Craig H Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 (edited) Also, bless my older daughter. I love her so much. She cracked me up during the movie unintentionally. When Patton is on screen she turns to me and is like, "there's a lot of people from Stranger Things in this." I go, "oh, that's not Bob, that was a different actor" and then after the movie I explained that during season 2 of Stranger Things that the joke was, "when did Sean Astin turn into Patton Oswalt?" EDIT: Couple other thoughts...Carrie Coon was really channeling her character from the Leftovers at times, which is fine by me. I guess she kind of did that in the first movie. Kumail and Patton were both really funny and knocked it out of the park. The other British guy was pretty good too. Patton delivers the word "hookers" like no one else. God bless that man. Edited March 24 by Craig H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 10 hours ago, Andrew POE! said: I'm going to go see Frozen Empire tomorrow despite having missed Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Would I need to have seen Afterlife for Frozen Empire to make any sense? I would at least read a Wikipedia plot summary just because Afterlife introduces a lot of new characters that carry over into Frozen Empire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 I thought Frozen Empire was a lot of fun. The whole thing was pieced together a lot like after life, but that's not a complaint. A fun time at the movies and the reviewers are high on crack. . . . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew POE! Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Some more movies: Dallas Buyers Club (Peacock, leaving at the end of the month) Spoiler 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. Spoiler 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. Spoiler 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 They definitely needed to redistribute one of the multiple Phoebe subplots to Trevor. Phoebe: Spoiler Left out from the team because of her age. Confused about whether the ghost trap is ethical. Crush on a ghost. Tension with mom and stepdad. Trevor Spoiler Wants to drive the Ecto 1. Can’t catch Slimer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew POE! Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Some more movies seen, all leaving Peacock at the end of the month: The Glorias - Decent movie, albeit a bit long at times. Spoiler I loved the choice of having flashbacks in black and white and the different versions of Gloria Steinem reflecting on her memories. Julianna Moore is great as Gloria Steinem and honestly looks like her completely. I loved the real Gloria Steinem's speech at the end of the movie. The Iron Lady - Oof. Spoiler Being an American born in the '80s, I was familiar with Margaret Thatcher and the derision she received. From watching this movie, the derision was justified. The movie attempts to soften her by having it framed as being in the troughs of Alzheimer's. While the movie does a great job of displaying that terrible disease and the pacing/structure of the movie makes you feel like you have it too, it doesn't change the fact about the subject matter. Margaret Thatcher from this movie seems downright cruel and dreadfully out of touch with the policies her leadership take. She's fine with sending British troops off to die in the Falklands. She's fine with closing coal mines and leaving workers wondering what the hell they should do now for a living. After all, she just solves the problems with a few phrases and quips to her cabinet at 10 Downing Street. Meryl Streep's portrayal is humanizing and dehumanizing too. Jim Broadbent (who looks like James Cromwell throughout the movie) is decent as the long dead husband. The problem overall is the movie does a cursory glance of the timeframe and doesn't make what's shown compelling at all. But hey, let's give an American actress an Oscar for doing a decent impression of a British woman. Never Rarely Sometimes Always - Wow. Spoiler Amazing movie. Stylistically, the movie seems like something from the French New Wave (except in New York as opposed to Paris). It is not so much the dialogue as it is the silence, the nonverbals. The questionnaire scene where Autumn (Sidney Flaniagan) answers by not answering is heartbreaking to watch. The scene where the girls are leaving the guy that they met on the bus and borrowed money says so much from the nonverbal expression of Skylar (Talia Ryder). Basically, "fuck this dude, I'm glad that's over, I don't want to see him again." Definitely seek this out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 I couldn't give a shit less what Finn Wolfhard does in Ghostbusters because he only has one mode and that's playing Mike or characters like Mike. So I'm with what he had to do in the movie because he ultimately doesn't bring much to the table for me outside of Stranger Things. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 (edited) On 3/24/2024 at 2:15 PM, Andrew POE! said: 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. Really curious of this one. I watched the wild looking trailer when the Ken Russell set went up. 17 hours ago, Andrew POE! said: Never Rarely Sometimes Always - Wow. Reveal hidden contents Amazing movie. Stylistically, the movie seems like something from the French New Wave (except in New York as opposed to Paris). It is not so much the dialogue as it is the silence, the nonverbals. The questionnaire scene where Autumn (Sidney Flaniagan) answers by not answering is heartbreaking to watch. The scene where the girls are leaving the guy that they met on the bus and borrowed money says so much from the nonverbal expression of Skylar (Talia Ryder). Basically, "fuck this dude, I'm glad that's over, I don't want to see him again." Definitely seek this out. Yeah, I thought that movie was really good. I'd like to see some more of her work. I also rewatched Naked Kiss after your review. It'd been so long that I'd forgotten some of the things I loved about it. In particular, the inventive camera work. That opening is so f_cking awesome. I did remember how great the lead is from Constance Towers, and the hauntingly beautiful song she sings with the kids. There's a great interview with Towers on the Criterion set (which might be on the channel) talking about the film and Fuller. There's also some neat Samuel Fuller interview archives. The South Bank show interview really gives a great impression of what an intelligent and interesting artist he was. It's complimented nicely by a brief interview with Wim Wenders talking about Sam the man. Edited March 25 by HarryArchieGus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew POE! Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 16 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said: Really curious of this one. I watched the wild looking trailer when the Ken Russell set went up. Yeah, I thought that movie was really good. I'd like to see some more of her work. I also rewatched Naked Kiss after your review. It'd been so long that I'd forgotten some of the things I loved about it. In particular, the inventive camera work. That opening is so f_cking awesome. I did remember how great the lead is from Constance Towers, and the hauntingly beautiful song she sings with the kids. There's a great interview with Towers on the Criterion set (which might be on the channel) talking about the film and Fuller. There's also some neat Samuel Fuller interview archives. The South Bank show interview really gives a great impression of what an intelligent and interesting artist he was. It's complimented nicely by a brief interview with Wim Wenders talking about Sam the man. Yeah, The Devils is a tough movie to watch. One of the most batshit insane movies I've ever seen. I'll have to watch Shock Corridor and The Big Red One (although that movie is not on Criterion) along with Billy Wilder's films who is considered around the same time as Fuller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew POE! Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 More movies watched on Peacock.... The Constant Gardener - The movie based on the trailers appeared to be a spy thriller, when in fact it was a political movie about corruption in Kenya involving pharmaceuticals. Ralph Fiennes was great and Rachel Weisz was incredible and served as the heart of the movie. I was able to follow the story without any issue and Fernando Meirelles has a knack for showing countries in desperate conditions with humanity throughout the movie. Suffragette - Great performances from Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter with Meryl Streep barely in it enough to register. Spoiler The whole movie is an exercise in misery and every shot looks about the same. It results in a movie that's barely memorable. Maud (Carey Mulligan)'s husband is fine with the workplace undervaluing him as a person too with low wages (19 shillings a week for 52 weeks is barely 1000 shillings annually) and kicks out Maud because earning 'atta boys' from a bunch of hecklers is more important I guess. Always trust the rich to tell the lower and middle class to go against their own self-interest. The movie is about an important time in history but it's told so dull and with characters so bland. Carey Mulligan's character is about the only noticeable character with Helena Bonham Carter's pharmacy owner character equally memorable. There are better women's history movies out there (Sally Field in Norma Rae and Janelle Monae in Hidden Figures for example), so watch those instead The Way Back - What's this? A Ben Affleck movie that's incredible that's NOT Good Will Hunting? Spoiler One of the best sports movies I've seen. You end up getting caught up with the team and the way Ben Affleck coaches them to be in the playoffs. Yet the whole time what goes on in his life is affecting him. He gets fired by the school administrators due to his alcoholism (whereas most other schools would be like "fuck it, he's getting us people interested, we'll have him go on a leave of absence until he can figure things out"). Definitely watch this one before it leaves Peacock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driver Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Watched the Road House reboot and it was what it was. Perfect time passer for watching out of the corner of your eye while doing other stuff. The best part was probably the music. Destroy All Neighbors on the other hand is a hell of a lot of silly fun. It doesn't hurt that they keep the running time short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 I remember liking the Constant Gardner. In my head, it's in the camp of underrated spy movies with things like The Tailor of Panama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Re: The Road House reboot. https://deadline.com/2024/01/road-house-movie-doug-liman-boycott-sxsw-premiere-amazon-1235803736/ https://www.rogerebert.com/features/doug-liman-roadhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 19 hours ago, Andrew POE! said: Yeah, The Devils is a tough movie to watch. One of the most batshit insane movies I've ever seen. I'll have to watch Shock Corridor and The Big Red One (although that movie is not on Criterion) along with Billy Wilder's films who is considered around the same time as Fuller. Huge Billy Wilder fan. I'd maybe start with the Film Noir classic Double Indemnity with (the greatest actor of all time?) Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray, or maybe Kirk Douglas in Ace in the Hole. Wilder has a pretty wide array of films. From some of the best comedies ever made to gritty dramas, but for comparison to Fuller, Ace would work well, or maybe even better yet The Lost Weekend with Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. Most everything I've ever seen from from Wilder is top shelf - Seven Year Itch, Irma La Douce, Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like it Hot and especially the Apartment. You could start with the Apartment. I back the Play of any of the films listed, and would be interested to hear your thoughts. Looking over his filmography I see a lot of films I've still yet to see - nice to know there's more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew POE! Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 58 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said: Huge Billy Wilder fan. I'd maybe start with the Film Noir classic Double Indemnity with (the greatest actor of all time?) Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray, or maybe Kirk Douglas in Ace in the Hole. Wilder has a pretty wide array of films. From some of the best comedies ever made to gritty dramas, but for comparison to Fuller, Ace would work well, or maybe even better yet The Lost Weekend with Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. Most everything I've ever seen from from Wilder is top shelf - Seven Year Itch, Irma La Douce, Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like it Hot and especially the Apartment. You could start with the Apartment. I back the Play of any of the films listed, and would be interested to hear your thoughts. Looking over his filmography I see a lot of films I've still yet to see - nice to know there's more. I have seen Ace in the Hole years ago and it was crazy how relevant the movie is to today. It perfectly predicted tabloid news mentality we see commonplace today. It could work as a remake too with it being about internet news sites. I think I have almost all of those mentioned somewhere on a hard drive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 And most relevant to some wrestling fans these days, Sunset Boulevard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 50 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said: I have seen Ace in the Hole years ago and it was crazy how relevant the movie is to today. It perfectly predicted tabloid news mentality we see commonplace today. It could work as a remake too with it being about internet news sites. I think I have almost all of those mentioned somewhere on a hard drive. The bolded line could be said about a great many of his films. Wider pushed the envelope in progressive ways throughout his incredible catalog. 31 minutes ago, odessasteps said: And most relevant to some wrestling fans these days, Sunset Boulevard Not sure how I missed mentioning that canonized all time great film. Yeah, I love it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 (edited) As far as later Wilder, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes has always been one of my favorite Holmes adaptations. Edited March 26 by (BP) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H. Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) Rewatched Road House and damit... it is the best low budget action major release of the 80s (does Highlander count as low budget when you've paid Sean Connerey a cool $1 million, $250,000 to Sir Sean's "Spanish Dialect Coach"?) There is literally nothing bad I can say about a movie whose last line of spoken dialogue is "A Polar Bear fell on me". James Edited March 27 by J.H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew POE! Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 More movies today.... Sexy Beast (Criterion Channel, leaving on Sunday) - Such a great movie. The opening scene is just incredible. Short movie but unbelievable tension throughout the whole movie. Ben Kingsley made me nervous watching him. Ian McShane was proto-Winston Scott in John Wick with his character Teddy Bass. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Criterion Channel / Hulu, leaving both on Sunday) - Interesting movie. The musical parts were the weakest (excluding the famous "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" scene). Surprisingly progressive for a movie at the time; the acting between Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe was pretty good and in some alternate universe, Howard Hawks would have realized that it didn't need songs to sell the movie and let the story be about a relationship between two women and it would have been a comedy/drama and won a bunch of Oscars. Out of Sight (Peacock, leaving on Sunday) - Disjointed movie but great at times. A bit like Jackie Brown at times and Soderbergh's later Ocean's Eleven at others. Jennifer Lopez was tolerable and George Clooney was well, George Clooney. Solaris and O Brother Where Art Thou are about his only great roles. I started on a few but just didn't finish: The Killers (1946) (stopped after an hour after I realized I have this and can watch it whenever) and Post Grad (stopped after first 15 minutes because I reflected on my post college life and it bothered me, might finish this week) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) So, there's not only a short list of blaxploitation classics I need to finish watching after reading an entire book about them (starting with Super Fly which I've only seen the end of), but here is a short list of random movies that I've acquired on the old DVR in the past couple weeks (months, really). Sell me on watching some of these, please. I need motivation. Spoiler Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead Dream Scenario Le Samorai (again, kinda bored me first time?) Being There (I know) The Naked City The Vanishing Beau Is Afraid Knight of Cups The Long Riders The Northman (probably watched) Alphabet City Summer of Sam The Last Run The Silent Partner The Incident Shit, I've got On the Waterfront sitting on here and haven't watched it. I need somebody to strap me down Ludovico-style with these suckers. Edited March 27 by Curt McGirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 4 hours ago, Andrew POE! said: Solaris and O Brother Where Art Thou are about his only great roles. Seth Gecko says hello. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contentious C Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) Is The Vanishing the original or the remake? They're as disparate in quality as Insomnia 1997 and Nolan's ill-advised, pointless retread, so, watch if original, delete if Jeff Bridges. Being There andOn the Waterfront are the only two other must-watches (though I find almost anything from the non-Kurosawa/Ozu end of the 50s to be a little dull). Le Samourai didn't do that much for me, either, but Melville's stuff is pretty clinical and blunt, which may not hit the same in an era when tons of directors go for that style. Edited March 27 by Contentious C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H. Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 I think Le Samourai is fun but that has more to do Alain Deleon being so goddam compelling. Melville could've done a scene where Deleon eats a cheese plate for 10 minutes and I wouldn't be able to avert my eyes! James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead is one of the more entertaining 90s Tarantino knockoffs. The plot is silly, but there’s a murderer’s row of character actors giving unhinged performances. Think goofier Usual Suspects. I don’t know how well Summer of Sam holds up, but from my recollection it’s populated by some of the dumbest characters ever assembled in a studio movie. The Berkowitz scenes are quite disturbing though. It’s been a while since I’ve seen The Long Riders too, but I remember liking it a great deal. It’s Walter Hill in his prime, and the idea to cast real sets of brothers to play the James-Younger Gang was brilliant. After you watch Being There, I’d suggest the HBO biopic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Geoffrey Rush is extraordinary as Sellers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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