My understanding is there were originally supposed to be two Hobbit films, but in what has become a recurring theme, the studio realized it could make more money by inserting lengthy fluff scenes, thus padding the runtime to add a 3rd movie. There are some fan edits out there that cut it down to essentially two long films (instead of 3 longish films) or even a single very long film by exorcising the fluff, such as the romantic subplot, everything with Legolas, and perhaps the Gandalf side quest being prime targets. The barrel ride and the rock monster death match? Gone. No bearing on the plot whatsoever, just padding.
It is a great cast, but think Bruce Wayne, not Hank Pym.
Was this deliberate? Yes, Michael Keaton’s real name is Michael Douglas. Were you joking about this or trying to make an obscure reference or just making a strange mistake?
The Whole Truth (Netflix) - courtroom dramas are tired for me and Keanu Reeves is mediocre at best as an actor, but I like him as a person and so at least want to like the movies he stars in. Regardless, this is a diamond in the rough. I enjoyed it and I think you will too.
Army of the Dead (Netflix)
This is another theatrical movie that played one weekend and is now immediately on streaming. Zack Snyder directed it and he…well, he just doesn’t have a lot of great movies in him. This movies is 142 minutes long and it is obviously a 90-100 minute movie that has not yet been properly edited for time. Whole scenes could have been removed and vastly improved the movie.
I’d say this movie has 30-40 minutes of good zombie action in it and nearly two hours of bad dialogue and boring situations.
Is it terrible? No, but it is almost terrible. Just kind of OK or somewhat bad.
I still believe Watchmen is an excellent movie, but I don’t know if he has any real quality movies left in him.
Army of the Dead
The opening is a bit of a ripoff of the beginning of Zombieland, minus Metallica music.
The rest of the movie plays out like a live action version of the game Left 4 Dead.
With a Boss level zombie and everything.
Too slow, too often.
But I love Dave Bautista and Tig Notaro.
Body Double
This is a film of obsession, mystery and sexuality. It is definitely a film of the 80s. This is DePalma trying to do Hitchcock and succeeding to a degree. Craig Wasson is well cast as an unemployed and vulnerable actor. Deborah Shelton is the object of his obsession. She is beautiful but not much of an actress. Melanie Griffith appears in the last 1/3 of the film as a porno star.
This is recommended more for film buffs who dont need an explanation for everything. Its beautifully photographed in swanky 80s LA locations including the
The Gift (2015)
Awesome psychological thriller.
Indeed way overlong and slow. Tig did a great job since she filmed none of the movie with the cast. Her part was entirely filmed alone after the movie was done because they had to remove an actor who had sexual abuse claims.
She likes to point out that she has never met Dave Bautista.
Then again, I heard Jodie Foster on Graham Norton saying that she has almost never met or had a conversation with Anthony Hopkins. Both of their most famous movie is Silence of the Lambs, but they barely appear together in the movie and not all their dialogue was filmed with them in the same room. She’s met him, but they do not know each other very much at all.
I should also point out that Tig is, at least from my observation, very little like the character she got to play. I watched the movie “Tig” about her cancer, other losses, and her adoption attempt and she is not someone I would think is an action star.
She needs a John Wick like movie.
Huh, interesting. Now I kinda wanna re-watch it because I didn’t notice anything off.
They did a great job. Noticeable only if you know about it. A few “he’s” had to be re-recorded into “she’s”. A lot of one-shots of just Tig, but she is inserted very well into group shots as well.
I am so there for Tig Notaro, action star.
I am there for Tig Notaro anything.
The other day I saw Earth Girls Are Easy. It blows my mind that this fits into the timeline between The Fly and In Living Color. I would have pegged it as very early eighties. How did I never hear that Jim Carrey was in this? His particular “gifts” weren’t utilized here unfortunately. Overall it was even lamer than I had thought, though pretty to look at. Best parts, Geena Davis’ tits and Julie Brown’s performance of 'Cause I’m A Blonde.
Last night I watched The Cabin In the Woods. I had seen it once before and liked it; last night I decided it’s one of my favorite horror movies ever.
Team it up with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil and you’ve got a perfect movie night.
I’ll keep an eye out for it. 
It was unintentional.
Last night I watched “A Face in the Crowd” (1957) where Andy Griffith as Arkansas singer Lonesome Rhodes rises to almost being the power behind the President. This isn’t Sheriff Andy - it is great acting in Griffith’s first movie. In one incredible scene Rhodes instructs a senator running for president on how to have a better TV presence. This is 3 years before the Kennedy Nixon debates, remember.
Directed by Elia Kazan, written by Budd Schulberg (same as On the Waterfront.)
The Times review knocked it a bit because Bosley Crowther didn’t believe that the American public wouldn’t ever blindly follow a popular TV figure.
Heh. It’s funny that while Ruby Rose is so desperately (and unsuccessfully) trying to fill the “female action star” niche, it’s the older women that seem to be a more natural fit. For example, despite The Hitman’s Bodyguard being basically “Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson wisecrack and shoot things for two hours”, I’m sorely tempted to watch the sequel just to see Salma Hayek wisecracking and shooting things.
As I’ve noted before, when they showed the movie on Comedy Central (which must have been in the early 1990s, pre-Ace Ventura) announcer Penn Jillette pointed out the features of the movie, including Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis, but not mentioning Jim Carrey (or Damon Wayans, for that matter). Carrey had been in several movies prior to this, and even starred in his own prime-time TV series (The Duck Factory), but he hadn’t really registered in the public’s consciousness.
In 1994 Carrey made it big with Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber, and had graduated to being Recognized.