Let's Talk Movies #35 – Sparrows and Panthers and Dinosaurs…Oh My!

[MacMadame]

But which movie from 1997 deserved best picture over Titanic...As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting or L.A. Confidential?

LA Confidential was excellent. Titanic was a mess.

 

[snoopy]

Has anyone seen Red Sparrow? I was planning to, but the imdb reviews are mixed. Some say it is very boring. Others are raving over the political thriller. If it is sleep inducing, it may not be the right movie for me. I fall asleep in almost 30 percent of the movies i see. Some of them are even good movies. LOL.

When i read that she plays a Russian ballerina, i had my doubts. Blond hair alone does not make a Russian. apparently she trained in ballet for 4 months to prepare for this movie, but she had never studied ballet. Can she really do Russian accent? Did they Have to recruit her for this role just because her name sells? Anyway, i will see the movie in the next few weeks. Have to lower my expectations though.

I saw this last night. Jennifer was not a believable Bolshoi ballerina. Her body, while beautiful, does not fit the mold. She should have saved her time studying ballet and they should have used a body double because there is just one ballerina scene in the entire movie. I don't have an opinion as to whether she was a believable Russian or not but thought her overall performance was flat.

I thought the rest of the movie was good not great and really, it was a little boring. The plot was good but there is no snappy dialogue. They definitely tried to play up thriller plot twists but for some reason it didn't really come across as thriller to me.

 

[manhn]

Loved Titanic. LA Confidential was the best, though. But I got over it.

 

[watchthis!!]

Amazing movie alert: I, Daniel Blake. So good! The movie is about a labourer (and widower) who has had a heart attack at work and is deemed unfit to work by his doctor. But when he tries to get unemployment benefits, it is deemed that he is fit to work by their standards. Not wanting to go against the orders of his doctor, he tries to follow all the rules of the system even though it requires him to have computer experience and be good at bureaucratic reporting of his experience...neither of which are part of his skill set. While dealing with all of this, he becomes a support person to a single mother of two children who is experiencing equal difficulties with getting support from the system which is supposed to be there to help people who are struggling. The movie is so realistic I sometimes wondered if I was watching non-actors playing themselves in a filmed version of what they actually went through. The lead actor, Dave Johns is brilliant and should have won TONS of awards for his performance. I recommend anyone with a pulse find this movie and watch it right away.

Trailer for I, Daniel Blake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFc4DM6yHcM

 

[Vash01]

Amazing movie alert: I, Daniel Blake. So good! The movie is about a labourer (and widower) who has had a heart attack at work and is deemed unfit to work by his doctor. But when he tries to get unemployment benefits, it is deemed that he is fit to work by their standards. Not wanting to go against the orders of his doctor, he tries to follow all the rules of the system even though it requires him to have computer experience and be good at bureaucratic reporting of his experience...neither of which are part of his skill set. While dealing with all of this, he becomes a support person to a single mother of two children who is experiencing equal difficulties with getting support from the system which is supposed to be there to help people who are struggling. The movie is so realistic I sometimes wondered if I was watching non-actors playing themselves in a filmed version of what they actually went through. The lead actor, Dave Johns is brilliant and should have won TONS of awards for his performance. I recommend anyone with a pulse find this movie and watch it right away.

Trailer for I, Daniel Blake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFc4DM6yHcM

Sounds very interesting. Is it available on dvd or is it yet to be released?

 

[PeterG]

Just got back from seeing Annihilation. Wow. So amazing. What a trip of a movie! So entertaining on so many levels. As brilliant as all parts of the movie were, I thought the ending was slipping in quality and it might be one of those movies that was so good until things crumbled with an ending that either didn't really make sense or just didn't match how good the rest of the movie was. So as it slowed down a bit, I was prepared for disappointment, but after thinking about it, I'm happy. Such a creative movie and a great roller coaster of a movie in all the best senses of that expression. LOVED IT!

Sounds very interesting. Is it available on dvd or is it yet to be released?

The local Cinema Politica here showed it, which surprised me because I had seen it had been on DVD for a while already. And because I don't think they've ever shown a fiction film ever before. Sounds like I should move this one up on my To See list.

 

[mrr50]

Amazing movie alert: I, Daniel Blake. So good! The movie is about a labourer (and widower) who has had a heart attack at work and is deemed unfit to work by his doctor. But when he tries to get unemployment benefits, it is deemed that he is fit to work by their standards. Not wanting to go against the orders of his doctor, he tries to follow all the rules of the system even though it requires him to have computer experience and be good at bureaucratic reporting of his experience...

During the Reagan administration, I worked at a small county health department. We were the place to get food stamps. The government implemented a very complicated paper application. Health department personnel were not to help applicants. Even those that were illiterate. Well, we broke laws. Anyone wondering, the county(at that time) was 98% white. This movie seems to indicate that nothing has changed. Sorry, I just got political in the wrong thread.

 

[watchthis!!]

Silence is the name of a 2017 historical drama directed by Martin Scorsese. It's also the sound of the theatres that played this movie after the audience fell asleep during the long, boring two hour and 41 minute running time. I don't think I've ever watched a slower movie. It could have been edited down into a 45 minute tv show episode. Andrew Garfield stars as a Catholic priest who has travelled along with fellow priest Adam Driver to Japan to convert the Buddhist heathens. Strangely, those who already have a belief system seem to have issue with foreigners who visit their country with the intent to make all of them believe what they believe. Hmm. Lesson learned. Not only is Silence very slow, but it's also repetitious. It's basically three different scenes repeated over and over and over. Garfield is the main star and manages to breathe a little bit of life into the dullness of it all, but he has to try to make something out of a flimsy script. He deserves better. So do we!

Trailer for Silence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0KUWzfugg4

Sounds very interesting. Is it available on dvd or is it yet to be released?

I got it on DVD from the library.

During the Reagan administration, I worked at a small county health department. We were the place to get food stamps. The government implemented a very complicated paper application. Health department personnel were not to help applicants. Even those that were illiterate. Well, we broke laws. Anyone wondering, the county(at that time) was 98% white. This movie seems to indicate that nothing has changed. Sorry, I just got political in the wrong thread.

This movie takes place north of London, England. But similarly to what you did, there is a scene in I, Daniel Blake where one of the employees tries to help Daniel, but

Spoiler

is basically torn away from him by the supervisor and belittled almost in front of all those who are struggling and needing help for not moving on the next person and leaving everyone struggling at their computer station to do so all on their own.

 

[NeilJLeonard]

I saw this last night. Jennifer was not a believable Bolshoi ballerina. Her body, while beautiful, does not fit the mold. She should have saved her time studying ballet and they should have used a body double because there is just one ballerina scene in the entire movie. I don't have an opinion as to whether she was a believable Russian or not but thought her overall performance was flat.
I thought the rest of the movie was good not great and really, it was a little boring. The plot was good but there is no snappy dialogue. They definitely tried to play up thriller plot twists but for some reason it didn't really come across as thriller to me.

I saw it today. I'd read reviews that had me thinking it would be a real stinker. It isn't. Snoopy describes it appropriately. Good movie but not great. Jennifer Lawrence may have underplayed her character too much, but it is still a credible performance. The double crossing and such at the end was a bit confusing and the final double cross is a gem.

Overall I'll give it a B-.

NJL (Keep in mind that I am Jennifer Lawrence's most ardent septuagenarian uber fan......)

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2018-03-09th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipSsnqu6PHLh5GNaBADMRq-_

Thoroughbreds is the last movie (from what I can see at imdb.com) to be released which stars Anton Yelchin.


March 9th - A Wrinkle In Time (Wide) – Adventure fantasy with Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Pena and Oprah Winfrey

March 9th - Gringo (Wide) – Action comedy with Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron, David Oyelowo, Thandie Newton, Paris Jackson and Amanda Seyfried

March 9th - The Hurricane Heist (Wide) – Action thriller with Ryan Kwanten [True Blood] and Maggie Grace [Lost]

March 9th - The Strangers: Prey at Night (Wide) – Horror with Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison [Good Witch] and Martin Henderson

March 9th - The Death of Stalin (Limited) – Comedy with Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin and Paddy Considine

March 9th - Leaning into the Wind (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “Leaning into the Wind follows artist Andy Goldsworthy on his exploration of the world and himself through ephemeral and permanent workings on the landscape, cities and with his own body.”

March 9th - The Forgiven (Limited) – Thriller with Eric Bana and Forest Whitaker

March 9th NOT January 19th - The Leisure Seeker (Limited) – Comedy drama with Donald Sutherland, Helen Mirren and Dick Gregory

March 9th - Thoroughbreds (Limited) - Thriller with Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke, Anton Yelchin

March 9th - Itzhak (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “A look at the life, work and religious heritage of violinist Itzhak Perlman.”

March 9th - Los Angeles Overnight (Limited) – Thriller with Sally Kirkland, Peter Bogdanovich and Lin Shaye

March 9th - 1:54 (Limited) – Sports drama, new cast. From imdb.com: “Tim, a shy 16 years old athlete, is both brilliant and talented. But the pressure he undergoes pushes him to the edge, where human limits reach the point of no return.”

March 9th - Girls vs. Gangsters (Limited) – Chinese romance. From google.com: “A bachelorette weekend spins out of control when three friends wake up naked on a beach -- two of them handcuffed to a locked briefcase. They soon become the target of local gangsters as they try to retrace their drunken steps and make it back home.”

 

[made_in_canada]

I am so excited for Wrinkle in Time. I really hope they didn’t screw the book up

 

[clairecloutier]

I am so excited for Wrinkle in Time. I really hope they didn’t screw the book up

I read a bunch of reviews this morning in Variety, the New Yorker, and elsewhere. Unfortunately, not very positive.

It sounds like the movie did not retain a lot of the very specific details of the book. For example, in the movie, Charles Wallace is rewritten to be an adopted child. That change alone makes me unhappy. Because the whole central question around Charles Wallace in the books is how did such a very unusual and preternaturally gifted kid come to be born into this family. It's both a genetic and metaphysical mystery-- Why and how is Charles Wallace so different from the rest of the family?? Rewriting him as an adopted child kind of removes a lot of that central question/mystery.

It also sounds like they kind of underplayed IT, or didn't portray IT as it was in the book.

Too bad. I was interested to see what DuVernay would do with this book, which was one of my favorites as a kid/teen, but it sounds rather disappointing.

 

[watchthis!!]

‘The Sopranos’ is officially getting a prequel movie
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/sopranos-officially-prequel-movie-article-1.3863273

The working title is The Many Saints of Newark and it will be written by the series creator and one of the writers of the show. A bit about the movie (which will be a prequel to the series):

The film is set during the 1960s riots in Newark, N.J., between the African-American and Italian communities, Deadline reported. Some of the characters from the original series would also return, likely younger versions of Tony's parents, who were portrayed by Joseph Siravo and Nancy Marchand, according to Deadline.

Anybody else a fan?

 

[PeterG]

I saw Phantom Thread yesterday. On one hand I found it to be strange and on another hand I found it to be irritating watching wealthy people wallow in their wealth. Finding the movie strange might have come from the slowness of the movie, so slow that I had to pull out my cell phone to play Bejeweled while I waited for something to happen. One major plot point takes place in silence, so I maybe missed something important that set up the strangeness. Okay, I just checked the plot of the movie at Wikipedia and I understood everything. I change my description of finding this movie strange to...this is a movie about intensely f***ed up people. Poor little rich peoples. Ugh. I guess I have no sympathy for the sorrows of the wealthy. Maybe if they gave all their money to the starving and then killed themselves, then perhaps I'd feel some sympathy. But as long as they choose to live in the most miserable possible way....and inflict their misery on everyone around them... Sorry, no sympathy. Rather, I just hate you. Yuck.

 

[Kasey]

^^^Phantom Thread....yeah, actually I rather liked it after the twist, but the people (other than his lover) were totally miserable, and seemed quite to enjoy their control-freak misery.

But Dunkirk? That was a film that, had they all just died, the movie would have been much shorter, and I would have appreciated that very much. The MOST AWFUL, boring movie, that allows no investment in any but 2 of the characters, so you don't even care what happens....I looked at my watch 4 times in the first hour, spent half of the movie trying to remember Mark Rylance's name, and considered taking a nap, but it was too loud. Serious waste of time for me.

 

[watchthis!!]

Codebreaker The Story of Alan Turing is a tv-movie that aired in the U.K. three years before the Imitation Game was released. It's a docu-drama with Ed Stoppard playing Turing. He looks familiar to me, but I checked his imdb page and not see anything there that I think I've seen before. He's done a lot of television work in the UK and is quite good in this role. The movie is pretty evenly split between Turing's life story presented with Stoppard in the lead role and between various people being interviewed for the documentary side of things. This one is a nice companion piece to The Imitation Game.

Trailer for Codebreaker The Story of Alan Turing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GaKUAGSmmw

 

[Buzz]

Black Panther crosses $1bn WW.
http://variety.com/2018/film/news/black-panther-billion-global-box-office-1202723326/

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Just rented "Darkest Hour" which was excellent. Also rented (and liked) "Dunkirk" last month. Thinking about renting "Three Billboards" or whatever it is called. Really like Frances.

 

[skatfan]

Went to see A Wrinkle in Time - disappointed. The whole big world that L'Engle creates gets reduced to "believe in yourself." The father never tesseracts meg off planet, every Christian reference is thoroughly scrubbed, and the world creating looks like about $50 spent. Too much weepy time staring into each other's eyes, and the father apparently just "wanted to shake the universe's hands."

Oh, and giant-size Oprah? too much for me. Other actors were ok, although I agree that there was no need for Charles Wallace to be adopted. I think making him 6 was a good idea though.

I'm thinking that the novel is simply not meant for the screen - kinda like Gulliver's Travels never works.

 

[watchthis!!]

Saw a blurp in the movie magazine that you get in theatres that I thought was interesting:

She often plays characters who are brash, over the top and less than professional, but did you know Pitch Perfect 3 star Rebel Wilson actually has a law degree from the University of New South Wales? She graduated in 2009.

Based on their names, it may be good to have a lawyer in this family. The Australian star has a brother named Riot and sisters named Liberty and Annachi (say it fast).

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Rented "3 billboards" yesterday. There was actually one scene that I liked.

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2018-03-16th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipQzEB7uAuLrZQ6K6AewiO0u

I haven't watched this week's playlist, so no favourites for me in bold type. But I do plan to see the first two movies on this list.


March 16th - Tomb Raider (Wide) – Action adventure with Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Dominic West, Derek Jacobi and Kristin Scott Thomas

March 16th - Love, Simon (Wide) – Romantic comedy with Nick Robinson, Logan Miller, Tony Hale, Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner

March 16th - 7 Days in Entebbe (Limited) – Thriller with Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl and Eddie Marsan

March 16th - Dear Dictator (Limited) – Comedy with Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Seth Green and Jason Biggs

March 16th - What They Had (Limited) – Drama with Michael Shannon, Hilary Swank, Taissa Farmiga,Josh Lucas, Robert Forster and Blythe Danner

March 16th - Flower (Limited) – Comedy with Zoey Deutch, Kathryn Hahn and Adam Scott

March 16th - Maineland (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “Stella and Harry are affluent, cosmopolitan teenagers who are part of the enormous wave of "parachute students" from Mainland China enrolling in U.S. private schools…a multi-layered coming-of-age tale…”

March 16th - Allure (Limited) – Romantic thriller with Evan Rachel Wood and Denis O'Hare

March 16th - Journey’s End (Limited) - War drama with Paul Bettany, Sam Claflin, Asa Butterfield and Toby Jones

March 16th - Josie (Limited) – Thriller with Sophie Turner [Game of Thrones] and Dylan McDermott

March 16th - Ramen Heads (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “In 'Ramen Heads,' Osamu Tomita, Japan's reigning king of ramen, takes us deep into his world, revealing every single step of his obsessive approach to creating the perfect soup and noodles, and his relentless search for the highest-quality ingredients.”

March 16th - Keep The Change (Limited) – Romantic comedy with a new cast & Jessica Walter. From imdb.com: “A New York City romantic comedy, Keep the Change is the unlikely love story of two people who meet in a support group.”

March 16th - Sweet Country (Limited) – Australian crime drama with Sam Neill and Bryan Brown

March 16th - Demon House (VOD and Digital HD) – Supernatural documentary. From imdb.com: “…takes viewers inside the Gary, Indiana paranormal hotspot, known as “the house of 200 demons,” where former residents have reported all kinds of supernatural experiences from possession to levitation.”

March 16th - I Can Only Imagine (Limited) – Christian drama with Dennis Quaid, Cloris Leachman and Trace Adkins

March 13th - The Happys (Limited) – Comedy with Janeane Garofalo and Melissa McBride [The Walking Dead]

March 16th - 12 Days (Limited) – French documentary. From imdb.com: “By French law, anyone admitted into the hospital without their consent must be seen by a judge within 12 days. That judge must decide whether these psychiatric hospital patients can be allowed back into society.”

 

[Buzz]

Avengers: Infinity War trailer 2 was released today and already has over 8m views! Tickets also went on sale today and they are selling out FAST!!! So if you plan on seeing Infinity War during it's opening weekend better get your tickets now!!!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QwievZ1Tx-8


ETA:
It took Infinity War just six hours to beak Fandango's first day advanced tickets sales record set by Black Panther.
http://collider.com/avengers-infinity-war-early-ticket-sales-record/#images

 

[PeterG]

So if you plan on seeing Infinity War during it's opening weekend better get your tickets now!!

Do you like seeing things on opening weekend? I'm house-sitting for a friend soon and as a thank you he said he'd take me to see a movie and have dinner. The only movie that hasn't been seen by either of us is Tomb Raider (which opens this weekend). I said, "are you sure? a packed theatre full of people munching and laughing and moving and chewing?" If there was a way to know for sure when the last week a movie was playing, that's when I would choose to go. I love having about one quarter of the theatre all to myself.

 

[Japanfan]

Rented "3 billboards" yesterday. There was actually one scene that I liked.

I liked more than one scene, and thought it was a fairly good movie overall. But I was really in the mood for something a bit more. . .uplifting.

 

[Buzz]

Do you like seeing things on opening weekend? I'm house-sitting for a friend soon and as a thank you he said he'd take me to see a movie and have dinner. The only movie that hasn't been seen by either of us is Tomb Raider (which opens this weekend). I said, "are you sure? a packed theatre full of people munching and laughing and moving and chewing?" If there was a way to know for sure when the last week a movie was playing, that's when I would choose to go. I love having about one quarter of the theatre all to myself.

Only certain movies like Avengers!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Well I just got back from love Simon. My mom and I went. Visiting her for a vacation and we both loved it

High school sure has changed since I went.

I see Greg Berlanti back in Los Angeles.... his office is down the street from me. Curious as how he came to write this. Also I've met Robbie Rogers a few times and then I see in the credits he was in this movie playing a coach. I did not see him on the screen.

PS for those who go see this movie did you think the ending reminded you of never been kissed? The drew Barrymore movie from like 10 or 15 years ago

 

[MacMadame]

Do you like seeing things on opening weekend

Love it! For blockbusters anyway. The audience is so into it and it adds to the experience.

 

[Mad for Skating]

I saw A Wrinkle in Time on Tuesday ($5 matinee!). It's a very good film, but it's not what I pictured. The filmmaking itself is to die for; the colors are so vibrant and beautiful. Very impressive, rich appearance.
Storm Reid really makes a good Meg. Calvin is good but I feel like his role was cut down a bit from the book and we didn't have a chance to see his full personality shine through.
Oprah does her role just fine and Mindy is good too, but my favorite of the three is Reese Witherspoon; she's hilarious. Chris Pine was good but I think he does better as a "hot ladies' man" than a father with a teenage daughter.
I have to give MEGA props to little Charles Wallace, who was a GREAT actor!!! (Seriously, he's like 6???) I hope to see him starring in other movies!
Overall, I give it 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it!

 

[Kasey]

Due to other plans not working out last night, I went and saw Tomb Raider. Vikander is great, of course, and the action was well done, but a bit more violence than I was expecting. I guess I'm more into the anti-gun thing right now. I liked the "mystery" part of it, and it was a great "rah rah girl power" movie (so much moreso than Wonder Woman was). Overall, a positive experience, and a good use of my monthly free movie ticket