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#1201
6th August 2016, 12:32 PM
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Just watched the new The Little Prince released on Netflix.
It might be the best movie of the year. Everyone should watch it. It's beautiful. Very faithful to the spirit of the book but very modern. Reminded me of a Miyazaki film in the approach to story pace and tone. The animation was gorgeous. It was just amazing. 
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#1202
7th August 2016, 09:49 AM
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I decided to skip Suicide Squad based on the reviews,* so I went to the library and borrowed Deadpool. Easily the best movie I've seen all year. Ryan Reynolds was terrific, and I liked that the story was told through a mixture of current action, flashbacks, and fourth wall-breaking. It kept the story moving at a good pace.
I was surprised that the movie wasn't more explicit. I'd expected some really offensive content based on all the warnings about violence and graphic nudity, but it was more like a live-action episode of Archer. * One of my favorite YouTube reviewers said that it's fine for a matinee or a rental, but you shouldn't pay full price to see it. I'll get the DVD from the library when it's available.
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#1203
8th August 2016, 01:01 PM
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I watched 2013's Pacific Rim over the weekend.
How I came to watch it is a bit unusual. I once found a terrifically drawn cartoon of Sherlock on the web, and when I followed it to its source, found the blog of a talented woman cartoonist. I looked at her drawings and saw that she was obsessed by a character in the movie Pacific Rim, that character being Herman Gottlieb as played by Burn Gorman. She drew innumerable and wonderful pictures of "Herm", and I'd return to her blog every few weeks to see the newest renditions. So long story short, her blog made me interested in this movie and I just watched it. It was a wonderful roller coaster of a movie, strongly influenced by comic books, Godzilla and Transformer movies, and bomber pilot movies. It's directed by Guillermo del Toro, and has amazing CGI that enhances the story rather than overwhelming it. And yes, Burn Gorman was very good but the character of Newton Geiszler was even better. And no one on earth wears a uniform suit better than Idris Elba. Rowr.
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#1204
8th August 2016, 04:15 PM
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you convinced me, I ordered it from a nearby library.
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#1205
12th August 2016, 09:21 AM
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The Verdict: Netflix streaming. Five Oscar nominations, two of them winning (Best Picture* and Best actor for Paul Newman). A down on his luck lawyer is given a slam dunk malpractice case if he chooses to settle. Instead he goes to court and everything falls apart. Fine performances by Newman, Charlotte Rampling, James Mason and Jack Warden among others. In fact, I don't much care for Lindsay Crouse and she was terrific in this. Milo O'Shea as the judge in the case; years later he would play another cranky character, a SCOTUS justice in "The West Wing" talking to Jed Bartlet ("I wanted a Democrat and instead I got you.") An early role for character actor James Handy. The plot is a bit predictable despite the plot twist around an hour and a half in. Still, well worth watching even after thirty plus years.
*Hey, these days doesn't Best Picture go to the director? This time it went to the producers.
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#1206
12th August 2016, 11:08 AM
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#1207
12th August 2016, 11:48 AM
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#1208
12th August 2016, 12:04 PM
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#1209
14th August 2016, 02:05 PM
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Lucky Number Slevin: Netflix by mail. One of those self-consciously styled hard bitten flicks where a lot of people get killed (think "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead") that probably never would have been made until Tarantino came along. Not that that's a bad thing. In this case a guy shows up in town, and in a case of mistaken identity finds himself in trouble with two warring crime bosses. Josh Hartnett (Ethan from "Penny Dreadful), Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci. Speaking of Tarantino, Lucy Liu is in this and could not be more different from O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill; she is cute and bouncy and it is worth watching this just to see her eat spaghetti. If you get the DVD, the deleted scenes are definitely worth seeing, especially the one with Kingsley and Freeman.
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#1210
14th August 2016, 02:12 PM
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Went to see the remake of Pete's Dragon . It was ok. The kids were good, the cgi was great. The story... Didn't quite make sense. As in, it doesn't make any sense at all if you think about it even a little, but makes enough sense if you turn off your brain that you can follow it.
Still it was fun and my 6 year old loved it.
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#1211
15th August 2016, 02:33 PM
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I watched 2015's Mr. Holmes last night. It's about Sherlock Holmes in his retirement to bee-keeping in the English countryside, and his trying to remember his last case and how he's dealing with his housekeeper and her son. When I first saw Ian McKellan, I thought he had aged faster than I had expected. Then I realized that it was just his good acting, together with some makeup to add age spots and spider veins. A flashback to a younger Holmes showed him hale and quick-witted as ever.
It was a bit depressing, as some of the subject matter was about dementia, but the acting was excellent. The actor who played the young boy was very good.
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#1212
17th August 2016, 05:59 AM
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I saw Jason Bourne yesterday, I enjoyed it, but even having seen the first three recently, there were times I didn't know what the hell was going on. Honestly, the property has consistently declined, to my fresh eye. The Bourne Identity was the best. I like the direction the story arc is taking, even though it's a blatant set up for a franchise. Is Jason Bourne the 21st century's James Bond?
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#1213
28th August 2016, 09:25 AM
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Diva: Netflix by mail. This was quite a hit in Harvard Square when it came out 35 years ago. A French film about a young letter carrier who secretly records an opera recital; she has an aversion to recordings because she believes in the immediacy of the performance. Two men in the recording industry are bent on obtaining the recording from him. He also comes in possession of another recording of a criminal nature, so some very nasty types are out to get him as well. French comic actor Dominique Pinon (the clones in "The City of Lost Children") as a stone cold killer. This one has aged a little better than some of the independent cult films of that era. I really liked it at the time and saw it a few times, and I'm not sorry to see it again, but it doesn't have quite the cachet that it once did. However, it was the beginning of my discovery that opera music, as Mark Twain once said, is not as bad as it sounds.
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#1214
30th August 2016, 11:35 AM
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#1216
31st August 2016, 08:22 AM
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The Tao of Steve: Netflix by mail. I really got to like Donal Logue after watching "Life" and "Terriers", so this ended up in my queue. A quirk little indie... romcom? about a guy without direction aimlessly cruising through life and sleeping with every woman he meets. Very much a friends and family production; other than Logue and his film best friend Rick, the other actors/director/writer seem to have less than a half dozen credits on their IMDB pages. Nice enough, worth watching if it comes to a TV near you. Logue has lost some serious weight since this was filmed.
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#1217
31st August 2016, 09:47 AM
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Last night I watched Brooklyn, about an Irish girl who comes to the US in the 50's. It's the most pleasant, old-fashioned movie I've seen in years. Except for one Irish harridan -- gotta have a witchy character for people to hate -- everyone was nice to each other, helpful, kind, etc. And Saorise Ronan (sp?) who played the lead -- she was riveting.
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#1218
31st August 2016, 09:55 AM
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#1219
12th September 2016, 11:08 AM
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The Bag Man: Netflix streaming. Once again, like in "Identity", John Cusack ends up in a motel in the middle of nowhere and a bunch of people end up dead. This time he is a hitman and a lot of people want to kill him. He is given a task by Robert DeNiro: There is a bag that he is to pick up but under no circumstances to look into, an enjoyable MacGuffin. I've been thinking for some time that DeNiro has been dialing it in for years, taking either goofy or generic roles, but he makes this character both intriguing and menacing. And this movie has one of the most striking actresses I have seen in awhile. A fair amount of blood, but if that doesn't turn you off then it's enjoyable enough popcorn fare.
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#1220
28th September 2016, 04:34 PM
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"Is That A Gun In Your Pocket?"
The movie with this name was supposed to have been released on September 16th and so far I still have not seen it on the schedule for my local movie theater. Are any of y'all here seeing it on the schedule for your local theaters? I am wanting to see it because one of my most favorite actors is in it, I love Matt Passmore SO much!!!  God bless you and him always!!! Holly
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#1221
4th October 2016, 06:32 PM
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I'm glad that I watched it. Sweet story.
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#1223
11th October 2016, 10:20 AM
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I rented and watched 2016's Chicken People, which is a documentary about the competitive world of poultry shows. Three breeders are profiled and followed as they prepare for and attend America's biggest poultry show.
I didn't watch the whole documentary, because the obsessive competitive thing started to wear thin and reminded me about what I dislike about dog shows. Mostly I just wanted to see the show chickens, and there were plenty of those to look at. Wow, there are some beautiful breeds. I think my favorite was the Silvered Wyandotte, which was the specialty of one of the profiled breeders. The beautiful snow-white ones with red combs were also gorgeous. They never did say (at least in the part I watched) what became of the show chickens after the competition was over.
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#1224
15th October 2016, 06:03 PM
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I just saw What Dreams May Come and I wanted to like it, god knows I like Robin Williams.
but the idea that suicide will send you to hell - eternal torment - is just too mean. I can't buy that. I did love the spotty dog and living in a painting. and flying, who doesn't like flying.
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#1226
27th November 2016, 07:20 AM
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SWMBO and I went to see Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them last night. It's a sort of prequel to Harry Potter, and it was written by J. K. Rowling. Apparently, Harry reads this book in the Potter series; this is the story of the author of the book some 70 years before that.
It was great. A few scenes where the camera work made me a little motion sick, but overall the special effects were outstanding. And some delightful throwaway funny lines as well. Watch for a cameo appearance by someone, but I won't say who. :-)
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#1228
28th November 2016, 05:27 AM
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I recently saw Poseidon the remake from 2006. it was nonstop action (seriously) and watching the ship get hit with the wave and later sink was cool but it was pretty much impossible to care about any of the characters. all we know is they were in peril!
you really can't compare it to the original where it was about the people, this was about the action. only worth watching if it was free.
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#1229
9th December 2016, 05:24 PM
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Sherman's March, a documentary released in 1985, filmed by Ross McElwee. He starts out with the notion of a doc based on Sherman's march across the South but ends up filming his encounters with several young women, interspersed with some scenes and discussion of a few Civil War landmarks.
It's a perfect movie via the DVR, in increments -- nothing exceptional happens so if it isn't actually boring, it's boring adjacent. It was an often fascinating look at the South and at what a segment of young women were doing in the early 1980's. Also watched The Trip to Bountiful which got Geraldine Page her Best Actress Oscar. I'm a big fan of road trips -- my own, books, and movies -- and I enjoyed every minute of this.
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#1230
27th December 2016, 06:07 AM
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I'm watching Catch Me If You Can, it's really a good movie. I think I need to read the book, now, I have lots of questions.
it's amazing how Leonardo DiCaprio manages to looks like a kid and an airline pilot - I've kind of underestimated what a good actor he is. with Tom Hanks, of course, it's no surprise. it's so sad how Frank just wants to make his father and mother proud and how he transfers his affection to the FBI agent chasing him. who, by the way, seems to lose a bunch of weight in the part where Frank is in prison but then gets out to go work for the FBI.  but you already know that's not going to work out because they start the film with showing him in some other prison (where?) the movie is a little like The Fugitive where you are both rooting for the criminal to escape and rooting for the law to catch him because both characters are so likable.
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#1231
27th December 2016, 06:54 AM
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Pride: Netflix by mail. Based on a true story. In 1984 Great Britain there wasn't a lot of common ground between the unions of Welsh coal miners and gay and lesbian activists, except a universal hatred of Maggie Thatcher. Some gay liberation members saw a chance to channel their anger over being marginalized by holding fund raisers for the coal miners. Not unexpectedly, it began rocky enough but then slowly warmed to a mutual respect for one another's cause. Okay, a bit corny at parts, and a painful reminder of the blind eye that governments paid to the AIDS/HIV crisis until it affected people who weren't gay or drug users, but generally a feel good movie. A solid cast of British character actors in supporting roles (Imelda Staunton, Bill Nighy, Paddy Considine). Sherlock's Andrew Scott and Russell Tovey (Moriarty and Baskerville's Henry Knight, respectively). Dominic West (yeah, that Dominic West) as one sexay sexay dancer. It doesn't look as if some of the main character actors have had a lot of opportunities since this movie was made, but it's a solid film to have on their resumes.
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#1232
27th December 2016, 07:06 AM
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#1233
27th December 2016, 07:25 AM
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Three versions of A Christmas Carol, Seymour Hicks, Reginald Owen, and Alastair Sim. The Sim version is my favorite, by far. He's so homely -- at one point I thought he'd have made a good Nosferatu -- and then the transformation made him almost handsome.
I tried to watch the musical version with Albert Finney, but I just don't like musicals, and IMHO the story is too dark to be a musical. Still haven't seen the George C. Scott version, which I've heard is quite good.
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#1234
27th December 2016, 01:24 PM
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Fun fact: The broadcast of this that used to air on local television stations was hosted by the wonderful Patrick Macnee (yep, "The Avengers' " John Steed). He'd give glowing reviews of the renowned British actors who made up the cast, but modestly refrained from ever mentioning that he played the young Jacob Marley.
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#1235
27th December 2016, 03:35 PM
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I didn't know until this viewing (thanks to Mankiewicz) that Mervyn Johns (Bob Cratchit) was Glynis Johns' father. Glynis Johns was a favorite of mine when I was growing up. She had such a voice -- husky and sweet. She had gorgeous eyes too. Girl crush here.
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#1236
27th December 2016, 09:06 PM
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Also, there are many who think Abagnale didn't actually get away with half the stuff he claimed he did in the book. Most famously, Abagnale claimed he escaped FBI custody on an airplane by going to the restroom, lifting the toilet and shimmying out the maintenance tube while the plane was taxiing to the gate. That stunt has pretty much been debunked by everyone who knows airplanes. But the book is also able to go into his scams in depth in a way the movie could not. For example, Abagnale was apparently one of the first to discover the "MICR scam". You know those weird numbers on the bottom of a check? The first 2 digits are the Federal Reserve District where the bank is based. The other numbers are the bank's routing number and your account number. Anyway, when banks first started printing that info on checks, Abagnale realized that few bank tellers had any idea what it was, and almost no one even looked at it when handling a check. So Abagnale would counterfeit a check from, say, the First National Bank of Dallas (Federal Reserve District 11). But he would buy a MICR printer and put "01" instead of "11" at the start of the MICR line. So the check would get routed to Federal Reserve District 1 (Boston). He'd then deposit the check at the Second National Bank of Dallas. After a few days - while the check was still in transit to or from Boston - the people at the Second National Bank of Dallas would simply assume the check was good, since they hadn't heard anything from the First National Bank of Dallas, which was in the same city. So Abagnale would invent a story about buying a car or house and closing his account... so they'd give him cash or a legitimate cashier's check. By the time the Second National Bank of Dallas realized the check was forged, Abagnale would be long gone. Quote:
FUN FACT: In the film, when Abagnale is arrested in France, the non-uniformed detective who puts his arm around Abagnale and leads him to the police car is played by... the real Frank Abagnale. Screencap, spoilered for size:
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#1237
28th December 2016, 06:58 AM
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#1238
2nd January 2017, 07:20 PM
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We just watched Trouble With The Curve. Man, what a sleeper that movie was. I cannot believe that we didn't go see it when it was in the theater. I wasn't all that jazzed up about it to start with, but man, this movie hooked me within five minutes.
We really enjoyed this!
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#1239
2nd January 2017, 09:47 PM
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heh. I was hanging out somewhere - can't remember if it was Reddit or the Dope - and the topic was whether Europeans like American sports movies. Someone mentioned "the recent Clint Eastwood film about the new guy who believes in Big Data, and the old fart, played by Eastwood, who actually scouts the players in person. There's a dramatic scene at the end where the Big Data guy thinks he's beaten Eastwood, but come to find out, the player they've been chasing can't hit a knuckleball". Someone pointed out that the player couldn't hit a curveball, hence the name of the movie. The poster insisted it was a knuckleball.
Some people's kids.
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#1240
3rd January 2017, 11:13 AM
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#1241
3rd January 2017, 11:15 AM
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And a late night find for us! I was prepared to doze off because I thought this was going to be a chick flick of some kind, and I owed SWMBO one. She wanted to watch The Intern, and I most assuredly did NOT doze off. De Niro and Hathaway really clicked together on this one.
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#1242
3rd January 2017, 11:21 AM
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And right after that I saw Rogue One, which OMGargldsfaefdsagjdaaARdafkAJEHF!!!!!!
     Of course, all the Star Wars fans have either already seen it or are planning to see it, while non-Star Wars fans ... what the hell is wrong with you? Anyways incredibly minor spoilers:
Really it's not much in the way of a spoiler, but I know some people really Durp on the subject so there you go.
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#1244
4th January 2017, 10:58 AM
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 We were surprised that the feeling of urgency was maintained even though we've all known since 1977 what the outcome would be.
A couple minor nitpicks:
As good as the CGI is, digital Cushing still had a very dead-eyed stare (unfortunate pun definitely not intended). I realized later it's because when a living person speaks to another, their eyes aren't staring frozen at the other person's eyes, their eyes are constantly scanning the other person's face and body language looking for subtle cues and expressions. While they animated the eyebrows and such really well, those tiny little eye vibrations were absent, so he looked inhuman, like a very well-rendered video game character. If his appearances had been quite brief, it probably would have been fine. The CGI droid on the other hand looked utterly amazing!
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#1245
4th January 2017, 01:13 PM
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 I loved the original films, but didn't watch them at all once they left cable in the 80s. I saw them again in the late 90s and they were... kinda cringeworthy. The special effects were still good, but the stories and dialogue - especially the dialogue - were terrible. As Harrison Ford allegedly said: “George, you can type this shit, but you sure can’t say it”. Specifically, I forgot how cheesy the ending of Jedi was, with the whole Ewok dance, and how blatant the marketing was: "kids like teddy bears... let's make the heroes these little forest-dwelling teddy bears! We'll make billions!" Then there were the prequels. Those steaming piles of shit actually made me hate George Lucas and everything to do with Star Wars. As I said, I loved the original films as a kid, and was mostly indifferent to people my age still liking them as adults. But the prequels made me think anyone sticking with Star Wars was a fucking moron. I hate to be one of those "George Lucas raped my childhood" people... but George Lucas raped my childhood. That's why I don't care about Star Wars, even if Lucas has nothing to do with it any more. I saw about half of The Force Awakens at a friend's house one night. It was fine I guess. It was the type of movie I wouldn't complain about watching on a transatlantic flight. But it didn't really "do" anything for me. Lucas made sure of that.
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#1246
5th January 2017, 10:19 AM
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I saw The Girl on the Train last night. Not great, but not awful either. It's one of those movies that tries to be "twisty" and "clever" but somehow ends up being totally predictable. Emily Blunt does a pretty good job, though: with a lesser actress, it might have been totally rotten. It's worth it as a stream or Redbox or HBO\Showtime viewing, but it's not nearly good enough to buy on DVD or Blu-Ray.
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#1248
7th January 2017, 11:16 AM
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I went to a 4.30 screening & it is summer over here. I honestly thought it was going to be dark when I came out. I've looked at the running time & it is "only" 2 hours 8 min. It felt much, much longer than that
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#1249
7th January 2017, 01:08 PM
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You Can Count On Me: Netflix by mail. Directed by Kenneth Lonnergan. I had commented here some time ago about his film "Margaret" which I had found bloated and not very compelling. So I skipped this earlier film even though it had garnered good reviews. However, with Lonnergan being discussed as an Oscar nomination for "Manchester By The Sea", I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo play siblings orphaned early in their life, damaged and stunted by the experience, who reunite after many years. Linney is a single mom, raising her son in her home town while Ruffalo is a drifter who couldn't get out of town fast enough. Quiet and thoughtful, not a lot of action but the actions and dialog seemed to ring true.
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#1250
7th January 2017, 01:21 PM
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Bizarre coincidence: the projector broke down 20 minutes before the end, just like what happened in-universe when Mia and Sebastian were at the movies. For a few seconds I thought the film was getting meta on us.
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