Midweek Movie Free Talk

Coyote v Acme

Saw this at the early access screening.

It was okay, overall. I think it’s funny for the most part, I never really bought into the emotional parts of the story but I applaud them for trying.

My biggest issue is the way the characters look. There’s some weird cel shading going on, they don’t blend well with their environments. I don’t know if WarnerBros didn’t finish the special effects and Ketchup couldn’t afford to finish it, but it does look weird in places. Looney Tunes: Back in Action looks significantly better despite being over 20 years old and sported a similar budget (although it’d be a bigger budget considering inflation).

You can tell this was originally made for HBOMAX. But, what I don’t understand is why WarnerBros refused to release this but released House Party in 2023 which was upgraded to a theatrical release as it was also made for HBOMAX.

This was shot here in Albuquerque back in 2022. I remember when it was shooting here and it shot in my place of employment, I didn’t work here back then. But if felt weird seeing all these places I’m familiar with and also having it be referred to as Albuquerque. There’s a sequence where they go to DC, but they still shot those sequences here. This made me realize a lot of productions don’t shoot here because it’s kind of an ugly city lol. Like we have the Sandia mountains and the desert and it all looks pretty at Sunset. But the actual city area looks so rundown, it makes sense why you would favor Toronto or something. I think something like Dune could shoot here, or Hell or High Water where it’s meant to look impoverished. But, it’d be tough if you’re going for like a city vibe. A funny part in the film is they go to a “sketchy” part of town but it’s actually one of the high income neighborhoods here.

I watched both versions of The Thomas Crowne Affair in preparation for the Michael B Jordan version we're getting in February. It didn't start out that way, I was watching Norman Jewinson movies and decided to watch the remake after watching his version.

The 1968 version is so insanely boring. When I searched it up, I saw that it was from the screenwriter that wrote Bullitt, which also starred Steve McQueen. Which made sense since that movie is boring as fuck too. Both Crowne and Bullitt have the same issues, in that neither have a plot. They're both meant to be "vibes" based, I suppose. But the vibes are horrendous. I know Steve McQueen is supposed to be this cool guy, who's a magnetic screen presence, and everyone wants to be him. But, I don't really think he's cool at all. He has so many deep wrinkles, and bad teeth, he was very clearly a smoker, his hair was thin. There's nothing cool about his screen presence. Of stars of the time, give me Marlon Brando, give me Paul Newman. Those guys are what I think people sold McQueen as. Cool, suave, charming, handsome.

I was reading discussions of Thomas Crowne, which generally has a positive reputation like Bullitt, and people were saying how it had a very sixties pacing. Which is absolute bullshit. Because From Russia With Love and Bonnie and Clyde are from that decade. The first action film North by Northwest released like a decade earlier. All three have fast paces and interesting plots. Thomas Crowne and Bullitt are deliberately meandering, not simply products of their time. This film also does this split screen thing, which is meant to be a stylized fun thing. But it's poorly done, and it makes everything more confusing.

The 1999 version, however, is so good. It's so entertaining. It gives the main character more development, changing the heist from a bank heist to an art one is significantly more interesting and lends itself more to the "I'm just bored" factor. Renee Russo's version of the character is more layered, and her investigation makes more sense. It's the sexy, fun, thing that the original promised to be.

The Odyssey. Superbly crafted movie, but completely emotionless performances. Only the soundtrack conveyed some form of turmoil. I would have loved it if the actors were more involved.

Spiderman: Brand New Day. Best MCU film since Infinity War. Proof that we don't have superhero, but bad movie fatigue.

I normally only watch documentaries, but I'm trying to watch more movie movies. Here's what I've hit up recently:

Project Hail Mary

Loved the book. Loved the movie. It loses some of a lot of the science in the transition to the screen, but it keeps the emotional core of the book and soars because of it.

I still cried a lot even though I already knew what was going to happen!

Companion

I knew literally nothing about this except that it was mildly buzzy a while back and that the lead actress has blank eyes in the movie poster. I assumed that it was going to be about like, demonic possession or something.

I'm glad I went in like that, because not even knowing the most basic part of its premise made this a fun and twisty ride. It felt like a solid Black Mirror episode (thought admittedly with a completely different tone).

I Saw the TV Glow

I don't think this is a movie for everyone or even most people, but for the thin slice of people for whom it's going to hit, it hits HARD. I'm one of those people.

This is the best queer movie I've seen in a long time -- probably since Moonlight. Also, the coloring and lighting in this movie was next level. Nearly every scene was a visual treat.

The Surrogate (2020)

This movie is about a surrogate mother for a gay couple wanting to have a child. I watched this before the quite relevant recent news arose which gives the film, in my opinion, a far more striking resonance.

I really liked this one as a character study. Everybody in the film feels a bit real and quite flawed. It's definitely a slow burn, so I'd only recommend it to someone looking for a human drama where people mostly just talk to each other. I also think that the film is trying to tell the story of these specific characters rather than trying to make a didactic statement about "the issues" in general, which I think is wise.

And if we're talking documentaries, I should mention:

Listers

A feel-good stoner documentary about extreme birdwatching. Has a bit of a tough time with its tone, inviting you to empathize with and simultaneously laugh at birders, but also it's not that serious in the first place so even looking at it tonally is too much for what it's going for. Suffice it to say, I was entertained.

Tonight was Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962). I think this sort of structure is my favorite for a film... but I could also just be caught up in it like always.

I just watched Spider Man - No Way Home (2021) as a part of my Marvel catch-up. Do I need to watch any of the other Marvel movies of the past five years in order to understand Brand New Day? I've been doing my catch-up in release order, but I would break that rule to catch Brand New Day since it's still in theaters. However, I also want to avoid "oh yeah, character X died in the interim" or something like that to leave me confused or spoil another one of the movies in-between.