Movie Thread

[Sun_Worshiper]

American Fiction (2023)

A black writer frustrated with the way African Americans are portrayed in the media decides to do something about it - which gets predictably out of control - all while his already strained family life falls apart further. I enjoyed this film a lot. It is very funny, with sharp social commentary that is not too heavy handed, and the characters are all interesting and likeable. The dramatic elements are not entirely flushed out and whatever points it is trying to make get jumbled a bit at the end, but I was smiling and laughing the whole time.

Grade: A-

[Hegemony]

I am satisfied that Oppenheimer won. A bit sad about Lily Gladstone and that Ken's song didn't take the prize, but the performance of it was certainly epic. A good choice of Da'Vine Joy Randoph for Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers.

It was probably the best Oscars show I've ever seen, it terms of jokes, pacing, performances, and the whole package. The award for Best Costume Design was hilariously done. The only problem was the In Memoriam section, in which the photos and names were hard to see or simply not shown. Someone should get fired for that one. For the rest, I give it all plaudits. And by and large I think the right people won.

[mythbuster]

That rendition of I'm Just Ken was fabulous. Up there with other great Oscar performances like Blame Canada! and Gaga and Bradley's duet of Shallow.
   The awards went generally as most predicted. Like Hegemony, I would have liked Lily Gladstone over Emma, but both are great performers. I have Poor Things in my Hulu queue. I don't really like The Favorites , I'm guessing this will be even more odd- along the lines of The Lobster.
   I have not seen Oppenheimer (but I have read the book) and now am wishing for the old days when the winning movies would return to theaters to catch folks like me.
   Finally, I was also really pleased with how well dressed everyone was. So much of fashion lately has either gone super casual, or John Cena level revealing (loved that bit!). So it was great to see some people done up well.

[secundem_artem]

I watched Poor Things last night streaming on Hulu.  Imagine the Frankenstein story re-told as the creature coming back as an extremely horny toddler with Down's Syndrome.  Said toddler proceeds to gain self-awareness by fvcking her way across Europe.  The dialogue came across as if Shakespeare was writing it to be played by Yoda.

[Hegemony]

Mythbuster, you can watch Oppenheimer on Amazon Prime or on YouTube for $5.99. Worth doing.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Poor Things (2023)

A reimagining of the Frankenstein story, with a little Stepford Wives mixed in. This is a strange, audacious, and beautiful looking film anchored by an amazing performance from Emma Stone and some jaw dropping practical visual effects. It alternates between being hilarious and cringy, and I was actually quite moved by it at times. If you can see it in a theater, then do, but absolutely, under no circumstances, should you see it with your parents or with your children - you're welcome.

Grade: A

[ab_grp]

We took a chance on some Prime movies based on their reviews this weekend.  First up was Chained (2012), about a serial killer cab driver who holds a kid prisoner for years.  The kid has been "raised" in this environment, so will he become like his captor or escape? Vincent D'Onofrio plays the creepy serial killer very well, as you might imagine.  I put this on the list because the reviews mentioned that it was a different take on this kind of movie and that it had an interesting twist.  I would say the movie was difficult to watch.  Although the violence against women was not as graphic as it could surely have been, it was pretty horrifying.  I think they did a good job of building up that feeling of the years of this horror in that house and also the effects on the prisoner kid.  The twist was definitely not one I saw coming.  I read that the movie changed quite a bit from the initial script, so I wonder if it would have had more impact told differently.  Still, it was fine for a Friday night movie.  Would I recommend it? No, there are tons of movies out there that are better.  But I wouldn't recommend against it (unless this kind of theme disturbs you!!).

Last night was Ricky Stanicky (2024), which I had read the description of and had immediately written off.  Reviews said that it was better and different than expected, and we needed something funny after the previous night's fling with evil, so why not.  The story is about three guys who have been friends forever and who, since a particular childhood incident, have been using an imaginary fourth friend (Ricky Stanicky) as their excuse for everything.  They blame things on him, they use him as an excuse to be out of town, etc.  Things eventually blow up for them.  The IMDB description doesn't say more than that, so I'll leave it there.  John Cena was really enjoyable to watch in it, and the movie had some hilarious lines.  We laughed out loud way more often than I would have predicted.  It definitely wasn't great, but it was great fun.

[ab_grp]

We stuck with Prime movies again this weekend.  First up was The Warriors (1979), which my husband had loved as a kid and I had never seen.  Apparently it's a bit of a cult favorite.  The protagonists of a sort are the Warriors gang out of Coney Island.  They must send nine unarmed ambassadors to a major meeting in the Bronx of reps of all the gangs of NYC to discuss putting their bad feelings aside and taking over the city.  Unfortunately, big trouble arises at the meeting, and the Warriors become hunted by police and the other gangs and have to try to make their way back home.  It's was a good Friday movie, and I got pretty well wrapped up in it.  There are plenty of absurdities throughout, but there are also plenty of aspects that have been copied in movies or other cultural references. 

Last night was Friday Night Lights (2004).  I introduced my husband to the TV series, but he has since watched the movie and listened to the book, so he suggested this.  There's some overlap between this based-on-a-true-story film and the series, but it's mostly that some characters or plotlines in the series are mishmashes of those in the film.  Both are centered on a TX high school football team and their coach.  Connie Britton plays the coach's wife in both, but they are different characters, and her role in the movie is way, way smaller.  They don't go into that relationship at all, and it's a central part of the series.  The daughter is also a nearly non-existent role, as opposed to fan anti-favorite Julie Taylor in the series.  Brad Leland (Buddy Garrity in the series) is also in sort of a similar role here.  In some ways this movie felt way too short, but it was jam-packed with football action and dealt with the relationships in a much more superficial way.  It was more interesting in the sense that the characters are based on real people (which I had forgotten until they did that thing at the end where they tell you what happened with each of them).  According to the trivia, there is some poetic license taken with some events and characters.  I'm glad I saw the series first.  Still, I enjoyed the movie.  It was a little difficult to conceive of Billy Bob Thornton in the counterpart role to Kyle Chandler, but he pulled it off as well as he needed to given that they barely grazed the surface of his character.  The series just goes much more deeply into the relationship dynamics and the people. 

[ab_grp]

We had a long weekend so ended up watching three movies, all Prime movies about to leave the platform.  First was In a World... (2013), about the competitive world of voice-over acting.  It's meant to be a comedy and is cute but not super funny.    Since we're trying to keep up our ratings in IMDB, I will add those here.  We are giving this one a 7. 

Next was Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), a documentary about a renowned sushi master and proprietor of (if I recall correctly) the only sushi restaurant at the time with three Michelin stars.  I've wanted to see this forever, as I've always heard good things about it.  It's a pretty compelling story.  The man has honed his sushi craft for 70 years (at the time of the movie).  He has sons who are also involved in slightly different ways in the business, and there are some implications on their future based on Japanese culture regarding lineage and business.  I admire his devotion to his craft but do not think that would be the life for me.  Still, it's an interesting peek behind that particular curtain and was pretty beautifully made.  We are leaning toward 8 or 9 for that one. 

Last night was A Murder of Crows (1998).  Still not sure about this one and whether it intended to be a serious thriller (yikes) or was kind of a tongue-in-cheek noir parody (maybe not so bad).  The story is about a New Orleans defense attorney (Cuba Gooding Jr), following in his dad's footsteps, who finally has enough with one particular rich bad guy defendant (Eric Stoltz) and basically screws him over in court.  Cuba gets disbarred and moves to Key West to write a novel, running a fishing boat as a day job, when he meets a mysterious old man.  This man has written a book that he wants Cuba to read, and the book is an amazing thriller about the murders of a bunch of lawyers who defend rich bad guys.  I don't want to give anything away here, but Cuba ends up being the target of an investigation into some murders of lawyers.  The script is absolutely terrible at times, and it is hard to believe that a Yale-educated dude who quotes Aristotle recognizes absolutely nothing odd about aspects of the situation he finds himself in.  There is a lot of ridiculous happenstance, and then the movie ends so abruptly that it almost seems like they realized all of a sudden that it was the last scheduled day of filming and said oh shit and just wrapped it right up as is.  The characters are also absurd caricatures.  Has anyone seen this movie? It has a 0% from critics on Rotten Tomato and about 55% from the audience.  Some people seemed to have liked it! If it's just kind of a fun bit of weirdness, it's not too bad.  As a serious murder mystery where people are actually trying to act... egad.  I honestly can't tell, because the ending makes some sense if I think about it one way.  We are leaning toward 5 or 6 for that one.  Maybe more a 5.  It depends! 

[spork]

From a recent trans-Atlantic flight . . .

Barbie: Gave up at the 50 minute mark. Was not going to waste a second hour on a movie with 20 minutes' worth of actual content.

Sisu: Quite entertaining. Tarantino-esque. Lapland is gorgeous.

[dismalist]

Speaking of trans-Atlantic flights, my daughter saw The Holdovers(1993), about a bunch of rich, entitled, college kids. Daughter thought it was sweet.

Here is the trailer, which is riotous:

I rented the movie, and it's well, too sweet, but the unhappy end almost makes up for that. Do look at the trailer.

[ciao_yall]

From a recent trans-Atlantic flight . . .

Barbie: Gave up at the 50 minute mark. Was not going to waste a second hour on a movie with 20 minutes' worth of actual content.

How far did you get? No, it wasn't Oscar-worthy but there are some really great scenes.

[Hegemony]

From a recent trans-Atlantic flight . . .

Barbie: Gave up at the 50 minute mark. Was not going to waste a second hour on a movie with 20 minutes' worth of actual content.

How far did you get? No, it wasn't Oscar-worthy but there are some really great scenes.

I agree. Some wonderful scenes. The guy at the all-male Mattel meeting who says, "If I'm a man with no power, does that make me a woman?" And the whole "I'm Just Ken" extravaganza. And the art direction. You missed the part, I'd guess, where the patrirarchy becomes involved,. I think it's a mistake to dismiss the movie because, well, it's a comedy and it's pink and "girly." It is in fact a comedy with bite.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Speaking of trans-Atlantic flights, my daughter saw The Holdovers(1993), about a bunch of rich, entitled, college kids. Daughter thought it was sweet.

Here is the trailer, which is riotous:

I rented the movie, and it's well, too sweet, but the unhappy end almost makes up for that. Do look at the trailer.

Good movie with great performances from the three leads. As you may have read, it was Dominic Sessa's debut and he was actually a student at one of the schools where they shot the film. They let students audition for the part and he got the role.

From a recent trans-Atlantic flight . . .

Barbie: Gave up at the 50 minute mark. Was not going to waste a second hour on a movie with 20 minutes' worth of actual content.

How far did you get? No, it wasn't Oscar-worthy but there are some really great scenes.

This is about my assessment as well. It is a good blockbuster with strong set designs and performances, and obviously Greta Gerwig is a great director, but not a best-of-the-year contender.

[spork]

From a recent trans-Atlantic flight . . .

Barbie: Gave up at the 50 minute mark. Was not going to waste a second hour on a movie with 20 minutes' worth of actual content.

How far did you get? No, it wasn't Oscar-worthy but there are some really great scenes.

A car chase had started, involving Mattel executives (Will Farrell) if I remember correctly.

The Nissan G.I. Joe + Barbie commercial had a much better content-to-time ratio.