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Post by Carl LaFong on Nov 18, 2022 18:50:12 GMT
Brightburn
Brief review: Shiteburn.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 18, 2022 20:00:00 GMT
On Wednesday I watched “Armageddon Time”, the latest movie by James Gray (Ad Astra, The Lost City of Z, Two Lovers, We Own the Night). In spite of the title, it has nothing to do with the end of times. The movie is a coming-of-age story based on the director’s experience growing up in the 80s in a somewhat dysfunctional Jewish family in New York. He’s an artistic kid who doesn’t do discipline, be it at school or at home. His friendship with a poor black classmate doesn’t help things. Anne Hathaway plays his mother and Anthony Hopkins his beloved grandfather.
I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand it’s a well-made movie with good production values and acting, but on the other hand the story is not particularly interesting or compelling.
Then yesterday to mark the occasion of Martin Scorsese’s 80th birthday, I watched “The Aviator”, the only one of his 21st century movies I had not seen before. I don’t know why I didn’t go see it when it came out; normally a Scorsese movie with this subject matter and this cast should have been a top priority for me. Anyway, great movie! I knew very little about Howard Hughes other than how sad his last years were. So in addition to watching a pretty spectacular movie, I also discovered a fascinating real-life character.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 18, 2022 20:09:45 GMT
Brightburn Brief review: Shiteburn. I didn't think it was fully terrible, but yeah it wasn't really any good.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 19, 2022 4:39:25 GMT
On Wednesday I watched “Armageddon Time”, the latest movie by James Gray (Ad Astra, The Lost City of Z, Two Lovers, We Own the Night). In spite of the title, it has nothing to do with the end of times. The movie is a coming-of-age story based on the director’s experience growing up in the 80s in a somewhat dysfunctional Jewish family in New York. He’s an artistic kid who doesn’t do discipline, be it at school or at home. His friendship with a poor black classmate doesn’t help things. Anne Hathaway plays his mother and Anthony Hopkins his beloved grandfather. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand it’s a well-made movie with good production values and acting, but on the other hand the story is not particularly interesting or compelling. Then yesterday to mark the occasion of Martin Scorsese’s 80th birthday, I watched “The Aviator”, the only one of his 21st century movies I had not seen before. I don’t know why I didn’t go see it when it came out; normally a Scorsese movie with this subject matter and this cast should have been a top priority for me. Anyway, great movie! I knew very little about Howard Hughes other than how sad his last years were. So in addition to watching a pretty spectacular movie, I also discovered a fascinating real-life character. I have mixed feelings about The Aviator. Strangely, it's one of my favorite Scorsese films, and yet I don't think he was the right director for the material. Same with Leo, they should've gotten someone a little, I don't know, edgier. Leo nailed the charm, but he lacked the smugness that I think comes with geniuses. The director and the lead felt slightly out of their element, and yet somehow, it's still an incredible film. It helps that both are masters of their respective crafts (and it had one hell of a supporting cast), and Hughes himself is an absolutely fascinating character. It's interesting how society, and how we view people like Hughes, changes over time. The closest comparison I can think of for Hughes today would be Elon Musk. And while Hughes is viewed as a problematic protagonist-- at worst an anti-hero in The Aviator, Musk would almost certainly be framed as a villain in his own biopic. I don't think the public would see him any other way.
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Post by Winston Wolfe on Nov 21, 2022 5:22:21 GMT
The Walking Dead series "finale," and I use that term in quotation marks because with 3 spin-offs coming next year, it kind of took the suspense out of the finale. The last 10 minutes or so of the finale were spent setting those up.
The finale was...fine. A lot of shows have weak finales, and while this one didn't exactly set the world on fire, it was conclusive minus the spin offs which is really all a finale should be. The show deviated from the comic a while ago, so I had no idea what to expect, but it did somewhat match that ending. The show should've gone 9 seasons, max. A lot of seasons 4-6 could've been cut entirely, or they at the very least should've made the seasons 10-13 episodes instead of 16.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 21, 2022 17:36:57 GMT
I finished the 9-episode mini-series “Inventing Anna” on Netflix. I had put it on my list mostly because of the actress who plays the title role, Julia Garner, whom I thought was great as Ruth in “Ozark”. Here she plays a young woman claiming to be a wealthy German heiress trying to start a luxurious and exclusive arts center in New York. It is based on a real-life person and court case that apparently was big news a couple of years ago.
It is an interesting story that switches back and forth between the past when she is riding high as a wealthy trust fund girl taking Manhattan’s high society by storm and the present when a journalist is trying to put the pieces together for an article while Anna is awaiting trial on various counts of fraud.
If there were four or six episodes I would recommend it. At nine episodes, I thought it dragged on more than it needed to. Watch it at your own risk.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 21, 2022 18:29:57 GMT
I finished the 9-episode mini-series “Inventing Anna” on Netflix. I had put it on my list mostly because of the actress who plays the title role, Julia Garner, whom I thought was great as Ruth in “Ozark”. Here she plays a young woman claiming to be a wealthy German heiress trying to start a luxurious and exclusive arts center in New York. It is based on a real-life person and court case that apparently was big news a couple of years ago. It is an interesting story that switches back and forth between the past when she is riding high as a wealthy trust fund girl taking Manhattan’s high society by storm and the present when a journalist is trying to put the pieces together for an article while Anna is awaiting trial on various counts of fraud. If there were four or six episodes I would recommend it. At nine episodes, I thought it dragged on more than it needed to. Watch it at your own risk. Just finished the Dahmer series, which wasn't necessarily great but had good things in it, and like many Netflix series (perhaps most) it'd also about 4 episodes too long. It includes too many things that just don't matter. I caught some of, if not most of, that Inventing Anna series, and while it's an interesting story and the show was a big hit, I thought the show pretty much sucks. I know she's well regarded from Ozark, but her accent is so absurd and so stupid that it ruins her entire performance. I know her muddled background is supposed to explain and that people will tell you that the real person actually does sound like that... but she doesn't. Not even close, really. That voice is so stupid and so impossible to take seriously that you question, even more so, the idea that anyone listened to her and was conned by her. And the journalist wrap around story was dumb and her magazine coworkers giving commentary and making speeches about social issues pissed me off to no end... and every fucking show does this jumping around timeline thing now and it doesn't work for every story. Also her wig looked stupid. I'm sure other things bothered me about it too but it's been a while since I saw it.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Nov 21, 2022 20:14:37 GMT
I caught some of, if not most of, that Inventing Anna series, and while it's an interesting story and the show was a big hit, I thought the show pretty much sucks. I know she's well regarded from Ozark, but her accent is so absurd and so stupid that it ruins her entire performance. I know her muddled background is supposed to explain and that people will tell you that the real person actually does sound like that... but she doesn't. Not even close, really. That voice is so stupid and so impossible to take seriously that you question, even more so, the idea that anyone listened to her and was conned by her. And the journalist wrap around story was dumb and her magazine coworkers giving commentary and making speeches about social issues pissed me off to no end... and every fucking show does this jumping around timeline thing now and it doesn't work for every story. Also her wig looked stupid. I'm sure other things bothered me about it too but it's been a while since I saw it. Dude, that fucking show, ugh. Totally with you on everything you said, it was such a slog. The commentary was so infuriating, and it happened in every episode. Anna Chlumsky was so irredeemably annoying too. It's a fine line between plucky, intrepid reporter....and pedantic, emotionally repressed, grating ditz. The thread that threw me the entire time was that the show never convinced me that Anna was one of these alphas who could walk into a room and people would throw money at her. Julia Garner portrays the character as being exceptionally needy, whiny and clingy, but not the devourer of worlds that is the real Anna Delvey's reputation. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was the "girl power!" message that came in towards the end of the series. I'm all in the idea that women aren't treated as fairly as men in this world, it's pretty misguided (and just, ya know, factually wrong) to say otherwise, but the idea that Anna is on the right side of history because she just wanted to carve out her slice of the pie and did whatever was necessary to do it is complete bullshit. She committed crimes, period. God, I fucking hated that show.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 21, 2022 20:47:31 GMT
I caught some of, if not most of, that Inventing Anna series, and while it's an interesting story and the show was a big hit, I thought the show pretty much sucks. I know she's well regarded from Ozark, but her accent is so absurd and so stupid that it ruins her entire performance. I know her muddled background is supposed to explain and that people will tell you that the real person actually does sound like that... but she doesn't. Not even close, really. That voice is so stupid and so impossible to take seriously that you question, even more so, the idea that anyone listened to her and was conned by her. And the journalist wrap around story was dumb and her magazine coworkers giving commentary and making speeches about social issues pissed me off to no end... and every fucking show does this jumping around timeline thing now and it doesn't work for every story. Also her wig looked stupid. I'm sure other things bothered me about it too but it's been a while since I saw it. Dude, that fucking show, ugh. Totally with you on everything you said, it was such a slog. The commentary was so infuriating, and it happened in every episode. Anna Chlumsky was so irredeemably annoying too. It's a fine line between plucky, intrepid reporter....and pedantic, emotionally repressed, grating ditz. The thread that threw me the entire time was that the show never convinced me that Anna was one of these alphas who could walk into a room and people would throw money at her. Julia Garner portrays the character as being exceptionally needy, whiny and clingy, but not the devourer of worlds that is the real Anna Delvey's reputation. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was the "girl power!" message that came in towards the end of the series. I'm all in the idea that women aren't treated as fairly as men in this world, it's pretty misguided (and just, ya know, factually wrong) to say otherwise, but the idea that Anna is on the right side of history because she just wanted to carve out her slice of the pie and did whatever was necessary to do it is complete bullshit. She committed crimes, period. God, I fucking hated that show. I'm with you on all of that. Like I said, it's been a while and I didn't see all of it as it was one of those things my wife watched and I caught pieces of, but I did see the majority of it and it annoyed the shit out of me. And yeah, they reduced what could have been complex and conflicting story into dumb and shallow. And those musings from the office workers... ugh. I can go with it being more difficult for women in society and all that, like you said, but how about actually depicting things rather than just having flimsy characters give speeches to the audience. So lame.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 21, 2022 21:37:37 GMT
I caught some of, if not most of, that Inventing Anna series, and while it's an interesting story and the show was a big hit, I thought the show pretty much sucks. I know she's well regarded from Ozark, but her accent is so absurd and so stupid that it ruins her entire performance. I know her muddled background is supposed to explain and that people will tell you that the real person actually does sound like that... but she doesn't. Not even close, really. That voice is so stupid and so impossible to take seriously that you question, even more so, the idea that anyone listened to her and was conned by her. And the journalist wrap around story was dumb and her magazine coworkers giving commentary and making speeches about social issues pissed me off to no end... and every fucking show does this jumping around timeline thing now and it doesn't work for every story. Also her wig looked stupid. I'm sure other things bothered me about it too but it's been a while since I saw it. Dude, that fucking show, ugh. Totally with you on everything you said, it was such a slog. The commentary was so infuriating, and it happened in every episode. Anna Chlumsky was so irredeemably annoying too. It's a fine line between plucky, intrepid reporter....and pedantic, emotionally repressed, grating ditz. The thread that threw me the entire time was that the show never convinced me that Anna was one of these alphas who could walk into a room and people would throw money at her. Julia Garner portrays the character as being exceptionally needy, whiny and clingy, but not the devourer of worlds that is the real Anna Delvey's reputation. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was the "girl power!" message that came in towards the end of the series. I'm all in the idea that women aren't treated as fairly as men in this world, it's pretty misguided (and just, ya know, factually wrong) to say otherwise, but the idea that Anna is on the right side of history because she just wanted to carve out her slice of the pie and did whatever was necessary to do it is complete bullshit. She committed crimes, period. God, I fucking hated that show.
I was thrown for a loop in the final episodes when out of the blue the show seemed to want to push the audience into supporting her and hoping she would get away with it – to the point where I wondered if she really was an ambitious albeit unethical young entrepreneur who committed fraud just as a means to an end (building a persona and a reputation that would allow her to get the loans she needed to start her business), and not as a way of living in luxury without having to pay for it. I had to read up on the case to find out that there is simply no question: she was (and probably still is) a sociopath and a con woman, and that’s all there is to it.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 25, 2022 15:29:33 GMT
I caught “Glass Onion”, the “Knives Out” sequel currently on a limited theatrical release before hitting Netflix next month. A very entertaining mystery comedy, much like its predecessor. The story is completely independent; the only thing in common is the presence of the detective played by Daniel Craig.
If you liked “Knives Out”, there is a very good chance you will enjoy “Glass Onion” as well.
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Post by nutsberryfarm 🏜 on Dec 2, 2022 20:16:18 GMT
I'm watching the Lockup marathon on Natgeo
Any fans?
It's tremendous - they used to air this on MSNBC all the time
[br Larry Crowne
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Dec 3, 2022 4:29:17 GMT
Violent Night (2022) Mild general spoilers ahead I've been waiting for this movie since I saw the trailer in October, but really, I've been waiting for this movie my whole life. It's awesome. Like in a cheesy way, the way you'd expect from the premise. It might be trying too hard for cheap laughs at times, but it's fun as hell. This movie embraces its own ridiculousness and possesses an almost meta quality regarding the movies that inspired it. Die Hard is mentioned, as is Home Alone, and elements of both of those films come into play. The holiday puns and one liners are used with abandon and complete self-awareness, and I never got tired of hearing it. As suspected, the film can't fully maintain its level of manic energy, but the highs are incredibly high; the action sequence featuring Bryan Adams' Christmas Time is off the charts hilarious. I had questions going into this film, a film you shouldn't ever question, for the sake of accepting the absurdity of it all; and it actually answered them! Will it explain Santa's origin, and how he's a badass fighter? Yes, but only to a point. They tell you what you need to know for the story to work, no more, no less. How does Santa function in movies where people openly question his existence? Even that is briefly discussed. Santa Claus lore from the naughty list to the sack to the reindeer to 'Christmas magic' that even Santa can't fully explain find their way into the story; he even mentions elves at one point, though it's unclear if he's 100% serious. It's everything you want in an R-rated action comedy. Inventive kills, characters that are somewhat generic but still find a way to be entertaining, snappy dialog that admittedly doesn't always pop, and a Christmas score that just won't stop; what more can you ask for? Harbour seems like he's having the time of his life here, and you will too-- as long as you believe.
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Post by NJtoTX on Dec 3, 2022 15:17:10 GMT
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Post by Winston Wolfe on Dec 4, 2022 21:15:30 GMT
This will either be the greatest movie of all time or the worst, there will be no in between
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Dec 7, 2022 15:04:46 GMT
The other day I watched "The Black Swan", a 1942 swashbuckler about pirates of the Caribbean starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. First time watch. In fact it may very well have been the first time I saw Tyrone Power on anything.
My arm never has to be twisted in order to get me to watch classic adventure movies, but this one was a bit of a disappointment. It looks good but the story was a bit weak. And don't even get me started on the terribly out-of-date sexual politics of the romantic subplot of the pirate relentlessly harassing the high class girl until she realises that she loves him after all! Usually I laugh at people who can't set aside their present day values when watching movies from decades ago but sometimes it can be too much.
*** Edit ***
After checking, this wasn't my first Tyrone Power film. I saw him in Witness for the Prosecution and on the western Rawhide.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Dec 7, 2022 15:19:25 GMT
The other day I watched "The Black Swan", a 1942 swashbuckler about pirates of the Caribbean starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. First time watch. In fact it may very well have been the first time I saw Tyrone Power on anything. My arm never has to be twisted in order to get me to watch classic adventure movies, but this one was a bit of a disappointment. It looks good but the story was a bit weak. And don't even get me started on the terribly out-of-date sexual politics of the romantic subplot of the pirate relentlessly harassing the high class girl until she realises that she loves him after all! Usually I laugh at people who can't set aside their present day values when watching movies from decades ago but sometimes it can be too much. I've seen that one. I was astonished at how little ballet took place! I saw Tyrone Power in the original Nightmare Alley after I watched the superior Del Toro remake. Hadn't seen him in anything in a while and I enjoyed him in that one as he was stretching to play a much less than heroic lead.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Dec 12, 2022 17:26:51 GMT
Violent Night (2022) Mild general spoilers ahead I've been waiting for this movie since I saw the trailer in October, but really, I've been waiting for this movie my whole life. It's awesome. Like in a cheesy way, the way you'd expect from the premise. It might be trying too hard for cheap laughs at times, but it's fun as hell. This movie embraces its own ridiculousness and possesses an almost meta quality regarding the movies that inspired it. Die Hard is mentioned, as is Home Alone, and elements of both of those films come into play. (...) It's everything you want in an R-rated action comedy. Inventive kills, characters that are somewhat generic but still find a way to be entertaining, snappy dialog that admittedly doesn't always pop, and a Christmas score that just won't stop; what more can you ask for? Harbour seems like he's having the time of his life here, and you will too-- as long as you believe. I saw it yesterday, and I couldn't agree more. Great fun!
I also watched on the weekend the British war classic "The Dam Busters" (1955), about a real WWII mission to bomb some hydroelectric dams in Germany. The last surviving member of the crews that carried out the mission just died at 101, which was what prompted me to finally get around to watching it.
It's a pretty good movie, covering the whole operation from trying to convince the brass that it would be feasible, to designing and testing the special bombs, to putting together the crews, training for it, and then carrying it out. The only thing is, the visual effects are terrible. As someone who enjoys old black and white movies I consider it almost sacrilege when people say "the movie so-and-so should be remade", but this particular one could use a remake. There was talk some years ago of Peter Jackson wanting to remake it but I guess nothing came of it.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Dec 12, 2022 17:40:28 GMT
Violent Night (2022) Mild general spoilers ahead I've been waiting for this movie since I saw the trailer in October, but really, I've been waiting for this movie my whole life. It's awesome. Like in a cheesy way, the way you'd expect from the premise. It might be trying too hard for cheap laughs at times, but it's fun as hell. This movie embraces its own ridiculousness and possesses an almost meta quality regarding the movies that inspired it. Die Hard is mentioned, as is Home Alone, and elements of both of those films come into play. (...) It's everything you want in an R-rated action comedy. Inventive kills, characters that are somewhat generic but still find a way to be entertaining, snappy dialog that admittedly doesn't always pop, and a Christmas score that just won't stop; what more can you ask for? Harbour seems like he's having the time of his life here, and you will too-- as long as you believe. I saw it yesterday, and I couldn't agree more. Great fun!
I also watched on the weekend the British war classic "The Dam Busters" (1955), about a real WWII mission to bomb some hydroelectric dams in Germany. The last surviving member of the crews that carried out the mission just died at 101, which was what prompted me to finally get around to watching it.
It's a pretty good movie, covering the whole operation from trying to convince the brass that it would be feasible, to designing and testing the special bombs, to putting together the crews, training for it, and then carrying it out. The only thing is, the visual effects are terrible. As someone who enjoys old black and white movies I consider it almost sacrilege when people say "the movie so-and-so should be remade", but this particular one could use a remake. There was talk some years ago of Peter Jackson wanting to remake it but I guess nothing came of it.
Yes the water splash the bombs made after exploding were extremely fake looking!
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Post by Carl LaFong on Dec 13, 2022 12:38:05 GMT
Watched the BBC's latest adaptation of one of the Cormoran Strike novels, Troubled Blood.
Saw all four episodes on Iplayer yesterday.
Enjoyed it quite a bit. Decent plot and the two lead actors, Tom Burke and Holiday Grainger, are fantastic.
Grainger should be a much bigger star.
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