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

[PeterG]

Kraven The Hunter trailer

A new Marvel series. Aaron-Taylor Johnson stars as the title character and Ariana DeBose, Russell Crowe, Christopher Abbott and Alessandro Nivola co-star. This will be Johnson's second Marvel portrayal after appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron as Quicksilver.

 

[manhn]

Watched Ticket to Paradise. Julia and George still have that movie star quality, but the script does not do them any favours. In terms of romcoms set in Asian locales, I prefer Tourist's Guide to Love.

 

[MacMadame]

Watched Ticket to Paradise. Julia and George still have that movie star quality, but the script does not do them any favours. In terms of romcoms set in Asian locales, I prefer Tourist's Guide to Love.

It was a weird script because usually in a RomCom, you know what you are rooting to happen and the interesting point is seeing how they get there. But this one was all over the place in terms of whether or not the young lovers were being stupid to get married so quickly or the (divorced) parents were stupid to object.

OTOH, it was obvious that the parents were going to get back together. So then the question was: did the ending feel earned and do you think 'true love' prevailed? I am on the fence which is not a good sign for the movie.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I watched We're No Angels (Humphrey Bogart and Peter Ustinov version) and thought it was a lot of fun once it really got started. I was a little disappointed with the ending and think they might have had a different ending if it had been made today. I did love the 4th halo that showed up.

I have seen the DeNiro and Sean Penn movie which wasn't that great.

Go with the Bogart version if you get the chance.

 

[Wyliefan]

I love that movie. The original, I mean. Didn't know there was a remake.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

The remake wasn't the worst movie ever but it could have been a lot better given the cast. They made a lot of revisions to the original story with the basic plot of escaped convicts doing good as the main theme. Otherwise there isn't much the same. I think I had more issue with the script because DeNiro made it better than it would have been otherwise.

 

[manhn]

Watched Don't Worry Darling. I thought it was pretty good, I don't really understand the harsh critiques of it. Harry Styles is not some great thespian, but serviceable nonetheless. Pugh was fantastic, really grounded everything. It was really great just to look at--after having just watched the latest Batman, I appreciated being able to see something with light, without having to squint my eyes. And it had a terrific car chase sequence. It's one of those "Idyllic locales that ain't so idyllic" type of movies that I tend to rolls my eyes at, and the movie doesn't exactly erase my fears. But fun, nonetheless. Olivia Wilde should direct the next Fast and the Furious movie.

 

[PeterG]

I just saw Knock at the Cabin and I really enjoyed it. I know it is getting mixed reviews but I thought it was good.

I am a BIG fan of M. Night Shyamalan. But I'm confused as to how I feel about this movie. It's brilliantly directed and acted. But...

Spoiler

...are the foursome actually The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse? Is part of that story that they kill another/themselves? And just randomly one of the horsemen is a gay-basher and just randomly the couple he (they) are asking to kill one of is part of a gay couple? And just randomly, that gay-basher had just gay-bashed one half of this very couple???!!!

Overall, I found the movie to have a

Spoiler

homophobic feel to it as mentioned in my points above. Maybe my vision is clouded as a gay man? But to have a gay-basher, a gay couple AND to have them be the perpetrator and the victim from years earlier, now reunited is just too coincidental and problematic both at the same time.

Trailer for Knock At The Cabin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wiBHEACNHs

 

[Cachoo]

If this has been posted apologies but I am so psyched to see this film: Dumb Money
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmr8YmwnZ3w

 

[watchthis!!]

Victor Frankenstein is the 2015 re-telling of the classic Mary Shelley novel. The budget was 40 million and the movie made 34 million. So it bombed. James McAvoy plays Victor Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe plays his assistant Igor. The movie feels as if the director wanted to make a Pirates of the Caribbean movie out of Shelley’s novel. So lots of action and larger-than-life performances. I’m fine with making classic stories accessible to younger audiences. But was the goal to make this movie for eight year old boys? At rottentomatoes.com, critics gave this movie a 26% approval rating and 37% from audiences. So if you decide to watch this movie, I dare you (as does everyone else) to like it!

P.S. Daniel Radcliffe does his best to make something out of this movie, but he's basically swimming upstream.

 

[Davy88gtbwxyc]

"The Monuments Men" is a unique film that brings together a star-studded cast including George Clooney and Matt Damon. They play a group trying to save precious art from Nazis during World War II. It's not your usual war film with a lot of action, but rather focuses on the importance of art and culture.

The acting is solid, though you might wish for more depth to their characters. The pace of the film is a bit on the slower side, but the story is quite engaging. There are also moments of light-hearted humor that balance the serious setting.

If you have an interest in history, art, or just want to see a different perspective on WWII, "The Monuments Men" could be worth your time. It's not going to blow you away with big action scenes, but it has a thoughtful story that keeps you hooked.

 

[PeterG]

If this has been posted apologies but I am so psyched to see this film: Dumb Money
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmr8YmwnZ3w

A comedy drama about the GameStop situation (fiasco?) that threw the stock exchange into a tizzy for a while there. Great cast: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, and Seth Rogen. The movie comes out September 23rd. Definitely one that I will want to see.

 

[Seerek]

Watched Ticket to Paradise. Julia and George still have that movie star quality, but the script does not do them any favours. In terms of romcoms set in Asian locales, I prefer Tourist's Guide to Love.

Yes - for a comparison, Tourist was in fact filmed in its setting of Vietnam, while Ticket's filming was actually done in Queensland, Australia instead of Bali, Indonesia.

 

[manhn]

I too join the adulation for Women Talking! I loved it so much. Showing both the horrors of humanity but the ideals of what people can do together when we stop and listen to one another. Acting was sublime, and I thought it was visually striking.

 

[PeterG]

I enjoyed Cake, the Jennifer Aniston drama about a woman recovering from a car accident that resulted not only in the loss of her young son but in having to now live a life of chronic pain. From what I had heard about this movie, and seeing the poster, I expected it to be a very gloomy viewing. But the director (Daniel Barnz) juggles all the aspects of the story so wonderfully that we can feel Aniston’s pain, but never be overwhelmed by it. Cake co-stars Sam Worthington, Lucy Punch, Chris Messina, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy and in a wonderfully wacky role and performance, Anna Kendrick.

Turns out Barnz has directed three other movies which are all fantastic. Phoebe In Wonderland (2008) stars Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Elle Fanning (in her first leading role), Campbell Scott and Bill Pullman in a movie about a young girl who has Tourette’s and OCD. Beastly (2011) stars Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris and Mary-Kate Olsen in a modern re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. And Won’t Back Down (2012) stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis star as two mothers and a principal fighting to save their local school.

Unfortunately, this great director (who really seems to love women and telling their stories) hasn’t made another movie since Cake. Hopefully we will get more movies from him in time.

Trailer for Cake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8BMCR0bomM

 

[Buzz]

This weekend’s box office numbers are very interesting! Elementals is thought to be a BO bomb but has an impressive holdover drop of only 37%.

1. Spiderverse
2. Elementals
3. The Flash

Domestic 2023 Weekend 25

www.boxofficemojo.com

 

[Cachoo]

Margaret Qualley and Beanie Feldstein in Drive-Away Dolls...Looks like fun: https://youtu.be/bVrlQue5fmQ

 

[MacMadame]

Margaret Qualley and Beanie Feldstein in Drive-Away Dolls...Looks like fun: https://youtu.be/bVrlQue5fmQ

You left out Pedro Pascal!!!

 

[watchthis!!]

The Finest Hours is a 2016 edge-of-your-seat action thriller about the 1952 United States Coast Guard rescue of the crew of an oil tanker that split in two (!!!!) during a horrible storm. Chris Pine plays Bernie Webber, who takes a small boat into the storm to try to find and then save the crew of the tanker. His ship can hold only hold 12 people…and there are 32 crew members in need of his help. I thought this movie was brilliantly written and directed. I was captivated from start to finish. It did not do well at the box office. I have no idea why. Those who liked the Titanic would like this, even though the romance storyline in this movie is very, very small in comparison to that in the Titanic film. The cast also includes Casey Affleck, Ben Foster and Eric Bana.

 

[PeterG]

My recent Oscar nominee viewed was Triangle Of Sadness. Nominated for best picture as well as director and screenplay (both for Ruben Östlund). He directed the phenomenal 2014 Force Majeure and the highly regarded 2017 movie The Square (which I just added to my To See list).

I saw Triangle of Sadness on Saturday night with a friend. She picked it just because it was on a good time for having dinner and then seeing a movie. We knew nothing about it.

We both really liked it. It started off very slow and was a slow build. But when it hit it's straps it was very good and very funny. Can't really comment on the story because that would be too much of a spoiler. However the messages conveyed were very targetted. And I will say that Woody Harrelson was great value.

Although my favourite bit

Spoiler: Spoiler

The woman picking up the hand grenade and say it was one of theirs.

I really liked it as well. The movie is divided into three parts/chapters and it's almost like three different short films with characters from one chapter sometimes appearing in the next. I liked the first chapter more than you. I'm a big fan of Harris Dickinson ever since his film debut in Beach Rats. This first chapter of the movie is like a stage play with a male and female character verbally sparring with one another for understanding and perhaps dominance. It's very well written and the two actors nail their parts. And I agree with your spoiler comment completely!!

Today's movie was "Triangle of Sadness" which, in spite of its name, is actually a satire. Apparently, when a yacht of self-important filthy rich people runs into trouble, they tend to realize that they are not all that worthwhile when it comes to basic survival skills. Add in a little "Lord of the flies" for flavor. Not enough Woody Harrelson for me (because for me, if he's in the movie, he needs to be in every scene), but a well-acted and well-done film. That's #6 of the best picture nominees for me so far.

I like Woody as well, I last saw him in Zombieland: Double Tap and he was perfect. His role here in Triangle of Sadness is another good one. He's perfect. With this second chapter of the movie, we get to hear the director on the DVD extras talk about how he stages a showy dramatic/action scene in his movies to give a breather to the audience. The first and third parts of the movie are more dramatic, so some escapism in the middle lets us relax before the finale. Another DVD extra is how one of the producers becomes an extra and is featured in the hallway scene as the ship's fate takes a turn for the worse, specifically the "flowing ravine" section.

I just finished the second of my “Eat the Rich” double feature Triangle of Sadness and wow! Not the best movie ever but it kept me interested throughout and it was a journey.

I just finished the second of my “Eat the Rich” double feature Triangle of Sadness and wow! Not the best movie ever but it kept me interested throughout and it was a journey.

It sounds like I enjoyed the movie more than the rest of you did. The third and final section/chapter I thought was amazing. But I always love the

Spoiler

deserted island

types of movie. Dolly de Leon as Abigail was amazing. I'm glad she was nominated for best supporting actress at both the BAFTA's and the Golden Globes. I was a bit disappointed at the

Spoiler

open-endedness

of the ending. (A common pet peeve of mine.) But again, there's discussion of this on the DVD extras which settled me down a little bit.

While this movie was nominated for pretty much every award in many categories, it lost pretty much everywhere except early in the season, winning two Cannes Film Festival awards and three European Film Awards.

 

[VGThuy]

I actually quite enjoyed Triangle of Sadness a lot. When I said it wasn’t the best movie ever, I just meant it’s not like in my top whatever ranking but it was clearly one of the better movies that came out last year. I think so many of the directorial choices were spot on with the music and visuals enhancing the satire. I loved the portrayal of that subculture of “influencers” and “instagram models” who are looking forward and the way one’s values get twisted for survival, but you still don’t like it.

 

[PeterG]

Movie news:


Angela Bassett: Black Panther actress to receive honorary Oscar

Not everyone is reacting well to this honour, however. Also receiving an honorary Oscar is comedy legend Mel Brooks.

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‘Chicken Run’ Actress Julia Sawalha Says She Is Being Re-Cast In Sequel For “Sounding Too Old”

Sawalha played the role of Ginger. You might know her best from playing Saffy on the Absolutely Fabulous TV series. Interesting (as in strange) interactions with the producers covered in this article. Here's a clip of Sawalha voicing Ginger in the first movie:

Ladies please let's not lose our heads (Ginger)

From Chicken Run

www.youtube.com

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'Beetlejuice 2': Cast, Director, Filming Details, and Everything We Know so Far

Director Tim Burton is returning and Michael Keaton is expected to return as well. Catherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder will also return. Jenna Ortega from the Netflix TV series Wednesday will join the cast, along with Justin Theroux (The Leftovers), Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci (Spectre and two Matrix movies).

 

[VGThuy]

I remember reading about Sawalha being replaced a while back and how hurt she was because she wasn’t just cast to voice Ginger but she was part of creating the personality of the character and developing her.

The process she spoke about reminds me of how original characters in new works are developed in workshops and rehearsals in theatre when the show isn’t quite yet “frozen” and the book and even the score can change based on the actor who is cast and helps bring what was a written character to life. That’s why first actors to play roles on new works are described as “originating” the character.

An example was when Stephen Schwartz was developing the score for Wicked and he wrote Glinda with Kristin Chenoweth in mind. However, once she started workshopping it throughout the years, adding her own flair and coloring the role with her own acting choices and suggestions, the creatives were inspired and the whole show changed to where the character of Glinda grew much larger. Schwartz changed some songs and wrote new songs for her and Winnie Holzman, the book writer, developed Glinda more. As a result, the show became less about Elphaba and her love interest, Fiyero, and, instead, became what it is known for now, a musical about female friendship in the many states it can go through.

 

[Cachoo]

My recent Oscar nominee viewed was Triangle Of Sadness. Nominated for best picture as well as director and screenplay (both for Ruben Östlund). He directed the phenomenal 2014 Force Majeure and the highly regarded 2017 movie The Square (which I just added to my To See list).



I really liked it as well. The movie is divided into three parts/chapters and it's almost like three different short films with characters from one chapter sometimes appearing in the next. I liked the first chapter more than you. I'm a big fan of Harris Dickinson ever since his film debut in Beach Rats. This first chapter of the movie is like a stage play with a male and female character verbally sparring with one another for understanding and perhaps dominance. It's very well written and the two actors nail their parts. And I agree with your spoiler comment completely!!



I like Woody as well, I last saw him in Zombieland: Double Tap and he was perfect. His role here in Triangle of Sadness is another good one. He's perfect. With this second chapter of the movie, we get to hear the director on the DVD extras talk about how he stages a showy dramatic/action scene in his movies to give a breather to the audience. The first and third parts of the movie are more dramatic, so some escapism in the middle lets us relax before the finale. Another DVD extra is how one of the producers becomes an extra and is featured in the hallway scene as the ship's fate takes a turn for the worse, specifically the "flowing ravine" section.

I just finished the second of my “Eat the Rich” double feature Triangle of Sadness and wow! Not the best movie ever but it kept me interested throughout and it was a journey.



It sounds like I enjoyed the movie more than the rest of you did. The third and final section/chapter I thought was amazing. But I always love the

Spoiler

deserted island

types of movie. Dolly de Leon as Abigail was amazing. I'm glad she was nominated for best supporting actress at both the BAFTA's and the Golden Globes. I was a bit disappointed at the

Spoiler

open-endedness

of the ending. (A common pet peeve of mine.) But again, there's discussion of this on the DVD extras which settled me down a little bit.

While this movie was nominated for pretty much every award in many categories, it lost pretty much everywhere except early in the season, winning two Cannes Film Festival awards and three European Film Awards.

I really enjoyed the amplified conversation of the drunken Russian capitalist and American marxist while the ship was heaving (as were the guests) during the dinner. The film was very entertaining and pointed in it's criticism and I enjoyed it.

 

[manhn]

Watched The Banshees of Inisherin. I quite enjoyed it. I thought Colin Farrell was extremely charming and heartfelt. Just loved him. I am happy that Brendan won, but probably would have voted for Colin.

I thought Brendan Gleason was meh. I could not get into him whatsoever.

 

[Tesla]

For those interested, Everything Everywhere All at Once is on Paramount+.

 

[watchthis!!]

The Founder is one of those movies that was talked about with the word “Oscar” being used in the conversation. But when awards season nominations came about, this movie (as well as Michael Keaton’s lead performance) did not receive as much as a whisper. Interesting, as Keaton is pretty much in every scene of this movie…so much so that if Keaton doesn’t succeed in his performance, the movie would crash and burn. While Keaton definitely carries the movie, perhaps the direction was just…off a little bit. Most of the movie is a straight-forward bio pic, but the last quarter becomes very dark and intense. Yes, this final part of the story is very serious, but it seems like Keaton’s character becomes a character that nothing in the rest of the movie hinted at. This would be my guess why this movie didn’t get award recognition. Or maybe this is one of those movies promoted as an Oscar contender only to drum up box office interest? Nick Offerman, Laura Dern, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson and B. J. Novak co-star.

 

[PeterG]

Whose Streets? is a 2017 documentary and one of the best documentaries I have seen in a while. The movie is about when the police in Ferguson, Missouri killed Michael Brown and the demonstrations that followed. A large portion of the movie is comprised of footage taken by the protestors in the middle of the demonstrations. Social media posts are also used very well throughout the movie, which make Whose Streets? even more informative and impactful. I'm shocked to see that directors Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis have only three directing credits between them. They seem to be natural filmmakers. Can't wait to see what movies they will be making in the future.

Whose Streets? has a 98% approval rating at rottentomatoes.com from the criticis and 73% approval from audiences.

Trailer for Whose Streets?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upiJnjJSerw

 

[watchthis!!]

Eye In The Sky is a 2015 thriller with Helen Mirren as the lead. Mirren plays a British Army Colonel who makes the decision to have a drone drop a missile onto a home in Kenya where three dangerous targets are arming two suicide bombers. The movie is well made, but most of the movie is about going up the chain of command (and back down again) and stepping sideways to get lawyer and political approval. And then more of that. So it becomes a bit repetitive and in spite of the great direction and performances, it becomes a bit tiresome. It feels wrong as an audience member to be eventually thinking, “just drop the bomb already”! Hats off to the cast though, which also includes Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi (Oscar nominee for Captain Phillips) and Jeremy Northam.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Last weekend I saw a New Zealand/Tongan film called Red White & Brass. It is based on a true story of a Tongan church in New Zealand who want tickets for the Rugby World Cup. Unfortunately they cannot get them so they end up forming a marching band to play before the opening of the match so they can get front row seats.

Very much one of those Full Monty type stories. Enjoyable and all the characters are very likeable too.