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| gromit |
 Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:36 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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| It was released by Criterion so should be available wherever those can be seen. I thought Hulu was the big Criterion outlet, but I don't really know such things. |
Last edited by gromit on Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:58 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:45 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| They were, but I don't know that they still are. Their search function doesn't seem to work well. Netflix has a lot of Criterion disks, including Flowers of St. Francis and a lot of Samuel Fuller. (Forty Guns isn't one of them.) |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 2:26 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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Today TCM was running all the Thin Man movies, and I ended up spending a lot of time watching them. I used to play a game with a friend in which one of us would name two actors and the other would try to come up with the title of the movie they were in together, and I wished he were still around so I could start with "Dean Stockwell and Jayne Meadows." He'd probably be stumped, though when I'd add William Powell or Myrna Loy, it would become obvious. At least, that it was one of the Thin Man flicks--it was actually the last of the line, "Song of the Thin Man."
The films made me aware of the rarity of such a combination of clever dialogue, complex plots, and genuine male-female camaraderie in the movies nowadays. Just watching Nick and Nora made me feel happy and hopeful. Then I switched to the news....
But we made it through 2018, at least. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:58 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| I might have answered Libeled Lady, which is one of the great screen comedies. On the other hand, I probably would answer The Thin Man. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:49 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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| Criterion films were a big part of FilmStruck. Now that it’s shut down, Criterion is going to have its own streaming channel in the spring. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 3:01 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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carrobin wrote: Today TCM was running all the Thin Man movies, and I ended up spending a lot of time watching them. I used to play a game with a friend in which one of us would name two actors and the other would try to come up with the title of the movie they were in together, and I wished he were still around so I could start with "Dean Stockwell and Jayne Meadows." He'd probably be stumped, though when I'd add William Powell or Myrna Loy, it would become obvious. At least, that it was one of the Thin Man flicks--it was actually the last of the line, "Song of the Thin Man."
The films made me aware of the rarity of such a combination of clever dialogue, complex plots, and genuine male-female camaraderie in the movies nowadays. Just watching Nick and Nora made me feel happy and hopeful. Then I switched to the news....
But we made it through 2018, at least.
There have been some recent examples of the kind of movie you're talking about. Most notably The Big Sick. Did you see it? I'm also a big fan of Definitely, Maybe. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:10 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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It's true, Billy, that I haven't seen any recent films--not even on my Christmas visit to S.C., because my mother isn't really up to the effort of moviegoing anymore (after all, she's 98 now). (I do want to see "The Big Sick," both for the cast and for the story. "Definitely, Maybe" sounds good too.)
It's a funny thing about "working from home"--you'd think there would be more opportunity for reading, movies, and walks in the park, especially with a phone in one's pocket. But somehow I seem to have less time, a messier apartment, and a broken budget. I miss the office (and the late great Time Inc. cafeteria). |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:57 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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OJ: Made in America was interesting, though I knew a lot of it already. It did provide some context and some details.
I found it interesting when some white guy says that OJ basically had white features and didn't look black. Which is so bizarre. He was a good looking guy and he had a smooth, charming, non-threatening manner. White people felt comfortable around him. But for that in someone's mind to transfer that to his facial features and skin color is rather bizarre. I'm sure you couldn't find one black person in America who thought OJ looked white.
I found it interesting how the Dream Team of attorneys interviewed long after the trial all kind of gloat about how smart and successful they were, while avoiding addressing the morality of the case or the actual guilt.
My take then and now was that wealth and celebrity helped throw things out of whack in the legal case. But that race really compromised the whole process. Hell, even one of the jurors agreed that the verdict was payback for Rodney King.
But the prosecuting attorneys and police witnesses really fumbled and made mistakes throughout and lost the case. Reportedly when the verdict was read out the one black male juror stood up and raised a clenched fist. Turns out he was an ex-Black Panther, which the prosecution didn't know. Oops. Another of a long line of mistakes. The defense team and its investigators did a masterful job of undermining the mountain of evidence and obscuring the truth.
You have to give credit to the Goldman family for pursuing OJ in the courts and then as a creditor, which is what led to OJ's memorabilia being scattered and the weird Vegas heist which landed him in jail.
My father worked for Hertz in their NYC headquarters (and later in northern NJ when they left NYC) for 30 years, and so my parents met OJ a number of times at corporate functions. My mother, ever shy, would give OJ a big hug and joke with him. Olsen the former Hertz CEO really seemed saddened and disappointed by what he saw as OJ's betrayal. He's crushed that OJ was a wife beater, let alone a presumed murderer.
As for the doc, I'm not sure I needed to spend that many hours refreshing my memory of what went down. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 9:15 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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| WOW, Your mom and OJ......I see a filmscript there..... |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 2:31 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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| They don't talk since that time when he tried to frame her . . . |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 2:58 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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| For what? Killing Nicole? Or..... |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:53 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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Human Flow is a 2017 documentary by Chinese artist/dissident Ai WeiWei. It's fairly long at 2'20" and there's little background information and no narration. This does let the images do the talking and it tries to capture a lot of the refugee experience. AWW is kind of like a more arty Michael Moore, constantly inserting himself into the frame. Seemed self-indulgent and unnecessary.
I was a bit surprised how comparatively well-off many of the refugees were. On the boats AWW films landing in Europe, they are quite crowded but everyone is wearing a life vest. In fact the final shot of the film is of two mountains of discarded life vests as seen from a drone up high. In one of the camps, everyone is struggling to charge their cell phones. The tents they sleep in in Greece look like something I'd like to have when camping. it reminded me that for the most part the Syrians and Iraqis and Afghans who are able to make it to Europe are middle class middle easterners -- ones with some means to pay smugglers. While the poorest get left behind and internally displaced when bombs rain down on their villages.
The film doesn't spend much time on African refugees -- maybe 5 mins tops -- who live in probably the worst conditions. AWW lives in Germany and so focuses mostly on the Middle Eastern refugees many of whom aim for Germany.
Since this is a sort of ripped from the headlines documentary, it almost necessarily gets dated quickly. This was filmed throughout 2016 when Greece was the main entry point and the border fences started going up in Macedonia and Hungary. It makes you wish you could see what is going on today. In some ways, this was really good for me since I almost never get my news via TV, but just by reading on the internet, and images really show you a lot more than words.
The film jumps around a lot and tries to take a global approach (except for Africa really). So we get an interview with a Royinga elder, but there's very little context unless you know the situation already.
There are a few arresting images. Especially a few taken by a drone where it takes a while to figure out what you are seeing as the drone descends from way up high. And once or twice AWW is able to film riot police attacking refugees with tear gas and such, and demolishing their meager housing/possessions. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 2:25 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Last night one of the cable channels was showing "Doctor Strange," and the Times had described it as "giddily enjoyable," so I looked in on it a couple of times. Then they showed it again, and I watched the whole thing from the beginning. I wish I'd seen it in a theater--the special effects were spectacular, especially the shifting cities. And I recognized Stan Lee, which must mean that I'm at least marginally cool. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:52 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| I was totally unaware of the film "Support the Girls"--it had flown 100% under my radar--until Regina Hall won the New York Film Critics award as Best Actress (the other Regina, King, won Best Supporting Actress for "If Beale Street Could Talk"). But back to "Support the Girls." Nothing would do until I saw the movie, which I just did, streaming on Hulu. It's a complete charmer of a dramedy--funny, occasionally moving, and ultimately empowering to women, and Hall gives such a natural, enchanting, and striking performance that her award seems genuinely earned. She should have been up for Oscar too, but as I said, the movie was very very under-publicized. You should take pains to see it yourselves. |
Last edited by billyweeds on Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:53 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| In a cast loaded with name actors, the 1968 low-budget B movie "Psych-Out" is stolen by Bruce Dern in a supporting role. Jack Nicholson, Susan Strasberg, and Dean Stockwell all pale in comparison with the electric presence of Dern, who proves again why he is one of my favorite living actors. The movie, set in Haight-Asbury and quite convincingly so, is nothing special but it's fascinating as a sort of time capsule. |
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