Recommend (or don't) a movie thread v2

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Watched Maestro tonight, the new Bradley Cooper film about Leonard Bernstein.

Listen, the performances are masterful, but they're also paper thin. There's very little depth to this film or the storyline. I appreciated the production design as well, but it all seemed like a vehicle just to show off how much they could reproduce a certain era or look. It was frustratingly one-dimensional, and I kept asking myself, "what was the point of that scene? I hope it pays off later."

Narrator: "It didn't pay off later."

That's not to say there's nothing to appreciate in the film, but it just felt sort of pointless to me overall.

5/10.

[Engine09]

The Iron Claw just might be my favorite movie of the year, I never thought much of Zac Efron before but what he did to prepare for this film in ureal, Lily James is equally impressive. I remember reading about the Von Erich family when I was a kid but never saw any of them on TV until Kerry debuted in the WWF in 1990.

It really conveys the bond and the love the brothers had for eachother. It's one the best feeling movies I've seen and one of the most incredibly sad. Loved it.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Engine09

The Iron Claw just might be my favorite movie of the year, I never thought much of Zac Efron before but what he did to prepare for this film in ureal, Lily James is equally impressive. I remember reading about the Von Erich family when I was a kid but never saw any of them on TV until Kerry debuted in the WWF in 1990.

It really conveys the bond and the love the brothers had for eachother. It's one the best feeling movies I've seen and one of the most incredibly sad. Loved it.

Okay.

So, honestly, if you dont care about and/or know anything about wrestling, would it still be as good?

I'm genuinely asking because I know nothing of wrestling and I loathe Zac Efron. A just society would have pushed him off a cliff by now and moved along.

[Engine09]

Hard for me to say because I was very familiar with the Von Erichs and years ago watched the 3 hour "The Triumph & Tragedy of WCCW" documentary that involves the family for a bulk of that. Going in I was very interested in how they would tell the story.

I saw an episode of Efron hosting his travel show and that changed my opinion on him, seemed very personable and likeable. That being said I haven't seen any of the stuff he did when he was a kid, the musicals, etc.

The soundtrack is great, the look and feel of the 70s, I liked the casting. It's about the love the brothers had for eachother first and how they supported eachother and then about how a demanding father can push kids to achieve but there is a dark side to that.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Engine09

Hard for me to say because I was very familiar with the Von Erichs and years ago watched the 3 hour "The Triumph & Tragedy of WCCW" documentary that involves the family for a bulk of that. Going in I was very interested in how they would tell the story.

I saw an episode of Efron hosting his travel show and that changed my opinion on him, seemed very personable and likeable. That being said I haven't seen any of the stuff he did when he was a kid, the musicals, etc.

The soundtrack is great, the look and feel of the 70s, I liked the casting. It's about the love the brothers had for eachother first and how they supported eachother and then about how a demanding father can push kids to achieve but there is a dark side to that.

Interesting. Okay.

I'll disagree with you on the Efron Travel show though. He come off as self-interested and completely ignorant moron to me.

Like, standard stereotypical Gym-Rat meathead who happens to have a lot of money.

[Engine09]

Yeah, I don't have any strong feelings on the guy. Not really familiar with what he's done in the past and don't know much about his personality off screen but I loved what he did in The Iron Claw.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Engine09

Yeah, I don't have any strong feelings on the guy. Not really familiar with what he's done in the past and don't know much about his personality off screen but I loved what he did in The Iron Claw.

He's a Mimbo.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

The Creator was fine. It didn’t have even a single shred of originality and was predictable as hell but overall was reasonably entertaining. And the inspiration it did take from other sci-fi was pretty well done.

Leave the World Behind. I hated so much of this movie and yet parts of it were quite good. Like holy #### some of the characters were annoying and stupid. And not just interestingly flawed. Downright annoying and stupid. It was also 30 minutes too long. Not bad but numerous other movies have done the same concept better. I wanted to like it. But I hated all the characters so much it made it tough.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Poor Things lives up to the hype.

Mesmerizing camera work (o-m-g) and set design, hysterical dialogue. Oscar-worthy performances (in Stone's case, probably an Oscar-lock).

It got less interesting in the back half as the novelty wore off (and some characters put on the back shelf) and the dynamic between characters grew a bit stale. Depending on how much you enjoy (or are repulsed by) a brothel montage. But it offered a few treats at the end.

Fans of A24 fare will likely love it.

[Coach]

Dug into some classics for the holidays. Sergio Leone’s Dollar trilogy, which I had never fully seen.

A Fistful of Dollars - Small contained story and setting. Obviously much lower budget than the others (where are the other people that live in this town? Is it literally only the two gangs?). You really see where Tarantino gets his influence here. Some of the action borders on pure ridiculous and the amount of people shot for no reason is almost comical. Would probably play as more of a farce or parody today. But so iconic and such a departure from other movies of the time.

For a Few Dollars More - My favourite of the three. Perfect blend of the small story and Leone’s style. A little more budget took it to a good spot with more extras and settings. The campiness of the first is reigned in a little and it adds to the emersement of the movie.


The Good The Bad and The Ugly - A grander scope in story, digging more into the civil war and what was going on at the time. Honestly thought that took away a bit from the main interest when it could have focused more on just finding the treasure, but you can tell Leone wanted to say something about the uselessness of the war at the ground level with men dying for what seems no reason. Some incredible shots of battles and explosions etc. The final shootout scene still iconic and loved how the ending came together. But wish it was a bit more contained to those three characters rather than having the big Civil War subplot stuff.

A Few Dollars More is a perfect film IMO.

[Engine09]

Poor Things is a take on the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl trope that I certainly haven't seen before. Disturbing and hilarious, stylistically fantastic. I've seen The Lobster and Killing of a Sacred Deer, both very interesting films but Poor Things surpasses those by quite a margin. I need to find out Alisdair Gray was, who wrote the novel, unbelievable.

I'm to see this again before it's theater run is over.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Coach

Dug into some classics for the holidays. Sergio Leone’s Dollar trilogy, which I had never fully seen.

A Fistful of Dollars - Small contained story and setting. Obviously much lower budget than the others (where are the other people that live in this town? Is it literally only the two gangs?). You really see where Tarantino gets his influence here. Some of the action borders on pure ridiculous and the amount of people shot for no reason is almost comical. Would probably play as more of a farce or parody today. But so iconic and such a departure from other movies of the time.

For a Few Dollars More - My favourite of the three. Perfect blend of the small story and Leone’s style. A little more budget took it to a good spot with more extras and settings. The campiness of the first is reigned in a little and it adds to the emersement of the movie.


The Good The Bad and The Ugly - A grander scope in story, digging more into the civil war and what was going on at the time. Honestly thought that took away a bit from the main interest when it could have focused more on just finding the treasure, but you can tell Leone wanted to say something about the uselessness of the war at the ground level with men dying for what seems no reason. Some incredible shots of battles and explosions etc. The final shootout scene still iconic and loved how the ending came together. But wish it was a bit more contained to those three characters rather than having the big Civil War subplot stuff.

A Few Dollars More is a perfect film IMO.

Watched The GBU with my wife a few months back - she’d never seen it. A bit dated now but a true classic of its era. For a duster, it’s pretty entertaining.

[Coach]

Continuing with Leone…

Once Upon A Time in the West - What a movie. Watching all these in order you can really see Leone grow and learn to apply/execute different elements. The scope of GBU, but executed better, the character intrigue of A Few Dollars More, but more complex and with multiple characters (including the first female role with any agency). The ending that comes together in a way so perfectly that it even made parts I wasn’t sure I liked (the harmonica sound) into real story points that made it so it all made sense. A main character with real motivation beyond money.

Wonderful film. It’s tough to order these movies in terms of “best”. They are all so different and all so excellent.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Coach

Continuing with Leone…

Once Upon A Time in the West - What a movie. Watching all these in order you can really see Leone grow and learn to apply/execute different elements. The scope of GBU, but executed better, the character intrigue of A Few Dollars More, but more complex and with multiple characters (including the first female role with any agency). The ending that comes together in a way so perfectly that it even made parts I wasn’t sure I liked (the harmonica sound) into real story points that made it so it all made sense. A main character with real motivation beyond money.

Wonderful film. It’s tough to order these movies in terms of “best”. They are all so different and all so excellent.

My favorite Leone film, though I agree with what you say about 'best'. I really love this thematic setting, that last bit of the wild as the railway pushes in, bringing civilization and all its ugly complexity.

Though yeah... the harmonica sound... it doesn't help that it doesn't even remotely match how he plays the harmonica. If I remember correctly, that motif hadn't been written when it was filmed. On the other hand, I think Morton's theme is one of the most beautiful of any of Morricone's compositions, and he's such a great tragic villain.

And then that beginning. "You brought two too many."

[Coach]

The sound of it and the way he was holding it, it had me thinking “man, couldn’t have learned a little something nicer? Or even how to play the harmonica at all? It’s really not that hard to get a half decent sound out of one and look cool doing it. Like this isn’t even a tune. Is he even blowing in it?”

Then the ending and boom. Genius stuff there.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Engine09

Poor Things is a take on the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl trope that I certainly haven't seen before. Disturbing and hilarious, stylistically fantastic. I've seen The Lobster and Killing of a Sacred Deer, both very interesting films but Poor Things surpasses those by quite a margin. I need to find out Alisdair Gray was, who wrote the novel, unbelievable.

I'm to see this again before it's theater run is over.

Stylistically I was blown away. Would see it again for that reason alone, even though the rest was great too.

Dust off those Oscars.

[Snuffleupagus]

In the spirit of Christmas I re-watched the Bad Santa movies again, I completely forgot how hilarious they were.

[Nadal Fan]

Watched another classic movie for the first time, Barbarella. The whole movie can be summed up like this:

Barbarella gets in trouble
Barbarella gets rescued by someone
They have sex
Barbarella changes her outfit
Repeat

It's a total riot I had a blast with this psychedelic movie. It's definitely a movie that can only work if it was made in the 60s. There is a remake in development with Sydney Sweeney in the lead but I have major doubts it can capture the spirit and fun of the original.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Nadal Fan

Watched another classic movie for the first time, Barbarella. The whole movie can be summed up like this:

Barbarella gets in trouble
Barbarella gets rescued by someone
They have sex
Barbarella changes her outfit
Repeat

It's a total riot I had a blast with this psychedelic movie. It's definitely a movie that can only work if it was made in the 60s. There is a remake in development with Sydney Sweeney in the lead but I have major doubts it can capture the spirit and fun of the original.

I have a feeling that never actually gets made

[Fuzz]

Anyone watch Rebel Moon yet? I'm wary of wasting time on it...Someone else should do it for me.