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

[Yehudi]

Victor Frankenstein is the 2015 re-telling of the classic Mary Shelley novel. The budget was 40 million and the movie made 34 million. So it bombed. James McAvoy plays Victor Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe …

P.S. Daniel Radcliffe does his best to make something out of this movie, but he's basically swimming upstream.

Fun fact, in the original script of The Menu, the John Leguizamo character was envisioned as Daniel Radcliffe playing a caricature of himself and, without getting too spoilery, the reason why he was invited was because the chef used his one day off to watch Victor Frankenstein.

 

[PeterG]

If you're yearning for a movie that will break your heart a little bit (in the best possible way), I recommend The First Grader. It's a 2010 biographical drama about 84 year old Kimani Maruge, a Kenyan farmer who showed up on the first day of school in his tiny, remote village to enroll after the government said that primary education would be made available to all. Naomie Harris plays the head teacher and she, along with director Justin Chadwick both do their job perfectly with this movie. And Oliver Litondo is amazing as the main character. Interestingly, between 1975 and 2011 (just over 35 years), Litonodo only had seven acting roles. What a missed opportunity for the movie world. For this movie, Litondo won the AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Actor and the Black Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor. Make sure you have some Kleenex nearby when watching this wonderful movie.

Trailer for The First Grader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I73IY6k9xsw

 

[MacMadame]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to go to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as well as Spider-man Across the Spiderverse. Are they worth seeing on the big screen or will I be fine to see them on my large-screen tv?

 

[skatfan]

I began watching Tar with my cousin a couple of weeks ago on Prime and finally finished Friday night. Intense and well acted, although the ending was weird and apparently there are different theories about how to interpret it. Blanchette is amazing in it though!

 

[PeterG]

I began watching Tar with my cousin a couple of weeks ago on Prime and finally finished Friday night. Intense and well acted, although the ending was weird and apparently there are different theories about how to interpret it. Blanchette is amazing in it though!

Was there anything specific you were wondering about? To me it was strange, yet straight-forward. It was a combination of

Spoiler

over-inflated ego mixed with a mental breakdown. She lost everything and ended up slumming it (well, slumming it as far as being a world-class conductor goes).

 

[Jay42]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to go to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as well as Spider-man Across the Spiderverse. Are they worth seeing on the big screen or will I be fine to see them on my large-screen tv?

I haven't had the time to see Dial of Destiny yet because of work but Across the Spider-Verse is absolutely stunning and does deserve to be seen at least once in a theatre. It's so pretty and the animation has so much to appreciate that really deserves the biggest possible screen to see it on.

 

[skatfan]

Was there anything specific you were wondering about? To me it was strange, yet straight-forward.

Spoiler

I thought the end was a bit overwrought, especially her showing up at the concert and getting into a fight. There are reviewers who think that once she falls at the building of her would be? lover, it’s all in her head and not real.

 

[Sarrie]

I saw Dial of Destiny on Saturday night and enjoyed it. Much more in line with films with 1 and 3 (my personal fave). I think it was definitely worth the ticket price and trip to the theater. It did seem a little long at times but I think a lot these types of "blockbuster" movies feel a little too long tbh. The action sequences were good and I loved seeing Harrison Ford in the role for a last (?) time, altho I do agree with him, he is Indiana. I wouldn't want to see anyone else play the role.

 

[PeterG]

Spoiler

I thought the end was a bit overwrought, especially her showing up at the concert and getting into a fight. There are reviewers who think that once she falls at the building of her would be? lover, it’s all in her head and not real.

Sometimes wikipedia has a very thorough plot description for movies. I will go there sometimes when I have questions about what has happened in a movie when I'm left perplexed. But they don't go into situations where viewers are looking for something which isn't on screen. So I was surprised by what you posted. I did find the movie shocking and surprising, but not so much that I thought what you describe could have happened. Interesting thoughts, but I think the movie is a fall from grace tale. And a good one, at that. Usually this type of movie is always about a male character, so interesting to see that the film world has evolved enough that we get to see a female actress have something this substantial to work with. Hats off to writer/director Todd Field for this. He's another male filmmaker who seems to really like women, directing Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei to Oscar nominations for the 2001 film In The Bedroom. And then again for Kate Winslet in 2006's Little Children.

 

[skatfan]

Sometimes wikipedia has a very thorough plot description for movies. I will go there sometimes when I have questions about what has happened in a movie when I'm left perplexed. But they don't go into situations where viewers are looking for something which isn't on screen. So I was surprised by what you posted. I did find the movie shocking and surprising, but not so much that I thought what you describe could have happened. Interesting thoughts, but I think the movie is a fall from grace tale. And a good one, at that. Usually this type of movie is always about a male character, so interesting to see that the film world has evolved enough that we get to see a female actress have something this substantial to work with. Hats off to writer/director Todd Field for this. He's another male filmmaker who seems to really like women, directing Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei to Oscar nominations for the 2001 film In The Bedroom. And then again for Kate Winslet in 2006's Little Children.

Each viewer gets to interpret a movie for themselves, Wikipedia is no guarantee of what the director intended. Reviewers will disagree on what happens all the time. I did find some of the last parts a little wild, perhaps that was the intent after showing Tar as a tightly controlled conductor.

 

[watchthis!!]

I hadn’t seen a western in a while, so when I spotted The Ballad Of Lefty Brown, which stars Bill Pullman, Kathy Baker, Jim Caviezel, Peter Fonda and Tommy Flanagan (from Sons of Anarchy), I thought this might be the right western to watch. The cast, of course, is great. It’s also a great looking movie. And the story is good enough. But I don’t feel like this is a movie I should recommend to you. Turns out the writer/director (Jared Moshe) had only written and directed one movie before this. Often I see directors who started out doing music videos and then directing various episodes of television. Perhaps Moshe should have gone this route and gotten some experience under his belt before taking charge of a cast with so much (under-used??) talent.

 

[cygnus]

I'm getting excited about this one. If it's as good as the trailer, it could clean up at Oscar time. Acting looks first rate, and they have the right feel for the era.

Oppenheimer | New Trailer

Oppenheimer - In Theaters 7 21 23Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX®-shot epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-...

www.youtube.com

 

[vgerdes]

Has everybody seen the second trailer for Dune Part 2? This one has me pretty excited.

Emperor Christopher Walken sighting! "Long live the fighters"! And the reunion of Gurney and Paul (awwww).

 

[PeterG]

Two movies from the 60's watched recently, one to watch and one to skip.

It Started In Naples is the one to watch. It's from 1960 and stars Clark Gable and Sophia Loren. It's a romantic comedy where lawyer Gable travels to Italy to settle his brother's estate. But it's more than the estate that he has to deal with as he discovers his brother has an eight year old son, who is being taken care of by his Aunt (Loren). A fight ensues between the two as to who will care for the boy and in which country he will end up residing in. And a battle between a man and a woman always ends in a romance, right? Well, in 1960 movies it did. It Started In Naples was nominated for one Oscar, for art/set decoration (lost to Spartacus). But Marietto, who plays the eight year old Nando, is worthy of a best supporting actor nomination as he's fantastic as well as charming as well as heartbreaking. He alone is worth watching this movie, but of course the two stars are great. And the director (Melville Shavelson) is a two-time Oscar nominee, also writing the 1968 Lucilla Ball & Henry Fonda comedy Yours, Mine and Ours.

Trailer for It Started In Naples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBvdtwZprIQ


The one to skip is 1964's Kiss Me Stupid. It stars Dean Martin as a lecherous, heavy-drinking pop singer. That must have been tough for him to play The most suprising thing about me saying to skip this one is that it is directed and co-written by movie legend William Wyler. He of "Double Indemnity", "Sunset Boulevard", "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment" fame. This movie was done in the twilight of his career, but his previous film, Irma La Douce, did get three Oscar nominations. Kiss Me Stupid just seems to be a lot of boisterous energy from the cast, but too slight of a script for them to do much with. Basically Dino is stranded in a small town at an auto repair shop where the two workers just happen to be amateur songwriters. They play with Martin's reputation as a ladies man, creating havoc for a few of the women in their circle. Kim Novak, Ray Walston and Mel Blanc all earn their paycheques, but will be in other works much stronger than Kiss Me Stupid.

Trailer for Kiss Me Stupid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC0iPuevCac

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Two movies from the 60's watched recently, one to watch and one to skip.

It Started In Naples is the one to watch. It's from 1960 and stars Clark Gable and Sophia Loren. It's a romantic comedy where lawyer Gable travels to Italy to settle his brother's estate. But it's more than the estate that he has to deal with as he discovers his brother has an eight year old son, who is being taken care of by his Aunt (Loren). A fight ensues between the two as to who will care for the boy and in which country he will end up residing in. And a battle between a man and a woman always ends in a romance, right? Well, in 1960 movies it did. It Started In Naples was nominated for one Oscar, for art/set decoration (lost to Spartacus). But Marietto, who plays the eight year old Nando, is worthy of a best supporting actor nomination as he's fantastic as well as charming as well as heartbreaking. He alone is worth watching this movie, but of course the two stars are great. And the director (Melville Shavelson) is a two-time Oscar nominee, also writing the 1968 Lucilla Ball & Henry Fonda comedy Yours, Mine and Ours.

Trailer for It Started In Naples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBvdtwZprIQ


The one to skip is 1964's Kiss Me Stupid. It stars Dean Martin as a lecherous, heavy-drinking pop singer. That must have been tough for him to play The most suprising thing about me saying to skip this one is that it is directed and co-written by movie legend William Wyler. He of "Double Indemnity", "Sunset Boulevard", "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment" fame. This movie was done in the twilight of his career, but his previous film, Irma La Douce, did get three Oscar nominations. Kiss Me Stupid just seems to be a lot of boisterous energy from the cast, but too slight of a script for them to do much with. Basically Dino is stranded in a small town at an auto repair shop where the two workers just happen to be amateur songwriters. They play with Martin's reputation as a ladies man, creating havoc for a few of the women in their circle. Kim Novak, Ray Walston and Mel Blanc all earn their paycheques, but will be in other works much stronger than Kiss Me Stupid.

Trailer for Kiss Me Stupid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC0iPuevCac

Billy Wilder, not William Wyler.

 

[PeterG]

Billy Wilder, not William Wyler.

ACK!!! I think I've mixed up those two names before in this thread...

 

[cygnus]

Has everybody seen the second trailer for Dune Part 2? This one has me pretty excited.

Emperor Christopher Walken sighting! "Long live the fighters"! And the reunion of Gurney and Paul (awwww).

Yes- looking forward to this one. I didn't much care for the version that came out in the 1980s, but this one is getting it right.

 

[vgerdes]

Yes- looking forward to this one. I didn't much care for the version that came out in the 1980s, but this one is getting it right.

I enjoyed the version of Dune that was released in the 80s well enough at the time, although it certainly hasn't aged well. But the 2020s version is so much better. The director, Denis Villeneuve, has such love for the original books, and it shows.

 

[watchthis!!]

I watched Madtown because the DVD cover looked good. And apparently the saying about books applies to DVD's as well. But even though it's an average movie, the viewer does get to look at Milo Ventimiglia for two hours. That alone is almost worth a recommendation. The movie is about two teenage siblings who grow up in an abusive household. One day the father goes too far, somebody grabs the hidden gun and Dad is shot and killed. Years later, we see Milo's character as an adult. He's trying to make it as a stand-up comic, begins work at a family diner and sees his sister in prison on a regular basis. On one of these visits, she tells him she is getting out of prison. When she does, she wants them to move across the country. But he is bonding with the owners and staff of the family dinner.

It's interesting that wikipedia says this movie is an action drama and imdb.com classifies it as a thriller/drama. There's not really any action and a "thriller" label is really over-doing it. It's more of an indie family drama. The highlight is how the diner owners and the staff have become like a created family. I think the movie would have been better if this had been more of a focus. It would actually make a potentially great TV show. The "action" and "thriller" parts are not well written or acted. I wish the movie had been more about how it's never too late to have a happy family, one that can be created from the least likely individuals.

 

[PeterG]

I mentioned Take This Waltz a little while ago. It’s the 2011 romantic comedy drama that Sarah Polley wrote and directed. Her most recent fiction film she made before doing Women Talking. As I watched it, I felt like I had seen it before. I probably had, but it’s been long enough ago that I enjoyed watching it again. I wouldn’t say it’s one of my all-time favourite movies, but there’s a lot to like about it even though it’s the type of movie about flawed characters who make choices that might irritate a viewer. Michelle Williams and Seth Rogan play a couple and how the wife begins to question how happy she is (or not) in their relationship. She meets Luke Kirby’s character on a work trip and finds out he has recently moved into a home very close to hers. Throughout the movie, their relationship builds in spite of things tripping them up at times. The movie has a gentle tone while exploring a few subject matters that can be quite bumpy in people’s lives. I’d recommend this one mostly for people who are fans of the cast, which also includes Sarah Silverman.

Trailer for Take This Waltz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dhBppugluM

 

[VGThuy]

A 28-tweet long "thread" posted on the 23rd anniversary of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

https://twitter.com/atrightmovies/status/1677245710796718083?s=46

There are a lot of things I didn't know, even though I've seen the movie countless times. I was that one of my favorite actresses, Shu Qi, was Ang Lee's first choice to play Jen Yu, but Qi turned it down on the advice of her agent so she could be free to do a Pepsi ad and other projects. I bet the other projects were more lucrative and the agent's cut would have been bigger. Glad she subsesquently fired her agent and went on to become the celebrated actress she now is, notably known for her Hou Hsiao-hsien films.

I forget that it made $214 million on a $17 million budget and still holds the record as the highest grossing foreign-language film in the U.S. and shares the record of the foreign-language film with the most Oscar wins with four shared with Roma and Parasite.

 

[MacMadame]

A 28-tweet long "thread" posted on the 23rd anniversary of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

I really enjoyed this movie and I am not normally into "Martial Arts Movies". I'm glad I watched it even though it was presented to me as being in that genre.

 

[PeterG]

Imdb.com's top (user) rated movies of 2023 (so far)

Best 20 Movies of 2023 - IMDb

Best 20 Movies of 2023

www.imdb.com

1. 8.9 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

2. 8.2 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

3. 7.9 - John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

4. 7.8 - Suzume (Japanese anime, 2022)

5. 7.5 - Air, starring Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Chris Messina (2023)

6. 7.5 - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, starring Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates (2023)

7. 7.5 - Tetris, starring Taron Egerton (2023)

8. 7.3 - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

9. 7.1 - Asteroid City, starring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright (2023)

10. 7.1 - Extraction II, starring Chris Hemsworth (2023)

 

[watchthis!!]

I mentioned to my friend yesterday that I had just watched Face/Off, the 90's movie with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. He told me that it was the only movie in his life where he walked out of the theatre, having disliked the movie so much. And then he said, "And I watch a lot of crap." So I don't feel too bad about hating it also! I was thinking that it was basically a phenomenon when it came out and wondered why I had never seen it. So this past week I gave it a go.

SO...in Face/Off, Nicolas Cage and John Travolta’s characters battle each other on screen throughout the entire movie while the two actors battle to over-act one another with their slightly written roles. I checked the Razzie awards to see if it swept that year, but it didn’t get one nomination. WUZROBBED!!! :d I'm surprised, because along with the two leads, there are career-worst performances from Joan Allen and Alessandro Nivola (and possibly Gina Gershon, but she’s been in a number of stinkers if my memory serves me well). The script is a disaster and there are action sequences that are so unbelievable and just flat-out-stupid, that you can’t help but think, “oh, for f***’s sake!!!” This would be a great movie to watch at a midnight screening where the audience gets to heckle the mess of a movie they are all about to sit through.

 

[manhn]

I remember loving Face/Off. It was fun and creative with a balletic grace to the action sequences. I also thought the final sequence had a great score for skating.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

My friends and I watched Face Off when it first came out and felt we wasted money watching it in the theater. It went on too long and could have been shortened by half at least. It would have helped make it less crap.

 

[Aussie Willy]

I watched a movie on the basis of a clip that was posted of Tiktok of the costumes.

The film is What a way to go (1964) and has a star studded cast, lead by Shirley McLaine and includes Dean Martin, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Mitcham and a very gorgeous Paul Newman. The premise of the film is Shirley's character just wants to marry someone simple but everyone she does becomes incredibly successful and rich and then dies. So the start of the film sees her trying to give $200 million to the IRS. It was an okay movie with some interesting direction and storytelling methods. Good performances from all the lead actors. But you can tell Edith Head was told the costume budget was unlimited and obviously let her have a field day.

If you want to see it is free on Youtube.

 

[MacMadame]

I remember loving Face/Off. It was fun and creative with a balletic grace to the action sequences. I also thought the final sequence had a great score for skating.

I had fun too. The whole principle requires a massive suspension of disbelief though. I can see people just not getting into it. Also, I watched it when it came out so who knows if it holds up today.

 

[PeterG]

Aloha was another movie that was blasted for whitewashing a character. But this movie was written and directed by Cameron Crowe from an original idea. Emma Stone's character is one quarter Chinese and one quarter Hawaiian. And part of her story is her frustration that from her appearance, she does not look Chinese or Hawaiian at all. (So in a way, she has to prove time and time again that being both Chinese and Hawaiian is truly a part of her, even though no one thinks she is because of her appearance.) Aloha has one of the best behind the scenes DVD extra of recent memory. The first chapter is all about Hawaii and how it was important that Hawaii and its people were treated with respect. Hawaiian people talked about how this movie was important to them and to their livelihood (as a lot, or even most, of the crew were Hawaiian). And Bumpy Kanahele was cast as himself, Kanahele being "Hawaiian nationalist leader and titular head of the Principality Nation of Hawai'i." (source: wikipedia)

So I don't understand why so many people dumped on this movie. There have been a lot of movies set in Hawaii that were not specifically about Indigenous Hawaiian people. From what I can recall, this movie features more Indigenous Hawaiian cast members than any other big Hollywood movie set in Hawaii that I can think of.

Okay, now...the movie. I quite liked it! The story is really good, and what a cast. Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin. Plus the two kids cast as Rachel and John's children were very strong. And as a bonus, the soundtrack includes some fantastic 80's pop hits.

Trailer for Aloha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPU3uoXcLBU

 

[sk9tingfan]

The first reviews are in and they're extremely positive with some Oscar buzz:

‘Barbie’ First Reactions Praise ‘Bombastic’ Film and ‘Brilliant’ Cast: ‘Give Ryan Gosling an Oscar Nomination’

"Barbie" is living up to the hype in rave first reactions.

variety.com