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2014 MOVIE OMNIBUS THREAD


RIPPA

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Don't most people have friends who think like them? That's why they become friends..

Most people?  Yes.  Tabe?  No.  I have a lot of friends with common interests whose thinking and tastes aren't necessarily the same as mine.

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My basic opinion is that it was a big, glorious mess.  The ending was terrible, it's too long, but god damn is it fascinating and interesting and beautiful along the way.  And it's easily the best acted movie I've seen from 2014.

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The ending is amazing and Tabe's the most contrarian dude here, so it's not a surprise to see him react to Interstellar like that.

I'm not sure that's a fair assessment of me.  I don't take up negative positions against stuff that's popular just for the sake of being negative.  I judge stuff on its own merits.  Or at least I try to.

 

Let's not forget, it wasn't too long ago that people on this board were giving me crap about being too easy to please and that everything I see was at least a 7/10 :)

 

I can see where stuff in Interstellar resonates with people.  The theme of connection between father/child is a powerful one and there's some genuinely terrific moments that come out of that (like the previously-mentioned scene where Tom tells his dad he's going to stop sending videos).  I just didn't think the rest of the movie (the gazillion mistakes, plot holes and logic gaps combined with the mediocre - at best - special effects) held up well enough.

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Most people?  Yes.  Tabe?  No. 

 

You're good people, Tabe--but this explains SO MUCH.  You're a zebra among the horses.  Which is why you're so cool.

 

Now, where's my Hawaiian shirt?

 

LOL, thank you.

 

And now I owe you a shirt, too?  Man, by this time next year, it'll be sand, a shirt, a tiki torch, and a frigging surfboard.

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The ending is amazing and Tabe's the most contrarian dude here, so it's not a surprise to see him react to Interstellar like that.

I'm not sure that's a fair assessment of me.  I don't take up negative positions against stuff that's popular just for the sake of being negative.  I judge stuff on its own merits.  Or at least I try to.

 

Let's not forget, it wasn't too long ago that people on this board were giving me crap about being too easy to please and that everything I see was at least a 7/10 :)

 

I can see where stuff in Interstellar resonates with people.  The theme of connection between father/child is a powerful one and there's some genuinely terrific moments that come out of that (like the previously-mentioned scene where Tom tells his dad he's going to stop sending videos).  I just didn't think the rest of the movie (the gazillion mistakes, plot holes and logic gaps combined with the mediocre - at best - special effects) held up well enough.

I would have tagged other people withthe contrarian tag here before Tabe.

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I'm moving gradually toward a pineapple farm. :)

Ya know, I drove right past Dole on my way back from my shark cage thing.  Had no idea the place was even there until I was practically on top of it.  But I was so messed up from the shark cage, there was no way I was going to stop.

 

No "for sale" sign on the place either.

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So, we went to see Dumb and Dumber To last night. It was...okay. Forget comparing it to the original. I loved the original. I probably watched it 20 times. The first half of the sequel was pretty atrocious. I'm not sure I laughed once. Things picked up in the second hour and brought this from completely terrible to somewhat passable.

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Okay, if I keep watching two movies every weekend I should catch up eventually.

 

Birdman: This really does have a lot to say about acting.  There's obvious stuff like how having a popular role can be a curse, the pressure of wanting to sell out and do what the public wants, and how critics sometimes have their own agendas.  But look a little deeper and there's also commentary on how the public really makes actors famous irrespective of talent (and can also ignore the truly talented), whether performing for a smaller, less important audience can be worth it if they enjoy what you do, how public taste sometimes makes very little sense, and just how thin the line between success and failure can be.  I didn't find the single-shot stuff to be a big deal, except in the sense that it made the performances seem more impressive, because it makes it look like people are doing big scenes one right after the other.  One of the most poignant, straightforward moments for me may have been the Times Square scene, the subsequent YouTube video, and the "This is power" line - it says in five minutes what took Chef an entire movie.

 

Nightcrawler: Jake Gyllenhaal keeps finding new and creative ways to play "weird," and he's so great here.  There's even a poster for this movie where he manages to look not quite right just by standing there.  I'd been hearing some criticism of the soundtrack, and yeah, the music never quite seemed entirely appropriate, but I think that was either part of the movie-long effort to keep Jake's character at least a little sympathetic, or a creative way of showing us how messed up the character is, by having the music present him to us as he sees himself.  Like it'll be this intrepid adventure music when he gets to a crime scene before the police and starts doing questionable things, or a stirring, inspiring anthemic piece when he gives that off-kilter speech about his career to Rene Russo.

 

Stay tuned for my timely hot take on Interstellar next weekend!  Or maybe the weekend after that!

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I saw Manhunter for the first time a few weeks ago and I've already watched it three more times. I can't believe I'd never seen it before, it's fucking awesome. This may be contentious but I think it's a much better film than Lambs.

 

I also saw To Live and Die in L.A. but I didn't care for that film nearly as much as Manhunter, I may give it a rewatch but I didn't think it was very good.

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To Live and Die In LA is overlong, but awesome. Insane chase sequence and Dafoe is great as a mostly cool-headed hustler with this deep-set psychotic edge that comes screaming out when you push him too hard. This might be the only film where aside from his grill he doesn't look like a complete freak facially either. Unlike in Manhunter, I found Petersen mostly unlikeable but that's the point. As an actor he tends to do a good job of that.

 

I actually prefer Manhunter to Silence though Silence is clearly the superior film. Michael Mann, baby...

 

Hey, some funny things I found about Manhunter on Wiki: 

 

 

 

John LithgowMandy PatinkinWilliam Friedkin, and Brian Dennehy were all considered for the role of Hannibal Lecktor, but Brian Cox was cast after being recommended to Mann by Dennehy.

 

 

For the role of Will Graham, De Laurentiis had expressed interest in Richard GereMel Gibson and Paul Newman, but Mann, having seen footage of William Petersen's role in To Live and Die in L.A., championed Petersen for the part

 

Lithgow would have killed it (Blow Out and Dexter prove that without a shadow of a doubt). Dennehy though? Hell no. Now what is REALLY weird would be seeing any of those guys as Graham, esp. Paul Newman. If you thought Norton was wrong for Red Dragon can you imagine Newman in Manhunter?

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My favorite bit with Lecter in Manhunter was him finding Graham's number and address on the phone. "Is there a rolodex on the desk there? Then open that baby right up". It reminds me of the part on The Wire when Prop Joe is making up different identities on the pay phone trying to get information, only far more sinister.

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I love Will Smith but he probably made a mistake in letting his children become rampant marijuana addicts.

 

I think you misspelled "out of touch narcissists."

 

 

Willow saying there were no books in the world she wanted to read so she was forced to write her own was a great moment.

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I can't imagine Paul Newman being bad at anything ever....

 

I can't either, but just completely wrong for the part and the film. Too old, too popular, too deeply ingrained in the public conscience to do what Petersen did. It clearly comes off like Dino saying "I woulda lovea to havea the Paul Newman! ...Wait, can we afford? No? Okay find somebody cheap."

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I saw Manhunter for the first time a few weeks ago and I've already watched it three more times. I can't believe I'd never seen it before, it's fucking awesome. This may be contentious but I think it's a much better film than Lambs.

 

 

Manhunter is sooooo awesome.  I don't think it's contentious at all, and this board probably won't, but outside of here you might get shouted down because of Hopkins' iconic performance.

 

If you like Manhunter that much, that means you love Red Dragon by proxy. I can't support someone who openly loves Brett Ratner's work. Thus, your opinion on To Live and Die in LA is invalid.

Saying liking 'Manhunter' means you love 'Red Dragon' by proxy is like saying loving 'Psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock means you also love 'Psycho' with Vince Vaughn or loving 'The Wicker Man' with Christopher Lee means you also love 'The Wicker Man' with Nicolas Cage (Though I'm in the camp of liking the remake more than the original! Contentious!).  They're completely disparate.  Just two totally completely different movies, even though they have the same plotline.

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