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Midweek 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.
Superman was Guardians of the Galaxy vibes but worse. Just some (mostly negative) thoughts rather than a review, spoilers below.
Another big silly superhero movie to add to the pile. Not my thing! I found myself bored and couldn't connect to almost anything, it was just a spectacle movie hitting every single CBM trope and cliche that we have already seen dozens of times for 20 years one after another.
At times they went all in on aiming for it to be a kid friendly borderline cartoon, but other times it seemed all in on horror stuff like the vomiting and the Russian roulette execution. So it was some really odd tonal whiplash and just felt messy as a result.
A couple of interesting side characters but otherwise forgettable personalities.
Pace was crazy fast, nothing was ever allowed to breathe. It felt like every setting was only there to check a box in the script before moving onto the next thing which made it feel hollow and insincere. Someone in a discussion thread called it a tiktok movie and honestly, that description seems about right.
Very curious about Supergirl next year as the short scene with her in this movie was by far my favourite part of it.
Unfortunately my prediction about what DC would become with Gunn helming it seems to be coming true. A bit scared that his vision for this franchise does not match what I enjoy. At the moment, the sequel to The Batman is the only CBM I'm truly looking forward to.
This released for digital purchase (very legal download) only 5 weeks after theatrical premiere. Almost ~2021 type stuff!
I love James Gunn, I think you’re either on board with his style or you’re not like a more populist Adam McKay.
I like the tonal shifts in the film, the vomit scene specifically was very Gunn since his roots are in horror. The Guardians films also had these tonal shifts, but these shifts have also been present in other films that I love such as Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.
Yes, it’s a faster pace than his Guardians films or The Suicide Squad as well. I think this was done on purpose since they’re trying to be the anti-Snyderverse, which was bogged down by extremely long runtimes and slow pacing. BvS is relatively slow but Man of Steel is very slow and those were the chief complaints.
You should watch Cruella to get an idea of that this will look like since that director is helming Supergirl.
The excuse used by Gunn is that he wanted people to watch it at home in preparation for Peacemaker season 2. I don’t really buy that, I don’t know why they didn’t let it breathe for at least 10 more days to give it the full 45 day window. Not even Disney does windows this short anymore.
The boxoffice was a relative disappointment but it wasn’t a flop at all and will get within 70M of Man of Steel by the end of its run which is not bad considering the state of the market.
Not long ago I watched 12 Angry Men (1957) and I would like to say right off the bat that this is a movie that everyone should watch at least once in their lifetime.
I typically don't like old movies and especially black and white, I'm by no means an individual who only watches the latest movies out, and I think my preference lies in the 90s and 00s for movies, but 12 Angry Men was a pleasant surprise.
The whole movie takes place in just one setting with only two or three rooms but it captivates you from the very beginning with its amazing writing and execution, and even though the outcome is fairly obvious from the getgo, the destination is not the point of the movie, but the journey itself is, pay attention to the dialogue between the characters. I don't want to go into too much detail, I'm not a great writer and I often have 50 thoughts going on at once and have a hard time finding the right words, so I guess I just want to say that this is a must watch at least once in each person's lifetime, for those who the message of the movie manages to get through, it'll make you realize the importance of patience and listening when discussing with others.
Thanks for reading my terrible rambling.
Another 12 Angry Men fan! It's a movie where the writing and actors really have to carry it, and everyone nailed it. There are no special effects, and besides 90 seconds at the start and 30 seconds at the end, the entire movie is a bunch of guys sitting around in one room talking. But it manages to be one of the greatest movies ever made!
definitely track down the tv movie one with gandalfini, danza, and more. killer cast and done in 97 — a testament to great writing.
The Map that Leads To You
This is from the director of Chocolat (2000). I really like Chocolat, it gets a lot of flak from people because it's middle-brow and it was a Weinstein product that beat out the better-liked Almost Famous for a Best Picture nomination.
I think his direction is the best part of this film. It's beautifully shot, and incredibly warm and he has a good sense of music. It's screenplay is juvenile however, falling in line with more recent straight to Prime/Netflix young romances. Not close to the sophistication we see from Chocolat. It's generic, it's dialogue is lifeless and humorless, and there are too many inconsequential references to Ernest Hemmingway that only discuss his work and life on a superficial level and has no connection to the broader themes of the story.
Madelyn Cline and DJ Apa are also weak in the roles. Cline I think only works in comedic roles like in Glass Onion or I Know What You Did Last Summer. While she has the beauty for these romantic roles, she does not posses the gravitas to convincingly play something like this. Someone like Cailee Spaeny would have done better. Apa is a bad actor, his line readings are awkward and he has no charisma. They also don't have any chemistry with each other, which is strange because in interviews they do it just did not translate to the film.
A lot of potential here, just needed a re-write and a re-cast.
Relay
David Mackenzie's first film since 2018's Outlaw King. I haven't seen that film but I love Hell or High Water. This is really good. It's entertaining, it's tense, and Riz Ahmed and Lily James are fantastic in the roles. It's a callback to a lot of 70s films and comes with all the bells and whistles, lonely alienated male protagonist and a central romance. It actually reminded me of Baby Driver, not just because of James, but but it's structure and energy.
Eden
Much was made of this film a year ago during it's TIFF premiere. It's directed by Ron Howard and has an all star cast including three "bombshells" with Ana De Armas, Sydney Sweeney, and Vanessa Kirby. It's got mixed reviews and only Netflix gave Howard a bid. Coming off of two back to back streaming films Howard decided to opt for a theatrical release which only Vertical gave him (at a loss to the film's producers).
This sucks! It's kind of boring, it's performances are all over the place, and it doesn't commit to the more campy aspects of the story. I think a different filmmaker could have made this more of an exploitation film but Howard is too middle-brow for that, and I think he thinks it's more of an art-house film.
Tonight I watched True Grit (2010) after turning off Mission Impossible... whatever the fuck that long-ass name is. What a absolute piece of shit movie. Terrible performances, to boot. I hate this trend of everybody finishing each others' sentences without actually speaking over the other. Not only is it rude, but it isn't natural.
True Grit is always great (both of them)
edit: F1: THE MOVIE tonight... I'm glad I didn't bother watching this in the theatre. Some of it is good, some of it is terrible, most of it is against regulation.
edit edit: Inside Llewyn Davis is such an interesting film. The structure is really interesting. I really liked that we got Garrett Hedlund, too. Had this been filmed a few years ago, we'd probably get Austin Butler. Hedlund is great, though.
In going through the Coen's filmography, the range Goodman shows is fantastic. Same with Jeff Bridges and most of the actors on the Coen's employ. Kind of sad, I only have Hail, Caesar! and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs left. I thought about doing this same thing with other directors, but nobody really has the diversity, so far as I can think.
edit^3: tonight was Hail, Caesar! -- I love this film. I saw it in the theatre for a matinee for a date and had a great ol time with it. Channing Tatum is too handsome, though.