Let's Talk Movies #36 - 2020 - Yep it is a new decade

[Judy]

8/10 - The Invisible War is a 2012 investigative documentary about rape within the US military. This is a very well made film and tackles a very serious issue in an informative way, yet not overwhelming. Tough to do with sexual assault as the topic. The Invisible War was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2013 Academy Awards (but lost to Searching For Sugar Man). It did win best documentary at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and also won two News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

Trailer for The Invisible War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fBaFQk6aE0

We are having an awful, awful problem with our Canadian military too ... .

 

[MacMadame]

There is a darkness befitting a Brothers Grimm tale.

That's true of all of Ronald Dahl's works.

 

[PeterG]

7/10 - Trouble The Water is a 2008 documentary about an African-American couple living through Hurricane Katrina – and their life afterwards. Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott have next to nothing...and probably have never had much of anything. But that doesn’t stop them from helping others and giving of the little that they have. This movie has a messy feel to it…most of the footage was shot by Kimberly herself with her own running commentary. She shares that she hopes her footage might be used by the news media eventually. And that maybe her work could be a stepping stone for her, career-wise. Maybe because of this, I felt the movie was a bit of a cheat by the filmmakers as they used so much of Kimberly’s footage. Like this was Kimberly’s movie, but the two white directors had the resources to make a movie when Kimberly did not. I am still glad Kimberly and Scott’s story was shared with the world.

Trouble the Water was nominated for an Oscar at the 81st Academy Awards, but lost to Man On Wire. It also received two News & Documentary Emmy Awards nominations.

Trailer for Trouble The Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq426VjZD1E

 

[VGThuy]

Matilda is a 1996 fantasy comedy film based on the Roald Dahl novel. Danny DeVito directs and stars in this, alongside his wife Rhea Perlman. They play the adoptive parents of a child prodigy (played by Mara Wilson) whose phenomenal intelligence (along with other gifts) go completely unnoticed. Wilson is great as the title character, you might remember her from Mrs. Doubtfire or the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. Matilda as a film is difficult to describe because at times there is a sweetness to it and at other times, very cruel. There is a darkness befitting a Brothers Grimm tale. I’m wondering if the goal was to make a child’s fable…for adults. I don’t think this movie should be shown to kids, although maybe older ones with an understanding of and a penchant for dark humour. So NOT your average kid. I enjoyed this, but kind of wish DeVito as director had chosen to stick with sweet OR dark for the tone. Sweet and sour doesn’t always work for a movie.

Trailer for Matilda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUGHWje7liM

I'm a huge fan of the Broadway musical adaptation. The movie version is such a huge staple for a certain age group that when they watched the musical version they were shocked that Matilda was actually British, and since the musical stayed closer to the novel, Matilda didn't care about brushing her hair and wasn't made-up the way Mara Wilson was in the film, among many other things.

Here's a clip from the Tony Awards:

 

[Cachoo]

"Misbehaviour", the film based on the disrupted 1970 Miss World contest, was a treat to watch with a sterling cast and multiple themes. And I loved that we were able to see the actual people involved at the end of the film. I was wistful at the end: I would like to travel back in time to be there. Here is the trailer: https://youtu.be/ZUa0Mtdv1HQ

 

[annie720]

I'm a huge fan of the Broadway musical adaptation. The movie version is such a huge staple for a certain age group that when they watched the musical version they were shocked that Matilda was actually British, and since the musical stayed closer to the novel, Matilda didn't care about brushing her hair and wasn't made-up the way Mara Wilson was in the film, among many other things.

Here's a clip from the Tony Awards:

Oh I'd love to see the musical! The movie version of Matilda was a favorite of my kids and mine. I think we all assumed she was British, in spite of the parents. Matilda and George of the Jungle were the movies most requested to watch when there was sickness in our house.

 

[PeterG]

5/10 - Iceman Reborn is a 2016 documentary about the discovery of the world’s oldest mummy, a man who was killed 5,000 years ago. Through DNA sampling, we learn about who he might have been and how he died. His body is photographed and with 3D printing, a copy is made of his body for museum display. Which the whole program leads us to…and we see an exact replica of the brown-ish/black-ish carcass rather than a version of what Utzi would have actually looked like when alive. So that was a real letdown. A lot is packed into this program (it was an episode of Nova), but overall, the end result is just a lot of talk about…not too much.

Trailer for Iceman Reborn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVGQzHuivjA

 

[Buzz]

Eternals' Chloe Zhao Teases Interest In Directing Kevin Feige's Star Wars Movie

Eternals director Chloe Zhao claimed she would consider directing Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's upcoming Star Wars film.

thedirect.com

 

[PeterG]

Eternals' Chloe Zhao Teases Interest In Directing Kevin Feige's Star Wars Movie

Eternals director Chloe Zhao claimed she would consider directing Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's upcoming Star Wars film.

thedirect.com

The trailers on TV for The Eternals look really good.

 

[Buzz]

Harry Styles is reportedly playing Eros who is the brother of Thanos in the MCU.

 

[PeterG]

Harry Styles is reportedly playing Eros who is the brother of Thanos in the MCU.

+ +

 

[Cachoo]

Harry Styles is reportedly playing Eros who is the brother of Thanos in the MCU.

Well Christopher Nolan was happy with his work in "Dunkirk." This is a curious choice but Harry may surprise us.

 

[watchthis!!]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is coming out on November 19th after having it's release date pushed back four or five times because of you know what. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts are back in their original roles, but wikipedia lists Carrie Coon (The Leftovers, Fargo), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Mckenna Grace (Young Sheldon) and Paul Rudd as the main cast. Supposedly the movie has a "nostalgic feel" from director Jason Reitman (his father Ivan directed the first two Ghostbusters movies). I think this is being noted in talk about the movie to distance this movie from the 2016 female-led reboot. The trailer looks okay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAfnHT-17eo

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I am looking forward to Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It has to be better than that horrific all female ghostbuster cast.

 

[Buzz]

A cinematographer named Halyna Hutchins was accidentally killed on set of the latest Alec Baldwin’s movie. Another was injured by a prop gun fired by Baldwin. Thoughts and prayers to Hutchins’s loved ones.

Alec Baldwin Fired Prop Gun That Killed Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Injured Director

Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a set in New Mexico, causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

variety.com

 

[jenny12]

A cinematographer named Halyna Hutchins was accidentally killed on set of the latest Alec Baldwin’s movie. Another was injured by a prop gun fired by Baldwin. Thoughts and prayers to Hutchins’s loved ones.

Alec Baldwin Fired Prop Gun That Killed Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Injured Director

Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a set in New Mexico, causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

variety.com

This is beyond tragic. Reminds me of the horrible Brandon Lee tragedy. I echo your thoughts and prayers to Hutchins’ loved ones. Just beyond horrible.

 

[PeterG]

A cinematographer named Halyna Hutchins was accidentally killed on set of the latest Alec Baldwin’s movie. Another was injured by a prop gun fired by Baldwin. Thoughts and prayers to Hutchins’s loved ones.

Alec Baldwin Fired Prop Gun That Killed Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Injured Director

Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a set in New Mexico, causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

variety.com

Horrible! So many mistakes for this to have happened. A gun with blanks that could harm somebody...the person in charge of props should have ensured that this type of item was never to be used on set? And wouldn't the director ensure the gun was never aimed at someone when the blank was fired? Do one shot with a completely empty gun aimed at somebody and then a second shot with the gun with the blank aimed at a dummy...then splice the two scenes together. Plus I would assume a stunts co-ordinator would be the third person involved in creating this kind of scene. I just can't figure out how this could have happened.

 

[Japanfan]

Horrible! So many mistakes for this to have happened. A gun with blanks that could harm somebody...the person in charge of props should have ensured that this type of item was never to be used on set? And wouldn't the director ensure the gun was never aimed at someone when the blank was fired? Do one shot with a completely empty gun aimed at somebody and then a second shot with the gun with the blank aimed at a dummy...then splice the two scenes together. Plus I would assume a stunts co-ordinator would be the third person involved in creating this kind of scene. I just can't figure out how this could have happened.

Yes, it doesn't make any sense. Someone's head or multiple people's heads are gonna
without any smiles.

 

[Vash01]

Horrible! So many mistakes for this to have happened. A gun with blanks that could harm somebody...the person in charge of props should have ensured that this type of item was never to be used on set? And wouldn't the director ensure the gun was never aimed at someone when the blank was fired? Do one shot with a completely empty gun aimed at somebody and then a second shot with the gun with the blank aimed at a dummy...then splice the two scenes together. Plus I would assume a stunts co-ordinator would be the third person involved in creating this kind of scene. I just can't figure out how this could have happened.

Horrible.

 

[mjb52]

It's just awful and sad.

 

[Vash01]

Please educate me. I thought a blank meant there was no ammunition/bullet in it. How did the supposedly blank gun have a bullet? Does this mean someone accidentally handed Baldwin a gun that had bullets in it?- obviously he thought it was a 'blank'- if I understood the definition correctly.

I understand that investigation is on going. I hope they find Out exactly where the mistakesweremade, how and by who. This should never happen again. The loss is too tragic.

 

[Jaana]

This is extremely tragic and mistakes like this should never happen!!! Unfortunately this is not the first time..., but hopefully the last....

Could this somehow be targeted against Baldwin because of his Trump parodies?

 

[Tesla]

Please educate me. I thought a blank meant there was no ammunition/bullet in it. How did the supposedly blank gun have a bullet? Does this mean someone accidentally handed Baldwin a gun that had bullets in it?- obviously he thought it was a 'blank'- if I understood the definition correctly.

I understand that investigation is on going. I hope they find Out exactly where the mistakesweremade, how and by who. This should never happen again. The loss is too tragic.

Someone else can explain better or google, but my understanding with blanks is that while there is not a bullet used, there is material used that is still able to cause harm. I'm not sure how the victims were harmed. I don't believe it is as simple as pointing and shooting, unless it were point blank. I hope this helps.

 

[Cachoo]

There's an unfortunate history of these accidents, even with blanks. Years ago my friend was in a play. He was a lead and had to shoot the woman playing his girlfriend and the rifle had apparently not been checked and had live ammunition. The bullet shattered her hip and left her with a permanent limp. He was emotionally shattered by this though everyone, including the actress, told him it was not his fault.

 

[Yehudi]

The blanks wiki page actually talks about how they can cause injury at close range. Basically there’s still something in there that can be shot out and in close range, can seriously or fatally injure someone.

Blank (cartridge) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And Brandon Lee’s page goes into detail about what happened on set.

Blank (cartridge) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[PeterG]

I thought blanks made noise like a bullet but were next to nothing material-wise. That they were "blank" of anything that could cause harm. But I've learned now that even blanks can kill. I will be reading the links that @Yehudi has shared with us.

 

[Judy]

I know little about guns but how devastating.

 

[Buzz]

Movie making can be a dangerous business. Deaths on set are rare but do happen. Stunt woman SJ Harris died on set of Deadpool 2 a few years ago.

Hollywood's tragic history of on-set accidents | CNN

Hollywood is the land of make believe, but the very real specter of death can hover over television and movie sets.

www.cnn.com

 

[PeterG]

Below is my review of Dave Chappelle's stand-up comedy film from 2019. On The Social today (a Canadian talk show, not unlike The View), they were talking about Chappelle's newest film, The Closer. Apparently he's gone even further with his thoughts on the trans community. I'm guessing this part of his movie had more air-time than what he did with Sticks and Stones. There have been calls for Netflix to remove this movie from their platform. I don't want to look into what he said because the last special bothered me enough, I don't need more aggravation.

But from the little that I read, he was at an event at The Hollywood Bowl where he received a warm reception. And he said (my paraphrasing), "if this is what being cancelled feels like, it sure feels good". And at another event he said (in regard to the concerns about trans-phobic material in his film) that he has so much money that he doesn't have to work another day in his life.

Chappelle later said that he would be willing to sit with members of the trans community.

2/10 - Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones - So I am not a snowflake when it comes to stand-up comedy. I enjoy comedians who push the envelopes like Jim Jeffries, Kathy Griffin, Jimmy Carr, Anthony Jeselnik, etc. But I found that Chappelle missed the mark with this special. He was going for politically incorrect, but ended up coming across as the straight black male version of those out there who wish things were the way they were back in the good old days. Especially the very long segment on those in the LGBTQ community. He just came across as a bigot to me, even though he delivered his material in a humourous way (and his audience seemed to be loving it). And a bigot unlike Jeffries or Jeselnik who slyly let you know that they are being a male chauvanist (or are they really not...but are making fun of male chauvanists?). So the more I think about this special, the more I feel dirty having watched it. So as the day progressed, my rating for this special went from a five to a four to a three...and ended up as just a two out of ten. Yuck.

No trailer at youtube...at least not one that makes any sense.

 

[MacMadame]

"if this is what being cancelled feels like, it sure feels good".

Thus reinforcing my belief that Canceling is not a real thing.

I watch a YouTuber who supposedly was canceled. She did a funny video about it and she's still around and still getting likes and views.