2020 Quarantined Watches

[Pop Trash]

Anybody rewatch something? Watch something for the first time? Here's my rundown of stuff recently ...


KINGPIN - pro
Very fun, still holds up, a little too '90s dated in that montages set to ska pop way (and treating Blues Traveler like they are some revelation of a band is pretty bad), might be Woody Harrelson's best performance?, kept thinking about what the Farrelley bros influences were in the '90s and came up with a mix of ZAZ comedies, National Lampoon comedies & the magazine's un p/c cringe humor, John Waters mid century camp, and (more strangely) Hal Ashby's comedic, humanist '70s character pieces, oddly this would make a good double feature with The Last Detail

LIGHT OF MY LIFE - very pro
I watched this right before the COVID-19 shit hit the fan, but maaaan it's more relevant than ever now, total sleeper, Casey Affleck has some surprisingly good directing chops, very affecting, wish the ending was a bit less predictable but it's a minor complaint, pretty sure he's influenced by Kelly Reichardt

CONTAGION - very pro
Like everyone else in the known and unknown universe I recently rewatched this, even better than I remember and prescient in a "holy shit why didn't I like this more at the time?" sort of way, Jude Law is basically Alex Jones and peddles fake(?) or maybe not so fake(?) news, the one undercooked story is Marion Cotoulliard but it's a minor complaint

OUTBREAK - mixed to negative
Very '90s in the worst ways, about 40% the entertaining outbreak movie you are looking for, 60% military dick swinging sub A Few Good Men bullshit, and Top Gun style helicopters and jet plane antics, a lot of this is frankly boring, has a generic score, and a pretty bad ending, worth watching maybe for the monkey and Patrick Dempsy's uber '90s grunge Motorhead tshirt and flannel doood getting fuuuucked up by some ebola esque virus


Excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm doing quicky drive by reviews here.

[Dukefrukem]

Been taking advantage of the DTV watches.

The Invisible Man - slight pro
I love the direction Universal is taking these films. Small scale. Technically competent. They don't need to be this complicated though. It feels like they were trying way too hard to put some kind of Shyamalan twist to make up for the low budget starless film.

The Hunt - super pro
Everything that is great about this is on the shoulders of Betty Gilpin. Better to go in blind. It's more cartoony than gratuitous. It just works. It's fun. My favorite movie of 2020 so far.


Birds of Prey - TBD

[Grouchy]

I like the idea, but I'm already splitting them between the 2019 and 2020 sub-forums and the "Dead Pool" thread.

[Dukefrukem]

"Infection" movies I've watched since-

X-Files
Outbreak
War of the Worlds
World War Z
Color out of Space
Zombieland 2
Zombieland

[Skitch]

Who else has teenagers? I have teenager. Why do they go full valley tone when denied going to friends house? I am in hell.

OH MY GOOOOOOD WHY CANT I GO TO MEGANS HOUSE YOU GUYS THIS THE IS WORST ANYTHING ANYONES EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH. IF I HAVE TO STAY HERE FOR 2 WEEKS I WILL LITERALLY KILL MYSELF. YOU TOTALLY COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IM GOING THOUGH. HAVING BEEN DENIED HANGING OUT WITH A FRIEND ONE TIME

Anyone else have teenagers? Just me?

[Dukefrukem]

No but I can't wait.

[Pop Trash]

Who else has teenagers? I have teenager. Why do they go full valley tone when denied going to friends house? I am in hell.

OH MY GOOOOOOD WHY CANT I GO TO MEGANS HOUSE YOU GUYS THIS THE IS WORST ANYTHING ANYONES EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH. IF I HAVE TO STAY HERE FOR 2 WEEKS I WILL LITERALLY KILL MYSELF. YOU TOTALLY COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IM GOING THOUGH. HAVING BEEN DENIED HANGING OUT WITH A FRIEND ONE TIME

Anyone else have teenagers? Just me?

Is Ohio so bad people can't go to another house? I understand gatherings over five or ten people, but one-to-one socializing seems ok? Your teenager is more likely to get it at the grocery store or gas station than at her one friend's place.

[Pop Trash]

FINAL DESTINATION - pro
Outside of Donnie Darko the most clairvoyant 9/11 movie almost to the point of it being eerie, this came out in 2000 and like the movie itself seems to match the psychic character in having a premonition of mass death, we're so far away from the late '90s / early '00s that the doofy CW teens with hair gel, low rise jeans, khaki cargo pants, Old Navy lookin' fashion seems charming and quaint, the main dude doing his death design research with dial-up internet on a bulky personal computer, wish I owned a revival theater so I could play this as the more dumdum (but not that dumb) b-side in a double feature with Donnie Darko

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS - near masterpiece
I remember really liking this, but having some minor issues with how the peripheral characters are treated and Llewyn's assholeness being grating, now I don't mind it at all and view him as a tragic figure, a victim of his own personality but also someone who manifests grief (of his suicide partner) in the worst ways, it's a tough and cynical film but honest about talent and ambition, I still don't have a full handle on the ending but I think that's more of a blessing than a curse, some of the best cinematography of the 2010s too, I'd love to figure out how they got the mix of desaturation and smokey diffusion and how much of it was in camera and how much was color corrected in post


Excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm doing quicky drive by reviews here.

[Dukefrukem]

Happy to see your love for Final Destination.

[Skitch]

Is Ohio so bad people can't go to another house? I understand gatherings over five or ten people, but one-to-one socializing seems ok? Your teenager is more likely to get it at the grocery store or gas station than at her one friend's place.

Yeah but she wants to go a different friends house every day.

[MadMan]

Godzilla 2000-Dumb fun that has some elements that later turned up in other 2000s era movies. The main enemy shows up too late even for a Godzilla movie, but the new Godzilla super breath is pretty cool. "Godzilla is in all of us" made me laugh. Oh and I did like that Godzilla is mostly an anti-hero in this, helping out while still being super destructive.

Runaway-I like Michael Crichton as a director too, despite his flaws. Tom Selleck is very likable as the lead, Gene Simmons is great as the bad guy. Also despite being cheesy this movie has some modern ideas such as drones, smarter robots, etc. Also rather gory, too.

Maximum Risk-Stupid but the action scenes were fun and the movie is rather brisk. Jean Claude turns into a super cop by the end.

All viewed on Crackle.

[Peng]

Yeah but she wants to go a different friends house every day.

(wistfully) ah, teenage years.

[Peng]

Finishing off my 1968 blindspots (for now):

Over the weekend I watched Teorema and Death by Hanging. I was fairly indifferent to Teorema, but watching Death by Hanging after has me appreciated it a tiny bit more. Both are concerned with their own, ahem, theorems to the point of it being prioritized as work of urgent rhetoric over story or characters. But the former's at times delightfully absurdist formalism and performances make it more involving for me than the latter's increasingly sincere, overwhelming lectures (even if it doesn't lack for some lyrical absurdism as well).

Last two films past two days are better:

Targets - Out with the old monster, in with the new Terror (so new it's still decades ahead of its time), intersected and changing hands through cinema. Days later some sequences of this are still seared into my brain; one shot in particular that begins with a crying kid is so brutal. One of the most striking debut films from Bogdanovich. 8.5/10

The Great Silence - Apiece of spaghetti western, beginning and majestically ambling very much in Leone mode, with many of its mythic pleasures along the way. But its sight is set to be as a gratifyingly distorted entry, accumulating little breadcrumbs of slow-mounting, subversive dreads -- most notably in Trintignant's vulnerability and Kinski's growing dominance. Then it throws down the gauntlet to traditional westerns, showing its worldview of what the natural endgame of such dog-eat-dog situations in most of the genre's stories would be, in one of the most nihilistic, memorable endings ever in filmdom. 8.5/10

[Philip J. Fry]

The Great Silence is amazing.

[dreamdead]

We pulled the DVD of Hong Sang-soo's Night and Day off the shelf. Had it for around 7 years, and it's helpful to be aware of when one of his films works and another's just kinda there. This one lacks the formal bifurcations of things like Tale of Cinema or Right Now, Wrong Then. The latter there might be my favorite of his seen in the last 3-4 years. Night and Day, while set in beautiful Paris, just doesn't have enough dramatic tension in the core of our protagonist, so his failings and flaws aren't especially riveting. While an artist, he doesn't really reflect on art; while trying to be with multiple women, he doesn't quite articulate a meaningful idea of much beyond his own pettiness.

It's interesting enough because Hong makes decent films and nothing will be horrible, but it's the kinda film that I go, "yeah, that's another of his."

[Morris Schæffer]

A sneak preview, but tonight it's happening. I will see The Princess Bride for the first time.

[Dukefrukem]

A sneak preview, but tonight it's happening. I will see The Princess Bride for the first time.

O. M. G.

[Skitch]

Starting Midsommar on Kanopy.

[Morris Schæffer]

O. M. G.

I didn't like it. More tomorrow.

[Dukefrukem]

So you have no soul. Did someone swallow it?


https://media0.giphy.com/media/BoBvQjJtRbKBW/giphy.gif

https://i.imgur.com/2yV2fSI.gif

[Skitch]

Neither did my wife. Weirdoes.

Halfway through Tiger King. This is batshit.

[Peng]

I didn't like it. More tomorrow.

https://media.giphy.com/media/JRF85A7Bcl2YU/giphy.gif

(Borderline one of my favorite films once upon a time. A last year's rewatch makes it not that anymore, but still very good.)

[Yxklyx]

Yeah CONTAGION is very good - it probably needs another rewatch and of course TARGETS is one of my favorite films from the 60s.

[Mal]

I live with my parents, so I have an easily swayed audience to make watch a number of films without much resistance. Tonight was half of Heat, which they found impressive (but 3 hours is just too long after 6pm for my folks).

Last night I watched Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken on youtube, which I would have never watched if I wasn't housebound. Amusing, but slight.

[MadMan]

Blood Harvest is shit although Tiny Tim is hilarious in that movie as Marvelous Merv. One of those dumb slasher movies you forget about after you see it.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 is good fun and has some nice creepy moments. Sure it steals from other, better horror movies but I still liked it anyways. I prefer it over the first one since it is more entertaining. The demonic rocking horse part is awesome and hey a girl gets impaled with neon.

Both viewed on Shudder as I wrapped up S1 of The Last Drive In With Joe Bob Briggs.

Oh and I also viewed The Skull on Hulu. Goofy movie that I liked well enough, as Amicus was a solid production studio. Freddie Francis directed and Peter Cushing starred with Christopher Lee as guest so it felt like Amicus was ripping off Hammer a bit.

[Morris Schæffer]

I didn't like it. More tomorrow.

So yeah The Princess Bride. I was aware of the sort of movie that it was, and I certainly knew of its reputation, but as soon as I saw Peter Falk walking into Fred Savage's room, sitting down next to his bed and grabbing a book, I knew it was going to be, well possibly not for me. I realized that none of what I was about to see was actually happening, it's the kid acquiring a mental picture because of the tale that's being read to him. Bridge to Terabithia did it, The Neverending Story also, and The Chronicles of Narnia too is a tale of kids bored, pretending there's a better world than war-ravaged Europe, and off they go, whisked to a magical land that's entirely borne from their imagination. It's pretending, I can imagine we all did it when we were young, and perhaps still do, but it takes me out of the moment almost immediately. It'd be like The Lord of the Rings ending with Elijah Wood sitting on a chair back in the shire, mumbling something along the lines of "Damn, that sure would have been sweet, too bad I didn't have the balls to actually go on this journey. Oh well." For sure, I exagerate and it's not literally the same situation, but still. The Princess Bride actually cuts back and forth a few times in the beginning which undermined my ability to suspend disbelief even further. Beauty and the Beast 1991 also starts with voiceover, but as soon as that's done with, it segues into the movie proper, never again, as far as I recall at least, returning to David Ogden Stier's narrator.

And the whole movie plays out as such, it's never gripping or engaging to the point that I was really on board with any of it. It's extremely light weight and devoid of any sort of major stakes. The ending is literally the bad guy having a sword pointed at him, calling it quits and just letting himself be tied up and vanquished. It feels like a recreation, a land imagined by the boy, and thus justifiably spartan in its setting and facile in the way it unfolds, but not something that swept me along sadly. Sure, I enjoyed Patinkin's Inigo Montoya, but felt no closure, no sense of satisfaction when he got his revenge. Although I had to chuckle when Montoya got stabbed, seemingly resulting in a fatal wound, but then somehow pulled himself together for another round because that's what the boy would have wanted.

This must be the first damsel in distress movie in which the damsel doesn't appear to be in any distress at all. Or if she did, that it wouldn't really matter to me what happened to Buttercup.

✦✦[+]

[Skitch]

But...its a comedy. It's like you're saying you didnt like Airplane because the plot wasnt believable. It's supposed to be ridiculous.

At least that's how I always read it.

[Peng]

^That, and I am puzzled by the LOTR mention too, which makes it seems like you take the story even more seriously than the grandson. I would not say it's an outright satire or full comedy, but quite a fair bit of it is certainly tongue-in-cheek and postmodern.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm at a loss for words at that write up.

[transmogrifier]

The Princess Bride is kinda boring.

[Morris Schæffer]

But...its a comedy. It's like you're saying you didnt like Airplane because the plot wasnt believable. It's supposed to be ridiculous.

At least that's how I always read it.

I just didn't find it all that funny, sort of amusing once or twice at best. Nor is it ridiculous enough, certainly nowhere near Airplane's gag ratio. It nowhere near swings the pendulum far enough to be considered comedy for me, nor does it go far enough in any other directions to be considered, if not comedy, then at least something else.

But yeah, I get what it's trying to do, it's certainly not this epic adventure, nor did I expect it to be.

This movie is almost something which exists, going through the motions, never going far enough in one direction to feel like it was worth my time, let alone something to become a yearly tradition. :)

EDIT: the movie has a running gag where one character just yells 'INCONCEIVABLE' for far too long in a super annoying Gilbert Gottfried kinda voice. I guess I don't find that inspired at all. It's a man yelling 'INCONCEIVABLE' and outstaying his welcome doing so.

[Mal]

I understand how its beloved in most circles and thats cool, it brings comfort to a lot of folks in that animated Disney film way, where its an escape and not too deep in its ways of managing the entertainment. But I'm not the biggest fan of Princess Bride. I feel its a bit overrated and doesn't have the makings of a true comedy classic *BUT* I will say... the casual nature of the film is what I find most enjoyable about it. Its not too comic-y, not too outlandish- it takes its time and enjoys each setting it takes place in. A stripped-down fantasy tale appeals to me and I think it does a good job at that (especially since any Fred Savage-like kid at that time wouldn't be imagining any kind of CGI spectacle).

[Peng]

High Fidelity (2000) - Have strong uh-oh feeling during the early parts, as it seems like this is gonna be 500 Days of Summer if the lead is even more self-pitying and toxic. Somewhere though my feeling... doesn't exactly flip, but becomes more nuanced as the film peels back and lets us peek through all the camera addresses into glimpses of Rob's own actions (a tactic best encapsulated in the revealing scene of him imagining what Laura might have said to her friend to make the latter suddenly hate him). It miraculously ends up somewhere that doesn't lessen Laura and Rob in the conflict, with one of the most normal yet most romantic asks of all time. Along the way are great soundtrack, some pop culture hang-ups so specifically obsessive as to be relatable, and a slew of colorful supporting characters. Delighted to see the Jack Black persona burst on screen here so fully too. 8/10

(Sidenote: I know about the TV adaptation starring Zoë Kravitz going into this film, and it throws me for a big loop when Lisa Bonet appears looking exactly like her. Takes me some good minutes of wondering about Kravitz's age before I figure it out.)

[Scar]

That minor earthquake you felt, Morris? That was Andre rolling over in his grave.

[Pop Trash]

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 is good fun and has some nice creepy moments. Sure it steals from other, better horror movies but I still liked it anyways. I prefer it over the first one since it is more entertaining. The demonic rocking horse part is awesome and hey a girl gets impaled with neon.


I love that movie. I mean, sure it rips off "better" movies. Is it objectively great? I don't know and I don't care. It simply "delivers the goods" in the way that Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter "delivers the goods." It's like best possible version of that movie you could do. Like just when you think the movie couldn't get any better, you get full frontal nudity from the goody two shoes lead character as she proceeds to kill people by smashing them between lockers. It also uses the Michael Ironside rule that any movie with Michael Ironside can't be all bad simply by having Michael Ironside. See also: the Elias Koteas rule.

I just wish Shout! Factory or someone would remaster it in 4K widescreen since so many of the prints on streaming (Amazon Prime) are shitty SD pan-and-scan garbage.

[Scar]

Watched that Tiger King series on Netflix. Boy howdy was that the definition of Florida Man.

Oh, and I can't take credit for this: Gentlemen, you're one bag of meth from being one of Joe Exotic's husbands.

[Dukefrukem]

Watched that Tiger King series on Netflix. Boy howdy was that the definition of Florida Man.

Oh, and I can't take credit for this: Gentlemen, you're one bag of meth from being one of Joe Exotic's husbands.

Every one of those side characters should have their own full Netflix documentary. Bonkers.

[Mal]

I just wish Shout! Factory or someone would remaster it in 4K widescreen since so many of the prints on streaming (Amazon Prime) are shitty SD pan-and-scan garbage.

I would buy this on blu in a heartbeat. What a crazy goddamn movie. I saw it at a horror thon on film last october and it was really incredible with a huge audience.

[Skitch]

The michael ironside rule is fact. I love Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone.

[MadMan]

I love that movie. I mean, sure it rips off "better" movies. Is it objectively great? I don't know and I don't care. It simply "delivers the goods" in the way that Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter "delivers the goods." It's like best possible version of that movie you could do. Like just when you think the movie couldn't get any better, you get full frontal nudity from the goody two shoes lead character as she proceeds to kill people by smashing them between lockers. It also uses the Michael Ironside rule that any movie with Michael Ironside can't be all bad simply by having Michael Ironside. See also: the Elias Koteas rule.

I just wish Shout! Factory or someone would remaster it in 4K widescreen since so many of the prints on streaming (Amazon Prime) are shitty SD pan-and-scan garbage.

I am surprised that Shout Factory has not done such a remaster. Also I agree with the Final Chapter comparison (another movie I love despite it's flaws). Michael Ironside literally does improve every movie he is in, and TV shows, too.

[MadMan]

I forgot I watched One False Move (1991)

That movie is largely based on Bill Paxton being his usual excellent acting self, and it works. The film's plot is basic, however it's the cast and the acting that sells the movie. It is a realistic styled film noir that is as much a drama as it is a film noir, and how it plays out feels like a bleak destiny that no one involved could escape.

Oh and I do want to visit Arkansas one of these days. I hear it's pretty. It was odd seeing Billy Bob Thornton before he hit it big, and Cynda Williams was fantastic. Viewed thanks to Crackle, which isn't a bad free streaming service.

[MadMan]

I am choosing to ignore any bad mouthing of The Princess Bride.

Tammy and The T-Rex is a comedy where Paul Walker goes on a killing spree after being turned into a dinosaur. Denise Richards loves him anyways. I am not sure what this movie even was or how to rate it, but it was a movie. I did laugh, though. Shudder had the restored version, which is nice.

[Morris Schæffer]

I am choosing to ignore any bad mouthing of The Princess Bride.


I'll tell you what Maddy, I'm not gonna ignore you liking One False Move. That's a great flick!

[MadMan]

I'll tell you what Maddy, I'm not gonna ignore you liking One False Move. That's a great flick!

Sorry I'm petty no one should have to like everything, if we all did it would be a boring world. Yes One False Move lives up to the hype. Siskel had it as his best flick of 1994, or at least his favorite one.

[Peng]

Point Blank (1967) - I wonder what the woman who wanted to sue Drive would think of this. Point Blank clamps down its protagonist even further into an id brute force, and ups the thrilling, often percussive abstraction, sans any of the former's romanticism. The result is one single-minded blast of pure forward-momentum action. 8.5/10

And man, how great is this scene:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz1328EcZlQ

[MadMan]

Point Blank rules.

[Skitch]

Since weve just been re-quarantined for another 2 weeks, wife decided it was time we get Amazon prime so we can order stuff instead of making people run for us.

I burned through The Boys in a day...I've added a few other shows, but I havent quite figured out how to look around real well yet. So...recommend me some stuff to add to my queue!

[Peng]

The Expanse (sci-fi) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (comedy)!

[Dukefrukem]

YES to the Expanse. I can't believe more people haven't watched that.

I heard Man in the Iron Castle was good. But I have not seen in personally. Same goes with Bosch

[Skitch]

The expanse was one of the first I added. Way duke talked about it. I'm all over it.

[Pop Trash]

"Fleabag" is great, but you might have to have a specific sense-of-humor (then again, it won a slew of awards, so maybe not that specific). It's similar to Ghost World only add UK humour and the two leads are a bit older and sisters. Or imagine "Curb Your Enthusiasm" but with a 30-ish UK lady instead of a grumpy old Jewish Angelino. A bit more pathos than "Curb" as well. It's similar to stuff like Inside Llewyn Davis, Ghost World, and Rushmore, in that their caustic leads are acting out because of past trauma that gradually reveals itself (death of a friend or family member).

[Dukefrukem]

So... I think I might be coming around on Batman v Superman....

[Morris Schæffer]

Call of the Wild was just, really odd. Incredibly artificial, and not just the main character, but locations just have that emhasized sheen to them, like no one went the distance and decided to really shoot on location. The dogs are attributed human qualities, like Harrison Ford's Thornton wanted to drink Whisky because he was feeling shitty, and so the dog took the bottle and emptied it.

Yeah right.

[Grouchy]

Call of the Wild was just, really odd. Incredibly artificial, and not just the main character, but locations just have that emhasized sheen to them, like no one went the distance and decided to really shoot on location. The dogs are attributed human qualities, like Harrison Ford's Thornton wanted to drink Whisky because he was feeling shitty, and so the dog took the bottle and emptied it.

Yeah right.Every bit of promotional material for this gave me an awful vibe.

[Skitch]

So... I think I might be coming around on Batman v Superman....

ONE OF US...ONE OF US...

[Ivan Drago]

Finally broke out of my movie-watching fast/funk with Godzilla vs. Megalon. I'm curious how all who complained about Godzilla not being in the 2014 reboot would feel about this, because the first two-thirds are very much The Jet Jaguar Show, while Godzilla doesn't show up until the final 30 minutes in an AWESOME tag team battle against Gigan and Megalon. Still, Seatopia looks like a world in Flash Gordon art directed by Andy Warhol, and there's enough B-movie ridiculousness to go around until the climax for it to be enjoyable. I admittedly only threw it on because with its place in the Criterion Collection, it warms my heart to see Godzilla's dropkick recognized as one of the most important moments in cinematic history.

[Mal]

Saint Frances may be available as a digital rental via your local art house and I highly recommend it. A very naturalistic story of a 30-something figuring things out and being a failure of sorts. Genuine acting, direction with a nice ease. It’s indie but nothing trite nor precious.

[Dukefrukem]

ONE OF US...ONE OF US...

Something clicked with me today. Going to sleep on it. And don't get me wrong. Everything at and after the Martha scene is terrible, but the first half is interesting and makes me wish the rest of his vision in JL and Deathstroke came true.

[Skitch]

Not now or ever said its perfect. But it does have a certain vision for its sequel that was never realized.

[Pop Trash]

Finally watched The Long Goodbye ... which is quite good. I've seen bits and pieces of it over the years (an ex coworker at an indie video store I worked at several lifetimes ago LOVED it, but he and I bickered a lot about movies, which is one of the reasons I never watched it back in the day, it's petty but I had a mnemonic association about it with him). Elliot Gould seems born to play this shambolic version of Marlowe (who many think is actually closer to the book version of Marlowe than Bogie ... I haven't read the books).

The only nitpick I have is using the ironic needle drop of "Hooray for Hollywood" for no reason. This takes place in Los Angeles but really has zilch to do with Hollywood as far as I can tell. It would make more sense in The Player, but even then, outside of Kubrick, ironic needle drops kinda make my eyes roll. I remember 'Film Comment' had a whole article about them, but can't remember if they mentioned the use of "Hooray for Hollywood" in this.

Also people mention the shocking violence of the mob goon smashing a coke bottle on his girlfriend's face to intimidate Marlowe. Later she shows up with a big bandage across her face. That is straight up ripped from The Big Heat. In The Big Heat (made 20 years before The Long Goodbye) Lee Marvin's goon throws a pot of scalding coffee at Gloria Grahame's character's face, puts her in the hospital, and later she shows up wearing a big bandage across her face. The homage doesn't bother me, but people acting like this is "new" because a New Hollywood movie could show some R-rated violence and be more honest about how these sleazebags treat women isn't really true.

Rest of the film is good shit. I like how it goes from being fun and goofy to gradually getting existentially dark, leading up to the "nothing says goodbye like a bullet" ending. Sterling Haden is really good, apparently basically playing his drunken, stoned self from what I've read. Almost all of it improvised. Washed out cinematography is aces.

[Morris Schæffer]

Pop trash is that the one with Schwarzenegger?

[Pop Trash]

Pop trash is that the one with Schwarzenegger?

Yes, but by "with" it means he's in it for like five minutes, has no lines, and plays the bodyguard of a gangster goon (the one who breaks a coke bottle over his girlfriend's face). Memorable for Arnold taking off his shirt and showing off his 36 DD pec muscles because the goon inexplicably wants everyone to get naked(?) something about finding missing cash he thinks Elliot Gould is hiding from him. Also, Arnold has a groovy '70s stache.

[Grouchy]

The only nitpick I have is using the ironic needle drop of "Hooray for Hollywood" for no reason. This takes place in Los Angeles but really has zilch to do with Hollywood as far as I can tell. It would make more sense in The Player, but even then, outside of Kubrick, ironic needle drops kinda make my eyes roll. I remember 'Film Comment' had a whole article about them, but can't remember if they mentioned the use of "Hooray for Hollywood" in this.
Agreed, but Altman is basically an "ironic needle drop" director all the way. It's part of his style.


Also people mention the shocking violence of the mob goon smashing a coke bottle on his girlfriend's face to intimidate Marlowe. Later she shows up with a big bandage across her face. That is straight up ripped from The Big Heat. In The Big Heat (made 20 years before The Long Goodbye) Lee Marvin's goon throws a pot of scalding coffee at Gloria Grahame's character's face, puts her in the hospital, and later she shows up wearing a big bandage across her face. The homage doesn't bother me, but people acting like this is "new" because a New Hollywood movie could show some R-rated violence and be more honest about how these sleazebags treat women isn't really true.
Yup. I can't remember which movie I saw first but that was definitively a Big Heat reference.

As for Gould being a more literary-based Marlowe than Bogart, it's an interesting point but I'm not sure. Chandler gave Marlowe a lot of characteristics which were his own, or at least how he saw himself - a man of integrity and uncompromising morals in a world of sleazebags. The interesting thing is that Marlowe never shows that side of himself to anyone but the reader, at least until the later books where he settles down with a wife and leaves the detective business. He prefers to be considered a sleazebag because he has to operate in that world. I think what Altman did was take the character and place it in a modern ('70s modern, obviously) Hollywood environment that's also filled with sleazebags but where his style and personality are somehow anachronistic and he's confused by the world that surrounds him instead of taking advantage of it. So, no, I think Bogart is closer to the books, both his performance and even Bogart himself.

[Peng]

Funny Face (1957)

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/d3/4b/33d34b5bf50f9c3ff0ecc0049ee5c1 23.png

Musicals are all about blissful unreality, but even then, literally putting a magnifying glass on Audrey Hepburn's picture to comment on how she lacks "grace, elegance, and pizzazz" kinda breaks my brain for some minutes there. The dead-on-arrival romance's age gap also doesn't help; it's an unfortunately common trend throughout Hepburn's career, but 1957 must be a banner year for her, having both this and Love in the Afternoon with Gary Cooper (the latter film at least has Billy Wilder's swoon mode power and the age gap feeding into the film's text, making it still somewhat work).

Some of the most gorgeous, visually imaginative musical set-pieces happen here though (with each mostly set to different color schemes no less, all of them stunning), and Donen and Gershwin together are too good a combo for any musical to be brought down by story flaws too much. Donen's infectious comedic sense that I've cherished since Singin' in the Rain are also embraced whole-heartedly by all performers, with Kay Thompson being the MVP. 7/10

[Peng]

The Dirty Dozen (1967) - Surprised by the ratio of training to actual mission (7 : 3), but it's a nifty strategy since the former is rollickin' fun, and pays off in the latter with our group investment making the mission all the more suspenseful. Bizarre to think that this is John Cassavetes' only acting nom though, even if he turns in a nicely unruly, crazed turn. 7.5/10

[Grouchy]

I love that film so much. Best war flick ever in my opinion.

[transmogrifier]

I love that film so much. Best war flick ever in my opinion.

Funny way to say Apocalypse Now.

[Skitch]

Funny way to say Apocalypse Now.

Facts

[Grouchy]

It's... different? Apocalypse Now is a work of art to be sure, but I don't know if it's intended as a war flick. Perhaps I should have said best "men on a mission" movie ever.

EDIT: I know there's a very clear mission in Apocalypse Now, it's just ultimately not the focus of the film.

[Dukefrukem]

Apocalypse Now might sit right next to the Godfather as the most overrated movies of all time.

[transmogrifier]

Apocalypse Now might sit right next to the Godfather as the most overrated movies of all time.

Not in a world where Marvel and Nolan movies exist, it don't. Zing!

[Morris Schæffer]

Apocalypse Now might sit right next to the Godfather as the most overrated movies of all time.

And you dared criticize my appraisal of The Princess Bride. :D

[Skitch]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture remains my favorite Trek film.

[Dukefrukem]

Not in a world where Marvel and Nolan movies exist, it don't. Zing!

Apocalypse Now is on your top 100 list I'd imagine. No Marvel movies exist on mine.

[Morris Schæffer]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture remains my favorite Trek film.

Well, I suppose ya coulda said The Final Frontier. :D

[Skitch]

No Marvel movies exist on mine.
Interesting. Maybe start a top 100 thread? I put mine together a couple years ago.

[Dukefrukem]

Interesting. Maybe start a top 100 thread? I put mine together a couple years ago.

Whoops. I was wrong. Avengers clocks in at #84 (https://letterboxd.com/dukefrukem/list/my-top-100-sorta-complete/)

And I think we have one? http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?1904-Post-your-top-100-in-here

[Morris Schæffer]

A top 100 is just so tough to do, can you all really settle easily on what should be #1? #49? #73?

But they sure are fun.

[Peng]

Seven Psychopaths (2012) is funny in bits and pieces (and Sam Rockwell is pure delight, making a meal out of every scene given), but the overall concept and its execution are just too... annoying and self-satisfying, personally. 5.5/10

In Bruges > Three Billboards >> Seven Psychopaths

[Skitch]

A top 100 is just so tough to do, can you all really settle easily on what should be #1? #49? #73?

But they sure are fun.

I compiled a list of every film I love. Then I picked the ten bottom. That was 91-100. And so on and so forth until list was done.

[Dukefrukem]

A top 100 is just so tough to do, can you all really settle easily on what should be #1? #49? #73?

But they sure are fun.

Yes to my top 10.

No to 11-100

[transmogrifier]

Apocalypse Now is on your top 100 list I'd imagine. No Marvel movies exist on mine.

And Nolan?

[Dukefrukem]

And Nolan?

How can the greatest filmmaker of our lifetime be overrated? <-said with a smirk.

[Mal]

Rewatched The Irishman and got my dad to watch it for his first time.
That movie... moves. Fastest 3.5 hrs I've ever had in my life.

Checked out the Criterion bluray of My Dinner with Andre that I bought about a year ago, and goddamn still one of my all-time faves. Such a genuine film.

[Scar]

Rewatched The Irishman and got my dad to watch it for his first time.
That movie... moves. Fastest 3.5 hrs I've ever had in my life.

Checked out the Criterion bluray of My Dinner with Andre that I bought about a year ago, and goddamn still one of my all-time faves. Such a genuine film.

Several times while watching The Irishman, I would remind myself that I could be watching Goodfellas or Casino instead of this. Decent movie, but was overhyped. Maybe I’ll give it another go down the road.

[Grouchy]

That movie... moves. Fastest 3.5 hrs I've ever had in my life.
Isn't this always the case with Scorsese, though? From Goodfellas onward he's never made a movie clocking under two hours and they are all dynamic as hell. They never feel their actual length.