Let's Talk Movies #35 – Sparrows and Panthers and Dinosaurs…Oh My!

[skatesindreams]

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story was on PBS last night. AMAZING movie about an AMAZING woman.

It was, indeed.

Most people don't know that she spent the last portion of her life in Central Florida, and died here.
The local news did a feature about some of her achievements.
I started to research them after I saw it.

She never received the recognition she deserved, in either arena.

 

[Wyliefan]

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story was on PBS last night. AMAZING movie about an AMAZING woman. I can't recommend this movie enough. About a third of the movie is about her youth and movie career, but most of the movie is about all the ideas she had (many given freely to other people) and the later years of her life.

Some of the inventions she was involved with:

Spoiler

- re-designing the wings of airplanes that Howard Hughes was working on which improved speed and overall performance

- creating a Coca-Cola cube which soldiers (and others) could drop into water to enjoy their favourite beverage more easily (the over-all project failed because she says she forgot to factor in how water can differ depending on the location)

- "frequency hopping" which would enable torpedoes for British ships to be undetected by German submarines (the U.S. navy rejected this idea as unworkable, not trying to understand beyond the simple introductory idea of the project)

- oversaw building of an Austrian-style complex in Aspen, realizing this area could (should) be a travel destination for skiing when all that existed there were less than a handful of stores. Later this complex (owned by someone else at that time) would bring in millions of dollars a year

- instructed plastic surgeons on how they could do their work for her differently, ideas they never thought of themselves...ideas which would later be requested by future clients who saw how well it had worked for Lamarr herself

- the "frequency hopping" project which Lamarr was involved in would eventually be used to create GPS, wi-fi and Bluetooth, which had an eventual market value of 30 billion. It would also be used for billion dollar military satellite projects as well as nuclear command and control messages. Due to Lamaar being unaware of patent rules and laws, she received zero dollars for her work, while living on 300 dollars a week in her later years

After the frequency hopping patent was rejected by the Navy, Lamarr worked selling war bonds for the WWII efforts. She raised 25 million dollars. The equivalent of that amount today would be over 340 million.

I've put the above information in spoiler tags in case any of you are planning to see this movie. I don't think reading this will spoil the movie because the information (Lamarr's whole story, actually) is presented so well that I think you'll find the movie very watchable even if you know all of this information. Now I am going to try to search out some old Hedy Lamaar movies. As for Bombshell....I can't recommend it enough.

I really liked this one. And there are a couple of other documentaries coming to TV that look good: "The Opera House," about the opening of the current Met building (PBS), and "Wait for Your Laugh," about the life and career of Rose Marie (MeTV and Decades).

 

[Aussie Willy]

I am seeing the name Heddy Lamar and keep reading Headley Lamar, which was Harvey Korman's character in Blazing Saddles

I did see Solo last night. It was enjoyable enough but not a zinger.

 

[Wyliefan]

I am seeing the name Heddy Lamar and keep reading Headley Lamar, which was Harvey Korman's character in Blazing Saddles

"It's HEDLEY!"

 

[Japanfan]

Finally saw "Shape of Water". I really wasn't that enamored with it TBH. I found the premise a bit preposterous from the get go, and it didn't get any better.

 

[VGThuy]

Finally saw "Shape of Water". I really wasn't that enamored with it TBH. I found the premise a bit preposterous from the get go, and it didn't get any better.

I read that the premise was plagiarized from the Paul Zindel play Let Me Hear You Whisper, which is about an older lady custodian who befriends a dolphin a research facility she works at who is being experimented on and she advocates for the dolphin's rights.

http://hollywoodnerd.com/did-the-sh...the-paul-zindel-play-let-me-hear-you-whisper/

I don't think she falls in love with the dolphin though. I also think the whole saving another life from being experimented on in a science lab has become a trope in of itself so I don't know if it's really plagiarism or just a well-worn concept that The Shape of Water people wanted to explore.

 

[smurfy]

Busy week..

I saw 'RBG' - just loved it. I love the person too! the documentary really showed her professional and personal side. The love story with her husband is just so wonderful. Her kids were hilarious. The film did a good job showing the progression of her career and the many cases she fought for as an lawyer that made big differences for women.
It was the perfect documentary - very educational and very entertaining. It is wonderful that she is getting the recognition and I love how the younger people have embraced her as a rockstar. Everyone should see this movie.

I saw 'Book Club' - with my buddy that is not that adventurous with movies. I have trouble getting her to indies and foreign movies.
It was very nice. Predictable and amusing. The cast is why one should see this movie.
Andy Garcia just gets better with age.
And how lovely that Diane Keaton has a beautiful head of grey hair and is one of the leads!

I saw on Showtime - 'The Promise' - with Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon.
It was beautifully filmed and well acted. I really like Oscar Isaac.
It is set in 1915 in Armenia & Turkey and shows the Armenian genocide with a love triangle.
It was not based on a true story that I could find - and that is what made it not great.
It was too convenient that Oscar Isaac - who played an Armenian doctor in training - experienced so many of the different horrors. It seemed farfetched and took away what the story should have been. There is something when a movie, even when changes are made, when based on the story of a real individual or a few people makes the story more compelling.*
It did not do well in the box office with a budget of $90 million.
The craft of the movie was well executed.
I am glad I saw and learned something that is not talked about much, but given the cast - it could have been so much more.

*Real love story of RBG is a perfect example - just watching her light up as she speaks of her husband.

 

[watchthis!!]

There's an interesting blurb in Entertainment Weekly from just after the Golden Globes awards about women in film. "Wonder (Where Are The) Women" is the name of the segment with this byline: In a year in which movies celebrated female empowerment, the Golden Globes fails to nominate a woman director -- again.

34: The number of years since Barbra Streisand won her Golden Globe for best director (Yentl), the only woman to do so.

I'll spoiler the other four bits so you can quiz yourself:

Number of women who have been nominated for a best director Golden Globe in the past 74 years:

Spoiler

5

Percentage of 2016's top 250 films that were directed by women:

Spoiler

7

Number of women who have been nominated for best director Oscars in the past 89 years:

Spoiler

4

Number of 2017 movies that both grossed more money ($412.6 million) and scored a higher rotten romatoes rating (92%) than Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman:

Spoiler

0

 

[Jay42]

Deadpool 2 is really funny, I think it's easily on par with the first movie quality wise but it definitely seemed gorier. I thought Domino was great but I do wish there had been more of her and Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

It was basically everything I wanted the movie to be. Great cinematography too which always makes me happy.

 

[PeterG]

I saw Home Again the other day. It's possibly the sweetest movie I've ever seen - and not in a cloying, obvious kind of way, but rather in a effortless, endearing and warm way. The cast is brilliantly put together and there's no real antagonist, which is really refreshing. Basically everybody's a good guy doing their best, but situations arise providing us with us seeing everyone deal with things the best they can, in a very comical way. A very enjoyable movie. Impressed that Hallie Meyers-Shyer both wrote and directed this movie, both jobs being her first attempt at either. Kudos!

50 New Summer Movies to See in 2018
http://time.com/5263472/new-summer-movies-2018/

Of the 50 movies listed, I want to see:

A Kid Like Jake
Adrift
Hereditary
Ocean's 8
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Tag
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Under The Silver Lake
Sicario 2: Soldado
Three Identical Strangers
Woman Walks Ahead
The First Purge
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Sorry To Bother You
Whitney
Eighth Grade
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot
Puzzle
Skyscraper
Blindspotting
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
The Darkest Minds
Searching
The Spy Who Dumped Me
The Wife
BlackKkKlansman
The Meg
Crazy Rich Asians
Juliet, Naked
The Little Stranger
and maybe Superfly

But that's it.

 

[made_in_canada]

We watched The Greatest Showman tonight. Absolutely loved it with the caveat that I love musicals and basically anything Hugh Jackman and most things Zac Efron. It felt like no time had passed while we watched it. It’s the kind of movie I could watch many times and still love.

 

[VGThuy]

I seriously want to watch Won't You Be My Neighbor? If you want to get stuck in a wormhole, watch YouTube videos of people reacting to the trailer. It's quite amazing.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Today I saw The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I had seen it advertised for quite a while. And when I went to the cinema there was a session about to start. It was quite a busy session too. But it does appear to be one of those movies that flies under the radar but I think deserves an audience.

Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed it and it one of the more satisfying movie experiences I have had of late. I think if you liked Pride and Their Finest you will like this too because it is the kind of story that the British can do so well. It stars Lily James and a few others who when you look through their resumes you realise you have seen them in other things (such as Katherine Parkinson who played Jen in the IT Crowd).

The story is set around WW2 and tells the story of the occupation of Guernsey by the Germans which I never realised had happened. I won't say much more about it because that would give away the story. Lily James does play an author who corresponds with a member of the GLPPPS and the story moves on from there.

So I would really recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good story.

 

[cygnus]

Today I saw The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I had seen it advertised for quite a while. And when I went to the cinema there was a session about to start. It was quite a busy session too. But it does appear to be one of those movies that flies under the radar but I think deserves an audience.

Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed it and it one of the more satisfying movie experiences I have had of late. I think if you liked Pride and Their Finest you will like this too because it is the kind of story that the British can do so well. It stars Lily James and a few others who when you look through their resumes you realise you have seen them in other things (such as Katherine Parkinson who played Jen in the IT Crowd).

The story is set around WW2 and tells the story of the occupation of Guernsey by the Germans which I never realised had happened. I won't say much more about it because that would give away the story. Lily James does play an author who corresponds with a member of the GLPPPS and the story moves on from there.

So I would really recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good story.

I really want to see this- I have read the book, which is great. Last summer I went hiking on Guernsey (very much recommended-it's beautiful!) and the lingering effects of the war are still very much there- there are concrete bunkers and gun positions still on the coasts, and some very good, if old fashioned, museums about the occupation. It was a very dark time for the islands.

 

[cygnus]

I saw Solo on opening day. despite the negative pre-screening rumours, it was a good, if not great movie. Nothing terribly cerebral, but a popcorn type fun flick. I thought the acting was fine, especially from Donald Glover, and there's probably my favourite droid in all the movies- L3. Anyways if you like Star Wars and are not expecting anything deep, it's a fun time.

 

[watchthis!!]

A Midnight Clear is a 1992 war drama that I highly recommend. It has a really strong cast that includes Peter Berg, Ethan Hawke and Gary Sinise. You will recognize other actors in it as well. The story is about a group of American soldiers in World War II who are sent to a house in France near Germany border. They are ordered to defend the area from a nearby group of German soldiers. The two groups of soldiers are aware of each other and on Christmas Day, the American soldiers realize the Germans want to surrender. The American soldiers figure out a way for this to happen, but as they carry out their plans... Well, I won't say what happens but it's a different take on the cost of war. I see at Wikipedia that the screenwriter was nominated for best screenplay for this movie at the Independent Spirit Awards. A very deserving nomination.

Trailer for A Midnight Clear (it doesn't do the movie justice, but gives you a bit of an idea about the movie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azUDU5nUgBM

 

[PeterG]

I watched Mr. Gaga yesterday, a documentary about Ohad Naharin, a choreographer (and dancer). I thought it was really good and enjoyed much of the dance shown. Although I wish dance documentaries would show at least a few full dances throughout the course of the film, rather than just lots and lots of fifteen-second excerpts. The last scene of the documentary was disconcerting (where his wife, hurt and/or angry, walks out of the studio - and there's a long, long moment of silence). Wasn't sure if this was meant to be foreshadowing, but from what I see at Wikipedia, they're still together. Nevertheless, this one's a must-see for anybody who likes dance.

@Artistic Skaters
@cocotaffy
@kwanfan1818

Today I made a Crocodile Dundee joke and no one I was talking to had any idea who Crocodile Dundee was.

R.I.P. Steve Irwin

 

[vgerdes]

I saw Solo on opening day. despite the negative pre-screening rumours, it was a good, if not great movie. Nothing terribly cerebral, but a popcorn type fun flick. I thought the acting was fine, especially from Donald Glover, and there's probably my favourite droid in all the movies- L3. Anyways if you like Star Wars and are not expecting anything deep, it's a fun time.

I really enjoyed this movie as well. I thought the lead, Alden Ehrenreich, to be pretty convincing as a young Han. Obviously, Harrison Ford was the best Han Solo, but this kid is a worthy successor. L3 was great. And I also really enjoyed Emilia Clark as Han's enigmatic childhood sweetheart. Donald Glover made an excellent Lando Calrissian. Vocally he's a dead ringer for Billy D. Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany were likewise excellent. Hope we get to see more of Han's adventures in the future.

Deadpool 2 is really funny, I think it's easily on par with the first movie quality wise but it definitely seemed gorier. I thought Domino was great but I do wish there had been more of her and Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

It was basically everything I wanted the movie to be. Great cinematography too which always makes me happy.

I laughed just as hard at Deadpool 2 as I did during the original. Ryan Reynolds really is perfection in this role. But yes, it was quite a bit bloodier than DP 1. Domino is a great addition - hope we see a lot more of her in future movies. The X-men cameos, brief as they were, were a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend this one for a stress reliever, although if gore bothers you, then this isn't the movie for you. At all.

 

[Aussie Willy]

After seeing Deadpool 2 I would never want to go parachuting.

 

[Buzz]

I saw Solo and enjoyed it too. It is not the best Disney movie out there but certainly not the worst and I think the cast and crew did a great job putting together a good product considering what they had to work with given all the controversies. Hats off to director Ron Howard. The man has some series skills. Too bad it is not doing better.

 

[watchthis!!]

I watched Pacific Rim last night. The first one, not the sequel that was just out. Thought I'd see the first one to see if the second one was worth seeing. I'm not sure! It was entertaining enough for an escape movie. Everything takes place at night (or underground) so it's a dark movie. Even the monsters and the costumes are black or gray, so the movie gives off a dreary vibe, which isn't really necessary considering humanity is under attack and might end. Just kind of too much for both the theme and the look to be so DARK. But the story is fairly interesting and the production is good.

 

[peibeck]

I saw Solo yesterday. I agree it was enjoyable but not groundbreaking. Considering its tortured production, it was better than I expected. The romantic chemistry between Ehrenreich and Clarke was kind of non-existent though. I'm a bit surprised it opened at "only" 100M, but Memorial Day isn't the tentpole it once was. And the stand alone movie was a lot more upbeat than the first stand alone "Star Wars" movie, where everyone died!!!

 

[PeterG]

Just watched Beach Rats. A 2017 indie drama about a young man trying to come to terms with his sexuality. It's similar to movies like Kids and River's Edge in that part of you wonders if you are watching a documentary rather than a scripted film. Very natural acting, I wondered if all amateurs were cast in this. Looks like from the resumes at imdb.com that the lead roles have credits to their names, but most of the supporting cast are new to acting. The lead actor (Harris Dickinson) is very strong. Looks like his career is taking off. He's in the current FX series Trust (about the John Paul Getty kindnapping, playing that character). Plus he has three of four upcoming films, including Maleficent 2. My only qualm about Beach Rats is that it's another movie

Spoiler

where the gay guy dies. Well, his character doesn't die, but another gay character does. I'm hoping some day someone will make a documentary called, "Another Movie Where The Gay Guy Dies".

Riz Ahmed Wants to Write a Ms. Marvel Movie With Mindy Kaling, and That’s Not Beyond the Realm of Possibility
http://www.vulture.com/2018/05/mindy-kaling-and-riz-ahmed-want-to-do-a-ms-marvel-movie.html

Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) is also mentioned as a potential writer. Could all three co-star in the movie as well?

It would be so cool to see other Indian-American actors cast in a movie like this, similar to what we saw with Black Panter. I hope they'll contact Dev Patel, Aziz Ansari, Priyanka Chopra, Kal Penn, Hasan Minhaj...plus I'm sure Bollywood could lend a few actors!

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2018-06-01st
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipSaIv6QM2N6hOOYp4Ook6D4

Not a good week. Adrift looks good, though.

June 1st - Adrift (Wide) – Action adventure with Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin

June 1st - Action Point (Wide) – Comedy with Johnny Knoxville

June 1st - A Kid Like Jake (Limited) – Family drama with Claire Danes, Octavia Spencer, Jim Parsons, Priyanka Chopra [Quantico] and Ann Dowd [The Handmaid’s Tale]

June 1st - American Animals (Limited) – Crime drama with Evan Peters [X-Men], Ann Dowd [The Handmaid’s Tale] and Blake Jenner

June 1st - Social Animals (Limited) – Comedy with Josh Radnor, Carly Chaikin [Mr. Robot] and Samira Wiley [Orange Is The New Black]

June 1st - All Summers End aka Grass Stains (Limited) – Drama with Tye Sheridan, Kaitlyn Dever [Last Man Standing], Pablo Schreiber and Annabeth Gish

June 1st - Upgrade (Limited) – Action horror comedy with Logan Marshall-Green. From imdb.com: “Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called Stem.”

June 1st - Breath (Limited) – Sports drama with Simon Baker [The Mentalist] and Elizabeth Debicki [Guardians of the Galaxy 2]

June 1st - Discreet (Limited) – Crime drama mystery, new cast. From imdb.com: “…an eccentric drifter returns home and discovers that his childhood abuser is still alive. The drifter plots his revenge, all the while navigating the perilous land of masculine fragility in modern-day America.”

June 1st - Hooked (Limited) – Drama with a new cast. From imdb.com: “Jack, an 18-year old hustler, and his boyfriend Tom are very much in love. Otherwise, Jack is impulsive and explosive with few redeeming qualities. Matt, who hasn't come out of the closet, takes Jack from NYC to Miami with the intention of helping him.”

June 1st - Best F(r)iends: Volume Two (Limited) – Comedy thriller with Tommy Wiseau [The Disaster Artist] and Greg Sestero

 

[MacMadame]

June 1st - Best F(r)iends: Volume Two

There was a Volume One??

 

[made_in_canada]

There was a Volume One??

According to Wikipedia, yes. Released the end of March. I had the same question

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2018-03-30th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipTP-9OKUDfHa7H2ddyDAhk1

March 30th - Best F(r)iends: Volume One (Limited) - Comedy, new cast. From imdb.com: “When a drifter is taken in by a peculiar mortician, the two hatch an underground enterprise off the back of the mortician's old habits…their efforts unravel, causing the drifter to run off with the spoils and leaving the mortician adrift.”

 

[Kasey]

I watched "Red Sparrow" on demand this evening, because I'm normally a fan of Jennifer Lawrence. If you haven't seen this movie, don't bother. The spy storyline is barely comprehensible, and the graphic torture and sexual violence, as well as the undercurrent of misogyny throughout, is punctuated by a completely wooden performance by JLaw. What complete and utter crap.

 

[manhn]

I just watched Ladybird. Eh, this got a bunch of Oscar nods? I found the central character annoying and not remotely rootable. How did she get into the school she wanted, again? She skipped classes, cheated, and stopped doing drama club. Ugh, the magical SAT scores! HATE!!!!

 

[snoopy]

Saw Deadpool. Loved it. Great fun. You don’t have to be a superhero comic book fan for this. It is more like a Tarantino film.