Talk About Movies: Part 4

Ha!

Agreed on the series

You’re right, I did

Nice reviews. I have always thought the Prestige is elite (and can’t imagine putting tenet above it….) but can’t put either on par with The Dark Knight, easily the best superhero flick ever made….

Can’t wait for strange darling; am scared to watch the substance

Feel like I hadn't read a TheCroShow post in a while.

Checked recent posts, first 2 today in over 3 years. Welcome back.

I'd argue Prestige is Nolan's best narrative film. Just an incredible story with that beautiful Nolan execution. I'm a simple man who enjoys bright lights and things that boggle my mind so Tenet for me is more fun to watch. I'll NEVER forget the first time I watched Washington fight himself. The weird choreography melted my brain. I also love the bromance between Washington and Pattinson, their chemistry is top notch.

Thank you! I spent an hour or so browsing older posts and feeling really good about returning. Think what happened is I bought a new computer, didn't move over my bookmarks AND forgot all my passwords lol I'm so lazy with stuff like that.

I mentioned in a previous post that I started ripping my blu-rays to my home server I just built. There was no method to the movies I picked first to rip. It's helped immensely with HOW I watch movies. It allows me to enjoy my collection while protecting their potential wear and tear and since I work from home, it's common for me to watch a movie in my living room during my lunch break, then finish it after work in my bedroom. All while streaming it in blu-ray reference quality. I can't believe I was such a slave to streaming. I get it's convenient, but it will never match the image and sound quality of physical. I'm glad to see so many labels out there keeping physical alive. Here's a bunch of screenshots of what I've ripped so far. I plan on ripping the remaining Criterion discs I have in my collection, many of which I've never watched! lol

Anora, Sean Baker, 2024

I'm conflicted. Well-made with phenomenal performances, but ultimately...what's the point? I like Baker's movies about those people on the fringes, and I guess this is one of them, as Anora is a stripper/prostitute and Igor is an honest man with a grandmother working for a shady Russian oligarch and his family...I would've liked to see where their relationship might go and not have had to spend so much time with idiot Vanya.

I don't know...the beginning up until after Anora and Vanya get married was kind of...boring. I's not interesting to watch vapid, drugged-out people party and have sex.

But the home invasion sequence followed by the getting-an-annulment (been there!) sequence makes up for it. The two Armenian actors playing Toros and Garrick were quite funny and excellent.

But I come back to...what was the whole point? Was it just an amusing shaggy-dog-story about a quickie Vegas marriage between a escort and the son of a billionaire?

Mikey Madison as Anora was very good. Great actress, and I don't remember ever seeing her before. And Yura Borisov as Igor was excellent, as well, in a role that demanded a lot more reaction than action. Great screen presence.

Enjoyable...but after the excellent Red Rocket, I was expecting something...more from Baker. But maybe I need to ruminate on it some.

Yeah, Carry-on was weird. I didn't mind the thriller in the first half, but when it became an "action flick" it kind of went to ****. That car crash was such a bizarre POV that it came across as goofy.

May I borrow your Die Hard collection for the holidays? TIA

James Gunn is about to save the DC

I have been waiting for a more in depth Anora discussion...

If I had to personally boil down Anora into a single descriptive word, that word would definitely have to be, Humanity.

I dont really care to talk about the Cinematography, the Editing or the Performances, which are all Superb, because the star of this Film is the Writing.

One the Brilliant factors of this Film, as is with a few of Sean Baker's movies, is... that the Protagonist is actually the main Antagonist... the 'Bad Guy', the 'Villain' if you will.

He is Preying on our own moral empathy and sense of Humanity as he weaves his wonderful tale of compassion for a poor and exploited female character that is willing to do ANYTHING to get ahead in her short life... including thievery, exploitation and selling of her own body for cold hard cash.

Initially we are led to believe that the Russian Family are the bad uncaring and exploitive characters, but in actuality, they are the compassionate loving family that only wants whats right for their spoiled child... their only crime being successful and wealthy.

indeed, Anora is completely devoid of any Humanity or compassion... and only finds it again in the 'long take' final scene of the film with a character that is only initially blankly referred to as 'The Russian'...

The most compassionate and caring individual in this movie is, The Russian.

The Russian is us, as we watch the story unfold... as we see a family desperately trying to protect their only child... as we see a lost soulless Human being that finally finds her own sense of worth and ultimately her Humanity.

Then again... it could just be a dumb movie about ugly strippers and Russian billionaires.

Kal El always brings a tear to my eye...

I dont like seeing blood... but maybe it was under the influence of Kryptonite.

I see all that in Anora, and it is interesting...but the Palm d'Or?? Really?

And I know it seems silly and prudish coming from the ex-porn director, but why do we need to see all the sex scenes between Anora and the lil Russian kid? I get if you're making a movie about this subject, it's natural to show some sex, but it's just boring and takes me out of the movie, because I'm not thinking how sexy it is or anything, I'm only thinking, "how awkward for the actors."

I mean……you likely have a fairly unique sensitivity to such things

I just don't like sex scenes in movies lol

Carry-On (2024)

So how low is the bar these days if this is one of the 'best netflix thrillers of the last few years' ?
Started pretty fun though. Main takeaway from the movie is Hank from Breaking Bad got really fat.

Dom said I owe y'all some more reviews so here are a few more!

I Saw the TV Glow is a queer coming of age story that knocked me on my ass. The writer/director is transfeminine and non-binary, making the film deeply intimate and personal. There's a bit where Maddy tells Owen she's a lesbian, then asks if he likes girls. Owen responded with, "I like TV shows." He didn't have the answer then, and that's ok! You don't even have to be attracted to a single gender! How empowering is that??

I came out as bisexual a few years ago. I grew up in a small town and because of the way hatred works, I thought there was only "straight or gay" when it came to sexual orientation. I pushed back feelings because it made no sense to me. I can't help but wonder how different my life would have been if as a kid, I had access to art like I Saw the TV Glow. Many of my favorite films make me feel like I'm getting an intimate look into the heart and soul of the filmmaker. In this case, the filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun is also taking a look into my hear and soul and whispering, "I see you. I respect you, I support you." One hell of a film that I won't soon forget.

Boiler Room Dusted off my blu-ray copy. Hard to believe this is a 24 year old movie! Featuring Giovanni Ribisi in the lead and an all-star supporting cast: Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Nicky Katt,Scott Caan, Jamie Kennedy and Ben freaking Affleck. If this came out recently it would have been called a wannabe The Wolf of Wall Street, funny how this predates Wolf by 13 years. Not that it's anywhere near as good, but it's a solid 3/5-3.5/5 for entertainment and solid performances all around. It also has a badass soundtrack. The movie feels oddly timely as we see over and over people getting screwed over by influencers via memecoins. Same **** different day.

District 9 this will always have a special place in my heart. When this film was released, my wife and me were still in our dating phase. We had lived together for a couple of years by then, but it was an odd dating movie that worked perfectly for us. The lead character Wikus has this bit where he says, "Here's a picture of my wife. Many guys say their wife's an angel, but she's a real angel." That bit always stuck with me and my wife and he captured PERFECTLY how I feel about my wife. I love the action set pieces and enjoy rooting for the aliens in the final act of the film. I wish Neill Blomkamp turned out to be the director we all hoped he'd become, but I'll always love District 9 and I'm thankful for that.

ANY Sharlto Copley is better than no Sharlto Copley.

I generally am also in this same frame of mind... but to me this film just worked, and worked exceedingly well.

Sex does seem to be the point of the film... Sex has a central roll in creating a Family, Sexual attraction is a driving force for many people when they venture out to find a companion, and Sex/procreation creates the legacy of the human race.

is it just Sex, or is it Love.

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I am not trying to be argumentative, I am just talking 'Film'

I'm getting tired of seeing men's asses in movies and in streaming shows.

Women's asses are ok. Well better than ok.

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Oh I love female nudity. I even still "watch" porn on occasion.

I just find most sex scenes in mainstream movies to be boring and pointless. The sexiest scene I can remember is between Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin in The Big Easy, and they were fully clothed.

I think my favorite sex scenes in a movie are the skin, sweat, and sex scenes in

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I think the lack of eroticism in all the sex is the point. It's performative and meaningless, just like their relationship. And that makes the final scene, where Anora finally feels emotional connection, much more impactful.

Elizabeth Shue in Palmetto
Demi Moore in Disclosure

2 of the sexiest clothed scenes I can think of.