10
votes
Endweek Movie Free Talk
Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
I've watched quite a few movies in the last 10+ days as my wife was out of town and I had a lot of time by myself.
In the order I watched them (all for the first time, unless noted):
Taxi Driver. I was surprised, I guess, that Bickle's rampage pretty much immediately backfires. Other than that, it plays out as I expected. The end sequence reminds me a lot of the end sequence from The King of Comedy, where it's not really clear if it's delusion or reality.
The Usual Suspects. I've known the twist for a long time, but it's still a very compelling film. I had a bit of trouble following the plot at the start, but I settled into it after a while.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Dawn is still my favorite of this series, but this one comes in 2nd, I think. I liked it SO much better than War, which I found almost silly at times. Woody Harrelson was cartoonishly villainous in that movie, and by contrast, Proximus was a much more interesting antagonist.
Ex Machina. I enjoyed this movie but thought the entire plot was pretty telegraphed. I liked Oscar Isaac's portrayal of an egomaniacal tech bro, and the power dynamics throughout were interesting. Domnhall Gleeson kills it in basically every role he's in.
The One I Love. I don't find Elizabeth Moss to be a very talented actress, but I'm a big fan of Mark Duplass, so I gave this a shot. I thought it was okay. I liked that they just went head on into the weirdness and the characters bought into it quickly, but there was essentially no character development whatsoever. I finished the movie not really knowing anything at all about these characters, except that he cheated on her somewhat recently, and she doesn't like bacon. Like... that's pretty much it. The conclusion was pretty obvious as soon as the doubles were introduced, and I didn't think there was really any ambiguity about the ending, though I guess there's supposed to be. In any case, Mark acting across from himself was probably the most compelling aspect of the movie.
The Silence of the Lambs. I always avoided this movie growing up because I figured it would be gory/violent/jump-scarey as that's what I associated with "horror" movies, but it's not that at all, which probably everyone in the world already knew but me. I really enjoyed this. I couldn't quite figure out what Jodie Foster's accent was supposed to be (she sounded like Holly Hunter to me. I don't think she always sounds like that but maybe I'm wrong). Anyway -- are the other Anthony Hopkins-as-Hannibal Lector movies worthwhile? Just briefly reading their wiki pages, it doesn't seem like it.
Bernie. I've actually seen this movie before but didn't realize it until about 20 minutes in. It was pretty forgettable the first time I watched, and I felt that way by the end this time, too. There's something interesting about the real life story it's connected to, but I don't think it really reaches that point in the movie.
The Wild Robot. I thought this was absolutely phenomenal. The best animated movie I've seen in 10 years probably. It's dark, it's funny without being pandering or relying on innuendo (which I think it's common for animated movies for children, winking at the adults in the audience), the emotional stakes are resonant and clearly defined, the animation is gorgeous and the score was superb. It gets a tiny bit melodramatic in the middle relating to the circumstances of the adoption (especially considering how quickly that conflict is resolved), but that's basically my only criticism. I don't have children myself, but I can't imagine being a parent and watching this movie without crying. It is very very good.
I saw The Wild Robot and also enjoyed it very much. As someone with a robotics background, one of the most fun parts of the animation are all the wild ways the robot's joints move. It's a small thing, but really enjoyable.
I agree with your assessment about the themes overall, though I had difficulty with one part
spoilers
I had trouble suspending disbelief with the predator and prey species on the island "learning to work together" simply because the predators would starve if they didn't eat. But it's a kid's movie, so I don't think it ruins the film.
Yeah, I mean, that's one where you just gotta suspend disbelief haha
Probably the first time in a while in one of these things where I’ve seen all the movies.
I don’t think the end of Taxi Driver is meant to be dreamlike or ambiguous. I think it’s all very much set in reality.
I also didn’t really like War but I thought it was better than Kingdom which I felt like it was a knockoff of the Reeves films.
Ex Machina is great. What I love about the Oscar Isaac character is that not only is he Caleb’s intellectual superior but also his physical superior. It makes him all the more intimidating. His dudebro persona is also hilarious and unexpected when we first meet him.
I saw The One I Love during the pandemic and I actually loved it. I don’t remember the characters being so one dimensional. But I disagree that the ending isn’t ambiguous. It could be two different things: therapy worked or it’s the doppleganger. Anyways I really love that ending reveal with the titled song from The Mommas and the Poppas playing. Such a great ending shot.
The Silence of the Lambs is actually considered the only horror movie to win Best Picture. I suppose it’s more of a thriller with horror aesthetic, like say Seven, but I suppose it counts. Yeah it’s excellent, one of my favorite movies from the 90s. If you haven’t already you should watch Philadelphia, also from Jonathan Demme, which was a sort of apology to the LGBT community for the controversial Buffalo Bill character.
Bernie I watched when I was 13 or 14. I really liked, I actually still remember a lot of it. I brought it up recently in my post about Hit Man, which I felt like was a spiritual successor to Bernie (Hit Man is better).
Saw this as well, watched it at home with my wife the first day it was available for streaming. I both wish I'd seen it in theaters, but also am very glad I saw it in the privacy of my home, because we cried a LOT.
Totally agreed about the middle conflict, but everything surrounding that was surprisingly novel. Really enjoyed it.
about that middle
I think that it was resolved quickly was not the worst, though. Roz and Fink both *knew* this would happen someday, and we as the audience did too. *Immediately* after a falling-out like that, it does happen that both parties realize that they have messed up, but circumstances prevent them from making things right. I think the melodrama may have even been intentional as well - Brightbill is a teenager, after all, and Roz is just developing emotions herself, so the fact they're poorly handling them makes sense?It's implied that Fink himself had that happen with his mother, and is guided by that regret. (I was actually impressed that his backstory was never elaborated upon, and left for us to glean, by the way.) So perhaps it's less about the actual falling-out itself, and more about the consequences of it, and how that affects the rest of the plot afterwards. They both immediately realize they do love each other, and have to work extremely hard to earn the chance to profess that love to each other, to make up for that split-second, melodramatic mistake they both immediately regret.
The other Hannibal movies are not bad, but nothing near the level of Silence. I personally think they lose some of the horror of Hannibal, because now we see him doing these horrible things that was only hinted at in Silence, and that removes the mystery. Still, Anthony Hopkins is such a great actor that he is pretty much always worth watching.
Alright first Picture predictions:
I was initially hesitant to predict both Wicked and Gladiator 2, but pre-sales point to them being a Barbenheimer like hit (although probably on a slightly smaller scale).
I was initially predicting Juror No 2 but WB is botching the release of that so I’m not doing that anymore. I’m also not predicting Sing Sing which most people are because it released in the summer to little fanfare.
3h35m for The Brutalist is... crazy. That's the longest movie of the year by a good measure, right?
From major distributors I believe so. It’s a pretty interesting production though, Corbert shot it for 6 million but spent years working for free. Apparently it looks like a classic Hollywood epic and has been compared to Spielberg’s work. Also apparently doesn’t feel it’s runtime.
you should be in marketing for this film. haha. that’s awesome.
so many long-ass movies feel it these days.
Marketing strategy has been pretty good so far. I remember reading articles in the trades in August (prior to its Venice premiere) already talking about it being a potential all-time masterpiece.
In some ways the praise around it feels a little manufactured, but I’m still looking forward to it.
what are some good trades to keep an eye on? I pretty much ignore new movies because the main stuff is boring. Ghostlight totally caught me by surprise and now I'm thinking I'm missing out on a lot.
The three main ones are Deadline, Variety, and Hollywood Reporter. Funnily enough they’re all owned by the same company, although there’s a rivalry between Deadline and Variety.
Vanity Fair is also a big one though that ones usually paywalled.
ok sweet. I've got all those. I really want to find a good source for upcoming TV series... something I can automate or something.
Are these predictions for oscar nominations? (I guess so, but I'm not quite sure.)
Yeah Oscar noms, it’s been kind of a weak year so I’m having trouble predicting other award shows like the Golden Globes right now
Apologies to those of you who expected the Midweek Movie Free Talk to be posted in midweek. It completely escaped my memory this week...
Just rewatched the first Spongebob movie with my nieces and man what a nostalgia trip. Lots of jokes and references in there that I didn't get at all when I was a kid, like who the hell David Hasselhoff was or that the Goofy Goober song was a parody of I Wanna Rock.
This week I watched:
Terms.. was alright. Jack doesn't age... in that he looked old when he was younger. Laura is great. Something about Vincent Price's performance reminds me of Pete Holmes, of all people.
Gene Tierney was such a stunner.
Could someone please recommend a movie or two from the golden age of Hollywood that would help fill in the gaps of the knowledge for someone relatively new to movies? Right now I've kinda just looked for DVDs of Best Picture nominees, but haven't found too many.
Casablanca, Rear Window, 12 Angry Men, The Bride on the River Kwai
Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz
That is of course a pretty broad question. But just to throw something out, I would say Ben Hur from 1959 as a prime example of a BIG epic Hollywood production that is still impressive to this day.
Not from the golden age nor Hollywood (?) but can I cheat and add Waterloo from 1970? Some of the most breathtaking scenes I've ever seen