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

[Cachoo]

Honestly I think if Debbie would not have put her on stage when she was so young maybe she would have let that voice shine in her lifetime. It was beautiful. But then again maybe Carrie would have wanted out of her mother's shadow whether Debbie put her on stage or kept her in the wings. I'm so glad, that when they died, they were close and the old wounds had healed. And I'm glad Carrie is so celebrated. She was a true original. I couldn't sleep the other night so I watched "Postcards from the Edge" and loved Carrie's screenplay from her book. And Meryl and Shirley were wonderful together too. Quality all of the way around on that film....

 

[Buzz]

Just saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and LOVED it!!! Baby Groot rocks!!!

 

[Aussie Willy]

I saw Get Out tonight. Very good. It is not really horror movie. However is very suspenseful (probably similar type of suspense as The Sixth Sense) and they use the soundtrack to great effect.

 

[all_empty]

I just screened "Alien Convenant" and while you could predict where all the scares would be, it was still terrifying.

Lots of homages/nods back to the previous films, particularly the penultimate battle. Plus, plenty of the iconic scenes, i.e. the facegrabbers emerging from the eggs, the chestbursters, the piston chomping, etc.

I would highly recommend you see "Prometheus" and the epilogue that Fox posted on YouTube because this is a direct sequel.

My only gripe: It was a very large cast and while there were many relationships (including a gay one that was explored more in preview clips but not in the film), you don't really get invested in any of them.

 

[smurfy]

I saw 'The Dinner' with Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall. and Laura Linney.
I am still trying to figure out what I think,
The acting was very good. Everyone was very good - but Coogan was great!
Some of the cinematography was interesting and at times distracting/confusing. It added to the confusion of the story but also not sure if the filmaker were showing off.
The use of music was also distracting at times. I wish I could have turned on close captioning like I do at home on my tv, as the music interfered with hearing the dialogue.
The initial impression of people changes through the movie and the ending is WTF. Some of the activity during the dinner at the restaurant was distracting.
I am glad I saw it, it is definitely not for everybody. I wonder if I watched a few more times, I am not sure I would be less confused. One could call it pretentsious.

 

[watchthis!!]

Movie news: Hemsworth Brothers Edition

Cannes: Liam Hemsworth to Star in Action-Thriller 'Killerman' (Exclusive)
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-liam-hemsworth-star-action-thriller-killerman-999632

The story centers on small-time money launderer Moe Diamond (Hemsworth), who is suffering from amnesia after a freak accident during a deal gone wrong. Plus, he's got vicious gangsters hot on his tail and dirty cops not far behind.

Hmm. Not the most original movie idea...

Luke Hemsworth is Wild Bill in 'Hickok' Trailer
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/luke-hemsworth-is-wild-bill-hickok-trailer-999737

In the recently released trailer for Hickok, Hemsworth stars as the titular "Wild" Bill Hickok alongside Bruce Dern, Kris Kristofferson and Trace Adkins as bullets aplenty are fired and lawlessness threatens the small town of Abilene, Kansas.

Also not the most original idea, but we don't get westerns too often these days. And Hemsworth certainly looks good in his cowboy gear. Interesting cast as well.

 

[floridaice]

I got 88

Today I saw the film Their Finest. Starred Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin. Richard E Grant, Jeremy Irons and Bill Nighy. I really enjoyed it. It is about movie making in England during the second world war. Particularly creating movies that would generate support for the war effort. I really like Arterton as an actress and she does a great job in this one.

I saw Their Finest last weekend and really enjoyed it. (One of the last trailers before it started was for Dunkirk, which was interesting.) I thought the entire cast was great, especially Gemma Arterton, Bill Nighy, and Rachael Stirling.

 

[PeterG]

The Life Before Her Eyes is one of those movies that you think about the next day and the day after that and then again a week later... It just won't seem to leave you. And it's not like it's the type of movie that hits you ever a head with a message, but it's more subtle and just seeps into your being and stays with you. It's a drama from 2007 starring Evan Rachel Wood and Uma Thurman. Oscar Isaac also has a small role in it. The movie is about two high school girls who are best friends and are at the age of wondering what their adult lives will be like. They duck into a restroom just before class and start hearing noises. They can't believe what they're hearing and Evan Rachel Wood's character remembers that the day before, a classmate had said he was going to bring a gun to school. She thought he was just venting, so she just let it slide. The movie goes back and forth from their high school days to the current time where Thurman plays Evan Rachel Wood as an adult. The director (Vadim Perelman) first directed The House of Sand And Fog before directing this movie. That first film of his got three academy award nominations including best actor for Ben Kingsley and best supporting actress for Shohreh Aghdashloo. It did moderate box office business and The Life Before Her Eyes had even less success. But not because it's not a great movie. Probably because of the subject matter and the seriousness of a movie world that probably wanted tyrannical dinosaurs terrorizing a remote island instead of something as thoughtful and intelligent as this. The Making Of featurette on the DVD is really good as well. Hearing about how this project came about and how passionately everyone cared about this film. Highly recommended!

Although I honestly wouldn't have nominated her for Best Director for those films either given the other choices those years, I do think she's on to something there and there have been worse films and directors nominated for Best Director. I'm sure it got worse for her when she spoke her truth. I'm sure others think this is another one of those Streisand entitlement issues. I remember she was also angry that A Mirror Has Two Faces was snubbed and there was public attention leading up to those Oscars which many attribute to Lauren Bacall losing the Oscar that year after being the favorite. That said, I don't think Bacall should have won and am not sure why she was considered a favorite considering her competition other than the over due narrative. That said, I do think the movie itself is a bit underrated (I actually really enjoyed the college setting and lecture scenes and conversations between Streisand's character and Jeff Bridges' character before it went into Rom Com formula and deep Streisand narcissism)

I'm a Streisand fanatic, so I'm not at all objective about this. And I love Yentl, so I can't help but think there was a snub there for that work...when Warren Beatty wore multiple hats for his movies, he got recognition in every possible way for what he did. Streisand...not so much. I'd be happy to argue that Yentl is a better piece of work than Heaven Can Wait. I don't remember hearing anything about Bacall not winning because of any backlash against Streisand for expressing disappointment. That sounds horrible if that's what happened. But Bacall was slighted in her career, with The Mirror Has Two Faces being her first and only Oscar nomination. Now that's a crime, to be sure! I tend to think that when a movie has people nominated for an acting Oscar, then that is a bit of a tip of the hat to the director. And all three of Streisand's movies got nominations under her direction. Plus The Prince of Tides got seven nominations, which Streisand also co-produced. Lastly, Streisand should be happy that she was the only director that was able to get Bacall an Oscar nomination. These loser directors were not able to do what Streisand did:

Sidney Lumet
John Huston
Howard Hawks
George Cukor
Vincente Minelli
Rob Reiner

Guess they just didn't have the talent as directors that Streisand has.

 

[smurfy]

Cleaning out my DVR, this weekend I watched:

Lincoln Lawyer - enjoyable movie, a little predictable, but the main crime McConaughey was defending had a good twist. Almost felt like a pilot for tv show - it could work as one. Better quality than a tv movie, easy to watch. The movie had lots of familiar faces in small parts (Marissa Tomei as ex wife, William H Macy as investigator, Trace Adkins as an interesting biker/client and among others at the court house.

Northanger Abbey with Felicity Jones. I have not read this Austen book, but it felt like an Austen story. Jones is enjoyable, love the costumes. Filmed in Ireland - Lismore Castle - now I want to go there! Easy to watch on a lazy Sunday.

Judgment at Nuremberg from 1961 with Spencer Tracy, many others and Maximilian Schell - won the oscar - and well deserved. Many of the cast had their time to shine - lots of good acting. But Schell was amazing. Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland were also wonderful and Spencer Tracy - I always enjoy watching him. 3 hour long movie, covered a lot, but did not feel long. Great movie - presents different points of view, makes one think. One of those movies I had never seen before.

 

[Buzz]

Final Wonder Woman trailer:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VSB4wGIdDwo

New Spider-Man footage:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F0vMKjVjdg8

 

[skatesindreams]

Judgment at Nuremberg from 1961 with Spencer Tracy, many others and Maximilian Schell - won the oscar - and well deserved. Many of the cast had their time to shine - lots of good acting. But Schell was amazing. Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland were also wonderful and Spencer Tracy - I always enjoy watching him.

IMO, Judy Garland was robbed of the Academy Award.
She was nominated for this truly great performance, yet didn't win.
It was a privilege to watch her.

 

[MacMadame]

Saw Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol II over the weekend. I enjoyed it quite a bit but I didn't have the love, love, love reaction that I did for the first one. In fact, I thought it was a bit slow in parts. The ending was great though.

Got to see a lot of trailers for potential blockbusters. The new Pirates of the Caribbean movie looks pretty meh. And the new Transformer movie looks even worse than the last one. Spider-man looks good if you like Spider-man and Ironman.

OTOH I absolutely can't wait for Wonder Woman! I am not a big fan of the comic but every time I see a trailer, I think "I've got to see this!"

The rest of the trailers have already faded from memory. Not a good sign.

 

[watchthis!!]

I enjoyed the documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali much more than I expected. Ali has had such a strong presence in the public eye that I was shocked about how little I really knew about him and what he went through. This is one of the better-made documentaries I have seen...I was irked to have top hit the pause button while watching when I needed to take a washroom break! I just couldn't stop watching to see what happened next. Basically the movie covers the 60's when Ali was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and how he was banned from his profession for most of the decade, when he was at his prime. But his prime lasted a LOOOONG time, so he got to accomplish a lot once the Supreme Court eventually voted unanimously in his favour. This is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen.
Trailer for The Trials of Muhammad Ali: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF_jh3_p_gw

 

[Buzz]

GOTG2 made $145m in North America and about $425m worldwide.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4290&p=.htm

 

[Buzz]

A fun read about the publication history of the Wonder Woman character.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/origin-story-wonder-woman-180952710/

 

[watchthis!!]

Patti LuPone: Madonna's A Movie Killer
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...onnas-a-movie-killer/articleshow/58619859.cms

Wow, LuPone's relevancy on today's world of stage and film is about as revelant as she is these days! (Madonna has not appeared on the silver screen since 2002's Swept Away.)

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2017-05-12th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipTQcnnbgPXJbkTM9oayLrGt

A lot of good movies this week! In other weeks, I'd have bolded a few more titles that would go on my To See list, but I figure seven selections per week should be my limit. Other movies this week that look good include Manifesto, Whisky Galore, Jasmine and Generation Iron 2. And a few others look like they might be good, but the trailer paled in comparison to those that are going on my list. Which ones are you excited to see?


May 12th - Snatched (Wide) – Comedy with Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Randall Park, Wanda Sykes, Christopher Meloni and Joan Cusack

May 12th - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (Wide) – Adventure drama with Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Eric Bana and Djimon Hounsou

May 12th - Paris Can Wait (Limited) – Romantic comedy with Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin

May 12th - The Wall (Limited) – War drama with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cen

May 10th - The Drowning (Limited – New York) – Thriller with Julia Stiles and Josh Charles

May 12th - Folk Hero & Funny Guy (Limited) – Comedy with Alex Karpovsky, Wyatt Russell, Melanie Lynskey, Michael Ian Black, Heather Morris and David Cross

May 12th - Lowriders (Limited) – Drama with Demián Bichir, Melissa Benoist [Supergirl] and Eva Longoria

May 10th - Manifesto (Limited) – Drama. From imdb.com: “Cate Blanchett performs manifestos as a series of striking monologues.”

May 12th - Whisky Galore (Limited) – British romantic comedy with Ellie Kendrick [Game of Thrones] and Eddie Izzard

May 12th - Dead Awake (Limited) – Horror thriller with Lori Petty and Jesse Bradford

May 12th - Urban Hymn (Limited) – Crime drama with Shirley Henderson and Ian Hart

May 12th - Tracktown (Limited) – Sports drama with a new cast & Rachel Dracht [Saturday Night Live]. From imdb.com: “A young, talented, and lonely long-distance runner twists her ankle as she prepares for the Olympic Trials and must do something she's never done before: take a day off.”

May 12th - Jasmine (Limited) – Thriller, new cast. From imdb.com: “A year after his wife's murder, once-successful Hong Kong businessman Leonard To (Jason Tobin) is still reeling from the tragedy. Having lost his job, friends, and all sense of order in his life, Leonard becomes obsessed with a mysterious stranger he sees at his wife's grave, believing him to be responsible for her death.”

May 12th - Hounds of Love (Limited) – Horror, new cast. From imdb.com: “Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple. As she observes the dynamic between her captors she quickly realises she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive.”

May 12th - Generation Iron 2 (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “… the anticipated sequel that will depict 5 of the top bodybuilding and fitness mega-stars on a quest of achieving the ultimate physique and taking it to the next extreme level.”

May 12th - Violet (Limited) – Dutch action drama. From imdb.com: “15-year-old Jesse is the only one who witnessed the stabbing of his friend Jonas. Now he has to face his family and friends form the BMX riders crew and explain the unexplainable - how he feels about it.”

May 12th - The Wedding Plan (Limited) – Israeli romantic comedy. From imdb.com: “When her fiancé bows out on the eve of her wedding, Michal refuses to cancel the wedding arrangements. An Orthodox Jew, she insists that God will supply her a husband. As the clock ticks down.”

May 12th - Meri Pyaari Bindu (Limited) – Indian musical romance. From imdb.com: “A successful writer, Abhimanyu Roy who is stuck with a writers block returns to his roots to write an old-fashioned love story. The writers block is called Bindu who is the love of his life but he has lost contact with her…”

May 12th - Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe (Limited) – German drama. From imdb.com: “Before Dawn charts the years of exile in the life of famous Jewish Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, his inner struggle for the "right attitude" towards the events in war torn Europe and his search for a new home.”

 

[Jay42]

Patti LuPone: Madonna's A Movie Killer
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...onnas-a-movie-killer/articleshow/58619859.cms

Wow, LuPone's relevancy on today's world of stage and film is about as revelant as she is these days! (Madonna has not appeared on the silver screen since 2002's Swept Away.)

I would say Lupone is still pretty relevant on stage and she has worked in TV recently. She was on Watch What Happens Live promoting a play she's in. And I mean, she's not wrong about Madonna in movies.

 

[VGThuy]

Lupone and Madonna are both great in different ways. Both are real divas with the good and the bad. Both have serious personality quirks/issues that people will find off-putting. One is a real singer whose voice and sheer force of personality dominates the stage in intimate theatre settings that can simply wow the socks out of theatre goers while the other heavily collaborates with talented artists and producers to create music she wants and enunciates much better and is also a real force on stage with a clear point-of-view when she's performing her work in front of thousands in a concert setting. Both have more-or-less the same movie success though one has been in better projects and is a much better actress though can be over-the-top and thus isn't very versatile with the roles she can successfully play compared to her contemporaries. The other one can't really play any character successfully (other than the image she wants to project like in Truth or Dare where her brother said was not truly a real of a depiction of her but an image she wanted to send out at that time in her career) and really is a bit dead behind the eyes and blinks too much on camera (and I hear is worse in plays), but has really done great music videos and has been great to almost legendary in them. Essentially, one is a big personality who can sing and act while the other is more of an performance artist with real dance training and a huge ego and knows she has a real marketable image and uses it to take control of her career who found her niche in music and intentionally brought underground trends and culture to the mainstream. Many people think both are hitting the tail end of their careers (if they haven't already) and have critics who say both overstayed their welcome and huge fans who defend them and will support everything they do.

 

[smurfy]

I saw 'The Circle'. It is based on a book, and I would guess a lot was left out. It was not bad, but felt hollow.
I think Tom Hanks and Oswalt Patton were suppose to be menacing bad guys - but did not come across that way, it was Tom Hanks - which surprised me as he is a good actor, but nothing special here.
Emma Watson's character Mae - maybe I was seeing Hermoine too much, but I wanted her to be smarter and was not sure. John Boyega's character was interesting and had promise. Lots of good ideas, but not carried through.
The Circle - the story and product - is scary and thought provoking - but it seemed all pat.
This could have been a very cool movie, but I was not scared, if anything it got me thinking more about privacy and all that in general in real life - not scared during the movie.

 

[watchthis!!]

The Governess ended up being a much better movie than I expected. Minnie Driver plays the lead character, and at first you think this is going to be another Merchant Ivory type of movie...and it is in a way, but instead of the story moving in all the expected directions, most of the time the writer takes us to a place we haven't gone before. So I ended up very happy with this one. Minnie Driver's character has to leave her Jewish family after her father dies so that she can make money as a governess to provide for her family. She also has to pose as a gentile as she fears the British families who need a governess would be unlikely to hire a Jewish woman. Tom Wilkinson plays the patriarch of the family and Driver and Wilkinson are both incredible in their roles. Their relationship is different than anything I've seen from this kind of movie before, so it's a pleasure to watch their tale be told. Jonathan Rhys Meyers also has a smaller role in this, which I assume is one of his first roles as he looks so young. I highly recommend this one.

The Governess trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o_nn5rCANg

I would say Lupone is still pretty relevant on stage and she has worked in TV recently. She was on Watch What Happens Live promoting a play she's in. And I mean, she's not wrong about Madonna in movies.

I don't think anyone can make a very good argument for Madonna being a great film actress. It's just that Lupone's statement is like a musician stepping forward to say, "I think the Seattle grunge scene is past it's prime". It's like I expect a guy in a red blazer and sailor's hat to step into the middle of the scene and everyone around him to yell, "Thanks, Captain Obvious"!!

 

[Buzz]

There is something wrong with the Cineplex site because they still don't have Wonder Woman tickets on sale!

 

[Jay42]

There is something wrong with the Cineplex site because they still don't have Wonder Woman tickets on sale!

There's been some talk on a couple of sites that Warner Brothers isn't marketing the movie very well. Maybe the tickets aren't on sale yet because Warner hasn't allowed them to put them on sale?

 

[PeterG]

There is something wrong with the Cineplex site because they still don't have Wonder Woman tickets on sale!

If only there was a superhero around to help out with things like that...

 

[Buzz]

No sooner had I whined about not being able to get tickets, then I wake up this morning and voila! They went on sale this morning! PHEW! But I am still peeved that they waited this long! GOTG2 Tickets went on sale six weeks in advance!

 

[PeterG]

No sooner had I whined about not being able to get tickets, then I wake up this morning and voila! They went on sale this morning! PHEW! But I am still peeved that they waited this long! GOTG2 Tickets went on sale six weeks in advance!

That's wonderful, woman!

 

[Wyliefan]

I don't think anyone can make a very good argument for Madonna being a great film actress. It's just that Lupone's statement is like a musician stepping forward to say, "I think the Seattle grunge scene is past it's prime". It's like I expect a guy in a red blazer and sailor's hat to step into the middle of the scene and everyone around him to yell, "Thanks, Captain Obvious"!!

Well, they specifically asked her about Madonna in Evita, so . . .

 

[smurfy]

I saw 'King Arthur'. It is very stylish, well crafted. It started off well. One scene in particular was hilarious - when Arthur tries to tell a story. The humor was really good at times. The first act was very good, entertaining, good pace. It was entertaining to a point, middle of the 2nd act, then it lost me. It felt long and drawn out - and I started not to care. The ending was good.
And so obvious they plan a sequel or 2. Certain well known arthurian characters were not even in the movie.
The cast was good, especially Jude Law. There were a bunch of supporting roles - that were not fleshed out.
I do not think I can recommend.

 

[skatesindreams]

Even though the reviews have been bad, I heard that two sequels have been planned thus far.

 

[watchthis!!]

Julia Roberts To Star In 'The Bookseller'
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/julia-roberts-star-bookseller-1002684

Swanson's book, which first hit shelves in 2015, follows Kitty Miller, a single woman who runs a bookshop, who finds herself living out an alternate life — one in which she is married to the love of her life and has beautiful children — in her dreams. The lines between her real-life and dream life begin to blur, and she must figure out what is real and what is imagined.

This project looks really interesting. Sounds like her role will be a wonderful challenge to take on.

Even though the reviews have been bad, I heard that two sequels have been planned thus far.

I saw an article that said King Arthur was expected to take in much less than expected this weekend and that the budget was high, so it looks like bad news for any sequels, planned or otherwise.

Well, they specifically asked her about Madonna in Evita, so . . .

I know. I just expected more from LuPone than to spew out such bile about someone who took the message about her acting over a decade and a half ago. I think LuPone is so talented, so her comments to me make her sound bitter and lacking tact.