I saw some things. Several things, actually. I watched a couple of long epics, Ran and The Deer Hunter, on the same day a couple of days ago. Did you know John Cazale was only in five movies before his death, and they were all nominated for Best Picture (with three of them winning)? I didn't, but I feel like I should have.
Because we seem to like depressing shows, we started watching Show Me a Hero. Co-written by David Simon, it's a mini-series so only six episodes. It, unsurprisingly, is great. We're 2/3 of the way through it.
Still keeping up with The Night Of and Mr. Robot. The opening bit for Mr. Robot this past week was... different. It should have been shorter.
I saw Shrek 4 for some reason. I haven't seen Shrek 2 or 3.
Finished OITNB, Season 4. Easily their best season yet. The writing and plot development is more focused. They still rely a bit too much on caricature, but that's improving. The last six episodes or so are incredibly powerful television.
I didn't even know there is a Shrek 4. In fact I'm not sure if I remember Shrek 3.
I'm...seven?...episodes into the show, which I ignored at first because of the presence of Prepon and Biggs. Prepon seems, so far, to be quite a bit handier with drama than comedy (which is the usual thing, but it was a relief to see). Biggs still does everything I'd expect him to do. His "tearful goodbye" with Piper at the prison is extremely weak and stagey. He's not a huge focus, though, and is typically just a device to start one of Piper's storylines. I'm already seeing one of the show's greater criticisms - that the lead character isn't one of the more interesting characters - play out. She's like a bite of vanilla surrounded by scoops of much more interesting flavors.
Watched the new Ghostbusters. It was funny in places, a little dumb in places, and generally acceptable entertainment.
Should it be seen in the theater or does it matter?
I feel like it probably doesn't matter.
co-sign
Star Wars Episode(s) V, VI, VII (purchased The Force Awakens last week) - watching in segments with Kernel (~30-40 mins per evening)
The first episode of Stranger Things on Netflix - sucked me right in. Excited to pick it back up this week sometime.
Midnight Special - crazy entertaining, thought-provoking and gripping. Unique ... it didn't really feel like anything I've seen before; maybe a conflation of bits of things, but not any one movie. I knew it was a bit sci-fi (h/t to Zack), but to me, it didn't feel stretched, preposterous or fabricated. It played like something that could actually happen.
Southpaw - was hoping for more from this one, but it wasn't bad.
Brooklyn - Overall, my wife and I thought this was really entertaining & well done. A few minor annoyances, but I'd definitely recommend it.
Deadpool - I can see why this was so popular - it was great. I think I heard so much praise that I wasn't as impressed as if I'd seen it when it was released. Still, one of the best "comic book movies" I've ever seen.
Legend - Tom Hardy was fantastic, but the movie felt like it was really going somewhere and didn't quite get there...
Next up, Hail, Caesar! (arrived in the mail on Saturday)
HBO's The 33 was just what you'd expect - an entertaining docu-drama.
Star Trek Beyond was fine, but I couldn't help but wonder why certain tech (transporters, tractor beams, etc) weren't used in certain situations where they would have easily solved some problems. In addition...
Should see Suicide Squad Wednesday night in Omerha.
Suicide Squad is the perfect example of why DC ≠ Marvel at the movies. This should have been their chance at rebooting a lot of characters and creating an edgier version of their stayed sensibilities, but the writing is bad and the characters are pretty meh. I really enjoyed the Joker's re-debut, but everything else seemed like a missed opportunity.
also,
Another example of lazy writing that has been a fixture of this summer's movies.
The first episode of Stranger Things on Netflix - sucked me right in. Excited to pick it back up this week sometime.
It only gets better and better over the course of the season. And at only eight episodes, it's not a huge time commitment. I think it's probably my favorite thing I've watched this year.
Nice - good to know!
I liked Deadpool so much a physical copy is actually on my wish list. I don't know the last time I bought a DVD.
I'm not sure about "Stranger Things" yet. All the kids seem the same, and I've read that this doesn't really change very much. I also hope Ryder is de-emphasized but I'm not holding my breath.
I did like all the scenes with the young girl with the shaved head. I'll definitely continue, but I'm not sure when.
So, I was considering the other evening which movies were particularly emotional to me, and thought it might make for a good thread. Off the top of my head I came up with these:
There is pretty much a theme -- first, they all had excellent thematic music for the scene, and all not only featured death but someone (innocent) left behind. I would think that a film like Silent Running would have been an obvious qualifier then, but it's not. Among other things, Joan Baez kills it for me.
What films do you find particularly emotional to you?
Das Leben Der Anderen makes me all-out bawl at the end. I'm a freaking wreck.
"The Inner Light" of Star Trek: TNG also destroys me every time.
Rounding out the Top 3 is Inside Out by Pixar. Such a mess.
I wonder if I have similar theme to what gets me.
My wife and I watched Short Term 12 on Netflix. Is it possible to be inspiring and soul-crushing at the same time? I think they pulled it off.
Took the kids to new Ghostbusters. Entertaining enough but wouldn't watch it on my own.
saw Ghostbusters (it lives up to the original, largely, and I enjoyed the various nods to the original and the cameos).
but what I really want to talk about is a film I have not yet seen: Sausage Party
Here is the Boy's hot take:
yeah, so far I've seen nothing that makes this remotely interesting to me, including the trailer.
I dunno.
A.O. Scott's lede paragraph in his review might make you reconsider.
I do.
🙂
but, seriously, read the review. It's interesting.
I guess.
Your boy inspired me with his photo of some bowl of soup and an epic troll of how you'd never experience such bliss, so I'm going to take him up on his word and
sneak intopay to get into that movie this weekend.We've seen several things this month, and none of it was really great. Bourn was mind numbingly stupid, and not in the thank goodness we got some free AC out of the deal kind of way. Suicide Squad was a completely wasted opportunity for DC to do something with it's brand on the big screen. We did complete season one and started into season two of Halt and Catch Fire. I enjoyed this show, but am wondering where the hell season two can go. I'll keep up with it. Oh, maybe it wasn't all bad, the night of has been great. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes next. Oh, and Ballers. How I balls that show. Nevermind, it wasn't all bad....
Season two of Halt and Catch Fire is much better than the first. It's a good reward for sticking through it so far.
We've also been watching Ballers. It's our one upbeat show.
My younger self had no idea how much this version of myself would be in love with the rock. Yeah, totes balls that dude.
House rule #3 in college was "if while channel surfing you come across The Rock, that's what we're watching".
I can't tell you how many times we watched "The Rundown", "Scorpion King", or my personal favorite "Walking Tall"
His Instagram feed is pretty incredible as well...
Is the Rundown the one where he ends up fighting Christopher Walken in the Amazon? One of my favorite ridiculous lines is Walken saying, "That's a lot of cows."
apropos of this mention of Walken, I was reading some stoopid listicle about movies where Tim Burton said something to the effect of he spent very little time on set with Walken during Batman Returns because "that guy scares the [redacted] out of me."
also, while I am on the theme, The Dead Zone is probably my favorite Walken film. He's absolutely great in it, and I loved both the premise and the execution.
Underrated film
It is. Skim was named after Rosario Dawson's character in that movie. It's the first one I ever attended with my wife, was a decent and stupid ride, and we ended up buying it for a combination of the fun and to commemorate the occasion.
I actually did know that John Cazale tidbit. The "Godfather"s are my favorite films.
I read the fact right before seeing The Deer Hunter. Cazale was dying during the shooting of the film, and when the studio found out, they wanted him replaced and all scenes with the character re-shot, but director Michael Cimino refused. Cazale looks sick and weak in the movie, while his character is neither. It's kind of unfortunate to watch the performance, which really isn't bad, in that context.
I do wonder why this casting was so important to Cimino. Despite Cazale's decent performance and Cazale's bizarre second billing, his character could easily be left out of the film with no change to the narrative.
Been watching Vikings via hulu (my SiL that gave us the Blu-Ray hand-me-down never logged out).
I'm quite enjoying it. While the violence and sex are cool, I'm most intrigued by the competing faiths and those trying to learn from both, or incorporate both.
Of course, I was primed for that as EAR brought it to my attention through a column written by a Catholic Priest saying it was the best show on TV for that reason.
EAR and I had recently watched The Last Kingdom, which is about the following period, where some of the children born in this series are the adult leaders of the Viking armies cutting across England.
I read a review snippet comparing it unfavorable to GoT, but even if GoT has better stories, scripts, and acting, it's all fantasy. I find this compelling because it's more or less historical.
From what I've read about GoT, I wouldn't be able to get EAR to watch it. Vikings is cable-level violence, nudity, and cursing; not HBO-level.
Bonus: mycophagy!
Long time, first time. Well...maybe I checked in a long time ago on a different version of the site, but who's counting?
Gotta put in a plug for Green Room and Popstar: Never Stop Stopping. Green Room is one of the tightest little thrillers you could ever hope to see and Popstar is an ADD Spinal Tap for the Age of Twitter.
Better Nate than never?
You're not helping.
I lurk on Canis and my film tastes fall in line with yours, and seeing your praise for Popstar is exciting. I liked Hot Rod quite a bit, and I'm fond of those guys in general. I need to check it out as soon as possible.
It's good, dumb, goofy fun.