Movie reviews

[David Emm]

Finally got around to seeing "Blue Beetle." Its a good partner for the 2 "SHAZAM!" movies, which have a breezy but solid core element of family. Same here, with a refreshing Latino element. Xolo Maridueña plays the lead well, balancing youthful naivete and quick development of some snap as things progress. George Lopez does a great comical turn, as do the other family members. You'll love Nana as a gun-wielding granny. Susan Sarandon is wasted as a corporate scum. Of course, its all very superhero-colorful, but don't expect great cinema overall; its mostly a good popcorn movie. Word is that James Gunn is retaining it as is, so the 'family-friendly' tone is going to be present going forward.  

 

Far more meaty: "Chevalier." Per IMDB, "Based on factual story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the illegitimate son of an African enslaved and a French plantation owner, who rises to heights in French society as a composer before an ill-fated love affair." The sets are accurate rather than overblown and the costuming is excellent. Both are welcome aspects. If anything, its lacks arise from the concentration on his dalliances. Its also the case that the serious racism which undermined him has to be presented clearly, because it was so defining. Napoleon was so offended by his perceived arrogance that he had Bologne's works removed from schools and burned. They've since been rediscovered and performed to some extent. IMO, his musical merits are overshadowed by the drama, which edges towards being tawdry at times. Still, its finely done and deserving of a look. The musical performances are outstanding. You won't feel neutral about Bologne by the end, for sure.
   

[16251]

I just watched this movie UFO. I believe this movie went straight to video and only started reading about it after it came up on my YT feed. IMHO riveting.

 

 

[Anderton]

Given that the whole movie's on Youtube, there's no reason not to check it out. The description as "riveting" piques my interest...

[o0Ampy0o]

4 hours ago, Anderton said:

Given that the whole movie's on Youtube, there's no reason not to check it out. The description as "riveting" piques my interest...

 

Here you go.

 

✅  The whole movie's on Youtube and  here

✅  Description: Riveting

 

 

 

[o0Ampy0o]

Ripley's Game (2002 due to delays):  When it was made Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow eclipsed chances of receiving warranted attention. During production financial problems delayed its completion. The initial director, Liliana Cavani, had another commitment to direct a play and was unable to complete the film. John Malkovich took over directing. It was his first time directing a film. As far as I can tell it is a seamless transition and Malkovich is definitely up to the task. Even though Malkovich directed as much as 30% it is credited as a Liliana Cavani film regardless. All things considered the film wasn't heavily promoted and practically went straight to video.

 

Tom Ripley is a character who appears in a series of books by Patricia Highsmith. However the depiction of Tom Ripley in these two films is very different. They should have given the character a different name and released Ripley's Game in a manner which did not draw comparisons to The Talented Mr. Ripley. The name is the only recognizable trait they share.

 

Whatever you think of The Talented Mr. Ripley, (IMO an excellent film and also highly recommended), Ripley's Game is excellent and absolutely theater release worthy.

 

The stories in these two films are completely different. In Ripley's Game, Ripley initiates a game to turn a mild and innocent local craftsman into a hit man. The man is dying of cancer. He has a wife and young son but he has nothing to leave them and is desperate.

 

Ripley's Game stars John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, Ray Winstone and Lena Heady

 

 

[surfergirl]

I watched 3 movies this year.

Passing Glory: A high school basketball movie set in 1960's New Orleans.

Glory Road: The 1965-66 Texas Westen national championships basketball team.

Remember The Titans: High school football in 1971 Virginia.

That's the best I could do on reviews without getting political.

[o0Ampy0o]

I just learned the great actor Tom Wilkinson passed away December 30, 2023. As a fan of good cinema I count Tom Wilkinson as one of the top five greatest actors to have lived. Although I never saw a film just because he was in it, I trusted I would enjoy the film when I discovered he was in it. My favorite film with Tom Wilkinson is Michael Clayton. It is filled with great performances but in my opinion Wilkinson's is the character every performance revolves around. Other Wilkinson films to recommend are Sense and Sensibility, Girl With a Pearl Earring, In The Bedroom and Shakespeare In Love.

 

 

I was unaware of Wilkinson's passing at the time but I re-watched Sea of Love with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin that day. An interesting thing about Al Pacino, he can look the same and speak with the same voice in various roles yet he manages to be plausible as a different character. Pacino and Barkin have great chemistry together on screen. I think this may have been the first time I saw this much of John Goodman. He is a one size fits all actor. He typically does "John Goodman." I appreciated the freshness of his performance given his youth and relative inexperience. I looked on IMDB and I must have seen him in The Paper Chase (highly recommend this too). I don't recall him and which character he played but he might have been the guy with the huge thesis that blew out the window when they were studying for finals.

[Dave Bryce]

I don’t know if any of y’all have tried to watch Rebel Moon, but I couldn’t make it past the fifteen minute mark.  Awful acting, dreadful dialog, boring derivative storyline, crap cinematography…definitely not my cuppa tea.

 

dB

[David Emm]

1 hour ago, Dave Bryce said:

I don’t know if any of y’all have tried to watch Rebel Moon, but I couldn’t make it past the fifteen minute mark.  Awful acting, dreadful dialog, boring derivative storyline, crap cinematography…definitely not my cuppa tea.

 

Not so far and thanks for the warning! I have a problem similar to the game show "Name That Tune." By fifteen minutes in, I can often tell you who the bad guy is, where the secondary hero will die, what the McGuffin is, where the first callback will occur, etc. I know that part of it is simply the nature of storytelling and becoming too familiar with the mechanisms. Its also keeping it watered down enough to appeal to a larger audience. I enjoyed the hell out of John Boorman's "Zardoz," but half of the audience left the theater before the mid-point. What, too cerebral for you? Come back here, you cowards!

 

Everyone was dazzled by the look of "Avatar," but it felt soggy to me; it was about 12 sci-fi short stories I'd read years back, mashed into a neon blue burrito. I'll roll with a lot, but don't bore me with formulaic excess. Been there, slept through the denouemont of that. 😴

[o0Ampy0o]

46 minutes ago, David Emm said:

 

Not so far and thanks for the warning! I have a problem similar to the game show "Name That Tune." By fifteen minutes in, I can often tell you who the bad guy is, where the secondary hero will die, what the McGuffin is, where the first callback will occur, etc. I know that part of it is simply the nature of storytelling and becoming too familiar with the mechanisms. Its also keeping it watered down enough to appeal to a larger audience. I enjoyed the hell out of John Boorman's "Zardoz," but half of the audience left the theater before the mid-point. What, too cerebral for you? Come back here, you cowards!

 

Everyone was dazzled by the look of "Avatar," but it felt soggy to me; it was about 12 sci-fi short stories I'd read years back, mashed into a neon blue burrito. I'll roll with a lot, but don't bore me with formulaic excess. Been there, slept through the denouemont of that. 😴

 

"Neon blue burrito" :-)) I have yet to see the Avatar films. I saw references to Dances With Wolves and although I enjoyed DWW I don't care to see it again in any other package. I have been curious about the 3D but not enough to make a theater viewing of an Avatar. I have passed on seeing it streamed. Speaking of cerebral, did you happen to see Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line? The general public likes meat and potatoes served one way. Sometimes they will accept something different and then that becomes the new thing, for a while at least. Not saying it compares in depth but I saw a lot going on that wasn't spelled out in Meet Joe Black. Ironically, I felt sympathetic towards Pitt's character. Maybe he played it too human? That can work both ways. Back when Kevin Costner played Robin Hood, the character of Sheriff of Nottingham was the one I was rooting for because Alan Rickman portrayed him so richly. I suspect the studio test screenings, subsequent reviews and viewer comments might have reflected the same sentiments. It was a disappointing follow-up for Costner and DWW fans.

 

I will avoid Rebel Moon (TY DB).

[o0Ampy0o]

Leave The World Behind  stars Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke. I was initially drawn in by the trailer. The actress who plays the daughter in one of two families was genuine and the beach scene was intriguing. I didn’t  know whether it would be an M Night Shyamalan type film or something more of a mystery / suspense.
 

Most of the main characters are either likable and interesting or annoying cliches. Then there is Julia Roberts who manages to be dislikable and annoying as an angry bitch. An actor can plausibly portray a rotten character you dislike yet you don’t feel they are so grating you want to fast-forward the stream to skip their screen time. I did fast-forward some of Julia Roberts. She is such a bitch I didn’t buy the moments when she eventually softened and was to display redeeming qualities so she might be forgiven. Also, it was a lot to chew in one mouthful when in those same scenes which she shows a softer side she also is interested in cheating on her husband and in the process betraying her children. Those moments were failures and instead enforced how full of herself she was. In part it was the way the character was written but I also see this as a weakness in the acting ability of Roberts.

 

The story was interesting enough maintaining the question of whether this was paranormal or mundane close to the end. There are two families. The actresses playing the daughter in each family were excellent. I mentioned one actress but the daughter in the second family is especially effective calling out everyone perfectly understanding their motivations and behavior. She shared the insightful perception with Julia Roberts’s character but her character was grounded and mentally heathy. Her character’s presence made everything bearable enough to see the film through. It was refreshing in contrast to Roberts and when the cliche characters were so lame.
 

There is enough here that this could have been great with some adjustments. There is evidence of a formula in the story. This is a case where they could have exploited the strengths and sured up the weaknesses along the way had they only comprehended the opportunity. But it appears they committed some aspects to cliche from the start and did not adequately reassess the project as it proceeded. Two adjustments would have made a big difference: dial Roberts back and give the son and Hawke characters the strength to consistently take action on empathy.