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Thread: Palm Springs (2020, Max Barbakow)

  1. #1
    I'm the problem it's me DFA1979's Avatar
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    Palm Springs (2020, Max Barbakow)

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    And it's happened once again
    I'll turn to a friend
    Someone that understands
    And sees through the master plan
    But everybody's gone
    And I've been here for too long
    To face this on my own
    Well, I guess this is growing up

  2. #2
    I'm the problem it's me DFA1979's Avatar
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    This was hilarious and oddly touching. Loses some steam by the finale but that's alright because Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti have marvelous chemistry together. Oh and JK Simmons even pops up. I felt this movie relates to quarantine life a bit which is odd because it was clearly made before all of this happened. Viewed through Hulu, which I think I like more than Netflix at this point.
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    And it's happened once again
    I'll turn to a friend
    Someone that understands
    And sees through the master plan
    But everybody's gone
    And I've been here for too long
    To face this on my own
    Well, I guess this is growing up

  3. #3
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    The emerging streak of nihilistic ennui and existential crises is welcome for the whole thing not to feel too much of a fluff, but the way it's dealt with is still too surface-y like the romance. That romance still works despite the writing because of the leads' charm and chemistry, but there's nothing deep-rooted to be memorable or linger afterwards. Still a very fun, funny rom-com, but those brushes with real emotions, briefly not expressed in sit-com-y style, make the film feel like a missed opportunity. 7/10
    Midnight Run (1988) - 9
    The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
    The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
    Sisters (1973) - 6.5
    Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5

  4. #4
    They executed the central concept well, but the ending is too abrupt which makes the entire experience feel largely shallow. They flirt with big ideas but reduce them to the most tired and obvious rom-com tropes and really missed an opportunity to explore a little deeper with a real denouement that could've revealed more of the fallout. It really seems that they just fell in love with the idea of Groundhog Day "but with more people" and didn't care to write more into it than that. Entertaining enough but falls short of potential.
    Last edited by DavidSeven; 07-23-2020 at 05:51 AM.
    letterboxd.

    A Star is Born (2018) **1/2
    Unforgiven (1992) ***1/2
    The Sisters Brothers (2018) **
    Crazy Rich Asians (2018) ***
    The Informant! (2009) ***1/2
    BlacKkKlansman (2018) ***1/2
    Sorry to Bother You (2018) **1/2
    Eighth Grade (2018) ***
    Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) ***
    Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018) **1/2

  5. #5
    Cinematographer Mal's Avatar
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    This played extremely flat for me. No biting commentary nor actual laughs- not a film, not yet a TV pilot. I don’t care if this makes me a bad millennial, but between the stuff getting put on Netflix and half-assed indie projects like this, it makes me feel like there’s a prevalent regressive quality to entertainment created and geared towards my generation. Low budget doesn't have to mean low effort.

  6. #6
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Groundhog Day with Andy Samberg? Yes please. Laughed quite a few times. This might be the best thing I've seen in 2020.
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  7. #7
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    I think this is the only "new release" of this pandemic period that I've watched more than once, and a big factor of what that was once having people over became a re-normalized thing here, it became a no-brainer to put on.

    Just an extremely charming, potent and quietly resonant piece of work, and the rare 80-something minute movie that manages to create a tiny but vivid world with a fleshed out tone of its own (especially in this increasingly populated Groundhog Day sub-genre) and not feel like it left too much was left unexplored.

    So nice to have entirely satisfying comedy that holds up and even strengthens on a re-watch, which was especially refreshing after spending most of my stay-at-home months watching older comedies that I loved but had seen endless times.
    Last 11 things I really enjoyed:

    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
    Diva (Beineix, 1981)
    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
    The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
    Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
    Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)

  8. #8
    Moderator Dead & Messed Up's Avatar
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    This should be a star-making (-guaranteeing) film for Milioti. She shows the same variability and deftness that made Jessica Rothe so welcome an actress in Happy Death Day.

    Loop movies almost always work for me. In part because I think they communicate so well just how fucking difficult it is for a person to change. How many times they'll (we'll (I'll)) make the same mistake before anything is gained from the experience, let alone something tangible and affecting. Most movies put heroes through the paces of a single journey with a big change in their behavior. That's fine, that's how people write stories, but it also makes this concept so effective (almost responsible) to me. So even when a flick like this comes out, and it's good instead of transcendent, I still feel an extra appreciation for it. I also loved how Milioti...

    [
    ]

    Not great (the color-grading felt off, and the coverage felt more boilerplate than it needed to), and maybe too clean of a wrap-up, but these kinds of movies live in their editing more than their camera. And it's still charming and often very funny.

  9. #9
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Yeh totally agree D&MU. So far, this is the best movie I've seen in 2020.
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  10. #10
    I'm the problem it's me DFA1979's Avatar
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    Also I'm a sucker for fun "Let's do random stuff together" montages.
    Blog!

    And it's happened once again
    I'll turn to a friend
    Someone that understands
    And sees through the master plan
    But everybody's gone
    And I've been here for too long
    To face this on my own
    Well, I guess this is growing up

  11. #11
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
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    Enjoyed the hell out of this.

    Even better was I didn't know the Groundhog Day approach, which made the first fifteen minutes or so really odd.

    Some have said it loses steam for its ending, but I loved it. I think it's one of the best romantic stories in quite some time.

    I'll let it ponder into tomorrow, but **** for now.

    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


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  12. #12
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Ezee E (view post)
    Enjoyed the hell out of this.

    Even better was I didn't know the Groundhog Day approach, which made the first fifteen minutes or so really odd.

    Some have said it loses steam for its ending, but I loved it. I think it's one of the best romantic stories in quite some time.

    I'll let it ponder into tomorrow, but **** for now.
    Hell yeh. It was the perfect 2020 movie.
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  13. #13
    I'm the problem it's me DFA1979's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Ezee E (view post)
    Enjoyed the hell out of this.

    Even better was I didn't know the Groundhog Day approach, which made the first fifteen minutes or so really odd.

    Some have said it loses steam for its ending, but I loved it. I think it's one of the best romantic stories in quite some time.

    I'll let it ponder into tomorrow, but **** for now.
    Well I did like the ending. I just felt that some stuff that happened before it was a tad predictable in that [
    ]

    BTW I can't believe that I didn't recognize The Brazilian being used for a montage scene in the final act. Smh as Invisible Touch is one of my all time favorite albums and I love Genesis.
    Blog!

    And it's happened once again
    I'll turn to a friend
    Someone that understands
    And sees through the master plan
    But everybody's gone
    And I've been here for too long
    To face this on my own
    Well, I guess this is growing up

  14. #14
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Pretty great callback to Groundhog Day that goes the extra mile into unexplored (and often dark) areas of the concept. Like D&MU said, this type of comedy is not known for its brilliant directing, but even then I thought the frantic editing choices were pretty inspired. Between this and Edge of Tomorrow, the "loop" movie continues to be a strong sub-genre. And it goes witout saying that this is THE metaphoric take on quarantine life - way to anticipate the zeitgeist.

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