[gwnn]

I saw Only the Brave last night (a movie about firefighters). Great film!

[nige1]

Paddington 2. Good stuff.

[Chas_P]

Hostiles. Beautiful scenery, powerful acting, heartwarming storyline.

[y66]

Chas_P, on 2018-January-07, 19:07, said:

I saw Darkest Hour this afternoon. Both the casting and the acting are superb. The final scene where Churchill addresses Parliament with, "Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old." brought tears to my eyes.

We saw it last night. That was quite a performance by Gary Oldman and yes a stirring speech. It was also a reminder that way too many people in positions of leadership are living in the past, have no clue and even worse judgment. Gary Oldman brought Churchill to life for a couple of hours. It's going to take more than that to prevent the next Dunkirk.

[helene_t]

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

A truly beautiful film. Got bad reviews presumably because of lack of sex and violence

[Winstonm]

gwnn, on 2018-January-09, 14:06, said:

Nobody's seen Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri yet? It's a great little film.

I just saw this and I thought it was terrific. A little quirky and sad like What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

[helene_t]

The Wife.

A literature-professor-turned-author receives the Nobel Prize in literature. We follow his, his wife's and his son's stay in Stockholm for the award ceremony.

Sounded like a boring theme so the only reason we went to the cinema was that we didn't have team mates and it was a teams' event yesterday night at the local club.

But the film didn't disappoint. The plot is brilliant (I won't disclose any details here).

Since most of the actors were American I thought it was an American film, but the lack of violence plus the frequent use of words like fvck and sh!t revealed that it is in fact a Swedish film.

[kenberg]

helene_t, on 2018-August-14, 18:59, said:

The Wife.

A literature-professor-turned-author receives the Nobel Prize in literature. We follow his, his wife's and his son's stay in Stockholm for the award ceremony.

Sounded like a boring theme so the only reason we went to the cinema was that we didn't have team mates and it was a teams' event yesterday night at the local club.

But the film didn't disappoint. The plot is brilliant (I won't disclose any details here).

Since most of the actors were American I thought it was an American film, but the lack of violence plus the frequent use of words like fvck and sh!t revealed that it is in fact a Swedish film.

So I assume there also aren't any stupid chase scenes. No doubt it wil be a box office flop here.

[ggwhiz]

helene_t, on 2018-May-19, 02:43, said:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

A truly beautiful film. Got bad reviews presumably because of lack of sex and violence

My wife read the book so when it came on Netflix the reviews and ratings are trumped by that. I'm glad they were as I enjoyed it.

[helene_t]

kenberg, on 2018-August-15, 07:59, said:

So I assume there also aren't any stupid chase scenes. No doubt it wil be a box office flop here.

Indeed. There were a couple of scenes that appeared to be shot at the back seat of a taxi but there were no pictures of cars from the outside I think.

[PassedOut]

helene_t, on 2018-May-19, 02:43, said:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

A truly beautiful film. Got bad reviews presumably because of lack of sex and violence

Constance and I enjoyed the film also -- and what a great title!

In a more contemporary vein, tonight we watched the excellent July 22, set in one of our favorite places in the world. It's sobering to look at the events of seven years ago in the light of the alt-right rhetoric in the US today.

[Elianna]

Adam and I recently went to the Zurich Film Festival, where we saw three movies:

1) Leave no Trace

- This was really a moving film. It's about a father and daughter, who are living in the woods in the beginning of the movie. We get to know them throughout the movie, and really feel for them through their challenges. This is not a "feel good movie", I should warn people. It's also about PTSD and how it affects both the person and their relatives. Definitely worth seeing, in my opinion.

2) Puzzle

- This one I wish that I had missed. I was expecting a quirky, entertaining movie (that's what the descriptions I read implied, I felt), but really, the main problems presented to the characters in this movie could have been solved if they just TALKED to each other. I understand that movies have to have problems to have a plot, but it really annoys me when the problems could be discussed with proper communication, and people don't seem interested in talking to each other.

3) Tel Aviv on Fire

- This was the quite entertaining movie I was hoping for. It's about a guy who works on a serial TV show in Ramallah, and has to cross the border daily to get to work, and his relationship to the main guard, who wants the serial to go a specific direction. I quite enjoyed the movie, though I would have liked one character to receive more pushback about one of his actions (I don't want to spoil the movie by being more specific).

In the end, I recommend either Leave no Trace or Tel Aviv on Fire, depending on what you're in the mood for.

[barmar]

I haven't seen it yet (I don't usually go out to the movies, I wait for them to show up on cable TV), but is there anyone in Hollywood who isn't in "Bad Times at the El Royale"? It seems like every night for the past month a different star of the movie has been on the late night talk shows.

[y66]

Leave No Trace is a beautiful, heartbreaking film.

[y66]

The Last Days of Stalin. Steve Buscemei and Simon Russell Beale were so good. Excerpt from Manohla Dargis's Review

Quote

The comedy of cruelty is rarely funnier or more brutal than when it comes from Armando Iannucci, a virtuoso of political evisceration. A comic talent who should be household famous, he is best known for “Veep,” the HBO series about Washington politics that was a satire when it first hit in 2012 but now seems like a reality show. He also directed the movie “In the Loop,” an aptly obscene burlesque about the run-up to the Iraq War. He only seems to have abandoned contemporary politics in his latest, “The Death of Stalin,” an eccentric comic shocker about a strong man and his world of ashes and blood.

Quote

In his book “The Last Days of Stalin,” Joshua Rubenstein captures the dictator’s power over the Soviet Union in a quote: “Stalin was inside everyone, like the hammer alongside the sickle in every mind.” In Mr. Iannucci’s movie, you see the hammer and the sickle in each pale, scheming face, in every prison cell and bootlicker’s smile. It’s in Beria’s every move and there when Malenkov puts on a dolorous face and a corset, setting the timer for his own end. There are times when Mr. Iannucci seems as merciless as he is funny; hope can seem very distant here. Yet he also suggests — with the help of a pianist played by Olga Kurylenko and the example of his movie — that art is one sure path to resistance.

[barmar]

I rarely watch movies in theatres these days, I usually have trouble staying awake when just staring at a screen. But I went to Mary Poppins Returns on Xmas day, and I didn't have any problem. It was visually very beautiful, very reminiscent of the original movie. Lots of bright colors, fun tunes, and great choreography. Lin-Manuel Miranda seemed to be channeling Gene Kelly, although his character was the son of Dick Van Dyke's. The animation was great, although these days there's nothing special about seamlessly blending animation with live action.

It brought back memories of the original, of course. I was only 3 when it came out, so I'm not sure if I ever actually saw it in theatres (I kind of remember seeing it, maybe it was the kid feature at the drive-in). But we had the cast album at home that I listened to a lot, and didn't understand many of the lyrics -- what does a 5-year-old know about the women's suffrage movement? I could figure out that tuppence was money, but was "tuppence a bag" a lot or a little?

[kenberg]

barmar, on 2019-January-02, 10:27, said:

I rarely watch movies in theatres these days, I usually have trouble staying awake when just staring at a screen. But I went to Mary Poppins Returns on Xmas day, and I didn't have any problem. It was visually very beautiful, very reminiscent of the original movie. Lots of bright colors, fun tunes, and great choreography. Lin-Manuel Miranda seemed to be channeling Gene Kelly, although his character was the son of Dick Van Dyke's. The animation was great, although these days there's nothing special about seamlessly blending animation with live action.

It brought back memories of the original, of course. I was only 3 when it came out, so I'm not sure if I ever actually saw it in theatres (I kind of remember seeing it, maybe it was the kid feature at the drive-in). But we had the cast album at home that I listened to a lot, and didn't understand many of the lyrics -- what does a 5-year-old know about the women's suffrage movement? I could figure out that tuppence was money, but was "tuppence a bag" a lot or a little?

Your being 3 when Mary Poppins first cane out (1964) makes you the same age as my older daughter. I'll have to ask her if she remembers it. I cannot honestly say I remember taking her to it but probably I did. She has a good memory for such things, for example she was recently telling me how much she enjoyed The Three Billy Goats Gruff as a child. "Who's that stomping over my bridge?" I remember it well. http://www.sterlingt...goats_gruff.htm

As to remembering the details of just how you saw the 1964 MP: I was 3 when Bambi came out, I am sure I saw it in a theater. I am sure I was with my father. But I am less positive that this was when it first came out in 1942 I was very young, but maybe not 3. It did keep coming back. "Your mother can't be with you anymore". It makes an impression. So did the fire.

We have been thinking of A Star is Born. I believe I saw the 1937 version, as a re-run of course, before I saw the 1954 version. I'm up for the new one, we just haven't done it yet. Any thoughts from anyone on how it is?

[barmar]

The only movie I specifically remember seeing when I was incredibly young was "Lili" -- I remember her singing "Hi Lili, Hi Lo" to the puppet. Since the movie initially came out 8 years before I was born, it obviously was a rerun, and again probably at a drive-in. Our family went to them pretty regularly when we were kids, I don't remember being taken to many movies in theatres at that age (but I have very little recall of much of my childhood -- I never understand how people are able to write detailed memoirs). We had the required station wagon, and the kids got into our footie pajamas and went to sleep in the back when the second feature started.

The first R movie I remember my parents taking me to was "The Exorcist", I was 12 when it came out.

[y66]

I watched Phantom Thread again. Wow. I'm pretty sure I will enjoy watching it a third time but not soon.

[y66]

Just watched "Deadwood: The Movie". Fans of the series and its creator, David Milch, will enjoy it.

Mark Singer's May 20th story in the New Yorker about Milch and their discussion of Milch's battle with Alzheimer's is poignant and fascinating.

Quote

Last fall, as shooting was under way for “Deadwood: The Movie,” I began talking regularly again with Milch. We spoke, by telephone, every other Saturday for about forty-five minutes, with Rita [Milch's wife] listening in and filling in blanks as needed. The American Alzheimer’s Association identifies three stages of the disease’s progression: early, middle, and late. Milch appears to be in the middle stage. This is characterized by a difficulty with organizing everyday tasks and remembering the events of one’s personal history; social withdrawal; confusion about where one is or the day of the week; disruption of sleep habits; and an increased risk, if left unsupervised, of becoming lost. The Milch I observed fifteen years ago during the making of “Deadwood” was gregarious, physically strong, and prone to riveting discursive detours. During our recent time together, he spoke slowly and deliberately, and moved accordingly. At one point, I asked him whether, despite what Alzheimer’s was stealing from him, it had given anything in return. The answer: a continuous sense of urgency.

“There’s an acute sense of time’s passage,” he said. “Things are important. You don’t want to be inconsequential in your perspective on things. I feel that with an increasing acuteness—that everything counts.”

“Do you wake up to that feeling every day?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Singer: What do you want to be the focus of our conversations?

Milch: To the extent that this sort of thing is appropriate, a focus on the illness. . . . While writing the screenplay for “Deadwood: The Movie,” I was in the last part of the privacy of my faculties, and that’s gone now. I was able to believe that— You know, we all make deals, I suppose, in terms of how we think about the process of our aging. It’s a series of givings away, a making peace with givings away. I had thought, as many or most people do, that I was in an earlier stage of givings away than it turns out I am. It’s kind of a relentless series of adjustments to what you can do, in particular the way you can’t think any longer. Your inability to sustain a continuity of focus. And those are accumulated deletions of ability. And you adjust—you’d better adjust, or you adjust whether you want to or not.