Curt McGirt Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Blood Simple was just on TCM and man, the end of that is so similar -- and as awesome -- as the one in Wait Until Dark. Are there any as good/suspenseful? (Take in mind there is a lot of Hitchcock and noir I haven't watched.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 I'm back at it: King Richard - Will Smith is Richard Williams, the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena. The movie tells the story of his laser focus on raising his girls to be stars. The story is told well and is entertaining though they definitely undersell the negative aspects of Williams' personality and behavior. Smith is really good here as are the young stars though the girl playing Venus is way too short. This isn't groundbreaking but enjoyable. 7/10. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 7:57 PM, cwoy2j said: Kevin James actually was a really good high school amateur wrestler. He was on the same wrestling team as.... Reveal hidden contents I remember watching tis first airing back in like 1999 because I was convinced the Hong Kong film scene was going to take over America, but He did some light play with Bas Rutten on Sammo Hung's show back when King of Queens was maybe one season in. https://www.reddit.tube/video/21a0e3bf7314cdcc8eecf72872c40acbb3560089 But there's no Sammo in that so have this instead: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Driven from 2019 is pretty solid. I missed the first half hour but the rest of it was a not only a biopic, but a courtroom thriller, and a comedy of errors. Its lead is Jason Sudeikis playing Jim Hoffman, the middleman who John Delorean used to set up a coke deal in an attempt to save his flagging car enterprise. Both him and Lee Pace as Delorean are really good but Sudeikis is perfect as the put-upon, not that bright, stumbling and bumbling character he brings to the table. The scene where he gets caught wearing a wire by his wife (Judy Greer, good as always) is great for the panic he injects into it, building and building as she gets madder and madder. Eventually the film pins on a crucial moment that that actually makes the leads out to be better men than they really were and I have little doubt that the follow up parts were screenwriter inventions, but what can you do, it's a movie. Anyway though I liked it I LOVED the documentary Framing John Delorean on Netflix that aired a year or so back. It gives a far better impression of Delorean's naked ambition and struggle with his own machinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 And of course almost all of it were a screenwriter's dramatization which I didn't recognize even though I saw the doc (it's been a real rough day, giving myself a pass) Quote DeLorean historians and the family of John DeLorean have criticized the film and portrayal of John DeLorean for being wildly inaccurate.[citation needed] The film depicts a close friendship between DeLorean and FBI informant James Hoffman, which was never the case. The character of Katy Connors portrayed by Erin Moriarty is also a fictional character created for the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopus Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Hello fellow Film Nerds, here is a short interview I did recently with Hoben Media for my film, Ode to the Whale of Christ: Yes, I have a Minnesota accent. It was fun and I was nervous with how underprepared and baby-tired I am now. But I think it went well. I have a tendency to ramble, it was a longer discussion cut down to 5 minutes, but ultimately a good hype piece for my film. I have a few more planned that hopefully go well. Also, here’s a Trailer 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Another pretty good sports biography: American Underdog - Biopic of Kurt Warner, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Warner has a story right out of the movies - lower college level, undrafted, arena football, a job stocking grocery shelves, and now a Hall of Famer. The movie tells the story well with just a bit of schmaltz. I really only had two minor objections (other than 1995 music in a 1993 scene). The first is that they inserted a scene with Warner getting a kiss in the locker room before his first start. Ignoring that room shown is waaaaaaaaay too small and dimly lit (locker rooms are very bright and large in the NFL), the whole thing just never happened. And the idea that it COULD happen is laughable. The other is Anna Paquin, who plays Brenda, Kurt's wife looks too young. She's actually older than Brenda was but Brenda looked much older. She had gray, spiky hair and they gave Anna brown, short (not spiky) hair. Brenda's look got a lot of discussion at the time and the movie missed on it though that's a not-important thing. Overall entertaining light entertainment. 7/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Do the people who want there to be a Beetlejuice 2 ever stop and think about the actual underlying plot of the movie? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contentious C Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Hey, it's movies! The world is shit-crazy, but I'm still here doing...this whatever. Day 230 (and counting) of Some Movie Nonsense, Fuck Putin Edition! Hot Garbage Gone in 60 Seconds - Even though this is (shockingly) the only entrant in this category for the week, I didn't hate this like I expected to. It's just a big dumb fat nothingburger of a movie, the film equivalent of whatever bullshit "menu hacks" McDonald's is currently trying to get people to do, or the latest stupidly-named "meat-and-cheese-on-tortilla" bullshit at Taco Bell. You know it's bad for you, you know it's kind of a waste of your time and money, but you consume it anyway, because, eh, fuck it. I actually thought this was better than the first Fast & the Furious, but only just, since it has something like an actual plot, even though only a gruel-thin one. Not Nic Cage's worst movie, though I do wonder how far up there it is for Angelina Jolie, who may as well have been one of the extras for all the more we are allowed to care about her character. Acceptable Johnny Suede - I could see this making Hot Garbage for other people, but I like the Lynchian vibes to it, though it's more like Lynch if he concerned himself with dinner-table issues instead of the weirdness happening under the tablecloth. It also reminded me a lot of Vampire's Kiss, as it's got that "loner too lost in himself to see how far gone he is" kind of vibe to it, though Brad Pitt isn't nearly as nutso as Cage was (then again, who is?). It wraps up maybe a little too cleanly, but it's short, and the getting there is the right cross between utterly weird and "laugh at" funny. Plus, Nick Cave plays a funhouse mirror version of Pitt's character, and it's probably the single eeriest thing about the film. Every time he's on camera, you're waiting for something awful to happen, although for the most part, it never does. Something Wild - This could have been in Hot Garbage, too, if it weren't for the acting. This was Ray Liotta's debut, and good or bad, it did set him up for a life of typecasting. But, the more you think about it, his role here seems less revelatory in retrospect, and his career tracks more with, say, Kevin Kline, than a legitimately great actor. This is one of Jeff Daniels' best early roles, I'd say, though it doesn't come close to some of the stuff he'd do later, like The Squid and the Whale. Melanie Griffith...I don't know. I feel like she tried playing this same role about 8 other times and it only worked in about half of those. Otherwise, the movie is mostly flat, especially by today's standards, since the whole "yuppie learns to live a little" story is beyond played-out. Demme made better stuff than this, although this is also surprisingly inclusive compared to other 80s films when you look at some of the smaller roles. Gas, Food, Lodging - This struck a right note with me for the most part, as it's an authentic look at people struggling - with money, with their futures, with their pasts, with their choices. Ione Skye and Fairuza Balk really do look like sisters, so there's a believability to their interactions that goes beyond them simply being pretty good in the film itself. I think Balk's whole storyline of finding her boyfriend is kind of hammy and the slowest part of the movie, but she's otherwise solid and, as ever, reminds you that you wish she hadn't taken a powder on Hollywood in general and that she would appear in more things. This might be the best work Skye ever did, for that matter, as she gives off an air of having seen the kind of dark side that's only hinted at in Laura Dern's performance in Smooth Talk. The direction is pretty good, fueling the loneliness of their choices and their place in the world. Could do without the Tedious Narration, though. Awesome The Last Waltz - If I were making a Best of the 70s list (who am I kidding? Of course I am), this would sneak on there somewhere. This isn't Marty's best movie, but it's one of his most interesting. It's great getting to see a guy like him walk around like the snotty kid brother to some of these guys, some huge nerd lost among gods and royalty while he interviews them. And the concert footage probably can't be underestimated for how good it is, and for how influential it became. Try imagining the existence of MTV without something like this to show what was possible. And yet, I find myself struck by totally bifurcating thoughts about it: how did this movie ever get made in the first place, because why would you pitch it; but also, why wasn't this movie made before, because why wouldn't you pitch it? I don't know how to square that circle in my mind. And that last, lingering shot over the credits is some of the trippiest, creepiest stuff Marty's ever shot. It's also kind of fun playing "Spot the Piece of Shit Musician" throughout. Hi Eric! Hi Van! They were missing Ted Nugent to make an Asshole Bingo. Detroit - Yet another film that makes you uncomfortable to describe it as "Awesome" but wow was this undeservedly ignored by the Oscars in 2017. I mean, there were some good movies that year, but yikes. The script is sharp, this is probably Bigelow's best directing job besides The Hurt Locker, and the acting from a bunch of small-timers and unknowns - and John Boyega and Kaitlyn Dever - is usually rather good, if not pretty fucking great at times. And man, is it ever willing to just stew in its own awfulness. Granted, the events being described are a special kind of awful, and one hopes there's a special kind of Hell for those who committed these sorts of atrocities, but it takes some dedication and some madness to just dwell in that place as long and as effectively as this does. You end up just as raw and ragged as the characters, and that's gutsy work. I may never watch this again, because it's so damn uncomfortable, but it's well, well worth the watch in the first place. Winner Winner, Chicken in the Icebox for Dinner Marty - Paddy MOTHERFUCKING Chayefsky! Frankly, I'd never heard anything but side-eye about this movie for years, since a lot of On the Waterfront fanboys love taking this to task for winning Best Picture and whatnot. Well, to Hell with them. This is GREEEEEEEEAT and really way ahead of its time. The whole "get married or else" storyline is a little much, but the way it's handled has so much more empathy and compassion to it than I could have expected. The dance hall scene where Marty watches Clara's blind date be a shithead and then sees her get rejected is some getting-dusty-in-the-room quality stuff. Betsy Blair isn't exactly great in this, but she gives what she needs to for Ernest Borgnine to shine, and HOLY CRAP is he good in this. I mean, I'd really only ever seen him as the broken-down old man in a bunch of crappy TV shows and movies, but he takes this totally awesome script and doesn't just run with it - he sprints across the oceans and Flash punches it. But yeah, mostly I love all the little touches that take this from being really good to a classic, and that's mostly Paddy, who fleshes out even the most trivial side characters in interesting ways, and who takes a pretty nice stab at a lot of levels of family dysfunction in nearly every scene. In some ways, this almost feels more like a modern rom-com than a drama, not so much because it's funny, but because it's so thoroughly effective at making you root for the main character to finally have something good come into their lives. Million billion stars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Have you seen Borgnine in Bad Day at Black Rock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) Wait, what did Van Morrison do? (I may have heard about this but forgot.) I'd heard that Scorcese was on coke the whole time during the filming but finding out they had to paint out some of it on film that was under Neil Young's nose is pretty amazing. As is the devil in flesh himself, Bill Graham, doing maybe the only nice thing in his life and convincing Dylan to be filmed. EDIT: (reads more) Okay, Graham wasn't as bad as I thought, but he formed fucking Ticketmaster after all. Edited March 1, 2022 by Curt McGirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contentious C Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 16 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: Wait, what did Van Morrison do? (I may have heard about this but forgot.) I'd heard that Scorcese was on coke the whole time during the filming but finding out they had to paint out some of it on film that was under Neil Young's nose is pretty amazing. As is the devil in flesh himself, Bill Graham, doing maybe the only nice thing in his life and convincing Dylan to be filmed. EDIT: (reads more) Okay, Graham wasn't as bad as I thought, but he formed fucking Ticketmaster after all. Oh, man, I thought that was a booger in his nose; this just makes it 1000x better. Jeeeeeeeeeee-zus. Van Morrison's been up to some of the same 'old man shakes fist at cloud' bullshit Clapton's been doing, just less loudly and obnoxiously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Contentious C said: Oh, man, I thought that was a booger in his nose; this just makes it 1000x better. Jeeeeeeeeeee-zus. Van Morrison's been up to some of the same 'old man shakes fist at cloud' bullshit Clapton's been doing, just less loudly and obnoxiously. Hey hey hey, that's not fair to Clapton! He was a piece of shit racist asshole when he was young, too. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) Detroit was a very hard watch. Awesome film but you will probably be angry at all white people for at least a week, especially if they work as cops and that's sad because not all white cops are racist death merchants. The reason that Detroit went ignored at the Oscars is probably because it is so unbearably hard to sit through. It is probably more relevant now in this age given the current push in the US to ignore its darkest era and avoid addressing uncomfortable truths in places of learning. Edited March 1, 2022 by J.T. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Sam Elliott being slightly homophobic and misogynistic is a fucking bummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 A movie filmed internationally trying to present itself as taking place in the American west? What a novel idea! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 8 hours ago, J.T. said: Detroit was a very hard watch. Awesome film but you will probably be angry at all white people for at least a week, especially if they work as cops and that's sad because not all white cops are racist death merchants. The reason that Detroit went ignored at the Oscars is probably because it is so unbearably hard to sit through. It is probably more relevant now in this age given the current push in the US to ignore its darkest era and avoid addressing uncomfortable truths in places of learning. I knew the story for the most part but that didn't make it any easier to watch. It's just infuriating. I look at the behavior of so many people from back then (and, to some degree, now) and it's almost like they're a completely different species than me. I just can't wrap my head around it at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 6 hours ago, John from Cincinnati said: A movie filmed internationally trying to present itself as taking place in the American west? What a novel idea! Yeah, I wonder what he thinks about all those OTHER Westerns filmed in a foreign country. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 I'd be curious if any of his westerns were filmed in Canada. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 (edited) 15 hours ago, Tabe said: I knew the story for the most part but that didn't make it any easier to watch. It's just infuriating. I look at the behavior of so many people from back then (and, to some degree, now) and it's almost like they're a completely different species than me. I just can't wrap my head around it at all. Probably a strong indicator that you are a good person, Tabe. Edited March 2, 2022 by J.T. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 18 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said: Sam Elliott being slightly homophobic and misogynistic is a fucking bummer. I hate to judge but Sam Elliot's moustache never struck me as one belonging to a man that wasn't homophobic or misogynistic. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnatural Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 On 2/28/2022 at 7:34 PM, odessasteps said: Do the people who want there to be a Beetlejuice 2 ever stop and think about the actual underlying plot of the movie? Thats what I'm wondering about also, does this mean Lydia dies in the sequel? Are we getting Lydia using Beetlejuice to run off whoever bought her place after she died? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Sheldon Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 On 3/1/2022 at 1:32 PM, John from Cincinnati said: A movie filmed internationally trying to present itself as taking place in the American west? What a novel idea! Hope the Italians don't find out about that concept. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Comedian Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 On 3/2/2022 at 8:16 AM, J.T. said: I hate to judge... LOL @ anyone here saying that... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, The Comedian said: LOL @ anyone here saying that... You missed the irony of the word "but" in my sentence invalidating my alleged hatred of judging. More A24 goodness appears on the Showtime Networks. The Green Knight is now on heavy rotation and is also available on SHO OnDemand. Edited March 5, 2022 by J.T. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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