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Julia
Sacre merde!!!
Julia Child was a Boss.
This is a wonderfully charming documentary about the life and times of a true gastronomic pioneer.
It's informative, illuminating, funny AF, and poignant.
She was truly a larger-than-life personality.
And her love of butter? Holy moly!
Definitely loved “The French Dispatch”, (though I’m a Wes fan). I laughed at all the almost cameos as they appear. We just saw “King Richard” last night (which is really a documentary).
Also…what the hell is Belfast about? I can’t tell from the preview/trailer.
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I yammered about it in post #1172 on the previous page (https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...70#post6456270).Quote:
Originally Posted by plugboots
But here's the uber short take:
It's a coming-of-age story largely taking place on a residential street in Belfast circa 1969 at the outset of "The Troubles."
Wolf (2021)
Definitely not to be confused with the decent Jack Nicholson vehicle from 1994.
Of all the mono syllabic herd animal films that came out this year (Pig and Lamb being the other two), Wolf is the weakest of the pack.
Where the film fails is that it never feels centered. It's unsure of whether to be an absurdist dark comedy (a la King of Hearts or Swiss Army Man), a serious drama (a la Girl Interrupted), a scathing indictment of mental health practises, or a quirky love story.
I will give props to George MacKay, whose lithe body and lanky mannerisms capture a wolf like aura, but Paddy Considine's sadistic turn as the head doctor never reaches Nurse Ratchet levels of inhumanity and instead comes off merely as a vile villain stereotype.
While the trailer was promising, sadly once the "novelty" of lycanthropy wears off we are left with nothing more than a routine dysfunctional teen romance. After all is said and done, the film feels like an ABC Afterschool Special gussied up as an edgy arthouse effort.
Rating: 2/5
Ghostbuster: Afterlife
I was pretty hesitant and downright ambivalent about this film ever since the trailer dropped. But since there is currently very little snow in Tahoe and my winter job hasn't started I broke down and went to see it yesterday.
Lo and behold, it is actually pretty decent. I was pleasantly surprised and found that I rather enjoyed its summer popcorn flick vibe. It was just what the doctor ordered for this slow start winter.
For the most part it's a super nostalgia bomb for those who grew up on films like The Goonies, Gremlins, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Most of the cast is great, but the standouts are Carrie Coon and Mckenna Grace; the film probably would have crumbled without them. The story is kind of a retrofitted rehash of the 1984 film, but has enough new vim and vigor to keep it afloat and feeling moderately fresh. The pacing is superb, glossing over needless exposition in favor of keeping things moving along briskly. There are a few story holes, but the swift pace mostly covers them up. That said, the film is not without its hiccups, mostly in the form of the gratuitous (and, imho, unessecary) fan service "obligations," but overall it is a fun and breezy diversion and a pretty worthy sequel to the original.
Coming in spring 2022 from the brilliantly twisted fools responsible for Swiss Army Man...
So .... a day stuck inside well spent!
The Matrix Resurrections
More like The Meh-trix.
This is one of those sequel reboots that should have never been greenlit.
I knew I was in for mediocrity when they started using "flashback" clips from the first film and continued to sprinkle them throughout the 148 minute run time.
The fight scenes were clumsy and claustrophobic and the action sequences would make Michael Bay cringe. Overall this iteration lacks any of the finesse and visual flair of the original film from which it laboriously clings to.
And the film's whole meta approach was limp wristed at best.
There's a moment when the character named Bug says something to the effect of "they took something very meaningful and made it trivial," which pretty much sums up this film.
The best thing about it was the gaudy clothes that the new Morpheus wears; they looked like they were rousted from a Dolemite wardrobe.
To sum it up: at the climax, the majority of the audience in the theater laughed; it was not a "holy shot that was amazing!" laugh, but rather a "wow, that was f%&king stupid!" laugh.
2/5
Nightmare Alley
While not quite in the league of The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak, or Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's take on William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel is still worth a watch. For one, it's a lush and extravagant production, both in look and feel. For another, it's a bit more true to the source material than the lauded 1947 Tyrone Power's starring film.
The real draw here, after Dan Laustsen's rich cinematography and Tamara Deverell's slick, yet gritty production design, is the cast, which is top-notch and insanely engaging.
It's not without its faults, however. The beginning is a bit shaky and the ending doesn't resonate with the same twisting horror as the novel, but the middle part of the film is pretty damn glorious; it serves as a spicy filling sandwiched between two slices of bread.
And while some of the changes del Toro and Kim Morgan made in their script are a bit wonky, many of them are great.
RIYL
Crimson Peak; The Shape of Water
The King's Man
The prequel/origin story to the Kingsman franchise is an entertaining romp fueled by a suberb cast, snappy action sequences, and rather restrained (which is nice) humor (compared to the over-the-top absurdity of the previous two films).
Filled with a few twists, plenty of ribald antics, a bit of ballet, and some wonderful callbacks, it's engaging from start to finish. One of its major triumphs is that it deftly manages to take itself seriously and take the piss in equal measure, resulting in a well balanced blast of historical fiction.
FWIW, I saw The film with my 87 year-old dad who is a history buff. He enjoyed the way they tweaked key historical moments of WW1 and how they played around with the various historical figures augmenting the story.
I really enjoyed it, too. The WW1 history rewrite was interesting. Making the US the heroes and completely ignoring the French is uh, interesting to say the least. Otherwise it was a fun one.
The new Matrix on the other hand, what an abomination of a movie. They basically admit ten minutes in this is just a money maker, and it felt like everyone just phoned it in. I think there is a good movie in there somewhere beneath all of the awkward call backs and the unfollowable plot.
Licorice Pizza
Imagine if Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, and Cameron Crowe had collaborated on a flashback episode of Seinfeld, which took place in L.A. during the 1973 oil crisis. That's kinda, sorta, but not really the vibe of Paul Thomas Anderson's latest cinematic exploit, which at its core is an unconventional love story featuring waterbeds, pinball machines, and schmarmy Hollywood characters.
It's idiosyncratic, uncomfortably charming, quirky, and hilarious and features some tour de force acting, gonzo cameos, and enough eccentricity to keep you thoroughly entertained.
RIYL
Almost Famous; Dazed and Confused; Once Upon A Time In Hollywood; Fast Times at Ridgemont High; Everybody Wants Some; Pulp Fiction
Not in theaters but “The Rescue” on Disney+ was worth the watch. Insane.
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THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
I have finally conceded that the works of The Bard just aren't my thing.
His flowery prose is too often lost on me.
That said, this is the first cinematic rendering of his work that I have seen where I didn't fall asleep during my viewing of it.
I was caught a bit off-guard as I was expecting this to be a re-imagining of the Scottish madman's tale in the way that O Brother Where Art Thou? was a re-imagining of The Odyssey.
Instead, Mssr Joel Coen (sans Ethan) delivers a fairly faithful rendition lacking any of his or his brother's characteristic quirk, but is teeming with rich and stylish visual flair (I felt it owes a great debt to the works of Bergman, specifically The Seventh Seal and Hour of the Wolf).
While I found the dialogue challenging, I was never bored thanks to the cool imagery and the mostly stellar cast.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
If you have enjoyed the previous Tom Holland Spider-Man films, then you will probably dig this one.
As for me, while Holland is certainly charismatic as Peter Parker, the whole affair was a bit lackluster and felt of forced fanboy service, not to mention seeming like a 2+ hour trailer/prequel for the next Doctor Strange film.
Ultimately, I didn't feel that it was worth the $11.75 and the trip to the theater; wait for it to show up at Redbox or on streaming instead.
Honestly, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse put a way cleverer spin on the whole multiverse thing.
Went and saw Scream last night on a whim. It was pretty good, nothing fantastic but kind of clever as the franchise can be. I was the only person in the theater. First time I've been since the pandemic.
Coming end of May from writer/director Alex Garland (The Beach, Ex Machina):
Watched the French Dispatch (now streaming on hbo). I could almost watch that movie on mute - it's so visually interesting.
It's the most Wes Anderson-y thing I've seen from Wes Anderson. I'm not sure there was a single shot in the whole movie that wasn't absolutely dripping with the characteristic Anderson style. Sometimes it's so over the top that it felt like Anderson was making a caricature of a caricature of a Wes Anderson film. Which is entirely entertaining.
I humbly recommend checking out Mon Oncle and Playtime, two films by Jacques Tati which I am sure Wes Anderson drew inspiration from (heck, the opening segment of The French Dispatch is a direct homage to Tati).Quote:
Originally Posted by toast2266
:cool::D
Thanks. I'll have to check those out!Quote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX
THE BATMAN
Matt Reeves's take on The Dark Knight is good.
Not great, mind you, but pretty damn good.
For starters its pacing is solid with the film feeling like a nice 90-minutes instead of the damn near 3 hours it actually is.
And the cast is brilliant. Robert Pattinson makes for a good Bruce Wayne/Batman and Zoe Kravitz finally brings Silver Screen legitimacy to Catwoman. The supporting cast is gonzo good, too, teeming with a number of surprises.
There are a few moments of treacley melodrama and while Michael Giacchino's score has some intriguing motifs, Reeves has it blasting virtually non-stop from the first frame until the credits fade out; somebody needs to teach him about the power of silence.
The film owes a huge debt to the likes of Chinatown, Blade Runner, L.A. Confidential, and Dark City, too, containing imagery and story elements that are heavily tinged with deja vu.
Despite its shortcomings, it is still 100 times better than 93% of the fare Marvel keeps pushing into the cineplexes.
PS
It reminded me a lot of Watchmen, too.
Addendum:
FWIW, I managed to score a screening that was empty, so I had an entire 100 seat theater with reclining loungers to myself and on opening day no less! (Renting the theater out costs $199, btw, and I only paid $11.75). Kinda crazy as the screening before and after were pretty much sold out.
:cool:
Playtime is one of my favourite films of all timeQuote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX
THE OUTFIT
This is a wonderfully taut psychological drama-cum-gangsters with guns-cum-noir-cum-one room neo thriller teeming with hints of Hitchcock, Mamet, and Tarantino.
Propelled by a stellar cast, some downright fantastic dialogue, and myriad twists, it is tightly knit and seamless. While some of the plot elements are ultimately predictable, they never feel forced or faux and often times they emerge with a sense of off-handed subtlety, having been obscured by the bravura acting and numerous sleight-of-hand red herrings. Lurking underneath the subdued action is a wonderfully complimentary score by Alexandre Desplat.
The whole film is as well-tailored as one of the bespoke suits cut by the lead protagonist.
RIYL
The early plays of David Mamet (think American Buffalo) as well as his early films; Reservoir Dogs; The Petrified Forest (1936)
Really looking forward to this ^^^ when it starts streaming. I fell in love with Mark Rylance when I saw him in Wolf Hall.