TV/Movies Megathread

[crazy canuck]

I watched the first two episodes of the Young Pope.  I am not sure what it is I was watching.

[11B4V]

Why Catholics. You were watching Catholics.

[jimmy olsen]

Define western.
Do you mean American or continental?
In the mid 20th century in particular, French cinema was very much its own thing.
I can see more influence from post-war French/pre-war German on Japanese films of the time than I can American. Cliche to say so but...a lot more introspection and unexplained moments.

Pre-war German? Kurosawa got that Riefenstahl tinge? 

I'm glad to have had such an impact on the art of Film review.

[The Larch]

I watched the first two episodes of the Young Pope.  I am not sure what it is I was watching.

It's Sorrentino, it's going to be unusual/weird/ridiculous.

[Josephus]

I watched the first two episodes of the Young Pope.  I am not sure what it is I was watching.

that seems to be the general consensus. I have it recroded and will get to it later.

I know Marty was raving about it earlier...not sure if that's good or bad

[The Brain]

Battleship is on TV. I bet grumbler would find fault with it.

[11B4V]

Battleship is on TV. I bet grumbler would find fault with it.

Yes, its' a stupid movie.

[Capetan Mihali]

Arrival  "OK" is the best I can muster upon recollection, which isn't great for a theater viewing.   Linguistics is interesting?  I like that the movie sets up all the visuals for world destruction, but opts for a quiet conclusion -- perhaps the destruction of human/Western metaphysics is implied.


Elle -- Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.  So happy I caught it before its theatrical run here ended. 

Isabelle Huppert is a legend in her own time, and her whole career is just a gift she's given to cinema.  While there other great performances in the film, it feels impossible to imagine another actress even taking this role, let alone doing such a job with it.

Against all odds, the news that "Paul Verhoeven made a rape movie" turned out to be very good, indeed.   Though I still can't believe he seriously tried to make it in the US first. :xd: I can just imagine the looks on the faces of the A-list Hollywood actresses as they read the synopsis before throwing it in the garbage.  Vive la France.


Dog Day Afternoon.  A real treat to see one of my favorites on 35mm.  Despite having such a bitter ending, it still makes you hope that maybe it will actually work.  And so moving, for me at least: I confess I lost myself a little during the "ATTICA! ATTICA!" part, but the audience around me did not pick up my quickly-stifled outburst of cheering and applause.   

The scene when Sal solemnly affirms that he is, in fact, ready to shoot those hostages brought tears to my eyes.  He communicates so well that what's truly scary about the situation isn't that you'll chicken out at the crucial moment, but that you *won't* -- that you've looked into your soul and discovered that you are 100% ready to kill innocent people.  On this viewing, I discovered that even though Pacino as Sonny is fantastic, Sal is the heart and soul of the movie.  It's terrible that we lost John Cazale so young to cancer; between this, the Godfather, and the Deer Hunter, he crammed a lot of "best supporting" talent into a short career. 

Double Indemnity.  I watched this just now on DVD.  I was in a hateful, nihilistic mood and wanted a hateful, nihilistic movie.  I didn't have time for "Chinatown," and saw "Touch of Evil" too recently: this is another absolute favorite of mine, and suited me perfectly.

I realized something Languish-related as I watched it: Edward G. Robinson's tirade to the big boss on suicide methods should be for actuaries what Michael Douglas's "greed is good" spiel is for stockbrokers.  "Come now, you've never read an actuarial table in your life, have you? Why they've got ten volumes on suicide alone. Suicide by race, by color, by occupation, by sex, by seasons of the year...."  It ought to have the same instant quotability status.  Get on it, DGuller.

Better source material is impossible to find -- a book by James M. Cain adapted by Raymond Chandler -- and the casting is perfect.  Fred MacMurray is so believable as a smug salesman with sub-Hollywood good looks, Barbara Stanwyck totally convincing as the feminine incarnation of perdition.  And no other movie showed Edward G. Robinson's peculiar talents in their full glory as well as his range: the way he delivers his final line just crushed me.

[CountDeMoney]

So that's what you've been up to.  Watching movies.

[LaCroix]

hey, CM, weren't you bitching about contract public defenders awhile back? I've been seeing a lot of those lately. they suck pretty hard

[CountDeMoney]

Stop getting locked up, Capone.

[Ideologue]

Dog Day Afternoon.  A real treat to see one of my favorites on 35mm.  Despite having such a bitter ending, it still makes you hope that maybe it will actually work.

It's why I like Inside Man better.   I do like DDA an awful lot, though.  Lumet had some really swell movies to his name (though DDA wouldn't even be in my top three).

I guess I need to see Elle when I can.  Everybody's falling over themselves to call it the second (or even first) coming of Paul Verhoeven.

[CountDeMoney]

It's why I like Inside Man better.

Movie magic!

[Ideologue]

My favorite callback to DDA in Inside Man is that everybody goes by a variation on "Steve," i.e. the guy who bailed on Sonny and Sal before the heist had even started.

[11B4V]

Black Sails S1: Good primer and background setting. B

S2 so far A