What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in Time

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Buscemi2
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Though many involved with the series felt the second one was better, I still think this is the best of the Lethal Weapon franchise. This has some of the best work pretty much everyone involved ever did and has a fast pace that many later action films seemed to be unable to pull off. Without Richard Donner directing Shane Black's script, this might not have developed the oft-imitated buddy cop formula it helped refine.

And I can't be the only one who's convinced that Mel Gibson was basically playing himself with all we know about him now. It's still a good performance though.

Up next: It's a Wonderful Life.
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numbersix
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Still the most homoerotic film since Top Gun

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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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I think you're forgetting 300, which somehow managed to be both homoerotic and homophobic all in the same husky breath.

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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Not my favorite Capra film but I can see why people love it so much. Capra tugs at your emotions and really puts George Bailey to all sorts of things. You see filmmakers punish characters but George might have gotten the worst of it. But of course, that's kind of the whole story. We're supposed to understand his pain and that deep down, he's just like us: the everyman who thinks no one understands him but in fact, everyone does. I've usually liked Miracle on 34th Street more but it's not hard to see why this one gets so much praise and always gets referenced in other things (from Home Alone to Married...with Children to Rugrats).

Up next: Home Alone.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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More John Hughes action. A movie that I've seen more times than I can count, it's basically Straw Dogs for kids. But unlike Straw Dogs, you can actually have fun watching our protagonist destroy people with his traps. And that's why you watch a film like Home Alone. That and I'm sure everyone was like Kevin when they were eight. In a way, Kevin is a lot like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes or Max from Where the Wild Things Are. He's kind of a brat but he's charming and resourceful at the same time. Many 90's movies tried to emulate the success of this character but failed as they didn't understand why Kevin worked as a character. A lot of it is because Macaulay Culkin is such a likable actor. He does the smart-alecky character well but it's natural to him. He doesn't force any attitude.

And Joe Pesci had an excellent 1990. He gave an Oscar-winning performance and followed it with the year's biggest film. Not many actors can claim that.

Up next: Die Hard.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Is there any better action film than Die Hard? Well, Speed might be in contention but I can't think of any other film that changed the genre like this one did. While it's still the escapist fare that Schwarzenegger and Stallone have come out every year, it's also a much more believable film as we have a hero who is just like us. John McClane isn't a superhero. He's an everyman who simply got to Nakatomi Plaza at the wrong time but made the best of it by saving 30 hostages against a dozen terrorists. It's also one of the most intense films possibly ever made and it never lets up. And those who say it's not a Christmas movie should just stop complaining. People have different traditions. We have different Christmas movies too.

This looks to be the last repertory screening of 2018 for me. Tomorrow night, I'm attending an advance screening of Aquaman.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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It looks like my rep season is over (there are showings of Perfect Blue this weekend but they are only late at night due to a surprise booking of Green Book). Having both an Alamo Drafthouse and a non-profit arthouse has spoiled me. I saw 106 older movies in the theatre this year. Last year, I saw 78 movies total in the theatre.

I didn't hit my goal of one movie for ten decades (only one movie from the 1920's showed in my area and there were conflicting start times listed, so I ended up seeing Bottle Rocket instead). I figure I'll try again in 2019 with another new New Year's resolution: hit 50 movies seen in the theatre that have been done by The Criterion Collection. Counting the laserdisc titles, I'm at 36. With all that's planned to show here this year (also, I'm going to New York again in April and hope to scrape together enough money for a Los Angeles visit this summer), I think it can be done.

Ten movies I was most glad to see in theatres:
Blazing Saddles (projected from an original 35mm print with a crowd that was fully into it)
His Girl Friday (finally getting to see this from a good print made me realize its power and influence)
Horse Feathers (the oldest film I saw in a theatre, it was paired with a Three Stooges short as well)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (older Disney movies are rarely shown in theatres, luckily I live somewhere that can book them)
2001: A Space Odyssey (I had the entire IMAX auditorium to myself and the theatre started the movie early for me)
Schindler's List (excellent 4K restoration)
The Silence of the Lambs (4K restoration and it was free, though I would have paid any money to see this one in a theatre)
They Shoot Horses, Don't They (another Disney-owned film and hopefully one that can get a rediscovery for its 50th anniversary)
Vertigo (the 2012 restoration on the big screen proved to me that this is the best shot film ever)
Yellow Submarine (one of the best examples of psychedelia and a timely anti-fascism message, needs to be seen in a theatre)

Ten movies that played that I didn't get to attend but should have:
Amadeus (strapped for time, a month later, Milos Forman died and I regretted not going)
City Lights (had other plans)
The General (was unsure of the printed time)
Jules and Jim (I saw Winchester instead, dumbest filmgoer move for me this year)
Kalifornia (screening was canceled due to lack of sales, I got two free passes and my ticket was exchanged for a Fight Club screening)
Miami Connection (was convinced it was only available to members of the non-profit theatre, of which I'm not as of yet)
Mulholland Drive (was convinced it would sell out since it was the 4K restoration)
The Room (was in Kansas City)
Shrek (10:00 am was too early and recently, I found that Fox has theatrical rights and therefore might force restrictions on booking)
Solaris (didn't go due to the run time)

Lastly, older movies I have tickets to see next month.

The Green Mile
American Psycho
The Maltese Falcon
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Trainspotting
Babe
Blade Runner
Best in Show

Also, showings of Gilda, Fish Tank, Pariah, Miller's Crossing, and Wendy & Lucy are scheduled. I'm going to have to find a way to get to those. And I suggested some titles that I hope arrive soon.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Chienfantome »

Lucky you to have seen His Girl Firday in a cinema, I've only seen this one on TV. Same for Schindler' list, I hope there will be screenings in Paris. Amadeus I would really love to see on the big screen too.
Blade Runner in a cinema is a total blast.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Watching the Watership Down limited series on Netflix. It's been decades since I read the book (maybe my ATF as a youth), but I have to say it seems to stick fairly close to the source material. The animation is fair to middling, but the voice acting is terrific and I'm really enjoying it. Ben Kingsley as General Woundwort was a great casting job.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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The only screenings in my area are at a Landmark an hour away. In the spring they are running Eraserhead, Breathless, The Exterminating Angel, and other movies.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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This might be the best anti-death penalty movie ever made. Frank Darabont's second of his Stephen King trilogy is not at the level of The Shawshank Redemption (and I might put The Mist ahead of it as well) but it's still a stellar film with an excellent cast and a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. It's also perhaps the most emotional of Darabont's four films. It's funny to note that the film is over three hours but feels shorter than many of today's two-hour films. But maybe that's because the book (originally a serialized novel of six parts) was long as well and had that typical King pace of verbose but quick.

Up next: American Psycho.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Now showing in a new 4K restoration in its original NC-17 cut (the same edit that's on the UHD release), I've become convinced that American Psycho has become misunderstood in both its praise (in its post-theatrical life) and its criticism (from its original theatrical run, it got a D Cinemascore). Patrick Bateman is an evil, evil character who represents a lot of what was wrong with the 80's. A superficial, obsessive narcissist hiding behind a prototypically beautiful facade, it's interesting to note that he has seemingly become an antihero among the horror community (and I imagine to Bret Easton Ellis nowadays as well). And that's where I get to my point. I believe Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner were criticizing horror fandom with the film. American Psycho plays less like a horror film and more like a dark comedy. And Christian Bale, often playing Patrick like an even more unhinged Jim Carrey, is in on the joke. However, I believe that audiences were expecting a much more serious film and hated it on release (funny that the more traditional American Psycho 2 got even more hatred from viewers when it was dumped straight-to-video after Lionsgate killed a theatrical release). Patrick seems to represent the horror community: superficial, obsessive, way into the violence they see on video. And as Patrick's sanity declines, the horror and chaos they love so much begins to look real and they love it. I believe the target audience was afraid to see that Patrick is what happens when what they see takes over. And once American Psycho hits the video stores, they chose to see it in a third way. And then the 80's nostalgia boom happened and many began to emulate some of those negative qualities.

Strange how these things happen.

Up next: The Maltese Falcon.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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The stuff dreams are made of. The film that launched both the careers of Humphrey Bogart (as a leading man) and John Huston as well as inspiring many suspense stories, this holds up better than most 77 year-olds. Huston keeps a fast pace and doesn't dumb things down for an easily impressed audience. And can you imagine anyone other than Bogart as Sam Spade (I've never seen the sequel from the 70's with George Segal as Spade)? Lastly, this might be the directorial debut to compare other debuts to. You don't see them like this anymore.

Up next: South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by W »

I saw the Estonian/Georgian film Tangerines (9/10) was on Hulu and needed it for my 250 (#238 after the last shuffling). It was pretty great, happily not overly long, and showed a piece of recent history I didn't know of. It was kind of a "pleasant" war film as far as those go.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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It took me a while to watch that one as I kept confusing it with that terrible movie that was shot on an iPhone.
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