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

Post by Buscemi2 »

Went to a screening of Fargo tonight. Though projected from a Blu-ray (I guess neither MGM nor Park Circus, MGM's repertory distributor, have DCP's in their inventory), it was the 4K restoration from last year and it looks gorgeous shown on a big screen. The sound mix seemed to be the original Dolby SR mix (though the Coens had a Dolby Digital mix done for The Hudsucker Proxy, they didn't really get into 5.1 mixes until The Big Lebowski) as I didn't hear many surrounds. The audience was really into the film, as a good Coen Brothers movie should.

The film itself still holds up as the Coens' masterpiece (well, along with The Big Lebowski). It's a fast, sharp, dark comedy/murder mystery that you really don't see any more. Nowadays, they'll veer too far in one direction or the other. Marge Gunderson is a strong female character that today's Hollywood writers are too scared to create in today's movies (in fact, she might be the best character Joel and Ethan have ever come up with) and Frances McDormand deserved her Oscar (the film should have won Best Picture too but we all know how much the Academy hates comedy and the unfamiliar). And you realize that there's more dimension to Gus in revisiting it (is he a silent killer or is he really misunderstood?).

It's also hilarious to note that those idiots on r/Movies (the new IMDb forums) seem to be so convinced that The Coen Brothers are Nihilists (when they're not busy defending Kevin Spacey and pretending his scandal isn't news) simply because of No Country for Old Men and the fact that Nihilists are mentioned in The Big Lebowski. This film is proof that they are not. In fact, I'm pretty sure most of their films (even ones they only wrote) have happy endings.

Also shown were three trailers (Murder on the Orient Express, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and The Shape of Water) and some old performances of 40's musicians.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Ron Burgundy »

So been watching a fair bit lately....

Mission Impossible: Ghost Recon
I almost had the dreaded franchise fatigue in the previous installment, and to be honest, i did miss the first portion of this film. However, the film goes hard on the action with an awesome motorbike chase sequence about mid way. Theres just enough twists and turns to keep you entertained too, this film was a solid action movie overall.
6.5/10

Alien: Covenant
I had very high expectations for Prometheus, so as a natural reaction to my disappointedness (is that a word?), i had fairly low expectations for this one. The only thing i had heard about the new Alien movie, is that the characters make some woeful decisons during the film, and thats not wrong. The leader of the group and several others constantly make decisions that put themselves or others at risk of, well, death. Having said that, Michael Fassbender is always a drawcard for me and ive seen most Ridley Scott flicks, the movie does look pretty good, almost worth paying to see. The big question is: will we see another Alien movie???
6/10

Baywatch
Kudos to Seth Gordon, who directed this parody of the 90s show i dont recall actually watching for more than a couple minutes. Its packs a good amount of laughs and even more slow mo scenes for good measure. It did have a predictable second half, with Gordon focusing more on the actual middling plot but the chemistry between Zac Efron and The Rock was actually surprisingly cordial (is that the right word?). A couple of cameos: 2 points for guessing. Oh and the blonde chick is nice to look at, very nice.
7/10

All Eyez on Me
I saw Straight Outta Compton in cinema and it was worth it. Had i seen this in cinema, i probably would have walked out and asked for my money back. Its that bad. Whatever the director was doing, i couldn't tell you, perhaps he didn't have enough information about the late Tupac Shakur, or perhaps he wanted to tell it how it was, either way, there is very little reason to give two fucks about the main man; 2pac. He is unlikeable, rude, abusive, paranoid and the director doesn't even delve into what made him special, or at least why he sold a bunch of albums. Even so, the film comes of as hardly scratching the surface of what else you can read up on wikipedia, there is a couple of shootings and court cases, but it doesn't say whether they were deliberate acts or sympathetic cases of wrongfully accused and therefore, makes the story confusing, confounding and genuinly boring.
2/10

The Last Witch Hunter
Starring 'the most wooden ive ever seen him, and thats a statement' Vin Diesel with a beefed up cast with the likes of Michael Caine, Elijah Wood and Jon Snow's red haired girlfriend. This messy modern fantasy which steps into dreamworld and back to the real world without much effort can be so bad at times, you start wondering how this got the green light in the first place. Ok, so the few fights/action bits have decent CGI, its just woven with bad dialogue and characters so dumb or over the top, movies like Baseketball seem like masterpieces in comparison.
3.5/10

Going in Style
With Michael Caine in the lead, supported by Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin, the old geezers decide they are gonna rob a bank, and get away with it. So the plausibility is at a real low here, though the film is reminiscent of good old 90s movies where the plot doesnt matter but montages and narration take center stage. It was mildly amusing but thats it.
4/10

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Book of Henry
A boy is so smart, when he dies from cancer, not only has he already found the neighbour/police chief of a town is corrupt and deserves to die, he has written 2/3 worth of narration by tape which has predictions and instructions so accurate, his mother (Naomi Watts), with no prior training or motivation finishes his work off: assasination of chief. So yeah, thats the film in a nutshell. Its just not believable and thats probably what the lets the whole thing down. Because the actors all do their job pretty well, and Colin Trevorrow directs the material in a way so you aren't bored. Oh well, he only got fired from Star Wars from doing this movie, no big deal....
4.5/10
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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All Eyez on Me was pretty much doomed when 1. Carl Franklin pulled out (he really could have done something with Tupac's story) and 2. Morgan Creek decided that they had to have something before losing the rights (filming began just days before the rights were to have returned to the Shakur estate) and pretty much slapped this together because they knew the opening weekend would be big.

This was a case where this might have been a big film that could have gotten awards attention in the right hands but ended up being a cynical cash-in.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Another classic movie screening! This time, I saw Scrooged in a half-full auditorium (as everyone around here is getting ready for Star Wars and making sure Elf shows every day until Christmas). Scrooged holds up very well in a theatre and in a way, I've noticed that it's kind of the 80's version of Network (more so than Talk Radio from the same year). A lot of the references to 80's television and events seem to be a bit dated to today's audiences but the messages still hold up (especially since we live in a society that encourages narcissism, maybe the Ghost of Christmas Present can go over and give some yuletide BDSM to society).

I'm also convinced Bobcat Goldthwait got the idea to do Shakes the Clown while filming this movie.

The theatrical experience (projected on a DCP, interesting that MGM can't get DCP's made for the restored Fargo but Paramount just happened to have one for this movie) seemed to look how the film likely would have looked in 1988. The audio sounded like a 5.1 remix though (and it was loud as well). Before the movie, the original 1939 version of Peace on Earth and three trailers, two that look pretty lame (Father Figures and Game Night) and one that doesn't look so lame (Downsizing), were shown.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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I'm going to set myself a New Year's resolution for 2018 (and nothing that's easily forgettable, like lose 20 more pounds or give up the consumption of pork products): see one movie in a theatre from every decade of sound cinema (so, 1927 to present) between January 1st and December 31st. This year, I saw movies from the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, and this decade in the theatre. Five decades is good but I'd like to kick it up a notch.

I'd already got a start by buying a ticket for a screening of Funny Face on the 2nd. I've never seen an Audrey Hepburn movie in the theatre (though Breakfast at Tiffany's and Roman Holiday were screened recently) and this one was at a convenient evening time instead of the afternoon. And I'm still waiting for an official confirmation that West Side Story was rescheduled for January (I was really wanting to go to this but it was delayed to fit more Star Wars advance screenings). Maybe the Drafthouse will do an Oscar theme in February (the January theme is fashion, tying in with Phantom Thread).

My list:
1920's
1930's
1940's
1950's
1960's
1970's
1980's
1990's
2000's
2010's
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by W »

I too am on a bit of a quest to finish the IMDb Top 250. I am currently sitting at 185/250 and still have about 2/3 of the films that are easily accessible to me. Some I already own, some our library has. It could get fairly expensive at the end and I may need help in the future finding some of them as I can’t use torrent sites for various reasons I won’t go into here.

I don’t mind buying or renting some of them, but 30 or so films is a bit much.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Nice resolutions guys !!
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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I got back from a sold-out showing of Funny Face and this has become a cliche but it still rings true: they don't make them like they used to. Nowadays, musicals simply feel like exercises in emptiness and flash (see The Greatest Showman or better, don't) but this one has a lot of substance in addition to some beautiful style and a warm feel (it's probably that 8-perf VistaVision that Paramount adored during the time). And will the film industry ever find another Audrey Hepburn? With Hollywood's hatred for female talent from Europe (unless your name is Emily Blunt) or unique-looking actresses, the search will have to go elsewhere. Also, this is a far truer film about fashion than The Devil Wears Prada.

The DCP shown looked to be of a newer restoration than the 1990 restoration that was distributed theatrically. There are a few shots that still look hazy but I think this is more of a film stock thing than anything. Otherwise, it's a very sharp presentation that benefits the film. Sound seemed to be mono as there wasn't any noise reduction like there would be on a newer mix. Three trailers were shown as well (Phantom Thread, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms).
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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I love Funny Face.
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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Went to see Airplane! tonight, which also was my first attendance of a Drafthouse Movie Party. The screening was advertised as a Quote-a-Long (much like those Greatest Showman sing-a-longs that are starting up tomorrow, so you can sing to those songs you forgot about five minutes after you saw the movie) but few partook outside of the basics. There were also little trinkets (an air sick bag with a vomiting Emoji on it, a glow stick though mine didn't work, and a piece of paper to make your own paper airplane). The manager introduced the film, mentioning it as the one movie that she wanted to show at the theatre. And a few attendees came dressed up as pilots.

While watching the showing, I had to wonder how audiences responded to the film when it opened on July 2nd, 1980 (or during the sneak previews held a few weeks earlier). I'd be surprised if they were expecting a film so bonkers after having seen The Empire Strikes Back or all those disaster movies. Even in 2018, I not sure if there were people who knew what to expect (though most of the audience had seen it before). Maybe the film plays better in your home, where you can laugh at things without feeling weird (and it was interesting to see people bringing their kids, I know it's rated PG but there's a lot of adult humor).

Three trailers were shown (Early Man, Peter Rabbit, Incredibles 2) and the standard monthly pre-show were included.

Meanwhile, my ten decade goal is currently at three decades (1950's, 1980's, 2010's) eleven days in. If I can, I might be able to squeeze in a 1970's movie at the end of the month while February has some good things scheduled (French New Wave, Tarantino, apparently Heathers is showing at the end of February).
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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my resolution is to be part of the annual fantaverse awards for the 2018 films, ill do my best to see 50 2018 movies
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by W »

Went through and checked off a few more Top 250s.

It Happened One Night (1934) 7/10:

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 9/10:

The Handmaiden (2016) 7/10:

The Intouchables (2012) 9/10:

Howl's Moving Castle 8/10:

Currently at 190/250
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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I watched The Grapes of Wrath for the first time last year. Couldnt get that Californy way quote outta my head thanks to South Park :) I agree, its a terrific film.

I really need to see The Handmaiden and The Intouchables...thanks for the reminder W!
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

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I attended a screening of Coffy last night and it's interesting to see what plays as camp nowadays. Because this definitely played as a camp film with the audience I saw it with. When Alamo Drafthouse booked it in their theatres, I don't think they were expecting people to laugh at its low budget values and very 70's looks. But that set aside, it's one of the better examples of the blaxploitation subgenre. The shortcomings can be forgiven as it delivers on what it sets out to do: entertain. And it's not hard to see why Pam Grier was one of the queens of 70's action cinema.

The film was projected from the Olive Films Blu-ray (I guess MGM did not have a DCP on hand) and it looked quite good on a big screen. Before the movie was a trailer show of Jack Hill films (Pit Stop, The Big Doll House, Switchblade Sisters), a few early Pam Grier films (Scream Blacula Scream, The Big Bird Cage, Black Mama White Mama), Cleopatra Jones, and Jackie Brown, plus trailers for three not-so-good looking films (Ocean's 8, Red Sparrow, Acrimony).

So far, I've hit four of the decades I've planned to cover (50's, 70's, 80's, 10's) and have 60's and 90's coming up. There's also going to be a 35mm screening of Kill Bill Vol. 1 coming up and I hope to get a ticket for that (only seen Vol. 2 in theatres).
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Re: What Are You Watching Right Now? Episode 3 - Turtles in

Post by Ron Burgundy »

So, The Room is coming on TV tomorrow night- who has seen it? And what should i expect from it? Is it hilarious or is it a waste of time?
“One time I wrestled a giraffe to the ground with my bare hands.” — Dale

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