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2021 MOVIES DISCUSSION


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Two movies that should’ve been unfuckupable were a Black Dahlia movie directed by De Palma and a George Reeve’s murder mystery with Affleck as Reeves and Bob Hoskins as Eddie Mannix, but that’s the mid 2000s for you. 

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I dunno, Mia Kirshner was probably the highlight of the movie.  Fiona Shaw playing someone that twitchy and batshit crazy could have been good in a different context.  This is the precise extent I will go to defend that movie, aside from the obvious kinds of statements (i.e., "Still not as bad as The Crow: Wicked Prayer").

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I very rarely remember bad theatre going experiences. Even if something isn't very good, the act of being in the theatre will usually elevate it to at least an enjoyable way to kill a couple hours. Black Dahlia is one that has stuck with me as being one of the most disappointing movies I've ever paid to see. I remember having such high hopes going in and just being deflated. Mia Kirshner deserved so much better than that.

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Hey, movies! I continue watching them! You continue not to care!  It's Day 139 and counting of ridiculous movie excess, Thanksgiving-Induced Insulin Resistance Edition.

Hot Garbage, Like Yams Straight from the Can

Benny & Joon - Hey, look, it's what Brian Cox said about Johnny Depp, Part 25.  It's literally Edward Scissorhands all over again, with a Buster Keaton knockoff routine instead of deadly flashing blades.  Aidan Quinn has played this exact role in...well, in everything, and I think Mary Stuart Masterson did for mental illness what Ted Levine did for the trans community in The Silence of the Lambs.  But hey, Julianne Moore is in it before she was famous, and she's all right.  But the rest is basically the worst.  Bad message, bad execution, bad acting.

Acceptable, Like the Green Bean Casserole Recipe You Threw Together at the Last Minute

Complete Unknown - I'm not sure why this has such a bad rating on IMDb.  I mean, it's not great, but I think the real issue is that how it starts is not how it finishes.  The first 20-30 minutes give you some strong The Invitation vibes, but then it isn't a suspenseful movie at all.  It's a movie about frogs, and choices, and identity, and letting go of the past, and Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz are both too good to have the camera on them this much and make a crap film.  The premise is, admittedly, rather absurd - but not so absurd that NBC didn't do a TV show for several years about it.  Once you realize that things aren't going to get all stabby-stabby-rip-stab, it mellows out into a thoughtful little piece of work, albeit one that looks like every other indie film you've seen for the last 10+ years.

House of Games - Well, it happened; I finally found a Joe Mantegna role where I wouldn't rather see him strapped to a rocket and shot into space.  I think part of that is because he has to spend so much time opposite Lindsey Crouse, who is the most wooden leading lady in a movie I've seen since whats-her-face from High Fidelity, you know, Laura.  Plus, he gets merked something fierce by the end, and that's what you do with Joe Mantegna.  This is all right, although I saw through the first hard left turn and the second hard left turn and was only mildly surprised by the third hard left turn.  But you know what they say: two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

Crazy, Stupid, Love - Somehow I didn't hate this.  Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling had weird years, starring in this Hollywood-extruded Romance Product but also in two vastly superior movies that probably didn't make half as much as this combined.  Marisa Tomei is probably the highlight of the whole thing, as she just lets some batshit crazy off the chain that we haven't seen since the days of My Cousin Vinny.  But it definitely could have done without the "cuckold" scene.  Just, no.

Orlando - This was...not what I expected.  I haven't seen anything else by Sally Potter, but tonally it lands somewhere between a Peter Greenaway film and the BBC version of House of Cards at times.  I can't say I've read the Virginia Woolf it's based on, but I wonder if that was as boundary-challenging as this is, or if Potter took what was already there and just ran with it even further.  But regardless, it's pretty ahead of its time, and of course Tilda Swinton is great.  It's kind of too bad the Billy Zane section was as short as it was, because there was some implication there that they had experienced the same weirdness, and it might have been worth exploring that further.

Bound - I'd wanted to see this for a long time because...well...yeah, it came out when I was in high school, so there's that.  But I hadn't read anything about it whatsoever - not the first salient detail of any kind - and decided to just give it a go.  As it got to the end, I thought, "Well, it's a little noirish, except they made the detective a lesbian, so that's interesting, and that last shot with the blood in the paint was pretty well-done, and ---OOOH, The Wachowskis did this, it makes so much more sense now" as the credits rolled.  Gina Gershon's proto-Trinity might be her best role, although that isn't necessarily saying a lot.  Honestly, I think this might be their second-best movie, and I'd rather see them do something smaller in scope like this than constantly tackle enormous projects and adaptations.

Lovely & Amazing - Much like Bound, you can tell this is an early work from someone figuring out what they want to do (the someone in this case being Nicole Holofcener).  This often feels like it's barely hung together, and I'm not sure the ending works or makes a ton of sense -- it's too "everything's gonna be all right" for having showcased so many screwed-up people.  But Emily Mortimer and Catherine Keener are both pretty great throughout, so it can be easy at times to forget that the rest of the film doesn't quite make the grade.  It's also rather fun to see Clark Gregg play against (what is now his) type with something like this.  But on the whole, it feels a little underexplained and undercooked.

Awesome, Like Stuffing, Any Stuffing, Even out of the Box, Just Not Oyster Stuffing

Girlhood (2014) - This would have easily made my 2010s list had I seen it - who am I kidding, my 2010s list is never going to die, so it's going on there.  Just a total powerhouse performance from Karidja Toure, and even though it takes a bit longer to warm up to her supporting cast, they don't entirely pale in comparison.  This reminded me quite a bit of two other movies - Moonlight and The Fits, not because the main characters (really, all the characters) are Black, but because all three of these films are so preoccupied with the character's sense of belonging.  In The Fits, it's told very simply and bluntly, as you'd expect from the perspective of a pre-teen, and so the answer to the problem is equally simple.  And in Moonlight, we have an outsider within outsiders, so his journey is the least able to mature in a meaningful way.  This is like those on the surface, but we see Marieme give herself the time and attention to actually grow up, rather than simply pretend to grow up.  Can't wait to see what Celine Sciamma does next.

Winner Winner, Turkey Dinner

His Girl Friday - Sure, this is occasionally racist and sexist, and the bits towards the end reach such a din that it's hard to follow what's being said, but holy crap is the rest of this a treasure.  I wonder if there's been a more perfect casting than Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell are here.  This is like Citizen Kane, in the sense that it's been stolen from ever since, but unlike Kane, it's a lot easier to see to this day how anyone imitating it falls short of the original.  I think the ending falls more than a bit flat, as it feels like it needed at least a few more minutes to push the two back together again, but most of what comes before is still great to this day.  I only have about eleventy billion more movies from the 30s and 40s to watch before I'd feel like I had anything worthwhile to say about any of them, but I have a hard time believing this isn't a top-shelf entry for the period.

Winner Winner, Ice Cream for Dessert Because She Can't Eat Real Food No More

Mona Lisa - So happy to wash the taste of In Dreams out of my mouth with a proper Neil Jordan movie.  What a repeated kick in the pants this is.  Bob Hoskins is perfect.  Cathy Tyson is perfect.  Michael Caine is perfect.  The only thing that bugged me, again, was the ending, which feels too happy after the emotional equivalent of blasting someone with a shrink ray and tossing them in a paint can shaker.  This reminded me a lot of Taxi Driver, except this is way more accessible and relatable.  And man, did the 80s just get it wrong over and over again with Best Picture winners.  I don't think I'd have necessarily picked this over Children of a Lesser God, but then again, there are probably only 3 or 4 movies from the decade I'd put ahead of that anyway.  But, still, a damn sight better than every other nominee in '86.  That whip scene.  Oof.

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I have briefly touched on this but for most the year we have been watching at least one movie a week as a family - it is mainly "classics" that my son has never seen (this is why we just watched Muppet Christmas Carol)

One way to impress my son is to completely buy into a role in these quasi goofy family movies. Caine is the recent example but we watched Addams Family a couple of weeks ago and between that and me telling the Raul Julia/Street Fighter story for like the 100th time - my son loves Julia.

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Ever stumble across a movie and literally have no idea what you're watching? Like a film that you've never heard of in your life? I recorded Taking Tiger Mountain off TCM a few weeks back thinking maybe it was some Brian Eno related oddball project. It's not, though it was odd. An unusual origin story too. In the 70s a young Bill Paxton and a friend went to Morocco to make a film based on Camus' The Stranger. They got arrested after not bribing some local officials and had some of their equipment/film confiscated. So they ended up in Wales (as you do) and made this film instead, filming it without sound and then another director taking over the project and adding in dialogue/sound effects later, and finally released in 1983.

Paxton's character has been kidnapped by feminist scientists and brainwashed to be sent to a small town in Wales in order to kill the head of a local prostitution camp, or something like that. What makes the film interesting is firstly the gorgeous black and white photography (restored here beautifully by Vinegar Syndrome) and the great sound design. Because the dialogue is dubbed in, it gives the whole thing an otherworldly feel, but on top of that there are constant radio broadcasts playing throughout the film relaying the events of a war ongoing in the US, refugees escaping to Europe, assassinations of political leaders, and other various bits of turmoil going on around the globe. Well, I guess the other interesting thing about the film is the handful of scenes of a fully erect Paxton fooling around and at one point a quick shot of him receiving an unsimulated blowie. A bit mindblowing that this was on TCM, albeit in their late night Underground slot. Paxton is the only actor here with the local townsfolk playing other characters, including I presume the people (male and female) he's fooling around with.

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The funny thing is that Mamet watchers thought putting up with Lindsay Crouse was bad and then,, years later, here comes Rebecca Pigeon to say “ hold my beer,”

Luckily, their negative charisma is usually canceled out by Ricky Jay. 

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Went and saw Dune. No IMAX but judging from my Ghostbusters experience it wasn't necessary; the thing was still booming loud anyway. It was incredibly well done but I have no idea how it would be looked upon in the future if that sequel wasn't greenlit. The studio not already having a deal in place for it, considering that second part is gonna be the gravy, is absurd. Also absurd is anybody not being able to follow this movie. They practically spell the plot out for you. Critical thinking must be at such a low that people can't parse together "this is a political/quasi-religious version of Star Wars". 

Maybe my favorite part (and I wouldn't have realized it if the former hadn't been on Colbert last night) was

Spoiler

Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin finally getting their staredown from No Country for Old Men that never happened.

 

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Caught Jungle Cruise and Ghostbuster Afterlife today/yesterday. The former was perfectly fine and enjoyable, if nothing special. Thought Ghostbusters was pretty good. Did well managing to be its own thing while giving some love the first films. Was also a nice tribute to Ego/Ramis. Thought the two post credit scenes were nice. 

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Just watched Creed for the first time. It was good. I had seen Creed II before and enjoyed that as well. So, the dude he beat in the beginning of the sequel was the guy who beat his ass for the Mustang. I think I've seen things totally out of order before, like Star Wars (Jedi, new hope, Empire), Mad Max (Road Warrior, Mad Max, Thunderdome, Fury road) and stuff.

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2 hours ago, Shartnado said:

Just watched Creed for the first time. It was good. I had seen Creed II before and enjoyed that as well. So, the dude he beat in the beginning of the sequel was the guy who beat his ass for the Mustang. I think I've seen things totally out of order before, like Star Wars (Jedi, new hope, Empire), Mad Max (Road Warrior, Mad Max, Thunderdome, Fury road) and stuff.

Yes, in Creed “Stuntman” Wheeler won the Mustang and was going to fight Conlan but got his jaw busted in a press conference melee, Adonis ended up being his replacement. Also, they switched them from Light Heavyweight to Heavyweight for Creed II. 

It seems like things were set up for a trilogy with Adonis beating Wheeler at the end of Creed II, then a rematch with Conlan(who never lost his title) in Creed III. I’m assuming that was tossed when Ryan Coogler left to make Black Panther and Stallone took over with the Drago redemption story he really wanted to do. 

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3 minutes ago, Mister TV said:

Yes, in Creed “Stuntman” Wheeler won the Mustang and was going to fight Conlan but got his jaw busted in a press conference melee, Adonis ended up being his replacement. Also, they switched them from Light Heavyweight to Heavyweight for Creed II. 

It seems like things were set up for a trilogy with Adonis beating Wheeler at the end of Creed II, then a rematch with Conlan(who never lost his title) in Creed III. I’m assuming that was tossed when Ryan Coogler left to make Black Panther and Stallone took over with the Drago redemption story he really wanted to do. 

Thank you! As an 80's child, I loved the Drago redemption story! It's good to know that despite all his faults, Ivan Drago was a decent father in the end!

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On 12/1/2021 at 5:17 PM, odessasteps said:

The funny thing is that Mamet watchers thought putting up with Lindsay Crouse was bad and then,, years later, here comes Rebecca Pigeon to say “ hold my beer,”

Luckily, their negative charisma is usually canceled out by Ricky Jay. 

I would say that Pigeon's affect is perfect for Mamet-y bullshit but obviously opinions differ.

Maybe he should cast some actresses that he's not married to?

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Saw Ghostbusters today. Thought it was good.
 

The one thing I would have liked is some clue about the mother was, since it was not Annie Potts.  

The kids were good. 
 

i was happiest with the fact we got the real theme and not some weird remix by Harry Styles or Justin Bieber or Adele. 

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7 hours ago, odessasteps said:

Saw Ghostbusters today. Thought it was good.

The one thing I would have liked is some clue about the mother was, since it was not Annie Potts.  

You're crossing the streams, dude.  

Janine Melnitz flirting with Egon was only a thing in the cartoon.  In GB2, she hooked up with Louis, so I knew the kids's mom wasn't going to be Annie Potts.

It still would've been cool to get a little background history on Egon's marriage.

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14 hours ago, J.T. said:

You're crossing the streams, dude.  

Janine Melnitz flirting with Egon was only a thing in the cartoon.  In GB2, she hooked up with Louis, so I knew the kids's mom wasn't going to be Annie Potts.

It still would've been cool to get a little background history on Egon's marriage.

I actually rewatched the first two movies before catching Afterlife. I always thought it was just the cartoon, but Janine was totally into Egon during the first movie. I enjoyed her and Louis together, but it was fun seeing her drops hints with Egon either not picking up on any of it or semi ignoring because he is so science focused. Egon was the only one of the doctors who didn't annoy the shit out of her.

Honestly it makes me even more curious to see who did marry the man.

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I don't know if it would be a good or bad ploy point if they said Egon had children (and grand children) mainly for them to be around in 2021 to fight Gozer.  That might be a little too Marv Marinovich for him yo still be a good guy. And they did show he cared about his daughter, albeit from a distance. 

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35 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

I don't know if it would be a good or bad ploy point if they said Egon had children (and grand children) mainly for them to be around in 2021 to fight Gozer.  That might be a little too Marv Marinovich for him yo still be a good guy. And they did show he cared about his daughter, albeit from a distance. 

? I'm rolling.  Great reference.

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57 minutes ago, Eivion said:

I actually rewatched the first two movies before catching Afterlife. I always thought it was just the cartoon, but Janine was totally into Egon during the first movie. I enjoyed her and Louis together, but it was fun seeing her drops hints with Egon either not picking up on any of it or semi ignoring because he is so science focused. Egon was the only one of the doctors who didn't annoy the shit out of her.

Honestly it makes me even more curious to see who did marry the man.

You know what?  I do remember Janine trying to flirt with Egon in the first movie and he chose to talk about something crazy like cheese mold or something. 

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