Re: Movies at Home

Morning Angel Tue Mar 31, 2015 6:49 pm

Thanks for the recommendation of Judgment at Nuremburg, Coneycat. It does sound very interesting.

On the same topic, I saw a movie at the Toronto Film Fest last year called Labyrinth of Lies about a German prosecutor in the 1950s who had to bring to German courts those responsible for war crimes by trying to dig through all the cover ups that occurred after WWII. It was a movie by a first-time director, which really impressed me. I don't know if it has been released through, but worth watching if you come across it.

Regina Filangie Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:17 am

Agent Sculder wrote:OK, so back in the day when many other women my age had huge crushes on Keanu Reeves, he never did anything for me. Sure, he was objectively very good looking, he just did NOTHING for me. But this weekend I finally got around to seeing John Wick, and now I finally have seen him in a role where I find him totally, completely hot.

I don't know if it was the gun-play, the immaculately tailored suits, the car, the beard, or that ridiculously adorable puppy, but I was all in on this movie. Probably one of the most enjoyable revenge/action flicks I have ever watched. I liked just about everything about it, which surprised me. And aside from Keanu, the movie has a great cast with really good actors in some very small speaking roles. Hey look, it's Dottie from Agent Carter! John Leguizamo! Al Swearengen! Adrianne Palicki! That dude from The Wire! Theon Greyjoy! And Dean Winters! Oh and Willem Dafoe.

Keanu always gets pinged for being a bad actor, but he has a scene towards the beginning of the film that certainly belies that. His character is grieving due to the death of his wife from an illness that is never explained when a beagle puppy is delivered to his door. A final gift from his wife. He just breaks down and ugly cries, and it was genuinely moving, damn it! I don't think Keanu has a huge range per se, but he's REALLY good at grieving, vengeful hit man of VERY few words. Seriously, John Wick may not say a lot, but you know exactly what he's thinking and feeling.

Watching this movie also reminded me of how little Keanu Reeves has aged. I honestly have a hard time believing he's 50 years old.

Exactly this. Suited up Keanu killing everyone to avenge a super cute puppy was HOT. Also, dude must be bathing in virgin blood or something because I simply can't process that he's 50.

Kookla Fri Apr 03, 2015 8:57 pm

I watched Judgment At Nuremburg last night, which for some reason I don't think I'd ever seen in its entirety before. Even now, and even considering the amount of history I've read of the period, it was a surprisingly upsetting experience. I was glad I had advance warning of the historical footage used in the film-- again, nothing I hadn't seen before, but that didn't diminish the impact and I think I'll look up whether audiences of the time would have been warned about it.

The courtroom confrontation between Maximilian Schell's defense attorney character and Judy Garland's witness character really made me want to leave the room for a minute. And I think I'll go back to the special features to see whether the interview with Schell talks about his feelings for his character-- the character had a vital role, but it can't have been an easy one for the actor.

Anyway. Not a cheerful experience, obviously, but very well done. And I've seen surprisingly few Spencer Tracy movies so this was very interesting.

I love this movie, and I've been telling my husband we should rewatch it. What I have rewatched many times on youtube is Montgomery Clift's performance, which I find so haunting and sad, especially given what a personal mess he himself was. Just an excellent, tragic portrayal of a feeble man on display for the court.

laddical Fri Apr 03, 2015 9:09 pm

Snowpiercer blew my mind. I'd heard almost nothing about it and was expecting something close to what I got, but to the space between the the what I expected and what I got still held a whole lot of mindfuckery.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her was not what I expected. All I knew was that the story came in three flavors: Her, Him, and Them. Given this I was expecting a cross between Gone Girl and Rashomon which was completely off-base. It's a quiet drama about a woman putting herself back together after losing a child. I'm going to watch Him this evening, which is her husband's side of the story. Them is apparently just scenes from both movies edited into one but I'm probably going to check it out just for comparing the editing.

QueenSix Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:15 pm

This weekend, I wholeheartedly embraced technology and watched Netflix on my phone while I was doing Easter baking. I watched Mrs Winterbourne first. Oh Brendan Fraser, you were so charming in that. Shirley McLaine and Ricki Lake were no slouches either. I'd seen it years ago and it's slight and all but it's a sweet kind of film

Then I watched 20 Feet from Stardom. Damn, hearing those ladies sing brought tears to my eyes. So powerful, so so good, and so fucking annoyed for Darlene Love about the shit Phil Spector was doing, having other groups mime to her voice.

eventide82 Tue Apr 07, 2015 2:24 am

Snowpiercer blew my mind. I'd heard almost nothing about it and was expecting something close to what I got, but to the space between the the what I expected and what I got still held a whole lot of mindfuckery.

Wasn't it fantastic? I went in not knowing much either and it was just superbly done.

Snarryfan Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:38 pm

Snowpiercer....That movie is amazing and intense and crazy bananas in the best kind of way. I adore Tilda Swinton and she did not disappoint. Chris Evans is really good (although I will not be able to watch Captain America without thinking about his dark cuisine secrets).

It's on Netflix streaming and I highly recommend it.

Morning Angel Mon Apr 20, 2015 12:16 am

laddical wrote:

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her was not what I expected. All I knew was that the story came in three flavors: Her, Him, and Them. Given this I was expecting a cross between Gone Girl and Rashomon which was completely off-base. It's a quiet drama about a woman putting herself back together after losing a child. I'm going to watch Him this evening, which is her husband's side of the story. Them is apparently just scenes from both movies edited into one but I'm probably going to check it out just for comparing the editing.

"Them" is pretty disappointing because it washes out a lot that is interesting and unique about playing with the perspectives of different characters and the unreliability of the narrative. I really loved the Him and Her though when I saw them at TIFF a year and a half ago. It was my favourite movie I saw that year at the festival.

killershrew Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:39 pm

I watched The Babadook and would love to know what anyone else thought about it. (FWIW, I really enjoyed it, though not so much as a straight-up horror film as a treatise on motherhood.)

ulkis Sat May 09, 2015 2:36 pm

Watched 50 Shades of Grey. I thought that guy who played Christian's driver would have made a better Christian. Jamie Dornan is not as cute on reel as he is in pictures. The girl who played Ana played a good drunk. She did not play a good anything else. I don't get why Christian seemed to be shocked that the girl who can barely get a word out is a virgin. They probably should have just made this into a mini-series on a pay cable station so they could have made the sex scenes raunchier.

Coneycat Wed May 13, 2015 8:50 am

So last night I watched Ladyhawke for the first time since the VHS era. I do not understand who decided to get Alan Parsons to score a medieval fantasy story, or why he thought peppy synthesizers were appropriate, but it was still a lot of fun-- swords and sorcery, True Love, a whole lot of fabulous Baroque horses, and Matthew Broderick in a role that felt like the forerunner to Merlin, and possibly explains my immediate favourable reaction to that show. So. Much. Fun.

I've actually looked for the movie on DVD a few times recently, and I've always found either the blu-ray (I have no plans to get a blu-ray player until my current DVD player smothers on cat hair) or European versions. but a couple of weeks ago I reblogged an image from the movie on Tumblr and mentioned my wish to find a copy, and someone who enjoyed my fanfic offered to give me an old copy she had. It all turned into a bit of a shemozzle when the package was accidentally marked as "commercial" instead of a gift in the system and I was about to be charged $35 in brokerage fees, but the sender had been monitoring the package and contacted UPS to get the mistake straightened out. (I had no idea you could even do that!) So it got delivered to me after all, without the fees, and I'm now organizing get-togethers with friends who are of a certain age like myself and also want to see it again.

I should probably write this person a special fic in gratitude or something!

Red Wolf Wed May 13, 2015 10:44 am

Salute of the Jugger. An obscure Rutger Hauer movie that became a cult hit. Post-apocalypic sports movie. An odd mix, but it really works. Not the first time I've seen it, but tonight some of the themes just sort of clicked. It's not about brutality. The Juggers only hit each other as hard as they need to, sometimes less. They want to defeat the other team, not beat them up. It's not about revenge, either. Sallow doesn't care about that, and Vile gets over it. Instead it's about the rewards of being the best. Kidda wants to play for the league and get the rewards of silk. Gar goes along with her. Sallow just wants to prove himself again.

Also, the're's an interesting moment I've never noticed before. The team at Kolka all have blue headbands on their helmets, that reminded me of the Red City team. I wonder if they're close to a Blue City, identifiy themselves with it. Maybe a Blue City B team. Funny moment I never noticed before. In the queue to get the lift down to the Red City, it looks like someone has a pair of lambs on leashes. Really.

MaddyCat Wed Jun 10, 2015 6:08 pm

Saw the very good Begin Again with Ruffalo and Knightley. It was by the same director who did Once and had a similar vibe. It wasn't as good as Once, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. And Mark Ruffalo can do anything, so there's that.

inversed Sun Jun 14, 2015 3:51 pm

St Elmo's Fire just doesn't have the same resonance as it used to when I was in my 20s. First of all, Andie MacDowell should have called the police on creepy-ass Emilio Estevez. Secondly, was Demi Moore really going to kill herself by sitting in a cold apartment? I remember feeling all the feels when I was younger, but mostly I was just rolling my eyes this time around. At least Ally Sheedy chose herself.

RiverThames Sun Jun 14, 2015 6:31 pm

inversed wrote:St Elmo's Fire just doesn't have the same resonance as it used to when I was in my 20s. First of all, Andie MacDowell should have called the police on creepy-ass Emilio Estevez. Secondly, was Demi Moore really going to kill herself by sitting in a cold apartment? I remember feeling all the feels when I was younger, but mostly I was just rolling my eyes this time around. At least Ally Sheedy chose herself.

That's a movie that REALLY did not hold up over time. You could cut Emilio out of the film and not affect any other story. Not that the movie has anything resembling a narrative structure. Stuff happens and then it's, "Demi Moore wants to kill herself in a way that's entirely a cry for attention! Then Rob Lowe is leaving town for some reason! Seems like an ending!"

mayram Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:35 pm

RiverThames wrote:
inversed wrote:St Elmo's Fire just doesn't have the same resonance as it used to when I was in my 20s. First of all, Andie MacDowell should have called the police on creepy-ass Emilio Estevez. Secondly, was Demi Moore really going to kill herself by sitting in a cold apartment? I remember feeling all the feels when I was younger, but mostly I was just rolling my eyes this time around. At least Ally Sheedy chose herself.

That's a movie that REALLY did not hold up over time. You could cut Emilio out of the film and not affect any other story. Not that the movie has anything resembling a narrative structure. Stuff happens and then it's, "Demi Moore wants to kill herself in a way that's entirely a cry for attention! Then Rob Lowe is leaving town for some reason! Seems like an ending!"

The entire Emilio plotline has zero to do with the rest of the movie AND it has no purpose, no resolution, and nothing is gained or learned by it. Really a puzzling choice all around, like the whole storyline is "had a big crush on this girl in college, am creepily obsessed after college, but she has her own life and a hot doctor boyfriend and never had any interest in me." Okay then...

St. Elmo's Fire is one of those movies that I would say I "love" but then whenever I watch it, I'm always like "well, I love it except for this part...and that part...oh and that part there, and this whole section was lame..." I'll still always stop and watch if it's on TV though.

I thought the Jules going off the rails (pre "death by open window" scene, anyway) storyline was kind of interesting and I liked the running thread of Alec being everyone's savior, while being a lying cheater in his romantic relationship. I also liked the symmetry of them growing up by prioritizing responsibilities over nights at the bar by the end of the movie. But mostly it's a lot of nonsensical cheese.

Also, I never bought for a second that Rob Lowe's character would have been accepted into Georgetown, let alone have gotten a diploma!

RiverThames Mon Jun 15, 2015 2:25 pm

To be fair, the actual performances and characterizations are strong, especially from Demi Moore and Rob Lowe. It creates a lot of charm that the movie coasts on in our nostalgia brains. And the Jules story and the Andrew McCarthy one are the closest ones to actual, you know, stories. But not quite.

I actually could buy Rob Lowe's character as the kind of person who was smart enough to do well on exams without trying, and charming enough to fake his way through academia (even at Georgetown), but then have no skills to actually utilize in the adult world.

I don't know for certain, but I've imagined that Emilio had a scheduling issue, and thus most of his stuff was shot independent of the other six.

I've always felt that there's some sort of think piece connecting each story to the seven deadly sins. Some of them are easy (Jules=Pride, Billy=Sloth, Kevin=Envy), but I've never really thought the whole thing out.

Fraoch Wed Jun 17, 2015 2:39 pm

I've never been able to figure out why Mare Winningham's character was friends with any of them.

ulkis Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:42 pm

Coneycat wrote:So last night I watched Ladyhawke for the first time since the VHS era. I do not understand who decided to get Alan Parsons to score a medieval fantasy story, or why he thought peppy synthesizers were appropriate

It was the 80s. Peppy synthesizers were appropriate at all times and occasions, heh.

I've tried to watch that, since it seemed up my alley, but I feel like it's something you had to see for the first time back then, I couldn't really get into it.

Coneycat Thu Jun 18, 2015 4:47 pm

ulkis wrote:
Coneycat wrote:So last night I watched Ladyhawke for the first time since the VHS era. I do not understand who decided to get Alan Parsons to score a medieval fantasy story, or why he thought peppy synthesizers were appropriate

It was the 80s. Peppy synthesizers were appropriate at all times and occasions, heh.

I've tried to watch that, since it seemed up my alley, but I feel like it's something you had to see for the first time back then, I couldn't really get into it.

Not to put words in your mouth but I have to think the poppy synthesizers might have had something to do with it.

I am one of the few people of my age I know who isn't nostalgic for 80s music. I hated most of it then and I still hate most of it. But-- Baroque horses and Rutger Hauer? Yes please!

Agent Sculder Sun Jun 21, 2015 6:46 pm

A while ago I had rented Selma through Netflix, and I just hadn't gotten around to watching it. Finally, I managed to watch it yesterday, and oh my goodness I did some serious ugly crying. I'm sure the events of this week didn't help matters any, but I'm pretty sure I would have been upset either way. I really urge everyone to watch it because it is seriously powerful film making. I understand why people who worked for President Johnson were unhappy with his portrayal in the film (since he comes across as rather dismissive of MLK's arguments for the need for the Voting Right's Act), but that does not take away from how good the movie is.

The Academy should be ashamed of itself that it wasn't nominated for more awards. I've now seen more of the movies that were on the Best Picture list and none of them came close to Selma. Daniel Oyelowo was straight up ROBBED.

RiverThames Wed Jul 01, 2015 1:31 am

ulkis wrote:
Coneycat wrote:So last night I watched Ladyhawke for the first time since the VHS era. I do not understand who decided to get Alan Parsons to score a medieval fantasy story, or why he thought peppy synthesizers were appropriate

It was the 80s. Peppy synthesizers were appropriate at all times and occasions, heh.

I've tried to watch that, since it seemed up my alley, but I feel like it's something you had to see for the first time back then, I couldn't really get into it.

It's a movie that really putters around for a while before it gets going. Plus it's got a real audience-is-two-steps-ahead-of-the-characters problem. We all know that there will be an eclipse in the climax, but they have the monk talking poetic gibberish and Rutger Hauer ignoring him.

One thing I remember about that movie at-the-time, somehow the pre-press got something absurdly wrong, in that everything I read talked about Matthew Broderick's character as he was an accidental time-traveller from modern times who ended up in the middle of thing. Thus it made my first viewing VERY confused.

Gallifrey Girl Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:22 pm

I watched 2 1/4 movies this weekend!

Foxcatcher: Went into it not knowing much about it, other than it had Steven Carrell with a prosthetic nose. And by the time it ended I was glad I'd gone into it blind. I thought it was really well done. Went on wiki afterwards and saw all the awards/nominations it received, and while Carrel and Ruffalo *absolutely* deserved all the recognition they received, I thought Channing Tatum was brilliant (something I didn't expect, pleasant and endearing though he may be!) , and should've got more kudos at the time.

Whiplash: oh my goodness this was amazing! A tight story, well paced, great music and editing. JK Simmons completely deserved that best supporting oscar.

The Machinist: only made it a 1/4 of the way through. I was so completely and utterly distracted by Christian Bales body (and not in a good way, see: Channing Tatum), that I literally couldn't concentrate on the story when he was on screen. I know his weight loss was medically supervised, but it got to me.

whatthedeuce Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:41 pm

I watched Whiplash several times last week on Showtime, and I like it more with each viewing as I notice the personality cycle that the drummers go through. Carl is already so wound-up when Andrew becomes the alternate, and soon enough, you see the sincerity and sweetness in Andrew dissipate as he grows more obsessed with living up to Fletcher's insane demands. By the time the third drummer, who's been nothing but nice to Andrew, shows up, Andrew is a wreck and I realize that Carl probably started out innocent, too, but got worn out and that the same will eventually happen to that third guy. Miles Teller does an amazing job of showing Andrew's mental and emotional deterioration. And of course, J.K. Simmons is such an incredible beast as Fletcher, but when he shows some tenderness in one scene, it's done really well and makes you question if Fletcher actually cares for his students or if he really is just some maniac looking to push others til he finds his Charlie Parker.

eventide82 Sun Jul 19, 2015 7:56 pm

I watched Wild on the weekend and I enjoyed it. It wasn't what I thought it would be (in terms of the story - I didn't know much at all about Cheryl Strayed's life prior to the hike), but Reese Witherspoon was great, and I liked they way they interspersed her time on the PCT with flashbacks about her life. Also, the soundtrack was really good and sparingly used, which I appreciated.

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