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

[VGThuy]

The theme of a sycophant climbing the ladder of success by "sucking up" to the boss; couldn't be more relevant, today.

IMO, Robert Morse was the ideal "Finch"; craven behind the "charm".
No one else has done it so well as he did.

I love Robert Morse. His performance of "I Believe in You" in the film that @watchthis!! linked is excellent as is Michelle Lee's version, which her character does not sing on the stage version. I've always been partial to this abridged version he performed at the Tony Awards, when the show started getting televised in the 1970s and they invited Broadway stars from old shows to perform a number.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzjnxWHl8gA

 

[PeterG]

I watched two comedy special these last few days. First up was Amy Schumer's Leather Special. Quite good, but I was surprised how much stuff of a sexual nature was covered. But I guess that was warm-up for an episode of The Stand-Ups with Nikki Glaser. It was just under 30 minutes, but the majority of it was all about sex, including stuff about doing it with her...well...kids might be reading so I'm not going to say any more. But I don't remember a comedian talking about sex with their...ahem...before. Funny stuff in there, but I'm unsure about where she went with this. Pushing the boundaries to be sure....just not sure if that's a boundary that needed pushing...

The thing I really love about the soundtrack in Baby Driver, even though the songs are mostly songs we've heard before, is that they are used so well I didn't even think about it. The songs are used like the movie is a musical and it's so awesome.

At imdb.com they list over 35 songs that are in the movie and I know of less than 10 of them. And I consider my knowledge of music to be pretty good. We need to play musical trivial pursuit!

 

[Anita18]

I feel like Dunkirk is Nolan's answer to the criticism that he uses too much exposition. I suppose it helps that this one is based on actual history, not complicated sci-fi stuff he has to explain. Nobody gets probably more than 10 lines of dialogue in the entire movie. (Harry Styles actually gets a lot to say, but he still doesn't say much! He's pretty good!) Tom Hardy once again eye-acts the hell out of everyone.

I really liked it! I'll have to see it again to really get into it though - one thing I love about Nolan's work also makes it difficult to enjoy the first time for me. I'm too busy figuring out what's going on and deconstructing the structure, to really get into it emotionally. But DAMN it's beautiful in 70mm IMAX. I dunno if any other FSUers saw it that way, but OMG THE AERIAL SCENES. THE SOLDIERS ON THE BEACH. THE (second to) LAST SHOT. Totally droolworthy when 5 stories tall! And I know that the likes of Michael Bay has blown up many a destroyer in his moviemaking, but there is NOTHING like watching a destroyer being bombed from a pilot's POV, shot on IMAX. I read somewhere that the only shots that Nolan didn't get on IMAX film are the ones that have dialogue in them, because the IMAX cameras as still too loud to record dialogue on.

It's incomparable, especially since this was shot documentary-style where you feel like you're actually there. Highly recommend in the IMAX 70mm format.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Advice please: I promised to take my dad to see Dunkirk. Should we do IMAX? We never do, but some critics and early viewers are saying that you should for this movie. For those of you who do go to IMAX, is there really that much of a difference?

IMAX is worth it if the film was actually shot using IMAX cameras. A lot of films are retrofitted or only have a handful of scenes shot in IMAX. That's not how Nolan typically works. Roughly 70% of Dunkirk was lensed with IMAX; see it on the largest format you can.

I saw Interstellar at the Air and Space Smithsonian IMAX and it was gorgeous. I can't imagine how great Dunkirk will look given how it was filmed.

 

[Vash01]

Finally saw 'Baby driver' today. Lots of good things. It has a story, good acting, fast pace. Too much violence for me though, particularly toward the end it was long drawn out and unnecessary, IMO. Liked the twist at the end. Liked some of the songs and the way they fit in the movie.

 

[Jay42]

At imdb.com they list over 35 songs that are in the movie and I know of less than 10 of them. And I consider my knowledge of music to be pretty good. We need to play musical trivial pursuit!

I think I knew 5 or 6 of the songs beforehand. A lot of the music is from the 70's and the 80's I think and that's not an era of music I know very well. I know who most of the bands are. But my music taste seems to be pretty niche.

I feel like Dunkirk is Nolan's answer to the criticism that he uses too much exposition. I suppose it helps that this one is based on actual history, not complicated sci-fi stuff he has to explain. Nobody gets probably more than 10 lines of dialogue in the entire movie. (Harry Styles actually gets a lot to say, but he still doesn't say much! He's pretty good!) Tom Hardy once again eye-acts the hell out of everyone.

I really liked it! I'll have to see it again to really get into it though - one thing I love about Nolan's work also makes it difficult to enjoy the first time for me. I'm too busy figuring out what's going on and deconstructing the structure, to really get into it emotionally. But DAMN it's beautiful in 70mm IMAX. I dunno if any other FSUers saw it that way, but OMG THE AERIAL SCENES. THE SOLDIERS ON THE BEACH. THE (second to) LAST SHOT. Totally droolworthy when 5 stories tall! And I know that the likes of Michael Bay has blown up many a destroyer in his moviemaking, but there is NOTHING like watching a destroyer being bombed from a pilot's POV, shot on IMAX. I read somewhere that the only shots that Nolan didn't get on IMAX film are the ones that have dialogue in them, because the IMAX cameras as still too loud to record dialogue on.

It's incomparable, especially since this was shot documentary-style where you feel like you're actually there. Highly recommend in the IMAX 70mm format.

I'm not totally sure when I'm going to get to see Dunkirk, I will say though, I was very surprised with how short the movie is considering Nolan's recent history with lengthy movies.

 

[aftershocks]

Apparently, Daniel Day Lewis is deciding to quit acting, again. I wonder if he'll make another comeback after this latest retirement announcement. I sure hope so. He becomes his characters and disappears into the roles he portrays.

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/daniel-day-lewis-quits-acting-oscar-winner-1202472766/

 

[Vash01]

Watched 'The space between us' on DVD this weekend. Must they make stupid movies? It was actually a good idea which kept me interested for about first one third of the movie. Then it went downhill and crashed into the ocean.

The total lack of the laws of science was irritating. If that wasn't enough, two teenagers running across the western part of the USA (including Las Vegas) and miraculously escaping/surviving made it like two different movies. To go from bad to worse to worst, the girlfriend even starts training to be an astronaut at the end.

I won't even go into the many ridiculous things in this movie.

On imdb it has 6.4/10. IMO that's too high. It should be around 4/10 (giving them credit for a good idea in the beginning). It was predictable, except for one twist. Some scenes from Mars were good, but then I am a sucker for space travel, and scenes from other planets.

 

[PeterG]

Watched 'The space between us' on DVD this weekend. Must they make stupid movies? It was actually a good idea which kept me interested for about first one third of the movie. Then it went downhill and crashed into the ocean...

That's what you get for watching a movie made for 14 year old girls. (I watched it too....).

 

[Anita18]

I'm not totally sure when I'm going to get to see Dunkirk, I will say though, I was very surprised with how short the movie is considering Nolan's recent history with lengthy movies.

I think we all were! But it does help that he chose a historical base of reference. All the explanation given for the soldiers' plight are in the opening titles, then we're off to the races. It could have been the third act in any of his other movies. It's a bit like Mad Max: Fury Road in that sense, which was an entire movie essentially depicting a car chase.

 

[watchthis!!]

Quentin Tarantino to create Manson Family murders movie
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/07/12/quentin-tarantino-to-create-manson-family-murders-movie.html

Tarantino is finishing up the script and rumours for the cast include Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Jennifer Lawrence. Hmm. Not sure if we need a movie about this. There was just that TV show recently with David Duchovny. Dark subject matter to be sure. If it wasn't someone as sensationalistic as Tarantino, I might say maybe. But he loves to go over the top and a movie about this needs a director who is compassionate rather than going for shock value. Maybe there's a side to Tarantino we haven't seen yet? I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Japanfan]

Quentin Tarantino to create Manson Family murders movie
Maybe there's a side to Tarantino we haven't seen yet? I'll believe it when I see it.

This.

 

[VGThuy]

Not a lot of things make me squeamish or make me want to lambast it for being in bad taste before I actually watch it, but a Tarantino film about the Manson Family Murders? That did it for me.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

I'll gladly skip that one.

 

[Aussie Willy]

The thing I really love about the soundtrack in Baby Driver, even though the songs are mostly songs we've heard before, is that they are used so well I didn't even think about it. The songs are used like the movie is a musical and it's so awesome.

From seeing interviews with the cast, the soundtrack was completed before filming began. Kevin Spacey said he had an earpiece during filming that he used to do his movements to the music. Ansel Elgort did get to pick one piece which was Easy. But the rest was the director's choice.

 

[PeterG]

I'm still loving the discussion about the music in Baby Driver.

Paramount Pushes ‘Cloverfield Movie’ Back to 2018
http://variety.com/2017/film/news/paramount-2017-cloverfield-movie-2018-1202502280/

While the new movie has now had three potential release dates, it sounds like it’s going to be worth the wait. Not only does it sound like they’re taking the story (once again) in a completely new direction, but talk about a United Nations of a cast:

I re-watched the original movie a while back and enjoyed it, but not as much as the first time. As far as "found footage" types of movies, it's definitely the better one. 10 Cloverfield Lane was a much better movie because it had a very concrete script and three great performers performing what is basically a stage play. But better. I agree that this new one looks like it will be even better than the first two. A larger cast, a larger scope/story and while delayed movies often mean trouble, I think with this one, the delays exist to make sure the movie is as excellent as it should be. Looking forward to it!

First trailer for movie about the Yarnell fire (AZ, 2013) is released. It stars Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Connelly. I hope the movie is good. I remember when it happened- not so long ago.

http://tucson.com/news/local/first-...cle_b15010ec-6cce-11e7-9788-2fc466f3afad.html

Really good trailer. Surprised that the movie is coming out in October, though. Still too close to fire season when everyone will still be on edge after what they might have gone through during the summer. I would have thought they'd release it in the Spring when more time had passed. Maybe they're hoping for some Oscar nods with that October release date.

...Valerian is set to be North America's biggest flop this year. We will have to wait and see if Valerian will be saved by foreign box office sales.

Valerian has made 17 million domestically and only three million internationally. :ack: But maybe the movie isn't opening in many countries until a later date. Which would be unfortunate as everyone will see what a flop it is in North America. Wonder how much a N.A. box office performance affects the rest of the world.

 

[Jay42]

I saw someone on Twitter suggest that Edgar Wright's next movie should be a film noir musical. I would totally watch that. Baby Driver is already practically a film noir musical that an actual musical has the potential to be really interesting.

 

[Aussie Willy]

I think Edgar Wright has upped the ante on Tarantino. While Tarantino's movies are so iconic for the music selection, to make the movie around the music so well is the next level of soundtrack construction.

 

[skatesindreams]

Not a lot of things make me squeamish or make me want to lambast it for being in bad taste before I actually watch it, but a Tarantino film about the Manson Family Murders? That did it for me.

I don't understand what people see in Tarantino and his films.
This only confirms it.

There have already been (too) many documentaries/programs about Manson, IMO.

 

[Vash01]

I don't understand what people see in Tarantino and his films.
This only confirms it.

There have already been (too) many documentaries/programs about Manson, IMO.

I don't think I have seen a Tarantino movie. I only heard or read about his movies and decided not to waste my time and money, particularly since my tolerance for violence is very low.

 

[skatesindreams]

I've started to watch some of them; and turned away.
They aren't worthy of my time.

 

[watchthis!!]

Two movies I saw recently had similar theme but are dramatically different movies.

Here Alone is by far the superior movie, about a woman trying to survive in the wilderness after a virus of catastrophic magnitude (I've been keeping up with my word of the day calendar) hits the globe. She leaves the city with her husband and infant daughter to start a new life in the wild, close to where her husband grew up. The catch is that the virus that infects people makes them crave human flesh. Okay, I gotta use the Z word (zombie), but this movie is a serious drama, not only about how she survives, but how she deals with the arrival of a man and his step-daughter to her little place in the wild. It's a great movie and I hadn't heard of it before but stumbled upon it on Netflix. It was a Sundance Film Festival selection, so that shows the movie is a much higher calibre than something like...

13 Eerie. This one was made for teens who skip out of school early and want to waste some time before going home for dinner. It's basically a blood and guts thing with an interesting story that's wasted by everyone involved with this movie. . It's basically about a group of twenty-something science students on a research project which results in various dead bodies coming back to life and having the munchies. One of the female students is rather kick-ass in how she deals with multiple situations, using her intelligence to prevent harm from coming to her. But later in the movie when they are men around, she becomes a damsel in distress which completely contradicts what we just saw from her character. That's not even the worst example of the crappy script for this movie. 13 Eerie does have a few familiar faces (Brendan Fehr and Brendan Fletcher), but I think they were between gigs and this one offered a paycheque and they had nothing to do, so they accepted their roles. No other reason for them doing this, unless they both had "zombie movie" on their bucket lists.

Trailer for Here Alone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZxVPvCdDHE

Trailer for 13 Eerie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyoUPCfggF8

 

[VGThuy]

Tarantino is actually one of my fave directors, but this is a subject matter I rather not see get his treatment.

 

[Japanfan]

I've never been much of a Tarantino fan, although I did like Jackie Brown, and he does write interesting dialogue at times. And the wedding scene in "Kill Bill" was brilliant, although I couldn't watch the film in its entirety.

Part of my dislike is based on seeing him being interviewed, by Letterman I think, or some other late night talk show host. He seemed to be drunk, and came off as extremely egotistical.

I have an even greater dislike for Woody Allen, especially given that he has to not only write and direct, but also appear in his films. His films far too focused on the existential angst of rich artists for my taste.

 

[VGThuy]

Woody Allen. I genuinely loved his films, but as I said earlier in this thread, I don't know if can watch them anymore since those allegations came out and so many of them do have that old man/young woman dynamic even though he criticized and skewered that among all of his other common tropes through Juliet Lewis' character in Husband and Wives. One of my favorites of his was Another Woman with Gena Rowlands. It was a very small, quiet introspective film about an academic middle aged woman. I thought it was extremely well done and doesn't have a lot of the usual Allen stuff that goes with his films except the right people talking about themselves part haha. I sort of became a fanatic of Rowlands and her work with John Cassavettes so after watching some of their work, it was great to see Rowlands work outside that realm. Of course I first saw her outside of that realm but I had gotten so lost in that Cassavettes/Rowland world.

Anyway, here is one of my favorite scenes from Another Woman:

https://youtu.be/_HketaJnqkk

I though both Sandy Dennis, with all her mannerisms and tics in restraint and Rowlands did a fantastic job there.

 

[Aussie Willy]

I am a Taranatino fan. Both Kill Bills are my all time favourite movies and I love Jackie Brown.

 

[Japanfan]

One of my favorites of his was Another Woman with Gena Rowlands. It was a very small, quiet introspective film about an academic middle aged woman. I thought it was extremely well done and doesn't have a lot of the usual Allen stuff that goes with his films except the right people talking about themselves part haha. I sort of became a fanatic of Rowlands and her work with John Cassavettes so after watching some of their work, it was great to see Rowlands work outside that realm. Of course I first saw her outside of that realm but I had gotten so lost in that Cassavettes/Rowland world.

ITA about Another Woman - had forgotten about it until you mentioned it.

I too was huge Rowlands fan, and her work with Cassavettes was inspired.

I especially loved A Woman Under the Influence - a raw and unrestrained performance for Rowlands in which she went beyond the pale.

 

[watchthis!!]

Any Sarah Paulson fans out there?

Sarah Paulson Joins M Night Shymalan's Glass
http://www.empireonline.com/people/m-night-shyamalan/sarah-paulson-joins-m-night-shymalan-glass/

A short article, and one that makes it clear that it includes SPOILERS. It basically includes everyone you'd want to be in this Unbreakable sequel...but won't be out until January 2019. ...but it's not enough 2018 yet!!

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2017-07-28th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipR7XbdPkhfbwuH6SFdGASx-

Movies from Holly Hunter, Marion Cotillard and TWO Charlize Theron movies this week. Number of movies that interested me this week? Zero.


July 28th - Atomic Blonde (Wide) – Action with Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman and Toby Jones

July 28th - The Emoji Movie (Wide) – Animated with T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Stewart, Christina Aguilera, Sofia Vergara, Rachael Ray, Sean Hayes and Jeffrey Ross

July 28th - A Family Man (Limited) – Drama with Alison Brie, Gerard Butler, Willem Dafoe, Gretchen Mol and Alfred Molina

July 28th - Brigsby Bear (Limited) – Comedy drama with Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Kyle Mooney, Greg Kinnear and Andy Samberg

July 28th - An Inconvenient Sequel (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “…addresses the progress made to tackle the problem of climate change and Al Gore's global efforts to persuade governmental leaders to invest in renewable energy, culminating in the landmark signing of 2016's Paris Climate Agreement.”

July 28th - The Last Face (Limited) – Drama with Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem and Jean Reno

July 28th - Person to Person (Limited) – Drama with Michael Cera, Abbi Jacobson [Broad City] and Philip Baker Hall

July 26th - Rumble: The Indians who Rocked the World (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “he role of Native Americans in contemporary music history-featuring some of the greatest music stars of our time-exposes a critical missing chapter, revealing how indigenous musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives and, through their contributions, influenced popular culture.”

July 28th - Strange Weather (Limited) – Drama with Holly Hunter, Carrie Coon [Fargo, The Leftovers] and Glenne Headly

July 28th - Menashe (Limited) – Drama, new cast. From imdb.com: “Within Brooklyn's ultra-orthodox Jewish community, a widower battles for custody of his son. A tender drama performed entirely in Yiddish, the film intimately explores the nature of faith and the price of parenthood.”

July 28th - Romeo is Bleeding (Limited) – Documentatry. From imdb.com: “Donte Clark's poetic voice was honed on the violent street corners of a struggling city. Yet rather than succumb to the pressures of Richmond, CA, Clark uses his artistic perspective to help save his city from itself.”

July 28th - From the Land of the Moon (Limited) – French romantic drama with Marion Cotillard and Louis Garrel

July 26th - Escapes (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “…chronicling the life of actor and Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher.”

 

[Vash01]

I am interested in An inconvenient sequel and perhaps Strange weather (I know they are not related; just their titles)