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

VGThuy

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Speaking of Villeneuve, I wasn’t a fan of Arrival so I was worried about how I’d enjoy Dune.
 

PeterG

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7/10 – Truth, Dance and Reconciliation – A short 2013 documentary (43 minutes) which tells the story of the horrors of Canada’s residential schools…through dance. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet wanted to reach a larger audience and decided to create a ballet to reach out to the Indigenous community. They worked with Indigenous writers and musicians and together, created a ballet based on a story written by novelist Joseph Boyden. This documentary covers the progress of this new work really well. But there is very little dance shown, which was my only disappointment. The ballet was performed in about ten cities across Canada. But I googled to find if that ballet was filmed and released for home viewers to watch. But could not find anything. ☹

Trailer for Truth, Dance and Reconciliation: https://vimeo.com/112632850
 

MarieM

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That's what people said about the 1984 movie.
The BIG difference is that Lynch said he could not repect them. Villeneuve said otherwise.
Liet Kynes transformed into a woman. That is all I will add.
 

watchthis!!

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So is Dune doomed...no matter who makes it? :(

One movie that wasn't doomed is the 2012 autobiographical drama Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren). I enjoyed it more than I expected, the story takes place right after Hitchcock had North by Northwest in the theatres and how even though that movie was a success, he struggled to get his next picture made...Psycho. I was surprised to find out that Vertigo was a failure when it was released. And that he had other flops as well. I thought all of his movies were successes when they were released. Anthony Hopkins was great as ususal. I wish he had done more work to get his voice closer to that of Hitchcock’s, which was so distinctive. At times it sounded like he wasn’t trying very hard to do anything other than his regular speaking voice. Helen Mirren is good as Hitchcock’s wife Alma, but it’s kind of a thankless role. I’m wondering if a part of Mirren’s taking this role was to let the world know that Alma played a part in the success of Hitchcock’s films from early on in his career, from writing to directing to editing and overall creation of Hitchcock’s works. I had no idea.
 

PeterG

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4/10 – Salem’s Lot (1979) – This is the mini-series version with David Soul, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Willard and James Mason. A younger friend of mine expressed in an interest in Stephen King, so I got this from the library as I remember it being very popular when it came out. But we only watched half an hour as nothing happened. I ended up watching the rest later as I have a bad habit of finishing pretty much anything that I start. I found it to be almost shockingly slowly paced and very cheap in production, effects, costumes and make-up. It almost has the look of a production put together by a small-town TV station. The performances are quite good, but it just feels like the director had to fill up four hours of the TV schedule when he planned to make a 90 minute movie. And the production budget was slashed by 90% one month before filming was set to begin. :(

Trailer for Salem’s Lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLm0iGY7CiI
 

Cachoo

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4/10 – Salem’s Lot (1979) – This is the mini-series version with David Soul, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Willard and James Mason. A younger friend of mine expressed in an interest in Stephen King, so I got this from the library as I remember it being very popular when it came out. But we only watched half an hour as nothing happened. I ended up watching the rest later as I have a bad habit of finishing pretty much anything that I start. I found it to be almost shockingly slowly paced and very cheap in production, effects, costumes and make-up. It almost has the look of a production put together by a small-town TV station. The performances are quite good, but it just feels like the director had to fill up four hours of the TV schedule when he planned to make a 90 minute movie. And the production budget was slashed by 90% one month before filming was set to begin. :(

Trailer for Salem’s Lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLm0iGY7CiI
That is a shame. Maybe it was my age at the time but I found the book frightening at times. I remember reading alone in the house and actually feeling spooked. Netflix or another streaming service should invest in an update that will scare the bejesus out of us.
 

Integrity

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That is a shame. Maybe it was my age at the time but I found the book frightening at times. I remember reading alone in the house and actually feeling spooked. Netflix or another streaming service should invest in an update that will scare the bejesus out of us.
The book was excellent in my opinion and scared the hell out of me as a teen.

In my opinion, often the supernatural/sci-fi themes from King's books do not transfer well to the screen. I think Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me (novella "The Body"), Misery, The Shining, Carrie, to name a few, were good films. More drama, little or no sci-fi in those examples.
 

PeterG

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That is a shame. Maybe it was my age at the time but I found the book frightening at times. I remember reading alone in the house and actually feeling spooked. Netflix or another streaming service should invest in an update that will scare the bejesus out of us.

I'm sure the book was much better than the TV series. I vaguely remembered that this two-part TV adaptation was big water-cooler talk the next day. A big deal...so I was surprised to see how plain it came across as. We barely even get to see the vampire, who only appeared for the first time about two-thirds of the way into the program. There was a remake in 2004 on TNT which starred Rob Lowe, Donald Sutherland, Andre Braugher, Samantha Mathis, Rutger Hauer and James Cromwell. It's not available at any local library and I'm ancient, so I have not yet entered the high-tech world of streaming.

But I just found that there is going to be a film version coming out in September of 2022. The only big name is Alfre Woodward (who is brilliant), but the rest of the cast are not very famous. Lewis Pullman has been in a few movies, but in smaller roles, so I don't really remember his performances. Gary Dauberman is writing and directed, he wrote both of the recent It films. He also wrote and directed Annabelle Comes Home, which I thought was quite good. I'm hopeful that this will be the version we've been waiting for. :)
 

watchthis!!

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A movie to watch with kids that won’t completely bore you is a good way to describe Dolphin Tale. It was fine to watch on my own, but I think this one would be more enjoyable watching kids see a good story about caring for dolphins unfold in front of them. One interesting thing about this movie is when Harry Connick Jr. was giving it all to be a movie star. Did he just throw in the towel at some point? Or was Hollywood just not interested in him eventually? And Ashley Judd, doing fine in a role that demands so little of her...and not being able to wonder if this is the type of movie she was left with after Harvey Weinstein (do I have to say allegedly?) sabotaged her career (Judd later claimed in 2017 that it was Weinstein who sexually harassed her during the filming of Kiss The Girls). I guess I was distracted by the stars of this movie… :lol: Kris Kristofferson and Morgan Freeman also star in the movie.
 

PeterG

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8/10 – Together Again is the last movie I watched from the two-DVD “Icons Of Screwball Comedy” DVD set. And it’s one of the best. Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer are fantastic in this story which made me laugh out loud many times, has a nice dollop or romantic comedy and just a hint of supernatural wonder. The supporting cast do a perfect job of matching the talents of the two leads, with three-time Oscar nominee Charles Coburn as Dunne’s father-in-law. And Mona Freeman as Dunne’s daughter and Jerome Courtland as the young man interested in Freeman are so good that I don’t know why they didn’t achieve much more fame than they did. Together Again is a movie I would be happy to watch again at some point.

Trailer for Together Again: there is none (unfortunately!), but youtube does have this one clip from the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sF5QH0gvEY
 

VGThuy

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Teaser trailer for Joel Coen's (of the Coen Brothers) new film, The Tragedy of Macbeth starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand:


It looks like Bergman's The Seventh Seal and I'm here for it.
 

watchthis!!

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Mean Girls Musical Movie Now A High Priority After Finding Directors

Tina Fey, who wrote the original movie and the book for the Broadway production, will also write the movie musical script. The directors are Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne, who are a married couple. They don't have a lot of directing credits, so they seem to be a strange choice t me. Perez Jr. directed a Paul McCartney documentary and a Justin Timberlake music video (Say Something). Jayne's credits are more for acting. They will be working with Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, who wrote the music for the musical.

No casting has been done yet for the film. Anybody want to play casting director? Who would you pick to be in the movie musical version of Mean Girls? Since it's a musical, Ariana Grande seems like an obvious choice. And maybe Dua Lipa, Camile Cabello, Bebe Rexha, Lizzo, Charli XCX. Could Selena Gomez pass as a high school student? And wasn't there a goth friend of the outcasts....maybe Billie Eilish or Lorde for that part?
 

PeterG

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8/10 – Judas and the Black Messiah – I initially did not have this movie on my To See list. It looked to be heavy, usual Hollywood bio-pic and kind of like a social studies assignment. But with it receiving six Academy Award nominations, I added to my list…and I’m glad I did. Just all-around great film-making from the direction to the script and so many fantastic performances. I think I remember reading whether Daniel Kaluuya should have been in the best actor category, which I tend to agree with. But that’s not a criticism about the movie, just a comment on the publicity a studio has to do to get it’s movie noticed more. But I’d put this one under the “Must-See” category for movie lovers.

Trailer for Judas and the Black Messiah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Q9Qmq1lu8
 

VGThuy

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I'm glad they added tragedy to the title so we know that the peppy comedy of the original Macbeth is something we won't be seeing once again. ;)
It’s actually the original full title of the play, so I wonder if this will be a “faithful” adaptation in the sense that Kenneth Branaugh’s Hamlet was the full unabridged adaptation (making people scratch their heads as to why it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay back in the day since all he did was make copies of Shakespeare’s full text). It’s hard for me to believe Joel Coen can do a straight adaptation though, but maybe he has a more serious
style without Ethan.
 

PeterG

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9/10 – Minari – Another nominee for best picture at the last Oscars and it made me start feeling confused about which picture should have won…as I loved this movie. So beautifully directed by Lee Isaac Chung! And Alan Kim is so adorable as David. I’m happy that Youn Yuh-jung won the Oscar for supporting actress, but I’ve yet to see three of the other performances. And happy to see Steven Yuen with a breakthrough role after enjoying him on The Walking Dead for so long. Some of Yuen’s upcoming projects:

The Humans, based on a Tony award winning play and co-starring Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun and June Squibb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi7WKFFmeR4

Nope, a horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele, co-starring Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya.

Trailer for Minari: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07vd_Eyhtfc
 

Japanfan

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9/10 – Minari – Another nominee for best picture at the last Oscars and it made me start feeling confused about which picture should have won…as I loved this movie. So beautifully directed by Lee Isaac Chung! And Alan Kim is so adorable as David. I’m happy that Youn Yuh-jung won the Oscar for supporting actress, but I’ve yet to see three of the other performances. And happy to see Steven Yuen with a breakthrough role after enjoying him on The Walking Dead for so long. Some of Yuen’s upcoming projects:

I loved Minari and was likewise delighted to see Steven Yuen in a lead role. Personally I would have given it the win over Nomadland, which in IMO was nothing remarkable - although very good - and probably benefited from a lot of PR and McDormand's popularity.
 
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VGThuy

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It’s crazy how much we differed. I thought Minari was cute at best, lacking a bit of depth, and was too afraid to deal with issues Asian-Americans would face in the South, speaking as an Asian-American growing up in the period the young boy in the film did in the state directly south of where the movie was set. To me, the grandmother character played by Youn Yuh-Jung saved that movie and not only gave it real gravitas and some form of compelling conflict, but also provided the film some star quality. Oscar well deserved.
 

watchthis!!

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1917 was entertaining, but seemed old-fashioned in way, especially thematically and what's happening in the world of movies these days. It's like a movie from fifty years ago, but with today’s production values. George MacKay does a great job carrying the movie. It’s strange that he didn’t receive more recognition for his role, because the movie succeeds or fails on his performance as he’s in almost every scene. Of the ten Oscars it was nominated for, it won three for Cinematography (well deserved), Sound Mixing (don’t know how to judge this category…does anyone other than sound mixers?) and Visual Effects (which were good). The only Oscar it lost that I question was Production Design, where it lost to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Not sure what production design was required for Once Upon…everything in that movie looked like it was shot on some random location they scouted out. Whereas 1917 had to build all the trenches and war camps, etc. Overall, I felt this 1917 was worth watching.

It’s actually the original full title of the play, so I wonder if this will be a “faithful” adaptation in the sense that Kenneth Branaugh’s Hamlet was the full unabridged adaptation (making people scratch their heads as to why it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay back in the day since all he did was make copies of Shakespeare’s full text). It’s hard for me to believe Joel Coen can do a straight adaptation though, but maybe he has a more serious
style without Ethan.

D'oh! Shows you how much I know about Shakespeare. Not really a fan of his, I have to admit. I mean, what has he even written lately? They just seem to be re-doing all his old stuff all the time.
 

LeafOnTheWind

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I started watching The Ipcress File and got so bored with it that it just became background noise. I couldn't even tell you how it ended. The movie just stopped. :shuffle: I know they were trying to find out what was happening with all the scientists but that's about it. I am so bored with it I can't even bother looking for a summary of the movie.
 

PeterG

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7/10 - Capital in the Twenty-First Century is a 2019 documentary based on the best-selling book by Thomas Piketty. The movie begins with looking at wealth and income equality beginning in the 18th century. And it proceeds up until today with a tone that aims to be light…well, it probably is but I feel this topic to be overwhelming regardless of the tone. Injustice for some reason does that to me. :lol: I’m glad I watched this, maybe it’s the type of movie I should watch more than once so I can absorb stuff I missed the first time around when my mind was being blown.

Trailer for Capital in the Twenty-First Century: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqkjyI1QD2A
 

VGThuy

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Early reviews for The Tragedy of Macbeth are overwhelmingly positive: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-tragedy-of-macbeth/critic-reviews

The top two scores are from British publications, who tend to be prickly about Shakespeare film adaptations. Many are saying the stripped down production allows the characters, atmosphere, and mood to shine through, and they didn't realize how "terrifying" this movie would actually be.
 

Japanfan

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It’s crazy how much we differed. I thought Minari was cute at best, lacking a bit of depth, and was too afraid to deal with issues Asian-Americans would face in the South, speaking as an Asian-American growing up in the period the young boy in the film did in the state directly south of where the movie was set.

Good point. I never thought of that. The community was shown as only welcoming to the family.

I'm reminded of the one Chinese family in the small Canadian mining town I grew up in, running the one Chinese restaurant that can still be found in most Canadian small towns. They seemed rather alien to me, and probably everyone else. I hope the kids did okay in school, and made friends, etc.


To me, the grandmother character played by Youn Yuh-Jung saved that movie and not only gave it real gravitas and some form of compelling conflict, but also provided the film some star quality. Oscar well deserved.
Yes, she was wonderful. And deserved all the awards she got.
 

vgerdes

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Benedict! And cats! The Electrical Life of Louis Wain: https://youtu.be/JLNnCdZrgoQ
He's having quite the year, isn't he? Both this film and Power of the Dog look to be outstanding performances from him, and then we have him returning as Doctor Strange in the new Spiderman movie. He also starred in two other excellent film releases earlier this year, The Mauritanian and The Courier. For us Cumberbatch fans, it's quite the feast. I'm loving it.
 

PeterG

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9/10 – The Guilty – As soon as I saw the trailer for this movie, I pretty much knew that I was going to love it. And I was right. Expertly written and directed, especially considering the whole movie takes place in an office where a suspended police officer is re-assigned to an emergency calls desk. A woman is kidnapped, children are left at home alone and a husband is desperate. T he police officer wants (and needs) to ensure everyone’s safety is protected…and all he has is a telephone (and his wits). Denmark put this film forward for Oscar consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, where it made the December shortlist.

Trailer for The Guilty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2omRvlQh2g
 

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