Movie Thread

[Sun_Worshiper]

The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024)

This movie offers a literal take on the "magical negro" trope in film and other media, in which a black supporting character selflessly helps the white protagonist to achieve his or her (usually his) goals. This is a funny concept, but the film does not know what to do with it and so it turns into a generic romantic comedy with some heavy handed racial commentary. On the more positive side, the cast do their best with the material and it is pretty watchable, despite its flaws.

Grade: C

[ab_grp]

I know the studio expected this to be a blockbuster, and then it wasn't. But that doesn't mean it's badly done. Indeed I think the script may be a little too clever for genre expectations. So audiences stayed away, apparently. But everyone I know who's seen it has relished it.

I was a little surprised to hear that this movie was considered to be kind of a flop when it has made a fair amount of money, and people seem to like it.  I guess it didn't live up to whatever overblown expectations the studio had for it.  We both want to see it, so I'll be sure to keep an eye/ear out for the cleverness!

The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024)

This one sounded and looked from the preview as though it could be really hit or miss.  Very interesting premise but difficult to execute, and it sounds like they weren't very successful.

Over the long weekend, we watched South Pacific (1958), Inherit the Wind (1960), and 12 Angry Men (1957).  The first triggered the other two because we saw them recommended afterward and realized they would be leaving Prime in the next week. So we put off our planned movies and fit them in instead.  I took my mother to the 2008-10 revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, and I fell in love with it.  I wish there had been a recording of that performance.  The movie was enjoyable to watch but suffered from a few issues.  One is the weird color filters that they apply at various times (during songs? sometimes not?) that I think the director regretted later.  Another is that most of the voices are dubbed.  Some viewers apparently thought the dubbing was not very successful, but I'm not sure I would have been able to tell if I hadn't known in advance.  The story itself is dated and though it pushed some boundaries in terms of confronting racism has aspects that would be considered problematic today.  Unfortunately, one of the best songs (IMO), "Younger than Springtime" is about a romance with some troublesome power dynamics.  Still, I think it's a beautiful song.  I saw Matthew Morrison (from Glee) as Lt Joseph Cable.  I prefer his voice to that from the movie: https://youtu.be/uSS_bQoMaIA?si=4yUptUQAh8qFv_uh  I think this has one of the best soundtracks!

Inherit the Wind is based on the Scopes Monkey Trial about the teaching of evolution and the legal showdown between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryant.  Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond (based on Darrow) is captivating.  I think that though the story isn't completely true to the historical fact, it showcases some of the hypocrisies and struggles with trying to uphold the word of the Bible at any cost.  12 Angry Men is another great courtroom drama but is one that takes place almost entirely in the jury room as the jury tries to come to consensus on the verdict for a murder trial.  That one is also very intense not just due to the heated debate/argument but also to each man's personal qualms and introspection.  I think I had seen both of these movies before, but they are always worth a rewatch.

[ab_grp]

We watched Biloxi Blues (1988) and The Birdcage* (1996) this past weekend, both directed by Mike Nichols (we discovered that after the fact).  I think we will give them both 7s/10, though I'd lean more toward 7.5 if they had that as a possibility.  BB was a Neil Simon play and feels like it.  It's part of a trilogy, including Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound focusing on Eugene Jerome (Matthew Broderick), a young Jewish guy from NY who joins the Army in 1945 and ends up traveling by train down to hot MS for boot camp.  He wants to be a writer and to fall in love (and to lose his virginity).  I don't know if this would be considered a coming-of-age film or a slice-of-life film, or both, or neither, but it's oddly compelling considering that not too much happens. 

We watched The Birdcage on the first day of Pride month.  I had seen it before, but it hits a little differently these days.  The story is about a man (Robin Williams) who owns a drag nightclub down in South Beach Miami who has what might be considered a non-traditional household.  His son from a long-ago heterosexual fling is getting married! But it's to a conservative politician running heavily on a morality platform.  Obviously, some havoc must ensue when the families are forced to meet.  But beyond the hilarity, I think they did a good job of portraying the hurt and damage that comes from trying to force someone to be someone they aren't and making them feel as though they are not right or not enough.  There are some iconic performances in this movie, and I'm sure I will be watching it again sometime.  Just watching the trailer again now made me want to watch it again.

*Note that there is another movie called The Bird Cage (1996) that does not star Robin Williams and is not being reviewed here.

[mythbuster]

We watched Godzilla Minus One this weekend on Netflix. This is the small budget film that won the Oscar for visual effects. Great model and miniature based effects- with some CGI mixed in as well. More surprising- it's a good and rather deep story. It's set at the end of WW2. The Minus one refers to the Japanese psyche at this point in history- at an all time low. It uses Godzilla as a metaphor to make strong points about PTSD, survivor's guilt, and the need for a national purpose.  Well worth the watch!

[FishProf]

Saw Barbie for date night on Saturday with MrsFishProf.  We loved it, and I see why the awards buzz was so high.  There were so many eater eggs and callbacks that we had to keep pausing (e.g. the Matrix Red Pill/Blue Pill and Pink Stiletto/Birkenstock).

I made the mistake of reading some online reviews.  Talk about ick.  The number of people who hated the movie they swore they would never see was... a lot.

It passed my test, however.  At the end, I went, "Well, that was fun".

[Hegemony]

I've seen two movies recently. The first was Furiosa. It does have one long and pretty amazing sequence, but on the whole it wasn't as inventive as Fury Road or the Mel Gibson Mad Max. I would rate it "Okay." Of course you have to know what you're getting into. Not for the squeamish.

Then I saw All Of Us Strangers, with Andrew Scott. For this you should be comfortable with a gay-related storyline and with seeing quite a bit of Andrew Scott (affirmative on both counts). The movie is poignant, deep, beautifully done, and amazing. Highly recommended.

[spork]

I finally finished The Holdovers; could not watch it in one sitting because of travel. The best movie I've seen in at least a decade and I would not be surprised if it becomes an annual Christmas classic. Direction and writing were superb. I'm amazed at Dominic Sessa. This was his first film and he held his own opposite Paul Giamatti. I predict he's going to have a successful film career. He reminds me of a young Alan Alda.

[Hegemony]

Yes, Dominic Sessa was excellent. You know he was just a student at the school who auditioned for the part, along with many other students? What luck both for him and for the movie.