TV/Movies Megathread

[Josquius]

Dr. Strange (2017)

T-R-I-P-P-Y

While the plot doesn't offer a lot of surprises and the villain is one dimensional; the MC Escher action scenes more than make up for it.  I had written in my review of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" that:

Wizards really need a better way of resolving conflicts than pointing wands at each other and making angry faces.  They should teach magical karate at Hogwarts.

This film delivers on that count.

I read that Scott Derrickson made the ancient one a young woman in order to avoid the cliche of an ancient Chinese master.  Then he decided to make her white, rather than Asian, in order to not exploit an Asian fetish or create a fanboy's dream girl.  Once again Hollywood has failed this generation of young men.   

The reason I read was more about the original being Tibetan. Not too many Tibetan actors out there and its better not to cast another sort of East Asian.
Plus the issue of whether Tibet is a place or not

[Duque de Bragança]

Silence 2016

In an arthouse, by the Arc de Triomphe, since it had a short commercial cinema run.
I did not find it slow-going but an interest in the period or in Japan is advised, not to mention a decent attention span. Plus, I have survived most Manoel De Oliveira's movies and in some case enjoyed (NON or the Vain Glory to Command) .
If you only swear by CGI-fueled blockbusters, stay away, but that goes without saying. There is some CGI though. 
[spoiler]The New Christian persecution in reverse theme was there except it was not explicitly mentioned cf. Kirishtan crypto-christians who end up drifting from the mainstream catholic creed.
Not enough to fuel Siege's Schadenfreude. Great inquisitor though. [/spoiler]
Very good Scorsese I would say, but not his best.

Caveat: I did not watch the original Japanese movie, nor read the novel which inspired it.


[spoiler]Kylo Ren dies![/spoiler]

[Savonarola]

The reason I read was more about the original being Tibetan. Not too many Tibetan actors out there and its better not to cast another sort of East Asian.
Plus the issue of whether Tibet is a place or not

Kamar-Taj is in Nepal, not Tibet.  I would think white-washing the character would cause greater criticism than not casting an authentic Nepalese in the role.  None of the other actors came from Nepal, after all.

[Admiral Yi]

Rewatched Officer and a Gentleman last night.  This movie is not aging well.  The romantic dynamic is pretty infantile, and Lou Gosset's badassery feels pretty contrived.  All this flic has going for it really is Richard Gere looking pretty in his whites, Debra Winger's reasonably cute tit, and one very good crotch kick.

[CountDeMoney]

That's almost a work of modern art. 

From 1971, maybe.

[CountDeMoney]

Rewatched Officer and a Gentleman last night.  This movie is not aging well.  The romantic dynamic is pretty infantile, and Lou Gosset's badassery feels pretty contrived.  All this flic has going for it really is Richard Gere looking pretty in his whites, Debra Winger's reasonably cute tit, and one very good crotch kick.

It objectified whores.

[Savonarola]

Commando (1985)

This, along with the Conan movies, was a staple at sleep-overs when I was in junior high.  The film might be the one best suited for Ah-nuld's acting talent.  It also benefits by not pretending to be anything other than a stupid shoot-'em-up.  Add in a number of deliciously bad puns and Rae Dawn Chong's gams and you have a movie that's; (while nowhere near as good as I had thought 30 years ago,) still enjoyable.

[viper37]

very fun movie

[Eddie Teach]

Wait a minute. Did Sav call Tilda Swinton a young woman? 

[viper37]

Wait a minute. Did Sav call Tilda Swinton a young woman? 

By Asian kung-fu standards, she is a young woman given that kung-fu masters are usually 100 yo.

[Savonarola]

Mea Culpa

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

There are far too many subplots in this one to work.  I think only half of them got resolved, or maybe I gave up caring at some point.  The final battle scene needed either a much larger or much smaller budget to work.  As it was it looked like a video game.  Still it was a fun movie and they finally got the entire blue person group together.  Blue Power!

[11B4V]

Dark Tower trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK9LpM7qmJY

[Savonarola]

Double Indemnity (1944)

Quite possibly the only film ever made which depicts actuarial science as a tool for good; actuary tables here play the role of The Force in Star Wars films, only there's no dark side.  Guller, if you haven't seen this film you must.

Billy Wilder or Raymond Chandler probably should have changed Barbara Stanwyk's line about being born in California... that's quite an accent for a native of Los Angeles.  Otherwise I think that's her best role; even better than The Lady Eve.  Edgar G. Robinson and Fred MacMurray are both great in very different roles than what they usually played.  The cinematography of the gritty, sinister Los Angeles is marvelous as well, and fits the movie's amoral tone.  All around a wonderful movie.

[Liep]

Spectre: 3/6

Some good action, but overall disappointing James Bond movie. No one liners. The bad guy's muscleman was forgettable, etc.

The Bond girl though. Woah.

[Admiral Yi]

Watched most of "The Man Who Knew Infinity" last night.  Indian self taught mathematical savant goes to England to be all mathematical and stuff.

It's a lot like that editing the novel movie I talked about earlier.  Good cast (Jeremy Irons and Slumdog Millionaire), nicely shot and directed, etc, etc. but it's simply impossible to give a shit about two guys sitting in an office talking about proofs to theorems.  And they spend a lot of time doing that because apparently that's all he did in real life.