Movie Thread

[BlueRoads]

About Capote: He's actually one of my favourite writers, In Cold Blood a great book. (But my favourite of his, for some reason, is Other Voices, Other Rooms.) Anyway, I liked the movie, well acted and carefully told, but it did not exactly thrill me and it did not take up the slightly dooming, sticky and lingering atmosphere that always has its place behind Capote's sober, documentary style. So, although a very good movie, it did not do fully justice to this writer, but obviously it did not intend to do so in the first place. I appreciated that it did not depict Capote as the decadent freak that he has become in some other stories, though, but was subtle with the psychology and the moral problem of a writer in that situation.
((I haven't seen Infamous.))

 

[Tricycle Rider]

RIP Sean Connery

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Sleepaway Camp (1983) the fashions made me smile but most of the acting was appalling although some of the dialogue with the kids was funny. The ending was supposed to make up for the rest I suppose. Why it has cult status I'm not sure. Pretty terrible, just a run of the mill slasher movie for the most part that displays it's low budget.

Sounds like a camping movie I should be watching, I almost rewatched the original Friday the 13th campfest yesterday. My fave camping movie is actually Meatballs with Bill Murray though, even the soundtrack is catchy.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USvMWm-ZqvQ&ab_channel=Nemspy


Anyhoo, instead of a true classic like Friday the 13th (1980) I ended up watching another cabin movie, this pile of dung was called Mine Games (2012). Well, the cabin was nice at least, but it was just huuuuuge. It was more of a cabin design house in a lovely environment than a true cabin, think it was built for glampers.

Also watched the TV movie The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999) - it was okay, very family friendly. (Can't remember the last time I watched a G-rated movie.) I wasn't familiar with Irving's Sleepy Hollow short story, or the character of Ichabod Crane, so now I am.

 

[movingtarget]

Sounds like a camping movie I should be watching, I almost rewatched the original Friday the 13th campfest yesterday. My fave camping movie is actually Meatballs with Bill Murray though, even the soundtrack is catchy.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USvMWm-ZqvQ&ab_channel=Nemspy


Anyhoo, instead of a true classic like Friday the 13th (1980) I ended up watching another cabin movie, this pile of dung was called Mine Games (2012). Well, the cabin was nice at least, but it was just huuuuuge. It was more of a cabin design house in a lovely environment than a true cabin, think it was built for glampers.

Also watched the TV movie The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999) - it was okay, very family friendly. (Can't remember the last time I watched a G-rated movie.) I wasn't familiar with Irving's Sleepy Hollow short story, or the character of Ichabod Crane, so now I am.

The Tim Burton Sleepy Hollow movie wasn't bad. Liked the visuals.

 

[movingtarget]

Burn After Reading (2008) Coen Bros comedy. Not a great movie but entertaining enough for a non demanding audience. Brad Pitt was surprisingly funny and John Malkovich played another angry old man but was also quite funny. JK Simmons as the CIA boss was also good.

 

[movingtarget]

Judge Dredd (1995) a few nice visuals and Max Von Sydow providing the acting talent but even for a Stallone movie this was pretty bad. A few good fight scenes but at 95 minutes running time I was still clock watching. Judge Dud would have been a better title. Although I heard the remake was much better.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Sleepaway Camp (1983) the fashions made me smile but most of the acting was appalling although some of the dialogue with the kids was funny. The ending was supposed to make up for the rest I suppose. Why it has cult status I'm not sure. Pretty terrible, just a run of the mill slasher movie for the most part that displays it's low budget.

I watched this yesterday, it was simply ghastly. The hairdos and fashions were awful (feathered hair and short shorts anyone?), and the acting was easily the worst I have seen in decades. I can almost see why Sleepaway Camp has cult status, it really is that terrible. But I don't think I can muster enough courage to watch the sequels.

 

[movingtarget]

I watched this yesterday, it was simply ghastly. The hairdos and fashions were awful (feathered hair and short shorts anyone?), and the acting was easily the worst I have seen in decades. I can almost see why Sleepaway Camp has cult status, it really is that terrible. But I don't think I can muster enough courage to watch the sequels.

Yes I agree but some people actually liked it including critics...........I don't get it..........oh well, obviously it was made on a shoe string.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

The Haunting (1999) - Well, the set was amazing as were the special effects (initially), but the plot got silly after about an hour and the last 20 minutes were downright unwatchable. But the first part was at least worth a looky for the set alone, that was easily the biggest fireplace I've ever seen.

Evidence of Blood (1998) - A quiet, slow-cooking murder mystery with great acting from David Strathairn, I didn't care for Mary McDonnell's character much. But it's worth a looky for those who don't need blood and gore in their murder mysteries.

 

[movingtarget]

The Haunting (1999) - Well, the set was amazing as were the special effects (initially), but the plot got silly after about an hour and the last 20 minutes were downright unwatchable. But the first part was at least worth a looky for the set alone, that was easily the biggest fireplace I've ever seen.

Evidence of Blood (1998) - A quiet, slow-cooking murder mystery with great acting from David Strathairn, I didn't care for Mary McDonnell's character much. But it's worth a looky for those who don't need blood and gore in their murder mysteries.

Loved the set design and house for The Haunting but I agree that the movie was mediocre. The high point for me was when the irritating Owen Wilson had his mishap in the fire place. Liam Neeson tried hard but it was a losing battle with that script. The original was much creepier and the acting was superior which wouldn't have been hard.....................Robert Wise was a good director and also made the 50's sci fi classic The Day The Earth Stood Still. He had a varied career and even directed The Sound of Music !

 

[Koronin]

Judge Dredd (1995) a few nice visuals and Max Von Sydow providing the acting talent but even for a Stallone movie this was pretty bad. A few good fight scenes but at 95 minutes running time I was still clock watching. Judge Dud would have been a better title. Although I heard the remake was much better.

I tried to watch that one once and didn't get very far with it. The new one with Carl Urban is light years better. I've watched it a few times.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Loved the set design and house for The Haunting but I agree that the movie was mediocre. The high point for me was when the irritating Owen Wilson had his mishap in the fire place. Liam Neeson tried hard but it was a losing battle with that script. The original was much creepier and the acting was superior which wouldn't have been hard.....................Robert Wise was a good director and also made the 50's sci fi classic The Day The Earth Stood Still. He had a varied career and even directed The Sound of Music !

lol... yes, Owen Wilson's demise in the fireplace was most unfortunate, but I still can't figure out how that huge lion's head was supposed to work as a flue. Were you supposed to pull on it in order to open the flue, or something?

For everyone's enjoyment here's a clip of that scene, I liked Neeson's expression when Wilson's head came off. And yes, poor Liam did try his best with the script, maybe he just needed a break from doing more serious movies.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6ffGVe63c0&ab_channel=Movieclips

 

[movingtarget]

Cinderella Man (2005) based on the true story of James Braddock a boxer in the late 20/30s. The boxing scenes were over done as they usually are, well acted especially by Russell Crowe who let's face it is more a middleweight than a heavyweight in kgs but it's Hollywood. Ron Howard directed and the rest is history. Entertaining without being memorable.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

He wasn't an actor, but I'm sure everyone has seen at least one episode of Jeopardy at some point, so RIP Alex Trebek.

He had such a calm demeanor, and of course the SNL skits with Will Farrell as Trebek and Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery were always fun. The skits didn't really make sense, but I thought they were funny.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Cruelty (2016) - A quiet, grim crime drama from Iceland that apparently only three other people had seen, I can find very little info on it. But I had never seen an Icelandic movie before, so was curious as to the scenery and architecture and whatnot, the scenery was, well, icy. As was the storyline, it involved the murder of two little girls and the main suspects were sexual offenders. So... unless someone wants to get into a dark mood I wouldn't recommend this movie, I'm hoping the next Icelandic movie I watch will be a bit more uplifting.

 

[BlueRoads]

Cruelty (2016) - A quiet, grim crime drama from Iceland that apparently only three other people had seen, I can find very little info on it. But I had never seen an Icelandic movie before, so was curious as to the scenery and architecture and whatnot, the scenery was, well, icy. As was the storyline, it involved the murder of two little girls and the main suspects were sexual offenders. So... unless someone wants to get into a dark mood I wouldn't recommend this movie, I'm hoping the next Icelandic movie I watch will be a bit more uplifting.

Personally I liked Hjartasteinn (but I have a thing for homo-stories). It's not really uplifting, but not too dark either.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Personally I liked Hjartasteinn (but I have a thing for homo-stories). It's not really uplifting, but not too dark either.

Ooooh, I can watch this on Tubi for free right now, so I'll have to check it out!

Say, did you ever get around to watching The White Crow about Nureyev? I remember you mentioned it a while back.

 

[BlueRoads]

Ooooh, I can watch this on Tubi for free right now, so I'll have to check it out!

Say, did you ever get around to watching The White Crow about Nureyev? I remember you mentioned it a while back.

I did, but I'm still undecided whether I really liked it. Some moments were very strong and they put some attention to music and dance. I love music and dance! Oleg Ivenko as Nureyev was convincing and energetic. It had a good balance of the personal and political aspects and managed to melt them. Also I am usually fond of lives not told chronologically. But as a story it did not really convince me in the end. Of course that may be due to my general aversion of biopics which can only be broken by something unexpected or so authentic that it touches me nonetheless. Now this story was not really unexpected, and although the film was sometimes visually very strong, it was, all in all, too much "costume" (and I don't mean the dancer's, but the suits, the hairstyles...) There is a casual way to do this, but it's very rare. Often, and it was not really different here, it becomes a bit pretentious and distances me from the story. I think it's sometimes about the actors, how they deal with it... the camerawork of course... They all were a bit too obviously playing their "roles" in a historic, dramatic story, I missed something genuine - apart from Ivenko. But I suppose it was the way that it was meant to be told, after all the storyline is that Nureyev is the free, extravagant artist in an inhibiting world. And I've certainly seen worse. So, all in all, I'd recommend it, but not very strongly. But my recommendations are always very subjective, anyway.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

I did, but I'm still undecided whether I really liked it. Some moments were very strong and they put some attention to music and dance. I love music and dance! Oleg Ivenko as Nureyev was convincing and energetic. It had a good balance of the personal and political aspects and managed to melt them. Also I am usually fond of lives not told chronologically. But as a story it did not really convince me in the end. Of course that may be due to my general aversion of biopics which can only be broken by something unexpected or so authentic that it touches me nonetheless. Now this story was not really unexpected, and although the film was sometimes visually very strong, it was, all in all, too much "costume" (and I don't mean the dancer's, but the suits, the hairstyles...) There is a casual way to do this, but it's very rare. Often, and it was not really different here, it becomes a bit pretentious and distances me from the story. I think it's sometimes about the actors, how they deal with it... the camerawork of course... They all were a bit too obviously playing their "roles" in a historic, dramatic story, I missed something genuine - apart from Ivenko. But I suppose it was the way that it was meant to be told, after all the storyline is that Nureyev is the free, extravagant artist in an inhibiting world. And I've certainly seen worse. So, all in all, I'd recommend it, but not very strongly. But my recommendations are always very subjective, anyway.

My recommendations are always subjective as well, sometimes I recommend downright stinkers that no one else would ever care for. But, such goes individual perception and interpretation.

I would have to rewatch The White Crow, but I recall the guy who played Nureyev was an actual ballet-trained dancer, and Sergei Polunin played the role of Yuri Soloviev. Not that I follow ballet closely (or actually at all), but Soloviev might make for an interesting biographical drama being he was a contemporary of Nureyev's, and he ended up committing suicide. There seems to be a lot to unpack there.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

The Statement (2003) - The Nazi-hunting plot isn't terribly original, but the main character is based on a real individual, so, so far I'm enjoying this movie. (Still have another 20 minutes to go, I kinda fell asleep while watching late last night.) Michael Caine does a splendid job playing the lead role of a frail, scared, morally confused old man on the run, and the scenery is actually the best part. Some of the movie had been filmed in the more rural parts of France, it's almost like watching the Tour! So, even if viewers don't care for the plot I would recommend this movie for the scenery alone.

 

[BlueRoads]

Two films I recently saw:
Elevator Baby, a Nigerian drama about a spoiled young man who gets stuck with a pregnant woman in an elevator. Although on paper the story looks rather constructed and the characters are a bit clishé, I really enjoyed the film, mostly because of the energy and vibrancy of the actors. It's also quite funny sometimes and felt authentic and straight-forward despite a bit kitsch.
Then there was Loev, my personal discovery of the year. Yes, homo-story again. But it was great in any way. I did not know anything about it before I watched it and that probably helped. But I was just drawn in from the beginning. Everything in this film was fitting, yet complex, dramatic, yet subtle. It does have a great start and a very good ending and it never left me in the middle. It's not just a homosexual love story, but a story of a complex relationship that is examined, and I loved that you don't know much about the characters or their relationships in the beginning, that there was no too conventional exposition, but that it leads you into it with pictures and great dialogues. In hindsight it's a straight-forward story with a clear plot, but I was intrigued by the ambiguity of it all throughout the film. Really my favourite watch of 2020. (Ah, and it's Indian, takes place in Mumbai, maybe that's why it felt a bit fresher to me, as well.)

 

[movingtarget]

The Insider (1999) one of Michael Mann's best movies with powerhouse performances by Russell Crowe, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer. A long movie which wasn't dull at all, based on true life about a whistleblower in the tobacco industry and how the media struggled to present the facts in a legal minefield.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Two films I recently saw:
Elevator Baby, a Nigerian drama about a spoiled young man who gets stuck with a pregnant woman in an elevator. Although on paper the story looks rather constructed and the characters are a bit clishé, I really enjoyed the film, mostly because of the energy and vibrancy of the actors. It's also quite funny sometimes and felt authentic and straight-forward despite a bit kitsch.
Then there was Loev, my personal discovery of the year. Yes, homo-story again. But it was great in any way. I did not know anything about it before I watched it and that probably helped. But I was just drawn in from the beginning. Everything in this film was fitting, yet complex, dramatic, yet subtle. It does have a great start and a very good ending and it never left me in the middle. It's not just a homosexual love story, but a story of a complex relationship that is examined, and I loved that you don't know much about the characters or their relationships in the beginning, that there was no too conventional exposition, but that it leads you into it with pictures and great dialogues. In hindsight it's a straight-forward story with a clear plot, but I was intrigued by the ambiguity of it all throughout the film. Really my favourite watch of 2020. (Ah, and it's Indian, takes place in Mumbai, maybe that's why it felt a bit fresher to me, as well.)

I haven't seen Loev, haven't actually even heard of it. But seeing as we seem to share an interest in homosexual stories I'm wondering what your faves are?

On my part my most recent fave is God's Own Country (2017), I thought it was very well done. It wasn't just some vapid, gay rom-com. My all time fave is The Boys in the Band (1970), it's obviously very dated, but it depicts the self-hatred that unfortunately some gay men still harbor even nowadays. And then there's Love! Valor! Compassion! (1997), it's both fun as well as sad. And then there's a whole bunch of movies that deal with the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s, Longtime Companion (1989) is just one of them.

 

[BlueRoads]

I haven't seen Loev, haven't actually even heard of it. But seeing as we seem to share an interest in homosexual stories I'm wondering what your faves are?

On my part my most recent fave is God's Own Country (2017), I thought it was very well done. It wasn't just some vapid, gay rom-com. My all time fave is The Boys in the Band (1970), it's obviously very dated, but it depicts the self-hatred that unfortunately some gay men still harbor even nowadays. And then there's Love! Valor! Compassion! (1997), it's both fun as well as sad. And then there's a whole bunch of movies that deal with the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s, Longtime Companion (1989) is just one of them.

I'm not quite sure about my favourites - maybe Loev really is my top favourite so far. I haven't seen any of those you name! But I think I definitely have to see God's Own Country. There's a German movie, Freier Fall (Free Fall), which has a very conservative story, but I really liked what the actors made of it.

 

[Laplaz]

Some movies I (re)watched recently:
Princess Mononoke (1997) - masterpiece by Miyazaki, and probably one of the best animated movies ever. The music, the characters, the raw nature, everything is perfect.
Closer (2004) - decent dramedy with some stunning performances, inespecially by Natalie Portman.
Phantom Thread (2017) - P. T. Anderson's best in my opinion, with an incredible Daniel Day-Lewis. Masterpiece.
Lost Highway (1997) - or you love Lynch or you hate him. Well, I love him. One of his finest works with a great soundtrack!