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

Watched a small pandemic romcom called Footnotes, about two tenants in an apartment building connect during the YKW as they have no one else to interact with. I have enjoyed these movies, for their focus on the intimacy between people rather than spectacle. The movie’s first half is better than the second but it is worth the watch.
 
I went to see My Penguin Friend today. I liked it!

Only problem was
I was so angry at the female researcher who did not do the right thing when it would have been easier on the little guy and instead “did not interfere” at a time that made it SO MUCH HARDER on the little guy. I know it was based on a true story but I don’t know if the research angle was part of the true story. But :mad:.
 
Halle Berry Says Pierce Brosnan ‘Restored My Faith in Men’ on James Bond Set: ‘There Couldn’t Be a Human Who Is More of a Gentleman’

Interesting to read that this is another time when plans for Berry to have her own movie series did not pan out. The X-Men fiasco talked about here:

Matthew Vaughn says Halle Berry was tricked into X-Men: The Last Stand with fake Storm script

With so much news the last few years about a**hole men in Hollywood, it's nice to hear about what a gentleman Brosnan is.
 
It will either be a masterpiece or an epic train wreck. I don't think there can be a middle ground.

That’s what I’m thinking as well.

I think my movie schedule for next month will be seeing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (September 6), Super/Man: The Christopher Reece Story (September 21), and Megalopolis (September 27).

Right now, I’m a big maybe on seeing Reagan (August 30). I’ll probably wait until the reviews come out. I feel like biopics about American presidents have either been amazing (Spielberg’s Lincoln and HBO’s John Adams miniseries) or just awfully done (Oliver Stone’s Nixon & W., and History Channel’s The Kennedys miniseries). No middle ground on that as well.
 
It's paywalled for me, but this article appears to say that the quotes in Coppola's trailer are made up. Can anyone read it and confirm?
It wasn’t paywalled for me. Maybe clear your cookies? I’m on an iPad. The following is from the article.

Except that it looks like they might not have said any of this. Pauline Kael, for one, totally adored both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. She lavished praise on the adaptation, the direction, and the performances, and said of the whole epic, “This is a bicentennial picture that doesn’t insult the intelligence. It’s an epic vision of the corruption of America.” The alleged quote attributed to her in this trailer — that The Godfather is “diminished by its artsiness” — is nowhere to be found in either of her (glowing) reviews of the first two films. (She was less keen on Part III, but that phrase doesn’t appear in that review either.) If anything, Kael felt that Coppola’s refinement and skill — his artistry, in other words — greatly improved Mario Puzo’s admittedly trashy source material.

I know that Sarris, ever the delightful contrarian, was less keen on The Godfather, but that was to be somewhat expected. Still, the quote attributed to him in the trailer (“a sloppy, self-indulgent movie”) is not to be found in his review either. Vincent Canby does not appear to have called Apocalypse Now “hollow at the core.” He was, however, mixed about the film. Rex Reed did in fact pretty much hate Apocalypse Now, but his quote from this trailer doesn’t appear in his review either. And, no, Roger Ebert’s mostly positive review of Bram Stoker’s Dracula does not include the words “a triumph of style over substance.” Instead, he says this: “The movie is an exercise in feverish excess, and for that if for little else, I enjoyed it.” He gave it three stars, which was actually one of the nicer reviews the film received at the time. Is it possible all these quotes are made-up? I’m not going to bother looking through John Simon’s archives — I’m in a rotten mood as it is — but I wouldn’t be shocked if his quotes had also been modified or entirely made-up.
 
That’s what I’m thinking as well.
Yeah. This is from the Vulture article @Wyliefan linked.

But there’s another issue here. Yes, Coppola has built a career on films that perplex some critics and audiences when they first come out but are eventually revealed to be visionary works of art. I wrote a whole column about this! And, yes, Megalopolis will be a divisive movie. It already is. Many of us saw it at Cannes and were left both baffled and enthralled. It’s a totally crazy, totally unforgettable work. (You can quote me on that.) The movie isn’t just divisive among critics, it’s divisive within the mind of the individual critic; I suspect many viewers will have a similar reaction. I also know that Megalopolis, like many of Coppola’s more dismissed pictures over the years, plays far better on a second viewing. The film is full of thorny and intriguing ideas and bold stylistic choices — the kinds of things that critical voices are often very helpful for teasing out. Taking on critics might be an exciting and cathartic marketing tactic, but I suspect Megalopolis will need critics championing it when it actually comes out. And making up fake quotes from our heroes is probably not the best way to get us on your side.
 
Box Office Mojo - U.S. Domestic Box Office: Weekend 34

I guess no one really wanted to go to the movies……😬

Notable opening next weekend: Reagan, The Venice International Film Festival, and the Telluride Film Festival.

Here in the midwest a lot of schools and colleges have started back. Like I previously said, when I worked for a theater chain this time period and September were tough... very, very slow.

"Reagan" seems like Oscar bait released at the wrong time of the year, or dumped it in the end of summer season because after the studio screened it, and it wasn't the Oscar bait they originally hoped for.
 

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