also a good author, has written several novels that are great reads.

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Sammyd1108 t1_j6jin9a wrote

I haven’t read any of his books, so I can’t comment on that.

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6itxdt wrote

I think you view Zahler much lower than he is. I’d take Concrete over any Tarantino film besides Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds and Jackie Brown

And Concrete is his best film. The best written and most intricately structured one. Bone Tomahawk is his worst

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Sammyd1108 t1_j6iu81q wrote

That’s wild to me, but everyone has their own opinions. I’d rather watch any Tarantino film than DAC any day of the week.

Concrete is a pretty slow movie honestly. I feel like his movies have dipped in quality with each one he’s released.

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6iuqz5 wrote

I don’t mind slow. Plenty of my favorite movies oat are slow. Silence is maybe top 3 Scorsese for me and it’s one of his slowest films as well.

Concrete is slow but it’s packed with substance and incredible dialogue and character moments. I don’t think another writer/filmmaker has crafted such a great world in the crime genre as Zahler since arguably Michael Mann did for Miami Vice.

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Sammyd1108 t1_j6ivv2u wrote

Slow doesn’t bother me at all, Terrence Malik is one of my favorite filmmakers, but I guess I just didn’t see what you saw in Dragged Across Concrete.

I love crime movies, but that one didn’t do anything for me. All of his movies have had a B movie feel to them, and I feel like that worked great with Bone Tomahawk since it was partly a horror film, but it doesn’t work as well with crime films.

Silence is such a good movie though, but I have no desire to ever watch it again, lol. Actually it’s similar to Malik’s most recent film. They’re both great, but because of how long and the subject matter, I don’t feel the need to watch them again.

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SwimmingLaddersWings t1_j6j8uxt wrote

I got nothing against B movies. Shit Terrifier 2 was better than any of the acclaimed horror movies last year like Barbarian or Smile. I don’t mind Zahler having that B movie quality because his writing and worldbuilding is better than practically any studio director working today.

And I love Malick as well, particularly his 2000s era. The new world and Thin Red Line are two of my favorite movies oat. I don’t mind rewatching slower and longer movies but in general I’m not much into rewatching movies like I used to. There’s just so much new stuff to always watch.

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Massive_Owl7941 t1_j6iq5sz wrote

He’s been writing more lately. Published a novel and two graphic novels since Dragged Across Concrete.

One of them, Hug Chickenpenny, he’s adapting into a film with the Jim Henson Company. Apparently started filming last year.

There was also something about a western series mentioned early last year, but haven’t heard any updates on that.

If you’re a reader check out his books as well. Wraiths of the Broken Land is what got Russell to sign on to Bone Tomahawk without reading the script. Even has a blurb on the back cover.

Mean Business on Ganson Street is in the same genre as Dragged Across Concrete.

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