What movies have you been watching?

[soccerluvof4]

Watched two limited Series Netflix Shows

Spy- True Story Very good
I-Land. I enjoyed it.

[lizzzi]

"What We Did On Our Holiday" on Amazon Prime is a hidden gem. Warning: Be prepared for very thick Scottish accents.

This BBC movie starts off looking like it's going to be a stupid family road trip movie, like Chevy Chase going to Wally World. It's nothing like that, so hang in there. A couple is divorcing, and with their three young children are driving up from England to Scotland to stay with relatives and have a big family birthday party for the grandfather, who is terminally ill. They are keeping the divorce secret so as not to distress everybody. Then ensues a rich plum pudding of humor, drama, sadness, poignancy, and wisdom. Colin Tennant is good as the divorcing dad, Billy Connolly is incredible as the grandad--particularly in his interactions with the kids--and there are a bunch of wacky family members and a sprinkling of British character actors you will probably recognize to keep you entertained--until you start to choke up and try not to cry. What happens on the beach with the kids and grandfather is a must-see. This movie has the best cinematography of  Scottish scenery that I've ever seen in my life. Breathtaking. And at a couple points there is some great Celtic fiddle playing. Recommended.

[Noodle]

Two very different movies:

Watched The Favourite, which is a movie people apparently tend to love or hate. It didn't sound like my kind of thing at all so skipped it until I got interested in Sarah Marlborough, one of the main characters, for other reasons. It reminded me a bit of the Marie Antoinette movie a few years ago in that it's a historical setting, with real people and real events, but fictionalized plot and a very stylized cinematography, costumes, etc. (No deliberate anachronisms like the Marie Antoinette movie, though). Much to my surprise, I really liked it even though no one in it is particularly likeable which is usually a criteria for me. The acting is just top-notch (Olivia Colman, who played Queen Anne, won an Oscar). I am really excited now to see Olivia Colman as the next iteration of Queen Elizabeth in The Crown.

Also watched Shazam! which is not as polished as the Marvel superhero movies but was still a lot of fun. I have liked Zachary Levi, who plays the adult version of the superhero, since he played the nerd spy Chuck on TV, and the kid version of the character was quite charming.

[Prairie Gal]

Went to see The Peanut Butter Falcon at the cheap theater last week. We enjoyed it.

[Noodle]

Watched "Spiderman: Far from Home" which was...perfectly fine. Apparently it's considered the final movie in Marvel's Phase 3, which makes sense--it really deals with the aftermath of the events of the last two Avengers movies. I had liked the first Spiderman movie for the goofy humor and lightness of tone, and there is a lot less of that in this movie. Plus I am really ready to be done with the whole Infinity War plotline and on to other stories.

Also watched "From Up on Poppy Hill" which is a Japanese animated (Studio Ghibli) movie. It's historical, set in early 1960s Japan, and is just really beautiful to look at. It's very light and sweet, about teenagers dealing with fairly low-key problems, and I really enjoyed it.

[sui generis]

We watched the most ponderous movie last night. Ponderous because I thought it was obviously awful for real cinematic reasons, but critics apparently quite liked it.  It's called Margaret, and I never found out why it's called that, because there's not a single character with that name.  I might have missed that a play the mom was in or perhaps a piece of literature they were reading in English class was named that, but that's pretty tangential.  Anyway it has quite a few famous people in it, though it did poorly at the box office and I had never heard of it before (it's about 8 years old), including Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Allison Janney and Mark Ruffalo. 

I'm really interested if anyone else here has seen it.  I thought the dialogue was so awful in places and there were so many times that scenes were excessively awkward and I thought the acting was beyond bad, especially for these actors.  I'm no stranger to excessive awkwardness, but this was awkward in a way that human awkwardness just actually isn't.  Also, there were just whole scenes or parts of scenes that didn't seem to have a place in the movie or maybe referenced earlier or later scenes that got cut and would have made more sense if the other scene was there?  It was all just such a mess, I was surprised critics thought it was good.

[Kris]

We watched the most ponderous movie last night. Ponderous because I thought it was obviously awful for real cinematic reasons, but critics apparently quite liked it.  It's called Margaret, and I never found out why it's called that, because there's not a single character with that name.  I might have missed that a play the mom was in or perhaps a piece of literature they were reading in English class was named that, but that's pretty tangential.  Anyway it has quite a few famous people in it, though it did poorly at the box office and I had never heard of it before (it's about 8 years old), including Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Allison Janney and Mark Ruffalo. 

I'm really interested if anyone else here has seen it.  I thought the dialogue was so awful in places and there were so many times that scenes were excessively awkward and I thought the acting was beyond bad, especially for these actors.  I'm no stranger to excessive awkwardness, but this was awkward in a way that human awkwardness just actually isn't.  Also, there were just whole scenes or parts of scenes that didn't seem to have a place in the movie or maybe referenced earlier or later scenes that got cut and would have made more sense if the other scene was there?  It was all just such a mess, I was surprised critics thought it was good.

I haven’t seen it, but you made me curious enough to look it up. It sounds odd, too be sure, and I don’t think I’ll be watching it.

But I did find out what the title is in reference to:

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/movies/margaret-directed-by-kenneth-lonergan-review.html

[sui generis]

I had a feeling it was something they were reading in class it referred to! It was hard to catch while you are watching though, that's for sure.

And that review, especially the end, is a lot more consistent with my experience of the movie than the other, sometimes glowing, reviews I read, including one that described it as the most exciting thing to happen in cinema that year.

[By the River]

Husband and I just watched "Train to Busan" on Netflix. Pretty good Korean zombie apocalypse movie.

I watched that one recently.  I enjoyed it even though they are the fast zombies rather than slow pondering ones from my youth.  As I told a co-worker, if you want to see a Korean zombie movie, it has to be Train to Busan. 

[sparkytheop]

"What We Did On Our Holiday" on Amazon Prime is a hidden gem. Warning: Be prepared for very thick Scottish accents.

I watched that this weekend after seeing your post.  It was an enjoyable movie :)

[soccerluvof4]

Been watching Animal Kingdom on Amazon Prime. I love it.

[slackmax]

We watched the most ponderous movie last night. Ponderous because I thought it was obviously awful for real cinematic reasons, but critics apparently quite liked it.  It's called Margaret, and I never found out why it's called that, because there's not a single character with that name.  I might have missed that a play the mom was in or perhaps a piece of literature they were reading in English class was named that, but that's pretty tangential.  Anyway it has quite a few famous people in it, though it did poorly at the box office and I had never heard of it before (it's about 8 years old), including Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Allison Janney and Mark Ruffalo. 

I'm really interested if anyone else here has seen it.  I thought the dialogue was so awful in places and there were so many times that scenes were excessively awkward and I thought the acting was beyond bad, especially for these actors.  I'm no stranger to excessive awkwardness, but this was awkward in a way that human awkwardness just actually isn't.  Also, there were just whole scenes or parts of scenes that didn't seem to have a place in the movie or maybe referenced earlier or later scenes that got cut and would have made more sense if the other scene was there?  It was all just such a mess, I was surprised critics thought it was good.

I got interested in seeing this movie after reading your review so I checked it out at the library. You're right, the acting is quite 'real people just don't do this' in some scenes.  I haven't watched the whole thing yet. The bus just ran over the lady and the girl is trying to help her.

I keep thinking I have seen this movie before, but maybe I am just remembering some previews of it.  So far I like it, even with the unbelievable scenes.

[slackmax]

Just saw The Joker at the megaplex for $5.99. Good movie!  It's your basic 'troubled young man with difficult childhood goes crazy, becomes vigilante' movie.  The main character is believable, due to great acting. It has lots of unbelievable scenes, but that's OK since it's based on  comic  book lore.

Great cinematography. Great soundtrack. Reminded me of Pulp Fiction in some ways.
I don't think it will win the Oscar or anything, but enjoyable movie.

Spoiler alert : At the end of the movie the main character ends up in the psych ward, crazy but happy.
 

[slackmax]

We watched the most ponderous movie last night. Ponderous because I thought it was obviously awful for real cinematic reasons, but critics apparently quite liked it.  It's called Margaret, and I never found out why it's called that, because there's not a single character with that name.  I might have missed that a play the mom was in or perhaps a piece of literature they were reading in English class was named that, but that's pretty tangential.  Anyway it has quite a few famous people in it, though it did poorly at the box office and I had never heard of it before (it's about 8 years old), including Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Allison Janney and Mark Ruffalo. 

I'm really interested if anyone else here has seen it.  I thought the dialogue was so awful in places and there were so many times that scenes were excessively awkward and I thought the acting was beyond bad, especially for these actors.  I'm no stranger to excessive awkwardness, but this was awkward in a way that human awkwardness just actually isn't.  Also, there were just whole scenes or parts of scenes that didn't seem to have a place in the movie or maybe referenced earlier or later scenes that got cut and would have made more sense if the other scene was there?  It was all just such a mess, I was surprised critics thought it was good.

I got interested in seeing this movie after reading your review so I checked it out at the library. You're right, the acting is quite 'real people just don't do this' in some scenes.  I haven't watched the whole thing yet. The bus just ran over the lady and the girl is trying to help her.

I keep thinking I have seen this movie before, but maybe I am just remembering some previews of it.  So far I like it, even with the unbelievable scenes.

OK, just finished up Margaret. I don't know why the critics loved it so much. Good scenes of NYC Jewish women interacting with one another. Never boring. And it ends with an opera scene, which I liked. 

[Roadrunner53]

Watched El Camino A Breaking Bad Movie on Netflix. It was really good! If you have not watched Breaking Bad series, not sure you would have 'gotten it'. Many flashbacks to things that happened during the original series. I was even confused with a few things and looked up the things on Wiki to clear up some of my questions. I had a few ah ha moments!

If you watched Breaking Bad, then watch the movie. If not, I guess you would enjoy it but it might have you scratching your head a bit.

[ketchup]

Watched El Camino A Breaking Bad Movie on Netflix. It was really good! If you have not watched Breaking Bad series, not sure you would have 'gotten it'. Many flashbacks to things that happened during the original series. I was even confused with a few things and looked up the things on Wiki to clear up some of my questions. I had a few ah ha moments!

If you watched Breaking Bad, then watch the movie. If not, I guess you would enjoy it but it might have you scratching your head a bit.

I also watched this last night.  Would definitely recommend to any Breaking Bad fan.

[OtherJen]

Watched El Camino A Breaking Bad Movie on Netflix. It was really good! If you have not watched Breaking Bad series, not sure you would have 'gotten it'. Many flashbacks to things that happened during the original series. I was even confused with a few things and looked up the things on Wiki to clear up some of my questions. I had a few ah ha moments!

If you watched Breaking Bad, then watch the movie. If not, I guess you would enjoy it but it might have you scratching your head a bit.

I also watched this last night.  Would definitely recommend to any Breaking Bad fan.

Seconded. We just finished it and now I want to rewatch the series. Good stuff.

[sparkytheop]

Watched El Camino A Breaking Bad Movie on Netflix. It was really good! If you have not watched Breaking Bad series, not sure you would have 'gotten it'. Many flashbacks to things that happened during the original series. I was even confused with a few things and looked up the things on Wiki to clear up some of my questions. I had a few ah ha moments!

If you watched Breaking Bad, then watch the movie. If not, I guess you would enjoy it but it might have you scratching your head a bit.

I also watched this last night.  Would definitely recommend to any Breaking Bad fan.

Seconded. We just finished it and now I want to rewatch the series. Good stuff.

I just binged the series a month or so ago.  Didn't realize the movie was already done, but looks like I know what I'll be watching tomorrow!

[Roadrunner53]

We binged on Breaking Bad too a few months ago. I was depressed when it ended! Watched the movie and now am depressed again. One of those shows you just hate to end...

[TVRodriguez]

"What We Did On Our Holiday" on Amazon Prime is a hidden gem. Warning: Be prepared for very thick Scottish accents.

I watched that this weekend after seeing your post.  It was an enjoyable movie :)

I watched What We Did On Our Holiday on Amazon Prime after seeing both of your posts.  I really enjoyed it as well.  Definitely teared up in parts, but also laughed out loud several times.  It was a lovely story and a lovely distraction for me, as I was traveling on a bus at the time (had downloaded it on my phone).  And I can't get enough of those accents.  The kids were fantastic--all of the actors were, I thought.  Hidden gem indeed!

[Bloop Bloop]

Watched Joker. Found it well-acted and generally well-constructed, but the message (of riot-style populism against the rich) struck me as deeply cynical, coming from an industry (Hollywood) that represents all of the worst excesses of the rich.

In building up an anti-hero, or a hero, it conveniently made the only populist target "the undeserving rich"; all the other, more typical, less morally acceptable, targets of white male populist violence (blacks, gays, women) were conveniently left out.

So I found myself disliking the movie for its cynical and manipulative manner.

[OtherJen]

We watched “In the Tall Grass” on Netflix. The plot was solid, but I think the movie was about a half-hour too long.

[BikeFanatic]

Saw Judy last night movie about Judy Garland later years. I really enjoyed it. 8$ matinee, great on the big screen.

[Noodle]

Over the weekend, watched "What Men Want" with Taraji Henson which was a gender-reversed remake of the older movie "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson. It was fine (and Taraji P. Henson has pretty remarkable range, considering that she got nominated for an Oscar for Hidden Figures, played the matriarch on the Fox hip-hop soap Empire, and did this comedy very competently). It didn't have as much to say as the earlier version did, because Mel Gibson was playing an old-school sexist for whom women didn't exist as real people until he started hearing their thoughts, whereas Henson's character is a woman who has trouble with people in general.  But I enjoyed it.

Also watched "On the Basis of Sex" about Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a young woman. Felicity Jones goes in and out of a Brooklyn accent, but it was interesting to see Ginsburg's early years...it was a pretty standard "hero's journey" movie other than that. (Although her husband Marty was apparently pretty unusual too, and I enjoyed learning more about him.)

Finally watched "Apollo 11." I have seen many documentaries and feature films about the space program at this point, so I wasn't expecting much. It was really spectacular. Apparently they got access to some very high-quality footage that had never been publicly available before. The filmmakers really let the footage tell the story...there are no talking heads, and the narration is period audio from NASA and the media, so you feel that you're watching the story as it happens. Highly recommend, even if you aren't usually into documentaries.

[Psychstache]

Watched Joker. Found it well-acted and generally well-constructed, but the message (of riot-style populism against the rich) struck me as deeply cynical, coming from an industry (Hollywood) that represents all of the worst excesses of the rich.

In building up an anti-hero, or a hero, it conveniently made the only populist target "the undeserving rich"; all the other, more typical, less morally acceptable, targets of white male populist violence (blacks, gays, women) were conveniently left out.

So I found myself disliking the movie for its cynical and manipulative manner.

You may find this analysis of the movie interesting, particularly as an Australian.

https://othersociologist.com/2019/10/06/gender-race-and-ableism-in-joker/amp/?fbclid=IwAR1Q6GERKRkAvgVRvgcZ9z_JNOteENvIs9oglmCtqCP3QUwrSj8Ug3vGSZs

[Bloop Bloop]

Watched Joker. Found it well-acted and generally well-constructed, but the message (of riot-style populism against the rich) struck me as deeply cynical, coming from an industry (Hollywood) that represents all of the worst excesses of the rich.

In building up an anti-hero, or a hero, it conveniently made the only populist target "the undeserving rich"; all the other, more typical, less morally acceptable, targets of white male populist violence (blacks, gays, women) were conveniently left out.

So I found myself disliking the movie for its cynical and manipulative manner.

You may find this analysis of the movie interesting, particularly as an Australian.

https://othersociologist.com/2019/10/06/gender-race-and-ableism-in-joker/amp/?fbclid=IwAR1Q6GERKRkAvgVRvgcZ9z_JNOteENvIs9oglmCtqCP3QUwrSj8Ug3vGSZs

Thanks for the link. I agree with most of the article. I think the reason that Joker came off so unwholesome to me is that it did seem to resonate with a particular type of person who has a particular grievance with the world - the white, male, loser.

[soccerluvof4]

Since its been nearly 27 years since the show was on I started watching from the beginning NYPD Blue on Hulu. Such a great cutting edge show. Dennis Franz was so good in his role and so many characters and guests in almost every episode you see have gone on to do many may things. Other than the automobiles the show seems too like it could be on today.

[LaineyAZ]

Rented "American Woman" from the Redbox kiosk. 
Stars the wonderful Sienna Miller who plays a 35ish age mom of a 17 year old daughter who goes missing and is presumed dead.  Like her mother, daughter was also a teen parent who had a baby son who Sienna now has to raise.  Setting is present-day Pennsylvania. Christina Hendricks plays her sister, and Aaron Paul plays a love interest. 
Wonderfully acted, realistic and compelling storyline.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Watched Joker. Found it well-acted and generally well-constructed, but the message (of riot-style populism against the rich) struck me as deeply cynical, coming from an industry (Hollywood) that represents all of the worst excesses of the rich.

In building up an anti-hero, or a hero, it conveniently made the only populist target "the undeserving rich"; all the other, more typical, less morally acceptable, targets of white male populist violence (blacks, gays, women) were conveniently left out.

So I found myself disliking the movie for its cynical and manipulative manner.

You may find this analysis of the movie interesting, particularly as an Australian.

https://othersociologist.com/2019/10/06/gender-race-and-ableism-in-joker/amp/?fbclid=IwAR1Q6GERKRkAvgVRvgcZ9z_JNOteENvIs9oglmCtqCP3QUwrSj8Ug3vGSZs

Thanks for the link as well. It's interesting how some people saw such a different version of the movie than I did. I agree with the ultimate conclusion that "From beginning to end, Joker does nothing new" even though the path taken to get to that conclusion is so different. I think that review is capturing a small aspect to the movie I did not consider. Next time I go to a film, I will bring along some long-form census questionnaires so I can keep track of the characters.

[slackmax]

Just watched 'The Wife' with Glenn CLose. I give it a 3.5 out of 5. Good story line. Good acting. Glenn Close is the ghost writer for her novelist husband (he comes up with the plots, and she does the writing). The reasoning is that female authors at the time (1960's??) were not respected, and were not published much. (I don't believe it, but that's the premise here in this movie)

Husband wins Nobel prize for one of 'their' novels.  Wife gets resentful, arguments happen, breakup almost happens, but the couple live happily ever after in the end, their secret intact.

I thought 'The Joker' was twice as enjoyable as 'The Wife', but that's just my opinion, lol.     

[Tyson]

Watched Joker. Found it well-acted and generally well-constructed, but the message (of riot-style populism against the rich) struck me as deeply cynical, coming from an industry (Hollywood) that represents all of the worst excesses of the rich.

In building up an anti-hero, or a hero, it conveniently made the only populist target "the undeserving rich"; all the other, more typical, less morally acceptable, targets of white male populist violence (blacks, gays, women) were conveniently left out.

So I found myself disliking the movie for its cynical and manipulative manner.

You may find this analysis of the movie interesting, particularly as an Australian.

https://othersociologist.com/2019/10/06/gender-race-and-ableism-in-joker/amp/?fbclid=IwAR1Q6GERKRkAvgVRvgcZ9z_JNOteENvIs9oglmCtqCP3QUwrSj8Ug3vGSZs

Thanks for the link. I agree with most of the article. I think the reason that Joker came off so unwholesome to me is that it did seem to resonate with a particular type of person who has a particular grievance with the world - the white, male, loser.

There do seem to be a lot of them out there. 

[slackmax]

Saw Judy last night movie about Judy Garland later years. I really enjoyed it. 8$ matinee, great on the big screen.

BikeFanatic, 

How was Zellweger as Judy? At first I didn't want to see the film since I thought Zell was a miscast. But she is getting good reviews.  What do you think?

[Noodle]

Watched "We Shall Not Grow Old," the WWI documentary where Peter Jackson restored and colorized original film. It really was spectacular. The film itself really concentrated on the experience of the enlisted British foot soldier--the narration is all soldiers who I guess had oral histories done later in life. It was interesting...I've seen plenty of war documentaries but this one gave you the feel of the war experience more than most. I think partly because there are so few movies made about WWI I didn't have as much of a "fictional picture" based on the movies in mind.

Also watched the old movie 1776. A lot of it is very goofy--the wigs are a LOT--and the history is very oversimplified but I still really enjoyed it. I had only seen William Daniels, who plays John Adams, as an older character actor. He was very handsome in his younger years!

[slackmax]

Just watched 'Widows'. Pretty unbelievable plot (to me) in which 4 widows of recently killed-in-action criminal husbands are targeted by some other criminals for money their husbands had but was supposedly burned up in a van explosion. But no, the money wasn't burned up, it was stolen by Liam Neeson, who is one of the criminals, and staged the van explosion.  Bad guys threaten Viola Davis and the other widows, widows take matters into their own hands. 

Good acting by Viola Davis, as usual, and by Neeson. 

Not a great movie, imho, but fun.   And not a happy ending, btw.

[sui generis]

Watched Room.  The movie about the girl who was kidnapped and held in a small room for 7 years, during which time she had a baby and he only knew Room as his whole world.  It was better than I thought it would be.  I'd had it in my queue for years and avoided watching it because I thought it would be predictable.  It wasn't *not* predictable, but it was decent.  I do think it doesn't match up to what I remember as raves about it (as both movie and book) years ago when they first came out.

[slackmax]

Just watched the first 15 minutes of 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' starring Melissa McCarthy. Looks interesting. McCarthy's character is pitiable and unethical, but I like her anyway, for some reason. She is forging vintage letters by famous people and selling the forgeries to bookstores (hard to believe that bookstore managers would be so gullible, but whatevs.)   

At  this point I don't know if I want her to be caught and punished, or for her to just atone somehow for what she has done.  We'll see.

[sui generis]

Just watched the first 15 minutes of 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' starring Melissa McCarthy. Looks interesting. McCarthy's character is pitiable and unethical, but I like her anyway, for some reason. She is forging vintage letters by famous people and selling the forgeries to bookstores (hard to believe that bookstore managers would be so gullible, but whatevs.)   

At  this point I don't know if I want her to be caught and punished, or for her to just atone somehow for what she has done.  We'll see.

We liked this movie! It was interesting and different and yes, very much stimulated conflicted feelings.  Like real life.  And of course, this is a true story.

[Just Joe]

Watched "Harlan County, USA" on YouTube (free).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County%2C_USA
Really, really interesting.

http://edu.passionriver.com/hillbilly-documentary.html
That one is on Hulu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Boys
Watched this one again. I think it is still available on the PBS website.

[slackmax]

Finished watching 'Can You  Ever Forgive Me'.  Melissa McCarthy, the main character, becomes less likable to me as the movie goes on. Even though she was a somehwat succesful writer, she has no real friends until she meets a sleazy  drug dealer after she turns to her 'life of crime' (forging literary celebrity letters).

 One interesting thing was that at the end of the movie, after she gets convicted of her crimes, and is serving her probation, her only friend is the sleazy drug dealer.

I guess it was a 'good' movie, but not uplifting. You're left with a feeling of 'blah'. The criminal is convicted, which is good, but she doesn't really repent or feel bad about what she did. She uses the criminality in her recent past to write a new book about it.     Such a self-absorbed, cynical, selfish, miserable person, continuing to exist on the planet. I guess that's just reality. Maybe I was hoping for a happier ending to the story.     

[Psychstache]

Finished watching 'Can You  Ever Forgive Me'.  Melissa McCarthy, the main character, becomes less likable to me as the movie goes on. Even though she was a somehwat succesful writer, she has no real friends until she meets a sleazy  drug dealer after she turns to her 'life of crime' (forging literary celebrity letters).

 One interesting thing was that at the end of the movie, after she gets convicted of her crimes, and is serving her probation, her only friend is the sleazy drug dealer.

I guess it was a 'good' movie, but not uplifting. You're left with a feeling of 'blah'. The criminal is convicted, which is good, but she doesn't really repent or feel bad about what she did. She uses the criminality in her recent past to write a new book about it.     Such a self-absorbed, cynical, selfish, miserable person, continuing to exist on the planet. I guess that's just reality. Maybe I was hoping for a happier ending to the story.     

Sounds like a gender-swapped 'Wolf of Wall Street'

[Warlord1986]

'Death on the Nile'. It was filmed on location and the scenery is fantastic. I want to go to Egypt now. Peter Ustinov steals the show.

[slackmax]

'Motherless Brooklyn' on the big screen. $6.49 senior ticket. I really liked it. Some reviewers said it was not 'done right' as a noir film. But whatever it was, it was a visually beautiful movie. Some good jazz music too.

Edward Norton, who plays the main character, was very good, I thought. 

[Samuel]

'Motherless Brooklyn' on the big screen. $6.49 senior ticket. I really liked it. Some reviewers said it was not 'done right' as a noir film. But whatever it was, it was a visually beautiful movie. Some good jazz music too.

Edward Norton, who plays the main character, was very good, I thought.

Norton also wrote (adapted from a novel), produced and directed it. He recently did several podcasts I listen to and sold me on seeing it. Sounds really interesting.

[sui generis]

'Motherless Brooklyn' on the big screen. $6.49 senior ticket. I really liked it. Some reviewers said it was not 'done right' as a noir film. But whatever it was, it was a visually beautiful movie. Some good jazz music too.

Edward Norton, who plays the main character, was very good, I thought.

Norton also wrote (adapted from a novel), produced and directed it. He recently did several podcasts I listen to and sold me on seeing it. Sounds really interesting.

I guess there's like a podcast circuit people go on now to promote their books and movies. A few weeks ago, Samantha Powers was on several I listen to promoting her new book, and this week it's Edward Norton (mine were Ezra Klein Show and Stay Tuned With Preet... Yours?)

[Noodle]

Just watched a ridiculously melodramatic production of the Victorian historical novel "Lorna Doone." It was surprising how funny-bad it was given that several of the actors in it have gone on to do excellent work in other things. You don't see many historical dramas set during the reign of James II, I will say that.

[wenchsenior]

Lorna Doone...the super old one with Clive Owen. Polly Waker, and Sean Bean?  I always meant to get around to it, but never did. (ETA: Having just googled, I had no idea so many versions of this story were made...I guess the one I mentioned isn't the 'super old' one, after all).

This past couple of weeks I watched Boy Erased, which I thought was solid, workmanlike, and had nice acting all around, esp by the young lead.  I was listening to one podcast review of it...one of the reviewers was gay and he said that it missed some subtler nuances to such a story, but that it was a nice effort by a bunch of straight filmmakers to show empathy and support re: a painful issue, and thus much appreciated.  That was sort of my impression as well, watching as a straight person. A for effort, Joel Edgerton!

I (barely) crawled through Mary Queen of Scots over the past 3 days.  It was terrible...a waste of a great cast.  And Mary Shelley, which also wasn't very good.  Costume dramas not a success recently.

Recently enjoyed Booksmart and Longshot...both were cute, though not quite up to the level the reviews set me up for.  It's too bad every time Charlize Theron tries to do comedy, it's either well-reviewed and a box office failure, or else it's just a bomb.

Fighting with my Family was also enjoyable.  It pisses me off that Florence Pugh is another great rising talent that is about to be sucked into the black hole of the Marvel-verse, along with so many other great actors blowing so much of their time on that franchis. I'm happy for their paychecks, but other than that it makes me perpetually bummed out.

[big_owl]

Meh I watched Annihilation last night and aside from having my weakness Natalie Portman in it the movie was forgettable. 

[OtherJen]

Watched Joker. Found it well-acted and generally well-constructed, but the message (of riot-style populism against the rich) struck me as deeply cynical, coming from an industry (Hollywood) that represents all of the worst excesses of the rich.

In building up an anti-hero, or a hero, it conveniently made the only populist target "the undeserving rich"; all the other, more typical, less morally acceptable, targets of white male populist violence (blacks, gays, women) were conveniently left out.

So I found myself disliking the movie for its cynical and manipulative manner.

You may find this analysis of the movie interesting, particularly as an Australian.

https://othersociologist.com/2019/10/06/gender-race-and-ableism-in-joker/amp/?fbclid=IwAR1Q6GERKRkAvgVRvgcZ9z_JNOteENvIs9oglmCtqCP3QUwrSj8Ug3vGSZs

Thanks for the link. I agree with most of the article. I think the reason that Joker came off so unwholesome to me is that it did seem to resonate with a particular type of person who has a particular grievance with the world - the white, male, loser.

We just saw a matinee of The Joker today. I think I’m glad we waited, because only one person in a decently full theater cheered.

I thought Joaquin Phoenix gave a masterful performance. I also thought the movie had a very high level of production quality. It doesn’t seem right to say that I enjoyed it, because it was uncomfortable and unpleasant. I didn’t see him as a hero, but rather a very sick man who had been failed by the people in his life over and over and was left unmoored and unchecked. No one benefitted from that situation. I also found it to be an interesting commentary on the role of sensationalism in news media.

[big_owl]

After last night's failure with Annihilation, I'm gonna watch Alien tonight on the home theater turned up loud and it's going to be magnificent.

[Just Joe]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_to_Busan

What was interesting to me was not one gun was ever fired in the movie. Lots of character story. And then all the zombie action mixed in.