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

[LeafOnTheWind]

I was watching The Voices with Ryan Reynolds. I'm not sure what I think about this. I read a review that I think sums this up pretty well.

It's too tragic to laugh and to funny to be emotionally invested.

All in all, it's very unsatisfying and I don't think I would recommend it. It's described as a very dark comedy that just doesn't come together very well.

 

[PeterG]

I saw 'I Feel Pretty' last night. It was really good, very funny and enjoyable. Mostly female audience, lots of laughs out loud, the audience really enjoyed it too. Good message about females/looks and how they are treated and friendships.
Michelle Williams in a part I have never seen her do - I think she had fun.
Lauren Hutton - perfectly cast in a small role - and showing some of her modeling photos.
And it is PG-13 - so pretty clean movie, not as raunchy as I thought going in.

Michelle Williams was a revelation. I loved the speech Amy's character gave towards the end of the film, too.

Saw I Feel Pretty today. Enjoyed it. Michelle Williams was very good in it. Amy did her usual Amy thing but still enjoyed her performance.

I saw I feel pretty. The writing was pretty good - in recent years comedy writers didn’t bother to make things “fit together” and these writers did. I’m not super in love with Amy Schumer but I liked the movie. There were more funny parts than just what the previews showed and it had an uplifting message. One of the things my SO laments with Hollywood movies is that they give the message that only great looking people can fall in love or be successful, and this one has a broader message than that.

And Michele Williams was fun in her role.

I also saw I Feel Pretty, a couple of weeks ago...must have forgotten to post about it. I really enjoyed it. It was a good mix of the sharp humour Schumer excelled at on her TV show along with some more gentle comedy for the average movie-goer. The movie is well written and directed by collaborators Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein. Previous movies the duo have written include:

* Never Been Kissed (Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan)

* He's Just Not That Into You (Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin and Jennifer Connelly)

* The Vow (Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill)

* Valentine's Day (Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway)

* How to Be Single (Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann)

I agree that Michelle Williams is fantastic in this. If her role had been a bit bigger (and more flushed out), I'd feel confident in saying that she would be deserving of an Oscar nomination for this performance. Williams continues to amaze me, it will be interesting to see if she gets to do roles as different from this one as it is in comparison to her previous work. Would love to see her doing more comedies and character roles.

P.S. I'm considering searching out everything Tom Hopper has ever starred in. I feel melty.

 

[cocotaffy]

We went to watch Han Solo. I had no expectations but for some witty dialogues as Han Solo is the most fun character in Star Wars for me. We had a real good time. The main actor did a great job stepping into Harrison Ford's shoes. The big plus was the extensive presence of Chewie, one of the most beloved SW character. The action scenes were spectacular yet maybe a tad too long. A good action packed movie with solid acting.

 

[cocotaffy]

Finally got around to show 2001 Space Odyssey to the kids, they can't just watch Marvels can they ? I had seen it as a teenager and never again. This movie is just mind blowing. It was so ahead of its time. And Hal. This robot was a strike of genius, that human voice and just a red dot what a gamble at a time when robots were portrayed as humanoids with broken electronic voices. We're on a space theme those days also watching the excellent serie Mars. Right after rewatching 2001, we went on to watch Interstellar and I never appreciated this movie more ( I think I just finally understood it, much simpler than to understand 2001 tbh that might be why )
If anyone has any suggestions for space movies or series, please share it.

 

[IceAlisa]

I finally watched Red Sparrow and while Lawrence’s acting was a bit stilted (director’s fault—probably how they see a stoic Russian but that image is so outdated) the plot was good. Interestingly, most of my friends residing in the former republics hated it but for a different reason. They don’t think the USSR/Russia had/has a Red Sparrow-equivalent agency. But they do.

 

[watchthis!!]

Film critics are 'overwhelmingly white and male,' researcher says
http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/usc-film-critic-study-1.4700742

The reviews for the top 100 movies of 2017, which end up giving a rating (ranking) to these movies, were reviewed by a group of almost 80% male. A quote from the article:

The very individuals who are attuned to the under- and misrepresentation of females on screen and behind the camera are often left out of the conversation and critiques.

Only four percent of the top 1,100 movies from 2007 to 2017 were directed by women.

Female critics from minority groups make up only 4.1% of the reviews studied.

 

[PeterG]

I watched three movies on Netflix with some friends. One quite good, one pretty good and one very, very

The Cloverfield Paradox is the one I liked the best. I see on Wikipedia that it got quite scathing reviews, pretty much all I disagree with. One critique I agree with somewhat is about the characters. The reviewer said that character development was lacking...I would say the problems with the characters would be that they were somewhat clichéd. That wasn't so evident that it would make me not recommend this movie. Overall, I thought the story, acting and direction were all very strong and I was happy to get to watch this.

Final Girl has a noir-ish feel to it. I find movies that go for this vibe have a hard time of hitting the mark accurately. These movies always feel just a little unsuccessful in what they're going for. The premise of the movie is interesting, but too vague at the same time. Abigail Breslin is taken under the wing of Wes Bentley's character after her parents are killed when she was a child. I believe we are to assume he works for some kind of unknown, un-named agency which creates mercenaries or something like that? Anyway, this movie is about Breslin given her first task of eliminating four young men whose pastime is both immoral and murderous. Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games) and Cameron Bright (X-Men: Last Stand) play two of the four young men who need to be taught a lesson. Ludwig is very strong in his performance (I've never seen him give a bad one) and Breslin is talented, but mis-cast. Bentley is fine, but for the most part, his talents are wasted here.

Bottom Of The World is the movie. I could tell you what I saw on the screen, but I don't have any idea of what this movie is actually about. Most of the small cast play dual roles and I'm not sure which ones are the real characters and what their alternate characters are supposed to represent. We're given different back stories and I don't know which ones are real or not and how (or if) they are connected. This movie was interesting to watch only to see how everything fit together. Unfortunately, nothing did fit together.

 

[Buzz]

Avengers Infinity War has become only the fourth movie to reach $2bn in sales at the B.O. worldwide.
http://collider.com/avengers-infinity-war-box-office-2-billion/

 

[watchthis!!]

Separate Lies is a move imdb.com classifies as "Drama, Romance, Thriller". Which is not off the mark as the movie seems to flow (rather well, I must say) from feeling like one type of movie and then becoming another. And then changing again! Which is quite interesting as a viewer, especially because no matter what type of movie it feels like we're watching, it's always a good one. Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson play a couple whose marriage is fading, in part due to his workaholic nature. Rupert Everett enters the picture and nothing will ever be the same again. The cast is really strong, and are a joy to watch.

Trailer for Separate Lies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZR2_cS1m6Q

 

[Artistic Skaters]

Last weekend was a violent movie weekend for the non-violent at my house. I quickly lost interest with hard to believe Jennifer Lawrence in Red Sparrow, so only saw half of that one. Then we watched Hostiles with Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike & Wes Studi. The story about the cavalry officer who hates Native Americans but re-examines his beliefs as he escorts the Cheyenne chief back to his home is an interesting storyline, although way too violent for me. The Commuter is a very predictable but entertaining action film on a train with Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga & Patrick Wilson. Neeson again pursues a similar action formula like his Taken series & he knows how to sell it.

Dance alert (special event). We are getting three showings of Matthew Bourne's Cinderella next week at one of our indie theaters, so I am definitely trying to make it for one of them.

My other must sees for this summer are documentaries. Love, Gilda (out in Sept - can't miss it!!!) & Won't You Be My Neighbor will be playing in a couple weeks.

 

[IceAlisa]

Why did Jennifer Lawrence have such horrible wigs in Red Sparrow? Why? WHY??? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone remember this little guy from First Position (a ballet movie?) Not so little anymore and dancing lead roles at ABT! https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBalletTheatre/posts/10156086597556858

 

[cocotaffy]

Saw Red Sparrows. It threw me out immediately with this ridiculous directorial choice to tell the story about Russians living in Russia and working for the Russian government yet speaking English inbetween themselves with a Russian accent and all played by either US or western European actors, what nonsense ! I mean let's flip the coin and set this in the USA with a bunch of US spies living and working in the US yet all speaking Russian with an English accent all played by Russian or eastern European actors. That sounds crazy.
Then they picked excellent actors ( I love Matthias Schoenaerts and Jeremy Irons) but they wasted that cast imo with weak character development. Plus JLaw is absolutely not believable as a professional ballet dancer. The only valid Russian is the lovely and incredibly talented Serguei Polunin. When I saw him I wished deep down the movie would surprise me and be all about Sergei dancing But instead, well .... Apart from that, too violent for me but that's just a personal taste. The story was weak, way too stereotypical and ridiculous to be even slightly believable even if one is willing to assume some complot theories about very mean underground organisations might actually be true.
Anyway, if you like this kind of underground training for the heartless story then Luc Besson's Nikita did it much better 30 years ago.

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2018-06-15th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipSM-1xCvpjgK7W1L_QTunAJ


June 15th - Incredibles 2 (Wide) – Animated with Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine Keener, Bob Odenkirk and Isabella Rossellini

June 15th - Superfly (Wide) – Action drama with Trevor Jackson [Grown-ish, American Crime], Jason Mitchell [Mudbound, Detroit], Jennifer Morrison and Esai Morales

June 15th - Tag (Wide) – Comedy with Jon Hammer, Jeremy Renner, Isla Fisher, Jake Johnson, Rashida Jones, Ed Helms, Leslie Bibb, Brian Dennehy, Nora Dunn and Hannibal Buress

June 15th - The Yellow Birds (Limited) – War drama with Alden Ehrenreich, Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Patrick and Toni Collette

June 15th - Loving Pablo (Limited) – Crime drama with Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Peter Sarsgaard

June 15th - Eating Animals (Limited) – Documentary narrated by Natalie Portman. From imdb.com: “An examination of our dietary choices and the food we put in our bodies. Based on Jonathan Safran Foer's memoir.”

June 15th - The Year of Spectacular Men (Limited) – Comedy drama with Zoey Deutch, Nicholas Braun [How To Be Single], Jesse Bradford and Lea Thompson

June 15th - Gotti (Limited) – Crime drama with John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Stacy Keach

June 15th - A Skin So Soft (Limited) – Sports documentary. From imdb.com: “…gladiators of modern times. From the strongman to the top-class bodybuilder, to the veteran who has become a trainer, they all share the same definition and obsession with overcoming their limitations. They are waiting for the next competition, working hard in the gym and following extreme diets.”

June 15th - Affairs of State (Limited) – Drama with Thora Birch, Mimi Rogers, Adrian Grenier and David James Elliott

June 15th - Straight Into a Storm: A New Rock Film About Deer Tick (Limited) – Music documentary. From imdb.com: “A portrait of a hard rocking band known for their substance-fueled live performances on their evolutionary journey to become one of the greatest cult rock bands of our time”

June 15th - Billy Boy (Limited) – Crime drama/thriller with Melissa Benoist [Supergirl], Blake Jenner [Glee] and Greg Germann [Grey’s Anatomy]

June 15th - Set It Up (Limited - Netflix) – Romantic comedy with Zoey Deutch, Pete Davidson [Saturday Night Live], Lucy Liu, Tituss Burgess and Taye Diggs

June 13th - Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (Limited) – Documentary. From google.com: “Landscape designer Piet Oudolf describes his creative process, from his abstract sketches to his theories on beauty.”

June 15th - Araby (Limited – New York) – Drama from Brazil. From imdb.com: “Andre is a young boy that lives in an industrial neighborhood in Ouro Preto, Brazil, near an old aluminum factory. One day he finds a notebook from one of the factory workers.”

June 13th - The Third Murder (Limited) – Crime/mystery from Japan. From imdb.com: “A courtroom drama centered around the murder of a factory president.”

June 15th - Race 3 (Limited) – Action thriller from India. From imdb.com: “Revolves around a family that deals in borderline crime; ruthless and vindictive to the core.”

 

[watchthis!!]

Quiz: Can you match the Harry Potter quote to its character?
https://www.buzz.ie/quiz/quiz-can-you-match-the-harry-potter-quote-to-its-character-288581

I got 3 out of 10.

 

[Jay42]

Quiz: Can you match the Harry Potter quote to its character?
https://www.buzz.ie/quiz/quiz-can-you-match-the-harry-potter-quote-to-its-character-288581

I got 3 out of 10.

9 out of 10. But I’m reading the books now and a lot of those were from the first 3 books.

 

[cocotaffy]

I thought I knew HP universe better than this just 5 out 10 Maybe I should reread them, could take my mind of things, they are quite a fun read.

 

[VGThuy]

Speaking of Harry Potter, I saw an Off-Broadway semi-serious parody of Harry Potter called Puffs which is about the Harry Potter years 1-7 at Hogwarts (they never say the school’s actual name) from a made up Hufflepuff and his fellow housemates (some made up and others real characters in the books’ perspective. Hufflepuff is called Puffs with Ravenclaws called “Smarts”; Gryffindors called “Braves”; and Slytherins called “Snakes” aka blonde people who have a resting expression that tells you they’d be the type to throw a glass of white wine in your face.

It was actually seriously good but I don’t know how much people can enjoy it if they don’t know the Harry Potter series. Like one of the biggest laughs was when one character in the beginning of Year 3 tells his friends “I’m telling you the headmaster is a totally different person this year!”

One of my fave scenes was when Prefect Cedric had been encouraging the Puffs in Year 1 to not settle for 4th that the Puffs have always been placed and to get at least third and then in the end they actually get third and are incredibly happy only to have Dumbledore pull that stunt at the end of Book 1 where he “awarded some extra points after he already listed the rankings for some dubious achievements.”

 

[PeterG]

Something old, something new (aka, something good, something bad):

1938's The Sisters is a wonderful movie which I nominate for having the most beautiful screen couple of all time: Bette Davis and Errol Flynn. I would argue that Davis has never looked more gorgeous in film than in this movie. Although we have a LOT of other movies to pick from. Same scenario for Flynn. Both bring such star power to their roles. I found every aspect of this movie to be done really well. I'll finish my review by borrowing two excerpts about the movie included in the movie's entry at Wikipedia:

Life observed, "Bette Davis acts with such extraordinary grace, sensitivity, and distinction that hers is already being acclaimed the movie performance of the year."

Variety called the film "a virtual cavalcade of early 20th-century American history" and added, "Davis turns in one of her most scintillating performances. Flynn's happy-go-lucky reporter is a vivid portrayal although his slight English accent seems incongruous."

Saw Hereditary yesterday. I am totally perplexed at the high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Both hubby and I strongly disliked everything about it.

And for something new (aka something bad): Hereditary. Wow, I had such high expectations for this one after finding the trailer so captivating. I lessened my expectations just a tiny bit after the above post left by @annie720 Wow, I should have listened to you! It was quite bad. The performances were decent to good and the film looks good, we guessed it was filmed in the Rocky Mountains, maybe Colorado. But the editing was HORRIBLE. It felt like almost every cut went on for 25% too long. I desperately wanted to hit the fast-forward button and move things along faster. My leg started bouncing because I became antsy with how slow things were moving. And the script is a mess. The first half of the the movie was fine, but I started thinking about how this movie is going to be all tied up with how they wrap everything up. Unfortunately, the script took the movie flying off the rails and it just plummets into an abyss. There's maybe a good movie in here somewhere, but they sure mucked it up.

 

[Cachoo]

Watched a Saoirse Ronan film I had never heard of called "The Host." It was thoughtful and had some action I'm afraid I would be a much ruder "host" if I had been "body snatched." But what do you do when the alien is kind too?

 

[Vash01]

Quiz: Can you match the Harry Potter quote to its character?
https://www.buzz.ie/quiz/quiz-can-you-match-the-harry-potter-quote-to-its-character-288581

I got 3 out of 10.

5/10 by sheer luck. I never cared for HP and I didn't know many of the characters. It was all guesswork, often shooting in the dark.

 

[watchthis!!]

Julianne Moore is "The English Teacher" in this comedy drama which co-stars Greg Kinnear and Nathan Lane. It was decent enough. Nice to see Lane stretch himself by playing a hammy, over-the-top type of character.




Trailer for The English Teacher: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7LLWTXoHHAY

 

[watchthis!!]

Watched Game Night with some friends last night. It was pretty good, a number of laugh out loud moments. Billy Magnussen was the surprise & highlight of the movie for me. I remember seeing him in Into The Woods and thinking he was good. In this movie he doesn't have a gigantic role, but he definitely makes use of every moment he has on screen, even when he has no dialogue, but is just reacting to another character. It seemed like something interesting was growing between him and his unexpected date for the evening, but the movie didn't cover what could have happened. Things were set up for a sequel, so maybe we'll get to see more of the mis-matched couple then. I hope so!

 

[peibeck]

I went to see "Oceans 8" yesterday with a friend. Considering the stellar cast, I found it to be a rather "meh" experience. It's sad to know such a mediocre script could get such talent attached to it. Even the Met Gala costumes were underwhelming (to me).

 

[watchthis!!]

Dig Two Graves is a horror movie I watched with friends on Netflix. But when it was over, my friend said, "that wasn't even horror". Imdb.com does classify the movie as "Drama Horror Mystery". I didn't find it very scary or mysterious, and the dramatic-ness of the movie was often delivered in a disappointing way rather than an entertaining way. Ted Levine is the most famous person in the movie. Somebody whose name I have to look up, but when I look over his resume, I wonder if he has been in every movie ever made. The story is about a teen brother and sister and what she might do to get him back after he dies. Enter the mystical and other-worldly elements of the movie, which to me were way more creepy than involving. Give this one a pass.

Trailer for Dig Two Graves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsP2t2wUl4Y

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2018-06-22nd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR6kV-s2Qn0&list=PLuI4-fSHhipRyqHEWhY5CKk69AbKr1cvO


June 22nd - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – Action sci-fi with Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell, BD Wong, Toby Jones, Geraldine Chaplin and Jeff Goldblum

June 22nd - The Catcher Was A Spy (Limited) – War drama with Paul Rudd, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Paul Giamatti, Guy Pearce, Tom Wilkinson, Connie Nielsen and Jeff Daniels

June 22nd - Boundaries (Limited) – Comedy drama with Vera Farmiga, Christopher Plummer, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Lloyd, Kristen Schaal and Peter Fonda

June 22nd - Damsel (Limited) – Western comedy drama with Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Forster

June 22nd - Distorted (Limited) – Action mystery thriller with Christina Ricci, John Cusack and Brendan Fletcher

June 22nd - The King (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, a musical road trip across America in his 1963 Rolls Royce explores how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a king while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.”

June 22nd NOT May 4th - Izzy Gets the F**k Across Town (Limited) – Comedy drama with Mackenzie Davis [Tully, Blade Runner 2049], Haley Joel Osment, Alia Shawkat and Annie Potts

June 22nd - Spiral (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “A look at the rise of anti-Semitism and assaults against Jews in present-day France.”

June 22nd - Ghostland (Limited) – Horror mystery with a new cast. From imdb.com: “…a mother of two who inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home, she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters' lives. Sixteen years later when the daughters reunite at the house, things get really strange.”

 

[Buzz]

Fox has accepted a $70bn cash and stock offer from Disney which means the Fantastic Four and Mutants are coming to the MCU.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/fox-disney-announce-new-deal-1529496937

 

[PeterG]

Fox has accepted a $70bn cash and stock offer from Disney which means the Fantastic Four and Mutants are coming to the MCU.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/fox-disney-announce-new-deal-1529496937

Marvel Cinematic Universe. I was pretty sure the M meant Marvel. But the rest? Marvel Cuties United?

 

[watchthis!!]

The Fundamentals of Caring is a comedy drama from 2016 starring Paul Rudd, Selena Gomez and (in a tiny part), Bobby Canavale. I see at wikipedia that it played at Sundance and was purchased by Netflix (so it skipped the theatres). Which is kind of a shame because I had never heard of it, not having had a theatrical release. It's kind of an understated movie in this world of big screen action/sci-fi movies. It's a nice change from something that demands so much of your senses for most of the movie. This one is just a nice time with some interesting people trying to move forward with their lives after being stuck for a while. I liked it.

 

[PeterG]

Well, I don't remember the last time I saw a movie with these kinds of ratings:

7.8 on imdb.com
84% audience approval on rotten tomatoes, and
100% critic approval on rotten tomatoes

The movie? 1941's The Devil and Miss Jones. It stars Charles Coburn as a tycoon who goes undercover at his department store to see who is trying to organize the workers to stand up to management. Coburn was nominated for an Oscar for this performance, as was Norman Krasna who wrote the screenplay. Jean Arthur plays one of the staff who takes Coburn's character under her wing. Try watching this clip and not have your heart break a little with just the look on Arthur's face, along with what she says and does:

Jean Arthur Devil and Miss Jones_ The -- (Movie Clip) I Never Have Lunch.

This is one of those "good old" movies that will make you feel better about life after having watched it. Co-starring in this movie are the very good Spring Byington (who was nominated for an Oscar in You Can't Take It With You) and Robert Cummings, who has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his work in movies, the other for his work in television.

 

[VGThuy]

I thought this would be a fun video to share here:

Why American Actors Suck at British Accents

Don't let the title fool you, Erik Singer, a dialect coach based in New York topples some myths about that and the converse. I do think my increased exposure to British dramas and comedies thanks to Amazon and Netflix has shown me that British actors are also capable of doing some horrible "American" accents. People say Americans usually only try to go for that stereotypical posh British accent (it seems to the roles American actors get cast in) when there are so many more regional variations all throughout the UK (Welsh, Yorkshire, etc.) but the same can be said about American accents as well.