Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

2019 Q1 MOVIE GENERAL DISCUSSION


RIPPA

Recommended Posts

The Death of Stalin has been in rotation on Showtime so it had to be revisited. So funny, so so dark. It's like Seinfeld done by a bunch of homicidal bureaucrats. Buscemi is of course the gold standard as he always is in it, but every time Jason Isaacs as Field Marshal Zhukov shows up he completely steals the scene. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For some reason the trailer for The Losers popped up on my Youtube recommendations and I haven't thought about that movie since I watched it what is close to a decade ago.

And I was just thinking about how if you released that exact some movie now how crazy people would be going for a movie based on a comic book that starred Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

God - I am starting to go down that rabbit hole of what other movies apply.

For reference for those that don't know what I am talking about

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

For some reason the trailer for The Losers popped up on my Youtube recommendations and I haven't thought about that movie since I watched it what is close to a decade ago.

And I was just thinking about how if you released that exact some movie now how crazy people would be going for a movie based on a comic book that starred Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

God - I am starting to go down that rabbit hole of what other movies apply.

For reference for those that don't know what I am talking about

 

It is the comic book movie that no one realized was based on a comic book.

To be honest, the all star ensemble of protagonists is kinda just there.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Zoe Saldana are reciting lines and emoting.  It doesn't really feel like they've taken on a particular character.

Chris Evans has a couple of good moments, but Idris Elba doesn't really turn on the burners

Spoiler

until his heel turn.

The real stars of the movie are Jason Patric and Holt McCallany.  The bad guys steal every scene they are in.  Max is such a chicken shit villain and every criminal mastermind should have a no bullshit henchman like Wade.

It was in the rotation on the Cinemax networks not too long ago.  I sat through all of the end credits once and never realized that Big Bad Wolf by The Heavy was on the soundtrack.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I enjoyed it just fine

My bigger point wasn't so much the movie quality but more the imagine they hype around it if it was dropped onto a Friday in March (that wasn't against Captain Marvel)

And Idris at least won a BET Award for his role

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

My bigger point wasn't so much the movie quality but more the imagine they hype around it if it was dropped onto a Friday in March (that wasn't against Captain Marvel)

Oh, no doubt.  Given the cast and factoring in a reasonable marketing campaign, If you dropped that movie this weekend starting tomorrow rather than when it was originally released, it would probably earn four times the revenue.

13 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

And Idris at least won a BET Award for his role

That was bullshit.  He shouldn't have beaten Quinton Aaron (The Blind Side) that year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.thearttheater.org/help-the-art-raise-25k-in-25-days/

I don't know where else to put it, and it depresses the fuck out of me to have to put it here at all. If any of you happen to be sugar daddies with 25K laying around, or if you just don't mind throwing a 20 in honor of a place that's been around for 109 YEARS and given generations of filmgoers the times of their lives, please donate. I've seen more great films at this place than I can count, and the nearest place for first-run indie cinema is gonna be an hour drive away in Normal if the Art goes down. Not only that, but you know what'll probably happen if it does... a fresh batch of fucking condos. 

*sigh* I wish Ebert were still alive. He'd make sure this didn't happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

http://www.thearttheater.org/help-the-art-raise-25k-in-25-days/

I don't know where else to put it, and it depresses the fuck out of me to have to put it here at all. If any of you happen to be sugar daddies with 25K laying around, or if you just don't mind throwing a 20 in honor of a place that's been around for 109 YEARS and given generations of filmgoers the times of their lives, please donate. I've seen more great films at this place than I can count, and the nearest place for first-run indie cinema is gonna be an hour drive away in Normal if the Art goes down. Not only that, but you know what'll probably happen if it does... a fresh batch of fucking condos. 

*sigh* I wish Ebert were still alive. He'd make sure this didn't happen.

Could be like where I live where Cinemark bought the theater (they already own another 14 screen multiplex in town), let the theater turn to shit, then shut it down out of nowhere, refuse to sell to a private party who wanted to buy the theater, and instead sold it to some hotel company that's just going to build a hotel where it used to be.

I don't think that theater was here for that long, but I had a lot of good memories from that place and saw a ton of movies there from childhood on. And now it's rubble and soon to be another fucking hotel that won't see much business until the Notre Dame football season.

It sucks to see old theaters get shut down. I hope yours stays alive.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Movies 6 opened in 93 or so and replaced/augmented the theater across the way at UP Mall. Then March '95  Movies 14 opened and the game changed. First movie I saw at Movies 6 was Pulp Fiction. Last movie I saw at UP Mall was Beavis and Butthead. After it became a dollar theater I saw Final Fantasy, Deuces Wild and the Croc Hunter movie. I made great use of that theater and the dollar shows at Scottsdale. AMC bought the theater in Elkhart from Carmike and doesn't seem to have made any improvements at all. Last time I was there in October it smelled like a wet dog.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a comment from someone who works at the Art. Sad ain't the word (and I was four years off on the age)

Quote

"I'm asking for help. The Art Theater, which provides 1/3 of my income, is in financial trouble. If we cannot raise a huge amount of money in a very short time, we will have to close. I will lose my job, my friends will lose their jobs, and my amazing manager who has poured their heart and soul into this tiny, old-ass, broken down, special theater will lose their job. A theater that has been a part of Champaign for 105 years will be gone. The place where I've spent hundreds of hours over the last decade, lost in the magic of cinema, will be gone. The place where my partner and I had our first date will be gone. Anyone who wants to see a movie that's not a wide release will have to drive an hour to the Normal Theater. PLEASE consider donating if you live in the area, or even if you don't and just like me enough to not want me to lose one of my jobs, or even if you don't live here and you don't like me but you think everyone should be able to go see a movie that moves them."

EDIT: HOLY SHIT. In the first 24 1/2 hours they've raised $10,182. So this might be attainable, and let me redouble in all seriousness my pleas to donate. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watched Alita yesterday. Went to a 1:20 showing in the afternoon. I was literally the only person in attendance. First time ever for me to experience that. Kinda scary... Kept imagining somebody could kill me, and nobody would know for hours. Outside of that a really fun sci-fi action movie, with a nothing special plot, and effects that won’t age well at all. But action set pieces looked spectacular, and it had that special Robert Rodriguez cheese added into the acting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Execproducer said:

Why not just start with The Chinese Jade?

Fair question. There are 12 entries and it’s unlikely I’ll get around to most of them. Don’t want to spend time on lesser entries if there’s varied quality throughout.

For example, if someone asked what Zatoichi to start with, I might not recommend the first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Control said:

Fair question. There are 12 entries and it’s unlikely I’ll get around to most of them. Don’t want to spend time on lesser entries if there’s varied quality throughout.

For example, if someone asked what Zatoichi to start with, I might not recommend the first.

I'm probably the wrong person to offer an opinion because I'm more of a completest. I also think that "lesser entries" are in the eye of the beholder. For example, I think Moonraker is glorious cheese and find myself deeply annoyed at the incessant whining about QoS. I know people who can't sit through Rocky  but love the hell out of Rocky III. But at the very least I believe you should always start with the 1st entry in any series. I certainly would with The Tale of Zatoichi which has story elements and characters that continue in later installments with an eventual heel-turn. I don't think the Sleepy Eyes of Death series is one of the more highly regarded in the genre. A lot of people seem to find it too slow. I liked it well enough and I don't think they wildly vary in quality.   

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Eivion said:

Just came back from Battle Angel Alita. Never saw the original OVA or read the manga so maybe that helps it for me, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

Yeah, likewise. Had no idea what was going on but enjoyed it well enough. Great fight scenes.

Saw The Mule afterwards. Yeah, huge pass for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm late to the party here, but holy fuck Sorry to Bother You is the most insane thing I've seen in a long time. It's literally like nothing I've ever seen before. I definitely hope Boots Riley has another film in him. And maybe another Street Sweeper Social Club album.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Control said:

Anyone seen the SLEEPY EYES OF DEATH series? All of them are available through my library. Looking for a recommended entry.

WATCH THEM ALL~!

Silliness of the science behind the Full Moon Cut not withstanding, Nemuri Kyoshiro ranks up there with my favorite jidaigeki protagonists.

He's not motivated by revenge as most samurai archetypes are; he's in a constant state of ennui.  Zatoichi moves from place to place to keep his coin pure full and Ogami Ito roams the countryside trying to stay one step ahead of the Yagyu, while Nemuri travels in search of a cure for his constant feeling of boredom and the desire to test his kenjutsu. 

Nemuri's sense of nihilism is borderline suicidal.  I really do think it's his ultimate goal to suicide by better samurai, but he also seems to have a personal mission of cleansing the martial arts world of inferior swordsmen.  He is constantly on the lookout for a swordsman who can best him (i.e. kill him), but he always fights to his best ability to truly test the blades of the men who oppose him. 

Those whose ability doesn't match up to Nemuri's are doomed to fall and he could give less than two shits about the drawn blood and loss of life.  If you can't keep up, don't step up

His misanthropy and misogyny can be grating, but that can be somewhat excused by zeitgeist as he is (for better or worse) a man of the times and definitely a product of the culture of the era.  On the plus side, Nemuri Kyoshiro is a romantic at heart with a strong sense of honor.  He just can't let the bad slide by and he can always be counted on to act.  

Nemuri Kyoshiro is not a man that sits on the sidelines while Ogami Itto has been known to let some rather unsavory events happen right in front of him even when it was within his power and skill to put an end to it.

And yeah, I'd start with The Chinese Jade.

20 hours ago, Control said:

For example, if someone asked what Zatoichi to start with, I might not recommend the first.

I'd probably recommend the first because if I frontloaded my favorites, it might set them up for disappointment if they watched the middling films of the franchise and there is a lot of Zatoichi to experience.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

I'm late to the party here, but holy fuck Sorry to Bother You is the most insane thing I've seen in a long time. 

A buddy of mine was watching it with his girlfriend, who fell asleep about halfway in. He paused the movie, went in the back room and smoked a bowl, then came back and resumed watching the movie. She asked him the next day what she missed and he explained it to her. Neither of them were sure whether it was the weed talking or not haha

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Considering family members I have who routinely fall asleep during movies, I feel like I should be writing a horror screenplay about someone who falls asleep during a movie and then wakes up to a living nightmare.  Though I feel like this has probably been done in a serialized TV format somewhere along the line.

But mostly I just would like a world where people had the good sense to realize THEY'RE TOO FUCKING TIRED TO SIT THROUGH A MOVIE AND DIDN'T SUGGEST GOING TO THE MOVIES IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO FALL ASLEEP.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

I had a girlfriend fall asleep 3 different times while trying to watch 2001 for the first time. 

Dude, I fell asleep the first time I watched 2001.  I was fourteen at the time, but...

My boo constantly wants me to watch these BET and AspireTV weekend drama bullshit movies with her and then she fucking pulls out her laptop and surfs around the internet for furniture ideas for the house or clothes.

She says that she's multitasking and that she's actually paying attention to what's on television, but that's obviously not the case since she constantly asking me what's happening in the plot.

Then she gets angry with me when I fall asleep.  I just feel that if she doesn't have to watch the movie, neither do I. :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I get shit from this whenever I bring it up, but, not counting when I was a little kid, there are only two movies I've ever taken asleep during, and one of them it was all three times I tried to watch it.

The one time was Master and Commander. The other three were Jaws. I've never seen the middle hour of Jaws. That movie is like Ambien to me.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...