[subego]

Becket

Dipping into the archives. Shit history, but epic-tier drama. O’Toole eats every inch of scenery… twice.

[subego]

Unfrosted

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World about breakfast cereal made by Hanna-Barbera. The movie aspect is secondary. I enjoyed it. My dad felt it was too “try-hard”. We both laughed. There are some genuinely good one-liners.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

That the Seinfeld one?

[subego]

Yessir!

[subego]

The Lion in Winter

Finished the O’Toole as Henry II opus. Holy shit this is a masterpiece. The banter between him and Hepburn is unparalleled. Also, best dysfunctional family Christmas movie ever.

[Thorzdad]

Yeah, it really is a masterpiece. Probably my favorite O’Toole movie.

[andi*pandi]

Worth putting on the list!

[Doc HM]

Originally Posted by subego 

Unfrosted

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World about breakfast cereal made by Hanna-Barbera. The movie aspect is secondary. I enjoyed it. My dad felt it was too “try-hard”. We both laughed. There are some genuinely good one-liners.

Hugh Grant is superb. He's become a national treasure and sublime at gently undermining his old image.
The wheel film was a pile of chaotic madness and all the better for it. Less try hard than say "Mortdecai" the Johnny Depp comedy that I do actually quite like.

[subego]

Example from about a year ago.

Originally Posted by subego 

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre

Very, very borderline. Doesn’t gel, except maybe a touch near the end. Chronically violates the rule of “show, don’t tell”. Lacks a lot of imagination. Worst Aubery Plaza performance I’ve ever seen, though she looks great.

With all that going against it, Hugh Grant hits a grand slam. The weak parts are worth it for him.





Barely

[Thorzdad]

Grant seems to be able to suss-out the appropriate level of give-a-fuck a film requires, and then nails it hard.

[subego]

Logan Lucky

Not crap, but should have been better. Surprisingly wholesome. Excellent hayseed performances.

[ghporter]

Lion in Winter is amazing. O’Toole is just as awe inspiring as he was in Lawrence of Arabia, in a totally different context. Kate is totally believable as a woman deeply in love with the man she also wants to oust as king. I was surprised to learn that Anthony Hopkins played Richard - that just slid past me with the awesomeness of the two leads.

I haven’t been disappointed by Hugh Grant.

[subego]

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Solid. Reacher is awesome.





Cavill’s beard gets 5 stars.

[subego]

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Zoomers die gruesomely.

[Waragainstsleep]

Civil War was not what I expected. I don't tend to do much research on films before I watch them these days because so few really warrant it and I didn't realise it was written by Alex Garland or perhaps my expectation would have been closer to what I got.
I'm now thinking I must have only half-paid attention to the trailer because I was expecting an SFX-laden, high-action flick with lots of fighting and explosion but maybe with a scathing commentary on how such a civil war is likely to unfold from where we are now. I assumed it would be dripping with the usual tropes of gung-ho-ness, glorification of war, patriotic silliness and sentimentality about how star spangled awesome America is, even when its tearing itself to shreds.

What I got was something that now feels like it was masquerading as a more thoughtful movie but as I think about it (the credits are literally still rolling as I type this), it feels devoid of any real substance or insight. Theres no political commentary I can detect anywhere, key parts feel predictable and unoriginal.
Visually it looks great, the performances are fine, every technical aspect of it is good except the story. Many details didn't make any sense to me. Actions taken, the lack of appropriate reactions to those actions, and there was no back story whatsoever so I wasn't even sure who I should be rooting for.
If there were an attempted secession, is there a world where California teams up with Texas to do it? I'm no expert but it seems unlikely to me. I can see wither of them doing it alone for very different reasons but not together.

I don't really know how to rate it. I'm always pleased to be surprised by a film but I can't say I was really impressed by this one. It feels a little pointless having seemed to promise something interesting and not delivered it.

[subego]

Was about to watch that but switched at the last second to…

Atlas

Train wreck from beginning to end, therefore never boring. Bonus entertainment: try to imagine just what the hell any of these people were thinking.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

I wasn't even sure who I should be rooting for.

Do you imagine this dilemma would remain were it California versus Texas?

[ShortcutToMoncton]

You know, I watched Civil War last night too. It’s agree with you overall; it doesn’t feel there’s much in the way of useful political or social commentary. Having said that, it still manages to be a surprisingly good movie. The story has a road-trip quality and I never managed to lose interest.

After some thought, I kind of feel it’s more just like a style of documentary where you just follow along with some people in a war zone for a bit and see how they’re doing.

Edit: also, great Jesse Plemons scene (just like all Jesse Plemons scenes). I think I’d give it

[subego]

Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad)

In Rio, there’s a special forces Army detachment tasked with policing the favelas. This turns out as horrific as you’d expect.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Sounds like a great City of God pairing (or not)

[subego]

Yeah… I'll put that on the list, but definitely want to pace it. Tropa de Elite has a sequel, which I’m not in the biggest rush to see.

[Brien]

I watched Madame Web. It's not "worst movie ever" bad but... definitely not a re-watch-er.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

I’ll tell you what, Fall Guy is shockingly enjoyable. In a winking self-aware type of way that incorporates every predictable plot point you can think of but still makes you snicker gleefully when it happens.

Not my normal type of movie at all, but I’ll go so far to give it a completely silly

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by subego 

Do you imagine this dilemma would remain were it California versus Texas?

I have to believe that was an intentional choice - as soon as you make it about the current political parties and dividing lines, you lose half your audience.

[andi*pandi]

65
Adam driver as a non-earthling whose spaceship gets stranded on prehistoric earth. I expected more Land of the Lost but it takes the serious path. Dinosaurs are sneaky. People fall in pits.

Fun, not bad, although I did yell at the screen a few times because for a smart developed higher being poor adam does not seem to know that he should be cautious on an alien planet. The teenage sidekick, eh.

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by subego 

Do you imagine this dilemma would remain were it California versus Texas?

I just wasn't sure who the makers wanted me to root for. I guess they didn't, but was I supposed to be happy with the winner? I don't even remember which side it was.

[subego]

Layer Cake

I’m late to the party. Really good. Drags in a few places, but never runs out of twists. Incredibly convoluted plot which I’m not sure I entirely followed. The important bits were clear enough though.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

I’ll tell you what, Fall Guy is shockingly enjoyable. In a winking self-aware type of way that incorporates every predictable plot point you can think of but still makes you snicker gleefully when it happens.

Not my normal type of movie at all, but I’ll go so far to give it a completely silly

I’ll have to watch that one. I liked the TV series “The Fall Guy” with Lee Majors, as well as the 1980 movie “The Stunt Man” (with Peter O’Toole!), so this one should be fun.

[subego]

Civil War

It’s the Wizard of Oz.

[subego]

I should mention the Scarecrow Brazilian in Civil War is the lead in Tropa de Elite

[subego]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

I just wasn't sure who the makers wanted me to root for.

My favorite scene in the movie, the sniper duel, answers this question.


Edit: more accurately, for me, that scene satisfactorily answered the question.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Really reminded me of the desert sniper scene in Hurt Locker

[Brien]

Originally Posted by subego 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Solid. Reacher is awesome.





Cavill’s beard gets 5 stars.

It's even more awesome learning everything that Ian Fleming and Christopher Lee were up to in WWII. Cue the story about Lee telling Peter Jackson not to question how he knows what it sounds like to be stabbed in the back.

[subego]

Hit Man

Eh… a bit all over the place. Feels very cheaply produced. Excellent performances across the board. Retta especially just kills it in every scene. Does a very good job of burying plot bombs that explode just as things start to get dull. I don't regret watching it, but I wouldn’t exactly recommend it. We picked this over Polanski’s Repulsion. I’m sure this movie was more fun.

[subego]

Gallipoli

Not really what I was expecting. Would have been more aptly named Before Gallipoli. Synthesizer music was a huge mistake.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by subego 

Hit Man

Eh… a bit all over the place. Feels very cheaply produced. Excellent performances across the board. Retta especially just kills it in every scene. Does a very good job of burying plot bombs that explode just as things start to get dull. I don't regret watching it, but I wouldn’t exactly recommend it. We picked this over Polanski’s Repulsion. I’m sure this movie was more fun.

Agreed. This one is an interesting comparison to Fall Guy. Both are a bit self-mocking with plot lines you can see coming a mile away. I thought Fall Guy worked a little better.

[andi*pandi]

Polite Society
A sister uses martial arts to save her sister from an impending marriage. Smart, funny, a little over the top, but FUN.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825746..._nm_3_q_polite


Borrowed A Lion in Winter and convinced kid to watch with me. I had seen it long ago but only recalled some witty banter. The British monarchy makes Game of Thrones tame.

[subego]

Oh, good! My dad owned it when I was a kid, and I never watched it because I thought it was an “old fogie” movie. Totally regret that now.

[subego]

Spectre

Not bad, but felt a little meandering. Waltz was underutilized. Never topped Mexico City.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Yeah, you know…..Skyfall would easily be one of my top-10 movies of all time; I remember Spectre being a disappointment and recently I heard some podcaster say that it was bad. So I rewatched it too. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to — some of the set pieces like Mexico, that mountain….the last truly still-smokeshow Monica Bellucci? Definitely a bit all over the place, but 3.5 sounds pretty bang on.

[subego]

Magic

Ventriloquist dummy horror thriller from 1978 with Anthony Hopkins and Ann Margret… who gets naked.

Utterly batshit.







Edit:

[ghporter]

I think this was the first film I saw Hopkins as a major player in. I was very impressed by the film - and not just because Ann-Margret is in it and gets naked.

The batshit that is “ventriloquist and dummy relationship issues” is really well done, and Hopkins sells it from the first frame.

[subego]

Completely.

The “five minute” scene is a masterpiece.

[subego]

Julius Caesar

My dad put it well… “this is the best possible version of this MGM was capable of making”. Caesar kinda blows. Gielgud overacts, but is entertaining. The score is goofy. Brando and Mason are superlative, but Brando can’t stop his sinuses from sneaking in.

I read the play in freshman high school English, and I can see in hindsight it’s a perfect introduction to Shakespeare. It’s easier to pick up the gist than the other works of his I’m familiar with. It’s also chock-full of meta and sarcasm.

[subego]

Steambath

One of my dad’s faves from back in the day. Apparently he had only seen an edited version so the (very tame by today’s standards) nudity took him by surprise. Some off-color jokes that would be considered “problematic” now.

The unfortunate downside is Bill Bixby in the lead. He doesn’t have the range this role needs.

[subego]

The Magnificent Seven

Never saw the original, but have of course seen Seven Samurai. I enjoyed it a lot, but it sorta didn’t feel like a western. I can’t put my finger on why.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by subego 

Steambath

One of my dad’s faves from back in the day. Apparently he had only seen an edited version so the (very tame by today’s standards) nudity took him by surprise. Some off-color jokes that would be considered “problematic” now.

The unfortunate downside is Bill Bixby in the lead. He doesn’t have the range this role needs.

This was the version shown on PBS way back in the day (‘73-‘74), right? My PBS station was one of the few that carried it (though shown at some oddball “no one will be watching” hour. I happened to actually watch it back then. My dad happened to walk through the tv room when Valerie Perrine got naked. It was one of our first silent “just don’t tell your mom” moments

[subego]

I got a copy on DVD, but it’s the same production they showed on PBS.

I’m a little surprised my dad originally saw a cut version. Within 10 years our PBS was allowing “European TV” grade nudity during safe-harbor.


It was made into a TV show in the 80s on Showtime, which I’m downloading now.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by subego 

I’m a little surprised my dad originally saw a cut version. Within 10 years our PBS was allowing “European TV” grade nudity during safe-harbor.

As I understand it, only a tiny number of stations (20? 24?) showed the initial broadcast of it. I guess the Indy station was one of them. PBS edited-out the naughty bits, and some language, and re-aired it sometime later. That's probably the one your dad saw.

[subego]

Did the Indy station use the phrase “younger and more sensitive viewers” in their warnings for this kind of content?