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| bartist |
 Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:13 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| Blade Runner 2049 is a bit disappointing in that it doesn't stand on its own cinematic feet, both relying on knowledge of the first 1984 film, and hinting in an unsubtle way that another sequel will provide the epic scope that you might have thought, going in, that a nearly 3 hour movie would supply. Nor does it, for me anyway, manage to spackle over some logic holes that left me a bit puzzled. Don't want to get all spoilery yet, but will revisit the topic later. Basically, I found it hard to care much about the characters, due to performaces that are either austere or just caricature (Jared Leto as the evil tycoon seemed straight out of a B movie or a comic book). No one can seem to do anything without portentous music or long disturbing pauses. No one ever says anything ordinary or makes a wisecrack. Perhaps it says something that the only character who generates much actual human warmth is a computer simulated hologram. And things don't go well for her. More later. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:26 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Generally enjoyed both Professor Marston and the Wonder Women and Victoria and Abdul. The first is about the creation of Wonder Woman, who Marston developed to display his psychological theory (the four tenets of which are Dominance, Inducement, Submission and Compliance and is definitely not for children). Great performances by Rebecca Hall as his wife and Bella Heathcote as their student/subject/lover, who are the two women who inspired the character.
"Victoria and Abdul" is about the friendship between the Queen and her Muslim Indian favorite/friend and the negative reaction of the court. Judi Dench is the aging queen because who else would be, and is wonderful, Abdul is played by Ali Fazal and is very likeable, acknowledging that he's more complicated than first appears. I like the way the ridiculousness of royal pageantry is played. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:38 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Speaking of the royal Judi, did anyone catch Tracy Ullman's guest bit on Stephen Colbert's show last week? There was a clip from her TV series (which I've never seen) with her as both Judi Dench--in prison for shoplifting--and Maggie Smith, whom she's called to post bail. But Judi, insisting that "I'm beloved by the British people!" as she pleads for release, is rejected by the disapproving Maggie, who declares "I am a national treasure" as she walks out. It was hilarious. (Ullman's Smith wasn't the best, but for a minute I thought her Dench was the real one.) I miss Tracy Ullman, but I can't even seem to find the time to watch Netflix these days, so HBO isn't on my radar. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 10:59 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9015
Location: Shanghai
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Has anyone seen:
Get Out
Meyerowitz Stories
??
Two I've been thinking of picking up.
But don't much about yet. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 2:25 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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bartist wrote: billyweeds wrote: Get Out is one of the best horror movies ever, and one of the most trenchant racial commentaries on film. It's also really funny. How many good horror comedies are there?* Jordan Peele has made a masterpiece.
* There's Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., of course, but how many others?
Just saw this. Yes. What's impressive is that it manages really good comedy AND evokes moments of real horror. I laughed at the reference to "Eyes Wide Shut," and then realized Peele has made something far better and more genuinely terrifying. If I rate movies on the basis of originality in bending a genre to convey a social message, this is the year's best. Wow.
(posted late July)
You posted right after this quoted post, btw. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 12:13 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| I don't quite trust the intelligentsia who are slobbering over "Prof. Marston & the Wonder Women." It's one of those films I almost want to see, but not quite. Not sure how it even made it here to stixville, unless the booking agent was misled by the "wonder women" in the title and presumed it was another installment in the Israeli sexbomb franchise. I picture teenagers piling into the seats, then discovering they've landed in a 1940's period drama/bio, starting to squirm, then the kinky bondage sex starts up and they're like "hmm, well, okay, let's stick around and see what happens." |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:28 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Marshall is a trial movie about a criminal trial, The State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell which serves to show us Thurgood Marshall as a dynamic, brilliant and somewhat full-of-himself young lawyer a quarter century before he was named to the Supreme Court. I'd argue his most important work was before he was named Justice, as a very successful civil rights lawyer. In this case, he is called in on a rape case by Sam Friedman, a local lawyer who has never been involved in a criminal case. However, since Marshall is not licensed to practice law in Connecticut, the judge insists that he not speak, although he can advise Friedman, who really needs the help and confidence. The case is as much about Friedman's growth as a lawyer as about Marshall.
Thurgood Marshall is played by Chadwick Boseman, who seems to be doing a lot of biographical films (and is Black Panther) and is fine here. Josh Gad is Friedman. He's quite good; I think better than Boseman, but that may be just because he gets the character arc. Kate Hudson plays the supposed rape victim and Sterling K. Brown the chauffeur who she claims is a rapist. James Cromwell is the judge.
I think the movie works better as a courtroom drama than as a portrait of Marshall. He and Friedman (who became a successful civil rights attorney in his own right) could have been replaced with fictional characters and the movie would have the same impact. But I'm still glad to see a movie about Marshall on the path of becoming MARSHALL. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:17 am |
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Location: Black Hills
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 3:12 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9015
Location: Shanghai
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Coens & Clooney -- I'll give it a go.
Watched The Glass Castle, primarily because I read the book.
It's fairly well done for 2/3rd and then gets cheesy and more like a Tv show the last 1/3.
Overall I didn't like the structure they deployed.
The film starts off with modern successful Jeanette on the verge of marriage, and then goes back to her difficult upbringing. Then keeps returning to present day and flashing back. The amount of time spent on the present meant that less was spent on the upbringing which is the main part of the story.
The overloaded structure of the film, also meant that the three other children barely have identities of their own. I thought the film should have spent more time on the neglected upbringing. and more time showing how the kids banded together.
Also, the film really portrayed Dad as the Bad Parent, but leaves out a number of episodes from the book where Mom is equally irresponsible. Two excised examples: Mom sneaking chocolate bars while the kids are starving. Mom finally agreeing to get a teaching job, and then unwilling to get out of bed and go to school.
Naomi Watts seemed an odd choice for the Mother, looking too young and too pretty. The makeup used to make her look older in the later scenes was poorly done. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 5:25 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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I've seen only three excellent movies this year, but they are all exceedingly excellent: Get Out, The Big Sick, and Downsizing. The last-named doesn't get released until December, but it's directed by Alexander Payne, one of the three greatest living film directors, and stars Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, and--in a potentially Oscar-winning turn--an unknown actress (female actor?) named Hong Chau. The movie is funny, sad, profound, and stirring. It's an instant film classic.
Meanwhile, Damon's other starring vehicle, Suburbicon, is getting some of the worst reviews of the decade, mainly because it's being adjudged a major disappointment from the minds of the Coens and George Clooney. But listen up: the bad reviews are IMO saying more about the reviewers and their inability to accept a genre-bending piece than they do about the movie itself. And the few good reviews make Suburbicon sound like a cult classic in waiting. I can't wait to WFC. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:34 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9015
Location: Shanghai
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Watched The Big Sick last night and mostly liked it.
For me, the best parts were Kumail interacting with Emily's parents.
Emily is supposed to be a graduate student at University of Chicago, a famously geeky school I attended It isn't too surprising for a grad student there to be a bit goofy, to prioritize schoolwork over relationships, and to make or accept odd dating rules. They got those things right, though I guess that was just how it was.
Oddly my first year there, I started dating a Sociology masters student who began experiencing occasional seizure episodes that the doctors couldn't find the root cause of, had her mother come out and stay with her for 6 weeks or so, etc. But between her mother and classmates ("cohorts" as she would term it), and my studies, I was much less involved in her medical problem/recovery than Kumail, even though I was dating her and lived 2 doors down the hall.
Of course, the movie streamlined things by leaving out Emily's classmates, friends, university life. Probably wise to keep things uncluttered and focus on the key interactions.
The film also managed at least two cute incidents with mobile phones, whereas usually text messages and mobile phones drag down whatever scene they are in. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:39 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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I should add that "arranged marriage" didn't seem too bad if all it meant was your Mom kept inviting over good-looking women looking to get married. And his brother seems to have lovely wife that he gets along with well. I guess the main drawback is that he would be expected to be a pious Muslim, though since he didn't feel that way, there's a fair chance these Pakistani-American women might not care about that also.
Which brings me to another issue.
Why was Kumail supposed to pray alone, but his father and brother were exempt? A basic tenet of Islam is that everyone prays 5 times a day. What was I missing there? There must be some explanation . . . |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 10:27 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: I should add that "arranged marriage" didn't seem too bad if all it meant was your Mom kept inviting over good-looking women looking to get married. And his brother seems to have lovely wife that he gets along with well. I guess the main drawback is that he would be expected to be a pious Muslim, though since he didn't feel that way, there's a fair chance these Pakistani-American women might not care about that also.
Which brings me to another issue.
Why was Kumail supposed to pray alone, but his father and brother were exempt? A basic tenet of Islam is that everyone prays 5 times a day. What was I missing there? There must be some explanation . . .
Can't answer the part about prayer, but the other question seems simple. Being pious is scarcely the main drawback. It's that he wants to marry someone he's in love with rather than someone chosen randomly. Sheesh. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 11:53 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9015
Location: Shanghai
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| He didn't have to decide to marry them at lunch. He could go out with and date these women. Most of them were attractive, seemed intelligent, etc. He could fall in love with one of them. The introductions had been going on quite some time before he met Emily, and continued after Emily broke up with him. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 11:58 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| I really liked TBS. I laughed hard at Kumail's "History and Facts About Pakistan" one-man show. I did not know Pakistan led the world in irrigation pipe. And, as Gromit noted, the scenes with Emily's parents were great, helped by having 2 veteran comic actors. Also liked the flash cards for Kumail's family to use, since they weren't speaking to him. It was a great way to have him say he wasn't playing the game the way the previous generations did, without being mean to them. I also like the open-ended quality of the movie, the result of it being about actual people, so one can check up on them every so often and see how happily-ever-after works out, or doesn't. |
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