Movie Talk

Oppenheimer is now FREE on Netflix!

Recently, I enjoyed American Fiction, and Eileen is also worth a look, controversial but thought provoking (on Amazon).  Ann Hathaway up for an Oscar as an unhinged sex siren psychiatrist, among other nominations.

Saw Poor Things today. 3 movies in 3 days. I'm on a roll.

Excellent flick. Crazy premise. Visually stunning.  Saturated colors. (except for the beginning, which is b&w) Had a steam punk feel to it - kinda reminded me of the video game Bioshock. Surprised that it got a best picture nod. Not for quality but for genre. It's sci-fi/fantasy and pretty unusual.

Recommended.

Just finished Taste of Things!

Don't wait!

Sumptuous!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19760052/

ooh. a food movie! I think I'll check it out. It's playing at the theater I've been going to.

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

I watched Past Lives tonight on prime. It’s a Korean/American film; beautiful and melancholy. And Greta Lee, wow, va-va-voom. That haircut alone sends chills down my spine. 

Loved it and I couldn't help but think it may have been partially inspired by Haruki Murakami's five-page short story, "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning".

rcarter31 said:

Oppenheimer is now FREE on Netflix!

Lots of controversy about this movie in Japan, which is finally being green-lit for theaters there on March 29. 

Saw The Taste of Things tonight. One of the great food movies. Literally mouth watering.

Thanks rcarter!

drummerboy said:

Saw The Taste of Things tonight. One of the great food movies. Literally mouth watering.

Thanks rcarter!

You are MOST Welcomed!  My wife and I are still talking about it!

Saw Godfather 2 on the big screen tonight. Well worth it. Though I've seen it many,many times, I haven't actually sat down and paid attention to it from start to finish in a long time. So, this viewing was well worth it. I noticed a lot of things that I had missed before.

But what I wanted to talk about was upcoming movies. Saw a preview for the upcoming Ghostbusters movie, which includes much of the original cast, including Murray, Ackroyd and other players. Even the ghost that slimed Bill Murray returns. Looks worth seeing.

The other preview I saw (not tonight though) was for a prequel to The Omen called The First Omen. I loved The Omen and this looks very promising.

Of course. most previews look promising. We'll see what happens.

rcarter31 said:

drummerboy said:

Saw The Taste of Things tonight. One of the great food movies. Literally mouth watering.

Thanks rcarter!

You are MOST Welcomed!  My wife and I are still talking about it!

Remember the scene where Dodin talks about the process of eating, describing in detail the journey a mouthful of food takes from the first bite on?

As it happens, I was eating a piece of Aldi's Lemon Cake at the time (highly recommended, btw) and it was like Dodin was choreographing my eating. As a matter of fact, and this will sound a bit weird, but I would say that it's well worth it to bring something to eat with you and start eating it as he begins the monologue. I guarantee it will be an experience.

drummerboy said:

Saw Godfather 2 on the big screen tonight. Well worth it. Though I've seen it many,many times, I haven't actually sat down and paid attention to it from start to finish in a long time. So, this viewing was well worth it. I noticed a lot of things that I had missed before.

I saw that GF2 was playing on the big screen in Manhattan. It may be [one of] the best movie ever made. I, too, have seen it dozens of times (I have the series on Blue Ray and watched it at home many time.) I will try to see it on the big screen. The Ellis Island scenes are so beautifully and movingly real. The last time I saw it in a theater was many decades ago. (I'll probably sneak off and see it myself some weekday evening. Some peoples' eyes glaze over when you begin to rave about GF1 and GF2.)

Yeah, GF1 and 2 are right up there as a couple of the best movies ever, as far as I'm concerned.

On today's movie agenda, I'm thinking of seeing Stopmotion, which looks pretty interesting.

drummerboy said:

Yeah, GF1 and 2 are right up there as a couple of the best movies ever, as far as I'm concerned.

On today's movie agenda, I'm thinking of seeing Stopmotion, which looks pretty interesting.

I think I'm gonna see the Bob Marley biopic tonight. Reviews were not very good, but I love Marley and his music. 

Took a NYT recommendation and watched ONLY GOD FORGIVES last night. (2013 with Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas, two actors I admire.)  Man, oh, man, it sucked. Brutally violent, slow and meandering. Eye stabbings, knives jabbed into ears, hands and arms lopped off, flying samurai swords, children witnessing brutality, etc. I would say the violence was pointless - but it WAS the point. Really bad. (KST was pretty good, though, in her role as a trashy blonde moll, and mother of drug lord Gosling. Pretty good as in pretty laughably bad.)

Saw Stopmotion today. meh. interesting idea. a mix of live and stop motion animation. whether it was real stop motion or CGI, I dunno. Should have stayed for the entire credits.

Plot was kind of confusing, though I admittedly didn't pay full attention.

It also turned into a bit of a gore fest towards the end, for which I no longer have the stomach.

Should have read some complete reviews I guess, instead of just skimming the google search results, which gave me the impression that it would be quite good.

Oh well. I've seen 6 movies in 6 days. 5 were excellent, so that's a pretty good average.

So, I did see One Love, the Bob Marley movie last night and it was a bit better than I expected having read a review or two. But the movie reminds you how amazing he was and how wonderful his music is. I was very moved by his songs in the movie. 

I think Kingsley Ben-Ador lip-synchs the songs. He was as good a Bob Marley as an actor can be but at the end, behind the credits, you see video of the real Bob Marely speaking and performing and it's at that point that you realize how charismatic and electric he was and, until that moment, never for a second did you believe you were watching the real Bob Marley. 

My reco is wait until it's on streaming. And prepare to sing along. Towards the end of the movie, Ben-Adir sings Redemption Song on an acoustic in Jamaica and I nearly lost it. My kids sang that song with their music teacher in elementary school. It's a beautiful, meaningful song. 

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

So, I did see One Love, the Bob Marley movie last night and it was a bit better than I expected having read a review or two. But the movie reminds you how amazing he was and how wonderful his music is. I was very moved by his songs in the movie. 

I think Kingsley Ben-Ador lip-synchs the songs. He was as good a Bob Marley as an actor can be but at the end, behind the credits, you see video of the real Bob Marely speaking and performing and it's at that point that you realize how charismatic and electric he was and, until that moment, never for a second did you believe you were watching the real Bob Marley. 

My reco is wait until it's on streaming. And prepare to sing along. Towards the end of the movie, Ben-Adir sings Redemption Song on an acoustic in Jamaica and I nearly lost it. My kids sang that song with their music teacher in elementary school. It's a beautiful, meaningful song. 

In my humble music opinion, The Wailers were the best performance ever at Maplewoodstock.

yahooyahoo said:

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

So, I did see One Love, the Bob Marley movie last night and it was a bit better than I expected having read a review or two. But the movie reminds you how amazing he was and how wonderful his music is. I was very moved by his songs in the movie. 

I think Kingsley Ben-Ador lip-synchs the songs. He was as good a Bob Marley as an actor can be but at the end, behind the credits, you see video of the real Bob Marely speaking and performing and it's at that point that you realize how charismatic and electric he was and, until that moment, never for a second did you believe you were watching the real Bob Marley. 

My reco is wait until it's on streaming. And prepare to sing along. Towards the end of the movie, Ben-Adir sings Redemption Song on an acoustic in Jamaica and I nearly lost it. My kids sang that song with their music teacher in elementary school. It's a beautiful, meaningful song. 

In my humble music opinion, The Wailers were the best performance ever at Maplewoodstock.

Yes, as I recall they were extraordinary and extraordinarily loud. Maybe the loudest band ever at Maplewoodstock. Volume runner up? Dumpstafunk. 

They were good but they were like the "new" Wailers.  youngsters.  Maybe one or two of the old timers were there at the back of the stage.

I saw the movie Perfect Days tonight. Wim Wenders - director.

It's about a middle-aged Japanese man in Tokyo who cleans the public toilets there. The movie follows him for a few days. He doesn't have any dialogue until the second half of the movie. He's pretty much in every scene. Subtitled.

It is a great movie. Recommended. Great music too - mostly from the 70's.  Lou Reed, Patti Smith, The Animals, more.

I don't know the actor, Koji Yakusho, though he kind of looks familiar. I take it he's famous in Japan. Utterly compelling while doing everyday things.

Admit to being a sucker for WWII movies.   Just finished a dark, gritty one made in Germany, Blood and Gold on Netflix.

Thought it was pretty good!

Best Regards

Ron Carter

When I was young, I dreamed of being a writer who could one day capture an ordinary, quotidian life of happiness and satisfaction in a short story. With Perfect Days, Wim Wenders has made a perfect film of that unrealized story.

It’s not for everyone. Many viewers will be completely bored. (The two-hour movie contains maybe a dozen brief subtitled exchanges. The rest is unspoken.) Others will be entirely enchanted.

I recommend seeing it on the large screen. First, it’s Wenders and beautiful. Second, the more detached you are from a smaller screen and sound, the less engrossed you may be.

If you’re on the fence, you can trust you’ll be in good hands. Perfect Days is a film that understands almost nobody finishes Faulkner.

I'll watch it. I was compelled by Until The End Of The World back in the day, and he taught me back then that you can end a movie. Then for some reason there's more movie. Then you realize the third act started 2.30 hrs into the movie.

I love Wim Wenders.

ridski said:

I was compelled by Until The End Of The World back in the day, and he taught me back then that you can end a movie.

One of my favorite soundtracks, too. The songs in Perfect Days, as DB noted, fall more in the chestnut category. Even the Japanese selection sounds like a lost Tapestry track.

I believe POOR THINGS comes to streaming this week. Has anyone seen it? Do you recommend it be seen in a theater on a big screen? I've been trying to get to this movie for weeks. 

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

I believe POOR THINGS comes to streaming this week. Has anyone seen it? Do you recommend it be seen in a theater on a big screen? I've been trying to get to this movie for weeks. 

I saw it and I recommend the big screen. It's visually stunning. Amazing art direction. The look is kind of steam punk-ish and sort of reminds me of the video game Bioshock.

I broke my movie streak at 9 movies in 9 days (though Sunday I saw all of the animated shorts nominated for Oscars, so more than 9)

after yesterday's day of rest I think I'm going to go see The Zone of Interest today.

The shorts were entertaining, though there was an American entry called I'm Hip that I couldn't figure out how it got nominated.

oops, my mistake. It wasn't nominated. It was a bonus feature I guess, along with a film called Wild Summon, which I think should have been nominated. Though it was completely computer generated in a hyper-realistic style. I wonder if it didn't qualify because of that? dunno

Where were you able to watch the animated shorts?

bub said:

Where were you able to watch the animated shorts?

A small,artsy theater in Akron, Ohio. I live in Ohio now.

oddly enough, of all the movies I saw this week, this had the largest audience. maybe 50 people, maybe more. And it was on a Sunday at 11AM

check here to see if they're playing in NJ

https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/