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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Jan 17, 2024 18:59:30 GMT -5
The Running Man (1987) - It’s been an age since I saw this and I forgot how much ass it ruled. It’s got everything one could possibly want out of a mid-80s Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Machine gun action! Explosions! High concept sci-fi! Terrible quips! An insane cast that includes multiple pro-wrestlers! A+ movie. I knew this movie existed and the basic premise. but I didn’t know it was so late, or that it starred Schwarzenegger. It just very pre-Star Wars seventies, like Logan’s Run/Rollerball/The Warriors-esque. Comedy: Barbie is obviously just a bit more adult in its humor, yet it doesn't take itself too seriously. I don't know if the kids are getting an extended 2001 reference (so glad that wasn't just a trailer). It's also less subtle, e.g. Ken points how that he has three wristwatches on in case you didn't notice. Lego never really lampshades anything, yet it is distinctly kid humor.
A lot of the comedy in Barbie felt very familiar to me, like I’d actually heard a lot of the jokes from women comedians online, but a lot of the Ken stuff felt hyper-specific, like they were satirizing dumb male behavior from specific dumb males—this is a positive thing. I don’t recall if the context of the joke hit on this but “three-watch collection” is itself a lifestyle magazine cliché. Finally, I really enjoyed the way that because the film is set in 1970, Payne and his production design crew and cinematographer made the whole thing look like a film that was shot in the 1970s. They've done some effects on the digital film to give it that retro grainy look, and everything was shot in real locations that have the kinda brown/drab feel of the early 1970s. I believe part of Payne’s intent was to make the sort of movie that would have been popular in the seventies and a well-remembered classic, and I think it definitely hit that about as closely as you could making a movie in 2023. I am going back-and-forth on seeing Sideways—on the one hand it sounds good and sounds like a good complement to The Holdovers, on the other hand it kind of seems so early middle aged (or less—Giamatti was only a couple years older than me when he made it 😬) and pathetic it I’d cringe the whole way through.
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 17, 2024 19:06:03 GMT -5
someone (Tina Fey's husband, apparently). Dang, this is disappointing. I thought based on his work doing all the music for 30 Rock that surely he'd be less lame than that. My access to the theaters showing "Poor Things" and "American Fiction" was cut off on Sunday due to a marathon that closed a bunch of streets.
So, I stayed in and watched The Holdovers. Agreed with basically everything you said here! I enjoyed this one a lot, and indeed a lot more than expected. I saw it in the theaters with my family, and was worried this would affect the viewing experience - you know how it is seeing a movie with people who have way different tastes. At the end, as we walked out, my mom blurted, "Well, that wasn't a comedy!" Which made me laugh and made me feel kinda warm and happy about the movie, because it is and it isn't, and I love movies that are so good at blending so many tones and emotions together and being truly convincing at all of them. It really seems like the actors took pride and ownership of their ability to show that expressive range. I hope they're proud of their work. I am going back-and-forth on seeing Sideways—on the one hand it sounds good and sounds like a good complement to The Holdovers, on the other hand it kind of seems so early middle aged (or less—Giamatti was only a couple years older than me when he made it 😬) and pathetic it I’d cringe the whole way through. I can give you the pros and cons here. I liked Sideways, and do think it is a solid complement. BUT, there is a lot of cringe for sure, and Giamatti is much, much more courageous in terms of being really irritating and unpleasant and in need of help. BUT, the movie knows it is cringe. Payne understands how pathetic the character is and how much he needs to grow. So in the end it came across, honestly, in a very similar register - frequently funny, frequently sad, bittersweet, hopeful. It really helps to know your wines, btw, as there is an all-timer of an inside joke easter egg for wine nerds. BUT, my girlfriend hated it and thought it was dumb. Her POV was simple: he's so annoying, why would anyone enjoy watching a movie about him?
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on Jan 17, 2024 19:21:10 GMT -5
Are We Done Yet? (2007)
Can Ice Cube do a passable version of Cary Grant or Tom Hanks? Not particularly. He did his usual line-reading as barking. John C. McGinley did have a prominence in this. I wish I had energy to watch what I want, but there's precious little I care to watch, anymore. Kids!
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jan 17, 2024 22:32:30 GMT -5
Finally, I really enjoyed the way that because the film is set in 1970, Payne and his production design crew and cinematographer made the whole thing look like a film that was shot in the 1970s. They've done some effects on the digital film to give it that retro grainy look, and everything was shot in real locations that have the kinda brown/drab feel of the early 1970s. I believe part of Payne’s intent was to make the sort of movie that would have been popular in the seventies and a well-remembered classic, and I think it definitely hit that about as closely as you could making a movie in 2023. Yeah, I think Payne came pretty close to achieving this. With possibly two things that break that illusion. The politics of it aren't hammered at, but they are definitely present and being commented on as though looking back from the 2020s. Additionally, I don't know that a film made in 1970 would have been so direct in talking about depression, especially in a teenager. Those are the two areas of the film that definitely made it feel like a 2020s film. But yeah, otherwise, I think Payne & crew did a great job. Especially liked the way the music contributed to the feel.
I also liked how the casting director found a bunch of kids who looked like they were plucked out of 1970s casting. This is a small detail, but wow, hair and makeup did a great job, and the faces of the kids they picked were all really great.
Well, now that I've seen "The Holdovers", I'm not sure that "Sideways" actually is a good complement to it. Don't get me wrong, I saw "Sideways" when it was out in theaters and I loved it. I thought it was wonderfully sharp and funny. I still think that is probably Giamatti's all-time best performance. It was an horrific snub when he wasn't Oscar nominated for that. I saw a LOT of films that year and Giamatti was my personal #1 ranked performance of the year. I did watch it again about 5 or 6 years ago, and I still loved it. I'd put it up there with Payne's film "Election" for being an incredibly sharp, biting comedy. So, that is why I was a bit misled with "The Holdovers", expecting something like that (or "About Schmidt" or any of his other films). "The Holdovers" is far more dramatic than "Sideways". It isn't remotely the kind of bracing comedy that "Sideways" is.
But I would still recommend "Sideways" because it is very funny, and Payne is great at never making the comedy feel mean-spirited, it all feels character-driven and Payne seems to love all his characters. And truly, that is a phenomenal acting performance by Paul Giamatti. Watch it so that you can share in my anger at the Academy for not nominating him for Best Actor that year, even though the film was nominated for Best Picture, it WON Best Screenplay, Payne was nominated, Virginia Madsen was nominated and so was Thomas Hayden Church! That is a LOT of nominations for a comedy, and they snubbed Giamatti. It was terrible.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jan 17, 2024 23:14:46 GMT -5
My access to the theaters showing "Poor Things" and "American Fiction" was cut off on Sunday due to a marathon that closed a bunch of streets.
So, I stayed in and watched The Holdovers. Agreed with basically everything you said here! I enjoyed this one a lot, and indeed a lot more than expected. I saw it in the theaters with my family, and was worried this would affect the viewing experience - you know how it is seeing a movie with people who have way different tastes. At the end, as we walked out, my mom blurted, "Well, that wasn't a comedy!" Which made me laugh and made me feel kinda warm and happy about the movie, because it is and it isn't, and I love movies that are so good at blending so many tones and emotions together and being truly convincing at all of them. It really seems like the actors took pride and ownership of their ability to show that expressive range. I hope they're proud of their work.
Yes, before I saw it, I saw people talking about how Giamatti might get snubbed for awards again, because they don't like to recognize pure comedies. And after I saw it, I was like, "WTF are people talking about? This isn't a pure comedy." Yeah, I absolutely loved the way sometimes even the jokes were played to bring pathos to the characters. Yes, there is just something wonderful about the way that all the different emotions and tones of the film are brought together that makes it all feel so damn real. I think that is what I found so surprising. Payne does usually make his characters feel sympathetic even in his more biting comedies. But this movie, wow, this went way beyond that.
And YES, this was just fantastic acting by Giamatti, Sessa and Randolph. It is amazing to me that this is Sessa's film debut. Holy moly, Alexander Payne, what a great job finding this kid and getting this performance out of him. A kid that had only done high school theater can do THIS? WTF? This seemed like a lot to ask of a kid who had never done this before. Wow.
Yes, while I said that "Sideways" is a much more biting comedy, what you say here is true, that what really ties them together is that Payne has a deep understanding of his characters and what they are needing emotionally. And because Payne has this level of empathy with his characters, even when he is making them do absurd, obnoxious things, he can still make it feel sad or bittersweet, and yes hopeful. But definitely, "Sideways" is much more of a comedy than "The Holdovers' is. Like, I would never come out of watching "Sideways" and call it "warm and heartfelt". It is humane, sure. But people are legit calling "The Holdovers" a "cozy, feel-good movie" (much to Payne's chagrin, apparently) and no one would ever say those things about "Sideways".
And yes, when the movie elicits cringe from the audience, this is exactly what Payne and the actors are intending.
Aw, sorry your gf hated it. I really liked it. Both times I watched it. And yeah, Giamatti's character is incredibly annoying and obnoxious in that movie. But I liked watching him come to grips with that and figure out what he really wants and needs. And also, Payne makes him so, so so so so funny. I liked watching it precisely because I wanted to see if Payne could win audience sympathy for that character.
And yes, definitely, "courageous" is a great word for that Giamatti performance. He is sensational in that film, letting the character be so ridiculous, absurd, obnoxious, annoying, etc, but still letting you see the humanity in him.
I strongly recommend "Sideways".
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Rainbow Rosa
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Post by Rainbow Rosa on Jan 17, 2024 23:15:37 GMT -5
someone (Tina Fey's husband, apparently). Dang, this is disappointing. I thought based on his work doing all the music for 30 Rock that surely he'd be less lame than that. It's not so much that Richmond is lame per se so much as that good rock music is hard to do, and good musical theater music is hard to do, and doing both simultaneously is very, very, VERY hard. Arguably three people have ever managed to make a score that worked on both levels, and two of them died way too young (rip, Jonathan Larson and Adam Schlesinger) and the other is seemingly stuck doing idiot kitsch TV (et tu, John Cameron Mitchell!?!?)
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Jan 18, 2024 16:49:13 GMT -5
Additionally, I don't know that a film made in 1970 would have been so direct in talking about depression, especially in a teenager. [/div][/quote] It’s a little later in the seventies but that’s pretty much the main plot of Ordinary People, which is also a much heavier movie than The Holdovers.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jan 18, 2024 22:13:00 GMT -5
"Ordinary People" came out in 1980. There's a huge change in film between 1970 and 1980.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jan 19, 2024 13:56:27 GMT -5
Last night I was sitting on my couch doing these painful neck stretching exercises, and I wanted to put something on which was silly and absurd, which I wouldn't have to think about. So I put on A Fish Called Wanda.
I realized this may have been an error when it neared the end and I still squealed with laughter over that scene where Kline's character tortures Palin's. My neck muscles were so tight that this actually hurt. Oops. Ah well.
Anyway, bless you, Kevin Kline for this ridiculous performance.
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 19, 2024 16:11:27 GMT -5
This had been sitting unwatched in my cabinet for six years. What was I thinking?! It's so, so good. But, truthfully, I probably appreciate it more now as an older, wiser person. When I was young, I would have focused on how horny the movie is, and how good (and funny) it is at being horny - the confident performances, the hawt turn-ons, the comically brief sex scenes, the should-have-been-Oscar-winning-just-by-itself look of irritation on Maribel Verdu after the second of her teenage flings lasts all of 60 seconds. But there's so much more, of course. The movie is absolutely obsessed with mortality, right from the very beginning, when the narrator takes you out of the story to talk about a dead construction worker. It's obsessed with the police, who are almost constantly in the background, especially during the road trip scenes. It explicitly ties the characters' lives to the political events happening around them in a way that almost all American art refuses to do. And the final "twist" is not really a twist at all, so well-prepared-for is it that you know it long before they tell you. At first I was disconcerted by the way that the sound cuts out before the narrator starts talking - is there a problem with the DVD?? - and then annoyed with it, and then made peace with it as a little foreshadowing of the sudden death this movie is about. Oh, gosh, so many themes wrapped up in this innocent little story. Ebert mentioned three - the personal/sexy, political, and mortal - and he didn't count the connection between homophobia and homoeroticism, a link made explicit in the last scene. It's interesting that this is an old person's movie in one sense (you get to watch the folly of youth and feel wise about it) while also being a young person's movie in another (that the creators tried to stuff it full of as many metaphors and meanings as they could). Plus, it's funny! Mostly sad, but also funny. And the naturalness of the whole cast, from partying teens to the fisherman's family, is a marvel. Loved it. First time seeing this since it was in theaters 7.5 years ago. It absolutely holds up. So well. Funny as hell, charming, easy to watch, the perfect "put a dumb movie on while working from home" movie (which is exactly what I did). And a lot of it has only gotten better with time. All the stuff about social media oversharing, for example. And the line about Taylor Swift being arrested for murder is a LOT funnier now. I also love that this movie only punches up - so far, at least, there are no regrettable moments where you go "oof, that may have been funny then but now we don't make fun of [insert disadvantaged group] anymore." Not an easy test for a comedy to pass! First time seeing this since I was like 13, and boy, lemme tell ya, I........hated it! God it's awful! Sorry! Here is a plot synopsis. A deranged psychopath becomes obsessed with a man so she commits a series of crimes against him, humiliates him, destroys his entire life, and Stockholm Syndromes him into an utterly implausible decision that fearing her must actually mean loving her. I know this is a screwball comedy and screwball things happen, but Bringing Up Baby is just too much. Two leopards? Come on. The sheer volume of plot coincidences and necessities - oh look, the shrink at the restaurant also lives next door to the leopard people! - is tedious. Some of the minor actors (like the drunk) are poor performers, too. The only thing I enjoyed was Cary Grant's sexless nerdiness, which allows him to get away with some very horny dialogue. That scene right at the start with his fiancee, where he makes it pretty explicit that he wants to get in her pants, and she says no way, she won't put out if it distracts from his work...HOW did that get past the censors? And then later with Katharine Hepburn shouting "I can feel it! I can feel it!" and Grant asks, "Does it hurt?" Dang. But mostly, ugh. And I say this having recently totally enjoyed their next movie, Holiday (which aged somewhat better), and of course The Philadelphia Story (which is ageless).
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Jan 20, 2024 15:52:35 GMT -5
The film’s set-up is amazing, it looks great, but ultimately the script does not have the imagination to resolve itself in any kind of natural-feeling way. It really is Hayworth who makes the film—even though the intro is classic you can see at the end how emotionally complicated her performance gets right after she says “Am I?”
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jan 21, 2024 0:36:55 GMT -5
This had been sitting unwatched in my cabinet for six years. What was I thinking?! It's so, so good. But, truthfully, I probably appreciate it more now as an older, wiser person. When I was young, I would have focused on how horny the movie is, and how good (and funny) it is at being horny - the confident performances, the hawt turn-ons, the comically brief sex scenes, the should-have-been-Oscar-winning-just-by-itself look of irritation on Maribel Verdu after the second of her teenage flings lasts all of 60 seconds. But there's so much more, of course. The movie is absolutely obsessed with mortality, right from the very beginning, when the narrator takes you out of the story to talk about a dead construction worker. It's obsessed with the police, who are almost constantly in the background, especially during the road trip scenes. It explicitly ties the characters' lives to the political events happening around them in a way that almost all American art refuses to do. And the final "twist" is not really a twist at all, so well-prepared-for is it that you know it long before they tell you. At first I was disconcerted by the way that the sound cuts out before the narrator starts talking - is there a problem with the DVD?? - and then annoyed with it, and then made peace with it as a little foreshadowing of the sudden death this movie is about. Oh, gosh, so many themes wrapped up in this innocent little story. Ebert mentioned three - the personal/sexy, political, and mortal - and he didn't count the connection between homophobia and homoeroticism, a link made explicit in the last scene. It's interesting that this is an old person's movie in one sense (you get to watch the folly of youth and feel wise about it) while also being a young person's movie in another (that the creators tried to stuff it full of as many metaphors and meanings as they could). Plus, it's funny! Mostly sad, but also funny. And the naturalness of the whole cast, from partying teens to the fisherman's family, is a marvel. Loved it.
I absolutely LOVE Y Tu Mamá También. I saw it for the first time a couple years after it came out. I remember that the chain video rental place near me refused to carry the original version, and instead only carried some censored R-rated version which I refused to see. So, I had to drive over to a non-chain rental place to get it. (Cannot even imagine what a censored version of this film even looks like?? Um, that would miss the point?) I remember the news at the time of the film's release being about Cuarón and the ridiculousness of the MPAA game, and how he simply released the film unrated. Speaking of Ebert's review, I believe he said something about this.... Went to read it again. yeah, he mentions the absurdity of the MPAA and how it distorts what sex looks like on film, and how it would have been impossible for Cuarón to even produce this film in the USA. Yes, and here it is over 20 years later and we are still dealing with this bullshit.
Anyway, when I was in my mid-20s when I first saw it I picked up on a lot of what Cuarón was doing. I don't think he really intended for the ending to be perceived as a twist. There's enough on screen for the viewer to infer what is going on. This is what makes all the allusions to death and mortality so potent. And I definitely saw what he was doing with the politics of Mexico. I had made enough friends in high school and college whose families were from Mexico to be at least somewhat aware of what was going on there. And yes, I really liked the way the film links the male characters to the politics we are seeing in the background of the film.
But, wow, on top of all that very serious stuff going on, I too want to mention how funny the film is. I thought it was funny when I first saw it, but on rewatch in my late 30s it became even more funny. It just nails the humor that comes from these two teenage boys being horny and clueless. Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal were notably BFFs before they made this film, and this is a key factor in what makes their performances feel so natural and real. Not to mention their willingness to look like idiots on camera, which is commendable. And Maribel Verdú is a total scene stealer.
And you are right that it is a bit odd that Ebert missed that explicit link between homophobia and homoeroticism. I think that is the final piece that really makes the ending land with strong emotional truth.
Diego Luna: Mexican telenovelas to this film to eventually Star Wars. What a career.
Of course, Cuarón would follow up this film with a Harry Potter film, of all things, so Luna doesn't even have the strangest career turn amongst this bunch.
Edited to add: Also need to mention here the great cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki. He and Cuarón make a great team.
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Jan 21, 2024 16:14:49 GMT -5
I think A Brighter Summer Day is one of the best and movies of all time and, while there are moments of humor, I do not understand how people could laugh through almost the entire film. At least when the generations of authoritarianism, pridefulness, and misogyny converged on the stabbing of a poor young woman they shut up.
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Post by Nudeviking on Jan 21, 2024 19:31:12 GMT -5
I watched movies. Here are words about them.
Bat Without Wings (1980) - This was basically an episode of Law & Order: SVU if everyone knew kung fu. A serial rapist kung fu master thought dead for five years suddenly shows back up and starts wrecking shop and it’s up to a trio of kung fu heroes to figure out what in the fuck is going on…and just like an episode of SVU the story you assumed was being told takes a wild turn into something completely unrelated. This is not the greatest kung fu flick I’ve seen either in terms of plot of balls to the wall action but anytime I go awhile without watching a Shaw Bros. joint I am reminded anew just how far beyond most of the other kung fu movie studios in terms of production value they were. The costumes and sets are amazing. I’ve said many a time that no one does a misty styrofoam cave quite like the Shaw Bros. and this movie is no exception. The fights, while not great, are perfectly acceptable fare and numerous enough to satisfy most fight fans. Add some weird traps and Scooby Doo ghost shit and you’ve got a pretty okay movie on your hands. Also the titular Bat Without Wings had Gene Simmons from KISS face paint so I spent like half the movie wondering if KISS got paid for this the same way they did the KISS Demon in WCW in the late 90s.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) - Of all my various hobbies and interests Dungeons & Dragons is probably the one I’ve had for the longest and most consistent amount of time beyond really broad stuff like “watching movies” or “the concept of reading.” I started playing when I was 11 or so and have more or less played consistently since then and I’m now in my 40s. So I’ve played a lot of D&D in my time. I bring this up because I was shocked at how well Honor Among Thieves was at capturing the actual vibe of playing D&D. Like there are a lot of fantasy adventure movie that don’t feel like playing D&D. Beastmaster didn’t. None of the Deathstalker do. Not even the Lord of the Rings movies do because when you get down to it D&D is not just high fantasy adventure stuff it’s also goofy as hell and this movie absolutely nails the vibe of playing D&D almost from the jump. An unimportant character being named Jornathan is 100% a name DM would come up because some player asked “What’s that guy’s name?” and the DM hadn’t thought about it because it was just supposed to be some random guy. The paladin dude who shows up for a one shot adventure and then leaves forever is totally that one friend who came to one session with a min-maxed uber character and then never came back. And the main characters more or less being losers who bungle their way into saving the world is more or less how every single campaign I’ve ever played has shaken out. For people that haven’t played D&D at all I think the movie still works as a perfectly fine modern style quippy action adventure movie. The cast is pretty good and there are enough big action set pieces to appeal to folks that are into big action blockbuster stuff but that’s all less impressive to me than the fact that someone finally made a movie or TV show about D&D that actually feels like D&D.
Queen Boxer (1972) - After a pretty boss cold open where a dude takes on a gang of axe wielding thugs and an opening credit sequence where Judy Lee (Ling Chia) does kung fu in the void while “Theme from Shaft” plays, Queen Boxer becomes the story of two different movies. For the first half you have Peter Yang doing his best Bruce Lee in The Big Boss impression. He’s standing up for the working man and busting up gangsters who are taking advantage of day laborers. Unfortunately Peter Yang is no Bruce Lee. He lacks the charisma and the fighting prowess that Bruce Lee had so this first half is honestly pretty mid as the youths say. Eventually Judy Lee shows up to get revenge on the axe wielding gangsters who murdered her brother in the cold open and business picks up. She kung fus and knifes the ever loving shit out of hordes of dudes, throws handfuls of axes at guys, and pretty much rules ass. While I wouldn’t put Judy Lee above Angela Mao or even Polly Shang Kuan in any sort of ranking of 70s kung fu movie actresses her fight scenes are pretty great though the copy of this I saw was a pretty shoddy pan and scan VHS rip so there were times when stuff was either happening off screen or was just too dark to see but that’s not really on her. Overall this was kind of a mixed bag. The opening and the last 15 minutes or so rule a ton of ass but the stuff with Peter Yang kind of drags so at the end of the day I guess it evens out to sort of a middle of the road kick-puncher. There are a lot of better movies out there but also way way worse.
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Post by pantsgoblin on Jan 23, 2024 12:51:29 GMT -5
The X from Outer Space (1967)
Relentlessly goofy but definitely not the worst kaiju I've seen. For one thing, no annoying kids to endure. It's really half a space exploration movie and I'll give credit to some of the better pre-2001 spacecraft and moonbase models.
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on Jan 23, 2024 14:37:43 GMT -5
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) Unlike Nudeviking, I only played D&D a handful of times between 11-13. I spent plenty of time rolling characters into existence, drawing them out, and keeping each character in its own folder, sure. However, playing until I get a sense of mirth and immersion I never absorbed. That said, this was an ok film. I could malinger and whinge, but "nah".
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Post by repulsionist on Jan 23, 2024 14:52:26 GMT -5
Outside Looking In, TC Boyle (2019) I abandoned the Willeford book after the author-fan circled back around to earlier instances in the writer's life one time too many for my pleasure. I'd extracted what I'd wanted, I think. The Boyle book was a "Well, it's here at the library - and I know the author. It's been a while since I've read their work. Gie it a go." Like the expectation in a bag of freshly fried hot chips, this author does not disappoint. The subject is the development of LSD-25 and the subsequent research using it at Harvard University. The fictionalisation of Hoffmann's lab assistant and her aiding Hoffmann's first bike ride on acid felt like a warm cup of tea on a nice day. Satisfaction on top of satisfaction. Birnam Wood, Eleanor Catton (2023) Booker Prize winner from New Zealand, whose book I picked up on recommendation of Invisible Goat and Powerthirteen, starts her meta-thriller with a deep-cut Macbeth quote then slow rolls into the setting of slow-paced South Island New Zealand. I will give this author their praise due: Booker Prize, Granta's "author to watch, because we like her", and teaching writing for some time at Manukau Institute of Technology. I will read the book after my Macaroni Grill 3-course with Boyle.
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Rainbow Rosa
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Post by Rainbow Rosa on Jan 23, 2024 17:26:24 GMT -5
Anyone But You (2023) That guy from 2 Top 2 Gun, no, not Miles Teller, and the girl from Euphoria, no, not Zendaya, the white one (and I don't mean Hunter Schafer), take a trip to an antipodal island to visit that critically endangered charismatic megafauna, the big-budget rom-com. I'm not too cultured, apparently, because it took me a very, very long time to realize that this film, which begins with a Shakespeare quote superimposed on a loft wall before breaking the film up into five acts complete with title cards and even literally names its heroine Beatrice Messina for fuck's sake, is loosely taking its cues from Much Ado About Nothing. But that sort of loose adaptation worked out pretty well for writer-director Will Gluck with Easy A, and this film is similarly charming - Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney are easy on the eyes (duh) but also do a great job at getting you to care during the designated emotional moments, and there's a good mix of both genuinely funny slapstick and pretty scenery throughout. One nice trick about this film is that the underwritten side characters spend a lot of the film trying to get our leads to hook up, which means that the film is able to wink-wink at their mostly perfunctory characters being mostly perfunctory while not being too glib about it. Genuinely fun movie that you wouldn't regret catching in theatres, instead of on basic cable once a week every week between the years 2025 and 2060. Galaxy Quest (1999) I wish they hadn't cast Tony Shalhoub in this film, because whenever he was on screen I found myself unintentionally comparing this to Men in Black, another self-aware sci-fi comedy of the same vintage that I think is much funnier, and in any case doesn't lean quite so heavily on you recognizing "oh this is a thing from Star Trek." But, you know, it's pretty funny, and I was surprised how much I found myself liking Tim Allen here playing a sort of world-weary Shatner type with surprising pathos. Worth it just to see LazBro 's avatar walking and talking, though. I.S.S. (2024) Hey, I guess we're playing "compare the sci-fi films" today - this put me in mind of Moon, another film that did a pretty good job at evoking claustrophobia in a fairly realistic outer-space setting with a teensy-weensy cast, but one that didn't feel like it was aiming too high in terms of "saying" anything - I guess it's fine to aim for "solid" and hit that mark, but it did feel deliberately apolitical for a film allegedly about World War III, and I couldn't help but be reminded of that classic SNL bit about Space Mistakes. That being said, the film-i-ness of this premise is kind of to the movie's benefit, because I found myself totally forgetting that this movie was not actually filmed in space, and then being wowed when I realized, jeez, how did they get this movie to look so convincingly as though it was shot in zero-G?? So cool. Sophie's Choice (1982) I know this is going to sound like I'm trolling here, but - this movie had way too much Nazi shit in it. I know this movie predates the modern Oscar industrial complex, and it predates Meryl Streep becoming Meryl Fucking Streep, She-Hooverer of Academy Awards, but the camera is obsessed with her face to the point of self-parody, and the flashbacks to Sophie's past in a concentration camp feel really, really unearned here. In particular that final flashback where she makes that infamous choice had me thinking, "this is like if Schindler's List was directed by M. Night Shyamalan." I think there is a genuinely interesting and beautiful film here about three brilliant fabulists who play off each other's delusions - or rather, there is a brilliant straight play here that loses the flashbacks and becomes entirely about the interplay between the three leads. (Kevin Kline is also really, really great in this film, and I would say "he's playing against type here by taking his comic persona and playing it for drama," except that this is the film which DEBUTS the Kevin Kline Komic Kharacter!) Also, holy shit, was I not prepared to hear Meryl Streep earnestly say in her pseudo-Polish lilt, "you're wearing your cocksucker?" Soul (2020) How deeply unfair that this film got shunted off to streaming, because it's a genuinely beautiful-looking movie that benefits a lot from the big screen - the New York scenes manage to look cozy and grimy simultaneously, and they contrast with the stark op-art of the movie's afterlife and the Hirschfeld-drawing-on-cotton-candy aesthetic of the "before world." Whether or not the film is "really about jazz" or "authentically Black," which is a question a lot of people asked of it when it came out, I can't say, but you can tell this was a labor of love. I do think the film occasionally stutters when it tries to go for the pop culture ha-ha-has here, like when Tina Fey's character claims she sounds like a middle-aged white lady because it annoys people, or cutaway gags concerning any number of famous historical figures, which aren't bad jokes per se but definitely take the film a bit too far into DreamWorks territory for what is otherwise a pretty grounded story about, basically, existential dread. I suppose with some distance this does feel like kind of a Pixar greatest hits reel - in particular the physical comedy evokes Ratatouille and the cosmology here puts me in mind of Inside Out - but jesus, how cold must your heart be for you to think a movie that's Ratatouille + Inside Out wouldn't be worth a watch?
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Jan 23, 2024 18:54:02 GMT -5
I'm (very slowly) working my way through Marvel in timeline order on Disney. Just for the record, I really do not like Samuel L. Jackson. He's one of those actors that I just never like in pretty much any role, along with Andie McDowell. Angelina Jolie, and Kirstie Alley.
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Rainbow Rosa
TI Forumite
not gay, just colorful
Posts: 3,604
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Post by Rainbow Rosa on Jan 23, 2024 18:55:19 GMT -5
I'm (very slowly) working my way through Marvel in timeline order on Disney. Just for the record, I really do not like Samuel L. Jackson. He's one of those actors that I just never like in pretty much any role, along with Andie McDowell. Angelina Jolie, and Kirstie Alley. I would absolutely love to see the film which simultaneously stars these four actors.
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Post by pantsgoblin on Jan 24, 2024 7:56:09 GMT -5
I absolutely LOVE Y Tu Mamá También. I saw it for the first time a couple years after it came out. I remember that the chain video rental place near me refused to carry the original version, and instead only carried some censored R-rated version which I refused to see. So, I had to drive over to a non-chain rental place to get it. (Cannot even imagine what a censored version of this film even looks like?? Um, that would miss the point?) I remember the news at the time of the film's release being about Cuarón and the ridiculousness of the MPAA game, and how he simply released the film unrated. Speaking of Ebert's review, I believe he said something about this.... Went to read it again. yeah, he mentions the absurdity of the MPAA and how it distorts what sex looks like on film, and how it would have been impossible for Cuarón to even produce this film in the USA. Yes, and here it is over 20 years later and we are still dealing with this bullshit.
I had a friend who was staunchly pro-Blockbuster because the local indie rental made him "feel judged" for his movie taste (what an idiot). I could only laugh at how angry he was upon first seeing John Waters' A Dirty Shame and not realizing it was chopped up and blurred out because Blockbuster would only carry the R-rated cut.
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LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,196
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Post by LazBro on Jan 24, 2024 8:27:23 GMT -5
Galaxy Quest (1999) I wish they hadn't cast Tony Shalhoub in this film, because whenever he was on screen I found myself unintentionally comparing this to Men in Black, another self-aware sci-fi comedy of the same vintage that I think is much funnier, and in any case doesn't lean quite so heavily on you recognizing "oh this is a thing from Star Trek." But, you know, it's pretty funny, and I was surprised how much I found myself liking Tim Allen here playing a sort of world-weary Shatner type with surprising pathos. Worth it just to see LazBro 's avatar walking and talking, though. A good reminder that I'd let the dumb Gun N' Roses Rickman go on for far too long.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jan 24, 2024 11:20:06 GMT -5
I absolutely LOVE Y Tu Mamá También. I saw it for the first time a couple years after it came out. I remember that the chain video rental place near me refused to carry the original version, and instead only carried some censored R-rated version which I refused to see. So, I had to drive over to a non-chain rental place to get it. (Cannot even imagine what a censored version of this film even looks like?? Um, that would miss the point?) I remember the news at the time of the film's release being about Cuarón and the ridiculousness of the MPAA game, and how he simply released the film unrated. Speaking of Ebert's review, I believe he said something about this.... Went to read it again. yeah, he mentions the absurdity of the MPAA and how it distorts what sex looks like on film, and how it would have been impossible for Cuarón to even produce this film in the USA. Yes, and here it is over 20 years later and we are still dealing with this bullshit.
I had a friend who was staunchly pro-Blockbuster because the local indie rental made him "feel judged" for his movie taste (what an idiot). I could only laugh at how angry he was upon first seeing John Waters' A Dirty Shame and not realizing it was chopped up and blurred out because Blockbuster would only carry the R-rated cut. Ugh, how terrible. Also, why were those indie store employees making anyone feel bad about their film choices? That's mean. And they made him feel forced to support Blockbuster, a store renting that ridiculous censored version of Waters' film. I mean, ridiculous in a way that Waters did NOT intend. Lucky for me, in that case of "Y Tu Mama Tambien", I found out that the daytime clerk at the indie rental store was a lover of foreign film, and he made several solid recommendations for me. However, perhaps he would have been judgmental, too, if I'd tried to rent some big budget mainstream comedy. Who knows?
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Post by pantsgoblin on Jan 24, 2024 11:24:27 GMT -5
I had a friend who was staunchly pro-Blockbuster because the local indie rental made him "feel judged" for his movie taste (what an idiot). I could only laugh at how angry he was upon first seeing John Waters' A Dirty Shame and not realizing it was chopped up and blurred out because Blockbuster would only carry the R-rated cut. Ugh, how terrible. Also, why were those indie store employees making anyone feel bad about their film choices? That's mean. And they made him feel forced to support Blockbuster, a store renting that ridiculous censored version of Waters' film. I mean, ridiculous in a way that Waters did NOT intend. Lucky for me, in that case of "Y Tu Mama Tambien", I found out that the daytime clerk at the indie rental store was a lover of foreign film, and he made several solid recommendations for me. However, perhaps he would have been judgmental, too, if I'd tried to rent some big budget mainstream comedy. Who knows? I frequented that indie rental and, no, the clerks weren't at all judgmental to customers. My friend was just insecure about liking Hollywood action and sci-fi.
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Post by nowimnothing on Jan 24, 2024 12:47:19 GMT -5
Ugh, how terrible. Also, why were those indie store employees making anyone feel bad about their film choices? That's mean. And they made him feel forced to support Blockbuster, a store renting that ridiculous censored version of Waters' film. I mean, ridiculous in a way that Waters did NOT intend. Lucky for me, in that case of "Y Tu Mama Tambien", I found out that the daytime clerk at the indie rental store was a lover of foreign film, and he made several solid recommendations for me. However, perhaps he would have been judgmental, too, if I'd tried to rent some big budget mainstream comedy. Who knows? I frequented that indie rental and, no, the clerks weren't at all judgmental to customers. My friend was just insecure about liking Hollywood action and sci-fi.
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Jan 24, 2024 14:23:16 GMT -5
I remembered little of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and it’s solid, a good action film which wears its Hong Kong and other (more than a bit of Peur sur la ville in the monorail scene, but that might be indirect) influences on its sleeve. The longer runtime allows for more atmosphere—the “future” part gets downplayed to the point where it’s fairly direct late nineties/early aughts nostalgic, but that’s not bad in and of itself and speaks highly of the animators’ ability to deliver on atmosphere.
When I rewatched a few episodes of the original series a year or two back I was less impressed with the show’s sense of pathos than I was before. It’s still here a bit, but diluted by the longer runtime and it’s fun watching a version of spike with more joie de vivre. There is the (common in franchises) issue of guest characters and needing to care about their arc, but it’s done well enough—Electra’s compelling, Victor’s kind of nonsense but in a good, basic action movie way, providing enough of a backdrop for the action without disrupting it.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Jan 24, 2024 14:53:39 GMT -5
Ron Howard Voice, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is my BFF's current favorite silly movie. (Mr. BFF even bought her a Style Boyz sweatshirt for Christmas.) This delights me, because it is one of my current favorite silly movies. We should probably stop singing Lonely Island songs at the baby before he learns to talk, though.
pantsgoblin, "Ooh, Navy Seals!" is my friend group's go-to line whenever someone gets a little too enthusiastic about a really, really bad movie. Then again, most of my guy friends met while working at Hollywood Video, so.
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Post by Nudeviking on Jan 24, 2024 19:36:08 GMT -5
Movies. I watched 'em. Here are words.
Creepozoids (1987) - This was an extremely weird movie. It’s post-apocalyptic but honestly that fact has almost no impact on the plot at all since all the action is set in an abandoned laboratory where strange genetic experiments had been talking place. Instead of Mad Max shit or wasteland wanderers you get mutant stuffed animal rats, Linnea Quigley’s boobs, acid rain, laser guns, a store brand xenomorph, talk about amino acids, military deserters, and a final climactic battle between an army dude and a creepy-ass baby. Is it a good movie? Hell no! This is gloriously goopy USA Up All Night trash horror and that shit kind of rules.
Shaolin Soccer (2001) - Marrying kung fu mysticism, slapstick comedy and an underdog sports story Shaolin Soccer is an absolute blast. I don't think it quite reaches the heights of Stephen Chow's magnum opus, Kung Fu Hustle, but it's still pretty great. The cast is solid and there are some genuinely funny bits to it and there's enough weirdness going on that even though the plot is your cliche "Bad News Bears / Major League / Mighty Ducks loser sports team triumphs over assholes" underdog sports movie it's not really boring. I mean a dude kicks a soccer ball with such power that it causes a goalie's clothes to disintegrate at one point. If I have one complaint about this it's that the CGI, of which there's a fair amount, is pretty janky even by early 2000s standards but it's a pretty minor issue in the grand scheme of things.
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 27, 2024 13:06:07 GMT -5
A thing I think about a lot is how Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner used to get together once a week and watch dumb fun action movies. Brooks used to describe them as the kind of movies where someone yells "secure the perimeter!" And they'd watch along and cheer the good guys and jeer the bad guys and laugh at the silly dumb cliches and oooh over the big explosions. Honestly, it's just so wholesome to think about two great legends of art sitting around sincerely having a great time with a popcorn action movie, enjoying it and razzing it all at once. This would be a perfect movie to watch with Mel Brooks.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Jan 27, 2024 13:22:46 GMT -5
Last night I was like, "I want to watch a big dumb movie I've never seen before" and so I settled on the 1996 Nicolas Cage/Sean Connery masterpiece The Rock. It sure was big, dumb, and a movie chock-full of actors who were entirely too talented for the script! Also, weird to hear the POTUS Chief of Staff say "fuck" so many times. (Miss youuuuuu, Leo McGarry!) But it fulfilled my requirements and was surprisingly funnier than I expected. I've been trying to expand my movie-watching horizons, so even when I watch total nonsense, I make sure it's nonsense that's at least new to me.
Also, last weekend I watched Josie and the Pussycats (2001) and I have no idea how that movie passed me by. I was literally the target audience for it, being 16 in 2001. I'm kicking myself now, because it was legitimately hilarious, and I just know teenage-me would have loved this. The music really does slap pretty hard.
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