HarryArchieGus
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Posts posted by HarryArchieGus
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9 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:
Saw two more today:
Jackie Brown (leaving Netflix at the end of the month) - One of the more story driven Quentin Tarantino movies that doesn't go over the top with 'shocking' material and told a competently well done story while keeping Tarantino's worst impulses in check.
Amsterdam (leaving Max on March 19) - Beautifully shot and at times competently directed but such a waste of time for everyone involved.
The movie spends much of its time making a mockery of war wounds and play it up as a farce rather than focusing on the central plot about the committee to install a general as president. If you don't like Taylor Swift (somehow), you'll be happy to see her get killed in the first 20 minutes. The setup of the movie would lead you to believe that everyone would potentially be out to get the three main characters but undoes that half way through the movie.
I enjoyed American Hustle because it literally copied/pasted Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas and left me with those vibes to want to see Goodfellas again. This, it made me want to watch better movies that exist.
From reading critical reaction to Amstedam, I understand the distaste. That said, I really liked that movie. There’s some farcical elements to be sure, and especially surrounding Bale’s plastic surgeon, but it’s pretty reductive to suggest it’s some sort of mockery of war wounds. I wonder what you found so insensitive to conclude that? I get the impression you liked the cast as I did, but we surely differ on them applying their craft to this intricate tale. I especially liked the red herring, so to speak, of the star you mentioned. I especially love Bale's work with David O Russell. Amsterdam is a story overstuffed with details – many of which I missed on first viewing. I deeply love Russell’s sensibilities, and for that always find more things to like than not. I was a high voter on Joy too, which was essentially a well constructed TV movie. American Hustle’s connection to Goodfellas is how you personally interpret it. I thought he paid great homage. To call it a copy/paste seems more than a little extreme. The laughs and tears feel wholly original, and the performances are far too good to write-off as some sort of forgettable placeholder. Hustle isn't far from my favorite of his work, but I lean to Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter. Maybe Huckabees too. I file it somewhere in there with the excellent Flirting with Disaster and Three Kings.
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Okay, I guess the SNME style opening is gone for good. Goodbye, you beautiful multi-person promo segment set to music - you are sorely missed. No Elton now either? Hopefully just this week, right? Complaints end with the outstanding Shibata v Danielson bout. What a lovely little scrimmage! I need another term for 'Poetry in Motion', but these two are definitely poets, so seems fitting. Mercedes video package was good. Julia v Adora was alright. Adora's looking better and better every week. Loved the bend. Julia mostly looked fine, but I'm not sure what that rope assisted maneuver was supposed to do. Poor Trish having to sell that k-rap. Speaking of crap, did I hear a stip that only one of the two would get to stand ringside? In theory it's fine, but don't make me think about the illogic. Zak Knight/Ange segments were highlighted by Harley Cameron's hilarity. She needs more to do. So what was going on here - an undisclosed injury? Dragon going long? Definitely down with the latter. Just move it to Honorclub and tape it - Pay Per View baby! Daniel Garcia v Lee Moriarty was terrific for the measley 5 minutes it received. Dragon going long? Darby-Jay Video was good. I continue to be elated by Jay White escaping the Acclaim vacuum. Pac v Aaron Solo was a terrific showcase. Solo did a helluva job here. I was hoping to hear some words from the Bee-ass-tard. I had a teacher that oddly called Basketball 'Bee-ass-ket-ball'. Danielson promo was very good. Meditation, being grateful, that's a play I can back. Claudio v Archer was a bit of snooze in the middle there. I blame Lance entirely. He seemed to be working a WWF house show in 83. Claudio, on the otherhand, brought his consistent excellence, and things clicked at the start and down the stretch. I'd prefer they saved the DQs, but I kinda sorta liked this finish. AEW has made the DQ fun again. Vincent should never, ever get an upper hand on Danielson. Big Dutch showing the gross tongue. Okay, let's do a trios. Maybe afterwards more ppl will be on board with Willing Coach to put together Dutch/Archer as a regular towering team. I really liked Kyle O'Reilly v Bryan Keith, but I definitely hear the criticisms levied on the overall show number of strike exchanges. I liked the closing and KOR's uncertainty about his old friends. Let's do Roddy v Kyle for the strap. Really liked the Deonna/Rosa promo. Always like Deonna's promos, but Rosa was good there too. I'm kinda into a heel Rosa. House of Black v Infantry was a beautiful showcase for the House. Matthews/King looked like a pair of killers. Carlie Bravo and this team have come a distance from their Honorclub debut early last year. Felt bad for the Captain on the botch, but he pressed on like a pro. Ottawa was very polite about it all. Cap seems like he deserves some votes for best dude in the company. I kinda like the finish. I don't like that they did an angle with FTR last week to make the outcome here kinda obvious. That said, all match I was trying to think of how the Infantry were gonna win. I thought for a moment that the House might get counted out on the table top piledriver. Somewhere around then I remembered the Briscoe feud. Malakai v Mark sounds pretty fuckinfantastic. Adam Copeland Interview was pretty good. It wasn't drippy. I could've done without him using the word 'perform'. I hated his use of that word. A stick with spikes, alright. Good use of Foley's name in 2024. There was some good to great mat action on this show, but some week's Collision has the feel of a pre-empted taped Raw circa mid-90s. I don't see too many Colliders on the board anymore. I guess nobody prefers the B show presently. That's not a good sign. Still, there's always a Danielson masterpiece, so I'm grateful.
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3 minutes ago, Octopus said:
Honestly, in terms of the Austin comparison, I think a good example is how Brit Baker got more over being in the wheelchair with Reba. Saying that, I’m impressed with AEW’s respect towards the wrestlers privacy. We don’t know what’s going on and if the best advice is to rest than please rest. Examples can be pulled where a return from injury is booked well and makes for an impactful moment. Also where it kills momentum.
Wrestling storytelling is an interesting medium where there are so many factors that can play into making something great or bad: What city they’re in, unexpected injuries, other people becoming more over, controversies forcing change, botched in ring moment, etc.Do I think an injured Yuta being on tv adds to anything? Probably not but I’m sure they could come up with something cool.
I’m sure him running out and making a save or screwing someone when he returnscould be cool too.
Brit Baker is an example for this now as well. I was getting a bit tired of her, now that she’s been gone I’m actually super excited for her to come back and have a promo off with Mercedes or fight with Storm. She was a perfect example of staying on tv before and now she’s a great example of being off tv.
Ricky Starks is an example of someone that has had and lost momentum. There’s been times he’s disappeared and I’m bummed. This last time he had momentum they were still using him as tag champs with Big Bill and I feel the momentum for him fizzled again. He wasn’t used, he was used. We can blame booking or performers or external circumstances. I’m starting to lean towards wrestling is weird and a little bit of everything can influence a little bit of everything.
Do I want more video packages? In theory, yes. I just love edited short hype pieces. Do I want a ton of them, no. On Twitter, not so much here, it gets so disingenuous with “Who is this?” like towards Okada. He literally already main evented a PPV and had hype around building that. The CMLL guys showing up came off of the BCC getting in their faces. It was very simple but it was there. The point is we’re getting something you can’t see on US tv elsewhere. The mystery and then technical excellency of Hechicero being discovered in the match was very fun. I do find the transition from BCC to Jericho (like what AEW did with the Kingston feud) to be eh. But meh.
Jokes aside, The Casuals as a modern day J.O.B. Squad would be pretty sweet.
Right now, how I enjoy wrestling is I actually watch (when I can) AEW because I prefer their matches and the presentation and I look up clips of WWE because it’s fun keeping up to date with their stories. They’re far from perfect as well, but it’s a really fun time having two bigger companies putting out content at such a high level for both their standards. Give me Danielson vs Shibata on Collision and give me Cody and I crying as he holds up the belt at Wrestlemania. Give me stupid but fun Judgement Day locker room segments where they’re like Pinky and the Brain trying to take over the WWE or someshit and give me Penta taunting in the face of danger as if he is Friedrich Nietzsche staring into the abyss and some jumping into a cutter or super kick 2010’s ROH when they had tv guy stares back.
RAMBLE COMPLETE. I need a nap.
The Baker example is an excellent one. Both actually. As is the Starks. I've expressed my hopes further, so I'll leave them pages ago. The videos thing ought not be misconstrued as something simply for the casuals, and you obviously know what I mean. I like good hype. The better the promo-ing often, for me, the better the bout.
I wonder what the over/under is on mutual tears of joy for Cody or the Universe going Elite-Cody reaction style with an influx of boobirds following Rock's hilarity.-
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24 minutes ago, Octopus said:
Yuta is injured but to my knowledge (I did a quick search and couldn’t find much) there isn’t a known return date. Hopefully he’s fine and comes back soon. I really enjoy him.
After listening to Phil's great sell 'on the indies' pod, I had visions of Slim J's mat game taking center stage at the pre-Mania week and grabbing hold of the Pure Title.
18 minutes ago, Log said:Hey, if a little gatekeeping can weed out the same old tired-ass talking points every week, then let’s keep some gates, baby!
A bit of truth, a bit of snobbery. I was hopeful a comparison to Austin 97 might garner some talk (my DMs are open I guess). I didn't expect to get lumped with the 'see look at the Ratings' guys. Win some, lose some. I'm for expressing your opinions, somebody else's tired topics, but then I don't mind scrolling and occasionally ignoring.
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2 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:
Swear, I've never even heard of Out of the Blue before. You'd definitely think I would, obviously -- punk rock, Dennis Hopper, teen angst. I've gotta see it after checking out the trailer on iMDB. (How the hell did they do the semi running into the school bus?!?!) Matter of fact I've never heard of Pointed Sticks either, which is another really weird blank spot. A little poppy for my taste, and keyboards in my punk is always weird, but here's their first LP anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2r3QapCio0
Here's your trailer too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ua8Axep434&pp=ygUXb3V0IG9mIHRoZSBibHVlIHRyYWlsZXI%3D
Well, look for the forthcoming 4K restoration, I think it might be in your wheelhouse. The Canadian punks were a bit late to the dance in some cases, but there's some good ones. This for me is one of the higher points... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7GUTdFe0Wk
p.s. loved that Cro-Mags demo. A band that has always escaped me.-
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Lost in the gatekeeping, but what's the story on Yuta? Anybody know the whereabouts? Also, slow to it, but sad to hear about Anthony Henry.
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16 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said:
The NWO angle morphed into something else that was entirely different than what it began as. I don't know if you can compare it to the Invasion. That and the first several months of it, there was enough control of it where it was one of the best things WCW ever did from a creative standpoint. That's not anything you can say about the WWF Invasion angle in 2001.
Has Sullivan, Bischoff or any of the creatively linked parties ever discussed in any length the idea plans for the split nWo show?
WCW here in Canada was, for a long while, shown condensed into 1 hour (on local TV) and later 2 hours (on TSN). This may have partially played into having a little ignorance of the repetition, and my acceptance of most things nWo until the Wolf Pack split (Sting and Luger as members, uh, hurt my feelings). That is to say, I really liked the idea of the nWo as a big organization (Wallstreet, Bubba, Scott Norton included) rather than a 4 or 5 man faction that everybody says it should have been. Buff Bagwell in particular was one of my favorite additions. Especially dug that Vicious and Delicious tag team with Scott Flash. After things got bad with 'nothing working for any of them brother' Wolf Pack v Hollywood feud, we got the tremendous B-team. I remember that squad providing some of the better comedy WCW ever produced.-
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@CurtMcGirt (or anybody that's had a look at it) any thoughts on 'Out of the Blue'? Saw the 4K restoration (thanks to the great Chloe Sevigny and Natasha Lyonne) at the TIFF Lightbox here in Toronto. I thought it was pretty fantastic. Great lead from young Linda Manz. Hopper manic and out of control in front and behind the camera. Nice little sequence with Canadian punk legends the Pointed Sticks. Some pretty excellent stuntwork for what I would assume was a dirt cheap budget.
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24 minutes ago, Casey said:
Ratings talk, an argument for TK to let everyone know about potential injuries and/or why someone isn’t on TV… goddamn, the feeling really is restored.
Sincerest apologies. Please correct the course dearest pundit of elite mat action.
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14 hours ago, The Natural said:
This is so beautiful I wanna pretend to cry like the Nightmare.
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Re: Injuries/Disappearances
Mox/Claudio not be included in the tag tournament after coming off a victory against FTR on the PPV has me wondering about an injury. Not to say this is the case, but these Injuries/Disappearances have become a greater disservice to the talent than any kind of decisive match loss. An update with mention of an undisclosed injury and a promo or two while out would be exponentially better than this rotten disappearing act. Anybody remember that guy named Wheeler Yuta?
Curious how '97 Steve Austin would have been effected by disappearing for 3 months without mention, rather than all the talk and shenanigans he pulled on TV each week, after the Owen loss? Er, sure, Steve Austin would've been fine, but those 3 months in between were huge for his rising star.-
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1 hour ago, JLowe said:
Opening tag was pretty good, first half got the comedy out of the way, second half was solid wrestling with the greatest hits. Sad that OC is reduced to tag team midcard, kinda wish they would just give him a few weeks off to rest and refresh and then come back hot. But I also understand with so many wrestlers now, not wanting to lose your spot on TV.
I like this Trent/OC team, but I think you're right on the refresh. I wouldn't be surprised if Big Willie Hobbs finishes the job on that back in the Wild Card round.
QuoteWomen’s tag squash was great, a true squash where both Toni and Mariah looked like badasses. Rosa as Deonna’s partner was a bit underwhelming but will be a good match I think, Rosa isn’t afraid to be a little stiff and throw in a shotgun dropkick or two.
Haha, love that closing. Not that I expect it to be the match of the night, but I find myself more drawn to this tag bout than anything else on next week's excellent card.
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Rampage has slowly become the most underrated Wrestling show on TV (or streaming). Definitely below A and B, but much higher for my tastes than the action on the other channels. OC/Trent v Dark Order was good. The vest done up is a better presentation, but Uno loves to show it off. There was some officiating issues that I blame the teams for, but it was good. I very much like OC and Trent as a team. A Righteous video package, and for what reason? Tournament entry, uh, nope. Please free Big Dutch from Vincent. This team was easily handled in a handi-cap match on a PPV. It's over. Please, please, please: Dutch and Archer! No begrudging Vincent his money - just cash the checks and stand in the corner, if you wouldn't mind. Angelo/Zak Knight segment was to the point. Great angle on Ang's punch. I love that they aren't wasting time to get to the match. Knight looked kinda impressive on Honor Club - what do you say @DreamBroken ? I wish for a day when I can tag again and move between pages. Toni/Mariah squash was as good as squashes get. This team is outrageously fun. Can it be - Timeless Toni a babyface! I can get into a Rosa/Deonna team. Rosa needs help on the mic, and to carry a bit more of the work load. Deonna might need a bit of an upper echelon roster rub. I suspect heel Deonna will surprise a few ppl. Amanita video was good. They don't cross promote ROH nearly enough (WBD?). Tag Title Brackets look fine. Tho, the complaints filed in the thread are completely understandable and warranted. I was hoping for at least 16 pairings, but whatever. Mox/Claudio injury report? WTF. Komander v Takeshita was wonderful. Run this back a few times over like it's ECW99 and Tajiri v Crazy - I doubt anybody will complain, especially those that don't watch the C show. Serena Deeb video with more of the same shit. Big Deeb fan, but time to move on from the single note samba. Still, I back the play of video packages to get ppl over. Roddy/Kingdom v 'Every Flight is a Red Eye Flight', uh alright then. Terrific bout to close out a terrific show. Ha, was Matt Taven trying to be a cool heel with his Celtics jersey. Nice try 'I'm Matt Taven'. Love to see the Flights take the Trios crown. Roderick Strong is so goddamn great. Total pro. Let's get him running thru the solid workers in the mid and bottom of the card now. Another terribly fun show (on a Saturday morning).
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Throws a 'Brick' into the conversation. Also, Linklater's 'Boyhood' and Celine Sciamma's excellent (and unrelated) 'Girlhood'. Honorable mention to the small screen's 'Freaks and Geeks'.
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Forget about the tag team tournament. One match in, Toni Storm and Mariah May are clearly the best team. What a fun squash! Like a pair of beautiful Road Warriors.
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The Underground Railroad deserves the Criterion rub more than most. An incredible achievement, like his truly excellent If Beale Street Could Talk, seen by too few. Barry Jenkins is a goddamn modern master! Honorable mention to Nicolas Britell for his wonderful scores (especially Beale Street).
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1 hour ago, odessasteps said:
Gotta love when you cut a promo that throws to clips like you’re sitting with Johnny Carson…
This Rock heel run has been unreal. He's gonna turn the Universe on that goofy dude.
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Tracy Williams v Josh Alexander slated for the Philadelphia TNA tapings. Helluva booking.
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1 hour ago, JLowe said:
There are times where AEW crowds are a little too dead because they don’t know what to chant besides “this is awesome” or the dueling “let’s go chants”.
Very true. I saw a great example of this during the lengthy Forbidden Door show last year. Burnt out voices forgetting too much about their hands. The Japanese crowds use of their hands, and voices for necessary jeers and specific names is where everywhere else around the world oughtta get to. They also know there's no crime in letting a match play out for a little while in silence. With AEW we gotta consider longevity - these are long arse shows.
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Remember when Penta told Cody he was going to break his arm so he couldn't hold his newborn baby? That really fired up the Nightmare. Too bad we didn't get one of those patented WWE voice crack and tears promos following. Also, Alex Abrahantes was a great heel. The finish of the match (a rotten no sell of an armbreaker) was my Cody in AEW lowlight.
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Coppola, Scorsese and many more. I'm pretty sure I've heard Scorsese discuss said sequence. All 3 of the Kalatozov films named are currently on the Criterion Channel.
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On 3/13/2024 at 10:44 PM, Andrew POE! said:
The Cranes Are Flying - So far ahead of it's time it's scary. If you told me this movie came out this year, I would believe you. The fact that it came out in 1957 and seemingly predicted a lot of technique that show up in later films (hand held camera shots, close up on an actor/actress' face during emotional scenes, the ending scene has been used in tons of later films) is unbelievable.
If there had been justice in the world, Tatiana Samoilova would have gone to Hollywood and been as famous as Audrey Hepburn or Natalie Wood. The whole film is her.
Kalatozov! Your post reminds me that there's more than Cranes, I am Cuba and Letters Never Sent. Have you seen either of those other two? I am Cuba has a camera sequence that is mindboggling by any standard of any day.
Very curious about Perfect Days.
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3 hours ago, SovietShooter said:
I'm kinda surprised that with how people consume media now (short attention span, skimming thru content, etc) AEW hasn't really tried to front load the shows with the best stuff first.
They've experimented with this on Rampage a bit, and that was how the old SNME were back in the 80s.
I mean, I'm sure there are very valid reasons when it comes to rating averages and selling commercial time not to do this... and it would certainly fuel some of the online narrative that Dynamite just appears to be successful because it siphons BBT rerun ratings, but it would put the most eyes on the key content.
Don't they regularly front load the show? This show opened with a huge debut followed by a World Title match followed by Okada's Dynamite in-ring debut followed by Will Ospreay. The last two segments were arguably the weakest potential draws.
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1 hour ago, DreamBroken said:
Billie/Diamante was an awesome opener. Hard hitting, Billie had a few near head drops there. Loved the roundhouse kick leading up to the finish.
41 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:I still think Billie has a ways to go but Diamante ladled on some child abuse.
There was a couple rough spots (not necessarily bad), but Billie v Diamante was pretty darned solid. Definitely agree that Billie isn't quite where she will be (one of the best), but she's way ahead of other young'uns like Anna,Skye, or Julia. And (looking over the roster page) way ahead of Baker (in-ring), Penelope, Nyla, Shafir, Rosa, Ruby, and most of the regular AEW roster.
She really needs to stop with that trio of dives spot. Save it for big matches. I worry that she's gonna get hurt working a meaningless ROH TV match.-
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2024 MOVIES DISCUSSION THREAD
in MOVIES & TV
Posted
Robbie’s characters art seemed in tribute to me. That said, I wont further try and sell on Amsterdam - I know it was more of an acquired taste so to speak.
Thanks for sharing on Problemista. I saw the trailer before out of the blue on Saturday, and was intrigued. As I always am with anything Ma-Tilda Swinton. Few actors, if any, have better taste. Which is pretty remarkable considering the chances she takes. I know noting of Torres, his face is familiar. I read he was on snl, but I avoid it like the plague. Tho, my lady friend likes to check in on that tired corporate sketch comedy franchise. She felt similarly to you, maybe even stronger negatively, towards Am-Hustle.