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| Syd |
 Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 9:19 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12894
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Went to see "Pope Francis: A Man of His Word," which gives a good portrait of the public man, mostly through his own words as he speaks to crowds, the UN and to an interviewer. Sometimes we get intercut footage of St. Francis of Assisi, whom the Pope named himself after and is inspired by. (I don't know if this was shot for the film or was footage from another film). Not a major doc by any means, and don't expect any strong criticism, but Pope Francis is a pleasant person to spend 96 minutes with. I guess I had him to myself since I was the only person in the theater.
If you like this, there's a Mr Rogers documentary coming up. It looks...blurry, since a lot of the footage comes directly from the show. |
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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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| bartist |
| Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 9:20 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6949
Location: Black Hills
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Syd wrote: Black Panther is an interesting addition to the superhero movie genre with its strong roots in African culture, from its accents (mainly Xhosa, but at least two others to reflect the five tribes from which Wakanda originated), architecture (extrapolated to show what you get when high-tech culture is derived from central African roots) and a culture which is partly modern and partly a millennium old. Very well acted as you might expect from a cast that includes Chadwick Boseman (Marshall), Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya and Forest Whitaker, not to mention Martin Freeman as the token white. Relative unknown Letitia Wright plays the Panther's teenage sister and one of the few inventors in the Marvel universe who is smarter than Tony Stark. She has very good chemistry with Freeman.
The main plot involves dynastic and political issues, with Michael B. Jordan playing T'Challa's first cousin with his own claim to the throne and very different ambitions for Wakanda's superior technology.
We aren't into Marvel comix movies at all, but this sounded so original and well done that we caught it at the 2nd run place. Liked it. A true work of visual art. We refrained from tugging at the logic threads and just enjoyed it all as magic. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 2:40 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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My sister and I took our mother to a couple of movies while I was visiting for her 98th birthday, and since there weren't many flicks that would appeal to her ("Deadpool 2"? "Avengers"? "Solo"?) we ended up first at "Dog Show" and then at "Book Club." They're both pretty trivial, but fun. Will Arnett is the star human in the first one, a bumbling FBI agent who is paired with a fairly contemptuous Rottweiler (voiced by Ludacris), in pursuit of villains who had kidnapped a baby panda (the dogs were real but the panda was a very well done puppet, it seems). At first I thought the dogs were actually talking with the humans, but then it became clear that the humans didn't understand them, which made it a tiny bit more realistic. If you enjoy watching dogs making snarky wisecracks, it's worth checking out when it shows up on TV. The border collie heroine is gorgeous.
As for "Book Club," my sister loved it, I enjoyed it, and our mother said "What book?" I think she kept dozing off. (The book, of course, was "Fifty Shades of Grey," and I don't think she'd have known what it's about.) It was fun to see stars who are aging like me (though it takes a lot of money and effort to age like Jane Fonda). Don Johnson is still handsome, and Craig T. Nelson looks good, but I hardly recognized Richard Dreyfuss--Wallace Shawn, on the other hand, doesn't age at all. Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen were adorable as always, but Candice Bergen has become matronly--surely she'll have lost some weight by the time she starts "Murphy Brown II" or whatever they're going to call her series. But all of them were very good, spun their jokes well, and made some good points about the difficulties of life as a woman of a certain age. It was a bit of a Disney fantasy that three wound up with perfect mates (and Bergen was still searching hopefully), but that's part of the fun of going to the movies. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:33 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| I have zero interest in "Book Club," which sounds like the distaff version of formula movies like "The Bucket List" and "Last Vegas," in which older men do crazy wild things. The one I'm lusting after is "First Reformed," starring Ethan Hawke and written and directed by Paul Schrader. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 9:10 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6949
Location: Black Hills
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I guess if you're 98, movies like that might not seem about "older" people. My wife has a relative who lived to a hundred. He lived many years in Tacoma when its air smelled like sulfur and other fun effluvia from the pulp mills, making the longevity feat all the more impressive.
I have also noticed that Wallace Shawn has looked pretty much the same age for 30 years. I avoid films like Book Club, not because they're necessarily turkeys, but because I want to know how to be young rather than realistically or faux-realistically face the issues of aging. I maintain a strict regimen of oats, omega-3 fatty acids, and avoiding mirrors. I also tase anyone who ends sentences with "for your age. " |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 10:01 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Oats are your health food?
Showing your age there with that one.
[as I recall oat bran was one of the initial super-foods that was going to keep everyone from dying. I think it's long since moved on to acai and blueberries and red wine or whatever] |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:56 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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gromit wrote: Oats are your health food?
Showing your age there with that one.
Twas my attempt at a joke. I don't eat oats. Most health food gives me the shits. I like pasta, cheese, bean burritos, and won't say no to a few peas on the side. Soy and tofu makes me ill.
Sorry to overshare. I do recommend an occasional evening shelling pistachios. Those babies are heavenly. And they are reportedly good for you. So is pecan pie. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:06 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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I was checking the IMDb to find out who the actors were who voiced the dogs and found that the film title isn't "Dog Show," but "Show Dogs." And aside from Ludacris and Alan Cumming, there weren't any other voicers I recognized. Though Daisy the border collie really should have been Meryl Streep.
Re "Book Club," what I liked most about it was the prominence of four actresses around my age who were playing smart, attractive, opinionated characters in situations that women deal with all the time (even if they don't own a hotel or sit on a federal judge's bench), and the men were in the supporting roles. That made up for a lot of corny jokes and obvious plot turns. And I always like seeing Dreyfuss, despite the fact that he's changed so much since that evening at the film class when I was checking tickets at the door and he was lurking in the back waiting to be introduced, and he winked at me. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 4:54 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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For The A. V. Club, A. A. Dowd gave "Hereditary" an A−, stating that, "In its seriousness and hair-raising craftsmanship, Hereditary belongs to a proud genre lineage, a legacy that stretches back to the towering touchstones of American horror, unholy prestige-zeitgeist classics like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby. Remarkably, it’s a first feature, the auspicious debut of writer-director Ari Aster, whose acclaimed, disturbing short films were all leading, like a tunnel into the underworld, to this bleak vision."
Apparently a bit too bleak for some kids in Australia.....
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/cover-your-eyes-kids-perth-families-shown-horror-flick-trailer-20180426-p4zbtn.html |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 3:24 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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| Unfortunately comic book based films and horror are the big genres these days and I don't care for either of them at all. While the sci-fi renaissance has been pretty hit or miss with lots of mediocre films. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 4:35 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: For The A. V. Club, A. A. Dowd gave "Hereditary" an A−, stating that, "In its seriousness and hair-raising craftsmanship, Hereditary belongs to a proud genre lineage, a legacy that stretches back to the towering touchstones of American horror, unholy prestige-zeitgeist classics like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby. Remarkably, it’s a first feature, the auspicious debut of writer-director Ari Aster, whose acclaimed, disturbing short films were all leading, like a tunnel into the underworld, to this bleak vision."
Apparently a bit too bleak for some kids in Australia.....
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/cover-your-eyes-kids-perth-families-shown-horror-flick-trailer-20180426-p4zbtn.html
Seeing "Hereditary" this week before I hear too much about it. Sounds like Toni Collette may be up for the Oscar this year. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 4:37 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: I also tase anyone who ends sentences with "for your age. "
I also tase people who use the word "spry" to describe oldsters who are in shape. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 8:54 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6949
Location: Black Hills
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You do seem quite spry (GGGZZZHHHHHHTTTT! ) for your....never mind.
I wonder what adjective would be better. "Ripped, " perhaps. Or "Adonis-like..." |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:01 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Deleted. |
Last edited by billyweeds on Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:05 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:04 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: You do seem quite spry (GGGZZZHHHHHHTTTT! ) for your....never mind.
I wonder what adjective would be better. "Ripped, " perhaps. Or "Adonis-like..."
"Hot" works for me. |
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