Let's Talk Movies #36 - 2020 - Yep it is a new decade

6/10 - Limelight (DVD) - A 1952 comedy drama by Charlie Chaplin. A stage performer past his prime helps a younger woman get back her love for dancing. This has a bit of A Star Is Born feel to it, with two performers and how their fame levels change throughout the movie. From 1918 to 1967 (Chaplin's last film), he starred in, wrote, produced and directed almost everything he did. With Limelight (which he worked on for decades), I felt the writer could have given us a tighter script. The movie is two and a quarter hours long. But it's based on a novel Chaplin wrote over many years, so I guess this project meant so much to him, it was tough to cut parts which meant a lot to him. Overall I felt the movie had a 30's feel to it. Not just that it was filmed in black and white, but the tone feels like a movie that would have fit in well with those that were released fifteen years earlier. I liked seeing Chaplin perform well in a "talkie" and I liked seeing so many of his family members cast in Limelight (although I didn't know they were family members until I watched all the DVD extras). His son Sydney was very handsome.

Trailer for Limelight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7KZbxd-_3k
 
Is anyone else a big Nicole Kidman fan like me? I also like Jennifer Jason Leigh or actresses the gravitate towards Indie films.

More exceptional Nicole Kidman films… The human stain, birth and the exceptional dogville. I feel like indie films is where you see the great writing and the great acting
 
One of the stunt coordinators for Shang Chi has past away. Brad Allan was only 48 and his cause of death has not been released.
usdaynews.com

Story of Jackie Chan's Stuntman Brad Allen's Cause of Death - US day News

Jackie Chan’s favorite protégé, stuntman Brad Allen's cause of death has not been revealed after he passed away at the age of 48.
usdaynews.com usdaynews.com

Another trailer for Shang Chi has been released.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
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AngieNikodinovLove said:
Is anyone else a big Nicole Kidman fan like me? I also like Jennifer Jason Leigh or actresses the gravitate towards Indie films.

More exceptional Nicole Kidman films… The human stain, birth and the exceptional dogville. I feel like indie films is where you see the great writing and the great acting
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I became a fan of Kidman after she won an Oscar. I think her projects became braver and she herself became less cold of a performer.

I like Jennifer Jason Leigh and her performance in Georgia is incredibly memorable.
 
VGThuy said:
I became a fan of Kidman after she won an Oscar. I think her projects became braver and she herself became less cold of a performer.

I like Jennifer Jason Leigh and her performance in Georgia is incredibly memorable.
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Oh my God, you know Georgia? That came out the year I moved to Los Angeles. Her and mare Winningham. Tour de force performances from Jennifer and Mare. Exquisite film!!!
 
Two reviews from my friend for movies now playing in theatres:

Suicide Squad was a great balance of comedy, gore, interesting characters and although comic book storyline, very amusing and well paced. We both gave it 8’s. Biggest drawback: a number of scenes set in a war torn stereotypical Central American country that speaks Spanish. Rude. But the problem is because it was subtitled in Spanish they didn’t bother to translate any of the Spanish dialogue. We will have to watch it again. It was good enough to see twice...and so we know what the hell the bad guys were saying. Lol.

Then just as the rains were starting in earnest we saw Jungle Cruise. For a movie based on a ride at Disneyland it was pretty good. I’d give it a 7...7.5 for the references to the real ride at Disney. Good pacing. Lots of action. Way to scary for my nieces and nephews damn it. Rather complicated legend and story line that does have some holes in it. I think they had to leave parts out so it wasn’t a three hour movie. Like why was one bad guy in control of bees ? and covered in honey? Another in control of snakes ? that emanate from his skin and the third in charge of poisonous frogs ? I think there was a story there but they never explained it. Aubrey enjoyed it. But I didn’t ask his rating. I’d guess 6 or 7 from what he said while we were stuck in a rainstorm waiting for a taxi.

I thought Johnson and Blunt were great. And good fun between them throughout. Jack Whitehall was hilarious. And an openly gay character. Some very funny lines with him and the Rock “want to bite down on my pole”. “Twizzel around a bit from behind”. We had some good laughs out loud. Seems like the straight audience didn’t get them. Or didn’t like them. We did ?

During the movie we seriously had trouble hearing the movie because of the rain and thunder. They had the movie super loud. Like I almost wish I had worn ear plugs but the rain was louder on the metal roof of the theatre. I almost wish they had stopped the movie and let us just listen to the rain. Oh yeah, and lots of Spanish lines that were not translated too. Which is a faux pas as they were in the Amazon where Portuguese would be the language I would think.
 
AngieNikodinovLove said:
Is anyone else a big Nicole Kidman fan like me? I also like Jennifer Jason Leigh or actresses the gravitate towards Indie films.

More exceptional Nicole Kidman films… The human stain, birth and the exceptional dogville. I feel like indie films is where you see the great writing and the great acting
Click to expand...

I love Kidman. Although 'Eyes Wide Shut' may not be her best film, there is a memorable scene in which she and hubby (Cruise) smoke some pot in their bedroom. A man at a party earlier had been hitting on her, and Cruise says, well of course he was. Kidman replies "So everyone wants to f*** me because I'm a beautiful woman?"

Then she goes on to tell the story of an encounter with a strange man that was so powerful she would have considered giving up her husband and child. It was so well played. And led Cruise into the series of misadventures that were the focus of the film. (I love Stanley Kubrick).

And I too like Jennifer Jason Leigh.
 
PeterG said:
Like why was one bad guy in control of bees ? and covered in honey? Another in control of snakes ? that emanate from his skin and the third in charge of poisonous frogs ? I think there was a story there but they never explained it.
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They were merging with the different aspects of the Amazon.

We also saw Jungle Cruise and enjoyed it. It was a bit predictable but a lot of fun. I think, if you have Disney+, it might be worth it to wait for it to be free though. Unless you need some fun escapism in the movie theater and don't want to see The Suicide Squad. And it absolutely deserves its PG-13 rating! Definitely not for little kids.
 
7/10 - Paradise With Side Effects (DVD) - This is a short (40 minute) 2004 documentary made on a very low budget about two women from Ladakh, a remote region in the Himalayas. They are invited to visit London, England to see if life in the West is as phenomenal as the people from their villages have been led to believe. One would think they would be most shocked by the size of London, or how busy it is. But their visit is a "reality tour", so they are also shown old folks homes, landfills and sex shops. They realize that their simpler way of life has more positive things than they realized.

Trailer for Paradise With Side Effects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9_rbkYYvUc

6/10 - Regression (DVD) - A 2015 psychological thriller with Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson. Hawke plays a detective dealing with a man who admits to sexually abusing his daughter (Watson)...who has no memory of ever being abused. A psychologist is brought in who specializes in recovered-memory therapy but as Hawke's character looks further into the case, the possibility of satanic abuse might be part of what has occurred. I thought the premise of this movie was interesting, and the cast is strong. But I found the direction lacking, so for most of the movie I was scanning things on my phone while I waited for the movie to improve. Regression co-stars David Thewlis (Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter movies), Lothaire Bluteau, Devon Bostick (The100), and Aaron Ashmore (Smallville).

Trailer for Regression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pBwIsVGaL4

5/10 - Deadline (Tubi) - A 2012 mystery drama about a reporter looking into the murder of a black teenager twenty years earlier. This movie is based on a true story, but like Regression, lacked strong direction. So I spent time on my phone distracted by the lack of strong storytelling on the screen. The final quarter of the film picked up in energy, but overall this one had a "TV-movie of the week" feel to it. The only name performer in this is Eric Roberts as a senior reporter to the main character who helps him out with investigating this story.

Trailer for Deadline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72msvacjwHQ

4/10 - Pete Davidson: Alive From New York (Netflix) - I like Davidson on Saturday Night Live, but he sums up this stand-up special himself by saying something like, "they're given everybody a stand-up special on Netflix these days". He might have even followed that up by saying, "so I might as well do one..." His slacker schtick doesn't take him very far. The special is only 49 minutes long and he really stretches out what little material he has. Plus he spends more time staring at the floor than I have ever seen any performer do. Maybe he didn't realize that comedy requires a schmidgeon of effort??

Trailer for Pete Davidson: Alive From New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvmnCX5TYa0
 
AngieNikodinovLove said:
I also recommend Nicole Kidman and Dev and the child actor in “Lion.” Another exquisite film ❤️❤️

m.youtube.com

Lion Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Dev Patel Movie

Get Tickets - http://www.fandango.com/lion_192142/movieoverview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_DescStarring: Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman, Dev PatelLion Official Trailer 1 (...
m.youtube.com m.youtube.com

The movie still makes me cry.
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Interesting bit of personal trivia related to this movie. A friend of mine works for the family who the movie is about so he knows the family very well.

I did see Suicide Squad on the weekend. I thought it was really good and very funny but be prepared for the gore factor. I love watching Margot Robbie whenever she is on the screen and John Cena and Idris Elba's oneupmanship is hilarious. It seems as if they all had a great time making the film and it shows.
 
Aussie Willy said:
I did see Suicide Squad on the weekend. I thought it was really good and very funny but be prepared for the gore factor. I love watching Margot Robbie whenever she is on the screen and John Cena and Idris Elba's oneupmanship is hilarious. It seems as if they all had a great time making the film and it shows.
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I agree with pretty much everything you said here. The gore factor is pretty high, especially in the beginning (couldn't quite believe how many died in the first 10 minutes of the film). But it was really funny too. And Margot Robbie is Bad.Ass. She's my girl crush.
 
7/10 - Loveless (DVD) - A 2017 drama from Russian about two parents separating and how the bitterness of their breaking up affects their son. When he goes missing, things unravel even more. The tone of this film is dark (obviously with the subject matter), but dark in that it's like the marriage (and the child along with it) are swirling down a sink drain...and the director takes us down into that hole as well. So not an enjoyable movie to watch...but one well made. This movie won the Jury Prize at Cannes (where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or as well). It was also nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars, the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Trailer for Loveless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDWRXfwBdmU

6/10 - Brody Stevens: Live From The Main Stage (Amazon Prime) - I saw this comedian get mentioned on a talk show as being someone the comedy world lost (due to suicide as he suffered from bipolar disorder). This stand-up special is very different from most specials which have packed crowds of loving fans. Stevens never made the big time, but got to film this special as the final comic of the night after some bigger names had performed. I am unsure if it was set up this way to fit in with his act of being like a Rodney Dangerfield and not getting the respect he deserved. A lot of it seemed to be on-the-spot improvisation. It works better for him as an experienced comedian (in comparison to the Pete Davidson special I mentioned earlier).

Trailer for Brody Stevens, Live From The Main Stage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFhWhp0grM4

4/10 - Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine (Netflix) - A sketch comedy program from the woman who because famous for lip-syncing Trump speeches on TikTok. I found this special to be very well put together, but the material didn't match the professionalism of the finished project. Disappointing considering the guests that took part in this special includes Maya Rudolph, Ben Stiller, Jon Hamm, Aubrey Plaza, Jane Lynch, Whoopi Goldberg, Winona Ryder, Marisa Tomei, Tommy Davidson and Helen Mirren.

Trailer for Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flU_swot5WI
 
Well I loved Caitlin Moran's books "How to be a Woman" and "How to Build a Girl" and I enjoyed the film for the latter-- I like Beanie Feldstein and I think they captured Moran's voice well in the film.
 
8/10 - Fortune Feimster - Sweet & Salty (Netflix) - This is a fantastic stand-up comedy special, with Feimster performing back at home to a boisterous and loving audience. I've know about Feimster for a while...she is so good in this that I wondered why she hasn't had more fame in the past. I am wondering if the world needed to catch up with everything that she stood for (gay, "big-boned", etc.) And now that the world has figured out some of it's s***, Feimster can shine like she deserves to. :respec:

Trailer for Fortune Feimster - Sweet & Salty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdj_fEEH5oU

7/10 - Aniara (DVD) - A 2018 Swedish sci-fi film about a time in the future when climate change has made Earth uninhabitable. Humans are leaving earth on a three-month trip to Mars. One particular spaceship is hit by space debris, causing some damage. In order to survive, they must release all fuel, which results in the ship drifting into space. The plan is to circle a star or planet and use gravitational pull to project themselves back on course. But this does not happen. So how does a ship full of thousands of people deal with their situation after a year...two years...five years...ten years... I loved the premise. This movie is very well made, but I did find the direction slightly lacking in that things moved too slowly at times. And overall, the story is bleak. But I'm glad I saw this.

Trailer for Aniara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1PU5okBeDo

6/10 - Eat With Me (DVD) - A 2014 gay romantic comedy that is as much about a man's quest to find his first real true love as it is about an Asian gay man trying to connect with his Mom when homosexuality is something she struggles with. This is very much an independent film, but well made regardless. Nothing all that profound here, but it was enjoyable enough.

Trailer for Eat With Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io8SpIVzZys

1/10 - Big Sky (DVD) - A 2015 thriller starring Bella Thorne, Kyra Sedgwick, Frank Grillo, Aaron Tveit And Francois Arnaud (Blindspot, The Moodys). How were this cast attracted to this movie? The premise is okay, Thorne plays a late teen who is struggling with agoraphobia. She is persuaded to go into treatment and on the drive their, the passenger bus is attacked, people are shot and killed and one other passenger is kidnapped. Thorne's Mom (Sedwick) is still alive, but badly injured. Thorne has to leave the van and face her agoraphobia in order to save her Mom's life. The direction for this is the problem, it's abysmal. The talents of the cast are completely wasted. The script is a problem too. Many characters do things that make no sense. And this is one of those movies where characters babble on through speech after speech when if they simply said, "my Mom has been shot" or just listened to one another, things would be VASTLY better for everyone involved. If you want to watch a movie to see how to do it all wrong, this one is an EXCELLENT choice. :lol:

Trailer for Big Sky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-rT-Ygf_9w
 
The Black Stallion is one of those movies that was always in the back of my mind to see...and recently I finally got around to seeing it. And I loved it. From 1979 and starring Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Hoyt Axton (and an unknown young actor Kelly Reno), the movie is about a boy who has survived a shipwreck and finds himself stranded on a deserted island. The only other survivor is the horse he was captivated by on the ship and tried to give sugarcubes to. The horse had a trainer who used abusive methods, so now the horse does not trust humans. But over time on the island, the two form a bond and the boy eventually is able to ride the horse and speed across the beaches of the island. One day they are found by some fisherman and are returned home. When the people see how well the two ride together as a team, they move towards entering the horse in some races. Rooney was nominated for an Oscar for his role, but lost to Melvyn Douglas in Being There. The movie unfortunately didn't get a nomination for best picture, but it was a tough year: Apocalypse Now, Norma Rae, All That Jazz, Breaking Away and Kramer Vs. Kramer (which won) were the movies that got nominated that year.
 
We watched The Suicide Squad on HBO Max last night. Thanks to the warning I got here about how gory the first part was, I watched most of that either looking at my watch or through my fingers so it was okay.

The movie was enjoyable and I did like the character growth of some of the characters. But overall, I found it somewhat predictable and it was just not my thing so I'm somewhat mystified by all the tongue-bathing it's getting online.
 
watchthis!! said:
The Black Stallion is one of those movies that was always in the back of my mind to see...and recently I finally got around to seeing it. And I loved it. From 1979 and starring Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Hoyt Axton (and an unknown young actor Kelly Reno), the movie is about a boy who has survived a shipwreck and finds himself stranded on a deserted island. The only other survivor is the horse he was captivated by on the ship and tried to give sugarcubes to. The horse had a trainer who used abusive methods, so now the horse does not trust humans. But over time on the island, the two form a bond and the boy eventually is able to ride the horse and speed across the beaches of the island. One day they are found by some fisherman and are returned home. When the people see how well the two ride together as a team, they move towards entering the horse in some races. Rooney was nominated for an Oscar for his role, but lost to Melvyn Douglas in Being There. The movie unfortunately didn't get a nomination for best picture, but it was a tough year: Apocalypse Now, Norma Rae, All That Jazz, Breaking Away and Kramer Vs. Kramer (which won) were the movies that got nominated that year.
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I watched that with my father.

And had you not brought that up Im not sure I would have ever remembered that......

Wow.....
 
6/10 - Pal Joey (DVD) - A 1957 musical with Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. Fantastic star power from these three, some classic musical numbers (My Funny Valentine - Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered - The Lady Is A Tramp), but a story that just seemed lacking to me. With such a talented trio, I would have liked to have seen a story with a bit more originality or zing to. Sinatra gives his role everything he's got and Hayworth is all class and style. But couldn't have Hollywood respected their talents a bit more and have given them something better to work with?

Trailer for Pal Joey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=renmTEWSrHQ

3/10 - Whitney Cummings: I'm Your Girlfriend (Amazon Prime) - I've seen more recent stand-up from Cummings and quite enjoyed her concert. But in this one...boy, is she MEAN. And not that the topics she covers are not worthy of her anger. But this is a comedy show and while I love comedy with a message, if the show becomes a place to vent anger over giving people a laugh (while also things to contemplate)...then it kind of becomes a drag to watch. Cummings has a new comedy tour that's about to take place. I'm sure I will like her next comedy special much more than this one.

Trailer for Whitney Cummings: I'm Your Girlfriend - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgyuRjOsXrA
 
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