Andrew POE!

Yeah, Savages was just an impossibly bad movie. Oliver Stone seemingly does movies for money then does a wacked out conspiracy theory movie that he wants to do (JFK, Nixon, Snowden, etc). Another one I saw today: The Promise (Max, leaving at the end of the month) - Great movie with great acting and superb location shots. Shame it didn't make more money at the box office. If it came out 10 years earlier, it would have made gangbusters. It belongs in the same class of historical 2000's era big budget movies like Troy and Gladiator. Movie is a bit long, but nothing is ever boring in this movie and it holds a person's interest throughout. If there weren't a love triangle story, it would have been 10x times better. I just subscribed to The Criterion Channel so yay more movies. I started on Xanadu and....it's an experience.

Few more movies: The Naked Kiss (Max, leaving at the end of the month) - Introductory credits and opening of the movie are incredible. The setting for the movie is quite ahead of its time in the '60s. Creepy song half way through the movie too. Constance Towers is a great actress and rises above the pulpy material. Brian And Charles (Peacock, leaving at the end of the month) - Rather short movie but beautifully done with Welsh landscapes and houses. Humor is a bit dry. It was described in a review online as being like "The Office but for introverted depressives."

Oh no problem (no pun intended) on Problemista. I wasn't expecting to like it, but found myself enjoying it. We'll see where it ends up (if at all) with the Oscars next year. It was supposed to have come out last year but the SAG/AFTA strike delayed it. Interesting that David O. Russell provokes wildly different reactions to his movies. I also finished watching this: Late August, Early September (leaving Max at the end of the month): Deadly boring at times and an hour and half movie that feels longer. How these people in this movie all aren't dead I don't know. Anne (Virginie Ledoyen) is allergic to paying bills apparently while looking hot and Gabriel (Mathieu Amatric) can't decide if he wants her or not. Dude is moody as hell and probably needs to have someone shake him. Not sure I want to watch more from Olivier Assayas after this. This is one of his earliest films so maybe he gets better. Also, keep in mind it's a French movie in the late '90s so I probably need to temper my expectations.

I think it was for me what was done in the first 30 minutes or so where Christian Bale and John David Washington are in the hospital dealing with something pretty serious with they nearly dying and Margot Robbie's character insisted on keeping sharpnel to turn into art projects. Bale and Washington's characters were seemingly fine with it despite....you know, getting seriously injured and almost killed in a war. I somewhat wished they trimmed Amsterdam down a bit for the movie's length and just focus on the main story. I probably was too harsh on American Hustle / Goodfellas 'copy and paste' comments - American Hustle worked so well for me because it reminded me of Goodfellas. It's like video games made with overt influences of other games (how games like Enslaved: Odyssey to the West were influenced by Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2 for example). I'll probably check out the other films you mentioned, although I've seen Three Kings years ago and have a DVD copy of Huckabees somewhere.

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. 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.

Yeah, that's what I meant....I have a bad habit of getting actresses confused with each other. Sometimes actors too.

Got back from the theater and saw.... Problemista - Essentially "Job Hunting in Late '20s/Early '30s: The Movie." Tilda Swanson's character literally gave me anxiety every time I saw her on screen. Glenn Close's character from The Devil Wears Prada but overwhelmed and on cocaine, meth and caffeine combined.

More movies watched today: Vice (leaving Peacock at the end of the month) - Not a bad movie although a bit superficial about its examination of Dick Cheney. Christian Bale is incredible as the Vice President (although at times it sounded like his version of Batman doing Dick Cheney than anything how the former VP talks). I loved how it combined text on screen, actual news footage, and actors/actresses superimposed on actual footage to form the movie. Mon Oncle D'Amerique (leaving Max at the end of the month) - My first time watching an Alain Resnais film. Absolutely brilliant. The lecture from a real life scientist adds to the storylines presented but is separate at the same time. It's over 2 hours long but it flies by due to the acting, direction, and overall structure of the movie.

I haven't seen Superbad but American Pie almost blatantly copies at times from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The only difference is it's much grosser and Stifler is a much grosser, less cooler version of Mike Damone.

More movies watched: Fast Times At Ridgemont High (Peacock, leaving it at the end of the month) - I've never seen this before so it was a bit of a surprise to me. Great '80s movie and did something a bit different with the story. Basically inspired every other high school age movie that came after it (while it in turn was inspired by American Graffiti). It's crazy watching the mall and seeing malls now be half-empty wasteland with closed businesses and scam operations. One Life - Just saw this. Above average film that really should be on Hallmark or Lifetime than movie theaters tbh. Inclusion of Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter elevates the movie. Decent acting from them and final 30 minutes were amazing.

No, but I think they are on streaming or I have a way of seeing them. Not sure when I'll watch them but I know I want to do so soon. Kalatozov so far from what I've seen is what Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola got a lot of their ideas from. There's one sequence in The Cranes Are Flying where the camera is following Tatiana through a crowd that got emulated in tons of later movies and is before Steadicam was invented.

Love Lies Bleeding - Decent movie although somewhat superficial. Essentially a film noir lesbian movie.

Got my 330th Platinum trophy with KIllzone HD. Watching movies has made me slow down a bit on trophy hunting thankfully.

More movies. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Netflix, leaving on April 1) - Early Scorsese movie that's a bit like Peter Broganovich films in some ways. You can tell it's a Scorsese movie - the scene in the car with "Daniel" playing, the scene going into the house with Mott the Hoople playing. The kid in the movie was annoying (which is the point). I don't see how Kris Kristofferson didn't end up as the leading man of the '70s. He and Ellen Burstyn are just incredible to watch. Harvey Keitel of course is scary as hell to watch. Perfect Days - Went to a local arthouse theater to catch this. Completely meditative as a movie but never boring. The first 30 minutes will depend on a person's interests: they'll either get caught up in the day to day minutae depicted or pulling their hair out waiting for 'something' to happen. I found myself enjoying it and enjoying the rhythm of life in the movie - it taught me to pay attention to routines. Most films that depict 'day to day life' try to make it something bigger than it actually is. The movie just shows the quiet dignity of working a job and living a life. In most movies, guys like Hirayama's co-worker would get the girl and the focus would be on that. Instead, well....it doesn't work out. How Koji Yakusho didn't get a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars, I don't know. I guess the Academy didn't want to nominate someone just living their life, scrubbing toilets, listening to Lou Reed and Patti Smith, going to the same restaurant for contention for an Oscar. EDIT: Finished this this afternoon on Max... 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.

Some more films from yesterday and this morning: Savages - Movie from Oliver Stone with Blake Lively and Benicio Del Toro. Basically a drug trade movie. The movie practically peaks in the first 10 minutes. "I get orgasms and he gets wargasms" (an actual line). Blake Lively can't act. Pepe Le Moko - 1930s French crime movie. The movie pretty much predicted the amoral thief in later years. Jean Gabin is George Clooney before George Clooney existed. Superior to Savages in every way.

I agree - I managed to see all but two of the Best Picture nominations (Maestro & KOTFM) and I'm very close to wanting to have them all on Blu Ray. The second The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall especially show up on Amazon, I'm getting them. Sandra Huller should have been somehow nominated twice for Best Actress. Either of her roles this year were incredible. The crazy thing is I saw almost all of them this past week. Honestly that and seeing Dune Part Two has renewed my interest in film (even though I didn't like Dune Part Two that much). I'll have to check out Fallen Leaves. I manage to watch everything Wes Anderson puts out and I wasn't in love with Asteroid City. The acting was incredibly flat and emotionless for me.

Watched more films leaving various streaming services, here's my thoughts: Love Simon (leaving Hulu) - I dug the hell out of this movie. Sometimes, high school teenage movies just hit the spot. Living in Georgia myself, I was surprised that Simon didn't encounter more problems. Not really any dull sections of the movie, although Martin made me cringe every time I saw him (which is the point). A Day in the Country (leaving Hulu) - Jean Renoir movie from the 1930's and rather short. Sylvia Bataille is a gorgeous woman and carried the movie. Although the kiss scene towards the end hasn't aged well at all. Get On Up (leaving Netflix) - Movie was a tad long and a bit disjointed with its nonlinear format but Chadwick Boseman is incredible as James Brown. The movie doesn't really sink in regarding his life. I loved the sequence leading towards the end though.

Oppenheimer wins Best Picture. All the other movies in the field were robbed. To borrow a phrase from Steve Earle, I'll stand on Christopher Nolan's coffee table in my cowboy boots to say that The Zone of Interest, Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall, American Fiction, and The Holdovers were better movies.

Christopher Nolan won for Best Director even though Justine Triet, Yorgos Lanthimos and Jonathan Glazer are right there. (I haven't seen Killers of the Flower Moon to have an opinion about it) The Zone of Interest scared the shit outta me and I'm still thinking about the movie even after watching it. Jonathan Glazer should have won. The only thing I remember about Oppenheimer is how confused I was about everything going on and how I wonder how there were two women that looked exactly the same.

I would agree. I thought Padraic (Colin Farrell) ended up as an asshole and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) was a complete asshole who did a stupid thing that he can never undo. The movie was more of a gimmick than a story.

Now watching The Banshees of Inisherin and planning on watching Love Simon, Get On Up, Savages and Please Stand By after that.

Just saw two more movies. I may have found something besides doing Platinum trophy hunting on PlayStation: Carol (Netflix, since it's coming off the service next week) - Great movie and Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are absolutely gorgeous. American Fiction - Just saw this in theaters. I loved the commentary and what the movie was trying to say. The ending did my head in. It can be compared to a Woody Allen movie minus the main character getting the girl. Jeffrey Wright's character is much better written than any characters from Woody Allen though.

Just saw Drive-Away Dolls.

Just saw The Zone of Interest.

Why would they do that when they can make 'cinema' that people like Hideo Kojima love?