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Post by claudius on Nov 18, 2023 10:49:21 GMT
Clear huh? Why a four year old child can understand it. Run out and get me a four year old child. I can’t make heads or tails of it.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Nov 18, 2023 13:57:06 GMT
L.A. Confidential (1997). The King’s Man (2021). The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023). The Ballad of Flower-eaters & Rebels... I never read the books the original films, or this one, were adapted from. Consequently, I was somewhat lost at times and it almost felt as though this prequel needed its own prequel since characters acted like/referred to things as if we should know WHY they acted that way/what they were talking about. This is where book-readers will have an advantage over non-book-readers, as they’ll *know* why certain characters are acting the way they do with others, etc. Of course, the downside to being a book-reader is that you’ll no doubt be overly critical about every little detail, things you imagined differently, changes made, and things left out or added in. The benefit I had was judging this movie solely based on its own merits, coming into it fresh and with little idea of what would be happening (other than seeing the origin of how Snow turned evil). The movie’s broken up into three parts titled ‘The Mentor’, ‘The Prize’ and ‘The Peacekeeper’. Tom Blyth as a pre-Donald Sutherland version of Coriolanus Snow proves himself a capable leading man, as his character goes through quite the journey in the film and he rises to every occasion, playing all the different facets of Snow’s personality in his early life. He starts out as someone whose main motivation is a monetary prize, but then this 'rebel' (who's referred to as such on more than one occasion) becomes invested for more personal reasons in the survival of the tribute he’s selected to play mentor to: Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). I feel some have been unfairly critical of Zegler’s performance, letting the things she’s said in interviews (that’ve rattled some feathers...but have absolutely nothing to do with how she plays her character here) colour their judgement. I personally thought she held her own against Blyth’s Snow admirably. As Lucy Gray describes herself, she’s ‘not made of sugar’, and this becomes abundantly clear during her introduction when she drops a snake down the back of a girl’s dress. Then later, during Lucy Gray's first meeting with Coriolanus, she eats a petal off the white rose he presents her with (which definitely leaves an impression). People have complained about ‘too much singing’ in the movie (but it's RIGHT THERE in the title: ‘The BALLAD of SONGbirds & Snakes’), but don't be scared of the singing...the movie's not a 'musical' like some have made it out to be. While Zegler certainly puts the ‘song’ in ‘songbird’ by providing the majority of the film’s soundtrack, it’s part of her character (and actually an important plot point). Plus, she can really hold a tune...so why the complaining? It’d be one thing if she sang BADLY, but she gives the songs her all, putting emotion/feeling into every one (and it’s not over-polished, which is appreciated). The film rests mainly on these two actors’ shoulders, and I personally found their scenes together to be the most compelling parts of the movie. Lucy Gray starts out not trusting Coriolanus, but he shows her on more than one occasion that he isn’t without heart and gradually she grows to trust him, as they work together to ensure her survival in the Hunger Games. Another stand-out in the cast is Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman, weatherman and aspiring magician (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman from the original films), as his reporting the weather while kids are dying in the arena provides some morbid humour at one point (really, he’s the only source of ‘humour’ in the film). Head Gamemaker, Dr. Volumnia Gaul is a frightful sight (her makeup’s seriously unnerving) and you can’t help but wonder if the reason everyone’s so hungry is because Viola Davis keeps devouring all the scenery. Her rainbow of snake muttations are a colourful way to take out the stragglers when there is only a handful left. Speaking of, I remember the acting for the tributes who weren’t Katniss (whose name I was surprised to learn the origin of in this film) or Peeta in the original films was pretty sketchy...and it hasn’t really improved this time around. Other than one or two who make the most of their limited screentime (that we either feel sorry for, as they're practically Dead Meat Walking, or are shown to be more three-dimensional than they first appeared), the majority feel barely above CW teen drama levels in the acting department. Much better are other supporting characters such as Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage, continuing to play characters who drink and know things…that is until the end when he doesn’t know something, which proves fatal), Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andrés Rivera, playing a friend of Coriolanus and a fellow mentor who won’t stand for the Games’ barbarity...which also proves fatal) and Tigris (Hunter Schafer, playing cousin to Coriolanus...or ‘Coryo’ as she calls him, who I found particularly interesting to watch and really enjoyed her scenes with Blyth’s Snow). Something this movie has definitely stepped up from the previous films is the brutality of the Games, as there’s no shortage of death (so don’t get too attached to anyone). I also found the themes explored in the movie felt more ‘mature’ and there was a complexity that you might miss the intricacies of if you’re not paying attention. Although it may seem like the film loses some steam in its third part, it’s necessary to show that things aren’t all fine and dandy after the Games are over with. The relationship between Coriolanus and Lucy Gray is not one that’s wrapped up in a nice neat little bow. There’s an open-endedness that may frustrate some people, but the important thing is that by the film’s end...The President Snow of the future has been born/created. On the whole, I found the movie held my attention throughout (not a small feat considering its runtime) and I liked it better than the first, third and fourth previous films. Only the second film, Catching Fire, would I rank higher than this one.
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Post by wmcclain on Nov 18, 2023 17:27:17 GMT
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Post by Old Aussie on Nov 18, 2023 19:25:50 GMT
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Post by Rufus-T on Nov 19, 2023 7:54:21 GMT
The Kennel Murder Case (1933) William Powell played a detective in figuring out a murder of a wealthy collector. Typical good mystery and good performances. Dark Mountain (1944) A forest ranger protecting his former girlfriend who is married to a criminal. Very short. Low quality. Some good moments. Not one of the best. Jaws 2 (1978) Of course, can not hold up to the original, but quite good a sequel. The Wrong Man (1956) One of my Hitchcock first watch. A man mistakened for a serial robbery. One thing leads to another to his life's ruin. Excellent suspense like Hitchcock can. I Confess (1953) A priest is accused of a murder he didn't do. Another excellent Hitchcock first watch. I Want to Live! (1958) A woman with a shady past hooked up with a gang that committed a murder and got charged along. Powerful. Kiss of Death (1947) A man caught in his jewel robbery. Willing to do anything to get out. Richard Widmark was awesome as one of the gangster. One of the best.
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Post by claudius on Nov 19, 2023 14:34:45 GMT
30 years ago I went to Florida. Being a film buff I loved Disney Hollywood Studios and Universal Studios, the latter I met “Groucho and Harpo Marx”, “W C Fields”, “Mae West”, and “Charlie Chaplin”.
25TH ANNIVERSARY HIS AND HER CIRCUMSTANCES (1998) “Their Estrangement” English Dubbed YouTube
30TH ANNIVERSARY LOIS & CLARK THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1993) “The Green Green Glow of Home” This series’ Kryptonian gets introduced. Amazon Prime
THE SIMPSONS (1993) “Boy Scoutz in the Hood” Amazon Prime
40TH ANNIVERSARY THE SMURFS (1983) “Baby’s First Christmas”, “Beauty is only Smurf Deep”, Peewit in Wolf’s Clothing.” The latter episode marks the final Johan & Peewit episode (although Peewit will make later effectual appearances, with Johan a cameo). YouTube
THE NEW SCOOBY AND SCRAPPY DOO SHOW (1983) “The Fall Dog” & “The Scoob Coupe” Amazon Prime
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS (1983) “Quest of the Skeleton Warrior” YouTube
BISKITTS (1983) “The Golden Biskitt” & “The Bone in the Stone” YouTube
THE LITTLES (1983) “Prescription for Disaster” YouTube
MISTER T (1983) “The Spectral Sister Caper” Dailymotion
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS (1983) “Angelic Alvin” & “The Trouble with Nanny” Internet Archive
SATURDAY SUPERCADE (1983) “The Great Ape Escape” & “The Rollerskate RAce Caper” YouTube
RUBIK THE AMAZING CUBE (1983) “Honolulu Rubik” YouTube
INSPECTOR GADGET (1983) “The Emerald Duck,” “Do Unto Udders,” “Do You Myth Me?”, “High Altitude” Amazon Prime
REILLY ACE OF SPIES (1983) “Shutdown” The conclusion to the Thames Serial. I first came aware of the show from the History Channel in 1996. Amazon Prime
JANE EYRE (1983) “Episode Four” Amazon Prime
50TH ANNIVERSARY GOOBER AND THE GHOST CHASERS (1973) “Go West Young Ghost Go West” Amazon Prime
INCH HIGH PRIVATE EYE (1973) “The World’s Greatest Animals” Amazon Prime
SUPER FRIENDS (1973) “The Ultra Beam” Amazon Prime
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KIDS (1973) “The Parrot Caper” Amazon Prime
YOGIS GANG (1973) “The Envy Brothers” Amazon Prime
JEANNIE (1973) “Blind Date” YouTube
MISSION MAGIC (1973) “Doctor Astro” YouTube
SPEED BUGGY (1973) “The Ringmaster” Dailymotion
STAR TREK THE ANIMATED SERIES (1973) “The Terratin Incident” Amazon Prime
UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS (1973) “A Family Secret” James courts and proposes to Hazel despite her past (she is a divorcee). In other stories, Richard is dealing not only with widowhood but the fact that the will has made James the owner of the house. Acorn Media DVD.
70TH ANNIVERSARY this year THE ROBE (1953) The first CinemaScope picture (and the first commercially successful widescreen film). First saw parts of this on American Movie Classics in 1990. FoxVideo BluRay.
90TH ANNIVERSARY LITTLE WOMEN (1933) The first sound version of the Louise May Alcott novel (and a big success that led to Hollywood adapting more classics) with Katherine Hepburn, Frances Dee, Jean Parker, and (a pregnant) Joan Bennett as the March sisters. I thought of this as David O Selznick production but it’s more Merian C Cooper. My intro to the film was when my grandmother watched it in 1989. Busy with other interests I did notice it picked up the story points from a cartoon adaptation (a 1981 anime) but continued on after the father’s return (the film covering the GOOD WIVES Part 2). I saw parts of the film on Showtime in 1991 (usually in the morning, only catching the latter bittersweet parts). I finally saw the whole film on the Disney Channel in June 1992. Warner DVD
The OP Quote: DUCK SOUP (1933) The four Marx Brothers film hits their peak in zaniness (the only film without solos and a romance). It would be their last for Paramount as well as Zeppo’s exit from the films. I first saw this film in December 1991 on American Movie Classics as part of a marathon of the Paramount films (in between broadcasts were snippets of Groucho’s grandson Andy going around locales of his grandpa & great uncles roots- their native neighborhood, the Lyric Theatre, and the Paramount Astoria Studios) Universal BluRay.
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Moviefan
Sophomore
@allaby
Posts: 565
Likes: 284
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Post by Moviefan on Nov 19, 2023 14:55:32 GMT
I watched:
Lured 1947 7/10 A good cast, fine performances, and an effective story.
The Fallen Idol 1948 6/10 Good cinematography, decent performances, but the story wasn't that interesting.
Possessed 1947 7/10 Joan Crawford is fantastic in this fairly interesting film noir.
Backlash 1947 6/10 A decent little noir mystery with fine performances.
The Lost Moment 1947 5/10 A good cast but they don't do enough with the story or characters for my liking. I found this pretty boring for the most part.
Human Desire 1954 7/10 An effective and well acted film noir.
Cast a Dark Shadow 1955 7/10 Dirk Bogarde is delightfully sinister in this entertaining noir.
The Lineup 1958 6/10 Some good moments,but overall I didn't find it very interesting.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Nov 19, 2023 14:55:40 GMT
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