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

[joeperryfan]

I was at the movies yesterday and saw the trailer for 'Miracles from Heaven' with Jennifer Garner. - I think it told the whole story!
I hate that.

I don't know when the trend started, but so many trailers do that these days! I hate it!

 

[Artemis@BC]

... And I still haven't watched Grand Hotel Budapest... it's not up for rental here...

Wow, I almost envy you that you have that experience still ahead of you!

 

[Artemis@BC]

I saw The Big Short yesterday. Thought the first 30 minutes were boring but it picked up and became very interesting. ... I would like to see the documentary on this topic. Somehow I think I may enjoy it better.

Inside Job is fabulous. Though it will probably make you very, very angry (it did for me). Likewise Too Big to Fail, as well as Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room -- though that one is a somewhat different chapter in the story.

And Margin Call was excellent as well, though a drama, not a documentary.

 

[PeterG]

Just when I thought I wasn't going to not bother watching documentaries anymore...I got The Hunting Ground from the library. AMAZING movie. The filmmakers skip the over-done documentary style of laying out the problem of the subject in minute detail for three quarters of the movie before they consider what solutions are required, but The Hunting Ground moves back and forth between problem and solution and then bringing up more issues to consider and wondrously shows how young women in their 20's who have been raped, stand up for themselves in spite of the adults who are supposed to be helping them seemingly doing everything BUT. This is just an amazing piece of filmmaking, I'm so bummed that it didn't get a Best Documentary nomination for the upcoming Oscars. At least it got a nod best song...

I feel it important to mention the misogyny I experienced online after watching The Hunting Ground. It was a fluke at first in that I wanted to find out what the budget was. From that google search, I came across two articles that attack the movie for various reasons, at first I doubted myself as to what I had just seen and if I missed something the writer of these articles had seen. But then I did searches on the website that provided these articles and found were both from (ultra?) conservative websites. Since when did doubting (and sometimes hating) women become a conservative value?? Then I checked out the message board at imdb.com and I've never seen such hatred at that site. Anger over even a woman considering saying something not 100% positive about a male. I wimped out and hit the back button on my browser, but I'm going to have to go back there at some point and speak up. I'm too upset at most of the posts to write something that will not get me banned there! But the a**holes there need to be taken to task... Maybe I'll go back when the movie wins an Oscar!

I'm looking forward to heads exploding if Kristen Stewart can soon be referred to as an Academy Award Winner.

Alas, no youtube videos of heads exploding... I haven't seen Spotlight yet, but I'm ready to be peeved that Mark Ruffalo got a nomination when Stewart's name won't be on the ballot.

Tomorrowland's poor performance permanently killed the possibility of Tron 3.

What did you hear about Tron 3 being cancelled because of how Tomorrowland performed? Seems weird to me as the movies aren't part of the same series. 2010's Tron Legacy did well at the box office, 200 million production budget and 460 million in box office and dvd/blu-ray sales. If they could be less crazy with the budget for Tron 3, then they should have a money-maker on their hands.

 

[Artemis@BC]

Last night I watched Mistress America. If you liked Frances Ha, you'll like this one too -- it's basically Greta Gerwig playing an almost identical character, and Gerwig & Noah Baumbach writing the same offbeat tone of script. I actually thought this one was a better movie in many ways than Frances Ha, at least in the traditional film sense, as the story has more of an arc and the characters have more of a journey.

 

[Jay42]

I was at the movies yesterday and saw the trailer for 'Miracles from Heaven' with Jennifer Garner. - I think it told the whole story!
I hate that.

When I saw the trailer for this crop up on my Facebook I ignored it because I thought it was some lame spoof movie. The description doesn't read like something real. Then I finally watched the trailer because my curiosity got the better of me. It's one of the most confusing trailers I have ever seen. I still didn't completely believe it was a real movie because it just looks so ridiculous. I had to look it up on IMDb just to make sure what I was seeing was actually happening.

What did you hear about Tron 3 being cancelled because of how Tomorrowland performed? Seems weird to me as the movies aren't part of the same series. 2010's Tron Legacy did well at the box office, 200 million production budget and 460 million in box office and dvd/blu-ray sales. If they could be less crazy with the budget for Tron 3, then they should have a money-maker on their hands.

Different franchise but same genre. Disney was also basing it off of how John Carter and The Lone Ranger performed. Because those movies were all kind of niche and with John Carter, Tomorrowland and Tron 2 all being sci-fi and none of them performed all that well. Tron 2 was only barely a success, John Carter and Tomorrowland are considered box office disasters. Although I do believe Tomorrowland was able to meet it's budget after it went worldwide. But much like Tron 2, only barely.

However Tomorrowland was coming as an original idea that wasn't executed as well as it could have been. John Carter is apparently actually pretty good, I still haven't seen it although I do plan on seeing it, it was marketed absolutely horribly and changing the name to John Carter from John Carter of Mars was one of their biggest mistakes with marketing it. The first Tron movie was not a success when it came out and I think Disney may have kind of forgotten that and invested too much money in trying to make it like the next Avatar visually and instead gave us semi-creepy CGI young Jeff Bridges.

The Lone Ranger was pretty much guaranteed to bomb the instant they cast Johnny Depp as Tonto instead of hiring someone who is actually Aboriginal/First Nations.

Here is an article that gives a little bit more detail on the whole thing.

I do remember reading in a couple of places before Tomorrowland came out that for Tron 3 to be officially greenlit Tomorrowland needed to perform well. I haven't been able to find those articles though.

 

[Aussie Willy]

I tried watching The Big Short today. Unfortunately after a very difficult week (from sleepless nights due to my treatment) I was falling asleep during the film. Damn those reclining chairs.

What I can remember was very interesting although like most stuff to do with finance I have enough trouble trying to understand it.

 

[Japanfan]

Then I checked out the message board at imdb.com and I've never seen such hatred at that site. Anger over even a woman considering saying something not 100% positive about a male. I wimped out and hit the back button on my browser, but I'm going to have to go back there at some point and speak up. I'm too upset at most of the posts to write something that will not get me banned there! But the a**holes there need to be taken to task...

Go for it, Peter G. And thank you!

 

[Vash01]

I tried watching The Big Short today. Unfortunately after a very difficult week (from sleepless nights due to my treatment) I was falling asleep during the film. Damn those reclining chairs.

What I can remember was very interesting although like most stuff to do with finance I have enough trouble trying to understand it.

I fell asleep briefly (during the first 30 minutes) even without a reclining chair

The movie is slow and confusing initially but really picks up later.

 

[agalisgv]

The Lone Ranger was pretty much guaranteed to bomb the instant they cast Johnny Depp as Tonto instead of hiring someone who is actually Aboriginal/First Nations.

How many blockbusters have Adam Beach/Wes Studi/Graham Green headlined? Dances With Wolves did well because it had a non-Indian lead. Smoke Signals is a fairly obscure film despite having Native lead actors.

Lone Ranger worked very closely with the Comanche Nation to make its portrayal was appropriate. The Comanches were well pleased with the end product. Depp came out to screen the movie with the Native community in OK, and again was very well received.

Whatever problems Lone Ranger had didn't come from not employing Native peoples.

 

[PeterG]

Haven't gotten around to commenting on the TV-movie that aired in December based on Dolly Parton's song, which was also the title of the movie, "Coat Of Many Colors". I loved it. It reminded me of Little House On The Prairie and The Waltons. Just a straight-forward story that's not afraid of having a heart and not afraid of taking a firm stance on what's right and what's wrong. I hope that doesn't sound overbearing, because the movie isn't like that. Some of the films over the last few years that are marketed to a Christian market seem like that, but not this one. The cast, Ricky Schroder, Jennifer Nettles (from the country duo Sugarland) and Gerald McCraney are all top-notch. Coat of Many Colors is basically just a sweet movie in many ways, but one of depth as well. The connections between various characters are very heartfelt but not simplistic. I definitely recommend this one.

I went to see "The Hateful 8" and hated it. Completely pointless repulsive violence in Tarantino-style with an equally pointless and uninteresting plot inbetween. Half of the film is spent on men beating up, vomiting on and otherwise torturing a woman and the viewer is meant to think she deserves it. It deserves no Oscars!!

If I see the name Tarrantino, I skip that movie. He has a reputation for extreme violence. I don't need that.

Tarantino's obliviousness to the effects his movie has on his audience irks me to no end, but he does come up with great ideas for movies often. The Hateful Eight looks like a filmed stage play to me, kind of like a mystery-drama-thriller. But it sounds like from XelaM's review, there's much more violence in it than I expected. And to find out that there's more violence than I expected...and a lot of it is aimed at a woman? I'd like to hear how others feel about this. I'm thinking I should delete it from my To See list.

Deadpool is very different from Green Lantern. It took a lot to get Deadpool made, largely because of the failure of the Green Lantern movie. If you watch the trailers for Deadpool you will see where they take a few potshots at Green Lantern. I'm excited for Deadpool. I think it looks pretty awesome and should be true to how Deadpool should be done unlike what they did I the steaming pile of crap that is X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I was very relieved when I saw that they were ignoring that.

Deadpool's trailer was far and away the best received at San Diego Comic-Con last year. As soon as the applause died down they had to play it again because of how loud the fans were chanting for it.

I'll probably give Deadpool a try. Didn't like the first trailer that I saw. I thought Reynold's smart-alec portrayal of the character was quite annoying. I'm hoping that's the result of a badly made trailer and whoever made that trailer thought that would reach snotty young male teens that would bring $$$ to the theatre. I'm surprised by the number of times a trailer does not reflect well what a movie is really like. Hopefully this will be one of them.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

I'll probably give Deadpool a try. Didn't like the first trailer that I saw. I thought Reynold's smart-alec portrayal of the character was quite annoying. I'm hoping that's the result of a badly made trailer and whoever made that trailer thought that would reach snotty young male teens that would bring $$$ to the theatre. I'm surprised by the number of times a trailer does not reflect well what a movie is really like. Hopefully this will be one of them.

Deadpool IS a smart*ss; the characterization in the trailer is pretty spot on.

 

[PeterG]

But there's the smart*ss that is kinda charming and then there's the smart*ss that's kind of a d-bag. I got the latter vibe instead of the former. Some smart*sses you laugh with and other you hope step out in front of a Mack truck.

 

[Jay42]

How many blockbusters have Adam Beach/Wes Studi/Graham Green headlined? Dances With Wolves did well because it had a non-Indian lead. Smoke Signals is a fairly obscure film despite having Native lead actors.

Lone Ranger worked very closely with the Comanche Nation to make its portrayal was appropriate. The Comanches were well pleased with the end product. Depp came out to screen the movie with the Native community in OK, and again was very well received.

Whatever problems Lone Ranger had didn't come from not employing Native peoples.

I'll admit I was unaware of that. There was a lot of extremely negative backlash online towards Depp's casting and it didn't seem to let up until after the movie proved to be a box office disaster.

 

[Vash01]

Saw 'Room' tonight. I had intentionally avoided reading anything about it, so I could enjoy the movie. I had only seen the trailer once or twice and it told me that Jack did see the outside world eventually. That's all I knew. It's a very good movie, about a sensitive topic. The little boy Jacob (actor's name) is simply adorable. Can he become the youngest Oscar winner? I think Brie Larson will win the best actress Oscar this year. Joan Allen was very good (when is she not?) in a small role.

Saw a couple of interesting trailers: 45 years and Son of Saul. I plan on seeing both movies.

 

[manhn]

I have been on a Christopher Nolan kick this week--Interstellar, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Returns. Really liked Interstellar, but those Batman movies were endless. I did like Hathaway's Catwoman a lot. I liked her in Interstellar too. I was surprised how involved I got with that one. And man, the score was superb.

I also watched Pitch Perfect 2 and The Duff. The Duff was quite cute and Mae Whitman was so charming. PP2 is funnier than PP1, but I preferred the music in PP1.

 

[Vash01]

Critics Choice Awards:

http://www.thewrap.com/critics-choice-awards-the-complete-winners-list-updating-live/


Mad Max Fury Road won a lot of awards, but 'Ensemble' went to Spotlight- well deserved.

Best actor: Leonardo Di Caprio
Best Actress: Brie Larson
Best Supporting actor: Sylvestor Stallone
Best supporting actress: Alicia Vikander
Best young actor: Jacob Trembly
Best Director: Mad Max Fury
Best original screenplay: Spotlight
Best Adapted screenplay: The Big Short
Best cinematography: The Revenant

 

[jl22aries]

Just when I thought I wasn't going to not bother watching documentaries anymore...I got The Hunting Ground from the library. AMAZING movie. .

Peter if you enjoyed The Hunting Ground, I'd be curious your thoughts on The Mask You Live In. Not sure if it's available at the library yet. I've seen it pop up at special local screenings. They say they're heading to Netflix. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc45-ptHMxo

 

[dramatheater]

haha i was planning to watch 'The big short' today
I might want to postpone it to some morning viewing. i might want to fall asleep too

I've finally watched all 7 movies of Star Wars... I find the whole franchise overrated. I don't understand people who love the original trilogy and hate the prequels... I think A New Hope is the weakest movie of the bunch.

haha join me! I'll never get the popularity if it. Though I didnt see yesterday's year movie I dont thnk it would change anything in my view of the franchise.

so I procrastinated lying on the sofa & watched some movies yesterday

Danish Girl - Initial intention for watching - just for Eddie (& Wishaw) . I'd give him both best actress & Best actor award. This man is so lively & expresses emotions so naturally! & he's no handsome or some hollywood pretty boy.
Not the subject I'm particularly interested in but I wish there was some afterword about those surgeries. How many of those were successful in history etc. Vikander was OK. (though whenever I see her my mind immediately wanders to crying about nonexistent UNCLE seequel & its distracting!!!)
+The childhood friend who she gets on with @ the end of the movie looks like Putin so bonus points for that
Also Johnny Weir should watch this! He would rock some of Lily's outfits!

Spotlight - Well initial intention for watching - the great ensemble cast & Fluffalo (yeee he got a nomination!!!!). Not as captivating as the reviews made it out to be but interesting nonetheless. Im a religious believer & there was a moment when Mark talks to Rachel's character about planning to go back to attending the church before investigaing the case but disgusted after. Interesting convo & I got his disilusion & all but I compared it to my belief that even if you dont believe in an institution there's always God without any guides or missionaries. People are not perfect but there still should be something/someone in person's life that can give you hope & support in need. I wouldnt be completely disregarding the church.

Revenant - A type of movie you really like while watching & having a lasting impact but the rewach factor is nonexistent b/c of the blood & struggles portrayed. Not for my weak nerves. Kudos to DCaprio & Inaritu.
Pretty relevant in a world where some ppl still really like to label others as savages & barbarians based on ther place of living or nationality.

Room - Intention for watching - awards traction.
I was a fan of Brie for some time now. Noticed her back in '13 Going on 30' & 'Remember the daze'
Great that she has momentum now. She has this natural charm & presence, no overacting which I personally favour over Daniel day Lewis-like dramatics (no offence to DDL obv!)
Havent read any spoilers so was thinkig it will be over when they got out. Really emotion with an indie feel. Glad it got the attention it deserves. Some worthy movies like that usually get buried easily.

Trainwreck - decided to check out b/c of the high RT score & ppl commenting it was funny.
Well probably its funny to someone else....Only bits I found funny were Johnny Depp & Radcliffe mentions.
Really strange b/c initially I thought it would be in the sort of a bit raunchy humour of Melissa MacCarthy movies...

 

[Xela M]

Danish Girl - ...
+The childhood friend who she gets on with @ the end of the movie looks like Putin so bonus points for that

OMG nooo!! Matthias Schoenaerts is beautiful. He is so hot in Suite Francaise

 

[dramatheater]

OMG nooo!! Matthias Schoenaerts is beautiful. He is so hot in Suite Francaise

Apparently Im not the only one
haha OK I'll bookmark that movie

 

[Xela M]

I watched 'The Ref' - the 1994 comedy with Kevin Spacey. The film is funny in a great Christmas feel-good kind of way, but Kevin Spacey acts everyone off the screen. Judy Davis as his wife just doesn't cut it at all especially when they appear in scenes together. But then Kevin Spacey is a genius.

It reminded me of our earlier debate on here about sexappeal in a man. Kevin Spacey is a prime example of an average looking guy who is incredibly sexy.

 

[gk_891]

I watched 'The Ref' - the 1994 comedy with Kevin Spacey. The film is funny in a great Christmas feel-good kind of way, but Kevin Spacey acts everyone off the screen. Judy Davis as his wife just doesn't cut it at all especially when they appear in scenes together. But then Kevin Spacey is a genius.

It reminded me of our earlier debate on here about sexappeal in a man. Kevin Spacey is a prime example of an average looking guy who is incredibly sexy.

I remember when that movie came out. Some thought that it was going to be the vehicle that would catapult Denis Leary's career into stardom but I don't think that really happened to my memory (or at least I can't think of too many things he's been in since then).

 

[Xela M]

I remember when that movie came out. Some thought that it was going to be the vehicle that would catapult Denis Leary's career into stardom but I don't think that really happened to my memory (or at least I can't think of too many things he's been in since then).

Kevin Spacey is so good I didn't really notice any amazing acting from Denis Leary. Spacey commands every scene

 

[gk_891]

Kevin Spacey is so good I didn't really notice any amazing acting from Denis Leary. Spacey commands every scene

It's been so long since I've seen The Ref but I do agree that from what I remember, he (Spacey) was the best thing about it. I also remember being disappointed with Judy Davis' performance. She has given some good performances in the past but this wasn't one of them.

 

[gk_891]

Has anyone ever seen Man With a Movie Camera? It's a stunning silent film by Soviet director Dziga Vertov. I personally liked it better than The Battleship Potemkin but I do acknowledge that The Battleship Potemkin is one of the most influential films of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z97Pa0ICpn8

 

[Artemis@BC]

Saw 'Room' tonight. I had intentionally avoided reading anything about it, so I could enjoy the movie. I had only seen the trailer once or twice and it told me that Jack did see the outside world eventually. That's all I knew. It's a very good movie, about a sensitive topic. The little boy Jacob (actor's name) is simply adorable. Can he become the youngest Oscar winner? I think Brie Larson will win the best actress Oscar this year. Joan Allen was very good (when is she not?) in a small role.

Highly unlikely, since he wasn't nominated.

He (Jacob Tremblay) has received a ton of attention and accolades though, so no doubt his acting career is well and truly established. Assuming he wants it, of course.

I still haven't managed to see the film, it ran for such a short time here and not in any convenient location for me. But I keep hoping that the Oscar buzz will bring it back.

I loved the book though, so have no doubt that that material + the great acting results in an excellent film.

 

[Jimena]

I just watched Room and I really liked it. I understand why Brie Larson has received so many accolades but I was blown away by Jacob Tremblay. He was wonderful.

And Joan Allen, as usual, was a gem. She's such a great actress.

 

[Cachoo]

Vash listed the big awards....listed a few more---some part of the Critics Awards ceremony and some not....

BEST PICTURE -- "Spotlight"

BEST ACTOR -- Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"

BEST ACTRESS -- Brie Larson, "Room"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Sylvester Stallone, "Creed"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS -- Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS -- Jacob Tremblay, "Room"

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE -- "Spotlight"

BEST DIRECTOR -- George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY -- Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY -- Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, "The Big Short"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY -- Emmanuel Lubezki, "The Revenant"

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN -- Colin Gibson, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST EDITING -- Margaret Sixel, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN -- Jenny Beavan, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP -- "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS -- "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE -- "Inside Out"

BEST ACTION MOVIE -- "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE -- Tom Hardy, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE -- Charlize Theron, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST COMEDY -- "The Big Short"

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY -- Christian Bale, "The Big Short"

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY -- Amy Schumer, "Trainwreck"

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE -- "Ex Machina"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM -- "Son of Saul"

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE -- "Amy"

BEST SONG -- "See You Again", Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa, "Furious 7"

BEST SCORE -- Ennio Morricone, "The Hateful Eight"

.

 

[PeterG]

"I Am Sam" (Sean Penn, a young Dakota Fanning) is another movie I never got around to seeing. Here's an example of a movie that wasn't seen for good reason...it was just awful!! The script is such a mess than it dragged both Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer down to career lows. Dakota Fanning fared much better. Perhaps Penn and Pfeiffer were over-acting to make up for a horrible script and Fanning just played her role straight...so she ends up out-performing her much more accomplished co-stars. There is a good story here, but not a script thanks to Kristine Johnson (who hasn't done anything since this movie) and Jessie Nelson who went on to write the smashes Because I Said So and Fred Claus. Now without googling, can anybody name who starred in either of those movies? One to miss.

Saw In the Heart of the Sea. I liked it a lot, though the whale harvesting scenes were sad to watch. Not sure why it didn't get more love at the box office--I thought it was very well done.

I think it had too much competition at the box office. Interesting that Rush (also directed by Ron Howard and starred Chris Hemsworth) was a hit, so one would think these two were a winning combo. I swear In The Heart of the Sea had a different title at one point (but can't find any proof of that) which I remember thinking, "that is NOT a good title"... But it came out after the final Hunger Games and just before The Force Awakens, so people had seen, or were about to see, an adventure movie that already had a built-in audience. Plus other adventure (ish) movies that came out in December included Creed, Point Break, The Hateful Eight, The Revenant...just too many movies out at the same time that would appeal to people who would want to see an adventure type of movie.

Interestingly, I never saw a Dean film despite being a film studies major. And never got through 'Streetcar Named Desire', which looked to me a form of torture. But I appreciated Brando in other films, and that appreciation grew when he gave his final gut-wrenching interview with Larry King. It is one of the honest things I've ever seen a celebrity do.

I can't say that I have seen a Marlon Brando film which made me say, "I loved it!" Anytime I've watched one of his movies is because the movie was considered a classic and I felt that as a movie lover, it was one that I should see. I'm sure if I re-watched The Godfather I'd be able to say I loved a Brando film (I saw it so long ago I only remember bits and pieces). But maybe I'd think, "the movie was great, but man, did that guy ever over-act"!!