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

[LeafOnTheWind]

We're men, we're men in tights. Tiiiight tights!

Still on the nostalgia kick and went for a Robin Hood movie Mel Brooks style. And unlike other Robin Hoods, Carey Elwes can speak with an English accent.

My friends still quote lines from this.

Robin: Watch my back.
Achoo: Your back just got punched 2 times.

 

[PeterG]

Actually, there was one other movie I watched while house-sitting and had access to a Blu-Ray player:

7/10 – Nomadland – I had heard people say that this was a slow film, so I watched Nomadland with that in mind. And I enjoyed the restful pace of the movie…for the first hour. But then I became impatient and wanted to be watching a more story. The second half just seemed like more of the same. I wanted to be watching the rest on double-time speed. Frances McDormand is good in her role, but it’s really not a stretch for her thinking about her previous roles. And much of the movie is improvisations from people who are currently living nomadic lives, so I’m not sure why Chloe Zhao got so much attention for her direction (let alone the Oscar win). The only other Oscar nominated movie this past year that I have seen so far is The Trial of the Chicago 7 and I would have given it the win over Nomadland. I’m expecting to love Promising Young Women, so once I see that, I won’t be surprised if I post about how that movie was robbed of the Oscars that Nomadland won. But in spite of this, I’m glad I saw Nomadland. It was enjoyable (but meandering)…it helped that I am very interested in the lifestyle that the people in this movie are living.

Trailer for Nomadland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHE4MK6lEVM

 

[watchthis!!]

Rob the Mob is a very entertaining crime drama which is actually based on a true story. Michael Pitt and Nina Arianda star as a young couple who grew up poor in New York. Pitt’s father was treated poorly by the mafia and after he gets out of jail for small-time robbery, he decides to take revenge on the mafia...and rob their clubhouses. Ray Romano plays a newspaper reporter following their ongoing mob thefts. Andy Garcia plays a mob boss and Frank Whaley plays an FBI agent. This movie has a light tone to it, which adds to the enjoyment level for us viewers. The tension builds masterfully throughout the entire movie. A must-see movie.

 

[Buzz]

Marvel Already Has Shang-Chi Sequel Ideas (Exclusive)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the first Phase 4 title for the Marvel Cinematic [...]

comicbook.com

 

[PeterG]

We went to see Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic. There were some interesting parts of it but it had pacing issues and was probably 30 minutes too long. One good aspect is that Jennifer Hudson singing Aretha's songs wasn't disconcerting at all (which I had feared). Hudson did a great job and really channeled Aretha. But they seriously needed to make the first half move faster.

Hudson was on Stephen Colbert's show and she said she worked with a vocal coach to try to be able to sing the songs like Aretha did instead of how she would herself. The vocal coach said that Aretha sang from the top of her head while Hudson sang from the bottom of her feet. Then Hudson sang to show the difference...but it didn't sound that much different to me. I'm hoping it was because she was on the spot and wasn't expecting to this on the fly. But even if she sounds like herself instead of Aretha...I'll still enjoy it. I love both of their voices. And they are somewhat similar in my opinion.

I’m glad Hudson singing Aretha’s songs wasn’t disconcerting. One of the reasons I could never see Judy was because I couldn’t get passed Renee Zelwegger singing Judy Garland while sounding nothing like her. I like Zelwegger well enough but I couldn’t get passed it. I’ll probably check out Respect when I can watch it at home since by the time I’m able to get to a theatre again it’ll be long gone.

People’s reactions to Midsommar are wildly polarizing. I’ve seen people who absolutely adore it but the people who hate it really hate it.

I hope you will re-consider about Judy. I'm a gigantic Garland fan, I have tried to collect every single song she has ever recorded. In the movie Judy, there wasn't as much singing as you would expect. The movie is more about the struggles Garland tried to overcome in the last year of her life. The stage singing didn't put me off with somebody (anybody) not being able to match Garland's fantastic vocals. (Not that this was a stand-out moment for the quality of Judy's vocal ability.) I guess going into it, I didn't expect Zelleweger to do what Garland could do (vocally). I just wanted an entertaining story. And I got that.

As for Midsommar, did you see it? If so, I would love to hear what you think about it. It...is...unsettling....

 

[MacMadame]

Hudson was on Stephen Colbert's show

I saw that piece and agree that I couldn't tell much difference on the show. But it was way more obvious in the movie that Hudson was singing as Franklin would have.

 

[Jay42]

I hope you will re-consider about Judy. I'm a gigantic Garland fan, I have tried to collect every single song she has ever recorded. In the movie Judy, there wasn't as much singing as you would expect. The movie is more about the struggles Garland tried to overcome in the last year of her life. The stage singing didn't put me off with somebody (anybody) not being able to match Garland's fantastic vocals. (Not that this was a stand-out moment for the quality of Judy's vocal ability.) I guess going into it, I didn't expect Zelleweger to do what Garland could do (vocally). I just wanted an entertaining story. And I got that.

As for Midsommar, did you see it? If so, I would love to hear what you think about it. It...is...unsettling....

Which is where we come to the other reason why I won't watch Judy. You know how big a fan of classic Hollywood I am, I know too much about Judy Garland's life, I will spend the movie crying and I don't want to do that.

As for Midsommar, I won't be watching it or Hereditary. The movies could be amazing, the horror fans I know all loved them. I can't watch horror movies unless they're comedies. Which is why one day I will watch Ready or Not (also to see how many people I can recognize from Canadian shows because it filmed in Toronto) but I will not be watching the works of Ari Aster. No matter how much I might like an actor in one of his movies. He could cast Melissa Benoist (Supergirl, she's amazing) and I still wouldn't watch it even though I know I would break my no Tom Cruise rule for her.

 

[PeterG]

And now I begin discussion about DVD's I got from libraries near my house-sitting gig...

8.5/10 - Larry Kramer In Love And Anger – This 2015 HBO documentary about the life of writer and A.I.D.S. activist Kramer is one not to miss. My only problem with this film is that it’s too short for the subject matter (82 minutes). Kramer is too interesting a person and too captivating a speaker for his life story to be condensed to such a short amount of time. I think he would have been better served by a multi-episode mini-series. In spite of this, I give this one a definite two thumbs up.

Trailer for Larry Kramer In Love And Anger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIYPJDaITwU

 

[sk8pics]

Right now I’m watching The Terminal with Tom Hanks on Amazon Prime. I’m only about 30 minutes into it, but wow, what a good movie.

 

[Cachoo]

I watched a violent, black comedy called "Pixie." I do enjoy Olivia Cooke.

 

[vgerdes]

We're men, we're men in tights. Tiiiight tights!

Still on the nostalgia kick and went for a Robin Hood movie Mel Brooks style. And unlike other Robin Hoods, Carey Elwes can speak with an English accent.

My friends still quote lines from this.

Robin: Watch my back.
Achoo: Your back just got punched 2 times.

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights" was a FUN movie, unlike a lot of the RH remakes we've been subjected to in the last 20 years or so. Cary Elwes is underrated as a comic actor.

 

[PeterG]

8/10 – A Night To Remember is a mystery comedy from 1942 starring Loretta Young. Who is perhaps most famous for her self-titled TV show from the early days of television. But Young was also nominated for two Academy Awards, winning best actress in 1947 for The Farmer’s Daugher. A Night To Remember is a mystery comedy and works quite well on both levels. The story and direction are fantastic and the high level of crisp acting from every single performer in this movie helps to make it stand out. There’s no trailer at youtube for this, but you can actually watch the whole movie there….

Full Movie of A Night To Remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNSXbtO_OvA

 

[watchthis!!]

In The Loop is a movie I feel I should have liked more than I did. The movie is a policital comedy about British and American politicians and military officers trying to prevent a war. Maybe I'm disappointed because overall I felt that the movie was trying too hard. I t stars James Gandolfini, Anna Chlumsky, Steve Coogan and a lot of other people you will recognize from the trailer. So a good cast, but the hurried delivery of the dialogue (and the hurried pace of the movie) almost seemed like an effort to hide something wrong by being speedy. But maybe this just isn’t my thing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of you post that you loved this one. Would like to hear what you have to say if you've seen it.

 

[Cachoo]

In The Loop is a movie I feel I should have liked more than I did. The movie is a policital comedy about British and American politicians and military officers trying to prevent a war. Maybe I'm disappointed because overall I felt that the movie was trying too hard. I t stars James Gandolfini, Anna Chlumsky, Steve Coogan and a lot of other people you will recognize from the trailer. So a good cast, but the hurried delivery of the dialogue (and the hurried pace of the movie) almost seemed like an effort to hide something wrong by being speedy. But maybe this just isn’t my thing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of you post that you loved this one. Would like to hear what you have to say if you've seen it.

Oh my gawd I LOVED Peter Capaldi in that film. He was ferociously funny imho.

 

[PeterG]

9/10 - The Kid With A Bike (2011 French) is a very engaging French drama about a woman (the town hairdresser) whose path crosses with that of a boy who has ended up in a state-run youth facility. He wants so badly to be back with a father who isn’t really interested in being a single father. The movie is about how he misbehaves, but the hairdresser refuses to abandon being a stable presence in his life. I loved this movie. Cecile de France and Thomas Doret play the hairdresser and the boy and both are so incredible in their roles. I’m surprised that neither seemed to get any award recognition for their performances. The movie itself won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the festival’s second biggest honour. It also received Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Awards nominations.

Trailer for The Kid With A Bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfz-IGE66vg

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

Reading Rainbow is getting a documentary called Butterfly in the Sky. I haven't seen a release date on it yet. I will definitely be looking for this one.

 

[Cachoo]

I enjoyed “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women”. Interesting people along with an interesting story about the folks behind “Wonder Woman.”

 

[PeterG]

7/10 – Theodora Goes Wild is a 1936 screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas. Dunne plays a woman who has written a risqué novel, but has it published under a pseudonym for fear of what the people of her small town will think. While in the big city, Dunne meets a man of the city (Douglas) who learns of her secret. He follows her back to her hometown and basically strongarms her into being honest about her situation. She ends up falling in love with him and follows him back to the city…where she basically turns the table on him when she finds out he is in a marriage of convenience. I found the beginning of this movie to be a bit on the conventional side, but things take a dramatic (comedic, actually) change in the middle of the movie. The ending seems a bit thrown together, but I find older movies often come to a (too?) quick conclusion. Dunne and Douglas make a great screen couple (although Clark Gable and Charles Boyer are the two actors she made the most movies with).

Trailer for Theodora Goes Wild: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0bLmd8lYh0

 

[Jay42]

7/10 – Theodora Goes Wild is a 1936 screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas. Dunne plays a woman who has written a risqué novel, but has it published under a pseudonym for fear of what the people of her small town will think. While in the big city, Dunne meets a man of the city (Douglas) who learns of her secret. He follows her back to her hometown and basically strongarms her into being honest about her situation. She ends up falling in love with him and follows him back to the city…where she basically turns the table on him when she finds out he is in a marriage of convenience. I found the beginning of this movie to be a bit on the conventional side, but things take a dramatic (comedic, actually) change in the middle of the movie. The ending seems a bit thrown together, but I find older movies often come to a (too?) quick conclusion. Dunne and Douglas make a great screen couple (although Clark Gable and Charles Boyer are the two actors she made the most movies with).

Trailer for Theodora Goes Wild: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0bLmd8lYh0

I was surprised this was Irene Dunne's first comedy. I think I've only ever seen her in comedies but before this she had only done dramas. She didn't want to do the movie because it was a comedy and took a two month European trip to try and get out of it, hoping they would cast someone else. It obviously didn't work and she got her second Oscar nomination for it.

If you're interested in more movies with Irene Dunne, My Favourite Wife with Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Randolph Scott is an excellent movie. Irene Dunne worked with Cary Grant 3 times, including in Penny Serenade a movie that I maintain has Cary Grant's best performance and is free on YouTube because it went out of copywrite years ago.

Irene Dunne is one of my favourite underrated actresses from classic Hollywood. I know she got 5 Oscar nominations but she's not as known as a lot of other actresses from that time period because she chose to retire by the 1950's.

 

[PeterG]

I was surprised this was Irene Dunne's first comedy. I think I've only ever seen her in comedies but before this she had only done dramas. She didn't want to do the movie because it was a comedy and took a two month European trip to try and get out of it, hoping they would cast someone else. It obviously didn't work and she got her second Oscar nomination for it.

If you're interested in more movies with Irene Dunne, My Favourite Wife with Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Randolph Scott is an excellent movie. Irene Dunne worked with Cary Grant 3 times, including in Penny Serenade a movie that I maintain has Cary Grant's best performance and is free on YouTube because it went out of copywrite years ago.

Irene Dunne is one of my favourite underrated actresses from classic Hollywood. I know she got 5 Oscar nominations but she's not as known as a lot of other actresses from that time period because she chose to retire by the 1950's.

I've seen My Favourite Wife (anything with Cary Grant in it is worth seeing...and adding the uber-handsome Randolph Scott is a bonus that wasn't even necessary!) I haven't yet seen Penny Serenade, but it's on my list.

As for Irene Dunne's retirement, I'm always curious about how a popular actor's career goes. So I looked over her later credits at imdb.com and then looked over the very readable biography of Dunne at wikipedia. How she was looking for quality film scripts for years after her last film performance. How she worked in television but remained interested in film. A couple of movie titles are mentioned that never materialized. And rejection of a cameo in Airport '77. But this quote most caught my eye:

"I never formally retired," Dunne later explained, "but an awful lot of the girls my age soldiered on in bad vehicles. I couldn't run around with an ax in my hand like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford did to keep things going."

 

[Cachoo]

My father wanted us to watch "I Remember Mama" and I loved Dunne in that.

 

[Buzz]

Saw Shang Chi and loved it!!! It is as much a family drama as it is action movie. At times it reminded me of the first Jurassic Park movie. My only criticism is about Awkwafina. She is really good at being the lovable but big hearted goof but I felt she was in the movie too much and at times her presence seemed not to fit. (Yeah I know it is an unpopular opinion.)

And Shang Chi is really doing well at the BO considering the times we’re in.

Box Office: ‘Shang-Chi’ Smashes Labor Day Record with $90M

The Marvel Studios' film starring Simu Liu is the second-biggest domestic opening of the year with $75.5 million for the three-day weekend.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[MacMadame]

Also saw Shang-Chi and I liked it but I thought the middle dragged a bit. It was a bit of a mish-mash. Think "Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger" meets Marvel Superhero.

For some reason, I thought Shang-Chi operated in the Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones universe in NYC so I was super happy that it started out in San Francisco. The bus scene was even crazier than the trailers show and it was fun to pick out all the places I go to. I also loved the fight scenes and the fight training scenes. There was lots of character development and not just action as well. And the ending fight and wrap-up was good too.

What I didn't like was all the exposition and the middle that was just people talking and being melodramatic.

 

[PeterG]

3/10 - The New Twenty – I like to support gay cinema, but this one is a DRAG (no, not THAT kind of drag!) It’s just one of those movies where all the characters make the wrong decision at every opportunity, so one bad thing after another happens. N obody’s happy...including the viewing audience. The writer/director (Chris Mason Johnson, who did the film Test, which I reviewed last month) should have taken all this miserableness to his therapy sessions and left it there.

Trailer for The New Twenty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22F_bXeQEbo

 

[MacMadame]

Also saw Shang-Chi and I liked it but I thought the middle dragged a bit. It was a bit of a mish-mash. Think "Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger" meets Marvel Superhero.

For some reason, I thought Shang-Chi operated in the Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones universe in NYC so I was super happy that it started out in San Francisco. The bus scene was even crazier than the trailers show and it was fun to pick out all the places I go to. I also loved the fight scenes and the fight training scenes. There was lots of character development and not just action as well. And the ending fight and wrap-up was good too.

What I didn't like was all the exposition and the middle that was just people talking and being melodramatic.

Oh, I forgot to say that I liked all the Chinese mythical creatures brought to life too.

 

[Aussie Willy]

I saw a fantastic documentary today. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution could not be televised)

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021) ⭐ 8.0 | Documentary, Music

1h 58m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

It is about the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969. The footage from that festival has never been shown anywhere. The festival was held in one of the parks in Harlem and had some massive names from black music, including Steven Wonder, Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone. Some of the singing is sensational. The best moments were a group called The 5th Dimension who performed "Aquarius/Let the sun shine" from Hair and Pop and Staples Singers. The women could really sing. I got the chills.

The film covers race issues at the time. Interestingly enough it just shows that very little has changed for blacks and other minorities in the US.

 

[PeterG]

Summer of Soul - The same summer of Woodstock, another concert was happening in Harlem. It happened to feature Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, The Staple Singers and Sly and the Family Stone. This documentary showcases performances that have been sitting in the vaults for decades. New interview footage is also included.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oTu3hl_Gaw

I saw a fantastic documentary today. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution could not be televised)

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021) ⭐ 8.0 | Documentary, Music

1h 58m | PG-13

www.imdb.com

It is about the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969. The footage from that festival has never been shown anywhere. The festival was held in one of the parks in Harlem and had some massive names from black music, including Steven Wonder, Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone. Some of the singing is sensational. The best moments were a group called The 5th Dimension who performed "Aquarius/Let the sun shine" from Hair and Pop and Staples Singers. The women could really sing. I got the chills.

The film covers race issues at the time. Interestingly enough it just shows that very little has changed for blacks and other minorities in the US.

You're welcome.

 

[Buzz]

Shang Chi’s star Simu Liu throws out the first pitch and does a back flip. Sorry Mr Liu but Surya did it better and on skates!

- 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

 

[vgerdes]

I'm intrigued by this one.

George Takei is partnering up with Mel Brooks in film inspired by Blazing Saddles

 

[PeterG]

7/10 – Frontera – Two couples, one Mexican and one American, find their lives intertwined when a freak accident results in heartbreak. This one has a great cast with Ed Harris and Amy Ryan as one couple and Michael Pena and Eva Longoria is the other. And the premise for the movie is great, but the script is a bit lacking, which is unfortunate with a cast this talented. I do like how the film resolves the issues brought up in the movie, but getting there is a little uneven.

Trailer for Frontera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAp34Vtnrlw