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

I went and saw "Don't worry darling" today, starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. It was.....strange, and not necessarily in a good way. Not an entirely bad movie that I feel I wasted two hours on, but not that great either. I can't really say much about it without giving away info for anyone who may want to see it. But it was.....OK.
 
Kasey said:
I saw "The Woman King" today. A solid 8/10 movie, that could have been 10/10 if it hadn't had the stupid soap opera-y romance subplot that was totally unnecessary and added nothing to the movie. The acting was amazing, throughout, and the cinematography beautiful.
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I know, right? Your reaction was pretty much the same as mine. I hated that stupid romance. It didn't quite ruin the movie for me, because it wasn't a huge part of the plot, but it was... annoying. And did I mention stupid? It was that too. It didn't really make sense.
 
Watched the 2001 movie Life as a House on dvd. I remember that I had watched it in a theatre but forgot the details. It was pretty good. Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas and (surprise!) Hayden Christensen were All very good. Another surprise was Jena Malone. When I saw the Hunger games (part 2) Inthought it was the first time I had seen her ina movie. Later I discovered that she was the younger version of Jody Foster in Contact. Now this. Why has she not been more successful as a Actress?
 
"Everything everywhere all at once"....Just, NO. I can't count the number of times during this movie I thought "This is ludicrous" or "this is possibly the stupidest thing ever". A good movie for someone on street drugs.
 
Kasey said:
"Everything everywhere all at once"....Just, NO. I can't count the number of times during this movie I thought "This is ludicrous" or "this is possibly the stupidest thing ever". A good movie for someone on street drugs.
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I’m on Tylenol. I loved it and I noticed the reactions seem to be loved it, loved it, loved it, absolutely loathed it. The “it was ok” middle ground isn’t so apparent.
 
Yeah, I can't see a middle ground for this movie. I wanted to be in the "loved it" category. But, nope, that's a big fat NO from me. I was wanting the protagonist dead multiple times throughout the movie.
 
Finally watched the White Crow on dvd. I was surprised that it is fairly new (2019). Really fascinating movie about Nureyev's defection to the west in 1961 when he was visiting Paris with the Kirov ballet. There are several flashbacks to tell his whole story. The last part is full of tension and suspense, even though we know how the story ended. He chose artistic freedom. It was not a political decision. The defection process as shown in the movie was very interesting.

The main character Rudolf/Rudi is played by a real professional Russian ballet dancer Oleg Ivenko who is a pretty good actor. The dancing is really good, and full of emotion (not just technical). Apparently Nureyev's technique was not perfect but his stage presence was great.

The amazing Ralph Fiennes not only directed the movie but he played a significant role of Nureyev's teacher Aleksandr Pushkin. His Russian is pretty good. The movie is (approximately) half Russian, with the rest English and French. The subtitles are good.

When Nureyev defected to France, Pushkin was crushed and ashamed but two years later Baryshnikov walked into his studio to study with him. What a great career as a teacher!

This movie feels very authentic because it is not just 'based on a true story'. It Is a true story. A lot of research went into using real events in Rudi's life. His childhood is shown in B&W, including his birth on a moving train in 1938.

The special features on the dvd are even more interesting. Ralph Fiennes said he was fascinated by the story and so He produced and directed this movie. He wanted a real Russian ballet dancer for the main role. He looked at several professional ballet dancers in Russia and decided on Oleg Ivenko. In the interviews Ivenko speaks Russian, and there is a translator. In the movie he speaks Russian, and English with a Russian accent. Nureyev had indeed studied English When he lived in Leningrad. He spent his childhood in Ufa.

The actor had very high praise for Ralph Fiennes, who looks much older than his other roles. I was surprised that this movie got only 6.6 on IMD. In my book it is 9/10.

I went back to watching Kolyada's LP skated to this soundtrack but had a hard time finding that specific music in the movie. I am watching the movie again and May find the music toward the end.
 
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I knew very little about Nureyev as a person and dancer before watching The White Crow. Something occurred to me after reflection. Rudi's behavior was abominable in at least two scenes - 1.the restaurant scene where he throws a fit over a sauce, and 2. in the practice session (even worse) when he insults a high level oldballet dancer (and official), and yet I don't remember myself hating him While watching those scenes. part of it was good acting, I think. Ivenko played that character so well!

I think it may be the interwoven childhood scenes, and understanding that he had a complex about where he came from. When I watched the adult, I am sure the 7 year old child was at the back of my mind. I didn't hate the adult because I understood him. He had uncontrollable anger but his teacher always remained calm. I thought they should have thrown him out, but didn't. Was it because of his talent and promise? He was 23 at the time. That's not an adolescent nor a fully grown adult. He also seemed like a spoiled brat at times, and even the mighty USSR seemed to tolerate him - up to a certain point.

I think the part where he is ordered to go to Moscow (potentially false reasons) instead of going to London with his fellow Kirov dancers- Was this a retribution for the insults he threw at the senior official? Had he gone to Moscow, would his life been in danger? I think he sensed something and refused to go to Moscow. Instead he asked for political asylum.

Sometimes a movie gets me interested in a character or a period in history. I think this has generated my interest in his character and his story. I may read the book this was based on.

I am disappointed that the excellent work of Ralph Fiennes and his team was not appreciated by the public Nor the critics.
 
I am so looking forward to this:


Matilda is one of my favorite musicals. Probably one of the cleverest written scores I’ve heard. The word play Tim Minchin utilizes should be studied by lyricists who want to write musical theatre. It’s a musical adapted from a novel done right.
 
I found the music for Kolyada's White Crow LP. It is at the end of the movie when the titles are rolling. I really liked this movie.
 
I saw 'Amsterdam' - and I get the mixed reviews. I enjoyed the movie, but it was bit sloppy and not as cohesive as I would like.
Christian Bale is always good - as was the rest of the cast. The storyline was a bit confusing at first- but fascinating - dealing with WWI through 1930s and Nazis - always a very interesting topic.
 
Vash01 said:
On my flight back from Scandinavia I watched Jerry McGuire. I had seen it in the theatre but I was surprised by how little I remembered. Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. were both excellent. Entertaining movie and it was fun to watch our Arizona Cardinals as part of the story.
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Apparently Gooding Jr. is very "hands on" in his work (and life).

:vomit:

Cuba Gooding Jr. Gets No Jail Time After Pleading Guilty in Forcible Touching Case

Three women are mentioned in this article. Other articles say that thirty women have come forward in regards to unwanted physical advances. Wonder how this will affect his career. IMDB.com says that he has two projects in post-production and one in pre-production.
 
I've never seen all of The Producers and finally got around to watching the whole thing. I think I really lost it during Springtime for Hitler when the Beer and Pretzel boob costumes showed up. I am contemplating watching the remake but I doubt it would be as funny as the original Mel Brooks.

Things from the bonus section:
  1. Mel Brooks based this on a producer he used to work for. The man would really romance the old ladies for money.
  2. Gene Wilder said he probably couldn't play the part after his success with it because he was that timid, scared guy who needed a Zero Mostel to push him out of his comfort zone. He didn't have a lot of confidence and it was easy to translate that over to the character. His blue blanket act was so neurotic because Zero was grabbing at his crotch during the scene. Zero had also planted a kiss on Gene Wilder when they met so Gene was worried about what else would happen during that first scene where they hatch their big plan.
  3. I would hope that Xero wouldn't get work today because he also grabbed Andreas Voutsinas in the tiny elevator scene. Apparently the man couldn't keep his hands off anyone.
  4. Gene and Andreas weren't the only ones getting groped. Estelle Winwood lied about her age to get the part of the "hold me, touch me" lady. They were looking for someone around 70-75. She was around 90 and she took that part seriously. Xero got groped a lot and then had the nerve to complain about it after grabbing everyone else on set. He was not fond of getting a taste of his own medicine. I hope she knew he was an ass and just went for it out of revenge.
  5. A lot of the Hitlers from the casting scene wanted to go to a nearby restaurant during the lunch break but didn't have time to change out of costume and back. They got a lot of looks from bystanders as a parade of Hitlers walked by.
  6. The woman who had black eagles on her breasts during the Springtime for Hitler number was originally supposed to have swastikas. She said she had "worked too long and too hard to have swastikas on her tits" and refused to wear it. She was taller than all the other women and couldn't just switch out costumes. They had to rework it for her and added the eagles instead.
  7. It used to take at least 3 weeks to film dance numbers for movies but they managed to film Springtime for Hitler in one day by using multiple cameras, a Mel Brooks specialty. This was his first directing job so probably didn't know how things were supposed to be done. One of those things where the outsider can come in and make something better. :lol:
  8. A lot of Jewish organizations were not happy with the film. Mel Brooks understood why they had issues with it but felt that he needed to deal with the horror of Hitler by ridiculing him out of existence. He said you can't argue with this type of person but you sure can make fun of them.
  9. Gene Wilder wrote a version his whole courtroom speech himself and asked Mel Brooks to let him make a speech. Gene was originally supposed to just sit there without saying anything and felt like the shy timid guy had changed so much after the whole thing that a speech was needed. Mel Brooks revised the final version of it and let him add it to the scene.
  10. The studio didn't even bother to do any advertising for the movie but debuted it in a 3000 seat theater that was virtually empty. There was enough room for a homeless woman to stay sleeping through most of the movie. She did wake up and laugh during Springtime for Hitler. Mel and all the actors were convinced the movie would fail and went home depressed.
  11. Peter Sellers and another producer had movie viewing parties and everyone forgot to bring the intended movie. The guy running the projector said he had The Producers back there and everyone fell in love with this unknown comedy. Mel Brooks had originally asked Peter Sellers to be in it but never heard back from him. Peter still managed to make the movie a success without starring in it. The rest is history.
 
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I saw the Spielberg version of West Side Story. I have never seen the original, just know the songs from figure skating programs. I found it kinda dull. And the Maria and Tony romance makes no sense to me. I do like the music and thought the women were good. The men are bleh except Chino.
 
Good news for cinemas.

www.thefilmik.com

Black Adam Box Office Prediction: Eyeing a $75 Million Opening Weekend - The Filmik

Black Adam Box Office Prediction: Critics and production expect Dwayne Johnson's 'Black Adam' to earn a minimum of $65-75 million domestically in more than 4,000 theaters on its opening weekend.
www.thefilmik.com www.thefilmik.com

www.boxofficepro.com

Long Range Box Office Forecast: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Tracking for Potential November Record Debut of $180M+

One of 2022's most anticipated films finally hits theaters in four weeks, and legions of Marvel fans are expected to turn out in blockbuster numbers again.
www.boxofficepro.com www.boxofficepro.com
 
For those familiar with Anna May Wong's story - quite a momentous occasion for her to be honoured on U.S. currency.

Most recently, her narrative was given a (very) revisionsist treatment in the 2020 Netflix miniseries "Hollywood".

www.cnn.com

Groundbreaking movie star Anna May Wong to be first Asian American featured on US currency

Anna May Wong, who broke into Hollywood during the silent film era, will become the first Asian American to appear on US currency, a century after she landed her first leading role.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
 
Wish Upon is a fairly decent 2017 supernatural horror movie. Joey King stars as a high school student who receives a music box from her father which has a supernatural aspect to it which no one is aware of. But as the movie progresses, we learn that wishes can come with a cost attached to them. I would say other than a fairly good story, the strong supporting cast made this enjoyable for me. Ryan Phillippe plays Joey King's father and Sherilyn Fenn is a neighbourhood friend. Among King's classmates are Shannon Purser (Stranger Things) and Ki Hong Lee from the Maze Runner movies.
 
I watched Kid Creole this week. It is the fourth film role for Elvis Presley. And quite a good movie. Allmovie.com has it rated as the best Elvis movie. I can see why. His star power is in full effect here, even though his performance is rather understated for most of the movie. But it’s like a warm, simmering fire that could shoot out flames at the least unexpected time. And his musical performances are amazing. If only the director had let Elvis perform them live rather than lip-sync. Maybe they tried that, but the film kept burning up. :lol: The director is Michael Curtiz, who was nominated for four Oscars and won for directing Casablanca. I’m not sure about Carolyn Jones as a potential love interest for Presley, perhaps she landed this role as she was coming off an Oscar nomination (the only one she’d receive). You might know Jones best for playing Morticia in The Addams Family. Also starring in the movie is Walter Matthau, Dean Jagger (Oscar winner for Twelve O'Clock High) and Vic Morrow.

Trailer for King Creole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS6wBU4cOgE
 
"Coming 2 America" was enjoyable. It had a strong resemblance to the Lion King movies which was a childhood favorite of mine growing up.

It was also nice to see some old actors that aren't seen too much nowadays.

This is one of those movies that I wouldn't mind seeing every once in a while because it's just one of those heartwarming fairytale like classics.
 
I liked Straight Up, which is a romantic comedy drama between a woman who is straight and a man who is gay, but maybe straight, perhaps bisexual, but probably gay. This movie is written, directed and stars James Sweeney who is so young looking you might confuse him with a high school student. So quite impressive that he did so much with this movie at such a young age (I can’t find out how old he is). Sweeney and co-star Katie Findlay have good chemistry and she is up to the challenge of his script, which is quite wordy and fast-paced. It made me think of screwball comedies from the black and white days of the movies. The rest of the cast are strong as well. The only (minor) complaint that I could make of this movie is that the two lead characters are a bit overly-introspective for my tastes. I enjoyed watching their 90 minute movie, but if they were in my social circle, I think they would drive me crazy after a while. :lol:
 
Buzz said:
Black Adam - A really good fun movie. Cyclone and Atom Smasher leaves a lot to be desired but everyone else was just fine. Plus that post credit scene alone is worth it!
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I enjoyed Black Adam as well. Pierce Brosnan was a standout for me, and of course The Rock is pretty much tailor-made to play a super (anti?) hero, but I enjoyed pretty much all of the performances. And the post-credits scene is awesome.

Hello, Henry Cavill. I was ridiculously happy to see him back as Superman.
 
Tonight I watched a movie called Saturday Church. It’s about a fourteen year old questioning his gender identity. While at first it seems like this will be another dark LGBTQ+ themed movie, it instead veers into a rather sweet movie, while maintaining some dark edges to it, giving it some bite. Luke Kain plays Ulysses, whose father has just passed away and must now deal with his conservative and religious Aunt who has come to live with his family as they struggle to get back on their feet. Luckily for Ulysses, he meets some other trans youth who provide a support system to him. And in a bit of creative filmmaking, Ulysses imagines musical numbers when things get difficult, so the cast get to show off their strong vocal and performance skills. I felt very happy that this movie came to my attention and I got to see many characters who seldomly get a chance to be on the screen.

Cast members for Saturday Church include two-time Emmy nominee Regina Taylor, Emmy nominee MJ Rodriguez and Margot Bingham (The Walking Dead). Saturday Church won awards at eleven different LGBTQ+ Film Festivals, was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and received three nominations at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Trailer for Saturday Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loHVNlMKAx0
 
I saw In the Heights. I liked the focus on dreams, and the dancing was great. And I liked the characters. The romances were okay. And there is no one song I really love.
 
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