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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Mar 6, 2016 14:22:55 GMT -5
Casablanca – Minnie's favorite movie, my first viewing.
1. This movie is astonishing. Compared to every other film I've seen that was made during the war, the production values are breathtaking, and the visuals are ahead of their time, very reminiscent of neo-realism.
2. This movie was incredibly timely. It literally premiered days after the liberation of Morocco, and the exact moment when the Allies were starting to win decisively. It must have been a thrill.
3. This movie is fucking real. Having recently visited a spate of countries only to see them get variously blown/shot up weeks later on TV, while thousands of people are trying to get the hell out of dodge, this is frighteningly relevant. The themes are refreshingly mature, and are handled very well. Also, Rick is a badass.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Mar 6, 2016 15:26:34 GMT -5
Casablanca – Minnie's favorite movie, my first viewing. 1. This movie is astonishing. Compared to every other film I've seen that was made during the war, the production values are breathtaking, and the visuals are ahead of their time, very reminiscent of neo-realism. 2. This movie was incredibly timely. It literally premiered days after the liberation of Morocco, and the exact moment when the Allies were starting to win decisively. It must have been a thrill. The film's concept also predates America's involvement in the war, which is why Rick is seen as kind of a neutral party between the various parties in the film. His apparent neutrality masking a bruised romanticism that genuinely cared in the Allied cause was meant to be an analogy for America itself. |
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Mar 6, 2016 16:56:32 GMT -5
Casablanca – Minnie's favorite movie, my first viewing. 1. This movie is astonishing. Compared to every other film I've seen that was made during the war, the production values are breathtaking, and the visuals are ahead of their time, very reminiscent of neo-realism. 2. This movie was incredibly timely. It literally premiered days after the liberation of Morocco, and the exact moment when the Allies were starting to win decisively. It must have been a thrill. The film's concept also predates America's involvement in the war, which is why Rick is seen as kind of a neutral party between the various parties in the film. His apparent neutrality masking a bruised romanticism that genuinely cared in the Allied cause was meant to be an analogy for America itself. That's interesting; in American schools we're basically taught this oversimplified narrative that Americans were totally against the war effort until Pearl Harbor, but everything I've read since seems to indicate that public sympathy in the 1939-41 period (and indeed even before) was overwhelmingly supportive of the Allies, and that people were pretty much waiting for the other shoe to drop. The movie is better for being in development before Pearl Harbor, incidentally. I've seen and enjoyed actual wartime movies (i.e. Hollywood films produced during the war with the blessing and financial support of the US Military), but none of them have the brains or heart of Casablanca. |
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Mar 6, 2016 17:06:43 GMT -5
Meru, the documentary about the people who climbed Mount Meru. It was good and quite interesting, but was kind of the sort of documentary that would have worked better as a longread with gorgeous photographs rather than a movie.
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Post by Stuffed Salvador on Mar 6, 2016 17:44:55 GMT -5
Zootopia
It's charming and it does an admirable job of balancing its messages of tolerance with comedy and neo-noir elements, but I just cannot for the life of me put my finger on why it didn't click with me.
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Post by starforge on Mar 6, 2016 20:59:48 GMT -5
The Fast and the Furious
Still as 90s and fun and ridiculous as I remember. Though the next two films are duds, the Fast and the Furious series is, in my opinion, an underrated gem with an odd level of professionalism and craft for something so vulgar and silly. I love it.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Mar 6, 2016 21:42:06 GMT -5
The film's concept also predates America's involvement in the war, which is why Rick is seen as kind of a neutral party between the various parties in the film. His apparent neutrality masking a bruised romanticism that genuinely cared in the Allied cause was meant to be an analogy for America itself. That's interesting; in American schools we're basically taught this oversimplified narrative that Americans were totally against the war effort until Pearl Harbor, but everything I've read since seems to indicate that public sympathy in the 1939-41 period (and indeed even before) was overwhelmingly supportive of the Allies, and that people were pretty much waiting for the other shoe to drop. The movie is better for being in development before Pearl Harbor, incidentally. I've seen and enjoyed actual wartime movies (i.e. Hollywood films produced during the war with the blessing and financial support of the US Military), but none of them have the brains or heart of Casablanca.The real story is much more complicated, of course - most Americans sympathized strongly with the Allies, but there were also significant pro-Axis contingents and non-interventionist contingents. FDR very much wanted to enter the war on the Allied side, but, absent a precipitating event, wasn't able to, though he did absolutely everything he could short of joining the war (Lend-Lease especially). Cutting off oil supplies to Japan pretty much put a clock on our involvement - without US oil, Japan was going to run into supply issues very quickly, and their attacks on December 7-8, 1941 (remember, they hit a bunch of places all at once, not just Pearl Harbor) were a last-ditch effort to reestablish supply lines. Following that, there was some concern we'd just be able to attack Japan, but Germany very helpfully declared war on us and made our involvement very easy. Had that not happened, the US might have been stuck in the Pacific for a while. |
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Mar 6, 2016 22:20:04 GMT -5
That's interesting; in American schools we're basically taught this oversimplified narrative that Americans were totally against the war effort until Pearl Harbor, but everything I've read since seems to indicate that public sympathy in the 1939-41 period (and indeed even before) was overwhelmingly supportive of the Allies, and that people were pretty much waiting for the other shoe to drop. The movie is better for being in development before Pearl Harbor, incidentally. I've seen and enjoyed actual wartime movies (i.e. Hollywood films produced during the war with the blessing and financial support of the US Military), but none of them have the brains or heart of Casablanca.The real story is much more complicated, of course - most Americans sympathized strongly with the Allies, but there were also significant pro-Axis contingents and non-interventionist contingents. FDR very much wanted to enter the war on the Allied side, but, absent a precipitating event, wasn't able to, though he did absolutely everything he could short of joining the war (Lend-Lease especially). Cutting off oil supplies to Japan pretty much put a clock on our involvement - without US oil, Japan was going to run into supply issues very quickly, and their attacks on December 7-8, 1941 (remember, they hit a bunch of places all at once, not just Pearl Harbor) were a last-ditch effort to reestablish supply lines. Following that, there was some concern we'd just be able to attack Japan, but Germany very helpfully declared war on us and made our involvement very easy. Had that not happened, the US might have been stuck in the Pacific for a while. Precisely. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 11:14:37 GMT -5
Deadpool - Absolutely hysterical!
As previously stated, the fact that this is doing so well in theaters almost assures that producers will get the wrong idea about WHY it was successful, and throw a bunch of blood and cursing into other comic book movies to match it.
Still a net gain, in my opinion.
(Also, I do understand that the one transphobic joke is not well received, but a single quip in the movie directed at a woman who is built like Gina Carano didn't ruin it for me at all. FAR less offensive to me than Tony Stark's Prima Nocta "joke" in Ultron.)
(Also also, godDAMN is Gina Carano hot!)
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Mar 8, 2016 13:28:08 GMT -5
I watched Bridge of Spies this weekend. Well, I started watching it on Saturday and promptly passed out because I'd been running errands all day, so I finished it on Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it really was. Mark Rylance absolutely deserved his Oscar. I'm a little bummed Tom Hanks wasn't nominated, though, because I thought he gave a great performance.
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Ice Cream Planet
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Mar 8, 2016 17:26:14 GMT -5
The Central Park Five
Unsurprisingly heartbreaking and infuriating. It was an appalling miscarriage of justice, one that caused irreversible harm to lives of five children, and allowed for another violent criminal to continue to terrorize other individuals.
And yes, it features that infamous headline from that repulsive short-fingered vulgarian.
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Ice Cream Planet
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Mar 9, 2016 15:43:44 GMT -5
Laura (1944)
It hits all the right film noir aesthetic notes, and yet, like the Vera Caspary novel its based upon, there's something inherently inert in its narrative. It looks good, the actors holds themselves well, and there is a nice balance between comedy and melodrama... but it's never as much fun as it should be. It lacks the black-hearted glee of films like Double Indemnity or The Postman Always Rings Twice. 'Tis a pity.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Mar 11, 2016 13:03:49 GMT -5
I saw The Witch; and without reading any of the reviews or thinkpieces I think I grasped where the disconnect between critics and audiences came pretty clearly; this is a horror movie in the sense Antichrist is a horror movie (it even has its own CHAOS REIGNS moment.) Enveloping dark fable all the same.
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Post by Jimmy James on Mar 11, 2016 13:32:22 GMT -5
Rewatched Rushmore for the first time in ages, as my ladyfriend had not seen it. I had forgotten how unlikable Max is early on, though he does seem to mature a bit by the end. There's a broad gulf between this and Bottle Rocket, which seemed to have few of the stylistic quirks associated with Wes Anderson. Suddenly in his second feature, they're all there at once- the title cards, the British Invasion soundtrack, the exposition of Max's school activities. It's funny how it seems to prefigure a lot of his subsequent work, in particular The Royal Tenenbaums with Margot as the young playwright, and The Life Aquatic with the Jacques Cousteau book and Bill Murray funding the new aquarium.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Mar 11, 2016 13:38:00 GMT -5
"I saved Latin. What did you ever do?" Jimmy James I saw that again last year when the local arthouse did a Bill Murray festival, one of the best uses of an arthouse theatre (I went to everything) and that was still a standout. |
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Mar 11, 2016 21:25:25 GMT -5
I'm watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit. For some reason, it looks really bad. I don't know if it's the HD or what but the animation is really looking flat. Or something. I don't know enough about animation or movies to be able to say what's wrong.
But I just watched that poor little shoe die.
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Post by ganews on Mar 12, 2016 0:14:52 GMT -5
I'm watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit. For some reason, it looks really bad. I don't know if it's the HD or what but the animation is really looking flat. Or something. I don't know enough about animation or movies to be able to say what's wrong. But I just watched that poor little shoe die. I had that movie taped off TV growing up. Specifically it was a Saturday night special Disney presentation on ABC with Michael Eisner giving the intro, like Walt used to do. That version included the series of scenes where Eddie breaks into Jessica's club dressing room looking for the will, only to be trussed up in a toon pig-head by Doom and the weasels. He washes off the toon-head in the shower, and comes out to find Jessica in his apartment. I did not realize until just a couple years ago that the above sequence was a "deleted scene". The overall story make much less sense without it, but apparently that is how most people watch the movie. |
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Mar 12, 2016 13:05:02 GMT -5
Speed Racer (2008)
By all objective analysis, this is not a good movie. But I fucking loved it. The visuals were absurd, the editing was insane, and everything was so earnest and over the top that after 20 minutes of horror and another 20 of disbelief, I found myself completely 100% invested. This is the most fun I've had watching a movie since the mind-bogglingly silly Jupiter Ascending, but this tops that. Bonus: I got a huge Sense8 vibe from it, too. All that same earnestness and love for humanity was very much present here. I understand why this movie is almost universally hated, but I want to watch it again already.
I mean, even the fucking closing credits were brilliant. If you can watch this without suddenly feeling overwhelming joy, I feel bad for you:
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Ice Cream Planet
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Mar 12, 2016 19:08:25 GMT -5
Anomalisa
My second viewing of the film and seeing it on the big screen made me love and appreciate the artistry even more. The art direction, Carter Burwell's beautiful score, the great eye for small detail, it's all a joy to watch, Still, it's the brilliant, heartbreakingly good voice acting from David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tom Noonan that is the true treat. If only the Oscars would recognize voice acting!
The Witch
A peculiar, well-acted, beautifully shot cross between Nathaniel Hawthorne and a Grimms Brothers' fairy tale, it's one of the more intriguing films I've seen recently. The cast is uniformly excellent and give the material, which could have easily tipped into being a hokey stab at The Crucible, into something that buzzes with intelligence and urgency. The slow-burning atmosphere works for the most part, although I'll need to see it again to see how well it holds up. The ending felt a tad bit weak, but perhaps upon another viewing it'll work more for me.
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Post by Stuffed Salvador on Mar 13, 2016 2:15:03 GMT -5
Deadpool
Not a fan. Was more annoyed than amused by the whole ordeal.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Mar 13, 2016 3:15:26 GMT -5
For a class I watched Andrew Rossi's 2014 documentary Ivory Tower. This is a general overview of some of the biggest issues in American higher education today. I didn't think this doc is as good as his NY Times doc, Page One: Inside the NY Times, was. This one seemed a bit more scattered. Because he was trying to cover so much ground, it left very little time to actually discuss any one thing. I also felt like he switched back and forth between topics a bit haphazardly. But, it is a decent enough overview of what is going on.
This film also contained a great example of how me being very familiar with one of the topics discussed in the film revealed him to be misleading at best and flat out wrong at worst. Coming so early in the film, it made me wonder how many other things in the film were misleading or wrong.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Mar 13, 2016 15:07:35 GMT -5
Hateful Eight 70mm; which was largely the same as digital in terms of the length and scenes, but man, that colour, and also Anomalisa; Jennifer Jason Leigh and Carter Burwell had a pretty good 2015 by the looks of it.
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Ice Cream Planet
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Mar 13, 2016 19:12:59 GMT -5
Hateful Eight 70mm; which was largely the same as digital in terms of the length and scenes, but man, that colour, and also Anomalisa; Jennifer Jason Leigh and Carter Burwell had a pretty good 2015 by the looks of it. If only Jennifer Jason Leigh and Carter Burwell had received more award love! |
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Post by starforge on Mar 13, 2016 19:20:40 GMT -5
Zootopia, despite my misgivings after seeing the trailers, was actually an excellent time, and fairly intelligent, especially considering its intended audience. Definitely continuing the rise of Disney films out of the hole they dug themselves in the mid-2000s.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Mar 13, 2016 20:58:59 GMT -5
Big Hero 6
We enjoyed it, quite a bit. Very fun, a little heavy on the naked emotional manipulation, but Baymax was very enjoyable (and Scott Adsit was perfect as his voice). It needed to flesh out the supporting characters a bit more (it focused too much on Hiro, probably) but it mostly worked. I'd put it behind Wreck-it Ralph and the top Pixar films, but still worth seeing. I think my goddaughter will love it.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Mar 14, 2016 0:00:14 GMT -5
My full Trek marathon has brought me to the movies, so I knocked back the first four films this weekend. Here is an unrelated trailer produced for an airing of those films this month in the UK:
I'm very fond of the Motion Picture, a film which helped cement a lot of what Star Trek would sound and look like for the next few decades (the hallways in that film would wind up on Next Generation, the warp core on Voyager, Klingons would never look the same again, etc.) but it's Star Trek by way of 2001, so awed by its grandeur and spectacle it's easy to see why many initially charmed by the show's cozy repartee found it cold.
After that was what is informally sometimes called the 'Genesis Trilogy' - Wrath of Khan, Search For Spock and The Voyage Home, which I opted to shotgun in one sitting. It's an unusual semi-trilogy, beginning with tragedy and ending in comedy, but that cathartic one-two has a kind of sense - after all the misery the characters undergo in the first two films, lightening the mood a bit was a fairly effective choice. I still find that for all the times Khan's been imitated and mocked and in spite of me seeing it a billion, billion times the movie still hooks me - the judgement that Kirk is one who cheats death rings fundamentally true for a character from a TV show where last minute solutions to seemingly ineluctable problems were the order of the day, and having him face up to genuine loss (even if later films work that back) makes him like he's finally been dragged down off his pedestal for a moment and allowed to be human.
...I like these movies.
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Ice Cream Planet
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Mar 14, 2016 10:05:53 GMT -5
Double IndemnityI had the great pleasure and privilege of seeing it on the big screen yesterday (the print was old and a bit beat up). It's still one of my absolute favorite films (top ten, easy), and Barbara Stanwyck's turn as Phyllis Dietrichson is not only my choice for the best femme fatale in cinematic history, but one of the very best film villains of any genre. Certainly her performance is one for the ages. One thing that struck me is for being such a coal black, cynical masterpiece, it's also an intensely romantic picture. MacMurray and Stanwyck have such great chemistry, their relationship has the gravity of a great tragedy, even if they are both conniving murderers. 
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Ice Cream Planet
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Post by Ice Cream Planet on Mar 14, 2016 17:36:44 GMT -5
No Way Out
A pleasantly cynical, taut political thriller from the 80s. While some things haven't aged well (namely the soundtrack and the fact one loathsome character is revealed to be gay, because duh), the chase scenes all have punchiness that is a lot of fun to watch. The performances are strong all around, with Sean Young being a particular bright spot. It's a shame her career imploded in the 90s; she is a great beauty and brought a thoughtful and intelligence to what was a fairly underwritten role.
All and all, a film that straddles the line between elegance and trash, and is all the more fun because of it.
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Post by The Prighlofone on Mar 14, 2016 18:05:29 GMT -5
Room: Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay were a fantastic duo. I couldn't help but notice the "OK Computer" poster on Ma/Joy's wall back home and the lyrics from "Fitter Happier" and how the premise of being helpless and trapped related to the end: "a pig, in a cage, on antibiotics". A seriously compelling film that keeps your attention, probably my favorite Oscar nominee so far.
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Post by pairesta on Mar 15, 2016 9:25:10 GMT -5
The Witch
An ungrossing, unsettling ride of a film. Like alot of horror movies, the less you know going in the better it probably is. Unbelievable atmostphere of overwhelming dread. Very much Kubrick-like, particularly in the music choices. This director is one to watch. - So I convinced my wife to see this. "Will there be any children trauma?" she asked. I knew vaguely about the plot, but for some reason thought there was more of a mystery to it, like the baby vanishes and you're not quite sure what happens to it throughout that movie. That is, um, decidedly not the case. Surprisingly, though she was unsettled by alot of it, she wasn't angry or too deeply traumatized.
- Not really sure about the choice to have the witch appear so early in the film? Complete with a very stereotypical "eh-heh-heh-HEHHHH!" laugh. Would rather have just lingered on the mystery for a bit and saved the reveal until either Caleb finds the shack or the end of the film when she shows up in the barn.
- OK. The very ending. Probably my only real quibble with the film, but it by no means ruined it. But rather than have her stumble on a coven and then show the rest of the coven floating, why not just keep the focus on her, have her walk up to the fire, start making those fucked up faces, and then cut to that final shot of her floating in midair? I would have pissed my pants.
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