I completely agree. Full title: “Strange Darling: A Thriller in 8 Chapters” (well, you said 6; I thought it was 8, but I might be mistaken).
Yes, highly recommended, and very artfully filmed. Putting the chapters out of order is indeed effective. I don’t usually like that technique but in this case it really works and helps accentuate the surprises. The only caveat is that it’s all pretty grim, not exactly a fun family movie.
Also the ending is labeled “Epilogue”, but it’s not really an epilogue, it’s a full-fledged chapter that concludes the movie.
As described in the article @Maserschmidt posted, Universal has pretty much succeeded in burying the original Meet the Parents.
There may or may not be a secret YouTube link to it, which I may or may not be in possession of, and may or may not be willing to share with any Dopers who message me asking for it.
I had not seen the original Happy Gilmore since the theater opening weekend. I re-watched it awhile back and it did not make me laugh.
The sequel was actually quite good, though. Maybe because I’m 30 years older and the movie acknowledges that everyone is 30 years older, the whole thing worked pretty well for me. This was a quality sequel and I laughed more than I would have expected.
It even subverted the expectations on a few returning characters, which was fun. The movie was one of the best surprises this year. I give it a positive review.
Most people underestimate the number of times a movie has been made. One thing I like to surprise people with is to ask them how many times The Parent Trap has been made. I’m not talking about accidental resemblances. I’m talking about cases where the filmmakers would have had to pay royalties to the person who originally came up with the plot. I’m not talking about sequels. Some of them have different titles.
Some people will say that there was just the 1998 one with Lindsay Lohan. Some will say, “Oh, you mean there’s also the 1961 version with Hayley Mills.” No, in fact, there are fourteen versions of it. There’s also a version that was done like several episodes on television, one that was a theater musical, and one that was a graphic novel.
It started in 1942 when a German screenwriter came up with an idea for a movie. He wasn’t able to get it made though. So in 1949 he published a novel of it. Then filmmakers all around the world began making films of it in different countries, different languages, and different titles.
The Parent Trap isn’t even the record for remakes. There was an Italian movie called the Italian equivalent of Perfect Strangers. There have been 25 remakes of it around the world released so far. There are two more remakes opening later this year.
Netflix is offering a bunch of Hitchcock movies from the 50s, 60s and 70s until the end of the month. Last night we re-watched 1972’s Frenzy. We’d seen it when it was first released (at a drive-in as I recall) but hadn’t seen it since.
It still holds up pretty well. It was Hitch’s return to England movie, and it’s very British, starring actors with whom American audiences would have had little or no familiarity. (Jean Marsh, in a small but pivotal role, went on to bigger things later.) Considering all that, it’s surprising that it was such a huge hit across the pond.
The plot involves a series of sex murders, perpetrated by a “Necktie Killer,” and a man falsely accused of the crimes desperately trying to prove his innocence. It was a well-worn trope even then, but Hitch carried it off with a mix of suspense, horror and small touches of humor.
It was Hitch’s first movie to be rated “R,” and I’d forgotten how graphically violent it is. The first murder is really tough to watch. It seems to go on forever. There’s a great sequence right after that in which a secretary, returning from lunch, enters the building where a murder has been committed. She enters the building, disappearing from sight, and the camera just stays on that shot…and stays and stays and stays…until you hear her scream. You know what’s going to happen, and Hitch draws you out for an almost unbearable length of time until the payoff. It’s classic Hitchcock.
If you’ve never seen “Frenzy,” check it out before it leaves Netflix at the end of the month.
In the film? No. But it sounds like she may have lived as happy a life as a random duck could.
Went to see The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The origin story gets about 30 seconds of reference, thank heavens, so we get straight into the playground of Earth 828 and the fun 1960s aesthetic Kevin Feige gives us. We get Galactus, we get the Silver Surfer (female this time), we get a set-up to the next film with Doctor Doom, we get molemen - it hits most of the usual notes.
The cartoonishness is built into the style more than the characters, who are more muted than their predecessors. Ebon ThatGuyFromTheBear gives us a quite sensitive Thing, Johnny is less of an asshole, the Invisible Woman doesn’t need to get naked (and fuck you again, Hollywood, for doing that to Jessica Alba) and Pedro Pascal is once again protecting a child with special powers for at least the third time.
It was fine. It will feed into the regular MCU-verse (in the next film I’m told by my offspring) so if you’re still following all that you may enjoy this. There are mid- and end-credit scenes, although the end-credit one is just some light comic relief and not anything important so don’t feel obliged to stay for it.
There’s lots to like. The script and David Corenswet’s performance combine to make Supes a more relatable character than in previous incarnations. Plenty of humor; the “Justice Gang” was fun, and including Krypto was a great idea.
No need to re-hash the familiar origin story. We get right into the plot, and it moves forward at a good pace.
Having said all that, there’s not much new ground broken here. It’s a couple hours of good entertainment and that’s about it. Which is exactly what I was looking for.
Since you all made me aware of Happy Gilmore 2 I went and watched it. Mostly it seems to be a mix of 1) references to the first film both blatant and subtle, 2) cameos of a ridiculous number of famous and semi-famous people, and 3) Adam Sandler’s friends and family members.
I was counting the moments until Rob Schneider turned up and was sadly disappointed…because Rob Schneider turned up.
Just watched Happy Gilmore 1 and 2 back to back. I’m glad I did it that way, because 1) the first one still makes me laugh, and 2) as Gyrate points out, the second is chock full of callbacks to the first, so it was nice to have it fresh in my mind.
It also has plenty of good laughs in its own right. Don’t expect to see it mentioned when the Oscar nominations come out, but if you enjoyed the first one you’ll enjoy the second one as well.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Saw it in IMAX 3D (the most convenient IMAX time that wasn’t almost completely sold out was the 3D version). The 3D isn’t necessary, but it is not badly done. I’ll save my detailed comments for the dedicated thread, but IMHO it breaks out of the recent series of mediocre Marvel movies. Recommended.
Wild Diamond A French film about a young girl trying to claw her way out of poverty and neglect. It’s a tribute to the filmmakers that it never descends into bathos. The lead inhabits her character to an extent that makes the emotions and action (sometimes wrong headed) feel real. The film’s ending leaves it to the viewer as to whether it is happy or not.
Cloud Japan’s entry for last year’s Foreign Language Oscar. An odd, almost off putting characterization of an entrepreneur living on the fringes of internet commerce in Japan, and his rise, fall, and tribulations. The first part of the movie does not set you up for the last act, but, boy, does the last act hit hard and fast. Patient viewing will be rewarded.
Oh, Hi A dark comedy that answers the question “When is it better to break up by text?” It has some laugh out loud moments, but be aware that if plot holes turn you off, it isn’t for you (especially the ending).
So I’m undecided as to watching the whole LoTR cycle next but I think not not now.
This was well done. The improvement in the craft over the years very evident.
Happy Gilmore 2. Recommended. I love the first film, and the second one is more Sandler silliness. The bad guys this time are the upstarts of the Maxi Golf League, who have all had certain ligaments cut to enable them to drive the ball as far as Happy Gilmore, and they play golf more like professional wrestling than anything else.
Shooter McGavin’s in it, and he’s a hoot.
It’s chock-full of references to the first film.
It has two professional wrestlers in it: Maxwell Jacob Friedman from AEW plays one of Happy’s sons, and Becky Lynch from WWE plays one of the Maxi players.
