Watch, Watched, Watching: Anybody but Superman

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

1 hour ago, Veltigar said:

D&D's involvement makes me doubtful. Plus, I have the book on my shelf so kind of weighing which to tackle first, book or series  

 

[Ran]

Watched a zillion films, it feels like, on airplanes, going out and then coming back from the US. Some of them I ended up snoozing through and did not think too much of (Wonka, Super Mario Bros. Movie, both of which had their cute moments but didn't excite me). I re-watched Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it just confirmed it's one of the finest, most precisely-made films I've ever seen. Also rewatched Asteroid City, which I enjoyed as much as I did the first time, and a recent podcast discussion of the episode made me pay attention a bit more about some of themes of the film which I thought was worthwhile.

I watched A Haunting in Venice after hearing recent praise for it vs Branagh's two previous Poirot outings, and yeah, that was a fun, spooky sort of mystery while having some actual meat at the core of it for the Poirot character, which did wonders for Branagh's performance. 

I also finally saw the original The Fast and the Furious, which I've never seen before, nor any of its many sequels. I appreciated some of the car stunts, and I liked Vin Diesel well enough, but I have to say the late Paul Walker's performance was... weird? Like, he mostly just smiled a lot. He was very handsome, of course, but... I don't know, he didn't interest me. Beyond that, it's a weird film -- it feels pure 90s but it came out 2001, and yet it also is a subpar take on Katherine Bigelow's Point Break.  I don't understand how or why it spawned, like, a dozen follow-up films, but de gustibus...

Oh, I watched Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, starring the diminutive Cailee Spaeny in the titular role and the much-taller-than-actual-Elvis Jacob Elordi as Elvis, which makes a striking difference between the two. I have to say, I am something of a long-term fan of Coppola's, so her approach to film works just fine for me. I thought Spaeny and Butler were both excellent, and I'm curious to see how Spaeny does in the upcoming Alien: Romulus. 

Finally, while laid over in Germany I got the chance to see The Eight Mountains (Original title: Le otto montagne), a 2022 drama from Belgian co-directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch. Based on a novel of the same name by Paolo Cognetti, a documentarian and writer whose novel won a number of international awards when it was published. In any case, it's in Italian and with a fine Italian cast. Starting in 1984, it tracks the friendship (with its ups and downs) of two 11-year-old boys in a remote Alpine village. Pietro's parents -- an engineer and a teacher -- are from Turino, and buy a small place for the summer. There, Pietro meets Bruno, the only child in a dying village, and they become fast friends. Good intentions from Pietro's parents lead to a rift that separates the boys, and they only see one another one more time when they are in the late teens, then not at all again until a tragedy brings them together in their early 30s. But the friendship lives on, and we continue to see their lives. It's a really finely painted relationship, as it goes on to the film's sad and wistful conclusion. Quite profound at times, and the Alpine landscape is sometimes quite breathtaking.

If you like films like Boyhood or Past Lives, this one should work for you.

Edited April 1 by Ran

[Ser Arthurs Dawn]

Shrek 2 is supposed to be re-released here in the US, apparently for one whole week in early April. I'm excited for that.

I finally watched Dune (2021) for the very first time. I've never read the books and had zero knowledge of the plot, which made it more exciting. The story was not at all what I expected it to be, but it was great. I love Zendaya, but I could have lived with fewer 3 second visions of her. I'm pretty excited to watch the second one. After doing a little bit of research, I think I'll be more excited about Feyd-Rautha and Irulan than anyone else.

On 3/29/2024 at 3:17 PM, WarGalley said:

Now I'm on episode 3 of Shogun while on vacation. Absolutely excellent series so far and shaping up to be my #1 show of the year (though admittedly I haven't really been keeping up with many of the more acclaimed series currently broadcasting). Love the political tension and landscape as well as the season starting strong with the Japanese cultural embracement of death. It's difficult to imagine it continuing for the whole season. Blackthorne’s parts are the weakest but I expect that to improve. I am really motivated to go pick up the book and read it alongside the episode viewing and I might just do that when I return home. I assume it can't actually be chapter for chapter even if the novel is broken up that way. I can't recall reading a book alongside watching a show before so I might try it if I don't binge the whole season first.

I've been debating giving this series a try and you just convinced me to. Mostly because of Hiroyuki Sanada, I think he's very talented and underrated. Apparently the grandpa I've never met was obsessed with the original series. Watched it way too many times in a row. 

[WarGalley]

4 hours ago, Ran said:

Also rewatched Asteroid City, which I enjoyed as much as I did the first time, and a recent podcast discussion of the episode made me pay attention a bit more about some of themes of the film which I thought was worthwhile.

Planning to watch this soon. What’s the podcast/episode?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

This is a hilarious trivia quote from filming EuroTrip:
 

Quote

The nude beach scene originally had much less nudity in it. But once they started filming, they realized it took away from the comedy to have all the extras holding surf boards and other objects -- Austin Powers-style -- to cover their private parts. "We thought, 'Wouldn't it be funnier if it was just wall-to-wall penises?'" said Mandel. The extras likely didn't mind the change; according to Trachtenberg, there was a lack of shyness between takes, making for an awkward craft services environment.

[dbunting]

Had some free time and crappy weather over the weekend so watched some stuff.

Godzilla - Kong, what ever this new one was. Saw it in theatre because the listings on the app were wrong and Love lies Bleeding wasn't showing for another hour.  This was the typical monster movie, which is a huge let down after Godzilla minus 1.  Don't recommend unless you like these.

 The Iceman.  Older movie about a real life serial killer / hitman. Decent enough movie, not anything special. Couldn't imagine being the wife or daughters finding out your husband/father is a serial killer and you had no idea.

World War Z.  I've seen this before and decided to watch it again. It's probably my favorite zombie movie. I'm sure it is aided by only dealing with a few days of the zombies but it holds up really well.

The Green Knight  I might have been burned out or just tired but I couldn't get into this. I made it to where Alicia Vikander makes her appearance and realized I was on my phone more than I was watching the movie so I turned it off.

 

[Ran]

7 hours ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

This is a hilarious trivia quote from filming EuroTrip:

Mandel's good buddies with HotD show-runner/genuine ASoIaF fan Ryan Condal, and both have a prop collecting podcast they do for the hell of it. Mandel's got a crazy collection, including recently paying $3.1 million for an X-Wing miniature from ANH. 

Being one of the writers of EuroTrip was apparently a pretty good gig to have. Though I'm guessing most of his money is via Seinfeld and Veep. 

I have never actually seen EuroTrip.

@WarGalley

It was the Screen Drafts podcast's 2023 movie draft, and co-host Clay Keller made a really passionate explanation for why Asteroid City was his #1 movie of the year which resonated with me. He really honed in on how the film seemed, in a lot of ways, to be one of the most personal films of Anderson's (since his earliest films, anyways) because of how it engaged with the ideas of conceiving stories, and how to tell or perform them, thanks to its use of the film-within-a-film conceit.

But that was just a short segment in, like, a 4 or 5 hour podcast, so I would not go listen to it just to get to that bit. Anyways, his discussion of why he loved the film so much made me pay more attention to those aspects of the film, and I thought it worthwhile.

[TheLastWolf]

Is Fanny and Alexander Director's Cut worth the runtime? Bergman has never quite struck a chord with me as much as, say Tarkovsky. Funny, since I prefer the harsh thorns of truth piercing to the cushioning feathers of faith reassuring. Dostoevesky over Tolstoy anyday. If I was any wiser I'd have fun with Chekov and get good sleep. Barring Wild Strawberries and maybe The Seventh Seal everything else of his was disturbing in ways inexplicable. 

I've loved every long film from Kill Bill and Gangs of Wasseypur to Satantango and Dekalog. Scenes from a Marriage and Das Boot not so much, still all these in single sittings.

So can I take the 312min plunge?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

4 hours ago, Ran said:

Mandel's good buddies with HotD show-runner/genuine ASoIaF fan Ryan Condal, and both have a prop collecting podcast they do for the hell of it. Mandel's got a crazy collection, including recently paying $3.1 million for an X-Wing miniature from ANH. 

Being one of the writers of EuroTrip was apparently a pretty good gig to have. Though I'm guessing most of his money is via Seinfeld and Veep. 

I have never actually seen EuroTrip.

I think it's worth watching if you're game for a silly coming of age movie that's a bit raunchy, but not really mean in any way (which you can't always say about comedies from that era). It movies pretty quickly too so you'll probably never feel bored even if the comedy doesn't hit your beats all the time. 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

5 hours ago, dbunting said:

...World War Z....

World War Z is a great movie. The only problem with it is they called it "World War Z". 

I'm all for adaptations that take liberties or that use that source material more as "inspiration" than "canon", but this thing was something else. I think the only thing they kept from the book was "North Korea is doing something weird". 

Troubled production. Didn't make any money. It's a shame we didn't get a sequel. 

[TheLastWolf]

9 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

World War Z is a great movie. The only problem with it is they called it "World War Z". 

I'm all for adaptations that take liberties or that use that source material more as "inspiration" than "canon", but this thing was something else. I think the only thing they kept from the book was "North Korea is doing something weird". 

Troubled production. Didn't make any money. It's a shame we didn't get a sequel. 

My uncle who watches only regional movies opened to international films after this. Wierd lol, considering a lot of way better Hollywood flicks didn't move him.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

34 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said:

My uncle who watches only regional movies opened to international films after this. Wierd lol, considering a lot of way better Hollywood flicks didn't move him.

The audiobook for WWZ in amazing. It's a full cast production with some seriously good voice talent.  

[kissdbyfire]

Has anyone watched the new Ripley series? 
I love Patricia Highsmith’s books, but I didn’t really like the film with Matt Damon and never watched Plein Soleil with Alain Delon, though I was told it's a much better film than the Matt Damon one. 
This new one is directed by Steven Zaillian and that got me excited for it… he directed Searching for Bobby Fischer, a film I absolutely adore, and a has a lot more to his name both as a writer and director. 

[Isis]

9 hours ago, kissdbyfire said:

Has anyone watched the new Ripley series? 
I love Patricia Highsmith’s books, but I didn’t really like the film with Matt Damon and never watched Plein Soleil with Alain Delon, though I was told it's a much better film than the Matt Damon one. 
This new one is directed by Steven Zaillian and that got me excited for it… he directed Searching for Bobby Fischer, a film I absolutely adore, and a has a lot more to his name both as a writer and director. 

Not yet, but I'm gonna. That's why we did a rewatch of the film recently (the film is brilliant, might be the best thing Matt Damon has done actually). 

[kissdbyfire]

10 minutes ago, Isis said:

Not yet, but I'm gonna. That's why we did a rewatch of the film recently (the film is brilliant, might be the best thing Matt Damon has done actually). 

I’m definitely going to watch it too, really looking forward to it. I do feel differently about the Matt Damon film though. 

[Veltigar]

I went to see Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire two days ago. Between Godzilla Minus One and this, I'd say that Godzilla is on a bit of a role. Not that this is anywhere near as good as Godzilla Minus One, but it is the best thing the American monsterverse has produced since Kong: Skull Island and I did have a good time watching it.

[Ramsay B.]

I went and saw Late Night with the Devil yesterday. It was solid and fun but I was kind of expecting more, especially with all of the rave reviews it’s getting. I wish there was more horror madness or something. 

Dastmalchian did really nail the corny 70’s talk show host bit and glad to see him in a lead role. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

As a big fan of Shaun of the Dead of course I had to watch Night of the Living Deb. It's not nearly as good, but still, not a terrible rom-com zombie B movie. The lead actress is pretty decent and the lead actor kind of gives off Hoult vibes from The Menu. The ending is pretty funny though, but in such a dumb way. 

[Zorral]

A ‘Taxi Driver’ Remake: Why Arthur Jafa Recast the Scorsese Ending
The artist has gone back to his filmmaking roots, re-examining what he sees as racial undertones in Martin Scorsese’s classic 1976 movie.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/05/arts/design/jafa-taxi-driver-scorsese-film-art.html

Quote

.... In the original movie — what Jafa calls the “redacted version” — these characters, including Iris’s pimp Sport (played by Harvey Keitel), were white. That never felt right to Jafa. When he discovered that the film’s celebrated screenwriter, Paul Schrader, had intended Sport to be African American, he decided to “restore” the movie by introducing Black actors, except for De Niro and Foster. In the 73-minute-long film, titled “******” — or as the artist pronounces it, “Redacted” — we see this recut version of the bloody climax over and over, each time slightly but crucially different. The result is extraordinary — both technically and conceptually —  and brings to the surface the racist animus long accepted as underpinning Bickle’s barely contained rage. (Quentin Tarantino also criticized the decision to change the character to white in his 2022 book, “Cinema Speculation.”) ....

.... Schrader, who is still making movies at 77, said in a recent telephone conversation that the change to his original vision was the right call. “Someone at Columbia Pictures said to Marty, ‘we’re going to have a riot in the theater if we cast Sport as Black,’ and I realized they were completely right.” ....

 

Edited April 5 by Zorral

[Cas Stark]

Napoleon.  Beautiful, that's about it.  What a very, very strange choice to portray Bonapart with such a flat, emotionless, dare I say incel like affect.  As if he was a bystander in his own conquest of much of Europe.  Phoenix was much too told for this role.  How can you have a Napoleon with no charisma?  Why is old Phoenix paired with young Vanessa Kirby when the reality was the opposite?  What the actual fuck?