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

Vash01

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Watched the movie Call of the wild. It was really good. It is about a dog in California that is kidnapped and sent to Alaska. It becomes a sled dog, meets an old man (Harrison Ford) who is a grieving father. They form a friendship and find themselves.

Gorgeous Alaskan scenery, including the Northern lights. Reminded me of my winter visit to Alaska.
 
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MacMadame

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We saw No Time to Die today. If you are a Bond fan, you will enjoy this movie. If you are a fan of Daniel Craig's Bond, you will enjoy this movie. If you are a fan of logic, you will not enjoy this movie. :lol:

I was actually okay with it until one of the characters chose to go into hiding wearing white jeans and high heels. And at the end of the movie those jeans were clean. I realize it's a little thing but it totally took me out of the movie. (Though a few other things leading up to it didn't help.) I think the older Bond movies worked because they were so ridiculous that logic wasn't an issue. But these later movies are trying to be gritty and real and then they do stupid shit like that.

OTOH, my husband is a big Bond fan and he loved the movie.
 

PeterG

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8/10 - End Of The Century is a 2019 Argentine drama about two gay men who meet and begin an affair. They realize that they had met twenty years earlier, but were too closeted to have more than just a fling. I really enjoyed this movie even though the time jumps confused me. So I looked at Wikipedia and then imdb.com to see if the movie descriptions there clarified things for me. A user review at imdb.com helped, but also confused me more. The stories told in the two different eras…were some only the imagination of one of the characters? What he had only WISHED had happened? That saddens me and make me think, is this another “unhappy gays” movie? Regardless, I was entertained and found the two male leads to be fantastic in their roles and great as a movie couple.

Trailer for End Of The Century: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAlBU6IzDHM
 

mjb52

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I just watched Scorsese's After Hours. It reminded me of an essay I once read by Milan Kundera where he was bemoaning the fact that it was hard to just arrange improbable coincidences in fiction anymore, where a bunch of the main characters could end up in the same place for no good reason, because there was more (too much?) attention to realism in modern fiction than in earlier writing. But this movie takes its main character from one improbable meeting to another but never really feels unrealistic or contrived, even though the events themselves are completely outlandish. I think because the setting is late night NYC in the 80's it's all believable as just the kind of crazy things that could happen in that time and place. I will remember both the lines "Surrender Dorothy" and "Mohawk Him" forever. Some really good actors and the most bizarre use of a Mr. Softee truck you will ever see. I had friends who had a night somewhat like this in NYC (not this extreme) but I was tucked away in bed at the time - missed out on some serious memories!
 

clairecloutier

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A couple people here mentioned Lion, with Nicole Kidman, so I watched it last night (hadn’t seen it before). An amazing story … liked it a lot. As a parent, I found it extra-interesting, I think—definitely raised some emotional issues. The production was great; fantastic images of India and Tasmania.
 

MacMadame

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Another complaint about "No Time to Die"

The villain never said (a) what his plan was and (b) why he was doing it. Apparently, he was going to kill people all over the world. Which people? All people? All but his friends? Only his enemies? Was he going to threaten to kill them and ask for a random not to? Also, why was he doing this? It was never said or even implied. He just was. Because he could, I guess
 

PeterG

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Another complaint about "No Time to Die"

The villain never said (a) what his plan was and (b) why he was doing it. Apparently, he was going to kill people all over the world. Which people? All people? All but his friends? Only his enemies? Was he going to threaten to kill them and ask for a random not to? Also, why was he doing this? It was never said or even implied. He just was. Because he could, I guess

Maybe
he was just having bad day. :(
 

Yehudi

AITA
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4,935
Many Saints of Newark was entertaining but it felt like a pilot episode rather than a standalone movie. A lot of parallels, Easter eggs and foreshadowing like

the Molitsanti men getting betrayed by their girlfriends, Dickie having a talent for disposing of bodies of people he wasn’t supposed to kill, Pussy’s dad getting shot in the face, and, of course, Tony looking out the door of a certain diner

There wasn’t enough time spent with anyone which was a shame because I wanted to see more of Dickie and the younger versions of our favorite characters. Speaking of Dickie,

I never bought into the corrupt cop story, but Uncle Junior ordering the hit on Dickie was a surprise.
 

PeterG

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2/10 - The Wandering Earth is a Chinese sci-fi film and is the fourth highest-grossing film in China, making 699 million on a 50 million budget. I like sci-fi and the trailer looked good. And with it making so much money, I was hopeful. But it’s on par with a Hollywood movie like Armagedon (Bruce Willis) in that it dumbs down the premise as much as possible to the lowest common denominator so as to pander to as broad an audience as possible. The story is basic and the characters are stock. While production values are high, the movie has a very glum look as Earth is being propelled away from an expanding sun towards a new galaxy so everyone must move underground as the Earth’s temperatures plummet. Most of the screen is blackness as petty characters do stupid things. Skip this movie!

Trailer for The Wandering Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzoGinOmHDA
 

PeterG

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watchthis!!

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Hollywood Is Apparently More Divided About Vaccines Than It Appears

This article from Vanity Fair references the original Hollywood Reporter, which talks about an actor who has chosen not to get vaccinated. While that article doesn't state the actor's name, Vanity Fair does: Miles Teller. He "allegedy" tested positive for COVID on the set of the movie which is about the making of The Godfather. Production had to shut down and cost the studio somewhere in the range of six to seven million dollars.

The Vanity Fair article also mentioned that Sean Penn left the set of movie and waiting until everyone had been vaccinated.

And Letitia Wright (the brainy sister in the Black Panther movie) parted ways with her entire U.S. Team after sharing an anti-vaccine video on social media. Hmm...wonder if her career just crashed and burned before it even left the ground.
 

Cachoo

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Once again I am watching a movie, and am impressed with the performance of an actress I’ve never seen before. The film is called “Burden” and the actress is Andrea Riseborough. And I have seen her many times but I NEVER recognize her. I cannot believe how well she disappears into any role.
 

smurfy

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I saw 'Dear Evan Hansen' yesterday. I really enjoyed it. I have not see the Broadway show. Ben Platt is very good and I like Kaitlyn Dever. Whole cast was good. I would call it a quiet musical - not huge dance numbers.
Amy Adams has moved to Mom rolls - she is old enough, but looks so young.
Enjoyable movie with an interesting story.
 

PeterG

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My previous post was the last of the foreign language films I had seen. Now, documentaries:

9/10 - Town Bloody Hall is a wonderfully captivating 1979 documentary about a 1971 event…and to describe it could mean me typing for as long as the running time of the movie. So I will steal this description from imdb.com:

Infamously macho author Norman Mailer shares a 1971 NYC panel with an audience of intellectual women and famous feminists receiving a lively critique revealing the sophisticated political, literary discourse of early Women's Lib movement.

Those Mailer shared the stage with are Jacqueline Ceballos, Germaine Greer, Jill Johnston and Diana Trilling, with Susan Sontag and Betty Friedan amongst the SRO audience.

I thought the discussion/debate was fascinating and the panelists brilliant. I see at Wikipedia that they made a stage play based on this event. I’d love to see the play and see if a later perspective adds an even more intriguing dimension to an already incredible piece of work.

There is no trailer for this at youtube, but the documentary itself is available for free on youtube, having been uploaded by two different people.
 

Buzz

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Eternals is expected to have an opening domestic take of over $100m and looks like this movie will also not be released in China.

 

Vash01

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Watched a very old movie (1977) Julia on dvd last night. Great acting by Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave as writer Lillian Hellman (Lilly) and her childhood friend Julia. Jason Robards played Lilly's husband. All three won Oscars for acting.

Very sad Movie. I was tired and sleepy but couldn't stop watching it. There were several things I didn't understand, so I may need to watch it again. In any case it was a beautifully made movie.

ETA- a young Meryl Streep has a minor role, and about 2-3 minutes of screen time.

ETA2-
Looks like it won the Best picture Oscar too. Well deserved. Also a tie for supporting actor Oscar? Jason Robards and Maximillian Schell both won it.
 
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VALuvsMKwan

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Watched a very old movie (1977) Julia on dvd last night. Great acting by Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave as writer Lillian Hellman (Lilly) and her childhood friend Julia. Jason Robards played Lilly's husband. All three won Oscars for acting.

Very sad Movie. I was tired and sleepy but couldn't stop watching it. There were several things I didn't understand, so I may need to watch it again. In any case it was a beautifully made movie.

ETA- a young Meryl Streep has a minor role, and about 2-3 minutes of screen time.

ETA2-
Looks like it won the Best picture Oscar too. Well deserved. Also a tie for supporting actor Oscar? Jason Robards and Maximillian Schell both won it.

From Wikipedia:

"Julia was released theatrically on October 2, 1977 by 20th Century Fox to generally positive reviews and grossed $20.7 million. It received a leading eleven nominations at the 50th Academy Awards, including for the Best Picture and won three; Best Supporting Actor (for Robards), Best Supporting Actress (for Redgrave), and Best Adapted Screenplay. At the 35th Golden Globe Awards, it received a leading six nominations including for the Best Motion Picture – Drama, with Fonda nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and Redgrave winning for Best Supporting Actress. It also received a leading ten nominations at the 32nd British Academy Film Awards and won four, including for the Best Film."
 

Vash01

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Somewhat OT- how many of you are seeing movies in theatres now? I have not been to a movie theatre since February 2020. I still don't feel comfortable about it. I am not trying to start a discussion about YKW. Just trying to judge if it is safe to go there. I love watching movies in movie theatres. Not so much on a tv or dvd screen.
 

MacMadame

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Somewhat OT- how many of you are seeing movies in theatres now? I have not been to a movie theatre since February 2020. I still don't feel comfortable about it. I am not trying to start a discussion about YKW. Just trying to judge if it is safe to go there. I love watching movies in movie theatres. Not so much on a tv or dvd screen.
We go about 2x a month. Masks are required but as soon as people sit down, they take them off to eat/drink and don't put them back on except to run to the bathroom and when the movie ends. There have never been more than 20 people in the theater with us and often less and people try not to sit right next to people not in the party but everyone wants to sit in the same couple of seats so we aren't spread out evenly either.
 

PeterG

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Somewhat OT- how many of you are seeing movies in theatres now? I have not been to a movie theatre since February 2020. I still don't feel comfortable about it. I am not trying to start a discussion about YKW. Just trying to judge if it is safe to go there. I love watching movies in movie theatres. Not so much on a tv or dvd screen.

I went last summer a number of times when I needed a nicely air conditioned space to spend some during the hottest time of day. Same thing this summer. I never go during peaks times, so I have never been in a theatre that had more than ten people. That's always been my movie-going routine...wait until the movie is nearing the end of it's run in theatres and then have the theatre basically to myself. I've even made friends hold off on seeing something in the first week even though they have this burning need to see a movie as soon as it comes out.

We go about 2x a month. Masks are required but as soon as people sit down, they take them off to eat/drink and don't put them back on except to run to the bathroom and when the movie ends. There have never been more than 20 people in the theater with us and often less and people try not to sit right next to people not in the party but everyone wants to sit in the same couple of seats so we aren't spread out evenly either.

Masks are required here as well in the Vancouver, Canada area. But nobody checks the theatres from the few visits I have made to the cinema. Normally I'm a stickler for rules, but I go on a weekday during the day when the theatres are pretty much empty. So if there are only six people in the theatre and they are thirty feet away from me, I'll take off my mask and enjoy the movie. And being able to breathe. :D

I have been to the cinema a few times since they reopened. It’s the only place I go.

Not to restaurants? :(
 

manhn

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I started my new job this week and they took me to lunch at a restaurant. It was the first time I had to show my vaccine QR Code (you also show your ID that matches the name). I wasn’t sure a simple screen shot of the QR Code would work but it does.
 

Buzz

Socialist Canada
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37,308
I went last summer a number of times when I needed a nicely air conditioned space to spend some during the hottest time of day. Same thing this summer. I never go during peaks times, so I have never been in a theatre that had more than ten people. That's always been my movie-going routine...wait until the movie is nearing the end of it's run in theatres and then have the theatre basically to myself. I've even made friends hold off on seeing something in the first week even though they have this burning need to see a movie as soon as it comes out.



Masks are required here as well in the Vancouver, Canada area. But nobody checks the theatres from the few visits I have made to the cinema. Normally I'm a stickler for rules, but I go on a weekday during the day when the theatres are pretty much empty. So if there are only six people in the theatre and they are thirty feet away from me, I'll take off my mask and enjoy the movie. And being able to breathe. :D



Not to restaurants? :(
NOPE
 

PeterG

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Maybe it's all about one's area? 82% of Canadians are double vaccinated. And in British Columbia, as @manhn stated, to dine in a restaurant, everyone needs to show government-approved proof of vaccination AND photo I.D. So I eat at restaurants the same amount of times as I did pre-khoved.
 

Buzz

Socialist Canada
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In my own defence I go to the expensive seats where you can also order food and it is delivered to your seat. Kinda like snuggling two puppies in one go. Best of both worlds. :lol:
 

clairecloutier

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Even before the pandemic, I didn't go to many movies. It's expensive, either as a family or as a couple with babysitter at home. Also, I find it hard to stay awake in the darkness of the theatre! I will often doze off during the first 15 minutes of the movie and will wake up maybe 10 min later (eek). With all this and now CV19, I feel no desire to go back soon .... If I'm going to pay and be in a group setting, I think I'd rather go to something live, like a musical or concert. Or skating competition. :D

ETA: But I'm just thinking that if I want movies to keep being made, I guess I need to support them by going to the theatre now and then. I'll keep my mask on, though. :D
 
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annie720

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I saw 'Dear Evan Hansen' yesterday. I really enjoyed it. I have not see the Broadway show. Ben Platt is very good and I like Kaitlyn Dever. Whole cast was good. I would call it a quiet musical - not huge dance numbers.
Amy Adams has moved to Mom rolls - she is old enough, but looks so young.
Enjoyable movie with an interesting story.
We saw Dear Evan Hansen at the theatre last night and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I liked it quite a bit more than the national touring show that we saw. With this show I think seeing things close up on a screen helped with my understanding of the storyline. With one or two exceptions, I feel that the songs don't have the kind of punch that makes an impact from a distance in a live show. In fact, I kept wondering why the songs were even there. I'm a fan of musicals, but this is a good dramatic story that doesn't need the interruption of an intense scene to go into a song. I had thought that Ben Platt might come across as too old for the role on the big screen, but that wasn't the case with me. DH and I both thought he did fine as a high schooler. This is the last week it's being shown in theaters in my area. I'm glad we saw it.
 

MacMadame

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Not to restaurants? :(
I think restaurants are a lot riskier than movie theaters, at least in the US. Not that I haven't been to any but mostly we sit outside. I've been inside maybe 4x since June.

ETA: But I'm just thinking that if I want movies to keep being made, I guess I need to support them by going to the theatre now and then. I'll keep my mask on, though. :D
Paying to stream them works too for monetary support. It doesn't support movie theaters but it does support movies.
 

Vash01

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Even before the *********, I didn't go to many movies. It's expensive, either as a family or as a couple with babysitter at home. Also, I find it hard to stay awake in the darkness of the theatre! I will often doze off during the first 15 minutes of the movie and will wake up maybe 10 min later (eek). With all this and now CV19, I feel no desire to go back soon .... If I'm going to pay and be in a group setting, I think I'd rather go to something live, like a musical or concert. Or skating competition. :D

ETA: But I'm just thinking that if I want movies to keep being made, I guess I need to support them by going to the theatre now and then. I'll keep my mask on, though. :D
I frequently fall asleep in movies- in theatres and at home. I still like to see movies on the big screen. After the last 18 months though I am cautious about being in an indoor facility with many people who are maskless. I do wear a mask everywhere, except outdoor when I go for walks. One of these days I will have to be courageous and go to a movie theatre.
 
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