2024 MOVIES DISCUSSION THREAD

[Andrew POE!]

Elysium (leaving Netflix on Sunday) - Big dumb sci-fi movie with Matt Damon where he does action movie things. The intro scene of Elysium had me wondering where the "Press Start" button was (because it literally looked like a video game). The premise is at least different enough to be interesting, although it's not very filling as a movie.

California Split (leaving Netflix on Sunday) - Robert Altman (Director)

Spoiler

I'm convinced that Elliott Gould and George Seagal improv'ed every line they said in this movie. They have a camaraderie of two guys who were in the same fraternity or the same dorm building in college and they were in on the joke, but no one else was. The only drawback is it takes a bit of time for the movie to get going beyond the impressive 20 minute opening scene in the poker hall.

EDIT: Finished another one on Netflix...

The Parallax View - Alan Pakula (Director)

Spoiler

Excellent political thriller that still works today. Amazing cinematography and some of the framing / setup / shots were incredible. I especially loved the scenes at the dam and one of the scenes where Hammond enters on a golf cart and the door slowly closes.

The last 20 minutes are an absolute gut punch and brilliant.

 

Edited March 29 by Andrew POE!

[Curt McGirt]

On 3/27/2024 at 7:02 AM, (BP) said:

After you watch Being There, I’d suggest the HBO biopic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Geoffrey Rush is extraordinary as Sellers. 

Forgot to mention, I saw this years ago and liked it a lot. Complicated man. 

EDIT: Or, he was just terrible to people. I don't remember well, it was a long time ago

Edited March 29 by Curt McGirt

[odessasteps]

We were just talking about Sellers and how he seemed to be one of the few people to work multiple times with Kubrick. 

[(BP)]

Sellers did have to fake an injury to get Kubrick off his back about playing yet another role in Strangelove. 

I just read that Ernie Hudson was nearly 40 at the time of the first Ghostbusters, which means he’s almost 80 now. That’s insane because in Frozen Empire he’s clearly the most spry by a wide margin.

[The Natural]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68683313

Sir Christopher Nolan and Dame Emma Thomas!

[Curt McGirt]

Dude I just got finished rewatching all of Oz and Ernie was SWOLE. He must've been early-mid 50s by then, and with his shirt off boxing in the prison gym, looked like he could be getting ready to step in the ring right after. 

[Eivion]

twitter.com/wolfmansgotnard/status/1772756714032337054?s=46&t=TLNzmc8W8LCd9JNoD7tygw

Edited March 29 by Eivion

[zendragon]

On 3/24/2024 at 11:15 AM, Andrew POE! said:

Some more movies:

Dallas Buyers Club (Peacock, leaving at the end of the month)

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I wanted to like this movie but found a few things wrong. Acting wise....this is Matthew McConaughey being Matthew McConaughey albeit with an attempt to do Robert DeNiro's approach to acting (gain weight, lose weight) minus the actual research and meticulous character work. The early parts of the film (where his character was the most homophobic) were the most compelling and best parts of the movie. You found yourself not liking the character and wondering what else would happen to him anyway.

As it went along and became a story of "those forgotten by the FDA vs the FDA," it wasn't as interesting. The change of the main character from a bastard who got drunk and didn't care for people to a bastard who got drunk once in awhile and started to care for people wasn't as well earned as it should have been. Ron Woodruff (McConaughey) using Dr Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner)'s stationery to commit fraud should have been a dealbreaker for Dr. Saks, regardless of Woodruff's intentions. It's not so much that it would revoke her medical license, it was a betrayal of trust that was never fully addressed. The part towards the end wasn't a victory so much as 'well you tried.'

Jared Leto (Rayon) was great at times and it were moments like playing cards or meeting with the father to ask for money that were great. I somewhat wished the story said something about gender choices made and being respectable towards them (although the movie didn't present Woodruff being confronted about his language either, but what can be done).

Direction and cinematography was decent and I loved the choice of the piercing sounds before Woodruff collapses. So it's an okay movie with the technical aspects being great.

The Devils (1971) (Criterion Channel, leaving at the end of the month) - Seeing the brouhaha from right wing Twitter about Immaculate, have we got a film for them. This movie is what they hate. Immaculate walked while The Devils ran.

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The first five minutes of The Devils are incredible, ghastly and seared into a person’s memory. There is no “good person” in this movie and that is the point. Everyone lost their minds due to the plague. So deciding that an amoral priest using religion to justify his behavior is guilty of witchcraft is not out of the ordinary. Nuns ripping their clothes off is not out of the ordinary either.

This movie is an experience.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (saw at the theaters) - Despite the bad reviews online, I found myself throughly enjoying the movie. Yes, it taps into ‘80s nostalgia; at the same time, it succeeds where Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny failed.

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The newer characters do a lot of the heavy lifting for the story. The drawback is so much of the story is focused on Phoebe Spangler (McKenna Grace) and not so much on the other new characters or even that much on the returning characters. Bill Murray was in the movie for barely five minutes. Phoebe’s relationship with Melody didn’t pull the trigger on an actual romance and just hinted at it.

Still, it’s a brainless summer blockbuster movie…in March and sometimes those are what’s needed. A lot of the shots and scenes were gorgeous.

A few years ago I got to see a film print of The Devils when warner bro wouldn't allow the film to be released

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xeg1yIvalSo&ab_channel=JAtube

documentary that shows some of the cut footage from the communion scene

[zendragon]

23 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

Something that I remember disturbing me more than anything about the execution of Grandier was him being shaven bald and sans facial hair. For some reason that very simple, basic emasculation is striking. 

 

Its him being stripped of his vanity 

[zendragon]

Watched Barbie on the plane, so we get a plus side barbie but no plus side Ken. I gotta stand up for are big boys

Also between Dune and Late Night with The Devil great year for giant worms on the big screen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl1-Pi9DfuU&ab_channel=RelapseRecords

from the opening montage 

[Andrew POE!]

More movies seen today:

The Front Page (1974) (leaving Netflix on Sunday) - Decent comedy from Billy Wilder with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matheu. Found myself not liking Walter Mattheu's character by the end of it. Parts of it are hilarious however.

The Street Fighter (1974) (leaving Netflix on Sunday) -

Spoiler

It's cut up like crazy and literal scenes are missing; it's nowhere near as violent as the X-rated version. The ending of the movie literally goes from Sonny Chiba (Terry) on the ground and about to get killed to him grabbing an enemy by the throat to him standing up with a lot of blood on him. It's essentially a Cliff's Notes version of the story.

In The Land of Saints and Sinners (2023) - Saw this at the theaters tonight

Spoiler

Movie executes the story well albeit rather standard revenge story. The movie is essentially a western (even down to the Ennio Morricone-esque music!). Liam Neeson basically almost the same character he's done in other movies of his recently (Taken series, The Commuter, Memory, Retribution, etc) but in the countryside of Ireland. At one point, the exceptional Kerry Condon was at the same beach that was shown in The Banshees of Insherin. I half expected to see a guy with fingers missing on his left hand.

Colm Meaney is in this as well and his character gets killed because Chief O'Brien Must Always Suffer. Even if he's not on DS9 anymore.

 

Edited March 30 by Andrew POE!

[Andrew POE!]

Here's what I watched today:

The Legend of Bagger Vance (leaving Max on Sunday)

Spoiler

Interesting movie at times but probably could have been shortened a bit. The Southern accents from Matt Damon and Will Smith were close to parody while Charlize Theron had a decent attempt although she ventured into Gone With The Wind territory too. I was thrown off a bit by the story framing where Jack Lemmon's character remembers being a boy and remembering another character (while seemingly being able to see things normally not seen). That breaks a cardinal rule of storytelling with a narrator.

The best part was the scene where Matt Damon's character Junuh ignores everything going on around him and perfects his swing.

Godzilla x Kong: New Empire (saw at the theaters in IMAX)

Spoiler

Having never seen the other Monsterverse movies, I have no flipping idea what’s going on. The human characters that are there are all varying degrees of annoying with no narrative drive other than “we have to help Kong.” The best acting was done by Kong (who is CGI).

I’ll be watching Godzilla (2014) soon so maybe some aspects of the story will make sense. The movie references earlier movies in the series as if that would make sense or ring a bell for me.

Simply put, this is filmmaking from a teenager where Awesome Stuff must happen every second. The movie speeds along with the story without a consideration for:

- the people in Monarch station (where did they go?)
- the people on the surface at the Monarch station to Hollow Earth
- the people in the submarine (did they die?)
- the various landmarks destroyed and bridges destroyed (where people undoubtedly lost their lives)

I’m fine with the approach of “movie as a spectacle.” Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire worked on that level and did enough to explain to people who hadn’t seen Afterlife what was going on. This makes me absolutely lost as why it matters that there is a Hollow Earth beyond the brief introductory part. Why Godzilla and Kong can’t be eliminated. The movie does explain the significance but it’s very brief and lacks any sense of gravity to the story. It’s just more silent movie acting with CGI with Kong and Godzilla and a baby Kong.

With this, I went to the bathroom, came back and felt like I didn’t miss anything.

So it’s fine to see this, just don’t expect to feel like you saw a deep movie.

I Am Not Your Negro (Peacock, leaving on Sunday) - Great documentary about one of the most complicated writers in history. The movie does an effective job of showing old film clips with current news footage and is Samuel Jackson reading a letter from James Baldwin.

The Killers (1946) (The Criterion Channel, leaving on Sunday) - Underrated film noir movie. The intro scene still holds up today. A lot of the movie still works. 

Edited March 31 by Andrew POE!

[odessasteps]

We just had a long discussion at work the other night about Kubrick, including me discussion an undergrad paper about "inhuman" most of his main characters are. 

This somehow ended up discussing westerns and me trying to explain Johnny Guitar. 

[twiztor]

2 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:

Godzilla x Kong: New Empire (saw at the theaters in IMAX)

Having never seen the other Monsterverse movies, I have no flipping idea what’s going on.

  Hide contents

Having never seen the other Monsterverse movies, I have no flipping idea what’s going on. The human characters that are there are all varying degrees of annoying with no narrative drive other than “we have to help Kong.” The best acting was done by Kong (who is CGI).

I’ll be watching Godzilla (2014) soon so maybe some aspects of the story will make sense. The movie references earlier movies in the series as if that would make sense or ring a bell for me.

Simply put, this is filmmaking from a teenager where Awesome Stuff must happen every second. The movie speeds along with the story without a consideration for:

- the people in Monarch station (where did they go?)
- the people on the surface at the Monarch station to Hollow Earth
- the people in the submarine (did they die?)
- the various landmarks destroyed and bridges destroyed (where people undoubtedly lost their lives)

I’m fine with the approach of “movie as a spectacle.” Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire worked on that level and did enough to explain to people who hadn’t seen Afterlife what was going on. This makes me absolutely lost as why it matters that there is a Hollow Earth beyond the brief introductory part. Why Godzilla and Kong can’t be eliminated. The movie does explain the significance but it’s very brief and lacks any sense of gravity to the story. It’s just more silent movie acting with CGI with Kong and Godzilla and a baby Kong.

With this, I went to the bathroom, came back and felt like I didn’t miss anything.

So it’s fine to see this, just don’t expect to feel like you saw a deep movie.

 

i just posted my thoughts in the Godzilla thread. i HAVE seen all of the other Monsterverse movies, and most of my takeaways are the same as yours. 

[Curt McGirt]

Had The Last Duel on TV earlier today for a bit, muted. There was no way I was unmuting it to suffer goateed 17th century Matt Damon doing some kind of Mittel-European accent. 

[Andrew POE!]

13 hours ago, twiztor said:

i just posted my thoughts in the Godzilla thread. i HAVE seen all of the other Monsterverse movies, and most of my takeaways are the same as yours. 

Okay, that's good to know I didn't need to have seen the other movies to have problems with it. A buddy of mine thought the movie was great and dug the kajiu fights.

[Andrew POE!]

Some more movies today. Criterion Channel turned out to have about 70 more movies that I won't be able to watch them all. I'll try to watch as much as I can.

My Best Friend's Wedding (leaving Netflix after today) -

Spoiler

This movie seems like it would be lightweight fluff with Julia Roberts, but is actually better and more nuanced than that. The intro song/scene is almost David Lynchian - I half way expected to see Dennis Hopper in this movie yelling menacingly at Julia Roberts or Cameron Diaz after it.

The main character isn't a good person and that's the point. You think starting out that you would hate Kimmy (Cameron Diaz) and her fiance Michael (Dermot Mulroney) by virtue of the fact that their love is an obstacle for the main character Julianne (Julia Roberts). Instead, you realize (and so does Julianne) that what Julianne is doing to try to break things up isn't good. By the end of it, Julianne faces her truth and comes away with it the better for it.

Rupert Everett (George) is the best part of the movie and if Michael wanted to hook up with him at the end I would have been fine with that too.

Completely underrated as a movie.

Testament (leaving Criterion Channel after today)

Spoiler

Great movie and absolutely pitch black dark in terms of storytelling. Jane Alexander deserved her Oscar nomination. Lucas Haas (Scottie) and Ross Harris (Brad) act well beyond their years with maturity and subtlety. It's on Criterion Channel and leaving today and worth checking out.

The way the movie unfolds sticks with me even after watching it.

Egg And Stone (leaving Criterion Channel after today)

Spoiler

Movie covers a tough subject matter (girls undergoing puberty in China) but the pace removes any sense of emotion from it. Some of the shots are beautifully setup and I like the longer takes (I liked the scene in the schoolyard where Honghui faints and the visit to the doctor's office). The film is an acquired taste.

EDIT: Saw some more...

Savage Messiah (leaving Criterion Channel after today)

Spoiler

Ken Russell is an absolute genius. The fact he did this and The Devils within a year of each other proves it. Savage Messiah has similar crazed energy as The Devils but is about a sculptor in WW1 era. The ending is absolutely devastating. Also, a young Helen Mirren spends a bit of time walking around completely naked.

The Foolish Bird (leaving Criterion Channel after today)

Spoiler

From the same director as Egg And Stone. It covers a similar story but has more varied setups yet isn't as good.

EDIT2: Some more...

But I'm A Cheerleader (leaving MUBI after today)

Spoiler

Wonderful satire and great pacing. Yes, it's similar to John Waters' movies but not as shocking. Clea DeVile is great as Graham and Natasha Lyonne is awesome. Problem is the film loses some of its bite towards the end and just turns into a romantic comedy.

 

Edited April 1 by Andrew POE!

[Curt McGirt]

Watched the end of Testament and thought yeah I can pass on this one, just too much. 

Spoiler

The burning body-pile being fed was completely unexpected, but the family (or what's left of them) sitting down to whatever it was that substituted for a cake with a candle in it for the kid's birthday was even nastier. As was the kid puking and you know he's got fucking cancer and radiation poisoning and he's lucky that isn't entirely liquified organs coming up. 

 

[Andrew POE!]

The Menu (leaving Hulu/Max tomorrow)

Spoiler

Captivating thriller with Ralph Fiennes as an evil, broken chef. The movie works on the level where everything is slowly revealed through the menu. Anna Taylor-Joy did wonderful as her character Margot / Erin (although they glossed over her work and didn't dwell on it as much). Cinematography and direction were incredible.

I wasn't a big fan of the fact that the people, once now captive on the island, seemed almost resigned to their fate and seemed to be more of a group of upper crust individuals and backgrounds rather than actual characters. I realize it's part of the story, but I would think they would put up more of a fight. Once the sous chef killed himself in front of them and the shock wore off, all bets should have been off. The men fleeing should have gouged out the eyes or tried to choke out the other men chasing them. That would have lead to a longer movie and resolution of tension, but that's not the direction taken.

At the same time, I realize my idea not being used and what was done is what makes a great thriller.

Above all, worth checking out despite small issues.

The Raid: Redemption (leaving Netflix Wednesday)

Spoiler

Lots and lots of action for over 90 minutes but very little story or characters. The first 30 minutes were incredibly tense and the best part of the movie. But it turns into a martial arts movie where everyone has seemingly unlimited stamina and don't really seem to be affected by any wounds. The American looking police sergeant (who's fluent in Indonesian) is about the only memorable actor in the movie and the main younger actor doing most of the martial arts strains credulity at times.

Pearl Harbor (leaving Max on April 30)

Spoiler

First off, this is one of the most beautifully shot movies I've ever seen. Everything from a cinematography and technical level is a marvel. The first hour or so was just incredible on that level.

But holy shit is the story bad. The characters are bad. The main characters (Ben Affleck and Josh Harnett) seem to have dogshit relationships with each other and the movie stupidly introduces a love triangle when that wasn't needed. Kate Beckinsale is who they are fighting over in this movie when Jennifer Garner is much better looking and just has that 'wholesome goodness' look to her that I would think macho men would love (but oh she wears glasses, so she's not as hot according to Michael Bay's machismo logic). Not to mention the movie mocking a man who has a stutter instead of realizing what the character has to go through or deal. Cuba Gooding's character arc is wasted - but sadly that's a reflection of black men and women serving in the military during that time.

There's at least 2 or 3 great movies that could have worked with Jennifer Garner/Cuba Gooding/Ewen Bremner's characters. But instead, the movie (and Michael Bay) wants me to feel something in common with Josh Harnett or Ben Affleck's characters (despite both of them being kinda stupid).

The movie could stand to trim about an hour off of the running time - honestly, the movie could have ended with the Pearl Harbor attack (which spent nearly an hour covering). The remaining hour or so I don't remember. Other than Josh Harnett's character dies or something in slow motion.

Still, the movie looks gorgeous in 4K so see it for the visuals, just ignore the story completely.

 

Edited April 2 by Andrew POE!

[Andrew POE!]

Win It All (leaving Netflix on Friday)

Spoiler

Structurally, story is very similar to California Split, which I saw last month. There's no Elliott Gould although Keegan Michael Key is close enough.

There are differences: the love interest with Aislinn Derbez (Eva) who should be in more movies and Jake Johnson (Eddie) loses a lot of money towards the end of the movie before winning a large pot.

The only drawback to the movie is its energy is almost too low key. Jake Johnson's character doesn't seem like he has a terrible problem with gambling until the last 25 minutes of the movie. His scenes with Keegan Michael Key (Gene) have plenty of tension and unpredictability that I wished was with the other characters too in the movie.

I'll also track down the director's other movies on streaming if I can find them.

Worth checking out on Netflix before it leaves on Friday.

School Life (leaving Netflix on Monday)

Spoiler

Movie is not really an original idea - teacher or school administrator trying to reach a troubled student - but it executes it really well albeit in French (I've watched enough French movies that I've understand it fairly well). I love the party scene and how that was shot. Zita Hanrot (Samia) and Liam Pierron (Yanis) were great. The troubled student Yaris (Liam Pierron) seeing the aftermath of his friend's death was effective and more true to life - not everyone in a poor area of a country die due to violence, sometimes it's just a traffic accident.

The ending was a bit bleak and did an obvious tip of the head to Dangerous Minds by using the original version of "Gangsta's Paradise" ("Pasttime Paradise").

Asphalt City (saw at the theaters)

Spoiler

The movie does a few things right and a lot of things wrong. What it does right is make you feel the bleakness of the atmosphere and oppressive world it creates. Sean Penn really does feel like he must have taken shifts as an EMT to prepare for this part. What it does wrong is the bleakness and oppressive world is too much; it's almost suffocating to see both main characters fall into an abyss (Sean Penn's character kills himself and Tye Sheridan's character is nearly a psychopath) with no exit for them. Characters and scenes lack humor or grace or empathy; it's 'let's thanklessly do this job while trying not to kill patients."

I wanted to like this movie due to the way that New York City is shot and portrayed. However, there's only so many times that you can watch the main characters go into a drug den, or a gym or an apartment complex and seeing people nearly dying from drug overdoses. It's possible that it's a statement of the times; the way the US is does make someone end up doing that out of despair.

Mike Tyson is completely miscast and barely in it to amount of much as a character. He seems to bark orders or just sit pensively.

The last 20 minutes or so had me wondering what the end scene would be. Quite a few of the scenes seemed like final scenes; that's either out of hope that it would end or there would be a release (however incomplete).

If you want to watch paramedics go through torture, seek out Bringing Out The Dead instead.

 

 

[Eivion]

Finally caught Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire for my older brother's birthday. We all seemed to enjoy it a decent bit. I thought it was better than Afterlife. I dug the family dynamic and thought Phoebe had more to her personality and character this time around. Was nice to see Winston and Ray bring more to the table as well. Wouldn't mind seeing another with this crew.

[odessasteps]

I presume this will be of interest some of you here…

an Indiegogo found raiser to make a documentary about Mega Force, that 1980s Mad Max ish sci fi film starring Barry Bostwick. 
 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/making-megaforce

[Curt McGirt]

I thought Megaforce was one of the 3D spectacles that hit in '83, or was at least attached somehow since it was made the year before, but no dice. I was probably thinking Metalstorm by Charles Band. Anyway, Hal Needham apparently wanted to cash in off the election of Reagan and made a right-wing sci-fi film?! That's, uh, a choice.

[Travis Sheldon]

Megaforce was advertised on every comic I read that year. 

They should start remaking Needham films.

Of course they'd be all CGI, so that magic would be gone.

[Brian Fowler]

On 3/27/2024 at 8:05 AM, (BP) said:

They’re basically part of a shared universe since Keaton is playing his ATF character Ray from Jackie Brown. 

Bit late getting to this, but the novels are literally a shared universe.

Also it apparently took just an absurd amount of negotiation, red tape, etc to get Keaton in that cameo because of it being two different studios and whatnot, and Miramax having the rights to Michael Keaton as Ray Nicolette.