Random Movie Thoughts Thread

[Doctor Cringelord]

ThevPrestige was my fave

 

[Totenkindly]

The Prestige was my fave

It is literally my favorite film even if I had to list my top 100. (see my Letterboxd page.) I could watch it any time. I searched hard and paid extra to pick up the solo 3-disc 4K version (rather than the solo 2-disc 4K that Disney foisted on the US), the same one in the 7-film Nolan boxed set. The transfer is so gorgeous into 4K.

 

[Stigmata]

I'm cranking through the Disney live action remakes en masse.

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite. Aladdin was much better than the curmudgeonly internet would have led me to believe. Dumbo was great, considering I always hated that cartoon one. Mulan was meh. There were no songs. I wanted songs. Maleficent/Maleficent 2 were great. Lion King was alright. Christopher Robin was cute.


Next up: Lady and the Tramp.

Live action Little Mermaid needs to happen -- that film can shut up and take all my money. I recently watched the live action Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Aladdin works as recreating the aesthetics and visual stunningness surrounding the city of Agrabah translates over very well. Plus, Will Smith adds his own unique flair to the film. The live action version of Jafar is terrible, though. Beauty and the Beast had near perfect casting, but I wasn't as impressed with that one -- Beast seemed too sympathetic a character in this version as opposed to the animated one.

I actually enjoyed Jungle Book live action quite a bit as well.

 

[Patches]

I never bothered with TLK because I heard it was a beat for beat of the animated film.

It is 100% a clone of the original, there is nearly no deviation from the original script.

ThevPrestige was my fave

That's definitely one of my top 5 all time favorite films.

Live action Little Mermaid needs to happen -- that film can shut up and take all my money. I recently watched the live action Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Aladdin works as recreating the aesthetics and visual stunningness surrounding the city of Agrabah translates over very well. Plus, Will Smith adds his own unique flair to the film. The live action version of Jafar is terrible, though. Beauty and the Beast had near perfect casting, but I wasn't as impressed with that one -- Beast seemed too sympathetic a character in this version as opposed to the animated one.

Man, that's what I liked about Aladdin. The scenery, the costumes... All so vivid and incredible. And as much as everyone talked shit about Will Smith... I think he got a bad rap just because he had to follow in Robin Williams footsteps. He did a great job with it given the shoes he had to fill.

 

[Stigmata]

ThevPrestige was my fave

I really need to watch this movie again. I've only seen it once before and I remember being very impressed by it, but I don't recall enough of the movie to feel comfortable ranking.

 

[Totenkindly]

Man, that's what I liked about Aladdin. The scenery, the costumes... All so vivid and incredible. And as much as everyone talked shit about Will Smith... I think he got a bad rap just because he had to follow in Robin Williams footsteps. He did a great job with it given the shoes he had to fill.

Okay, I can agree with that. (I mentioned Smith before. I thought he made the character his own and was fine.) The sets and costuming were pretty great.

I just typically watch a film because of the story and characters, and that part of the film just cheesed me off. Jafar sucked so bad.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I really need to watch this movie again. I've only seen it once before and I remember being very impressed by it, but I don't recall enough of the movie to feel comfortable ranking.

It’s fun to watch twice in a row to pick up on little details and clues that are obvious the second time around

 

[Totenkindly]

It’s fun to watch twice in a row to pick up on little details and clues that are obvious the second time around

Yeah, it's like the entire freaking movie. It's just a hard film to talk about without spoilers.

But Jackman and Bale are both really great (as well as supporting cast) in making the characters feel real. So aside from the intricate puzzle box nature of the film, it works just as well as straight drama.

Plus, it's got Andy Serkis (NOT doing motion capture) and David Bowie, who is probably unrecognizable to some.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Yeah, it's like the entire freaking movie. It's just a hard film to talk about without spoilers.

But Jackman and Bale are both really great (as well as supporting cast) in making the characters feel real. So aside from the intricate puzzle box nature of the film, it works just as well as straight drama.

Plus, it's got Andy Serkis (NOT doing motion capture) and David Bowie, who is probably unrecognizable to some.

I thought it was one of Bowie’s better acting jobs too.

 

[Totenkindly]

I thought it was one of Bowie’s better acting jobs too.

He turned down the role on first ask, then Nolan went to visit him and make the request in person and explain what it was. Bowie ended up being a highlight.

Nolan explained to Entertainment Weekly that he did everything he could to get the man on board:

"Tesla was this other-worldly, ahead-of-his-time figure, and at some point it occurred to me he was the original Man Who Fell to Earth. As someone who was the biggest Bowie fan in the world, once I made that connection, he seemed to be the only actor capable of playing the part. He had that requisite iconic status, and he was a figure as mysterious as Tesla needed to be. It took me a while to convince him, though—he turned down the part the first time. It was the only time I can ever remember trying again with an actor who passed on me."

Nolan says that he "begged" Bowie to take the part, telling him that he no idea where to go with it if Bowie didn’t take it...

 

[Totenkindly]

THE GREEN KNIGHT Trailer Shows a Grim Take on Arthurian Legend - Nerdist

Been interested in seeing this A24 film when I saw it advertised some months back. The director is pretty versatile and has a range of film styles he's done. Just looks like an interesting retelling of the legend.

 

[Jaguar]

19.99 for two days rental. How about 9.99 for one? I don't need it for two days.

 

[Patches]

19.99 for two days rental. How about 9.99 for one? I don't need it for two days.

$20 to rent?!

This is why piracy happens.

 

[Stigmata]

I want to watch Vice with Christian Bale. Has anyone seen it? Worth $3.99?

 

[Jaguar]

$20 to rent?!

This is why piracy happens.

If it's really new, they charge that much. I'm going to wait until some time passes.

 

[Totenkindly]

Clive Barker’s cut of Nightbreed was too opulently homoerotic for the studio

I tried to watch this once years ago and don't recall anything / never finished it. Seen the DC sitting on Shudder and AP, maybe I'll give it another try.

I don't know what is up with Barker and King, though -- these big 80's horror writer dudes. King's actually got some great writing out there, but he's terrible when you let him muddle with films too much -- the things he thinks are cool end up being schlocky. It's like the boomer writers are still tied up in the monster movie nostalgia of their childhood, without really knowing how to work in a genre full of more nuanced psychological horror. (Which is weird, because King has far more nuance in his books much of the time, which is why he endured over the years.)

I sometimes picture him as Jason Sudeikis' sleazy Batman oozing gross obsession over pervy romantic details in Movie 43, except King is oozing gross schlocky horror details they can put on film.

If it's really new, they charge that much. I'm going to wait until some time passes.

Yeah I was seeing Promising Young Woman (which comes out on Bluray today for $20-25) is going for that much on rental currently, and that seems to be the way of it nowadays for any film coming out.

I don't know other people's family situations. Basically they are charging what would likely be two movie ticket's worth to rent this stuff at home for multiple days. Which I guess is equitable (without the theater experience) for households with at least two people, so to them they are paying no more than normal for one viewing in a theater.... and if you have more than two people who will watch the rental, you are getting a deal.

But it sucks for single people without kids at home like myself, because I'm not going to pay $20-30 to watch a film that would cost me $10 in the theater. Pretty much I do not have equitable options to see/rent films on release until they redbox or hit free/cheap streaming.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yaphet Kotto, Bond Villain and ‘Alien’ Star, Dies at 81

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Clive Barker’s cut of Nightbreed was too opulently homoerotic for the studio

I tried to watch this once years ago and don't recall anything / never finished it. Seen the DC sitting on Shudder and AP, maybe I'll give it another try.

I don't know what is up with Barker and King, though -- these big 80's horror writer dudes. King's actually got some great writing out there, but he's terrible when you let him muddle with films too much -- the things he thinks are cool end up being schlocky. It's like the boomer writers are still tied up in the monster movie nostalgia of their childhood, without really knowing how to work in a genre full of more nuanced psychological horror. (Which is weird, because King has far more nuance in his books much of the time, which is why he endured over the years.)

I sometimes picture him as Jason Sudeikis' sleazy Batman oozing gross obsession over pervy romantic details in Movie 43, except King is oozing gross schlocky horror details they can put on film.

You don't like Hellraiser? Maybe it just appeals to me because of the abundance of gross 80's practical effects, which isn't something you see anymore.

Nightbreed sounds like an interesting concept, so I have to give that a watch, as well.

But it's funny that Kubrick's The Shining is one of the iconic horror movies that has enough of an impact to spawn outlandish interpretations, and King disowned it. I

 

[Totenkindly]

You don't like Hellraiser? Maybe it just appeals to me because of the abundance of gross 80's practical effects, which isn't something you see anymore.

Hellraiser might be the best of breed from that time, mainly due to character design and costuming, as well as Andy Robinson. I have to say that the other eight films ended up being pretty terrible -- which I feel bad about saying about the second film, but... just really awful 80's horror cheese. I think the Nightmare on Elm Street stuff had more verve and of course Robert Englund as a leading man with personality.

But it's funny that Kubrick's The Shining is one of the iconic horror movies that has enough of an impact to spawn outlandish interpretations, and King disowned it.

King disowned it because the heart of his written novel was about Jack and Danny, but Kubric went off on his own artistic vision. The TV adaptation years later with Steven Weber as Jack was emotionally more what King had hoped for, although I thought it might have been too sentimental. (I haven't seen it for some time.) The Mike Flanagan "Dr Sleep Expanded Cut" actually does a nice job in bridging King's and Kubrick's works even if it deviates a bit from the written prose of King's "Doctor Sleep".

I think my point was though that King has sensibilities that either work well on the page OR he can get away with them due to the nature of the medium, but those same things typically don't scan one-to-one well to the screen, and King himself seems to become a little boy when gleefully chortling about what is appearing on screen. Like, the Creepshow stuff? Eh. ANd there have been so many BAD King adaptations. It's more a matter of counting which 5-10 actually are worth watching, versus the 30-40 out there. I would say both Pet Semetary adaptations were pretty terrible (in terms of capturing the depth of the horror of loss, OR the emotional impact of the book); the original version I watched a year or two ago and found horribly boring at best, moreso than I remembered, whereas the new one actually tried to do something new and went off the rails by the end. Totally unsatisfying as an adaptation, but I appreciated how they just went off the rails with it rofl. It was audacious.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Hellraiser might be the best of breed from that time, mainly due to character design and costuming, as well as Andy Robinson. I have to say that the other eight films ended up being pretty terrible -- which I feel bad about saying about the second film, but... just really awful 80's horror cheese. I think the Nightmare on Elm Street stuff had more verve and of course Robert Englund as a leading man with personality.




King disowned it because the heart of his written novel was about Jack and Danny, but Kubric went off on his own artistic vision. The TV adaptation years later with Steven Weber as Jack was emotionally more what King had hoped for, although I thought it might have been too sentimental. (I haven't seen it for some time.) The Mike Flanagan "Dr Sleep Expanded Cut" actually does a nice job in bridging King's and Kubrick's works even if it deviates a bit from the written prose of King's "Doctor Sleep".

I think my point was though that King has sensibilities that either work well on the page OR he can get away with them due to the nature of the medium, but those same things typically don't scan one-to-one well to the screen, and King himself seems to become a little boy when gleefully chortling about what is appearing on screen. Like, the Creepshow stuff? Eh. ANd there have been so many BAD King adaptations.

You better not be throwing shade on the Langoliers. Bronson Pinochot's understated performance is a treat, and Kate Maberly is not grating at all. It's also amazing how well the CG holds up, considering this was a tv production from the 90s.

Also, I feel like [MENTION=5159]Lexicon[/MENTION] should be paged for this discussion.