Let’s Talk Movies! #31: Pandas, Zombies, Male Models, Superheroes, Greeks and…Caesar!

[Vash01]

Bridge of Spies is one of the best films I have seen in a cinema. Really brilliant.

I hate both Hanks and Spielberg, but somehow the combination of them both made a perfect film. Cannot recommend it enough.

I like both Hanks and Spielberg so it was double pleasure for me to see this movie. I just hope it won't get ignored in the hoopla of Oscar movies. I expect it to get the Best Picture nomination but not the win. I think Mark Rylance has a decent chance of winning the best supporting actor Oscar.

 

[snoopy]

My sisters in law and I went and saw Sisters on Christmas day. It was exactly what we expected. Many laugh out loud moments and a lot of fun.

We saw this Saturday. It is silly funny, like an Adam Sandler movie. It also has a lot of references to the 80's which 20 year olds might not get.

 

[Artemis@BC]

I watched Kingsman last night. Lots of fun, not really a spoof to spy films, more of an homage to the genre and a throwback to before they took themselves so darned seriously. (Similar to The Man from UNCLE in that way.) I thought the violence was OTT and in many places gratuitous, but it goes by so quickly. And seeing Colin Firth as an action hero was a hoot. Anyway, very entertaining overall.

 

[Jay42]

I watched Kingsman last night. Lots of fun, not really a spoof to spy films, more of an homage to the genre and a throwback to before they took themselves so darned seriously. (Similar to The Man from UNCLE in that way.) I thought the violence was OTT and in many places gratuitous, but it goes by so quickly. And seeing Colin Firth as an action hero was a hoot. Anyway, very entertaining overall.

I love Kingsman. It's so much fun, although I do agree the violence was OTT. I usually check the ratings of movies before I see them, just so I have an idea of what to expect, I either forgot with Kingsman or I didn't realise that violence meant something that gratuitous. It's still a lot of fun to watch though. Colin Firth's big fight scene in the church was all one take. He did his own stunts for most of the movie too, including that fight scene.

 

[PeterG]

Weekend Domestic Chart for December 25th, 2015

Star Wars stayed at #1 with a healthy 150 million in box office for it's second week. And the big debut of the week goes to America's favorite couple. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper? Nope. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Daddy's Home (#2) trounced Joy (#3), taking in almost 39 million compared to 17 million for Joy. Daddy's Home out-performed Joy in regards to production budgets as well. 50 million for Daddy's Home versus 60 million for Joy. I think the former will do better overseas than Joy will, wonder if Joy will end up losing money in the long run. Time will tell. Daddy's Home also out performed Joy with per-theatre averages, $11,844 versus $5,875.

Sisters actually increased it's box office income, only by two percent, but normally in a movie's second week, it falls by 40 to 70 percent. So a jump of two percent is actually big news. Sisters (#4 for the week) has now made 38 million on a 30 million budget. Alvin and the Chipmunks round out the top five, now at almost 40 million on a 90 million (??) budget. Another possible money-loser. Could be the end of the series, hope @Nell411 won't be too upset.

The other debuts of the week:

#6 - Concussion with 11 million at 2,841 theatres
#8 - Point Break with 10 million at 2,910 theatres
#10 - The Hateful Eight with 4.6 million at only 100 theatres
#22 - The Revenant with half a million at only four theatres
#30 - 45 Years with 65,000 at just three theatres

The big winner of these might be The Revenant, which averaged $118,640 per theatre. The Hateful Eight averaged $46,107 per theatre and 45 Years did third best with $21,925 per theatre.

Movies that make big revenue jumps from last week include:

+2,684% - The Big Short
+363% - Carol
+181% - The Danish Girl

Box office thresholds passed/reached:

250 million - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
100 million - The Good Dinosaur

 

[Xela M]

Saw "Lucky Number Slevin" today. Very confusing until the very end when everything falls into place. Good film!

 

[Jay42]

Alvin and the Chipmunks round out the top five, now at almost 40 million on a 90 million (??) budget. Another possible money-loser. Could be the end of the series, hope @Nell411 won't be too upset.

I am absolutely devastated.

 

[PeterG]

For some reason recently I looked into which Shirley Temple movies our library had recently. Maybe because I'm trying to see everything Judy Garland had been in, I thought about her contemporary and how I hadn't seen many of her movies. So I started with 1937's Heidi. I have memories of this movie from childhood, I was quite surprised how much I had remembered of it from way back then, yet still found most of the movie fresh at the same time. I quite liked the cast and this adaptation and I can see why the public was so enamoured with Temple. I found her to be delightful without being precocious. Any suggestions on what I should watch next? My choices are Stand Up And Cheer, Stowaway, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Dimples, Bright Eyes, Little Miss Broadway and The Bachelor and the Bobby-soxer.

"And there shone all of April in your eyes."

Sigh. No one seemed to recognize this quote/post of mine. Or cared enough to ask about it... It's a line from a poem that Roland (Kit Harington) writes to Vera (Alicia Vikander) in Testament of Youth. I burst out crying when that line of his poem was read out. And I'm not a poetry kind of person! But that line is just perfect!!! I adored this movie. Loved all of the cast. Wasn't sure about the storyline of Vera's brother, so I was grateful that the DVD had a commentary track and clarified what I thought was happening. Although an early scene was glossed over in the commentary, when Vera was reunited with her brother, that's when the director shared the backstory, which in itself would make a great movie. I think this movie is being ignored this awards season, which is really a crime.

The film: "Playing It Cool"
The Cast list:

• Chris Evans as Me[3]

• Michelle Monaghan as Her[3]

• Aubrey Plaza as Mallory[3]

• Ioan Gruffudd as Stuffy[3]

• Anthony Mackie as Bryan[3]

• Topher Grace as Scott[3]

• Patrick Warburton as Dick

• Martin Starr as Lyle[3]

• Luke Wilson as Samson[1]

• Philip Baker Hall as Granddad[4]

• Ashley Tisdale as Herself

• Matthew Morrison as Himself

• Scott Evans as Blissful Boy

The verdict: What a lousy film. It was a fine cast but a disappointing product. Also regarding the Chris phenomenon....I like Pratt, Hemsworth, O'Dowd and Pine better than Evans. He just doesn't do it for me.

That's too bad, because with such a cast, the movie should be much better than it sounds. Although from the look of the movie poster, they make it look like some stupid knock-off B-list straight-to-DVD flick. Maybe they spent all their budget on the cast and had nothing left over for any type of publicity.

 

[Xela M]

I like both Hanks and Spielberg so it was double pleasure for me to see this movie. I just hope it won't get ignored in the hoopla of Oscar movies. I expect it to get the Best Picture nomination but not the win. I think Mark Rylance has a decent chance of winning the best supporting actor Oscar.

All the cast were brilliant and they actually used Russian actors to play the Russians, but my favourite supporting role was by Sebastian Koch as Mr Vogel.

 

[MacMadame]

I know Star Wars is getting great reviews, but I've only seen one of the previous Star Wars movies, and that was years ago, so I probably wouldn't be able to appreciate the new one.

Nope, not at all. It stands alone quite well. In fact, as someone who found it a bit derivative, I would say not having seen the others is a benefit!

 

[Cachoo]

Peter, what about the brother in "Testament?" Was he in love with the soldier last introduced in the film? I liked the film very much. It really shows us the true cost of WWI. Really a whole generation was lost. And I continue to think Alicia is enchanting.

 

[PeterG]

Peter, what about the brother in "Testament?" Was he in love with the soldier last introduced in the film? I liked the film very much. It really shows us the true cost of WWI. Really a whole generation was lost. And I continue to think Alicia is enchanting.

I saw the movie a few weeks ago and already some of the details are becoming fuzzy. So old at 52... There is the man who I think was doing training to become a priest, but became a soldier for the war, Edward introduced him to Vera in the hospital she was working at in London before the two men were sent to war.

Spoiler

I believe this is the man Edward fell in love with.

Lots of other interesting info at Wikipedia and two threads at imdb.com:

Edward Brittain - Wikipedia

Question about a character

Edward and Geoffrey

 

[watchthis!!]

Some movie news.

‘Ghosbusters’ Teases New Villains, Offers a New Look at the Ladies Who Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts
http://www.slashfilm.com/ghostbusters-reboot-villains/
From the article:

Dead criminals from all eras of New York’s underbelly past have returned to roost among the living in Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot. Pilgrims, old-timey sailors, Revolutionary War spirits, and even a couple of zoot-suited gangsters are ready to take on four formidable female busters looking to rid the city of its phantasmic filth.

James Cameron Confirms 'Avatar 2' Will Be Arriving Christmas 2017
http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/james-cameron-confirms-avatar-2-will-be-arriving-christmas-2017/
The article mentions that the plans are for the follow-up movies to be released in December of 2018 and 2019.


The trailer for Richard Linklater's new movie, Everybody Wants Some:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6raUs0CiCQ
It looks...AWFUL!


Resident Evil And Star Wars Stuntwoman To Lose Arm After On-Set Crash
https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/post/135642164346/resident-evil-and-star-wars-stuntwoman-to-lose-arm
I believe @Buzz mentioned this in the previous thread, thought this might include some updates to that previous article. Mentioned here are some of the movies where she was a stunt person:

As well as 'Resident Evil’ and 'The Force Awakens’, she’s appeared in films like 'Guardians of the Galaxy’ and 'Mad Max: Fury Road’.

She also did stunts in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Cinderella, Mortdecai and Safe House.

 

[Xela M]

We mentioned Daniel Mays earlier. He is not handsome but I bet with the right part and his wonderful ability he could pull sexy off. There was a thread at another place I post (college basketball website.) In this thread the question was if they could have a night with one actress in one film who would it be? So there are all of these pictures of beautiful, barely dressed women. I think Phoebe Cates in her red bikini in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" had multiple votes. And when I thought about the actor I found sexy it had little to do with seeing him undressed. Even a conventionally handsome guy, like Chris Pratt, is a favorite because he's so damned funny. And I see him when he was heavier and still think him adorable because he is a hoot. One guy I've found attractive is Louie C.K. And his character runs the gamut of emotions in his show. That willingness to open up is part of his attractiveness imho. I am running on and would love to read what you and others see as sexy.

To me, the sexiest man of all time was Marlon Brando in 'Streetcar Named Desire'. Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski is actually my definition of the word 'sexappeal'.

Other than that, I do like beautiful men in the classical sense, although sometimes 'beautiful' doesn't equal 'sexy'. I have a close friend who has been trying to go out with me for the past decade and he looks a spitting image of Daley Blind ( http://api.ning.com/files/JH0C62scB...xFqlQzMqswYrxGLijQYjhLBKsOaMwKxKL1s/blind.jpg ) whom everyone finds super handsome, but to me, he has no sexappeal whatsoever.

Power and intelligence are also attributes that can make any man sexy.

Men have it much easier than women because women are much more willing to overlook pysical appearance

 

[Cachoo]

Stanley Kowalski, played by so many other actors, would simply be a brute. But with Marlon he practically burns through the screen. I have to say I also thought Brando was sexy in a vulnerable way in "On the Waterfront." I don't think these are men I'd want to be with for a lifetime. But a night?

Xela---are you sure about the Daley Blind look-a-like? Heavens!

 

[PeterG]

I saw Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night recently. A very good movie, but the subject matter is pretty heavy. Only one to watch when you're ready to face down a heavy drama. Glad that Cotillard got an Oscar nod for this, well deserved.

Did anyone here see the film Life (about friendship between James Dean and Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock--portrayed by Robert Pattinson)? I believe it came out earlier this year. I haven't seen it, but was wondering if it was well-received.

As far as I know, the release date was December 4th, although according to the-numbers.com, it was released internationally, but not in North America. Wikipedia says the budget was in the 10 to 15 million range and the movie made about a million dollars internationally. To me, there's been enough James Dean movies made over the years, so I didn't have much of an interest in seeing another one.

Interesting choices for National Board of Review winners

NBR has in recent years not been a good indicator as to what actually wins later in the year (to my knowledge, the films considered are exclusively American films, the exception being the Foreign Film category).

Best Film: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Best Director: Ridley Scott "The Martian"
Best Actor: Matt Damon "The Martian"
Best Actress: Brie Larson "Room"
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone "Creed"
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh "The Hateful Eight"

Hmm. Will Sylvester Stallone finally get his long overdue Oscar?

 

[aftershocks]

James Bond not the same as James Dean though.

 

[PeterG]

Oopsy! Just corrected that.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ This Life one though seems to be coming from a different slant. Maybe I can eventually catch it on DVD/ bluray.

I doubt there are as many James Dean bio movies as there are James Bond adventure movies. I think there have been some tv movie-related Dean biopics. And, of course Dean starred in some famous films about fictional characters. I guess it's mostly that Dean is so iconic/ ubiquitous rather than that he's had a lot of feature films made about him. Loads and loads has been written about him, of course.

 

[Xela M]

When they choose some ugly geeky guy to play one of the sex symbols of the 20th century, no one goes to see the film.

 

[PeterG]

People are posting in the old movie thread about Steven Spielberg movies, so I decided to waste some time and look at some of the top 10 lists via google. I looked at eight varied lists (some critics lists, some fan lists and some movie-lovers lists) and below are the favourites. The number at the beginning is the sum that each movie got, with 10 points for a #1 placement down to one point for a #10 placement. The number in brackets after each movie is the number of times each movie appeared on one of the eight different lists.

74 - Jaws (8)
62 - E.T. (8)
58 - Schindler's List (8)
57 - Raiders of the Lost Ark (7)
38 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (7)
35 - Saving Private Ryan (6)
24 - Jurassic Park (6)
17 - Lincoln (5)
16 - Catch Me If You Can (5)
15 - Minority Report (6)
9 - A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2)
8 - Duel (2)
8 - Munich (2)
4 - Empire Of The Sun (1)
4 - The Color Purple (2)
3 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1)
3 - Sugarland Express (1)
2 - 1941 (1)
2 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1)
1 - Amistad (1)

 

[Buzz]

This article gives a brief update in a list of rumoured upcoming movie sequels. Not sure how accurate any of this is but it's a fun read anyway.
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mov...movie-sequels-currently-in-the-works/page/0/1

 

[watchthis!!]

I really liked October Gale, a thriller about a woman (Patricia Clarkson) who is staying at her family's cabin working towards overcoming the loss of her husband. One night an unknown and injured man (Scott Speedman) shows up. The movie is about why this man is shot and who is after him...and if his presence puts her in danger. It's kind of like a stage play put on film in that the majority of the action takes place in her cabin. It's a beautiful looking movie and everybody in the cast does a great job with their roll (Tim Roth has a small part in the movie also). Here's the trailer for whoever might be interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jF4LkBFM-E

 

[PeterG]

Here's a list of the new movies coming out this weekend:

 

[PeterG]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Seriously, that's it. I actually looked back through Wikipedia to see the movies released the first weekend of the past few years and there's only been one of two. I guess I'm just used to there being a few wide releases, a handful or more of limited releases and then a number of other movies that don't make it to the box office chart and must be a straight-to-DVD type situation. So for there not to be even any of the latter surprised me. Well, there were a number of big releases last weekend that might get a little more attention with this weekend of...nothing!

So in the meantime, how about we take a look at...

Highest Grossing Stars of 2015 at the Worldwide Box Office

I love the-numbers.com as a source, but I think they're using too much older info for Morgan Freeman to be at #7 while...well, pretty much everyone else...being lower on the list than him. I understand using 2014 info as movies continue making money into the year after they are debut through release in numerous foreign countries, DVD sales, streaming, sale to television and movie channels, etc. It just seems weird to see Chris Pratt at #18...three places lower than Bruce Willis? I enjoyed seeing who topped the list, however.

 

[Buzz]

LOL @PeterG

 

[smurfy]

Back in the 80s I read a 'Wired' - biography of John Belushi.
I enjoyed reading it. One thing I remember was the discussion of the release of one of his movies and the difference between december and january (was it 'Neighbors'??). I am not talking about oscar bait movies that are only released in dec in los angeles and ny and then rest of the country in january. Basically the discussion was that any movie being release in jan is a dud and getting dumped by the studio. And whoever was involved was trying to prevent the movie from being released in january.
To this day I am a little suspicious of january release movies from this book.

 

[Vash01]

I saw the movie 'Concussion' today. As an avid fan of football I was very interested in this movie. I had heard about former players' brain injuries (the most recent one in my memory was Junior Seau), NFL rule changes to protect players, new concussion protocols, and lawsuits against the NFL by former players. After seeing this movie, I will never see football the same way again, but I will watch the games. It's almost addictive. As soon as I got home, I turned on the TV and started watching Fiesta Bowl.

There are some gruesome scenes (speaking from perspective of a non-medical person) but they are necessary. There is also some good humor. Some great lines too, like "the NFL owns a day of the week that used to belong to the church", or "I know who Mike Webster is" (even I remember his name from the late 1980's). The acting was generally good. Will Smith is a good actor but I felt he was rather one dimensional in this (too many scenes with teary eyes). Also his Nigerian accent was imperfect. I had a Nigerian classmate at Kansas State and I remember his accent distinctly because we always worked on homeworks together. Gugu Mbsa was good as Mrs. Omalu. I remember her from 'Belle'. Albert Brooks was good too.

'Concussion' is a good movie. It has its flaws (the most bothersome to me was how Dr. Omalu - a Nigerian-met his wife (the church priest just handed over to him a woman from Kenya). If this really happened I will retract my criticism. The movie tells the story well, and it is not that old. The research was published in 2006. The lawsuits came in 2011. IMO the NFL got off rather easy in the settlement. They didn't have to disclose when they discovered and how much about brain trauma in players. I think this movie can be enjoyed by both fans and nonfans of football.

 

[Vash01]

Saw the trailer of 'Eddie the Eagle' today. I had heard of this skier during the 1988 Olympics and that time I had wondered why Eddie the Eagle was so popular even though he didn't win anything- not even close to even a bronze medal.

I learned from the trailer that he had a disability and yet he made the Olympic team. That's a huge win over circumstances- much more impressive than winning a medal. I am definitely going to see this movie.

 

[Seerek]

I may be the only one who has this opinion but I enjoyed the documentaries "The Inside Job" and "Too Big to Fail" more than "The Big Short" (maybe because the info concerning the credit crisis was old hat to me, perhaps? Not sure.)

I was somewhat surprised given who wrote the screenplay (Adam McKay) that The Big Short went so technical - I would have thought they would try and touch on some human core element, but it never really got to that point (but perhaps that's the whole point in underlining how detached Wall Street is to everything else?)