Let's Talk Movies #33: Star Wars: Jabba Rising...Captain America Trumps China...and MORE!

[Vash01]

I saw The girl on the train today. Pretty interesting, IMO Emily Blunt should have received an Oscar nomination. She did receive a SAG nomination, I think.

 

[Vash01]

I had planned to see it anyway as the trailers look great and I love the Wolverine character but this description makes me want to run out and see it even more!

We decided to see Hidden Figures today as I figure it won't remain in theaters much longer while Logan just got here. I cannot say how much I loved this movie. I actually teared up when the women from the west computers walked into the computer lab. A lot of people have been saying it's a great movie but not Oscar-worthy. I disagree. The movie made me really care about those women and it made the historical events where we already knew how they turned out still be exciting.

I loved Hidden Figures. It's one of the best movies of the year, IMO. Great true story, acting, and uplifting.

 

[Aussie Willy]

It is nice to hear that Hidden Figures has been enjoyed by so many.

 

[cocotaffy]

Beyond The Lights (2014) totally took me by surprise. Whenever someone does a movie about a pop star, the tone is always light and fluffy with very little substance to be found. This is totally different. And that`s all thanks to director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who is also the sole writer of this movie. Prince-Brythewood`s previous work includes The Secret Life of Bees (Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah) and Love & Basketball (Omar Epps, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert). Those two movies have a 7.2 and 7.3 rating at imdb.com, anything in the 7`s is pretty high. Interesting that I don`t remember Prince-Bythewood coming up in any of the discussions around female directors. Or black directors for that matter. Which is a shame, because she`s someone we need to be keeping our eye on.

Anyway, back to Beyond The Lights. Great script and performances, wonderful to see Minnie Drive have something to dig her teeth into, even though she has too little screen time here for the talent she shows on screen. Driver plays the Mom of the lead character Noni, the aspiring pop star, who is played by the gorgeous Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

ITA about this movie, a nice surprise indeed and Gugu's performance was definitely part of the quality of the film. It also made me discover the wonderful BlackBird song from Nina Simone.
If you enjoyed Gugu Mbatha-Raw, I highly recommend Belle. A quite interesting period drama based on a true story. (I'm a huge fan of period dramas if anyone want to recommend some, even though I feel confindent I've pretty much seen most of them, it would be great)

 

[Buzz]

I had planned to see it anyway as the trailers look great and I love the Wolverine character but this description makes me want to run out and see it even more!

We decided to see Hidden Figures today as I figure it won't remain in theaters much longer while Logan just got here. I cannot say how much I loved this movie. I actually teared up when the women from the west computers walked into the computer lab. A lot of people have been saying it's a great movie but not Oscar-worthy. I disagree. The movie made me really care about those women and it made the historical events where we already knew how they turned out still be exciting.

There is apparent a whole lot of people who disagree with me because it is expected to make at least $85m this weekend in North America alone! LOL
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottm...gan-goes-berserker-with-record-85-3m-weekend/

 

[Seerek]

Someone told me a long time ago to not confuse "Featured" categories at the Tony Awards with "Supporting" categories at the Oscars and Emmys and saying that historically, the featured categories were just to give a "fair" shake to other actors who were not big, at times larger-than-life, stage stars like Ethel Merman or Mary Martin or Helen Hayes. It was more of a billing difference than size of role difference. Like how Yul Brynner won for Featured Actor in The King and I but won Best Lead Actor at the Oscars for the same role. Of course, billing and size of role are often correlated. I do think nowadays though, Featured Actor and Actress is pretty much treated like supporting.

Using Fences as an example, Stephen Henderson was nominated in the Featured Actor category at that year's (2010) Tonys. He is also in the film version, his role as Troy's friend Jim Romo more akin to the traditional understanding of "supporting" role when it comes to movie awards than Viola Davis as Rose.

 

[DreamSkates]

It is nice to hear that Hidden Figures has been enjoyed by so many.

A move every person in the US should see (middle school students and up). Significant to our history as a nation (contribution to our space program) and the case for equality. There is no reason for inequality.

 

[manhn]

Just watched Manchester By the Sea. It's, uhm, not terrible? The Big emotional scene was totally overshadowed by the the musical score. Totally distracting. Rather than focus on the story, I started trying to remember who skated to that music. It was

Spoiler

B&K

. Then I stopped paying attention and started watching Youtube videos of those skaters.

I feel I have seen this type of movie a gazillion times before.

Acting was soIid, I suppose. Kinda sad that there was apparently not a better performance by an actor this year to make Affleck such a lock. Haven't seen Fences but I can't remember the last time I have enjoyed a Denzel Washington performance.

 

[PeterG]

Not sure how I ended up checking box office for some of the movies on the current chart, but some of the numbers are quite interesting.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage made 44 million in North America on a 85 million budget. But the international box office was a whopping 285 million. Who's ready for part four? (I think that's where we're at with this series, but I really don't care to look it up!)

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter made 26 million on a 40 million budget. But the international take was 250 million. Hmm...they're making money on this series, there's got to be some spin-off from this that they can make a new franchise out of...

Passengers made 100 million on a 110 million budget. But internationally it made just under 200 million, so the production budget is definitely more than covered for.

And lastly, Rings made 27 million on a 25 million budget, but the overseas 47 million box office helped make this movie a hit...just like all the others listed here. I'm surprised things aren't moving quicker as far as new movies having much more (universally) diverse casts. I'm waiting for movies to come out like The Exependables, but instead of old action stars, the casts are comprised of big stars from each continent so that no matter where the movie is released, the movie will have a big star featured that will draw in audiences from that part of the world.

 

[watchthis!!]

The Escapist is an interesting prison escape movie which uses the time-switching method to tell the story of a group of men breaking out of jail..but overdoes the going back and forth between the then and now scenes. Jumping back and forwards from present time can be effective in telling a story, but sometimes this happens every few minutes. You always know when they've change from now until then, but it just happens too much in my opinion with this movie. In spite of this, I like the story even though it's a pretty dark tale. Very little lightness offered to the viewer. On the plus side, the movie has an incredible cast, including Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes and Dominic Cooper. Fiennes impressed me when he had scenes opposite men twice his age who have been in tons of good stuff and he more than held his own...maybe oven stole the scene from them. Especially impressive considering his character isn't very talkative. So I recommend this one, but in spite of the time-jumping scenes rather than because of that.

Trailer for The Escapist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkiMZ5LXJJY

 

[watchthis!!]

Spielberg, Streep, Hanks may team for Pentagon Papers movie
http://www.news1130.com/2017/03/06/spielberg-streep-hanks-may-team-for-pentagon-papers-movie/

The description of this movie sounds over my head, but with these three working together on a project, I'm in!!

 

[Buzz]

Got my tickets yesterday for Kong: Skull Island and had no trouble buying tickets for Thursday night. I guess this means the movie is not going to do all that great.

 

[MacMadame]

Mini-Mac saw Logan last night and said she cried and cried. I guess that's a good thing.

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2017-03-10th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipQFYcOmECC2sLKrsz9F9tDd

Some big surprises this week. First, Swing Away looks like a real hidden treasure...a movie both funny and touching in a non-syrupy way. Second, Josh Hartnett apparently can now act! I was going to make a crack about us finally getting the Ben Kingsley/Josh Hartnett movie that we've been clamouring for for years, but his acting looked decent in The Ottomamn Lieutenant, so making fun of him just doesn't work now... And third, a movie with Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce and Kit Harington...doesn't look good. Not that it looks like a bad movie, but such dark subject matter. Can't imagine why pretty much everybody would want to see a movie like this. Unsurprisingly, the Jim Broadbent/Charlotte Rampling and Tom Wilkinson/Jeremy Irvine movies look really good.

March 10th - Kong: Skull Island (Wide) – Action with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly and John Goodman

March 10th - Brimstone (Limited) – Western thriller with Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce and Kit Harington

March 10th - The Sense of an Ending (Limited) – Drama with Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Matthew Goode and Emily Mortimer

March 10th - The Ottoman Lieutenant (Limited) – War drama with Michiel Huisman, Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley

March 10th - Personal Shopper (Limited) – Thriller with Kristen Stewart

March 10th - This Beautiful Fantastic (New York) – Fantasy with Jessica Brown Findlay [Downton Abbey], Andrew Scott [Spectre, Pride], Jeremy Irvine and Tom Wilkinson

March 9th - Uncertain (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “Uncertain is a visually stunning and disarmingly funny portrait of the literal and figurative troubled waters of Uncertain, Texas, a 94-resident town so tucked away "you've got to be lost to find it".”

March 10th - Swing Away (Limited) – Romantic comedy with Shannon Elizabeth and John O'Hurley

March 10th - The Dark Below (Limited) – Thriller with a new cast & Veronica Cartwright. From imdb.com: “A woman struggles for survival beneath a frozen lake while a serial killer stalks her from the surface.”

March 10th - My Scientology Movie (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “Louis Theroux documents his investigation into what goes on behind the scenes of the infamous Church of Scientology.”

March 10th - Burning Sands (Los Angeles) – Drama, new cast. From imdb.com: “Deep into Hell Week, a favored pledgee is torn between honoring his code of silence or standing up against the intensifying violence of underground hazing.”

March 8th - Revolution – New Art for a New World (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “Margy Kinmonth's new film REVOLUTION - New Art For A New World is a bold and exciting feature documentary that encapsulates a momentous period in the history of Russia and the Russian Avant-Garde.”

March 10th - Suntan (Limited) – Greek romantic comedy. From imdb.com: “On a hedonistic Greek island, a middle-aged doctor becomes obsessed with a young tourist when she lets him tag along with her group of hard partying friends.”

March 10th - Raw (Limited) – French horror. From imdb.com: “When a young vegetarian undergoes a carnivorous hazing ritual at vet school, an unbidden taste for meat begins to grow in her.”

March 10th - Badrinath Ki Dulhania (Limited) – Indian romantic comedy. From imdb.com: “Badrinath Bansal from Jhansi and Vaidehi Trivedi from Kota belong to small towns but have diametrically opposite opinions on everything. This leads to a clash of ideologies, despite both of them recognizing the goodness in each other.”

 

[Buzz]

Black Panther concept art.
https://www.comicbookmovie.com/blac...ncept-art-provides-us-with-an-amazing-a148921

 

[jenny12]

Black Panther concept art.
https://www.comicbookmovie.com/blac...ncept-art-provides-us-with-an-amazing-a148921

Wow! Looks really cool! Wonder when we will get a trailer.

 

[Buzz]

Hopefully very soon but we haven't gotten a trailer for Thor yet either and it opens this year!

 

[cocotaffy]

Watched Passengers yesterday, and boy oh boy what a disappointment ! That's why I shouldn't listen to interviews especially when the leads are funny and make you want to watch the movie. They also sold it as a mystery borderline tense movie but it's nothing of the sort. There is no story per say, my husband put it in a blunt way but I think it really summarizes the synopsis, I could imagine it on one of those parody movie posters:
"Passengers: the story of a man who couldn't keep his .... in his pants"

I was also underwhelmed (to remain polite ) by Jennifer Lawrence performance. I loved her in Winter Bones and quite liked her in Silver Lining but after seeing couple more movies with her, I come to think she might be overrated even though I don't enjoy this expression which is often way too easily thrown at artists. She doesn't show so much range and depth in her performances, her face is mostly blank, angry or smiling. She is more entertaining to watch during interviews, maybe she should try comedy.

 

[Vash01]

I was also underwhelmed (to remain polite ) by Jennifer Lawrence performance. I loved her in Winter Bones and quite liked her in Silver Lining but after seeing couple more movies with her, I come to think she might be overrated even though I don't enjoy this expression which is often way too easily thrown at artists. She doesn't show so much range and depth in her performances, her face is mostly blank, angry or smiling. She is more entertaining to watch during interviews, maybe she should try comedy.

'Silver linings playbook' Was a comedy and I rate that performance one of her weakest.

 

[cocotaffy]

'Silver linings playbook' Was a comedy and I rate that performance one of her weakest.

I wouldn't say silver lining was pure comedy though not like trainwreck or bad bosses for instance. It had a more serious underlying tone about illness, medication and grieving with some elements of comedy. Have you liked her in any of her movies ?

 

[Vash01]

I wouldn't say silver lining was pure comedy though not like trainwreck or bad bosses for instance. It had a more serious underlying tone about illness, medication and grieving with some elements of comedy. Have you liked her in any of her movies ?

The Hunger Games (All 4- she portrayed Katniss very well)

(May be) Winters Bone, but I am not sure it was really an Oscar lead worthy performance; it was very good though.

(Didn't see Joy)

 

[watchthis!!]

Thought I would switch things up and watch something a little different, so I checked out a copy of Free Birds. It's the animated movie about turkeys fighting for the right not to be cooked and eaten each Fall. This isn't one of those animated movies that works on two levels, one for kids to enjoy and then jokes added in which only adults would get. So it was kind of a movie to do housework to for me. Movies like this are kind of a quiz...trying to figure out which actor's voice I'm hearing. Owen Wilson was the only obvious one to me, playing the lead character. Looking at imdb.com made me whack myself in the forehead for not getting Woody Harrelson and of course it's Amy Poehler voicing the love interest. Colm Meaney and George Takei are also amongst the cast. My recommendation for this one: use as a babysitting tool for young kids on a rainy day when you've got lots of work to do.

Trailer for Free Birds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxslnpqFwOs

 

[Buzz]

Just got back from seeing Kong: Skull Island and loved it!!! Kong is your typical monster flick but is was a lot of fun and it was not all about saving the girl. 7.5 out of 10

 

[Cachoo]

I saw The girl on the train today. Pretty interesting, IMO Emily Blunt should have received an Oscar nomination. She did receive a SAG nomination, I think.

.


I agree that Blunt deserved a nomination. I have to say I LOVED Jen Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook." I still laugh when I think of her sort of jumping out at him when he's jogging---"HEY." What a goof.

I finally saw "Dr Strange." I thought this was a good role for Cumberbatch. I like that his life is often more of an inward journey rather than the usual Marvel fare.

I saw the cooking movie with Bradley and Sienna and Blech. I don't even remember the name.

 

[cocotaffy]

So it was kind of a movie to do housework to for me.

This is such an excellent concept. I do watch light movies, documentaries, or series and more often than not radio programs while doing housework and cooking. But not all movies or series qualify, it needs to be interesting enough but not too much. We should create a list because I sometimes lack of imagination and it does motivate me while doing chore I truly loathe.

The Hunger Games (All 4- she portrayed Katniss very well)

(May be) Winters Bone, but I am not sure it was really an Oscar lead worthy performance; it was very good though.

(Didn't see Joy)

I did like her in the first Hunger Games ( I didn't care for the other movies but is has nothing to do with her), she does do action well. I just remember she was also playing in X-men and I like her Mystic too. But I don't think she has turned up in any Oscar worthy performance yet.

.


I agree that Blunt deserved a nomination. I have to say I LOVED Jen Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook." I still laugh when I think of her sort of jumping out at him when he's jogging---"HEY." What a goof.

I finally saw "Dr Strange." I thought this was a good role for Cumberbatch. I like that his life is often more of an inward journey rather than the usual Marvel fare.

I saw the cooking movie with Bradley and Sienna and Blech. I don't even remember the name.

Totally agree about Blunt, she was great and was definitely snubbed this year.
As for Jennifer Lawrence, you described her well, she is a goof, it's pretty clear in her interviews, she's very endearing and I like her for it. People have said she puts up an act but I think it's just who she is which is refreshing. However, she needs to work on deepening her interpretation. She was hailed as the next best thing a bit young imo. Still needs time to mature.

Really enjoyed Dr. Strange too (but I'm a sucker for superhero movies and Tilda Swinton ). I've noticed Cumberbatch always play super-smart characters: Sherlock, Khan, Dr. Strange, The imitation game, Thomas Edison ... Does he really send off that kind of vibe ? I guess Sherlock being the role who made him famous may explain it.

Just got back from seeing Kong: Skull Island and loved it!!! Kong is your typical monster flick but is was a lot of fun and it was not all about saving the girl. 7.5 out of 10

Sounds fun. From the synopsis, it seems to be a slightly different take on the story than the original and the Peter Jackson's remake. How does it fair compared to those two (if you've seen them) ?

 

[Buzz]

I believe I have seen all of them and Skull Island is best of the bunch. I loved that the girl didn't always need to be rescued and Kong was more than just another love sick puppy. LOL

 

[Vash01]

.


I agree that Blunt deserved a nomination. I have to say I LOVED Jen Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook." I still laugh when I think of her sort of jumping out at him when he's jogging---"HEY." What a goof.

I finally saw "Dr Strange." I thought this was a good role for Cumberbatch. I like that his life is often more of an inward journey rather than the usual Marvel fare.

I saw the cooking movie with Bradley and Sienna and Blech. I don't even remember the name.

Is it 'Burnt Toast?'

 

[Wyliefan]

I finally saw "Dr Strange." I thought this was a good role for Cumberbatch. I like that his life is often more of an inward journey rather than the usual Marvel fare.

I really liked the way he played that role. The door was wide open for him to go maudlin or sentimental or have some sort of major spiritual or emotional transformation. He didn't. He played the whole thing completely matter-of-fact, and it was perfect.

(Not that I'm against depictions of transformations, it was just that in this case, the lack of one was unexpected and refreshing.)

 

[Aussie Willy]

Another movie on my to watch list that I have now seen - To Kill a Mockingbird.

Very interesting. I sat there wondering for a while what was going on. I was appreciated the direction and performances but I wasn't quite sure about what it was trying to tell. However once it hit the courtroom scene and Atticus gave his closing speech, it had me absolutely gripped. And then to see the resolution was quite satisfying.

So I now understand why it has been regarded as such an important movie and has a well deserved reputation of being a classic that everyone should see. And probably with the time it was made, it would have really rocked the boat.

 

[Buzz]

A new fun trailer for Wonder Woman. I hope this movie is a massive hit! It is about time a female superhero got her own movie and who better than Wonder Woman has been around forever! To besides I don't think Marvel has a female character who is her equivalent.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tlqqnEeiXYU