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

[VGThuy]

IMO, everything about it.

Spoiler

The crashed wedding. The rich dad. The jealous girlfriend. The poisoning. It was a bunch of contrived melodrama with none of the fun

I ended up seeing it on Sunday and it was so much fun. I thought the changes worked for the better. Rachel is a much more likable character than in the book (and I think Constance Wu played a big part in that), and Michelle Yeoh gave a stereotypical tiger mom character a lot more heart. Awkwafina was hilarious.

The audience was mostly Asian people of all ages, with a good amount of non Asians as well.

Also,

Spoiler

Kevin Kwan decided it was better to go into Bernard Tai and Kitty Pong storylines than it was to actually dramatize Rachel meeting her long-lost dad with her mom. They just met and then it goes to Nick's POV who wasn't even at their reunion. Nick and Rachel's wedding is written like an afterthought as if Kwan was so bored writing these characters and was forced to marry them near the beginning of the book. Next scene they all go to China skipping what was potentially the best story of father, daughter, long-lost lover (her mom) drama. Then Astrid gets boring and even meeker, Michael becomes totally one-dimensionally evil, Charlie Wu becomes a one-dimensional boring hero with no faults and pretty pathetic though Kwan writes as if he has a major crush on him, and the rest of the book was just Kevin Kwan writing more about name brands and extreme wealth that wasn't very interesting this time around. Rachel for some reason is still amazed by the extreme wealth and her dad is no longer relevant at all to the story and barely makes another appearance. Then Rachel has no meaningful relationship with her dad and new found Chinese family other than her brother and though I liked his character their instant close connection wasn't developed well. Also, barely any Eleanor.

 

[IceAlisa]

IMO, everything about it.

Spoiler

The crashed wedding. The rich dad. The jealous girlfriend. The poisoning. It was a bunch of contrived melodrama with none of the fun

I ended up seeing it on Sunday and it was so much fun. I thought the changes worked for the better. Rachel is a much more likable character than in the book (and I think Constance Wu played a big part in that), and Michelle Yeoh gave a stereotypical tiger mom character a lot more heart. Awkwafina was hilarious.

The audience was mostly Asian people of all ages, with a good amount of non Asians as well.

Spoiler: Second book

Oh yeah, I remember the poisoning being quite ridiculous. But you know, I watch and read so much serious stuff, I can deal with a little ridiculousness every now and then

Michelle Yeoh was awesome as was Constance Wu. Their majong battle was spectacularly acted.

 

[IceAlisa]

Also,

Spoiler

Kevin Kwan decided it was better to go into Bernard Tai and Kitty Pong storylines than it was to actually dramatize Rachel meeting her long-lost dad with her mom. They just met and then it goes to Nick's POV who wasn't even at their reunion. Nick and Rachel's wedding is written like an afterthought as if Kwan was so bored writing these characters and was forced to marry them near the beginning of the book. Next scene they all go to China skipping what was potentially the best story of father, daughter, long-lost lover (her mom) drama. Then Astrid gets boring and even meeker, Michael becomes totally one-dimensionally evil, Charlie Wu becomes a one-dimensional boring hero with no faults and pretty pathetic though Kwan writes as if he has a major crush on him, and the rest of the book was just Kevin Kwan writing more about name brands and extreme wealth that wasn't very interesting this time around. Rachel for some reason is still amazed by the extreme wealth and her dad is no longer relevant at all to the story and barely makes another appearance. Then Rachel has no meaningful relationship with her dad and new found Chinese family. Also, barely any Eleanor.

Spoiler: More second book

OK I mostly agree but the gossip girl in me enjoyed Bernard and Kitty's story and Kitty's subsequent assisted social climb. This type of situation has been happening forever and rings true. I felt like the book Rachel was a bit too perfect but the movie Rachel is badass, so that's good. We will see how they deal with the movie Astrid. She certainly wasn't meek in this one

 

[peibeck]

I saw "Crazy Rich Asians" on Sunday also. I haven't read the book (or its sequels), so I have nothing to compare them against.

I did think Constance Wu was very, very good, but I far and away enjoyed all the supporting characters (in every sense of that word) a lot more than the two leads. I mean it's a Rom-Com so

Spoiler: spoiler - but probably not really

I never believed that the leads wouldn't work out their issues and get together in the end.

From Lisa Lu as the family matriarch, to Michelle Yeoh's steely mother, to the finely comic Awkwafina (she needs her own movie in this series!) and Nico Santos, to the stunningly beautiful Gemma Chan and Pierre Png (who was her creep husband, but OMG what a body! ) the supporting cast was amazing.

Hopefully many of these performers can find more work (and not just in sequels) from their performances here. Obviously none of the cast was making a fortune, as a movie which turned out so luxe but was budgeted at a very "low" (for Hollywood) $30 million (not counting marketing) is quite a feat in and of itself. It's easily possible to imagine this movie being a contender for Golden Globes for comedy picture and acting nods and then carrying fervor into Academy Award nominations, possibly moving into technical categories like costumes and potentially production design and cinematography.

 

[PeterG]

A while back I watched the 2011 remake of The Thing. As I was watching it, I realized I had already seen it. So I thought I should turn it off and watch something else, but I thought, "this is a good scene, just watch it, then turn it off". And then there was a scene with two great actors, perhaps Joel Edgerton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (the Fargo tv show, 10 Cloverfield Lane). Then some great cinematography, so I just watched that little bit as well. Then an amazing action sequence and...I couldn't stop watching it. I don't remember loving this movie the first time I saw it, but this time I was pulled in and couldn't let go. Maybe I was just in the mood for a scary sci-fi flick. Correction, a very well made scary sci-fi flick. Thumbs up.

P.S. Was curious about who made this movie, the director made short films before and after this, but no other feature films (pity). Of the two screenwriters, Eric Heisserer went on to receive an Oscar nomination for 2017's Arrival (Amy Adams).

 

[jl22aries]

I saw CRA, twice, this week. It's such a joyful movie! Wonderful kinetic energy to it. I understand the director has experience directing super beloved music videos and this movie has that energy - breezy and dynamic camera work. Beautiful bright colours. They sure did Singapore proud - what a lovely homage to the city, the city as a character. Akwafina is queen. She steals every scene. The first time I saw it was in a sold out theatre and people clapped at the end of the film. Last night I saw it with my mom and Auntie and even before the movie started, I was overcome with emotion. In front sat a young teen with what looked like her mom and dad. It was a very full crowd for a Monday evening and it was such a mix of ages and folks. As soon as the first song came on my mum turned to me and said excitedly, "this is the music I loved and listened to growing up!" and it made my heart ache.

All the effusive articles about this movie and how important it is, I back these sentiments. This is a tremendous achievement.

 

[watchthis!!]

The Top-Grossing Theater For Kevin Spacey's Latest Movie Was In Middletown. It Made $45.
http://www.courant.com/community/middletown/hc-news-middletown-billionaire-club-gross-20180819-story.html

I don't think anybody thought this would be a hit movie. Especially since the movie has been available for a month already through VOD (Video On Demand). But according to this article, there were a number of showings where there was only ONE person in the theatre. Which is unfortunate in that a LOT of people were involved in this movie and all of them now have a flop on their resume. I understand people staying away from this movie because of Kevin Spacey. But I can't help but feel for everybody who worked on this movie, including young actors Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton (the Kingsman movies), Emma Roberts and Jeremy Irvine (the new Mamma Mia movie).

 

[PeterG]

Trailers For Movies Released 2018-08-24th
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuI4-fSHhipQeexco37tj9wmW6ghu-iuJ


August 24th - The Happytime Murders (Wide) – Action comedy with Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph and Joel McHale

August 24th - A.X.L. (Wide) – Family sci-fi adventure with Thomas Jane, Becky G and Ted McGinley

August 24th - Searching (Wide) – Mystery thriller with John Cho and Debra Messing

August 24th - The Bookshop (Limited) – Drama with Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy and Patricia Clarkson

August 24th - Little Italy (Limited) – Romantic comedy with Hayden Christensen, Emma Roberts, Alyssa Milano, Danny Aiello, Andrea Martin and Jane Seymour

August 24th - Papillon (Limited) – Crime drama mystery with Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek

August 24th - Crime + Punishment (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “A group of brave officers risk it all to expose the truth about illegal quota practices in police departments.”

August 24th - Blue Iguana (Limited) – Romantic comedy thriller with Sam Rockwell and Ben Schwartz [House of Lies]

August 24th - Support The Girls (Limited) – Comedy with Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson [The Edge of Seventeen] and Lea DeLaria

August 24th - What Keeps You Alive (Limited) – Thriller with a new cast. From imdb.com: “Majestic mountains, a still lake and venomous betrayals engulf a female married couple attempting to celebrate their one-year anniversary.”

August 24th - Makala (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “Trials tribulation dreams and aspirations of a young farmer earning a living making and selling charcoal in Congo.”

August 24th - The After Party (Limited – Netflix) – Comedy with a new cast & Blair Underwood. From imdb.com: “When an aspiring rapper goes viral for all the wrong reasons, he thinks his career is over. But when his best friend gets them into a wild NYC after party, he gets one more chance to make the impossible happen.”

August 24th - Beautifully Broken (Limited) – Drama with a new cast. From imdb.com: “A refugee's escape, a prisoner's promise, and a daughter's painful secret converge in this inspiring real life story of hope. As three fathers fight to save their families, their lives become intertwined in an unlikely journey across the globe, where they learn the healing power of forgiveness and reconciliation.”

August 22nd - John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection (Limited) – Documentary. From imdb.com: “…set at the final of the 1984 French Open between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl at a time when McEnroe was the world's top-ranked player.”

 

[watchthis!!]

Grizzly Man is a documentary about a man who thinks he can talk to his animals. Well, not really, but I'm being sarcastic because the movie is about man who wants people to have a better understanding of Grizzly bears. He thinks he has a special connection to them. He takes on the role of being an educator on this matter even though he has no creditionals and doesn't represent any organization or service. The park rangers actually warn him to not involve himself in the lives of the bears because that could lead to harm for other bears and other humans. So he ignores them. Basically the end of the story is that a bear eats both this guy as well as his girlfriend. Then the park rangers have to hunt down and kill this bear. The documentary does a decent job of not taking sides as to what they think of this guy, although because they spend so much time on him (compared to what things are like for the bears) that it does kind of seem like they're making him out to be some sort of hero (or anti-hero). In the end, he basically loses his life along with that of his girlfriend and one of the bears he supposedly cares so much about is also killed...a move that is forced upon the rangers who probably also care about the bears and now have to kill one of them. Ugh.

The full movie is on youtube for viewing.

 

[VGThuy]

Please get on it, Hollywood. Clearly it’s a goldmine

Good news. A sequel has been green lit.

 

[IceAlisa]

Good news. A sequel has been green lit.

 

[PeterG]

I saw BlacKkKlansman yesterday. So disappointed. What a mess! I was so looking forward to this. I think there's three worthy Razzie nominations for this one:

Worst Movie
Worst Director
Worst Screenplay

I hardly know where to start. There's a talented cast at work here. A few of them are working in a dramatic film, a few of them are acting in a comedy-drama and then a smaller group are throwing down in a (societal) farce. The script is all uneven as well. There are four screenwriters on this, it felt like each were pulling the movie in one of four different directions. And Spike Lee as director just seemed to let the actors do whatever the heck they wanted. There are some decent moments in the script, but others are cringe-worthy. Especially towards the end, it took everything in me not to groan out loud in agony right there in the theatre. It was like the muscles in my body were tensing up to hold back the distaste I was experiencing.

Lee's Inside Man is on my Top 100 favourite movies of all time list. How did he come to this?? All I can guess is that he was too close to the subject material and any objectivity just flew out the window early on. This one was SOOOO bad!!!

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I saw THE WIFE on Tuesday. Talk about a slow - burn, with so many neat twists and turns.

I predict this film will get Glenn Close her long - awaited Academy Award. Her performance was jaw - dropping.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I saw BlacKkKlansman yesterday. So disappointed. What a mess! I was so looking forward to this. I think there's three worthy Razzie nominations for this one:

Worst Movie
Worst Director
Worst Screenplay

I hardly know where to start. There's a talented cast at work here. A few of them are working in a dramatic film, a few of them are acting in a comedy-drama and then a smaller group are throwing down in a (societal) farce. The script is all uneven as well. There are four screenwriters on this, it felt like each were pulling the movie in one of four different directions. And Spike Lee as director just seemed to let the actors do whatever the heck they wanted. There are some decent moments in the script, but others are cringe-worthy. Especially towards the end, it took everything in me not to groan out loud in agony right there in the theatre. It was like the muscles in my body were tensing up to hold back the distaste I was experiencing.

Lee's Inside Man is on my Top 100 favourite movies of all time list. How did he come to this?? All I can guess is that he was too close to the subject material and any objectivity just flew out the window early on. This one was SOOOO bad!!!

Such a shame.

Three Spike Lee 'joints' I really liked were She's Gotta Have It, Summer Of Sam, and 25th Hour.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

I saw THE WIFE on Tuesday. Talk about a slow - burn, with so many neat twists and turns.

I predict this film will get Glenn Close her long - awaited Academy Award. Her performance was jaw - dropping.

From your mouth to the FSM's Noodly Appendage. #W&MPride

 

[PeterG]

Such a shame.

Three Spike Lee 'joints' I really liked were She's Gotta Have It, Summer Of Sam, and 25th Hour.

Eh, what do I know. How the movie is fairing online:

imdb.com: 7.9/10 (I have rarely ever seen a movie get an 8.0 or higher)

rottentomatoes (critics): 96% positive

rottentomatoes (audience): 79% positive

 

[watchthis!!]

I saw Alpha yesterday. I really liked it. I keep thinking about it. It's the kind of movie you can't really talk about though. If I had read certain things about it, that would have spoiled the movie for me in a way. It's not a mystery thriller with plot twists where that information would lessen the movie for a viewer. I was going to post a spoiler about how the movie was meaningful to me, but I'm afraid someone might read it and I want you to see the movie and hopefully be impressed and moved the way I was. That's all I'll say other than hats off to Kodi Smit-McPhee and to his wolf co-star as well. Plus I won't be upset if this movie best some best cinematography awards.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Eh, what do I know. How the movie is fairing online:

imdb.com: 7.9/10 (I have rarely ever seen a movie get an 8.0 or higher)

rottentomatoes (critics): 96% positive

rottentomatoes (audience): 79% positive

What The Flick were banging on about the film, too. Sometimes their reviewers speak in code, though.

 

[Cachoo]

I watched "Isle of Dogs" yesterday. I liked it very much but I find I like the whimsy and quiet humor (and sometimes not so quiet humor) of Wes Anderson films. I enjoyed seeing this from the canine point of view and liked some of Anderson's touches. The dogs don't understand what the humans say and Anderson used Japanese-speaking humans so most of us don't understand what they are saying either. Clever touch though I do wonder what Japanese audiences thought of the film. I liked the percussive soundtrack as well.

One of my favorite directors, Mike Leigh, is releasing a new film "Peterloo." It is a true story about protests in Manchester two hundred years ago. One of the things I liked about Leigh's "Mr Turner" was the look of the people in the film. There was nothing "Hollywood" about them or their costumes. Sometimes period pieces look a little too clean to me.

 

[watchthis!!]

Scarlett Johansson Cast as First Black James Bond
https://thehardtimes.net/harddrive/scarlett-johansson-cast-as-first-black-james-bond/

Good for her. She has bigger box office clout than Idris Elba.

 

[Kasey]

I just tried watching "Atomic Blonde" because I like Theron and McAvoy. That was painful. I much prefer suspenseful spy thrillers rather than gratuitous violence simply for the sake of it, and it's supposed to be more impressive because a woman is the aggressor. Even the "twist" was boring and obvious. Sigh.

 

[Cachoo]

I just tried watching "Atomic Blonde" because I like Theron and McAvoy. That was painful. I much prefer suspenseful spy thrillers rather than gratuitous violence simply for the sake of it, and it's supposed to be more impressive because a woman is the aggressor. Even the "twist" was boring and obvious. Sigh.

Often I think I'm over perfectly timed violence. I look at Hugh Grant and Colin Firth sparring in "Bridget Jones Diary" and I wonder if their hilarious scene is much closer to the truth.

 

[oleada]

I watched "Isle of Dogs" yesterday. I liked it very much but I find I like the whimsy and quiet humor (and sometimes not so quiet humor) of Wes Anderson films. I enjoyed seeing this from the canine point of view and liked some of Anderson's touches. The dogs don't understand what the humans say and Anderson used Japanese-speaking humans so most of us don't understand what they are saying either. Clever touch though I do wonder what Japanese audiences thought of the film. I liked the percussive soundtrack as well.

One of my favorite directors, Mike Leigh, is releasing a new film "Peterloo." It is a true story about protests in Manchester two hundred years ago. One of the things I liked about Leigh's "Mr Turner" was the look of the people in the film. There was nothing "Hollywood" about them or their costumes. Sometimes period pieces look a little too clean to me.

I had similar thoughts about Isle of Dogs. I thought the soundtrack would make for an interesting skating program...

 

[Vash01]

I watched 'Learning to drive' today. I kept feeling that I had seen many of the scenes from it before. Not sure if they were in the trailer, or may be I had rented the movie before and fell asleep while watching it? It was a good movie, but I do fall asleep while watching movies at home (and sometimes in theatres too).

Couple days ago I saw 'You've got mail' which I had seen years ago. Sometimes I like Romcoms, and this is one of them. A bit dated and very predictable, but the two main characters make it work. I am not a Meg Ryan fan, but she and Tom Hanks have really good chemistry.

 

[Vash01]

Scarlett Johansson Cast as First Black James Bond
https://thehardtimes.net/harddrive/scarlett-johansson-cast-as-first-black-james-bond/

Good for her. She has bigger box office clout than Idris Elba.

I find it odd that they selected a white person and will put makeup on her to make her look black. Why not select a black actor if they want a black James Bond?

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Scarlett Johansson Cast as First Black James Bond
https://thehardtimes.net/harddrive/scarlett-johansson-cast-as-first-black-james-bond/

Good for her. She has bigger box office clout than Idris Elba.

I find it odd that they selected a white person and will put makeup on her to make her look black. Why not select a black actor if they want a black James Bond?

Vash01, I am pretty sure that this article is satire - building on the talk of Idris Elba playing 007 and Scarlett J.'s recent history of playing a character who is a person of color (in that case, Asian) in another of her films and being called out for being a white actor taking an ethnic role from actual POC actors. The "quotes" in the article are pretty over the top.

 

[avivadawn]

I honestly would not mind if they reworked the entire second book's storyline at all. It was that bad.

I've read the entire Trilogy over and over again and my favorite book of the three is China Rich Girlfriend, followed by Rich People Problems, and then Crazy Rich Asians.

I saw CRA twice last week. Once on opening day in the afternoon and the second time on Saturday afternoon and I loved the film to pieces! I rarely purchase movies on DVD for home use but I'm willing to make sure that I buy this one.

 

[skatefan]

I don't often get to the cinema, but I've just been with my sister to see Mamma Mia - Here We Go Again, and loved it I didn't know Cher was in it, I didn't realise it was her until she started singing and even then I had to double check with my sister that it was actually her The film made me cry Twice

 

[Japanfan]

One of my favorite directors, Mike Leigh, is releasing a new film "Peterloo." It is a true story about protests in Manchester two hundred years ago. One of the things I liked about Leigh's "Mr Turner" was the look of the people in the film. There was nothing "Hollywood" about them or their costumes. Sometimes period pieces look a little too clean to me.

I will definitely see "Peterloo". Mike Leigh is one of my favorite directors. "Secrets and Lies" vies for my favorite film of all time, and I also really liked "Naked" - so very edgy and I think David Thewlis is a brilliant actor. And "Vera Drake". Abortion is a subject that most film-makers steer well clear of, but Leigh was willing to take it on in a direct and uncompromising manner.

If you like Leigh's films and have not seen "Vera Drake", I highly recommend it.

 

[taf2002]

I don't often get to the cinema, but I've just been with my sister to see Mamma Mia - Here We Go Again, and loved it I didn't know Cher was in it, I didn't realise it was her until she started singing and even then I had to double check with my sister that it was actually her The film made me cry Twice

I'm glad to know this. I loved the 1st movie but was afraid the sequel would be crap. The trailer made it look like it's watchable but sometimes the only good scenes in movies are in the trailers.