Movie Thread

[Wahoo Redux]

Watch The Wolf Hour.

It is very badly marketed in the "horror" and "suspense" genres, when it is really a very good psychological drama without the melodrama.  It is also about New York City in the 1970s and the social and racial strains between people.  It is noir and brilliant, one of those films that gets either a one or two star rating from philistines or a ten star rating from intelligent viewers. 

[clean]

I saw that my local theater had a link to Buy Tickets for Barbie.  As I wasnt really interested in seeing it (as a first choice), I didnt look much farther.

Haunted Mansion is on the horizon now too!  I would see that one, though! 

[ab_grp]

Our movie watching this weekend:

Carnage (Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster) I had never heard of this one (as far as I know) before seeing it on some Buzzfeed list recently.  It's based on a play and is set almost entirely in an apartment over the course of a few hours.  The listed actors play two couples, one of whom owns the apartment (Foster, Reilly), and the other whose son has injured the other couple's son (Winslet, Waltz).  The parents are getting together to have a civilized discussion about how to proceed with these young teens following the incident.  As you may guess from the title, the discussion "escalates quickly" with old and new resentments making themselves more and more evident.  It's directed by Roman Polanski, and I wonder if that's why I hadn't heard about it, even though it's been around since 2011 and has won some awards.  Maybe it didn't get much press.  Maybe I don't run in the right movie circles, since it definitely has more a of an artsy, dialogue-focused feel.  We both really enjoyed it.  I thought that the tensions were built very authentically.  It's also a pretty short movie, just 1 hr 20 mins. 

Omega Man (Charlton Heston) This one is based on a book by Richard Matheson, and there have been several other adaptation (including a movie with the same name as the original book, I Am Legend with Will Smith).  It is mostly focused on Heston's character who is alone after some calamity has occurred and who has to deal with some adversaries in a post-apocalyptic world.  I thought this movie was a bit confusing, especially after seeing I Am Legend, which seemed a bit more straightforward or better at providing background.  I had no idea who these adversaries were or what had happened for what felt to me like too long.  I am also a little surprised at the descriptions of the movie as heart-pounding or violent.  There's something fun about the movie in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way.  The dialogue is absurd, and the action and acting leave something to be desired.  I'm sure that for it's time it was something special, but it's difficult to take seriously, especially with all the one liners and zingers.  I wouldn't rate it very highly, but I'd probably watch it again if I were in the right mood. 

[ab_grp]

This weekend's movies:

Camp Rock: a fun little movie starring Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers.  Sometimes we just need a short and thinking-free bit of entertainment to wind down on Friday.  Lovato (Mitchie) wants desperately to go to Camp Rock, where there are a lot of musically talented people (or children of musically talented people).  Unfortunately, her parents are mere normal people and can't afford to send her.  Then her mother gets the opportunity to do the catering for the camp, so Mitchie can go! Joe Jonas plays a member of a popular musical trio (shock) who has to do some penance by teaching at this camp.  Of course this leads to some secrets, class issues, and a teenage love affair that no one will see coming. (/s on that last part)

Us: We finally watched this one last night.  Jordan Peele has a way of making things creepy.  Even having a fair idea of some of the twistier parts, I was a bit freaked while things played out.  The less said the better, and I definitely benefited again somewhat from reading the IMDB trivia afterward.

[hmaria1609]

"Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" (1991) on Kanopy
The Wyld Stallions ride again in this sequel! Bill and Ted are eager to enter a local band competition and find themselves playing against the Grim Reaper.

[kaysixteen]

Anyone see the new Indiana Jones flick yet?  Worth going to?

[Sun_Worshiper]

I watched several movies on a long flight yesterday:

The Unforgiven (1992)

Clint Eastwood's Oscar winning western about a retired outlaw who takes one last job to kill a couple of cowboys that assaulted a prostitute. This was a slow burn - a little too slow for an airplane watch, but by the end I was quite invested in the story and the characters. The performances are all good and there is no glorification here of the outlaw lifestyle or of gunslinging.

Grade: B+


Her (2013)

I remember making fun of this movie's concept (a man falls in love with his cell phone) when this came out, but now it feels all too real against the backdrop of fast-advancing AI and our attachment to our phones. So, I stand corrected in my earlier cynicism: This was a great watch, carried by a fascinating and (now) believable concept and excellent performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson.

Grade: A


The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Here is the description from Google: "On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Pádraic is devastated when his buddy Colm suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship." I don't want to say another word about the plot, because it is better to go in knowing as little as possible. This is a very funny, thought-provoking, and at times shocking little film, with great performances and a brilliant screenplay. One of my favorite movies of 2022.

Grade: A


Kimi (2022)

If you've seen Rear Window, or any of the movies and tv programs that adapted it, then you know how this movie will play out, but it is snappy (around 90 minutes) and tense and the lead actress (Zoë Kravitz) is quite good.

Grade: B

[ab_grp]

Weekend watchings:

High School Musical 2: School's out, and everyone we were introduced to in HSM1 gets a job a country club.  Sweet! Of course it can't be that simple, because the country club belongs to the parents of Sharpay and Ryan, and Sharpay has designs on winning the club talent show.  She also has designs on Troy, even though he and Gabriella are clearly involved.  Meanwhile, Troy feels torn between his Wildcat basketball team pals and his shot at a basketball scholarship to the elite University of Albuquerque.  I prefer HSM1, but it was still good Friday entertainment.

Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway: I had seen the movie version but was never fortunate enough to see the original cast live on Broadway.  This version got very good reviews, so we gave it a try.  I thought it was outstanding.  We saw a filmed staging of Into the Woods a few months ago, and that was a great opportunity, but it was very much like watching from the audience.  The production quality here was much higher, with much clearer sound, subtitles available, and varying camera angles including some from the stage.  I think the latter made it a lot easier to see some of the details that might be missed from the audience.  I thought the cast was spectacular and was surprised to see some reviews stating that they were lackluster.  I guess the original cast was just so phenomenal that no one can compare.  There are a few actors from the original cast in this version, and original cast members join in at the end, so that was neat.  The cover of the disc calls this the final performance, but apparently it is a mix of several performances at the end of the run.  That was disappointing to some, but I just really enjoyed it and am glad it exists.  Several boxes of tissues were required due to all the death and life going on.  Oh, another nice feature: 10-minute intermission with countdown timer!

[spork]

[. . . ]

Her (2013)

[. . .]

I liked this movie a lot but was always curious why viewers/critics ignored the plot line about the AI becoming sentient and shuffling off its mortal coil.

Recently watched via streaming:

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Funny, goofy. Liked it. Young cast that hit it big in Hollywood.

Grade: A- 

All four Hunger Games movies

Uniformly terrible. Hackneyed dialogue. Wooden acting. Formulaic. Foolish and ignorant depictions of guerrilla tactics. Seemed designed to check the box for the preteen/junior high girl demographic like Titanic. The series is an education in just how dumb Hollywood blockbusters can be. I kept watching because it's like a slo-mo (installments 3 and 4 especially) train wreck. So bad it verges on camp.

Grade: D

[hmaria1609]

I see there's a Gladiator 2 next year.
I've seen and enjoyed the theatrical and extended versions of "Gladiator" and thought it was self-contained.

All four Hunger Games movies

Uniformly terrible. Hackneyed dialogue. Wooden acting. Formulaic. Foolish and ignorant depictions of guerrilla tactics. Seemed designed to check the box for the preteen/junior high girl demographic like Titanic. The series is an education in just how dumb Hollywood blockbusters can be. I kept watching because it's like a slo-mo (installments 3 and 4 especially) train wreck. So bad it verges on camp.

Grade: D

The Hunger Games series are getting attention again because of the forthcoming adaptation of the prequel novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020)
The page count for the 3rd novel, Mockingjay, is 400.  I know Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows was split in 2 parts because the story lines in the novel.

[Hegemony]

I thought the Hunger Games movies were good, especially the earlier ones.

I did see "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." I'd give it a B-. They did not make good use of the wonderful Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She gets a fair amount of screen time, but it's unclear whether we're supposed to like her character, and her character is not all that interesting. About 95% of the movie seemed like action sequences, all of them highly unbelievable. When they're that unbelievable, there's no tension. The movie could easily have been cut by a third, which would not have left out anything worth watching. Every scene went on too long.

[ab_grp]

Weekend watchings:

Teen Beach 2: This sequel also pokes fun at the beach movie-musical genre, but I don't think it does it as successfully.  Both movies concern a teen guy and gal in current times and a bunch of teens from 1962 who are characters in a beach movie with a surprisingly porny name.  Worlds cross and etc.  There's cute music and dancing, and some of the actors really get into it, but I didn't really understand how particular events made sense in this one.  Anyway, fun for a Friday, which is all we ask.

Little Miss Sunshine: Great cast, some absolute hilarity, and serious individual and familial drama collide as an extended family with some major issues tries to get the daughter, an improbable beauty contestant, to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.  A road trip from Albuquerque, NM to Redondo Beach, CA in a suboptimal VW bus brings about some wacky and introspective times.  I saw this movie in the theaters a long time ago, and I still love it.

[clean]

Haunted Mansion opens today.  We are going to the 3 pm showing!! 

Though My Bride saw the preview and said that it would be ok if we didnt go.

Im looking forward to the diversion!

[ab_grp]

Weekend watchings:

Friday, we had our own little version of Barbenheimer (sort of) with Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (Lovato et al.) and episode 2 of The Last of Us.  I'll save the TV reviews for that thread once we're done with this season.  As for the movie, everyone is back at Camp Rock for another season, but now there's another, similar camp across the lake! And it's run by a frenemy of Camp Rock's owner! You know there has to be a musical showdown.  It is as ridiculous as the first one but has better music (one song in particular is really cute).  The secondary and tertiary Jonas Brothers had larger roles.  There seemed to be a bit less emphasis on the friendship theme.  Still, fun for a Friday.

Saturday was Her (Phoenix et al.) and episode 3 of The Last of Us.  These also ended up inspiring very different feelings.  In my opinion, the movie was more horrific.  It centers on a lonely guy who works at a company writing beautiful letters for other people (so that they don't have to do it themselves, I guess?) who buys an AI operating system that becomes a friend and more.  This takes place in some time or space in which humans do this kind of thing, so it's not just him.  I know it has good ratings and was even nominated for an Oscar, and I think it's got some interesting ideas about human connections and so forth, but I personally found it really icky and off-putting.  I've seen disturbing movies before, but there was just something about this one.  My husband liked it and thinks that the viewer is supposed to feel uncomfortable (success!).  I am hoping putting some time and distance between me and the movie might lead to some awakening that will lead me at least in the direction of a better view of it, but we are where we are.  I guess it was interesting to watch once, but I don't currently see myself clamoring to watch it again or even doing so under duress.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Saturday was Her (Phoenix et al.) and episode 3 of The Last of Us.  These also ended up inspiring very different feelings.  In my opinion, the movie was more horrific.  It centers on a lonely guy who works at a company writing beautiful letters for other people (so that they don't have to do it themselves, I guess?) who buys an AI operating system that becomes a friend and more.  This takes place in some time or space in which humans do this kind of thing, so it's not just him.  I know it has good ratings and was even nominated for an Oscar, and I think it's got some interesting ideas about human connections and so forth, but I personally found it really icky and off-putting.  I've seen disturbing movies before, but there was just something about this one.  My husband liked it and thinks that the viewer is supposed to feel uncomfortable (success!).  I am hoping putting some time and distance between me and the movie might lead to some awakening that will lead me at least in the direction of a better view of it, but we are where we are.  I guess it was interesting to watch once, but I don't currently see myself clamoring to watch it again or even doing so under duress.

I watched Her recently and I mostly agree with your assessment, although I liked the movie more than you seem to have. The main character is creepy and the whole thing is unsettling. That said, its predictions are looking pretty accurate, given the advancements in AI lately (including various AI girl/boyfriend apps).