The ending of Happy Gilmore 2 synergizes nicely with the ending of the first film, where he had to take a ridiculous putt-putt style shot.
Was hoping for Master and Commander but not available on the TV
Might have seen this but looks good.
Silver Linings Playbook. Great flick!
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence crushed it. Cooper’s take on bipolar disorder was raw and real. J-Law nailed the role of a South Philly firecracker with just the right mix of grit and vulnerability. Robert De Niro? Spot-on as the obsessive Eagles superfan dad—totally believable, down to the lucky remotes. Kudos to the rest of the cast, too.
Forbidden Planet
I was about to give up on the movie when they first met Dr Morbius. Solid start, we get on the planet, then it starts to feel stilted, the introduction of Robbie, the super smart Dr, then the captain gives him his blaster? Who then gives it to Robbie, who points it at the captain, and they’re not freaking the hell out? That whole scene felt wrong wrong wrong.
But I continued and the movie redeemed itself. Once the actual plot got started, it was a nice ride, excepting the sexism and Cookie as noted above.
Fantastic Four - First Steps
Not really recommended.
I am in the minority that still enjoys most Marvel movies. I thought this one was mainly boring. Not atrocious, just kind of OK in parts and dull in a lot of others.
When people talk about the MCU running out of steam, this is a movie I’ll think of. It was just fine. Superman, though, was quite a bit better.
I liked Thunderbolts more, thought Captain America 4 was either equal or slightly worse.
Maybe I’m in a bad mood. I need to see it again when it comes to streaming.
Barney’s Version (2010). I think I was motivated to watch this because it was billed as a “comedy-drama”. If there’s any comedy in it, I must have missed it. It’s dead-serious drama based on a novel by Mordecai Richler
It probably should have been titled “The Life and Times of Barney Panofsky”. Barney is a flawed and eccentric individual who ekes out a living as producer of bad TV soap operas. He enters his second marriage after the suicide of his first wife, this time to the daughter of a wealthy Jewish family. But he meets Miriam (Rosamund Pike) at his own wedding, and is instantly smitten by her.
Despite having just been married, he pursues Miriam. and is delighted when he catches his wife in bed with another man, giving him an excuse for a divorce. Now relentless in his pursuit of Miriam, they eventually marry, and the film follows their marriage through the years, seemingly happy until Barney’s flawed existence catches up with him.
Stars Paul Giamatti as Barney Panofsky, the lovely Rosamund Pike as Miriam, and Dustin Hoffman as Barney’s father. Quiet and introspective, this is a melancholy story of moments of joy in a life of self-inflicted tragedy. Generally well-liked by critics, it was a box office failure, recouping only about a third of its production costs. Mildly recommended, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it, which I guess is how many theater-goers felt.
I enjoyed it more than you did. I did not much care for CA4. I haven’t loved much of the MCU since Endgame, but FF4 were my favorite comic as a kid and I thought this was well done. Better than the previous attempts.
Re-watched an old (well, 5 years old) favorite with the commentary on Hulu: Palm Springs
Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti get stuck in a time loop…an amusing (and sometimes touching and thought-provoking) take on the Groundhog Day meme.
Based on a novel by Karel Capek (who wrote the 1920 play R.U.R. which introduced the word “robot”), this 1948 Czech paranoid fantasy concerns a hospitalized scientist hovering between life and death while remembering (or hallucinating) that he is the inventor of the dangerous title explosive that various unethical parties want to manufacture. Unforgettable is a scene among a group of rebels – one clearly meant to evoke Hitler - being manipulated into terrorism by a demonic dude representing the arms industry. Overall, interesting rather than good and marred by occasional heavy-handedness (especially the end), it features stark b&w cinematography, several surreal touches and an excellent performance by the Czech-born Florence Marly (in her only Czech film) as a seductive princess trying to get the scientist to cooperate.
Sorry, Baby
Somewhat recommended.
I’m expecting that the lead actress and director, Eva Victor, is going to be nominated for an Oscar for her job in this movie(probably the acting part).
She portrays a woman who becomes a victim of sexual assault. Her reaction to it, how her friend supports her, and so forth are really what this movie is about. I would hope that someone who has been through what she went through would find this movie very helpful; her reactions are sometimes odd, sometimes funny, and sometimes just honest and tragic. I would not be shocked if this movie is auto-biographical to a certain extent.
Not a movie I loved, but a pretty good one. I think this topic could be done quite a bit better, but I don’t know if it has been done better yet.
Opus on Max
A recluse pop star gathers hundreds of followers at his compound…and it’s a cult! Who saw that coming?
Although it’s a pretty good movie, the jumping around in time made it hard to follow what was going on.
Yes, it is:
I watched the 1950 version of King Solomon’s Mines last night, a movie I’ve been curious about for years. I’ve read the novel multiple times, and was sure they’d change it. My evaluation (and my wife’s) – “not as bad as I’d thought it might be”
1.) The film opens with the title scrolling almost full screen height across the screen from right to left, one word at a time, just like in Gone with the Wind, which is an unfortunaqte comparison. Instead of a Max Steiner score, we get what sounds like authentic traditional African music.
2.) Stewart Granger is pretty good in the role of Alan Quatermain, believable and strong and likeable, and fair.
3.) One of the earliest shots is of an elephant being shot and killed. In those pre-CGI days, they did this by actually shooting and killing an elephant. Apparently they got the chance at a “culling” of a herd, but it’s disturbing. You won’t see a “no animals were harmed during the makin of this film” notice in the credits.
4.) One thing that stood out in the credits – the places where they filmed it aren’t around any more. At least not by those names:
Tanganyika
Uganda Protectorate
Kenya Colony and Protectorate
Belgian Congo
5.) The biggest plot change is that instead of Sir Henry Curtis and Richard Goode looking for Curtis’ brother (who has gone in search of the titular Mines), it’s Curtis’ wife and Goode looking for her husband. On the map, the mountains called “Sheba’s Breasts” are now called the Twin Peaks.
6.) Umbopa is in the film, but has a much reduced role. He is, however, played by a Watusi (here spelled “Watussi”), as are the people of his nation, with their distinctive dress and hair style. I’ll give them this – the locals are depicted impressively, with impressive architecture. On the other hand, Umbopa and his role are significantly reduced. I understand that in the 1937 British version, Paul Robeson played the part, and got top billing.
7.) The Bit with the cave and the diamonds, the trapping of Our Heroes in the cave and their escape are surprisingly similar to the book. But the characters of Gagool and Foulata are completely missing. So is the incident with the prediction of the eclipse.
8.) Despite the respect they were clearly trying to treat the African people with in the film, they are still evidently treated as second-class citizens, dismissively. When someone needs to get killed for dramatic effect, it’s a black character – they’re the Red Shirts of the movie. Few get a chance to develop any character themselves, including Umbopa. The incident where the safari meets Haas (“Smith”), who seems to be leading an African tribe, made my wife ask “Why are they all listening to him?” A good question, that the film never answers (the incident isn’t in the book). The film just seems to take for granted that a lone unarmed white guy would automatically end up running the village.
9.) At least it’s infinitely better than the Indians Jones-influenced 1985 version starring Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone. But now I’m curious to see the 1937 version.
Lust for Gold (1949) with Glenn Ford, Ida Lupino, and Gig Young.
I guess you could call this a Western Noir since none of the main characters (in the main story) are particularly sympathetic. Lupino acts circles around Ford’s German accent and Young’s mustache. A very good amalgamation of all the tales surrounding the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine and a decent framing story set in modern times about why so many people looking for the mine ended up with bullets in them.
I love Ida Lupino, and Glenn Ford is just a lummox.
He was a major star of the 50s and early 60s and is now completely forgotten. Deservedly so, as he was supposedly a real nasty person. I’ve probably seen at least a dozen of his movies and I can hardly remember a single one of them.
Who can forget his 1947 classic 200 Miles to Oregon?
Me! ..
I read Glen Ford’s extended info on IMDB the other night (as one does). Some interesting tidbits.
He was a fast draw - faster than James Arness, but not as fast as Peter Breck
He was initially signed to Columbia; a rairity since its mogul Harry Cohn (notorious sex pest) preferred to rent out big-name stars from the major studios. This arrangement pleased Louis B Mayer because he could use Columbia as a penalty box for uppity actors.
Ford was friends and coeval to William Holden, obstructed only by Holden’s alcoholism. This scans, since they both have a charmless, cranky white guy acerbic quality, that hasn’t aged well.