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

[Yehudi]

I didn't know if I should post this here or if it should be a new thread, but I was pretty sad to hear of this . It happened earlier today and appears to have been a freak accident .
He was so young , and I liked most of what I saw him in . He seemed to give off that debonair French vibe so easily. RIP Gaspard Ulliel. ?

'Hannibal' actor Gaspard Ulliel has died in a ski accident at age 37

Ulliel, known for playing fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent in a 2007 biopic and alongside Audrey Tatou in A Very Long Engagement, will be featured in Marvel's Moon Knight.

www.npr.org

I remember him from the Princess of Montpensier and he stood out for me. Definitely sad, especially considering it seemed his career was on an upward trajectory.

 

[Vash01]

Watched the movie Frozen, mainly because my four year old great niece likes it and she talks about it. I wanted to see what was in it. It was quite interesting.

 

[PeterG]

I didn't know if I should post this here or if it should be a new thread, but I was pretty sad to hear of this . It happened earlier today and appears to have been a freak accident .
He was so young , and I liked most of what I saw him in . He seemed to give off that debonair French vibe so easily. RIP Gaspard Ulliel. ?

'Hannibal' actor Gaspard Ulliel has died in a ski accident at age 37

Ulliel, known for playing fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent in a 2007 biopic and alongside Audrey Tatou in A Very Long Engagement, will be featured in Marvel's Moon Knight.

www.npr.org

Ulliel was a two-time Cesar Award winner (France's equivalent of the Oscar). He was nominated five times. It seems he was quite content to work only in the French movie world. No English-language credits as far as I can see. His imdb.com is said in that he was three upcoming projects. Two are in post-production, a TV series and a movie. And the third credit, a movie entitled, "La Bete"...is in pre-production.

 

[Jay42]

Ulliel was a two-time Cesar Award winner (France's equivalent of the Oscar). He was nominated five times. It seems he was quite content to work only in the French movie world. No English-language credits as far as I can see. His imdb.com is said in that he was three upcoming projects. Two are in post-production, a TV series and a movie. And the third credit, a movie entitled, "La Bete"...is in pre-production.

He's in Moon Knight coming soon on Disney Plus from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I first heard of him when he was in Hannibal Rising around 2007. There's been the occasional English language project but like you said, he seemed content to work in France.

 

[MacMadame]

He's in Moon Knight coming soon on Disney Plus from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I first heard of him when he was in Hannibal Rising around 2007. There's been the occasional English language project but like you said, he seemed content to work in France.

Being in the MCU is often a ticket to regular work too. It makes me wonder what would have been.

 

[watchthis!!]

You get two movies in one with The Armstrong Lie. First, you get the movie the director was making about Lance Armstrong’s return to competitive cycling. But the movie has to change once information about Armstrong’s wrongdoings come to light. This documentary moves back and forth between two time periods in a way that really involves you into the story. It must have been tough for him to pretty much completely change what movie he was making. But he does a good job. I think there’s more to the story to explore, but that hinges on Armstrong being able to be completely honest. Moreso with himself than with a filmmaker or interviewer.

 

[PeterG]

5/10 – Beat The Devil is a 1953 adventure comedy starring Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley and Peter Lorre. It didn’t really grab me. The overall story didn’t seem that interesting, which is a shame with such a great cast. I have conflicting feelings about Jennifer Jones performance. On one hand I liked that she came out swinging and gave it her all, but I also felt (maybe as the movie proceeded) that it was a bit too much. Maybe she felt the same way about the movie as I did and over-acted trying to jolt some life into it.

Trailer for Beat The Devil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6X_KEGaG-A

 

[Cachoo]

5/10 – Beat The Devil is a 1953 adventure comedy starring Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley and Peter Lorre. It didn’t really grab me. The overall story didn’t seem that interesting, which is a shame with such a great cast. I have conflicting feelings about Jennifer Jones performance. On one hand I liked that she came out swinging and gave it her all, but I also felt (maybe as the movie proceeded) that it was a bit too much. Maybe she felt the same way about the movie as I did and over-acted trying to jolt some life into it.

Trailer for Beat The Devil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6X_KEGaG-A

Well the scenery is lovely in the trailer. I would love it if the smartest person on the boat is Gina Lollobrigida. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

[annie720]

I watched The Power of the Dog this evening and immediately had to find some podcasts to explain it to me.

 

[Japanfan]

I watched The Power of the Dog this evening and immediately had to find some podcasts to explain it to me.

I just didn't care, TBH. The film was beautiful to look at and must have been all the more so on a big screen.

But I didn't care bout the story or any of the characters. I know it is considered one of the best films of the year, but I simply did not care for it much.

 

[Cachoo]

“Nobody” was released to HBOMAX and I do like Bob Odenkirk so I watched. He’s good in it but I am over the John Wick style choreographed violence where one defeats an army of men. Give me the clumsy fisticuffs from Hugh Grant and Colin Firth in “Bridget Jones Diary.”

 

[watchthis!!]

e Prophet is an animated drama with an exceptional voice cast, including Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek, John Krasinski, Alfred Molina, Frank Langella and Quvenzhane Wallis (who was nominated for an Oscar for Beasts of the Southern Wild). This movie is based on the Kahlil Gibran book of poetry of the same name and is one of the best-selling books of all time. Approximately eight of the poems in the book are featured in this movie, which is adapted into a story of a young girl dealing with the death of her father. Different directors were used for each of the poems presented in this movie. I wondered while watching this whether the movie was made for children or not. Maybe older children. I think maybe to really enjoy this movie, you would have had to read Gibran’s book first (and liked it, of course). For me, the movie seemed kind of simple. Not deep enough for an adult audience and too much for younger children. Maybe if you want a movie with a light, breezy feel to it about (much) heavier topics…then this would be the movie for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwQbMxDcRGE

 

[NinjaTurtles]

I enjoyed The Power of the Dog and think they navigated the weaving tapestry well, but I do think it pales somewhat in comparison to the layers of meaning present in the book. Film and text are different mediums, of course, and overall I think they did a good job of adapting something very psychological and looming with extraordinary sound design…but I was surprised the themes of absent parents and Psalm 22 from the book were nearly abandoned. Without knowledge of the book, I wouldn’t judge someone for needing a second viewing to really pick up on some of the subtext and identify every thread.

I recently watched Belfast; it was charming, but not sure I have much more than that to say about it. Sort of that Forest Gump quality of well made, enjoyable, but also saccharine? I guess I wanted more context to The Troubles. Also don’t think black and white was necessary or utilized for anything other than to make Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan even more handsome. ?

 

[PeterG]

5/10 – Executive Action is a 1973 conspiracy thriller about the assassination of John F. Kennedy Jr. The movie looks at what may have happened if Lee Harvey Oswald had not acted alone. Burt Lancaster is the most famous person in this movie and it is written by Dalton Trumbo. Who is probably the reason I decided to watch this movie. Trumbo was blacklisted in Hollywood after refusing to give any information in the late 40’s after being accused of being a Communist. He served eleven months in jail for contempt of Congress. And over twenty years later, Executive Action was a new screenplay by Trumbo. The script probably being the main reason I didn’t really get into this movie. The script was adequate, but didn’t really draw me in. Maybe this topic has been covered enough in documentaries and movies that I didn’t feel like anything new was presented. The cast is strong, but the direction by David Miller is kind of uninspired. I see that Miller directed 1962’s Lonely Is The Brave, starring Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands and Walter Matthau. That had much stronger direction.

Trailer for Executive Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycRe9oNWK1E

 

[DreamSkates]

Yes I will give the Regal credit as the state government sounded the alarm they did make sure the mask mandate was in place. I haven't been to the others but understand it is more lax.

In my local town, most people don't wear masks even if there is a sign. No county mandate. But there is a mandate in a nearby city I visited last week. Almost everyone wore a mask not only inside stores and the theater I was in (watching Belle, a Japanese anime) but also outside from their vehicles into buildings. I do wear one here, but it was shocking to see 99.99% of people in the other city, take the mandate seriously. And that was a good type of shocked.

Another movie...I'm not an uber fan of Marvel but did go to see Spiderman - No Way Home. Thought the story and characters were interesting and plenty of action of different types. Enjoyed the entire movie.

 

[Seerek]

I watched The Power of the Dog this evening and immediately had to find some podcasts to explain it to me.

Given its time frame and setting, I'm not at all surprised that POTD was a movie written and directed with a focus on the implied and the "space between the words".

I know some reviews have said otherwise, but I've always thought tragic element(s) were pretty standard for films in Western settings (this film is no exception).

Kodi Smit-McPhee fared best, imo. Son Peter is the more layered character of the bunch, imo.

 

[Japanfan]

Given its time frame and setting, I'm not at all surprised that POTD was a movie written and directed with a focus on the implied and the "space between the words".

Sounds like something I would have said in a film studies essay (was a film studies major).

And I guess you're right, but TBH I didn't notice. As I said, I didn't care for the film, or about the story or the characters.

 

[watchthis!!]

If you want to see a movie that is warm and cuddly (but not overbearingly so), check out the 2010 documentary Babies. The premise is very simply, which is to document the first year in the life of four different babies from different parts of the world. There is no narration, just entertaining clips of these babies lives from birth to their first birthday. I found this movie to be a joy to watch.

 

[Davy88gtbwxyc]

"Every Brilliant Thing" is a one man show by the hyperly extroverted Jonny Donahoe in which he revels in his element, encircled by an audience enjoying his liveliness and social charisma.

The message that he delivered through his performance was one in which he spoke of the troubling topics of depression and suicide, which was done so with a comedic touch and an intimate sense of community with the audience.

I found his performance to be rather interesting for a variety of reasons, but I also couldn't help but feel as if his message was somewhat unintentionally undermined by his fun-loving effortlessly charismatic persona.

When it comes to my temperament, which is characterized by a lovely concoction of elements that make for a person that is highly neurotic, Jonny Donahoe is truly my polar opposite, which makes him all the more interesting to me.

I really admire his ability to effortlessly engage an audience as if it was the most natural thing in the world, which to him I guess it might be. He seriously makes it seem as easy as breathing.. Lol

Extroverts truly are the life of the party, and Jonny Donahoe is a shining example of this.

In watching this film, I wasn't so much focused on his message as I was on the variation of temperament among individuals, which was due to Jonny Donahoe being what I thought of as an extreme example of extroversion.

 

[Cachoo]

I watched “Horse Girl” written by and starring Alison Brie, produced by the Duplass brothers and was left with more questions than answers which was intended by Brie. She plays an introverted, sweet woman who works in a craft store and is alone in life. Initially she sleepwalks and has nose bleeds but this gives way to bizarre time lapses and dreams. Are we seeing a woman experiencing a psychotic break or is there an alien presence in her life? Is this schizophrenia and we are watching the terror experienced by the person who does not understand what is happening to her or is this a supernatural experience? On Netflix.

 

[PeterG]

6/10 – Voyagers is the kind of movie I really like. Sci-fi about real people in an unusual situation. But I think it wasn’t on my To See list because the trailer did not look good. A friend told me he thought I would like this movie, so I gave it a try. It reminded me of when imdb.com had message boards and one common thread was, “1,001 Things Wrong With…(movie title)”. This movie is brilliantly made, top-notch production values. And a talented case including Colin Farrell, Tye Sheridan and Lily-Rose Depp. But writer/director Neil Burger really screwed up with both his jobs here. So many problems with the script…it was interesting to see the cast in the DVD extras talk about how fantastic the script was. This is the best acting they all did for this project! So Voyagers was a disappointment, which is a shame because Burger has made much better movies including Limitless (Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro) and The Illusionist (Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Biel).

Trailer for Voyagers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dq_1Mkr-mw

 

[watchthis!!]

Don’t Breathe 2 was a pretty good action horror thriller movie. It’s a prequel to the first movie, tough to make your lead character be an action hero when he’s blind! But the story is good even though one part is pretty over the top. But this isn’t the type of movie that’s trying to be a serious drama, so I forgive this one part of the story. This movie made a decent profit in the middle of a pandemic, so I’m guessing there will be a part three. Not sure what they will come up with, but I’ll bet it’ll be scary fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx3g-V4AHv0

 

[Cachoo]

I did try to watch “The Last Duel” but I was bored and Matt Damon with a mullet—-I can’t…
But I did watch Alicia Vikander, Riley Keogh and the dashing Naoki Kobayashi in “Earthquake Bird.” It is set in Tokyo and part mystery, part romance and part psychological drama. Now this kept my interest—on Netflix.

 

[annie720]

Saw King Richard last night and enjoyed it. I thought Will Smith was very good as well as the actress who played his wife. I knew next to nothing about the Williams sisters so the story was new to me and kept me interested. It was nice to see a movie that was straight forward and didn't have to have explained to me like the last few I've seen.

 

[PeterG]

8/10 – Lawrence Of Arabia is probably the epitome of the term “movie epic” and terms like “sprawling landscapes”. No wonder it’s a classic. It won eight of the ten Oscars it was nominated for as well as four of the five BAFTA awards it was nominated for. Peter O’Toole is brilliant in only his fourth film role. I had forgotten that he was nominated eight times for an Oscar but never won (but did win an honourary Oscar). O’Toole did win one BAFTA (for this movie) and four Golden Globe Awards. Lots of other great performances in this movie. For me Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif delivered performances equal to that of O’Toole. Alec Guinness and Claude Rains have smaller roles. The cinematography has a starring role here, it makes me wonder what it would be like to see it on a really big movie house screen. I imagine audiences were taken aback when this movie came out in 1962, getting to see it on a big screen. Two things kept me from rating this movie higher. First, some scenes went on too long, specifically the travel scenes through the desert. And I was confused by what happened at the end of the movie. I had to read the plot of the movie at Wikipedia to be clear about how the movie concluded.

Trailer for Lawrence Of Arabia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOlRhGEhG7k

 

[clairecloutier]

8/10 – Lawrence Of Arabia is probably the epitome of the term “movie epic” and terms like “sprawling landscapes”. No wonder it’s a classic. It won eight of the ten Oscars it was nominated for as well as four of the five BAFTA awards it was nominated for. Peter O’Toole is brilliant in only his fourth film role. I had forgotten that he was nominated eight times for an Oscar but never won (but did win an honourary Oscar). O’Toole did win one BAFTA (for this movie) and four Golden Globe Awards. Lots of other great performances in this movie. For me Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif delivered performances equal to that of O’Toole. Alec Guinness and Claude Rains have smaller roles. The cinematography has a starring role here, it makes me wonder what it would be like to see it on a really big movie house screen. I imagine audiences were taken aback when this movie came out in 1962, getting to see it on a big screen.

This was one of my parents’ favorite movies back in the 60s. My dad loved the desert landscapes and sense of adventure. My mom loved Omar Sharif. ?

 

[emason]

@PeterG One of the great things about living in NYC is the ability to see Lawrence of Arabia on a big screen, although the opportunities are less each year. (The great Ziegfeld Theater is no more and BAM doesn’t seem to be using the huge screen it has for much. I last saw LofA at BAM on a huge screen that some local family endowed and that was 8 or 9 years ago. I also saw the Burt Lancaster film The Leopard on that screen; that’s another epic film that cries out for a big screen.) The experience can’t be beat. This movie gets a 10 out of 10 from me; I can’t think of any scene that goes on too long. The whole movie moves constantly from left to right until the end when Lawrence leaves the Middle East and the scene moves from right to left. It’s interesting to see the movie in NYC because the audience is always full of NYU film students; they are never there for the plot, just the techniques used in the filming and it’s fun to eavesdrop on their comments during the intermission.

What about the ending was not clear? Lawrence can’t give the Arabs everything he’s promised as the politicians are going to carve up the ME according to their own interests; to stop Lawrence from being a thorn in everyone’s side, he’s kicked upstairs with a promotion and sent back to England to be kept out of the way.

 

[PeterG]

The whole movie moves constantly from left to right until the end when Lawrence leaves the Middle East and the scene moves from right to left. It’s interesting to see the movie in NYC because the audience is always full of NYU film students; they are never there for the plot, just the techniques used in the filming and it’s fun to eavesdrop on their comments during the intermission.

That sounds interesting, I would have been eavesdropping for sure. I am sure there are aspects of the making of the film went over my head like the left to right movements you mentioned. And I did watch all the DVD extras!

What about the ending was not clear? Lawrence can’t give the Arabs everything he’s promised as the politicians are going to carve up the ME according to their own interests; to stop Lawrence from being a thorn in everyone’s side, he’s kicked upstairs with a promotion and sent back to England to be kept out of the way.

It's probably not the ending, but my attention that was the issue. Lots of the movie is just watching beautifully shot scenery. Some of the dialogue is banter or light in tone. Other dialogue is very specific and important as to what is going on. I think I got lulled by the slow, scenic shots into not paying very astute attention to the important plot points. But wikipedia helped me figure it out.

I also saw the Burt Lancaster film The Leopard on that screen; that’s another epic film that cries out for a big screen.

I haven't heard of this one. Will keep my eye out for it.

 

[emason]

@PeterG The Leopard won the Palme D'Or at Cannes back in the 60s; it's a Luchino Visconti movie and there are several versions out there of differing lengths: the director's cut, the studio cut, the version where everyone is dubbed into Italian (international cast where at least 3 of the stars didn't speak or have Italian as a first language), the English language-dubbed version. You want the Italian dubbed version; it's the most complete. There's one moment in the movie where Lancaster laughs and it's not dubbed and it's instantly recognizable as Lancaster; it's the only time you hear his real voice. Lancaster plays the Prince of Salina (the Leopard), a Sicilian aristocrat in the 1860s. The Leopard ignores the political changes (Risorgimento) that are coming and clings to the old aristocratic way of life, failing to safeguard the family fortune in the process. The climax of the film is a grand ball in a scene that lasts 40 minutes and in which the Leopard's nephew, Tancredi (Alain Delon) introduces his bride, Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), to society. Angelica, IIRC, is the daughter of an upstart peasant who becomes rich and represents the new order that replaces the old way of life; Tancredi is the one who has understood which way the future lies. The bigger the screen, the better -- too much gets lost on the small screen. The movie is based on the well-known novel by Giuseppe di Lampedusa.

 

[Vash01]

This was one of my parents’ favorite movies back in the 60s. My dad loved the desert landscapes and sense of adventure. My mom loved Omar Sharif. ?

I want to see this. The soundtrack was used by Yagudin for his LP. May be in 1999 or 2000.
Lawrence of Arabia is on my Netflix list. I moved it to the top but it says "very long wait". However that can change.