It’s a memorable scene, but not necessary. It hammers home the contest for the Cadialac and to keep their jobs, but the scene is a bit overdone. It almost doesn’t line up with the rest of the movie.
Baldwin did a great job, but I could sense it was added to the pre-existing play.
“Coffee’s for closers” is a memorable line, though.
Was the real estate company in the movie supposed to be more or less ripping people off? Selling them overpriced and useless land?
I don’t think that’s explicitly clear, but what’s very clear is that lying and basic dishonesty pervaded everything they did, so we can assume that they had no qualms about misrepresenting properties much like they misrepresented themselves.
I had forgotten about the quality performances in Mister Roberts, which also featured James Cagney and Henry Fonda.
Burn After Reading.
I had never seen this before. Coen brothers movies are hit or miss with me. I think this was more of a miss, although I didn’t hate it. Fantastic cast with John Malkovich, George Clooney, (a surprisingly young-looking Brad Pitt), Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and others. Some funny moments.
I guess, in the end, I didn’t get the point of the movie. It never really went anywhere. The plot with the memoir never developed into anything.
For me, it was more about the ride than the destination.
Paraphrasing dialogue between Simmons’ character and a subordinate at the end debrief:
“Did we learn anything?”
“No.”
About Time (2013). A mostly very sweet though sometimes uneven little movie. A father tells his son, when the latter turns 21, that all the males in the family have the ability to travel back in time, though only within the context of their own lives and with other limitations.
The son first uses his superpower to try to find a girlfriend, with amusing incidents when he mucks things up and uses his power to enable do-overs. The girlfriend angle made the first half of the movie much like the typical maudlin story of Young Love, and if that was all there was to it the movie wouldn’t have much to recommend it other than occasional funny bits.
But the second half turns into a much more serious reflection on marriage, family, birth, and death. Moving and sentimental at times, it manages to pull back from occasionally veering on the edge of mawkishness and regain its solid balance. And also has its share of some funny lines (“These high heels make me look like a prostitute.” “Well, do you want to look like a prostitute or a dwarf?”) It’s also a thoughtful reflection on the wonders and the limits of being able to re-do the past. If you can suspend disbelief on the fantasy premise and endure the Young Love part, the second half is genuinely worthwhile.
The cast is mostly Brits and unknown to me except for Margot Robbie and Rachel McAdams, the only non-Brits in major roles.
This is one of Richard Curtis’s work, of which I’ve a kind of varied opinion of (mostly down nowadays). However.
There was a very dark moment in the film, which I it sort of threw in there like a hand grenade then just forgot about…
When he goes back in time before the baby is born, then comes back, and the baby is different. Ie: their original child has gone. Ceased to exist. In effect dead. Disappeared. I thought more than a shrug was worth it here…
You didn’t know Domhnall Gleeson or Bill Nighy?
I’ve certainly heard of Domhnall’s father Brendan, but colour me a colonial boor – I was not in fact familiar with either of the above. Yet I’m familiar with gorgeous British actresses like Sienna Miller and Kiera Knightley. No idea why.* 
* Well, another part of the reality is that both of those actresses have had major roles in American films, which helps.
Supposedly there is a plan to revive the American version of The Office and Domhnall Gleeson signed on to join the cast. That surprises me, as I thought he has an established film career.
Lord of War
Essential. Highly, highly recommended.
I haven’t re-watched this movie in a few years and it holds up completely and if anything, is even more powerful to me now than it was upon release. "They say, “Evil prevails when good men fail to act.” What they oughta say is, “*Evil prevails.”
Yeesh. This movie just hammers home the overwhelming evil of the world and how gun running plays a large role in keeping the violence and abuse going.
Nicolas Cage is terrific in this and Jared Leto is also great in his part.
Terrific movie. If you have not seen it, put it on your list. Powerful stuff.
Yes, and what kicked the whole thing off was Linda Litsky’s need for plastic surgery. The memoir was just the McGuffin that got her involved with the Russians. I love this movie. And it all ends with Linda Litsky getting her surgeries … leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake.
It’s a very black comedy.
Oh, that’s why it didn’t quite work for me. I always find a certain rancid quality in even what are supposedly his lightest films (Happy Accidents is my favorite time travel romance). I mostly left the movie with a lust for that house in Cornwall. I want it!
I’m not sure what you’re saying here, but Robbie is Australian and McAdams is Canadian.
Furthermore, Gleeson is Irish. Lydia Wilson is half-American and half British. Nighty is the only British one among the top five actors in the film. Lisa Eichhorn is American too. Perhaps this is typical of a lot of movies today. Most actors these days can do any English-language dialect easily, and it’s easy to fly to anyplace where the movie is to be filmed. Filmmakers now hire the people they particularly want for the major roles and let someone below them find anyone nearby the filming location who’s reasonably good and who happens to be free at the time of filming.
I rewatched the 1967 Camelot. Nice songs but Guinevere really annoyed me this time.
Simply Joys of Maidenhood by a 30 yo? And cheating on your husband with his best friend?
Also the scenery is sad.
Black Swan
Not recommended.
I mean, it was OK, but nothing about this movie felt all that original or innovative. I was impressed with Natalie Portman’s performance, but it really felt like a movie that went mainly through the motions of previous ideas. I have heard it was inspired by Perfect Blue(Satoshi Kon) and I actually do see it.
Darren Aronfonsky is very hit-and-miss for me. I saw Pi back when it was first released to theaters and I thought he had a hugely successful career ahead of him. It has been up and down…and kind of a lot of down.
Movies I’ve seen of his:
Liked:
Pi
Requiem for a Dream
Mother!
Noah
Disliked:
The Founatin - admirable, but a failure
The Whale
Black Swan
Now that I look at the list, he’s done quite well. I just expected more from him.
I saw this when it came out, and I thought Barbara Hershey’s character was so over-the-top that I found myself sometimes laughing inappropriately. I mean, I get that some of this is exaggerated by the imagination of Natalie Portman’s character, but still, if Barbara Hershey could’ve twirled a mustache and waved around a wire coathanger, she would have.
Same way I felt about Michael Shannon in the shape of water.
Thanks to the people upthread who recommended the original Taking of Pelham 123. I’d never seen it and thought it was just a potboiler from the 70s that I could take or leave. TMC ran it last night, so we watched it. It was great! It really stands up – good script, good acting, and, surprisingly, a lot more humor than I expected. I don’t know why the Transit Authority disavowed any connection with the film because I think it showed him in a good light. Very suspenseful and great pacing. I was immersed the entire way.
Also, I was wide awake after and read to bring my brain down, and when I reached over to turn out my light – the time? 1.23.
I can’t believe it: this is like the only thread I haven’t embarrassed myself gushing all over Taking of Pelham One Two Three. It’s probably my favorite movie — despite the subject matter, it’s the funniest film EVAH!
The remake is only so-so.
This is one instance where the movie is better than the book; you have better tomes to flip through.
Yes, as I said I was really surprised by how dang funny it was.
Also, I guessed what would trip up Martin Balsam, and I knew exactly what expression Matthau would have on his face when he realized it. Perfect ending.