Collet-Serra is a Hitchcockian B-movie maestro who has gotten to team up with one of the great mid-budget action thriller everyman actors. I hope they keep working together until Neeson retires or keels over. _________________ Under New Management
Underwater (2020) - a passably entertaining, mostly competently constructed sci-fi horror that has Kristen Stewart and Jessica Henwick running around in wet underwear now and again. 2 & 1/2 bones. _________________ Under New Management
Shout out to boutique labels like Shout Factory. Their transfer of Friedkin's late career action masterpiece To Live and Die in L.A. retains the vibrant color, depth, and grain of film stock as best as possible. If only bigger studios/film distributors cared as much.
Love that flick. Remember talking about it to you in this thread a year ago, maybe. LA Noir. Only thing that annoys me are the depictions of their protection of Reagan and the bomber. I wanna think a blunder like not closing off the hallway/floor to the Pres suite wouldn't happen in real life, but an even schmuckier guy almost bagged him in reality. It's too late to pull the Uzi out of the briefcase AFTER the nut empties his gun.
Saw The Place Beyond The Pines again in full after not having seen it since it was newish. Bout 6-7 yrs ago. Didn't remember a lot of it, but were you a fan of that one? Seemed like a narrowed version of Crash (2005) where one thing effects another and so on. That notion was hot for awhile in Hollywood. Gosling is an excellent actor. Has a quiet demeanor about him. Not just another pretty face like me. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Shout out to boutique labels like Shout Factory. Their transfer of Friedkin's late career action masterpiece To Live and Die in L.A. retains the vibrant color, depth, and grain of film stock as best as possible. If only bigger studios/film distributors cared as much.
Love that flick. Remember talking about it to you in this thread a year ago, maybe. LA Noir. Only thing that annoys me are the depictions of their protection of Reagan and the bomber. I wanna think a blunder like not closing off the hallway/floor to the Pres suite wouldn't happen in real life, but an even schmuckier guy almost bagged him in reality. It's too late to pull the Uzi out of the briefcase AFTER the nut empties his gun.
Saw The Place Beyond The Pines again in full after not having seen it since it was newish. Bout 6-7 yrs ago. Didn't remember a lot of it, but were you a fan of that one? Seemed like a narrowed version of Crash (2005) where one thing effects another and so on. That notion was hot for awhile in Hollywood. Gosling is an excellent actor. Has a quiet demeanor about him. Not just another pretty face like me.
Man, the title card alone makes me happy. DaFoe is so young, but already so good as a creepy putz. And I know William Peterson has always been a stage guy, but he went from two of the great cop roles in L.A. and Manhunter to being a tv actor so quickly. A shame.
Speaking of that opening, I also love how a bomb goes off just outside a high rise crawling with security and William Peterson and his partner have time to have a smoke & a chat when that roof would've been crawling with secret service, cops, and firefighters in minutes.
I have a buddy who absolutely loves Pines while I appreciate it more than love it. The first part with Gosling is so excellent that I missed him (and the always awesome Ben Mendelsohn) for the rest of the movie. I can get behind it's themes of trying to move past the sins of our fathers, but I don't think the final section worked well enough to make it stick. Admittedly I haven't seen the whole movie since it came out in theaters in 2012.
My favorite Gosling these days might be his performance in The Nice Guys. He's damn good as the brooding silent type in movies like Drive and Pines, but I loved him in a comedic role like that. In a more just Hollywood, The Nice Guys would've spawned a multi-movie franchise. _________________ Under New Management
I like good film criticism, too. It's a dying profession as media companies either turn writers into content farms or PR mouthpieces. So here are a few film critics I think are absolute tops whose work you should maybe read, why not:
K. Austin (Kam) Collins (Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone) - the best day-in, day-out reviewer around. I wish he wrote more long form pieces. Sample: "Black Defiance"
Jessica Kiang (Variety) - the second best day-in, day-out reviewer around and a gorgeous wordsmith. Sample: High Life Review
Quote:
At once a grand departure and the same film Denis has been making all her life, “High Life” deals in a kind of metaphorical colonization, in the violence inherent in interpersonal relations between men and women, and in the perversity of (especially female) desire. But it also goes further in sorrowfulness than Denis has gone before, becoming, for the viewer who can bear it, a film orphaned by almost inexpressible loneliness and grief, in which humanity is marooned between physics and biology, the earth and the cosmos, reaching out for the infinite but tied to an eternally dying body, and lost forever in the moment we realize we’ll never get where we’re going, but have come too far to ever go home again.
Nick Pinkerton (Film Comment, various) - erudite, pretentious, caustic, logorrheic, and funny. The dude probably hates everything you like, but he's always worth a read. Sample: Twin Peaks: The Return
Quote:
Not all deaths are mourned. There is palpable pulpy pleasure, for example, in the scene where Sarah Palmer (Grace Zabriskie), the serially-abused Laura’s mother, who has spent the last twenty-five years at the bottom of a bottle, is accosted by a barroom bully, and opens up her face on hinges as though it were the door on a cuckoo clock to reveal a toothsome grin set against a field of darkness, an insidious set of pearly-whites that fatally clack down on her interlocutor. Zabriskie emanates unadulterated fear, disgust, and indignity at the fact of being alive every second that she’s on screen, and she has a magnificent scene in which she’s struck aghast by sighting of a new brand of turkey jerky while at a supermarket checkout where the banal setting is suddenly perceivable as a ghoulish, hideous, intolerable affront. It’s the sort of thing I’d like to put in a time capsule.
Glenn Kenny (RogerEbert.com, various) - a talented, accessible writer with a new book out on the making of Goodfellas, of all the critics out there, Mr. Kenny's taste best aligns with my own. I think that's a compliment. _________________ Under New Management
Thanks for that info. on the film reviewers/critics, BVH.
back at ya. Hopefully you enjoy some of their stuff past, present, and future.
ETA: there are some great critics at legacy media outlets like Justin Chang at the LAT, Manohla Dargis at the NYT, and even Richard Brody at the New Yorker, but I wanted to add some talented voices of film critics who are somewhat under the radar. _________________ Under New Management
Last edited by Baron Von Humongous on Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:25 am; edited 1 time in total
Shout out to boutique labels like Shout Factory. Their transfer of Friedkin's late career action masterpiece To Live and Die in L.A. retains the vibrant color, depth, and grain of film stock as best as possible. If only bigger studios/film distributors cared as much.
Love that flick. Remember talking about it to you in this thread a year ago, maybe. LA Noir. Only thing that annoys me are the depictions of their protection of Reagan and the bomber. I wanna think a blunder like not closing off the hallway/floor to the Pres suite wouldn't happen in real life, but an even schmuckier guy almost bagged him in reality. It's too late to pull the Uzi out of the briefcase AFTER the nut empties his gun.
Saw The Place Beyond The Pines again in full after not having seen it since it was newish. Bout 6-7 yrs ago. Didn't remember a lot of it, but were you a fan of that one? Seemed like a narrowed version of Crash (2005) where one thing effects another and so on. That notion was hot for awhile in Hollywood. Gosling is an excellent actor. Has a quiet demeanor about him. Not just another pretty face like me.
Man, the title card alone makes me happy. DaFoe is so young, but already so good as a creepy putz. And I know William Peterson has always been a stage guy, but he went from two of the great cop roles in L.A. and Manhunter to being a tv actor so quickly. A shame.
Speaking of that opening, I also love how a bomb goes off just outside a high rise crawling with security and William Peterson and his partner have time to have a smoke & a chat when that roof would've been crawling with secret service, cops, and firefighters in minutes.
I have a buddy who absolutely loves Pines while I appreciate it more than love it. The first part with Gosling is so excellent that I missed him (and the always awesome Ben Mendelsohn) for the rest of the movie. I can get behind it's themes of trying to move past the sins of our fathers, but I don't think the final section worked well enough to make it stick. Admittedly I haven't seen the whole movie since it came out in theaters in 2012.
My favorite Gosling these days might be his performance in The Nice Guys. He's damn good as the brooding silent type in movies like Drive and Pines, but I loved him in a comedic role like that. In a more just Hollywood, The Nice Guys would've spawned a multi-movie franchise.
Agreed 100 on Pines. First half much better than second, tho the purpose of the two halves isn't lost on the viewer. Loved young Liotta, but whenever he pops up as a bad cop, it makes the production too blatant. Don't think the movie needed him. Don't even think it needed Bradley Cooper. Rather bland role, imo. Was wonderin if he was still not 100% sure that he should only accept lead roles. It kept me tho. I had a harder time getting thru Before The Devil Knows You're Dead which is soooooomewhat like Pines, but the whole father aspect where PS Hoffman was unloved by Albert Finney compared to hsi brother was a bore to me and it went on n on. I'm trying to effin find Wolfen (1981) anywhere speaking of Finney. Haven't seen that in ages, I remember it as a surprisingly artistic depiction of the subject matter. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90310 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 10:55 am Post subject:
If you like Gosling in a comedy role, Crazy Stupid Love is nice. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Jeff Bridges announces he's been diagnosed with lymphoma. Send up whatever prayers, good thoughts, karma, what have you that you can for the legend's health. _________________ Under New Management
Criterion flash sale is over, but British film distributor Arrow has a ton of stock 50% off through 11/2 for their annual Shocktober sale.
Note that a lot of their sale catalogue is Region 2/Region B only, which isn't compatible with DVD/Blu-ray players purchased in the U.S. unless the player is region free*. Make sure to check the product details before purchase.
* For anyone interested in building up a physical film library, a region free player is a great investment. UK-based Arrow, Eureka, and Limewood/Powerhouse all distribute quality discs with cool bells and whistles - and actual 4K! for Arrow - often at cheaper prices than Criterion even when factoring in exchange rates and int'l shipping. _________________ Under New Management
Carefree (1938; Sandrich) - no real iconic Astaire and Rogers dance number to be seen here, but a hypnotized Ginger trying to blast Fred and cucked Ralph Bellamy with a double-barrelled shotgun is worth the price of admission. _________________ Under New Management
If you like Gosling in a comedy role, Crazy Stupid Love is nice.
I'll check it. Saw "Drive" on demand yesterday. I've seen it under different names a lot of other times, too. Taxi Driverish, and like TD, with Albert Brooks who looked great for his age. There was a recent flick with Joaquin PHX where he saves a teen girl that reminded me of it. Not an action movie fanatic (depends on the quality of the movie), but this is one case where I think there weren't enough chase scenes given the name/subject. The ones they showed were interesting, including the first one with some stops and starts to evade cops. There was some built-in Laker hatin w/ the choice to make it a Lob City gm that he drove to in order to bring the chase to an end. If a getaway driver tried that in real life with a Clipper game, he would've gotten caught. They're just bad mojo. LA Sixth Street bridge aqueduct appearance. Definitely an homage to To Live And Die In LA (and probably T2 and maybe even Grease 1, who knows). Had the "accidentally stole mafia money" aspect a la Pope Of Greenwich Village and others. "Dey took my THUMB, Chaaaaah-leeeeeee!!!1..." That line by Roberts was the 1983 version of "Chaaa-lie bit my fingah!"
Onto other topics, caught and DVR'd Miller's Crossing on some Spectrum channel. First time I've seen it on telly in a few years, it's been running for a week or so. Lost it on my old DVR after I moved. You and/or Baron got any takes on Miller's Crossing? Love it, took me a few watches and more importantly, a fresh peep about 15-20 years later than the first one. I get it better know that I know what the Coens are about. Didn't know of them before Fargo. Heavily stylized, but liking it. Been trying to find other Albert Finney 80s stuff after seeing it again. John Turturro can be amusing and I even laughed at him in Sandler's "Zohan", but I miss the serious daze. As seen in To Live And Die In LA, he can be a menacing figure. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90310 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 1:07 pm Post subject:
Baron Von Humongous wrote:
Jeff Bridges announces he's been diagnosed with lymphoma. Send up whatever prayers, good thoughts, karma, what have you that you can for the legend's health.
Just re-watched his underrated gem, The Door In The Floor. Just a masterful performance in a complex, harrowing, tragic and yet sublime tale. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29487 Location: La La Land
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 1:39 pm Post subject:
Watched the new Borat movie. God it was a tough watch. I cringed for all 90 minutes. _________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
A couple catch them before they leave on November 1st movies now streaming, two of my 90s favorites:
La Belle Noiseuse (1991) - Criterion Channel; one of Rivette's masterpieces, it's a four hour slow burn celebration of and skewering of the artist and artistic creation. Not to miss, especially the performance of the late great Michel Piccoli.
The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992) - Netflix; my favorite Gillian Anderson film, it's an exceptional slice of life film about a woman navigating a midlife crisis with aging parents, a teenage daughter (young Miranda Otto), feckless French husband portrayed superbly by the late great Bruno Ganz, and a rootless, free spirited younger sister. One of my true cinema loves. _________________ Under New Management
Unfortunately it seems they've made a David Bowie biopic during quarantine and I don't understand the impulse when perfect Bowie biopics The Man Who Fell to Earth and Velvet Goldmine already exist. _________________ Under New Management
I've got a double bill of Doctor X (1932) and The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) lined up while I nurse a few rob roys and yell at kids from a safe social distance to take only one sanitized bag of candy from the tray on the doorstep.
If you don't know what you want to watch yet, let me recommend the horror selection on Tubi, which is free with ads. It has horror classics like Night of the Living Dead, Hellraiser, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes, Re-Animator, Suspiria (1977), and more along with long undervalued gems like Romero's Day of the Dead and The Crazies, Nightbreed, The Exorcist III, and Larry Cohen's The Stuff.
In the mood for an 80s slasher? Try Sleepaway Camp or Prom Night. Chopping Mall is kind of a slasher and pure camp. And Society has some of the grossest prosthetics you'll ever want to see.
Feel more into contemporary horror? Give The Triangle, Let the Right One In, Train to Busan, or Housebound a try. And three of my absolute horror favorites - Angst, Pulse, and The Descent - are there to stream, as well.
Happy Halloween! 🎃 _________________ Under New Management
Watched the new Borat movie. God it was a tough watch. I cringed for all 90 minutes.
That new Borat movie was in dire need of heavy film editing. It had some very funny moments interspersed with some awful, clumsy moments that should never have made it's way to the screen. I get it though, Sacha Baron Cohen was in a hurry to get this movie out prior to the election. He sacrificed quality for expediency.
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