I was going to see The Menu this morning, but I got to the theater a bit earlier than expected (rode my bike in, left myself plenty of time to get there—more than I needed as it happened), and it just worked out that Glass Onion (the Knives Out successor) was about to start, so I went in for that instead.
Overall impression… really good. Lots of fun. The only criticism I would offer is that the first act (the first 30 minutes or so, I would wager) was a bit difficult to get through. Because I really, really hated the rich people, and I hated getting to know them while waiting for something to actually happen. And I figured that was kind of the point, it just went on… a bit long. Contrast against the first film, Knives Out, where at least the old man and the nurse weren’t detestable from the outset and all the characters were already together for the most part, having at least mildly amusing banter between them: the opening to the latest film was much less… punchy? More meandering, and in a bad way? IDK, just the opposite of “tight” storytelling is what I mean to say.
But once all the pieces were in place and things actually started happening? Great. Solid. No regrets. Would watch again (I mean, I wouldn’t pay to see it in theaters again, having already seen it once, but would definitely be pleased to catch it on cable or streaming for a re-watch).
I enjoyed it. I also really wanted to eat at an Automat. I had a possible trip to NYC when I was 18, but my mom put the kibosh on it. This was about the time it was getting to be a dangerous city, so I can understand it. But one of the things I most wanted to do when I went was eat in an automat.
I have not seen The Automat documentary but I have a story about one of the last ones. Around 1986-7, I came down to Manhattan from the Albany area for a college journalism convention. One afternoon we wanted to go for a real New York experience for lunch so we went to one of the last Automats. As we were sitting there eating, we noticed twenty or thirty Japanese men and women entering, each with a gold sport coat and each with the stereotypical camera around their necks. We figured out that this was a coach busload of Japanese Century 21 agents (this is an American real estate company whose uniform at the time was a gold sport coat) also looking for a true NYC experience.
Another Doris Day movie, That Touch of Mink, from 1962. There was hardly a moment of this film that didn’t make me want to puke. However, Audrey Meadows was fun, and John Astin was adorable, though horribly miscast.
That’s the one with Cary Grant, right? Never saw that one. Most of her movies in the 1960s were formulaic romcoms that look hopelessly dated today. However, I’ve always enjoyed “Send Me No Flowers,” with especially funny turns from Tony Randall and Paul Lynde.
It’s a hard movie to watch, and hard to find the right words to describe it. Very powerful, very well-acted, and deeply disturbing, even though the actual violence was off-screen. It’s a nightmarish glimpse into the ugliest imaginable ramifications of racist hate.
In pretty much the opposite genre, Triangle of Sadness is a fun and funny satire mercilessly lampooning the idle rich. Often over the top, but always fun. Unusual and not for everyone, but it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year. It was my first introduction to Swedish director Ruben Östlund, and his first English-language film. I liked it enough that I want to watch The Square next, which is apparently a satire with a similar theme. Swedish with English subs, though.
Yes. It does start off slow and a bit cryptic, but things definitely start happening. Note that I did say it was an unusual film and not for everyone!
Charlbi Dean died shortly after the filming, at the age of 32, apparently of a lung infection exacerbated by her spleen having been damaged in a serious car accident years ago. Very sad indeed.
Interview with Östlund at the Toronto International Film Festival about the death of Charlbi Dean (warning: the link contains spoilers – the film has a number of twists and surprises!):
I was in contact with her a few days before, and all of us, the ensemble, were planning to go together to Toronto and to the different premieres. And basically I was woken up by a text … first you didn’t believe it was a hundred-percent true, and it took many hours before I could confirm [it was]. Of course then the most sad thing is Charlbi was a great colleague. She was a team player, she was lifting up everybody around her, and you could really feel that on set. She was looking forward so much for the premiere of the film in the States or in Canada. And we had a great time in Cannes. It was like a feeling of this was her time, and maybe a new direction of her career.
Just watched Savage (the 2018 movie of that title) on UK TV. I had high hopes for it but was disappointed. It’s extremely familiar plotting with a poor script and bad editing. Being generous it’s about average.
However I watched with some interest. It’s a Chinese film (made in China and set in China with a Chinese cast and crew) but other than the Chinese language (subtitled) it seemed to me very Hollywood. There is very little that struck me as Chinese:
Western plot (troubled cop going after criminals who killed his partner), mainly western style cars and snowmobiles, mainly western clothing… Even finished with a generic (but Chinese language) Soft Rock guitar ballad.
My guess is the film was deliberately aping Hollywood films to provide a domestic alternative.
Although probably I’m being unintentionally racist. Set in a remote part of China in a decaying former lumber town - In the real China would that have had such a Westernised lifestyle? More worldly Dopers can educate me.
The Fabelmans Stephen Spielberg has called it his $50 million therapy session, as he works through the issues of his parents’ divorce. It’s that, but it’s also a love letter to the magic of filmmaking (and specifically the power of the editor to shape the story) Michelle Williams will undoubtedly get an Oscar nomination. Paul Dano and Seth Rogen (unusual casting) are also great. David Lynch has a cameo as a film director - I will say no more, but his scene may be my favorite of the whole film.
Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery
In the theatre yesterday for the matinee.
It’s been years, Spider-Man into the spider-verse was the last one I saw.
They upgraded the theatre, yes! Wide aisles, easy in and out in the dark and thickly padded reclining and heated seats with a moveable tray. Excellent!
We ordered tix online, good thing as the ticket counters were darkened and closed and no one checked us going in. Somehow they must know you’re there.
Movie was great! I haven’t seen the first mystery but immediately the audience was engaged and laughing so maybe I missed some inside jokes. I’d like to catch the first one.
I loved Knives Out. Great cast and a lot of fun. If you’re into architectural porn, the murder vic’s house is awesome. Daniel Craig is all kinds of fun.
You know a movie I wish could have been made? A film directed by Spielberg, with Charlton Heston in the cast. Heston mentioned in his autobiography how he’d never worked for Spielberg, but compared him to Cecil B. DeMille, saying they both had their fingers on the pulse of what Americans wanted to see in the movies. And Spielberg, in 1966, repeatedly snuck onto the set of a movie Heston was making, and when they realized he was not interfering, let him stay.
We watched David Lynch’s “What did Jack do?” for the third time, and then for the first time since 1986, I re-watched “Blue Velvet“, this time with my son. I have a million thoughts about that movie, some good, and some bad, but on the whole it’s still really remarkable.