movies

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mikechamp
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Re: movies

Post by mikechamp »

Watched "The Last Laugh" the other day. I was actually duped into watching it, because it had Chevy Chase listed in the on-screen menu summary, so I thought it would be a funny movie. It wasn't his movie of the same name, nor was it funny at all. Instead, it was a low-budget slasher film made in 2020.

Caught it about 10-15 minutes in, but was able to catch up with the premise pretty fast. There are no notable names in it. It all takes place in a theater, where a supposed ghost haunts the place. Instead, there's an actual killer who seems to be an exact replica of the "Scream" killer. It wasn't very good, so don't waste your time.

olvs
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Re: movies

Post by olvs »

The Nice Guys - So funny, and they clearly both work so well together. Highly recommended -- 9/10

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heyzeus
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Re: movies

Post by heyzeus »

I treated Zeus Jr. and Zeus Jr. Jr. (now 9 and 6) to watch Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory last night (the Gene Wilder original. I don't recognize Depp's weirdo goth remake). Some observations!

*My god, it takes for-ev-er for this movie to get to the damn chocolate factory

*Little Charlie's mom has been slaving away in a Dickensian sweat shop for decades to care for her son and four ingrate parents completely solo. When Charlie wins the ticket, does he even contemplate taking her as his guest to the factory? NO.

*I know others have commented on this, but Charlie's grampa spends 20 years in bed getting waited on hand and foot, but the moment there's a chance to go on a candy factory tour, he's doing a [expletive] song and dance number in minutes.

*My cold lawyer heart was warmed by the giant waiver of liability Willy makes the kids sign. The kids, not the grownups, so that won't be legally binding! Listen to your lawyers, Willy. Bonus points for the use of the word "frippery."

*We just watched the Wizard of Oz last week, so there are some interesting parallels. The munchkins v. the oompa loompas. Munchkin Land looks a whole lot like the first area of the chocolate factory where everything is edible. Both movies feature a quest/journey that doubles as a test of virtues. In Oz, it's the heart/courage/brains/not taking home for granted virtues; in Wonka, it's avoidance of sin archetypes (greed, gluttony, violence, pride). And at the end of the quest in both movies there is a powerful figurehead who, in theory, can grant wishes, but in actuality is a weirdo loner.

*As a kid watching this movie, I was CERTAIN that all the bad kids were being sent to their certain deaths. But the movie makes it very clear that they'll be ok (even if they're never shown again)

*Speaking of the darkness, I was worried the boatride through the tunnel of terror would freak my kids out. They're pretty sensitive about scary stuff in movies. Nope, didn't even react. Background images flickering in the tunnel include someone with a giant centipede crawling over their face, and a chicken getting its head cut off. That's some freaky [expletive].

*What an anglo-centric premise. 5 golden tickets are out in the world, but only Americans, Brits, and one German find them. (the south american is a fraud!)

*I'd always wondered why they changed the name of the book from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, since he's the central protagonist, to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for the movie. Apparently the Quaker Oats company had acquired rights to the Willy Wonka name and planned to launch the candy line, and insisted the movie change its name to promote said candy. Yay capitalism!

*Apparently Roald Dahl was a huge anti-semite in real life. His estate probably just got $.07 from our rental of the movie from Amazon. Oh well.

*Jesus, Gene Wilder was so [expletive] good. Perfectly charismatic, eccentric, slightly menacing, and enigmatic. His physical performance, facial reactions, and line deliveries are impeccable.

* For a 50 year old movie, it birthed so many memes. I mean, Sammy Davis Jr covered the Candy Man and literally BECAME known as the Candy Man. "YOU GET NOTHING. I SAID GOOD DAY." "Snozzberries taste like snozzberries!" "Stop. No. Don't." The still image of Wilder leaning his head against his hand, looking on in disdain. This one!

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AWvsCBsteeeerike3
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Re: movies

Post by AWvsCBsteeeerike3 »

We watched it for the first time a couple months ago. I'd never seen it in its entirety so it was a novelty for me as well.

I share a lot of the same thoughts. That's disappointing about Dahl, his books were among the first I remember being able to read and enjoy.

Regarding the grandparents, I kind of took it as a sign of the times/symbolism. It's a good way to portray how poor and decrepit their quality of life was, even if completely unrealistic.

In the end, meh, it's watchable. We may have rewatched it a time or two, but even so/so movies today are more entertaining and have more relatable if not morally superior messages.

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ghostrunner
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Re: movies

Post by ghostrunner »

We semi-unintentionally had an Elisabeth Moss double feature last weekend.

Shirley, which is based on a book about the real author Shirley Jackson who wrote Haunting of Hill House and a bunch of other creepy stories. Same director as Madeline's Madeline, which I think I mentioned a couple months back. This one's a bit more focused and linear than that, but there's still several scenes where you're not sure what's real and what isn't. Lots of close-ups and parts where you're just dropped into a scene without much warning or anything to establish context. This and Madeline are both more about mood and relationships than plot, and both have pretty unlikeable characters. But there's a lot to chew on and both have great performances. Michael Stuhlbargh from A Serious Man plays Shirley's husband - he's very good at playing a creep.

Also watched Invisible Man because I figured it's due to leave HBO soon, and it's on my list. I think it's a good horror movie. A few questionable decisions are made and there's one supporting character whose behavior is annoyingly illogical, but that's typical for horror movies. You have to make some leaps to accept the invisibility, but I don't mind that. It keeps the suspense up, which is about all you can ask.

Mild spoilers
[SHOW]
There's a plot twist that both explains some other odd character behavior - not the character I mentioned before. It explains the behavior, but I think it also makes the ending a bit less satisfying than it should be.
Elisabeth Moss is so good in everything she does. Probably my favorite actor right now. Really sucks that she's a scientologist. I don't mind artists I like being flawed and I give her a bit of a pass because she was born into it, but man that's a big one.

Michaelj12
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Re: movies

Post by Michaelj12 »

The new series of Netflix - Queens Gambit is really cool for watching at home in the evening! Really liked it!

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Jocephus
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Re: movies

Post by Jocephus »

if you missed conan's cant stop docu its free on tubi

https://tubitv.com/movies/453777/conan-obrien-cant-stop

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Ace
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Re: movies

Post by Ace »

Really looking for some new suggestions, 2020 was a ROUGH year for movies!

Watched 'the Devil all the Time' and 'Sound of Metal', really enjoyed both. Riz Ahmed is a fantastic actor.

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CardsofSTL
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Re: movies

Post by CardsofSTL »

Love and Monsters is fun

Freed Roger
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Re: movies

Post by Freed Roger »

Finally saw Galveston. worth a watch - Ben Foster again.

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