What Movie Are You Watching?

[Huntn]

P R E A D A T O R




Starring the former Governor
of Minnesota
Jesse Ventura!​

...just had to say that. Just watched this, sweeeet. Music plays a huge role in an adventure like this. The assault on the rebel camp is awe-some.

 

[lizkat]

The Visitor (2008). Widowed professor gets a new lease on life just by reluctantly having to show up to a conference to support a paper he stuck his name on... and so ends up in his old city apartment, which meanwhile has been occupied by a couple of undocumented immigrants.

I initially chose this film partly because I had enjoyed The Station Agent, directed by Tom McCarthy. McCarthy is also an actor, and played the role of the fabricating journalist in the TV series The Wire. The Visitor is his second venture as writer and director. I have liked the acting of Arab Israeli actress Hiam Abbass in various films and in the TV series Succession, so that was another reason for my choice. Those who enjoyed the series Six Feet Under will recognize Richard Jenkins who very ably plays the professor.

 

[DT]

I'm going to very, highly, can't-recommend-this-enough, recommend a movie, but it needs a bit of setup

The movie is the filmed version of Derek DelGaudio's one man, Off-Broadway show - In & Of Itself - it was scheduled for a 10 week run, and wound up with 560 performances. It's a "magic show", but not really, the magic is way more than the (granted, spectacular) closeup tricks, it's an exploration into self-perception, it's a spoken autobiography, it's really an amazing, deep and moving experience between artist and audience. The film does a great job (based on dozens of reviews I've read of people who attended it live) of capturing the __feel__ of the live experience, Frank Oz, who also directed the stage show directed the film, so he has a good sense of moving between the two mediums.

It's only on Hulu at the moment, so if you don't have that service, bookmark this, come back to it, rent it when you can - do as the opening card suggests, turn off your devices, and I'd say, dim the lights, and really immerse yourself.

Currently on RT ...

And some selected review snips from various sources, avoiding any kind of spoiler territory ...

All of this makes for a wondrous, mesmerizing viewing experience, but “In & Of Itself” doesn’t exactly recreate the experience of attending DelGaudio’s performance; instead, it recreates all of them, tapping into the nature of the experience with remarkable ingenuity. Oz, who also directed the stage show, assembles the feature out of footage shot from several of the 500-plus performances, so that every interactive trick leads to a slick montage that shows its endless permutations. In another context, that might amount to little more than an academic exercise in the variability of magic performances in general, but it actually relates to the specific way in which DelGaudio designed each show to lead into the next.

And over the course of the performance, we get to what really matters, and what makes In & Of Itself one of the most astonishing things I’ve seen in a long time—we see the effect it has on the audience. It doesn’t matter if what we see on the stage can be explained, of course it can. And it doesn’t really even matter if what DelGaudio is saying is actually profound or if it’s just some words dressed up to seem profound. Because just wait, and see the looks on their faces. It’s not simple amazement, it’s something far, far deeper. By the end, DelGaudio makes each person genuinely feel seen as a person. This is an extraordinary gift. And it’s the true magic of In & Of Itself.

DelGaudio’s stories would be engaging enough if told plainly but that’s not what he does. In addition to being a storyteller (the show is described as “a new kind of lyric poem”), he’s also a magician. Again, that might sound cheesy to some, but DelGaudio doesn’t use magic just to amaze or astound his audience (although he does both of those things). Here, it is a very serious storytelling tool. Magic is woven into the very fabric of the show and the way that DelGaudio sucks his audience in and seems to see right into their hearts and minds, as well as his own, feels like such a genuine wonder that it only makes sense to set it against a backdrop of actual magic “tricks.”

 

[Huntn]

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)- 91% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score. One of my favorite movies set in the US South, a cultural story from the 1930’s centered on a murder, the Klan, racial prejudice, the interaction of intermingled black and white society, told through the eyes of an eighty year old woman who lived it. Cicely Tyson plays the character Sipsey.

​

 

[Huntn]

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Bladerunner 2049
81% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score. Magnificent Cyberpunk, great characters and portrayals. The search for the child of a replicant (artificial human), something that could break the wall, break the world if this knowledge became widespread; a megalomaniac industrialist, who believes great civilizations are built on the back of a disposable workforce, the master of a new breed of replicant who desires the knowledge of reproducing replicants so he can turn them out faster, he wants the child. A murderous assistant, a replicant bladerunner who hunts his own, but during his search for the child (to keep it quiet) ends up questioning his existence. This is a slow paced story, with bursts of violence and it helps if you are a fan of the original movie.

Now I want to see Bladerunner 2051 The Revolution.

 

[lizkat]

Finally watched Mudbound tonight. Remembered I've had it on my Netflix queue for too long when I bumped into a piece in the NYT about the constant decline in numbers of Black farmers in the USA. The film was as stunning as reviews had suggested it would be. Will stick in my head a long time. An individual's perception of the scope of relationships across different races --as either a stereotyped expectation of "them" or else about a exception to that due to a highly significant personal experience-- plays out in the film in so many ways. Makes me sad for how much we lose by ignorant choices.

 

[DT]

Watched a fantastic horror movie last night, end of the world / zombie genre - it maye sound like "been there, done that", however, it's a really fresh take, and this is really beautifully filmed and acted.

French film, The Night Eats the World (French: La nuit a dévoré le monde), from 2018, the sparse dialog in actually in English.

I don't want to spoil too much, let's just say there's not much setup, not many characters, it's a character study, a slow burn, large sections with no dialog. It does have some pretty gruesome moments, but they're few and far between. There's a payoff, sort of, or maybe not, it doesn't matter, the journey is pretty amazing.

The one thing I will disclose: the zombies, the walking dead - they make no sound. No moaning, no snarling, and it is goddam unnerving, just the occasional clicking of teeth. In fact, the whole movie is very quiet, except when it's not, and then there's lots of drumming - don't ask, watch

 

[User.45]

Watched a fantastic horror movie last night, end of the world / zombie genre - it maye sound like "been there, done that", however, it's a really fresh take, and this is really beautifully filmed and acted.

French film, The Night Eats the World (French: La nuit a dévoré le monde), from 2018, the sparse dialog in actually in English.

I don't want to spoil too much, let's just say there's not much setup, not many characters, it's a character study, a slow burn, large sections with no dialog. It does have some pretty gruesome moments, but they're few and far between. There's a payoff, sort of, or maybe not, it doesn't matter, the journey is pretty amazing.

The one thing I will disclose: the zombies, the walking dead - they make no sound. No moaning, no snarling, and it is goddam unnerving, just the occasional clicking of teeth. In fact, the whole movie is very quiet, except when it's not, and then there's lots of drumming - don't ask, watch

It was one of the better/best movies of the genre. Based on my recollection it was a pretty realistic psychological case study.

 

[DT]

It was one of the better/best movies of the genre. Based on my recollection it was a pretty realistic psychological case study.

Oh yeah, spot on. I dig on this sort of horror movie, where the horror element is just a mechanism to explore something else about the human condition - I mean, they're very present, but it could be anything, like, I don't know, a pandemic ...

 

[Thomas Veil]

​

“Star Trek”, the JJ Abrams love letter to the original 1960s series.

Now I’m not a huge Star Trek fan, but I found the movie immensely enjoyable, in spite of its unlikely plot points like yet another enemy from the future, or a crew that saves the universe being composed entirely of literal space cadets.

What Abrams got right was the relationships of the characters and the humor as well as the adventure aspects. The Enterprise still looks like the Enterprise. In fact the whole thing looks and feels like the original. And, you get to see all these characters come together for the first time and learn to work with each other. And there’s Michael Giacchino’s moving score. Excellent.

It makes me frustrated that that other 1960s space series, Lost in Space, couldn’t get an equally good reboot. If ever a sci-fi series cried out for a chance at a do-over, it’s that one. “Star Trek” the movie just serves as a reminder of everything the Netflix LIS producers got wrong about their remake. If you changed the names of the LIS characters, you probably wouldn’t even recognize it as a reboot of that series.

Anyway, I could go on about the “Star Trek” movie, but this guy’s review basically nailed it in terms of describing what’s right with it.

 

[Huntn]

View attachment 3300​

“Star Trek”, the JJ Abrams love letter to the original 1960s series.

Now I’m not a huge Star Trek fan, but I found the movie immensely enjoyable, in spite of its unlikely plot points like yet another enemy from the future, or a crew that saves the universe being composed entirely of literal space cadets.

What Abrams got right was the relationships of the characters and the humor as well as the adventure aspects. The Enterprise still looks like the Enterprise. In fact the whole thing looks and feels like the original. And, you get to see all these characters come together for the first time and learn to work with each other. And there’s Michael Giacchino’s moving score. Excellent.

It makes me frustrated that that other 1960s space series, Lost in Space, couldn’t get an equally good reboot. If ever a sci-fi series cried out for a chance at a do-over, it’s that one. “Star Trek” the movie just serves as a reminder of everything the Netflix LIS producers got wrong about their remake. If you changed the names of the LIS characters, you probably wouldn’t even recognize it as a reboot of that series.

Anyway, I could go on about the “Star Trek” movie, but this guy’s review basically nailed it in terms of describing what’s right with it.

I really like the reboot at least the first 2 movies.

 

[lizkat]

Thinking to rewatch the movie Syriana (2005) tonight, having read about the passing of Christopher Plummer. I liked his portrayal of the DC lawyer Dean Whiting in that very complex film, and loved the movie despite some gruesome scenes.



For all its themes and locations, the movie probably doesn't begin to sketch all the subplots that in real life also run concurrently with corruption and political skullduggery, when it comes to how the oil and gas outfits and their myriad brokers and hangers-on try to one-up each other to stay awash in money.

When they are not actively seeking to buy parts of each other out or maybe just pre-empt a few deals here and there the hard way with a little hired help, there's always domestic intrigue and the option to rat out someone else's corruption... for a cut of some other piece of pie.

It all makes for an eminently rewatchable experience on film when it becomes clear to viewers that not even the principals can reliably figure out who's on first, in the quest to profit from just the prospect of cornering more of the market in black gold.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Sound Of Music.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Any particular reason?

 

[lizkat]

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Should have been 5 times as long...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Any particular reason?

Well, yes.

But, I also fancied being able to watch it - without interruption - from start to finish.

An excellent movie, which stands the test of time.

And, that laendler dance scene......

 

[ronntaylor]

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Should have been 5 times as long...

Her life story should be a series. While I liked the movie very much, I would love a movie on her actual life.

 

[Huntn]

The Invitation (2015)- 69% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Viewed on Netflix, labeled a thriller. A reunion of old friends is not what it seems, especially at the end. The less you know up front the better, crazy California. Not the best, but good enough.

​

 

[Huntn]

Hateful 8- (2015 Extended Version) 76% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score. Basically how to waste 4 hours of your life. I only hung in there because of the name Tarentino, waiting, hoping for a payoff. Hopes dashed, lol.

​

• Best Quality: Photography, it really felt like this was filmed in a blizzard in Wyoming. Nice cinematography for what there was of the outdoors. I wondered if this was cgi or real snow.
• Favorite actor: Walton Goggins, as Sherrif Mannix.
• Characters: Almost interesting if they had been connected to a good story.
• Story: I guess it could of happened like this, but the role of a story teller is to pull you in, wow you with his/her brilliance. After the first of 4, approx 1 hour episodes, with endless slightly colorful, but droning chit chat, I was like, get to the point. I hung on because of the name Tarantino.
• Acting: Over acted or if you prefer flamboyant acting. I’m sure the director wanted this. In light of the other mentioned factors. these characters were on the edge of being interesting.
• Dialog: Labored, lots of almost intriguing interactions.
• Violence: Extreme with gallons of blood pouring out of people, a Tarantino tradition, yes?
• Sex: Hmm, male nudity, and a depiction of a forced male/male sex act. No points from me.
• As a 2 Hr movie, I think it would have bombed at the theater. Was it at the theater?
• Episode 4 is the fill in the blanks episode, I did not care at that point.
• Verdict: Spend 4 hours of your life watching something better.

 

[shadow puppet]

Has anyone watched The Dig on Netflix? If so, thoughts? It's been recommended.