I didn’t see Murder by Death but agree 100% regarding Clue and since you share my opinion about it, I’d guess you are right about the other one.
Well said, and I agree.
Interesting. Well, I find it gross, kind of like that last scene in A Christmas Story…but different people like different things.
I have not seen that movie in 25+ years. I do remember the “Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra” song at the Chinese restaurant and how I feel like that is totally inappropriate today. I lived in China and they can say “La” fine. Even if they can’t, it’s a poor taste joke.
Is that the final scene?
Yeah, that’s the one I meant, but in fact there might be a couple of scenes after it…I haven’t seen it in at least a decade. But yes, that one.
I was surprised to see this from you as I generally agree with many of your movie comments and recommendations. The reality is that they’re quite different kinds of movies whose critical receptions were about the same, so naturally some might prefer one over the other. I never expected my mention of the two in the same post to become controversial.
If you look at critics’ assessments of the two movies over the years, they have fairly similar ratings, with Murder by Death tending to be rated a bit higher, undoubtedly helped by the excellent script and stellar cast. Of course we all sometimes disagree with critics – and I personally think MbD has tended to be underrated – but calling a rather unexceptional screwball comedy “one of the greatest comedy movies of all time” and the other one “lame” just seems way, way over the top.
One critic that I’ve always had great respect for was the late, great Roger Ebert. If he ever reviewed MbD I can’t find it, but he did review Clue, and gave it a mere two-star rating, saying this about it:
Since none of these events have the slightest significance, the filmmakers have attempted to make “Clue” into a screwball comedy, with lots of throwaway gags and one liners. Some of these moments of comedy are funny. Most are not. The cast looks promising (familiar faces include Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Madeline Kahn and the wonderfully bouncy Colleen Camp), but the screenplay is so very, very thin that they spend most of their time looking frustrated, as if they’d just been cut off right before they were about to say something interesting.
Clue movie review & film summary (1985) | Roger Ebert
Loved Roger, even interacted with him online a few times.
He was dead wrong on Clue.
Oppenheimer
Recommended…but not hugely so.
I learned a heck of a lot about Oppenheimer and the development of the bomb and the aftermath in his life years later. I don’t know that all of this added up to a completely amazing or terrific movie.
Just a good movie, even at times a really good one. But also one that doesn’t quite convince me it needed to be the full 3-hour movie it was. I can’t put my finger on it, but I did find certain segments of it rather boring.
Anyway, great performances from everyone, including the most minor roles. I think Robert Downey Jr was probably the best performance in the movie. I was stunned to see him as what really was the villain role and he was great in it.
I liked the movie, but I prefer Nolan when he is doing Presitge, Inception, Batman movies, and the like. I have been less impressed with Dunkirk and now Oppenheimer. Nice, but not my cup of tea.
Unlikely to be in my top 5 movies of 2023 at the end of the year.
I just got back from seeing Oppenheimer myself and I agree with the above. The first third of the movie I took a couple of mini-naps. The bomb development seemed rushed, but then it was only the second act, not the whole movie. I was riveted by the third act, the demonizing and ultimate vindication of Oppy had visions of Fauci floating through my head.
I don’t know about rushed, but the movie did come to life once the bomb was near being finished and I agree the ending was well made. It’s all dialogue and Nolan and his team did a good job editing it.
I watched Siren of the Sea last night. A 1911 short that I watched only because it supposedly starred Annette Kellermann “The Australian Mermaid”. I’m familiar with her because I wrote about her in my book Lost Wonderland. Most of her films don’t exist any more, at least not in their entirety. I picked up and watched Venus of the South Seas (1924), the DVD of which contained the remaining footage from Neptune’s Daughter. But I hadn’t heard about Siren iof the Sea bbefore.
I’m really disappointed. I have serious doubts about whetherr this is actually Kellermann. You see her in water so shallow that they’re clearly walking in it, not swimming. In other scenes the supposedly underwater scenes are obviously shot on dry land, and they’re only acting as if they’re underwater. I can’t see her face well enough to cionfirm that it’s her. She wears a very full gown. Kellermann was known for three things – her swimming, her diving, and her (then) scandalous form-fitting bathing suits. Why make a fil mwith her in it that doesn’t show her diving, or really swimming, or wearing a form-fitting outfit? They might as well get someone else, and I suspect they did.
Websites say that this is the first mermaid movie to show a mermnaid with a tail. One site even has this picture
This film DOESN’T show a mermaid with a tail, and that still isn’t from the film. If you want to see it, here it is in its entirety (you’ll have to put the halves back together. The system here won’t let me post complete YouTube links):
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=NtQWZMY-8vo
Here’s more footage of her. A lot of people think that she appeared nude in one film. It’s possible, but the jury’s still out. A lot of period actresses wore sheer body stockings
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=KYi7Kbdesp0
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=aNw9Pnm8Ip8
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=ds7v4jdFZ3s
Put 'em in quotes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtQWZMY-8vo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYi7Kbdesp0
My latest five:
The 39 Steps
Classic B&W Hitchcock thriller - great plot, dialogue, cast, settings, etc. One of those movies where I spot something new just about every time. There’s one major plot hole, I’ve always thought, but the movie’s so good I’m willing to overlook it.
Dolphins
An uplifting, beautiful McGillivray Freeman film, originally made for IMAX.
Van Gogh: Brush with Genius
Likewise, obviously on a very different topic. Worth a look for any fan of the extraordinarily talented but doomed artist.
The Big Boss
1971 Hong Kong martial arts film, with Bruce Lee in his first lead role. Goofy plot and absolutely terrible acting, but some good fight scenes.
The In-Laws
A very, very funny 1979 slapstick comedy with Peter Falk as a devil-may-care, maybe-retired CIA agent and Alan Arkin as the uptight dentist dad of Falk’s son’s fiancee. Zany hijinks ensue. James Hong’s in-flight safety lecture, given entirely in Mandarin Chinese, is alone worth the price of admission.
And was completely improvised.
As I said earlier to another poster, I love tips like this, thank you. The first and the last particularly interest me. FYI for anyone else, 39 Steps is an early Hitchcock from 1935, not to be confused with a 1959 film of the same name which looks to be a remake (not Hitchcock).
Asteroid City has been mentioned a few times. I was looking forward to it and finally saw it. Well, actually, saw the first half about three days ago and have been meaning to get back to it but still haven’t. I’ve been postponing writing about it until I gave it a full viewing but it occurs to me that the fact that I haven’t got back to it in three days says a lot.
It was rather entertaining in its pure quirkiness, but I was hoping for something more of the caliber of Grand Budapest Hotel or Moonrise Kingdom. Not sure I’m a fan of films where there’s no coherent story line and weird things happen for no discernible reason. If I change my mind after seeing the second half I’ll post an update but I kinda doubt that will be necessary.
FTR, I like checking critics’ ratings and viewer ratings on IMDb out of curiosity even if I frequently disagree with them. With that in mind, I see that IMDb rates 11 of Wes Anderson’s films and Asteroid City is either second last or dead last, depending on which rating numbers you use. Grand Budapest Hotel is #1. From among Anderson’s movies that I’ve seen, I agree with that assessment.
Not rushed, but compacted, but then I was viewing through a Fat Man and Little Boy lens - I’ve seen that movie a dozen times.
One of my favorite movies, that I hadn’t seen in forever, and I’m shocked it’s actually streaming because I was sure I was the only one who’d ever seen it, but I digress …
The Idolmaker (1980) - starring Ray Sharkey as the eponymous raconteur. It’s based, loosely, on the guy that discovered Fabian and Frankie Avalon. Peter Gallahger stars in an early role as the ersatz Fabian character. Great tunes, though they are way out of time - the film is suppose to take place in the late 50’s or early 60’s but all the songs are basically 80’s rock songs. Great performances, both acting and singing, and just … the live performance scenes are top notch.
Recommended. It’s on either Starz or Showtime, I can’t remember which.
Talk to Me(in theaters) - This is another film that I knew nothing about and really just went to see to occupy myself during my open house. What a pleasant surprise. The premise is nothing new; teens get up to metaphysical shenanigans and terror ensues. The execution however is better than most, starting with 'the mystical object" which in this case is a severed, embalmed hand(and quite a bit of forearm). Sophia Wilde is really compelling in the lead. If she does something ill-advised, you worry for her as opposed to thinking her stupid. I also especially enjoyed seeing an Australian production. Scary stories are always scarier when set in a place that is familiar yet completely unfamiliar.
I’d read a couple of reviews before and several after and they mentioned relentless and graphic violence, and more than one said “things happen fast”. That wasn’t my experience. I hate that kind of “horror” and was kind of dreading that aspect but it wasn’t like that. Maybe it’s because I had preconceived fear but I was consciously aware of / grateful for it “not being too bad”.
I’m very partial to seeing everything in the theater, but there’s nothing here that demands a theater experience. I recommend at least putting it on your watch list.
I do warn folks who have a hard time with scenes involving animals, a scene early in the film shows the main characters hitting a kangaroo with the car on the highway. We see him bloodied but still alive and whimpering. More heart wrenching than gory..
Annihilation (Netflix, 2018) The blurb:
Lena, a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X – a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscapes and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity.
Meh, C grade. The acting was fine and the story had potential, but nothing of consequence happened and this event isn’t explored as much as used as a scenery backdrop. Mediocre effort in general, I guess watch this if you’re in desperate need of a sci-fi/horror flick but don’t need a good one.